When in Rome...

...eat a lot of Gelato ...drink expesso in a sidewalk cafe; without sitting down it's cheaper .... disobey traffic rules and park anywhere... try home made pasta and take-away slices of pizza ...talk loudly and gesticulate madly ...and as a tourist pack more sight-seeing into each day than in any other city in Europe!
We have had a good Roman Holiday, Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn style; on the scooter, even though ours is not a retro Vespa. Of course, we had to see the Colesseum, Roman Forum and Pantheon,but also enjoyed the vibe of the modern city. St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum, including the Sistene Chapel, where highlights too.

Tuscany

We spent time in Tuscany, especially up in the north and we had a great time in Lucca, a fully walled Tuscan city, home to Puccini, who is having his 150th anniversary this year. Of course, we could not miss a trip to see the leaning tower of Pisa. The Tuscan coast is pretty much like the coast further north; and popular with Italians, but not teeming with overseas tourists. We do plan to travel back up north through Central Tuscany; we haven’t sampled much of the wine yet!

North Italian Coast

After crossing into Italy from Monaco, we followed the coast for a few days. The Italian Riviera is much like the French, just a little poorer and a little less polished, perhaps. The Europeans are holidaying like mad all along the coast – it seems all you need is the sun, a narrow strip of sand/stone and the gentle Med. I think possibly, you need at least a villa and a yacht/speedboat to enjoy this coast. We enjoyed sight- seeing rather than the full on beach holiday thing. We stayed in Levanto a while and spent a day exploring the Cinque Terre by ferry while Homer had a service. It is hot and sunny almost all the time and at night a breeze picks up to cool things down while we sleep. Italian food is just so good, from a slice of take out pizza, to pesto and gnocchi, to fish or lamb.

Cote de Azur

We drove along the whole French Mediterreanean Coast. Some towns like Nice, Antibes and Menton are beautiful with very pretty coastlines, but the beaches are not the best. They are crowded, narrow and often stony or the sand is dark. The weather is perfect though. Hot but not humid during the day and warm with a cooling breeze at night. After the French Riviera we drove through Monaco towards Italy and so now we can claim Homer has driven on a Grand Prix circuit.