Well here we are in Florence. We have been here for some days and have been going back and forth from the International Camping site out at Bottai to the city where with the glorious assistance of the DK Italy book we have been able to find our way about and get all of the information we need to visit all of the historic monuments and all of the museums as well as of course all of the markets so that Leanne can manage to get her shopping done. The only present I have suggested to her that we can do without is a set of boxer shorts for her eighty year old father with a picture of the front of Michaelangelos David protruding at the front. Perhaps this is a little too much for him.

She has been managing to find more bargains in this city that she has ever found before. So she is going around and shopping and shopping. Since she was already overweight when we arrived it will be interesting to see how she manages to get all of her purchases into the plane.

The weather has been mixed during our trip. While we were in England we had some days which were filled with rain and then sunshine. When we were in Germany we had some days which were filled with rain and then sunshine and when we were in Austria we had some days which were filled with rain and then sunshine and this situation has continued since we arrived in Italy.

The good news is that if you plan well for your travel you can anticipate all of the weather conditions and all of the temperatures and then be ready to met them.

At present the only news we have for people reading these pages is that we are enjoying the experience and looking forward to moving on towards Hungary on Saturday

A hello from Zell am Ziller in the Tirol, Austria

We are at present in Mayerhofen in Ziller Tal writing these notes. Arriving in Germany we managed to get from the airport at Frankfurt to the place where our mobile home was waiting for us. A lecture followed from the owner of the rental place explaining how to drive the beast and how to manage the various bits including of course the awning, the chemical toilet, the showers, the cooking and heating gas appliances, how to manage the output from the batteries etc.

Just imagine something over 3.4 metres tall and over 2 metres wide and then think of all of the small towns in Europe that are from mediaeval times during which the roads were just wide enough to allow a horse and cart to get through. Then think of us as we try and negotiate these roads which are now two way traffic and with walls of houses that overhang the street. A harrowing experience at best. Then think of navigating into a car park of a busy supermarket where your vehicle will take up at least two parking places and where the turning circle of the vehicle is such that actually getting into the parking place and out of it becomes an interesting exercise.

Still we are managing and having a good time. The weather has been kind and it is only in the last few days that we have experienced serious rain and clouds. In the mountains of the Austrian Alps this is only to be expected. We will be heading off towards Salzburg tomorrow and then into Slovenia and thence to Hungary arriving we hope in Budapest by 22 June.

More when we find the time and the inclination. It is impossible to upload pictures at present as the machines we occasionally find do not have the facilities for it and so this will simply have to wait until we get home.