I'm back in the UK

Hi all,

I have survived my 9 & 1/2 weeks of continual travel - just. I was quite tired by the end of it and my body was starting to tell me to take a rest. So I am at my cousin's house and have sorted out my belongings and ready to rest for a little while and enjoy listening to my ipod (I didn't take it travelling with me).

The last update was from the beautiful Venice. From Venice we travelled to the little medieval town of Gubbio - a town that honors St Francis. There is a fountain in Gubbio that is believed to be the "Fountain of the Crazy People" (Fontana dei Pazzi) - the tradition is to run around it clockwise three times while a local splashed water on you and you are then deemed as crazy. So guess who ran around it? Me of course :-) I know what most of you are saying: "You didn't need to run around a fountain, you are already crazy!" - I just wanted to make it official. In Gubbio we took a hike up onto one of the mountains to take in the view of the town and surrounding area. It was a beautiful view of the terracotta rooftops of the old and new towns, with the rolling patchwork of the Umbrian country side as far as the eye can see.

We then ventured on to Assisi, which is where I hurt my back :-( My luggage had managed to gain a few kilos (just like me) and as I tried to lug my heavy back up a flight of stairs to my hotel room, my poor back gave way. The token male of the group was then the kind one to take care of my bag for the next travel days - very kind of him. While we were in Assisi, we took a trip to the old sector of town to visit the impressive Basilica di San Francesco (St Francis Cathedral) and surrounding medieval buildings. The next day we took a trip to Spello to sample some exclusive wine and regional food at the Enoteca - the wine was fantastic and the food was delicious. We sampled white, red and dessert wines with food to match the wines - it was great fun.

I eventually made it back to Rome (for the 3rd time) and was able to continue in my quest to see Rome. There is so much to see in Rome, and even after another 5 days there I still didn't see it all. I did have to take it easy and not spend too much time walking around (my back was still a little sore), but I was still able to fill my days with lots of sightseeing. I spend a few nights walking around too and was able to obtain some great night shots of the places around the city - it is beautiful at night. I took a guided tour of the Vatican Museum, St Peters Basilica and St Pauls Cathedral - the guide was really good. She was full of heaps of interesting information and I found it beneficial to be given such an extensive tour in such a monumental place. The guide spent a fair amount of time explaining the history of art and the techniques that were used and I found that great - I have been looking at art galleries and frescoes throughout churches and palaces for the last 2 months and I felt that I got a new understanding of it all from the guide.

I will keep you all updated my actions, so don't feel like I will forget the blog now that I am in the UK. I plan of having many more adventures.

Cya