As Sue and I alighted from the taxi outside the Villa Francescatti - our 'ostello' - I wondered if she was a little jealous of LRU and I. I had noted her long lingering look as if in amazement that LRU's wheels had kept turning all the way to Verona. In no time at all after settling in we were on our way to sit out at a local restaurant. We could hear the music from the amphitheatre nearby. The warm evening air relaxed us both and there was news from home that our two cats were fine and entrusted into the care of our friend Pauline.

The early morning sun woke us both early and soon after breakfast we were on La Autobus en route for the Statione. I had in my possession train tickets for the journey to Lago di Garda. I had taken the liberty of purchasing them the day before along with our tickets to Venezia.

Neither of us are hot house flowers so once on the boat we appreciated that it was marginally cooler. It was not difficult to relax and soak up the atmosphere and admire panoramic views as the burbling engine propelled the boat along in the welcome breeze. Our trip to Garda would not have been complete had we not been prepared so we both cooled down and swam with the fishes !

The following day was magical for Sue as she walked the short distance from the St Lucia Statione in Venezia down the steps towards the waiting vaporetti (water taxis) on the Grande Canal. The romance of Venezia was about to engulf us.....

We loved our ostello as we could not believe it was so well sited with such amazing views. Although we travelled a lot on the vaporetti we also walked. We discovered lots of little piazzas and spoke to all the artists - eventually choosing to bring a painting home rather than have a gondola trip. The heat was so intense we could not resist a swim in the Lido !!

On our last evening in Venezia on the way to a Vivaldi Concert we walked through the musty streets. Occasionally we crossed the quaint canal bridges which revealed the outlook and lifestyle of the Venetians. On our way back to the ostello we enjoyed walking in the warm evening air and the illuminations of Venezia as their reflections sparkled on the water. It seemed a long way back to the vaporetti or were we dawdling to make it last ?

The powerful locomotive eased our twelve carriages away from St Lucia statione picking up speed as it rolled across the piered causeway. We looked back across this inland lagoon from our air-conditioned compartment to all the familiar landmarks we had been able to visit. Time to relax now and await our arrival back in Verona. I hoped that LRU was still safe at the Villa Francescatti.

I am not very good at waiting for buses as I have not had much practice. As the bus stop was virtually outside the Porta Nuova Statione we sheltered and enjoyed the comfort of the air conditioning until the bus arrived. We were heading for our Ca-Eleanore B and B accommodation situated at Montorio in the hills and countryside above Verona.

Monica - our landlady greeted us and soon made us feel welcome.
"Have you had a meal yet?" she asked. To our negative reply she added....
"I take you to ristorante OK ?" Without further ado she pointed to her garage and said,
"I get my Spider out and off we go !"

I found Monica to be an easy and relaxed driver and soon we were out in the hill country coasting along the country lanes. It soon occurred to me that our journey to the ristorante seemed to be more like a guided tour. Upon our arrival Monica organised us a waiter for an outside table and told us to ring her when we were finished so that she could return and collect us. It turned out that we did not need to as she appeared at the right moment to ferry us ' home' again. The moonlit evening return was my time for reflection since it was my turn to sit perched on the open-top of the Alfa Romeo in the now cool air. From there I could listen to Sue and Monica conversing over the throaty roar of the Spider's engine. Nice.........but not as good as the exhaust sound of LRU.

We visited many interesting places in Verona and loved the Piazza Bra overshadowed by the best surviving Roman Arena and we enjoyed our open-air evening meals together overlooking the park.

My rucksack felt heavy loaded with its weeks supply of smalls and some provisions to continue my journey as I walked up the hill towards the ostello. I needed to face the fact that Sue had to return to work and I would hit the road the next day for Firenze. The thought of the launderette seemed a daunting prospect but the task was soon completed as Monica had done most of my washing for me before Sue and I had left Ca-Eleanore.

LRU looked majestic where I had parked her outside the Villa Francescatti. She seemed quietly comfortable surrounded by red and white plastic tape, her thirty kilometre speed sign and men-at- work road sign.The trouble was there were no men-at-work as the part of the road they wanted to dig up was under LRU !! - and they had been unable to move it because of its heavy chain and padlock.

The early morning sun was most encouraging and with all the loading and checking completed the night before it only took a couple of prods on the kick start and LRU was up for it again.I was looking forward to hitting the open road at last after a full weeks rest. LRU would have little rest during the next four weeks.The route to Firenze of about 245 kilometres took me via Imola and I enjoyed the excellent mountain road and breathtaking scenery. My approach to Imola had been mainly on the autostrada which like the autoban I found most helpful to LRU in the 40c+ temperatures. I found lovely places to stop and enjoy peace and tranquility on the mountain sections - and a good cuppa.

I found my cruising speed of 45-50 mph adequate to enjoy the route and wondered if I'd had one of those four cylinder machines I might have had to pull a couple of plug leads off to slow down and ensure I didn't pass through the region too quickly !!

The three of us arrived together at the ostello in Firenze and started to disrobe our wet weather gear and unload our bikes. Brian and Spence were riding BMWs and were from London. They were heading home and doing riding stints of between 600/800 kilometres a day. WOW! I hope they saw something !! I had donned my wet weather gear on the hill above Firenze. It seemed like a carbon copy of a couple of weeks ago when I had been approaching Innsbruck. It rained torrentially all night with numerous crashes of thunder. The bright lightning was now silhouetting the inhabitants on the sheltered patio as they were regailing each other with the events of their day and discussing their plans for the following day. I met people I had previously met in Innsbruck, Verona and Venezia. We all joked as to who was following who.

The following morning revealed a fragrant freshness as the hot sun started to evaporate the deluge of the previous night. The ostello really was in a wonderful place among pine woods - a short bus ride from the city centre. Sue, my wife, would probably refer to me as an art philistine so you might well be wondering why I was here. Truth is I do value architecture so I was heading for the Piazzo Del Duomo. As I wandered the narrow streets I couldn't help thinking that this would be no place for a self respecting Sunbeam S7-deluxe. LRU was in the best place back at the ostello - secure and covered to protect it from the hot blazing sun. Besides there was too much to stop and see.

It was a good job I wasn't interested in all those arty things because the queues were snake-like and I get fed up if I 'm too behind in the chip shop ! The Duomo was fantastic and I would have liked to have gone inside but again the queues were pythons long ! It was much nicer to enjoy ambling through the streets and cross the Ponte Vecchio Bridge spanning the Fiume Arno. This was a good idea as I was able to enjoy the wide open spaces of the Giarddino di Bobli - much more my cup of tea. The gardens afforded magnificent views across the city and river and kept my camera shutter busy. This was good as when I had entered Firenze the day before I had missed the sights due to the storm. This notably was the last rain I was to experience until I arrived back in Manchester four weeks later.

Assisi proved to be a very peaceful place. I arrived early in the afternoon as I had experienced an easy route mostly on autostrada. During my two days there I was able to visit the monastery, the streets of the town and look at the earthquake renovations. I also travelled around much of the surrounding countryside which was particularly attractive with its corn fields and immense plantations of sun flowers. Their heads all worshipped the sun as it traversed the sky throughout the day. I had taken five books to read for beach and loafing around sessions. High on a hill above Assisi in a wooded area I found a perfect place looking out across the plain towards Perugia. LRU stood gleaming in the sun and I simply read and occasionally brewed up my Yorkshire tea. With all this beauty before me and the numerous birds singing I felt it was fantastic to be self contained and I dozed from time to time.

My map of Roma was to be worth its weight in gold for it helped me to navigate into Roma from Assisi with relative ease and was also useful when I was on foot doing the sightseeing bit. LRU entered Roma on the Via Flaminia. This was useful as it lead me straight to the ostello. Later this map was to guide me out of Roma on the Via Casilina and on my return trip into Roma on the Via Appia and out again on the Via Aurelia.

LRU's security was paramount so I left her at the ostello. The combination of La Autobus and the underground and walking worked well.I remembered LRUs trip to Versailles and the advantage of being the first to arrive so I thought I would attempt this with my trip to the Piazza San Pietro and the Basilica Di San Pietro. It was therefore a very early rise for me. It paid off because there were no queues and I was one of several to be allowed entry straight away. The visit to the top of the dome and the panoramic views afforded of Roma were truly amazing and well worth the climb.Oh - and I appreciated the young lady steadying me as I appeared to suffer my first attack of vertigo ! I was of course quite safe but it gave me a nasty shock.

How do they do it ? I was walking through the streets of Roma observing the young scooter riders weaving in and out of the frenetically busy traffic riding one-handed and simultaneously chatting on the phone. I marvelled because Italians don't seem able to have short conversations. I was disappointed since on arriving at the Fiume Tevere I failed to get tickets for a boat trip through the city.

The nights in the ostello were hot and sticky and for the first time in my life I found the invasion of the mosquitoes quite a shock to my person ! Fortunately I had deterrent cream although I was a bit late applying it. Never mind I thought I would try not to let it spoil my visit to the Museo Nazionale Romano, the Colosseo and the Trevi Fountain where I wanted to toss in my euros.

As I walked back from the Trevi Fountain I again failed to get a boat trip so en route to La Autobus- stop I spotted a bench seat at the rear of the Piazza San Pietro outside an art gallery and decided to rest awhile. When I stretched out my leg the large glass door opened automatically and the waft of air conditioning that flowed out was most welcome. I rapidly developed a twitch in my leg and played footsie with the door. The Basilica di San Paolo was not on my list of planned visits but the Italian lady who sat down beside me convinced me I should go. I returned to the ostello for a rest and a shower and caught the underground train to get there. On my way home in the evening I also revisited the Basilica Di San Pietro and its illuminations and rang Sue to share the beauty of the night and check all was fine at home.