We splurged a bit on accommodation in Sorrento and stayed at the Parco Dei Principi. It overlooked the cliffs, and across the bay we faced the only active volcano in Europe, Mt Vesuvius. Even though it rained buckets, Sorrento was still a delight to stroll around particularly with the Christmas lights everywhere, little alleyways, and majestic views of the marina and sea.
Most people visit Pompeii but thanks to a recommendation from our friend Marni, we decided to go to Herculaneum instead. It is only partially uncovered due to the large modern city positioned 40 metres above it called ‘Erculano’. We walked in and around 2000 year old 3 story buildings with original wooden beams, colourful frescos on walls, and intricate floor mosaics that we actually walked on.
It was fairly evident that Herculaneum was a wealthy town. They had women’s and men’s baths that would have compared to any of our modern health clubs. There was a large outdoor sporting ground surrounded by marbled columns. It was not much different in lifestyle, we imagined, from any coastal town in Australia. 
Herculaneum was situated overlooking the beach which now resides 400 metres away thanks to the ash that fell and created new land after the eruption in 79AD. Out of the 1000’s of people suspected to have lived there, 300 locals left it a little too late to escape. Excavations in the 1980's found their bodies huddled on the old beach with their valuables alongside them. Very sad. Their bodies are much better preserved than those at Pompeii because they were killed instantly by thermal shock rather than ash. It must have been terrifying. (Life Rule No. 217: Do not live next to an active volcano...)Almalfi Coast
Catching the bus up the Amalfi coast we felt like puppies with our heads outside the car window – best day ever! For Christine, having navigated the twists and turns of the most dangerous stretch of road ever in a rental car on her last trip, it was a delight to sit back, press her nose against the window and watch the amazing scenery go by. The bus travels so close to the entrances of homes and shops, that the hair from a lady cleaning her shop window caressed the side of the bus. She didn't even flinch. It's not surprising that this part of the world since the dawn of man has been considered a resort area. They gave new meaning to 'split level' homes (must be fun building on the side of cliffs!). Turquoise seas, black pebble beach’s, fantastic coloured buildings with steep mountains that plunge into the sea - you couldn't dream a place like this up.Capri
The rich and famous frequent Capri and it's easy to see why. Every designer has a store there, there are multiple 5 star resorts and amazing crystal clear water; thankfully we were there in winter so for us it was quiet and cheap. We went for our obligatory hike around the island - you know the one where the guide tells you it will take 1.5 hours and due to us getting lost it took us 2.5 hours. At least we can say we have seen parts of Capri that only the locals know about. The blue grotto escaped us as the tour groups don’t go out in the rain or in rough seas. Pity we will have to return (when we are rich).Naples
Naples is pretty dodgy. We're sure there are lovely parts, if only they weren't covered under garbage. We literally thought the garbos were on strike as there was rubbish piled up everywhere, but apparently this is normal. We had less than a day so we walked through the rough part of town to a lovely restaurant overlooking the sea where we spent 3 hours getting over our walk and to play it safe we taxied home.
Venice
Much drama in getting to Venice as during our train change in Bologna one of us left our backpack on the train (and no, it wasn't Christine!) We could have dealt with the loss of all our electrical equipment, but we had foolishly backed up all our photos from the laptop to DVD... then put it in the same backpack. Doh! Anyway, by some miracle the backpack was handed to the police in Milan because it looked suspicious (ah, thank God we live in a more paranoid world). The police did a sterling job and rang us from the vodafone store at the train station because they found our sim card receipt in the backpack. It was a much chastened Bradley who spent 5 hours on a train the next day going to Milan to get the backpack and bring it back to a very understanding Christine, who did not say anything once about his utter, utter stupidity (Life rule No. 228: Don't make fun of people who lose stuff, it'll bite you in the arse.) Venice itself was wet, wet, wet, but fantastic. The place is sinking, everyday boardwalks are put out everywhere so that you can walk around without being up to your knees in water. We circumnavigated the city by water-bus and then tromped through the narrow, confusing streets without getting too lost. The highlight was undoubtedly the glass blowing on Mirano, and the extraordinary collection of glasswork they had there. We couldn't resist buying a piece, hopefully it survives the journey home!Verona
Very pretty town, a lot more than a balcony (Romeo & Juliet), ampitheatre, piazza, river, palace and fort so definitely go there and stroll around the town, the Christmas lights were everywhere and the restaurants and wine bars excellent.MilanThis was where the culture stopped and the shopping truly began. We had both been concerned about the state of the European economy and thought that with the relative strength of the Australian dollar, we were obliged to do something about it. In two solid days we must have visited every fashion house in Milan, and will consequently be coming home another month early! The good news is we bought many nice things and the Milanese chamber of commerce will probably put up a statue of us (sitting on a horse, hopefully, pointing over the horizon... probably towards an ATM...)
Switzerland
Our last country before the end of the European leg of our travels. We took the scenic railway from Tirano, Italy, up through the mountains to St. Moritz. It was magical. We were the only people in the first class carriage for the two hour journey so we could take pictures galore from all angles without elbowing people out of the way. 
It was a beautiful sunny day when we arrived in St. Moritz, even though the mercury was at -15c, so we made the most of it and saw a bit of the town and checked out the ski hire places. Unfortunately the next day it was whiteout, bucketing down snow and the temperature up the mountain dropped to -21c! So instead of skiing all day we spent the day in our lovely hotel, looking outside at the snow reading to the background noise of Christines faint sobbing.
Tomorrow we travel to Zurich from where we will depart for London and a couple of weeks with our friends, the Padgetts, who are very generously letting us crash with them over xmas and New Year. Early in January we will head for Morocco (not Istanbul as originally planned - long story) and begin the next phase of our travels. This is our last post of the year so to everyone who has been following our blog [we are sure there are hundreds by now ;)] we wish you all a merry xmas and safe travelling to whatever destinations you are heading.
Merry Xmas - Love Christine and Brad XOXOXO
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