Italy

I'm home safe if somewhat tired. I didn't get to see the Giro although we did see a few Mavic service vehicles at a petrol station. We had a fabulous time although barely scratched the surface of what this wonderful country has to offer. We visited the awesome abbey at Montecassino; this was a truly unexpected treat and a truly fantastic bit of architecture. Pompeii was, as expected, fantastic (am I over-using this word?) and I was just not prepared for the sheer vastness of the site. We visited Rome and sat in St Peter's Square outside the Vatican, drank Capuccino in a street cafe (quite possibly the most expensive cup of coffee I am ever likely to buy!) and watched the Romans go about their business, was overawed by the sheer scale of the Colosseum and made a wish at the Trevi Fountain. Again, though, we were left with the feeling that we had just scratched the surface of what this fantastic city has to offer. We visited the 'olde' city of Sorrento, visited the cathedral and saw more incredible artwork including the local speciality of inlaid wood (it has a proper name that I can't remember). This cathedral was also subject to what I consider to be some of the most tasteless renovations I have seen; one room had been redecorated in bright blue with very bling-style gold fixings. I thought it was awful although I expect it has some religious significance. During our travels we saw the spectacular scenery of the mountain regions and some very flat parts, but all were very green. The cities were, in parts, bright and modern, whilst other parts were run down and in need of attention. I didn't see any Ferraris although saw a number of the original (and very tiny) Fiat 500s.

I ate a lot of pizza and have concluded that proper Italian pizza tastes infinitely better than the stuff that gets served up in this country described as 'pizza'. I've also consumed a lot of coffee and more ice cream than your average child might dream of! I will get on the scales tomorrow morning to determine the full scale of my gluttony. My penance will start immediately thereafter! Although there was no formal training we did a lot of walking, so hopefully that will stave off the worst of my excesses.

Time to rest now and restore my energy levels in preparation for re-starting my training programme on Monday. All the best.