Just thought you'd all like to know of a jaunt I'm going on in a couple of weeks:

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-en ... /tpod.html

I'll update it all - with photos obviously - when I return.

Should be the drive of a lifetime.

You should pop into Zurich while in Switzerland, just off bahnhoff strasse, a nice English pub called the Nelson. Have a beer! I worked there for a while when living in Zurich

I did that area some years ago. Try to tick off Herculaneum if poss, the buildings are a lot more intact than those at Pompeii.

Nige

I'm back!

3000 miles driven over ten days and I was utterly shattered.

I'll update my travel pod blog next weekend but in summary:

Switzerland was beautiful and a place I want to revisit. The finest place I've been in the whole of Europe.
Italy was a dump - the villages are lovely and worth staying if you camp - but stay away from resorts and cities. Anyone who goes to Rimini for a holiday should be asked what colour their sky is because it isn't blue.
Worst drivers: Italians - by a very very long way.
Best meal: In Sorrento. Ultra posh and the wine list was longer than most novels (I got up to page 35 and a wine costing over £2500 before asking the waiter to bring me a bottle of local stuff).
Best Hotel: Seeborg in Luzern. So good we went there on the way back. Very very expensive and one of the best views (lake and mountain).
Worst driving moment: Trying to navigate through Rimini. Impossible.
Maddest driving moment: Napoli at the toll booths. 7 lanes down to one in 20 yards. I've never experienced anything as insane. Never want to again.
Went to Pompei. Mostly in a better condition than most of the buildings we saw still inhabited.

What I've learnt: For all my protesting and criticism - I should have got a sat nav. The signage in Italy is more of a vague suggestion than an actual direction. Switzerland, Germany and France seem to manage ok with using arrows to places that exist, but not Italy.

Best present: The lemons I blagged from an orchard. One kilo for 1.50euros. Bargain - though lemons are literally littering the streets in Sorrento.

And the car: Awesome performance. Didn't feel uncomfortable once. The longest drive I did was 500 miles and I could have done more. As for mileage - well the motorways let me stretch the tank to 400+miles. The most I got (adding actual mileage to miles left in tank) was 425. I think for a V6 that is superb.

I reckon the only damage I've got is the suspension from the appalling Italian roads so I'll need my shocks replacing before they would be due (a few years off yet hopefully) and a small scrape underneath from a parking ramp in Switzerland.

Sounds like you had an awesome time got to agree with you on Swizerland I went in summertime and couldn't beleive the color of the lakes and rivers it was many years ago but still sticks in my mind, any pics to post?

Dear all - a selection of photos from the tour.

Some photos: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Trampilot ... directlink

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