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Rome

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I used to dislike spending much money on accommodation, far better to spend it on food and beer. But as the colour of my hair has changed, so too has my appreciation for air conditioning, good location, views and room to swing the cat. With this in mind we decided to book a nice place to spend the last 4 days of our amazing trip and we have not been disapointed. The apartment, booked though airbnb is fantastic, even better than we had hoped. Great location, in the Monti district, lots of narrow lanes, restaurants, bars, and the best gelateria in Rome immediately below us. It is much bigger than we expected, has a balcony, and cool terrazzo floors. Rome is special. The Colosseum, the Parthenon and the Vatican deserve their place at the head of the bucket list but there is much more to this city. It seems around every corner there is yet another ruin or church or outrageously flamboyant building. And crammed in between them are dozens of bars, coffee shops, restaurants and clothes sho...

Venice

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In previous reports I have mentioned that we have seen very few tourists and in many cases we were alone. Well, all that changed when we stepped off the train in Venice. Shoulder to shoulder busy and hot and humid. The last few cathedrals Annie and I visited we were the only ones there. At the main bascilica in Venice, Saint Mark's, we had to queue for 40min. Our accommodation was good, however. Great location, right on a canal, first floor and air conditioning. The first 3 photos and the last one are taken from our balcony . As most people know, Venice is unique and on most traveler's bucket lists. But don't come in July, or August. Apparently November is good. Had an interesting meal on our last night. Dried fish cooked in a variety of Venetian ways. Never had firm fish before. Beautiful flavours with unusual texture. Caught the train to Rome, our last stop, yesterday. Only takes 4hrs and reached 272km/hr.

Muggia - Trieste

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Spent  Sunday afternoon and Monday morning looking around Muggia before getting the ferry to Trieste, only half an hour away. Sunday night we lashed out to celebrate the end of our walk and went to a nice seafood restaurant on the harbour at Muggia. Annie and I had whole baked fish and Tiramisu and the 4 of us shared a couple of bottles of local wine. Very nice. Trieste is the largest city we have been to since our first days in Vienna. It has lots of very big old buildings and enormous squares, one of which was hosting an Iron Maiden concert tonight (the day we left). Spent Monday afternoon and next morning roaming around. Trieste has a reputation for having the best coffee in Italy and for being like Venice without the crowds and canals. Make of that what you will. This morning, Tuesday, we caught the train to Venice and, after bustling through the crowds, settled in to our accommodation which overlooks a canal. More on Venice next chapter. ...

Last day, Muggia

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After walking for 37 days plus 6 rest days, today we walked into Muggia to end our little walk. The guide book says we have walked 677km. Sue's Fitbit has recorded over a million steps and 725km. By far the majority of those steps were either up a steep slope or down a steep slope, there wasnt much level walking at all. There were 12 days were we climbed over 1000m and 13 days were we desended more than 1000m. On day 5 we climbed 1540m and descended 1316m. Some days we were exhausted but overall it has been a fantastic way to travel this part of tbe world. Climb every mountain Ford every stream Follow every rainbow Until you find your dream

Day 36 Bagnoli Della Rosandra

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Left the horses this morning and walked up a steep hill before joining an old railwayline now conveted to a cycle and walking path. The path follows the Italian/Slovenian border for a while and includes several tunnels. Left this path to descend down into the Val Rosandra gorge which we followed into the small town of Bagnoli Della Rosandra. We have now left Slovenia for the last time and will spend our final week or so in Italy. We only have one more day on the Alpe Adria Trail. It seems to have gone very quickly and in some ways tomorrow will be a little sad.