more photos - for pics 1-3, pls see previous post below

4. eating the pizza in the piazza at bergamo (città alta - the old town), with Matthieu, a cool french guy we met at the Ostello the previous night - who is riding his way across a few countries at the moment.

5. Berliner Dom - as seen on our second day in Berlin as we took a self designed tour around the city on bikes (v.reccomended!!). it is here that we spotted a strange old man whose movements we followed and captured on film as he trekked around the gardens in front of the Dom to about 5 different groups of girls. He proceeded to sit close nearby the group, and after a couple of minutes looking inconspicuous, he would edge closer, and taking what looked like a branch or a back scratcher out of his bag, he would lean in and tickle the nearest bare outstretched limb or back. the subject would often put up with the first, thinking it something else because he would look away and hide the stick, but on the second or third, the subject and friends would invariably move away - often accompanied by much laughter and hilarity - but also overriding wariness. we werent sure if we were watching a candid camera type show or a perverted old man, but we got him on camera anyway. v.amusing, especially as he had come to our attention intially because he had sat too close to us too (but not tried anything after we gave him the death stare for invading our personal space). anyway, the gardens were great to relax in, minus old man.

6. em on the bike in front of Brandenburger Tor- this is a video not sure if it will work though. just need to add here how freezing berlin was compared to the cinque terre - riding without gloves = pain.

7. Sim riding in Tiergarten - witness beanie and covered hands!! this is also a video, however i dont think it will work.

8. Night time riding in Marx-Engels Square.

9. Bundes Liga - Hertha BSC v Dortmund. A missed goal from a corner! the crowd loved it - it was an attempt by Dortmund of course.

10. A memorial to the Berlin Wall. The memorial stones trace the original path of the wall - em and I rode along the section from Checkpoint Charlie to the East Side Gallery, and then along to a watchtower. next to the path in most sections ran a 50 mt wide unused area which appears to be the site of the no-mans land created between the wall on the East side by the DDR.

11. the ride along the east side gallery - the largest remaining section of the wall. tried to get into a cafe as recommended by Sally at work but it was closed!!

12. a graduate in padova - as explained in 2nd last entry, it is a long standing tradtion in padova to cover the graduate in all sorts of crap and make them read a caricature of themselves out in front of the crowd in the piazza whilst drinking copious amounts of liquor that was sticky-taped to their hand.

13. Venezia - v.cute side canals&streets...

14. A picture of the family - from left - Eros, Elisabetta, Simona, Emma, Fabio (missing is Claudio as he was at work).

15. Em coming up the stairs (one of 463) that ran between the two walls of Bruneleschi's Duomo in Firenze.

16. the famous Michelangelo's David. I strategically hid from the guards who constantly yelled out NO PHOTO to score this one and others.

17. Ponza town from the ferry. a great sight for tired eyes. the ferry ride over to ponza from the mainland of lazio saw em and i trying to squeeze in an hour or so of sleep after our sleepless night on Roma Termini Platform One. yes we looked like hobos in our tartan sleeping bag but no we didnt care!!