I’m sitting here, in a small town on the outskirts of Milan, wondering where the last 6 months have gone. Then I came to draw this map and it all came back to me. 5 countries (bonus points if you can name them), thousands of kilometres and countless cups of coffee.

THE ROUTE 

The first stop in Italy was in the small coastal city of San Remo which has a charming old neighbourhood with twisty narrow streets, colourful houses and cosy cafes to stop for a while. The kind of place that’s easy to get lost in, but also the kind of place I’d love to come back to. 

We continued down the coast stopping off at various seaside towns and villages. There’s something truly magical about being near the sea, especially out of season when our dog can run, dig and play in the shallow waters. Another thing I like about these small towns is that they maintain many old traditions like this fisherman who had just returned from the sea and was preparing his catch to sell right there on the beach.

One of the highlights here in Italy has to be the Carnival in Viareggio. It’s a huge street parade and when I say huge I mean huge. The photo below shows one of the floats which must have been 20m tall. Mechanically operated, the figure played the recorder by moving his arms, fingers, head and legs in time with the music. They take the carnival very seriously.

After Viareggio we headed inland, through Tuscany, to discover some beautiful places with a special Italian touch. What an experience it has been. But this is just the beginning, we already have the next 6 months outlined and also know that we want to spend next winter in Turkey. Turkey is in the bottom right-hand corner of the map above so, as you can see, there are some interesting places on route.

Why Turkey? 3 simple reasons. 1) It’s a country I’ve wanted to visit for some time, but have never had the chance. 2) It’s to the East and as that is our general direction of travel in our quest to reach South East Asia. And 3) Warmth.

You see, things here in Italy have been, let me see how can I put it? hmm, rather wintery. There have been a few days of heavy snow (with more forecast) and the temperatures dropping below freezing point every night for the last fortnight or so. To be honest though, the heater in our RV is amazing. We didn’t realise just how good it was when we bought it but it’s been up to the task of keeping us warm through these cold spells. Fingers crossed it’ll stay like that because it doesn’t look like it’s going to be getting warm here for a while.

With the cold has also come some excellent opportunities for photography. Personally, I really enjoy shooting in these extreme conditions, the scenery here has played its part too. Everything just looks so much more beautiful when it’s covered in a layer of fresh white snow.

For the next month or so, I’ll be travelling through northern Italy. I’ve already got what looks like a great festival lined up for Easter – I’m looking forward to that.