05/06/10 - Tuscany - Italy

A lazy day today consisting of lots of bludging. We saw some deer from our balcony and heard the cuckoos which sound just like the clocks! One thing on the agenda was to investigate an old castle on a hill near our villa. We could not find it so we stopped for some comical moments when asking directions as we were met with well intended and friendly people but despite their loud non-English in-your-face communication and lots of hand and arm waving (sometimesthey were almost in the car) we were no wiser so returned home mius the castle experience. Its been a pleasure to be greeted by the locals when leaving or returning to the villa and conducting exhausting but interesting conversations and today was no exception. One mention of our castle experience saw maps being produced from thin air where directions were quickly vocalised as though I was a local. I offered several politë OKs to avoid further confusion on my behalf. We originally were to return to Austria to spend some time in Linz and Salzburg and if time permitted do Switzerland. As Austria is somewhat out of the way and time is now of the essence we decided to head home via Switzerland. We will look for accommodation tomorrow somewhere halfway between Tuscany and Lucerne.