Down to my last new country

Once again, another point form update:
-Apparently No Smoking only applies to passengers and non-employees wherever you are in Greece. The people that are working (bus drivers, cops, store owners, etc.) smoke when and where they feel like regardless of the signs they are supposed to be enforcing. We had a very cold, noisey, smokey and uncomfortable ferry rides throughout Greece.
- Got ripped off by the cab driver when we got to Crete, but made it to the sketchy hostel. Got some cheap food and cheaper wine and made it through the night.
- Switched to an awesome hostel the next day and explored Crete and some old ruins (turned out to be a "reconstruction" and not quite what we expected).
- Took the overnight ferry from Crete to Athens, then hopped on an all day bus/ferry to Corfu.
- Stayed in the Pink Palace and had an awesome time. The weather was amazing, had the beaches pretty much to ourselves and the people that were around were really cool. Decided to stay 3 nights and Jodie came close to stealing the cat that decided to make our dorm "home".
- Another overnight ferry from Greece to Italy - loaded up on sleeping pills and set up camp on the floor rather than sitting in a seat - slept GREAT!
- Got ripped off by another cab driver but met 2 guys from Burnaby and made it to the train station where we made our way north to Rome.
- Spent 2 nights in Rome and saw the typical sights; colosseum, Vatican City, St. Peter's Bascilica and tons of ruins. Unfortunately the pope didn't make an appearance.
- Had an amazing pasta lunch - I love gnocchi.
- Currently in Florence for a couple nights before going to Cinque Terre and Venice to finish off the week. I have only had a quick look around Florence, but so far it definitely beats Rome in appearance and atmosphere. I think it is going to be an early morning to see the statue "David" and a few art galleries.

Can't believe I am home in a week, but am looking forward to sleeping in the same bed for more than 2 nights in a row and not having to live out of my backpack anymore...

It's All Greek To Me

Not much time to elaborate but thought I would catch up anyone that is interested;
- Went to Plzen and toured around the Pilsner-Urquelle brewery - pretty impressive.
- Caught a train to Munich and met up with Danni and Sam (worked in Edinburgh with Danni) and a few other Kiwis.
- Did 3 days at Oktoberfest and had an even better time than last year. It is definitely on my list of events to do again, along with Smukfest.
- Flew to Athens and met up with Jodie (from road trip last year).
- Went to a free R.E.M. concert - it was the launch of MTV Greece. The Kaiser Chiefs opened for them; that was my second time seeing them (saw them at Smukfest in Aug).
- Hopped on a 10 hour ferry to Santorini, Greece.
- Rented a quad and ripped around the island all day.
- Tomorrow, after a morning at the beach, we catch another ferry to Crete.

The plan is to head north by the weekend and hit Corfu before going to Italy in the middle of October to wrap up all this traveling for a while.

Hope all is well wherever you are reading this from.
Trev