Around the Adriatic

In Christchurch, New Zealand, a devastating earthquake sets off a chain of events that culminate three years later in an unexpected wedding. Newlyweds Lee and Tony Straw are then given the idea of a honeymoon cruising the Mediterranean. But Kiwis don''t travel such formidable distances for a short cruise. A driving tour is added, and the journey grows. And grows.

Beginning with a false start at Shanghai, their meanderings take them across Italy (with flash-backs to earlier trips there), and into the Balkans. The cruise expands on these, then moves on to Malta, Sicily, Naples and Rome. Tourist attractions are not ignored, but it is the off-beat and quirky that most appeals. Conditions aren''t always kind, locals can be mischievous, but our couple aren''t about to let these things stand in the way of a good time.

Come along with Tony and Lee for another fun ride, humorously told, packed with good food, hard-to-pronounce beers, along with gardens, monsters, bizarre mythological creatures, and an occasionally disobliging GPS called Tomasina.