Walking the streets of any city in Italy is like walking through history, but it is even more so in Verona. There is no Via or Vicolo where there is not a thing of beauty, steeped in history, art and architecture. The city hosts the opera festival every year in the arena, second largest after the Colisseum in Rome. I had thought that the spectacular setting and the size would be fit for operas such as Aida and Nabucco, but was pleasantly surprised to see stunning performances of La Traviatta and La Boheme. However, the high point for me was when our restaurant owner who was a tenor stood up and sang Tosca.

I must have stopped at every Pasticcerias to sample dolci delights, they are to die for and the Soave, the Valpolicellas are enough to let you sit back and take a lazy ride through life. I even forgot about my trip to the Sun Valley.

This was my first trip to Salzburg and what struck me most was how different it was from the UK. It seemed to me that I had stepped back in time when the Austro Hungarian empire was at its peak. People in our hotel came down formally dressed for breakfast. It was the time of the Festspiele and the hills were indeed alive with the sound of music. One of my favourite time spender is people watching – from a sociological perspective, I must hastily add. I saw immaulately dressed men in black ties – actually of all colours – and perfumed women in glorious silk gowns and chignons after an evening at the Festival Halls. One evening, I heard Simon Callow read out pieces from Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and the Tempest. These were followed by heart-rendingly beautiful music from the Venezuelan Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra. It was clear from the standing ovation they got that I was not alone in being moved by the music.

One evening, I heard Simon Callow read out pieces from Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and the Tempest. These were followed by heart-rendingly beautiful music from the Venezuelan Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra. It was clear from the standing ovation they got that I was not alone in being moved by the music.