1
Acropolis of Athens

Tuesday 2nd of April

Day 1: Arrived in Athens

After 24hrs of travelling we finally arrived in Athens. First thought... What a beautiful city and I can’t believe we are actually here.

We were met at the airport by the tour company. They gave us the paperwork for our stay and a driver took us to our hotel. Once we checked in, we were too excited to rest so we went and explored.

First stop, Coffee! Thankfully there is a really good coffee shop near our hotel. Then it was off to explore.

Of course we got lost but we found our way with some help from google.

Olympic Stadium

First tour was of the first Olympic stadium. Wow what a place. It’s huge. We got to sit in the chairs of the royals and we got to walk down the same tunnel that the athletes and competitors of old times did. It was stunning.

The view from the top of the stadium

Selfie time

Sitting in the royal chairs

The view the royals would have had

The long walk the Athletes had

The entrance to stadium that the athletes would have seen

Winning podiums

Outside the stadium

The Acropolis

We had an hour to explore around these magnificent structures. The amphitheatres, Athena’s temple and of course the Parthenon. We were in awe of just how big these are and how old they are. We loved seeing the sites from up high.

The detail they created was stunning

Our jaws dropped seeing this

Selfie time

Parthenon

Athena’s Temple

The view from the top

I don’t even reach the height of the stairs :(

Our hotel is in there somewhere

The amphitheater

We finished up by walking back to the hotel with very tired legs.

Dinner was eaten at the restaurant on top of our hotel, over looking the city. We spent the entire time admiring the Parthenon

The view from our hotel

All in all it’s been an amazing first day and we are really looking forward to the rest of trip.

F.Y.I - we walked 13kms today.

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Athens

Wednesday 3rd of April

Day two: Athens

The best way to sum up today is ruins and museums.

We started out just before 9am and headed to the Ancient Agora. This was the marketplace way back when. It included the temple of Hephaestus, statues and alters dedicated to the Greek Gods. This is also where The Apostle Paul saw the statue to the unknown God. It was amazing to walk to through these ruins trying to imagine what it would have looked like back then.

Stoa of Attalos

Greek Pottery

A toy horse

Temple of Hephaestus

The church of the Holy Apostles

What was the main path from the water to the acropolis.

Haridians Library

We walked past this on the way to the agora and we went back to check it out.

Hansel and Gretel

So on the way to our stop we came across this shop. Wish we had one like it in Australia.

Acropolis Museum.

Lots and lots of relics and statues

Alexandra the Great

We also found an Acropolis made out of Lego. Needless to say that made our day.

Yes that is Gandalf

Hadriain’s Arch

After some lunch we then made our way to the Arch. Found a guy dressed as a soldier and got some awesome pics.

Temple of Zeus

These ruins were huge. It was really impressive, to see the inside when it was build would have been amazing. We also found a turtle.

Aeropagus Hill

Last stop for the day was to walk up Areopagus hill. This is where Paul preached his sermon in Acts 17. The view from up here was incredible. It even has a copy of the sermon in Greek on the side of the hill.

All of this in 6 hours. We walked 15 km today. Once we got back to the hotel we slept for a bit then had some dinner. Tomorrow we leave Athens and head out to Delphi.

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Delphi

Thursday, 4th of April

Day 3: Delphi and Kalembaka

We started early in the morning with a 7:30am pick up from our hotel. We then proceeded to pick up other people and started our trip at 8:30am.

It was a three and a half hour drive to Delphi. On the way our tour guide entertained us with stories of the Ancient Greek Gods and some history of Greece. We got to see the second tallest mountain in Greece, which is still covered in snow, we also got to do some shopping.

Delphi

WOW!

That basically sums it up. George, our tour guide, was a wealth of knowledge.

George spoke about how the Ancient Greeks came \240to Delphi to consult the Oracle. In the Santuary they came with a question about their future, which they wrote down on a tablet and gave to priests so they could ask the Gods. The Priestess would then go down into the cript and inhale nitrous oxide gas (what we use today in anesthesia) and write down the answer they received from the Gods. People would walk for a week from Athens to come and from Ethiopia - a whole year, to seek wisdom from the Gods.

He told us the history of how the Greeks learnt to create statues - they learnt from the Egyptians and then the Greeks passed \240that knowledge to the Romans.

George spoke of how the Romans came and stole all the statues and how Christians destroyed all the temples to their Gods.

It was fascinating to hear about and see the history.

We got to see the Ampitheatre where Pythagoras, Aristotle and Socrates had to justify their theories and ideas. It was humbling to stand in the spot where they stood and spoke.

We have loved every minute in Greece so far and we have learnt so much.

George explaining the inscriptions on the stone beside him. It is 3 poems thanking the Gods for various things. One even has Music chords to go with it. Each Poem was written 50 years apart

The Sanctuary of Apollo - the God of Music

The Ampitheatre

Selfie

What Delphi would have looked like.

Bay of Corinth

We then stopped off at a restaurant for lunch. The food was beautiful as was the view overlooking the Bay of Corinth.

Pass of Thermopylae

On the way to Kalambaka we detoured to see the Pass of Thermopylae. This is where King Xerxes fought the Persians. There is a monument which used to be on the coast line, but since the waters have retreated its in the middle of nowhere.

Kalambaka

We arrived at Kalambaka about 7pm and went to our hotel. We can see one of the monasteries from our hotel. Tomorrow we get to explore two of them.

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Kalabaka

Friday, 5th of April

Day 4: Kalambaka to Athens

Last night we stayed in the quaint little town of Kalambaka. This town lies at the bottom of the Meteroa. The Meteroa is the large (very very large) rocks on which monasteries have been build. We got to go see 3 of them today. There are five that are still operational today.

First stop: Monastery of the Holy Trinity

This is where they filmed some of the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only. We only got to take photos of this one as to get there is quite difficult. But it was lovely to see anyway.

And this is the old ladder they used to get up to the top

Next stop: Monastary of Saint Steven

We got to go inside this one and wow it was beautiful. We couldn’t take photos inside but we did buy a book that has some pictures of the inside so the ones below are photos of photos.

Ladies have to wear skirts or dresses when inside the monastary. This is a bit of a problem when it’s 9 degrees outside so everyone is in jeans. Thankfully they provide wrap around skirts for women who need them. They were actually rather lovely.

Inside the churches the paintings depict the life of Jesus. Each church is created following certain rules of where each painting will be. This church was destroyed many years ago, but they have restored it and it looks amazing.

This is looking up at the ceiling in the church

This is the main church area

Each church in the monestary has a similar decpiction of the final judgement

Last stop: The Monestary of Saint Barbara - Roussanou

Another beautiful monestary. This one was up 150 steps.

This is the Whincup they used to use to get to the Monestary

And this is the old ladder they used to get up to the top

We also got to take pictures of some of the other monestaries.

This is All Saints Monestary - the biggest one

This is The Monestary of Saint Nicolas.

These are some more photos from inside the monestaries.

Adam naming the Animals

The wedding at Canan

We then had lunch back in Kalambaka, before making the 4 hour drive back to Athens.

Athens

Arrived back at the hotel at 7pm. Time to relax and get some dinner before an early night. We leave at 6:15am tomorrow morning for Mykonos.

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Mykonos

Saturday 6th of April

Day 5: Mykonos

Today started out very early. The alarm went off at 5:30am and our pick up was at 6:15am. We had a 40 min drive to Rafina, the Port in Athens in the pouring rain.

We then boarded the ferry to Mykonos. The ferry was the size of a cruise ship, that could take cars as well as passengers. We got on the ship just before 7am and departed the port shortly after 8am. The whole trip took 6hrs.

We arrived in Mykonos about 1pm to more rain and strong winds. We had a five minute drive to our hotel, which is right near the beach. Sadly it was not beach weather today and after a quick walk around the hotel, we retreated inside to eat and relax.

Tomorrow we are hoping the sun will be out and we can enjoy the beach.

So this is the hotel next door, though we can use the pool (if it was warm enough)

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Mikonos

Sunday 7th April

Day 6: Mykonos

Today, the sun was out, the rain was gone and it was a beautiful day.

We started with breakfast by the water.

The view from our restaurant at our hotel

We caught a bus into the town and started exploring.

We got to see the windmills, lots of churches, even more souvenir shops.

We found this little alcove that reminds me of Mumma Mia.

Gyros was for lunch. Daniel has been craving this since we got to Greece.

After lunch we got coffee and donuts, then caught the bus back to our hotel, then headed to the beach.

The sun was amazingly warm and the water was freezing. I got my feet wet and decided to spend the rest of the time on the sand. Daniel decided to go in despite the temperature. Needless to say the swim didn’t last long. When he came back to shore he asked about the photos I took and wanted another photo with the building in the background to prove where we were. So he went in again. Crazy man.

It’s hard to tell, but I’m standing in the water.

About to get in... he kept saying it would be warmer once he was in.

He was wrong...

Though he still went in for a second swim...all for a photo.

After the swim we went for a walk and found the resort where all the celebrities stay when they come to Mykonos.

During dinner we got to watch the sunset over the water.

On another note, one of things we have noticed a lot here in Greece are the animals that hang around the tourist spots. Mainly cats and dogs. The tour guides even bring food for them.

This cat was up near the Parthenon

At the Temple of Zeus

At the acropolis

At the Areopagus

In Delphi

In Kalambaka

At Saint Stevens Monestary

Outside the Monestary of Saint Barbara

Near our hotel on Mykonos

This one got a cuddle.

Finding the animals has become sort of a game for us. I don’t know if these guys belong to anyone - but they are very cute.

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Santorini

Monday 8th April

Day 7: Santorini (Thira)

We started today in Sunny Mykonos

We got picked up at 9am and taken to the port for our ferry. Our ferry was supposed to leave at 10am. We stood on at the port waiting for 90mins as the weather turned around us. The sun disappeared, the winds picked up and the heavens started to open. Basically... We froze.

When the boat finally arrived there was cheers of joy and a race of all the passengers to get inside and warm.

We got to Santorini about 2 hours late to more wind and rain. We finally got off the boat and found our transfer. We made it to our hotel and checked in, Then went in search of some food. We ended up at McDonalds for lunch about 3:30pm.

At 4:30pm we met our tour guide, Dimitris, at our hotel and he showed us some of the things we can see on the island. We booked a bus tour for tomorrow - which will take us to several places around the island (more on that tomorrow).

We decided to hang out at the hotel after that as it was pouring with rain and freezing outside.

Eventually It stopped raining and the sun came out for a bit so we could walk into the town for dinner.

When we got back to the hotel we had an amazing view outside our room.

Today was a long day, but we are looking forward to tomorrow and our last full day in Greece.

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Santorini

Tuesday 9th of April

Day 8: Santorini

Well the sun is shining, the wind is howling and we are well rested after a long day of travel and cold weather.

Today we toured the main island of Santorini.

Our first stop was the Archological Site of Akrotiri. This is a town that was covered in ash some 4000 years ago, after the volcano on Santorini had erupted ( just like Pompeii) The volcano collapsed in on itself after it had erupted and now is mostly underwater.

They have excavated only 3% of the town and have discovered a very advanced civilisation. They had 2 and 3 story building and even toilets. When they started excavations in the 60’s Santorini did not have toilets yet.

Pottery from 4000 years ago

This is called the Ladies House

An antimation of what the Ladies house would have looked like.

Red Beach

We couldn’t go down to the beach as it was too dangerous due to recent land slides however we did get some good pictures from the cliff.

This beach was created when the volcano collapsed. The red rock you can see is the inside of the volcano.

After Red beach we stoped for lunch at Black beach. We got to eat lunch by the water and take photos of a really cool church.

Next stop was an old traditional Greek village that has a castle we could walk around. There were no street signs here and the paths very extremely narrow. The castle was destroyed in an earthquake and has been restored. People still live there and you can rent out rooms there as well.

After the castle came the wine tasting in one of The oldest vinearies in Greece. The wine was lovely and the views were stunning. Because it can get so hot here, they twist the grape vines into circles - a bit like a birds nest, with the grapes on the inside and the leaves on the outside to protect the grapes from the sun and the wind.

Grape Vines

Next we got to see more amazing views atop the highest mountain in Santorini.

Our last stop for the day was a town called Oia. This is where the most famous photos of Santorini have been taken. We got to explore, have dinner and see the sunset over the water. We even got to see a Donkey!

The things Daniel will do for a photo - even if he is afraid of heights

It has been a very busy, but good day. Today was the last full day in Greece for us and we can honestly say we have enjoyed our stay and are glad to have seen everything that was on our list.

Tomorrow we fly to Italy for the next leg of our European Adventure.

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Rome

Wednesday 10th April

Day 9: Goodbye Greece, Hello Italy

We had a lazy morning. No need to rush as we had a 1:30 pick up. We checked out of our hotel and left our bags there as we went to explore the Museum of Ancient Thera where we got to see some of the artifacts that we learnt about yesterday on our tour of the archaeological site of Akrotiri. After that we went for coffee. Saw the view of the Caldera from the town of Fira (where we stayed) and then headed back to maccas for lunch.

We still had over an hour before our pickup so we decided to head back to the hotel and wait in the foyer - at least they had wifi.

It’s a good job we went back early as our pick up was 20 mins early.

Once we got to the airport we had to wait outside as it wasn’t time to check in. There was heaps of people at the airport as it had been closed yesterday with all flights cancelled due to the strong winds. So it was a bit like organised chaos.

Once they told us we could enter the airport, we joined the que for checkin and ran into some people we met yesterday on the tour. They were on the same flight as us, so it was nice to have someone to chat with while we waited.

Due to the flights being cancelled yesterday there was extra flights on today and as a result our flight was delayed by over an hour. This resulted in a lot of people, in a tiny airport, and not enough seats for everyone. If you got up for just a second you could loose your seat. So between the four of us - placing bags, jumpers and even our feet on the chairs - we managed to hold onto our seats.

When they finally let us board our flight we had to walk down a bunch of stairs, hop onto a bus, which drove about 100m, then get onto the plane. Seemed like a waste of time but hey that’s how they worked.

We arrived in Italy at 6:20pm local time. We were very thankful to have landed and made it to Italy.

First order of business - get to the hotel

Second - find some food.

Our hotel is very close to fountain of Trevi. We went for a walk and found a place for dinner, which was near a fountain.

It is still sinking in that we are actually in Rome. Now it’s time to sleep and rest up as we leave at 7:30 tomorrow morning for a tour of city.

A cast of a wooden table they found

One of the paintings (frescos) on the wall of the house of Ladies.

One of the more well known frescos

An idol of a bull that would have been handed down through the generations

You can see the shadow of the clouds on the water.

The first of many pizza and pasta dishes we shall have in Italy

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Vatican City

Thursday: 11th April

Day 10: Rome

Wow I don’t even know where to begin, it’s been a full day of exploring. To put it into perspective for you, we started at 7:30am and we have walked 13km and taken over 300 photos each today. Our feet are sore but our hearts are full and we are still really excited to be in Rome.

So let’s back track a bit and start at the beginning. Fair warning - there are lots of photos.

The alarm went off at 6:30am this morning, much to our displeasure. We could have easily slept for another 2 hours or so. Anyway it was up and at em, with a quick breakfast at the hotel before getting into the minivan that would take us to the Vatican.

After a short drive we met up with the rest of our group. We had skip the line tours (thanks to our amazing Tavel Consultant, Daniel Carney) If you are ever in Rome I would suggest you get them, they saved us so much time today.

The Vatican

Our tour started inside the Vatican Museum where we got to see some great frescoes (paintings) and statues.

Outside the Vatican

Our ticket

Sistine Chapel

Next we entered the Sistine Chapel. We weren’t allowed to take photos in here sadly as it was amazing. However we brought a book that has some amazing pictures of the Chapel.

These frescoes were on the walls and ceiling of the Chapel. It was absolutely stunning.

St. Peter’s Basilica

Next up was St. Peter’s Basilica. This Church is built on the site where the apostle Peter was buried and has become the main center for Christianity.

Michaelangelo lying in the arm of a lady

A fresco depicting the story of Ananias and Safria after they lied to the apostle Peter. Safria is the one on the ground and Ananias’ body is being taken away by two people in the top right.

St. Peter’s Square

We then made our way outside Saint Peters Basiclia to the square that you see on tv when they are selecting a new Pope.

Here is where our tour ended. So after some lunch and a quick look at a museum about DiVinci, where some copies of his work are displayed, we headed off in search of other exciting things to see.

Piazzia Del Popolo

We made our way to the People’s Square, Also known as the Piazzia del Popolo.

There was a guy make lots and lots of Bubbles.....

The Spanish Steps

After that we headed down to the Spanish Steps for some more photos

Shopping

We then decided to make a detour to a very important shop. The LEGO shop. We got to have a look around and create our own minfigures.

There was station where if scanned your palm and then came up with a minifigure of you. This was Yvonne’s

This was Daniel’s

The latest Disney set out.

We then found a Disney store so of course we went in and we found some statues of and pictures of Disney characters with a Roman twist. Sadly they do not sell toys like this.

My favourite - Donald Duck as a Roman soldier

Daisy as Cleopatra

The Palace

On the way back to the hotel we decided to head down to the Palace to take some photos. We also got coffee, so we could sit down and give our feet a rest.

I only have the one photo as I was more interested in coffee at this point.

Just as we were leaving it started to rain. So we headed back to the hotel for a rest.

Another important thing we needed to do while we are in Rome was some laundry. Thankfully we found one about 200m away. An hour later and we had clean clothes again.

Trevi Fountain

As the rain had stopped and we had some time while the washing was on, we headed to the Trevi Fountain for some pictures and to toss in some coins.

On the way back to pick up our laundry we found another toy shop that sold LEGO so we added some more minfigures to our collection.

Then it was off to dinner and back to the hotel for an early night. We are both exhausted. It was a big day and we saw so much. Tomorrow we shall explore more of Rome and are hoping the rain stays away during our afternoon tour.

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Rome

Friday 12th April

Day 11: Rome

Another day spent exploring.

Pantheon

This morning we made our way to the Pantheon and were in awe from the moment we walked in.

Piazza Navona

We then walked over the to the Piazza Navona. We got to take some photos of the fountains and visit a church. If you know the movie Angels and Demons, Piazza Navona is where Tom Hanks saves the cardinal from drowning.

It was then back to the hotel for some lunch and to recharge the phones for our tour this afternoon.

Colosseum

This is one place we have been looking forward to seeing.

There was a church service being held in the Colosseum while we were there. It was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the club of St. Peter, according to our tour guide.

Our selfie game is getting better

Palatine Hill

This is where the Ancient Roman Empire started. There is not much there now, except a bunch of ruins and grass.

Parts of the original floor

The Roman Forum

We were looking forward to this as well. When we saw it from above, our mouths dropped

The Palace

On the way back to the hotel we walked back pass the Palace and got some more photos

One of the things we have noticed here is that there are a lot of armed guards from the army and security guards around.

We were thankful for answered prayer today as the rain held off until we got back to our hotel this evening. Tomorrow we finish exploring Rome and head to our next city.

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Florence

Saturday 13th of April

Day 12: Rome to Florence

Another day with lots of walking on already tired and sore legs.

We got up this morning and packed our suitcases ready for check out.

After breakfast we walked to the Castel Sant’Angelo near the Vatican. What we thought would be a quick trip turned into over and hour of walking around the castle. This place has so much more history than we realised. It’s been a mausoleum for the Roman Emperor, a Fortress for Popes (one of them stayed for 7months) and now a museum.

Archangel Michael

Great view of Saint Peter’s Basilica

Once we left is was a very quick walk/jog back to hotel in time to check out, have lunch and some coffee before getting into a taxi to head to the train station. It took a bit to figure out where we needed to be (it’s harder when we don’t speak or read Italian) but we soon found our train which was taking us to Florence. The train ride took just under two hours and the train got up to speeds of over 250km an hour. We really wish Australia got trains like this.

To sum up our time in Florence so far it would be: a lot of walking

We walked to our hotel then walking back to the main square to see where we need to meet our tour in the morning, then back to hotel with a stop off for dinner at a local restaurant. Looking forward to exploring more of Florence tomorrow - though hopefully our legs are up to all the walking. We have walked nearly 40km in the last 3 days and our legs are feeling the pain tonight.

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Florence

Sunday 14th of April

Day 13: Florence

We spent today exploring Florence. We walked around the city and saw some really big churches, a really old bridge, the town hall, a Disney shop, Michaelangleo’s statue of David and the Gallery of Uffrizi.

It rained for most of the day, so much so, that I needed to dry out my shoes under hand dryers twice.

A smaller statue of David

The town hall

Out side the church - it had stopped raining for a bit

David

Proof that Daniel took a photo of a naked man today

One of the first pianos

This is supposed to be Zeus

Disney stores in Italy have the coolest pictures

The oldest bridge in Florence and the only bridge that the Germans did not destroy during WW2

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Pisa

Monday 15th of April

Day 14: Florence to Pisa and Venice

Well we have been on our adventure now for two weeks. We have been to two out four countries and nine out of twelve cities. We have seen so much and we have a much deeper appreciation and understanding of events in history after walking and exploring Greece and Italy.

Of course we not quite finished in Italy just yet. We couldn’t come all this way without seeing the leaning tower or riding a gondola.

So today we got up early, checked out and hopped onto a train to Pisa. After a 30 min walk we arrived at the leaning tower of Pisa and took some photos. Just so you know - the photos of people pushing and hugging the tower are not as easy to get as one might think, but we managed.

We then got back onto the train to Florence - where we made a pit stop to pick up our luggage, before getting on another train to Venice. \240Our train to Venice was delayed by 45mins so we got coffee and waited, and waited and waited.

Once we finally arrived in Venice, we made our way to the hotel, ready to relax before we start exploring Venice tomorrow.

Daniel cutting up his Pizza with a knife and fork

And then picking in it up with his hands

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Venice

Tuesday 16th of April

Day 15: Venice

We had another early morning today. We were up at 7am to get ready for our walking tour of Venice. Sadly breakfast at the hotel was rather sad, so we ended up at maccas for breakfast.

We started our tour walking around Venice and seeing some of the local sites

A spiral staircase that used to be the back entrance to a private palace

Rialto Bridge

The view from the top of the bridge

An old well that they used to get water

A cool statue

The Doge’s Palace

We then entered the Doge’s Palace.

The Golden Staircase

The bridge of Sighs in he background

The view from inside the Bridge of Sighs

Saint Mark’s Basilica

Sadly we could not take photos inside this beautiful building. Everything on the walls and ceilings was covered in gold. I borrowed a photo from google to show you the inside

Inside St. Marks Basilica

The outside

One of the paintings outside the Basilica

We then made our way back to the hotel to relax and have a nap. It’s been a busy couple of days with lots of walking and we are both feeling a bit run down so the rest did us well.

After our rest we headed out for coffee then some dinner. Last night we found a quaint authentic Italian restaurant near our hotel and enjoyed another night of wonderful food.

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Venice

Wednesday 17th April

Day 16: Venice

Today was our last full day in Italy.

We had a lazy start to the day. We slept in and went for breakfast - which was better than yesterday.

We then went in search of a cafe for some good coffee. Thankfully we found one not too far from the hotel. While there we saw in a window a lego Donald Duck. So of course I had to take a photo.

Next we made our way to Museo Corror where got to see some of the rooms the Emperess would have lived as well as some more beautiful paintings and statues. On the way we got to see a choir perform outside St. Marks Basiclla.

A passage from the bible in Latin.

I want a library like this

Next up in the to do list was the main thing we came to Venice for - A Gondela Ride.

Yesterday Daniel and I debated if we should do this or not as it cost a lot more than we thought. However we said when we started planning this trip that we wanted to have no regrets and see and do everything that we wanted to. So we went today and we are so so glad we did. I think our big smiles show how excited we were.

We went under the bridge of Sighs

The orange building is a school

The mark on the wall to the right is to indicate how high the flood waters got back in the 60s

The Doge’s Palace

We were so excited and thankful to have been able to have this experience.

We then went for lunch - where came down from the high we had after the Gondela Ride and we found the Disney shop.

Daniels Desert - Gelato with Pineapple

Picture outside the Disney Shop

This afternoon we rested and made plans for our travels tomorrow. We are now officially half way through our European Adventure. Two countries down, two to go.

17
Liverpool

Thursday 18th of April

Day 17: Italy to England

Today was another early start. The alarm went off at 7am, much to our disappointment. We had to pack our bags, have breakfast and walk to the bus terminal to get the bus to the Airport. We left about 9am and the trip to Airport took 20 mins.

Thankfully everything went smoothly and we were checked in, with bags dropped off and through security in 20mins - then it was off to find a good Italian Coffee, before saying goodbye to Italy.

The Plane took off on time (12pm) and after 2 hours in the air we landed in Manchester, England. During the flight we flew over some snowy mountains that we think were Swiss Alps and I was able to get a photo.

After the plane trip, we caught a train to Liverpool and then walked to the hotel. We arrived at our hotel about 4:30pm.

We rested this afternoon and went to the pub for dinner.

Liverpool is our down time. We are both rather tired and have or are getting head colds. The next few days will be about recouperating, with a bit of exploring, a soccer game and celebrating Easter.

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Liverpool

Friday 19th of April

Day 18: Liverpool

Today was a day of rest and a day of exploration in one.

We slept in and had a lazy morning. As it is a bank holiday here for Good Friday breakfast at the hotel was extended till 11am so we enjoyed a late breakfast.

We were making plans for the day when the phone rang. My mum was calling via Facebook messenger, it was really nice to chat for a bit and see them.

Just before midday we headed out to walk down to the docks where we entered the The Beatles Story. We got to walk through the exhibit and listen to the audio guide. Needless to say - we had their songs in our heads for a while

We then went to a cafe for lunch then wandered around Liverpool shops and found a shop that Daniel loved - the Everton Soccer Team Shop, and right next door The Liverpool Shop. Daniel was rather happy to get a t-shirt and a scarf

We also found the Disney shop and the LEGO shop, while they were not as good as the ones in Italy - they were still good.

After shopping we went back to the hotel for a rest and a nap.

We then out for dinner and found a quirky little place called Yard and Coop. The food was great and so was the atmosphere. They also had Coops to eat in.

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Liverpool

Saturday 20th of April

Day 19: Liverpool

Today was very much a chilled day. So there is not much to report from today.

We slept in - had a late breakfast and uploaded some photos to Facebook. Just after lunch we went for a walk to get some fresh air and enjoy the sun shine. (Photos below).

The afternoon was spent relaxing and doing laundry, sadly a must on such a long trip. We watched The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, while making trips up to the laundry to check if it was done.

Dinner was Maccas takeaway as we were coming up to the good bits in Lord of the Rings and didn’t want to miss them.

We are both still a bit crook with head colds so today was a much needed day of rest. Tomorrow’s post will be more interesting. We go to a soccer match and celebrate our anniversary.

Old cars for a wedding

We even got to see the bride :)

20
Liverpool

Sunday 21st of April

Day 20: A soccer game, Easter Sunday and our wedding anniversary

Well this morning we woke up to sunny sky’s, bells ringing and a smile on our faces.

Two years ago Daniel and I were getting ready to get married and today we are in Liverpool getting ready for a Football game.

Our whole European adventure was planned around this game, Manchester United vs Everton at Evertons home ground Goodison Park. When we said we were going to come to England Daniel said he wanted to watch a Premier League game, I said pick which one and we shall arrange it and it just so happened that Daniels two favourite teams were playing on our wedding anniversary, so here we are.

We caught the train to the station closest to the stadium and joined the other fans heading towards the stadium. We found our way through the gates and to the seats. Daniel was so excited. He hasn’t been able to get the smile off his face since we entered the stadium.

We had good seats and could see everything. We were sitting among the Everton fans and the atmosphere was amazing. Everton won 4-0 and played an amazing game of Soccer.

We both enjoyed the game and are glad we have had the opportunity to enjoy a live premier league game in England. It certainly was a different way to celebrate our second wedding anniversary.

After the game we went to maccas for a late lunch, then back to the hotel where we went through this journal from the start and remembered all that we have seen and done so far.

For dinner we went all out and went back to \240Yard and Coop for some awesome chicken drumsticks.

21
London

Monday 22nd of April

Day 21: Liverpool to London

We spent most of today either on a train or at the train station. We caught a 10am train to Sheffield, where we had an hour wait for our 12:30 train to London. The trip to London took 2 hours. From the train station, we caught a taxi to our hotel and arrived about 3pm. We checked in and made our way to our room for the next 6 nights. We decided to unpack for our stay here as this is the longest we will be staying in one place while on our adventure.

Our train stopped at Widnes - where my mum grew up.

Once we had settled in we started exploring, by walking around Hyde Park, which is much, much bigger than the one in Sydney.

Peter Pan

Princess Diana memorial fountain

Princess Diana memorial fountain

Statue of Achilles

Royal Albert Hall

The Albert Memorial

Kensington Palace

Queen Victoria Statue

Lots and lots of squirrels

One stopped right in front of me

After our walk we headed back to the hotel for dinner at the restaurant in our hotel.

We spent the evening watching Captain America on TV, and we found some Australian shows on tv as well.

22
Stonehenge

Tuesday 23rd April

Day 22: Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford.

What a day...

We started the day with the alarm going off at 6:15am and were on the go ever since. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel before we were picked up at 7:20am. Our taxi driver didn’t know the way as some streets were closed, so what was a 20min drive turned into a 40min drive which resulted in us being late for our tour. The bus normally leaves right on 8am but thankfully waited a few minutes for us and we just made it to the bus, 30 seconds before it left.

A crazy morning - but we made it. Yay.

Windsor Castle

We drove for an hour before arriving at Windsor Castle and guess what - the Queen was there, in residence, while we were there. It was awesome. Sadly we couldn’t take photos while we were inside the state rooms and the St. George Chapel (where Harry and Megan got married), but we were able to take photos outside and man we did take a lot of them.

A picture of Harry and Megan made out of LEGO

A selfie with the Queen

This flag shows that the Queen is in residence.

We got to see the changing of the guard

This the steps that Harry and Megan walked down after they got married and where Megan entered the church.

Stonehenge

After Windsor we made our way to Stonehenge. We got to walk around the whole thing and take lots of photos.

We took a lot of photos.

Next up: Oxford

So it turns out, Oxford University is not one big university but 38 different collages, in the town of Oxford.

We got to walk past and peak inside a few of them. We got to see a few places (from the outside) where Harry Potter was filmed, got some good coffee.

This Library was the restricted section in HP1 and the Hospital Wing.

This bridge is called the Bridge of Sighs - just like the one in Venice.

This is the biggest bookshop in the world. There is 5km of shelves

Outside some of the shops in Oxford.

Once we finished in Oxford it was time to head back to London, which was a two hour drive.

We got dropped off at the Glouster Rd station where we then walked through Hyde Park back to our hotel. We got back about 8pm. We were really glad to back in the warmth and able to rest after a long day.

Tomorrow we plan to sleep in, then explore London.

23
London

Wednesday 24th of April

Day 23: London

Today was a busy day, fair warning - it’s a long post.

We slept in and had a lazy start to the morning, but once we started out it was all systems go.

We caught the subway to Leicester Square so that we could exchange our voucher for tickets on a hop on, hop off bus tour of London.

First stop, the LEGO store, this was close to where we caught the bus from so we decided to shop in here first.

We then got on the bus and were off to our first stop: Buckingham Palace. Here we got to see the end of the changing of the guard and take some photos. Of course we had \240typical English weather today - so it was raining while we at the palace - but it cleared up later on.

We then got back on the bus and made our way to Westminster Abbey. I went inside to see the place where they crown the Kings and Queens and where Will and Kate got married. Sadly you can’t take photos inside but it was great to walk around. Daniel didn’t want to go inside so he went for a walk around close by and we took some photos outside once I was done.

After a quick pit stop for lunch we walked around to Big Ben, Parliment house and the London Eye. Big Ben is currently under construction or something so there wasn’t much to see. We didn’t go on the London Eye, but we took some photos.

Daniel didn’t want to go on the London eye as he is scared of heights

To get on the bus again we had to walk for a bit as the police had closed Parliament Square due to protests and the buses were delayed, so they had to reroute some buses.

Our next stop was St Paul’s Cathedral. We didn’t go inside, but we got some great photos outside, found some good coffee and we found the Old Bailey. For those of you who have see V for Vendetta, the Old Bailey was the building V blew up in the beginning of the movie, to the tune of the 1812 overture. It’s one of my favourite movies and it was a happy accident that we found it today.

The coffee shop called Paul had pews as seats.

It’s a Dancing Queen that moves when in the sunlight.

The Old Bailey, also known as the Central Ciminal Court. \240

The things Daniel will do for a good photo

Us on the tour bus.

Once we were back on the bus we made our way to Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.

Then it was back onto the bus and time to head back to the hotel. We took the bus as far as we could back to our hotel, then walked back through Hyde Park to the hotel. The photos below are of some of the things we saw from the bus on our trip around the city.

Trafalgar Square

It’s hard to see, but the shop in the middle is the Kingsman, like the movie.

This is the shop where the Queen buys her tea.

One of the oldest pubs in England.

Where they show the Phantom of the Opera.

It was a busy day. We walked 12.9km today. Tomorrow we keep exploring London.

24
London

Thursday 25th April

Day 24: London

Well today was the second day of our Hop on, Hop off bus sight seeing tour of London. It didn’t quite go to plan today though...

Let me fill you in...

We had another sleep in and late breakfast today. We left the hotel shortly before 10am and made our way to the bus stop near the hotel to catch the bus to Madame Tussaud’s. At the stop they offered us skip the line tickets for Madame Tussaud’s and they were cheaper than at the door - so we got them.

When we got to Madame Tussaud’s however it was another story. Well kind of. We did get to skip the line for buying tickets at the door however we had to join another equally long line for those who had vouchers to exchange for tickets (which is what we had).

We didn’t think the wait would be long. 30mins tops.

We were wrong...

We were very wrong.

2 hours later we finally had tickets in hand and could go through. During this time it had rained on us outside, then. The sun came out, tempers flared and calmed again.

But we finally had our tickets and we were in and excited to see everything inside.

This is a ride inside Madame Tussaud’s

Thankfully after the long wait, we were happy we waited and went inside.

After some lunch we made our way to 221B Baker Street for some photos. They had props in the way of hats. .

We then made our way to the Marble Arch, where we caught the tour bus over to Tower of London. We had booked tickets last night to go and the Crown Jewels. We thought the trip would take about an hour.

Again, we were wrong.

2 hours later we arrived at the Tower of London, 40 mins before it closed for the day. They recommended spending 3 hours inside, so we decided to go around in 40 mins. It was rushed but we got to see everything we wanted Including the Crown Jewels, the Armory and the Battlements. We couldn’t take any photos of the Jewels.

Afterwards we caught the ferry from the Tower of London to Westminster. Our Captain Greg, gave us a running commentary on the way.

We got to see the Bridge open while waiting for our ferry.

The Tower of London

London Bridge

Shakespeare’s Globe

This is Greg.

Daniel being ‘scared’ of the height of the London Eye.

Once we got off the ferry, we had to run to catch the last bus for the day back to the Marble Arch. We only just made it, but we did make it. Once we got back to the Arch, it was a 20min walk back to hotel.

Today didn’t quite go as planned but we did get to do everything we wanted to today - even if it was rushed at the end.

25
Baker St

Friday 26th of April

Day 25: Exploring London

So today was a lot more chilled and went a lot smoother than yesterday.

We slept in again and had a late start to the day. Once we began, we headed out to St. Paul’s church again, but this time not to see the church. We went for a short walk and went to the Museum of London.

This is an elephants back foot.

King Henry the 8th.

The Great Fire of London.

Bill and Ben, the flowerpot men.

We then made our way back to Baker Street. This time to go through the Sherlock Museum that we found yesterday.

Sherlock’s study

After visiting Sherlock, we had some lunch then went for a walk to find the Disney shop and it didn’t disappoint.

After that we made our way back to the hotel for a rest. We have done a lot of walking recently and needed to give our feet a rest. The next few days are going to be rather busy so we rested while we could.

We have 6 days left in Europe before we fly home and we are going to make the most of them, we still have one country to go after all.

26
Wickford

Saturday 27th of April

Day 26: A very special day

Today was a very special day for us. We got to catch up with family and friends and celebrate the life of a loved one and the end of an era.

Today we journeyed out to Wickford in Chelmsford to visit family. It’s been 11 years since I last saw my family here. It was really lovely to see everyone and catch up with what’s been happening recently.

It was also a bitter sweet trip. Today marks the 1 year anniverary since my Great Uncle Alan passed away. I have lots of fond memories of Uncle Alan. One of my favourites is from when I was about 10 or so, both Allan and Peg were visiting us in Australia and I had to stand on a chair just to be able to give him a hug, as he was so tall, and I was tiny. We have a photo of it somewhere. \240Today we visited his grave site with family and said goodbye. We got to spend a few hours with the family and have some lunch, before heading back to London.

The whole family

Daniel walking with Aunty Peg

Daniel, Peg and I

Julie, Daniel and I

Marcus, Jade, Daniel and I

Once we were back in London, we caught up with Geoff, who moved to London at the end of last year. We went to maccas for dinner and then went to see Acengers:Endgame. The ques were out the door and we got to see it on IMAX and in 3D. It was awesome. \240I won’t post any spoilers, but we loved it!! Sad to see the Era end, but we have loved the ride.

After we saw the movie we went to M&M world, which was awesome - it has like four levels and heaps of m&m’s.

It has been an emotional roller coast of a day, but we are really thankful to be able to catch up family and friends while we are in England. Hopefully we will be back soon to see you all again.

Tonight is our last night in London. Tomorrow we head to our fourth and final country for this trip.

27
Paris

Sunday 28th of April

Day 27: Goodbye England, Bonjour Paris

Today we left England behind and journeyed onto France, with Paris being our final city to stay in. We are here for the next four nights.

We traveled via the Eurostar today and we left Saint Pancreas international Train Station about 11:30am and arrived in Paris just before 3pm. Paris is 1 hour ahead of London.

Once we arrived in Paris, we had to catch 3 trains to get to our hotel, however we are about 100m away from the Eiffel Tower. We can’t see it from our room, however if you walk 10m from the hotel door you can see it.

We went for a walk around the base of the Eiffel Tower this evening before heading back to the hotel for dinner. I will be heading up to the top of the Eiffel Tower in the coming days. Daniel has decided to stay comfortably on the ground. Looking up at the tower - it is rather high up.

View from outside the hotel

Got to touch the top of the tower

This is on the wall above our bed.

28
Paris

Monday 29th of April

Day 28: Exploring Paris

So today turned out differently than we had planned.

We slept in, thanks to some awesome block out curtains in our hotel, and enjoyed breakfast at our hotel.

We then looked into buy tickets online to see the Louvre, only they were all sold out. The lady at reception told us just to go to the museum and buy tickets there. So we did. We thought the tickets would be more expensive at the door - however we were plesently surprised to find out they were cheaper and that we could go straight in. Also the line moved quick quickly so we didn’t use for as long as we thought we would.

Our plan for the day was to spend two or so hours at the louvre, then head to Notre Dame. Well that didn’t happen.

Why...

Because the Louvre is freaking huge!!! \240It took us 5 hours to go and see everything.

Our feet are sore and we are rather tired. We have two full days left in Paris and we are ready to come home. But before we can head home we have another important stop to make. Tomorrow we go to Disneyland!!!

29
Disneyland Paris

Tuesday 30th of April

Day 29: DISNEYLAND

So today was epic. I finally got to go to Disneyland and it was amazing.

We stared out early so we could get there before the park opened. After an hour on the train we made it. It was freezing cold outside as there was fog everywhere that didn’t lift until midday, but thankfully it did warm up.

We went on several rides, watched the Parade and we got to meet Mickey Mouse.

This was the BuzzLightyear ride, where you got a laser gun and had to shoot the laser at targets and you got a score based on how many targets you hit.

My score is the one on the left, Daniels score is the one on the right. I won.

One of the cool things you could buy

Our pic, while shooting laser guns.

I got my Mickey Ears.

We got to watch Mickey Mouse short clips while in line to meet Mickey Mouse.

After an hour in line, we finally got to meet Mickey Mouse. He was impressed we came all the way from Australia. I got a really long hug from Mickey and a dance. He chased Daniel out of the pic. It was an awesome experience.

We got a photo with Mickey!!!

The Sword and the Stone

The parade. I also filmed it.

FIRE!!!

It was a really long day - we were at the park for 9 hours but we loved it and so glad we got to go.

Tomorrow is our last full day in France and on our adventure, and there are still things to cross off the bucket list.

30
Paris

Wednesday 1st of May

Day 30: Last day

Today was our last full day in Paris and in Europe. The day didn’t quite go as planned however we still had a great day.

We slept in and enjoyed a late breakfast. Then it was off to see the final sites of Paris that we wanted to see.

We made our way via the Metro to Notre Dame. Yes I know, it was on fire a few weeks ago - however we still wanted to go see the building. When we got there we went for a walk first to see the Pantheon. No it’s not the same as the one in Italy, it’s a French copy.

Then it was back to Notre Dame. It was fenced off all around it, due to the construction work being done to rebuild Notre Dame.

We then made our way to the LEGO store, where we realised an important fact that we didn’t know. It’s Labor Day over here. It’s a public holiday and no shops are open. So there goes some of our plan for today. We still got some good photos of the window display.

We then made our way to the Arc De Triomphe. On our way we stopped at maccas for lunch and saw the news about the riots in the streets of Paris. It was the first we heard about it today and it looked rather intense. We looked up where it was and made sure they weren’t near us. Thankfully it was the other side of the city.

So we kept on going.

We made it to the Arc De Triomphe and found it was similar to the Norte Dame, we couldn’t get close as police were blocking the way. So we walked around and took photos when we could. We didn’t end up staying long as while we were walking around the police started running towards a road on the other side of the road and about 20 police vans qued up to drive down the same street. We decided to make a hasty retreat back to the hotel just in case.

Once we got back to the safety of the hotel, we rested for a bit before I went to cross the last thing off my bucket list for this trip - go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was awesome and really, really, really high. Daniel decided to stay safely on the ground back at the hotel.

We finished the day with dinner at a restaurant near the city, before we returned to the hotel to pack and getting ready to leave tomorrow. We are getting picked up at 5:50am tomorrow to go to the airport.

There won’t be a post tomorrow as we will be on a plane heading home.

We have had a blast this trip and so thankful for what we have seen and been able to do.

Friday 3rd of May

Day 31: The Journey Home

Well today we came home. It’s been an amazing four and a half weeks away. We have loved seeing all the sites and learning so much about the history and culture of the countries we have visited.

We had an early morning start, with the alarm going off at 4:45am. After a quick shower and pack up we checked out and waited for our ride to the air port.

We were delayed leaving Paris, but not for too long. We arrived in Qatar at 4:30pm and stayed for about 4 hours. After a bite to eat we got on our plane and finally headed for Australia. We took off shortly after 8:30PM local time, about 3:30am in Sydney. We had a long flight home, 14 hours all up. We landed in Sydney at 6pm and were picked up by my dad.

Now we are home and ready for some much needed sleep.

On our European Adventure, we have travelled approximately 41,000km via plane, cruise ship, bus and train. We have walked 250km and taken 434,151 steps, averaging 13,500 steps a day.

We have taken over 4000 photos each, visited 5 countries and stayed in 10 cities. We also ticked 24 things off our bucket list.

Favourite Country:

Daniel - Italy

Yvonne - Italy

Favourite City:

Daniel - Rome

Yvonne - London

Favourite Activity:

Daniel - Manchester United vs Everton Soccer Match

Yvonne - Meeting Mickey Mouse

Best Coffee:

Daniel - Athens

Yvonne - Athens

This has been the trip of a life time and we are so glad and thankful to have been able to explore these countries. Thanks to all who prayed for us and followed us on our European Adventure.

Daniel and Yvonne

Arriving back in Sydney

The collection of Magnets we brought overseas. One for each of the places we visited.