Amsterdam

We arrived into Amsterdam at midnight and starving and of course the only thing open was Chinese! After a quick sweet and sour chicken it was bad time for us.

The next morning we strolled through Vondelpark and found some bikes for hire, seeing as everyone seems to use bikes not public transport here we decided to jump on the bandwagon. We rode to a massive foodhall with lots of food from all over the world. I settled on Salmon Poke and decided to try an Apple Cider, I usually hate them as they're so sweet at home (besides the Flying Brick Cider ones! ) but this was yum, light and refreshing! We jumped back on the bikes and raced across town to our canal tour. We learnt all about the canals (they don't smell here, unlike Venice according to Doug), about Amsterdam as a big shipping port and about the houses that learn forward (intentionally so that it's easier to hoist goods to the top floor). We also sailed by Anne Frank's house. It had been a big day so far so we decided to have a treat and try the best Appeltaart (dutch apple pie) in the city, Doug made me share but it did not disappoint! Doug then thought we should see a windmill, because we were in Hollond afterall! We found one of the few still left in Amsterdam which had a brewery under it so we did a beer tasting as well. I didn't enjoy any of them but D liked a few. It was getting late so we headed home for a good night sleep.

Our last day! We woke up and rode through the streets having a look around. We had to drop off the bikes at midday so found an amazing little fusion restaurant near by for a quick lunch. I then allowed Doug his one nerdy activity for the trip. We were off to Microbia, a museum all about Microbes. Doug even has a favourite microbe which was featured quite heavily... I was just learning what a microbe was. We spent a few hours there (a VERY long time watching the ant farm) and then headed once again to my favorite pie shop. This time I was not prepared to share! I would have gone for seconds if Doug was willing to sit there for another 10 mins! We then headed over to the Heineken experience - where they used to brew the beer but is now a Museum/ode to beer. It started off okay, learning about how they make beer but in the end it all kind of felt like subliminal messaging to get us to buy Heineken. We still had an hour until our dinner reservation so sat at a bar outside in the sun and had another cider. We were booked into Red Restraunt which I've been dying to go to as it's one of my friend Brookes favourite restraunts in the world. They only serve steak and lobster! To start we shared a blue steak and steak tartare- it was sooo good. Then for main we had half a lobster each - alot of work to get all of that meat out but definitely worth it. Finally we shared a cheese cake which was sooo creamy. It was then time to do what every tourist needs to do in Amsterdam... Go see a show at Casa Rosso. I initially thought it would be super awkward and seedy but it was just very touristy, most of the people watching the show was couples or Hens/Bucks nights. It was all very funny and quite impressive (I did not know you could smoke a cigar like that...). It was after midnight at this point so we spent some more time wandering around the Red light district, picking out our favorite girls and getting lots of taps on the window from them. Again, i thought it would be super seedy and gross but really its just a massive tourist attraction- kinda like Disneyland! We ended up walking home as a 10 min Uber was going to cost 35 euros!

We are now on the plane home, such a great trip with so many memories but definitely not long enough!

Until next time!

- K x

Palau & Porto Cervo, Sardinia

Day 2 in Sardinia we had a yacht booked to take us around the La Maddelena archipelago to see all the beaches that weren't accessible by car. There were only 8 other people on our boat which made it so much better (I'm very glad we traveled in June and not August!). The first island was named Asparagus (well, the much more exotic Italian name for asparagus) as the island used to grow tonnes of it. We were ferried by a dingy and spend over an hour on the white sand beach (WOOHOO! I've hated all the stone beaches) and vibrant blue water. The water was cool but not too cold, a much appreciated break from the 29 degree day and stinging sun! We arrived back to the boat to appetizers of local Sardinian cheese and meat and of course wine! We sailed past the famous pink beach which isn't very pink anymore due to tourists stealing the sand! After another hour or so of sailing we were treated to a pasta lunch, and more wine! We finally arrived at another perfect white sand beach and by then all of the rest of the tourists had gone so we got it all to ourselves. We spend 2 hours soaking up the sun (Douggie sleeping) and then headed home. It was 8pm so we decided to get something local and headed to the nicest looking restraunt in Palau. We sat outside and looked at the harbor while devouring pasta and calamari.

We were meant to go scuba diving on Monday, but due to this persistent sniffle of mine we decided it was an unnecessary risk (it can be quite dangerous to dive with blocked sinuses). While we were both disappointed (although Ds foot still not healed so maybe he was a bit relieved) we decided to get on with the day and drive the 45 minutes to our next hotel in Porto Cervo. Well, we knew it would be nice... But not this nice! It was very ritzy! We couldn't check in yet so we decided to go to the hotel bar for a drink. Hmmm, 15 euro for a beer-i think not. We escaped with a few 5euro San Pellegrinos and decided to get lunch somewhere nearby. We stumbled upon an absolute gem, within our budget, outside but under shade, harbor views of the megayachts and yummy pasta. We spent the afternoon eating cheese and pepper pasta and googling the megayachts we could see (one was woth $1billion USD). We then checked into our hotel room to find we had been upgraded (again, yay for shoulder season!). We decided to check out the hotels private beach which is accessible by speedboat. It took around 5 mins to get there and while wasn't overly impressive was nice and cool water with comfy chairs. By the time we headed back to the room it was time for dinner and Douggie found a cute little bistro (again in our price range!) only 5 min drive. You shpuld have seen the concierges face when we handed him the keys to our Fiat, it definitely stood our amoung the sea of Ferraris and Lamborghinis! The menu had Tuna Tartare with fresh fruits which of course I couldn't pass up! I've never had Tuna and pineapple before but it was amazing!

The next day in Sardinia after a kings breakfast (4 courses!) we jumped in the car and caught a ferry to La Maddelena in search of amazing beaches. We took the 15 min ferry and drove for around 20 mins to a secluded beach, Google told us to then walk along a path (I think hike through the Bush is more apt) and we came out to a tiny beach with barely anyone on it, perfect white sand and bright blue water. We spent a few hours there reading and swimming before heading to the only place on the island for a bite to eat. We then ventured to another beach which had a shipwreck. We spent sometime swimming and snorkeling around this before heading back to catch the 6.30 ferry. We arrived back a the hotel at 7.30 and Doug told me to have a shower and put on something nice as he had booked a restraunt. I got out of the shower as a bottle of champagne arrived so we drank it on the balcony together. We walked to the restraunt which to be honest wasn't what I was expecting. It was in an outdoor plaza and had a very limited menu. After the huge lunch I had that day and the disappointing menu we decided to save our cash and head home.

After a big brekky on our final day we decided (as we had to leave for the airport at 5) that the pool sounded like the best option. I finished my book and enjoyed the water before we headed for a late lunch at our new favorite restraunt, the one we went to day 1 in Porto Cervo. We shared some calamari and pasta and started planning out our next few days in Amsterdam. We had our final Gelato and a quick shower then jumped back on the crazy Italian roads headed to the airport.

Off to Amsterdam tonight - Doug is very excited as he's found a Chinese restraunt right near our hotel so that's dinner sorted!

Cala Goloritzé

After arriving late in Cagliari and a sleep in (still no Drs. visit for Doug) we picked up our little Fiat500L and were on our way. A little note about our not so trusty Fiat, while much larger and more comfortable than anticipated it was very slow from pressing the accelerator to actually moving -not something you want on Italian roads we discovered.

We headed towards Cala Goloritzé and the first hour of the trip was pretty uneventful aside from the fact that we couldn'tfigure out the speed limit to save ourselves (signs on the highway were saying 50km but all the cars were going 120km!). We then got off the main highway and this is where things started to get a bit hairy. The road was single carriageway with each lane barely big enough for one car. The roads were so bendy and windy but the Italians refused to slow down and half of the time the opposite traffic cut corners into our lane! There were far too many near death experiences to count but with Doug's expert navigation we made it through.

Unfortunatly, my navigation was not so expert. I managed to get us 10km off track down a dirt road with no sign of humans... It was 1 step away from Wolf Creek. After a testing few minutes trying to navigate back we got back onto the main road through the smallest streets imaginable. The town we went through was unbelievably small and the streets almost didn't fit our car!

We FINALLY made it to Cala Goloritzé and started the long hike. Luckily most of it was downhill but it was very difficult terrain. We walked in the 28 degree heat for what felt like forever and eventually 1hr 25 min later we came out to what can only be described as an oasis. We walked down to the beach (the pebbles were all marble!) And instantly jumped into the freezing cold azure blue water. Douggie got his snorkel out and swam with the fish, we then decided as it was 4.20 and aparently 2hrs walk home we should start the venture back.

The walk back can only be described as hell. Walking 4km in 28 degree heat 470m up hill was ambitious. After what felt like 100 stops and a few harsh words we made it - and it only took us 1hr 45 min.

We had no time to waste so jumped back in the car and headed towards the Olbia hospital as Doug's foot had swolen up. 2.5hrs and 765 near death experiences later we arrived at what can only be described as the bleakest emergency room in the world. There were so many people there and as Doug didn't want me to have to do the drive in the dark (in case they gave him painkillers or something) he made the decision to keep pushing on and go to another hospital tomorrow.

Lucky he did as it got very dark very quickly. We headed towards our hotel in the small fishing town of Palau... and nearly had 4 head on collisions with trucks!

It was 10.15 and we were well and truly pooped but hadn't eaten a scrap of food all day. We settled on takeaway from a restraunt nearby as I was craving a carbonara... you couldn't believe my shock when it came out as a carbonara PIZZA! I was far too exhausted to argue and it was actually quite good. Doug also managed to get a pineapple pizza which I'm sure is unheard of in Italy.

In bed now ready for a big day of sailing tomorrow!

- K x

Greece

Day 1, PERDIKA 

I woke up in Athens with a shocking cold. While we had planned to do some sightseeing including the Acropolis, I thought it would be best if I was sensible and stayed in bed sleeping until we needed to be on the boat. Our friends Ash and Annette were staying at the same hotel as us so we all had brekky together (greek yogurt, fruit and honey - yum!). We arrived at Marinia Zea and met up with our skipper and the rest of the travellers on the yacht. The catamaran we were on was much larger than we anticipated. Our bedroom has a tiny amount of hanging space but most of the room was taken up by a queen bed - definitely a luxury on a boat! We also had a shower and toilet to share between the 4 of us (Doug, Ash, Annette and I) which was amazing. We set sail and landed in Perdika around 4pm. It was 35 degrees so we found somewhere for a swim and started relaxing. The whole boat had dinner together at a small restraunt on the island, as I was still feeling pretty average I had an early night to try and recover. 

Day 2, HYDRA & ERMIONI

After waking up much better (and sleeping through most of the sailing and brekky!) We arrived just outside of Hydra. We spent some time having a light lunch on the boat and mucking around in the water (with Doug being sworn at in Greek by multiple water taxi drivers) and then headed onto the island for a look around. Hydra is aparently quite famous but VERY expencive. We saw multiple megayachts (and googled them - one was worth $195M), and tried our hand at shopping but the cheapest pair of boardies was $180 Euro! After giving up on the shopping I settled for Gelato and a Mango Daquiri - yep, truly in holiday mode now. We did a bit of swimming and then headed back to the boat via ferry which took us to Ermioni. Once we arrived in Ermioni Ash, Doug and I went in search for some ice (to keep the drinks cold), heavy duty conditioner (as my hair was straw after swimming in the ocean), and most importantly pool noodles so the boys could stay afloat while swimming, drinking beer and playing a ball game all at the same time! We arrived back at the boat and got ready for "punch night" at the bar. When we got there we realised none of the skippers were drinking the free punch provided. We soon realized why, one sip and it was like vomit! I soon abandoned the appeal of free alcohol and moved back onto the Mango Daquiris! We had dinner above the bar as it poored down with rain, lucky we shut our windows on the boat! We then all decided to move the party to a nearby club with a smoke machine... But then as we got to the outside of the club we realised we had alcohol on the boat and we would have way more fun having our own party. We all ended up blasting Disney music from our favourite childhood movies. Some of us got a bit silly (not me) and decided to dare Doug and Ash to do a midnight swim to the nearby megayachts about 500m away. This seemed hilarious as the boys kitted up with snorkels and bathers until about 45 seconds in when it was so dark that we couldn't see them anymore. Realising instantly how silly this was we called for the skipper who then rowed out to then on the dinghy and supervised the rest of the swim. The boys returned triumphant and unscathed of course but after that it was definitely time for bed.

Day 3, SPETSES

As per my now normal routine (in the name of recovering) I slept through brekky and woke up at our first swim spot. The boys were a little worse for wear but we have them no option, we were going to go ATV-ing around the island! We found ATVs for 25 euros and after very dubious broken English instructions (and a map with the best beaches marked) we were on our way. The non English speaking guide took us to a petrol station, pointed and then drove away so we deduced that we were meant to fill up the tanks. We set off driving along the coastline atop massive hills, it was amazing seeing the water on one side and olive groves on the other. There was a big slope down to one of the beaches we were told to go to so we headed down and saw it was 10euro per person to go on the beach... We decided against that and while Doug and my ATV was fine up the hill Ash and Annette almost didn't make it! We then rode another few kms and found another beach with a bar! We were all desperate for a drink and a snack so sat at the bar and saw our skipper walking towards us. She told us about this great swimming spot and cave only a 5 min walk away so we went exploring. It was gorgeous water but if there is anything to say about Greece is that it's sea urchin central. We ended up calling them landmines as they were everywhere and as Doug has had the unfortunate experience of stepping on one before we had all been warned. We were all exhausted so once we had returned our bikes at 7.30pm we went straight to dinner. Doug was craving souvlaki so we all followed suit, expecting meat wrapped in pita bread. Aparently not. In Greece REAL souvlaki is meat, salad and pita bread on a platter... what? We were all very upset (and irrationally mad at Doug) but soothed our sorrows with a gelato on the walk home. As it was a really quiet town we all went to bed early and got a good rest. 

Day 4, POROS

We woke up sailing and ready for a big day. We arrived quite early in Poros and decided to do some water sports. The four of us thought that the "super sofa" seemed fun as it was four seats across (like a couch) being pulled behind a speed boat. Well it was fun/a near death experience... The guy driving was determined to get one of us in the ocean! After what felt like years we all survived to tell the tale. We started the long walk back to the boat (ok not long, but 30 min in 37 degree heat feels long!). We got back and went in search of "real" souvlakis after last night's misadventure. We found out that these were actually called Gyros and lamb wasn't an option (only chicken or pork!). We also met up with one of Ash's best friends John who came from London to see us for the night. The Gyros were great and we headed onto our next stop, a wine tasting. We sampled 10 Greek wines all made on the island, including a bright blue wine (allegedly colored with blueberries)!? It was absolutely awful but an experience haha, I don't think I'm a Greek wine conissour. We then all headed to a dinner with the rest of our boat and FINALLY had lamb in Greece (I was beginning to think it was a myth). Our skipper told us about a "small quiet" bar around the corner. Well... by 2am dancing to ABBA, it was hardly a quiet bar haha. We danced all night to daggy hits and then walked back on the boat and sat on the netting at the front just talking for a few hours. 

Day 5, EPIDAVROS

We were all a little slow and worse for wear the next morning. We spent most of the day sunning ourselves on the front of the boat while sailing which was nice and relaxing. We arrived in Epidavros late in the afternoon and quickly discovered (after another Gyros of course) that there really wasn't much to do on this small island. We walked around the town centre and had a few swims before dinner under the orange trees in a restraunt. This was meant to be the best restraunt on the island but it was .... an experience. The menu read very simply I.e. Lemon and Chicken and Pork in the Oven so we thought - well either this is going to be amazing... or shit... We had a 50/50 experience, Doug ordered a beef burger expecting... Well a beef burger and recieved a patty with a few chips. I ordered moussaka (which is like lasagna but with eggplant instead of pasta) and it came out cold in the middle! Ash and Annettes meals looked great but Douggie and I were left a little sad and hungry! 

Day 6, AGISTRI

Another long day of sailing and swimming. Most of the day was very uneventful, excluding Doug falling down the stairs in the boat while wet and landing on his toe! The boys also collected some sea urchins for us from the ocean so we could have a look up close at them. They're actually not that spiky to touch, its only when you stand on them can they do some real damage! We started getting ready at 6pm for the Toga Party. We all plaited our hair and dressed up in our bedsheets before walking up the hill to dinner. Dinner involved a Greek dancing lesson which was... interesting haha. We also got to throw plates, which is aparently a symbol of love - I'll remind Doug of that next time we have a fight in the kitchen! We then made our way down the hill, still in Togas, to the bar. Somehow it was hotter outside than inside on the dancefloor. We lasted until about 2am when we decided to go for a walk to try and cool down. It didn't really work but we ended up sitting on the back of the boat for a while reminiscing about the week. 

Day 7, ATHENS

The final morning we all woke up late and groggy. Our skipper Em had made us a hangover brekky of Eggy bread which was much appreciated. Doug and I spent the morning in the ocean and while sailing at the front of the boat. It was then time to pack up, say good by to the Catamaran and Ash & Annette and head to the airport. We are now at Athens airport waiting for our flight to Cagliari, Sardinia via Rome. Douggies toe is black and blue and VERY worse for wear so I have a feeling we may end up at the hospital in Cagliari tonight getting XRays haha. 

Paris

Arriving in Paris at 8pm from London meant we didn't have too much time to explore. We dropped our bags off at our hotel near the Arch de Triomphe and went for a wander to find some Steak Tartare.

The next morning we woke up super early as had heard the line for the Catacombs was insane. We arrived At 8.30am (it opens at 10) and it didn't look too bad. While waiting in line I sourced several pasteries for us to nibble on for Brekky. Lucky we arrived when we did as we didn't end up getting into the Catacombs until 11! It was amazing walking through the underground tunnels filled with 18th century bones from when their cemetaries were overflowing. From there we decided to jump on a train and walk around the Eiffel Tower, it was very overcast and rainy so we decided not to go up as we wouldn't be able to see anything. We then walked towards the Champs Elysees and found a little cafe with a great view of the Eiffel Tower for lunch. During lunch it turned from decent weather to horrible. We cut our losses and went back to the hotel to dry off and plan our next move. An old work friend was also in Paris so we caught up with them for an early dinner which ended up being quite late with a few too many wines, a great Steak Frites and creamy cheesecake. We got home around midnight and straight to bed!

Doug woke me up VERY early the next morning, but it was okay as it was DISNEYLAND PARIS DAY! We caught the train there and spent from 10am - 6pm running around on rides. 20km later and I was exhausted. We arrived back in Paris and got off the train at the Arch de Triomphe. We decided to do a quick stroll of the Champs Elysees (as it was much better weather) and found a bakery to buy some pasteries at. We were both far too tired to go out for dinner (and by now it was 8.30pm) so we just sat in bed, ate pasteries and had an early night.

Our final day in Paris we had a few missteps. The train to Versaille was cancelled from our station so instead of 1 train it took us 3 trains to get there! Once we arrived the line was HUGE - luck we had overbought our tickets online and could skip the queue. We grabbed our audio guides and started walking around the palace. The hall of mirrors was beautiful, Marie Antoinettes room was perhaps a touch over decorated and the gardens perfectly manicured. After walking around for 3.5hrs and giving Doug a history lesson for a change we decided to go back into Paris for lunch. We managed to find a little crepe stall and spent our last meal in Paris sitting under the Eiffel Tower. We then rushed back to the hotel as we had booked an airport bus to get us to Orly for our flight to Athens. Waiting, waiting waiting, and the bus didn't come - over an hour late. Lucky I over budget for time! We ended up jumping in a cab as we were going to miss our flight and then... Waiting, waiting, waiting... Our flight got delayed! I think I'll leave French hospitality in France as no one was willing to help or tell us what was going on! Anyway - we finally boarded and now are off to Athens!

- K x

London

After a bearable 24 hours curtosy of Etihad we finally arrived in London.
We managed to navigate the train system quite easily and after an hour arrived at our hotel - starving and a little tired (because who can stomach plane food!).
We found an amazing little Thai place right near our hotel and started to plan out our next few days.
After a long hot shower and a little sprucing up we caught the tube to Shoreditch to have a few wines with some friends from Melbourne. We ended up at Sushi Samba which is on the 38th floor of Heron Tower across from the Gherkin.

I perhaps had one too many wines as woke up a touch worse for wear on Sunday morning, but no time for that! We went off for some recovery porridge (for me) and walked all the way from our hotel in Fitzrovia to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. After what felt like a lifetime of stomping and music, we went for a stroll through Hyde Park and ended up at an adorable pub in Kensington (serving Thai food only - of course). As it was a decent day (a rarity I've now discovered for London) we decided to head across town to see the Tower of London. Having just watched The Other Bolyn Girl last week I was able to give Doug a history lesson on all the sights we saw. He however somehow knew more about the diamonds in the Crown Jewels than me! We had tickets to a play on West End that night so hurried home to change then saw A Comedy About A Bank Robbery. Doug told me he had booked a surprise for dinner which turned out to be the Michelin starred restaurant 'Hakkasan' - Chinese, of course. We ended up having dumplings for entree, Doug had Sweet and Sour for main (obviously) and I had Spicy Prawn curry for main which was amazing. For dessert we had a deconstructed coconut and chocolate ice cream thing. 18km later and it was a great first day in London!

Day 2 I woke up VERY sore - my poor legs aren't used to all of that walking. We had planned for shoddy weather but this was on another level. It was a day of misadventures. We went to Camden Market, which was less than ideal in the rain. We went to visit Harrods which was great but I definitely couldn't afford one thing in there! Finally we settled on a pub lunch and struck gold. Rain was pouring, it was freezing but we were inside this quaint little London pub having an AMAZING steak and ale pie, and of course bread and butter pudding for dessert. We decided after lunch that we needed an indoor activity so decided to go see the Winston Churchill War Rooms. We arrived and the line was over a block long standing in the rain! That was enough for us, we turned around and went back to the hotel to warm up, dry off and have a quiet night in.

Our final morning we woke up first thing and pretty much ran to the War Rooms. We got in and spend 1.5hrs exploring the underground bunker that Winston Churchill resided in and held all of his important meetings in during World War II. Doug then said he had planned some thing a little "spooky". We walked past the London Eye (where I was thinking well, heights are scary) and walked straight into "The London Dungeon" which is half history half scary ride. It takes you through all of the underworld "characters" throughout Londons history from Henry VIII, Jack the Ripper and the witch trials. A fun and educational different way to learn about London! Doug then took me to Hamleys and finally our favourite Thai for lunch from our first day.

Off to Paris on the Eurostar now!

- K x