It’s taken
me way too long to get around to writing this… but better late than never! This
post will definitely be more pictures than words, as I’m trying to keep all the
stories from the countries/cities I visited short and sweet. I’ve also recently started up a travel Instagram
@whiskyandboy, which will now go hand in hand with this blog!
Paris
You can’t
really put into words what it’s like to see the Eiffel Tower for the first
time. As cliché as it sounds, I was speechless
and in disbelief that I was actually seeing something that I’ve only ever seen
in a million photographs before. With a
massive fear of heights, it took a little while to muster up the courage to go
to the top of the tower. Surprisingly
enough this played as a massive advantage – no lines, and getting to watch the
sun set over Paris. Even got to witness
a proposal... talk about #goals.
All the sights of Paris are absolutely incredible, from wandering around the
Musée du Louvre and eating flower ice-creams in the Tuileries Gardens to
walking the lengths of the Avenue des Champs –Élysées and climbing to the top
of the Arc De Triomphe, it is the most
wonderful city to explore.
Switzerland
I wasn’t
too sure what I was expecting from the little town of Lauterbrunnen, but it would’ve
exceed anything I could’ve imagined. The
quaintest little town situated in the alps, with tiny little cottage houses and
a big waterfall as a backdrop, what more could you really ask for? We took the cable car up to another little
town, Murren, which had amazing views looking down on Lauterbrunnen. Quite possibly the most picturesque place I’ve
ever been to.
Nice/Monaco
Finally,
onto some European sunshine and beaches!
Nice, in the French Rivera a.k.a where everyone’s rich af. Definitely
soaked in the sun a little too much as I ended up leaving it too late to give
myself proper time to get back to the hostel, couldn’t get the right train, and
ended up having to go to Monaco in my beach clothes. Both Nice and Monaco were
such amazing places, despite spending most of my time in Monaco at their
McDonalds… but hey, the Monte Carlo casino looks just as great from the outside
(kind of).
Pisa/Florence
On the way
to Florence, we had a stop at the well renowned leaning tower of Pisa. This was big, we had been photo planning for
days. It may not look like it, though
the pose we went for actually took a lot of strength (or maybe I’m just weak?)
… but after many, many attempts and angles, we got the shot! A solid effort
rewarded with my first of way too many Gelato’s.
Florence –
where every building is an architectural masterpiece. So much attention to detail and so much
beauty. Also incredibly difficult to get
around at night time when all you want to do is get back to your hostel, damn
language barriers and maps in Italian.
Looking back on it though, it’s all a part of the experience.
Rome/Vatican City
Arrived in
Rome all excited to see the Trevi fountain in the flesh, only to come to a
completely dry concrete hole surrounded by scaffolding, typical. Luckily other sights like the Spanish steps,
and the phenomenal pizza and gelato made up for it.
The next
day it was onto the Vatican City, and boy did it rain. Completely unprepared, an absolutely drenched
self shivered my way through the amazing architecture of the Vatican. A kind of surreal feeling, walking around and
seeing such rich parts of history.
Greek Sailing
Well… this
part of the tour definitely was not what I was expecting. Although I knew I wasn’t going to the same
part of Greece that’s home to the icons like Santorini, I thought I was still
going to see white buildings with blue dome roofs. But no. We were sailing around old, smelly fishing
towns with not much to it. Never been
happier to stay on a tiny boat in my life.
The best part of this leg of the tour was the Gyros, but I’m sure that honestly
would have been the same in any part of Greece… God’s gift to food.
Dubrovnik/Zadar
My gosh
Croatia, what a slice of heaven. Both
Dubrovnik and Zadar were incredible, however I definitely favoured
Dubrovnik. A little beach was just
across the road from our hostel, complete with a mini wipe-out course. I mean, what else could you want? Old town made me feel like I was back in
medieval times with the stone walkways and buildings. Little hill alleyways filled with shops and
bars, the only issue being the monster of a trek up and down the stairs, made a
lot worse with a hangover.
We took a cable car up 778 metres to a plateau which had incredible views of
old town and the Mediterranean waters.
Venice
A gondola
ride in Venice has been on my bucket list since I can remember and finally
being able to live it out was an incredible feeling. Topped off with a gondola driver who was
identical to a young Johnny Depp! Riding
around and seeing the ‘sinking city’ from water the true venetian way was next
to none, incredibly lucky to have such a nice day for it as well. Wandering around the canals of Venice made me
feel like a giant in a small person’s world in a sense, little bridge crossings
looking into the little houses with flowering plants growing left, right, and
centre. Exactly the same as the
dreamlike pictures you see.
Prague
We were
only in Prague for a very short time, but enough to appreciate the beauty of the
city. Although the main highlight was
the Trdelník,
and also being able to get a bit of shopping in. At night, we all went to the best bar ever, the
‘Bed Lounge’. Yep, it’s exactly what you’re
probably thinking it is, a bar with bed lounges. I’m not too sure why all bars aren’t like
this, definitely my style.
Berlin
The good
weather ends here, but the beautiful cities don’t. Berlin was one of the coolest places I visited,
so much history and culture. Also
happened to stumble upon an amazing indie/vintage market – something that I’d
been searching for for the entire tour, good food and one of a kind finds.
Amsterdam
Rain, rain
& more rain. But Amsterdam, was
something else. A bike tour is the best
way to see the city, bikes in Amsterdam > everything. From the amazing shopping to the “Coffee”
shops, there’s never a dull moment. I couldn’t
think of a better spot to finish off this amazing tour!
Along the
way I also visited / had lunch & one night stops at Munich, Albania, Postonja
Caves (Slovenia), Austria, Montenegro, Bruges (Belgium), Dresden, and also the
Dachau Concentration Camp, which made up my 14 countries across 27 days.
An
incredible experience with amazing people. 28/08/15 – 23/09/15.
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