Barcelona

Our only taste of Spain was 2 days in Barcelona. We discovered some of Gaudi’s great architecture, including the fantastic Sangrada Familia. This massive, privately-funded Catholic church was designed by Antoni Gaudi and has been under construction since 1882, and is not expected to be completed until at least 2026. We spent a full day strolling through the city and dined on tapas for lunch. Check out some of the street performers – scary! That night we went to a Flamenco show where we were treated to traditional Spanish dancing as we sipped on local Sangria.

Sangrada Familia

The streets of Barcelona

Street performers

A Barcelona local!

Paris & Beaujolais Wine Region

I first thought I had lost my photos from Paris and the Beaujolais wine region but have just discovered that I haven’t so I’m very relieved.

Paris was our very first city to experience on our Contiki tour and it surely didn’t disappoint. The city is oozing style, fashion and of course love – it is the city of love after all!

On our first night, we were treated with a driving tour of the city to see the sights by night (daylight – sun doesn’t set until 10.30pm) where we saw the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and drove down the famous and very stylish Champs Elysees.

The following day we ventured up the Eiffel Tower by stairs, as there was a 2-3 hour wait to queue up for the lifts. Nothing like a bit of exercise to get the heart pumping! We made it to the 1st and 2nd levels where the views were just breathtaking. Afterwards, Daniel and I decided to walk the distance to Notre Dame Cathedral which took a lot longer than what we expected. Though, the best way to see a city is to walk through it, so we didn’t complain. The Notre Dame Cathedral is magnificent with the gargoyles perched high on the external walls. Later that night we enjoyed traditional French cuisine where we dined at a French restaurant – Daniel had escargot (snails!) for entree. Afterwards, we strolled past the Moulin Rouge and attended a Caberet show which was very entertaining. Of course, the French can can girls entertained us with singing and dancing, and it also included various comedy and other acts while we sipped on French champagne.

The following day we went to the Louve where we viewed heaps of artwork, including the famous Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.

The Eiffel Tower

On top of the Eiffel Tower

View from the top

Notre Dame Cathedral

Gargoyles

Yum - snails!

French restaurant

The Moulin Rouge

The Louve

The Mona Lisa

The Venus de Milo

 

After Paris, we travelled south to the Beaujolais wine region where we stayed at the stunning French Chateau. We were told about the particular way wine is made in the region and tried a sample of a red. We ventured off for a walk through the area where we got lost Blair Witch style, but finally found our way uphill to the magnificent views of the vineyards where we enjoyed a picnic lunch of French baguettes and fruit.

Great view of the Beaujolais wine region

The vineyards

Edam & Amsterdam

Our Contiki trip finished up in the Netherlands; our first stop was at Edam where we went to a Cheese & Clog factory where we were shown how their famous cheeses are made, and were then shown a demonstration on the making of wooden clogs. Afterwards, we joined the Dutch people and went for a bike ride through the town of Edam.

Daniel trying on some clogs

Dutch windmill

Amsterdam was next, and we enjoyed our free time wandering through the red light district and the many cafes and coffee shops, and had our farewell dinner at a floating Chinese restaurant.

Canal in Amsterdam

Red light district

Amsterdam

Enjoying Amsterdam

Pre-packaged joints!

 

Amsterdam coffee shop

We are now back in London until tomorrow when we fly back to Oz. Looking forward to seeing everyone again… see you soon!

Love Nat & Dan xxx

Switzerland

Lucerne was our first place to visit in Switzerland. We went to the Lion’s Monument, which is in memory of the 700 Swiss guards who were killed while in France during the French Revolution.

Lion's Monument

We then walked across the Chapel Bridge that burnt down in 1993 – it only took 9 months to rebuild, as it is very valuable monument to the Swiss.

Chapel Bridge

 

It was interesting to learn that the Swiss are very paranoid people. Not only do all households have a gun and bomb shelter, but all bridges and roads into the country are equipped with a detonator in case of any invasions.

After Lucerne, we drove to the Swiss Alps where we stayed for 2 nights. We ventured up by cog railway to the snow-covered top of Jungfrau Mountain where we had a truly memorable day.

Swiss Alps

On top of Jungfrau Mountain

Getting a ride on the dog sled

View from the top

Austria: Vienna & Tyrol

Beautiful Austria is for sure my favourite country. Stunning scenery and beautiful houses – felt like we were in The Sound of Music! Vienna was our first Austrian city where we stayed for 2 nights. We went to a Mozart and Strauss concert which was performed by an Austrian symphony orchestra who played many famous songs composed by Mozart and Strauss. The following day we explored the town of Vienna.  Nat went underneath St. Stephen’s Cathedral and ventured through the chilling catacombs which hold thousands of skeletons from medieval times.

Statue of Mozart

That night we were taken out to the Viennese woods for an authentic dinner which included schnitzel and apple strudel.

Our Viennese dinner

Our second stay in Austria was at Tyrol where we went white water rafting and paragliding. While in Austria, we also went to the Schnaps museum and Swarovski Crystal World.

Austria

White water rafting

Paragliding

Gorgeous Austrian house

Germany

Our first stop in Germany was in Munich. We headed out to a 14th century beerhall where we drank beer out of the huge beer steins and enjoyed dinner and German entertainment.

Big beers!

Nat with some of the Contiki girls

Entertainment at the Beerhall

On our way back into Germany after Austria, we stayed in St. Goar, a small,  well-known wine region in Germany.

St. Goar

Contiki tour

We are on the ‘European Escapade’ Contiki tour – for those who are interested you can view our itinerary on the contiki website.

x

Florence, Rome & Venice

Florence was our first stop in Italy where we had 2 nights. We went to a local leather shop where we were taught how to identify genuine leather – as you can see, Daniel had his eyes on a $600 jacket.

Nice jacket!

We had a local guide show us around the small town and we enjoyed brushetta and pizza for lunch – the Italians sure know how to make pizza!

Lunch in Florence

That night enjoyed a traditional Tuscan dinner of pasta, roast and lemoncello shots. Afterwards, we partied on at the Space Electronic Disco.

Florence

Along the way, we stopped off at Pisa where we saw the famous tower… and it definately has a lean to it!

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Rome was fantastic but so hot! With so many things to see in 2 days, we were a little restricted but of course saw most of the must-see stuff. We went to the Trevi Fountain – throw 1 coin in to return to Rome, 2 to fall/stay in love and 3 to marry an Italian – thought I would just try my luck with 2 coins. We were then accompanied by a guide to the Forum where in ancient times the senators used to meet and many important decisions were made for Rome. Then we were taken to the Colloseum and it is truly magnificent – definately a favourite so far.

Trevi Fountain

The Colloseum

 

Inside the Colloseum

Drowned rats! After getting caught in Rome hail storm

Today we spent the day in Venice where we have had another 2 night stay. We explored the local markets, wandered around St Marks Square and spent the afternoon floating around in a gondala while drinking peach champagne…. great day and definately another favourite of ours.

Gondala ride in Venice

Beautiful canal in Venice

Venice

Daniel in Venice

French Riviera

French scenery

Our first country to start our tour was France. Due to complications, I don’t have any Paris photos to post…. only our time in Nice and Cannes. After Paris, the Beaujolais Wine Region and Barcelnoa, we headed back into France and travelled along the south coast to Nice and Cannes. Daniel jumped straight in for a late swim as soon as we arrived in Cannes and we spent the next day in Nice soaking up the sun on the rocky beach and hitting the shops where Daniel bought some nice shoes and a shirt for the upcoming night in Monaco where we had some fun at the Royal Casino (and where Usher drove right by us!)

The scenery in France is just stunning… just when we think it can’t get any better it does!

Nice

View of Nice

Monaco

The Grand Casino in Monaco

London and more…

During the 9 days we’ve had here in London, we’ve squeezed in quite a lot.  We’ve been very lucky with the weather, enjoying rain-free days and even experienced some sunshine! On our first 2 days we firstly went on the Eye which really helped us get our bearings. Great view from the top! On our way, we walked past Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.

The London Eye

 

 

On the Eye

 

Big Ben & Houses of Parliament

 

 

St. Paul's Cathedral

 

Afterwards, we strolled along the river Thames to St. Paul’s Cathedral, viewed some art at a few of the galleries, and marveled at the exhibitions at some of the free museums. Daniel particularly enjoyed seeing the fossil skeleton of the one-eyed giant at the Museum of Natural History.

On Thursday, we went on a day tour to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge is just breathtaking, and although they’ve figured out how and when it was built (some 5 000 years ago), the mystery still remains as to why it was built and what it was used for. The most solid theory presumes it’s an ancient calendar, as the sun rises and sets through particular stones to indicate the different months and even the summer and winter solstices.

Stonehenge

The town of Bath is very charming with lots of shops and a spectacular display of houses built from the famous Bath stone.  We even drove around the ‘circus’ which is a circular stand of luxury apartments where Johnny Depp and Nicholas Cage have both bought apartments next door to each other – and sadly we didn’t bump into them. The Roman Baths are amazing – the Romans discovered the natural hot springs and subsequently settled in Bath and built around the hot springs to create a central place where they congregated to bath, socialise and even seek the believed healing properties of the water.

The Roman Baths

 

We’ve also been to Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace where we saw the changing of the Guard.

 

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace

We checked out Harrods which sells absolutely everything! Very impressive. And later in the afternoon we strolled through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. We went to the IMax theatre in the Science Museum to see a 3D movie – check out our sexy glasses!

Cool tree in Hyde Park

Imax theatre

 

Yesterday we went to the Notting Hill markets which are fantastic! We caught up with Claire and Dan for a pub lunch, and they later took us out to Fulham to experience the nightlife of London at a few of the pubs – we even had a couple of ‘snake bite’ drinks that Claire enjoys!

Notting Hill

 

Catching up with Claire & Dan

 

One thing that we’ve found hard to get used to here are the long days, as it only starts getting dark around 10.00pm, and the sun starts to rise around 4.00am – yesterday was the summer solstice here. We’re spending today mainly relaxing and planning for an early night, as tomorrow we start our European Contiki tour and drive to Paris. Very excitied!

Sending our love, Nat & Dan xxx