We crossed under the English Channel on the Eurostar Train and arrived in Paris, where we stayed in the Latin Quarter.
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We crossed under the English Channel on the Eurostar Train and arrived in Paris, where we stayed in the Latin Quarter.
The Scandinavian part of our trip was now over and we headed to England, where we spent most of the time in London, but also ventured off to see Bath and Stonehenge. The temperatures were a bit warmer but unfortunately the snow was replaced with rain.
We arrived by train into Oslo, our final stop in Scandinavia.
We left Bergen and headed to Flåm. We did a cruise on the Aulandsfjordsome, took a plunge in the freezing waters outside our floating sauna, stayed in the Fretheim Hotel in Flåm, then took the Flåm Railway and headed to Oslo.
We returned the rental car to Leknes and then flew down to Bergen where we walked around the Bryggen; the old historic harbour area.
We flew from Tromso down to the Lofoten Islands where we stayed for a few days and hired a car to explore the islands.
After a 10 hour bus trip from Rovaniemi we crossed into Norway and arrived in Tromso. At 69 degrees north, it’s the furthest North we have ever been. Sunrise was at 11:45am, followed by sunset at 12:15pm.
We caught the early morning bus from Levi down to Rovaniemi where we visited Santa Claus Village and wandered around the city.
Kyra and Mickey went skiing at Levi, the largest ski field in Finland.
The amazing Lapland and the Aurora Borealis. We stayed at the Northern Lights Village in Sirkka and got to experience all the winter outdoor activities, and to see the northern lights.
We took a ferry ride from Helsinki across the Baltic Sea to Estonia, where we spent the day wandering around the old town of Tallinn.
Hopping on and off planes and walking across snow covered tarmacs was a new experience.
Stockholm was beautiful waking up to snow falling on the city. And the ABBA Museum was great to experience.
A quick stop to Copenhagen in Denmark to visit Princess Mary.
The first stop on our Scandinavian trip was to Reykjavik in Iceland, and from there we travelled around the southern part of the island past Vik and as far East as Suðursveit.
After spending time at Anzac Cove we took the car ferry across the Dardanelles to Canakkale, and then down to the ruins of Troy before the long drive back up to Istanbul.
We visited Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula which was a pretty moving experience.
We flew into Istanbul in Turkey and took in the kaos which was the famous Kapalicarsi Grand Bazaar. Then spent a pretty quiet New Year’s Eve.
We caught a bus in Portugal and headed through to Spain, stopping on the way in Seville. Our destination Malaga, where we explored the region and the spectacular town of Ronda.
We flew from Lisbon down to Albufeira on the Algarve Coast and spent a week exploring the coast and taking a break.
We flew from Nice down to the Algarve Coast in Portugal, but because of a plane strike we had an unexpected stop over in Lisbon.
After being pick-pocketed in Nice, we packed up and stayed in Villefranche, then took day trips to Monaco and the Fragonard perfumery in Eze.
We based ourselves in La Spezia, then walked and explored the 5 towns of the famous Cinque Terre.
We travelled by train through the Swiss Alps and into Italy, and spent the night in Milan.
We ventured into Switzerland and to the idyllic riverside town of Lucerne.
Another overnight to Munich, and then the journey to Fussen to visit the magnificent Neuschwanstein Castle, which the Disney Castle was inspired by.
Another overnight train from Amsterdam took us to Berlin in Germany.
We took an overnight train from Paris, travelled through Belgium, and arrived in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
We flew from London to Paris, and arrived to catch the celebrations of Bastille Day.
We spent a week just walking around London, and finished off watching Chelsea play Birmingham City at Stamford Bridge.
We stayed in a B&B in Doolin, then drove through to Galway before heading back to Dublin and flying out to London.
After driving around and exploring the Ring of Kerry, we headed north to the Cliffs of Moher.
We drove through to Cork and to Blarney Castle, where we kissed the Blarney Stone.
After leaving Dublin in the rental car, our first stop was to the quaint little town of Kilkenny, and then through to Cashel.
We flew from New York to Dublin in Ireland, where we hired a car and drove around the country, including the Ring of Kerry.
Athens really was all about the amazing Acropolis, with leisurely strolls around the Ancient Greek ruins featuring the spectacular Parthenon.
The most spectacular of all the Greek Islands.
We flew into Crete for a few days, and explored the old castle walls of the docks.
The old town of Rhodes was an ancient walled city which was fun to explore with little shops and market stalls spread throughout.
After Syros, it was another ferry ride to Mykonos.
Our first stop in the Greek Islands was on the quiet little island of Syros. An early morning ferry ride departing from the port of Piraeus in Athens saw us disembarking on the very un-touristy little island around midday. It was the tourist off season so there were lots of places closed, but it was still a beautiful place to wander around, especially the little port...
When in Rome! Our final stop in Italy was to its capital city, Rome. There was so much to do and see. But the best part was the impromptu bus tour of the city, when we hopped onto a bus which we thought was heading to the Vatican, only for it to do a loop around the Colosseum and head off in the other direction. We stayed on and enjoyed the ride. Then it was off to...
Whichever way you turned your head in Florence, there was another dome. Duomo's everywhere!
The Leaning Tower of Pisa We had a quick stop to take a look at the infamous Leaning Tower of Pisa. Work was being done on it to stop it leaning over any further, so we weren’t able to climb up it. But we entertained ourselves enough by just wandering around the grounds, and photobombing a wedding that was taking place : ) Sometime engineering just...
The Canals of Venice Our first stop in Italy was to Venice, with its amazing canals and waterways. Lots of time spent wandering the streets, the canals, and eating in the little restaurants that popped up out of nowhere during the evening and then vanished without a trace the following morning. Our first stop in Italy was to beautiful Venice. Venice Gondola Yum! It...