Uluwatu

We spent a day down at Uluwatu which was so beautiful. It’s the Bali that everyone imagines!

Andrew & Dewa walking through the cave to get to the beach at Padang Padang.Uluwatu Bali The cliffs and crystal clear water of Padang Padang.Uluwatu Bali Waves that go on forever.Padang Padang Still amazed by this ability…Uluwatu Bali All the mopeds down this way are fitted with racks for surfboards.Uluwatu Bali Respect locals.Uluwatu Bali Not a bad place for a coffee.Uluwatu Bali So many waves. Take your pick!Uluwatu Bali Uluwatu Bali The beautiful cliffs and water of Uluwatu from the Monkey Temple.Uluwatu Bali Andrew in his temple sarong 🙂Uluwatu Bali Uluwatu Bali Uluwatu Bali Uluwatu Bali This monkey looks like he’s plotting to kill us…Uluwatu Bali Monkey family.Uluwatu Bali Off to a ceremony.Uluwatu Bali

Bangkok

Next stop – Thailand! When we arrived in Bangkok we were very eager to dig into some amazing Thai food and experience the renowned hustle and bustle of the Thai capital.Motobikes and TuktuksNot sure how safe this is…Bangkok powerlinesOr this actually.RemovalistsRestaurant on wheels – go where the business is!Restaurant on wheelsOur hotel – Amber Boutique Silom.Amber Boutique SilomWe caught the local boat along the river to visit one of the temples.Crowded Bangkok boatIMG_3783I will never again say anything about the Brisbane River looking dirty!Dirty riverIt was obviously high tide when we got off the boat as this lady’s little shop was well and truly flooded.Flooded marketWat Pho.Wat PhoWat Pho BangkokWat PhoThe giant golden Buddha is so impressive.Giant golden buddhaIt’s difficult to show in photos just how huge it is!Huge Buddha at Wat PhoYoung monks at Wat Pho.Little monksWat Pho MonksGolden BuddhasDelicious grilled squid from a street vendor.Grilled squidMonks and squidThe fruit stalls everywhere are great. Pomegranate juice and dragonfruit are my new favourites!
Colourful fruitTypical Bangkok scene – busy, dirty, crazy and somehow endearing.IMG_3798The tiniest McDonald’s ever?Tiny McDonald'sWe went searching far and wide for the best street food in Bangkok and were lucky enough to have an amazing street only 5 minutes walk from our hotel in Silom. We tried almost every place on the street at least once.Bangkok Street FoodOur fave street food vendor!Food geniusYummy seafood pad thai and chicken panang.
Pad Thai and CurryOn Saturday we paid a visit to the famous Chatuchak Markets. It was insanely busy and already 40 degrees by about 9:30am so our shopping didn’t last that long. You simply can’t believe how big this market is unless you see it for yourself. It covers over 35 acres!Market day madnessThere’s something for everyone at Chatuchak Markets! There’s food…Market foods…and feather dusters…Feather duster stall…flowers and knives…
Chatuchak Market …and a lovely cafe to escape from the heat!Chatuchak cafe

Athens

Hello Greece! It was a short and sweet visit for us with only 2 days to explore Athens but it was definitely worth it, even if only for the amazing food!

Oh and this view…View of AthensA&K in AthensPart of the Acropolis.AcropolisDakos salad….sooooo good.Dakos SaladThere was some seriously cool street art in Athens.Athens street artThe place we stayed had a great balcony overlooking a pedestrian street lined with cafes.Our balcony More cool street art.Street Art AthensSpice shop.Cinnamon storeTake a close look at just how much garlic is in this photo!Garlic shopSeems like you wouldn’t want to leave your car anywhere too long in Athens.Van in AthensMeat and garlic hanging from the ceiling….why not?Meat shopFun shoes!Fancy shoesWhy do they make the coolest kids clothes?! I want these in my size!Kids clothesCafe lined streets in the city centre.Athens cafesSeafood marketThe meat market was really upsetting…but I guess this is reality we have to face if we want to eat meat.Meat marketGorgeous Greek architecture.Greek architectureLook like this fat cat has had a few too many gyros.Fat catThis marks the end of our time in Europe sadly. Next up ASIA!

Venice

While staying in Milan we took a day trip to Venice. We had originally planned to stay in Venice but the price of accommodation wasn’t within our budget. Venice was wonderful to go and see but in the end we’re actually very happy we didn’t stay there. It’s very beautiful and the waterways are a novelty but mostly we found it to be a tourist theme park. Having said that we did have a lovely day (albeit very long!) and I got some shots that I think show why people are so enchanted with Venice.Classic VeniceGondola parking.Gondola parkingVeniceYou would want to be careful hanging out your clothes here!Venice waterwayAn art exhibit we stumbled across.Venice art exhibitVenice artWatch your head!Watch your headI couldn’t get enough of the views from all the little bridges.Venice waterwaysAndrew and the giant stovetop expresso.Andrew & the giant stove topA great door down a great street.Venice findsNo Hills Hoists in Venice!Venice washingFound artAutumn vines.Vines and signsAutumn in VeniceI love cookies!I love cookiesA rare moment of quiet in Venice with no one in sight.Lonely VeniceCanal peak hour.Rush hour in VeniceClassic VeniceClassic Gondola of Venice

Milan

Milan…one of the fashion capitals of the world. And you can tell!Milan fashionFashion advertisementI was constantly impressed in Europe by how glamorous the woman manage to look while riding bicycles.Milan bike ridingGalleria Vittorio Emanuele II. One of the worlds oldest shopping malls, opened in 1877.Milan shoppingGucci cafePlacing your heal on the genitals of the bull on this Turin coat of arms and spinning 3 times is said to bring good luck. The number of people doing this has caused significant damage to the tiling and there is now a hole in place of the bulls genitals.Spinning on the bulls testaclesMatching camo pants…this couple clearly didn’t call each other to find out what the other was wearing today!Matching camo in MilanOld school Milan tram.Milan tramsThe Duomo.Milan DuomoMilan walkwayAmazing vine covered apartment block.Vine covered buildingThe Imaginarium has a special kid sized door!!ImaginariumI think this is such a good ad.
Fat DavidAn amazing sculpture outside a church in Milan.Milanese sculpturBeautiful autumn leaves in Sempione Park.Autumn in MilanI want her bike!Bright red bicycleMilan park

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen! I’d return in a heartbeat. We spent a wonderful week staying in Monterosso Al Mare and exploring the other 4 towns.MonterossoThe view from our apartment.View from our apartmentThe tunnel that links the old town and the new town of Monterosso.Monterosso TunnelMonterosso shops and cafes.Monterosso streetsBeautiful interior of one of the churches in Monterosso.Monterosso Church InteriorMonterosso is the only one of the 5 towns that has a sand beach.Monterosso beachDining with your feet in the sand is pretty unbeatable.Beach diningDuring our stay we did the coastal hike from Monterosso, through Vernazza to Corniglia. The last part of the trail was still closed due to the flood they had in 2011.

The view of Monterosso from the start of the trail.

Monterosso Old Town

Cinque TerreBlue trail, Cinque TerreOur first view of Vernazza.Steps and VernazzaArriving in Vernazza.Arriving in VernazzaVernazza portHanging clothesVernazza is said to be the most picturesque of the 5 towns and is therefore definitely the most crowded.Vernazza homesBut you can certainly understand why it has earned that reputation!Vernazza and the oceanWe stopped for an orange juice / coffee at this fantastic cafe over looking Vernazza.Cafe above VernazzaOur first view of Corniglia.First view of CornigliaPeople enjoying a meal after their hike and the 382 steps you must climb (or descend in our case, thank goodness) to go between the town and the train station.CornigliaThe town off in the distance that you can see is Monterosso so it was a reasonable hike (and very enjoyable!).View from Corniglia to MonterossoAfter that hike I think we deserve a beer and a big feed of seafood pasta!Beer and pastaWe spent the afternoon and evening in Riomaggiore which is really gorgeous.Riomaggiore homesSomeones viewRiomaggiore, CinqueRiomaggioreRiomaggiore, Cinque TerreThe colour of the setting sun was amazing.Setting sunRiomaggiore at sunsetNot a bad view to go with dinner.Sunset in ItalyAnd last but not least we visited Manarola.Streets of ManarolaManarola, Cinque TerreManarolaLaughing at how impossible it is to get a good photo of me!Kirsty in Cinque TerreWe had a fantastic dinner (more seafood pasta!) and enjoyed another gorgeous sunset.Manarola SunsetSadly it was time to say goodbye to Cinque Terre…Evening hangout

Florence

Staying in Florence was a bit of a last minute decision but I’m very glad that we got to see this beautiful city!

Arno River that flows through Florence at sunset.Florence Arno RiverMotorbike madness!Motorbike madnessFlorence is all about art and craftsmanship. There’s so many fantastic little shops selling all sorts of creative goods.Paper craftThe Duomo.DuomoFirenze DuomoFlorentine leather.Firenze leatherThe colourful streets of Florence.Streets of FlorenceThe fruit in Italy was unbelievably good.Fresh Italian FruitSo many varieties of pumpkin!Pumpkin varietiesPonte VecchioPonte VecchioAndrew’s new shoes.Andrew's new shoesWe stayed with the most wonderful couple in Florence, Marco and Cristiana. They made us feel so welcome and had the most gorgeous apartment.Our apartmentBest Air BnB breakfast ever!Airbnb breakfastTheir cute cat, Micromilla.Cat in a basketThere really are motorbikes EVERYWHERE in Italy.More motorbikesView of Florence at sunset.View of FlorenceAndrew in FlorenceFlorence Duomo framedThey certainly love their bikes and their dogs in Florence.
With a dog in her basketHmmm…don’t know what this was about!Random Florence findsFunny table…Nice legsAn abandoned building with US $1 bills stuck all over it.Building covered in $1 billsArchesOne of the fake David’s.Fake DavidThe fake handbag selling crew.Street vendorsFarewell Florence…it’s been great xxFunky door in Firenze

Pompeii

We also did a day trip to Pompeii while staying in Salerno. It was really interesting to see how well preserved everything is. The site is much bigger than I thought. We spent about 4 hours walking around and still didn’t get to see everything we wanted to. It was definitely worth the trip!PompeiiPompeiiPompeiiPompeiiPompeii castsPompeii artPompeiiPompeii bathsPompeiiPompeiiPompeiiPompeii pillarsPompeii puppySteps of PompeiiPompeii

Amalfi

During our stay in Salerno we did a day trip to Amalfi, the town the coast derives its name from. Amalfi is only about 24km from Salerno but the coastal road is so windy that the bus ride takes an hour and a half. It’s so worth it though to see the coast. I only wish I could have got out to take more pictures!

Amalfi beachOne of the quaint little streets.Amalfi SidestreetI don’t think a photo can fully convey how massive these lemons are!Giant Amalfi LemonsChillies and garlic…two of the most essential and delicious ingredients. Chillies & GarlicDuomo di Amalfi.Duomo di AmalfiA great place for lunch overlooking the water.Amalfi restaurantGelato became a daily habit for Andrew…Gelato shopAndrew’s gelato….and Kirsty’s gelato 😉
Amalfi Ice CreamsThe lemon groves of Amalfi.Lemon groves of AmalfiVespa & Fiat – two Italian favourites.Vespa & FiatWhat a gorgeous coastline…AmalfiBeach in Amalfi

Rome

Our first stop in Italy was Rome. It was amazing to see this famous city in person. It definitely deserves it’s reputation.

The Colosseum was fantastic!ColosseumIMG_0278IMG_0259ColosseumColosseum framedWe sat down to look at our map to work out how to get back to our place and we were sitting exactly where the photo on the map was taken from.Rome - ColosseumLots of wonderful cafes everywhere.Italian CoffeeSunset from our apartment.Sunset in RomeSidewalk cafe in RomeIMG_0465There seemed to be ruins every corner we turned!Roman ruinsMmm…lunch.Lunch in RomeI’ve never seen so many Smart Cars!
Smart Car CityRomans relaxingPantheon.Pantheon RomePantheonTrevi FountainTrevi Fountain(I know you can’t see any of the water from the fountain but there were people crawling over the whole area in front of it).

We went to The Vatican but just stayed outside as the lines were insane.VaticanAnd we ate LOTS of pasta 🙂Pasta