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

Blue Lagoon

For our final 3 weeks in Bali we decided to stay put and take it easy in a lovely village called Cucukan. I’ll firstly share with you the day trips we took while staying in Cucukan. Our first trip was to the Blue Lagoon for lunch and an afternoon of snorkelling. It was a little more off the beaten track. You wouldn’t really know what was at the bottom of this path.But this is what you find!So many amazing shades of blue!Not a bad way to spend an afternoon at all!

Sanur, Bali

We were sad to say goodbye to Thailand but really excited to spend the last 3 weeks of our amazing journey in Indonesia. Our first stop was Sanur for 3 nights at Diwangkara Holiday Inn.

The gorgeous gardens at Diwangkara.Breakfast at our hotel was great…particularly the pancake corner 🙂Reassuring sign to see…You can get married in a giant blue diamond by the ocean in Sanur haha!Beachside restaurants. This ability will never cease to amaze me!Beautiful doors everywhere in Bali.Some refreshing beverages.Bali footpaths leave a lot to be desired.Chillin’ on his bike…My mini ‘Transport in Bali’ series…The more on the bike the better right?Post ceremony side saddle. There’s nothing you can’t carry on a moped… I’ll leave you today with this lovely scene 🙂 

Phuket – Surin Beach

Welcome to paradise!

We stayed at Surin Beach in Phuket and it was simply amazing. Great beaches, delicious food and fantastic weather!The local fruit stall.Yummy vegetarian spring rolls.What better place for an afternoon nap.A lovely beachside bar.Early morning at Salt on Surin Beach.We stayed at Surintra Boutique Inn which was very nice.
A little bird having a bath.Before the crowds arrive for the day.Beautiful Surin Beach.A day on the beach under an umbrella – pure bliss.Job listing Thai style.

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.The view from our apartment.The tunnel that links the old town and the new town of Monterosso.Monterosso shops and cafes.Beautiful interior of one of the churches in Monterosso.Monterosso is the only one of the 5 towns that has a sand beach.Dining with your feet in the sand is pretty unbeatable.During 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.

Our first view of Vernazza.Arriving in Vernazza.Vernazza is said to be the most picturesque of the 5 towns and is therefore definitely the most crowded.But you can certainly understand why it has earned that reputation!We stopped for an orange juice / coffee at this fantastic cafe over looking Vernazza.Our first view of Corniglia.People 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.The town off in the distance that you can see is Monterosso so it was a reasonable hike (and very enjoyable!).After that hike I think we deserve a beer and a big feed of seafood pasta!We spent the afternoon and evening in Riomaggiore which is really gorgeous.The colour of the setting sun was amazing.Not a bad view to go with dinner.And last but not least we visited Manarola.Laughing at how impossible it is to get a good photo of me!We had a fantastic dinner (more seafood pasta!) and enjoyed another gorgeous sunset.Sadly it was time to say goodbye to Cinque Terre…

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!

One of the quaint little streets.I don’t think a photo can fully convey how massive these lemons are!Chillies and garlic…two of the most essential and delicious ingredients. Duomo di Amalfi.A great place for lunch overlooking the water.Gelato became a daily habit for Andrew…Andrew’s gelato….and Kirsty’s gelato 😉
The lemon groves of Amalfi.Vespa & Fiat – two Italian favourites.What a gorgeous coastline…

Salerno

We took the train from Rome down to the southern part of the Amalfi Coast to stay in Salerno. While we were there we did a few day trips (pics to come in the next posts) and ate copious amounts of seafood.

The view from our balcony.

Salerno’s harbour.  Vespa’s buzzing around everywhere. There’s a lovely promenade along the water. Some of the aforementioned seafood. It’s all fresh off the boats in Salerno. Sunset from our balcony.

Aranjuez

Visiting Andrew’s cousin Beth and her partner Diego in Aranjuez was a huge highlight of our time in Spain (and the trip as a whole!). The hospitality and generosity they showed us was overwhelming.

The Aranjuez Palace just down the road from Beth’s house.Beth’s beautiful treelined street.They live in a fantastic house that used to be a restaurant.On our first night, Beth & Diego did a gig at a local restaurant. It was amazing to see them perform together. Plus the food was fantastic!Mickey! Such a sweet and cheeky pup. If we left our bedroom window open she would jump in and be on the bed in no time!Beth’s amazing turkey…
…and her beautiful cats Ramon and Pearler.Diego put on a nice BBQ the first weekend we were there. We felt like we were getting a real taste of Spain now!
They also took us horse riding at Diego’s family’s stables. Riding through the olive groves as the sunset over Aranjuez was simply amazing and was one of those moments we’ll never forget. I didn’t take my camera on the horse for fear of dropping it or falling off while trying to take pictures but here are some I took before our ride.Beth and her gorgeous horse.Isn’t he beautiful?!Some lovely Spanish countryside.The bull bar in town.Diego’s solution to no carparks being available in town…mount the curb and put on your hazard lights! Then walk across the road for a beer naturally.Mickey…loving it.Sadly our stay had to come to an end but on the final night Beth and Diego had a little housewarming party. Ten minutes before people started arriving Diego told Beth there would be 14 people for a sit down dinner. I would freak! But the hostess with the mostest managed to find enough chairs, make the table look fabulous and together with Diego put on an absolute feast.
What a fantastic way to end our time in Spain. We’re looking forward to seeing Beth back in Australia in December too!

San Sebastian

Hello Spain!!

We were so excited to arrive at the beach and to explore San Sebastian as our first stop in Spain. Arriving and trying to order food we quickly realised how much French we knew in comparison with Spanish. The beautiful blue water and the mountains were gorgeous and we quickly fell in love with this place…I’m sure you can see why 🙂Soaking up the sun…One of the lovely streets in the old part of town.It’s a good place to just sit and watch the world go by.Lots of steps but the view is worth it!Please click on this panorama to view a bigger version – it makes it better I promise!Now THAT’S a busy beach! Coming from Australia we’ve never seen anything like this at all. But somehow it works!View from Monte Igueldo.We were treated to plenty of spectacular sunsets.Mmmm….tapas. Pretty much the best thing about San Sebastian in our book!

Pau and The Pyrenees

Next stop – Pau!

The setting sun hit the church at just the right time for this shot.Dining in Pau.The French do castles and gardens like no one else!While wandering around Pau we came across this fabulous little cafe. Deck chairs in the sun overlooking the Pyrenees in the distance and a fantastic old school roaster inside.This dog was awesome! He had jumped into a water feature outside some sort of official building and was having the time of his life. He would splash the water with his paws and then jump in the air, barking and biting at the water.The PyreneesA little village market we came across.The road to Spain! Farewell France…until next time!