• Andrea and Luke French
  • Luke French
  • Andrea and Luke French
  • Luke French

Adventure is out there

Our travels, to see where the world takes us Meer informatie
  • Rome, Italy

    25–27 jun. 2024, Italië ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    I can attest to the fact that Rome wasn't built in a day, as there was SO much to see! The time we spent here was absolutely jam packed, with so many stunning and awe-inspiring things to see. We must have walked over 20 miles in the two days, and would have done more if it wasn't for the scorching temperatures.

    Rome, you were expensive but amazing! I'm sure we'll be back.
    Meer informatie

  • Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri

    26 juni 2024, Italië ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    The first Basilica we went into in Rome, and such a striking difference from the temples we have been used to. It was fun to be enjoying things more familiar again, and also seeing some ruins which were at the back of the church.

    When we entered there was only a handful of other people inside, so it was very peaceful - as we made our way to the exit there was a tour group or walking tour heading in so we picked a good time to exit.
    Meer informatie

  • Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy

    26 juni 2024, Italië ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    A massively busy tourist site of Rome, our fault for wandering by at a peak time though. It was an ornate and opulent as I expected, surprisingly the crowds weren't too rude and pushy so it was actually calm. A guy tried to scam us into buying bracelets here though, which was odd as it was one ploy we hadn't come across in the whole of our trip!Meer informatie

  • Largo di Torre Argentina, Rome, Italy

    26 juni 2024, Italië ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    This was one area of Rome I'd picked out to see as it is roman ruins along with a cat colony!

    It seems that cats take over other ruins as well, as we saw signs within the collessuem about not feeding them, but this was the only area we actually saw any. I only managed to get a photo of one, but we did see about 4/5 of them in total - although I was expecting many more. A perfect place for them to relax in the sun, and out of range from meddling humans, they reminded me of the cats in Dubrovnik who also found sanctuary away from people in ruins.

    For some reason there was also a random bird enjoying the area.
    Meer informatie

  • Vatican City, Italy

    26 juni 2024, Vaticaanstad ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We visited the Vatican so I could 'complete the trio' as Luke puts it - and see all countries within Italy (San Marino being the other one).

    It was as impressive as I imagined, but as we didn't pay to go inside (we wouldn't have done anyway, but the queue was HUGE) there wasn't too much more to see. We sat along one of the corridors and enjoyed the breeze for a bit as it was getter hotter and hotter!Meer informatie

  • Colosseum, Rome, Italy

    27 juni 2024, Italië ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We didn't expect to go inside the Colosseum, but realised tickets for the Forum and Colosseum were combined so it was a freebie. Unfortunately, as we hadn't planned to go it meant that we had timed it very planned. It was really busy, lots of tour groups, and very hot too.

    It was still very impressive though, and the amount of people gave us an idea of what it may have been like at its peak!
    Meer informatie

  • Roman Forum, Rome, Italy

    27 juni 2024, Italië ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    A hugely expansive area filled with ruins upon ruins. There's almost too much as everywhere you look there were ruins so it was hard to take them all in. Some were in better condition, others were just a singular column, but it just shows the layers upon layers of history within Rome.Meer informatie

  • Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin,Rome

    27 juni 2024, Italië ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    This church really had a bit of everything! At the entrance the Mouth of Truth, a roman lie detector test, inside the skull of St Valentine, allegedly, and under the crypt of Hadrian (real name Adriano!?!).

    We didn't go to the crypt unfortunately as there was a donation, and Rome had already took so much money from us, but we did see the Mouth of Truth and St Valentine's skull. The rest of the church was pretty although far less opulent than others we'd been in. It was nice to see an intricately painted design set against a plain wall for once.
    Meer informatie

  • Cathedral di Santa Maria, Florence,Italy

    29 juni 2024, Italië ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Another quick stop by the Cathedral this time. We were expecting to go in here as it was free but the queue was ginormous!

    The tour de France circuit was literally right along the front too, so not sure if the crowds were from either tourists or tour de France watchers.

    We were sorry to miss it, but couldn't justify spending that long in a queue in the sun 🥵
    Meer informatie

  • Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte,Florence

    30 juni 2024, Italië ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    A really interesting church at the top of a hill above the piazza. There was a large cemetery surrounding it, which had some interesting burials!

    The actual church was stunning inside, the huge central part had high ceilings with various styles of decoration - from old chipping away murals, to lavishly painted frescos, with geometrical designs in between. There was then a lower area which had plain walls, a much lower ceiling intersected with columns.

    Definitely a diverse building!

    The outside was just as stunning, with the Basilica on top of the hill looking over Florence's skyline and a huge staircase leading down.
    Meer informatie

  • Apennine Colossus, Florence, Italy

    1 juli 2024, Italië ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Our plan was to reach these gardens by 10 o'clock, but were completely derailed by the introduction of a new bus timetable in Florence and roadworks which diverted the bus route we were using!

    Thankfully we managed to get there during open times (which are limited) so we could see the collosus. Having seen a YouTube video about it years ago it had been on our radar, but we had completely forgot until Luke realised how close we would be!

    The trip was worth it though, even though I was feeling under the weather, as this was such a random thing to find in the middle of a garden. The rest of the garden is beautifully designed, with small grottos, pavilions, and water features but the collosus puts it on the map.
    Meer informatie

  • Chiesa di San Marco, Florence, Italy

    1 juli 2024, Italië ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Due to the bus issues we ended up back in the centre of Florence instead of our accommodation, but I wasn't feeling well enough to explore much more so we only managed to see this church - thankfully it was a good one though.

    Beautifully adorned ceilings, and art displayed on the walls, but the main draw was the body of St Antonio which is displayed here. Different to the remains we had seen in Rome, this was definitely a mummified body with no wax embellishments!
    Meer informatie

  • Porto Venere, Italy

    2 juli 2024, Italië ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    On our first night in La Spezia we headed towards Porto Venere to enjoy the coastline and views.

    After a bus ride with fantastic views we got out at the small town and enjoyed wandering through the small streets leading to these viewpoints which were spectacular!

    One area is Lord Bryon's Grotto as he was inspired to write a poem about the area, which I can see why.

    The views across the sea, and the fresh sea air revitalised us after lots of cities recently.
    Meer informatie

  • La Spezia, Italy

    2–4 jul. 2024, Italië ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Not the most interesting of towns, but a good stop off in our trip for us. We were able to explore the more beautiful coastline towns from here, and had a cute self catering accommodation that we enjoyed.

    The town itself was pretty as it had the classic Italian buildings to it - but it was mostly restaurants and shops there. Even the castle was a bit of a letdown!
    Meer informatie