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Daniel Mezger
Daniel Mezger

Daniel Mezger

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Rome

    July 27, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We had another big day of walking around Rome today!

    We started with a walk to the Trevi fountain and surprisingly it wasn’t too packed and we were able to take some really good photos (Lucky us!) We also went to the (less famous) fountain right next to the Trevi Fountain (called the Fountain of Love / Fontanella degli Innamorati) which is said to give couples a long and happy marriage/life if they both drink from it! So of course, all 4 of us had to have a sip!!

    We then made our way to the Spanish Steps, continuing to walk and chat amongst ourselves as this would be the last day we would be travelling together before we go off and do our own things for a couple of weeks. The Spanish Steps were not so busy as well because people were spread out and we are sure people didn't want to hang out too long in the heat! We did see some people being told off by the local police though for attempting to sit on the steps. So, we took our photos standing on the steps (and Gab had her Lizzie McGuire movie moment!)

    We made our way to the ‘ruins’ side of town and went inside the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. It really felt like walking back in time as we strolled past the old ruins as well as walking to the top of the hill for a spectacular view of the forum. We tried to picture what the place would have looked like some 2000 years ago with the remains of the temples and palaces - truly a very cool experience and probably our favourite place we visited in Rome.

    We then went to the Colosseum, and having thankfully pre booked tickets we were able to skip the long lines and go inside quickly. We had audio guides as part of our entry which really helped to enhance our experience and provide interesting information about the colosseum and its significance in history.

    Some facts we learnt from the audioguides included:
    - The Colesseum was completed in 80AD and took less than 10 years to build (which is pretty impressive considering its size!!) It was built over what was previously a lake.
    - the Colesseum today also contains a number of restorations from the years which followed the initial construction including restorations undertaken after a large file in 217AD.
    - The famous gladiators were sometimes prisoners sentenced to death forced to participate, and at other times they were free citizens who chose the career of gladiators. Many slaves became gladiators to fight for their freedom.
    - The capacity of the Colesseum was 65,000. It is crazy to imagine the sound and sight of that many people crammed into the space making a lot of noise (probably like a Souths v Roosters game).
    - There were middle underground passages which were built later on. Visitors can explore these today but it costs a lot more and tickets are very limited so we didn't do that. Before these passages were built, the stadium could be filled up with water for "water games" - for example, a life battle between ships at sea!
    - The entertainment back in the day also included animal hunts and executions (such as cruxifications, burning at the stake and animal attacks).
    - Ancient writers describe how on one occasion a large whale was found on the Italian coast so for one of the shows, an enormous model of a whale was created and 50 bears came crawling out of its jaws. This is an example of the types of theatrics which occurred through the use of stage scenery, props and an elaborate pulley system.

    After we had finished visiting the Colosseum (and were covered in sweat), the heat was starting to get to us so we made our way back to the place enjoying some gelato on the way - Gab had pistachio and matcha tea whilst Daniel had roasted almond and mango. Delicious as always!

    We chilled out for a couple of hours and then had our last dinner together as we would be travelling separately for the next week or so.
    We strolled around the lovely Travestere area in the south of Rome and found a nice place to eat with a courtyard.
    We all enjoyed truffle pizza (truffle being one of Nicky's favourite things), pasta cabornara and a pesto pasta. All so delicious! We enjoyed some jokes with the waiter and topped it off with some lovely beer and wine. We strolled home and relaxed at home with some aperols, beers, lemoncello, music and cards before saying goodbye!    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Rome

    July 26, 2023 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We started our day in Rome with a walk along the water heading for the Vatican!

    We passed by Castel San Angelo, the nearly 2000 year old structure which used to be a fort to defend the royal family.

    We approached the Vatican through St Peter’s Square - there was lots of people around but thankfully we had skip the line tickets and were able to avoiding queuing for hours! We entered into the Vatican Musesum entrance and began exploring the many museums. There were many sculptures, paintings and tapestries as well as beautifully detailed ceilings. It took us a couple of hours to see all of the galleries and take everything in. After this, we went through to the Sistine Chapel to see Michelangelo’s famous ceiling which was brilliant (no photos allowed!)

    We then had a quick slice of pizza for lunch before heading out into the gardens where we stumbled upon a nice surprise for the day! Beneath the Vatican gardens, there is a display on papal mobility where there were all the different riding saddles and cars that the Popes have used over the years - very interesting! We enjoyed viewing the different popemobiles and other vehicles gifted to the Pope from various car companies.

    We then strolled around St Peter’s Square and listened to the bells at around 3pm. We didn't go into the Bascillica and the lines were hours long in the square. We then made our way back to our place to escape the heat!! We chilled out and had some pasta dinner in our apartment and enjoyed some chats, aperol spritzes, beers and card games.    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Cinque Terre —> Rome

    July 25, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    We said goodbye to our paradise in Cinque Terre and go the train back to Florence.

    We had a bit of a stopover until our connecting train and so we opted for a quick lunch at McDonalds to make use of the wifi and air-conditioning before catching the train to Rome (a high speed train which took about an hour).

    We arrived in Rome around 3.30pm and made our way to our accommodation (while sweating wearing our backpacks in the heat!). After settling into our accomodation, we walked around Piazza Navona and saw the Pantheon. We also had to have some gelato (it was very hot and we are in Rome, after all!) We shared a cone with hazelnut and salted caramel.

    We then headed back to our place with Nicky and Alex. We split up for the night going out for separate dinners. We went out for a delicious pasta dinner (Gab had ravioli and Daniel had cabornara and we shared an amazing bruschetta and pitcher of wine). We then enjoyed a nice long walk along the water before our second gelato stop for the day for desert. We shared a cone with two scoops: passionfruit and mango; and maccadamia and mixed berries. Great end to the day!    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Cinque Terre

    July 24, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    We had a relaxed morning today after our big hike yesterday and chilled on the balcony. It was sprinkling for a bit and a bit windy so it was a good time to enjoy relaxing in the apartment!

    We went for a short walk to buy lunch (some more classic seafood cones - this time pictured!) We also bought some supplies for our last night and then relaxed and went for a swim off the rocks in the town and hung out there for a few hours.

    We returned back to the place for a chilled night of cards and pasta!    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure
    1Gab's spaghetti in an aluminium swan!

    Cinque Terre

    July 23, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today, the four of us set out on a hike of the Cinque Terre! We were going to spread the hikes out across 2 days but we ended up doing them all in one big (sweaty) day! It was a wonderful day!!

    The trail from our town, Riomaggiore, to the next town, Manarola, was closed and so we caught the train to Manarola and started from there.

    We explored the harbour of Manarola, which is a pretty town similar to Riomaggiore and, of course, took a few photos! We then attempted to hike to the next town on what we believed would be a 45 minute (not too difficult) hike. However, it turned out that hike was closed and we ended up doing the 2.5 hour hike up through the mountains and a town called Volastra to get to the next town, Corniglia!

    We finally made it to Corniglia after taking in some incredible views! We were very hot and tired and knew we needed a break and some fuel so Daniel, Alex and Nicky had foccaccia and Gab had a basil and lemon favoured gelato (which was actually very good!!) The town is very nice with cute narrow streets and stores. However, it was very packed and filled with tourists so it was a bit harder to get around!

    We then continued our hike for the next leg to the town of Vernazza. Half way through the hike, we quickly stopped into a café off the edge of a cliff for a lemon slushie and watermelon juice takeaway to help us cool off. The views were great but the sun was very hot and we were very sweaty!! After about 1.5 hours of hiking, we arrived at Vernazza which is a lovely town with a beautiful marina with plenty of space to swim off the concrete area. People were everywhere but we all went for a swim off a ladder and some rocks into the harbour. Ah so refreshing!!

    After drying off (which didn't take too long), we were were all starting to get very tired for the last leg of the hike but enjoyed the view as we descended onto the last town, Monterosso, and the conclusion of our hike! This leg also took us around 1.5 hours as well. We went for a quick dip in the ocean (in a public area which took us a while to find because almost all of the beach here is private and you have to pay for a spot!) This is by far the most touristy and overcrowded town out of the five towns.

    We had all built up a big appetite so we found a place for dinner (even though we weren't exactly dressed for a nice dinner in our sweaty hiking clothes and wet swimmers!) We had a delicious dinner and enjoyed some beer. Gab had seafood spaghetti in an aluminium bag (shaped like a swan) and Daniel had seafood risotto. The seafood was very fresh and so amazing!!

    We caught the train back to Riomaggiore to our place and arrived back home around 9pm after a long day!    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure
    1

    Cinque Terre

    July 22, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We had a bit of a sleep in today before hiking south of Riomaggiore to Punte Pineda, a lookout further down the coast. Nicky and Alex stayed at the Airbnb and did their own thing while we went on this adventure.

    We took in some large breaths as we climbed vertically out of Riomaggiore and took in some incredible views once we were at the top! We then followed the main road for a bit before then descending down towards the lookout point where we had some more incredible views! It was starting to get pretty hot so we decided to turn around and make our way back to Riomaggiore, chatting and taking in the views as we did so. We thought the walk would be about an hour each way but with the elevation (and the heat) it took about 2 hours there and another hour back!

    After that effort, we grabbed some arancini and fish in cones for lunch before meeting up with Alex and Nicky at the beach for chats, chilling and swims. The beach is very rocky and the waves were quite strong in that area so we mostly sat on the edge of the rocks and enjoyed the water splashing on us! It was getting pretty hot so we all opted for an afternoon gelato on our way back to the place - today's flavours consisted of: mixed berries; ginger and orange; ricotta and honey; and mango. Delicious!

    We then chilled back at the place for a bit and enjoyed the views from the balcony before we bought some takeaway pizza for dinner and together walked up to a bar on the side of the cliff! After 20 minutes of straight stairs and being covered in sweat due to the heat, we arrived at the bar and had a stunning view over the ocean and of the sunset as we enjoyed some cocktails and snacks. We had gelato cocktails (with a lot of cream) which were so delicious! Just as we were about to leave, Alex and Nicky joined us and so we stayed for a little bit longer for another drink before descending down and back to our Airbnb.    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Tuscany —> Cinque Terre

    July 21, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We said goodbye to our Tuscan villa and drove back to Florence to drop off our car which took about half an hour. Surprisingly, the Italians had started work early and so we were able to drop the car slightly earlier to give us more time to get to the train station!

    We were reunited with Nicky and Alex outside the train station and boarded our train on route to Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre. We arrived on the coast and initially felt the cool seaside breeze, however we got very hot carrying our bags up lots of stairs to our Airbnb!

    We checked into our Airbnb and saw what an amazing view we had from the balcony! We could see over all of Riomaggiore and out over the water!

    We then went for a quick walk for lunch - we had the very popular seafood in a cone! We also bought some supplies before going for a very refreshing swim from the rocks/marina. It required a bit of a rock climb but we were very happy when we were in the beautiful salty water!

    We headed back to the place to chill out, have pasta for dinner and drinks and play some cards.    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Tuscany

    July 20, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    After a few days exploring the Tuscan region, we had a staycation in our villa today and made use of the included extras with our Airbnb!

    We started with our included tour of the main castle/villa where we explored and learnt about the facility which had been producing wine and olive oil for over 600 years. We picked up a few fun facts along the way:
    - It takes approximately 20kg of olives to make 1L of olive oil!!
    - The villa's land was bought in 1300s - the main building was built in the 1500s and it is heritage protected so cannot be touched. There is also one of the oldest archives of Italian records at this site.
    - They only use French oak for the winr barrels. They don't use American oak as this gives an undesirable smokey flavour to the wines.
    - There are different types of vats used to develop different flavours in the wine. We saw different types including oak, wood, steel, concrete and terracotta. It was very cool seeing some of these very old vats in the original cellars from the 1300s.
    - Interestingly, they had to have vats custom made for their main area as that area used to be a stable for horses and it has unusually shaped doors. Because its heritage listed, the doors can't be changed so they had unusually shaped vats created so they could fit through the doors.
    - The number of olive oil held in terracotta jars used to be a mark of how wealthy the family was as it was always an expensive commodity. There are still 39 terracotta jars in storage which are no longer used for storage of olive oil but show the prosperity of the Corsini family.

    We also saw numbers written on the walls of the area where olive oil is kept. These numbers were the old "accounting system" used whereby the olive pickers calculated how much olive they had picked. We also saw information about how olive oil was previously produced - they previously used a cow to go around in circles and mush down the olives but, now luckily for the cows, they do this with very high tech machines!

    We then concluded our trip with a complementary wine tasting of some delicious organic wines (the villa is 100% organic) whilst we enjoyed what was probably the best lunch of the entire trip! As well as the included olive oil tasting (with Tuscan bread), we had zucchini flowers and a gnocchi for an entree which was delicious. We then shared a florentine style steak for main which had pecorino and truffle over it - absolutely to die for!

    We had no room for dessert and so we went for a (very hot) walk around the vineyard before opting to chill by the pool for the rest of the day and have a quiet night in.    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure
    21

    Tuscany

    July 19, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We started a bit earlier today and way our way to Pisa, to see the world's most famous poorly constructed tower!

    There was a fair bit of traffic getting into Pisa so instead of taking 1 hour 10 minutes it took close to 2 hours by the time we found a parking spot! We walked through the plaza into the grounds of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We spent way too long and had lots of fun taking the obligatory holding up/pushing down/kicking photos before exploring the grounds and making our way back to the car. We also viewed the cathedrals and other buildings around which was very cool before getting a little lost trying to find out way back to the car!

    We then made our way to Lucca, which had been recommended by Daniel’s boss and it did not disappoint! The centre of Lucca is completely walled and so we explored from all angles, the small narrow streets and the wide fortresses. We chatted away and then got our daily gelato - salted caramel/pistachio for a Daniel and hazelnut/rum & cookies for Gab. Very delicious and again needed even with the hot weather!

    We then made our way back to our accommodation, making a quick stop at Montegufoni where Daniel stayed with his family over 16 years ago, as well as a sunflower field for a quick photo! Even though we had spent around 4 hours driving, we still managed to walk over 20,000 steps on this adventure!

    We went back for a quick shower before heading into the local town of San Casciano for a delicious dinner of salsiccia (sausage) pizza and seafood risotto, followed by panna cotta for dessert. All very delicious!! We then went back to chill out and watch a movie before going to bed.    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Tuscany

    July 18, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    We started our first morning in Tuscany with a walk around the estate and visit to the wine shop on the property that we are staying at, Villa Le Corti. We organised our tour/tasting which was included with our accommodation and hit the road to explore the region!

    We drove to Siena which was about an hours' drive from our accomodation. While there, we explored the picturseque winding streets and massive piazza (where the town was setting up for a big festival). Gab even had a drink of water from a turtle’s mouth (it was a fountain statue!)

    We then made our way back towards home with a short stop in Monteriggiorini, a small town with a castle on top of the hill with an amazing view over the Tuscan hills. This castle was actually built in 1213 and it was used when protecting the city during many battles with rivals, Florence. We explored the fortress whilst getting our daily gelato - limoncello for Daniel and mango/peach for Gab. It was definitely necessary as it was so hot (and we enjoyed the aircon car back to our accomodation!)

    We went back to the accommodation around mid afternoon and spent a couple of hours chilling out by the pool and reading. So beautiful and relaxing (and the water was actually nice and refreshing!) We enjoyed a night in the villa, sitting outside and enjoying pasta cooked by Daniel and we watched a movie.    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Venice —> Tuscany

    July 17, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    After a late night, we got up early, said goodbye to Venice (and Alex and Nicky who were heading to the Dolomites for a few days) and made our way back to the airport to pick up our hire car. After walking around the airport for an hour and a half in the boiling heat and asking multiple people for assistance trying to find our shuttle to the car hire place, we gave up and caught a 10 minute taxi to the car hire place. After waiting a long time there (they definitely needed more than one man working in the office), w were in our little Lancia (or as we named it, Lancey).

    Having driven a couple of times on the other side of the road on this trip already, and both times being in larger vans, it was much easier for Daniel to adapt to the car and driving as we headed south towards Tuscany. We made a quick stop in Bologna to fuel up with some food (huge pizzas!) and had a nice walk around in the heat before making our way to Tuscany.

    We checked into our apartment in Villa Le Corti, a beautiful winery which has been operating since the 14th century. Daniel went for a quick walk around the estate whilst Gab attempted to cool the place down - the temperature had been around 40 degrees all day and was still close to 30!

    We were both pretty tired from the heat and driving so had a very quiet night before going to sleep.    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Venice

    July 16, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    After a slight sleep in, the four of us headed out to explore Venice the right way, on foot!

    We made our way to the main tourist attractions, absorbing the incredible architecture and canals that make Venice so iconic (we took way too many photos of the cool streets and architecture!) We walked across the Rialto Bridge and made our way to St Marks Square, where we decided to go up the bell tower.

    The temperature was pushing 40 degrees and so the incredible view together with the breeze was just what we needed! We took our time taking in the different view and spotting all the islands in the distance.

    We made our way back down where we walked along the grand canal, passing by the Doges Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. We continued around the outskirts of Venice, walking past a naval college and enjoying the peaceful serenity of being away from the bustling tourist spots.

    We continued back to the centre to get our daily gelato - mango and grapefruit for Daniel and lemon and cookies for Gab - before going on a gondola ride! We really enjoyed taking in the sights of Venice from the water and got to explore the smaller canals as well as the main canal. This was quite an expensive activity (glad we were sharing it between 4 of us) but "When in Venice!" We really enjoyed it (but our poor gondolier was definitely feeling the 40 degree heat!)

    By this point, we were all very hot and so we decided to head back to the Airbnb to enjoy the aircon for a night of food, drinks and card and phone games. Gab and Nicky especially enjoyed cheap Aperols from the supermarket (5 euros for the whole bottle of aperol and 2 euros for the prosecco!)    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Paris —> Venice 🇮🇹

    July 15, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We had a good sleep in today before checking out of our hotel and made our way to the airport on route to Italy!

    We had a slight delay to our flight but we ended up scoring exit row seats and so had plenty of legroom for our short 2 hours to Venice on our flight with Air France. We said Au revoir to France and landed in Venice at around 6pm.

    We then caught the bus to the city centre and crossed a few canals on foot to make it to our Airbnb. After all the issues with their flights, Alex and Nicky wouldn’t be getting in until midnight so we did some shopping and decided to go out for dinner - we had some incredible and huge pizzas whilst Daniel got to practice his Italian!

    We then for a walk past the Rialto Bridge and got some late night gelato - pistachio and white chocolate for Gab and sesame/fig for Daniel. It was really busy around Venice even late at night as there is a yearly festival on the third week in July which we just happened to be there for (we had no idea about this until we heard fireworks going on later when we were back at the Airbnb). It was still very warm and we enjoyed walking around and Gab seeing her first glimpse of Venice! It took us a bit longer to walk back to the Airbnb as we got a little lost navigating the small streets and bridges in the dark (which is clearly not uncommon as most tourists had Google maps open while walking around!)

    We went back to the Airbnb and crashed. Nicky and Alex didn’t get in until around 1am - we are so glad they made it to Venice and we went to bed looking forward to a day of exploring the next day!    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Paris - La Fête Nationale!

    July 14, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Bonne Fête Nationale!! Today is the French national holiday (called by foreigners as Bastille Day!) It commemorates the storming on the Bastille in 1789 and the Fête de la Fédération in 1790. We intentionally changed around our holiday when we were planning so that we could be in Paris for this national holiday.

    After our big day and night yesterday, we had a late breakfast and chilled in the hotel. Alex went for a walk to see some more sights and we opted not to try and see the military parade as people would line up early (around 7pm) and we wanted to ensure we would all be awake for celebrating later in the day!

    Around lunchtime, we met Gab's Canadian friend, Heidi, and her partner Dennis at our hotel. They are travelling around Europe for a month and it was so exciting to see Heidi who we haven't seen since January 2020 in Australia!

    We went to the supermarket with Nicky, Alex, Heidi and Dennis to stock up on essentials for our afternoon and night including bread, cheese, meat and alcohol. From there, we walked together to Champ de Mars in front of the Effiel Tower for a picnic. The plan was to have a picnic during the afternoon and reserve a spot for the concert and fireworks which would be later in the night. We thought we would beat the crowd by getting in early, however after being there for around an hour the police began evacuating the grounds so they could setup a crowd control perimeter and barricades - something you would think should have been done days before!

    After relocating twice, we eventually setup camp on the side of the road - playing cards and having a few drinks whilst we waited for the grounds to reopen. We had lots of fun chatting, playing card games, eating and drinking and after 2 hours we were able to re-enter the grounds around 6pm and get a very good spot with a great view of the Effiel Tower! The concert started around 9pm before a fantastic 30min fireworks and light display around 11pm to cap off a great day and night! The fireworks were so beautiful and filled with lots of different colours coming off various parts of the tower! Truly spectacular and definitely worth the wait and the diversion of our trip plans so we could be in Paris for this magical experience!! It was also fun to enjoy it all with friends!

    We made our way back to the hotel, said goodbye to Heidi and Dennis were about to go to sleep when Alex and Nicky realised their flight to Venice tomorrow had been cancelled! We then helped them out for a bit until the early hours of the morning, using some of our acquired knowledge of the various European transport systems to help them find an alternate route before heading to sleep.    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Paris

    July 13, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We started the day with a fantastic buffet breakfast at the hotel (with of course plenty of croissants and pain au chocolates) for much needed fuel for what would be a very busy day!

    We walked towards the Effiel Tower, taking in some great views of the tower without too many people in the way. We continued walking along the Seine (passing Musée d'Orsay and some other significant sites). We took in all of the scenery all whilst chatting away with our friends who we hadn’t seen for over 4 months!

    We made a pit stop at Notre Dame to see the construction/refurbishment which has been underway for around 3 years since the fire that burnt down the main spire. It is incredible to see the work that is taking place to reconstruct the spire and other parts so they will resemble the original construction. The reconstruction is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

    We then crossed the Seine and continued our walk through the main plaza of the Lourve, through the Jardin des Tuileries, past Place de la Concorde, along the Champs Élysées (unfortunately not buying any expensive designer clothes or shoes) and we walked towards the Arc de Triomphe. We had pre-purchased tickets to go up the Arc and so we went up the stairs and saw what we consider to be the best view across Paris - because you can see the contrast between the size of the Effiel Tower and the rest of the city! We enjoyed the view and spent a bit of time up there looking around and seeing where we had walked that day.

    We then made our way back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. As Nicky and Alex’s holiday is technically their ‘pre’ honeymoon (their wedding will be in November), we bought them a surprise dinner cruise on the Seine! The cruise started around 6pm and we started on the top deck for a few hours where we enjoyed a few beers and aperol spritzes and we enjoyed seeing the views of the city from the water including many areas we had walked today and of course classic photos of the Eiffel Tower. At around 9pm, we made our way to the bottom deck for our wonderful three course dinner where our boat turned around right near the Eiffel Tower and started returning to our starting point. We and Alex had smoked salmon for our entrée and Nicky had a burrata salad, for mains we all had the veal and for dessert we all had a chocolate mousse tarte. It was all very delicious!!! The sun also set during dinner. We also shared a lovely bottle of red. There was a lovely singer who sang throughout dinner which really set the mood. There was also some surprise entertainment of some can can dancers dressed in red, white and blue with lots of cartwheels and splits as part of their routine! It was such a lovely time and we really enjoyed the cruise together!

    After the dinner cruise (and after we had well and truly past 30,000 steps for the day), we were not finished for the day!! As it's La Fête Nationale (Le 14 Juillet / National Day / Bastille Day) tomorrow, there were a few festivities going on around Paris. Since the 1920s/1930s, fire stations around Paris have opened their doors for large "balls" to celebrate the national holiday on the night of the 13th and 14th July (though most fire stations do this on the 13th July). We went to our local fire station (in the suburb of Grenelle) around 11pm after the cruise and it was like a huge rave party!! Everyone was dancing in the large courtyard area with most people holding bottles of champagne and wine! Most of the songs were in English (and many were from the 90s and 00s such as Britney Spears). The DJ was on a large stage and there were lights around. Occasionally, the fire-fighters' hoses were released onto the crowd as well!

    We enjoyed a few good boogies before heading back to crash at the hotel for a much needed sleep around 2am.    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure
    Gabrielle's Street!All of us at Sacre Coeur!Gabrielle & JosephineA little comparison with photos we took in 2013 when Daniel visited Gab when she was on exchange!

    Tours —> Paris

    July 12, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We checked out of our Airbnb in Tours and headed to Paris! We arrived in Paris around 1pm, and one quick metro ride later we were right outside our hotel.

    This was the part of the trip where Nicky and Alex would be joining us and so we chilled at the hotel for a little bit before they arrived. It was so nice to see some friends from home (although they were of course a bit tired after just having flown from Brisbane to Paris!!)
    We all freshened up quickly and headed out to explore Paris.

    We caught the metro to the Montmartre area, walking past Moulin Rouge and the lovers wall on our way to Sacre Coeur Basilica. We went into the basilica and looked around at the different alters and then bought tickets to go up the dome. After around 300 steps, we saw some incredible views over Paris! We walked the streets of Montmartre for a bit and took a few photos. It was nice to be back here together as we had visited Montmartre back in 2014 on our Paris trip together and it was cool to show everything to Nicku and Alex.

    We then made our way back to our hotel and shortly met up with Gab's Parisian friend, Josephine, at her apartment to then go out for dinner. We went to a typical French restaurant, with Gab having smoked salmon from Scotland and Daniel (and Josephine, Nicky and Alex) having steak. We had lots of great chats and Gab and Josephine caught up on what has been happening in each of their lives since they last saw each other in Australia in 2015. We had lots of fun! We also enjoyed local beers and wines.

    After a busy day for all, we called it a night after dinner and headed back to the hotel for a good sleep!    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Tour de Tours

    July 11, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Today we ventured out for a Tour of Tours!

    We had a bit of a sleep in before walking to the university accomodation to where Gab used to live and then enjoying a nice stroll through the botanical gardens. It had lots of lovely floral arrangements and plenty of animals, including wallabies and an emu (which Gab remembers thinking were crazy, especially when she was home sick on exchange!)

    We then walked across town and down the main strip to the Loire River and we visited the outside of the Chateau of Tours. We then explored the Cathedral Saint-Gatien. The stained glass windows were amazing! Gab remembers learning about the cathedral during one of her courses at uni in Tours. It was very hot so we shared a large gelato!

    We made our way back to the Airbnb to freshen up before heading out for some happy hour drinks and dinner. We found a bar close to the main square where we had a couple of Aperols and pints whilst enjoying a tasting board in the sunshine. We went around the corner to a poutine place to relive our days of when we travelled through Canada!

    We went back to the Airbnb for some cards and Netflix to chill out as we knew the upcoming weeks would be busy!    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure
    Memories of Gab's time on exchange!
    The Australian bar where Gab spent a lot of her time when she was on exchange!Very yummy dinner!

    Nice —> Tours

    July 10, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We said goodbye to beachside life for a little bit and checked out of our Airbnb to catch a train to Paris which took around 6 hours.

    In Paris, we had to take a couple of metros across town to get to another one of the major train stations to board a train to Tours, the town where Gab did her exchange 9 years ago! That train took around an hour.

    We arrived in Tours around 6pm, freshened up in our Airbnb and went for a quick walk around town before dinner, with Gab showing Daniel the university that she attended and the walkway along the Loire River.

    We then went for dinner in Place Plumereau (nicknamed Place Plume) which is the main square in Vieux Tours (Old Tours). Gab didn't have dinner much there when she was on exchange (but she enjoyed a lot of the student bars and pubs around!) We enjoyed a nice dinner where we shared some wine and had a couple of pizzas, plus some gelato for dessert. Gab was surprised how many tourists were around - it was crowded and so many people were speaking English (very unlike when Gab was on exchange!)    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Monaco 🇲🇨

    July 9, 2023 in Monaco ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Today, we did a day trip to the second smallest country in the world - Monaco (at only 2.1km²)! Monaco only has just under 40,000 habitants (with over 30% of them millionaires) that come from over 139 countries.

    After a short 25min train trip from Nice, we started with a walk through the western neighbourhood of Fontvielle, walking through some of the beautiful gardens and passing by the national stadium of Monaco.

    We then walked down through one of the harbours and then up to the prince's alace (le Palau's Princier) to see the changing of the guard. It went for around 5 minutes (it was nice but it was so hot standing in the boiling heat in the sun) so we had a quick sit down in the shade to recharge before continuing on to the more ‘touristy’ part of Monaco.We also visited the cathedral on the way, which was quite nice.

    A trip to Monaco wouldn’t be complete without a walk of the F1 track and that’s exactly what we did! We walked along the water and through the infamous tunnel to the hairpin at the Fairmont, before climbing up to see the more famous casino. With a cost of 20 euros just for for the pleasure of entering, we admired it from the outside - including some very expensive cars which were turning up and parked outside!

    We descended back down to the water and began making our way to the beach, which of course included the compulsory gelato stop of the day - this time Daniel had melon and strawberry and Gab had mango and pistachio.

    After having seen the majority of Monaco and sweating a lot in around 35 degree heat, we spent the last few hours at the beach chilling out. The main public beach is called Larvotto Beach and is very nice with very refreshing water and a lot of nice cafes and restaurants. We had to jump in the water at least every half hour because of the heat so we were very grateful there were no cobblestones and it was much easier to quickly jump in and out of the water and float in the water in between reading and chilling out on shore.

    In the late afternoon, we walked back to the station, doing some window shopping on the way - overpriced beachside apartments and expensive sports cars!

    We arrived back in Nice around 6pm and had a quiet night of dinner in ahead of a big day of travel tomorrow!    Read more

  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Nice

    July 8, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Today was one of the more chilled days we’ve had in a while!

    Daniel went for a run in morning before we went down to the beach for a chilled and relaxing day. We read quite a bit and took some dips in the water and, although it was windy again, we found a spot that wasn't so busy next to private beach area (we just used the public beach areas as the private daybeds are the equivalent of around $100 for the 2 of us for the day!)

    During the afternoon, we went to get ice cream at our favourite place which we went to yesterday (Fenocchio). Daniel had mango and pistachio and Gab had banana and milk caramel this time. We then walked up to the park with lookout points to see over all of Nice (Parc du Château Escalier). We took in some incredible views before making our way down to the token ‘I Love Nice’ sign. It was sooo hot (around 35 degrees) so opted for some happy hour drinks of a pint of beer and an aperol on our way back to the Airbnb.

    After a lovely hot day, we chilled out in the place, cooked dinner and watched a movie.    Read more

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