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  • Michelle Rowe
    Oct12

    Amsterdam

     October 12 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    After an unfortunate start with my luggage not making our flight, to we had a lovely time in Amsterdam.

    The whole airport was in English, which makes sense when absolutely everyone spoke English and usually very clearly as well.

    As we exited the train station, there was literally hundreds of bikes parked out the front. Our first experience with the amount of bicycles we would encounter.

    We went straight into the centre to explore. Passing many canals and brick buildings on our way. The centre was a familiar to feeling to what you get in Australia but with a few more USA brands.

    As it is Autumn, we had rain the whole time.

    Van Gogh Museum - really good, famous paintings - sunflowers, irises, bedroom and potato eaters.

    We visited the flower market which in spring is full of Tulips. They had a few real flowers and a lot of Tulips bulbs to plant your own.

    We spent most of our time just walking through the streets and enjoying the city. It was definitely the most comfortable city for us.    Read more

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  • Michelle Rowe
    Oct8

    The Louvre

     October 8 in France ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    The Louvre

    Today we started the day walking through our famous neighbourhood of Montemartre and visited the Sacré-Cœur.

    Then we had afternoon reservations for The Louvre, we were pleasantly surprised we got through the line quite quickly. Here we of course saw the Mona Lisa, again we only had a short wait. Another note worthy was The Coronation of Napoleon, a massive floor to roof painting. We found our Louvre trip much more pleasant and less crowded then the Vatican. It was very easy to walk through the exhibitions though most captions were in French so you relied on the Audio Guide. Most of its collection was sponsored by Philanthropists.

    We finished off our night with some amazing Duck with a orange/ sweet & sour sauce. So different but great.
    And of course chocolate Macaroons for dessert.    Read more

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  • Michelle Rowe
    Oct8

    Paris

     October 8 in France ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Paris!

    Unfortunately during our last day in Venice, I have acquired a cold and so we started our first day in Paris slowly. It was also raining the entire day.

    Though everything was stacked against day 1 in Paris, I had a great time. We started with Notre Dame, though it is closed due to the recent fire. It was way bigger then I thought and very gothic architecture.

    We then walked along Champs-Élysées, known for its luxury brands and the finish line of the Tour de France. At the end of this Avenue is the Arc de Triomphe, which is also much large then I thought, it took inspiration from Rome but on a much larger scale.

    And the finish the day off, the Eiffel Tower. As it was a very gloomy day, the pictures do not do it justice. There happened to be a 130 year exhibition on so we got lots of information about it, such as that it used to be Red?
    It is repainted every 7 years and the colour slightly changes each time. At the moment it is a rusty bronze colour.

    We had dinner at a restaurant recommended by our host and of course we had to Snails! They were very chewy but in a delicious butter and garlic sauce. I was pleasantly surprised.

    Tomorrow the Louvre!    Read more

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  • Michelle Rowe
    Oct6

    Venice

     October 6 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Venice!

    We only had 1 day and 2 nights in Venice but it was enough to soak up the magic. It is the only place where you can really wander around and not have to check the map to see where you ended up.

    Tomorrow Paris!

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  • Michelle Rowe
    Oct4

    The Vatican

     October 4 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Today we explored The Vatican.

    It was packed! So many groups, so we had to move very slowly. Also unfortunately St Peters basilica was closed :(
    But we spent some time in the St Peters Square, The Sistine Chapel and the Museum.

    We finished the day with some Meatballs and many rounds of Italian beer and Aperol Spritz.

    Tomorrow Venice!    Read more

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  • Michelle Rowe
    Oct3

    Colosseum

     October 3 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Rome Pt2

    Today is the Colosseum!
    I was up until 1am trying to find a tour and I actually found one on Airbnb. It was very informative and gave you a better picture of what it looked like in its prime. Most of the seats have either been destroyed or stolen, so they are only able to recreate 1 small section of what the seating looked like.
    I did not realise that all the gladiators were slave from other countries, not romans.

    Next into the Roman Forum. Here again we greeted by rain. Very interesting that Cesar’s ashes are just in this little hut thing and they are covered by a lump of concrete. You would think he would have a huge shrine or something.

    Through the tour it was hard to keep track of what was happening when, as each section has been changed over 2000 years.

    Finishing off with some pasta!    Read more

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  • Michelle Rowe
    Oct2

    Rome

     October 2 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Rome!

    After only being able to check in very late, we decided to have a sleep in then started our day at the Spanish steps, to which we were greeted with 10 minutes of rain while we huddled with a group under a balcony.

    From here, the Trevi Fountain! So beautiful, one of a kind. Here we enjoyed some Gelato, Orange chocolate for me, Pistachio for Kody. Then to the Pantheon.

    Finishing off at Piazza Navona for lunch and afternoon Aperol Spritz’ - happy hour €3.    Read more

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  • Michelle Rowe
    Sep30

    Oktoberfest!

     September 30 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    The big day!
    We start with exploring, it is half carnival with HUGE rides. Lots of food and souvenirs.

    There are the major tents and then smaller beer garden versions.
    We started at hofbrauhaus, it is recommended for visitors. I found that I can order a Radler, which is a Shandy. But I pay the same price as regular beer. We found a table easily as they are not booked until the afternoon.
    We had 2 Steins here and then headed to another tent, Spaten in which we met some Engineers from BMW.
    We had 2 more steins here, which was the end for us.

    Kody was lucky that our host had offered to let him wear his authentic Lederhosen and shirt. It was great to see all members of the family in their outfits, even little children.

    We actually forgot to pick up a Stein on our way out due to the fact we were barely functioning. But the next day went back just for the Stein!

    Off to Rome tonight!    Read more

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  • Michelle Rowe
    Sep29

    Marienplatz

     September 29 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    After 24 hours of travel, We begin in Munich. Straight into the town centre to see the famous Rathaus-Glockenspiel.

    On Sundays most shops close so walking through was mostly about admiring the grand architecture. We went into the famous Hofbräuhaus, a huge beer hall. We did not stay here as it was extremely loud but was cool to see. We went a few doors down to a smaller place and had our first try of local made sausages and beer.

    The town is filled with people in the traditional clothing for Oktoberfest, all members of the family, even babies.

    We will have an early night and are looking forward to a big day at Oktoberfest!

    Also not very happy about how bad the Aussie dollar. Basically halving the money we have. But, I will still try to do as much as possible.    Read more

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