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2023 European Adventure

August 2023 - April 2024
An open-ended adventure by Scott Read more
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  • Traveler2023 European Adventure
    Day 1

    Melbourne to Florence

    August 22, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Goodbye Melbourne - despite chaotic last minute shopping and packing, we are finally on our way (even if Scott wasn't happy with what he "over" packed).

    You would have thought our long flight (14hrs) would have been unbearable considering we were on a flying childcare centre, but meg managed to escape the stresses by enjoying a chair with all the leg space in the world (Scott was not as lucky).

    We arrived in Doha just after 3am to the inconsiderate temperature of 34° - embrace the sweat is our new mantra

    Despite his "overpacking", Scott thought he would take advantage of some good deals and bought a new watch in Doha.

    Our next stopover in Vienna was slightly chaotic, it took us over 45mins to get to the guy at passport control, who almost certainly was having a bit of a laugh asking questions we clearly didn't know the answer to. Luckily we made our final flight to the heat in Florence.    Read more

  • Traveler2023 European Adventure
    Day 2

    DAY 1 - Florence (Attack of the steak)

    August 23, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 38 °C

    We finally made it! We ventured from the airport by taxi to our beautiful old Italian apartment, there were too many stairs to climb but thankfully our room has cooling (you know we wouldn't have melted without it). We made the most of our first day and wandered down to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore where we enjoyed some opera on the steps before grabbing some dinner. Scott decided (perhaps slightly idiotically) to order a 2kg Florentine steak to share - we made a respectable effort but couldn't quite finish it. Our skinny waiter mentioned he used to eat this size to himself regularly and now only eats 1.3kg during a regular sitting. It was completely different to a steak back home, but would absolutely recommend. Looking forward to day 2, minus the 4am start.Read more

  • Traveler2023 European Adventure
    Day 3

    DAY 2 - Florence (to the sky)

    August 24, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 39 °C

    A 4am start to get over our jet lag and see the beautiful Tuscan country side from the sky. Meg was a little nervous about heading up in a hot air balloon (license plate number "I Huge"), but her nerves settled the moment we took flight. The tranquillity was incredible, only to be overshadowed by the morning sunrise. Our landing was smooth despite our guide indicating the basket might tip due to higher wind speeds near the ground. Once back on the ground, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast with local pastries and prosecco (rather a cheeky mimosa for meg). Once back in town, we went back to the hotel for a quick nap that turned into a 4hr sleep.
    Once we emerged from our slumber we visited the Leonardo Di Vinci interactive museum (which was definitely tailored to children, so obviously we loved it) and the more official Leonardo Di Vinci museum - the man clearly had a brain that operated at a different level (including some horrific war machine inventions). We then went to the Dragonfly pub via a few churches, where we relaxed with a few drinks. Before heading for a quick refresh at our accommodation, we walked along the Arno river crossing the bustling Ponte Vecchio bridge and grabbed a quick cocktail at the Piazza della Repubblica. To close out our night we went to The Box bar (which Scott had been calling The Cube all day) for a very cheap and somewhat nasty (sorry Grant) cocktail before heading back to The Dragonfly for a quick night cap (meg needs to ease up on the shots!)
    Looking forward to our Vespa tour tomorrow!    Read more

  • Traveler2023 European Adventure
    Day 4

    DAY 3 - Florence (steps and vespas)

    August 25, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    We walked down to the Florence National Central Library, where we met our tour guides for our Vespa tour. After a short drive, we were at the garage in the Tuscan countryside. The garage was full of vespas and vintage Fiat 500s (these were seriously small). We failed to realise we had booked to ride together, and after a short test drive and meg nearly crashing into the fence once I sat on the back, we decided that I would drive. This of course meant that meg was the back of seat photographer for the day (and unripened olive picker - she managed to feed Scott one and it's fair to say the bitterness did not go down so well). We made a few stops including a vineyard where we tried some of the grapes and Basilica di San Miniato run by the San Miniato monks, where we ate some freshly made gelato before stopping at the tour company's estate for an authentic Italian lunch (the bruschetta and pasta was delicious). We returned to the garage to drop off our vespas and get a lift back to the city centre (we didn't realise we were getting picked up in a huge army like 4x4). Once back in town, we headed to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore to complete the 463 step Brunelleschi's Dome climb (much to megs dismay with her knee). This was absolute ordeal in the heat but well worth it for the incredible 360° views of Florence. Once we finally descended, we went back to freshen up. Our quick freshen up turned into a 6pm bedtime and 12 hour sleep. (thankfully, this dealt with any residue jetlag). We're back to the Walkabout Tours estate tomorrow for our Italian cooking class!Read more

  • Traveler2023 European Adventure
    Day 5

    DAY 4 - Florence (cooking with love)

    August 26, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    We started our day our authentic Italian food with McDonalds. From here we met our tour guide Luca at the train station. We started our walking tour (we had no idea this was included in our package) and headed straight towards the Central Market to grab our fresh ingredients for the day. Luca's flamboyance was on display, acting like we were on his tv show (Cooking With Luca) and somehow being the loudest voice in the a very noisy market (we don't think the headset was at all necessary). We were both put to work Meg carrying the bread and Scott the pork to our bus. Once we got to Walkabout Tours estate, we began our cooking class. We made bruschetta, ragu pasta (the group's pasta had varied widths, so we can't really put a finger on the exact type of pasta - other than delicious) and tiramasu. Scott was clearly the best at preparing the pasta dough, although perhaps not the best when it came to making them a consistent length. Meg was thoroughly disappointed in herself for accidentally breaking the yolk when separating the eggs. Once the cooking was over, we sat down with the rest of our cooking class (this included the one other Australian, who was conincidially also a Meg and a lawyer), our bottle of Cianti wine and delicious food, all while admiring the beautiful view of the estate. Luca really made the day all the more fun and enjoyable, even if he was a little bit dodgy (he definitely followed the tour group after dropping us off in Florence to offer up his cook book - which we of course purchased). We quickly visited the Baptistery of St. John (unfortunately, the roof is under restoration) and the Duomo museum before rushing across town to make sunset at Michelangelo Square. Concerned that we would not make it we luckily managed to find a Tesla taxi (we had been told it would be almost impossible to get one outside of a taxi rack) that was happy to drop us off. The atmosphere at the square and the rose garden below is something that will really stick with us. The masses of people all coming to appreciate the sunset, the food and drink carts, the music, the dancing and of course the many lovely people we stopped and had a chat to (would absolutely recommend for anyone heading to Florence). After sunset, we walked back down to the Santo Spirito area with the intention of grabbing food at one of the restaurants recommended by Luca for an authentic Italian meal. This plan fell through after the first restaurant had a 45-minute wait time, and we decided to head to a bar so we could use the toilet. Our plan of having one drink and moving on, quickly went out the window once we begun chatting with a couple from America (thankfully they were anti-guns) and moreso our chat with Donald and Paul a lovely couple from Edinbourough (we spoke for hours, buying each other drinks). We finally got back to our accommodation a little after 1:30am for a well deserved rest. Tomorrow, we say goodbye to Florence (not before a few more stairs) as we head to Porto.Read more

  • Traveler2023 European Adventure
    Day 6

    DAY 5 - Florence to Porto (more stairs)

    August 27, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 34 °C

    For our final day in Florence, Scott decided to squeeze in an early run. The two H's (Hills and Heat) were a brutal combination, not that a few late night drinks helped either. Full from the paninis Scott returned from his run with, we headed to Giotto's Bell Tower for you guessed it, more stairs (414 to be precise). Once again, all the stairs were absolutely worth it for the spectacular view. Unfortunately, Meg and her lack of an ACL got the better of her and didn't allow her to make it to the top - 300 odd steps is a decent effort after the past few days of walking and climbing, not to mention the view from here isn't half bad either. Scott continued up to the top to grab some photos and a video for Meg. We then made our way to Porto, Portugal via Zurich, Switzerland by plane. Other than an uncooked cheeseburger, which they replaced with a new one our flights were seamless. Upon arrival in Porto, we met Jeremy, Zoe, Sean, and Laura at the airport. Once in town and each of us settled into our accom, we (also including Jez) went searching for somewhere to have dinner. After walking for some time, we decided to grab food anywhere that served food and didn't have a wait. The place we landed was quite the experience, the staff did not speak English and the menu was a game of chance (including the English menu for can view from your phone). The English menu didn't match the Portuguese menu, and even if you ordered something from the menu, something different might have come out. My meal was meant to be a steak sandwich that ended up being some veel, potatoes, and veggies. From here, we spent some time catching up at a couple bars where we had no language issues (at least none that we couldn't manage). The six of us are heading on a walking tour tomorrow and are now going to the Rio Ave v Porto soccer game (if we manage to get out tickets).Read more

  • Traveler2023 European Adventure
    Day 7

    DAY 6 - Porto (Who are we? PORTO)

    August 28, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We started our day with breakfast at Sabores da Invicta, where Scott unintentially ordered a contempory Francensinha sandwich (better known as a heart attack of a plate). This consisted of two layers of ham, two layers of steak, and two traditional Portugese sausages in a sandwich topped off with an egg and soaked in beer batter. Scott can confirm he did not finish the meal and that it was certainly not the best call before our walking tour. We met Zoe, Sean, Laura, Jez, and (our walking tour guide) at Largo Amor de Perdição. Andre was passionate about Portuguese history, whether it was ancient, modern, or dark, and often found himself talking longer than intended. Our tour consisted of Miradouro da Vitória (a scenic lookout over Porto), Torre dos Clérigos (a tower that we might climb that has a lookout view over the city), Livraria Lello (the world's most beautiful bookshop, which clearly used JK Rowlings name to build some popularity, despite her never having been there), Imperial McDonalds (a seriously fancy McDonalds), Porto São Bento (a beautiful train station which tells stories through its ceramic tiles), Luís I Bridge and the Porto Cathedral, amount a handful of other places. It is sad to see the impact Antonio de Oliveira Salazar (a dictator from less than 60 years ago) has on modern day Porto. We're still not sure JK Rowlings didn't base some of Harry Potter off of her time in Porto (think Salazar Slytherin). We then embarked on our mission to get our soccer tickets to the Rio Ave v Porto match at Estádio dos Arcos. After several messages and a 10min each way Uber trip (that somehow only cost £6 total) to Casa da Música, we successfully secured our tickets for the match. Travelling to the game involved confusion at the ticket machine, followed by a 1-hour train ride. Once at the stadium (if you can call a single stand with a capacity of 5,000 people a stadium), we waited in a mammoth line (thankfully, we got in just before kick off). The game itself delivered everything you'd expect and want from a European soccer match - emotion, passion, chanting, and profanity in a different language (Portugese). The game itself wasn't Portos best, but an equaliser and winner in extra time of the second half made for a great experience. After some concern, we luckily made the last train heading back to Porto with 10 minutes to spare. We're hoping to make the 7km walk to the beach tomorrow, bring on the Atlantic Ocean.Read more

  • Traveler2023 European Adventure
    1
    Day 8

    DAY 7 - Porto (a cold Atlantic swim)

    August 29, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We embarked on what our guide yesterday said was a 5km walk (more like 7.2km) to the beach with Meg, Zoe, Sean, Laura, and Jez. The walk along the Douro River was quite nice and included a small workout at the park where Scott relived his primary school years on the monkey bars. It was blowing a gale by the time we got the somewhat rocky beach (this is definitely not the best beach, but certainly the closest). After a few minutes of hesitation and waiting for someone else to jump in, almost all of us took the plunge into the cold Atlantic water (Bar Meg). Meg thought better and decided to enjoy some sun baking on the beach. After this, we grabbed a quick drink before grabbing an Uber back to town (this was somehow cheaper than public transport). Once back, Meg went back to our apartment for a lay down while the rest of us went out for lunch. Scott, Jez, and Sean had a Francensinha sandwich, which was far better and more traditional than the one Scott grabbed yesterday (this included pork leg instead of steak). We all reconvened after a quick refresh for a visit to the Port cellars along the Duomo. We visited Sandeman Cellars and can confirm Port and Tonic is our new go to. From here, we ventured back across the river for our 6 bridges river cruise. Once back, we travelled back up to the top of the bridge via cable car to view the sunset from the middle of the Luiz I Bridge. This was absolutely beautiful despite the weirdness of the crowd clapping the sunset. We had an early night in anticipation of another big day of walking tomorrow.Read more

  • Traveler2023 European Adventure
    Day 9

    DAY 8 - Porto (bridges and canels)

    August 30, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We're a few days behind on our FindPenguins, so this one may test the memory. We were up a little late and running out the door to make our next guided activity. We jumped into a van and drove through the Portuguese countryside to Arouca. It was a small and very cute town where we checked out the church and grabbed some breakfast. Scott somehow managed to order our breakfast from the lovely lady at the cafe who didn't speak a word of English. Shortly after, we were back on the road to the starting point of our hike, the Arouca 516 Footbridge. The bridge was built for purely tourism purposes, and the views were pretty incredible (even if it's no longer the longest pedestrian suspension bridge). We ventured on our hike without our guide crossing the bridge then being our decent down the Paiva Walkways. The almost 8km travelled down to then along the river and ended at the bar where we replenished ourselves with a well deserved ice cream. There were a few moments of concerns for Meg's knee but we made it! As far as wildlife is concerned we didn't see an Iberian lynx (much to Scott's disappointment) but we did manage to see a couple of turtles as a consolation prize. Once the group recouped, we headed back to Arouca for a traditional slow cooked veal, cooked in a clay pot, paired with some Green wine. This was an absolute treat even if Scott over ate and drank. We made a quick stop at the beautiful holiday destination, Costa Nova. The houses here were originally painted different colours to help fisherman find there own home after extened periods of time at sean, now its just for show. Our next stop was Averio, an old fishing town built around canels (it's slightly unfortunate for them that Europe already has Venice). Before arriving, our guide handed us all a ribbon to write a few words in relation to friendship. In Averio was went for a quick tour checking out the canels and salt flats. One of the bridges has been dubbed friendship bridge where we tied off our ribbons. This tradition was originally started by the uni students in the town and has really caught on. We then had a bit of free time, where we grabbed a quick drink. The owner offered us a job if we could identify the exotic fruits in the beer. Meg remains unemployed in Portugal, but Scott may have just found a new job after picking out the smell of passionfruit (unfortunately or perhaps fortunately, he was only offering beer as payment). We then jumped on traditional styled boat used to harvest seaweed and toured the canels. For dinner in Porto we went to one of the fancier restaurants recommended by our tour guide (fair to say Scott loves monkfish). After a long day we headed back to our apartment for an earlyish night. Tomorrow we back our bags and travel to Lekeitio (not too sure how we will go with driving in Spain).Read more

  • Traveler2023 European Adventure
    Day 10

    DAY 9 - Porto to Lekeitio

    August 31, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Scott started our last day in Porto with a 10km run along the Duoro River. The steps at the start and after the run were the hardest parts by far, but it was well worth it for the scenery. We left our bags at the apartment's office with Vítor, who was getting a start of his end of month paperwork with a packet of cigarettes and a fridge of beer. To fill our day before our flight, we walked along the river and up the hill to Jardins do Palácio de Cristal, a beautiful gardens that was home to several roaming peacocks (including some little chicks) and chickens. Scott wanted to head up here because of a large dome on the top of the hill, which looked like an observatory, which we then thought was a conservatory after finding out it was in the gardens, but later realised it was Super Bock Arena. There was a bookshow on at the time (not that many of the books were in English), and the views as we walked around the gardens were breathtaking. We decided to spend our last few hours in Porto taking in the view from Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar before laying down at Jardim do Morro (a hilltop in Gaia looking back towards Porto). Our flight to Bilbao, Spain, was delayed which sent us in panic stations as we were already on a tight deadline to pick up our hire car. Once we touched down, Meg ran to the car hire section of the airport, and Scott collected the bags. Thankfully, we made it just in time. The journey to Lekeitio took about an hour with more winding roads than you could imagine. We got there safely despite the weirdness Scott felt driving and sitting on the opposite side (thank goodness for lane assist). Once we arrived, Meg raided the mini fridge before heading to bed. We're excited for our first big day of festive partying.Read more

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