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Josephine HobartJosephine Hobart
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traveled in 4 countries Read more
  • Europe 2023
    Day 9

    Rome

    July 5, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    A slightly hungover journey to Rome that felt like it took forever!
    Time spent visiting the classics and eating suppli and carbonara. Exceptionally hot and again very busy. Quite liked the area we stayed in which was nice, it was near Piazza Navona. Jono finally got to visit the Colosseum, we saw lots of old stone things. We also found the best panino shop by accident after I wandered down an alley to have a mini breakdown due to the heat/crowds/hanger lol.Read more

  • Europe 2023
    Day 8

    Greve

    July 4, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    A day spent driving through Tuscany, visiting wineries and staying at the most gorgeous villa. We had a great night out in the nearby village of Greve with a delicious dinner and too many wines. A highlight of the trip so far!Read more

  • Europe 2023
    Day 7

    Florence

    July 3, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    After almost missing our first train (we literally had to force the doors open to get on), four changes later we arrived in Florence in the mid afternoon. It was hot and it was busy.

    A very sweet AirBnb about a 20 minute walk from the station, not the easiest with luggage. We ventured out to get our first Aperol Spritz of the trip and to find Jono's Nanna's apartment in the Duomo. The crowds were totally insane, it was a bit of a shock to the system!

    We had a great dinner of pasta and Florence steak, the area's speciality. Josie was especially happy to be eating Italian food!

    For our full day in Florence we spent the day walking through different parts of the city and visiting some of the stops we'd flagged such as famous sandwich shops and a jewellery shop. Quickly realized that anything found on TikTok was going to have a giant line of people. And the jewellery shop had to shut up early as they couldn't handle all of the visitors thanks to a viral TikTok.

    We ended up going past Trattoria ZaZa's at about 4.30pm and there was no line so decided to have a spontaneous very early dinner to see what the fuss was about. We ended up enjoying ourselves with a few pasta dishes and another steak, but certainly wouldn't bother lining up. Noted to ourselves to avoid places that have too many reviews, even if they're all positive.    Read more

  • Europe 2023
    Day 5

    Nice

    July 1, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We weren't confident, but we made it back to Nice on the dodgy tyre after a 5 hour drive. Pretty standard drive, noting of course that European highways have speed limits purely as a suggestive guide.

    We had two nights in Nice and tried to take it easy after the driving leg. Spent some time at the beach and walking around the old Nice neighbourhood and visited a market to try some local foods. The biggest takeaway was how busy it was. Absolutely packed with people! Foreshadowing the next few days to come...    Read more

  • Europe 2023
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    Day 4

    Wineries and Chateau De Bagnols

    June 30, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    After leaving the town of Vezelay we once again braced the roads, although it was a small day of driving it still gave us some challenges.

    We stopped along the lovely countryside of Dijon with some winery and a fromagerie stops, when we hit a snag. Specifically a snag in the form of a gutter which slashed a hole in the tyre. Cue some panic, as we got all of the insurances but didn't get roadside assist. Oh and the insurances covered everything except the tyres.

    The car did have a patch kit so we used that so we could find a tyre shop, but of course didn't take into account the fact that at mechanics in country France there is minimal English. "Parle vous anglais?" I asked the very grumpy looking owner hopefully, to be met with a very disdainful "no." He did help us with the aid of Google Translate, testing the tyre and announcing it should be ok for our remaining drive of 700km.

    We made it to our accommodation for the night later than expected, but very keen to have a relaxing evening. Tonight's accom was at Chateau de Bagnols - a 12th century castle turned fancy hotel. We were definitely out of place but enjoyed the Succession vibes.

    A relaxing swim in the indoor pool, a walk around the gardens followed with dinner on the patio of a baguette, cheeses and meats and a bottle of wine from one of the wineries we visited. We decline to eat at the 200 euro a head Michelin star restaurant onsite that seemed to only have one main option of sweetbreads.

    We went to sleep praying the tyre would stay inflated overnight.    Read more

  • Europe 2023
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    Day 3

    Vezelay!

    June 29, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    After picking up our rental car we were off! Slightly jittery and nervous driving on the wrong side of the road, but we made it out of Paris! Our first stop was fontainebleau, a beautiful 1100s castle. We had another small picnic in the gardens, before heading off.

    The next port of call, was a quaint and beautiful little winery in the hills called Domaine la croix montjoie. A beautiful back drop for a family run winery, we had a small wine tasting and then headed up to Vezelay

    Vezelay is set atop of a massive hill and centred around a cathedral. We were fortunate enough to be seated when a traditional service was going on, which included French hymns being sung. It was absolutely breathtaking. Our accommodation was cute and perfect for the night.    Read more

  • Europe 2023
    Day 2

    Paris

    June 28, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    A big day of walking, and sight seeing. We popped out to a traditional French market to pick up meats, cheeses and pastries before heading to Luxembourg gardens for a picnic. A huge day of walking, was paired well with a huge day of eating.Read more

  • Europe 2023
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    Montmartre

    June 26, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We arrived in Paris, and were very surprised by the ease of going through immigration, (the non existent) customs and getting to our hotel. At this point we had nearly been awake for 26 hours straight, so we headed out to dinner. Thankfully Josie had booked ahead for a spot at the popular boullion pigalle as the line was two blocks long. Two starters, three mains and a bottle of wine all for under 60 euro saw us through a wonderful start to the trip.

    The next day we got up and went to the Sacre Coeur, we arrived there at about 9am, and amazingly there were no lines so we could head straight in, we also went up to the look out point (it opened half an hour late and we were able to slip in). Once down from the look out we were shocked by how long the line was. It was huge! So tip, get there at about 9am.. after the look out we headed out to a bookshop and to the cemetery before heading home for a quick nap before your Michelin star dinner.

    Prior to the dinner we headed down to the Eiffel tower and had a drink (and a burratta salad) underneath it. Josie unfortunately got some glass in her salad, so.. free meal!

    Very special dinner at substance that night, a goodbye present from Josie's work colleagues.    Read more

  • Australia/Japan 2023
    Day 37

    Disneyland Tokyo

    June 25, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    For our last day in Japan we went to Disneyland! A big day of trying themed foods, lines, rides, crowds and lots of lines.

    Highlights - Space Mountain, Star Wars, Mickey Mouse puff pastry cheeseburger, 3 x of popcorn (caramel, pepper and curry), Toy Story mochi and a smoked chicken leg with a cold beer.

    We arrived at 9am and left at 6pm, so by the time we got back to Shinjuku we had a quick dinner of tonkatsu curry and back to the hotel to get ready for our flight to Paris!

    We loved Tokyo and can’t wait to come back for a longer trip.    Read more

  • Australia/Japan 2023
    Day 35

    Ginza/Shinjuku

    June 23, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We met back up with Richie to go to the Tsukiji market near Ginza. Very busy and lots going on with plenty of fish and food we hadn’t seen before. It was also very expensive so we ended up not having too much, but we did try some lovely tuna sashimi, A5 Wagyu beef and a fresh cream puff, which is one of my favourites.

    I had my mandatory McDonalds cheeseburger as I plan to try one in each country - solid 9/10.

    We had to say goodbye to Richard before visiting the 12 story Uniqlo for some shopping. For dinner we went back to Shinjuku and visited the alleys with tiny izakayas and tried skewers including pork belly, pork cheek, beef, chicken & leek and mushroom. The pork cheek was great!
    Finished off the night with some plum wine at a Golden Gai bar.    Read more

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