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Amy & Stevie's Travels
  • Amy Baggaley
  • Amy Baggaley

Amy & Stevie's Travels

A 279-day adventure by Amy Read more
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  • Trip start
    April 10, 2024
    Amy BaggaleyAmy & Stevie's TravelsTraveler

    England

    April 9, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Steven: We left for Chelsworth on the 7th of April to stay with my auntie Rebecca and uncle David. They live along a small village road in Suffolk surrounded by fields, sheep and birds.

    We also visited Manningtree, where I used to live with my sister Jules, sometime during COVID. We had lunch at The Crown, where I used to work (very expensive...too close to London!). We then walked along the Stour (the local river), following the Dedham Vale trail. I had last walked this route with my mom when the family lived in Brantham - also nearby - and distinctly recall being harassed by bugs for much of it. It wasn't so bad this time.

    The trail ends near the Boatyard, a riverside restaurant near where my grandparents ashes had been scattered. Heavy rains meant the pastures had flooded so ended up taking a detour through some sheepfolds.

    A highlight of the weekend was seeing Rodrigo again. He wasn't wearing his little jumper this time, but he was still loud.

    Because we were leaving from Stansted, Jules and her boyfriend Conor, who live in Chelmsford, came to have dinner and taxi us south so we could get an early bus to the airport.    Read more

  • Amy BaggaleyAmy & Stevie's TravelsTraveler

    Lisbon, Portugal

    April 10, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We arrived in Lisbon after a short flight. Our first mission was to figure out the metro, which wasn't too hard. Our hostel ("We F***** Hate Tourists") was nice and clean, and the staff were delightful. We finished our first night by climbing a never-ending staircase up the *Miradoura da Senhora do Monte* - one of Lisbon's many hills - to watch the sunset.

    Our roommates had gone to bed early when we returned so we had to awkwardly unpack, shower, change...all without waking them up. Obviously at 6am when they woke to catch an early flight, they didn't do the same!

    The following day, we had our first *pastel de nata*, the Portugese egg tart pastry. We saw a funky shop selling all sorts of canned seafood, and Steven wanted to buy some for his dad. We ended up with octopus, mussels and sardines.

    Afterwards, we decided to walk across the city to a Declathon, passing through the *Jardim Braancamp Freire* which, for some reason, had chickens!

    On the 12th we took the overland train to Sintra, a small town in a natural park, to see the Pena Palace, a very funky castle in the "Romanticist" style and a former residence of the Portuguese royal family. The castle sits atop a mountain surrounded by enormous trees and beautiful gardens. Getting up there involved an edge-of-your-seat bus ride up some very narrow roads.

    We had some snacks in town - Steven randomly bought some shots of this cherry liqueur called *[ginja](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginjinha)* with our pastries.

    Steven: After we returned to Lisbon, we went exploring. I insisted we go down an alleyway that can only be summarised as "Little Pakistan", which ended at a fantastic craft beer spot called *Dois Corvos*, "Two Crows". Amy had a rice beer...I had a sour.

    That night we attended a *petiscos* (tapas) night at the hostel, followed by some traditonal *fado*, a sort of Portuguese folk music. The guide from our hostel announced "she had seen it too many times already" and left us there to fend for ourselves. I met an Italian Swiss man who's name I forget, and remarked to him that he was a "rare breed". At the end of the night, this American fellow paid the entire tab, announcing that it was a pittance compared to his salary - he was an anaesthetist from South Carolina. Great guy.

    On the 13th we hired e-scooters and followed the very long promenade to the district of Belém, which claims to have invented the *pasteis de nata*, or *pastais de Belem* as they call it. They came in boxes of six: I had two, Steven devoured 4. We both ended up getting burned.

    We ended the day with a seafood dinner at *Cova Funda*. I had seabream, and Steven had cuttlefish with *tinto*. He tried to ask if the *tinto* was strong...the waiter didn't understand. *Tinto* means ink in Portuguese. His cuttlefish looked great until he cut through the ink sac...

    My fish still had the eyeballs and teeth, and Steven had a very black mouth. The French couple beside us couldn't stop laughing!

    We had to leave for Albufeira the following morning. After packing up, we headed to Oakberry, a place Steven had found and wanted to try. They served something called *açaí* bowls, basically berry sorbet topped with fruit and granola. We were absolutely hooked.    Read more

  • Amy BaggaleyAmy & Stevie's TravelsTraveler

    Albufeira, Portugal

    April 14, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Our bus to Albufeira took 3 hours with a quick stop at the services for some ice cream. We were met by Tiago our host, a very tanned Portuguese man. The property was spacious and open plan with a big bed, breakfast bar and most importantly...sun loungers!!

    The following day we worked...Steven still had his job! He didn't want to tell them he was travelling so he logged on as normal. We were expecting Steven's friend Tom and his girlfriend Grace to fly into Faro later that evening so we decided to explore the town a bit. Three hours later and definitely a few cocktails in, Steven realised they were scheduled to arrive the following day!! We finished the night with some more cocktails and some karaoke.

    Woke up the next day poorly. Dehydrated. Very sad. Steven met Tom and Grace and had dinner with them.

    Steven: it was a very difficult decision to make, leaving Amy at home. I made her a cup of tea, a bowl of cereal and tucked her in. I met Tom and Grace at a restaurant overlooking the sea called *Oceano* and ordered vegetarian black linguine - the vegetarian option because adding seafood literally doubled the price; black linguine because I wanted to prove I wasn't scared of a little ink...

    Amy: on the 17th we had a BBQ. We had a trip to Lidl and bought some seafood goodies: octopus, prawns...and some sausages and some potato salad. Steven tried his best to cook everything and everyone very politely nibbled their octopus. Luckily, the potato salad was smash hit!

    Before Tom and Grace left, we booked a trip on a boat to see the Benagil caves. The coastline is full of cool caves and little beaches. We were lucky enough to see some dolphins! or *golphins* in Portuguese...

    We spent a whole month in Albufeira, mostly working and suntanning. Some highlights of the rest of the stay included:

    **The Yolo Lounge** is this huge bar spread across at least four floors, the best being the rooftop. It had an indoor rodeo, hammocks, and (Steven's favourite) a tattoo parlour inside a cave!! Behind the bar was an extremely muscular female bodybuilder. I ordered the strongest Mai Tai I've ever had. Like petrol!

    **Rutz** is a small café in the centre of town that quickly became our favourite place for a morning coffee. It served acai bowls in half a coconut.

    **Faro** is a nearby city, quite a bit bigger than Albufeira. We hopped on the bus for a day trip. There, we had *francensinha*, a sort of sandwich filled with meat covered in gravy made from tomato and beer.

    **Portuguese chips** aren't necessarily French fries...sometimes they're more like Walker's crisps but made then and there! They're soggy and sort of rubbery, and we had them at this place called Hamburgology which appears to be a very popular chain. Burgers come with either chips or rice (??), with or without bun!!

    Our last night in Albufeira was bittersweet. We had come to love our little home here. There was this restaurant in town covered in seashells that, whenever we walked past, Amy would say "we should have a drink there at some point". That's what we did on our last night. It was pretty good.    Read more

  • Amy BaggaleyAmy & Stevie's TravelsTraveler

    Athens, Greece

    May 16, 2024 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Steven: Onwards to Athens! We had a late flight to Athens so ate in Lisbon. We had Hamburgers at a restaurant that only played Rihanna songs on the radio. Amy was awoken mid nap to try aeroplane food for the first time: she was blown away by the coleslaw with raisins and cheesy pasta. Landing at 6am, it was warm and we were tired. Jules and Conor let us in. They had arrived the night before - we had messed up the dates again!

    After a quick nap it was up to the Acropolis. We fought the crowds for a bit, appreciated the history, touched the ancient rocks with the "No Touching" signs etc. We even found a tortoise just chilling in the park. Then lunch: souvlaki! (the real reason we were in Greece).

    That night we went to a supposed metal bar called *Intrepid Fox* and played some pool. Steven and Conor tried to figure out how to order one can of mixer to share between their drinks, and ended up with two glasses basically filled with vodka!

    Amy: Jules and Conor had joined us in Athens, but it was also technically Jules' birthday week whilst she was here. She was dressed like a gorgeous ray of sunshine (Steven: giant mango sorbet) wanted to go to the Museum of Illusions.

    I fed Steven a banana, Steven had a conference with his generals, and lastly, Steven and Conor fused into a hideous rat monster.

    The day after it was Jules' actual birthday! Steven and I woke up early to look for some cake and decorations. We settled for carrot cake and baklava and some candles.
    Jules wanted to spend her birthday at the beach. Unfortunately it was quite overcast and the nearest beach was small, grey and dirty. Still, we had a cocktail at the *Bikini Bar* and had a dip in the thankfully warm water. It was all worth it though, because the Red Arrows were there doing an airshow!

    Jules and Conor left the following morning. Steven and I moved out stuff to a nearby hostel then embarked on a very long walk to Piraeus, the city port. It was the last thing I wanted to see before we left: the place where Great Grandpop Bert had stood all those years ago during the war. I cannot imagine how much the port has changed now.    Read more

  • Amy BaggaleyAmy & Stevie's TravelsTraveler
    1

    Thessaloniki, Greece

    May 20, 2024 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    The following day we left for Thessaloniki via train. The route took us through much of central Greece, along the Aegean coast. As soon as we left Athens the smog cleared up and we could see the blue sky! We arrived quite late in the evening so we grabbed some groceries and went to bed.

    Thessaloniki features a long (6km) waterfront promenade lined with cafes and restaurants, as well as grassy parks and wide open parks. At night, especially on a weekend, the waterfront is absolutely packed full of people, including families and older people on late-night walks, so the atmosphere felt extremely safe and home-y.

    On the 22nd we went exploring. Ancient Greek and Ottoman walls encircle the centre of the old town, and atop a hill overlooking the city is a castle called the Heptagyrion meaning "Seven Towers", which functioned as a prison until very recently. The prison cells were awful: tiny, narrow and windowless.

    On the 24th we took the ferry to Perea beach to get some tanning in. The boat chugged for forty minutes down the coast. The water there was crystal clear but a bit sea-weedy, but we had drinks delivered to our deckchairs and the weather was impeccable!

    On the 31st we decided to hike a nearby mountain. We walked all the way across the city before beginning our climb. The sun was hot and the mountain turned out to be steeper than expected, and we kept being attacked by large, very aggressive flying beetles (they were out for blood). The hill was very strange. Benches could be seen randomly deep in the woods; there were basketball courts in random places close to the peak. They even had toilet blocks (squatty potties) dotted around! We saw very few people up there, too, though we did some tortoises. After we returned, we found a café and had some slushies.

    On the 3rd, we stumbled upon a series of massive political rallies. The first of them was quite small, whereas the second was enormous and had people blowing horns all night long. That evening, Steven damaged the kitchen cabinets and we had to glue it back together.

    On the 6th we did a day-trip to the monasteries of Meteora, which are perched atop these incredible towers of rock, and many of them are only accessible via rope-bridge, or staircases cut into the rock. Our tour-guide Demitra told us fun stories about the regions we passed through them. She insisted that we should use the Greek name for kiwis because "kiwi" is the language of New Zealand which is apparently confusing to them....

    On the 12th it was Steven's birthday! We had lunch and wine in a rotating restaurant atop a tower, followed by food at a Georgian restaurant (we figured we'd get a taste of what was to come). On the way home we popped into an internet café and played a few games.

    The following day we took the bus to the airport...to pick up Amy's Mom and off to Kallithea!    Read more

  • Amy BaggaleyAmy & Stevie's TravelsTraveler

    Istanbul, Turkey

    June 19, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Overnight bus from Thessaloniki to Istanbul - arrived very early (6:00am) and had to hang around whilst waiting to check into our Air Bnb. Tried the Turkish tea and ate some meat pie.

    Steven enjoyed many types of coffee (pistachio or Kurdish coffee and Dibek). Steven was not happy the Kurdish coffee was caffein free.

    We really enjoyed the Islak burgers (wet burgers) in Taksim Square.

    Mosques and call to prayer across the city. We visited the Süleymaniye Cami, Taksim Camii and Sultanahmet Camii (Blue mosque).

    Bosphorus river cruise - Whirling dervishes, belly dancing, Georgian dancing and strange food. We both got very drunk and somehow managed to wander home after having a dance ourselves. Amy definitely woke up feeling very poorly and not ready for a 7 hour bus journey to Ankara.

    We nearly missed our bus as we got dropped off at the wrong bus station and had to get to another station with our bags about 15 minutes away. Luckily the bus was waiting for us but we only realised after buying tickets for the following bus later that morning.    Read more

  • Amy BaggaleyAmy & Stevie's TravelsTraveler

    Malacca, Malaysia

    July 30, 2024 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    We were pleasantly surprised by Malacca, this historic city had so much to offer. In the city we found Christ Church, a red Dutch Reformed church build in 1753 and St. Paul's Church, an old Portuguese church build in 1521.

    Jonker Street, famously known for his night market, was full of stalls selling street food, local crafts and antiques.

    We extended our stay here because we loved it so much.    Read more

  • Amy BaggaleyAmy & Stevie's TravelsTraveler

    Singapore

    August 8, 2024 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    We had so much fun here!

    The Supertree Grove was incredible, we were able to the light show, known as Garden Rhapsody held at Gardens by the Bay. Some trees reach heights of up to 50 meters and are covered in plants, they function as part of the park's ecological system.

    We found a shopping mall with an indoor canal! The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands offers gondola rides on the canal through the mall.

    We also had to visit the aquarium, known to be one of the best and it did not dissapoint!    Read more

  • Amy BaggaleyAmy & Stevie's TravelsTraveler

    Jakarta, Indonesia

    August 10, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    A city full of chaos, uneven damaged footpaths and smog. We were happy that our apartment complex joined on to the main mall in the city, meaning we very rarely left our apartment!

  • Amy BaggaleyAmy & Stevie's TravelsTraveler

    Bandung, Indonesia

    August 15, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    The White Crater or Kawah Putih is a volcanic crater lake was our first volcanic experience!

    We had our own private tour with a local guide who took us hiking around the best view points.

    Steven was determined to get up close to the lake and stuck his finger in..Read more

  • Amy BaggaleyAmy & Stevie's TravelsTraveler

    Putus, Indonesia

    August 22, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Our stay in Putus was just for the sunrise hike to Mount Bromo.

    A super early start at 2am to hop in a jeep up to one of the view points to watch the sunrise and then a hike up the volcano.

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