• Bec Moon
  • Phill Moon
Sep 2023 – Jan 2024

Avoiding the heat EU tour

A 127-day adventure by Bec & Phill Read more
  • Olive you glad for oil 🫒

    September 27, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    After our buffet breakfast we headed just down the road to the medieval Byzantine citadel of Mystra, where we walked from the top of the mountain through the ruins of the ancient city to the bottom. There were multiple churches as well as leftovers of buildings. I think for me this was my favorite ancient city to date. There was so many roads and places to walk.

    After spending a long while here we headed to a little tavern nearby for lunch where Phill enjoyed the local speciality of Pork with a crispy skin and we had a side of crispy cheese.

    We made our way to an olive oil museum to learn about different types of olives, oils and the techniques used. After leaving the museum we headed on the bus for a 2 hour drive to another store where we tasted different olive oils, olives and wine.

    Finally, we arrived at the hotel for dinner and after we went for a walk around the town where we walked into a store where they had an Olympic torch just shoved in the corner because the store owner's brother was one of the original runners.

    We grabbed some ice cream and headed back for some sleep.

    Step count
    Both: 11k
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  • Does this mean we're athletes?

    September 28, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    This morning began at the same location as the original Olympic games, in Olympia. We explored the ruins from the 8th century B.C. Its extensive ruins include athletic training areas, a stadium and temples dedicated to the gods Hera and Zeus. We both ran the distance of the original stadium, so that pretty much makes us fitness gurus.

    We also explored the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, which held a good amount of the original statues and artifacts from that time.

    After lunch we drove north to Patras, the capital of the Peloponnese and the west coast's largest port. We continued crossing the spectacular Rion-Antirion bridge, which is one of the world's longest multi-span cable-stayed bridges and longest of the fully suspended type. We went through the picturesque fishing villages along the south coast of the mainland to legendary Delphi.

    Once we arrived in Delphi and checked out the amazing views from our room we headed to dinner, and had a stunning post dinner walk.

    Step count
    Both: 15.2k
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  • Apollo told me to do it

    September 29, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    After yet another buffet breakfast we jumped on our bus and headed to the archaeological site of Delphi, where the oracle of Apollo spoke. It was the site of the omphalos, the 'navel of the world' (center of the world according to Zeus).

    Delphi in the 6th century B.C. was the religious hub and symbol of unity of the ancient Greek world, where the priestesses would huff methane and carbon dioxide expelled from craters in the earth due to volcanic activity. This would cause them to have 'visions' of Apollo and would pass on his guidance to many kings and aristocrats.

    After our history lesson, we hopped back onto the bus for 2-hours before we stopped for lunch and a stretch. Then we got back onto the coach for another 2 hours to arrive in Kalambaka.

    We enjoyed a stroll around the town and some icecream before heading to dinner and an early bed.

    Step count; 19.5k each
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  • Jesus take the wheel

    September 30, 2023 in Greece ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Today began at 2 Christian Orthodox monasteries perched on top of rock formations at Meteora. They were originally built by hermit monks living in the caves carved into the sides of the rock formations.

    The first we visited was used by monks, the other was nuns. These churches and locations were beautiful and as we left the final place we witnessed a priest and a bus driver get into a road rage incident outside the front of the monastery where the bus driver kept yelling 'give me a reason father, give me a reason you do this'

    After that enlightening stop we headed for Athens. This was a 4 hour drive with a stop for lunch. After lunch we stopped at the site of the hot gates, and took in another statue and memorial of King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans.

    We arrived back in the city and headed straight for the laundromat for some fresh socks.

    After our clothes were dried and smelling better we got a gyros for dinner and headed back to the hotel to relax as the first week of our tour was over, we now have tomorrow as down time before boarding the island cruise.

    Step count: 14k
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  • Opa!

    October 1, 2023 in Greece ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    Today was uneventful. As it was our first full day of nothingness we decided to battle plan the next month of our trip.

    Now let me tell you, that sounds easy - but boy oh boy is Italy expensive, and trying to find the cheapest (decent) place and transport is a task. We ended up spending 10am to around 5pm in our hotel room planning (minus 1 coffee break).

    The night ended up being a lot more interesting though, with our tour group we headed out to dinner. Where we had multiple courses of traditional Greek food while watching a variety of dances.

    The highlight of the night is when Phill was called up to dance with the men. (video is attached)

    Once dinner wrapped up we walked to a bar for a late night beverage before going back to the hotel for bedtime.

    Step count: around 11k (the watches were thrown off with all our clapping)
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  • Cruisin' n boozin'

    October 2, 2023 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    Today began by us running around trying to figure out how to send a parcel internationally from Athens before breakfast.

    We ended up scoring a box from a local supermarket and buying tape from the same place to go back to the post office to send it off.

    After our adventure we headed for breakfast then onto our bus to the dock where we boarded our home for the next few days - the cruise ship Celeste.

    After a big lunch and some "free" cocktails we arrived at our first stop: Mykonos.

    We explored the thin cobblestone streets,, swam and took some photos before ending the night in a bar where we had too many more cocktails.

    Finally, we boarded our shuttle and ended up on board for a very late buffet dinner before bed.

    Step count: 17k
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  • A quick trip to Asia

    October 3, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    Today began in Turkey. We docked super early at Kusadasi and made our way to the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus which was built in the neolithic period and came to full glory under the Roman empire. This site was stunning, considering the site is only 17% excavated it truly felt like we were walking through a city. Here we saw the lavish Library of Celsus, a gigantic 25,000 seat amphitheatre, and the well-preserved Hadrian Temple.

    After our tour of this ancient city we headed to a Turkish rug consignment warehouse that specializes in silk rugs. We were shown how silk is extracted as well as how they actually weave the designs into the rugs. This was very cool, and I now understand why they are so beautiful and expensive (I'm selling a kidney if someone needs one).

    After a bit more walking around Turkey we headed back into the ship before we started sail for Patmos.

    On Patmos we visited a beach and enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the township before relaxing with a coffee and watching the world pass by.

    The night ended with a very impressive cabaret show on the cruise ship and a 'Greek bbq' for dinner

    Step count: around 19k

    PS. On our short trip we did try Turkish coffee (it's just Greek coffee), Turkish delight, lions milk and haggling.
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  • On the Rhode again

    October 4, 2023 in Greece ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    This morning we jumped out of bed for a 7am call time as we had a full day at Rhodes ahead of us.

    We began our adventure at Lindos, about 55km from Rhodes Town and high above the local village at the Acropolis of Lindos with the Doric Temple of Athena, built in 300 BC. After exploring these ruins and the local town we headed to one of my favorite locations to date: Rhodes Old Town.

    The Old City is surrounded by 4km long walls and is one of the biggest and best-preserved Medieval settlements of Europe. This fortified medieval city is full of buildings showing the history of the island, from the antiquity, the Byzantine times, the Middle Ages, and to Turkish rule.

    After strolling through and checking out the Palace of the Grand Master, the hospital of the Knights, the inns that were used by the Knights, and the Gothic churches, along with the narrow stone-paved alleyways, the stone arches and apses, the various mosques, churches and houses we headed back to the boat for lunch.

    After our (included, aka free) lunch we donned our bathers and headed out in search of a beach.

    On the way we stopped at the supposed location of the Colossus of Rhodes - which for those following at home that know what that is: Apparently the statue wasn't actually standing with his legs apart? Apparently that was an artist impression many moons ago that people just ran with.

    We finally got to a pebbled beach where we had a refreshing swim and sunbath before going back aboard.

    The day ended with a cocktail party with the captain and a show about the Greek gods.

    Step count: 27k
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  • Isle miss you, seaya Aegean soon

    October 5, 2023 in Greece ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Today we started off in Heraklion, Crete. We left the ship and followed a yellow line to
    Rocca a Mare, a 16th century Fortress. Then continued on to the city to explore and enjoy the area.

    We again boarded and headed to a 'cocktail party' with our tour guide where he explained the disembarkation process and what is happening tour as it was the final day of our 2 week tour.

    After some cocktails and coffees we headed to the on board casino for our traditional pokie session. When I say traditional, I mean we did it on the only other cruise we've been on where we won $40 off $20. This time we picked out our lucky machine, and inserted a crisp 10 euro note, after about 2 minutes of playing we walked away with 104 euros. So that is a 100% win streak for us with cruise ship pokies.

    We then arrived at our final stop - Santorini, The 'Black Pearl of the Aegean' specifically we went to the cliff-top village of Oia. The views here were absolutely stunning.

    We expected to see a lot of tourists, but I don't think we fully comprehended how popular this island is, in peak season they see up to 160,000 visitors a day. Now that's a lot of people for these tiny streets where there's only 15k permanent residents.

    Once we got back on board we enjoyed Mexican for dinner and enjoyed the views from the volcanic islands as we sailed away.

    Step count: 22k
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  • Disembarkation

    October 6, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    This morning we disembarked from the cruise nice and early, made the hour bus trip back to Athens and said Goodbye to our tour guide Pavlos.

    As it was only 9am and we couldn't book in yet we dropped our bags off and set off on an adventure.

    After wandering around we headed into the Acropolis museum. The museum was great and had heaps of artifacts and pieces from the acropolis which we visited just a week ago.

    After some more walking and a successful post office trip we ended the day just relaxing in the room watching the historical Greek movie - Mumma mia, with dinner which was a mix grill.

    Step count - 26k
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  • That's a wrap on Greece

    October 7, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today we said goodbye to our included tour accomodation. No more 4 star hotels for us....

    After our midday checkout time we headed to our favorite laundry mat, for the third time this Greece trip. After our clothes were successfully cleaned we headed to our final hotel in Athens to drop off our bags before a stroll through the city.

    After 3 when we were able to check in we headed to our room and continued with booking and researching the rest of this month.

    We took a quick break and headed towards the acropolis for cocktails with a view - before grabbing a final gyros and heading to bed for a early night.

    Seeya in Italy

    Step count: 17k
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  • αντιο σας Greece, Ciao Italy

    October 8, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Today we said goodbye to Athens and spent most of the day in the airport.

    After a very quick flight we landed in Bari. After some Google maps and train issues we ended up not going to our original accommodation and booked a last minute room in the towns center.

    After dropping our things off we went in search for the areas best rated pizza on trip advisor and Google. This took us to SpizziPizza, where as we were waiting we heard some fellow Australians talking about the mushroom 'incident' of Leongatha.

    After enjoying our very first Italian pizza - which was delicious, we went for a late night stroll around the town and headed back to the accommodation.

    Step count: 19k
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  • Oldie but a goodie

    October 9, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    For our first morning in Italy we woke up, packed our things and headed to our included breakfast - a cappuccino, a croissant and freshly squeezed OJ 👌

    We then wandered around Bari, enjoyed another cappuccino and had one of the most delicious lunch rolls ever: A prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes, pistachio spread and burrata roll.

    After more aimless walking we headed for our bus which took us to the 3rd oldest city in the world and the oldest in Europe - Matera.

    After some back and forth with our hotel/b&b owner she informed us we couldn't check in until 19:30, we got off the bus at 15:30. So we had a good chunk of time to kill and places to explore with our lovely packs, as we couldn't drop them anywhere either.

    Phill got stuck chatting (listening) to a local for almost an hour, before we explored an old underground water tank. We then walked through Sassi de Matera which is a cave network inhabited since the Paleolithic era with excavations & expansions over the years. But more on that tomorrow!

    It was 20 past 7 at this point and we had just walked what felt like 2000 steps (with our packs still on) so we decided to get some gelato. Now this chocolate gelato was the best thing I had ever tasted, 10/10 will be going back tomorrow.

    After it finally hit 19:30 and we could check in, we dumped our packs and peeled off our very VERY sweaty Tshirts and headed to complimentary drinks at the attached restaurant where we also enjoyed a tagliere di salumi e formaggi (meat and cheese tray).

    Once we got back to the room we booked a walking tour for tomorrow morning, we also washed the clothes we wore today as they were a biohazard.

    Step count: 21k

    PS. If you're a fan of James bond, the latest one from 2019 was apparently filmed here
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  • Do tomatoes count as fruit?

    October 10, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Today began with a walking tour of the Sassi de Matera and the ancient cave dwellings. We toured a cave church as well as checking out some remodeled houses as well as seeing the old abandoned buildings.

    For lunch we enjoyed a focaccia and more delicious gelato, before heading to a supermarket and back to the accommodation for 'Riposo' like the locals (everything is closed for 3 hours).

    We had an afternoon explore, where we walked down a ravine that we were very unequiped for - before heading to dinner of bolognese, bruschetta and a limoncello spritz.

    Step count: 21k
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  • Coasting along

    October 11, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    This morning we jumped on a 3 hour bus ride to Salerno before jumping on another 50 minute bus to Minori on the Amalfi coast.

    Being a bus driver in this area should be an Olympic sport - it's even more windy than the Great Ocean road and pretty sure it's thinner too, with even stupider tourists. There were at least 6 occasions I thought we were going to crash or roll.

    We went to check in to our hotel and spent 20 solid minutes trying to get the owners attention (he was sleeping on the couch in the next room which we could see into).
    After we got set up in our room that looks straight out the 70's we donned our togs and headed for the beach.

    After swimming and sunbathing until the sun went down, we walked the 2 minutes to our hotel to shower before embarking to find dinner, which ended up being a miscellaneous spread of hot fried food that we enjoyed on our balcony.

    We decided to head back to the street for a late night walk where we made our way to a chocolate/ dessert store where we spent too much money on delicious food we didn't need.

    Steps: 16.3k

    PS. Smokes are so cheap here - and in vending machines? No wonder everyone still smokes
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  • Soaking up the sun ☀️

    October 12, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    After a late wakeup we caught the bus 10 mins down the road to Amalfi - it was supposed to be 10 minutes but the chaos of the drive made it closer to 15 as the bus had to keep giving way to other buses, cars and scooters as the road is only really wide enough for 1 to get through on the corners.

    We wandered around Amalfi, grabbed some lunch and headed to the beach. We rented out some beach chairs with an umbrella and set up where we stayed for most of the day enjoying the sun and the cold ocean.

    After the clouds covered the sun and we realized we would have to wait another hour for the bus if we didn't leave we packed up and jumped on the next bus back to our accommodation.

    We wandered around and grabbed some things for dinner which we ate on our balcony before going out again (under the guise of getting step count up) and got some gelato.

    Step count: 11k
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  • A slice of heaven

    October 13, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    We left our little beach haven and jumped on a bus then train to arrive at the birth place of Pizzas - Napoli.

    While waiting for our check-in time for our accommodation, we sat on some steps and enjoyed our first Neapolitan pizza. It was strange because it was served folded in quarters wrapped in paper. And my gosh was it delicious, especially because it was 4 aud.

    We dropped our bags at our accommodation (after being welcomed by our very excitable and strange host) and did what we do best, get lost.

    After wandering and checking out lots of alleyways and side streets we decided to go back and relax before heading out in search of dinner.

    Dinner ended up being a Pizza Fritte, which is just a pizza folded in half and deep fried. And it was pretty good - it was very large in size.

    "Pizza is too healthy, I'm glad they found a way to make it bad for you" - Phill 2023

    For dessert we had a cannoli and a random chocolate cake.

    Step count: 22k

    PS. I feel like we've both developed a cigarette addiction with how much secondhand smoke we're inhaling
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  • Crispy like a pizza pie

    October 14, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Today we headed to the city of Pompeii to check out the city which was frozen (boiled?) In time.

    We didn't do much research or look into it at all, but it was so much bigger then we expected as Phill said "it's almost like this was a full city" we ended up walking around for 4 hours and didn't see all of the area, it was insanity.

    Pompeii and the ruins ranked up to both our favourite archeological sites and just the sheer size and scale of what was maintained. Although seeing the plaster casts of the bodies was a bit more confronting then anticipated, especially being able to see skulls, teeth and children.

    After this we jumped back on the train, travelled an hour back to Naples and went in search of dinner - spoiler, it ended up being pizza again (no fruit or vegetables have been consumed this week)

    To conclude the evening we had some Italian desserts (couldn't tell you the names) with tea while Phill played Ceasar 3.

    Step count: 24.5k
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  • MasterChef

    October 15, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today was a very lazy day to begin with, we didn't leave our accommodation until about 16:00.

    Once we did leave we hiked up 30 minutes of stairs to get to a museum/ church that we didn't go into, before heading to a pizza making class.

    In our class we learnt how to make the scrumptious dough, ate bruschetta while it rose and then put our Neapolitan toppings on (mozzarella and basil) before cooking it In the pizza oven for 3-5 minutes.

    The pizzas were delicious with our complimentary glass of wine and we enjoyed a coffee (espresso) and lemon sorbet for dessert.

    We went back to our accommodation, grabbed our dirty laundry and headed to our favourite place - the laundromat. We watched our clothes spin in circles until after 10pm before heading to bed.

    Steps: 14k
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  • Pasta La Vista

    October 16, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    This morning we said goodbye to a rainy Naples and caught an hour train to Rome.

    Once we got to Rome we were able to check into our room straight away, and we pretty much immediately went for a wander.

    We went to a museum/art gallery called 'Welcome to Rome' which taught us about the history and evolution of Rome from its origin until today. We then walked and saw some landmarks including the Trevi fountain.

    We came back to the accommodation, enjoyed some snacks while watching a piece of Roman history - the Lizzie McGuire movie.

    At 8:30 we headed to a tipsy cooking class, where we enjoyed some spritzers while making pasta. We ended up making 2 kinds of pasta - Carbonara and Pasta Cacio e Pepe. Which were both absolutely delicious.

    Step count: 20.3k

    PS: let it be known - a pizza was eaten everyday in Naples!
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  • Up high, down low

    October 17, 2023 in Vatican City ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Today started nice and early at around 5:30am so we could get up and walk the hour trek to the Vatican, we also made a detour to see the Trevi fountain and the Pantheon before the big crowds moved in.

    We met up with our tour group and ventured into the smallest (and wealthiest) country. Once inside, we made our way through the very impressive museum, the Raphael rooms, the hall of maps, tapestry gallery, the Belvedere Courtyard before heading to the Sistine Chapel where we enjoyed Michelangelo’s spectacular paintings.

    Next was the tour of St. Peter’s Basilica, Europe's biggest church which was so very impressive and excessive.

    We walked home, enjoyed some lunch before heading out on our next adventure.

    We joined our next tour where we discovered 3 of Rome's most significant archeological sites, the Capuchin Crypts, the Catacombs of St. Callixtus and the Appian Way.

    The Capuchin crypt was made up of the bones of 4000 monks, which was very strange. Afterwards, the tour look us to the catacombs which once housed up to 500,000 bodies, it was insanely large and incomprehensible, it was a maze of empty crypts and creepy drawings.

    The tour ended by dropping us back off in town where we wandered around some other sites such as the massive Monument to Victor Emmanuel II before grabbing some food from the shops before a calm night in.

    Step count: 28.8k
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  • ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED

    October 18, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    This morning we made our way to the Arch of Constantine to begin our guided tour of the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and the Colosseum.

    The first 2 stops were beautiful and filled with history but nothing could beat the main attraction of the day. We arrived at the Colosseum and marvelled on the base level before enjoying the panorama of the top level.

    The 2000 year old amphitheatre could hold 50,000 to 80,000 spectators, the sheer size of it was unexpected and impressive, including how it has survived and the evolution (and deconstruction) throughout history.

    As we left Phill said to me "well now I've seen this I don't have anything to look forward to in life" (thanks Phill)

    We ran back to our accommodation for Phill to change into pants before we headed to the Pantheon. The Pantheon has the largest unsupported concrete dome in the world, now this thing was MASSIVE, the top was open too so it was letting the rain in all over the marble.

    We headed back to our accommodation and stopped in for a gelato break before relaxing for an hour before we headed out for dinner (and another gelato break after dinner)

    Step count: 22.4k
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  • No haycart in sight

    October 19, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    This morning we left the beautiful city of Roma to head to another beautiful city - Florence.

    After we arrived we headed to our accommodation to drop off our bags in a hallway (very safe) before embarking on a journey around the city. We stopped by the most beautiful 2 story food hall, some markets before getting to the Galleria degli Uffizi, which had thousands of beautiful and somewhat questionable pieces of art including The birth of Venus.

    After spending a good amount of time in the museum we headed to our accommodation to check in and securely store our bags.

    We specifically chose this accommodation as it had a view of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and Brunelleschi's dome, and we are quite literally at its doorstep, the view is otherworldly and stunning.

    We then decided to climb Giotto's Bell Tower, which was just under 500 steps and gave a wonderful view of the city.

    For dinner we decided to splurge and try one of the city's delicacies - a 1.5kg Florentine steak. Phill had an absolute ball with this and has made the statement that it was "the best steak I've ever had" (which is good because it was a weeks worth of groceries)

    Step count: 25k
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  • The best of Tuscany

    October 20, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Today we embarked on a tour of the Tuscan countryside.

    The day's first stop was the city of Siena, where we had a guided city tour, including exploring the beautiful Siena Cathedral, before wandering around the small alleyways ourselves.

    After Siena we enjoyed the scenery as the bus enterd the Chianti wine region. When we arrived at a vineyard, we sat down for a traditional Tuscan lunch comprised of fresh bread, pasta, salad, cold cuts and local cheeses, accompanied by a wine tasting. We tasted 4 wines in total and probably polished off 3 bottles between us before we had to rally to the bus before traveling onward to San Gimignano, where we explored the squares and cobbled streets, and browsed the local shops.

    The day's last stop was Pisa, where we watched lots of people doing the thriller dance at the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. We arrived at the perfect time to get some photos in the rain before watching a vibrant sunset.

    Step count: 23.7k
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  • The Sinking City

    October 21, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Today we said goodbye to the beautiful city of Florence and hello to another unique gem in Italy -- Venice!

    After a ~2hr train ride we arrived at the terminal and stepped out to view the Grand Canal in all of its splendor. Apparently Venice is sinking by 1-2mm per year, and let's just say it doesn't have too many left from our calculations. The water licked up the side of the paths and often spills over onto the footpaths.

    First up for us was finding our accommodation, which was slightly more difficult than our previous stays, due to the twists and turns of the canals. Once we found it and checked in we decided to go and watch our first movie while overseas! Aptly, it was A Haunting in Venice! A Hercule Poirot whodunit taking place in the city. The movie was good, ignoring the 10 year old Italian kids that decided to watch the film too (not sure why they'd be watching a murder mystery, maybe the times have changed)

    Afterwards we explored some of the city, which was even more flooded than before! They even brought out temporary raised paths for people to walk on in certain areas.

    After checking out the town we came back to the hostel to recharge a little before heading out for some dinner (pasta and a slice of pizza) and another token gelato.

    Step count: 17.3k
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