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GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
  • Lara Marich
  • Rudi Marich
  • Lara Marich
  • Rudi Marich

GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

A year long adventure through Europe and South East Asia - turning a crazy dream into reality. Read more
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  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
    Found the right path after we came up the 'path of the dead'!
    Rock climbers above us

    Day trip to Resinelli

    July 16, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We took the bus up to Piani Di Resinelli in the morning and stayed all day because there was only one bus back late afternoon. We had trouble finding information about hiking (the tourist info centre always seems to be closed) but we talked to a friendly restaurant owner in English/Italian and decided to hike to Refugio Rosalba (4 hours). We found the right path initially but somehow got sidetracked on the Sentiero Di Morti - the path of the dead! It did get pretty hairy (climbing handrail cables) but we made it to the top, had a quick Coke (all supplies are helicoptered in) then scrambled back down the correct path. We arrived back at the restaurant 5 hours later and scoffed into polenta, handmade pasta and wild boar. A big adventure all round.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Day trip to Colico

    July 19, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Today we explored the Northern part of Lake Como by taking the train to Colico. Here we took a tour of Forte Montecchio Nord, the best preserved fortress of WW1 in Europe with its fully functioning French cannons in revolving domes. We then took the ferry back to our favourite small town of Varenna for aperitifs before heading home.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
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    Day out with our lovely hosts

    July 20, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Our lovely hosts, Barbara and Pierre -Mario (along with their friend Monica) picked us up today and drove us up to a local eatery/produce store which was overflowing with local delicacies. We had a wonderful time in the sunshine, eating, drinking, chatting and laughing. They very kindly invited us into their lovely home back in Lecco for coffee and digestivi - we’ve made a truly special connection with these generous and beautiful people.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Early departure from Lecco

    July 22, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We woke up yesterday to the news that there will be no trains running on Wednesday (country wide strike) and we were due to leave that day and had many connecting trains over the next few days. Barbara our host kindly helped us come up with a solution and we are leaving Lecco a day early to get over the Swiss border before we are affected.
    We had a lovely farewell dinner last night with Barbara, Pier Marco, Francesca (and her friend Francesca) and we are very excited that we will see them again soon in Croatia.    Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
    Tirano libraryLibrary garden

    Overnight in Tirano

    July 23, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Sbagliato (mistake) is one of my favourite Italian words and coming to Lecco was a wonderful sbagliato. Our original Airbnb booking (near Portofino) was cancelled by the host and my search for a suitable apartment took me all the way to Lecco and we have loved every minute of our stay. Today we travelled by train to the picturesque town of Tirano.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Crossing the Bernina Pass

    July 24, 2019 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    The Bernina Express crosses the Italian border and the Swiss Alps to Chur. It has Unesco World Heritage status, it negotiates 55 tunnels, 196 bridges, has an incline of 70 metres per kilometre and reaches a height of 2253 metres - needless to say it was a breathtaking journey and we even saw snow on the peaks above several glaciers.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Train to Zurich

    July 25, 2019 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    Woke up to another super hot day, so we walked to the old wooden swimming platforms on the river. We watched the locals as they jumped in at one end of the enclosure and were rapidly swept down stream to ladders and a platform.... and then we plucked up the courage to have a go! It was a wonderful refreshing way to cool down prior to our train trip to Paris. When we arrived in Paris the temperature had exceeded the all time record by 2 degrees - 42.6! Arrived in Nantes (in Normandy) just before midnight but in good spirits considering the travelling challenges of the day.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
    Origami animal masks

    Nantes to Bazoges en Pared

    July 26, 2019 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Had a quick look around the historic city of Nantes before our friend Alan met us, to drive us on to his home in the small village of Bazoges-en-Pareds. We met Alan on the Portugese Camino a number of years ago and it was wonderful to see him and his wife Mel (we had also spent time with them both in Budapest). We had dinner at a local micro-brewery with lots of catching up and laughter ...plus some pretty good beers.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Nocturne Medieval Night

    July 27, 2019 in France ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We were lucky enough to be in Bazoges en Pareds for their Nocturne Medieval celebration and re-enactment. After dress rehearsal the night before (we still had no idea what we were supposed to be doing because all instructions were given in French) we turned up in our amazing costumes at the castle in the centre of the village and did our best to fudge our way through. Our hosts Alan and Mel were actually the stars of the show and we were nobles so we really received the royal treatment - many goblets of spiced wine, beers, fresh flat bread baked in the wood oven, cheese, pate, all finished off with an incredible fire dance show in the gardens. We finally crawled into bed around 2 am after a wonderful evening - thank you Alan and Mel.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
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    Day trip to La Rochelle

    July 28, 2019 in France ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    After a slow start, Alan and Mel drove us to the coast to see the picturesque city of La Rochelle. We wandered from bar to bar around the waterfront and enjoyed Moules Frites at a restaurant - it was a perfect recovery day.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
    The diving board that was submerged a few hours laterWe watched the storm brewing from a rooftop bar

    St-Malo

    July 30, 2019 in France ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    One of my favourite books is All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and it is set in St Malo, an old port city in Brittany surrounded by granite walls. It has been a dream of mine to visit this place and it did not disappoint. St-Malo has the highest tides in Europe and the ocean can rise 13 metres in 6 hours. If you walk along the promenade when the tide is out, you simply can not fathom how the water could travel in over a kilometre and rise up over the huge sea wall - until you come back later in the day, and there it is. In one location there was a lovey sandy beach with a natural swimming pool and a 8 metre diving board and when we returned in the afternoon, the actual board was under water. The old city is wonderful to explore and many beautiful old buildings line the seafront.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Day trip to Mont St Michel

    August 1, 2019 in France ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Today we took the bus for a half day visit to Mont St Michel (2.5 million visitors a year) and tackled the crowds to explore this incredible UNESCO listed island abbey rising up out of the water/sand flats, depending on the huge tides.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Floreffe - Esperanzah Music Festival

    August 3, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Cyril kindly picked us up from Lille by car and in the afternoon we went to a nearby village, Floreffe, for a world music concert in the grounds of the old abbey. It was such a memorable experience - the setting was spectacular and the range of live music, food, beer and entertainment created a great vibe (over 36,000 people attend this festival). We loved every minute of it - thank you Cyril for sharing this night with us.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
    Rudi has shrunk due to our tight budget

    Jambes/Namur

    August 5, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We have spent a few lovely days catching up with Cyril (we hosted Cyril at our house a few years ago when he was cycling around Australia). He cooked a traditional Belgium meal for us (along with his lovely house mate Florence) and we have loved exploring Namur by foot and the small boats that criss cross the river.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Liege

    August 9, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Cyril drove us to Liège and spent the day with us, as our tour and entertainment guide. We had a great day wandering around the streets of Liège and finished up at a crazy little bar with a gathering of his friends from all around the world including some other Aussies.Read more

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