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Europe 2025
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  • Jenny Day

Europe 2025

Greece, Greek Islands, Amalfi coast, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania & Dohar Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 10, 2025
    Europe 2025

    In Transit

    September 12 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Prior to boarding, then somewhere near the West Australian border and then somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean 🌊
    Qatar are a great airline, no complaints at all, food was actually OK, lots of legroom and they even had someone meet us in Athens to make sure we made our connecting flight on time 🙌Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Santorini

    Sep 13–16 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    First day at Santorini and the contrast between the drive from the airport area and the cliff top views is quite stark.
    Passed some gum trees on the way up to the village which was a nice surprise and reminder of home.
    Had a lovely Greek lunch with fetta rolled in pastry with honey and sesame seeds as well as a deconstructed chicken souvlaki.
    Visited most of the shops in the township area with some beautiful fashion boutiques.
    There are so many “beautiful “ people floating around oozing extraordinary wealth and having professional photos taken. From our balcony we see what must be an iconic spot and they are there at all times of the day with a photographer .
    We are staying in a cave built into the side of the cliff and from our bed and balcony we have the most extraordinary views🤗    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Santorini Breakfast

    September 13 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We woke up and walked along the cobblestone street in the opposite direction and stumbled on a cool cafe and creperie with some friendly owners and a good vibe.

    Every little nook and cranny is occupied by some shop, cafe or accommodation. As with all tourist cities there are all standards of accommodation.
    On the way back we managed to spend $800 on some beautiful plates and cups for our new home from a really unique gallery called Karramarria … I hope they make it home in one piece!    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Sailing Trip

    September 14 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

    What a fabulous time we had with the Santorini Sailing Club! There was only 10 passengers and 5 crew so we were really doted on. The catamaran was so comfortable with lots of lovely places to sit/lie on board. First stop was the location of an underground mineral spring- very salty and sulphuric. We were the only ones who went swimming..a Dutch guy remarked “You Aussies are always the adventurous ones!
    It was really cool sailing in the caldera because it gave you the impression of being inside the volcano and you got a really different perspective of Santorini.
    Next stop was a snorkelling stop at Red Beach…just volcanic rock and blue fish was all we saw. It was hilarious as the beach was closed because of avalanche risk after the earthquake earlier this year but people were still lying on the beach underneath the cliffs - sums up the Greeks pretty well!
    We sailed past their famous white beach but it looked horrible..we are so spoilt at home!
    After a magnificent feast we all had cocktails and watched the sunset.
    It was a lot of upward steps back to our accommodation but we resisted a donkey ride and met this cool jeweller from Buenos Aires Rich got a lava and tiger eye bracelet for himself that she had made in her shop.    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Walk from Fira to Oia

    September 15 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

    This is an iconic walk around the rim of the volcanic crater.
    We caught the bus from Oia to Fira which is the biggest town on Santorini.
    The cliff top restaurants and bars were amazing and the views simply stunning.
    The prices for a coffee over here at present are $17.00 Aus which is expensive to say the least however having said that the prices do vary somewhat.    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Fira to Oia

    September 15 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

    Today we caught a bus to Fira to spend a leisurely day walking the 10 km back to Oia. After eating breakfast at a restaurant with an incredible view of the port with all the big cruise ships anchored offshore and visiting the famous Atlantas Bookstore- what a spectacular walk through cobblestone alley ways with interesting shops and galleries, amazing resorts in the middle of nowhere volcanic wasteland and little churches. I loved it and the scenery was breathtaking.Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Last morning in Santorini

    September 16 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

    We packed everything up and then went to our favourite little cafe over looking one of the islands.
    They served delicious crepes both sweet and savory and very reasonably priced for Santorini.

    Ready to travel to Mykonos for the next leg of the journey.

    We were met by 2 strong porters who hoisted our 23kg cases onto their shoulders and climbed the 6 minutes of stairs to meet the taxi to take us to the ferry..    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Mykonos

    Sep 16–19 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

    First impressions of Mykonos are really great and I prefer it to Santorini just because the city is more presentable and classier architecturally.
    Having the town close to the water also helps with the ambience and holiday atmosphere.

    I am really looking forward to exploring Mykonos for the next few days.it has a really nice vibe.We are staying in Chora right next to Little Venice.
    We ate dinner and had a cocktail at a place called Captains right on the waterfront. It was delicious.
    On the way back we got sucked in to going into this fancy cosmetic place who plastered our faces with “cosmetic face lift” creams and red light therapy…very depressing😂    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Boat Trip

    September 17 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today we had an early morning walk around some of the other areas of Mykonos that we had yet to discover.

    Found a quaint little beach which we will swim in tomorrow which even has sand!
    We then boarded a motor yacht with approx 50 others to swim and visit ancient ruins.

    We moored at a secluded cove and started jumping in from the second deck which was great fun. Jen and I swam to the shore and walked along the cove. Like most of the coast around the Greek Islands it is quite desolate due to the hot summers and minimal rain fall until winter.

    The boat then visited an archaeological ruin that happens to be the theorized birth place of Apollo. We decided to save our euros and went to another part of the island by boat and do some more swimming.
    The water is so clear and so, so blue and a very pleasant 24 degrees celsius.    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Mykonos

    September 18 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 23 °C

    There are lots of little shops to explore in Mykonos which makes the experience even more enjoyable.
    I am impressed with the demeanor of the shop owners as they are generally happy to see you and most importantly they do not attempt to pressure you to buy stuff. They are relaxed and friendly 😎.
    Jen loves to look into most shops so the process is slow and refined. I understand why Leis and Jen are such good shopping buddies.

    A couple of the photos depict some ancient religious ruins which were formally churches.
    The churches are located all over Mykonos often close to the beach and on hilltops overlooking the bay.    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Shopping Day in Mykonos

    September 18 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 23 °C

    We had a lovely day which started with a walk and a dip at the beach. The sand actually reminded me of Sorrento. This was followed by a coffee on the Waterfront .
    Breakfast this morning was yoghurt, banana chia seeds peanut butter and grated chocolate 👌The Greek cows have got something special going on as their yoghurt and ice cream (which we have sampled a bit of!) is just sensational!
    Wandering around the shops we bought a few clothes for both of us and some souvenirs before stopping at Carma for a cocktail and a snack . We stumbled upon the Rarity Gallery which was incredible. Such unique pieces from famous artists all over the world . One picture of Marilyn Monroe was made of bottle labels and pins… extraordinary!
    We finished our wandering with a big gyros feed😜
    Mykonos is a great place to just follow the alley ways. You can’t really get lost but it’s hard to go the same way twice. Our little place is tucked up one, it’s very cute and private.    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Farewell Mykonos…

    September 19 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    Such a cool and quaint place and have had a great time. Interestingly most people we have spoken to have suggested that 3 nights are optimal for visiting Santorini and Mykonos and I would agree.
    We have really enjoyed the 8 days and the beautiful weather and water has also been an amazing draw card.

    I also really like the Greek people…yasu.
    We then flew for 2 hours .from Mykonos to Naples where a driver picked us up and drove us the 1 3/:4 hours to Amalfi. He sent us the at photo and said “ Anything you want I can get 😉” I think we just had a mob experience 🤔    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Amalfi Coast

    Sep 19–22 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    We arrived in Amalfi after landing at Naples airport.

    Amalfi is a beautiful little coastal town that is everything Italian, cafes, noise, restaurants, pizza 🍕, stores etc.
    Everything shouts history and the town is really picturesque and being by the Mediterranean Sea is such a bonus.

    Planning to have a swim one morning in the little bay there.    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Amalfi

    September 19 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We are staying at The Floridiana Hotel an old hotel that has been modernised in baroque style to reflect how it would have been a couple of hundred years ago. It is really quaint, a family owned boutique style and very Italian! My first impression of Amalfi is lemons! Lemons everywhere… in food on clothes, hats, shoes,crockery …
    We had our first genuine Italian pizza tonight 👌…although it wasn’t till 10 pm!! Italian service is just how I remember it 🤦‍♀️    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Walk to Ravello

    September 20 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Jen has organised a series of walks around the Amalfi Coast with a company from Australia called Auswalk.
    They provide a guide that is reasonably clear and allows you to walk through history (quite literally) and understand what it might have been like living there hundreds of years ago and when there was lots of paper mills.
    They grow a lot of lemons 🍋 in the area and as a consequence the fruit dominates both the fashion and the food as well as ceramics.
    The company called this walk easy and I have to tell you it was not.
    Sitting here in Ravello I am cooked and could easily just go to sleep for an hour or so. Fortunately the temperature only got to about 30 Celsius and the walk would have been much tougher if it had been hotter.

    I really enjoyed it, there definitely was a LOT of stairs but there was plenty of cool places to stop… we stopped at a paper manufacturer,had a local lemonade at a beautiful restaurant in the middle of nowhere overlooking the Valley dei Mulini , a meditation by a waterfall, listened to an impromptu concert/ sing a long in the middle of the bush by three piano accordion players and ate chocolate in the shade of a mansion in Centro . 9 km later we then arrived in Ravello where Rich fell in love with a belt and we had a drink in Piszza Vescovada ( Duoma)
    Rich decided to catch a bus back but I wanted to experience the walk. It went a different way, this time through Valle Di Dragone - the original route from mountain to Forest and only about 4 km. It was basically all down hill( hard on your knees!) came back through a cute little town called Atrani via lots of atmospheric tunnels, alleys and steps.
    We met back at the room and then went down the beach for a swim . The water was nice but the beach just pebbles and hardly a square inch to sit down.
    Puttanesca pasta for dinner😋    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Bomerano to Montepertuso Path of the God

    September 22 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Today was the best walk so far and the views across the Amalfi coast were spectacular.
    The walk was rated moderate and in comparison to the two previous days it was easier. There were many more people on this walk than previous days.

    Seeing tiny little villages nestled into rugged coastline is something to behold and it makes for such strong local communities.
    We were able to stop a little more on this walk which helped and it was challenging in some places especially where you could easily go over the edge and easily fall to your death. You would not want to have vertigo!

    You can understand why people flock here as the weather in summer autumn is so predictably warm and sunny.

    We did a slight detour to follow lemonade signs to a small place called the “Grotto of the Gods”which was run by a local guy, Gino who made the most exquisite lemonata and seemed very at peace with himself and his lifestyle. His family had owned the cave for generations. It was originally a hide out for pirates and in WW2 a safe haven for villagers of Nocelle when the coast was under attack.
    From there we walked to Montepertuso.    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Montepertuso to Positano ( Path of G

    Sep 22–24 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    This walk is so named because it is said the Roman Gods used to descend from Olympus to the sea and Sirens would seduce Ulysses.

    On arrival in Montepertuso we found a delightful family run restaurant and had 3 courses, a beautiful rose and a couple of complimentary limoncello and advocat whilst sitting on a balcony which had of course the most stunning views!We have decided that Rich needs a couple of alcoholic beverages to enjoy the walk…but I must admit it did wear off as we went up and down hundreds more stairs as we arrived in Positana and tried to find our accommodation- Hotel Casa Albertina. … a quaint family run boutique hotel and the views from our balcony are just incredible 😍It was heaven to find a spa in the bathroom…perfect after a few days of hard physical effort in the heat!Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Isle of Capri

    Sep 24–27 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    Today we caught an early ferry for a day at the Isle of Capri.
    More stairs from the bottom of the port to the town., there were buses and a furnuncular but we decided to do the 30 minute walk. 😅When we arrived in town we sat in the Piazza and I had an iced espresso … it was actually delicious and just like granita. Rich had a tea blended from about 12 different fruits which went with his canolli perfectly.😋
    We decided to walk to Villa Jovis , the excavated remains of a palace built in early AD by Emperor Tiberis who used to push people he didn’t like off the huge cliffs 😳
    The view was spectacular but while we were there the weather just started rolling in and then it rained and rained…I’m talking monsoonal!!!
    Capri has some very affluent visitors and regularly frequented by celebrities and so there are some magnificent shops restaurants and hotels. We found a lovely trattoria but couldn’t go in as we were soaking wet. They set up a table in the alleyway for us 😂and we ate there conversing with the lovely son of the family owned business Ristorante Donna Rachelle who spoke 5 languages. He taught us about the local food and we had some special Capri recipes-fried pizza and a local cheese and Napoli sauce ravioli washed down with limoncello spritz.
    We then went to another place in the piazza and had an affogato before catching the 6 pm ferry on to Sorrento.    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Sorrento

    Sep 25–28 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We have arrived in Sorrento another popular tourist destination.
    Seems to be a bigger town than Positano and as a consequence the prices are cheaper.
    We took an opportunity to walk to the beach this morning for an early morning dip only to find that the beaches were all privately owned and closed until 9 am.
    At a fundamental level I had a real problem with not being able to swim at a beach without paying for the privilege…so against Jen’s protestations I climbed a fence and did.
    Water temperature was really quite warm @ 24 Celsius and with the walk down the many ramps to access it.
    Sorrento is a nice little town to explore with lots of alleyways many restaurants, bars and hidden surprises. We have had some really nice drink and snack experiences sitting out in the Piazza at the end of the day.
    We had a beautiful meal on our last night down on the Waterfront , sitting on the harbour at a Restaurant called PortaMarina Seafood a 4th generation family restaurant where the fishermen own it and serve their catch of the day…so fresh! Many of the restaurants on the waterfront are the same.    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Sorrento to Termini

    September 25 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Today we caught a bus to a little village 40 minutes away-Termini up behind Sorrento
    Bus trips are quite an experience on the Amalfi Coast. Travel by road takes so long, so much traffic and the roads are so narrow and winding with steep drops, impatient drivers and lots of horn honking 😳
    We walked from the Village to Punta Campanella down an old Roman path to the tip of the Peninsula with amazing views of Capri and The Bay of Naples..3.4 km straight down and 3.4 km straight up .An old tower was at the bottom where they used to watch for pirates and ring a bell to warn the villagers.
    On the way down we met the owner of a family run business Chiuso Bar San Constanza spruiking his hospitality and promised to return … we were so glad we did! What an experience! There is nothing like a limoncello spritz after a hard hot walk to quench your thirst😋
    We sat for a while and I wanted to walk up the mountain Monte San Costanza to see the amazing 360 degree views of the coast… so worth it!
    Rich decided to stay and have a lemon granita, gnocchi, lemon pastry and 2 coffees and chat to the locals. He had a great time too🤗    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Pompei

    September 26 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Our first visit to Pompei didn’t disappoint and given we didn’t do a guided tour or an audio tour we thought we did pretty well.
    Fortunately most of the significant sites have a story board at the front giving an insight to what you were looking at and its reason d’etre.

    Most impressive for me was the size of the site 176 acres and the fact that archaeological excavations are still unearthing previously undiscovered sites.
    It is also valuable to understand just how close Vesuvius was to the city to be obliterated so completely. When you see it in the photos it seems at least 20 kilometers away but its impact was devastating.
    The presence of terracotta tiles in the buildings is significant because it had only recently been discovered as an effect building material.    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Pompei (cont’d)

    September 26 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Some of the frescoes in Pompei are intriguing…
    What also fascinated me was the big auditorium like structures they built to allow people to listen to oratories as well as perform in theatre 🎭.
    Some of the rocks found on site were very large and so their engineering skills are quite impressive.
    The sizes of the various houses also indicated the wealth of the owners which is not much different to this day and age.    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Zagreb

    Sep 27–30 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We arrived last night after a long bus ride, 2 flights via Munich and a maniacal driver from the airport who actually took off with me in the car and the door open not realising Rich was standing on the curb still😥
    Initial impressions of Zagreb after wandering around for the day is that they are very serious people but they did make what is possibly the nicest cake I have ever had…meringue, custard, cream and strawberries 😋That will keep me smiling for a while!

    We did a walking tour on our second day which made me appreciate why the people appear to be serious …most residents have had a rough life with earthquakes, other weather events and of course the WW2 , post war division and the war in the ‘90s
    Zagreb still has a section of the city with over 260 gas lanterns that need to be lit every night and put out every morning. Another quirky thing is that a cannon is sounded every day at 12.00 noon so all the church bells can be synchronised. There is also several tunnels underground which are turned in to Christmas Markets but used to be where people hid from air raids.    Read more

  • Europe 2025

    Ljubljana

    September 29 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We visited this beautiful little town in Slovenia 🇸🇮 called Ljubljana.
    It is famous for dragons and special spiced sausage and gelati ice cream.
    The shops were really cool and the city was very clean and pedestrian friendly due largely to a mayor who has made it his vision to make the town one of the destination towns of Europe.
    We tried some of the distinctive foods of the region namely: honey liqueur, blueberry liqueur, fig liqueur, pumpkin seed oil, salted chocolate and mushroom soup served in a bread bowl.
    There is quite a combination of architectural styles throughout the city due mostly to the influence of other cultures and countries throughout its history.    Read more

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