Round the World

A 132-day adventure by Travel Time Au Read more

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Day 48
Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 2:25 PM
☁️ 22 °C
Altitude: 89 m
England London Stansted Airport 51.87605, 0.247451°52’34” N 0°14’51” E
Stansted to Spain
July 20, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Bus X 2 to Stansted Holiday Inn near the Airport. The restaurant offered three meals or pizza - so we went across the road to the M&S at the servo and bought some delicious food! After an early alarm we checked in to our Ryan air flight - super grateful we paid extra for priority checkin. The airport was PACKED. Brits everywhere - getting drunk at breakfast - so classy!
The flight was uneventful and we landed early at Castellon.
Bags straight out - but our driver didn’t make himself known - so unbeknown to us he was just waiting while we were waiting! A sign with my name on would have been good!
The short 15 minute drive took us to Yvonne’s apartment in Las Fuentes, Alcossebre. It’s been 18 years since I’ve been here!
It was lovely to be back - great sea views - and hot! A humid 30 degrees -Read more
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Day 49
Friday, July 21, 2023 at 12:07 PM
☀️ 29 °C
Altitude: 19 m
Spain Playa de las Fuentes 40.256847, 0.29080840°15’25” N 0°17’27” E
Las Fuentes 1
July 21, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Our first few days in Yvonne’s apartment - work, beaches and dinners - unwinding and enjoying our new norm.
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Day 50
Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 9:19 AM
☁️ 25 °C
Altitude: 9 m
Spain Punta de Calamundina 40.260312, 0.3005840°15’37” N 0°18’2” E
Las Fuentes 2
July 22, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Started running again C25K - getting into a rhythm of waking, coffee, run, work until 2pm, lunch, beach, shower, chill time then dinner - either in or out.
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Day 50
Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 2:33 PM
☁️ 27 °C
Altitude: 9 m
Spain Playa Romana 40.234925, 0.27235340°14’6” N 0°16’20” E
More Spain and Market
July 22, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
Playing catch-up with photos from our week in Spain!
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Day 58
Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 9:43 AM
☀️ 27 °C
Altitude: 24 m
Spain Benicarlo-Peñiscola 40.42772, 0.41537540°25’40” N 0°24’55” E
From Las Fuentes to Barcelona
July 30, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
After 9 nights at Yvonne’s place in Spain we cleaned 🧹 up, washed all sheets and towels and were picked up by Mark the driver who took us to Benicarlo Train station. The tickets cost only 13€ so we had definitively booked the slow train - but it was still comfortable and much better than the trains back home.
After 25 minutes we had to change trains at Tortosa where we waited standing in the heat for 1 1/4hrs. Then the next train for 2 1/2 hrs straight through to Sans Barcelona.
One taxi ride later and we arrived at the hotel.Read more
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Day 58
Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 7:04 PM
☀️ 27 °C
Altitude: 10 m
Spain Zona Franca 41.35259, 2.12709941°21’9” N 2°7’38” E
Our final days in Las Fuentes
July 30, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Beautiful sunrise, mostly good food and great weather.
So what I’ve learnt about Spain from our week in Spain -
1. The sun rises and sets really late! (7:30am - 10pm)
2. Nobody gets out and about before 8am
3. the Spanish eat so very late … most restaurants don’t open until 8pm
4. Our beach 🏝️ trip now consists of an umbrella and two folding chairs. Really useful.
5. The women love to go topless on the beach! And they all have big bellies!
6. The oldies are rude and self righteous !Read more
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Day 59
Monday, July 31, 2023 at 3:27 AM
⛅ 23 °C
Altitude: 17 m
Spain Barcelona–El Prat Airport 41.288528, 2.07378141°17’19” N 2°4’26” E
Barcelona Departure
July 31, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
After a 2am wake-up we caught another crazy but friendly taxi to terminal 1 Barcelona Airport only to find we couldn’t drop our bags yet.
By 3:30 we were through a very quiet security as we are the first flight of the day.
Most shops were closed but we found a cafe where I had a croissant 🥐 and coffee X 2 ☕️
Then we headed to the gate.
3 gate changes later we finally boarded the plane an hour late!
Looking forward to a quick, quiet flight!Read more
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Day 59
Monday, July 31, 2023 at 8:22 AM
☁️ 26 °C
Altitude: 39 m
Croatia Konavli 42.540378, 18.32101742°32’25” N 18°19’16” E
Croatia and Montenegro Arrival
July 31, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
After a fairly uneventful flight which left an hour late we landed only 30 minutes late.
We sailed through the airport because there was no passport control 😳 and our bags came out really quickly.
We then met Bosko who did the quick drive to the border with Croatia & Montenegro. We then just walked up the the checkpoint - got our passports stamped and walked to his brother Danilo who was waiting in his Merc.
The drive was super busy and slow. But Danilo went up a couple of mountains to cut out a lot of the traffic.
We also took a ferry which was a good break.
4 hours after leaving the airport we arrived at our accommodation, Hotel Edelweiss.Read more
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Day 59
Monday, July 31, 2023 at 12:57 PM
☀️ 30 °C
Altitude: 69 m
Montenegro Hrid Golubinj 42.255763, 18.89750542°15’21” N 18°53’51” E
Hotel Edelweiss - that view
July 31, 2023 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
We were shown to our room on the top floor - and wow - the best view in Sveti Stefan - we are at the highest point in the whole town! We headed down 1000s steps to the beach which was certainly packed with Europeans!Read more
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Day 59
Monday, July 31, 2023 at 5:09 PM
☁️ 29 °C
Altitude: 57 m
Montenegro Hrid Golubinj 42.255328, 18.89741742°15’19” N 18°53’51” E
Birds and Beach
July 31, 2023 in Montenegro ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
We are so high up that the little birds come and rest on the balcony. They are after crumbs from our breakfast!
After a couple of hours work with some unstable wifi we headed to the pebble beach. It was nice for about 10 minutes then it seemed that a bus load of Russians and other Eastern Europeans set up on this tiny beach.
No sense of personal space! And no sense of knowing when maybe it’s time to ditch the bikini! 😳
But it was a beautiful sunset both evenings.Read more
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Day 60
Tuesday, August 1, 2023 at 9:52 AM
☀️ 27 °C
Altitude: Sea level
Montenegro Hrid Golubinj 42.256176, 18.89249242°15’22” N 18°53’33” E
A change in the weather
August 1, 2023 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Today we woke up to very dark clouds followed by some serious rain. It wa a the perfect excuse to stay in and do lots of work. By lunchtime it had cleared so we headed to our favourite restaurant for lunch, and returned for our final dinner - it’s been a wonderful stay and the views were the highlight.Read more
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Day 62
Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 1:48 PM
☀️ 30 °C
Altitude: 6 m
Montenegro Škurda 42.425113, 18.76985342°25’30” N 18°46’11” E
From Sv Stefan to Kotor
August 3, 2023 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Well we thought Sveti Stefan was amazing - but Kotor Old Town is the winner. Our apartment is inside the Old Town Walls next to the Clock Tower. I am blown away with the location. We open the windows on to cobbled streets below with cafes and restaurants below us. We went for a walk around the walls and after dinner we explored all the small alleyways and shops. It reminded me a lot of Venice.
The cruise ships come everyday and so the place is busy.
Tomorrow we are getting up early and climbing the ladder walk to the Kotor Fortress - the. In the afternoon taking a boat trip to see the sights.Read more
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Day 63
Friday, August 4, 2023 at 5:17 AM
🌙 20 °C
Altitude: 10 m
Montenegro Škurda 42.424812, 18.77001742°25’29” N 18°46’12” E
The early bird catches the worm
August 4, 2023 in Montenegro ⋅ 🌙 20 °C
We got up early at 5am to start our walk up Kotor Ladder to the fortress and used this time to take in the Old Town before the crowds arrived. It was lovely!
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Day 63
Friday, August 4, 2023 at 5:17 AM
🌩️ 20 °C
Altitude: 10 m
Montenegro Škurda 42.42478, 18.7699342°25’29” N 18°46’12” E
Old Town Kotor at Dawn
August 4, 2023 in Montenegro ⋅ 🌩️ 20 °C
Up at 5am to walk up to St John’s Fortress - Old Town was beautiful at dawn with no tourists at all. This UNESCO world heritage site dates back to 168 BC when it was founded by the Roman’s. This is probably one of the most beautiful places we have visited.Read more
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Day 63
Friday, August 4, 2023 at 5:24 AM
🌩️ 20 °C
Altitude: 12 m
Montenegro Škurda 42.425803, 18.77237842°25’33” N 18°46’21” E
Walk up to St John’s Fortress
August 4, 2023 in Montenegro ⋅ 🌩️ 20 °C
Yesterday the alarm went off at 5am and we headed off through Kotor Old Town, up Kotor Ladder which was a steep 1,200m and over 1,350 steps to St John’s Fortress / San Giovanni. The views over Kotor and the Boka Bay were worth every step. They charge an 8€ fee to climb up - but only after 7am, so we snuck in for free.Read more
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Day 63
Friday, August 4, 2023 at 2:55 PM
Altitude: 6 m
Montenegro Škurda 42.429297, 18.76810342°25’45” N 18°46’5” E
Boka Bay Boat Trip
August 4, 2023 in Montenegro
Yesterday we took a boat ride out into Boka Bay.
First we went past Perast, a beautiful old town, then we stopped off at the Lady Of The Rock island. This is an artificial island created by bulwark of rocks and by sinking old and seized ships loaded with rocks.
We then headed to the old WW2 submarine bases that were dug into the mountain side. We even took the boat in to one!
After this we headed past the old prison which we were told is now a casino and the locals are very upset as they want a museum in honor of all the people who died in there.
Then our final stop was we the Blue Cave, where the water was crystal clear and warm perfect for swimming.Read more
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Day 66
Monday, August 7, 2023 at 2:54 PM
⛅ 25 °C
Altitude: 15 m
Montenegro Škurda 42.430892, 18.76870342°25’51” N 18°46’7” E
Apartment Castello
August 7, 2023 in Montenegro ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
We moved apartments to yet another beautiful view!
Near Boka Bay it was just lovely. Yesterday we took a walk and had an amazing fresh salad and coffee:
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Day 68
Wednesday, August 9, 2023 at 8:27 AM
☀️ 20 °C
Altitude: 16 m
Montenegro Škurda 42.430838, 18.76843842°25’51” N 18°46’6” E
My 55th Birthday
August 9, 2023 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Up bright and early - coffee and a relax then we headed to 99 for breakfast. I had French toast with ham and cheese - with a lovely coffee ☕️ . It was so relaxing. I wore one of my two new rings - opal and silver - so pretty:
Then off to old town for a last bit of souvenir shopping.
A nap and dinner - a rather Smokey BBQ but finished off with an amazing Chocolate Lava Cake 🎂Read more
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Day 69
Thursday, August 10, 2023 at 2:02 PM
☀️ 28 °C
Altitude: 50 m
Croatia Gradac Park 42.643917, 18.10660342°38’38” N 18°6’24” E
Goodbye Kotor Hello Dubrovnik
August 10, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Danilo picked us up and we had a fairly good drive to the border- shooting to cross at the little border not the big one. There was no queue at all.
Arrived at the new apartment early and they weren’t ready so just worked until we could check in.
The room was clean but disappointing with no balcony (not even any opening windows) and the wifi didn’t work properly.
The walk to Old Town will keep us fit - it’s a hilly 1.2kms.
Old town it’s self is full of lots of steep stairways! So I’m hoping to shave off a few of the extra kilos I’m carrying!Read more
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Day 71
Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 10:05 AM
☀️ 25 °C
Altitude: Sea level
Croatia Tri Čavla 42.63982, 18.11367842°38’23” N 18°6’49” E
Boat trip out to the Caves
August 12, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
We took a 4 hr trip on AWOL -
The first stop were three caves - I went in the first large one - but there were SO MANY PEOPLE that I swam back and chilled on the boat. The other two caves involves swimming under water and under rocks to get into the cave - which I was not going to do!! But Jasin enjoyed himself!
We then headed off to Sunj beach where we swam to the beach from the boat and grabbed a coffee and a shared pizza.
Next stop was another large cave- again so many tourists - so I didn’t go in. But the boat was new and lovely and we enjoyed relaxing on it.
All in all it was a great 4 hours with only one casualty - a lost earring - just an excuse to buy some more 😊Read more
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Day 71
Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 12:54 PM
☀️ 26 °C
Altitude: Sea level
Croatia Otočić Skupio 42.675187, 17.96587842°40’31” N 17°57’57” E
The City Walls
August 12, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
Up bright and early and walked down the hill to make the almost 2km walk along the city walls.
The views were amazing.
We stopped along the way at a cafe for coffee, and then a FaceTime with Zoe.
We also called into a few museums along the way which were interesting.Read more
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Day 71
Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 6:57 PM
☀️ 25 °C
Altitude: 33 m
Croatia Minceta Tower 42.64258, 18.10913342°38’33” N 18°6’33” E
Last night in Dubrovnik
August 12, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
After our usual 1km walk from Zoom Zoom Apartments to Old Town, we headed to the infamous Lady Pipi restaurant. We got there around 6:20pm - but were prepared to wait as they don’t take any bookings… and wait we did. 1.5hrs… but it was beautiful weather and we got chatting to a family from Ohio.
The meal was pretty average TBH and afterwards we headed down 1000 steps to the Main Street to find ice cream 🍦 -
This morning was an early 5am wake up and then a transfer to the airport.
One double expresso later and I’m ready for Spain 🇪🇸!!
On the plane ready for take off.Read more
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Day 72
Sunday, August 13, 2023 at 11:09 AM
☀️ 28 °C
Altitude: 18 m
Spain Barcelona–El Prat Airport 41.288155, 2.07429741°17’17” N 2°4’27” E
A week back in Spain
August 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
We arrived back in Spain for our second stay at Yvonne’s place in Las Fuentes.
It was a week of work all day until
3pm then a few hours relaxation at the beach each day.
Add a visit to the local fruit market and some dinners out - all in all it was a relaxing but hardworking time.Read more
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Day 82
Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at 9:51 AM
☀️ 29 °C
Altitude: 325 m
Spain Castellón–Costa Azahar Airport 40.206295, 0.06678140°12’23” N 0°4’0” E
Back in the UK
August 23, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
We had a great flight back to Stansted and were so lucky to get a free lift back to Yvonne’s with Ian and Kelly who were in the apartment below us and driving to Swindon.
We have been working hard on the website and I had nails and hair coloured (finally!)
We spent a lovely few hours with Alison and Frank - but forgot to take any photos, also met with Nina and Matt and had lunch at Tipi Tapas in Marlborough - owned by Dave Wenborn. Again no photos!Read more
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Day 86
Sunday, August 27, 2023 at 1:00 PM
☁️ 17 °C
Altitude: 100 m
England Woodstock 51.842847, -1.36039751°50’34” N 1°21’37” W
Blenheim Palace and BBQs
August 27, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Day off today spent with Mark , Maria Maddie and Sam. (Plus Josh & Emily later on). The weather was cooler and changeable but we had a great time visiting Blenheim Palace grounds, I especially liked the Harry Potter Tree. It makes me grateful we don’t manage grounds anymore!
Finished of the day with a proper charcoal BBQ 🍗 🙌🏼 Perfect! Great company as always.Read more
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