Roma

At last we reached the last stop of the Kamuka tour Anni and I found ourselves on. The tour actually didn't include any time in Rome, it just dropped us off on the side of the road and continued on it's merry way. Brilliant.

Anni hadn't downloaded the instructions on how to get to the hostel we were staying at (because the last hotel we were staying at didn't have any...?! See, if we were staying in backpackers then there definitely would've been internet! Stupid tour. Seriously!), and so it took us three and a half hours to get to the amazing Hotel Lodi.

Absolute rave here: Hotel Lodi is fantastic. Yes, it's a little out of the way, but the service and friendliness and cleanliness totally make up for it. And they are so accomodating. Anni hadn't booked a second night (stuff up with the airflight booking which could've been rectified had we had the internet...), and so although they didn't have any official rooms left, there was one that was half renovated, and so at a reduced rate they let Anni and two other girls stay there. And they carried Anni's bags up the three flights of stairs, which was incredible, seeings as Anni had four bottles of wine in there! They served you breakfast and there was unlimited internet and it was a nice end to the tour.

Rome was as brilliant as it was last time we visited. This time Anni and I went around with what Anni claims as a very gorgeous trainee blonde Italian firefighter (everyone has different tastes), and so we threw a coin in the Trevi fountain again, so hopefully we will be back there, climbed the Spainish steps, went around the Vatican, saw the incredible Vatican museum including the Sistine Chapel. Now, just on the Sistine Chapel, may I say do not go just to see where David touches God, but instead spend some Euro's and go with a tour guide who will explain the whole Chapel to you, because it is AMAZING! You learn so much more and it makes the whole experience so worth while. But make sure it's a registered tour company also.

So that was the end of the Kamuka tour. I don't know whether I would recommend it, but it fulfilled the purposes of going to Paris and Florence, but we missed out on Pisa, and the tour leader wasn't that nice.

Unfortunately you remember that Anni broke her camera in Florence, so any photos were taken on her blackberry, and they are awful (another reason why we should go back there). So that's why there are no photos attached to this post. Sorry. After this we fly back to London for our last week there before returning to Australia!

San Gimignano

Our next stop on the Kamuka tour was Roma, the capital city of Italia. But before that we stopped at a little Tuscan town called San Gimignano, where Anni and the gang had the most amazing wine tasting session, which included a huge plate of cheese and salami, a big bowl of bread and bean stew and some beautiful biscotti, along with four huge glasses of wine (the bus from there to Rome was very quiet...). The views from the small walled town were incredible, you could see all across the Siena countryside. Unfortunately Anni's camera was broken, so she borrowed the token kiwi girls camera and downloaded the pictures.

This place was amazing. The town was peaceful and quiet, full of tiny little art galleries. Highly recommend you visiting there.

Firenze

Firenze, known to the English-speaking world as Florence, is the city of flowers, and most famous for the leather markets and the David statue.

It is also imfamous for where Anni's camera broke.

Yes, it is true. For some reason her amazing Cybershot no longer takes photos. You can see the picture on the LCD screen, but then when you play back the photo all you see is white. There is an issue with capturing the photo data and transferring it to the memory card. So until Anni buys a new camera (possibly a new Cybershot seeing it did so well previously), most of the photos are taken with her Blackberry. Sadness overcomes us.

But although there was brokenness in our hearts over the loss of our trusty camera, it didn't stop Anni shopping. The leather markets are fantastic. They were a lot smaller than we imagined, but seeings as we were there at the start of February it was probably off-season. Anni managed to grab a fantastic pair of black leather high heels, and a wallet for her little brother.

Again, the Kumuka tour let us down, this time in the choice of walking tour guide. Lovely lady, don't get me wrong, but I think she leads a lot of ESL (english as a second language) tourists, because she spoke really slowly and made silly jokes that don't really make much sense in correct English (because Australians totally use correct language...). However the lady didn't detract from the amazing beauty of the Ponte Vecchio, Uffizi gallery, the locks on the bridge, and the fantastic statues everywhere.

I loved Florence, and hopefully Anni takes me back there again!

Interlaken

Interlaken means in between lakes, which is where you will find Interlaken, Switzerland. It is situated in between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun, with the Aare River connecting the two lakes running through the town. And it is also where Anni and me found ourselves on the next stop of our Kumuka tour.

The main reason for stopping here was to catch the train to the highest point you can get to without being an Alpenist; The Jungfraujoch. The cog railway is pretty cool, taking you up the steep sides of the mountain to a complex of restaurants and cafes that smell kinda funky and an Ice-sculpture palace that has frozen animals in the walls. The best part is being able to go outside onto the peak where the temperature was about -16 degrees. The sky was incredibly blue and sunny.

Instead of going back down the train all the way to Interlaken, Anni and the gang got off at Grindlewald, from where they hired superfast sleds and went down a fairly scary sled piste that included a blind corner in the midst of trees with a rock wall... eek! I got to ride on the sled a little bit at the bottom when Anni was having gluhwein.

Other than that Interlaken consisted of giant 2L boots of blue alcohol, disgusting cheese fondue and lots of swiss chocolate!

Next stop, Firenze...

Paris

Bonjour! We finally made it to Paris!

Anni and I went on a Kamuka tour with 15 other people, starting in London, catching the Eurostar to Paris, and then via bus to Interlaken, Florence and Rome. The tour group was an

interesting mix of people; three married couples, a Dad and daughter combo, a thirty-something single guy, five single 20-year old girls and Anni. Throw in a bus driver who brought along his bogan Aussie girlfriend and his sexually frustrated gay brother as our Tour Leader, and you've got a very interesting six days.

But back to Paris, the home of couture, perfumes, and lots of monuments to get photos taken at. We saw most of them in the central area of Paris; the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, Opera House, the Bastille, Notre Dame, Pont des Arts, and of course the Moulin Rouge. Anni went for a show in there and was extremely disappointed. She said it was all just "chicks walking around with their tops of and no actual dancing".

Although we had been warned not to be too excited about making it to the City of Love, it was still slightly disheartening to realise that Paris is just another European city; busy, full of old buildings and rude people. However, the magic of sitting in the middle of the Arc de Triumph whilst all the cars rush around, seeing all the fancy stores down the Champs Elysees, and of course the engineering feat that is the Eiffel Tower, was spectacular.

And now Anni knows how to order une baguette au jambon et fromage s'il vous plaît.

ooops!

At the last update, Anni and I were supposed to go to Seville... Alas, we are back in London town instead! Just after Anni wrote that blog she went out partying and fell over, hurting her wrist and loosing her bankcard. So she booked a flight home and thus we are here. However, there are plenty of things we can do whilst here, so our adventures shall not finish. For example, Primrose Hill. And possibly a day trip over to Wales? Also, we are still going on tour at the end of the month, and Australia Day is coming up, so there are plenty of awkward photo opportunities ahead.

Just because Anni can, here is another pic from Gibraltar, this one you can see me pointing at Africa (Morocco). Also, if you have any suggestions for what Anni and I should do this weekend, let me know.

Granada

Hola from Granada! It is amazingly beautiful here in the Arab quarter of the city. We went up to see the La Alhambra today and Anni took over 300 photos of things... seriously! Tapas and Churros mixed with lots of Sangria is what is on the menu, so yummy. If you're ever wanting to come to Granada, you must stay at the Oasis backpackers... awesome.
As promised, the photos of the monkeys attacking me in Gibraltar. This hostel has a SD card drive on their computer, so here it is!
More adventures to come. Tomorrow we go to Seville.

update

Well we were supposed to go to Poland, but Anni got too cold whilst in Berlin we ended up back in London for New Years Eve and instead of returning to the negative temperatures, we headed to sunny sunny Gibraltar.
Gibraltar is a UK colony on the southern tip of Spain, separated by 27km of water from Morocco. Its 7 squared kilometres with 29,000 inhabitants who are both UK and EU citizens. And most of it is taken up by a giant rock.
The airport goes over the main road that goes into the country. Anni and I actually walked over the border into Spain today. Technically we haven't actually entered Spain because they didn't stamp her passport.... But we did get an awesome Gibraltar stamp!
The monkeys at the top of the rock are soooo tame, they actually climbed all over me and tried to bite my face! Anni promises to upload photos asap.
So the trip to Poland and Germany has been cancelled. Where to next we don't really know. At the moment we are in Malaga. Tomorrow we go to Granada. After that...

Munich

MUNCHEN! The capital of Bavaria, home of Oktoberfest and a place where Anni and I spent three glorious days eating and drinking and generally being merry. This was the first city we went to during our summer trip without Cam, which was fairly awesome (ner ner Cam!)

But before we reached Munich, we stopped over in Lauterbrunnen, a cute little camping village at the base of the Jungfrau. Awesome rosti, very cold, we saw snow!

Then from there, we went through the Black Forest to Neuschwanstein, where the tragic castle stands, the basis of the Disney castle. Amazing, unfortunately covered in tourists, but still amazing.

I got to drive the bus! Jimmy dressed me up and it was awesome fun!

So then we finally made it to Munich. Every night was a different beer hall, starting with the Augustiner Brau, then the Loweinstein restaurant, finally ending in the world famous Hofbrau house. In totally Anni drank 6 litres of bier! I had a few, as well as a pretzel, and some awesome fried pork. Yum yum yum.

So that was Munich this time. I say this time because Anni and I are venturing back in December!

Belgium and Beer!

Last weekend Anni, her friend Amy and I went to Belgium, specifically to go to the Diksmuide Beer Festival, but of course, for the chocolate and the waffles and the fries, and more beer.... mmm.

So it all started on early Saturday morning, which was disgustingly cold and wet, and basically was the same the whole weekend. The ferry over from Dover to Calais left everyone's stomachs quite weak, and the rain in Belgium turned to hail so heavy it looked like snow when it had settled. But who ever let rain, hail or weak stomachs stop them from trying as many different types of beer?!

In Belgium there are over 800 different types of beer (according to our tour guide and wikipedia)! I am glad to say that Anni made it to six, where as I tried about ten (I kept sneaking other peoples). In the end I turned into a beer! (hahaha, the picture tells it all)

So Oostende was a lovely seaside town, but Brugge was even prettier! Chocolate shops, fries, waffles, chocolate shops, Christmas decorations, tourist shops, beer shops, chocolate shops... Anni ended up buying 1kg of chocolate for 12 Euro!

The weekend was great, the tour company was a good choice and overall, the Diksmuide Beer Festival and Belgium weekend trip was a success!

Not sure when the next trip is, possibly Bristol? But Anni still needs to catch you up on some of the summer trip, so keep posted!

Varese

Varese is a region north of Milano and south of the Swiss border, near Lago di Lugano (Lake Lugano). This is where Anni, Cam and I went off the Busabout track and spent a week with Anni's relatives. Anni's Grandfather came from Varese to Australia and that's where he met Anni's Oma, who migrated to Australia from Holland.

So during our time in Varese we went up Sacre Monte, across to Lugano, to Lago di Como, into actual Milano where we did a tour of the San Siro (for Cam's benefit), around Varese itself and up to Venegono Superiore.

We had a great time! So much FOOD! Zia Carla spoilt us rotten, and Zio Luigi was a great tour guide. Anni's Biz Nonna (Great-Grandma) is still as mucha crazy Italian grandma as always.

Every day we had fresh panne, and each meal was at least two courses. Zia Carla's cooking is simple, only a few ingredients in each dish, but incredibly indescribable.

The San Siro was amazing. I got to sit in the chair in the changing rooms of AC Milan where David Beckham sat when he was playing for them. The stadium was pretty big too. Milan itself was pretty, but not somewhere I would plan on staying for too long. We spent a day there and that was enough.

It was mine and Cam's birthdays whilst we were in Varese! Zia Carla made Cam this really yummy apricot tart, and I got to have some delicious dark chocolate gelato, which managed to go through my shirt and stain my tummy.

OH! The nasty Sydney boys I told you about from Cseky Krumlov? Well they managed to split my bum open, and so in Varese Anni got to stitch my back up. That was not cool. What was cool is that Anni stole Cam's signed football guernsey...

So from Milano we got back on the Busabout track to Lauterbrunnen. Will tell you all about it later!

Train to Milan

So I don't know if you heard about Cam, Anni's friend that she went travelling with this summer... He is this funny Aussie guy who likes to drink beer and doesn't really like me, but hey, you can't be friends with everyone, can you?

Anyways, Anni and Cam caught the overnight train from Salzburg to Milan. You would think being a chivalrous gentlemen Cam would over to sleep on the top bunk, but alas no, Anni had to risk falling out of bed everytime the train stopped.

At least I had a sweet ride in the backpack. Or so you would think... CAM TRIED TO ATTACK ME! But don't worry, later on Anni gets him back! Stay tuned for more adventures, next stop, Varese!

Salzburg

I don't know about you, but when I think of Salzburg I automatically think of the "Sound of Music". So does Anni. So of course, when in Salzburg we went on the Sound of Music tour! It was hmmm. I guess because I got really wet in the ran, or insulted by the weird tour guide who was atleast 60 and tried to flirt with Anni, or just because it was such an anticlimax, especially to the amount of money she paid. But, in saying that, it was well worth it, and you couldn't go to Salzburg without doing it.

Salzburg in itself is an amazing city. So many windy roads and amazing views and fantastic food! And the tricky water place? Well, Anni and Cam decided they weren't going to pay for the entrance, so they snuck into the gardens out the back instead. OH MY! I would recommend this place. So big, so amazing. Definitely a must. If it's nice and sunny take a bike too.

Vienna

Hallo people! Love from the land of the golden deep-fried schnitzel!
For the last few days I have been relaxing (and drying out) in Vienna, whilst Anni has been hitting up the sights and going on a coffee tour. Not much to report on, just taking it easy. But am loving my nice clean clothes. I am not, however, liking all the nakedness in this hostel room! ahhh... fun times. Tomorrow we go to Salzburg! Sound of Music tour here I come!

Busabout Stop 3 - Cesky Krumlov

Sorry about the lack of updates; the regular access to free internet is not easy to come by in Europe.
So far Anni and I have been to Berlin, Prague and now we're in Cesky Krumlov, about to climb on a bus for Vienna.
Berlin was grand. The stories and the history was so incredible, and the way in which they have overcome that and instead of being ashamed they are open and honest is an amazing testament to the awesomeness that is Berlin. I really hope Anni wants to go back cause we didn't get to see much at all. I really want to see the East Side Gallery.
Then Prague... hmmm. It was cool, like being in a large disneyland castle, but yeah. It was cool. Our tour guide for this one wasn't that convincing.
And then... Cesky Krumlov! It has been the BOMB. Absolutely relaxing. No large amounts of sightseeing, but the sights are worth seeing and are incredibly breathtaking. Anni, myself and several others took a raft down the River Vltava and went "Pub cruising"... basically you get in a raft and row in between different pubs along the banks. We got absolutely drenched! I am so soaked, hopefully there's a drier in Vienna. I think I soaked up half of the river in my body. hahaha, kinda funny but.
Also, sorry about the lack of pictures but we haven't been able to upload them. Keep checking to see if we can get pics up, they are very very funny.

Athens

Athens was HOT! All this time in London has made me forget what awesome heat is like! Good thing that the room we stayed in had airconditioning or I could've melted.
So we stayed in the renowned "Athens Backpackers", or actually, the studios around the corner. However, we did manage to climb up to the rooftop on the backpackers and saw the sunset (as was highly recommended by several people!).
I wasn't supposed to have my photo taken at the Acropolis, however, I wasn't told this till we were on the way back down, so I have had my photo taken. Why can't I have my photo taken, you ask? Because apparently I am a toy. No toys or flags allowed to be photographed up there.
The tourist train was lots of fun, just going around in circles around Athens. Very lazy but lovely.
And the ice cream was always yummy.
So now we are in Mykonos, because tomorrow we go on an 8-day tour around the Cyclades. 'twill be brill!

Budapest and Bratislava

Holidays have been far between for me and Anni... The long cold London winter has taken its toll.

However, Easter came upon us, and in celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ dying and rising again for us, we went to Budapest!

The beautiful split city has so much interesting history with an interesting mix of modern and upcoming futuristic displays, you never want to leave! I wish Anni didn't have to go to work...

I got my feet wet in the Danube, and saw some amazing buildings (as is usual in Europe). Anni went to a party in the baths, and came in very late (or early, depends...).

Easter Monday we went to Bratislava as that was where we flew back to London from. It was wet and rainy, but that didn't stop us having a little bit of fun.

So the next trip is Turkey in about twelve days...!