Contiki award

I forgot to mention, at the end of our Contiki tour, we had a little awards ceremony where each member of the tour group voted for a range of awards (most likely to find fame; funniest person; biggest shopaholic etc).  And the winner of 'Best person to become a tour manager' goes to.....

ANDREW!!!

The future Contiki Tour Manager!

It was almost a 100% win and he was a very deserving candidate, as everyone would always ask him questions about what we were doing and he would always throw in fun facts during our coach tours.

Pity there wasn't an award for the only person to wear a seatbelt on the bus, I would've won that!

Oui Oui, Pari!

So here we are  on our final Contiki destination, Paris!  We've had amazing weather, up until now.  It has been raining the past two days.  Can't win them all!

We started our time in Paris with a night time tour of the city, where we saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up, it was so cool.

They say it will take up to a month to see everything in Paris...we had one day!  It was straight to the Arc de Triomphe before a quick stroll down the Champs-Elysées (famous shopping street), where we went to the best bakery in Paris (Laduree - very fancy!) and tried some macarons, delicious!

Parlez vous Francais?

French macarons? Yes please!

After that we went up the Eiffel Tower.  It was great to get out of the rain! Our feet were soaking wet and we were freezing.  Because it was raining, the view wasn't amazing, but it was fun to say we went right to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Rain with a little bit of Eiffel Tower

Our next stop was the Louvre Museum, where we saw the Mona Lisa.  I had been warned it was very small, so I was expecting something even smaller than what it was.  I really enjoyed seeing it, but I still don't think it compares to the Sistine Chapel!

Can you spot the Mona Lisa?

That night we went to the Moulin Rouge.  It was so much fun, even though we had finally caught the 'Contiki Cough'.  We couldn't take photos inside but we managed to get the blurry pic just afterwards.  It was a great end to a fantastic tour with an awesome group of people.

Au Revoir Pari!

Our next stop is beautiful, warm Malta.  I think we can kiss our current weights goodbye!

Love to all
A+J xo

Swiss bliss

It was back to the cold again, in snowy Switzerland (Lucerne).

The main activity was to go up to Mt Pilatus.  We got up there by cable car and gondola (see photo below) and it had been snowing so much, we had to wait for the snow to clear before being let outside. We made snowballs and attempted a snowman but were pressed for time, so that didn't happen.  I gave tobogganing a go while Andrew enjoyed a beer and goulash soup in the warm bar.  It was probably the smarter choice!  I did well my first couple of times down the slope but on my last time I had to avoid another tobogganer who had fallen off and fell off myself.  I can't even count the bruises! It was so fun though.

The rest of the day was spent warming up with soups and schnitzel; looking at watches and knives and of course, trying some chocolate!

Going up in the Gondola 

Making snowballs at the top of Mt Pilatus - check out that view!

Under the Tuscan sun

That's it we've decided to never return back home and stay in Florence!

Well that might be a bit dramatic but, wow, is this place amazing!! As usual, we only have one day in each city so there's a lot to see and do in each day.  We started the day by going to a lookout overlooking the City, unfortunately it was a bit sunny so we couldn't get a decent photo of the 'good spot' without us squinting like maniacs.  We then went to the city centre where we went on a, you guessed it, walking tour!  We saw the Statue of David replica as well as other sculptures including ones of cupid, Hercules and Medusa.

We saw the real Statue of David in the Museum, it was amazing! So much bigger than I expected and just so detailed.  I just stood there looking at it for ages.  Michelangelo really was a master sculptor. We had a look at some statues that his 'trainees' sculpted, they were just amazing, apparently Michelangelo had told one of them 'What a waste of a perfectly good piece of marble'.  Hmmmm, hard to please!

We took a group shot where you can see a Statue of David replica.  Can you spot us?  Hint: the shortest people go in the front, guess where I was?!

Contiki European Inspiration Tour

The first night we went to a karaoke bar where I got up to sing.  I didn't get to choose the song, and was given 'Baby One More Time' by Britney Spears.  It was great fun!  The last night we went to a Tuscan dinner where we enjoyed good food and wine and a little bit of dancing (including Zorba's dance, ummm wrong country!) and then went to a space electronic disco.  Let's just say it was an amazing night of fun that we can't quite remember!  Awesome fun!

Andrew enjoying a Tuscan wine

The next day we headed off to Switzerland...not before stopping in Pisa for some fun tourist shots!

Water world

We seem to be taking the good weather with us.  The day before we got to Venice it was raining and the day after we visited it started to rain again.  Lucky us!

Our hotel was on the mainland so we travelled by boat for our day in Venice.  WOW!  What a beautiful city.  It was fun to get lost in the little alleyways and nooks but you could always find your way back thanks to the signs pointing to the main square (St Mark's Square).

Our day started off with a walking tour around the city.  We then had some pasta and bruschetta (both amazing) before we hopped on a Gondola.  Our rider wasn't what we would call traditional or nice, but besides that it was a great experience (and after some Italian wine it didn't matter).

Gondola ride and Italian wine

Beautiful day in Venice

We then saw the other sights of Venice including St Mark's Basilica, Doge's Palace and tried some amazing Italian espresso before heading off to a Venetian dinner...pasta anyone?

It was a very romantic city, we were expecting a few proposals from the couples on the tour, but no such luck.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Ciao
A+J xo

Pizza, pasta and prosciutto...oh my!

Our whole Contiki trip the same question keeps getting asked - what are you most looking forward to on the tour?  For us, it was definitely Italia!  I found myself loving the cities we were in but definitely  pining for the country of pizza, pasta, and espressos (Italy, oh Italy...where for art thou Italy!) and it certainly didn't disappoint.

Rome/Roma

After a long day of driving, we arrived in Rome and went straight into a night time city tour.  We saw the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Mouth of Truth and some seriously crazy driving!

Colosseum by night

We had one full day to see Rome, so we had a full on day of sight seeing.  The photos are pretty self explanatory, so I don't need to write too much.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of the yummiest donut in the world, but Maria, I thought of how much you would love it the whole time I was eating it!

Inside the Colosseum

Spanish Steps

In the aisles of the Colosseum

We also had a tour through the Vatican City where we saw the Sistine Chapel which was just incredible.  I could have sat for hours looking at the roof.  Luckily, being winter, it wasn't too crowded at all and we got a good 15-20 minutes to sit and look at the paintings.

Our tour manager recommended a Gelato place called Gelato De Palma, which is apparently the best Gelato in Rome.  We had to try it and we agree.  Over 150 flavours including sorbets and mousse.  Yumo!

Best Gelato in Rome!

We heart Europe!!

Buon Giorno!

We finally found some Internet, so will give you a very brief update on the last week and a half.

Contiki is great. We have an awesome group. Andrew is the oldest followed by our Italian tour manager, Cecelia and then me. There are about 4 other couples but we are the only married pair. But we are surprising everyone as they all tell us that we're not boring like they would expect married couples to be. I tell them that contrary to popular belief, you still are a human being when you get married and want to have fun!

Here is a quick run down on the places we've been so far.

Amsterdam

What a progressive town! They have designated roads for bicycles and as we all know have very interesting draw cards for tourists. Well for now anyway, in a few months their special brownies will only be available for residents.

As you could imagine, Andrew felt right at home in Amsterdam with more bicycles than people (true fact!).

We had a great time in Amsterdam from dodging crazy bike riders to visiting Anne Franks house. That was an amazing experience, we saw the actual place she stayed and of course the real diary. We also went on a cruise along the canals at night, it is such a beautiful city.

We visited a Cheese and Clog factory where we saw how they made, you guessed it, cheese and clogs!  The cheese was amazing...so yummy! Here is a photo of us in a giant clog.  

Clog in Holland

Berlin

My (Jacinta's) first encounter with snow! I got over it pretty quickly as it was snowy pretty hard. We visited the Berlin wall and went for a walking tour where we saw a heap of museums and stood above Hitler's bunker (where he hid and died during the war). We then had a traditional German lunch and beer. We went to some bars and clubs at night which were great fun.

It was in Berlin where we found out our shoes weren't that great for snow. Fail!

We don't have many photos from Berlin because we've taken them on our camera and can't upload them onto the computer.

My first snow, on our way to Berlin

Prague

On our way to Prague we stopped in at a place called Dresden. It was so beautiful, heaps of old buildings all in a small space (or precinct as Andrew would say). They were attacked quite badly in the second world war but rebuilt each building soon after. The town reminded me of Dulock (from Shrek), as it felt like a ghost town hidden away (in a good way).

Prague really is as beautiful as everyone says. It is even more beautiful this time of the year, with Christmas lights and covered in snow. We went on a river cruise for lunch and ate our way around the Christmas markets for the rest of the day.  We also tried hot wine, it was the most unusual feeling drinking hot wine, but it was so cold that it was hard to stop drinking it. 

Hot Wine at Prague Christmas Markets

On our last night in Prague we went on a Pub 'crawl' which was more a Pub hike, it was about a 25 minute walk between each pub and in the freezing weather, it wasn't the greatest.  I tried my first shot of Absinth which was 75% alcohol.  I could still feel the cold so it didn't work that well!

Prague Town Square by night

Munich

We went back to Germany to have one last taste of the culture. On our way there we stopped in at a concentration camp memorial site. It was the most saddest things we've ever seen. We stood on the grounds where the prisoners had to stand each morning for roll call in nothing but rags, and we were wearing layer upon layer and were still freezing. Just heartbreaking to see to be honest.

On a nicer note, the first night we went to a beer hall where we drank from 1L steins. Andrew earned the title of 'Crazy Andy' after he put away 6.5 Litres in 3 hours. Needless to say we didn't do too much the next day. But Andrew certainly cemented himself as the most seasoned drinker on tour. He is the oldest (besides the bus driver) after all.

Beer and Pretzels...before the epic drinking session

Italia

We are now in Italy! We went through Austria today and stopped off at the Swarovoski world headquarters...I held back pretty well, but do have a new sparkling pair of earrings. The mountains on the drive through Austria were amazing, especially covered in snow. I can't even describe how beautiful it is.

Tomorrow we head to the centre of Venice with Florence and Rome coming up over the next week. If you haven't picked up on it already, we are having a great time! Hope you're all well.

Love to all

A & J xo

Bye bye London

On December 3 we left London to start our Contiki tour. Here is a very quick snapshot of what we did in London on our final days there.

The first photo is at the top of St Paul's Cathedral. No elevator to get that shot, we had to climb 365 feet. It was amazing, such a beautiful place. The next photo was at the Borough Markets, we ate and drank our way through that place. It was full of fresh food from different cultures, no patizzis though ;-)

The final photo was on the streets of London. I thought it was funny. We're having a bit of trouble uploading photos so at the moment the photos are from my phone. Hopefully I can get photos of Andrew up soon.

Contiki is going well, I will do a post on that when I can, but at the moment our days are so jam packed we're barely fitting in sleep.

Love to all, A + J xo

The view from the top of St Paul's

Apple, celery, spinach, parsley, cucumber and wheatgrass juice at Borough Markets. Got a day's worth of vegies. Yum!! 

A replica of thr tallest man in the world. I think we make a cute couple - barely a height difference!

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