Best. Day. Ever. Thanks, Syd.

The title to this blog says it all. Today was our last day in Sydney, but today was deemed, by mutual decision, the winner of The Most Awesome Day Award for Excellence in Awesomeness. Here’s what made it so great:

The architectural masterpiece

We started out the day with a self-guided tour of the Sydney Opera House, which is one of Sydney’s most recognizable historic landmarks. Definitely one of the coolest buildings ever constructed, and its even cooler up close. It located next to the Royal Botanical Gardens and across the harbor from the Sydney Harbour Bridge – right in the middle of the action, and close walking distance from our hotel. The photos below don’t do it justice… It is truly a work of exceptional art and beautiful modern architecture.

You love this, huh Dad?

Side note from Samantha – (Mike completely forgot to talk about a very important part of our day… The Sydney Police and Justice Museum)… After many hours of pleading Mike agreed to go to the Museum with me.  I completely understand that most human beings wouldn’t be interested in such a thing.  I, on the other hand, think it’s brilliant and the most fascinating subject on earth.  We walked through the old courts and read about crime and punishment in the 1800’s in Australia and ASIO, which is Australia’s National Security Service.  Mike even cracked a smile once or twice in the Weapon Room!

Anyway, it was a blast. Now, here’s Mike’s version of the remainder of our day…

Yep.

Next we walked down to the IMAX Theater on Cockle Bay (*insert Beevis laugh here*), to see Born to be Wild in 3D. “But Mike, why would take time out of your trip around the world to see a 3D IMAX movie about orphaned elephants and orangoutangs?” Well, I’m glad you asked… only because this particular IMAX theater is the biggest in the entire WORLD!  So yes, this was an IMAX experience that we simply could not pass up. And it still holds the title of “Biggest IMAX  In The World” (at least for now, until Dubai builds one in a football stadium or something).

After watching a movie about animals, we suddenly had an urge to see some REAL animals. Lucky for us, the Sydney Aquarium is located 5 minutes from the theater.

Shark Attack

With only an hour before it closed, we had to tour quickly. We saw Little Penguins, weird-looking sea horses, massive sea crabs, gigantic sea turtles, sting rays, and big, fat dugongs (also known as the Sea Cow). But my favorite was the shark tank. We watched sharks from inside a big glass viewing tube. They swam all around us and right up to the glass. Some of the sharks were HUGE, and since we were inside their tank, they looked close enough to reach out and touch.

That’s it for our Best. Day. Ever. Tomorrow morning we leave for Port Douglas, Australia, where we’ll swim the Great Barrier Reef have a chance to see some of the wildlife from the aquarium up close and personal (no viewing tubes this time). And yep, you guessed it: I’m going to try to ride a giant sea turtle (Samantha just rolled her eyes)… Good night!

Loving the Architecture

Learning about architect Jørn Utzon

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Oh boy.

Busted.

Double Busted.

3D "Born to be Wild" in IMAX!

Sushi?

This one's for you Cousin Scott

A replica of the Largest shark spotted - 7.4 meters.

The Dugong (or Sea Cow, or Dolphin's Ugly Cousin as Mike calls it). Google it.

After Dinner Goodnight Kiss. Bye Sydney!

 

Did you miss us?

Bonj Les Bains in Hvar

Hi friends! We apologize we haven’t been able to blog our most recent travels. Between all the travel and moody internet connections, it was virtually impossible! Anyway, here’s what you’ve missed…

Talk about a caffeine high

Today was our first full day in Hvar.  We’ve been looking forward to vegging out and soaking up a few rays! The day started with the hotel’s complimentary buffet where Mike took a strong liking to the coffee; it actually wasn’t great coffee but the caffeine boost is a necessity at this point.

Just keep swimming, and squinting

After breakfast we went down to Amfora’s private beach (Bonj Les Bains) overlooking the stunning Dalmatian Coast. Catching up on our books and splashing around in the Adriatic took up most of our day. By the time our skin had enough salt water and vitamin D, it was around 3:30 and we were starving! Unbeknownst to us, restaurants on Hvar Island are closed from 3-6. Improvising, we made a pit stop at a local market where we picked up our favorite new ‘lunch’ – salami, cheese and crackers. Oh yes! And I thought this day couldn’t get any better!

We proceeded to get ready for dinner (in our provided plush and comfy hotel robes) and made the trek back into town to dine at Giaxa, which was referred to us by a friend. On the way, we noticed a Croatian band performance taking place in the main plaza in the harbor. Apparently it was Croatia’s Independence Day of sorts so they were having a mini-festival. As a result, the restaurant was dead (usually not a good sign), but the food and atmosphere were incredible.

Ahoy Matey

With full bellies and happy hearts we made our way back to the hotel, but not before Mike spotted a stranded ship ashore and insisted on a photo 😉

We’re up early tomorrow for a ferry back to Split. Hopefully our car hasn’t been towed!

I can’t believe it was our last day in Hvar already.  I guess whoever said ‘Time flies when you’re having fun’, wasn’t kidding.  More pictures of our last day in Hvar below.

Goodnight all!

Beach Bum

Handsome Fish

On the walk to grab 'Lunch'

Playing dress up

Dinner Time

Dinner at Giaxa

Croatian Independence Day Concert

Goodbye Hvar! ;(

 

Croatian Travel via “The Crveni Lopov” (The Red Bandit)

The Red Bandit

Here we go!

So today we have a LONG travel day to take rental car/ferry/taxi  to the island of Hvar, Croatia.  We got up early to carb-up with a big breakfast, and then said goodbye to our most luxurious hotel (The Rixos, Dubrovnik -awesome!) thus far.  We rented a car for the 3.5 hour drive up the coast (a MUST for all you future Croatia-travelers), a little red sedan that we nick-named “The Red Bandit” (or in the native tongue, The Crveni Lopov). The drive was spectacular, with sweeping views of the Adriatic Sea, the patchwork-landscaped farmlands, and the rocky, mountainous countryside. I’m not sure if it was my jerky steering or the winding roads, but Samantha turned a little green in the gills at several points during the drive. Luckily the bottled water and spicy-Croatian Pringles we picked up at the local gas station quelled her road-ailments.

Top Deck of the Ferry to Hvar

We arrived at the city of Split (the transfer city for the ferry) just in time and parked our car in a somewhat questionable spot (let’s hope it hasn’t been towed yet), only to receive some deflating news: our 2pm ferry was cancelled due to a fast-approaching storm. Bummer! We decided to tough it out and catch the 2:30pm car-ferry so we could arrive in Hvar at a reasonable hour (3pm).  Little did we know the car ferry took 2x’s as long, so we didn’t arrive in Hvar until 5:30pm (tired, famished, and, in Samantha’s case, slightly seasick).  After negotiating an above-market rate for a short cab ride from the port, we checked into the beautiful Amfora Hotel, which is located just 10-minutes on foot from downtown Hvar.  The hotel is AMAZING – a junior suite with private balcony, top floor view of the entire Dalmatian Coast, and private beach with spa/pool/gym/breakfast included.

On our way to dinner...

We walked into town for a light dinner when, halfway into our appetizer, it started raining outside. Sam, looking quite fashionable but not appropriately dressed for a torrential downpour, was promptly equipped with my hoodie and sandals for the walk back (her shoes would’ve been ruined).  I still enjoyed the 10-minute walk back to the Amfora hotel barefoot and in a t-shirt (that is, until a wood-splinter stabbed me in the foot). What a fun conclusion to an exciting day!

Tomorrow we both look forward to a little slow-motion action:  basking in the Croatian sun beams and giggle-splashing in the waves of the Adriatic Sea. But not before I take the tweezers to pull this twig out of my foot. Yay! Nighty night!

Driving along. Uh oh... the Storm is coming in!

"Love FM" was preset!

Driving through Dubrovnik...

...heading toward Split!

We drove through many tunnels

Passing Bosnia Border

Car Ferry!

The View of Split

Trying to shield the wind

Ferry Ride!

Car Rental to Delayed Ferry to Bus to Amfora 🙂

From our Balcony

On the way to dinner in town!

 

It’s Official…

Paradise, aka Rixos Libertas Hotel

Yup, that happened

 

…. We’re never leaving (gotcha, huh?)!  We had no idea what to expect upon choosing Croatia in our itinerary, but we sure are glad we did, especially this hotel.

So today is our first full day in Dubrovnik.  We are staying right outside of old town (about a 15 minute walk) and because we love our hotel so much we decided to have a relax at the hotel day!  It was a perfect day to enjoy the sun and amazing views our hotel location had to offer.  After a late breakfast, we hit the gym to sweat out all the pasta, wine and cheese we’ve been consuming the last week or so.  Then it was straight to the water!  We walked down to the hotel’s private ‘beach area’ which is more like a dock and jumped straight in; taking pride in the cool new underwater Mike purchased 😉 The weather could not have been more fitting for our day!

Enjoying our balcony, Corona commercial style

Because we have a balcony worth being jealous over, we decided to use it in all of it’s glory.  We sat there for probably 3 hours soaking in the sun, beer in hand.

Forcing ourselves to leave the room we went to the Terrace for a small snack before showering up for dinner in Old Town Dubrovnik.  This was the first time we’ve walked into the town and it is sure beautiful!

Old Town Dubrovnik

 

 

The Streets are so clean and shiny we were joking they probably spit shine them!  We walked through a few cobblestone alleyways before finding a spot to eat nestled away on the skirts of Old Town.  After some amazing lasagna and tuna gnocchi, we started the trek back to our hotel, but not before stopping for some delicious ice cream!

We honestly could not have asked for a better day!  Another transportation day tomorrow to Hvar Island; we’ve heard they are expecting a thunderstorm… stay tuned!

More photos from our lazy Croatia day below:

 

Before the jump...

After the jump...

Mike about to take flight

 

Heading to dinner

Oh this bottle... why not?

Caught red handed - cheesiest lasagna ever!

Goodnight streets of Dubrovnik... we'll be back!

 

3 Flights Later and We’ve Arrived in Heaven

From our room!

Boarding another plane with special guest - Sombrero man

I think I’ve conquered my fear of flying… well almost.  Today we took three flights in order to reach our final destination – Dubrovnik, Croatia!  We are here and this place is a dream come true.  Our hotel is to die-for! Our balcony overlooks the town and is right on the water.  We even have a motorized television that comes up from the bed mantel.  We honestly may never leave.

After arriving, we relaxed at our hotel’s bar and terrace where Mike discovered Ozujsko – his new favorite beer.  Then we showered up for dinner and walked a few short minutes to a fun little spot and now we’re calling it a night.  Tomorrow’s agenda – Swimming and Old Town Dubrovnik (and the gym!).  Until then, here’s our day in pictures –

Arriving at FCO Airport (in Rome) at 8 AM and after a 60 Euro Taxi ride - Yikes!

Airport Food

Croatian Snacks?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rising TV

A Very Happy-Hour at our Hotel

Walking (up the stairs) to dinner

View of our hotel from dinner

Goodnight all!! 😉

 

 

 

…Do as the Romans do

In the ruins at the Colosseum

Oops.

Today we got off to a late start. After nearly a week of shuffling about to different sites and monuments, we decided today would be the day we sleep in until 11:00am. We woke up famished, so we hailed a cab and crossed the river to grab some lunch at a place recommended by a friend of mine. Unfortunately it was closed, but luckily we ran into a friendly local that recommended a place nearby for “truly authentic roman cuisine.” She was right, and I enjoyed my pasta so much I decided to take some of it with me… On my white t-shirt!

Vatican

We walked up the path along the river to the Vatican, the home of the Pope and widely-visited headquarters for Catholics all across the globe. The line stretched down the street (WAY more popular than a Justin Beiber concert!) We were in line to purchase Pope-stamps (postage stamps with the Pope’s face on them) for postcards when we got recognized by a young woman from the US.  Pretty crazy getting recognized all the way out here… I wonder if the Pope watched us too?

Audio Tour - these are my favorite!

We took the Rome Metro (by the way, definitely not Sam’s favorite form of transportation) to the Colosseum, which was definitely our favorite monument so far. We picked up a  squawk-box for a self-guided audio-tour of the arena. Nearly 2,000 years ago, gladiators faced lions, bears, and each other in bloody battles to the death to entertain the citizens and royalty of ancient Rome… Just like the modern-day Superbowl, only 170 times a year and with way more fatal injuries.

Before dinner, we sat on our private patio and snacked on olives, cheese, crackers, and salami. All fresh ingredients from the local market around the corner…

The Man and his steak (more like half of a cow)

We celebrated our last meal in Italy at Tullio, a restaurant near our hotel, where we experienced a unique, warm dining atmosphere. The white truffles were rich and flavorful, but I couldn’t resist the urge to order the much-anticipated Bistecca: a giant bone-in T-bone steak (pictured below).

That’s a wrap on Italy. We leave for Croatia bright and early tomorrow morning. But not before another long travel day!

Here’s a sneak peak at more of our last full day in Rome –

Eating among the locals near the Vatican

 

Walking to the Vatican from lunch

In front of the Colosseum

Our Dinner Spot

Last night in Rome

 

When in Rome…

In front of the Pantheon

Train to Roma

We pre-purchased our tickets for the train from Florence to Rome prior to our trip so we could ensure it was set and organized.  Upon getting ready for the day we realized the train was departing an HOUR earlier than we thought.  We assumed we’d miss that train (set to leave in about 30 minutes) because we still had to check out of our hotel and the train station was about a 15 minute walk.  Much to our surprise the train was delayed 5 minutes and was departing as we walked up.  We scurried on to the train, luggage and all as the doors were closing again!  So lucky!

Taking it to the streets

Once we got to Rome we set out to find the Metro Station to take about 4 stops to our hotel (about a half mile).  Well, today was sure full of surprises – the Metro was closed due to a strike!  As a result, the taxi line was basically around the block (and taxi prices were hiked based on the high demand).  So what do you do?!  Well, our luggage got quite acquainted with Rome’s cobblestone streets as we decided to walk!  Mike was a gentleman as usual, took one of my bags. I’m so spoiled, right?

It took a while and we were sweating bullets by the time we reached our hotel – on top of the Spanish Steps!  It is a beautifully located hotel and our room even has a private patio!

After eating lunch, we set out to explore seeing the Pantheon as well at the Piazza Navona and of course Trinita dei Monti (right outside our hotel).  We are excited to do both the Vatican and The Colosseo tomorrow!  Blogging and bed time for us!

My "Holy" Salami for breakfast

Mike likes to make fun of me fore picking the fat pieces from my Salami

Our Balcony at Intercontinental De La Ville

Mike 'planking' in the hotel bed

The Roman 'planking' in front of the Pantheon

Spanish Steps

The turtle centerpiece at our lunch spot

Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona Market

Dinner at a place we found walking

 

Ninja Turtles Museum

Uffizi Tickets 🙂

Another day in Firenze means another Museum – Uffizi today!  We purchased an audio set and began the tour.  No photos are permitted inside the museum so we have no evidence we were actually there but I can assure you that we saw all Ninja Turtles works of art.  Just kidding – Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Prima Verra were absolutely spectacular.

Vivoli Gelatos

After Uffizi we walked around Florence and stopped for a Gelato at Vivolis, which came highly recommended.  My pistachio/crema gelato tasted like heaven in my mouth.  We took a break to enjoy at Piazza de Maria Croce then headed out to Michelangelo’s Plaza to watch the sunset.  The photos say more than I ever would be able to articulate about how amazing it was!

Sunset from Michelangelo's Plaza over Ponte Vecchio

Writing this all out I am realizing how much we accomplish in one day!  We’re just packing it all in there.  Anyway, we had the BEST dinner at Giostra (I highly recommend this dinner spot to anyone visiting Florence – you must make reservations prior through your hotel, fyi).  Mike had his highly anticipated Oso Bucco and it did not disappoint.  Of course I stuck with cheese ravioli, which was no ordinary cheese ravioli.   You can taste the passion in preparing each dish.  The owner was there (pictured with us) and he greeted us several times to assure we were enjoying ourselves.  It was the perfect way to end our time in Florence.

We are so sad to be going but feel like we were able to see so much and thoroughly enjoy the city and culture over the last few days.  Next time we come we would like to visit the countryside as well.  I want to walk through sunflower gardens 😉  Until then, we are off to Roma!

Uffizi

We found a parade!

The random parade in Firenze

The view from Michelangelo's Plaza

On the Steps

The view as the sun set

Little did we know we were about to have the best meal ever!

Our happy place

The "prince"

 

We’re Tourists

So Cliche

Yep… we are official tourists after today and can check numerous Paris sights off our list.  The morning started early with a workout.  We’re both a bit disappointed with the gym at our hotel, but then again who the heck works out while on vacation in Paris?  😉  It makes us feel a little better about all the wine, croissants and Cantal cheese we are consuming.

Up we go!

First up on today’s agenda was the Eiffel Tower.  As we were walking to the Tower we were having a discussion about why Paris is considered the most romantic city in the world.  We still haven’t come to a conclusion about it.  We definitely love the city, but haven’t quite felt the romanticism of it in particular.  I mean, we’re in love so there’s always that.

Anyway, we stopped to snap a few photos with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop then proceeded to walk up to it.  The line to take the elevator to the top was unreasonably long so we decided to take the stairs up to the 2nd floor of the Tower (it was about a 10 minute walk up the stairs – we started regretting our earlier gym visit about 5 minutes in).  We learned a lot of history about the Tower and it’s architect, Gustave
Eiffel.  To put the massiveness of this tower into perspective – it’s a little smaller than the Empire StateBuilding in NY.  After huffing and puffing up the Tower we rewarded ourselves by having lunch in the Tower58 restaurant.

Arc de Triomphe

We then headed over to see the Arc de Triomphe, which is an Arc dedicated to the fallen soldiers during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.  We snapped a photo and that was that.

After that we headed back to the hotel to put on some warmer clothes and return to the Eiffel Tower where we took a boat tour on the Seine River.  This was my favorite part of the day by far.  We boarded the boat right in front of the lit up Eiffel Tower and it started flashing like it was sparkling.  The photos don’t do it justice but we definitely got a sense of the romanticism of the Tower after that moment.  The tour was very informative and enjoyable – we saw Notre Dame, the Concorde, and the Louvre, among other sites.

ManBurger #2 of the Trip

Dinner was right outside of Notre Dame where they have a bunch of restaurants and bars off the beaten path.  Getting to dinner was quite an excursion as we got lost after departing the metro and couldn’t find the exit anywhere.  After quite a few twists and turns we had a little victory photo with the exit sign.  The night finished quite late with an after dinner drink at a place called Hippopotamus.  It was so late in fact that as we went to hop on the Metro we discovered it was closed!  Oops.  At least we got to experience a French Taxi ride 😉

More pictures the day below.

Bonne nuit Paris!

Walking up the Eiffel Tower

The view from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower

Boat Tour

Isn’t it pretty?

❤

Exit - at last!!

Mike's not-at-all girly drink

Sparkles!

Au revoir!!

 

Bonjour Paris!

Searching for Hotel Lutetia

Eglise de la Madeline

We made it!!  We were a little stiff getting off the plane but super excited to start our first day in Paris. Right away we bought a train ticket to get into Paris.  Mike and I (and all 5 bags of luggage) piled into an empty train. Little did we know that within two stops the train would be packed (and hot and stinky) with people – both locals and tourists alike.  After making it off the train we then found the metro and boarded it to Serves-Babylone which took us right to our Hotel.  We arrived around 1 and check-in wasn’t until 3 so we left our bags with the Concierge and set off to do some exploring (and more eating).

We bought metro tickets and found ourselves in Madeline where we discovered a little sidewalk cafe.  I can’t believe the amount of people they fit into such small spaces here!  Tables are basically on top of each other – there is no personal bubble at all!  After grabbing a bite to eat (gladly testing out the French Fries to see how they compare to the US Fries) and having a glass of wine we walked around and found a beautiful church.

Using the iPad as a mirror

After checking into the hotel we had plans to shower up and walk the town until dinner, but then we both fell asleep.  The jet lag finally got to us – we passed out on the opposite side of the bed with no pillows or blankets.  We were out for a solid 3 hours before waking up in complete darkness and starving!  So we started getting ready when I realized our bathrooms (yes plural) had two showers but no electrical outlets.  As you can see in the photo I resorted to doing my hair on the bed with the iPad as a mirror.

For dinner we went to Cafe Louise in St. Germain.  Mike was very pleased with his LouiseBurger which we named ManBurger and I splurged as well having scrumptious pasta with ham and cheese.  As each meal passes, Mike gets a little better at his very broken French.  We keep making jokes about how we start speaking English with a French accent, as if that would actually help our waiter understand what we are trying to convey.

Mike's ManBurger

Anyway, after our dinner date we walked across the street to the famous Cafe De Flore where we finally experienced a typical, very rude French waiter.  We heard they are everywhere here but I guess had been lucky until this moment.  Luckily, the ‘glace’ was delicious – pistachio ice cream with fudge and the best whipped cream I’ve ever tasted.

Overall, we had an amazing first day!!  We have a big day planned tomorrow – Eiffel Tower and Arc De Triomphe followed by a “night river tour” (I have no idea what this entails but Mike assures me he has it all under control).  I’ll keep you posted 😉

Au revoir!!

P.S. Check out our pictures below from the day…

Cafe de Flore

Night Cap