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Nuneaton, United Kingdom

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London, United Kingdom

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Athens, Greece

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Tolon, Greece

All good things must come to an end, as do all things that cause you grief. We took our last train of the 60 day Eurail pass today. First class carriages have their advantages. On the Norwegian trains (free hot chocolate), Italian trains (free wifi and welcome snack) and Austrian trains (fancy chairs) whereas the French trains and the French gave us nothing but exorbitant reservation fees and transportation strikes. Unbudgeted reservation and supplement costs came in at about $900 over and above the prepaid $3,000 rail pass.
In 60 days we visited 36 cities in 17 countries. We stayed in some places a few hours, but averaged 1-2 nights. We caught 58 trains including 4 overnight trains, most of which we ran to but never missed and occasionally very nearly forgot to get off. Although I cursed the Eurail pass daily, in the 59 days, we managed to cover 10,942km in 159 hours spent on trains!
Day 60 is tomorrow, we are using the last day to get to Greece as the 24 hour car and passenger ferry is (mostly) included in our Eurail pass. This ferry resembles a cruise ship, complete with restaurant deck and a pool. We have been married 5 months today and are spending it in separate single sex dormitories. I have an 18 lady dormitory to myself as most people are sleeping on booked chairs inside or benches outside.

To see family when you’ve been surrounded by strangers is always an overwhelming feeling. Seeing Jenny and Uwe waiting for us at Patras port in Greece was something we had both been looking forward to and talking about for many years leading up to this trip. We are here. Within moments of being picked up from the ferry we were off to a secret location for the night. Our first night was in the fanciest hotel we have stayed in in the last 165 days. This backpacker will never take a private bathroom and bedroom for granted but we had a king size room with lounge area and balcony for goodness sake. Dinner was served on little tables on the grass, nestled between olive trees, overlooking the acres of olive plantations. We were speechless. A wedding present from Jenny and Uwe that was enjoyed and will be remembered. The location was in Olympia. A must see spot when visiting Greece and we have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity. Olympia, the home of the Olympic Games, the most famous games in history.They began in 776 BC and were held here until 393 AD. That’s 2,796 years ago, so seeing statues, remains of buildings and jewellery from such a long time ago but with such significant importance today, was really a priceless experience.
The trip back to Jenny and Uwe’s holiday house in the tiny village of Tolo Greece took us over the impressive Greek mountain ranges. Most people, when they think of Greece, think islands and blue houses but they should really think mountains – 80% of Greece is mountainous and has zero navigable rivers because of the mountainous terrain. So you can imagine how picturesque the 4 hour drive through, over and around them was.

Unfortunately the first day in beautiful coastal town of Tolo was a disaster as we just found out we have to apply for a US visa application. We realised we are in USA 2 weeks over the standard 3 months visa waiver. We planned on having an interview for the visa in Athens US Embassy in a few days, but when it came to booking the interview, their 2-3 day wait time went to 2-3 weeks. They couldn’t offer us one until 2 days before we flew to the USA. So, we rebooked (and repaid the application fees) in London as well as forfeited all flights booked and cancelled our trip to Crete, one of the Greek islands. A costly, frustrating and avoidable mistake. But we live and learn. Fortunately we are here in Jenny and Uwe’s village of Tolo while we had this issue to sort. When we desperately needed internet and phone for our Visa application, the owners of the local bar and local restaurant gave us their personal phone to call on and printer to use (thank you Nikolas and Adoni). This is a place where people go out of their way to help.

Tolo is really something else, something quite special. I’m sure I can’t possibly do it justice explaining it, but I’ll try. This little fishing village with a road in and a road out is located in a cove, surrounded by glass like water with at least 10 km perfect visibility and no wind. The beach is undisturbed with the clearest water I have ever seen. In fact as I write this, a local has swum out, caught an octopus with a spear gun and is in the process of tenderising it by whacking it against the wharf.
Jenny and Uwe spend 6 months of the cold English winter in Greece’s warmer weather and have done for 30years. Many other English do the same so there’s a real community feel to this place between the English residents and Greek locals. Relationships are formed between the local business owners and residents. Everyone knows everyone from the fisherman having a beer on the wharf to the local who delivers a daily gift of a piece of fruit to anyone sitting along the beach. I couldn’t even say I know my neighbour’s name. Here, everyone has the time to get to know each other and stop for a chat. It’s a place where if someone dies, has a christening or wedding the whole town is invited or attends. The good and the bad moments are shared in this close community. The church marks occasions by a distinct bell that is heard all through the village. Children from 4 to adults learn the Greek national dances. (Jenny is fantastic at it!) There aren’t many places in the world left where locals of all ages know their village’s traditional dance. Oxi day (similar to Remembrance day) was held while we were here. The tiniest of children smartly dressed in blue and white outfits marched down the road to the Greek national anthem. Greek traditions are celebrated and passed down from generation to generation as are the Greek customs.

Each of the 8 warm sunny mornings started with breakfast on Jenny and Uwe’s large balcony overlooking the turquoise Greek waters. Mornings turning into afternoons at the Romvi Taverna were only indicated by Dave’s stick-in-sand sundial. The beach front location had nothing to do but swim, relax and enjoy the Romvi’s food, beer and seawater literally at our feet. You know you’re too relaxed when you’ve spent an hour watching a hermit crab playing in the water. Once torn away from a book; we hired a boat to explore the surrounding Islands, went on a road trip around the neighbouring coastal villages, to Nikolas bar for a nightcap or to a taverna (Greek restaurant) for dinner. I mentioned that I missed home cooked meals, particularly roast dinners. The next thing we knew we were enjoying the best English roast dinner we’ve ever had at their friends house, Bridget and Milto. On the Sunday we went out on a large ferry to two neighbouring Saronic Islands, Hydra and Spetses. Jenny and Uwe’s friends are the owners of the ferry company and we were lucky enough to have them come out with us for the day and play tour guide. There are 2,000 Greek Islands all postcard perfect, but out of the two visited, Hydra was my favourite. The old village surrounds a crescent-shaped harbour. Steep stone streets lead up and outwards from the harbour area. Magenta bougainvillea provides the accent on blue doors and white building walls. With no cars, horses provide all transportation. At Lulus taverna we enjoyed yet another huge shared Greek mezze meal. The food in Greece is some of the best in the world and some of the oldest. Greek food today, with slight variations, is about the same as it has been for over 2,000 years. The Greek salad, local olives, dolmades and greek yoghurt all taste better here but of course that’s just the start of the food, beer and retsina (Greek wine) we have enjoyed consuming.

We haven’t experienced anything like this before. Tolo, its neighbouring suburbs and islands are perfect in every way. Although it’s nearing quiet season, it feels like an undiscovered jewel. We have been well taken care of by our family. We’ve been fed, watered, pampered and cared for. Our batteries have been reviv
ed. Thank you Jenny and Uwe for giving us the perfect week away. A mixture of support and assistance through the visa issues, sightseeing, excursions and relaxing but most importantly, quality time with family – a week to remember.

As the sun rises for the final time for us over Tolo, we head off to the capital Athens before flying to London to get our visa sorted. It’s off with the bikini and back to the hiking boots.
Athens is a huge concrete city with the size only truly appreciated from the heights of the Acropolis. The former citadel is plonked above the city and contains the remains of several ancient buildings including the Parthenon. To be frank, they are in the process of restoring it so it looks like a giant 3D puzzle about to be assembled. I wonder how many puzzles are completed in an interview for an ancient ruins restorer.
Athens does have a great feel to it, walking through the narrow winding streets, eating the local cuisine – but it is just another ‘city’. I think of the last week that was and think how different our perception of Greece would have been without being able to get into a small village and experience all the wonderful things associated with that. It also comes to mind now that we are back into a city, how the last 2 months around Europe would have been if we weren’t bound to cities, as that’s where the train line take us. Pros and cons to both but a place where you’re just a number in a crowd will never be as good as being warmly greeted each day by a villager.

From the minute we set foot in Greece, we have been consumed by the Greek landscape – the blue sky above, the white sand below, the olive groves and mountains and of course the sun! Each year they enjoy more than 250 days of sunshine or 3,000 sunny hours. This country is no escape from the everyday, but is an excuse to see it, smell it, feel it, taste it and consider it from the perspective of the locals living it.

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Rome, Italy

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Vatican City, Italy

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Pisa, Italy

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Florence, Italy

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Venice, Italy

On the train again… The journey from Innsbruck (2 hours south of Salzburg, Austria) through the snowy Austrian alps on our way to Venice Italy was the most beautiful train journey yet. This part of the trip has snow covered mountains on every surface right up to the window of the train, including the tracks.
We were supposed to be staying in Innsbruck for the night but opted for staying three whole nights in Venice. Nearly at the end of our European train venture, we are both getting sick of the daily changing our bed, daily packing and unpacking and daily 4-6 hour train trips. It’s taken its toll on Dave more so. He has been white, aching, continually tired and hot and cold for weeks. Very thankful to have hit jackpot with our accommodation in overpriced Venice. For $30 per night we are staying on the mainland in a little wooden cabin 20min bus ride from the island of Venice. If we were staying on the island itself there is no way we would be eating in a non touristic, totally authentic italian pizzeria where the locals eat everyday so cheaply. Three nights in a row we shared the biggest pizza I’ve ever seen, a free entree and .5l of chilled Italian red wine served from the tap (just like beer) for only $11. Really, really good Italian food.
We did venture out into Venice in the two days we were there. For us, we found Venice to be unique, interesting, but a rather over rated place. It’s full to the brim with tourists, 60,000 per day in fact. That’s more than the population of Venice visiting in 1 day. There’s only a few locals left living there because of the exorbitant property prices and the issue with it sinking. Many of the apartments are now unoccupied and those working in Venice live on the mainland. The Venetian canals are not clean as much of the household waste is flushed out into the canals and into the sea and carried away by the tides. The city does not have its own sewer system. At least the hotels are required to have septic tanks. We did a tour of the city where we saw large wooden tables just stacked up in the main square. When the city has a king tide they use the tables as a “catwalk” to walk around the flooded parts. Although tourists swim in flooded areas, locals disinfect the saturated grounds and tables at least twice after it floods. As they know what’s in the water.

For the millions who visit each year, Venice has captured the impression of a magical floating city by setting wooden pilings on the 118 submerged islands. It is a city with no cars but only water taxis and gondolas as modes of transport. You wouldn’t know it’s on so many islands over a small space because you are continuously walking over the 400 foot bridges that cross the 170 boat canals which make the city easily accessible.
The structure that is Venice was created out of necessity. The population had to escape a barbarian invasion. The city’s unique landscape made it harder for invaders to infiltrate, as Venice is made up of 118 islands. The city was not actually built on the islets. Instead, its structures are supported by a series of wooden platforms. These platforms are secured by additional structures placed in the sea. The islands themselves were not strong enough to support a regular building so there are millions of ‘piles’ underneath the Venetian lagoon. One church has over 1million 11ft pillars.
I read an interesting report on how they are stopping the sinking of Venice. The MOSE Project, worth $7 billion, will put gates across the three inlets connecting the Venice Lagoon to the Adriatic Sea and control the ebb and flow of the tide. It will also improve coastal reinforcement, the raising of quaysides and paving, as well as improving the lagoon environment. Unfortunately there are many major flaws in this project and many say it’s a short-term solution to a long-term problem.

There’s a few ‘must do’s’ while in Venice, including a romantic ride in a gondola. As they are $120 for 40minutes. A clever Italian has given those, like us, who just want to take a photo, the opportunity to ride directly across the canal for $3. Many of the tourists here are suit case tourists not backpacking travellers so most can afford this luxury therefore the gondola ride is in high demand. There are only 400 licensed Gondolas operating in Venice today with only 3 to 4 Gondolier licenses issued annually. To qualify, applicants must be able to finish extensive training and pass a rigorous exam. Singing must not be a requirement as I never heard any Gondoliers singing something beautiful in Italian, as shown in the movies.
The other ‘must do’ was to take the $40 return water bus-taxi-ferry over to the other island of Murano. All the shops in Venice sell the glass that’s blown over in Murano cheaper than on the island itself. On the ferry over we met an Italian shoe designer whose shoes were upwards of $2,000, ever so slightly out of our price range. However worth the mention as she gave us her business card and offered her place to stay in – did she not see the hiking boots we were wearing?

The glass blowing itself was simply amazing. The first man heats up the glass until it’s nice and floppy, then dips it into different colours while turning it. Once semi hardened he passes it to the man who blows the glass into different shapes. The blower then passes it to the third man who shapes and finishes it off. This skill, which is all done while a fag hangs out of their mouths, is passed down from generation to generation.
The blown glass wine glasses, light shades and jewellery are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. (And no, I didn’t add to my already 150 wine glass collection). In Venice all the Murano glass products are sold next to the Chinese made stuff. As it looks similar, the only way you can be sure is to ask or see the $2-3 price difference. They must scam so many people who think they are buying authentic Murano glass, when it’s in fact authentic Chinese.

Venice is a city like no other. For that reason we are glad we came to see it. We didn’t fall in love with it whatsoever, but we appreciated it for its uniqueness. It’s a FACT that hotel and dining prices are among the highest in Italy yet restaurant food and service quality are amongst the most disappointing in the country. The main reason is most diners are tourists and most of them will never return to Venice. Therefore, pleasing them is not a priority. I also get the same impression with the shop assistant’s attitudes towards tourists. It’s a very short sighted view for a city that’s sinking. Que Sera Sera.

I’m admitting we did a Japanese Tourist trait today. We caught the train to the Leaning Town of Pisa, took ‘that photo’ and jumped straight back on the train for Florence. It’s sad that so many people do that as the tower’s surroundings, white marble buildings within the huge stone walls are more beautiful than the tower itself. This area, ‘under the Tuscan sun’, does in fact have the orange terracotta houses with rolling green hills and vineyards. The Tuscan capital of Italy, Florence, is in itself an artistic masterpiece. The town was once the home of Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolo Machievelli, Galileo Galilei, Amerigo Vespucci, Donatello, Raffaele, Roberto Cavalli, and Guccio Gucci and of course Michelangelo and his naked David statue which is in a Florence museum. This city even has a 1km elevated enclosed passageway constructed in 1565 (448 years ago) running through the city’s key buildings and across the river, connecting the Royal residence and the government palace. This was the Medici Prince’s Passage to protect the Medici family from the public who didn’t much care for them. It’s the only bridge (although it’s an enclosed passage) in Florence not bombed in the war, because Hitler thought it to be too beautiful.
We ran into an American mother and son, Joy and Nicko on the Florence walking tour. We had met them previously on the Venice walking tour. They invited us to have dinner with them in the Michelangelo park overlooking the city. Wine and cheese was a perfect way to watch the sun se
t over Italy’s most beautiful city. I know we will be back here one day, in an orange Tuscan villa in the surrounding hills – it’s been added to The List.

On to Rome we go. After a 5am start we arrived into Rome by 9, got locked out of our AirBnb accommodation until 12, waited 2hours in a queue before finally entering the Colosseum by 3 and followed that by a night walking tour of the city and got home to bed by 9. Shattered. Rome, a 3,000 year old city, has such a wealth of history and monuments to see. The Colosseum for example, was used as a stadium for gladiators /prisoners to fight animals such as tigers and hippos. The Pantheon has an open roof and is one of 400 churches in the city. Many of these have painted ceilings. One has ceiling art representing the 4 continents. It excludes Oceania because the likes of Australia and New Zealand weren’t discovered in the 1700s. It’s only when you see that, that you understand how new our country really is compared with Rome.

We’ve chosen two bad days to come to Rome. Yesterday we were affected by the national strikes and today violent riots which have forced a city lockdown and museum closures. Fortunately we saw the Colosseum, Trivi Fountain and the Spanish Steps yesterday as it’s closed today. We headed to the Vatican for a guided tour of the world’s smallest country. The country of Vatican mints its own euros, prints its own stamps, issues passports and license plates, operates media outlets and has its own flag and anthem. I’m glad we did a Vatican tour because we wouldn’t have known when we were standing in the Sistine Chapel. All the buildings have beautiful painted ceilings. This one is popular, with queues hours long, because Michelangelo pioneered the Mannerist style and because that’s where new popes are elected during papal conclave. When Michelangelo was 23 he was given a piece of marble by another sculptor and created the statue of David. At 33, he was forced to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling. As he was a sculptor rather than a painter he didn’t want to spend four years of his life with a crook neck painting. He did it standing up! He hated it so much he wrote a poem about it with the last line “I am not in the right place—I am not a painter”. But when the pope asks you to do something, you just gotta do it. I actually enjoyed the visit to the Vatican and St Peters Basilica. Even for a non believer the paintings, sculptures and tapestries that have been collected by the popes through the centuries are an impressive collection. This country of only 0.44 sq km is made up of 800 residents who have day jobs like, the pope, priests, nuns, swiss guards in clown suits and high-ranking dignitaries.

At 4am tomorrow we begin the long, long journey by train, and a 21hr ferry, to Greece. It’s worth every minute as at the otherside we will be greeted by the lovely Jenny and Uwe.
We have to end our week long stay in Italy as we have eaten far, far too much Italian pizza, pasta, gelato and Italian hot chocolate. The food is so good, it’s my favourite thing about Italy. On our last meal we very nearly had microwave Italian pasta. I’m the queen of microwaves but we are in Italy for goodness sake. Even I know that’s not acceptable. Without paying we left for a fantastic authentic Italian ‘Roman’ last meal. Home made pasta and deep fired mozzarella balls. Oh my goodness, what a tasty way to end the week!

Tips for Italian eating: Never chop spaghetti with a knife and never accept a Margarita pizza with any herb accept basil. This is because a true margarita is the same colour as the Italian flag. The white mozzarella cheese, the red tomato paste and the green basil. And now you know!

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Salzburg, Austria

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