The monasteries at Meteora in central Greece are a UNESCO World Heritage Site that really has to be seen to be believed. Perched high atop giant sandstone pillars, or clinging impossibly to the side of a cliff, these monuments are incredible. The monks and nuns who have studied there over centuries really were trying to get closer to God. We […]
Category: Digital Nomads
A Ten-Day Break in Thessaloniki
This post marks the end of our three months in Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Eastern Europe, and back to commence our second 90-day block inside the Schengen Zone. There was a slight hiccup at the Greek border, when we thought for a moment that we were going to be denied entry, but it was resolved, and we made it to […]
A Quick Trip Through Northern Bulgaria
Our 90 days outside the Schengen Zone was drawing to an end, meaning we could enter Greece for the next part of our adventure. But we still had three days to fill in. Getting from the Romanian capital down to Greece’s second-biggest city, through Bulgaria, seemed to be easy enough. But there were some hurdles we hadn’t anticipated. We finished […]
Bucharest, Relics of Communist Extravagance
Bucharest is the capital of Romania. It is sometimes called The Paris of The East because of its grand buildings, arts and long, wide boulevards. Layered over its grandeur from the “belle-epoch”, the decades-long Communist period under hard line ruler Nicolae Ceaușescu saw the addition of architecture from the Socialist Realist style. Ceaușescu had grand plans to turn Bucharest into […]
The Painted Monasteries of Bucovina
Tourists come to the North-Eastern corner of Romania for one reason, to see the sublime UNESCO-listed Painted Monasteries of the Bucovina Region. Although it’s a long way from the attraction in Transylvania, and less than 50 kilometres from the border with Ukraine, the effort to get here and back is repaid tenfold when these gorgeous structures are seen. Enjoy seeing […]
Cluj-napoca, Transylvanian Steampunk
Our travels through Romania continued northward to the de facto capital of Transylvania, Cluj-napoca. It felt a bit strange to be back in a big city after the relaxed environs of Brasov and the medieval towns of Sibiu and Sighisoara, dealing with busy streets and having to dodge pedestrians again. We did, however, adopt a rather relaxed pace for this […]
Two Lovely Little Medieval Towns in Transylvania
Our journey of discovery through Transylvania continues with visits to two cities that are on all the must-see lists for visitors to Romania. Sibiu and Sighisoara are each just a couple of hours on a train from Brasov, although each on a different main line. Negotiating the Cold War era train system that still operates in Romania introduced an added […]
A few Days in Dracula Country – Brasov, Transylvania
Following our fantastic New Year treat at The King’s lodge, we travelled back to the heart of Dracula Country, Brasov in Transylvania. Brasov is a smallish city with a compact old centre and plenty of opportunities for side trips. We were lucky to be there when the Christmas markets were still going, brightening up the city with their lights and […]
Christmas in Sofia, Bulgaria
We were hoping for a white Christmas at a skiing resort in south-western Bulgaria, but the European winter of 2022 has been unseasonably warm. So, there was a last minute change of plan. We spent a few days in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, including Christmas Day. Sofia is another lovely city, although the Christmas festivities weren’t very overt. The […]
Last Stop – Gallipoli and the ANZAC Tradition
Our time in Turkey is drawing to its end. Just one more place to visit before leaving this wonderful country. And what a place to finish with, the birthplace of the ANZAC tradition, Gallipoli. Accessed from the small coastal city of Canakkale, the major sites on the Gallipoli can be seen in a half-day tour. The stories we learnt when […]
The Adriatic Coast: Izmir and Ancient Ephesus
Our journey takes us back to the coast, further north, against the backdrop of the Adriatic. Izmir is one of the biggest urban centres in Turkey, and very much centred on local residents. While there are things for visitors to see and do, they are in the background of daily life. Thoroughly modern and very vibrant, this is a place […]
Another Geological Wonder in Turkey
After our restful stops in Antalya and Bodrum, we headed inland again to see another of the great attractions of Turkey, the white terraces of Pamukkale. Photos of the beautiful aqua pools against a pure white background feature prominently in all the tourist advertising for visitors to this country. When we saw them for ourselves, we weren’t disappointed. They really […]
Relaxation and Resorts on Turkey’s Mediterranean Coast
Travelling south after our awesome visit to Cappadocia, it was time for some R&R at a couple of coastal resorts in Turkey. The first, Antalya, is a large city on the Mediterranean coast, the second, Bodrum, is a smaller resort city located where the Mediterranean meets the Aegean. After more than five months of moving about and doing lots of […]
The Surreal Landscape of Cappadocia
One of the must-see destinations in Turkey is the other-worldly landscape of Cappadocia. This volcanic region has been weathered over millennia to form an amazing array of formations, deep valleys that contain tall stone chimneys that look like elongated toadstools. For centuries, the soft stone formations have been hollowed out to form cave dwellings, some of which are still occupied […]
A Ten-Day Adventure in Jordan
Our adventure continues off the beaten track, and mostly off the grid, in Jordan. We spent two days in the interesting capital of Jordan, Amman, before joining a group tour. The tour started with a five-day trek of over 80 kilometres from Dana in southwest Jordan to the World Heritage site of Petra. After the walk, we spent a day […]
A Week on the Nile
Jan has dreamed of cruising up the Nile since she was in her twenties. It was always going to be in our plans, and we were delighted when our vacation club, Karma, announced that it had acquired a boat and would be offering cruises from mid-October this year. We expected a leisurely week, relaxing on deck while the river passed […]
North-Eastern France
Our first 90-day period within Europe draws to an end. Visa requirements mean that we can only stay 90 days in every 180-day period, and our adventure will have consumed all of them by the time we get back to Paris. The last post was from Baumholder in Western Germany, and from there we had about a week to travel […]
Strasbourg, Colmar and the Moselle Valley
Another double-story post this time and across three countries! This part of our adventure saw us crisscrossing borders over a fortnight. After leaving southern Germany, we drove back into France for a few days in Strasbourg, a city on everyone’s must see list when in Eastern France. Colmar, a delightful town, is an easy day trip from there. We then […]
Nuremberg and the Bavarian Alps
This post is a double treat! We have covered so much distance in the last month, and seen so many places, that we are a little behind with the stories. Actually, about two whole countries behind. So this post has two new stories, as well as the updated travel map. The stories are about two parts of our journey through […]
A Long Weekend in Prague with Natalie and Dom
We finished our time in the marvellous Czech Republic with a long weekend in Prague and surrounds. Natalie and Dom had a bank holiday in the UK, so they were able to join us again. We had been in Prague in 2016, and did most of the tourist things then. This time we got to a couple of the places […]