So here are some photos so far.... (note that photos take a CRAZY long time to upload so thats why there are only a few)



(Us plus Nicola at Windsor Castle)



(on the bus)



(In front of the Mona Lisa on an awkward angle)



(the Louvre)



(lovely closeup in Rome)



(the impressive colloseum - and also my creative camera skills at work!)



(Pompeii with Vesuvius in the background)



(Me at Pompeii)

Yassou!

We are in Corfu today (Greece) and it is HOT!

Only going to be a short entry today - we are short on time. So... what have we done since we last updated??

*Eaten gelato almost every day!!
*Climbed St Pauls (551 steps to the top) and seen the Sistine Chapel
*Eaten authentic food in every country - France, Spain, Italy, Greece and been amazed at Europe's OBSESSION with Nutella!!
*Thrown a coin into Trevi Fountain and seen the Pantheon
*Walked through Imperial Rome and the Colosseum
*Seen a traditional Flamenco dance and drunk Sangria (which we both didnt like - the drink not the dance)
*Taken a totally cliche photo at the Leaning Tower of Pisa
*Walked through Pompeii
*Walked up to the top of the Duomo in Florence (463 steps to the top)
*Walked and walked and walked and also sat on a bus for hours on end!

.... and many many more things!! But Ill go into detail another time!

Stay well

Samara (and Laura) 

 

So ... we are officially on our european adventure! Laura and I are having a fantastic time - and because we are such good friends we are able to tolerate being with each other 24/7 in all kinds of situations.

So what have we been doing you may ask? Well after travelling for 24 hours we kind of crashed at my cousins and slept for 12hours. Not that the flights were bad but I managed to sleep for a while (albiet cramped) and Laura didnt - the plus side was that they had entertainment units with heaps of movies and such - so she wasnt the happiest of campers for the first little bit (understandably). But once her ear cleared she was much happier. We are both finally getting better too - thankfully.

So getting back to the London scene. We basically had a day before we left on Contiki and so we decided to do Windsor Castle with my cousin and a friend of Lauras from church. It was a beautiful day and the castle was amazing - many splendid (and gigantic rooms). Clearly they were going for the big reaction. It was quite cool actually - on the way to the castle we passed where Nicola lives (Lauras mate) and its on Dryburgh Rd, which my cousin and I wanted to get a photo on but there was not enough time. Still cool though. After lunch at a pub nearby, we wandered the streets before driving back into London to go to the Contiki meeting place for the next morning. 

The next day we were up at 5am (!) getting ready to head out on the Tube to get to the city to meet our fellow travellers. After weighing our bags, we hopped on the bus and headed out. Today was mostly travelling - and crossing the English Channel - before arriving in Calais. On the bus we played Speed Dating - the person on the aisle seat would move one seat forward at intervals so that we could meet other people on the bus. Apparently the Aussies have taken over Contiki!!! (aussie aussie aussie oi oi oi).  Being that the Louvre was going to be closed the next day, the tour manager organised it so that we could go for an hour or so before it closed for the day. We just made the last entry too - killed us running up the stairs and around the La Pyramide Inversée. But we got a photo (even tho its not the best looking - i have two chins) of us near the Mona Lisa. We also got to to see the Venus de Milo and a few other things but really only in passing as we tried (in vain) to escape the giant ex-palace. 

The following day was a free day and we started at the Eiffel Tower - and by climbing the 704 steps to the 2nd floor
before I took the elevator to the top (Laura wasnt keen). What a view! The video shows the beutiful lunch we had next...
 

So as a way of sharing our experiences on our month long trek around western europe, we thought that we would create this blog, or "e-journal", so that our friends and families could see how much fun we're having!

A few handy hints for all of you that are not "internet savvy":
 
* If you want to reply, or "comment", on the entry simply click the link/button at the bottom and tell us what you think. As most of you will not be members of Live Journal, simply make the entry as an "anonymous poster", but remember to tell us who you are at the end! Or you can simply email either of us - but remember our time constraints for those of you that are rather long winded.

* We will be (hopefully) posting videos and pictures, depending on the internet options we have whilst travelling. All videos will be uploaded to youtube.com and then posted here. Not sure how we will put up photos yet, but rest assured we want to share our trip with all of you - so even if we can put just one photo up, we'll make sure to!

* To find an earlier post, or to find related entries - use the "tags", they're found on the right hand side of the page and by clicking on the one you want, it will take you to all entries featuring that specific tag.

I cant think of anything else for the moment, but stay tuned - we're still under construction!

 ----------------------------------------------------------------
"It is good to have an end to journey 
 towards, but it is the journey that matters 
in the end"  - Ursula LeGuin
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Here is the contiki webpage for our trip if your interested in perusing at any stage.... http://contiki.com.au/tours/123-european-panorama 

Also, all "subject" headings will usually be song lyrics - the name of said song can be found in the "Whats playing" under each entry.

Stay safe, and happy travels

Samara