Category Archives: travel

Looking up Areopagus (Mars) Hill to the Acropolis of Athens

Athens, October 2016

travel, ,

Our next stopover after Crete was the Greek capital, Athens. This sprawling city is a mess of traffic and pedestrians crowding the footpaths and streets. Walking was difficult, so we took taxis most places.

After our plane touched down, I organised a ride into the city using the Welcome Pickups service as I thought it would be a good way to get an introduction to the city from a local. Our driver-guide was Angie, a lovely young woman who talked a bit about the local scenes and gave some good tips on places to see while we were in Athens. Continue reading Athens, October 2016 →

Alpha beer in Plakias

Crete, October 2016

cooking, travel, , , , , , , ,

We left Milan with our bellies full of cheese and wine, headed to the island of Crete in Greece. Greece has been on our list of places to visit for ages, so we were glad to have the opportunity to spend a little while here.

A friend inspired me with the cooking classes she likes to take when travelling to new places. I think it’s a terrific way to meet a local or two and to learn something new. Food is so integral to culture so it’s a great point for getting into a new way of life. As a result, I booked us a cooking class at Vamos village where they held an afternoon class in an old olive oil mill. Continue reading Crete, October 2016 →

Leipzig

Leipzig, October 2016

travel, , , ,

After saying a sad goodbye in Hamburg to our friends living in London, we hopped on the train with our Leipzig pals to stay with them for a few days. Apart from Berlin, we had never been to (former) East Germany before and were curious to see what it was like.

Leipzig is in the Saxony region of Germany, not far from Dresden. It was bigger and more populous than I had expected and really lively thanks to a reasonably large student population. The city has a pretty revolutionary past, being involved in the fall of the East German regime and the fall of communism.

There is a really interesting feel to the city, partly to do do with the young population and partly with the injection of capital by the government. There’s quite a fun melding of old and new. Continue reading Leipzig, October 2016 →

Hamburg sunset

Hamburg, October 2016

travel, , ,

From Amsterdam, we took a train to Hamburg – a city we had always wanted to visit but never got around to going to. I’m so glad we did in the end, because it’s a really special place.

We met up with some friends in Hamburg – a couple living in London right now, and another couple living in Leipzig. All friends from Melbourne days, so it was really special to have some time with them before we left Europe. Continue reading Hamburg, October 2016 →