Venice...

Too much good food and wine has turned us into lazy drunks so this post is just photos. Enjoy with a glass of your favourite red. Ciao!




Beautiful old cafes


Pizza in the street


Yum yum!


The 'bus stop'

Street art in Spain...

Meandering down maze-like streets and alleys, hoping to stumble upon hidden treasures.
Strolling along the riverside, gazing at the concrete slabs to one side that have been transformed by creativity and imagination.
Roaming around during afternoon siestas, photographing the colourful garage doors that protect storefronts - artwork hinting at what is concealed behind.
Oh how I'll miss these aimless days...

Portugal...

Sunny, relaxing Portugal was exactly what we needed after a busy few days in Paris. Wandering the streets, eating aaaaamazing Francesinha and the best hostels in all of Europe (in our experience only of course). We stayed in Porto and Lisbon and took a day trip to Sintra. We would love to go back to Portugal and spend some time in the Algarve region too!




















"ok Jon so its on a special setting where i'll only be in focus if i'm in the far right corner of the photo." "ok" "so i'm in focus?" "yep" hmmm... (this is why i take most of the photos)

Best of the Best - Part Two!

Ok so we found out that it's terribly difficult to choose 'the best' in 6 months of travel. So, we cut ourselves some slack ('cos we can change the rules like that) and decided to just do the best from the last 3 months. Which was probably only a little easier. Anyway, without further ado, here we go...

BEST FOOD - Cass & Jon: Francesinha!!

BEST ATTRACTION - Cass: Budapest Baths. Jon: Hagia Sofia

BEST HOSTEL - Cass & Jon: Porto Spot Hostel

BEST DRINK - Cass: Latte at Cafe Safak, Turkey. Jon: Coronas in Morocco (?)

BEST CITY - Cass & Jon: Edinburgh

BEST CAFE/EATERY - Cass & Jon: Giraffe cafe

BEST ACTIVITY - Cass: Riding camels in the Sahara by moonlight, then watching the sun rise. Jon: Hot air ballooning over Cappadocia, Turkey.

Graffiti in Reykjavik...

Some awesome street art brightened up a grey, rainy day in Reykjavik...

6 months in - the downside of extended travel...

{i had another post planned for today but i wanted to share a journal entry that may balance this blog a little. without doubt, this trip is full of the most incredible experiences, but like everything in life, there are good days and bad days...}

Today I feel unsettled. I'm not too good at sitting still, at being unproductive. My mind overflows with ideas, plans and anticipation for what's next. Sometimes I itch to put these ideas and plans into action. Sometimes I feel stuck. I am so grateful for this incredible experience that we are having, but some days I feel sad. Some days I am grumpy and tired. Some days I just want to be home, surrounded by friends and family and familiar things. Some days I don't want to pull out the map, board the plane/train, pack up my backpack for the zillionth time.... and then I feel guilty because this is what I wanted - this is what I dreamed about, saved for and counted down the HOURS for. I'm not ungrateful. I know how lucky I am.

I think I'm just homesick.

Food, glorious food!

We booked flights home the other week. Since the countdown now feels like it's officially on (I hate using the word countdown for something like this, I am excited to go home but I definately don't want the days to fly by!) we started to write a list of 'must-do's' - nothing too stressful, just some basic things we hope to do before we make that loooong journey home. 

I was hardly surprised to see that most of our 'must-do's' are food based. Gosh we love our food! Here is a glimpse of a first draft of our 'must-do's' (feel free to suggest something!)



It got me thinking about all the different foods we have tried on the great adventure. It is always a bittersweet experience because the better the food, the more I know I will miss it and crave it when I leave that country (or city!) You should see the recipes I plan to try when we eventually make it back to that beautiful country of ours! 

Let's take a little trip down food memory lane....


Pierogi in Krakow, Poland


Deer goulash in Zdiar, Slovakia


Chocolate pie in Olomouc, Czech Republic


Frites with stoofvleessaus in Bruges, Belgium


Schnitzel in Vienna, Austria


Lentil soup in Goreme, Turkey


Deep fried mars bar in Edinburgh, Scotland


Paella in London, England (hopefully many, many more bowls in Spain!)


Schneeballen in Heidelberg, Germany


Tajine in Marrakech, Morocco (made by us! Yum!)


Sausage and rosti In Basel, Switzerland


Recovery pizza on Boxing Day, Edinburgh


Milhojas de merengue in Porto, Portugal


Francesinha in Porto, Portugal