Sunny Santorini

Our long awaited week of sun & relaxation was well worth the wait. We spilt our time on Santorini between the towns of Perissa and Fira and enjoyed a sunny 25 degrees every day! We hired a quad bike for couple of days to explore the island and otherwise just recharged our batteries, relaxing on the beach drinking smoothies in the mornings and cocktails in the afternoons. I also think Greek may be our new favourite cuisine!

Anzac Day at Gallipoli

We flew back to Turkey to catch up with friends and attend the Anzac services at Gallipoli. We left Istanbul the day before Anzac Day on a "tour" with Samyeli Tour Company (I WOULD NOT recommend using this company, but that is not what this post is about). We got to Anzac cove around 8pm and settled in for the night. Surprisingly, the night passed fairly quickly, there was entertainment by the Australian and New Zealand army bands, documentaries and interviews all through the night (I nodded off a couple of times - sitting up! - but Jon was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the whole night long). Before we knew it, it was time for the Dawn service. It was such and emotional, incredible and moving ceremony - from the minute we took our seats the night before until we left Lone Pine the following morning. It makes you so proud of our soldiers and our country, so aware of the heartbreak and loss our young country sustained and so thankful to live in beautiful Australia. I felt so far from home (by far the most homesick I've been!), but surrounded by fellow Aussies, in a strange way I felt at home there too. I'm so grateful for the respectfulness and generosity of the Turkish people who allow us to come, year after year, to remember and mourn our boys.  Waiting in line to get to Anzac cove The other guys settling in for the night At Lone Pine (still don't think Jon gets the whole focus thing...) Lest we forget...

May 7th 2012

Pottermania!

Once upon a Friday, two dorks developed a terrible case of Pottermania. This happened to coincide with a trip to the studios of the Harry Potter movies, so luckily they fit in juuuussssst fine. There were mini Harry's, people of all ages in wizard robes and plenty of squealing. Basically it was the best day with a glass of Butterbeer on top. Its soooo good isn't it? And that was just the gift shop! Let's look behind these doors.... Oh. My. God. Diagon Alley?!! Let's finish that off with a refreshing glass of Butterbeer... Yum!

Day trip to Lake Bled

After a few sick days in Zagreb, we managed to catch the train to Slovenia for a couple of nights. We didn't get as long as we would have liked to explore Slovenia but we did make a day trip to Bled. It was so peaceful, and the scenery on both the train and bus trips was magic. We walked around the beautiful lake & had lunch at a lakeside cafe. I would love to go back and explore more of Slovenia! Oh and of course we did try the famous Bled cream cake & it was delicious! In the winter, the lake freezes over & you can walk across to the church - at your own risk!

Easter in Dubrovnik

We arrived in Dubrovnik bright and early on Easter Sunday, just off the overnight ferry from Italy. Our hostel was wonderful and we had a big Easter feast (and some easter eggs!) to celebrate. Missed our hot cross buns! Dubrovnik was incredibly beautiful and although the weather was hit and miss, we enjoyed one gorgeous sunny day walking the old castle walls and having a beer (or two!) at the cliffside bar.