European Road Trip - Bavaria (Munich, Fussen, and the Romantische Straße)

We spent the 2 nights at Hotel Rubezahl in the Bavarian town of Fussen. We used this as the base to explore Munich, quaint towns along the Romantic road, and of course to see the castles. Bavaria has absolutely stunning landscapes with Marisa saying that it is the most beautiful. It really is the landscape that inspires fairy tales. The way of life was also so remarkable with 6 to 80 year olds riding their bicycles from town to town. The way of life here is simple and we felt the warmth and happiness right through the stay in Bavaria.

Highlights of the trip were:

- Driving at 170kph on the Autobahn to only see an AMG SL65 speed past me.

- Visiting the outstanding BMW museum and paying homage to the BMW gods

- Standing in awe of the Neuschwanstein Castle that was the inspiration for the sleeping beauty castle

- The eeriness of standing in the gas chamber at Dachau

European Road Trip - Strasbourg

After catching the Eurostar from London to Lille, we picked up the classy Citroen C3 Picasso that would be our trusty stallion for the next 21 days. First leg was Strasbourg located in the Alsace region of France and very close to the German border. We could see both French and German influences in the city that melded together to be a very very pretty city. Petite France was especially pretty with canals running through the area. This is where we ended up that night indulging in the specialties of Strasbourg. This being Foie Gras and Sauerkraut.

Packing for a new adventure

We are now winding down to the last few days of our stay in good old London town. This wonderful city has been our home for the last 2 years and it is very very sad to say Goodbye. As a last hurrah, we are treating ourselves to a 3week road trip around Western Europe. Cramming in France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and Spain, a little ambitious for such a BIG drive, but I am sure Trent will manage to dodge the crazy italian drivers along the way!

With nothing planned for the new journey ahead (Hong Kong that is), London will always have a special place in our hearts and we will never forget those wonderful memories! We will be back, and I hope sooner rather than later!!!

Bring on the long European summer nights!

To welcome the summer to London, we held a BBQ at our place in London. It also was to farewell friends before we head off to the next chapter in the East. Kebabs, Steaks, Chorizo rolls, and Courtnay's famous potato salad was all so delicious. As usual we over catered and we should have enough food for the next month. Sydney-siders... jealous?

Tuscany (Florence, Pisa)

We stayed for 1 night in the heart of Florence. In between looking at David, Uffizi, and Bascilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, we stuffed our faces with more pizza, pasta and ragu. Leaving Florence, we did the obligatory pushing Pisa picture above before we flew out. Apart from the leaning tower, must say that Pisa does not have much more to offer.

Tuscany (Siena, San Gimignano, San Casciano)

Our base for 2 nights in Tuscany was the 18th century built Villa Poggiale located in San Casciano. From here we ventured out to a beautiful town called San Gimignano that had the best pizza and gelato in Italy.

Tuscany (Bologna, Chianti, Badia a Passignano)

May Bank Holiday and what could be more perfect than a long weekend in Tuscany with good friends! Flew into Milan and after navigating our way out of the airport, we made good progress to make it to Bologna for lunch. Have a guess at what we ate... Yes, we had Spag Bol! or as the locals call it Tagliatelle with Ragu. Tucked away in the light industrial areas of Bologna was Antica Trattoria della Gigina where Heston Blumenthal visited in his Search for Perfection series. It was undoubtedly a fantastic "spag bol" or shall I say "tag bol", but Marisa still thinks that mine is better. Tuscany is also famous for Chianti. What better to indulge in liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti! The Chianto Classico went down all too easy, and mixed with wild boar ragu, it may have been too hot to handle for some people on the trip.