European Roadtrip - Marseille

Half way, and we stay 3 nights in Marseille. We stayed at a self service rental apartment based in the heart of Marseille at Vieux Port. Marseille is the 2nd largest city after Paris, and it was a bit ghetto. Highlights was visiting Notre Dame where you have the most stunning view of Marseille and bouillabaisse (Marseille being the origination of the dish). Of course the biggest highlight was our friend Jason visiting from Oz to travel with us for the next week along with his brother.

European Roadtrip - Venice and Verona

Driving through the hills of Slovenia, we hit the autostradas for our first trip to Venice. Wheeling our luggage through the canals of Venice we arrived into our hidden pensione Ca Pozzo. Fearing the crowds of tourists and the heat, Venice still sparkled and we fell in love with Venice's charm. As the crowds died away in the evening we aimlessly wandered the canals of Venice to provide a feeling that only Venice can. For souvenirs we bought beautiful Venetian masks and a vase from Murano.

On our way from Venice we stopped over in Verona before arriving in Piedmont. In Verona. we visited Juliet's house as in Romeo and Juliet.

European Road Trip - Slovenia

The first time we ventured outside of the realms of our GPS, and boy was it worth it. It is still very much a hidden gem and the first time we have not seen a tour bus of Americans or Chinese. To be so isolated and in touch with nature allows one to enter a peaceful state that we have all forgotten. We hiked our way to the Tolmin Gorges, and up dirt tracks to alpine alps, and relaxed in the most unbelievable accommodation called Nebesa perched up in the Julian Alps.

European Road Trip - Salzburg

The hills are alive with the Sound of Music. Yes, we stayed at the Von Trapp Villa in Salzburg. It was good accommodation, but it failed to inspire us to break into song and dance. Other than Sound of Music, Salzburg is very rich in culture with the other great export being Mozart. Another very pretty city, but still lacks some X factor and may be too overrun with tourists.

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!!!