Au revoir! Adios! Ciao! Tschüss! Cheerio! Bye!

At Heathrow airport with ALL our bags. Thanks Mum and Dad for helping us get all 16 bags home!
We are home, safe, happy and sound. No regrets. Feeling very fulfilled and ready to start the next chapter of our lives. We've been home a month now. Life is very different here. No more going away to amazing places every weekend. It's all about the beach, friends, bbq's and enjoying Sydney life. Lachie already has a fantastic job at Macquarie Bank, a cool car and we are settled into the 'granny flat' above Lachie's mum's place in Beecroft. So we are sadly saying goodbye! What a journey we have had!

Thank you for reading this. We are going to sign off for the last time...

Lac and Sal

xx

Canal boat racing!

It was Sharon's 30th last week and to celebrate Paul and Sharon organised a fun weekend in Wales on two canal boats. We had hesitated about going because of funds but we decided to go in the end and SO happy we did! It was such a blast! The boats were 70foot long and tricky (but fun) to manoeuvre along the canals. We spent the whole weekend cruising, drag racing (not so successful as the boats are painfully slow and hard to steer) eating and drinking. Grey skies but no rain. It was a great way to finish up our time here in the UK. We fly home in two days! Lots of packing, re-packing and rearranging of bags, bike selling, goodbyes and good riddance! We can hardly wait to get home and see our families and friends again, live a more permanent life, save up some money, buy a house (in the next few years) and soak up some much missed sun rays. Pulling out of the marina at Chirk, Wales
70ft boats

Cruising along the canals, about to head into a long dark tunnel
Going over a aqueduct. Pretty cool! This one was over 70ft high.

Lachie making sure he doesn't fall off the edge of the aqueduct
Dad having a blast!
At night we'd light a big fire on the side of the canal. Happy 30th birthday to Sharon!
Fun times and tons of laughs
The water...

Yay!
Looking out at the rapids, misty hills and pretty flowers in Llangollen, Wales
Cruising over another aqueduct looking at greeeeeen rolling hills and sheep
Pauly coming through a bridge
coming out of a loch, a very slow but interesting process, letting water out to get to the next level of the canal.

Fun times!

Sensory overload

Ahh Marrakesh! We LOVE this place! It was a total blast to bring Mum and Dad along. From the moment we stepped off the Easyjet flight to the moment we stepped back on it three days later our senses were in total overload. The smells - spices, meat, leather, wool, tajines. The sounds - call to prayer, horns, yelling, haggling, arabic music, drums, laughing, kids running through the narrow streets. The visual - rainbows of slippers, rugs, blankets, beads, painted walls, burkas, skies, tiles, people walking, riding, running past, horses, asses. The taste buds - Chicken and lemon tajine, beef and pear tajine, mint tea, fresh orange juice, nuts.
Amazing! The first two days we spent wandering around in a bit of a daze, shopping, site seeing and the last day we hired a guide (Rashid) to drive us into the Atlas mountains for a bit of country life site seeing. It was a very chilled out (and chilly) good way to see a bit more of Morocco. We had mint tea with a Burba in his village, lunch in the mountains and a flat tyre.

Mum and Dad thoroughly enjoyed themselves as did we! I hope we'll be back again one day! In the souq's...
The wool production area is fascinating
Dad getting swallowed up in the souq crowds
Lachie chilling out on the roof terrace of our Riad
The riad dog, watching the world go by...
Inside an old Arabic school
Mum in a doorway of the school

Having a crazy fun dinner in the main square
Getting in on the action
Visiting a woman's refuge where they produce oil
With Mum and Dad in a little village heading into the mountains
A local style sauna

How many men to change a tyre?
A pool in Richard Bronson's Kasbah (the most amazing hotel!)
A view down the mountains
In the Palm grove back on the edge of Marrakesh
Looking over the roof tops of Marrakesh at sunset...

Till next time...

Last days...

You think it's hard to keep up with our travels? So do we!

After Edam we stayed a night in Delft and cruised around on our bikes. Then another night spent on the coast of The Hague, Netherlands. It was the last warm day we had and we spent it lying on the beach and daring each other to go for dips in the freezing cold Atlantic Ocean. After the Netherlands we headed to Belgium for a week. The weather, as usual, wasn't amazing but in between the thunderstorms and huge down pours a few patches of sunshine and blue sky came out. We lay low in Antwerp for 5 days visiting beautiful Ghent one day and spent the rest, organising the van, building up our beer stamina and chilling in Antwerp. Then off to Brussels for our last hurrah with all our mates at the Belgium Beer Festival. It rained on and off the whole weekend but we pushed through. It was so fun to see friends, familiar faces and English speaking people! Early Sunday morning we drove to the Dunkirk ferry and headed back into London where we unpacked The Van and sold it! Within 4 hours! and attempted to sleep for a few hours before flying off to Marrakesh...We drove 17541kms!!

The end was always a few months away, a few weeks, a few days and now it's OVER! We really had the most incredible time of our lives and so grateful that everything worked out and we are back in London in one piece. Yay! Thanks for sharing our adventure with us!

The square in Delft

The world heritage windmills of Kinderdijk in the Netherlands. There are about 18 of them in one area. The day we were there they were all in action. They only turn them on a few days a year so it was pretty special to see!

Beautiful Ghent in Belgium

Graffiti in Brussels

The Belgium Beer festival

Lachie and Ollie at the festival

Middle name 'Tourist'

Ahhh the Netherlands! Can’t camp with them but can definitely visit their homeland! We LOVE it here! We are in Edam at the moment. One of the most beautiful towns we’ve ever been to! About 20kms away from Amsterdam, where we spent the past three nights drinking tea, beer, eating good food and cycling to our hearts content, among other things…
But BEFORE The Netherlands we drove from Jenny’s house to Potsdam, 20mins outside Berlin, where we visited a fabulous old park with some amazing ‘Prussian’ palaces, gardens and a 300year old brewery (of course) beside a lake.
On to Berlin where we had HUGE expectations and were slightly disappointed by what we saw. BUT not letting that stop us, we rented a beautiful apartment for 2 nights and lived like the locals. A nice change from the van! Berlin has a pretty interesting recent history and we really appreciated that, what we didn’t like was that it was all so NEW! New buildings, streets, people. Everyone we met wasn’t from Berlin or Germany for that matter. No quirky winding streets, or 1000year old buildings, but understandably considering it has been bombed to pieces!
Next stop after Berlin was a random little campsite…somewhere between Hanover and Hamburg to break up the 7hour drive to the North Sea, on the coast of Germany, for a few days of ‘nature’. It’s a whole different world up there in the Frisian Country. They speak a different language, they look more Dutch, REALLY friendly and the scenery is beautiful, in a mellow way. It hadn’t really stopped raining since Switzerland and we were getting a bit of van fever by this stage, so we organised a walk out to one of the Frisian Islands at low tide (they have 5km tides). Oh it was fun! We were told to walk in our socks as the mud is deep and sticky in places and bare feet could get cut on the shells in the mud. So we trekked out to this island, wading through waist deep water in the pouring rain in our clothes and socks, looking at shells and crabs and worms. Once at the island we washed our feet and had a yummy lunch at a café and lay in the sun for a few hours before catching a ferry back to our car at high tide. FUN day! The next morning we headed for our beloved Amsterdam. Jenny stayed with us one night before heading back to Mainz and we stayed on to dream that maybe we will live there one day.
Time to move on! Only 7 more sleeps in the van! We can’t believe how far we’ve come (over 14,000kms so far…)! So the next 6 days we plan on stopping into Rotterdam, Antwerp, and a few Belgium breweries and meeting friends in Brussels for the Belgium Beer festival. The last HURRAH. But not to be so hasty as to head home - after that we are heading to Morocco for three nights with Sally’s Mum and Dad (TO CELEBRATE OUR 6YEAR ANNIVERSARY!) and then a canal boat trip for Sharon’s 30th birthday AND THEN heading home! Flying back to Sydney on the 18th September.

Proust! Beers at the Brewery in Potsdam
One of the palaces in Potsdam
Jen and Lac 'hanging'
Photo booth fun!

A really cool church, it was blown up and they kept it as it is. In the middle of Berlin.
Part of the Berlin wall Pariser Platz, Berlin
Jenny, Sally and Lac in Pariser Platz with the famous gate behind us.A memorial area for the people killed in the HolocaustSally contemplating the ducklife. In the campsite between Hanover and Hamburg. It was pretty cold! Lachie watching Jenny fly our kite on the North Sea, Germany
Jenny and Sal sitting in a 'basket' seat at a cafe. The seats are famous for the Frisian area
Walking out to the Frisian island at low tide...
eek! It was pretty muddy!

A colourful Dandelion on the island
The 'baskets' on the beach
Sunset at our campsite over the North Sea.
Graffiti at our favourite bar in Amsterdam 'Belgium Cafe'
Jimny Cricket, the Dam

Life in Dam square
A native in Volendam. NL
Volendam
Cruising back to our campsite in Edam, this afternoon with our dinner in the basket.
A confusing picture? We flipped it the wrong way but thought it looked better. A classic boat for the Netherlands.

Ich liebe dich

Guten tag from Mainz in Germany. Its wet and cold here today but we are all snuggled down in Jenny's apartment. We arrived here yesterday after an eventful week visiting friends, the Swiss Alps, a few Swiss towns and Lake Konstance. First up after Scott and Flo´s was Valerie and Francöis, who we met on our trip in Syria two years ago. They have had a baby, Julie, since we last saw them so it was really fun to meet and play with her. We also saw some other family friends, Grant, Sara and little Sienna. Yes, LOTS of babies in one week!
It was so nice to hang out in the warm weather, in retrospect of the weather to come for us, and go for a swim in the local pool where Lachie managed a few laps in between getting sun burnt. Next stop was Lauterbrunnen, near Interlaken, in the Swiss Alps. Beautiful! Cascading waterfalls, glaciers, rushing rivers and some of Switzerland's largest mountains as the backdrop. And then...it started to rain and rain and rain. Nonstop for over 24hours. A bit of disaster in the old trusty transit! But we made it through, relieved when the sun finally came out on our last day revealing some spectacular scenery of Jungfrau and the Eiger. On the rainiest day we visited Luzerne. Which would have been nice if any of the shops were open and the rain stopped! We spent most of the day in the local brewery sampling the finest Swiss beers. So on our last day we went for a scenic little hike up to Mürren, partly for the views and partly to keep frostbite off our toes...amazing views!
On next to Bern, a beautiful city to realise that we are starting to get low on funds, hence the photo below of us not so happily eating McDonald's for the first time on this whole trip. Switzerland is expensive! Otherwise Bern is a very cool city, onwards we went to Lake Constance on the Swiss/German borders via Basel. Basel-nice but wet. Constance- nice. We got to Jenny's last night and leaving tomorrow morning for a big drive up to Berlin with Jenny in tow. Looking forward to it! Especially after looking at the weather report for the next week- rain, rain and more rain! Onwards we go! Little Julie

Saying goodbye to Valarie, poor Francois was hard at work

Little Miss Sienna

hehe...

Rugging up at our campsite in Lauterbrunnen

Lachie looking happy in wet Luzerne

The covered bridge in Luzerne

The spectacular view from our campsite in Lauterbrunnen

On our little hike up to Mürren

In Mürren

Beautiful Bern

Eating a cheap meal at McDonald's in Bern

Lake Constance

In the town of Constance

Slovenia, the Lakes and Swiss chocolate

Hello from rainy Switzerland. As always - busy! But the last 3 days we have been chilling out at my cousins house in Switzerland which has been bliss! Fresh air, a HOUSE, babies, rain, sun and a private toilet.
Slovenia was so beautiful! We really enjoyed our time there. After lake Bled we went to lake Bohinj for a night then to the coast. Piran is beautiful! A stop off at the deepest underground gorge in Europe (in Slovenia) - lots of stalactites and stalagmites! Onto Como via - Venice, Verona and Milano, for a few nights before driving through the spectacular alps to Switzerland. We plan on spending a few more nights in this country before moving on to Germany. On top of Mont Tendre with Mont Blanc in the background
On top of Mont Tendre
Beautiful sunsets and moons on the plains in Switzerland

Little Kailee, Scott and Flo's 10month old sweetie
Hay stacks in Switz
On top of the mountain pass Simplon coming into Switzerland. It was COLD!
Bellagio, Lake Como
FIAT! Our favourite car to spot in Italy

On top of the Duomo in Milan. The most spectacular Gothic church we've ever seen!
The Duomo again
On the roof terrace
Loving graffiti at Juliet's balcony in fair Verona
Lachie rubbing Juliet's boobie for good luck....

Sally LOVING a steamy Venice. A night stop over between Slovenia and Como
Lachie looking over Venice from the bell tower
The duomo in Venice
Venice by ferry...
Inside the 'biggest underground gorge in Europe' in Slovenia. Stalagmites

Piran, Slovenia Piran- A very photogenic town
Bohinj lake, Slovenia

On a beautiful walk we did near lake Bled

Lake Bled at dusk
We went for a bike ride along the shore of Lake Bled. One steamy day
Ducky swimming in Lake Bled

Bosnia and Slovenia

Hello from Lake Bled! It’s been thunder storming this morning and the camp site is packed full but one walk out to the lake and you can see why. Slovenia is such a beautiful country. Mountains and lakes and lots of fresh fresh air.
What a magical few weeks we have had since we last posted. Bosnia and Hercegovina were so different, a mix of mosques and churches with Turkish bazaars, mountains and open fields. A more developed Albania. Friendly people were also a welcome sight coming from Croatia! It wasn’t only us that felt that way, all the locals we spoke to also felt the same way.
First stop was a short drive from Dubrovnik, which was ridiculously packed with tourists, straight to Mostar. Famous for its diving bridge and being bombed to pieces 10 years ago. To our lucky surprise the annual diving competition was on so we decided to stay an extra night and see the action.
Sarajevo was next. A real Turkish feel, obviously because it was an Ottoman city 500 years ago.
It had a real vibe to it. Smoke filled the air from all the meat on the grills, lots of cafes, people watching, bars and the call the prayer going off in the back ground. Who would of thought this was Europe?! Driving through the country, alot buildings haven't been touched since the day they where blown up and bullet holes riddle houses all over place.
It’s so interesting to see how these countries have done in the last 15 years since the war. We could really appreciate that life really does just go on. What else can they do?
From Sarajevo it was a MASSIVE drive, 10 hours to Zagreb. It wasn’t that it was a long distance, just the roads, detours and trucks held us up. Back into Zagreb, Croatia again. All was good; it’s not the coast so everyone was much friendlier.
Zagreb was a nice town, everyone moving at a nice leisurely place, big wide streets, lots of parks and not much to see. Then off we headed back into Euro land where everything is normal again. And our van insurance is valid. Phew.
The minute we crossed the border into Slovenia it was totally Europe, a mix of Austrian, Hungarian and German. Pine trees, Alps and fresh air.
Ljubljana was our first stop. A small old town, a castle and a million cocktail bars and cafes.
It was lots of fun. Not that much to do except shop and drink and drink and wander around the streets leading off the river and drink.

Now we're relaxing at Lake Bled with lots of other people!

Where we are today! Lake Bled

The beautiful buildings along the Ljubljanica river packed with bars and cafes

The mascot of Ljubljana, the dragon.

Sal's new roxy dress that she just HAD to have

Zagreb
Zagreb's old town lined with cafes
Lots of grave yards around Sarajevo from the war
Sarajevo's main square in the Turkish quarter, lots of fun!The famous bridge called 'the old bridge' in Mostar, Hercegovina There are lots of nice old mosques in Mostar. The town had a real Arabic feelA reminder of their past, on the street commonly know as the front line.Someone getting ready for the 21mtr jump off the old bridgeThe diving championships at Mostar

Magical Mljet

A few more pictures from Mljet in Croatia. The island was so beautiful and peaceful as you can see from the pictures below. It was so much fun meeting up with Heather and we ended up being 'unofficial' bus drivers for two crazy Swiss guys who thought sleeping under olive trees was much more comfortable then in a tent... Dusk in Mljet
YAY! Meeting up with Heather in Korcula for the day before bringing her back to Mljet to play for a few days.

The highest point in Mjlet. The views were so spectacular it was hard to truly capture it on camera.
The beauty that is, Miss Heather Collins, the giggle master
Fishing nets...
Having a pre-dinner picnic in Mljet with Heather
Dusk...

Ulysses cave or the Blue Grotto of Mljet
We hiked down to Ulysses cave on our last day for some swimming in magical waters
Sunrise on the ferry back to the mainland

Fisheye update

I've been still snapping away on my fisheye camera and we got three films developed really cheap in Montenegro. There are SO many fun ones but here is just a few of the best ones... Mel and Ollie in their pad in Clapham
At our house farewell party - Nick, Lachie, Eb's and SallyIn Cornwall at our first campsiteIn Seville with Anna and Dalbs lying on the grass in the park before we said goodbye to themAgain in SevilleSome popped balloons in Toledo, Spain after a fiesta of some sort

At a beach just below BarcelonaOn La Rambla in BarcelonaOn top of Barcelona in Gaudis park with MealzA cat caught in the act just above Dali's house in Cadaques, SpainIn Cinque Terre, ItalyThe fabulous Duomo in Florence, ItalyEating pizza and sunbaking by Lagos TrasimenoLachie hard at work chilling out in SicilyTired and excited to be on the ferry to Athens, Greece

Hvala!

Hello from Mjlet, Croatia. We have had massive withdrawals from Montenegro and the people since we left. It's very strange that two countries that used to be one and the same can now be so different. The people, the type of tourists, the price difference. But we'll push through...
We stayed one night in a large campsite by Dubrovnik before catching a car ferry to a little mostly national park island called Mjlet. There is definitely tumbleweed moments here as it's Very quiet. But beautiful too. This morning we woke up to rain and lots of wind for a change so we've come to a hotel with wifi to catch up on 'admin'. Just a few pics below...
Meeting up with Heather C. tomorrow in Korcula then she'll come back to Mjlet with us for a night or two before we head up to Mostar and Sarejavo in Bosnia. Still 6 weeks of fun ahead of us!
Lying on the rocks at Copacabana beach near Dubrovnik
Pulling into Mjet on the ferry - Can you see the port??
Funny little cars on the island. This one is supposed to be a cat!