Wine tasting in Tuscany

What better place to have a pit stop on a long bus journey other than Tuscany. Seriously. I'm not sure that there is a better place. Also, what better activity to enjoy while in Tuscany other than wine tasting. Ah the perfection...

We all piled off the bus, busting to stretch our legs and breath the fresh warm Tuscan air. It was a really lovely day. The sun was out the birds were chirping. Well actually, I don't remember any birds chirping but you get the point of it being such a nice day.

We were given a tour and some history on the wine they make and the process of it all. It really made me appreciate the wine a bit more after finding out how much hard labour has gone into the making.

A few hours were spent tasting wine, bread, oils and dips - everything was so delicious. I could have stayed there all day in the sun, with a good group of people tasting scrumptious delicacies. But no, we all had to get back onto the bus headed for our next destination.

But not before we all tasted the local Grappa. I must say I don't really enjoy Grappa. It burns the absolute shit out of you're insides while making you think you're about to vomit everywhere.

Sorry to leave you with such an ending. Enjoy the couple of photos I shot before indulging in the local products.

Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.

When in Rome (oh how cliché)

Now before I start.. I must tell you that I have an extreme lack of photos of the things I saw in Rome. My Contiki group went out the night we arrived here and as usual I drank an awful amount of alcohol. I was woken by a friend in the morning. We were late. I was still fully clothed from the night before. We changed into some clean clothes (outfit failure) and ran to catch up to the group. 2% battery on my phone. No camera. Oh the mistakes.

But I don't believe in regrets, and since the construction workers were having an absolute field day on all the main attractions, I simply have to go back. Although next time I will take my fully charged camera as well as my fully charged phone with me. I won't make that mistake again.

So Rome started off with a really lovely walk through town leading to the Spanish Steps. It was really pretty around here even with the scaffolding. We then walked on to see the Trevi Fountain, which you wouldn't believe it, it was covered in scaffolding (insert sad face). It wasn't even a little bit of scaffolding, there was a lot to the point that you couldn't even get near it.

We then walked around to the Pantheon which is quite the spectacular sight. There was a moment here were I stopped and actually thought about how lucky I am. Travelling to Rome has been my dream for such a long time, and I was finally here. I have worked my butt off to make it all possible, but actually being here felt so surreal even though I had the giant Pantheon staring me in the face.

For those who know me well, they are completely aware of my passion for travel or just moving around in general. For those who don't know me so well, I have a pretty bad case of itchy feet. I don't have plans to settle as of yet, simply because I haven't visited that place. Well maybe Paris, I could live in Paris (but let's not get ahead of myself).

Rome was everything I had imagined. The Colosseum was alluringly beautiful at night from the outside and dramatically surreal on the inside. I simply couldn't comprehend the size of this place. Something I would recommend to do in Rome is book some guided tours. I learnt so much through the guides while walking through the Vatican City, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. There is so much history throughout Rome, it was a lot to try and take in. I can't wait to visit again.

If life was easy, where would all the adventures be?

The Floating City

Venice. The Floating City. It really is as amazing as those photos you 'Pin' on Pinterest, scroll through on Google, admire in those travel books and search #nofilter on Instagram.

The number one thing you must do in Venice is wander around at your own leisurely pace. Just wander around the floating island and discover it and all its' beauty for yourself. You are pretty much going to be forced into doing this anyway, because this place is scattered with small alley ways that aren't necessarily on the map and getting lost or disorientated is bound to happen.

The next thing you must do is order yourself a Bellini. It is this delicious mixture of Prosecco sparkling wine and peach puree. So so sooo tasty. You can thank me later.

While in Venice we admired the famous Rialto Bridge, explored inside St Mark's Basilica, went to the top of The Campanile, checked out Doge's Palace, enjoyed a Gondola ride and indulged in multiple Italian meals and treats. St Mark's Basilica was absolutely stunning, but the view from the top of the Campanile is completely and utterly breath taking! Scroll down now for a quick look.

A little tip... If the weather is forecasting rain and you plan to walk around St Mark's Square make sure you are wearing inclose boots of some sort. The water sits in the square causing it to flood which isn't fun in loafers, you may as well be wearing no shoes. Lesson learnt.

Venice was up there on my travel wish list and I'd be surprised if it wasn't on yours. It screams romance, beauty and charm you are bound to fall in love with it.

Arrivederci.

Curing a hangover in Austria

Imagine this...

You're boarding a bus around 7:30am. Your hangover is as bad as you look. You're still feeling drunk. You're feeling extremely ill with a possible case of motion sickness. You're thinking that you just might pass out. You've slept less than 3 hours. Your liver is screaming for a detox and the rest of your body is just aching. It takes every last bit of your strength to get onto that bus. Sit down. Pass out. 

You're now fast asleep in some stupid and extremely uncomfortable bus sleeping position; mouth wide open catching flies, leaning heavily on your friend, drooling on your self or snoring down the bus. Which ever position you're in, you are not comfortable.




A few hours later you wake still feeling groggy. And this is what you see.

You think that you're dreaming of The Sound of Music. Rubbing your eyes you realise that you're awake. "Crap! Where are we? What is this place?". Taking a few moments to remember our destination, I could not believe how gorgeous this place was. This place is simply picture perfect. With its blue skies filled of fluffy white clouds, the crisp turquoise water, the rich green flora and those never-ending mountains. We only had a few hours stop in Austria to go white-water rafting which was an incredible experience, although I wished we stayed longer because it was just an unbelievable place.

Still feeling pretty groggy we were taught how to safely white-water raft, then carried our heavy rafts to the water. We were told that the water was 8 degrees or something, so I was sure that I wasn't going in. Little did I know at the time, that our boat leader had a different plan for us.

We all had to walk our rafts into the freezing cold water, struggle to get into our raft, paddle down the river and then all jump in, to practice pulling our partners out of the water incase of a 'man over board' situation. As we were all pretty average at doing this, the leader insisted I got back into the water so he could demonstrate how to pull someone out of the water using the correct techniques. So I hesitantly jumped back in knowing full well how flipping cold the water was. I should let you know for future hangovers that this could have been the cure to my hangover, a freezing cold shock to the system. The leader pulls me back into the raft as though I was drowning (I kind of was) and then insists I get back in again to show another technique to use. Before I knew it he was dunking my head under the water to 'gain some force' to pull me back out of the water. "You have got to be kidding me," I thought. Seriously this water was freezing and by now I had some serious dislike for our rafting leader and fingers on the verge of getting frostbite. Making me jump in three times. What a joke. He thought it was funny. He kind of was but that's beside the point of how cold I was.

After the demonstrations it was really nice to just relax and take in the sites. This place was simply beautiful. 

Prost Munich

Munich was never a place that I was desperate to travel to, but I'm glad I did visit the capital of Bavaria to witness the traditional charm. 

Famous for it's world renowned Oktoberfest meant only one thing - (over)indulge in the local brew. As the Contiki lifestyle is about as crazy as you want to make it, we ensured that on our last night in Munich we would drink our hearts out at the Hofbrauhaus. It's a huge traditional beer hall where you can only order steins of beer (that's one litre for those who weren't sure). Which is great if you love your beer. Although you might discover that you don't love beer so much after that 3rd stein. A little warning... After those first couple of steins it does seem to be a great idea to start smashing glasses together while shouting the German cheers 'Prost' to your table. It actually isn't a great idea if you don't want shattered glass in your beer or blood on your table. You've simply drank a little too much and I recommend that you reconsider the force of your 'Prosting' technique.

Something I'd recommend you do while travelling is rent a bike and get around town this way. You can stop and start as your heart desires. We were booked into a tour with Mike's Bikes which is an awesome company if you're into those jokes that sky rocket across the line into inappropriate zone (don't take this lightly). For one example we cycled through the English Garden with Justin Timberlake's song 'D!#k in a box' blaring from the tour guides speaker. I did cringe when anyone over the age of 40 strolled past. But to be honest I can handle most jokes and these guys were a great laugh as well as extremely informative of the area and its attractions.

If you're a bit of a surfer who is after a challenge, get yourself down to the English Gardens to the Eisbach a man-made wave. Local surfers, men and woman of all ages have got this wave down pat and it was pretty awesome to witness.

Munich was a short stay but defiantly a rememberable one. Although I will be aiming to get myself to an Oktoberfest to experience the large affair. 

The Eisbach

I'm a girl gone international because... I'm more comfortable when outside my 'comfort zone'.