At last, here it is, the first of what will no doubt be many blog posts inspired by our recent trip to Europe ๐ .
For the uninitiated, the hubster and I have just marked our 25th wedding anniversary and to celebrate, we booked a two week cruise of the Mediterranean, plus a few days in Venice, Pisa, London and Singapore. It was our first trip to Europe.
Let’s start with the food shall we?!
Europe Trip 2015: Food
Best Cappuccino: Not surprisingly, the award goes to Italy in general; and Venice in particular. Although they did kinda smirk at my request for a decaf. Humph. Just because I wanted to sleep that night!
Best Pizza: Venice, Italy, with the cruise ship a close second. Aussie takeaway is ruined for me forever …
Best Gelato: Venice – so many flavours, so little time.
Worst Pasta: Pisa, Italy. We must have picked a dud restaurant because we both thought that our mains weren’t any better than frozen meals.
Best Cheese Board: Marseilles, France. At a busy harbour front cafe, we found not only the most wonderful cheese board, but also the loveliest waiter. Garรงon!
Worst Cup of Tea: On the cruise ship. I love a strong, sweet, milky cup of tea; dirty dishwater just doesn’t do it for me. I’d never seen the brand before that the cruise ship used, but it didn’t take me long to work out that THREE teabags were required to make a cuppa that was passable.
Best Devonshire Tea: Kensington Palace. Sadly, Kate and Wills were at their country estate, cocooning with their new daughter, but we did enjoy a lovely devonshire tea (or what the English call a “cream tea”) at their London abode.
Favourite New Food: I’m a cereal girl from way back, as my best friend revealed when she posted here recently, so this might come as a bit of a surprise. Cereal was almost impossible to find in Singapore, like searching for a needle noodle in a haystack, so I braved a traditional Singaporean breakfast – kaya toast – brown bread, toasted and with the crusts cut off, and spread with a delicious coconut jam. And I was converted! Just need to find a stockist here inย Brisbane now.
The recommended way to eat it is by dipping into a dish of soft boiled eggs mixed with soy sauce – THAT part I wasn’t so fond of …
Accommodation
Best Accommodation: Being cheapskates budget-minded, we didn’t book the most luxurious of accommodation along the way – but let’s face it, we were out and about most of the time so all we really needed was somewhere to crash at night. All of the places we stayed had very comfy beds although they might have been not exactly 5 star; and most were full of character. I loved our quaint little hotel in Venice even if our room was fairly spartan (no TV, mini bar, or coffee or tea making facilities).
So my vote for best accommodation goes to the balcony cabin we upgraded to on the second week of our Mediterranean cruise ๐ .
Worst Shower: At the same time, the worst shower award also goes to … the cruise ship! Imagine the smallest square shower cubicle you’ve ever been in, then cut it in half diagonally. The result is a shower spaceย so tiny, that with every move the cold shower curtain clings to your bare bottom, and it is a struggle to even get your hands up to your head to wash your hair!
Best Shower: Our hotel in Singapore had a lovely gleaming new bathroom, with a roomy double shower with the option of a rainwater style or hand held shower.
Sight Seeing
Favourite Sights/Attractions: Too many to mention! But highlights definitely included Venice, Santorini, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Stonehenge, Madame Tussaud’s, the Tower of London, and London itself.
Most Repetitive Sights: Churches and cathedrals. Maybe I’m a philistine, but seen one, seen ’em all … and steps. Hundreds of thousands of steps, everywhere we went. I don’t care if I never see another step again. Thank goodness we live in a lowset house!
Biggest Queue: One of the joys of being a tourist (not) is the queues. Tie for biggest queue award goes to Heathrow customs (standing in line for an hour), and the line to see the inside of the basilica (another church!) in Piazza San Marco, Venice. Needless to say we did NOT join it (given our love of churches) …
Best Public Transport: Anywhere but Brisbane … special mentions to London and Singapore where we availed ourselves of the bus and tube services.
Most Posh Cars: London, hands down. Especially Mayfair and Belgravia. Aston Martin, BMW, Lamborghini, Mercedes, Rolls Royce, Porsche, Ferrari, Bentley, plus others I’d never even heard of before – but had the hubster grabbing for his camera!
Weirdest Weather: London. We experienced sunshine and mild temperatures, rain and showers, chilly winds, storms and even hail – and almost all of them in the same day!
Hardest Thing to Get Used To: Being late spring in the northern hemisphere, it didn’t get dark til about 9.30 or 10pm – we often didn’t have dinner until quite late (and don’t forget we come from Queensland, practically the only non-daylight saving state in Australia …). Mind you, it *did* allow extra time for sight seeing ๐ .
Have you ever been to any of these places, or do you dream of going one day? It only took me 48 years to get to Europe so there’s hope for you yet!
Raych aka Mystery Case says
Sounds like the perfect holiday to me.
kate says
Wow what an adventure!
I just did something similar with 3 weeks in Europe…2 children in tow. We had a ball but there were man family scuffles along the way too. It is amazing to see isn’t it, after hearing about many of those things?
I can’t wait to hear more.
Janet Camilleri says
I take my hat off to you, travelling with kids! We saw many families on our journey but I’m kinda glad it was just the two of us, it was so exhausting I can’t imagine doing it with little ones added into the mix!
Mrs M says
Wow fancy having a mediocre pasta dish in Italy. ๐
Love the photo of you guys at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Gorgeous.
Janet Camilleri says
We took over 3000 photos; these are some of my favourites ๐
Deborah says
Oh, it sounds and looks gorgeous. I have holiday envy. Lots of people I know have been o/s recently and so far this has been the only time I regret leaving my well-paying Brissy job and making a seachange. I don’t think unemployment benefits (which don’t cover my bills) and the small amount I’m currently making from freelancing will ever allow me a holiday again. It’s really depressing when I think of it like that, but I have to remind myself of the good stuff and try not to wallow in the bad.
Janet Camilleri says
Overseas travel seemed out of reach for me too for many many years … but you never know what’s around the corner Deb xxx
Kathie Thomas says
Sounds like you had a wonderful time and it’s great seeing all the images. Your description of London weather sounds like Melbourne weather – that’s what we had yesterday! Cold and wet today.
Janet Camilleri says
That’s what I thought too Kathie!
KathyMarris says
Janet it looks like you had a fabulous time. Our next overseas trip will be to Italy and on a Mediterranean Cruise. I have only been to England, Ireland, Paris and Amsterdam. So barely touched the surface of Europe. I detest long queues as well!
Janet Camilleri says
You’ll love it Kathy. Hubster and I have already agreed that Paris and France in general are one of the next on our “to do” list, as well as the USA …
Hugzilla says
This is soooooo good! What an awesome snap shot of what must have been an incredible trip. I will honestly be forever jealous of you for having Devonshire tea at Kensington Palace, closely followed by that pic of you guys having breakfast on the balcony during your cruise. Happy anniversary Janet!
stephanie@stephsjoy says
What a wonderful trip you had Janet! And I hope you find that Kaya – it was my favorite growing up, that and condensed milk on toast!
Janet Camilleri says
I would never had thought of having condensed milk on toast!
Haidee says
Italy has awesome coffee but the French coffee … I was so disappointed! It was not good. But the breakfast breads, croissants and jam made up for it ๐ Your trip looked fab!
Janet Camilleri says
I look forward to getting to know France a lot better on our next trip (one day!)
Ingrid @ Fabulous and Fun Life says
What an amazing holiday you had! I’ve been to England but not to any of the other places in Europe you visited! Definitely dreaming of just such a holiday as yours, one day ……..
Janet Camilleri says
I’m living proof, dreams do come true ๐
Renee Wilson says
Janet, your trip looks and sounds epic!! I’m so glad you both had an amazing time. I just love that photo of you on the cruise overlooking the water. Magical. I’m lucky enough to have been to all of those places apart from The Greek Islands. One day I’ll get there. #teamIBOT
Janet Camilleri says
LOL I had to photoshop it as I was flashing a bit of leg. Hubster was a bit mortified that I would post a pic of him showing off his hairy chest but I think he looks gorgeous … guess that’s why we’ve been married 25 years!
Natalie @ our parallel connection says
What a cool holiday.. Should I say trip of a life time… Btw you have the most beautiful smile
Janet Camilleri says
Definite trip of a lifetime though it’d be great to do some more! Thank you so much for your sweet compliment x
Nikki @ Wonderfully Women says
I do love a good cruise, so relaxing. You certainly looked very comfortable on that nice balcony. It’s been a few years since I walked around Europe but I will go again no doubt. xx N
Malinda @mybrownpaperpackages says
I love this breakdown of your trip, all the good and the bad and it is all fabulous memories.
Cam @ Gen-Y Mum says
I’m so jelly of where you’ve travelled to during this trip. You definitely saw a lot of places and tried different things, why not you’re in a foreign place.
I want to go back to Europe. One day … like you, when the kids are older so hubby and I can really enjoy ourselves.
EssentiallyJess says
Oh it looks amazing Janet! I’m so happy for you! I’ve never really wanted to see much of the world, but this post make me think I would like to do something like this with Boatman.
Congrats on 25 years. xx
Min@WriteoftheMiddle says
So glad you had a wonderful time Janet! What fabulous memories you’ve created and btw – Happy 25th wedding anniversary! What a great wrap up post and pics! It’s kinda weird to see black stormy clouds above London as I don’t think of storms being there – just drizzle! The only place you’ve mentioned that I’ve been to is Singapore! Loving the look of that balcony room on your cruise! How did the kids go looking after the house and kitty? Glad you’re home safe. xo
Deb says
Congratulations on 25 years…..so good. Its lovely (although sadly, rare)to see couples more in love as the years go by. WOW what an incredible trip I’m feeling just a little bit green :-). I love the photos especially the ones of you both at the leaning tower of pisa and Santorini. So pleased to hear you’re home safe and sounds and planning more adventures together.