We're sad to see this adventure go but excited to be heading home; not ready yet for the real world but certainly happy to see family and friends and get back to comforts. And of course we can't wait to get Moe. This whole trip he's been a constant pull back home for both of us. We'll be happy to have a couple extra days off work to spend with Moe and get him used to the regular day to day as well.
As for the trip... its been an amazing adventure! Mike and I both find ourselves a little sad today as we pack and head out of England to Amsterdam where we fly tomorrow morning. We will be making the most of our last day by checking out Warwick Castle and making one last candy stop for good old English candy.
See you all soon. And don't worry, we're already talking about the next trip. Maybe not so long next time. We think we might actually vacation, like on a beach for numerous days at a time with a place that has warm showers and where we don't need to hike our packs around day after day. Hmmm...that would be an adventure in itself.
Lots of love to everyone at home.
Tracey & Mike
Friday 21 October 2011
Wednesday 19 October 2011
Quick mobile hello from England
We are just outside of London right now, staying in lovely little English town called Shipston. We are staying with some friends for a couple nights and then off to Amsterdam to fly home.
We were in London the last couple days and had a great time. I'm totally taken by England so far. No big surprise there... We haven't had the chance to see everything we wanted as London is just so HUGE. Not to worry, we'll be back!
Prior to London we were in Brussels for 4 days. We weren't too sure what to expect as you just don't hear that much from travellers about Brussels. Anyhow, we were absolutely taken by Brussels (at least I certainly was). It's a beautiful place with lots of fun things to do, good restaurants and bars and the city itself is really interesting. In the advise of a friend we headed out to Brugge which is an adorable little town about two hours train ride northwest of Brussels. If you ever find yourself in Brussels do the beer tour at www.thebeertour.com what a hoot that was!
Tomorrow we shall enjoy this beautiful small town we're staying in and venture out to check out Warwick Castle before we leave on Friday.
Not too sure if we will have a chance to post again before we leave so I'd not...its been fun. We've had an amazing adventure over the last many weeks and can't wait to show you pictures and tell you all about it. There are a lot more stories to tell.
Bye for now. See you in a few days...wow
Tracey & Mike
We were in London the last couple days and had a great time. I'm totally taken by England so far. No big surprise there... We haven't had the chance to see everything we wanted as London is just so HUGE. Not to worry, we'll be back!
Prior to London we were in Brussels for 4 days. We weren't too sure what to expect as you just don't hear that much from travellers about Brussels. Anyhow, we were absolutely taken by Brussels (at least I certainly was). It's a beautiful place with lots of fun things to do, good restaurants and bars and the city itself is really interesting. In the advise of a friend we headed out to Brugge which is an adorable little town about two hours train ride northwest of Brussels. If you ever find yourself in Brussels do the beer tour at www.thebeertour.com what a hoot that was!
Tomorrow we shall enjoy this beautiful small town we're staying in and venture out to check out Warwick Castle before we leave on Friday.
Not too sure if we will have a chance to post again before we leave so I'd not...its been fun. We've had an amazing adventure over the last many weeks and can't wait to show you pictures and tell you all about it. There are a lot more stories to tell.
Bye for now. See you in a few days...wow
Tracey & Mike
Wednesday 12 October 2011
Travel travel travel
We've just arrived back from Lake Kivu, where we were for the last few nights. It was a cute little place with a fantastic lake! The bus ride was about 3.5 hours and the country side is amazing! Although Africa, as Mike has said, has been a bit tough to travel it has been well worth it to see a part of the world that many people never get to see. Since we have been here we have been met with nothing but kindness and warmth. Anytime you come to somewhere so different than where you live the culture shock takes a few days to get over as does getting used to how difficult it is to do the simplest of tasks...here that's just life. As beautiful as places like Africa are it does remind me how truly lucky I am to live where I live and have everything I have.
On our bus ride home today from the lake there was plenty of time to think about our trip so far and the fact that it is quickly coming to an end. I found myself with a familiar feeling that I get near the end of a trip. I'm excited to be coming home soon and looking forward to the comforts of home and seeing all my loved family and friends. But I'm also feeling sad that this particular journey is almost over. It's amazing when you consider how much we've seen in a matter of 7ish weeks. It's pretty hard to go to so many places and not find a couple here and there that you don't fall in love with. That being said,when you really think about it traveling and seeing the world is not exactly about loving every single place you are in; it's about experiencing different places, foods, people and cultures and we've certainly been able to do that. I find at the end of any trip I find myself looking back on things (even not so pleasant things) with nothing but fond memories and a smile on my face that I was fortunate enough to have seen different parts of the world and been able to step outside of my everyday for a while and see how everyone else is living. It's an amazing experience and even in tougher times I find myself wanting to see more and more. Seeing the world isn't always easy and sometimes it damn near painful when you think about sleeping in tents, rolling into towns you don't know, talking to people you don't understand and who don't understand you, not being able to take money out, not being able to shower or use a "normal" toilet, not knowing what food you are ordering, etc. Its things like this that hold the stories and the memories and that is what makes it all worth it and makes you crave to do it again.
Anyhow, we've off to enjoy one more evening in Rwanda before we head to Brussels tomorrow evening. We are really looking forward to our upcoming adventure back home and will see you are shortly.
Tracey & Mike
On our bus ride home today from the lake there was plenty of time to think about our trip so far and the fact that it is quickly coming to an end. I found myself with a familiar feeling that I get near the end of a trip. I'm excited to be coming home soon and looking forward to the comforts of home and seeing all my loved family and friends. But I'm also feeling sad that this particular journey is almost over. It's amazing when you consider how much we've seen in a matter of 7ish weeks. It's pretty hard to go to so many places and not find a couple here and there that you don't fall in love with. That being said,when you really think about it traveling and seeing the world is not exactly about loving every single place you are in; it's about experiencing different places, foods, people and cultures and we've certainly been able to do that. I find at the end of any trip I find myself looking back on things (even not so pleasant things) with nothing but fond memories and a smile on my face that I was fortunate enough to have seen different parts of the world and been able to step outside of my everyday for a while and see how everyone else is living. It's an amazing experience and even in tougher times I find myself wanting to see more and more. Seeing the world isn't always easy and sometimes it damn near painful when you think about sleeping in tents, rolling into towns you don't know, talking to people you don't understand and who don't understand you, not being able to take money out, not being able to shower or use a "normal" toilet, not knowing what food you are ordering, etc. Its things like this that hold the stories and the memories and that is what makes it all worth it and makes you crave to do it again.
Anyhow, we've off to enjoy one more evening in Rwanda before we head to Brussels tomorrow evening. We are really looking forward to our upcoming adventure back home and will see you are shortly.
Tracey & Mike
Tuesday 11 October 2011
Gisenyi
We're up in Gisenyi now, a smaller town on Lake Kivu. It's a pretty nice little spot, and we're staying in a fairly nice resort in a little bungalow of our own near the beach. Food is pretty good, although there's a limited selection, and it's not particularly cheap. The place is about 8km out of town though, and costs $10 CAD each way in a taxi, so we're mostly just hanging out on the beach or at a table in the bar. Today we came into town, hence this posting from the internet cafe.
I think we're both pretty worn out right now, so we've decided to change up our plans a little bit. We booked a flight to Brussels for tomorrow, and we're going to spend our last week back in northern Europe. I think we'll spend a few days in Brussels, including my birthday, and then head to Paris for a few days. On the way, we're going to stop in Vimy to visit the Canadian WWI memorial. that's a place I've always wanted to see.
I've struggled a little with leaving Africa earlier than we had planned, but you have to roll with punches when you're traveling, and we are really low on energy right now. Everything around here takes so much work, and neither of us seems able to put in the necessary work any more. So, we saw a few things in Rwanda, including the genocide memorial sites that I was keen to see, and the lakefront town that Tracey was keen to visit. We were in Kigali for 3 full days, although really we only got out to *do* stuff on the 3rd. The first two we spent struggling to make travel plans.
Well, that's about it from us for now. We'll post again from Belgium I'm sure.
PS: Mom, you should be receiving and package at some point, Trace and I mailed a box full of stuff that we didn't need for Africa from Croatia. Not sure how long that will take to get there though.
cheers,
Mike and Tracey
I think we're both pretty worn out right now, so we've decided to change up our plans a little bit. We booked a flight to Brussels for tomorrow, and we're going to spend our last week back in northern Europe. I think we'll spend a few days in Brussels, including my birthday, and then head to Paris for a few days. On the way, we're going to stop in Vimy to visit the Canadian WWI memorial. that's a place I've always wanted to see.
I've struggled a little with leaving Africa earlier than we had planned, but you have to roll with punches when you're traveling, and we are really low on energy right now. Everything around here takes so much work, and neither of us seems able to put in the necessary work any more. So, we saw a few things in Rwanda, including the genocide memorial sites that I was keen to see, and the lakefront town that Tracey was keen to visit. We were in Kigali for 3 full days, although really we only got out to *do* stuff on the 3rd. The first two we spent struggling to make travel plans.
Well, that's about it from us for now. We'll post again from Belgium I'm sure.
PS: Mom, you should be receiving and package at some point, Trace and I mailed a box full of stuff that we didn't need for Africa from Croatia. Not sure how long that will take to get there though.
cheers,
Mike and Tracey
Thursday 6 October 2011
Kigali
Hi everyone,
Just a quick note from Kigali to say that we made it to Rwanda safe and, well, mostly sound. Had a bit of difficulty at the border because we were not clever enough to verify the visa requirements that were listed in our travel guide, which is now a couple years old. Suffice it to say that they've changed, and we found ourselves in that dreaded limbo known as "standing inside immigration not able to enter the country, and no way to get out". Things worked out in the end though, they just wanted to make us sweat for 15 minutes first.
Trying to figure out the rest of our itinerary, book a gorilla trek and a flight back to Europe. Talk to you again soon.
cheers,
Mike and Tracey
Just a quick note from Kigali to say that we made it to Rwanda safe and, well, mostly sound. Had a bit of difficulty at the border because we were not clever enough to verify the visa requirements that were listed in our travel guide, which is now a couple years old. Suffice it to say that they've changed, and we found ourselves in that dreaded limbo known as "standing inside immigration not able to enter the country, and no way to get out". Things worked out in the end though, they just wanted to make us sweat for 15 minutes first.
Trying to figure out the rest of our itinerary, book a gorilla trek and a flight back to Europe. Talk to you again soon.
cheers,
Mike and Tracey
Sunday 2 October 2011
safari pics!!!
Yes, we actually founda computer to load pics! And we're still actually on safari... but nearly out ofinternet time, so here you go!
Lion right at the truck in front of us! They walked right past ours too, but that part I got on video not pics. Giraffes fighting, a huge herd of wildebeast, and a cheetah that walked RIGHT past us!
Lion right at the truck in front of us! They walked right past ours too, but that part I got on video not pics. Giraffes fighting, a huge herd of wildebeast, and a cheetah that walked RIGHT past us!
Sunday 25 September 2011
done in Europe
The time has come to get ourselves out of Europe and on to Africa. Rome is doing its best to bleed our wallets dry... today I sat down at a cafe and without thinking ordered "the big beer". Well, that turned out to be a 12 euro (16 CAD) 800ml beer. Fortunately it was pretty hot out and I was thirsty. It actually went down pretty nicely, and on an empty stomach it 'kept me entertained' for an hour or so afterwards. ;)
Rome has been fun, lots to see and many many miles to walk. We feel like our feet are worn down stumps on the ends of our legs. Yikes. The sights were pretty cool though. It neat to walk around a corner and unexpectedly find yourself facing some grand piazza with a towering fountain or obelisk in the middle. We saw the Vatican Museums (along with about 2 zillion other people. All at the same time. In a corridor wide enough for about 6 people across, and doors that admitted 2 at a time. Craziness). Also the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the ancient city (they're called ruins Eddy!), St Peter's square and the Basilica, plus a few other museums and churches. One of the best museums was the Museum of Roman Civilization, which was way out of town near the end of the subway line. It was almost deserted, and they had scale models of all kinds of Roman catapults, military camps, and best of all, a HUGE model of ancient Rome at its peak. I mean this thing was BIG: at least 50 feet across. It took up the whole floor of a large rectangular room, and you viewed it from one storey above on the mezzanine that ran around the perimeter. We were both very impressed. Oh, and that museum was free. Probably the only free thing in all of Rome, I bet!
Accomodation was adequate but not much for the price. Location pretty good. We got around on the subway a lot, which was a good deal at 11 euro for a 3 day pass (each). Food was hit and miss: had a GREAT pasta and pizza meal on day one, were a bit disappointed by the 'nice' meal we paid extra for two nights ago, and really disappointed by dinner last night, and then today was Burger King. Yeah, we got lazy and weren't in the mood to overpay for some mediocre food. And the wine... what's up with the cold red wine? That is too weird. I'm no wine snob, but even I don't like cold red wine! Tracey was particularly unimpressed, I think. We were hoping for better, since Venice was top notch for both wine and food the whole time we were there. Oh well, this city is obviously one big tourist trap, and for good reason. I've never seen any other place quite like it. The history here is ridiculous!
We're still hoping to post some pictures eventually, but I left the camera cables in our checked luggage, so again, not happening now. Maybe in Africa? How likely is that? We'll try.
cheers everyone! On to "Part Two" of the great adventure tonight!
cheers,
Mike and Tracey
BTW: we're not back from Safari until Oct 7th, so if you don't hear anything at all from us, don't be concerned until around the 10th or so. Then send someone out into the bush looking for the remains of our tent, squished by trampling elephants. Or lions, maybe. That would be cool. =)
Rome has been fun, lots to see and many many miles to walk. We feel like our feet are worn down stumps on the ends of our legs. Yikes. The sights were pretty cool though. It neat to walk around a corner and unexpectedly find yourself facing some grand piazza with a towering fountain or obelisk in the middle. We saw the Vatican Museums (along with about 2 zillion other people. All at the same time. In a corridor wide enough for about 6 people across, and doors that admitted 2 at a time. Craziness). Also the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the ancient city (they're called ruins Eddy!), St Peter's square and the Basilica, plus a few other museums and churches. One of the best museums was the Museum of Roman Civilization, which was way out of town near the end of the subway line. It was almost deserted, and they had scale models of all kinds of Roman catapults, military camps, and best of all, a HUGE model of ancient Rome at its peak. I mean this thing was BIG: at least 50 feet across. It took up the whole floor of a large rectangular room, and you viewed it from one storey above on the mezzanine that ran around the perimeter. We were both very impressed. Oh, and that museum was free. Probably the only free thing in all of Rome, I bet!
Accomodation was adequate but not much for the price. Location pretty good. We got around on the subway a lot, which was a good deal at 11 euro for a 3 day pass (each). Food was hit and miss: had a GREAT pasta and pizza meal on day one, were a bit disappointed by the 'nice' meal we paid extra for two nights ago, and really disappointed by dinner last night, and then today was Burger King. Yeah, we got lazy and weren't in the mood to overpay for some mediocre food. And the wine... what's up with the cold red wine? That is too weird. I'm no wine snob, but even I don't like cold red wine! Tracey was particularly unimpressed, I think. We were hoping for better, since Venice was top notch for both wine and food the whole time we were there. Oh well, this city is obviously one big tourist trap, and for good reason. I've never seen any other place quite like it. The history here is ridiculous!
We're still hoping to post some pictures eventually, but I left the camera cables in our checked luggage, so again, not happening now. Maybe in Africa? How likely is that? We'll try.
cheers everyone! On to "Part Two" of the great adventure tonight!
cheers,
Mike and Tracey
BTW: we're not back from Safari until Oct 7th, so if you don't hear anything at all from us, don't be concerned until around the 10th or so. Then send someone out into the bush looking for the remains of our tent, squished by trampling elephants. Or lions, maybe. That would be cool. =)
Tuesday 20 September 2011
Goodbye Croatia
Well Croatia has been a blast but tomorrow we head off to Rome for a few days and then catch our flight to into Africa where we start our safari on Sept 26th. Time sure does fly when you are having fun! We cannot believe we are almost at the half way mark in our trip. It really does not feel like we have been gone this long.
We have been up to a lot of the last week or so. We had our 7 night cruise with Sail Croatia where we met some fantastic people and had a chance to take a quick glimps of many of the Dalmation islands. I do not have time to list them all or our adventures on each but there are a couple of highlights. First is Hvar which is also the first island we stopped at on Saturday evening. We arrived in Hvar just at dinner time and headed out with a few folks we met on the boat for a lovely seafood dinner. After that we stopped at this little caffe bar right on the water but out of town a bit (Hola Hola). Here we ordered a very large picture of alcohol which we thought we would all pour into our glasses and share. The big jug came with 4 straws...interesting. Lets just say 3 jugs in we knew our new friends pretty well! After that we headed out to another night club in town and had a few more drinks and some dancing. At the beginning of the night we had been told about this club that off on another nearby island that we could take a ferry to but that didnt open until 130am. Since it was close to this time we decided to wait it out and at least check it out for a drink...just to say we saw it. Around 130am us and our new friends headed over to the island where we danced the night away. Since the club was on its own little island they had setup this little beach area where you could go for a swim during the night. Wow was that water beautiful! Anyhow, we finallz headed out and back to the boat around 5am after..."just one more swim" there was a pool in the bar as well, right in the middle of the dance floor. This is my kind of club!
Mike has already commented about our trip to Debrovnik which was amazing as well. What a beautiful place. We both wish we had some more time to spend there but have already decided that we will hit it again our next time out. Croatia is so beautiful I just know we have to come back here. The sights, the people and the food have all been an amazing experience.
We are off now, time for lunch and to make our way back to our apartment. Vis has been great and we could easily see ourselves here for a few days. We did a great tour of the island ysterday where we got to check out many of the Yugoslovian hide outs and bunkers. It really was very interesting and worth checking out if you are ever hear!
We are off for now. Hopefully we can get some pictures up soon. It is easier said than done as finding computers we can upload to is not a simple task. In the mean time the stories will have to do.
Lots of love! Tracey and Mike
We have been up to a lot of the last week or so. We had our 7 night cruise with Sail Croatia where we met some fantastic people and had a chance to take a quick glimps of many of the Dalmation islands. I do not have time to list them all or our adventures on each but there are a couple of highlights. First is Hvar which is also the first island we stopped at on Saturday evening. We arrived in Hvar just at dinner time and headed out with a few folks we met on the boat for a lovely seafood dinner. After that we stopped at this little caffe bar right on the water but out of town a bit (Hola Hola). Here we ordered a very large picture of alcohol which we thought we would all pour into our glasses and share. The big jug came with 4 straws...interesting. Lets just say 3 jugs in we knew our new friends pretty well! After that we headed out to another night club in town and had a few more drinks and some dancing. At the beginning of the night we had been told about this club that off on another nearby island that we could take a ferry to but that didnt open until 130am. Since it was close to this time we decided to wait it out and at least check it out for a drink...just to say we saw it. Around 130am us and our new friends headed over to the island where we danced the night away. Since the club was on its own little island they had setup this little beach area where you could go for a swim during the night. Wow was that water beautiful! Anyhow, we finallz headed out and back to the boat around 5am after..."just one more swim" there was a pool in the bar as well, right in the middle of the dance floor. This is my kind of club!
Mike has already commented about our trip to Debrovnik which was amazing as well. What a beautiful place. We both wish we had some more time to spend there but have already decided that we will hit it again our next time out. Croatia is so beautiful I just know we have to come back here. The sights, the people and the food have all been an amazing experience.
We are off now, time for lunch and to make our way back to our apartment. Vis has been great and we could easily see ourselves here for a few days. We did a great tour of the island ysterday where we got to check out many of the Yugoslovian hide outs and bunkers. It really was very interesting and worth checking out if you are ever hear!
We are off for now. Hopefully we can get some pictures up soon. It is easier said than done as finding computers we can upload to is not a simple task. In the mean time the stories will have to do.
Lots of love! Tracey and Mike
Wednesday 14 September 2011
Corcula
Just a quick note before I log off here in Corcula. I think we've truly got our sea legs now, as I was enjoying my breakfast today despite the rolling sea. Still watching this monitor wobble in front of me, but its not making me sick this time!
We're going on a self-driven buggy safari today. Not sure exactly what that means, but it should be fun to drive the buggies. They look a lot like the one we rented in Oregon to drive the dunes.
OK, I need to keep this short, so hi everyone, and cya later!
M+T
We're going on a self-driven buggy safari today. Not sure exactly what that means, but it should be fun to drive the buggies. They look a lot like the one we rented in Oregon to drive the dunes.
OK, I need to keep this short, so hi everyone, and cya later!
M+T
Monday 12 September 2011
hey make it stop spinning!
We're in Dubrovnik now, still one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Did the walk around the walls with Tracey, and marvelled at how big the mountain was that Tim and I hiked when I was here last. The blasted out cable car station that I took pictures of at the top has been repaired and is now working: I think we're going to go up for a ride and see how the top has changed.
Only problem right now is that T and I are both getting sick staring at this computer screen, which is wobbling around like crazy. After a few days on the boat, our balance is totally off; solid ground feels like its swaying everywhere! I guess we've got sea legs now, except I still get sick when the boat starts rolling around on the swell too much. Hasn't been horrible, but yesterday was pretty messy. Never actually got sick sick, but it was bad. Tracey thinks I should mention that it was partly caused by a good strong hangover that came from partying at a beachfront club until 5am the night before. OK, fair enough. It still sucked!
OK, we're going to run now I think, but hope everyone is doing well back home!
Cheers,
Mike + Tracey
Only problem right now is that T and I are both getting sick staring at this computer screen, which is wobbling around like crazy. After a few days on the boat, our balance is totally off; solid ground feels like its swaying everywhere! I guess we've got sea legs now, except I still get sick when the boat starts rolling around on the swell too much. Hasn't been horrible, but yesterday was pretty messy. Never actually got sick sick, but it was bad. Tracey thinks I should mention that it was partly caused by a good strong hangover that came from partying at a beachfront club until 5am the night before. OK, fair enough. It still sucked!
OK, we're going to run now I think, but hope everyone is doing well back home!
Cheers,
Mike + Tracey
Saturday 10 September 2011
cruising
Heading for the boat in just a few minutes, don't expect too much blog activity for a while! Take care all, talk to you when we get back!
M+T
M+T
Thursday 8 September 2011
Hi everyone,
First, thanks for all the comments. Felt great to get a little feedback from friends and family (well, Traceys family at least... mom? Matty? JJ? hallooo?)
Just kidding. sort of.
Anyway, we just booked our flight into Arusha in Tanzania. We'll fly out of Rome, and I believe we'll be taking an overnight ferry from Split to the east coast of Italy, and then a train to Rome. We're thinking about stazing in Rome for a few days, but we'll decide on that later. Cost was a bit high but not horrible. At least we don't have to fly all the way back to London or Brussels or something.
Otherwise all is well. Split is nice and looks to be a lot of fun. Our apartment didn't have the kind of kitchen we were hoping for, but it's a cool place with a killer view. And A/C. You can forgive a lot of things for A/C!
On Saturday morning we're off on the sailboat for a week. Honestly one of the most exciting parts of that is the fact that we can see different places each daz WITHOUT HAVING TO BOOK HOSTELS AND PACK OUR BAGS! shocking, eh? seriously though, it's going to be awesome. Not sure how often you'll hear from us that week though, internet connections will probably be few and far between. cya!
btw, the Zs and Ys are switched on these kezboards, in case zou were wondering.
Just kidding. sort of.
Anyway, we just booked our flight into Arusha in Tanzania. We'll fly out of Rome, and I believe we'll be taking an overnight ferry from Split to the east coast of Italy, and then a train to Rome. We're thinking about stazing in Rome for a few days, but we'll decide on that later. Cost was a bit high but not horrible. At least we don't have to fly all the way back to London or Brussels or something.
Otherwise all is well. Split is nice and looks to be a lot of fun. Our apartment didn't have the kind of kitchen we were hoping for, but it's a cool place with a killer view. And A/C. You can forgive a lot of things for A/C!
On Saturday morning we're off on the sailboat for a week. Honestly one of the most exciting parts of that is the fact that we can see different places each daz WITHOUT HAVING TO BOOK HOSTELS AND PACK OUR BAGS! shocking, eh? seriously though, it's going to be awesome. Not sure how often you'll hear from us that week though, internet connections will probably be few and far between. cya!
btw, the Zs and Ys are switched on these kezboards, in case zou were wondering.
Monday 5 September 2011
Zagreb
Well were in zagreb now after a nice train ride through the slovenian countryside. we booked an 'apartment' without really knowing what that was going to mean but it turns out to be a full basement suite with a kitchen and everything. we're definitely excited to make bacon and eggs tomorow- we already bought the groceries. pretty sure we have bacon but it might just be something that looks like bacon. whatever, i'm sure it will be good. As you canprobably tell breakfast continues to be the most reliably crappy meal, as is always the case when you travel it seems.
ok ttyl everyone. oh and if you're reading this could you just leave a quick comment to say hi? it feels so lonely here it would be great to hear from you all!
love m+t
ok ttyl everyone. oh and if you're reading this could you just leave a quick comment to say hi? it feels so lonely here it would be great to hear from you all!
love m+t
Sunday 4 September 2011
Still in Slovenia
To our surprise we are still in Slovenia. This is just a beautiful place that seems to lend itself well to romantic getaways. Right now we're getting ready to check out of a beautiful hotel up in the Alps that was offering great summer rates. We rented a car in Ljubljana and drove up here, enjoying every minute of it. We popped into Austria yesterday to find a nice lake to swim in, and today we're going to stop in at Bled to swim in the lake there. Our plan now is to go to Zagreb for a couple of nights and enjoy life in the city, and then head to Split for a week of sailing in the Croatian islands. We're also looking into renting a cabin on a remote island and holing up for a few days of total privacy. We'll keep you posted on how it all turns out!
Here are a few pics for you, now that we're finally at a computer that will allow us to do this:
This is one of our first nice pics together, this one in Venice. Before this we were basically jetlagged in Amsterdam (in the rain) and then in transit via Milan. Here in Venice is where the trip truly began.
This is Tracey on the castle wall at Bled. We didn't do anything except visit the castle when we were there on the way up to the mountains. You can see the camera man in the background, filming the world rowing championships. The place was a zoo, so we went to the castle and then got out. We hope to stop in for a swim on the way back today.
This is our wine and cheese party on the balcony of the cute little hotel here in Kranjska Gora.
Sunday 28 August 2011
mobile update from slovenia
This won't be too long since I'm doing it on my phone, but just wanted to say that things are great here. Had a goodd time in Venice but here in Ljubljana (Slovenia) we feel right at ginger. Charming place, beautiful, fun, bit cheaper and lots to do. Some interesting moments trying to get from Venice to here but it all worked out in the end.
Talk too you again later from a real keyboard.
Talk too you again later from a real keyboard.
Saturday 27 August 2011
Always 15 minutes too late...and Mikey is getting hangry!
Ok, let us keep this short because well...you read the title!
We are in Trieste, Italy headed to Ljubliana, Slovenia in a couple hours. At this point we know we are getting on a bus and that they have hotels and hostels there and with any luck we will be able to find one to stay in. It is interesting that we spent 3 days in Venice with really nothing to do and yet did we manage to take the time to book our next stay....NO! So, here we are...
Anyhow, Venice was fantastic! Probably the most beautiful place I have seen. The trip is young though so hopefully more beautiful spots to come. The wine and the food was sooo yummy. Wine wine and more wine.
Anyhow, we are off. Lets get Mikey some food!
See you next time
T&M
We are in Trieste, Italy headed to Ljubliana, Slovenia in a couple hours. At this point we know we are getting on a bus and that they have hotels and hostels there and with any luck we will be able to find one to stay in. It is interesting that we spent 3 days in Venice with really nothing to do and yet did we manage to take the time to book our next stay....NO! So, here we are...
Anyhow, Venice was fantastic! Probably the most beautiful place I have seen. The trip is young though so hopefully more beautiful spots to come. The wine and the food was sooo yummy. Wine wine and more wine.
Anyhow, we are off. Lets get Mikey some food!
See you next time
T&M
Tuesday 23 August 2011
Get us the *&$# out of here!
OK, it's not really that bad, but it's been a bit of a frustrating first full day of the trip. It's pouring rain here, and the flight we had found from Amsterdam to Venice was with RyanAir, whose website rejected both of our credit cards. If you want to call them, it's a toll call and they charge .50 euro per minute to talk to them! So, with no phone except our cells (brutal roaming rates), this was a poor option.
We scrounged around and basically couldn't find anything decent. After killing two 30 minutes sessions at the internet cafe, we finally decided to bite the bullet and pay twice as much for a flight to Milan. From there we'll figure out some way to get to Venice. Probably.
We do have a cool looking guest house reserved in Venice for three nights. The weather there looks fantastic (which is why we canned Prague). Sun sun sun sun sun. Yes.
Once we're in Venice I think we'll be done with flights for at least a few weeks. We'll be on the Adriatic coast there, and we can train or bus to Slovenia and then south to Croatia. There'll be another bump in the road eventually, when we have to get from eastern europe to africa, but I guess we'll figure that out when the time comes. Who knows, maybe we'll end up on some crazy long ferry trip from Albania to Italy or something. (I bet my mom is groaning as she reads this, remembering the horrific ferry that she and dad took on their european trip).
Well, hopefully the next post is from a nice sunny location where we can relax and not worry about much planning. Today has been a bit stressful, looking forward to a more relaxed setting.
Oh, and T just reminded me. You should see our kick-ass new wedding rings. They are hot. I mean, these things are so cool that you could freeze a cucumber. They're very high quality stainless steel bands that are so shiny you can sort of see your reflection in them. Nice eh? The best part: $10 (total, not each, what you think I'm made of money?)
OK, see you all later.
Mike+Trace
We scrounged around and basically couldn't find anything decent. After killing two 30 minutes sessions at the internet cafe, we finally decided to bite the bullet and pay twice as much for a flight to Milan. From there we'll figure out some way to get to Venice. Probably.
We do have a cool looking guest house reserved in Venice for three nights. The weather there looks fantastic (which is why we canned Prague). Sun sun sun sun sun. Yes.
Once we're in Venice I think we'll be done with flights for at least a few weeks. We'll be on the Adriatic coast there, and we can train or bus to Slovenia and then south to Croatia. There'll be another bump in the road eventually, when we have to get from eastern europe to africa, but I guess we'll figure that out when the time comes. Who knows, maybe we'll end up on some crazy long ferry trip from Albania to Italy or something. (I bet my mom is groaning as she reads this, remembering the horrific ferry that she and dad took on their european trip).
Well, hopefully the next post is from a nice sunny location where we can relax and not worry about much planning. Today has been a bit stressful, looking forward to a more relaxed setting.
Oh, and T just reminded me. You should see our kick-ass new wedding rings. They are hot. I mean, these things are so cool that you could freeze a cucumber. They're very high quality stainless steel bands that are so shiny you can sort of see your reflection in them. Nice eh? The best part: $10 (total, not each, what you think I'm made of money?)
OK, see you all later.
Mike+Trace
Saturday 20 August 2011
blog URL
btw, the spelling of the blog title planestranesandweddingrings was unintentional but actually pretty hilarious.
Tracey makes up for her spelling in lots of other ways though, don't worry. ;)
Ooohh...oops, mistake #1 as a hubby...placing blame where blame is not warranted. As it turns out the mistake was indeed made by Mr.Spells-it-all-Schmitz. Granted though, I didn't catch it when I agreed to the blog title and created the account. Still, lets place blame to its rightful owner :-)
Tracey makes up for her spelling in lots of other ways though, don't worry. ;)
Ooohh...oops, mistake #1 as a hubby...placing blame where blame is not warranted. As it turns out the mistake was indeed made by Mr.Spells-it-all-Schmitz. Granted though, I didn't catch it when I agreed to the blog title and created the account. Still, lets place blame to its rightful owner :-)
the night before
so, I just caught Tracey's post and figured I'd put something here myself. she's downstairs right now wondering what I'm doing, so I'll keep it short. We've packed and out of curiosity took them to mom's to put on a scale. T is at 23 pounds and mine is 30. As she mentioned, definitely books and electronics is a big part. Much bigger camera to take than usual, and a bunch of other stuff. One luxury I like to take is a small portable speaker for the ipod, so you can fill a hostel room or a beach chair with tunes. personally that's a big one for me.
Well, tomorrow's the big day, can't wait to get out of here! See you all when it's gray and rainy again!
Well, tomorrow's the big day, can't wait to get out of here! See you all when it's gray and rainy again!
Thursday 18 August 2011
So close we can almost taste it...
Well we're down to "see you later" dinners and last minute wrap ups. We head out on Sunday, August 21st...this coming Sunday for those who aren't sitting by a calendar. For the most part we are packed and set to go; minus a handful of ends that need to be tied up.
On the note of packing I have to admit that this trip has been more stressful to pack for than any other trip I've been on. The main reason of course is that this is the longest I've been travelling but the other reason is that usually when I travel I have a home base (friends houses that I start from and end at, people I know along the way, etc) which makes it easier to pack extra and drop as you go. Not this time though. This time the only person I know is Mike and his pack has more than mine does so I'm in trouble. The worst part is I've got almost nothing in my pack clothing wise. It seems that between travel books, novels and electronics, etc my 60L pack fills up quick. At this point I'm packed pretty full and there is a pile of things sitting outside of my pack that need to go in. On top of that I'm not interested in leaving with a full pack so I guess on Saturday some decisions need to be made...everytime something goes in something else must come out.
Phew..first post out of the way. I was getting hassled that I'd sent out the address but there was nothing on here. Well, here you go, now there is some bla bla bla for you to read :-)
I'd suspect next time you hear from me I'll be somewhere that's not here.
tls
On the note of packing I have to admit that this trip has been more stressful to pack for than any other trip I've been on. The main reason of course is that this is the longest I've been travelling but the other reason is that usually when I travel I have a home base (friends houses that I start from and end at, people I know along the way, etc) which makes it easier to pack extra and drop as you go. Not this time though. This time the only person I know is Mike and his pack has more than mine does so I'm in trouble. The worst part is I've got almost nothing in my pack clothing wise. It seems that between travel books, novels and electronics, etc my 60L pack fills up quick. At this point I'm packed pretty full and there is a pile of things sitting outside of my pack that need to go in. On top of that I'm not interested in leaving with a full pack so I guess on Saturday some decisions need to be made...everytime something goes in something else must come out.
Phew..first post out of the way. I was getting hassled that I'd sent out the address but there was nothing on here. Well, here you go, now there is some bla bla bla for you to read :-)
I'd suspect next time you hear from me I'll be somewhere that's not here.
tls
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