Captivating Croatia Part 3.....HVAR

Our final stop on our tour of Croatia was Hvar, where we would be spending our last four nights before heading back to Frankfurt via Split. We had a choice of two ferry times, one at stupid o'clock (5.30am) or one in the afternoon. To maximise our time on the island, we of course chose stupid o'clock, getting us into Hvar at about 7.30am.

Captivating Croatia Part 2.....KORCULA

The next stop on our tour of the Dalmatian Coast was Korcula (pron. Kor-choo-la); a small island known for its vineyards and olive groves (as well being the birth place of Marco Polo), located between Dubrovnik and Split.

On the Sunday morning, we travelled from the Port of Dubrovnik to Korcula Town on the Jadrolinija passenger and car ferry headed for Rijeka in the north of Croatia. A nice, easy journey, the water was like glass as we headed up the Croatian coast line. Many passengers chose to sprawl across the decking of the boat sun worshipping, however it was rather too hot for us to join them. Looking back, we probably should have as it was to be our last day of super hot, uninterrupted glorious weather during our holiday......

Island Hopping....Kolocep

The day before our departure to Korcula, we followed some advice from our friend Bianca and headed over to Kolocep Island for some lunch. She had been to Croatia the previous year and likes all the same things we do when it comes to travel experiences and the really important stuff, like eating and drinking!! Bianca had lots of other great tips for us on what we needed to see, where we needed to go and where we needed to eat whilst we were in the country. She and her fiancé had chartered a boat for their time in Croatia which is the best way to really see the Dalmatian Coast, however we couldn't get a group together to do this so we tried our best to get around relying on ferries and water taxi's.

Captivating Croatia Part 1.....DUBROVNIK

The irony of sitting here watching the snow fall outside on the streets of Frankfurt whilst thinking back on our time in sunny, glorious, captivating Croatia has not escaped me....

The posts to come over the following days are very long overdue but necessary to document as our 12 day trip to Croatia was unquestionably one of our favourite holidays of the year. It took us a little while to get to the decision of Croatia,  as the Greek Islands had been bandied around in conversation a bit. Ultimately, we chose Croatia as it had the perfect balance of sea, sun, sights, boating & partying. Contrary to what you may believe (like us) whilst Croatia still holds its own currency it is by no means the cheapest destination to visit, so if you think you are going to have a cheap holiday in Croatia, think again. But with scenery like this, who cares?

Strasbourg Christmas Markets

The Christmas markets have only been open in Europe for less than a week and I can confirm that I have been drawn in, hook, line and sinker. I'll admit, I had been skeptical of the Christmas markets. Mainly because it means it's winter in Europe and absolutely freezing and my little Australian body just can't cope with it. But, they truly are a magical experience. All I can say is WOW! (DISCLAIMER: please excuse the abhorrent amount of images about to fill your screen)

Beautiful Barcelona

In early July after a 10 year hiatus, we found ourselves on a plane; it was time to revisit Barth-e-lona! Now, I know how much I go on about France and how amazing it is. But I have to tell you, Spain is closing in fast and hot on the heels of France in terms of the coveted "my favourite country in the world" title. Sun, sea, sand, incredible food, delicious wine and cava, history, architecture, culture, the language....

A Day Boating On The Amalfi Coast With Peter

You know when you stumble across this great experience and you love it so much you want to keep it a secret because it's so good and you don't want it to become over populated? Well, that's kind of how I feel about this trip with Peter. But....that wouldn't be right, would it?! We found out about his day trips via a friend and it's always nice to share the love!

Ciao Positano!

I've been muchos excited to write about this little piece of heaven in Italy. It's been a long, hard road to select the images that have been included in this post, I do apologise in advance if it's a bit OTT. Where do I begin? You know when you visit one of those towns where it's just a complete sensory overload, from the moment you get there? You don't know where to look in terms of the landscape, because everything is just so flipping stunning. The food is amazing. Don't even get me started on the buffalo mozzarella. The smells coming from the restaurants are.....yep, amazing. The local wine is delicious. The locals are friendly. The vibe of the town is chilled. There's just too many adjectives to use to describe this town. But one thing's for sure.....I'm in L.O.V.E.

Snapshots From The French Riviera

Our next stop on our tour around France was Nice. And no trip to France is complete without a visit to the French Riviera, right? Azure blue water, balmy nights, alfresco dining, Provence rose, what more could you possibly want? We caught the train from Avignon down to Nice where we witnessed some spectacular scenery on the way down.

Quaffing in Provence

After an initial 7 hour train journey that turned into an 8 hour journey due to signal failure and multiple glasses of Rose.....by ten pm I had finally made it to Avignon to meet up with Mum and Sue to continue our travel hopping through France and Italy. I've decided to refrain from having a moan about the delay as I'm aware that I have mentioned in a previous post how much I enjoy train travel.....

France Driving Adventures #2 – Easter in Strasbourg

France is always a good idea, especially when you have a new set of wheels that need to be run in on the autobahn and you have friends visiting from England. So on Good Friday, that’s exactly what we did.

A quick two hours later we found ourselves immersed in a rather cold, but gorgeous Strasbourg, a large town in the Alsace region of France. By now, you all know how much I love France, how inspiring I find it, blah, blah, blah (yes, I know that's what you're all thinking). So I'm just going to let the images speak for themselves! 

France Driving Adventures #1 - Ribeauville & Colmar

On our journey home, we decided to divert via Ribeauville and Colmar.

Ribeauville is approximately four kilometres from Riquewihr and whilst it is more of a town as opposed to a village, it is just as pretty as Riquewihr and has it’s own unique charm. Sitting high above the town lie the ruins of three fortified castles, which are accessible by hiking path.

France Driving Adventures #1 - Riquewihr

Knowing that we were preparing ourselves for lots of visitors over the coming months, we felt it would be a good idea to build up a reserve of some delicious European wine. Whilst we’ve tasted some nice German wines, France was the obvious place to visit.

Alsace is the closest wine region to us in Frankfurt, being three and a half hours away by car. As we were leaving after Chris finished work on the Friday, we felt it was best to stay a bit closer to home.  Riquewihr was our destination, one of France’s top 10 prettiest villages.