Verona

Where the Capulet and Montagues were thought to live… this is Juliet’s balcony!

Romeo, romeo. Hmmm ok I'll take a Sean

Lake Garda

Definitely underrated, this was so gorgeous and we spent our few days here swimming, walking through old castles, cycling on the campsite rickety old bikes and I still think our best ice cream was found there…

Our five-star camping spot right on the lake... amazing!

Captain Ice Cream in Lake Garda with a very highly rated tub

Rome

So awesome. Just as amazing as I remembered it in 2001, Rome still has my heart. And this time I had the added bonus of sharing it with Sean, Tiff and Brendan! We had a fab time and talked our faces off. Big hearts for the Lee family!!

Sean and I out front of Piazza Venezia

Me and Tiff with a gladiator... they don't smile, but we do cheese!

Colosseum, amazingness...

Bren and Tiff do gelato... 5 scoops each in the oldest gelateria in Rome!

Me in the Vatican City

Sean out front of the Vatican, looking like an Italian Stallion, if I may...

Florence

Beautiful city! We spent the day roaming around the statues, bargaining at the markets, eating cannoli and gelato, and drinking very, very nice coffee. There may have been a couple rounds of cards too… we have now overcome that addiction. Busy, busy lives.

Helloooooo David

Florence probably won't ever score a triathlon... still, a beautiful day in a beautiful place

Cinque Terra

We had such a fantastic time here! We camped in probably the most scummy place of all, but as soon as we jumped on that train and got into Cinque Terra we were transported to the most breathtaking natural landscape of Italy that we saw. I could so relive that day we walked the length of the five towns… sunshine, swims, locks of love, schiaccetra (local wine), seafood spaghetti and a wonderful walk.

On the love throne, surrounded by the locks that seal your love awww

Perfect location for lunch... living the dream right there

Vernazza beauty, it doesn't get much better

Portofino, only for the rich and the famous, we were definitely blow ins

Sean soaking up Portofino goodness and a 7 euro coca cola... ouch

Free swim, the summer weather in Italy is perfect beach weather

Lake Como

The season being over, no George Clooney spotting and average weather may have contributed to the fact we weren’t wild about Lake Como. I preferred the gloriousness of Lake Garda but we still had fun, hiked up a storm, found more camp bicycles, yummy coffee, gelato (obvi) and even caught a car ferry for 15 minutes to get to the other side (instead of a 2-hour drive).

Another day, another meal conquered. This was a particularly good one as I welcome the return of chipmunk cheeks

And burning it off... climbing mountains

Huff puff, but what a spectacular view of Lake Como!

All smiles until we got lost and had to scale the mountain clutching handfuls of grass to edge ourselves down… not happy Prawn! Thought we were going to be stranded up there, scary stuff…

I'm the orange dot... zoom in and you may see me throwing expletives at Sean and crocodile tears rolling down chipmunk cheeks

Courmayeur

Our last couple of days in Italy, spent next to Mont Blanc and it started to get very chilly! Even in our sleeping bags that go down to -5 degrees we were fuh-reeeezing. We slept in another amazing campsite, right next to the big mountains just outside of Courmayeur.

The peed off cows who were adorned with bells, fancy hats and all sorts for the annual cow festival that brings them down off the mountains

Walking the walk at our campground in Courmayeur

The final gelato of Italy in Courmayeur

And final delicious Italian coffee... Sean had two to stock up

And finally, our packed little car that was our home for so long. Little, brand spanking new Citroen, we heart you.

Stuffed to the gills! Pretty much our home and transport for 3 months. Lotta love right there.

And there you have it, long overdue and what a way to spend Boxing Day afternoon. Sure beats the cricket.

Ciao ragazzis! xoxo

Our campsite was really close to the swim start, but the transition and finish line were a fair hike and we’d get our first run in ages while making our way there. It was fantastic being there a couple days before the racing began and we relished in the buzz of the world championship, especially being our favourite sport. But before the starting gun sounded, we went for a little tour of the city… in the pouring rain but c’est la vie, no?! 

We started at the turkish spas (Hungary has a fair bit of Turkish influence due to an invasion a few hundred years ago… look at me, history buffing it up) and chose a fancy pants hotel Galert, at the end of the beautiful Elizabeth Bridge. It was quite hilarious getting to the communal pool, i did a few laps of the changerooms which were an absolute maze, almost high-fiving the same women who were doing the same until we eventually found the pool.  

Sean arrived 5 minutes later although swears he wasn’t lost, just exploring. Mm-hmm. We had a brief swim in the chilly waters of the swimming pool before jumping into the hot spring. I really did expect to love this activity. I love a spa, but call me crazy, I love it by myself or with my husband. Not 20 old men who are picking at their faces, noses and that was just what I saw above the water. The underwater happenings are just too scary to think about. Despite paying through the nose to get in, I didn’t last long. There were no sun loungers to stretch out on and read my book, it was raining outside so the indoor pools were way overcrowded and being in the hot spas was just making my skin crawl. I felt like a  piker, but we left soon after, not before having a very thorough shower. Sorry no cameras allowed in there, not that we’d be showing off our bikini bods right now anyhow I’m afraid! 

Next we popped up the hill to castle district where a castle, a cathedral and some ruins lay. It was fun wandering around but after a while, the rain got the better of us and we hunted down a coffee shop for refuge. 

Sean, from the castle, overlooking Budapest

By the way, did you all know that Budapest is said Budapeshhh? Sounds like you have a wee speech impediment but it’s the right way. 

That night we were very, very excited because it was time to catch up with our Perth buds!! Hopefully I remember all the beautiful faces here but we caught up with Tiff and Brendan, Kylie, Brynt and Katie, Glen, Katie’s mum and dad, Brynt’s mum, Steve… and went out for an amazing Hungarian meal. I didn’t realise how delicious it would be! I had salmon which was great, but was eyeing off the deer soup in bread loaf, the goulash and many others. 

Hungry triathletes waiting for the Hungarian delicacies

Brynt and Katie with Brynt's food... he has an unstoppable appetite that is very impressive!

The next day it was time for racing! The elite men were on Saturday and we hollered loudly for all the Aussies racing, especially my favourite Courtney Atkinson who unfortunately didn’t have a great day but he had some good moments! 

The lead swimmers heading out on the bike (the third dude is eventual winner Alistair Brownlee from GB)

Sean with Perth triathlete Ben Lyons watching the bike leg

The run... Brownlee steam-training to the front with Gomez not far behind

The next day had to be the highlight though, with all our age group friends from home performing and the amazing Aussie women putting on a spectacular show. We set our alarm (Sean’s fancy watch) and woke up at an ungodly hour (6am, how our life has changed on holiday!) and headed to the start. It was so exciting watching everyone, the nerves, the big smiles, the last hugs before starting etc. We were too busy cheering to get any snaps of our friends, but after their races (they all did amazingly – congrats ya big superstars!!!) we headed to the grandstand which looked like the best seats for the womens’ race. 

Sean and i literally camped out for four hours until the elite race! Luckily we had the age group racing to keep us busy and mouth-watering freshly cooked Hungarian food stalls nearby to keep hunger at bay. 

Us, not budging from our most excellent spot.

we sat right in front of Emma Snowsill's bike... what are the chances? So lucky! PS She is tiny.

Emma Snowsill, winning the race with nobody else in sight. Amaze.

Watching Emma Snowsill dominate the run leg and ultimately win the race by streets was amazing. 

Uhoh we are getting kicked out of mcdonalds where we are blogging… so this goes up now! 

Love you all, see you from Dubai xoxo

We left Switzerland dragging our heels, because it really was so majestic. Alas, our friends arriving in Budapest and our rapidly emptying wallets forced us to depart and Austria was next. Sean was keen on Austria because there was mountains, he seems to have a thing for big humps. Make of that what you will and I’ll move on. Ahem.

Our first stop in Austria was Innsbruck and we hit jackpot with a 5-star campground. Holler! It had a big lake, waterslides, fancy bar and lovely restaurant. We didn’t even mind (too much) that it was a little below freezing at night causing me to whimper upon entering the tent each night.

We started our Innsbruck day in the main town which was bustling despite being Sunday. We parked up at the coffee shop in the piazza that looks up at the Golden Roof which was very pretty. We may or may not have chosen that coffee shop because of its cappuccino and sacher torte (Austrian specialty) combo deal. Ok, you got us. We totally chose it for the sacher torte deal. It was worth it, a little slice of chocolatey heaven was this cake.

Me out front of the Golden Roof, considering which cafe to tackle.

Sean eyeing off the sacher torte, it never stood a chance.

After this we wandered around and peered inside a big cathedral and Sean got all gothic and went down into the tombs while I floated up top thinking nice thoughts.

We then got to do my pick of the day and went to the Swarovski Factory which is very cool. Built centuries ago, it is very cool, built into a grassy knoll with a fountain spouting out of it. Inside it is a glittery maze of cool stuff. We had a ball walking from room to room with the special effects and clever things made out of crystals. I had grand notions of finding many good presents there like I did in 2001 but unfortunately the prices were far more than I remembered and nothing really grabbed us. Bummer.

Big hunk of spunk out front of the Swarovski Factory.

We then found all the Olympic spots we could which was good fun, the ski jump was awesome. Innsbruck would have been a fantastic spot for the winter Olympics.

Sean, wishing there was snow, at the Olympic ski jump in Innsbruck.

That night we went for a jog through fields and a forest, seeing as our campground was up in the hills which was magic. After feeling a little parched, it was soon after time for a drink and we hit up the local bar where an amorous barman awaited us. As his only customers he lavished attention upon us which led to some very contrived conversation after the usual chit chat options ran out and very strong drinks.

I took a big gulp of my mojito and my eyes crossed and brain fizzed.

“You like it?” our enthusiastic barman says while nodding, encouraging a positive response.

“Oh it’s good, yah, just a bit strong,” I say, mimicking his nod.

“Strong! That is good,” he says, with a wink at Sean. We stumbled to dinner that night and had far more hilarious conversation than normal, so perhaps “strong” was good indeed.

The next stop was Salzburg after a fairly hefty drive (read: we arrived tense and in need of good coffee). It was such a cool city, you get to it via a massive tunnel that goes straight through a massive rock. We spent the afternoon climbing up to the most amazing castle which overlooked the entire city and featured loads of historic artifacts. Sean rated it his favourite castle and I concurred, it was pretty damn good.

The Salzberg fortress, quite magnificent, overlooking the city and for miles past it.

Overlooking Salzberg from the castle

From there we drove on to a brilliant town called Filzmoos which made us love Austria even more. There were loads of little hotels and alas, no campgrounds in this quaint location and I felt excitement bubbling! We drove up and down the street while I mentally took note of my favourite hotels while Sean scanned for little signs with pictures of tents on them. It was not to be for poor Sean and we picked a gorgeous hotel called Happy Filzmoos, a family-run joint which was second to none.

Sean tries escargots for the first time! Slippery little suckers...

My favourite hotel of the entire trip, we had a gorgeous room, a massive comfy bed and a huge balcony overlooking the hotel pool (although the temp was a little chilly to use it). The husband and wife team ran the hotel restaurant too and both nights we were there we chose to eat in as it was so good. We lived like a king and queen for just two nights and I was blissed out.

The day we spent in Filzmoos we rented bikes for 5 euros each (bargain!) and had a massive adventure, riding up the local mountains as far as we could and taking off-road routes as much as possible. We spent four hours roaming and chatting to fellow travelers (mostly hikers, a few bikers) before calling it quits and spending the afternoon wandering the town, finding the town donkey (they actually had a donkey and its baby in a big pen! It was very cute), washing and blow-drying hair (even Sean, he needs more work these days for his ever-increasing mop), blogging and emailing. I loved it and we both felt like this was one of those perfect days.

Heh heh, two geeky-lookin' bikers having a blast in the mountains

After our heavenly time in Filzmoos we headed to our last stop, Vienna, where we were reminded of that beastly phenomenon, rain. We half-heartedly roamed the town for a couple hours before retiring to our campsite where the weather god showed mercy and allowed us to put up our tent with a brief dry patch. A quiet night here as Sean had caught a really bad cold and felt awful. We went to a restaurant nearby and had an excellent Italian meal before heading to bed and getting excited about seeing our friends in a couple of days!

So, poor Vienna was largely skipped over and I’m sure it was a great city but our hearts had already taken off to Hungary. The rest of Austria was absolutely brilliant though, we loved it and counted it as a favourite country.

Sooo… I’ve managed to tick off another blog! Sorry friends and family, I know they are trickling into your lives so very slowly these days but hopefully it’s just increasing the frenzy you’ve gotten yourselves into that we are home in just over two weeks! Start chilling the champagne (or rather fire up the coffee machines, more appropriate for us little caffeine addicts), we’ve missed y’all so much and can’t wait to hear all your stories and show you the blooper photos that didn’t quite make the blog. More bum shots. Kidding, Sean kept his pants on after Lake Tahoe, I promise. At least when the camera was around.

Arriverdeci and ciao – must dash and hunt down another gelato. Isn’t it always gelato hour in Italy?

Next up, triathlon adventures and goulash in Budapest!!

Lisa and Sean xoxo

We were undeterred and took the opportunity to walk about 5km lakeside. That night we checked into this most expensive campsite we’d been to yet in Europe (without great reason other than it’s proximity – 4km – from the city centre) and found a local fair with heaps of food stalls with ridiculous queues and a few street performers. Despite the great atmosphere, we yet again declined to wait in a queue and had a quiet meal elsewhere. 

Zurich was a great start, but nothing prepared us for the joy that was Lausanne. Another city built around a huge, peacock blue lake. It was so mellow, without the tourist rush we’d experienced elsewhere, yet so stunning we were blown away by this undiscovered gem. 

Me out front of Lake Lausanne, soaking up the sunshine

The day we spent in Lausanne was the stuff dreams are made of. We started off with hours spent at the Olympic museum. It was a big block of inspiration, with the history, greatest memories, scientific findings and interactive areas for visitors to play with. Rochelle Hawkes’ reading of the athlete’s oath at the Sydney Olympics was playing over and over in one section and the first time I had tears welling in my eyes. The seventh time I considered ripping apart the sound system and kicking it, but I calmly moved on instead. It was absolutely fantastic and if anyone is in Switzerland, make the trip to Lausanne just to see this as it was special. 

Heh heh heh... short ass, out front of Olympic Museum with world record high jump set up

That afternoon, after testing our body fat levels at the Olympic museum (outrageous as you can imagine), there was nowhere we’d rather be than Broc’s Callier/Nestle Factory. About 45-minutes drive from Lausanne, and the athlete’s source of all sources of inspiration, lay the chocolate addicts’ equivalent. We bought tickets for the factory tour which was very interesting indeed but we were hopping from foot to foot waiting for our taste tests. Do you really go to chocolate factories to find out that the bean was traded in the Amazon, that the Swiss combined the stuff with milk and extra sugar to make the stuff we now know and guzzle – or do you go to get a big bite of the brown stuff? 

Where's the CHOCOLATE?!!! Beans beans everywhere and no chocolate for us to eat!

We got to the best bit at the end, where they show little nuggets of nutty chocolate being made and at the end of the tunnel where you ooh and aah at the magnificence, there waits a big bowl of them in brightly-coloured foil! We thought this was the main testing section, so about ten went into my handbag and we ate two. 

chocolate love bites... these things are delicious!

We then went through another door only to find their finest truffles, all 20 or so of them, ready to be sampled. Oh lordy, it tested even my chocolate stamina. Sean did me proud, he did two rounds of the tables, going back a second time to pluck extra tastes of his favourites while I watched ladies in wheelchairs use a pamphlet to collect more for later. Clever things they were and I followed suit! No need to have a puke outside after forcing down more, save some for later – genius! 

Sean goes to work, his stamina in chocolate eating was world-beating!

It was brilliant and we swore never to eat chocolate again, but couldn’t resist buying a few very cheap, good quality finds at the store. Just in case, you know. Stranger things have happened and all that. 

From here we headed to one of our favourite spots yet, Interlaken (thanks Anna-lee for this hot tip!). We set up camp at a place which had views of Jungfrau’s peak and dug out our winter clothes as it had snowed on top of the mountain the night before. Fortunately, the weather was sensational the whole 4 days we were there. 

Our campsite looking out to Jungfrau, it was magic.

 We spent our days there hiking (a lot more puffing and water stops than in the US), taking a super-expensive-but-worth-it train trip to the top of Jungfrau which was covered in snow, swimming in the lake (about 10 degs, I have discovered my reaction to hypothermia is high-pitched giggles, the locals thought we were mad as they sun-baked nearby), visiting incredible waterfalls, drinking delicious coffees, rediscovering chocolate after a 24-hour hiatus (the Swiss stuff is unbeatable) and then the final day happened… 

Sean and a bit of tomfoolery at a glacial waterfall flowing through a mountain

Me, climbing up to Jungfrau busting my weak legs and reminding them of the muscles that once were.

Sean out on the glacier up at Jungfrau, one of the most famous mountains in the world. Very beautiful!

Just when we thought Interlaken could not serve up any more fun to us! I bought Sean a paragliding experience for his birthday and he decided to cash in here in Interlaken. Up he went with two fellow Aussie travelers and I waited below. As he swooped elegantly over pockets of air, experiencing all kinds of elation, I noticed with unease that I was being photographed by an Indian man through rose bushes. He gave me a guilty grin when I spotted him and then Sean floated back down to earth and I forgot about him for a bit. As Sean garbled on about how amazing it was, it was time for his wife to get a slice of amazing. 

One of Sean's highlights of the trip as he soared high in the sky.

Feelings of elation.

The photographer appeared with a substantially more savoury-looking, well-dressed Indian. 

“We are shooting a movie here today and we need someone to carry these roses, will you do it?” the well-dressed man asked, while the photographer grins shyly. 

“Erm… I don’t speak Indian or Swiss, is that ok?” I ask, thinking more about the fact that I chose today to avoid any hint of make up and thongs (flip flops) adorned my feet. 

“No problem, no problem, come come,” he says and all of a sudden I go from adoring wife of star paraglider to Bollywood superstar. It was a natural progression really, just waiting to happen. 

After three takes (apparently that’s verrrry good in movie land) they declare my scene a wrap! The director and all the other behind-the-scenes peeps that I have no idea what they’re called clap each other on the back before lining up to shake my hand. 

Me with my red roses, charming the crowds... sort of.

In the meantime, I am accosted by people on the street asking to have their picture taken with ME. Not the stars of the show, with the glistening hair and perfect make up. Hi ho, they line up to get a picture of me to show their mums back home. Oh me, oh my, I could have gotten used to that. The movie people (not the stars, strangely) all ask to have a pic with me too (couldn’t deny true fans, could I). All the while, Sean was taking his own pics and killing himself with laughter. Covering his jealousy, I expect. 

He did nominate himself for husband of the year as we walked off and a moment of humility returned to me. 

“I wonder why on earth they chose me, looking like this?” I say, pointing at my ruffled camp hair and scuffing a thong (flip flop, must be clear) along the pavement. 

“Because even without make up you are gorgeous, Rooster,” he says, slinging his arm over the new celebrity. Wow. Best. Day. Ever. PS My nickname from Sean is rooster, real affectionate and loving isn’t it? Particularly as I hate poultry when it’s alive. 

So the paragliding champion and Bollywood superstar left Interlaken, with people cheering (and crying at the same time, not happy-to-see-us-leave cheering) and waving Australian flags for us. 

Next stop was Austria… til next blog, friends!! 

Rooster and Prawn xoxo 

PS Bunny Wheater has arrived! Congratulations Em and Muz, little Josephine (Josie) looks like an angel, a chubby-cheeked angel. Well done, you guys. We are thrilled for you! xoxo

1. Riverside location with beach sand does not generate romance, just really sore calf muscles and an additional 5 minutes to walk anywhere.
2. Unless you’ve seen evidence the campsite food is good, find a local restaurant (not even the camp dog would touch the lurid, yellow sausage I attempted to eat for dinner after a long day driving… I still gag at the thought).
3. Always make sure your mattress pump is fully charged unless you enjoy the sensation of sleeping downhill or on the ground.
4. Always check what time the campsite turns off their hot water unless arctic water skimming over your goose-bump ridden body while it rains outside is your thing.
5. Never drink a cup of tea in the last hour before bed when your tent is 500m from the toilet with only beach sand and other tents between it, it’s raining very heavily and you wear a white t-shirt to bed.

 It wasn’t a great night for our first night in Germany. Pretty much what could go wrong, did. Fortunately, we both managed to laugh at the situation although I do admit some self-pitying tears slipped out while dipping a toe gingerly under the freezing cold water pumping merrily out of the shower.

Fortunately, the next day in Hamburg turned out to be a great one. Still raining heavily, we headed into town and spent the day sampling German pastries with hot chocolate, roaming the local shops (Sean finally found the perfect pair of shoes! I’d given up suggesting as there was always something not right about the ones I found… so a “hallelujah” was thrown out there when we made this purchase), wandering along the Alster when the weather cleared and marveling at the classy architecture.

Sean on the streets of Hamburg in THOSE shoes... cool eh?

 But while it was lovely, I don’t really want to spend too much time discussing it because Berlin was where it was all at. Although one more tip for y’all that Berlin campsite taught us – try not to stay at a campsite right next to the airport. Loud and constant. However, we loved this place big time. We booked ourselves onto the Berlin walking tour and prayed for sunshine… which we largely got – hurrah! We managed to score the most passionate tour guide ever in Kiwi Mike. He was awesome and knew a ridiculous amount about the city he has spent the last seven years in. I was particularly fond of him because he moved there for love, awww. I learnt so much about Berlin’s early days and the destruction it suffered throughout the war, the divide between communism and democracy so explicit in the Berlin Wall, more about the suffering of the Jewish people and the incredibly interesting yet demonic Adolf Hitler.

We were enthralled the whole four and a half hours. Here are the pics…

The Berlin Cathedral which had a missile sail through the top dome which blew the internal up in World War 2.

A memorial was built here for it was the place the burning of the books was, where all Jewish books from the Berlin library were burned.

Our passionate tour guide NZ Mike at Checkpoint Charlie.

Me at the Jewish memorial... haunting.

Next stop was the Black Forest, which of course, is the birthplace of Black Forest cake. Delicious if whipped cream, chocolate cake and black cherries smushed together is your thing, unfortunately it ain’t mine (one of the few desserts I decline) but Sean forged ahead for both of us and downed a hefty piece.

The rain still hadn’t let up, so we splurged and stayed in a really nice little hotel for two nights. Interesting side note – the area of Black Forest we stayed in was called Bad Wildbad yet was filled with retirees… talk about not living up to your name, right? 

Anyhoo, can’t find any pics for there… must be still on the camera oops! But we must forge on, chaps! We have to be in Vienna asap and i’m still tapping away on the laptop in Salzburg. The Prawn is just itching to get in the car so he can crank up the iPod and work on his duets. His performance has been lacking lately, so pray for us.

Next blog – Switzerland!!

Miss you all, hope you’re all having loads of fun.

Lisa and Sean xoxo

This place was supposed to be a chocolate factory, but turned out to be a giant chocolate shop with loads of tastings. We happily partook in the suggested activitiy of sampling. We then sat down for a hot cup of somethin’ and a couple of truffles and felt happy about life.

Contemplating how sweet life is at Roose's Chocolate World

After this, we headed to Brussels which was really gorgeous. Belgium is known for its excellent architecture and we weren’t let down. Incredible buildings, monuments and cobblestoned roads greeted us at every turn and we constantly were yelling and pointing at things out the window.

Our one day in Brussels was good fun, but we did run out of things to do which is why I guess some people think Belgium can be a little boring. We went to the Atomium which was massive and quite a spectacle.

Some spunk out front of the Atomium

We had a day of wandering around the  major attractions and Brussels was completely beautiful, just maybe a little sans atmosphere.

Our next stop would be abundant in atmosphere. We were headed to the place where drugs and sex are readily available, while rich in history and plenty of beauty. Amsterdam. We found the most amazing camping spot, right on the waterfront which was really quiet and the perfect place to come back to after the mayhem of Amsterdam.

Talk about room with a view... people pay squillions for waterfront views right?!

So I may have painted a sorry picture to garner some sympathy from y’all, but look, I’m tougher than I thought. Despite the bug bites, bad hair and occasional lack of shower (some campsites make you pay to use their dirty, wonky showers!), I really quite like camping! Who would have thought? Although please don’t tell Sean, as I reeeeeally like it when he takes me to a hotel every now and then and spoils me for being such a trouper.  He’s a good husband!!!

So Amsterdam, we hit it up in style. While we didn’t eat a brownie or smoke a joint, we both believe we were high just from the fumes pouring out onto the street as nearly every cafe has a little green symbol indicating they do condone drugs. Or at least, that’s our excuse when we both ordered double scoops of ice cream after an Italian dinner. Munchies. Not greedy or ice cream addicted at all, munchies was the cause of the ferocious desire to consume ice cream and there’s no other reason we’d resort to such gluttony.

We hired bikes for the day because there just isn’t any other way to get around in ‘Dam. Bikers rule the roads, walkways and tramlines here and we really loved that. Especially the fact our bikes were so much more comfortable than those crazy carbon contraptions we get around on back home. Why do we do that to ourselves when the high handle bars and big squishy seat are sooo good?

The basket up front totally suited Prawn, he may be trading in the speed machine for comfort and convenience. But probably not, maybe that's just me.

The days we were in amsterdam there was a major sailing event with tall ships happening there so there were people everywhere. Which freaked out Sean who claims to be a country boy at heart, but the bonus was there was a massive concert with beautiful orchestral music which was magic to hear.

Hoards of people and boats watching the concert, this was a nice part of Amsterdam as opposed to...

We went for a wander around the red light district which was interesting and sad. It’s hard to believe that the girls would live like this and put themselves on display, but hopefully they all have good lives despite being so very different to what I know. We did have fun walking around as there were street parties everywhere and everyone seemed to be in holiday mode.

Sean in the red light district which was going off, this was the furthest I let him get, I clutched his hand the rest of the time.

Amsterdam was a little overwhelming for us and I think it would have been better without the hoards of people. By the time we left we couldn’t wait to see some countryside, but before that, we were off to Germany. Next post will be Hamburg, Berlin and the Black Forest (with a very quick trip to Prague).

As many of you know from Facebook, we’re now in Switzerland and this has been the highlight of our European trip (apart from Uckfield and Fleur and Ricky’s wedding obviously)!! Beautiful, just beautiful. Plus today involved paragliding (for Sean) and being a star in a Bollywood movie (me) so you can’t reeeeally top that huh?!!!

Have a fab weekend and do something a little crazy. Bollywood, paragliding,  excessive ice cream consumption… something like that, do it, it’s so much fun!

Lisa and Sean xoxo

Every day for me now is a bad hair day. Every day I discover a new insect bite, often in places inappropriate to scratch in public. Every day I shower in my thongs (flip flops for your Brits). And every night, Sean and I bicker about who will have the head torch to read our book with and who gets the teeny weeny mag light, when really, whoever ends up with said head torch may wear a smug look but they still look like a twat. Mm-hmmmm… we are camping and that’s how we roll in our new every day life.We don’t get wifi so much and we miss you more than you miss us, so there!

Anyhoo, we left you at London! We managed to drive up again the very next day after the wedding to visit the infamous Hazzy Hamburger and her Olympic superstar boyfriend Pete. We arrived at their sunny apartment where Haz had put on an amazing spread filled with fresh veggies and amazing things she knows we’ve been missing in Europe. Bless you, Haz . So after catching up on the past couple of weeks since Biarritz, it was time to hit the sights of London!!!

Where to first? Duh.

Harrods of course!!!

We wandered around the hallowed halls, oohing and ahhing at the opera singer hollering over the escalators (they actually hire professional singers to entertain shoppers!), the incredible food hall, the puppies in the pet store and furniture that cost an average yearly wage. Of course we bought something, no one needed to know that our Harrods bag featured 3 mini cupcakes (couldn’t afford the full size ones ha).

Next Haz took me to the most sacred place in London. Years upon years of history, war stories and the recipient of millions of pounds. Top Shop, Oxford Circus. The biggest and best in all of Great Britain and I had a fistful of pounds saved from nights leaping onto Sean at midnight while a spider dangled over my terrible hair while our flimsy tent nearly collapsed around our ears. It was time to seek my reward.

Harriet and I had a blast, while we sent the boys off to the man shops in the area and we took so long they went to the pub for a drink (pints of coke,  they be crazy). It was a mighty success, thanks to the honest appraisal of Hazzy and we both walked out swinging our purchases happily.

I was in a ridiculous state of happiness. Even more so when i discovered my little Pip Squeak was coming to hang out with us that evening. When I worked at WAIS, Harriet was the sport science prac student from London and loved hanging out with me so much she told everyone at home and Pip decided she had to see what all the fuss was about and came to meet me for herself. It was love at first sight. Their versions of the story may differ ever so slightly, but the end result was the three of us are still good buddies and it was amazing to be all together again!

After dropping a pint of pear cider in  my lap, we went out for indian. Say what?  Yup, I was trying to elegantly sit down at the pub and somehow my bag swung out and tipped the ENTIRE, completely full pint on to my new jeans. Fortunately I found it hilarious and a good excuse to change into a new article of clothing from Top Shop so you may note my outfit is different in coming snaps.

Pete, Haz, Haz's sister Amy, Pip and me at indian in Brick lane

After a hearty meal, what better activity to take part in than going to the gym? Not any old gym though, but Frame fitness in the ultra chic area of Shoreditch and owned by our very own Pippi! Pip and one of her friends opened the gym about a year ago which purely does classes – and about 200 a week or 30 classes a day! Yoga, spinning, reformer pilates, dance and even a class that’s dedicated to Glee. I wanted to move in and live a long, happy and healthy life inside Frame. It was truly amazing and Pip is one clever little lady – so if you live in East London, I’m totally jealous and get yourself to a class because you’ll have loads of fun.

Me, Pip and Haz at Frame

After a fun day and night in London, we caught the train back to Haz and Pete’s and collapsed into their roommate’s bed (thanks so much for the loan, roommate!). The next day Pete had planned a big bike tour for us and we needed our beauty sleep for the paparazzi.

Haz, Pete, Sean and I set off on a mixture of road and commuter bikes to see all the sights of London. We whizzed through our host’s local area of Hammersmith and through Hyde Park, imagining what it’d be like there when the Olympic triathlon and marathon are held in 2012. Then we arrived at Buckingham Palace which was crawling with tourists and gently nudged our way to the fence to cop a look at the guys in the big silly black hats.

Buckingham Palace and the flags were out too meaning her Maj was inside!

Pedal, pedal, pedal, puff, puff, puff and next stop was Big Ben and Westminster Abbey for a quick look (we did this whole tour in just over 2 hours as we needed to get back to Uckfield!).

Big Ben ahoy!

Side note: thanks to Haz for donating her whole outfit as i didn’t intend on doing any exercise while in London and there we were doing a 2 and half hour bike ride!

We then raced off to see the Tower of London and Tower Bridge which was great, via the London Eye (no stopping just a quick wave before zooming off oncemore).

Two goofballs in London, with Tower Bridge in the background

We also saw the lions at Leicester Square, Covent Garden fleetingly, the very centre of London and more bits n pieces that Pete knew loads about. He could seriously earn a crust as a tour guide, we had top quality that day! Thanks Pete and Haz, you guys were wonderful hosts and we wish we could have hung out longer.

Alas! The Moore family were waiting for us in London and we had a date in Brighton the next day with Ricky and Fleur. Brighton was the place I spent a lot of time while i was travelling aged 20 and I couldn’t wait to race around with Sean. Unfortunately, the weather was dismal so Ricky, Fleur, Sean and i battled the elements at the pier before holing up in a cafe for lunch, wandering through the lanes and finally succumbing to the dry confines of the shopping mall.

Just another lovely summer's day at the beach! Fleur, Ricky and me fuh-reezing in Brighton

Our last night in England was spent at home in Uckfield (sigh, it so feels like home and i miss it already!) with take away, Ricky Gerrans’ movie, updating nail polish and Ben and Jerry’s. It was heaven and then Katie came home and told us about her glamorous new job in which she had a gorgeous new suit bought for her! Seeing as she wasn’t in previous family pics I made her pose with her shopping bags…

Katie, looking glam even at 11pm on a tuesday night!

We loved England and I wish so much that we had more time there as we had loads of special family catch ups, spoke in English as much as possible to anyone we could, bought upmagazines, books, Revels and Minstrels for the next road trip and really just had a fab time.

Next stop for the blog is Belgium and Amsterdam but in real time, Sean and i are in the Black Forest in Germany (yup – it’s where the cake is from! Sean had a big fat slice today and I may have had a couple of forkfuls) and tomorrow we head to Zurich! So excited to see Switzerland, I’ve never been there before! So asta amigos, we’ll be back shortly and miss you all terribly… please write, why you no write no more?! You’re just as bad as us, aren’t you?!

Lisa and Sean xoxo

One final night camping (only 10 euros at this joint, bargain and my mind clicked over at the extra we’d have at Topshop) and the pair of us plus our fancy little Citroen were onboard, heading to the white cliffs of Dover! We arrived, after a few curse words at road closures, at Trish’s house in Uckfield where her and my second cousin (cousin’s son) Joe were waiting. It was so nice to be chatting away in English, in a house where we could close doors and my cousin’s nail polish collection awaited (thousands of shades of pink, heaven). Trish had organised a family barbecue and I got a family snap. It’s minus Katie though, who was still working.

Trish being hugged by Ben, Joe, little Miya, Jim and Jana

The next day Sean got up early and had a run through the local woods which he loved while Trish and I did an exercise dvd and it hurt to walk up stairs for 4 days following. Trish organised for two of my great aunts, Thelma and Muriel to come for lunch to a local pub and Mum’s other cousin Chris joined us. Typical english pub food, we all had fish, chips and peas (i made sean order the mushy version for tradition’s sake, he liked them!).

Sean, Chris and Portia outfront of Trish's local, The White Hart

Muriel, Trish, Sean, Thelma and Chris chanting for the fish n chips, I had to ask them to sit still for the pic. Larrikins.

After a great afternoon catching up on all the family gossip, we headed home through the fields, keeping our eyes peeled for the albino deer that lives there and tried to dodge the summer rain. The rest of the afternoon was spent drinking tea, lamenting the British summer and beating Sean at cards (Joe helped me, it was a good team effort).

The next day we had been looking forward to for ages, Fleur and Ricky’s wedding! Katie had arrived home late the night before and allowed  me to attack her pink nail polishes… my fingers and toes may or may not have resembled Barbie’s. Trish, Sean and I had made the guest list and we set off in plenty of time to get to Stoke Newington’s Town Hall. We were the first ones in there! Who knew we could make it early to an important event? Must have been Trish’s influence. We met up with a pretty nervous-looking Ricky (even though he declared he wasn’t nervous at all… suuuuure!) before taking our seats, being moved several times and ending up in the back row… not sure how it happened, but we coped, especially as we got the first glimpse of Fleur!

Getting excited to see the bride!!

Fleur, looking stunning, with her nephew Todd walking her up the aisle

The ceremony was lovely but once i saw Fleur was crying, the waterworks started for me too. Sean, being Sean, asked “why is she crying, is she sad to be marrying Ricky?” I almost didn’t dignify him with an answers but spluttered “tears of joy” through my own. Trish was discreetly wiping away tears too, I don’t think there was a dry eye (apart from all the uber tough men like Sean – only tears he shed when he thought he’d miss out on the cake).

Ricky just held it together and the two of them looked so in love, it was very special to witness. Here they are after the ceremony, looking just a little relieved and ready to party!!

The newly married, Mr and Mrs, looking incredibly happy.

We all breathed a collective sigh of relief that the emotional part was over and that the party began straight away! We had a few pics out the front of the church and headed to Ricky and Fleur’s back garden where marquees were set up.

Fleur and Ricky with Fleur's sisters, Selina, Fanny and Joey

The cousins beating the summer rain in the gorgeous marquees

The cake was a sight… Fleur’s sister Fanny went on a cake-making course and made this beauty!! It looked gorgeous and ohmygoshgivemeanotherpiece it was delicious.

Glorious wedding cake... is it wrong this is may be my fave part of weddings? I love wedding cake, even the weird icing.

Fleur about to cut the cake with... a sword! Her nephew collects them and she cut perfect pieces with it.

After some excellent speeches (Ricky, yours was perfect well done!), cake mouth-watering cake, and the bouquet throwing – we all hit the dancefloor! We stayed till fairly late before the 2-hour drive back to Uckfield beckoned. Trish and I chatted merrily away with Sean to keep him awake and before we knew it we were home and filling Katie in on the fun and emotional day. I slept like a log that night.

Next up is the London escapades with Hazzy and Pete with a surprise cameo from Pip!! It was fun to the extreme. We are now in Amsterdam, soaking up some unusual smells (the first thing we noticed when we stepped out of our trusty steed was the stench of marijuana), sights and shops. Now off to find our next campsite!!

Hope you enjoyed the wedding blog, wish me luck in keeping Sean in line with the red light district and “coffeeshops” beckoning. He’s WAHLD this man, I tell you.

Lisa and Sean xoxo

After leaving Spain we made a quick stop at a famous French fortress which overlooks the Pyranees to the north and the Spanish border to the south. How they built these incredible structures in such remote and hard to reach locations so long ago still mystifies me but it was great not to have to fight the crowds and line up for hours to get in for a change.

The view from the top looking back over Spain

From here it was a quick stop in Montpellier for dinner before finding a random campsite on our way up to Nice. Crossing the border back into France also meant i could practice my French again and i’m proud to say that i can now say just a couple more words than please, thank you and hello. We did have one more stop on our way up to Nice in a famous celebrity seaside town of St Tropez. Yes, it was filled with Ferrari’s, massive yachts and designer clothes stores but it was also difficult to walk down the street amongst the crowds of people. After a few hours in traffic we made it out and finally got to Nice.

Lisa looking glamorous while mixing it with the stars in St Tropez

We wandered the streets of Nice and found a great park overlooking the beach before driving along the spectacular coastline into Monaco and then accidentally crossing the border for a night in Italy. Yes, 3 countries in one day was a bit more than we expected and if people thought our French was bad you should have heard our Italian (well mine anyway).

Looking over the Mediterranean Coast while driving to Monaco

A night of camping traded for a gourmet lunch overlooking the French Coast. Yay, a break from the baguettes!

From here it was finally time to hit the French Alps and see what cycling up a real mountain was like. As we ascended it was like entering a different country, the people were nicer, the air was fresh and a can of coke no longer cost $5!

The view from atop La Bonnette at 2800m. Unfortunately i didn't get to climb this one but it is a regular feature in the Tour de France.

Stuck in a traffic jam, I tried to get Lisa to move them but she just wouldn't have a Baaah of it!

We made it to Bourg d’Oisans which is a relatively large village at the base of the French Alps but the epicentre of cycling. We found ourselves a 4 star campsite with a 25m swimming pool (luxury!) and situated just 100m from the base of Alpe D’Huez. From here you could ride a different route every day for 2 weeks and still not conquer every climb. I only had 5 days and with my severe lack of fitness and the fact i was riding in sand-shoes meant it was really going to hurt. I managed to squeeze in as many of the famous tour climbs as possible as well as some of the lesser known routes and after 5 days i was struggling to walk.

Lisa kept amused by lounging by the pool, enjoying a massage and even hiring a bike herself one day and climbing the gruelling Alpe D’Huez. I stupidly tried to time myself while doing it and almost had a heart attack in the process but it is incredible to think Lance Armstrong does it in 39mins while i couldn’t even go under 1hr! I am definitely coming back here fit one day to do it again!

Lisa doing it like Lance up Ale D'Huez!

Enjoying a picnic after a hard day on the bike!

The view of Bourg D'Oisans from one of my climbs

Nearly at the top, can taste the coke at the finish line

So with Lisa absolutely sick of my cycling stories we moved on to Calais and boarded our Ferry over to visit Lisa’s family, attend Ricky and Fleur’s wedding and visit the sights of good old London town.

I know, I know, we’re so behind in blogging! Please forgive me, I will do my absolute best to rectify the tardiness. Thank god Mum’s still reading (love you Mama).

So I left you just before our journey to Pinoso, a massive 7.5 hour car journey to the gorgeous little village my aunt and uncle live. We arrived in pouring rain and headed up a crazy dirt track to their perfect little house where we would stay for 2 nights.

Following Trish's car along the maze of roads that lead to her home, which has an orchard of figs and almonds

We were so excited to have a house to sleep in, it’s such a luxury when you’re travelling! Trish took us to the local expat pub/restaurant for dinner and we happily caught up on all the goings-on of the past couple years since we saw them at our wedding.

The next day there wasn’t a cloud to be seen so we went up to the local sight-seeing spot, Pozo de Nieve, an artificial snow house that the Spanish used to build to store snow and eventually sell ice after hardpacking it.

All the cool kids were there... Sean, Trish and John out front of the snow house.

Then John drove us up to see the sights from the peak of the mountain, which was pretty spectacular!

Great heights... the boys looking over Pinoso

After a big hike in the hot sun, what better way to cool off than head to the local pool! No photos folks as nobody wants to see Sean and i in our bikinis right now… haha. But despite being a little town, Pinoso’s pool was lovely and John impressed us very much with his daily 500m swim. I managed 50m and it was breaststroke and I didn’t get my hair wet. Booyah.

That night we were hoping to see running with the bulls, but really unlucky for us, it was on Saturday night and we had to leave Saturday morning! So instead we parked up at Trish and John’s, sat on their balcony and watched the sunset with sangrias in hand. I cracked lots of almond shells (welllll… maybe 10, it’s hard work!) and then we played cards well into the night. Trish and John have us now totally addicted to the game they taught us. And Sean is beating me really badly (as of today 10/8 he is beating me 5 games to 1, my pride is in tatters).

After saying “see you soon” to Trish and a sad goodbye to John, we set off for Barcelona. I was so excited after having THE best time here in 2001 with my beautiful friends Cin and Tanya. We arrived about 9pm which was perfect time for Tapas, weeeeee!!! Little bit of food porn for you Mr Bryant if you’re reading, we know you love it.

Everything here was so delicious, except that big wedge of omelette unf. We did it justice, you know we did!

The next day we had to cram in as much as possible and we had such a fun time doing it. We started off up at Parc Guell, Antoni Gaudi’s design so of course there was lots of crazy shapes and animals, plus the mosaics.

Next up was the Sagrada Familia which we observed only from the outside as the line was soooo long to get inside and we only had one day in Barcelona.

This amazing piece of architecture is still completely under construction... I wonder if we'll see it completed in our life time?

Then it was off to La Rambla to see some street entertainment! Best effort of the day must got to the Predator from the Alien V Predator movie who was there from early afternoon til late evening when we left… stamina. He was totally scary too, plenty of grown men screamed and one of the may or may not have been Sean. I’ll let you make up your own ending to that story.

Sean trembling in his boots watching Predator do his thang.

We then walked the lanes which were great, filled with sneaky little cafes, frozen yoghurt stores (thank you god!), clothing stores and people with weird faces. Sean will kill me for putting this pic up, but that’s how i roll. No mercy.

Someone was ready for the "snap" someone was not... in Barcelona laneways

We then walked to the seaside and found the Steve Irwin! Paddy are you in Barcelona? We thought this was your boat for the winter?!!

Sean on the Barcelona harbour with the Steve Irwin boat

After all of this sightseeing, a little shopping and bad pictures, there was only one thing left to do… sangria!!!! We wandered back to la Rambla and parked up at a cafe and ordered a sangria while whipping out the playing cards.

We each had sangria goblets and while i only got through 2/3, we were both feelin' it! Phewee, the Spanish know how to serve up a drink.

It truly was an excellent day, even if it did end up with us camping next to the loudest snoring man on earth. I was almost homicidal at one point but stuck a finger in my ear and finally went back to sleep. The joys of camping, eh?!

The next day we headed to Figueres on our way to Nice as we really wanted to go to the Salvador Dali museum. It was another rainy day amid many fine ones which was a shame as the line to get in to the museum was mammoth and completely exposed to the elements. We realised it would take about 2 hours to get to the front of the line and we’d be sopping wet and competing with hundreds of others to see Dali’s works… so instead we hit the local creperie and cut our losses.

Goats cheese, spinach, walnut and raisins on a buckwheat crepe... i die, seriously heaven!

Sean ready and willing for his egg and bacon crepe. Note the cheeky cards... addicts.

 After this it was back to the land of “Bonjour!” and Sean was eager to use those words he’d learnt. Fact – Sean went to fuel up while I read my book in the car. He returned looking super pleased with himself and said “I just had a conversation in French”. My eyes bugged out and I swiftly put my book down and gave this francophile my full attention. “What did you say?” I ask, ready to be impressed. “I said ‘Bonjour’ and then ‘merci’”, he says, chest puffed up. “And then?” I say. “And then I left!” he says. He has since learnt many more words like “deux boules glace” (2 scoops ice cream), chevre (goats cheese, coz he hears me say it so often) and cafe au lait. Our attempts at speaking French have been the source of much hilarity, but most of the time we get by and i often get kudos from the locals for having a go.

New post to come soon… from Nice to the Alps, mes amies!

A bientot et bises,

Lisa and Sean xoxoxox