I think I have a new favourite country: Spain. Tapas bars on every corner, free food with your beer, laidback people who start everything late (shops after 10am, dinner at 9.30pm), siesta's, sunshine till 9pm and the occasional flamenco. What more could you ask for?

First stop was a small medieval town called Toledo, about an hour out of Madrid. This town is so old and has really retained all of its medieval culture. It was great to wonder around the windy, narrow streets, which felt like you were walking in a maze (kinda like Venice) and it was so much fun to explore and lose myself in this really historical town.

Toledo

We travelled along the south of Spain next, which is apparently the more traditional part of the country: The area is Andalusia and first off was Seville. This city was full of tradition, with incredible tapas bars, an amazing Alcazar, which is a Spanish castle with enormous gardens, a huge gothic style cathedral, a bullring with a massive bullfighting following and a really laid back vibe. Wondering around the streets of the old town and dropping into bars to try a selection of tapas, like sausages, potatoes, salads, cheeses and meats with a refreshing glass of sangria was so much fun.

Bullring in Seville

The Alhambra may soon be one of the modern seven wonders of the world and that was the main attraction in Granada. Back in the 12th century Granada was occupied by Moors, or Arabs, so the town echoed Arabic culture and The Alhambra was built in this period so there was a lot of Islamic detail embedded in it. It acted as a sort of town within Granada with a beautiful Islamic style Palace with Arabic art engraved in the walls, lush gardens with fountains and an old fortress. We wondered around The Alhambra for about 4-5 hours, there was so much to see! Granada itself was a lovely town, particularly the Albaycin, the old town with old white buildings and tea houses.

The Palace in the Alhambra

We saw a lot of old white buildings along the Costa Del Sol, the southern coastal towns of Spain, which have been raided by tourists. Unfortunately the small town we picked, Nerja, was no better. It was like a British colony, the place had been taken over by British expats and tourists, so much so that it didn't feel like I was in Spain. The beaches however, were lovely. I wouldn't go so far as to compare them to Australian beaches, but they had some sand and clear blue water. We found a part of the beach that had great little coves to explore and even jumped in the painfully cold water when it was only 20 degrees!

Nerja beaches

So Spain has been wicked and next is the cultural capital: Barcelona. We have 9 nights with a cosy apartment and the 3 day Primavera Sound music festival to look forward to. Can't wait.

This is where the rich and famous flock to in France and it certainly wasn´t a true backpacker option, what with enormous French villa´s, expensive restaurants and glamorous people strolling down the streets. We didn´t really look the part with backpacks and I certainly didn´t fit in with the hundreds of topless women lining the beaches.

And the beaches, you´ve heard so much about them right? Well let me kill the aura of the French Riviera and tell you that they suck! Firstly there is no sand, just pebbles and rocks which isn´t very comfortable to lie on and it really hurts to walk on in bare feet. The water looks clean but when i managed to work up the courage and jump in (it was freezing!) it was actually pretty dirty. And unlike Australian beaches, which stretch for miles and have that great, easy going fun vibe, these beaches are small coves with everyone crowded in and a huge snobbery factor. People are here to sunbake and look good and pay money for the private beaches where waiters serve you drinks. ARG! There was so much pretension here I couldn´t stand it!

That said we stayed in a really pretty town called Villefranche-Sur-Mur meaning French village on the sea. It had a lovely little old town where we managed to find a really nice classic French restaurant (a little on the pricey side) and awesome deli meats and cheese to make our own rolls for lunch. We laughed at the people paying 2.50 for a glass bottle of 0.2 litre coke at the cafes while we skulled our 1.5 litre for less than half the price. Nice, the capital of the French Riviera, was pretty cool too. We only really explored the old town which had lots of little cafes, a food market and nice squares to chill out in.

I suspect we will be doing lots of chilling out in Spain, our next destination. But after France I am really craving an Australian beach. Give me Ocean Grove any day!

There are no words to describe the Jungfrau region of Switzerland other than jaw dropping. Looking outside the window first thing in the morning and all you see are huge snow covered mountains towering way above and beautiful green valleys below. The place was incredible.

We stayed in two small towns: Murren, which was on the edge of a cliff, and Grindelwald, set within a valley. To get to Murren we had to catch a cable car up the side of a mountain and then a scenic cog rail with the most amazing views. It was the best welcoming to a town I have ever had. We had a lovely chalet in Grindelwald which was like living in our own apartment. It had a great balcony with the best view of the 3 biggest mountains in the region but it was a 30 minute uphill walk from the train station and the town, quite a treck after a day of hiking and a full belly after dinner!

We mostly did a lot of walking and hiking between small towns in the area amongst beautiful scenery. Everything is so green, which is a change coming from Melbourne. Walking amongst the mountains felt a bit intimidating because they are so big and threatening. During our walks we would stop in an isolated pub for a cold beer or a farming village for some local cheese and yoghurt, which always tasted better than anything you could buy in the Supermarket. A highlight was seeing a huge glacier and walking through amazing valleys and forests.

Unfortunately it rained a lot for us. Which made it hard to plan hikes. It also made it hard to plan when to go up to `The Top of Europe´ on the Jungfraubahn. This is basically the highest view point that anyone can reach in all of Europe on the Jungfrau mountain some 3000 metres high. You reach it via a special train that goes through the mountains on the steepest rails. You could probably guess that it costs a mint to take the ride up and so you would want to chose a clear day to get a nice view. When we woke up early in the morning the day looked glorious so we decided to go but it soon started to cloud over. When we go to the top we had a good 20 minutes or so to look out, which was something words can´t describe, and then the clouds set in and we couldn`t see a few feet out. It was an amazing experience though, one I will never forget. I mean, imagine being on the highest mountain in the Swiss region!
The view from Jungfrau

Thanks to everyone who sent birthday messages, I really appreciate it. I had a great day in Switzerland amongst the mountains and a lovely fondue dinner, which consists of a whole bunch of melted cheese which you dip bread and potatoes into. It`s a traditional Swiss cuisine and I loved it. Michael also bought me tickets to the Versailles palace near Paris which we are going to for a day when we get back to London (we are staying in London for another 4 days soon). We missed it last time cos it was closed on the day we went. So that was a great present!

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Stay tuned!

Cinque Terre isn't techincally in Tuscany but the sun was blazing and not a cloud was in the sky for the three days we were there. Most of you may not have heard of the Cinque Terre and it is an absolute hidden gem!! It is 5 small villages sitting about 1-2km from each other on the cliffs of the Mediterranian coast. My eyes have never seen anything more beautiful than the scenery of the Cinque Terre. We stayed in the fourth town, Vernazza, which came out onto a small cove and the water was crystal clear. We sat on the rocks that jutted out from the cove as the sun set and just couldn't believe my eyes at the beauty of this place. It was truly amazing.

We also hiked between the towns, which at times was a little difficult as it was along the cliffs, but the sweating and the tiredness were completely irrelevant when I turned my head toward the sea and saw the most gorgeous views of the cliffs, the towns and the water. Definately a highlight of the trip.



Off to Florence next, what some may consider the capital of Tuscany and what I have heard many say one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. Unfortunately I didn't share this enthusiasm. It could have been the dreary weather we had, the millions of tourists due to an Italian long weekend, or the fact that we waited in lines for everything. In fact thats all I seemed to do in Florence! It took us 3 hours to see Michalangelo's David! 3 hours! We skipped the famous Uffizi Gallery cos the rumous suggested it would be an even longer wait. The two highlights of Florence were the excellent Trattoria we found by the nqme of Mario's. It had the best homemade Italian cooking I have tasted all trip set in a rameshackle restaurant with a great vibe and it was super cheap. The other highlight was an excellent view of Florence from Michalangelo's square and the surrounds of Tuscany.

Another town worth mentioning in Tuscany was Siena, which we went to on a day trip from Florence. It is a gorgeous medieval style town with beautiful scenery and a huge public square where everyone chilled out. It had an amazing church with famous artist's works and very intricate details. It was lovely to stroll around Siena, particularly for its old style and the amazing Tuscan scenery surrounding the walls of the town.

Stay tuned for stories of me relaxing in a delux chalet amongst the mountains in Switzerland!

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First off, Italy is just gorgeous!!

My first taste was in Venice, so of course my first impression was a good one! The place is an absolute labyrinth. Narrow streets wind everywhere and lead to nowhere, including deadends. Getting lost was a reoccuring theme but fun, its half the charm of Venice. The canals were a little smelly but they still look so pretty! We took a gondola ride (thanks to my Mum's generousity) armed with a bottle of red and of course a camera. It wasn't the most romantic thing in the world, despite the legends, but something you just have to do! We also had to eat amazing gelato and pizzas in the many piazza's throughout the islands, drink a classic venice drink called sprizze and fight our way through the crowds in the enormous San Marco square. All in all Venice is very picturesque and I fell in love with it.



Next was a day stop in Trieste, a small town on the sea way up North where my Dad's family is from. Here we stayed with his aunty, uncle and cousin where they stuffed our faces with food while we laughed with limited communication around the kitched table. It was everything I could have wanted staying with family in Italy. Classic.

From a small town to a big city: Rome was yet another overwhelming stop. The place is absolutely packed with tourists. Our first stop was the famous Spanish Steps of which you could hardly see any of the steps itself through the swarms of people. I was shocked! And it was like this at the Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Roman Forums...pretty much all of Rome! It was, however, an enchanting city. The history amazed me, I couldn't believe I was walking in a nearly 2000 year old Colosseum, whose size astounds me, and the many ruins of ancient Rome. Incredible. Another highlight of Rome was the hundreds of churches literally on every block. And they were all free!! So we went inside so many and they were all so intricate. The Catholic church has a lot of money!!

And of course there was the Vatican city. After waiting ages to get through to the Sistine Chapel it didn't disappoint. Wall to wall with incredible paintings, it really was jaw dropping. We staying in there for about 30 minutes and still could not digest it all. Saint Peters square was also a surprise: we managed to see the Pope addressing the people! That was pretty cool. Later we wondered inside Saint Peters Basilica, and OH MY GOD, what a church!! I can't describe the beauty and magnificence. It was almost like walking through an art gallery.

So Italy was swept me off my feet and I still have the Cinque Terre and Florence to encounter. Keep a close watch here!