Mussels in Brussels, among other things

I’ve been home for about 3 weeks now and although it’s great to be back, I’ve missed exploring Europe – so much of which I’ve never known before. So I decided to go back to writing again, when I can. I stopped for a while in my last week of travelling but now that I’m…

Berlin and its many stories

Berlin is a complex city which is confronting and honest about its (actually very recent) past. You can see this outside the Holocaust Museum which holds a memorial represented by just over 2000 large grey blocks, their meaning open to interpretation. They scatter plaques across the streets too, in honour of those who lost their…

Athena

My first day in Athens started off somewhat unconventionally with a trip to my national embassy…to vote in the Federal election. (For anyone reading this not from Australia – voting is compulsory and failure to do so results in a fine) On the bright side, it may have been the easiest voting day I’ll ever…

Santorini and its sunsets

A lot of people talk up how beautiful Santorini is, but it’s true. Admittedly being on an island forced me to relax (after tens of thousands of steps of sightseeing in Italy – literally, my phone calculates it) so I feel like I didn’t take as many photos.  I stayed in Fira, the main town…

Not a Merchant of Venice

Whenever I mentioned to anyone that I would be going to Venice, I would usually be told that there are a lot of tourists around and that the canals can be hard to navigate. Both proved to be true, so much so that I ended up taking the wrong water taxi to Lido on my…

Under the Tuscan Sun

I use the word “sun” very loosely because on my first full day in Tuscany, parts of Cinque Terre (Technically speaking this is outside Tuscany but anyway) rained – right while climbing up all 365 steps to reach the third Terre (Cornigloa). Having spent the past week in Rome and just arriving in Florence (both…

My Roman Holiday

My time in Rome has been incredible, even if I wasn’t a princess and didn’t meet an American journalist with a Vespa. But I did meet some great people who I “roamed” around the city with. (Aiming to throw around as many puns/cliches as I can) The photos I’ve taken don’t do the scenery any…

Gaudi’s city and a coast | Barcelona part 2

I’ve fallen behind on the blogging already. I left Barcelona for Rome nearly a week ago, and tomorrow I will be off to Florence! I’d like to write more about Barcelona (because I fell in love with the city) but a somewhat small highlight reel will have to do for now. Gaudi’s work appears everywhere…

Preciados Madrid

preciados: precious A short reflection on art and the streets of Madrid 🙂 I’ve seen a lot of art in the past few weeks (or even in general, having gone to a few in Amsterdam), at the CaixaForum and the Thyssen-Bornemisza (modern art museum). The Thyssen was amazing, but the Caixa was small and easy to…

(I)Amsterdam | Holland part 1

Yesterday I got back from a trip to Holland! I’ll be dividing this post into two: the first on the highlights of my trip and the second on Amsterdam’s vibe and cafe scene. I spent my first full day museum-hopping – Amsterdam is known as a museum capital – and went to the Rijksmuseum. They…

Sunday in Segovia

Plans generally change for the better. Instead of taking our trip to Segovia on Saturday, Kitty, Natalia and I decided to go on Sunday to avoid getting caught in the forecasted rain. After grabbing some breakfast (and coffee!!) at The Little Big Cafe in Moncloa (Madrid metro stop) and an hour spent on the bus,…

La Pedriza and its Moods

I’m one of those people who says they love hiking, but never actually does it…until yesterday. La Pedriza is a rock formation in the Manzanaeres el Real region, about an hour outside of Madrid via train/bus. The weather had been pretty awful over the past week (a lot of rain) so thankfully when we left…