Honeymoon on The Modrich Blog

Home time

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:31:06 +1000

We made it back to Bangkok from Phuket, and are ready to board our flight back home to Australia!It’s hard to believe that after 4 months it’s finlay home time… It had to happen, and we are both ready for it.

I think our flight is about 8 or 9 hours to Sydney, where we get a domestic back to Melbourne - and onto the final stage of our trip, Bairnsdale.

Time out in Thailand

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:24:06 +1000

After a long flight (11 hours) from London, we touched down in Bangkok, collected our bags, and exited the airport to our awaiting hotel transfer.

On exiting the airport, you immediately notice the humidity (it’s not as if its hiding!) - this place is hot and humid, luckily the south of Italy at this time of the year is also pretty humid and hot at times, so we have been fairly well acclimatised over the past weeks.

Heathrow, Terminal 4, BA Lounge

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:26:41 +1000

Let me start by saying - This place is ace!

We landed into Gatwick from Naples, almost a 3 hour flight, and had to make our way to Heathrow Terminal 4 - which nothing seems to go to directly!

We converted our left over Euro’s into Pounds which was almost exactly enough to buy our bus ticket from Gatwick to Heathrow - luckily its a free ride for BA travellers from Terminal 5 to Terminal 4 on the bus.

San Lupo

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:37:19 +1000

We arrived into Benevento by train from Naples, and were greeted warmly by Laura’s relations Sandra and Lorenzo Ciaglia. We then drove for about 30min up into the hills to our destination, the small town of San Lupo.

We arrived right at the beginning of the three day festa, where the town honors its patron saint - San Lupo.

During the festa the town comes alive, and is dressed up with lights all up and down the main street and through the main piazza in front of the church.

Napoli, Sorrento and beyond

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 03:37:42 +1000

After our adventures in Rome, our next stop was Napoli.

We headed to the Termini train station to reserve our seats - two seat reservations in 1st class came to 10 Euro.

In recent times, having traveled a fair amount on the trains in Italy, we had noticed that the train conductors were not overly concerned with our Eurail pass - it was always the reservation (which looks almost exactly like a regular ticket), that they were interested in.

When in Rome...

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:11:00 +1000

We made it to Rome after a pleasant few days in the Cinque Terre. Almost immediately we noticed that it was a little warmer here in Rome, away from the cooler comfort of the coast that Cinque Terre offered.

We are staying in a simple B&B - its not quite what you would classify as a B&B in Australia, but I guess it meets the necessities, we get a bed, and we get breakfast. To be honest, its actually quite nice. The room is huge, and while there are no cooking facilities we do have access to a fridge.

The Cinque Terre

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:54:00 +1000

We arrived in Riomaggiore, the southern most town in the group of 5 towns that make up the ‘Cinque Terre’, and were immediately amazed by the bella vista that was in front of us.

We walked through the center of town to find the accommodation office. After a short discussion with the office lady we were off - winding our way through tiny streets and up stairs, to reach our apartment some 300m away and 120 steps up the hill side.

Pisa - in and out

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:47:45 +1000

On our way from Certaldo to Cinque Terre we made a very brisk stop over in Pisa for the obligatory photos…

To be honest, we’re not sure what else, besides the leaning tower, that this town has to offer. Many others we have met suggested it wasn’t worth saying here, and that you could see all you needed to in an hour or two - we took their advice, and were in an out of Pisa in about an hour and a half, having satisfied our curiosity.

Under the Tuscan Sun

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:30:55 +1000

The transport strike has finished, and so has our forced day of relaxation in Bologna (yes… we did absolutely nothing, and loved it!) - we grabbed the early train out of town and headed for Certaldo in Tuscany.

Certaldo is a cute little town south west of Florence (Firenze), and north of Siena. We are staying in a beautiful agriturismo B&B, come self contained shared apartment - it has everything, free mountain bikes, kitchen & fridge, internet, etc, and is immaculate.

Italian transport strike

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:05:32 +1000

Despite all efforts to plan and schedule the Italian leg of our trip, there is nothing we can do about a public transport strike.

The strike incorporates buses, trains, and planes - so we aren’t going anywhere! We were meant to leave Bologna today for San Gimiamo, but this will have to wait until tomorrow.

So today is a forced day of relaxation in the Bolognese country side - we can’t even get into town as we rely on the local bus service.

The Bologna Country Side

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:38:06 +1000

We arrived in Bologna yesterday afternoon, after a short train trip from Venice (2 hours). We managed to navigate the local bus system with the help of a local and shortly after arrived at our B&B which is located in the country side hills overlooking farmland and the city - about 15 minutes drive out of town.

Its absolutely beautiful here. The relaxing surroundings, the peacefulness of the Italian country side… Its just what we needed - a change from staying in city’s.

Viva Italia

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:17:54 +1000

We are finally on the last leg of our trip (in Europe anyway!) - we hit Italy three days ago (1st July), having caught a rather scenic train from Salzburg. The scenery was absolutely amazing - travelling by train through the Austrian and Italian Alps is highly recommended. There are a few rather long tunnels at times, but the scenery, especially prior to leaving Austria was unbelievable.

Once again we used our Eurail ticket to facilitate the 6 hour trip (with 1 change over) from Salzburg to Venice. We raced to get on the train in Salzburg - in amongst heaps of school kids who obviously use the intercity service instead of the suburban service for its comfort to get to and from school.

The Sound of Salzburg

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:00:34 +1000

We pick-up here were our last post left off. We have arrived in Salzburg – and its the night of the Euro Cup 2008 final, Germany -v- Spain. With Austria being the hosts, we were in for a big night (it had already been a long day… whats a few more hours).

We headed out to the old city, about a 15min walk from where we were staying. A large Fan Zone had been set up in the city’s main square with two huge screens, a stage, and of course heaps of beer tents.

Munich...Beer halls, beer halls, beer halls... Oh and tripod!

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:00:00 +1000

So we left Prague, and the Czech Republic behind us (and the train made it this time!) for the spoils of Munich (passing back through Dresden, to minimize our ticket cost, and maximize our use of the Eurail pass).

Straight out, Munich is a lovely city – beer halls, parks & gardens, old buildings, and lovely people (well almost all of them – we will get to this later).

Our first night in Munich consisted of us checking into our accommodation, about 5 min walk from the station, then heading out for a bite to eat and something to drink. Walking the streets for the first time, not knowing were we were going it wasn’t long, literally 2 minutes, before we stumbled on our first Munich beer hall… We need look no further.

A touch of Prague

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:20:00 +1000

Having arrived in Prague and settled in (after out exciting train ride) we decided to take a tour of Prague city – old, and new.

The tour started in the new Prague and worked its way through the streets to cross over into the old town. The old town is absolutely lovely – cobble stone streets that are easy to get lost in, and medieval buildings everywhere you look.

The tour was a mainly walking tour, although it also included a short boat ride up and down the river – giving a different perspective of the city.

Dresden to Prague by train - the experience

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:41:10 +1000

We laid awake this morning at about 4.50 am listening to the pouring rain, and claps of thunder didn’t put a positive spin on the day to come. After drifting back to sleep, we eventually go up and began to get ready for the day at about 6am - we had an early train to catch to Prague, at least the rain had stopped.

We got ourselves to the train station with plenty of time to spare for our 9am departure. As is our general experience with German public transport, the train pulled in exactly on time. We boarded and headed for our seats - we were in a 6 seater booth with only two other passengers.

Dresden - The old and the new

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:37:24 +1000

We arrived into Dresden on the ICE train from Berlin and immediately fell in love with the city - despite it being a Sunday, and (almost) everything being shut.

If we had realised how cute Dresden was we would defiantly penciled it in for a few more nights than just one - it defiantly deserves more!

Our hostel was about a 20 minute walk from the old town, but was situated in a new funky part of town with bars, cafe’s and restaurants.

Berlin, Berlin

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:30:11 +1000

Today is our last day in Berlin – we are currently in the train station having breakfast and a coffee waiting for our train to Dresden.

Berlin has been an experience! It’s not quite what i expected as a city, but everything and more than I expected as an experience. The history here is so immense – and its not all to do with Nazi’s and the Third Reich either – Berlin is so much more.

Guten tag! Willkommen in Deuchland

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:23:05 +1000

So we are in Germany now – having arrived from Tampere, Finland into Bremen the other day. We have been in Bremen for the last few days, staying with friends (Suzanne & Richard) in their lovely apartment which is just a short ride from the heart of Bremen.

We quickly realised that the Euro 2008 Cup (soccer) is in progress – and on the night we arrived Germany were facing off with Austria (the hosts), and it was a must win type of situation for Germany to allow them to progress through.

Finland here we come - for a night!

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:33:57 +1000

We jetted out of Athens this afternoon with our friends FinAir. The flight started out fine - a nice new plane and decent food - then the announcement came over the loud speaker “… the movie that will be shown today is The Bucket List” (great! we’ve only seen it 3 times already), “and it will be shown without audio, and with Finnish subtitles.”

Needless to say it didn’t take too long for the iPod to make an appearance. Then the loud speaker crackled a second blow - “drinks will be served shortly. Beer will be 4 Euros, Spirits 7 Euros…” - thats right, no free grog! We might as well have been flying with RyanAir, at least you expect it.

Our last day in Greece

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 04:08:19 +1000

Today is our last full day in Greece, as we fly out tomorrow at lunch time - meaning an early start to make sure we get to the airport on time.

Today was another reasonably relaxed and laid back day - we visited the National History Museum, and ate out for lunch in a lovely street side cafe adorned by fans and misting water to keep us cool.

Lunch started with a traditional glass of Ozzo (for me at least, Laura wasn’t too keen). We followed this with a seafood plater and a lamb souvlaki to share, both were fantastic.

A slow boat on the Aegean

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 07:52:18 +1000

Today we headed out early to catch a cruise around three of the Greek islands closest to Athens.

Leaving port this morning at about 8.30am, the sun was up and had a fair sting in it - needless to say we took the opportunity to sit on the outer deck and soak up some of the fine rays.

The first thing that stuck us, once we had left the docks and headed out to sea, was the brilliant blue colour of the water - it was absolutely amazing. People have told us about the water over here, but its something you don’t really appreciate until you see it (and later swim in it :) .

A slow day in Athens

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:34:59 +1000

We got into Athens yesterday afternoon - great weather, we managed to escape the bad weather that has been forecast for the UK!

Yesterday basically involved getting from the airport to the hotel and checking in.

Today we decided to take an easy day - we have been on the go for so long you just need to recharge the batteries every now and then.

So a slow day involved heading into the Acropolis and seeing a number of the other sites that surround it. We then had a bite of lunch at a local cafe before heading back to the hotel for the afternoon - where we hav spent hours attempting to plan how to get from Finland to Germany without it costing a fortune. Unfortunately this is just not possible, so we booked the first flight out (which was the cheapest by far, but still relatively expensive :( ).

London and Liverpool

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:51:49 +1000

London - Our initial taste

While we were briefly in London before departing to Ireland for a week, we managed to squeeze in some sight seeing - jumping on a ‘Fat Tire’ bike tour. This was a leisurely 4 hour bike ride around central London, and was a great way of getting oriented.

While we didn’t go into any of the sights on the tour, we were given a pretty good commentary on each sight and its history. This gave us a pretty good idea of what we should come back and see.

All aboard the Paddy Wagon

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:31:36 +1000

Sorry it’s been a while since out last update, but it can be hectic on the road - never knowing when and where you will get a chance to have 5 minutes free to post a message or two (and I have to say touring in Ireland, with its many pubs does create a pretty big distraction :) ).

Anyway - to start with, no one will believe us when we say that the weather in Ireland at the moment is bloody great - its actually sunny and hot - none of us expected to get sun burnt on the north coast of Ireland, but most of us did - it must have been at least 25-28c here - its been bloody great.

London calling

Wed, 28 May 2008 19:30:49 +1000

We have now left the Spanish speaking countries behind us after about 7 weeks of traveling. We find it hard to stop saying ‘Gracias’ to people - but I’m sure we will get over it.

Our flight out of Barcelona was delayed by about 30min, but we managed to touch down on British soil fine. We were dreading hitting Heathrow a little - you never seem to hear a good story about that place - but we were very surprised when we only queued for about 5min in immigration and waled straight through customs. Literally took us about 10min! We spent longer in the duty free grog shop buying gifts for our hosts here in London.

Madrid to Barcelona

Tue, 27 May 2008 02:54:40 +1000

So after a reasonably restful sleep overnight we got into exploring Madrid early – eager to use the remainder of the time available on our 24hr Madrid Vision card (we had until about 2pm) – first on the list was a coffee at one of the many local cafe’s, then onto the Royal Palace for a tour.

The Royal Palace was spectacular. We we allowed access to about 50 of the 2,800 rooms in the palace. We started in the royal armory where armor that had been worn by or gifted to the kings of Spain was housed. This was a very interesting exhibition – you could even see how some of the kings had grown around the waist over time by the re-sizing of their armor ;).

Madrid - Spain

Sat, 24 May 2008 09:13:20 +1000

We have now left South America behind us, and moved onto the European leg of our trip.

Our flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid was with the Spanish Iberia airline - an 11 hour flight that was probably our worst yet… lucky us to get the worst one on a long flight.

Based on our experience I would try to avoid flying with them again. The entertainment system was communal, no personal entertainment system that you seem to get on most other flights these days. The hostesses were not really interested, and the air conditioning was set to about 35c… even Laura was hot!

On to Argentina

Fri, 23 May 2008 10:37:59 +1000

We have left Peru behind after a month of travel through the country – along the way making some great friendships. So onto Argentina it is.

Day 1 – Meeting the Argentinean Pruscino’s

We arrived in Buenos Aires, after what was definitely the best flight we have had yet – lots of room, a nice new plane, and not many passengers – to be greeted warmly by the Argentinian Pruscino’s (Laura’s distant relatives).

Peru in review

Fri, 23 May 2008 08:42:01 +1000

Our time in Peru has come to an end - we are moving on and leaving behind some awesome memories and great new friends.

I thought it would be good to try and review and reflect on our time here in Peru, and ponder some of the highlights, and the lowlights of what we have seen (in some cases the highlights and lowlights run together).

Initially landing in Lima we were a little concerned about what we had got ourselves into - the airport, as with many big cities is surrounded by poorer districts. So our first impression of Peru was a wild taxi ride through the slum areas of Lima. We both looked at each other and said - ¨This is what we wanted!¨.

Welcome to the Jungle

Thu, 15 May 2008 10:27:35 +1000

From the comfort of Cuzco, we headed our on an AreoCondor flight to Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon Jungle.

While being back close to sea level was a relief, the temperature had also increased considerably along with the humidity, and the number of mosquitoes - although, none of these were quite as bad as we had expected.

After leaving the airport at Puerto Maldonado we were picked up by our Jungle Lodge transfer service - a Mercedes Benz bus without windows, and wooden seats with Jungle themes painted down the sides. The bus took us into Puerto Maldonado - a bit of a slum really, with not much there, and very dirty. Apparently the main mode of transport is the motorbike, with hundreds of these packing the dirty streets. While helmets did appear to be quite common, this was only the case for the drivers, with the passengers (often another 2 or 3 people) never seen to be wearing them.

Machu Picchu

Sun, 11 May 2008 14:24:20 +1000

We got off to a very early start this morning - 4.30am, breakfast at 5, and on the bus up to Machu Picchu at 5.30.

The bus departs from the bus station in Aquas Calientes and heads down a narrow road into the jungle before crossing the river to begin the step and windy assent up the Machu Picchu mountain. Both Laura and I are not the best with heights, and buses driving along shear cliff faces is one thing we both battle for the isle seat on. Laura scored the window seat on the way up - were not certain if the partial daylight made the trip better or worse, but we made it to the top in one piece, although a there were a few nifty manuevers on the way up as two buses passed each other on the often very narrow track.

On the road to Machu Picchu

Sat, 10 May 2008 09:27:17 +1000

So we left Cuzco yesterday afternoon headed for Ollantaytambo, a small rural town which is part of Cuzco province, and a couple of hours out of Cuzco city.

On the way we passed through the sacred valley and visited the large markets in Pisac - again buying a few souvenirs. We then continued on to another small rural town where we had some local interaction. We were met at the local petrol station by a local (guide) on a push bike. We followed him through a number of back streets in our bus and eventually arrived at a local pottery factory.

Cuzco here we come

Tue, 06 May 2008 23:32:29 +1000

So after another long bus ride across the Andean country side we arrived in Cuzco yesterday afternoon - and what a relief this was. The 7 hour bus ride across Peruvian highways that at times were as smooth as a bad gravel road was wearing thin - plus our butts were sore from sitting for so long ;).

Cuzco really is the oasis we have been waiting for - its downtown region is really old and beautiful with a definite European feel. The icing on the cake for us is that we are sort of starting to feel better!

Lake Titicaca home stay

Mon, 05 May 2008 10:29:30 +1000

So we are back in Puno now (which is located on the shores of lake Titicaca) after leaving yesterday morning for our home-stay. We are both felling 100% on what we have been and hopefully the worst is behind us. We still need to be a little careful with our stomachs as they are still a little tender, but generally much better than they have been over the past 3-4 days.

Colca Canyon and Home Stay

Sat, 03 May 2008 12:53:29 +1000

From Arequipa we headed to the Colca Canyon - passing through altitudes of almost 5,000m on the way.

When you get off the bus at these altitudes, you have to take it very slowly! Even very slow walking causes your head to spin and heart to thump. I thought it was convenient that they had roadside markets in places like this. Unknowing tourists such as ourselves jump off the bus in the high altitude, dizzy due to lack of oxygen, and purchase anything that is going before making it back to the bus to recover.

We made it to Arequipa

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:09:30 +1000

So we caught the overnight bus from Nazca last night. We were not expecting too much, but we were pretty surprised when we boarded the bus to find it was equipped with recliner seats - i’m not just talking about being able to recline the back of the seat, but a leg rest as well. It was pretty well equipped - not that is really any exchange for a real bed and pillow. While we did sleep, I was pretty restless but probably the best you could expect on a bus.

Peru here we come

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:58:53 +1000

It’s been a few days since we have had a chance to grab a seat in front of a computer (probably a good thing), so I will try to fill you all in on what we have been up to in the last few days.

We started our Intrepid tour of Peru on Friday. We all met in a small hotel in Miraflores (a suburb of Lima). There are 13 of us in the group, and we all get along really well. The group is a really well balanced mix of people and ages - mostly Australians, and some Poms.

Peruvian Highlights Tour Begins

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 10:31:01 +1000

We meet up with our tour group last night in Miraflores (just out of Lima) in the hotel we were staying in for the night.

Our tour group is pretty good - a mix of both young and older people, but all lovely.

We left Lima this afternoon and after a 3-4 hour bus ride we have arrived in Pisco - the city where the national drink gets its name from.

Santiago pictures

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:49:03 +0000

I have managed to post some of our pictures from around the neighbourhood where we are staying. There are not too many up there yet, but I hope to be able to get more up soon. Its difficult due to the size of my image files, and not being able to resize them easily in internet cafe’s… oh well.

Hola! The trip begins..

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:47:24 +0000

Hi all,

After a reasonable, but long flight we touched down in Santiago yesterday afternoon (14th). After some sleep, we had our first dinner here, which consisted of a packet of Corn chips & a bottle of local red wine called ´Carmen´ - made the choice easy.

After some more sleep last night we had a light breakfast where we are staying, and have headed out to try and get a feel for the place. Hope to do some tours during the week to see the sights, etc.