Adventures by Alan and Melanie
After getting our fill at Paklenica, we continued our track south along the Adriatic. Along the way, we got spectacular lightning storms, more magical waterfalls, an ancient city, an impromptu rafting trip, and quality rock climbing!
On our way south, we travelled through the cities of Rovinj and Pula before carving our way inland to explore Plitvice lakes (Plitvička jezera) national park. Our road trip was filled with history lessons and beautiful waterfalls, an excellent introduction to Croatia.
Our journey across Italy took only three days, but we squished in as much sightseeing and adventure as we could!
We cruised through the urban and sophisticated French Riviera to the rugged charming Italian Riviera. Our destination was Finale Ligure, but each stop we made on the way was vacation-worthy on its own.
Upon arriving to France the hunt for an adventure van began. Ten days later, we were on the road! All it took was 3 steps: find a van, buy the van, then register the van.
We arrived in Brussels without much of an itinerary in mind, but it ended up being the perfect bridge between Germany and France. The city is fun and compact, allowing us to explore it largely on foot. We admired the architecture, we found all of the “Pis” statues, and drank plenty of good Belgian beers. We even met up with one of Alan’s old friends from home, who lives in a nearby town!
Our first stop in Europe was Lüdinghausen, Germany! We spent a few wonderful days with my exchange sister and her family. We were welcomed with a double rainbow – a great omen for the visit.
Continue reading “[Exchange] Sister adventures: The authentic German experience.”
A detour on our journey to El Bolson broke up what would have been a 24 hour bus ride, and allowed us to visit a special place highly recommended by a friend: the marble caves. Getting to the marble caves was trickier than expected, and resulted in nearly circumnavigating a lake with two names: Lago General Carrera or Lago Buenos Aires as named by Chile and Argentina.
Our four days in Buenos Aires were filled with great food (empanadas, pizza, pasta, dessert!) and lot of beautiful parks and plazas. We wandered the busy streets and quaint neighborhoods (and got a bit sweaty because it was HOT). We stopped to watch tango dancers in a plaza (a milonga), and strolled through a gorgeous rose garden. Buenos Aires has many theaters, and we enjoyed an outdoor showing of the ballet Sleeping Beauty on the plaza of Teatro Colon (at least until our stomachs started grumbling). We also visited a theater which had been converted into a huge bookstore! Before leaving for the airport on our last day, we visited a local bouldering gym, where the friendly owner demonstrated tricky beta in his flip flops. After working up an appetite, we stopped in a cute cafe and shared an eggplant milanesa sandwich! The owner asked us for a note on his brand new white lockers, and we left a bit of Venice for him. All in all, we had a great time in the capital!
Four weeks of friendship and downsizing have passed, and we’re on our way to Argentina! Our time in between established life and definitive fluidity featured trips along the Eastern Sierra and also to Goodwill and the Post Office. Throughout this time, we were constantly reminded that we have a family in Los Angeles that we will miss dearly during our time away. Through this blog we hope to share our experiment in love, adventure and simplicity with you.
Stay amazing friends! See you all soon 😃