Adventures by Alan and Melanie
Our first few hours in Greece were eventful! Not only did we see a bear cross the road, but we also admired the super deep Vikos gorge from the town above! Despite the rain that followed us from the Balkans, our journey to Athens was beautiful.
With spirits soaring as high as our airplane, we arrived to Istanbul. After seeing the massive city from the airplane, we were ready to explore! Ahead was an amazing week of discovery, friends, and food!
With minutes left to leave our guesthouse in Omis, we checked the weather for the next week and tried to mask our disappointment – nonstop rain. Not great news for our climbing and hiking plans. “Let’s go to Istanbul!” I suggested. After scrambling to buy flights with our precious last few minutes of WiFi, we had booked flights from Sarajevo, Bosnia to Istanbul for the next day. Adventures!
Continue reading “Next stop: Sarajevo International Airport?”
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!
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.”
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!