After a long hiatus...we're in Australia!

G'Day from the land down under!

We are in sunny (and hot) Melbourne right now and Australia is Awesome! Definitely what we needed after our crazy couple of weeks in India and Nepal.

have to wait for now. Trust us - we aren't that eager to reminisce about it yet, anyway!! So here goes:

After India, we went north to Nepal. First, we spent a night in Lumbini, the birtplace of Buddha (Siddhartha). We visited the temple of Maya Devi, named after his mother, located on the site where he was born, but didn't do much else because we had to get on the road. From there, we spent two nights at an eco-retreat in Royal Chitwan National park where we saw wild rhinos, rode elephants, and went on an early morning canoe ride down the river. It was very beautiful and peaceful.

Then we went to Pokhara, where our current memory card begins! (And thus so will the posted photos!) Pokhara is the base fro which most trekkers leave to explore the Annapurna Range in the Himalayas. The backdrop was stunning, and it really reminded us of home.

The atmosphere of the town was very backpacker-friendly - lots of shops, cafes, etc - not as much pestering and nagging from the locals!! We hiked up to the world Peace Pagoda there, and took a boat ride back (in which we had to pay for two boats for seven people, but only got one boatman, so Rob had to paddle the other boat)!!

We finished our tour in Kathmandu, which was much more full-on than the rest of Nepal (but not as much so as India was). We went to Durbar Square, and took a small plane and flew past Everest. It was very cool!

That afternoon, we flew out of Kathmandu and arrived in Bangkok, where we spent one blissful night in a very (unexpectedly) posh hotel next to the airport. Then on November 25, we flew in to Perth, Western Australia. Here is a view of the beautiful Scarborough beach - in the city of Perth!

We picked up our sweet campervan and have been on the road ever since. We have driven over 5,500kms so far (in just 17 days), and now that we are on the east coast, we can take it a bit easier as we don't have too far to go in the next 3 weeks.

From Perth, we went north to the Pinnacles Desert to see some cool rock formations in the desert.

On our way back to Perth, we stopped at a Koala conservation area and saw some stoned bears snoozing in the eucalyptus trees.

We visited some giant tingle trees south of Perth, and did a "Tree Top Walk with the Giants". The platforms were swaying like crazy in the wind, but provided a great perspective of the size of the trees.

Then we drove across the Nullarbor Plain - our first foray into the outback!! The drive was long, and we slept in the roadside pullouts, but it was very interesting scenery. Lots of kangaroo roadkill - I guess they don't remove it here! Here is an outback sunset from one of our roadside campsites (as well as an idea what we paid for gas on the Nullarbor):

After we reached the east side of the continent, we drove up to the Flinders Ranges. We took a hike up one of the ridges - it was sweltering!

From there, we headed south through Adelaide. Rob surfed alot, and Amanda got a tan (and some new running shoes, so she can get some exercise, too!).

We drove up the Great Ocean Road, where the angry Southern Ocean has created some funky rock formations along the coast.

Now we are in Melbourne (like we said), and we are heading further north towards Sydney this afternoon. Hope you enjoyed the post and barrage of photos!

Miss ya!

R&A

For more details...

There is a couple in our group who have a blog as well and are writing about our adventures in India. They have a laptop, so their entries are alot more detailed, and much more eloquent than what we've got here.
The address is:
keylesspiano.blogspot.com

Incredible India!!

Hey Everyone!
Sorry it's been so long since we updated our blog. We are in India now and Internet cafes aren't really common (expecially ones that work!!).
We arrived in New Delhi India on November 8. It is a very large city, and very polluted. Apparently it is rare for the pollution to be so bad thistime of year because the monsoons have washed the particles out of the atmosphere, but the weather was such that there was a permanent haze that made it seem overcast in the daytime, and foggy at night. Delhi was a great place to ride around in an auto rickshaw and shop!We spent the first 2 days there going to markets and shops, and to the main centre of Connaught Place. We visited India Gate and the Red Fort, and even saw a dead monkey on the sidewalk - just another day in Delhi!! Don't forget the cows - they really are everywhere!
After Delhi, we went to the city of Jaipur, which is the capital of Rajasthan province. This place was a little smaller, but just as busy. We visited the city palace, where the Maharaja lives, as well as the Amber Fort. This was the first place we really experienced the poverty of India. It seems impossible to escape, because there are so many people here and they are absolutely everywhere!!Lots of beggars, expecially children and women with small, weak looking babies. There is also alot of crime!! One of the women in our group had her bag stolen which contained all her money, her passport, camera, etc. and had to leave the tour because she acannot get the documents in time to enter Nepal. Really scary!! We have been keeping a close eye and a firm grip on all of our belongings.
After Jaipur, we took another train to Agra, to see the Taj Majal. It was even cooler in person than we expected!! (When we get a better computer, we'll upload some photos!!) We also went to Agra fort.
After that, we headed to a small town in the country called Orchha - it was a much-welcome break from the chaos of the cities!!
Now we are back at it in Varanasi. We arrived today, and tomorrow we are going to take a boat on the Ganges - the holy river - at sunrise. We are very excited to see this holy river and witness the people there worshiping, bathing, and mourning the dead that are there.
The next day we are off to Nepal, hopefully for some more peacuful days!! India has been sensory overload - the sights, sounds, and especially smells are more than we have ever seen before. Definitely makes us grateful for everything we have!! But we are enjoying this very different culture. Definitely something to remember!!
R&A

Greek Islands

Yasas! - That's hello in Greek.



We are in Greece; actually we are on the Greek island of Santorini.





After our last post, we headed south to Naples to check out the ruins of Pompeii. It was EXTREMELY cold there, but the ruins were cool! Mount Vesuvius (th volcano) actually had snow on it!!

After that, we took a "superfast" ferry (16.5 hours) overnight to Greece. We upgraded hugely to get a private outside cabin, and it was definitely worth the splurge.

We spent three nights in Athens, in the "Plaka" district - a pedestrian district full of cafes, shops and small hotels. It was a great atmosphere - and very close to the Acropolis. You could see it from the street in front of our hotel.

We visited the Acropolis (which is undergoing restoration and had alot of scafforliding and a few cranes around it), as well as some other ancient and roman ruins around the city.

Now we are in Santorini, after another ferry ride.

There are NO tourists here - it is definitely the low season. But the weather has been good enough to lay on the beach. Here is Rob with all the other tourists!

Roma

Hey Everyone,
Thought we'd give an update as we have FREE INTERNET at the place we are stying in here in Rome. It may seem like a small thing, but at prices from 1 Euro to 8 Euors per hour, the internet is an important commodity in our budget.
Italy has been an amazing country, to say the least. Definitely both of our favorite so far. Venice was very picturesque, and we met some really fun people at our hostel. Checked out the Rugby world Cup semifinal game between England and France in the most packed bar I have ever witnessed. Very cool atmosphere there!
In Florence, we saw a ton of art and love d eating! We have been gorging on pasta, pizzas, and gelati (Italian ice cream). Amanda's favorite is the Bacio flavor (like a Baci chocolate) and Rob really likes coconut.
After Florence, we spent two days along the coast of the Italian Rivera in Cinque Terre National Park. Literally, it meand "the Five Lands", and it consists of five small villages along the sea, linked by a (sometimes challenging) hiking trail. Outside of Canada, it is probably the most beatiful place either of us has ever been. We'll post some pictures soon. The trail ended in a village called Monterosso, where there was a sandy beach and we went swimming in the Meditteranean. It was chilly, but very refreshing after the long hike in the sun.
From there, we headed to Rome where we currently are. Yesterday we went to the Vatican and (believe us, it's true) there was NO lineup to get into the vatican museums, which includes the Sistime Chapel. This is quite the feat - especially for October, which is high season and we were told to expect a 2-3 hour wait. Needless to say, we saw Michelangelo's "The Creation" and "Last Judgement" at the Sistine Chapel, as well as Raphael's "School of Athens". We also went to the amazing St. Peter's Basilica. After seeing what seems like hundreds of churches in the past 6 weeks, this one was a definite standout.
Today we went to the Coloseum, Palatime Hill, and the Pantheon. The weather is unusually cold for Rome, but we are going to brave it and head out for a night open-top bus tour around the city and see all of the important monuments lit up.
Tomorrow we are headed to see Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii, then we aare taking an overnight ferry to Athens, Greece. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will get to relax on the beaches of the Greek islands.
Keep your fingers crossed for us.
Rob and Amanda

Italy and stuff.

Hey Everyone,
It's been a while since we've updates, and we've been very busy!!
From Madrid, we took a train south to Grenada, in Andalucia. We went there to see the Alhambra - a fortress built when the country was ruled by the Moors (Muslims). This contained the Nasirid palaces, very beautiful and intricate palaces where the rulers lived.
Here is the outside of the Alhambra:










And here is Amanda in front of on of the rooms in the palace:











Wee tokk a night trainto Barcelona, and our berth was nicer than some of the hotels we've stayed in!!













Here is la sagrada familia in BArcelonaç It' not near finished, and it was started in 1882!!















In Venice, we visited Plaza San Marco and visited the Duomo:











Here is a beautiful canal in Venice:

And yesterday we arrived in Venice. We got to see Micheloangelo's David - way bigger and bore impressive than we imagined.

Tomorrow , unless our plas change, we are heading to the Cinque Terre, and from there, we're on our way to Rome.

Spain - and a little more France

So, we are now in Grenada and have a chance to post a couple more pictures. And this time I even get a chance to give some captions, so you can actually know what you are looking at.
By the way, if you click on the pictures, they will open up alot bigger and you can see much more detail!
This is the Arc du Triomphe (Arch of Triumph) in Paris.

This is fairly obvious, but this is the Louvre Museum in Paris. A unique characteristic of Paris is that may of the building and streets are aligned so that if you look in a certain direction, you can seeseveral imprtant monuments along the plane. For example, from the entrance arch to the Louvre, the glass pyramid aligns perfectly. From there, you look through the mini Arc du Triomphe, through the Jardins du Tuileries (Tuilerie Gardens), to the Obelisk at the the Place de la Concorde, down the Champs Elysees, through the Arc du Triomphe. Of course, it´s all along a couple of kilometres, so it´s very difficult to get in a photo!

We visited the Pantheon and saw the crypt. Many famous people are buryied there - Louis Braille, Voltaire, and Pierre and Marie Curie. Here is the plaque from Marie Curie´s crypt.

From Paris, we went to Normandy - specifically the town of Bayeux. Here is the old gothic cathedral there:

We took a tour from Bayeux to the beaches of Normandy. Here is a picture from Pont du Hoc, which was a former location for German bunkers and was heavily bombed in the days before the D-day invasions. The area was never repaired, wo you can see all the bomb craters and the destroyed bunkers. US army rangers scaled the cloffs from the sea here.

After Normandy, we went to Tours and took a tour of the Loire valley. We went to Chateau Chenonceau, a private chateau that produces wines. Here is the outside of the Chateau. You may have to tilt your head a little to see it - it really is straight in person!!From there, we went to Biarritz, near the border of Spain. There was a storm, so the sea was looking farly angry that day:This is in the Plaza de Independencia in Madrid. And here is a view that Rob insisted I include - it´s what was outside the window of our "hotel" in Madrid. Quite the view - I hope it is the lowlight of our trip!


We are in Grenada particularly to visit the Alhambra. Here are some pictures taken there, in the Nazirid Palaces. The detail of the carvings in the walls and ceilings, as well as the tile work is absolutely amazing. I can´t imagine how long and how many people it took to do that!


Love Amanda