OPA!!

Our week in Greece flew by but we had such a relaxing time.

We spent four days on the island of Skiathos where we explored the little town near the main port, went on a boat trip around the island, and spent the rest of the time chilling out, reading and eating.

Our hotel (yes hotel., not hostel. woohoo!) was lovely and was only a short walk from the town.

Our day trip out on the boat took us to some of the best beaches on Skiathos island. The boat played greek music the whole time, sadly there were no plates on board that we could smash on the ground. We picked such a lovely day to go out too.

This is our tour boat.. We were scared that it wouldn't come back for a bit haha!

Got to feed the native wild life. You'll be very surprised to know that these seagulls sound exactly the same as our Australian ones. No Greek accent at all haha! 

Jess wanted her mum to know that she was eating enough fruit. Hence the banana. 

Our favourite place to chill out and relax on Skiathos were these marble rocks near the port that had a diving board attached to them.

The water was so clear!! It looks so shallow but you could safely dive in right here!!

The other three days were spent on Skopelos island in another hotel (they were so cheap!!!) with this amazing view:

On one of the days on Skopelos, Jess and I intended to walk to one of the beaches closest to the town which was a couple of kilometers away. Instead, we found ourselves hitching a ride with a really lovely swedish lady to a beach about a 30 minutes drive from where we already were. It was a very unintentionally spontaneous day. Luckily for us there was a bus to bring us back to the town as the lady was not staying at the beach herself. I do not know what the name of the beach was but I do know that it was the longest beach on the island.

Skopelos and Skiathos are part of the Sporades islands and are where the movie Mamma Mia was filmed. We wanted to go to the church on the top of the hill, where the wedding scene was filmed, but there were no buses that drove there and the only other way to get there was to drive or go on a big tour. So sadly we didn't make it but we had a great time exploring the rest of the town that was close to us.

The week went waaaaay to quickly for my liking haha but afterwards we were rested up and ready for the next part of our adventure!

Here we come Athens!!

love you all
xxxx

Venimus, Vidimus, Vicimus!!

Rome was INSANELY cooooool! Love love loved Rome! My favourite part was the Collosseum. I had a strong desire to watch Gladiator after visiting it, but unfortunately we could not. I shall have to wait until we get home, or perhaps they will have it on the plane? Hmmm anyway, I digress!

Collosseo!!

Hiding from the sun. Ugh it was a scorcher that day. 

This is me being a very good tourist, pondering the mysteries of the Ancient Romans. "I wonder what kinds of snacks they sold in the stands back in the day?"

When ever I tried to take photos of Jess a large group of people would always walk between us... She kept that beautiful smile on though haha! I shall add some of the non crowded photos, from her phone, when I get the chance. 

I loved the Colloseum so much. It reminded me of my old Scooby-Doo Playstation game where where Shaggy and Scoob run around inside the Colloseum, avoiding deadly attacks from skeletal gladiators and their horses. Luckily, we did not have to worry about any of these savage attacks. Phew!

We also went on a tour of the Vatican City. It is fortunate that we went on a tour for two reasons. Firstly, there was a huuuuuge line to get inside and it was totally exposed in the scorching heat of the day, but being part of a tour group, we were able to jump the que! Woohoo! Secondly, I would have had no clue about what anything was or meant, had we not had a tour guide. 

The Vatican Museums were really interesting and filled with lots of paintings and sculptures from heaps of famous artists including Michaelangelo, Raphael and another Michaelangelo, who they called 'Carravaggio'. I liked his paintings a lot. There were a lot of others too but I can't remember them... Sorry!!

We also got to go into the Sistine Chapel to see this very well known painting by Michaelangelo. (Sorry about the shotty quality. We weren't meant to take photos so I had to be quick and sneaky!) 

Here, you can see that God is about to poke Adam's finger. Back in the days of Adam, this was the customary greeting between friends. It was later replaced by the shaking of hands or the slapping of bottoms... Very, very factual story. At least I think the tour guide said this. She either said this or that god was giving Adam life. I can't quite remember but the two explanations are easily confused... It was probably the latter. 

This is the Pigna Courtyard. 

Sadly St. Peter's Basilica was closed because the pope was having a meeting but here is a picture of the dome part of it.

We almost saw the pope too.. Unfortunately the crowd was a little too large to squeeze through to get a better view.. But this is what we were able to see of Saint Peter's Square.

We also went to see Fontana di Trevi. 

It was beautiful, however, because tourist season is about to hit, most main attractions have some sort of fence or scaffolding surrounding it or a section of it (to fix things?? I don't really know why).

We did not let this get us down though, we still took some nice photos and even threw our pennies into the fountain. 

Apparently the rule is that if you throw one coin in you will return to Rome one day, and if you throw two coins in you will marry a Roman... Jess and I had about 100 pennies to get rid of soo we aren't sure whether we will be returning to Rome 50 times or will be marrying 50 Romans in our lifetime... I guess we will find out soon enough. 

Walking around the streets in Rome was incredible. 

There were ruins everywhere which 

Some regal looking gentlemen in front of II Vittoriano which is situated in Piazza Venezia. This monument is dedicated to King Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of Italy. 

The Pantheon was pretty swish too! The tomb of good old Victor Emmanuel II lies inside this grand building.

Rome was super cool and full of history! There is so much more to explore as well but sadly for us we have to keep moving. Greece awaits! 

Lots of love 

Jess and Jaz 

Xoxoxoxooxox 

Ps: Just remembered!! The tour guide from the Vatican told us that if we were to learn one thing that day it should be that Julius Ceasar was not an Emporer, but a very powerful General.. Apparently. So there you go. I did not know this but now I do! 

Ciao Firenze

Florence has been my favourite city so far... I think. I don't know. It is very nice! We spent 3 days exploring the streets, the markets, the cathedrals and the art that fills this city. It had a lovely, welcoming vibe and the food was pretty darn excellent too. 

We tackled the leather markets a few times and quickly found that if you touch something, even if you aren't really that interested in the item, the person at the stall will spend the next 10 mins trying to sell it to you (despite your constant "no thank you"s). Telling you that his bag is much better than the man's next door and that he will sell it to you for a very special price, just for you. It is very exhausting. Also trying to figure out which bags were real leather and which were fake was also a bit tricky. Despite our limited knowledge about the physical properties of fine leather, Jess and I made ourselves seem like we knew what we were doing by inspecting every bag or wallet very carefully: rubbing it between our fingers, examining the label closely and sometimes giving the bag a little sniff every now and again. We totally looked like we knew what we were doing.. However, whether we bought real or fake leather, we know not. 

We also saw the world famous David by Michaelangelo. He was fantastic. He seemed so real! It was incredible being able to actually see a piece of art that I have heard about and seen photos of for years. He was awesome, his facial expression seemed so lifelike as did the way his fingers were positioned. His hands were Jess' favourite part because when you looked at them you were convinced that they were about to move. He had a nice bottom too. 

David wasn't the only naked man we saw in Florence. We also found this photo in the same gallery. 

Hahaha!! I am curious as to what this guy would look like from the front.. Hehe! 

A building with lots of money stuck to it. We weren't sure whether it was real or fake, but all the lower ones seem to have been ripped off. That may have just been the wind though.

We also ventured inside the Cathedral of Florence: Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. It was stunning and so colourful from the outside! Covered in green and red marble and paintings as well! 

The painted alfresco on the inside of the dome of the cathedral was amazing. We got a closer view when we climbed to the top. I think it was a depiction of the judgement day. I'm not to sure i forgot to ask about that one but it was pretty insanely detailed! 

Climbing the walls of the Dome.

I know that Jess is a bit of a badass but this time this rebellious act was not her. Very surprising, I know.

The view from the top of Dome.

After climbing the Dome we climbed this bell tower sitting behind me. Lots of stairs were climbed that day. 

View from the bell tower.

The cathedral was so massive, you could never squeeze it into the one photo unless you were in a helicopter or a few hundred steps back. It's like taking a photo of a big group of people, all of whom refuse to huddle in, so you have no choice but to cut some people out. It was its own fault.

Tempting fate.

The Arno River.

This bridge, the 'Ponte Vecchio' (old bridge), has shops built on it which hang over the side of the bridge. Walking through it is just like walking through another small town.

The view from Piazzale Michaelangelo.

This was our favourite place to come for dinner. It was cheap and delicious and simply the best. 

We loved Florence so much! Will definitely be stopping in again some day!!

Xoxoxoxo

Jess and Jaz