Road to Athens 2011 Highlights - Topdeck

After 3 days in London doing the usual touristy things, I was ready to embark on my epic Euro tour. Since this tour was go go go from the start, I did not get the chance to update my blog! Also because this tour was so epic, it is impossible to write about every bit of the tour, so this is a summary of the best/worst/interesting/historic places.

• Paris was the first port of call but I must say it has left an impression on me. I got one hell of a work out (walking from The Louvre to the Arch De Triumph to the Eiffel Tower, Metro to the Opera house and back to the Eiffel). We finished the day off with a picnic dinner and a very 'interesting' cabaret show.

• A highlight from the trip was quad biking around Mykonos in the Greek Islands. Finding little beaches, driving into oncoming traffic (driving on the right side of the road!), squeezing into the little stone walled roads and attempting to keep up with the other maniacs I was convoying with - was all part of the fun. The warmth of the Greek sunshine and the magnificent views made it a highlight for me. Awesome stuff!

• Best history place was Roma! I was in awe at practically everything. The maze of streets led to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum and the Colosseum. Hay now, this is what dreams are made of! It was sweaty and hot but it was worth it. I could imagine being a Roman whilst walking amongst the buildings and ruins.

• Best Beauty? Was Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. It had a magical feel to it. Misty waterfalls, lush greenery, snow capped mountains and faggots (perfectly stacked wood piles) everywhere. It was a great time too because it was when we where getting to know everyone on tour, it was lighthearted and fresh.

• Worst place. That would hands down be Pisa, Italy. Thank goodness it was a quick stop for a photograph at the leaning tower. There are sooo many souvenir shops, dodgy people and a generally questionable place. -Second worst would be the random arse fishing village we stopped at in Corfu on our 3 day sailing in the Ionian sea. It had haggard looking stray cats everywhere, an awful indescribable stench wafting and whole little octopuses for my dinner (I thought itd be calamari rings but no) haha.


• Unexpected cool place. Athens, Greece! Chaotic and historical. Going to dedicate a whole post to it - watch this space!

The 24 day tour was so massive and so epic that I could write essays on it. So to limit myself I have tried to pick out a few words to describe what each place was like :) Enjoy...

1. Paris, France: glamorous. exercise.


2. Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland: spellbinding. fresh. like NZ.


3. Avignon, France: touristy. walls. meh.


4. Barcelona, Spain: architecture. suspicious.


5. Nice, France: relaxing. homely. want to retire there.


6. Monaco, France: rich. glamour. boring.


7. Verona, Italy: boutique. scam.


8. Venice, Italy: maze. water. thunder.


9. Pisa, Italy: stopover. dirty.


10. Rome, Italy: in awe. unreal.


11. Vatican City: holy. artistic.


12. Ignomennessa [bad spelling], Greece: calming. little.


13. Sailing Boats, Ionian Sea: relaxing. sun. sleep.


14. Corfu, small fishing village, Greece: traditional, smelly


15. Athens, Greece: chaotic. historical.


16. Mykonos, Greek Is: beautiful. blue/white. quad biking.

I will no doubt come back and add to the list as I remember stuff . So that is the sum up of the crazy 24 day tour with an awesome group of peeps, from London to Greece.

Let the Euro Trip continue!