Delphi - GREECE

Your first view into the ruins

Originally we weren't planning on heading out to Delphi but after finding out that our Mycenae tour included Corinth, we decided to change! And what a brilliant change it was, so glad we did. It was a long drive out from Athens, roughly 3 hours, but definitely worth it. 

When you arrive, you start out at the bottom of the archaeological site, pay for a ticket (or in our case collect it from the tour guide), and start walking up the stone path that heads up the mountain through Ancient Delphi. As you walk up you have a beautiful view of the mountains surrounding you. I personally found as you headed further up to the top of Delphi, the more beautiful the scenery appeared.

Treasury of the Boeotians

The first thing you'll see is a few open rooms shown in the picture on the left. I won't go in to too much detail about it as I didn't find it to be too jaw dropping, however I will point out that whilst building the walls, the ancient Greeks made them capable of draining any water that may flow down them as you can see in the patterns in the walls. Smart.

Treasury of the Athenians

Continue walking approximately 30-50 metres ahead and slightly uphill and you come across the Treasury of the Boeotians. The pathway to the left of this has been roped off however there is a plaque sitting on the left side indicating it also led to another treasury. Delphi must've been a treasury centre as only a few metres further forward and uphill (again), you see the beautiful Treasury of the Athenians. All the artefacts found from this site are located down in the museum attached, roughly a 3 minute walk from the entrance of Delphi.

Further along you have the Rock of the Sibyls, an object used to foretell the future.

Temple of Apollo

And on to the most wondrous part of Delphi (in my opinion), the Temple of Apollo. My favourite part of Greece is the rich background and cultural investment in the Greek Gods. Apollo being apart of this Greek God family, naturally peaked my interest. After walking around the Temple of Poseidon the day before, being able to walk around the Temple of Apollo was an amazing experience.

Finally we have a shot of the Treasury of the Athenians and the ruins that surround it. From this far up the mountain the view is incredible. Unfortunately the clouds were billowing in quite quickly as by the time I had reached the top, going past the theatre and up to the stadium, it was almost raining.

For anyone thinking of going to Greece, would definitely recommend taking a tour out to Delphi as the tour guides are quite informative and Delphi itself is a beautiful place.

Views from the mountain 

Athens (sneak peak!)

Mycenaen Tomb

As I am still out exploring and doing things in Greece I thought perhaps I should share some photos and snippets now, and on Saturday morning, share my adventures from Delphi! I will be posting some individual posts with additional images for the places that I personally quite enjoyed but for now, here are a few photos to give you an idea!

 1. From our visit to Mycenae and Corinth
    Mycenaen Tomb

 2. On our way climbing up to the Acropolis 
     Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus

 3. My most favourite place of all so far
     Temple of Poseidon

Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus

Temple of Poseidon

Chateau du Chillon, Switzerland

I figure instead of writing a huge amount of descriptive words poorly stringed together, perhaps Switzerland would be best described if you could see it for yourself. 

First (1) photo is of me (yes, I know I'm awkward) in front of the Chateau du Chillon. We had to park a while away and walk alongside the train line and decided this would be a good enough angle to take photos from! I think it turned out alright... 

Second (2) photo is from a window on the highest part of the castle. For those who don't know what a chateau is and hasn't guessed it already, means castle...mostly...The majority of the roof and towers look like this from the outside with the inside looking like a stereotypical medieval castle you'd see from movies or Game of Thrones. Probably more so Game of Thrones.

Third (3) photo is from a window inside the castle looking out toward the South. I thought it was just the perfect view to have from a window. The stone slabs are extremely thick, I'd estimate at around half a metre at the thin points. Taking this photo did scare me a bit as I had to lean out and stick my arm out over the water. I am slightly paranoid of dropping things down places where I can't retrieve them.

Fourth (4) is from what I believe was the "womens area". It isn't technically called that but in the description of what the room was used for, it basically described that the females in the castle would spend most of their days in this particular room doing whatever was req. Unless they had to leave the room of course.

Fifth (5) photo was simply taken because I have never seen a white swan before! I live in Western Australia. We only have black swans there so seeing a white one was just weird. Personally think the black ones are prettier but that could just be me being biased. I suppose if you're accustom to seeing white swans this could be a strange photo to post up but I figured it was a part of my experience in Switzerland, and why not!

♡ I'm baaaack! ♡

It's been a while guys but I've finally managed to stop and rest for a day and get some decent net (which is harder to find than you'd think)! I'll be uploading posts on my trip through Switzerland and where I currently am, in Greece. On Saturday I will be heading from Greece to Italy and spending a week there so hopefully I'll also be able to find some net to update you guys there as well! Especially as I will be swinging by Pompeii which I believe is entitled to its very own post. 

When I get back from my trip I have a list of books I'd like to read as well so there will be a few of those posts (it's a bit hard to carry books around when your suitcase is overflowing). I've also got a few little projects I'd like to start so there shall be updates on those too. 

So yeah! Keep an eye out as my posts will (hopefully) be coming through more frequently now and in 2 weeks some different things as well! I'll also be posting links to my posts on Twitter as soon as they're published so keep an eye out on that, or subscribe to posts via email and you'll be sent a notification.

More posts coming soon!

Pont Du Gard and Millau!

Roughly an hours drive away from Arles we finally reached our first stop of the day, Pont Du Gard. I wasn't sure what to expect. I've seen photo's of the monument but in each photo it was not clear on what size it is and what's around it. Unless you get an aerial photo of course, then you can see everything surrounding it and get some perspective.

Myself at the Pont Du Gard

I thought it would be...longer. As you walk up to it you can see parts of it through trees, seeing one end of it but not quite the other. Impossible to tell where it ends by seeing just one end, it made my imagination go a little overboard. Grandad and myself made the walk up to the Pont Du Gard with Grandma staying behind in a cafe. Unfortunately we've all come down with a cold so walking a distance against strong cold winds isn't the best idea. We made our way out to it, walked halfway along the bridge adjacent and stared up. I tried to read the plaque stuck onto the side, a considerably recent addition, as well as all the graffiti that has been etched into it over the decades. The plaque was written in French even though it is in an old style, similar to Greek, and dedicated to Emperor Napoleon III for his restoration of the Pont Du Gard. I didn't know this at the time and only recognised the name so I asked Grandad for a little bit of background on Napoleon III as I was unsure of exactly what he did, and why he was so important he had his name on the monument. We discussed it as we walked back to the car, meeting Grandma on the way.

Chateau in Millau

After the Pont Du Gard we continued on to Millau where we are to spend the night at a chateau. The view driving in was incredible. I was too awe struck to dig through my bag and find my camera. You drive in from such a height that you get an aerial view of the entire town. Surrounded by lush, green mountains, a huge bridge in the distance behind it, Millau looks like the little hidden town you could run away to and be safe from everything from the outside world. Of all the French and Spanish countryside I have seen in the last few days of tours and driving, Millau is by far the greenest. That, coupled with the style of the town makes it one of the prettiest places I've seen. The chateau we're staying in overnight is so large and quaint, old and modern. It's adorable. The hourly ringing clock tower next to it not so much but the chateau is adorable.

Side of Chateau and clock/bell tower beside it

Tomorrow making our way up to Lyon for an overnight stay and then on to a weeklong stay elsewhere. 23 more days of exploring parts of Europe!

Arles, France!

France. Honestly never thought I would ever make it here. Sure, Spain and Portugal were always going to be a definite as the ship I was on (Liberty of the Seas) was stopping there whether I wanted to or not. But the idea of driving up through France was a reality I was beginning to question...

View of Arles from top tower of Amphitheatre

Arles was our first stop. My first impression was that it was windy and cold. Much colder than I thought it would be. On the best of days it was 19 degrees, minimum 3. Needless to say I was less than prepared.

Scarily narrow streets are a hard thing to stop be scared about. Driving on the right hand side when your accustom to the left is one thing, but doing it on a street barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other is a different thing entirely. Once I managed to get over the fear of having a head on collision or my side of the car being wiped out by a pole, I began paying attention to the buildings and people. The architecture is so uniquely beautiful. At first it was just a bunch of orange, white, and pink buildings, but after a few minutes of staring I noticed the details in the window sills. How each house had it's own individual style from different ages, how the personality of each house managed to remain unique in a city that looks the same. 

Inside the Amphitheatre

Once we reached our hotel and had settled, we walked around for a while looking for somewhere to eat dinner (thankfully Grandad is fluent in French so finding a menu we all liked wasn't too hard). Once that was sorted and our reservations made we walked across the road from our hotel and went inside the amphitheatre. I thought something that old wouldn't have modern structures inside it, let alone still host festivals. At the time of our exploration a gladiators class was going on inside. We sat down and watched them fight for a while before we moved on to dinner.

Gladiator's lesson

Food in France I am told is amazing. I expected great things when I ordered my food. Gladly, I wasn't disappointed. Unfortunately there were no frogs legs or anything exotic or native to try, just duck, fish, and lamb. Whenever I eat meat I generally don't notice much difference in quality or taste unless it's terribly good or bad. Vegetables I tend not to eat. Obvious reasons; 1) They don't taste great and 2) they don't contain my favourite thing of all, sugar. I wasn't surprised at all with the meat, but the vegetables... I couldn't stop eating them. I'm not sure what they did to them but they were amazing. Hopefully tonight's vegetables will be just as good if not better.

The following morning (this morning) we packed up everything and moved on to our next stop, Pont Du Gard and Millau!

Lisbon, Cascais, and Sintra!

FINALLY! Back on land and how nice it is to be somewhere different and exciting. After being on a ship surrounded by Americans, Germans, and Canadians, it is such a relief to hear a different accent and language. Feels nice to the ear. 

Lisbon as a city is beautiful and breathtaking. The sea breeze coming in over the atlantic ocean is cold, a refreshing and well needed feeling as you walk around in the hot sun. In the city itself there are quite a few historical buildings, monasteries, monuments, and fortresses. Constantly surrounded by people, both locals and tourists. Whilst in Lisbon I visited the Monastery of St Jerome and marvelled at the architecture. The place was packed with others from the ship so it was hard to move around and get the right angle for a photo, but it was interesting to see the monastery from the tour guides, and local portuguese, perspective. They are very proud.

In Cascais we walked alongside the river and into a fortress. Unfortunately as it is a Saturday, all the cafes and restaurants are closed. There really wasn’t much to see inside. A few statues outside and an open hotel down the street.

We stopped off as a group for lunch. Instead of typically ordering your food or choosing from a buffet, everything was brought out to you and served a size of the waiters choice. A strangely nice tasting cabbage soup, followed by rice, chips, salad, and a giant pork kebab. For desert we were served an almond cake. The soup and salad were nice, the rest of it I’m not so sure about.

Back on the giant tour bus we headed out for Sintra via the coast and mountain. We stopped off at the westernmost peak on the coast for a 10 minute breather before heading off through the mountain to reach Sintra. Unfortunately, again, we didn’t see too much of it as we were restricted for time. The castle at Sintra look amazing to walk through however we didn’t manage to do that.

Portugal as a whole is a geographically diverse country. Drive a few kilometres and you’ve gone from metropolis to countryside. A few more kilometres and you’ve reached sand dunes. Another few and you’ve reached civilisation again. The freeways here are only 3 narrow lanes across, occasionally 2, and aren’t very busy at all. All in all it was both slightly educational and a huuuuuge relief to get off the ship and away from all the New Jersey and Boston accents. Tomorrow time to explore Cadiz!

Welcome to Fort Lauderdale, Miami!

My stay here in Fort Lauderdale is brief. Only one night! But so far Florida has made an impression. It’s hot pretty much all the time, this morning at 7:30am it was already 27 degrees Celsius. 

The flight from Charlotte to Miami took roughly 90 minutes. We were on a small plane, three seats spanning the entire width of the aircraft. As it was so small, every passenger could feel the bumps on the tarmac and the sway in the turbulence. It was rather violent at times but I wasn’t worried.

The view as we flew in over Miami was incredible. I’ve never visited a city that has canals running alongside and under the freeways and highways. All leading out into these big lakes and ponds and then continuing on under another road to another lake or pond. It seems as if almost every house has their own watery backyard. The houses themselves are fairly large. Not as large as the ones in Charlotte, but large in comparison to Perth. You can see the difference in design as well. More Spanish influence on the architecture. 

The boats here, of course, are ridiculously massive. I can’t imagine someone needing a boat that big for leisure. Boats take a lot of work to maintain and a lot of money to run. Must be a lot of rich people in Miami…or everything is just cheap. 

Staying in the Hyatt Regency in Fort Lauderdale overnight was incredible. I stayed in my own room which was nice. Two Queen sized beds, sofa couch, large bathroom, and my favourite feature of all was the adjustable air conditioning. It is surprisingly nice to walk outside in the humidity and return to your room which is sitting at your perfect temperature. For me it’s 22.5 :)

I visited the Pier Tower at the very top of the hotel as you can see from the image above. Unfortunately I am waaaay too far away to see Miami clearly on a camera (it is also rather smoggy around the city). I also walked around the grounds of the hotel and took a few photos.

Now on to the Liberty of the Seas…

Veronica Roth - Divergent

I’m not going to lie about this, I did see the movie first before I read the book. Not an original fan of the trilogy but I’m liking it so far. 

I am unfamiliar with reading dystopian fiction as I find the different scenarios writers can pose to be quite ridiculous and often unrealistic. Veronica Roth, even though her scenario is extreme, after seeing how paranoid people can be and thinking about all the conflicts and wars, it is a possibility, however small.

The particular book I purchased had large writing, 487 pages, and extras at the back. Unfortunately I could not find a copy with the original cover art which meant it could be slightly altered to match the movie.

The book and the movie are almost identical. Usually when I read a book and watch the corresponding movie there are many scenes that don’t make the film. Also already knowing the characters inside and out from reading the book, the actors do let you down a little bit. I found this not to be an issue in this case with very few variances in the storyline.

Divergent is easy to read and easy to follow in the sense that the decisions of the characters are explained extremely well. The characters physical descriptions are subject to interpretation. Tris is described as plain faced, with skinny legs, no muscle in the beginning with bulging muscles towards the end. With little to go on it leaves the reader to imagine how she might look. This can either be a good thing, to make the reader feel comfortable with no discrimination based on vanity, or a bad thing, where the readers imagination may fail and make them feel uncomfortable reading about a faceless, shapeless character.

With actress Shailene Woodley, who portrays Tris, I did come into the movie hesitant of her capabilities. Paired alongside Theo James (Four) the contrast of the two together made it work brilliantly. The support actors and actresses also did amazingly. Jai Courtney who portrayed Eric nailed his personality and attitude perfectly.

I refuse to give movies ratings as they are very subjective, the book however I would give a good 7/10.