Slovenia xoxo

One thing that has struck me whilst traveling around Europe is how the landscape changes vastly and immediately when crossing borders. Italy, Slovenia and Croatia was one of the most noticeable and beautiful examples of this. A journey that only takes a few hours and you go from sweeping hills of vineyards and olive trees in Italy to beautiful rich forest in Slovenia (I even saw a baby deer from the bus window) then the barren and steep cliffs of Croatia that fall straight into the turquoise waters of the Adriatic Sea. The drive between Venice and Pag Island, was my first taste of slovenia and I was very glad we were coming back to explore this beautiful country. We stopped at Ljubljana and Lake Bled but unfortunately only have half a day in both locations. Ljubljana was a surprisingly artsy city and looking back at my photos I can see I was quite inspired! I took no typical tourist photos of the city but clicked away at all the street art to be seen. My favourite is the installation of shoes and goon sacks hanging from the power lines of an alleyway! If you are not Australian the term goon sack might strike you as strange but it's simply a bag of very cheap wine. Exploring the city at dusk and feasting on some amazing and very cheap mexican is possibly one of my fondest memories on tour. The next day we spent the morning at the breathtakingly beautiful Lake Bled. The lake was stunning like all European lakes are. Crystal clear waters, check! Impressive mountains that fall straight into the water, check! Castle, Check! Once again another day or wondering around and taking in the beauty around us! 

Croatia

Ah, Croatia! The perfect summer holiday where I reverted into my natural beach bum state. Ice cream, crepes, sea food, ciders, naps, sun baking and refreshing dips in the Adriatic Ocean just remembering it puts me into a state of bliss. The Island we were staying on was Pag Island which was a very big party island, however my photos show that you can still have a relaxing time here if thats more your style! There are Crystal clear beaches, family friendly restaurants and some cute cocktail bars for a more chilled out evening or if you love the crazy paced nightlife then Zerc beach and it's huge clubs are a must for you to see. This too small taste of Croatia has me longing to go back and explore the rest of the country. Hvar, Dubrovnik and Plitvice lakes have been high on my wish list for a long time and now I'm practically itching to go! Europe the more I see of you the more I get overwhelmed about the amount there is that I haven't and may never see. That's the problem for people like me who are infected with the travel bug, the more see and do it just fuels the need to keep on travelling. Croatia, until next time because I know I won't be able to resist you for long. 

Venice

Venice is one of the most iconic places in the world and for good reason, it's special! When you are there you have an overwhelming feeling that there isn't anywhere else in the world quite like this. Looking back on my photos I realised I took hardly any photos which is a bit out of character for me but I am okay with this. Sometimes I feel that we get to caught up in capturing the moment we forget to experience it. Since this trip I have actually been back to Venice, I took my boyfriend there when I meet up with him earlier this month, and I didn't take many photos then either. I think that Venice is a place that you just need to soak and forget about the camera. This day was probably one of the funnest I had on tour, we were all just starting to get to know each other. Getting lost in the alley ways, gelato by the canals and a gondola ride later and we felt like we had been friends longer than a few short days. 

Roma

I have been dreaming of going to Rome since I was a little girl, no joke I would sit with an atlas on my lap and look at maps of the city and pretend I was there. I'm not sure what started my fascination with this city but I watch Sabrina Goes To Rome so many times I think I wore the tape out! You would think then with my anticipation of ticking something of my bucket list would mean I have my trip planned out perfectly. Well unfortunately I planned my time in this amazing place incredibly poorly. I was due to start a tour in Rome that took me all the way to Amsterdam and thinking that I would see all the sights of the city on the tour and therefore only gave myself a free day. I later found out I had to do most of the sightseeing on my own as the tour only included the Vatican before we were off to Venice. This resulted in a hectic day rushing around the city in an overwhelmed sate trying to soak in as much as Rome as possible. Devouring gelato and watching the swarming crowds by the Trevi Fountain, my first glimpse of the Colosseum and taking in the art, history and culture of the city are some of my most treasured memories. The only upside of a poorly planned trip is the promise to yourself that you will come back one day and do it right!  

Oh Lake Como!

On the recommendation of a very well travelled family member I took a day trip to Lake Como from Milan. I didn't quite know what to expect before I went but as soon as I got my first glimpse of Lake Como I knew I had fallen head over heels for it. The beauty of the lake, mountains and little Italian towns was surreal. At first I was going to take to ferry across from the small town my train stopped at to a larger and more well known spot on the lake. However the quaint little town of Varrena captured my heart and all plans to go else where completely feel apart. I simply wondered along the shore line for the day climbing up cobble stone passageways and stopping to dip my feet in the lake when I got tired. I am quite pleased with how my photos turned out considering I only had my Iphone to use. I made the biggest travel mistake of leaving my memory card in my laptop the night before so my nice new SLR camera was a useful as a brick, and felt like one in my bag as well, at least that is a mistake I won't make again! Unfortunately I didn't bump into George Clooney like i was hoping for but alas there is always next time because I know I will going back to Lake Como the next chance I get!

Duomo Milano

This is one of the most exciting post I've done on this blog to date. Going to Europe, especially Italy, is something I have dreamed off since I was a little girl. Despite my huge desire to come and explore this corner of the world I've never made it further than Asia. Having just graduated from University and as two of my very close friends are living in Italy I finally packed my bags and made my first journey to the other side of the world. Milan was my first stop and as any Australian fashion and internet lover I had to go straight to the Duomo and follow in the footsteps of the Aussie super bloggers Gary Pepper Girl and Tuula Vintage! I don't have enough words in my vocabulary to describe how impressive the Duomo is. It blows me away to think that this building with so much intricate detailing was built over 500 hundred years ago. I was itching to get to the rooftop so I fought through my jet lag, shock of the heat and the swarming crowds of tourist. I decided to get my cardio in and skip the elevator taking the 250 steps up to the rooftop. I'll be honest with you the next day my legs were pretty sore but it was well worth it! On the roof you are rewarded with spectacular views of the city and snowy alps, I still can't comprehend how it can be so hot and have snow sparkling in the distance. As well as this you can appreciate the finer details of the building much more than you can on the ground. An added bonus of the rooftop was that I was able to spot the nearest Zara store which I headed straight for once my feet were back on the ground.