Go Big...

From our friends who have departed London before us, one thing we learned was this - Go Big, before you go home....and that's exactly what we did.  After living with Bryan's cousins for the month of March, we set out on our longest trip to date, for most of the month of April.  I began the trip with my parents in Germany, in a cozy motorhome, making our way to Vienna for a few days, where we fulfilled my dad's dream of visiting the Spanish Riding School and watching the Lipizzan horses train, and spent a relaxing Easter weekend together, exploring the streets of Vienna.

Upon saying good-bye to my parents at the metro station in Vienna, I flew out to Athens, where I met Bryan at the airport, to embark upon our 10-day adventure through Athens, two Greek Islands, and on to Istanbul, with varying modes of boats and planes between each.  Greece was everything we had imagined it would be, as we've been dreaming about traveling to Greece ever since we moved to London.  Though Athens was a fairly unattractive city, showing the true signs of economic decline in Greece, the ruins of the Acropolis are still a sight to behold, and absolutely worth a stay in Athens.  Via ferry through the Aegean Sea, we visited the islands of Paros and Santorini, and they are every bit as picturesque as we had imagined, with pristine white homes, doors of every shade of green and blue you could imagine, and blue domed roofs, set with the sea in the background.  Following our relaxed week in Greece, we made our way to Istanbul, unsure really of what to expect, and found ourselves overwhelmingly impressed by the architecture dotting the skyline, and graciousness of the Turkish people we met.  Istanbul was phenomenal - modern yet antique, youthful yet traditional in so many ways, celebrating the endless tulips in full bloom and boasting an incredible array of handmade Turkish sweets.  We had the opportunity to take a boat up the Bosphorus, where we were able to look out on the Black Sea and step foot in Asia, thus marking the furthest east we traveled in the past 2 1/2 years!

Following Istanbul, we made our way to Dubrovnik, Croatia, where we reunited with my parents for a few days in Dubrovnik, and a week-long cruise through the southern Croatian islands on a small vintage fishing boat, weaving in and out of exceptionally quaint and still islands, docking in tiny harbors, and enjoying the quiet hum of the locals, beginning to slowly prepare for busier summer months.  Upon our return to Dubrovnik, we concluded our trip with a day's drive across the border into Montenegro, where we couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised by an absolutely idyllic coastline (even snapping a photo of a young couple on their wedding day, taking advantage of the scenery for their stunning photos).  We think the photos from this trip do more justice to the amazing places we visited, than we could possibly describe in words...

Vienna, Austria

Acropolis in Athens, Greece

Island of Paros, Greece

 

Small fishing village of Naoussa (Island of Paros), Greece

Perissa (Island of Santorini), Greece

Fira & Oia (Santorini), Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Croatia

Montenegro

 A special thanks to my parents, who made for an excellent final adventure...the calm before the storm of moving home....

-B&B

"To travel is to live." - MC Anderson