Andy and Christine

We headed out from Porto, Portugal on the morning of June 13th, made our way to the bus station, and bought a couple tickets to a place called Vigo, north and just across the border into Spain. With a couple snacks in hand, we boarded the bus shortly after, taking one last fond look at Porto. At the same time, we were excited to be returning to Spain, and a language that we could understand a bit better. Our destination was San Sebastián, but we realized that arriving there in one day would be close to impossible. We decided to town hop, going from station to station and see how far we could get before spending the night. The ride was relaxing; we ate our pastries while gazing out the window, enjoying the countryside. We crossed ... read more

'...I have to see you again and again'. Who could blame the Doors for writing those lyrics in their song 'Spanish Caravan'. They knew what they were talking about. Andalucía is a fantastic region, and once you've been there, you can't help wanting to return over and over again. We left Madrid, saying 'see ya later' to the huge Spanish city on May. 25th. Leaving our budget hotel, we took a quick metro ride and then found the bus station. Problem was, we hadn't checked the times before leaving, and ended up waiting around for four hours to get onto the next bus, as the others were already full. Nothing a bag of candy, a greasy breakfast and a Spanish newspaper or two couldn't remedy while waiting at the bus station. Riding on our first long ... read more

It was odd, when we crossed from Italy into France on May 5th. One second, we were hurtling along on the train in Italy, and all of a sudden we were in France and didn't even know it. The scenery slowly started to change; the houses were slightly different, and the coast was beautiful, with long, empty sand beaches and the bluest waters. The train stopped, and some guys dressed in plain clothes asked to see our passports. This, we realized, was the pint-sized country of Monaco, which we were passing through on our way to Nice. Half an hour later, our train arrived. There we were in the south of France, also known as the Cote d'Azur. We stopped by the tourist office for a map and a list of the cheapo hotels. To our ... read more

Our journey now continued on to Tuscany, a region known for it's beautiful landscapes, medieval towns and delicious wines, especially the famous red Chianti. Images of warm colours, old world doors and balconies, terra cotta pots filled with gorgeous blooms, and rural ripe pastures filled our minds. What better a place to be heading off to, and our first stop was Siena, whose historical town centre is a UNESCO protected sight. Since there were no direct trains to Siena from Rome, we opted for the simpler and cheaper solution of taking the bus. As we left the hotel in Rome on Apr. 21st, we whispered good-bye as we heard the last sounds of Babu's snores. We caught the metro to the bus station, and then took the bus for a few hours from there. Travelling never ... read more

The time had come for us to start making our way up to other parts of Greece. The only difficulty was deciding where next, because there were so many great destinations. After lots of thought, we set off on Apr. 7th for Delphi, a small majestic town of 1500 people, where Alexander the Great once sought advice at the Oracle. We left Athens in the early afternoon to try and catch a local bus to the main bus terminal, where we would then hop another long distance bus to Delphi. We got a bit confused about which bus to take, but after rereading directions and debating with each other, we ended up getting on one. But with huge backpacks and all, we were feeling a bit like overburdened elephants getting on a bus full of mice. ... read more