Welcome to Rome. Two words Tourist Trap. Day 1 we definitely loved the city and man did we do some walking! Highlights included the Trevi fountain, Coliseum my favourite the Pantheon - which I modelled (appallingly) as a 13year old. Day 2 we went to Vatican City.... nice and early to avoid the queues. We were stoked to wait only 10minutes!! People were saying it took up to 3hours! We walked inside and found ourselves in another queue - to the top of St Pauls Basilica dome. It was really hard to tell where we were due to the masses [View Full Entry]

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The batteries were well and truly recharged departing Venice. We got a taste for Tuscany on our train ride and the vibe was more energetic amongst the 3 of us. We spent the first afternoon wandering around in the sunshine... plotting where we would spend our one full day in Florence. The highlight had to be a deflated protest held by the local Grey Power in front of the Duomo. All class. The following day we explored the city. Dan and I ended up having (another very romantic) walk up to a pimp castle which encompassed much of the prime [View Full Entry]

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So, the flight to Rome was a breeze. Arriving at 6pm we negotiated our way to the train station and had 3hours to kill before embarking on our overnight train to Venice. We found an Internet Café across the road and settled in for a season of catching up on the blog. The mood in the Internet place was chaotic. One other computer was packed with Bangladeshi cricket supporters. They sat, stood and danced around the live internet feed, banging on drums as India went on to lose to Sri Lanka - hence sending Bangladesh through to the next round. [View Full Entry]

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We made it to Barcelona eventually after an epic time in Amsterdam Airport. A short stay not a good stay at the airport thanks to Leon still being drunk from the night before and almost missing the flight. The hostel was great, free breakie AND dinner! Bonus. So of course we headed down for some dinner with the plan to just get some rest after. During dinner we talked to Rebecca and Ariel - some American guests at the hostel, who convinced us (twist the rubber arm) that sleep is overrated and to come out on a pub crawl. Before [View Full Entry]

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EUROPE HERE WE ARE!! Leon and I were greeted from 22hours of travelling with a hail storm and 5degrees c. It was a shock to the system after our SweetAction tour of duty in Brazil (averaging 32degrees.) Not to mention being snowed and hailed on in out time in Amsterdam. Leon and I got a little rest in the hostel, before my guests started to arrive... First Andrea Clout - an ex AIG work collegue who is now serving in London. Second Chris Rapson - soccer teammate and perhaps my oldest mate - going right back to Remuera Primary. Third [View Full Entry]

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With a few days to kill before I met up with Felipe, Leon and I had initially planned to go to Iguacu Falls. However, afer having a taste of Florinapolis Island, we decided to stay put and check it out. Basically, the pictures speak the story. Praia Brava, for 3hours of surfing. Praia Ingleses for sand boarding. Praia Santinho for the clearest water and a mean barrel filled body surf. Praia Mole - take a look at the pics! Lagoa do Barra - too placid, but we had a great chat to the Police there for directions. Praia Mole (again) - [View Full Entry]

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Our friends Kathy and Rocio from Chile arranged a 10day trip to meet us in Brazil. Leon and I rendezvous with the chicas in an apartment we booked. Camboriu is the equivalent of Gold Coast. High condos along a wonderful beach with a bit of surf. The first afternoon, we all went for a bit of a stroll along the beach. We returned back and went for a swim. Suddenley the heavens opened and a lightning storm with ferocious force passed over. Leon and I stayed in the water and watched lighting hit the buildings. The girls ran for shelter in [View Full Entry]

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Ok, so you have all heard of Carnival. However, Carnival is not what you may think in the African populated North of Brazil. Carnival times transforms the city of Salvador in to a city of opportunity. The city swells from 3million to 8million people. -Opportunity for thrillseekers. -Opportunity for individuals to position themselves to take advantage of the many ways to make money from the thrill seekers. Including thieves. In a sentence: CARNIVAL BRINGS OUT THE BEST AND WORST OF HUMAN EMOTION Carnival how one can participate: Carnival Bahia is different from Rio. [View Full Entry]

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Leon and I left Rio as rapidly as we arrived. We embarked on our most epic bus journey to Valencia, 1200kms away. Whilst this was not the furtherest distance we have travelled, the distance took 30hours. It was delayed by 3 crashes, holding up the trip by around 5hours. A painfully long trip. Leon and I had to suffice for split seats. He was in the front and I was half way back nestled in between several young families. I quickly discovered that my Portugese was not up to scratch to convey anything and my Kiwi version of Spanglish was greated [View Full Entry]

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A little freaked out by the many stories we had heard about Rio, Leon and I caught the subway to the train station. In a rush, as usual. This was our first bus ride in Brazil and definately not up to the standard of the Spanish speaking countries. No such thing as reclining chairs here! We got to Rio around 4:30. My old work mate, Jesse had given me a contact in Rio. I had been in contact with Amos for several weeks. We arrived in Le Blon to a phone call from Amos. He was coming to meet us for [View Full Entry]

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