We got into Rennes pretty late at night, but didn't have any problems finding our next host. Joanna who is an animator and illustrator and loves Neil Gaiman was waiting for us and greeted us at her door. Thursday we walked from her place through a beautiful park and into the old city. We found an amazing shop selling a huge range of prints, posters and postcards. There were some historical, some artistic, some humorous, and a lot from movies. The shop made us want to buy a heap of posters and redecorate when we got back. Not really practical though, so we made do with a few postcards to send home. For lunch we were recommended a particular Creperie from amongst about 100 in the cicy centre! We had a galette (which is a savoury ... read more

We survived the crazy drive from Frankfurt, and arrived in Paris pretty exhausted. We met Johanna at her apartment which we were renting through airbnb (since we couldn't find any rooms in couch surfing). Johanna was going away to a party for the weekend, so we had the place to ourselves for three nights. It was pretty cool getting our own apartment in Paris for only 40 euro a night (even if it was mozzie infested, and had a bed that was only slightly softer than wood). After we were settled, we went for a walk around the neighbourhood and down towards Notre Dame. Following a tip from Lonely Planet we found a nearby felafel store for dinner which was delcious but seriously overpriced. Saturday morning we grabbed one of the velib bikes from near the ... read more

We arrived late on Tuesday feeling pretty tired and run down. Thankfully our host was waiting to meet us and whisked us onto a tram back to her house where her husband was making a delicious meal to welcome us (lemon juice cooked fish, cous cous, tagine cooked vegetables and some salad). We were shown up to our room on the third floor and made to feel very comfortable and welcome. On Wednesday we caught the tram to the main station (Gare du midi) and then went for a walk into the centre passing through the middle eastern area which consisted of a lot of men (and men only) sitting at cafes drinking coffees or mint teas, smoking and chatting. Near the Grand Place (Brussels central square), there is a small statue of a boy pissing ... read more

The view of the Swiss alps from the plane was incredible! Huge snow capped peaks rising through the clouds, glowing a pinky orange colour as the rising sun lit them up. After 12 hours of flying, an hour or so in finding our way through the maze of Zurich airport to our next flight, then another hour and a half flying, we finally arrived at Heathrow around 9am. The thing about long flights is you never seem to be able to get comfy enough in a seated position to sleep well, if at all. The thing about missing sleep, and then finding oneself in a different timezone 10 hours the day before, is your brain kinda goes a little hazy around the edges. To reduce th e jetlag effect, we needed to stay awake while the ... read more

Day 11 ...in which we went to sea and tested the limits of our claustrophobia... Today we had booked in to do a Sea Canoe tour around Phonga Nga Bay with John Gray Sea Canoe company (www.johngray-seacanoe.com). First, an amusing story regarding the company name. John Gray has been kayaking for a long time, and when he set up this company he called it sea canoe, even though it's not canoeing, it's kayaking (using a double blade paddle). He guessed that all the other rip off companies would copy his name without knowing what they were doing (and they have). The tour was a bit more expensive than other tours, but his ethical (guides are well trained, well paid, and well fed), environmental (you are not allowed to touch the stalagtities, or feed animals), and safety ... read more