http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/RTW-adventure--09-to-13/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from RTW adventure 09 to 13 en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:40:33 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:40:33 +0000 A Bold Claim But Vienna Is Up To The ChallengeFrom Munich to Vienna or Wien takes about four hours on the train and travels through some more of that beautiful countryside. I find it hard to describe why it's so beautiful as I have seen so many amazing things on this trip so far including landmarks and scenery but for some reason the vistas from the train windows here are extra tranquil and s http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Hungary/Central-Hungary/Budapest/blog-438239.html And Some Fresh Air TooArriving in Frankfurt you can see how this is one of the main hubs for Europe. The airport is huge I canrsquot help but keep thinking that Perth has a lot of work to do to make itrsquos airport world class because after seeing the likes of Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo Heathrow and now Frankfurt therersquos a definite distinction between what real international airpo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/blog-437841.html With A Royal Route To Get ThereLeaving Petra we had a couple of stops before we got to Jordanrsquos capital Amman.First on the agendahellip the ruins of one of the Crusaderrsquos Castles at Shobak. Built around the 11th Century it was taken back by the Arabs later and embellished in a more Arabic style before an earthquake in the early 1900rsquos made it uninhabitable. During the time o http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-437044.html To The Valley Of The Crescent MoonSo todayrsquos the day Excited before even leaving the hotel spirits were dampened by the ever present greed of consumerism that is so common in developing countries. What do I meanhellip getting off the bus the first thing you see as you head to the ticket office are the usual touristy stalls trying to sell you everything from ldquoauthenticrdquo sou http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/South/Petra/blog-436254.html Stopping At Mars On The WayLeaving Aqaba and the Red Sea behind we turned back into the desert for an off planet experience. Wadi Rum is almost like visiting Mars so much so that nearly all the movies that need to depict Mars uses it for their set. Movies like Mission To Mars and Red Planet have been filmed on site not to mention Transformers 2 and the countless Lawrence Of Arabia films and doc http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/South/Petra/blog-435749.html Sinai And Across The GulfFirst thing in the morning I joined up with the other Gecko's tour group and we piled into the bus and left Cairo for the last time. Apart from the history and the wondrous sights Cairo will leave the impression that it's a city on the verge of getting out of the third world if only it could pull the population along with it. A massive metropolis with dirty streets and h http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/South/Aqaba/blog-435494.html A Unique Combination...Today was the official wrap up day for our tour group as I was the only one going on to Jordan and the girls were all splitting up with some going to Hurghada on the Red Sea for some snorkling and diving and the rest heading back to Cairo to either head home or carry on their travels to other corners of the globe. So what better way to start our last day off than with a don http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-434955.html What A Way To Pass The TimeBoarding our Felucca at midday we settled in for a relaxing three day sail down the Nile covering about 120 kilometres. The felucca's are owned by Omar the Nubian Chief and run by the Nubian villagers. Omar decides which families need the support from our tourist dollars the most and organises them to lend a hand but the captain of each felucca remains the same. A si http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-434598.html Confusing Irsquoll ExplainhellipEgyptian History 101Egyptrsquos Pharaonic history dates over 3500 years and is split into three kingdoms Old Middle and New Kingdoms. During this time and even until today Egypt itself is separated into five regions. Upper Egypt where the Nile river flows from Lower Egypt including Cairo Alexandria and the Nile Delta The Western Desert from the Nile http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Aswan/blog-434076.html Wellhellip If I Thought I Saw Ancient Before Then This Is Something ElseArriving in Cairo just before midnight the first thing you notice is the size of the place. As the largest single city in the world and containing the population of Australia the lights stretch as far as the eye can seehellip even from the air Touching down the second thing you notice is that security and customs are http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-432964.html So I DidAfter seeing the Cote DrsquoAzur in France I decided that I wanted to see how the Italians do holidays so I made my way a little further South from Naples to the Amalfi Coast. Nearly everyone Irsquove met has said that itrsquos the must see area of Italy so hopes were high for some fun in the sun while being surrounded by beautiful coastline. It didnrsquot disappointThe bus fr http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Amalfi/blog-432963.html Heading SouthMy last day in Rome for half a week was spent filling in the blanks not so much with what I hadnrsquot seen in Rome but with what I had missed in Paris. Heading to the outskirts of the city the first thing on the itinerary was a visit to the road that everyone was talking about when they said All roads lead to Rome. Via Appia Antica was built over 2300 years ago and was the main a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Naples/blog-432950.html And Poking Through The RemainsWith most of Rome covered over the previous two days I'd left the big stuff for day three... and when I say big I mean huge The Colosseum incites all the usual thoughts of ancient Rome at the first glance. The spectacles that entertained the way society was structured and the brutal nature of it all is encompassed by the iconic structure I find myself standing in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-429937.html But Maybe Not Quite As Much As This PlaceSo I mentioned that I was heading to a city thatrsquos a country within a city today. It also happens to be the smallest country in the world at just one square kilometre and was given itrsquos independence from Rome in the 15th Century I think. It has itrsquos own postal service currency newspaper and radio station and has a unique army of Swi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Vatican-City/Vatican-City/blog-429900.html RomaItalyrsquos train system works on a ldquohow fast do you need to get thererdquo basis. If your in a hurry therersquos the Eurostar a little slower are the Intercity or IC trains and then therersquos the dawdle through the countryside option of the Regionale which stops at nearly every station on the way. There was two deciding factors in all my decisions to take the Regionale http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-429525.html Ciao From TuscanyThe train from Nice into Italy ran smoothly with a quick change at Genova then on to my first real taste of an Italian city with a nights stop in Pisa.There's only a couple of reasons to visit Pisa the obvious being the leaning tower and then the Campo Dei Miracoli that it's situated in which also houses the Duomo the main church of the city. Luckily the hostel I'd booked wa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-428627.html Livin' It Up On The Cote D'AzurThe previous day I wasnrsquot able to get a train from Barcelona to Marseille organised so it was on to Plan B and head to the bus station to organise a ticket. The morning I was to leave on my first European bus was a nightmare. Arriving at the station an hour before departure I waited for the gate to be displayed and then headed there with my ticket to wait for http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Nice/blog-427050.html The Spanish LifeArriving in Valencia an hour late I was pleased to find that the temperature here was much easier to handle at a mere 42C. Out of the train station and heading towards my hostel the city was a sudden assault on the senses. There was life everywhere from the lady feeding the birds in front of the enormous fountain to the people having a laugh around the bull fighting ring. It is http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-425977.html And No.... I Didn't Shave My Goatie OffBut before I get to that.... I arrived in Madrid thinking it's the capital they'll have lots to see and do and was disappointed almost immediately. On the up side though it is a great city for just walking around as everything is all in the centre of town.Meeting a fellow Aussie in the metro station they're bloody everywhere I tell you that was staying http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Granada/blog-424446.html And To Think I Wasnrsquot Going To Come HereLeaving Bordeaux and France behind I didnrsquot want to spend 13 hours straight on a train to Madrid even though it seems strange to say that after doing the TransSiberian. The decision came when I recognised the name of a little town on the North coast of Spain San Sebastian. Not knowing a lot about the place I had only booked in for two nigh http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/San-Sebastian/blog-423446.html