Top 10 'must do' experiences

not in any particular order....
1. tapas in the old town of sans sebastian spain. Super strong flavours that you drink with local beer and throw the napkin/stick on the ground...quite unexpected to what the australian idea of 'tapas' is.
2. attend an international sporting event in their home town. Cricket in the west indies or india is unbelievable and beyond any explanation
3. we did a 4 day tour of southern ireland and the amazing stories of fairies etc and the castles and info we got we would never have gotten journeying around by ourselves
4. an acrobatic theatre thing in china. very bizarre.
5. sit in a duelling piano bar in memphis or new orelans...the soul of the place is fantastic
6. disneyworld...in florida (not la). Felt pretty stupid even going there but all that stuff youve seen as a kid wells up as you walk in the door and stay for fireworks over snowhites castle is what dreams are made from 😊
7. going to the war museum in amsterdam was more moving, stressful, memorable than any of the other war stuff in germany or vietnam that ive ever been too. I can still remember it instantly and it changed my views on war/war memorials etc.
8. thailand - food, people, amazing giant stones coming out of the water...all great
9. in rome thre are some strange churches fully made up of skeltons. We were told about it in a backpackers and it was a bit weird/strange
10. coral bay australia - a reef right on the beach so you can stand and see the amazing fish and go out and swim with whale sharks Reply to this

hi, just googled and here it is. We went to see it and it was really strange but in a you wont believe it type of way 😊
http://www3.sympatico.ca/tapholov/pages/bones.html

Just saw youre doing a trip around europe so probably shld have stuck more with there... some other cool things are the vatican and seeing a mass by the pope - i think it is every wed or something similar. But to get tickets you had to go and see guards in michelangelo outfits which was pretty odd and then the whole mass was really weird with people all yelling out from different groups the whole time. Umm...on a sat night it turns out young people hang out on the spanish steps which is quite odd to see 200 odd teenagers drinkign and partying on such a touristy thing. Have a cocktail opposite the monaco casino and see more ferrarris, lambaginis etc than youve ever seen before!

have a fantastic time and hope others have some unexpected different things 😊
tam Reply to this

For Europe, I'd love to take part in La Tomatina Valencia one day.
I also like to visit the local food and vegetable markets wherever I am in the world. I love to capture the essence of the markets on camera.
I also like to ask the locals, as opposed to the concierge in a hotel, where to eat.
I like to go horse riding wherever they are not too uptight about etiquette, ie not having to wear all the gear, and practice trotting round in circles. Nothing like horse riding on a beach in jeans.
Renting a moped is always fun. Skinny dipping in the Med after a night at the clubs (havn't done that in years). Learning to dive. Night diving sounds scary, but it is an amazing experience. I actually never feel safer and peaceful than when I am night diving. And ad hoc picnics by the river, in the forests or mountains. I like to go to the local deli, buy some good breads, cured meats, cheese, wine and do ad hoc picnics wherever the view is best. Reply to this

Maaria,

Welcome to travel blog. It looks like you have a fantastic trip planned for the up coming months. You've posted a good question and hopefully you will receive many interesting answers.

Holland, Belguim, France, Italy, and the UK for three months will be wonderful.

I will steer my answer to the locations you will be heading to on this trip. Plus I will recommend things that don't cost much money.

We like to get up early and sit outside at a cafe and people watch. It is wonderful watching a city come alive in the wee hours.

When in Belgium and France it is recommended to sample the chocolate. We were on a mission to decide which country had the best. We were not able to come to a conclusion so we will continue our research on the next trip to those locations.

Nothing better than sitting in a pub in London and getting involved in a political conversations. Many English have strong opinions and are more than willing to share them. Take a bus and sit at Stonehenge for a couple of hours.

We enjoyed being in the first car heading to the top of the Eiffel tower. However, I have been told it is lovely at night.

Cafe Marley in Paris is across from the Louvre. We sat outside with a bottle of wine and a plate of cheese and watched the sunset and the lights in the fountains come on.

Climb to the top of every church you can as the views are always great.
Sit quietly in every church to enjoy the serenity.

Find music in every city as music is the soul of the town. Street performers or in formal establishments increase the understanding of the people.

Talk to as many strangers as will talk to you. For us traveling is about the people and better understanding their daily life.
Learn about life in each town.

Bayeux is a lovely town in France and one of our favorites.
San Gimignano is one of our favorite Italian towns and we enjoyed the island of Elba. We are water people so we always enjoy taking a ferry to an island.

In Holland we liked Delft and everyone loves Amsterdam. It is alive!

That should get you started.


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Maaria,

I have a friend who writes travel apps. I will ask him about finding some dairy free chocolate options and get back to you.

Stonehenge- I'd heard the same things you have heard about Stonehenge but we went anyway. Years ago it was not fenced off the way it is now but people were not respectful of the site and caused damage so they had no choice. The day we went was a bit foggy and it added to the mystery. The stones weaving in and out of the fog as the wind blew. It is a wonder to sit and ponder how that happen. I thought it was worth going but as you say some people are not impressed.

The architecture of the churches in Europe is amazing. Hopefully, you can check your phobia at the door and enjoy the building. Often times we'd go in and find the bells ringing or the choir singing. It is a good way to immerse yourself in the culture. No need to attend service.

You'll love all the street performers
I'm sure I'll think of a couple of other things before you go.
We will be in Europe in the fall if you are still there we can hook up.

Take care and happy travels.
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You can get inside the fenced area of Stonehenge - you just have to know how 😊

Contact the English Heritage Foundation and apply for access. You have to come either early or late (and during the right time of year) but you can indeed go into the circle. We did this for my father's 50 birthday and it was incredible to be there during sunrise. (even if the customs official snorted in derision after he asked where planned to go and proclaimed it to be "a pile of rocks"😉

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In response to: Msg #152972

Wow, Stephanie, that is great information. I would love to do that next time we get back over there. Thank you very much for the tip.

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Mell, I like your list 😊 Reply to this