Page 41 - Explore Magazine Summer 2017

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In June my husband and I spent eight weeks travelling around
Europe on our dream honeymoon – and for both of us, our OE. As we
were first-time travellers the assistance of Lorrene Te Kanawa from
helloworld Te Kuiti was invaluable.
Our first stop was London where we used the tube system to explore the
city and see the sights including the London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster
Abbey and Buckingham Palace. We explored the Tower of London and
viewed the Crown Jewels and took a day trip to Windsor Castle where we
saw the Changing of the Guard and walked through the picturesque village.

I am a huge Harry Potter fan so a trip to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter
Studio Tour at Leavesden, 20 kilometres northwest of London, was
essential. The magic continued with an unforgettable trip to Stonehenge.
and ran through the rain in Hvar. We had a lovely meal at a restaurant
Next we took a train to Wales to visit Cardiff and Cardiff Castle and then on the beach in Makarska, followed by an evening swim in the warm,
hired a car and drove to the Lake District where we stayed in the quaint salty sea. The last stop was Dubrovnik where we walked around the
village of Windermere. I fulfilled a childhood dream by visiting Hill Top, city walls and took an excellent Game of Thrones Tour – many scenes
the home of author and artist Beatrix Potter. for King’s Landing in the series are filmed here.
Edinburgh was our next destination where we stayed in an apartment A quick plane ride and we were back in Italy, arriving in Venice by
in the Old Town and walked the Golden Mile and the walls of Edinburgh water taxi. We walked across the Rialto Bridge and through Saint
Castle and saw the firing of the One o’clock Gun. Mark’s Square, drank prosecco and ate pasta next to the canals. The
following day we met our Geckos Adventure group for an intrepid-
Lorrene had arranged for us to be upgraded, style tour of Italy by train. We explored the beautiful villages of the
free of charge, to the honeymoon suite! Cinque Terre and saw the huge marble buildings in Florence. We
sampled Italian wine at a vineyard and visited the historic village of
What a wonderful surprise. San Gimignano. In Rome we walked through the Colosseum and the
ancient Roman Forum. We rode the Metro and visited the Vatican
Soon we were on a plane to Amsterdam where we spent three days. Here Museum, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter’s Basilica.
we cruised the canals, walked through the Red Light District and enjoyed
a Heineken at the original Heineken Brewery. A short plane ride later we We had a lovely meal at a restaurant on
were in Paris for another three days where we visited the Eiffel Tower, saw
Notre-Dame and walked the eerie passages of the Catacombs. the beach in Makarska, followed by an
Our next destination was Tuscany, Italy where we spent a few days evening swim in the warm, salty sea.
of bliss staying at the Villa Pitiana Hotel near the small village of
Donnini in the hills east of Florence. Lorrene had arranged for us to be Our final tour saw us in Greece with Busabout where we ate souvlaki
upgraded, free of charge, to the honeymoon suite! What a wonderful and gyros in Athens and walked through the fantastic food markets.
surprise. The package also included a private four-course Italian We travelled to the islands by ferry, starting in Mykonos where we
cooking class with a local chef. explored the white-washed streets and rode a quad bike around the
island. The next stop was Paros where we made friends with all the
An early start saw us flying to Split in Croatia where we set sail with street cats and enjoyed the laid-back vibe of the island.
Topdeck for eight days. We swam in the Adriatic Sea every day, ate
some of the best seafood imaginable and partied the nights away with Santorini followed, with us staying in Fira where we were met by our host
our Australian shipmates. We saw the most spectacular fork lightning with a free carafe of local wine. We walked down the hill to the Old Port
and caught the cable car back at sunset. We explored the streets of Oia,
saw the famous blue-domed churches and had moussaka for dinner.
The final stop on the Busabout tour was Ios where we stayed in a villa
overlooking Mylopotas Beach and had octopus for dinner.
After a night back in Athens we were off to our final destination, the
Greek island of Lesvos (Lesbos). This turned out to be our favourite
destination and we spent four relaxing days exploring the island. We
stayed at a villa with a spectacular infinity pool near the village of
Molyvos where we explored the historic wisteria-covered streets and
ate mezze-style every night.
We cannot thank Lorrene enough for her help and professionalism.
Her useful tips and excellent planning helped to make this the trip of
a lifetime. We will treasure the memories for the rest of our lives.

HELLOWORLD : EXPLORE : SUMMER EDITION