Our Travels Unravelled!

We have been so busy planning, researching, packing and buzzing around that we neglected to publish the below piece before we left.  So, here it is...

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A few late nights on the internet and several disagreements later, we unveil our final itinerary: -

Iceland, London, France, Switzerland and Italy!

Our trip unravelled will look like this…

30 something hours in transit from Sydney to Hong Kong to London to Reykjavik…in one go.

Based in the Viking capital of Reykjavik, we will have six days to explore the moon-surface-like icescapes of Iceland with two day tours, be pampered at the Blue Lagoon thermal springs, dine on Icelandic cuisine including the puffin, and if we are lucky, witness the breathtaking northern lights.

Moving on to London, we will be staying three nights with a couple who advertised a spare room on Wimdu.  We thought that this kind of accommodation would be a great way to meet other people and get the local experience.

The predetermined agenda for London is...

• Seeing major landmarks such as the Big Ben and the Thames bridge.
• Paying a visit to the historical Westminster Abbey.  They hold guided tours and religious services daily, and some services showcase their famous choir.
• Go shopping at Portobello Markets at Notting Hill. 
• Depending on how astronomical the prices are (that is, if they are more astronomical than what might be expected in London), we might have high tea at Harrods.  We may also catch a free play at More London or sip cocktails over live music in Soho.

Unfortunately, the rest of the UK did not make it into our four week opportunity, but had we more time to work with, we would love to have visited Scotland and Ireland.

France made it difficult to contain our greediness.  There were a number of places both of us wanted to visit, most of them located in the south of France.  In the end, our itinerary had to succumb to the time and travel constraints as well as the fact we were to be in Switzerland by a certain time.  Unfortunately, heading south was not compatible with common sense planning.

We will be in Paris for a few days exploring the Louvre, having a night picnic at the Eiffel Tower, visiting the the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, chilling at a jazz club and going shopping!

Following that, we will be based in Dijon for a few days where we plan to venture out for day trips to villages in the Côte-d'Or country area of Burgundy.  Sarah wants to see the medieval town of Semur En Auxois and the walled village of Saulieu.

We depart France to arrive in Zurich on the evening preceding a lovely weekend with an old friend, her husband and her two boys who we are yet to have the pleasure of meeting.  We will be well rested after staying here, refreshed and ready to spend a weekend of sight seeing with some great people.

Jason fell in love with Switzerland when he visited Lauterbrunen during his year abroad, so he wanted to spend some more time here.  Afer a weekend of sight seeing and catching up with friends, it made sense to spend a further three nights in Lauterbrunen.  Visiting the famous mountainous region of Yungfrau is on the "must do" list.  Yungfrau Yok boasts the highest train station in the world.  Following this, a visit to the ever-pristine Interlaken will then conclude our time in Switzerland.

Predictable as it may seem, our first leg of travel in Italy is...Tuscany!  We will be based in Florence for a few nights rom which we can venture out to explore greater Tuscany with an organised bicycle tour.  We will probably gain more calories than we burn on this tour from the glorious food.

Florence is also an amazing hub of art.  Florence has more priceless art in its left pinky than several entire countries.  We have booked to see the statue of David at the Academia Museum, and will probably do a walking history and art tour following this.

Rome will be our next and (sadly) last stop for four nights from where we will fly home.  We plan to sip on some Italian lattes and pack in some day tours to the catacombs and the vatican before catching the big Kangaroo back home.