Luxembourg

--This post is from before Christmas--

I knew little of this little country before I got on a train and headed there not long before Christmas. I spent three days there, discovering its charm and learning of its history... and on the third day it snowed. Sadly I didn't take any pictures of the snow though, I thought there would be many more opportunities and I was worried about my camera getting wet. But I regret it now, because it was beautiful.

In Brugge

-- This post is from before christmas --

From Brussels we took a day trip to Brugge. A beautiful little town that is the perfect place for an afternoon stroll, with lots of warm little shops and cafes to nip into when the weather turns cold.

Innsbruck

On our way from Rome to Verona (about a five hour journey by train) we shared a cabin with a lovely young couple from Innsbruck who were returning home after a romantic weekend in Italy. They were surprised when we told them that we were planning to spend two nights in their home town, but they invited us to meet them for a drink none the less.
Well, not long after arriving in Innsbruck we started to fall in love.
We loved the old town, the mountains and the endless grey skies. We loved the markets and the beautiful Christmas tree decorated in fairy lights. We loved our accommodation, a small room just above the best cafe in town, where we made sure we had a hot chocolate and a pastry every afternoon. And we loved meeting our new Austrian friends on a cold night in a cosy bar for a drink. But we'll have to let them know that next time we come, we'll stay three nights.

A Day Trip To Venice

In the lead up to our trip to Europe Tess and I heard a lot about Venice. And it's not surprising really as these days Venice is visited by on average 50,000 tourists, per day. So it's busy and there are shops everywhere selling everything you would expect to bring home from a trip to Italy, leather bags, scarves, shoes, pasta, there was was even a store full of Italian souvenirs for your pet.
However despite all this I still found Venice to be charming and was glad to have visited.

Our Parisian Neighborhood...

We arrived in Paris on Saturday afternoon and have had perfect weather ever since. We are staying in a delightful little suburb of Paris called Picpus, full of lovely old unit blocks and leafy streets. It was so exciting to discover the local markets this morning, where we bought fresh fruit and cheese to pack for our day of sightseeing. Yes, I decided today that Paris is truly delightful.

November Travels

On Friday I set about to make a nanna-inspired jam and coconut slice, not unlike this one here. 

However I decided to try whipping the egg whites into a meringue style topping and adding freshly ground almonds to the base. Well... let's just say it didn't really work out. It was kind of sickly sweet and super crunchy - not in a good way. 

So anyway instead, I thought I would share with you some details about my up coming travels. Which is only 40 days away (who's counting?). 

The plan is to leave Sydney on the 11th November and travel with my gorgeous cousin for the first four weeks. After that I will spend two weeks in London with my best friend...

Then just after Christmas the boy will arrive and we will hang out with his family in England, then have our own little adventure that finishes with five nights pretending to be locals in a Parisian apartment.

 I have had so much fun organising all the little details so far including my colour-coordinated itinerary which the image above is from. 

Anyway I thought I would ask, 

will you be upset if this blog becomes a bit of a travel diary?

 I promise to take lots of photos of delicious food and I might even have time to do a little cooking. But, lets be honest... it will mostly be eating. 

Hope your enjoying the long weekend. 

xx