The Still Leaning Tower of Pisa

While in Florence, Matt and I did the trip out to Pisa to see the tower...

And for anyone worried about the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa - I am pleased to be able to inform you that it is, in fact, still leaning merrily away and hasn't fallen over... how could it with the dozens of tourists an hour holding it up during photo ops? :)

The Renaissance City of Florence

Where Rome is a chaotic city, fully embracing its history and the overwhelming amount of tourists, Florence is still trying to drag itself along – ignoring the tourists when it can… Some people come to Florence to appreciate the fine art and sculptures, while others simply come to appreciate cheap wine… and something tells me it's been that way since the beginning of the Renaissance.

Vienna / Wien

Welcome to Vienna! City of the Arts & Music, and what Matt and I swear must be the museum capital of Europe!
They have museums such as a Silverware/China Museum, Schnapps Museum, and even the Funeral Museum… weird...

The Vatican City

To answer the question which has come up a few times now… no, Matt and I were in Rome when we were still technically 'Pope-less'. They started the day after we left.. and if anyone saw the crowds which the decision drew I think they'd understand why we didn't linger… that and they picked the new Pope rather quickly this time…

The Eternal City

Greetings from Rome.. Roma.. the Eternal City...

I have had to cut down many of the photos Matthew and I (but mostly Matthew... I'm still not sure he's not Japanese) took in Rome. There are simply too many things to take photos of, since you can barely walk a mile without tripping over something of historical significance!

Munich... and a Wild Goose or three (also Beer and Coffee)

Munich - City of Beer (and Starbucks)

Whilst on route to Italy, we stopped for a day in Munich. It was a natural stopping point (Southern Germany) and we spent the day doing errands and enjoying one of the famous Beer Halls along with several Starbucks (warmth with free wi-fi!!)... That it just happens to be a major train hub was somewhat of a bonus...

European Night Trains

We've often heard that Europe and Asia are at the forefront of civilized, modern travel through the use of luxury trains..... See our brief thoughts on the subject:

Marken, Volendam, and Windmills

So.. Matt and I did a trip out of Amsterdam for a morning which did the highlights of the surrounding countryside. For anyone who has already been to Amsterdam and has done a trip out to see everything - you probably did this trip or at least something similar to it!

Amsterdam..

Hello Again!
Welcome to Amsterdam :)

Sorry for the delay in the posts, I've been sick with a cold and had to opt for sleeping over typing. But here I am, on the mend - and here is the next post.

Amsterdam (all of Holland really) seems to have been build around water and the management of water. Apparently, Holland would only be 40% it's present size if the country hadn't been controlling the water levels - in fact, even their main airport is 4 meters below sea level and Holland's highest ground lies a mere 300 meters above sea level.

Layout/Style Update!!

You may have noticed a slight change in our format... we'd had a few complaints about loading time with all of our photos being displayed on the main page, so we've updated long posts with jump breaks. What this means is that you'll have to click the "Read More..." links on each post in order to get the full story.

Hopefully load times will be reduced, but let us know how it works for you!

Matt

Gastronomic Interlude

<Insert vast, epic music here>

If you'd wondered about local food in the places we've been visiting, or even how North American food changes from country to country, check out our food blog: TrippyFood

We've been trying to sample at least one local delicacy or specialty in each country, and hopefully we'll be able to keep it up for the people stuck at home... with the same old food day in and day out... ;-)

We're currently in Rome, following two (rather uncomfortable) night trains and a day spent walking in Munich, where we hope to get our Indian Visas secured (looking good, on that front). We'll update with a full post for Amsterdam, followed by my semi-wild goose chase in Munich, Miranda getting a cold, and finally some tidbits from Rome, before we leave on Monday.

Hope all is well from 8 hours in the past, and keep following our blog for more exciting updates! Same M&M Channel, Same M&M ti...me.... no, just whenever we get to it....

Matt (Posted from Roma San Pietro)

"Chunnel"

Greetings Everyone!

So I know the smaller posts might be a little annoying - but unfortunately after sleeping on the train equivalent of a park bench I don't think I am up for a long, and hopefully intelligent sounding post... Luckily, this post is not designed to be a very intelligent post - but just some good old pictures of what Matt and I come up with to entertain ourselves when bored on a train!

Teaser... Amsterdam

A little something about Amsterdam (Coming Soon!):

Roman baths in... Bath...

We had the brilliant plan to take a tour through Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Lacock, and Bath.... all in one day... yeah, it sounds kinda daft. Guess What! There is a tour company that happens to offer such a tour - convenient right? We thought so...

England's (Newly Named) Golden Circle

Welcome back!

The real highlights for us during our stay in London, was the day that we took the whirlwind bus tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Lacock Village and Bath.

GREETINGS FROM LONDON!

Well, we officially arrived in one of the most recognized cities in the world and we dove right in - trying not to lose any of our touristy momentum.

Iceland's Golden Circle

Hello Again!
Sorry for the delay, internet is dodgy at best and there is only so long you can hole up at a coffee shop in the middle of winter in London.

Going back to our last day in Reykjavik:
Matthew and I decided to do the touristy thing and book a day tour out to see what people refer to as the “Golden Circle” – it contains three of the most popular tourist destinations and the particular tour we booked also included a few extra stops!

Graffiti Art

Miranda and I came across this hidden skateboard park in Reykjavik and while it currently wasn't in use, it certainly grabbed my attention.

The colours were striking and the subject matter was varied and definitely interesting. It even included Felix the Cat and a wolf head complete with a tongue as a ramp.

Photos after the Jump...