Holland

City Life, Country Life, and Life with a Toddler

We spent 1 week in Holland, staying with friends we met in Chile 4 yrs ago, while cruising down south near the glaciers. Hilde and Marcel were absolutely top hosts, and their little boy, David, was so much fun. It put us to the test as would-be parents (an unexpected perk in the trip!) and I must say, i think Grant is ready. (see pics).

Thanks to these guys we were able to see much more than just Amsterdam (which is probably the only place we'd have seen if we hadn't known them). We visited old towns and villages, ate traditional dutch desserts (I LOVED Hopjes Vla, this chocolate custard thing), learnt to speak baby dutch (we mainly just repeated whatever David said) and even got to go sailing in this lake that used to be part of the ocean once. Niiiiiiice!

We also spent 3 days exploring the city of Amsterdam. Went to the Anne Frank Museum (very sad and moving), the Heineken Experience (just an excuse to drink lots of beer), the Sex Museum (saw all sorts of naughty things, and also some seriously weird stuff!), cruised through the canals of the city (there are so many) and of course visited some Coffee Shops (wink wink!) and the Red Light District (in that order of course). I felt sorry for those girls, they looked so bored standing in those windows... they should be allowed ipods in there. What made it even funnier was Grant staring at them so much (he's normally such a starer, imagine after a few puffs...). This and his Robot Dancing after a smoke made the evening great.

So thumbs up for Holland!

Maz xxx

ps. Hilde & Marcel, thank you so much! We will recommend your hotel to all our friends.

Cruising in the Greek Islands...

Samos, Paros & Beautiful Santorini

We spent a great 11 days checking it all out in Samos (Closest Greek Island to Turkey), Paros and Santorini. Not enough time!!!

It all started off in Samos, which we hadn't planned, had to stay there overnight as our connecting ferry from Kusadasi (Turkey) to Paros (Greece) didn't fit in the one day. But we're sooo returning to Samos again. It was gorgeous, super laid back and the cheapest of the 3 islands we visited.

After an 8 hour ferry ride, we arrived in Paros, the island of beautiful beaches. Stayed for 4 days, got around on a scooter, worked on our tans (I've been told i look aboriginal, hahahahaha) and ate lots of Tzaziki, Mousaka and Greek Salads. Yum. We stayed right in the centre of town, got lost in the little maze of alleyways with shops and cafes and basically fell in love with the place. Also went to Antiparos, a smaller island facing its big sister, and visited a huge stalagmite/stalactite cave...

Santorini in all its volcanic glory then waited for us, where we spent an awesome 6 days. Again, not nearly enough time! Climbed the volcano, stared open-mouthed at the massive caldera... I couldn't help myself, i kept pointing out rock features and other nerdo stuff to Grant. Poor guy. Took a thousand spectacular photos (you just can't get it wrong here, it's picture-perfect everywhere you look). Swam at beaches with red sand and with black sand. Grant got stung by jellyfish, went swimming in thermal springs, drank cheapass cocktails and cruised the island on a super dooper 4 wheeler, which was great as long as we were travelling downhill. Uphill, at 12km/hr, was a pain in the ass, but a laugh anyway!

Out time here was MAGIK! One day left in Greece, exploring Athens and then off to weedland - Amsterdam!

Maz xxx