We are back from our near 2 months away :D
Firstly hubby and I went on a Travelmarvel trip around Canada for two weeks and had a great time. Then we headed to Europe and our 20's kids came over.
I will write only about Europe as it was a "hot thread" when I originally posted it as a few thought it was far too much to do in 3-weeks , one even called it a "ridiculous" itinerary!!. We had three weeks with the kids to do; Paris, Florence, Pisa, Montepulciano, Rome, Ancona, Dubrovnik, Makarska, Bol, Split, Venice, Amsterdam and back to Paris. All accommodations except one was booked through booking.com.
We did it and had the best time ever!! We managed to do everything we set out to do in a fairly leisurely fashion (what we deem to be leisurely), eat at certain places, see the things we wanted to see and all activities!! We only spent a couple of days here and there, but it was enough time to see all the sights we wanted to see or do things. Would we have liked more time there, yes, a couple of places (Paris and Makarska) but the kids had only 3-weeks off work so we maximized their time :) We had absolutely no hiccups at all, everything went to plan, well except the Amsterdam to Paris train stopped for 1.5hrs due to an "electrical problem" in Paris.
Paris - Went up Eiffel tower, Montparnasse tower, Arc de triomphe. Strolled down the Seine banks, ate at Latin Quarter, had lunch under Eiffel tower and put a lock on the bridge, Saint Chapelle, Saint Peirre, Invalides, Notre Dame, Saint Germain, St-Michel, ate our body weight in macarons, croissants, tried escargo and frog legs, Seine river cruise, visited the outside of Louvre (not really museum people), Catacombs
Took the Eurostar to London - Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Waterloo station, rode the HOHO bus (wouldnt recommend), Castle Baynard, London Bridge, Tower bridge, visited Hanleys and other shops
Flew to Florence and hired van - Stayed right beside the Duomo, Baptistery of St John, Santa Maria del Fiore, Piazza Signoria, Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza San Giovanni - Pisa - Leaning tower, Cathedral square, duomo - hot dogs and icecream, shopped.
Stopped at San Gimignano and shopped and ate. Went to Sienna and visited the cathedral, spectacular!! - Stayed at Montepulciano, gorgeous
Rome - stayed right beside the Colosseum and did a 3-hr private tour incl underground (highly rec), Vatican city and Sistine chapel tour, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, St Peters square/basilica, Piazza Navona, Piazza Sant'Ignazio, Piazza di San Marcello, Piazza Venezia - Drove from Rome to Ancona through amazing tunnels, shopped and stayed. Ferry to Split.
Croatia - stayed at Mali Ston, gorgeous. Dubrovnik - kayaked, ate, walked the walls, swam by Dodo bar, jumped off the cliff at Buza bar, Walk of shame, Orlandos column, sat on the throne, gondola up Mt Srd and dinner at Panorama - Makarska, ate our body weight in food and relaxed by the beach - ferry to Bol, visited Dracevica, stayed in Bol, went to Zlatni Rat beach, visited Supetar before heading off back to split on ferry - Omis - went ziplining (highly rec), ate, walked around - Split - shopped, ate, relaxed, Saint Domnius - Drove to Venice, biggest day of driving, it was awesome, saw too many things to list!!
Venice - Rio Nuovo, San Polo, Grande canal, Cannaregio, took ferry for half day to Murano and Burano (highly rec), watched glass-making, San Marco, Rialto bridge, St Marks square, Bridge of Sighs, gondola ride with our own music, ferry to airport
Amsterdam - Susie's saloon (highly rec), ate all the trendy things on tiktok (kids) lol, shopped, tandem bike-riding, Anne Frank house, Ripleys.
From here the kids flew home back to NZ, we went on to Santorini for 6 days, then Singapore for a week. Dont let anyone tell you it is far too much :) It did require energy, a lot of walking and of course $$. So many memories on our Trip of a Lifetime!! Make the most of your time and "Just Do it" !!