Crossing the border into Portugal (and stressing about Portuguese toll roads) we continued south toward the city of Braga, considered the religious capital of Portugal. The first cathedral in the country was built here in 1089 and it has the highest concentration of religious buidlings in the country, but we...

Our route toward Santiago today encompassed a lunch stop in Lugo. Lugo is the fourth most populous city in Galicia and has a very unique feature which is why I had included it in our itinerary. It is the only city in the world to be surrounded by completely intact...

León had popped up on my radar when I read a trip report that mentioned the León Cathedral and once I googled a few images it became a definite in the itinerary. Having booked our accommodation just out of the pedestrianised old town we were only a short walk from...

With the big adventure behind us now and our calves still reminding us, we were understandably feeling like a gentler activity the next day (our last in the mountains) and I suggested that we drive to Cangas de Onis and catch the tourist shuttle up the mountain to the remote...

The Picos de Europa ("Peaks of Europe", also the Picos) are a spectacular mountain range extending for about 20 km, forming part of the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain and had been on my radar ever since Ben had visited there in 2018. They are still relatively 'undiscovered' by the average tourist, English is not commonly spoken and technology...

When we arrived in Bilbao (me hardly able to walk after my Gaztelugatxe experience 😂 ) we were met in the square above the car park by Fiona who had arrived a few hours earlier. She had been welcomed to our apartment by our lovely host and had already had...

Our lunch time stop was in VERY popular Pont-Aven which owes its fame to the school of painters who had Gauguin as their master and is now home to some lovely little artisan stores. We had time for a stroll around the village, to purchase a few little souvenirs and...

Leaving St. Malo the sky looked threatening and the last half of our drive west into the department of Finistère was in heavy rain on a two lane 120 km/h motorway, popular with heavy vehicles and requiring concentration plus. I was very happy when we got off the motorway and our...

We had last been to Brittany (Bretagne) way back in 2007, loved it but only spent about a week in the region so it seemed the perfect place to concentrate the 'rural' part of our French adventure. Brittany is the traditional homeland of the Breton people and is one of the six Celtic...

Something else that had piqued my interest when researching Paris was Aura. Described as "an immersive experience which combines light effects, video mapping and original orchestral music. It intends to illuminate the Dôme des Invalides and help us (re)discover the magnificence of this jewel of Parisian heritage." And basically, it does just that. Just for context, Les Invalides is...

Not wanting to waste our last day in Helsinki, today’s itinerary included some ‘culture’ first up followed by some history and (more) walking this afternoon. We had been given the tip (thanks Alison) about Helsinki’s famous library, the ‘Oodi’ and discovered it was only a short tram ride away. Oodi...

The plan to visit Tallinn in nearby Estonia had been pencilled in before we left home but we had left the decison on whether or not we would go until the last minute, depending on our energy levels. Consequently the night before at 7 pm we were booking the ferry,...

Many of you will have heard me extolling the virtues of the Qantas Classic Award Round The World (RTW) ticket, purchased with points but capped, allowing you to add more flights for no additional points - if you follow the ‘rules.’ MANY hours of research went into this booking -...