Eurotrip2011: A summary

So, dear readers, after close to two months abroad here is my final post on our European/Middle Eastern/Australasian adventure. For my beloved and I, emotions were certainly a strange melange of happiness and sadness upon our return. While we missed our families, cat babies and the stability of home life in Melbourne, we thoroughly enjoyed our time away, catching up with old (and making new) friends and the lack of work/study stress for two months. 

We have now been back from our holiday for nearly three months, during which time my knee has been successfully reconstructed, our wedding has been booked in, half a semester of university has passed and work continues to be hectic. Needless to say, life's been busy!

In summary, our time away was simply fantastic! We learnt a great deal about who we are and, moreover, how fortunate we are to lead the lives we do (and indeed to have the opportunity to travel in the first place). So as not to forget our wonderful adventures abroad, I have compiled a list of our "favourites", which I have linked back to relevant posts. Enjoy!

Favourite moment:

• Getting engaged in Paris

Favourite food moments: 

• Dining at the world's top restaurant - Noma; and
• Stumbling across the best Pizza and Gelati in the same day in Rome.

Favourite beverage moment:

• Porto, baby!

Places I'm most excited to return to:

• Seville;
• San Sebastian (Day 1 and Day 2); and
• Amsterdam (Day 1 and Day 2) and The Hague 

Wow, that list was harder to compile than I initially anticipated. There were literally so many magic moments scattered throughout the course of the trip that it is difficult to pinpoint "favourites" and "bests". All I can say that I'm thrilled to have kept a diary (of sorts) of our trip and I am sure it will prove to be a source of endless amusement/embarrassment in years to come.

Thanks for sticking with me throughout my Eurotrip2011 journalling and please stay tuned, as this blog gets back to its roots - food and frolicking. 

Eurotrip2011: Day 55

Kuala Lumpur - Melbourne

Once again the spectacular Westin breakfast took at least 90 minutes of our time as we frolicked (okay, maybe it was more like rolled by the end of the meal!) between rooms of internationally themed food. Trust me, you've got to try this buffet if you're ever in the vicinity! At mid-morning we checked out of the hotel and were pleasantly surprised to find our airport taxi already waiting for us - superior customer service - that's KL in a nutshell.

We headed to the airport (roughly 45 minutes to an hour from the city centre depending on traffic and the craziness of one's taxi driver), where we tried to find out any information we could on the volcanic ash cloud that was (then) hovering above south east Australia. Nobody seemed to have any information (or indeed be in the least bit phased!) and what was particularly troubling was that no airlines apart from Emirates seemed to be taking the risk of flying.

Once aboard the plane, I questioned a number of Emirates employees about the situation. Still no answer. The captain didn't provide clarity on the situation at any time during the flight, not even once detailing possible changes to the route or just reassuring us that we were in good hands. All the while, our inflight BBC news update was displaying the "dangerous" ash cloud as their number one story of the day. Do you think I got as much as a wink of sleep on the flight? No way, José.

But I'm writing this post months on, so clearly I survived the ordeal. The upside to all the airline cancellations was that my beloved and I made it through customs in record time. We were back to our humble abode at around 3am and were both giddy with happiness to be reunited with our felines, celebrating with a wee drop of port (and a wee drop of cat milk for them) before falling into the comfort of our own bed - bliss!

Eurotrip2011: Day 54

Kuala Lumpur

After 54 days abroad, this morning was one that I had been looking forward to every day of our holiday. Why? The Westin's buffet breakfast, of course. This veritable feast is by far the best breakfast I have ever consumed. And consumed it I have (on four occasions to be precise!). There are literally rooms of food, from Indian curries and freshly cooked roti, to teh tarik and laksa, to meaty/eggy western-style options, to more delicate Japanese tidbits, to freshly made baked goods with pot-set yoghurt and home made compote. I could go on...

We set aside over 90 minutes to optimise our breakfast consumption (i.e. cram in as much as was physically possible!) and then set out for a little walk. Finding ourselves at the foot of the Petronas Twin Towers, my beloved and I couldn't resist the lure of airconditioning in the Suria KLCC mall contained within. After a refreshing drink and a stickybeak in some of the shops, jet lag simultaneously hit us like a tonne of bricks. As such, we headed back to our hotel for a quick afternoon nap.

Feeling somewhat refreshed, my beloved and I collected our glasses from Sungei Wang and I even managed to pick up a cute little cotton Summer dress from DKNY (not even jet lag can get between me and a bargain!). We spent the rest of the evening exploring central KL at a leisurely pace and gobbled up a cheap curry laksa for dinner. Despite being well and truly satisfied, I couldn't resist purchasing two of my favourite Malaysian sweets for dessert - ice kacang and cendol.

Back at the hotel, my beloved and I tried desperately to fall asleep, but, owing to jet lag, failed miserably. After midnight we decided that nasi lemak would be the only way to get through the night. Oddly enough, the dish indeed had the desired sleep-inducing effect and we finally found ourselves in the land of nod.

Eurotrip2011: Day 53

Dubai - Kuala Lumpur

After a quick break to stretch our legs in Dubai, we were back in the air for another largely sleepless flight to Kuala Lumpur. I am an avid lover of all things Malaysia and have visited the country a number of times (oh how I love a good nasi lemak followed by an icy cendol!), but our experience coming through immigration this time was: So. Very. Slow. After more than two hours of queuing (and my rising desire for some Malaysian curry!), we were *finally* ready to explore KL.

We jumped into an airport limo, to our fabulous hotel - the Westin KL. Now, I don't usually use this forum to rave about hotels, but the Westin in KL certainly deserves all accolades that come its way. We have twice stayed on the executive floor of this hotel and find the staff to be second to none and the food (particularly the breakfast in their "Living Room" restaurant and the evening canapés) to be just wonderful!

We arrived in the late afternoon, checked into the hotel, gobbled up some of the complementary snacks and drinks from the lounge and headed to the nearby Sungei Wang plaza to order some ridiculously cheap prescription glasses. Optik 2000 has been my optometrist of choice in KL for a number of years. I simply bring my prescription from Australia and within a matter or hours (or overnight) pick up my new spectacles for a fraction of the price of the Australian equivalent. On this trip, we purchased three pairs of prescription glasses (one of which was a pair of prescription sunglasses) for only $110AUD - crazy!

After leaving our optical order with the good folk at Optik 2000, we headed back towards our hotel and decided to refuel at the food court in the Pavillion shopping centre. As an ostensibly cleaner option than some of the street hawker food, this food court provides the hungry traveller with diverse yet affordable options. We shared a hot pot and a fish soup, washed down with sugar cane and soursop juices. A green tea/red bean/mochi concoction was a dessert highlight.

Bellies full, my beloved was keen to try the Kenko fish spa upstairs - yes, yes - the one where the creepy fish chomp away on your feet to remove dry skin...like so:

It was somewhat amusing (to put it mildly!) to see my beloved giggle like a schoolgirl as his feet were being nibbled by the diminutive fish. As a fish spa veteran, I was slightly less hysterical...but that didn't mean I maintained perfect composure throughout the experience!

With silky smooth feet, my beloved and I padded back across the road to our hotel. We briefly enjoyed the view from our room (see below), before falling absolutely exhausted into bed.

Eurotrip2011: Day 52

Borgio Verezzi - Milan - Dubai

I apologise for posting for a second consecutive day with very little to report (thanks to the bulk of the day being spent on an aircraft). We farewelled our lovely Italian neighbours early in the morning and drove our shiny, black Mercedes to Milan airport. We needed a quick pit stop along the highway, where this (extremely nutritionally balanced!) treat caught my eye.

As a massive fan of Nutella and in need of a sugar hit, this package of iced tea, dipping sticks and Nutella totally hit the spot!

Once at the airport, we chomped into some lunch (why is it that airport food is always so disappointing?) and boarded our plane for a largely uneventful, but sadly sleep-deprived flight to Dubai. In Dubai, we enjoyed a stretch of our legs and the airport's complimentary wi-fi after nearly a week of no internet access. Once our inboxes were cleared, it was time for the next leg of our exciting journey - Kuala Lumpur.

Eurotrip2011: Day 51

Borgio Verezzi

Our final full day spent in the Italian Riviera area was extremely low key. Indeed, it probably doesn't even warrant a post! It was a day of cake, cribbage, crosswords and getting over my cold. My beloved appeared to be going somewhat stir crazy after three straight days of "nothing", but for me, the lull in activity was worth it to stymie what may have otherwise evolved into an utterly heinous head cold.

Oh, and I just can't resist - one more photo (this time a panorama) of our view for good measure!

Eurotrip2011: Day 50

Borgio Verezzi

After a much-needed sleep in, my beloved and I wandered all of twenty metres to our sun-flooded terrace, overlooking the ocean, where we devoured a breakfast of Italian rice cake (torta di riso), fresh olive bread, sun-dried tomatoes and coffee - bliss! We sat discussing our plans for the day. Should we drive to Monaco? Should we explore the towns of the Italian riviera? With 50 straight days of travelling under our belts and a view like this on offer, what do you think we opted to do?

That's right, folks - we scarcely moved from our terrace. The morning was filled with a much overdue pampering sesh for yours truly - a self-applied facial, manicure and pedicure were on the menu. We both enjoyed the morning sun while reading our books (note to self: do not read books about the numerous ways the human race may be annihilated while trying to unwind on the Italian riviera), and, as the heat became too strong, we headed into town to our favourite little pasticceria to pick up supplies.

It came as a rather rude shock that the "siesta" of the Italian Riviera is even longer than in Spain - most places were closed between midday and 4pm! We passed the time with some fresh fruit granita until stores opened.

Our evening was spent playing cards, reading and generally rejuvenating. We debated long and hard about whether our view improved with nightfall...but came to no resolution. I'll leave it to you to decide...