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Many of you have been asking about our impression of Australia and whether we thought it was very different from North America. While we felt that Australia is like a mixture of British / North American influences, a number of things stood out that are worth mentioning; some informative and others just for fun. Enjoy! In the year 1770 Captain Cook...

*Post written by Vlad* Our last stop in Australia was the Queensland capital of Brisbane and we stayed there only for two nights. After checking into our apartment/luxury hotel (more on this later) in the west end, we ventured down Boundary St. to check out the city, grab some lunch and a post drive beer. This hip area of Brisbane had a nice mix o...

We arrived in Hervey Bay on October 16, 2014 for a three night stay. The drive from Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay was 12h including stops. Basically, we drove all day. And by "we" I mean Vlad. I drove for about 20 minutes. Driving on the left at 100km/h was not my thing so for the safety of other people on the road & Vlad's sanity I decided to remain...

Whitsundays National Park, a collection of beautiful islands off the central coast of Queensland, is one of the top destinations for tourists traveling to Australia. And it's no wonder as this place is a paradise of swirling white silica sand and crystal blue waters. From the first time we saw photos of Whitsundays, we knew we had to see it. From...

Prepare for cuteness overload my friends! This post is filled with all kids of friendly fluffy animals, as well as a few of the less friendly ones. During our week long stay in Cairns, we visited the Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas, a nearby town only 1 hour away by car. We were excited to find a place that is more of a sanctuary rather than a zo...

-by Vlad- An absolute must for us while in Australia was to see the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), the world's largest coral reef system. After checking out many tour companies, we decided on Passions of Paradise because of reviews, a local referral and a 20% discount for Airbnb users on a steep 159 AUD pp price (gotta save cash where you can while tra...

Welcome to Cairns! After 6 days in Sydney we took a 3 hour flight north to sunny and tropical Cairns. We were happy to be able to wear our summer clothes again and get some vitamin D. Once again we booked with Airbnb and our choice of an abode did not disappoint: our bedroom was spacious and sunny with a large door opening up to the yard, only a f...

G'Day Mates! If you are anything like me, then the term " bush " or "bushwalking" will have you chuckling every time you hear it. Australians probably don't find it as funny. To them, anything that is not a city and especially a terrain that is covered with some sort of vegetation is called the bush. So instead of hiking or talking a walk in the f...

Welcome to Sydney! We touched down in Sydney on Tuesday, October 1, 2014 after spending a week in Melbourne. The train ride from the airport to our apartment in Bondi Junction was very quick and easy. After locating and meeting the hosts of our Airbnb apartment we went for an evening walk to get some exercise for the day. As September is a spring...

*Post written by Vlad* Welcome to Australia! After the super long journey from The Netherlands via Paris using almost every mode of transportation known to man (trams, trains, metro, buses, planes), we were hit with a wicked case of jet lag upon our arrival in Melbourne. Couple that with a fever I caught and our first two and a half days down und...

*Post written by Vlad* Welkom in Den Haag After 9 relaxing days in Luxembourg we decided that we would make one last visit with friends before leaving the continent of Europe. We both joked that it would be the last time in a while where we would be able to talk to people other than ourselves and see familiar faces. The stop: Den Haag (aka The H...

For our last trip, we decided to head south to a French town by the lovely name of Nancy, located in the Dutchy of Lorraine. Unfortunately, Ilya was not feeling too well so he stayed at home and we went as three musketeers again. After driving for almost two hours the GPS brought us to what was supposed to be the center of the town. We were a bit d...

The great thing about Europe, and Luxembourg in particular, is its size and accessibility - it is entirely possible to be in two or three countries in one day. We made this happen during one of our day trips from Luxembourg, by driving north to Maastricth, the Netherlands, via Belgium. Following a quick breakfast and accordion concert by Ilusha, w...

Our first day trip out of Luxembourg was on Friday September 12, 2014 to Echternach, a commune with city-status in the Eastern part of Luxembourg. Since hiking was the only thing on our agenda that day we slept in a bit and headed out in the afternoon. Dating back to the 7th century, Echternach is the oldest city in Luxembourg and one of Europe's...

Wellkomm! After spending some quality time with Vlad's family in Paris, we headed to Luxembourg to visit our friends Ilya and Dasha, who recently left NYC and made Luxembourg City their new home. Often overshadowed by its "flashier" neighbors such as Germany and France, Luxembourg is usually not a tourist destination for many. Given the proximity...