Bec Virgona

London

Now in London and I absolutely love it. I've given my camera a break so I haven't got too many photos of London yet but here are just a few.

Windsor Castle in the distance.

Sitting at the World Rowing Championships. First time I had worn a jumper in 2 months!

Watching the parade at the Nottinghill Carnival.

Elaborate costumes on show during the parade.

In Trafalgar Square after visiting Leicester Square and Convent Garden with Jane.

Day 54, 55, 56, 57 - Greek Islands (Santorini)

Santorini was absolutely beautiful...the most breathtaking of all the Greek Islands we visited. We had a fun night out and just enjoyed chilling in the town of Perissa. We took a boat cruise so we could explore the volcano in the centre of the caldera and we stopped in Oia to watch the sunset. Heaps of people make the trip to Oia as it the best position to watch the sun go down. Overall, a really nice way to wind down and finish off my eight weeks of travelling...now watch out London...here I come!

A group of us out at the Beach Bar

One of our friends on the trip - Elly

Enjoying another cocktail or two...

A church near Perissa

On the boat to the volcano...a very windy day

On top of the volcano with Rach

Swimming in the hot springs

Donkey ride up the hill to Oia to watch the sunset

View from the top of Oia

The sunset

Day 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 - Greek Islands (Ios)

Ios was absolutely CRAZY! We were staying at the Far Out Club just near Milopotas Beach. The surroundings were beautiful and the Club had four pools so it really felt like a resort. The first couple of days were fun but after that the poolside party that started at 10am every morning did my head in. The nightlife was full on but fun. A few good shots of a fun night out can be seen below.

We were practically camping as we booked a beach hut with no sheets or electricity. We felt like we were constantly outside and I think that was when I felt a little tired of lying on the beach all day. We did go into the city centre and look around but the town was pretty dead during the day. Overall, our stay in Ios was probably 2 nights too many but had we stayed in better accommodation in the city centre I may have a different opinion.

Pool side at the Far Out Club

Fun night out in Ios

At Manganari beach where we were blown away

Lying in our beach hut

View from inside our beach hut

Day 44, 45, 46, 47 - Greek Islands (Naxos)

Relaxed and chilled...a nice change from Mykonos. Naxos certainly had it's own charm and I really enjoyed our time there. There is a main strip along the water with heaps of restaurants with special cocktail hours - we loved that! The beaches were long and sandy and the water was just beautiful.

Enjoying a cocktail or two...

The beach at Naxos

Sunrise at Naxos

Day 40, 41, 42, 43 - Greece (Mykonos)

The minute we stepped off the ferry at Mykonos it was full on. There were crowds of people at the port trying to sell accommodation. Fortunately we had this all sorted so we just needed to hop on the bus to Paradise Beach. The bus ride was just crazy - the roads are not wide enough for two lanes of traffic and the bus driver was going nuts. We finally arrived at our destination and settled into our beach hut...and it was exactly that...a hut, the size of a shoe box.

Mykonos is truly the party island. We went to the beach on the first day and I was expecting to read my book but music was pumpin' and the beach was packed. Anyway, the next day we arrived at the beach early and the music hadn't kicked off yet...you did however see people on the beach who were still out from the night before. Crazy but fun if you like that sort of thing. We did go out one night but the atmosphere wasn't as electric as I would have expected. The guest DJ didn't start playing until 4am...on Mykonos time I suppose!

As the sun is going down, the view of the windmills in Mykonos

Out for dinner one night with some of Prue's friends

Inside Cavo Paradiso - one of the nightclubs

A pelican - it was huge and this lady was patting it!

The view of Mykonos town from the hill

The view from our beach beds that you hire for 4 euro a day

Sitting at the beach

Day 36, 37, 38, 39 - Turkey (Olympos to Fethiye)

One of the best ways to see the coast of Turkey is by boat. So for 3 nights we were on a boat sailing along the coast. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was provided and the crew were fantastic. Each day we took a dip in the sea, lay on the lilo and read on the deck. So relaxing and enjoyable. We were also fortunate to have a great group of people on board. We slept on the deck each night as the cabins were too hot. We travelled from Olympos to Fethiye in the 3 days and stopped at a number of swimming spots along the way.

One of the swimming spots

The view of the sunset from the boat

Sleeping on the deck

Prue and I relaxing after dinner one night

Beer o'clock

Me pretty relaxed after a day of lying around reading and jumping in and out of the water

Dinner on the first night...getting to know everyone

After a late night dip

Dancing to some traditional Turkish music on the last night

Day 35 - Turkey (Cappadocia)

Straight off one bus and onto another...the tour bus and we had 6 hours of sightseeing in front of us. We hadn't had the chance to go to our hotel and we stunk! It was a long day but the landscape is just amazing and the views were well worth it. All the rocks have been formed overtime through erosion.

We also visited the largest open air museum in Goreme. There are a number of churches and the artwork inside can still be seen. The Underground City was also amazing. There are 8 levels but you can only visit to level 4. It was icey cold inside and so interesting to explore this 'mini city' which was developed thousands of years ago.

Standing with a great view of the valley and rock formations

One of the best views of the valley

Artwork inside one of the churches in Goreme

Inside the Underground City

Day 34 - Turkey (Troy)

Troy was a real disappointment. Only 10 per cent of the site has been excavated so there is not much there and you really need to use your imagination. The Trojan Horse is the big attraction which was built 30 years ago...a bit of a gimmick really. Anyhow, we were back at the hostel within a couple of hours and then we had to pysch ourselves up for the 14 hour bus ride that lay ahead of us. We needed to catch a bus to Cappadocia which is further inland. 18 hours later...yes you heard it...not 14 hours...18 hours later we arrive in Cappadocia. All worth it though...

Day 33 - Turkey (Gallipoli)

Standing on the beach where the ANZAC soldiers arrived back on April 25 1915 was really quite emotional. Actually being there and hearing of what happened 90 years ago helped you get some perspective. Trenches are still standing and you can see that there were only 8-10m separating the ANZACs from the Turks. It is difficult to explain how it makes you feel...certainly somewhere you need to visit and experience first hand.