Honeymoon day 33 (Chianti) & 34 (Luca)

After Massa we were due to head to Pisa and stay in a campsite in Marina de Pisa but found a last minute deal on a spot of Agritourism in the Greve area of Chianti, which included staying at a farmhouse who produce; Wine, olive oil, saffron as well as many condiments and a wine tour completed by a tasting. This was great news as we probably hadn't drunk enough wine.......

After a spot of lunch in Greve we arrived at the vineyard and were very happy with the views and another chance for a private shower and toilet. They also had a swimming pool, there was just time for a dip before preparing for the tasting.

We found a wine that we loved and they provided a meal using all their produce with some cheeses and meats, Sarah was in heaven as it was numero uno on her list of to do's.

We (Sarah) took some amazing photos of the views from the farmhouse which are uploading now.

After tasting we brought our favourite bottle and sat and watched the sun set over a game of backgammon. We (Sarah) had been complaining about our travel backgammon board (kindly donated by best man Ben) as it is small and we knock the pieces out of place easily, so this was definitely a welcomed board.

The lure of a real bed was too much and so we only had one bottle and hit the hay 

Then it was off to Luca (not before stocking up the food bag with wine and olive oil). Luca whose favourite son is Puccini is a beautiful town built within the old walls with architecture to match our expectations of the great cities in Italy. The greatest thing about it was how quite it was, we parked outside the city walls and hired bikes.

Staying in a room in Chianti gave us a chance to get all the bags out and work out a better system of packing (which is constantly evolving) during this we decided to make a pile of all the items we brought which have proved useless or unnecessary. Top of the list was my Snow boats (there are many silly items with us but what went through my mind when packing those god only knows).

Stayed in Marina de Pisa last night but this campsite is not for us so need to move on. So Pisa centre today once we've worked out where to stay tonight as we head south toward Roma. 

Honeymoon day 31 (Firenze)

Had a hideous journey from Ancona to Florence our first night drive consisting of 3.5hrs in constant road works, we lost count of the lorrys after about 1million and the crazy driving got a  bit stressful when someone flipped their car right in front of us (no one hurt amazingly).
Very ready for bed we found the hotel booked on lastminute.com at the ferry port t it was a gorgeous old building and a smile returned to our faces. After much needed sleep we woke to great delight as we realise that our hotel was smack in the middle of Florence just off the Piazza del Duomo and we set about a whistle stop tour of the main sights.

We ran around all morning trying our best to take in all the sights of the city centre and headed over the river to find a spot for lunch with a great view and to see Michelangelo's David. The place we found did not disappoint as both things were achieved in one. You can just see David in the background.

Not willing to compromise we disregarded the budget (again) and ordered the lobster 

Views of Florence from here were breathtaking and trekking up there means you save queuing for 4 hours to go up the tower for the same view, so you can take in a long lunch.

Florence was a crazy camera day and must have been a record for the amount of photos taken in a day so far.

Having blasted through the sights of Florence it was back in the car as we headed passed Pisa & Luca to a beach area called Massa where we meet up with Armin (our friend from Innsbruck), who was there with Nina.

We cooked up some great fish meals together and spent the day on a pedlo boat and working on Sarah 5 snoozes a day regime. 

We have just said goodbye to them as they head off on a 4 hour journey to Lago di Como and we on a 40minute drive to Pisa, stopping in Luca for lunch. Safe travels Armin & Nina, see you soon.

Honeymoon day 30ish

Waiting for the boat to Italy now. 
Just Italy, Sardinia, Corsica & France to go


Sarah has a new health regime which consists of 5 snoozes a day providing there is a calm sea they boat will offer plenty of opportunity to indulge.

Honeymoon (another day)

We have been trying to arrange diving and white water rafting for our entire stay but there always seems to be obstacles (mainly the Croatian strange planning methods). Having finally sorted a dive place today we may get to go in the morning the obstacle today was wind making visibility rubbish.


So far we have done neither so went to Split ancient town yesterday. The palace walls still exist and surround the old town we spent our entire afternoon within the walls. Before heading to Bravic beach for an evening Pivo. 

Tomorrow we are heading to Italy, taking a ferry from Split to Ancona (approx 4 hours) and then will drive to Florence and stay in a hotel for the night. We will both be sad to leave Croatia as have had an amazing time here and will definitely be back... however at the same time very excited to see Italy.

Honeymoon Day 26

The previous link to the wedding photos does not work so here it is:
https://picasaweb.google.com/joncaines/ChrisSarahLR?authkey=Gv1sRgCPDCiLyk1PaUgQE


Not quite sure if it is day 26 or 27, lost count and we went to a cool bar called 'The Garden' in Zadar. It sits overlooking the sea and we finally found some good cocktails, one of them must have been off though as we have sore heads this morning. It's owned by the drummer and producer of UB40, we had dinner there so hopefully the 'rat in the kitchen' has been dealt with.

Zadar's old town has an amazing amount of Roman remains but the highlight for us is a 'Sea Organ'. Set within stone stairs that descend into the sea, as waves hit the pipes it whistles through holes in the steps. As large boats go by it completely changes the tones. It's very cool and the only one in the world.

Took a swim out and listened from the sea.

There is also a solar powered light show next to it called 'Sun Salutation' (designed by the same guy), it collects sun all day and then provides a light show at sunset to sunrise and is so efficient they now use the excess energy to power all the street lights.

Trying to upload a video of it here but it's taking ages so will load one to Vimeo, which will be visible under 'Our Video's'.

or 

http://vimeo.com/user6382461 

Heading of to Split now which will be our last destination in Croatia.

Honeymoon Day 24

The fish dinner was another success, fish platter for 2, demolished.

After dinner we headed to town to check out the renowned night life, it was fun but their in serious need of some cocktail training (a mojito without mint!!!! make that a lot of training!!!!). Sarah's latest business idea a proper cocktail bar in Novaji, if it means spending more time out here I'm in. 


Had a lazy day sitting on the beach yesterday, we were hoping to dive but all the centres seem to be shut so in need of excitement we hired a jet ski and scared the life out of Sarah. She loved it really but her role as action photographer was a bit of a failure.

Finally got round to cooking for ourselves last night and finished the first of our gas bottles so the load just got lighter. After dinner a lovely Dutch couple from next door introduced us to mish mash, a local drink for the ladies. They have travelled Croatia extensively so imparted their knowledge of the best thing to see and best places to stay, which has saved us a couple of hours of research (so time for another jet ski I think).

A nice surprise yesterday was the arrival of the official wedding photos from Andy. Was great flicking through them on the beach.

There are some awesome shots.

Jon has uplaoded them to: 

https://picasaweb.google.com/joncaines/ChrisSarahLRauthkey=Gv1sRgCPDCiLyk1PaUgQE&feat=email

Honeymoon Day 23

Left the beaches of Nin (nr Zadar) today. We had a cool time there, the water was lush and the food fabulous. 

We also found some lovely Croatian wines. 
Last night the local restaurant made us Steak Tartare at the table to follow the chef's seafood platter, we ate so much we have missed breakfast and just had a bag of crisps for lunch.

We have now arrived in on the Island of Pag, which is gorgeous but we'll let it speak for itself

Set up a new home and, as seems to be the trend in Croatian campsites, have had lots of lovely German people introduce themselves and offer us things (mostly booze). They call us 'the camping poor', as they mostly have RV's with all kinds of mod cons (Sat TV, bathrooms, full kitchens, verandas, boats and carrying smart cars or mopeds) and we have a little tent and a double burner. 

Took a swim in the sea as the sun got very hot whilst setting up, but now it looks like we might be in for another storm. The people next door have offered shelter for the night in their RV incase lightning comes. However we have found what looks like a another great seafood restaurant and having promised to cook tonight look set to break that promise. The place is on the beach has platter for two made up of the days various catches for £16!!! It's not worth wasting the gas on our own food.