One of the best ways to see more of Bali is to plan a day on the road and venture off your base. The most common way to do this is to hire a taxi driver, sit back and enjoy! This is exactly what we did on one of our first days in Ubud, and looking back now in retrospective it was an excellent choice. In just one day we saw so much of this stunning island, and not only these impeccable "sights", but also the real Balinese villages and the raw nature. Who would have known that driving through these authentic villages would end up being one of the highlights of this little road trip! Also, like I wrote on my previous post, our driver was full of stories and every time we would see some ceremonies or happenings along the way, he would jump right in and explain what was going on. So, it was all pretty much a visual learning experience...
 |
| Panoramic views over the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces |
Northern coast of Corsica is a mix of secluded beaches, mountains and lively little port towns with delicious seafood. This was pretty much the recipe also to our successful couple of days that we had the pleasure to spend there: Walking the endless beach line in Saint-Florent, dining in its vibrant seaside restaurants, taking a boat ride to one of the most pristine beaches we’ve ever seen with shallow crystal clear waters (that we thought would only exist somewhere far away), driving the coastal road into the sunset, hiking to a blue lagoon, chilling the evening away in Calvi’s citadel that offers outstanding views over the bay, and just simple pleasures like enjoying a breakfast by the water on a sunny morning. Those were just a couple of the most unforgettable things we did, and northern Corsica sure made its way into our hearts. I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking…
Over the years we have grown so fond of road trips and we most definitely have what they call love for the road. This time was no different as we finally got to the day we had been waiting for- the day to explore the West Coast towards north! We kissed Ajaccio goodbye (and its endless traffic jam along the only boulevard that takes you through it) and got on the coastal road that'd take us through all three gulfs; Sagone, Porto and Girolata. This route is incredibly scenic but also extremely time-consuming as it twists and turns pretty much all the way. But we were in no rush driving through secluded mountain villages, wondering the rocky cliffs and pillars rising out of the translucent sea, and every now and then having savage white sand beaches on the other side and rugged mountains on the other. Now that's the Corsica we all been hearing about! The landscape and the richness of nature is indeed pretty impressive and particularly versatile on this Mediterranean island.
 |
| The driver (& a passionate map reader) |
Unexpected, unplanned things are sometimes the best ones in life, right? Well, here’s one: Our little fall getaway to the Mediterranean island of Corsica! It just so happened that Denis needed to go there for work for few days and we ended up having seven days of splendid escapade! We hopped on a sunrise flight out of Paris on Sunday morning and arrived to Ajaccio (capital of Corsica) just an hour and half later- talking about convenience. As much as we were unprepared and disorientated that day, we ended up having such good Sunday exploring the coastline south from Ajaccio including little scenic hike and dip into the clear blue sea.
 |
| Views from Torra di Capu di Muru |
Here's the masterpiece of our Iceland trip- hope you enjoy it! It sure was fun goofing around with GoPro and do our 'walk' (that you will see fast-forwarded in the end) everywhere where we could just set up the camera! The credits go out to Christian who put this video together (not an easy task considering the amount of material he had to deal with)! We'll be forever grateful that we got to share this unforgettable adventure with our favourite travel couple! Can't wait to take over Southeast Asia together in January- See ya in BANGKOK bitches! ;)
‘The best of Iceland in one day’ is definitely one of the most popular slogans you’ll hear about this well-known circle accessible just outside of Reykjavik. My guess is that the popularity of this overly touristic route is indeed based on its convenient location more than what it actually has to offer, and our brilliant idea to save the best for last didn’t quite convince us. But what do I mean exactly? To start with, there are three major stops on this loop that include Thingvellir national park, Gullfoss waterfall and Haukadalur geothermal area that’s home for the famous geysers Geysir and Strokkur. Individually speaking each of these is pretty significant and even mind-blowing, it’s more the bigger picture that’s less appealing.
Unfortunately the time was up for us at the East Fjords and we got back on the ring road towards the north and new adventures. After leaving the fjords behind, the landscape started changing drastically and we started to understand why someone would call it the place from outer space. It’s hard to even begin to describe the uniqueness of this area and especially the pace it keeps changing.
The first stop of the day we made at the Dettifoss- the most powerful waterfall in all Europe. In order to get there, we had to take off of the ring road and follow a gravel road for about half an hour and quite honestly it looked like entering a desert rather than getting closer to any waterfall. But as we got to the parking, we could just see the huge spray of the water shooting into the air and only a few steps down we started to perceive the magnitude of this place; there wasn’t only the voluminous waterfall but also a long, beautiful canyon that continued as far as we could see. Talking about unexpected.
 |
| Dettifoss |
From the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon we still had a long road ahead of us, and for the first time we couldn’t see too long ahead on the road as we were either in the mist or in the middle of downpour. Obviously it’s not really an ideal driving condition especially in Iceland due to the amount of sheep wandering aside of the road as well as crossing it (or simply just standing in the middle of it)- we had one really close call and if it wasn’t for our chauffeur’s quick reflex, we would’ve end up hitting the sheep (and for the record, the honking doesn’t always guarantee that they’ll move away)! After surviving the different sheep scares, we began to get really nice views as the road started following the coastline and we were approaching the first fjord. Imagine the ocean on your right, the mountains on your left and the road twisting and turning through the mist- pure magic!
The more the merrier definitely goes with people but not so much with the four people’s luggage squeezed into a small rental car- welcome to the road with us and our little Chevy that literally was bursting half of the time! This was probably the part we all had been waiting for the most, and finally the time had come to start our tour around this magical island.
Because there were simply way too many stunning places along this road, I’ve put together the highlights from the south coast on this post. So buckle up and enjoy the ride on one of the world’s finest roads!
 |
| (Photo @ adventurerentals.is) |
We were in for a long weekend in Dublin, but figured that we’d have enough time to take a day to explore the national park just outside of the city. So we rented a car and hit the road towards Wicklow Mountains National Park, and eventually its own little treasure- Glendalough.
Shortly after getting out of Dublin the road took us right through some lovely Irish countryside: spectacular valleys with rivers, lakes and hills, farms with old grey stone houses surrounded by countless sheep, sun striking through the clouds every now and then, and all this polished with the autumn glow. As we followed the Old Military Road through this gorgeous scenery, we pulled over frequently to take in the views and snap some photos, and occasionally just to avoid running over some stubborn group of sheep…
The Alps were getting smaller and smaller in the review mirror as we hit the road down south. The closer to Provence we got, the more distinct the difference seemed; forests had switched into stunted bushes, mountains into much rounder hills and alpine style houses to Mediterranean influenced buildings. The drive from Briançon to Sisteron, the gate of Provence, is only about two hours, and Aix-en-Provence, where we were headed, an hour further tops.
As we got to there I wanted to take my parents around Aix - one of the most visited city in Provence. This city isn’t just accidentally the southern hot spot for rich: inviting alleys of the old town, colorful markets, numerous boutiques, fine dining, ateliers, museums, and outstandingly lively southern street life. It has definitely established itself as the cultural center of the region. But it’s not only a venue for old and rich people; it’s also a university town, making it home to number of students from all over. In the center runs a large boulevard Cours Mirabeau that divides the city into the older quarter and the newer town district on the other side. At the other end of this major boulevard are many of the town’s theaters, and at the other end is the famous Place du General de Gaulle and its fountain La Rotonde or Rotunda fountain. This fountain is one of the many (around 40) fountains in Aix, and surely the most widely known one.
We had a long day on the road after leaving Riga. We were now driving through the entire country of Lithuania, which pretty much translated into endless fields and rural villages. Even though the route of Via Baltica is under a lot of construction (by the European Union), the roads are still way slower than the western counterparts: most of the time they go right through town centers, speed limits are lowered down around each village, roads have commonly only two lanes and there are crossroads and traffic lights on the way. These factors combined with plenty of other issues result in longer driving hours.
From Tallinn to Riga the road is pretty straightforward and once you reach the Gulf of Riga, the road follows the coastline. All in all it’s a nice drive and depending on the weather you can definitely enjoy the sandy beaches as well. For us though, the reality was a little harsher as it was pouring rain pretty much the entire coastal drive. We did enjoy the scenario- from rural farmhouses and fields to these beautiful sea front forests that somehow still reminded us of Finland.
We got to Riga in the afternoon and looked for the camping ground, which is actually pretty well located just across the river Daugava from the old town. Since my parents were going to occupy the camping car, we planned to sleep in a tent for the next couple of weeks- a pretty decent and cheap alternative for an accommodation during summer time in Europe! Upon arriving to the the camping there is an area called Pārdaugava that has the most gorgeous wooden villas that have remained pretty much untouched for centuries. It is dazzling to see how the architecture was back in the day, and even more unbelievably how it is preserved in its original shape and form till today*.
Sea breakfast- checked. We were on an early ferry to Tallinn, the beautiful Estonian capital or the medieval pearl. We thought it’d be good to catch the earliest crossing in order to enjoy a full day over in Tallinn and in addition, of course, we wanted to benefit from the all you can eat breakfast buffet on the boat. That’s a decent way to start your day and prepare for the long day of wandering!
In continuation of long weekends in May, we decided to take upon a little trip to the closest coast from us- Normandy
 |
| The beautiful old town of Annecy |
We had read and heard about the sunken ruins in the Kekova region, and wanted to squeeze it into our last day on the road. We didn’t really know what to expect or how to reach the actual sunken city, and as we arrived to this small coastal town Kaleköy, we learned there’s only one way: taking up on one of the cruise offers in the harbour. They were all from few hours to all day long cruises, and they were going to take you around the island and the ruins.
We were now on the D400 road headed to south*. The first stop we made was in Patara. What today seems like just a traditional Turkish village, used to be a lively commercial center in its time. Pass the village you can now visit its ancient ruins and just a bit further is the Patara-Beach; a nearly 20 kilometres long white-sand beach popular in summer time.
