Travel to Italy, Veneto.

We spent our day visiting all the beauty and charm Venice has to offer. We began our day in St. Marcos Square taking in the sights and visiting St. Marco's Basilica located at the Eastern side of square. From there we began exploring the hundreds of twisting and turning streets, walking over bridges and wondering to see what this island city has to offer. The most amazing sight in Venice is the city itself. We stopped for lunch by the famous Rialto bridge and enjoyed people watching on the Grand Canal.

In the afternoon, we took a Grand Canal audio tour learning about all the buildings that make up this magnificent place. The weather is much different here, it is warmer and more humid that France and Germany. Before dinner we came back to the hotel to change and I took a short nap.

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Travel to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City.

The next leg of our train journey down the coast of Vietnam was from Danang to Nha Trang, the beach resort/party town of the bunch. This time, we were trying out a 6 berth hard sleeper cabin, which we had chosen so that we could all bunk in together, rather than because we liked the sound of hard beds! We'd used an independent travel agency (Vietnam Impressive - which they actually were) to book train tickets this time, with much more success. On their suggestion, we bought the sixth bed for our inflatable mascot "Stewie" to save being placed with a random.

The train was, as ever, delayed and we played cards in the waiting room to pass the time, only to look up and find a bunch of vietnamese teenagers hovering over us. Apparently western tourists playing an unknown card-game was too interesting to even pretend to ignore. We gave up playing in the end, as none of us could concentrate on our rummy strategies, and because we were too fascinated in return at the motley crew of Vietnamese locals turning up for our Saturday night train

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Travel to Germany, Berlin.

The catatonic running around like a headless chicken to the university and back, the thrills and chills of living in the new strange environment you were obsessing about the last couple of months, the idea of being completely alone and free for once in your life doesn't really leave room for complaining. Well, not really…

Once things fall into place and the rush hour is gone, you look around and realize it’s been ages since your last interaction with a human being. All the new responsibilities that come with changing states have kept yourself busy, new apartment, new school, new rules however what about new friends?

Saying goodbye to everything you have loved and cherished back at your home ain't easy however the excitement of this radical change you've signed up for keeps you overwhelmed with joy. Facing it, on the other hand might not be as cheerful as one might think.

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Travel to Thailand, North-West Thailand, Chiang Mai.

On the evening of our last full night in Bangkok, we had planned to go for one last pad thai down the 'local' but instead wandered in a different direction and come across a series of, what appeared to be, more local eateries. We chose one quickly (any would have done) and endeavoured to scan the menu for more recommendations we had been given. We tried the 'fish cakes' along with another Tom yam kai and rice and shared the lot. Tom yam kai was as good as last time and fish cakes nice although we both struggled to taste the fish. More like deep fried scrambled egg with herbs and spices - a lot of flavour.

Not much to speak of for the next day. We spent some time chilling in our favourite spot in the guest house after checking out so that we didn't need to get our bags stored. I continued to read travel blogs and sites on the internet and Math started a book...We have officially switched off!

First quote for taxi to station was b200, second was b100.but we stood our ground for a metered option and this cost b57. We arrived very cautiously early, found the platform number, some food and drink very easily then waited!...and waited! The only vaguely interesting occurrence was when the entire waiting hall stood for the national anthem. This was perhaps a random broadcast on the tv, perhaps standard protocol at 6pm or perhaps due to something else we weren't aware of.

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Travel to Portugal, Lisbon and Tagus Valley, Lisbon.

Chelsea's first trip!

We decided on Portugal even before she was born. We envisioned a couple weeks driving through the country, tasting Port, relaxing on the sunny beaches, paddling down picturesque lakes. After she was born, we realized it would be better for her, and us, if we used Lisbon as our home base and did day trips by train.
We had a great trip! With Chelsea strapped in the carrier (the cobblestone roads were not conducive to comfortable stroller transport), we explored the city streets, went in and out of cafes and restaurants, and found shadey trees to relax under.  Our day in Sintra included a beautiful walk through Quinta da Regaleira. We walked through underground caves, and one lead to the bottom of this really cool well.

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Travel to Mexico, Quintana Roo, Playa del Carmen.

The Riviera Maya is becoming prominent in the world for deep sea fishing. Most people know about its fantastic world class diving, ancient ruins and cenotes, so for some it's a big surprise to hear about the deep sea fishing which is considered a highly ranked destination by anglers all over the world. The Yucatan waters are where big game fish love to lurk and if you're lucky, you can see runs of Blue and White Marlin, Dorado, Sailfish, and Yellowfin Tuna which tempt anglers from February through September with some of the boat tours. Marlin and sailfish migrate through Cozumel in the spring & summer months so another attraction to be found in Playa.

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Travel to France, Île-de-France, Paris.

It is morning, it is sunny, and we are in Paris! We decide to eat in the hotel breakfast room- a lovely subterranean cave with a dandy machine that makes lattes- to help us get an earlier start on the day. John has already been down to the front desk to assure that we are moving out of the light-less room. Getting ready for the day in the interior, no-window bathroom has been a challenge. Luckily the hotel hair dryer is hardwired in so that worked, however I am not quite sure if my make-up is on my face, at all. "Oui, oui. We will move you, just pack up your luggage and we will take care of it." Pack up. oh. The room is 10x10 with a European king bed; we have unpacked everything so we could stack and hide suitcases in order to move around. Luckily we have been using packing cubes and envelopes and the rest we just kind of throw in...We are on a mission to see the Louvre! The lady at the front desk (who is now beginning to show that she is not very fond of us) assures us that the Louvre is "very close.

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