FAMILY REVIEW: Roma, Italy

The ETERNAL CITY!

10 THINGS TO KNOW: Northern Ireland & ROI

1. Have a raincoat of some kind. Weather is cold and unpredictable. But be tough like the locals and go out there anyway. 

FAMILY REVIEW: Paris, France

The City of LOVE!

When we arrived in Paris, it was just as rainy as Ireland!

Even though we had never been to Paris or to France, it was still a familiar feeling returning back to mainland Europe.

FAMILY REVIEW: Northern Ireland & ROI

Welcome to Ireland, land of the DUNN'S!

10 THINGS TO KNOW: Scotland

1. The further away you go from Edinburgh, the stronger the Scottish accent will be. Edinburgh was still strong but the higher we went up the country, the stronger it became. But even when we were in Stranraer, south-west of the country, the accent was still pretty strong. We found ourselves nodding and smiling sometimes when people talked to us and we had no idea what they were saying.

FAMILY REVIEW: Scotland

EDINBURGH

Our first stop in Scotland was Edinburgh and what a good first stop to have. The accents aren't as strong as some can be and the city isn't too big or too small.

Our very first stop though was...

10 THINGS TO KNOW: England (and Wales)

1. Expect unpredictable weather everywhere in England! It could be beautifully cloudless in the morning and stormy by night. Always take your jackets/umbrellas/ponchos. 

FAMILY REVIEW: England (and Wales) - PART II

CARDIFF, WALES

This was a spur of the moment decision to go here. We had some free time between our final house sitting and next hotel check in.

We went via one of the main bridges that has a toll. It cost £5.60 in total. You only have to pay to go to Wales and not back into England. There are ways to get into Wales without a toll but this was faster for us. There are not many other tolls around England - although we did come across a small bridge we had to pay 5p (10c) to cross which was totally worth it just because of how weird and awesome that is!

FAMILY REVIEW: England (and Wales) - PART I

LANDING AND ADJUSTING

After being in Athens for a month in mid to top 30s, it was a huge relief arriving in England and it was a nice cool 14℃!

10 THINGS TO KNOW: Athens, Greece

1. Watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding. For reals though. Even though their Greek characters were based in America, some of their characteristics are so similar. Our taxi driver would say jokes to us on our drive from and back to the airport and he said them so flatly but while smiling that we weren't sure if he was joking or not. Just like in the movie when the brother and cousin said to Ian: "We're gonna kill ya!" while smiling. Not sure if they're joking, not sure if they're serious. Humour is different guys... but you just smile through it and hope they really are joking!

FAMILY REVIEW: Athens, Greece

Flying into Greece was a sight to behold! We were lucky enough to fly in as the sun was setting behind us. The pictures don't do it justice!

10 THINGS TO KNOW: Tuscany, Italy

1. Tuscany is a large region! HIRE A CAR to get yourself around - it will be worth it! The main highway between Pisa and Florence is not a toll road (yay) but go off that highway onto the autostrade and expect tolls.

FAMILY REVIEW: Tuscany (including Pisa and Florence)

PISA (and Livorno)

LIVORNO

After checking into our accommodation in Montopoli (between Pisa and Florence), we tackled Livorno which is south of Pisa. We had planned to explore more around Tuscany while we had a car but we were exhausted so we settled for a close, smaller city to explore. 

4 THINGS TO KNOW: Bologna, Italy

We didn't stay long but here are a few things to know we picked up.

1. Research before you get there if you want to go into the ZTL. Permits can be bought before driving through the no driving zone. We bought you permits at a specific supermarket but I'm sure there are some scattered around. They are €6 per day. They have a code to text to a certain Italian number with your car rego number. I'm not sure if you need an Italian number for this to work because we used our Italian SIM. If you have no need to go into the ZTL, no driving area, just don't. Parking is hard to find and it's not worth it. There are buses that go through the city that we saw.

FAMILY REVIEW: Bologna, Italy

VENICE (again)

We caught a ferry from Pula across the Adriatic Sea back to Venice. We didn't stop in Venice besides taking a bus to the Marco Polo Airport (paying full price... see rebellious trick from our Venice review).

10 THINGS TO KNOW: Pula, Croatia

1. In Pula, it says they have Uber but there are very limited amount of cars available so it's best to just use a taxi service. If your hosts can call one for you, bonus! If not, you can email them an enquiry a few days in advance and they can confirm times, day and cost - that's what we did. Also, Pula doesn't have any food delivery service.

FAMILY REVIEW: Pula, Croatia

CROSSING TWO BORDERS

In trying to keep costs down, we booked a bus with FlixBus from Venice to Pula. Their website said they had free wifi and USB plugs and a toilet on every bus. They only had the wifi.

FAMILY REVIEW: Venice, Italy

Our time in Verona came to an end and our next stop was Pula, Croatia. But with a quick one-night in Venice because... Venice!

10 THINGS TO KNOW: Venice, Italy

1. Venice City (the area you would want to visit) has only one road in and out as they are a cluster or islands just off the shore of the greater Venice area. 

6 THINGS TO KNOW: Lake Como, Lake Lugano, Lake Garda

1. The roads around Lake Como are narrow! The narrower the car, the better for your health!