Flit Float & Flutter

'escape'

This is exactly what I feel like doing today! 

'Book a Ticket and Just Leave'

"whatever is good for the soul... do that"

“May all your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing views!"

inspiration from fellow blog: Serendipitous Romance 

Air New Zealand have done it again! Known for their quirky safety videos on board their flights, their most recent addition is a hobbit inspired safety video in honor of the movie: The Hobbit - An Unexpectd Journey which premieres on the 28th November 2012.

I am bracing myself for the long flight home from Santiago, Chile. 

This flying adventure will start with a cool 19 hour flight from Santiago with a brief 2 hour stint in Auckland, finally arriving into Sydney. As I do not call Sydney home, there is still a 2 hour wait and the 1.5 hour flight back to Brisbane to finish. Phew, I will be glad when my feet touch down at the Brisbane Domestic Airport.

Australia is an amazing place to live but gee this island home of ours is a long way from the rest of the big wide world! But I must say after visiting the sights and experiencing other cultures abroad it is well worth it.  

Follow me on instagram for my South American pics!

Yours in Travel, 

Nicole Xxx

Monday Motivation - Let it Strengthen You!

I arrived home from Europe a while ago, actually so long ago in fact that I have been on another trip to Western Australia already. So in amongst sleeping, travelling again, catching up with work, friends and the boy with an occasional snack and glass of wine I have put together a timeline of my European River Cruise for you.

Day 1 - Amsterdam A early start, arriving in at 6 am after 20 hours of flying however no sleep as there is just too much to explore. The 'Scenic Crystal' our river cruise ship/home for the next 9 nights doesn't depart until 4 pm which gives us plenty of time to walk the streets. I have already been to Amsterdam before but it is still a fascinating and compact city with it's picturesque  canals and endless rows of bicycles. 

Day 2 - Cologne  This morning I am feeling much more refreshed than I did at about 9 pm last night - I think I could have passed as a walking zombie and I am sure my attempts at communicating that evening did not leave people thinking I was a walking ray of sunshine! This morning we enjoyed a bit of free time in our home, the 'Scenic Crystal' - to sleep in of course and have a leisurely breakfast. I just love breakfast buffets especially when they have a dedicated omelette station - the omelette man had my order down pat by the end of the week!   

Cologne was the destination for the afternoon or let's say 2 hours. Just a short stop enough time for a guided tour of the Old Town with a local guide using our touring headsets provided by Scenic Tours. This headsets are perfect for touring, they allow you to listen in to the commentary and not have to stand next to the guide or strain to hear them. 

  Day 3 - Cochem During the night we sailed off the Rhine River and onto the Moselle River. Now the Moselle is a smaller river with stunning scenery on the banks and has much less traffic. Yes I said traffic and I mean cruise traffic, there are many other cruise ships like ours and working/cargo ships sailing the waters.  It is on the Moselle that we visit the delightful, fairytale town of Cochem. Here we wander the streets, I have my first German pretzel for the trip and visit the magnificent Reichsburg Castle.    

Day 4 - Luxembourg  My visit to Luxembourg today added another country into my list (I have currently visited 22 countries). Being the second smallest country in the European Union the country and capital city are named the same. Such a prosperous metropolis characterised by green river valleys that can be crossed by over a hundred bridges, providing links between the historic and modern parts of the city. It was cold today and by cold I mean freezing, raining, windy and just miserable. It was hard for me to take any photos whilst holding an umbrella. It was great returning to the warm inside of the Scenic Crystal and even better to receive hot towels on arrival. They truly go above and beyond to provide you with exceptional service.  We stayed in a Deluxe Balcony Suite on the Danube Deck, Cabin 304 to be exact. Great sized room, perfect location (mid-ship - close to everything), lovely enclosed sun deck balconies and best of all our Butler 'DJ'. 

  Day 5 - Rhine Gorge - Rudesheim  Cruising through the Rhine Gorge is quite spectacular with an ongoing vista of castles perched steep upon vine covered slopes. Plenty of photo opportunities! Rudesheim is our port of call this afternoon. Here we board the 'Winzerexpress' which is a mini train to take us to the Siegfried's Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum.  Here I brought my goddaughter a beautiful music box, well not really a box but musical toy which I hope she will treasure.  Above the mountains of Rudesheim is the Niederwald Monument which can be visited by cable car. Travelling up the mountains by cable car was such a nice experience as we were able to look over the country side and vine covered hills and really take in and appreciate this historic town. Unfortunately the monument was being restored so it was covered in scaffolding - I guess that's what you get when you visit Europe during the off/low season. This evening was an exciting one as it was the official christening of the Scenic Crystal as it is the newest ship to the Scenic Tours Cruise fleet. The christening was filled with speeches,  champagne, canapes, laughter and good wishes. Of course they also had the breaking of the bottle onto the ship which was conducted by the godmother Mrs Heather Buttrose who helped with the interior design of the ship.    

Day 6 - Heidelberg - Rastatt  If I could repeat one day of my trip it would be this one, seriously I would love to return to Heidelberg and spend a week exploring. This city is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Germany. The harmonious ensemble of castle, Old Town and river nestled in the hills has inspired many poets and painters of Romanticism and today still fascinates millions. One of the highlights today, among many, was visiting the Heidelberg Castle which is a famous ruin in Germany and a landmark for the town. Since being built they say before 1214AD it has been damaged by lightening, wars and fires however the castle and Heidelberg are one of the few places that didn't get bombed in WW2. While I toured this castle I spent most of the time daydreaming of what it would have been like if I lived here all those centuries ago. So romantic!

Well after such an amazing morning it seems hard it could be topped however Scenic have something magic up their sleeve for tonight as we have a visit to Rastatt Palace for an evening of wining and dining and opera - all in a historic palace! I am feeling very spoilt! 

Day 7 - Strasbourg  France awaits me this morning - oui oui!  We walk through Strasbourg over the lovely canals, beside half-timbered houses, all the way down to La Petite France where I take the time to enjoy coffee while basking in the glory of the cathedral. This cathedral is such an outstanding masterpiece of Gothic art. It is said that the first stone laid was back in 1015! 

Day 8 - Black Forest  Glossy brochure picture scenery is what I experienced today in the Black Forest. Sorry guys not many photos as I was suffering from coach sickness today (too many windy roads)! 

Oh how could I forget seeing the world's largest cuck coo clock!!!

Day 9 - Basel - Zurich  Goodbye to the Scenic Crystal and into Zurich we head in anticipation of some fashionable retail therapy. Shock horror when we discover all the shops are closed as it is Sunday!!! Must always keep reminding myself that Europe is not fully influenced by western society yet. So today was spent feeding the swans, riding ferris wheels, staring at the Swiss Alps, walking the streets of Old Town and window shopping.  

Even though it wasn't the planned day it was the perfect way to end such a fantastic trip.