So, up there on my bucket list was this place! Meteora Monasteries. Meteora today is the largest archeologist site of Greece in terms of the area that it covers. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989.

The first monks of Meteora arrived in the 14th century constructing the Meteora monasteries on the top of giant cliffs. They chose to do this not because it was easy but because it was hard, almost impossible. And they succeeded in this great achievement to build them through their great faith.

The six active Meteora monasteries create a truly inspiring and sensational setting of overwhelming rock formations with these ancient monuments occupying their picks. Today, out of initially 24 monasteries that used to exist, only 6 remain active for people to visit.

Out of those 6 active monasteries, 2 of them (Agios Stefanos & Roussanou) are convents with nuns and the rest 4 are male monasteries with monks. In total, today there are approximately 50 nuns and 17 monks still living in the active monasteries of Meteora.

A few hours on the ferry from Alonnisos (via Skopelos and both Ports in Skiassos) on the mainland sits Volos. A coastal city with a large Port and a great harbour where the locals gather and dine on an evening. If I’m honest, I’d never heard of the Greek city Volos but it is the 3rd largest city on the mainland (around 200 miles north of Athens). In 1954 an earthquake hit an area of Volos which cause catastrophic damage, a large proportion of modern buildings were erected following this. There are still tremors felt here from time to time.

Volos is a relatively new city, beginning its growth in the mid-19th century. The locality of its castle was previously known as Golos by Ottomans and locals.

Volos used to have plenty of old mansions, the majority of which was destroyed after the earthquakes in 1955. Nowadays, only some of them have been saved, restored and have a new, mainly public, use.

Staying on the mainland I am now going to board a train for my 2 and a half hour journey to Thessaloniki. My last stop!!

Alonissos, a short ferry ride, east of Skopelos, a long and narrow island and around 65 km with clean and clear waters! A divers dream!! Alonissos was one of the first islands of the Aegean to be inhabited but also one of the remotest in the northern Sporades.

Alonissos doesn’t have an airport so it can be quite difficult to get to if you are not coming from the other Sporades islands so it’s an ideal choice for some peace and seclusion.

I stayed in the Port (Patitiri) at a lovely boutique hotel aptly named The Paradise Hotel. Due to its beautiful location, sitting high up looking over the dark blue ocean.

In the small port town of Patitiri you just can’t go wrong wherever you choose to eat and drink. Friendly, generous and traditional.

From here I am off to Volos, a 5 hour ferry crossing, a coastal city on the Greek mainland.

It’s probably taken a couple of days to settle into Greek island life again and now I have I’m off to the next one!

Skiathos has everything you could ask for in a holiday. The beaches are plenty with enough bars, cafes & sun beds to go round. The harbour is rammed with pretty yachts and boats bobbing gently on the Aegean waters. I can highly recommend The Final Steps restaurant. Amazing food, not only tasty but aesthetically pleasing too. You do have to climb to the top of the island in order to get there though but worth every step. The views match the food!

What I really love about Skiathos is that there is something for everyone. Skiathos is not prejudiced. It can be young and vibrant as well as classical and charming.

Island Gem. Apparently there are around 500 Brits living and working on the island!!

Tomorrow, I’m off to Skopelos… the Mama Mia island…. Here I Go Again

I arrived here last night after a very quiet checkin at Birmingham airport and a decent flight on Jet2! Slick arrival at the little airport in Skiathos, no delay other than showing them your Passenger Locator Form (PLF), 10 minutes taxi ride to my accommodation. Stelios Studios, very clean, very friendly and a 5 minute walk to the beach (more on that later)! Just had time to take a walk to the Ithakis restaurant (recommended for their sea views, attentive staff and food of course) for nothing other than moussaka and a glass of the red stuff!! Can’t wait to discover more of this island!!

Greece is open…. flight booked to the lovely island of Skiathos… from there.. who knows. I have yet to book any return flight back… let’s just seawhathappens…

From Alice Springs to Melbourne to Auckland! After a full day of flying I eventually arrived at this lovely coastal village of Manly. Just a 30 minute drive from Auckland going north with several little beaches, a Marina, a Reservation and very friendly locals. This view is from Nicole’s large veranda where I spent a couple of nights.

The second picture is the Gulf Harbour (where I sailed to Tiritiri Matangi Island) the third is Little Manly Beach and above is Shakespeare Park.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park expands across around 327,414 acres of Australian desert. One of the most iconic rock formation is Ayres Rock (now known as Ulura). This beautiful rock is approximately 348 metres above the red desert sand and is made up of arkosic sandstone which gives it that vibrant red colour.

Another iconic rock in the National Park is the Kata Tjuta. Often underestimated, the 36 domed headed rock offers beautiful sunsets and sunrises, as the rich red hues lights up when the sun hits it. This rock is 198 metres higher than the Uluru.

The Blue Mountains are about a 2 hour drive from Sydney in the district of New South Wales. Blue Mountains National Park is part of a vast Great Dividing Range! The Echo Point lookout, which is where I had taken this photograph, is in the town of Katoombs. It has beautiful panoramic views of the Three Sisters mountain (second photo) which is a sacred Aboriginal site.

The Blue Mountains get their name because of the reflection. They are clad in forests of eucalyptus trees, which in the hot sun emits a mist of eucalyptus oil which then refracts light, that then makes the mountains appear blue.

The Featherdale Wildlife Park is around an hour’s drive from Sydney in a place called Doonside. It specialises in Australian native wildlife and birds as well as reptiles and marsupials. I was secretly looking forward to holding or even stroking a koala but they didn’t encourage that. As you can see though, I did manage a typical koala photo.

Sydney Harbour is my home for the next 4 nights! The Ibis Hotel to be exact which sits on the Harbour and, incidentally, has the most comfortable beds ever! Aside from that, Sydney Harbour hosts a multitude of sight seeing goodies, The Opera House being one, well, almost, either a 15 minute ferry ride to the Circular Quay (2) or a 20 minute walk over the bridge.

This photo was taken from the Centre Point in Westfield shopping centre. Another 20 minute walk from my hotel up Pitt Street. 26$ but worth it for the views. You get a 10 minute 3D film prior to entrance which is a good little entrè to the Eye!

Photo 3 is the Ibis Hotel, I took that from the other side of the Quay and picture 4 was taken by the Australian Maritime Museum (worth a visit). Tomorrow I’m going out of Sydney…. watch this space, there maybe a koala…. fingers crossed!