We left Cairns heading north to Indonesia for a two weeks on a tiny little island called Gili Meno. We were looking for a little beach time after what was a fairly fast paced month and half beginning in New Zealand, and Gili Meno proved to be exactly what we needed.
Read MoreAfter lots of time away from family in unfamiliar cultures, we were very excited to travel to New Zealand to visit my brother and sister-in-law, Justin and Tania Peterson, for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. After a few very long flights, arriving in Christchurch, New Zealand felt a little like coming home with clear-cut rules, clean restrooms, and native English-speakers everywhere. Our first weekend in New Zealand the four of us traveled north from Christchurch to Kaikoura, a tiny beach town on the South island with a lot of tourist activities.
Read MoreThe first day Chuck fired up our crappy rental car to drive up the Amalfi coast. It felt much like the Cinque Terre—steep, rocky cliffsides tumbling down into the crisp, clear sea below. Lemon, olive, and grape crops clung to the walls on terraces and hung over the roads. The houses stack up the sides of the coast in any place that seems even slightly horizontal (and many places that are not) with roads crammed in between them barely big enough for a single car to pass.
Read MoreAfter the mountain-town vibes of Ortisei, Chuck and I decided it was time to relax on the beach for a few days. We headed south towards the Italian Cinque Terre, a string of centuries-old seaside villages known for the hand-built terraces marching up the steep slopes from the sea. It's another UNESCO world heritage site.
We decided to stay in Manarola, and were lucky enough to be upgraded to an ocean-view apartment. You can see our view below, but we didn't really take too many pictures. Instead, we spent two full days laying on the beaches in nearby Monterosso, consuming books and beer.
Read MoreOne of the first items on our agenda once we got to Rovinj (pronounced "row-VIN") was to relax and have a beach day. We drove down to a national park called Kamenjak, pausing at a supermarket and a roadside fruit stand to buy cherries and sandwich fixings. Instead of butter, we bought a jar of something red with pesto-like consistency, mainly because we couldn't figure out what it was. I'm still not sure, but it was delicious!
The beaches in Croatia are all rocky, so we spread our towels on the hot black rocks between pine trees and the sea.
Read MoreSamantha and Charles Parsons went a little overboard when planning their honeymoon. Instead of a few short weeks of travel, they opted for a year-long adventure around the world! Follow along as they leave their home in Denver, Colorado in the United States to travel the globe.
Just click on the logo of the store you want to shop at, and every purchase you make at that retailer will get the Parsons team around 4% - 8% of the cost of your order!
It costs you nothing!
Charles & Samantha Parsons
parsonsworldonline@gmail.com
