After two really increadible days of diving in French Polynesia our cruise continued east. We visited two more islands, Nuku Hiva and Pitcairn Island, however we didn't go ashore. In total we spent eight days sailing from Fakarava to Easter Island. It was pretty crazy looking at where we were on a map, with no land in any direction for about a thousand miles.
Read MoreAfter our few days in Yangon, Samantha and I took an overnight bus north to Bagan. The bus ride took about 9 hours, and we started at 8pm. We sprang for the VIP class for a whopping $4 extra, and it was definitely worth it. While not luxurious by any means, the bus had only three seats per row, two on one side and one on the other. The seats were like first class airline seats, though much less legroom.
Read MoreWe visited Yangon mainly to visit Shwedagon Pagoda, the largest and most beautiful Buddhist pagoda in Yangon. Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon) is the largest city in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and is also the capital. Travel websites frequently mention Yangon's colonial architecture as a major reason to visit, and while Yangon certainly had its charms--mainly the friendly people and delicious food--I'm not sure the architecture is anything to write home about.
Read MoreWe flew from Khao Sok to Bangkok directly after our night on the raft boat. It was definitely a shock going from serene and peaceful jungle to the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. When we arrived we were unable to find an Uber, and were facing about a three hour line in the taxi queue due to a local festival and increased traffic. Fortunately, after about 30 minutes of spamming for rides, we eventually got an Uber and made it to our hotel.
Read MoreAfter our brief stay in Jordan, Samantha and I flew to India for a fairly busy itinerary we had built with the help of my friend Rohan, who lives in Delhi. He was generous enough to put us up at his family's house located centrally in Delhi with his parents, Anil and Renu. It is a beautiful bungalow that, coupled with their incredible hospitality, began feeling like home almost immediately.
Read MoreAs of a few days ago, we’ve been traveling for six months! We looked back over our photos and our travels so far, and decided to post the top photos from every country we have visited so far. We’ve taken 4,059 photos, visited 18 countries, and stayed in 63 different hotels / AirBnbs. These are our favorite 77 photos.
Read MoreOur first day in Luxor we went to the West Bank of the Nile River to see some of the many temples and sights. First, we stopped at the Valley of the Kings, which is a valley where tombs of Pharaohs were cut into the rock. This mainly took place from the 16th to the 11th century BC, which is part of what makes it such an amazing and famous site.
Read MoreThese three temples are situated along the Nile to the north of Aswan. We still had Mena with us, and we made stops at each on our way to Luxor. The our first stop was at Kom Ombo temple.
Read MoreThe three main sights we visited were the Aswan High Dam, the Philae temple, and the Unfinished obelisk. They weren't as impressive as the incredible temples we saw in Abu Simbel, but they were definitely worth seeing, though the High Dam was a little underwhelming.
Read MoreI’ve been to Egypt once before, in 2013 with my friend Chris Simpson, and absolutely loved it. Seeing the pyramids at Giza and the Valley of the Kings near Luxor is an unforgettable experience. Unfortunately, on that trip we didn’t get to visit Abu Simbel, so Chuck and I decided to visit Egypt on our travels so I could check that off my list, and so he could see Egypt for the first time.
Read MoreMarrakesh is a city filled with color. Bright blues, yellows, teals and pinks coupled with dizzying mosaics and symmetrical design make for lots of gorgeous photo opportunities. The city is modern, but at the same time packed with tradition, history and culture.
Read MoreSamantha and I arrived in Venice at mid day and it was HOT. Luckily, the airbnb we had booked was only a short walk from the train station, though it did take us a little while to find it as the entrance was tucked between some shops and a restaurant. It was a small flat but it had air conditioning so it was perfect. We only had 3 nights in Venice and wanted to make sure we made the most of it. We had some things on the agenda that we knew for sure we wanted to do, like spending some time exploring St. Mark's and taking a gondola ride, but otherwise we just wanted to explore and take in the city.
Read MoreAfter leaving the Netherlands, Samantha and I were feeling like we wanted to slow down a little bit and have some down time. We also only had to return our rental car back in Milan, so we figured we'd head south and spend some time in the small French town of Metz. On our way we stopped at a third trappist monastery, Orval Abbey, for a couple beers and some trappist cheese.
Read MoreAs we made the rainy drive across the countryside from Bruges to Amsterdam I got more and more excited. We booked an especially nice hotel in downtown Amsterdam for our first wedding anniversary, and I was looking forward to a little luxury!
A minor anxiety attack crept up on me as we entered Amsterdam. Roads were blocked off and people were EVERYWHERE.
Read MoreAfter Prague, we decided it was time to satisfy Charles' desire for beer from Belgium, so we hopped back in our rental car and headed west across Germany. Along the way, we stopped at Eltz Castle, which was recommended to us by my mother, Barb, as one of her favorite sites in Germany.
We stopped for a single night to break up the drive in a tiny town near the castle called Macken. The town was so small we struggled to find dinner that night, but when we did we had another taste of traditional German schnitzel in a restaurant where everyone knew each other, except for us.
Read MoreWe drove north out of Switzerland to Schwangau, Germany and stayed just one night to check out Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle. These two incredible castles are at the southern tip of The Romantic Road. More on that in a minute!
If one of these castles looks familiar to you, that's because Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle was designed after this model.
Read MoreAfter Florence, Sam and I drove the couple hours south to Rome. It rained our last night in Florence which meant that it had finally cooled down a little bit. We booked and Airbnb geared towards "lovers" which we thought was strange at first, but made perfect sense when we arrived. Everything was red and almost everything had a heart on it. The bed had satin sheets and a satin bed spread. It was weird. But the location was incredible and it had an enormous patio furnished with a big table for dinners. We were a short walk, about five minutes, from Vatican City, and maybe 30 minutes to central Rome.
Read MoreWe left our little villa in rural Italy and steeled ourselves for hordes of tourists in Florence. Our AirBNB was across the Ponte Vecchio bridge and past the Pitti Palace, which made for some picturesque walks each day. The weather was incredibly hot, and we were grateful to have a washing machine and two air conditioners in our apartment.
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
