Florence, Italy: Wednesday 11 May

After a delayed flight due to bad weather at London City Airport we finally arrived in a rather grey and drizzly Florence 2.5 hours later than originally planned! Luckily we got through the airport quickly, and with a short journey to the centre we arrived at our apartment about 40 mins after we had landed.

Our apartment is right in the centre of the old part of Florence and is very central to all the sights - it is down a quiet lane just off one of the main squares. It is what you may call bijou (i.e small!) as it is basically one room with a small shower room and a mezzanine level for the bedroom above the kitchen but it is very nice. It is in an old building and we have to walk up two sets of steep steps to get to it!

Our home for the next few days

After unpacking we went for a look around the area but we of course had our priorities straight and our first stop was to get gelato!

Yummo - they are not both mine!

Thankfully the rain had stopped so we then walked to Piazza della Signoria with all its lovely statues and then through the streets to the Duomo Cathedral which is the biggest Cathedral I have ever seen!

We then walked over the Ponte Vecchio bridge, which is Florence's oldest bridge and is famous for still having shops on it, which was once common.

As it had just turned 7pm we were starting to feel hungry and noticed a queue of people waiting to go in to a restaurant so we thought let's join them! It was a very traditional, homely restaurant and the menu was all in Italian so I asked the waitress to recommend some dishes and Peter went for meatloaf in courgette (yes it was as weird as it sounds and I am glad I didn't go for it!) and I had chicken cooked in sage with courgettes and roast potatoes - it was nice, and quite different, but I don't think I would order it again but glad I tried something of the region. And the wine here is a bargain! 2 euros (yes 2 euros!!!) for a carafe of wine which gave me two big glasses - it was cheaper than getting a soft drink!!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Monteverde, Costa Rica: Thursday 25 February

Today we went to Selvatura Park which is a nature and adventure park in one of the reserves in Monteverde. We first visited the hummingbird garden to see all the birds whizzing around our heads, feeding from the nectar feeders.

We then did the two mile hike around the hanging bridges trail - we saw NO wildlife unfortunately but we enjoy the walk, being up in the treetops and enjoying the views.

Peter on one of the longest bridges

Afterwards we did a tour of the butterfly garden. I was very surprised when this young lad, in his sneakers and baseball cap, was introduced as our guide but he really knew his stuff and we found the tour very interesting.

Butterflies coming out of their chrysalis

The guide holding one of the butterflies

Today was our last full day in Costa Rica as we are spending most of tomorrow travelling to the airport with a flight back to the UK, via Madrid, in the afternoon. We have really enjoyed our holiday - we have seen so much and each place we have visited has given us a different experience.

As the Costa Ricans say PURA VIDA!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Monteverde, Costa Rica: Wednesday 24 February

As I was still feeling under the weather yesterday, we cancelled the visit with a guide to one of the local wildlife reserves and took it easy, taking a walk around the local area and visiting the town of Santa Elena which is close by.

Today we visited El Trapiche which is a family-run tour giving you insight into the traditional life on a Costa Rican farm.

The tour began with a short walk through the farm to see the plantations of sugar cane, coffee, bananas, plantains and oranges. The guide then explained to us how they process the coffee they grow on the farm, as well as how chocolate is made, from the cocoa bean which they got us to taste (horrible and bitter) to the end result where they had ground the bean in to a paste and added sugar and milk (hmm so nice I had two spoonfuls of the liquid chocolate!).

From the cocoa bean held by our guide (not Peter in a nerdy outfit)

Hmm liquid chocolate

The final part of the tour was to see the experience of making liquor and sugar out of the sugar cane. We got to try fresh sugar cane, the liquor which was taste liked moonshine and was 60% alcohol, and then we make unrefined sugar which basically came out in a big lump that we could eat!

Peter sucking on a bit of sugar cane

As the tour was quite interactive we enjoyed it as it made things quite interesting.

Once we had finished our afternoon tea back at the hotel we went out on a night tour with one other couple and a guide. This is basically where they take you out in to the middle of the forest IN THE DARK to look for nocturnal wildlife armed only with a flash light. Now I had visions of it being a bit like the Blair Witch Project with me and Peter running out of the forest half terrified and screaming but actually we really enjoyed it, as long as you don't mind moths dive bombing you the whole time, weird animal/insect noises all around you and being told off by the guide for accidentally shining your torch in to other people's eyes. And we saw some great wildlife.

Viper!

Massive toucan!

Tarantula!

Insect that looks like a leaf!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Arenal to Monteverde: Monday 22 February

Today we travelled from Arenal to our next destination - Monteverde, a hill top town surrounded by cloud forest. The quickest route between the two towns is a combo of car and boat, so we were driven down to the lake where we had to drag our bags down the side of the bank to hop on the boat - it all felt a bit dodgy as if we were being smuggled on to the boat! The journey across the lake took about half an hour and it was a very scenic.

The view from the boat

When we got off at the other side we had to climb another bank to get to the minibus waiting for us - one of the workers took my bag from me and I am glad he did as I could just about get myself up there, it would have been impossible with my bag as well! We then had the bumpiest 2 hour journey to Monteverde - the roads aren't paved so you are being bumped around all over the place.

We are staying in a small boutique hotel where the rooms are made up of tree houses! Our treehouse is lovely, you really feel like you are staying in a little cabin in the woods!

Our tree house!

Tree house living room

Our bedroom - Peter can sleep on top bunk whilst I have the big bed!

From 5-6pm all the guests get together with the owner and her staff in the main house to have afternoon tea whilst watching the sunset. I had read about this before we had arrived and was looking forward to delights such as sangria, wine and sweet treats whilst watching the sun set but of course, I didn't know I was going to have gastroenteritis and have to keep my diet bland so whilst Peter was enjoying his red wine and delicious cheese cake, I had a cup of tea.....

.... Whilst I look on longingly...

Watching the sunset

 

Posted with Blogsy

Arenal, Costa Rica: Sunday 21 February

Today started off well but ended up badly........

We woke up this morning to a very weird cloud formation over the volcano, we were hoping it was going to be clear as we had a planned hike around the base of it today.

View of the volcano from our hotel room

We had booked a group hike but we were the only ones on it so turned out to just be us and the guide. The hike took around 2 hours and we walked through forest, and over lava rocks, to get to the base of the volcano. The guide was very good, showing us all the wildlife and different plants - we also chatted to her about life in Costa Rica.

Tarantula!

Cute little lizard

The trek was pretty straight forward until you reached the lava rocks which we had to climb over to get to the base of the volcano - however it was worth it for the view - the volcano on one side and lake Arenal on the other.

Later that day we went to the local natural hot springs where the water is heated up from the volcano - there were 4 pools where the temperatures range from 99 to 105 Fahrenheit - it was like getting in to a hot bath! Unfortunately I couldn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked.....since Friday I have had problems with my stomach which have been more uncomfortable rather then painful but it took a turn for the worse and I began to have excruciating stomach pains - it was so bad that I knew I had to see a doctor so we went off to the local clinic for me to be examined. Turns out I have been suffering from gastroenteritis for the last few days - I was put on a drip and given two lots of tablets to take over the next few days and told to watch what I eat, including no alcohol, dairy or beef or anything that is wind inducing!!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Arenal, Costa Rica: Saturday 20 February

Today we visited the hanging bridges at Arenal which has 15 suspension bridges that loop through primary rainforest, where you can observe nature and wildlife from a birds eye view. The trek took about two hours and although we didn't see much wildlife apart from two snakes and a monkey we enjoyed the walk and the views.

View of the volcano from the hanging bridges

Tiny snake - apparently it's very poisonous!

On the hanging bridges

In the afternoon, we relaxed out on our balcony which overlooks the volcano and rainforest. We have not see the volcano fully yet as it has been too cloudy but we hope it will clear at some point whilst we are here!

I had a very nice and relaxing hot stone massage in the afternoon.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Tortuguero to Arenal, Costa Rica: Friday 19 February

Today we spent most of the day travelling, but before we left we noticed this MASSIVE beetle just outside of our room! It was as big as my palm, I was freaking out a bit when I was taking the photo in case it flew up in to my face!

Massive beetle

As we were travelling on to Arenal, rather than return to San Jose I had booked our transport through an agent rather than the hotel - lets just say it wasn't one of greatest experiences and we were glad to finally get to the hotel after 7 hours of travelling! From travelling on the 'public boat' where they crammed loads of people on and the engine of the boat spluttering and slow down for the whole trip, to the tiny mini bus that we were in that had hardly any leg room - we were not impressed!

However, we we very pleased with the hotel in Arenal when we finally arrived - each room is an individual wooden cabin, with its own private deck overlooking the rainforest - it even has its own jacuzzi which me and Peter jumped into as soon as we arrived!

Our bedroom

Peter relaxing on the deck

 

Posted with Blogsy