Exploring Europe

Our first destination in Europe was Perugia, Italy. After our whirlwind month of bouncing around Asia we were looking forward to hitting the breaks for a bit and seeing some familiar faces. John’s family graciously welcomed us into their home for our time in Italy. Their beautiful house in the hills of Umbria was the perfect place to relax and take in the views.

We spent our time in Perigia (and one day in Florence) hanging out with family and friends, learning about the history of the town, and, most importantly, eating the most delicious food known to man. We were lucky enough to be staying with some amazing cooks that seemed to always be preparing or thinking about the next meal. They also introduced us to my new favorite food the Torta al Testo which is somewhat like a flatbread panini with delicious creamy cheese, arugula, and prosciutto (or anything else you can imagine to put in it). Getting to spend time with family and friends was by far the best part of Italy. We had a great time with everyone reconnecting and making new memories.

  
  
  

Our time in Perigia went way too fast and soon we were headed down to Sorrento for a few days. This beautiful city by the sea was the perfect place to close out our time in Italy. While we were there we did a day trip on a boat that took us to the island of Capri. It was a great day full of sun and beautiful views. We also got to spend a day in the picturesque town of Possitano. We had seen pictures and heard stories of its beauty, but none of them did justice to the sight of the houses built into the mountains on the ocean.

  
  
  

Our last day in Italy we spent in Rome so we could catch our early flight the next morning. In a short amount of time we crammed in a few last bits of Italy.

  

After two weeks in Italy, it was time to pack up and head north. Our next stop was Edinburgh, Scotland. We instantly fell in love with this historic city. Our week there flew by as we dove into the history, did some site seeing, and even nerded out a bit at the Harry Potter stuff around town.

  
  
  
  
  
  

After Edinburgh it was time for our road trip! We picked up our rental car and headed to the Isles. Along the way we drove through the beautiful Loch Lomond national park and stopped off a few times as the views were breathtaking.

  
  

Our drive ended at the port where we hopped on the ferry that took us to Islay. Our first stop on the island was the Lagavulin distillery. We had booked a tour for the next day but John couldn’t wait that long to see it. We took a short hike down to the old caste ruins across from the distillery for a great view and a bit of fun exploring the land. The rest of our week on Islay was spent hiking, birding, and whisky tasting. There are 8 distilleries on Islay. We toured 2 of them (Lagavulin and Caol Ila)  and visited a few more.

  
  
  

When our time on Islay came to an end we headed back to the mainland to drop off the car and meet up with our friend Tim who drove up from England. The three of us then drove up to Oban where we caught another ferry to the Isle of Mull. Mull was incredibly fun to explore. With its high peaks, miles of open land, and hundreds of roaming sheep, we had a great time walking through the fields and enjoying the views! One day we took the short ride over the neighboring island of Iona to hike around there for the day. We grabbed a bite of fresh scallops from a seafood shack on the water on our way back that afternoon. Our last night on Mull we went to the main town of Tobermory. There was a music festival that weekend so there was live Scottish music in all of the pubs. It was so fun to listen to the music and join in the celebration!

  
  
  

After our exciting weekend on Mull we ferried it back to Oban for two nights after which we headed back to Glasgow for a few days. We took it easy for this week just walking around and doing a bit of site seeing.

  
  
  

The three weeks we had in Scotland quickly came to an end. With a lot of new memories and a bit of Scotch we hopped on a short flight down to London for the final week of our trip. It’s been an amazing experience so far, and we’re so sad it’s coming to an end, but too excited to see some more friends and family this week in London!