Bleach2Beach

We have settled back into Trastevere, Rome for the last four days of our trip. The weather has been fabulous for October, temperatures reaching the high 20's and gorgeous sunny days which have left us sad to leave this walking museum of a city. Having started this adventure in Rome we have come full circle and it was so nice to come back to a place that feels like home. Martina and Armando (Rob's step-sister and boyfriend) opened their home to us and gave us a chance to relax and enjoy a city that has remained true to itself and very much a place where locals live. We were able to spend some time with Matteo, catching up on his last 8 weeks studying in Rome and witnessing how wonderful this experience has been for him so far. Trastevere for me is the heart of Rome, it gives us a chance to be a part of the local community while allowing us to take strolls to famous landmarks. As I write this blog, the tears are flowing because I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to mak...

London is a city for people who enjoy limitless options of things to do, places to go and restaurants at which to eat. You have virtually everything on your doorstep, and one thing that might surprise you is the amount of green space to enjoy. We especially enjoyed the lively street markets and amazing museums. London is bustling, vibrant, multicultural and cosmopolitan, making the old and new work so well together. We were extremely fortunate to have my cousin Raquel with us to explore the city, she has been living in London for the past year and made sure we had the best experience. She even managed to have beautiful 18-degree weather and some sunshine brought in for the weekend too! I'm sure you can imagine just how much walking took place during this London visit but the sights were amazing. Everywhere you look, it’s a moment of awe. We even made it for the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. I know it's touristy but, it’s the famous English pomp and circumstan...

We are back in the UK and heading to London but decided to make a two day pitstop in Liverpool. Home of the Beatles and of course the beloved Liverpool FC Football team. Our flight from Dublin to Liverpool was a quick one and we got to downtown Liverpool by taking the local doubledecker bus for £2 each. We stayed in a great little hotel apartment right by the waterfront. I highly recommend Staycity Aparthotels! So much more than just music and football, Liverpool is a surprisingly beautiful city and small enough to be easy to walk around. The people here are renowned for their open friendliness and happy to strike up a conversation with anyone. While it may take you a little while to tune in to their accent, the people here generally love their home town and I can understand why. The women in Liverpool often make an extra effort to glam-up and cold weather won't stop them wearing the latest fashion. Oh yes, the people-watching opportunities in Liverpool are superb and the shoppin...

Well as the lucky of the Irish would have it we not only got to see all the sights we had planned but the rain held off for the most part and we actually got some beautiful days of sunshine. These last 5 days have flown by quickly and it didn’t help that we’ve both been under the weather, the colder weather doesn’t agree with us! Our main stops were Belfast in Northern Ireland which is part of the UK and Dublin the capital of Ireland. Interestingly you have to switch between currencies from one place to the other yet there is no physical border to cross. We travelled to Belfast from Glasgow (35 min flight) on an Air Lingus ATR propeller plane, it took me back to my days as a flight attendant doing the short flights in Ontario. Belfast is quite the place, I was impressed by the diversity in architecture with the commitment to keeping the historical nature of the city strong. It was fascinating to see the docks where Titanic was built and the museum was far more elaborate than I had i...