Travel to Budapest with Kandy Shepherd

[caption id="attachment_828" align="alignleft" width="178"] On one of the beautiful bridges that span the Danube[/caption]

Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, wasn’t top of my hit list of cities to visit in Europe—until my visit last September. Now I rave about it to anyone who will listen. What a fabulous city—my only complaint about my time there was that it too short! I can’t wait to go again and see more than a three-night visit allowed.

 

My two bridesmaids (from 28 years ago!) who live in London suggested a long weekend “girls” trip with them to Budapest while I was visiting with them in the UK. Yes please, I said immediately. I’d never been anywhere in Eastern Europe. We flew from Gatwick airport on a budget airline for a fare that seemed ridiculously cheap for someone living in Australia. Then stayed in a delightful small hotel near the Opera House—again very reasonably priced.

Travel to Greece with Kandy Shepherd

[caption id="attachment_499" align="alignright" width="300"] We swam the beautiful waters of The Minoan Trail in Crete[/caption]

In early October 2016 we travelled to Crete, the largest island in Greece, for a swimming holiday.

For six days my husband and I swam in the open water in the south of the island, based in the seaside village of Sfakia, on a guided swim tour. Swimming in supervised groups, we explored crystal clear waters, swam into limestone caves, admired the dramatic, ancient coastline and lunched daily on traditional Greek food at tavernas accessible only from the water. Fabulous in every way!

This was the second swim we did in Greece with the swim tour group The Big Blue Swim—we loved it so much last year we went back. Last year’s swim was based in the northern Greek island of Lefkada. That was our first-ever trip to Greece and we loved everything about it. We couldn’t wait to go back for a second visit. Now we’re hoping for a third before too long!