Spectacular service, snorkeling, scholarship and ... Serbia?

[k_sheep]

Been a while since I've done a trip report so I'm a bit overdue. To be fair it feels like a while since I had a holiday ... then I remember I was actually off work for most of February and March ... oops!

This trip came about as an excuse to avoid a cousins wedding we reallllly didn't want to go to. Love the cousin but the rest of the family is hard work and it's located in my least favourite town. I would have preferred to go in August (by far the worst month for weather in SE QLD ... turns out not so much this year though!) but another cousin who wanted to come and avoid the wedding couldn't get leave then so September it was!

This lined up nicely with some conferences I wanted to attend, as well as a consensus meeting so that's what the route is based on (well, that and cheap flights ha!). So off went I, Mr k_sheep and k_sheep cousin (kcuz?)

Itinerary:
1 night in Melbourne
A week in Jakarta and surrounds
2 nights in Rome
5 nights in Florence
1 night in Bologna
2 nights in Malta
3 nights in Belgrade
1 night in Bar
6 nights in Dubrovnik
1 night in Rome
1 night in Abu Dhabi
1 night in Jakarta

 

[k_sheep]

First stop: Melbourne.

Overnight stop booked mainly because mr sheep and kcuz are very time-anxious when it comes to flights. So an overnight stop helps alleviate that anxiety. The fact I found a Red Hot Room at the Novotel airport helped greatly ($184 for 3 people) so we would not have to rely on public transport.

I dropped kcuz and Mr sheep off at BNE very early while I had to get to work for a 7:30 meeting (groan). Managed to do most of a days' work, which mainly involved running around like a chook with a severed head - a couple days priorI had gotten notification I was required to submit a huge amount of paperwork for a further certification I was undertaking. I had thought it would be due in November but ... apparently not, so panic ensued. Managed to get what I needed done with about 5 minutes to spare, where I ran to the train station.

Thanks to the obvious vote-grab from the QLD goverment, I caught the AirTrain for the first time (has been reduced to $10.50 or something). Also thanks to my panic and apparent olympic-worthy athleticism when faced with missing a flight, I arrived 11 minutes early for the train. Whoops again!

Typical QF flight in Y, snagged row 4 at T-24. Got a nice view of a P&O cruise leaving BNE port.

Met up with a MEL based friend who was separately travelling to Italy to compete in the world dragonboat championship! Went to Howler for quick drinkies.

Before retiring to the Novotel for the night. The gym at this place is EXCELLENT. 25m pool attached and every piece of equipment you could ever want.

 

[k_sheep]

Apologies all - I'm trying to upload photos but keep getting errors. May or may not get time to copy photos onto laptop.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Tagging along with you @k_sheep

Looking forward to your activities especially in Florence and Bologna.
You and kcuz ( or mr sheep) must play tourist and share a secret at the Whispering wall.

Exchange a Secret with Bologna's Whispering Walls

In the heart of Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore lies a vaulted archway that has been whispering secrets for centuries La Dotta, La Grassa, La Rossa—Bologna’s motto (meaning “the educated, the fat, the red”) points to the city’s robust university tradition, decadent food scene, and gorgeous medieval...

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