Author: Melissa Allen

We are on our way to Santiago, Chile where we start the search for penguins. Doing so will fulfill my dream of going to Antarctica and getting up close with my favorite animals. I couldn’t be more excited. But, before we go, we wanted to share 100 of our favorite memories from the second 100 days of our adventure.

Thank you for sharing our Allen World Tour memories with us! More to come soon…

We have been lucky to spend the past 3 weeks visiting our family in friends in various parts of the USA. After Thanksgiving we took the train from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington for a visit with Robert’s Mom, Linda. She was a very gracious hostess and spoiled us during our entire visit. We made homemade chocolate chip

cookies (one of Robert’s favorites) the night we arrived. On Monday we drove up to Ferndale, WA to visit Robert’s sister, Margaret and her husband, Tyler. We played games and enjoyed a fantastic spread of gourmet cheeses. After a nice visit in Ferndale, we went back to Linda’s and celebrated Christmas by helping her decorate her tree. On our last night there, we went to the Bellevue Square Christmas Parade. It was great fun!

Our next stop was a visit to my Dad and Step-Mom’s house in Jacksonville, Illinois.  We had a wonderful visit catching up with them as well as celebrating Dad’s Birthday and Christmas with the whole family. It was very nice to see my Aunt Toi and Uncle Bob as well as Grandpa Randall. My brother and sister’s families both came down as well. We had a blast and enjoyed playing games, sharing laughs and eating a huge Christmas feast.

 

Our beloved dog, Howie, is living with his Grandpa, Geof and Grandma, La Chelle while we travel the world. They are taking wonderful care of him but we were glad to give him as much love as possible during our visit.

Following a great visit to Jacksonville, we met up with my Mom, Susan and drove to Chicago. We spent a few days playing with our niece and nephew and telling stories about what is going in each other’s lives. One of our favorite things to do is bake together. The kids love it and we all enjoy the treats afterward.

Our last stop in the USA was Orlando. We met up with some friends and had an amazing time doing some activities in the place we call home. Ice at the Gaylord Palms was amazing. The event happens every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas at all Gaylord Resorts.  They bring in ice carving artists from China that create beautiful art out of clear and colored ice blocks.

After visiting the exhibition we went to the show in the atrium of the Gaylord Palms Hotel. The performers were excellent and we even got to take our picture with them after the show.

 

 

 

 

 

The next day we went to both Universal Orlando parks. Even though is was quite cold (a drizzling 55 degrees), we took in the sights, went to the Grinchmas show, rode our favorite rides and caught a glimpse of some characters.

No matter how many times we go to Universal Orlando, it never gets old and we always have a great time.

Now our visit to the USA has come to an end and the Allen World Tour continues. Tomorrow we leave on a flight to Santiago, Chile. There we start our journey to South America, Antarctica and the penguins!

Our 15 night cruise from Rome took us across the Atlantic with a few stops along the way. We shared some of our favorite moments from Marseille, France in our last blog post. The two additional stops we made on our journey were in Barcelona, Spain and Madeira, Portugal followed by 8 days of sailing across the sea.

Although we have been to Barcelona several times before, we enjoyed walking Las Ramblas and the Central Market.

The day was made a bit more interesting because there was a huge demonstration going on the day on our stop. Thousands of people were involved in a coordinated demonstration about the Catalonia state separation from Spain. People were chanting, waving the Catalonia flags and marching to the city center where they blocked the flow of traffic. We did our best to avoid the crowds and did not experience an incidents while in the city.

After a few hours walking around, it was time to head back to the ship for a few days at sea.

Our next stop was Funchal on the island of Madeira, Portugal. We had arranged for a private tour of the island. It was wonderful because it was half the price of the tours available through the cruise line and it was private tour just for the two of us. We were greeted by a young man holding a sign with our name on it. He took us to several different villages on the island’s Southern Coast.

At the end of our tour of Madeira, our guide took us the famous spot for wicker toboggan rides. This mode of transportation was used over a hundred years ago to transport crops form the village high in the mountains to those a sea level. The large baskets glide down the paved roads (what used to be cobblestone).  While this form of transportation is no longer used for crops, it has become a very popular activity for tourists. It is rather expensive at 30 Euros for two sharing a toboggan but it is worth it. Funchal is the only place in the world you can experience this time of toboggan ride. It definitely worth doing once.

The island is beautiful, the people are very friendly and the history is very interesting as well. We look forward to going back for a longer visit in the future.

Back on board the ship, we settled in for the trip across the Atlantic. The seas were a bit rough at times but we were glad to not experience any sea sickness. The weather was hit or miss with quite a bit of rain along the way. We enjoyed playing cards each morning.

Our favorite part of the day was 5:30pm trivia. We were fortunate to meet a very wonderful Scottish couple on our first night. The four of us became a trivia team and had a blast each evening giving it our best shot. We were thrilled to win one round along the way.

 

The ship sailed into Miami just before sunset offering us some amazing views of the city. The next morning we disembarked and started our whirlwind tour across the USA to visit our families for the holidays.

 

We made a quick stop in Orlando for a swap out for warm clothes. It was awesome to see some friends. As well as stop at our favorite pizza place for lunch, Winter Garden Pizza.

 

We took a VERY early flight from Miami to Portland with two stops along the way. After 13 hours of travel, we received a warm welcome from Robert’s brother and family. We spent the night in Portland with the Allen Family before heading the LaGrande, OR for Thanksgiving.

 

Spending the Thanksgiving holiday with the Allen family is always a culinary delight. I enjoy the opportunity to cook with my father-in-law, Dr, David Allen. We made all the traditional goodies and enjoyed some of Cherlyne’s homemade pumpkin and pecan pies.

We will soon be on our way to Seattle, WA to visit Robert’s Mom and Sister’s family.

 

Hello from France!!!  Our first stop on our transatlantic cruise is Marseille, France.  We enjoyed our quick stop in this seaside town.

We are enjoying the cruise and are looking forward to our next stop tomorrow in Barcelona.

We have had a few questions about us coming back to the USA—NO the trip is not over, there is still a lot of the world to see.  We are seeing some family and friends for approximately 3 weeks and then we are back on the road to S. America.

We will touch base soon – Au Revoir

 

 

 

We arrived in Palermo, Sicily just before midnight after two full days of travel. Needless to say, we were exhausted. After collecting our bags, we rented a tiny car and made the short drive to Van’s Bed and Breakfast. Upon our arrival we were greeted by a very friendly gentlemen, who we learned owned the property. He escorted us to our very large two bedroom suite with a balcony. We were thrilled and ready for a good night’s rest. We woke up the next morning feeling revived and ready to explore the city of Palermo.

Venturing into the city center in a rental car was quite and experience. The traffic there is CRAZY! It was also very clear that Italian drivers are not like those in the rest of the world. It’s every man for himself.  After surviving the chaos, we parked the car.

The city of Palermo is a great size to explore on foot. We went into several Cathedrals, toured the palace and enjoyed the lively streets.

We stopped for a wonderful salad and pizza lunch. I was so happy to finally get a great tasting pizza (we have had many not so good ones along the way).

 

 

 

 

Sicily is the birthplace of the cannoli. So we went on a quest to find the perfect cannoli. After a little research, we chose some of the suggested top places in the cities. We tried 4 different shops in one day. The winner is… Caffetteria del Corso. The unique difference was a thin layer of chocolate inside the cannoli shell. Caffetteria del Corso is a small little shop, so look closely or you will pass it up.

The following day we made the 2 hour drive to the southern coast of Sicily to see the Greek Temple Ruins in the Valley of Temples. There are 5 temple ruins that stretch out over 2 kilometers. From the top of the hill you can see a beautiful view of the ocean. The parking lot is at the end of the 2 kilometers at the bottom of the hill. For 6 Euros you can take a taxi to the top of the hill and then make the walk down through the Valley of the Temples, ending at your car. We opted for this option and were glad we did. It allowed us more time to wander through the ruins. Here are some of our favorite pictures from our visit.

We took the coastal route west before heading north for our drive back to Palermo. We enjoyed the view along the coast even though it made the drive a bit longer.

Before leaving for the day, we made plans with our bed and breakfast hosts to order dinner for that evening. When we came back to the house to find the hostess already cooking for our dinner that would be served 4 hours later. While relaxing in our room upstairs, we could smell the heavenly aromas coming from the kitchen. When we walked into the dining room, everything was set for a romantic dinner for two. Our hosts immediately greeted us with wine to compliment our dinner.

The first course consisted of seven appetizers; Sicilian Pizza, Sardines, Sundried Tomatoes in Olive Oil, Eggplant Caponata, Seafood Salad (with Octopus, Squid and Shrimp), Olives and Toasted Bread.

 

 

Our second course was the pasta course. The “envelope of pasta” was best pasta dish I have ever had.

The third course was our meat dish and it was impressive.

Our wonderful meal ended with a very interesting fruit that neither of us had ever had before, Figs of India. This fruit has a very vivid color. Both the yellow and red colored fruit have the same flavor. There are small hard seeds inside that you just swallow as you enjoy the fruit. They were served with a compliment of pomegranate seeds.

We both agree that this was one of the best meals we have every had. The flavors of the food were amazing. We would love to go back to Sicily just to enjoy more Sicilian food.

Our wonderful weekend in Sicily had to come to an end. We really enjoyed our time and would love to return to explore more the island. We would encourage others to make the trip to Sicily if ever given the chance.

We continue the Allen World Tour at the Amalfi Coast. Can’t wait to share our Amalfi highlights with you!

After saying goodbye to all of our new friends from the Nomad Adventure Tour, we ventured out on our own in Cape Town. We rented a car and checked into a wonderful B&B in Seaside. The owners were super sweet and welcoming to us. The property was beautiful and right across from the beach. We would recommend Villa Costa Rose for a stay in Cape Town.  We chose to stay one night there for the specific reason of returning to one of our very favorite restaurants, Hussar Grill. We went there three times on our last trip to South Africa and could not wait to return. It’s a fabulous place for aged steaks,  delicious sides and excellent service at a price you cannot get in the States. It lived up to everything we remembered.

The morning after our amazing dinner we drove to another part of Cape Town to pick up two of our friends that we met on our African Tour.  We spent the day with Davey and Antoinette. We drove south from about an hour stopping several times along the way to take pictures and enjoy the view.  We saw tons of sea lions sun bathing on rocks along the coast and stopped in Hout Bay to take in the beautiful landscape. We reached Boulder Beach after about an hour and half.  I absolutely LOVE penguins and Boulder Beach is a great place to see hundreds of African Penguins in one place. I enjoy watching them waddle along the beach, swim in the water and groom each other.

I had to say goodbye to the penguins. We continued our drive south to reach Cape Point (Southern  Tip of Africa). Along the way we had to make an unplanned stop in the road due to a family of ostriches. The chicks were so cute!

A short time later we reached Cape Point and made the hike up to the top of the cliffs. The wind speed was incredible so we only spent a short time enjoying the lookout point.

Our time with our friends was coming to an end but before we took them to the airport, we had to take them to Hussar Grill. We love it so much we wanted to share it with them. The meal ended with the very best part, a Godiva chocolate martini. Yum!

The next several days were spent at a chalet in a vineyard in Stellenbosch. We visited 10 wineries over 4 days. The very best was a six course food and wine pairing at Leopard’s Leap. Our two hour lunch was presented by the vineyards executive chef and the sommelier.  My favorite dish was a parmesan cheese custard with a toasted parmesan cheese crust and fresh grated parmesan on top. It was paired with a crisp Chenin Blanc white wine. The food was amazing, the wines were a perfect pairing and the experience was one we would not forget.

The experience of going to the Stellenbosch wine region is as beautiful as visiting Tuscany or Napa Valley. The mountains surrounding the area provide a breathtaking backdrop for the wine estates. The tasting of five to eight wines range from $4 – $8 depending on the winery. The vineyards also offer a variety of pairings including food, cheese, chocolate and even cupcakes.

We were sad for our month long adventure in South Africa to end but we were excited to return to a place we enjoyed so much last year… Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. While we only had a few days to enjoy this beautiful area, we made the most of it. On our one full day in Zimbabwe, we took a 6 hour canoe trip down the upper Zambezi River. It was a exciting float trip as we passed several groups of hippos and rode four sets of category 2 rapids. We also had a chance to swim in the Zambezi. The toughest part of the day was the 108 degree temperature.

At the end of the trip, we were dropped off at the entrance to Victoria Falls. We wanted to see the falls and paid the $30 per person entrance ticket (Ouch!).  We walked the trails and took in the amazing views of the falls.

Our next stop is Italy! We took five flights to get from Victoria Falls to Palermo, Sicily. After two full days of travel including a 6 hour layover in Amsterdam, we made it to Palermo. We will share some of our highlights as soon as we can.

 

The last few days of our Nomad Adventure Tour took us along the southern coast of South Africa. This area is called “The Garden Route.” Once we arrived we knew why. It was beautiful, lush and amazing place to enjoy some outdoor activities. We hiked to the suspension bridge in the Tsitsikamma National Park in the morning and did a kayak trip in the afternoon. The one kilometer trail into the mountains takes you to a suspension bridge that goes over the Stone River leading to the sea. It was perfect weather to take in the view.

Our kayaking trip into the canyon also included a lilo experience.  We weren’t sure what that was until we got there.  Turns out, it’s a flat raft like a heavy duty pool float. We had a blast. We hiked 1 kilometer to our departure point, then kayaked 1 kilometer into the canyon and floated another kilometer. After playing around in the water we made the same trek back.

Leaving Tsitsikamma, we went to Plettenburg Bay. It is a city on the southern coast of Africa. Our highlight of this stop was a whale watching cruise.  We saw many dolphins, a sea lion and a Southern Right Whale with a calf. A cool part of the cruise was the launch and docking of the boat. We climbed into the boat from the beach, then a tractor pushed us into the water. The captain started the engine and pushed the engine as hard as possible to get us afloat. Then to dock, the captain pointed the boat toward the beach, put it on full speed and ran the boat up on the beach. I have seen it done with small boats but never one holding 50 people. It was really interesting.

We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying a fresh seafood lunch and hanging out at the beach with our travels friends. From right: Natasha, Kota, Davey, Robert, Missy, Antoinette and Nicole.

 

Our next stop along the Garden Route was the village of Oudtshoorn. One of the activities was a visit to an ostrich farm. We learned about the animals and their importance to Africa through the years, including the feather and leather trade as well the meat. We also had a chance to feed them. That was experience I won’t forget.

Our last stop of our Nomad Adventure Tour was Paarl. It is a wine region outside of Cape Town. On our last day, we did a Cape Town Township Tour with a guide. They took us into the Langa township and showed us what daily life is for the citizens living there. It was a heart wrenching experience. Here are some photos that try to capture what we saw.

Ending our tour on a high note, we went to a vineyard in Paarl for a wine and cheese tasting. It was so much fun to go with our whole group. The wine was good but the balsamic they gave us was on a whole different level of amazing.

Our tour ended when they dropped us off at the Cape Town Airport so we could pick up our rental car. It was sad to say goodbye to all of the awesome people we met and the friends we made that we will have for the rest of our lives. Thanks for an amazing tour!

A long day of driving took us along the roads with amazing views, some rain, a picnic lunch and a crazy border crossing. We arrived at the border to the Kingdom of Lesotho in the early afternoon with huge rain clouds looming overhead. The line was extremely long. We were lucky to wait inside as a storm started raging as we waited. A few hours drive into the mountains and we arrived at the village of Malealea. We spent two nights in a lodge near the village and loved our entire experience there.

Our first morning in Lesotho we did a guided walk with a local through the village. We had the opportunity to see everyday life in Africa. The houses had no water and no electricity. One of our stops on the walk was at the home of the local beer maker. Robert even got a chance to sample it. We also visited the local elementary school and received a tour from one of the teachers. We weren’t able to see any of the students as they were on a week long break. The local people were gracious to share their lives with us.

We spent the afternoon on a five hour horseback ride into the mountains around the village. The five hour ride was a bit more than we needed but our group was excited to make the most of our time there.  We happily went along. My horse had to be in the front of the line which made my ride a bit crazy. She would often start running or get upset if other horses tried to pass her. Our ride took us into the river bed and up to some of the viewpoints. We made two stops during the afternoon to see both the local waterfall and the cave paintings. Needless to say that after five hours on a horse our backsides were very sore!

On our last night in Lesotho, we had a special dinner from a local woman. She made dinner for all 19 of us. We carried our chairs and tables from the adventure truck to her shop in the village. After setting up they served us a dinner of chicken, pop and vegetables. The chicken was delicious!

We had to leave our awesome adventure in Lesotho behind. The drive took us across the border again and back into South Africa. This time the line was very small and no rain! Our destination was a one night stop in the historical town of Graff Reinet. The evening of our arrival, we went to desolation valley. Not much to see as you can imagine except for vast brown landscape and the sunset from the top of the mountain.

The next morning before our departure we took a walking tour through the historical downtown. Graff Reinet has been well preserved from the 1800s and many of the old homes have been turned into museums.

After leaving Graff Reinet we drove to Greater Addo Elephant National Park. We weren’t sure what to expect after we visited two other amazing places for game drives but we were so surprised. It was wonderful. We spent two days doing game drives in the park. The elephants were amazing and there were so many other animals to see as well. Here are a few sightings:

 

African internet is not what we hoped and have gotten a bit behind on our blogging. We will update again very soon with our final week of our African Adventure.

Our journey across Africa continued with our next stop in St. Lucia, South Africa. It was an early morning and then a long drive, mostly in the rain before arriving at our hotel in village of St. Lucia, in the Province of Kwazulu-Natal. After check-in, we joined our travel friends for an evening of learning about the Zulu culture. Our fun included a short lesson in the some Zulu language common phrases, followed by a traditional Zulu

dance (Robert even participated) and a traditional Zulu dinner. The dinner was a thin steak, sausage, pop (African dish of maze meal) with vegetables sauce and fresh vegetables. We enjoyed dinner and went straight to bed with anticipation of events for the next day.

 

 

The next morning started very early leaving the hotel at 5:00am. Our safari guides were there to greet us and take us to Hluhlwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve. It was a very cold and damp  drive. They picked us up in the safari trucks and took us the 1 hour to the reserve. But WOW, it was worth it. Our drive started into the park just after sunrise. The views were spectacular. Hluhlwe offers a completely different landscape than Kruger National Park, with rolling hills and long range of site across the land. The reserve is home to the Big 5 as well as many other animal species. Hluhwe is widely recognized for it’s dedication to the preservation of both White and Black rhinos. Poaching is a huge threat to the animals and at the reserve they work very hard to protect them. So much in fact that the all rhinos found in Kruger National Park have bloodlines connected directly to the rhinos in Hluhwe. We benefited greatly from the number of rhinos in the reserve and saw more of them than we could count.

After an amazing six hour game drive, we were taken back to our hotel for a short break before ending our day with a two hour sunset cruise at the St. Lucia estuary. We were lucky to see both crocodiles and hippos. It was totally incredible to see hippos so close. Our boat captain was great and took us as close as 10 feet. At times the hippos were even interacting with boat. Check out some of our photos below:

Our next stop took us to the coastal city of Durban, South Africa. What a stark difference it was from all of the places we have been so far. The city was crowed and dirty. The people on the street were not happy to see a large truck full of tourists passing through. One pedestrian even flipped us off! We were relieved when we arrived at our beach-side hotel. Our guide was sure to tell us not to venture out of the hotel unless we were in a large group as the city is not all safe for us. We decided to all stick together and head the famous Indian Market. There was 14 of us that crammed into a taxi van. The market was located under an overpass stretching out on both side of the street. Almost everything you can imagine was for sale; clothing, electronics, fruits and veggies, meats, old DVDs, etc. It was interesting but not the best market we have been to in our travels.

That evening we gathered in the hotel lobby and waited for another taxi van to pick us up. While waiting, one of our friends told us that he was walking along the beach and was approached by people impersonating police officers. They tried to get him into their van but he was able to get away and run back to the hotel. He was very shaken up and we were sufficiently scared not go leave without our guide again. The taxi van arrived and took us to Moyo, a restaurant at uShaka Marine World. We have a big group dinner to celebrate the 4 people leaving the tour the next morning.

Before leaving Durban the next morning, a group of us went across the street to the beach for a quick  swim.  Robert was very excited to swim in the Indian Ocean for the first time. Several others joined him, while I stayed on the beach with the girls. I did venture in to get my feet wet.

Our morning drive took us into the Drakensberg Mountains. The drive was great in the morning and filled with rain and lightening in the afternoon. We have been lucky that the rainy days have all been when we are driving in the truck. We made several stops our way. First stop was at Howick Falls and second at Nelson Mandela’s Capture Site. We walked through the temporary museum and walked to the beautiful statue erected in his honor. Then we continued our drive and arrived at the Ukhahlamba Park in the Drakensburg Mountains. /span>

The next day started with a two hour hike to see cave paintings. It was very interesting to see the painting from so many years ago and learn some history of the people who lived there from our guide. Following our morning walk, Robert and I had a wonderful afternoon which included a trip to the resort spa for a couples massage (roughing it in Africa!). Then we had a blast jumping on the trampolines near the pool.

The week ends with a full day of travel, making the 460 kilmoeter drive from Drakensburg Mountains to the Kingdom of Lesotho. We had a picnic lunch along the way and pass through the border crossing. The lines were insane! But we finally made it through and into the Kingdom of Lesotho. Our adventure continues high in the mountains…

After our crazy travels from Orlando to Rome, we were lucky to have a smooth trip to Johannesburg. The overnight flight was packed and on an older plane. Robert got the bummer seat with a TV that didn’t work but we made the most of it and tried to sleep as much as possible. We were thrilled to see the man standing at the airport exit, holding a sign with our name on it. He drove us the short distance to the By Bush Telegraph Hotel, north of Johannesburg. What a beautiful hotel. The owners were wonderful and the food we had both nights was fantastic.

Following two restful days at our hotel we set out at 6:15am for the beginning of our African Adventure Tour. We met our new friends and travel companions and then found a seat on the Nomad Adventure Truck (home for the next 20 days).

Our first three nights were spent in Kruger National Park at a Tented Lodge. We did several game drives and saw so much wildlife. Kruger is such an amazing place. We highly recommend a visit. After the fun filled  game drives, we spend the nights around the campfire talking and eating dinner.

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from our animal sightings in Kruger National Park:

Driving Panorama Route was another of the activities during our stay in Kruger. Our driver and guide took us to Blyde River Canyon to see The Three Randavels, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and God’s Window. The views were spectacular and well worth the drive. A travel tip we can share is that while God’s Window is the most famous of the sites, it’s the least exciting. Make sure not to miss the other two stops.

After three awesome days in Kruger we made the long ride in the Nomad truck to Swaziland. There we stayed at a game reserve and a beautiful lodge (with no electricity). It was a great experience. The chalets offered a very romantic setting.

During our stay we had the opportunity to do a morning bush walk with a guide. It was interesting a different from the normal game drives. We saw lots of birds, learned about the trees and even some insects in the bush. In the afternoon we did a Rhino game drive. It was excellent. Part of the activity was to get out of the game vehicle and walk with the rhinos. We had an opportunity to do it, which was exciting and a little scary too.

One day in Swaziland went quickly but we very much enjoyed it. Our next stop was St. Lucia, South Africa. We are excited to share the next week of our adventure with you soon!