We wanted to spread Christmas Joy from our little winter wonderland in Montenegro to all our friends and family. Although we may not be together this year, we hold each one of you close to our hearts. It has certainly been a year of emotional challenges for everyone, and our hearts go out to everyone that has had to deal with challenging times. We have been blessed to continue our travels. It hasn't been easy all the way, we have struggled with some tough decisions. We have missed many milestones of those we love. Still, we stay positive and travel slowly to remain safe and support businesses who need it now more than ever. We hope us being in these wonderful countries is helping the economy and keeping people employed. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and we hope to enjoy a glass of champagne or two (ok bottles) together soon.

Today was our last day in the winter wonderland, so we thought! We needed to wait for the snow cleaner to clear the road into town, arrived late afternoon. We experienced very high winds, Wayne needed to attach snow chains to the tyres and remove the ice to open the car's doors🤣. We had about 60cms of snow in the past few days. Our host also was bogged and needed the tractor to tow him out after an hour of shovelling and pushing! It gets dark at 4.30 pm so we thought we could drive at least 1 hour to shorten our trip to Tivat, but the police had blocked the road out (snowing a lot), so we checked into Hotel SOA up staying in Zablja. Only ten minutes from our log cabin! We get to enjoy more snow views from town and hope to continue tomorrow, as our rental car is due for its annual service, so they want it back. We are trying our best to get it to them! A big and fun adventure, although it took all day. 🤗

Hotel SOA - One Night After our journey yesterday, what usually takes ten minutes, turning into a half-day adventure and the roads now closed, we stayed at Hotel SOA. Nothing better than spoiling yourself by staying in a nice hotel, with carpet on the floor (it's the little things that make me smile now). Our room was great, large with a nice view and those beautiful soft sheets that only hotels seem to provide. The staff are excellent, and we dined at their restaurant which they opened for us, calling up the chef etc. Food was great, and we lashed out and bought a fantastic french Chablis to celebrate our adventurous travel day.

Celebrity Eclipse - Eight Nights Cabin Royal Suite

Celebrity Solstice - 11 Nights Cabin Concierge Class

ms Zaandam - 14 Nights Cabin Vista Suite

Caffe Bar Bolero - Eight Visits This became our go-to bar in Pula. Perfect for people watching on those warm Croatian nights. It's a beautiful bar, great design and quality seating. The staff are super nice and friendly and the drinks are well priced and always served with a smile. A shout out to Dajana who always made time to come over and talk about life and travelling. They have a DJ that plays every night, and they are always playing some great tunes. Tony the owner always surprises us with a special drink to end the night and has made us feel very welcome each visit.

Gradska kavana Arsenal Restaurant - One Visit A great spot for breakfast, good food with full breakfast options at a great value. You begin with a selection of croissants and bread, followed by eggs cooked to your choice (we opted for an omelette and fried eggs), accompanied by freshly squeezed orange juice and a cappuccino to kick start your day. It's another perfect location in the heart of the old town to enjoy the incredible architecture of Dubrovnik, and people watch.

Gina Perfect romantic Italian restaurant, that is a perfect date night location. Max (Maximilian) the son of Gina will take you on a magical food and wine journey. From the moment Max pours you a glass of Medea Brut you know it's going to be a great experience. From the best prosciutto to local wines, olive oil and fresh home-cooked pasta and meats. Everything is locally sourced, fresh and designed to be shared. This restaurant is worth the short drive to visit at least once in your stay in Pula. A sneaky grappa at the end of the evening finished a perfect dining experience.

30 days have passed, one whole month indoors with the excitement of the weekly trip to our supermarket. So it's time to remind ourselves of our past 12 months of travel places and that being housebound won't be forever, and our sunset view will change again. Wayne and I have cooked more meals in the past month then we have in the past three years, actually maybe even longer! With the two of us being social bees, how did we cope? We have survived this new lifestyle by focusing heavily on work (sometimes too heavily), we both agreed we had worked harder now than ever before, even wondering how we had the energy for a social life. We have also invested our time helping others get through this challenge and focused on reaching out to people individually to check upon them. Enjoying the spring sunshine in Vienna with many bottles of wine, oh and don't forget the trips to the supermarket. Wayne did get his wish granted for a Lego set, which he duly built over the Easter break. There is a shining light. We are looking forward to spreading our wings again soon with Vienna starting to open back up for business from today slowly. We can now feel and see the shining light on the other side and can't wait to slowly and safely explore the wonders of Austria and support all the businesses get back on their feet. Some travel memories of our past 12 months. 8 countries 🇦🇹🇦🇺🇹🇭🇭🇰🇸🇬🇲🇾🇲🇦🇹🇳 29 cities 🌆🏙️🏜️🏝️🏖️⛰️🗻🏔️🌊 24 flights ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️