I never thought I would be affected by a volcano in my lifetime, but....
f-ing Iceland.
Guess who was stuck in Bratislava for an extra two days?! And Bratislava is a lovely town... but not a three day worthy town. We did most of it in the afternoon of the first day.
We had a motto of "What Happens in Bratislava, Stays in Bratislava", so I won't go into much detail. Needless-to-say, our time there involved: men in manholes, attempts at authentic cooking, 1 euro beers, giant straws, and dinosaurs.
Yes, dinosaurs.
Did you not know that they are still around in Bratislava? In DinoPark? An addition of the Bratislavia Zoo? Oh yes.
We met up with another traveler who was stuck in Bratislava and trying to head to London. His name was Mark and he is studying overseas for a semester (he's 21 and from Denver or somewhere). He was nice, but rather quiet and we hung out with him for like two days, plus the 22hr bus ride.
Bus ride??? you say. Oh yes. 22 hours?? you say. Hells yes. We drove through 5 countries and now I can say that I have driven across Europe. The only reason we knew which country we were in was because my phone would send me a text message welcoming to "vodafone France" or "vodafone czech" whenever we crossed borders. When we bought our tix, the ticket lady did not speak any english so when we finally able to get a ticket to London (she was very frustrated with our lack of Slovak speaking skills), we weren't able to ask her HOW it got to London. All we knew was that we had to be at the station at 9 am and that it cost 80 euros.
They kept showing movies, but not in english or with english subtitles. I watched one. This movie where two divers get left behind in the ocean during a resort scuba diving thing and then they get eaten by sharks (spoiler alert). It was interesting because I had to rely totally on the visuals.
There was this guy behind us... Yeesh with a capital Y. He was drunk. and fell asleep leaning forward so his hands kept hitting us on the head. And then, about an hour after one of our pit stops, he threw up. In a bag allegedly, but also it leaked on the floor. We were able to pick up all our stuff without getting it on it, but still. GROSS. I couldnt' really smell it, but Lisa could. And the next pit stop wasn't for FOUR HOURS. So when we stopped, she mimed to the driver (who also spoke very little english) and it was cleaned up. No more throwing up from the man for the rest of the trip at least....
We finally got into the Port of Dover at like 8 am on Sunday. What a way to end the trip. Definitly a story I will always remember.
F-ing Iceland.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Singing in the Rain... In Vienna!
Small Rant: Make sure that you always buy the correct metro ticket when in another country... otherwise, you end up in tricky situations like we did on our way from the hostel to the bus station to go to Vienna. Apparently we had bought a 3 stop Metro ticket and were on the train for 5 stops... even though the number 3 shows up NO where on the ticket machine when you buy it (even when you ask to translate it into english). These three ticket checker ladies subsequently charged us 25 Euros EACH for not having hte correct ticket. But it wasnt like we were trying to cheat the system!! If we didnt have a ticket at ALL, I could understand, but no, they were having none of the "We dont speak your language and are poor student travellers." So long story short, we ended up paying a fare for those tickets that cost more than our two nights in the hostel.
Now back to the adventures of Lisa and Susan...
We took the bus to Vienna because it was cheaper than taking the train. Two other boys (An aussie - Paul and a kiwi - Steve) from our hostel were also going to Vienna that day so we took the same bus as them. They were super nice and helpful with getting us to the bus station and calming us down after those bitchy ticket ladies took our money. They are noth actually living in London too so hopefully I will see them when we get back from our travels! The bus ride was sweet. Comfy seats, free hot beverages, and they showed a movie (The Game Plan starring The Rock... I made it about halfway before falling asleep). Got to Vienna, went to our separate hostels (our new hostel is NO where near as awesome or nice as the Loft in Budapest) and then met up for drinks and dinner after. I had some schnizle and the boys bought us beer to compensate us for the ticket fiasco (so nice) and we headed back to our hostels around 1.
You know my family's travel motto? "Its not a trip til Susan pukes". Well, got that covered last night. Woke up in the middle of the night with a wicked bad sore throat and my stomach all in knots. :( Not to mention our hostel bathroom is GROSS. Took a gravol and passed out again. Lisa said her throat also hurts, so mazbe we picked up a bug somewhere.
We woke up today around 10, had a shitty hostel breakfast (2.80 for two rolls and a tea) and headed outside in the RAIN. ALl day it has been raining and COLD. No wonder we are getting sick! We also had nooooo energy so today has been kind of a lazy wander. We went to a museum on Music called the Haus Musik and learned all about a bunch of famous composers (Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, etc) as well as a modern, interactive portion (we acted as conductors using Wii technology!). We did that for most of the day, wandered around nachmarkt for lunch, and checked out a bunch of parliament and pretty buildings. We made grilled cheese at our hostel for dinner, then headed to a concert!
The concert was very small, but still impressive! We only paid 18 euros each for it so it was in our price range too. The first half was Mozart and the second was Strauss. There was an opera singer and two ballet dancers as well. It was very nice to pretend to be classy (in my hoodie and trainers...lol). Now we are calling it a night because we have more to see tomorrow before heading to.... BRATISLAVA!
Now back to the adventures of Lisa and Susan...
We took the bus to Vienna because it was cheaper than taking the train. Two other boys (An aussie - Paul and a kiwi - Steve) from our hostel were also going to Vienna that day so we took the same bus as them. They were super nice and helpful with getting us to the bus station and calming us down after those bitchy ticket ladies took our money. They are noth actually living in London too so hopefully I will see them when we get back from our travels! The bus ride was sweet. Comfy seats, free hot beverages, and they showed a movie (The Game Plan starring The Rock... I made it about halfway before falling asleep). Got to Vienna, went to our separate hostels (our new hostel is NO where near as awesome or nice as the Loft in Budapest) and then met up for drinks and dinner after. I had some schnizle and the boys bought us beer to compensate us for the ticket fiasco (so nice) and we headed back to our hostels around 1.
You know my family's travel motto? "Its not a trip til Susan pukes". Well, got that covered last night. Woke up in the middle of the night with a wicked bad sore throat and my stomach all in knots. :( Not to mention our hostel bathroom is GROSS. Took a gravol and passed out again. Lisa said her throat also hurts, so mazbe we picked up a bug somewhere.
We woke up today around 10, had a shitty hostel breakfast (2.80 for two rolls and a tea) and headed outside in the RAIN. ALl day it has been raining and COLD. No wonder we are getting sick! We also had nooooo energy so today has been kind of a lazy wander. We went to a museum on Music called the Haus Musik and learned all about a bunch of famous composers (Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, etc) as well as a modern, interactive portion (we acted as conductors using Wii technology!). We did that for most of the day, wandered around nachmarkt for lunch, and checked out a bunch of parliament and pretty buildings. We made grilled cheese at our hostel for dinner, then headed to a concert!
The concert was very small, but still impressive! We only paid 18 euros each for it so it was in our price range too. The first half was Mozart and the second was Strauss. There was an opera singer and two ballet dancers as well. It was very nice to pretend to be classy (in my hoodie and trainers...lol). Now we are calling it a night because we have more to see tomorrow before heading to.... BRATISLAVA!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Wonderful, Beautiful Budapest
I am in love with this city. I had heard it was beautiful and charming from about 10 people before I headed here and they were right!
We got in on Saturday morning to our very chilled out, amazing hostel. The atmosphere here is amazing. Totally relaxed, friendly people and it was basically like a small cottage to sleep in! The girl that works here, Jess, is Australian and very helpful and showed us all the sights to see on a map. The first day we did Buda (Budapest is separated to a Buda side to the left of the Danube and Pest on the right). Things we did:
- went to a market and had some paprika potatoes (they are all about the paprika here, I LOVE IT) and bought a little souvienier secret box.
- saw one of the oldest churches in Budapest, it was built into a giant cave!
- walked up a giant hill to the citadel to see a great view of the city
- crossed the green bridge and elizabeth (white) bridges
- went on some cool slides in a little parkette on the side of the hill near the citadel (I love foreign playgrounds)
- walked to the castle, wandered around a bit, then came back to the hostel for a nap
- had dinner (chicken stuffed with apples and cheese for me, fried cheese for Lisa... there are not many veggie options here)
- relaxed at the hostel in the evening and watched Tropic Thunder
- No rain!!
Day 2 (Sunday)
We finally were able to sleep in a little bit so we slept til about 10 am (hahah if you knew me, youd be like 10 am is SLEEPIN IN?? Oh how things have changed). Woke up and did the PEST side. We started the daz off bz going to the large synagogue and walked through the memorial garden. In that garden, over 2000 Jews who died during the holocaust / ghettos are buried in 12 mass graves. It was a very simple, nice memorial.Next was St. Peters Basicilica. Immense and very beautiful. Walked in during Sunday Mass. Stood around for a bit before deciding that a). we are not Christian so its no big deal and b). Cant understand hungarian. We also saw the Opera and went in the lobby (Very pretty).
Then we went to the "House of Terror" museum which was located at 6ö Andressy. This building housed both the Nazi Party headquarters in WWII and the Hungarian equivalent of the KGB in the subsequent years. Hungary went through two totalitarian regiemes and this museum was more of a memorial (than an artifacts) museum. It was pretty heavy stuff and I really did not know anything about that part of Hungarian history so I was very interested. They had recreated prision cells in the basement and it was very sobering to see those.
The afternoon we spent at the Thermal baths. IT WAS GLORIOUS. After having to walk all those steps in Amalfi and up the giant hill to see the Citadel the previous day, our bodies NEEDED that relaxation. You buy a little electronic watch/bracelet to open lockers and gain entrance to the baths. There were three main outdoor baths. One that was similar to the hot pool at VV (tempreature wise) with a little whirlpool you could swim around in. We started off there. Then there is a middle pool where you can swim laps in (we didnt go in there). Finally there is a giant hot tub where we spent most of our time. :) You were only supposed to be there for 2ö minutes... we were there about two hours. We ran into two swiss boys from our hostel so we hung out with them in the baths for alittle while before heading back to the hostel. Watched Clerks with our hostelmates before heading out to dinner with the Swiss boys.
We ate dinner on Raday Street with the two Swiss boys and I finally tried Goulash soup! It was very tasty. I also had chicken paprikash with noodles and a shot of Palinka, plum flavoured (very strong liqour that Kayt told me I HAD TO TRY). After dinner we wandered around the city to go to the main bridge with the lions (cant remember the name) and grabbed some milkshakes from McDonalds (the only way the boys would walk with us was with a milkshake they said). We wandered through a big crowd that was celebrating the Hungarian elections. When we were there, the orange was in the lead.... democrats?
Came back to the hostel and everyone was awake. Had a few drinks and talked to the rest of the people in the hostel before reitring to bed at 2 am. Overall, I LOVE this city and LOVE this hostel (I think its my favourite) and will try to come back. Its so cheap here! Today we are heading to Vienna in the afternoon.
We got in on Saturday morning to our very chilled out, amazing hostel. The atmosphere here is amazing. Totally relaxed, friendly people and it was basically like a small cottage to sleep in! The girl that works here, Jess, is Australian and very helpful and showed us all the sights to see on a map. The first day we did Buda (Budapest is separated to a Buda side to the left of the Danube and Pest on the right). Things we did:
- went to a market and had some paprika potatoes (they are all about the paprika here, I LOVE IT) and bought a little souvienier secret box.
- saw one of the oldest churches in Budapest, it was built into a giant cave!
- walked up a giant hill to the citadel to see a great view of the city
- crossed the green bridge and elizabeth (white) bridges
- went on some cool slides in a little parkette on the side of the hill near the citadel (I love foreign playgrounds)
- walked to the castle, wandered around a bit, then came back to the hostel for a nap
- had dinner (chicken stuffed with apples and cheese for me, fried cheese for Lisa... there are not many veggie options here)
- relaxed at the hostel in the evening and watched Tropic Thunder
- No rain!!
Day 2 (Sunday)
We finally were able to sleep in a little bit so we slept til about 10 am (hahah if you knew me, youd be like 10 am is SLEEPIN IN?? Oh how things have changed). Woke up and did the PEST side. We started the daz off bz going to the large synagogue and walked through the memorial garden. In that garden, over 2000 Jews who died during the holocaust / ghettos are buried in 12 mass graves. It was a very simple, nice memorial.Next was St. Peters Basicilica. Immense and very beautiful. Walked in during Sunday Mass. Stood around for a bit before deciding that a). we are not Christian so its no big deal and b). Cant understand hungarian. We also saw the Opera and went in the lobby (Very pretty).
Then we went to the "House of Terror" museum which was located at 6ö Andressy. This building housed both the Nazi Party headquarters in WWII and the Hungarian equivalent of the KGB in the subsequent years. Hungary went through two totalitarian regiemes and this museum was more of a memorial (than an artifacts) museum. It was pretty heavy stuff and I really did not know anything about that part of Hungarian history so I was very interested. They had recreated prision cells in the basement and it was very sobering to see those.
The afternoon we spent at the Thermal baths. IT WAS GLORIOUS. After having to walk all those steps in Amalfi and up the giant hill to see the Citadel the previous day, our bodies NEEDED that relaxation. You buy a little electronic watch/bracelet to open lockers and gain entrance to the baths. There were three main outdoor baths. One that was similar to the hot pool at VV (tempreature wise) with a little whirlpool you could swim around in. We started off there. Then there is a middle pool where you can swim laps in (we didnt go in there). Finally there is a giant hot tub where we spent most of our time. :) You were only supposed to be there for 2ö minutes... we were there about two hours. We ran into two swiss boys from our hostel so we hung out with them in the baths for alittle while before heading back to the hostel. Watched Clerks with our hostelmates before heading out to dinner with the Swiss boys.
We ate dinner on Raday Street with the two Swiss boys and I finally tried Goulash soup! It was very tasty. I also had chicken paprikash with noodles and a shot of Palinka, plum flavoured (very strong liqour that Kayt told me I HAD TO TRY). After dinner we wandered around the city to go to the main bridge with the lions (cant remember the name) and grabbed some milkshakes from McDonalds (the only way the boys would walk with us was with a milkshake they said). We wandered through a big crowd that was celebrating the Hungarian elections. When we were there, the orange was in the lead.... democrats?
Came back to the hostel and everyone was awake. Had a few drinks and talked to the rest of the people in the hostel before reitring to bed at 2 am. Overall, I LOVE this city and LOVE this hostel (I think its my favourite) and will try to come back. Its so cheap here! Today we are heading to Vienna in the afternoon.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Amalfi Coast = heavenly.
So I have maintained that Newschwanstien castle in Füssen, Germany, is the prettiest place I've visited... but that may now have changed. The Amalfi Coast in Italy is GORGEOUS. We stayed in Maiori, which was a small adorable town right on the mountains and right off the Medetrainian Sea (which I continually called the Ocean... whatever, I'm not a geography major!).
We took the train in from Florence and then a bus along the Amalfi Coast to our small little town. Maiori was gorgeous. I've never been to Cuba or anywhere, but I think this area kicks that beaches ass. I mean, it wasnt white sandy beaches or anything, but it was just so... peaceful. Maybe it was because it was such a drastic change from the hell that was Naples. But either way, imagine being in a little coach bus, winding up and down the mountains, dangerously close to the edge of a cliff that tumbles into the blue/green Mediterrain sea. Imagine houses and hostels carved up the mountain side where people hang their clothes out to dry outside and dogs wander everywhere with not a care in the world. That was Maoiri. It was a good thing we went in the off-season because I can imagine it being insanly touristy in the summer. As it was it was great.
Our hostel was actually a B and B. It was so cute. Wonderful, pretty rooms with a GREAT breakfast included and OUR OWN Bathrooms. :) However, it was 150 steps to get there! And we're all lugging huge backpacks! Needless to say, i have KILLER legs now. lol.
We basically wandered the town for the first day, had a late lunch on the boardwalk and then retired to our B and B. For some reason I have a thing with roofs and decided to climb up on ours (well, I was actually in search of my laundry which was apparently drying on the roof and I had no idea where that was). What a great view! Later in the evening, Monica Chris and I went up there with a few Peronis (Italian beer) and enjoyed the lights of Maiori.
The next day the girls went to another town about 40 minutes away but I elected to stay and explore Maoiri more. I wanted a chilled out day with no more running around. I hung out with Monica and Chris (it wasnt tooo third wheelish) all day. We had a picnic lunch, shopped in a market, walked on the beach with our feet in the sea, and had chocolatta (which was basically like hot chocolate soup). Unfortuently, due to our shitty flight time, LIsa and I had to leave Maoiri that evening to catch a train and bus back to Naples in order to fly out at 8 am to Budapest.
However, I would LOVE to come back to the Amalfi Coast and explore it more. I have also decided that I want to have my honeymoon in Greece because I imagine it to be very similar. So dear Future Husband, just a heads up. :)
We took the train in from Florence and then a bus along the Amalfi Coast to our small little town. Maiori was gorgeous. I've never been to Cuba or anywhere, but I think this area kicks that beaches ass. I mean, it wasnt white sandy beaches or anything, but it was just so... peaceful. Maybe it was because it was such a drastic change from the hell that was Naples. But either way, imagine being in a little coach bus, winding up and down the mountains, dangerously close to the edge of a cliff that tumbles into the blue/green Mediterrain sea. Imagine houses and hostels carved up the mountain side where people hang their clothes out to dry outside and dogs wander everywhere with not a care in the world. That was Maoiri. It was a good thing we went in the off-season because I can imagine it being insanly touristy in the summer. As it was it was great.
Our hostel was actually a B and B. It was so cute. Wonderful, pretty rooms with a GREAT breakfast included and OUR OWN Bathrooms. :) However, it was 150 steps to get there! And we're all lugging huge backpacks! Needless to say, i have KILLER legs now. lol.
We basically wandered the town for the first day, had a late lunch on the boardwalk and then retired to our B and B. For some reason I have a thing with roofs and decided to climb up on ours (well, I was actually in search of my laundry which was apparently drying on the roof and I had no idea where that was). What a great view! Later in the evening, Monica Chris and I went up there with a few Peronis (Italian beer) and enjoyed the lights of Maiori.
The next day the girls went to another town about 40 minutes away but I elected to stay and explore Maoiri more. I wanted a chilled out day with no more running around. I hung out with Monica and Chris (it wasnt tooo third wheelish) all day. We had a picnic lunch, shopped in a market, walked on the beach with our feet in the sea, and had chocolatta (which was basically like hot chocolate soup). Unfortuently, due to our shitty flight time, LIsa and I had to leave Maoiri that evening to catch a train and bus back to Naples in order to fly out at 8 am to Budapest.
However, I would LOVE to come back to the Amalfi Coast and explore it more. I have also decided that I want to have my honeymoon in Greece because I imagine it to be very similar. So dear Future Husband, just a heads up. :)
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Big Bad City of Napoli
Naples. was. terrifying.
It's definitly NOT a tourist friendly city. But much more of an 'authentic' italian experince I guess. Tons of vespas, creepy guys leering at us, and good food. We had a hell of a time trying to figure out the Metro and no one speaks english. Already off to a bad start. We went to a market, which according to Lonely Planet, was the best in Naples. But we felt differently.
Imagine THE sketchiest parts of Kensignton Market (Toronto), multiply that by a hundred, add in the fact that we stick out like sore thumbs and everyone hates us and thats what it was like. As we were walking down the market, someone in the houses above us threw dirty water on us, nailing chris right in the head!!!! Seriously. We lasted 30 minutes before running back to our hostel.
Our hostel on the other hand... is BEAUTIFUL!! Great bedrooms, wonderful terrace, free breakfast, good common room. Totally reccomend it if you ever come to Naples.... but dont ever come to Naples.
THe only good thing about this city was its Pizza. Pizza was invented in Naples and we went to the best pizzaria in all of Italy (according both to LOnely Planet and our taste buds). It was called Gino Sobilla. I had a gorgonzola, ham, and onion pizza. IT WAS AMAZING. I really reccomend it if you evercome to Naples.... but dont ever come to Naples.
Now we're headed out to the Amalfi Coast. Its beautiful waether here and its only going to get warmed another hour south. We have a b & b and its going to be good Ithink. I'll keep ya posted. :)
It's definitly NOT a tourist friendly city. But much more of an 'authentic' italian experince I guess. Tons of vespas, creepy guys leering at us, and good food. We had a hell of a time trying to figure out the Metro and no one speaks english. Already off to a bad start. We went to a market, which according to Lonely Planet, was the best in Naples. But we felt differently.
Imagine THE sketchiest parts of Kensignton Market (Toronto), multiply that by a hundred, add in the fact that we stick out like sore thumbs and everyone hates us and thats what it was like. As we were walking down the market, someone in the houses above us threw dirty water on us, nailing chris right in the head!!!! Seriously. We lasted 30 minutes before running back to our hostel.
Our hostel on the other hand... is BEAUTIFUL!! Great bedrooms, wonderful terrace, free breakfast, good common room. Totally reccomend it if you ever come to Naples.... but dont ever come to Naples.
THe only good thing about this city was its Pizza. Pizza was invented in Naples and we went to the best pizzaria in all of Italy (according both to LOnely Planet and our taste buds). It was called Gino Sobilla. I had a gorgonzola, ham, and onion pizza. IT WAS AMAZING. I really reccomend it if you evercome to Naples.... but dont ever come to Naples.
Now we're headed out to the Amalfi Coast. Its beautiful waether here and its only going to get warmed another hour south. We have a b & b and its going to be good Ithink. I'll keep ya posted. :)
Roma Ro MA MA!!!
Roma RO MA MA!! That lady Gaga song has been in my head the whole time in Rome (because Rome in Italian is ROMA). The second day in Rome was insanely busy and a tad bit stressful! It was BEAUTIFUL outside, sun shining, hot and wonderful. We woke up super early to head to the Vatican in hopes of missing all the long lines. Well, apparently everyone else in Rome thought so as well. We waited for TWO HOURS in line to get into the Vatican. I'm not even religious!! Ah well, its something to say you have seen!
We finally got into the Vatican Museum and started walking around with about a bazillion other tourists. And in the Octagonal Room, I LOST MY FRIENDS. There were four of us and I couldn't find them. So I though, oh well, I'll meet them outside of the Sistine Chapel and kept walking. Got to the Sistine Chapel, saw the frescos and pretty celiing... but honestly, was a little dissapointed. You know this picture () well, its actually a very SMALL part of the celing. I mean, it was impressive that it took Michalangelo 4 years to paint it, but I was much more impressed with the Statue of David in Florence. Plus, having waited for like three hours by that point to see the Sistine Chapel (because really, that was what I was there for) was kinda a rip.
Remember how I said I lost Sally, Kim and Lisa? Well, I never found them. I waited outside the museum for about an hour and then after having a littl freak out (and calling my parents and therefore freaking them out too -- sorry!), I headed back to the hostel in hopes of seeing them there. I left a note for them in our room and at reception, but because it was a beautiful day and my ONLY day in Rome, I decided to head to the Collesium by myself because I really wanted to see that.
And man, am I glad I did!!! That was probably my favourite thing I've seen in all of Italy (maybe even more than David). I went on a tour (paid an extra 4 euros and skipped the line) and learned all about the gladitatorial games, the Collesium and ancient Rome. Did you know, for example, that the women had to sit with the slaves at the topmost tier of the Collesium? What a gip. Also, at the inaugeration, they filled it up with water and staged a naval battle? Too cool. The tour was full of all kinds of things like that and I was so happy to FINALLY learn something about the things we were seeing.
Being by myself on the tour was pretty nice actually. I didnt have to wait for anyone or stop for bathroom breaks (which happens A LOT when you travel as a group of 6 girls). I mean, i don't know if I could travel by myself for long periods of time, but for alittle bit it was a nice break. I felt like a true traveller, not so much as a tourist. :) I headed back to the hostel around 5:30 and finally reunited with everyone. Had a quick nap and headed to dinner with all 8 of us (Monica and Chris too).
I had the best pasta EVER. Bucatini All'Amatricana which was Bucatini pasta in a bacon, tomatoe, onion and chili sauce (I took a photo of the menu so I'd remember, LOL). It was amazing. :) After dinner we went to the hostel bar, had a beer, and played Pictionary (which I ROCKED at).
We finally got into the Vatican Museum and started walking around with about a bazillion other tourists. And in the Octagonal Room, I LOST MY FRIENDS. There were four of us and I couldn't find them. So I though, oh well, I'll meet them outside of the Sistine Chapel and kept walking. Got to the Sistine Chapel, saw the frescos and pretty celiing... but honestly, was a little dissapointed. You know this picture () well, its actually a very SMALL part of the celing. I mean, it was impressive that it took Michalangelo 4 years to paint it, but I was much more impressed with the Statue of David in Florence. Plus, having waited for like three hours by that point to see the Sistine Chapel (because really, that was what I was there for) was kinda a rip.
Remember how I said I lost Sally, Kim and Lisa? Well, I never found them. I waited outside the museum for about an hour and then after having a littl freak out (and calling my parents and therefore freaking them out too -- sorry!), I headed back to the hostel in hopes of seeing them there. I left a note for them in our room and at reception, but because it was a beautiful day and my ONLY day in Rome, I decided to head to the Collesium by myself because I really wanted to see that.
And man, am I glad I did!!! That was probably my favourite thing I've seen in all of Italy (maybe even more than David). I went on a tour (paid an extra 4 euros and skipped the line) and learned all about the gladitatorial games, the Collesium and ancient Rome. Did you know, for example, that the women had to sit with the slaves at the topmost tier of the Collesium? What a gip. Also, at the inaugeration, they filled it up with water and staged a naval battle? Too cool. The tour was full of all kinds of things like that and I was so happy to FINALLY learn something about the things we were seeing.
Being by myself on the tour was pretty nice actually. I didnt have to wait for anyone or stop for bathroom breaks (which happens A LOT when you travel as a group of 6 girls). I mean, i don't know if I could travel by myself for long periods of time, but for alittle bit it was a nice break. I felt like a true traveller, not so much as a tourist. :) I headed back to the hostel around 5:30 and finally reunited with everyone. Had a quick nap and headed to dinner with all 8 of us (Monica and Chris too).
I had the best pasta EVER. Bucatini All'Amatricana which was Bucatini pasta in a bacon, tomatoe, onion and chili sauce (I took a photo of the menu so I'd remember, LOL). It was amazing. :) After dinner we went to the hostel bar, had a beer, and played Pictionary (which I ROCKED at).
Monday, April 5, 2010
Roma Ro-ma-ma!
So we've arrived in Rome!! The Eternal City! Took a 6 hour train ride to get here from Venice. But ever since the summer, long train rides don't bother me! On the train, Kristin and Lisa randomly ran into some boys they met in Grenada at New Years so that was pretty exciting for them. I want to randomly run into someone I know in Europe!!
Anyways, we pulled into Rome around 4 pm and checked into our hostel. We had to split up into three and three so I am bunking with Sally and Kim. We met up with Monica and Chris who had already been here for a day and seen the Coliseum.
The group of 7 (haha) then went to dinner and found a cheap ristorante where I had a 5 Euro Lasagna. We then decided to go see some famous sites because we are trying to cram in all of Rome in one day tomorrow. So with my map in hand, I led the group around Rome. And I was a good navigator (so ha! dad). We went to the Trevi Fountain and threw a coin in to make a wish. Its absolutely beautiful. Oh and we also got Gelato again (this time: cherry and dark chocolate...mmm... plus a hilarious gelato man who served us our dessert). Next we walked to the Pantheon which was... can you guess? ...UNDER CONSTRUCTION. LIKE ALL OF EUROPE. We also saw a piazza which was very pretty. But it was dark and we were tired so we ended up just walking back to the hostel and here I am!!
As usual, Its now time for me to say goodnight. Tomorrow we're trying to go to Vatican City and then the coliseum on a walking tour. Early wake up call at 7am.... Then we're also having a night out and partying it up in rome. So you might get a drunken post from me. Ciao!
Anyways, we pulled into Rome around 4 pm and checked into our hostel. We had to split up into three and three so I am bunking with Sally and Kim. We met up with Monica and Chris who had already been here for a day and seen the Coliseum.
The group of 7 (haha) then went to dinner and found a cheap ristorante where I had a 5 Euro Lasagna. We then decided to go see some famous sites because we are trying to cram in all of Rome in one day tomorrow. So with my map in hand, I led the group around Rome. And I was a good navigator (so ha! dad). We went to the Trevi Fountain and threw a coin in to make a wish. Its absolutely beautiful. Oh and we also got Gelato again (this time: cherry and dark chocolate...mmm... plus a hilarious gelato man who served us our dessert). Next we walked to the Pantheon which was... can you guess? ...UNDER CONSTRUCTION. LIKE ALL OF EUROPE. We also saw a piazza which was very pretty. But it was dark and we were tired so we ended up just walking back to the hostel and here I am!!
As usual, Its now time for me to say goodnight. Tomorrow we're trying to go to Vatican City and then the coliseum on a walking tour. Early wake up call at 7am.... Then we're also having a night out and partying it up in rome. So you might get a drunken post from me. Ciao!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie....
Wow, I have done so much in the past three days it's hard to remember. I'm currently on a computer (circa 1993) in our hostel in Venice so I'll try to quickly hammer it out before someone else needs to use it!
Florence *Friday*
- slept in a little bit and had a 5 euro brekfast at the hostel. Had my first italian pastry and it was delicious (a doughnut with cream in the middle, mmm).
- The weather fluctuated from beautiful sun showers to cold rain. But the majority of the day was warm sun showers.
- Wandered around the city and looked at famous sites like the Duomo (didn't pay / wait in line to go up it and get a panaramic view of Florence though).
- Waited in line for an hour to see David..... and it was WORTH IT. The statue is immensive and impressive. The most impressive and beautiful statue I've ever seen. Michalangelo clearly was a master. :)
- Ate shitty pizza in a cafe. :(
- Walked some more and saw the square full of statues, including a replica of David.
- Watched a bunch of living statues even though they give me the creeps
- Stood in line for 45 minutes to get into the Uffizi, a large art gallery. Unfortuently, we were only there for 45 minutes before closing so we kinda just ran through it. BUutttt I did get to see Botticelli's Birth of Venus!!!!
- Great hostel dinner for 5 euros and ended up playing pool and cards in the dining room / bar area.
- Met three fun American boys and a Canadian couple and drank with them a little bit.
- Earned my Florence patch. ;)
SAN GIMINANGO *Saturday*
- I can never pronounce the name of that place.... but it was BEAUTIFUL. It was in Tuscany and full of old world charm. A little touristy now, but still THIS is what I thought Italy would look like. Narrow streets, tall sandy coloured buildings surrounded by vineyards and countryside. This town is about an hour away from Florence (and you have to take a train and then a bus to get there).
- Wandered around after checking into our adorably quaint hostel (basically like a B & B... without the second B)
- Ate a salad at a cute but expensive Ristorante.
- Ate worlds best (2006/07 Champions) Gelato... Cinamon, Dark Chocolate, and Raspberry flavours.... A-MAZING.
- Took lots of pretty pictures and fell asleep early. :)
VENICE *Sunday*
- Woke up at 6:30 am to catch the bus... that ended up coming an hour after it said it would. :( But slept on the train and arrived in Venice in the afternoon.
- This city is exactly how I pictured it. Gondalas, canals, tall buildings that are falling down / rustic looking. And very very expensive food / everything. lol.
- We went on a Gondala ride!!!!!!!! 15 Euros each for only half an hour but totally worth it. :) Our gondalier was adorable and sang to us while also spouting out various trivia about the buildings around us (which as you know I'm a big dork -- I loved). This was my favourite thing we've done in Italy so far even though it was very expensive.
- Walked around a lot and took forever to find the perfect Venician mask... but I did! It's blue and pretty and paper mache... Now I somehow have to get it back to London in one piece... The girls want me to wear it on the train tomorrow... and I might just do that.
- Had the best pizza :)
And that brings us up to date. There are people waiting in line so I gotta go. ROME TOMORROW!!! And I get reunited with monica (and chris!)!!! So excited to see them. It's felt like I've been travelling for a week but its been only 4 days... 12 more to go!! :)
I LOVE TRAVELING!!!!!!
Florence *Friday*
- slept in a little bit and had a 5 euro brekfast at the hostel. Had my first italian pastry and it was delicious (a doughnut with cream in the middle, mmm).
- The weather fluctuated from beautiful sun showers to cold rain. But the majority of the day was warm sun showers.
- Wandered around the city and looked at famous sites like the Duomo (didn't pay / wait in line to go up it and get a panaramic view of Florence though).
- Waited in line for an hour to see David..... and it was WORTH IT. The statue is immensive and impressive. The most impressive and beautiful statue I've ever seen. Michalangelo clearly was a master. :)
- Ate shitty pizza in a cafe. :(
- Walked some more and saw the square full of statues, including a replica of David.
- Watched a bunch of living statues even though they give me the creeps
- Stood in line for 45 minutes to get into the Uffizi, a large art gallery. Unfortuently, we were only there for 45 minutes before closing so we kinda just ran through it. BUutttt I did get to see Botticelli's Birth of Venus!!!!
- Great hostel dinner for 5 euros and ended up playing pool and cards in the dining room / bar area.
- Met three fun American boys and a Canadian couple and drank with them a little bit.
- Earned my Florence patch. ;)
SAN GIMINANGO *Saturday*
- I can never pronounce the name of that place.... but it was BEAUTIFUL. It was in Tuscany and full of old world charm. A little touristy now, but still THIS is what I thought Italy would look like. Narrow streets, tall sandy coloured buildings surrounded by vineyards and countryside. This town is about an hour away from Florence (and you have to take a train and then a bus to get there).
- Wandered around after checking into our adorably quaint hostel (basically like a B & B... without the second B)
- Ate a salad at a cute but expensive Ristorante.
- Ate worlds best (2006/07 Champions) Gelato... Cinamon, Dark Chocolate, and Raspberry flavours.... A-MAZING.
- Took lots of pretty pictures and fell asleep early. :)
VENICE *Sunday*
- Woke up at 6:30 am to catch the bus... that ended up coming an hour after it said it would. :( But slept on the train and arrived in Venice in the afternoon.
- This city is exactly how I pictured it. Gondalas, canals, tall buildings that are falling down / rustic looking. And very very expensive food / everything. lol.
- We went on a Gondala ride!!!!!!!! 15 Euros each for only half an hour but totally worth it. :) Our gondalier was adorable and sang to us while also spouting out various trivia about the buildings around us (which as you know I'm a big dork -- I loved). This was my favourite thing we've done in Italy so far even though it was very expensive.
- Walked around a lot and took forever to find the perfect Venician mask... but I did! It's blue and pretty and paper mache... Now I somehow have to get it back to London in one piece... The girls want me to wear it on the train tomorrow... and I might just do that.
- Had the best pizza :)
And that brings us up to date. There are people waiting in line so I gotta go. ROME TOMORROW!!! And I get reunited with monica (and chris!)!!! So excited to see them. It's felt like I've been travelling for a week but its been only 4 days... 12 more to go!! :)
I LOVE TRAVELING!!!!!!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Viva Italia!
I am now typing to you from our hostel in Florence, Italy! Day 1 of Italy - Eastern Europe trip complete!
We spent last night in the Days Hotel near Stansted airport because our plane left at 630 am today. WE includes myself, Lisa and Kristin (two girls I knew from McMaster) and their two friends, Kim and Sally. I took an airport shuttle bus from London to Stansted and even though it should have only taken me an hour to get there, it took TWO due to an accident on the M25. Bloody hell. Anyways, I met Kim and Sally and we hung out in the hotel room until LIsa and Kristin came a few hours later. In order to save afew bucks, we said there were 4 ppl insted of 5 in our room, so three of us ended up having to sleep sideways in a double bed! Needlesstosay, it was not a good nights sleep.
We woke up at4am and I had my first Ryan Air experince. Ryan AIr is a budget airline with very shitty customer service, but cheap prices. Our flight was about two hours and i dozed the whole time. We arrived in Pisa and had our first bus adventure. We tried to take public transit to the leaning tower, but ended up super far away and had to walk (lugging our backpacks) for like 20 minutes til we found our way to the tower. Tonnnnnnns of pictures were taken (trying to hold it up, leaning against it, trick photography, etc) and then we stopped for lunch at a pizzaria in view of the tower. I had an olive pizza that was delicious, except for the fact that there were very few olives. pizza in Pisa is very thin and very yummy.
We made our way to the train station and caught a train to Florence (Florinza). Our hostel, Plus Florence Hostel, was reccomended by Ve and seems more like a HOTEL!!! We are in an 8 bed mixed dorm that had three sleeping boys in it when we arrived at 3 pm. Havent talked or met them yet... Gorgeous beds, great lockers, and guess what.... A POOL AND SAUNA! Not to mention a rooftop terrace! Unfortuently, its a bit rainy so that terrace wasnt very busy.
After we settled in and explored the hotel, we decided to find some gelato. MMMMM. I had dark chocolate and mixed fruits. Super yummy. We saw the Duomo, but will look at it more tomorrow. We then went through a market. Italy, maybe Florence especially, is known for its leather so I bought two little braclets and..... A LEATHER JACKET! Real leather! I saw one I loved, but it was 180 euros and i couldnt afford it. After talking to the merchant, he found me one that was in my budget and I bought it for 60 euros!! I get so excited when I remember that I bought it. Lisa also purchased a stylish purple leather jacket. The merchant was awesome and kissed us on our cheeks when we left.
After shopping, we went to dinner (off the beaten path... I told them we had to walk for 5 minutes away from the market and do two zig zags before we settled on a restaurant so we weould get something more authentic). I had yummy but filling 4 cheese Gnocchi and white wine. We then came back to the hostel and chilled a bit before heading to the FREEZING cold pool (indoors). Luckily, they had a sauana too. I met some Americans and a Spaniard when the other girls left to go back to the room. The ppl I met arent gonna be FB friends, but we did havea great convo!
Now my minutes are almost up and its super expensive to use the internet at this hostel. Spending the rest of the day tomorrow in Florence and Ill post as soon as I can! Ciao!
We spent last night in the Days Hotel near Stansted airport because our plane left at 630 am today. WE includes myself, Lisa and Kristin (two girls I knew from McMaster) and their two friends, Kim and Sally. I took an airport shuttle bus from London to Stansted and even though it should have only taken me an hour to get there, it took TWO due to an accident on the M25. Bloody hell. Anyways, I met Kim and Sally and we hung out in the hotel room until LIsa and Kristin came a few hours later. In order to save afew bucks, we said there were 4 ppl insted of 5 in our room, so three of us ended up having to sleep sideways in a double bed! Needlesstosay, it was not a good nights sleep.
We woke up at4am and I had my first Ryan Air experince. Ryan AIr is a budget airline with very shitty customer service, but cheap prices. Our flight was about two hours and i dozed the whole time. We arrived in Pisa and had our first bus adventure. We tried to take public transit to the leaning tower, but ended up super far away and had to walk (lugging our backpacks) for like 20 minutes til we found our way to the tower. Tonnnnnnns of pictures were taken (trying to hold it up, leaning against it, trick photography, etc) and then we stopped for lunch at a pizzaria in view of the tower. I had an olive pizza that was delicious, except for the fact that there were very few olives. pizza in Pisa is very thin and very yummy.
We made our way to the train station and caught a train to Florence (Florinza). Our hostel, Plus Florence Hostel, was reccomended by Ve and seems more like a HOTEL!!! We are in an 8 bed mixed dorm that had three sleeping boys in it when we arrived at 3 pm. Havent talked or met them yet... Gorgeous beds, great lockers, and guess what.... A POOL AND SAUNA! Not to mention a rooftop terrace! Unfortuently, its a bit rainy so that terrace wasnt very busy.
After we settled in and explored the hotel, we decided to find some gelato. MMMMM. I had dark chocolate and mixed fruits. Super yummy. We saw the Duomo, but will look at it more tomorrow. We then went through a market. Italy, maybe Florence especially, is known for its leather so I bought two little braclets and..... A LEATHER JACKET! Real leather! I saw one I loved, but it was 180 euros and i couldnt afford it. After talking to the merchant, he found me one that was in my budget and I bought it for 60 euros!! I get so excited when I remember that I bought it. Lisa also purchased a stylish purple leather jacket. The merchant was awesome and kissed us on our cheeks when we left.
After shopping, we went to dinner (off the beaten path... I told them we had to walk for 5 minutes away from the market and do two zig zags before we settled on a restaurant so we weould get something more authentic). I had yummy but filling 4 cheese Gnocchi and white wine. We then came back to the hostel and chilled a bit before heading to the FREEZING cold pool (indoors). Luckily, they had a sauana too. I met some Americans and a Spaniard when the other girls left to go back to the room. The ppl I met arent gonna be FB friends, but we did havea great convo!
Now my minutes are almost up and its super expensive to use the internet at this hostel. Spending the rest of the day tomorrow in Florence and Ill post as soon as I can! Ciao!
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