Japan Adventure - Universal Studios Japan

Clearly this is a trip designed by my own making as one of the highlights I was looking forward to was a day at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.

Sure, Tokyo Disney would be cool. But, do THEY have a video game theme park that you grew up with and am totally excited to interact with? Bring it on, Super Nintendo World!

Before we get to that epic experience, let's go through some of the highlights of the day!

I got an express pass (for WAY too much $), but it covered 4 rides where I could skip ahead of the giant lines. Sometimes it worked out in my favour, other times not so much (or a single rider was just as quick).

First up was the Spiderman Ride, where I zipped past everyone with the express pass. It was a fun immersive 4D ride where you go around NY battling Spidey villains. Once I got on, I remembered that I had been on it before the last time I went to Universal Studios Florida in 2010. Still, great fun! 4/5

The next one I went on was the Flying Dinosaur. I braved my fear of the drop down stomach feeling on roller coasters to tackle this LYING DOWN ride. It looped, it plummeted, at one point I closed my eyes (or passed out?) But it was reaaaaly good. 5/5

Some of you know how much I love Jurassic Park. I watched all of them (and Jurassic Worlds) during my first bout of covid! So I thoroughly enjoyed all the thematic elements of the Jurassic Park area. Including when a "raptor" and "triceratops" (and her baby in a stroller) came out for a little parade.

I also rode Jurrassic Park: The Ride (also in US Florida). It's a log flume ride where you get WET. In 39° heat, the soaking was quite welcome. But foolish me did not bring an extra pair of socks so I was uncomfortably close to trenchfoot by the end of the day. 4/5

Next up, the classic JAWS boat ride. I survived. I also used single riders to the best advantage, literally walking onto the ride. 3.5/5

I had lunch at an anime themed restaurant. It was called One Piece and is about pirates? I grabbed a fish n'chips kind of meal. But forgoing the curry on my rice after basic communication with the servers indicated it may have had chicken in it. 

Honestly, I'm surprised at the lack of allergen awareness there was at USJ. Even on 711 wrappers it says what each item contains. The ekiban I got for my Shinkansen also had symbols on it indicating what was inside. It was a little frustrating that I couldn't find it anywhere (even in japanese!).

After lunch, I was pretty hot so I went to watch a show. To my utter astonishment, they had a show themed around Waterworld. You know, the 90s flop with Kevin Costner sailing around and the kid from Andre/Napoleon Dynamite has a map tattooed on her back? Yeah that one. 

And you know what. It freaking KILLED. It was SO good. There were water-skiing tricks, flips from diving boards, machine gun effects, smoke, lighting, fire, plane crashes, a MAN ON FIRE. Honestly 6/5. 

After that mind blowing expeience I thought, hey, maybe every show is amazing! Let's check out "Monsters Live Rock and Roll Show", featuring classic monsters like Frankenstein and Beetlejuice (?). Oh God. It was awful. I def didn't expect to hear the Wolfman sing Bon Jovi today, but at least it was air conditioned. 2/5.

I checked out a bit of the kiddie "Wonderland" which was Snoopy, Hello Kitty and Sesame Street themed. The teacups are my fav ride at Disney, so I thought the Hello Kitty spinning cupcakes would be great. Nah, this is the one ride a single rider does not enjoy. 1/5

I made my way over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which I thoroughly enjoyed the last time I went to Universal. It was pretty similar ans the rides had not changed, so while I did enjoy a Butterbeer and loved the ollivander want expeience, it wasn't too overwhelming. The hogwarts forbidden journey ride is still 5/5 though!

I killed a bit more time before being allowed into Super Nintendo World by going on the Hollywood Dream Roller coaster. It's not a loopy one, just a big hills and corkscrews. But the cool thing is you can choose your own track to listen to. In honour of NOT getting Taylor Swift tickets, I chose "Shake it off" 4/5. I also went to the Minion World of Despicable Me where I rode a really fun 4D ride where you were being turned into a Minion. 4/5

And finally, the piece de resistance... Super Nintendo World. The main reason I got the express pass mentioned earlier was so I could gain access to Super Nintendo World since all the advance timed entry tickets were gone.

You enter a huge queue and I noticed numbers printed on the ground. I then googled the numbers as dates and realized they were connected to important Mario releases. Like in Oct 1988, when Super Mario 3 was released in Japan.

Upon entry to mushroom kingdom, it was sensory overload. Mario music, rotating creatures, and the incessant sound of kids gaining coins. You can buy a special watch which lets you hit coin blocks and collect coins as well as compete in mini games. I joined Team Toad (Kinopio in Japanese) with my bracelet and earned coins for my team on a leaderboard. It was really fun and interactive. Apparently it also ties to the Switch somehow (I don't have one) and can also be used in US California. 

There are 2 rides in Nintendo World. The first (with my express pass) was Mario Kart. You walk through Bowser's Castle to compete in a virtual reality/track ride Mario Kart game. Also earning coins on your watch if you had it. I was God awful at it, but it was really cool. 5/5

Yoshi's Adventure did not allow for single riders so like a schmuck I stood in like for 50 minutes to go on the 3 minute kiddie ride that slowly goes through Nintendo World with some Yoshi characters surrounding you (hello Baby Mario!). It was cute, but less impressive. 3/5.

The whole area was very cleverly designed. From the knickknacks on the desk in Bowser's Library to the murals of underwater enemies in the bathroom. There was definitely more to discover here but I didn't have too much time left.

I finally ended my long day by a quick visit back to Harry Potter to use my express pass and then did a last minute decision to go a 4D anime movie called "Jujutsu Kaisen". Now unlike the other shows where I got by not knowing Japanese, this one... not so much. It was confusing and I was quite out of my element as a non-anime fan. It was also 945pm and I was exhausted.

Overall, epic day and I loved it so much!

Japan Adventure - Hakone

Aug 6 - Welcome to Hakone
I originally decided to do a sidetrip to Hakone before heading to Osaka/Kyoto because I wanted to see Mt. Fuji. There's no way I was gonna climb it (that was even before I learned about Japan's summer heat), and this town had great reviews of Mt. Fuji views and nature escapes.

But.

The skies in the summer are notoriously hazy and it was drizzly and foggy so alas, no mountain views were had.

But that's ok, because Hakone was beautiful regardless.

I arrived feeling a bit hungover from my previous night's adventures in Shibuya, but after a short Shinkansen (bullet train), a local train, and a REAL local clickity-clackity train (complete with switchback changes), I got to my hostel.

This is the only time on the trip where I couldn't justify splurging on a private room. Hakone is a resort town and as thus, has resort prices. I grabbed an 8 bed bunk in Emblem Flow Hostel and was pleasantly surprised.

Not only was my bottom bunk large enough to change sitting up, it had a privacy curtain and a oulet/lamp so it felt like a teeny tiny room.

But the biggest draw? Not just the fancy looking restaurant or big bunks? Definietly not the basic vibe of the common room. But... The onsen.

Onsens are public baths - but more like giant spa hot tubs. You need to get over that western shame about being naked because bathing suits are not allowed. Towels are not allowed. Flip flops not allowed. Just you and the warm healing waters.

Hakone is all about the onsens. It's located in a volcanic mountainous area where the hotels use the natural hot springs to heat their onsens.

After an expensive, small but satisfying dinner (mixed salad & seared salmon) - I tried the onsen. I had it all to myself and after googling "how to onsen", I enjoyed it!.

("How to onsen": shower before you enter using the handheld one or a western style stand up one, don't get your hair wet, leave your towel in the changing area, soak, then shower/wash hair and body after).

I went up to the common room hoping to meet people and I did! I met a traveller named Amy from England who was traveling around Asia before heading off to work in Australia. We hit it off and made plans to hang out the next day.

Aug 7 - Smelly mountains, swans and onsens
Amy and I started off our Hakone adventure by taking the inclined cable car outside our hostel in Gora Stn up the mountain to catch the Hakone Ropeway - a gondola that goes up and over the mountains. We were told we would get a great view of Mt. Fuji from here, but that was more of our view.

* side note - Buy the Hakone Free Pass, it gives you unlimited transit around Hakone (trains, ropeways and ships!)

When we got to the top of the mountain called Owakudani and all you could smell was sulfur. There were some slightly worrisome signs about what to do if a volcano erupted. But we were there for the snacks.

We tried some charcoal ice cream and it was delicious. Who cares if it's 10 am - you're on vacation! It tasted like vanilla, but man did it give me some terrifying looking 💩s the next day...

The main draw of the area were these black eggs. They are cooked in sulfur water which causes them to blacken. Our excitement quickly withered once we realized they weren't black inside and we just bought 4 hardboiled eggs for 500¥.

After the eggs and smelly mountain, we took the ropeway down to Lake Ashi where we boarded the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise on a pirate ship. The lake cruise took about 40 mins and while we were going on it, we kept seeing people on swan paddleboats going to see the famous Heiwa no Torii shrine.

So obviously, guess what we got.

It was a blast! Something I won't easily forget because it's not like I could have paddled solo! We saw a unique view of the shrine and equally lamented how tired our legs were.

Not to fear! Onsen is here! We bought tickets to an "onsen themed water park" called Yunnesun.  Not really know what to expect, we ended up in a whirlwind of tourist families and their very loud and excited children. I love kids, but not on my vacation. We navigated the minefield of floaty rings and small bodies through a "wine" onsen (red coloured dye), "coffee" onsen and "sake" onsen. We did indulge in a quick water slide before deciding to head to the more tranquil "traditional spa" of Mori no yu.

Talk about having to be ok with nakedness. I was suddenly surrounded by women of all shapes and sizes. Interesting fact, you aren't allowed to show tattoos in onsen (people think you're tied to the Yakusa if you have tattoos?). So Amy had to wear these flesh coloured bandages over her small tattoos.

After our Yunnesun adventure, Amy left for Tokyo and I went to find some dinner. I settled for a Cesar salad and cheese plate from a hostel next door (Hakone Tent Bar). And while this cheese platter was basically cut for the size of a mouse and not my north American cheese loving stomach, it surprised me by actually being just the right amount to satisfy me.

One more onsen when I got back to my hostel and then a quick Google of "how much onsen is too much onsen" (I had too much onsen), I had possibly the most complete and thorough sleep of the trip - no jet lag wakeup this time!

Aug 8 - Hakone Open Air Museum

For my last morning in Hakone, I headed to the Hakone Open Air Museum. I wish I had more time to explore it, but I was pressed for time and today was the day Hakone decided to follow the Japan trend of being hot AF. Yesterday was so lovely at like 29 degrees, I was spoiled. I felt like this dude:

This Open Air Museum was SO up my alley. You walked around various statues and installations (some statues moved), with small QR codes with audio guides at certain landmark pieces. I love Henry Moore and there were a lot of his collection there (rotating exhibit of 26 of his pieces). According to the gallery, "Moore believed sculpture should be displayed out of doors, 'Sculpture is an art of the open air,' he said".

One of the coolest pieces was a tower made out of stained glass by Gabriel Loire. You climbed its winding circular staircase to get to the top and see a great view of Hakone.

Even though I had planned Hakone to view Mt. Fuji, it's onsen and nature were more than enough to make up for it. Plus! A travel friend for the day!

Next stop, a completely different vibe: Universal Studios Japan. 

Japan Adventure: Tokyo

"Here we go!!" said in a Mario voice is what I have been repeating in my head as I begin this Japan adventure.

19 days. 7 cities. 1 Susan.

Here we go!

Aug 1 & 2 - Leaving on a Jetplane

To say I was nervous about this trip would be an understatement. Post-pandemic stress, decision fatigue, solo traveling anxiety... I was overwhelmed (and almost wanted to rage quit after dealing with some challenging train timetables in July). But now that I'm here, I couldn't imagine not going.

One of the big things I've been nervous of is meeting people. If I'm lonely in Toronto, why spend all this money to be lonely in Japan? But when I went to the airport and randomly struck up a conversation with some American teachers also going to Japan, I realized, maybe the outgoing "Travel Susan" is going to come out and kick second-guessing "Toronto Susan" to the back seat. 

The flight was long and exhausting, as most 13.5 hour direct flights can be. However, as a treat to myself (and thanks to my tax refund), I splurged and upgraded one class to "Premium Economy". And friends, let me tell you, I felt FANCY.

Some perks included:

- pillow and blankets

- seats recline decently and wider seats 

- free tolitres kit (with a reusable bag, eye mask, toothbrush, earplugs in it)

- free bottle of water and sparkling h20 or orange juice prior to take off

- printed out menu 

- a remote for the tv

And the best thing of all? NO ONE was beside me. SO FANCY.

So after 13.5 hours of flying, minimal napping, one xanax, two meals and a snack, one "Cocaine Bear" & one "Angels in the Outfield" -- I arrived in Nartia Airport.

I couldn't go straight to my hostel as I had to pick up my JR (Japan Rail) pass. I stood in the queue, made some reservations for future trains, grabbed a snack and headed on into Tokyo.

I stayed in Asakusa in a hostel called Tokyo W-Inn and it was a WIN! My room was large and comfy. Perfect for the 3am jetlag wakeup I kept getting. While it definitely lacked in a social angle, it did have an amazing view of the Tokyo skytree!

Aug 3 - Sensō-ji, Tokyo Skytree & Claw Gamas

Jet lag had me getting waking up twice in the night! First at 1am - which I satisfied with a snack and then again at 5am -- which seems to be reoccurring daily even a week later! God bless Melatonin.

My friend Saya reccomended a restaurant for breakfast that was a cute mix of Western and Japanese food called Cafe Tomorrow Asakusa. For only ¥650 (~$6... Think ¥100 = $1 cdn), I got cheese on toast, scrambled eggs, miso soup, a small salad, and a coffee. The Cafe was filled with Japanese books and old clocks. Very cute and very busy.

After a walk along the souvenir shopping district, 

Nakamise-dori Street - where I tried my first strawberry daifuku (mochi wirh a fresh strawbery and red bean paste- yummmm), I headed into Sensō-ji Temple. 

Sensō-ji is Tokyo's oldest (completed in 645) Buddhist temple, built to honour Kannon, the goddess of mercy. It's giant red gates were impressive and going at 10am was a good call because an hour later, it was rammed.

I wandered around, reading the very few English signs, but mostly just marveled at how pretty it was. I donated some yen to pull a fortune stick as well. You make your donation, then shake a box with sticks in it while making a wish, pull out a stick which had a number on it, then open the drawer containing the number. Turns out I pulled a BAD fortune! After reading the English translation and feeling quite discouraged, I was told to wrap it around a pole there alongside other bad fortunes. Later on, I learned that this was so the bad fortune could be left behind and not carried with you. Phew! Dodged that bad luck!

Japan is HOT. I'm talking 35 degrees plus humidity bringing it up to the mid to high 40s. So a break in AC was definitely needed. Thank goodness my friend Amy told me about Pocari Sweat - a Japanese ion drink with to replenish lost salt from sweating. I'm actively working hard against heat stroke here! 

After a siesta, I headed over to the Tokyo Skytree, which was close by Asakusa. It's the tallest tower in the world (beats the CN tower by an extra 101m at 654m high). It's the 3rd tallest structure in the world. While it provided some great views, I wasn't that blown away. Maybe after climbing the CN Tower (twice! RIP 20 something athletic Susan), I'm just not as impressed with high views anymore. 

Enroute home, I checked out Taito Station - a chain of arcades, where I spent about $10 on claw games and ended up winning two little prizes (a kirby figurine and a hippo paper clip). 

Aug 4 - Tsukiji Market, Pokemon Cafe & Teamlabs Planets

Tsukiji Market was a must see according to most guides and friends who visited. While it is no longer the main fish market (that moved to Toyosu for wholesale fish selling and tuna auctions at 5am), it was still a great food market to explore. I went for brunch. I tried Tamagoyaki from a street vendor (rolled up sweet omlette) and then ended up going into a conveyor belt sushi restaurant (bless that A/C) hidden in one of the alleys to try some of the famous fatty tuna sashimi. It was the best tuna sushi I've ever had. 

After killing time and trying to stay cool, I accidentally on purpose found myself in 

Takashimaya - a very fancy department store before going to a late lunch at the Pokemon Cafe!

Now this reservation turned out to be the hardest thing to grab! Daily spots are released 31 days prior at 6pm JPN time and 5am Canada time! Luckily I grabbed one at 530 am after refreshing for 30 mins and navigating website crashes.

Everything is obviously pokemon themed. You can choose a meal that featured Evee, Snorlax or Pikachu as well as themed desserts and a "choose whatever pokemon you want" latte art. None of the meals were vegetarian but the evee plate was the closest (bread roll, salad, French fries, veggie quiche, clam chowder and a potatoe salad thing with chicken which I did not eat). I also got a Magikarp on my latte (bc its so goofy, abundant and ultimately useless so it cracks me up) and a pokeball dessert where you opened it up to reveal a character inside. I quickly realized there are now way more pokemon than my OG knowledge from the red/blue Gameboy games. 

But also can't forget a visit from the main man himself, Pikachu! A Pikachu came out and danced and waved to everyone. I had no idea what the host was saying about it (all japanese) but then they danced and sang along to "if you're happy and you know it" in English! My kindergarten skills were suddenly applicable in Japan, hahaha!

After satisfying my inner child, I checked out teamlabs planets, down by the waterfront. It was an immersive art exhibit - kind of like a hopped up Nuit Blanche minus all the drunk teenagers. You had to go barefoot as there was a water portion too. Here are a few highlights.

I was in love with it! You start off by walking up an inclined hill with light and water cascading from above. The first room was called "the soft Black hole" where you had to climb through giant soft beanbags where "your body influences anothers" with each step you take.

The "infinite crystal universe" exhibit was mind blowing and very instagram worthy. You enter a pathway full of hanging twinkly lights and mirrors reflecting them. It was gorgeous.

The room I did not like was the water exhibit. You walk around in ankle-knee deep white murky water while projections of multi-colored koi swim around. The texture of it, the white water, the people -- not my type of sensory enjoyment. 

My favourite two exhibits involved flowers. The first had live orchids tied upside down and when you walked through them they rose up to make space for you while the other ones moved down to cover where you were before. It felt like I was in Avatar or a magical fairy land. 

The other flower exhibit asked you to go in the middle of a planetarium type room and look up. Hundreds of images of flowers cascaded around you. It reminded me of the Van gogh exhibit in Toronto but 1000x better. I spent a solid 20 minutes just watching, almost meditating and feeling quite peaceful despite the crowds. 

Aug 5 - Exploring Shibuya

I quickly learned that Tokyo is so massive that you could easily spend a week or more here and wouldn't see everything, so for my last day, I decided to stick to one neighborhood- Shibuya. I did do a pitstop in Shinjuku to see the 3D cat video billboard, but other than that, today was all about Shibuya!

I met up with a Guru walk hosted by a teenage local, Kosuke, who coincidentally studied in Canada on a high-school exchange! 

We started off at the Hachikō statue at Shibuya Crossing/station. This Japanese dog is remembered for his loyalty and how he stayed at the station for 9 years after his owner passed away - becoming a mascot and symbol for the neighborhood. If you've ever seen the Futurama episode where Fry's dog waits around the pizza place not knowing where his owner was, that tearbreaking episode was inspired by this story.

As the tour progressed, he showed us around the streets near the crossing, pointed out landmarks, reccomendations, temples, etc. We also saw a Kendo training session which made me miss fencing!

Kosuke also explained some temple etiquette and traditions which were super helpful to know for future visits. Some of his advice was:

- Always bow before entering and exiting a temple

- When you enter and see a fountain: Wash your left hand first, then right, then take a sip of water with your hands. This cleanses your mouth before you pray

- If you see a path with different coloured stones in the middle, walk on the outer part because the inside is for God.

- To offer a prayer/thanks you need to: throw in a 5¥ coin, bow twice, clap twice, say your prayer/appreciation in your head, and bow again. 

I had lunch at a sushi restaurant reccomeneded by our guide, Kura Sushi Shibuya Ekimae. This type of conveyor belt sushi was where you ordered food on a screen and then your food was zipped towards you when ready! They also had a Gashapon (small capsule toys) game where you got to play after every 5 plates. I didn't win and couldn't push myself to eat more than 7, but ended up getting one for filling out a survey anyways. 

I refreshed back at my hostel before returning to Shibuya for a dinner/bar hop found via Air Bnb Experiences. Our group was led by the incredible Jenese, a travel influencer and guide (instagram: @flipjapanguide ). She made everyone feel at ease in our group of 3 American, 1 German, 1 Canadian and 1 French traveller. After our shared dinner, we hopped onto two more bars and a club. 

The first bar was chic with a cool Japanese nook with cushions to sit on. The next one was a cool rock bar (with a signed shirt from the Interrupters who I just saw a few months ago!). Throughout the night we tried lemon sours, Umeshu, sake and beer. But the highlight was a drink called the "Flaming Lamborghini" which was a shot to split with 5 different alcohols that was set on fire. We ended the night at a club, which although it doesn't get busy til 12am, we made our own little dance floor before I split off from the group to catch the last train home.

And phew! There it is, 4 days in Tokyo. I'm so glad I took the courage to go on this trip, even if I didn't have anyone to go with me. Im having a great mix of solo time and forcing myself outnof my comfort zone to meet people and try new things. Thanks for reading this epic post! I'm off to Hakone next!

Milano

My last day and a half was spent in Milan. I was able to share a taxi & train with Kristen & Diego (who were traveling on to Switzerland). We were the last ones to leave the villa which resulted in some creative miming and rudimentary english/Italian communication skills with our air bnb host. At one point, I was trying to explain that I was the only one left in the main house and the other two were in the small guesthouse and at the end he goes "your name "OnlyOne'?". 🤦🏼‍♀️ come on Susan, communicate better! Hahaha. 

I also left my waterbottle there. Le sigh. 

Florence train station was pretty easy to navigate, but the delays on the train were annoying (and caused K & D to miss their connecting train!!). I love myself a solid European train ride, so I just put on my music and watched the scenery for 2.5 hours. 

I successfully navigated the Milan metro with a suitcase in tow to head to my hostel at Yellowsquare Milan. I splurged and got myself a private room for the first time in a hostel. I enjoyed sharing rooms Lauren on this trip, but man, it was fantastic to get some space all to myself. ;) Not to mention AC and an ensuite. 

I was ravenous after the journey and got a quick little snack called "Trapizzino". It's originally from Rome and was visioned as a type of pizza street food. Think of it like a pizza taco. It was perfect. Crunchy bread, delicious eggplant. Just👌.

I had very little energy but the hostel had an English language stand up comedy show that I decided to check out. 2 glasses of wine and a lot of laughs later ended my evening. 

The next day I explored Milan solo. Something about walking in a European city made me feel both romantic and nostalgic for my time living in London. I took the metro and a bit of a walk to get to the "Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci"... or the National Science and Tech museum. Milan is HOT (38 degrees in the afternoon) so I thought a cooler museum would be a good use of my time.

It really was a random museum. There were things like a replica of an old pharmacy, the world's first tortellini machine, a section on space, an area on telecommunication, Volta's first battery, giant ships and airplanes in full size, and a whole wing about Leonardo Da Vinci. 

It showcased a history of his life alongside replicas of his machines. Unfortunately a lot were reproductions, as I think more of the original documents (if they still exist and are available to the public) are housed in his museum in Florence.

A replica of a Da Vinci flying machine

There were some cool art exhibits, like one where you spoke into a microphone and it kicked out the word as a visual representation, and another called "Socio Cromie: 100 Anni in 25 colori". I really liked this one, as it appraled to the modern history nerd that I am. Each piece had a colour associate to a different movement or moment in time. Such as a shade of white for "White collar" (1911 - indicate the start of business class workers), a light brown for the "Brown Shirts" (1921 - first paramilitary member of the Nazi party), or a golden colour for the "Ballon d'or" (1956 - award for the euro footballer of the year). It went all the way to the "Red Zone" in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

History in colour

After the museum, I grabbed a panzo as a snack and headed to Via Torino, a shopping area near the Duomo. I browsed the air conditioned store, determined to score some less expensive Milan fashion. Well guess what they had there... a primark! Primark is like the British version of Old Navy/H&M and of course I found some cute items there. You can take the girl out of Lewisham but not the 'sham out of the girl. 😅

I then went to meet up for a walking tour I found on Guru (tour website). One of those "pay what you want tours". The guide was great, but I was fading fast. I only lasted for half the tour, but saw an old hospital that is now a university, learned some things about the Visconti family (Milan's version of Florence's Medicis) and a bit about the Duomo. 

Some highlights that I can remember:

- The statue at the top of the Duomo is made out of gold and protects the city of Milan. There was a rule that nothing could be higher than her. But you know that didn't stick, so now if a building is higher than the Duomo, it has a replica of the statue at the top of it. 

- Saint Ambrose, one of the patron saints of the city, is often depicted with a whip in his hand in statues which indicates his "assertiveness".

- Mythology states that the patriarch of the Visconti family killed a dragon/snake thing that was eating children. He became a hero to Milan. All around Milan are pictures of the snake eating a child -- it's even on the Alfa Romeo logo (that's not a red tongue sticking out of the snake 😉). 

I left the group tour at the Duomo which is hella impressive. It took 600 years to build and you can tell. One regret I had was not going inside. Ah well, a reason to return!

Duomo 

I got back to the hostel and was reunited with Rob for dinner (he had done his own solo day exploring car museums). I was craving gnocchi so we used some impressive detective skills (google), found a highly rated one about 30 mins away and headed to it. 

Restaurant Da Oscar did NOT disappoint. It was packed but we luckily grabbed the last seat inside. Surrounded by pictures, chatt italians and even some framed Mussolini quotes (still can't get over that) - we shared some wine, good convo, and amazing caprese & gnocchi (possibly my fav meal I had). A random accordion player and his trombone friend popped in to serenade the few tourists in the restaurant which was a nice surprise. 

We decided to grab a cocktail before heading back and unfortunately missed the last metro. We ordered an uber and in a very miscalculated step, ordered another drink at a new bar while we waited. We made the uber, but drank our drinks in about 2 minutes. 🙈🍹

I left Milan the next morning. The flight home was stressful because Air Canada was a complete shit-show, but my luggage and I made it back in one piece. Arrivederci Italy, thanks for all the memories you've given me.

CIAO BELLA. 

3 Days in Tuscany

The next few days in Italy were spent in Tuscany, under that hot Tuscan sky. We were lucky though, no raiders were present (... that's a Star Wars joke I've been waiting to make it all trip, haha). 

Through sheer Tetris skills, we were able to fit all 14 of us plus luggage into 4 cars. So grateful I didn't have to take a bunch of trains/busses to get to Tuscany and instead shared a car with Theo, Samar, Diego and Kristen. Thanks!!

The ride was about 3.5 hours, with a stop for gas (how are the gas station cappuccinos better than any regular ones in Canada?!) and then lunch at Eataly! So glad I went all the way to Italy to eat at a restaurant they have in Toronto 😅. My pasta took a million years to be made but in the end, it was one of the best "highway dining" experiences I have had. 

Diego introduced me to a new game that entertained us back seaters for the rest of the trip - the movie game. Alternating between movie and then an actor/actress in that film with no repeats, you try to stump the other people. My kinda game. Kudos to John who later on at the villa one evening gave me a run for my money with his mad movie skillz! 

We arrived in Poggibonsi, a small town about an hour away from Florence in the late afternoon and I was blown away by our air bnb. It was a villa, with gorgeous backgrounds of vineyards and Tuscan hills and a beautiful pool to ourselves. I swear, this has been the fanciest trip I've ever been on.

Our Villa

Churches, Swords and Fooooood

Today we visited the abby of Saint Galgano, an old church which houses the original "Sword in the Stone". I only knew of the Arthurian legend but apparently it was derived from this one (ah, cultural appropriation). In this story, an Italian knight (Galgano) decided to denounce his murderous and violent ways and become a good, peaceful and religious man. He sheathed his sword in a rock in defiance so that no more violence would be shed. He then helped poor/sick people and became a Saint. The end. More or less. 

It's a sword and it's in a stone

We entered into the cathedral portion first and walked around the ruins in awe. We even saw a group of scientists/archeologists who were doing an excavation outside the building. We walked up a giant hill (inappropriate footwear strikes again!) to see the small church where the sword is. 

The main church 

Next, we visited the town of Siena. It's a gorgeous sand coloured town surrounded by the Tuscan countryside. We grabbed lunch with a view and wandered the town for a bit. Gelato was obviously had (ginger & honey, mixed berry).

After lounging at the pool and refreshing ourselves, we headed to dinner in Poggibonsi. While some were super amped for their MASSIVE steaks, I was blown away by a charcuterie board and some delicious cheese ravioli. After we stuffed ourselves, gelato was obviously had (strawberry). 

San Gimignano, Wine & a Home Cooked Meal

We needed a sleep-in morning, but we rallied and Lauren and I joined up with Theo and Samar to check out the walled city of San Gimignano. I had been there once before back in my 2010 Italy trip, so it was nice to wander the streets again. We bought a few souvenirs, felt it was too crowded with tourists and left after about an hour or so. Gelato not had.

The streets of San Gimignano 

After naps and pool hangs, we headed off to a wine tour. This was my favourite part of the trip so far. It was at a gorgeous agrotoruismo (Matt had stayed there before) and we sampled four of their wines alongside some cheese, olives, meats and breads. I ended up purchasing my two bottles of wine to bring home from here, as well as some amazing homemade olive oil. 

<wine tour>

Theo, who is a personal chef, treated us to a home-cooked meal for dinner. Nick, who is apparently an undiscovered charcuterie wizard, treated us to one gorgeously large and impressive spread. Both were super delicious and we were so grateful for it!

We took it easy the rest of the night (more or less) as we were all shuffling off to different destinations the next morning. I am so glad to have met and bonded with this group of people. I was quite nervous joining up with people who were paired up and already friends (thanks covid induced social anxiety), but it turned out that we all meshed so well (and not everyone knew everyone like I originally thought). Everyone was able to bring something to the group and people were so kind and accepting. Sometimes you get lucky with people and this was definitely one of those times. I'll never forget the laughter and good times with this crew, thanks Matt & Laura for bringing us all together. 💕✌️

A Wedding in Italy!

It's been a long time comin', this trip to Italy. Originally planned for June 2020, my friend Matt was getting married to his Italian fiance, Laura. Well, we all know what happened in 2020 and thanks to Covid, the wedding was delayed for two years. 

But we made it! The journey over was not ideal with the Canadian airports being a mad mess of delays, luggage worries, an 8 month old as a seat partner for the red eye, and unfortunante digestive issues ("it's not a trip til Susan ____"), but we eventually made it. Only about 5 hours later than planned. 

I was traveling on the same plane as Matt, Laura and Matt's parents so I luckily scored a pick up in Milan by Laura's family and we drove to the small town of Erba, near Lake Como. 

The wedding and the next three days was spent at Castello di Casiglio, a castle in Italy! It dates back to the 1400's. It's served noble families and the bourgeoisie of the area. And now it serves us. :)

After dealing with jetlag, the next morning we spent exploring Lake Como. We stayed in the Duomo area of Como, helping friends buy new suits and dresses whose originals had been lost in transit. We met up with Nick and Rob who had joined us from a pre-italy trip to Switzerland. Then, we all enjoyed a drink in the shade of the basilica (most had the classic Aperol Spritz but my heart belongs to anything that has guava in it so I got a mixed cocktail).

The Duomo, or the Basillica de Como was gorgeous, even moreso on a quick glance inside but we decided to forgo the admission fee and take a walk down by the lake instead.

Lake Como is located in the shadow of the alps and we walked a bit around the area where a lot of small yachts were moored. There is a reason George Clooney loves this place. After a walk about and seeing the outside of Volta temple (in honour of Alessandro Volta, the inventor of the electrical battery) we headed back to the castle hotel for pool time.

That night, Matt and Laura hosted a welcome dinner at a pizzeria nearby and I called an early night for myself to prep for the wedding the next day!

Lauren - my bajan bestie, and I slept in next the day and further enjoyed our lack of wedding responsibilities by hanging poolside most of the day until the big moment arrived.

The wedding was absolutely 💯 Bella. Laura's dress was the perfect embodiment of an Italian fairy tale princess with detailed embroidery on the bodice, intricate lacing and a back to die for. They got married outside under the Italian sun and I won't lie, a few tears were shed.

The aperitivo was served after with aperol spritzes, bubbly, and a kiwi cocktails to go around. The meat, seafood and cheese platters were amazing with most of my attention spent on the latter. This girls heart is betrothed to the dairy industry in Italy I think. 

The dinner (and later, dancing) was held in the basement area of the castle and the decor was medieval boho chic. Our table was a fun bunch and it was great getting to know more of the "friend group" of the trip. Meals and speeches commenced. 

However I do need to bring particular attention to the delicious and slighty crazy vegetarian option of roasted vegetables, potatoes and an entire baked brie. It was amazing and just what I love, but probably not great for my gut later haha.

We went outside for cake and then returned to end the night with dancing to a ridiculously close-minded DJ intent on refusing to play our requests. Closing the night, we ended up by the pool with beverages and as many limoncello wedding favors as our little arms could carry.

The next day was a hungover relaxing on by the pool with an amazing evening dinner (beat risotto with creamy cheese, ice cream with fresh blueberries, and of course, red wine) to end our time at the Castillo. Onwards to our next adventure, an air bnb villa for the friend group in Tuscany.