After a little hiatus I'm back for a breif update. We're back in Athens and its our last day. Katherine's doing well and she's a tropper with that foot of hers. The Orthopeadic dr here said it was fine. Its a fracture. She hobbles around as best as she can and yesterday we even went for a little walk through the market place (with an ice cream break in the middle). Last night we saw Evita which was excellent and a perfect evening event for us. Tonight Katherine flies out back to London around 7 pm. I fly to Tel Aviv as well but not till 2 am - yes it is a bizzarre middle of the night flight which gets me in at 4:15 am. Horrible nights sleep and horrible idea except that this flight was an easy $400 cheaper than anything else. Ah the life and decision making of a student.
Today the plan is to hang out in a cafe and have a nice lunch- our last meal together and enjoy the hot hot weather. Should be a nice end to a really really nice trip together (except of course the break).
As I go from hot weather to hotter weather, Enjoy the sunshine.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Ios Adventure
This short update is brought to you buy the friendly health centre of ios island in the Cyclades of Greece. Yes katherine and I paid a visit there this morning after she took a deceivingly simple stumble last night. Well after xray confirmation she has indeed broken her foot. Yes you can believe it for it is true. So no dancing tonight but a cast doesn't much get in the way of suntanning though it does prevent her from taking a full body dip in the pool to cool off.
Now for the silver lining (you know what kind of girl I am) the broken foot makes Katherine and I the most popular girls at the pool with numerous visitors and curious inquisitors. Aka all the hot guys are coming up and chatting with us.
Enjoy the sunshine - you know we will ;-)
Now for the silver lining (you know what kind of girl I am) the broken foot makes Katherine and I the most popular girls at the pool with numerous visitors and curious inquisitors. Aka all the hot guys are coming up and chatting with us.
Enjoy the sunshine - you know we will ;-)
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Greece- Athens and Ios
Well it has been an amazing, blistering hot day in Ios Greece. After spending a day touring Athens' major sites, Katherine and I headed off to Ios Greec- one of the Islands in Cyclades of southern Greece. With a promise of hot beach weather during the day and a rockin party island at night, this island was recommended to us by the hostel workers in Athens. We have 3 nights here at the cheapest hostel I've stayed at so far (8 euro a night) and then after an overnight ferry back to Athens and one last night in Athens, we'll say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. That is of course after a few party nights like last night. It feels a lot like spring break with the hoards of young people drinking poolside during the day in their swimsuits followed by clubbing at night. It is a lot of fun though unlike many who decide to stay for the season, 3 nights will be plenty for my taste.
Our last night in Athens consisted of a nice dinner out with our American roomies, Mike and Chris to this beautiful rooftop terrace restaurant which had an amazing view of the city. I had traditional Moussaka which was so delicious! Yesterday we took a 7 hour ferry from Pireaus (the port in Athens) here to Ios. We stopped at many little islands along the way all of which looked the same with little white houses climbing the hillside just as you would expect to see.
It is amazingly beautiful here and we are enjoying just lazing in the sun and hanging out.
Enjoy the Sunshine
Our last night in Athens consisted of a nice dinner out with our American roomies, Mike and Chris to this beautiful rooftop terrace restaurant which had an amazing view of the city. I had traditional Moussaka which was so delicious! Yesterday we took a 7 hour ferry from Pireaus (the port in Athens) here to Ios. We stopped at many little islands along the way all of which looked the same with little white houses climbing the hillside just as you would expect to see.
It is amazingly beautiful here and we are enjoying just lazing in the sun and hanging out.
Enjoy the Sunshine
Friday, May 21, 2010
Phase 2 - Greece
So I am in Athens now with Katherine. We got here last night after meeting up in the London Gatwick airport. Last night consisted of a taxi from the airport because public transit was not running, dinner at "God's Restaurant" which was very yummy traditional Greek food but a little pricey. Then we headed to the rooftop bar at our hostel which had amazing views of the acropolis but was closing followed by the other pub near out hostel which was having a karaoke night. Kath went up and sang it's raining men which was fabulous of course. We stayed there till it closed at midnight and then headed to bed for the night.
After one of the rougher nights I've had in a hostel complete with opening doors and snoring, we woke up to catch our free breakfast followed by a 2.5 hour walking tour around the main sights of Athens. It was a great introduction to get us orientated to the city a little bit. After the tour we headed for a closer look at the Acropolis and the Parthenon. It was amazing to see it in person! Then we headed to the ancient agora which the marketplace and social hubbub of the city in ancient times. After that we ventured thru the Athens flea market full of little shops. It was lovely until it started to rain and so we headed back to the hostel where kath is now taking a nap. She is jet lagged afterall and we've just spent 6 hours walking around the city. Tonight we need to make some plans for tomorrow and decide what island we want to go to. Should be great.
We got some sun today and the weather is set to be hotter than elsewhere in Europe. Yay!
Enjoy the sunshine
After one of the rougher nights I've had in a hostel complete with opening doors and snoring, we woke up to catch our free breakfast followed by a 2.5 hour walking tour around the main sights of Athens. It was a great introduction to get us orientated to the city a little bit. After the tour we headed for a closer look at the Acropolis and the Parthenon. It was amazing to see it in person! Then we headed to the ancient agora which the marketplace and social hubbub of the city in ancient times. After that we ventured thru the Athens flea market full of little shops. It was lovely until it started to rain and so we headed back to the hostel where kath is now taking a nap. She is jet lagged afterall and we've just spent 6 hours walking around the city. Tonight we need to make some plans for tomorrow and decide what island we want to go to. Should be great.
We got some sun today and the weather is set to be hotter than elsewhere in Europe. Yay!
Enjoy the sunshine
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Relaxing in London
So my time here in London has been focused around sleep, food, regrouping for part 2- Greece and spending time with friends i seldom see due to distance.
Ventured out to see Maddy (i was late- oh dear) and we grabbed a quick sandwich before heading back to the studio where I got to watch some of her rehearsal. I ahdn't seen her in something like 4 years and watching her work was so great. We've known eachother 10 years now and its so wonderful to see her development as an artist. She's also sporting a half British Accent which i can't help but giggle at. Hey I picked up an Argentinian accent after one day with Chony, its no surprise that Maddy's picked it up after living here for almost 7 years.
After I left Maddy's rehearsal I ventured back to Sergei's place and started doing some research on Greece. After a couple hours, Kat stumbled in much to my surprise. I wasn't expecting either of them back for at least a few more hours. She had tripped and sprained her ankle! So we got her set up with ice and elevation and her laptop so she could finish some work she still had to do. The silver lining for me was that I got to spend a bunch of time with her just hanging out and chatting which was great. It was really nice to get to know her a little better and it is always so fabulous when a friend that you care for dearly has found a partner that is great.
Later I had to tackle a few ToDo's including spending some time on the phone with TD Bank to clear up some things. After speaking with Bobbi and making plans for wednesday night, Sergei and Kat planned dinner and when he was ready to head home around 9 pm, kat and I made potatoes and salad and Sergei brought some chicken home. Kat was not very good at resting her ankle while letting me prepare dinner- yes a true hostess and a sweetheart. Sergei brought her flowers when he got home which was just the sweetest thing! So btw dinner included cavier appetizers, white wine, and truffel oil mashed potatoes with fresh dill. What can I say- I love you both but you live very differntly from me :) So the evening escaped from us as we dined and chatted and then very tired, headed to bed.
That's all :)
Enjoy the Sunshine
Ventured out to see Maddy (i was late- oh dear) and we grabbed a quick sandwich before heading back to the studio where I got to watch some of her rehearsal. I ahdn't seen her in something like 4 years and watching her work was so great. We've known eachother 10 years now and its so wonderful to see her development as an artist. She's also sporting a half British Accent which i can't help but giggle at. Hey I picked up an Argentinian accent after one day with Chony, its no surprise that Maddy's picked it up after living here for almost 7 years.
After I left Maddy's rehearsal I ventured back to Sergei's place and started doing some research on Greece. After a couple hours, Kat stumbled in much to my surprise. I wasn't expecting either of them back for at least a few more hours. She had tripped and sprained her ankle! So we got her set up with ice and elevation and her laptop so she could finish some work she still had to do. The silver lining for me was that I got to spend a bunch of time with her just hanging out and chatting which was great. It was really nice to get to know her a little better and it is always so fabulous when a friend that you care for dearly has found a partner that is great.
Later I had to tackle a few ToDo's including spending some time on the phone with TD Bank to clear up some things. After speaking with Bobbi and making plans for wednesday night, Sergei and Kat planned dinner and when he was ready to head home around 9 pm, kat and I made potatoes and salad and Sergei brought some chicken home. Kat was not very good at resting her ankle while letting me prepare dinner- yes a true hostess and a sweetheart. Sergei brought her flowers when he got home which was just the sweetest thing! So btw dinner included cavier appetizers, white wine, and truffel oil mashed potatoes with fresh dill. What can I say- I love you both but you live very differntly from me :) So the evening escaped from us as we dined and chatted and then very tired, headed to bed.
That's all :)
Enjoy the Sunshine
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Paris day 2 and on to London
My second day in Paris. To say the least it was a fabulous day! I met a couple girls at the hostel who decided to accompany me on the Versailles tour. So we all got up and had breakfast and headed out for Place Sant-Michele for 11 am so that we could catch the tour. Jessie from Wisconsin was one of my roommates at the hostel- she's been studying in Germany. Priscilla is from Brazil and studying in Lyon, France- she's in architecture.
So we headed out of the hostel to navigate the Paris metro system, which considering its complexity is extremely easy to figure out. As we headed towards our meeting place Priscilla gave each of us a traditional good luck bracelet from Brazil that you make 3 wishes on. It was so sweet!
So we caught our tour to Versailles and headed out on the RER system- about a half an hour's ride outside of Paris. It was GORGEOUS! took lots of pictures of the inside and out. Our tour took us all through the gardens which were huge and beautiful. Today the Versailles Palace includes about 2000 acres of land. Back in the day when Louis XIV was living there it had closer to 50 000 acres which included plenty of land for hunting. The gardens were magnificent and having the tour gude through them was exellent. Because we were there on a Sunday, the fountains were turned out and there was classical music playing. I know it sounds cheesy but it was actually very lovely and there was a choreographed water show to the music which was actually just beautiful! After a tour of the gardens we headed inside the palace and took a free audio tour which led us through the different rooms including the world's most expensive hallway, the famed Hall of Mirrors. Pretty increadible! We had a glorious day too. One of the best I've had on my travels yet.
So as things wrapped up at Versailles around 5:30- yes we were there a total of 6 hours, we headed back to central Paris on the RER again and we made a pit stop for me to Grand Du Nord where the Eurorail leaves Paris for London. I thought I'd book my train thru the chunnel a day earlier. Not to be. The first price i could find was a huge 245 Euro for a 2.5 hour train. No way can I afford that! So I stood in line (I had been at a kiosk) and when speaking to the man and asking for the cheapest train the next day, was given a quote of 183 Euro, still out of my price range... So with a little stress in my system (travel uncertainty can be a little stressful) we headed back to the hostel so I could do a little internet research. I had planned my trip along the route I did so that I could take the chunnel back. That was kinda the point to ending this part in Paris. So I booked a bus which was only 45 euros but took up to 9 hours. Funny how you pay less for them serving you for longer. I had been given some (wrong) information that the buses drive through the chunnel. Not the case, the bus drove onto a ferry and I went over the channel rather than thru the channel tunnel. Oh well, you can't do it all on every trip. I had to leave some things missed so that I know I'll come back.
So with a bus ticket booked and feeling a bit relieved, the three of us headed out for one nice dinner in Paris. It was all of our last nights and with the help of Lonely Planet with found a really sweet small local restaurant in the charming area of Montmarte called Cafe Marie. Enroute to finding this restaurant we ran into Markus, a vancouverite who was on our Versailles tour. He joined us for dinner which was great. So the 4 of us went to a traditional French restaurant where I had French onion soup (just called onion soup here) and Beef Bouriguignon with apple pie to finish. We shared a bottle of wine and a whole lot of laughs. It was a fabulous evening. From there, a little later than planned, we headed for the Eiffel Tower, which I had not seen up close yet. We arrive at about 11:45 which was perfect because we got our pictures and then at midnight the twinkles came on. Every night on the hour every hour, the eiffel tower glitters. It actually is quite beautiful. From there we headed back to our hostels and the evenign ended perfectly.
What a fabulous day to end the solo part of my trip.
The next day I spent almost entirely on the bus travelling thru the beautiful french countryside to London. Relatively uneventful other than the very sweet Brazillian family who i met on the bus. They also gave me a Brazil bracelet. It was a couple and one of thier mother's who were visiting their children in Paris and London. It was funny because the grandmother kept speaking to me in portugese and I had no idea what she was saying to me but she was very sweet.
When I arrived in London, I found my way to Sergei's workplace on the tube and after a short wait for him to finish work, we walked back to his beautiful flat. Amazingly, he ended up not having to go back to work (it was already after 8 pm) and a half an hour later Kat came home from work too and the 3 of us got to have dinner together and hang out and catch up. It was such a nice evening. I wish they were closer by and we could hang out more often.
So after a fabulous nights sleep in a room of my own, in a large bed, I woke up and said goodbye to the two of them for their day's work. Today I get to see my friend Maddy for lunch, who I haven't seen in about 4 years or so, and a friend Bobbi who I went to university in Calgary with.
Another great day. I'm keeping it low key here in London and resting so that Greece is fabulous when Kath and I go there next.
I can't believe my trip is half over!
Enjoy the sunshine
So we headed out of the hostel to navigate the Paris metro system, which considering its complexity is extremely easy to figure out. As we headed towards our meeting place Priscilla gave each of us a traditional good luck bracelet from Brazil that you make 3 wishes on. It was so sweet!
So we caught our tour to Versailles and headed out on the RER system- about a half an hour's ride outside of Paris. It was GORGEOUS! took lots of pictures of the inside and out. Our tour took us all through the gardens which were huge and beautiful. Today the Versailles Palace includes about 2000 acres of land. Back in the day when Louis XIV was living there it had closer to 50 000 acres which included plenty of land for hunting. The gardens were magnificent and having the tour gude through them was exellent. Because we were there on a Sunday, the fountains were turned out and there was classical music playing. I know it sounds cheesy but it was actually very lovely and there was a choreographed water show to the music which was actually just beautiful! After a tour of the gardens we headed inside the palace and took a free audio tour which led us through the different rooms including the world's most expensive hallway, the famed Hall of Mirrors. Pretty increadible! We had a glorious day too. One of the best I've had on my travels yet.
So as things wrapped up at Versailles around 5:30- yes we were there a total of 6 hours, we headed back to central Paris on the RER again and we made a pit stop for me to Grand Du Nord where the Eurorail leaves Paris for London. I thought I'd book my train thru the chunnel a day earlier. Not to be. The first price i could find was a huge 245 Euro for a 2.5 hour train. No way can I afford that! So I stood in line (I had been at a kiosk) and when speaking to the man and asking for the cheapest train the next day, was given a quote of 183 Euro, still out of my price range... So with a little stress in my system (travel uncertainty can be a little stressful) we headed back to the hostel so I could do a little internet research. I had planned my trip along the route I did so that I could take the chunnel back. That was kinda the point to ending this part in Paris. So I booked a bus which was only 45 euros but took up to 9 hours. Funny how you pay less for them serving you for longer. I had been given some (wrong) information that the buses drive through the chunnel. Not the case, the bus drove onto a ferry and I went over the channel rather than thru the channel tunnel. Oh well, you can't do it all on every trip. I had to leave some things missed so that I know I'll come back.
So with a bus ticket booked and feeling a bit relieved, the three of us headed out for one nice dinner in Paris. It was all of our last nights and with the help of Lonely Planet with found a really sweet small local restaurant in the charming area of Montmarte called Cafe Marie. Enroute to finding this restaurant we ran into Markus, a vancouverite who was on our Versailles tour. He joined us for dinner which was great. So the 4 of us went to a traditional French restaurant where I had French onion soup (just called onion soup here) and Beef Bouriguignon with apple pie to finish. We shared a bottle of wine and a whole lot of laughs. It was a fabulous evening. From there, a little later than planned, we headed for the Eiffel Tower, which I had not seen up close yet. We arrive at about 11:45 which was perfect because we got our pictures and then at midnight the twinkles came on. Every night on the hour every hour, the eiffel tower glitters. It actually is quite beautiful. From there we headed back to our hostels and the evenign ended perfectly.
What a fabulous day to end the solo part of my trip.
The next day I spent almost entirely on the bus travelling thru the beautiful french countryside to London. Relatively uneventful other than the very sweet Brazillian family who i met on the bus. They also gave me a Brazil bracelet. It was a couple and one of thier mother's who were visiting their children in Paris and London. It was funny because the grandmother kept speaking to me in portugese and I had no idea what she was saying to me but she was very sweet.
When I arrived in London, I found my way to Sergei's workplace on the tube and after a short wait for him to finish work, we walked back to his beautiful flat. Amazingly, he ended up not having to go back to work (it was already after 8 pm) and a half an hour later Kat came home from work too and the 3 of us got to have dinner together and hang out and catch up. It was such a nice evening. I wish they were closer by and we could hang out more often.
So after a fabulous nights sleep in a room of my own, in a large bed, I woke up and said goodbye to the two of them for their day's work. Today I get to see my friend Maddy for lunch, who I haven't seen in about 4 years or so, and a friend Bobbi who I went to university in Calgary with.
Another great day. I'm keeping it low key here in London and resting so that Greece is fabulous when Kath and I go there next.
I can't believe my trip is half over!
Enjoy the sunshine
Monday, May 17, 2010
Blip
I'm too tired right now to blog properly so I will find time in the next couple days to fill in.
In short my second day in Paris/Versailles was fabulous! I'm in London now and finished a very lovely evening with my dear friends.
Will write soon
Enjoy the sunshine
In short my second day in Paris/Versailles was fabulous! I'm in London now and finished a very lovely evening with my dear friends.
Will write soon
Enjoy the sunshine
Friday, May 14, 2010
Venice and onto Paris
Entry 10:
Part 1
So today (friday) began as all others, with the alarm ringing before i was ready to get out of bed. After breakfast Maud, Greg, Chony and I headed for Rialto to catch the waterbus. Chony was headed for the train station while the other three of us were going to Piazza San Marcoulo to catch the tour through Cannaregio and the Jewish Ghetto at 10 am. For reasons I still can not understand, the bus we got on did not stop at the stop we needed so as we rode past the meeting point for our tour with only 10 minutes to spare we devised a plan to try and walk back from the next stop to the meeting point. As we half ran and half walked our way back to the square, miraculously not getting lost, we made it there at 2 minutes past 10... and there was no one in sight. If the tour had in fact gone from there,I am surprised that in a city known for getting tourists lost, that it had left already. So we sat for about 5 or 10 minutes waiting to see if anyone would show up (thankfully in our reservation we had not had to pay). So we pulled out a tour book and as we had seen a directional sign for a synagoge earlier on our hustle to the meeting point, we backtracked and followed it to the jewish ghetto for a self tour. Very quickly we encountered the kosher restaurant and a kosher cafe called gam gam goodies. I was understandably excited about seeing hebrew here in Venice and as I went into the store, which had hamataschen for sale, the woman, cleary an orthodox woman wearing a skirt and wig, said to me, bruchim habayim. We spoke to her for several minutes and told her we were planning on heading to the museum to catch the 10:30 tour, to which she informed us that we'd better hurry because they leave on time and we'd have to wait till 11:30 for the next one. She was very very sweet. So on we hurried.
We took the tour from the museum which included going into 3 synagogues and entrance to the museum itself. This tiny community had 5 synagogues, 2 for Ashkenazi, 2 for Sephardic, and 1 for Italian. The 2 Sephardic are still in use, 1 in the winter and the otehr in the summer (size and the ability to heat are the reasons behind the transfer). It was all very interesting and I was a mini guide for Maud and Greg along the way. After a little bit of shopping we returned to gam gam goodies to try her hamataschen. She had poppyseed and date as well as chocolate dough with halva filling. She had also had chocolate filling but it was sold out when we got back. I spoke to her for a while as her cook prepared our pizza. She and her husband (the local chabbad rabbi) have been in Venice for 10 years but she is American. At the end of our conversation she asked me when I was leaving and upon learning I was leaving today she said that was a shame because she was going to invite me for shabbas dinner. So sweet! What can you do? My scheduling has been guided by flight costs for the most part. So we all had pizza lunch and hamataschen dessert followed by fresh fruit from the market and off we went. That's the way to do it in Italy! I must say, I've had pizza a couple times here and it is outstanding!!
So after a goodbye to Maud and Greg who are off to explore Murano and Burano, I am back at the hostel doing a double check that my flight is still scheduled to leave and then I am off to the airport enroute to Paris.
Part 2
So now I am in Paris and have just finished my first very very full day. But let me back track a moment. So my flight was uneventful and since I left myself a lot of extra time to get to the airport, I was unfrazzeled by the multiple stops, delay from phone calls, coffee/cigarette breaks and traffic congestion. I arrived in Beauvais and got my ticket for the shuttle into Paris, an hour later the Eiffel Tower appeared out of the darkness. Wow I am in Paris! I figured I would splurge on a cab since it was 1:30 in the morning in a foreign city where I do not speak the language (yes, despite being Canadian I am not a french language speaker). So i got my cab and the driver had no idea where this place was so he had me look it up in his map (while he had already started the meter!). I found it and off we went, me relieved and exhausted that I will just pay this man to drop me at the door. So, he pulls up to this dark street and points to a dark building saying number 2, here, number 2. He pulls my bag out of the car and won't listen to me saying it is not right and then after me giving him some money, he drives off leaving me alone on a dark street, in the middle of Paris, in the middle of the night, exhausted. Oh dear... So I pull out my cell phone and with roaming charges and all, I call the hostel (thank god I had written down the number) and when the guy answers it is clear we are having trouble communicating but I am not at all in the right spot and further he seems to have no idea where I am or how far away I am. I flag down a cab and hand him my cell phone as I crawl into the back seat, hiking pack and all, giving him very little choice in the matter. He took me to the right spot and I was thoroughly relieved.
From there I checked in to the hostel and trecked up 4 flights of stairs to my room. I always seem to be put on the top floor of the hostel trekking up many flights of stairs and I tell you, its not the constant cigarette smoking its the MILLION STAIRS everywhere! So I already felt bad that I might be waking up 5 sleeping girls in my room and I come in to find no blanket on my bed. I negotiate my stuff to be able to change into my pjs in the bathroom down the hall and I make the trek back downstairs to ask for a blanket. He says there should be one on the bed and I explain that there isn't one and that probably one of the girls had assumed no one was in my bed and was using it and i didn't want to wake them. After some negotiating I convinced the guy to give me another blanket for the night promising i would return it in the morning when it was sorted out. On the way back up the stairs he stops and turn to me and hugs me. Clearly the stress of the night was reading on my body. He hugged me several times and gave me kisses on the cheek to the point that it made me a little uncomfortable and then I dragged myself up the stairs and climbed into bed finally. A long day come to an end.
Paris Day 1
So this morning I met the other girls in my room as each if them rose. An American girl named Jessica, a spanish girl, 2 dutch girls, and a girl from Russia(?). I ran downstairs with Jessica to catch the end of breakfast before heading back upstairs and forgoing my shower (for another day) so that I could head out to Metro stop Place Sant-Michele where a free 3.5 hour walking tour leaves at 11 am. The tour was lead by an American guy named Tyler from Philly. He was actually really great and it was a perfect introduction to Paris and its main landmarks. We walked by Notre Dame de Paris literally translating to "Our Lady", the Eiffel Tower from a distance, the Latin Quarter, Tuileries Gardens, ile de la Cite, Les Invalides, Academie Francaise, Champs Elysees the high end shopping area with Yves Saint Laurent (with a line up into their store) and other such stores, Grand & Petit Palais, Musee d'Orsay, The Louvre, and Pont Neuf. It was a really great tour!
After the tour ended I headed for a closer look at Arc de Triomphe which has no less than 12 streets feeding into one round about that has no lanes painted on it. They say there is an accident there every half an hour and some insurances exempt this area of the city from being insured against accidents. This monument is a tribute to Napolean's soldiers and has an uknown soldier buried under the arch representing all the fallen soldiers. I climbed up to get an amazing view of the city.
After that I headed for a closer look at Notre Dame in which admission is free. So far my experience has been that Paris has lines that are miles and miles long but move along at a very good pace. On the advice of a fellow travller I paid for the audio tour and that I found very very interesting. In the interest of time I will save description for when I have photos and tell stories in person.
Unbeknownst to me tonight was free museum night which is great! With ambitious plans of hitting Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre in one night I went to Orsay first and was greeted by a long long long line again. I pulled out my book and read as the line moved at a steady pace. The museumwas increadible! Seeing Van Gogh and Monet and Degas Ballerinas in person really had more of an effect on me than I expected. and there was a whole section on Art Nouveau furniture which took my breath away! Clearly over ambitious trying to fit the Louvre in as well and to be honest I might leave the visit inside for my next trip to Paris. They say its is so big that it would take you 9 months to see evrything and I really don't want to run through it on a hunt for the Mona Lisa- that would be an insult to the museum as a whole I feel right now.
So with a little dinner in my belly and an easy Metro ride back to the hostel accompanied by an accordian player on the train, my first day in Paris has ended (with a few new friends too!)
Tomorrow, a tour to Versailles is in the plan and the Eiffel tower up close as the sun sets and the city of lights shows its sparkle.
Enjoy the sunshine
Part 1
So today (friday) began as all others, with the alarm ringing before i was ready to get out of bed. After breakfast Maud, Greg, Chony and I headed for Rialto to catch the waterbus. Chony was headed for the train station while the other three of us were going to Piazza San Marcoulo to catch the tour through Cannaregio and the Jewish Ghetto at 10 am. For reasons I still can not understand, the bus we got on did not stop at the stop we needed so as we rode past the meeting point for our tour with only 10 minutes to spare we devised a plan to try and walk back from the next stop to the meeting point. As we half ran and half walked our way back to the square, miraculously not getting lost, we made it there at 2 minutes past 10... and there was no one in sight. If the tour had in fact gone from there,I am surprised that in a city known for getting tourists lost, that it had left already. So we sat for about 5 or 10 minutes waiting to see if anyone would show up (thankfully in our reservation we had not had to pay). So we pulled out a tour book and as we had seen a directional sign for a synagoge earlier on our hustle to the meeting point, we backtracked and followed it to the jewish ghetto for a self tour. Very quickly we encountered the kosher restaurant and a kosher cafe called gam gam goodies. I was understandably excited about seeing hebrew here in Venice and as I went into the store, which had hamataschen for sale, the woman, cleary an orthodox woman wearing a skirt and wig, said to me, bruchim habayim. We spoke to her for several minutes and told her we were planning on heading to the museum to catch the 10:30 tour, to which she informed us that we'd better hurry because they leave on time and we'd have to wait till 11:30 for the next one. She was very very sweet. So on we hurried.
We took the tour from the museum which included going into 3 synagogues and entrance to the museum itself. This tiny community had 5 synagogues, 2 for Ashkenazi, 2 for Sephardic, and 1 for Italian. The 2 Sephardic are still in use, 1 in the winter and the otehr in the summer (size and the ability to heat are the reasons behind the transfer). It was all very interesting and I was a mini guide for Maud and Greg along the way. After a little bit of shopping we returned to gam gam goodies to try her hamataschen. She had poppyseed and date as well as chocolate dough with halva filling. She had also had chocolate filling but it was sold out when we got back. I spoke to her for a while as her cook prepared our pizza. She and her husband (the local chabbad rabbi) have been in Venice for 10 years but she is American. At the end of our conversation she asked me when I was leaving and upon learning I was leaving today she said that was a shame because she was going to invite me for shabbas dinner. So sweet! What can you do? My scheduling has been guided by flight costs for the most part. So we all had pizza lunch and hamataschen dessert followed by fresh fruit from the market and off we went. That's the way to do it in Italy! I must say, I've had pizza a couple times here and it is outstanding!!
So after a goodbye to Maud and Greg who are off to explore Murano and Burano, I am back at the hostel doing a double check that my flight is still scheduled to leave and then I am off to the airport enroute to Paris.
Part 2
So now I am in Paris and have just finished my first very very full day. But let me back track a moment. So my flight was uneventful and since I left myself a lot of extra time to get to the airport, I was unfrazzeled by the multiple stops, delay from phone calls, coffee/cigarette breaks and traffic congestion. I arrived in Beauvais and got my ticket for the shuttle into Paris, an hour later the Eiffel Tower appeared out of the darkness. Wow I am in Paris! I figured I would splurge on a cab since it was 1:30 in the morning in a foreign city where I do not speak the language (yes, despite being Canadian I am not a french language speaker). So i got my cab and the driver had no idea where this place was so he had me look it up in his map (while he had already started the meter!). I found it and off we went, me relieved and exhausted that I will just pay this man to drop me at the door. So, he pulls up to this dark street and points to a dark building saying number 2, here, number 2. He pulls my bag out of the car and won't listen to me saying it is not right and then after me giving him some money, he drives off leaving me alone on a dark street, in the middle of Paris, in the middle of the night, exhausted. Oh dear... So I pull out my cell phone and with roaming charges and all, I call the hostel (thank god I had written down the number) and when the guy answers it is clear we are having trouble communicating but I am not at all in the right spot and further he seems to have no idea where I am or how far away I am. I flag down a cab and hand him my cell phone as I crawl into the back seat, hiking pack and all, giving him very little choice in the matter. He took me to the right spot and I was thoroughly relieved.
From there I checked in to the hostel and trecked up 4 flights of stairs to my room. I always seem to be put on the top floor of the hostel trekking up many flights of stairs and I tell you, its not the constant cigarette smoking its the MILLION STAIRS everywhere! So I already felt bad that I might be waking up 5 sleeping girls in my room and I come in to find no blanket on my bed. I negotiate my stuff to be able to change into my pjs in the bathroom down the hall and I make the trek back downstairs to ask for a blanket. He says there should be one on the bed and I explain that there isn't one and that probably one of the girls had assumed no one was in my bed and was using it and i didn't want to wake them. After some negotiating I convinced the guy to give me another blanket for the night promising i would return it in the morning when it was sorted out. On the way back up the stairs he stops and turn to me and hugs me. Clearly the stress of the night was reading on my body. He hugged me several times and gave me kisses on the cheek to the point that it made me a little uncomfortable and then I dragged myself up the stairs and climbed into bed finally. A long day come to an end.
Paris Day 1
So this morning I met the other girls in my room as each if them rose. An American girl named Jessica, a spanish girl, 2 dutch girls, and a girl from Russia(?). I ran downstairs with Jessica to catch the end of breakfast before heading back upstairs and forgoing my shower (for another day) so that I could head out to Metro stop Place Sant-Michele where a free 3.5 hour walking tour leaves at 11 am. The tour was lead by an American guy named Tyler from Philly. He was actually really great and it was a perfect introduction to Paris and its main landmarks. We walked by Notre Dame de Paris literally translating to "Our Lady", the Eiffel Tower from a distance, the Latin Quarter, Tuileries Gardens, ile de la Cite, Les Invalides, Academie Francaise, Champs Elysees the high end shopping area with Yves Saint Laurent (with a line up into their store) and other such stores, Grand & Petit Palais, Musee d'Orsay, The Louvre, and Pont Neuf. It was a really great tour!
After the tour ended I headed for a closer look at Arc de Triomphe which has no less than 12 streets feeding into one round about that has no lanes painted on it. They say there is an accident there every half an hour and some insurances exempt this area of the city from being insured against accidents. This monument is a tribute to Napolean's soldiers and has an uknown soldier buried under the arch representing all the fallen soldiers. I climbed up to get an amazing view of the city.
After that I headed for a closer look at Notre Dame in which admission is free. So far my experience has been that Paris has lines that are miles and miles long but move along at a very good pace. On the advice of a fellow travller I paid for the audio tour and that I found very very interesting. In the interest of time I will save description for when I have photos and tell stories in person.
Unbeknownst to me tonight was free museum night which is great! With ambitious plans of hitting Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre in one night I went to Orsay first and was greeted by a long long long line again. I pulled out my book and read as the line moved at a steady pace. The museumwas increadible! Seeing Van Gogh and Monet and Degas Ballerinas in person really had more of an effect on me than I expected. and there was a whole section on Art Nouveau furniture which took my breath away! Clearly over ambitious trying to fit the Louvre in as well and to be honest I might leave the visit inside for my next trip to Paris. They say its is so big that it would take you 9 months to see evrything and I really don't want to run through it on a hunt for the Mona Lisa- that would be an insult to the museum as a whole I feel right now.
So with a little dinner in my belly and an easy Metro ride back to the hostel accompanied by an accordian player on the train, my first day in Paris has ended (with a few new friends too!)
Tomorrow, a tour to Versailles is in the plan and the Eiffel tower up close as the sun sets and the city of lights shows its sparkle.
Enjoy the sunshine
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Venice day 2
Entry 9:
Today began with a lovely sleep in. Since it was just Chony and I in the room we decided we'd sleep till 9:30 while we had the chance. I had a great sleep! We got up and met the only other couple here, a woman from France named Maude and a man from Belgium named Gregory. Through discussion we learnt of our mutual desire to visit the Jewish Ghetto/Area (yes mom I had actually already looked into it :) I am going tomorrow). So tomorrow morning the three of us are going to take a walking tour through the jewish neighborhood of Venice. But before i get to tomorrow, let me describe today.
So after breakfast (one of the better I've had so far cause we had fresh eggs made to order) Chony and I headed out to find the Peggy Guggenheim museum. It is a contemporary art museum housed in Peggy's former home. It has original work by Dali, Picasso and Magritte among others. There was a special exhibition called Utopia Matters: from brotherhoods to bauhaus. It was very interesting and had several pieces (furniture and art) that I recognized from my studies. Its a little surreal seeing an actual original piece of something I have been looking at in books for so long. From there we ventured through a very interesting sculpture garden with beautiful green trees and also the burial plot of Peggy Guggenheim. The garden had a tree right near her remains where guests could write notes to her and hang them on the tree. It didn't look official in that there was no sign or anything but it was a little strange but very sweet. We then looked around her house at all the art work. OH! I forgot, I discovered last night that Chony is an Interior Designer back in Argentina. (and bizarrely since I have been with her all day, I am currently structuring my english sentences in a slightly awkward way as I have been doing all day) I think that sometimes there are signs along the way to tell you that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. It makes me smile :) So as we walked through Peggy's house we talked about what we thought each room might have been used for when it was her home. We both naturally gravitated to the pieces of furniture over the art work on the walls which was kinda funny as they didn't actually seem to be on display (they had no little blurb with them like the artwork).
After we left the museum we basically spent the rest of the day wandering around Venice. We made sure to hit Piazza San Marco, the main square of Venice which was finally sunny when we got there. (it had been drizzling all morning). We passed many many churches. I found a bookstore to buy my Wallpaper guides to Florence, Venice, Paris, London, and Athens. This made me very happy. Venice is very very touristy but has some really really beautiful stuff to buy. There is something strange about this city that makes me just want to buy buy buy- NOT GOOD! But I think I kept it under control remembering that most things would break in my bag and that I really don't have a lot of space either. I'm also only 1/4 of the way through my trip so whatever I buy I have to carry around with me the rest of the time. We walked by Palazzo Ducale but I decided not to go in. By then I was very tired (7 hours walking around will do that to you) and I also feel that for 13 euro, I would rather pay to go up the Eiffel Tower or inside the Louvre when I get to Paris. We also walked by the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute which had a statue of a little boy holding up a frog. Now the interesting thing for me was that this is the only statue I have encountered which is circumcised (yes I have seen many many naked statues over the last couple days). This struck me as strange although I do get the feeling that there is a slightly larger jewish presence here than the other places I have been. I also saw a gallery selling art work that was all based on hebrew numerology and letters. Very interesting. We also walked by Arsenale which is a military complex that's quite a beautiful building.
Aside from all these landmarks, Venice is a city of canals and boats, charming little bridges and weaving streets branching out in all directions specially designed to get you entirely lost but making it fun and adventurous at the same time, as long as you don't resist and are able to be ok not knowing exactly where you are at all times. It is lovely to be in a city where you don't have to worry about the locals running over you (though they may bowl you over walking). It is nice to see people out walking everywhere as I guarantee you that it is not faster or easier to get somewhere via taxi. Should you decide to visit this marvelous city (yes it did win my heart over) be prepared for tourist shos everywhere. I did not take a gondola ride- they are VERY expensive and it has been raining on and off all day. Perhaps if I were here with a love, it would be something I would consider more seriously.
Tomorrow I am going on a walking tour through the Jewish Area in the morning. From there after a little bit of walking around I will return to the hostel to get my things and head for the airport which is just outside the city (as all ryanair airports are). So far it seems my flight will go just fine. It is late at about 9 pm which means I will not arrive in Beauvais till 10:45 and once I get into Paris (after another shuttle ride) it will be very late. I will probably need to take a taxi to my hostel since I think the Metro will be closed by the. But all that being said, I will not arrive till 1 or 2 in the morning so I will probably not write an entry tomorrow.
Still loving the comments :) Keep em' coming!
Enjoy the sunshine
Today began with a lovely sleep in. Since it was just Chony and I in the room we decided we'd sleep till 9:30 while we had the chance. I had a great sleep! We got up and met the only other couple here, a woman from France named Maude and a man from Belgium named Gregory. Through discussion we learnt of our mutual desire to visit the Jewish Ghetto/Area (yes mom I had actually already looked into it :) I am going tomorrow). So tomorrow morning the three of us are going to take a walking tour through the jewish neighborhood of Venice. But before i get to tomorrow, let me describe today.
So after breakfast (one of the better I've had so far cause we had fresh eggs made to order) Chony and I headed out to find the Peggy Guggenheim museum. It is a contemporary art museum housed in Peggy's former home. It has original work by Dali, Picasso and Magritte among others. There was a special exhibition called Utopia Matters: from brotherhoods to bauhaus. It was very interesting and had several pieces (furniture and art) that I recognized from my studies. Its a little surreal seeing an actual original piece of something I have been looking at in books for so long. From there we ventured through a very interesting sculpture garden with beautiful green trees and also the burial plot of Peggy Guggenheim. The garden had a tree right near her remains where guests could write notes to her and hang them on the tree. It didn't look official in that there was no sign or anything but it was a little strange but very sweet. We then looked around her house at all the art work. OH! I forgot, I discovered last night that Chony is an Interior Designer back in Argentina. (and bizarrely since I have been with her all day, I am currently structuring my english sentences in a slightly awkward way as I have been doing all day) I think that sometimes there are signs along the way to tell you that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. It makes me smile :) So as we walked through Peggy's house we talked about what we thought each room might have been used for when it was her home. We both naturally gravitated to the pieces of furniture over the art work on the walls which was kinda funny as they didn't actually seem to be on display (they had no little blurb with them like the artwork).
After we left the museum we basically spent the rest of the day wandering around Venice. We made sure to hit Piazza San Marco, the main square of Venice which was finally sunny when we got there. (it had been drizzling all morning). We passed many many churches. I found a bookstore to buy my Wallpaper guides to Florence, Venice, Paris, London, and Athens. This made me very happy. Venice is very very touristy but has some really really beautiful stuff to buy. There is something strange about this city that makes me just want to buy buy buy- NOT GOOD! But I think I kept it under control remembering that most things would break in my bag and that I really don't have a lot of space either. I'm also only 1/4 of the way through my trip so whatever I buy I have to carry around with me the rest of the time. We walked by Palazzo Ducale but I decided not to go in. By then I was very tired (7 hours walking around will do that to you) and I also feel that for 13 euro, I would rather pay to go up the Eiffel Tower or inside the Louvre when I get to Paris. We also walked by the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute which had a statue of a little boy holding up a frog. Now the interesting thing for me was that this is the only statue I have encountered which is circumcised (yes I have seen many many naked statues over the last couple days). This struck me as strange although I do get the feeling that there is a slightly larger jewish presence here than the other places I have been. I also saw a gallery selling art work that was all based on hebrew numerology and letters. Very interesting. We also walked by Arsenale which is a military complex that's quite a beautiful building.
Aside from all these landmarks, Venice is a city of canals and boats, charming little bridges and weaving streets branching out in all directions specially designed to get you entirely lost but making it fun and adventurous at the same time, as long as you don't resist and are able to be ok not knowing exactly where you are at all times. It is lovely to be in a city where you don't have to worry about the locals running over you (though they may bowl you over walking). It is nice to see people out walking everywhere as I guarantee you that it is not faster or easier to get somewhere via taxi. Should you decide to visit this marvelous city (yes it did win my heart over) be prepared for tourist shos everywhere. I did not take a gondola ride- they are VERY expensive and it has been raining on and off all day. Perhaps if I were here with a love, it would be something I would consider more seriously.
Tomorrow I am going on a walking tour through the Jewish Area in the morning. From there after a little bit of walking around I will return to the hostel to get my things and head for the airport which is just outside the city (as all ryanair airports are). So far it seems my flight will go just fine. It is late at about 9 pm which means I will not arrive in Beauvais till 10:45 and once I get into Paris (after another shuttle ride) it will be very late. I will probably need to take a taxi to my hostel since I think the Metro will be closed by the. But all that being said, I will not arrive till 1 or 2 in the morning so I will probably not write an entry tomorrow.
Still loving the comments :) Keep em' coming!
Enjoy the sunshine
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Venice day 1
Entry 8:
I am in Venice now but before I get to that, let me rewind and pick up where I left off yesterday. Last night after writing I went on a date with Anna and Drew (we all got dressed up) to get the infamous Florentine steak. It was HUGE!! We all shared one that was approx 1.5 kilo and came with a salad. We also ordered drunkhard pasta which was basically pasta cooked in red wine with garlic and spicey peppers. It was nice but quite strong. The three of shared a bottle of wine and we had a really nice night.
At 5:30 am Anna left (tear! I really like her and hopefully will see her when/if I go to New Zealand on exchange) and then I got up at about 8 to catch my train out. I finished my book last night The Birth of Venus which took place in Renaissance Florence and I gave it to Anna to read since she had finished her book. At first I didn't want to part with it. I mean, I had offered it to her but I get these funny attachments to things even though I want to be generous with them and I know that even though I really liked the book it would be nicer to give it to her to read. And i was going to push myself to part with it because that was how i wanted to feel but a funny thing happened, as the book wrapped up I felt a certain sense of closure and genuinely wanted to give it to her to read because it was so good. It was almost like i was leaving a part of me with her for the next part of her travels :)
I had bought another book by the same author when I was at uffizi (i jumped on the opportunity to buy an english book - not easy to find in a non english country) and low and behold when I opened it to start it here in Venice, it is another period novel, this time taking place in Venice- go figure!
So i headed out of the hosetl in Florence and hopped a 2 hour train to Venice. On the advice of other travellers I bought a 12 hour water bus pass and decided to spend my first afternoon to see Murano and Burano. I also decided not to buy a map here since hostels often seem to supply their own and the tourist shops charge 2.50 euro. Besides, Lonely Planet warns that regardless of your direction savvy-ness, you will get lost since there are no proper addresses here. Maybe that's why I've been warned not to send any mail from here because Italian post is not so good. Anyways, so I managed to find my way to the hostel based on the directions that were given on the website and I checked in to an EMPTY hostel run by a chinese girl. Well that's not so good for making new friends... or getting advice on the city for that matter either. And they have no maps... Hmmm not what I had hoped for but I will make the best of it. After all the location is great and the price was good. So I pretty quickly resigned myself to 48 hours actually travelling on my own and since I generally enjoy my own company and have a brand new book I am about to crack into, its all good.
So headed out of the hostel to retrace my steps back to the waterbus stop and figure out what routes I needed to take to get t Murano. Murano is a Venetia island which has gained a name through its beautiful hand made glass. SoI ventured around that island and used the 3 or 4 waterbus stops to gain a sense of my orientation. I wandered in and out of stores looking at the glass until everything began to look the same. Too bad I don't have an extra 1000 euro or so because there were some amazing glass bowls and vases and sculptures for sale on this little island.
Next I headed to Faro stop to take the bus to Burano. The sky was beginning to turn from the blue with sun to grey and overcast so I was debating whether to go or not. Its also kinda hard to tell if the grey is rain clouds or ash clouds rolling in so that can be confusing. I decided to go for it even though I was a little tired too. So I caught the waterbus to Burano, another of the Venetian Islands which is famous for its brightly colored houses and lace (very expensive for the real stuff). I didn't stick around Burano for too long, probably about an hour. I bought a delicious pastry from a shop and got my few photos but as Murano had, all the shops started to look the same. Clearly this is an economy run largely on tourism sales.
From there I headed back to the main area of Venice as the weather continued to turn colder. I got off on a different stop and negotiated my way through the winding streets and little bridges back to the area of Rialto where my hostel is. The good thing is that there are signs for different areas so that's at least some help to find your way around. I tried to avoid temptation of going into more shops as the sky was beginning t open up and walking around main venice is my plan for tomorrow (hopefully no rain!)
I got back to the hostel with my dinner (i had found a grocery store in Murano where i took the opportunity to try and get some cheaper food for dinner) So i've had some dinner and done a little reading. I met the only other girl from my 5 bedroom room, a girl named Chony from Argentina. We chatted a little bit and I think we are going to walk around Venice together tomorrow. I have also had a bit more time to talk to the hostess. Her name is Ling and she's from china. She's 25 and married and has a 4 year old daughter who is back in China with her parents. She's hoping to go back soon but has been here with her husband (he's 2 hours away) making and saving money. She pretty much runs the hostel of its owners who live in Florence. She says tomorrow a lot more people are supposed to check in. Tonight hopefully it will be a good quiet sleep as most nights I don't get more than about 5 hours of sleep.
My first impression of Venice was actually that I maybe shouldn't have booked 2 nights here and should go to Paris earlier. It was an interesting first reaction I must admit. I'm not in love with this city yet- probably the least of the 3 I've been to. Not sure how much that has to do with current hostel because I can feel the feeling appeasing as I continue to speak to Chony and Ling. Strange... I guess i am a person who enjoys having other people around more than I realized.
Anyways, it looks like it will rain storm tonight which will hopefully finish by morning so we can have a beautiful dry day tomorrow. Right now Ryan Air has no canceled flights so that is promising for my flight to Paris on friday night.
Enjoy the sunshine
I am in Venice now but before I get to that, let me rewind and pick up where I left off yesterday. Last night after writing I went on a date with Anna and Drew (we all got dressed up) to get the infamous Florentine steak. It was HUGE!! We all shared one that was approx 1.5 kilo and came with a salad. We also ordered drunkhard pasta which was basically pasta cooked in red wine with garlic and spicey peppers. It was nice but quite strong. The three of shared a bottle of wine and we had a really nice night.
At 5:30 am Anna left (tear! I really like her and hopefully will see her when/if I go to New Zealand on exchange) and then I got up at about 8 to catch my train out. I finished my book last night The Birth of Venus which took place in Renaissance Florence and I gave it to Anna to read since she had finished her book. At first I didn't want to part with it. I mean, I had offered it to her but I get these funny attachments to things even though I want to be generous with them and I know that even though I really liked the book it would be nicer to give it to her to read. And i was going to push myself to part with it because that was how i wanted to feel but a funny thing happened, as the book wrapped up I felt a certain sense of closure and genuinely wanted to give it to her to read because it was so good. It was almost like i was leaving a part of me with her for the next part of her travels :)
I had bought another book by the same author when I was at uffizi (i jumped on the opportunity to buy an english book - not easy to find in a non english country) and low and behold when I opened it to start it here in Venice, it is another period novel, this time taking place in Venice- go figure!
So i headed out of the hosetl in Florence and hopped a 2 hour train to Venice. On the advice of other travellers I bought a 12 hour water bus pass and decided to spend my first afternoon to see Murano and Burano. I also decided not to buy a map here since hostels often seem to supply their own and the tourist shops charge 2.50 euro. Besides, Lonely Planet warns that regardless of your direction savvy-ness, you will get lost since there are no proper addresses here. Maybe that's why I've been warned not to send any mail from here because Italian post is not so good. Anyways, so I managed to find my way to the hostel based on the directions that were given on the website and I checked in to an EMPTY hostel run by a chinese girl. Well that's not so good for making new friends... or getting advice on the city for that matter either. And they have no maps... Hmmm not what I had hoped for but I will make the best of it. After all the location is great and the price was good. So I pretty quickly resigned myself to 48 hours actually travelling on my own and since I generally enjoy my own company and have a brand new book I am about to crack into, its all good.
So headed out of the hostel to retrace my steps back to the waterbus stop and figure out what routes I needed to take to get t Murano. Murano is a Venetia island which has gained a name through its beautiful hand made glass. SoI ventured around that island and used the 3 or 4 waterbus stops to gain a sense of my orientation. I wandered in and out of stores looking at the glass until everything began to look the same. Too bad I don't have an extra 1000 euro or so because there were some amazing glass bowls and vases and sculptures for sale on this little island.
Next I headed to Faro stop to take the bus to Burano. The sky was beginning to turn from the blue with sun to grey and overcast so I was debating whether to go or not. Its also kinda hard to tell if the grey is rain clouds or ash clouds rolling in so that can be confusing. I decided to go for it even though I was a little tired too. So I caught the waterbus to Burano, another of the Venetian Islands which is famous for its brightly colored houses and lace (very expensive for the real stuff). I didn't stick around Burano for too long, probably about an hour. I bought a delicious pastry from a shop and got my few photos but as Murano had, all the shops started to look the same. Clearly this is an economy run largely on tourism sales.
From there I headed back to the main area of Venice as the weather continued to turn colder. I got off on a different stop and negotiated my way through the winding streets and little bridges back to the area of Rialto where my hostel is. The good thing is that there are signs for different areas so that's at least some help to find your way around. I tried to avoid temptation of going into more shops as the sky was beginning t open up and walking around main venice is my plan for tomorrow (hopefully no rain!)
I got back to the hostel with my dinner (i had found a grocery store in Murano where i took the opportunity to try and get some cheaper food for dinner) So i've had some dinner and done a little reading. I met the only other girl from my 5 bedroom room, a girl named Chony from Argentina. We chatted a little bit and I think we are going to walk around Venice together tomorrow. I have also had a bit more time to talk to the hostess. Her name is Ling and she's from china. She's 25 and married and has a 4 year old daughter who is back in China with her parents. She's hoping to go back soon but has been here with her husband (he's 2 hours away) making and saving money. She pretty much runs the hostel of its owners who live in Florence. She says tomorrow a lot more people are supposed to check in. Tonight hopefully it will be a good quiet sleep as most nights I don't get more than about 5 hours of sleep.
My first impression of Venice was actually that I maybe shouldn't have booked 2 nights here and should go to Paris earlier. It was an interesting first reaction I must admit. I'm not in love with this city yet- probably the least of the 3 I've been to. Not sure how much that has to do with current hostel because I can feel the feeling appeasing as I continue to speak to Chony and Ling. Strange... I guess i am a person who enjoys having other people around more than I realized.
Anyways, it looks like it will rain storm tonight which will hopefully finish by morning so we can have a beautiful dry day tomorrow. Right now Ryan Air has no canceled flights so that is promising for my flight to Paris on friday night.
Enjoy the sunshine
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Firenze aka Florence
Entry 7:
Last night I discovered that the hostel serves a snack around 6:30 pm everyday as well. Its always nice to have free food as things can get expensive. There I met a group of people who included an American girl named Amanda who's here for 10 days and a Kiwi named Anna [pronounced Enna] and along with the two American guys we trekked to Piazzale Michelangelo which is on the other side of the Arno river up the hillside and affords fabulous views of the city. We went at dusk and the sun set over the buildings. We bought 3 bottles of wine between the 5 of us and I brought a baguette and brie that I had bought earlier to share. It was a lovely evening all around and though there had been a forecast of 80% rain, we never felt a drop.
Today we got up early, i mean 7 am early, and headed to Galleria dell' Accademia for when it opens. Lines in Florence are notoriously long and we wanted to arrive right at 8:15 when it opened. Well we arrived on time as it was down the street from us but we still had a 30 min wait. This particular gallery is so busy because it houses the infamous David by Michelangelo. I have to admit it was gorgeous and much more beautiful than any other statue I've seen though if you asked me to put my finger on what exactly made it better, i wouldn't be able to tell you.
After that Anna and I headed towards the Galleria Della Uffizi which is home to some of Italy's greatest Renaissance art including the famed Birth of Venus painting by Botticelli. There was also work by Michelangelo and Da Vinci as well but i must admit aside from the Birth of Venus, little has stuck to my brain. Uffizi is also notorious for line ups down the street and around the corner. We paid a little extra to reserve a specific time and so were able to avoid standing in a lineup. In the time between getting our tickets and when we went in, we took a detour over to a bridge where the side were lined with beautiful and very expensive jewelry shops. Then we wandered over to a cafe to get a quick bite before heading back to the gallery.
I'll be honest, I didn't remember what the birth of venus looked like but as soon as i walked into the room it was in I knew. Funny how that happens. The gallery was great but it didn't take long to get fine-art-ed out. Def. worthwhile though i kinda wish the David and The Birth of Venus had been in the same museum. Admission prices here are steep!
From there we headed to the train station to book our trains out. Anna is headed to Nice, France before moving on to Morrocco for a tour (volcano ash permitting) and I am headed to Venice tomorrow. After that we came back to the hostel, put in some laundry and took a bit of a nap. I do hate being in the hostel during daylight hours but to be fair, by 2 pm I had already been touring and walking around the city for 6 hours. I gave myself a break. So now I am trying to wrap up a few loose ends here in the city before I head to Venice tomorrow. Later today a few of us may head out to get to get Florentine Steak which apparently has a reputation of being very good- who knew??
Still love the comments you post- keep em' coming (thanks mom!)
Enjoy the sunshine!
Last night I discovered that the hostel serves a snack around 6:30 pm everyday as well. Its always nice to have free food as things can get expensive. There I met a group of people who included an American girl named Amanda who's here for 10 days and a Kiwi named Anna [pronounced Enna] and along with the two American guys we trekked to Piazzale Michelangelo which is on the other side of the Arno river up the hillside and affords fabulous views of the city. We went at dusk and the sun set over the buildings. We bought 3 bottles of wine between the 5 of us and I brought a baguette and brie that I had bought earlier to share. It was a lovely evening all around and though there had been a forecast of 80% rain, we never felt a drop.
Today we got up early, i mean 7 am early, and headed to Galleria dell' Accademia for when it opens. Lines in Florence are notoriously long and we wanted to arrive right at 8:15 when it opened. Well we arrived on time as it was down the street from us but we still had a 30 min wait. This particular gallery is so busy because it houses the infamous David by Michelangelo. I have to admit it was gorgeous and much more beautiful than any other statue I've seen though if you asked me to put my finger on what exactly made it better, i wouldn't be able to tell you.
After that Anna and I headed towards the Galleria Della Uffizi which is home to some of Italy's greatest Renaissance art including the famed Birth of Venus painting by Botticelli. There was also work by Michelangelo and Da Vinci as well but i must admit aside from the Birth of Venus, little has stuck to my brain. Uffizi is also notorious for line ups down the street and around the corner. We paid a little extra to reserve a specific time and so were able to avoid standing in a lineup. In the time between getting our tickets and when we went in, we took a detour over to a bridge where the side were lined with beautiful and very expensive jewelry shops. Then we wandered over to a cafe to get a quick bite before heading back to the gallery.
I'll be honest, I didn't remember what the birth of venus looked like but as soon as i walked into the room it was in I knew. Funny how that happens. The gallery was great but it didn't take long to get fine-art-ed out. Def. worthwhile though i kinda wish the David and The Birth of Venus had been in the same museum. Admission prices here are steep!
From there we headed to the train station to book our trains out. Anna is headed to Nice, France before moving on to Morrocco for a tour (volcano ash permitting) and I am headed to Venice tomorrow. After that we came back to the hostel, put in some laundry and took a bit of a nap. I do hate being in the hostel during daylight hours but to be fair, by 2 pm I had already been touring and walking around the city for 6 hours. I gave myself a break. So now I am trying to wrap up a few loose ends here in the city before I head to Venice tomorrow. Later today a few of us may head out to get to get Florentine Steak which apparently has a reputation of being very good- who knew??
Still love the comments you post- keep em' coming (thanks mom!)
Enjoy the sunshine!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Italy - for real this time!
Entry 6:
I'm in Italy! Where did I leave you? A nights sleep on very loud la rambla- thank god for ear plugs. We had a warm but relatively crummy dinner on La Rambla and after more fighting with a pay phone, eventually called the hostel only to have the man yell at me and then hang up on me. Boy was I glad for that day to be done.
At 6 am we got up and left for the ferry. As we walked down La Rambla, people were just beginning to wind down their night and head home. 1am till 6am seems to be the party schedule in Barcelona. We boarded the ferry and left (though 2.5 hours late) and i must admit I was relieved to be on my way. We had booked a hotel in Livorna for our arrival as we were given some wrong info and had been expecting to arrive at midnight. Nope, mid way thru the ferry ride we were informed by another passanger I had made friends with that we would be arriving closer to 6 am. With no internet, phone or reception we had no way to cancel our reservation and so there went another night's accomodation. Technically i actually paid three different places for a place to sleep last night- Cinque Terre, Livorno, and the ferry. The ferry was probably the cheapest though I did not have a bed. For 30Euro i slept on a banquet bench, got a free dinner, and was transported to Italy- not a bad deal if you ask me especially since the train cost around 120 euro to get me to the same place. And to add another silver lining, the ferry actually gave me the gift of sleep. I pretty much spent the entire day hanging out and reading and periodically sleeping. It caught me up on a lot of missed sleep which I think is exactly what I needed. And my book is great if anyone is interested- the title is The Birth of Venus.
So 20 hours later after a decent sleep thanks to my brother Ramm and Sister-in-love Carolyn's gifts of the sleeping bag liner and stuff sack/pillow (Thanks!) we arrived in Livorno Italy. After getting off the ferry a group of us travelers found our way to each other and shared a cab to the train station (a whopping 3 euro once split among eight people). In this cab I met Jane and Marc from England. I decided to say goodbye to Jeff who was in a rush to get back to florence, and i headed to pisa with my new friends. We got along great and it was very easy to hang out with them. We took an uber cheap train to pisa (1.80) and checked our bags into luggage storage and walked to the infamous tower. First impression- Its way smaller than I expected! Second impression- Wow it really does lean! we took some photos (yes in one of them I am attempting to hold it up), browsed the little touristy shops and chatted away. From there we found a sweet cafe and had some coffee and ice cream as we gazed up at the leaning tower. What a nice way to start the day. Then we headed back to the train station and caught a train into Firenze (florence). We got off the train, had lunch together and then said our goodbyes as we were booked at different hostels.
Off to find my hostel, i discovered it is in a prime location and is probably one of the best I've stayed in. The fact that I got my much neede hot shower shortly after arrival may have soem influence over my opinion but really it does rock! and is booked solid. Glad I got in :)
Upon arriving I met a couple american guys right away and they invited me to come walking with them. We trekked around a bit, saw some sights and stumbled upon a grocery store- perfect! Dinner was bought before due the on agian-off again rain we decided to head back to the hostel, which brings me to now.
I've now booked a hostel in Venice. I will catch a train earlier on wednesday morning towards Venice- about a 3 hour trip to my understanding. I'll also scope out my day for tomorrow. Soem longer lines at key sights means online resevations are often advised if you don't want to spend all day in a line up- or so I've been advised.
That's all for now. The trip seemse to be back on track for now. The next scheduled flight I have is on the 14th (friday) so hopefully the skies will have cleared by then.
Enjoy the sunshine
I'm in Italy! Where did I leave you? A nights sleep on very loud la rambla- thank god for ear plugs. We had a warm but relatively crummy dinner on La Rambla and after more fighting with a pay phone, eventually called the hostel only to have the man yell at me and then hang up on me. Boy was I glad for that day to be done.
At 6 am we got up and left for the ferry. As we walked down La Rambla, people were just beginning to wind down their night and head home. 1am till 6am seems to be the party schedule in Barcelona. We boarded the ferry and left (though 2.5 hours late) and i must admit I was relieved to be on my way. We had booked a hotel in Livorna for our arrival as we were given some wrong info and had been expecting to arrive at midnight. Nope, mid way thru the ferry ride we were informed by another passanger I had made friends with that we would be arriving closer to 6 am. With no internet, phone or reception we had no way to cancel our reservation and so there went another night's accomodation. Technically i actually paid three different places for a place to sleep last night- Cinque Terre, Livorno, and the ferry. The ferry was probably the cheapest though I did not have a bed. For 30Euro i slept on a banquet bench, got a free dinner, and was transported to Italy- not a bad deal if you ask me especially since the train cost around 120 euro to get me to the same place. And to add another silver lining, the ferry actually gave me the gift of sleep. I pretty much spent the entire day hanging out and reading and periodically sleeping. It caught me up on a lot of missed sleep which I think is exactly what I needed. And my book is great if anyone is interested- the title is The Birth of Venus.
So 20 hours later after a decent sleep thanks to my brother Ramm and Sister-in-love Carolyn's gifts of the sleeping bag liner and stuff sack/pillow (Thanks!) we arrived in Livorno Italy. After getting off the ferry a group of us travelers found our way to each other and shared a cab to the train station (a whopping 3 euro once split among eight people). In this cab I met Jane and Marc from England. I decided to say goodbye to Jeff who was in a rush to get back to florence, and i headed to pisa with my new friends. We got along great and it was very easy to hang out with them. We took an uber cheap train to pisa (1.80) and checked our bags into luggage storage and walked to the infamous tower. First impression- Its way smaller than I expected! Second impression- Wow it really does lean! we took some photos (yes in one of them I am attempting to hold it up), browsed the little touristy shops and chatted away. From there we found a sweet cafe and had some coffee and ice cream as we gazed up at the leaning tower. What a nice way to start the day. Then we headed back to the train station and caught a train into Firenze (florence). We got off the train, had lunch together and then said our goodbyes as we were booked at different hostels.
Off to find my hostel, i discovered it is in a prime location and is probably one of the best I've stayed in. The fact that I got my much neede hot shower shortly after arrival may have soem influence over my opinion but really it does rock! and is booked solid. Glad I got in :)
Upon arriving I met a couple american guys right away and they invited me to come walking with them. We trekked around a bit, saw some sights and stumbled upon a grocery store- perfect! Dinner was bought before due the on agian-off again rain we decided to head back to the hostel, which brings me to now.
I've now booked a hostel in Venice. I will catch a train earlier on wednesday morning towards Venice- about a 3 hour trip to my understanding. I'll also scope out my day for tomorrow. Soem longer lines at key sights means online resevations are often advised if you don't want to spend all day in a line up- or so I've been advised.
That's all for now. The trip seemse to be back on track for now. The next scheduled flight I have is on the 14th (friday) so hopefully the skies will have cleared by then.
Enjoy the sunshine
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Off to Italy... or not
Entry 5:
So today´s entry will be short because I am exhausted and it was a VERY trying day.
Last night we partied in Barcelona and went out dancing to celebrate our last night all together. It was an absolute blast! It should be said that people here don´t go out before 1 or 2 am. So, even though I was one of the first to leave the club, i only got back to the hostel around 4 am. It was pouring out when we left the club so when we arrived after the 10 min walk in the rain, it looked like i had been taking a shower in my clothes. WET! Being still a little drunky, I thought no problem, it´ll all dry by tomorrow when i need to fly. By tomorrow i ment 4 hours later- ya not so much! So hung over, naseous Lisa packed her wet clothes into her bag at about 9 am and headed to the metro to catch a bus to the airport. by 12:30 i was at the Reus airport and given the news that all Ryan Air flights were cancelled due to ash cloud. YUCK! and so began my 8 hours of standing in lines in both Reus and Barcelona.
So after many lines, lots of wrong information, over booked trains, running into an american named Jeff who, get this, I had seen in the Gatwick airport 3 days earlier when his flight to Dublin was cancelled. We´d exchanged a few words back in London so when I saw him i was like, hey! We´ve ended up being travel buddies for the day and we´ve booked a 20 hour ferry to Livorno which is a couple hours outside of Florence. He´s been in florence for the past 5 months on exchange for school. We´ve become each other´s allies for this mess.
All this does give me some concern for the few flights I have booked already. We shall see how things unfold. Tonight we´re in a really cheap hostel right on the main street of La Rambla which is great fun. We have to be at the ferry very early in the morning tomorrow. Then if the weather is nice hopefully we´ll spend much of the day suntanning and reading a book. This reroute does however mean I´ve had to cut out one planned venture and sadly that means Cinque Terra. I know I know, for those of you who told me to go, it will have to happen on another trip. Oh to taste the origins of Pesto...
Also, You would think the extra day in Barcelona would have enabled me to hit the few stops i hadn´t fit in. No such luck... Spent all day in the airport, bus and ferry port.
Off to have some Tapas dinner with my new american friend and call the hostel i had booked tonight to try and cancel.
Check the news for ash cloud disturbances for me and leave me comments if you can.
Enjoy the sunshine.
So today´s entry will be short because I am exhausted and it was a VERY trying day.
Last night we partied in Barcelona and went out dancing to celebrate our last night all together. It was an absolute blast! It should be said that people here don´t go out before 1 or 2 am. So, even though I was one of the first to leave the club, i only got back to the hostel around 4 am. It was pouring out when we left the club so when we arrived after the 10 min walk in the rain, it looked like i had been taking a shower in my clothes. WET! Being still a little drunky, I thought no problem, it´ll all dry by tomorrow when i need to fly. By tomorrow i ment 4 hours later- ya not so much! So hung over, naseous Lisa packed her wet clothes into her bag at about 9 am and headed to the metro to catch a bus to the airport. by 12:30 i was at the Reus airport and given the news that all Ryan Air flights were cancelled due to ash cloud. YUCK! and so began my 8 hours of standing in lines in both Reus and Barcelona.
So after many lines, lots of wrong information, over booked trains, running into an american named Jeff who, get this, I had seen in the Gatwick airport 3 days earlier when his flight to Dublin was cancelled. We´d exchanged a few words back in London so when I saw him i was like, hey! We´ve ended up being travel buddies for the day and we´ve booked a 20 hour ferry to Livorno which is a couple hours outside of Florence. He´s been in florence for the past 5 months on exchange for school. We´ve become each other´s allies for this mess.
All this does give me some concern for the few flights I have booked already. We shall see how things unfold. Tonight we´re in a really cheap hostel right on the main street of La Rambla which is great fun. We have to be at the ferry very early in the morning tomorrow. Then if the weather is nice hopefully we´ll spend much of the day suntanning and reading a book. This reroute does however mean I´ve had to cut out one planned venture and sadly that means Cinque Terra. I know I know, for those of you who told me to go, it will have to happen on another trip. Oh to taste the origins of Pesto...
Also, You would think the extra day in Barcelona would have enabled me to hit the few stops i hadn´t fit in. No such luck... Spent all day in the airport, bus and ferry port.
Off to have some Tapas dinner with my new american friend and call the hostel i had booked tonight to try and cancel.
Check the news for ash cloud disturbances for me and leave me comments if you can.
Enjoy the sunshine.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Barcelona day 2
Entry 4- my second day in Barcelona
I've now more or less established my niche here in Barcelona. There are 8 of us; 3 aussies, 1 american, 1 swede, 2 from Bermuda, and 1 Canadian. Though I got to bed much later than I'd hoped, I dragged my butt out of bed at 8:40 am to take a shower and get my day started. I met a girl from northern Ireland today at breakfast. She was really sweet and had a name I had never heard and could not pronunciate. She was here deciding whether she wanted to move here and where to. She was headed on a bike tour of the city today so we walked down to the main plaza together after breakfast so she could book her bike tour and i could catch the tour bus. Today I was joined by Lindsay only. Sophie and Presley were supposed to join us but they only came in after 6 am so that was not going to happen. So I spent from 10 am till 7 pm touring the city with Lindsay from Australia. We talked about all kinds of things- he's a newly wed to a lovely sounding girl named Lauren.
So we took a tour bus that had 3 different routes of which we could get on and off of it as we pleased. Well worth it though the audio tour which accompanied it left something to be desired. Today we started by heading to Meis Van de Rohe's Pavilion from the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. It was originally taken down in 1930 as it was only intended to be a temporary structure. It was rebuilt in the 80s and now is one very famous, though small building. From there we walked the grounds and garden of a museum, walked around part of the 1992 Olympic grounds and saw the Torre de Calatrava- a tall radio tower which has been artfully constructed. We then did some more walking and then a took a gondola up the hill and saw the old fort. I wish I could tell you anything about it but we weren't given any informtion. It did provide some beautiful vistas of the city and the port. The port was really interesting actually as I hadn't ever seen one while it was working. From there we headed onto the bus again and rode it around the harbourfront past several museums and monuments. We got off again by Gaudi's Casa Mila and took the tour through there which included a period decorated apartment, the attic space, a Gaudi museum and the roofscape (gaudi is known for his unusual roofscapes). From there we headed back onto the bus, this time on a different line. We ended up just riding the blue line around town and getting a tour of a different part of the city. We had planned to get off at Gaudi's park but by then we were tired, cold, hungry and just about toured out for the day. I was full on falling asleep on the bus and bobble heading the whole way back.
Last night the guys made dinner and tonight the girls made dinner. Again, it was ready when I got back. Wow did I ever luck out! I guess it helps that I've been out all day everyday sightseeing and, well they hung around all day and had a low key day. I never do expect it. Actually tonight there had been talk about us all going out for a nicer diner together but its way cheaper for all of us to cook at the hostel. Something like 12 Euro fed 8 of us a pasta dinner. Excellent!
Tomorrow I fly out to Pisa to start the Italy leg of my tour. If I can fit in the leaning tower I will stop by en route to Cinque Terre. I've given myself 2 days there which is perfect timing. Time for some natural beauty after a few days of mostly man made structures. I booked my ticket and hostel yesterday and printed my boarding pass tonight, and fly out tomorrow. After Cinque Terre I have 2 nights in Florence followed by two nights in Venice and then on to Paris. It will be a whirlwind tour no doubt but should give me a little taste of each city. Last night I met an american who'd just came back from Cinque Terre and Florence so he gave me the toal lowdown on what to see and where to stay. It was great :)
So overall a fullfilling few days here and a good start to my trip. I still can't fully believe I'm in Spain! and its only been ike 3 days! Feels like ages since I spoke to anyone I knew.
I love reaing comments. Keep them coming!
Enjoy the Sunshine
I've now more or less established my niche here in Barcelona. There are 8 of us; 3 aussies, 1 american, 1 swede, 2 from Bermuda, and 1 Canadian. Though I got to bed much later than I'd hoped, I dragged my butt out of bed at 8:40 am to take a shower and get my day started. I met a girl from northern Ireland today at breakfast. She was really sweet and had a name I had never heard and could not pronunciate. She was here deciding whether she wanted to move here and where to. She was headed on a bike tour of the city today so we walked down to the main plaza together after breakfast so she could book her bike tour and i could catch the tour bus. Today I was joined by Lindsay only. Sophie and Presley were supposed to join us but they only came in after 6 am so that was not going to happen. So I spent from 10 am till 7 pm touring the city with Lindsay from Australia. We talked about all kinds of things- he's a newly wed to a lovely sounding girl named Lauren.
So we took a tour bus that had 3 different routes of which we could get on and off of it as we pleased. Well worth it though the audio tour which accompanied it left something to be desired. Today we started by heading to Meis Van de Rohe's Pavilion from the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. It was originally taken down in 1930 as it was only intended to be a temporary structure. It was rebuilt in the 80s and now is one very famous, though small building. From there we walked the grounds and garden of a museum, walked around part of the 1992 Olympic grounds and saw the Torre de Calatrava- a tall radio tower which has been artfully constructed. We then did some more walking and then a took a gondola up the hill and saw the old fort. I wish I could tell you anything about it but we weren't given any informtion. It did provide some beautiful vistas of the city and the port. The port was really interesting actually as I hadn't ever seen one while it was working. From there we headed onto the bus again and rode it around the harbourfront past several museums and monuments. We got off again by Gaudi's Casa Mila and took the tour through there which included a period decorated apartment, the attic space, a Gaudi museum and the roofscape (gaudi is known for his unusual roofscapes). From there we headed back onto the bus, this time on a different line. We ended up just riding the blue line around town and getting a tour of a different part of the city. We had planned to get off at Gaudi's park but by then we were tired, cold, hungry and just about toured out for the day. I was full on falling asleep on the bus and bobble heading the whole way back.
Last night the guys made dinner and tonight the girls made dinner. Again, it was ready when I got back. Wow did I ever luck out! I guess it helps that I've been out all day everyday sightseeing and, well they hung around all day and had a low key day. I never do expect it. Actually tonight there had been talk about us all going out for a nicer diner together but its way cheaper for all of us to cook at the hostel. Something like 12 Euro fed 8 of us a pasta dinner. Excellent!
Tomorrow I fly out to Pisa to start the Italy leg of my tour. If I can fit in the leaning tower I will stop by en route to Cinque Terre. I've given myself 2 days there which is perfect timing. Time for some natural beauty after a few days of mostly man made structures. I booked my ticket and hostel yesterday and printed my boarding pass tonight, and fly out tomorrow. After Cinque Terre I have 2 nights in Florence followed by two nights in Venice and then on to Paris. It will be a whirlwind tour no doubt but should give me a little taste of each city. Last night I met an american who'd just came back from Cinque Terre and Florence so he gave me the toal lowdown on what to see and where to stay. It was great :)
So overall a fullfilling few days here and a good start to my trip. I still can't fully believe I'm in Spain! and its only been ike 3 days! Feels like ages since I spoke to anyone I knew.
I love reaing comments. Keep them coming!
Enjoy the Sunshine
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Barcelona
Entry 3
What an insane 24 hours! So I arrived in Gerona at about 6 pm yesterday and found my way to the bus to downtown Barcelona. 12 Euro later and I was the last to board the bus for our 1 hour 15 mins trip thru Spain's countryside to the bus stop at Arc de Triomphe in dowtown Barcelona. I decided to walk from there and after a short detour in the wrong direction, got on track and made the 30 min walk to the hostel all on my own. I must say I was pretty proud. I checked into my 6 person ensuite room which was empty when i got there. It would have to wait till the wee hours of the morning to meet my roommates.
After getting settled and making my bed I headed out to get slightly acquainted with the area and find some dinner. I tried to make it an early night by heading to bed around 10:30 after a short read. I thought since I'd gotten little sleep on the plane my body would welcome the prospect of a good horizontal nights sleep. It was not meant to be. After a struggle to fall asleep, i woke up 1 hr later to a roommate coming in. A sweet harmless chinese girl who did her best to be quiet. I was excited to talk to someone but she wasn't too open to it. Awake and alone I'll be honest, I began wondering what I was doing here and why I had made this decision- I was totally homesick and lonely. In the midst of journaling (it always makes me feel better) two more of my roommates came in. Presley and Lindsay, two guys from Australia. Even though it was past midnight they were headed out with some girls from Sweden and invited me along. So faced with the choice of sitting in bed awake and alone or going out with all these strangers, I got out of my pjs and cold bed (yes mom and dad, I probably should have brought my sleeping bag- oh well) and I headed out on the town. Well it was one of those nights that just wasn't meant to be. We walked around from place to place, unable to find a club that met our needs. Around 3 we just headed back to the hostel. This evening did allow me to meet people which was exactly what I needed most though I still had trouble fallng asleep when i got back to bed.
Day 1 in Barcelona
I began my day by jumping out of bed at ten to ten in order to make the tail end of breakfast. Then headed to the Gothic area of the city with my new friends Julieta from Argentina and Presley from Australia. We saw the Cathedral of Barcelona and Mercat de Santa Caterina. We spent the morning walking around the Gothic area of the city which was beautiful with its narrow streets and sweet corners full of character. I spoke to them about the Gothic period and the characteristics of Gothic architecture- look university coming in handy! Then we saw one of the lesser known Gaudi buildings just off the main street La Rambla before heading back to the hostel. Julieta left for Grenada and Percy, Lindsay and I were joined by another aussie named Blake for 2nd half of the day.
The four of us navigated our way thru the Metro system to the most famous of Gaudi Buildings, Sagrada Familia. A massive Catherdal that has been under construction for the last 100 years and is still not complete, the Sagrada Familia is unlike any other cathedral I've ever been to. We did an audio tour (cheaper for me thank you student card!) and when given the choice to take a lift up one of the towers the boys opted out and we parted ways with plans to meet back at the hostel later. Of course the lift was worth the extra couple euros as I got to see the details closer up and a magnificent view of the city, my second rooftop view of the day (we went up to the rooftop at the Cathedral too). Gorgeous!
On my own to make my way back I decided to walk. The sky was threatening rain but it held off. You know you've ventured off the tourist path when you start to pass mattress stores and such :) With a hot chocolate and a point in the right direction I passed another couple Gaudi buildings before making my way home. I did find my Wallpaper Guide to Barcelona which I had been looking for to add to my collection.Yes Naomi you got me hooked! Excellent! The boys had dinner ready for me when I got back- such luxury! Which brings me to now. They are playing cards and having a drink while I borrowed one of their computers to book my flight to Italy for Saturday and write this blog entry.
Tomorrow the plan is to catch a tour bus around the city, visit the main market on La Ramba, la Boqueria, Meis Van der Rohe's Pavilion and the old fort Montjuic. I also hope to get into either Casa Batllo or La Pedrera, both Gaudi Buildings. Mosly I really want to get onto the roofscapes and walk around. Gaudi is known for hs unusual roofscape design. One costs 10 euro and the other 14 Euro so I probably won't do both. Its an early start tomorrow to try and fit all that in and probably a late night partying with my new friends before many of us head out on Saturday to our next destinations.
One funny story: On my walk home I all of a sudden saw a woman with a Canada sweatshirt. I practically jumped on her and her boyfriend as I exclaimed, "Canadians!". It was quite funny and clearly I felt some connection to them being the first people I met here from Canada. From Red Deer, they were very sweet and we spoke for a few moments before going our seperate ways. I must have given them such a start with how excited I was lol!
A thought to ponder: I am surprise by how how many woman I am meeting that are traveling alone. Currently I've met three in the 24 hours I've been here, from Argentina, Sweden and the USA. But no solo male travellers... thoughts?
That's it fo today. I still feel lonely sometimes but that's ok. Feeling lonely just makes you appreciate the people you have in your life all the more.
Enjoy the sunshine.
What an insane 24 hours! So I arrived in Gerona at about 6 pm yesterday and found my way to the bus to downtown Barcelona. 12 Euro later and I was the last to board the bus for our 1 hour 15 mins trip thru Spain's countryside to the bus stop at Arc de Triomphe in dowtown Barcelona. I decided to walk from there and after a short detour in the wrong direction, got on track and made the 30 min walk to the hostel all on my own. I must say I was pretty proud. I checked into my 6 person ensuite room which was empty when i got there. It would have to wait till the wee hours of the morning to meet my roommates.
After getting settled and making my bed I headed out to get slightly acquainted with the area and find some dinner. I tried to make it an early night by heading to bed around 10:30 after a short read. I thought since I'd gotten little sleep on the plane my body would welcome the prospect of a good horizontal nights sleep. It was not meant to be. After a struggle to fall asleep, i woke up 1 hr later to a roommate coming in. A sweet harmless chinese girl who did her best to be quiet. I was excited to talk to someone but she wasn't too open to it. Awake and alone I'll be honest, I began wondering what I was doing here and why I had made this decision- I was totally homesick and lonely. In the midst of journaling (it always makes me feel better) two more of my roommates came in. Presley and Lindsay, two guys from Australia. Even though it was past midnight they were headed out with some girls from Sweden and invited me along. So faced with the choice of sitting in bed awake and alone or going out with all these strangers, I got out of my pjs and cold bed (yes mom and dad, I probably should have brought my sleeping bag- oh well) and I headed out on the town. Well it was one of those nights that just wasn't meant to be. We walked around from place to place, unable to find a club that met our needs. Around 3 we just headed back to the hostel. This evening did allow me to meet people which was exactly what I needed most though I still had trouble fallng asleep when i got back to bed.
Day 1 in Barcelona
I began my day by jumping out of bed at ten to ten in order to make the tail end of breakfast. Then headed to the Gothic area of the city with my new friends Julieta from Argentina and Presley from Australia. We saw the Cathedral of Barcelona and Mercat de Santa Caterina. We spent the morning walking around the Gothic area of the city which was beautiful with its narrow streets and sweet corners full of character. I spoke to them about the Gothic period and the characteristics of Gothic architecture- look university coming in handy! Then we saw one of the lesser known Gaudi buildings just off the main street La Rambla before heading back to the hostel. Julieta left for Grenada and Percy, Lindsay and I were joined by another aussie named Blake for 2nd half of the day.
The four of us navigated our way thru the Metro system to the most famous of Gaudi Buildings, Sagrada Familia. A massive Catherdal that has been under construction for the last 100 years and is still not complete, the Sagrada Familia is unlike any other cathedral I've ever been to. We did an audio tour (cheaper for me thank you student card!) and when given the choice to take a lift up one of the towers the boys opted out and we parted ways with plans to meet back at the hostel later. Of course the lift was worth the extra couple euros as I got to see the details closer up and a magnificent view of the city, my second rooftop view of the day (we went up to the rooftop at the Cathedral too). Gorgeous!
On my own to make my way back I decided to walk. The sky was threatening rain but it held off. You know you've ventured off the tourist path when you start to pass mattress stores and such :) With a hot chocolate and a point in the right direction I passed another couple Gaudi buildings before making my way home. I did find my Wallpaper Guide to Barcelona which I had been looking for to add to my collection.Yes Naomi you got me hooked! Excellent! The boys had dinner ready for me when I got back- such luxury! Which brings me to now. They are playing cards and having a drink while I borrowed one of their computers to book my flight to Italy for Saturday and write this blog entry.
Tomorrow the plan is to catch a tour bus around the city, visit the main market on La Ramba, la Boqueria, Meis Van der Rohe's Pavilion and the old fort Montjuic. I also hope to get into either Casa Batllo or La Pedrera, both Gaudi Buildings. Mosly I really want to get onto the roofscapes and walk around. Gaudi is known for hs unusual roofscape design. One costs 10 euro and the other 14 Euro so I probably won't do both. Its an early start tomorrow to try and fit all that in and probably a late night partying with my new friends before many of us head out on Saturday to our next destinations.
One funny story: On my walk home I all of a sudden saw a woman with a Canada sweatshirt. I practically jumped on her and her boyfriend as I exclaimed, "Canadians!". It was quite funny and clearly I felt some connection to them being the first people I met here from Canada. From Red Deer, they were very sweet and we spoke for a few moments before going our seperate ways. I must have given them such a start with how excited I was lol!
A thought to ponder: I am surprise by how how many woman I am meeting that are traveling alone. Currently I've met three in the 24 hours I've been here, from Argentina, Sweden and the USA. But no solo male travellers... thoughts?
That's it fo today. I still feel lonely sometimes but that's ok. Feeling lonely just makes you appreciate the people you have in your life all the more.
Enjoy the sunshine.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
En Route
Hi Everyone,
Here is entry number 2 for you.
The check in to my flight was easy as can be. One of my concerns was the weight of my bag since many of the Budget airlines have lower weight restrictions. I wanted to make sure my bag was under 15 kilo but when I was packing I had no scale. Success! my bag weighed in at about 12.5 kilo and is only about 75% full. This means lots of room for shopping- if I can only find things that I like :) I also got to have a very quick dinner with Josh in the airport which was lovely as I hadn't seen him since last summer. No doubt I'll see him this summer when I'm in Van though.
Currently I am in the London Gatwick Airport. The flight over was rather pleasantly uneventful as I slept through most of it. Ryan and Dan however stayed up all night watching the movies. After we cleared customs and got our baggage, we found the spot they need to catch teh bus to Coventry to meet us with Jess. Pleanty of time to spare which is excellent news for me and Katherine in a couple weeks. I think, as long as her flight is reasonably on time, we should have no problem making our flight to Athens, if its not cancelled (more on that later). I must say, now that I am a lot bigger than when I was a kid, it is considerably less easy to find a comfortable position. I remember when I use to sleep on the floor of the airplane at my parents' feet or sitting on the floor with my head on the seat- no longer possible.
London is how I remember. In about 2 hours I fly to Gerona which is about an hour and 15 mins outside of Barcelona. From there I will catch a bus to Barceolna's city centre and then the metro to my hostel. I plan to check in for the night, find some dinner and decide what I want to see tomorrow. All very exciting really.
I am flying RyanAir, one of the budget airlines. Apparently in the last day and a half or so the wind patterns have shifted and volcanic ash is being blown south again so all flights to Dublin have been cancelled. This is problematic for some as you can imagine, but being on a budget airline during this kind of thing is even worse. We get what we pay for right? RyanAir has not actual staff present at the airport- they contract out another company to do their baggae check. So needless to say, there are some very unhappy people here and several how have been sleeping in the airport.
Another thing, which I was unaware of in Canada, is that from what I can gather, the airport workers in Greece are on strike. So currently flights to greece are all cancelled and have been so since sometime last week. Who knew! Hopefully that will get cleared up by 2 weeks from now when Katherine and I head to Athens for our vacation. Maybe we should come up with a plan B??
Other than that, things are good. A little groggy from the travel. I'm looking forward to a horizontal sleep tonight.
Time is running out on my internet access so I will leave it at that.
Enjoy the sunshine!
Here is entry number 2 for you.
The check in to my flight was easy as can be. One of my concerns was the weight of my bag since many of the Budget airlines have lower weight restrictions. I wanted to make sure my bag was under 15 kilo but when I was packing I had no scale. Success! my bag weighed in at about 12.5 kilo and is only about 75% full. This means lots of room for shopping- if I can only find things that I like :) I also got to have a very quick dinner with Josh in the airport which was lovely as I hadn't seen him since last summer. No doubt I'll see him this summer when I'm in Van though.
Currently I am in the London Gatwick Airport. The flight over was rather pleasantly uneventful as I slept through most of it. Ryan and Dan however stayed up all night watching the movies. After we cleared customs and got our baggage, we found the spot they need to catch teh bus to Coventry to meet us with Jess. Pleanty of time to spare which is excellent news for me and Katherine in a couple weeks. I think, as long as her flight is reasonably on time, we should have no problem making our flight to Athens, if its not cancelled (more on that later). I must say, now that I am a lot bigger than when I was a kid, it is considerably less easy to find a comfortable position. I remember when I use to sleep on the floor of the airplane at my parents' feet or sitting on the floor with my head on the seat- no longer possible.
London is how I remember. In about 2 hours I fly to Gerona which is about an hour and 15 mins outside of Barcelona. From there I will catch a bus to Barceolna's city centre and then the metro to my hostel. I plan to check in for the night, find some dinner and decide what I want to see tomorrow. All very exciting really.
I am flying RyanAir, one of the budget airlines. Apparently in the last day and a half or so the wind patterns have shifted and volcanic ash is being blown south again so all flights to Dublin have been cancelled. This is problematic for some as you can imagine, but being on a budget airline during this kind of thing is even worse. We get what we pay for right? RyanAir has not actual staff present at the airport- they contract out another company to do their baggae check. So needless to say, there are some very unhappy people here and several how have been sleeping in the airport.
Another thing, which I was unaware of in Canada, is that from what I can gather, the airport workers in Greece are on strike. So currently flights to greece are all cancelled and have been so since sometime last week. Who knew! Hopefully that will get cleared up by 2 weeks from now when Katherine and I head to Athens for our vacation. Maybe we should come up with a plan B??
Other than that, things are good. A little groggy from the travel. I'm looking forward to a horizontal sleep tonight.
Time is running out on my internet access so I will leave it at that.
Enjoy the sunshine!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Hey Everyone,
So I jumped! yes on to that bandwagon that others seem to have been on for quite some time. This is my first blog and I started it so that you can follow me on my trip thru Europe and beyond (if you wish to of course!)
So here is Entry Number 1:
In 26 hours I fly out of Toronto for Barcelona (via London) for the start of my trip. I am excited, nervous, and mostly in denial. I can't believe its crept up on me so quickly! I also am still a little in shock that I will be on my own for the first 2 weeks or so. Of course, I won't really be on my own for long.
So here it is- the easiest way to stay connected. Please comment, reply, email- i would love to hear from you as I make my way thru an overly packed and ambitious schedule (yes I am still me, trying to fit way too much into a tiny amount of time/space)
I'll miss you and hopefully, somewhere in my summer, will see you soon.
Enjoy the sunshine,
Lisa
So I jumped! yes on to that bandwagon that others seem to have been on for quite some time. This is my first blog and I started it so that you can follow me on my trip thru Europe and beyond (if you wish to of course!)
So here is Entry Number 1:
In 26 hours I fly out of Toronto for Barcelona (via London) for the start of my trip. I am excited, nervous, and mostly in denial. I can't believe its crept up on me so quickly! I also am still a little in shock that I will be on my own for the first 2 weeks or so. Of course, I won't really be on my own for long.
So here it is- the easiest way to stay connected. Please comment, reply, email- i would love to hear from you as I make my way thru an overly packed and ambitious schedule (yes I am still me, trying to fit way too much into a tiny amount of time/space)
I'll miss you and hopefully, somewhere in my summer, will see you soon.
Enjoy the sunshine,
Lisa
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