Rome + Pompeii + Corfu!

My last morning in Rome I went to the Cappuchin Monks which is a crypt made up of bones from 4000 friars and monks. I found it sort of cool and weird at the same time, but this is a definite no-no for those who get spooked easily.

Rome was an incredible experience. It was a place that I was literally asking myself “where am I?” because everything there is just so historic and the culture is well represented in it's  architecture and design. I could never see these sort of things in Canada because they would be so out of place!

From Rome we travelled to Pompeii where we had a guided tour of this ancient city where several villas of people were killed when Mt Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. There are a large amount of artifacts that have been well preserved and even some bodies of humans where you can see them actually covering their faces and trying to protect themselves from the hot lava. Seeing this, it's very hard to imagine what that day was actually like. 

We were only in Pompeii for one day, and then we went to the port of Brindisi to catch our overnight ferry to the island of Corfu, Greece. Olives, feta cheese, souvlaki, tzadiki, and more olives, here I come!

After our overnight ferry, we arrived in Corfu and drove to our hotel which ended up being right across the street from the beach! I only had one day in Corfu because I was leaving early to catch my second Contiki tour through Egypt.

Before my flight to Cairo, I went into the center of Corfu and grabbed some lunch. If you go to Greece, you cannot pass up a Gyro! I had one with chicken souvlaki, tomatoes, onion, tzadiki and then they put french fries inside this cone shaped wrap with some sort of gravy drizzled on top... it was so so delicious!

Here's one of these moments when you're on holiday when somebody says or does something nice that just makes your trip that much more special... it's these little moments I don't want to forget. So I ended up taking a taxi to the airport, and on the way my driver asked me where I was from and when I told him “Canada”, he held my hand and said “you are the most wonderful people, it’s a pleasure” and he shook my hand with a massive smile on his face. I found this to be such a sweet moment because the man was so genuine and kind, and this was something I really appreciated. 

So now, I'm off from Greece and heading to Cairo, Egypt!

Venice, Florence, & Rome

We're now in Venice! One of my most beloved cities I've ever been to. Venice always has something to do, somewhere to wander, something to see... always. This is a prime example city of a city you could 'get lost in'. The biggest tip I can give to someone travelling to Venice is GET A MAP. We did it a few times where we thought we were heading in the right direction only to find that one hour later we ended up at the exact first square that we had started at.

From Venice we travelled south to Florence. I've been here once before and honestly I didn't care for it the first time, and the second time wasn't much different. The main points of interest are viewing the Duomo Cathedral and going to the Vecchio bridge. You can of course also go see Michelangelo's David, but from what I've heard, the tickets are costly! If it's not in your budget to spend the money on seeing the real one, just head to the Piazza della Signoria and you'll see the replica David in the square. 

For me, Florence was just a place I could enjoy a nice meal outside watching people go by. It's not really a place that for me, had much to do or see. I was actually pretty happy to be leaving Florence and heading on to the capital of Italy... Rome!

Now Rome on the other hand, it's the real deal!

I'm not really a 'hire a day guide' kind of traveller, however Rome has got to have one of the most interesting and complex pasts of all the cities I've been to. Therefore, I was thankful we had a guided tour for our day in Rome. The tour included the Roman Forums, the site where Julius was cremated (which is a large mound of dirt overlayed with flowers on top), then the Colosseum, to the Spanish Steps, to the Trevi Fountain, to the Pantheon! 

All of them are amazing to see and should be a definite on anyone's to do list! And the best part is, this was all done in one day (even with there being 138 stairs on the Spanish Steps)! Don't forget, as per tradition, to throw in some coins into the Trevi Fountain! One is suppose to find you Italian love and the other is suppose to bring you back to Rome!

My day was finshed off with a delicious Italian meal. Complete with bruschetta, lasagne, red wine, and dolce de leche gelato!!

Ciao bella!

Time for some French Sea & Sun!

From Barcelona we travelled northwards along the coast and arrived in Nice, France aka the French Riviera. On our first day we went to the French perfume factory of Fragonard located in Eze (about 20 minutes outside of Nice) where they make all their perfumes from real natural extracts and without any synthetic ingredients. I ended up purchasing a Vanilla scented eau de toilette called Fleur de Vanille. I found it to be very reasonably priced for this quality, and also I really love the purity and simplicity of this Vanilla fragrance. Possibly the nicest one I've ever bought!

Afterwards we had quite a bit of free time so most of us spent the day lounging in the sun near the crystal turquoise waters. Nice has a typical sun-holiday destination vibe (something I would compare to Mexico for example). However, once you get into the Old Town, you start drifting away from the beach-touristy scene and are suddenly in a very quaint, historical city. Where you'll be wandering through tiny alleys and corridors, and I can guarantee you will come across some fantastic local restaurants. Be aware though, that there are of course several 'tourist' restaurants that lure you in with a low price "deal" (be cautious of menu's labelled "Tourist Menu"). In my experience, these restaurants don't serve true authentic, local cuisine and honestly the food quality and taste is usually disappointing. It's usually simplistic and flavourless. 

If you have time, I recommend stopping in Monaco to have a peak at the Grand Casino... which can only be done from the outside as you have to pay an entrance fee to go in. Also if it is feasible, go up to Prince Albert’s (the prince of Monaco) castle where you can get a great view that over looks all of the city.

Au revoir! ... xx

Hola Barcelona!

I am now in Barcelona!

This morning we went first to the '92 Summer Olympic's Stadium, then to Gaudi's 'very unfinished' (that's an understatement) masterpiece - La Sagrada Familia. However, even only half finished, the cathedral is absolutely stunning! It's evident looking at the structure that Gaudi was a genius and crazy at the same time. Whether you like art or not, this is a definite must see for anyone in Barcelona - I've never seen anything so intricate and detailed. Even now, their expected completion date is 2027!!

'La Rambla' is a very touristy and central street with tons of entertainment acts, people dressed in outrageous costumes, and tons of portrait artists. If you follow it all the way down you will reach the old port of Barcelona where you'll find the Christopher Columbus monument.

Tonight we head to a Flamenco show in the city ... it should be a good night!

Post soon....

Adios

xx

Beaujolis - Wine Time!

On my 2nd day in Paris I started at the Eiffel Tower and while I was waiting in line there was a couple behind me who's accent sounded very familiar so I asked them where they were from, they said "Canada", they asked me and I said "Canada", I asked where in Canada, and they said " British Columbia" and I said "me too, where" and they said they were from Summerland! How cool that two people from the same region of the world meet half way around the world completely unexpectedly!

After waiting in the line up for quite some time, I walked up to the 2nd level of the Eiffle Tower which was around 600 stairs! Totally worth it though because these were some absolutely amazing views of the city! I didn't bother to go to the very top because the lines were so so long and i've already been to the top before.

After that I walked about 10 min on the other side of the Seine to see Lady Diana's tunnel. The top of the bridge has thousands of postings from people from all over the world. Even until today, there are still people leaving and writing tribute messages to Princess Diana.

On our last night in Paris we went to a cabaret show and enjoyed some Champagne which was pretty fun!

The next morning we left Paris to come to the french wine region of Beaujolis! We stopped briefly in a small town called Fontainbleu. This region of Beaujolis is beaaautiful! Vineyards for miles and miles. It's so serene here and the locals are extremely friendly - everyone says "Bonjour" to you! 

We stayed at a 500 year old chateau in the region which Contiki actually owns. It was like an old castle taken out of a Disney movie or something!

Today we went for an hour hike and had a picnic lunch on top of a hill over-looking the whole region which is covered with vineyards, yet again.. so beautiful!

Tomorrow morning we head to Barcelona and I'm very excited!

Post soon...

Paris!

Bonjour!

Yesterday morning we left London, took the ferry across the English Channel from Dover to a port in France and from there drove to Paris. Along the way, we passed the Canadian National Vimy Ridge Memorial, which is stunningly magnificent not only because of it's size but also because of the solemness I felt just looking at it. 

After arriving in Paris in the afternoon, we toured all the most notable sights by coach. We then stopped at a little french restaurant near the Orsay museum for some escargot, along with champagne and a selection of french cheeses. This was my first time having escargot and I say it tastes kinda like garlic! Even though I love garlic, I don't think I could willingly eat an entire plate of them, knowing that I'm actually eating snails. In this case, it's matter over mind!

This morning the group went to the Palace of Versailles but I didn't have much interest to go there since I've seen the palace's replica in Vienna - Schönnbrunn. Instead I caught a bus into the city and then took the RER train and got off near the Notre Dame cathedral. This is such a beautiful cathedral that I could spend hours starring in front of it just trying to interpret all the illustrations around the doorways and what they might symbolize.

I wandered down from the Cathedral along the Seine river to the Louvre museum. I've been inside the museum before and would've liked to go inside again to see some of the other exhibitions I didn't get to see before, but the line ups were seriously hours-long and I didn't not have a lot of free time in Paris. 

From there though, I walked through the Tuileries, past the Egyptian Concorde, and finally onto the infamous Champs-Elysees taking a ton of pictures along the way! All together, this walk took me about 4 hours, but this was a rather leisurely walk with quite a few stops along the way to take in some of the smaller treasures that Paris and it's people have to offer.

Tomorrow I plan on walking up the Eiffel Tower (approx 600 stairs), which can only be done up to the 2nd level and from there I must take the elevator. Hopefully I'll have some good weather tomorrow like I did today!

Anyways, I'm going to go continue wandering...

Au revoir!

Beware of German Trains (some are not foreigner friendly)

I had to take a train from the Munich train station to Munich's airport. I had gotten on one that claimed to take me to the airport - the S1 train. However it came to my surprise that the train I was on, actually split into 2 parts and each went in separate directions (1 to the airport and 1 to well, basically the middle of nowhere). After wondering where the heck I was and noticing the airport was nowhere in sight, I realized the train had broke up, and I ended up on the wrong half of the train that went elsewhere. I then had to hop on the train going the opposite direction and 20 minutes later I was back at the main Munich train station and went back to the S1 train platform, but this time I sat on the opposite end of the train! I can laugh at it now but it was not so funny then! Especially when you're in a time crunch to make your plane on time! This is what I meant by the title - German Trains are not foreigner friendly - there was no English (or any other languages for that matter) sign or announcement stating only one part of the train actually goes to the airport. Not the most helpful!

I ended up making my flight on time nonetheless, and flew to Heathrow, London, where I  caught the 'tube' for the first time; taking the Picadilly Line to Russell Square where my hotel is, and which is the starting point of my Contiki tour. Our tour leaves here at 6am tomorrow and we head onwards to Dover and then Paris!

I'll post again asap...

Onwards to London

Peter's house - where I have been staying the last few days in Austria is pretty much paradise, seriously, it's absolutely gorgeous. It looks just like a mini Canada! Everything is very green with every shade possible and really lush.

The last 2 days Peter took me on some trails around Styria which were really beautiful! Trails up and around in the mountains, one of which led to a really stunning cascading waterfall called the Riesach Waterfall. I haven't seen any wildlife, just a lot of cows! 

Peters mom made me my first schnitzel, chicken schnitzel topped off with cranberry sauce. This has now got to be one of my most favourite dishes of all time! Danke mom!

I also tried for the first time Pumpkin Oil. Something Peter has been telling me about for a very long time! It has a very strong nutty taste and is a thick dark green consistency. After trying it over some salad and veggies, I love it! Styria, the province where Peter lives, is actually known for it's Pumpkin Oil as it is quite a culinary speciality... even sometimes known as "Green-Gold".

Right now, I am sitting inside Starbucks at the Munich train station, before I take another train to the airport to catch my flight to London to begin my tour with Contiki tomorrow morning!

My stay in Austria was great, but I will be back in September after my tour, for some more schnitzel! 

Time to go grab some lunch before my next train!

Ciao!

I'm Here!

12 hours later and Guten Morgen from Europe! I am definitely feeling the difference of being 9 hours ahead of my usual time, since right now it's 11am here and for back in BC it would be 2am!

I was picked up in Munich by Peter yesterday evening, and from there we drove to Salzburg in Austria. In true Austrian culture we stopped to have a beer in the city centre! We then continued driving to Peters home in Rohrmoos-Schladming (Austria), to find mom had made us a delicious vegetable soup and an apricot pastry dessert, which was a ball of dough baked with an apricot inside, then cut open and drizzled with butter and icing sugar powder! So so good!

Today's my first full day here, and while Peter is at work... I am touring around the city of Salzburg! I've been here once before (4 years ago now) so I remember my way around the city a bit. I am currently on the famous street of Getreidegasse, sitting inside a McDonalds using the free WI-FI.

Well since it's still early I have the whole day now to venture around and find some Salzburg treasures!

Take Care!