Yesterday, our last day in Interlaken, the boys decided to go for a hike up Harder Kulm. The signs recommend that it takes 2 hours and 20 minutes to get to the top, and Rob was determined to beat that time. Mike tagged along and I opted out (not such a fan of running up a hill for 2 hours).
While they were gone, I perused the chocolate shops where I may have made a few purchases ;)... I also read in the park where the paragliders land and made friends with a few Swiss senior citizens, who also enjoyed watching the paragliders faceplant as they landed.
Five hours later, the boys returned from their hike. Turns out they had missed their target point and hiked even higher than they meant to! It turned out well, as they met two nice Americans on the way up, who we later had dinner with.
That night in Interlaken was the Nissan Outdoor Games awards show. Throughout the week, 5 teams of adrenaline junkies had been filming and photographing their teammates doing extreme tricks in paragliding, rock climbing, kayaking, base jumping, and mountain biking. The team leaders then submitted still photos and short films to a jury, which awarded prizes to the best ones. The awards show was just a big street party, which started out with people base jumping from helicopters above the crowd. Then a horrible band played, but we won't focus on that.
The videos and photos were awesome, the highlights being a film of a hang glider swooping down to a lake and dragging his feet through the water before getting some serious air; another highlight was a rock climber using no ropes or bungees and basically hanging upside down.
All in all, it was a great finish to three very relaxing days. Interlaken was awesome, and we all agreed that it would be a great place for another vacation (but only if we all somehow became rich first!)
Today was a day of travel. We woke up early and caught the 2 hour train to Luzern, where, sadly, Rob and I said goodbye to our third stooge. Mike was on his way to Basel, Mulhaus, and then to Paris to spend the night before catching his plane home tomorrow. Rob and I had to take an earlier train to Basel, then Mannheim, then finally Munich - which is where I am writing from.
Plans for the next few days are to do a free tour of the city, then a guided tour of the Dachau concentration camp. On Wednesday, we have booked an overnight train to Berlin, where we will be spending 5 days.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Up the river, without a paddle...
So after a thrilling day of paragliding yesterday, we thought we would keep the adrenaline high going by trying our hands at canyoning. For those unaware, canyoning is basically hiking through and around rapids, stopping occasionally to jump off a waterfall or slide down a water chute. I am sure I don't need to tell you it was quite the thrill! Both of our guides were from New Zealand, where canyoning is also huge, so we knew we were in good hands. However, it was easy to become nervous when told "if you jump too far or too short, you will hit a rock". Nonetheless, we all came out unscathed, save for some future bruises yet to be seen on Mike's shins. Kristen would like me to make a note that she managed to not hurt herself on this excursion (for once).
Other highlights included walking behind (and partially under) a waterfall, as well as sliding about 35 feet down a water chute, in my case ending up upside-down and backwards by the end of it!
Not that it was any less eventful, but we spent the remainder of the day perusing the local shops for Swiss souveniers, which were hard to resist due to their high quality and reasonable prices (Kristen wants me to mention also their chocolate content).
ps since I know you are wondering, we bought the foto packages for both canyoning and paragliding. Let's just say the fotos were candid.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Up, Up, and Away!!
We arrived in Interlaken yesterday to much cooler temperatures (Thank goodness!!) and some awesome scenery.
Balmer's Herberge is where we are staying, and it is one of the coolest places we have stayed so far. There are 3 different buildings with a big sort of "backyard" type area in the centre of them. The hostel's restaurant is a big BBQ area in the "backyard", and it is a great place to hangout. Lots of tables and chairs, and a giant chess board. The restaurant serves awesome food - bye bye pizza and pasta, hello fish n'chips and burgers!) There are a ton of international people here, but it still feels much more like home than any other place we've been.
This morning, we woke up and had a nice breakfast, then booked some adventure activities! We booked hanggliding and canyoning, then went for a hike. We didn't have a ton of time for the hike, some of the trails were closed, and it was super steep, but we managed to make it more than halfway up the mountain before we had to head back down for lunch and our first adventure - hanggliding!! Upon arrival to the adventure booth, we were informed that it wasn't a great day for hanggliding, and were convinced to do paragliding instead. This turned out to be an awesome move!!
They drove us all the way up to the top of one of the mountains and hooked us into harnesses and helmets. We were jumping with one of the paragliding experts, so they latched us to them and to the chutes. We had to take a few steps and run down this hill, and then it was lift off!
The views were amazing, and they let us take our cameras with us, so we have some great photos and Mike took some video. We all also bought the photo packages, so the guys we were gliding with took photos with a camera that was at the end of the long stick. Comical, but cool.
Mike and I had our glider dudes do some tricks while we were on our way down, and no rollercoaster in the world could compare to that!!
The landing was super easy, just a few running steps and that's it. Mike had a minor glitch on his landing and ended up with the parachute landing on top of him and the guy he was gliding with. If you feel like you missed out on such a hilarious moment, don't worry - he caught it all on tape!
We are off to have some more awesome dinner tonight, and tomorrow afternoon is when we go canyoning. I don't think we are allowed to bring our cameras for that (plus they will definitely get wet), but I'm sure we will get the photo package for that as well.
We will post again tomorrow after that adventure!
Balmer's Herberge is where we are staying, and it is one of the coolest places we have stayed so far. There are 3 different buildings with a big sort of "backyard" type area in the centre of them. The hostel's restaurant is a big BBQ area in the "backyard", and it is a great place to hangout. Lots of tables and chairs, and a giant chess board. The restaurant serves awesome food - bye bye pizza and pasta, hello fish n'chips and burgers!) There are a ton of international people here, but it still feels much more like home than any other place we've been.
This morning, we woke up and had a nice breakfast, then booked some adventure activities! We booked hanggliding and canyoning, then went for a hike. We didn't have a ton of time for the hike, some of the trails were closed, and it was super steep, but we managed to make it more than halfway up the mountain before we had to head back down for lunch and our first adventure - hanggliding!! Upon arrival to the adventure booth, we were informed that it wasn't a great day for hanggliding, and were convinced to do paragliding instead. This turned out to be an awesome move!!
They drove us all the way up to the top of one of the mountains and hooked us into harnesses and helmets. We were jumping with one of the paragliding experts, so they latched us to them and to the chutes. We had to take a few steps and run down this hill, and then it was lift off!
The views were amazing, and they let us take our cameras with us, so we have some great photos and Mike took some video. We all also bought the photo packages, so the guys we were gliding with took photos with a camera that was at the end of the long stick. Comical, but cool.
Mike and I had our glider dudes do some tricks while we were on our way down, and no rollercoaster in the world could compare to that!!
The landing was super easy, just a few running steps and that's it. Mike had a minor glitch on his landing and ended up with the parachute landing on top of him and the guy he was gliding with. If you feel like you missed out on such a hilarious moment, don't worry - he caught it all on tape!
We are off to have some more awesome dinner tonight, and tomorrow afternoon is when we go canyoning. I don't think we are allowed to bring our cameras for that (plus they will definitely get wet), but I'm sure we will get the photo package for that as well.
We will post again tomorrow after that adventure!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The mountains can't come soon enough...
I am writing to you from sweat drenched Milan where the heat is starting to get the best of us! 10 days of continuous 30 degree heat with almost 100% sunshine has been both spectacular and draining. We cannot wait to get up in the mountains where even the need for a jacket would be a welcome change.
As for Milan, we feel as though we have flown back home and are walking the streets of Toronto. We had dinner last night at an Italian steakhouse on the main street leading from the train station, a street that if you didn't know any better you would think you were standing on Bay St. The food was some of the best we have had and at a reasonable price. A quiet night followed, including an episode of Italian Wheel of Fortune that is an 'R' rated version of that seen in North America.
Today we set out to see what little we thought there was to do in Milan aside from shopping at trendy stores and watching a soccer game. The morning took us to yet another Duomo, this one with a much more gothic feel that the rest. We were unable to get in as we forgot to check for a dress code and Kristen's shoulders were far to revealing! We were able to walk through the first ever shopping mall as a small consolation.
For lunch we went on a scavenger hunt for 'Big Pizza'. A mythical place that lived up to its name. We all had pizzas that were about 16" across. Rob taking it on step further ordering a pizza that was topped with every none meat ingredient, needless to say he didnt make it through it all. In the end the experience was worth the 30 minutes we spent walking up and down numerous streets trying to find it.
A former fort now acting as the city museum was our next stop. Compared to the other museums we have visited this was a colossal disappointment. A quick walk through led us to a series of old musical instruments, broken chunks of stone from buildings we had never heard of and some paintings that were nice but not on par with those of the last couple weeks. The one bright spot was the unfinished last work of Michaelangelo.
We booted it back to the hotel to get out of the mid-day heat to find that the room we had be switched into with a shower in the middle of it. No bathroom, just a shower and a sink in the middle of the room, although there glass is not completely transparent, its a safe bet the Kristen will be using the shared bathroom down the hall for showers.
We are off for our last night of pasta and on to Switzerland!
As for Milan, we feel as though we have flown back home and are walking the streets of Toronto. We had dinner last night at an Italian steakhouse on the main street leading from the train station, a street that if you didn't know any better you would think you were standing on Bay St. The food was some of the best we have had and at a reasonable price. A quiet night followed, including an episode of Italian Wheel of Fortune that is an 'R' rated version of that seen in North America.
Today we set out to see what little we thought there was to do in Milan aside from shopping at trendy stores and watching a soccer game. The morning took us to yet another Duomo, this one with a much more gothic feel that the rest. We were unable to get in as we forgot to check for a dress code and Kristen's shoulders were far to revealing! We were able to walk through the first ever shopping mall as a small consolation.
For lunch we went on a scavenger hunt for 'Big Pizza'. A mythical place that lived up to its name. We all had pizzas that were about 16" across. Rob taking it on step further ordering a pizza that was topped with every none meat ingredient, needless to say he didnt make it through it all. In the end the experience was worth the 30 minutes we spent walking up and down numerous streets trying to find it.
A former fort now acting as the city museum was our next stop. Compared to the other museums we have visited this was a colossal disappointment. A quick walk through led us to a series of old musical instruments, broken chunks of stone from buildings we had never heard of and some paintings that were nice but not on par with those of the last couple weeks. The one bright spot was the unfinished last work of Michaelangelo.
We booted it back to the hotel to get out of the mid-day heat to find that the room we had be switched into with a shower in the middle of it. No bathroom, just a shower and a sink in the middle of the room, although there glass is not completely transparent, its a safe bet the Kristen will be using the shared bathroom down the hall for showers.
We are off for our last night of pasta and on to Switzerland!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Venice!
So we caught a mid-day train out of Florence (by the way, something we will do more often, it's too hot around 1-2) to Venice. As cool as Venice is, with it's complete lack of cars, and then all the canals, gondeliers, etc, it is really expensive and hard to find your way around. Transit from the train station to the hostel and back was 13 Euros! It was also quite the ordeal finding our way to the hostel, as the reception was at a different hotel. Alas, after much wandering we arrived at San Lio Tourist House, which turned out to be one of the best places we have stayed so far. It was more hotel than hostel, with tv, mini fridge, and full amenities in the washroom. Small luxuries for sure, but great for backbackers!
We spent our day in Venice perusing the markets for trinkets, both for ourselves and to take back to our loved ones at home (you!). We also were able to get a good deal on a gondola ride, as we were the last fare of the day. Instead of the usual 80-100 Euros we were told to expect, it was onl 20 each, so well worth it, and definitely a once in a lifetime experience!
We didn't do too much else afterwards other than searching for somewhere affordable to eat, and then when the thunderstorms rolled in, headed back to the hostel and watched Transporter 2 in Italian. The takeaway? Fight scenes are the same in any language
Milan today and tomorrow, then on to Interlaken!
Ciao!
We spent our day in Venice perusing the markets for trinkets, both for ourselves and to take back to our loved ones at home (you!). We also were able to get a good deal on a gondola ride, as we were the last fare of the day. Instead of the usual 80-100 Euros we were told to expect, it was onl 20 each, so well worth it, and definitely a once in a lifetime experience!
We didn't do too much else afterwards other than searching for somewhere affordable to eat, and then when the thunderstorms rolled in, headed back to the hostel and watched Transporter 2 in Italian. The takeaway? Fight scenes are the same in any language
Milan today and tomorrow, then on to Interlaken!
Ciao!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Last we left off, we had just seen the Colosseo in Roma!
The 21st, we walked and saw the Pantheon, which was huge and impressive! Then we walked to the Piazza Navona, where Mike was approached by an Italian man looking to sell some friendship bracelets... He tied one on Mike's wrist, but Mike refused to pay him (hahahah!), so the guy let him keep the bracelet... although I'm not sure he still wanted Mike as a friend after that. Rob and I bought some artwork from an artist (one among many) who had stands set up in the piazza.
We walked back to the hotel and went back to the same restaurant we had eaten at the night before, then headed back to the Colosseo at night to catch some photos. We ran into some German women who were trying to open their wine with a broken corkscrew. I enjoyed watching Mike and Rob test their strength at this impossible task. Amusing to say the least!!
Then it was back to the hotel and to sleep, as the next morning we woke up early to see the Vatican. When we arrived at 8.15, the line was about 500 people long, but the museum hadn't opened yet. Once the museum opened, the line moved quite quickly and we were off to see the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica. The Sistine Chapel was nice, but not exactly as impressive as it had been described. The Basilica, however, was totally impressive, and an obvious display of the Catholic Church's deep pockets.
Next, we went to the train station to catch our train to Florence. We boarded, and approximately 400 m outside the station in Rome, the train broke. We were stuck on the train with some poorly behaved children for about 2 hours. We finally arrived inFlorence at 6:30, and had a heck of a time finding the bus we were supposed to take. We hopped into a cab and got to our 2 star hotel (no hostels available!). The hotel is clean but nothing fancy... and the shower, sink, biday, and toilet are all in one big stall... so in theory, you could shower, brush your teeth, and use the toilet at the same time. Odd.
We spent the evening roaming around the city, which is by far the prettiest we have seen. It really has a Renaissance feel to it. Rob and I rode the carrousel in a Piazza (Mike was too cool for that!). Then we walked around viewing the crazy expensive shops, and caught an impromptu concert on the Ponte Vecchio.
This morning we climbed the huge tower beside the Duomo (400 and some odd stairs!) and the view was amazing.
We grabbed lunch from the Mercato Centrale, then came to this stupid internet cafe to try and plan the rest of our trip.
Next stops:
Venice
Milan
Interlaken
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Roma.. the beginning
As Rob mentioned yesterday there really was nothing to Pisa other than the Leaning Tower so we were happy to ride the rails for 3 hours and get to one of our most anticipated stops, Roma. When we got off the train we found ourselves in the Termini Station, so large it has its own mall and series of restaurants. The station in itself was more interesting than Pisa. After a 5 minute walk and navigating a sea of pubcrawl fliers, we arrived at The Yellow, our home for the next 3 days. The Yellow gives a feeling of home as the majority of the people staying here are American. After getting our room all set up we decided that we would infact take a pubcrawl.
The crawl we chose included an hour walking tour prior to the festivities. We walked the streets stopping at 3 popular spots, Piazza Bernini, the Spanish Steps and the Fontana di Trevi. Our guide Tad was great even though he was not quite authentic (he was from Idaho). After the educational portion of the evening was up we made our way through 3 local establishments and came to realize how small the world really is as we were "crawling" with 4 guys from North York and 1 from Thornhill. It was a great night all around, lots of singing, "dancing" and new friends.
This morning we slept in a little longer than anticipated (insert "I told you so" here). Once we were all ready to go, we started our Roman conquest at the Colosseo. We joined an english speaking tour which was great as we learned much more than we would have walking the building ourselves. We then moved to the Palatino and Roman Forum, both of which were included in our tour. We were able to stand where the emperors throne was and view the forum were athletic competition took place. An outstanding start, even though it was extremely hot throughout our tour.
Once that was over we hopped back on the metro to Yellow for a break, where I showered and Rob and Kristen slept. Once we had our feet under us again we took to the streets to revisit the sites from last night to see them in day light. The Fontana di Trevi was especially spectacular. Looking through small boutiques took up the next half hour before we enjoyed a true Roman dinner at 9pm. We were beside an old Danish couple who were Very well travelled and wanted to know everything about us and express their views on the world as they knew it. A unique perspective to be sure although very entertaining to hear, even if we only got a sentence or two in every 5 minutes!
Now its time to call it an evening and prepare for a full day of sights and sounds tomorrow. The Pantheon headlines the list we hope to get around to before Friday when we have the Vatican lined up!
Ciao Bella!|
The crawl we chose included an hour walking tour prior to the festivities. We walked the streets stopping at 3 popular spots, Piazza Bernini, the Spanish Steps and the Fontana di Trevi. Our guide Tad was great even though he was not quite authentic (he was from Idaho). After the educational portion of the evening was up we made our way through 3 local establishments and came to realize how small the world really is as we were "crawling" with 4 guys from North York and 1 from Thornhill. It was a great night all around, lots of singing, "dancing" and new friends.
This morning we slept in a little longer than anticipated (insert "I told you so" here). Once we were all ready to go, we started our Roman conquest at the Colosseo. We joined an english speaking tour which was great as we learned much more than we would have walking the building ourselves. We then moved to the Palatino and Roman Forum, both of which were included in our tour. We were able to stand where the emperors throne was and view the forum were athletic competition took place. An outstanding start, even though it was extremely hot throughout our tour.
Once that was over we hopped back on the metro to Yellow for a break, where I showered and Rob and Kristen slept. Once we had our feet under us again we took to the streets to revisit the sites from last night to see them in day light. The Fontana di Trevi was especially spectacular. Looking through small boutiques took up the next half hour before we enjoyed a true Roman dinner at 9pm. We were beside an old Danish couple who were Very well travelled and wanted to know everything about us and express their views on the world as they knew it. A unique perspective to be sure although very entertaining to hear, even if we only got a sentence or two in every 5 minutes!
Now its time to call it an evening and prepare for a full day of sights and sounds tomorrow. The Pantheon headlines the list we hope to get around to before Friday when we have the Vatican lined up!
Ciao Bella!|
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Last Day in Nice and our Excursion to Pisa
Nice
Similar to our last day in Paris, our last day in Nice was all about taking it easy and walking around. I started off the day by going for a run on the boardwalk, which was hot even at 9am, but beautiful. We were planning on hiking up to the park on a hill in the East end, but couldn't find any stores open to get groceries (everything is closed Sundays). After a little bit of wandering, we found ourselves in Old Nice, which as it turns out is quite the hidden gem. From what we could tell, it is where all the locals hang out, and was essentially a network of alleyways laden with hole-in-the-wall cafés just waiting to be discovered. There was also huge farmers' market where we picked up some garlic bread with mushrooms, spiced olives, cherries, and a bottle of wine for our picnic. As a side note, we also sampled by far the best sundried tomatos I have ever had, but at 25 Euros for a small box, that was just not happening.
The ruins hike was a cake walk compared to the Eiffel Tower, but had the added reward of waterfalls and trees on the way up, as well as a beautiful park when we reached the top. We had our picnic overlooking the Medetteranian, and was one of the cheapest and best meals we have had yet. It still feels weird that you are allowed to drink in public here, but is great for events like this.
After our hike, we headed back to the market and picked up a kilogram of cherries and another bottle of wine for later, and I bargained with a street vendor over a wooden statue that I now carry in my backpack. We finally did some laundry, which took forever and I will spare you the details.
We spent the afternoon tanning on the beach and then headed back to La Sasparas for dinner since it was so great the first night. Unfortunately they didn't tell us the kitchen was closed until we had already ordered a few things to start, so we headed out to find food. Since everything was closed, we ended up at Quick, which is basically like McDonalds, and had a similar gross after feeling. We grabbed a quick nap to recuperate, then headed back down to the beach for sunset and another bottle of French red (which incidentally is awesome even at 4 Euros). We toasted the end of our French adventure and looked forward to Italy...
Pisa
We arrived in Pisa after a 5 hour train ride via Genova, and immediately had trouble with our hostel. Apparently this place is just a huge apartment that has been converted to a hostel, and nobody is there to check you in or out. We arrived to find our names written on the wall outside with the instructions "call this number". Finally we got the owner to show up and she let us in. The front hall stunk like sulphur and the elevator was big enough for 2 people and a small dog, but since the room itself was nice, it was just funny. We immediately headed to the Tower to make the climb, which at 15 Euros was the most expensive thing we have done yet. It was a surreal climb, as you couldn't see the lean from the inside, but you could sure feel it. The stairs would all of a sudden seem extremely difficult to climb, and then start leaning, then seem flat again. Kristen did not enjoy the top of the tower at all, as the protective railing only reached about waist height. However, we spent about 10 minutes talking with a great older guy from Australia and his sister. They were on a great world journey in their restored 1944 war vehicle which was supposed to culminate in Normandy on the day of the 65th anniversary. It was fantastic to meet them and get to have a chat, and we wished we could have been there for the celebration (we are back at home/in Germany for the big day). Nonetheless, Kristen and I are going to try and make it there on the way home.
We had dinner at a restaurant right under the tower, and Mike was thrilled to finally have real Italian pizza! I did the same, and Kristen had pesto gnocci. It is a little bit harder to get by here because of the language difference, but we have managed so far. Right now we are just waiting for our train to Rome, as there is nothing to do in Pisa really aside from the tower. Sorry for the long entry, but we owed you a few days! Ciao
Similar to our last day in Paris, our last day in Nice was all about taking it easy and walking around. I started off the day by going for a run on the boardwalk, which was hot even at 9am, but beautiful. We were planning on hiking up to the park on a hill in the East end, but couldn't find any stores open to get groceries (everything is closed Sundays). After a little bit of wandering, we found ourselves in Old Nice, which as it turns out is quite the hidden gem. From what we could tell, it is where all the locals hang out, and was essentially a network of alleyways laden with hole-in-the-wall cafés just waiting to be discovered. There was also huge farmers' market where we picked up some garlic bread with mushrooms, spiced olives, cherries, and a bottle of wine for our picnic. As a side note, we also sampled by far the best sundried tomatos I have ever had, but at 25 Euros for a small box, that was just not happening.
The ruins hike was a cake walk compared to the Eiffel Tower, but had the added reward of waterfalls and trees on the way up, as well as a beautiful park when we reached the top. We had our picnic overlooking the Medetteranian, and was one of the cheapest and best meals we have had yet. It still feels weird that you are allowed to drink in public here, but is great for events like this.
After our hike, we headed back to the market and picked up a kilogram of cherries and another bottle of wine for later, and I bargained with a street vendor over a wooden statue that I now carry in my backpack. We finally did some laundry, which took forever and I will spare you the details.
We spent the afternoon tanning on the beach and then headed back to La Sasparas for dinner since it was so great the first night. Unfortunately they didn't tell us the kitchen was closed until we had already ordered a few things to start, so we headed out to find food. Since everything was closed, we ended up at Quick, which is basically like McDonalds, and had a similar gross after feeling. We grabbed a quick nap to recuperate, then headed back down to the beach for sunset and another bottle of French red (which incidentally is awesome even at 4 Euros). We toasted the end of our French adventure and looked forward to Italy...
Pisa
We arrived in Pisa after a 5 hour train ride via Genova, and immediately had trouble with our hostel. Apparently this place is just a huge apartment that has been converted to a hostel, and nobody is there to check you in or out. We arrived to find our names written on the wall outside with the instructions "call this number". Finally we got the owner to show up and she let us in. The front hall stunk like sulphur and the elevator was big enough for 2 people and a small dog, but since the room itself was nice, it was just funny. We immediately headed to the Tower to make the climb, which at 15 Euros was the most expensive thing we have done yet. It was a surreal climb, as you couldn't see the lean from the inside, but you could sure feel it. The stairs would all of a sudden seem extremely difficult to climb, and then start leaning, then seem flat again. Kristen did not enjoy the top of the tower at all, as the protective railing only reached about waist height. However, we spent about 10 minutes talking with a great older guy from Australia and his sister. They were on a great world journey in their restored 1944 war vehicle which was supposed to culminate in Normandy on the day of the 65th anniversary. It was fantastic to meet them and get to have a chat, and we wished we could have been there for the celebration (we are back at home/in Germany for the big day). Nonetheless, Kristen and I are going to try and make it there on the way home.
We had dinner at a restaurant right under the tower, and Mike was thrilled to finally have real Italian pizza! I did the same, and Kristen had pesto gnocci. It is a little bit harder to get by here because of the language difference, but we have managed so far. Right now we are just waiting for our train to Rome, as there is nothing to do in Pisa really aside from the tower. Sorry for the long entry, but we owed you a few days! Ciao
Saturday, May 16, 2009
From the big city to a little bed
It's finally my turn to give this blogging a try so bare with me if its not the greatest you have ever read.
We wrapped up our tour of Paris on a rather dull note. It poured rain most of the morning however we decided to go out and check out one more site, the cemetery of Pere Lachaise. Wow! Not the cemetery we were expecting at all, massive head plates and family tombs lined the seemingly endless rows and streets used the navigate the huge lot. We found the graves of both Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison which was the goal of the outing. With a few hours left until we boarded our train to Nice, we relaxed and rested our feet after 2 and a half days of furious walking.
The overnight train to Nice was an exciting thought for all of us as we had never taken a couchette car overnight before. Our excitement quickly faded once we saw we would be spending 10 hours in a "room" about 6'x6' and about 10 feet high with three other people. It really was a move from the big city to a little room especially for me who managed to be booked into the top bunk about 2 feet from the ceiling! This wouldn't have been so bad if my legs were fully extended. Rob also had it bad being on the middle bunk and having no place for his bag he too enjoyed the fetal position. The sleep however was very relaxing, and getting to Nice was a great relief.
We however did not outrun the rain as it was still coming down quite hard when we arrived. We found our new hostel, Chez Patrick, on a small side street and having B&B feel rather than the dorm we had left in Paris.
The next 6 hours were spent walking the winding streets of Nice trying to take in the beauty. The main strip (leading to the beach) lined with boutiques reminded me how much fun having a job prior to this trip would have been. At the bottom of the street a larger square takes you on the beach. The Stone beach itself was great to walk on and allowed Rob and Kristen to collect enough beached glass to make Ikea jealous. Dinner by the beach capped off our first day in Nice.
We woke at about 4am to our roommate (roughly45 yrs. old) snoring so loud our bunks were shaking. Finally that stopped and we were able to catch a couple more hours before heading off to Monaco for a day trip. We grabbed a train which took about 25 min to get there. Again, a gorgeous place. The Casino was the highlight as it looked like we were back in the Louvre with the interior decore, bronze statues and ceiling murals it put what we knew to be casinos to shame. Adding to the beauty was the 37 euros I won on the slots. In addition to the Casino we had lunch at a cafe by the marina, and walked the city including parts of the grand prix track. All this walking was in an effort to find the beach which we did 20 min before out train back, soo much for that! Our consolation was the car gazing we were able to do as we walked the streets, Ferraris, Bentleys, Rolls with a sprinkling of Lambos was quite the cite. You know you have it made with your city's taxi of choice is a C class Benz.
Well that about wraps of the last 2 and a half days. A big dinner awaits at Buffalo Grill, really French I know but after 6 days of baguettes, bring on the steak!
We wrapped up our tour of Paris on a rather dull note. It poured rain most of the morning however we decided to go out and check out one more site, the cemetery of Pere Lachaise. Wow! Not the cemetery we were expecting at all, massive head plates and family tombs lined the seemingly endless rows and streets used the navigate the huge lot. We found the graves of both Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison which was the goal of the outing. With a few hours left until we boarded our train to Nice, we relaxed and rested our feet after 2 and a half days of furious walking.
The overnight train to Nice was an exciting thought for all of us as we had never taken a couchette car overnight before. Our excitement quickly faded once we saw we would be spending 10 hours in a "room" about 6'x6' and about 10 feet high with three other people. It really was a move from the big city to a little room especially for me who managed to be booked into the top bunk about 2 feet from the ceiling! This wouldn't have been so bad if my legs were fully extended. Rob also had it bad being on the middle bunk and having no place for his bag he too enjoyed the fetal position. The sleep however was very relaxing, and getting to Nice was a great relief.
We however did not outrun the rain as it was still coming down quite hard when we arrived. We found our new hostel, Chez Patrick, on a small side street and having B&B feel rather than the dorm we had left in Paris.
The next 6 hours were spent walking the winding streets of Nice trying to take in the beauty. The main strip (leading to the beach) lined with boutiques reminded me how much fun having a job prior to this trip would have been. At the bottom of the street a larger square takes you on the beach. The Stone beach itself was great to walk on and allowed Rob and Kristen to collect enough beached glass to make Ikea jealous. Dinner by the beach capped off our first day in Nice.
We woke at about 4am to our roommate (roughly45 yrs. old) snoring so loud our bunks were shaking. Finally that stopped and we were able to catch a couple more hours before heading off to Monaco for a day trip. We grabbed a train which took about 25 min to get there. Again, a gorgeous place. The Casino was the highlight as it looked like we were back in the Louvre with the interior decore, bronze statues and ceiling murals it put what we knew to be casinos to shame. Adding to the beauty was the 37 euros I won on the slots. In addition to the Casino we had lunch at a cafe by the marina, and walked the city including parts of the grand prix track. All this walking was in an effort to find the beach which we did 20 min before out train back, soo much for that! Our consolation was the car gazing we were able to do as we walked the streets, Ferraris, Bentleys, Rolls with a sprinkling of Lambos was quite the cite. You know you have it made with your city's taxi of choice is a C class Benz.
Well that about wraps of the last 2 and a half days. A big dinner awaits at Buffalo Grill, really French I know but after 6 days of baguettes, bring on the steak!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, The Arc de Triomphe, and the Moulin Rouge
On Tuesday night, we went to the Eiffel Tower at sunset and took the stairs allllll the way up (Well, not all the way. But almost!). The view was beautiful, and Rob was freaking out from the height, but once he got used to it, he was fine. We spent some money in the gift shop and then went back down to street level and ate crepes while watching the light show at 11pm, which was pretty but could also induce a seizure!! The tower is way bigger than I thought it would be, and was definitely way more impressive than I could've ever imagined.
Yesterday morning, we woke up early and headed straight to the Louvre... that place is GINORMOUS! We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and Hammurabi's Code, among other things. We didn't get to see it all, as that would take way more than a day - and our legs were still tired from climbing nearly 700 stairs to the top of the Eiffel Tower!
After the Louvre, we stopped at a little boulangerie for lunch, grabbed some ice cream, and went fora walk through the Jardin de Touillerie, down the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. We stopped at a public toilet in the Jardin de Touillerie, which was surprisingly clean. And the boys had to walk through turnstiles to get to the urinals (very odd!). Among other strange things we saw on our walk was a small child, laying on the gravel drinking from a puddle... while her parents looked on. Hilarious, but so strange as well!!
The Arc de Triomphe was huge! We didn't climb to the top (we'd had enough the day before at the Eiffel Tower!), but we got some great photos from ground level.
We then headed over to the Moulin Rouge, which pretty much looked exactly how I expected it to look. We had first considered going there at night, but decided against it, which turned out to be a wise decision. It's slightly seedy during the day, so I can only imagine what it's like at night.
We spent the rest of the evening in and around the hostel, relaxing and planning the next leg of our trip. We decided to scrap a day in Florence, and instead use that day to stop in Pisa and see the Leaning Tower and the Duomo. It looks fantastic, and we've found a great little hostel/bed and breakfast place that we're thinking of staying at!
We spent the evening singing karaoke with Klare (our Aussie roommate) and a tour group that was staying at the hostel.
This morning we checked out of Saint Christopher's Inn, and we're planning to relax all day in Paris before catching the night train to Nice. We've booked couchettes (sleeper cars), which I'm pretty excited about. I think it will be a cool experience.
Nice will be a relaxing break after running around Paris for 3 days!!
I hope everything is well at home!!
PS: A shout-out to Jim, who has commented on our blog every day!! Awesome :)
Yesterday morning, we woke up early and headed straight to the Louvre... that place is GINORMOUS! We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and Hammurabi's Code, among other things. We didn't get to see it all, as that would take way more than a day - and our legs were still tired from climbing nearly 700 stairs to the top of the Eiffel Tower!
After the Louvre, we stopped at a little boulangerie for lunch, grabbed some ice cream, and went fora walk through the Jardin de Touillerie, down the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. We stopped at a public toilet in the Jardin de Touillerie, which was surprisingly clean. And the boys had to walk through turnstiles to get to the urinals (very odd!). Among other strange things we saw on our walk was a small child, laying on the gravel drinking from a puddle... while her parents looked on. Hilarious, but so strange as well!!
The Arc de Triomphe was huge! We didn't climb to the top (we'd had enough the day before at the Eiffel Tower!), but we got some great photos from ground level.
We then headed over to the Moulin Rouge, which pretty much looked exactly how I expected it to look. We had first considered going there at night, but decided against it, which turned out to be a wise decision. It's slightly seedy during the day, so I can only imagine what it's like at night.
We spent the rest of the evening in and around the hostel, relaxing and planning the next leg of our trip. We decided to scrap a day in Florence, and instead use that day to stop in Pisa and see the Leaning Tower and the Duomo. It looks fantastic, and we've found a great little hostel/bed and breakfast place that we're thinking of staying at!
We spent the evening singing karaoke with Klare (our Aussie roommate) and a tour group that was staying at the hostel.
This morning we checked out of Saint Christopher's Inn, and we're planning to relax all day in Paris before catching the night train to Nice. We've booked couchettes (sleeper cars), which I'm pretty excited about. I think it will be a cool experience.
Nice will be a relaxing break after running around Paris for 3 days!!
I hope everything is well at home!!
PS: A shout-out to Jim, who has commented on our blog every day!! Awesome :)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Paris Day 2- Catacombes, Notre Dame, etc
So I'm sure Kristen accidentally neglected to mention this, but little did we know until last night that we were travelling with a beer amateur (amateur de biere). Kristen had ordered a bottle of Kronenburg beer (because it was the cheapest on the menu at €3), and ended up with a 1% alcohol content. The back of the label explicityly said "pour le plaisir des amateurs de biere" which I am sure you can translate. Needless to say, she has earned the nickname BA for the rest of the trip.
Today, we had a number of highlight stops, most notably the catacombes and Notre Dame cathedral. The catacombes are underground tunnels where victims of the plague were buried about 230 years ago, and are lined with bones and skulls. It was rather morbid with the constant reminder of death, but also impressive, as there was a great amount of detail in the arrangement of bones and even some replica cities carved into the rock.
Notre Dame was, to be honest, more impressive from the outside than within. The inside was really similar to the cathedral we visited in Edinburgh, with vaulted celings, etc. We had the option of walking up the towers, but the line was just way too long.
Mike and I were both thrilled to finally find a site used in the film Eurotrip when we visited Gare duNord. For those who have seen the film, it is the scene where Michelle Trachtenburg meets the French guy who turns out to be a loser. We searched and searched but could not find the coke machine. C'est dommage.
Also visited Latin Quarter and Luxembourg park, which were great. Eiffel tower tonight for the light show, can't wait!
Today, we had a number of highlight stops, most notably the catacombes and Notre Dame cathedral. The catacombes are underground tunnels where victims of the plague were buried about 230 years ago, and are lined with bones and skulls. It was rather morbid with the constant reminder of death, but also impressive, as there was a great amount of detail in the arrangement of bones and even some replica cities carved into the rock.
Notre Dame was, to be honest, more impressive from the outside than within. The inside was really similar to the cathedral we visited in Edinburgh, with vaulted celings, etc. We had the option of walking up the towers, but the line was just way too long.
Mike and I were both thrilled to finally find a site used in the film Eurotrip when we visited Gare duNord. For those who have seen the film, it is the scene where Michelle Trachtenburg meets the French guy who turns out to be a loser. We searched and searched but could not find the coke machine. C'est dommage.
Also visited Latin Quarter and Luxembourg park, which were great. Eiffel tower tonight for the light show, can't wait!
Monday, May 11, 2009
We're here!
We made it! Even after I was the subject of an extensive search at Pearson's security, which involved a solid pat-down and the lady completely unpacking my meticulously packed carry-on bag! I guess that's what I get for appearing so suspicious.... ;)
The flight was alright - Air Canada had tons of great movies, and we all managed to get a couple hours of sleep in. Our plane landed at about 10.10am, and then we got our bags and headed towards the train. Of course, we managed to buy a whole booklet of the WRONG metro tickets the first go-round, but not to worry, as we can use them in the city as we tour around!
We checked into our hostel at about 2:00pm. We're sharing a room with an Aussie girl, a guy from Calgary, and some other dude who didn't introduce himself. The rooms are clean, and the showers are clean. Our hostel is in the 19ieme district, which is the northwest portion of the city. So, we're not really central and haven't had a chance to really see Paris...yet! That will come tomorrow! We spent the day having a 2-hour nap (well-needed, trust me!) and wandering around the area of our hostel. We found a nice little deli/bakery, where we got foot-long baguette sandwiches, a drink, and a pastry for only 5 Euros. We ate them in a little park near the canal, where Rob decided to feed a little bird... who then summoned his 80 little bird friends to come harass us while we ate.
The plan for the next few days is...
The Louvre
Champs-Elysees
Eiffel Tower
Catacombs
Latin Quarter
Normandy
And a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember right now! On Friday night, we'll be taking the overnight train to Nice, where we plan to relax and enjoy the coast for a few days!
More to come later, after we actually get a chance to see more of Paris!!
The flight was alright - Air Canada had tons of great movies, and we all managed to get a couple hours of sleep in. Our plane landed at about 10.10am, and then we got our bags and headed towards the train. Of course, we managed to buy a whole booklet of the WRONG metro tickets the first go-round, but not to worry, as we can use them in the city as we tour around!
We checked into our hostel at about 2:00pm. We're sharing a room with an Aussie girl, a guy from Calgary, and some other dude who didn't introduce himself. The rooms are clean, and the showers are clean. Our hostel is in the 19ieme district, which is the northwest portion of the city. So, we're not really central and haven't had a chance to really see Paris...yet! That will come tomorrow! We spent the day having a 2-hour nap (well-needed, trust me!) and wandering around the area of our hostel. We found a nice little deli/bakery, where we got foot-long baguette sandwiches, a drink, and a pastry for only 5 Euros. We ate them in a little park near the canal, where Rob decided to feed a little bird... who then summoned his 80 little bird friends to come harass us while we ate.
The plan for the next few days is...
The Louvre
Champs-Elysees
Eiffel Tower
Catacombs
Latin Quarter
Normandy
And a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember right now! On Friday night, we'll be taking the overnight train to Nice, where we plan to relax and enjoy the coast for a few days!
More to come later, after we actually get a chance to see more of Paris!!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Welcome to our blog!
So this is the blog that Mike, Kristen, and I will be posting on to keep people updated on our excursions and activities abroad. We are leaving on Sunday, and although I can't speak for the other two, it hasn't quite sunk in yet. Rest assured, however, that Sunday morning we will be giddy with excitement!
We have booked our hostel for Paris, and will be staying at St Christopher's in the NE part of the downtown region. It doesn't look like it will be too hard to get around with metro stations everywhere, and the hostel itself looks AMAZING. It is brand new and frankly cheaper than many of the other places in Paris, so it should be great. Among the benefits, we get a free breakfast everyday, and they offer a cheap dinner option at 7pm at the hostel, so we should be able to save a couple of Euros that way. However, the only rooms they had open for four days were 6 bed dorm style rooms, so it could be interesting, but I'm sure it will be ok as long as we are together!
Here are some pictures of the hostel from their website...
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