Tapas and Sangria

Valencia.

Always an adventure. Forget all these fancy quotes we've been picking up along the way, I'm pretty sure you could sum up our trip with those three words. Valencia began with us missing the train by 6 minutes. 6 whole minutes. Eventually we found another train from a different train station, but its not easy when you don't speak the language. Adventure No. 2 of Valencia is really just our awe of our ability to carry these massive backpacks for more than 2 feet at a time. Sometimes our hostels are a good 15-20 minutes walk away, and we lug those things the whole way. Go us.

Some cities consist alot of sightseeing and big fancy monument type adventures, but it is nice to find a place that gives you (and your feet) a chance to chill out and relax. Instead of trying to see as much as we could on the first night, we chose to wander the city and get into as many shinanigans as possible. Although since it was a Sunday night, that was really all we could do anyways. Everything is closed on Sundays, including grocery stores and corner stores. So we wandered and found a park with a playground and orange trees. Unfortunately these oranges are not sweet enough to be eaten, they are just ornamental, but we felt the need to pick and steal one anyways. This would have been a whole lot easier if we had been even an inch taller. Rebellious idea No. 1 having been thwarted, we found a playground with seesaws instead. Ahh seesaws, for about 10 minutes we were 6 years old again.

All that hard work left us hungry for ice cream, but as I mentioned, everything is closed on Sunday nights. But you'd think we could find an ice cream store somewhere. Eventually we found a grocery store of some sort, and purchased a fabulous tub of Kit Kat ice cream. And proceeded to eat it all before we made it back to the hostel. We finished off the night with an informative 'game' of trivia pursuit and an episode of House.

We've discovered that we actually enjoy learning. I know, try and tell that to a high school student and they will look at you like you have 4 eyes, but honestly history is cool when you are right there in the thick of it. We went on a walking tour of Valencia and saw the cathedral where the Holy Grail is kept, a Roman bathhouse (kept under a pane of glass below ground for asthetic effect), the skinniest house ever built, and some other remains of ancient Valencia. An interesting fact about Europe in general, but particularly Spain, is the lack of distinguishment between sidewalks and streets. The general rule of thumb is: if a car fits there, a car WILL drive there. Watch out!

One thing that we really, really, really wanted to do when we came to Valencia, was find a waterfall pool and swim in it. We found one, but it was an hour and a half's drive away. Now since we really, really, really wanted to go swim in it we figured we'd rent a car. Sooner or later the whole point of this day trip was to rent a car and try our hand at driving and navigating around the Spanish coast. This adventure was stopped in its tracks when we realized that you had to be 21 AND possess a license to rent a car. See I have my license along, but I'm only 19. And Colette is 21 but doesn't have her license along. So we hung our heads in shame and nursed our wounds on the beach instead.

Valencia used to have a river flowing right through the middle of it, until they got sick of flood damage every spring. The solution to this problem was to simply block off the river and redirect it around the outside of the city. Left in its place was an abandoned riverbed that has now become a park. You can walk from one end of the city and end up at the Arts and Sciences building. This was a much better plan that the governments idea of making it into a freeway. To finish off our last night in Valencia we walked through this park with another girl that we met from our hostel and took a taxi home from the arts and sciences building.

Madrid.

As I mentioned previously, our backpacks have become VERY heavy along the way, so when we have terrible directions to our hostel they get even worse, and we get cranky. (and hot and sweaty, but we'll not mention that). When we finally found our hostel we met this awesome guy - Pablo. He actually works for the hostel and was simply the one to inform us of the good stuff to do in Madrid. We take for granted how useful maps and ideas really are. So we wandered and found the heart of Madrid which contains the most important symbol of the city - a tree with a bear. Honestly, we don't know why it is so important, but we saw it. We also saw the Fuente de la Cibeles and the Plaza de la Independencia. We found another big beautiful park (with another fabulous playground), and the Monumento a Alfonso XII that was inside it. This monument has a large pond inside, with some crazy chip eating goldfish inside. Wouldn't want to swim in there, the goldfish would eat you. (Not kidding.) This park also contained a gorgeous crystal palace, and the only statue of Lucifer in all of Spain. We finished off the night with a yummy tapas tour (and more Sangria).

In our second day we saw the oldest temple in Madrid, which is actually an egyptian temple - a gift to the King of Spain. Nearby we found the parliament buildings/Palace, and we happened upon the Spanish version of changing of the guard. A little piddly after the London one, but the musicians had flutes. Oh wait, that isn't helping their case... Colette attempted to take a picture of one of the guards hats - cuz they looked like they were made of plastic, and they were square. But the guard saw and didn't like that so much, he made her delete it. Haha.

Since the train ride to Paris would be 14 hours long, we chose to book an overnight train leaving at 7pm. This means one less night in Madrid, but still the whole day. Now who would have thought to check the train ticket to see that the train might leave from a different station than the one we arrived at. Not us apparently. Half an hour before our train was scheduled to leave, and they leave on the minute, we discovered the station we were supposed to be at was actually on the other side of the city. Luckily we didn't miss this one by 6 minutes (only by 3 minutes). Just kidding. Our fabulous taxi driver got us there with 3 minutes to spare. Phew. Occasionally we have adventures we don't really want to have.

Now we are in Paris, and I head for home tomorrow. I think I could travel for forever, but I am excited to see my family again. (Awe...) I'll add pictures and post on Paris once I'm home safe and sound. Until next time...

Barcelona

Well here we are, in our LAST country. Technically we're headed back into France when we hit up Paris, but its not a new country. The train ride to Barcelona was expected (rightfully) to be exceptionally long, so we split it up with a stop in Avignon. What a cool little city! Avignon is home to the largest Gothic Palace in the world - Palais de Papas. We also munched on some delicious crepes, and fooled around with a carousel.

When we finally made it to Barcelona, we discovered our intense gratefulness for our experiences in London. We would never have figured out the Barcelona underground without learning the London one first. Thank you London!! Since we arrived in the evening, we chose to eat and chill out instead of wandering an unfamiliar city in the dark. (See Mom, we're being safe!)

The next morning we embarked on a walking tour of the gothic quarter of Barcelona, saw the ancient Roman walls, and learned quite a bit about Barcelona's history. For example, Spanish is actually not the primary language of Barcelona. It is actually Catalyan - although it is very similar to Spanish. Another interesting fact, is Plazza Reial. This plazza was put in place by the government in an effort to appease the people. Barcelona had previously been a very dark and crowded city, and this opened the area up to the community. The space had been the location of a monastery, until a riot burned it down. The plazza later became a location of prostitution and drug rings, and the government chose to contain it in the plazza instead of chasing it out into unknown quarters of the city. This all changed when the Olympics came to Barcelona. At this point the city had a total makeover. The druggies were chased out of Plazza Reial (and ended up in what is now known as Plazza Trippy). Also, palm trees were imported into the city from Hawaii on a 12 year contract. Technically Barcelona does not even own its own palm trees! Sand was also imported from Egypt to cover the beaches.

After the walking tour (hosted by a fabulous Aussie named Max), we signed up for some fun activities for the next two nights. That night we attended a Spanish cooking class, hoping to learn some traditional dishes and meet some people. However, it turned out that we were the only two that signed up, and we didn't actually do any of the cooking ourselves. Even still, the food was fabulous, and we enjoyed ourselves. We learned how to make Tapas, which is basically an appetizer or a small portion of a meal; Sangria, which is a drink made of fruit, wine, and brandy (quite tasty actually); and Paella, which is a traditional rice and seafood dish - so good! Another interesting fact about Barcelona is the acceptance of nudity. You are totally free to walk around in your birthday suit (as long as you wear shoes), and there are some that take advantage of this. (Oh my innocent eyes...) One of these people is known as Elephant Man. I'll let you fill in the details yourself.

The next day we had planned to spend on the beach again. Unfortunately it was windy and overcast, and we ended up coming back to the hostel to freshen up and head out on the town instead. During this time, we saw alot of festivities along the street. This included traditional dances (in the form of a parade) and a group of men firing guns (more like mini cannons) into the air as they walked down the street. They were so loud you could feel the reverberations in your chest if you got too close. A few times we were even lucky enough to witness a group of guys performing Capoeira on the streets. Capoeira is a traditional dance that formed when fighting was banned in the ancient tribes. So the men got sneaky and hid their fighting in dance. These are physically demanding choreographed routines. If you've seen So You Think You Can Dance, I think they showed it on there once.

Later on we headed out to a Tapas and Flamenco night. We chowed down on some more tapas and sangria, met some people (it wasn't just us this time), and watched a flamenco show. We had expected a show with girls in big poofy dresses, and sometimes that is the case, but this time it was a small band (singers and a guitarist) and a male tap dancer (flamenco I guess). He was very talented and we enjoyed the show all the same.

Street Musicians

So there are street musicians everywhere. I suppose you expected this, but its always cool to see, especially when its something different. Well what's normal I suppose? We've seen hobos with their garbage can drums, instruments we don't have a name for, clarinets, traditional African music, guitars, accordians, a piano (see video) and even a saxophone player. So cool! I'm putting this video up, because when we saw him on the street - in Nice actually - I immediately thought of you Mom.

French Riviera

This one was a very long train ride... I don't know how Colette does it, maybe she is narcoleptic, but she falls asleep within the first 20 minutes of any ride on any moving vehicle! Me, not so much. I doze, but it is never a good sleep. Grrr. When we finally made it to Nice, our first reaction was our misery in the absence of Italian gelato. There are ice cream shops, but we won't eat it. Oh how I miss thee gelato.

So we wandered, found the beach. It was 4 in the afternoon, so we decided to wait until the next day for that. Instead, we found the ancient city, and a park including waterfalls. I love waterfalls, they're just fascinating. This one even included a fun path that led behind, looks like it used to lead to a secret tunnel, but it is blocked off now. Later we met some girls in our hostel that are also from Edmonton, and they took us dancing to a little place called Waynes. Live music and dancing on tables - alright!

The second day started with our immense excitement for the beach, but we had to stop at the reception on our way out. Here's the fabulous thing about France - Colette speaks the language!!! I'm still lost and look like a fool, but at least somebody understands. So little miss bilingual starts chatting it up with the receptionist (male - you flirt) and BAM we have a free room upgrade to a private 2 bed ensuite. SWEET!!!

So eventually we made it down to the beach, and you'd think it would be after noon by now, but apparently our bodies have semi adjusted, because we are up by 9 am most mornings without an alarm. (That's 1am at home - oh jet lag I do not look forward to you) We spend the day lying in the sun, and swimming in the Mediterranean. It was cold and salty, but once you got in there and kept your mouth shut, it was fabulous. Now we figured we were smart and put sunscreen on several times throughout the day. However, apparently we suck at putting it on evenly and thoroughly. Yes ladies and gentlemen, we got burnt - bad. Perhaps the surprising part is how much worse Colette is burnt compared to me. So the last few days after the fact have been a little slow as we despise putting on clothes, and waddle down the street.

Later that evening, while we were cooking ourselves up some grub, we met... drumroll please... our swedish boy!!! His name is Dan and he was very funny. We also met a couple aussies, and a young lady from England/South Africa. So we partied the night away with them, and even ate a whole apple pie (only shared a little :p)

(In the picture, Dan is in the yellow, the one in white is Ben, one of the two aussies we met)

Now we're in Marseille, and honestly wishing we were back in Nice, and hurting a little, but still having a good time. We do alot of wandering, eating, and more wandering. We eventually found a map and some aloe lotion for our burns, so the evening improved. We spent alot of time wandering around the Old Port, which is basically the origin of the city, complete with fortresses guarding the entrance. Marseille is the second biggest city in France, second only to Paris, with alot less to see - unless you are still in the mood for endless museums and cathedrals. In France we discovered an appreciation for bakeries and pastry shops - this afternoon we ate an entire strawberry tart to ourselves. But keep in mind that this tart was likely intended for 6+ people. Later we plan to eat (we're gonna get fat) crepes, and have seafood & crème brulée for supper. We justify the large quantities of food by the large quantities of walking (or waddling) we do each day.

Venice

This city fascinates us. Where we are staying, there are no vehicles besides boats. But how could there be? Too many bridges connecting everything! We were insistent on learning how the city was built, and how it could survive, so we irritated a few street vendors until we found what we were looking for. Venice is actually built over a bunch of islands, 120 to be exact. And to connect all the life within, there are over 400 bridges! Unfortunately, Venice is sinking. Someday everyone will move to the mainland, life will fall beneath the water, and it will be no more. As peaceful as it is, without the noise of vehicles and sirens, don't put your feet in the water - there is an open sewer system. Yuck.

While in Venice, we noticed a large amount of glass stores, and mask stores. Venice is known for it's Murano glass - and its gorgeous. Too bad it would break in the backpack... The masks are for an annual festival held in Venice. Other fun things we did: ride the water bus around Venice, saw Piazza San Marco, and rode the water bus to the small islands of Murano and Burano. Murano is where the glass comes from, Burano is fun because all the houses are different colors!

Lemon Trees (Florence)

This city seems more relaxed than Rome was. Probably because we didn't know as much history about the landmarks here as we did in Rome. When we figured out the train system, and found our way to our hostel, we discovered the most wonderful place to rest our head. Especially in comparison to the last place we stayed, this hostel seems more like a hotel (except for its extrodinarily low price) and I know that I'm clean after showering. There is even a pool and sauna!! I noticed on facebook that many Devonians are still complaining about the weather...with mornings at -5, and the possibility of snow. I just figured I should let you know that the temperature here is about 26 degrees...and that isn't nearly as hot as it could be. We still see people in sweaters and pants!

So most days we've simply wandered around, found what we found, saw what we saw. The highlight of this city? Gelato. Tons and tons of gelato. There are NO WORDS to describe my intense love for gelato. I don't know if I will ever be able to eat ice cream again! Winning combinations include hazelnut & strawberry, and pineapple & coconut (pina colada!)

Our second day started off with an all you can eat buffet for breakfast - a huge step up from the croissant and juice we received at the last hostel. Then we met in the common room for a Open Market Tour. This tour included a wine & cheese tasting portion - the part that caught our eyes. I feel so cultured!!! I would love to find a wine that I actually enjoy - that way I could order a glass of wine with dinner instead of the oh-so-boring Coca-Cola. Yes, Coca-Cola in Europe. We also see McDonalds everywhere - but thats a different story. And it would be so cool to be able to bring home an Italian bottle of wine - or maybe one from France.

Still working on finding a pair of Italian shoes. So far, everytime I find a pair I fall in love with, they don't have my size. I've noticed that even in Canada. I am the smallest size that an adult shoe store will carry... and sometimes they don't even carry my size! Not everyone is 5'6" so would they PLEASE make more shoes in my size?

Later we went to the Accademia Gallery and saw the original David by Michaelangelo. We were blown away by the detailing! His hands and feet looked real, with knuckles and toenails! Also, his arm was flexed and you could see the veins! Incredible! He was also very naked...but we won't go there. :) Later we walked up the other side of the river to Michaelangelo's Piazza, where we got a panoramic view of Florence. Breathtaking! This city is so beautiful! It is situated in a valley, so it is competely surrounded by the greenest trees and bushes I have ever seen. On the way back down we found a quaint little rose garden. We found our artsy side and took some pretty flower pictures. Also in this rose garden, were lemon trees. I didn't know what lemon trees looked like - but now I do - and they are cool! I wish they had been ripe so that I could pick one off its branches. We wandered our way back to the train station where we boarded a bus for a nearby hillside town for supper. Another gorgeous view, and some fabulous pasta.

We finished each day off with a swim in the very cold pool -we're estimating about 25 degrees - and a warm up in the sauna. (So the pool felt good after sweating bullets in the sauna!)

Niki is my hero at the moment, as she managed to fix the comments feed on my blog. So feel free to comment on anything and everything...even the posts from way back! I'm going to try and post a bunch of pics from each city on facebook in the next few days, so check that out as well!

Roma Italia

I fell in love. Sorry Mom, I'm not coming home...I'm just going to live here. Okay?

Now there are pictures! Enjoy. I'll highlight what we've done and seen in the past few days anyways, along with a few Did You Knows?





We saw the Colosseum - wow - it is absolutely fabulous, hard to believe that it is right in front of you when you are there. We took a guided tour, and wandered around with our jaws on the floor. This was the ultimate hotspot of ancient Rome - the site of the gladiator games. Did you know that the Romans invented cement? Following this discovery they began to build domes and curved walls. We also saw the Palatino & Roman Forum - another guided tour. This is where 2 million people lived in ancient Rome, and also where Julius Cesear walked the streets and was stabbed 60 times. Also where Augustus ruled after proving his worth as a brilliant military general. Did you know that the water system they built and used is the same one used today to feed all the water fountains around Rome? This has saved us at least 20 euros on water so far. The fountains are all around Rome, and you just fill up your water bottle whenever you find one. They were unmatchable in their engineering, we are unable to recreate a Roman Bathhouse - even when we use the same materials and/or highly educated engineers of our time. We also saw the Vatican City - it is its own country with its own military, stamps and currency. We weren't originally planning on going there, but we are glad that we did. We saw Michaelangelo's ceiling in the Sistene Chapel, as well as his Last Judgement painting. Michaelangelo was into painting (and sculpting) nude people, but that was frowned upon by the pope. His Last Judgement painting has coverings painted over all the male body parts. We saw the Trevi Fountain - threw a coin and made a wish - and the Spanish Steps. So cool! Not the same in pictures, but still gorgeous.

Shopping, way too easy to spend money here. Big purchase of the day? An Italian Leather Jacket. Wow!!!

Our Hostel here was not as good as we hoped - a little dirty and broken, but for only two days we just made do. Other adventures in this fabulous city included messed up reservations and seeing a man attempt to jump off the monumento a vittorio emanuele - also known as the wedding cake building.

Happy Mother's Day!

Its Mother's Day, and I'm thinking of you Mom! Okay here's the update. Yesterday we were able to see the changing of the guard, which is pretty much a colorful, musical ceremony just before noon in front of the Buckingham Palace. Lots of uniformed guards with fluffy hats. Hehe. Later we went and saw the British Museum - I feel so cultured now. Inside were remains of the Pantheon, as well as some other ancient Greek artifacts. The list of what is inside goes on and on, so look it up if you're curious. We were most amused by the mummies. Later that evening we went out to a club called the Red Soho, and enjoyed some music. Very cute bartender!!

This morning we went to St. Pauls Cathedral for church. We weren't able to wander around inside, but our jaws were on the floor the whole service simply because we were surrounded by incredible architecture and art. Wow. We also found the original Shakespeare's Globe, but weren't able to go inside due to the preparation for a performance of Romeo and Juliet. Cool! Along the way we found a street performer with the most fascinating instrument I've ever seen. Still don't know what it is called...maybe you can tell me?

Shakespeare's Globe

What is it? Sounds beautiful, looks cool...

This is our last day in London. Tomorrow morning we hop on a flight to Rome, and we confess that we're worried about our ability to navigate a new city. We fared well in London, but we had a week to figure it out - and the underground took us everywhere. In Rome, we have been informed, it is easier to take the buses. Bus schedules/maps are a little more difficult. Later today we're hoping to find some shopping in Kings Cross, and then go out for supper and sample some traditional British cuisine. What exactly is traditional British cuisine you ask? We have no idea.

Cinnamon Latte's and Machiatto's

So I've discovered that the comments feed is not working, and I don't have the time to find a new template that will let you post comments - so just head on over to facebook and leave me messages anytime - I'm checking there regularly as well.

Yesterday we went to see Kensington Palace - and saw where Queen Victoria grew up before she moved to Buckingham Palace upon ascending to the throne at 18. The architecture and paintings were breathtaking. There is another word I find myself using to describe almost everything I see around here. Everything really is just breathtaking. We then wandered the streets and found a little cafe called Apostrophe and sat down with a Cinnamon Latte, Fruit tart, Machiatto and Triple Chocolate Muffin. Yes folks, we were wired about 30 seconds in. So Yummy!!

Madame Tussauds is a wax museum with lifelike wax figures of many famous stars, and some movie characters as well. Here's our encounter with the Stars:

I'm crossing my fingers that this will get a rise out of my Mother... She has tickets to go see the Lion King with my Dad later this year. But Colette and I scored last minute tickets to see the Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre where it has been playing for 10 years. It was an incredible show, and now I desperately want to go see more theatre performances. However, looking at my wallet, I think one will have to suffice this trip.

Today we went to Buckingham Palace to watch changing of the guards - which got rained out - maybe tomorrow. But on the way we stopped at St. James Palace. This was the official sovereign residence in the 1600's until Queen Victoria ascended to the throne and moved to Buckingham. Don't get confused; Victoria lived in Kensington before becoming Queen - not St. James. There are probably half a dozen palaces in London. Anyways, at St. James Palace, we got the chance to test out the theory that you cannot make the Palace Guards smile. I think he thought we were cute - or weird - because he definitely smiled, giggled, and made faces at us, as well as followed us with his eyes the whole time we were there. Success! We made the Palace Guard crack!!

London. Day 2

Okay, now that we've found an internet cafe with USB ports, I can do pictures! After breakfast, we headed to the grocery store to pick up some goods to make a picnic lunch. Ham and cheese croissants. mmm. Our plan for today included the London Tower Bridge, and finding an internet cafe (success!) We packed our lunch and boarded the London Underground. We're getting pretty good at navigating and travelling using this fascinating system. There are multiple train lines covering almost all of London. So easy! Makes the Edmonton LRT or the Calgary C-train look pretty sad. We walked across the London Tower Bridge, and found ourselves (accidently) at the London Tower. This seems to be how we find our way around most of the time. We just wander, and somehow find places that we'd wanted to see anyways. We bought passes and got a guided tour around the Tower of London. While there, we saw the Crown Jewels, and the Bell Tower where many prisoners were kept before they were beheaded. On our way back to the Underground Station, we stopped at the London Dungeons, which is sort of a guided tour/performance through some of London's more gruesome history - this included Jack the Ripper and Sweeny Todd. At the end there was a small freefall ride - not expected! You should have seen our faces... We giggled like mad for a solid 30 minutes, and boarded the Underground for Westminster Abbey. This time we were able to go inside - no cameras allowed though. WOW. It was so gorgeous, and we got to see the tombs of Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Mary of Scots, and a few others. Nearing starvation we headed back to the hostel to prepare a fabulous supper of bacon and eggs. I'm running low on internet time, so I think I'll add a few pictures and sign out until next time.

Left: London Tower Bridge, Right: London Tower (Its a castle - for those of you confused)