Day 25 : Paris

Ah! Paris! J'adore! It's true. I really do love Paris. I thought it would be more snooty and uppity than it really is. The people are friendly and really appreciate that I am able to speak French. Even if it is Canadian French. Sometimes they laugh because we both have to speak a little slower and more clearly, but overall they commend the effort.

So our hostel really isn't in a bad place at all, in fact, there is a very famous building just seconds down the road from us! The Moulin Rouge!

It was raining today so I needed to run to the store and purchase an umbrella, as my poncho just wasn't cutting it. Rain in Paris… seems fitting. However on our way to the store (and realizing that we were definitely in Paris' Red Light District) we saw a store on fire. It was a horrible smell and once we got closer we knew why… I didn't feel it proper to take a photo of a building on fire so I'll just tell you. It was a sex shop. No wonder it smelled so bad. All that plastic and rubber really goes up fast!

Today we went out in search of what every lady in Paris shops for. Lingerie! We stopped into Galerie La Fayette (So many True Blood jokes were swimming in my head) and some purchases were made. Not least of all, these delightful treats:

I chose to get 4 flavours: Chocolate, Mogador (passion fruit), Caramel and Citron.

After scarfing those down much too quickly I sadly decided it was not a wise choice to head back to Pierre Herme or I would quickly find myself the proud owner of at least 20 more lbs. So I opted to leave the shopping centre and head to somewhere without mounds of these confectionary creations The answer:

Notre Dame!

Inside is just beautiful. I can't get over the architecture all over Europe. We've got nothing like this at home. vaulted ceilings and such intricate stain glass windows. I just love all these old churches. However, I didn't see Quazi. I think he was on vacation or something. What's a hunchback to do in the summer months! You can't expect him to stay up in that hot tower all day. Everyone needs a break now and then.

It was cold and raining and we'd all about had our fill of Parisian culture for the day so we stopped at a local food store and picked up some pasta, sauce, couscous salad and some interesting shredded vinegar carrots. Oh, and a nice big bottle of wine. It might not sound like it at the moment, but trust me. It was a splendid little feast.

After dinner we just hung out a bit in the common room and met a nice guy from Australia, Braden. I'm noticing that I've met a lot of Australians on this trip. They are everywhere!

Day 24 : Je suis prêt to go to Paris!

Packed up and hopped the train to Paris this morning. I'm sitting on the train now, looking out the window at the scenery whizzing past and I can't help but feel that this trip is flying by just as fast. I can't believe it's already been over 3 weeks. It feels like just yesterday I was packing up to board the plane to Frankfurt. Oh well, better enjoy the time I have left!

Wow! Definitely got off on the wrong stop on the subway. We went at least 2 stops too far (or not far enough depending on perspective) and ended up almost running down the street due to the stares and calls we were getting from people. However, if I want a cheap pair of shoes or a handbag I know where to go! Always look on the upside!

Another upside is our hostel. It's no where near that end of town and very safe and secure. Christie and I left Becca at the hostel for some R&R after our little miscalculation.

Since it was already pretty late we decided to have dinner close to the hostel in Montmartre and ended up at a great indian place. It came close to Taj Mahal. The sauce was more flavourful but the meat wasn't quite up to par. So close Paris… you almost won the battle. Isn't that always the case…

Back at the hostel to plan our attack on the city tomorrow!!

Day 23 : Barcelona

This morning was filled with a delicious breakfast and a little bit of shopping. We decided on a restaurant close to the centre of La Ramblas, which probably means we paid too much, but boy was my orange juice delicious. It tasted like I was drinking an orange. I know that's a weird thing to say as orange juice is oranges. But this tasted like eating an orange section. But in drink form! So refreshing and welcomed. I'm definitely not getting my required 5 fruits a day on this trip.

After breakfast Christie and Becca headed on a walking tour, while I stayed behind to finish up my exam for school. I would have loved to go, but every once in awhile I realize that I am still in school and do actually have work that needs to get done. So that was my afternoon. Hopefully it was worth it when the marks come back!

My travelling companions returned to me and apparently their tour included scaling a mountain. Good job guys! What a hike!! Conquered Mount Taber!

We all went out again for some wandering and shopping. It sounds like I'm doing a lot of shopping on this trip, but really it's more wandering in and out of multiple stores, finding nothing and continuing on. While at the same time exploring the streets and watching the locals and their way of life. In my travels I stumbled across a pottery store with handmade pieces from all over Spain. Naturally as I'm travelling it would not be practical to purchase anything… we'll see how well that works out for me.

For dinner we headed to a Tapas bar where I had a pasta and tuna salad, chicken teriyaki and a mini tenderloin. All delectable. All bite sized. All very much upsetting my tummy. If you don't learn anything else from me, learn this. Don't mix your meats! Either that, or don't eat meat from a place where the host thinks Vegetarianism is a disease.

Becca headed back to the hostel as she was not feeling very well and left Christie and I to wander the local market that popped up on the main street. On our way home we were in the middle of a conversation about how Barcelona didn't seem that bad and that we thought people were exaggerating. It was at this juncture that 4 men ran past us with large bags over their backs, followed closely by the police. Guess people weren't exaggerating.

It was at this point that we decided it was best to head home for the night. We stopped at a little ice cream bar close to our hostel and picked up an evening treat. I had Belgian Chocolate and Speculous. DELISH! However, I would like to note that I tried Curry ice cream. It's pretty incredible. Spicy and creamy with a little zing at the end. Not sure why it works.. but it does.

Long ride to Paris tomorrow. It's nice to have had this mini vacation within our mad schedule of events.

Day 22 : Barcelona

Today we all decided to take it easy. Rome took a lot out of all of us and while I hate to admit it, I'm getting REALLY exhausted. It's nice to have a day off where there isn't a jam packed schedule to follow. So today. We went to the beach. I apologize in advance for the lack of photos from Barcelona. It's a pretty sketchy place in terms of pick pockets. While all of us were lucky not to fall victim I didn't think it wise to provoke an attack by bringing my nice camera around with me. Also, it doesn't really fit in my new purse… and lets be honest, that's really all the reason I need.

After spending the entire day at the beach we headed back to get ready for the main events of the evening! Flamenco dancing and Tapas! The night was a huge success and that flamenco dancer was AMAZING. So graceful and insanely coordinated. I'm not sure how she does it, let alone how the entire band follows her every movement.

However… the day was not without casualties. While Becca and I have been blessed with skin that loves the sun, there is one in our group who does not have that luxury. Yeah, that's right. The one with ice blue eyes and naturally blonde hair. Go figure eh? Maybe sunscreen would have been a good idea Christie…

She survived and really didn't complain near as much as I would have. What a trooper. I'm enjoying this vacation part of my trip.

Day 21 : Hola Barcelona

This morning we have to catch our flight to Barcelona. Christie and I got up extra early as we needed to mail our the postcards that we always seem to leave to the last minute to send. When we got back to the hostel the car was waiting to drive us to the airport. So nice to have a car come and get us instead of having to use various forms of transportation in order to get to where we need to go. Such luxury. but split 3 ways, it wasn't too bad!

The hostel in Barcelona was quite easy to find and rather nice, albeit rather small. They saw we are moving to a larger room tomorrow, as this one was originally only for 2 people. I tried as hard as I could to actually take a picture of the room from any angle… but it wasn't big enough to actually get a shot of the room. Sad, I know.

After we'd settled into the hostel it was almost dinner time so off we went in search of dinner. We ended up at a small pub right off the water (oh yeah, our hostel is in La Ramblas right on the sea). It was called Traveller's Pub and we enjoyed some traditional Spanish food, paella, lamb steak and a whiskey dessert with ice cream!

Since we were so close to the water we decided to head to the Barcelona Aquarium and take a look at some locals.

A Moray Eel

White Shark

Octopus

And a family of Penguins.

However, I must say that the best discovery of the trip to the Aquarium was definitely Sir Chomps. He's a dignified soul with 2 brothers, one named Judd and the other remains unnamed. A very helpful fellow, always willing to lend a hand.. or well, a CHOMP!

The night ended with a bottle of wine, a couple shark attack battles in our room and a lot of laughter.

Day 20 : Pisa/Florence

For our last full day staying in Rome we decided to take a day trip to Pisa and Florence. In a effort to get everything in on the one day Christie and I had to get up at 4:30 in the morning, leaving Becca in the room to continue sleeping until a more normal hour, as she was going to join us later in Florence.

After getting dropped off by the train at a completely deserted train station we eventually figured out what direction to walk in. You'd think it would be easy, but you cant actually see the tower from the train station, which is what we'd been hoping for.

It's really something else to see. Silly architects building things on unstable ground. Thank goodness that the government intervened and engineered something to keep it from sinking further.

Since we were at Pisa we did the only logical thing that one can do.

We decided not to go up inside of the tower, as we needed to get back and catch our train to Florence. However there were many many photos taken of the tower from all different angles, and at some you don't realize that it is even tilted! Very strange.

Getting back to the train station was probably harder than getting to the tower. While that seems a bit odd, we were stuck on the wrong side of the train tracks and since there are signs EVERYWHERE telling you not to run across the tracks we weren't sure exactly what to do.

Turns out we should have stayed where we were, as we ended up going to platform 2, and our train left from platform 2L (which you can't actually see from the main platform). Oh well! We made it to Florence and found Becca. We were just about 15 minutes late.

I'm sure everyone knows why we all decided to head to Florence. No, not for the shopping (although we definitely did some shopping). For this spectacular man.

Once again, yes, you're not supposed to take pictures… but then I wouldn't have any dramatic effect! All that build up would be for naught. Can't have that now can I? Really, I do this all for you. So appreciate it! And don't tell me I'm a bad kid for breaking the rules (Although this time it was Becca that broke the rules). :P

Our train wasn't until later so we opted to have a quick bite in Florence before heading home. Originally we were going to have a big meal, but since we'd all been out in the sun for the past couple of days and we were ever so tired from shopping we just picked something up quickly.

After getting food we were all rejuvenated and ready to continue our travels. Our next stop? Shoes! While I don't have a picture of it for evidence, we all bought dark brown leather sandals from the same store. We're just cute like that.

Exhausted and laden with bags we boarded the train back to Rome. Before settling in for the 4 hour train ride home we looked out the window and saw this amazing Tuscan Sunset.

Goodbye Florence, I'll be back someday.

Day 19 : Rome

For the last full day in Rome we decided to do our own little walking tour. After packing up some extremely delicious (please note the sarcasm) nutoka (yes… an offbrand of nutella) and peanut butter sandwiches on toast bread stolen from our hostel, we ventured back into the scorching heat. Luckily today we decided that it was best to visit structures that we could go inside. VERY good idea as it was apparently up to 39 today, not quite as bad as yesterday's 43, but still probably a good idea to stay inside.

Thanks to a group of Tour Bikers for blocking off the street thereby helping me get this great picture.

The day started by heading to Castle St. Angelo. For those of you that have read the books or seen the movies, it's one of the places where Angels and Demons was filmed. Aside from it's Hollywood recognition, it was also the place that the Pope could run to when there was some sort of threat to the Vatican. There's a passageway that runs all the way from St. Peters Basilica to the Castle. Pretty fancy stuff!

Continuing on our walking tour we crossed the city and made it to the Pantheon. I know I say this all the time, but it's quite incredible. I find myself just starting at things in awe of their hugeness.

Like this fountain across from the Pantheon. It's really something else. I had to use the photo with the woman in it to give a big of scale to the photo. It has to be at least 20 - 30 feet tall. Okay, back to the Pantheon.

I'm sure you all know that the amazing thing about the Pantheon is that using our materials today it could not be built the way it is. There is a giant hole at the very centre of the ceiling so that the weather inside is the same as outside. When it rains there are 22 small holes on the floor for the purpose of draining the water off the floor, similarly, when it is sunny out the sun streams through the opening. Also housed within the Pantheon is the great artist Raphael. So we stopped by his crypt to say a little hello before continuing our journey.

Now I know you've been waiting for this ever since you saw I was in Rome. Are you ready? I'm not sure you are… I definitely wasn't. I wasn't expecting what I saw at all. I knew it was grand and beautiful, but I hadn't adequately prepared myself for what I was about to see. So once again, I was taken aback. It's so intricately designed and there are probably more details than I could ever see after 5 years of staring, but nonetheless, I will hope that this one picture gives you the feeling that I had at first seeing it.

I present to you, the Trevi Fountain.

See you again someday Rome!!!

Quite the action packed day for us. It was time to cool off with the best Gelato in all of Italy. I'm not just saying this because I was delusional from heat exhaustion. They have actually won tons and tons of awards. San Crispino Gelato. Banana and Stracciatella.

Since we'd already had dessert we wandered home and picked up various pieces to form our dinner. Some amazing focaccia bread, a barley salad, a caprese salad and a small cup of red wine. The perfect end to our day I would say.

Day 18 : Rome

On our second day in Rome we decided to head for some of the most famous sites. Seeing as it had been about 42 yesterday we were hoping that today's cool 41 would feel a lot better. We decided to get an early start to things in an attempt to beat the heat and hopefully not drop dead from exhaustion.

The first stop of the day? Well, the Colosseum of course! It's quite spectacular inside. They have reconstructed part of the floor to illustrate what it would have looked like back in the day. As you can see underneath the floor there were hallways and rooms, these were to house the animals that the Gladiators would/could fight. Something that I learned was that they had a whole elevator/pulley system of getting the animals from underneath the Colosseum floor to the battle grounds. It was pretty impressive looking even thought it is now quite dilapidated.

It was at this point that we realized our idea to beat the heat was not a wise one and wasn't working overly well. We decided to apply copious amounts of sunscreen and hide in the shade where ever we could.

Very close to the Colosseum are some pretty interesting ruins. Within these ruins are the final resting place of Cesare, the house Augustus lived in and the temple of Nero.

In our travels around we noticeed a giant slab of marble…what better to do in the scorching heat of the day amongst some famous ruins than some yoga!

After downing 3L of water each, dumping about 1L on our heads, losing Becca and then finding her again (she wasn't very happy about us having lost her)

We decided it was time to head home, but on the way out we stumbled across something that reminded me of a movie from my childhood. I'm not sure if I'm the only one, but this looks just like the training ground that Hercules trained on. Any with me on this one? Come on! All you need is a half-man half-goat and it's basically straight out of the movie.

For dinner we headed to another little restaurant in Trastevere and I had a pizza with olives, pancheta and artichoke hearts on it! So good! Seriously. Very good combo, a little salty, but mixed with the Mozzarella cheese and the tomato sauce it's a perfect combo.

So hot. So tired. Please be cooler tomorrow Rome. Thanks!

Day 17 : Home? NOPE! Rome!

This morning we were all very glad that our hostel was so close to the train station. In typical fashion, we were running slightly behind schedule. Only slightly, it's not like we missed our train or anything… we made it just in time. The train from Venice to Rome was only about 4 hours and lucky for me it had outlets! Those of you that know me, know that I have quite a lot of trouble with motion sickness, so far on this trip I've been lucky and not had any issues with typing or reading on trains. Apparently doing schoolwork is another story.

While I really am trying to use these train rides to get caught up on school work or blogging/photo editing I find staring at a screen working on tiny details REALLY gets to me. Can someone write me a school excuse for motion sickness? Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Sincerely, Tiff's stomach.

Once we arrived in Rome we decided that the directions to our hostel were extremely confusing, so we just took a cab. I'm confident we could have figured it out on our own, but it was about 42 degrees out and none of us were in the mood to wonder around the city trying to find out hostel. We stayed in a great hostel that was for women only. It was nice and clean and, being Canadians, we took to leaving our computers laying around while we were in the hostel. A great place to stay and I recommend it to anyone traveling to Rome. It's in Trastevere, which is a perfect location for those who want to walk to most of the main attractions.

After getting settled in our hostel we headed out at a brisk pace to get to the Vatican. Our first stop was the Vatican Museum to see… what else?

The Sistine Chapel! There were some amazing sculptures and really interesting things housed there, but we were really mostly there just to get to the chapel. In the process of getting through this day, I may have tripped an old lady, gotten yelled at for taking the above picture and made LOTS of Pope jokes. I'm glad I'm not a Catholic or else my fate would be sealed. Unfortunately I didn't see Tom Hanks running around anywhere looking for secrets. Nor did I see Edward or Bella. I did see :

some cool Roman sculptures,

amazing architecture,

a real mummy,

a friendly puppy

and a ceiling full of paintings.

So I guess it evens out.

Since we didn't have any celeb sightings we decided the next best thing would be to hang out at St. Peter's Basilica before it closed. Knowing the dress code (this time) we all got in without any trouble. To say it is amazing inside is an understatement. It's so ornately designed without being gaudy (however it is really God-y! HA! get it?! Yes my jokes are lame). We wandered around inside for a little bit, but then decided that we wanted to climb to the top of the Basilica. So up we went!

On the way up, we got a closer look at some of "paintings" that I'd seen at the top of the dome on the way in. Turns out, they aren't paintings at all. They are all tiny mosaic tiles. Impressive.

Photo credit to Christie, who climbed up on a tiny sort of 1/2 seat thing at the very top of the Basilica to get this shot. As you can see, it's around 6:15/6:20 according to the giant sun dial type fountain in the centre of the square. Just a warning for those of you that are claustrophobic, or get dizzy easily. Tiny stairs, in a tight, straight upwards spiral are what await you on this climb to the top. At least they give you a rope to hold onto when you're climbing up. Yikes!

Such a long day! We decided to eat close to the hostel in Trastevere and found a great spot. Since I'm in Italy I figured why not have a Caprese salad. So that's just what I did. Delicious! That's the end of my day.

Day 16 : Did someone say Venice?

So we finally made it to Venice. Our overnight train was… well…. it was something. We were in a 6 person compartment and there were only 5 of us most of the time, but the 3 New Zealand boys we were sharing the compartment with were not very short boys. Therefore, being the generous Canadian girls that we are, we had to let them have the extra room. To say the least, I got a bunch off school work done, simply because I was unable to sleep and I don't think an overnight train without booking a bed is something I ever need to relive. However the 3 boys were very nice people and I'm glad to have met them. Once again, as per the norm, I can only remember two of the 3 names, Tim (who looked like Joel) and Gollum. Pretty sure you all know why that's one that stuck.

We made it to the hostel very easily. It was just over a giant bridge right outside of the main train station and then down a tiny little road. Perfect location, about a 30 second walk from the Grand Canal. Once we had both showered we went back to the bridge to meet our other friend Becca who was to be joining us for part of the trip. In true Canadian style we brought out our giant Canada flag and waived it around at every passing water taxi, alas, we could not find Becca. Come to find out there is more than one bridge in Venice, go figure.

We did eventually find her, or rather, she found us and we headed back to the hostel to plan our attack on the city.

We decided on the classic, walk around the city for a bit and try and find some cool sites. Well we wandered for a bit and then found Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute. A beautiful building/church where Becca and Chirstie were eventually kicked out for not having covered their shoulders. After being kicked out of church we decided to try something a little less intense and headed for the other side of the canal where we saw a bunch of gondolas gathering.

Our walk there was absolutely beautiful. Venice is a wonderful city. I know everyone has said how dirty it is, and if I feel in the canal I would most definitely go straight to a doctor, but it's absolutely beautiful. A sinking city build on water, could there be anything more poetic? I'm sure there could, but it was pretty nonetheless.

Since we were in Venice there was only one main thing we all wanted to do. Take a gondola ride. It was quite an amazing thing. The gondoliers actually have to go to school for two years to learn how to pilot a gondola. We also learned that every house has 2 doors, a door that goes to the street and one that leads to the waterway. This also means that most people don't live on the first floor of their house, as it is more like a basement and typically houses their boat. Pretty interesting stuff. We also learned that Venice is no longer sinking. The government has put a system in place that has effectively stopped the city from sinking. Not sure how, but I'm pretty glad that Venice will be around for a few more years.

We finished off the night with great pizza, pasta and salad at at little place on the corner of the main street running along the Grand Canal. Pretty sure the waiter thought we were insane as we inhaled all the food within 15 minutes of it being brought to us. That's what too many days of walking around from 8 until 8 will do to you. Also, backpacking really makes you feel like it is a horrible thing to waste food. Even if we're both so full we will try and cram as much breads into our bodies as we possibly can. I'm pretty sure it is the only thing keeping us running at this point.

Great first day with Becca! She's keeping up to us pretty well, especially because we've had about 2 weeks to adjust to this new travelling lifestyle.