Missed a few posts, sorry about that. After Lagos we were attempting to make our way to Morocco, so we figured we would bus to Sevilla, bus to Algeciras, and then leave on a ferry from there. Problem was getting to Sevilla was so not happening. We tried to leave on a Sunday and every bus was booked. All the trains made us backtrack about 18 hours, so that wasn't a option. What now? Hitchhike of course!
We parked ourselves in front of a gas station and had a few close calls but no dice. Apparently hitchhiking isn't so easy in Portugal. We got screwed over by too few seats various times, and then once by a large tent that took up the backseat. That was the closest call, and it was at the end of the day too so it was pretty crushing.
We decided to give up and just sit at a cafe until we were tired, then sleep in the bus station until our bus left at 5:30am the next morning. Actually a pretty cool move on our part. The cafe we were at was actually hosting some dance party so all of these old, Portuguese locals came out for some traditional dancing. I got picked up by an old Portuguese man (jealous?) and we had a lot of fun until he tried to serenade me in French. Sal enjoyed that one. All in all, a good time.
Our sleep in the station was eventful. A bus was leaving at around 1am, and when the security guard woke us up, thinking we were on that bus, he told us to get a hotel room! If it wasn't at 1am, it would have been a lot funnier. Anyways, it was all well and good, we just slept and got on our bus.
Made our way to Algeciras, and decided to get on a 6pm ferry. Turns out we picked the shitty ferry company that was always delayed, so the port lady was nice enough to tell us to get a refund and catch the 7pm with a reliable company. Best call ever. The 6pm ferry wouldn't have left until 8:30pm. We met some crazy American girls along the way who were getting hassled with their reservations, but we all got to Tangier in the end, and then proceeded to get the hell out of there.
Caught a night train to Marrakech, but there was only one couchette left, so we let Bernard have it since he was sick. The other four of us piled into an empty cart and were ready for a nice long sleep. No dice. First stop, a family of four crams into our cart with us! Damn, why did we not pretend to sleep?! It was the most uncomfortable 10 hour train ride ever. It was hot, and it was a Moroccan train. Bad news.
Marrakech however was kind of cool. The air is so dirty there though that it made me sick. We stayed in a great hotel, and really, the only cool things about Marrakech are the souks (marketplace), freshly squeezed orange juice (3 dirham, or about 30 EUR cents, or about 50 CAD cents!), and these great food stands. We made great friends with food stand 25, so if you are ever in the marketplace, eat there! Tariq, Abdul and Mustaffa (Borat) would be happy to serve you. We sat there for hours eating great food and drinking unlimited sweet mint tea, which is amazing!
After Marrakech, we caught a cheap, cheap, CHEAP flight to Madrid, where we parted ways with Sally boy. Beginning of a new era - Bernard and I actually traveling alone. No friends, no family. So stoked.
Madrid was pretty cool, after we found a hostel to stay in. Everything was unusually booked, and later we found out it was because the International Deaf Convention was happening in the city. Great! We conquered the Madrid sights in a day, and found ourselves out a Madrid club into the early morning. I love how Spain parties. It's free entry until 2 or 3am most times, which in Canada is like going to the bar at 9pm. So a normal time to hit the bars is 3 or 4am...LOVE IT!
Then, as you all know, we made our way to Switzerland. Hoping to get to Interlaken to meet Kristina, we tried to book tickets in Madrid. No dice. Madrid doesn't sell international train tickets. What? So messed. So we had to go to Barcelona and hope for tickets.
Poor choice. Not only had we backtracked (something B and I said we'd never do), but we found out the direct train was going to cost 46 EUR, but those seats were taken, so we had to pay 71 EUR for a sleeper. Hell no! We took four separate trains in our stealthy ways, and paid 5 EUR to get to Interlaken. I loves it.
This goes sort of before La Suisse post, so continue on for more Tang stories!
Newest post will be from Prague or Berlin! Later!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Munich = Beer.
Deutsch must also somehow translate into drunk, because that's all we've been here in Munich! We stayed at this hostel called Jaeger's, and it was full of Jaegermeister and cheap beer. Oh dear. We were in a 40 person dorm that was actually way cleaner than some of the other dumps we've stayed in, which was my first indicator that it was going to be a great couple of days here. Our first stop was a brewhouse (brauhaus), one of the best in Munich for food, Weisses Bierhaus. Amazing! We sat down outside and this cool girl asked if she could share our table because it was so busy. We all enjoyed some half-liters of wheat beer (weiss beer) which was so dangerously delicious. If you're ever in Munich, get the Weiss Kristall beer...awesome! Also made our way through the Hofbrauhaus, which was sheer insanity. Liter beers splashing all over, as this traditional German band rips it up. Loves it.
We made friends with these two crazy Norwegians from our dorm room, who had met a bunch of Americans and Swedes on a bike tour, so we all headed out to this wicked place called Kultfabrik. Along the way we somehow picked up this weird Jordanian businessman, but Team Scandinadian (Swedes, Norwegians, Canadians...oh yeah) ditched him on the Americans. Anyways, Kultfabrik is basically Munich's club district, but the best part is that there are 25 clubs/bars/lounges all in one place! Again, something every city should have. It was Granville Street but with way more variety, and no cover at most of the places. A different vibe in every place. We walked out of the clubs and into a cab and the sun was definitely coming up - oh Munich! Had this really intense American girl tell us how the weird Jordanian guy changed her life or something...kind of weird, but we were all ready for bed anyways so we just left.
We had made plans to go see the Neuschwanstein castle at 9am, but would have had to stay up for another day in order to make it back for the free bike tour at 4pm. 0/1 on the Castle (more on that later). The bike tour was absolute craziness! This American/German guy decided to start up this company, where he provides free bike tours of the city, and even gives you the bike. We stopped at all the major landmarks, got some cool history on Hitler and Munich, and got taken to the second largest beer garden in Munich, which seated 9500 people. The Chinese Tower garden (in English Gardens...like a Central Park) was an awesome place, where beer flowed like water. Some chugging contests took place, and Bernard being the awesome drinker he is, demolished everyone and got praised left and right for his insane ability to chug. One of his finer moments which I'm sure you will hear about endlessly (kidding!). We'll hopefully get the video up soon, it was a pretty sick chug. Nisha if you're reading this...I want to see you two go head to head still! Also in the English Gardens is a place called the Nudist Meadows...you can guess what goes down there. Nekked sunbathers everywhere, and apparently there are two regulars they call Tripod and RoboCock. Hilarious stories, probably not meant for everyone's ears, so I'll tell you if you want to hear about it.
We all left the biergarten slightly tipsy, and got told that the German police don't take too kindly to PUI (pedalling under the influence). And it's for real! You can get fined for bicycling drunk. Ash, you'd better watch yourself here! Anyways, our bike tour was crazy packed - we had Canadians (Otown, Tdot, MISSION!), Americans, Aussies. Great fun. Most of us were staying at the same hostel so we all hit a pub crawl afterwards and got freakishly ripped. I don't think anyone made it to the last bar. Great fun with some great kids.
Signing off from Germany for a bit. Off to Prague (Praha) then into Berlin, then eastern europe. So excited!
Lots of love!
We made friends with these two crazy Norwegians from our dorm room, who had met a bunch of Americans and Swedes on a bike tour, so we all headed out to this wicked place called Kultfabrik. Along the way we somehow picked up this weird Jordanian businessman, but Team Scandinadian (Swedes, Norwegians, Canadians...oh yeah) ditched him on the Americans. Anyways, Kultfabrik is basically Munich's club district, but the best part is that there are 25 clubs/bars/lounges all in one place! Again, something every city should have. It was Granville Street but with way more variety, and no cover at most of the places. A different vibe in every place. We walked out of the clubs and into a cab and the sun was definitely coming up - oh Munich! Had this really intense American girl tell us how the weird Jordanian guy changed her life or something...kind of weird, but we were all ready for bed anyways so we just left.
We had made plans to go see the Neuschwanstein castle at 9am, but would have had to stay up for another day in order to make it back for the free bike tour at 4pm. 0/1 on the Castle (more on that later). The bike tour was absolute craziness! This American/German guy decided to start up this company, where he provides free bike tours of the city, and even gives you the bike. We stopped at all the major landmarks, got some cool history on Hitler and Munich, and got taken to the second largest beer garden in Munich, which seated 9500 people. The Chinese Tower garden (in English Gardens...like a Central Park) was an awesome place, where beer flowed like water. Some chugging contests took place, and Bernard being the awesome drinker he is, demolished everyone and got praised left and right for his insane ability to chug. One of his finer moments which I'm sure you will hear about endlessly (kidding!). We'll hopefully get the video up soon, it was a pretty sick chug. Nisha if you're reading this...I want to see you two go head to head still! Also in the English Gardens is a place called the Nudist Meadows...you can guess what goes down there. Nekked sunbathers everywhere, and apparently there are two regulars they call Tripod and RoboCock. Hilarious stories, probably not meant for everyone's ears, so I'll tell you if you want to hear about it.
We all left the biergarten slightly tipsy, and got told that the German police don't take too kindly to PUI (pedalling under the influence). And it's for real! You can get fined for bicycling drunk. Ash, you'd better watch yourself here! Anyways, our bike tour was crazy packed - we had Canadians (Otown, Tdot, MISSION!), Americans, Aussies. Great fun. Most of us were staying at the same hostel so we all hit a pub crawl afterwards and got freakishly ripped. I don't think anyone made it to the last bar. Great fun with some great kids.
Signing off from Germany for a bit. Off to Prague (Praha) then into Berlin, then eastern europe. So excited!
Lots of love!
La Suisse!
We made it out of the Swiss Alps alive. Interlaken was one of the best places I've been to so far - just a small town surrounded by beautiful mountains and cool people. We stayed at this crazy hostel called Balmer's, one of the most famous in the area, and it was awesome.
On the last night we even met up with Kristina, although it took like five tries! Sorry about that Pulkks. But it was so worth it! For you C.D. Howers...we had a little TIWA rendition, that's RIGHT! Look out for those wicked photos.
Bernie and I made our way to Zurich which was also a great place. We had heard some poor reviews on the place, but in the end found more to do than we had time for. When we arrived at our hostel we met this crazy girl named June who had run into some boy drama and was looking to escape it in Switzerland. Hung out with her for the duration of our trip, and tackled Zurich in one huge day. Got some free bikes (best idea ever) and hauled around the city, and biked up to this (very high) lookout point. Finished the day with a lake cruise that was somehow free. I love free days!
Overall Switzerland was a wicked place. Don't know if it was the weather I liked or if it was just because it was different...but it was awesome. Now we're off into Germany. Oh, Deutschland. Beer, pretzels, and wurst is pretty much what I'm expecting.
On the last night we even met up with Kristina, although it took like five tries! Sorry about that Pulkks. But it was so worth it! For you C.D. Howers...we had a little TIWA rendition, that's RIGHT! Look out for those wicked photos.
Bernie and I made our way to Zurich which was also a great place. We had heard some poor reviews on the place, but in the end found more to do than we had time for. When we arrived at our hostel we met this crazy girl named June who had run into some boy drama and was looking to escape it in Switzerland. Hung out with her for the duration of our trip, and tackled Zurich in one huge day. Got some free bikes (best idea ever) and hauled around the city, and biked up to this (very high) lookout point. Finished the day with a lake cruise that was somehow free. I love free days!
Overall Switzerland was a wicked place. Don't know if it was the weather I liked or if it was just because it was different...but it was awesome. Now we're off into Germany. Oh, Deutschland. Beer, pretzels, and wurst is pretty much what I'm expecting.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Team BernieTang-InterKech Post......
Hey from Switzerland! Since the last post, we've been to two continents and five countries! Damn, we get around.
Took a long ass evening train to Barcelona from Pamplona in all of our nasty outfits, and ended up having the best train ride ever. Turns out the bar cart was in the one beside us, and one casual beer amongst two friends turned into several shotgunned beer and shots of vodka, sambuca and whiskey. Oh my! The train ride went by blazingly fast, needless to say. Barcelona was a great time though. About 8 of us crammed into one 4-person apartment so it was nice and cheap. Took in all the sights Barcelona had to offer - Gaudi architecture, beaches, Olympic Village, La Rambla - and also checked out the nightlife. Bernard, Troy and Anthony got attacked by very, very aggressive prostitutes which was entertainment in itself. Dollar beer on the streets, coka and hash, and various other adventures went down. Also had to say goodbye to two very cool people, Anthony and Amber, as they were on their way to Greece then back to Canada. Sal and I also said our goodbye to Troy and Bernard, who are going back to Pamplona for round 2 with the bulls. Kim and Carol were also leaving for Canada, so we were down to just a few of us.
Sal and I took off to Lisboa to check out Portugal, with hopeful plans to meet up with B and T in Lagos, in one piece! Took in the party scene in the Bairro Alto in Lisbon, which was surprisingly fun. Headed down to Lagos which was a total resort town - bars, beaches and Australians. Great time, and we scored a wicked apartment in the center of the city for 15 EUR each. Wouldn't do Lagos again, but it was definitely fun while it lasted. If anyone goes, check out the Shaker Bar on Rua 25 de Abril - best mojitos in town and a happy hour that lasts half the day. Bernie and Troy made it to Lagos, albeit with a nasty flu from dirty Pamplona, so Troy's trip didn't end on the greatest note.
From Portugal it was off to Morocco. Tune in next time, same bat time, same bat channel!
Lots of love from Team BernieTang-InterKech (the explanation for which will have to wait until the next riveting post...)
Took a long ass evening train to Barcelona from Pamplona in all of our nasty outfits, and ended up having the best train ride ever. Turns out the bar cart was in the one beside us, and one casual beer amongst two friends turned into several shotgunned beer and shots of vodka, sambuca and whiskey. Oh my! The train ride went by blazingly fast, needless to say. Barcelona was a great time though. About 8 of us crammed into one 4-person apartment so it was nice and cheap. Took in all the sights Barcelona had to offer - Gaudi architecture, beaches, Olympic Village, La Rambla - and also checked out the nightlife. Bernard, Troy and Anthony got attacked by very, very aggressive prostitutes which was entertainment in itself. Dollar beer on the streets, coka and hash, and various other adventures went down. Also had to say goodbye to two very cool people, Anthony and Amber, as they were on their way to Greece then back to Canada. Sal and I also said our goodbye to Troy and Bernard, who are going back to Pamplona for round 2 with the bulls. Kim and Carol were also leaving for Canada, so we were down to just a few of us.
Sal and I took off to Lisboa to check out Portugal, with hopeful plans to meet up with B and T in Lagos, in one piece! Took in the party scene in the Bairro Alto in Lisbon, which was surprisingly fun. Headed down to Lagos which was a total resort town - bars, beaches and Australians. Great time, and we scored a wicked apartment in the center of the city for 15 EUR each. Wouldn't do Lagos again, but it was definitely fun while it lasted. If anyone goes, check out the Shaker Bar on Rua 25 de Abril - best mojitos in town and a happy hour that lasts half the day. Bernie and Troy made it to Lagos, albeit with a nasty flu from dirty Pamplona, so Troy's trip didn't end on the greatest note.
From Portugal it was off to Morocco. Tune in next time, same bat time, same bat channel!
Lots of love from Team BernieTang-InterKech (the explanation for which will have to wait until the next riveting post...)
Friday, July 20, 2007
July 6th-7th - San Fermin!
Running of the Bulls! We took off early in the morning to make it to Pamplona for the opening festivities on the 6th, and it was an unbelievable time. We met two more Canadians on the train, Jaeson and Coady, who made our Canadian contingent even that much bigger (10 of us all together)! We arrived to a sea of red and white - everyone, and we mean everyone, was in the traditional San Fermin clothing. White pants/tops, red waist sashes, and red scarfs around the wrist or neck. Toddlers, elderly people, drunk young people - the entire town was ready!
The festival opens with the rocket launch, but what we weren't prepared for was the launch of liquor into the air at the strike of 12. Sangria, wine, champagne corks, beer, cocoa powder, ketchup, mustard...clearly our white clothes weren't white for long. Sketchy and I decided to head right into the thick of things while everyone else hung out in the shade on the side...some unbelievable videos when I get time to post them.
We mostly just wandered the city, taking the festival in. There are lots of cool things that happen during San Fermin. Locals run around to the balconies singing a song so that they'll get water poured on them, and usually we tourists get in the crossfire. There's also this ritual called the Fountain Jump, where brave (read: drunk) people climb this fountain, and jump not into the water, but into the arms of their friends, who are hopefully ready to catch them below. It was absolute mayhem. Bottles, food and drinks were being thrown on the people climbing, and we saw one girl go head first, and it's not likely that her friends caught her. Sort of a stupid thing to do, but entertaining nonetheless. We lost Bernard and Troy briefly in the madness (we need to leash them up...) but found them a couple of hours later.
After celebrating for awhile, we decided to try to catch a bullfight, since San Fermin has one on every day of the festival. We arrived at 6:00pm, only to find out it was sold out and it started at 6:30pm. Old Spanish men were trying to scalp tickets for 40, 50 EUR, but we eventually found a guy selling at face value for 10 EUR. Problem was, there was 10 of us, 8 who wanted to see a fight, so we looked for some more. At some point we only had 5 tickets, but the two guys that sold them to us snuck us in because he knew the ticket taker at the door. We were in the Plaza del Toros, now we only had to get into the actual bullfight!
We walked to every admission gate, but each one turned our guys away. Finally, on one of the lowest levels (10 rows from the ring), some guy miraculously lets us in with only 5 tickets, and we have some of the best seats in the house! It was a pretty cool experience. The bullfights themselves are cruel and unnecessary, but the showmanship and the level to which the locals appreciate the fight is what was interesting for me. We learned a lot about the rituals as well from the locals in front of us - they even fed us food and drinks!
The partying lasted well into the night, until we finally tried to lay it down in a park in Pamplona. Was cold, wet and uncomfortable, but a cool experience nonetheless. The boys tried to run at 7am but got caught in a riot and were pushed away from the running line, so it wasn't successful at all. Bernard cut his finger to top it all off, too!
Oh well, onto Barcelona we go!! We've got our Canadian contingent still together, so there will be good times had for sure! We'll be glad to leave this crazy town though, that is for sure!
The festival opens with the rocket launch, but what we weren't prepared for was the launch of liquor into the air at the strike of 12. Sangria, wine, champagne corks, beer, cocoa powder, ketchup, mustard...clearly our white clothes weren't white for long. Sketchy and I decided to head right into the thick of things while everyone else hung out in the shade on the side...some unbelievable videos when I get time to post them.
We mostly just wandered the city, taking the festival in. There are lots of cool things that happen during San Fermin. Locals run around to the balconies singing a song so that they'll get water poured on them, and usually we tourists get in the crossfire. There's also this ritual called the Fountain Jump, where brave (read: drunk) people climb this fountain, and jump not into the water, but into the arms of their friends, who are hopefully ready to catch them below. It was absolute mayhem. Bottles, food and drinks were being thrown on the people climbing, and we saw one girl go head first, and it's not likely that her friends caught her. Sort of a stupid thing to do, but entertaining nonetheless. We lost Bernard and Troy briefly in the madness (we need to leash them up...) but found them a couple of hours later.
After celebrating for awhile, we decided to try to catch a bullfight, since San Fermin has one on every day of the festival. We arrived at 6:00pm, only to find out it was sold out and it started at 6:30pm. Old Spanish men were trying to scalp tickets for 40, 50 EUR, but we eventually found a guy selling at face value for 10 EUR. Problem was, there was 10 of us, 8 who wanted to see a fight, so we looked for some more. At some point we only had 5 tickets, but the two guys that sold them to us snuck us in because he knew the ticket taker at the door. We were in the Plaza del Toros, now we only had to get into the actual bullfight!
We walked to every admission gate, but each one turned our guys away. Finally, on one of the lowest levels (10 rows from the ring), some guy miraculously lets us in with only 5 tickets, and we have some of the best seats in the house! It was a pretty cool experience. The bullfights themselves are cruel and unnecessary, but the showmanship and the level to which the locals appreciate the fight is what was interesting for me. We learned a lot about the rituals as well from the locals in front of us - they even fed us food and drinks!
The partying lasted well into the night, until we finally tried to lay it down in a park in Pamplona. Was cold, wet and uncomfortable, but a cool experience nonetheless. The boys tried to run at 7am but got caught in a riot and were pushed away from the running line, so it wasn't successful at all. Bernard cut his finger to top it all off, too!
Oh well, onto Barcelona we go!! We've got our Canadian contingent still together, so there will be good times had for sure! We'll be glad to leave this crazy town though, that is for sure!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
July - France (Pt. 2), Monaco, Spain (Pt. 1)
Getting further west! From Cinque Terre we hauled ass to Nice, France for a night just to break up the travel. We are gearing up for Festival de San Fermin in Pamplona, aka Running of the Bulls, and making our way West!
Nice was alright, although Bernardus realized he had forgotten his passport folder on the train with all his important documents inside, as well as the photocopies of my credit cards, etc. so we both had some running around to do in order to cancel all the stuff. It sucks, I didn't even lose my shit!
But we still made decent use of the day. Checked out the waterfront and the promenade but saw no one famous. The beach wasn't all that nice, it was actually quite rocky. Decided to hop a train to Monaco and see the rich and famous, but all we got were four-storey yachts, some high end shops, and nice cars. Oh wait, what else is there in Monaco? Monaco was pretty cool though - everyone lives in luxury. We couldn't hold Kim off for much longer, and she got her Gucci watch in Monaco of all places. Balla, shot calla! Had some French Old Country Buffet style food (Flunch) before catching our obnoxiously long night train from Nice to San Sebastian, Spain.
On the train the Canadians dominated! We had one girl from Vancouver, and two guys (Zeev and Jesse) from Vancouver/Manitoba to spend the trip with, so it was pretty fun. We slept most of the way, and when we woke up, we had traveled across France and halfway across Spain...I love what happens when we travel by night!
As we get into the San Seb station, we see Anthony and Amber, who got there the night before. They decided to follow our whole route all the way to Barcelona, so we had two more buddies on our trip. We stayed in the house of some little old Basque lady, with five beds crammed into one, but we only planned on sleeping there anyways. The Basque are definitely very patriotic, so we made a point of learning some Basque words.
San Sebastian is all about beaches! We stayed there most of the time, except for one morning where we decided to hike to the highest point in the city to see the church and the Jesus statue. Amazing views! We literally sat up there soaking it all in for about 30 minutes. That's a long time to stare at nothing. We also made plans to meet up with Sketchy (Ryan, UofC) one of my friends from conferences, and we actually met up with him too! 2/2! We all hit up a 4th of July party that was all you can drink and all you can eat, right on the beach. We got enough Sangria to feed a small country, and all for free. When we were done with our free drinks, we decided to move onto our 1.50EUR bottles of wine, affectionately known as cooking wine to the locals. Too funny. Slammed a few bottles on the beach then inside to dance to more bad American music. Met some cool people there though, these two girls Ashley and Katie, one of which gave Troy the coldest shoulder ever...
We're off to Pamplona tomorrow morning for nearly 36 hours of partying and sleeping in parks (if possible). If we make it out alive, you'll hear from me!
Nice was alright, although Bernardus realized he had forgotten his passport folder on the train with all his important documents inside, as well as the photocopies of my credit cards, etc. so we both had some running around to do in order to cancel all the stuff. It sucks, I didn't even lose my shit!
But we still made decent use of the day. Checked out the waterfront and the promenade but saw no one famous. The beach wasn't all that nice, it was actually quite rocky. Decided to hop a train to Monaco and see the rich and famous, but all we got were four-storey yachts, some high end shops, and nice cars. Oh wait, what else is there in Monaco? Monaco was pretty cool though - everyone lives in luxury. We couldn't hold Kim off for much longer, and she got her Gucci watch in Monaco of all places. Balla, shot calla! Had some French Old Country Buffet style food (Flunch) before catching our obnoxiously long night train from Nice to San Sebastian, Spain.
On the train the Canadians dominated! We had one girl from Vancouver, and two guys (Zeev and Jesse) from Vancouver/Manitoba to spend the trip with, so it was pretty fun. We slept most of the way, and when we woke up, we had traveled across France and halfway across Spain...I love what happens when we travel by night!
As we get into the San Seb station, we see Anthony and Amber, who got there the night before. They decided to follow our whole route all the way to Barcelona, so we had two more buddies on our trip. We stayed in the house of some little old Basque lady, with five beds crammed into one, but we only planned on sleeping there anyways. The Basque are definitely very patriotic, so we made a point of learning some Basque words.
San Sebastian is all about beaches! We stayed there most of the time, except for one morning where we decided to hike to the highest point in the city to see the church and the Jesus statue. Amazing views! We literally sat up there soaking it all in for about 30 minutes. That's a long time to stare at nothing. We also made plans to meet up with Sketchy (Ryan, UofC) one of my friends from conferences, and we actually met up with him too! 2/2! We all hit up a 4th of July party that was all you can drink and all you can eat, right on the beach. We got enough Sangria to feed a small country, and all for free. When we were done with our free drinks, we decided to move onto our 1.50EUR bottles of wine, affectionately known as cooking wine to the locals. Too funny. Slammed a few bottles on the beach then inside to dance to more bad American music. Met some cool people there though, these two girls Ashley and Katie, one of which gave Troy the coldest shoulder ever...
We're off to Pamplona tomorrow morning for nearly 36 hours of partying and sleeping in parks (if possible). If we make it out alive, you'll hear from me!
June 30th - Cinque Terre does Canada Day!
We arrived in lovely Cinque Terre on the afternoon of the 30th and I was floored by the view (would be helpful if I could toss a picture up, but no dice). Imagine five fishing villages, where all the houses are built on top of each other and can barely stand up, with some of the best seafood and views I've had all trip. We found Troy as soon as we got there (yay, Dirty!), but of course, rather than taking the 2 minute walk through the tunnel through the mountain to our hostel, we decided (and by we I mean Bernard) to hike up to the top of the town, and all the way around. Good times with our 15 kg packs! But it was worth it in the end. Our 'dorm' hostel ended up being a four-floor, four bedroom flat with full kitchen, terrace, and ocean view. Say what?! We definitely lucked out! We stayed in the smallest and least touristy town of the five, called Riomaggiore, and although it didn't really have a beach, it had some nice smooth rocks and clean, fun water to swim in. Took in a little sun on the rocks, and met up with Reena and Puneet. We just told Kim to watch for two brown girls, and she actually found them!
Ate dinner at this great place at the base of our flat, and had some of the best seafood ever at a great price. Walked down the main drag to find some '1.85EUR' specials, and were blessed with 3.35EUR 1.5L specials! haha we are so classy! We actually got to meet three pretty cool guys from Ohio, Chad, Tyler and Ben, who had just come from Rome as well. They were also perusing the 3.35EUR specials.
Met Reena's friend Ben (who was totally crushing on her) from Cali who told us the pier was the place to be. Couldn't have been more right! There is where we met a key character in the Eurotrip...Anthony! Anthony from Regina moved to Cali for dentistry school moving to Kelowna of all places! He was the first to tell us that Canada Day was while we were in Cinque Terre, so we knew we had to rip it up. The advertising started right then and there for the party. But before the night of the 1st, we had to party for the night of the 30th, and did we ever. Met tons of people on the pier, and although bed didn't happen until 4am, the hike through all five villages is apparently happening at 9am? Oh dear...
9am on the 1st. Happy Canada Day! Not so happy campers ready to hike though - I think we were all sweating wine...! But we sucked it up and it was so worth it. Riomaggiore (#1) through the tunnel of love to Manarola (#2) for a quick gelato stop, then onto Corniglia (#3), which was far from #2 but a pretty cool place. You had to tae 370 steps up to the actual town, but we had to go through the town anyways so there wasn't any real choice on that one. Walked through some vineyards past Guvano Beach (nude beach down some steep incline), onto Vernazza (#4) which was at an unheard of elevation (at least it felt like it). Stopped for some pizza and a refresher, as we'd been hiking about 4 hours at this point. Then we plugged onto Monterosso (#5), where we got to soak in some beach and swim time. Of all the towns, Riomaggiore still seemed the nicest, and Monterosso still the most touristy. Happy with our choice.
Had to wait an hour for the ferry, but took it through all the villages back to our own, which was a cool way to spend the evening, and definitely got us even more amped for Canada Day festivities. We told a ton of people on the hike that there was a party in Village #1 for Canada Day, and the response was either hell yeah I'll come, or I've already heard about it! Word is spreading!!
****CANADA DAY****
Festivities were awesome! People came from as far away as Monterosso to party with us, and we had at least 100 people there to celebrate. Americans, Israelis, Spanish, Canadians, you name it, they were there. Everyone was partying hard, and Anthony, Troy and I got the anthem going a few times, and probably woke half the town up. Though it might not be the same as CDay back in TB or Van, it was definitely a wicked experience. Oh, Canada! Our home and native land!
Ate dinner at this great place at the base of our flat, and had some of the best seafood ever at a great price. Walked down the main drag to find some '1.85EUR' specials, and were blessed with 3.35EUR 1.5L specials! haha we are so classy! We actually got to meet three pretty cool guys from Ohio, Chad, Tyler and Ben, who had just come from Rome as well. They were also perusing the 3.35EUR specials.
Met Reena's friend Ben (who was totally crushing on her) from Cali who told us the pier was the place to be. Couldn't have been more right! There is where we met a key character in the Eurotrip...Anthony! Anthony from Regina moved to Cali for dentistry school moving to Kelowna of all places! He was the first to tell us that Canada Day was while we were in Cinque Terre, so we knew we had to rip it up. The advertising started right then and there for the party. But before the night of the 1st, we had to party for the night of the 30th, and did we ever. Met tons of people on the pier, and although bed didn't happen until 4am, the hike through all five villages is apparently happening at 9am? Oh dear...
9am on the 1st. Happy Canada Day! Not so happy campers ready to hike though - I think we were all sweating wine...! But we sucked it up and it was so worth it. Riomaggiore (#1) through the tunnel of love to Manarola (#2) for a quick gelato stop, then onto Corniglia (#3), which was far from #2 but a pretty cool place. You had to tae 370 steps up to the actual town, but we had to go through the town anyways so there wasn't any real choice on that one. Walked through some vineyards past Guvano Beach (nude beach down some steep incline), onto Vernazza (#4) which was at an unheard of elevation (at least it felt like it). Stopped for some pizza and a refresher, as we'd been hiking about 4 hours at this point. Then we plugged onto Monterosso (#5), where we got to soak in some beach and swim time. Of all the towns, Riomaggiore still seemed the nicest, and Monterosso still the most touristy. Happy with our choice.
Had to wait an hour for the ferry, but took it through all the villages back to our own, which was a cool way to spend the evening, and definitely got us even more amped for Canada Day festivities. We told a ton of people on the hike that there was a party in Village #1 for Canada Day, and the response was either hell yeah I'll come, or I've already heard about it! Word is spreading!!
****CANADA DAY****
Festivities were awesome! People came from as far away as Monterosso to party with us, and we had at least 100 people there to celebrate. Americans, Israelis, Spanish, Canadians, you name it, they were there. Everyone was partying hard, and Anthony, Troy and I got the anthem going a few times, and probably woke half the town up. Though it might not be the same as CDay back in TB or Van, it was definitely a wicked experience. Oh, Canada! Our home and native land!
Rest of June - Belgium, France (Pt. 1), Italy
***Bernie Mac put up photos, so check it out at bernieblogsthrougheurope.blogspot.com***
Okay...so it's been a long time since I've been able to update the blog and/or email you all, so I apologize! I can barely keep up with my own life, let alone all the great things that are happening with you all.
Since Koln, Germany, I've made my way through 5 countries and roughly 15 towns or cities. We're motoring! After Koln we made our way to this beautiful little place called Bruges in Belgium, just outside of Brussels. It was a quaint little place that is only surviving today because of tourism. We stayed at this crazy hostel with chain-pull showers and 30 Belgian beers in stock. Met a lot of great people, and we saw plenty in the couple of days we were there. If you ever make your way there, ask Melissa at De Snuffel about the alligators in the river that eat the sewer rats.
We made our way to the wonderful city of Paris and probably walked 40km in the days we were there...we saw almost everything Paris had to offer in one day, and even caught the Eiffel tower lit up at night. We managed to find the only open hotel in Paris (for dirt cheap) that weekend, as it was the first day of summer, and every year Paris celebrates with la Fete de Musique. Over 3000 musicians and bands hold impromptu concerts around the city, so everywhere we went there was live music. It was a fantastic experience, and pretty wicked that it only happens one day a year. Many more stories to tell, but hopefully they will be in my blog soon.
Attempted to get to Milan from Paris but the trains were booked, so we made a wonderful yet unforgettable detour through Lyon. Absolutely amazing, and quite possibly the best food I had had all trip, and for the best price. Quite an amazing church on the hilltops in Lyon, that we hiked (read: took the funicular) to, which gave us a panoramic view of the entire city. We also ended up staying in a 3 star hotel for 70 EUR altogether...and with four people, you can imagine how cheap it was. A great little rest before moving on with the rest of our trip. Off to Milano! Or is it?
Before we left Paris, we attempted to figure out our route to Milan, since our direct train wasn't available. The SNCF lady tells us that we can connect via Torino and get into Milan. Perfect. We've got times and dates, we're ready to roll. As we leave Lyon, we arrive to buy our tickets for the train...but reservations are closed. What? Train reservations don't close. Train? Oh no, it's actually a bus. Perfect. You can't buy tickets for the buses unless you arrive at least 30 minutes before, and having waited in the line and speaking to a representative that can't speak English, we had 15 minutes to get to the bus and plead to get on. Hello grade 9-12 french class! I manage to use broken French to speak to the conductor to get us on. Sure he says, but for 30 EUR each. No, no, it's free with our pass. No, it's not. Sure enough, we go into the station and we speak again to the broken french crew, and we get on for free, and don't even have to get a reservation. We're on our way! Schonberger and her french class really saved us there. Kind of cool to be able to use another language!
Milan was cool, lots of shopping and trying to get Kim to stop shopping (to no real avail). Milan didn't have too many sights, so it was a fairly relaxing couple of days, with some shopping in the middle.
Made our way down to Rome, where we spent 5 days and 4 nights taking it all in. Some very impressive sights, although Rome is unbelievably touristy. Not to say that we weren't tourists, but I don't know if we saw any locals at all! We were staying right in the middle of Rome though, and for once did not have to take a Metro or a bus to get anywhere. Tackled the Old City in one day (Colosseo, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, St. Peter's Basilica in Vincoli) which was nice but not as cool as I thought it would be. The next day we tackled the Vatican, and it was a good thing because the next two days it would have been closed! St. Peter's Square is amazing, with colossal stone structures everywhere and some pretty cool architecture. The Vatican was overall decently impressive, although the Sistine Chapel wasn't all it was cracked up to be. As soon as you walk in, the guards tell you no photos...then you look up and there are about 300 people all with their cameras out and snapping pictures. Guess they don't care that much! The artwork itself was nice to look at, but not necessarily worth all the hassle. The Basilica on the other hand was downright amazing. Every direction you turned, you were faced with some amazing sculture or piece of artwork. The alter was fantastic as well.
Decided to chill at our hotel with some bottles of cheap wine (1.85 EUR specials...haha) on our terrace. We ended up staying beside two Icelanders (Andri, and don't remember) who gave us the lowdown on Reykjevik, and somehow we agreed to an Iceland 2008 trip? We've got his info if we actually follow through.
Our last night in Rome actually fell on the Festival of St. Peter (San Pietro) so very little was open, but it was fun to just kick it around and eat gelato like it was nobody's business. I'm very ready to get the hell out of Rome though and onto greener pastures.
Alright, the Tour of Italy continues on as we make our way to La Spezia (Cinque Terre), where we'll be meeting up with Reena and her sister Puneet. Good times!!
Okay...so it's been a long time since I've been able to update the blog and/or email you all, so I apologize! I can barely keep up with my own life, let alone all the great things that are happening with you all.
Since Koln, Germany, I've made my way through 5 countries and roughly 15 towns or cities. We're motoring! After Koln we made our way to this beautiful little place called Bruges in Belgium, just outside of Brussels. It was a quaint little place that is only surviving today because of tourism. We stayed at this crazy hostel with chain-pull showers and 30 Belgian beers in stock. Met a lot of great people, and we saw plenty in the couple of days we were there. If you ever make your way there, ask Melissa at De Snuffel about the alligators in the river that eat the sewer rats.
We made our way to the wonderful city of Paris and probably walked 40km in the days we were there...we saw almost everything Paris had to offer in one day, and even caught the Eiffel tower lit up at night. We managed to find the only open hotel in Paris (for dirt cheap) that weekend, as it was the first day of summer, and every year Paris celebrates with la Fete de Musique. Over 3000 musicians and bands hold impromptu concerts around the city, so everywhere we went there was live music. It was a fantastic experience, and pretty wicked that it only happens one day a year. Many more stories to tell, but hopefully they will be in my blog soon.
Attempted to get to Milan from Paris but the trains were booked, so we made a wonderful yet unforgettable detour through Lyon. Absolutely amazing, and quite possibly the best food I had had all trip, and for the best price. Quite an amazing church on the hilltops in Lyon, that we hiked (read: took the funicular) to, which gave us a panoramic view of the entire city. We also ended up staying in a 3 star hotel for 70 EUR altogether...and with four people, you can imagine how cheap it was. A great little rest before moving on with the rest of our trip. Off to Milano! Or is it?
Before we left Paris, we attempted to figure out our route to Milan, since our direct train wasn't available. The SNCF lady tells us that we can connect via Torino and get into Milan. Perfect. We've got times and dates, we're ready to roll. As we leave Lyon, we arrive to buy our tickets for the train...but reservations are closed. What? Train reservations don't close. Train? Oh no, it's actually a bus. Perfect. You can't buy tickets for the buses unless you arrive at least 30 minutes before, and having waited in the line and speaking to a representative that can't speak English, we had 15 minutes to get to the bus and plead to get on. Hello grade 9-12 french class! I manage to use broken French to speak to the conductor to get us on. Sure he says, but for 30 EUR each. No, no, it's free with our pass. No, it's not. Sure enough, we go into the station and we speak again to the broken french crew, and we get on for free, and don't even have to get a reservation. We're on our way! Schonberger and her french class really saved us there. Kind of cool to be able to use another language!
Milan was cool, lots of shopping and trying to get Kim to stop shopping (to no real avail). Milan didn't have too many sights, so it was a fairly relaxing couple of days, with some shopping in the middle.
Made our way down to Rome, where we spent 5 days and 4 nights taking it all in. Some very impressive sights, although Rome is unbelievably touristy. Not to say that we weren't tourists, but I don't know if we saw any locals at all! We were staying right in the middle of Rome though, and for once did not have to take a Metro or a bus to get anywhere. Tackled the Old City in one day (Colosseo, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, St. Peter's Basilica in Vincoli) which was nice but not as cool as I thought it would be. The next day we tackled the Vatican, and it was a good thing because the next two days it would have been closed! St. Peter's Square is amazing, with colossal stone structures everywhere and some pretty cool architecture. The Vatican was overall decently impressive, although the Sistine Chapel wasn't all it was cracked up to be. As soon as you walk in, the guards tell you no photos...then you look up and there are about 300 people all with their cameras out and snapping pictures. Guess they don't care that much! The artwork itself was nice to look at, but not necessarily worth all the hassle. The Basilica on the other hand was downright amazing. Every direction you turned, you were faced with some amazing sculture or piece of artwork. The alter was fantastic as well.
Decided to chill at our hotel with some bottles of cheap wine (1.85 EUR specials...haha) on our terrace. We ended up staying beside two Icelanders (Andri, and don't remember) who gave us the lowdown on Reykjevik, and somehow we agreed to an Iceland 2008 trip? We've got his info if we actually follow through.
Our last night in Rome actually fell on the Festival of St. Peter (San Pietro) so very little was open, but it was fun to just kick it around and eat gelato like it was nobody's business. I'm very ready to get the hell out of Rome though and onto greener pastures.
Alright, the Tour of Italy continues on as we make our way to La Spezia (Cinque Terre), where we'll be meeting up with Reena and her sister Puneet. Good times!!
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