On the road again

"On the Road Again." Hey, does anyone know what happened to that show? Do any of you even remember it, because I've got some pretty vivid memories of watching it in the living room of the old house...  

Anywho, hey, welcome back! As you've probably guessed, I'm in transit again. This time I'm headed for Nice, France, and I'm on a Busabout bus. How is that? Actually, I've got to say, pretty nice. It's not quite the same as being on a coach with my Contiki family, but the coach itself is pretty similar. No toilets, but a power station, and each seat has a bevy of controls on it for inboard music and movies, so that's a plus. Actually, on the way to Nice we're watching some Casino Royale to get us in the mood for Monaco. 

Yesterday in Florence I waited in a line-up for nearly two hours to get into the Galleria Academia, and even though it was a long line, the wait wasn't bad. The family in front of me had two adorable little girls, I had my iPod, and I did a lot of people watching. You know, the gallery was worth the wait. Yes, I saw the original David and his precursors, but there was also  lot of old artwork. Old, like, 13-19 century pieces taken from various churches and restored. There were rosters with Dante's name on them, old law-books, and looks of neat pieces, including a room dedicated solely to musical instruments. 

After the Galleria, I walked to the Church of Santa Maria Novella. This church was absolutely gorgeous, both inside and out, and because there were a few different tours going on in English, and because they all looked about high school age (and apparently I did too) I managed to partake in part of a history of art lesson. Oops? But yeah, the church was gorgeous, the frescoes were incredible, the statuary was limited, but intense, and the courtyard was so incredibly peaceful that as I sat, writing about my day in my travel book, all I could hear was murmured voices, birds, and the wind. This made it incredibly easy to imagine what things could have been like a few hundred years earlier, and therefore, if I decide to do some research and writing there is potential in some of the things I've got written down in another book. 

When I finished at the church I headed back to the hostel to drop off some stuff in my locker and make room in my bag so that I could head over to the grocer and pick up some food for breakfast and traveling (breakfast was €0.40 yogurt, which actually tasted amazing and had 5g of protein in it, a banana, and some cracker-type things, and snacks are bananas and the cracker things. I've got Brie to go with them when I'm not on the bus). After the grocer it was back to the hostel for some cheap dinner, which was actually a really nice gnocci dish with a glass of white wine (which was okay, not amazing), repacking my bags, and a reasonable 10:30pm bedtime. Nothing too out there for me on my last day in Florence; I had a 6:45 wake up! 

Ciao, Bella

"Ciao, Bella." Is a phrase that has been said to me mo than once today, which I find a bit weird. Our TM ws saying that its a phrase that gets thrown about quite a bit, but I never thought I'd have it thrown my way, mush less more than once. Why? I'm literally wearing denim capris and a tee shirt, my short hair is decidedly windswept, my backpack looks huge (it has my sweater in it as well as 2 bottles of water and a bunch more stuff), and I have hiking shoes on my feet. Today is not a good day for looks (and I really look the part of a tourist with my map), and yet this is the only day people choose to acknowledge my presence. What a weird place Italy is.

I'm sitting in Piazza Di Santa Trinita, and I've just come down a street lined with Burberry, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Dolce and Gabana, and a bunch of other shops I can never afford to enter. Have I mentioned how much clothing envy I'm encountering on this trip? It's pretty extreme. I've been into a couple shops and found things I liked on budget, but until I have a way of transporting them home, I can't buy anything. Therefore, this limited space thing and my last of an ability to find a cheap secondary bag is being a very good budgeting tool. I did buy myself a wax seal set yesterday, and a scarf today, but that's it. I was looking into purchasing a handbag earlier, but I haven't found anything that I'm totally in love with yet (see also, I haven't found anything I'm willing to pay €200 for yet. I have to admit to wandering into H&M and Zara earlier though, out if curiosity (and a basic desire to find a cheap bag. Why don't they have Primark outside of the UK?!), and they were basically the same. That was reassuring. For now though, it's time for this girly to find some food a new sunbeam. Or somewhere that's out of the wind. 

Florence is beautiful, and I love it, but is quite windy everywhere I seem to go. Maybe I'm just a cursed being and I've brought my West Coast weather with me, because its colder and wetter than usual in Italy right now *sigh* oh well. 

I've just managed to finish another book. Just casually sitting in a Piazza in Italy, looking over the Arno, and sipping a bottle of water. I think I may have to find a good, stable Internet connection soon as I'm running out of reading materials again, but that has never stopped me before! Onwards and forwards I go, into a world where I don't understand the language and I feel like everyone may or may not be laughing at me ;)

Oh! I found a new bag this afternoon, too! Just a bit ago, actually. Smallish, simple, and I only paid €15 (asking price was 18). So now I can buy things and don't have to lug the grocery bag around! Also, I don't have to wear 18 layers while traveling! :-) 

On the road again

Hello from transit, home! Today is moving day (again), and I'm on the train to Florence (Firenze, if you want to be fancy and Italian). I have to say, as amazing and historic as Rome was, I'm sort of glad to leave the crazy hustle and bustle behind me a little. I'm not sure Florence will be any quieter, but I feel like it will be a little less overwhelming all the time. I hope. So now I'm sitting on my first train of the trip and I have to say, for a super economy ticket I'm rather impressed. Lots of space, nice little table, and I'm rather comfortable. Huh. 

When I boarded and plugged into my iPad though, the first song to come on was our Day Song from Contiki, Can't Hold Us, and I'm sort of missing the Coach rides now. Actually, it's the familiarity and the ability to nap I'm missing, I think, if I'm perfectly honest. Not nap safely though, because of a certain shutter-bug TM... 

I've got 3 nits in Florence before moving on to Nice, and my plans are basic: book a hostel in Nice and a ticket to Barcelona after that, relax, wander around, and maybe pick up another little bag. If I find anything. Or a purse. Actually, if I managed to get either at a reasonable rate I'd be a happy camper! The thing I'm most looking forward to, also, is the fact that the weather is supposed to be decent while I'm in Florence. I may actually get to bust out my shorts, which haven't been worn since I was in Dubrovnik! 

I think that's all I've got to say today, since I'm in transit and all, but, my dears, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know! I would love to hear from anyone at home - without my Contiki Family around I find myself occasionally fighting off loneliness. 

Love and hugs (gosh, I miss hugs!),

Leah xx 

On the road again

Hello from transit, home! Today is moving day (again), and I'm on the train to Florence (Firenze, if you want to be fancy and Italian). I have to say, as amazing and historic as Rome was, I'm sort of glad to leave the crazy hustle and bustle behind me a little. I'm not sure Florence will be any quieter, but I feel like it will be a little less overwhelming all the time. I hope. So now I'm sitting on my first train of the trip and I have to say, for a super economy ticket I'm rather impressed. Lots of space, nice little table, and I'm rather comfortable. Huh. 

When I boarded and plugged into my iPad though, the first song to come on was our Day Song from Contiki, Can't Hold Us, and I'm sort of missing the Coach rides now. Actually, it's the familiarity and the ability to nap I'm missing, I think, if I'm perfectly honest. Not nap safely though, because of a certain shutter-bug TM... 

I've got 3 nits in Florence before moving on to Nice, and my plans are basic: book a hostel in Nice and a ticket to Barcelona after that, relax, wander around, and maybe pick up another little bag. If I find anything. Or a purse. Actually, if I managed to get either at a reasonable rate I'd be a happy camper! The thing I'm most looking forward to, also, is the fact that the weather is supposed to be decent while I'm in Florence. I may actually get to bust out my shorts, which haven't been worn since I was in Dubrovnik! 

I think that's all I've got to say today, since I'm in transit and all, but, my dears, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know! I would love to hear from anyone at home - without my Contiki Family around I find myself occasionally fighting off loneliness. 

Love and hugs (gosh, I miss hugs!),

Leah xx 

On the road again

Hello from transit, home! Today is moving day (again), and I'm on the train to Florence (Firenze, if you want to be fancy and Italian). I have to say, as amazing and historic as Rome was, I'm sort of glad to leave the crazy hustle and bustle behind me a little. I'm not sure Florence will be any quieter, but I feel like it will be a little less overwhelming all the time. I hope. So now I'm sitting on my first train of the trip and I have to say, for a super economy ticket I'm rather impressed. Lots of space, nice little table, and I'm rather comfortable. Huh. 

When I boarded and plugged into my iPad though, the first song to come on was our Day Song from Contiki, Can't Hold Us, and I'm sort of missing the Coach rides now. Actually, it's the familiarity and the ability to nap I'm missing, I think, if I'm perfectly honest. Not nap safely though, because of a certain shutter-bug TM... 

I've got 3 nits in Florence before moving on to Nice, and my plans are basic: book a hostel in Nice and a ticket to Barcelona after that, relax, wander around, and maybe pick up another little bag. If I find anything. Or a purse. Actually, if I managed to get either at a reasonable rate I'd be a happy camper! The thing I'm most looking forward to, also, is the fact that the weather is supposed to be decent while I'm in Florence. I may actually get to bust out my shorts, which haven't been worn since I was in Dubrovnik! 

I think that's all I've got to say today, since I'm in transit and all, but, my dears, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know! I would love to hear from anyone at home - without my Contiki Family around I find myself occasionally fighting off loneliness. 

Love and hugs (gosh, I miss hugs!),

Leah xx 

On the road again

Hello from transit, home! Today is moving day (again), and I'm on the train to Florence (Firenze, if you want to be fancy and Italian). I have to say, as amazing and historic as Rome was, I'm sort of glad to leave the crazy hustle and bustle behind me a little. I'm not sure Florence will be any quieter, but I feel like it will be a little less overwhelming all the time. I hope. So now I'm sitting on my first train of the trip and I have to say, for a super economy ticket I'm rather impressed. Lots of space, nice little table, and I'm rather comfortable. Huh. 

When I boarded and plugged into my iPad though, the first song to come on was our Day Song from Contiki, Can't Hold Us, and I'm sort of missing the Coach rides now. Actually, it's the familiarity and the ability to nap I'm missing, I think, if I'm perfectly honest. Not nap safely though, because of a certain shutter-bug TM... 

I've got 3 nits in Florence before moving on to Nice, and my plans are basic: book a hostel in Nice and a ticket to Barcelona after that, relax, wander around, and maybe pick up another little bag. If I find anything. Or a purse. Actually, if I managed to get either at a reasonable rate I'd be a happy camper! The thing I'm most looking forward to, also, is the fact that the weather is supposed to be decent while I'm in Florence. I may actually get to bust out my shorts, which haven't been worn since I was in Dubrovnik! 

I think that's all I've got to say today, since I'm in transit and all, but, my dears, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know! I would love to hear from anyone at home - without my Contiki Family around I find myself occasionally fighting off loneliness. 

Love and hugs (gosh, I miss hugs!),

Leah xx 

No free wi-fi means downtime is not filled with updates.

Back on the coach again today, but this times is e last time we'll ever have a long coach ride together as a crew. Like, really the last long haul. We arrive in Rome this afternoon, and then it's just little coach trips in and out of the city after that. Raf and the coach actually go back to the Netherlands tomorrow evening :-( Alas though, I've missed things. 

By things, of course, I mean updates. What can I say to sum up what I've not written about (which is a lot)? Erm, it has been amazing. Croatia was gorgeous. Like, even though I was really sick (chest infections ftw?), I still adored Dubrovnik. Old town is absolutely darling with its enclosed walls (which you can walk on as a tour - amazing views); central street and simple layout; and market and small shops. The outlying areas aren't as darling, but it's still a nice area. On a side note, their hospital is well laid out, but since everything is in Croatian, if you don't read the language you have to ask where to go a few times (or just once if the first person understands what you say). 

What's more gorgeous than the Old Town? The coast. We hopped on a boat and did an island tour one afternoon, and we spent 5 hours on and off a boat and two islands under the Croatian sunshine. It was such a lovely day. Before that though, we sought out a bar that our tour manager had mentioned. This bar is situated outside the wall of old town, but just barely: you go through to wall to get to the bar, and the bar is situated on a cliff. Literally. They have areas where you can go and jump into the Adriatic while at the bar. Crazy beautiful views, as well. So yeah, Croatia was fantastic. Also, if you're ever in Dubrovnik and want a bucket to drink, check out the Skybar. 

From Dubrovnik we headed over to Zadar for the night, which I wasn't anything too spectacular, but was a nice, slow evening. From Croatia we headed into Slovenia, where we spent the afternoon/evening/night in Ljubljana. Our hostel was literally about 100m from the main square, and I had some of the best Mexican food I've had in a while for dinner that night (walkabout meal, and I didn't want pub food). Ljubljana was lovely; laid back and tiny, even though we went out to the Disco-Bar (literally, that's the name of the place) that evening, it didn't feel like we were in some super crazy, out of control, city. I mean, it was definitely a club (when it got going), but it had nothing on the size, capacity, and insanity of some of the other places we've been out in *cough*Prague*cough*. From Slovenia it was down into the lovely Italy. 

Guys, I think I'm in love. Not with a guy, so hah to everyone back home, but with a country. The food, the lush scenery, the fact that the rain held off for us pretty well here, even the accommodations haven't been bad. We're 'camping,' but as one of the other girls said, it's more like 'glamping.' We stay in a cabin with a sleeping bag. We have running water, plumbing, and sort of have heat. We sleep on beds. They served us hot breakfasts. So it's pretty good. 

So, Italy. Our first stop was the lovely Venice; Venezia, I love you. Such a charming area, interesting to look at, twisting and turning, crossing over the water everywhere, using boats to transport everything, gosh. I can't wait to go back to Venice after this tour and spend some time there on my own just getting lost (and maybe visiting Kiko for some cheaply priced, quality makeup). We have also been in Florence, and even though we didn't get much time there, I'm looking forward to going back. I love how walkable these cities are. Honestly, cities that you can just wander in a probably my favourites. 

Lovely sunset in Zadar, as seen from the road outside the hostel

Current other home...

Quotes on the walls in Ljubljana. 

Venezia, I love you

See, I was in Venice!

Masquerade night!

From Split to Zadar

I have to say, as much as I love Europe so far, there are a few things about it that bother me. Not even really bother me, actually. I just find them a bit bizarre: 

1). Paying for the toilet. I understand that under some circumstances this is probably a thing that is normally accepted, but if I'm a paying member in a pub or a club, why am I also having to pay extra to use the toilet? You've got to make sure you've got me coming and going, eh? I think I'd understand this a bit more if it was a general rule, but it only seems to apply in some areas. Also at services and public toilets, though you're generally given a food voucher at a service stop. 

2). Smoking. It's not that we don't have smoking at home, and it's not even that I'm terribly set against people smoking around me, but in Prague and Croatia I've noticed that smoking inside is perfectly acceptable, and that bothers me a little. I had a guy come up to me in a club in Prague and stick his cigarette in my mouth. First off, wtf; who does that and thinks its a good way to pick up a stranger? Secondly, eww. Honestly, if I'm not enjoying the amount of smoke in the room already, what makes you think I want your cigarette shoved into my mouth while I'm trying to breathe?! The smoking in restaurants thing only really gets me because there can be very little ventilation in some areas and the smoke can build up. That said, we went to a bar in Berlin that I swear just reminded me of the Swan back in Shawnigan because of the lighting and the slightly smoky smell and atmosphere, so I guess for some places it works. 

I've got to say though, I'm pretty damn lucky to be on this trip. I've met some amazing people, been to and seen some incredible places, and certainly had the time of my life so far. For anyone that told me high school would be the highlight of my life, I laugh in your direction. For those who said my undergrad degree would be the best four years of my life, I scoff at you. Travel abroad, go on a tour, and let a company worry about the little details - that's what I've done for the first three weeks of my trip, and I'm so glad I did it. I feel like Contiki may be the highlight of my trip, but I've got another 2 months to go after this, and trip-type things going on with two other systems, so we'll see how things tally up at the end of the 3 months. 

I can't believe how fast time has gone, and how quickly things just pile up. I feel as though I've known some of the people here for years, but it's only been two weeks. How bizarre things like this trip can be, and how excellent as well!

Paris one and two

Bonjour de Paris! That's it, that's all the French I've got, folks. So, hello! I'm safe, I'm in Paris, and I'm having a great time. What've I been up to? Well, yesterday was a national holiday so the only thing really open was Notre Dame, and since the lineup was ginormous I just sat myself down outside and listened to a Rick Steves tour. Actually, that's what I did yesterday - I followed a Rick Steves Historic Paris Walking Tour, which was actually really neat even though I didn't enter any of the buildings he talked about; strolled the streets (and got lost a few times); and went to Luxembourg Gardens and toured around for a while. I'm not actually sure how much walking I did, but if you look at a city map, I started walking at the Hotel de Ville, walked the entirety of Île de la Cité, around part of the left bank, then out to the gardens and wandered into the outskirts of Montparnasse (which wasn't actually on my map, so I got lost and decided to move back onto the map - I had a total adventure). Then I wandered back to the Hotel de Ville, coming over le Pont Royal bridge. I was pooped, so I came back to the hotel and did a bit of nothing before joining the other girls from the room for dinner and drinks (happy hour) down at the bar. I'd say the night was primarily nothing exceptional, but it was excellent to meet the other girls and just relax.
Today though, was different. Whereas yesterday was my first day and I was excited to get up and go, today I lazed about a bit more. I didn't leave the hostel until about 10:15 when I caught the metro with 2 other girls from my room who were headed for the airport. I took the metro (changing lines a few times-I'm getting better at this!) down to the Eiffel Tower and went up to the second floor. I walked up, and you know, Jazzercise is working. Yes I was sweaty, but I wasn't gasping for breath, and I wasn't sore and uncomfortable. It was even challenging enough for some people that I passed them easily. Afterwards, I wanted to head to the Louvre, but it was a 2ish hour estimated wait time, so I skipped and went to Cimetière Père Lachaise for a few hours and wandered.
It sounds strange and morbid, but the cemetery was the spot that I have felt the most comfortable in Paris. I'm not sure if its because no matter the language, a cemetery is a cemetery, or if it was just the atmosphere. It was so calm and quiet, interesting as all get out, and the whole place was just... Parfait. So that was fun. Then I headed back to the hostel a second time (I came 'home' and ate between trips), and here I am. Two new girls just arrived and they're from Duncan (small world!), and that is about it with today. Tonight I charge some devices and hang out, and then tomorrow I check out of here and head to the hotel to meet up with my contiki. I'm hoping they've got a luggage lockup up there because I've got like 5 hours to kill between check-out and check-in, and I was thinking of maybe trying the Sacre Coeur or Notre Dame in between. Either way, it'll be another adventure. I'm sure I'll write something more reflective once I find my journal; it has actually got reflections and such in it. For now though, hi friends and family, I'm still alive, Paris is beautiful (even if it rains almost as much as at home), and I think I'm in love with old cemeteries. Ciao!