Let's try to play a bit of catch up before bed?

Ah, so, I left off at Paris. Well, after Paris is was back onto the bus and into Switzerland. Fun fact: for a neutral country, the Swiss are very well prepared for an attack. Seriously, they've e got like, airplane hangars covered in grass to look like hills and explosives under bridges. And all men are militarily trained, etc. crazy. Also, Switzerland is gorgeous. Like, seriously stunning. 

So, I spent my two days in Switzerland in Lauterbrunnen, right by the Alps. I had a waterfall two minutes from the campsite I was staying at, and a view of the Alps from the window of the kitchen. Ah-mazing. So, what'd I do? I spent my two days with a group of Kiwis and Aussies (as I seem to do). The first morning was spent exploring with my roommate, Alice. Hiking up behind the waterfall, going off to Trummelbach Falls for a few hours, walking in the sunshine and listening to the cowbells.

Oh yes, I'm not kidding, the cows wear bells. As do other livestock. Apparently for cows it means the bigger the bell, the better they are at producing milk. Random fact of the day? 

Anyways, the afternoon was where the fun truly started: white water rafting. Oh yes, I went rafting I. The alps of glacier fed rivers. Not only were they glacier fed rivers, they were fast rising glacier fed rivers. So fast rising, in fact, that we were not legally allowed to do our second run and so had to do the first one twice. Now this was my first rafting experience, and over got to say, it was fantastic. If you're ever in Interlaken, I recommend Outdoor Interlaken for your outdoor needs. Our second day out the others went canyoning, and it sounds like it was amazing as well. 

After a hard day's work enjoying amazing, lush, sunny, green countryside and chilling, thrilling water it was a night for fondu (which I wasn't impressed by) and then drinks and chats with the Busabout crew. Dancing at the Bombshelter followed, and our 8:15 am departure the next day was still met. 

Yupp, after our night we still made it to the shuttle. The others went into town to go canyoning, and off I went to Seilpark, the high ropes obstacle course (think tree-go but higher, friends). This too was loads of fun, but I've got to say that until I did the very last run, the black one, I wasn't challenged. However, when I finally got to the black run, after about 3.5 hours, it was hard. Not hard enough to dissuade me, but it took a bit of blood and sweat. The second amazing day in Switzerland ended similarly to the first, except instead of having bad fondu I made myself some pasta and chicken for dinner. 

I've got to say, Switzerland was one of the places I wish I'd managed to spend more time, if simply for the scenery. The entire area was gorgeous and even though I was doing "extreme sports" (not that extreme, honestly) I felt really at ease and at home. Perhaps it was all the open land and farms after Paris. 

Getting further and further behind.

Wow, oops, got a little behind again. So, I think I've got to tell you about Paris, yeah? Did I already talk about San Sebastián? Oh good, I did. Wow, this all seems like forever ago; time really does fly when you're having fun! So, Paris...

Anyone that knows my itinerary, or me, knows that Disneyland was a must for me on this trip - I'm only going to potentially be in Europe once, so I'd better hit up as much as I can, and because my Bucket List includes visiting as many Disney parks as possible, I had to hit up EuroDisney! First off, let me say, it felt like Disney and home when I walked in. Even though I was in a different county, and everything was different, there was that wonderful feeling of familiarity I get when most things Disney are involved. So, I got off the train and entered security around 10:15 (park opening was at 10). By 10:30 I was walking onto Main Street and catching my first glimpses of the castle! I teared up a bit, I'm not going to lie. It maybe been the fact that I only got about 5 hours of sleep the night before, and less before that, but there was actually a bit of choking up. I spent my first day wandering and going on rides, watching excited children, acting like a child, and just generally enjoying myself. I got over to their second park late in the day and did a few things while the parade was happening at the main park, then when it closed I was back in the main park for a few more rides and then the claiming of the spot for the fireworks show. This year's show, for the twentieth anniversary of the park, centers around Peter's shadow and an adventure it goes on. The entire show was fantastic, and I'm so glad I stayed to watch it (it started at 11; it didn't start getting dark until well after 9). Of course, the end of the spectacular show meant the end of the day, and it was back onto a very crowded metro I went. The walk to the hostel was uneventful, much unlike the morning walk to the hostel which had involved a creepy guy shouting at me in French about going with him...

Day two in Disneyland was a very laid back day. I actually started my day in park 2, doing al the things I'd missed the day before. Then, of course, I had to browse the shops and see Mickey Mouse! I met a family from Aruba in the line to meet Mickey and would you believe it, the dad spent about a year living in Canada and working with the banks out east (primarily in Nova Scotia). Huh. After Mickey, I grabbed a very late lunch (which was perfect; I avoided a cue) and wandered and rode rides before claiming a seat to see the one thing I'd missed the day before that I'd wanted to see: the parade! Call me a child all you want, but Disney parades always make me smile. I happened to be surrounded by children, so for one of my good acts for the day I put some of them in front of me where they could see, and their parents could still see them. The lady with the baby next to me was thrilled when the fairy godmother tools special interest in her baby, and I got to finally see Tinkerbell and Peter Pan. 

That's the one thing I noticed about EuroDisney: even though there are characters out and about, there aren't as many out as in California. At all. And I didn't get to meet my favourite two, so now I really do have to go to Cali. What mor can I say? I had a fantastic time, left this update for far too long, and now I'm trying to remember everything without taking out my diary. Stupid. Ach, well. Ciao!

It's about a 14 hour drive day

I'm starting this with a disclaimer: it's 6:30 in the evening and I'm typing this on the bus I got on at 8 am this morning. Any terrible grammar, spelling, loopy-ness, etcetera may be the results of being stuck on a coach for an extended period of time. 

Right, well, where were we last? Mmmmn, Madrid? Well, after Madrid it was back on the coach for a trip to San Sebastián. There was an option of going to Pamplona, but because the running of the bulls festival isn't until July, and because I want to get up into Ireland, I forewent that destination. So, San Sebastián. It's on the coast! Actually, it's on the Atlantic Ocean, so I've dipped my feet in that now. Yupp. Ticked that off my bucket list yesterday, but I'm getting ahead of myself. 

The day on the bus was basically just that - another day on the bus. When we arrived at the Urban Hostel and checked in, our busabout guide took us out on a pintxos crawl. If you aren't sure what those are, they like tapas but instead of a full plate of them you get one or two. Basically, you walk in and see a bar covered in food, get a plate (and drink?), and choose a few pintxos. (I'm not sure I'm spelling this right, I know there's and x in there though). Depending on the place, they may charge you when you're done by the amount of toothpicks on your plate when you're done. So, we had Basque cider (super good. Dry and intensely flavored, though) at one place, which they pour from a height to aerate it a bit and carbonate it; pintxos and sangria at a second; and sangria at a third. Basically we spent an easy night eating, drinking, and getting to know each other :-)

Next day was a busy day. Well, sort of. It depends on your definition of the word "busy." On the bus over to San Sebastián we watched a film called "The Way," which I highly recommend. I cried in 'public' watching it (yay, sleep deprivation), but that's not the point. It covers a man's journey on La Camino del Santiago, a pilgrimage from the French Pyrenees into Santiago, Spain. The movie was fantastic, and the journey itself looked not only beautiful and challenging, but inspiring (you'll understand if you watch the movie. Seriously, I recommend it!). Turns out there's a section of the Camino that stretches about 6.7 km and is just outside San Sebastián, so Brittany and I spent the day walking that. We were gone about 7 hours total, and we walked to Pasaia, had lunch, and walked back in over thirty degree heat - we figure it was about 17 km in total. It was hot, and it was worth it. First of all, we had to ask for directions to the trail, which wasn't difficult because thankfully Brittany spoke Spanish (I met her on the bus. Honestly, I keep meeting awesome people on busabout). Turns out the slightly older man we asked (into his sixties at the least, if not early seventies?) walked the trail for about two hours total every day, and instead of just giving us directions he actually walked a portion of the trail with us. This trail goes up part of a mountain, winds around the head so you almost continuously have a view of the ocean, and the descends again into town. It's absolutely gorgeous, and because it was such a nice day, was breathtaking. Anyways, this older man walked a portion of the trail with us, gave us directions at a crossroads (one path was the extra hour or so to Pasaia, the other was another 4-5 hours to get to France. Walking.), and sent us on our way. How nice was that? So we did some more walking and enjoyed some more gorgeous views, saw some aqueducts (walked over one, actually. Because it was a shorter route than going around), looked at ruins, and eventually began our descent into Pasaia. On our way down the very numerous steps, we ran into another older man, this one say 8ish years younger. We initially just said hello in passing and such pleasantries, but as we asked about how long it would take to get to Pasaia we fell into step. This man ended up accompanying us nearly into town and suggesting a fantastic restaurant for lunch for us. We had some excellent experiences with locals in San Sebastián and surrounding areas in just a day! :-)

After a gigantic lunch - don't let anyone tell you the Spanish don't eat we'll - we let our stomachs settle in a bit, and then it was back on the trail. Because it was now about 3pm, it was the peak of the day's heat. 35 degrees in town, slightly cooler up the mountain and there was a nice sea breeze. Sometimes. Actually though, the walk back wasn't bad, and I'm proud to say I didn't hurt the next day even though this was my first big hike in a while. On our way back into town we ended up hiking (walking?) with a guy slightly younger than us who grew up in the Basque Country and is studying in San Sebastián, so over the course of the day we had very pleasant, slightly long, conversations with locals. I may not have understood much of the first two, because I don't speak Spanish, but the third was in English! So, yes, back to the hostel about 6ish, showered, and I'd been hoping to go on an 8pm sunset cruise organized by the hostel. 

Unfortunately, the cruise was cancelled. Instead, we had "Basque night out" with unlimited sangria while watching the sunset, drinks at a few bars, and games on the pier. A good night out, and I got to know some of the others at the hostel more. Actually, I got to know my fellows busabout companions better, including the five guys from Victoria. Small world. 

When we got up on Thursday, it was pouring. Ah, San Sebastián in the rain - not the best. We headed over the river and did some shopping, and then when we went back to the hostel I headed into Old Town to explore. Found my bracelet and post cards, then I headed to the beach. By this point it had finished raining, but the sky was still dark. Still, nice beach. No beach glass; I walked the length in search and found very little rock washed ashore, let alone glass worn out enough to bring home, but I tried Mama! Still, I walked the length barefoot and dipped my toesies in the Atlantic Ocean 😊 then it was back to the hostel for a bit of reading and relaxing, off to the market, and I cooked myself pasta at the hostel last night. My dinner cost me less than ten euros, and I have enough groceries left to make more later (I also look ridiculous carrying all my bags. I'm fixing that before I get the metro tonight)!

Now, it's Friday and I'm on the bus. Again. Still. However, I'm headed to Paris, and that means... Disneyland! Yupp, I'm going to Disneyland tomorrow and Sunday, and I couldn't be more excited about it. I've got to get the metro to Nation, and then hop on a train to the park, but it's worth it - it's only about a 45 minute ride on the train anew the park doesn't open until like 10, so I can even sleep until like 7:30 or 8! 

Allons-y!

Go, go, go! When you're only in a city for 2 full days (or three nights, pick yer poison) that's what you do; you go. Honestly, it's sort of crazy and it's still surreal to me that I'm even here experiencing these things, but that's the way it is. Valencia was two nights, so that was crazy-ish, but not overwhelming. Valencia was a large city, but the historic centre wasn't too large. Just confusingly arranged. 

Guess what I saw in Valencia though. I'd say you'll never guess, but I'm not sure. You might. It's not always typically associated with Spain, and I didn't know I'd be seeing it, if that clears things up (I know it doesn't, don't worry). Alright, so I saw the Holy Grail. You know the one Monty Python's movie is in search of? The one that has countless movies dedicated to a quest for it.? Well, I saw it. Or if not it, exactly, I saw what is accepted as being "it." Yupp. S that's a thing I can add to my resume? 

Other than that, Valencia was a bike tour and a lot of walking and exploring. Cathedrals, markets, museums, etc. Valencia has it all, and I saw a good deal of it, including an international market in the gardens in the riverbed. Valencia was good to me, the hostel was nice, but I didn't sleep much there because one of my roommates had a cold and spent the nights snoring. Oh well, such as happens. 

After Valencia it was off to Madrid for three nights. I'd say three crazy nights, but they weren't mad, the days were. First night in Madrid we got dropped off, I headed to my hostel, and it turned out hostelworld hadn't sent them my reservation, even though I had my confirmation information. There was no bed for me! I talked to the receptionist, she made some calls, I waited, she waited, and eventually she ended up giving me a bed where I was because someone who was supposed to have checked in hours earlier hadn't and didn't return some calls or texts. I felt bad about taking a bed that may've belonged to someone else, but at the same time I was exhausted and ready to put my bags down. I ended up in a private room, with an e suite bathroom, and I took a bath! I'm pretty sure it was just supposed to be a shower with deep sides, but I just wanted a bath so that's what I turned it into. I felt like a million bucks when I went to bed, and even better upon getting up. 

Up early to move hostels, I checked my bags into the new hostel's luggage room, had a fantastic, organic yogurt parfait for breakfast, and went on the free walking tour the hostel was offering. I think the walking or bike tours on my first day in a city a my favourite way to get a bit of a taste for the city. The free ones especially are normally excellent- because we are choosing how much the guide is making, they normally provide excellent tours and a willing to give dining suggestions, etc. After the walking tour we went to lunch, which is apparently the largest meal of the day (it was delicious) and were there for a few hours, so by the time we split to do things it was near four pm. I headed off with some other busabouters and ended up spending a few hours at the Prado museum with a guy named Marino who is here from... Victoria, BC with friends. Small world! Since we'd gotten into the museum for free (it was a Sunday deal), it wasn't as disappointing when we were kicked out around 7 without seeing all of it. 

Back to the hostel we went, and off to do our own things - for me this was checking into the hostel and settling into my room. If you're ever in Madrid, UHostel was gorgeous. It's fairly new, and it showed. Clean, large rooms, nice beds, good sized lockers, fantastic showers, nice common areas, and a really welcoming, comfortable feel in those common areas. There were swings and a water fountain on our floor, too! Anyways, after settling in I went downstairs to meet up with the guide who was taking "us" (me and a group from another hostel) to a flamenco show. I liked flamenco as a kid, and seeing it live in an intimate setting (12 or so of us, the two guitars, singer, and dancer, and the guide in a small basement like area) was excellent. It was passionate, emotional, and thoroughly thrilling. After the flamenco, I walked back to the hostel and was asleep fairly quickly. 

Day two in Madrid-my last day! This day was also action packed, of course, but it started a bit later. I allowed myself a bit of a lie-in, had breakfast, went to the chemist (I've either still got allergies, or a bit of a cold; maybe both), and then headed off with two girls to the Thyssen Museum where we saw art by Picasso, Monet, Degas, Cezanne, and more. For a once private collection, this place was excellent. Two hours covered the museum and it was off to the largest park in Madrid (Rialto?) for a chance to see the Fallen Angel fountain. As something that is pretty rare (depictions of the descent of the angel, or the fallen angel himself are supposedly very rare in statuary), it wasn't as grand as I expected. However, it was still pretty darn impressive. The guys rollerblading around the fountain with their Walkmans and doing some sort of routine were amusing too, haha.

Our theoretical last stop of the day was an Egyptian temple that was given by the Egyptians to Madrid. This was closed, but still. It's and Egyptian temple in Spain. It's also the closest I'm probably going to get to Egypt for a little while, so it was neat to see. The park also afforded a lovely view of the city; added bonus! The reason this was our theoretical last stop is that we weren't planning on going elsewhere after this stop, but we did. We went back to the royal palace, and even though we couldn't get in, we saw the gardens and had a short wander - gorgeous, as expected. Off to the Opera theatre to catch the metro, and back to the hostel to re-pack and prep for tomorrow. 

I was planning on going to dinner alone, so I grabbed my ipad for a book and headed downstairs. Turns out I wasn't dining alone, I ended up getting tapas with the guys from the Island. The place we ended up in was really neat - you ordered a drink and got a plate of tapas with your drink. I ordered a glass of white wine, and I'm not sure what it is with the Spanish, but every time I order a glass of wine I get like, 1/3 of a bottle here. I'm not sure if that's normal, or they just really want to make me drunk? Either way, good wine, nice tapas, and when we rolled out of there we went back to the hostel for free sangria and drinking games. Yupp, the hostel provided sangria and space, and a guy came in to lead drinking games. Basically, for about 90 minutes we played a huge game of King's (Madrid rules, which are basically the same as home?). After the games, we had an option of a pub crawl or not. Because I was getting on the bus in the morning, I opted for no more drinking. Hung out for a bit, and then it was up to bed for bus day!

So, sitting here and writing, it's bus day. I'm en route to San Sebastián, and just left Pamplona. The Basque countryside is gorgeous, and I'm excited for two full days on the north west coast of Spain! :-)

Drop me a line if you want, or a comment, or a hey. I'm with people now, but I know that in just of a week I'll be flying solo again, so I would love to hear from home! Also, I'm missing everyone! 

Love and hugs for all,

Xoxox

I haven't forgotten to say hi!

Hola! See, I haven't forgotten how to write things online, I've just been busy. How busy? Well, I spent five action packed nights in Barcelona, Spain! The first night, I will admit, was a bit of a write off as I stayed at a hostel across town from everyone else and had to metro there and back for dinner, but it was all good. We arrived to a closed street because of a market or something, and there had just been a football match, so for dinner a few of us got some food from the market and had an easy, early night (some of the others partied in true Barcelona style and didn't get home until 4 or 6 am). The next day I moved hostels at like 9am, checked in, locked my bags up until my room was ready, and did a "free" walking tour of the Gothic District of Barcelona. This tour was free, but we tipped at the end, and it was excellent. It was about 3 hours or so long and covered a bunch of information, sights, and neat streets.

When the tour ended I wandered around, went back to the hostel and checked into my room, changed, had a late lunch, and then did another free tour, this time of Antoni Gaudi's work. This tour was also really neat, but at the end I was left wondering if I really liked Gaudi's work: it's sort of showy, decidedly unique, and uses a lot of different elements sometimes. The church though, Sagrada Familia, is incredible. The construction isn't completed, and isn't scheduled to be done until like 2026-2030, but it's still incredible! High towers, incredible detail, and each item on the facade has a meaning. Anyways, finished up there, wandered, had a late dinner at the hostel (burgers on the rooftop terrace while watching the sun set), and then decided that I wanted to go see the Magic Fountain (which only runs Thursday through Sunday).

Walking the streets of Barcelona alone actually wasn't a problem. For one, it was only about 9:30 and there was still some light around. I stuck to a Main Street, and about halfway there I ended up walking with a slightly older couple from Sweden who were going the same way. I've got to say, I'm really glad I went to Magic Fountain; yes, it's a fountain with lights and music, but it was so pretty and the general feeling in the area was of joy and awe. The walk back around 10:30 was really easy too. I've got to say, it's weird to me - this city doesn't seem to come alive or wake up until late. Dinner is normally around 8:30 or 9 pm, and nightlife apparently doesn't pick up until like 1:30 or 2 am (I didn't go out much here; too much activity and walking during the day), but markets and shops still manage to open around 8 or 9am. There is a siesta from about 1-3:30, but it's not observed everywhere; these people are machines. 

Anyways, my next day was basically a wandering day where I started out a Park Guell, wandered for a few hours, found lunch, saw some more sights I'd wanted to see, and hung around. Did some browsing, etc. this day was basically an easy day, and it ended with dinner with Liz after she arrived in town, a wander around the streets, and not too late a bedtime. My third day in town was a beach morning, lunch at an Irish pub on the beach street (we were starving), some wandering, and a bit of a nap before meeting up with Rachel and Liz for our Spanish cooking class. This class was awesome; our chef took us to the market to get supplies, gave us a mini tour, and then directed us to the bar we'd be eating and cooking in. Realistically we didn't do much "cooking" ourselves- we were taught how to make tapas properly (I'm going to start buying baguettes and "grating" my tomatoes on them, I swear), made our own sangria, and then were taught how to make seafood paella. It was a fantastic night and the food was phenomenal. Post-meal we went for a walk and ended up grabbing cheesecake ice cream for dessert. Yummy! 

My final day in Barcelona was crazy busy. Liz and I had bought tickets the day before to get into Sagrada Familia, so at 9am we were there, and by 9:15 we'd been up the tower. I've got to say, I'm absolutely in lie with this church. I think it's my favourite building I've ever been in. The exterior has a very distinctly gothic feel to it, especially the Nativity facade. However, one you enter the church you are vaulted into a beautiful, open, light space. Churches designed over a hundred years ago often end up feeling a bit dark, a bit solemn, and very imposing. Not this church. It's light and airy, there isn't a whole bunch of gilded artwork hanging from the walls, and the high ceiling and bright windows completely open up the whole space. It's a masterpiece, and it's nowhere near completed. After spending over an hour at Sagrada Familia we decided it was time to move on, so we caught the metro to Casa Batllo and Casa Mila (La Pedrera) to look at more Gaudi architecture (it was a Gaudi day). After ogling two more masterpieces it was onto the metro again to reach Parc Guell and take in the gingerbread like appearance of the park, explore some paths, look at more Gaudi work, and start thing about lunch. Which we didn't get again for a while. We went a different way to grab the metro and ended up wandering around in town a bit before reaching the metro to go to the Barcelona Arc de Triomph which is, of course, majestic and regal. Passing through the Arc we walked down a lovely, palm tree lined promenade to reach another park. Before entering the park though, we searched out a fresh baked pizza for a picnic because by this point we were starving!

So, pizza in hand we hit up Parc de la Ciutadella and had a picnic in front of the magnificent fountain there by... Antoni Gaudi. At the start of my stay in Barcelona I wasn't sure if I liked Gaudi's work, but after exploring etc, I'm convinced I like his work. He was a madman, but his stuff is really cool. We wandered the park a bit, saw the elephant statue and walked around the lake, then it was time to head back to the hostel, clean up, pack up, shop on La Rambla (we had 3.5 hours to kill), then meet up for dinner around 8ish. We ended up wandering down to the Gothic district for dinner and finding a restaurant with fantastic food down some side street. The staff didn't speak English and we have limited Spanish, but we got a terrific meal and no one seemed unhappy! Dinner went until around 11ish, then we trekked back to the hostel and thought about going out again, which never happened. 

Overall, I've got to say, I really liked Barcelona. Especially now that I'm in Valencia, I can appreciate how fantastically Barcelona was laid out. Everyone there ws really nice and helpful (they are here too), and the city was surprisingly clean. I saw my first cockroach there, yes, t it was in the metro. Can't say I blame anyone for that one (even though it was disgusting). So yeah, hey! It's me! I'm still alive!!