Eurotrip 2010: Bad case of the hiccups! (5)

Bon journo from Italia!

Let me tell you about my last 48 hours…

Last time I left you I was just beginning my Spanish travels. I’ll get back to that later because it was amazing, but for now I would like to tell you about the last two days. I am in Italy on my way to Milan and am finally having some time to create this entry. Melody and I wanted to leave Barcelona on the 27^th in order to arrive in Genoa by the 28^th to meet up with her hunky and fun boyfriend Stoffel, so we could all hike Cinque Terre together. We were going to leave quite early so we would still have a chance to take a day trip to Marseille or Nice in the French Riviera. But, as is quite common, plans change, because as is quite common France Rail goes on strike! (1^st hiccup)

After cursing the French, we weighed our options and Mel and I opted for the overnight Ferry from Barcelona to Livorno Italy. The Ferry would depart at Midnight and arrive at 7:30 pm in the Port of Livorno the next day. Quite a long Ferry, but only 27 euro, and it still gave us plenty of time to catch a train into Genoa to meet Melody’s BF on the 28^th. The very last thing Melody and I did before catching our train was head down with a bunch of new friends to Placa d’Espanya to view the magic fountain light show. Around 10:45 we knew we were cutting it close to arriving at the Ferry terminal for our 11 ‘o clock check in time, so we ran all the way WITH OUR BAGS to the metro, then all the way from the Metro to the Terminal. At the terminal we were told we could board at 11:30pm. We ran for nothing but were stoked because we were on track, so we blotted the sweat and had some snacks. Turns out we didn’t end up boarding the Ferry until about 12:30, and didn’t end up departing Barcelona until 2pm (so literally ran for nothing). (2^nd hiccup)

The up side of all this was that because we didn’t book a cabin, we were expected to sleep in the ferry bar because there were no assigned seats for passengers without cabins. I know what you’re thinking, “Tanya is such a bar star, she just loves partying all night”. But to our delight the bar was empty and had long couches with very comfy cushions. I also was able to meet two Catalonians, Joel and Albert, and the three of us finished a bottle of wine, while Melody slept. Later, I crawled into my sleeping bag on the comfy couch at about 4 am, and had one of the most enjoyable overnight transportation sleeps I have had yet.

I strongly suggest taking Ferries long distances over trains, because the next day was spent out on the deck sunning ourselves on the provided deck chairs in the middle of the Mediterranean and enjoying the company of our new friends, as well as the musical expertise of the Spanish Seniors choir that was also aboard. It wasn’t until around 6 pm that Melody and I started thinking about what the heck we were going to do when we arrived in Livorno. We had learned that the Ferry was going to be 4 hours late, which insured we would miss all trains going to Genoa. (3^rd hiccup)

After again weighing our options, we came up with a plan B. Pisa it was! It was a larger station, and it was also where our new friends were camping before continuing their Italian Motorcycle journey. This is where we became frustrated though because after speaking with the manager of the Grimaldi-lines Ferry we were on, I’ll call him Big Fat Bastard, we learned that Customer Service is not a strong point in Italy….but hopefully not a trending topic. Basically, Melody and I were stranded due to the 4 hour delay and Grimaldi-lines was not providing any compensation, or help in terms of continuing our journey. They will be receiving a strongly worded letter from me. Our only option was to take a cab from Livorno to Pisa, and that cab cost 60 euro! (4^th hiccup)

In the end, we shared a 60 euro cab with an American family. I even tried talking to the cabbie about the price and seeing if we could cut a deal, but he was not having it. This was the first time I felt like I was taken advantage of for being a “tourist”, and it sucked not having any other options, especially since it was a pretty short cab ride. I mean I have taken longer cab rides home from the bar that only cost me 10 euro. When we arrived in Pisa, we needed internet, or some way to contact her BF to let him know we would not be arriving in Genoa that night, but that we would take the 3:30 am train to arrive in Genoa by 6:14 am. Melody has had her own case of the hiccups on her trip, losing her water bottle, sunglasses, breaking a purse, losing her scarf, and most recently losing/getting stolen her cell phone. We were very much reliant on both the kindness of a hostel worker, and Melody’s knack for making her eyes well up with tears on command. We got Stoffel the message and decided to check out the leaning tower! It was pretty close so we made the hike, and we met some Toronto Canadians on the way. The tower at night was pretty cool, leaning and tower-like of course, and it worked out pretty well that we were able to see it at this point in the journey rather than making a special trip at a later time.

We headed back to the train station and waited for our train to arrive. It was a sleeper car, and it was full! (5^th hiccup) We ended posting up in the hallway of the sleeper car, which was very dark, dingy, run down and most of all stinky. After no sleep, we arrived to Genova, and after an excruciatingly painful and exhaustingly long and lost walk, we made it to a very nice hotel in Genova called NovoTel. Now after being up all night you would think that we would hop right into those comfy beds and get some shut eye, but you’d be wrong! We had things to do and a full days hike with Stoffel in Cinque Terre, I mean that’s the whole reason Stoffel was meeting us in Genova… well that and to finally meet yours truly of course ;) Rather than sleeping we decided to plan our next steps using the free wi-fi that all European McDonalds have, and then we would start our all day hike through the lush old world coastal paths of the Cinque Terre. But as has been customary in the last 48 hours, one can’t expect Italy to be like everywhere else in Europe, and the “free” wifi was only available for use by people with Italian SIM cards. (6^th hiccup)

So it was back to the hotel for us, in order to pay 5 euro an hour for hotel internet (which is ridiculous by the way). One thing we have learned on this trip is DO NOT TAKE ONE PERSONS ANSWER FOR TRUTH! Always get a second opinion because after asking a different hotel employee we found that the hotel offers a free internet connection, so no thanks to the first woman I asked before we even went to McDonalds for no reason! We quickly did our internet business and booked accommodation in Florence for Sunday and Monday and then decided to head to the station to make the 12pm train to Cinque Terre. The three of us had a lovely day together, and I will post picks of the park soon.

Melody and Stoffel want some alone time in Genova, and I want to meet up with my cousin Steven, so I am off by myself to Milan for the night! Currently, I am the most ragamuffin and stinky person on the train (and that’s saying a lot) because I have only slept 3 hours in the last 36, I haven’t really showered since Barcelona, I’ve stayed up all night, hiked all day, and broken into mad sweat twice running long distance to and from my train all in the same outfit. On a side note, I am wearing my Modrobes lounge pants and Modarchy jacket, and I highly recommend these items to travellers, as they are lightweight, quite versatile and fashionable, and they don’t absorb my stankiness like other clothing would. Now I am scheduled to arrive in Milan at 11:30pm and my hostel reception closes at midnight, so please do wish me luck friends, and hopefully my hiccups have subsided.

This was not meant to be a venting or complaining entry, but more or less an example of how my problem solving and stress management skills are getting tested. It is also to let you know that I am alive and well and loving being a full time traveler! It is tiring, and definitely doesn’t always feel like a vacation, but reflecting back on the blur that is my life right now makes me happy to share it with all of you and makes me want to urge you all to do something that completely takes you out of your comfort zone, that scares and excites you and that requires you to look at something that you may think is “weird” or “wrong” and instead calling it “different”. With each hiccup we found new options and Melody and I are good at sussing things out. Even when things don’t work out as planned, they still work out, and I wouldn’t really change anything about the last 48 hours…well except maybe my underwear.

Anywho, dear friends, I miss you and will be back in a Monthish!

Love and Kisses as always!

T

Eurotrip 2010: Two feet and a heartbeat? Ok, we’re walking! (4)

Hola friends,

I am sitting on a bus just leaving Faro in the Portuguese Algarve and heading to Seville, Spain. Melody and I had no idea we would be in Portugal as long as we’ve been, but we couldn’t find a reason to leave, and had so many reasons to stay…so we did.

(Me, Saar and Mel, enjoying Sagres a tasty Portuguese beer)

Our first two nights were spent in Lisboa at the Old Town Hostel. This hostel was the best yet, very nice and so hospitable and friendly, you must stay there if you come to Lisboa and do tell Jaoa I say hello…sigh. Our first day was spent drinking Sangria, wandering the narrow stoned streets and ascending great heights to see some amazing views of the city. I didn’t really know much about Lisboa before coming here, but it is a city very much like San Francisco with a huge red bridge, very steep streets and lots of stairs….not very biker friendly. The first night we went to the party district of Bairro Alto. We tried some authentic Portugese drinks called Caipirinha, then later Ginjinha and Amendoa Amarga (almond flavour with LOTS of lemon). The next day the hostel chef, Tiago, offered to show Melody, David (the kiwi) and Saar (the Irish) and I around and take us to the Thieves Market, he also cooked us an authentic Portugese dinner of Bacalao that night, which was super tasty. The flea market was huge and it was full of people selling old, new and used stuff/junk, we spent hours there and I was able to add to my button collection!

After talking to Jaoa and learning that a trip to Lisboa wasn’t complete without a trip north to Sintra, Melody and I decided to part from the boys and do some hiking and see some castles, before heading down to the Algarve. Hiking is all well and good, but we both had all of our bags and the train station in Sintra had no lockers. Not only are we super attractive, but we are also super buff so we decided to tough out the 50lbs of baggage and do the hike with all our gear. We considered it conditioning, and plus we liked it when we passed a group of people on the trail huffing and puffing and we were strolling merrily along with the equivalent of a small child strapped to our backs. We felt very accomplished after our hike and treated ourselves to a Sagres and Pasteis de Nata before catching our bus to Guincho, where we would camp for the night.

(Much needed break and photo op)

(One of the Mountain Castles)

(Sintra)

The bus was the wildest I have ever been on, not only were we driving on narrow roads in a huge city bus, but we were also on the side of mountains going about 80 km….but the ocean view was beautiful, and I trusted that the bus driver would get us to where we were going safely. When we got to Malveira, he pointed us in the right direction of Guincho beach camping and left us to continue the 5km journey on foot. We were ready, because the last leg of the journey always gives us a bit of an adrenaline rush because we know the end is in sight. Turns out we didn’t even have to walk because a nice couple drove by, stopped and then stuck their thumb out the window, a kind of reverse hitch hiking. Mel and I looked at each other looked at the truck and then ran towards it. Turns out they were an America and Welsh couple living in Portugal; travelers just like us. They didn’t kidnap and murder us, or sell us into the sex trade, so my faith in humanity is still strong!

(Guincho beach at night)

Guincho is a mostly untouched area, with a beautiful sandy beach and lovely green fauna. After camping that night near the beach, we headed to the beach for our first day in our swim suits! It was hot, with a nice breeze and a good amount of surfers to watch. But we of course couldn’t stay because as travelers you can’t stay in one place for too long, and we wanted to head into the Algarve. With travelling you mustn’t stay in one place too long, but you also must be flexible in your plans, and as it were, we weren’t able to make it to Lagos that day so much to my delight we had to spend one more night in Lisboa at the Old Town Hostel. And even better we met back up with the Savage and Deadly (Irish slang) Saar, who was travelling back through Lisboa as well. Now the three of us have been travelling together ever since.

After saying farewell to Joao and all the other friendly and awesome staff at the hostel we left to go south to the town of Sagres (the most south west point in Europe, but not where the beer is made). We got a hot tip about a beach we could camp on near there and so made our way to Sagres, and had a nice 2km walk to the beach we’d be camping on. We spent an epic night alone on a beach in the middle of nowhere, under the stars, listening to the waves, only a tad worried that the tide was going to come up ( but it didn’t…note to self, learn more about tides). At night when the tide was out we could walk into crevices that are usually water covered. Of course as we respect the environment and take only pictures and leave only footprints, we packed up real well and didn’t leave a trace and were able to spend the whole day on the beach with the other day beachers.

(On the way to our private beach)

(Sunset in Sagres)

(Waking up on our own private beach!)

A surf school called Sagres Natura (http://www.sagresnatura.com/) was giving a group of students lessons because the waves here were the perfect size for beginners. The group they had were all male, so the instructor Luis (who reminded me of a Portugese Captain Ron) asked Melody and I to pose in a picture with the group because they wanted more ladies because the picture was for a newspaper article that was going to be written about them. Of course it took a lot of convincing for me to say yes to pose for a picture with them, but we did it, and then Luis offered us a free lesson and time with the surf board when the students took a break! We jumped at the chance, and Mel, Saar and I each had a go with the surfboards for free…so Luis made our epic day even epicer!

(Most South Western pt of Continental Europe)

After the epic day, we continued our whirlwind tour of the Algarve hitting up Lagos, camping in Alvor and hostelling in Faro. Now we are on our way to Seville for one night. Being a whirlwind traveler and hitting up new cities and towns every day is exciting but also can take a toll on you. So After Seville we are taking a much deserved break in Barcelona, then it is off to the French Riviera and then another Heritage moment for me in Italy!

(Promo for Madeira in Faro. Due to the floods that happened in Madeira earlier this year there are many promotional exhibits for Madeira on the mainland)

(Portugal, especially Lisboa is covered in graffiti.Much of it is ugly tags, but there are many wonderful and creative pieces aswell...I liked him)

All in all I have loved Portugal and will be coming back hopefully with my family as well because I still need to go to my roots of Madeira Island in the Azores. Hope all is well where you are.

Love and Kisses,

TaCaGo

EuroTrip 2010: Back to my roots!... (3)

(Lynn, Mel found this sweet shell with a hole in it on the beach so I added it to the necklace, sweet eh?)

Ola from Portugal!

We just arrived on an overnight train to Lisbon, from San Sebastian, Spain this morning. I have yet to explore...(showers after an overnight train are a necessary priority), but I already am feeling very at home. I have always wanted to visit the two countries of my heritage...and as of today I can say that while I do not speak the language, YES! I have been to Portugal. It makes me very happy to be able to say that and I am excited to see what the city of Lisbon has to offer.

Yesterday, we spent the day in San Sebastian, after arriving the previous day from Paris. KTO was the best host and it was sad to say goodbye, but exciting to get out and "on to the next one" again. San Sebastian is so beautiful and I could have stayed there more then one night easily if the weather was nicer. We decided to chase the sun south, and should be on a beach at the latest on Sunday! I highly reccommend San Sebastian and will definitely be going back there.

(View from the top of the highest point of San Sebastian)

(Two of the 9 Pinxtos we tried...Octopus and Scallops...we also had pig ear...not my fave)

It's a beautiful city right on the ocean. It is famous for Tapas, or as they say in Basque country Pinxtos (Pinchos). The hostel we stayed at ran a pub crawl and we had the funnest party night on the trip yet. The other partiers were awesome and I was able to salsa, do the macarena and have a hip hop dance battle all in the same night. We had a little help from Sidra (cider) and of course Sangria. Unlike the UK pub crawl we did, we actually felt like we got our monies worth on this one, the Spanish do not skimp on their liquor or their cute boys...especially ones named Ricardo....Oh Ricardo (sigh).

(San Sebastian before we left, never seen a more beautiful sky)

Mel and I are now travelling with a New Zealander named Dave and an Irish dude named Saar that we met at the San Sebastian hostel. Both are really cool and down to camp with us when we head to the Algarve in a day or two. It will be our first time breaking out the tent so are glad we can have other peeps there to join.

Anywho, its my turn to shower and then I will explore...haven't had a beach day yet, but we are so close to being able to have one I can taste the salty water!

Ciao!

TaCaGo

EuroTrip 2010: Paris or Bus(t) (2)

I am writing this to you from my dear friend KTO's cute and quaint apartment in Paris. We finally made it, although we were held up on our bus at the UK/France border because they took one guy off the bus to talk to him, and never let him back on...sucks to be that guy.

After recovering from Queen's day Melody and I finished off Amsterdam with an amazing 8 hour and 72km bike ride through the Dutch country side. It was very beautiful and enjoyable and we found the Dutch to be very patient and friendly because as Melody said "The Dutch are really patient because we haven't gotten any honks and we have done many honkable things" (such as riding on the hiway, and stopping and checking the map in not the best spots...) The amazing thing about the Netherlands is that bikes are the most used form of transportation, and they have separate infrastructure specifically for cyclists, it's really amazing and we could definitely take a point or two from the Dutch when designing our public transportation infrastructure. We made our journey from town to town completely using bike paths...it was awesome, and tiring.

(Tulip Field)

(A lone tulip on the side of the hiway)

We were sad to say "Arrivederci" to our new Sicilian friends in Amsterdam, but we may now be visiting them in Siciliy if it all works out! Before leaving the Sicilians we made a point to learn some key phrases for when we head to Italy, such as "Sai parlare Inglese?", but that had to be reworked to "Sai conversare Inglese" as Melody and I, though talented with our tongues had lots of trouble getting the rolling of the tongue that saying "Parlare" requires....we're working on it though.

The bus ride from Amsterdam to London went by pretty quickly and I had my first experience of the Chunnel (Channel Tunnel). For those of you who don’t know, the Chunnel is basically an underwater subway tunnel. It was surreal because I was in a coach bus, inside a giant subway car, being taken through an underwater tunnel from one country to another. I was pretty cool...although the novelty wears off and it was less cool the second time coming back to Paris.

(Me at the back of the bus in the Chunnel)

We arrived in London at 8am on the 5^th and dropped our stuff at the hostel and took the NewEurope Free walking tour! We did the one in Amsterdam and did the on in Paris too! These tours give you an entertaining and affordable experience because the guides work for tips, as well they operate throughout Europe, so Mel and I will def be taking advantage of them throughout the next 2 months. Also in London, Museums are FREE…and since that's my favourite word we were able to see some mummies and the Rosetta stone for Free at the British Museum.

(Rosetta Stone)

We went to Buckingham Palace and saw the changing of the guards, which was probably the most underwhelming thing so far. But mostly we walked around a lot in London and got oriented with the city. It was nice being in a country where everyone spoke English, but I am excited to have to try a little harder to communicate with people. Oh I also got attacked by a hungry/friendly squirrel!

(He wasn't selling drugs he he)

(Squirrel!!! Christmas Vacation anyone?)

Mel and I are doing pretty good with keeping track of our budget, and hitting up grocery stores for food and carrying it with us. For example today we crossed one thing off my to do list because we bought a baguette, some Camembert and some 2.95 wine and sat in front of the magnificence of the Eiffel Tower, we felt very Parisien...and I'm sure so did the hundreds of other tourists doing the same thing!

The next three days are supposed to be rainy in Paris so we will do Museums and also head to the D-day beaches which should be very humbling.

I'm really enjoying seeing things I have only ever since on T.V. or in books and love that each day is new and different. Miss yall!

Love and Kisses,

TaCaGo

EuroTrip 2010: Dam Straat I’m in Amsterdam (1)

(Just one of Amsterdams many unique buildings)

Hoi! dear friends from the vice filled city of Amsterdam!

After a 7 hour flight, 5 hour layover in London and an hour plane ride to Holland, I have arrived and partied like it’s the Queen’s Birfday!

Since I have been in Amsterdam I have almost been run over by a Dutch cyclist, I have found myself as a main attraction in a random drum parade dance party, I have done my best to reassure some no-English-Italian guys on shrooms that their friend having a bad trip was going to be fine…while they were tripping, I have wandered the stone streets stoned and with a group of Aussies and Italians, I have eaten herring from a vendor (not a fan) and I have danced to euro Hardcore music in a sea of Orange ….let’s just say I am experiencing Amsterdam!….well except for the 50 euro per 15 minute prostitutes.

(Riding the ferris wheel on the first night, the National Monument can be seen on the ground below, very phallic)

If you know anything about Amsterdam it’s probably about the red light district. Our hostel, the Bulldog hotel (www.bulldoghotel.com) is smack in the middle of the red light district, so I have seen many beautiful (and not so beautiful) women scantily clad standing provocatively behind their red lit glass window. It’s shocking to see at first and it kind of weirds me out, but in a sad and curious way…it makes me think about what their life is really like, and what their reasons for doing what they do are.

Enough about that though. The main reason I began in Amsterdam was because I wanted to start my trip with a bang! No, no, not a 15 dollar hooker…a big party! This party is Queen’s day which was on April 30^th. These European people really know how to celebrate the Monarchy! Every street was closed to traffic, public transit and bicyclists (who usually have the right of way). Pedestrians and the many revelers boating on the canals had taken over. But this wasn’t like in Toronto where one street may be closed, or Dundas square, and it’s not like LollaPalooza (the next biggest party I’ve ever been to) in which a giant party is enclosed in a massive park…no no, this was a CITY-WIDE Party! Tourists of all types flocked to Amsterdam, and I was exposed to many different cultures in one day! Everywhere you went in the city was full of people drinking, dancing, smoking, chilling, climbing things, boating and unfortunately, littering and peeing in the streets. Now Amsterdam has had a long history of Men peeing in the canal and all over the streets it’s really gross because every once in a while you can catch a wiff. They even have public urinals set up everywhere for the dudes and many still piss in the canal. Sadly the female outdoor urinals had to be shut down back in the day after they were protested for by a group of feminists who said it was discrimination to make women have to pay per public toilet use rather then allow them to pee in the streets like men. Unfortunately, these female public toilets were shutdown due to junkies using the enclosed space as a place to shoot up. During Queens Day I paid a total of 1.50 euro to use the bathroom two different times….but let me tell you…it was an Emergency and well worth the buck fitty.

(Beautiful day for dancing)

It is really interesting experiencing completely foreign cultures and people in their natural habitat, it makes me think differently about my pre conceived notions of judging a book by its cover (we all do it) because then when you hear their voice it throws your whole schema of things off because you have a new sense of who they are by their culture. I don’t know, that might just be the lemon haze talking. One thing I did find ironic was that even though pot is so accessible in Amsterdam there are still illegal hard drug dealers prowling the streets and funnily enough if you want hard drugs you just go to the black guy on the street standing and whispering "Crack, Mushrooms, Charlie" at you as you walk merrily by. Some things are just universal I guess lol. Believe me when I say, hard drugs are just about the only thing you can get in trouble for by the Politie (police) in Amsterdam.

Currently, Melody and I are blogging and journal writing in the lobby of our hotel, sweet music is playing (did you know the best Dj’s in the world are in Amsterdam? Well, now you do), and we are enjoying the sesspool of European culture parading by, it’s quite lovely and wonderful. Tomorrow we will go to the Van Gogh museum or possibly bike tour through tulip fields, I’ll let you know.

(Yes I have already bought a pair of shoes...practical and stylish, only 20 euro...and they match my fanny pack!)

I wish you all luck and happiness,

Love and Kisses,

TaCaGo