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