Balls to the Wall: Caution to the Wind

I bet you bloggers are getting pretty excited about all these new blog post. At least I tell myself people read this. Haha(no im not actually laughing out loud, i just felt the haha was nessacary) Okay so fourth day or fifth or I dunno one day in Florence, we decided to go to Lucca. In highschool I went to Lucca and loved it...it is the one place I really remeber. Lucca is a small town surronded by a medieval wall. A huge, gorgous wall. A hour and a half train ride and there it was. You walk in a the hustle and bussel of the city outside fades away. Inside it is calm, quante and filled with trees and flowers. We rented some awesome crusier bikes with a cool bell and a basket!! So much fun. The whole day we crusied the streets of Lucca...down the alleys and into the squares. We found the flea market I remeber from high school and all bought ourselves a scarf. These light weight scarfs are all the craze here....now I feel european, or like tourist trying to be europeanian. We had a lovely long lunch as well.... wine, meat platter, salad and bruscetta. Stef found 45 euro on the ground the other night so we treated ourselves. We biked along the wall for along time, it was just so beautiful we didn want to leave. However, 6 hours flys by in Lucca and we had to go. Took us 2 hours to get home, but we love train rides. After a long day of biking we were beat, plus we leave for Rome the next day so we had to get sleep.

What a Great Day to Turn 24

On september 28 we were offically a month into our trip. It is at this time you realize why people backpack and travel for 5 months. I remeber being in Brussels only 7 days in and meeting a guy Alex who had been backpacking for a year and still going. I must have looked at him like he had four heads, because at that point I couldnt comprehend the thought. It is amazing how things change, how you see the world differently and how your prioties become different. We are now fully in the swing of things. Positive and sure of ourselves, always ready for a challenge, and excited for every brand new day. Things come much easier to us now and we find ourselves enjoying the beauty of just being. Standing in a square and apperciating all that is around you. Anyways....enough of that. For Rome we booked the Papaya for one night and the rest of the nights at a different hostel. Accomdation is tight in Rome so we were just happy to find an affordable place to stay. The train ride was nice as usually and only an hour long. As well, the Papaya was pretty easy to find, still a bit of a hike in the back packs but we are just happy we are getting better with directions and finding places. The Papaya is an all girl dorm and you can tell. It was bright and clean and the bathrooms did not smell. Which proves my point....boys are stinky and gross. Our room had colorful sheets and luggage lockers....which is always great!! The first girl in our dorm was Rachel from New York and very friendly. Shes traveling alone but staying with family. She also went to Paris, and she also hated it. Even cut her stay there short....its true....just see the sights and leave. After getting freshed up we went and found ourself a nice resturant to eat at. My parents of course sent a card with Stef.....which makes it a bit easier being away from home on your birthday. With their generous gift we got the fancy food on the menu. Christie got pasta with lobster and me and stef got pasta with clams and mushrooms. Delicious...melt in your mouth. We also had the local wine which goes superbly with the pasta. Sitting in a sidewalk cafe in Rome eating incrediable pasta with your two best friends, you realize....I am blessed. Here I am celebrating my 24 birthday in Rome. I am right where I am destined to be. After we got some more cheap wine (and amazing) and went to the hostel. Then we got all dolled up and wasted and danced the night away. Psyche. Contry to popular belief we sat with Rachel and Frankie(from the uk) played cards, laughed and talked the night away. Followed by a skype session with my parents. It was the best birthday of my life, one I will never forget, one I am so thankful to have had experienced.

Peace

Our fourth day in Florence we decided to explore the city. Being that we had been there a bit and it was a really safe city we all did it on our own. No, were still the best of friends and love each other.....we just all were itching for some alone time. On my time I found the Dome....its so huge and colorful!! Like nothing I had ever seen. So many people in the Piazza its hard to just stand and stare...but your so memerized about it. I keep walking and found another piazza and another and another....after awhile I they started to blend together. But I did find one full of Statues...probably 30 to 40. And the fake David. Thats right folks. There are two fake Davids and the real one is in Acadamia...and I dont know where that is. But I saw it, it looked good, got some pics and I am satisfied. Actually I probably could have told you it was the real one...but I wouldnt lie to you. After awhile I was pretty lost and itching for some company....however I was having a hard time finding my way back. On the way back, my purse string was yanked from behind...I had my headphones in and thinking it must be stef or chirstie I turned around. Here was a 75 year old man wagging his finger at me and yelling at me in italian....I told him I only speak english....then he says fuck you and leaves. Weird. Scary. At least I think I could have taken him. Finally back at the hostel we were revived and happy to see each other. I gues when you spend so much time together you feel weird being apart. That night a bunch of people from the hostel were going to the club, this time some guys joined us so we were able to just dance and have fun without being bothered. Another great night in Florence.

Lean On Me

Thrid day in Florence and Christies bite are brusing, but not itching as much, and starting to look better. Stef on the other hand is in alot of pain but realized that advil seems to help the itching. Me? Still nothing...I lucked out. However, we came up with a "these are mosquito bite we just dont react well to it", because everyone is asking about the bites....what are they? even a few... "Are those BED BUGS??". Actually, a guy staying in a different room across the hostel even asked about the bites and showed us his....yep hes got them....and nope we didnt tell him. We were not about to get kicked out of the hostel. Our hostel has a lock out from 10 till 4 which is stupid...so we have to leave and cant stay there. No sleeping in I guess. Today we went to the train station and found the platform to Pisa. It was an hour ride, and train rides always make us happy. Wonderful way to start your day. When we got to Pisa we got some easy directions and headed on out. It was a 15 min walk through a lovely city. Even stopped at a Farmers market and sampled some cheese, sausage and bread. Then just as your walking you see it in the distance through the buildings.......and wow....is that tower leaning. It was bigger then I thought it would be and had a huge gorgous catherdral behind it. It was magnificent. We went and got tickets to go up the tower.....15 euros each....hard to swallow but one you go in... worth it. As soon as you get to the base of the tower your leaning, and feel this weird vertigo. Reminded me alot of that werid vortex place off the side of the highwway in Montanas...that feeling. You start walking up the circular staircase...you lean to the right for five steps, then straight for five steps, then to the left for five steps....you get kinda dizzy. The first platform you get to you go to the outside of the tower. Woah, your leaning, its high, this does not sem stable, you feel kinda nacuous, dont look down. Ive been to the empire state building and the grand canyon...but on this leaning tower I was shaking and seriously thinking I might die. I headed in a bit early to the stairccase and a million steps later we were at the top. After you get over the fact your so high up and as you walk around the top you feel like your going downhill then up.....the view was breath taking. Well worth the 15 euros. You can see the mountains, the countryside, all of Pisa, amazing! Once we got down we all felt exhaiulrated. What an experience, a real must in life. When we got back to the hostel we were all pretty tired and spent the night booking hostels and changing tour plans. We cut out Napples, Milano, Zurich and Ibiza. Instead were going to Monte Carlo(which we are all very excited for) Prague and we will end in Berlin. Every backpacker goes on and on and on about Berlin and Prague...so we switched it up.

GTL... Heavy On The L

Our second day in Florence we were dreading. We had to tackle the bed bugs. We got crazy directions for the laundry mat, backed up everything we owned and headed off. An hour and 4 different italian directions later, we found the Wash n Dry. Sore from hiking around in our heavy backpacks (G... GYM) we realized for today...this would be our home. We got to unpacking, sorting and washing our things. What could not go in the washer (such as our backpacks) went straight into the dryer. The email from my mother was clear.... WASH EVERYTHING, DRYER FOR AN HOUR, CHECK EVERYTHING FOR BUGS. Great...this is all how we want to spend the day, pumping a bunch of money into a laundry machine.(L... Laundry) After we got the first load running we found a square around the cornor. Carrying all of our shit in grocery bags that cant be washed(netbooks, make up, shampoo, etc), we sat down in the square to tan and soak up sun (T...TAN).Many more trips of someone watching the 10 grocery bags of our stuff, someone putting in a different load....we were finally down. Mine took especially long because my washer was broken, so it didnt drain the water....that was just the cherry on top. After going back to the hostel we got the low down from Momma J. On skype, she looked at christties bites, confirmed they were bed bugs, told us to check our beds again, told us what to look for, and even made us feel better. We were going to switch hostels thinking we had infected them too. Then Momma J told us how to prevent this (which i knew, and should have been doing the whole time......mother is always right!) Shout out to my mom, we could not have done it without you! After all the day we showered well and went for a nice itatlian dinner. The pasta and wine ALWAYS makes you feel better. It was sangaria night again at our hostel but this time us and five other girls wanted to go dancing. Seeing we could not find the place the first night we were itching to go. All us girls got ready went downstairs to wait for the manager who said he would show us how to get there. But he never came down.....very sketchy man. Thankfully again some locals who were going to the same place invited us to join. We NEVER would have found it on our own. The street goes into a million different ways, and turns and changes name a billion times. We can not get orientated in Florence. We got to this little club which was pretty nice with great tunes. However, you walk in and your convinced that it must be a gay bar. Thr ratio guys to girl was 50 to 1. Im not exagerrating. Lets just say we didnt stay long, to aggressive, so we went and got a Kebab instead.

Sleep Tight Dont Let The Bed Bugs Bite

Venice, Venezia...Italy. Italy in general is a world of its own. The way the cities are set up and the vast amount of history here is breathtaking. The day in Venice was truly lovely as I have already mentioned. That night we went to find this campground we were staying in. We had to back track on the train a bit to get to the Mestre stop just outside of Venice. From there we had to walk a bit and take a bus. The directions were really good so we actually didnt have any trouble finding Camp Fusina. First impression? Nice...there they have a restrurant, bar, supermarket, laundry, shower house, wifi....everything you would basically need. We were staying in a trailer...fairly simple just beds, an outlet and some shelfs but overall pretty cozy. Especially because it was just the three of us staying in the tralier which is always a treat. However, whenever it is just the three of us , our shit goes everywhere...mostly because we can do that. That night we were all pretty tired so we just decided to grab a drink, shower and went to bed. The next day we all decided to go to the beach. Its this little island just off of Venice the beach is called Lido. There is a boat that takes you from the campsite to the island. It was a 25 min ride and we were able to see more of the sea. Everyone seems to own a boat of some kind over there....all different sorts to....fishing boat, gondola, motor boat, cargo boat etc etc. The island has mostly houses with a few resturants and stores. The beach was easy enough to find...just about a 10 min walk in. The best part of the beach is that it was just a beach. No vendors or any buildings around.There was actually just a few other people then us there as well. The sand was white and felt really good on our feet. The water was warm, really warm with waves. The day at the beach was awesome, it wasnt crazy hot and a bit cloudy which was nice so we didnt burn. After a long day at the beach we basicially had some supper and went to bed. Venice was a nice place to reboot our batteries, prepare us for the rest of Italy. The next morning we got up and had some breakie and coffe. It was nice to be in nature again, we have been spending alot of time in the cities lately. Over breakie...we noticed christies "rash" had gotten drastically worse. Worse though....now stef had the same thing. Sitting there....my mind wandered back to sitting at the kitchen table across from my mom talking about bed bugs. The rash will be red, sore and itchy. In a track mark. To avoid this, check your stuff and body every morning, keep your sleeper sheet in a sperate ziplock bag and never put your backpack on the bed. Damnit! Why didnt I listen to my mother...and WHY is she always right. We had bed bugs. Stef and Christie were in alot of pain, from the itching and the welting. And i mean WELTING. I thankfully showed no signs. Once we got to Florence we knew we had to deal with the bed bugs, after a quick "MOM WHAT DO WE DO" email, we got the girls some cream to help with the itching and went to find a laundry mat. None were open and we couldnt find them anyways. We had to deal with it the next day. Our hostel was a story in and of itself. We of course take forever to find it, Florence has so many side streets and Piazzas its really tricky to orientate yourself. Once we found it of course it was on the 4th floor. Once we get up there, its only a floor. it was so small they dont have a front desk and we can barely fit in the hallway with our backpacks on. There are two bathrooms, a coomon room, kitchen and 3 rooms with beds. Even the workers stay in the same room as the guests. We get to the room and its a bunch of beds packed in but we didnt see a luggage locker or keys for the door. The guy tells us the rooms dont have locks but dont worry we have lugguage lockers. He goes to another room and comes back carrying a little bed side stand with a shitty padlock on in. Then he plunks it down and says...there now you have a lugguage locker. Looks like were carrying our money belts everywhere. Not Great. O well, we did what we love doing the most....walked around Florence. It truly is a sight to see. The buildings are so colorful, even the chruches...with blues and green. The Piazza (which are about every 4 blocks) and filled with statues, monuments, and chruches. On every street coronor is a painting of some sort or another. We got back and it was free sanguria night. Thats right the hostel provides free Sanguria. Free booze is always a highlight. There was quite a few of us all in this one tiny room. Austrialia, British, American, Brazil, Spanish, and Scottish. A great mix of people. We spent the night visiting and sharing backpacking stories. On aussie was telling us about this girl in her group that got a litre stein thrown at her face at Oktoberfest...had to spend the night in the hospital. Thank got that wasnt us. Btw, our paris gypsy horror story is a classic hit every time we tell it. Its nice to be able to laugh about it now. Later in the night me and the girls wanted to go dancing and got directions to a disco club(nightclub, here it is a disco). The map was some photocopied missing half the streets on it. Italians are crazy with directions too...they half speak to you in italian and mostly just circle things fast and be like "its easy, so easy, you will see it" We didnt get but down the block and we were lost. Thankfully Florence does not slow down at night. Could be 4am and theres lights and people everywhere...resturants and music still playing. This guy from Florence could ccclearly see we were having trouble and offered us assitance. He was a train conductor from Florence and really nicce. He actually took us to an old pub just around the bend. We met up with some of his friends, a girl who is a biochemist and another train conductor. They gave us history and things to see in Florence. Meeting locals is always like hitting the jackpot. Then they showed us where to get the best kebab in town. And it was a GOOD kebab...expect they put fries in it, we dont like that as much. Either way a wonderful sucessful night and hopefully more to come in Florence. Knowing that we had to sleep in those beds and possibly infect the rest of the hostel was unnerving...but alas we did not have a choice. Tomm we will tackle the bed bugs.

POURST

WOW ok...where to begin....how to remeber all the exciting things Munich has to offer. Well here it goes. We arrive on to Munich at 230, we cant go to Farahs (the girl who is hosting us) till 730. So we lock up our backpacks and head off. It was extremely hot and of course humid....still having trouble adjusting to the humidity. We are all breaking out in rashes....but o well maybe our skin will adjust. First thing you notice...DIRNDL and LEDERHOSEN! The bavarian costume for Oktoberfest. Everyone, and I mean everyone was dressed for the festival. There were a ton of shops for dirndl's and we figured we would stick out so we went out and bought one. We obviously bought the cheapest one (50 euros...ouch but worth it) and no it was not even close to authentic. It was just amazing watching all the different outfits, they were amazing. And there is alot to this outfit as well, for example....if you tie your apron on the left your single, middle your married, on the right your a widow. Pretty excited about our purchase and after walking around getting a feel for the city we headed to Farahs. Understandably, we were a little nervous about staying with a stranger but after talking to alot of other backpackers, they all said it was an incredible experience. We found the place just fine, its in a nice area of town. We buzzed and she let us up. She was so nice and welcoming. Her apartment is beautiful, her couch folded out to a bed that fit all three of us just fine. We chatted with her for a bit and she told us how Oktoberfest worked, how to get there, what else to see in Munich...even told us what tent to go to. She gave us a key and said that she works alot so she cant spend much time with us but that we can do whatever we please....shower, laundry, eat whateves. It was PERFECT! We got a good rest because when we heard you have to go early...and when they said early....they meant early. We got up at 6am got ready for the day and we at the gardens by 730ish. First off, its a carnival! There is this huge area with rides and fair food and then these building (so not actually tents) with different breweries that host each tent and only serve their beer at what tent you go to. So we get there.....and we really have no clue what line to get in. After wandering for awhile we get word to go to the HB tent. There was a HUGE line up...but then the sercuity guard moved and we kinda snuck into line. Now, when I say line........ I mean a huge mob of people huddling outside of the door. ITs a free for all....the goal is to run in and get a table. If you are not seated at a table you will not be served beer. So 845am rolls around, we say a little prayer, and hold onto each other for dear life. Then the doors open.....people just crush into moving towards the door...pretty sure Christie has a bruise from me holding her hand so tight. Then through the doors and run to grab a table. Once you get to that table your exhailerated!! WE MADE IT!!!! The shitty thing is....beer is not served till the first tapping of the keg....which is at 12. No coffee, no beer, just pop and mineral water. Side note about the mineral water....it sucks, it tastes funny, it is not refreshing. But guess what?! You cant get tap water, and all bottled water is mineral. We do not like that...especially stef who is also realizing that everything is fizzy...including Apple Juice. Thankfully, we brought playing cards and were joined by some Switzerland guys who go to Oktoberfest every year so they were able to give us the low down on what the day will look like.After many games of cards...some weird hot dog meat and german potatoes...the fun began. A parade of musicians playing bavarian music came through the tent and to the platform above. Then the owner of the brewery came and gave a speech welcoming us and then tapped the keg. After the keg was tapped they started handing out beer to all the people below the platform. Unfortunatly we were not under the platform. Soon enough the litre beer came, and it was good! Germany knows how to brew beer. The good times were rolling but by 3 o'clock the place was so hot you felt like you couldnt breath. No air circulation and HOT. So we got a stamp for the guard (who by the way...do not mess with them, they are big and scary and they dont care who you are they will throw you to the ground, we actually saw a girl get dragged out by her ponytail) Anyways, so we sat in the shade for awhile then we tried to go back in but they changed the stamps! So we couldnt get in and we were not about to try and get past those guards. We did however get into the beer gardens on the outside of the tent. We ended up sitting with some australians who seemed pretty nice at first. The two girls from sydney were awesome, they had been travelling for awhile so it was nice to get some tips from them. However the other austrialians were crazy. We have noticed this trip to avoid Austrailians...they are crazy. I mean crazy. These guys were so wasted they were drinking their beer out of their shoes and hats, to which they call doing a shoey or a haty. Cursious how far these austrailian guys would go...I dared them to drink out of a rose and call it rosey. They did it, spilled beer all over themselve and the people behind them. Then the girl who was hit with beer from behind poured her beer all over the austrailian. Strangly enough he loved it, then proceeded to pour more beer on himself. Obviously we left....but we met some people from earlier in the day who got us back into the tent. Once back in the tent it was dancing and drinking and alot of singing the beer drinking song " My Pourst". We made it till about 830ish before we were way to tired...getting up at 6am is not easy. On our way back we took a wrong turn and could not find the subway. In the process of this, we got caught in a DOWNPOUR of rain! Of course we had no umbrella or jackets. Once we finally found the train station...we got on the wrong train. 2 hours later we got back to Farah...soaked and not in the greatest moods. However, the couch was comfortable and Farah gave us towels and was really great about it. The next day we went to St Mary's column for the Danchu concentration camp tour. It was pouring rain and frezzing. That seems to be the case. The first day of any place we go to is really hot....the rest is cold and rain. Maybe Italy will change our luck. Anyways, the tour was 18 euro and took us there and back on the train for its just outside of Munich. The tour was incrediable informative, heartbreaking, and a huge eyeopener. Danchu was the first concentration camp and the last camp to close after 12 years. Interstingly, the prisoners were from all over and they were not just Jewish. German, polititians, women, men, priest, basically everyone. The germans obviously do not condone what happened and make it very clear they are ashamed of what happened. But the background information we received paint a broader picture then what we learn in Canada. For example, these camp we protrayed to the public as simply a rehabilitation program for terrorist of Germany, the people who were trying to destroy Germany. The public did not find out for years the horrible things that happened at those camps. It was also informative to hear just how Hitler acccomplished his power hold in Germany, for Germany at the time was in dire economic collaspe and hyper inflation etc etc. Either way, the things that happened at this camps were hard to comperhend. Its harrd to think a human could every endure such psychological and physical torture. However, they have memorial education sites like Danchu so that people will know the truth and never forget. As hard as it was, we were all glad we did it. After the tour, we went home pretty somber and decided we needed to do something fun and happy. We heard about this Youth Hostel downtown with 2 euro beer, so of course we went. There we met some Canadians from Toronto. Always nice to meet people from home who have the same sense of humor. Later a russian and a couple of guys from Isreal joined. Meeting new people from all over the world is the best part of backpacking. You learn so much about where they come from, it really is interesting. After showing our new friends some canadian card games we went got a kebab and went home. The cabs in Europe are really cheap which is always helpful. The next day we got up and went into town to do the free walking tour. It was raining even harder then the day before and twice as cold. The walking tour was cancelled and we figured we would just go back to Farahs and make some mac and cheese, she was at work all day so we had the place to ourselves. We were hoping for KD but to no avail, so we got some noodles and sauce mix instead. Once at Farahs, we put the key in the door and hear the lock turn but its not opening. The door knob does not move either so its hard to know if the keys working of not. Well, stef gives it a go and chirstie then me again. Feeling stupid, hungry and cold....we decide there must be some trick to it. Stef starts knocking on surronding apartments for someone to help us, we look to see if there is a supervisor and me and chirstie start trying every way possible to open this door. Now, there is a window that is right beside the door at eye level that goes to Farahs room. Well....christies small, maybe we can get her through the window. There is a wooden blind in front of the window, then the window is open a crack at the top. We push the wooden blinds up and try for 15 min to open the window all the way from the outside. Well, that plan didnt work, and stef couldnt find anayone who was home. Christie gives the door another try and this time inside of pushing she pulls......and it opens. Yes that right, it took us an hour to open a door. Once inside we go to close the wooden blinds. There not moving. We cant get them down. Its in Farahs room. Shit. After some food and move attempts at the blinds we realize were screwed. We get ready for the night and leave her a note explaining the blind situation. Of course we made up some story about noise in the courtyard and we went to see what happened and the blinds broke. We figured that was better then we tried to break into your place. We told her we would pay if it needed to get fixed and headed to Oktoberfest for the second night. This time at 7pm not 7am. Because it was monday we got into a tent just fine. We ended up sitting with some locals right from Munich. Of course they were veterans to Oktoberfest but it was fun learning a bit about the history and Munich in general. After they took us to the best club in town. 086....easy enough to remeber. Best part? We got to skip the line and did not have to pay cover...it was like Vegas all over again! This club was awesome, played a ton of music we knew and german music as well. After we asked the cabbie to take us for a kebab....but he wouldnt. So we missed out on the kebab. Tuesday was our last day in Germany but we were taking a night train to Venice that didnt leave till 9 pm. We got up but Farah had already gone to work and was in bed when we got back. The blinds were still broken and she didnt leave a note.....so were not sure if shes mad or not. We bought her some wine and chocolates and wrote a thank you note and apoligized again about the blinds. Overall, the couchsurfing was a success, perfect for what we needed. A hostel would have been 100 euros a night or camping in a tent where we would have froze. I would rather stay at a hostel but Farah was really great to stay with. That day we stored our backpacks and tried the free walking tour. This time it was there and it wasnt raining which was great. Munich is a really interesting city full of secret history. There are alot of memorials for the second world war but they are not to flashy or noticiable. It became very clear that Germans are incredible ashamed of what happened, but would like to be remebered for something other then Nazi Germany. However, every student learns about WW2 every year and must go to 3 concentration camps to graduate. The nazi salute is illegal in Germany so are any nazi symbols or neo nazi groups. There are as well alot of spots where Nazi statues and plagues were taken down. Hitler did alot of his early campaigning in Munich and it was eery to think that you were standing in the same spot that man stood in at one time. This tour guide was spanish and her english was fast and hard to follow. She really sucked actually, but either way we got a great history lesson and got to see the roots of how things went down in Nazi Germany. After we went to the train station and chilled before our train. Once we got on our laptops the best new yet came. WE GOT OUR PIN NUMBER!!! Shout out to Debbie for getting the mail and sending the pin number, you made our year!! Now we dont have to use our canadian funds and we have money again. WOW, huge stressor gone. Our train was 50 min late so we didnt get going till around 1015ish. The sleeper carts are incredibale small and crazy. Three beds each side. Me and stef were on top and just barely from the ceiling. We met a married couple from Edmonton who had been all over who kept us some company. Me and stef took gravol so we were passed out in no time. While we definatly got sleep, it was off and on. The train would be moving so fast you think it will derail, then stop completely. Either way, it was ok and a good way to take a 9 hour train ride. Arriving in Venice at 630 in the morning we mostly just packed up our backpacks and walked around. We went all through Venice from one side to the other. There was alot of free entrances to church, art galleries, and musems so the day went quickly. The Piazza San Marco is the same as I remebered from High school. Large, beautiful and FULL of tourists. However, once you clear the Piazza and head the other way it is much quieter. Sitting by the canal with the gondalas riding past is nice. Its hot today...hopefully it doesnt rain tom. Christie had her first Italian pizza and Im pretty sure thats all she will eat this next month...she loves it. Stef had gellatto.....she was sadly disappointed. Me? The Language barrier is getting more difficult and no one is really understand my translation cards or lingo about my nut allergy...or they just dont care. Thankfullly we are out of Germany and I think there are less nut products in Italy, so I'll be fine. Right now we enjoying a cappicuno (yes ive become a coffee snob) on the patio in Venice waiting for our bus at 630. We are staying at a camp just outside of Venice, hopefully it is nice. Its going to be different then a hostel but I have high hopes for Venice.

How About Another Kebab?

So right not were sitting on a train headed for Munich. The train ride is four hours and the train is PACKED. Something tells me were not the only ones headed for Oktoberfest. Luckily we reserved our seats so we got on the train just fine. Leaving Vienna and looking out the train window is truly a sight to see. The countryside here is incrediable lush...reminds me alot of British Columbia. Vienna in genereal was a gorgous city. Every building had white marble with gold and vibrant colours. You could literally just walk around looking up all day. So our first day in Vienna was of course our figure our lives out day. We have a rountine now that seems to be working. Things are getting stressful because we still dont have our pin number and now we have resorted to using our Canadian debit cards. O well, I'm sure years from now when we look back on this trip we wont be thinking about how expensive it was to go. After we did what is my personal favorite....walk around till you get lost. We ended up by the opera house. A HUGE building with men outside in Mozart looking costumes selling tickets for the show. However, you didnt even need to get a ticket. On the side of the Opera house was a huge screen playing the show live. As we walked through the square the music played throughtout. It was beautiful. Later on that night we found out about this place along the canal where there is all these bar with sand. Again, Vienna has a great metro that is easy to follow. However, this time we did not pay for one metro ticket. All they have are these gates you go through......you dont even need a ticket to get in. That and no one else was buying tickets or getting it stamped...So to save money we just crossed our fingers that we wouldnt get caught, and we didnt! So we get to Schwaaplatz...we have been guessing how to say ever name in germany. True enough, here is this large canal...very similar to the seine in Paris, with all these bars with deck chairs and sand. We got a couple of bottles of wine and sat down in a deck chair by the canal. The weather was hot that day so the cool brezze was nice. Rats are popular in Vienna....christie was having a hard time with that. But it was worth seeing her jump out of her chairs and squeal. That night was were pretty hungry so we decided on a Kebab. Thats when the love affair began. It was cheap, you get lots of food, and it is delicious. I know I talk alot about food on this blog...but when you dont get to eat often, you remeber the good times when your full. We must have eaten 3-5 kebabs on our trip. Turkish food we discovered is very popular in Vienna....and we understand why. The next morning we got up early and went downtown to rent bikes. For the day it only cost us 12euros each and man was it worth it. You first get on the bike and your a bit wobbly. THere like nice mountain bikes made to climb mount everset. The lady gave us a map, told us to just follow the green line for those are the bike paths, do not bike on the sidewalk, heres a poncho if it rains, be back at 5 to return the bikes. And we were off. Well.......That green line is not as easy to follow as one might think. At first we were doing ok...we found the Park! With some really awesome playgrounds. Forts, ropes, ziplines, slides...the whole nine yards! We were having a pretty great time, even tried for 30min to make stef do the zipline...but after me and chirstie trying to convince her..and her just sitting there going nervously giggling...we gave up. Then we tried for awhile to do what every europian does....the hop on and off. There is a metal thing that hangs off the back of the bike that the passenger can sit on . The Europians look so graceful sitting on the back with their legs crossed to on side. Well...Even after many trial and errors all would accomplish was an awkward staddle. We were supposed to follow the right side of the canal not the left for a bike trail. Well....we couldnt figure out which side and we ended up on the left. However....there was a construction accident in the canal so there was a ton of fireman and police. So realy the view wasn't so bad. Then after going down some street that looked like the ghetto having no idea where this bike path is...we saw a biker! We bike and followed him to the bike path...he was doing such a great job we followed him for about 45 min. He kept looking at us with skeptical eyes...but we just pretended he was our tour guide. Once we got on the bike path it was brezze, and its fun because you have a little bell so when people are on the bike path you just DING DING DING..and they move. Cruising along you see all the magnificent building, shops, cafe, muesuems....and you can cover alot of miles. Eventually the guy managed to loose us and we realized we were back at our hostel. So hoping to head to the Opera house again we got on a bike path and headed towards it. Were cruising along and out of no where on a straight street it just ends then were right in the heart of traffic with parked cars on one side and whizzing cars on the other. OMG it was scary!!! We tried to get on the sidewalk and Christie biffed it off her bike. (dont worry folks shes ok not a scratch on her, maybe just down to 8 lives) Man down we just used the sidewalk and went back to the old bikepath we were on. We are brave...but you could loose your life out there. After 3 hours of biking are out of shape asses were pretty tired so we returned our bikes. It was kinda raining on and off and pretty cold so we wanted to go back to the hostel. Getting on the metro and frezzing wanting to go back...me and stef booked it to the train....cheering christie on to make it to the train she flys in just as the doors were closing. (7 lives left) Then while on the train this mountain of a man lost his balance and rammed right into christie almost breaking her toes......needless to say, chirstie was sore the next day. That night we got all dolled up for this pub crawl that we saw an adversitment for.Everyone coming out of the hostel going out was dressed to the nines. Heels, great hair, dresses...the works. So we figured we would do the same. After heading to the metro and getting on the right street we found it. We get into this pub and go to the bar and ask to buy tickets for the pub crawl...we were on time and ready to go. He explains it will only happen if he has enough people, we ask how many he has.....he says were the only ones. Awkward. We look around the bar and there is about 20 people all dressed very casual with jeans and a tshirt. Really awkward....we stuck out like a sore thumb. Well he let us pay the 15 euros and we got 3 free drinks on the house then the 15 euros as a tab for the rest of the night. We sat in a cornor....it was awkward. Thankfully the bartenter who i think felt sory for us came to converse. By far one of the most interesting people thus far. He is Austrian, going to school to be a lawyer and very passionate about his country. He was kind enough to explain the history of Austria, why they are different then germans, how the country came to be...the whole nine yards. It was like a free history lesson. Later some of his friends joined and things we not so awkward anymore. They also had the game Jessie was talking about! In the one cornor there is this huge log of wood with nails and a hammer. Our new friends were kind enough to show us how to play. What you do is you barely put the nail in the log. Then everyone gets one chance at whacking the nail with the opposite side of the hammer...first one to get the nail all the way in wins. Well...you are also not allowed to aim. You have to put the hammer beside your knee and swing from there. IT WAS HARD! eventually they let us cheat a little cause we were getting no where, and put the hammer beside the nail then whack it. Which we still got no where. There is also this shot called a Vienna blood shot. You take it swish it in your mouth for 10 seconds and swallow....and it tastes like bubblegum. Of course that was a childs shot compared to the fire shot. We saw a girl do it...you take a shot of sambuca then put water around your mouth, then they light it on fire and sprinkle cinnamon on it to make it sparkle! It was crazy but after seeing her face there was no way I would do that. Because she did it she got to write on the wall....well i had a pen in my purse so I wrote on the walll anyways. After the pub we got a kebab and went home. Yum....kebab. The next day we were in pain....and tired. That bike ride really took it out of us. I know....sad rightt? We booked our hostels for the next two weeks, got a kebab and went down to the canal to read our books and relax. Then to be honest we had some supper a shower and went to bed. Dont worry!! We are headed to Munich and Im sure there will be no rest there. The train ride is always a nice way to start the day...by far the best way to travel. Today we get to Munich at around 230 so we have the day to meet Farah the girl that is hosting us and time to see the sights. Tomm is the opening ceremonies and apparently you have to be there early....like 10 am to get a spot. Weird. Anyways, wish us luck and lots of cheers!

We will figure it out...

Us at the Anne Frank Muesum

Us with our new Canadian Friends!! Travelled to Amsterdam with these girls and meeting up again in Munich!

So writing the blog and finding time to do it is getting harder....especially trying to remeber everything so here it goes! Our first night in amsterdam we just kinda walked around and saw the sights. The canal system there is amazing. It runs all through the city. People mostly bike or boat to work. While we have found the dutch to be really friendly and accomadating....watch out when they are on a bike!! They will run you over!! And they are everywhere!! The next day we booked our tickets to Vienna and Munich. We didnt need a resorvation for Vienna which was nice  but we got one for munich cause we assumed there would be alot of people taking the train for Oktoberfest. There was a huge line up when we got there and so we had to take number. Stef was pretty tired so she closed her eyes for a nap. Out of nowhere this huge women comes up with a gun and handcuffs on her belt (police officer) and goes to stef and yells at her GOOD MORNING! Stef jumps up and is like what!? The lady said you cant sleep here, you want to sleep go somewhere else. And then she was gone. It was pretty funny...im just glad she didnt get arrested. That night we went out on a pub crawl that we heard about the night before. Awesome way to meet people!! All tourist, all like to dance, all friendly. The clubs were awesome with huge dance floors and awesome music. The next day we went and checked out Dam Square and the Royal Palace and the REd light District and the Anne Frank Muesum. The musem was so enlightening. Seeing the place, up these steep stairs, the small rooms, the decorations on the wall...it was incredible there was eight people leaving here for 2 years. However, it was very somber. The horrible things that happened are hard to digest. After we went to the square and such. There was music and people everywhere. They have signs everywhere warning about pickpocketers so we were very careful with our stuff. Its hard to get around amsterdam....finding the red light district was tough. But then BOOM there it is....just by the canal, red lights everywhere, window after window of hookers trying to spin tricks. Christie wanted a picture of the windows with the girls...so we go to take a picture from across the canal. Then the girls closed the curtains and clearly didnt want it. On the walking tour the next day the tour guide told us not to take pictures...shes seen the hookers run down the street and smash your camara, they even throw a bottle of piss at people. Needless to say, we looked at each other and thanked god they didnt chase us down. It really was a place where you feel totally out of your element to say the least. The next day we did the walking tour again which is always so much fun. The guides are so funny and tell the most amazing stories and facts. Amsterdam is incrediable rich in history...very famous for trade. As a people they are VERY torelrant of others. Nothing seems to bother them. Apparently it comes from the start of amsterdam when everyone had to work together to consitently fight off flooding. Most of amsterdam is below sea level. The building are cool tooo, because they are so long and narrow and built on swamp...all the buildings are leaning forward or sideways. It almost looks like it will fall over. As well, they are big on making money. There is a Church in the sex district and they actually purposly built the sex district around the church. Back in the day, alot of sailors cam ethrough amsterdam for trade. Once of the boat after a long year at sea they went to the hookers. Of course they were catholic so after they would go, confess their sins, then pay to have them gone. It was convient because it was all in the same area. The chruch started as a one room shed now its a huge brick catherdral. I guess the church There is also a square with one of the original gates from medival times when amsterdam had a wall built around it. It was also a place in the 17th century where you could pay to see a live autopsy. Interesting! That night we hung out with Sandra and Tevis.The canadian girls we met in Brussels. We went to a jazz club and listened to some live music. Trumpet, bass, drums, sax, and piano. It was the best jazz i had ever heard!Everyone was dancing and getting into the music in this tiny hole inthe wall. It was a great night! The next day we had to take an early train for 8 hours toVienna. Half way through we had to transfer in Frankfurt. Well our train was delayed and we asked how we would catch the transfer. The guy told us to get off at this stop but when we got there they said the train had been cancelled. Then we talked to like four other people and they told us to go to the next stop and catch the train. Thats what we did...but when we got to the next stop we didnt know where to find this train. Likely we figured it out and barely got on the train before they left. Thats where our motto for this trip is coming from....we will figure it out. We made it to Vienna, we made it to our hostel. This is BY far the best hostel ever. SO clean, big lounge, bar, cheap drinks and food, private shower and a nice big room. I love it and for only 22 euros a night. Last night we went to the hostel pub and met some kiwis (people from New Zealand) then we to a Jazz club....which was amazing! The clubs in europe have such great atmosphere and are all so different then the next. Then we went home got some Turkish food....a bread with melted spinach and cheese in it. AMAZING!! Today we are trying to figure out our lives....we are out of money on those credit cards, and the pin number still hasnt come. So we have funds...just no way to access them. And trying to talk to HSBC is like pulling teeth. O well.... We will figure it out.

Brussels to the Rescue

So far you all may have been thinking that we had made a huge mistake coming over here, for it sounds like we are not having a good time. To be honest, in Paris we were not. Brussels however is an entirely different story. The hostel is wonderful! Nice common area, free wifi, lots of people are age around and a clean washroom. Last night we went to a pub for stefs bday meal. It was a nice cafe with nice crowd of people. We hadn't eaten much that day so we were straving! We each got a big pint of beer for 4 euros and a huge plate of pasta for 6 euros. It was so nice to be full, it felt amazing. After we got some beer and went into the common area at the hostel. Just like that you start talking to people and find out where there from. One girl, Emma from the uk has been great. Met a few from paris...actually alot. And some fellow canadians from Montreal and two girls from Ontario...which we are travelling to amsterdam with. Then all of us went to this cool part of the city...it was only a 5 min walk...and you turn and down this alley is pub after pub after pub. We ended up at this really neat one with a ton of other backpackers. Ive never met so many people from so many places ever! It was a really cool experience. Today we slept in a bit and went to the tourist part of town for breakie. Emma came along which was nice...its so nice having someone new to talk with. We heard of this place called Mokafe that has the best waffles and for only 3 euros. We found the place pretty easily which was nice. We were told to get the waffles with just sugar....and man o man there is a reason why belguim is famous for waffles. It was so good, really sweet.....kinda had a gut ache after but it was SOO amazing. Then we went walking around, many beautiful buildings everywhere. However, people drive like mad here. They speed, honk...and they do not care if you are walking, they will take you out. In brussels there is a famous statue called the Mannus pie (something like that ),from the 1600;s  its a big deal. So we find it........it was so SMALL, you couldnt help but burst out and laugh that this is what they are famous for. It of a little boy peeing. The story goes that he was a lost boy a saved the town from fire by peeing or something. Really strange....Really funny. Stef and christie participating in some fancy chocolate...I of course did not have any....but they said it was incrediable!!Tonight we plan on figureing out our coverters so we can charge everything!!And hopefully meet some more cool people! Either way, now were having the great time we thought should be having!! Till amsterdam......

Happy Birthday Stef

Day 8 of our adventures. The day that Stefanie was born...so far the best part of her birthday is leaving Paris. Let me tell the story of three Canadian girls in Paris. So on Sept 2, 2011 after we checked into a different room with no one inside we headed down to the train station to book our ticket to Brussels. We also booked our hostel for Brussel, a private room for 29 euros a night. We are quickly realizing we need to book our hostels as far in advance as possible. So we booked amsterdam for 4 nights at 52 euros a night. OUCH! And Vienna for 3 nights a 22 euros which is much better. Clearly we need to book way in advance for the best deals. O well, we are learning. So we went to the train station for book the ticket to Brussel and validate our eurorail passes. After some issues finding where it is we are supposed to go we talked to the lady and booked our tickets. 27 euros to reserve a ticket!! I couldnt believe it!! She said every country is different and we are hoping its just Paris that is SOOO expensive. After we decided to go to the Bastille area and walk around a bit. After walking for awhile we found the seine. It was a hot day, hot and sweaty and humid. We sat by the seine with all the other frenchies and enjoyed the cool air coming from the water. Later we bought a couple bottles of wine for 2, 50 euros a piece....at least the wine is cheap. And sat by the river and relaxed. It was nice, we had a wonderful time and the wine was pretty good. The weather cooled off and it started to rain. Which was really nice considering it was sufficatling hot all day. We ran to a cafe and enjoyed watching the rain from the patio, had some wine and a cheap ham and cheese sandwich. By the way, if i never have to eat a ham and cheese sandwich again in my life it will be to soon. That night we went back to the hostel and went in to change for bed. There was two german girls who were very nice and kept to themselves. That night we got a wonderful sleep, cool with the window open and felt refreshed the next morning. The next morning we decided we would just stay at the hostel the next two nights. We asked to stay in the room with the two nice german girls but to no avail. So in two nights we have moved from room 600 to 500 to 400. We check in again to our new dorm and there is just one girl from germany. Again very nice and kept to herself. Feeling reassured we locked up our stuff and headed into paris for the free walking tour. The place was easy to found and our tour guide was AMAZING!! It was a two hour tour and all she asked for were tips...we gave her 5 euros from the three of us. She was so knowledable and gave such interesting facts about Paris. Instead of just looking at a building we got the whole back story of it. It was WELL worth our time. It only took about 3 hours, but the time flew and there was people of all ages that attended. The best part of the tour was our guide gave us the most knowledgable tip yet. While we walked by the Muse du Louvre, the line up was blocks long. Would have taken 8 hours! We took one look at the line and said forget it. Well, there is a back entrance that only the french people know about. But anyone can use it. Its on the back side of the Muse, with lions out front called Portes des Lions. Sure enough, we walked right in and because it was sunday we didnt have to pay! THe art work was incrediable, work from the 1300 on to 1800 it was amazing. I wish I knew more about art. We headed straight to the Mona Lisa. Sure enough it was there....a wall to herself, in a large room, with tons of people that surrond her, protected by bulletproff/spill proff/flash proff glass. Dont worry your allowed to take pictures to which we did. Its darker and smaller then one might think and still impressive. Its true her eyes follow you and you cant tell if she is smiling or frowning. From the Muse we went to the Notre Dame. Incrediable impressive!! We didnt go in the line was to long but we did stand infront where Point Zero is...point zero is what all of PAris is measure by and it is the heart of PAris. After, we headed back to the hostel for some supper. At the walking tour the said they also hosted Pub Crawls around Moulin Rouge for 12 euros and 5 euro beers. Me and christie decided to buy some brie and crackers for supper as well as some more cheap wine. THe brie was a 1,80 with a monk on front. We figured france is known for great cheese I'm sure any cheese would be fine. As you open it that most rancid smell feels the room. Thinking its part of the experience we bit in. Gross, digusting, worst taste ever!! Needless to say we went to the vending machine. Then after freshing up we headed to the Moulin Rouge which wasn't to hard to find. There were about 7 other people joining. Two guys from Germany, Two girls from Britian, One from LA, One from Australia and One from Ireland. The Pub crawl was a great way to meet other people and we had a wonderful time. It ended at a club were we danced the night away and took a cheap cab back to the hostel. (15 euros) It was a safe way to meet people and get home safely. Good Experience for sure! The next day we slept in a little and headed into town late to see the Pantheon. The girls waited outside in easily the most beautiful neighborhoods....cobble stone roads, nice square, pretty shops. It cost me 8 euros but it was well worth it. Very creepy though...you go down the stairs to a dark tomb like area with tunnels everywhere. And there are all these cement coffins....weird. I found Francious Marceau our ancestor and took some pictures. After us girls walked around the area and found a little cafe for an espresso. EAsily some of our favorite times are sitting, drinking coffee, and people watching. It just so amazing how well dressed french people are and how beautiful they are. Then we headed back to the hostel and picked up food from our pinic in the park infront of the effiell tower. This time we bought the 3 euro brie, crackers , some meet and apples and grapes and of course more cheap wine. We then got all dolled up for our photoshoot in from of the tour de effiell. To get there was a pain for it was all the way on the other side of town. So a good 45 min metro ride. However, to see it was so worth it. It is truly magnificent. So large and beautiful it was breathtaking. We stole some sheets from the hostel (dont worry we brought them back afterwards) and set up our pinic. Even got a candle. We then took alot of pictures and settled down to eat. Now in the park there were alot of police and military people around, so we felt pretty safe. Thre was also all the annoying people selling trinkets, which gets old fast but o well. Then these little boys( no more then 7 and 10) came up to our blanket with a piece of newspaper mumbling something to us. Knowing they were up to something we told them to go away. An hour later they come back put the paper over top of our stuff and start mumbling soemthing. I was able to grab my purse quick and tell them to go away or we will call the police. Then they run away. Confused and nervous we checked everything. Then we realize they stole our WINE! Whatever, at least they didnt get my purse (THANK GOD), but either way those little shits were good! After that we figured we should get out of there before soemthing more serious gets stolen. After a long train ride back we were exhausted. Excited to just get a good nights rest we went to our room and started getting ready for bed. There was three new people. Two girls from japan who were sleeping and a 45 something freench woman. I bet you can already tell where this story's about to head. We had the three beds on the one side of the room and there were five beds on the other side of the rooom with a bit of a divider in between. There are two windows as well. This older woman gets up, climbs out of her bed and comes over to me on our side of the room. She asks me to make sure the window on my side of the room stays close. After the first night in the hostel we realized that when the window is closed, you dont sleep cause your sweating to death. So I politled told her that it gets much to hot in the room when the window is closed and if shes cold there are cormforters on the top shelf. To which I proceeded to get for her. She says no, the window must be closed cause she does not want to sleep with another blanket. I told her I'm sorry there is nothing I can do, the window on our side will stay open. Then she says well its to noisy. So I offer her some never been used ear plugs. She says, no I want the window closed. I say, well I have solutions to your porblems and if you do not want to take them thats your choice but the window stays open. Then she starts getting angry and in my face, (by the way....rotten teeth smeel really really bad) Stef pips in and tell her we are tired we are going to bed, the window is staying open so you should just go to your side and sleep. Then she starts saying we dont respect her, the window should be closed, if we are hot in the middle of the night we should take a cold shower ( yes cause that would not wake everyone up and totally inconvient us just to leave a damn window open) then she starts ranting about how were ganging up on her and that the window must stay closed for her well being. etc etc etc. We tried telling her to go to bed, as me and stef angryliy stood there while we was getting dangerously close to our face. Stef went to the front desk to call security....cause clearly this was not going to end anytime soon. We ignored her and when the security guard came up we talked to her for awhile in french then said told stef that they have had many problems with her in the past, she is absolutly crazy and that they would move us to another room. Great! So then we had to pack up everything once again and move to ANOTHER room. By this time it was 130am and we demanded a room just the three of us. So in four nights we were in room 600, 500, 400, 331. Fabulous. This hostel was horrible,the location was in the ghetto. Projects everywhere, I've never seen so much dog shit and garbage in the streets, and alot of sketchy people. Every new room and bed we went to looked like it had been slept in, the ham and cheese breakie got old fast, and apparently there are a bunch of gypsy crazy french woman who have probably all cursed us. But alas, today is Stef's birthday and already things are looking up. The train was on time, we didnt have to check in, we had a wonderful cheap sandwich at the train station, and the train is very nice and corfortable. The best part? Were leaving Paris. Paris was not kind to us. I hope to never go back. The sights were amazing, but not worth everything else we went through. Dont worry friends and family, are positive bubbles are still there and we are all looking forward to time in Brussels. We are over the first week, which everyone says is the worst week, and the worst is over. Pray for sunny skies ahead, Auviour.

Something Smells like Shit

So for our followers on this blog, I'm sure you will all enjoy this post. So on Sept 1, we had a nice relaxing night at the hostel pub. Earlier in the day we went to the Mason Arms for a pint of Fosters and fish and chips with a side of peas. It was so delicious and filling. It was nice to know what a full belly feels like. Later at the hostel pub, we met up with Ashley, Stefs cousin. She was such a great time and gave us some tips on how to settle in the UK. As well, worked hard to convince us to stay in london....endless possibilities. We also met a wonderfully intelligent girl from Isreal. Maya, not only was she nice enough to educate us about her country she was a great time. We also met two boys from Vancover who just finished backpacking for two months. They gave us some great tips and scary stories....either way it was nice to meet boys from home. The next day we chilled in the park and at the train station for our train. Previously the day before we went on expedia looking for a possible hotel cheap enough to stay in. We found a place called Preimiere Challes. For four nights it would be 138 pounds which is about 150 some euro. That would be 50 euros each and around 15 euro a night each. We patted ourselves on the back and jumped up and down thinking we had beat the sytem. Well, being the smart girls we are we decided to find it in the GPS before we went so we would get there easiliy once off the train. We were having trouble putting the address in he GPS, thinking we might have the wrong address we looked it up online. Well we did have the right address.....strange we thought....must be putting it in wrong. Finally we google mapped it........Challes....Challes....as in NOT IN PARIS!!! 20 min on a bus from the outskirts of town. Christie cancelled our reservation and 35 pounds lost later we ran to catch our train. Check in was easy, we went through security....christie had her swiss army knife in her purse so she was stopped for further looking through her bag. Lesson learned there. Then we got our passports stamped and sat for like 15 min and went on the train. We had a table with four chairs around it. It was nice. Very cormfortable and only about a 2 hour ride. So far the train looks like the smart way to go about it. Once we got through the english channel we pulled out our hostel book and phones. Me and stef got phones for 3 pounds each and put a 20 pound calling card on it. WAY cheaper then canada. We called 6 hostels asking them if they had rooms for three girls that night. All said no. Getting worried we finally got ahold of a Hosteling international hostel (to which we had cards for...thank god) and were able to reserve a room for the night. Metro was easy to follow and we found the metro stop for the hostel no problem. Once off we plugged in the address into Garmin(GPS) and went on our way. Took up like 15-20min to get there but we made it. Soaked and I mean soaked with sweat we checked in. It was only 23 euros and 4,50 euros to lock up our backpacks (all three fit in one locker). The walk there was a bit unnerving...we asked the front desk if it  safe area...she said yes. Alot of dog shit everywhere, garbage, bottles, and the smell is awful. DIRTY. anyways we go up to our room at around 10 and theres a lady about late 50s sitting there reading a book. Her face is all bangded up and she looks terrible. She only spoke french, Christie (who is MVP for France....her french is amazing, she speaks, reads and translates beautifully, and is patiently teaching me and stef) ....the lady was quite weird and christie didnt get good vibes from her. We locked up everything and took the rest with us to go find something to eat. Christie got a burger, me and stef got a baguette ham and cheese and a 2,80 euro bottle of french wine. We ate a great well deserved meal at the hostel and that cheap wine was amazing. Went down well!!!After we headed back to the room to find a new late 50's something women sitting in the dark looking around. We used our flashlights and went to our beds were she preceeded to tell us to shut off our lights, theres a sick women in the room (I assuming the other weird beat up women), we kinda just said ok but kept our flashlights and got ready for bed. AS we brushed our teeth she went off" O ya, take your time...its late (it was 1130) there are people sleeping, your so rude, hurry up!!" I had to pass her to go to the washroom....she says" *sigh* really??? go to bed" I just said I'm sorry mam I'm going as fast as I can" We went to bed hugging our purses, with our money belts on, and saying a little pray she wouldnt kill us in the night. The window was open when we went to bed, but crazy lady closed it in the middle of the night. It was sooo hot, humid and smelled. I dunno about the other girls....but I just stripped down to my panties and a money belt....I felt like I was going to die. And I sure wasnt agoing to open that window...who knows what that lady would do.In the morning crazy french lady stomped around, making as much noise as possible and talked about us to the beat up crazy french lady. (I kept hearing....canada hahah) Then we she went in the shower I quickly changed and tried to get ready fast. I was at the sink in the room doing my hair when she came out and and stared at me, tapped her foot, stared at her watch and made it very clear she wanted that mirror. Even though there is a mirror in the bathroom. All those that know me....dont worry I kept my mouth shut and hurried, I'm not fuckin with this bitch.  Its safe to say we didnt sleep well and immediately went downstairs to change rooms. As of now we have a dorm and only we are in it. Praying it stays that way. The breakfast was ok....coffee, oj, cereal, ham, cheese, bread and peach spread. (the peach spread is gross) We stole extra, made sandwiches and an orange for lunch. So far this hostel is cheap....25 euros a night (with the locker) and free breakfast and lunch. Christie and stef would like to stay at another place....but we might just have to rough it out. Today were going to plan out the next couple of days in Paris, figure out when we leave to we can book our ticket out of here, book our hostel for brussels so were are not such in a shithole again, and check out a famous cemetry by here. Then we are going to head into the city to find a cheap cafe to have soething to eat. We need this reboot day cause so far its alot of work. By the way....as I\m writing this we are sitting about sweating....sweating....and more sweating.....its amazing what that humidity will do for a girl. Pray those crazy french ladies dont kill us and the heart of Paris is kinder to us. Love you all.

Finally, Time to be a Tourist

Third day of our adventures, and after a disheartening second day , a much better outlook of days to come. Today we got up early, packed our backpacks and checked out only to check into a different room. The room we were in before was a private room with just the three of us, and a private bath and shower. Thank goodness we showered last night cause I'm guesing we will be using public showers from here on out. The room were in now is the classic hostel dorm. Ten beds, with a curtain over the bed and a cage underneath to store our backpacks. Me and stef are sharing a bunk and christie is on the other side with some roomies we have yet to meet. Should be interesting. Then we got some coffee, headed to the park to finish our registration of our credit cards...Thanks again to Stef for saving our asses. Then we got on the metro and easily found our way to the Tourist part of London. Buckingham palace was our first stop. We missed the changing of the guards but got to peak at them guards in front of the palace. Not going to lie, It really was not that impressive....kinda dirty and hard to see much of anything. However, the park leading up was gorgous. Reminded me alot of Central Park. All the people about in deck chairs, having a pinic and napping. From there we walked along the road to the parliment buildings and Big Ben. Now that was a sight to see. Huge Huge Huge is all that comes to mind. Westminster Abbey especially, however we were only able to see the outside cause we are far to cheap to pay 16 pounds to see inside. Then we had a pinic in St James park....cheese, baguette and apples. Christie was having some troubles overcoming her fear of dirty birds but did pretty well. Also we had an interesting experience using the park washrooms. We witnessed a women getting screamed at by a bathroom attendant for over flowing the toilet. "you get out of that stall!! You knew the toilet wasnt working when you sat down. Now you have made a mess....did you do it cause I'm black!!" Its safe to say we got out of there fast....especially cause my toilet didnt flush either......ssssh dont tell anyone! After we roomed the streets with the magnificant buildings and people attending to their daily business. Getting home was easy...just like NYC, find a subway stop and your good to go. However, Im personally more impressed with the subway system here....you hardly have to wait for a train! Now we are relaxing, emailing and skyping family. Tonight we have plans to meet up with a fellow canadian from Leduc and Stefs cousin for traditional fish and chips in a pub. Then after heading to the hostel pub for a pint. Tommorow is are first experience on the train and lugging our backpacks on the subway around London. Wish us well. Either way, after yesterday I have no doubt in my mind that us girls can take on the world and manage anything that comes our way. Even those fights that are bound to happen.....dont worry we are besties again today. We love you all and hope you are enjoying our blog.