Chillin @ the Waterfront

Due to the night before, we decided to take it easy and just explore the city. Getting lost in a city is a splendid feeling, this is how you find and see the things on in the guide books. Its especially nice when your in Berlin for six nights so you have the time to do it. I wouldnt be able to tell you where we were, but it was awesome.

Berlin is modern yet historic at the same time. Its hard to explain. But we are really enjoying the chilly weather. It feels like fall....feels like Canada. We actually happened to stumble on that cheap Angus place again.....by stumble I mean purposely plan our day to go there. Another cheap amazing meal.
That night we went to the Wombats skybar again. This time we met this odd fellow from Montreal. Nice guy...just odd...kinda lonely. Anyways, he told us about Watergate...a club he went to last night. Its by the East Side Gallery and right along the river. So, we went.

Berlin's club are all so unqiue. Like nothing Ive ever seen! This one was not as big as Tresor, although still pretty huge. IT was early so we got a drink at a longe down the way. While there we ran into a guy from the US studying philosophy, a guy from Italy studying philosophy, and an aussie backpacker. Weird mix. The American was 19 and an idoit know it all. Of course I sat there an agrued him for an hour about why the US is not the centre of the universe. Anyways, at least the other guys were nice.

We got to the club and had to convience the bouncer we were of age to get it. Remeber the age of entry is 16. Why do people think were so young! Anyways the club was amazing. Two floors, and a breath taking view of the river. We danced the night away like we usually do. However, its a way better time when your in an amazing club like this one.

Berlin Certainly Makes Us Younger

We got up early and once again packed up our backpacks. We had to switch hostels...again. Damn that stupid mistake. However, I think we were all a little sad to say goodbye to the Grand Hostel....for it truly was Grand. On the way out the hostel offered an all you can eat breakie buffet. And it was no cheese and bread....yogurt, pasta, eggs, fruit. The whole nine yards. Great way to start the day.

Wombats was easy to find and excatly what we had hoped for. All the Wombats are standard, which means you know you will have a great stay. We lucked out with a four person dorm, sharing with a German girl. First thing she says when she hears were from Canada " Oh no, you canadians like to party, Ya?" Either way, she loved us. Great roomie.

After settling into our room, we headed out to find the mall. Its cold in Berlin, we dont have jackets, mitts, scarfs, nothing...we just came from Spain. So of course we had perfect justification to go shopping.

We might have gone a little overboard. We were like children inside an amusement park. Look at this sweater....OMG ive always wanted this....this color would look amazing on me. This went on for about three hours. When you havent shopped in months, you realize how exhilrating it can be. We did constrain ourselves, we stood there pleading our case to each other, explaing excatly why it was impartive to our lives that we have that sweater in blue and gray. Either way, now we were set for Berlin.

On the way home, we were commenting on how nice Germans were. We are used to not getting customer service in Europe, but is it to much to ask to get a smile once in awhile? Germany is like our Canadian fix it. Still no customer service like Canada, but they always smile, say hello, pleases and thanks you...all that stuff you take for granted. Its so small, but it really come to apperciate it when you havent heard it in so long. As well, Germans are wonderful at helping you out. They give great directions, will even tell you a great place to eat or coffee shop. I love Germans.

Once we got back to the hostel, we spent quite awhile trying on our new clothes. Wow, it was a rush to look in the mirror and see a new outfit. I really was getting sick of looking at myself in the same three outfits. Then we got ready for the night, and we looked good. Amazing what a new outfit will do for a girl.

Wombats always has a bar inside the hostel, which is convient. This one however is a Skybar. you go on the Terrace and it has an incredible view of Berlin. With the TV tower in the centre. We happened to luck out, the week we were in Berlin is also the Festival of Lights. All the main buildings are colorfully lit up, its really neat. After we had enough of the cold we headed in.

As well as being convient, the bar also offers cheap beer. I think your grasping that this is my kind of place. After awhile the guys behind us invited us to join them. Six guys, French, All Doctors. Ya, right. Do these guys think were stupid? We have met enough people to know that you can be whatever you want to be. Even heard of the guys that got into a club because they claimed to be MTV producers. So forgive us if we seem skeptical.

The crazy thing is, we found out later they really are all doctors. All specilizing in different fields, almost done their schooling. So we were wrong, either way, better to be safe then sorry. These guys were all very nice, and explained profusly that they are different then Paris frenchies. They vowed to show us that the French are really great people.

They have a friend that is living in Berlin and knows the best places to go. So we got our jackets and headed out. First we got some food, thank goodness frenchies like to eat because we were straving. Know, we are still kinda at a loss since we gave up kebabs. But my heart thanks me for it. They took us to this fast food Mexican like resturant. It was cheap and good! At one point, we were all sitting at a table and I thought to myself. Im in Germany, eating Mexican food, with six French guys. How International.

Once we got to the metro stop we were looking for, we realized the Frenchies were strollers. They would slowly walk a couple of steps, then stop and turn around to talk to the person behind them, then stroll a couple of metres, then stop look at the map, then stroll and then go backwards to talk to someone in the back of the group. It was ridiculous! We would literally have to stop, give them a 10 min head start, then walk normally just to keep their speed. We were actually taking baby steps to stay in line with them.

While, strolling is fine and all.....they could not figure out how to read the map or figure out where to go. They explained the night before they spent 4 hours trying to find the one club. I can see why. I took the map and led them in the right directions. I aint spending four hours walking around. Anyways, we found the place...but at midnight...way to early to go in. So this club would have to wait.

We met up with their friend who lives in Berlin, and thankfully this woman knew where she was going. Now, Berlin is famous for their nightlife.However, if you dont have a local to go with...good luck finding the place. On the way, she pointed out a couple places that were bars and clubs. You look at a wall with graffitti all over it, that has a tiny door. Inside....thats one of the best bars in Berlin. Nothing has signs, its crazy.

We got to the street, and she leads the way through a wire fence up some concert stairs. It looks like you would being going to the metro. Then you turn the cornor and on the far right is a graffitti wall, tiny door, and a guy sitting on a stool. You would never know that this was a bar. You go in and its just one room. A bar on one end, DJ booth on the other, some sitting on the windowsill, and a toilet room. Thats it. But this place was pumping. Everyone was crowded and dancing to the Electro music with the strobe lights going.

Now, Berlin nightlife is very different. Techno and Electro is all they play. There is always lights, strobe lights, smoke, discos...the whole nine yards. And, everybody dances. Even the husky German man. Another interesting observation? You see a group of gay guys, then a straight guy getting it on with his girl beside them. There is a huge gay population here....but everyone is really accepting of it. Doesnt bother them one bit.

While there, we met a German man. He was big, really scary looking and not to approachable. We were taking tacky pictures of ourselves when he comes over.....looks down at us....then smiles and says " Would you like me to take the picture for you" He was the nicest guy in the world. Again, I love Germans. You think this guy would shank you..but really he just wants to help you out.

Sidenote: The drinking age in Berlin is 16. While we have been here us girls have been ID at every club we have been too. And they really look at it. As well, talking to people on many seperate occasions they have asked if we were 16. To the point they do not believe we are 24. As well, on four seperate occasions I have been asked if Im from Spain. Spain. Can you believe that? Its like we got to Berlin and suddenly we look completely different.

After dancing our butts off, we headed out to the main event. This club was infamous in Europe. Tresor, it in an old warehouse and it is huge! You go in and its like your walking through an underground mine. Everything is red and there is smoke everything. At first, its kinda scary but you get used to it. Then you turn the cornor and there is a dance floor with seperate longing rooms connected to it. You go up another floor and there is a quiter disco with a balcony overlooking the abanded work line of the factory. Ive never been in a place so cool.

The dance floor was pumping with Techno and strobe lights and lights. Im surprised we could hear the next morning. Everyone had glow sticks and was just dancing like theyve never danced before. Needless to say, it was an incredible night. By far an unforgetable night.

BRRR-LIN

The flight went smothly. We were on time, went through security just fine, had a smoth flight...and made it to Berlin. I still like taking the train alot more however, but 25 hour train ride or three hour flight? I will take the three hour flight. Coming from 25 plus weather to bitter 5 plus cold, was a bit of an adjustment for us. Still, me and stef are elated about the fall season. Christie is not so happy about the cold. We found our way to the hostel just fine....and wow was this a nice hostel.
Grand Hostel is what it is called, and for good reason. This place was NICE and for only 17 euros a night. I was almost sad that we were not staying our whole stay at this place. No bunk beds, all seperate beds. With Duvees and comfy new mattress'. The whole place looked brand new even though it was in an old building. They even apoligized for not having a lift. Child, please....we are used to not having a lift.

We headed out to find some food. Walking around with the leaves falling and the brisk nip on the nose, I was in love with Berlin. I love walking around this city....so beauitful. We found this one place and had a seat. Nice atmosphere and nice jazz music playing. A really cozy place. Then we took a look at the menu. 50% off all the prices. Holy Shit! This place was SOOOOO cheap. Pasta for 1.95, steak for 4.00, and chicken for 3.00. We might have gone a little crazy. We had two cups of tea, a mixed appy platter, escargo, a bowl of soup, and I had a chicken with salad and veggies and fries, and stef and chirstie had seafood salad. Guess how much that cost us. 13 euros each. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!!! And it was GOOOOOODDD food. We plan to go back.

After we walked around for awhile, that was followed by a seista and a shower. We decided that we would go to a movie that night. A movie you say? Yes, a movie. We just wanted to chill out. Plus, its still cool to say that we went to a movie in Berlin. It was a late movie so we decided to get some dinner. We went to a Greek resturant. Not quite as cheap but still stupid cheap. We got the most amazing Greek salad and bread with tariziki ever. Amazing.

Then we walked to the movie theatre. This was the only english speaking theatre in Berlin, and within walking distance of the hostel. It was in the Sony centre in Potsdam area. This area is one of the most modren new areas in Berlin. It was incredible. Ive never seen anything so big, and colorful and unique in my life. We got some hot chocolate and sat in awe. The tickets werent bad and they give you assigned seating. Weird, eh? We got some popcorn....no butter (really sad face) but you can get sweet or salty. It was OK. The seat were incredibly comfy...Ive never sat in anything so plush before.
The movie was hilarious. It was mostly just nice to chill out, considering we were all pretty exhausted. Walking home, we past the a great many shops and buildings. Walking in the brisk air you really appericiate Berlin. I could see myself living here.

Surprise Surprise....52 Days in and We Still Make Mistakes

Today, we didnt get up very early or efficiently. Were getting to old for this. After a sufficient lunch we had alot of errands to run, and we were dreading it. We had to book our hostel for Amsterdam, write directions down for Prague and Berlin, print off our boarding passes for our flight and pack up our things. You make look at this list and think...well that would take 15 min. WRONG!

Nothing goes real easy, this is something we have come to accept and embrace. However, this one seemed ridiculous. 52 days in and we are still making silly mistakes. I go to write down the directions for our hostel in Berlin. We have a routine of how we like to plan out our travelling and I was just maintaining course. We were stoked because we were staying at a Wombats. The best chain of hostels we have stayed in thus far. We booked it at the beginning of October knowing it would fill up fast.
So, I go to look up the hostel and see an email saying from hostelbookers saying "Rate your stay at Wombats Berlin." Thats weird, we havent stayed there yet. I find the confirmation email and almost fall off my chair. "Your currently booked for two nights: Oct 5 and 6 at Wombats Berlin. Enjoy your stay!" O shit. Its October 19th. We needed Wombats for Oct 20 to the 25.

STEF!!!!!

What?!

LOOK!!!!

Noooo

Ya!

Thats about how it goes. Then Christie walks in the room and gives the "I dont know if I can handle this today look." We are still not sure as to how this happened, we think it might have been the dodgy wifi in Roma that screwed us over. But, 52 days in after an intial "Shit!" we sigh, all sit down at a computer and get to work. We will figure this out.

We did, Christie came up with the idea to call and pull the " So sorry, we didnt know...we have no where to stay!!" and it worked. Kinda. They fixed us in and only charged us 16.50 as a no show fee....we were expecting 90. However, we would have to find a place to stay for the 20th...Wombats can not accomdate till the 21st. While it was a bit tricky finding a decent hostel for three girls, on short notice, with the upcoming weekend....we found a good one. The rest of our errands went much smother and with ease.

After fiddling on the computer I remebered an early conversation between me and Stef.

Stef: " I love kebabs"

Karina: " Me too"

Stef: " I wonder if their good for you or bad for you"

Karina: " It cant be that bad, they are soo good"

Stef: " Still, I wonder."

For curiousity sake, I looked it up online. This is when the love affair with kebabs ended. Kebab meat has around 400 to 500 calories and is almost all fat. A kebab can be anywhere from 900 to 1200 calories. Kebab is like a lover who has been lieing to you the whole time. The relationship seems great, then it all comes crashing down when the truth comes out. Its then you are disgusted at yourself for not seeing through that lie. Needless to say, no more kebabs....we have switched to Falafels. (veggie and tofu)
That night we went to Puorto del Sol to go on the Mad Rid tour. For 18 euro, you get tapas, a bit of history and a flamingo show. You can also do the pub crawl after, but we decided to pass on that. There was only us girls and a couple from India on this thing as well as a tour guide. This was good, because none of us were really in the mood for talking. They took us to a tiny resturant and we sat and she explained the Tapa story. Of course, we already knew it from our walking tour.

They brought the tapas, cheese, olives, ham/cheese thing, meat, stuffed mushrooms. Which were all very good. Then we got to talking about where we all were from and such. Our tour guide was so sweet and kind. She is from Venezula, shes been all over the world, and recently did a 10 meditation in the far south of Spain. In this, you can not speak, look anyone in the eye, mediatate for 10 hours a day, only eat 3 small meals and be isolated from everyonne else. Can you imagine? Jail systems use solitary confinement as punishment. And shes paying to do it! She says its the most incredible experience of your life. You learn so much about yourself, you have time to clear your head, plan your future. Its amazing what the body can due when you push yourself to do it. I admire her, I do. But I could never do that.

After, we walked around and went to the square by the flamingo place. This square is famous for bullfighters. Many of the celebrity bullfighters stay at the hotel in the square, and people all comee here to drink after a match, to talk about the event. Then we went in. Now, orginally we thought it was going to be a show. You know, theatre seating and that kind of thing. Its this older style building with tables, dim lighting and a small wooden stage in the middle. All around are mosaics of flamingo dancers and colorful picutes of Spainish landscape. Its quite nice.

Our tour guide explained a bit of Flaminco to us. It is unknown exactly how it came to be what it is now, but they do know it is a couple things incorpated together. The music comes from the Moors (arabic), which you can tell by the singing. To the ear, you would think the singer is singing arabic. Then, the guitar and is played lightly and with many cords to a 12 beat rhytm. Thats from Jewish times. The dancing and costumes is from the Gypsys. All together, you get flamingo. Interesting right? Anyways, We got a seat and got ready to enjoy the show.

Two women come on the stage and a male. They are wearing a traditional gypsy clothing. Long skirt, scarfs, flower pattern, and hair back with a flower in it. The male, is in a long trousers with a velvet jacket and scarf. Then the singer and one guitar player. The singer starts, he is wailing into the mic, he pushes himself to continue the note without breathing. Already, he is putting his all into this song. A song about pain, love, and loss. The guitar player lightly runs his fingers up and down the guitar, playing a melody so sweet. Slowly, the dancers start clapping....slowly....entering into the music.
The first women stands up. She paces around the floor. You can see in her face, she is skeptical about this creature, about the music. As if she is on guard, she stride along the floor with her hands raised in defense. Then, as if she cannot fight it, she burst into a dance. Wailing her arms and stomping her feet. You can see the fear in her eyes. She does not want to give into the temptation of the song. With a final jerk, she composes herself. Breathes, and continues to stride along the floor. Shes weary, dreading the emotion that is waiting for her. The song plays on, speaking to her of her hardships in life. She puts on a brave face and makes her self bigger then she is. Hands in the air, grandous gestures, twirls and streached out poses. As always, you cannot escape the music. Again, she is thrown into a fit of ectasy. It is as if her body is filled with so much energy she can not get it all out. She stomps and jerks about the dance floor. Spinning and moving around. This time she can not fight the urge. She is fully engaged in the music. She loses herself in the melody, a grin comes across her face as she spins and hops around. The music is loud, her fellow dancers are clapping and cheering her one. Then as she is about to climax she throws her hands in the air, looks forward, then back and collaspes in the chair. She sits there, breathing heavily, with a look of exhaustion and pleasure on her face.

The Flaminco is a intimate dance. And every dancer seemed to be telling a different story through their movement and the music playing. It was incredible. The energy that flows through the room. It is like nothing I had ever seen before.

After, we went back to the hostel. Our flight to Berlin was at 745, but you have to be there two hours before your flight. So we had to get up at 400am to make sure we got there in time. Gross, I hate those kinds of early mornings. We get back to the hostel and there is already two girls asleep in the room. Then one girl is awak on the other side of the room with the light on. Shes on her cellphone. But there is a common room that she could be sitting in. Of course, we are to nice to say anything...so we just crawl into bed and try to sleep. Its hard to sleep when you have a light glaring in your eyes however. Finally, she gets up to go to the washroom and I turn off the light hoping when she gets back she will get the hint.

This girl, is just starting her backpacking. So she is new to the game. However, when there is people in the room sleeping......you would think it was common sense to be respectful and turn off the light. Nope, the girl comes in and turn the light on again and starts looking at her clothes. Seroiously? At 1 in the morning...you just going to look at a shirt and be like " Wow, I forgot about this shirt...this is a nice shirt....maybe ill wear it tomm...o but what would I wear it with" Im not kidding....she just staring at her shirt. Finally, Stef says to her " Listen, its one thiry in the morning...there are five girls trying to sleep, will you PLEASE shut off the light? Thanks" The girl looking stunned that someone would be upset at her for having the light on. Jsut kinda...looks at stef....then at the gground....awkwardly gets up...shuts the light off and leaves. How can you possibly be surprised by that. Anyways, we didnt get alot of sleep....people in and out of the room and such. But we got up in time and made it to the airport.

Manana Manana

Once we finally got to Madrid (3 hour train ride) and found our hostel we were quite tired. Travel days are draining. So we decided we would have a chill night and just hang out. We found a quite resturant down by our hostel that had pretty cheap food and a gorgous fountain for a view. That makes for a wonderful dinner.

After, I stumbled upon a sort of liquidation store and found some thread. Me and stef have been talking about doing hairwraps for weeks now....finally we can do it. At the hostel we made some tea and Stef got to work. Hairwraps are popular in Europe...very chic indie...and our hostel was full of the dreds , half buzzed, no shower, piercing city crowd. So it only seemed fitting to do it there. Thank the Lord Stef remebered how to do it. They took awhile...but turned out great!

This was a nice hostel. We met a few people, nothing compared to Barcelona...while they were all friendly...we didnt quite fit in. We had a good sleep that night...comfy beds....o yes...comfy beds.
The next day we attended our traditional free walking tour. I was personally excited to hear of the history of Madrid...the capital of Spain...where Spanish culture as we know it began. We ended up with a great tour guide. Funny, spunky, yet to the point. She even encorparated some audience participation. This tour did not disappoint.

Spain has a long history of various empires conquering the vast land. Beginning with the Romans...of course...most of Europe has roots to Roma. Though, Madrid has an interesting twist. At one point, the Moors (Muslims), Jewish, and the Christians all had stakes in Madrid. However, there was quite awhile they all lived together peacefully. Historains believe this is the only time where this has actually happened. There is a picture where...there is a Star of David, the walls the Moors built and a Catholic Chruch. There is no other picture like it....one that I made sure to get. Hence, Spain is an eceltic culture where reminense of all still exist.

The kings that ruled the country are a story in and of itself. For six generations the Hausbergs ruled all of Spain. It was during this period in time Spain was a huge empire, the super power of the world. While most were strong rulers, they had a downfall. They all married their cousins. Come the sixth Hausberg to rule Spain, he was mentally and physically retarded. The people could not understand why?! So to cure Carlos the third of his issues, they would take animal carcesses and animal blood and soak him in it. Everything from pigeons to pigs. It never worked, he was unable to concieve a child, hence there fell the Hausberg empire.

We also got to see the oldest resturant still in business in the world. Its been open for 400 some years or something and has never been closed a day in its life. Ernest Hemingway used to go there quite often. There is even a guiness book of world records to prove it.
The Spainish Civil war was also bought up. It was a bloodly, brutal war. One were to this day 30, 000 bodies remain unnamed. Tis a touchy subject in Spain. One not brought up lightly. The Tapa story on the other hand is quite interesting. Tapas are famous through out Spain, however the exact story of how it came to be is unknown. Some theories are that the farmers where poor and would come into town on their break to relax. However, they only had enough money for wine or food. They always chose wine. Hence they were weak and drunk and producitivity declined. The King passed a rule that whenever wine is sold, food must come with it. Another version is that the people would put salty ham on top of their glass of beer to keep the flies away. And would eat it in the process. Another is the King at the time had stomach problems, and was always told to eat when he drank. There are countless other versions.

There are many more stories and interesting facts. More then you would probably find interesting. So I will end the tour there. That night we went out to the infamous pub crawl. By this point we are pub crawl experts. And we love them. However, there is a term we learnt in Spain called Manana Manana. Thats means... Tommorow Tommorow. Basically, whenever Spanish feel like getting around to it...they will. The Pub crawl was about the same situation. Says it starts at 10.....nope, 1030. When are we going to the next pub, we have been here awhile? Ummmm I'll let you know. Just whatever they want. It drives me nuts. I dont like that.

We went to a couple of OK bars, but nothing that great. Thankfully, we met a great guy from Texas, and he was a hoot. The guy danced his butt off and cheered us on with a couple " You go girls". Really nice guy. Also met a guy would was from the states, just finished his army tour and came all the way to Madrid to find his birth mother. Gave up everything for this, he was so exciting and nervous. Very inspirational. When we got to the last club the pub crawl organizer ditched. There was no one at the club and we didnt know how to get home. We took a cab, but usually they make sure you know how to get back. Overall, we still managed to have a wonderful time and pay for it the next day. But, by far the worst organized pub crawl we had been to yet.

Rugby Love

The next morning we got up early to make sure we were on time for the Rugby game. David from Scotland and Erin from Canada decided to come with us. Thank goodness David came....we was able to explain the whole game to us. Around 10am it started, it was then with a coffee in hand the love affair started. It was New Zealand against Australia. Rival teams with alot of the line. Who ever wins this match goes to the finals.

Rugby is clearly a mans game. These guys are huge....their thighs alone were tree trunks. And how they would viciously pound their componant to the ground. Incredible. There was also alot more to it then I previously thought. There is much talent in being able to pass the ball backwards, and the games to play to score points. Best part? Unluck many sports I found it fast paced and exciting to watch. Its incredible the amount of blood and little padding they wear. The make American Football players look like children.

Sidenote: Europeans get a huge kick out of making fun of American Football. First, the go on about how girly they are with all their padding and fancy little game plays. Second, they can not get over the stupidity of naming a sport Football when there is only ONE point in the game where someones foot touches the ball. Thankfully, they dont make fun of Hockey. Just that Canadians play it....and not as many countries play hockey as they do football or rugby.

After the exictment of the match, us girls and Erin decided to go to the Aquarium. The aquarium was quite large with many different species of fish and other sea creature...like eels, sea horses and sting rays. There was also a clear tunnel you would walk though with sharks swimming above. We spent a couple of hours there, like children discovering a new world. Its just nice to get back to being a kid...realizing how small you really are.

After a nice day at the aquriam we thought it apporiate to get some tapas...and seafood. Is that weird? You spend the day at the aquarium and you crave seafood? We found a nice patio on the Port Olymipic. Our waiter was a hoot, really got a kick out of our pleases and thank yous and constantly saying we are sorry. Sidenote: Us Canadians say Sorry ALOT. You dont really notice it, till the locals start repeating it back to you with a mocking tone. Whatever, at least I care to be polite. As well, he also gave us two rounds of champagne.

Dinner was swell...having Erin there was a real treat. Here was a new person to tell our stories to and someone to tell us her tales as well. Shes an awesome girl and we throughly enjoyed her company. After dinner we went back to the hostel and decided to go to the beach. Scotland and Erin's classmate decided to come, so we all bundled up, grabbed some beers and headed to the beach. Spending the night on the beach was awesome. We sat, drank, shared stories, and watched the waves crash along the shore line. After we ended with our favorite traditional food...kebab. I can't think of a better way to spend your last night in Barcelona.

Football Match....No Real Football....Not the Silly American Kind

Today, Barcelona was catching up with us. Yes, yes, yes....it was self inflicted, but it does not mean we can not whine about it. When we did get around to moving....we went to the beach. To be honest, the weather was not excatly ideal, but it was our last day to do it before chilly Berlin. The waves at the beach were incredible. The surfers were out and it was worth the chill to watch them. We did happen to meet a guy from Arizona. Really nice guy that had just finished travelling Greece. He told us about being stuck in the airport for hours because all transport was on strike. As well, he warned us about the riots and advised us not to go there till things calm down. Sounds like things are getting worse. However, it was his first day in Barcelona...and he told us he was already spending to much money. You know why? Remeber that scam with the ball and the box I told you about? He did that. Canada 3, America 0.

It was a long chilly walk home from the beach. We had heard about the football match that was taking place in Barcelona. As you can imagine football (soccer as we call it in North America) is incrediably popular around here. We thought about buying tickets to see it live, but we were really quite drained. Instead we headed to a local pub to watch the game and get a bite to eat. The match was pretty exciting. Probably would have been cooler to see it in person...o well.

We happened to be sitting with two older gentleman from Ireland. They explained the game to us, and that Messi the lead for Barcelona was the best in the world. They also tried to recruit us to Ireland. Really, they should be the spokesmen for it....makes you reconsider Brighton, o except for the fact we wouldnt be able to find work. 14.5% unemployment is pretty high. They were also kind enough to tell us about the Rugby World Cup semi finals, which would be at the same pub the next morning. We agreed to go.

That is SO Gaudi

The day before we had purchased a two day pass for the bus tour. They had two routes that were 2 hours each. Today we took the other route. To be honest, it was less interesting then the first....and mostly just talked about the same things. Or maybe it wasnt....art is hard for us to follow. However, I had a thought. You know when you say...." Wow that decor is really gaudy." or " That dress is so gaudy." Thats excatly what that guys name is, Gaudi. His artwork that he is famous for, it very flamboyant and colorful. Could it be that saying was derived from this guy? Well, if anyone really knows the answer...let me know.

We hopped on and off on this tour. The one stop I did find fascinating was the Gothic old town. This small district is all the is left from the ancient Roman city Balcola(or something close to that). In the middle is a huge gothic catherdral and in the background a towering medievil wall. Walking through the are, you see the statue do not stand upright on the walls of the church. They are all horizontal and look down on you as you walk by. You look straight up and you are staring into the eyes of a nobleman, saint, or king. Its quite terrifying.

After a long day on the bus and a seista that followed we were ready for another night out. You all back home are thinking this may be getting excessive....but as the tale goes. When in Rome....We were going to this nightclub on the beach called Opium. Huge place that overlooks the beach. We were pretty excited. However, you cant go out till 130 am ....so we had some drinks at the hostel.

The american triad of stupidity luckly was not there. It was Erin the other Canadian girl, and another guy from the states that was also studying in Amsterdam. And Kelan. O Kelan, just precious. This guy was as dumb as it gets, where everything that comes out of his mouth just comes out wrong. Protraying himself as an idiot. For example, us girls were talking about Canadian winters and having to plug our cars in at night so they start in the morning. Kelan asks, " Do you guys not have heaters in Canada?" He was dead serious. By the way, He is a Nurse. Again, American healthcare at its finest. Canada 2, America 0. However, Kelan was a really nice guy and still alot of fun to hang out with.
As well there was Scotland. A doctor named David, who was tall and shy at first...but once you got him talking a really interesting guy. He was getting a kick out of the all the presciprtions we kept naming off, of medication we have had or have taken. He says in Scotland they hardly hand out presciptions...only is absolutly nessacary. Are the America's overdrugged?

Anyways, we all eventually headed out for a wonderful evening. Ended, with me and the girls sitting on the beach listening to the waves. The beach is incredible at night, mystical powers to it.

Once we got back, everyone who was staying in our room was sleeping. Sidenote: Christie has joined Stefanie with the snoring. However, put them together and they actually make a beautiful sympony of heavy breathing. Anyways, we get into the room and the loudest, bellowing, almost belting snore I had ever heard made itself known. Scotland was going crazy with the snoring. I didnt know anyone could snore so loud. Me and the girls just looked at each other dumbfounded. Was this for real?! All of a sudden, the one american girl says....we have been trying to sleep for 45 min to no avail. Then it turns out everyone in the room was awake. Then all at once we all burst out into laughter. It was such a ridiculous situation....but so funny at the same time. Here we were with 6 other people in fits of laughter over the snoring. Just then he stopped, the one girl says..."Quick, go to sleep before he starts again." But he started again, we shared some more jokes and laughter and eventually passed out.

Day on the Town

       Barcelona, is more spread out then other cities we have been to. So, what better way to see the sights then a bus tour. Same sort of deal as Rome. Today, we hopped on, put in the ear phones and headed on out. Barcelona is incredibly proud of their Modernism buildings. Here, you would have a gothic catherdral...but at the very tips of their towers were bright, vibrant, cermaic images and moldings. Thats modernism art I guess. It was pretty cool to see, definatly different then any other city we had been too. The only problem is....that was all the tour would talk about. The Buildings and a guy named Gaudi. He was the modernist of the time and made most of the famous sights. He died in a tram accident, that was about all the history we learnt about. However, the tour went up the mountain and provided us with a breathtaking view of Barcelona. As well, we were able to see there the 1992 Olymipics were held. It was a nice bus ride indeed.

       After a worthwhile seista at the hostel we got ready for the pub crawl. Side note: Seista are the greatest invention by the Spanish. During 2:00pm to 4pm, alot of stores and resturants close. It is during this time that everyone takes a nap, then you are rejuvinated for the day. The pub crawl was to start at 10pm at this pub in an odd square. Suprisingly we found the place. There we met two girls and a guy on business from the states. Nice people with entertaining stories to tell. They told us about this tapas, flamingo deal in Madrid, and a couple other tips. Again, it was a fun filled night.

America vs Canada

Now, I apoligize in advance....I am having trouble with my computer. So no pictures, but as soon as I get it working I will post pictures.

Day two in Barcelona. We were all pretty tired from the day on the train previous. And our new hostel room had lovely thick covers that blacked out the room. So we got one of the best night sleep of our lives. This day we dedicated to the beach, to get the best tan possible before winter was in full force.
Our hostel is on Las Ramble, which is one of the busiest streets in Barcelona. Its a long strech of street with a center area to stroll down. Las Ramble, is a lively street filled with entertainment from one end to the other. A popular form of entertainment is live statues. You look to your left and see a stone statue of a man riding a bike. Well isnt that lovely. Then he starts peddling and tipping his hat to you. The first time it happened we were quite startled. Their make up and outfits were so incrediable, you really could not tell them apart from a statue.
Later on in the night you can find magicans, bubble dancers, break dancers, clowns, etc etc etc. As I said, filled with entertainment. However, my favorite was the scammers. A guy is knelt down on the streets, he has a little white ball and three boxes. You give him 50 euro, there is a white ball under one of the three boxes, he switches them around, if you are the one to guess which one the ball is under you get 100 euro. If would take any person with an average IQ to figure out its a scam. There is two people that stand beside him and are clearly working with him. As the guy switchs around the boxes, he lifts them a bit so you can clearly see which box the ball is under. Then the guy working with him, who "is just a bystander playing the game" clearly picks the wrong box. But what?! How could that guy get the box wrong! Then a real bystander puts in 50 euro, and the ball magically disappears and they can never get the box right. It is actually hilarous to watch, and amazing people actually play it.
The beach was quite the hike. However, along the way we walked along the various ports and markets, and parks along the way. Its a beautiful walk, just happens to be a really long one. To ease the pain, we found a starbucks and got a HUGE coffee! Thats enough to make anyone happy. While we were there we met an couple (roughly our parents age) from Texas. They were having trouble figuring out how to use the Ipod their son got them before they left on vacation. They just wanted to send an email. Stef, who also has an Ipod helped them out. We sat and talked for awhile, she was so friendly. She told us that she thinks what we are doing is great! And she was so grateful to have someone help her. Then she took a picture of us (probably for her scrapbook) and said she would email us a copy. It was so nice to talk to them, and I hope when our parents travel they find girls to give them the same kind of help.
The beach in Barcelona is sandy, which from our previous beaches...was a lovely surprise. instead of winching on every rock...your feet sink right into the sand. Now, we are always vigliant on keeping our belonging close. Pickpockting is well known around Europe. However, sometimes when we get to a city...you know that it is REALLY bad there. There are signs everywhere telling you to watch your belongings. The starbucks has a special clip under the table to hang your purse. And the first thing the recption at the hostel tells you is to WATCH YOUR STUFF. Amsterdam was like that as well. So, we didnt bring anything of value to the beach.....including my camara. (insert pout face)
The waves were quite high at this beach...but the water was cold. Winter is starting to hit in Europe....I just dont want our summer to end. There are guys that go up and down the beach singing "Water, Fanta, Coco, Cold beer" all day long. Rumor is they are actually drug dealers...they just use that as a front. And ladies who do 5 dollars massages, and ladies who do the hairbraids as well. Christie and Stef got the temporary tattoos on their feet. They look amazing...they seem to be enjoying it. Maybe a permnant tattoo to come???
After dreading the long walk home and whinning about it the whole way....real sorry sacks arent we? We made it to the hostel. Our room had some new guests in it.
The American Triad of Stupidity.
Now, before I begin let me explain that these are very nice girls and i am not intending to cruely make fun of them. These three girls are from the States and are overseas studying in Belguim. Two of the girls are studying communications, however as their kind friend pointed out to them " Its only for people who dont know what they want to do." This girl was studying psychology and sociology. And at one point I heard her enlightening tale about her professor in beligum who was a recovering drug addit. " He has first hand expirence of what its like to be a drug addit. Right down to going to jail and ran-sacking houses."
Now, at first the valley girl accent was cute and all....but after awhile its like nails on a chalk board. Countless conversations about how Amsterdam was so dirty and dangerous, how did we ever survive, added by how hard it is going to class and what a drag, as well as the one girl telling every tale like she did it bigger and bettter then all....added with the valley girl accent, it was enough to make you want to vomit. One night, it got to the point we all just put in our music to drown out the noise. Sad part is, I dont think they could actually be that stupid and function in life. Pretty sure they think its cute and the boys will like them more. Sad.
Now, we met a Canadian girl who was also 20 years old, studying in Amsterdam and taking psychology as well. Erin, was smart, friendly and great company. She had a brain. Put her next to the American girls, and you see that the American education system has failed them. Canada was being represented much better then America. Canada 1, America 0.
Alright, enough Canada rules and America just isnt as lovely rant. Fortunatly, our sanity was saved by a Dutch man named Iggy. Iggy, is an illustrator from the netherlands who recently hiked through France. He is a well travelled guy and his stories are so hilarous its enough to make you pee yourself. While Iggy entertained us, we provided him with a new love Urban Dictionary. Iggy is at the very top for favorite people we have met in our travels. (btw, Iggy if your reading this I hope you enjoyed your shout out.)
After spending some time with the new people in our hostel, we went to find ourselve a traditional spanish meal. We ate right on Las Rambles on the patio. However, in Europe mostly due to lack of space....most times the resturant is on the other side of the street of the center. Hence, the server has to cross the street, dodge cars and while carrying five plates of food. Impressive. We got Pallela...I think thats what its called. A rice and meat dish. As well as some tapas....which are small plates of food. Everything from cheese balls to sardines. It was a good meal, of which i enjoyed the chicken pallela the most.
After we got ready for a night on the town. Of course, partying does not ensue till very late hours in Barcelona...130am.We got a free vocher for a club down Las Ramble...which makes for a quick walk there from our hostel. This place was huge. Tons of lights and music and dance floors. It made for an eventful night into the early morning hours.

Are We Ready For This?

     Today was the ultimate travel day. The day we would put our travel skills to the test. The day we would draw on any luck we have or will have to make it through this day. Of course, to add some extra challege we made sure to drink the night before and stay out late. Bright and early we were at the train station to see if the looming strike would effect us or not. Luckly, the train would still run. After, the first transfer had a two hour layover which we spent cure our hangover (mcdolands). We look at the board and sure enough the second train is running. Perfect, we are still good...the strike hasnt happened yet.

      Happy and content at this news, we go sit in the train. We assumed it was a city train and you could sit anywhere, so we just went in the first coach and sat down. Then we looked at our tickets....its assigned seating.....we are in the wrong seats....now we have to grab our bags from up top and move again. ARGH! What a pain! So we look at the ticket and we are in Coach 17. Crap...thats got to be near the back of the train! So we get out of the train and start walking. Thats when Christie realizes the Coach we were in was number 17. We were just one seat back. Wow....we are stupid.

        Our next layover was in Montpellier and this one was four and a half hours. We booked some more hostels for Prague and Madrid then sat in this park across from the train station for awhile. All of a sudden, a march of people come out of no where going down the road. They are carrying flags that read CPG and are making alot of noise. Blaring music and setting off these firework drum that at first sounded like gunfire....scary. There must have been 4000 thousand of them walking along. We finally asked a french couple what it was all about. Workers from various professions on strike, protesting for better wages and pension. They are unhappy with the government. Something tells me we will being seeing alot more of those as the econmic situation in Europe becomes more grim. Lets just hope it doesnt escalute to Greece standards.

           After, we got some subway but still had a couple of hours to blow. We were pretty bored and tired of doing nothing. But, as backpackers you have to learn to amuse yourself. We saw a man with a dog. The dog had dirrehea, the owner had nothing to clean it up with so just threw a napkin over it. We started to place bets on who would slip on that shit. We re-arranged our chairs to get a better view and watched as unsupecting victums barely escaped the messy situation. That cheap entertainment kept us entertained for an hour. You back home may say, " Really, you have nothing better to do?" But times of nothing but sitting around (espeically on travel days) happen often, so really Im just proud we are creative enough to make our own entertainment. Btw, much to our disappointment....no one slipped in the shit.

         Our next train came...almost out of France, almost in the clear. We are chugging along in the train almost at the next train station for our last transfer of the day. Then the train comes to a screaching halt, shuts off, then the lights go out. Shit. Is this the strike? We sat there for awhile anxiously awaiting an announcement. But, after 20 min the train just started up again and we made it (barely we had to run to catch it, sidenote: not fun in 15kg backpacks). On the train to Barcelona.

       So on this ultimate travel day, you may be wondering if we ran into any interesting characters as we so often do on the train. We did. We call this couple "Hippy Love". This German pair was on a couple trains with us, but the last one to Barcelona there were right across the isle from us. Now, picture this. The man is 6'2, blond natural dreads inches longer then my hair, one eye that doesnt quite look in the same direction as the other, hippy looking clothes and teeth rotting out of his mouth. O, and the smell. Christie was lucky enough to be sitting right next to him when he took off his sweater.

          The girl was beautiful. Also, very very hippy looking. But without a stitch of make up, she was still stunning. Just a couple hair wraps on her. Now, obviously these people are not really our style persay, but we couldnt help but admire them. These guys were in love. They were camping their way through Europe...and still they are gazing into each others eyes so much in love. That, and I always read the girls what I wrote for the blog....and the couple was laughing! They loved the blog too!

           We finally, after 15 hours made it to Barcelona. We got to our hostel no problem. The hostel is great, small but has nice sized rooms. Right now there is not alot of people staying here. But we briefly met a guy from Holland who did a 4 week hike through France. We are definatly going to have to talk to him more later!

        Christie went to bed, but me and Stef were itching for a beer. So we headed down the main street Las Ramble. The hostel is in a great area of town! We found this pizza and beer place and had a seat. The pizza was incredible (but your in Spain not Italy...shouldn't you be having spanish food? Well....the pizza was really cheap and the beer was included.) Sitting in this small place enjoying amazing pizza we looked around. There was a group of guys sitting in the cornor. They seriously could not have been over 15 years old. Heard a British accent....wow, they must be in their glory. After we watched a guy throw up near our table....we knew it was time to go back to the hostel.

       That night my mom skype me. Because the hostel is small I decided to go and sit on the stairs in front of the door that leads into the building. The door is glass with bars, so its safe and secure but you can see threw it. As Im talking with my mom, theres a banging at the door. I look up (never look up, never look up) Theres a guy standing at the door...and then just whips out his penis. All of a sudden Im running up the stairs to the hostel. My goodness....everything happened so fast....ewwwwwwww. My mother of course laughed and said " Lesson # 25: Dont be sitting downstairs, skyping , late at night". Hmm, interested how Barcelona will turn out.

Euro Strikes

        Six days into our beach vacation, it is clear to me why people live in hot beachy areas. I could happily live the rest of my days on the beach. Its cheap entertainment, you look fabulous with the new tan, and the stress of the world just melts off your back as soon as you step into the sea. You might be picking up that we have not done any sightseeing in Nice. Theres nothing to see, and to be honest...the beach is really the experience you want to take with you. Our time at the beach is a vacation from our vacation.

            Once again we planned to spend the day at the beach. However, before we could indulge ourselves to a day of relaxation...we had to book our ticket from Nice to Barcelona to take the next day. Once at the train station, we quickly realized this would not be easy. Long lineup. Or as european refer to it, "a long Q ". (Took me awhile to figure that one out) Being that Nice is a smaller centre, we were curious as to why there were so many people. Then we found out. There is a strike of all trains in France that will start at some point tommorow.

          Seeing that we had no where to stay in Nice, and a hostel waiting in Barcelona we crossed our fingers our luck would not fail us. At the teller, her first response to our request was "No, not possible. There is a strike." However, we have learned that French train tellers will always intially try to get out of helping you with a tricky request. So, we pressed her for a way to get out of France before the strikes started...no matter how early. After alot of glaring and rolling eyes...she had one option. We leave at 8:30 am, take three transfers, seven hours of lay over, arrive at 11:00 at night in Barcelona. Thats almost 15 hours of travelling. She also informed us that the trains may still stop running at anytime during this period, no gurantees. So, we took a risk and bought it.

  After I googled excatly what it is that is going on with SNCF, the France national railway. Apparently last week, a conductor was stabbed eight times while working on the train and is in critical condition. The workers have all been demanding for more security on the trains for years now, this was just the straw that broke the camals back. Now, the workers are striking demanding for better safety measures to protect them while they work. Now, reading this all seems fair. But this was one spotanous strike. The day after we arrived in Nice, they all went on strike. In the middle of their shift, hundreds of people were dropped off in Nice with no where to go, no way to get out of Nice, and no where to sleep. Thank God that wasnt us.

           While reading the European news, it became clear it is not just Greece whose citizens are distraught...it is spreading through the rest of Europe. Students and workers unions are protesting in Italy, France, Belgium ...as well there are talks of German airlines going on strike. I really hope not, we have to take a plane to Berlin in a couple of weeks.

          Discouraged and nervous about looming events to take place...we went to the beach. The beach is a cure all. So we spent the day relaxing and tanning. No one can be anxious after a day like that. Realizing a few days ago it was Thanksgiving, we figured that night we would treat ourselves to a fancy dinner on the pier.

         We were able to make dinner in time for Sunset. I do believe it was the most colorful sunset I had ever seen. Blues, pinks, and yellows vibrantly shawn against the palm tree backdrop. It was gorgous. So was the wine, calamari and salmon steaks. We figured if we couldnt get turkey, we might as well have some great seafood. I was able to skype with my family back home the day before. On holidays, you tend to miss your family the most. While skyping with my great grandmother, I apperciated how amazing technology is. While I may not be able to spend time with my family on Thanksgiving, I am able to see their faces and converse with them half way around the world. Thats amazing.

           Though, all a little homesick we enjoyed our European thanksgiving dinner. We even went around the table to say what were most grateful for this trip. Christie was grateful for the stories and memories we have accumlated. Stefanie was grateful for weather being so hot and beautiful. I was grateful for the guardian angel watching over us, we have been in some sticky situations but always come out just fine. It was a unique, unforgetable thanksgiving.

          After we got ready for the night. Our new canadian friends were meeting up with some aussie girls they met in Greece to go out. So we headed over to their hostel. Soon, the common room was full with aussies and canadians. After socializing over some beers and learning some new games, we all decided to head to the beach before we went to the pub.
There was a big group of us all chilling at the beach. The beach is lovely at night. The breeze and sounds of the waves seem to be amplified at night. Music to the ears that invigrates you to just be happy. The canadian girls showed us a simple but effective form of thearpy. You pick up a rock and scream out a worry, fear, anger, emotion that you want to get out...then throw the rock in the ocean. Its as if the rock is the vessel for your emotion and the sea is the universe. The universe takes that emotion from you and swallows it whole. You feel the negative energy being sucked out of you and into the sea. Its an awesome feeling.

             After much time spent at the beach, we went back to the pub us girls visited previously. It was ladies night, which means 50cent champagne....now thats my kind of ladies night! We danced, laughed and giggled. Great thanksgiving indeed!

Speedos, Mullets, Titties... Oh My!

         Continuing our love affair with the Mediterrain Sea, we spent the day at the beach. From our hostel you can see the sea, so it took us less then 5 mins to get there. Along the beach was a boardwalk. With shops and cafes, people excersing or just strolling along. The boardwalk is also filled with palm trees which is a treat for us Canadians.

         The beach is filled with private and public beaches. The private is fenced off from the public, with comfy deck chairs and waiters serving drinks. The public has a place rinse off the salt water....and thats it. Again this was no sandy mexico beach, it is rocks. Now, we loved the rocks in monte carlo...small and it doesnt get everywhere like sand. Nice is not so kind. They are BIG rocks, and hurt alot to lay on. We stole a blanket from the hostel, (dont worry we always bring it back) but it didnt help much. O well, the view was worth it.

      By view I mean the mountains, distant waterfalls, gracious European buildings, and blue seas as far as the eye can see. Once all settled on our boulders, you start to look around at the other people on the beach. Alot of guys sporting mullets and speedos. Young and old.....ever seen an 80 year old man walk out of the sea in a speedo? Dont even try to imagine it, it will scar you. Then you notice the women....topless. Which isnt a huge deal, I mean we are in Europe. But, lets just say I no longer have to wonder what my boobs will look like when im 70. And these ladies are serious about their tan. Tanning is a career for them, and they take it seriously. They are dark and leathery like a purse. I immediatly put more sunscreen on.

      What can I say about the beach. Its a wonderful way to spend the day, great way to relax and catch up on reading. You lay uncomfortably on those rocks, listen to the waves, and think...there is no other place I would rather be. The weather by the Mediterrain is kinda weird. In the morning it is quite cool and takes its time to warm up. Then by 1:30 it is hot hot hot, till about 6, then its cold. O well, if you sit on those rocks for more then 4 hours you wont be able to move the next day.

     After a successful day at the beach we headed back to our hostel. We might have gotten a bit more sun then we are used to and had a bit of sun stroke. But it was worth it, because now we also have a fabulous tan. Our hostel unfortunatly does not have a common room, but does have a sister hostel with one. Itching for some new people to converse with, we headed off. It was a cute hostel with a small common area, but well decorated. Sittting awkwardly on a couch we waited for some people to talk to. Sure enough, two Canadian girls spotted the Roots Hoodies and came to chat. These girls were from Ontario, just graduated college, were backpack for 6 weeks and were 4 weeks in.

    We traded stories and tips. Even found out that we are not the only one who have fallen in love with Kebabs. These are the type of nights I love. The type of nights you dont get in Canada. Sharing a bound with complete strangers because you both share a love of travelling.

Nice to Meet You

     The train ride to Nice, France was short a sweet. An intercity train, they call it, it comes every half hour and you just hop on and go. 20 mins later and here we were. Nice, being on the mediterrain coast like Monte Carlo, has alot of the same feel. Minus the hurrendous amount of money. At the train station we stand at the front doors and take in our first impressions. It is what we always do, stand in front of the train station doors and take it in. Once situated we started on our way to the Hostel Paradis. Only a ten minute walk from the train station! Not. Alas, hostel descriptons can be deceiving.

       However, twenty minutes later we were standing in a piazza...not sure what they are called in French. A lovely place filled with music, resturants, vendors, and even a couple fortune tellers. Being back in France, and not in Paris...you apperciate french culture more. The people here are truly beautiful and elegant. I've seen a woman who can carry bags of grocies in stillettos and still look like shes walking on air. The language is also beautiful. Super jealous of Christie and her ability to speak the language. Now, dont get me wrong...the french are still rude. Its just the way they are. They are impatient with you when you order, they insult that your intelligence, and sometimes look at you like your wearing something a hobo would wear. But, if you close your eyes and dont look at their faces....just listen to the speak...its beautiful. Everything sounds like soothing music. Im putting learning french on my bucket list.

        Anyways, Just from this piazza, was our hostel. The location was OK, we were situated beside Louis Vutton and across from Hugo Boss. But no Channel so clearly we were in the wrong part of town. However, when it came to our room we lucked out once again. Private room, private bathroom, and an elevator. These are things to get excited about when youve been backpacking for a month. After a shower, this one rated a solid 8.5, we headed out for dinner.
How we chose dinner is always a chore. In Europe, you have to work for your food. First, you have to walk anywhere from 5 to 15 min to find places to eat, then you have to check all the prices to make sure its affordable, then we all have to decide between the three of us what we want to eat. Hence, after lunch we usually start thinking and scouting out our supper. We found this nice resturant and claimed a spot on the patio. Ideal for people watching.

       We all got something a little nicer for we hadnt spent much money that day. I got the mussels and they were delicious. After stef and christies usual gellato dessert we headed back to the hostel. We had heard about a pub crawl that night which met just down the way from our hostel. We got ready and off we went. We were there, at the right time, in the right place, however no one else was there. Disappointed but not willing to waste the effort made to get ready, we went to a pub on the cornor.

         The pub was similar to an Irish pub but the live music was to Jamacian guys playing a sort of reggae. It was awesome. Sitting and enjoying our beers, an older man appoarched us and asked to take a seat. Seeing no harm in the offer we allowed him to join. He asked the usual questions...where are you from, why are you here, what have you seen. But what was really cool is that he took one look at stef and knew instantly she was of Icelandic desent. He was also right with Christie guessing German. Me? I got spainish....then itilian. He never got me right. He was German and after entertaining him for awhile we asked him what brought him to Nice. He stops, gets this weird look in his eye and says "You do not want to know." Remeber that feeling I was explaining in an earlier blog post? Always trust it. We made some shitty excuse and got out of there.

       After awhile we realized that downstairs was a nightclub. It was a cave like atmosphere and not very big. However, the beats were pumping! So we danced the night away and got a kebab. A tried and true evening indeed.

WANTED

WANTED

This native Monte Carlo Seagull is wanted for attacking an innocent woman and attempt to steal her possesions.

On Saturday, October 8, 2011 around 1:30pm, this seagull was seen flying around the Monte Carlo Palace . A 24 year old woman from Canada was eating a kebab with two companions when this seagull flew down right over her head and grabbed the kebab out of her hands just as she was about to take a bite. Startled, the victum (who shall remain un-named) jolted up and squeled, which frightened the suspect enough to drop the kebab. Astonished by the events that took place, the victum stood at the scene of the crime. The kebab was nothing more then a mess of wrap, veggies and meat. With pigeons closing in to get a piece of the prized kebab....the victum immediatly grab what was left of the kebab and threw it in the garbage. Then exclaimed, "If I can't enjoy this kebab, then no one shall enjoy this kebab!" Just then, laughter was heard from above. Ontop of the statue was the suspect, looking at the victum in fits of laughter.

If you have any information pretaining to this crime, or have suggestions on how to kill a segull...please contact the proper authorities.

Up to the Palace We Go!

    Today, we checked out of Monte Carlo. *sigh* Twas a nice hotel. However, the receptionist said we could keep out backpacks in the office if we wanted to spend more time in Monte Carlo. Fabulous! Nice, France was only a 25 min train ride away and many trains go to Nice. So why not spend just one more day in this gorgous place.

       We still had not seen the Palace so we decided to head on over. On the way, we pasted port after port, filled with yacht, after yacht, after yacht. Each better, bigger, nicer then the next. We get to the Palace....which is up a mountain of stairs. I hate stairs. We moaned and groaned and finally got to the top. The Palace was exactly as I remeber it from high school. Beautiful, but quant. We were able to catch the changing of the guards, also a fun time. Just small little movements, but they are all in sync with each other. Christies theory is that they do that because then no one would be able to impersonate a guard, because then they would screw up the squence and everyone would know he was an intruder. I like that theory.

     We walked up and down the streets, and got a kebab. (The kebab story will be posted in a later blog). Afterwards, we walked along the boardwalk to the beach. Spent more hours soaking up the sun before we finally had to say goodbye to Monte Carlo.

Rough Life

       Heres a couple fun facts about Monte Carlo. It is a sovereign state yet still considered apart of France and uses the euro currency. Residents of Monte Carlo are not allowed to gamble in the casino, they do not pay taxes and the unemployment rate here is zero. Amazing. Today after getting some groceries we headed down to the beach. We must have pasted a dozen police officiers...they are everywhere. And no peddlers...and people said Bonjour as you past them. At one point we were about to cross the street....and a Ferrari drives by...I may not be a car person but I understand that is a really expensive car...I was so transfixed on this...I stepped in dog shit. We have been to so many places where dog shit is everywhere...and the one place that is clean with only one thing of dog shit...and I step in it.
After walking down the hill a bit, then taking the elevator!!!....Monte Carlo is built on a mountain....we got to the beach. Wow. Wow. Wow. Mexico, you got nothing. The beach is made of tiny pebbles which is great...you dont get so dirty and find sand everywhere for days. Being that we were on the Mediterrain Sea....the water was so clear and clean. You almost wanted to drink it. We spent the day on the beach. Bathing in the sun, splashing in the ocean, and listening to the waves against the shore. Rough life I know.

      That night, after a splendid dinner on our balcony we headed out to this infamous casino. It was a short walk, which was good because we were in heels. Once there, it was a 10 euro entrance fee. After we walked in, but of course your not allowed to be tacky and take pictures. It was gorgous. As soon as you walk in, you look down at your oufit...which is starting to fray, your purse is 6 years old, and your heels are starting to clank from wearring them to much. These people have serious money....we do not. Starting to feel anxious we went and sat down at the slots. Hoping some rich guy would come along and buy us drinks we sat and looked around. No one came to buy us drinks, they knew we werent of the fancy sort. While inside we yearned for vegas times at the penny slots....and were pretty happy to leave......however we are still happy to say we did it.

          The next day, after much coffee and a great big breakie we headed out to the beach. Again, more sitting around appericiating our lives. From the beach, you look up at the mountain and you can see the most incrediable view. Half the way up is mansions and buildings, the other half is pure mountain as God intended it to be. Then you look ahead and you see clear skys and ocean blue as far as the eye can see. Breath taking.

      We spent the day at the beach and might have overdone the sun a bit. We were all tired and a bit burnt so we spent the night playing Rummy....which of course is our favorite game. Today, we head to Nice, France. Which is also on the coast of the Mediterrain Sea. I know....Rough life.

If Ever There Was a Time For Marrying Rich

            
          The train ride to Monte Carlo was interesting. Although it was many hours spent on the train the time flew by quicker then expected. Interesting character also appeared as we approached France. One lady who was sitted in a car with us, was spanish but spoke a bit of english, french and itilian. After inquiring if we spoke Itilian, then repeated again to make sure we didnt...she asked where we were going. We replied with Monte Carlo. Then she tells us she lives just outside of Monte Carlo, no one else is there but her..... We should come stay with her! We thanked her for the offer but explained we made previous arrangements for accomadation. Then her cellphone rings....Shes speaking in spanish...but we catch certain words....France...Train....Americans...then bursts into a bellowing laugh. A while later she comments on our travels makes some small talk. Then asks of we are hungry....of course were hungry...we have been on a train for 8 hours and all we could find to eat was oreos and pringles. Then she tells us about this place in Ventimaglia (its a small town before monte carlo to take our last transfer)...its just down the way from the train station. Monte Carlo is very expensive, she insists we must eat at this place before we go. You know that feeling in your gut and when your mind flashes to a scene from a horror movie where the three stupid canadian girls are to trusting and follow the crazy spanish lady into the alley and are meeted by her sons and are robbed and murdered? Well, we canadian girls arent to trusting...we usually overly skeptical....so when she finally went to the bathroom, we confimed we all got the same feeling. At the train station she showed us the board to catch our train. Said we should take a later one cause we all have to eat....we even pointed to a food place in the station....she exclaimed that it was take away!we needed to go to her place....finally we got rid of her. Maybe nothing would have happened, but its better to be safe then sorry.

          So we reach Monte Carlo. A nice lady from the train helped us find a cab to take to our hostel. You step outside of the train station and you can literally smell money. You can tell this place was built on fortune just by looking at the buildings. Now we were kinda nervous about our hostel, the cheapest one we could find was for 40 euros a night. And everything else was much more then that....so then....what do you get for 40 euros which in Monte Carlo people use as pocket change. We were pleasently surprised. This was no hostel, it was a hotel...and one of the nicest i have ever been. Balcony, big beds, flat screen tv, satelitte, kitchen, huge bathroom, dishwasher...best part? A COFFEE MAKER! We have drank so much coffee, we are permenantly wired.

         After showering, which by the way this was a perfect shower. Nothing wrong about it. We headed out to see the town. Beautiful lights of different colours paint the town, everything seemed to drip in riches. The shopping center had the biggest chandelier i had ever seen. We past by botanical gardens, and fancy shops. Another sight was the amount of sercurity camaras....one light post had at least 8! First impression? It was kinda of like vegas...but less trashy and in better taste.

      We were pretty hungry by this point and desperate for food. We found a little resturant by the casino that was ok in price. After a delicious meal we headed back to the hotel and dreamt of meeting a rich man to marry so we could stay here forever.

Ten Lessons Learned

Now that we are a month into our trip there are some things that we have learned.

Ten Lessons

1. Customer Service: In Europe this is a mythical creature and one we take for granted in North America. When you go to order food you are inconviencing them and you find yourself apoligizing for bothering them. You want more then one packet of Ketchup? (which is hard to come by in europe already) Forget it...unless you want to pay a euro for one. The toilet paper is out in the washroom and you would like some more? Nope...if its out its out. (Always bring extra napkins with you)

2. Bathrooms: They are called toilets, they are usually unisex, and they are various degrees of scary. No toilet seat, no toilet paper, no lights, never been cleaned, always stink. You think Mcdolands will have nicer ones? They are usually the worst. Showers are no better. If you get good water pressure, you get no hot water. If you get hot water and great water pressure, the shower is dirty and stinks. Or you get the...extreme hot then extreme cold...and finding yourself asking which is the lesser of two evils.

3. Sights: They are not just like in the movies...the sights are ALWAYS better in person. You feel chills when you see the Effiel Tower or the Collosuem. Well worth the trip, and you always feel blessed to expirence them. Free walking tours, which are in most places, provide you with the cheapest informative entertaining tours. Trust me, go with these guys. (Nice little plug eh? Maybe I should work for them)

4. Stairs: Number One Enemy. At the beginning of the trip we were on the first floor or the hostel had an elevator. Then the third floor no elevator. Then the Forth. Recently...the Fifth. Now add a 16kg backpack on that...and various trips up and down during your stay. Yes I know have an ass of steel, but standing at the bottom of those stairs after along day of walking around...you consider sleeping on the street.

5. Doors and Locks: Second Enemy. You check into a hostel, get a key, find your room. So you put the key in the key hole, turn the key and the door will open. NO, WRONG. Through the course of this trip we have learned it is never that easy...remeber our break in attempt in Munich? There is always a trick or a different way to go about it. Thank the Lord there is three of us, because it still takes us 15 min to achieve opening the door. And for you critics out there that doubt its the door its probably just us....You try it and get back to me on that.

6. Bed Bugs: Hot topic. Its seems whenever we meet fellow travelers befor you can even ask about their trip, they bring up their bed bug stories. (Btw stefs are almost gone) Where they got them, how much pain they were in, how they spent the day at the laundry mat...etc etc. So its not just us, maybe getting bed bugs is the frat boy intiation into the group.

7. Kebabs: For anyone following the blog, maybe you have noticed the love affair with Kebabs. Let me explain, kebabs are cheap, fill you up and they are good. You get your grains, veggies, dairy, and protein all in one. Especially in Europe where the protion sizes are small but still expensive....kebabs are really just a smart choice. We even have a rating system were working on, so far Florence has the best.

8. Coffee: For our Canadian friends back home. Next time you go to a resturant and order coffee...get one extra refill for us. The coffee is so small. I dont even know how to explain how small it is. Yes, it is good. But after two sips...its gone. We even broke down and bought instant coffee for ourselves. Its awful....its not worth it. I miss coffee the size of my head.

9. Booking Hostels: We are getting better at this. Pat on the back for us! We have learned to book further in advance and read the reviews! Novel idea I know...but were getting the hang of things.

10. Plan Changes: When we first started out, we were naive to believe we could see it all and everything would go excatly as planned. Never would we have strayed from our plan. Now with confidence in hand, we realize we can do whatever we please. We completely changed our plans, even booked a flight to make it happen, and have added some places and deleted some.

The best lesson of all.....You CAN make your dreams come true.

Last Day in Italy

        Our last day in Roma, our last stop in Italy. Sad. I will miss the pasta, the crazy itilians, the peddlers. Actually, not the peddlers. Side note: They are the worst in Roma, selling everything, always in your face, and everywhere. The peddlars are also interesting...here is a man talking on a cellphone, has gold teeth, nice dress pants and dress suit, holding a cup and asking for money. hmm. We never did figure that one out.

   Today we wanted to go back to the Colosuem and the Spanish Steps. Our two favorite spots. At the Colosuem we explore more of the ruins surronding it. There is actually alot of archilogical sites with people working on them. We also set out to find the mouth of truth. The Mouth of Truth is this face from anicent times. You put your hand in its mouth and the legend is if you tell a lie the mouth will close on your hand. This was used by many romans as a fidelity test, I wonder if anyone failed.

      We wanted to stick our hand in the mouth. But it was inside a church and we were not dressed apporiatly. Really....its really hot there. However, we could see it from the fence and got a picture. We then moved on to the spanish steps. We lingered there for quite awhile. Watched all the tourist with there funny hats and fanny packs, peddlers shoving flowers or tacky toys in your face, and of course.....the Italian couples. I mean these people make PDA look PG13, they dont even come up for air! But I mean its not like we were watching for long or anything....so ya, well, yes... So much happening...you could people watch forever.

         That night we ate the rest of our groceries, which by the way saved us alot of money! I wish we could always have a private kitchen. We spent the night on the terrance (sigh I will miss that view), playing cards, and packing up our backpacks. Now packing was a fite. Our stuff really was everywhere. We went to bed early and prepared for the train ride ahead. We reserved our tickets to Monte Carlo....however you can't go straight there. It will take two transfers and close to 9 hours to get there. However, we have learned nothing worth having comes easy. Monte Carlo, here we come.