Venice

We took a bus from Munich to Venice, it was beautiful (was hard to keep my eyes on anything but the windows at times). Terri and I took many photos (most were deleted, because they just looked like blurs). But we couldn't resist. 

Once in Venice, we had to catch a bus to the place we were staying. This time, it was 'camping'. We found a bus stop and waited just a few minutes, before the right bus came along. 

Of course it was crowded, and we had our packs on, everyone started telling us to take them off (in Italian, but we knew what they meant by their hand gestures). We couldn't figure out how to pay for the bus, so I guess it was free (but not really, whoops). The ride wasn't long, before we had to get off and start waking. 

Oh look Terri, a gelato place! Let's go! 

She didn't want to. Crazy girl (don't worry, we came back). 

The 'camping' place was neat. There are tons of these little bungalow type buildings. Most of them have three beds, which is what we booked. We expected to have a roommate, they even told us we would, but no one ever showed up. So we had our own private room, with a really hot shower, comfy beds, (other then being a bit cold) for €10 each a night. We thought it was a pretty good deal. 

So, as I mentioned, we went back to the gelato shop. It was magical. Only €1.50 a cone (I had chocolate caramel, Terri had lemon). The gelato was super fluffy! Terri says it was her favourite place so far. As we were walking around and exploring the area, with our cones in hand, I found a thrift store. In Venice. With lots, and lots of leather boots. I wanted them all, somehow I resisted. We didn't buy anything, and never did go back, but I'll always remember that thrift store, and all the boots. 

We only had two days in Venice (probably could of had one more). We spent a lot of time just exploring the city and getting lost.

When ever we went to a shop, or restaurant, we tried our best to go in to a more local place. We had great coffee, everywhere we went, had nice pastries and baked goods, as well. For meals we tried gnocchi and spaghetti, pizza, cristinis, Octapus salad, and buns filled with meat. Also, gelato (I tried choclate caramel, lemon, and melon, which was my favorite). 

After our first day in Venice, hungry and tired, we wanted to go back to a place we had seen earlier in the day, amazingly we knew where it was. Once we saw the menu and prices, we changed our minds though. Luckily there was a really cute place next door. The owner had a bunch of meat and cheeses in his display cases, so it looked more like a deli, but we decided to give it a try. 

He made little cristinis for us, they were delious. Had six each, with a glass of Prosecco. The guy really made us feel comfortable. We wanted to come back the next day, but decided we'd better try pizza instead. 

Our last day in Venice, we went on a free walking tour for about three hours. It was a group of 30 other tourists, so we weren't to sure about it, but it ended up being really informative and interesting. Our tour guide told us that tourism has taken over Venice, it's the only industry left really, so we felt glad we'd already been buying things from local shops. She also knew lots of history about Venice, so I'm glad we did it. 

My favorite part about Venice was definetely all the canals, they looked so beautiful. Some were flat calm, and very peaceful, others very rough, and busy. Which is a prefect example of the city in my opinion. 

The city isn't prefect, which is what we loved about it. It has so much character and charm. Most of the building are crumbling from the salt water, (the city floods) which just adds to the charm. It's nice not to see a bunch of new buildings everywhere.

I can't wait to come back to Venice one day, and maybe find some new, and old favourite spots. 

Paris

We arrived in Paris after a quick flight over from London. The flight was even faster than we expected although we still arrived quite late. We immediately headed into the city to our hosts. We had a little trouble figuring out where to read the subway line names and stuff, since it was different than London. We also waited for ever for one train which never seemed to be coming before we gave up and got a different one. The area we were waiting seemed somewhat sketchy. 

The we found our hosts home with not too many problems, but we couldn't get in, we wandered around for awhile trying to get wifi somewhere, anywhere and finally walked back to the last place we remembered having it. At least we were able to get an entry code and get into the building! I loved the little apartment with its winding stair case and slopping roofs. It was very cozy. The girl we stayed with had a lot of interesting art work and photos as well. 

The next day it was off to see the Effilel tower. We figured out the directions and headed to our metro station, when we got there we found a nice market down the street beside it. Gabe was very pleased about all the cheese and fresh bread. We wandersd around for awhile then finally settled for a baguette and some sort of soft cheese that was like a mix of goat and Brie. We are no longer sure what kind it was but it was delicious. 

After finding the food we headed to the Effilel tower. When we got off I was attempting yo follow my map to find it, we started walking in walking and then Gabe went 'ahhh Terri it's over there...' Turns out you could see it over the roof tops and we were heading in the wrong direction. Oops. 

The tower was much larger and more beautiful than it seems in photos, all the detail of it is very interesting more intracite in real life. There were of course millions of tourists milling around with their smart phones taking photos of themselves or their friends in front of the tower. There were also lots of young guys walking around selling selfie sticks and mini Effilel towers which they carried around on a giant ring. We decided not to go up, I'd heard from a few people the price really isn't worth it. After this we sat down and ate our bread and cheese while admiring the tower, it was a pretty touristy thing to do, but we didn't care, it was a beautiful day, we were in Paris eating bread and cheese and we were looking at the Effilel tower, can't get better than that. 

After we walked along the Seine and managed to see almost everything important in that area. We also found a guy bbqing kebabs near the louvre, I think we waiting over ten minutes to get the kebab and the fries, but it was worth it. 

The night we got back late and ended up getting burgers which weren't a very good deal and only tasted alright. It was very hard to find food in Paris for a decent price. I think the most French thing we ate there was pain au chocolat which Gabe became addicted too. We found a little bakery near our hostel that had really good bread and pain au chocolat. We also found a random Vietnamese place near our hostel and Gabe ate pho for the first time, personally I thought the pho wasn't amazing, but it definitely felt good on the cold day. My favourite meal in Paris was on our last night. We got off at the wrong train stop and had to walk further than usual to our hostel, we were both tired and a bit cranky, then I saw roast chicken in a little deli, with potatos roasting underneath (this is a common thing in Paris). We had been debating what to do for dinner and at 8 euros for the whole chicken and the potatoes? Perfect. Plus there was enough chicken left over for lunch the next day. Gabe was fairly disappointed we couldn't make chicken stalk with the left over carcass though, sadly that went in the garbage. 

We saw the Louvre and Versailles which almost needs its own post. We also went thrifting one day and went to Montmartre which was probably my favourite place in Paris. We went into Notre Dame, Souer Sacred and another church I forgot the name of. Gabe also dragged me to E.Deherlims which is an interesting cooking store, it was very crowded and stock full of every cooking supply you could imagine, it was also very cute inside. In turn I dragged her to Shakespeare and Co. Which is a book store and publishing house, or it was anyway, they are famous for publishing James Joyce's Ulysses. Now they allow starving writers to stay and work there while they finish their projects, I'm sure there's some other criteria for getting resedancy there, but I don't know what. There was definitely a guy hiding in a little nook working on a typewriter while we were there, I wasn't sure if it was just for show or he was actually a writer, but it sure added to the ambience. They even had a library and places to sit and read.

We also did a short guided tour around Montmartre. The guy who did the tour was French-American, his mom was French and he moved to Paris to live and now works as a tour guide. He was in his late 20s or early thirties. It was one of the better tours I went on on this trip. It helped that our group was really small. We also met another Canadian girl. I enjoyed Montmartre slopping streets and beautiful views. Since many artists worked there during the 19th century (lots of impressionists) our guide had lots of info about them and we even walked through some famous paintings. The houses were all pastel colours and there were tons of cobble stone streets. It was a bit touristy in parts, but if you went out of the main square it was much more interesting and quieter. We also saw lots of people painting, but it mostly seemed like the usual tourist fair, scenes of Paris (Effilel tower, Seine, etc). 

The other two days we went to the louvre and Versailles. The Louvre seemed endless. We went on the day it was open late and were happy we did because we stayed almost till closing. It felt like you were in a amazing, every time you went into a room there were at least another one off of it and another off of that etc. I loved all the white Greek, Roman and 17th century statues. The Islamic section was also really interesting and all the painting of course. I think my absolute favourite part was the recreation of the kings rooms and all the royal items. They had everything from furniture, to dishes to jewellery. 

Versailles was also full of lavish rooms, they were so crowded with people trying to see it almost wasn't worth it. Versailles garden was amazing and the petit and grand trainon were my favourite part because it seemed like fewer tourists made it down there. We also walked around the whole lake, since Gabe wanted to look for one side, and we were on the other. If any one knows Versailles and the giant lake I'm talking about its basically a giant cross shape so we were on one side and walked all the way down one arm then back up then all the way down around the bottom and then around the second arm, I think it took about 2 hours but it's hard to say since we were both tired and focused on getting back at this point, and no, we didn't find a geocache. 

When we got back to Paris for our last night we went and walked around the Effilel tower one last time and got lemon sugar crêpés and watched the tower lit up. It was a perfect way to end Paris. The next day we got up really early and got the train to Munich, Germany!

London

Finally getting around to posting these. We had an especially long bus ride from Munich to Venice so lots of writing was done, enjoy! 

I felt at home as soon as I saw London, it wasn't only that I was finally in an English speaking country but there was something about the building style and shops that also reminded me of home. There was also a lot about London I loved because it was completely new to me, yet familiar. When I went to Kensington it reminded me of a Jane Austen novel with all the beautiful (and expensive) town houses. Webminster Abby was lovely because it was exactly like I saw on tv. I always wanted to hear the choir in real life and it definitely lived up to my expectations. You can go in for services for free so I didn't need to pay or anything. I also loved the sandwiche and coffee shops. My favourite was pret-a-manger (ready to eat in French). It had a good selection of sandwichs that were freshly made that day as well as chips, some soups and, tea and coffee, of course. I think I ate lunch there everyday. It was sort of magical and surreal to see things I'd only seen in the movies or photos in real life. Things were so much bigger than I imagined them and I kind of felt like I was in a movie.

The hostel we stayed in could've been better, but we chose something at the last minute. It was in an old run down tavern. I thought it had a lot of character, but Gabe seemed less than impressed. The beds were comfortable enough, although it did lack atmosphere. Still the staff was very helpful and friendly. The first girl I met was a New Zealander and the first thing she said to me was oh your Canadian, I love Canadians. So I think we got off to the right start. 

It was very nice and quiet before Gabe came, I realized she probably wouldn't have the patience for wandering around a museum for a day so I tried to get lots of museum time in before she arrived. The museums in London were probably my favourite. They were free and just as good as museums I've seen in other cities. The best one in my opinion was the Victoria and Albert Museum. I felt like I was walking around someone's (very large and very grand) home. Unfortunately I ran out of time when I was there so I couldn't see everything. I tried to fit the natural history museum into the same day (also amazing, my favourite was the earth section and the sea creatures). 

When Gabe arrived I took her around to the palace first, after dropping off her heavy load of course. Unfortunately we never saw the queen (she wasn't home), but we did see lots of interesting birds (Pelicans!) and I took her to prete a manger (which she approved of). She had a little bit of a hard time stomaching the price since the pound is about double the Canadian dollar right now. I had to point out that yes it is more but Londoners are also going to have higher incomes to match the higher living cost. Plus London is just expensive. 

I managed to cut costs by buying the subway pass (Oyster card) and not eating out a lot. We did have some interesting food in London besides prete a manger. I ate Indian food, which was different than home, but still delicious. I wa happy too because even though it cost s little more I managed to get two meals out of it. We also tried the fish and chips. Gabe was especially sad to see most chip shops had premade food kept under a heater. The chips were chips, you can't really do those wrong, but the fish didn't taste fresh and the batter had lost its crunchiness, it was basically stale. 

We did have one delicious (although expensive) meal in a pub at kings cross. We both got meat pies and mashed potatoes with kale and a beer of course! Definitely the best meal in London. The other really good meal was classic English breakfasts and bread and cheese from the market in the park. 

Just as the weather started to get bad it was time to go to Paris, where to say the least we really started to have an adventure! 

London

Finally getting around to posting these. We had an especially long bus ride from Munich to Venice so lots of writing was done, enjoy! 

I felt at home as soon as I saw London, it wasn't only that I was finally in an English speaking country but there was something about the building style and shops that also reminded me of home. There was also a lot about London I loved because it was completely new to me, yet familiar. When I went to Kensington it reminded me of a Jane Austen novel with all the beautiful (and expensive) town houses. Webminster Abby was lovely because it was exactly like I saw on tv. I always wanted to hear the choir in real life and it definitely lived up to my expectations. You can go in for services for free so I didn't need to pay or anything. I also loved the sandwiche and coffee shops. My favourite was pret-a-manger (ready to eat in French). It had a good selection of sandwichs that were freshly made that day as well as chips, some soups and, tea and coffee, of course. I think I ate lunch there everyday. It was sort of magical and surreal to see things I'd only seen in the movies or photos in real life. Things were so much bigger than I imagined them and I kind of felt like I was in a movie.

The hostel we stayed in could've been better, but we chose something at the last minute. It was in an old run down tavern. I thought it had a lot of character, but Gabe seemed less than impressed. The beds were comfortable enough, although it did lack atmosphere. Still the staff was very helpful and friendly. The first girl I met was a New Zealander and the first thing she said to me was oh your Canadian, I love Canadians. So I think we got off to the right start. 

It was very nice and quiet before Gabe came, I realized she probably wouldn't have the patience for wandering around a museum for a day so I tried to get lots of museum time in before she arrived. The museums in London were probably my favourite. They were free and just as good as museums I've seen in other cities. The best one in my opinion was the Victoria and Albert Museum. I felt like I was walking around someone's (very large and very grand) home. Unfortunately I ran out of time when I was there so I couldn't see everything. I tried to fit the natural history museum into the same day (also amazing, my favourite was the earth section and the sea creatures). 

When Gabe arrived I took her around to the palace first, after dropping off her heavy load of course. Unfortunately we never saw the queen (she wasn't home), but we did see lots of interesting birds (Pelicans!) and I took her to prete a manger (which she approved of). She had a little bit of a hard time stomaching the price since the pound is about double the Canadian dollar right now. I had to point out that yes it is more but Londoners are also going to have higher incomes to match the higher living cost. Plus London is just expensive. 

I managed to cut costs by buying the subway pass (Oyster card) and not eating out a lot. We did have some interesting food in London besides prete a manger. I ate Indian food, which was different than home, but still delicious. I wa happy too because even though it cost s little more I managed to get two meals out of it. We also tried the fish and chips. Gabe was especially sad to see most chip shops had premade food kept under a heater. The chips were chips, you can't really do those wrong, but the fish didn't taste fresh and the batter had lost its crunchiness, it was basically stale. 

We did have one delicious (although expensive) meal in a pub at kings cross. We both got meat pies and mashed potatoes with kale and a beer of course! Definitely the best meal in London. The other really good meal was classic English breakfasts and bread and cheese from the market in the park. 

Just as the weather started to get bad it was time to go to Paris, where to say the least we really started to have an adventure! 

Our first night lost in Paris, sleeping under the stars.

Well, it all started out well, we arrived at the terminal from London shortly after 9pm, and found our train. The next train we needed was delayed (I think) so we  took another and got off at our stop for our couchsurfing host and started walking in the right direction (for the most part). Finding the place was to hard, but once we got there, we discovered we needed a code to get into her place. With no wifi within 20 minutes, we decided to explore a little for somewhere closer with wifi. Nope. Nothing. We kept walking back past her place, hoping she'd maybe come down to check for us (we'd told her we were 20 minutes away). 

At one point, I crossed the road and looked way up at all the windows, wondering which was hers, could I throw a pebble to the right window? I decided this was a very bad idea. Plus, I knew I'd never be able to throw high enough to reach a window ( or aim at a window). 

Terri's phones dies, and I realize mines only at 20 percent. (Plus the neighbourhood was a little sketchy on the way over). At one point, a local tryed to help us, but the number we had for our host didn't work when we used her phone to call. 

By now its well past 11 o'clock and we are really running out of options. 

Maybe we should just sleep in bush? 

Find a cheap hotel? 

Walk past her place again? 

Find a pay phone? 

Walk to the last spot with wifi? 

I guess option 1 is our best bet. 

Just kidding. 

We decided we'd better walk the long walk back to the wifi, with our backpacks feeling heavier and heavier with each step. 

On the way, we started to worry it might be to late to go to her place, what if she's asleep? What then? Find that bush? 

Luckily for us, she was still up when we finally messaged her (around 12:30, with my phone at 8%). We got the code, and trudged to her place, for the last time that night. 

We arrived by 12:45, finally. (Of course her place was on the fifth floor, with so many stairs!) It was small, but cute inside, she had no windows in the main room, but two skylights, so for our first night in Paris, we slept beneath the stars. 

Tips for surviving trips: Europe addition.

Terri and I are on a 7 hour bus ride to Venice from Munich. The trip reminded me of my trip across Canada last summer and my list of tips for surviving trips (in an RV). So I decided I'd better make a list of tips for surviving trips through Europe! 

First, and most important thing I want to add to the list is bathrooms. Everywhere we've been in Europe charges from €.50- €1 to use the washroom. I get it, you gotta pay people to clean the bathrooms, and for the paper towers and such. But still, no hot water usually and not really that clean. My tip: Always use the washroom when it's gonna be free ( I know, obvious) if you're in a restaurant or cafe it's usually free, on a train or bus, in a museum, at the place your staying. 

My second tip, food. Serious, food is so much more expensive in the more tourist areas, or on trains/bus terminals so bring a sandwich from somewhere cheaper and pack it or go to the grocery store and make a sandwich/lunch for the day. Way cheaper. Terri and I packed sandwiches and apples for the bus trip today, (salami, with Swiss cheese, arugula and grilled zucchini with garlic, on chabata bread) for about €1.50 a sandwich. For Europe, that's pretty good. Plus cheaper and probably the best sandwich we've had all trip. 

Third tip. Water! Drinking is important, so before you head out, grab a water bottle each. Sometimes Terri and I forgot, and had to buy water (gonna cost anywhere from €1.50-€3.00). If you run out, you can always refill it in a washroom or sometimes there are water fountains safe for drinking in parks and in the city. (Also, once in Munich, I asked a waitress for a glass of water and she said they didn't have a tap. Serious? I just saw you drink out of a large jug of water. You have a tap. If it's a policy to make tourists buy bottled water, just tell me). >:( 

Fourth tip. Always have something to do while on a train, plane or bus. Download some games or puzzles, have a book handy or a journal/blog post to write. You can only look at the scenery for so long before you need a break. 

Fifth tip, write a journal or blog! It helps you remember your trip, plus, keeps your family updated on your travels. This way they don't have to ask everyday what you've been up too! (Even though they still do). 

Sixth tip, take photos. This goes along with number five. More photos you have, more memories you have. But don't forget to stop and look at things with your own eyes, not just through your camera. ;)

That's all I can think of for now! I'll add more soon. 

Paris

First day in Paris, was very touristy. Our host gave us coffee and tea, we got ready, and headed towards the metro station. Found a little Sunday market on the way there, super cute. :) We got some bread, cheese and clementines. 

Terri and I didn't know which way to go once we got off the metro at the Eiffel Tower, of course we walked in the wrong direction, but I soon spotted the tower behind us.

Up close, the tower is much bigger then I expected, of course there was about as many tourists selfieing as I expected. Around the tower, everywhere you looked someone was trying to sell selfie sticks, mini Eiffel Towers, bottles of wine, cheap crap that you don't need basically. 

Terri and I found a quiet bench and had our bread and cheese picnic, with the Eiffel Tower in front of us. It was a prefect Paris moment! :) 

We walked along the river, seen many amazing sights, and soon found a wonderful man selling meat on a stick. 

He had this really neat barbecue, with meat on a skewer. We had to wait about 10 minutes for him to cook fresh ones, but we didn't mind.  It was served in a bun with fries on top. Mmm...

We walked on further, to the Louvre, by now it was around 4, so we didn't go in. Just hung out, in the area to relax. Finally, both to tired to keep going, we started heading back to the place we were staying. On the way, Terri's phone died, so we kinda got lost. Took awhile to find our way, it was well past dark by now, and about 8 when we finally got back. 

Had crappy, overpriced burgers for dinner, because there was not many other options for food in the area. 

 We brought wine and candy back with us, and hung out with our host for the night. 

The next two days we explored Paris quite a bit, we moved to our hostel, which was super cute, and easy to find, I went to cool cookware store; E. Dehillerin and Terri went to Shakespeare & Co. We saw Notre Dame, went on a free walking tour around the Montmartre area for nearly three hours, and cooked pasta for dinner to save money. ;) On the second to last day we went to the Louvre and probably spent around 8 hours there. Needless to say, that was a long day. Terri loved it. I enjoyed it to of course, and I'll probably thank her one day for spending so much time in there, seeing all the famous statues, paintings and artifacts. 

The last day in Paris we went to Versailles, I really enjoyed it, (lots of tourist though) but when we went outside into the garden, we couldn't go back inside, unless we wanted to wait in line again. Have to eat our pasta cold, I guess. The gardens were lovely, we walked all the way around the cross shaped lake, which took forever! It was beautiful though. That night at the hostel, our last night in Paris, I dragged Terri out to see the city and the Eiffel Tower at night, it was well worth it! So beautiful. Plus, we had a hot crepe with lemon and sugar on it! Wonderful way to end our Paris adventure. :)