La Belle Epoque

Bonjour!

Of course, I am in the last city on my trip. I am in beautiful, romantic Paris. The night train from Barcelona was good, and I slept well (considering my night before!!). I met a really cool lady in our room on the train and she was heading to Paris to translate "You don't mess with the Zohan" with Adam Sandler in it...into French. She was in Barcelona to translate it into Spanish, and she was in Berlin to translate it into German...and Rome to translate it into Italian...she is an incredible woman! She left for Europe in her junior year out of high school and never came back. Anyways, she said that in Japan, the hollywood movie scene is really big, and they do alot of dubbing and subtitling. When I told her I was going to study Asian languages, she said that I could work for Universal, Miramax, Paramount...any of those because there aren't many native English speakers who are in the business, and they are desperate for them (And pay them well!). It was just so interesting to talk to someone else that is so well versed in languages and the nuances of translating into another language, what works and what doesn't. Anyway, she gave me her contact details and encouraged me to contact her in a few years !! Eek! I made it to Paris and got on the extremely confusing metro to my hostel, St. Christopher's Inn. By the way, momma I still have my St. Christopher necklace and I haven't taken it off. Alot of people ask what it represents, and I feel like it has helped me find my guardian angels whenever I have been in a bad situation. The patron saint of pilgrimages is a huge symbol here at St. Christophers and they have these hostels all over Europe. Anyway, it is a fantastic hostel. It is brand new, but costs over 30 euros a night. My first morning in Paris I bought a croissant because I was so hungry....and MOTHER ALMIGHTY they are so TASTYLICIOUS here. When people said they were different here than other places I chose not to believe them...but Parisians love their Boulangeries, and it shows. Le Pain Du Chocolat has been a personal favorite. I tried to order two (deux) in one Boulangerie, but I accidentally asked for ten (dix) and the guy looked at me like I was mad. I went the most fantastic walking tour EVER and our guide was a mime and went to mime school for 2 years. It was 4 hours long, and we got to see Notre Dame, learn about French history, the Louvre, Le Jardin de Tuilleries, the spot of the execution of Marie Antoinette, the Hotel Criant ($50,000 a night), Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and lots of other interesting things. Napoleon was a really interesting character, poor little 5'2" feller. He put big "N"s on everything around the city because he wanted to feel important...I mean give the guy a break, he only wanted to conquer the world! It's fine, guys, really. He succeeded until he tried to take over Russia. tsk tsk, it's like a little dog that barks at a massive dog because he thinks he can take him. Anyway, it was great and after that, I watched the Euro Cup FINAL! Oh my goodness. I have actually been following the whole thing through Europe but I haven't been really blogging about that. It's soccer, but it's called "football" of course. It started right after I left Austria (Awesome, because all the games were in Austria and I wouldn't have had anywhere to stay!). I watched games all through Italy, Greece, Spain, and now here in France. Spain ended up winning the game against Russia while I was there and it was a ridiculous night of course in Spain, hearing chants of "ESPANIA! ESPANIA! ESPANIA!" all night. It's easy to get caught up in the buzz, like jumping on the bandwagon when the Flames do well. Anyways, last night the final was between Spain and Germany. They were both sort of underdogs and I stayed quite neutral the whole game, although the German team had better looking guys. All of Europe watched that game last night and it was fantastic. SPAIN WON THE EURO CUP! I went to bed pretty promptly after lots of respective WOOing. I got up this morning and went to the Centre de Pompidou, the modern art center here in Paris. It was FANTASTIC, and WAY better than the tate modern. I decided I am not going to the Louvre...I only have 2 days in Paris and spending them in line for 3 hours to be disappointed at the tiny size of the Mona Lisa is not my idea of a good time, especially after the stupid Sistine Chapel. I'd rather spend it in a Parisian garden, eating and drinking and living like the parisians do. So after the museum I went on a tour of Montmartre, the artist's district. When people think of old Paris, they usually think of the mustached painters relaxing at terrace cafes, drunken can-can dancers and absinthe drinkers spilling out onto quaint balconies, tiny cobblestone streets filled with seductive women carrying croissants. Hahaha well that would be Montmartre. It was a place where poor farmers used to live, but when the artists started to flourish in Paris...they lived in this area because it was so cheap to live in. It became this incredible area when the "Belle Epoque" started and there was so much art, philosophy, music, theatre, drinking, living with NO money and it was an amazing time to be in Paris. It was SO great to tour all around this area, it is so romantic to me to imagine all the artists that lived here. During the Belle Epoque, this area saw artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec, and Claude Monet. Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali eventually came around and it was the time of the famous venues like the Moulin Rouge and le Chat Noir. I want to live there so badly... We walked to the Moulin Rouge, various spots in the movie Amelie and Moulin Rouge, Van Gogh's house, Picasso's studio (that womanizer!!!), paris' red light district, Montmatre Vineyard, The Artist's square, and Sacre Coeur basilica. After the tour ended I went with a girl named Eve to buy some baguettes, cheese and wine. We walked over to the Eiffel Tower to wait for the light show. This is the show that they have had since the Millenium. After 2000 was over, there was such an uprising over keeping the light show that now they do it every night in the summer! At dark, it goes every hour for around 10 minutes. I have a video and I wish I could upload it but I am home tomorrow hahahahaha so I will show somebody my repressed excitement then. It was beautiful and romantic and it glowed blue at the end. It is blue for Bastille day on July 14. I learned something cool about the French flag! The color of the royalty was traditionally white, and the colors of the Revolution in France was Red and Blue. It's funny because the French flag is Red and Blue, with white in the middle (The Revolution overthrowing the government!). It was really interesting to learn more about the revolution too, the French were an EXTREMELY brutal and bloody group of folks. Tomorrow (well today)I am not going to Versailles like I planned but rather I am going to the Paris Catacombs, out to see the graves of Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde, and to do a little shopping and some more hanging out in Montmartre. This was a really long winded post and I apologize, but the guy at the front desk here gave me an unlimited internet pass because I guess either he's a moron or he thinks I'm cute. Whatever! I am BACK IN CANADA TOMORROW! EEEEK! I caaaaaaaaannnnooooot wait, I am a sleepy girl and travelling for 68 days makes me more sleepy.

ONE LOVE


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montmartre

Wait.....is that what I think it is?? (I said this numerous times last night)

Hola, mi Amigos!

I have been in Barcelona since Monday!!! This city is extremely interesting and I would like to live there at some point (but I said the same about London, Berlin, Prague, Rome...).


I WENT TO SEE MIYAVI LAST NIGHT!!! Yesterday I was quite hungover and was ambitious enough to walk over to find the venue at around noon, so I wouldn´t get lost getting there later in the day. I found the Sala Apolo about 10 minutes walk from the hostel, but get this! At noon, there were NO LESS than 200 young people waiting outside the door in a line that snaked around the block. I am NOT even joking, I really wish that I was. I had a mini panic attack because I wanted to be in the front...but decided that I am little and could squeeze my way to the front later on. So I did some more shopping weeeeee! I bought a new outfit for the show (somehow I didn´t feel like my 3 month old dirty outfits were very fitting for this event. I went into a few stores and tried on a few things...OH! But in one of the little stores, I asked to try something on. The girl said okay and proceeded to show me that the changing room was no more than a flimsy pseudo shower curtain that was strung up with wire in one corner of the open store. Brutal. But I really wanted to try it on, so I just went along. After a while I was like, jumping around and trying to shimmy into a top...I was like...wait...is that what I think it is??? I NOTICE A PEEPHOLE! I looked in and there was a MAN ON THE OTHER END!! WTF!? He immediately stepped away and I turned around the corner and said "You had better have an explanation for that!!" and he was just like "Perdoni!!! Perdoni!!!".


He DID end up giving me a discount. I got my outfit, did a bit more shopping and then went back to the hostel to get ready. I walked back to Sala Apolo around 5pm or so. I have to say that Spanish people really enjoy japanese music and alot of them were dressed up in the visual kei style. There were an amazing amount of reaaaaaaallly good looking people there :) I stood in line behind this girl who was really dressed up and beautiful. It was strange because I can´t understand Spanish or Catalan....so having a conversation with people in the line was kinda fun because we had to gesture and things. Kids in Spain have to learn English in school, so me and the girl in front of me started talking. She was only 17 and from Valencia, and travelled to Barcelona just for the show. We talked for a long time and looked in Miyavi´s bus, and also tried to think of ways to sneak in. You could FEEL the intensity and the excitement considering japanese artists rarely make it outside of Asia, as far as touring goes.




This was like the most epic part of the trip for me in a way, especially considering I was in love with Miyavi since I went to Japan when I was 15. When he came on stage I couldn´t even breath (also considering I was being squishied by spanish hipsters). It was UNBELIEVABLE. He is accompanied on this tour by the Kabuki boys, a group of japanese guys. Each one does something different...there is a DJ, an MC, an artist, a tapdancer etc. They were all in japanese costume with facepaint and it was all very fancy. Miyavi played a ton of songs and changed outfits 3 times!! The interesting thing too is that Miyavi can only speak Japanese and a little English. So when he spoke, it was in English with some japanese and a bit of Spanish. He has a cute accent because he is from Osaka...guys from Osaka have a "cool" accent because it sounds really tough, but when they speak in English it is really funny sounding haha. Anyways, it was amazing and I am still shaking from the experience. I got back to the hostel and decided that I was going to shower and go to bed, no drinking..I went up to my room and went in. I saw like 4 American boys in there and they were snorting something. I was like...wait...is that what I think it is!!?? And yes, they were definitely snorting cocaine. I was not a happy camper. All the cool roommates left and I was with 7 Americans in my room....all in the mood to party in the TINY space. I told them I honestly wanted to sleep and that if they wanted to party they would have to do it downstairs. Anyone want to guess how that went over? American boys don´t care what anyone else wants, as long as they are having a good time. So they smoked a huge bong in the room and took shots of absinthe and gin while I was trying to sleep. It was the absolute WORST ever. I didn´t sleep at all, and get this! They left around 1am to go to a club, and came back around 5 or 6am. They decided that they were going to invite around 10 to 15 people in the room to smoke some more, turned on all the lights and made a ton of noise. OH MY GOD and then later on, when everyone was kind of asleep, I woke up because all this liquid seeped down onto my bed from the top bunk. I was like NO WAY NO WAY NO FREAKING WAY IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS!!!!??? I thought the guy above had peed himself like an absolute champion. I got up and freaked out, but then I realized that his buddy was there, and had just poured an entire litre of cold water on him because he though it was funny. So I had to sleep with a wet bed, UBER pissed. Hahahaha that was such an awful night :( So needless to say, was pumped when I checked out today. I have just been trying to relax before my night train to Paris tonight. I arrive tomorrow morning at 9am. Considering last night, I am just really excited to come home to my bedroom and see everyone. Concert was incredible though, eeeeek! I´ll be home in a few days so I will update once more from Paris. Love yalls

SARAH!


Adios <3

Hola, Amigos!

Good morning....afternoon, actually FROM SPAIN! I am at Kabul hostel now, and have just dragged my sorry self out of bed with the rest of the room. I am NOT in the 20 bed dorm here, thank goodness...only an 8 bed room. For the last 3 days, I have been really tight with this group from the room, and it´s funny because we are kind of a strange mix. 2 girls from Brooklyn, 1 guy from Liverpool, 1 girl from Toronto, 2 guys from Seattle, 1 girl from Manchester.....and a silly blonde girl from Calgary, Canada. I have been justifying the ridiculous amounts of drinking with the fact that this is the end of the trip and I am home in a few days. Still doesn´t make it feel any better when you wake up in the morning!!!! Last night, after we played numerous drinking games we all headed down to a shot bar on Port Vell, the beach. After it closed around 4am, I really had to pee and couldn´t find a bathroom for the life of me. I was on the harbour and it seemed like a reaaaaallly good idea to just pee off the harbour and into the water. The only thing I didn´t count on...was a party boat full of people that watched me do it! HAHAHAHAHA oh noes it was quite hilarious and I am just glad I didn´t fall over backwards into the water. Someone needs to ask me all the strange places I have had to pee over the last couple of months when I get home, because I really think it would be a fantastic conversation.

Mom was right when she said I would get called Rubia while in Spain. Rubia means "blond girl" and I even had one particularly RUDE Spanish man who came up and started twirling my hair and touching before I told him to sod off (I have been hanging out with too many English people lol). Anyways! Today is the Miyavi concert and I am extremely excited! Tonight will be the first day that I have actually styled my hair in ages. Tomorrow morning I will leave for Paris on a VERY long all day train. It is going to hurt if I end up drinking tonight, but I think I will lay off the sauce for once. Today is also my last day for shopping in BCN, so I have to go and take care of that :) Miss you all tons...and see you in 5 days!

LOVE SARAH.

I showed up on the craziest night of the year

OK OK OK OK!

SO!

I showed up to Barcelona on a holiday. I knew that it was a holiday back in April when I was planning the trip a bit. I ASSUMED it was like, a holiday where everything is closed and people get to relax a little, but Barcelona is not your normal city. So the holiday was the festival of San Juan (St. John the Baptist) and I guess celebrations started 2 weeks ago, to culminate in this one ridiculous night. Throughout the trip I have had so many nights that I have wanted to blog about and say ¨That was the most RIDICULOUS day of my life!!!¨ But it always seems to get topped by something else, in another city. I suppose I could just say that I have had alot of ridiculous nights, in many crazy cities....but THIS was on another scale altogether.

I showed up to a hostel and was able to get a bed for 2 nights. The hostel is really hip and relaxed, different to the frenzy of the downtown of Barcelona. It is a nice contrast. When I got of the metro I was hearing gunshots and getting kind of freaked out, because I was like "omg, where am I? What have I gotten myself into!?" (I realized later that these were fireworks)

Anyways!
I went out with a group of 10 people from the hostel at around midnight. We bought bottles of wine for around $0.70 CAD and wandered down Placa Catalunya to the beach. As soon as I stepped of the metro, I could not even believe my eyes. The entire city was outside, setting off fireworks in the streets and on the beach, celebrating. I can't even describe how many people were on the beach, but imagine the entire city of Calgary plus about a hundred thousand tourists all by the sea, drinking and celebrating. It was absolutely unreal because everywhere you turned, you were close to getting hit in the eye with a errant firework. There was music playing all over, but it was somewhat drowned out by the thousands of fireworks coming from all directions. People were setting trees on fire, jumping over bonfires, going to clubs dotted along the shore, swimming, drinking, and generally being out of control. There were also alot of people just chilling, drinking in the scene and relaxing. We sat on the beach and drank for a while, and after I almost got hit with a rocket...we decided to go to a club. Clubs in Barcelona don't open until around 1am, but they stay open until the sun comes up.

Does this city ever SLEEP!? Nobody slept last night, that's for sure. People stayed out all night on the beach and after every firework in Spain was set off, everyone stayed to watch the sun come up in Barcelona. Nobody also bothered to tell me that because no one in the city of Barcelona slept last night, today everything is closed to allow people to relax a bit. Tomorrow the plan is to rent Mopeds and drive to Sitges (MOMMA!!!!) to hang out on the beach. It isn't set in stone and I may just shop and visit some Gaudi architecture. I have to switch hostels tomorrow as well...I am staying right on Las Ramblas, the center of the city by the beach. OH! And my Miyavi concert is this Friday. HOW EXCITED AM I!!!!? I miss you all and I can't wait to step back on Canadian soil. I start work next Friday and that feels a bit weird considering I am so far away, but I am really looking forward to doing the Reading Program again. Also, Becky's 18th birthday is the day I arrive home from Paris! I can't wait to buy her a drink and see her new flowing blonde locks hahaha. <3

Hasta Luego!

A few pictures from Rome

Italian sunset on the train to Rome

Morning Cappuchino

Colosseum by night

Trevi Foutain

Inside the Colosseum!

Just so everybody can tell the magnitude of the amount of photos I really have, I have around 2500 photos on 4 memory cards right now. Anybody thinking, Slideshoowww party? hahahaha

Barcelona sunset

Ciao!

I am just about to leave for my airplane to Barcelona. It leaves in a few hours and I have to catch a metro and a bus to get there. Last night we watched the Euro Cup 2008 quarter finals between Spain and Italy. Italy totally lost but it is okay because now I get to watch the semifinals between Spain and Russia while IN spain. This morning I got up really early and mailed home an entire box full of stuff, and headed to the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. I have never felt like such a herded animal than I did at the Vatican. TOO MANY FREAKING PEOPLE! Anyways, the sistine chapel was incredible and now my neck hurts from staring. It is funny because all the guards keep yelling NO FOTOOOOO NO PICTURESSSSSS but everybody was taking flash photos everywhere. It was CHAAAAOOOS. hahaha enough for one day, at least. Okay so I have to get my life together and hop on this plane. Dont know where I am sleeping tonight because I didn't book a hostel, and I didn't have enough time to look for a couchsurfing host. This will be interesting!

Love you all, and see you next Wednesday!! (SO SOON!)

Ciao Ciao :P

Living La Dolce Vita!

Ciao :)
I am just heading out for a little breakfast "Roman Style" (a croissant and a coffee) with my couchsurfing host, Alex. I slept in today and didnt get to see the Pope because I had a little too much fun with friends at a place called "Circolo degli Artisti" (Circle of the Artist) last night. I don't think the Pope would think very highly of that, but Hey, when in Rome....I powerhoused through the ancient city yesterday, visiting the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, Campino del Fiori, Piazza de Venezia, Regiment building, Trajan's column, Roman Forum, Palatine hill, and then shopped and shopped for hours. Ridiculous! It was okay because then I went out for an amazing meal, and relaxed for a bit. Today the plan is to see St. Peter's Basilica, and maybe the catacombs of Saint Agnese. Tomorrow I am heading to the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum. My flight also leaves tomorrow from Barcelona. I am going to throw a coin over my left shoulder today into the Trevi fountain, because that will ensure my return to Rome. I HAVE to come back here, it is the most romantic, young, and incredible city I have stayed in besides Prague. I have SO much more to tell, but I have to dash. Update again soon, with piccys!

Ciao Ciao <3

It's All Greek to Me

Χαιρετίσματα από την Ελλάδα!!!!! (Greetings from Greece!)

Everyone might possibly be thinking that I have died from my various illnesses over the weekend because I didn't post an entry...but rest assured that I am well and better than ever! I needed a few days to really get better and rest, but I am back at 110% for the rest of the trip.

I am in LOVE with Athens! The first night I spent here I stayed with a girl named Magda and she let me stay in her apartment in Εξάρχεια, and Artsy district close to downtown Athens. Her apartment was so cute and her couch turned into an entire double bed for me. I was still sick this night, so I spent it eating crackers and soda and watching Bridget Jones Diary with Greek subtitles while she went to her bartending job. The next morning she had 3 more guest arrive...THREE! Two french canadians named Kim and MarcAndrae that she had hosted before and her friend Simone from Holland that she also hosted before. So I had to go...obviously she couldn't have us all there! I went to the apartment of a girl named Elena, who was another Couchsurfer friend of Madgas. She had a guest named Brian from Los Angeles staying with her as well. Athens is very active with couchsurfing because of all the backpackers. Anyway, I have been staying at Elena's place ever since Saturday. It is still amazing to me how couchsurfing works and how much people can trust complete strangers like they do. It really gives me hope for the world when someone I have never met before says,
"Use my kitchen, stay on my couch, use my computer and my phone and my things...here are your keys."
The couchsurfing community has become so large (even in Canada) and you can find a free place to sleep anywhere you go, if you only look. Anyways! So I haven't been getting to bed until around 5am - 6am every night since I got here, because that is the way the Europeans do it. Bars and Clubs in Europe don't even get started until midnight and they don't have to close if they don't want to. It is not uncommon to stay out until the sun comes up and then head back. I've seen the ancient ruins of the Acropolis, the ancient Agora, and seen the Temple of Zeus. The acropolis is the hill and surrounding area where the hub of Ancient greek life took place. It was the centre of political, religious, and social life. So I saw the Parthenon of course, the temple of Nike, the theatre of Dionyssus, and numerous other temples. How out of this world is it to see a building that was built 1400 years B.C. and imagine how the city looked back in that time? How this building stood while the world passed by for over 3000 years? Unbelievable. The ancient agora is the marketplace where greek people shopped and hung out. It's mostly ruins now, but pretty to look at. I did a bit of shopping that day....and I was given a counterfeit 20 Euro bill! That is around $35 CAD. I was ppiiiiiiiiiisssed. It was SO fake, but I didn't notice until I tried to buy something else with it. Seems that when the Euro was introduced, all European people had to learn exactly how to spot a fake bill, so they all know it's fake as soon as they touch it. The dude probably gives it to all tourists because they can't tell the difference. CURSES! Anyway, everywhere I tried to pass this bill off, people kept telling me it was fake and I was all like, "OH! REeeeeeeeeallllyy??" and then I was like CRAP, now I have to try again. Finally Elena, Me, Kim, and MarcAndrae went for dinner. We had all kinds of greek dishes, and then when it came time to pay, I put down the fake 20 Euro bill and we all bolted. It was actually super funny and we were all freaking out, waiting for the server to come running out, waving the fake bill and yelling in greek! It didn't happen though, and we just walked around Monastiraki for a while, which is the new market area. Athens has been fun, and I am glad I made the decision not to head to Crete or Corfu or the other islands. It takes such a long time to travel and I am just having too much fun with my new friends here in Athens. Tonight me and Elena cooked a Greek spinach pie for us and the new couchsurfing guest, Micheal from Quebec City. After that we are watching a movie because we can't imagine staying up until 6am again tonight. We have to sleep sometime! I am heading to Rome on Thursday night, so I will update after that point. I am hoping to find a host for Rome as well, but I am not having as much luck. The host I had set up before said I had to sleep in his bed if I stayed so I told him to shove it. hahahahahaha I love you all terribly and will see you in two weeks time!

Love Sar

An interesting sort of night....

Ciao!

So last night I had to leave the lovely Cinque Terre. I also had to say goodbye to Heidi, the amazing woman I met that took care of me when I got sick (did I mention that I have had various colds, kidney infections and stomach flus for the last 3 weeks? Heidi made me fresh ginger tea, did reflexology on my feet, did healing meditations with me, gave me a ton of chinese healing pills...she was absolutely a doll. She really kept me grounded the last couple of days in Cinque Terre because I was really sick and up all night for 2 nights. It subsided for an entire day...but it is worse now, here in Athens. I am still staying positive, it's pretty tough to be down when you are in such amazing places, but it is very hard for me to feel like sightseeing and leaving my bed.

I hopped on the train from Monterosso to Milano Centrale, and arrived around 10:00pm. I had no idea how to get to the airport (this is becoming more and more apparent to me) but I seem to have an endless supply of guardian angels watching over me. I keep noticing that the whole trip, everything just seemed to work out. I met the exact right person to help me out of a tricky situation. So I met Marco, a German who grew up in London and now lives in San Fransisco. We found the bus and made it to the airport. If I had have missed that bus, I would have had to stay in Milano Centrale till 4am! Milano Centrale is a place I think you would want to avoid at that hour...hmmm Anyway, made it to the airport and said goodbye. The airport was abandoned pretty much, and I found a few seats by another girl and my intuition said that she was safe. So I layed down and hugged my bags to try and get a little sleep. Before I fell asleep, she woke up and we started chatting. I found out she was born in Athens, but ran away from home at 18 to New York. After one year, she moved to Toronto, and has lived there for the past 9 years. It was amazing because had never been back home until this point. When we got to the terminal gate in Athens, her mom was crying so much and it was very very touching. Anyways, she works for an Airline company in Canada, and gave me a free sleep mask and sleep socks (Milan airport was FREEZING somehow). I tried to sleep and did for around 4 hours which is pretty amazing! I didn't get sick or anything the entire day or night too so I was feeling preeeeeetty good. Hopped on the 2 hour flight to Athens without a hitch (except Volareweb is pretty lame-o). She gave me her address and phone number and said if I needed a place to stay in Athens in a couple of days, that I could call her and stay with her family. How amazing is that!? I am couchsurfing with a sweetheart named Magda, and she has the cutest little apartment really close to downtown Athens. Tomorrow I am heading to the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Ancient Agora (market) the Dionysus Theatre and the National Gardens. I don't really know how long I will stay in Athens. If this sickness keeps up, I may stay my whole time in Greece here. The partying in Corfu will ruin me! Anyways, I think I better try to sleep and see how I feel tomorrow. I am staying tomorrow night at a girl named Elena, who has another guest staying with her from the US. After that I may stay with Esmerelda (the girl from the Airport) and her family. I hope everyone is doing okay, and know that I am doing my very best to take care of myself. Even despite being a bit unlucky, I still feel so wonderful and absolutely grateful to be where I am.

Love Sarah. <3

Cinque Terre, Finally!

I hate Volareweb with a passion....and other musings

Hello Everyone! So I have been travelling a total of 47 days now, and I have 21 left to go! I extended my stay in Cinque Terre, and with good reason. I just CANNOT get enough of this place. It is unreal. My hostel is in Cinque Terre, and it is like taking a total step back...no museums, no landmarks. Just the sea, the cliffs, the food, the villages and the locals to bring you back into a zen-like balance. Every morning I wake up, make some expresso the old fashioned way, eat fresh fruit and shower. Then I might read on the terrace, head down to the fresh markets and pick up food for the day, bring out some water to feed the stray cats, wander up and down through the maze of covered tunnels through the village. I can pick fresh lemons and oranges from up the street off the trees, smell the fresh flowers like jasmine, go swimming at the little beach in the village. I have spent nights drinking cheap bottles of wine under the stars, swimming in the dark and wondering if fish sleep. I have walked 9 miles through tunnels, up and down mountains and through cliffs, stopping in the villages for an ice cream or ice coffee. The people all hang their laudry from their colorful apartments with shutters, hanging out and enjoying life. The older italian men all meet to chat, drink wine all afternoon and talk. All italian men have the most amazing shoes, by the way. I found out there are some italian grandmothers who meet every afternoon up on the top of this BREATHTAKING hill just up the path to gossip under this cool tree. The pace of life is something I envy. I really think the Europeans got it right, and we have something we could learn from them. It's almost time for sunset, and I have a bottle of red wine, prosciutto, foccacia, cheese, the meditteranean sea, a rocky beach and good company calling me...so I must go for now.

The reason I hate Volarweb is because they cancelled my flight to Athens. But who can complain? Means I have another glorious day in Cinque Terre. I am now on a flight a day later. Take it easy, everybody. :)

This internet is $8 CAD an hour....

so I will just tell you how my day is going.
Last night I cooked fresh pasta with freshly prepared pesto with foccacia, wine and cheese. Heidi (this amazing woman I met) drank it on the terrace of the apartment we are staying in, with the town of Rio Maggiore layed down beneath us, the crystal blue mediterranean sea sparkling from the right. The sun is warm and 5 of us walked down to the harbour to watch the sun set over Cinque Terre. This morning I woke up at 4am, walking before sunrise along the paths between Rio Maggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. We walked about 1 hour 45 minutes and watched the sun rise in Corniglia, our feet dangling from sea ledges. I didnt see one tourist the entire time...and by the time I arrived in Monterosso, the weather was sunny and clear. I swam in the CLEANEST sea I have ever seen. The water felt like silk and I could see all the way to the bottom. Heidi and I layed all day on the beach. It was magnificent. I cannot upload the pictures here, but they cannot even do this place justice.

Tonight we are making fresh pasta again. We bought peaches, mandarins, and chocolate. Red wine for $2.50, marinated artichokes, freshly made pesto, and fresh pasta. We have more fresh foccacia and we also bought sardines wrapped around marinated olives (Dad you would be proud of me!). So as you can see, I have to go and cook a meal, enjoy the italian riviera a bit more before watching the sunset again. I miss you all very much.

LOVE SARAH

RAAAAAAAAWR!

Good morning from Florence! I am just about to head out here in about half an hour with a crew of like 6 girls to see Michelangelo's David. It's really funny because everyone is leaving this morning and wants to see it before their train, but we are all travelling in different directions....Rome, Zurich, Barcelona, Croatia. It's so interesting to meet people because you can always always find something to talk about when travelling. You can help them with a place to go, or where not to go...what to see and what not to see. It's helped me fill out my travel plans alot better and make sure I stay at better hostels and such. This hostel right now is...interesting, to say the least. Not only did they force me to repay my deposit I made online, but they also charge an extra 5 euros per person per night, plus 5 euros for sheets! Because it took me over an hour to find the place, I stayed. There are no security lockers, and they forced me to switch rooms last night because some girl didn't like her bed. Especially since I am already paying like 50 CAD dollars a night for this place, I wasn't too happy. I have had really amazing luck up until now with hostels, so I am making sure to look carefully when I choose one for Cinque Terre and Milan. Yesterday I went to the Uffizi gallery and it was out of this world. I saw the birth of Venus and the Primavera by Botticelli, Judith slaying Holofernes, that Medusa painting by Caravaggio, many works and drawings by all the Mutant Ninja turtles! (Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo) haha.

Anyways, I have got to go see this 13 foot slab of marble so I had better make sure my bags are packed up. Talk to everyone in a few days after I settle in Cinque Terre.

I HAVE A FLIGHT HOME! (Airdrie Public Library rejoice!)

Bonjourno!
I am in beautiful Florence, Italy! I am just about to head out to the Uffizi Gallery to see some works by Michelangelo, Donatello, Carveggio, Cimbue, Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Brunelesci. I went to an italian doctor yesterday and got some antibiotics so I am on the path to wellness. I have been eating absolutely the most incredible meals here in Florence with some great company. Wine flows like water and everyone is so relaxed. Tomorrow I am heading to Cinque Terre, and apparently Internet access is nearly impossible there, so I won't be updating until I get to Milan. BUT! Exciting news, I AM returning to Canada!

My mom booked my flight home from Paris De Gaulle airport, leaving July 2nd at 11:00am. I arrive home from Paris only 2 hours later at 1:00pm. Short flight!!! hahahaha....so yes, I am excited for that, but it means that I have only 3 days to conquer the Parisian city.

Neuschwanstein

While in Venice...

Alright! Now onto Venice, while I still have an internet connection. We packed up earlier this week and got a cabin car all to ourselves. We had beer and whiskey and vodka to drink in the train, so it made for a great train ride over to the Island!! Hahaha good times. We got to Venice around 8.30pm and found our hotel. There was a bit of a mix up with the rooms that we got, but we got it figured out....haha John....Got myself ready and we went walking around Venice at night. It was GORGEOUS, Omigoodness. I just kept thinking about momma and how much I wanted her to be there. We went to St. Marco's square by nighttime, and there are all these italian guys selling red roses all over the square. They kept acosting us over and over and over again....they are so pushy! At one point, an italian guy said I could have a rose for free and put it down my shirt. I whipped the rose on the ground and told the guy where to stick it hahaha. I don't put up with that! We spent two days in Venice, eating pizza and delicious food, drinking coffees in venetian cafes, wandering around and soaking up the sights. It was so sad this afternoon to say goodbye to the three of them. John and Erik are heading back to Oslo, Norway where they live...and work at Ikea! I love it. Anna is moving there to live with John as well. They had an extra plane ticket to Oslo and I almost took it, but I still have so much I want to see. Today is the first day I've really felt homesick. I really miss everyone and I've been so overwhelmed with how expensive everything is, I don't know how I will last out here. But I am trooping through, trying to keep the same enthusiam I had when I landed in Europe. This infection is pretty bad and I am scared to see a doctor here too because of the cost and language barrier. I do have my travel insurance so it will be all good, I hope.

Bad baaaaad gastein! That's a bad gastein!

Hey folks!
So, I apologize for not updating until now...So much has happened in a quick span of time, and I have realized that I spent close to a $1000 since May 27. THAT was a shock! I am so glad I decided to go to Bad Gastein instead of Interlacken. I went to Neuschwanstein in the morning and spent some time hanging out there, checking out the castle and meeting some other castle goers. It was so much fun, but I wish I had more time there, because I didn't have time to go INSIDE. Apparently it's not that impressive, so I don't feel too bad. I HAD HAD HAD to catch a 1.06pm train, it was CRUCIAL. I was waiting for the bus back to Fussen from Schwangau with some other people, and it was so so so late. Other people there had to catch the same train, so everyone was SO worried we wouldn't get there in time. The bus came and me and a guy from Thailand and a couple from Brazil ran to the train station, catching it literally just before it pulled out of the station. Lately, trains and I don't mix. I've been running through stations and hopping on just as the train pulls away. It is SO stressful for me, especially because I am always carrying my backpack then. Anyways, I got back to Munich in time. I went back to Wombat's hostel to get my backpack from storage and leave to Bad Gastein, I had about an hour. Wombat's has this weird atrium thing where they have hammocks and giant pillows and palm trees where people chill. I curled up on one, FELL ASLEEP! and woke up with 15 minutes to make my train. Hilarity obviously ensued, as always. I got on the train, and my itinerary said I should arrive at bad Gastein around 8.44pm. Thing is, train was a bit delayed. So when I arrived at the station called Bad Hofgastein at 8.44, I took a chance and hopped off. IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! ah craaaaaaaaaaaaaaap. There is that moment of paaanic before you realize that you can figure it out. I found a taxi and he drove me to my hostel. Only cost me like 10 euros! phew. Checked into my hostel, and was so excited when the guy told me that it was only 10 euros a night, and that I was being upgraded. I was so happy when I realized I was staying in a private double bed room with private bathroom, balcony, and closet. Oh my goodness. I met some Irish guys and drank in the bar at the hostel, and went to sleep. Woke up, and went white water rafting down the Salzach river. Some people say it is the most beautiful river to raft down, and I would agree. It was AMAZING! I almost died like 10 times, it was such a rush. PLUS! there was a czech rafting club going the same day, so I was in a raft with all Czech people. There is nothing more hilarious than hearing someone yell out orders in another language and you panic and have no idea what to do. Eventually I just copied what everyone else was doing, and had alot of fun. The next day, I went paragliding! I wasn't sure if it was going to happen, because it was so foggy that morning! But I was able to, and it was so great! I can't even describe the feeling of flying above a valley like the Gasteiner valley and dangling your feet high above the earth. Just amazing. So then I got back to the room, grabbed my book and started reading outside on my balcony, where I met Erik and John who were also on their balcony. They said they were leaving for a walk so I decided to join them. We met Anna, John's girlfriend and went for a 2 hour walk up and down a mountain. Bad Gastein has an amazing waterfall that falls through the city, so I stood there for a long time and got misted! It was SO hot. After that we had coffee in Dorf Gastein, and took a bus back to Bad Gastein. We had a fun night, and the next morning the guys and Anna decided to join me on my trip to Venice. It was so rad to have a crew of people to go with. But MORE on that later. I am sitting right now in a hostel in Florence, drinking from the 10 bottles of wine sitting on this kitchen table with about 5 others. I think I have developed a kidney infection, which is a very dangerous thing to contract! So tomorrow I have to go to an Italian doctor, and then I will explore the city of course. I miss you all!

AHHH I

I have so much to update! But so little time.
-I saw Neuschwanstein!
-I got off at the wrong train station in the middle of nowhere!
-Eventually got to Bad Gastein!
-Went white water rafting down the Salzach!
-Went paragliding!
-Met some Swedish guys and they are coming with me to Venice in about an hour!!

eeeek. Sorry, no time to write, but will elaborate later. Promises!
LOVE YOU GUYS! MISS YOU and comment because it makes me happy!