my adventures in england: May 2008

yes, i had a rough time in airport security when jenn and i flew from venice to paris. not impressed. my carry on was completely emptied and searched. now, for some this may not be a big deal - but you see, ryanair has a ridiculously low weight allowance for luggage, so jenn and i worked very hard to jam as much stuff into our carry on's as possible. meaning, when mine was overturned, it took forever to put back together. and it means that they threw out our peanut butter - our staple for lunches while travelling. so you may be able to understand why i am not too impressed about this. however, i am doing my best to throw away all the negative feelings and try to focus on the positive:

right now, i am sitting in a hotel in paris. (okay, we are talking two star budget hotel, but cmon, its still pretty cool) and i just came from venice - which i have to say i am headoverheels in love with. venice is simply beautiful. canals weaving through the city that is filled with tiny alleys and mismatched houses. it really is utterly adorable. jenn and i were able to take a gondola ride!!! how incredible is that! we got together with two guys who were in our hostel and were able to split the cost four ways (a whole lot cheaper than paying the full 80 freakin euros...wow). so i am super pumped that we were able to do that.

and venice also meant getting to see tim kirk and derek again! what are the chances that we would meet up twice in europe....very very cool. and we had such an awesome time! our first night, after settling into our hostel, we met up with them for some gelato and beer and chilled by the canals. and tim bought jenn and i a rose - what a sweetheart!

the next day we all hung out together, visiting the national art museum, playing poker in a park, and goofing around on the playground. in venice!! sooo much fun.

the next day, after our gondola ride, jenn and i ventured out on a water bus and visited mirano island - the island of glass blowing - and burano island - the island of cool houses and lace making. i have to admit tho, after a lot of time on that boat, we both felt a little sick at the end of the day.

so theN we toured around venice the following day with a guy from the hostel before the incredibly awful experience with the airport, and struggled to get to our hotel. who apparently didnt have our reservation. again, not impressed. then we awoke to step onto the bustling streets of paris! we checked out le louvre and the park nearby as well as the notre dame cathedral (love "the hunchback of notre dame" and enjoyed seeing the cathedral in "real life"). then we pretty muched soaked in the interesting french style and fell in love with paris fashion.

yep, its pretty great over here. then we settled into our hotel with a baguette and nutella - truly submersing ourselves in the french culture :)

tomorrow we meet up with danielle (super pumped!) to go to the very top of the eiffel tower (which i believe jenn may be a little scared to do considering her intense fear of heights....but you are only in paris once right?). then i think she is going to show us the moulin rouge area and take us to her apartment. so i am really excited for tomorrow and to see her! its really going to be incredible!

im not sure if i will update this before i am back on canadian ground again - so if i dont i want to say thank you to everyone who has faithfully read my blog while i have been gone for the past for months and also to those who have read it once and awile :) it really means a lot to have so much support behind me. see you back in canada very soon!

and everyone from abuoxford programme that is reading this - email me cuz i miss you all sooo incredible much its unreal!!! i want to hear all about your travels and summer stuff!!

BYE!!

this place is wonderful! we are having such an amazing time and absolutely loving italia! now, we are in firenze (florence) and tomorrow will take the train to venezia (venice). and i discovered that at our hostel i can post pictures so.....most are from our wonderful time in roma and a few from today in firenze. yeah!!!

us in the colosseum!! this place was ridiculuos! jenn was my tour guide through the whole place, as she recited facts from her roman civilization class! yeah!!!

madre teresa!

the food here is like nothing i have ever tasted - i have had so much pasta and pizza and gelato!! ...the italians definately know what they are doing! incredible....