Reunion with Mama Steps in the Eternal City - June 27

After an extremely early morning in Paris I departed the city of love to head to Rome where I get to meet with my mama. I have been patiently awaiting this part of my trip for weeks and could not wait for it to begin. 

My arrival went down without a hitch and I made it to the hotel with time to spare to catch a quick cat nap and freshen up in our cute Romanesque hotel before the expected arrival of my mom. Unfortunately her arrival didnt Go as planned- with a delayed flight out of Calgary by over 3 hours she missed her connection to Rome. This meant another 4 hours in the Frankfurt airport before another connecting flight was arranged for her. She finally arrived in the early morning around 1:30am. I gave her the biggest hug ever and didnt want to let her go. I was so incredibly happy to see her. We talked for a solid hour and could have talked all night but with only one full day in the Eternal City we needed to make the most of it the following day and needed to get some sleep. 

First of all I need to talk about the view from our room. We were lucky enough to be placed on the 6th floor and we could see for miles. Our view consisted of  rooftop gardens of nearby apartments, St. Peter's Basilica in the distance and endless historical buildings with our garden terrace below. Then what a breakfast spread we got!! Holy there was so much food, with delicious coffee, the sweetest watermelon (which is saying something after I just spent 4 months in Asia- this watermelon was better), croissants, yogurt, cereals- so much deliciousness!! We were spoiled right off the bat, we can only hope our other B&Bs are as amazing as our first. 

With only one full day in Rome, which was also my moms birthday, we decided to have a relaxed day but also visit some historical sites. Before departing we decided to take a coffee up to our room to finish gathering our stuff for the day. We weren't sure if we were allowed to do this but did it anyway- then we got stuck in the elevator! Haha so maybe we weren't supposed to take our coffee to go and karma stepped in :P we were only stuck for maybe 5 minutes and we found it quite humorous, though if we had been stuck for longer you could get quite claustrophobic in such a small space- it was heating up fast in there! 

So after our adventurous morning with our gourmet breakfast and elevator mishaps we set off for our first historical visit- the Colossem. What an incredible building. This stadium was build in only 8 years with the labour of 40,000 slaves and at one point was completely covered in marble. It would have looked so majestic and beautiful in its time covered in marble. During the time that Rome was becoming Christianized the Church ordered a "recycling" program where the marble was stripped from the building, crushed and made into cement to build and construct churches throughout the city. Clearly that's a good use of marble, don't you think? 

The Colosseum was a source of free entertainment for the Roman people. Entertainment consisted epic battles between gladiators or slaves and ferocious animals such as tigers and lions. The arena housed anywhere between 50,000-75,000 spectators who would come cheer on their favourite gladiator and watch him fight to his death. The arena floor was wooden and covered in sand- all the better to soak up the pools of blood. Ick! 

After our quick tour of the Colossem we had a guided tour through  Palatino Hill where Rome is said to be founded. Here is where many kings and emperors built their palaces. Did you know back in Roman times an average meal would take the royal class 6-8 hours to conclude a meal?! They would lie in their beds and eat until they were so full they were almost bursting. At this point they would get up, go to the corner of the room and purge everything from their body before returning to their beds to stuff their faces with food once again. This would be repeated 3-4 times each meal- today we would classify this as an eating disorder, but then it was symbolic of power and wealth. Crazy right?! 

After this we walked through the Roman Forum- a huge area spanning a large portion of the city centre. This area was used as a market place, a religious hot spot and where many many importance political decisions were made influencing not only theRoman empire but the history of many parts of the world. It was a pretty significant spot in history. History buffs would love it! 

Of course we had to enjoy some gelato on our first day in Italy- mmmm mmmmm good! Then On our way back to the hotel we grabbed a couple half litres of wine to enjoy in our room and put our feet up before the big birthday dinner. This dinner was D-licious!! :) we ate at a small place called Crispi 19 where we enjoyed another half litre of wine each- we're in Italy we couldn't resist- plus the waiter suggested it! 

Needless to say we had a wicked first day in Italy! We are on our first train (which was supposed to leave 40min ago...) and are heading to the Amalfi coast where we will begin our hiking days! We both loved Rome and the feel of this city and of course the fresh water fountains found at every turn on the streets. This was a Pretty wicked aspect of the city, especially for me coming from Asia where water must always come in a bottle. Can't wait for more Italian times to come with my mama :):) 

Scotland and the City of Love

ScOtland ScOtland ScOtland! And the City of Love- Paris 

Being in Scotland felt like my friends and I were in a fairly tale. The landscape was majestic, the forests were so full and green- but a different green from Ireland and the small town of Dunkeld was such a cozy place to set up camp for a week. All of my friends who were able to make it to the wedding got to stay in 2 amazing homes while we were there- one was a cozy little cottage and the other an apartment. We were all extremely fortunate to have these places to stay before and after the wedding- another make-shift home away from home! 

My amazing friends Mark and Richelle got married last Friday on June 21st in Dunkeld at a GORGEOUS cathedral. The wedding was phenomenal and the bride was breath taking. The ceremony made me cry and weak in the knees. Seeing two of my friends, who have been together since high school, finally tie the knot was incredible. I surprised myself with the feelings and emotions that came over me but I was, over the top, so incredibly happy for these two. I could see the love Mark had for Richelle as she walked down that aisle and I have never seen such an incredibly large smile on Richelle's face then after she walked out of that church into the bright sunshine. They share such an amazing connection and I wish them a lifetime of happiness.

 During the ceremony the reverend said something that stuck out to me:

" There are 3 things that last forever-Faith, Hope and Love" and honestly how true this statement is. We cannot make it through our day to day life without these 3things. Faith can push us through the harder times, hope sets our horizons and love completes us. Life is beautiful when surrounded by these things :) 

PARIS 

After the amazing wedding and sharing the love of these two amazing people a bunch of my friends and I headed off to Paris! This is a city I have wanted to visit since I was 10 years old. Why? I cannot explain. The Eiffel Tower was my absolute favourite though and I fell in love with this place instantly. I was lucky enough to go up the tower and experience the never ending view of the Parisian skyline- what a view!! My friends and I ended the evening basking under the lights of the tower and drinking wine. If you don't have your own wine- no problem! There are people all around selling bottles of it! 

I was extremely fortunate to be able to go up the tower the first night because  the following night when we returned the tower was closed due to a "social movement." Which is a nice way to say "strike" and no one was able to go up. 

With only a couple days in Paris I got to see the Eiffel Tower and some of the Palace of Versailles - what a magnificent place this was! The gardens go on forever! After visiting Versailles I had a very "French" evening with a wine and cheese dinner followed by a delicious crepe down by the tower. That city is like a dream. 

My final European destination is Italy with my favourite person in the world- my mom. I cannot wait to see her!! As I write this she may or may not be on her way from Frankfurt. Due to a delayed flight she may miss her connection to Rome, my fingers are crossed she makes it tonight and I can finally see her!!! 

The Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher

In my short time in Ireland I have visited Dublin, the smaller town of Galway, the Aran Islands, the Irish countryside-GREEN EVERYWHERE! and the Cliffs of Moher. 

The small town of Galway is a quaint little town on the west coast of Ireland. It has a gorgeous central square, called Eyre Square, streets filled with pubs (it's Ireland so I would expect nothing less) and shops. It's a mixture of locals and tourists. From Galway, Miss Samantha Gilbert and I took part in a couple  day tours. 

The first day tour took us to the Irish speaking Aran islands. These are a cluster of 3 islands off the west coast of Ireland  called Inishmore, Inishmaan and Inisheer.  We visited the largest of the three, Inishmore, covering an area of 18km x 5 km, so quite small in size. It was interesting to see a more traditional island. Their livelihoods are supported by agriculture, which is subsidized by the government; the fishing industry, a dangerous profession; and finally tourism. The island with only 800 inhabitants could have up to 1000 visitors during the summer months. On this island there is also an incredible fort built up on the cliffs called Dun Aungus (sp?) From the top you can see as far as the weather permits out into the Atlantic Ocean and then Galway Bay on the other side- gorgeous site... or would be if Mother Nature had been nicer to us. 

The winds, rain and freezing temperatures took a serious tole on me after the walk up. My adjustment to the Irish climate here has been a tough one and our day at the islands left me quite miserable all day. It rained most of the day with very chilly temperatures so after our walk to the fort Sam and I were soaked through and freezing. The rest of the day was less than enjoyable but the island would be quite the place if the weather was suitable. We asked our guide and he explained it was definitely not a typical Irish day and would be considered a "pub" day for most haha. One crazy historical fact we learned was this island was and is still covered with 7800km of stone boundary walls!! These walls are used to divide land segments for cattle and agriculture (very little is grown on the island due to limited soil). Each segment is quite small and multiple areas would be owned by one family. So think an 18 x 5 km island has 7800km of boundary walls!! Imagine the vast number of stones required to build these walls with no mortar or cement locking them together, pretty crazy right. 

The following day we got to visit the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren! Both very incredible landscapes. This day was incredible and much more enjoyable for the two of us and I had a smile on my face most of the day. First of all the weather was so much better. I think Mother Nature took pity on us from the day before. We enjoyed some sunshine and we were lucky enough for the rain clouds to hold off for the 1.5hrs we had to explore and walk the cliff edge. 

 The Cliffs were a crazy experience. They have some seriously intense winds that come off of the water and up from the cliffs- and Sam and I have experienced the winds of Lethbridge, these winds were much much stronger! Sam and I had to get a pic of us near the edge of the cliffs and we almost gave this couple a heart attack. We crawled near the grass edge and we layed down so the chance of the wind gusts catching us and carrying us away were slim. Haha but we were definitely the crazy Canadian girls on the cliffs that day- a guy thought we were crazy enough to take a video of us! Haha 

To be fair the winds are incredibly strong there and our guide told us if the wind catches you do not run with the wind but go down on all fours. Good thing he told us because at one point I was getting blasted by some serious gusts (not when i was near the edge) and ran I into Sam which then pushed us into another fellow traveller as well! It was hilarious but incredible how strong the winds actually were!! Last year there were 16 deaths on the cliffs with 6 this year... Could you imagine visiting the cliffs with your friends and one of them going over...? How devastating. Along the guide walls and pathways were also many signs saying "need to talk?" and left a good Samaritans number to call. We wondered how many of those deaths each year were suicides... 

The sight of these cliffs were absolutely magnificent and at one point I just sat on the edge and embraced that one moment. I could see the powerful waves crashing into the cliff walls below, the menacing ocean in the distance, and the 230m cliff drop down to the water. I am always in complete awe and wonder of the sheer power of nature and it was so incredible to take in that unique site- I can not compare this site to anything I had seen in Asia over the last 4 months. INCREDIBLE! 

The short time in Ireland comes to a close with a bus back to Dublin where the next place of adventure will be Scotland!  2 of my amazing friends will celebrate their love and will be getting Married there!! I am so incredibly happy for them and am so excited to be reunited with the people I love :) 

Goodbye Asia

Goodbye Asia :( 

I have officially finished up the Asia part of my journey and am en route to Europe. I am definitely sad to be leaving such a wicked part of the world. Honestly though I think I would  love every part of the world if I had the chance. Each country had its own little intricacies or sayings or experiences unique to its place and space. I am already planning a potential return to Asia- I can't help it!! 

Thailand-SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT! For me this is where this saying originated. The tank i had sporting the phrase became a source of attention in each country to follow haha.  Thailand or the land of smiles was also the land of ferries, beaches, delicious curries and 7-Elevens at every turn. I made some great friends on this lag of the journey with my Free and Easy group-AKA "SLUTS." Long story haha but it was a crazy time of "gettin weird" with a great group of Canadian travellers. Thailand was also my introduction to Asia and it could not have been better. I had to manage ferries, trains, buses and planes which helped set me up for the next 3 months. 

Cambodia- this country smacked me right in the face after leaving the groovy and beach atmosphere of Thailand. It is a much less developed nation and you can see the variation it holds with it's surrounding neighbours. Poverty is more noticeable and they have an incredibly sad history- see my post about the Killing Fields in Phnom Pehn.  I made myself an incredibly comfortable home there in my volunteer house in Siem Reap.  I did struggle through some extremely high temperatures, reaching the high 40s with humidity, because of course I chose their hottest month of the year to visit. I met some very inspiring people in this country and my experience in Cambodia kick started my personal growth and discovery. This country was definitely the place for cheap massages(I think I had about 8 in my 5 weeks there) cheap pedicures, and cheap fashions. So needless to say I spent loads at their markets and spas haha. I would also label Cambodia the country of tuk tuks. It's was the go-to way to get around Siem Reap and you could not walk more than 10 steps without getting a holler from multiple directions "Laday! Tuk tuk?!" I went through a progressive love-hate relationship with the tuk tuk drivers, a friend of mine was once asked if she needed a tuk tuk while she was riding a bike- clearly she was in need of a ride.... 

Laos! The home of the Gibbon experience! I spent a very short amount of time in this country but it had a pretty cool feel to it and again it is still very much in the early developing stages. It was my first opportunity to see familiar faces from home having the opportunity to meet up with a couple of my friends. 

Living in a treehouse in the secluded jungles of Laos shows you a simplistic way of life. You are cut off from the outside world, there is no electricity, there are no cell phones and definitely no wifi. For some this way of life is their everyday reality, they have no other choice. For us we loved it but it was also capped by a time limit of 3 days before we could get back in touch with our "normal" reality. 

Vietnam -this country was the place for mad discovery for me. I learned so much about not only myself but about so many other cultures. I was challenged and confronted with feelings I hadn't yet encountered on my trip and I had to push through to make Vietnam everything it could be And it was more than I expected or could have dreamed. My time in Vietnam, though difficult at times was my favourite because of what it taught me. My favourite phrase of Vietnam was "why not?" Any question would be responded with a why not answer- I loved it so I have added that to my vocabulary and way of thinking.  Vietnam was also the cheapest of all the nations I had visited.  

Finally Indonesia was my last Asia stop and I would love to go back to this country and see more of it. There are 100's of islands that make up this nation and each has their own culture and own language dialect. I spent some time in Ubud the place of yoga and some amazing shopping on the island of Bali, then went to the Gili islands- what a paradise that was :) sun sun sun! Cheap eats! Indonesia was Definitely the best country for food! On the GILIs one thing that brought a smile to my face was how the locals said wifi- they pronounced it weefee. "You have weefee if your room" haha. Every cou try had their small sayings or ways of speaking to tourists that made me smile. I loved the individual intricacies each country possessed:) 

Noooooow I am in Ireland. What an incredible shock to my system both physically and mentally. First of all I am FREEZING! I will be lucky if the temperatures reach 15 degrees. I have already sought out a hoodie because I am tired of shivering. It has rained most of the time since I have been here as well and guess what? umbrellas are used for rain. Haha let me explain why this is funny. All through my time in Asia i would see many of the women use umbrellas to shade themselves from the sun to avoid getting darker skin and it was so foreign for me to see an umbrella used in this way. Now being in Dublin and using an umbrella myself it just makes me chuckle knowing how it is used in two different ways in extremely opposite climates. 

 I spent my first day in Dublin yesterday and it's a pretty cool city but I couldn't stop looking around and gawking. The contrast between Asia and Ireland is astounding. The form of tourism, prices, the landscape, the people (native English speakers!!!), the architecture, is all so incredibly different. European travelling is definitely a different and I think more "posh" form of backpacking. Right now I have wifi on my bus... Luxury or what?! 

I've only been over in Europe for about 2 days but i think I have come to the conclusion that "I'm So Asia". I am much more comfortable in that environment (despite the heat) where I am surrounded by such diverse and different cultures- this is my happy place. I'm not a history buff and there is endless history in Europe I couldn't keep up with all the facts we learned on our walking tour yesterday. I am open to the gorgeous places of Europe and my amazing experiences to come with all my favourite people from home but I can't help but long for Asia. 

Gettin' Silly in the Gili

Myself and two beautiful ladies are enjoying the paradise that is the Gili islands. There is a small cluster of islands near the island of Lombok in Indonesia called the Gili's. We settled on Gili Trawangan and have loved every minute of it. Everyone you talk to says they planned to come for a few days and then get stuck here. We were like ya ya but its true, the relaxing beach atmosphere is hard to resist. The island is small enough to bike around in about an hour or walk in 2-3 (not that us ladies would know from experience cause we have been quite lazy haha). The island has no roads but has horsedrawn, what I will call tuk tuks. It's just a small carriage pulled by a small horse. 

To paint a small picture...

 If I close my eyes I can hear the soft ripple of the ocean waves as the sun beats down and warms my skin. In the distance the Muslim call to prayer sings out 5 times a day (majority of the Indonesian islands follow the Muslim faith).  Then there is a clown-like horn and the soft jingles from the horses making their trips up and down the island streets. The streets are lined with restaurants and beach side loungers where us ladies spend majority of our days. As us ladies walk down the street we come to realize our conversations are not our own as the locals like to chime in with their 2 cents. They also like riddles or make up small sayings around here. For example "see around like a dough nut" haha 

But honestly what is there not to like here- friendly locals, GREAT food for cheap, sunshine and beaches and all the fun you want. It's been quite the trip.  The locals who take care of our bungalows are so friendly and have been great. I love staying in one place for an extended period because people get to know you and you them, you become friends:) Us ladies are rather popular at our bungalows. I wonder why-3 beautiful ladies on a beach vacation. 

We have also found and fell in love with the food night market where we will probably eat for the rest of our trip because its delicious, it's cheap and you get a tonne of food. The smells that waft from this place are beyond delicious from the roasted corn on the cob, the various grilled meat satays and the BUCKETS of sauce (Miss jenny is in heavan- sauce makes her life domplete). These food carts fill this square with huge trays of food and you just point at what you want, they load it on your plate then tell you the price based on what you order. Great system haha you can even order a full fish and they will fry it over charcoals right there when you order. Doesn't get much fresher than that. 

They even have a dessert table where everything is 5,000rupiah - so 50 cents a piece, so dangerous!! Then there's the Gili Gelato, apparently made fresh on the island everyday. Mmmmmm is this stuff amazing! Ill have to compare it to Italian gelato but I don't see how it can get much better. 

This place has been beyond relaxing and it's been just the right ending to my Asian adventure and exactly what I had envisioned. I would recommend this oasis to anyone looking for some R&R. The end is near as I am set to depart for the European lag of my adventure in only a few days time.