La Vie de Deux Mademoiselles a France

June 19^th

I arrived in Florence around 5pm, quite hung over and sleep deprived from the previous night in Rimini. While checking out the fab hostel (complete with gym, sauna, pool, and rooftop terrace) I ran into Ben!! I met him at the hostel in Positano (my most favourite place so far, and everyone else’s who has stayed there). I was so shocked and happy to see a familiar face, I nearly cried!! This night I took it easy, and after hanging on the terrace for while, I headed back to my room to go in the sauna.  Back in the room (8 person female dorm), I met Holly, a lovely girl from Australia who I just clicked with!

June 20^th

The previous night I had signed up for a wine tour through the hostel in Chianti. Funnily enough there were about 7 Vancouverites on the tour, and no Americans!! First we stopped in a little town called Greve to browse around and shop (btw it was blue skies and about 34 degrees this day!). Afterwards we headed to Lorenzo’s villa (an Italian count), which was passed down to his family from the Puccini’s.  Lorenzo is about 26, has big blue eyes, is loaded, can cook, and lives in a Tuscan villa, oh btw, did I mention he’s single!? We had an amazing lunch and tasted 2 different glasses of red wine (both from Lorenzo’s vines). After we moved on to a Grappa tasting (40% alcohol) and were lucky enough to have the guide give us extra alcohol in the form of various Italian liqueurs. What a great day, and by the end I was definitely tipsy.

Once I got back to the hostel, Holly and I met up as planned to go into the sauna. After we got back to the room we met two girls from Texas who had already been in Florence for about 7 nights…they have us the low down on where to eat and go out afterwards. Right before leaving we also met a girl from Ottawa, who I invited out with us as well. We headed out to Acqua al Due (recommended to us by about 4 diff people), which the Texan girls had gone to previously and loved. Unfortunately, it was packed, with over a 2 hour wait, so we went to another restaurant nearby. It was great, but we were all quite disappointed to have missed out on Acqua, so we made a reservation for the 5 of us the following evening. After dinner and wine we headed to Naima’s (bar/lounge) which the Texan girls had been going to. 1 euro shots and free alcohol made for a good start to the night, not to mention a drop dead gorgeous bartender. After Naima’s we bar hopped a bit, before coming back for closing, more liquor, and to hit the clubs with the owners and bartenders. Went out to a club called twice, and then when that closed, back to Naima’s for the after party. Surprisingly the funniest part of the night happened when we all arrived back at the hostel room… Where we found an extremely intoxicated drunk girl sleeping in Holly’s top bunk. We woke her up and she promptly began gathering Holly’s belongings in attempt to take them with her to her bunk (I suppose she thought they were hers in her drunken stupor). At this time, I am keeled over on my bottom bunk below, unable to stop laughing. The entire room was woken up, but for good reason!

The next day I found out the person who carried her up to our room ironically was Ben!!

June 21^st

Quite tired as per usual by now. Another super hot day in Florence and my first day walking in the city sober. Walked all around while Holly and Melanie waited in line to see David (girl from Ottawa), went to the market and had about 10 different kinds of biscotti. Determined to make use of the hostel’s sauna, after a nap, I rejuvenated once again in there with Holly. Then we all (2 Texan girls, Holly, Melanie, and I) headed out to Acqua al Due for our 9:30 reservation. Wow, what an amazing meal. Holly and I shared the steak sampler (balsamic, rosemary, and blueberry steaks)…and everyone else simply ordered the blueberry steak (the famous award winner)…whew, so damn tasty. Once again after our dinner and wine, we headed out to Naima’s, after we bar hopped, then went straight to twice. Well Twice was packed this night, impossible to move around too much. We did end up meeting 2 extremely nice (and chatty!) Polish guys. Turned out to be an awesome night.

June 22nd

The next day Melanie and I were unable to check back into the hostel as it was fully booked and we were a little late, so I decided to catch the next train to Grenoble. Wow…never moved so quickly in my life.

The train from Florence to Milano was your typical super nice Italian fast train, but when I had to switch in Milano to the TGV from Milan to Paris I was shocked. Clearly the train had not been cleaned before the trip and half of the seats were falling apart. Luckily I was sitting in Car 8 (the last car) and apparently there is a private section at the very back reserved for the Italian police (i.e. mafia). Anyways, I guess the Old Italian sitting back there with his 3 hot business women, overheard me complaining to this French guy about the French trains, and invited us to join him. I got so lucky as I really needed some sleep, and in the other cabin there was a baby = nonstop noises. I got to relax in probably the only nice cabin in the train! Arrived in Chambery a little late, and somehow managed to make it onto the bus to Grenoble just in time. On the bus I met an American Mormon…who would have thought! Sort of bizarre. Anyways, it was quite bizarre to come home to a stormy Grenoble, as when I left it had been sunny and hot for about 2 months straight, but now, 2 days since I’ve been here it’s back to that smoldering heat and sun!

Got to maintain my tan before I come back to Canada! Only 5 more days and I am home…honestly I cannot wait!

June 17th

Arrived in Rimini at about 4 pm. Headed straight to the beach, which was not nearly as nice as Positano or Cinque Terre, but still a relief from the heat. Met a bunch of people who I partied with that night. One of the hostel bartenders was flambuoyantly gay and the night was a total riot.

June 18th

Despite everyone being hungover, got a group together to daytrip it to San Marino (independent country, like the Vatican sort of), no taxes. It was gorgeous there, perched on top of a large hill, we could see for miles. Had a lovely lunch then headed back to the hostel. Naps then another night much the same as the previous one.

I am leaving so much out of this trip because I met so many different and hilarious people that it is impossible to type it all. Stories will have to wait to be in person!

Once again photos soon!

June 10^th

I arrived in Bassano Del Grappa at 9 pm, where Giorgia, Paolo, and Ornella were waiting for me at the station, camera poised and ready! What a great welcome. We went for dinner at a really tasty Asian restaurant and afterwards to a gelateria where I had the best gelato of my trip to Italy. Then we went to Giorgia’s home in Pagnano Asolo (where I stayed for the week), where I met Giacomo (Giorgia’s bro), Laurance and Paride (parents, Paride is Ornella’s Brother).

June 11^th

Breakfast at home, then went for lunch at a pizzeria in Bassano Del Grappa with an even better dessert spread of profiteroles, tiramisu, and lemon bomb. Next we (Giorgia, Giacomo, Laurance, Paride, Ornella, and Paolo) went to visit the famous wooden bridge and to the alpino museo. Then Paolo, Ornella and I had a tasting of Grappa at the distillery and some local piccante spread at a shop.

After Bassano we stopped in San Zenone (where Bruno Rinaldo was born) at Bortolo (Bruno’s brother) and Silvana’s home. Their home is right next to where the Rinaldo house used to stand, you can see the well where they used to draw water from (it has dried up now). Silvana served us all some homemade pannetone and cantucci, while we drank an apertivo.

Later this night Giorgia and I went to Il Muretto, a club in Jesolo right near the beach, with her boyfriend Giordano. In the morning we slept on the beach.

June 12^th 

Woke up on a gorgeous beach. Eventually went back to Pagnano around 4. Laurance and Paride cooked a great dinner of Mediterranean fish (Orato and another starting with a b) and Laurance made a really tasty Parisian cucumber side dish which I will definitely be making back in Canada! For dessert we had Ornella’s famous tiramisu

June 13^th

Giorgia and I took the train to Venice, visited the sights, and bought some souvenirs. Venice is really beautiful, but much the same! This night we had dinner at Silvana (Bruno’s sister) and Luigi’s. Great veggie risotto, ham and melon, and fritas for dessert. After dinner we looked at old family photos…such a good time!

June 14^th

Missed the train to Padova, so Giorgia and I went to the market in Castelfranco where I bought some great stuff for fam back at home! We had lunch then caught the next train to Padova. It was extremely hot this day and the bus ride to Villa Pisani seemed a lot longer than it was…but it was worth it

http://www.villapisani.beniculturali.it/en/index.php

Then we went to the church of San Antonio in Padova (really famous and massive church), I loved the vibe of Padova, full of students and extremely beautiful! I want to go back, maybe to study Italian!

When we got back to Castelfranco we took an apertivo with Paolo and Ornella before the epic Rinaldo and company family dinner at a resto in Castelfranco. Rosa, Silvana, and Severina (Bruno’s 3 sisters) were there, among many others. Of course there was Giorgia, Giacomo, Laurance, Paride, Ornella, Paolo, Luigi (Silvana’s husband), Firmino (Severina’s husband), Ivano, Manola, etc etc! Phew, well let me tell you, I had an image in my head of what it would be like to live with an Italian family for one week…well I had underestimated the velocity and sound level of every aspect!

June 15^th

Relaxing day at the outdoor pool in Montebelluna with Giorgia and friends. Then a great aperitif in Asolo (where Paride and Laurance met) in the centro storico (walled in center of the town). After exploring the town a bit and watching the races we headed back home where Laurance served a fabulous Chinese dinner followed by chocolate cake.

June 16^th

My last day in Pagnano, relaxed, planned remainder of trip. Had to buy a new camera and say goodbye to relatives. Went to Paride’s factory where Ornella and Silvana work, then went with Silvana to Rosa’s house to say good-bye. After to Severina’s to say ciao. That night Giacomo, Giorgia and I had a great dinner at Ornella and Paolo’s. Paolo gave me a tasting of some strong liquor, 70% called 100 herbs (the recipe is a secret), and gave me a large bottle to take home. Also had grappa and one other thing, if Paolo can help me here with this one…

June 17^th

Early the next morning, Paolo drove me to Bassano del Grappa to take the train to Rimini.

Staying with my family was crazy! So much Italian, it was a little hard sometimes and I felt as if I had lost my voice because I spoke so little (Paolo speaks very good English and Girogia was the only other person who really spoke any English, but Laurance and I could speak French together). Everyone was so generous and welcoming, I definitely was fed very well and fell in love with the area. Asolo is gorgeous, as is Bassano. I will definitely be back to Italy!

pictures to  come soon!

June 7^th – 7 pm

hostel entrance

Arrived at Hostel Brikette, which is perched at the top of Positano. Cosimo (the front desk guy) immediately offered to carry my bag up the stairs…I knew this would be an awesome place once I saw the view from the veranda. I immediately booked another night ;). I stayed in an 8 person dorm, met a heck of a lot of Canadians…even about 5 from Vancouver! This night we all (staff included) partied on the deck.

Hostel Brikette sundeck

June 8^th

Beach

After hearing a lot of stories the previous night of travel and Positano, I was itching to get down to the beach and explore. After a great breakfast courtesy of Ashley, I headed down the 700 stairs, stopping way too often to snap a photo of the endless views. Went to the more private beach and rented sun chairs. Halfway through the afternoon I went to one of the alimentary (grocery stores…which are super small and run by families), explained to the woman that I was going to buy ingredients to have a salad on the beach. Hearing this she offered to make it for me, and proceeded to concoct the most delicious salad ever. The service here is amazing. Later that day we hiked back up the 700 stairs to the hostel when I discovered I had no cash left and the only ATM’s are in the center (i.e.: at the bottom of the 700 stairs)…so down I go again. Took the bus back up though, with gelato in hand.

That evening, even more Canadians arrived…2 of the girls and I found out we all live within about a 5 block radius from each other, one of them goes to UBC, the other is great friends with my one of my best friends at UVIC!! It was cool to meet each other in Positano!!! This night we had an epic sized drinking game of King’s Cup. After everyone could barely leave the table, we decided to hike down the 700 stairs to go to the only club in Positano, called Music on the Rocks. It is a really sweet club in a cave on the water…highly expensive though. The hike back was not the best, let me tell you.

King's Cup

June 9^th

Beach time again…too windy to take the cruise to Capri and Anacapri…but this meant the ultimate waves for bodysurfing. I have not had this much fun in a long time, we were screaming like children. Had lunch at one of the café’s on the beach. On my way back up I ate peaches and apricots right off the trees…really cannot complain about the stairs now. I bought a fresh canoli from the unbelievably popular ristorante across from the hostel, filled with the best lemon ricotta whipped cream and marscapone I will probably ever have in my life. Kept it pretty mellow this night, quite tired from all the sun, chatted and slept.

Positano - looking North

June 10^th

centro

Because I was leaving Positano at about 12 to head to Naples to catch the train to the Veneto, I just had a quick breakfast and headed into the centre to buy a bikini, why you ask? The bikini was invented in Positano apparently, so what better souvenir than that. I got lucky and Cosimo was driving to Salerno (where I took the circumvesuvius, which is sort of like the sky train, to Naples) and I got to get a ride with him. Whoa nelly, this ride was intense…narrow winding roads, endless streams of mopeds, motorbikes, and tour busses, made for an adrenaline filled ride.

Positano

Currently on the train to Roma, where I take another to Padova, then one more to Castelfranco Veneto. Here Paolo will pick me up, and I will finally get to stay with relatives and in the same place for one week. Laundry will be one of the first things I do.

Positano was positively amazing. The hostel and the people I met there made it unforgettable. I met 2 girls from Quebec who have travelled multiple times all over Europe, and they said hands down, this is the best hostel they have ever encountered. So to anyone who is planning on going to S. Italy: make at least a 4 night stay in Hostel Brikette, Positano!

I will definitely be back to Positano, maybe by then I will be staying in one of the million villas, guesthouses, or hotels, but I will never forget the hostel…so sappy, but it’s true, and it’s rare to find a hostel like that.

Testaccio mercato

June 5th

I arrived in Rome at 8pm. Walked about 5 blocks to my hostel called “The Yellow”, and walked into what appeared to be a raging bar called the Yellow…nope, this was my hostel! Checked in, rented an iPad (for free!), showered and went downstairs to redeem my free drink tickets. Normally you just get one welcome drink of your choice, but I had met a few people in Cinque Terre who stayed at the Yellow, and gave me their extra tickets! Not only that, but one of the girls I met in Cinque Terre told me to go talk to the bartender named Angus and tell him that Trixie sent me. Of course I did this after having a couple free drinks (mojitos and Italian margheritas), and got a few more out of it. Met a lot of different people!

Yellow bartender Angus

June 6^th

Regretting the previous night and sugary drinks, I attempt to pull myself together to go to the Vatican before I meet up with some people for a walking tour I signed up for through the hostel of Rome at 2pm. Luckily I met a girl who was doing the exact same thing, so off we went to the Vatican after a few setbacks…hangover related. It was so busy, quite a shock after being in Cinque Terre for 4 days, with hardly any cars. There were a lot of tourists in Cinque Terre, but no lines, unlike Rome. Almost everything has a wait unless you pay big bucks to join a tour. I would love to go back to Rome in the down season. Pizza in Rome is lovely though!

So at 2pm after braving the crowds at the Vatican, bearing the heat as we had to dress conservatively, and going back to the hostel to change as it was just too damn hot, we met the tour guide at Circo Massimo metropolitan fermata. This tour wasn’t your typical pre-recorded boring tour, that everyone gets…which is why we signed up (the tour company is called Roaming all around Rome). Our guide was the co-owner of the company and graduated with a degree in Classical studies and a minor in business – makes sense, no? The tour was awesome, we got the full history of Rome’s creation, myths included…Justin was extremely funny and the sights were a lot more interesting while listening to his commentary and imagining what happened so long ago in these spots. Some of the places we visited were the Palatine hill, Pantheon, Colosseum, and a lot more which I will post once I look the tour up online. Stopped for pizza and gelato mid-tour of course. After the tour ended at about 7 pm, we headed back to the hostel for a catnap and much needed shower. I vowed not to drink too much this night, which was surprising success. Hung out with Aussies and a lot of Quebecers. Didn’t get to watch the Canuckles unfortunately.

Palatine hill

June 7^th

Anne and I had plans to go to a market in Testaccio, so we took the metro there after I checked out at 10am. The market was awesome, we really liked being out of the middle of the city and away from all the tourists. I bought a lot of fruit and biscotti! After about 2 hours we headed back to the hostel because I had to catch the train to Salerno at 2pm. On the train right now, arriving in Salerno at 4pm, then I will take a short bus ride to Positano. Checked the forecast, and it is going to be gorgeous while I am there.

I’ve got to say, Rome was a little too touristy for me, and I think I would enjoy it a lot more in the off season…I will definitely be back!!! Right now super stoked to go to Positano and Ischia, and even more excited to be getting closer to staying with the relatives!!

Okay…update:

Just arrived in Positano after 2.5 hours of hot bus rides and winding roads! Ahhh. Quite crazy, the bus had to stop so many times and reverse because we could not pass through narrow points. Not to mention a crazy drunk Italian guy was talking to me and following me, he finally got off at the stop before mine! The hostel here is amazing! People are so wonderful, especially the front desk guy. I am doing a cruise to the island of Capri in 2 days! Holy smokes life is lovely once you get there

The day started at 4:45 am. Caught the bus from Grenoble to Montmelian, train from Montmelian to Modane, Modane to Milan, Milan to La Spezia, and La Spezia to Riomaggiore. When I arrived at the train station in Milan I knew I was officially in Italy when an Italian train official helped me with my baggage, flailing his arms around trying to communicate with me in my very broken Italian, before saying goodbye with over 30 “ciao ciaos’s”. The train from La Spezia to Riomaggiore was gorgeous…all along the Mediterranean coast, going in and out of tunnels, past tiny villages. Now when I booked my hostel, the common theme with hotels/hostels in Cinque Terre is that no one can check in after 6pm because that is “family time”. Of course the train to Milan was late and I didn’t arrive in Riomaggiore until 7:45. The guy at the hostel desk informed me that my booking had been cancelled…I was sort of in shock, and when he offered me a couch to sleep on I said yes far too quickly! After taking only 6 euro’s off my first nights stay (the other 2 nights I was in a normal bed), he informed me I would be sharing a room with 2 guys, and began to laugh manically at me. At this point I was quite happy to have finally arrived after 12 hours of travel, so tried to shrug it off. Anyways, he carried my luggage up a ton of stairs to the dorm; luckily the room I was in was part of a larger dorm so it wasn’t a big deal.

Bar & Vini in Riomaggiore

Immediately I met 3 Aussie girls and 2 guys from Philadelphia (one who is working in New York, and one in LA). Went out for crepes and Bruschetta in Manarola (20 min walk along the via dell Amore to the next village). After we (us 4 girls) met up with the others at Bar & Vini, a super cool self serve lounge overlooking the harbor in Riomaggiore, where we tried the Cinque Terre vino rosa and Cinque Terre dry white wine. The red was amazing.

June 3^rd

Blue skies. Went for my first Italian cappuccino by the ferry dock. The regional trains running between the 5 villages of Cinque Terre were on strike this day from 9-5, so we had to take the ferry to Monterosso (the furthest village to the West, largest, and most touristy) to begin the hike. The ferry ride was lovely, after arriving in Monterosso we started the hike to Vernazza.

ferry ride from Riomaggiore to Monterosso

Really hot and humid, with a lot of stairs, was made enjoyable by the scenery and amazing views, oh and the conversation.

Hike to Vernazza

at the top of the Castello in Vernazza

Once we arrived in Vernazza, we took a swim at the beach (my first time in the Med. Sea)…it was awesome, super salty.

swimming in Vernazza

After having lunch and visiting a small castle, began the hike to Corniglia (the least touristy town, as it is perched on a cliff)…a quick storm began as we were just coming into Corniglia, which we welcomed without knowing the consequences…

Hike to Corniglia

 Apparently any time in rains in Cinque Terre, the bugs attack. Well let me tell you, they certainly attacked. Due to a landslide between Corniglia and Manarola, we couldn’t hike that part, so had to wait for the trains to begin again. Killing some time we had gelato (peach and strawberry!), then bought some limoncino (about 15-20% alcohol, made from the lemons that are grown in Cinque Terre)…which tastes like a lemon lollipop. At 5 we walked down all the stairs to the train station where a heck of a lot of tourists and Italian on vacation were waiting as well, twitching, and swatting the bugs. Here we met some people from Hawaii and Texas. The first train finally came at 6:30 pm and I promptly hightailed it to take a shower to get the million bugs out of my hair. Back at the hostel I met another girl named Marianne from Quebec, who is also travelling Italy alone! Went out for dinner at one of the restaurants and had Ligurian seafood linguini: fantastico! Finished off with tiramisu and espresso corretto (with liqueur). There really is no night life in Cinque Terre, except for casual drinking…so we joined some Irish guys from Cork for a really entertaining evening. Quite hilarious and hard to understand accents (more so than Dubliner’s)

June 4^th – Saturday

street in Manarola

2 cappuccinos this morning. Went with Marianne to a gorgeous swimming spot in Manarola where we spent the afternoon, jumping off rocks and lying in the sun. For lunch we took the train to Corniglia (my favorite town) to have foccaccia sandwiches and gelato.

Foccaccia - famous in Cinque Terre, along with Limoncino

 After going back to Riomaggiore to shower, we went out to Bar & Vini again and had a seafood salad, with cantucci and pie for dessert. We then took some wine to the harbor to sit on the rocks and watch midnight swimmers and a lightning show. We met a guy who grew up in Riomaggiore, but now teaches English now in Florence…he happily shared his bottle of limoncino with us.

sunset in Riomaggiore

June 5th – Sunday

2 cappuccinos and a local cake slice. Went to Monterosso (only village I hadn’t really explored yet) on the train with 2 guys from LA who took some amazing photos for me!! Will post them one he emails them to me. Also talked to some girls from Coquitlam who stayed at the same hostel I am staying at in Roma (The Yellow). They reassured me it was the best choice and now I have instructions to speak to Angus the bartender, to tell him that Trixie sent me, a reward being a free shot.

touristy Monterosso

 Had pesto foccaccia in Monterosso before I had to hop on the train back to Rio to check out. Rushed madly to buy some food, pack, and lug my bags down all the stairs to cast the 13:50 train to La Spezia. In La Spezia I took the 16:00 train to Roma…where I am now.

valley in Cinque terre

Cinque Terre was amazing. The weather was perfect. I would love to come back and stay in Monterosso when I am older and can afford the hotels there! It’s quite touristy though, and I can’t imagine it mid-season. The hike was crowded enough when we went. There were a lot of American, Aussie, Canadian, and elderly Italian’s on vacation or backpacking through Cinque Terre. I am really excited to be travelling alone now because I realized how many more people I’ve met than when I was travelling with Megan or James. It’s more enriching and you get a lot of great advice and ideas for where to travel next or info on where you are travelling to! Not to mention invitations to come visit people where they live (i.e.: thee best perk ever!)

(the sweet life, here I come)

Okay! Well I’ve somehow managed to plan a 20 day tour of Italy in about 3 days :S!!

I bought the France-Italy Eurail pass valid for 10 days of travel within 2 months, which just arrived yesterday. I reserved most of the trains yesterday, but sadly June 2nd is a holiday in France and the train I really needed to get from Grenoble to Riomaggiore was completely booked…. Soooo, now I leave Grenoble tomorrow morning (June 2nd) at 6:30 am, arriving in Riomaggiore at 7:45 pm (same time zone) with about 6 transfers between trains …yikes.

The first village I saty in is Riomaggiore, part of Cinque Terre, in the region of Liguria. It is right on the Mediterranean sea and a hot spot for backpackers… I stay here for 3 nights. Then I leave June 5th for Roma! Here I stay 2 nights before heading to Positano (where they invented the bikini) on the Amalfi coast, for 2 nights, then I head to the island of Ischia for 1 night, before taking the train out of Napoli for Bassano del Grappa!

I arrive in Bassano Friday night, Paolo (relative) will pick me up and I will stay in Bassano from the 10th-17th. Day trips to Venice, Padua, Verona are all in that time frame too! Really excited to really get the full Italian family experience 🙂

I leave Friday, June 17th for Rimini (on the east coast), for 2 nights at some of the best discotecs around…not to mention gorgeous beaches. Then I leave Rimini, for a more cultural spot: Florence (Firenze) for 2 nights (daytripping to Pisa). I leave Florence on the 21st of June for Grenoble, arriving back in Gre at 21:30.

Once back in Grenoble, I still have 3 days left on my pass, and will visit Nice and Marseille (to see James) before coming back to Grenoble once more about the 27th. I leave back to Canada super early in the am on June 29th…

I don’t think I have any idea what I’ve gotten myself into…but it’s likely to be highly interesting at the very least!!

Italia awaits me!! Ciao !!

Megan and I took the train to Lyon a couple of weeks ago, and had our first experience with couchsurfing. Couchsurfing is a website that connects a network of travelling people, people with spare couches/bedrooms, and people looking to surf a couch. We got really lucky (probably due to my intense scrutiny online), and had 3 great hosts! Lyon was gorgeous and hot while we were there (as per usual on our trips ;)). We checked out Vieux Lyon, le Fourviere, and some gardens. We discovered Lyon does not have much of a nightlife…well not until 3-4 am at least!! At which time we are usually asleep. We were strangely excited to come back to Grenoble!

The past few weeks the weather here has been amazing. With highs of 25 + degrees, one really cannot complain! We’ve done 2 hikes to the waterfalls, been to a lake (where I got a sunburn on the 1st of April!), and suntanned on the Bastille.

Click here for more photos of the lake and waterfall.

It’s our last week of school this week. Next week is called “rattrapages” where we make up classes for which professors were sick for. The week after (last week of April) is called “semaine blanche” which is for studying. The first two weeks of May we have final exams.

Really gotta rush off now…more to come soon!

Ciao for now xox

Let me just get right into it…

The plane ride from Dublin was excruciating, we managed to pick a seat right behind a howling baby, and a few seats away from a toddler who just couldn’t get his ears to pop…shoot me now please was my thought process the entire flight. But we made it through…and about 3.5 hours later were in Malta around 11:30 am local time (Malta is one hour ahead of Dublin, same time as Grenoble).

Mediterranean coastline...I think southern Italy

We decided to skip the shuttle bus to the hotel and took the public bus for .47 euros. Well let me tell you these busses have zero shocks, the drivers have mad road rage, and they are not afraid to use their horns. It was really hot and muggy and we even had to transfer busses…now that was quite the chaotic scene at the bus station…I don’t think there was a second there that horns weren’t sounding!

Our Hotel - James and I

Randomly, after we got off the bus and were walking into St. Rita’s steps towards our hotel, we saw James! We ditched our stuff at the hotel and proceeded to the closest cafe on the beach for nourishment and more than a few cappuccinos. First thing I noticed in Malta were the prices….very cheap! A cappuccino was only about 1.20 euros, vs. about 3.50 in France. Definitely took advantage of this. Eating out was very inexpensive.

View into St. George's bay from our rooftop balcony

After the cafe, I went into the hotel sauna for a while, then attempted to take a nap (stupid idea, after the sauna at least) while Megan and James walked along the beach. That night (Wednesday), we were told, was going to be a big party night. This was true. First we relaxed on our balcony, and had some drinks, while listening to the music  and the partygoers below. We then headed out to a hookah bar, and hit the clubs. I did not spend a cent out any of the nights, as there was no cover for any clubs, and each club had someone standing outside giving out free drink vouchers to girls! Our favourite club by far was Hugo’s…for various reasons that will be left unsaid. Another thing of note was the ratio of girls to guys, must have been about 9:1. I wasn’t complaining, but for James this was not the most desirable scenario. When we got home that night, Megan decided to drink the tap water instead of the bottles of water we purchased earlier(despite James advising us we could drink it, I asked the hotel maid who said “unless you want to die, you better buy bottled,” advice heeded, at least by me). Megan was a bit intoxicated…so we’ll just chalk it up to that. Well the next 2 days she felt the consequences, just the same as James, who was just starting to feel better.

Megan and I in the VIP lounge at Hugo's

 The music at Hugo’s was off the charts good. One night there was an big old Maltese Dj who was working the mic with his sons. Their voices were awesome. While up on the platforms dancing we got any song we wanted played! “We were in Malta Bitch” 

Thursday, March 3rd

We woke up a bit late to another gorgeous day…we really were blessed with the weather for both of our trips (Dublin and Malta), a bit hot and muggy though. We headed to the grocery store and pharmacy in St. Julian’s, then on the way home stopped at an amazing Kebab place for lunch. After we dropped of our stuff at the hotel, I decided to check out the rooftop balcony of the hotel to suntan and Megan and James went to the beach. Shortly after I joined them, and then we walked along the beach for a while. I took another sauna…in order to detox, then we picked out some alcohol and relaxed on the balcony in the evening before heading out to the hookah bar and Hugo’s once again

St. George's Bay, about 1 minute from our Hotel

Friday, March 4th.

Well St. Julians and St. Rita’s steps were getting busier with people as the weekend and carnival finale approached. This day was a bit overcast, but warm. We took the little yellow busses with no shocks to Valletta (the capital of Malta…the enite country has only 400,000 inhabitants) and walked along Republic st and Merchants st (street is “triq” in maltese), and also checked out the Upper Barakka Gardens. The languages spoken in Malta are Maltese (by the locals), but everyone, including Maltese people speak english as well. People in Malta were very helpful and polite to us…quite the change from travelling in France! As this night was Friday…it was a big night for both Megan and I…and that’s all I will say about that.

Megan and I doing our thing at Hugo's

Saturday, March 5th.

This day we took a bus tour around the North part of the island, through Sliema, Valletta, the 3 cities, Mosta, Rabat, Mdina, Bugibba, Paceville, and back to St. George’s bay (in St. Julians). We had a lovely traditional Maltese lunch in Mdina complete with Maltese sausage, pate, olives, tomato bread, bruscetta, artchichokes, etc. When we got back to the hotel, I went in the sauna again (I really wanted to go everyday as there are no saunas in Grenoble!) while Megan and James napped. This night we of course went out again…same routine, another big night.

Tour Bus

Sunday, March 6th

This day Megan and I came home in the early morning to an incapacitated James (due to his Russian friend who was very generous with alcohol) and Megan began to develop spots (which we later found out was indeed the chicken pox, after I jokingly suggested that was what it looked like). I called Megan Spotty for the remainder of our vacation. Megan and I used our free boat cruise tickets (from the bus tour), while James tried to recover in the hotel. The boat tour was really nice and we had an amazing Italian commentator. The water was a bit rough at times, but I tried to stay calm…and don’t worry Dad we checked to make sure there were life jackets. When we got back, I took a much needed 3 hour nap (this was the only day I didn’t make it into the sauna!). That night we had a more mellow (but still amazing!!) night as the next morning we had to be at the airport for 4 am.

Monday, March 7th (3:15 am wake up call)

We took a taxi to the airport and holy smokes….we drove so fast Megan almost had a heart attack. But we made it there in one piece…the driver was a super huge mafia looking guy, and the taxi looked like a race car, so we didn’t try and ask for him to slow down. I wrote my postcards in the airport, while Megan tried to sleep. The plane ride from Malta to London (Luton airport) was 3 hours long, but went by very quickly, as I slept through most of it.

When we arrived in Luton airport we had a cappuccino before take the bus, then the train, a total of a 2 hour journey to our Hotel right near Gatwick airport (where our flight departed for grenoble at 6:15 am the next day). London was super expensive and it’s a good thing we didn’t spend anything besides one meal and a train ticket while we were there. It was blue skies though….interestingly enough. Our hotel was really nice and the quietest we had ever been in. We slept from about 3:30 pm until 3:45 am when we had our wake up call to take the 5 minute shuttle from the hotel to Gatwick airport.

Tuesday, March 8th

4:30 am and we are waiting in the airport again…we timed it a bit better though this time and weren’t as early. This was our only Easy Jet flight (the other 3 were with Ryan Air). We liked Easy Jet better (more lax), but Easy Jet took off and landed late, and Ryan Air was always early. We were really worried that we would miss the 9:30 bus from the Grenoble airport to the train station (about an hours drive), and would have to wait for the next one at 4:30 pm. Luckily we sat right at the front of the airplane and ran off, grabbed our luggage, zoomed outside, right as the bus pulled up. Great success!!

This trip blew my mind….and my body. Yoga mat recuperation commenced back at our apartment.

Here is the link to the album on facebook: Malta 2011

We took the city bus (driving on the left side of the road….for the first time since we have been in Europe) to our hostel. We stayed in an all female 10 bed dorm for the first night…’nuff said. Once we dropped our luggage we went out to an Irish pub called…of course…”O’Shea’s”. We had some good food, and then proceeded back to the hostel to get ready to go out to Temple Bar (what we thought was the place for people our age to party). Well this was wrong…although Temple Bar is bumping…the crowd is older and touristy. Also we went out late…in Dublin terms at least. In France the clubs don’t even open until 1 am…but in Dublin they close at 3. We still had a good time and had our first Guinness beer…the first half was great, the 2nd half we had to choke down. We were still getting used to which direction to look before crossing the road, so it was good we didn’t drink too much that night and got home around 2 am.

Dublin Spire on O'Connell street

The next morning we woke up…not so well rested due to squeaky bunk beds, loud traffic, and thin windows, but were stoked to explore Dublin under blue skies! We had our free breakfast, dropped our luggage off at our hotel (right on O’Connell street, about a half block from the Spire – i.e. prime location) as we were too early to check in, and headed to Starbucks to map out our day and get some much needed caffeine (and so began the 5 phases of caffeine intake). We decided to take our Irish professor’s advice and take the Dart out to Killiney and Dalkey castle. This was a fantastic idea.

goofing off in the Dalkey castle cemetery

First we headed to Killiney…the coast was gorgeous, but other than that there wasn’t much there. So we hopped back on the dart one stop to Dalkey. Here we got a tour of the castle, watched a history video, and got a live reenactment of medieval life in the castle, and goofed off in the cemetery. The live reenactment was hilarious! The woman was so good, Megan got her legs amputated and I got some teeth pulled…we also ate some really gross tripe and the like… After this performance we were in quite a strange mood when we headed out to the cemetery…as can be evidenced by the many photos on facebook…just one on here for your viewing pleasure. We then had some good soup and sammies at a cafe, and I got stopped by some little old ladies who told me I looked like Kate Middleton. Strange as I also was told I looked like someone famous the night before, but can’t remember who obv. The weather was gorgeous most of the day except for about 20 minutes while we had lunch it hailed really hard.

Afterwards we took the Dart back into Dublin, and walked back to our Hotel (Lynams Hotel). We then got food, alcohol, went shopping (I got a nice Irish wool sweater), bought postcards, etc. So far of note in Dublin are the accents! Amazing…I love em, but Megan well she can’t understand much…hahah I am basically her translator. Also the Irish are very polite, happy, and good-looking. Both men and women here are exceptionally gorgeous…I’m not complaining. This night we attempted to go out a bit earlier to Temple Bar (will we ever learn!?)…epic fail #2…’nuff said. We came home early instead and caught up on our sleep…which was much needed.

Jameson Irish Whiskey distillery

Day 2 in Dublin is Monday Feb 28th. Another day of blue skies…we got our typical cappuccino and decided to buy some tour bus tickets to go to all the main sights in Dublin. We sat up on the open deck of the bus and listened to some hilarious live Irish commentary, complete with Irish road rage – best thing ever! We went to some Cathedrals, then had some yummy Irish stew (with lamb…yum!), before getting back on the bus to head to the Jameson Irish Whiskey distillery. I loved it here…Before the tour even started Megan and I bought some Irish coffee chocolate which we devoured during the tour. We each got a free drink at the end (for me whiskey with ginger ale, and for Megan, Whiskey with cranberry juice). We also got chosen to do a tasting between Irish, Scottish, and American whisky (Jameson, Scotch, and Jack Daniels). Let me tell you, the Irish whiskey blew the other 2 away…which tasted disgusting. Megan wasn’t feeling her drinks…so I polished them off and proceeded to totter into the gift shop to buy some whiskey for the grandparents! (to be sent in the mail soon…apparently you can only send liquids out of France…that’s the French expats for ya…gotta have their wines)

some person got us in the shot, but not the cathedral...

This night we finally got it right. We asked some locals who were in their 20’s where we should go for a bumpin club…their answer: Harcourt St. This street looks like a quiet residential street…well let me tell you, it ain’t. The place we went to was called Dicey’s and it connected via a really swanky outdoor dance floor/smoking area with some other clubs. We had a great time here!

Our last day in Dublin (Tuesday, March 1st) we were a bit hung over, but the blue skies were beckoning once more. We headed out for breakfast in Temple Bar at a really tasty (and attractive….for other reasons) cafe. The whole time at breakfast the boy behind the counter was looking and he was soo cute. After we left I decided I had a feeling and I wanted to give him my number…so I sent Megan in to do my dirty work. She gave it to the girl behind the counter to give to him…who knows whether he got it…or had a girlfriend…but I haven’t heard from him. My time in Malta more than made up for this though 😉 We took the tour bus again to some other places, through Georgian Dublin, and got off and walked around in the parks. Later that day we went back to O’Sheas to write an epic amount of postcards (cue the hand cramps). We passed out at 9 pm, only to wake up at 2 am to head to the airport for what was a hellish flight to Malta, due to crying babies. While we were waiting on O’Connell street for the shuttle to the Dublin airport, one of the taxis (among about a line of 50 – the cabs have been deregulated so there are so many) approached us and offered to drive us for only 7 euros. We felt badly, because we know the state of the economy, but had already paid for our shuttle, so we declined.

Check next post for Malta deets…although bear in mind much has been left out of both of these posts in order to preserve Megan and I’s reputations….just kidding…well a bit.

PS: All photos are up on facebook in an album called Dublin for your viewing pleasure!!! click here