Once upon a time there was a girl named...Karin, yes Karin, that is a pretty name. Well, Karin decided to go on a long journey to explore the world she had heard so much about yet had never seen for herself. She was excited but knew that there would be a lot of planning and a lot of planes, trains and buses to catch and so it was very important to have a good watch with her so she could keep track of time and not miss any of these modes of transportation to get her from place to place. She liked to be prepared so before she left her homeland, Canada, she walked into a store called Walmart where she had bought her sporty stopwatch about eight years ago and thought it may be a good idea to buy a new battery incase it dies while she is out travelling the world. The lady in the pretty blue apron checked the battery to see how much life it had left and she said, "Oh, you still have about two years left on this battery." 'Oh how wonderful!' she thought. So Karin went on her merry way, stopping in England, Germany, Switzerland, England again and onto Ireland and then Scotland, never late for her important departure times. One morning she awoke from her slumber in a hostel just off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland. 'What a lovely city Edinburgh is!' she thought as she reached for her watch and starting thinking about where she would head off today. All of a sudden her half shut eyes were now wide open as she looked at her watch in shock. There were no numbers to be seen, the screen was blank, her watch was dead! 'But the lady in the pretty, blue apron said the battery would last for two years!' 'Try two months,' the other half of her brain said. Karin was sad but there was nothing she could do then and there. She was to leave for Sweden in a couple of days so she decided to look for one there and in the meantime use her cell phone.
A few days later she landed in Sweden where she was to visit a friend. She asked if he knew of any places where they sold cheap watches and he did. This was a delight to Karin's heart! They went there the next day and they weren't as cheap as she thought they would be but they had lots of sales and they looked quite nice so she thought, 'How about a nice Swedish souvenir?' She had worn sporty watches her whole life so it was a little strange to see more stylish ones on her wrist so much so that she couldn't decide which one she liked best. The lady pointed to one and said, "This one is better quality. The wristband will last longer than the other one." It was a little more expensive but if it will last longer than it is more worth it in the long run. So they say. The sales lady won her over and she bought the watch. Two days later Karin was in such distress because the strap of the watch was now splitting apart from either side! 'I am so confused,' she thought, 'This was supposed to be a good quality strap!' She could not bare to keep a watch that was said to be good quality but clearly was not so she went back and returned it for the other one she had tried on. She was happy with this watch and it's style and was almost glad the other one didn't work out in the end. She wore it proudly, glancing at her wrist every now and then to see how it looked on her wrist. But one time she glanced down and noticed the clock hands weren't moving. She was slightly worried but reset the time and things were back to normal. This began to happen more frequently and Karin began to wonder if she would have to replace the battery. 'Oh my goodness gracious. How annoying! Well, atleast I could just get a new battery eventually and everything will be fixed.' She then hopped over to Holland to spend a good week there but things began to grow very strange over these next days. One morning she looked at her watch only to find that the big hand flopped from side to side whenever she turned the watch. 'Does this happen when a battery dies?' she asked herself. She wondered if it could be broken but she denied the fact that that could ever be possible. Later on she asked her friend what she thought and the words that came out of her mouth were enough to shatter a heart into a million pieces. "It's dead." she replied. Three watches. All gone just like that. Were the watch gods against her? Was there anything more to live for? How could she possibly keep on in her journey without a proper watch? Was she to rely on her cellphone for the next three and a half months? What if she lost her cellphone? The pain was too much to bare. But with every good story there is a happy ending. One day Karin was walking through Portobello Market in Nottinghill at one of the coolest markets she had ever been to and to her great surprise she saw a stand selling watches. Cheap watches infact! She saw one that she was interested in but she was doubtful and fearful as her heart had not fully healed from all her previous betrayals. Her lovely friend, Savannah encouraged her and said, "Karin, this watch is only five pounds. You have to buy it." And so she did. And to this day, almost one month later, she has worn it proudly, knowing that she is able to rely on it to get her to her destinations on time, worry free. Well, so far.
So friends, remember this, things aren't always what they seem, quantity ($$$) does not always mean quality, and less is often more.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
If you're North American and appreciate a good pair of sweatpants, you will like this.
When buying new shoes, my mom used to say, "It's not about what they look like, it's about how comfortable they are." This brings me to a little story I'd like to share with you all.
Europeans know how to dress. I've heard that before but now I can say that it is definately true after being here for four months. This is a generalization of course, not everyone has the nicest clothes but at the same time, I have never seen anyone walking down the street in sweatpants. A common sound I hear every day is, "Clunk, clunk, clunk." This is the sound of high heels. If the ladies aren't wearing jeans, they're wearing dress pants and if they're not wearing dress pants, they're wearing a skirt or dress. And it is the season for wearing jackets so you got the leather jackets coming back in this year, some fur coats, peacoats, trench coats, not alot of sporty, outdoorsy jackets. They're out there but it's rare. Everyone just seems to look really nice. This doesn't bother me. I'm a backpacker, it's like the law to look gross but I just find differences between countries very intriguing and this is one of them. You would never give someone a second glance in Canada if they walked into the grocery store or Starbucks in their sweatpants. It's just normal, who cares? We like being comfortable, simple as that. I brought two pairs of pants with me on this trip. A pair of jeans and a pair of cords. I like them except they aren't very comfortable because they're too big around the waist so they fall down but it is very difficult to pull them up because my legs are too big and so they kind of get stuck. It's quite sad. Needless to say, there are some days I just crave to wear my sweatpants out because they are so unbelieveably comfy but I am sometimes hesitant because I feel like I would stand out but today was the day. Savannah and I are in Austria right now visiting our friend, Marlene from bible school. She was working this morning and we decided to get some groceries. It wasn't very far and we just woke up so I was like, 'I am totally wearing my sweatpants.' It is very cold as well so I wore my boots. I kind of felt like Aladdin or a russian or even a pirate. So attractive. Before we left the flat we said goodbye to Marlene's boyfriend, Michael who was leaving for the weekend and we went on our merry way having no idea what was going on in Michael's mind at the time. On the way to the grocery store I kept saying, "I feel so Canadian walking in public in my sweatpants!" And then we talked about European fashion and how they always look so put together and so on. A little while after we arrived back home so did Marlene. We decided to head into the city but I still wanted to wear my sweatpants. I debated back and forth on whether I was ready to present myself this way to the city of Graz and then I thought, 'What the heck?' And then Marlene starts telling us about how she used to tell Michael about how in North America people will wear sweatpants to go to the store or for a walk or even to school. She said he had a hard time believing this until they were talking on the phone this morning after Savannah and I went to the grocery store and he says, "It's true! Karin went out in her sweatpants!" I loved that he was so surprised like it was some huge rumour that couldn't possibly be true but infact it was. We had a really good laugh and then made our way into the city. Savannah and Marlene joked about not wanting to be seen with me but they ended up being pretty faithful to stay by my side. I got a couple glances but nothing to get too worked up about, not that was I going to anyway. I felt too good. Then after a couple hours and on our way home we passed a group of probably 16 year old girls. One of them glances down at my sweatpant and boot ensemble and then exclaims something in austrian. She turns to her friends and then I see her friends all glance over to me in shock. It brought joy to my heart to see such a reaction yet a bit of sadness at the same time for them knowing that they will never know what it is like to feel as good as I did today. To make this story even better, my sweatpants are also my pajama pants and I didn't change my shirt this morning either. So not only did I wear my sweatpants through a big city of Austria, I also wore my pajamas.
So friends, the moral of the story? It's not always about what you look like but it's about how comfortable you feel.
Europeans know how to dress. I've heard that before but now I can say that it is definately true after being here for four months. This is a generalization of course, not everyone has the nicest clothes but at the same time, I have never seen anyone walking down the street in sweatpants. A common sound I hear every day is, "Clunk, clunk, clunk." This is the sound of high heels. If the ladies aren't wearing jeans, they're wearing dress pants and if they're not wearing dress pants, they're wearing a skirt or dress. And it is the season for wearing jackets so you got the leather jackets coming back in this year, some fur coats, peacoats, trench coats, not alot of sporty, outdoorsy jackets. They're out there but it's rare. Everyone just seems to look really nice. This doesn't bother me. I'm a backpacker, it's like the law to look gross but I just find differences between countries very intriguing and this is one of them. You would never give someone a second glance in Canada if they walked into the grocery store or Starbucks in their sweatpants. It's just normal, who cares? We like being comfortable, simple as that. I brought two pairs of pants with me on this trip. A pair of jeans and a pair of cords. I like them except they aren't very comfortable because they're too big around the waist so they fall down but it is very difficult to pull them up because my legs are too big and so they kind of get stuck. It's quite sad. Needless to say, there are some days I just crave to wear my sweatpants out because they are so unbelieveably comfy but I am sometimes hesitant because I feel like I would stand out but today was the day. Savannah and I are in Austria right now visiting our friend, Marlene from bible school. She was working this morning and we decided to get some groceries. It wasn't very far and we just woke up so I was like, 'I am totally wearing my sweatpants.' It is very cold as well so I wore my boots. I kind of felt like Aladdin or a russian or even a pirate. So attractive. Before we left the flat we said goodbye to Marlene's boyfriend, Michael who was leaving for the weekend and we went on our merry way having no idea what was going on in Michael's mind at the time. On the way to the grocery store I kept saying, "I feel so Canadian walking in public in my sweatpants!" And then we talked about European fashion and how they always look so put together and so on. A little while after we arrived back home so did Marlene. We decided to head into the city but I still wanted to wear my sweatpants. I debated back and forth on whether I was ready to present myself this way to the city of Graz and then I thought, 'What the heck?' And then Marlene starts telling us about how she used to tell Michael about how in North America people will wear sweatpants to go to the store or for a walk or even to school. She said he had a hard time believing this until they were talking on the phone this morning after Savannah and I went to the grocery store and he says, "It's true! Karin went out in her sweatpants!" I loved that he was so surprised like it was some huge rumour that couldn't possibly be true but infact it was. We had a really good laugh and then made our way into the city. Savannah and Marlene joked about not wanting to be seen with me but they ended up being pretty faithful to stay by my side. I got a couple glances but nothing to get too worked up about, not that was I going to anyway. I felt too good. Then after a couple hours and on our way home we passed a group of probably 16 year old girls. One of them glances down at my sweatpant and boot ensemble and then exclaims something in austrian. She turns to her friends and then I see her friends all glance over to me in shock. It brought joy to my heart to see such a reaction yet a bit of sadness at the same time for them knowing that they will never know what it is like to feel as good as I did today. To make this story even better, my sweatpants are also my pajama pants and I didn't change my shirt this morning either. So not only did I wear my sweatpants through a big city of Austria, I also wore my pajamas.
So friends, the moral of the story? It's not always about what you look like but it's about how comfortable you feel.
Friday, February 18, 2011
From bustling Paris to the quiet towns of France.
On February 6th Savannah and I headed downward to Paris from London on the wonderful Eurostar train. I loved that! Fast, easy and comfortable. I was excited for Paris because hello! It's Paris but I have to admit I was nervous about it too because of all the warnings I got about pit-pocketers and creepy men but that didn't stop us from diving right in. First thing we did after getting off the train was hop on the metro. Money belt on, other valuables tucked tightly away and we were good to go! We stayed at a super sweet lady's apartment who I know through a couple I met at Capernwray and it we had a great time with her and were so thankful to have a safe and comfortable place to stay right in Paris! The first day was beautiful so we grabbed our cameras and walked all over Paris. From the Notre Dame, to the Arc De Triumph and over to of course, the Eiffel Tour. We were planning to go up right then and there but then realized the very top was closed for construction or something so we thought, 'Go big or go home.' So we went home and planned to go big the next day. That night we check out the website and apparently the top closed that very same day and opened again the day after we left. Perfect. So the next day we still went, I mean even if it's only half way, this could have very well been the only time in our lives we would be in Paris, so we had to go as far as we could! It was worth it. We had lots of crepes and lots of croissants while in Paris too and well, that continued on into the rest of France too. It's all part of the experience. The last day we did The Louvre which is highly recommended but boy were we tired afterwards. Too much standing and staring but worth it.
After Paris we took the train to a little place called Pontorson and then about a 10 minute drive from the train station is an even smaller town that I forget the name of but it is the home of the second most visited place in France after the Eiffel Tower, Mont. St. Michel. You may recall my "Top 10 Sights to See" way back in the summer. Well, I made it and it was one of my most exciting days. It felt like such an accomplishment to actually make it there. It was cloudy and a bit rainy but I didn't care, it was still stunning. We walked around all the little shops, mostly tourist shops and toured the Monastery right at the top. The only disappointment was the nasty crepes we had afterwards. This was one thing I really wanted to experience there but we ended up at this crepery with already made crepes that were re-heated and then sat down to a table with bird crap on it. Yes, it's true, there were birds flying around the crepery - inside!! I have a fear of flying birds indoors so this was very brave for me to actually sit there and eat my crepe. We made the most of it, though and got some funny videos.
The next day I was really, really, like really hoping to make it to the Dday beaches since we were in Normandy but I failed to do my research accurately and we were farther away than I thought and when you don't have a car and have to rely on a train and a bus that hopefully coordinate for connection times and also don't run regularely because it's the off season it makes things very difficult. So that was a big dream I had to let go of. We still had an enjoyable day doing some major relaxing but if there is one thing I regret from this trip it might be that I didn't make it to the beaches but life goes on.
On the 12th we headed to Nantes which isn't a very small town at all but isn't quite Paris either. We stayed with a french family who I also knew through the same couple from Capernwray and this was a relaxing time too. We went to a french church one day and to an old very french looking town called Clisson and also walked around the city of Nantes. We mostly enjoyed just spending time with this family. It enriches things so much when you actually get to be in the home of someone from the country. And they were great.
Three days later after we arrived in Nantes we headed south on a six and a half hour train ride to Montpellier and then a two and a half hour bus ride to Millau where we were picked up by a french lady who used to live in Parksville with her family and who I know through my piano teacher. We then drove about 40 minutes (long travel day, I know) to their adorable town, St. Paul de Fonts. Only 80 people live here and I think almost 200 in the summer. We arrived in the evening so we didn't see much of the town but when I woke up in the morning and looked outside I couldn't believe my eyes. They look out to the most gorgeous cliffs and the sky was a stunning baby blue. It was decided, we would go for a hike that day. These are some of my favourite days, being outdoors, just walking along in creation. The dad and one of their sons took us up to the top and oh, you will just have to wait for photos, it's not worth describing it. The town is so great and so french, we loved it! On the way back from the hike an old french man popped out of a second storey window airing out his blanket and started chatting away with us. Try to picture this. So great. The next day we went on a cheese factory tour which was so cool being a big fan of food. Ever heard of Roquefort cheese? I've seen it in grocery stores before but never gave it a second glance because it looked like blue cheese. This family lives very close to the town of Roquefort and actually both husband and wife work in these factories. Roquefort is the only place in the world where this cheese is allowed to be made and it is made in caves where they have the perfect and consistent temperature they need for the mould to grow. Apparently it's fairly common to make cheese in caves but I'd never heard of this before so I was super intrigued. We got to taste some cheese afterwards as well which wasn't my highlight but still part of the fun experience!
We are currently in Nice right on the Mediterranean and I am super excited to be here and see the beach! I would come to France just for the train ride from Montpellier to Nice. Oh my! It isn't super warm but warm enough. I'm debating whether to pull out the shorts tomorrow or not. We are going to take a bus to Monaco tomorrow and see Monte Carlo and then the next day we will probably enjoy the beach and the city of Nice. And then off to Austria! Time is flying by, that's for sure.
After Paris we took the train to a little place called Pontorson and then about a 10 minute drive from the train station is an even smaller town that I forget the name of but it is the home of the second most visited place in France after the Eiffel Tower, Mont. St. Michel. You may recall my "Top 10 Sights to See" way back in the summer. Well, I made it and it was one of my most exciting days. It felt like such an accomplishment to actually make it there. It was cloudy and a bit rainy but I didn't care, it was still stunning. We walked around all the little shops, mostly tourist shops and toured the Monastery right at the top. The only disappointment was the nasty crepes we had afterwards. This was one thing I really wanted to experience there but we ended up at this crepery with already made crepes that were re-heated and then sat down to a table with bird crap on it. Yes, it's true, there were birds flying around the crepery - inside!! I have a fear of flying birds indoors so this was very brave for me to actually sit there and eat my crepe. We made the most of it, though and got some funny videos.
The next day I was really, really, like really hoping to make it to the Dday beaches since we were in Normandy but I failed to do my research accurately and we were farther away than I thought and when you don't have a car and have to rely on a train and a bus that hopefully coordinate for connection times and also don't run regularely because it's the off season it makes things very difficult. So that was a big dream I had to let go of. We still had an enjoyable day doing some major relaxing but if there is one thing I regret from this trip it might be that I didn't make it to the beaches but life goes on.
On the 12th we headed to Nantes which isn't a very small town at all but isn't quite Paris either. We stayed with a french family who I also knew through the same couple from Capernwray and this was a relaxing time too. We went to a french church one day and to an old very french looking town called Clisson and also walked around the city of Nantes. We mostly enjoyed just spending time with this family. It enriches things so much when you actually get to be in the home of someone from the country. And they were great.
Three days later after we arrived in Nantes we headed south on a six and a half hour train ride to Montpellier and then a two and a half hour bus ride to Millau where we were picked up by a french lady who used to live in Parksville with her family and who I know through my piano teacher. We then drove about 40 minutes (long travel day, I know) to their adorable town, St. Paul de Fonts. Only 80 people live here and I think almost 200 in the summer. We arrived in the evening so we didn't see much of the town but when I woke up in the morning and looked outside I couldn't believe my eyes. They look out to the most gorgeous cliffs and the sky was a stunning baby blue. It was decided, we would go for a hike that day. These are some of my favourite days, being outdoors, just walking along in creation. The dad and one of their sons took us up to the top and oh, you will just have to wait for photos, it's not worth describing it. The town is so great and so french, we loved it! On the way back from the hike an old french man popped out of a second storey window airing out his blanket and started chatting away with us. Try to picture this. So great. The next day we went on a cheese factory tour which was so cool being a big fan of food. Ever heard of Roquefort cheese? I've seen it in grocery stores before but never gave it a second glance because it looked like blue cheese. This family lives very close to the town of Roquefort and actually both husband and wife work in these factories. Roquefort is the only place in the world where this cheese is allowed to be made and it is made in caves where they have the perfect and consistent temperature they need for the mould to grow. Apparently it's fairly common to make cheese in caves but I'd never heard of this before so I was super intrigued. We got to taste some cheese afterwards as well which wasn't my highlight but still part of the fun experience!
We are currently in Nice right on the Mediterranean and I am super excited to be here and see the beach! I would come to France just for the train ride from Montpellier to Nice. Oh my! It isn't super warm but warm enough. I'm debating whether to pull out the shorts tomorrow or not. We are going to take a bus to Monaco tomorrow and see Monte Carlo and then the next day we will probably enjoy the beach and the city of Nice. And then off to Austria! Time is flying by, that's for sure.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
I underestimated London
I am currently in London and so far it is exceeding my expectations. It's beautiful and has a lot of life to it! London wasn't really one of those cities I was dying to go to but thought, 'It's London! You can't go to Europe and not go to London.' So I put it on the to-do list but boy am I glad I did now. I love it! It's huge and everywhere there is something to see and enjoy. I arrived on February 1st from the west of England planning to meet Savannah at the airport but when she told me the date she was departing Canada neither of us thought about the time change so she was actually arriving on the 2nd. Thankfully we realized this before I got to the airport but my bus ticket was already booked so I headed that way anyway where my friend, Kelsey from Parksville was waiting for me. She had the day off from work so it actually worked out really nicely to be able to hang out with her for the day. She took me to Camden Town where they have the coolest market ever. And on the street they have buildings with very large and odd objects hanging from them like shoes and a spaceship. It's a good thing the dresses there only came in tiny little asian sizes otherwise I would have bought every one. And we went to this one store that you really have to see it to believe but basically, if you were from space and you liked flourescent colours you would shop here. It's wild and people actually wear this stuff! We then headed to an area called Covent Garden, no it is not a garden like I thought. It is another shopping area and a popular place for street performers/street theatre. We saw a very talented man, on a very tall unicycle while juggling big knives. He had a way with the crowd and was really fun to watch. Afterwards, though we sat down for a bit and were oh so priveledged to hear this man mouth off at Covent Garden for giving him barely any money as he chucked his money to the ground. I would have taken it. It's February, guy, and half the crowd were kids. Geez! The next day Savannah arrived and slept all day and all night so I was a computer nerd for a day and watched some TV. The day after that she was feeling normal so we hit the city and saw all the touristy sites like Trifalgar square, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, the Tower of London and London Bridge. It was a beautiful sun shiny day so it was perfect for sightseeing and taking photos although my camera was running out of battery so I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked - story of my life. For those of you who know me well, you are probably rolling your eyes. Yesterday I took Savannah to the market, did that whole thing and then we had our homemade sandwich supper in Trifalgar square right before our big show! Yep, we saw "Thriller", a Michael Jackson broadway show (or west end show in London I am told) and it was amazing! Well, the dancing wasn't the best I've seen but I was astounded by the singing. Wow! Not bad for my first broadway. Today we went to Nottinghill, not really knowing much about it except that the movie Nottinghill was filmed there but we had no idea where the famous spots were so we walked along and found ourselves at Portobello Market. It was so busy, I can't imagine what it would be like in the summer but it was super cool. About half way through I looked down a street and saw a shop called, "Books for Cooks" so I was intrigued and we headed down. Before we entered I looked to my left and lo and behold there was, "The Travel Bookshop". I wondered if that was THE Travel Bookshop and when we saw girls taking pictures of themselves outside the shop we knew it was the one! That was pretty exciting! After Nottinghill we went to the Imperial War Museum and got a little history in. We didn't have a whole lot of time but the time we did have was interesting. The tanks on the main floor and the planes hanging from the ceiling were pretty impressive. Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new journey - no more english speaking countries! It's time to think double time. We are heading to Paris next! I am not looking forward to pitpocketers, creepy men, and a foreign language but I am hoping the crepes, delicious pastries and the Eiffel Tower will weigh out all the negatives. 'Til next time, au revoir!
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