riakaruda

Travelling and eating my way around the world


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Do I <3 Paris?

It’s amazing how refreshed and ready for the day you can be when you get 10 glorious hours of undisturbed sleep! The lady made me some toast & coffee while I showered and got ready, then we ate together and attempted to have a conversation. I spoke my best Frapanese (french japanese mix) because apparently my brain lumps all foreign languages into one area. I hit the road by 9am with a detailed plan, but not a detailed map. I looked for the Opera house, but it was so amazing, I walked right padt without noticing it. No worries, I thought, I’ll just continue on to the Louvre. A street artist asked me if he could have the pleasure of drawing me, no cost. I told him he could have the pleasure of drawing me from memory instead! I took my pictures of the outside, then paid for a one-day pass on the Batobus (water bus). Once cruising the Seine, I started to enjoy Paris. I saw the Eiffel Tower from the boat, and hopped off. I got in line at 11:40, and 10 min later decided to buy a croissant & juice for the wait. We were entertained by a guy in plain clothes wearing a mask, inconspicuously coming up behind people and scaring them. I was not as entertained by the Gypsies who walked around asking if you spoke English. I planned to speak in Japanese if they asked me, but they didn’t. I’m not sure if I was happy or sad about that – haha.
After 45 min in line, a family tried to butt in line near me and another family. I told them where the end of te line was, and the man replied in French that they were just very tired. Surprisingly, my French came back enough for me to retort “moi aussi fatigue mais…” Myself and the family made sure they were at least behind us 😉
Start time: 11:40
First security check: 12.35
Ticket window: 12:47
(At which point they informed me that the top was no longer open, highest was 2nd floor only! Grrrr…)
In the entrance: 1:01
Walk around the 2nd floor, took pictures.
Entered second line: 1:17 (to see if I could get to the top)
Left second line: 1:24 because it wasn’t moving at all. I had too many other things to see that day. Turns out the window wasn’t even open for business.
Started down the stairs: 1:44 because the line for the lift down was even longer!
When I got to the bottom, my legs were wobbly because of so many freakin’ stairs! What was I thinking??
I hopped back on the Batobus, and got off at Musee d’Orsey. This is my new favorite place in Paris. Why? Well, for one, there was NO LINE! And secondly, it had a lot of cool stuff in it! Such as
Paul Cezanne‘s Portrait of Gustov Geffroy
Monet’s Harmonie blanche / bleus / grises , nympheas bleus
Alfred Sisley‘s la neige a louveciennes
Van Gogh’s Starry Night
Seurat’s garden scene

When I felt sufficiently cultured (read: tired feet, sore back), I left the museum and walked to Champs-Elyees. It had every store you could imagine, and you could even drive a Lamborghini for 30 min for the low low price of £85. Somehow I resisted, but I couldn’t resist the Kashmi Tea shop. But when I went up pay, my visa said declined! I paid with cash, then went on a panicked hunt for wifi or a phone. There should have been no reason for the decline, and I needed the visa for Iceland yet! All the payphones required a visa, but finally I located a McDonalds that had free wifi. So I used the last little bit of Euros on my to buy something so I could use their wifi and Skype visa. Turned out it was the store’s fault and my visa was fine – phew! Crisis averted. Took advantage if the wifi and skyped my mom & Esme, then headed back out. I saw the Arc de Triomphe, and something that resembled a very small version of a Remebrance Day celebration, complete with vets and a military band. I’m not sure why they were there, but it was cool all the same.
I headed back down to the Seine, and caught the Batobus again, this time using it to see Paris at night. I got off at the stop closest to my place, and walked another 20 min home. I said a brief goodnight to my hosts, and fell into bed at 11:00pm.


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An ungodly hour…

I have a personal rule of never waking up before 6am for any reason. So I have NO idea what I was thinking when I booked my early-morning ticket from Dubrovnik to Paris. I had two options for buses: 4:55 or 6:00 (arrival 30 min later). I planned on taking the 6am just for the extra sleep, but then decided to catch the earlier one, just in case. I ran up the stairs of the city to find my bus stop, worried I’d be late. The arrival time came and went, then a taxi stopped and offered the same price to the airport prividing he took a full car. Seeing as there was no bus in sight, four of us quickly agreed to those terms, and we hopped in. I watched the directions like a hawk to make sure we were REALLY heading to the airport 😉
Turned out it was a good thing I choose the earlier time because my flight was at 6:20, not 7:20! They had us board a bus to take us to the airplane, which literally lasted 1 min. Why we didn’t walk is beyond me, but whatever. Maybe it’s a make-work project.
My next concern was my 45 min connection at Zagreb, but I shouldn’t have been concerned. After getting off the plane, going through a passport check, visiting the ladies room, and finding my gate, I still had 30 of my 45min connection left!
After being in such tiny airports, I was overwhelmed when I got off the plane at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. And then trying to figure out the transit system almost made me want to turn right back around. After coming around full-circle twice, I managed to get myself on the right train heading the right direction. I found my station and my airbnb house. It was a little awkward at first as she knew little English and my French was more than a little rusty. Managed to get things figured out, then went outside to wait for Cameron, an old coworker, to arrive. I had to change where I was waiting / standing, though, when I realised I was getting the evil eye from a few other “ladies” also standing on the street. Cameron arrived shortly after that, and off we went. We caught up over a leisurely lunch, then walked down to Notre Dame. He left to catch his train back home, and i set out on my new adventure. I went to the Luxembourg Gardens and the Latin Quarter. Of course I had to have a crepe for dinner – Nutella banana. I walked back to my place, and headed to bed by 10pm. it was a litle awkward because their place was small, especially for a family of four, and I’m pretty sure I had the couple’s bedroom. oh well. I paid good money for it, and I’d had a very long and tiring day, so I popped in my earplugs and hit the sack at 10pm.


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And we’re back!

Sorry folks! I had the post all ready to go and then it deleted part, so I had to re-write. But you’re in luck! I have a hat-trick of posts for you today 🙂 enjoy!

Apr 22
Met my guide, Niksa (nik-sha), and the other 5 people in my group and off we went, in the direction of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I’ll admit I’m apparently ignorant because I hadn’t heard of Herzegovina before, nor did I know that it was a joint country with Bosnia. We crossed the border into Bosnia & Herzegovina, drove 20 km, crossed back into Croatia, then about 45 min later, back into Bosnia & Herzegovina. ** We only had to show our passports at the last “real” border, but sadly they did not stamp my passport! (C’mon people, I paid a lot of money for this – at least gimme a stamp!)
when we arrived in Mostar, we had a local university student take us on a walking tour around Old Town and over Old Bridge (made of marble?). During the Homeland War, this bridge was bombed and destroyed, but several years later they restored it to its original state. Sadly, many other buildings have still not been restored, and the juxtaposition of them beside newer construction is somewhat eerie.
Our group wandered the main street, listening to traditional music (Whitney Houston’s I wanna dance with somebody) and finally settled on our restaurant. We ordered the traditional plate, which had lots of stuff on it, ALL of which was delicious! I bought my fridge magnet, postcards and some earrings, then hurriedly wrote my postcard so I could send it. Unfortunately, the post office was the only place that wouldn’t take credit card, Euros or Kunas (only Konvertible Marks) so I had to wait to mail the postcard when I returned to Croatia 😦
Crossing the border on the way back took a little longer, yet still no stamp! We stopped briefly at the little town, long enough for Yoshi and I to buy a cup of Turkish coffee (for 1 euro!) . Continued the drive back to the city in heavy rain.
Once back, I joined some hostelers for dinner at a nearby restaurant. The torrential downpour began again as we were eating, but let up slightly so we headed out, only to be caught in the deluge minutes later! The water was actually causing waterfalls to cascade down the city stairs, and in the 4 min it took me to get to the hostel, I was drenched! I changed into my pjs, laid out my wet clothes to dry, packed my bags and went to sleep.

** Dubrovnik was a very wealthy city, and historically paid for their safety. When the Ottoman Empire was coming through, Dubrovnik negotiated their continued independence /safety by giving the Empire 20km of coastline about 300 years ago.


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Two for one

Apr 20
It only took half a day in Dubrovnik for me to slow down and embrace the laid back atmosphere the Croatians had to offer. As a result, I woke up late, leisurely ate my (free) breakfast, and then realised I was too late to catch the walking tour at 11am. No matter. Obviously I was meant to go to the rocks / beach! I joined my new Irish friends there until 12:30 (when my very white self could no longer manage the heat) after which I returned to the cool of the stone hostel for a bite to eat and rest from the sun. The girls left for Montenegro, and I walked around town, taking pictures. Along the way, I found the supermarket (although for its size, it can barely be called super) and bought some groceries. I also bought a gelato – After Eight flavour. I’m hooked! Spent the evening with others at the hostel and blogged & showed you pictures 🙂
Apr 21
Caught the walking tour this time (with 1 min to spare!) Our tour guide told is all about the ancient and recent history if the town. She was 8 when the Homeland War started, and they fled to Old Town because they thought they’d be safe there, seeing as its a UNESCO World Heritage site. Sadly, they were wrong, and they were under seige tjere for 3.5 months. However, because of UNESCO and other donations, the damage is not immediately obvious. The easiest indicators are the terra cotta roofs: the bright orange ones are new, the faded ones are original. The devastation was more apparent when I walked the city wall. In the 2hrs it took me (in the sunny heat) I saw gorgeous views but also some buildings that had never been restored. It hit home for me as the Homeland War was the first war I remember actually happening as “real” for me. Yet the scenery was still stunning, even in disarray.
After taking TONS of pictures and buying some local artwork, I headed back to the coolness of the hostel again, ate, blogged, and skyped mom & mikayla. Out for my daily gelato – Cookies flavour, then tried to walk to the beach, but it was blocked for movie (Game of Thrones? Or Dwayne Johnson‘s new flick?) So instead I sat by the dock, finished my gelato, then hung out for evening. I had planned to kayak the next day, but it was calling for rain, so I changed plans to a day trip to Mostar, in Bosnia & Herzegovina.


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Here’s hoping it works

** this blog was written while waiting in line for the Eiffel Tower.
Arrived at Gatwick, bought some food from Marks & Spencer (the only thing open) and “checked in” for the evening. i had 4 lovely benches to myself – oh, the luxury. i ate my food, then went to sleep (if u can call it that) but between the bright lights and constant arrivals of more people, i finally gave up at 4:30 and just got up. I’m amazed at how busy that airport is at 3am!! I brushed teeth and hair, attempting to look less homeless, and then checked in for my flight. After going through security, I found s new bench and slept until 6:45, when they posted by departure gate.
It was nice to be on real plane again (as opposed to Ryanair & Easyjet). I felt civilized again.
Touched down in Dubrovnik and caught a shuttle bus for 35 kn. when anyone asked how much, the guy said with a straight face “1000Euros” no one even batted an eye! Hahaha
Arrived at Pile Gate (pronounced pea-leh) which is the main gate for Old Town. Wow! It was amazing. I can see why it’s called the Pearl of the Adriatic. It’s opulent past was obvious from the marble streets! I almost felt bad walking on them in my dusty shoes.
I walked down Stradun, the main street, and turned onto one of several side streets that head up the hill. Still marble. Found my hostel, which had been kept I the traditional style of the building, with MORE marble and travertine on the inside, and exposed rock walls as well.
Met a couple of girls from Ireland who were on their way out to sit in the sun and invited me along. We walked around the outside of the city wall, found some flat rocks and soaked up the sun for a few hours. After having so many go-go-go days, it was fabulous. We then walked a “short distance” to a beach Denise had heard about (and turned out to be 45min each way) and sat at that beach for another hour. Walked back to Old Town, had dinner, hung out and went to bed.


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Wrap it up!

April 18th saw the end of Edinburgh for me. Sad, because not only did I fall in love with the city, I met some awesome people there who I had spent every day with! Woke up and packed up and checked out, leaving my backpack in left luggage. I finished off the food I had left, and gave away the rest (apparently I was VERY hungry when I went grocery shopping…)   Margaret is in search of a job (good luck Margaret!!) so she was heading to New Town to shop, and I stalked followed went along with her there. I had thought about taking a day trip out to St. Andrew‘s but I decided against it for something more relaxing.

I then struck out on my own (the first time in three days!) and headed back to Old Town to visit the museum. I didn’t have my map, but figured I could find it. When I did, I thought, hmmm, this is not the grand exterior I was expecting. I entered, walked through quickly and then realised I had entered the Museum of Edinburgh, not the National Museum (I know, big difference). I exited and set out to find the real museum, er, National Museum. Finally, I found it and what a museum it was! I highly recommend it, and the price of £0 makes it even better! I saw Dolly, the cloned sheep, and a robot who spelled my name for me. Reading this back to myself, I realised I’m not doing the place justice; just know that I would have paid money for this even (and THAT’S saying a lot).

After that, I wandered the street of Old Town, looking for my postcards and souvenirs. I stumbled upon a place that makes tartan and where you can get a pic taken of you in traditional Scottish costume! Yes. I’m THAT touristy. Don’t judge. So, obviously I had my photo taken. While waiting for my time slot (yes, other suckers fell for it too), this little Chinese girl of about 3 years old carried on a conversation with me for 10 min. I have no idea what she was saying, but my well-placed yeses and noes seemed to appease her and keep her going 🙂

I was scheduled to meet Margaret and her cousin (from PEI!!!) for dinner at 6pm, so I still had time to kill. I headed to the Starbucks because I could drink a coffee and scam internet. I managed to scam 1.5 hrs out of my one drip coffee, and during that time, I got a surprise facetime call from Madelyn! It was great to see faces from home!

Met up with my friends, went to dinner and then rushed to catch my bus to the airport. Turns out that Ana had the same flight as me! We sat near each other, but not beside. Instead, Ana had the pleasure of being seated next to a lovely little boy whose parents did not appear to believe in discipline. He’s lucky he was sitting beside her and not me. She just sporadically gave the evil eye when he jumped up and down, screamed, yelled, poked her, etc. I would not have been so passive. I’m very happy that the flight was only 1 hr as even that felt like several!

Arrived at Gatwick Airport about 11:30pm, where Ana and I parted ways; she to her awaiting taxi, me to my search for the softest bench, until my flight early the next morning.


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Haggis, Neeps and Tatties

Today we did the Castle, which was RIGHT next to Castle Rock Hostel. Once inside, we were talking to an employee and she mentioned that the day before they had to close the Castle grounds due to dangerously strong winds. Did you catch that? The day before. As in, the same day Margaret and I climbed a hill WITHOUT rock walls to shield us from said wind. Hmmm. We had actually wondered on the way up, if, as tourists, we wouldn’t be aware of any precautionary warnings or closures due to wind. (I know. You’re thinking, well if they wondered it, why did they keep climbing? In my defense,…  hey, it’s me. And Margaret? Well, I guess we share the same sense of obliviousness mixed with stubbornness and daring.)  The employee’s eyes became as big as saucers when we told her that we had climbed to Arthur’s seat that day. Probably in admiration. I’m sure she wasn’t thinking we were idiotic tourists….

In total, we spent 4 hours inside the castle walls, and it was worth every pence of our £18. In the Memorial to soldiers who had fought in the First and Second World Wars, there were books for the Honour Roll of each division / troop. I found several Calders, both officers and regular military. Being a daredevil (re: Arthur’s Seat) I ignored the “No Photos” sign and snapped some shots of the role call of the Calders I found. It’s not a common last name where I’m from (except of course for the Calder Cup) so I was excited to find their names.

We walked around and saw many cool things and a great view of the city, then gathered with others for the One O’Clock Gun, named such because that’s when it is shot off every day. Very original. Anyway, it was cool to watch as a Scottish female military officer prepared & fired the gun in true military style. After that, we went to the Great Hall (which also had the Listening Window) and heard a guy in Jacobite costume talk about the kilt and give a demonstration on how to properly fold and don a kilt from an 8m length of tartan material. He also showed the versatility of the garment, the many ways it could be worn or used. Pretty awesome!

After the Castle, we went back to the hostel and I ate a late lunch / early dinner. Later that evening, a group of us went out for haggis, neeps & tatties, and whiskey. The haggis was DELICIOUS (and I’m not just saying that!) and tasted somewhat like peppered meatloaf. The neeps and tatties were mashed (turnips and potatoes). Margaret and I decided to share whiskey, as neither of us were super-keen on it. But when in Edinburgh…   so the barkeep recommended 2 kinds, one of which was rubbish, and we didn’t drink it. The other (Laphraoig cask) tasted like campfire smoke which had been made into a liquid, and although that may not sound appetising, it was fairly good. But strong. We took our time and took turns finishing the whopping half cup that was served to us.


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Thar she blows!

To get us all back on track, this blog is talking about the 16th of April. Which means, despite my best concerted good efforts, I keep lagging behind. I guess just thinking about blogging doesn’t ACTUALLY get the blogging done. Huh.

Anyhoo, on the 16th I woke up and met my roomies, Margaret (fellow Canadian) and Ana (Portugese). We went upstairs and had the cheap breakfast (1.50 pounds) and got ready to go on the free walking tour. On our way out the door, we rounded up Ethan, and shortly after starting the tour, we picked up Kendall. Our tour guide was Ben (a true Scotsman! Not all tour guides were…) and began our 3-hr walking / story / sarcasm tour. Ben rocked it. Although later we learned it was a script, we wouldn’t have guessed it at all from his presentation, ease and tongue-in-cheek wit. I learned all about the greats and the infamous, like David Hume, Adam Smith, Deacon Brodie, Maggie Dickson and obviously, Greyfriars Bobby.

Hume, a philosopher, spent his life trying to prove that superstition was bogus, and was commemorated for his great thoughts through a statue of himself with a gold toe, which brings you luck when rubbed. Oh, the irony. Adam Smith was a colleage but apparently his statue isn’t nearly as lucky. Hard to say if he’d be happy or jealous of that fact, given his shared views with Hume.

Deacon Brodie falls under the infamous category. He was a skilled safe-cabinet maker who developed a gambling problem, and cunningly decided that he would steal from the very people who trusted him, seeing as he had made the locks. It worked for a while, but then….  well, I won’t spoil it for you, but let’s just say when the locals figured it out, he wasn’t very popular.

Maggie Dickson earned the nickname Half-Hanged Maggie for surviving a hanging. When they found out she wasn’t dead, they were going to hang her again, but she was saved by a law student claiming double jeopardy. Embracing her infamy after she recovered, she would reportedly hang out her window and yell down to the poor souls who were to be hanged, “Take heart! I went through it and look at me now.”  Hahahaha! A woman after my own sarcastic heart.

Greyfriars Bobby is apparently the most famous Ediburghian, despite not being a human. He was a dog, and he has his own statue and bar, and tourist traps. He’s famous for his dedication to his owner, even after his Policeman owner passed away, staying close to his grave for 13 years.

After the walking tour, we ate some lunch, then Margaret and I decided to walk up to Arthur’s Seat for a great view of the city. Oh, I forgot to mention that it was windy in Edinburgh. And by windy, I don’t mean a lovely gentle  breeze; the wind was strong and made it hard to hear people talk if they were upwind of you. But Marg and I thought, meh, how windy could it be?

Yeah.

So….  it was WINDY. At times, we had to stop and brace ourselves, and sometimes even crouch down, until the wind died down (a bit). We kept walking up, wondering how long it would take, when FINALLY we saw the top. I could lean into the wind and not fall over. Literally. Of course, being the smart people we are, we totally realised that this could be unsafe and we stopped before getting to the top. <pause until you stop giggling> Ok, more likely, we threw caution to the wind (hahaha! see what i did there… I’m so witty) and scrambled up to the monument on Arthur’s Seat, held on for dear life, and got our pics. It was at this point we noticed we had taken the “scenic route” up, and shortened our trek back down.

We stopped at the local grocery store and I bought my first groceries for the trip. I had forgotten how much cheaper it is to buy groceries instead of eating out. My splurge was some apple pork sausages which were delish! The wind had worn us out completely, so we finished the evening by just hanging out with the others at the hostel.

…and now I must hit the sack, so I will continue to fall behind on blogging…

 


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Edinburah!

Touched down late at Edinburgh airport, collected my backpack and headed towards the customs area. I had two choices, and seeing as it was so late at night, I probably stared at it for 3 or 4 minutes while others walked past me, making their decision with ease. When I finally decided which door was mine, (because there were big signs saying “NO RE-ENTRY!”) I walked out and found the bus into town. Halfway into town, I realised I had not spoken to ANYONE about re-entering the UK!  I panicked a bit, wondering if I should go back / call someone official / visit the embassy, because I didn’t want to be in the country illegally – I mean, I’m only just halfway thru my trip!

Turns out my original stamp into UK was good for 6 months, so it wasn’t necessary. But I kinda feel ripped off for not getting a Scotland stamp (I paid good money for this trip!). Oh well.

Off the bus at 11:30pm, I tried to orient myself to find the hostel. Just then, two guys (Kendal from Kansas, Ethan from Portland) yelled out, “Anyone going to Castle Rock?” to which I replied I was, so we struck out to find the hostel together. Up a hill that looked like a fairy tale mountain town, directly opposite the Castle, we found our hostel and checked in. I managed to find my stuff and climb into my bed in the dark, thanks to a friendly and helpful fellow roommate (who I found out the next day was Margaret, from Canada and my new Edinburgh bestie).