After travelling for over a week now I have yet again found interesting differences in Europe. Above all, the mindframe of Europe being relaxed is true and it has been proven in various places!
Everything Closes at 7:30PM (sometimes 9:00PM if we are lucky)
In Nice, Milan, and Venice so far every retail store closes at 7:30PM. It seems kind of ridiculous because what the heck are tourists supopsed to do? When we were in Milan, we went shopping until the shops closed and then slowly realized that restaurants were going to close too! By the time we finished dinner which was around 8:45PM, they were already shutting all the doors and sweeping the floors ready for close. Now in Venice, the same story seems to repeat itself… in fact even the bars are not open, can you believe it? Maybe it is because you can drink on the street and be merry without being constrained in the indoors!
They really love H&M and Zara
This may be a crazy assumption but (atleast in Milan) they love these two stores! It is nothing like how it is in Toronto even though H&M is in every mall and Zara appears in high-end stores, they are much larger, have a much better selection, and within one street on Milan there were three H&M stores selling different merchandise and three Zaras, one for women, men and kids. Nonetheless, it is pretty amazing because were are girls and we love shopping! On the note of shopping, we stumbled upon an interesting store that was similar to Hollister. It was quite the battle between whether to shop or not yet but we could not resist! Lets just say we did some damage.
Random Update
Venice is beautiful! The streets are narrow and the water (the Grand Canal) is simply breathtaking. It hasnt been difficult so far to navigate but we are off to Piazza San Marco today and the other tourist things!
In our adventures around Paris and France in general, I’ve discovered a number of different and unusual things that you won’t find anywhere in Toronto! I wish I could post pictures and refer to them (but we forgot the cord and the computers restrict us from uploading, atleast in our current hostel!)
Direction Arrows
The direction signs here are really odd, when it points down it means to keep walking. Luckily on the flight here from Toronto to Paris, the flight attendant told us to keep on walking! I don’t understand the logic behind the arrows… a really pecuilar thing I must say! It’s funny to watch tourists though because they are confused about the signs too, sometimes some of them just standing there thinking that the bus will pick them up from where the arrow points down! haha
“No Holding Hands” Sign
There are signs that don’t make sense and the funniest one is what is referred to as the “No Holding Hands Sign”. Picture this, a square shaped sign that is blue with a male stick figure (like the washroom sign ones) holding the hand of the young female child with a red line diagonally across it. What do you think the sign means? (It doesnt actually mean no holding hands, so please leave your guesses. If you get it right and you haven’t been to France you get a prize from Europe!)
The Metro
The subway seating here is structured different from the TTC. First of all, the seats face front and back compared to how the seats are lined up facing the inside of the cart. Secondly the seats fold up and you can pull them down to sit on them when there arent a lot of people. Another interesting difference is the fact that you either have to push a button or pull a handle upwards to open the door; both when you want to get into or out of the Metro. There have been several times when I struggled to open the door, and I would be that annoying person holding up the jungle behind me! Im such a tourist.
The Big Plastics are 1,5L
I noticed today that all the plastic bottled drinks are either 50cL (which looks like your average sized water bottles) or 1,5L, not our big sized bottles that are 2L. I wonder why that is… nonetheless its still an unusual thing. On the topic of drinks, I love the different Fanta flavours that they have and other interesting one called Orangina that tastes like The Khurram which is orange juice mixed with Sprite! ha ha. And of course the wine is amazing too! In fact Belle and I downed a bottle of sweet white Bordeaux wine yesterday at our hostel.
On a side note, the beaches in Nice France are extravagant! Sorry it has taken a long time to blog and Im even slower with this french keyboard! Anyways I will keep you updated with Italy when we get there on Sunday evening!
Bonjour! It’s Day 3 in Paris and the day has started with rain. Fortunately for us, we covered a lot of ground in the past two days so we’ll be okay!
Yesterday was an adventure and of course jammed packed with sight-seeings but for the most part food is definitely one of the highlights.
Yum Yum Pastries!
For some reason, the pastries in Paris taste incredible. Not that I am surprised but the freshness and “the way that it flakes” (according to Belle is how you determine if a croissant is baked well) was delicious. We had four different pastries: croissant, chocolate croissant, apple pastry, and something that taste like “creme brulee/egg tart” pastry! Did I mention the look on Belle’s face when we saw the pastries?… scary!
Food Markets
Paris is also known to have fresh food markets at least twice a week in every district (Paris is divided in 19 of them). We randomly came across one of these markets after getting our pastries and it was amazing! There were fruits, vegetables, meat, cheese and random clothing and pashima scarf shops too! Belle and I picked up one peach and one carton of raspberries to have with our pastries. We then made our way to the Seine River and had lunch by the river side. Simply beautiful (:
The Best Ice Cream in Paris!
At night for one of the stops of the Fat Bike tour, we visited the Berthillion Ice-Cream shop. It is known for being the best in Paris and I must say, C’est delicieux! It was incredible, no words can describe. We are going back today of course so no worries, it not the last you’re hearing about this ice-cream!
Back on Track
We are going to Nice, France again! After trying again we booked train tickets to Nice, France and we’re right back on track with our itinerary.
I’m off again to have breakfast and another fun-filled day!
It’s 9:15am and Belle and I have finally gotten ready and packed again after waking at 7:30am this morning. Our time here has been amazing so far… I wish I could tell all but I only have 10 minutes before we’re off to the Louvre and Musee D’Orsay for the day.
In the Air with President’s Choice
So who said airplane food wasn’t good? Flying on AirTransat from Toronto to Ottawa, and Ottawa then to Paris, we were fed President’s Choice curry chicken (haha I know, curry on a trip to Paris?). Belle and I slept decently but while we were there we met a guy named Jean who was also travelling to Paris. He told us about his adventures in Mexico, Australia. The cool thing was that he was also in the Canadian Military and was being deported to Afghanistan in a few months!
Paris is Beautiful
You haven’t seen Tour Eiffel until you’ve seen it in real life. It’s absolutely stunning… and everywhere you turn there are couples in love (or making out). In fact, we fell asleep on the grass staring at the Tour Eiffel two times in one day! (: We were also were frenchie yesterday, did I mention we had a bottle of win, bread and cheese for dinner? Yum!
The Fat Bike Tour was amazing and fun too. I don’t think I’ have ridden a bike since high school but I was still doing okay. We passed by many attractions and the tour guide Marqus told us about the history and the significance of the all the places. I wish I could show you pictures but you’re just going to have to wait for that! Overall, the tour took about 4 hours to finish and tonight we are going to go on the night tour (: It involves going to the best ice cream store and a cruise on the Seine river. I’m so excited and ready to fall in love with the city all over again!
Change in Plans
So far so good except for one major thing that I skipped… our trip to Nice, France won’t be happening anymore. When we got to the train station right from the airport, we didn’t realize that reserving overnight trains were important! All the seats are booked and full price first class is too expensive! We don’t know where or what we’re going to do for those two days because we don’t have hostels in Paris either! We’ll keep you updated, but I guess this is the most amazing part of traveling with a half itinerary!
Welcome to cherylho.com! A unique blog filled with interesting experiences of my travels: including stories about delicious food and drink, adventures, sight-seeing, and nightlife. Hope you enjoy it! (:
I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it!
Departing in roughly 13 hours to Europe with my best friend Belle, I can barely hold in the excitement of backpacking overseas, experiencing new cultures/food and meeting new people. For over a year now, it’s been a far distant plan to travel in Europe, but now it’s finally happening. And although I’m a bit nervous, I can’t say much else besides that all my bag(s) are packed… and I’m ready to go!!
Itinerary: (18 days, 3 countries)
Departing June 29, 2008 from Toronto Pearson Airport
Day 1 – 4: Paris, France
Day 5 – 6: Nice, France
Day 7 -8: Milan, Italy
Day 9 – 10: Venice, Italy
Day 11 (half day): Florence, Italy
Day 11 – 14: Rome, Italy
Day 15 – 18: Barcelona, Spain
To end things off, there are three things I need you to promise me while I’m gone.
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Smile, laugh, and have fun reading as I take you along for the bumpy backpacking adventure to Europe
