Home sweet home.
105 days, 27 cities, 14 countries and 5 flavours of fanta... on to the next!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Day 104
Well this is strange. My last post. I am heading home today!
Packed my backpack last night, actually got everything inside which is still shocking to me. I do have to bring an extra bag with some breakables in it since my bag was too full. But everything is all packed up and ready to go.
As much fun as I have had over these 100 days I am still excited to come home. Living in hostels from day to day, packing up every 48 hours, and having to make new friends everywhere you go does get tiring after a while. And well it has been a while now.
I must get going, I should be at the airport like NOW! Mom I expect Benny waiting at the gate fully white and clean! See you all so soon!
Packed my backpack last night, actually got everything inside which is still shocking to me. I do have to bring an extra bag with some breakables in it since my bag was too full. But everything is all packed up and ready to go.
As much fun as I have had over these 100 days I am still excited to come home. Living in hostels from day to day, packing up every 48 hours, and having to make new friends everywhere you go does get tiring after a while. And well it has been a while now.
I must get going, I should be at the airport like NOW! Mom I expect Benny waiting at the gate fully white and clean! See you all so soon!
Day 103
Well first day in Lisbon! I took a bus with Lexy and Jamie(bishops), it was nice to finally have some company on a bus again. They headed off to the airport to see London while I booked two nights to see the city.
The best thing about Lisbon was when I came online to check and e-mail and found one from my mother. Who brilliantly called the company I got my ticket home from and actually got them to change it to a cheaper flight. Leaving same day and everything just a hell of a lot cheaper. I didn't even purchase cancellation insurance or anything but that's how great my mom is about things like this. Saved me about tons of money! Thank-you once again!!
Now that I am not broke anymore I am heading out for some shopping! Last stop so I can go wild!
The best thing about Lisbon was when I came online to check and e-mail and found one from my mother. Who brilliantly called the company I got my ticket home from and actually got them to change it to a cheaper flight. Leaving same day and everything just a hell of a lot cheaper. I didn't even purchase cancellation insurance or anything but that's how great my mom is about things like this. Saved me about tons of money! Thank-you once again!!
Now that I am not broke anymore I am heading out for some shopping! Last stop so I can go wild!
Day 102
Finishing up Lagos! It has been a blast here. The hostel is so much fun, The Rising Cock! The owners here refer to themselves as Mama and Papa. Mama is extremely funny and she cooks us her famous crepes and lemon tea every morning for breakfast. And after all her years of running the hostel she still seems enthusiastic about it all.
The girls in my dorm are great, or shall I say the princess' in the Princess Palace are great! Yes we got the Princess Palace for our dorm. The sheets have crowns and leopard print on them and each bed is named something different. Plus the room has air conditioning!(so nice to have) Out of fluke I got the princess bed which is very fitting because Sara means princess! Mama even pointed out the princess painted on the wall with a funnel in her left hand and a beer in her right hand. Being a princess in Lagos, I think that it was a very accurate painting.
Most of the others split up today to head to farther beach where you have to trek on a bus to get to. So that left Lexy (Canadian) and myself to hit the beaches closer to the hostel. We walked to a quite bay area today where the water was cleaner and where less people were. It was stunning, one of the nicer beaches I have seen on this trip without a doubt. Also we walked to it from a cliff, so you have to make your way down from the top. There is no road that connects the path so you don't hear any noise, no cars or music from restaurants. Makes it that much more relaxing!
Once I arrived back to the hostel I attempted to book my ticket home. Yes time to make the long trip back to Canada! Unfortunately stupid e-dreams (never go with that company, EVER) would not allow my ticket to process because I had to fax in copies of my credit card and passport etc. The fax machine at their office would not answer my fax so I couldn't get it through. I tried calling customer support where the lady refused to check the fax machine and basically gave me no solution to my problem. So I told her to cancel the ticket because she was no help and I was not going to run around all night (last night in Lagos) to get a silly fax sent. I went back on the computer and booked one of the first flights I saw. Obviously nothing as cheap as the first one and I am broke and angry just thinking about it.
Either way it didn't matter because I got my ticket home and I got to enjoy my last night out with my fellow princess palacer's! Attempted another power hour and got to see Lexy's wheels out again! Ladies I am writing this just for you to read this haha .... "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey goodbye!"
The girls in my dorm are great, or shall I say the princess' in the Princess Palace are great! Yes we got the Princess Palace for our dorm. The sheets have crowns and leopard print on them and each bed is named something different. Plus the room has air conditioning!(so nice to have) Out of fluke I got the princess bed which is very fitting because Sara means princess! Mama even pointed out the princess painted on the wall with a funnel in her left hand and a beer in her right hand. Being a princess in Lagos, I think that it was a very accurate painting.
Most of the others split up today to head to farther beach where you have to trek on a bus to get to. So that left Lexy (Canadian) and myself to hit the beaches closer to the hostel. We walked to a quite bay area today where the water was cleaner and where less people were. It was stunning, one of the nicer beaches I have seen on this trip without a doubt. Also we walked to it from a cliff, so you have to make your way down from the top. There is no road that connects the path so you don't hear any noise, no cars or music from restaurants. Makes it that much more relaxing!
Once I arrived back to the hostel I attempted to book my ticket home. Yes time to make the long trip back to Canada! Unfortunately stupid e-dreams (never go with that company, EVER) would not allow my ticket to process because I had to fax in copies of my credit card and passport etc. The fax machine at their office would not answer my fax so I couldn't get it through. I tried calling customer support where the lady refused to check the fax machine and basically gave me no solution to my problem. So I told her to cancel the ticket because she was no help and I was not going to run around all night (last night in Lagos) to get a silly fax sent. I went back on the computer and booked one of the first flights I saw. Obviously nothing as cheap as the first one and I am broke and angry just thinking about it.
Either way it didn't matter because I got my ticket home and I got to enjoy my last night out with my fellow princess palacer's! Attempted another power hour and got to see Lexy's wheels out again! Ladies I am writing this just for you to read this haha .... "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey goodbye!"
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Day 100
Day 100 was great! I met my dorm mates today. Two are from Italy and two are from Vancouver. One of the girls just graduated from Bishops University and we have a few friends in common. Funny how small the university is and how big the Bishops bubble goes. The girls from Italy live in Milano and speak good English. Which is two bonus' because a place to stay in Italy where I can talk to the girls is always, always good to have.
After meeting the girls and getting to know each other we headed out that night. After all it was my first night in Lagos and my 100th day of travels so I had excuses to head to the bars. Crazy over here. Definitely a party place. We headed for a power hour at one of the bars. We got a meal (burger and poutine) and unlimited beer for the hour we were there all for 9 euro. I left feeling extremely full after finishing my plate and trying to get as much beer as possible.
Went around to other bars in the town for the night and just enjoyed Lagos night life. Got beer spilled on my NEW top by a drunk guy! What can you expect in Lagos. Portugal is going well so far!
After meeting the girls and getting to know each other we headed out that night. After all it was my first night in Lagos and my 100th day of travels so I had excuses to head to the bars. Crazy over here. Definitely a party place. We headed for a power hour at one of the bars. We got a meal (burger and poutine) and unlimited beer for the hour we were there all for 9 euro. I left feeling extremely full after finishing my plate and trying to get as much beer as possible.
Went around to other bars in the town for the night and just enjoyed Lagos night life. Got beer spilled on my NEW top by a drunk guy! What can you expect in Lagos. Portugal is going well so far!
Day 99
Last day in Madrid was spent shopping! I figure I can capture some of that Spanish style and splurge on some clothes, which I managed to do effortlessly. The down side to this is my backpack is now full and I can't fit all my stuff anymore. I will have to look into buying another smaller bag for the flight home...which means more shopping!
I got on a night bus at midnight to reach Sevilla and from there I would get another bus to Lagos. The midnight bus was bad, the man sitting next to me smelled horrible and I could not fall asleep because there was this crazy man across from me who was yelling random things out and moving from the chairs to the floors every few minutes. Very strange and I could not sleep knowing he was still on the bus. Wish they kicked him off. Finally arrived in Sevilla at 6:30 in the morning where I had to wait an hour to catch my bus to Lagos. Reached Lagos just before noon. Lots and lots of time on a bus but once I got to see the beach I get to relax on for three days I perked up. Portugal is beautiful!
I got on a night bus at midnight to reach Sevilla and from there I would get another bus to Lagos. The midnight bus was bad, the man sitting next to me smelled horrible and I could not fall asleep because there was this crazy man across from me who was yelling random things out and moving from the chairs to the floors every few minutes. Very strange and I could not sleep knowing he was still on the bus. Wish they kicked him off. Finally arrived in Sevilla at 6:30 in the morning where I had to wait an hour to catch my bus to Lagos. Reached Lagos just before noon. Lots and lots of time on a bus but once I got to see the beach I get to relax on for three days I perked up. Portugal is beautiful!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Day 98
It was a quite Sunday. I woke up early to make it to the big market I heard about. It´s called El Rasto, and it covers several city blocks. The roads are shut down, police walk through the crowds (known for tons of pick pocketers), Vendors are shouting out numbers to the crowds, and you walk shoulder to shoulder. It was just about a 20 minute walk from my hostel which was a bonus and great fun to walk through. There was lots of antiques, clothes, jewellery and paintings, just like most markets but the size alone of this one makes it so great. I spent most of the morning walking in the crowds - no purchases were made other than one T-shirt. My backpack is almost full at this point so I have to be careful.
It became late afternoon, and the sun started to get really hot. It was boiling today so I made a direct route back to the hostel. Crashed on the bed in the hot room with only a little fan to try and keep me cool. Had a nice refreshing cold shower to cool me off and finally made it out of the dorm around five. I met an Australian girl (yes another Aussie- they flood the streets of Europe) named Vicki and we headed to the Parque del Retiro. Seven o´clock and it was still pretty hot outside but definitely more comfortable to walk around. We saw some very funny street groups and walked some of the grounds. Had a ice cream stop and made it back to the hostel to finish the night off with a movie...get this... in ENGLISH! I know seems weird but this was the first English program I have seen in a LONG time. Off to bed, hopefully this time the heat doesn´t wake me up!
It became late afternoon, and the sun started to get really hot. It was boiling today so I made a direct route back to the hostel. Crashed on the bed in the hot room with only a little fan to try and keep me cool. Had a nice refreshing cold shower to cool me off and finally made it out of the dorm around five. I met an Australian girl (yes another Aussie- they flood the streets of Europe) named Vicki and we headed to the Parque del Retiro. Seven o´clock and it was still pretty hot outside but definitely more comfortable to walk around. We saw some very funny street groups and walked some of the grounds. Had a ice cream stop and made it back to the hostel to finish the night off with a movie...get this... in ENGLISH! I know seems weird but this was the first English program I have seen in a LONG time. Off to bed, hopefully this time the heat doesn´t wake me up!
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