Thursday, March 10, 2011

Eurotrip: Day 19- 26 London, Bath, and Stonehenge

After an amazing trip in Italy, it was time to set out for London. I was realy excited to reunite with friends. In order to get there though I had to take a 15 and a half hour train ride from Rome to Paris and then switch train stations to catch the eurostar to London. Well all I can say was that was one interesting ride. I can laugh about it now, but at the time I was having a heart attack. I get on the train and a man offers to help me with my bag. Perfect, that was so nice of him. When he looks at my ticket to see which room I am in, he says "oh your with me". Secretly I am starting to freak out. This is an overnight train where I get a bed and go to sleep. When I made my reservation, the agent failed to mention he had booked me in a mixed male/female room and I was feeling very uncomfortable. Now I thought the situation could not get worse, but of course it did. Next walks in a 450 pound woman who is crying because she does not really fit down the halls and it was a clearly a very upsetting and humiliating walk to our room. She proceeds to take out the worst smelling fish I have ever smelt and it stunk up the room. Just after the walked in came another woman who felt compelled to say only one thing to me when she walked in "Me, Arab". I was not quite sure why that was relevant, but she felt that was the only thing I should know about her, since we had no language in common and therefore it was really difficult to communicate. To make a long story short, in the end the man ended up moving (thank god) and that made the situation a lot better. The large woman stopped crying and screaming into her phone at somebody and that made it easier to sleep. And as for the Arab woman, even without verbal communication we managed to be friends. We made eye contact about the smelly fish and then she sprayed perfume in the room. We also figured out that we both had to change from Paris Bercy train station to Gare du Nord and ended up splitting a cab ride. Now that it is all over I look back at this insane experience, but hard to deal with as it was happening.

Now for the good part London! London was amazing and I cannot thank my friends there enough for the hospitality they showed me. A friend of mine who is originally from London had his parents host me while I was in town. What made it awesome was that he was also visiting for the weekend. His family welcomed me like there own and made it so comfortable for me to be there. Also, I had previously met some of his friends from London who had come over to visit Toronto over the summer so it was great getting a chance to see all of them again. My first day in London I spent at the British Museum. Four hours later I had still not seen everything, but I had seen the things that I had gone to see and it was amazing. I stood and stared at the Rosetta Stone for quite some time marvelling at how instrumental this stone was in deciphering hieroglyphics and all we have learned because of that.




After that was Shabbat and a great get together on sat night with old and ne friends. Sunday my friends took me siteseeing in the city. It was great fun, not just because I got a hance to see the touristy sites with local "tourguides" but I got a chance to hang out with people that make smile. We had a fantastic day starting at Buckingham Palace which we got to just in time for the changing of the guard plus the flag was up so we know the Queen was in residence. After that we walked to Whitehall, then Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the London eye. At that point it started to rain so we went into a market where I picked up a few souveniers and then made our way to Maple Leaf (the Canadian bar). After that we went over to one of their friends places and watched the football game Birmingham vs, Arsenal. My first real introduction to the world of football by people who really follow it. I honestly had a great day :)



The next day I was heading out to Bath and was lucky enough to get a ride to Bristol which is a city very close to Bath and an easy train ride. The company was much better than taking the train :). Bath was one of those places that might seem off the beaten path for the usual trip to London, but I had been dying to see the Roman baths and they did not disappoint. They were every bit of amazing I had thought they would be. Water still flows into the baths and  it makes you want to just walk in. You could really get a picture of what the place would have looked like 2000 years ago. To really understand why this place has been so popular for thousands of years, I went and checked out the modern spa and spent time in the therapeutic waters. It was a perfect end to the day. The day after I went to stonehenge. I had wanted to do a whole day tour, but since it was winter and not many tourist go at that time, they were only offering the half day tour. It ended up being just perfect! I got to see stonehenge get guided around the area by someone who has spent his entire life in Bath and make new friends. I made friends with a girl around my age who was travelling around with her father. After the tour was over, we ended up going to one of the pubs in town and trying a pint of locally brewed beer. Even though I was travelling alone at this point, it didn't feel like it.



After Bath I went back to London for a day to see a friend from university who had moved out there and then I went to Brussels..... Stay tuned for more!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Eurotrip: Day 10-18 Barcelona, Venice, Florence, and Rome

I have been so busy lately that I have not had a chance to update on my adventures, and there is so much to tell! After France I took a 12 hour train ride to Barcelona. This was the first time I have ever taken an overnight train and it was a wonderful experience. I had an amazing time in Barcelona. It was the first time I have ever been in Spain and I loved it. I was only in town for a day and a half but I managed to see so much. I wandered down Las Ramblas, saw the local marked, took a walking tour of the Gaudi buildings, and saw Roman Barcelona (an underground museum of the archaeologial excavations of the Roman city). It was a lot to pack in but it was so worth it!
Barcelona Market
Gaudi


After Barcelona I hopped on a plane to Venice. Venice is an amazing and beautiful city. Carnivale officially started while I was there so it was amazing to see all the costumes and everyone walking in the streets with their masks on. Of course I had to buy a mask and add it to my collection. Last year when I was in new Orleans I bought a Mardi Gras mask. In Venice I had the chance to spend Shabbat at Gam Gam kosher restaurant which is run by the Chabad of Venice. It was such an amazing experience to put Jews from all around the world at one table and see how many people we have in common. As I sat down I looked at a couple and said "Aren't you the couple who helped me out at the airport"? Turns out it was! How amazing is that. Also, Murano is now one of my favorite places. Watching the glass blowers do their craft is a must see on any trip to Venice and the pieces they make are incredible and beautiful.



Rialto Bridge
After Venice I took the train to Florence for one day and a night. I fell in love with the city almost immediately. My first stop was the leather market. This is one of the best places I got to go during my travels. The scarves and the leather products are just amazing. I picked up a pair of torquoise leather gloves with rabbit fir inside for only 23 euros! This adds to the 2 pairs (pink and purple) of leather gloves I have purchased in Venice for 30 euros each. I picked up a few bright and colourful scarves which tends to be a conversation starter. I wandered through the streets and enjoyed the beauty as I tried (horribly) to find the Kosher market. In the end I hopped in a cab and five minutes later I was there. Florence is such a confusing city, but I loved having the time to just wander around. The next morning I had a few hours before my train to Rome so I hopped over to the Academia and had the chance to see Michelangelo's David. What a spectacular site to see. It is huge and amazing. Although my favorite sculpture is still Bernini.

After Florence I went to Rome for 2 days and one night. It was nice to wander the streets again after a few years since spemding 3 weeks living there on an exchange. I was surprised that even though I didn't know street names, I somehow managed to always know which direction I should be walking and make it to my destination. Since I only had a short amount of time I wanted to get in as much as I could. I showed  a friend around Piazza Navona and Campo de Fiori on our way to the Jewish Ghetto for dinner. Honestly I think that dinner was the best food I have eaten on my entire trip. The gnocchi literally melted in my mouth. Amazing :). The next day I went on a tour of the Vatican Museums which is incredible but exhausting. It took longer than anticipated and after that it was time to go pick up food and snacks for the 18 hour train I was embarking on. More on that in the next post.

swiss gaurd