I'm headed from Helsinki, Finland (Suomi!), to Tallinn, Estonia. I'm already 1.5 months and 10 countries into my 6 months of travel, so this initial blog post is waaaaay overdue. But I had a lack of motivation until now, so let's get going.
I'm going to recap where I've been and some of the major things I've done so far, and impart some wisdom I've gathered along the way! This post will be longer than the rest, so bear with me.
ICELAND aka "The Disorganized"
So, this country was amazing. But it was also a giant clusterf*ck! I had pre-booked everything for our arrival, and had maps for directions, etc. While trying to figure out which shuttle to get on was hard enough, once the shuttle arrived at the depot and we were supposed to transfer to mini-shuttles, any semblance of order that was left went out the window. There was about 150 mini buses with ZERO indication of which one to get on. About 30 of us were milling about trying to sort out what to do. After FINALLY getting someone's attention, he told us we could just get back on the big bus with him. What!? So there was like 5 of us on this massive bus and I wasn't about to try and explain to anyone else. So basically, this country needs me to whip it into shape. Numbers, lists, tickets and signage go a LONG WAY Iceland.
Other fun things to note:
- The hot water in Iceland smells like rotten eggs. Like - horrible. Its because of the sulphur, and its all heated naturally. The cold water comes from a different source (spring), and is DELICIOUS to drink. Even boiling the hot water doesn't get rid of the sulphur smell and inevitable taste.
- Iceland pumps all the hot water to Reykjavik underground in a pipe system. It takes ten minutes to get there and only loses about 2 degrees. Since the pipes are underground & give off heat, they run them under the downtown streets so there's NO ICE OR SNOW ON THEM IN THE WINTER. These vikings are all geniuses.
- I forgot my expensive sunglasses (like $3 from Target) at the Blue Lagoon.
- The Scandinavian countries love their hotdogs! The ones in Iceland have a really good mustard on them that makes them delicious
United Kingdom aka "Give me all your money and get out of my way!"
I was here with a special purpose - bridesmaidery. That's right, I've made it a verb. First we flew into Manchester. It was raining, but I did have an AMAZING nap there. So go to Manchester if you want to get a good nap in. After that, we took the train to Liverpool where we were greeted by the Bride & Groom (to be, at that time...) and we were REUNITED AND IT FELT SO GOOD! There were a lot of tears throughout the week, but it was AMAZING. I was so honoured to stand up next to my oldest friend (in years, not age, but she is getting up there *cough*almost30*cough*).
The week was amazing as well because I got to meet the other 3 bridesmaids and their husbands, where applicable. I made really great friends in that group and i'm so happy to have met all of them. (We also determined I really cannot communicate with people from the Northern UK. Does not compute.)
After Liverpool, Mom & I headed for London. If any of you are ever planning to travel to the UK, BRING SO MUCH MONEY! Everything is basically highway robbery. APART FROM MY NEW OBSESSION, PRIMARK! I love it so much. Can't even cope. I bought Minion PJs. And then cat PJs. And then a dress for a wedding in Ireland... ok I'm getting off track. London was great, but not my favourite. I got to see some old friends which was wonderful, take a great Jack the Ripper tour, visit Notting Hill... and OH! We saw the Queen! Like the Queen of England! Liz! Good times.
Other fun things to note:
Other fun things to note:
- There are two Second Cup locations in the UK! I saw both (both by accident). They even have a Canadian flag in their logo!
- The Universal Music UK office was right near our hotel, which I thought was funny (and will be funnier in a later post!)
- The Tower of London is SO COOL except when it's a downpour and you're trying to see everything before it closes and/or you miss your train to Paris (which we did.)
- EVERYTHING IS BANANAS EXPENSIVE
- People walk where they want here - including but not limited to DIRECTLY THROUGH ME. I was convinced by the end that I must have looked pale and they thought I was a ghost.
France aka "CHEAP CHEESE & WINE = heaven!"
PARIS! OUI OUI OUI!
I was obsessed with Paris from the moment we got there. It was like midnight, and I was having a hard time getting us an uber but I didn't care. As soon as we got in the car and I got the opportunity to start using my French, I was in love (also if I remember correctly, our uber driver was pretty good looking with a nice ride). We got to our Airbnb which was on the 7th floor, but it had an elevator. The elevator only took you to the 6th floor, but no bother right? Until we saw that the elevator was essentially a vertical coffin! It was soooo tiny. The first time I took it I almost had a panic attack (I stupidly walked in facing the wall which had a mirror, but didn't help). I had my backpack on so couldn't turn around and had to back out. But ANYWAYS it turned out fine. Our Airbnb was cute & quaint, and in a great neighbourhood. We walked, had gallettes, crepes, croque-monsieurs, baguettes, cheese, wine, macarons, and croissants, oh MY! We also took a great boat tour of the River Seine, and a couple of walking tours.
All in all, a place I love love love.
All in all, a place I love love love.
Other fun things to note:
- Wine & cheese are SO CHEAP I COULDN'T COPE! Seriously bought a bottle of wine for the equivalent of $1.50 and a wheel of cheese for like $3. Add a baguette and you have $7 bliss.
- The UK & France have so much history it's crazy. It's weird to think of the fact that Canada has only been a country for less than 150 years.
- Did I mention how cheap wine & cheese are?
OK I've only gone through 3 countries and I'm tired (plus I paid into the "all you can drink" lounge on the ferry so I need to focus on that for the next hour.
Next post: Belgium, Netherlands and Germany!
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