Land of the Leprechaun

Jim has fallen in love and is leaving me, for Ireland.

The beginning of our journey to Ireland was extremely off-putting.  We booked our flight with Ryan air and received an email reminding us that we HAD to check in online and print up our own boarding passes. So the night before, at our London hotel, we attempted to do just that.  Jim managed to check in and receive his boarding pass via email - which he then printed off.  I tried checking in about seven times on three different computers but never received any confirmation, nor did I get a boarding pass. So I decided to just get it done the next morning at the airport.

When we arrived at the Ryan Air service desk and explained that their website would not allow me to check in or give me a boarding pass, she told us that there would be a thirty-Pound (about $60) fee to have her print off my boarding pass. We explained the situation again but she claimed to be unable to do anything about it.  She then told us that there would be yet another fee for her to check me in, since I hadn't done it.

"But it's a problem with your website - why I am paying for your company's errors?" I inquired.  She quickly responded, "you can go talk to the customer service desk."

So we trekked over to the service desk only to be told what we already knew - that Jim was checked in and had printed his boarding pass.  Anyways, to make a long and depressing story short, it ended up costing me seventy pounds ($140) to have them check me in and print off my boarding pass.  I won't lie...I cried a little.  That's criminal.  And we had to pay $40 each to check a bag.  So all in all, the trip from Paris to Dublin cost us roughly $900!!!!

After some fuming and ranting, we let it go in order to just enjoy the fact that we were now in Ireland. And it's great here!  Jim keeps saying that he feels right at home - must be the Irish blood running through his veins.  But then again, like Anthony the bartender at O'Brien's said, "everyone has a relative in Ireland."

Bartender Anthony.

He belongs here!

Because it's St. Patrick's Day tomorrow the festivities are in full swing.  There are carnival rides set up in the street and people in green everywhere.  Tomorrow should be a bit of a mess (or so we're told) but we're going to brave it and head downtown to partake in the party.  After that, we'll make our way to Killarney!

Fish and Chips

Well, we spent our last night in Paris having a pint of Strongbow at the Great Canadian Bar down by the Louvre.  What?  We needed to get out of the house and enjoy the evening a little - without spending an arm and a leg at some French restaurant.  And it's not that we're cheap.  It's just that earlier in the day we spent 180-Euro on train tickets to London and another 400-Euro on plane tickets to Dublin.  We went with Ryan Air, the discount Irish airline that claims to offer the best price on flights.  Sure, until they start to nickle and dime you with the extra baggage fees, service fees, etc.  We feel slightly taken advantage of on this leg of the trip.

At the Great Canadian Bar in Paris

And then we arrive in England where everything is ridiculously expensive and you don't feel like eating anything or going anywhere for fear of getting monetarily...abused.  After catching the eight o'clock a.m. train to London, the city train to Gatwick, and a twenty-dollar, five-minute cab ride to our hotel we decided to simply crash.  We passed out immediately in our over-heated little airport hotel room and slept for four hours.

We then walked to Gatwick's quaint town centre and found a little cafe that served huge meals for five pounds.  Score!  Two giant coffees, a fish and chips and double burger later we were ready to retire for the evening to do a bit more planning.  You see, after almost being denied entry into England because we hadn't any proof of our flight plans to Ireland (we have no printer to print the tickets), we decided to spend some time at the hotel business centre and print  up any important documents.

The biggest coffees we've had yet!

Fish and chips? Yes please.

Downtown Gatwick.

So that's where we are at.  Tomorrow morning we arrive in Dublin - just in time for St. Patrick's day!!!!

Paris, I love You...

...except for the allergies you have triggered in me.  Yes, Paris in spring is lovely.  Gardens are beginning to bloom and birds are courting their mates ever so boisterously from the trees that are about to leaf-out.  Unfortunately for some, spring also means allergies.  I have been on some form of antihistamine every day for the past week.  My eyes are so itchy I can barely open them and I am sneezing every thirty seconds (Jim tolerates it well as he is invincible and is affected by nothing. Ever.).  And quite frankly, it's tiring.  I tire out much more quickly when I'm doped up and sniffing all day.  Despite my exhaustion however, we have been walking this town up and down over the past couple of days in order to discover all that it has to offer - and there is a lot!

A couple of days ago we packed a picnic lunch and hit up the Museum of Natural History and its Nuit (night) exhibit.  Combined with the museum is the Grande Gallery of Evolution.  For a mere twelve Euros each, we walked from room to room looking at small stuffed critters of the night and learning about the moon and the stars.  We then admired floor upon floor of stuffed, molded and preserved sea life, plant life, and a stampede of African wildlife.  From there we walked through the gardens towards the river where we sat on a grassy knoll and enjoyed our homemade baguettes and mini-bottles of wine.

Jim playing with the interactive monster screen.

Wine time!

Slightly intoxicated (me, not so much Jim) we boarded the boat taxi that slings tourists along the river between major attractions such as Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and so on. We disembarked at the Champs de Elysees and walked past the shops displaying their expensive clothing, hybrid cars, and extravagant chocolates.  The walk ended at the Arc de Triomphe.  Hitler marched his armies through the Arc (arch) and down the Champs de Elysees in order to declare his victory over France.  Jim was pretty excited to be there and took over the camera duties while I sat slumped on a railing, unable to breathe or open my eyes.

My sunglasses just broke and I am dead tired.

We then caught the boat once more and enjoyed the rest of the tour from the water.  Dinner was had at a teeny tiny Indian restaurant down the street.  I think we were one of three tables they had served that evening.  They chatted to us and were extremely friendly, finishing the dinner with a free cheese naan bread. Later that evening I treated Jim to a night out at a small jazz club where we were able to watch a sax player that Jim has always enjoyed, Rick Margitza.

The following day we hoofed it by foot to the Louvre (about a 35-minute walk).  The streets were lined with hundreds of small gift kiosks selling old artwork, books, and of course small keychains of the Eiffel Tower.  The sun was shining and people were smiling.  As a sidenote, I'd like to state that we feel very fortunate to have only had one day of rain over the course of our entire trip...nothing but sunshine and lollipops!  

We were expecting a massive line-up at the Louvre as it was one o'clock on a Thursday.  But to our surprise there were less than thirty people standing in line.  Great!  We walked right in and Jim lead the way - from the Mona Lisa to the Venus de Milo.  We saw Napoleon's apartments with their lavish decor an fine art and walked through courtyards of beautiful sculptures.  After an hour or so we had seen all of the things we really wanted to see and decided to get away from the crowds for a while before heading to the Eiffel Tower.

No line at the Louvre!

Napoleon's dining room.

I had assumed walking through side streets would yield a few cheaper cafes for lunch - too bad the side streets we chose led us through one of the most expensive areas of the city.  We grabbed a sandwich from a food truck in a park and chilled out on the grass before walking to the Eiffel Tower.

When we arrived there were pretty big line-ups to get to the top of the tower.  People are encouraged to reserve a time and pre-purchase tickets online.  Normally, we would have done this except for the fact that we can't print the tickets and we don't have a phone to send the digital code to. C'est la vie!  We admired it from the ground and after a few photo opportunities, headed home.

It has been a full three days and we need to sit on our butts for a day.  Our feet are so sore (36 km walked over the past two days) we can barely stand. We'll use today as a planning day - how to get to Ireland for less than $500.  Hmmmmmm.

Time to relax.

Baguettes and Bicycles

Who knew I would like Paris?  I certainly didn't.  It's too big I thought - too noisy, too many people, too much pollution and way too touristy.  But we have only been here for four hours and I am already very taken with it.  There must be something in the air here - besides the smog and giant pigeons.

There are cliches everywhere.  Girls with long flowing hair riding bicycles with baguettes in their baskets.  People sharing a cigarette and a bottle of wine at the river Seine's edge. And older couples dancing in pairs on the promenade at night.  At times, it all seems like a little bit too much, but then again, this is the city of romance...and wine, baguettes and cigarettes.

Guy and his guitar.

Couples dancing.  Just because.

We arrived at the train station ready to face yet another navigational challenge.  Of course, we were mildly lost at first but eventually found our way to the Latin quarter where our quaint little apartment rental awaited.  Unfortunately, the staff member that was to greet us at the front door at 3:00 pm was not awaiting us, as was expected.  So we waited half an hour on the street until a young woman came to check us in.  She walked us into an older apartment building and led us up the wooden spiral staircase to a green door.  She slipped the key into the lock and pushed open the door with a gasp.  Somebody was still in OUR room!  She closed the door and looked frantically at the door to the right. "Maybe it is supposed to be this one?"

After a few phone calls and some apologizing we ended up in the apartment next door.  While it is located directly above a small Irish pub, it is also almost twice the size of the original apartment and we don't have to pay extra for it.  So in the end, we totally won.

Pretty cute - the apartment ain't bad either.

We then grabbed some groceries and wine and headed towards the centre of the city for a stroll along the river.  Beautiful gardens filled with people drinking wine and playing guitar lined the edges of the busy Seine.  In the distance we heard church bells and followed the sound to the one and only Notre Dame.  Very impressive piece of architecture, if I do say so myself.  The sun set on the front of the church, indicating it was time to head off.  On the walk back we came across the "love lock" bridge, covered top to bottom in locks of every size and colour.  Not having one with us, we just used white-out to cover another couple's names and scratched in ours with my eye liner.  OK, not really.  If we can find a lock to buy we'll be sure to stick it up there!

Of all the locks along the bridge, Jim picks out the only Oilers one and gives me a high-five.

Tonight we're dining in so we can cook a healthy meal for once.  Even though I am walking up to eighteen kilometers a day I still feel like a jiggly bowl of jelly has made a home of my belly.  I just want some roasted veggies damnit!

Bern Bears

There hasn't been much to report on over the last few days.  We arrived in Bern, Switzerland in the dark and only realized we had reached the mountains when hoards of skiers clambered on the train. Walking through the train station we were surrounded on all sides by university-aged crowds dressed in full costumes.  Once again, it was Carnival.  This festival was in celebration of the end of winter and lasted for three days - we were catching the tail end of it.

Day two was designed to be a rest day.  We decided to rent some bikes and ride around town at a leisurely pace, sipping on beer and feasting on pretzels and bratwurst along the way.  Unfortunately, we arrived at the bike rental place about thirty seconds too late and missed out on their last two bikes.  So we walked around town instead.  Our weary feet took us past hundreds of shops - all of which were closed as it was Sunday.  The air was brisk but the sun was shining and birds sang from every tall tree that lined the pathway.  We wandered along the great Aar river where mergansers, swans and mallards foraged in the shallows.

The Aar River that winds through Bern.

We then found ourselves peering over the edge of the city's bear pits where we were able to watch three brown (grizzly) bears doing whatever it is bears do - mostly sleeping.  It was kind of strange, but neat at the same time.  We strolled through the Old Town, past more closed tourist shops and by noon we had hit the wall.  I don't know if it's the air here or the fact that we're worn down and carb-intoxicated but we have zero energy.  Walking up a sloped street takes the wind out of us and our legs barely lift off the ground. Two short hours of strolling knocks us out cold.  It's a strange phenomenon, but perhaps it's simply caused by a month of constant motion and a whole lot of bread.

The bear dens along the river.

I spent the afternoon at Starbucks reworking my resume and slowly savoring my seven-Euro coffee. That's right, I said seven. That is approximately $10.50 Canadian.  What the hell?  Jim played clarinet - well he tried, but after realizing he brought the wrong reeds he struggled to do anything but play air clarinet - and enjoyed his twelve-Euro street donair lunch.  Later that evening we had to walk to the train station just to find an open food vendor so I could get a sandwich and Jim could buy some delicious Swiss chocolate.

CHOCOLATE!

Today we took a train down to Interlaken.  It's absolutely beautiful there and reminded us a great deal of Canmore.  It's a little tourist town located between two lakes and is surrounded on all sides by snow-covered mountains.  

A cafe in Interlaken.

Horse stables right int the middle of town!

Coming into Interlaken on the train.

Switzerland in general reminds us of home; people are kind, it's clean, and everything is very orderly. The landscape is also very similar with fields of green, pastures filled with cows and horses, forested river valleys and rocky mountains.  And it's environmentally conscious!  There are more bicycles here than I have seen in all of Calgary combined and between the buses, trams and trains there is really no need to own a car (which seem fairly rare on the streets here).

One of the underground bicycle parking lots.

We had no real plans in Interlaken, so we just walked towards the forest and found a lovely hiking trail that followed a river for miles along the base of a mountain.  We saw so many birds (including a Dipper!) and wildflowers that only come out in the spring.  Wooden, cabin-like homes filled the air with smoke from the wood-fired stoves all along the valley.  The weather was perfect and at times we felt as though we were walking through Kananaskis Country on a warm spring afternoon.

One of the bigger homes.

On the hiking trail.

Feeling refreshed but still exhausted, we returned to Bern and booked our train reservation to Paris tomorrow.  It was so expensive we thought the teller may have misunderstood us.  But when he repeated our request in near-perfect English we had no choice but to smile and hand over the cash.  

Switzerland, you are lovely but we simply can't afford to appreciate you any further.

Italy and the Cinque Terre

Five little towns along Italy's northern coast were calling to me. Throughout my research on Italy, this area was noted as one of the "not to be missed" sights.  So we took the train to La Spezia, Italy and hiked the Cinque Terre.

The train left Nice at 9:22 a.m. on Thursday.  Yet for some reason, we had it in our heads that it left at 9:55.  So yes, we missed it.  But we did manage to get on to another train, the very regional train at 9:59.  We knew we had to ride this crappy train until Ventimiglia at the border.  There, we would transfer to another train that would take us to Genova where we would transfer once again to La Spezia.  Unfortunately, because we missed the 9:22 train, we also missed the correct Ventimiglia transfer.  And so, as a direct consequence of our lack of attention to detail we ended up riding a train for two and a half extra hours - a train that had the most uncomfortable chairs.  A train that offered the most vile and disgusting toilet in all the land.  A train that acted as a local school bus, filling with loud-mouthed, rowdy school children for five straight stops.  And a train that stopped roughly thirty-five times over the course of our seven-hour journey.  Talk about a milk run.

Sitting in these for 7 hours was no fun.

We arrived at La Spezia around 6:00 p.m. to crowded streets; people buying clothing, sipping on espressos and snacking on focacchia.  We found our bed and breakfast (which was lovely, and more like an apartment) then set off in search of a true Italian dinner.  Our host recommended a great seafood place that ONLY cooked seafood and was reasonably priced.  We followed her advice and showed up for supper at around 7:00 pm - he had just opened and we were asked to wait ten minutes while he prepared the kitchen.  So of course, we ordered some local white wine and nibbled on fresh baked focacchia.  No menus were presented but he did explain what dishes were available in broken English.  I ordered the grilled squids and salad and Jim had the mixed seafood linguine.  Both were delightful. We then bought some groceries and returned home for the evening.

Today we set off on our hike through the Cinque Terre.  We should have expected the bad news but had hoped our bad luck with construction would not follow us to Italy.  Due to landslides the main coastal trail was closed for repair!  This is THE trail to hike from town to town.  There are other trails but they are higher in the hills and harder to navigate.  We were prepared to hike for at least five hours so we settled on some of the other hiking trails.

The maps were terrible so we just followed the painted yellow rocks as we climbed our way to the ridge that ran behind the first town, Monterosso.  It was hot outside and not a cloud could be found.  We climbed and climbed and climbed up a rocky little trail that led to a church.  Once at the top we could see the second town, Vernazza.  We followed the trail leading towards the town before deciding last minute to skip the village visit and stay high on the hills until we reached the next town.  Unfortunately, we got lost and ended up just following a very steep and winding road back down.  A kind young couple from Malaga, Spain gave us a lift into Vernazza.

One of the trails leading up.

Vernazza.

From there, we discovered that a large portion of the coastal trail was still open.  So we joined onto it via seven thousand steps climbing upward.  Seriously, they JUST KEPT GOING.  It was so frigging steep, and hot, and fortunately very stunning.  We weaved through olive orchards and vineyards, old farmhouses built into steep cliff walls and forests of oak, pine and wildflowers. The ocean was to our right and people tended to their orchards on our left.  It was wonderful.

Some of the orchards and farmyards along the way.

Looking at Corniglio and in the far distance, Riomaggiore.

By the time we reached the third town of Corniglia we were completely wiped.  Our joints ached, our skin was burned and we'd run out of water hours earlier.  So we caught the train and rode it back to La Spezia for a quality pasta dinner.

Italy is wonderful and it's kind of exciting just being here: the language, the food, the wine, and the countryside are all worthy of more time.  Unfortunately, we have already booked a place in Bern, Switzerland for tomorrow night so we're off again.  Maybe we'll actually sit down for a moment there.