The Footsteps We Have Traveled

Canadian Road Trip

2011-02-02T20:08:00.000-08:00

Many years ago, like way back in 2001, my parents decided to be brave and shove 2 kids, a tent, camping supplies and a lot of in-car games in a van and drive from Northern Ontario to the west-most point in Canada, Tofino B.C.

There wan't really a plan, we had one due date and it was that we needed to be in Calgary on a specific date to meet my uncle during his week off work.

We followed the Trans Canada Highway not knowing where we were going to spend the night and what we were going to see. Through Ontario there wasn't too much to see, since most of the Ontario sights are down in the southern part of the province.

Ontario took us three days to get through, and the only place where we decided to be tourist-y was in Wawa where we saw the Terry Fox memorial and the Giant Goose.

In Manitoba we stopped at the first information station to ask what there is to see on highway 1...

Although Ontario took us three days to get through, we only spent one night in Manitoba, we hit Saskatchewan

I don't quite remember, I remember one of my favorite things was the Al Capone bootlegging tunnels in Moose Jaw, there were two tours and I was happy to do both, the first one was more educational. The first guide took us through the tunnels and talked about the Chinese who were exploited to make the coast to coast railroad. The second one was my favorite which was the Al Capone bootleg part of the tunnels.

When things got too hot in Chicago, Al Capone would come hide out in Moose Jaw, he built the tunnels to be able too move moonshine from place to place without getting caught, the tour was a mini play where we were part of the cast learning how to work as a bootlegger for Al Capone.

From what I remember we actually spent the night in Jasper... or was it in Jasper where we couldn't stay because we were in a tent and there were bear. Either way we visited Jasper National Park, which is quite beautiful.

For those who know Canada we are now hitting Alberta, we visited the huge tipi in Medicine Hat. That is about it until we hit Calgary where we meet up with the rest of the family, we spent a few days there. We visited Callaway Park, an attraction park with rides and what not, we went to the Calgary zoo. We got lucky that we got there during the Calgary Stampede, it was hot as sin but we made it through. Other than the random things around the grounds of the stampede we were able to watch the chuck wagon races.

We had the chance of having a neighbor who's dad owns a farm with cattle out in the outskirts of Calgary, he gave us a tour of his giant farm and we got to play with calves and horses, as well as see the process they go though before they're even thought as for food.

I will continue this family adventure later!

Happy New Year

2011-01-03T17:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the hiatus but it was exam time and holiday time so I was quite busy with the hubble bubble of that.

I hope everyone had a great time this Holiday season, and I wish you have a happy new year. As my first post of the new year I've decided to share with you three trips that will be happening this year (2 of the 3 for sure).

In March, my sister, my mom, my aunt and I are going down to Toronto to see Lady Gaga in concert. I know it's not an extreme trip but it will still be and adventure. The concert is March 3rd so we will probably be seeing the sites in Toronto, because you know what they say you know they say about traveler; you know the least about the country you live in. I lived a big part of my life less than an hour away from Toronto and have never seen the CN tower up close, so we will be doing that, and hopefully some shopping too.

In May and June I will be almost half-way around the world in Nepal. In this completely foreign country where I know no one and only one member of my family has visited. I will be in Nepal for almost 2 months. Most of my time will be spend volunteering as a physiotherapist for a month and a half and than an extra week or so to travel about in the country and hopefully on of the ones beside it, that aren't India or China because I want more time for those which a week in the areas around Nepal would not quench my travel thirst for those countries. When I go I have a few goals, that is to ride an elephant and see Everest. I am so exited and scared for this one and it's getting closer and closer every time. I am also exited to celebrate my birthday in another country, mostly that Nepaleese birthday celebrations for adults is unclear, for children they place colourful rice on their forehead for luck... that I am not really looking forward to.

This third trip is not for certain yet but the 3 girls in the family are all for, we just have to get my dad to agree. We are planning to go somewhere hot with great beaches for Christmas this year. My mom and I are leaning towards Aruba, my sister doesn't care.

That's it for my trips of 2011, well the planned ones. As for the rest of my family they are also a bunch of travelers, my sister is going to spend a month with Hero Holidays in the Dominican Republic to build houses and make the lives of the residents easier. My parents are planing to take their new trailer to the Maritimes for a few weeks and my grandparents are going on a 30 day cruise to the Hawaii and Fiji areas.

I hope your 2011 is full of adventures and love.

Backpacking Backpack

2010-12-17T18:07:00.000-08:00

With more trips in the way I have decided to leave my suitcase behind and start looking for good backpack for backpacking. With the information I've gathered I'm now going to share these tips with you. Mostly now that I've learned that a simple school bag won't do. Like 3 countries in 6 days across Europe, just saying not the most enjoyable.

From what I knew from my education, I am kinesiology major, which means that i know a lot about the human body and ergonomics. I can alway tell you to reduce the weight from your shoulders with straps at the waist and the bust, if there are some with the lumbar bump it's even better this will help distribute the weight and will make it less painful. Remember that any time you increase the weight of the pack over 30% of your body weight it changes your walk which really isn't good for you. From what I know this is what I found:

As I have said you want to make sure the weight is distributed all over, and it's better on the hips.

Make sure everything is adjustable, from the shoulder, bust and hip straps to the backpack's pouches itself.

Don't be cheap, look for good seaming, strong fabrics, well made zipper etc. Because if you go cheap, your backpack will break and you will have to spend more money one a new one instead of just getting a good one.

Try it on at the store to make sure it fits, if the shop assistants are nice you could probably ask if you can stuff the pack with stuff to see how it fells stuffed.

You don't need a huge backpack, you should be okay with a maximum of 6000 cubic inches of space.

Make sure you get a backpack for the type of backpacking you're doing, if you plan on camping on your travels you can get the ones with the loops at the bottom for a mattress but if you don't plan to use it to go camping you don't need these.

Don't go for a fully loaded model, the extra pockets, straps, zippers, elastics or whatever it may be just adds weight and gives you more places to misplace your stuff, you don't know how many times this has happened to me. Plus chances of these extras breaking are just so much greater and may cheat you of space in your pack.

Make sure it's waterproof or has a bag to put on the top of it because no one wants their stuff to get wet when they're trekking.

These are just guidelines but I hope they help. Now to face the world and find the pack to do it. Good luck to you on your adventures and until I share my next adventure.

It's Christmas morning and I got my back pack (yay!) I followed all the steps, I'm making sure i can fit everything I might need in it and I adjusted all the straps accordingly (FYI it's a 50L ASOLO, all it needs is a few Canadian flags and i'm good to go)

Road Tip Tips

2010-12-12T18:21:00.000-08:00

With the upcoming holiday season I know many people will be traveling somewhere out of town some further than others so i thought I would post some travel tips for those of you planing a road trip.

1. Get the oil changed and your fluids checked before you leave.
2. Go with someone you love. Or like. A lot. (mostly if you are going for a long one)
3. Take turns driving
4. Bring your own music (and a variety because you may have different tastes in music)
5. Bring sunglasses and sunscreen (you do not want that embarrassing diver's tan where just one arm is burn)
6. Avoid stupid traffic tickets (know the driving laws of the places you're visiting before going)
7. Bring your own food and drinks (you never know how far it is between the next rest stop and it can get expensive and unhealthy)
8. Bring garbage bags (if not the car get out of control and into a pig sty)
9. Get gas before you're empty (again you never know how close or far the next station is going to be, or if it's in the middle of no where it's going to cost an arm and a leg)
10. Use the bathroom every time you stop (pretty obvious)

11. MEN let the woman pee!!
12. Plan time for unexpected stop (mostly when you see something cool on the side of the road, or the time it takes to find a place to sleep)
13. Sleep (for your sake and all the drivers on the road please sleep, it's safer that way)
14. Avoid rush hour traffic (it's a waste of time and will only piss you off)
15. Bring a map (not a just a GPS because chances are it might be wrong or the batteries might die)
16. If you travel with kids bring them something to do (there is nothing worse in a car than bored kids)
17. Wear slip-on shoes (if anyone spends time in a car, unless they're driving and than you have to put them back on every time you stop and that's just a pain)
18. Have Fun

Road trips are supposed to rule and be full of memories that are unexpected you can plan your route but not your activities, those are the ones you will remember. On our next adventure I will be telling you about my family's road trip to the furthest point west in Canada, a 28 day camping road trip so stay tuned for that adventure.

Have your own great adventure this holiday!

Packing... packing... packing

2010-12-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

One thing I have learned from my travels is how to pack, what to pack and what I don't need to pack, today I share my wisdom with you. I would hope I know how to pack since I packed for a 6 day, 3 country tour in a school bag and didn't find myself in need of anything.

The generic stuff you need to pack is:
- Shirts (I go for 3/4 of the length of my trip, shirts can be easily washed in a sink and re-worn)
- Pants (1/2 of the length of the trip so 3 pairs for a 6 day trip)
- underwear (if you get them quick dry and easily compressible you can bring less)
- swimsuit (can also be used as an extra pair of undies)
- a dressy outfit (for girls a skirt or dress and for boys nice pants and either a dress shirt and polo)
- small but warm sweater
- a scarf of some kind (multi-use, blanket, scarf, head wrap, towel)

if you're staying in one hotel or a bus I suggest your bring a small backpack to use as a day pack... you can also use it as a carry-on bag

More random stuff that's often forgotten but almost always useful:
- Flashlight
- sewing kit
- Plastic baggies
- elastics/rubber bands
- baby wipes (for those times on a night train or plane where you need to feel clean, or a hotel that doesn't offer towels)
- tape of any kind
- flash drive
- gum (except in Singapore)
- door stop
- instant stain remover

for bathroom essentials:

- toothbrush and paste
- shaving stuff
- hair brush
- shampoo/conditioner (if you get 2 in one it's a space saver)
- soap
- condoms
- sunscreen

other things you may want to consider depending on the places you are going:
- detergent
- rope
- menstrual products (mostly if you are going off the beaten path)
- ear plugs and eye mask

I always bring my travel journal with all my information, allergies, blood type, address emergency contacts, schedule, and to write the details of my tips.

Paper work wise:
- passport
- visa
- money
- driver's licence
- health card
all of these with copies with me and at home

If you are brining electronics you have to remember all the accessories
- memory card
- chargers
- download cable
- adapters

I hope this made your life a bit easier. I found this list on the internet and it really helps.
Also for the fun test your traveler IQ on this link.

Until the next adventure!

Australia 2005 part 3

2010-12-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

On the third par of the journey we took a flight to Port Douglas where we rented an apartment for a week, just a two minute walk from the beach. The funny thing to us was that the complex was called "Nimrod" apartments which our Aussie family didn't find as funny, but I guess that's the way it is.

We got to visit the gorgeous beaches of north-eastern Australia. Going one way we didn't know why this perfect little path wasn't very traveled, but we used it anyways, on the way back on the path we used to go one way there was a "beware of salt water crocodiles" sign... needless to say we used another path because salt water crocodiles are some of the most dangerous animals on earth, the are also very persistent. While on the beach we got to go swimming in the ocean and we checked out some guys learning to kite surf, which is incredible to watch and made me want to learn one day.

The next day we ordered a seafood plater before heading off on our snorkeling ride. The platter included crab, lobster, oysters, clams, and some kind of raw fish. We joined the quick silver catamaran to go out to the great barrier reef to snorkel. It was such a great feeling, the fish we say the coral, the beauty of everything, it was mesmerizing. It literally felt like the colours were fake they were so bright and gorgeous. Of course being in Australia where anything can kill you we had to watch out for jellies but no one had problems with this. We got back to shore go in the car we rented, which was entertaining because they drive on the right and nearly every time my dad when to put his turning signal on he would put the windshield whippers on instead. Either way, we pick up the tray and brought it back to our apartment, we were so hungry and it looked so delicious we ended up eating standing around the corner until there were only the pickled oysters left (yuck).

Next we visited the Australian bird sanctuary, they had bird from every corner of Australia. We got to learn about the Cassuary a bird that's comparable in size and shape to the emu but with a giant claw on the middle toe which they use as a weapon and have killed humans before. A funny story that keeps getting shared withing the family about the sanctuary is that when we went out into the emu habitat, one charged at us and stopped at out toes to get some of the bird food we had, it was really scary because those are huge birds with sharp beaks and they run flipping fast!

We next joined a tour groups which lead us all over the corner of the land down under. The guide took us to see the rain forest where he scared the bejesus out of us by showing us all the dangerous things in the jungle, and thrust me there are A LOT, "this leaf can kill you... that butterfly can kill you... shh, I hear a cassuary... it can kill you... this is a good place to swim because we can see the bottom and further down... there are crocodiles they can kill you..." I think you get the picture. The swimming was really wonderful because there were tea leaf trees lining the creek, which was clear as glass, and it made your skin super soft.

with out guide we went on a river boat cruise to see crocodiles and got some information about those creatures as well as good laughs because of the captain who would like to point out the buddy system, "If we sink, take a buddy and shove him towards the crocodile than swim really really fast... Parents, please do the same with your children"

We finished that day at a beach with our tour guide who freak out when he saw what one of the kids who was with us picked up, thankfully it was empty but apparently this shell that was no longer than 10cm would contain a little crab, who's method of defense was to sting the predator, the predator would than be instantaneously be paralyzed and the only way to keep them alive until the ambulance came would be to do CPR, same with box jelly fish.

We then flew back to Sydney to spend a bit more time with the family before we came back to Canada because we wouldn't see them for another 5 years.

Until the next adventure!

1- our rented car in font of "Nimrod apartments" because I can't make this stuff up. 2- my sister and I at the beach with a wind surfer in the background 3- a cassuary 4- the emu that attacked us.

Australia 2005 part 2

2010-11-29T19:58:00.000-08:00

On the second leg of our journey we embarked on a bus tour of the red center starting in Alice Springs. How the tour worked is we stayed at a hotel for a night and the mini-bus would come to pick us up in the morning. Well we stayed at a backpacker's "resort". Resort was a stretch because it was disgusting. The beds were so gross we slept on top of the covers with our pants tucked into our socks, there was a 2 inch crack under the door the window wouldn't shut, the shower leaked... at least there was pressure. The barbecue was delicious but we had to clean the dishes and the uncleaned dishes would just get scrapped clean by the gunky hands of a biker guy.

We were happy to get on the bus in the morning. The plan was to visit the whole center followed by our awesome guide... I think his name is Mike. Either way we visited all the great sites there are to see in this province. We visited the Olgas the rock formation across for the famous Ayer rock, also known as Uluru. We got to see the sunset on the mountain, which is unbelievable. If you turn around and turn back every few minutes you get to see a magnificent change of colour on the originally orange rock. During the sunset we got to see it go from deep red to a dark purple and everything in between it was glorious. The following day we climbed Ayers rock. Many people in the group didn't because of religious reasons on the side of the aboriginals who find the rock sacred. The climb took us less time than the climb down because of the incline of the hill we had to be very careful because the only "safely measure" is this knee high chain. It was an accomplishment to get to the top and we were so proud.

The tour was one where we slept in pre-made tents, we also had to help with supper and clean up but it worked out great because we got to talk to the people in the group who were from all around the world. There were americans, germans, aussies, and kiwis.

We visited this gorgeous oasis called the garden of Eden, which was hidden within this canyon. I can't remember exactly where we went but we did a lot of hiking and we were very lucky that we went on this adventure in the aussie winter because it was perfect weather for hiking. Their summer would have reached 40degres which would have been way too hot for a good time of climbing.

While in the center we got to visit an aboriginal village and got to learn about their culture as well as their crafts.

I recommend to anyone who is planning to visit Australia at anytime to take one of these tours, you can do one like we did where you're on a mini-bus or you can be on a big greyhound/coach style bus while staying in lush hotels the whole way.

Until the last leg and until the next adventure!

The picture I posted: 1. my sister and I in front of Uluru, 2. climbing down Uluru, 3. our mini-bus. 4. do you see the crocodile? one of the rock formations we saw while on our hikes, 4. the changes of colour of Uluru it gets even darker but I can only fit 4 pictures here

Australia 2005 part 1

2010-11-23T08:03:00.000-08:00

Quite a few years ago my family and I had an adventure of a lifetime by going to visit my uncle and his family in the Land Down Under. You will have to bear with me if the details are lacking because it was many trips and many years ago.

My parents started planning the trip about a year before we actually departed. The plan was to visit as much of the country within the month we would be there, as well as spend some time with our family. You have to understand that the trip itself is very long, just by plane from San Fransisco to Sydney was an eighteen hour flight, and in cattle/economy class it was very uncomfortable. This was also before the time of individual televisions on every seat. Either way, when we got to Sydney our biological clocks were 14 hours behind but we had barely slept on the plane and we were exhausted, it was 6am and our day was beginning by my aunt, uncle and the 3 kids coming to pick us up at the airport. My uncle lives approximately an hour south of Sydney, unfortunately the name escapes me right now, but either way it's a gorgeous city right by the ocean. To keep us awake we walk all over the city, mainly following the shoreline which is a two minute walk from my uncle's house.

It was their winter, which meant it was somewhere around 15 to 20 Celsius which didn't bother us being Canadian, but for them it was freezing. For the first week we spend a lot of time at my uncle's house. We did make sure to visit Sydney where we saw all the major sites, we went to the fish market to have some fresh fish and chips, spent almost a whole day at the Sydney Aquarium

We took a guided tour of the Sydney opera house, which was very interesting because while we were doing the tour the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was rehearsing therefore we got the chance to hear the awesome acoustics in progress. A fact I remember is that the SOH is based of an orange peel.

I loved the Sydney Aquarium, we went through the tunnels which ran underneath the aquarium, there are two tunnels like this one in the typical aquarium with the sharks and stingrays, the turtles and the beautiful fish the other ones you could see from the top and the bottom, was the seal aquarium which was entertaining. We also found NEMO! there was an aquarium full of clown fish and one of them had a gimp fin.

We climbed the harbor bridge, and visited the museum that was all about it. Unfortunately we weren't able to go onto the top because my sister and I were too young, I was 15, Karine was 12, you had to be 16.

My uncle also owns a big plot of land in the south of Australia, 2 hours south of the capital. We spent a few days there, my cousins loved it that week, my family and I weren't impressed... you have to understand that the southern hemisphere is opposite to the north, the more south you go to colder it get, and it was winter... There was an inch of snow on the ground. We visited the huge land by LandRover saw the House which is being re-built as well as the lake my uncle got created so he could fish by damning a stream and getting trout put in. You can say "You can take the boy out of Canada, but you can't take the Canada out of the boy"

On the way back to Sydney we visited the Australian Mint and the Parliament, it's easy to compare their government to the Canadian government.

In addition while in that part of the country we spent time with the tuns of animals at my uncle's house, my aunt breeds golden retrievers, and it turned out her dog sunny had just had a litter, there were also bunnies, birds, fish, mice, and a yabby, which is their equivalent of crayfish.

Every Sunday for breakfast it's tradition that they have a fresh brunch, so my uncle sets lobster traps and brings back the catch, and my cousins go to the bakery to get some fresh buns, we also had peppies which are kind of like oysters found on buried in the sand by the beach. Oddly enough their lobsters do not have claws like the ones we find on the coasts here. One of the Sundays we were there we had an unusual catch in the lobster trap, and octopus, just to say it was delicious.

We also went to a small zoo outside of Sydney where some of the animals roamed partially free, the kangaroos could easily escape their pen and were very friendly when pet, we got to see presentations which allowed us to pet some koalas and alligators and get up close and personal with exotic birds.

Back at my uncles house we had to prepare for the next leg of the journey which invoked us going camping in the Red Center. But that story will have to wait.

So g'day mate, 'till the next adventure!

The pictures seen are: 1. my cousin Jake hunting for shark eggs on the beach, 2. Me in the tunnel of the seal aquarium of the Sydney Aquarium, 3. My dad, my sister and I in front of the Sydney Opera House, 4. My sister and I in front of the Harbor Bridge, 5. My cousin Jake with two birds from the zoo, 6. My dad with a shark egg.

Fly through Airport Security

2010-11-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

This is Wired's article on how to get through airport security quickly, than personally I get through security quickly using these tips, except the checking online thing, I'm too lazy for that.

Fly Through Airport Security

You might as well check your dignity curbside. Soon you'll be shoeless and flustered, spilling comics across the floor as you dig your MacBook from the depths of your duffel. But take a deep breath, frequent fliers: It is possible to pass security with your ego intact. Here's how.

1. Do recon online. Security delays vary widely by concourse and terminal. Go to www.tsa.gov to find average wait times. If you're not checking bags, print your boarding pass at home and head to the fastest line. (Be sure your gate is accessible from that security checkpoint.)

2. Carry a messenger bag. The topside flap gives easy access to your laptop and Ziploc of liquids and gels while the pockets provide plenty of storage for alarm-trippers. As soon as you get in line, tuck your belt, wallet, keys, watch, and phone into the sack.

3. Wear laceless shoes. And hole-less socks. Just think of all the foot fungi of travelers past. Or don't.

4. Don't wear clip-on suspenders. They set off metal detectors faster than large metal belt buckles.

5. Go! After you pass ID screening, make a beeline to the shortest x-ray queue. Don't wait to be directed, and don't hesitate to bypass dawdlers. Not only will you get there faster, you'll keep the whole line moving.

5. Use only two bins. Place shoes, coat, and toiletries in the first bin; laptop in the second; followed by the messenger bag. Keep the roller on the floor, where it's easy to manage, until the last minute.

6. Dress strategically. Don your coat and shoes while waiting for your bags. Put on your belt and watch at the gate. Consider avoiding wearing pants that need a belt in the first place, or wear a nylon or other non-metal belt to avoid that "stripping in public" feeling when removing it.

Originally submitted by Wired writer Mathew Honan. Illustrations: Jason Lee

I also want to add that getting at the airport 3 hours early for international flights, that saves you a lot of stress. For national flights be there an hour and a half early. These will save you a lot of stress and time than you can just chill at your terminal.

Hope this helps you,

Until the next adventure, which will be soon, Australia's story is next so stay tuned!

thanks to my boyfriend for the new signature. Apparently mine looked like it was done in paint, which it was but that's besides the point!

Arresting Road Trip

2010-11-18T08:04:00.000-08:00

I was inspired to start this Canadian road trip plan by the book You Can Get Arrested for That: 2 Guys, 25 Dumb Laws, 1 Absurd American Road Trip. The book tells the story of two guys from england coming to the states and breaking dumb forgotten laws in cities all across the U.S. Some of these laws include, fishing while wearing pajamas in Chicago and falling asleep in a cheese factory in New Jersey. Their trip got me thinking of setting up a similar road trip in Canada.

I started searching the internet and found that unlike the US, Canada didn't have that many dumb laws divided by cities, but I kept on searching:

Ontario:
Oshawa - It's illegal to climb trees.
Wawa - It's illegal to show affection in public on a Sunday
Ottawa - It's illegal to eat ice-cream on Bank street on a Sunday
Etobicoke - You cannot have more than 3.5 inches of water in your bathtub.

British-Columbia:
Victoria - Balloon animals are not permitted in public

Quebec:
Montreal - you cannot drive with a "for sale" sign in your car window
Quebec City - you may not swear in any other language than French "TABARNAC!"

That is all I could find so this road trip will be an Ontario-Quebec road trip. Victoria will have to wait, but in the mean time I can break a few laws that are general for Canada:
- Citizens may not remove bandages in public
- It's illegal to pretend to practice witch craft
- Comic books that depict any illegal act are banned
- It's illegal to send a letter or telegram threating a bird

How lovely is that, be prepared to see pictures and evidence of me breaking the law repeatedly.
Until the next adventure!

Tips for women travelling alone

2010-11-15T13:07:00.000-08:00

Being a woman and doing a lot of travelling articles like this are a great help and I wish to share the information with you. This particular article is borrowed from the site Travelling Alone, it's great of good advice that I've personally taken while on my last trip.

"The temptation of travelling alone offers countless possibilities and opportunities for adventure and is becoming more popular than ever before - and the number of women opting for solo trips in recent years has increased even more sharply than the number of men. Around 45% of solo travellers are now women - a sign of the times undoubtedly, and an encouraging one for those with a thirst for adventure but a fear of the big unknown.

A slightly less encouraging statistic however, is that 79% of those lone female travellers would prefer to have a companion but have no choice. But is the glass half full here or half empty? Should we bemoan the fact that with independence comes loneliness, or instead celebrate the fact that more people than ever now simply decide to go off and follow their dreams regardless? Because the truth is, there's never been a better time to take the plunge and go travelling alone whether you're male, female or something else.

Companionship and Security

If you are a woman considering travelling alone, well, you're er, not alone. Forty percent of lone female travellers aged over 35 have no 'natural' travel partner such as a spouse or close friend. Moreover, there are great advantages to be had as a woman travelling alone. A lone woman will usually find it easier to meet people and make friends than a man, and generally speaking, commands respect and admiration from men and women alike for her independence. Also, if you choose to hitch-hike, a lone female is the statistic most likely to get a lift, though this course carries obvious dangers.

Most women with doubts about travelling alone cite the lack of companionship and security as the two greatest negative factors. If you're one of the 79% who would rather not travel alone then fear not: thanks to the growing demand, there are countless opportunities nowadays for women to find other women in the same situation and some quick research on the internet will bring back a wealth of information, from women-only travel groups and package trips to simply finding travel buddies online.

Things to Bear in Mind

As a resource the internet is invaluable, but not just for finding useful sites and organisations - it's also a forum, quite literally, for you to find people who have done what you want to do and ask them personally about any issues you have in mind. Here are a few common samples of advice taken from various forums.

Pack Light: When travelling alone, the sheer volume of baggage you carry is a greater factor than you would think. Most airlines now have a weight limit of less than 23kg (about 50lb) per bag for one thing; then there's the question of carrying it all up and down stairs in airports, train stations and underground stations in rush hour.
Male Attention: Be aware that flirting or provocation are based on wholly different norms and social fabrics in every country. For example, simply making eye contact or accepting a drink can be construed as a serious come-on in some countries. Also, the law in other countries varies as to what may be considered provocation or even consent. Wearing a wedding ring is an internationally understood deterrent if that's what you want.
Self Defence: Do not carry any weapons other than a can of mace, and check whether the law in your choice of destination allows even that. Always carry a mobile phone for use in case of emergency.
Hygiene and Sanitation: Bring your own toilet paper, pads, toilet paper, sanitizer, toilet paper, condoms… and did we mention toilet paper?
Dressing Appropriately: Check out in advance what constitutes 'appropriate dress' and bear in mind that lone women are very often mistaken for prostitutes in certain places. (check out this link for more info on how to dress appropriately)
Other Useful Things to Take: A small handbag, just big enough for your valuable documents etc. yet small enough to hold on to at all times rather than set down; comfortable shoes; compact make-up; maps.
And Finally: If you think walking in heels is bad enough in Britain, bear in mind that much of the rest of the world does not have as good quality roads and paths as we do; and maids do steal from hotel rooms, it's a fact, so don't carry anything valuable that is not essential."

I hope this was helpful to you ladies.
To the next adventure!

Nepal: Future Warning

2010-11-11T19:52:00.000-08:00

I am warning you that in May-June-ish all you will hear about is my current trip to Nepal.

Thanks to a great company called Projects Abroad I will be doing my internship in this wonderful Asian country.

The first question I get when I tell people where I'm going is "Where's that". Nepal is between China and India, if you follow the Himalayas you will find Nepal. This country not only has a funny flag, you can see it here. The capital is Kathmandu, just say it a few times you'll laugh a bit, or smile.

The next question I get is "Why are you going there?" The answer to that is kind of complicated, I don't really know why I chose Nepal over the other countries where the program were offered, I could have gone to South America, I didn't really want to go there for this it's more accessible to me. Cape Town, South Africa, is one of the most dangerous cities in the world so I didn't want to go there. Than Vietnam just didn't tickle my fancy. So Nepal it was.

I'm scared shitless I have to admit, but I'm more excited than anything! There are a few things I'm for sure planning to do whether it's while I'm volunteering of the extra week I'm taking at the end of the trip to travel with my best friend Izzie, with whom I went to EuroTrip 2.0. I want to climb mount Everest, not to the top, I don't have the training or will or equipment to make it to the top, I just want to climb up like 5 steps, just so I can say I did. Within the mountains there are gorgeous rain forests where they offer tours on elephants which is really exciting. Other than that I hope my host family teaches me yoga and brings me to the temples around the country.

I can't wait to get the process started, I still have to register for the program itself than register with school, than tell my boss that I will have to take two months off...and raise the money so I can pay for the thing.

I also can't wait to share this with you, I hope you are excited too for me!
Namaste (which is hello/goodbye in Nepali, thank you Yoga!)

Vagabond's 27 quick travel trips

2010-11-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

I am a big searcher of the internet, during my search I stumbled upon Vagabond.com and their 27, very intelligent travel tips, I suggest you read them and take the advice.

1) Say hi to other people who are traveling - you will learn a lot today and get to hear and share other stories

2) Don’t flash your bling

3) Catch a cab and talk to the driver about cool things to do (Cabbies are almost always multi-lingual)

4) Scan a picture of your passport and give it to someone you trust - my parents at home always have a copy, as well as a copy of my credit card and debit card

5) Get a nice padlock and use it when necessary (It takes two to steal: the thief and the one who left an opportunity)

6) Wear long pants during long transport - Seats in trains and airplanes are disgusting and who want their bodies to touch those

7) Look at the mattress…know what bedbugs look like

8) Stay where you get breakfast for free - don't pay for a breakfast at the hotel either

9) Make sure hot water is included

10) Find paperback exchanges - mostly if you're gone long and read a lot

11) Stay longer and get cheaper room rates

12) Fill out your couchsurfing profile completely - look for tips online there are some great websites

13) Look for free fruit on the trees - but don't go in someone's yard, you may get charged for trespassing and stealing.

14) Look for language exchanges

15) Don’t leave your phone in your room

16) Bring your own condoms - don't trust the other party to do so... abroad or at home

17) Don’t get so drunk you can’t take care of yourself - always keep an eye on your drink too

18) Trust your instincts about people

19) Eat the local food - because it's delicious and cheap

20) Always ask for a second price - the worst you'll get is no

21) Don’t wander around alone late at night

22) Don’t give up your passport - always keep it on you in a money belt of in a safe pocket

23) Bring your valuables to the shower with you in a hostel - if it's electronic put it in a water safe bag

24) Eat lots of cheese if you get diarrhea - plus cheese is delicious

25) A handful of nuts makes hunger go away

26) Get a haircut and a shave (or a wax and a style)

27) If the locals drink the water you should too

thanks vagabond for the tips

EuroTrip 1.0 part 4

2010-11-09T09:58:00.000-08:00

The last part of this amazing school trip brought us to Normandy. This being an educational trip this part of the trip we visited a lot of the Canadian war memorials.

We visited the Juno Beach memorial. It is not only a gorgeous beach filled with Canadian history but they have built a lovely museum which brings us through the whole lot of emotions, such as sadness for the lives lost and pride for our nation. It had beautiful artifacts and a nice interactive display, with wall that give us a chance to leave our opinions and feeling on this day.

Following our visit to Juno we also went to Dieppe, another site where Canadian soldiers played a big part during WWII, everywhere we went in the little town we were warmly greeted and commented thanks to our Canadian Flag pins and badges.

Continuing our tour of Normandy, we went back to Canada. Well technically we visited the Vimmy Ridge memorial which is on Canadian Soil in France. It was kind of grim walking along the wall and actually seeing my grand-mother's maiden name on the wall, it's not something we talked about in our family, I did not know I had ancestors who had gone to war. Some of my friends also saw some of their family names.

Before we left we were all assigned the name of a soldier. It gave us time to do some research on this soldier and do a little something special. For my soldier I didn't want to bring just a little flag but i found a Canada pinwheel. I also brought a bag of dirt to place onto his grave so that he could be buried in Canadian soil.

We got to Belgium and visited trenches mostly dedicated to the Nova-Scotian soldiers.

One of my friends had a great idea before leaving, she contacted our local Legion and got 3 reefs to place at the memorials. The legion shipped them to the hotels where we stayed and at each big memorial site we place one in memory of our fallen soldiers.

Our last stop was Brussels where we prepared to get onto the plane to come home, when we landed in Toronto we all feared that our plane was going to be delayed due to more snow, luckily we made it home.

There are a few things I learned on this trip that I can remember.
1. Don't go on long exploration trips with lots of friends, you will fight
2. Alone time is golden
3. Don't over pack. (I ended up throwing clothes away)
4. Don't buy souvenirs for everyone you left at home
5. If you love it and it's not crazy expensive buy it (I still regret not buying those blue boots)

Back to reality, next story will be even further back in my memory but will still bring up that warm fuzzy feeling.

Until the next adventure, Tata!

EuroTrip 1.0 part 3

2010-11-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Ah PARIS, when I left off last time we were getting on the night train to get to Paris, just a note for those taking the night train for the fist time, if you aren't one of those people who can sleep anywhere prepare yourself by either tiring yourself out by waking up early the day you leave or taking Gravol (or some other kind of non-prescription medication that knocks you out).

Once we arrived in Paris we stepped onto a bus which would take us on a tour of the city. The tour was very slow because travelling by bus or any motorized vehicle in Paris isn't convenient due to the high traffic and the massive amount of round-abouts. On the tour we were able to see all the major sites of Paris from the outside before actually going to visit, such as the Eiffel tower, l'Arche de Triomphe, the Louvre, and Notre-Dame de Paris. I am not quite sure the order but in Paris we had a very short time to visit the Louvre, I took the interactive audio-tour and selected the option to be brought to and educated on the main pieces in the giant museum. With this it took us to the Venus de Milo, the Triomphe de Samocrate, the Mona Lisa and a few other pieces.

We also did a night tour of the Sienne where we got to see all the beautiful old buildings that lined the river all lit up gorgeously.

I had the advantage of my dad being on the trip because it gave me the opportunity to go with my friends, her mom, another student as well as her mom and another mom (whom I adopted for the evening) to go to the famous Moulin Rouge show. It was a great experience which I will always remember because during one of the intermissions they had a ventriloquist doing a mini-show between the acts, at one point he needed human "dummies" and I got pulled on stage, therefore now I can say I was on stage at Moulin Rouge, how many people can say that?

Before heading to Moulin Rouge we did the whole Eiffel Tower thing and went to enjoy the night time view of Paris from super high up. Which was wonderful. My friend also learned how to ward off those pesky people trying to sell you Eiffel Tower figurines, when one of them came up and asked if he wanted one my friend looked at him, pointed at the Tower and said "How much for that one?" the guy was so confused he left us alone the rest of the time we were at the base.

In continuation with visiting the big sites of Paris we visited Notre-Dames, and Eglise Sacre-Coeur in the artist district of Paris. Both gorgeous churches with a lot of history. Of course if you've seen Disney's Hunchback of Notre-Dame you know of the church and have an idea of what it looks like.

That pretty much covers Paris. If you just read the note you will notice we only bussed it once, the rest of the time we terrorized Parisian Subway takers by stuffing 65 high school students and their chaperons into the trains all trying to get on and off at the same time... they must have loved us.

We're only part-way through the journey.
au revoir!

once again here are the pictures you see - 1. me outside the Moulin Rouge. 2. My dad and my friend Edd in front of the Eiffel Tower before we go up. 3. I forgot to mention that our teacher paid for us to take a ride on a merry go round, my friend Sean was happy about that! 4. Me, Izabeau and Jess in front of Notre-Dame

EuroTrip 1.0 part 2

2010-11-07T22:03:00.000-08:00

I want you to understand that this was 2 and a half years ago, so please don't get mad at me if I get the order of Italian cities we visited wrong. But I do remember which ones we visited next, before we headed over to France.

From Assisi our crazy driver, drove us through the mountains to Pisa where we saw the Basilica, all the tombs, and of course the leaning tour... which doesn't lean as much as 20 year ago because they have been stabilizing it, because the lean was getting bad enough that it was threating. The basilica in Pisa is well known because of the great acoustics, every 30 minutes a worker who is trained in opera comes in and sings an octave, the sound blew me away! Of course while we were there we did take your typical leaning tour picture where we push it up (I know original) and spent a lot of time in the cemetery... if you want to call it that because unlike here the people are in stone forming a floor.

Our next Italian city was Florence. Florence is really where we visited multiple museums. I got to see the real David as well as the "fake" David who is where the real David was way back when. We visited some of the most beautiful churches in Florence and visited a great market where I got some wonderful souvenirs, such as a silk scarf and a red leather purse. In Florence it's also where our chaperones let us loose into an international discoteque which isn't like the clubs we have here, we were surrounded by all sides, by multiple people from all nationalities dancing to crazy techno music, it's also the place where my single friends learnt that European boys are smooth talkers with agile tongues, if you know what I mean.

After Florence we headed off to my favorite Italian city... Venice! I am a hopeless romantic and Venice reminded me of that. Tour wise in Venice we actually visited a glass blowing workshop where we were able to see an artist build a glass horse in less than a minute it was inspiring, we also went to a lace workshop. I did not know how much work was in these tiny pieces. While in Venice my friends and I made sure to go on a gondola tour through the Venice canals. Sadly Venice is where we were running after pigeons and my camera fell out of my pocket so further pictures aren't mine. Sadly, luckily my friends are picture happy and my dad let me use his camera per occasion. I made sure to buy a gorgeous mask in Venice because of course Venice is know for it's mascarade. We visited the castle in the city and were able to see the dungeon where people that were lead of the bridge of sighs would often end up. Our next step was catching the night train from Venice to Paris, but the bus stop and the train station are at two different ends of town. For your entertainment picture a head of teenagers hurrying though the streets of Venice, because of course they didn't give us that much time to get to the station, with suitcases in tow as well as carry on bags on our back. This trek could not be an easy one, not only did we have to rush with heavy suitcases but Venice is full of bridges, but no not nice smooth hill up, hill down bridges these bridges had stairs and lots of them! Other than the hike to the station Italy was fantastic!

Arivaderchi Italia... Bonjour Paris!

EuroTrip 1.0 part 1

2010-11-06T22:54:00.000-07:00

Since I already told you about EuroTrip 2.0 I guess this is as good a time as any to start the epic 2 week journey my friends and I (and my dad) took to Italy and Normandy back in March 2008.

EurpTrip 1.0 is a school trip and the reason my dad was there is because he is a teacher at our high school.

Our trip started at home because the day we were going to take a plane to Toronto there was a snow storm here, so we needed to take a greyhound to get to Toronto without missing out flight which would take us to Frankfurt to end up in Rome. This was the first trip for a lot of people so just getting there was an adventure.

Once in Rome we explored the sights that all tourists get to see, with a little Italian woman in our ear... well practically, since we were a big group the tour was set up with a little radio transmitter that allowed us to listen to our guide without being close to her. We were able to to visit the Coliseum, the Vatican (which is another country all together) we did a complete tour and enjoyed it because it rained everyday we were there except they day we were in Assisi. In Rome we were also able to see the pope's summer house which was right near our hotel, which was very roman in my mind, with all the statues and everything.

We also made sure to throw our coins into the Trevi Fountain, I threw in 2, to get married. If you throw one in it's to come back to Rome, two to get married and three to get divorced. We visited the Parthenon, and since it was just after The DaVinci Code made it big we were on the hunt for some of the clues we got to read and see in the story, we saw many of the churches that Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) followed to end up at the castle, which unfortunately we weren't able to visit. But we did see all 5 obelix that were mentioned as well as 2 of the churches. Followed our guide Vittorio, who is from Italy and stayed with us the whole trip through the crowded streets and managed not to lose anyone. The other accompanying teacher is from Italy so she taught us basic italian upon arrival, we were all able to count to 30 (she said we wouldn't need more if we were bargaining for anything) as well as a few words we picked up, being similar to french it was quite a lot.

We headed to Assisi, where St-Francis was born, a beautiful little mountain town. We visited St-Francis church and than had the option to go to the castle, the downfall with going to the castle is that by the time you'd get back from the hike you wouldn't have any time to see anything else, so we opted out, it gave us a chance to visit the town. Assisi was also the only sunny day we encountered in the two weeks we spent in Europe. Other than visiting a place where they make ceramic plates we were pretty much left loose on the town by our teachers, some of us decided to look at the little tourist shop that were there while warding off anti-american slurs (which were very common... some people got spit on!). Assisi is also the one place where we had Italian Gellato, YUM!

Bongiorno for now, stay tuned there is a lot more to come.

the pictures are: 1. my dad and i at the coliseum (p.s. not my sweater... I borrowed it from my friend... seriously) 2. throwing my two coins into the Trevi Fountain 3. the view from someone's backyard in Assisi.

EuroTrip 2.0 part 4

2010-11-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

Because this was my first trip without parents and the first trip I had to plan myself with my friend Izabeau.

Since I'm 20, and it's my EuroTrip 2.0 I decided to compile 20 thing I learned while on my trip.

1. Always expect the unexpected (I know it's a cliche but it is true)

2. Be willing to modify your plans

3. Asking someone if they speak english is rude (all you have to say is excuse me and your question if they don't speak english they will tell you so)

4. Public transport is the way to go if you're on a budget, and it's a great way to see the town

5. Don't buy tickets from random people... whether it's for vehicles, museum, etc. (you could get in trouble)

6. If 16:00 is after hours for a hotel don't stay there.

7. If a hotel doesn't have the breakfast included in the price don't take it, it usually isn't worth the price

8. Amsterdam has really steep stairs!

9. You need more than 2 days to visit big cities

10. Backpacks are great.(mostly while moving from place to place)

11. At least learn to say "thank you" and "sorry" in the language of the country you're visiting (even if you butcher it the locals will appreciate it)

12. Put aside your ego, ask for directions (got that men?)

13. Take unusual tours.

14. Cobble stone and shitty shoes don't mix

15. At the airport, smile and wear slip on shoes (mostly if you're going to the U.S.) things will go a lot faster

16. If you have a free night and understand the language go see a movie you can't see at home.

17. Canadians are loved everywhere (at least everywhere I've visited)

18. Ladies "beware" boys in Europe are very charming, not always in a good way.

19. Special tourist passes for trains such at the TGV can save you a lot of money.

20. face/body wipes are a life/stink saver when showers aren't available.

I did learn a lot more on this trip but these are thing I was able to pin-point the day I was coming back from my trip.

I hope my lessons will help you with your trips

EuroTrip 2.0 part 3

2010-11-02T20:22:00.000-07:00

The last part of our trip took us to Amsterdam in the Netherlands on a night train. We arrived at 10:00 and got our tram tickets for the two days we decided to visit. Once we figured out how to take the tram we hopped off at our hotel, Hotel Zandbergen the best one yet. It was wonderful because it was close enough to the museums that we could walk there. We dropped our bags off than headed to the museums for the day starting with the wonderful Van Gogh Museum. It was wonderfully set up bringing us through his inspirations followed by his paintings in a chronological order, accompanied by his life story. This let us see the evolution of his art.

Once we finished we headed up town to see the Amsterdam Sex Museum, it sounds garish but it wasn't, it was very interesting. It was taking us through sex in the ages and the different views of sex in the ages. As well as the general history it gave us an over view of Amsterdam's sexual history.

Once again we were on the tram heading for another museum, this time it was Anne Frank's House. The Anne Frank House is where Anne Frank, her family as well as family friends spent quite a few years hiding out during the Nazi invasion of Holland. Having read her diary I was mislead by the size. I don't know if in my mind I made it out to be smaller than it was or if the fact that it was bear of furniture made it look bigger. Either way it was touching for me to be there, in a place with so much history. They had even preserved the wallpaper in Anne and her sister's room.

After visiting the museum the plan was that we were going to go to the restaurant district than take a tram to visit the Red Light District but on our way to supper we got invited to a PubCrawl and decided to go. On this pub crawl the plan was to go to 6 bars that night getting a free drink in each bar. Having visited museum all day we only made it out to 3. It was great because we got to meet people all over the world, there was a big group from England, some Dutch guys, people from Cyprus, Australia, New Zealand, yet we were the only Canadians. I have to admit we did get lost on the way back to the hotel, fine I got us lost, but we got there.

For day two in Amsterdam we registered for a bike tour of the country around Amsterdam with Mike's Bike Tours. The bike tour was great! I would recommend it for anyone going to Amsterdam. Once we were at the bike shop we got a quick history of the city before heading out on our town bikes to go visit an authentic windmill and a farm where they make delicious cheese and clogs. The 22km ride was very educative and a great way to travel the way the dutch do... by bike. Most road in Amsterdam are not pedestrian friendly, the roads are divided into 3 lanes, the tram lane, the car line and a bike lane... it's a matter of choosing which type of vehicle you want to be run over by, and trust me bikes are not always your best choice.

After the tour was done we didn't have much time to do anything but go back to the hotel to get our bags, eat a light lunch and head back to the train station to get to Paris where I would spend my last night in Europe. We decided to go see a typical french movie called "Il reste du jambon?" for anyone who understands french I do recommend it, it makes you laugh and makes you think at the same time.

The next day I boarded the plane to get back home, just a bit over 24 hours and I was home safe and sound to my familly.

All it all it was an amazing trip full of highs with very few lows.
Au Revoir et a la prochaine aventure

EuroTrip 2.0 part 2

2010-11-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

When we left off Izzie and I were getting onto the train for Berlin, it was not a direct train ride to Berlin because we had a stop in Koln (Cologne). Things were going smoothly until our train broke down, and what should have been 20 minutes on the TGV turned into an hour train ride on local lines... that hour meant that we would be arriving at the station at 10:45. The problem with that was our train was leaving Koln to Berlin at 10:48. So there we were pulling an "Amazing Race" and running through the station gently shoving people away to make our train... thankfully we hopped on having the doors close on our back and we were off to Berlin.

Once in Berlin we were starving, it was 15:30 and we were hungry so we B-lined it to a McDonald's to eat a McRib which cannot be found in Canada... and I have to Say it was DELICIOUS!

We made it to the Propeller City Island Lodge which is a themed hotel where each room is designed differently by an artist... we got the room with 360 degree mirrors. One word of warning is the hotel's reception closes at 16:30, and since we got there at 16:30 they had put our key in a safe by the door with a four digit code... Once we got into the room I felt as though I was in a scene from the movie Hostel and I was starting to get freaked out, so we decided to spend as little time in that room as possible.

We headed out to the Unsicht-Bar, a restaurant where you dine in the dark which is a crazy experience. When I say complete darkness I mean "cannot see your hand at the tip of your nose" darkness. We didn't even know what we were eating, we had a choice between a vegetarian, chicken, fish, beef, or a surprise dish. All you knew was that you were starting with a salad, then your main course followed by a desert. At the end of the meal you could go and see exactly what you ate. The meal was absolutely delicious and being in total darkness we had some very deep conversations about everything.

The next day we weren't able to actually check out of the hotel because there was no one there and the fact we no towels meant we couldn't shower (Eww). Needless to say we weren't impressed. After that fun we were off to go visit Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp a few hours from Berlin and had an awesome tour following our guideArja. Arja treated us to a very interesting tour and did a good job of getting the point across without depressing us too much.

The same day we waited in line to see the Bundestag which is the government building in Germany. It was beautiful because we got to go into the dome and see the whole city of Berlin.

Food wise we did make sure to get some Sourcrout and some Haagen Daz before we left, both were delicious. I also have to add that I am glad we walked so much because if not I would have gained a lot of weight due to all the eating.

Before we got onto the train to Amsterdam we concluded our quick visit of Berlin by visiting the Wall and the Hollocaust memorial which can be found in the middle of the city. Noth are beautiful monuments which commemorate hard times for the Germans.

So back to the station we went to wait for our night train to Amsterdam. We were ready to visit a new and exciting city.

Tschüß, until next time

The pictures in order are: 1. me showing off my awesome McRib (before wearing it) 2. the mirror room in the propeller city island lodge 3. the german flag in front of the Bundestag

EuroTrip 2.0 part 1

2010-10-31T17:46:00.000-07:00

I just arrived yesterday from my 2nd trip to Europe. I know I haven't posted anything about the first one yet but this one just happened so Euro trip 1 will have to wait until it gets put into my archives of trips.

The purpose of this trip was to visit my friend who is studying in France at the moment, but it turned into so much more than that!

I have decided to separate this trip into four sections, one for each of the countries we visited (France, Germany, and the Netherlands) plus one section for my list of things I have learned on this trip.

So here it goes... I left last friday at 00:20 to get on a bus to Toronto, ON to catch the plane. By the time I got to the airport it was 06:30... my flight didn't leave until 17:30 which meant I had 11hours in the terminal to do nothing and since I didn't know anyone in Toronto it wasn't like I could just call them up and see if they wanted to do something while I waited for my plane... so airport it was... it wouldn't have been as bad if I would have been in terminal 1 but since I was flying Delta I was going to have to be in terminal 3... not even on the side with the Tim Hortons.

By the time my flight to Paris landed it was 11:30 and I was going to meet my friend Izzie in Rennes so I set up to take the train. When I got there we decided right away to go book all of our tickets for the trip.
The plan was that we were going to leave sunday to go to Berlin, but on sunday they were diffusing a WWII bomb in the train station (which apparently happens a lot in Europe) so we had to leave the same day, so no visiting Rennes for me and to Paris we go.

With that we had an extra day and a half to visit Paris, both of us have already seen all the main attractions in Paris so we decided to just walk about and explore the city. We got to see some really beautiful things, like St-Eustache church (which you can see in the first picture), some very curious things like giant piles of clothing in the middle of the street (if anyone can explain this please do). We also made sure to eat some delicious french pastries while we were there. Izzie is really enjoying her Macaron aux framboises in the picture to the left.

After our day of exploration we set up to leave for Berlin at 06:00 the next day.

But that story is for next time

Future South American Road Trip

2010-10-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

This is my future South American Road Trip, I got the idea from a couple who drove from Winnipeg to Rio following the american west coast, the mexican west coast than multiple countries in South America.

Well this is my version of it. I haven't decided if i'm going drive from here to Rio, see the van than get to Cuba and Jamaica by boat or plane before coming back to Ontario. Or fly to Jamaica, get to Cuba than to Rio buy a van there than do the trip.

In my head when I do this trip I will be camping the whole time and avoiding having to buy food at restaurant as much as possible. To do this trip I will buy an old van, here or in Rio, throw a mattress in the back after having taken out the seats and be on my way to the adventure of a lifetime.

I don't know how long this trip will take me or any details to date but I do know that it will let me visit about 15 countries in a very short amount of time, which would be wonderful. If anyone has any suggestions please throw them my way.

Hopefully I have inspired you to go on an adventure just like I was inspired. If you look at the map you can see how awesome it could be!

To dreams of trips to come I let you go!

P.S. just to point out the obvious the black is what I would be driving and the orange is what I would either be flying of boating.

Ixtapa Mexico

2010-10-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

In 2008 my family and I decided to spend Christmas in Mexico.

We mostly stayed on our resort named Melia Azul for most of the time, only escaping to the flea market across the beach or the Island not far away to go snorkeling.

The resort itself was gorgeous, it had everything needed, it had multiple pools, a mini golf course, games, and a beautiful beach.

And FOOD! The food was wonderful, there were so many restaurants onsite some of them were buffets others were a la carte. Also there was food from all over the world not just Mexico, there was Italian, Chinese, American, Seafood, a grill and some fancier places.

With all these things to keep us busy it was a vacation and not a trip. For those who don't know the difference a trip is when you go to a foreign area and visit as many tourist attractions and you get very little rest. It's one of those things where you use a guide book and go to the tourist information centers and just go go go all the time. A vacation on the other hand is when you go somewhere with the plan just to relax, no plans, no guidebooks.

Our Mexico vacation was a Vacation we lounged and read most of the time, we went swimming in the ocean (the pools were too cold). we played volleyball, drank various blender drinks.

You get to see a crocodile here and it was down the beach not even a kilometer away it was "fenced" in with a big gaping hole in it so the crocs were known to occasionally get out of their area. Thankfully they are well fed so there haven't been any incidents.... or well that we knew of.

The people hanging upside-down are Mexicans doing a sunset salutation. This consists of 5 guys climbing this super tall pole tying a wound rope around their ankles and throwing themselves down this pole with one of the guys staying on top of the pole doing some drumming and throat singing while they come down in a spiral. It is quite wonderful to see, as well as mesmerizing how people have the guts to do this because this is not the safest equipment.

This last picture is the view from our hotel room, which was wonderful because all the rooms in the hotel had an ocean view. as well as a different animal on the bed. My favorite was the elephant with the fresh flowers. and that spot of land in the distance is where we went snorkeling and had an awesome Pina Colata served inside a carved pine apple with a face made of fruit on it. It was called Coral Island and rightfully got it's name with all the beautiful coral and fish that were there, plus they were attracted there because people were feeding bread to them allowing them to become very friendly with people and letting us get really close to them without them freaking.

It was a wonderful vacation, if anyone wants a good resort in Mexico, I haven't seen others but I loved this one plus they came to pick us up that the airport with Coronas for us to be dropped of at the Hotel.

With wishes of warmer days and the sound of a beautiful ocean this is where I finish!

The list

2010-10-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Antigua & Deps

Argentina

Armenia

~~Australia (july-august 2005)~~

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belarus

~~Belgium(march 2008)~~

Belize

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

Brunei

Bulgaria

Burkina

Burundi

Cambodia

Cameroon

~~Canada (since 1990)~~

Cape Verde

Central African Rep

Chad

Chile

China

Colombia

Comoros

Congo

Congo {Democratic Rep}

Costa Rica

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Djibouti

Dominica

Dominican Republic

East Timor

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Estonia

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

~~France (march 2008)~~

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

~~Germany(october 2010)~~

Ghana

Greece

Grenada

Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Ireland {Republic}

Israel

~~Italy (march 2008)~~

Ivory Coast

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kiribati

Korea North

Korea South

Kosovo

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Latvia

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Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives

Mali

Malta

Marshall Islands

Mauritania

Mauritius

~~Mexico (december 2008)~~

Micronesia

Moldova

Monaco

Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Mozambique

Myanmar, {Burma}

Namibia

Nauru

Nepal

~~Netherlands(october 2010)~~

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Palau

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Romania

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Rwanda

St Kitts & Nevis

St Lucia

Saint Vincent & the Grenadines

Samoa

San Marino

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Sweden

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Tanzania

Thailand

Togo

Tonga

Trinidad & Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

~~United States(december2000, march 2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007)~~

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Vanuatu

~~Vatican City(march 2008)~~

Venezuela

Vietnam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

I have a Goal

2010-10-17T21:17:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Everyone has somethings on their bucket list that are crazy ordeals that will take years to complete. I have a goal that started when I was 10 years old, I didn't know it than but my parents and grand-parents opened my eyes to this thing called traveling, since than I have traveled as much as I could.

My goal is to see 60% of the countries of the world, that means, that by the time I die I have to have seen (by the latest U.S. count) I have to have seen 117 countries. Because the count is 194.

I am not promising a post often because I am a student and I don't have any money. But I do promise to share some of my stories because to date I have seen 8 countries, that only means that I have to see 109 countries before I die. I have visited most of Canada and I will tell you stories about my family's adventure camping from Northern Ontario to Tofino B.C.

In this blog you will see some future plans, some that may pan out others that wont. I am a researcher and I will give tips, some that I have learnt personally others given by the internet.

If you follow and are a traveler yourself, pointers are greatly appreciated, and trip ideas even more!

And yes that is me in the picture, in Ixtapa, Mexico. But that is a story for another day...