TravelStream™ news feed for member ericavt on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/ericavt en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 01 Oct 2007 01:17:11 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ericavt/europe_2007/1190697360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ericavt/europe_2007/1190697360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ericavt/europe_2007/1190697360/tpod.html Mon, 01 Oct 2007 01:17:11 -0400 Throughout Western Europe, Ireland, and Greece with my best friend Britt

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Calgary, Alberta, Canada

home sweet home
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London, United Kingdom

home time
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ericavt/europe_2007/1188057780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ericavt/europe_2007/1188057780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ericavt/europe_2007/1188057780/tpod.html Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:05:46 -0400 Throughout Western Europe, Ireland, and Greece with my best friend Britt

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Ballymena, United Kingdom

Sorry, I cant write much, but see Britt's blog to read more... her username is bploh!

We are in Northern Ireland now, we arrived here a few days ago and have already seen so much... not real touristy stuff, but a lot nonetheless. Britt's family has been amazing and have carted us around to all sorts of things; a football match (ie-soccer game), stock car racing, tours of the nearby towns, etc. and we are staying in one of the family members' vacation home up in Port Rush and it is absolutely beautiful there... we can see the ocean from the living room window... its amazing, and its just the relaxing retreat that Britt and I needed after the hectic last portion of our trip. Tonight we are going to an amusement park and then going to watch some fireworks as it is a holiday weekend here (I'm not sure exactly what holiday it is, but whatever). We still have to see all of the tourist things like the Giants Causeway and stuff like that, but we have a lot of time for that. Anyways, I should get going... sorry I havent kept in touch too well and this is so short, but internet is hard to come by!! Take care!!

PS- I am feeling a little homesick now, maybe a few messages from home might help ;-)
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Naxos, Greece

So for those who dont know, we are back on the island of Naxos now and it looks like we are probably staying here for the rest of this trip. We loved it here so decided we may as well come back!

So yesterday and the day before we were on the island of Folegandros... its population is all of about 700 people, so it is a very small, quiet island... besides the roosters at 7am!! We stayed at a little family-run hotel in the tiny village at the port which had a huge balcony with an amazing view! We thought that since it was such a small island that this would be our chance to rent scooters and try them out without the stress of a lot of traffic... well we were denied again!! But this time I said 'okay, fine, how much to rent a car?' and the man told me and I said 'okay we will take a car then' and he looked at me with doubting eyes and said 'You... have a license????".... apparently I didnt look capable enough to have gotten a license. But anyways, he ended up renting us a car for a day, Britt drove because it was manual... and it was a little scary... the island apparently it like one huge mountain/hill... and they gave us a car with absolutely no 'balls' (ie-power) so it was a little bit of a game to make it up the hills! We drove as far as the road let us...stopping along the way for an old man with donkeys to try and give us direction (we didnt need directions he just stopped us assuming that we were lost)... he was convinced that we wanted to have a big conversation with him although he didnt speak very much english and ended up spitting as he tried... most of the projectile landed on Britt... she was impressed!! We drove to a beach and spent some time there, it was very pretty but very hot. Oh, and as we were driving around there was this french backpacking couple who we found walking on the side of the road with their huge backpacks, no water, and wearing flip-flops... they had been planning on walking the 3kms to the port... so we drove them instead. I know I would have died in the heat with my backpack walking for 3kms!! We spent the eveningslaying on our balcony and looking for shooting stars... it was awesome! Oh and in regards to the title of this entry... nearly all of the livestock in Folegandros had all 4 of their legs tied together making it nearly impossible to them to walk much... wtf!!! It was really quite sad. The only explaination that we could think of was so that they didnt get away since there wasnt a whole lot in terms of fences... I dunno. I should google it!

So we had actually been planning on going to Milos... but some of the ferries were getting cancelled from Folegandros so we just got on the next one that got us out of there, and agreed that we wanted to go back to Naxos anyways!! So here we are. Its beautiful here and I am excited to stay!!! I even signed up for an internet phone thing so I got to talk with Mike and my mom for 1/2 hour each yesterday so now I dont feel quite as homesick, so that good!! Anyways... I'll be home in 5 days!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ericavt/europe_2007/1190017380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ericavt/europe_2007/1190017380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ericavt/europe_2007/1190017380/tpod.html Mon, 17 Sep 2007 04:35:46 -0400 Throughout Western Europe, Ireland, and Greece with my best friend Britt

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Perissa, Greece

So yesterday was pretty fun! We got on a bus in the morning that took us to the port. From there we got on an old-fashioned kind of sailboat (mind you, it never used the sails) and sailed over to seperate islets (still considered part of Santorini I think ). The first one we climbed up to the top where we saw the cauldera of the active volcano... apparently they can predict eruptions months before they happen, so dont worry, we were safe!! At the second stop we got a chance to jump off the boat and swim into the natural 'hot springs'... which were actually a little warmish. Next we sailed to a little village on a different islet to have some lunch. Finally, we sailed over to the port in Oia where we got to ride DONKEYS!! They took us up the hill to the top (well almost the top) where the city of Oia is. There we found a little spot at the edge of a cliff to watch to amazing sunset. It was absolutely gorgeous!! After the sun set, we took a bus ride back to our hotel and called it a night... tired, hot, sweaty, and covered in dirt... it was very windy and it blew dirt EVERYWHERE!!!

We got up this morning to pack and clean up as today we are taking a boat over to the next island on our itinerary... Folegandros. Apparently its a very small, traditional islands that is very beautiful. So, thats the plan for today!! We will probably stay there for 3 days and then move on to Milos for the last island of our island hopping portion... and then home!!! I am ready to come home... I am very homesick!! See everyone soon!
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Nice, France

Yesterday we drove to Nice where we didnt have much time after checking into our hotel, dropping off our laundry to have some old lady wash them (not a moment too soon) and headed to Monaco (the 2nd smallest country) for dinner. Monaco is absolutely amazing... pretty much a country spilling over with money. Apparently you have to apply to become a Monaco citizen which costs something like $100 000 (which you dont get back if you are not accepted), and you have to go before a panel and explain why you should be made a resident of Monaco!! I guess Elton John applied... and was rejected! The pay-off for being a Monaco-ian??? NO TAXES!! And some others, but thats all I can remember! Anyways, we made our way to the resturant for dinner, but not before driving by rows and rows of super expensive boats and yachts of wealthy vacationers... including one with not only seadoos parked with it, but the owners helicopter parked on the rooftop of their yacht... its a rough life for some!!! After dinner, some people paid their 10 euros to gain entrance to the Grand Casino to try their luck... but Britt and I chose to walk around the beautiful parks surrounding the casino. After a short while there, we took the bus back to our hotel for an uneventful rest of the night!

In the morning we were very happy to not have to receive any wake up call as we had pretty much the whole day to ourselves to do as we pleased around Nice. Britt and I slept in a little, but not too much, then headed down to the beach!! It was absolutely wonderful to just relax on the beach. We took a long swim in the ocean where you didnt even had to tread to stay afloat... the salt water held you up! It was amazing! We pretty much spent the entire morning and afternoon at the beach beside a little walk around to find a supermarket... I spoke french and was very impressed with myself when I actually understand the directions to the supermarket and we got their with little problem!!

In the evening we had a kind of bland dinner at our hotel and then headed off to an Irish pub for some drinks... this is where we discovered my new favourite drink... snakebites!! A mix of beer, cider, and blackcurrent syrup... they sound gross, but are sooo good!! We didnt really stay there too long before walking along the beach back to the hotel.
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Perissa, Greece

So we've spent the last 2 1/2 days here in Perissa on the island of Santorini. It is absolutely gorgeous here... and very cheap. Again, our hotel is 12 euros a night with a pool, bar, and its about 30 metres to the beach/ocean. There are tons of greek restaurants around us with some good food. I even tried octopus... now my stomach has been upset... oh well, its getting better and I've been drinking lots of water!!

Yesterday we pretty much just relaxed all day long. We hung out on the beach, and went swimming in the ocean... however, as the bartender at the hotel puts it, Posideon was very angry yesterday and we kinda got out butts kicked by the waves!! It was still fun, even though I had to wash the sand and seaweed from my bathing suit afterwards. After our day on the beach we headed back to the hotel to relax some more while we watched 'Knocked Up' on DVD (the 2nd time we've seen it this trip). This hotel offers english dvds... which is wonderful since there is pretty much no english tv channels (beside the BBC). It seems funny to want to watch dvds when you're in Greece, but its a nice break from the sun and heat sometimes.

Today we took the public bus up to Fira for a little shopping... the bus ride was... weird. It was about 15 minutes late, which is pretty much normal I guess. But about halfway to Fira it stopped at the gas station for another 15 minutes. Then it dropped the guy that collected our bus fare off in the middle of nowhere... weird. But whatever. So we got to Fira, shopped a little bit, didnt buy much of anything, but watched the donkeys carry people up the steep hill from the port. A word of advice for anyone going to Fira in the future... watch out for the donkeys, they will run you over if you dont move... I just saw like a 65 year old women almost get trampled by one of them!!! Some of them have bells to warn people that they are coming... and some do not!!

Tomorrow we are planning on going on a boat tour thing to see the caldera and some hot springs place... I think it should be fun... I'll let you know!! Thanks for all of the birthday wishes by the way!!
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Naxos, Greece

I dont think I've ever spent my birthday in Greece....

Yesterday we spent most of the day lounging on the beautfil white sand beach by our hotel and swimming in the gorgeous ocean!! It was amazing. We left the beach to shower and then walked around the town a bit before stopping for dinner at an asian restarant... we have a craving for thai... and it was amazing!! After dinner we headed off to a local pub/bar for some drinks... I had a few!! At midnight the bartender played the happy birthday song for me and made me a big fancy drink with a sparkler in it... it was nice. We got home a little late and went straight to bed!!

Today, for my birthday, we got up and had some yummy breakfast then went in search of a place to rent scooters from. We went to a few places and all of them were convinced that we would crash and die on a scooter so they convinced us to get 4 wheeler atv's instead! We drove them a while until we found a beautiful and, for the most part, secluded beach where we relaxed for the afternoon. After that, we drove to a nearby restaurant for some calamari... yummy!! We made our way back to the hotel to wash up and relax some more... now we are going to walk around the town for a bit and find somewhere to enjoy my birthday some more!!! Thats all for now! We're heading off to Santorini tomorrow afternoon... I am sooooo excited!!
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Rome, Italy

Yesterday we drove to Rome where we walked around the central part for a while and saw things like the Spanish Steps, the Trivea fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.We then ate dinner in a local resturant which included some very italian dishes like pasta and tomato and mozerella salad. Today we went to the Vatican City, the smallest country in the world, 1.5 square km I think!! It was absolutely beautiful but we were a bit rushed for time so we didnt quite get to appreciate it the way we would have liked to... but we saw it nonetheless, of course including the Sistine Chapel. After that we went on a tour of the ancient ruins of Rome which of course included the Colosseum... it was quite amazing to see and imagine the things that went on there so many years ago. After that, we managed to make our way back to the hotel (on the metro) to freshen up before Britt and I headed back into central Rome for a cute dinner at a little alley resturant where we ate outside by candlelight... so romantic... hahaha! We called it a night and headed back to the hotel for an early bedtime... while our other tour mates went on a pub crawl... crazy!!
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Venice, Italy

This morning we drove to Venice Italy past some of the best scenery of the trip... the Brenner Pass and Dolomite mountain range... it was absolutely breath-taking... sadly, I had the WORST motion sickness I have EVER had... but I got to sit at the front of the bus!!! However, trying not to be sick for several hours in extremely exhausting, so it wasnt very fun. But we made it to Venice with no embarassing roadside-sickness stops... I was relieved to get off the bus... only to get onto a boat!!!!! Oh well, it wasnt too bad, the fresh air helped. We took the boat over to the centre of Venice where we started in San Marco Square at a venetian glass blowing demonstration. After that, on the advice from our tour guide, we wandered, and got lost, through the little streets of Venice. We didnt really do much besides take a ton of pictures, but it was beautiful!! A very cultural experience. After a while we met up with the rest of our tour group and headed off to go on a gondola ride to get the the truely venetian experience. It was really neat, but I'm pretty sure it was rush hour because there was gondola's EVERYWHERE. After that we found ourselves a little restuarant for dinner (pizza and pasta of course) and then went to the Rialto bridge and took some lovely photos before heading off on to the bus again to drive to our hotel which was a fair ways away... but it was a nice hotel and we pretty much went straight to bed!!
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