The Travels of 2015

There have been quite a few destinations explored this year...some planned and some very spontaneous.

So far, and posts will follow focusing on each location, this year I've been lucky enough to explore around:
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague- Netherlands
Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Oita, Beppu- Japan
Dublin and the Cliffs of Moher- Ireland
Rio de Janeiro- Brazil

& tomorrow we are off to explore Athens, Mykonos and Santorini, Greece!

By the end of this year, I'm hoping to make it Dubai and Abu Dhabi- United Arab Emirates; Istanbul- Turkey; Venice- Italy and head back to South America (Brazil, Argentina, Peru) for two or three months before I need to present my bachelor's thesis and take my state exams in February. Has anyone been to these places and give me some recommendations? I'm always trying to find the best coffee shops in any new city I travel to as I am an extreme caffeine addict...or maybe it's just that I love latte art from around the world!


A few of my favourite travel quotes, which I like to remember right before going on an adventure:

"Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller." – Ibn Battuta

"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls." – Anais Nin

"To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted." – Bill Bryson


This one is especially important:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

Yes, I'm a student and money is usually tight but if you REALLY want to travel, you will make it happen someway. I'm a firm believer in that. I have worked numerous jobs or gone to the United States for my summer holidays to work as a nanny for two wonderful girls in order to save some money and be able to travel to these places. I've spent countless hours in my university lectures with my mind wandering and thinking 'why the hell am I sitting here when I could be out there somewhere exploring?'

I told myself long ago that I will not be one those people to sit in an office job for the next 30-40 years of my life, from 9-5pm, Monday-Friday. No matter what happens, I will find a way to travel around the world and live a life full of adventure, happiness and bring back wonderful stories and have unforgettable experiences. That being said, this quote is spot-on: "I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine." – Caskie Stinnett

Travel on wanderlusters!

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS/HOLLAND

What a place...and what an adventure we had getting there!

We took a Eurolines bus from Paris to Amsterdam, about 7-8 hours total because we stopped in Brussels, Belgium and several places throughout the Netherlands/Holland. Being as sleep-deprived as I was, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to sleep for a few solid hours. I passed out at the back of the bus since the front of the bus was where most of the passengers were sitting and dreamed about what awaited us in Amsterdam. I woke up in Belgium at a rest stop and ended up spilling chocolate milk ALL over myself and the seats next to me because I guess I was still half asleep and shook an open bottle of chocolate milk. So, next time you are about to shake some chocolate milk, double check that it is closed first! Anyways, we ended up in Brussels about an hour later and we stopped for 45 minutes. I didn't get out of the bus but I just stared at everything around me. After driving through Brussels, I decided that I want to travel there by the end of this year or early next year. It reminded sort of reminded me of a few areas at home in America.

We rode into the sunset and anticipated our arrival in Amsterdam. A little while later, we arrived in a city and everyone got off the bus. So, we got off too. The bus driver was saying something to me in French and all I could muster out was "No, no, je ne parler pas francias" and a weak smile. He looked confused but my friend and I just grabbed our suitcases and headed towards the metro station so we could figure out how to get to our hostel. We got to the electronic ticket booth and tried typing in the area of our hostel but all the screen read was "no results found". Hmm...we decided to walk back down and around the area to find some help. We ended up going into a hotel asking for directions when we found out that we weren't in Amsterdam.

We were in a city about 30 minutes from Amsterdam. Panic set in and we ran back to the parking lot in hopes that the bus was still there but it was gone, the parking lot was empty actually. The situation was funny but scary at the same time. Two girls in a city where English was obviously not well known and no idea how to get to Amsterdam. We went back to the metro/train station and figured out the next train left for Amsterdam within 2 minutes. We ran around and down the stairs pounding our suitcases against each step when the doors shut on us and rolled away. We missed the train. Tired, exhausted and defeated we sat down in a WiFi area, waiting for the next and last train of the night to Amsterdam.

An hour or so later, we made it to Amsterdam and we were on a tram with our new Australian friend, headed to the hostel. Amsterdam was illuminated, beautiful and filled with people either eating at outdoor restaurants or roaming the streets. We got off at our stop and checked in our hostel, Amsterdam Hostel Annemarie. A cute little place across from the Van Gogh Museum and I am Amsterdam letters. Despite the extremely steep stairs, the hostel was a great stay at a great price. We shared a room with some loud Brazilian tourists but they were quite funny when they stumbled in drunker than sailors. The beds were comfortable and the rooms are decorated as different cities around the room. Breakfast was better than the breakfasts in most hostels and we were allowed to store our suitcases there for a little while after checkout. We only stayed one night in the hostel because we had a flight at 6am the day after checkout (so, one full day and majority of a night). We could've stayed in the hostel two nights but in order to save money we decided to just do Amsterdam in one day and go to the airport at midnight and sleep there until our flight. We didn't want to walk around Amsterdam with our suitcases so we were directed by the receptionist at the hostel to the main train station where there are lockers especially for suitcases. Pure genius. Whoever thought of this needs a pat on the back and every other train/metro station in the world should install these lockers for travelers. Granted, it wasn't free, you had to pay about 7 euros for 24 hours but that's a hell of alot better than carrying your suitcases and bags around the city and getting back/neck pain for the days to come.

After dropping off our luggage at the locker room in the main train station, we set out for a day full of shenanigans in the beautiful, sunny Amsterdam. We first stopped and bought some tourist items (postcards, small wooden shoes, etc.,) and then we went to a "coffee shop". When in Amsterdam, right?! After some time in the coffee shop, we were at it again, just wandering the streets of this mysterious city. We walked pretty much all around the main part of the city over the next few hours, stopping in little shops here and there, sitting along the canal and taking pictures, stopping in coffee shops every once in awhile and eating at Bagels and Beans. If you are ever in Amsterdam, make sure to stop by this cute cafe, they have amazing drinks and bagel concoctions. I myself got a green tea latte while my friend got a bagel with the works inside of it. We passed by Anne Frank's House, the Rijksmuseum and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. We also briefly wandered through the Jordaan district and ended our stay in the area of Oude Kerk and then Beurs van Berlage. We window shopped a bit in the Beurs van Berlage area then ate a late dinner at a sushi restaurant. I don't usually eat sushi in Prague because it's not exactly clear where that fish comes from or how fresh it is...so, I wait till I am home in America or somewhere by an ocean/body of freshwater.

The original plan was to go to the airport at around 2am but we got pretty bored and ran out of things to do so we ended up taking a train to the airport at about midnight. When we got into the airport, we found a quiet place to sleep and passed out until the cold airs of the airport woke us up a few hours later..

P.S. I have a new show obsession: Teen Wolf...laugh all you want but it helps fill the gap between Sundays for new True Blood episodes and until Homeland comes back on in the fall. I have to admit that the main reason I watch it is for Tyler Posey. 

PARIS, FRANCE

Oui, oui, France is beautiful in the summer. If you have been a reader since day 1 then you know that I have been to the fabulous Paris before but I had the flu during my time there (last October). Wasn't the best time walking around in the cold rain with an on and off fever, stuffy nose and fatigue but I made it and promised myself another trip to Paris when my health was better. As you know, my best friend from high-school came to visit me and she wanted to go to Paris so I jumped on the opportunity and we made it happen.

After returning from Budapest the weekend prior and settling into my new apartment for 1 1/2 days, we were off to Paris. The only problem was leaving Prague. Why? If you were unaware, Prague faced some serious and dangerous flooding earlier this month and the transportation system was either questionable or changed. We were taking an overnight bus to Paris from Prague so we had to go to the bus station via trams that were either on a different route or did not go where you needed to go. So, with our big suitcases (we were flying home to America for the summer after our trips) we waited about 20 minutes for a tram that took us to a stop where we had to transfer to another tram to make it to the bus station. We made it to the bus station in the knick of time and boarded the bus to Paris. We slept a good majority of the way and got to Paris in the morning. We were pleasantly welcomed with sunshine, warm air and beautiful surroundings. Our bus dropped us off in a random area of Paris on the side of the road and we had to lug our suitcases to the hostel for about 45-55 minutes.

After sweat, delirious laughs and sore arms, we made it to our hostel. We got there at 2 in the afternoon, which was check-in time, but were told we had to wait another hour until we could officially check in. This was just the beginning of problems in this hostel.

Let me give you all a brief summary of what we experienced during our stay here before I get into detail about everything else in Paris. So, basically, what happened was originally we were going to do Couchsurfing in Paris but the departure to Paris was inching closer and closer and we still didn't have a place to stay so I booked a hostel online (while still in Budapest) and granted, it was the cheapest but it didn't seem all that bad. The day after booking this hostel in Paris, I got an OK from a couchsurfing host for our stay so I contacted the hostel and asked them to cancel the reservation. If you have used the website Hostelbookers before then you know that they only take 10% from your credit or debit card in order to reserve a room/bed for you and then you pay the remainder in cash upon arrival. Well, I received an email back from reception at the hostel claiming that they absolutely could not cancel my reservation because they had already taken the full amount charged per night from my payment card. I was FURIOUS because nowhere on the screen did it mention that would happen. I emailed them back with a nasty message describing how absurd they were and that I demanded my money back. I did not get an email back over the next two days so we ended up staying with this hostel.

So, back to when we were physically at the hostel. I told the woman who I was and what had happened before and reminded her that their website and listing on Hostelbookers said check-in was at 2. It was now 2:20 in the afternoon. She was very rude and said, "sorry no check-in until 3. You can put your luggage downstairs in the holding room." Keep in mind she did not even look up when she said this. So, my friend went downstairs to the "luggage room" and came up with a disgusted look on her face and all she said was "there's no fucking way I'm putting my stuff down there." This hostel's luggage room was a small room that was flooded, smelly, bugs and small creatures crawling around- like a basement that you would throw a dead body in. The ceilings were leaking and the stairs were so steep they promised a broken neck. We waited in the "waiting room", a room with no chairs or tables, got ready in the wet, smelly, small bathroom in the lobby and finally at 3 PM we checked in. We got the keys and into the room...which was horrific. If you have never been to a hostel and have an image in your head of what they look like, the worst possible image that is, then this room was it. The room had two bunk-beds, no sheets, a cotton ball of a pillow, a bathroom with stalls, it smelled and was super humid and very poorly lit. Also, this hostel, apparently, is known for it's bed bugs.....................

We wanted to get out of there as quickly possible so we locked up our valuables in the lockers and got out of there. Since we had only half a day to explore Paris before setting off to Amsterdam. My friend's mission objective was to see the Eiffel Tower and whatever else we could fit in afterwards was to be determined. On our way to the Eiffel Tower, we satisfied our hunger and sweet tooths (teeth?) at Paul. While sitting outside enjoying the Parisian atmosphere we watched something rather sad happen to a little girl. A young girl and her young mother, both obviously homeless, were just standing on the sidewalk patiently waiting for just a few euros to buy themselves some food when an older man, also homeless, came up to them and kicked the little girl very hard. The man walked away and the girl began to uncontrollably cry while tourists and shopkeepers stared with their jaws dropped. I wasn't watching but my friend was and she told me what had happened just behind me. I felt so bad for the little girl that I wanted to buy her ice-cream but before I could they had moved to another part of the street. I went back to eating my raspberry tart, still thinking about how that little girl would have loved an ice-cream cone.

At the Eiffel Tower we waited in the wrong line for about 40 minutes before being told the line we wanted was on the other side. This line was much shorter and we were climbing stairs in no time. When we finally got to the viewing deck, I was out of breath and sweating my face off. My friend insisted we go to the very, tippy top because she doubts she will ever be in Paris again. I go through phases where I am afraid of heights so I was not so keen on going all the way up there. We took the elevator, I was hyperventilating and freaking out the entire ride up. When we got off the elevator, I relaxed when I saw that there was a net-like/plastic glass encasing the entire floor. Phew.

My friend ordered a 12 euro glass of champagne, because when else are you going to drink a flute of champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower? Probably never. We took some pictures and I dragged her back downstairs to the bottom. By the time we got down, the sun was setting and we took some more touristy pictures before venturing to find some much needed dinner. The place we went was very French, meaning only the youngest worker knew several words in English so we struggled a little bit. I did take French in high school but my teacher wasn't the best and all I can manage now is "Je ne parle pas francais." Our dinner consisted of salad and fish soup with a cup of coffee. Exhaustion set in and we went back to the hostel for a night of rest. I woke up several times itching myself and because the two other people in the room came in very late and loudly. Basically, the night was pretty sleepless.

In the morning, we ate "breakfast" provided by the hostel; a slice of bread on a tray, no plate or anything. Pretty pathetic if you ask me, if you are going to have horrible everything, at least have a slightly decent breakfast. We checked out and asked if we could keep our luggage by the reception desk and we got the same answer as we did the day before. Angry and fed up with the hostel we left immediately and promised to never return to this hostel if we come to Paris again. You're probably wondering what the name of this horrid hostel is, right? Before I tell you the name, the ONLY good thing is the location but absolutely nothing else. The name of this hostel was AIJ Paris Hostel. Never, I repeat, never EVER stay here. The staff were so rude, unhelpful and the men who worked there were disgusting, old PIGS. Staring at the young girls and making comments to them, including my friend and I.

It was 9 in the morning when we checked out and our bus (to Amsterdam) left around 3 in the afternoon. We had to drag our luggage with us for the remainder of our time there, so we decided to eat at an outdoor cafe to a) kill time and b) give ourselves some food of substance. We ate at a cute little cafe near the hostel and people watched for about an hour and a half while sipping on some coffee, diet Coke and a fruit yogurt.

With just a few hours left in sunny Paris, we headed to the Louvre for some pictures and then to some tourist shops nearby for souvenirs. On the way to the souvenir shops, I was bombarded by a group of gypsy children who were trying to get me to sign a petition and did not stop shoving the paper in my face after repeatedly saying no and shaking my head. Finally I broke free and ran a few feet ahead to get away from them; they just went on to the next tourist passing by, thankfully. We bought our souvenirs and still had about an hour or two to kill before departing. With nothing else in mind, we resorted to just getting some lunch and heading to the bus station. Lunch was from Paul, a sandwich, lemon tart and drink for 8 euros. That lemon tart was so, so, so delicious and I wanted another as soon as I finished it. I guess that was the highlight of my afternoon in Paris.

Finally our bus came and we were off to Amsterdam.

Look out for the Paris in pictures post and the Amsterdam post, plus what happened to us in between Paris and Amsterdam.

Travel on wanderlusters!

To Amsterdam We Will Go!

We just added a new destination to the May-June 2013 travels: Amsterdam, Netherlands...so scratch what I said before about going there in March.

Have any of you been to Amsterdam? How did you like it and what would you recommend doing there?

The countdown to May-June 2013 begins...but I'm excited for the in between's too!

Travel on wanderlusters!