All posts filed under: Travel

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND

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After our wonderful week in Italy, Switzerland was the next destination on our itinerary. The Swiss mountains weren’t the only thing that were high.. ok calm down this isn’t Amsterdam, I was referring to the food prices. They were ridiculous! For instance, I spent $35CDN on a serving of mac & cheese at a local bar. I don’t care if it was the best mac & cheese I’ve ever had with caramelized onions, apple slices and potato. That -ish broke the bank. Lucerne, Switzerland is absolutely beautiful. If you end up in visiting this scenic city I recommend going up 7,000 feet to the top of Mt. Pilatus. I went with 35 or so Australians who have never seen snow before and as a Canadian, it was a special moment to see them all run outside in excitement. The girls immediately started making snow angels and all the guys wanted to do was pee on the snow and take a picture of it. So. It took a gondola lift and cable car to get to the …

VENICE, ROME, FLORENCE ITALY

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CIAO! Happy Friday ya’ll. I’m coming at you with some of the highlights of my trip to Italy, one of my favourite countries I visited in Europe. First stop was Venice, Italy. We went to Venice the morning after New Years Eve in Ljubljana, Slovenia so hardly anyone was awake to appreciate the sinking city any time before noon. However, the endless amounts of gelato, pizza and pasta was a hangover blessing. After we filled our bellies with delicious Italian delicacies we participated in a gondola tour, a super touristy attraction but WHEN IN VENICE! I asked our gondola driver (rower?) to serenade us but he shut that down real quick. He also shouted at us to not move or else we’ll tip over. Not at all like how I pictured a lovely gondola ride in Venice but it was pretty while it lasted. After Venice, it was off to Roma. We went on a beautiful lookout of the Roman Forum, which is situated between Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum. Three thousand years ago it was the …

LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA

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Waking up on my last night in Budapest I felt like a new person. As I mentioned in my previous post I had a terrible cough but good sleep and a hot shower revived me! After we left beautiful Budapest we made our way to Slovenia’s capital city, Ljubljana [LUBE-LEE-AH-NA]. We only had 14 hours (including sleep) to spend in Ljubljana and what better date to spend one night than NEW YEARS EVE! After dinner we walked to Castle Hill and hopped on a cable car which took us up to the Ljubljana Castle, which served as both a royal residence and a military barracks over the centuries. The entire evening on New Years Eve was spectacular filled with live bands, an energetic crowd, and twinkling lights galore. At the town square we watched fireworks shoot beautifully from the castle and everywhere you walked thereafter, pyro shows lit up the sky, even as late as 4AM. New Years Eve was one of my favourite nights while in Europe. It was invigorating to be in a city that was unfamiliar, …

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

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“My house in Budapest, my hidden treasure chest, golden grand piano, my beautiful Castillo you oooooh, you, oooooh, I’d leave it all.” Love me some George Ezra. The drive from Krakow, Poland to Budapest, Hungary was a long one, around six hours with a stop in Slovakia for lunch. Eastern Europe is known for their slow service so if you sit down at any restaurant, expect to wait at least an hour for your food. I learned this the hard way. When we finally arrived in Budapest it was evening time and the city was aglow. Our first sight was of Budapest Parliament, twinkling in all its glory. The next morning I slept in, took my time to walk around the city, and SOMEHOW ended up finding a Cat Cafe. I obviously had to go in and pet all of the cute kitties. The one featured below is likely plotting my death since I stuck my camera in its face and took 100 selfies. I then walked to Heroes’ Square where I had a fantastic view …

KRAKOW, POLAND

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Vienna, Austria was a magical place to spend Christmas evening and as much as I wanted to stay (re: live), I made my way to a place I never thought I’d ever travel to let alone fall in love with: Krakow, Poland. The. Food. Was. Unbelievable. If I wasn’t eating perogies of all kinds, especially ones stuffed with blueberries and strawberries and topped with icing sugar, it was my fav. I also enjoyed dark chocolate drizzled on homemade waffles, pork & potatoes and grilled cheese & cranberry sauce (see pic below). Everything was seriously drool worthy. I made my way to Wawel Castle, Poland’s version of London’s Buckingham Palace and West minster Abbey rolled into one. It is absolutely stunning. The castle was built in the 14th century as a residence of Polish kings but in the 20th century it was taken into the hands of Nazi Governor General, Hans Frank, during the German occupation of WWII. According to legend, before Wawel Castle was built it was a hill that housed a cave with a fire-breathing dragon. The dragon was known for terrorizing the city …

VIENNA, AUSTRIA

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Berlin was a grand ol’ time but onwards we went to our next European location, Vienna, Austria. As we entered the sophisticated city once home to Mozart, Beethoven, and Sigmund Freud, I traded my litre of German beer for a fancy bottle of peach schnapps. It was Christmas evening when we arrived in Vienna and what better way to spend Christmas than at a Mozart & Strauss Concert at Vienna Kursalon. The orchestra was phenomenal and included extraordinary opera singers and enchanting ballet dancers. The splendid Italian Renaissance styled venue was built between the years 1865 and 1867 and felt like an imperial palace. Maybe it is an imperial palace. I’m not quite sure, I was too busy staring at the chandeliers than listening to my tour guide. The next day we made our way to the Old Viennese Scnapsmuseum. In use since 1902, the Fischer family have owned and operated this place for six generations. We got a tour of how the liqueur is made and even a tasting for ourselves. I personally loved the Apfelstrudel …

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

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Auf wiedersehen Berlin and ahoj to one of the most romantic places in the world, Prague, Czech Republic! Prague was the reason why I wanted to go to Europe in the first place. After seeing it in the movie Chasing Liberty with Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode, I told myself one day, I WILL MAKE IT TO PRAGUE AND SWIM NAKED IN THE DANUBE! Ok, I didn’t do the latter but I did turn my dream into reality by finally setting foot onto the magical city of a hundred spires. It was Christmas Eve when we got into Prague and the market at the Old Town Square was insanely busy. Live music filled our ears, scent of hot chocolate swarmed our noses, and the most beautiful Christmas tree stood tall in the middle of the bustle, beautifully lighting up the evening. Before leaving on my trip, my mom raved about Charles Bridge. I suppose it’s with good reason. The gothic-looking bridge connects the Old Town and Lesser Town, with religious statues on both side. Construction of the bridge began after King Charles IV commissioned it …

BERLIN, GERMANY

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After touring the wonderfully entertaining city of Amsterdam we made our way to Germany’s capital city, Berlin. The city is best known for their rich culture, endless amounts of beer, sauerkraut, pretzels, and (tone change) a deep dark history. When you first enter the city you immediately witness the reminisce of the Berlin Wall. The walls are mostly torn or have graffiti to cover every inch but some of the wall still stands and is one of the most powerful symbols of the Cold War. Everywhere you look in the Berlin you witness a piece of history. Look up and you’ll see dim, eerie government buildings Hitler once ruled. Look down at the ground and see tiles representing tunnels that once connected East to West. I’ve only ever learned about the Cold War and World War II in history classes and to see it all in person is a powerful experience. During our walking tour of Berlin we stopped at The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This memorial honours the 6,000,000 Jewish victims of the Holocaust. …

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

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After my stay in London I hopped on a boat, passed the White Cliffs of Dover, and made my way toward the land of cheese, tulips, and clogs. Hallo Amsterdam! My group and I got to the city late at night and our tour guide mentioned we should go to Theatre Cassa Rosso for some erotic entertainment. I thought it would be a strip club, but it was definitely performers having wild sexual intercourse on stage. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and of course it was awkward at first but as time went on you giggled and accepted the fun (and weirdness) of it all. For one of the acts a police officer waltzed into the audience and said he needed four female volunteers. I took a swig of champagne and shot up my hand (when in Amsterdam…). I walked nervously onto the stage and faced the audience with a man dressed (barely) as a sexy police officer. What happens next is up to your imagination (I explain more in my vlog below).  The next …

LONDON, ENGLAND

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I touched down at Gatwick Airport in the early morning and my first thought was, “OMG I AM IN THE LAND OF SPICE GIRLS!” Embarrassing truth: The day I found out Geri Halliwell was leaving the most iconic pop group of the 90’s was the first time I experienced heartbreak. 💔 Just picture an 8 year old Jessica singing Viva Forever while crying on her bedroom floor clutching onto all five of the Spice Girl dolls. Anyway, back to my trip to London (lol). After a 6 hour flight from Toronto I checked into The Royal National Hotel, a HUGE hostel near Russell Square Station. I was a little nervous to stay at the hostel since I had no idea who my roommates would be and had to share a room with them, whether I liked it or not. In my two nights I got to know two wonderful ladies. One who was embarking on a European adventure (like myself!) and one who just finished. Sharing a room with a stranger isn’t as awkward as you …

HONG KONG

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Hong Kong is incredibly unique. It has the bustle of The Big Apple, a dash of British influence with double decker buses (makes sense since Hong Kong was under British rule from 1841-1997), and historic Chinese culture intertwined throughout the city. I thoroughly enjoyed the lively streets, yummy food, easy-to-get-around subway system, night market shopping, and unique cafes. My first stop? Cat Store Cafe. Yes, I have fulfilled my lifelong dream of going to a cat cafe. First off, CUTE KITTY MILKSHAKES! Secondly, cats. EVERYWHERE! They roam freely throughout the room and are all calm, friendly and adorable. The kitty below was my favourite. I named her Snowball and we fell in love. IT’S SO FLUFFY!!! When I wasn’t obsessing over cats, I did touristy things such as climbed the 200+ steps to Tian Tan Buddha. When you reach the top, you get a gorgeous view of the sea, mountain tops and Big Buddha himself. Did you know Big Buddha faces north toward mainland China? And the statue costs roughly $60 million HK dollars (which is about $11 million CDN)? The more …

GUANGZHOU, CHINA

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I made it to the motherland, a place where my ancestry began many moons ago: CHINA! I did not experience culture shock in Japan nor Taiwan, it wasn’t until we got to Guangzhou, China that it slapped me right in the face. The best way I can put it is, anything goes in China. Annnyyyttthinnnngg. You can do whatever you please. Want to smoke indoors even though the sign says you will be fined? Sure! Want to spit at other humans? Yup! Want to sell illegal merchandise because you DGAF? Heck yes! China certainly has its quirks (to put it nicely) but there were parts I did like, such as Shangxiajiu Shopping Street, which stretched for ages (so many stores, so little time). The best part is that no cars are allowed on these roads so it’s a place to enjoy a wee bit of space to walk around. I picked up Miniso Rose Water and Olive Oil Serum from the shopping strip, both under $5 CDN. Rose Water (with real rose pedals inside the bottle) is …

TAIWAN | PART 3

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I can’t believe my Taiwan trilogy is coming to an end (part 1 & part 2). The last few days of the trip were certainly my favourite, perhaps it was because I was getting used to the extreme heat and the I-don’t-know-what-meat-this-is meals. In all seriousness, I love Taiwan and would go back in a heartbeat. The final few days we spent in the south so temperatures rose to a scorching 35 degrees. The heat didn’t stop us as we ventured off to the Buddha Memorial Center, the most visited place in Taiwan (25,000 visitors daily!). The place was stunning and Buddha was looking as ravishing as ever. We entered the memorial and attended a ceremony led by a monk. The ceremony was not in English so I followed what everyone else was doing (hands together, hands apart, kneel down, stand up, etc). If everyone started breakdancing, I probably would have followed suit. The best part of blistering hot heat? Beaches! We went to Cijin Island, a five minute ferry ride from Kaohsiung Harbour. I …