Europe

Last Stop Oslo!

/ Emily / Leave a comment

“There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.” – Sir Rannulph Fiennes

(I might have to include another packing post for this one, because I did do this Nordic trip with only a backpack to survive the cold, but that’s a story for another time).

Last post in the Nordic Adventure series! I decided to not post a boring “we flew back home” post so here’s the final one about our amazing day in Oslo.

My friend and I both had several things we wanted to see. So early in the morning we got up and set out in the snow and cold to go see the sights!

We went to the central station to grab a bus heading over towards the Viking Ship Museum. Now, during the summer I think there’s a ferry, but the winter it’s the bus or walking…and it would be a long walk…in the cold. So the bus it was.

As far as public transport, Oslo had a very nice one and it was easy to keep track of where we were going and get off at the right stop. No worries on confusion there!

img_4786

We stopped at the Viking Ship Museum right as it opened. We went inside and got to survey the ships, which was amazing. They’re quite impressive to see in person!

I thought the museum was a bit small overall. Other than the ships and a few artifacts, there’s not really a lot there. I’d been hoping for more about Viking history and such, but this isn’t really the museum for that I guess. So just be warned, it’s a place that won’t take you more than an hour. Unless you’re just a really dedicated photographer who needs to take lots of different shots of the ships.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Next we headed over to the Fram Museum, a collection of exhibits about the polar ice ships. We stopped for some coffee at a convenience store and then headed on our way. There was still so much to see!

img_4798

The Fram Museum is one of my favorite museums in the world. It was interesting, well-laid out, interactive, and informative. You were able to board one of the boats, and go through a polar simulator, see what pulling a sled would feel like, and so much more. My friend and I had a great time there and learned a lot too.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It’s a really well done museum, and I highly recommend it if you’re in Oslo.

After that we boarded the bus again and headed towards downtown to see the National Gallery. This was our final goal for the day.

We stopped for lunch in a pizza place. It had pretty good food and we enjoyed having a warm meal before heading towards the museum.

 

Our luck was that the museum was free on the first Thursday of the month, which that happened to be. So we got to go see everything without paying a cent (or a crown I suppose). So keep that in mind anyone in town on the first Thursday!

We enjoyed the artwork before stopping by for a picture of The Scream, which the gallery is most famous for having.

img_4838

Afterwards my friend wanted to seek out a metal shop she’d heard about online. I still don’t understand exactly what she wanted to see there, but something. I waited for her outside, and then we headed to our Airbnb for a break from the cold. I think that day we walked almost ten miles all in all. So we needed it.

img_4843

Our flight was early the next morning, so what both of us really needed was food and caffeine and then a good night’s rest.

We walked to a popular neighborhood our host had pointed out. Apparently there was a coffee shop there that was supposed to be world famous. It’s called Tim Wendelboe. People apparently came from the United States just to try it. So we grabbed a cup.

img_4844

If my friend had been more into coffee I probably would have insisted on a tasting, but she just wanted her own drink, so we settled for that. As I’m not a connoisseur of coffee I cannot really speak to if it was worth a trip to Oslo by itself or not, but it did taste very good and seemed very rich and flavorful. If you’re a coffee guru feel free to check the link out!

After getting our drinks we headed off in search of a restaurant.

We ran into a pub that looked like it had quite a few people in it.

I had a chicken stew type dish. It was decent, but I had problems with it because the chicken was still on the bone…in the stew…so it was hard to see where the bones were. So, not my favorite meal, but still filling and hearty.

img_4845

We filled up and then headed back for some rest. It was tough saying goodbye to these beautiful countries, but we had a good time, and I’d just have to hope maybe someday I could come back and see some more!

Nordic Adventure Other Posts:

1st day traveling

Copenhagen

Copenhagen to Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm to Oslo

Winter Wonderland: Journeying from Stockholm to Oslo

/ Emily / 1 Comment

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”
― Lewis Carroll

So I raved about the trains in the last post, but I think it could be said again. Scandinavian trains are my favorite.

They’re not too pricey, and on top of that you get free wifi, chargers at your seat, and of course fantastic snowy views.

However, I’m jumping ahead of myself.

For any who haven’t been following, this is part of my Nordic adventure, heading up to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Oslo was our last stop on the road. However, to get there we needed to take a long train ride all the way there. Not that it was a great burden to us.

We checked out of our hostel in Stockholm and headed to the train station where we grabbed coffee and treats to finish off the last of our Swedish crowns. And then we boarded the train and were on our way.

It was very crowded, but thankfully my seat partner got off at like the second or third stop, so most of the ride I had to myself and could look out the window while working on my computer. The countryside was beautiful. You could see small black dots out on the surface of a frozen lake, little ice fishers waiting for their catch. I just would catch myself sighing, and thinking the train ride could be longer, and I wouldn’t mind.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In fact it was, delays apparently were caused by trains crossing, though I don’t really understand how that works, but nonetheless we arrived in Oslo in the late evening.

My friend and I headed out into the cold, both enjoying the snow as we have none where we are living in France now, but both come from places that get a little frozen precipitation during the winter months.

img_4776

We walked through the downtown before heading to our Airbnb.

I had never done Airbnb before. Maybe that’s strange for a traveler, but it’s true. I had never seen the need, choosing to usually find hostels instead. However, Oslo had very few hostels, so my friend and I realized it might be just as cheap to book something else instead. And that’s how we found the place we were staying.

It was a very nice apartment, very close to the downtown area. The hosts were very friendly and offered us advice about what to do. They were even helpful when I asked if I could wash my clothes while I was there, since it would save me a trip to the laundromat when I got back.

I highly recommend this option if you’re in Oslo with another person, because it’s worth it splitting. Or another Airbnb. It’s nice to have another option if there aren’t hostels to house you, and it beats paying for a fancy hotel. Such is the modern world I guess!

After getting some advice about what to see from our host, my friend and I headed out to find food. We walked down to the downtown area, enjoying the snow and lights and city. We were again hungry enough (having skipped lunch) we decided to settle for anything. Which is how we ended up eating pasta at Prima Fila. It was pretty good food overall, and we even splurged and I had dessert and my friend a starter. Good to treat yourself sometimes I guess.

After that we took a little walk around the area before heading back to get some good rest. We were looking forward to a full day of exploring when morning came!

Why Stockholm is so Captivating

/ Emily / 1 Comment

“The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.”-Henry David Thoreau

Well, Stockholm is probably one of my new favorite cities. It’s an absolutely incredible place to visit, and I highly recommend it for anyone who’s going to be spending a large amount of time in Europe. Really clean, safe, nice. While a rougher and more “adventurous” place can be fun, there is something comforting sometimes in being in a place that can allow you to relax and take it easy for a bit.

img_4642

I started my morning with breakfast at the hostel, looking out the window at the water. I’d slept soundly on the boat that night, lulled to sleep by the rocking of the water (for any who didn’t read the previous post we were staying at the AF Chapman, a hostel on board a boat!), but a cup of coffee wasn’t a bad way to start the morning. Breakfast wasn’t included in the price, but I find sometimes splurging and getting something to eat first thing in the morning makes you ready to go for the day ahead. And a little coffee, cereal, toast, etc. never hurts.

img_4647

One quick boat photo before leaving!

After that I went and fetched my friend and we headed over to the docks on the other side to take the ferry over to another island. It was the easiest way to get where we wanted to be going. Overall the ferries were pretty easy to use, in spite of being on the off season. They came regularly, so we were able to hop on and head over to the Vasa Museum.

This museum is absolutely incredible. I highly recommend it if you’re in Stockholm. It holds a beautiful 17th century ship that sank in the harbor when it was launched. It sat there for years until finally someone went looking for it and managed to haul the remains out. Because of the conditions that it had been placed in, the ship was actually in remarkably good shape.

The museum was really interesting, and of course the ship was just incredible to see. It’s a really great place to go.

After that we headed over to the Skansen. It’s essentially a big open air museum. I think during the summer it’s a little more lively, but during winter it’s kind of quiet. Again, my experience might be very different from what you’d encounter during a more normal season.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

However, even in winter it’s fun because you get to see parts of what Swedish landscapes look like. The farms, churches, and windmills that have made up the countryside throughout history. And there’s also a sort of zoo with animals from the area. So we got to see cool lynx, and wolves, and reindeer oh my!

After walking over most of the place we headed to the restaurant in the site to get food. We were hungry, and had another stop after the Skansen, so filling up on food would be good.

More meatballs and princess cake (because why not) and then we were off again towards the ABBA museum.

Now… I don’t care for ABBA at all.

Somehow, on my adventures I always manage to get roped into something with someone who’s a big fan. My last big train trip with a friend I was dragged along for the Sound of Music tour (not that it wasn’t good…but still…). I feel like one day I’ll have my justice and have someone who isn’t a Harry Potter fan with me on a set tour, or something, but for now I just tag along.

Because seeing a smile on the face of  your traveling companion can definitely be worth it. I loved seeing how excited she got doing karaoke and seeing all the costumes and looking through the various parts of the museum. So I had fun with her.

It’s just one of the cons of traveling with another person. Sure, there are benefits too, but you have to realize you might be forced to go do things you wouldn’t do on your own. I’ll try to post something on solo travel sometimes, because I’ve actually become a really big fan of it, partly because of this!

It’s also a pretty nice museum, even if you don’t like the subject matter. They’ve added interactive things like karaoke and it’s very aesthetically pleasing to look at (even if it’s a bit pricey). If you’re an ABBA fan check it out for sure.

We ran through that faster than we’d expected, so with a little time to relax, we decided to charge phones at the hostel before heading out again. My friend pointed out that the modern art museum was open until 8, which is late for most things. And it was right next to our hostel, so it made for easy walking.

After a ferry ride back, we settled into our little boat room and charged phones and rested. Once we and our devices had enough energy, we headed out towards the museum.

We were really excited when we found out it was free. Now, I’m not a big modern art fan myself, I tend to prefer seeing really beautiful well-painted pieces than the modern stuff. However, I admit there can be fun in seeing what artists can come up with, and that modern art museums almost always have something that can surprise or confuse me or even sometimes make me stop and think. Everyone has their own opinions of course. I’d never force anyone to conform to mine.

Regardless they had a nice collection, and for free it wasn’t a bad deal. I thought the exhibit on architecture was probably the most interesting, but they had videos, and paintings, and sculptures of all different types as well.

After that I suggested stopping by the hostel for a dinner recommendation.

I went in with a smile on my face and asked the woman at the desk if she had a place nearby she thought was good for dinner.

She frowned and said “oh well the closest one is probably here.” And pointed at the map.

Now, I noticed right near her finger was a TGI Fridays logo. I figured she had to be referring to something near that, so I asked for clarification.

“It’s a Fridays,” she said with a nod. “Good food. It’s close.”

I had to struggle not to laugh. I nodded and thanked her and walked out the door to tell my friend, “well that was a bust.”

Now some of you might like Fridays. And again, I discussed a few blogs ago how sometimes food choices are just a matter of convenience and price and wanting something filling. But if I have other options I’m not eating at a TGI Fridays… because while I respect cheap prices, I still want a decent meal, and I’d rather go somewhere local even if it’s an Asian, or Italian, or Mexican place instead of serving more traditional cuisine.

We found a burger place right next to the Fridays actually. And settled in there. It was good food and not too pricey. So we enjoyed our burgers and then headed back for a good night’s rest.

img_4751

Having a Sweet Time in Sweden

/ Emily / 1 Comment

Plunge boldly into the thick of life, and seize it where you will, it is always interesting.” — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

So, this is the third part of the Nordic Adventure series. We started our journey in Copenhagen, and from there me and my friend moved on to see some of Sweden, well, heading towards the capital of Stockholm.

We woke up early and headed to the train station. Unfortunately, we’d made the classic foreign currency mistake of taking out far too much… so I tell you, be careful with making that error. Because my morning in the train station was a lot of trying to spend all my money before we had to leave. I bought coffee and pastries and snacks for the road.

Then we were off to get on our train.

So I did a Eurail trip a while back, and you can read about that as well, but needless to say I’ve done a fair amount of train travel. So I’ve quickly learned what countries trains I like and which ones I don’t. Scandinavian trains are top of the list. Absolutely amazing. Free wifi on board. Chargers at every seat. Good leg room.

Only problem was that my friend and I had booked separately, so we were not sitting together. However, most of the ride I had the seat to myself, and it was nice to just look out the window, enjoy the internet, and relax. I did some good writing and managed to enjoy myself enjoying the snowy scenery. Seriously, if you’re a writer, try a train, I find it’s one of my favorite places to relax and type out some thoughts.

We arrived in the early afternoon, giving us enough time to make our way by metro over to our hostel. When we’d been looking for one, this particular hostel had stood out to us, and here’s why.

It was on a boat.

img_4588

Yes, like an actual boat. The AF Chapman. Apparently the boat was basically donated to the tourist association after it was done being used, and now they run it as a youth hostel where you can book rooms. Sounds like during tourist season it’s busier, but since it was winter we had no problem getting a room on board.

Honestly, we were both so excited as we walked up to it. I snapped so many photographs and just basked in the knowledge that for two nights I’d be sleeping in the depths of a boat.

We checked in, going down to our little six person room and settling in. After that we decided to head over to old town to look around a little while it was still light.

We walked around the shops and the restaurants, enjoying the sights. We watched as the sun set over the water. All the islands make it an amazing city to see, and I highly encourage just exploring.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

After walking around a bit more we found a restaurant for food. We ate at Magnus Ladulus which was more of a traditional Swedish place with a cool setting in a sort of cellar. It was very fun. I had the meatballs which were delicious.

Afterwards we set out on a mission to find Princess Cake, which my friend had recommended. Sure enough we found a café that was still open and serving it. And voila we got to try this amazing confection. One of my new favorites for sure! So delicious. It has a layer of marzipan and then whipped cream and sponge cake and jam. It’s incredible.

Then we walked back to our hostel for the night. We needed a good night of sleep to get ready for more exploring the next day.

Keeping it Chill in Copenhagen

/ Emily / 3 Comments

“There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars.” ― Jack Kerouac

So the thing about Copenhagen was that neither my friend nor I had a sense of needing to do lots of things. For me, the little mermaid statue was a must, and otherwise I was happy to do whatever. Tivoli was sadly closed, which is the one problem with going anywhere in the off season.

We began our morning by grabbing coffee and donuts at Dunkin Donuts nearby. Both of us were just too excited by the prospect of American coffee that wasn’t Starbucks that we just had to hit it up. Honestly, I think we’re both at a point where we sort of want to head home, but at least we’re still finding time and energy to travel.

After filling up on sugar and fat we headed off towards more of the city to explore.

A lot of Copenhagen was just wandering for us. Walking around and admiring the beautiful architecture, and the fun stores, and the beautiful sunshine, which was amazing. So yes, it was the perfect.

On our way down towards the little mermaid statue we stopped by Nyhavn, a 17th century canal that is absolutely beautiful looking with colorful houses and pretty boats.

As we continued onwards, we also admired the beautiful opera house, and the marble church that was especially lovely with the snow and the sunshine.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Finally we reached the little mermaid. As it was off season, it was easy to reach her, which was very nice. We took some pictures in front of her before heading off again.

With more pictures, we stopped by the marble church to peek inside, passing the royal palace on the way just in time of the changing of the guard. We didn’t stick around too long, eager to see more, but it was still a very exciting coincidence.

After more exploring we were both getting hungry so we stopped at a place called Café Katz for lunch. I’d been told the rye bread was traditional in Copenhagen, so I had a rye crusted halibut with slices of the bread on the side. It was very good and it was fun to try something local! They also had fresh squeezed lemonade, and even after summers full of serving lemonade I still never get tired of it.

We snagged the bill and headed off into the cold once more. The sun was still out so we wandered over to Christiania, an old anarchist community that has interesting art decorations and old buildings. I have no pictures sadly, as I was a little bit out of my element there, but it was definitely an interesting place to check out.

After that we stopped by the Church of Our Savior, which has a beautiful golden spire on top. It was closed for a concert so we couldn’t go in, but otherwise it was fun to see.

My friend and I took a coffee break at Baresso Coffee, more of a local chain. It had fun chocolate drinks, which were interesting. It was convenient and a good place to warm up and get some drinks.

After that it was back for more walking. I think our phones said we’d walked about 12 miles at the end of the day. So quite the day of trekking around the city.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We stopped in some tourist shops for postcards and a few fun trinkets. My roommate had a goal to find a tacky magnet in every place we visited, which I thought was pretty funny.

Of course, with the name of my blog being a Hans Christian Anderson quote, I had to get a picture of myself next to his statue.

img_4562

Regardless, we headed back to our hostel to charge our phones for a bit afterwards and then we were off for dinner.

Now, I had some criticism in my last blog on getting Asian food while in Scandinavia. I’ll say these things. Any choice of food kind of comes to down to a number of factors. You are not going to find a place that meets all of your requirements. So some of those factors in deciding are: price, quality, healthiness, portion size, ease of access, location, authenticity, available room. And those are just a few. My point is that when eating out you have to pick. Do you want to wander for thirty minutes scanning trip advisor for a place that is open and then pay a really expensive price to eat food that maybe isn’t even that healthy?

Honestly, my roommate and I were hungry, and worn out from trekking all over the city. So yes, we grabbed Thai food. It was filling, cheap, easy (really close to our hostel), and had vegetables and meats and a well-balanced assortment. Think what you will about my food choices, but I’ll just say that sometimes traveling requires you to make quick choices. And those were mine.

After that it was back to the hostel to sleep and get ready to head off to Sweden the next day.

Save

The Great Nordic Adventure: Part 1

/ Emily / 1 Comment

“If happiness is the goal – and it should be, then adventures should be top priority.” – Richard Branson

So…I’ve been a lot of places in Europe, but somehow in all my times there I’d never managed to venture north… well really far north. So, I knew that one of my biggest goals for this year abroad was to head up to some of the Scandinavian countries. And when one of my friends invited me to come adventuring with her, it was confirmed.

img_4511

Our first day of our trip was mostly just a mess of transportation. We took a train down to Lille, where we hopped on a bus that took us to the Brussels airport. From there we took a flight to Copenhagen flying on Ryan Air.

Now, I’d never flown Ryan Air before. It’s definitely interesting. The prices are very good, which to me makes it worth it. Obviously, they try to charge you for anything else, however, so just be aware of that little conundrum. However, if you’re like me and can do a week with a backpack instead of checking a bag, and don’t need to buy any extra things on board…you’re good to go!

I got lucky actually because my friend and I were the first to get in line for the flight (and yes people do line up for the flight so they can get on first… starting as soon as they have the gate number). And then I got extra lucky because the flight attendant offered to put me in the exit row… all by myself. Extra leg room and a whole row to myself. I somehow have been blessed with this happening more than once on an airline. I don’t know what good thing I did in my life to deserve this, but I will take it every time.

We arrived in Copenhagen and had to find a train to the central station, right near where our hostel was. Thankfully it ended up being pretty easy. We were quickly becoming aware that Copenhagen had plenty of English everywhere, making it very easy, and definitely in our comfort zones for a travel destination.

Sure enough after a few minutes we arrived in the city center. My friend and I had fun noting all the American chains we don’t have in France like 7/11 and Dunkin’ Donuts. Definitely made us pretty happy since we are pretty homesick at this point.

We walked to our hostel a block away. We were staying in Urban House Hostel, which is a really awesome stay that I’d recommend to anyone. It’s clean and modern, and it’s really handy with its online check in system that helps make it more convenient. The location is fantastic too, so really unbeatable, plus a fun atmosphere with a bar and other cool things attached to it.

We dropped our stuff off and ran to get food. It was late, almost 9 at that point, so it really just was kind of a scramble to get any kind of food before places began to close. There was a Vietnamese place a block away called Bistro KiVi that looked decent. Honestly, we were hungry enough that it didn’t really matter to us what we ate, plus Asian food does tend to be a bit cheaper…which isn’t a bad thing in these more expensive Scandinavian countries.

So we decided to split a four course meal thing. It started with a crab soup, and then a plate with a variety of appetizers (prawns, spring rolls, and a cool lettuce wrapped thing that was delicious), then a plate of duck which was amazing, and lastly a little chocolate cake with coconut ice cream. We both were ravenous, and extremely happy to just enjoy some good food we didn’t have to cook.

After finishing up we headed back to the hostel for a night of rest. We were ready for a fun day of exploring ahead!

The Cat’s Out of the Bag: Why Ypres is Amazing

/ Emily / Leave a comment

All right, I’ll admit the title is a bit deceptive. It’s mostly just that I couldn’t resist using a cat joke. See, Ypres is that town that was famed for throwing cats off the belfry. They still have a cat festival every year, though now they’re a bit more humane about it. So no cats were injured in the making of this blog post.

My morning began with classes. I went and helped out in one class at my first school and then went to teach another class at my second, talking about heath in America and the problem of Big Gulps….which Europeans don’t have so they think it’s crazy we have so much soda. Regardless, it makes for an interesting topic with which to practice English.

Then it was off to grab a sandwich and head to meet my family.

We met up outside of my high school. I let them drive through some of the main parts of my town to see a little bit of what it was like. However, the road we wanted to take wasn’t legal to turn right onto. My dad decided to do it anyways. And what do you know we got pulled over by the police

My father apologized and the man said we were lucky before pulling away. Just always follow traffic rules, kiddos. The moment you don’t is the moment you get caught.

Anyhow, there were no other problems as we drove towards Ypres, our destination for the day. We’d decided to venture back into Belgium, since I didn’t know of a lot to do in the French area.

We started off by walking around the town. We looked at the cathedral before going over to where the famed belfry is where they used to throw cats. Then we walked around some of the war memorials and saw one of the cemeteries.

We were all hungry so it seemed like a good time for lunch. My dad had read there was a place with burgers in town, so we stopped there. They were indeed quite tasty, plus fries and croquettes which are always amazing.

img_4302

There was a little more time to walk around some of  the city and see a few more things.

After that we were getting cold so we headed towards Lille. As always, French places don’t open for dinner until eight or later usually, so we had to kill time until then.

Unfortunately it was quite cold in Lille, so while walking around the shops and squares was fun, it was not really pleasant.

img_4309

We ended up in the FNAC which is a media store with books and movies and such. It made for a warm place to rest for a bit while we waited for the restaurant to open.

My friend had been recommended a place called La Campagne de Grappe, a local French restaurant that apparently was well liked by the locals. She passed on the advice to me, and I suggested eating there to my family.

So we headed there at eight and sat down to order some interesting dishes. I had the duck lasagna that was indeed quite delicious. Afterwards, for desserts my family had a selection that had several different types of local desserts while I had a roast pear that makes me salivate just thinking about it.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Overall it was a good day. It was sad to know it was our last, but I said goodbye to my family and knew that this wasn’t the end. I would have more fantastic adventures awaiting me in the future.

If you missed other Christmas Adventure Posts here is a list so you can catch up:

Bourges and Brive-la-Guillarde

Near Bilbao

Granada

Ronda

Gibraltar

Tangiers

Seville

Seville, Santa Olalla del Cala, Merida

Merida, Evora, Lisbon

Lisbon

Two days of driving (nope not kidding)

Tournai, Mons, Aulne

 

 

Save

Fries, Beers, Chocolates, and Waffles: A Belgian Adventure

/ Emily / 1 Comment

So I don’t work Tuesdays. It’s my day off thanks to my schedule. So, since school had recommenced on a Tuesday, I had the day to do what I wanted. My family decided that since I live so close to the Belgian border, it might be nice to take advantage of that and head over to explore yet another country.

My dad basically said, “Let’s go over, have some fries, beers, chocolates…” he thought for a moment, “and waffles.”

He insisted four things were weird and we needed a fifth, but we all reassured him that four amazing things all sounded really good.

We started off by driving over to Tournai. Mostly it was just an opportunity to walk around the main square and admire how pretty the town was. We did go into the Cathedral there and walked past the bell tower (it was closed for lunch so we couldn’t go in). Though it was cold, it was at least sunny, so we enjoyed the sunshine and made the most of our adventure.

After a quick jaunt through Tournai we headed to Mons.

We walked to the main square and took some pictures, after which we decided to grab some food. We found a place that had fries and different sauces and grabbed a bunch of different beers to drink. We all thoroughly enjoyed it.

After that we had to go get our chocolate. We stopped by a store to pick up a mixed bag. And then we stopped in for waffles. My Belgian friend tells me these are sort of solely for tourists…but hey they are still fun, and I will never say no to waffles (yup call me Leslie Knope if you will).

We enjoyed the food and then decided it might be fun to walk around a little more, climbing up to a bell tower on the hill.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

With plenty of time left, we opted to head over to a brewery nearby and see if they were open and then the ruins of an abbey that was supposed to be impressive.

The brewery was closed sure enough, so we just headed to the Aulne Abbey… or what was left of it.

It looked like something out of a horror film. Ruins of an abbey in the snow. I admit I jumped a few times when I heard birds calling. Creepy for sure. It was closed for the season, but we were able to get some views over the fences.

My family drove me back to France. We stopped to grab some groceries and for another dinner at Flunch, because cheap and easy is nice sometimes.

After that it was back to my school to unpack and get ready for classes the next day. I had one more day with my family, and then the adventure would be over.

New Year’s in Lisbon

/ Emily / 1 Comment

Well, Lisbon was our choice for a New Year’s Eve stay. After all, big city would probably be a good place to spend the holiday right?

We started off the day with breakfast at our hotel before heading down to a walking tour of the city. We selected Lisbon Chill-Out Free Tour. Well, my dad did. It was a bit of a conflict for us to be honest.

img_4072

See I love Sandeman’s tours. I’ve done four now, and every single one has been amazing. Sandeman has a Lisbon tour… but my dad did research and said Lisbon Chill-Out Free Tour was there first and Sandeman kind of encroached on their space.

That’s always the question isn’t it? Do you support local? Do you go with the big name brand?

I tend to be the kind of girl who will buy local coffee over Starbucks… well that is until PSL season. But I admit I usually try to give some favoritism to local shops and restaurants and businesses over chains. However, I cannot deny there are times (like with PSL seasons) that chains and big brands can be nice. After all, you go to a local coffee shop your coffee might be terrible. You go to Starbucks you already know what to expect. It might not be great, but it’s good. And it’s in your comfort zone.

img_4073

Selecting walking tours can be hard. I’ve had local tours that have been great. I really enjoyed mine in Bratislava. And then I’ve had ones like in Budapest and Rome that I really disliked where the guides were really uninteresting to listen to and didn’t give me much as a whole on the tour. So yes, there is something comforting in knowing what you’re getting and selecting a place like Sandemans.

I’ll say this, in my experience local tours teach you a bit more about the culture of the place which can be great. The people are from the country you’re visiting and they know more about the place itself. However, something like Sandemans usually has a native English speaker, which can lend itself more easily to having a good sense of humor, telling stories in a really creative and interesting way. So it’s really up to you and what you prefer.

img_4075

Chill Out Tours did a very good job overall. The guide was reasonably entertaining and did a good job giving an overview of the city. We had fun and enjoyed ourselves.

Afterwards we decided to hop on a tram and head over to Belem, a suburb of Lisbon with a beautiful monastery and a famous pastry shop.

We stopped at the Pasteis de Belem first, a bakery famed for being the first to make these delicious pastries. For any going, you’ll see a huge line outside. If you want to sit down you can head inside past the line and there are lots of tables. I’m guessing it’s more crowded in tourist season, but still could be worth a try. We got in and sat down together. We shared a few of the pastries together and some coffees and then we felt ready to hit up the monastery, the Jeronimos Monastery.

Sure enough, the building was beautiful. Absolutely amazing to see. If you’re getting pastries anyways, be sure to go see this place.

I don’t know that I thought the inside was all that special. But the outside and the cathedral are both quite impressive.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Then we made a snap decision to try to get to the aquarium…which was on the opposite side of town. So we hopped on a tram and then off and onto a metro and then we ran to the aquarium to make sure we had enough time to see everything before it closed.

I don’t know that it’s the most amazing aquarium I’ve ever been to, but it’s definitely nice. It had different exhibits for the different oceans. Otters and penguins definitely stood out as some of my favorites, though there were some cool deep see crabs, and beautiful jelly fish, and other cool things. I could spend hours just staring at fun animals. There’s so much beauty in nature.

After the aquarium we headed back towards our hotel. We dropped off things and then went to find dinner.

We ended up at Cocheria Alentejana. It was completely full. However, we managed to get a table. Because we were willing to eat outside. It wasn’t cold really. A little chilly towards the end. However, when we arrived it was decent, so we decided it would be worth it. I ordered a garlic shrimp stew. I have no pictures sadly because the waitress stirred it up for me and plopped the first serving down on my plate while I stared at her with my phone raised, ready for my usual Instagram pic. In spite of my disappointment, the dish was good. It was incredibly rich and filling. We also had green wine which I really enjoyed, and then a pumpkin cake thing for dessert which was delicious…but then again I love all things pumpkin. Danny had lemon sherbet…served in a lemon. It was adorable.

The atmosphere outside was amazing. People walking through the streets. A band marching by. Everywhere we looked it felt like a celebration.

After that we dropped tired Danny off at the hotel, and my mom and dad and I went over to a landing overlooking the city to try to watch fireworks. We did, and we watched people pop corks out of champagne and kiss each other. It was a nice way to ring in the New Year.

img_4177

So here’s to a New Year. Especially one full of more travels. More blog posts to come that’s for sure!

Off to Portugal

/ Emily / 2 Comments

So we started our morning by going back into Merida to see a few things. We hadn’t realized the museum in town wasn’t covered on our ticket, so we decided to skip it and went to the Alcazaba (basically fortress) in town instead. We enjoyed looking out at the city, seeing the Roman bridge looking beautiful in the morning light. The fortress itself was cool too. Walls you could climb up on, and this awesome tunnel that led into the depths of the fortress with a pool of goldfish at the bottom. All in all very fun.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Our last stop in Merida was to an aqueduct on the outskirts of town. It wasn’t Pont du Gard by any means, but it was very fun with its ruined state. And besides, the storks from town had all built nests along it which was very cool to see.

Once wed finished with pictures we set out on our drive to our next country. My family decided to be a bit crazy in our travels and visit… 6 countries. Insanity I tell you. So the next on the list was Portugal.

We stopped in Evora for lunch. Since the weather was beautiful we settled for having a picnic outside. It was sunny and lovely and there was even a random peacock strutting about trying to get some of our food.

img_4027

After our picnic was over, we went and wandered around the town a bit. There was a Roman temple that we wanted to see, and otherwise we just enjoyed the sunshine and pretty architecture of churches and other buildings.

Once we were satisfied that we’d seen enough of Evora for the day we set off on the road again, stopping to see some megalithic structures nearby known as the Almendres Cromlech. Most people know of Stonehenge, but some people might not be aware that there are lots of other monoliths, dolmens, and groups of menhirs all over Europe that are similar in terms of their size and debatable function. For any who find this really fascinating, I’d recommend seeing Carnac in France. There are so many stones it’s amazing.

However, these ones were also quite interesting. It’s impressive to look at the massive size of these rocks and imagine ancient peoples finding them and erecting them in these strange formations.

We took a few photos with the menhirs and then were on our way again, off towards Lisbon.

Of course, we arrived in Lisbon in afternoon traffic, so it was difficult to get to our hotel, and even more difficult finding parking. Nonetheless we did settle in at the Pensao Londres which had a classic old hotel feel with a good location.

We dropped our things off and relaxed a bit before setting off for dinner that evening. We ate at the Bota Alta, which had delicious foods that we all enjoyed. My brother and I both had stuffed meat (think cordon bleu) and my dad had a more traditional cod dish, which my mom just had a steak. All of it was delicious and we appreciated having a nice filling meal before setting off to walk around the city a bit.

We had hoped to find pastries, but the problem is the Portuguese eat late enough that most bakeries are closed after you’re done with dinner. So we just settled for seeing a little of the city. My favorite was running across the oldest bookshop in the world, which is something that had me squealing in delight. If there had been a book I really wanted there in English I would have bought it for sure to appease my happy book collecting self. However, nothing really stuck out.

img_4065

We walked back up an incredible number of steps to get back up to our hotel. Be warned that Lisbon is a very hilly city. You will walk up and down a lot to see anything.

img_4066

Well, a good night’s rest would do us good for the coming day.