I hate spoiling the ilusion of me being off in these wonderful and exotic locations around the world, but for those who aren't aware, Shannon and I are back in Canada. We flew in on Friday, and by now are moderately rested and un-jet-lagged, yet there's still heaps that hasn't been written, plus I've got the time and ability to put up photos en masse now, so as long as you aren't too let down at the thought of all this coming from boring ol' Calgary, then stick around for a few more blogs.
After Amsterdam, the two of us took an unexpected trip to Paris. We were left with a few days of what I can only think to call "dead space" where we weren't sure what to do. The options were:
1. Work/volunteer on a farm or two in England
2. Go to Belgium to drink some chocolate, eat some beer, do some Belgian things
3. Go to Paris and see what Mona was smiling about
We took the Paris route, I can't remember exactly why but I think it had to do with cheaper buses and seeing the Louvre. I suppose there's no way to know if it was the right choice, but it made sure we got to experience:
1. Incredible amounts of artwork, sculptures and "culture" things everywhere
2. The incredible French sport of being rude to people
3. The savage inefficiency of French renovation and construction workers (or perhaps just the entire French workforce)
The first is obvious, but probably won't be what sticks in my mind longest. Sure the artwork and famous cathedrals are nice, but when you show up for dinner and told only drinks are available, then ask for coffee and told you must order food, well that's just mind-blowing.
Oh, and we stayed at a friend's parents' house for a night. Why mention this? They bought the house 3 years ago to open a B&B. After nearly three straight years of renovations, they are now, hopefully, only 3 years away from being "close" to completion. They take their time it seems in France.
We took the chunnel (the channel tunnel) to England and spent the next 5 nights in London. I apologize to all my English friends who read this only to learn that Shannon and I never got out of London, but we got caught up there and never made it out. London is a pretty cool city, though even a few days there is enough to tell that it's about as close to being "English" as an English pub in Canada. OK, maybe a stretch, but you get the idea.
We met up with some of my parents while there, which was a great way to see some of the touristy stuff Shannon and I wouldn't normally check out (like the ones that cost lots of money), plus some friends of theirs cooked us an amazing meal, a nice break from eating out.
And so, after that, it was bye-bye Europe and off to the last stop on our trip - Iceland. I think that was my favourite stop on the trip (though surfing in Indonesia was a close second), which I'll have a great time writing all about in the next few days. Later!
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2 comments:
I miss living vicariously through your travels. Get out there again!
hey! you never wrote about iceland! lol - randi
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