So I wana talk about food! Food here is so cheep. For lunch we shared 3 different dishes, two different types of Perogies and potato pancakes. It was delicious and the best part was that it only costed about $5 a person…so cheap. If only every city we are planning on visiting will be this cheap 😦
Monthly Archives: March 2014
Day 1 Wroclaw, Poland
So after leaving London at 4am in the morning to catch a flight to Wroclaw, Poland, I can officially say that my 26 day journey around Europe has begun. I am so excited to be in Poland, because not only is it a unique country to visit, but it is where my family is from. My great grandparents are from Poland and my grandfather always talks about his Polish roots. He is always talking about Polish food and Polish vocabulary. I can speak very little Polish because of him, but it was not nearly enough to communicate with the native speakers here. After we landed in Poland we took a taxi to our hostel. The taxi ride was a little bit unusual to say the least. The scenery on the way to our hostel was very sketchy and it had me worried at first. When we arrived at our hostel it looked even sketchier. The front and the main stair well was very dirty and run down looking. But when we got to our hostel, which is located on the second floor, it looked so nice! The hostel looks clean and modern. There is a modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances, and the beds are clean with fresh sheets and amazing mattresses. In addition to that the people who work at the hostel were very friendly and very helpful. After we checked in to the hostel we went exploring! We first visited the main square in Wroclaw, the market square. It was so pretty with colorful buildings and unique architecture. We walked around for quite a while, Wroclaw has tons of bridges and very scenic rivers, which made it nice just to wonder around. We also visited the National museum because there is free admission on Saturdays! Free is my favorite word lol. For dinner we had some traditional Polish food. We went to the grocery store and bought rolls, perogies, and kielbasa. I cooked it up for us back at the hostel. We each had a huge plate full of food and it only costed up $1.60 a piece! That is one thing I love about it here……it is cheep! Tomorrow is yet another day to explore this fascinating city…..I can’t wait to see what this trip has in store for us!
Backpacking Across Europe!
After months of planning my traveling companions and I departed at 4 am for a 26 day journey across Europe. I have never done anything like this in my life, but I am excited and ready to enjoy every second of it. Over the next 26 days we will be traveling to 8 different countries and visiting 11 different cities along the way. I will be trying my best to post in every city to keep you updated on where we are and what we are doing. A train pass, camera and a back pack is all I have to my name for the next month, but it will be a unique experience that I know I will never forget. Packing was hard, but I brought as little as possible. I have never done this before so I don’t know if I am doing it right, but thats part of the journey, the ups and the downs are all part of the experience and I am excited to get started. I am sure it will be exhausting and thrilling, but I also know I will love every second of it!
Scotland
Scotland was the destination for this weekend’s adventure! The first night we stayed in Edinburgh, Scotland right next to the castle! As you can see from my photo the hostel was in an ideal location, which made touring the castle a easy walk. Our weekend was filled with many adventures, even tasting the famous Irn Brew that is more popular in Scotland than Cola; one of my favorite adventures was a day trip to the Highlands and Loch Ness. I must say the views from the bus along our drive were some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen, but unfortunately pictures simply do not do it justice. We took a boat ride around the Loch Ness, and I have to admit that I am a believer in the Nessie the Loch Ness monster after hearing the stories that our boat driver told on our cruise around the Loch. On the final day of our weekend we climbed to the top of Arthur’s Seat which is a dormant volcano in Edinburgh. The top of this volcano gave absolutely incredible views all around us and was one of the highlights of my trip. It only took one weekend, but I fell in love with Scotland!
Paris, France
Paris, France……need I say more? Well I will. I was in Paris this weekend! I traveled from London using the eurostar high speed train and arrived in the beautiful city of Paris in 2 hours, (much better than a 9hr mega bus ride). The city was beautiful, but you may be shocked to hear, I was a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and the Notre Dame Cathedral were beautiful, but I think my expectations were too high. The beggars everywhere and the people trying to scam you were ridiculous. Women would be carrying around fake babies, while others would try and tie bracelets on your wrist then make you buy them. This constant “scamming” society made me a little turned off to be honest. But despite all of that it was a great trip. One of my favorite things was the hot chocolate and desserts at Laduree. The hot chocolate literally tasted like a melted chocolate bar, it was delicious! The Macaroons were equally as AMAZING, but for most of my meals I was a penny pusher. I would buy a 1 euro baguette and eat half for lunch and the other half for dinner. For breakfast there was a small little bakery around the corner from our hotel where they spoke no English, but each day I would point to a different item in the case to try and nothing I tried was bad. Overall Paris was a beautiful city filled with wonderful desserts, despite the few unpleasant people.
Brussels, Belgium
It has been awhile since I have posted anything new, but a few weeks ago I went to Brussels, Belgium. We had a VERY long journey getting there…all I will say about that is to NEVER take Mega Bus anywhere. Despite the frustrating journey it was a wonderful weekend. The waffles were as good as they claim to be. I had one waffle at a restaurant that was good, but the cheep 1 euro waffle on the street was excellent! As you can see from my picture I had my waffle the way the locals do just sugar and it was divine. In addition to eating waffle I also tried some chocolate! The chocolate was a disappointment to be honest, but that probably because I bought the cheep touristy stuff. Overall it was a fun weekend trip and a nice way to explore another country.
southerner2londoner 