Unfortunately, since we were unable to get on our original train to Geneva, we only had a day and a half in this city. We arrived on a Sunday and everything was closed, so we took that opportunity to just relax by the lake. Lake Geneva is absolutely stunning, the water is crystal clear and contains several different shades of blues and greens. There was a beach/grassy area near the lake where we spent practically all day just relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. It was a much needed brake during our journey……after all there are only so many old buildings one can look at before they all start to blur together.
Tag Archives: europe
Tuscany
Florence, Italy was on of my favorite cities so far, it was just as nice as Venice, but in a different way. We stayed at David’s Inn hostel, which was right in the center of the city. It was a very nice hostel with recently updated furnishings and decorations. The first night we meet a guy who told us about this great spot with live music that overlooks the whole city and gives a great view of the sunset; we ended up going to this spot every night, it was absolutely gorgeous. The views were fantastic! We mainly just wondered around and explored the city, but one day we did a day excursion. We did a wine tour through Tuscany. This was probably my favorite part of the backpacking trip so far. We book the grape escape wine tour at a really good price online before we left. The tour took us to a wine tasting school first where we tasted not only wine, but also olive oils and balsamic vinegars. We learned a little bit about paring with different foods and the proper way to taste the wine. We then went to a local winery where we were taken on a tour of the production of wine. After the tour we were treated to a traditional Tuscan style lunch over looking the beautiful Tuscan countryside; we also got more wine and cheese. The tour continued with a trip to the little town of San Gimignano, where I ate the best gelato I have ever had! The little town was what I pictured an Italian town to look like. I am so glad we did this tour because it gave us the chance to explore a side of Italy that we wouldn’t have had the chance to see without renting a car.
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague was a gorgeous city. We only spent one night in this beautiful city. We did all of the touristy stuff of course, like the Charles bridge and the palace, but my favorite part was just strolling along the side streets. We wondered lots of side streets, which were so cute. The red roofs which Prague is known for aren’t done justice by the pictures. It is something that can’t be captured with a photo, even though I took a billion photos. I have a felling that all of my travels will not be done justice by photos, but I will try my best to take some that are worthy of these gorgeous cities I will be visiting.
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!
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 