Europe
For 2 weeks, I experienced plenty of firsts, including my first cruise on a non-Asian cruise line, and first my time in Europe. Suffice to say, I found that cruising was a great way to enjoy Europe: you wake up in a new destination (almost) every day!
Other thoughts?
- My favourite destination was Cinque Terre, a region in Italy that comprises of 5 villages on coastal mountains. To get to each one, one can take a train, ferry, or walk on the trail that connects them. The colourful houses in this area reminded me of....Newfoundland! Since this trip, I have concluded that we take Canada for granted quite easily. For instance, Tofino reminds me of Hawaii, Quebec City and Montreal reminds me of Europe (now I can say that with certainty - in fact, when we were in Nice, I accidentally said to a fellow traveller that we went to Old Quebec when I meant to say Old Nice!)
- Dubrovnik, Croatia was a second favourite - the coastal city was beautiful, with the red roofs and mostly because I wasn't expecting too much (despite my physiotherapist's assistant telling me so, who is from that side of Europe). I guess it's just not a top destination that you hear many tourists talk about (unlike Rome, Florence, Venice).
- While j.w liked Rome because of its history, I wasn't too fond of it not because it was old, but because it was dirty (graffiti and poo everywhere - not just dog poo), and by extension smelly. It reminded me of some Asian cities.
- Dogs and cats seem to freely wander the streets of Italy and Croatia. So if you are afraid of them, then be warned.
- Train strikes in Italy seem to be random! They can decide to strike for no apparent reason and have it start mid-day and end by 9PM. Thankfully, when that happened, the local buses were running and they ran an extra one to shuttle the tourists to Taormina, which cost the same as the train (6.5 euros roundtrip), but it actually took us to the top (where Taormina is situated). The public transportation system in Europe is just so affordable - the subway is 1 euro one way, (water) buses and trains are inexpensive too. (e.g. KW<->TO would be $10 RT).
- 3-star hotels are more like the standards of 2-star hotels here.
- I was sadly disappointed with the locals in Barcelona, Spain. The city is seemingly multi-cultural, yet I heard racist remarks directed at us twice! However, at the market, their fresh fruit drinks (like dragonfruit mango or pineapple mango) are sooo delicious and inexpensive. We shared 3 (3 euro total).
- Dining in Europe is ridiculously expensive - especially if the place has a cover charge for each person (up to 3.5 euros each!) - the last meal in Rome, we spent $70 CD for a salad, an entree, plus 1 coffee. Ouch.
- Travelling on a inaugural cruise is a great experience - you get to experience everything new for the first time, including new board games (no grimey fingers) and wrinkle free books to borrow!
- And, of course, gelato can be as low as 1 euro for 1 scoop in a cone - which works out to be about $1.64 CD.
