Blog

23 - 25 June : London Surprise

Final Days in Europe

Trippin'.
Back in London-- third- most expensive city after Tokyo and Osaka-- boy do we know how to pick them or what. After our debacle of a rat hole stay 3 weeks prior, we were determined and prepared to pay for a more decent and memorable stay in London. In London, where hotel rooms under $250 a night are scarce to none, imagine our surprised when we came across The Tower on Expedia for $150 a night. At $150 a night, we weren't expecting much; just better than the first time around. Color us confused when we came upon a 4 star hotel overlooking the London Bridge. We certainly didn't pay enough for this hotel, we thought, the entire time we were in line to check in. While others were in business suits and formal attire, we embarrassingly donned our crummy clothes and backpacker's backpacks. As out of place as we felt, we were assured we were in the right place. Jackpot! And while we respectfully declined the $50 room upgrade, we got one anyway! Whether it was out of courtesy or technical error, we weren't complaining about the upgrade-- St. Katherine's Suite!

Check out the ice cream truck we came across while roaming London. "Mind That Child!" Love the on- the- curbside parking.

Tip-- Make sure to "Look Right" when crossing the streets.

Once checked- in, we had dinner reservations at Cafe Spice Namaste-- a contemporary Indian restaurant near the hotel. Indian food in London is about 10 notches hotter than back in the States, but sOoo good! We had to ask for a side of yogurt just to cool down our palettes.

The next day, Buckingham Palace was first on the agenda, particularly because at around 11am, it's a huge spectacle to see the Changing of the Guards. After all the touristy mayhem and the hopes of getting a glimpse of the Royal family, with no luck, we proceeded to Harrods. Not your typical department store indeed. A must to be seen and experience. After Harrods, we strolled over to Hyde Park for an afternoon walk. There was a live concert going on but we didn't have access to the concert premises so we just walked along the walls and listened. It's our last day in London so we made sure we got our souvenir shopping in before we left.

The last 3 weeks has been an experience neither of us will ever forget. A few mishaps along the way but, nonetheless, Europe has treated us well and we'll definitely be back very soon. (slated for Oct 2009)

Sleeping: The Tower. Could not have ask for a better view-- The London Bridge.
Eating: The Georgian Restaurant (at Harrods), 87- 135 Brompton Rd. 4th floor, 020-7225-6800, an endless buffet of tasty morsels of delectable goodness!
Attraction & Destination Checklist:
Buckingham Palace
Harrods
Hyde Park
Tower of London
London Bridge

More Photos.

21 - 23 June : Fete de la Musique

Free Music is Great Music

Trippin'.
Every trip to Paris, by car, plane or train, the ritual is the same: purchase a metro pass and head straight for the hotel to stash our luggage before heading back out into the streets of Paris in search of a grec stand, where I order, without flinch, un grec avec frites (a gyros stuffed with fries). Simple enough; nothing utterly worldly or new. I'm not even sure it's entirely French, let alone Parisian. And yet, the feeling is instant total gratification the moment it's all wrapped up and nestled between the palm of my hands.

So this trip was no different. We checked in, dressed and headed out towards the Pompidou area for some lunch and shopping at a 3- story H&M in Les Halles. We both bought new sweaters and wore them out into the cold city.

For the rest of the day, we wandered the streets of Paris hitting up tourist landmarks such as Notre Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower. We also took a boat tour down the Seine which highlighted all major landmarks as well. It was a bit slow but a different way to see the sites. While in the Latin Quarter, we shared a crepe snack before continuing. On our way back to the hotel, we stumbled upon a small patisserie shop selling miniature bite size pastries. We couldn't choose just one, so we bought a little bit of everything-- heaven!

Oddly enough, as the day went on, we kept running into live music bands playing all over the city. It's Fete de la Musique-- a lively street music festival held every year on June 21st! And guess what day it was? Lucky us. It lasted into the late hours of the night. While hanging out in St. Germain Des Pres, we stumbled right into a live jam fest that felt like an outdoor club-- loud music and dancing drunken Parisians-- so fun!

Next morning we hit up the Louvre. Lucky for us. No lines! And while the Mona Lisa will remain supreme, there is a new hype in town-- the inverted pyramid made famous by Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. After the Louvre, we hit up the Arc de Triomphe as well the Luxembourg Gardens. Since it's towards the end of our trip, we decided to splurge on dinner at Buddha Bar. My martini alone was 30+ euros. That's euros!

Sleeping: Hotel Plessis. Not the best two star in Paris; there are hundreds to choose from in any Arrondissements.
Eating: Another Parisian classic-- une crepe au sucre (a crepe with sugar). Sometimes, less is more.
Attraction & Destination Checklist:
Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
The Louvre
Notre Dame Cathedral
Luxembourg Gardens

More Photos.

19 - 20 June : Cruisin' Catalunya

Last Train to Paris

Trippin'.
Barcelona is Spain's 2nd largest city with a fascinating culture and history, and undoubtedly, a city of remarkable architecture; a city of all cities. And the food, well that's just icing on the cake.
Our hostel was conveniently located a few blocks from La Rambla just behind Gaudi's museum. We both couldn't wait to check in and have our first authentic Spanish tapas meal. Barcelona is known for its vast assortment of tapas and we practically ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Go for a ride
After lunch, we decided the best way to see the city was through a tour. Since we've already done tours by foot and boat.. why not by bike. Fat Tire Bike Tours is popular throughout Europe and people recommend it as a great way to get a work out while seeing the best of the city. Our tour guide was a young and hippie- ish Los Angeles native. An American! He was great-- chilled and laid back with a wealth of Barcelona knowledge. Had we not chosen the bike tour, we would have never been able to find the exact steps where Christopher Columbus stood as he announced to the King and Queen that he'd found America! We biked all over the city for half the day and capped it off with dinner at Les Quinze Nitz, conveniently located right around the corner from the bike tour's meeting and drop off point. So maybe word had spread, courtesy of Mr. Rick Steves, that they have the best paella and sangria in town because the restaurant was not even opened yet and there were already 50+ people in line.
Fat Tire Bike Tours - Barcelona, C. Sant Honorat, 7, tel: 34 933 013 612

Breakfast in La Rambla-- churros con chocolate. SoOo good! Time for some sun sun. The beach was overcrowded with people and it's hard to get some peace when you're woken by Malaysian ladies walking up and down the beach trying to offer you a "massaje".

Biggest lesson learned..
The train station you arrived in may not always be the station you depart. We found this out the hard way when we were sitting at the wrong station awaiting our overnight train to Paris. With only 15 minutes left, we rushed to grab a cab and with G screaming "Rapido rapido!" to the driver, we literally Amazing Race'd it across the city to the other station. When we arrived, we chased the train down as it was leaving the platform, and hopped on while it was still moving. Crazy! Funny part was, G was screaming "Help!" in Spanish instead of "Stop!" as we were running.

Sleeping: Sant Jordi Arago Hostel
Attraction & Destination Checklist:
Gaudi's museum
La Sagrada Familia
La Rambla

More Photos.

17 - 18 June : Nice is Nice

Rain or Shine

Trippin'.
After a 14hour train ride plus 2- layover stops along the way, we finally arrived! And I could not believe our luck. The perfectly beautiful Riviera weather-- the famously sparkling Cote d'Azur blue-- gone; only to be clouded by gray drizzly skies and murky ruffled waters. With no signs of the weather getting better during our 2 day stay, we decided to make the most of it, gloom way or another.
Well rested the next day, we picked up some savory quiche lorraine and breakfast treats at a nearby patisserie. Thank goodness for the French and their pastries.
We lazied away most the day on beach chairs and somehow, missed the entire Old Town all together during our time in Nice. Simple traveler's mistake, better research next time.

Sleeping: Le Petit Trianon, 11 Rue Paradis, 33 4 93 87 50 46, is extremely friendly to the late night arrivals and conveniently located near the train station.

More Photos.

15 - 17 June : Amongst the Alps

Paragliding the Swiss

Trippin'.
Switzerland is not to be missed for those who are into extreme outdoor activities-- white water rafting, skydiving, paragliding, etc. The only downfall if you're backpacking is it's a bit out of the way. Wish I'd done further research prior to the trip about flights in and out of Switzerland. It would have made the trip smoother and much faster. We took a one- stop train ride into Interlaken, but had to take a 2- stop, nearly a whole days worth of train ride to get out and into Nice, France.
With that said, considered the gateway to the Alps, Interlaken is a sight to be seen-- wonderous and almost mythical. We stayed in a hostel that was truly meant for the outdoorsy people. It felt like Summer camp all over again.
We decided instead of skydiving, mostly because of the cost, that we should paraglide instead. You get the same feeling only in slow motion in my opinion. We booked with our hostel and was on our way. So glad that we did because there is no better way to see Switzerland than from in the air-- beautiful panoramic views of the mountains, lakes and small villages below. The best part of paragliding was running down the steep hill with a 200 lbs Swiss man on your back. Well, I mostly hang while he ran-- picture a mother kangeroo carrying her baby joey but instead of hopping.. running. After an eventful day, we went Swiss and Fondue'd the night away. It was romantic and expensive.

Sleeping: Balmer's Herberge Hostel

More Photos.