Ibiza

We couldn't have gotten to the beach fast enough. As soon as we landed we raced to our hostel, changed into our bikinis and headed down to one of many beaches of our choice.

We relaxed in the sun and dipped into the salty (and a little algae ridden) waters for an afternoon of fun in the sun. Time passed too quickly after napping before we shared some wine on our terrace and got ready to head out for the night...oh and did we mention that all of our bags had to be packed and ready to because we had to leave for the airport at 4 am.

La Oliva, our recommended restaurant, was a little hard to find in the old city walls. After a dinner full of laughs and sangria (recurring pattern?), we strolled along the port to pass some time before making our way to the club.
Turns out we actually wasted time because the club was alot harder to find than we thought, so hard that we got in a cab, Alex thought he was taking us the wrong way (she knew where she was going?)so we got out of the cab, almost gave up and were very upset then got back into another cab and finally made it to Amnesia! It was everything they described it to me and well worth the 50 euro ticket.

We only had about an hour before we got back into a cab, picked up our things and jet set off to Cinque Terre (via Barcelone and Genova).

All of this happened in a span of about 12 hours, and we still haven't slept.

Valencia: Where the streets have no name...literally

Valencia is beautiful.

Purple Nest hostel is great other than the 88 steps we insist on climbing up to our room multiple times a day (there does exist an elevator that is fully functional).

DAY 1
Since we only got here in the evening we had just enough time to settle in so we could have plenty of time to wander the streets of this city. We set out for a quick bite to eat and after a long search we ended up sharing a long, romantic dinner for two. The food was amazing and the wine thirst quenching.

We learned that apparently you are much more approachable with a drink in your hand.

DAY 2
We travelled a fair distance to the "Saturday market" only to be disappointed. Our spirits were lifted once we reached the Central Market or Mercado Central though. We shopped around for meats and cheeses and enjoyed lunch outside the main steps.

We stumbled upon beautiful architecture and paid a quick visit to the Cathedral before hurrying back to the hostel hoping that we would not get caught in the rain that was headed our way.

Hostel staff questioned Alex's craving for a burger while in Valencia but still gave a recommendation of a nearby restaurant.
Alex: "BEST BURGER I HAVE EVER EATEN!"
We were obviously not disappointed.

DAY 3
Last night consisted of giant playing cards, wine, crazy lady sangria, fuck the dealer, hi-jacking a camera, riding the bus, getting carried away (literally) at the club, and ultimately finding our roommate (who rode the bus, couldn't finish it, and is apparently only 18) passed out in his bed with puke all over the floor and himself :( incredibly disappointing to come home to at 4 a.m. He almost got kicked out, doesn't remember hostel staff dragging out of the top bunk with a crowd awaiting him outside, don't fret, he did apologize in the morning.

All in all the tables have turned and Er put her best foot forward whilst bearing the heat today.

We walked the dry riverbend to the aquarium (Erika had never been to one?)where we almost fried on the long, unshady walk. From there we caught the trolly (literally a child like train) through the park back to the hostel, best decision we made all day.

We had just enough time for laundry and a nap before we met up with our roommates for a walking tour of Valencia, the tour was the second best decision. Our guide took the four of us around the city giving us all the history, or as much as he could spill in two and a half hours, he was great and we tried to absorb as much as possible (yes Er is still alive at this point!).

We finally tasted paella with our roommates, were surprisingly delighted, and enjoyed our last pitcher of sangria.

Barcelona: Are we human or are we dancers?

David and Josh will be satisfied to know that all of our gloating about moving on to warmer climate is not what it's made out to be...it is hot AND humid  here.  The days have been sunny, which is a nice change from London.

DAY 1
We arrived in Barcelona, found our Hostel and did what Erika does best...we took a long nap.  We spent the afternoon walking the boardwalk and getting to know our surroundings.  We quickly became friends with our roommates and spent the night playing flipcup, a new phenomenon for many around here, and exploring the area around us. 

DAY 2
Another hot and humid day, with a little rain, we hiked up, well we didn't really have to hike, we took the escalators up most of the way, to Parc Guell and soaked up the scenery of the city from the hilltops.  Erika began to get her fill of the work of Gaudi.

We took the metro, we have become pretty good at navigating ourselves around, to Sagrada de Famillia and marveled at its beauty.  We tried to listen in on tours to find out as much as we could about it.

Tonight was the night to go out, Ben wanted stories....Ben we have stories.  We got ready whilst drinking wine out of plastic cups,listening to music and thinking that we had already broken Alex's straightener, crisis averted...it worked the next morning.  We taught a few German and French friends how to play Fuck the Dealer and ultimately how to "ride the bus".  We went out danced and sang until we were asked to leave the bar and joined some friends on the beach for a few beers and new drinking games.  Of course we don't realize that it's 7 a.m. and the sun is rising.

DAY 3
As anyone can probably guess we did not wake up for the walking tour we committed to.  Instead we slept in.  After we had gotten just enough beauty sleep we headed out to explore Picasso's Museum and lay by the beach.  We will enjoy some more Sangria tonight, because we clearly haven't drank enough of it, and will hit the beach tomorrow before we catch the train to Valencia!

Day 4
Well last night did not go as planned. The headline should read "two Canadian girls enjoying quiet dinner in square mobbed by a pack of British insurance brokers". Their apology for intruding in our space included more sangria, fun facts about Brits, and convincing us to dance the night away (literally where did the time go?)at a nearby club.

Needless to say we did not make it back to the beach today, Alex could barely make it down the stairs.

It's 8 p.m. in Valencia, Alex is on the mend and hostel staff has convinced us to damage our livers some more tonight!

London, it's true...it's always raining

After a not too painful flight we have finally landed in London...exit the aircraft, get bags, get in trouble by security...now what?

DAY 1

We found a taxi and were almost confident we had the right address to find David and Josh.

We found them!

There was no time to waste and they already knew the locations for happy hour.  We enjoyed a pitcher of Pimms, learned that you will always get caught in the rain in London (Josh is now a certified weather man) and soaked our livers in large pitchers of more alcohol.  Before we knew it pre drinking had come and gone and we were ready to tear up London (in our dancing shoes of course).  Who would have thought that they already knew the perfect place to go, light up dance floor included!  

Dancing the night away was an understatement.

DAY 2

We decided, after a tough morning of peeling ourselves out of bed, that we would be the ultimate tourists for the day and a red double decker bus was going to be our guide.

Just visiting the Queen

We even convinced David to cross Abbey Road!

DAY 3

So much for waking up early to have tea with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.  David bought out Harrods, the rest of us were too poor.  More pubs, beer and cider and finally Harry Potter: 7 books in 70 Minutes (Potted Potter).  Josh may have enjoyed Erika's contagious laughter just as much as the show...it really was THAT funny!

A trip to the platform into the world of Harry Potter was the perfect (but not so exciting) wrap up to our day of wishing we were wizards and witches.

We have also coined a new use for the term being narcaleptic, you can you use it whenever you are tired, Erika is always narcaleptic.

Smell ya later Canada

Waiting, waiting, waiting.


The story of airport line ups ( throw in some crying mothers and babies, sore backs and tired eyes).

We're off into the skies, hello London in the morning!

Itinerary Confirmed

The following countries were hand picked by the both of us.  We started off listing places we've always imagined ourselves travelling to...we ended up with a list of over 20 cities (those were only the top picks!).  After many parental suggestions, blog creeping and internet surfing it came down to these 9 cities, all of which are going to be conquered in only 1 month.

London, Barcelona, Valencia, Ibiza, Cinque-Terre, Rome, Santorini, Berlin and Amsterdam.

It took us days to finally set in stone the 9 carefully selected cities, now we had to plan.  We had to be realistic, there was no way we were going to be free spirits and hop on a plane, a train or a bus whenever the time felt right, we had 9 cities to get to, explore, and enjoy, there had to be planning involved.

After a few too many gruelling hours/days of research, phone calls, e-mails and credit card rejection the trip has finally all come together and we are anxiously trying to pass the time of a week before departure.


p.s. the official title of this blog was inspired by Dorothy and is dedicated to our moms.  We love you xoxo