Living the French way

Bonjour! I am in Bordeaux now, but I am leaving for San Sebastian today!

Coming here by bus on Thursday was not so great as the busride took more than nine hours to get here. I also had this woman sitting next to me and talking to me in French all the time. It would have been nice to have a conversation with her but I dont think she complitely understood that I had no idea what she was talking about, I was more like "Mmmm, aha, mmm!". Gladly the bus driver was from Salamanca so there were no communication problems with him at least! At some point I arrived to my hosts home too so I survived! Phew!
Luckily, my hosts have been really nice and I have been having a good time with them. They are seven in total + the cat! For some strange reason most of my hosts so far have had a cat, is this a sign? Probably not. Living in a house full of people has bee a cool experience!  I have also learned how to make kiss loren and I have been eating lots of cheese and wine. This country is a heaven for a cheese lover like me! On Friday they had friends coming so there was a party going on and the house was even more filled with people. In the end of the night the living room turned into a live concert as they all brought their guitars, drums and whatever insturment they could find and started playing. Yesterday as well they had some friends visiting Bordeaux and I spent the whole night with them trying to learn French. I can say I did pretty well...now I know all the bad words in French mehehehe...

I have to mention also their cat because she is one of the rare cats I like and she constantly comes into my sleeping bag while I am sleeping. I keep waking up and I see her sleeping next to me. Either she likes me or the warmth of the sleeping bag, but I think its the second one.

Now I need to pack and get myself together. Once again I have become an expert on packing! One thing that I wont miss about travelling is the constant packing, thats for sure!

Au revoir!

Karoliina

Oh la la

Hi...
Okay, I admit it....I went shopping today and it was crazy as expected. Why cant I control myself? WHY? Men wont understand my pain, but you women out there you can feel me, right?

I was determined not to buy anything but then things got complicated and the rest is history. Essi had to pull me out of the store in the end telling me "You have no self control" and I guess she is right! I am not ashamed though because I enjoyed my shopping therapy and I am happy. Now Essi will carry some of my stuff to Finland so I can make space in my backpack...what a nice friend am I, huh?

Either way yesterday we did walk a lot so shopping hasnt been the only thing we have been doing. We walked probably for four to five hours and finally got so sick of the rain and cold that we came back and did nothing for the rest of the day. Just bought some treats from the patisserie next to the hotel and rested and finally slept.

Today we are still going to check out Moulan Rouge and have a walk around eiffel tower by night! Maybe get something from the patisserie later on....thats a strong maybe!

Today is our last day in Paris and tomorrow we both continue our own ways. Essi is going back to Finland and I will continue my trip all the way to Bordeaux! Thats the plan for now at least!

Au revoir!

Karoliina

Check!

Paris:

• Notre Dame ...check
• Eiffel tower...check
• Louvre...check
• Mona Lisa...check
• Boat tour ...check
• Getting lost...check
• Getting sweets from a patisserie...check (delicious!)

We havent done that much yet, but we really just want to chill out and take things easy. Paris is huge so we are doing the best we can to see all the things we find interesting. On our first day we went walking around and saw the Notre Dame which is only five minutes away from the hotel. Yesterday we went to Louvre and saw mona lisa for like a second as it was packed with people and Asians trying to take one million pictures of it. It was pretty small after all, so I dont really understand the big fuss about it. Either way, today we had Eiffel tower on the schedule and we walked all the stairs up to the second floor which had an amazing view and sat there for like an hour just enjoying the view and the sun. Now we are just being lazy, but we are on holidays so its okay! I am about to fall asleep and I dont care if this post has one million two thousand mistakes...I feel so lazy, plofff!

The good thing is that we havent met any arrogant Parisians yet! Whatever they say Im just Bonjour and Oui, Oui! Cant go wrong with that, heh

Greetings from a tired traveller!

zzzzzzzz

Karoliina

Bonjour!

 I am in Paris now waiting for my friend Essi to arrive from Finland. Its so exciting to see her again after all these months! I will have someone to be a tourist with for the next five days, yey! Girly time with my good friend in Paris...one thing is for sure, we are gonna spend a lot of money!

Going back to my last day in Brussels, I decided to do a small trip to Brugge because everybody was saying so many good things about it. I didnt get lost this time but it did take me a while to find the train station. Gladly it was a beautiful day even though it was windy. The day before I had made the big mistake to wear a skirt and I ended up walking like a penguin to hold it down...sometimes the wind was too strong and people got to enjoy my beautiful butt, thats life! In Brugge I wore jeans to avoid embarassing moments and I really enjoyed my little trip walking around and taking pictures. It was such a beautiful city, even though it was quite small (maybe thats the reason why I didnt get lost this time). I also bought some macaroons and belgian pralines and I was happy!

In the evening, I arrived to my hosts place and for my last night we talked and watched a movie. Didnt feel like doing much and I was really exhausted from walking again so many hours. In the morning I packed my stuff and my bla bla car was waiting for me at the station for Paris! All the people in the car were speaking in French for the whole ride so I cant say I enjoyed that, but at least they brought me to the right place so I cant complain.

I dont know what is todays plan, but I am sure we will find something to  do ;)

Karoliina

Brussels!

Yesterday I left my two dutch men behind and continued my trip to Brussels. On my last night in Amsterdam Geert cooked some really good potato-avocado-onion-sausage thing which was really good! I as well helped a little bit by making a Greek salad and caramelizing the onions that Geert taught me how to make. Daan couldnt join us but it was his loss anyways hehe. We also went cycling and I got to take some pictures of the amazing view of Amsterdam by night! I definitely enjoyed my stay with the guys and I will miss Holland!

In the morning before taking the bus I had one of those moments again thinking "F**k this shit, Im going home!". Arriving to Brussels (10€ with megabus btw...super cheap!) was a bit depressing. Also going in to the hostel that smelled like hospital didnt make me feel any better! I always tend to have my ups and downs and sometimes travelling isnt that exciting when you have to pack and unpack and carry a 20 kg backpack (+ handluggage) all the time. Im annoyed with myself now...why am I complaining again?

Despite all the down feelings I had, I met some nice girls who were staying in the same room and Elie my current host took me out to have waffles and beer (the perfect combination)! It turned out to be a great night and walking in Brussels at night time was really beautiful! I guess its normal to be down sometimes, especially when travelling alone, but thats life!

Today I came to Elies place and decided to do some touristy stuff in the city. That plan didnt go very well because I got lost and for two hours I was walking in these weird neighbourhoods that didnt make me feel very comfortable. Eventually a girl saw me struggling with my map and helped me out. I have never been so lost in my life and I really cant understand where I ended up. Only I am capable of getting lost like this! In the end I came back around seven and bought myself a huge chicken sandwich as a treat!

That was my day so far! Tomorrow Im planning to go to Brugge for the day and see what that place is about!

Greetings from Brussels!

Karoliina

The Dutch way

Dutch:

• people are reeeeally tall...I feel like a midget here!
• dont use curtains (most of the time)
• give three kisses instead of one or two
• eat their fries with mayonaise or peanut sauce
• cycle everywhere
• have crooked houses or at least they look like they are gone fall any time soon
• definitely love beer! ( Amstel & Heiniken, dah!)
• like to chat
• smoke a lot of weed (should have put that on top of the list)
• food sucks ( sorry, but its true! )
• cheese is great though
• speak really good English
• are really nice people
• use a lot of wallpaper in their homes
• have a tulip museum!? ( how much there is to say about tulips?)
• not to mention the weed museum (?)

On Sunday I moved with my new hosts Geert ( the nipples guy) amd Daan. I definitely feel like a midget with them because they are 1.90 and I am 1.60. Everything feels so big in their house hehe.
Either way, yesterday I had a full day walking around, visiting Anna Franks museum and meeting up with Maria and her friends. We also met Brenda and Matan  through couch surfing and we all went out to an Irish pub to celebrate St. Patricks day. The bar was packed with people, but it was definitely a lot of fun meeting random people and starting a conversation with them. At some point I got hungry so Matan took me and Brenda to a really good falafel place. Once I got full it was time for a little tour around Amsterdam by night and I took some pictures like a real tourist would do. At some point I went back to the Irish pub where the others where still sitting and drinking and by the end of the night Maria wanted as well some falafel  and I got fries with mayonaise...I see the kilos coming back again, oh dear! How we got home is another story...Daan took me and Maria on a ride with his bike and cycled all the way back for thirty minutes. We are all still alive so thats what matters!
Today Im heading to the centre with Maria to do some more touristy stuff and tomorrow Im heading to Brussels for three days, so its time to say goodbye to Amsterdam! The show must go on...but I am definitely coming back to Holland some day!

Karoliina

Fun times in Amsterdam

Our day in Amsterdam with Maria and her friends was great! We got to walk around a bit and suddenly to my surprise we ended up in the red light district. Let me tell you something about that...my innocent little brain was a bit shocked. I have seen pictures of it and I never really thought that I would be so shocked, but seeing it in reality was a bit of a sad moment for me. Either way, we didnt stay there for too long which was a relief for me.

One of the things that I love here though is that I cant get enough of all the canals and the bicycles. Its so easy to ride a bike because there are cycling lanes everywhere in the city. Why hasnt the rest of Europe done the same in their cities? Also all the little shops here look so nice! The bad thing about backpacking is that I cant buy many things because then I would have to carry it. I didnt go crazy with shopping but I did find a cute shirt in a vintage shop that I couldnt resist...am I bad!

Before going to Marias friends place to have dinner, we got jealous of some people having margaritas in a bar so we decided to go crazy and get some drinks. Okay, we didnt really go crazy but the margarita was pretty yummy! We also got some pie for five euros to take as a desert after dinner which at first we couldnt believe that it was only five euros for the whole pie...in the end the girl working there was like "YES, its only five euros! You want it?". For the price we paid it was pretty good!

When we went for dinner this tall dutch guy (that his name I cant pronounce, but everybody seemd to call him Heart nipples) had made really good pasta and they gave me, what seemed to me, the biggest plate full of pasta and sauce. I am still so proud of myself that I ate that huge amount by myself...after all it wasnt that difficult because it was delicious!

After all that food we went to a bar thirty minutes away with the bicycles. Gladly I got a ride with the dutch nipples guy with his bike and I got to focus on the beautiful Amsterdam by night and not getting hit by a car. The bar was good and we returned back around four o clock again riding with the bikes. We didnt return back to zwaag so we stayed with Marias friends for the night.

Good food, good company, good times! Amsterdam is a good place to visit ;)

Karoliina

Two little women cycling

Cologne was a really great city and on my last night I went to see Bonn for a couple of hours since it was only 20 min away from Cologne. I also spent my last night in a hostel and met an awesome girl from Myanmar with whom I got to spend some time with.

Yesterday though I left Cologne and caught a bla bla car to Amsterdam which was really nice! I got a really nice ride in a really nice car with really nice people...everything was just great! No smelly people or puking dogs this time, yey! We arrived to Amsterdam around three and from there I had to catch the train to Hoorn close to where my friend Maria lives with her boyfriend. Actually she lives in Zwaag but its a really small village so nobody really knows where it is. I am sure my dad has already looked up for it on google maps hehe. How I met Maria is also another story...to make things short we met in Volos through couch surfing and since then we have been keeping in touch! Couch surfing is definitely connecting people :) 

The thing that mostly impressed me when I arrive to Holland is the amount of bikes they have here! Its insane really!! How any of these people find their bikes is a miracle to me! Also on the train to Hoorn I was amazed of how flat everyhting is, not to mention that there are little canals everywhere ( everywhere! ). This country is so weird that I freaking love it already and I have been here for a day so far. Also I have been lucky because the weather has been so great. It was around to twenty degrees when I was in Cologne and here it has been also very warm and sunny (hallelujah!!). Maria also borrowed a bike for me so we could cycle around the city which was a great idea. We got a bit lost on the way from Zwaag to Hoorn but that can happen to anybody. We did stop many times on the way and people got a bit upset since they wanted to get through, but who can get mad to two little women who have no idea where they are going? Either way, eventually we arrived 45 minutes later which should have taken 15 minutes and met up with Marias friend for a coffee. On the way back home I got to take some cool pictures and now here I am sitting and being lazy!

 

Tomorrow we are planning to go to Amsterdam and have a busy day doing random things there so that shouldnt be too bad! 

Karoliina

Berlin-->Cologne

I am still alive! I used bla bla car for the first time and it wasnt so bad. If we dont count the dog that puked in the car (yes, there was a dog) and the smelly girl next to me, it was alright. At least I saved 30 euros so I cant complain. I was expecting it to be more like a normal car but in the end it was like a mini van that could fit 10 people inside and there was 9 people sharing a ride. Definitely an interesting experience!

But now Im gonna go back to my last days in Berlin! My french host Mathieu was really great and on my last night at his place we went out to some oriental/jazz bar with another french couple and we were the only ones who were dancing in there, but it was cool. The next day I went to stay with Anni and her boyfriend Jascha from couch surfing for another two days. They were really nice and I had a great time staying with them. Anni took me to her friends place were they were having a barbeque on the balcony which normally would fit three people but we squeezed in six which was pretty cozy after all. Got to hear some funny travelling stories that night! On Saturday I also got to meet up with Nathalie that I met in Barcelona two years ago. We walked in the parks, enjoyed the hot sun, found a street market and I bought really nice earings for ten euros (me happy). In the evening I was with Anni and Jascha preparing a banoffee pie as they were having people coming and Anni cooked some really good spicy food. It was a nice relaxing evening and I got to meet some more people which was nice :)

Yesterday I had to wake up early and pack my things again as I had to meet up with the driver at some really random place which I couldnt find. In the end he found me and the adventure began...okay, it wasnt that big of an adventure. I fell asleep mostly for the whole ride and then met my other host Ruziel from Israel once I arrivedmin Cologne. We cooked...I mean he cooked and I tried to help him out somehow. I asked him everything about Israel and drove him crazy with all my questions about Jewish religion, but he was nice and patient with me. He also loves Greek music and told me that in Israel they listen to many Greek songs which is a bit strange and surprising actually. Then we went to have a walk around in the night life of cologne which was pretty empty since it was Sunday, but the view was really beautiful from the other side of the river.

Today I am planning to explore the city a bit and maybe visit some museum!

xx

Karoliina

Too much to see

Hey there! I am still in this crazy city where it takes you an hour to get from one side of the city to the other (I mean Berlin for those who didnt understand). These couple of days I have been so busy doing random things and just walking around once again. I was so lucky to have my friend Nadja to show me around, otherwise I would have been lost way too many times. Just taking the metro here is a mess, but gladly now I have learned how to find my way, yey!

Also since Tuesday I have been staying with this French guy Mathieu who has been an awesome host and really fun company. Tomorrow though Im changing hosts again and Im going to stay with another girl who also seems nice! As I said on this trip Im planning to do a lot of couch surfing. So far it has been good but this is just the beginning. Also I am going to use bla bla car for the first time on Sunday as I am going to share a ride from Berlin to Cologne! Sounds interesting....lets see how it goes!

Now I need to find a host in Cologne and from there I am planning to visit my friend Maria in Zwaag which should be somewhere in Holland, close to Amsterdam. Cant wait to see her again! Little by little this trip is going somewhere :)

We also did some salsa dancing yesterday with Nadja and it was so much fun! Sweat flying all over the place but its salsa we are talking about. If you dont want to sweat then better stay home. Cant understand though these guys who go out wearing shorts when outside its 10 degrees, get some real pants dude! Its like finnish people when they see the sun they go out on the snow and sit outside wearing their swimmsuits...okay maybe Im exaggerating a little.

Either way, I have two days left here so I have to find something to do for these days which is not going to be a problem here since there are so many things to see!

Karoliina

Walking in Berlin

Greetings from Berlin people! I safely arrived to Berlin on Saturday and I have been going around the city with my friend Nadja with whom I am staying for a couple of days.

On Saturday we already got to walk around, had some coffee where the waitress was Greek ( definitely not feeling homesick yet), went to see the wall of Berlin (what is left of it) and had dinner with Nadjas friends who were really nice.

Yesterday we walked a lot around the city and saw some monuments and went to all these different platzes the names of I dont remember anymore. The day ended with a movie "the wolf of wallstreet" which lasted for three hours and was one of the most messed up movies I have ever seen. 

Today we went around the city again (surprise, surprise) and tried to go up the berliner fernsehturm which was packed with tourists and we had to wait five hours in order to get there. We decided not to wait so hopefully tomorrow we will be more lucky. If not then we will definitely visit some museums...me likes !

Unfortunately, I cant get any pictures through my tablet on my blog so you will have to wait till I get back home and put some awesome pictures of Berlin!

Gute Nacht!

Karoliina