I had two days to burn between leaving Edinburgh and moving to Amsterdam so a few weeks ago I decided to book myself into Wales for two nights. I could really have spent the time anywhere in the UK, but I figured why not hit up the Welsh portion of the Kingdom before moving to Holland.
I had a really relaxing time. The place I was staying was a four-minute walk from the train station and looked out on the Millennium Stadium where Cardiff plays its rugby matches. The stadium is massive, brand new, and has already hosted the likes of Madonna and Robbie Williams. The River Backpacker’s Hostel was the absolute nicest hostel I’ve stayed at thus far – the house was renovated just a year ago, it had free wireless for my laptop, a diverse breakfast, and the house is managed by a bro and sis team who you see around every day; it was very homey. The Mom of the two owners even comes in on Saturday and Sunday mornings and insists on doing the dishes for ‘the kids’. I insisted right back that I could do my own, and she called me a very polite Canadian young man. Guilty as charged?
I got to the hostel late Friday night and basically dropped my bags, had a tea, surfed the net, and then called it a night. Saturday morning and afternoon was spent exploring the city. Cardiff has undergone something of a transformation over the past few decades into one of the larger financial hubs in the UK and the city centre is a reflection of the prosperity that has come to the city. I first went into the downtown shopping district and was able to avoid the urge for a Primark adventure. From there I shelled out seven quid to visit Cardiff Castle – it was built in the 15th Century and renovated into more of a Medieval Castle in the 18th Century.
The grounds of the castle are beautiful and were particularly stunning on the sunny Saturday morning. The two features of the site are the guided tour of the residence, decorated with much opulence by a Scottish lord in the 18th, and the “keep” that was part of the original castle design. The “keep” stands at the centre of the grounds and is surrounded by a moat to keep invaders out. As you climb the steep one hundred steps to the top, you are privy to a wonderful view of the Cardiff downtown area. While I didn’t manage to get to the Warwick castle this past term (oops!), the Cardiff Castle satisfies my castle quota for some time. Definitely worth a look if you find yourself in Cardiff.
From there I went on a half hour walk to Cardiff Bay where the city has a really vibrant harbour and barge system. The area is somewhat of a cultural centre with a massive arts complex, the Rahl Daul Piazza, a high-end craft store, and a few interactive museums and exhibits. I walked around the harbour as the sun was beginning to set and snapped some really cool photos. If I’m ever in a city that offers some sort of coastal land, I’m always prone to head down to the water. I think it has something to do with a love of being close to the sea, but also the knowledge that the water I’m looking at links, over thousands of KM, with Canada on the other side.
After exploring the two premiere spots in Cardiff, I popped into an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet during happy hour. I ate them out of house and home for only 7.99! The Welsh people were really welcoming, but unfortunately I missed out on hearing any of their own language being spoken during my jaunts (I assume it’s more popular in the rural areas). It was interesting to see all the official signs displayed in both English and Gaelic – it reminded me of our own Canadian system.
As much as I would have liked to explore the Cardiff nightlife, I spent Saturday night in the hostel dining room for a solid six hours working on the essay I have due on January 9. I managed to tack on four pages that completes the first draft. It may be five pages over the word limit, but I’m optimistic about what the final product will look like.
Before bed I chatted with the only other Canadian at the hostel, a med student from Winnipeg who was traveling the UK for three weeks. He had recently arrived and was eager to hear about where I had been in the Kingdom since he had an open rail pass. He altered his trip plans after I insisted on some of the highlights of the spots I had been. After recounting my journey, I realized I had been to a lot of places in the UK over the past three months: London (a gaggle of times), Coventry, Leamington, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Bath, Oxford, Stratford, Edinburgh, and now, Cardiff. While there were a few spots I didn’t get to (Ireland, Glasgow, Swansea, Brighton, and Dover to name a few) I always have the summer to make the list a bit more complete. As I say goodbye to the island for the next half a year, I’m happy to have been able to explore some of the major spots. If I can only be so lucky to do the same when I reach mainland Europe I’ll be an extremely happy traveler.
Doc’s Prescription of the Day: A ferry ride! I’ve only taken a handful in my time (the one to Wolfe Island being the most memorable) but tonight will be an eight hour overnight trip to Holland. Will be skyping from Amdam in no time!
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Friday, January 02, 2009
Hogmanay: Lookin’ Fine in 2009!.doc
Happy New Year everyone!
I’ve experienced five more hours of 2009 than the majority of you. In my expert opinion I think it’s going to be a great year! I was in Edinburgh for the past two nights revisiting the country of my paternal ancestors and it was an absolute blast.
I packed up my room at the quiet confines of Heronbank and returned my keys while the sun was still coming up at 7:50am in the morning – seeing my life over here boiled down into one suitcase and two bags is always sobering. I had a big day of travel ahead and, as always, maneuvering the three bags is never an easy task (bus from campus to the Spa, the Spa to Birmingham, and Birmingham to Edinburgh). The five-hour train ride to Scotland took quite a scenic route. It traveled along the Eastern coast of England – lots of open pastures, beautiful coastal areas, and sheep…lots of sheep. I completed a variety of activities on the lengthy train ride which included writing two pages of my essay, reading 100 pages of the Cormac McCarthy novel I’m reading, uploading Parisian photos to my computer, and trying to count the variety of accents on the train (I could make out about five different dialects).
To give some back-story for those of you know don’t know Talia and Alex…I met Tal in my second year working at Walkhome. She didn’t work at the service but was always visiting us like a curious little cat. Luckily for me, she ended up spending the summer in Kingston and we became great friends as the years went on. Her boyfriend Alex is from England but goes to school at the University of Edinburgh. He spent a year on exchange at Queen’s last year and they’ve been together ever since. They invited me to join them in Edinburgh for Hogmanay and I couldn’t pass up the offer to party in one of the most happening New Year's spots in the world.
The city was practically buzzing with excitement – the trains were packed with revelers making the trek, there was music and games being played, and the streets were plastered with no parking signs. I hoofed it to Alex’s uni flat and was greeted by two friends it felt like I hadn’t seen in ages! We spent a good hour catching up. Talia is the current president of the AMS at Queen’s and I had endless questions about how her year was going. After an obligatory spot at the wine shop, we ran into a group of Alex and Talia’s friends who we would spend the next two days with. There was a whole crew of British students, from Edinburgh and English universities, who had all done exchange at Queen’s the year previous that had descended on Etown for Hogmanay. It felt really great to be surrounded by other people who knew what life at Queen’s is like. They were a great group to be able to hang with.
After the wine shop, we sketched out a rough map of the evening (working backwards from midnight!) and made our way to Alex’s friend’s flat for a game of monopoly (random, yes, but loads of fun). After merging our properties and money, Alex and I were poised for community domination, but were thrown for a curveball when the two other merged teams created an ultimate merger and the game was all for not. Monopoly seems a lot more fun when you’re able to sip on a few glasses of wine. We moved on to more “productive games” (a bit of a reminder of NYE 2008) and then walked around the corner for a curry dinner. From there we jumped briefly into another party where the finger food of choice was prunes wrapped in bacon (eek!) and where no one really knew the host rather just knew members in attendance extremely tangentially. We kicked out of there pretty quickly and made our way to Meadow Park for the countdown.
From Meadow Park you can see the fireworks from Edinburgh Castle and we joined the other Queen’s exchange students in counting down and celebrating as the clock struck 12:00am (+ 1 second). As with every NYE, the extreme revelry and wishing of “Happy New Year!” carried long into the night. It was such an odd feeling knowing that I was a good five hours ahead of Canada and in fact in a different calendar year than those just getting ready to go out at 7:00pm. We walked and wandered around the park, soaked in the surrounding atmosphere, and headed back to Alex’s for a game of trivial pursuit that descended quite quickly into madness. I headed to bed around 2:00am, a full three hours before everyone at home was toasting the New Year. It was an extremely eclectic night, but I think that’s the hallmark of a successful NYE – especially when you’re spending it with great people.
The three of us slept in until noon the following day (talk about seizing 2009!) and then headed over to one of the gang’s house for a HUGE breakfast. It was as traditional as you can get with fried tomatoes and mushrooms, as well as some Blood Pudding. There were at least fifteen of us packed into the tiny flat but it was an incredibly social way to spend New Years Day – it felt like a big ol’ breakfast at the Brass without the Mmmmuffins or the sometimes sketchy service. After breakfast, we decided to get out and go for a walk to the “crags”. Talia and I didn’t know what a “crag” was but postulated that it was some form of jutting rock/cliff structure possibly near water and probably formed by glacial intervention. We had no idea. We were almost bang-on with our thoughts as the crags did look like big steep cliffs. We walked and walked uphill - Arthur’s seat is located right beside the crags but with the sun starting to go down early we didn’t want to be at the top of the extremely high hill in the pitch dark.
The view from the top of the crags was stunning. You could see out over most of Edinburgh and since it was near dusk and pretty foggy it looked like the landscape from a Dickens novel. We made our way down the other side and thought we’d reward ourselves with a refreshing pint. Alex suggested The Brass Monkey - a pub with a "bed room" that patrons sit in and drink their pints. I was skeptical. It turned out to be the coolest room I’ve ever seen in a pub. The bed structure is the size of six pool tables and has special holders for your drink. People lounge on the bed and chat – definitely like something out of the ‘60s. It was hard to justify getting up from the comfortable setup.
For dinner we had some fish and chips and spent the first part of the night in lounging around and watching a horrendously awful movie which in itself is sometimes fun. Later on we joined the gang for a few late night games and two bottles of wine and then called it a night. The two-day party felt like I was back in the comforts of Ktown among like-minded people – I couldn’t have asked for a better New Year’s trip. Talia, Alex, and I had an absolute blast the whole time. I’m lucky to have such warm and welcoming friends.
Today I’ve travelled through three countries – Scotland to England to Wales. I’m booked into a hostel for two nights in Cardiff (since I’m technically homeless) and on Sunday will make the long day’s journey into night that will take me to my new home in the Netherlands. It’s just starting to sink in now that I’ll be living for a half a year in one of the coolest cities in the world. I’m beyond excited.
Doc’s Prescription of the Day: A toast of scotch to a healthy and successful year for all who may wander into my little spot in the blogosphere.
I packed up my room at the quiet confines of Heronbank and returned my keys while the sun was still coming up at 7:50am in the morning – seeing my life over here boiled down into one suitcase and two bags is always sobering. I had a big day of travel ahead and, as always, maneuvering the three bags is never an easy task (bus from campus to the Spa, the Spa to Birmingham, and Birmingham to Edinburgh). The five-hour train ride to Scotland took quite a scenic route. It traveled along the Eastern coast of England – lots of open pastures, beautiful coastal areas, and sheep…lots of sheep. I completed a variety of activities on the lengthy train ride which included writing two pages of my essay, reading 100 pages of the Cormac McCarthy novel I’m reading, uploading Parisian photos to my computer, and trying to count the variety of accents on the train (I could make out about five different dialects).
To give some back-story for those of you know don’t know Talia and Alex…I met Tal in my second year working at Walkhome. She didn’t work at the service but was always visiting us like a curious little cat. Luckily for me, she ended up spending the summer in Kingston and we became great friends as the years went on. Her boyfriend Alex is from England but goes to school at the University of Edinburgh. He spent a year on exchange at Queen’s last year and they’ve been together ever since. They invited me to join them in Edinburgh for Hogmanay and I couldn’t pass up the offer to party in one of the most happening New Year's spots in the world.
The city was practically buzzing with excitement – the trains were packed with revelers making the trek, there was music and games being played, and the streets were plastered with no parking signs. I hoofed it to Alex’s uni flat and was greeted by two friends it felt like I hadn’t seen in ages! We spent a good hour catching up. Talia is the current president of the AMS at Queen’s and I had endless questions about how her year was going. After an obligatory spot at the wine shop, we ran into a group of Alex and Talia’s friends who we would spend the next two days with. There was a whole crew of British students, from Edinburgh and English universities, who had all done exchange at Queen’s the year previous that had descended on Etown for Hogmanay. It felt really great to be surrounded by other people who knew what life at Queen’s is like. They were a great group to be able to hang with.
After the wine shop, we sketched out a rough map of the evening (working backwards from midnight!) and made our way to Alex’s friend’s flat for a game of monopoly (random, yes, but loads of fun). After merging our properties and money, Alex and I were poised for community domination, but were thrown for a curveball when the two other merged teams created an ultimate merger and the game was all for not. Monopoly seems a lot more fun when you’re able to sip on a few glasses of wine. We moved on to more “productive games” (a bit of a reminder of NYE 2008) and then walked around the corner for a curry dinner. From there we jumped briefly into another party where the finger food of choice was prunes wrapped in bacon (eek!) and where no one really knew the host rather just knew members in attendance extremely tangentially. We kicked out of there pretty quickly and made our way to Meadow Park for the countdown.
From Meadow Park you can see the fireworks from Edinburgh Castle and we joined the other Queen’s exchange students in counting down and celebrating as the clock struck 12:00am (+ 1 second). As with every NYE, the extreme revelry and wishing of “Happy New Year!” carried long into the night. It was such an odd feeling knowing that I was a good five hours ahead of Canada and in fact in a different calendar year than those just getting ready to go out at 7:00pm. We walked and wandered around the park, soaked in the surrounding atmosphere, and headed back to Alex’s for a game of trivial pursuit that descended quite quickly into madness. I headed to bed around 2:00am, a full three hours before everyone at home was toasting the New Year. It was an extremely eclectic night, but I think that’s the hallmark of a successful NYE – especially when you’re spending it with great people.
The three of us slept in until noon the following day (talk about seizing 2009!) and then headed over to one of the gang’s house for a HUGE breakfast. It was as traditional as you can get with fried tomatoes and mushrooms, as well as some Blood Pudding. There were at least fifteen of us packed into the tiny flat but it was an incredibly social way to spend New Years Day – it felt like a big ol’ breakfast at the Brass without the Mmmmuffins or the sometimes sketchy service. After breakfast, we decided to get out and go for a walk to the “crags”. Talia and I didn’t know what a “crag” was but postulated that it was some form of jutting rock/cliff structure possibly near water and probably formed by glacial intervention. We had no idea. We were almost bang-on with our thoughts as the crags did look like big steep cliffs. We walked and walked uphill - Arthur’s seat is located right beside the crags but with the sun starting to go down early we didn’t want to be at the top of the extremely high hill in the pitch dark.
The view from the top of the crags was stunning. You could see out over most of Edinburgh and since it was near dusk and pretty foggy it looked like the landscape from a Dickens novel. We made our way down the other side and thought we’d reward ourselves with a refreshing pint. Alex suggested The Brass Monkey - a pub with a "bed room" that patrons sit in and drink their pints. I was skeptical. It turned out to be the coolest room I’ve ever seen in a pub. The bed structure is the size of six pool tables and has special holders for your drink. People lounge on the bed and chat – definitely like something out of the ‘60s. It was hard to justify getting up from the comfortable setup.
For dinner we had some fish and chips and spent the first part of the night in lounging around and watching a horrendously awful movie which in itself is sometimes fun. Later on we joined the gang for a few late night games and two bottles of wine and then called it a night. The two-day party felt like I was back in the comforts of Ktown among like-minded people – I couldn’t have asked for a better New Year’s trip. Talia, Alex, and I had an absolute blast the whole time. I’m lucky to have such warm and welcoming friends.
Today I’ve travelled through three countries – Scotland to England to Wales. I’m booked into a hostel for two nights in Cardiff (since I’m technically homeless) and on Sunday will make the long day’s journey into night that will take me to my new home in the Netherlands. It’s just starting to sink in now that I’ll be living for a half a year in one of the coolest cities in the world. I’m beyond excited.
Doc’s Prescription of the Day: A toast of scotch to a healthy and successful year for all who may wander into my little spot in the blogosphere.
Monday, December 29, 2008
A Joyeux Noël à Paris.doc
Jet-setting really throws your blog schedule into the fire. I feel like every time I sit down to write of my adventures over here I am trying to articulate a month's worth of events in one post. That said, I will my best to describe to you Christmas 2008 - The Kids are Let Loose in Paris!
After a mammoth day of travel on the 23rd, Emily and I arrived in Paris on the morning of Christmas Eve exhausted and craving a place to set our bags. The small hotel in the Montmartre area was pretty much exactly as I had pictured it. The image may have been pieced together from films about the city - it had yellowed walls, a large window which opened outward, yellow and blue curtains, and a sink in the room which would serve as our makeshift showering facilities (the communal shower for the hotel cost 2 euros a pop). On that afternoon, Emily and I walked around the grounds of the beautiful Sacre-Coeur Basilica. The view of Paris was simply breathtaking and the church was really impressive. While we may have been tired from the traveling, the sight of the city that would be our Christmas home was truly invigorating. We grabbed a coffee from one of the many cafes near our hotel and continued through Montmartre. It's one of the more trendy and artistic spots in Paris, so I am told, and I really dug the bo-ho, communal feel in the neighbourhood.
After an obligatory nap, we headed to Emily's boyfriend's place (Raffi, for those who don't tag-team the blogosphere). 'Twas the coming together of a winning triumverate of Christmas revelers! Raffi is a great guy, and proved to be a great city guide to boot! Since he is studying at a famous international clown school called Jacques LeCoq, it was great to chat theatre (without feeling grilled in the classroom) and have him join us for our Christmas adventures in the city. After visiting in his residence, Emily surprised us with Christmas stockings that she had sewn herself - how crafty! It was Raffi's first Christmas stocking, and my first away from home. The Hinckster had placed a variety of wonderful little treasures inside. From the residence we jumped on the metro, which we used often over the three days, and headed to dinner with another clown from Canada named Nicole and her boyfriend Matt who was visiting for Christmas.
The flat they were staying at, usually inhabited by a clown from Italy (so many red-noses to keep track of), was absolutely gorgeous. It had two fire places and lots of space - it felt nice to be surrounded by a beautiful and warm space on Christmas Eve. We had a delicious dinner - real mozzarella and tomato on fresh bread as appetizers with dijon chicken, rice, and veggies for dinner. We stuffed ourselves on a really wholesome food and chatted about life back home. It was really special to be in the company of North Americans again, if only briefly. I think we all were excited to be experiencing the holiday in a country unlike our own.
After dinner, we headed to the most likely spot on Christmas Eve - the Eiffel Tower. Wine bottles in tow, we hiked it from the metro station just in time to catch the tower turn from a glowing blue to a ten minute sparkler that could be seen all throughout the city. The combination of three glasses of wine at dinner with the simple beauty of my first visit to the Tower coinciding with Christmas Eve made the moment extremely joyful. This type of feeling was only possible at a certain place in the world and shared among friends, new and old. We sat and soaked it in. Raffi and Nicole gave a hilarious rendition of a very detailed chase sequence they were working on in class, we sipped more wine, and spent the night gazing up at the world-renowned spot.
Christmas Day was spent differently than I ever have before. Instead of rising at the crack of dawn, we opted to sleep in and save up energy for more afternoon and evening adventures. We joined Raffi in the afternoon and spent some time skyping our families back home. It was a special treat to see the Christmas I know and love still going on - the tree a glow, the dog running around playing with wrapping paper, and a turkey in the oven (the smell was the only thing missing). While it was definitely the most homesick I've felt, I'm so grateful to have my parents' blessing to spent the year traveling and learning about the world. Definitely the best Christmas gift I could ask for.
That night we visited some more hot-spots: the Latin Quarter, Notre Dame, and the Seine. While the Latin Quarter was a really cool spot with a lot to see and do, it seems to have become pretty darn touristy. The highlight was the huge Christmas Tree outside of the ND Cathedral. We sat down for a nice Thai dinner that evening (since we decided it was important) at a really nice restaurant. Curry dinner for Christmas was a delicious change, although its been much too long since I've had a proper Turkey dinner.
On boxing day, Emily and I welcomed Steve to the city - a friend from Queen's who studies Biology but was also part of the theatre scene. Steve and Emily have been really close friends since first year (S&C shout out). After shaking off jetlag, Steve was just as energized to hit the city. We pieced together a lunch feast at Raffi's and then departed for an epic Parisian walk. We saw the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysees, the outside of the Louvre, and a few beautiful gardens in the city. Each of these spots possesses an amazing history, and it was really inspiring to think I could get a glimpse of them in one day. As much as we were 'sightseeing', we decided, since it was really a holiday, to talk, walk, and wander instead of playing stressful tourists. It was the best choice - we had a fantastic wall through the city.
That evening we said goodbye to Raffi, who returned to work the next day, and jumped on a train to Rennes. I felt really happen to return to the city - it's the city that most reminds me of Kingston since it's undeniably a university town. On the 27th, Emily took Steve and I around the city and we saw the popular Saturday spots: the market, cafes, and the city park. It was enjoyable to see the city for a second time and I realized just how much Emily feels at home here - I can't blame her, it's a wonderful city. After wandering, much photo-taking, and cafe sipping, we visited the Rennes City Fair that was a five minute walk from Emily's apartment building. I felt like a kid again with endless opportunity to have fun. The fair felt much larger than any I have seen in Canada - the rides were more high-tech, the food shops were double, and the prizes for the games looked very expensive.
Steve, Emily, and I set our sights on one ride in particular to challenge called Toxic. I think that the title was lost in translation from French to English and should actually read Queasy. Think of the ride as a giant Q-tip affixed to the ground at the centre that spins around and around backwards and forwards. It had to be the most dangerous ride at the fair, but the three of us each put down 5 euros and braved the risk. It did not disappoint. Aside from Emily's initial nervousness once we were strapped in and hoisted to the top, we all had an absolute blast. I could feel my contact lenses being pushed again my eyeballs as we descended head-first round and round.
Fair rides create quite an appetite! We had purchases mussels (moules) in the morning market at an insanely cheap price and went ahead, under Emily's guidance, and made red wine, white wine, and curry moules with frites on the side. One of my favorite meals in Europe thus far! We stuffed ourselves on delicious mussels and took comfort in the fact of a healthy communally made meal. With that we split a bottle of wine and headed down to Rue de la Soif for yet another street party - this one of a smaller nature than the one I experienced in September. We stayed out late, met two clowns named Pierre and Antoine (not funny JLC clowns, but actual clowns), had a few drinks, made dance, and then called it a night.
With that my Christmas adventures in France came to an end. I said goodbye to Emily and Steve for just over a week - they'll come visiting in Amdam on September 7 for three nights. I'm back at Warwick Uni essaying and packing for a Dec 31 departure to Edinburgh for the Hogmanay Festival which is one of the largest NYE parties on the continent. There I will be reuniting with friends Talia and Alex where we will welcome 2009 a full five hours before those back in Canada. The party continues...
Doc's Prescription of the Day: One realistic and positive resolution that will serve to help yourself, or your fellow human being. I'm keeping mine to being extremely mundane, but yet something I'm likely to carry through in 2009. Best Wishes for a fun NYE and for much success in the coming year!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Turkey With All the Trimmings.doc
It is currently 1:20am on Christmas Eve and Emily and I are camping out overnight at the John Lennon Airport in Liverpool. From here we jump on an Easyjet flight and arrive in Paris around 9:30am just in time to explore the city during Christmas. We originally were dreading this time spent in the cold and small airport but were elated upon arrival to wander upon pay-by-the-20 minute slot internet hubs. What a better way to pass the time (who needs sleep?!) than to recount our adventures since the infamous holiday video which we left for you upon our departure.
It was a joy to have Emily for a night at Warwick. Because I am moving the first week of January, she is the only person from home who will have seen my residence digs and life as I described on the blog. We stayed up late planning the minutest details of our trip and catching up on the stories that have accumulated over the past three months on the continent. I gave her a quick tour of the facilities and we enjoyed one last lunch in the residence kitchen, two frozen pizzas, before heading off to Manchester.
Upon arrival we checked into our hostel, the Hatters Manchester, and then made our way around the city. We wandered through brightly lit Christmas events and soaked up the atmosphere of the bustling metropolis. It was here that I introduced Emily to PRIMARK where we each bought extremely cheap clothes for our Turkish adventure - Em picked up a pair of sandals and sunnys while I purchased a new sweater to be worn on Christmas day. From there we wandered to the Manchester Christmas Market (every UK town boasts their own) were we had a wholesome dinner.
Anyone who talks about Manchester usually mentions that the nightlife is the feature of the city - our one night in Man did not disappoint! We went to a hip little bar on Canal Street called Churchills that was offering (surprise, surprise) Karaoke. The bar was eerily similar to Crews and Tango and reminded us of a number of fun TWT nights spent in Toronto. After overcoming a little apprehension (some beverages helped) Em and I scribbled our name as "The Canadians" and put down Twist and Shout as the number we would deliver. After mishearing the DJ twice (he had a thick accent), it was finally our turn to wow the crowd with our Toronto Karaoke skills - we felt like we were singing for all you guys back home. A great night on the journey to Turkey.
We left the hostel early the next morning with Thomas Cook Airlines and chatted with a sweet older lady on the plane who had moved from the UK to Turkey four years ago and swore she would never go back. She regaled us with stories about the country which made us extremely excited for the trip we were about to begin. After a quick process through customs (we got the coolest visa stamp in our passport) and a two hour shuttle to the resort, we had arrived. Now, I've never been to a five star resort before so I had no idea what to expect. All in all, I'm told the service where we stayed is more like what you'd find at a three star resort, but you'd never know it entering the lobby at the Beach Club Doganay where we stayed. The six floors surround an atrium that is lit up like something you'd find in Vegas or Atlantic City. While the balcony was a little small and it was a bit too cold to spent our evenings outdoors, the room looked extremely luxurious.
Emily and I think we might have been the first Canadians ever to vacation there. The whole week we were surrounded by Germans, Brits,Turks, and Dutch tourists who all mentioned they had never really heard of Canadians vacationing in Turkey. Whenever one of the bartenders or waiters would ask us where we were from, they would always be surprised to hear the word Canada. Two of the staff entertainers in particular made an effort during the week to ask questions about where we were from. Since we were the only ones there, it wasn't long before most of the workers there were referring to us as The Canadians. One drawback of the resort was the lack of anyone under the age of twenty-five. The first night we were pretty certain the median age at dinner looked to be forty. We later found out that a seniors home in Turkey brings the residents to the resort for one week out of the year. I wish I was kidding. If you know Emily and I you know that this did little to dampen our spirits - we had a fine time filling our evening with alternative socializing since the disco was sparsely populated (understatement of the trip).
The food was fantastic. Before leaving, a friend told me that Greek food and Turkish food is fairly similar, but that no one from either country would tell you that. The highlights of the all-inclusive meals included : fresh baked bread, a variety of different olives, many cheeses, and lots of meat. My mom is a huge fan of feta cheese and there had to be about half a dozen types of feta each with a different spice. The dessert of the trip was an extremely decadent baklava that melted in your mouth (obvi, Emily and I packed up five for our room). There were about six to ten different cats that pranced around the resort. As opposed to animals I had seen in Cuba or the Dominican, these felines looked extremely well-fed and well-groomed so I didn't mind having them wander by in the dining room. Em and I even took to naming some of the cats after our friends as if they were there at dinner with us (too weird?)
On the whole the weather wasn't the greatest. We had three full days where it didn't rain while the other four were either overcast or had patches of clouds. On the days it didn't rain it was HOT. I'm talking 22-24 degrees! This meant that on the two full days of full sun we hit the beach early in the morning and stayed until the sun began to set around 4pm. These were my favorite days. Only in certain places in Europe can you bask in the sunshine in just a bathing suit and need to cool off in the sea, and Turkey is luckily one of them. We sat in lounge chairs and listened to our favorite songs through ipod headphones, we frolicked in the Mediterranean sea, we drank beers from the beach bar, and finally, we wondered what everyone back home was doing while we were lucky enough to be on the Turkish Riviera (apparently it was shoveling snow??)
On Thursday we went on a day excursion to Alanya, the city closest to the resort. We were told that from the top of the castle you could see the whole city so we decided to make that our first visit. A kind man in the village had told us that no one usually walks up the roads to the castle since it takes an hour. We listened politely to his advice but promptly decided that walking up to the castle was exactly what we wanted to do. During the trip up I couldn't have felt more away from Canada. As we walked, we took in the architecture of our surroundings, interacted with a few of the city's inhabitants, and heard a prayer from a mosque over a loud speaker far in the distance. The view from the top was extraordinary. We spent a good 45 minutes walking through the ruins of the castle and peering down on the colourful city of Alanya. We walked down a different route along the harbour where we were continually offered "great deals" on boat tours - since it was the off-season, street vendors and anyone who had something to sell was continually bombarding us with questions.
After purchasing a few small items from a shop, we settled into an outdoor cafe for an authentic Turkish coffee - it looked like tar and created a muddy type of coffee solid at the bottom of the cup. It was delicious. The nice man who served us also asked us to try the hookah he was smoking outside the shop (when in Turkey!) We had a most perfect day trip to Alanya where the orange trees grow and the coffee is strong and bitter. On the topic of "when in Turkey", every toilet at the hotel had a bidet. If you are unaware of the term I suggest you place it into a google search. Without going into detail, Emily and I made a decision to use the bidet at least once while at the resort. Talk about saving the environment! Why haven't bidets been mentioned in any plans for paper conservation? It's a different way of doing things, but I don't see why it's an inferior method.
The two most relaxing parts of the trip were our time spent in the Mediterranean and in the Turkish Bath and Sauna. The sea was the cleanest water I've ever swam in. You could usually see to the bottom where you were swimming and, as always, I felt like the salt water was doing wonders for my skin. The Turkish Bath was a room made of marble with basins of water attached to the wall. The combination of the marble, steam, and air-tight seal meant it was like a sauna where you'd take a bowl of water from a basin and continually pour it over you. Near the end of the trip I spent 20£ for a spa deal which included a full body scrub in the Bath, a facial peel, and a 30 minute massage - the price was lower because it was the off-season. The massage alone was forth the twenty quid; I felt like a new man after the treatment.
Aside from all the comforts of a week away from school and commitment, Emily and I had an absolute ball. There wasn't really any young pals to tag around with at the resort so we amused ourselves observing the characters, lounging in the lobby bar, watching Turkish MTV (which played the same videos on a six hour loop), playing our usual survival games, and considering just where else this crazy European adventure would take us. It was comforting to spend a week with a dear friend from home who knew all the in-jokes and had a shared history. We were able to talk in-depth about the future, the fate of the world, and all that is great about the place we call home. It's at this time that all the news outlets will produce their 2008 Year in Review. I feel that, without talking about it, Turkey was both a year in review, for two friends who spent the majority of the year together, and also a look towards an exciting 2009 full of possibility.
From here, after hording the internet computers for over an hour, Emily and I head to Paris where we are sure to have a memorable Christmas. It will be sad to be away from all that is familiar, but exciting to explore how the holiday is celebrated in another country. It is my hope that you aren't burdened by too much snow, and are happy back home in a country I miss more and more with each passing week.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: I'm taking inspiration from my surroundings at John Lennon Airport and wishing for a peaceful holiday for you and yours:
It was a joy to have Emily for a night at Warwick. Because I am moving the first week of January, she is the only person from home who will have seen my residence digs and life as I described on the blog. We stayed up late planning the minutest details of our trip and catching up on the stories that have accumulated over the past three months on the continent. I gave her a quick tour of the facilities and we enjoyed one last lunch in the residence kitchen, two frozen pizzas, before heading off to Manchester.
Upon arrival we checked into our hostel, the Hatters Manchester, and then made our way around the city. We wandered through brightly lit Christmas events and soaked up the atmosphere of the bustling metropolis. It was here that I introduced Emily to PRIMARK where we each bought extremely cheap clothes for our Turkish adventure - Em picked up a pair of sandals and sunnys while I purchased a new sweater to be worn on Christmas day. From there we wandered to the Manchester Christmas Market (every UK town boasts their own) were we had a wholesome dinner.
Anyone who talks about Manchester usually mentions that the nightlife is the feature of the city - our one night in Man did not disappoint! We went to a hip little bar on Canal Street called Churchills that was offering (surprise, surprise) Karaoke. The bar was eerily similar to Crews and Tango and reminded us of a number of fun TWT nights spent in Toronto. After overcoming a little apprehension (some beverages helped) Em and I scribbled our name as "The Canadians" and put down Twist and Shout as the number we would deliver. After mishearing the DJ twice (he had a thick accent), it was finally our turn to wow the crowd with our Toronto Karaoke skills - we felt like we were singing for all you guys back home. A great night on the journey to Turkey.
We left the hostel early the next morning with Thomas Cook Airlines and chatted with a sweet older lady on the plane who had moved from the UK to Turkey four years ago and swore she would never go back. She regaled us with stories about the country which made us extremely excited for the trip we were about to begin. After a quick process through customs (we got the coolest visa stamp in our passport) and a two hour shuttle to the resort, we had arrived. Now, I've never been to a five star resort before so I had no idea what to expect. All in all, I'm told the service where we stayed is more like what you'd find at a three star resort, but you'd never know it entering the lobby at the Beach Club Doganay where we stayed. The six floors surround an atrium that is lit up like something you'd find in Vegas or Atlantic City. While the balcony was a little small and it was a bit too cold to spent our evenings outdoors, the room looked extremely luxurious.
Emily and I think we might have been the first Canadians ever to vacation there. The whole week we were surrounded by Germans, Brits,Turks, and Dutch tourists who all mentioned they had never really heard of Canadians vacationing in Turkey. Whenever one of the bartenders or waiters would ask us where we were from, they would always be surprised to hear the word Canada. Two of the staff entertainers in particular made an effort during the week to ask questions about where we were from. Since we were the only ones there, it wasn't long before most of the workers there were referring to us as The Canadians. One drawback of the resort was the lack of anyone under the age of twenty-five. The first night we were pretty certain the median age at dinner looked to be forty. We later found out that a seniors home in Turkey brings the residents to the resort for one week out of the year. I wish I was kidding. If you know Emily and I you know that this did little to dampen our spirits - we had a fine time filling our evening with alternative socializing since the disco was sparsely populated (understatement of the trip).
The food was fantastic. Before leaving, a friend told me that Greek food and Turkish food is fairly similar, but that no one from either country would tell you that. The highlights of the all-inclusive meals included : fresh baked bread, a variety of different olives, many cheeses, and lots of meat. My mom is a huge fan of feta cheese and there had to be about half a dozen types of feta each with a different spice. The dessert of the trip was an extremely decadent baklava that melted in your mouth (obvi, Emily and I packed up five for our room). There were about six to ten different cats that pranced around the resort. As opposed to animals I had seen in Cuba or the Dominican, these felines looked extremely well-fed and well-groomed so I didn't mind having them wander by in the dining room. Em and I even took to naming some of the cats after our friends as if they were there at dinner with us (too weird?)
On the whole the weather wasn't the greatest. We had three full days where it didn't rain while the other four were either overcast or had patches of clouds. On the days it didn't rain it was HOT. I'm talking 22-24 degrees! This meant that on the two full days of full sun we hit the beach early in the morning and stayed until the sun began to set around 4pm. These were my favorite days. Only in certain places in Europe can you bask in the sunshine in just a bathing suit and need to cool off in the sea, and Turkey is luckily one of them. We sat in lounge chairs and listened to our favorite songs through ipod headphones, we frolicked in the Mediterranean sea, we drank beers from the beach bar, and finally, we wondered what everyone back home was doing while we were lucky enough to be on the Turkish Riviera (apparently it was shoveling snow??)
On Thursday we went on a day excursion to Alanya, the city closest to the resort. We were told that from the top of the castle you could see the whole city so we decided to make that our first visit. A kind man in the village had told us that no one usually walks up the roads to the castle since it takes an hour. We listened politely to his advice but promptly decided that walking up to the castle was exactly what we wanted to do. During the trip up I couldn't have felt more away from Canada. As we walked, we took in the architecture of our surroundings, interacted with a few of the city's inhabitants, and heard a prayer from a mosque over a loud speaker far in the distance. The view from the top was extraordinary. We spent a good 45 minutes walking through the ruins of the castle and peering down on the colourful city of Alanya. We walked down a different route along the harbour where we were continually offered "great deals" on boat tours - since it was the off-season, street vendors and anyone who had something to sell was continually bombarding us with questions.
After purchasing a few small items from a shop, we settled into an outdoor cafe for an authentic Turkish coffee - it looked like tar and created a muddy type of coffee solid at the bottom of the cup. It was delicious. The nice man who served us also asked us to try the hookah he was smoking outside the shop (when in Turkey!) We had a most perfect day trip to Alanya where the orange trees grow and the coffee is strong and bitter. On the topic of "when in Turkey", every toilet at the hotel had a bidet. If you are unaware of the term I suggest you place it into a google search. Without going into detail, Emily and I made a decision to use the bidet at least once while at the resort. Talk about saving the environment! Why haven't bidets been mentioned in any plans for paper conservation? It's a different way of doing things, but I don't see why it's an inferior method.
The two most relaxing parts of the trip were our time spent in the Mediterranean and in the Turkish Bath and Sauna. The sea was the cleanest water I've ever swam in. You could usually see to the bottom where you were swimming and, as always, I felt like the salt water was doing wonders for my skin. The Turkish Bath was a room made of marble with basins of water attached to the wall. The combination of the marble, steam, and air-tight seal meant it was like a sauna where you'd take a bowl of water from a basin and continually pour it over you. Near the end of the trip I spent 20£ for a spa deal which included a full body scrub in the Bath, a facial peel, and a 30 minute massage - the price was lower because it was the off-season. The massage alone was forth the twenty quid; I felt like a new man after the treatment.
Aside from all the comforts of a week away from school and commitment, Emily and I had an absolute ball. There wasn't really any young pals to tag around with at the resort so we amused ourselves observing the characters, lounging in the lobby bar, watching Turkish MTV (which played the same videos on a six hour loop), playing our usual survival games, and considering just where else this crazy European adventure would take us. It was comforting to spend a week with a dear friend from home who knew all the in-jokes and had a shared history. We were able to talk in-depth about the future, the fate of the world, and all that is great about the place we call home. It's at this time that all the news outlets will produce their 2008 Year in Review. I feel that, without talking about it, Turkey was both a year in review, for two friends who spent the majority of the year together, and also a look towards an exciting 2009 full of possibility.
From here, after hording the internet computers for over an hour, Emily and I head to Paris where we are sure to have a memorable Christmas. It will be sad to be away from all that is familiar, but exciting to explore how the holiday is celebrated in another country. It is my hope that you aren't burdened by too much snow, and are happy back home in a country I miss more and more with each passing week.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: I'm taking inspiration from my surroundings at John Lennon Airport and wishing for a peaceful holiday for you and yours:
"And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For Rich and for poor ones
The road is so long
And so Happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight"
Monday, December 15, 2008
Season's Greetings from the Bloggers.doc
Emily and I leave for Manchester in an hour en route to Turkey and then Paris for Christmas!
Season's Greetings from Hincksy and the Doctor:
Doc's Prescription of the Day: I hope you are spending the Holidays with those you love.
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