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Rain rain, stay away, come again no other day... Spent the day tooling around the town.There was a random story that a WW2 bomber plane had gone down over by Radar Hill so naturally, we had to find out. With our rain boots on (on 3 of us) we trudged past an old building which must have been used during WW2 for something and were warned not to go into it because of the lead and asbestos contamination. Well. Who listened to their parents when they were younger? Not me. So we went in, jackets over our noses and mouths so we didn't directly inhale anything and holy shite - it was icky and gross. So we trudged on and right into a forest of mud. Thank God for Army and Navy $10 rubber boots - whoop! About 45 minutes later we approach our first crater which was made by the bomber when they dropped their load. Then, we looked up and just down the path was a whole freakin plane hanging in the trees. When we approached the plane, we cold grasp the magnitude that this thing came in at. Good gracious - this 12 seater plane was just hanging amongst some trees. It tore stumps out of the ground as it came in - just freakin incredible. After a couple photo ops we headed back - back through the knee deep mud and back to the truck. It was a great thing to see - I'll try to post some pictures once they get uploaded. Now for a night of chillaxing in the sauna with a bevvie. Mmmm bevvies. Hopefully will try to get some surfing in tomorrow to wrap up the surf rental. Posted by Bella at 7:59 PM# Riding with the sea critters... Who would have thunk it eh? Well I sure wouldn't have. Seaner took a rad wave today and rode it with a seal. Have you seen those email forwards where some surfer has a bnch of dolphins riding beside him in the wave? I didn't think it was real - but now seeing Sean ride the wave with the seal, fuck, it's real. And it is some kinda sight.We rolled in here on Sunday afternoon and had a big stellar dinner and a good night sleep. Yesterday we picked up our rental gear and hoofed it to the beach for about 3 hours. I moved muscles that have never been moved before during that session. We had a brisk break and then were off to a little more intense of a beach - Cox Bay - where it doesn't look intimidating from the beach but once you hit the water, you realize just how tall the waves are. My advice - walk away and go somewhere calmer. But no - we went into the water and had our asses kicked by mother nature - she's a fiesty bitch I tell ya. Had a much needed big dinner of bbq burgers and then a walk on the beach with our backpacks filled with booze. Bed has never felt better... TODAY - back to the beach. Now, if you're thinking "she's fucking nuts - it's freezing freakin cold water", well I agree. It is - but we have wet suits which are thicker than anything. The most difficult things in the world to put on I'll tell you. Good god - if you don't have any patience, don't put on OR take off a wet suit. You'll be in for a frustrating endevour. ANYWAYS, we got our suits on and hoofed it back to the local beach where the waves were a little friendlier. Although a little more unfriendly once you get in the water - I still managed to catch a couple waves and rode them into shore. All in all, a swell day in the freezing water. My face and chest are burnt - I am radiating heat off like no one's business. Forgot that the sun reflects off the water - heh heh heh.. heh. My bad. Tonite should be another swell evening. The beach is so awesome at night - kinda frightening though as you can't see the waves wash up - you just feel it at your feet. Maybe we should invest in a flashlight for our last 5 days here. Having a kickass time and so glad I came. Now, off to watch the game and crack open a Smirnoff. Posted by Bella at 5:43 PM# Off to sunny beautiful Tofino for a week. 
Posted by Bella at 6:47 PM# Calgary Herald Q. Ok so before the back section pipes up and tells me it's not good enough or not long enough or wah wah wah - it's what I had to say at the time.Posted by Bella at 6:38 PM# Wanted: Stories about cars Do you have a car you want to make famous? If so - I can do it! Ok seriously. I need some more people who want to blabber about their car. It's quick, simple, and fun to see yourself in the paper the following Friday. If you're interested, let me know and we can make you famous.OK I'm begging someone, anyone! Posted by Bella at 6:20 PM# And that was it. The train ticket said I was booked for my own seat in the Express to Milan. I was going to have my own seat and be comfy and maybe even get a little sleep. Well.After frantically trying to find the right train, we were informed that my ticket was incorrect and that the train I was going to be on was packed and there were no seats left - standing room only. Aaron threw my backpack on the train and helped me up. It was sweaty and hot, people were everywhere - I was standing for the 8 hour journey back to Milan. I was less than plussed. After a tearful good bye, the train started up and I was an emotional wreck. I didn't want to leave, I was mad about my 80 Euro train ticket being nonrefundable and unusable. Before I could get comfy, we made another stop and the door opened - a family with what seemed like 50 boxes and suitcases jumped on and moved me out of where I was - pushing me into the hallway which had people lined up standing, holding onto only the racks which were above our heads. We stopped at every little town from Rome to Milan; there must have been 50. There was no sleep to be had - I had to guard my personal space and my belongings. Because I broke my watch in the hostel in Rome, I had to rely on other people to tell me the time. I'm sure the guy standing next to me got tired of me asking him what time it was in English - one would think I would have learned how to ask time in his native tongue. The train came to its final stop and I bolted off the train - I was running short on time and I still needed to make it to the airport before 10 a.m. which was only 40 minutes. After asking 3 or 4 taxi drivers to take me to the airport, I finally got one who spoke english and who was kind enough to take my bag from me. Before I knew it, he had broken every road rule possible - I kept my eyes shut during the entire trip. He dropped me off at the gate and I was hastily trying to find my SAS checkin. After handing in my bag, grabbing a croissant which was filled with a gross puss looking substance, I opted for a fruit drink instead. I was working on no food, no sleep, no water and I was probably pmsing. I was one force to be reckoned with. After touring the stores for half an hour, my plane was being boarded. I found my window seat (next to the emergency exit) and fell asleep before I realized I needed my seatbelt on. Three hours later I was being woken up by the flight attendant who had apparently tried to wake me up for most of the trip in an attempt to put on my seat belt. He must have thought I was dead. I had a layover in Copenhagen which was bittersweet. I was looking forward to stretching my legs and buying more random goods from the trinket stores and checking out the beautiful international airport. This time I wasn't harassed as badly by the customs guards who forced me to give them my passport and answer useless questions. A couple looks over and I was good to go. I made a phone call which ended up only being a one minute message on my dad's voicemail (but a charge of $46 on my Visa) and I sat down in a section of chairs with people my age. There was a girl with long curly red hair who was laying on the chairs resting her head on her backpack, a guy three chairs down from me who was on my flight to Copenhagen the first time and one guy sitting across me who looked deep in his sketchbook - although a welcome sight. He had a MEC backpack resting at his feet. After a couple moments of making eye contact, we struck up a conversation and found out that he was a fellow Calgarian. Sweet. We boarded the plane only a short while later and I took my window seat. After sitting down and believing I was incredibly lucky because I didn't have anyone sitting next to me, an old man sat down - looked at me and said he would find another seat. I didn't think I smelled that bad but maybe I did. So my new friend from Calgary sat with me and then I took up a seat with him. We had great conversations and I was almost sad 9 hours later when the plane arrived in Seattle. I was bound for a hotel in the city while my new friend was heading back to Calgary. We exchanged emails and vowed to go for coffee when we got back to the same city. We exited the plane and attempted to find our backpacks, I was so excited to never see mine again. I turned all emotional again and found a quiet place in the airport to call my dad. I didn't have a place to stay, I was running low on cash and I didn't want to hang out in a city by myself. After crying a little, I found a brochure for a beautiful looking hotel and after calling them to check their prices, I toughed it out and booked my $300/night room. I was excited for a shower - I think that's why I paid so much money. The hotel was lovely. I even had my own personal chauffeur to take me back to the airport after a good nights sleep, long hot shower and a quick look around the University district. I hung out at the Seattle airport for a couple hours - I was more than anxious to go home although desperately wanting to go back to Italy. It was so fascinating and I had become so comfortable with it in the time I was there. I was back to the city where cars actually (well, usually) stopped for you when you crossed the street, people spoke english, and the money made more sense and was harder to spend. But on the plus side, I had learned more than I thought I ever would about myself, my tolerance, my friends and about history. Besides, I also met a cute guy on the plane coming home and if anything, that was pretty darn swell. Posted by Bella at 6:31 PM# And then there was one. I booked my return train ticket back to Milan from Rome the previous night to ensure that I got on and didn't miss my chance to catch my flight. Emotions were running high - I didn't want to go home. I was comfortable and associated with the city. There was so much I still wanted to see and do - why was I going home now?I had to make the best of my last day in Italy. It started out in a hotel room down the street from the hostel we stayed at before we left for our disappointing and rather frightening trip to Naples. We had to pack our backpacks and hoof them over to the hostel where my co-part was staying when I left. Our day bags were packed and we were off to take in everything we hadn't done in the first week of being in Rome. The Pope had died only the day before and already, Rome was beginning to feel the squeeze of pilgrims and tourists. Buses were harder to catch, the subway was more squishy and the streets were a never ending line up of people walking. Posters were planted on phone polls, windows, walls and doors all over the city. The poster had a picture of Pope John Paul II looking up to the sky. It was sad and heartwarming all at the same time. Some people cried as they sat on the street, others held small vigils on street corners. This place had a little bit of every emotion running wild. The day before we had taken a trip to Vatican City. A line up had buried the city streets disallowing anyone to pass through to St. Peters. We decided to stand in the line not knowing what it was for. We crept up a little closer to the church every 20 minutes or so, the sun beating down on us. It was hot, miserable and not a chance of getting out to pee. I was screwed for however much longer it was going to take for us to get through the line. A solid 6 hours later, we were at the front of the line walking up the stairs to St Peters. We were about to see the Pope lying in State. There was nothing that could prepare us for this - we held hands and walked through the mound of people until we saw him. The push by was quick - we were warned not to stop but to continue walking. He was ghostly, small and humble looking. Everyone around us had their camera out, snapping shots of him as fast as they could. We didn't - the image will remain in our minds better than a picture could anyways. After being ushered out of the basilica, we were off to grab a bite of pizza at the local shop on the other side of St. Peters then it was off to the hotel - a venture that seemed like forever. But the day was almost over for me and I was anxious to do everything. I still has gifts to buy for people who requested an authentic Italian somethingorother brought back. After a disappointing (for me anyways) trip to a museum with a bunch of paintings and statues we were off to find the museum which prided itself on it's displays of human bones. Creepy but really cool to look at. It was time. A quick stop to the hostel to pick up my bag and it was off to the train station for me. It was hard. Looking around the train station, it was sad. I was leaving to go home. My adventure though, was about to get harder. I wasn't ready for what was ahead of me. Posted by Bella at 8:12 PM# Blue sky.  If it's like this for the full week that I'm there, I'm stoked. Granted, the water is going to be nipple stiffening cold and I probably won't be in it without a hefty wet suit (ever heard of someone who's allergic to the cold?). Posted by Bella at 7:51 AM# Get me out of here. I had a mental breakdown. Nothing about Naples was nice. Nothing about Naples was what I wanted to see. I was scared to walk around the streets, scared to be in this city. We were leaving. We were going back to Rome.We were suppose to say what everyone else said about this place. But, it was crap. Pompeii was nothing more than a waste of a couple euros. However, it was a beautiful trip down the coast. After leaving Pompeii and heading back to Naples, I was excited about the thought of purchasing return tickets to Rome. The news of the Pope's ailing health was all over the news. Getting a hotel was going to be tricky - better not let Megan handle this arrangement. We were back at the pizza place for yet another tuna pizza. It was the best pizza I had ever had. Because the night was still semi young, we both took our spots in the room and set our postcards and journals and filled them with our thoughts of the past couple of days. Although dying to have a shower, the thought of standing in the stall which was surrounded by black mould was somewhat less than appealing. I could hold out. Besides, we booked an actual hotel in Rome. --- We woke up to the news that the Pope had passed. We had made our reservations for the train and hotel just in time. Now, we had to get there before the swarms of pilgrims and tourists arrived. This place was about to turn zoo-like. We checked in just in time. Prices had gone up almost 50%. We threw our bags in the room and hoofed it to St. Peters again. This was something we had to witness. Posted by Bella at 10:01 PM# Great. Where was I? I sure didn't get the 1000 count linens I was hoping for so bad, but I ended up making a friend or two and seeing a couple sights with our Fabio tourguide. Realizing that Aaron might know a thing or two about hostels, I backed off and decided he wasn't so dumb afterall.The Pope wasn't doing well and we got the first hint of that while walking into Vatican City; news vehicles and stand by media were everywhere. Everyone was ready to break the news that the Pope had passed. It was hot, musty, humid and sweaty all at once - walking around I felt gross and ached for a shower. While touring Rome, we saw the Mouth of Truth, the pristine Sistine Chapel, St Peters Basilica, the jawdropping Pantheon and more. The sights were second to none; I was seeing things I had only read about. Everything was suddenly real to me. I was in Rome. I was in Italy. Our stay seemed short, too short. We were off to Naples where I had booked a room with a view of the ocean. I was excited - it was my first booking, although things just weren't adding up. We said farewell to our friends who we met at the hostel and who we had toured around with for the stay at the hostel and we were off to Napoli - home of the best pasta and pizza. This was suppose to be what Italy was all about. We'll see about that. Not even 10 minutes into our visit to Naples and we were already in trouble. The person who I booked the room through didn't speak english. After speaking to about seven different people to get the directions, finding a taxi and trying to explain the directions to him - we were dropped off in a back alley and quickly heard the sound of screeching tires as our cabbie took off. We were left abandoned and with no idea as to where we were. Shortly thereafter, a guy not much older than us called us and we followed him to the room. he looked like a mobster, gold around his neck and wrists, smoking like a chimney and not a word of english coming out of his mouth. We only assumed he was trying to get our attention really... it was just a bunch of italian mumbo-jumbo that neither one of us understood. My backpack was heavy, my feet hurt and I was soaking wet from the downpour. Ugh. The room certainly didn't have a view of the ocean, the walls were painted in a sea blue colour which could have easily been confused. The beds weren't made, it was dirty and we were told that another guest would be staying in the same room. After a short pow-wow, we declined and hoofed it to the main street where we could hopefully find a real hostel. After a couple hours of walking through the puddles, being turned down by numerous hostels, we finally found one down one of the sketchiest avenues yet. A steep walk up 5 flights of marble stairs and we were greeted with a glass of water by a tall grey haired man. For only 100 Euros, we were shown to a room with 3 beds and a view of the ocean. Mind you, it was only the faint view of the sea - but a view nonetheless. We were told where to eat pizza and we did. It was the best tuna pizza I have ever had. Too bad we were also told to bring something to secure ourselves with like a weapon. Great. Where was I? Posted by Bella at 6:06 PM# MMmmm shoes.  Everytime I mention that I want a new pair of shoes, Scott looks at me and raises an eyebrow a little. Can I help it if they are just too fabulous to pass up? I was wandering around Chapters today at lunch and a lady came up to me and said, "Oh I just love your shoes! They're just DARLING!" Well yah, thanks - I love 'em. I would love a new spring pair. Maybe Scott will let me go shopping... Posted by Bella at 6:21 PM# When in Rome, envision better things. If first impressions really mattered the most, I was screwed. It was noisy beyond belief, the security guards had guns bigger than my mammoth backpack and I was staying in yet another hostel. By this point one would think I would be warming up to hostels and the fraternizing with other travelers my age, but no.Due to my natural abilities to navigate through anything, I was the 'chosen one' when it came to finding places - such as hostels. If I was really smart, I would have navigated our way to the Best Western located only a block down from the place we were staying. We walked up to a large door located in between two restaurants with patio dining, and pushed a buzzer for the hostel. He hates me. I knew it. We were staying in the slums of Rome in a hostel with 24/7 partying which could be heard 4 stories down. I think I feel a tear coming on. We were let in and told to walk up 3 flights of marble stairs. One thing that surprised me about this country was the overuse of marble and granite on the floors - mainly on stairs. We pay ridiculous prices for these slabs to be put on our counters, and here, we walk on them. Tite. The door opened with a heavy push and the waft of beer, sweat and illegal smoking came pummeling out of the room. Tears really are streaming down my face. We were told which floor to go to and find our bunks. I was hungry, bitter and ready to today to be over. A small underground (literally) family run pasta place was the first appetizing place to sit down and eat at. I had been waiting for my dose of pasta - up until now it was only pizza and paninis. Dinner was mowed down quickly and back to Yellow it was for us. To bed, to sleep; to envision myself sleeping comfortably between a down filled duvet and 1000 count linens. Posted by Bella at 11:37 PM# |
