Barcelona

New rule to the game: if you’re from Arizona, go to bed! I just had to mention a quote by Julie made during a drinking game of Kings Cup on our last night at the hostel! I don't think I had laughed that much in a long time! Love you Jules!!

Anyways, it’s been a few days since I’ve updated you guys on my travels. I just left Barcelona and am heading for the French Riviera where I expect to stay for about a week. The last four days spent in Spain have been amazing. I got to Barcelona in the morning (Friday, May 14) and, sadly, I was greeted by cold, rainy weather. I quickly made my way to my hostel, Hello BCN (once again, I recommend this hostel to all backpackers. The staff is awesome and the location is great. It is situated near the paral-lel metro station and it’s about a 10 minute walk to La Rambla/Old port).

At this hostel, I met up with 3 friends from Montreal: Merad, Julie and Lauren. After dropping off my luggage, we decided to head to Fondacion Joan Miro, an art gallery, due to the awful weather. By the time that we were done, the sky had cleared up and the weather was getting warmer. We went to Plaza Catalunya, the city center, and walked around to get a feel of the city. After lunch at Lactuca (an all you can eat buffet for only 9 Euros – another recommendation), we headed back to the hostel for a siesta, then shower, before going out on a mini pub-crawl. The pub-crawl leader was Guillermo, one of the coolest hostel staff. He took us firstly to a mojito bar, followed by Hyde’s Club. Guillermo was shaking his Spanish ass all night like it was nobody’s business. Most of the people in club gathered around him., cheered and took plenty of pictures – he really was something haha! We also partied with some other backpackers from our hostel and headed back only around 5:30AM.

The following morning (Saturday, May 15) was a lazy one. We woke up on the late side, grabbed breakfast to go, and then walked around the Old Port and La Rambla before heading to the Sagrada Familia. That church is quite a piece of art! I cannot believe the amount of detail it has.

That evening, we headed out to a multi-hostel pub-crawl in the city where we attended 4 bars and a club. We left the club around 4Am after a crazy night of sangria/shots/beer bong/mayhem, to find ourselves walking around La Rambla. We were warned to be weary of strangers – especially prostitutes and gypsies as they will try to steal from tourists at any occasion. I had always been told that Barcelona was one of the European cities with the most theft. After spending a few days there, I could agree! I have never been so paranoid about getting my purse snatched in my life; especially after witnessing a few thefts on Sunday night.

On Sunday (May 16), we headed to the market to grab some food for brunch that we ate in Guell Park. The park is situated in the mountains and gives the best view of the city. You can spend so much time just sitting there, looking over the city and Mediterranean while sitting on some beautiful mosaic art pieces/benches. The fact that the weather was perfect made it even better! After quite a long stroll in the park and surrounding neighborhood, we went back to the Old Port and had a siesta in the sun on the boardwalk (with many others). On our way back, we ate some delicious doner kebabs that we could not stop thinking about the rest of the trip (we even went back for a late supper that same day haha). In the evening, we went out with Nat and Arminda, the kiwies that I met in Paris, to an Irish pub so that we could watch the Habs game. After a 3-0 lead for Philly, we decided to head back to the hostel. We took some sketchy alleys to get there, and crossed loads of crooks, gypsies and prostitutes. Thank god we were a big group of people because I would have never walked those alleys alone at 3AM!

Yesterday (Monday, May 17), our last day, we decided to make it a playa day. We brought a variety of cold cuts and chesses to the beach for a big lunch feast. The weather was warm, but since the ocean breeze was refreshing, we didn’t notice that sitting in the sun for so long could do so much damage – yea! Sun burns for everyone lol! Despite the uneven sunburns (due to uneven application of tanning oil with spf), we still had a beautiful day and definitely got some color! At night, we packed as we all had to leave early the next morning (today). Instead of going out, we played a good game of Kings Cup with a bunch of people from the hostel – a really fun night.

This morning, Merad, Julie and Lauren left for Lisbon, Portugal. They’ve got good weather ahead of them and I wish them safe and fun travels! On my side, I’ve gone solo once again. I am heading to French Riviera – more precisely Nice. I am currently in Montpellier, France waiting for my train (which should depart in about 15 minutes) to Marseille, where, once again, I have to transfer to Nice. I’ve been on the road since 8:30AM and should arrive to the Nice train station around 8:00PM – LONG DAY!

Anyways, I am going to go wait on the platform now. Hopefully this train won’t be blasting the air conditioning to below zero, and that I won’t be sitting near a crying baby!

A+

Love,
Flo

Paris

Une crepe au nutella svp! I am currently on my overnight train ride to Barcelona! I only spent 2 ½ days in Paris because the weather was not very good. When I got there Tuesday afternoon, the weather was about 8 C and it was pouring rain! Sadly, my warmest shoes consisted of flat sole Converses, and that my warmest piece of clothing was my American Apparel sweater – hence why you will see it in most of my pictures since the beginning of this trip. When I arrived to Gare du Nord Tuesday afternoon, I activated my eurail pass and booked my overnight ticket to Barcelona for Thursday night.

I spent Tuesday afternoon (soaked) exploring the Montmartre area where my hostel was located. The area is lovely and bakeries, coffee shops and markets fill the streets. It is also only a 10 minutes walk from the Basilic Sacre Coeur, where you can get one of the best views from the city. I spent some time at a nearby “café” reading a book and enjoying a delicious croc monsieur, espresso, and a glass of Beaujolais; always hoping the rain would stop. It didn’t, not that evening. So I went back to the hostel, where most of the travelers had decided to stay in rather than to deal with this bad weather. If any of you are considering traveling to Paris on a budget, I would totally recommend the Hotel Caullaincourt (Lamarque Caullaincourt metro station on line 4). I was fortunate enough to have 3 lovely room mates (2 kiwies and 1 aussie) that I spent most of my time with.

On Wednesday morning, I left withNat, a nurse from New Zealand, and headed to the Jardin des Tuilluieries (where Paris Fashion Week is held twice a year). The garden is immense and I could spend hours in there if it was warm and sunny. Afterwards, we walked down a small street filled with high end designer stores, and finally made it to 31 Rue Cambon – Coco Chanel’s original apartment.

Then, we walked down les Champs Elysees to the Petit Palais to go see the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit. It was breath taking! If anyone is in Paris anytime soon, I would totally recommend to go see it!

We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling the neighborhoods near the Champs Elysees before heading back to the hostel to pick up Arminda, another kiwi who had decided to stay in due to strep throat. After making a delicious supper with a baggette, emmental cheese and cold cuts all found in local stores, we headed out to the Louvre. Then, we went to the Arc de Triomphe for a view of the city landscape at night followed by hanging out at Place Trocadero to catch the Eiffel Tower light show while enjoying a crepe!

I went to bed quite late that night as I was following the Habs game 7 live on internet (I couldn’t go out to the Canadian Pub by the Louvre, as the hostel has a 2AM curfew and the game only started at 1AM in Paris).

On Wednesday, Nat, Arminda and Becc headed out to the Notre Dame church and admired its gothic architecture. The view from inside is even more beautiful than I had imagined.

Afterwards, we walked through the streets and went for some sweet Parisian vintage shopping and visited my favorite vintage store, Free’p’star (located near St-Paul metro station). Made a few purchases there, but not serious damage! Later, we walked all the way from east of Chatelet area to the Louvre. I had to leave shortly after to get ready for my 8:30PM overnight train to Spain. Before leaving, Arminda and I picked up some more food for supper.

I Left nearly an hour before departure of my train, and let me tell you – It was a close call! I arrived at the platform 7 minutes before the train departure. Thankfully made it! 12 hours from now, I will be in Barcelona – where I will be meeting up with some friends from Montreal: Merad, Julie and Lauren. I cannot wait!

Hasta luego! xo

“Here’s your titty bar change!” Haha, I had to mention that quote that was told to us by our waiter at the Indian restaurant last night. Anyways, it’s been a while since I’ve updated you guys on my situation. I’m currently on the Eurostar (Train between London and Paris – and for those of you who are wondering “but Flo, there’s a large amount of water between the two cities” – well, it goes through an underground tunnel!). I’ve got 2h30 on this train, so I might as well catch up on this blog. Here it goes:

Last Saturday, I met up with Beatrice for an early breakfast at Oxford Circus before she had to go work at Banana Republic. When we parted ways, I walked around the area and went window-shopping on Regent Street. Afterwards, I headed to the British Museum; it was amazing and truly breathtaking. It was privilege to see such important historic artifacts, from the Rosetta stone to the original Pantheon sculpture. It is almost surreal that artifacts dating from thousands of years ago are in such great shape. I visited most of the museum and found myself spending most of my time looking at the jewelry and accessories dating from different eras in the show rooms. It’s interesting to see some of these items be brought back onto the runways and sold in stores. For example, I saw an ancient sculpture of the Greek god Hermes wearing winged sandals , which inspired McQueen’s latest shoe collection.(I was told that he visited this museum quite regularly for inspiration before his death.) (side note: winged shoes are a trend to keep an eye on. Designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Marc Jacobs and Beatrix Ong have also released their own versions)

Later in the evening, I headed to Beatrice’s apartment for a slumber party. We stayed in and caught up on everything. She also showed me some of her schoolwork from Istituto Marangoni (if you didn’t already know, I really want to go there!).

The next morning, we walked to nearby Camden Town to visit the Sunday vintage market – which is also called the Stable Market because the kiosks are located in horseboxes from an old stable. I made a single purchase that day: a legit army blazer! It is khaki (that color is in right now ladies!), has sweet original badges, and even has the soldier’s name written inside along with his ID #. After that, we went for lunch at an Asian restaurant in Tottenham before we parted ways again.

I went back to Regent’s college to hang out with Paul, and later visited The City, which is the financial district of London, along with the Tower Bridge. That evening, I was lucky enough to experience the true football (yes, I’ve replaced the word soccer from my vocabulary for the summer) spirit as the Chelsea team was playing. Let me tell you that most locals were sporting white and blue and chanting at any occasion they had! The Brits are true football fans, and I would never dare wear a rival team jersey around them, as I’d fear for my safety lol!

The night finished with a few drinks at The Volunteer pub near the college. (Ps. Ladies, if you are ever fortunate enough to visit London, you must order a strawberry beer as well as try Magner’s apple cider… mm!)

On Monday, my last day in the city of London, I woke up on the later side as I was so tiered from the previous night. When I finally got out of the College, I headed to Harrods, where I spent WAY too much of my time. I fell in LOVE with a pair of Valentino wedges, which I would have definitely purchased had I not had 4 months of traveling ahead of me (aka. Budget constraint). I also spent a lot of time drooling over Miu Miu’s s/s10 shoe collection – there’s just something about those bulky heels and that gorgeous silk material that just have me infatuated! The store is really something to see, despite the fact that most of us cannot afford 98% of the things in it.

After that, I headed to Istituto Marangoni with Beatrice since I really wanted to check out the school. It is jaw dropping! The school’s library is filled with Vogues, as well as all the issues of any other fashion magazine that you can think of, as well as loads of patterns and books on fashion. The sewing room is immense and filled with all the equipment you could ever need. Also, I was lucky enough to meet a Prof who teaches the Costume history class. We spoke for a bit and, it turns out that she’s from Sorel (my father and I’s hometown) and she knows my dad from way back in the days!!! What a small world, honestly.

Lastly, I went for my last supper with Paul and Beatrice in Brooklyn (aka. Little India). I ate the best Indian food of my life; definitely a must-do if you visit the city. Afterwards, we went to a shisha bar near the college where we befriended the Lebanese owner, Karim. I will definitely go back with Beatrice when I come back to London.

So, here I am now, on the Eurostar, writing you guys a novel! I should be in Paris soon. I’m entering a new time zone, so it’s time to adjust the electronics!

A tout!

London

Last day in London, booh! I will catch up on this blog most likely tomorrow while I am on the Eurostar (the train from London to Paris). I've been told that there is wifi aboard the train, so I will have plenty of time to keep you guys updated on my adventure! I am so sad to leave London, because I've had a blast over here. Having two familiar faces around, Paul and Beatrice, was really nice as well as the other people that I have met.

Anyways, it's time for me to go to Harrods now, followed by a trip to the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) and the Natural History Museum. I am not usually tempted to go to so many museums during my stay in cities because they are usually pricey, but since London museums are free (+ small extra charges for exhibitions), I might as well take advantage of it. There is a Grace Kelly exhibition at the V&A which showcases wardrobes worn by one of the most popular actresses of the 1950s which i really want to see!

Ps. Here is another draft to my eurotrip schedule: take a look!

http://www.eurotrip.com/trip/solo-euro-adventure-2010

And for those who want to reach me, my cell is +44 779431236.

xo

London

Ch-ching! I have to start by underlining how expensive the city of London is! it's hard not to get carried away with all the amazing fashion it offers! Most things really are more expensive here than back home in Canada.

The day started off with a breakfast at the refectory (aka. Regent College's cafeteria) with Paul. Crepe (with Nutella obvi), eggs, sausage, hash browns, OJ and coffee .. mmmm. After that, we showered up, go ready and went for a walk in Regent's Park where the school's campus is located. it is immense and honestly stunning with gorgeous gardens and loads of birds/ducks/swans/tall ass birds - makes me wish I had brought my runners with me.

Then, we took the tube to Trafalgar square where we observed all the tourist attempting to climb onto the giant lion statues' backs (if you've been, you know what I mean haha!) - after a lot of efforts of our own, we manage to get up there too! definitely not as easy as you'd think and worthy of a picture. For the rest of the day, we walked around, went to the Portrait Museum, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye.

Funny story about the London Eye - Paul and I were waiting in line to pay for our tickets to ride in it (17 £/each) and noticed that the girl in front of us had a 2 for 1 voucher printed from the internet. We decided to come back another time with the voucher to be nice to the wallet for once. When we got out of line, a security guard asked us why we were leaving, and when we told him the reason, he offered to let us get on the ride for 20 £ for both. We slipped him the bill and not only did we get ourselves a deal, he made us cut in front of the whooooooooooooolee waiting line! That's some service right there! Anyways, the ride was alright. It really gives you a good view of the whole city (however, I'd recommend you to go at night so that you can see the city lights).

Finally, we finished the afternoon by heading back to Oxford Circus for some more damage. I finally made it past the accessories and into the clothing department of Topshop. AMAZING. But also veryyy pricey. Still got some sweet stuff there that I cannot wait to wear!

Finally, we went for a quick bite, went back to the dorms for some pre drinking and hung out with some friends before heading out to KOKO club with 2 parisians, a mexican, and another montrealer (all student's at RC). The club was huge and set up like a theatre with different floors. They had a few bands playing that night (including Zoey Deschanel's band, Her and Him). I could not be happier with the music choices made by the DJ after the bands were finished - he played remixed songs by artists like Arctic Monkeys (I must say the crowds here are really into that type of music VS. Montreal's crowds which are more into house music I'd say).

Anywhoo, time for bed now. I've got a breakfast date in the city with Beatrice tomorrow morning.

Cheers!

London

The most stylish city I have ever seen. I just got in from lunch at Piccadilly Circus with Paul followed by a stroll/shopping sesh at Oxford circus. The H&M store had amazing things - and obviously (drum roll) I paid my first and oh so anticipated visit to TOPSHOP!! The store is even better than I could have imagined. I didn't even have time to make it to the clothes department as I was drawn to the accessories and bags section first. Little did I know nearly a half hour had gone by and the store was closing. This store is what heaven probably looks like! I will be back for some more damage to my wallet!

Now it's time to get my drink on at Regent College's pub - it's Tequila Night tonight. Bring. It. On. Sadly pubs stop serving alcohol at midnight here since there is a serious problem with alcohol abuse in the city.. :( ! This may help me get out of bed earlier in the morning however.

Note to self, "Look Right"

Fries? Oh.. you mean chips! Woo! I just touched down in London town! I can finally say that I have been across the pond to one of the most stylish (and expensive) cities in the world. To begin, the flight has been one of the most comfortable of my life. Not only did I have a seat by the window, but the rabbi that was originally seated next to me disappeared shortly after take off - therefore, I had the whole row of seats to myself! I won't lie, I was a little vexed at first as to why he changed seats (lol), but the advantages of being able to sleep in a horizontal position (with 3 pillows and a blanket) quickly made me forget about it! 7 hour flights are much more pleasant that way :) (side note: there was an actor on my flight, although I can't remember his name. I smiled at him because I thought he was familiar and I guessed that he was perhaps a member at Mansfield - but when he smiled back, I realized that I recognized him from TV)

The morning started off a little rough with problems at the customs + my blackberry was dead which made it pretty difficult to meet up with Paul at the Paddington train station.. but I managed! Nothing a cappuccino and beautiful weather can't make better!

Tonight, I'll be staying with Paul at the dorms of Regent's College. A night of summer 2010 celebration is ahead of us. I'm resting a little now, but will be making my way outside shortly to explore.

In the next few days, I expect to visit the obvious tourist attractions such as Trafalgar square, Abbey Road, the London Eye, Leicester square, Oxford street, Harrods, Topshop (!!!), Regent's street, Regent's park, the British museum, Camden etc.

I'll be posting pics! Time to get out and enjoy the city.

Cheers!