My Latvian relatives
Beautiful Venice
Anna and I in Pisa
Florence
Anna, Maria and I in Sardina!
Mont-Saint-Michel
I have entered the blogging world! Now you will all be able to follow my travels and adventures at your leisure :)
My travel diary:
May 5, 2008
Well our journey has begun. Anna and I will be arriving in Frankfurt in an hour. We left Halifax at 18:05. We both tried to sleep on the plane but it was difficult because Alberta is 8 hours behind Frankfurt time and Nova Scotia is 5 hours behind. When we arrive we are going to try to find our way to the hotel and then do some sightseeing.
Anna and I had a great first day. We arrived at the airport and got our rail pass validated and made some train reservations. We then found our hotel where we checked in and took naps and showers. It was a beautiful day and we walked to the Palmengarten (a botanical garden). All of the plants were amazing and very beautiful. Our hotel has free internet so I e-mailed the family to let them know that we are safe and sound. Anna and I bought some groceries and made sandwiches. Now we’re both relaxing after a long day of walking.
May 6, 2008
Today we are in Bonn. In the morning we had a good breakfast at the hotel and then took a tram to the Frankfurt Zoo. It was another beautiful day. The zoo was a lot of fun. My favourite part was watching a baby monkey and it’s mother. They were adorable. After the zoo we picked up our packs and went to the train station. We found the correct platform, but at the last minute the platform number changed and we weren’t sure where to go... but we made it! We took a train into the city and after some help from a local man we found the correct street. After dropping off our things, Anna and I took a walk to the Rhine and had a peaceful stroll.
May 7
Anna’s birthday! We had a very busy day today. We walked from our house to the city center and went to Beethoven’s house! It has been a dream of mine for a long time. It was amazing to be in the same place as where Beethoven was born and to look at his original writings and instruments. After the museum we went to the old city hall where Mambu and Maxi were married. We ate some bratwursts and gelato. Mum told me that when she and Maxi were in Bonn she got some delicious lemon ice cream and that since it was going to be Anna’s birthday while we were in Bonn, I should buy her some ice cream. Anna picked lemon without me telling her the story! It was quite the coincidence. After that we took a boat ride on the Rhine. It lasted for three and a half hours and we saw some beautiful sights. We left the house at 9:45am and didn’t get back until 7:15pm. It was a very sunny day and we both got sunburnt, although my burn is worse. I hardly ever get sunburnt!
May 10
Anna and I have had a busy few days. On the 8th we took the train from Bonn to Frankfurt and then from Frankfurt to Paris. It took us a while to get to our hotel because we didn’t have a good map. Yesterday we went sightseeing! We saw the Eiffel tower and walked down Avenue des Champs Elysees. We saw palaces, gardens and statues that were all amazing. We also saw the Arc du Triomph, Musee du Louvre and the Jarden des Tuileries. Everything was beautiful. Today we went up the Eiffel tower. We waited in line for a long time but it was worth it. We were both happy that we had walked a lot the day before because it was easy to spot the main sights. Then we went to the Louvre. You could walk around there for days! We were astounded by all the works of art and artefacts. Actually, we got tired of saying the word *wow* and decided that we should broaden our vocabulary. In addition to all this it has been beautiful weather everyday. Sunny, clear skys!
May 11
Another splendid day. In the morning we went to a nearby bakery and got some delicious french croissants... Yum! Then we went to see the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was absolutely gorgeous. By chance, today is a Sunday and there was a mass taking place. The organ music was beautiful. Then we took a trip to Versailles. There were long line-ups, but we waited in the hot sun and finally made our way into the palace. It is hard to believe that people had lived in such an ornate and luxurious place! Was most impressed with the beautiful ceilings. Then we went into the gardens. They were AMAZING!! Everything was very manicured and green. The fountains were the most elaborate we have seen yet. Also, they went on forever. Our feet were very tired by the end of the day. Another part of the gardens that was interesting is that there were speakers hidden around the grounds that played classical music. It was definitely a nice touch. We also visited Marie-Antoinette’s estate. Last night we went to see the Eiffel tower at night for the light show. We got there just in time for the sparkly performance. We have gotten a lot of use out of the Parisian metro. It is very reliable, frequent, inexpensive and convenient. We are definitely getting the hang of travelling!
Mary 13
Last night Anna and I arrived in Pontorson, a town close of Mont-Saint-Michel. It felt great to be back in a rural area. We stayed in a little bed and breakfast. The owners were from England and were very friendly. Anna and I went for a walk in the evening. Everything was very rustic and beautiful. This morning we visited Mont-Saint-Michel. It was quite awesome. Most of it was constructed over 1000 years ago! There was a service going on in the abbey and we went to listen to the music for a while. The construction of the abbey and the village below was fascinating. The only down side was that there was nowhere to put our packs, so we had to carry them the whole time. Anna and I are going to be very fit by the end of our adventure. Our lucky streak with weather ended today. It was great in the morning but in the afternoon it started to thunder, lightning and rain. Good thing we arrived early and saw a lot of the Mont in the morning.
May 14
This morning Anna and I went to Musee D’Orsay. We saw lots of famous painting. My favourites were Van Gogh and Monet. We saw Mum’s favourite of the two people lying down by some haystacks called *The Siesta*. Then we flew to Nice. It is beautiful here. Neither of us had ever seen palm trees growing outside before so that was exciting. We took our supper down to the beach and enjoyed the view.
May 15
We had a train day today. We left Nice at 10:04am and arrived in Milan to switch trains. We had reserved a seat from Milan to Venice, but our first train was late so we missed the connection. There was another train soon after we arrived in Milan that luckily didn’t require a reservation. The view from the train was great. We travelled along the coast and through both city and countryside. We arrived at the train station in Venice and took a very packed bys to our camping village. Venice is so interesting. There is water everywhere! Anna and I asked the reception for directions to a restaurant. The woman told us that there was a restaurant 100m down the road on the right. First we trudged through long, wet grass because there was no sidewalk or shoulder beside the road. When we found the restaurant we saw that the waiters were wearing dress shirts and ties and seeing as we were in sweat pants and looked scruffy we decided not to go in. Instead we kept on walking and found a little bar. It was absolutely delicious and the waiters were very friendly and enjoyed our Italian language attempts. By accident, we forgot our English-Italian book and the waiter ran after us outside! It was hilarious. It has been quite the adventurous day :)
May 18
Venice was fabulous. On the 16th we spent the whole day walking through the city. It was a good thing we had the whole day to wander around because following the map proved to be very difficult! There were sporadic signs here and there. We went to St. Mark’s square and basilica and the rialto bridge. Also, we ddi some shopping and bought Murano glass jewellery. The city was very interesting. All the buildings were very worn and there was water and little bridges everywhere. On the 17th we travelled from Venice to Florence. The bus ride up to our camping village was fantastic. We went around lots and lots of curves. Our camping village is located outside of Florence. It is beautiful here. Today we went to Florence and saw the sites. We waited in line for quite a while to see the statue of David but again, the line was worth it. He was very impressive and extremely detailed. After that we walked around the city and saw one of the churches. Then we went to vecchio bridge. There was a great view of the river from there. Afterwards we made the trek up a hill to piazza Michalangelo for an amazing view of the whole city. After our journey down we ate some delicious gelato and came back to our camping village where we had a fantastic supper at the camping village’s restaurant.
May 22
We are in Sardinia with Maria! It is so good to see her :)! We arrived in the evening and then went to Mari and Sara’s dance class. It was fun to watch. Then we went out for supper and ordered a meter of pizza! We chose 3 different topping combinations. I really enjoyed the meter with french fries as a topping. Then we went for a walk in Alghero and stayed at Sara’s summer house. Before flying to Sardinia we went to see the coliseum and it’s surroundings. It was very impressive. It is amazing to think about how old everything is! Unfortunately it started to POUR rain so we cut our visit short. On the 21st we went to the Vatican City. We walked in the piazza and then went into the basilica and saw the pope! It was very crowded and the people were pushy, but it was impressive nevertheless. Afterwards we went to the Vatican museum. It was enormous. There was a lot to take in. Art was EVERYWHERE! From the floors to the walls and from and walls to the ceilings. After the museum we went to Castel Saint Angelo. I really enjoyed it. From the top there was a great view of the city. On the 20th we were in Pisa and saw the leaning tower. It was strange to see a building leaning to one side! On the 19th we traveled from Florence to Pisa. When we arrived in Pisa it took us a while to find out camping village, but once we found it we spent the evening reading, playing cards and eating.
May 23
We had a beautiful day in Sassari. It is finally sunny and warm again. We met some of Maria's friends and tool a tour of the music conservatory where Maria goes to school. Then we walked around the older, historic part of the city and went into a few churches. Then we went to the hospital for a tour because Sara is a doctor. After the tour we had a scrumptious meal of penne with pesto and a salad at Maria's. After we ate we relaxed, which felt very good. Then we went to a jazz concert. They were playing Gershwin tunes and it was quite entertaining. Then we went out for supper (which they eat at 9 or 10 at night). I ordered a pizza with french fries, ham and sausage and it was delicious. I ate sooooooo much today. Oh, also we had meringue gelato that was heavenly.
Okay, so for the rest of the trip I was lazy and didn't write in my journal. The rest of our visit with Maria was awesome, although it was WAY too short. I will always remember our few days by the gelato (especially puff, right Maria?), pizza, laughter and friendship :).
From Sardinia, Anna and I flew to Latvija where we were greeted with a big hug and smile from Papa! He had arrived the day before and it was clear to see that he had been enjoying his time. We went to see Riga's main attractions as well as places from our ancestors. I was surprised with how much I remembered from my visit two years previous. Then we went to visit our relatives in Mazsalaca (northern Latvia). It was so good to see them again! Last time I was there my little cousin was only a few months old and now she was running around and talking. I was so happy that Dad finally made it to Latvia and that I was there to experience it with him. He is already talking about going back!
So we left Latvia and flew to Finland where we were greeted by our former exchange student, Kati. We went to her mother's home and enjoyed delicious meals and conversation. We joked that we felt that it was finally time for us to go visit Kati in Finland as she had already been back to visit us in Canada several times. It was a strange feeling to say good-bye to Anna and Dad in the Helsinki airport. I spent the rest of the day sightseeing in Helsinki with Kati and Antii as my tour guides. Then I went to the airport thinking I would only have to wait for 1 hour for my flight. Approximately 6 hours later the flight actually left. I arrived in Riga in the middle of the night and had to take a taxi into the center as the bus was no longer running. After a few days I had an appointment at the citizen and migration affairs office. Finally all my papers were ready and I found out that I could officially live and work in Latvia until June 9, 2009! A few days after that I was offered a job working at the reception of Riga Hostel.
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