Its been over a year since my last blog update and I feel like I have lived and learned a lifetime of lessons since then.
October 2015 After finishing up an amazing season at OWL Rafting I was home for a few short weeks and then my bags were packed again for my next adventure; a month of backpacking Europe. I was joined by my mother, Elaine, and three cousins, Trisha, Brandon and Nicole. We flew to Ireland where we drive the "Ring of Kerry", drank Guinness in Dublin, peered over the edges of the cliffs of Moher then drove up to Northern Ireland. Having the opportunity to meet your family who lives on another continent is to amazing. We were greeted with the warmest Irish hospitality; from historical car tours of Belfast with Great Uncle Charlie, Halloween spent in an old Irish Gaol (jail), in-depth conversations comparing Canadian and Northern Irish slang, to getting the most stereotypical Irish tattoos.
"Ireland is a mysterious and magical land full of rich history and breathtaking landscapes"
October 2015 After finishing up an amazing season at OWL Rafting I was home for a few short weeks and then my bags were packed again for my next adventure; a month of backpacking Europe. I was joined by my mother, Elaine, and three cousins, Trisha, Brandon and Nicole. We flew to Ireland where we drive the "Ring of Kerry", drank Guinness in Dublin, peered over the edges of the cliffs of Moher then drove up to Northern Ireland. Having the opportunity to meet your family who lives on another continent is to amazing. We were greeted with the warmest Irish hospitality; from historical car tours of Belfast with Great Uncle Charlie, Halloween spent in an old Irish Gaol (jail), in-depth conversations comparing Canadian and Northern Irish slang, to getting the most stereotypical Irish tattoos.
"Ireland is a mysterious and magical land full of rich history and breathtaking landscapes"
November 2015 Nicole and I continued on with our adventure; we hopped on the quickest flight I've ever been on and ended up in Edinburgh, Scotland. This is quite possibly one of my favourite European cities; everyone was so friendly, the culture was rich and the buildings were a mix of haunted, historical and modern. We spent countless hours wandering the city, climbed to the top of Arthur's Seat, explored a castle, did the most Scottish hike possible (including sheep and haggis), walked through the most haunted parts of the city and of course partied like true Scots(wo)men. I almost forgot this is where we discovered our love for Primark (it's like a forever 21 on steroids.)
This is probably a good time to mention how truly awful our sense of direction is; google maps was our best friend. Literally. The second we would leave the hostel after a few steps our map would tell us we were headed in the complete wrong direction.
Our next stop was England. We started off in Liverpool; our few days in this city pretty much consisted of late nights out, early mornings of exploring places like the Beatles Museum and then eventually we both got really sick. Like my tonsils were bleeding at some point; but we bought some cheap drugs, tried to get some good rest in our 18 person hostel room and hopped on a train to our next destination. En route to Manchester, we met my amazing friend at the train station and she let us stay in her flat. A tour of the city showed us its beauty and also why its not much of a tourist destination... We decided to try our luck and go out that night! We ended up at a club packed full of teenagers, with 90p jager bombs and angsty music we knew every word to. All in all it was an experience to say the least.
This is probably a good time to mention how truly awful our sense of direction is; google maps was our best friend. Literally. The second we would leave the hostel after a few steps our map would tell us we were headed in the complete wrong direction.
Our next stop was England. We started off in Liverpool; our few days in this city pretty much consisted of late nights out, early mornings of exploring places like the Beatles Museum and then eventually we both got really sick. Like my tonsils were bleeding at some point; but we bought some cheap drugs, tried to get some good rest in our 18 person hostel room and hopped on a train to our next destination. En route to Manchester, we met my amazing friend at the train station and she let us stay in her flat. A tour of the city showed us its beauty and also why its not much of a tourist destination... We decided to try our luck and go out that night! We ended up at a club packed full of teenagers, with 90p jager bombs and angsty music we knew every word to. All in all it was an experience to say the least.
London was calling; and we answered. At this point in our trip we were pretty broke; but that wasn't going to stop us. We decided to budget and dined at the local Sainsbury's eating the deal meal packs consisting of disappointing grapes, questionable sandwiches and limited beverage options but hey it was only £2! We managed to tick off almost every touristy thing to do: natural history museum, Hyde park, Buckingham palace (was disappointing...), Westminster Abbey, St. Pauls Cathedral, Camden market by day (and by night on a legendary pub crawl... where we got lost again!), the very expensive but cool London eye, a house party and one of my most memorable nights the failed pub crawl. On the night of my 20th birthday we signed up for a hostel pub crawl, we had a decent sized group going but the tour guide never came to get us. So we decided to have our own; it was a night filled with laughs, confusion, drinking in a park, angry bus drivers, free shots and a very empty club. My 20th birthday would be a memorable one to say the least! However I forgot to mention the best most amazing nerdiest thing we did... We went to the Warner Brothers Studio in Watford, England to see where they filmed most of Harry Potter. This place was a dream come true for both of us! From real props and costumes, to magic lesson and even snow outside; the part that almost brought us to tears was the scale model of Hogwarts castle in the winter. It was pure magic. London was a bustling city full of surprises; the best surprise of all was being to meet up with my childhood best friend Rachel who joined us on our last lag of our trip.
Now on to a place that feels like a whole new planet; a place full of elves, volcanoes, waterfalls and sights that will blow your mind. Iceland. Arriving in Iceland felt like a whole new adventure Nicole, Rachel and myself traded in what money we had left into Icelandic Krona and boarded our bus to Reykjavik. The drive gave us a glimpse of the rugged and wild landscapes; from arctic tundras to snow capped mountains, black volcanic rock left from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 and bright blue of the mineral filled lakes and oceans. To sum it up we were breath taken. We only had 3 short days to explore this amazing place; we explored the city; saw the magnificent organs in Hallgrimskirkja church, cringed our way through the Icelandic Phallogical Museum (which for those who don't know it is a penis museum...) Yup hundreds of animal penises... what can I say? Reykjavik is a pretty quirky city.
Day two we were up before the sun rose and walked our way to Sad Cars... the very budget friendly car rental service where we got out Subaru and filled up with some very expensive gas (bye bye budget.) So we piled into the car with two new american friends and drove the infamous "Golden Circle." Our first stop was Þingvellir, a national park where two tetonic plates meet, next to the largest waterfall in Europe, Gullfoss. It was a cold and windy day so we warmed up near the piping hot gyser of Strokkur and finished off at the large crater lake of Kerið. We covered some ground and managed to see some very friendly Icelandic horses and dogs. That night we gathered a group of 15 from the hostel and froze our butts off walking an hour out of the city to witness the most magical, awe inspiring, natural wonder of the world "Aurora Borealis", the northern lights. Ribbons of green and purple light danced over our heads as we huddled on the sandy shore of the beach. The show went on for an hour then we hitchhiked back with the two Icelandic women who were blasting Justin Bieber's Christmas Album... Its crazy how small the world really can be. Our final day we spent the morning at the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa; soaking in the hot mineral waters before we boarded our flight. It was a close call getting to the airport though; we arrive back to the car rental place on fumes. The flight home was bittersweet as it always is; Nicole and I bid farewell and Rachel and I were en route to YYZ. |
"Travel is education for the mind, body and the soul. It will make you grow as a human, make you understand how small this planet really is" - KC
A massive thank you to everyone who made this trip possible from family here at home and over in Ireland, friends on Facebook for their recommendations and friends throughout our travels for guiding tours, letting us crash in their flat and showing us how to party like a true European. No matter where in the world I go it helps me appreciate the beautiful country that I call home, Canada.
A Mari usque ad Mare
A Mari usque ad Mare