And the Pope retired!

What an amazing experience it was to see the pope.

Yeasterday we got up super early and head off to Vatican City, we got there around 8:45 the popes speech didn't start until 10:30. It's a good thing we left that early because there was already a lot of people there. However not as many as I thought there would be. I thought we left to late but as it turns out we didn't! We actually ended up being in the square I kind of figured we might have to be out on the street. Yesterday's count of people who attend were around 150,000! It was incredible to see that many people from all over the world, not just people from Italy.

 Tons of people had banners and flags, but there was not one Canadian flag and we have a cardinal running for pope! What the heck was that about Canada! I had no idea that the pope spoke so many different languages, yesterday he addressed people in, French, English, Italian, German, Arabic, polish, Portuguese and Spainish. However his whole speech was in Italian, I really wish I knew Italian so I could understand what he was saying. Although it didn't make it any less awesome to see him in person on his last day as pope. We got to see history being made right before our eyes, there have only been three popes who have ever retired in history! It's not very common and no wonder it's not a very popular thing to do. There was a lot of very upset people at his last speech, many, many people crying. 

When the pope came out he drove down the street and in the square in his pope mobile, it was like a little golf cart but bigger. We needed up being I would say no more then four people away from him when he drove by! It was sheer fans ammonium with everyone screaming for him. 

Once his speech was over and each cardinal from different countries said their thank yous, you could actually get the pope to bless certain objects if you had anything with you. He also blessed everyone's friends and family back home from where you are from, so you are all now blessed by the pope. We decided to take the bus back to the museum we tired to get into yesterday that you needed a reservation for. Needless to say the buses were crazy packed, like you could not have possibly fit more people if you tired. Anyway once Kristy and I got to our stop we weren't that close to a door so we started to move and said exsucd me, and the stupid bitches wouldn't move! They said no! Wtf! We let it go and figured we could just get off at the next stop, finally three stops later we started pushing them, and the guy in front of them turned around and started yelling at them to move so we could get off. I'm telling ya we have such good luck with people helping us out. We started to try and get off and it was not easy, the stupid women who wouldn't move still didn't move they just backed up a little for us to squeeze through, needless to say we pushed and shoved as hard as we could when we went through them, so they would get the point! 

Italian food will be the death of me

Today we tried to find the market we couldn't find yesterday. We left the house a little more prepared this time. We googled it, brought out map and wrote down directions. We ended up finding it very easy, which usually never happens for us, usually we end up walking around for hours until we find what were looking for. The market was huge! And it's indoors which as it turns out we could have went on the weekend when it was raining. I kind of wish we would have known about the market before we did because it has such better produce then the grocery store near our house. We ended up getting some good stuff, we got huge artichokes, zucchini, tomatoes, and pie. Although we set out to find artichokes and roman mint, we only found the artichokes, we couldn't find roman mint anywhere. Roman mint is very different them regular mint, because regular mint it more like spearmint which does not go good with artichokes.

After we went to the market we walked to the Vatican City to pick up our invitation to the popes last speech tomorrow, as it turns out they were all out of invitations luckly you don't actually need one to go watch, I just wanted it for a souvenir. I can't wait to see the popes last speech tomorrow it's going to be epic.

After we stopped at the Vatican we do what we do best, hoped on a bus which we have mastered might I add, and went to piazza del popolo which is a huge plazza near one of the metro stops we got off at. It ha churches, an obolisque, fountains and water falls. It was very pretty. We wondered around there for a while, we went to in two churches, one was very grand from the outside, and very nice on the inside however it's always the obsolete, plain looking ones on the outside that are the most beautiful on the inside.

Tonight we made quite the gourmet meal for ourselves, we made artichokes, spinach, pasta, homemade pasta sauce, and had focaccia to go with it. We also had wine! The artichokes turned out very good, I'm happy they did because I was a little worries they might not, it seemed like a tricky thing to make, but as it turns out there just tricky to cut. Our spinach turned out ok,but not as good as when we made it at cooking school, we didn't realize till after we ate it that we didn't cook it in white wine, which I think made a difference. Oh well just going to have to keep practicing! Guess who gets to be my ginue pigs when I get home?...mom and dad! Hope you guys like Italian good cuz ur gonna eat a lot of it!

Only in Rome

Only in Rome...

Will you see 12 year olds drinking beer on the subway
Will you walk around aminlisly and accidentally find the trevi fountain twice
Will you see see more then six churches in one night
Will you get drunk at a wine/pasta store
Will you end up going to two different attractions to get there and have them be closed

Well let me say today was quite the adventure...we got up early to go to this farmers market that our chef told us about. Well we mapped it out and went in our way...and you all know how well we get lost or can't find things. I didn't bring a map cuz it seemed pretty easy to find, yeah that's never the case things are never easy to find. Especially with streets like the ones in Rome, you can literally be walking on a straight street and a few blocks down the name changes! We ended up waking around or almost and hour but couldn't find it.

After this we decided to go to a museum, we got on the subway and we actually found it with no problems! We walked in And apperently you need a reservation because its so busy! Alright so strike number two, we were already out so we figured lets go to the mouth of truth, once again we knew how to get there. We got there and...it was closed! Strike three! After this we were hungry so we set off to find somewhere to eat, we have had good luck with restaurants around the pantheon so we hoped on a bus and went for that area. We decided to be adventurous and wonder wound all thr side streets in the area, we ended up finding thr trevi fountain by accident...we didn't know it was so close to the pantheon. Last time we took a bus! Hahaha go us. It took us a while to find somewhere to eat cuz we did a little shopping. But we ended up at a very good restaurant and I had the best pasta I've had so far since being in Rome.  On our walk to find a restaurant we passed  many many churches which we decided to go into. Our chef said that was something you should do, if you found ur self walking around the city. We found this one church, on the outside its not very big but we figured hey why not. We went in and it was beautiful, we were siting thr guest book when his little old man came out of a hallway and said there was more to see, so we followed him, he brought us not this room with a fresco on the ceiling which was beautiful. We showed us a piece of paper because he didn't speak English and this paper had English instructions on it. There was and optical illusion painted with the cross. He showed us and was very excited and loved that we loved it. Even though he didn speak English we still magaged to communicate with each other quite well. Old people in this city are so nice! This little church was probably my favoriate one.

On the subway on the way home we seen this group of what looked to be very underage kids on the subway with open bottles of beer, yup they were just drinking away. Gotta love that they don't In force drinking ages here...

Get a room

It was a very rainy weekend, so we didn't do all that much. Most things to do or see in Rome are outside, so when it rains it makes it kind of hard. 

Yesterday we didn't do much because is absolutely poured rain, however we did decide to venture out for dinner. We decided to go to a restaurant we whet to once because it was so good. Mainly because we didn't want to have to ate a subway and a bus to get to a restaurant and this place we knew we only needed the subway. I decided to try the lamb this time, it was very good how ever Kristy didn't have the same luck. We both ordered the same thing but hers was fatty and dry and mine was moist and hardly any fat. We also ordered artichokes because we liked them so much when we made them in our cooking class...yeah needless to say they were awful, they weren't even cut right. You would think seeing as there called roman style artichokes they would be done relatively the same way we made them in cooking class. Nope not the case they cheaper out and used parsley instead of mint and also chopped them wrong so they are we're hard to chew. Incase you've never had an artichoke before they are very soft and easy to chew, it shouldn't be like chewing through rope. We figured we should get dessert and maybe that would turn out shitty meal around but nope it didn't. 

Today we went to the second largest Roman bath, called the terme di Caracalla. It is the most preserved Roman bath to date. The size of structure was incredible and seeing pieces of the floor and mosaics that were still partially intact is amazing. We decided to get the audio guide with out ticket because there were not many signs around the whole thing telling you what stuff was. If you would have just walked around it would still have been cool to see but you wouldn't understand what things were saposed to be. It was well worth the extra money to get the audio. It told you so much of the history and explained what everything was. What I wouldn't give to have been able to see it when it was running. To give you an idea of how big it is, at the time it was running it could hold up to 8000 people. On a regular day it would see anywhere from 6000 to 8000 people. I would not want to be the ones who had to clean the pools that for sure. 

After we went to the baths we went out to eat. We went to a restaurant near the pantheon, best pizza I've had so far that's for sure. These Romans really know how to make pizza

I would love to know why people think that every means of public transport is a great place to make out with each other. Yesterday on the escalator there was a couple making out, and the guy looked at Kristy and I the whole time...can you say creepy much? Today the subway was packed so I was sitting down and there was a couple standing in front of me making out the whole time, come on people why is it nessacary to make out practically on my lap. GET A ROOM!

Yeah sure rub your junk on me

Today Kristy and I took an Italian cooking class...

It was prob one of my fav things so far besides surfing. We made a six course meal! I swear I don't think I've eaten that much in my life. Every ingredient we used was local from the region which I thought was really neat. We made: artichokes Roman style, homemade pasta noddles, with homemade sauce, chicken with sage, cheese, and prochutto, spinach with butter, garlic, pine nuts, and raisins, potato wedges with olive oil, rosemary, and garlic, and dessert was terimisu. Everything was so good but my favoriate things were the artichokes, and the potato wedges. I always I imagend making your own pasta noddles would be difficult but it really wasn't as hard and I thought, doing that was way easier then cutting thr artichokes up the right way. Most of the stuff I think I might be able to make when I get home. 

There were quite a few people in our cooking class today from all parts of the world. But most of them were from Australia although they didn't come together. Everyone was very nice and the owners of th cooking school were amazing. They were so friendly and you really felt like a family. After our meal we all stayed and chated for a while, the owners were so helpful they even recommend things to do in Rome and where good places to eat were. Also with my meal I got wine with every course, each wine went with each sepcific courses. It was neat to learn about how each wine went with each thing. I'm actually developing a taste for wine. However wine here is so much better then wine at home. I would love to take another cooking class sometime.

We finally got to take a street car (the trains that run on tracks on the street) it was pretty neat but very slow, no wonder not many people take them. However we wanted to try it so we did. After that we had to take the bus to a subway stop. I'm telling ya we took almost every means of public transportation to get home. Roman people really don't have a sense for personal space. A guy was standing behind me on the bus with his junk right up on me. Needless to say I moved. Also I have come to the conclusion that North American people are very cold and have a very different sense of personal space then Italians. Our chef was always touching us, not in a creepy way just our arm or hand kind of thing. He put his arm around me once and I guess I must have looked at him weird cuz he was like oh don't worry I'm not trying to pick  you up, it's just what us Romans do to make everyone comfortable. We always touch each other. Our chef was a pretty funny guy. 

Oldest ice cream store in Rome

Yesterday we went shopping at the Spanish steps...now that is an experience. One of the streets is lined with nothing but designer shops I'm talking, Louis Vuitton, Prada, fendi, Gucci, Valentino, dolce and gababna, just to name a few. Man I need to get a job that pays well. So fun even just to window shop. There is also tons of other shopping at the Spanish steps too. We ended up finding some good stuff. Man I needed to shop, I think that was the first time in 6 months that I went shopping because of saving for this trip. However only problem with buying stuff? My suite case is already up to max weight for flying, and now I have to squeeze more stuff in it! Should be fun. After shopping we decided to get a bit to eat. We found a restaurant where I dare say I had the best meal so far, not including the pizza that's in it's own category. I decided to be adventurous once again and get something I've never had. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. It def worked out this time. I had an orange salad which was literally orange pieces with a spice, onion and black olives. I also got a squash blossom, which was very good too! All in all great meal and it wasn't crazy expensive either.

 Although I must say we have had pretty good luck when it comes to eating out. We haven't had any really crazy expensive meals. Europeans version of expensive meals are a lot different then Canadian. Our normal priced meals at home would be there expensive meals here. Gotta love that! Also they have a weird version of what is considered a long walk. Let me just say here almost everything in the city is a really close walking taking no more the 20mins max usually. Apparently that's a long walk and as they say just take the bus or subway it's faster.

After dinner we went to the trevi fountian again...except this time it was at night. It's so beautiful lit up at night, it's almost a different experience seeing it at night as it is in the day. There wasn't as many people there at night though which was good cuz it was easier to get good pictures that way.

Today we went to the oldest ice cream store in Rome. I'm talking old, it was opened in 1880! It was so busy but it was def thr best galato we have had so far, and the cheapest too! We got two mediums for 2€. 2€ for both of us not each! Crazy! And you got three flavours!

Riscio

Today we went to the parco delle valli, which is a park just outside the city. The park itself is actually heart shaped. 

We went to the zoo yesterday and the zoo is located in this park. It was so beautiful that we decided to come back and explore the park itself. The zoo apparently was one of the first zoos to ever open. There were so many old enclosures, it was kind of neat to see. One of the highlights? Seeing pigmy hippos! They are the cutest things ever, I wish I could own one, although I don't think it's a good idea. We also go to see regular hippos but they were fighting each other, which was neat to watch, they even made noises! We also went to the museum that is in the zoo, it was really boring but Kristy really enjoyed it so that's all that matters. I'm not really into biology and that's mostly what it was. 

In the park you can rent these riscio, they are bikes that look like old cars, you peddle them but they also have a tiny motor to assist you. We seen them yesterday and they look awesome so we had to rent one. It was probably the most fun bike ride I've ever had. There is so much to see in this park it's remarkable. There are tons of Museums, restaurants, cafes, fountains, and even tombs. It seems like every where we go there are tombs. There's actually even little parks inside the big park, I know we spent the day there but I don't think we seen everything there was so see. If you want to see a picture of these there is one in Facebook. The Internet here at this apartment is to slow to upload and picture on this blog website. 

It's so cool that anywhere in Rome you can drink the water in the fountains. So today we brought our water bottle and filled it up in one of them. It's so handy not having to buy water all the time. 

I'm hoping our oven in our apartment gets fixed soon because its really hard to not make meals with an oven. However our landlords gave us a cell phone to use while we are here, which was very nice of them. 

It's Dom time!

It's Dom time!

Alright so here's where I'm going to rant about people driving us nuts. We will be walking on the sidewalk and next thing you know bam they jus stop in the middle of the sidewalk, and your walking towards them and they don't move! Come on people use your brain it's not hard to see the foot traffic headed your way. People also seem to just walk at you and not move to the side, like most people who have a brain both of you move to a side to go around each other but nooooo, I'm just going to walk right at you until you move. And if you don't move I'll stand here until you do. Also I swear if one more person sneaks in behind me on the subway gate I'm gonna just stop in the middle so they can't go through, I'm not paying to go on the subway for fun seriously buy your own damn ticket, it's only 1.50€ so Kristy and I decided to take the bus again yeasterday and we were standing there waiting and this women walked up beside Kristy and almost took her eye out with her finger. So I told Kristy she needed to push her down. This is where we came up with Dom time, meaning domino. I told her next time either one of us wants to push someone down cuz their being idiots we will get the other one to fall into you which in turn will push you into the person you want to push down, cuz then it looks like a accident! Genius if I do say so myself.

So yesterday we went into the colosseum, it's just as cool in the inside as it is in the outside. It was so neat to see all the levels and the arena where they would have done all the fighting. What it would have been like to be able to see it in full swing. Although I'm not sure how if feel about watching animals fight to the death. It was really cool to see in parts of the floor where it was the original floor, which was marble. Most things made back then were made out of marble. It's crazy to think of how many people the colosseum would have held. There was so much seating everywhere, even though not much of it was preserved you can still see parts of there the seats would have been. It was also really neat to see down into the bottom, where they would have led the animals in and out and where they would have kept them when they were not fighting. Man I would not want to be the poor suckers who worked down there. It would have smelled so bad, with all the tigers and bears and what not, not to mention the dead animals.

After we went to the colosseum we decided to map out where to go next. We were siting there mapping it out and a guy walked up to us and asked us if we wanted to go bar hoping, it has an open bar, free pizza and you don't pay cover at any of the bars they go to. We are going to try this out next weekend I think it will be fun. By this time we were hungry and wanted lunch we asked the guy who was talking with us if he knew good places to eat. He recommend we go near the pantheon, which worked out perfect because that was one of the sights I wanted to see. So we hoped on the bus and went there. Can you believe it we actually found the pantheon with no problems! That's a first. We ended up finding a pizzeria to have lunch at. We got pizza but it wasn't as good as the first time we got pizza, oh well can't win them all. After lunch Kristy informed me that the people next to us took my picture while we were eating lunch. Wtf! Who takes some random person picture while there stuffing their face! Seriously how weird is that. I didn't think I looked like that much of a weirdo when I ate. After this we found a place to get galati and sat by a huge fountain enjoying some people watching. Once we were done we decided to find the billabong store that we have passed many times on the bus. I knew what street it was on so we got out our map and tired to find out where to go from the pantheon. Well what seemed easy enough of course did not end up to be so. We ended up being near the Spanish steps which was no where we needed to be Haha. So we decided to take the bus to the street we wanted and found it no problem after this. I swear the streets in this city make absolutely no sense at all. They go in six million different directions and sometimes even the maps don't have the street names on them because they are to small of a street.

Trevi fountain

Today we went to the trevi fountain and the st Angelo castle. Both were awesome but I must say the trevi fountain was amazing to finally see in person. I have always wanted to see it and finally getting to do so is awesome. 

The castle that we seen today was huge, and pretty well preserved too. There was lots to see and the view in and of itself was worth paying to go in. When you get to the top of the castle you can see the whole city of Rome. It was absolutely breath taking. I could have spent the whole day up there just looking around. The only down side was it was kind if hazy out so I'm not sure if I got any good pictures, but I sure hope I did. From thr top you can see the whole Vatican City which is such a pretty sight. The inside of the castle was really beautifully decorated but we were not allowed to take pictures because it would damage the integerity of the paintings inside. However that didn't stop some people from trying to snap pics and getting yelled at by the security guards. How dumb can you get, there was signs in every room saying you can't take pics. Like dad says you can't fix stupid.

After this we decided to walk to the trevi fountain. We mapped it out and tired to find it...haha yeah that didn't work out to well. Needless to say we couldn't find it. But we found a store that I bought a map in and decided to ask how to get there. He said it was close to a half hour walk and that it would be easier to take the bus. So we took the bus and found it no problem. There were so many people there, it was packed. It was very hard to get any good pictures of it because ppl were everywhere. It's most def the biggest fountain I've ever seen, it was beautiful. Once we were done we figured we mid as well head home, so we hoped on the bus and then got off at a stop where we thought we could get the express bus to the metro station. Well we managed to get on the wrong side of the street and go away from where we needed to be. Leave it to us to get on the bus on thr wrong side of the street. But once we realized this we got off and got on the right side and managed to get to our destination. This is why we take the subway not the bus. Somehow we never screw up that. Oh we'll what's life without a little adventure. 

Vatican City

Today we went to Vatican City, now that was something to see I must say it was amazing. The sheer size of the church, saint peters basilica was crazy. I did not know until today that it is the largest Catholic Church in the world. Another interesting fact we learned was that Vatican City is actually the smallest country in the world, even though red in Italy it's actually it's own country.

We decided to take a tour of Vatican City with a tour group why you might ask? Well let me tell you we would have had to wait in line for 5 hours in order to get into the church and museum. With the tour we skipped all the lines and also had history told to us the whole time. While there we seen the Sistine chapel, which as also amazing to see. I have nie idea how he painted the ceiling so well, it would be the hardest and most awkward thing to paint. The painting is so good that its hard to believe that da Vinci wasn't actually a painter, he was a sculptor and a pope commissioned him to paint it, the first time he actually said no! He started the painting when he was 30 and finished when he was 68. We also got to drink out of one of the fountains while we were there, it's so cool that every single fountain in Rome including the big ones was be drank out of, because to the aqua ducts that feed them. We found out today that we will be able to go see the pope on the day he decides to resign, we just have to g request an invatation and we will be able to go. I most def want to be there seeing as its such a historical event. The pope resigning has only happened three times in the history of the Vatican. It will be such an amazing experience to witness that's for sure. The whole tour actually ended up taking most of the day, we started it at 10am and finished at 2:30. While we were there we got to see the saint that is kept there, his body on display. Apparently after so many years of being in their tomb they break them open to see how or if the body has decayed and if it hasn't then that means they are a saint.

We also went to the Spanish steps today, where we went to a tea room for dessert, holy man that was expensive! 10€ for tea! But the dessert was really good. Well we also managed to find a bakery near our apartment, which is exciting but also bad because I think I'm gonna get fat living here, the food is just so freaking good! I can honestly say I would not want to drive here that's for sure, people are crazy! Especially people who have scooters, the weave and doge and cut of cars and buses all the time. I don't know how there isn't more accidents, people also just park where ever they want basically, for example on the sidewalk with there car! Kristy and I were thinking about renting a scooter for the day here but honestly I don't think I want to, I would be to scared to drive.

Holy crap...I'm in Rome!

The reality hit me today that I am actually in Rome...one of the top places on my list to travel.

We had more of an adventure today then yesterday, we took the subway and had no problems. Once you've taken one you've taken them all, even if the signs aren't in English it's still super easy to do. 

We got to the city centre basically with no plan at all, we figured we would just go with it. That's seems like the best method to our madness because when ever we plan to find something it never happens. Once again I must conclude that people here are super friendly and curious. We went to the supermarket yesterday and were standing in an isle talking, one of the workers walked right up and was like what nationality are you? He was very excited to learn that we were Canadian. We countied to shop and got some veggies, he was stil workin where were and next thing we know he comes over and is like here...graps our veggies and walks to a scale. As it turns out you have to sticker all of your produce before I can buy it. You put it on a scale and it prints a sticker and the price. How efficient is this? Seriously Canada you need to take note. 

Today we ended up buying a hop on hop off bus tour pass to see the sights in Rome. The guy who sold us the tickets was one of the nicest people, he was so excited to see us again because he tired to sell to us earlier and we said we would be back. Once again we were treated like a European and kissed on both cheeks...however I am proud to reporte I actually knew what was happening this time. He walked us to the bus ticket place and continued to ask us tons of questions, the. We started to walk back he out his arm out and said here you know have a roman boyfriend, we we walked linked arms to the bus stop. Now might I add here it sounds kind of creepy out of context but it was actually super funny and nice. We got to the bus stop and started to part ways and he left us with a kiss to both cheeks again. 

We got to see lots of awesome things today such as the colosseum, and the roman forum. I cannot believe that I actually got to see the colosseum in real life! We walked around on foot for a while in the area and decided we needed to get lunch, where did we go for lunch you might ask?...a pizzeria of course! We had real pizza and man it was probably the best thing I've ever eaten in my life. To top it off the location of the resturant was right across the street from the roman forum. We got to sit outside and enjoy th view while eating the best food. After lunch we dicided we needed to try  galato...holy crap also the best thing ever. Our ice cream has nothing on this stuff...seriously I'm going to be a million pounds when this leg of our journey is over. 

More adventures to come tomorrow! 

Caio Bella

We officially made it to Rome last night...not with out some difficulty but we made it none the less. I swear we are not ment to fly because every time we do we have a problem, and the flight is always delayed. This time we made it to the airport in Lisbon no problem, thanks to global surf school driving us there. Once we got to the airport however our stupid flight to Brussels was delayed by and hour...thank goodness our connection flight wasn't right away. Once we got to Brussels we had no problem there, other then the fact they did not actually announce they were boarding the plane. All in all both flights were pretty short no more them2 hours each, so 4 hours total. 

This is going to sound like a complete blonde moment but once we arrived in Brussels I realized I actually don't know what country that city is in, hahaha yup that's right I said it. Kristy didn't know either so we googled it...once we got to the apartment that is. Airports in Europe don't have free wifi, wtf! What's that about, there all twice as big as our stupid piedley little airport in halifax and they don't have free wifi. I am continually annoyed at how long it takes flights to taxi out to the runway, I'm so used to a tiny airport where you hardly taxi at all, sometimes I swear it feels like we're going to drive to our destination not fly. 

I forgot to mention in one of my previous blogs about our airport experience once we arrived in Lisbon, Portugal. We actually had to get out of the plane on the tar Mac, and take a bus from the plane to the airport. That was a first, needless to say Lisbon airport is probably once of the smallest airports so far. 

Once we got to the airport in Rome we were saposed to take the train from the airport to the subway and the take the subway to the apartment. However this did not go as planned. We went to th train station and tired to by our ticket however the train was just getting ready to leave and we missed it, so we figured its probably like the subway and runs all the time...nope not the case. The next train wasn't until 6:30am the next day! We didn't actually have the apartment number so we couldnt just take a cab and hope for the best, because last time we did that the people didn't show up to let us in. Eventually we walked over to this bus this and he right away was like what's wrong how can I help you. It must have been written all over our faces that we were pissed and annoyed. Needless to say he turned our night right back around and couldn't have been more helpful at all. He showed us on a map where the apartment was and and arranged for us to take the bus shuttle right to the door. The funny thing is? We were on the shuttle with two other Canadians who were from Quebec! the people with the bus shuttle even said the day we leave the will come pick us up! So far my faith in humanity still intact. 

We're venturing out of our apartment today to find a grocery store and go into the city centre to find a tourism place, should be fun! 

Rome bound tomorrow

Today was our last full day in Portugal. We're off to Rome tomorrow afternoon! I'm so excited to go to Rome but also kind of sad to leave such a wonderful country. 

Portugal has continued to prove that the people here are as nice as they come. We met a women today when we went to the surf lesson to watch who was probably one of the nicest people we've meet so far. However I regret to say we didn't exchange names. Speaking of which I and quite the experience with the said lady. She was saying good bye and telling us to have a safe trip and watch out for pickpockets in Italy, then continued to lean in towards me, we needless to say I had no idea what was going on, so I went with it and leaned forward then it hit me ohh she wants to kiss both my checks like every European does when they say hello or goodbye. Experience was priceless cuz I can only imagen my face, which Mario and Kristy seemed to think was halarious. Kristy was staying next to me and I noticed while this was happening that Mario was peeking around the van watching my reaction, I thought he was gonna fall over from trying so hard not to laugh at me. After this Mario also told us to be carful on our trip and watch out for pickpocators. All in all everyone was very concerned about our safety.

Kristy, Mario and I were talking about our trip and how everyone was convinced that we are going to kill each other before the trip is over. Mario seems to think this is going to happen as well. I can say though that so far we may have had some fights but nothing to bad and we know how to work it out. Like any kind of relationship, friendship takes work too. I wouldn't change it though I am continuing to enjoy traveling the world with my best friend and the laughs far out weigh the fights by a long shot. However we told Mario that if by may we want to kill each other that there better be more people staying in the house with us so we aren't alone. 

Now lets hope our flight tomorrow works out ok, so far flying for us has been Nd adventure all in itself. 

Time flys

It's a month today that I have been traveling around Europe. I can't believe that I have been gone a month already. I don't know where the time goes.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Portugal, I am sad about leaving but also very excited to go to Italy. That is our next stop. We finally have our apartment set and flight booked, even though  it was kind if last minute. Who needs to plan things in advance?

Well last but was our first night of carnival, we started the day off right by having sangria at lunch time, 8:30 your time at home lol. What can I say we're regular alcoholics these days, living on the wild side. Haha. There wasn't as many people out last hug as I thought there would be. Everyone was dressed up and we seen some pretty crazy costumes. One guy came into the bar with a real live sheep! And the funny thing is thr sheep wasn't even scared or anything about being in a bar and around loud music and people. I can honestly say it was quite the thing to witness. All the girls that were dressed up weren't actually half naked, I didn't know what to do! Not used to seeing costumes that cover so much, at home Halloween is just a slutfest. And to top it off the people dancing were not practically having sex on the dance floor, there was space in between them!

This morning we decided go catch a ride with the surf school and go watch the lesson for something to do. Today Mario informed us that we needed to dress up in crazy colours and tie things around our head for a costume, because last night we were not dressed up. And then Followed to  tell us how we should dance with a demonstration. We told him we were going to bring the wetsuits down tomorrow morning at 10 before he starts his lesson. Well this was what led to the explanation of going out and dressing up. Then he told us that we shouldn't be there that early in the morning if we're going out tonight. Since when is 10am early? Lol he is most def not a morning person. We're going out again tonight and by the sounds of things I think it might be busier then last night, I hope so anyway.

Let the fun begin!

Word gets around this town

Well our last day of surfing was Tuesday, it was a very good way to end thr two weeks. We had a good last surf and at Mario's expense I tired to call over time but he wasn't going for it. He probably had enough of us crazy Canadians and our 30 second dance parties. However I might add by the end of week one we had him joining in the dance parties.

We haven't been up to much since we've been done surfing, were kind of going crazy with not much to do. Without Internet  you really can't be resourceful and find out where the bus runs and what time, or how to get anywhere. We did however find an awesome bakery although it was only the other day, at least we will know where it is for may.

On our last day of surfing we questioned Mario like we always do but this time about where is a good place to go for dinner. He showed us and told us that his friend owns a restaurant just down the street from the surf school and to try the food there. We that's what we decided to do...we walked in sat down without speaking English I might add and the owner comes over and is like Mario told me you guys would be coming for dinner! He went on to tell us what's on the menu and explain what it was because he didn't have an English menu. Well throughout dinner we proceed to talk and I ordered fish. I said to Kristy that I was gonna get grilled for not eating all of my supper. I mig add my fish still had its face and tail. It wasn't even cut open, and for someone whole doesn't eat a lot of fish it kind of scared me. Not that it wasn't good but I didn't eat it all cuz quite frankly I didn't know how. I went up to pay and he questioned me as to why is didn't eat the fish...he said did you not like it? Apparently you get in trouble around here for not eating a lot. Joao would come everyday with breakfast and get made that we didn't eat everything from the day before. I have no idea how he expected us to eat it all in a day he brought us so much food everyday. The last few days Miguel has been bringing us food and he also says the same thing that we don't eat. He also asked us why we don't call him. Lol he's like you no call me for anything...I'm not quite sure what we were saposed to call for, since we didn't need anything.

Back to the fact that word gets around his place...Miguel has a key to the house to bring us breakfast. Kristy and I were sitting in our room playing a silly truth of dare game just be stupid. We ended up talking about Mario and leave it to me to say stupid embarrassing things. While this took place Kristy kept saying there was someone in the house, I kept saying no but low and hold Miguel was in the bathroom trying out hot water which is right next to our room. I walked out and found him with a smirk on his face. I can only assume this ment he heard or little giggle fest about Mario. Lets hope he doesn't tell him. But the way stuff gets around here I know he told him. And guess who gets to see Mario tomorrow...hahaha should be fun :p

What a shit show

Oh man I don't think today cold have went any worse. I somehow managed to suck at surfing all day today. Usually it's only one session that goes worse then the other but today was not the case. It also doesn't help that my hip really hurts so its really hard for me to stand up on my board. I hope it feels better tomorrow because its our last day of surfing. :( I can honestly say I don't want to leave Portugal and stop surfing. I know we're coming back in may but I still don't want to leave. We couldn't ask for better teachers or a better house. Only downside is the town were in everything is closed during the winter. The conditions tomorrow are saposed to be windy and bug waves so let's hope I can get m shit together by thr morning.

We got the low down on carnival today from Mario, it sounds like its going to be and interesting experience. I asked him what to expect from it and said, it gets really crazy and packed everywhere, on the streets in the bars and on the beach. He also said to watch out because people will probably hit you in the head with stuff...I'm not quite sure what he ment by that but I guess we will see how it goes. Only down side is that we were hoping to get Mario to take us out for carnival but he's not going because be had to work in the mornings all weekend, and he is defentily not a morning person that's for sure. Not that's he gets mad at us or anything you can just tell he doesn't want to be talked to right away lol.

I think it's off to bed early,for me tonight so I can get some rest and not be so tired. That's one thing I've noticed I don't wake up tired and don't feel tired but as soon as I get out in the water to surf my body is like nope your tired today. Luckily that only happend twice, lets hope we keep it that way.

How I just love being hammered by waves

Well we decided to try out the nightlife here last night, because Mario our surf instructor is always talking about how he goes out every week. Well we knew they partied late so we decided it would be better to go out around midnight, which was fine until we got to the bar...it was all 80s music and old people. So we ordered a drink and figured we would go with it, but it never got any better so around 1:30 we decided to call it a night, we walked by another bar and it seemed like they were playing thr same type of music so we went home. This morning we decided we would have a bone to pick with Mario. We asked him about it and of course knowing our luck we went to the old people bar...and should have went to the one next door...of course. So next weekend is carnival which is the biggest party of the year here so we are going to give that a try, and most likely get Mario to take us lol. I'm sure he will be so thrilled.

This morning we went out to another surf spot which I'm not saposed to talk about because its a secret spot. It was probably the most imtindaing place we surfed, the waves were a channel and if you weren't in it you would get hammered continually. It started off ok but I caught one and it completely pulverized me...hold breathe for longer then I thought possible...check. I haven't had a crash that bad yet but it was a good experience because now I know what to expect next time. I'm glade I had the sense to not panack and just let it ride out. Once I recovered from that I got back on my board and started to paddle out, except I was still in the Chanel which ment I was getting slammed. I made it back out but man was that tiring.

This afternoon session we went to another beach that we went to yesterday, it turned my day right back around. I caught some awesome green waves and had a really good time. However the water was the coldest is been since we've been here today. In Joao's words kill or be killed, which I think is completly perfect for surfing because its defentily true. One thing I found out today was that apparently my feet can touch the back of my head...I fell in a green wave and did a complete somersault underwater where my feet decided they needed to touch the back of my head...yeah that felt good. Other then that it was a sick day for surfing, and tomorrow is saposed to be better.

New beach

Today we actually got to surf at another beach today...however it was not the best conditions today

The morning session was a bust for me, it didn't go well but the afternoon was really good. This morning it was so freaking windy and cold and the waves were just slamming down. It continued to be windy and cold as heck today but the afternoon once the tide was in the waves were actually pretty good.  The sand on the bottom at this beach was different it was super soft and sinky so every time a wave came you would sink. Today I managed to do the splits on my surfboard, let me tell you that did not feel good.  My foot started to slip off the back but I saved it so I wouldn't face plant into the sand. Let me tell you I think our surf instructor Mario spends most of his time laughing at us. I caught one wave today and missed it so I ended up just standing straight up on my board...to no avail Mario seen me and was like what the heck was that. Apparently he's always looking even though it seems like he isn't hahaha. Kristy and I are always trying ti get Mario to laugh because he has the best giggle/laugh ever, today we succeded! just be sarcastic and bicker and he cracks right up. I must say I wish I had big sweat pants with me that's for sure, putting on wet, sandy yoga pants with one hand is a challenge.

So far I am enjoying Portugal so much that I honestly don't want to leave on the 11th, however Kristy and I have decided that instead if going to Amsterdam we are going to come back to Portugal may 5 and stay and surf for another 2 weeks, which is going to be awesome. Hopefully this time of the year there will be people actually staying at the surf camp with us.

This morning Joao showed up with special treats for us to try, they were a typical Portuguese pastry, they were so so good! I wish I could spell the name of them but alase I cannot. Joao said they were his favourite thing, and I can see why.

You will never guess...

It's been a few days since I've updated because we still don't have Internet at our house, apparently it's hard to get anything done here lol, our surf coach had been calling the Internet people everyday and to no avail it has not been fixed yet.

It's been quite the adventurous couple of days here...

On our days off we decided on the first day to hike to a fort that we can see from our house, it was about 3km. That evening Joao asked us if we wanted to go out for an authentic Portuguese dinner so we did. Get ready for this people...I ate octopus and squid! And it was actually good! The octopus was better then thr squid though. The squid was a little hard  to chew through, very rubbery. We also tried two different types of fish, which I can't remember the names of because they were not in English, however the were absolutely delicious. They really know how t do fish here that's for sure. To accompany our meal we had a traditional drink called sangria it went very well with our fish, and it was actually a really good drink.

On our other day we had off we went on a surf board factory tour, it was really neat and interesting to learn how they make them. It's so much work and looks very difficult to master. The owner of the shape is a master surf board shaper, it's insane the work that goes into it. Seeing how they were made and having different types of boards explained to us helped a lot in our understanding how the boards work. There are so many different options to choose from when getting a board, you can get one custome made or buys stock one,depends what you want.

It was our first day back form our two days off today and it went awesome, we got to learn how to surf green waves today! We're moving up in the world of surfing, slowly but surely. This Morning session we caught some green waves close to shore and we learned how to turn in them, and the. It's afternoon we actually got to paddle out where the other surfers sit and wait for waves. It's so different being out there then catching the white waves. You have to have a lot of patience and you need to know when is a good one. You need to antisopate it because you need to padddle your arms off in order to get up in the wave. Going down 6ft green waves was defentily scarey at first but it's such a rush, probably the most amazing adrenalin rush you could get.

On another good note Mario our surf instructor brought us peanut butter today! Whoop!
All and all it was a great week and tonight were going to top it off and go out dancing!