Today we woke up and had a hearty breakfast in preparation for our water walk. We met up with two local Maasai mamas, Selena and Jacqueline.  With many twenty-litre Jerry cans in tow we set out on the three kilometre walk to get water. It was quite the trek over the rolling hill and avoiding the cow dung that littered the ground. It was a beautiful view though. The mamas tried their best to converse with us telling us about their lives and kijiji (family).  The water source was a small spring. It was salted but luckily clean. We filled the Jerry cans with a small cup and tied slip knots around the cans. We then had to carry the water on our back, with the rope wrapping around our foreheads.  Grasping the rope with our hands, keeping our elbows bent and our neck completely straight, to prevent injuries, we carried it back like that. The mamas have to make this trip, which takes about two hours, twice a day and usually it’s in the blistering sun, without proper footwear and on a mostly empty stomach. Also, because it was salted, the Mamas STILL had to boil the water before they could drink it when they got home. It gave me a whole new perspective on how easily water is accessed home in Canada. They dare not waste a drop but yet, I know we are all guilty of it, how many times do you throw bottles of water down the drain? When we arrived at Mama Selena’s house we were thanked and she said that because of our help she would not have to make that trip again for an entire week. This was the first of many times on this trip I truly felt that I had made an impact on someone’s life here, and it was an amazing feeling.

Waterwalk

Mama Selena then showed us around her dwelling. It was small with a lean two room, long narrow kitchen and a small bedroom. There was a small area blocked off in the kitchen for the chickens and goats to sleep in the house. The walls were made of mud and she was lucky enough to have a tin roof. It got very hot and sticky inside due to the lack of air circulation and the fire that was inside to cook with. She proudly pointed out  to us that she had recently added a chimney. Free the Children (FTC) had taught her about how adding a chimney lowers the incidence of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections. Such a simple concept, but it is saving many lives. Further showing of the amazing work FTC is doing in countries like Kenya.

Group in front of Mama Selena’s home

In the afternoon we headed to the build site where we spent the time digging foundations for a dormitory for the girls. Shoveling and pick axing was very difficult in the extremely rocky ground. Pretty sure the red soil has permanently stained my white socks and sports bra, but it gives the clothes character.

That evening while eating dinner we had a huge storm, where the rain was almost falling sideways and the wind was absolutely insane. It continued in to the night and I was very grateful that the tent was secure to the ground as I tried to fall asleep while the tent was shaking.

Day 7 – Hot

Working in the trenches

Today we spent the entire day at the build site making progress on our foundation, building and chiseling. It was very warm that day, reaching almost 35 degrees. There was no humidity which was nice but the sun was very hot and there was very little shade. I ended up getting a wicked burn and I walked around looking like a lobster for a few days after. It was worth it though as we knew so many people would benefit from the work we were doing. We had pineapple crumble and passion fruit custard today for dessert, which were two interesting desserts that I have never thought to make before. Delicious!

Day 8 – Day in the Life of a Kenyan

Today we lived in the footsteps of a traditional Kenyan and ate what they would typically consume in a day. We started off with breakfast which was a porridge type meal made with maize flour, water and orange zest. It was quite filling and pretty tasty. The servings of this were quite limited (compared to what we were used to). We then went to the kitchen to learn how to make traditional chai (tea). This is a very important part of their culture. Maasai people very much value hospitality and therefore chai is vital especially when guests come calling. They make it by steeping the tea in a mixture of boiled water and milk. Tea masala is added to it, which is a combo of spices, such as cinnamon, cumin and cloves, that gives it flavor. After this we did a simulation activity that allowed us to visually see the breakdown of the world’s population and resources throughout the world. It was crazy to really see that the smallest populations really do consume the most. The habits of well established countries are really quite disgusting.

For lunch, we ate a stew type thing made of beans, maize, carrots, spinach and potatoes. Traditionally it would be made omitting the carrots and spinach, but as it was, it was quite tasty, especially if you added a bit of Tabasco sauce!

The afternoon consisted of a trading game where we were divided into countries and had to trade and make as much money as we could by completing simulated manufacturing tasks. Some countries had advantages (such as a greater resource of supplies) that other countries did not to allow them to make money easier. There were also various motions and laws put in throughout the game to make it easier or harder from some people. It was very frustrating but mirrored real life with how the world interacts.

We had a supper that was very similar to the lunch. Even though we had gotten enough nutrition to last us, we still went back to our tents quite “hungry”, by our western standards anyways. It was a whole new experience as we knew that even on our limited day we had more than most Kenyans have in a day. The hunger they experience on a daily basis is overwhelming and it gave me a whole new perspective on the privileges of home.

Day 9 – Mamas!

This morning Mama Selena and another Mama, Gladys, came to our camp to teach us traditional Maasai beading. Beading is another very important aspect of Maasai culture and you will rarely spot a Maasai not decked out in very beautiful jewellery, all hand beaded with very intricate designs. They taught us to make circular pattern key chains. It was quite difficult since it required a lot of sewing, which I quickly learned is not my forte. It was still very cool to see how it is done. We learned that these Mamas do their beading and sell it to the world as an alternative income project. This has made a significant difference to the standard of living of these people. Maasai people earn about 500 shillings ($6) a week – or less than a dollar a day. The alternative income projects allow the women to earn an additional 500 shillings a week, doubling their income and therefore providing them with more opportunities.

Learning how to bead, Maasai style

The afternoon was spent at the worksite again, continuing to shovel out the trenches for the dormitories.

Day 10 – Half way there!

We went to the build site today and I worked extremely hard to pickaxe a ginormous rock out of the ground. It took a great deal of strength and I was sweating by the end but I felt so accomplished as I lifted it out of the ground and threw it to the side of the trench.

We went back to Sikirar for the afternoon. This time the kids were obsessed with my peeling sunburn on my neck. They hadn’t seen anything like it before and wanted to peel it back more and more. The young girls kept running around to tell their friends to check out my burn. It was kind of a crazy feeling to be the attraction. I played Frisbee with one boy who definitely showed me up and one little girl, ‘Ti’ took me in to her classroom to show me her book and read me a story from it. It was a very magical moment. The time at the primary school ended with a very interesting conversation with Samson, a teacher at the school.  He was very curious about Canada, especially the prairies. He was blown away when I told him I lived a three day drive from them (Canada really is that big?) and he was even more shocked about the amount of snow we get. “However do you keep warm in that much snow? Do you have indoor heating?” I chuckled as I said that I do not know what I would do without indoor heating in the winter.

Today was also very entertaining as we taught Stephen some Canadian slang. We taught him the secondary use of “so sick” and he seemed to enjoy it after he got over his confusion for the double meaning of the word.

26 youth, from all over Canada, with all different backgrounds met in an airport, and the only joining factor at first is their desire to change the world. As I approached the group, my stomach was in knots. What to expect, what to think? I had done goodbyes and hello’s before, but nothing quite to this extent. I hung up the phone from my boyfriend, hugged my folks good-bye and joined the group to engage in the small talk that first meeting someone entails. Feeding off the excitement of everyone, my nervousness got pushed away and I started to make friends. Before I knew it we were through security, drank our last Starbucks for the month and were boarding the 5:30pm plane to Amsterdam. As I settled in for the evening, I really tried to sleep, but it just wouldn’t happen.

Day 2 – Arriving on the African continent

We arrived early morning in Amsterdam for a relatively short layover. This time here made me realize I really want to go back to Holland. The canals, tulips and cheese were out of this world. But I’ll save that for another trip. Arriving in Nairobi, one of the only built up cities in Kenya  after another eight-hour flight (I swear I didn’t want to see another plane again for a very long time) we got our visas and picked up luggage before meeting  with our second trip facilitator, Katie. Even as we waited at customs at 9pm we could feel the heat. We all loaded into a truck that would drive us to our overnight accommodations, the Rosslyn Centre. This time was very over whelming for me.

As we drove further into the city, we got a lot of mixed signals. Large advertisements and lights filled my view, some in English, and some in the Kenyan language of Kiswahili. There were huge multimillion dollar gated homes on one side of the road and around the corner there were shantytowns. The driver was driving on the other side of the street and on the two lane high way there were many cars passing us even though we ourselves were driving over the 80km/hour speed limit. We defiantly were not in Canada any longer. For a second I thought to myself, what did I get myself into? Why did I come here? But I quickly brought myself back remembering that I was going to make such a difference in so many people’s lives here in Kenya. We arrived at the Rosslyn centre, greeted by four dogs and a bunch of friendly staff. After a quick dinner and a shower (the last of running water for three weeks) we settled in to bed, all the girls sleeping in bunk beds in one room.  It was a very long evening as I lay there, absorbing it all and not sleeping much.

Day 3 – The Adventure Truly Begins

We woke up that morning, dark circles under our eyes, but so ready to see what the day had in store. I quickly ate what I could for breakfast (stomach still in knots). The fruit of pineapple, passionfruit, papaya, oranges and bananas was incredible. You could never get it tasting near as good at home, it was so fresh! I explored the Rosslyn Centre, photographing all the tropical flowers and plants there were. We all loaded back into the truck to start our five-hour journey to camp. Our first stop was at the Great Rift Valley, the birthplace of mankind. This is a valley that stretches from Israel to Mozambique and is the only place in the world where two tectonic plates are diverging with no volcanoes or other geologic evidence to mark it. This also means that many, many years down the road, Eastern Africa will be separate from the rest of Africa. The view was absolutely amazing. We then drove on, taking in the view some more, while riding on the side of a mountain. I really thought sometimes that the truck would tip and we would go rolling down the hill. Thank goodness that never happened.

Great Rift Valley

We passed farms, rolling hills, rose greenhouses (Kenya is the second largest exporter of fresh-cut roses in the world) and lots of men herding their cattle and goats. Passing through the small towns you saw that the standards that exist at home were defiantly not here. Raw meat hung from windows, in the heat, being covered with bugs. Men herded their cattle through public water sources, allowing them to dispose of what they needed to in the public water.

We stopped for a quick picnic lunch where we picked up our amazing Maasai warrior, Stephen, who would be like a tour guide for the trip. He was 21 and was taking tour guiding as a post secondary subject. He had a great sense of humor and really tried to make the trip the best he could for us. We made one final stop on our way, to pick up the vehicle that we would require for the Mara, where we were staying. It was a second world war British Lorrie. I thought this was a bit extreme, but after a quick turn onto the Mara, unpaved roads I understood why we needed such a vehicle. The ride was the bumpiest, most topsy turvey ride I have ever been on. I give our driver a lot of credit for driving so well like this.

As we approached the camp, the community members were so happy to see us. They all stopped what they were doing to smile, wave and yell “Jambo” (Kiswahili for hello). The kids were the greatest, they would run with the truck wanting to say hello as long as possible and many of the boys opted to give us a “thumbs up” which was adorable. When we arrived at camp the camp staff met us singing to us. All ready I could tell it was going to be an amazing few weeks. We made ourselves at home, settling into our four-man tents. We each had a cot equipped with a mosquito net and a shelf to place our things. The toilets were holes in the ground with toilet seats on top of them and the showers were small tents with a bucket on top that you filled in between each shower. It wasn’t as bad as I prepped myself for. The water in the shower was always the perfect temperature and it was very relaxing to look up and see the sky. The toilets smelled a bit over time, but if you were quick, it wasn’t too bad…

We could see our build site from our camp. We were building an all girls secondary school to be called Oleleshwa. Secondary school in Kenya is privatized so many of the girls who attend the school do it through scholarships given by Free the Children. They are boarding schools and they live there all the time during the three terms of January – March, May-July and September to mid November. It is such an achievement for them to be able to attend secondary school and they all take the experience very seriously.

We headed to bed that evening after taking in the most incredible starry sky on this planet. I have never seen so many stars that go on and on and on.

Chilizing…

Day 4 – Begin to build

After a great sleep I was woken by the sun at 6:30am. The days in Kenya are exactly 12 hours long all year. This is due to the proximity of Kenya to the equator. This was very trippy for the first few days as you would think it’s much later then it was because it would be so dark so early in the day. We started off today with a Kiswahili language lesson. It is a very interesting language. We learned basics such as numbers and conversation starters.

After this, dressed in our goggles, steel toes and long pants we went over to the build site where we met our “Fundies”; construction workers, and our foremen, Dennis and Jacob. We spent this time chiseling the mortar for the mess hall. Talk about a one-armed workout! As we chiseled, we jammed to Dennis’ iPod and this Nigerian band, ‘P Squared’. They are worth the YouTube search – I say, give it a few months and they will be ripping up the clubs here.

Day 5 –

Today we woke up to a beautiful morning, sunny and warm. We headed back to the build site to continue chiseling. This round went much better as we had a better idea (kind of) of how it should be done. It was very hot and the sun was constantly shinning at our necks and backs. Thank god for lots of sunscreen and water! After we had finished most of the building we headed back for another Kiswahili lesson. This time we learned about family and animals. Some interesting words:

-          Simba – lion (So the Lion King was on to something!)

-          Refiki – friend (Such a cool word)

-          Kijiji – family (Stephen couldn’t understand why we thought this was hilarious, but come on - Kijiji!)

We then loaded into the Lorrie to make our way to Sikirar primary school to play with some of the kiddies. This school runs grades Kindergarten to six. They will eventually go to grade eight once the students reach this point. All the children wear uniforms and they have to shave their heads to prevent the spread of lice. They take 5 classes, English, Math, Kiswahili, Social Sciences (includes science) and Christian Religious Studies and most of their classes by grade 3 are taught in English. This means that by the time the children graduate grade 8 they are usually trilingual (tribal language, Kiswahili and English). They are so incredibly smart. We saw the old classrooms, which were very dark, unsteady and crowded. We then saw the classrooms that Free the Children had built. They were much nicer and much more usable. Kenneth, the grade three teacher, came to talk to us. He must have thanked us 50 times and really made us feel welcome. His explained that his wife and children lived three hours away but he had to come here for work. He gets to see his family on breaks and even though he moved here he still has to ‘commute’ an hour by bike to get to the school. His passion for his job and children’s learning was so inspiring. You rarely would see his passion here and I only hope that I love my job as much as he does when I get into my career.

We went to play with the children and even though there was a language barrier, I learnt that laughter and smiling is truly an international language. They were very curious about my long white nails and wanted to try on my earrings and sunglasses. I didn’t let them have my earrings but they took my glasses. This was amazing to watch because they would run around with them and pass them off, but not once did we have to ask for them back because they always came right back to us twenty minutes later and handed them back. Talk about great morals and service. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing Stella Ellla Ola and football (soccer). Just before leaving the one girl said, “Nakupenda (Kiswahili for I Love You), I just love all my Canadian friends”. There is nothing more heartwarming then that.

Playing hopscotch with some of the Sikirar girls

Duomo – Florence, Italy

Saturday, June 23, 2012 –

The first 11 days of our European honeymoon were quite busy, as I’m sure you’ve read, with Florence being our sixth city in 11 days. Initially we had planned on seeing Naples after Florence, but while we were in Venice we decided to extend our stays in Florence and Rome, and skip Naples – giving us a slightly more relaxed end to the trip. Today was the start of our relaxation, choosing to sleep in until 11am. We also had plans to meet up with a former co-worker of Julia’s that was travelling through Europe with his girlfriend-turned-fiancée (he proposed at the airport to start their trip). We hadn’t seen Chris & Jaime since before our wedding, so it would be fun to catch up.

Once we were up and showered, we made the 25-minute walk in to the heart of the Tuscan city and weaved our way through the cobblestone streets towards the Galleria dell’Accademia to see the statue of David. Along the way we passed through the market behind the Duomo and browsed through the leather goods, pashmina scarves and soccer jerseys. I was on the look out for an Italian national jersey to wear during the knockout stage of the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament that was underway. Neither of us saw anything that caught our eye, so we continued on to the dell’Accademia.

Florence, Italy

Turning the corner, we noticed that the line was quite long and directly in the blazing sun. We chose to skip the gallery for today and headed back to the markets to see what else was around. Julia found some scarves to buy and I found a store that sold the official Italian national jerseys, so we bought one for each of us to wear. A way to cheer on the Italians while in Italy and a keepsake for us to take home. On our walk to the train station to catch the shuttle bus, we stopped at Astor Cafe and made a table reservation for Sunday night, to watch the Italy/England soccer match. Being able catch the shuttle was a definite plus, given how far away the Una Hotel Vittoria was from the city centre. I chatted with our driver on the way back, asking him where the best place was to watch the soccer game. He immediately thought I was British and in broken English said that his Italian squad would beat the English side. I laughed and agreed with him, letting him know we were Canadian and that we were rooting for the Azzurri.

Back at the hotel, showered and got ready for our dinner with Chris & Jaime. We had no idea where we were going, only that they were coming to pick us up. They had been staying at a bed & breakfast outside of the city and had a rental car. Chris & Jaime arrived at our hotel around 6pm and let us know the restaurant was outside of Siena and in a fortress. To say we were excited would be an understatement. The 45-minute drive through the rolling Tuscan hills went pretty quickly, as the four of us caught up and shared travel stories, taking in the vineyards that lined the highway. We talked about Chris proposing to Jaime at the airport in Washington, and how he passed out little business cards to strangers that basically said, ‘I’m about to propose to my girlfriend, can you take a picture and email it to this address?’ while Jaime was getting snacks & coffee. They had ventured through a lot of Europe and went on countless wine tours (Chris is a sommelier). We filled them in on the wedding and the little news of the restaurant Julia & Chris worked at together.

Ristorante Il Pozzo – Monteriggioni, Italy

Il Pozzo – Monteriggioni, Italy

Chris parked the car and we made a short walk uphill and inside the Castello of Monteriggione. The four of us passed through Piazza Roma, and entered the restaurant where we were greeted by a picture of John F. & Robert Kennedy, taken outside of the restaurant. We were seated outside, and enjoyed the beautiful summer night with great company. Chris ordered a bottle of champagne to start with our antipasti of first class salami. We then enjoyed a 2008 bottle of Sassicaia Bolgheria to go with our first course of pasta – each of us ordered a different pasta that were (obviously) homemade and absolutely delicious. Next up was a 2001 bottle of Pieve Santa Restitua (Gaja) Rennina to pair with our main course. We ordered dessert and a bottle of Moscato d’Asti before the restaurant made it clear that we were the last patrons in the restaurant. Time just flew with sharing stories, laughs and great food. The food was by far the best I had ever eaten. After leaving the restaurant, we made our way out of the castle and back to the car to begin our trek back in to Florence.

Jaime, Chris, me & Julia at Il Pozzo – Monteriggioni, Italy

Julia & I have had some great European experiences thus far, but this evening of dinner and drinks in a castle outside of Siena takes the cake.

Me, Julia, Chris & Jaime – Monteriggioni, Italy

view of the Arno from Pointe Vecchio – Florence, Italy

Friday, June 22, 2012 –

Breakfast was the first thing on our mind when we woke up, but with the National public transportation strike happening today, we quickly got showered & dressed before heading downstairs. We had packed up our suitcases the night before, so Julia & I were able to get downstairs and through the check-out procedure before 8:30am, which left us roughly half-an-hour to have breakfast. The two of us had to catch the vaporetto to take us to the train station ahead of 9am, or else we would have a 30-minute walk ahead of us with our wheeled suitcases likely to bang into our ankles as we traversed the paved alleyways & canal bridges of Venice. Luckily for us, we made the vaporetto, along with what seemed like every other tourist in our vicinity. The water bus was packed with travellers and Venetians alike, all needing to get to where they were going prior to the strike commencing in minutes.

Since our trip to the train station the night earlier proved futile, we were forced to wait in line to purchase our tickets with our Eurail passes – we paid 10€ each because of our passes, instead of 43€ each. The train station was quiet and we were on the train for Florence for our 9:32am departure in no time. We took in the views of the Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany and watched locals board and depart the train at each stop, wondering where they were headed and what their story was. People watching has to be one of our favourite pastimes. A little more than two hours after we boarded out train we arrived at the Santa Maria Novella train station in the heart of Florence.

The hotel I had booked for our stay in Florence noted that it was ‘close to the city centre on the side of the Arno with attractions such as the Pitti Palace, Fort Belevedere, and Boboli Gardens.’ Having a pretty good idea of where the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens were, we walked from the train station down Via dell’Albero, Via Finiguerra Maso and Via di Melegnano towards the Arno river, suitcases nipping at our heels. We crossed the Arno at Pointe A Vespucci to the left side. We looked for Via Pisana as we walked along the river, occasionally breathing in the exhaust of the scooters racing along the Italian street. I knew we were in the vicinity, because the Boboli Gardens were just a little east of where we were, but we thought it best to ask a nice lady at the Gelataria la Carraia. We were a little taken aback when she couldn’t tell us where Via Pisana was and had to find a map. We weren’t happy with what she told us when she did find the street – we were walking in the wrong direction and had a good 20 minute walk ahead of us to get to the hotel.

I generally have a pretty good sense of direction, so how could this be? Is it because I was in Europe? Couldn’t be! The information on the hotel page on Expedia was clearly wrong, or up to interpretation of what you consider ‘close to the city centre’. Maybe it’s close by car. It was definitely not close by walking. Regardless, we made the walk down Borgo San Frediano which turned in to Via Pisana. By the time we got to the hotel, I was ready to curse at them about how far away they were and that their Expedia details were wrong. But I quickly relaxed with how pleasant the front desk staff were and how nice the hotel looked. We had a nice gentleman take our bags to our room.

The room. Wowzers! Probably one of the nicer hotels I’ve stayed at. The shower & soaker tub were separated from the mirrored hallway by a pane of glass. Our bed was a step up from the floor, a flat screen TV mounted on the wall opposite the bed and small LED lights were embedded in the padded wall that doubled as headboard. After the adventurous and very hot walk we just had, a shower & a nap were in order. We had the next four days in Florence, why rush to see the sights, right?

Bell Tower & Duomo – Florence, Italy

We got ready and walked back towards the city centre crossing the Arno at Pointe Stanta Trinita. Enjoying the humid Tuscan weather we casually strolled to the Duomo, taking in its magnificent presence of the Florentine centre, and then down to Piazza della Signoria. We stopped at Rivoire, a nice square-side restaurant, for some drinks in the late afternoon. From our table-for-two, we had great views of Palazzo Vecchio and Michelangelo’s copy of David. Most people don’t know that the statue of David was originally situated outside the Palazzo Vecchio in 1504, but was moved to the Accademia Gallery in 1873 and the copy replaced the original in the square. While we enjoyed our Peroni’s, we watched a photographer take pictures of a bride & groom in the square, using the Palazzo Vecchio and the statues for his backdrop.

Palazzo Vecchio & Statue of David – Florence, Italy

We were starting to get hungry so we began our walk back to the hotel with the idea of stopping along the route when we found a local restaurant. Along Borgo San Frediano we found Trattoria del Carmine with an extensive Italian menu with very reasonable prices. We sat inside and ordered fresh, homemade pasta and a bottle of Villa Antinori. The service in Italy is that of ‘call us over when you need us, we won’t bother you while you dine’ which is very different from what we’re accustomed to. I think we sat there for over two hours, just chatting, enjoying our honeymoon in Florence and the ambiance of the small neighbourhood restaurant. We watched as the workers started closing up, moving tables around, re-setting tables, all before our waiter approached the table. Eventually we had to call him over to ask for our bill. I settled the tab and we continued our walk back to the hotel for the night.

12 hours in Florence and we couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Julia & I, on Pointe Vecchio – Florence, Italy

View from Rialto Bridge – Venice, Italy

Thursday, June 21, 2012 –

The first thing we noticed about Venice when we arrived yesterday was just how hot & muggy it was. Luckily our room at Hotel Rialto was equipped with a working air conditioner, so we opted to have a nice, comfortable sleep before leaving to explore one of the most romantic cities of the world. Stepping out of the hotel and seeing the Grand Canal still blew me away. Unfortunately, the heat punched us right in the face! It was already a scorcher at 11am – I guess that’s what is to be expected on the first day of summer in Italy.

Hotel Rialto – Venice, Italy

We began our unaided walk towards Piazza San Marco, trying to re-trace our steps from the night before and taking in the sights of the alleyways and canals. Our walk led us to countless dead ends, up and over canals and through alleys that were no wider than two average sized humans. In most North American cities, walking down alleys like this would be a little terrifying, especially with the lack of sunlight through the three and four story buildings. Nevertheless, we weren’t in New York or Detroit, so we enjoyed every second of being ‘lost’. Eventually we turned a corner and the basilica was on our left – with an incredibly long lineup waiting to get in to the basilica straight ahead of us. We looked at how deep the line was, the lack of any shaded areas and decided that waiting in that sun for an hour just was not worth it. Making our way past the lineup of tourists, we continued our walk through Piazza San Marco and along the Grand Canal and back to the Rialto Bridge. All the shops in the Rialto area seemed to have their air conditioning cranked to sub-zero temperatures, so we spent some time going in & out of shops, looking at soccer jerseys, leather goods and random things that the shops were selling.

Gallerie dell’Academia worker asleep – Venice, Italy

We stopped for lunch and then began our trek to Gallerie dell’Academia, figuring spending the afternoon in an air-conditioned museum was a good plan. The walk over was so hot, we really just wanted to sit inside the museum and not move, and hydrate with bottles of water. The two of us read through the guidebook and tried to make ourselves a little tour through dell’Academia but neither of us were really interested in seeing anything. One of the best things we witnessed was a museum worker in full on siesta mode in the late afternoon. We stayed for an hour and then decided it would be best if we just went back to the Rialto area. Once we were back at the Rialto Bridge, we did some more shopping and I bought some Italian button-down shirts for a good price. With tonight being our last night in Venice, we wanted to enjoy a nice dinner, so we headed back to our hotel to shower and change.

Venice has no shortage of restaurants-with-a-view so it was quite an easy task to find a restaurant. We walked over the Rialto Bridge to the opposite side of the Grand Canal and were approached by a maitre’d from each restaurant we passed. One benefit of these outdoor restaurants is being able to see the menu before sitting down, helping one make a decision on where to sit & eat. The views from each restaurant were roughly the same. We ended up choosing a restaurant that looked busy – obviously a crowd can’t be wrong, right? Each of us started with a salad, had pasta and split a bottle of red wine. That’s just what you’re supposed to do in Venice. After dinner, we walked towards the train station to check on the departure times for a train to Florence in the morning. What makes a walk through Venice even better, you ask? Gelato! We enjoyed our Italian dessert as we made the 20-minute walk to the train station. Unfortunately, the train station was already closed, but at least we knew the way there, in case we had to walk it in the morning. We were informed at the hotel that the vaporettos and public transportation were going on strike in the morning, between the hours of 9am and 5pm. That put a little bit of a wrench in our plans, as we’d have to be up early to catch the water bus or make the 20-minute walk with our suitcases. On our way back to the hotel, we decided that we’d try to get up by 8am to check-out and catch the water bus to the train station. Fingers crossed!

Antennas – Venice, Italy

Rialto Bridge – Venice, Italy

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 –

With today being a travel day, Julia & I were up at 6:45 am and checked out of Hotel Villa Carlton in Salzburg, Austria by 7:30 am and walked to the train station. At Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, we picked up croissants, bottles of water and some juice, to get ready for our train ride to Villach. Our train left the station at 8:12 am, and passed through the Austrian alps, en route towards the Austria-Italy border through Werfen. The morning views of the mountains and countryside were beautiful. The train moved rather slowly as we climbed the hills and went in & out of tunnels through the mountains, going from bright, sunny conditions to darkness and vice versa.

Austrian countryside

We promptly arrived in Villach at 10:43 am, like most trains through Europe that move like clockwork and rarely with delays of any kind. Only having 20 minutes, we quickly got our suitcases off the train and proceeded to leave the station following the signs telling us where the bus terminal was. The other passengers were already boarding the bus, so we took handed our suitcases to the bus driver and took our spot in the queue. Since we had purchased our Eurail tickets as a pair, we were able to book 1st class tickets on trains & busses, most with no additional fees – it definitely came in handy for this ride, as we sat in comfy seats on the lower deck of the bus, with ample leg room for our four-hour journey to Venice. 30 minutes in to our ride, we were stopped at the Italian border for passport control. The stop took a little longer than expected because of some passport issues with a passenger on our bus – apparently he needed to pay 150€ to enter Italy, something to do with his passport not being valid. Regardless, everything was sorted, we crossed the border and continued our ride through the mountains in to northern Italy.

Austrian Alps

Our first stop within Italy was in the city of Udine, where a handful of people got off the bus, then we stopped at Venezia Mestre and a few more people got off the bus. By 3:00 pm we were at our stop at Venezia Tronchetto and retrieved our bags, boarded the ‘people mover’ towards the Venice train station. Once we got our bearing’s, we bought tickets for the vaporetto (Venice’s water-taxibus) and headed towards the Rialto bridge. The hotel that we booked for our stay in Venice, Hotel Rialto, was right next to the vaporetto stop at the Rialto bridge, which made it super easy to find. The location was spectacular, with views of the famous Rialto bridge from a 3rd floor garden terrace of the hotel. We were checked-in and led to our room by a nice, old Italian gentlemen (whom we thought could pass out at any moment, carrying our bags with temperatures feeling like the high-30′s). Our room was very nice, with an Italian renaissance flair to it, equipped with a functioning air conditioner that we immediately turned on.

Venice, Italy

Leaving our hotel, we took the maze-like turns through the Venice streets (if you can even call them that!) and made our way to Piazza San Marco. We fought with the crowds of tourists, got some views of the palace-turned-museum and then decided that we couldn’t do anything else without first getting some pizza in our belly. Italian pizza would be complete without a couple of local beers – two bottles of Peroni completed our order. The restaurant we chose was a little off the beaten path and we were seated in the shade to the side of the patio. This was our home for our first TRUE Italian meal together. Julia and I ate our pizzas, drank our beers and just enjoyed the moment of being in Venice.

Piazza San Marco – Venice Italy

After our late lunch/early dinner we navigated our way over canals, through narrow alleys and (eventually) found our way back to our hotel for a much-needed shower, having just spent four hours in the humidity of an Italian June day. Once we were refreshed we grabbed the camera & tripod and made the trek back to Piazza San Marco to capture the square at night, enjoying some red wine & sandwiches to the sounds of the Italian musicians in the square. Does life get any better?

View from Rialto Bridge – Venice, Italy

View from Hohensalzburg Castle – Salzburg, Austria

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 –

For the first time on our trip, the weather was actually beautiful – we had a great sleep with the A/C on in our little pet-friendly boutique hotel. Our number one mission once we woke up was to find me some sunscreen, that I had forgotten to pack before we left. Lucky for us, we hadn’t needed it until now. We stopped at a local pharmacy and also made sure to grab a couple bottles of water, and then a sandwich from a café on the corner. Supplies loaded in to the backpack, we were on our way to Hohensalzburg Castle to view the city, Austrian alps and the Austrian countryside.

Mozarts Geburtshaus – Salzburg, Austria

Mozart statue – Salzburg, Austria

We crossed over the Salzach River via the Staatsbrücke (the main bridge) and through the old town. Salzburg is full of history, including being the birth place of Mozart at Getreidegasse 9. We walked through the University Square and over to Residenzplatz to find the gondola that would take us up to the fortress. Once we paid our admission, we were herded like cattle in to the gondola, surrounded by people that chose not to shower today, and were on our way up the dolomite ledge towards the castle.

Man on golden ball – Salzburg, Austria

The castle began being built in 1077 and was not completed until 1681 but is the largest completely preserved castle in central Europe. This was the home for the defense and state for over six centuries, but now features restaurants, museums and even a small concert hall that features live music throughout the summer months. Julia and I walked from level to level, taking in the panoramic views of the Alps and Austrian countryside. Beautiful wouldn’t even do these views justice! Being on our honeymoon, we made sure to stop at one of the restaurants to enjoy a local beer, Stiegl, and the views. The rolling hills of the Alps, outside of Salzburg were were a lot of ‘The Sound Of Music’ was filmed. There were plenty of tour operators in Salzburg that featured various tours to the film locations. Since neither of us had seen the movie, we didn’t bother with the tour, but definitely took in the scenes from the fortress.

Stiegl and a view – Salzburg, Austria

Hohensalzburg Castle – Salzburg, Austria

Leaving the fortress, we took the gondola back down to the street level and found a little pizzeria for some lunch. We took our slices of pizza and sat by the river, enjoying the beautiful Austrian weather, listening to the Salzach River flow through the city. It was now late afternoon, so we opted to head back to the hotel to check our emails and relax before dinner.

Mirabel Gardens – Salzburg, Austria

Having just ate lunch a few hours earlier, we found a nice little cafe a few blocks from our hotel for a light dinner – which also meant we left room for gelato. We took our dessert and walked through the Mirabel Gardens, just two blocks from our hotel. Benches were scattered throughout the park, so we found a spot to sit and enjoy another fabulous cone of gelato. You really can’t beat the authenticity of European gelato. We walked through the gardens of Mirabellgarten, admiring the manicured lawns and mythology-themed statues. Here is a scene from ‘The Sound Of Music’, filmed in Mirabel Gardens.

Keeping with our nightly tradition, we walked back to the Old Town to watch the soccer game on the TVs in the Sternbräu-biergarten – Sweden beat France and England beat Ukraine. After the game, we walked back over the river and took some pictures of the castle at night to cap off an amazing time in Salzburg.

Salzach River & Alps – Salzburg, Austria

Monday, June 18, 2012 –

The train ride from Amsterdam to Salzburg left the Centraal Station at 7am, so it was an early day for Julia & me. Having learned about the whole first-class option on our previous train rides, we were sure to find the first-class car for our early morning journey. Since we had gotten up so early, we each had a truncated sleep during the trip from Amsterdam to Frankfurt. It was an interesting trip, as we stopped a couple times because a dispatch station was hit by lightning during the morning storm. A few minor delays, then we were on our way to Frankfurt Main, where we’d catch another train to Munich for a slight layover. We were both hungry once we got to Munich, so we grabbed some lunch from the cafeteria – I opted for schnitzel on a bun, and Julia had a sandwich. The schnitzel was absolutely delicious, especially for food from a train station. Seeing that we didn’t have a lot of time, we headed back to the platform to catch the final train to Salzburg.

Bavaria, Germany

Leaving the train station in Salzburg, we stopped by the information desk to ask for directions towards our hotel near the Salzach River. The two women working the desk were very helpful and gave us exact directions – slight left, right at the roundabout, about a 10-minute walk from the train station. Our walk was AMAZING! Not only was the weather absolutely beautiful, somewhere in the high-20′s (celsius, of course) but the city had that old European feel. We checked in to the Hotel Villa Carlton, and were happy to see that it was a pet friendly hotel. Not that we were traveling with pets, but it was nice to see some little dogs around and water dishes in the lobby. Our stay included free wi-fi access, so upon checking in we each got caught up on our emails from friends & family, and our social media activity. A quick shower and a fresh set of clothes and we were on our way to explore Salzburg.

Salzach River – Salzburg, Austria

Making a hard right out of our hotel lobby, we walked the quiet street towards the river – when there’s a river in a European city, it’s usually the centre of the action, so it never fails to head there first. Making it to the river, the above image is what we were met with. Alps, a river, some greenery, and blue skies; what more could two newlyweds ask for? Our walk upstream led us to walking bridge which took us to the ‘old town’. We walked around the old town, in and out of small alleyways in the hot & humid Austrian air. Nearing dinner time, we found an Austro-Bavarian restaurant, Elefant, situated in the Best Western Elefant hotel. I had to try the pork schnitzel with potatoes while Julia went with the deep fried 1/2 chicken with potato cucumber salad. Both meals were absolutely delicious. We were very impressed! After dinner, we continued our walk through the old town and stopped for a 1€ gelato.

The Fortress – Salzburg, Austria

Once we crossed the bridge to head back to the hotel, we turned around and saw the Fortress lit up against the dark sky backdrop. I don’t think the picture above does it justice, but you’ll have to travel to Salzburg to full appreciate the beauty of the views.

canal at dusk – Amsterdam, NL

Sunday, June 17, 2012 -

After a pretty late night we slept in and had breakfast at the crepebar across the street from our hotel, for some crepes – a Dutch specialty. While the service was a little on the slow side, and the menu that they were set to launch in the coming weeks looked vastly improved from what we were able to order from, the food was still pretty good. Following breakfast, the two of us walked towards the train station where we were able to catch a tram to take us to the van Gogh museum in the Museumplein district of Amsterdam.

i amsterdam sign – Amsterdam, NL

The tram was pretty entertaining, watching tourists and residents alike coming on and getting off at the countless stops along the way. I think we were on the tram for a good 30-minutes before getting off and walking the rest of the way to the entrance. Upon nearing the museum, we noticed how long the line was. We debated skipping the museum and continuing with our day, but it was a nice day and we decided to stick it out. Luckily for us, the line moved pretty well and we were paying for our tickets in no time. The van Gogh Museum has a very strict baggage policy, in which no bags, cameras, nothing are allowed inside the museum. They do offer you to check your bags for free, which was good. I reluctantly checked my backpack and camera and were on our way.

Van Gogh Museum – Amsterdam, NL

The van Gogh Museum contains the largest collection of van Gogh pieces in the world over four floors, and takes you through Vincent’s life as an artist. The basement features an exhibition of van Gogh’s contemporaries and highlight the impressionism movement of the 19th century. As you move up the floors, you’re taking on a journey through van Gogh’s life, from his early days as an art dealer and sketcher in the Hague, London and Paris, to his first major works in Nuenen & Antwerp. I didn’t know a ton about van Gogh prior to our trip to the museum, but soon learned that he died at a very young age (37) and didn’t really start painting until he was 30. After his time in Nuenen & Antwerp, he relocated to Paris and lived with his brother, Theo. Vincent grew bored with Paris and made the move south to Arles, to Saint-Rémy and finally to Auvers-sur-Oise, during which time he really broke out as an artist. Dealing with illness for much of his life, van Gogh eventually shot himself in the chest and died from the resulting infection. His brother, Theo, died six months later, suffering from illnesses of his own and never being able to fully get over the absence of his brother. Vincent’s letters to Theo along with the unsold works of art, were then left to Theo’s wife, who passed them on to her son and then to the state initiated van Gogh foundation. It was in the mid-1960′s that the decision to design a van Gogh Museum was commissioned.

The Heineken Experience – Amsterdam, NL

Next on our agenda for a Sunday in Amsterdam was to walk to the Heineken Experience and enjoy some beautiful European weather for a change. The temperature climbed to the low-teens, which excited the two of us, having put up with the gloomy, cold & rainy weather for the better part of a week. The walk was beautiful, crossing the canals and making our way down the narrow tree-lined streets through the Museumplein and De Pijp neighbourhoods. We weren’t really looking at the map and got a little disoriented but that’s all part of the fun of walking the streets of a European city. We passed toddlers in bars, parents with kids on their bikes and pets roaming the streets without leashes. It was really inspiring to see how Europeans live with such a laid back, carefree attitude.

I had heard from a few people who said the Heineken Experience was pretty entertaining, so we thought we would check it out. The one thing that we weren’t that interested in was a guided tour, listening to a brew master talk about the science behind the beer making. And we were happy to find out that the tour was at your own pace, complete with videos, photos and interactive exhibits to help guide your tour at your leisure. To seal off the tour, you receive a pint of Heineken, so it’s well worth it.

Canals – Amsterdam, NL

canal at dusk – Amsterdam, NL

Feeling a little light-headed after the beer, having not eaten anything since breakfast, we crossed the street and stopped at a little gourmet burger restaurant (Café Berkhout) for some food and more beers. We saw a sign for Palm, which is a Belgian beer imported in to the Kitchener-Waterloo region by a local brewer, so we were sold! Our walk back to the hotel was a little stumbly to start off, but we found our stride and made it back before dinner. Knowing that the Netherlands were playing Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2012, we wanted to check the game out at a bar or outdoor venue with the locals. We showered, got ready, and took the tram to Dam Square then walked from bar to bar, enjoying drinks and trying to watch the game where we could. The game wasn’t as exciting as we had hoped, since the Netherlands had all but been eliminated and lost 2-1 to the Portugal squad.

We concluded our night with a walk through the Grachtengordel-West neighbourhood, enjoying the canals and the warm temperatures. Amsterdam on a Sunday is definitely a lot friendlier and more pleasant than on a Saturday night. The crazies were definitely out in full force on Saturday.

Watching Netherlands v Portgual – Amsterdam, NL

Amsterdam, NL

Saturday, June 16, 2012 –

Because of the EuRail pass and only being an hour outside of Amsterdam, Julia & I were in no rush to check-out and get to the train station. Regardless, we were out of the hotel room by 11am and made the 15-minute walk from the hotel to the train station. The weather was nice enough to allow us that luxury, walking a somewhat main yet quiet street of Arnhem. We were passed by a mother riding a bike with her children, each of which smiled at us in what we’re learning to be pretty typical of the Dutch residents. We also saw a father teaching his daughter to ride a bike, yet instead of being over-protective with training wheels, knee-pads and relegating the young girl to sidewalks, this man was riding beside her, on the road, holding on to the back of her bike while he rode his. It was a pretty interesting and inspiring thing to see for each of us. We don’t have children of our own, so I shouldn’t be dishing out parental advice of any sort, but to see that there is a more relaxed way of parenting was comforting to us as that’s likely (read: hopefully) the style of parenting that we would assume.

Getting to the train station and not having to purchase a ticket in advance was also quite liberating. We sat and waited for the next inter-city train to arrive. Having a little more knowledge of the EuRail pass than yesterday we quickly headed to the 1st-class section to find some seats. The train was pretty empty, so it wasn’t a very tough find. The one benefit of 1st-class was the use of free Wi-Fi. We both took advantage of this luxury and got ourselves caught up on text messages, emails and I set my Fantasy Baseball lineups for the next few days. Priorities, I tell ya!

Twenty-minutes in to our trip to Amsterdam the train came to a complete stop and then started reversing, heading back towards Arnhem. Neither of us having an ability to decipher Dutch or German, we were a little bit at a loss as to what was happening. Back in Arnhem, we were told that there was construction on the tracks, so we were being re-routed slightly. Ahh, the joys of having multiple train tracks that allows such things to happen. The train left Arnhem and we got off in Nijmegen, and got off the train to find our connector. We politely asked a Dutch conductor which train we were supposed to catch for Amsterdam, and were informed that the work being done on the tracks had been completed, so the train we just got off of was heading back to Arnhem and then en route to Amsterdam and Den Helder. So, back on the train we went. And then we stopped at the Arnhem train station to pick up a few more passengers. That’s right, we managed to be at or through the Arnhem train station, a lovely train station, three times! By now, we were ready for a change.

Madame Tussauds – Dam Square, Amsterdam, NL

The journey to Amsterdam after that ordeal was pleasant and quick. We de-boarded the train at the Station Amsterdam-Centraal and were once again standing outside the train station wondering how we find our hotel. I made sure to try and book a hotel that was relatively close to the train station for ease of finding it. On the map it looked close, and once we got our bearings we crossed the street and there was Hotel Bellevue! Amazing! Because of the way the intersection was, with the canals and cable cars, we actually had to cross about seven times, but we were there in a heartbeat. We were greeted with the exceptional Dutch hospitality and were told that we had received a free upgrade for the two nights we were there, to a quad room. We were pretty impressed and were excited to see the room and drop our bags off. Once we got the key and were told, ‘down the stairs, make a left and it’s the end of the hall on the left’, we were a little confused – an upgrade to the basement? The room was likely a lot bigger than the other rooms, but it was a dorm style with four single beds, two each pushed together to make somewhat of a queen. The room was very average at best, but felt more like a hostel. At least we had a private room, it would suffice for the two nights we were in Amsterdam.

Julia & I got cleaned up and we were out to do some exploring. We walked through the ‘market’ area, and I made sure to hold my wallet close, putting it in my front pocket. Amsterdam had a funny vibe to it, left me a little uneasy. I don’t know if it’s because of the leniency on drug laws or the sex trade, but it was a little sketchier than I had imagined. We made our way along Nieuwendijk, ducking in & out of shops along the way, passing by The Grasshopper Café, through the Red Light District and eventually making it to Dam Square. The mix of art deco and classicism architecture amongst the canal houses was easy on the eyes. We crossed a few dozen canals, crisscrossing and walking through Amsterdam neighbourhoods. Both of us being famished, we checked out some of the street side menus along the Spuistraat and settled on Toro Dorado, an Argentinian steakhouse, for dinner. The menu was broken down in to the different cuts of steaks available (tenderloin, sirloin, rib eye and rump steak), each with different options available (Waygu, Bison, Black Angus, Argentinian Hereford, and a few others) – all of which had VERY different price points for obvious reasons. This was one of our more expensive meals thus far, but well worth it. The steak that I had, an Argentinian rump steak that fit well within our budget, was absolutely delicious. Julia had a beef fajita that was full of flavour, but a tad on the dry side. A little sour cream would have come in handy, but that likely would have been a slap in the face to a steakhouse.

11pm in Amsterdam, NL

We walked back to the hotel and relaxed for a little bit before showering and heading out to see what Amsterdam had in store for their nightlife. One thing that my friend Art had told me before we left, was that Amsterdam would stay ‘light’ for a good portion of the night. When we left the hotel around 10pm, it felt like it was about 7pm! First up was to check out the Red Light District to see what all the talk was about. It was very interesting seeing guys bartering with women in windows for what certain sexual favours cost. We also saw families walking through, with children in strollers. I think this is where I draw the line for the European way of parenting. The place was definitely packed though, people EVERYWHERE. Not being two for crowds, Julia & I made our way through pretty steadily, eventually stopping for some brownies (not the kind you’re thinking of) for a late night snack. After walking back to our hotel around 2am, we sat on a bench outside and ate our brownies, talking to a gentleman from England who had fully indulged in the party atmosphere that Amsterdam offered to tourists on a Saturday in June. Ahh, Saturday, in June, in Amsterdam with my wife!