I spend too much money on coffee and flights.
(overlooking Dubrovnik)
And I'm ready for our parents to begin shaking their heads as they read this next post (or more like Anna's mother). I have to take you back a little to explain the full story...
It was our last night in Dubrovnik and we decided to go out for a nice steak dinner, as we were all so tired of eating homemade chicken salads, chicken sandwiches, chicken parmesan and chicken quesadillas. After dinner we headed back to the apartment to pack as we had a flight to Athens the next day at 2:30pm. You see, normally for each flight we check in online; we get an email, follow the link, and our boarding passes are sent straight to our smart phones - fast and convenient. So, we pulled up our emails. Alexa and myself opened the emails with our flight information. As the website was loading very slowly Alexa and I came to the conclusion that we would be better off to check in upon arrival at the airport. Then there was Anna. Anna could find no trace of her flight to Athens. This is when the panic started setting in. So basically here Anna is with no email in her inbox or trash, and no credit card statement proving the purchase of her flight to Athens (did the flight purchase even get processed?). Now to add to the fun we can't make phone calls throughout Europe .
Staying hopeful we headed to the airport early the next morning to sort out the mess. Sure enough Anna was not recorded as a passenger on the flight. So as Alexa and myself had flights we were faced with the dilemmas of 1. Do we get on the flight? 2. How do we get Anna to Athens? and 3. When? 260 euros later Anna purchased a ticket to arrive in Athens three hours later than us. Now it gets better, as I sit in the Dubrovnik airport Anna is currently on her flight to Athens while Alexa and I wait for our flight that has been delayed five and a half hours (thanks Aegean Airlines). Here me and Alexa were planning to have a nice swim and hot tub before Anna's arrival in Athens. Currently, we are living off of Haribo starship mix and peanut m&m's figuring out life (what business we would like to open and when).
People always text me after I post about travel complication stories. The texts roll in saying "how awful, that sounds like the longest day ever". Now don't feel too bad for us, after all did I mention my flight is delayed in Croatia.. And that flight that is delayed is headed to Greece. Haha pretty sure we are doing just fine.
Cheers from the Dubrovnik airport where our 15 minutes of free wifi expired six hours ago (*we clink together our free bottles of water courtesy of the worst airline ever).
Hold on I just boarded the plane and got a free ticket to any Aegean Airline destination - new favourite airline? Europe trip 2k17 here we come? Sorry Anna.
Brooke.
To start off, Croatia wins for having the bluest water in the world (at least out of the parts of the world I have seen). Although Dubrovnik is much smaller than Split, it is the perfect vacation destination. Even I put on sunscreen (which is a rare occurrence) as the sun radiated crazy temperatures everyday. In the wonderful refreshing water you can see everything that is swimming beside and underneath of you. Dubrovnik consisted of joining some Italian boys in some volleyball in the ocean, as well as me and Anna trying to acquire a taste for beer (as Brooke already has a taste for it). We did ocean swimming, lots of climbing of hills, enjoyed the views, and lastly to end Dubrovnik with a bang, me and Anna (both afraid of heights) went in the air, higher than the hills/mountains, parasailing (please enjoy Brooke's photos of the horror in our eyes). Now they wouldn't let me and Anna split the parasailing cost so I just put it on my MasterCard and Anna would pay for my dinner that night. As we are all sitting around the dinner table on the water, forever grateful for the steak dinner we all just ate. Our waiter comes around with the bills and Anna puts her card in and the waiter proceeds to say it says incorrect pin. Brooke then says "how funny would it be if she brought the wrong MasterCard" (Anna and Alexa have the same MasterCard)?. Well, haha (not so funny for Alexa) Anna brought the wrong MasterCard, looks like parasailing and the steak dinner were both on me.
Tata Dubrovnik, we would like to come back.
Xoxo Alexa
Xoxo
Alexa.
I write to you from a plane to Venice, flat out exhausted. An hour ago I was in Vienna, and two days before that Hamburg, Germany. So, the question everyone asks... "do I regret the decision of a fast paced trip that stubborn, young, naiive me determinately planned (with my two bestfriends)"? With a smile on my face I say not for a second. I can tell you I wake up rushed, running to catch trains while downloading my next boarding pass. I wake up to 5 am alarms, scarfing down breakfast, yawning, with my eyes still closed. I can also tell you I've been to London, to Amsterdam, to Berlin, to Hamburg, to Vienna... and this is only the beginning. I've ridden double decker buses and bikes, trams, taxis and trains, subways, ferries, and planes. I've seen Big Ben, the Amsterdam canals, the Berlin Wall, and Venice vineyards. I've had tea and biscuits in London, gelato in Amsterdam, and Haagen-Dazs ice cream in Berlin (sweet tooth?).
A lot of people called us crazy when we told them our plan was to constantly be on the move for nine weeks. That's right, 19 places in nine weeks, yes maybe we are a bit crazy. The comments went something like this, "That's not enough time in Italy..., you are going to be rushed. Are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?" We even sat with a travel agent with a long list of places and she actually looked at us and laughed - telling us the trip was impossible. Quite honestly no we didn't know what to expect, we just knew that we were stubborn and determined to see it all. So we left her office and we pulled out a map ourselves.
Part of me wants to go back to that travel agent and pass on our itinerary. 19 places in 9 weeks...challenge accepted. 5 down 14 to go.
Brooke
This photograph was taken along a beach in Venice.
"I'd buy that if I had the money", seems to be the ongoing joke as this trip continues. It is my pleasure to inform you that we use this phrase all too often. Alexa has told Anna and myself that with her extra money she will be flying back to Winnipeg first class, she will be purchasing Ray-Ban Clubmasters and aviators, and will also be buying herself a Tiffany ring, shall I go on... I think she may be failing to realize that the money in her chequing account is going down, rather than increasing.
Today we are in Amsterdam and I have to tell you that our first impression of this place was quite disappointing. This reaction may have had something to do with being overcharged for our taxi ride, the fact that we were h-angry and all the groceries stores were closed, or that Alexa dropped her Mastercard (by God's grace we came across it two minutes later).
Thankfully, the next morning we were able to get out of bed ready for what Amsterdam had to offer. Amsterdam is quite different than London. To give you an image, every London boy who boarded our Amsterdam flight was already drunk and ready to party. The nightlife is crazy. I can honestly say that we can no longer differentiate between the smell of a cigarette and that of a joint (as marijuana is legal here). During the days we often chose to grab a cup of coffee or some gelato while sitting along the canals.
We have all found a new love for parks. The beautiful Kensington park in London and a lovely park 5 minutes away from our apartment in Amsterdam (Vondelpark). We spent an entire day in Vondepark working on our base tans/burns for Croatia.
At first we said we could see ourselves living in London, and we are now saying we could see ourselves living in Amsterdam. I'm pretty sure we will find it quite easy to live in any place that we come across on our journey. Now off to Berlin we go.
xoxo
Alexa, Anna, Brooke
Where we went:
- Cafe Oslo (YUM)
- Coffee Company
- Vondelpark - nice place for burgers along the path
- Cheese Museum :)
- Van Gogh Art Gallery
- Canal Belt
Things we learned:
- Always ask the estimated price before getting into a taxi
- Be brave or stay away from night time flights! Arriving in a new city at night can be daunting especially with luggage in hand
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