Oh nooooooo, 8 weeks done and dusted. And what better place to end my European adventure. Oktoberfest. Quite possibly the happiest place on earth. I was originally booked to go for the middle week. But after hanging out with those "randoms" we accumulated in France. They kindly offered me a couple of nights stay in their apartment for opening weekend. Easily best decision. Thanks legends! DO opening weekend. Be prepared to get up early, to wait 5 hours for your first stein, To break glasses, to leave absolutely covered in beer, to sing every rock Ballard ever recorded, to fall over. Or in my case, fall off a table, I'm sure you can assume what I might have been doing standing on a table. Yes, dancing. And be prepared to dress up, you have to dress up. You'll regret it if you don't, I am so unbelievably broke. But still forked out 50 euro for a Dirndl. And I am so glad I did. I can assure you, you will run into every person you have met on your travels leading up to Oktoberfest, you'll hug them like they're your long lost friend. PROST! I can not put into words how happy everybody is! Or how happy I was. I met some of the raddest people. And a pair of swingers... An odd encounter, but a memorable one. Words cannot express how big the smile is on every single persons face! Oh Oktoberfest you've out done yourself, thanks for the best ending to my Europe trip. I'd love to produce more photos for you at Oktoberfest, but I feel like what happens at Oktoberfest... Should probably stay at Oktoberfest.
Oh my lord, Switzerland. What a magical pace. The beauty of this country is unbelievable. I stayed in a quiet little town called Lauterbrunnen. Now for some one that is 24 and has never seen snow, you could imagine my excitement at the chance of maybe seeing snow! I also was a little unsure if I even wanted to see it, I know- that doesn't make sense right? Well I'm travelling solo, and really wanted to share an experience such as seeing snow for the first time with some one that I'm pretty close with, some one that I love. In particular, my family. But things don't always go your way. And this is how my first encounter with snow went. I'm sitting on the bus minding my own business and some Lunatic shouts "oh my god SNOW" my immediate reaction is to look up. Damn, just saw snow. My tiny little heart broke a bit. (Insert sad face emoji here) there is a silver lining to this though, at least I didn't have to walk around Switzerland with my head down anymore. And I mean does it really count if you don't get to touch it? After all, it was only snow on a mountain. Anyway, enough about my lame emotions towards snow. Much like lake Como, Switzerland is another awesome place for outdoor activities. White water rafting, paragliding, sky diving.. And my favourite Hiking. I actually feel like I'm a semi professional hiker these days, God I have hiked some mountains in the last 7 weeks. I had two options on my chosen day of hiking, do the leisurely stroll hike (a hike for babeh's) or the epic mountain and town view hike (hard, sweaty constant incline hike) we chose the hard one, and I'm almost certain all of us at one point regretted our decision. MUST SOLDIER ON. The higher we climbed the more snow I could see ultimately resulting in more excitement and enthusiasm climbing the mountain, I would even go as far as saying a slight skip here and there. Cue cow bells, more excitement. My inner Julie Andrews also made an appearance across the mountain as well. If you don't know who Julie Andrews is, shame on you. And shame on your parents, you've been robbed! I also tried my best attempt at yodelling. Voice of an angel... Not really, but goats did make there way down the hill. So I guess that counts for something.
Back into Italy, back to gelato. GELATO I LOVE YOU. For those of you that have never heard of lake Como, George Cluney holidays here so obviously it's beautiful... and expensive. Damn! So I'd just like to take a moment to thank my stomach for allowing me to eat a whole pizza everyday for four days. Im sorry I did this, but I'm broke and pizza is cheap. I hope you understand.
Lake Como is a quiet little place. There isn't really much to do unless your really into out door activities. Eg. Canoeing.. Which I did none of. Hiking, which I did a lot of and was rewarded with epic views! If you're ever any where in the world and have the chance to get high above your destination. Do it, there are no other ways you will get views like this. Unless of course your George Cluney and you own a helicopter or a jet, or what ever it is that rich people have. Also if your into cycling Como has some awesome tracks. I saw my fair share of Lycra in lake Como. And Switzerland just happens to be a 45 Minuet bus ride away, so I of course decided to go to a chocolate factory on the one day that it absolutely poured down with rain. And on a Sunday... I know in the bible that Sunday is a day for rest. But for most of us Sunday is a pretty normal day. Coffee shops are open. Grocery stores are open. Public transport runs normally. Well let me tell you, in Europe they actually rest on a Sunday. So absolutely nothing was open buses also run about every two hours. So you could imagine my delight when I was saturated in Switzerland at 4pm and realised, oh my bus should be here in 2 minuets and I'm easily 10 minuets from the bus stop. I've never run so fast in my life. Happy ending though. I made the bus, and then treated myself with a whole pizza. Duh! Florence is beautiful... And honestly that is all I have to say. Sure you can see museums, churches and climb towers. But my one and only tip would be. Breathe it all in. This little city is a stunner. Get on the other side of the river and break away from the hustle and bustle, you'll be glad you did.
It's amazing what a slice of home can do for your soul. I had one of the most amazing weeks in France. Starting off in Nice running into a friend from home in a hostel bathroom. To hiking mountains, recruiting randoms for road trips. Seeing live music. Camping in the French alps. White water rafting. And most importantly endless amounts of belly laughs. This couldn't have come at a better point in my trip, because yes- believe it or not even though your travelling the world and seeing new places and having endless adventures. You will miss home. And I was definitely missing home.
My last stop on the Italian coast line before I hit France.
Cinque Terre translates into "Five Lands" que; Riomaggoire, Manorla, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. And my what beautiful lands they were. To be fair I only made it to three out of the five towns. I stayed in Riomaggoire, which is the first stop out along the cliff side. Now close your eyes and dream of this. Pebbled beaches that lead to Crystal clear waters, cobbled stone streets surrounded by homes painted all the colours of the rainbow, gelato, the smell of COFFEE (of course) and fish and chips, because after all this is a fishing village. I did leave one crucial part out of your dream. Be prepared to hike up some steep hills to reach your destination. I'm not joking when I say "cliff side". Even after climbing the hill and a thousand stairs to my hostel, I was still stoked to be here. So first thing I did was, get out of my sweaty clothes and straight into my bikini's. Grabbed a gelato and headed straight for the ocean. Bliss. On my only full day in Cinque Terre I caught the train to the last town Monterosso, which in my opinion was probably the most touristy. But still gorgeous. Also the only town with a some what easily accessible and sandy beach. I didn't spend to much time here, just took a few happy snaps, inhaled a coffee and jumped back on the train and headed for Vernazza. Vernazza was my kind of town. Quiet, tiny little jewellery stores, the smell of fresh seafood, and my favourite a cove with enormous rocks placed perfectly below the surface of the water. Mermaid life. I spent majority of my day here. For quite a small group of towns, Cinque Terre has a lot to offer. You can hire all the ocean equipment you could think of. Endless cliffs to jump off for the daring. You can literally hike from one village to the other if you have plenty of time on your hands, and legs the size of football players. Or one other thing that I am absolutely kicking myself I didn't do. Was "save Vernazza" which is a program where visitors to the town can help restore Vernazza and Monterosso after they were damaged in mudslides back in 2011. And last but not least, finish off your stay watching the sunset from Manorla. Get some cold drinks, some cheese and bread, and some friends if your travelling solo.... And really take in this breathtaking view. |
AuthorJust a girl... Living. Follow my adventures and mishaps. Archives
November 2015
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