Nice was.... Nice

(Sorry we haven't been on in a bit.  We like to write  about our last place when we are on the train and then post when we get to the new city.... but Cinque Terre didn't have internet so we're a bit behind).... Anyways....

Nice was nice....

But we’re happy to be leaving..We’re back on the train again.  We decided to change our plans a bit and leave Nice earlier than we had originally thought – not because we didn’t have a good time but because France is not cheap and Nice was pretty dirty.

We stayed in another good location – it was about a 5 minute walk to the train station, but because of this, it was extremely loud (you know, it sounded ‘like a freight train was going through your room’ -  except that it actually was).  This bed and breakfast was quite a bit smaller than the other ones we had stayed in and the owner was originally from Scotland and had lived in San Franscisco for 25 years before moving to Nice last year.   She also smoked… heavily.  Which is why I’m not that sad we’re leaving (although its not unusual because EVERYONE smokes here).

The city of Nice is about the size of Saskatoon and has an old and new part.  We spent our first day hiking along the seaside and ate lunch in one of the harbors.  Our waiter happened to be Australian and he asked us where we were from – we said Canada.  He then told us he had lived in Banff for 8 years and had just recently gotten a job offer in Panorama.  We looked around for a bit more and then wandered by to check out all the yachts.

Yesterday we spent the day on the beach – contrary to what we thought the beach would be like  (sandy, beautiful etc.) it was the complete opposite.  The beach was made of large rocks and you had to nose dive into the water so you wouldn’t get slammed into the ground.  The water was beautiful and blue though so that made up for it. 

We have also found that Nice was very dirty and very expensive.  Because you have to pay to use the toilets, people decide that it’s better to not.  Therefore everywhere smells like urine since people will pee in the streets…. Which is really quite disgusting.  As for food, it is still delicious (but a bit more expensive).  While we were here, Travis finally tried Nutella crepes and loved them (he wondered why he hadn't discovered Nutella sooner - I said we had it at home in our pantry....)

We also went to a market on our last day and that was really cool.  There was so many cool foods (and alot of olives and CHEAP olive oil)

We are now headed to Cinque Terre (5 villages) in Italy and are staying in Vernazza.  I’m so excited (not that every part hasn’t been great) but this is what I’ve been waiting for.  

A quick tour of Barcelona

Although we were only in Barcelona for 2 days we still managed to do and see a lot of the sights.  Our bed and breakfast was really nice and, again, in a great location for being able to get to the things we wanted to see.  This included:

A giant Calzone

The Sacred Family – by Gaudi

Olympic Park (where the ’92 Olympics were held)

The beach (and it was packed)

Gaudi Architecture (which I thought were really cool but Travis thought looked like cartoons – which they did) in the park he built.

And a view of the city.... from a gondola ride!

........And a lot of walking.  As we were walking, I saw a stadium on the map that I thought would be cool to see.   Once there we realized it was a bullfighting stadium and there happened to be a fight that night.  We figured that we would get tickets (although I was reluctant) to experience some Spanish culture and history.  I initially considered not mentioning that we had gone to a bull fight but after going, I wanted to write about the experience and let everyone know that I will never, EVER, go again (caution rant to follow).

After arriving in the stadium, the three bullfighters entered the ring on their horses (I did not realize they fought on horses – instead I thought they ran around the ring with red blankets).  While on their horses, they did a lot of tricks (I’m sure Reba and Jane would have appreciated how talented the horses were).  Then it was time for the fight.  Well, when the first bull came out, I was already feeling a bit ill over the whole thing.  There is a lot of fancy horse work and then (as you all know) multiple small daggers – some with flags, some without – get stabbed into its back.  At the very end a LONG dagger is stabbed into him and everyone watches him die (and its not a happy rainbow kind of death if you know what I mean)  

At this point, most people stand and cheer and the bullfighter dismounts from his horse (some of which get hurt – we saw the sutures of a pretty big laceration on one horse)  while others (me) look at Travis in horror, start to cry and tell him that I’m leaving immediately. 

While I understand that this is tradition deeply entrenched in Spanish history, I cannot fathom while people would want to watch an animal suffer like this.  Nonetheless, the stadium had hundreds of people in it who continued to watch as bull, after bull (yes – again another misconception – I thought there was one, but nope – there was SIX!) are killed. 

So to sum up, Travis watched a few more rounds while I wandered around the stadium.  It was interesting to note that the bulls were immediately taken to the back where they were butchered and where one of the butchers told me he’d sell me a horn for 10Euro.  At this point I wasn’t impressed by any of it and was tempted to beat him with it. 

So, not to be a buzzkill, but bullfighting is not for me.  I seriously hope they consider banning the sport (if you can call it that); however, I do suppose I should have known better for going when the first thing we saw on the way in was protesters across the street covered in red paint blowing whistles and holding signs. (I admit after fight one I would have blown whistles with them if I had had one!).... Anyways...

 Barcelona otherwise was amazing – we definitely wish we could have stayed longer but we covered a lot of ground (my feet are one big blister).  We are now off to Nice, France (and Monaco so Travis can visit the Monte Carlo casino)….. Au revoir!

We-a-speaka-no-Spanish

Ahhh... how beautiful the Mediterranean is!  After getting off the train in Malaga we rented our car and started off for our timeshare.   According to MapQuest it should have taken us 33 minutes, as it was a little over 40 km away.  Apparently MapQuest didn’t take into account that you have to be able to read Spanish.   3.5 hours and a realization that the A-7 and the AP-7 were two entirely different freeways, we got there.  (And no there were no GPS’ to rent).  Our resort was in a small town on the Mediterranean called Calahonda.  The resort was small (maybe 50 rooms total?) which was nice as we didn’t have to fight anyone for beach or pool chairs. 

The first day we were there we spent on the beach and the next we went to Gibraltar.  Although Uncle Phil and Auntie Elaine told us its not the most interesting place (and really – all it has is a giant rock and a bunch of monkeys) we had a lot of fun hiking the rock and enjoying fish and chips (you actually cross out of Spain and it’s a colony of the UK  - I think that’s how to explain it – so everyone speaks English and there are fish and chips pubs everywhere). 

After spending another few days on the beach  we headed to a small town north of Calahonda called Ronda.  At the resort we were told that, while only 45 km away, the road was windy…. and we realized that not only was it windy but up hill the entire way.  That meant that most of the time, there was a cliff on one side (and the drivers are nuts)  After talking to a couple later, they said that its much better now as the truck drivers now wear glasses.  At one stop, I looked over the edge to see a rusty old car.  Anyways – we made it there and back safetly.  Ronda claims to have the ‘oldest’ bull ring in Spain.  It also has a beautiful bridge.  We decided to hike to the bottom of the bridge, enjoy the waterfalls and then hike back up.  It was great until the hike up when we realized it was like being in the Sahara desert.

While we were at our resort it was nice to be able to cook our own food and not eat out all the time.  We made tacos one night and realized that their beef isn’t quite the same as ours (it has a pink hue to it that does not go away even when you burn it… luckily we are still standing).

  At night we would head into the small town next to Calahonda called Puerto Cabopino to (as Travis called it) “the best restaurant he has ever ate at”.  The first night, however, we didn’t eat there and instead walked past it to keep looking. We instead chose a restaurant on the beach (for the atmosphere) and ordered.  Lately I had noticed that avocado and prawn salads were on a lot of the menus so seeing I love both I decided to order one; Travis got spaghetti bolognese.  When we got our food I looked down and laughed.  Travis got exactly what he had ordered and I suppose I did too, but not what I had been expecting.  On my plate was a full avocado, cut in half with 4 shrimp on it.  Covered in ‘Mary Rose’ dressing (aka thousand island).  Anyways – we didn’t end up going back.  The rest of our dinners were spent at a delicious restaurant in the harbor where they made all their pasta fresh (Reba I thought of you) and their seafood was from a few feet away.

We really liked Calahonda.  It was a lot different than Madrid but are ready to go back to sight seeing….

So we are now off to Barcelona for a few days and then off to Nice, France (just when we were starting to learn a bit of Spanish).  

Holy Toledo its hot out!

The last 4 days in Madrid were really busy.  At the start of our trip Travis and I had talked about whether or not we should do the really ‘touristy’ things as we didn’t want to be stuck on a bus with cameras slung around our necks wearing Hawaiian print t-shirts and dorky hats… and there are lots of those people, believe me.  I think staying in the bed and breakfast was one of the first good ideas we had because we actually got to live in someone’s house that is from the city.  In Madrid we stayed at a great B & B called Abracadabra.  The owners, originally from Argentina, were really awesome at showing us great out-of-the-way places to eat and see…..but we still managed to get in some touristy places.

Madrid has been really hot (~35C) so we’ve gotten up fairly early to go to things.  While there are a lot of hop on hop off buses we decided to walk to most of the places because where we were was so close to everything.  We visited the Palace and the Prado Museum (home to more than 7700 paintings).  While the Palace was amazing, we’ve decided we aren’t art lovers as all of the paintings started to look the same after an hour (although Travis made us stand by a Rembrandt just so we could say that we did).   We also managed to wander into a random park one night and get on a gondola that took us across the city.  Very cool until the wind picked up – then it was not as ‘exciting’ as it initially was.

While, the first couple days were a bit hard for being tired as we were both pretty jet lagged we’ve fallen into the Spanish way of life of eating supper at 9 and staying out late.  There are so many plazas just to sit and watch.  The most fun we have at night is sitting in one of the larger ones and watching immigrants (mostly from Bangladesh) sell illegal knockoffs.  They have made these blankets with string on them that they put their watches and purses among other things on.  The second the police come they quickly pull the string that closes their blanket and off they run…. leaving the tourists who are trying to buy their knockoff Prada purses there standing there wondering what the hell just happened. 

Eating has been interesting too.  A big dish in Spain is Paella, which is a Spanish rice with various other ingredients.  I finally tried one the other night and have decided it wasn’t for me (I felt the octopus tentacle was waving at me from my plate)… at least I tried it though. 

As well as staying in Madrid, we decided to take a day trip to Toledo.  Toledo is a small town about 100km south west of Madrid.  The center of town is very old (I think I heard that the government will not let anything new be built there) but really cool.  It’s known for its cathedral, which is amazing (Travis is currently churched out at this point and we haven’t even made it to Rome).  While in Toldeo we went for lunch at the smallest little plaza in the place – it was beautiful.  One of the problems we are having right now is that when we walk up to a restaurant we understand a few of the words that the waiters say to us. This makes them think we understand it all.  So each time we order, or nod, it’s always a surprise as to what will come back to the table (I’m not sure why I didn’t learn some Spanish in the 6 weeks off I had before I came).  Nonetheless, while we were there we were sitting next to a Spanish couple (or so we thought) until the guy turned to us and said (in English), are you from the States?  After telling him we were from Canada, he told us he was from Buffalo and was getting married on Saturday.  We were then invited to their wedding – which was pretty cool.   Unfortunately we were headed back to Madrid and so we wished them well.

Anyways… After 4 days in Madrid we are now headed to Malaga, which is in the south of Spain on the Mediterranean Sea.   We are currently on a high-speed train (our first – we are going 270km/hr – YIKES!) and will pick up a car (I have the international drivers license and Travis is already crapping his pants) when we get there.

I hope everyone is enjoying our updates… we’ll try to do the after every city as this is as much as a travel diary for us as it is for people to see what we are up to.  

Day 1: Madrid

After leaving Calgary at 9am we finally got to Madrid at 9:30am today (Tuesday).  The flights were all really good and luckily for everyone, I didn't get sick.  We were both exhausted when we got here but decided to fight the jet leg and check the city out.  We had a quick shower only to realize it was a bit useless as it was 37C out (Apparently Spain is getting summer even if Canada isn't).

We checked out alot of cool places and then had a quick lunch at a tapas bar (I don't think the Spaniards each lunch really since its mostly tapas everywhere - but I really like it!).  I've also discovered that in my 6 weeks off I should have learned at least some Spanish as ordering on the menu was interesting.  We ended up getting 6 little loaves of bread with meat ranging from proscuito and cheese to tuna and anchovies (Travis wouldn't even touch it).

We then checked out a few palaces and bought some fruit and came back here.  Travis made it an entire 30s before falling asleep so it looks like we'll be here for the night.... Enjoy the pics from Day 1!!

                                           Communications Palace

Our Bed and Breakfast - its really really cute and the man who owns it has been really great with telling us where to go.  And below.. Travis done for the day

On The Road Again...

As I type this, we are sitting in the Calgary Airport waiting for our flight to Seattle to leave.  After Seattle we head to Newark, NJ (Travis is secretly hoping he sees Snooki although he doesn't want to admit it) and then to Madrid!  

Since the last time I updated a lot has happened.  School finished (everyone keeps asking me how it feels - and it feels like summer.  I'm sure it will be weird in September when, for the first time in 21 years, I don't have to go back), I graduated, Travis finished work (yahoo!) and Jill and Dustin got married.  We sold our condo and moved out and I moved home and Travis went to Swift Current to finish working... which means we've been on the road alot. In one week I went to Swift Current, Edmonton and Calgary.. twice. I ran a half marathon, we sold our vehicle, bought a new one, realized our moving company would only move our stuff into our house on two days of the month (really??) and registered for jobs in BC (oh, and yes I got a job!!).  We are so excited to move out to Penticton and have since decided that you didn't have to come visit in Saskatoon to come out there - we'd love to have you! Anyways....

We won't be in Madrid until tomorrow morning so we'll update as often as we can.  For now, enjoy the picture of the Travelman... in his natural environment (and no that's not a neckbrace, its a 10lb travel pillow that he has to decided to carry around Europe with us....)

It's the final countdown...

As usual, Jodie was on my case to do another post.  I have been thinking about doing one for a while but we have been pretty busy packing and hanging out with friends before we leave.  As I look back on these four years, I think about four years ago at Thanksgiving when I went back to AB for the Thanksgiving weekend.  When the weekend was over I cried because I didn't want to go back.  I hated Saskatoon; I didn't think I had friends and school sucked.  My mom and I now laugh thinking about when I left that morning; Travis was driving, I was crying and Molly tried to jump out through the closed car window.  It was a gong show.

Four years later... I'm not sure I want to leave.  I was talking to one of my good friends Rachel this morning and we were talking about how when we graduated high school we couldn't wait to leave.  I felt the same about undergrad, but this time its different.  Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited about all the fun I have ahead of me, but I am going to miss my friends alot.  I'm not even sure alot covers it.  They've become my family.  So, I thought for one of my last 'still in school' posts I'd give a quick run through of my last 4 years in Saskatoon because they've been some of my best :)

1.  I'd like to think it started with these two.  At the end of third year of undergrad, I had decided I wasn't going to try to get into med school.  So I decided to give vet school a chance.  These two, along with my favorite two roomies Jill and Jodie, helped me get through the last year of my undergrad.

2.  After  I got into Vet School it was off to Saskatoon;  I was lucky enough to have my Grannie and Grandpa come out for our White Coat Ceremony.  I don't think I have given my family enough credit over the last eight years on how supportive they've been!  

3. Midway through the first semester - actually make that - midway through September, I realized that Vet School wasn't going to be like undergrad.  What I had learned in a month of undergrad, we learned in a day in vet school.  Although most of the teachers were great, there were a few that lacked teaching skills and organization (reference: Physiology).  Therefore, by October, Travis and I booked a trip with our sisters to Mexico... as a way of de-stressing.

4.   Travis and I got married....as a way of congratulating myself for making it through the first year.  Kidding.  It was one of the best days of our lives. I hate being the person to say it just because it's so cliche but it's really true!  We got to spend it with lots of people we loved (and even my friends from school came - my mom thanked them for being friends with me... as well as telling some she'd pay them later!).  

5.  Our honeymoon.  We went to Vegas.  It was great.  We also headed to Penticton that summer.  It was then we fell in love! (with Penticton, not each other, we already liked each other prior to going)

6. Molly - you don't think I could have made it to number 6 without mentioning her again.  Travis thinks that I love her more than him.  He's not wrong sometimes.  Every summer she got to go home and go to fat camp.  As you can see......

.... it didn't go so well

7.  Second year need not be mentioned.  Although I had lots of fun, it was hard.  Really hard.  So, I'd like to forget about it.  The summer after second year was great  - Travis and I both worked in Lethbridge (I know, amazing - being in the same area code that is); so we got to spend alot of time doing fun things.   Hiking Waterton with Brett, Garrett and their cousin was one of the highlights... enjoy the pics, I'm sure they'll kill me later about them.

8.  We managed to get back to Vegas. Little did I know, I'd be there 3 times in less than 2 years.  Each time was awesome though.  In our infinite wisdom the second time however, we bought a time share.  To make a long story short, we wanted free show tickets and to get them you had to see a time share presentation.  Well, to be honest,  it would have been cheaper to just buy the tickets.  We weren't going to tell our parents (for fear that they'd call us on our brilliant investment plan), however that plan was foiled when Tracy (Travis' mom) called asking if we bought a time share.  I said "No, Why?".  She replied " Well, I just got a post card saying "Congratulations on your new time share"".  Shit.  We never were good liars anyways.

9.  That summer I also got to go houseboating for one of my great friends stagette. I also managed to skip enough school to get to the wedding too :)

10.  Oh third year.  Besides fourth year, it was one of my favorites (does that give it good odds?  Seeing there has only been 4 years?)  I loved it because we actually go to to do things..

Like my first cat spay - with a great partner!!

And travel..

.... to Hawaii!!

Symposium!

And last, but certainly not least, Vegas (again!) for Garth.  With some of my best friends ever!

11.  (I just had to look up... I'm losing count).  After third year had ended, Travis graduated.  I was really proud of him.  He'd worked really hard, and managed to become almost as awesome as I was at school.  Alot of people laugh when they hear how long we've been dating - either that or make fun of me for never having another real boyfriend (no comment on boyfriends prior to Grade 11) but I think its been awesome. We've worked hard through both our degrees and I couldn't imagine anyone else being there with me!

12.  The summer of third year was by far the greatest - I worked for two of the most amazing vets I know in Pincher Creek.  I got to run an Ultra Marathon, hike in the mountains and hang out with my friends.  Travis, Tania, Marc and I also got to go to California which I loved: 47 C and all. 

13.  And so began the last year.  For the first three years, you always heard how great fourth year was.  And it really is.  For several reasons: A. You no longer have to sit in lecture for 8 hours a day.  B. There are no finals (well, except the board exam but thats a different story). C. You get to hang out with alot of different and cool people. D.  You get to travel - I went to Seattle and Calgary E.  You get to let everyone know what you don't know... But really, its been awesome.  Here's some of what I got to do

 

Small Ruminants Rotation: I got to hang out with goats and sheep for two weeks.  

I wanted to take this little gaffer home - I'm fairly certain I could have hid him from Travis for at least two weeks.  I decided not to take the chance.

Cardiology Rotation:  It was so fun! I learned alot from some really smart people.  I also got to stay with a wonderful couple with three really great dogs.  And... I only worked 4 days a weeks o the rest of the time I spent eating fried clams and cinnamon rolls (and yes - I joined a  gym when I got home) 

The Christmas Party:  After writing our NAVLE we all needed to destress - or drink - which ever you choose.  And that we did.  For three years I had an annual Christmas Party but this year Rebeccah and Chad decided to have it.  It was 80s themed and so much fun.  

13.  So now I"m on anesthesia - my last rotation.  Its been going really good.  I was really nervous to start but I really like the techs and clinicians and I'm learning alot... I'm also learning all the things I've done wrong over the years which is pretty scary.  The next few weeks are going to fly by... so if I don't update that's why.  We move at the end of the month, I head out to Penticton and Travis heads to Swift Current.  I then have Jill's Stagette and Wedding to look forward to and we leave for Spain on the 20th of June!  So that's the plan if we don't update.  We are going to try to update while in Europe but we can't promise much (sorry  mom).... Anyways, here's my number 15.

15.  It's the final countdown.... I have done countdowns every year I've been in University and when I started this year, I started a count down too.  I have 15 days and 19 hours left until I am done vet school. As tough as its been, I've met some of my best friends here.  So here's to my next 15 days.... I'm not going to count them down and anxiously wait until they are over; instead I'm going to enjoy them while they last.