Please bring proper apparel

We just finished seeing the beautiful cinque terre and I swear the boys could have killed me. I went to cinque terre about 6 years ago and absolutely loved it! It was the weirdest thing going back to the same places, my mind just started flooding with the most random memories... I actually remembered this one specific train track at one of the train stations because of a picture I took of it 6 years ago (obviously I recreated it hehe). Since I had been to this destination before and told the boys that there is a way to walk through all the towns (how I remembered going through it when I was 16) they decided to follow me.  Now for those of you reading this that do jnot know me, I am the most directionally challenged person, but I figured if I just follow the paths we'll be fine. I was wrong. We got to a booth and the lady informed us that flip flops are normally not allowed, but we can continue at our own risk. Me, being out of it and just in pure excitement from remembering everything, I took this information and kept going without thinking about what she meant. Turns out we were headed in the direction of the hiking path, not the walking path. Now keep in mind, we were just In Interlaken where we hiked literally only up hill for 2.5 hours and our bodies were still sore. Also keep in mind the fact that although we conquered Interlaken, it was probably 15 degrees hotter in Italy. 

So we walked and the first thing we were faced with was a wall of stairs... And I swear there was a million. We were about halfway up them when we ran into an English speaking group and asked them the one question you should never ask on a hike - how long until the top? Or in this case, until the next city. At this point we were informed that it is about a 2 hour hike... Fuck my life right? Good news was, they said that the stairs were the worst part. They were right. We conquered the stairs and the rest was fairly flat. An hour and a half later we were in the next town, covered in dirt and sweat and in awe of our view. Too bad all the looks we received on the way there were bad ones... But what can you expect when a hiker with walking sticks and mountain boots runs into a girl doing the same treck I'm a pair of flip flops and a dress haha. 

Safe to say we will not be doing that again, and the boys will never out me in charge of leading (thank god)

More to come my loves 

Xoxo 

It's all about staring your fears in the face and saying FUCK you!

The past 3 days have been a mad dash of extreme sports! We landed in interlaken, Switzerland on September first and we're instantly in love. From the beautiful mountains to the minty blue water, we were surrounded with the most beautiful view from sunrise to sunset. 

After arranging our belongings in our hostel we headed straight for the information desk to organize our next few days of adventure... Which started much sooner than anticipated.  After speaking with the information desk the boys realized they really wanted to go bungee jumping first, so we went back into the office to find out when the earliest available time was, only to find out that it was in 5 minutes!! All the boys jumped on and purchased their tickets right away but there is no way in hell I was about to do that. Yes I know, I jumped out of a plane, but I'd rather die by flying and not by getting a bungee cord wrapped around my Kneck or dropped right on my head. Eek. 

So we hopped on a bus and got to ... I don't even know where but it was gorgeous. There were cows all over the area, and the view was stunning with mountain tops. 

It was such an experience to watch these crazy boys fly face first out of a gondola! It almost made me want to try it... 

The next day was the biggest adventure for myself due to the fact that I conquered two of my biggest fears: 1 cliff jumping and 2 drowning. If you haven't heard of it, google it, watch videos of it and then go to interlaken and do it... I'm talking about canyoning. Basically what this is, is a combination of cliff jumping off of rocks up to 8m as well as sliding down natural made water slides that are running at incredible speeds. We got decked out in water gear to keep our body safe from the rocks and our head above water, but that does not mean I didn't swallow a mountain full of water through both my nose and moth. I could have sworn I was not going to make my way through the event after my first or second jump that ended with a big gulp of water, however, by the time I conquered the whole mountain I was told that I was a champ on the water! Woohoo! As the only girl taking part in the event (besides the photographer) it was quite an accomplishment to hear this! 

I would love to share the footage of this but it is mainly all videos and I do not have the technology currently (slash I'm just lazy) to go through the videos and take snap shots. 

Keep reading and they may be up soon. 

More to come later 

Ciao 

Xo 

The day there was a stock market crash

It's Day... I don't know 5 of our trip and we just took the most complicated route to get out of Barcelona. Apparently we don't always have luck on our side when it comes to trains. So far we have been cruising along. Leaving our reservations to the last minute and jumping on trains as fast as we can... This came to a quick halt during our attempt to get from Spain to Italy. The only route we could take from our location was to go to France first and every single train was booked.. Obviously. 

We have done so much running around in the past few days that every city is starting to blur together! However, Barcelona is definitely one that stood out in my mind. We only stayed for one night, but boy oh boy it was one fun filled night. 

The day started with a few touristy things as every day should but ended with the most epic night of all. We came to our gorgeous (and pretty expensive) hostel met our roommates and loved them! Since our trip has been primarily the 5 of us it was great to meet people (especially for me because I finally had another girl present). The evening started with loads of sangria compliments of happy hour at our hostel, and a plate full of tapas (obviously... We're in Spain). After a few bottles of 1€ Vino from the local supermarket (yeah that's right 1€.... It's the same price for water.. I think I know what I'm buying more of) our night was just getting started. 

When it comes to night life, Spain knows how to do it... No one leaves their house until midnight or so and parties last until the morning. Perfect right?! You have your whole day to see the city, explore, eat, nap, whatever you want and then you still have all night to party. Due to a phenomenal recommendation from our good friend Kathleen, our butts were parked on bar stools at dowjones all night doing the weirdest and craziest shots you can think of and staring at screens. 

For those of you who don't know or have yet to go dowjones is a bar located in Spain with little screens around showing the prices of drinks (very typical). However, it's not so typical. On this screen prices are adjusted based on the number of drinks that are purchased. So for instance, if jäger is priced at 3, 50 € and I purchased a jäger shot, the cost will go up by ,15€. This means that if jäger is going up, those drinks that aren't purchased are going down. Just like in the stock market. Ontop of all these changes, every once in a while the stock market crashes (I know shitty right), but in this case it's awesome! When the stock market crashes prices go back to the original bar rates and we start the game again. 

So you're going now right? Hahah definitely a good idea. When you do go, the one drink you have to get is the hand of god... It is seriously messed up. They fill a tall glass with some form of liquor (god knows what kind) and light it on fire. Then the bartender suction cups the drink to the palm of his hand and swishes it around until the fire goes out. Then he give you a straw and tells you to suck in. At first all your sucking is air because he doesn't put it in the cup, and then all of a sudden he does a quick flick of the wrist and the straws in the cup with his hand still holding the air in from ontop. At this pout your inhaling some sort of hot burning alcohol air fume (clearly I can't describe it), and you do this for longer than you'd like. After the straw sucking, he takes his hand off and you take the shot. It doesn't end there. Just when you think there's nothing left in the glass he takes it from you, flips over a shot glass and pours the remainder of the alcohol onto the base of the shot glass. Now this is the worst and most shocking part... He tells you to snort it. So you pick up the shot glass, plug one side of your nose and just inhale all the hot burning alcohol that your bitch ass didn't finish. 

All in all, as I'm sure you can tell from the description of that shot... It was a good but messssyyy night. 

More coming soon .. And maybe a few Italian words too 

Adios Spain, Ciao Italy! 

Xoxo 

A little sauceyyyy

So our trip started out with a massive bang... Literally! I am generally the person who hates the mauve croustade and gets very annoyed by people pushing and shoving me around... But in this case I was laughing the whole time!!

The morning of the event we woke up at 6am and kicked things off with a couple of bloody Mary's (so necessary) and beers. This was followed up by an hour long bus ride to an area of over 100 busses. The event took off with a big greased up pole and a giant ham at the top... The objective was to pile up as many people as possible, reach the top and pull down the ham. If no one is successful at this, the tomato trucks start coming out at 11am. There are a total of 5 trucks and god knows how many tomatoes. To sum this whole experience up in one word all I can say is mayhem! The streets are completely filled and the only way for a bus to get through is to squish everyone against the wall and if you don't make it you better start running. 

The locals all cover up their houses with tarps and bring their hoses to their rooftops to start cleaning all the tourists. I'm surprised the pictures below even turned out because my go pro had nothing but tomatoes and tomatoe juice covering the whole thing. If you are ever visiting Spain this is definitely something I'd recommend.. Just make sure you aren't claustrophobic or you might have some major panic attacks. 

Oh and last but not least, of you need to leave your place in the croud at any time for some stupid reason... Have one friend pretend that they're holding back puke and you're golden. It's like parting the sea, everyone bolts in the opposite direction haha. 

Keep an eye out for more of my crazy shenanigans 

Xoxo   

It's time to play the waiting game

We are so close it hurts.  

We are currently on hour 19 of travel and our buts our getting kicked by our heavy eyelids. With minimal sleep on the flights and the major change over during our first flight it is currently 2 pm in Toronto, but 6 pm where we are now (Lisbon). With only a few hours of sleep, a couple of crappy air plane meals and one over prices panini we are on to our final flight of the evening. Upon arriving at our final destination, all that is left to do is more running around... I am not complaining in the slightest, I am beyond excited for this trip, however I've hit the point where my mind is excited, and my body is saying  "awe hell no."  

And to give this little voyage a cherry ontop (or in this case a tomato) following the few hours of sleep we do get tonight we will be abruptly woken up by a mountain of tomatoes being chucked at our faces.  Welcome to the tomatina everyone! It's going to be hell and it's going to hurt... But when in Spain right ? At least we'll get a Bloody Mary out of it haha. 

Be prepared for no pictures from this event... I might be bringing a go pro but by the sounds of this event it is like one giant mosh Pitt... Hey maybe I'll be able to knock one off the bucket list and crowd surf the tomato sauce ... Or just make a giant tomato slip n slide ... Either makes me super excited just thinking about it haha 

For now I bid you a dieu ... If that's even how you spell it (at this point my brain is mush) 

Keep an eye out for more updates. 

Get ready for take off

Oh my gosh!!!  110 days turned to 1 day and then 1 minute until boarding way too fast! I must have unpacked and repacked my knapsack at least 7 times...once for every day is was home.  I thought it was helping by taking at least one article of clothing out everyday until we left, but when it came time to weigh my bag at check in, mine of course was the heaviest. I'm traveling with 5 massive men... How is it that the smallest person on this trip is carrying the most baggage.  Looks like I'll be banned from shopping for a while.  

So we get to our gate say our goodbyes and then it all begins to set in... My feet will not touch Canadian soil for a whole year. How did this happen? After a stressful day running around attempting to inform OHIP that I'll be out of the country for at least a year (word of advice do this well I'm advance, and if your from Toronto go to service Ontario across from Islington station, or 777 Bay Street... Apparently they're the only people on earth who are able to accommodate this request) I came home to the strongest cocktail my dad could make, one last dinner with my family and then that was it. I was moved out and on an airplane with my entire life packed into 55L .... And a carry on. 

I can't wait to see where this trip takes me. All the amazing people I will meet, beautiful views and mouthwatering foods just sounds like a little slice of heaven. 

Keep an eye out for more posts to come. 

For now here's a quick snap of my view during take off and all the little lights that have made up our lives over the past 22 years. 

The Final Rush

It's official... we are now in the final laps of the race to leave. For the next 8 days I will be working all day everyday.. attempting to move out of my house and back to my parents and saying my final goodbyes to the people here! I remember when I first started telling people my plan at the beginning of summer and everyone kept telling me I have so much time to plan. I knew there was time but with the combination of everyones schedules we really didn't. Now there is only 20 days left!!!! GAHHH
I think the worst part of all of this will be packing... how the heck will I fit all the clothes at my house and my parents house into one small backpack that I don't even have yet! Eeeek!
Once I move home I have exactly 10 days to do all the final touches and get my butt on a plane! I can't wait but I'm also super nervous! Wish me luck and let me know if there is ANYTHING I should think about for last minute needs!

WOOO HOO! 20 days and counting