St Anton am Arlberg (Austria)

After a couple days in Munich, the Erins and I headed out to the Austrian Alps.  We took a late morning train through the Alps, an absolute stunning view!!!  Travelling through Germany and Austria, the train is definitely the best way to go.

As we got to the resort, we headed straight to the Apres Ski Chalet to go meet up with the boys.  I don't think I've ever been so excited to see them!  After finding a spot to drop off our luggage, the beers started flowing.  As it was an Apres Ski Chalet, the place shut down at 8pm - which was fine as we had to go back to the chalet to eat and get ready for New Year's Eve!  After a couple bottles of champagne, we headed down to the village to go party, which was a blast!  At midnight, everyone headed outside for the big countdown, where we proudly cheered with our Canadian flag.  Back inside for some more drinks and dancing, the night was AMAZING!

For the next couple of days, we rode through the mountains, checked out the village, and the sceneries.

For our last night before everyone scattered throughout the world again, we headed back to the Apres Ski Chalet, where we partied until close.  After an attempt at climbing up the hill and skiing back to our chalet, we finally made it home where we relaxed a bit.  Chris and I headed out for dinner in the village, then we all made it back to the hotel for a cozy night.

The Erins and I finally headed back to Munich, where we visited Dachau and flew out.

 Austria is an amazing country, I absolutely LOVED Germany and Austria!!   Definitely a must see again!!

Munich (Germany)

Germany was absolutely soooo beautiful!  Definitely a trip for everyone to make!

My friend Erin Mox and I met up at our hostel Jaeger's in Munich, and decided to head straight out to the a city walking tour!  This free walking tour was definitely the best way to see the city's sites and learn about the history of the city.  Our guide was absolutely amazing, which made our tour very entertaining!  We visited many buildings and sites where Hitler himself use to go, and learning so much about how Germany finally became Germany that it is today.  - Hitler is not a taboo subject in Germany, people openly discuss it and the opinions are welcome.  The only thing is that you cannot do the salute... it is in fact illegal! -

For dinner, we decided to head out to the famous Hofbrauhaus, a beer hall where Hitler frequently hung out with his friends.  This place is an absolutely ridiculous experience - everyone sitting on benches, gathering with strangers, band in the middle of the place, beers and pretzels are HUGE!  Erin and I ended up meeting a group of students on tour, and spent the whole night sharing drinks with them!  Definitely met some of the nicest people you could possibly meet on a trip.  The night was a blast!

The next day, we decided to wander some more around the city and go check out the Deutches Museums.  This place is just busting with German history!  It is however a huge museum, and can be quite long to tour if you want to see every single section of it.  My suggestion: Pick what interests you the most.  Later on that night, our friend Erin Skip met us with us and we ended up going for dinner at the Oktoberfest museum.  Crazy old building, and very small, but cozy!

Next stop: St Anton am Arlberg (Austria)

After spending a few days in Austrian Alps with the boys, the girls and I came back to Munich to catch some flights.  Since we had a bit of time on our hands, we decided to go visit the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial - the first concentration camp used by the Nazis.  Not all of the structures are authentic as many were destroyed after the liberation, and many were simply unsanitary and unsafe.  We decided to take a guided tour of it, which cost a little more, but was very helpful.  The guide was explaining everything from the 3 stages of the concentration camp to the liberation.  This place is a must see as well - however it is not a place to enjoy as they take you through the crematorium and such.  However it was a great experience.

Luckily for us, most Germans do speak English, which made our trip a lot easier than expected, though we did learn the basics.  Munich is absolutely stunning!!!  A must see one in a life time!

Xmas in Valencia

Soooo Christmas in Valencia was definitely not that great of a Christmas... And will most likely never happen again!

After most of our friends left us to go back home with their families, my friend Ana and I were pretty much left here by ourselves.  The first few days weren't so bad as we still had classes and had a few errands to run.  We also went downtown to see the Christmas lights (as we had none in our apartments), and check out the Christmas Market, where local merchants come to sell hand-made toys, jewelry, clothes, treats,...  We also found a Christmas Village going on, which was quite...bizarre.  We saw some camels, goats, rabbits, and many other animals, as well as a Santa-Dinosaur.

To be honest, Valencia does know how to decorate the city quite well!  The lights and decorations are absolutely amazing - probably making up for the fact that it was 20 on Christmas Day! haha

Christmas Eve: we stayed in at my place, watched a few Christmas movies, and a lasagna and some wine.  Quite relaxed night!  We then headed out for a walk around the downtown to go get a bit of Christmas spirit, and came back to have a brief Skype date with the Nolet family.

Christmas Day: After spending most of the day preparing dinner, we had a Skype date with the Laurin family, and proceeded to have our chicken, sweet potatoes, tourtiere, and wine dinner!  Skipped the whole presents opening, as none of my gifts have made it to Spain yet!

This is by far the quietest Christmas I've ever had, and didn't quite enjoy it - No offence to Ana who's been my only friend for the last week.  Note to self: never redo Christmas without the whole family, presents, decorations, or snow!



Can't complain all that much though, as I am leaving tomorrow for a trip to Germany and Austria, with friends from Canada!

Madrid (Spain)

After Paris, I headed out to Madrid for a quick 24hrs visit and vacation with Andrew.  Our first night in the city we went out for a Spanish time dinner, and came back to the Westin Palace for an early night.  The next morning we headed out with Starbucks in hand to visit the city.  Madrid is a very easy city to visit, everything is relatively close, and almost everything is walking distance from one another.  As we didn't have much time, we decided to only visit the buildings and attractions, and avoid going on tours and in museums.

Here are a few spots we had the chance to go check out:

• Plaza Mayor (where the Christmas Market was being held)
• Royal Palace
• Teatro Real
• Plaza Oriente
• Prado Museum
• Retiro Park
• Casa de la Villa
• Plaza Santa Ana
• Palacio de las Cortes
• Plaza de las Cortes
• Las Ventas Bullring

After our little journey around the city, our friends Kenny and Myka came to join us.  Later on that night, I headed out to the airport and flew to back to Valencia.

This trip was absolutely amazing, and again, I will have the opportunity to go visit Madrid in greater depth in May! 

Paris (France)

So I am finally back home after what is probably the most insane trip so far!

Last Wednesday, I headed out to Paris with my dear friend Erin to go meet up with some of the Red Bull crew and friends.  For this trip, I've decided to tell you about it day by day as it was a crazy trip with a lot of adventures and action!

Day 1: 

As Erin and I finally make it to the Valencia airport, we realize that all flights to Charles de Gaulle and Orly are either cancelled or delayed due to the snowstorm that has hit Paris earlier that day.  Luckily, we are flying to Beauvais!  As we walk out of the airport, we walk in what is clearly a mosh pit of angry French people!  Beauvais offers a shuttle system back to Paris, which of course due to the snow had been delayed for hours, and there are about 200-300 people fighting to hitch a spot on the buses.  We ended up having to wait 2hrs outside in the freezing cold!  At 1:30am I finally make it to my hotel, Mama Shelter, where my good old Red Bull Crew is waiting there for me with a drink.

Day 2:

The crew gathered up (there was about 18 of us) and we metro down to go visit the city!  We headed down to the Christmas Village at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower.  As we get to the Eiffel Tower, we see the line going for miles!!!!  Travelling tip: if you plan on going up the Eiffel Tower, head out there early in the morning in order to avoid lineups!  Later on, we headed down to the Shopping District where all the fancy boutiques are (close to the Champs d'Elysee).  After being in the freezing cold all day, we went back to the hotel to relax, get some dinner, and get ready for Red Bull 3 Style International Final.  The show was absolutely amazing!  We had a great time, and a blast cheering on our Canadian DJ - DJ Drastik, who placed 3rd!

Day 3:

I think it is safe to say that after last night, no one could move for a few hours!  After coming back to our hotel at 6am, most of us opted to stay at the hotel and relax, as we have another big night coming.  Later that evening we all headed out for some traditional Lebanese dinner, and afterwards MOULIN ROUGE!!!  - To everyone planning on going to Paris, this is a must!!  This classic Paris entertainment is spectacular to see, but is also quite expensive!  After sipping on champagne with the Red Bull crew and friends, we headed out to Social Club to check out some other famous DJs.

Day 4:

Back to sightseeing!  Having a smaller crew that day, we decided to bike around the city centre, where we headed to Gallerie La Fayette and Printemps.  Again, they were amazing spots, but expensive shopping and eating!  Later that afternoon we headed to Centre Pompidou - great museum to see, however if you are not really into arts, it might be a bit a waste of your time.  It isn't really expensive, but I was more attracted to the building itself than the exposition.  They also have various expositions for short periods of time, which one may particularly interest you.

That evening we when to a traditional French restaurant for our dear friend Kenny's birthday.  Great food - however for vegetarians, options are extremely limited!  Afterwards, we headed out to Showcase for some drinks.  This bar has to be the coolest bar in Paris!!! It is located underneath the bridge on Champs d'Elysee and is an attraction itself!

Day 5:

Back to Beauvais to fly out to Madrid!!

Some quick tips:

• If you plan on seeing specific locations, take a quick look online if reservations are possible, it will save you A LOT of time!
• Cabbing in Paris is ridiculously expensive!  If you call a taxi ahead instead of just hauling one, they will start charging you as of the moment you call.  Metro is really easy to figure out, and will bring you pretty much anywhere you need to go.  Passes for 3 or 5 days are also available for very cheap with unlimited trips.
• Beauvais Airport is a nightmare!!!!  Avoid this airport at all costs!  I know low cost airlines tend to fly there, but also factor in that it will cost you 15euros to shuttle to Paris and 15 to go back to the airport.  From the shuttle station, you will also need to cab to get where you want to go, it adds up!  From Charles de Gaulle Airport, you can easily metro anywhere in the city.
• Paris is a very expensive city, you do not need to stay in the dead centre in order to visit, the metro will cost you less than an expensive room downtown!  The attractions are also scattered around the city, you will most likely need to metro between most of them anyways, unless you're willing to walk 45mins to an hour between them.  

This trip would've never been this amazing without the Red Bull crew, our friends, and Erin.... I have so many thanks to give out for this trip!!

Can't wait to be back in Paris in April with Mom and Dad to visit the rest of this amazing city!

Malta (Malta)

Hola everyone!!

This past few days, I had the opportunity to go to Malta with my 2 Canadian roommates, Darryl and Hans. For those of you who don't know where Malta is, it is a small island located in the Mediterranean, underneath Italy.  It is a very small and unknown to most, however, it is a little island busting with history!

Quick Tip for those of you who are interested in ever visiting Malta: It is part of the European Union so their currency is the Euro.  However, don't be fooled, as Malta is a British colony - they use British outlets!!  Citizens on the island speak Maltese, however, most also speak English.

During our trip, we stayed in Paceville, the nightlife capital of the island.  You can basically walk down the streets of the district and see bars, clubs, and restaurants door-to-door.  Definitely a great spot for the younger crowd!  On our first night, we headed down to Havana club, the biggest club on the island, a must!

Throughout the rest of our stay, we visited Valletta (the capital), Mdina (former capital), St-Julians, and Sliema.  As you can see in the pictures, Malta went through numerous wars, and still has most of its original structures.  Many of the main cities are surrounded by their original gates and city walls, as well as a fort at the water front.

I know most people are not really aware of this island and exactly what it has to offer, but we went there at the mid-end of November and it was still short and t-shirts weather for most of our stay!!  Also, depending where you go on the island, there are beautiful beaches and blue water lagoons and grottos.  While we were there, people were still swimming in the sea!

Anyways enjoy the pictures!!

- Next stop Paris and Madrid!

Ibiza (Spain)

Hi Everyone!

Last week I had the opportunity to go to Ibiza for 6 days and it was absolutely amazing!! As many of you may know, Ibiza is a Spanish island known for its parties and beaches. I went along with the 4 other Canadians who are currently here and other international students. We travelled from Valencia to Ibiza on a ferry, which here are like mini cruises. We stayed in Ibiza City which is basically where all the bars/clubs are. During the days we had the chance to do a bit of touring/beaches, and most nights we went out to clubs. The clubs there are absolutely unreal!! The first one had a foam party, foam was coming out of everywhere and pilled up over our heads a few times. The next night we had the opportunity to see David Ghetta, Akon, and Tyo Cruz, that club night was totally sold out to the point you could barely dance. Friday night we headed down to Privilege (the biggest club in the world with a capacity of 10,000 people). Not only was it a club but we had quite the show and entertainment as well! Saturday, we headed down to the other side of the island to San Antoni. San Antoni is a much quieter spot, more for actual tourist, and it is absolutely beautiful! There we spent the evening at Cafe del Mar, which is a world-known cafe for its sunset.

I posted a few pictures, hope you enjoy them!

Ibiza 2010

The International Crew

Hannah, me, and Ana (3 Canadians)

The crew at Cafe del Mar (San Antoni)

View from Cafe del Mar

The Sunset