Versailles (France)

If you go to Paris, it's definitely worth it to make the trip to Versailles!  It's only a 45mins metro ride outside the city, to a small town where lies the Chateau de Versailles (or Marie Antoinette).

This property is nonsense!  It has a big chateau which was built by one of the kings and later became Marie Antoinette's property.  The gardens are HUGE - there are a million pathways, multiple sections, a hundred fountains!  Go there early, you can easily spend the whole day there! On top of that, there is a second smaller castle at the end of the property that Marie Antoinette had built as a home away from home.  Going there you quickly realize why the citizens didn't like her and killed her - it is just ridiculous the size of that place!  Put your good shoes on though, because there is tons of walking to do there!!

If you go check out the Chateau, take some time and walk a little bit in the village, it's really cute!

Just a little note to those interested - buy the tickets at the chateau!  There are plenty of places selling them, but their tickets don't give you full access to everything.

Paris (France) - Round 2

So just a little heads up to anyone following this blog: Get ready for a 12-city update! haha  I promise I'll try to keep them short!

Around mid April, I met my mom, dad, aunt Jeanne and uncle Laurier in Paris for the beginning of their Europe journey.  After getting them set in, we've started pretty quickly to visit Paris.  Again, amazing place!! Last time I didn't get the opportunity to do so many touristy things as I was there for work, but this time, trust me, I've walked Paris in long and wide.

We got to visit all the ususals: Le Louvre, Catacombes, Eiffel Tour, Arche de Triomphe, Basilique, ...  We even got to go to mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral for Easter - it was nonsense packed!  We also got to attend a Moulin Rouge representation.


We took the hop-on, hop-off bus, which gave us the opportunity to visit a lot of the city without as much walking - however, there's a ton of traffic in Paris, so the bus can be slowed down.  If you plan on being somewhere at a specific time - maybe the metro would be the best decision (it's actually pretty cheap).

People were really nice, and we had pretty great service - definitely a great place to visit!

PS- Dad took a million pics, I'm sure you'll get to see plenty this summer!

Sevilla (Andalucia - Spain)

Last Stop: Sevilla!

Very unfortunately, Sevilla didn't have as nice of weather as the other spots.  Even though it is usually beautiful and sunny, it rained until the late afternoon.  Like Granada, the streets in the centre are really narrow, one-way, and difficult to drive through.  A nightmare to park as well!  Unlike Granada, street signs are actually visible!

Braving the rain, we decided to go sightseeing: Cathedral, Gardens, Plaza de Torros, Plaza de Espana, and the centre.  Let me tell you that visiting gorgeous gardens in the rain is not the most pleasant thing.  Glad it eventually cleared up!

Sevilla is just beautiful as well!  As it was our last night on our trip, we decided to have a great last dinner, heading to a traditional Spanish wine bar where of course we had great meals, plenty of wine, and a great time!  Sadly we had to head back to our hostel at a decent hour as we had to get up at 4AM the next day to return to Valencia.

Andalucia was just stunningly beautiful!  The weather, the sightseeing, the landscape, and the friendly people were amazing.  The food in the South of Spain might just be better than the one in Valencia - great food and wine!  Of course this trip was great due to the good company!  The 3 girls and I made sure that we would have a good time, just being goofballs, and enjoying every aspect of it - even the getting lost a million times and the long hours of driving.  I would go back there anything, and with the same girls - but this time with a huge map or a GPS!

Malaga (Andalucia, Spain)

Second Stop: Malaga!

On Saturday morning, we drove down to Malaga - beach side in the South of Spain!  Unfortunately, the we didn't have a stunning day like Granada, but the weather was still nice.  Our hostel was set right by the beach, however due to the weather, we decided not to spend the day there.  Again, after going to set in our hostel, we head out in the city to sightsee.  Great, quiet city!  Again, put your hiking shoes on, the hills are all around the city and you have to hike if you want to sightsee!

It was a great relaxing day, not too many places to see, but the centre is just gorgeous!  It was great to just relax, walk around, have a couple drinks on patios.  The Malaga Film Festival was actually happening as well while we were there!  We got to walk on the red carpet, see famous Spanish actors driving by, and take pictures where the paparazzi do!

For dinner, we decided to go a little more American and eat at Cheers - pub named after the TV show.  Spend the whole night on their terrace with a few bottles of wine and burgers.  As it is located right beside the cathedral, the night view is great!

Nice weather and great relaxing day - we had a blast!  Again, we headed to bed as we had to leave early again the next morning.  Tomorrow: Sevilla!

Granada (Andalucia-Spain)

Last weekend, three of my international friends and I drove down to the Andalucia part of Spain (South) for a few days.  Andalucia is absolutely stunning!!  Great weather, amazing scenery, and very friendly people!

First Stop: Granada




On Thursday afternoon, we headed out of Valencia and drove down to Granada.  The drive was gorgeous, full of mountains, sun, and snow.  When we finally got into the city, it was pure hell.  Granada has the worst street layout: all one ways, nowhere to turn around, very narrow, many closed for construction, and Google Maps is not right.  After an hour and fifteen minutes of me going crazy and of driving in circle, we finally found our hostel - and headed out for dinner.






The next morning, we got up bright and early and headed downtown to go visit the city.  Parking in the centre is not really convenient, if you can walk, I would suggest that - or find a parking garage and leave it there all day.  We visited everything around: Palacios, Cathedral, Souk, stores, ...  The weather was great, hitting up 35degrees which made it great to sightsee.  Later that afternoon we visited the Alhambra (palace and fortress build in the 14th century with many gardens).  It's set on top of a mountain which has a great view of the city and mountains.  After a few hours in the Alhambra, we headed back to town to go see a traditional Flamenco show.  It was insane!  Instead of a restaurant/stage type, we went where the locals go - which made the experience even crazier, as Flamenco originated in the South of Spain.

Granada was gorgeous - the scenery and the architecture!  It has a strong Moroccan influence mixed with the Spanish culture.  If you go visit, I suggest good shoes and water.  It's set in the mountains which has a lot of hiking through the streets!

After an amazing day, we headed back to our hostel to sleep.  Tomorrow: Malaga!

Las Fallas

Las Fallas is the biggest fiesta in Valencia and Spain, and it was absolutely crazy!  This year, las Fallas was being held from March 15-19, even though the Spaniards actually started celebrating on February 27th with the first Mascleta - a huge firecracker show that happens everyday at 2PM from that point until the last day of Fallas.  Throughout the whole month, there are various events happening, however the week of Fallas is absolutely ridiculous!  The population of Valencia basically doubles, people take the week off to celebrate, stores close early, roads are closed, and school is out!

During the week of Fallas, there are multiple expositions of the different Fallas - sculpture that the different neighbourhoods build throughout the whole year.  There are also parades, shows, bullfighting, neighbourhood parties, light shows, huge fiestas, ceremonies, fireworks, and most of all, the Crema - the night they burn all the Fallas.  Ya, after working all year on these pieces of arts, they're just anxious to set these things on fire!

I'm actually surprised we all managed to survive the ridiculous crowds, the late nights, and the crazy traffic.  My friends and I basically spent the whole week in the centre, touring the Fallas, checking out the various attractions, and drinking... Oh do the Spaniards ever love drinking.  I don't believe that between Monday and Sunday morning there's not one day/night we didn't drink, and not one morning we came back home before 4AM.  During the whole week, vendors across the city sell sweets that can only be found during Fallas; churros and rellenos... Delicious!!!!

If you're not a crowd person, Las Fallas is definitely not a good week for you to go visit Valencia!  There are people everywhere, and older Spaniards get a little crazy when in crowds.  We've definitely been elbowed more than once being a little taller than the average Spaniard.  You also need to show up early for events, people show up hours before the beginning of events to get a good view!

Fallas is noisy, crowded, full of fire, late nights, and early mornings, but it is absolutely the craziest festival I've been to!  Unlike Canadian festivals that last a day or a weekend, this think lasts a week of craziness, and a month of build-up to it!

Marrakech (Morocco - Africa)

Africa was definitely a very different experience than my usual travels around Europe!  Definitely a great trip though!

The first day we got there, Ana and I had to right away face the craziness of the night markets in Jemaa El Fna.  As we got there at night, with luggages, looking like the biggest tourists in the place, we instantly got harassed by the locals for money.  Before even heading to our Riad, we went out for dinner in a nicer looking terrace.  Little children were coming to our table, trying to get the food off our plates or sell us something - the servers had to send them away they were so numerous.  After getting some sort of directions from the servers, we were finally able to make it to the Riad where we were greeted with a cup of tee on the roof top patio.

-The streets in the old Marrakech are very very confusing.  The smaller ones are not named on the maps, and many do not even have names on the actual streets.  What seems like a main street on the map will also not be looking like a main street in reality!

The next morning - 5AM, we get woken up by what seems to be dying screams, to finally realize it is their prayer time being broadcasted through city speakers.  Bright and early, we started to tour the city visiting: la Koutoubia, Jardin Princesse Laila Hasna, Palais Royal, Palais Badil, Palais Bahia, and La Menara garden.  Contrarily to usual European sightseeing, everything in Marrakech is really old ruins.  The Palais does not look really nice and well maintained as per usual.  They are starting to restore some things, but it is just a beginning.  Later on, we also went for a camel ride - probably the most uncomfortable and slowest thing to ever do! haha.  We then went back to Place Jemaa El Fna to check out the stores and vendors.  I don't think I've ever been harassed this much in my life!  People are all over you, follow you, try to trick you into buying their things.  It is absolutely ridiculous, and ignoring them usually doesn't do much either.  You cannot step into a store without having someone trying to show you every single thing they sell.

Later on that night, we returned to the Riad, where the owner served us the biggest coucous in the world.  Food in Marrakech was absolutely amazing!!  After plenty of food and tea with the other residents, 2 German friends took us to go check out the night markets.  Being with 2 boys made such a huge difference, nobody even came near us to harass us.  We later headed on a rooftop terrace for some tea and the view.

The next day, we again headed out early to go visit the Jardin Majorelle and the Souks.  We also went to a Hammam (some sort of traditional bath, where women are scrubbed, washed, by other women).  It was similar to a spa... They have traditional, public ones, where everybody goes, that aren't nice and clean - but the one Ana and I went to was more like a nice spa - Hammam.  We kept going around for the rest of the day, mainly in the Souk and El Fna, doing a little bit of shopping.  The second day was definitely not as hard on us - when you seem more comfortable with the whole concept, locals don't seem to bother you as much.  You also learn quickly how to deal with them and brush them away - sometime a simple "no thanks" will send them away.

Marrakech was an amazing experience, but I feel like a few days there are sufficient.  If we would've been able to stay a little longer, we would've done a day-or more excursion outside the city.

The city has a region called La Medina, which is the part of Marrakech surrounded by a large wall.  La Medina is the true Marrakech, where the poor people live and where all the main attractions are located.  Of course there is a richer part, which is located outside the wall - and looks like any bigs city, with high end stores, boutiques, restaurants, and hotels.  We also visited that area, but it was definitely not as worth it as the older part.  In Morocco, the rich are really rich, and the poor are really poor!  A suggestion for safer travels: maybe just stay in the richer part.

Of course you have to be aware and careful around the poor area, but the experience is definitely worth it!  I would love to go back to Morocco, but this time around, do some different excursions in the country.