MIND THE GAP (a journey in London, England)
For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.
~Robert Louis Stevenson
The month of May is almost over and I had yet to do my monthly travel post, so I decided it was definitely time to get on it! My trip to London England feels like it was forever ago and I guess by many standards it was. It will be four years ago this summer that I ventured through London, France, Spain and Italy (which we will get to in the coming months). I had banked up all of my vacation time at work and decided to take it all in one big swoop and see as much as I could in 24 days. Flying into London direct from Calgary is an 8 and a half to 9 hour flight and a 7 hour time difference. It might take you a day or two to get used to the change. But if you are anything like me, you can usually hit the ground running out of pure excitement and anticipation. :)
For a Canadian, the exchange rate to the British pound was and still is expensive. London is not an inexpensive place to explore, even for hostels you can expect to pay $100 for a double private room with ensuite. Cheaper than a hotel, but less convenient. The metro to downtown is 30-40 minutes from the sticks and you won’t have A/C in your room for that price. And in July/August, you will be cooking. For me, that was at the Globetrotter Inn in London. It is only a 200m walk from a metro station, and only one transfer will take you straight downtown. (Stamford Brook will be your station and Acton Town is where you will transfer.) It is a very busy place with a small restaurant/pub attached that is full of young travellers on a budget. Dorm rooms are available too in this WWII nursing residence turned hostel.
View from my room at the Globetrotter Inn, London
Ensuite Bath in Double Bed Private Room
I didn’t mind the train ride into the heart of the city at all. It gives you a chance to map out your day in your guidebook and take in the some of the locals. Maybe it was just me, but being surrounded by British accents everywhere you went was an experience all in itself.
London Underground Map
Something else that will likely make you smile while riding the underground is the incessant warning “mind the gap”. 
Mind the gap is literally a warning to take caution while crossing from the train platform, to the train car and vice versa. This iconic warning is even one of the most common souvenirs you can get as a tourist, commonly printed on the London Underground’s symbol across the chest. 
There really is so much to see in London, it is a very beautiful city. Being the capital of England, London is heavily populated. By Canadian standards we would consider it a giant – afterall just the city limits house nearly 8 million residents. So, even though you could spend weeks there exploring and still not see everything, I want you to take a peek at my “must-see’s”.
1. Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster is London’s House of Parliament and home to the very famous clock tower, Big Ben. 
2. Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site 25 years ago, is a very large gothic styled church which construction began in the 1500′s. It may be best know for as of late as the church in which Prince William and Kate were married. 
3. The London Eye
This giant ferris wheel, the London Eye, extends 443 ft in the air. In the peak season (July and August), expect to wait quite sometime in line for your turn. It would be wise to arrive first thing in the morning when they open. The London Eye is the largest ferris wheel in Europe and takes approximately 30 minutes to make a full rotation. Be prepared to shell out the big bucks for this must-see tourist trap. At the steep price of £17, it adds up quickly if you are in a group or with family. 
The views of Westminster, the Buckingham Palace and the Thames River are incredible and worth the money in my opinion . Have fun jostling for the best camera shot with the other onlookers. ;) Don’t worry, 30 minutes is a long time so everyone can get the pictures they want, just don’t pick a rainy day! 
4. Buckingham Palace
Built in 1705, Buckingham Palace is the official residence and office of the Britich Monarch. Tourists flock from all over to take in views of the palace in all its grandeur. Not to mention, the very beautiful St. James’ park creates a beautiful atmosphere. You might even forget that you are in the middle of a very busy city. 
The crowds are aplenty, daily to witness the Changing of the Guard. It takes place every morning at 11:30am. 
Depending on your schedule, if you have time to visit more than once, the palace has a completely different atmosphere when people haven’t gathered for the Changing of the Guard ceremony. You will be free to walk around and take in the area at your own pace.
5. Tower of London and The Crown Jewels
This historic castle built on the River Thames also goes by the name of “Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress” and the Tower of London, is just that. You can spend several hours trying to explore all of the buildings. Once inside the walls of the fortress, it is like a mini city. Not an inexpensive excursion by any means though, £20 in person, or £18 if you purchase your ticket online in advance (£11 and £9 respectively for kids aged 5-16, children under 5 years old are free). 
You can visit the quarters and throne room and even the torture chambers in the basement.
And although, no pictures are allowed, a visit to The Crown Jewel’s is worth a look too if that sort of thing interests you. I was absolutely floored by what there was to see in The Jewel House – crowns, sceptres, swords, and orbs, you name it. I found a small sneak peek online here if you would like to see a few pictures.
6. Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge (built 1886–1894) is a stunning creation both at day and night. It is located very close to the Tower of London castle and is built on the River Thames. 
Don’t make the common mistake and refer to Tower Bridge as London Bridge. London Bridge is a completely different bridge, and much less marvelous. 
7. Notting Hill and Portobello Market
Notting Hill is a beautiful area of London. Every side street is lined with beautifully coloured, quaint homes. There is even an old style theatre just a minutes walk from Notting Hill station, Coronet Cinema, that is always featuring two current movies. To put things in perspective timewise, I saw “Dark Knight” in this theatre. :) Also, just a five minute walk from Notting Hill Gate station is the world famous Portobello market. Fridays and Saturdays are the best days to visit, they are completely closed on Sundays and is not worth visiting the other days of the week (trust me, I found out the hard way).
Thanks for reading everyone, I hope you enjoyed a look at London through the eyes of a 20 something traveller on a budget! Just remember, bring your walking shoes and camera and you’ll be sure to enjoy everything this incredible city has to offer! Have fun! And as always, travel safe!
xox,
Shannon
Ottawa – Canada’s Capital City
No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.
~Lin Yutang
Last but not least, we have Ottawa, Canada’s Capital City as the final city to profile from Samira’s visit. I have called Ottawa my home for over two years now and really do find it a beautiful and nice city to live in. It is clean, well maintained and the people are friendly. Less than half of Samira’s visit was spent in Ottawa, but it still topped her list as her favourite city visited.
The day her plane arrived, after we got her settled into our itty bitty apartment, she wanted to head straight to Parliament Hill. We parked at the Rideau Centre downtown and made the 5 minute walk over to Parliament Hill. Having not eaten yet, we stopped at a hot dog vendor across the street from Chateau Laurier. Samira, being the sport that she is, is always up for trying anything. So when she saw me piling on Relish and Sauerkraut she quickly followed suit even though she had never heard of either before.
Montreal – Life on the Island
On our way back from Quebec City, Samira and my next stop was Montreal, Canada’s second largest city (behind Toronto). Only a 2 hour drive from Ottawa, it is always a great destination for a weekend getaway or when you are in need of a change of scenery. The shopping in Montreal is superior to what you would find in Ottawa. Not only are there many shopping districts in the city, but the malls also offer up different stores than what is available in the Nation’s Capital.
To me, Montreal is best visited in the summer. With us visiting in April, unfortunately many of the attractions are still closed from the winter season such as La Ronde (the only Six Flags Park in Canada) or the African Park Safari (where you can actually feed Ostriches, Zebras and Giraffes by hand – very cool). So, given the time of year, one of the places we opted to visit is the Biodome where the climate is moderated all year round. Your entrance fee is $17.75/adult including taxes (this is actually less if you are a resident of Quebec). The Biodome is made up of 5 ecosystems and is completely indoors.
Quebec – Canada’s Magical City
After Toronto, next up for Samira and I was Quebec City. Located on the northern bank of the St. Lawrence River Quebec City is about a 2.5-3 hour drive from Montreal (about 4.5-5 hours from Ottawa). Even in the rain, Quebec city proved to be an absolutely enchanting and magical stop on our tour. Rain or shine, prepare to be wrapped up in the atmosphere of cobblestone streets, brightly coloured buildings and the roaming horse and carriages.
Toronto – Canada’s Largest City
As you all know, my childhood pen-pal from Brazil has been here since March 31st so I have been super busy travelling around and seeing the sights with her. For the first time since her arrival, I finally have a little bit of downtime and wanted to share with you some of our adventures. Over the next week I will do travel posts about our time together in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City.
For starters, I will begin with Toronto. Toronto is Canada’s largest city with a population of just 2.6 million. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the metropolitan area of Toronto has a population of approximately 6 million.
A Day in Salzburg Austria
All the pathos and irony of leaving one’s youth behind is thus implicit in every joyous moment of travel: one knows that the first joy can never be recovered, and the wise traveler learns not to repeat successes but tries new places all the time.
~Paul Fussell~
Have you ever wondered what a day in Salzburg Austria might be like? The 2010 movie Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz might have you thinking one thing…but I can assure you, my experience there was much different. The train between Munich and Salzburg runs every hour and takes just under two hours, one way. The train ride is very scenic and picturesque as you pass through Bavaria to this very quaint gem in northern Austria.
Danke Deutscheland (Part 3 of 3)
The best way to get around Germany by far is by train. Unlike other parts of Europe, Germany allows you to use a rail pass without a reservation. You simply hop on the most convenient train and hop off when you are ready. It’s fantastic because you purchase “days”, not trips. So if you are feeling up to it, you can hit more than one destinations in the same day, or at the very least take advantage of the round trip discount. Once in Munich, we took advantage of this in a big way. There are several areas within about a 1-2 hour train ride from Munich that were perfect for day trips. That way we could stay at the same hostel and not have to uproot ourselves every night and have to lug our packs around. If you like the sounds of this and want to learn more for your upcoming trip, please check out Eurail’s site here.
So staying in Munich, we got up early and made the trip to Salzburg and spent the entire day…which makes Austria the featured travel destination next month. :) The trains truly made flexibility in one’s travelling possible. They are fast, efficient and affordable. The passes aren’t available for purchase in Europe either, you need to purchase them before you go! This is super important! Otherwise, you will end up paying per ride which will end up costing a few hundred dollars more (at least) over the course of a 1-2 week trip. Oh and did I mention that the train rides are so much fun?!?! The views are stunning so everywhere you go there is something to look at.
Arbeit Macht Frei (Part 2 of 3)
As I promised, tonight I am going to revisit Germany. I’ll be picking up in Munich, where we left off yesterday. If you wish to start at the beginning click here.
For those familiar with the title of this post I don’t need to explain to you why a shiver runs down my spine whenever I see the phrase…and for those of you that aren’t familiar, please allow me to enlighten you.
Just a short hop on the metro and Gillian and I were off to Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp to open in Germany and less than 10 miles from the Munich city limits. The gates opened less than two full months after Hitler gained power and Dachau would be the camp that all other concentration camps would be modelled after. Knowing that much of this camp had been destroyed after liberation, Gillian and I weren’t sure what to expect.
Dear Germany, I Miss You (Part 1 of 3)
I’ve had posts coming out my ears this month and the short month of February is nearly over already. I’m not sure where the time disappears to! But regardless, I owe all of my valued readers my promised travel post. For those of you new to Eyemasq, you might not know, but I am a bit of a travel junkie. So although this blog is primarily about nails and make up, travel is still a huge part of my life and more importantly it has been a big part of shaping me into the person I am today. So every month I choose a country that I have visited and do a bit of a showcase for my readers. Here we go!
“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.”
~Samuel Johnson
I’ve been to six different countries in Europe (over the course of two individual trips), which I know for most backpackers is hardly any at all. With so many countries in such a small vicinity, a great wealth of backpackers will see over 15 or 20 countries over the course of a couple months in this great continent. For me, I was able to go for just 2.5 weeks during my regular vacation from work. So I decided on a trip to Germany and the plan was to see just one country and try to see a lot of it. Rather than experiencing a small taste of a country that has so much to see and experience I would see as much as I absolutely could. I was out to experience Germany as a whole.
Danger! Mines!
“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
I think it is fair to say that the majority of people couldn’t point out Cambodia’s location on a map…unless of course it was one that had all of the countries labelled and I gave you some time. I fully admit that I was one of those people until 2005. I knew nothing of Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge or Angkor Wat. Originally intending only to do a border run (to refresh my tourist visa) I had no intentions of spending anymore than an hour or two outside of Thailand. But with all of the organized trips to Siem Reap advertised in Bangkok, I quickly grew curious of what was there and what I was missing. To this day I couldn’t be happier that I decided to spend several days there and experience this hidden gem.
Same Post, But Different
As promised I am back tonight to finish telling the story of my experience in Thailand. (November 2005 – February 2006)
Let’s see – where was I?
Upon fleeing what I fondly refer to now as Monkey Mountain, we packed up, checked out and headed to the train station. We had purchased tickets for a 4pm train to take us further south. We were riding 3rd class and about to travel the distance from Calgary to Edmonton for a whopping $3. We were the only tourists aboard and had to find a seat alongside the locals that found the two of us very fascinating to watch. Which was funny, because we found them very fascinating to watch. Coming aboard hauling their chickens and giant baskets of vegetables. Selling their purple peanuts, plastic bags full of juice and dried plantain chips…I assure you, we were entertained. A very nice man came over to chat with us. He spoke very broken English, but he had been sent over to ask us some questions by the rest of his group. (I guess we looked pretty out of place) He asked where we were from…and that was the only question we could understand. There was a lot of smiling and nodding. I definitely recommend the 3rd class train though for situations where you are trying to get somewhere 2-4 hours away. It is comfortable enough (like being on a city metro), clean enough and you can’t beat the price.
Same Same, But Different
I promised to do a travel post monthly and people have been reminding me all month that it is December and time for another country. So here we go!
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.
~St. Augustine
For those of you that are familiar with the term “same same but different” you don’t need me to tell you the name of my featured country for the month of December, you’ve already experienced this madness…for those of you that have no idea what I am talking about, you will understand soon enough.
I had hardly been back from Costa Rica for a month before the travel itch struck and even if I wasn’t booking flights, at the very least I needed to start thinking about the next destination. It didn’t take much thinking at all. For a couple of years already, I had a place in mind, one I actually longed after much earlier than Costa Rica. So let me rewind a bit to a few months before my Costa Rica trip to help make sense of all this. In the fall of 2004 I was planning my very first backpacking trip, I just had to work up enough courage. I had my destination selected, I’d applied for my leave of absence at work, I had even started training my replacement. But on December 26th, 2004 all of that changed. My dream destination was one of the 15 countries that had been hit with one of the worst natural disasters my generation has ever seen. 227,898 people were killed, another 1.69 million people displaced.
Where in the World is….Costa Rica
I decided that once a month I would add a travel post about a different country…until I run out! So please enjoy my first travel entry.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.
~Mark Twain
People always ask me about the places I’ve been…what my favorite country was…what the most beautiful thing I’ve seen is…where was the best food…who had the nicest people??? I’ve been to a lot of countries and seen a lot of things, but I’m not naive enough to think I’ve seen it all, there is so much more out there that I haven’t even come close to experiencing. But I certainly can share my experiences to date, let you know what I thought, how I felt and if I would ever go back. I don’t doubt your experience might be different than my own, it is what you make it and want it to be. That is the beauty of traveling, people can all go to the same place and have a different experience than the next person. So let the pictures do a lot of the talking, and see what you want to see. I hope you enjoy looking at this as much as I enjoy reliving it.
