THE GOODS BLOG: Erika's Precious Little Life - October Edition
Updated: Jun 18, 2021
HOLY CRAP IT'S BLOG TIME!!! I have like three hours to write this and I hope that I can get it done.
IT'S FALL! When the heck did that happen?! Leaves actually turn bright RED here in Montreal, which I've missed so very much.
DOWN TO BUSINESS!
My parents were still visiting at the beginning of September. They stayed until the 9th and we had a ton of fun with them! We took a mini-vacation with them to the Laurentians, which is a mountain range about an hour north of Montreal. My Mom's family used to have a country house there, which got sold when I was little. So we have a lot of special family memories there. We stayed in a hotel for two nights and it was so nice to get out of town and be outside. Tim had been working crunch hours all summer long (that are now finally over), which has been very difficult. Some nights he wouldn't get home until 10pm or later, so I'd been alone a lot and tensions were running a little high. So any little escapes such as this one were MUCH needed!
In Montreal a lot of eating and shopping went on with my parents. And general tomfoolery.
So then my parents left and we had three days of turnover time before we were leaving for Europe! 16 days, 7 countries and 14 cities - I was pumped and ready to dominate this endeavour!
Our flight going over ended up having a 10 hour layover in Brussels, which just meant that we got to go visit a bonus city! We did not view this as a problem.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM!
Brussels looked exactly what you would expect a European city to look like. By sheer coincidence, it was International Chocolate Day on the day that we were there... And I'm not sure that there's anywhere better to be on that day! We visited two of the best chocolatiers in the world and loaded up on chocolate.
We then got on our next flight and headed to our first intended destination:
BARCELONA, SPAIN!
I loved Barcelona pretty much immediately. I was already a fan of their clothing stores (Desigual & Custo) before even visiting. The vibe is very bright and lively and fun there... It feels like the kind of place where I could live. There's an amazing pedestrian street called Las Ramblas that I especially loved. We went on a Gaudí tour because Tim adores him, which was such an awesome highlight. The food in Barcelona was the BEST. Tons and tons of seafood and paella and jamón and my new favourite thing: pan con tomate. On our first night we went to this hidden restaurant down an alleyway where they have NO MENU and they just keep bringing you courses. I think that was the best food experience of the whole trip. I feel as if now that I've been home for a few days and have had time to digest a bit, that Barcelona seems to be sticking to my heart the most. We spent 2.5 days in the city before the cruise even started, so it really felt like our Europe home base.
But then it was cruise time! Our ship was called the Norwegian Spirit. Earlier I had said that I wasn't sure if I was much of a "cruise person," and I can now say that this statement is still true. I really loved being on a floating hotel and going to bed every night only to wake up in a brand new city. That part was very exciting! But overall, the ship was kinda 'meh.' It got boring being on board for so long, especially on days when we were out at sea all day. Most of the other guests were old. Which we expected, and it's not like we were going with the intention of making friends or anything. The food was mediocre. Yeah, you could eat as much of it as you wanted, 24 hours a day... But I described it as "mediocre food masquerading as high-quality food." The ship had wi-fi but it was really expensive. I know that these all sound like complaints which is honestly CRAZY. I was just happy to BE THERE!!! But those are my honest cruise ship opinions. Getting OFF of the ship and exploring foreign lands was by far the best part... And that was the entire point in the first place.
MARSEILLE, FRANCE!
Our first port was in Toulon and we took a train over to Marseille. This was a fiasco. Apparently that month they were doing construction on the train track so we ended up having to go through an entire rigmarole just to get there. We spent more time just trying to GET to Marseille than we actually had there... And when you only get 7-8 hours to maximize a city, that's a huge problem. Thankfully I had done a lot (like a lot) of pre-planning and research, so we pretty much knew exactly where to run to in order to see/do most of the things that we had wanted to. Marseille looked a lot like Paris, except by the sea. I really love France and I love that I can speak the language and therefore feel totally comfortable. France likes to be fancy in the same ways that I like to be fancy, and they appreciate the same things that I do. I love all of that very much.
We got creative when it came to finding funsies on the ship...
PISA & FLORENCE, ITALY!
Our next port was in Livorno and we bussed over to the cities that we wanted to see. First was Pisa, and we mainly just visited the square where the Leaning Tower is located and that's all. It was incredible to see such an iconic landmark in real life. It's hard to believe that it's real and that you're really there.
Next was Florence, which was a place that we absolutely adored. Our favourite place of everywhere that we went in Italy. It was so clean and safe and fresh and beautiful. We ate gelato, because obviously. And we saw Michelangelo's David. It felt like the kind of place where you could just find a cafe and sit around forever. I also drank the best coffee of my life while there!!
ROME, ITALY & VATICAN CITY!
Going into the trip, Rome scared me the most. There was a huge amount of ground to cover and a short amount of time. We had to psych ourselves up for this day and convince ourselves that we were ready to dominate. And dominate we did! We had 11 things on our to-do list and we did them ALL! Our port was in Civitavecchia and we took a bus to Rome. I liked Rome a lot because there were a lot of very iconic things to see, but it was also our most tiring day. We ate a lot on this day because I needed to have pasta and porchetta! Of all of our days away, this was the only day that it rained - but it only rained for 20 minutes. Every single day of our vacation was hot and sunny and around 30 degrees. Our weather was super fortunate! September is such a perfect time to visit the Mediterranean because the weather is still summer-fabulous, but it isn't summer peak season anymore so everything is less crowded. This is what I had read prior to the trip, and I can say that it is true.
NAPLES, ITALY!
Naples was kinda hilarious. I had heard that it was sketchy and dirty and full of garbage (Erin!)... And it was. Like there was literal poop and garbage in the streets. Everywhere. And it was like 35 degrees out. Imagine all of that baking away... HA HA! We still found some really neat areas to see, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, we ate real authentic Neapolitan pizza from a place that has been open since 1870 and it was the best pizza of our lives. Plus seeing Mount Vesuvius was totally awesome. So we were able to make it pretty great, but overall I would not call Naples a "nice place."
This was also the day that I got my free facial on the ship! We put our names into a draw for free spa services and Tim's name was drawn for a free facial! Which he gave to me. It was wonderful!
We had two days at sea in total, and like I said, there isn't a whole lot to do on the ship. Their "activities" are pretty lame and cheesy. We hung out by the pool, read books, played Mario Kart on DS, luckily I brought my computer so I was able to edit and organize the photos that we had been taking in advance. I took the ship's yoga class, but it was pretty poorly lead. At least compared to what I'm used to. But it still felt really good anyway after all of the walking.
MYKONOS, GREECE!
Mykonos was my favourite place. It was so incredibly unique and magical. We got there really early in the morning so we got to watch the sun rise there and that was pretty special. The town is designed like a maze so that invaders would get lost... And it worked. Ha ha. We wandered around confused for a long time, but it didn't matter because we were seeing this amazing place. In the afternoon we went to a beach and had a beach day. It was THE BEST! I definitely want to go back there just to bask in the glory that is Mykonos.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY!
Turkey is a place that was never on my "to-visit" list. It just ended up being a part of this cruise route, so it was the one place that I really had no idea what to expect from. Plus I was a little bit nervous about going to a country that has actual war times going on at the Syria boarder (even though it was very far away from where we were). And that it's an Islamic country and all. But I have to say that it was incredible and that we never felt unsafe. Istanbul felt the most exotic out of anywhere that we went. We REALLY felt like we were "somewhere else," and it was very exciting. I absolutely loved going to the Grand Bazaar and we ate the best lamb of our lives!
KUSADASI & EPHESUS, TURKEY!
Our second Turkey stop was to a smaller town that is very close to some impressive ruins. So first we went to see the ruins at Ephesus, and then later we had a bit of time to wander around Kusadasi and eat (more lamb). The ruins were unlike anything that I'd ever seen and it was so easy to get up close and personal with them. Sometimes it's hard to believe that a place like this could have been "normal life" once upon a time. It seems like it can't be real. Kusadasi was a really pretty and vibrant seaside town. The main streets were gorgeous and sparkling, especially in the evening, which came as a surprise.
ATHENS, GREECE!
I had some pretty high hopes for Athens, and it ended up being one of the places that I was a bit more so-so about. Our port was in Piraeus so we had to bus into Athens and getting around was generally a bit of a pain. We did a hop-on/hop-off bus tour but it turned out to be a bit of a waste of money because we didn't have enough time to do a lot of the route. We should have just taken the metro into town and done the city on foot, like we had been doing everywhere else. Going up to the Acropolis was very incredible though. Again, very mind-blowing to imagine. I really liked the shops in the Plaka area.
VENICE, ITALY!
Venice was magical. Incredibly unique with all of the canals and super, super gorgeous. The streets are crazy and maze-like. These super narrow creepy dark alleyways that they have are just legitimate streets and you have to get comfortable with using them pretty quickly. We got lost. We took a gondola ride (of course) and it was very romantic kissing under all of the bridges.
We had two nights in Venice and then we flew back to Barcelona. Originally we had planned to fly straight home from Venice, but I discovered that it was substantially cheaper (like thousands of dollars) to do a round trip in/out of Barcelona and to use a discount airline to get from Venice back to Barcelona. So that's what we did. Going back to Barcelona was like "going home," which was awesome. We had a bit more time there to see the city one last time! And to eat more pan con tomate!!!
We then flew home and had a layover in Zurich. I watched FOUR whole movies on the flight home. Ha ha!
The whole thing was a trip of a lifetime and I'm so glad that we went. We got to see so many of the places in Europe that we'd always wanted to. I would highly recommend traveling this way if you want to see a lot and if you don't have months worth of free time to just go and immerse yourself. Because adults typically don't.
This is how I would rank everywhere that we went overall:
1. Mykonos
2. Barcelona
3. Pisa/Florence
4. Venice
5. Rome/Vatican City
6. Istanbul
7. Athens
8. Brussels
9. Kusadasi/Ephesus
10. Marseille
11. Naples
I'm sure that you've all found it on your own, but the entire PHOTO ALBUM of our trip is here. It'll take you through all aspects of what we did and saw!
And now it's OCTOBER! SOMEHOW! I don't even know!!!
I would kinda like to just lay sideways for a month. But probably not.
Tim's friends (and my friends too) Aurora and Fredi are coming to visit from Toronto and they get here today! Which is why I'm trying to write this in a hurry because they're staying at our place!
The MPROV festival is happening this week and I can't wait to go! It's an improv festival like Improvaganza in Edmonton, which I used to love. PLUS an Edmonton team is coming to this one!! It'll be SO NICE to see some familiar faces!!!
For Thanksgiving we're going to Muskoka to hang out at the Golem cottage. Can't wait for more of that lake time!
Tim's birthday is on the 21st and I have NO IDEA what to do about that yet. Ha ha!
We're seeing Vance Joy play live.
And Enobong is coming to visit from Ottawa on Halloween for a few days!
Otherwise, I'll be laying sideways. And going hard on yoga.
THIS MONTH'S SHOUT OUTS!:
October 7th is Colen Quinn's 7th wedding anniversary!
7th on the 7th!! You and Jeff are my favourite and I hope that it's a super special day! I was SO GLAD that I was able to come to Toronto to share in your wedding, but let's be serious, there was just no question! I hope that you guys have a little somethin'-somethin' planned!
October 13th is Kristen Smith's 2nd wedding anniversary!
You and Dallas deserve a wonderful celebration after the incredible year that you've had! A baby and a gorgeous new house! Plus Dallas' career is doing so incredibly well! I'll always remember your gorgeous wedding in Kelowna and am so glad that I was there to be a part of it!
October 24th is Rachelle Spence's 30th birthday!
It's the big 3-0 Rachelle!!! AHHH!!!!!! I love you so much with all of my heart and words cannot express what you have meant to me. You've been with me through so much and I have no idea how I would have possibly gotten through my early Edmonton days without you. Just thinking of you gives me great feelings of unconditional love because you are the most incredible, beautiful and wonderful person, right down to your beautiful heart. Thank you for being exactly everything that you are.
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