VIENNA
DAY 1: Friday, April 10th
6 girls (Lexi, Erin, Shawna, Rhonda, Amanda and myself) arrived at the airport in Vienna and hired a mini bus to take us to our hotel called Hotel Alla Lenz.
We decided to use the Metro in Vienna and sightsee ourselves (personally I would’ve preferred the hop on hop off tour bus). We wanted to find the train station first to book our seats to Prague. On our journey to the train station we somehow missed the stopped and ended up at Schonbrunn Palace. We didn’t have time to stay because the Palace is huge and the train seat was more important and we would go to the Palace the following day.
We finally arrived at the train station and booked our ticket to Prague.
Our tummies were rumbling so we ate at a café nearby. I had pizza and beer and pulled out the itinerary to plan our next two days In Prague.
Our next stop was to find the Opera house to see if they had seats available for a night show. No luck they were all sold out for the cheaper seats and only had very very expensive ones left. So instead Lexi, Rhonda, Amanda and I bought tickets to go to the Vienna Boys Choir Mass on Sunday.
We took pictures of the Opera House and the Albertina Museum.
Most places closed at 5:00-6:00 so we decided to try and find Sigmund Freud’s Museum. After lots of walking and asking many people for directions we finally saw a huge sign that said Freud…however we were too late. It was closed.
We took the metro back to our hotel which was very easy to find because they had signs everywhere with arrows pointing which direction to go. We planned on going to the wine district but we fell asleep and woke up to the alarm the next morning!!
Day 2: Saturday, April 11th
The continental breakfast at our hotel was good. Tasty bread, jam, coffee or tea, and a variety of meats and cheese. Because it was Easter they had dyed the hard boiled eggs different colors!
8am we left for the metro to go to Schonbrunn Palace. It was 12.90 Euro per person which included a free audio guide. It was very nice inside. We saw the state rooms and living areas of the Hapsburgs family.
We walked through the beautiful gardens. In the corner was the Zoo!!!
At 1:00 we went to Nashmarkt. Naschmarkt is located in the museum quarter and we had passed through here when we were on our way to Freud’s museum. At Nashmarkt there were little stalls of restaurants, vegetables, fruits, clothes, scarves. It was crowded so we left looking for the Hotel Sacher where we wanted to eat.
We couldn’t find Hotel Sacher so we took the metro to St. Stephan’s Cathedral area. We sat down at a café outside but I was not happy with the menu or the service at this place. We walked down the cobble stone road and decided to go for Chinese! I love Chinese food and here I ate sweet and sour chic ken with fried rice and of course a large beer!!! After the meal they served a warm Chinese rose wine. I liked it a lot!
Afterwards we went to the St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Here we had 2 options. 1) Walk 343steps to the south tower for a panoramic view of the city or 2) take the elevator for 4.50 euro. Guess which option we decided on…yup the elevator!!! The view was very nice and the bell tower was cool too.
Next we took the metro to Belvedere Palace. We took pictures of the upper and Lower part of the palace. There was beautiful gardens and great view of the city centre from here too. Inside the palace was an art gallery.
Then it was off to the Amusement Park to go for a ride on the Giant Ferris Wheel. The Ferris wheel was 8.50 euro. Before we got on the Ferris wheel we had our group photo taken. After the ride we had some ice cream. Definitely was the most expensive ice c ream I have ever purchased..but it did have liquor inside it which was strong! Then some of the girls went on a few rides. Finally it was time for me to eat a typical Viennese hot sausage with sweet mustard. It was very good. I liked it a lot.
I thought my stomach was full but with 6 people someone is always hungry so we decided to go to a famous restaurant inside the amusement park called Schweizerhaus. Amanda and I shared the Stelze (roast leg of pork) and of course a beer! The other girls had pork schnitzel which was also tasty.
It was getting late but we still tried to go to a wine tavern. After taking the metro as far as we could and after standing and waiting for the bus to arrive we decided that because the metro stopped at midnight running that we might have trouble getting back to our hotel…so we decided to go back to the hotel instead of the wine tavern.
Day 3: Sunday, April 12th
We woke up and had breakfast. Lexi, Amanda, Rhonda and myself got dressed up for Easter Sunday Mass. We took the tram and walked to the Imperial Palace. Inside was the Church for mass. Mass started at 9:15. Beautiful hymns and opera like songs were sung. They took offering and communion. The Vienna Boys Choir sang one song which was very good. I wish they would have sang more to make it worth our money that we had paid for the tickets. Mass ended at 11:15 and we had to get on the metro and head to St. Stephen’s Cathedral area in order to find the Anker Clock. At 12 noon this clock has life-size figures that move. We found a café that had a table open and right in front of the clock. We ordered lunch and white wine. The clock itself wasn’t as spectacular as we thought it would be. Erin and Shawna joined us and we all agreed the clock was a disappointment. There were no more tickets for the Mass that I went to so Erin and Shawna went to the treasury and Mass at St. Stephen’s Cathedral instead.
Lexi, Rhonda, Amanda and I walked to Hotel Sacher next which is located right behind the Opera House. This café is famous for its chocolate cake.
Next we went to the Opera House for the English tour. The Opera house was gorgeous. It had a huge grand staircase, and marble foyer. My favorite part was sitting and watching the workers set up for that nights opera performance. Lots of work goes into the set up each day because every night is a different performance and that is why it is sold out almost every night!
Finally we took the metro back to the Imperial Palace area. We wanted to see the Treasury where we were able to see the sparkling crown jewels.
Afterwards we sat at a café and had a Vienna apple straddle and beer. It was delicious!!
We took the bus back to the hotel and to get our bags. Then we took the tram to catch our train to Prague.
On the train we had munchies and had beer and clam. Good times.
Day 4: Monday, April 13th
(I got busy with school and forgot to write about Prague. I will try and finish this section before I leave on June 11th for Amsterdam. Belgium and Ireland. I am home June 28th!! I cannot wait to see you all. I have missed you all very much. I am really excited to see all the kids and how much they have changed. Mom has been trying to forward me the pictures that have been sent but sometimes she forgets.
May 31, 2009
February 6, 2009
My Apartment
As most of you know I moved in December into a new apartment in Kuwait. It is the a bit closer to the school. The reason for the move is that our school built an apartment that they would own instead of renting. This would allow them to save more money..hehe obviously!!
February 4, 2009
Ridiculous Romania!
Sorry for the lack of posts..I seem to apologize slot on this but I get really busy with socializing and teaching and traveling that I forget about posting it all for you to read. So here you go...3 trips to read about. Enjoy! :)
This trip was a hard decision for me to make..my travel buddy Amanda was meeting her family in Thailand..and my other friends were going to Cambodia..both places I had been...I had to find someone to travel with. Kirk and Mike were those people. (for those of you that don't know...Kirk is from Birtle...and he is good at planning so all I had to do was go along with the plans)
SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ. ROMANIA WAS RIDICULOUS. We came up with acronyms for our trip.
•Boobs, Booties, Blondes, Brunettes, and Booze in Bucharest = quote from the boys to sum up the capital city.
•Mindless Mike = He lost his bank card, almost forgot his hair goo in the hotel and thought he lost his camera cap.
•Pam is Poor = She brought Chinese money with her and nobody would exchange it.
•Snag if Snagoff = The water was frozen so we couldn't take a boat to see Vlads Tomb.
•Car Confusion = We stopped the car at the ski resort to discuss plans and switch drivers. When Mike tried to start the car it wouldn't. Kirk had to give it a push start to get it going again.
•Rude Romanians = The hotel receptionists were not friendly or helpful.
•Snowless Skiing = We planned a day to go skiing in Romania..no snow. We asked and this is not common for this time of year.
•Castle Closed = Dracula's castled was closed on Monday so we had to change our plans to try and get back to it on the way home.
•Cows Crossing = we had to watch out for animals crossing the road.
•Clock Tower Closed = another attraction that we weren't able to see.
•Dropped in at Dracula's Birth Place = by accident we had beers here..until we were reading the Romania Guide book did we realize that we had seen this attraction!
•Drink with Dracula = We had beers at his birth place.
•Paid off, pist off, police officer (AKA PO3) = we got stopped 2 times by the police...only the 2nd time did we have to pay a ticket.
Friday, January 23th - DAY 1
We arrived in Bucharest, Romania and was picked up at the airport by our hotel 20 euros divided by 3. We stayed at Rainbow Apartments. It had a double bed, futon, TV, Internet and kitchen and it was a great price only 30 euros each per night.
Today we decided to explore the city and see what was within walking distance from our hotel. Kirk forgot the Eastern Europe Lonely Planet Book so we found a book store and bought the Romanian Guide book which is not nearly as good as the Lonely Planet but it did the trick.
For supper we ate at a restaurant called Pals. I had a Penne Pasta in Romanian it was called Proscuito Funghi) It was delicious. But I love penne pasta and cream sauce.mmm It only cost me 24RON. The rate was 1.00 CAD = 2.71757 RON
In Romania the best beer is Ursus Beer ...and when we couldn't get that we had Tuborg Beer which was also tasty!
After supper we needed a nap...the boys are almost 30...that was their excuse!
Next we went to the Bucharest Mall to get a converter for our electronics. We also needed towels because there was only 2 towels and soon to be 4 of us once Pam arrived. (Pam used to teach in Kuwait but left to teach in China last year. She is really good friends with Mike)
Saturday, January 24th - DAY 2
When we woke up the streets in Bucharest were very busy and so we googled what event could possibly be occurring. Turns out it was their Anniversary= Century and a half of being a modern state.
We had brunch at caru' cu bere. This restaurant was beautiful inside. I had chicken cordon bleu and potatoes with bacon. Tasted delicious but because it was a tourist attraction it was a bit expensive.
First site was The Palace of Parliament. It is a multi-purpose building containing both chambers of the Romanian Parliament. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Palace is the world's largest civilian administrative building (The Pentagon is the largest overall), most expensive administrative building, and heaviest building. It cost us 15Ron plus extra if you wanted to take pictures. We were cheap so Mike was the only one who took out his camera and snapped pictures when the guide wasn't looking! I also learned from the guide that when Michael Jackson was in Bucharest and at the Parliament Building he yelled out into the crowd of people "I LOVE YOU BUDAPEST" haha oops he was in BUCHAREST!
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*Mike loses his bankcard next...we aren't sure how...he thinks he might have left it in the machine? hmmm
We all wanted to go to the Count Dracula Club for supper. It wasn't open until 4pm so we stopped at McDonalds for a drink and then walked back to the apartment.
We decided to rent a car for 6 days for 75 euros each and see Romania. From there we walked to Count Dracula Club for supper. The furniture, the food, the waiters are all themed. We ordered BLOOD (red wine) and I had venison in wild berry sauce. I wanted the pheasant but they were all out. We also ordered a cold platter of meat to share which included BEAR, WILD BOAR, Venison. It was all very good. We got a tour of the restaurant and I got to stand in a coffin..ohhh scary! I took a picture of the venison from Romania that I was going to eat just for you to see dad!
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Back at the apartments I fell asleep waiting for Pam to arrive..or as the boys would say I "passed out" from drinking too much blood. It is New Years in China that is why Pam was able to have a week vacation to join us. She brought us New Years gifts. Mine was 2 Chinese piggy banks.
Sunday, January 25th - DAY 3
* Pam is poor. She brought Chinese money with her and nobody in Romania would change it in...there are no ties with China in Romania. Her bank cards wouldn't work from China either.
We jumped in our car and as we were leaving Bucharest we stopped at Carrfeour to pick up mitts, skiipants, toques, and eat. I had Quiznos...which is different from Canada. It was really good I have to say..and of course had bacon in it. Come to think of it almost everything I ate on the trip had pork with it) I found skii pants for 77RON. Steal of a deal again..I didn't want to spend a lot of money on pants that I plan on leaving in Kuwait when I am finished with them.
Our first stop was Snagov. Snagov village was built around the Snagov monastery. Vlad Tepes is believed to be killed here by the Janissaries during a battle between Wallachian & Ottoman forces. It is also said that Vlad the Impaler is buried at the Snagov Monastery. Unfortunately for us we hit a snag in snagov...in order to see the tomb of Dracula you need to take a rowboat...cough but the water was ICE so we couldn't see it.
Next we drove through Rasnof (here we saw the fortress) and then off to Poiana Brasov. It is Romania's premier ski resort. Cough but when we got there...there was no snow to ski on. We stopped to decide what our next option was and once we decided Kirk and Mike decided to switch spots in the car and Mike was going to drive with Kirk as navigator. But car wouldn't start. Kirk pushed it and off it went. pfff close one. We stopped at a few hotels and Pam refused to stay at any hotel that had RUDE ROMANIANS...which most of them were...finally we all agreed on staying at Paiana Hotels for 375 Ron divided by 2. Kirk and Mike shared a room and when they opened it it had peoples bags in it just to add another ridiculous moment in our adventure. The lady at the front desk was friendly and smiling. Lots of the hotels were closed in Poiana Brasov...I would assume because they couldn't afford to stay open with the lack of snow / people.
For supper I had a pork fillet with mushroom sauce and vegetable salad. It was very yummy and white wine for 60Ron.
Monday, January 26th - DAY 4
We woke up and it was SNOWING!! Breakfast was included and you could pick anything off the breakfast menu that you wanted. I had coffee, mushroom omlette, orange juice and toast with jam.
Our first stop was going to Bran Castle also known as Dracula's castle. I was really really excited. When we got there we soon discovered that the castle was closed ONLY ON MONDAYS...aghhh just our luck. So we got back into the car and off we went. We stopped at every bank for Pam to see if she could exchange her Chinese money...nope she couldn't. We had a hard time getting out of Bransov. Mike drove on the same street 3 times before we got out of the city. It was beginning to get very frustrating.
We drove through the Transolvania alps and plateaux until we reached our destination Sighisoara. We decided to stay inside the walls of the citadel. First we didn't know how to get in except to walk so we walked up the stairs to find ourselves a hotel. We couldn't decide so we agreed to have a beer at the place where a wooden Dracula was placed outside. We found out after that this was Vlad's birthplace. We stumbled upon this place accidentally. We hoped this would turn around our bad luck that we were having.
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For supper we ate at Pizza Jo. It was the best pizza I have ever had and the beers were just as good too.
Tuesday, January 27th - DAY 5
Again for breakfast we got to select off the menu. I had a coffee and an omelet with ham, mushrooms and cheese..not as good as the previous hotel.
First on the agenda was the Clock Tower which ended up being CLOSED for interior renovations. We were not happy..so we went to the Saxon Church. To get there we had to climb the wooden staircase (the Scholars' Stairs) consisting of 175 steps and 29 landings. At the top on the hill there is a school. We saw the Saxon Cemetery too.
Back on the road again we filled up with gas..133Ron total. The small towns had very colorful homes. The police stopped us and couldn't speak any English. He pointed to our lights and we think he was trying to tell us we need them on. So we turned them on and off we went again. We drove to Bucovina and stayed at the Best Western. Pam didn't want to stay here because it was a bit more money than we had been paying (130Ron each)..but the boys liked the girls at the counter and were stubborn. We checked out another hotel but she was out numbered because I liked that they had breakfast included and the other hotel didn't. At the Best Western hotel for supper I had...if you guessed Pork with Mushroom sauce you would be correct and a Brushetta which was like a pizza bun. I had to stop with the pork and mushroom sauce but it was sooo good. We also found out we couldn't sleep in a monastery that it was a myth in the lonely planet..sigh. What next was going to happen on this trip.
Wednesday, January 28th - DAY 6
We woke up and for breakfast had yogurt, omelet, cheese, different types of meat and bread. It was selected for you...this was the downside of the breakfast at this hotel but it was included so no complaining from me.
The first Monastery we visited was Voroneţ which is located in the town of Gura Humorului, Moldavia. It is one of the famous painted monasteries. Monasteries were built after they won battles. The exterior walls included a representation of the Last Judgment on the west wall it was painted in 1547.
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The second Monastery we saw was Humor. It is located about 5 km north of the town of Gura Humorului, Romania. It is a monastery for nuns dedicated to the Dormition of Virgin Mary. Humor was one of the first of Bucovina's painted monasteries to be frescoed and, along with Voroneţ, is probably the best preserved.
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We debated on whether or not to go to the Sucevita Monastery because it was going to be a long drive and we planned on going all the way back to Brasov to see Bran Castle again *if you can recall it was closed when we originally wanted to go...so we had to change plans and drive a long day to fit it in) We all agreed we drove all this way we had to see the 3rd.
Suceviţa Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox convent situated in the North-Eastern part of Romania. It is situated near the Suceviţa River, in the village Suceviţa. Both interior and exterior walls are covered by mural paintings, which are of great artistic value and depict biblical episodes from the Old and New Testament. The paintings date from around 1601, which makes Suceviţa one of the last monasteries to be decorated in the famous Moldavian style of exterior paintings. When we entered the Monastery we saw the Ladder of Virtue covering the northern wall. I really liked this monastery. Interesting Fact: The monasterties were usually sited at the head of a valley to form a defensive bottleneck against the Turks. The exact spot was decided by shooting arrows from a nearby hill top; where the first one landed, a water source was dug and henceforth deemed holy; the second arrow determined the location of the altar, the third the belfy. After the monastery was finished, crosses were raised on the hill from where the arrows had been fired.
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In the town Sucevita we stopped at McDonalds for something quick to eat and get back on the road.
While Kirk was driving we ran into FOG, RAIN, SNOW all on the curvy roads on the mountain. Kirk was getting tired so Mike took over. Same weather but more light flurries.
Then it happened we were going around a corner. After that we saw none was coming so we passed a large truck and boom the police sirens went off. (didn't see that one behind us). They started speaking in Romanian over the speaker...we stopped and they continued to yell over the speaker and passed us and continued speaking...We continued and at the bottom of the hill was a gas station and the police pulled us over. They took Mikes license and registration and unfortunately for us the guy spoke english and said IT IS FORBIDDEN in ROMANIA to PASS when it is SNOWING. Oops..who knew. He said he was going to take Mikes license for 13 days and he couldn't drive plus a ticket. After awhile the police man came to the window and checked out Pam and my passports to make sure we weren't hitch hiking and were from romania...He asked Mike to put on his coat and come to the vehcile. A few minutes late Mike returns saying "Count your pennies Guys". If we give them 360 Ron he will give me my license back and we are off the hook. So we we did it. Mike said the policeman was bipolar. He was nice asking questions to him and then would yell at him don't you see this weather it is snowing. WHy are you here in Romania. Then he would smile and ask all about Canada.
After a long drive we finally reached our destination. Brasov. We looked forever for a hotel and finally saw one that was a good price called Olivers Hotel. I had a few beers and went to sleep.
Thursday, January 29th - DAY 7
We got up and had breakfast and headed off for Bran Castle. The entrace fee was 22 Ron including the photo fee. Fact: Commonly known as "Dracula's Castle", it is marketed as the home of the titular character in Bram Stoker's Dracula. There is, however, no evidence that Stoker knew anything about this castle. Furthermore, there are persistent myths that it was once the home of Vlad Ţepeş, ruler of Wallachia. This is not true. The historical person Vlad III never resided here. We were able to walk through the castle now called a museum and take pictures and see the view.
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Afterwards we walked through the market and bought a few tacky souvenirs. Our next plan of action was to go to the real dracula castle we got on the road but it was soo bad that we wouldn't reach the castle until dark and still had to climb up the hill so we had to turn around and go to Bucharest. On our way home we passed many police cars...but luckily none stopped us. Again we stopped at Carrefour for a bite to eat.
The traffic in Bucharest was very busy. We finally found a hotel that was reasonably priced called the Carpati. Kirk and I returned the rental car and took a taxi to the train station to buy our tickets for Bulgaria. My luck was changing because under the age of 26 got a discount. Whoop whoop. The lady said we had to take the 2nd class sleeper. We asked about 1st class but her English wasn't good and she kept saying 2nd class so we hoped that it was going to be ok.
Friday, January 30th - DAY 8
We had breakfast at the hotel and I went on the internet for awhile hoping that the rain would stop. It was a light drizzle by the time we all decided to leave the hotel. Mike was taking Pam to the Palace Parliment. Kirk was going to the bookstore and then a pub and I was going to the Market to find some local souvenirs. At the market there wasn't anything that I wanted but I bought 2 small dolls to make into Christmas Tree ornaments. Then I walked around the area which ended up at a small mall called Victoria Mall and then the Centrul Civic Mall. Then decided to join Kirk at the pub and have a beer and salad. Their chicken cesar salad was good. The dressing tasted similar to mayonaise which a light spice.
Pam and Mike joined in shortly after and we headed to the The Romanian Athenaeum building which you can guess was closed. But we found out later you can only go inside when a performance is on.
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For supper we took Pam to Caru' cu bere. I had homemade vegetable soup, trout and mushrooms. Yummy. Then we had to leave for the train station to go to Bulgaria.
This trip was a hard decision for me to make..my travel buddy Amanda was meeting her family in Thailand..and my other friends were going to Cambodia..both places I had been...I had to find someone to travel with. Kirk and Mike were those people. (for those of you that don't know...Kirk is from Birtle...and he is good at planning so all I had to do was go along with the plans)
SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ. ROMANIA WAS RIDICULOUS. We came up with acronyms for our trip.
•Boobs, Booties, Blondes, Brunettes, and Booze in Bucharest = quote from the boys to sum up the capital city.
•Mindless Mike = He lost his bank card, almost forgot his hair goo in the hotel and thought he lost his camera cap.
•Pam is Poor = She brought Chinese money with her and nobody would exchange it.
•Snag if Snagoff = The water was frozen so we couldn't take a boat to see Vlads Tomb.
•Car Confusion = We stopped the car at the ski resort to discuss plans and switch drivers. When Mike tried to start the car it wouldn't. Kirk had to give it a push start to get it going again.
•Rude Romanians = The hotel receptionists were not friendly or helpful.
•Snowless Skiing = We planned a day to go skiing in Romania..no snow. We asked and this is not common for this time of year.
•Castle Closed = Dracula's castled was closed on Monday so we had to change our plans to try and get back to it on the way home.
•Cows Crossing = we had to watch out for animals crossing the road.
•Clock Tower Closed = another attraction that we weren't able to see.
•Dropped in at Dracula's Birth Place = by accident we had beers here..until we were reading the Romania Guide book did we realize that we had seen this attraction!
•Drink with Dracula = We had beers at his birth place.
•Paid off, pist off, police officer (AKA PO3) = we got stopped 2 times by the police...only the 2nd time did we have to pay a ticket.
Friday, January 23th - DAY 1
We arrived in Bucharest, Romania and was picked up at the airport by our hotel 20 euros divided by 3. We stayed at Rainbow Apartments. It had a double bed, futon, TV, Internet and kitchen and it was a great price only 30 euros each per night.
Today we decided to explore the city and see what was within walking distance from our hotel. Kirk forgot the Eastern Europe Lonely Planet Book so we found a book store and bought the Romanian Guide book which is not nearly as good as the Lonely Planet but it did the trick.
For supper we ate at a restaurant called Pals. I had a Penne Pasta in Romanian it was called Proscuito Funghi) It was delicious. But I love penne pasta and cream sauce.mmm It only cost me 24RON. The rate was 1.00 CAD = 2.71757 RON
In Romania the best beer is Ursus Beer ...and when we couldn't get that we had Tuborg Beer which was also tasty!
After supper we needed a nap...the boys are almost 30...that was their excuse!
Next we went to the Bucharest Mall to get a converter for our electronics. We also needed towels because there was only 2 towels and soon to be 4 of us once Pam arrived. (Pam used to teach in Kuwait but left to teach in China last year. She is really good friends with Mike)
Saturday, January 24th - DAY 2
When we woke up the streets in Bucharest were very busy and so we googled what event could possibly be occurring. Turns out it was their Anniversary= Century and a half of being a modern state.
We had brunch at caru' cu bere. This restaurant was beautiful inside. I had chicken cordon bleu and potatoes with bacon. Tasted delicious but because it was a tourist attraction it was a bit expensive.
First site was The Palace of Parliament. It is a multi-purpose building containing both chambers of the Romanian Parliament. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Palace is the world's largest civilian administrative building (The Pentagon is the largest overall), most expensive administrative building, and heaviest building. It cost us 15Ron plus extra if you wanted to take pictures. We were cheap so Mike was the only one who took out his camera and snapped pictures when the guide wasn't looking! I also learned from the guide that when Michael Jackson was in Bucharest and at the Parliament Building he yelled out into the crowd of people "I LOVE YOU BUDAPEST" haha oops he was in BUCHAREST!
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*Mike loses his bankcard next...we aren't sure how...he thinks he might have left it in the machine? hmmm
We all wanted to go to the Count Dracula Club for supper. It wasn't open until 4pm so we stopped at McDonalds for a drink and then walked back to the apartment.
We decided to rent a car for 6 days for 75 euros each and see Romania. From there we walked to Count Dracula Club for supper. The furniture, the food, the waiters are all themed. We ordered BLOOD (red wine) and I had venison in wild berry sauce. I wanted the pheasant but they were all out. We also ordered a cold platter of meat to share which included BEAR, WILD BOAR, Venison. It was all very good. We got a tour of the restaurant and I got to stand in a coffin..ohhh scary! I took a picture of the venison from Romania that I was going to eat just for you to see dad!
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Back at the apartments I fell asleep waiting for Pam to arrive..or as the boys would say I "passed out" from drinking too much blood. It is New Years in China that is why Pam was able to have a week vacation to join us. She brought us New Years gifts. Mine was 2 Chinese piggy banks.
Sunday, January 25th - DAY 3
* Pam is poor. She brought Chinese money with her and nobody in Romania would change it in...there are no ties with China in Romania. Her bank cards wouldn't work from China either.
We jumped in our car and as we were leaving Bucharest we stopped at Carrfeour to pick up mitts, skiipants, toques, and eat. I had Quiznos...which is different from Canada. It was really good I have to say..and of course had bacon in it. Come to think of it almost everything I ate on the trip had pork with it) I found skii pants for 77RON. Steal of a deal again..I didn't want to spend a lot of money on pants that I plan on leaving in Kuwait when I am finished with them.
Our first stop was Snagov. Snagov village was built around the Snagov monastery. Vlad Tepes is believed to be killed here by the Janissaries during a battle between Wallachian & Ottoman forces. It is also said that Vlad the Impaler is buried at the Snagov Monastery. Unfortunately for us we hit a snag in snagov...in order to see the tomb of Dracula you need to take a rowboat...cough but the water was ICE so we couldn't see it.
Next we drove through Rasnof (here we saw the fortress) and then off to Poiana Brasov. It is Romania's premier ski resort. Cough but when we got there...there was no snow to ski on. We stopped to decide what our next option was and once we decided Kirk and Mike decided to switch spots in the car and Mike was going to drive with Kirk as navigator. But car wouldn't start. Kirk pushed it and off it went. pfff close one. We stopped at a few hotels and Pam refused to stay at any hotel that had RUDE ROMANIANS...which most of them were...finally we all agreed on staying at Paiana Hotels for 375 Ron divided by 2. Kirk and Mike shared a room and when they opened it it had peoples bags in it just to add another ridiculous moment in our adventure. The lady at the front desk was friendly and smiling. Lots of the hotels were closed in Poiana Brasov...I would assume because they couldn't afford to stay open with the lack of snow / people.
For supper I had a pork fillet with mushroom sauce and vegetable salad. It was very yummy and white wine for 60Ron.
Monday, January 26th - DAY 4
We woke up and it was SNOWING!! Breakfast was included and you could pick anything off the breakfast menu that you wanted. I had coffee, mushroom omlette, orange juice and toast with jam.
Our first stop was going to Bran Castle also known as Dracula's castle. I was really really excited. When we got there we soon discovered that the castle was closed ONLY ON MONDAYS...aghhh just our luck. So we got back into the car and off we went. We stopped at every bank for Pam to see if she could exchange her Chinese money...nope she couldn't. We had a hard time getting out of Bransov. Mike drove on the same street 3 times before we got out of the city. It was beginning to get very frustrating.
We drove through the Transolvania alps and plateaux until we reached our destination Sighisoara. We decided to stay inside the walls of the citadel. First we didn't know how to get in except to walk so we walked up the stairs to find ourselves a hotel. We couldn't decide so we agreed to have a beer at the place where a wooden Dracula was placed outside. We found out after that this was Vlad's birthplace. We stumbled upon this place accidentally. We hoped this would turn around our bad luck that we were having.
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For supper we ate at Pizza Jo. It was the best pizza I have ever had and the beers were just as good too.
Tuesday, January 27th - DAY 5
Again for breakfast we got to select off the menu. I had a coffee and an omelet with ham, mushrooms and cheese..not as good as the previous hotel.
First on the agenda was the Clock Tower which ended up being CLOSED for interior renovations. We were not happy..so we went to the Saxon Church. To get there we had to climb the wooden staircase (the Scholars' Stairs) consisting of 175 steps and 29 landings. At the top on the hill there is a school. We saw the Saxon Cemetery too.
Back on the road again we filled up with gas..133Ron total. The small towns had very colorful homes. The police stopped us and couldn't speak any English. He pointed to our lights and we think he was trying to tell us we need them on. So we turned them on and off we went again. We drove to Bucovina and stayed at the Best Western. Pam didn't want to stay here because it was a bit more money than we had been paying (130Ron each)..but the boys liked the girls at the counter and were stubborn. We checked out another hotel but she was out numbered because I liked that they had breakfast included and the other hotel didn't. At the Best Western hotel for supper I had...if you guessed Pork with Mushroom sauce you would be correct and a Brushetta which was like a pizza bun. I had to stop with the pork and mushroom sauce but it was sooo good. We also found out we couldn't sleep in a monastery that it was a myth in the lonely planet..sigh. What next was going to happen on this trip.
Wednesday, January 28th - DAY 6
We woke up and for breakfast had yogurt, omelet, cheese, different types of meat and bread. It was selected for you...this was the downside of the breakfast at this hotel but it was included so no complaining from me.
The first Monastery we visited was Voroneţ which is located in the town of Gura Humorului, Moldavia. It is one of the famous painted monasteries. Monasteries were built after they won battles. The exterior walls included a representation of the Last Judgment on the west wall it was painted in 1547.
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The second Monastery we saw was Humor. It is located about 5 km north of the town of Gura Humorului, Romania. It is a monastery for nuns dedicated to the Dormition of Virgin Mary. Humor was one of the first of Bucovina's painted monasteries to be frescoed and, along with Voroneţ, is probably the best preserved.
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We debated on whether or not to go to the Sucevita Monastery because it was going to be a long drive and we planned on going all the way back to Brasov to see Bran Castle again *if you can recall it was closed when we originally wanted to go...so we had to change plans and drive a long day to fit it in) We all agreed we drove all this way we had to see the 3rd.
Suceviţa Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox convent situated in the North-Eastern part of Romania. It is situated near the Suceviţa River, in the village Suceviţa. Both interior and exterior walls are covered by mural paintings, which are of great artistic value and depict biblical episodes from the Old and New Testament. The paintings date from around 1601, which makes Suceviţa one of the last monasteries to be decorated in the famous Moldavian style of exterior paintings. When we entered the Monastery we saw the Ladder of Virtue covering the northern wall. I really liked this monastery. Interesting Fact: The monasterties were usually sited at the head of a valley to form a defensive bottleneck against the Turks. The exact spot was decided by shooting arrows from a nearby hill top; where the first one landed, a water source was dug and henceforth deemed holy; the second arrow determined the location of the altar, the third the belfy. After the monastery was finished, crosses were raised on the hill from where the arrows had been fired.
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In the town Sucevita we stopped at McDonalds for something quick to eat and get back on the road.
While Kirk was driving we ran into FOG, RAIN, SNOW all on the curvy roads on the mountain. Kirk was getting tired so Mike took over. Same weather but more light flurries.
Then it happened we were going around a corner. After that we saw none was coming so we passed a large truck and boom the police sirens went off. (didn't see that one behind us). They started speaking in Romanian over the speaker...we stopped and they continued to yell over the speaker and passed us and continued speaking...We continued and at the bottom of the hill was a gas station and the police pulled us over. They took Mikes license and registration and unfortunately for us the guy spoke english and said IT IS FORBIDDEN in ROMANIA to PASS when it is SNOWING. Oops..who knew. He said he was going to take Mikes license for 13 days and he couldn't drive plus a ticket. After awhile the police man came to the window and checked out Pam and my passports to make sure we weren't hitch hiking and were from romania...He asked Mike to put on his coat and come to the vehcile. A few minutes late Mike returns saying "Count your pennies Guys". If we give them 360 Ron he will give me my license back and we are off the hook. So we we did it. Mike said the policeman was bipolar. He was nice asking questions to him and then would yell at him don't you see this weather it is snowing. WHy are you here in Romania. Then he would smile and ask all about Canada.
After a long drive we finally reached our destination. Brasov. We looked forever for a hotel and finally saw one that was a good price called Olivers Hotel. I had a few beers and went to sleep.
Thursday, January 29th - DAY 7
We got up and had breakfast and headed off for Bran Castle. The entrace fee was 22 Ron including the photo fee. Fact: Commonly known as "Dracula's Castle", it is marketed as the home of the titular character in Bram Stoker's Dracula. There is, however, no evidence that Stoker knew anything about this castle. Furthermore, there are persistent myths that it was once the home of Vlad Ţepeş, ruler of Wallachia. This is not true. The historical person Vlad III never resided here. We were able to walk through the castle now called a museum and take pictures and see the view.
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Afterwards we walked through the market and bought a few tacky souvenirs. Our next plan of action was to go to the real dracula castle we got on the road but it was soo bad that we wouldn't reach the castle until dark and still had to climb up the hill so we had to turn around and go to Bucharest. On our way home we passed many police cars...but luckily none stopped us. Again we stopped at Carrefour for a bite to eat.
The traffic in Bucharest was very busy. We finally found a hotel that was reasonably priced called the Carpati. Kirk and I returned the rental car and took a taxi to the train station to buy our tickets for Bulgaria. My luck was changing because under the age of 26 got a discount. Whoop whoop. The lady said we had to take the 2nd class sleeper. We asked about 1st class but her English wasn't good and she kept saying 2nd class so we hoped that it was going to be ok.
Friday, January 30th - DAY 8
We had breakfast at the hotel and I went on the internet for awhile hoping that the rain would stop. It was a light drizzle by the time we all decided to leave the hotel. Mike was taking Pam to the Palace Parliment. Kirk was going to the bookstore and then a pub and I was going to the Market to find some local souvenirs. At the market there wasn't anything that I wanted but I bought 2 small dolls to make into Christmas Tree ornaments. Then I walked around the area which ended up at a small mall called Victoria Mall and then the Centrul Civic Mall. Then decided to join Kirk at the pub and have a beer and salad. Their chicken cesar salad was good. The dressing tasted similar to mayonaise which a light spice.
Pam and Mike joined in shortly after and we headed to the The Romanian Athenaeum building which you can guess was closed. But we found out later you can only go inside when a performance is on.
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For supper we took Pam to Caru' cu bere. I had homemade vegetable soup, trout and mushrooms. Yummy. Then we had to leave for the train station to go to Bulgaria.
Blurred in Bulgaria
Saturday, January 31st - DAY 9
Well we finally arrived in Bulgaria after a 10 hour train ride. The train had 3 bunks which was perfect because there were 3 of us and we didn't have to split up. Kirk claimed the bottom bunk immediately and I wanted the top bunk so that left Mike with the middle bunk. My rational for picking the top was that if the bunk bed broke I would be on top and not squished by heavy boys!
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We had 2 stops on the train. The first stop they needed our passports to stamp to leaving Romania..my stamp was old and lacking ink. I couldn't see the train like the boys had...on the 2nd stop I had one more chance to get this train stamp in my passport...It was entering Bulgaria...I crossed my fingers and toes and when they gave it back to me again the stamp was lacking ink..but I could sorta make out the image of a train so I guess it will have to do.
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We arrived in Sofia at 6:00 and boys being boys they wanted to get to Bansko as fast as possible. So Mike found a taxi to take us there...he said only 120 km away and go by meter. We tried to say 150 = 200 Leva..but he said meter. Before we left Bucharest we didn't have time to e-mail our hotel to pick us up at the train station for 89 leva...(anyways in the boys defense I was so tired I didn't say yay or nay so I can't complain about what was to occur next).
1st we stopped to fill up with gas which the meter clocked. The taxi driver had to go to the bathroom...which the meter clocked. Before we left sofia we were at 30 Bulgarian Leva *BG...It was going to be an expensive taxi ride. The scenery to Bansko was beautiful. Mountains everywhere. There was snow too which was exciting...then there was no snow and we began to get worried. The website said there would be snow in Bansko to ski.
We arrived in Bansko at 8:30am..and it only cost us 220 EURO divided by 3. Aghhh that is more than my train ticket from Bucharest to Sofia. We felt sick as this taxi driver robbed us blind. To make it worse the taxi driver didn't know where our hotel was and we didn't have an address or a phone number or anything it was all in my e=mail. oops. So he dropped us off in the middle of town and we had to walk with our bags...after getting a map from another hotel we figured out where ours was. We were staying at the Belvedere Hotel Apartments 240 Leva total for 2 nights. Pretty cheap. We had a double bed and a futon with a kitchen and tv in each room.
We rested for in our room watching tv and going on the Internet. Mike and I planned on doing a half day of skiing because the weather was nice and they way our trip was going ..it might snow the next day. When we got to the ski hill it was 50 Leva for the day or 37 for 1/2 day...plus 20 leva for equipment..it wasn't worth it only for 3hours. So we decided to go for lunch at an Italian Restaurant. I had Penne Pasta and Brushetta and a couple of beers. We talked to a nice English lady who told us we could watch the Superbowl the next night at midnight because the bar was open 24 hours. So we were pretty excited. The boys bought some fur hats and donuts for desert.
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We went to the grocery store and bough food for breakfast and 2 bottles of wine...baileys and some gummy snacks. Back to the hotel apartment and watched more movies, drank and relaxed.
Sunday, February 1st - DAY 10
Mike and I woke up at 7:30 had our toast and were ready to hit the slopes. (Kirk didn't come skiing..not his thing. He stayed at the hotel and relaxed marking papers and surfing the net)
Mike and I bought our lift pass and rented our equipment. I even bought a "dickie" to keep my neck and face warm. I went skiing..wasn't about to attempt my first mountain experience using a snowboard..I wasn't confident enough. In the end I am definitely glad that I went skiing. The weather was beautiful. A bit foggy but the sun came out every once in a while.
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For lunch on the hill Mike and I had Shawarma. It was really good and even had cabbage/sauce in it which was a new ingredient added. I liked it. My knees and legs were definitely started to hurt in the afternoon and soon Mike and I had to call it quites because we were having trouble turning and kept falling. We both wanted to go the next day..but knew with the Superbowl on neither one of us would be getting out of bed early to go.
For supper we ate at the Zero Restaurant. I had pizza and beer. The pizza was okay..not the best. We went back to the hotel for a nap and set the alarm clock for midnight so we would get up and walk to the English Pub to watch the Superbowl.
We got there and they said they were closing...aghh apparently on Sundays they close early..the English girl forgot to tell us that part. The boys were really disappointed because the girls in the pub were hot..they didn't care that they were missing the Superbowl. Boys will be boys. So back to the hotel we went :(
Monday, February 2nd - DAY 10
We slept in as long as we could and packed our bags. We ate lunch at Amigo Restaurant which is owned by the same people as the Italian Restaurant. I had Potato and Mushroom soup and a bacon cheese burger.
We had the shuttle take us back to the bush station. Which was a good idea on my part because the boys wanted to walk and save money. We would never have gotten there because where they thought it was wasn't it. The bus to Sofia cost us 14leva each...better than 70 euro by taxi. pfff guess we won't make that mistake again.
It was a 2 1/2 hour bus ride.
We took a taxi from the bus station to our hotel which was 40 leva...Geee taxis are expensive in Bulgaria! (this is not true as we find out later most places it only costs 10 leva..some taxi drivers like to take tourists money)
The Orlando Hotel which we were staying at was in the middle of nowhere but very cute. They said it was in the heart of the city...I would say heart of the industrial area. We took another rest watching tv. For supper we walked around trying to find a place..not finding anything we went back to the hotel to grab their business card so that we could eventually get back there by taxi. The hotel rec commended a small restaurant around the corner from them that we saw..but weren't sure. So we decided to try it. OMG it was the BEST MEAL EVER!!! I had chicken noodle soup to start which was HOMEMADE...just like moms!! Then I had chicken in a mushroom cream sauce and if you didn't know by now...mushroom cream sauce anything is my FAVORITE!! The best part was it only cost me 10 leva. Wozers. Cheap and Good. My kind of restaurant.
Tuesday, February 3rd - DAY 11
Our hotel had a complementary breakfast. It was okay. I wished they had a toaster to toast the dry bread. The hotel taxi took us to the the gold-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral for only 7 leva. First cheap taxi ride in Bulgaria and hopefully more to come. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built in the early 20th century in memory of the 200,000 Russian soldiers, who died in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878. It is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world. The cathedral's gold-plated dome is 45 m high, with the bell tower reaching 50.52 m.
It was free to enter and many people came to light candles and pray. The inside was beautiful.
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We walked around this area stopping at the local flea market which was selling so called antiques.
On the way we saw The Russian Church or the Church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker, built in 1914. We saw other buildings too and then we finally ended up at the mall. The place where we could sit and eat...drink coffee and watch the hot Europeans walk by. (this is what you do when you travel with boys)
We walked around the mall for a bit. Mike bought a WiiFit that was half the price than the ones in Canada..and later found out it doesn't work with his Wii back home...it only works with the European models. Lucky for him he has friends who own European Wii that will buy the WiiFit off him.
Back at the hotel we watched a terrible movie and I got to chat with my mom on facebook messenger. Then Kirk and I went for supper leaving Mike to talk with his mom. We went back to the same little restaurant. This time I had chicken noodle soup and pork in a gravy mushroom sauce. It wasn't bad..the pork was a bit chewy but had to have it because there is no pork in Kuwait!
Wednesday, February 4th - DAY 12
We woke up and a taxi took us to the airport for yet again 10leva CHEAP! We flew with Turkish airlines. The food was good this time having a salad and a sub. Getting closer to Istanbul the plane took a sudden drop in the air...nothing like I had ever experienced before. The entire plane gasped out loud. My legs were on top of Mike and both of us had our hands grasping towards each other...weird first instinct.
In the Istanbul Airport we had 10 hours to kill before our flight. It was 60.00 to leave the airport plus a taxi cab both ways...or 34.00 to sit in the lounge...all you can eat and drink and free Internet. We chose the lounge.
Well we finally arrived in Bulgaria after a 10 hour train ride. The train had 3 bunks which was perfect because there were 3 of us and we didn't have to split up. Kirk claimed the bottom bunk immediately and I wanted the top bunk so that left Mike with the middle bunk. My rational for picking the top was that if the bunk bed broke I would be on top and not squished by heavy boys!
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We had 2 stops on the train. The first stop they needed our passports to stamp to leaving Romania..my stamp was old and lacking ink. I couldn't see the train like the boys had...on the 2nd stop I had one more chance to get this train stamp in my passport...It was entering Bulgaria...I crossed my fingers and toes and when they gave it back to me again the stamp was lacking ink..but I could sorta make out the image of a train so I guess it will have to do.
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We arrived in Sofia at 6:00 and boys being boys they wanted to get to Bansko as fast as possible. So Mike found a taxi to take us there...he said only 120 km away and go by meter. We tried to say 150 = 200 Leva..but he said meter. Before we left Bucharest we didn't have time to e-mail our hotel to pick us up at the train station for 89 leva...(anyways in the boys defense I was so tired I didn't say yay or nay so I can't complain about what was to occur next).
1st we stopped to fill up with gas which the meter clocked. The taxi driver had to go to the bathroom...which the meter clocked. Before we left sofia we were at 30 Bulgarian Leva *BG...It was going to be an expensive taxi ride. The scenery to Bansko was beautiful. Mountains everywhere. There was snow too which was exciting...then there was no snow and we began to get worried. The website said there would be snow in Bansko to ski.
We arrived in Bansko at 8:30am..and it only cost us 220 EURO divided by 3. Aghhh that is more than my train ticket from Bucharest to Sofia. We felt sick as this taxi driver robbed us blind. To make it worse the taxi driver didn't know where our hotel was and we didn't have an address or a phone number or anything it was all in my e=mail. oops. So he dropped us off in the middle of town and we had to walk with our bags...after getting a map from another hotel we figured out where ours was. We were staying at the Belvedere Hotel Apartments 240 Leva total for 2 nights. Pretty cheap. We had a double bed and a futon with a kitchen and tv in each room.
We rested for in our room watching tv and going on the Internet. Mike and I planned on doing a half day of skiing because the weather was nice and they way our trip was going ..it might snow the next day. When we got to the ski hill it was 50 Leva for the day or 37 for 1/2 day...plus 20 leva for equipment..it wasn't worth it only for 3hours. So we decided to go for lunch at an Italian Restaurant. I had Penne Pasta and Brushetta and a couple of beers. We talked to a nice English lady who told us we could watch the Superbowl the next night at midnight because the bar was open 24 hours. So we were pretty excited. The boys bought some fur hats and donuts for desert.
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We went to the grocery store and bough food for breakfast and 2 bottles of wine...baileys and some gummy snacks. Back to the hotel apartment and watched more movies, drank and relaxed.
Sunday, February 1st - DAY 10
Mike and I woke up at 7:30 had our toast and were ready to hit the slopes. (Kirk didn't come skiing..not his thing. He stayed at the hotel and relaxed marking papers and surfing the net)
Mike and I bought our lift pass and rented our equipment. I even bought a "dickie" to keep my neck and face warm. I went skiing..wasn't about to attempt my first mountain experience using a snowboard..I wasn't confident enough. In the end I am definitely glad that I went skiing. The weather was beautiful. A bit foggy but the sun came out every once in a while.
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For lunch on the hill Mike and I had Shawarma. It was really good and even had cabbage/sauce in it which was a new ingredient added. I liked it. My knees and legs were definitely started to hurt in the afternoon and soon Mike and I had to call it quites because we were having trouble turning and kept falling. We both wanted to go the next day..but knew with the Superbowl on neither one of us would be getting out of bed early to go.
For supper we ate at the Zero Restaurant. I had pizza and beer. The pizza was okay..not the best. We went back to the hotel for a nap and set the alarm clock for midnight so we would get up and walk to the English Pub to watch the Superbowl.
We got there and they said they were closing...aghh apparently on Sundays they close early..the English girl forgot to tell us that part. The boys were really disappointed because the girls in the pub were hot..they didn't care that they were missing the Superbowl. Boys will be boys. So back to the hotel we went :(
Monday, February 2nd - DAY 10
We slept in as long as we could and packed our bags. We ate lunch at Amigo Restaurant which is owned by the same people as the Italian Restaurant. I had Potato and Mushroom soup and a bacon cheese burger.
We had the shuttle take us back to the bush station. Which was a good idea on my part because the boys wanted to walk and save money. We would never have gotten there because where they thought it was wasn't it. The bus to Sofia cost us 14leva each...better than 70 euro by taxi. pfff guess we won't make that mistake again.
It was a 2 1/2 hour bus ride.
We took a taxi from the bus station to our hotel which was 40 leva...Geee taxis are expensive in Bulgaria! (this is not true as we find out later most places it only costs 10 leva..some taxi drivers like to take tourists money)
The Orlando Hotel which we were staying at was in the middle of nowhere but very cute. They said it was in the heart of the city...I would say heart of the industrial area. We took another rest watching tv. For supper we walked around trying to find a place..not finding anything we went back to the hotel to grab their business card so that we could eventually get back there by taxi. The hotel rec commended a small restaurant around the corner from them that we saw..but weren't sure. So we decided to try it. OMG it was the BEST MEAL EVER!!! I had chicken noodle soup to start which was HOMEMADE...just like moms!! Then I had chicken in a mushroom cream sauce and if you didn't know by now...mushroom cream sauce anything is my FAVORITE!! The best part was it only cost me 10 leva. Wozers. Cheap and Good. My kind of restaurant.
Tuesday, February 3rd - DAY 11
Our hotel had a complementary breakfast. It was okay. I wished they had a toaster to toast the dry bread. The hotel taxi took us to the the gold-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral for only 7 leva. First cheap taxi ride in Bulgaria and hopefully more to come. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built in the early 20th century in memory of the 200,000 Russian soldiers, who died in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878. It is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world. The cathedral's gold-plated dome is 45 m high, with the bell tower reaching 50.52 m.
It was free to enter and many people came to light candles and pray. The inside was beautiful.
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We walked around this area stopping at the local flea market which was selling so called antiques.
On the way we saw The Russian Church or the Church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker, built in 1914. We saw other buildings too and then we finally ended up at the mall. The place where we could sit and eat...drink coffee and watch the hot Europeans walk by. (this is what you do when you travel with boys)
We walked around the mall for a bit. Mike bought a WiiFit that was half the price than the ones in Canada..and later found out it doesn't work with his Wii back home...it only works with the European models. Lucky for him he has friends who own European Wii that will buy the WiiFit off him.
Back at the hotel we watched a terrible movie and I got to chat with my mom on facebook messenger. Then Kirk and I went for supper leaving Mike to talk with his mom. We went back to the same little restaurant. This time I had chicken noodle soup and pork in a gravy mushroom sauce. It wasn't bad..the pork was a bit chewy but had to have it because there is no pork in Kuwait!
Wednesday, February 4th - DAY 12
We woke up and a taxi took us to the airport for yet again 10leva CHEAP! We flew with Turkish airlines. The food was good this time having a salad and a sub. Getting closer to Istanbul the plane took a sudden drop in the air...nothing like I had ever experienced before. The entire plane gasped out loud. My legs were on top of Mike and both of us had our hands grasping towards each other...weird first instinct.
In the Istanbul Airport we had 10 hours to kill before our flight. It was 60.00 to leave the airport plus a taxi cab both ways...or 34.00 to sit in the lounge...all you can eat and drink and free Internet. We chose the lounge.
OMAN for CHRISTMAS!!
Thursday, December 24th
Christmas Eve!! Directly after school I came home and did some last minute packing. Amanda, Jon, Brad and I flew KLM direct to Oman. When we arrived in Oman we took a taxi to our hotel which we had booked online Hala Hotel Apartments. It looked pretty new. When we got inside they did not have our reservation which was for 4 beds in the apartment…they didn’t have rooms like that only 2 beds. No problem we took the room with 2 beds. Our beds were hudge…infact you could fit probably 5 people in 1 bed. It was awesome. We opened our booze that we had bought at duty free and sat and watched Christmas porn on our tv…guess that’s what you watch when you travel with 2 boys. Haha. We went to sleep and hoped Santa would find us in Oman.
Friday, December 25th
Amanda and I woke up and ran into the boys room and jumped into their bed and told them Santa had came. They were not too pleased that we woke them up at 11am. We ended up falling asleep in their bed until 3pm..guess we were still pretty tired too. We finally got up and saw what Santa brought us. I got a Slow Cooker Recipe book to go with the slow cooker Amanda and Jon had bought me…and I also got a set of coffee travel mugs. All were excellent gifts. We went down to the hotel for lunch and Brad and I shared a mixed grill…which is the traditional Lebanese meal that Arabs eat. It was pretty delicious. Then we all decided it was time to leave the hotel and go to Mutrah Souq. Moutrah Souq is an Arab market that sells antiques, Indian and Omani artifacts. As it got later we decided we needed to have something to eat. So we picked a restaurant just outside of the Souq. I wasn’t very hungry so I decided to have chicken shwarma. The boys had Mutin Shwarma. It was pretty good. We called a taxi to pick us up and as we waited a couple from Winnipeg stopped and asked us if we knew a good place where they could eat a nice Christmas Dinner. Haha we had shwarma for Christmas dinner..oops.
We went back to the hotel to book our 4x4 vehicle for the next few days. Then our taxi took us to a bar called Safari where we could drink $12.00 Corona and dance our hearts out. It was lots of fun. Back at the apartments I fell asleep on the couch until 6am…and then found my way back to the comfy bed with Amanda.
Saturday, December 26th
Our vehicle that we rented arrived at noon. When we went to sign the papers they informed us that the breaks pads were wearing and it was hard to break. They were worried that we would be driving up in the mountains the next day so we agreed that we would drive to Niswa in that vehicle and they would bring us a new one that night because at the time they had none available until late in the evening. We finally left for Nizwa which is about a 2 hour drive. Nizwa lies on a plain surrounded by palm tree oasis’s and some of Oman’s highest mountains. The landscape is beautiful in Oman. Mountains surround you and the people are very nice. When we got there we found a hotel and then headed off in hopes to make the Al-Hoota Cave. Unfortunately the last tour started 15 minutes before we got there. So we drove back and had milkshakes and waited for our brand new Land cruiser to arrive. Whoop Whoop. So we went back to the hotel and decided to go to bed early because we had to get up early the next morning.
Sunday, December 27th
We woke up early and went directly to the Al-Hoota Caves. The caves were pretty cool but the guide could’ve given a better tour. Afterwards we wanted to go to Jebel Shams. The roads are not clearly marked in Oman and we got lost quite a few times. I don’t think the boys appreciated the back seat talk and saying that they should stop and ask for directions. Needless to say we made it to Jabel Shams and the boys only got lost a million times and didn’t ask for directions once. Surprise, surprise.
Jebel Shams is Oman’s highest mountain. It means Mountain of the Sun. The view is amazing because you looked into a Grand Canyon.
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We went for a short hike and ate a snack on Jebel Shams and decided it was time to head off towards Ras Al-Hadd because it was going to be a long drive especially with the roads not being marked properly.
We got lost…but did make it to Sur for supper. It wasn’t the best meal we had had…but it was the most expensive. We arrived at the hotel near the turtle spot outside of Ras Al-Hadd. When we got there they told us the night tour for the turtles was booked. Amanda was crushed. But the manager called his friend who was a guide and gave us a private tour on a different beach…we thought it was a bit illegal but we didn’t care because we wanted to see the turtle. We saw the female turtle after she had laid the eggs and covered them with sand. We also saw 2 baby turtles that had hatched and were finding their way back to the water. The stars were beautiful out too. It was a nice night.
Then at 4am Amanda wanted to get up again to see the turtles at sunrise. We ended up sleeping in until 6 and we missed the female turtle laying the eggs..but we saw her covering them with sand and returning to the water. It was still really beautiful out. The sunrise was gorgeous and we could see all of the tracks from the turtles that had nested that night that had returned to the water. A bit of information for you….Ras-Al Jinz is a turtle nesting site for endangered green turtles. Over 20,000 females return annually to the beach where they hatched in order to lay eggs.
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Monday, December 28th
We left at 9am in hopes to go to Wadi Tiwi and Wadi Shab. However, with all the road construction there was no sign or turn off that we could’ve taken to get there so we missed them and had to stop at another Wadi. A wadi is the remains of a dried up old river. It was situated in a beautiful palm oasis right in the mountains. Then we drove around Muscat in our Land Cruiser checking out Old Muscat, the Corniche, Qurm.
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We ate at D’Arcy’s Kitchen. The food here was absolutely delicious. Mmmm. We went to a pub and had some beers because our flight didn’t leave until later that night.
I loved Oman. It was a beautiful country.
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I wish I could’ve been in Saskatoon and enjoyed all of the Ukrainian food and visiting. Miss you all. All the best to you and your family in 2009. xoxo
Christmas Eve!! Directly after school I came home and did some last minute packing. Amanda, Jon, Brad and I flew KLM direct to Oman. When we arrived in Oman we took a taxi to our hotel which we had booked online Hala Hotel Apartments. It looked pretty new. When we got inside they did not have our reservation which was for 4 beds in the apartment…they didn’t have rooms like that only 2 beds. No problem we took the room with 2 beds. Our beds were hudge…infact you could fit probably 5 people in 1 bed. It was awesome. We opened our booze that we had bought at duty free and sat and watched Christmas porn on our tv…guess that’s what you watch when you travel with 2 boys. Haha. We went to sleep and hoped Santa would find us in Oman.
Friday, December 25th
Amanda and I woke up and ran into the boys room and jumped into their bed and told them Santa had came. They were not too pleased that we woke them up at 11am. We ended up falling asleep in their bed until 3pm..guess we were still pretty tired too. We finally got up and saw what Santa brought us. I got a Slow Cooker Recipe book to go with the slow cooker Amanda and Jon had bought me…and I also got a set of coffee travel mugs. All were excellent gifts. We went down to the hotel for lunch and Brad and I shared a mixed grill…which is the traditional Lebanese meal that Arabs eat. It was pretty delicious. Then we all decided it was time to leave the hotel and go to Mutrah Souq. Moutrah Souq is an Arab market that sells antiques, Indian and Omani artifacts. As it got later we decided we needed to have something to eat. So we picked a restaurant just outside of the Souq. I wasn’t very hungry so I decided to have chicken shwarma. The boys had Mutin Shwarma. It was pretty good. We called a taxi to pick us up and as we waited a couple from Winnipeg stopped and asked us if we knew a good place where they could eat a nice Christmas Dinner. Haha we had shwarma for Christmas dinner..oops.
We went back to the hotel to book our 4x4 vehicle for the next few days. Then our taxi took us to a bar called Safari where we could drink $12.00 Corona and dance our hearts out. It was lots of fun. Back at the apartments I fell asleep on the couch until 6am…and then found my way back to the comfy bed with Amanda.
Saturday, December 26th
Our vehicle that we rented arrived at noon. When we went to sign the papers they informed us that the breaks pads were wearing and it was hard to break. They were worried that we would be driving up in the mountains the next day so we agreed that we would drive to Niswa in that vehicle and they would bring us a new one that night because at the time they had none available until late in the evening. We finally left for Nizwa which is about a 2 hour drive. Nizwa lies on a plain surrounded by palm tree oasis’s and some of Oman’s highest mountains. The landscape is beautiful in Oman. Mountains surround you and the people are very nice. When we got there we found a hotel and then headed off in hopes to make the Al-Hoota Cave. Unfortunately the last tour started 15 minutes before we got there. So we drove back and had milkshakes and waited for our brand new Land cruiser to arrive. Whoop Whoop. So we went back to the hotel and decided to go to bed early because we had to get up early the next morning.
Sunday, December 27th
We woke up early and went directly to the Al-Hoota Caves. The caves were pretty cool but the guide could’ve given a better tour. Afterwards we wanted to go to Jebel Shams. The roads are not clearly marked in Oman and we got lost quite a few times. I don’t think the boys appreciated the back seat talk and saying that they should stop and ask for directions. Needless to say we made it to Jabel Shams and the boys only got lost a million times and didn’t ask for directions once. Surprise, surprise.
Jebel Shams is Oman’s highest mountain. It means Mountain of the Sun. The view is amazing because you looked into a Grand Canyon.
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We went for a short hike and ate a snack on Jebel Shams and decided it was time to head off towards Ras Al-Hadd because it was going to be a long drive especially with the roads not being marked properly.
We got lost…but did make it to Sur for supper. It wasn’t the best meal we had had…but it was the most expensive. We arrived at the hotel near the turtle spot outside of Ras Al-Hadd. When we got there they told us the night tour for the turtles was booked. Amanda was crushed. But the manager called his friend who was a guide and gave us a private tour on a different beach…we thought it was a bit illegal but we didn’t care because we wanted to see the turtle. We saw the female turtle after she had laid the eggs and covered them with sand. We also saw 2 baby turtles that had hatched and were finding their way back to the water. The stars were beautiful out too. It was a nice night.
Then at 4am Amanda wanted to get up again to see the turtles at sunrise. We ended up sleeping in until 6 and we missed the female turtle laying the eggs..but we saw her covering them with sand and returning to the water. It was still really beautiful out. The sunrise was gorgeous and we could see all of the tracks from the turtles that had nested that night that had returned to the water. A bit of information for you….Ras-Al Jinz is a turtle nesting site for endangered green turtles. Over 20,000 females return annually to the beach where they hatched in order to lay eggs.
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Monday, December 28th
We left at 9am in hopes to go to Wadi Tiwi and Wadi Shab. However, with all the road construction there was no sign or turn off that we could’ve taken to get there so we missed them and had to stop at another Wadi. A wadi is the remains of a dried up old river. It was situated in a beautiful palm oasis right in the mountains. Then we drove around Muscat in our Land Cruiser checking out Old Muscat, the Corniche, Qurm.
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We ate at D’Arcy’s Kitchen. The food here was absolutely delicious. Mmmm. We went to a pub and had some beers because our flight didn’t leave until later that night.
I loved Oman. It was a beautiful country.
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I wish I could’ve been in Saskatoon and enjoyed all of the Ukrainian food and visiting. Miss you all. All the best to you and your family in 2009. xoxo
December 29, 2008
Africa
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Day 1 – Thursday, December 4th
Amanda and I were going to Kenya, Africa and we had to be at the airport at 2:00am. I decided to sleep until 1:00am and get up call Patrick before I left. At 1:00am exactly Amanda called me and told me that she couldn’t find her passport and had been looking for the past few hours and it was nowhere to be found. For those of you that don’t know Amanda …she has a lot of stuff. We moved into our new building and she has barley unpacked..so in other words it was a disaster!!
So instead of calling Pat I went downstairs and started looking through all her boxes not sure what I was going to do if we couldn’t find it. Luckily at 1:30 I found her passport in a box full of useless junk. Moral of the story always have your passport ready for a trip at least 2 days prior to departure.
We landed at Nairobi airport at 12:00 noon and paid for our Visa (50US) and were picked up by our driver Rubin. As we were leaving the airport we saw a camel. Let the trip begin!!!
We started the trip off by going to The Carnivore restaurant for lunch. It was really cool. We sat down and had a Dawa drink. It was vodka, lime, sugar, ice and honey. Tasty! It was all you can eat meat. The waiter would bring you meat until you pulled the white flag out of its holder and surrendered. We ate beef, chicken, CROCODILE, OSTRITCH, turkey, pork and lamb.
After we ate we drove through the central highlands and stopped at the Rift Valley View point. It was a beautiful view. Then we went and shopped at a local shop. Our driver quickly found out that 2 girls in Africa…LOVED to shop. We ended up shopping a bit too long and it put us behind schedule as we headed to Lake Nakuru National Park.
Day 2 – Friday, December 5th
We woke up bright and early (6:30am) and were ready for our first day of Safari Gaming. We were ready to see the BIG 5. The Big 5 include Elephant, Rhino, Leopard, Buffalo and Lion.
At Lake Nakuru National Park we saw so many animals that I decided to write down EVERY animal – bird that I saw. It is hard to put into words how I felt as we drove through the Park. Animals were roaming freely everywhere…grazing. It was absolutely amazing. We saw Gazelles, Impalas, Buffalo, Giraffes, Turkeys, Zebras, Warthogs, White and Black Rhinos, Blue Ear Standing Bird, Flamingos, Pelicans, African Fish Eagle, Baboons, wild beast and Jackals. At 8:00 we headed back to our hotel for breakfast. Then it was time to depart for The Masai Mara Game Reserve / Masai Mara Sopa Lodge. Along the way we shopped some more and bought many African items. The Masai Mara Park forms part of the Northern Serengeti Ecosystem. When we got there it was too late to go out and do some game viewing so we decided to lay by the pool and watch the sun set. For supper we had the usual beer and sprite with our meal. After supper some local Masai Marai tribal boys came and did a few traditional dances for us.
Day 3 – Saturday, December 6th
As usual we woke up early at 6:30am for the gaming drive. To sum this experience up I felt like I was in the Lion King Movie. The landscape was very similar to the movie. It was breath taking. We saw different animals here and some the same as the previous park. We saw hard beast and then LION TRACKS…which lead to LIONS believe it or not. The first lion we saw was a male. It was slowly walking around. Other animals included, Topes, ostrich, the national bird of Uganda, Egyptian Goose…then 2 female lions! There were lots of sausage tress..trees that had fruit on them in the shape of sausages. Then right after that we saw more lions. It was a crazy morning to see lions. It was 1 male and 1 female lying in the sand. Then we saw a black bellied bastard bird, marabou stark, water blova bird, vultures in the tree, corn clover bird, whistling agacious tree, wildebeest, zebras and many giraffes.
Then it was time to go back to the hotel for breakfast. We agreed that we wanted to leave for the Masai Tribe Village. We paid 20 us to go and visit this tribe and learn about them. They welcomed us with a dance and then showed us the huts they lived in. They showed us where they circumcise the boys in the courtyard for the entire tribe to see and that women also get the same done but inside the huts privately. Then they showed us how they make tattoos using two sticks and rubbing them together to make fire. Then they put the hot stick on your body and it makes a small circle. That’s the tattoo and of course Amanda had to have to have one. So they gave her one and now she is ½ Masai…the other half involved circumcision so she only agreed to be half. They took us to their market and we bought some more cool souvenirs. Then they took us to their school. Unfortunately all of Kenya was on vacation so we didn’t get to see them hard at work!
Afterwards we went back out to Safari. This time we saw Gazelles “doing it” then zebras, dik diks, a lilac breasted roller bird, termites, blue headed Alcamo, ostrich, an old old giraffe that was dark brown, Hippos, Elephants, 4 lions, hammerhead bird, a male and female lion. Then as we were heading back in to the hotel for supper we saw a male and female lion eating something. They had blood all over their mouths..they had killed a Masai cow.
Day 4 – Sunday, December 7th
Off again at 7:30am in search for a Leopard..Unfortunately it was the only animal out of the big 5 that we didn’t end up seeing. Our driver drove us to the Tanzania Border and into Tanzania. There were no border guards at this point. Many people and animals are free to migrate over the border. Again we did very well seeing tons of animals. We stopped at the Sand River for a few pictures and also the Mara River. We saw big elephants, lilac breasted bird, baboons, hippos, vultures, and an alligator. We saw The King Fisher Bird, and Weaver bird nests in trees. The highlight was seeing the Seval Cat which looks very close to a leopard. To end off the trip we saw 3 lions. (2 males, 1 female) then a group of warthogs.
Day 5 – Monday, December 8th
We woke up 7:00am and Rubin drove us back to Nairobi, Kenya to the airport. Along the way we shopped some more filling up our suitcases. We dropped our extra bags off at our travel agents office because the flight to Uganda only allows you to check 1 bag. Megan and Jessica ended up having their flights changed to the same flight that Amanda and I were on because their bags got lost on their previous flight into Kenya. Excitedly we all boarded the flight to Uganda. Our visa entry was 50.00US. Our tour agent picked us out at the airport and sat us down before we left to inform us that all our money had not been transferred over to this company. Therefore they had to cancel our hotel …and were hoping that the money would arrive by tomorrow otherwise we would not be able to go on out gorilla trek. We were freaking out of course because we had all paid our money well in advance and there was no reason for the money not to be already there. They drove us to the Centennial Inn which was what we think was a whore house. Inside our room there was NO TV, and a box of condoms. It was the worst hotel ever. Amanda and I were used to 5 star hotels with room service that brought us hot water bottles to sleep with.
Day 6 – Tuesday, December 9th
We woke up very upset and waited to hear if our money arrived. 9:00am nothing…so we went to an internet shop and sat there for 1 hour which had the slowest internet ever. It was frustrating. At 10:30 still no money. So as a group we decided we needed to find money to get the trip going otherwise it was going to be too late to drive to the Equator and to the gorillas. First went to the bank, then airport and finally we had to go to Kampala to try and get money out of the bank. The bank was going to close at 4:00 and it was almost 4 so our driver told us that in order to make the bank I was going to have to jump on a mo-ped. So Amanda and I jumped on the mini moto-bikes and zipped to the bank just in time! Unfortunately I could only take out 700us at a time and only 2 out of 3 of my cards worked. We were 700 dollars short and the company wouldn’t let us pay it when we returned. So we decided to go back to the airport and board a flight back to Nairobi, Kenya. We needed to see our travel agent asap because we were not happy that we were missing the gorillas. We had a new driver pick us up in Nairobi and take us to the Panafric hotel. In the morning we would meet with our agent.
Day 7 – Wednesday, December 10th
We woke up and went straight to the office. Long story short we ended up getting our money back from Uganda and they also sent all 4 of us to Mount Kenya and stayed at Mountain Lodge. The drive to Mount Kenya was very beautiful. When we got to the hotel we spent the night watching processions of game come and drink water and eat around the flood lit waterhole. It was pretty cool. We only saw buffalo, gazelle, birds, warthogs, monkeys and finally a Hyena. The food was the best we had, had on the trip. Absolutely delicious.
Day 8 –Thursday, December 11th
We woke up and went on a hiking tour. We learned about the many animals in this area of Kenya, plant etc. It was a great hike and we even stopped for tea / coffee and cake. Afterwards we headed back to Nairobi. We arrived at our travel agents office to find out that he still did not have money for us. Grrr so we went back to a different hotel. I packed my bags and was ready to leave in late afternoon.
Day 9 –Friday, December 12th
Amanda and I had a few hours together before I left to go back to Kuwait. We went to the Giraffe Sanctuary where I kissed a giraffe!! It was really cool. Then we went to Kasuri beads where I bought some bracelets that were made by single or widowed African ladies. Then we stopped at some more African craft shops. We stopped at a mall and bought some Christmas ornaments. We bought some chocolate bars in a supermarket to spin a wheel and get a picture with the African Santa and his elves. Amanda spun the wheel and won the biggest gift basket of chocolate ever. I couldn’t believe it. We gave the gift basket to our driver because we did not have room to take it back to Kuwait with us, nor did we want to. The last place we stopped was a place to buy a Kenyan Traditional outfit. Unfortunately I didn’t find what I wanted. It was time for me to board my plane. I surprisingly was only 1kg over the weight limit. Whoop whoop. I was worried it would be a lot more.
That was my trip to Africa. It was half fantastic and half disappointing…so now I have to go back to Uganda to see the Gorillas because they are estimating that in 10 years they may not be there anymore!
November 17, 2008
Finally an Update!!
Oil field
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In the bathroom cleaning myself up after running into a door.
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My halloween Costume!Finally, I took a "Sick" day and didn't go to school. I have updated all my facebook pictures. My internet is too slow at home to download pictures.
Okay...Halloween
I dressed up as the 4 of hearts in a deck of cards. It was a sweet costume...that is until I ran into a door and leaked blood all over it! Before getting to the Halloween party I was talking to some friends and turned around to enter the party and the door was a bit closer than I anticipated. I ran into the door and blood was everywhere! I ran to the bathroom to clean myself up...cryed and laughed...cried some more. I have never had a bleeding nose before so this was a tramatic moment for me.
The next day I went to the hospital and got some xrays..turns out I cracked my nose. Pff just what I wanted to hear. The doctor said he couldn't stabalize because it was only 1 mm drop. But if I wanted plastic surgery to ensure that there was no bump I could get that done. I think my nose looks fine..there is a bit of a bump but nothing major.
I went to the oil fields this past weekend. I went with CIK (Canadians in Kuwait). If am officially a member now. The oil fields wasn't as great as I thought it would be...but it was still cool to see. Got a nice gift from them including a sample oil in a glass ornament to put on my shelf.
This weekend I am going to Failaka Island. I am going to play paint ball and stay over night. I think it will be lots of fun.
That's it from me! Sorry it's short but I have report cards to write! :) xoxo
October 5, 2008
Indonesia
Day 1: Thursday, September 25th
I woke up this morning with a stuffed up nose and a whopper of a cough. Unfortunately I had to go to school because if I didn’t payroll would consider my sick day as an extension of a holiday. Aghh lucky for me I have an easy Thursday set of classes. After I taught my 2 hours I went to the staff room and rested on the couch until it was time to clock out. I had 2 hours to pack before it was time to head to the airport. At the airport we ate at McDonalds as it is a tradition that Amanda and I do before we go on vacation. Our flight to Abu Dhabi was delayed about an 1 ½ so we sat at McDonalds with Carla and Marieke and played UNO until it was time to board.
In Abu Dhabi Amanda and I didn’t have much time before we had to board for our next flight. It was nice not to have to wait around in the airport for once. The flight to Jakarta, Indonesia was terrible because I was sick and it wasn’t very cool on the plane. This is odd because usually I am freezing on the airplane. My head felt like it was going to explode. My tummy hurt. I was having hot and cold flashes and couldn’t sleep or concentrate enough to put on a movie. For 8 ½ hours I went to the bathroom every 30minutes to 1 hour. People who were awake watched as I went back and forth. The bathroom was nice and cool and if I sat with my head between my legs I would drift into a sleep..then I would wake up and realize I was still on the toilet. Oh it was not a pleasant flight.
Day 2: Friday, September 26th
We arrived in Jakarta delayed of course. The visa on arrival was very fast and we didn’t have to wait in line which was nice. The line up was at Immigration. Finally we made it and were greeted by Arnold; Amanda’s friend from Residence at University of Manitoba. Arnold and is family are from Indonesia so he decided to take his holidays when ours were and show us around Jakarta. His plane landed only 1 hour before ours so it worked out perfectly for him to wait around for us to arrive.
Arnolds driver Selamat (translated means safe) picked us up at the airport. Arnold’s mother send Arnold his favorite Indonesian food to eat on the way and she also sent Amanda and I some bakery goods. My favorite was the Chocolate Éclairs. The traffic was very heavy so instead of only taking 1 hour to get to Arnold’s house it took 2!!! When we arrived we met Arnold’s mother(Winny), father (Arie) and older sister (Anthea). Originally we were supposed to stay with Arnold’s grandmother but she was nervous about having us stay with her so we stayed with Arnold’s parents instead. Our room was small but air-conditioned. We got a quick tour of the house and then decided we needed a nap before supper. When my head hit the pillow I was out. I heard a quiet knock at the door. It was Arnold. He was unpacking his bags and was delivering my package from home. I didn’t open it right away.
For supper we had red rice, a curry that wasn’t too spicy, chicken and some other Indonesian foods. All quite tasty. Then it was desert. Arnold’s grandmother cooked his favorites. Everything had coconut inside it and they called it Jelly Cakes. It was okay, but in small doses. There wasn’t too much flavor and the look of the pieces of coconut did not make the dish look too appetizing. I really liked the Coconut ice cream. After supper I went to directly to bed. I was hoping that if I got a good nights rest that I would feel better in the morning. Amanda went with Arnold and Anthea to Carefour for some munchies and beer to take with us to the Villa. I wanted to go too but decided it was a better idea to go to bed. We had an early morning ahead of us because we were heading out of the city to a Villa for the weekend.
Day 3 – Saturday, September 27th
We woke up and had previously packed our suitcases on request of Arnold’s father. He wanted to get on the road before the traffic. However, we did not end up leaving on time as Arnold’s mother takes a long time to get ready in the morning! For breakfast Amanda bought some Mangos which were soo good and juicy. I couldn’t get enough of them.
We stopped at Starbucks for a coffee as we waited for Arnold’s parents’ friends to meet us and take us to their Villa. The villa was located in Tanjung Lesung (translated to Dimple Bay). The chalet we went to was located in a private Villa. This chalet was owned by a family Sofia and her husband who have 3 children (boys) and their parents. The children spoke very good English as they go to an international school. Brian the oldest is in grade 6. He showed us everything he could around the area. His twin brothers Barry and Brandon were age 7. It seemed like every time I was in the kitchen there was food on the table and someone was eating. I told Arnold Indonesian people eat 24 hours a day. He laughed and said they want to make sure that Indonesian people want to make sure you have the best time possible and that you are happy and fulfilled when you leave their place.
After eating we went and walked in the ocean. The water was very warm. We looked at the coral and even saw some tiny fish. I walked along the shoreline and collected sea shells. Then it was time to go back to the chalet and eat some more. I had a coconut and drank the milk using a strawberry flavored syrup. The milk was warm. Not my favorite thing to drink. I did not eat the inside as my tummy was doing flip flops plus I do not like how Indonesian coconuts are soft and mushy inside. For supper we had fresh fish that Sophia’s husband had caught that day. I loved fish. They do not fillet the fish they bbq it bones and all. Then we went for a walk to see if we could see any monkeys..we think we might have seen one. We could hear them!! Amanda and I had planned to go and take a boat to see the ACTIVE VOLCANO at Krakatau the next day. Unfortunately the southern winds had picked up and they didn’t know if they were going to have the trip. It was going to cost 5.5 million Indonesian dollars to go on the trip. Which is just over $800.00 Canadian dollars. It was a private boat but Amanda and I figured it would cost us around 200 each for us to go. Not to mention because it was active we couldn’t hike the volcano anymore. So because it wasn’t safe we didn’t end up going. That night we chatted and played a board game with the boys and then went to bed.
Day 4 – Sunday, September 28th
I did not feel well when I woke up. I had shooting pain in my stomach. When I got up to go to the washroom I felt like I was going to faint. Amanda got me water and I laid in bed trying to get into a position where the pain would stop hurting me. Then a few hours later Amanda said she had a sore stomach too. I slept until lunch time. When I was up I was disappointed I missed Brian’s pancakes. He had said the previous day he was going to make them for us. I had some green tea and then went and laid down again as the pains came back. Amanda went to the pool with the boys while I slept. I got up off and on drinking more tea and finally having some toast with strawberry jam. Sophia said to take 10 carbon pills to soak up the poisons in my body. So I did and for the rest of the trip my poop was shades of green and black. Definitely had some infection in my body that I couldn’t seem to get rid of. Sophia and her husband and the 3 boys went home and I went to bed.
Day 5 – Monday, September 29th
I felt better in the morning and was able to eat the noodles for breakfast. Amanda, Arnold and I went for a walk and then went to the pool at the hotel. The pool had nice jets that I let beat against my back. Then I laid in the sun and burnt which later I paid for.
We had lunch and the cleaned up and headed back to Jakarta. Arnold’s father decided that Amanda and I need to eat and that Pizza Hut would be a good choice because it was something familiar for our bodies. He was right, for $40.00 Canadian we got 4 large pizzas, chicken wings, 3 salads and everyone ordered drinks. It was CHEAP! I couldn’t get over it. One large pizza was only $5.00 however; it was the size of a medium at home. Arnold had made plans to meet one of his friends from high school her name was Mia. She was gorgeous and dressed to kill. Amanda and I were not looking as classy as she was. She took us to a restaurant that had booze and was revolving. We had some appetizers and chatted. It was a really nice evening. The next day we were going shopping.
Day 6 – Tuesday, September 30th
We got up and went to a shopping outlet called Mangga Dua. Here is where you could buy clothes for cheap cheap. I got a few shirts. There wasn’t a lot of knock off brand names like I thought there would be. Amanda was in her glory she loves to shop and she did quite well. Most of the clothes were one size fits all. We had supper at McDonalds and at 4:00 had to head home because we had manicure and pedicure appointments at the house. I paid $10.00 total and gave the lady a $5.00 tip because a) I don’t really have nails…and b) because she came on what we would consider our Christmas Eve.
Day 7 – Wednesday, October 1st
We woke up early only to wait for Anthea to get ready. Indonesian women take a long time to beautify themselves and are not on time! We went to National Monument which is located in the center of Jakarta. We stood in line for over 1 hour to go up to the top of the monument to see the view. The heat did not make me feel well at all and I found myself squatting and drinking lots of water as we waiting in line. Then we went and saw the oldest Catholic Church in Jakarta. It was beautiful inside. It was right across from the Mesjid Istiqual one of the largest mosques in South East Asia. Close to that we drove past the presidential palace. Then we could tour anymore until we went for gelato ice cream. Then we went to an area close to China town. Here we wanted to see the canons. A legend says if you touch the canon you will have good fertility. However, this particular canon was inside the museum which was closed for eid. Across from the museum was a puppet museum so we took a quick tour inside. We took pictures beside the other canons that had no legends. We went to the harbor next and saw the boats. Then we went to Arnold’s cousins house where we met Adi and his mother. Adi has autism. He is very smart and loves technology and cars. He was very shy and didn’t speak very much as we were new people. We went to the mall for supper where I had A & W…I wished they had onion rings but I had to settle for curly fries.
Day 8 – Thursday, October 2nd
We got up again early to beat the traffic and went to Bogor. Adi and his mom came with us shopping too. He was very talkative when we saw him today as we weren’t complete strangers anymore! We were going shopping for purses and shoes. We went to the Tajur (purse heaven). Brand name purses for cheap cheap just like China. I bought 2 purses and a pair of shoes. It was here that I finally got my picture taken with a Toyota Krista. We saw them all over the road but never stopped to take my picture with one. Arnold made plans for us to meet his Muslim friend Anteida. We went and ate supper at an Italian restaurant at the mall. It was delicious, my appetite was back! One of the dishes I had a ceasar salad and I think I might be allergic to something as one side of my face was hard to move and felt swollen. None the less I am a trooper and the night must go on. We drove around for a bit looking for clubs but nothing was open because of Eid. Finally I couldn’t keep my swollen eye / cheeks going and laid down in the back seat and fell asleep until we got back to Arnold’s house.
Day 9 – Thursday, October 3rd
We woke up and began packing. Amanda and I both were ready to leave. We had a good time in Indonesia but were ready to go and crawl into our own beds. Arnold’s parents wanted to take us out for sea food before our plane left. However, the restaurant they wanted to take us was closed. We had to settle for another restaurant that only served fish and chicken…no lobster or shrimp so I was kinda sad. However, the lunch was still excellent and had lots of flavor. At the airport we checked our bags and paid our $10.00 can airport tax. Then we opened a cooler / beer and drank it in the airport before we said our good byes.
We arrived in Abu Dhabi at 8:30pm..and went to Marina Mall and watched the movie Tropic Thunder. It was a stupid comedy but a good way to pass the time. I was especially excited about the nachos and cheese. Then we went back to the airport at 1:00am and slept on the floor until 7:00am.
Day 10 – Friday, October 4th
We started the day off with a cinnamon bun and a Carmel macchiato coffee at the airport. Our flight left at 8:45 am. It’s nice to be back in Kuwait. The weather is lots cooler now. However I still have my stuffy nose and cough. I hope it goes away soon. I am tired of looking like Rudolph and on top of that my burn is peeling and it looks terrible. None the less it is great to be back. I have to go and buy groceries as my fridge is empty. My maid is coming to do my laundry. Life is good.
I woke up this morning with a stuffed up nose and a whopper of a cough. Unfortunately I had to go to school because if I didn’t payroll would consider my sick day as an extension of a holiday. Aghh lucky for me I have an easy Thursday set of classes. After I taught my 2 hours I went to the staff room and rested on the couch until it was time to clock out. I had 2 hours to pack before it was time to head to the airport. At the airport we ate at McDonalds as it is a tradition that Amanda and I do before we go on vacation. Our flight to Abu Dhabi was delayed about an 1 ½ so we sat at McDonalds with Carla and Marieke and played UNO until it was time to board.
In Abu Dhabi Amanda and I didn’t have much time before we had to board for our next flight. It was nice not to have to wait around in the airport for once. The flight to Jakarta, Indonesia was terrible because I was sick and it wasn’t very cool on the plane. This is odd because usually I am freezing on the airplane. My head felt like it was going to explode. My tummy hurt. I was having hot and cold flashes and couldn’t sleep or concentrate enough to put on a movie. For 8 ½ hours I went to the bathroom every 30minutes to 1 hour. People who were awake watched as I went back and forth. The bathroom was nice and cool and if I sat with my head between my legs I would drift into a sleep..then I would wake up and realize I was still on the toilet. Oh it was not a pleasant flight.
Day 2: Friday, September 26th
We arrived in Jakarta delayed of course. The visa on arrival was very fast and we didn’t have to wait in line which was nice. The line up was at Immigration. Finally we made it and were greeted by Arnold; Amanda’s friend from Residence at University of Manitoba. Arnold and is family are from Indonesia so he decided to take his holidays when ours were and show us around Jakarta. His plane landed only 1 hour before ours so it worked out perfectly for him to wait around for us to arrive.
Arnolds driver Selamat (translated means safe) picked us up at the airport. Arnold’s mother send Arnold his favorite Indonesian food to eat on the way and she also sent Amanda and I some bakery goods. My favorite was the Chocolate Éclairs. The traffic was very heavy so instead of only taking 1 hour to get to Arnold’s house it took 2!!! When we arrived we met Arnold’s mother(Winny), father (Arie) and older sister (Anthea). Originally we were supposed to stay with Arnold’s grandmother but she was nervous about having us stay with her so we stayed with Arnold’s parents instead. Our room was small but air-conditioned. We got a quick tour of the house and then decided we needed a nap before supper. When my head hit the pillow I was out. I heard a quiet knock at the door. It was Arnold. He was unpacking his bags and was delivering my package from home. I didn’t open it right away.
For supper we had red rice, a curry that wasn’t too spicy, chicken and some other Indonesian foods. All quite tasty. Then it was desert. Arnold’s grandmother cooked his favorites. Everything had coconut inside it and they called it Jelly Cakes. It was okay, but in small doses. There wasn’t too much flavor and the look of the pieces of coconut did not make the dish look too appetizing. I really liked the Coconut ice cream. After supper I went to directly to bed. I was hoping that if I got a good nights rest that I would feel better in the morning. Amanda went with Arnold and Anthea to Carefour for some munchies and beer to take with us to the Villa. I wanted to go too but decided it was a better idea to go to bed. We had an early morning ahead of us because we were heading out of the city to a Villa for the weekend.
Day 3 – Saturday, September 27th
We woke up and had previously packed our suitcases on request of Arnold’s father. He wanted to get on the road before the traffic. However, we did not end up leaving on time as Arnold’s mother takes a long time to get ready in the morning! For breakfast Amanda bought some Mangos which were soo good and juicy. I couldn’t get enough of them.
We stopped at Starbucks for a coffee as we waited for Arnold’s parents’ friends to meet us and take us to their Villa. The villa was located in Tanjung Lesung (translated to Dimple Bay). The chalet we went to was located in a private Villa. This chalet was owned by a family Sofia and her husband who have 3 children (boys) and their parents. The children spoke very good English as they go to an international school. Brian the oldest is in grade 6. He showed us everything he could around the area. His twin brothers Barry and Brandon were age 7. It seemed like every time I was in the kitchen there was food on the table and someone was eating. I told Arnold Indonesian people eat 24 hours a day. He laughed and said they want to make sure that Indonesian people want to make sure you have the best time possible and that you are happy and fulfilled when you leave their place.
After eating we went and walked in the ocean. The water was very warm. We looked at the coral and even saw some tiny fish. I walked along the shoreline and collected sea shells. Then it was time to go back to the chalet and eat some more. I had a coconut and drank the milk using a strawberry flavored syrup. The milk was warm. Not my favorite thing to drink. I did not eat the inside as my tummy was doing flip flops plus I do not like how Indonesian coconuts are soft and mushy inside. For supper we had fresh fish that Sophia’s husband had caught that day. I loved fish. They do not fillet the fish they bbq it bones and all. Then we went for a walk to see if we could see any monkeys..we think we might have seen one. We could hear them!! Amanda and I had planned to go and take a boat to see the ACTIVE VOLCANO at Krakatau the next day. Unfortunately the southern winds had picked up and they didn’t know if they were going to have the trip. It was going to cost 5.5 million Indonesian dollars to go on the trip. Which is just over $800.00 Canadian dollars. It was a private boat but Amanda and I figured it would cost us around 200 each for us to go. Not to mention because it was active we couldn’t hike the volcano anymore. So because it wasn’t safe we didn’t end up going. That night we chatted and played a board game with the boys and then went to bed.
Day 4 – Sunday, September 28th
I did not feel well when I woke up. I had shooting pain in my stomach. When I got up to go to the washroom I felt like I was going to faint. Amanda got me water and I laid in bed trying to get into a position where the pain would stop hurting me. Then a few hours later Amanda said she had a sore stomach too. I slept until lunch time. When I was up I was disappointed I missed Brian’s pancakes. He had said the previous day he was going to make them for us. I had some green tea and then went and laid down again as the pains came back. Amanda went to the pool with the boys while I slept. I got up off and on drinking more tea and finally having some toast with strawberry jam. Sophia said to take 10 carbon pills to soak up the poisons in my body. So I did and for the rest of the trip my poop was shades of green and black. Definitely had some infection in my body that I couldn’t seem to get rid of. Sophia and her husband and the 3 boys went home and I went to bed.
Day 5 – Monday, September 29th
I felt better in the morning and was able to eat the noodles for breakfast. Amanda, Arnold and I went for a walk and then went to the pool at the hotel. The pool had nice jets that I let beat against my back. Then I laid in the sun and burnt which later I paid for.
We had lunch and the cleaned up and headed back to Jakarta. Arnold’s father decided that Amanda and I need to eat and that Pizza Hut would be a good choice because it was something familiar for our bodies. He was right, for $40.00 Canadian we got 4 large pizzas, chicken wings, 3 salads and everyone ordered drinks. It was CHEAP! I couldn’t get over it. One large pizza was only $5.00 however; it was the size of a medium at home. Arnold had made plans to meet one of his friends from high school her name was Mia. She was gorgeous and dressed to kill. Amanda and I were not looking as classy as she was. She took us to a restaurant that had booze and was revolving. We had some appetizers and chatted. It was a really nice evening. The next day we were going shopping.
Day 6 – Tuesday, September 30th
We got up and went to a shopping outlet called Mangga Dua. Here is where you could buy clothes for cheap cheap. I got a few shirts. There wasn’t a lot of knock off brand names like I thought there would be. Amanda was in her glory she loves to shop and she did quite well. Most of the clothes were one size fits all. We had supper at McDonalds and at 4:00 had to head home because we had manicure and pedicure appointments at the house. I paid $10.00 total and gave the lady a $5.00 tip because a) I don’t really have nails…and b) because she came on what we would consider our Christmas Eve.
Day 7 – Wednesday, October 1st
We woke up early only to wait for Anthea to get ready. Indonesian women take a long time to beautify themselves and are not on time! We went to National Monument which is located in the center of Jakarta. We stood in line for over 1 hour to go up to the top of the monument to see the view. The heat did not make me feel well at all and I found myself squatting and drinking lots of water as we waiting in line. Then we went and saw the oldest Catholic Church in Jakarta. It was beautiful inside. It was right across from the Mesjid Istiqual one of the largest mosques in South East Asia. Close to that we drove past the presidential palace. Then we could tour anymore until we went for gelato ice cream. Then we went to an area close to China town. Here we wanted to see the canons. A legend says if you touch the canon you will have good fertility. However, this particular canon was inside the museum which was closed for eid. Across from the museum was a puppet museum so we took a quick tour inside. We took pictures beside the other canons that had no legends. We went to the harbor next and saw the boats. Then we went to Arnold’s cousins house where we met Adi and his mother. Adi has autism. He is very smart and loves technology and cars. He was very shy and didn’t speak very much as we were new people. We went to the mall for supper where I had A & W…I wished they had onion rings but I had to settle for curly fries.
Day 8 – Thursday, October 2nd
We got up again early to beat the traffic and went to Bogor. Adi and his mom came with us shopping too. He was very talkative when we saw him today as we weren’t complete strangers anymore! We were going shopping for purses and shoes. We went to the Tajur (purse heaven). Brand name purses for cheap cheap just like China. I bought 2 purses and a pair of shoes. It was here that I finally got my picture taken with a Toyota Krista. We saw them all over the road but never stopped to take my picture with one. Arnold made plans for us to meet his Muslim friend Anteida. We went and ate supper at an Italian restaurant at the mall. It was delicious, my appetite was back! One of the dishes I had a ceasar salad and I think I might be allergic to something as one side of my face was hard to move and felt swollen. None the less I am a trooper and the night must go on. We drove around for a bit looking for clubs but nothing was open because of Eid. Finally I couldn’t keep my swollen eye / cheeks going and laid down in the back seat and fell asleep until we got back to Arnold’s house.
Day 9 – Thursday, October 3rd
We woke up and began packing. Amanda and I both were ready to leave. We had a good time in Indonesia but were ready to go and crawl into our own beds. Arnold’s parents wanted to take us out for sea food before our plane left. However, the restaurant they wanted to take us was closed. We had to settle for another restaurant that only served fish and chicken…no lobster or shrimp so I was kinda sad. However, the lunch was still excellent and had lots of flavor. At the airport we checked our bags and paid our $10.00 can airport tax. Then we opened a cooler / beer and drank it in the airport before we said our good byes.
We arrived in Abu Dhabi at 8:30pm..and went to Marina Mall and watched the movie Tropic Thunder. It was a stupid comedy but a good way to pass the time. I was especially excited about the nachos and cheese. Then we went back to the airport at 1:00am and slept on the floor until 7:00am.
Day 10 – Friday, October 4th
We started the day off with a cinnamon bun and a Carmel macchiato coffee at the airport. Our flight left at 8:45 am. It’s nice to be back in Kuwait. The weather is lots cooler now. However I still have my stuffy nose and cough. I hope it goes away soon. I am tired of looking like Rudolph and on top of that my burn is peeling and it looks terrible. None the less it is great to be back. I have to go and buy groceries as my fridge is empty. My maid is coming to do my laundry. Life is good.
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