A Bit of a Re-cap

My favourite thing about Paris is that around every corner there's someone playing an accordian; I love the sounds of the street.  But my least favourite thing is that le metro smells like 500 year old piss and vomit and it is not good for the weakened stomach.

I got lucky at my Paris hostel because they upgraded me from a 6 bed dorm to a 4 bed with ensuite and my roomates are very nice and are here for a few days.  Back in London my room was an 8 bed and people switched over every single day; in the five days I was there I felt like the boss of the room especially on my last day when I got the entire dorm to myself!

I met the most wonderful people in London and I had an epiphany about how people can come into your life one day and you can grow a bond so quick but then the next day either they leave or you leave and it's all over baby blue.  But that is my favourite thing about facebook, that they don't walk out forever and if our paths ever cross again it is much easier to be able to meet up and share adventures once again.

While in London I was having trouble expressing my thoughts but since I've arrived in Paris all I want to do is write down everything I'm feeling; I am finding it to be a truly inspiring place.

My room in Paris is on the 5th floor so if I forget something up there I really don't want to climb back up since my legs are so royally f-ed up...  It must be from an old soccer injury when I was 14 I got hurt and my knee kept giving out on me.  It's the only explanation I can think of for this abnormal pain.  Perhaps I should've travelled in my early 20's like I had originally planned until I wimped out and let a stupid boy run my life.  I keep getting reminded of the movie 'Revolutionary Road' while in Paris.  I felt for Kate Winslet's character but all I can say about that is for all the woman who gave up on their dreams I will do my darndest to live mine for you.

The music in my Paris hostel rocks I really love the groove here so much.  In London I kept hearing Canadian music everywhere I went, it made me proud.  I heard Feist at a bar and everyone loves Tegan and Sara... clearly more than we do in Canada... I also heard Aloe Blacc (unrelated to the topic of Canadiana music) twice while there!

I met a few ignorant racist Americans from Arizona while in London.  They weren't actually ignorant or racist but they called themselves racist not I; I did however add the ignorant part.  I had to explain to them that they must really hate a culture to be racist so we came to the conclusion that they just like stereotypes an awful lot.  They shared my love of Billy Madison which was refreshing.  The one dude had been travelling for the past 9 months and he had finally had an epiphany when he was comparing money.  He realized that on all USA money 'in god we trust' is written on it.  But on either english money or australian (forgive my memory) Darwin is placed on it which is evolution at it's best.  Religion and Evolution don't exactly see eye to eye and it was lovely watching an American realize the faults of their country; which has many faults.  Anyway we spent our time together making fun of eachother.  Which reminds me of another story...

So like most people know, in England when someone is kidding around they say that they're 'taking a piss' at you.  One night I kept accidently messing that phrase up and saying that I was 'taking a shit' on you...  Oooops!  I guess that might be considered verbal diareah?

Almost as bad as when I forgot that Nigeria was a country and not a province of Africa... When I told those lovely Nigerians that I was from Toronto they said, oh we have family in Mississauga!  Never would I have thought that I would go to England and meet someone from Nigeria who knew where the hell Mississauga was!

There is a kitchen at my hostel and people are cooking and making me hungry I should get over to le market and buy some food to make.  I adore the window displays of food in Paris.  I know a lot of folk love looking at naked woman and stuff but I'd take beautiful displays of food and architecture over that any day... but different strokes for different folks right?

I keep having dreams that I'm back home but am quite aware that my adventure is no wheres near done so I start running around looking for a plane to get back!

While in London I thought I would get that feeling that I had been there before like I so often do but to my surprise I did not.  I am on a quest to find past life regression and I am trying to stay in tune to my intuition as much as possible.  I feel it a tiny bit more in Paris but not enough to feel convinced.  I'm not mad I just have many unconventional views on life.  I'm sure I'll eventually explain more soon enough.

I think my favourite day in London was the day of the Abbey Road walk.  A week before I left Mississauga while at our local bar called 'Abbey Road', I looked up at the picture of the infamous album cover and I so boldly stated that I would be doing that in abouts one week.  I said that I would find some people at my hostel and recruit them to take part in my mission.  I am forever thankful of the 3 Aussies and The zany Dutch whom so willingly helped me fullfil my goal.  It is such a great feeling to go through with a dream and make it reality.  And it doesn't hurt a bit to do it whilst giggling the entire time! 

Oh Paris how I Love THEE!!!!  Just right now someone in my hostel picked up a guitar and started singing 'Californication'!  I am moved everyday; I am getting more emotional the older I get.  I feel it all so much.  I almost broke down when I saw the Eiffel Tower last night.  The only way I can explain this is that I really appreciate life and I don't take it for granted...not anymore and not ever again.  When I see the Mediterranean I will weep like a baby; in the best possible way.  Only 'Happy Tears' right Dad?

Dreams

Well I think my sleeping patterns are finally getting back to normal because I had my usual crazy dreams last night.  Three dreams that I remember but I will only share the one where I flew up into the sky up past the castles in Paris.  It was so real and I had a realization that I can only take flight if I truly beleive I can fly.  I know it sounds cliché or that I'm a bit too obbsessed with the story of Peter Pan but in my dreams if I stop beleiving for a second that it isn't humanly possible to fly then I fall to the ground and the more I beleive the higher and faster I go.  If you've seen the new movie 'Chronicle' then you can have a look into seeing how I can fly in my dreams.

Paris Day 1

I think I am fitting in Paris a bit too well.  On my first day here I went for a little stroll up the hill and I found the most glorious view of the city.  Then I found a Dali exhibit that I was going to take part in regardless so of course I skipped my way in.  After I checked in at my hostel I met my new roomates from Brasil and they gave me the directions to the Eiffel tower so I took le metro and arrived around 7ish... I ended up climbing the stairs to the top!  I must admit I've been in quite a bit of pain lately; I know I'm 27 but my legs have seriously aged much quicker than the rest of me.  If I didn't find that knee brace at the 99cent store in London I don't think I would have made it too Paris with my pack.  I an trying to upload a video at the moment but it is taking too long and I am getting le tired considering I've been up since 4am...  I would've liked to have uploaded a London album by now but computer things aren't going so smoothly...

Fortunately Unfortunately

Fortunately the weather has been remarkable, yay for global warming!

Unfortunately because the sun is shining everyday I never made it into a single museum while in London!

Fortunately I'll be back in London in a few months so I'll have a chance to see all that I missed!

Unfortunately the keyboard in Paris is set up differently so I cannot type as fast as normal however there are computers at my new hostel so I will have a chance to catch everyone up on my latest whimsical meanderings!

But of course I have only 3 mins left on this computer right now so I must be off to explore Paris!

The Sun is Shining

Wednesday's Song

I arrived in London on a Wednesday morning and I found my hostel pretty simply.  After having dinner by my lonesome I decided to go exploring.  I got on the tube and got off at Trafalger Square and started walking around.  I felt lonely for a minute while crossing over the river but then I remembered I had my friends with me so I pulled out the mp3 player and this song came on and immediately I felt better and remembered why I was here.  I walked around that night for 4 hours in shock at the beauty of the architecture.  Canada does not have buildings like London and I was just in amazement all night.  I got back to my hostel and made some friends and now I'm not sitting alone at the table eating dinner anymore!

Peter Pan

Once I learn how to flip my pictures around I will post better shots!
:)

Wednesday was the longest Tuesday ever!

Would you like to come on a night time walking tour around London with me?  Well now that I found an internet cafe right across the street from my hostel I can share more.  But it is about to close so this is all for today!

I'm in London woo hoo

I'm safe and sound and I have 2 minutes left on the computer!  Camden Town is AMAZING I don't want to leave ever!  Photos coming soon!

London Calling

I am beyond thankful for my friends and family who fill my life with laughter, love, and happiness.  I feel like the luckiest duck around to be able to go on this journey and to have people to share it with.  At last, the day is here!

Itinerary Update

I officially planned my first 2 weeks of my trip a few weeks ago.  What a relief it was to have things set in stone!  I was stressing out a bit doing too much research; you know sometimes I wish there weren’t so many options in this world!  The Paris hostel that I will be staying at is called Le Montclair Hostel Montmartre and I got my dorm room on sale at http://www.hostelbookers.com/; it ended up being the cheapest hostel thus far and for Paris that ain’t too shabby!  I also received an email from le hostel informing me that if I "like" them on fb and write on their page I can win a free night’s stay or a bottle of wine or a free dinner, so I better get on that!  Montmartre is famous for having been home to some of the greatest artists ever such as Dali, Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh; if I ever needed inspiration I believe this is where I’ll find it.  I am such a nerd, I actually look up every hostel that I research on google maps and go to street view to see if the neighbourhood is pretty enough and I do a virtual tour.  This is probably why it takes me so damn long to research!  But then again I don’t watch much tv so I do have the time for other areas of entertainment. 

I ended up booking the Thello train from Paris to Venice for Thursday March 1st.  Although I said it would be nice to take a day train to get a glimpse of the glory outside the window, a 12 hour train ride is daunting so I decided the sleeper train would be more beneficial to me.  The prices were about the same as a day ride but at least with the sleeper train I won’t have to worry about accommodations for that night. Also favourable would be that I get another almost full day in Paris.  If I chose the day train I would have to catch the train early in the morning and I would have been arriving in Venice way past daylight so for safety and convenience, I decided leaving Paris at 7 pm on Thursday and arriving in Venice at 8 am on Friday would be my best possible choice.  

The hostel in Venice that I will be staying at for that weekend is called "Sweet Dreams".  So far, it is a bit more expensive than the other hostels I’ve booked but if you look at the pictures of this place it looks like the inside of a castle!  I actually was having trouble deciding between this hostel and another so my father flipped a coin for me and the decision was made by the gods!

Venice tip:  If taking a train to Venice, make sure your stop is S. Lucia since that is the stop that takes you directly into Venice and not Venezia Mestre as that stop is outside the city.

Things are coming along quite smoothly even though I am getting very excited, having trouble sleeping and getting a visit from the scratchy throat and nasty cough fairy but I still have a few more days to build my immune system so things are looking up!

Patience

Sometimes I feel as if my patience is constantly being tested.  As if some sort of exterior force is throwing nuisances my way to see if I can keep my composure.  But why would any sort of being want to break another’s spirit?  I mean, I know it happens, I know so many instigators in my life, I just cannot understand why?  I know humans are a flawed species but we can also be a perfect bunch; it’s all these instigators that turn us into angry and easily up settable beings.  

But I try; I try each and every day to not succumb to the fury.  It is highly more prevalent in the city; the reason I say it is more prevalent in cities is based solely on population.  So quick is one able to anger another resulting in a never ending dominoes effect or even a "downward spiral".   One guy cuts off the other guy while driving then that guy goes to work and takes his anger out on a co-worker then that dude goes to the store after work and acts rude to the cashier then the cashier goes home and bitches at their family then a family member snaps on his or her mate and so on.  Anger and bad attitudes is like a disease constantly spreading but to call it a "disease" would be to say it is incurable and out of our hands.   Life does not have to be as such and the reason that I say my patience is being tested is because I am always trying my hardest to break this cycle; to not let the anger get to me in a way where I help to spread this disease.  If I am upset because someone yelled in my face I will not turn around and yell back.  If someone insults me I will try my best to not insult back.  If my father blares the same song over and over again when I am trying to rest I cannot in return pump up the base when he is sleeping.  Do not mistake this for weakness; in fact, it takes all the strength in the world to not fight fire with fire but to instead fight fire with water.  I truly believe that if I succumb to the doucheness of the world then I am a douchebag as well.  I cannot rightfully claim that it is wrong to yell and scream if I turn around and yell and scream back.  

In order to prove that patience and consideration is the best behaviour I must stay strong and be the example.  So I will not retaliate when you cut me off on the road; I will smile and dance to the song on the radio.  I will not retaliate when you purposely try to annoy me by banging on the floors and replaying the same shitty song as loud as possible but I may feel relief when you break your foot that same evening; relief that karma is alive and strong and a bitch.  However it can get a little bit harder every day; a little harder to block the noise, to not retaliate, to not insult back...  

So I need to replenish my patience before I become that which I loathe.  Just another reason why, in a few days, I am off to see just how magnificent this world truly is.  I will come back a better person and I will try my best to only give out good energy no matter what lemon gets thrown my way.  To quote a good travel blog http://travelindependent.info/  "a bad day travelling is better than a good day at work".    I cannot find a better link to this song, but this is what I sing every time my patience gets tested as a reminder to stay cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYCR8QxvYFw