Back on the Road Again!

Today I woke in Frankfurt, Germany in one of the nicest hostels I've ever been to (free breakfast and free pasta for supper? Oh fuck hells yeah!). It seems, that no matter my intentions, I always end up back on the road. This time I plan on travelling for 9 months before returning to Canada. And as usual, I have limited funds and I can't help but laugh at the challenge (my ability to budget becomes remarkable when travelling, but when at home I'm positively dreadful). Travelling always seems a lot more interesting when you have to slow down a little, volunteer every once in a while, and actually enjoy the simple things (like beaches and talking to the locals).

The last time I had to budget one of my trips I ended up walking The Camino by myself (only in theory, because anyone who has done the walk before knows that you never walk alone). This pilgrimage was both inspiring for future journeys and adventures, and has given me memories and friends that I could get no where else. The bonds that are formed with the steps that you take along Spain are powerful. And I have not one single regret about making the decision about migrating every day for a month with people I did not know.

So now, once more, I am beginning to wonder where I should land in a few weeks (I am first travelling to Croatia and Munich, the latter to actually meet up with my Knights of the Way, my two good friends from the Camino. Then afterwards I have until the 28th of October to wander around Europe before I head off to Thailand.

Venice -- The Arrival in Mestre

I've arrived in Italy, and of course, my first stop is Venice! I arrived on the 16th of April, in the airport of Treviso late at night. I quickly hopped on a bus to Mestre, where my hostel resided. When I got to dropped off, however, I quickly realized that once again (I've managed to do this WAY too many times), I was alone, in a ridiculously shifty area, and completely by myself with a large quanity of luggage.  And as usual, my plan had been "Oh, I'll just walk to the hostel." Hah.

So, I did what I do every-single-time I manage to stumble into such a situation. I panicked quietly and tried to look unnoticeable. A laughable feat, since I had a neon blue and yellow HULA HOOP strapped to my bag that was larger than me. Then, with a nervous face, I entered the train station which seemed to be open and was told could sell bus tickets.

Inside, what seemed to be Italian gangsters (young, very angry looking young men, who may have been completely jolly but didn't look it but I have an over-active imagination) looming. I panicked again, and found the McDonald's attached to the train station, which was closed. So, I decided I was going to bite the bullet and take a cab.

The cabbie said it would cost me 20 Euros to get to the hostel. I had to laugh, before I had left looked on google maps and it wasn't far away. But I reluctantly agreed. Somehow because t

My Really Boring Break -- Summed Up in a Few Paragraphs

Currently, I've been done with tree planting for 6 months. Since the end of the season I've been bored and haven't really done much but go on a few short road trips and work. Frankly, if I wasn't hightailing it out of Canada in a week I'd be pretty tempted to season my wine with some cyanide just because my life has reached a level of monetary that is too painful to suffer through anymore.


But, to get back on my non-slightly suicidal tangent, I am going to be able to escape very very soon! On March 4th I am flying to the UK and I'm ridiculously stoked about it.

The reason why I'm not really living (re: working and living at my parents house again) is because I'm taking a year off university. This decision was made with the intention of going to South America in the fall, where I was hoping to stay for the winter months. However, I got stuck in some legal duties and unfortunately needed more money, hence the reason it has taken me until March to be able to go anywhere. 

And in the mean time, to pay the bills I've been selling Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. And believe me, my job is actually pretty cool. I seem to have replaced any consumption of alcohol to the consumption of  fresh EVOO and balsamic, and not even in small quantities. And when I say fresh I mean it was just harvested and crushed a couple of months ago and when you taste it you get the most amazing notes. And yeah, I'm going to cut myself off right now because I can rant for hours about the stuff, but take my word, that shit is amazing.