Mediterranean Cruise

We are now back in Barcelona.... This past week was incredible! Nothing compares with the luxury of cruising. In the past 8 days we visited 5 countries and went on some amazing tours. The pictures are far too many to post here. Our favorite destination was a toss up between Pisa and Rome, for different reasons. We will definitely be returning to Italy!

We made a point of getting off the ship at every port-of-call on our journey, which meant we were only on the ship for 1 full day. We went on excursions in Nice & Monaco, Pisa, and Rome. In Nice, we frolicked on the beach and skipped stones until we were got our legs soaked by a huge wave. We also had lunch in a nice cafe there. In Monaco, we took a miniature train tour of the city. We got to drive most of the Formula 1 Grand Prix race-track, which was awesome! Monaco is the 2nd smallest country in Europe, and is just under 1Km square in size.

Our excursion in Pisa took us to the Leaning Tower and the Field of Dreams. It was a beautiful day and we got some wonderful pictures of the Baptistry, the Cathedral, and the Leaning Tower. We even had time for some souvenir shopping. Both of us got shirts of Snoopy and Woodstock holding up the tower, and Chad also bought an Italia shirt.

Our day in Rome involved a 10-hour guided walking tour of many major landmarks. We had a phenomenal tour guide leading us around, who would narrate our journey in a headset which we could all listen to through our portable radios and earbuds. Some of the landmarks we visited include the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, Castale Sant Angelo, and Vatican City. We will definitely have to return to see the Colosseum though!

We really didn't want to get off the ship this morning, and considered asking the Cruise Director if he was in need of more staff.... but decided if we were really going to do something like that, it should be on a World Cruise! More destinations ;) Back to Bergen for now though -- to wash up laundry, then start our train-hopping across the continent!

We'll keep you posted.

~ Ash & Chad

Barcelona

Our plane touched down in Barcelona at 3:00pm yesterday. We discovered we had no luck communicating with even the information desk, so we proceeded to take a taxi to our hostel in the center of Barcelona (a $40 trip, when the metro would have cost no more than $10....). Our taxi driver, via sign-lanuage, warned me to "keep my eyes on my purse" while on the popular tourist street, La Rambla. We thanked him for caring about our well-being!

We checked into our hostel, the Center Ramblas. For being our first hostel experience, it seems very nice. While checking out the common area, a leader from the Entertainment Team invited us to join in an outing for the evening. After some consideration, we embarked with a group of 7 strangers to experience Barcelona nightlife: 2 fellow Canadians (from Quebec), a girl from California, 2 girls from Turkey, a fellow from Mexico, and our tour guide.

We started the night off going for Tapas and Sangria at a restaurant on La

Rambla. Then

we headed to a performance of Spanish musicians, vocalists, and dancers. It was quite the show! All of our pictures turned out blurry because the dancers were moving too fast. We then caught the metro to Shoko, one of the clubs along the beachfront. Things were pretty dead when we arrived (though it was nearly midnight). We chatted for a bit, then decided to leave the club and go explore the beach. And that is where the fun began! Most of the group took off their shoes to frolic in the tide. A few of the girls got drenched by a rather large wave.... Then our adventurous fellow Canadians decided to go for a swim! We had to wait a while for them to dry before we headed back into the club, where the dance-floor was packed. Chad & I stuck around for a little while longer, then decided to call it a night.

This morning we joined a bike-tour around Barcelona. It took us to all the major tourist spots in downtown. Barcelona is considered to be a bike-friendly city -- but most roads don't have a bike lane, and the sidewalks are too narrow for pedestrians and bikes. So we were mainly in the Bus/Taxi lane, with vehicles flying by, mopeds and scooters zooming past us, and pedestrians darting across infront of us. It was very exhilerating. Some of the sites we saw include:

- the beaches (most artificial, one nude);

- the World Trade Center;

- the Arc de Triomf ;

- the Sagrada Familia (a church that began construction in 1881, and is expected to be finished in 2026);

- a monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World;

and much, much more!

After our fantastic bike-tour, we spent the day shopping for dress clothes for our cruise. Our only thing left to find is shoes for Chad (the cheapest ones yet are $60....). Still 2 days left here before our cruise!

We'll keep you posted.

~ Ash & Chad

Eurail Passes

With Thanksgiving being this weekend, we are feeling just a little homesick. Shoutout to our family and friends: We love you and are thankful for all of you! Have a Happy Thanksgiving. We are thinking of you :)

We are still counting down the days until our upcoming cruise: Four more days until we fly to Barcelona. We realized we did not pack for the formal evenings onboard our cruise ship, so yesterday we roamed mall after mall searching for dress clothes. We managed to find Chad a nice dress shirt, but no luck with the black slacks. We will have to hunt down some when we arrive in Barcelona, as well as dress shoes for the both of us!

We have yet to be contacted in regards to employment (other than the "We regret to inform you we have nothing available at this time...."). So we have given up on that route. There's too much to see in Europe to be working, anyways! We will just find work when we head to Australia in the New Year. For now we have ordered ourselves Eurail passes, which we will activate when we arrive back in Bergen. They are available for use in 21 European countries, and are valid for 2 months of travel. That will take us right up until Christmas time.

Weather here in Bergen has been remarkably gorgeous this last while. It is surprising to the locals. We have been basking in it while it is with us. Can't wait to soak up some of those Mediterranean rays though....

We'll keep you posted.
~ Ash & Chad

Roadtrip to Oslo

This past Thursday we tracked down a Budget Rental place in downtown Bergen and reserved ourselves a car for the weekend. We spent the rest of Thursday evening packing and looking into hotels & hostels in Oslo. On Friday at noon, we got the keys to our standard Toyota Auris and began our trip to Oslo. We took the route our GPS suggested; a beautiful, scenic ride along fjords and through the mountains. We even had to board a ferry to cross one of the fjords. It was an ideal time for a roadtrip as the seasons change from summer to fall. The landscape and foliage were breath-taking. So were some of our turns.... the speed limits and lines on the road to determine which lane you were in were very much an "at your own discretion" sort of thing. We made it as far as Nesbyen by nightfall, where we found a nice hotel run by an older couple. They made us feel right at home before we settled in for the night.

The next morning we were up early to enjoy the breakfast buffet provided for us. Nearly every hotel in Norway has breakfast included in it's price! Then we climbed back in the car for the final 2.5 hours of our journey. We arrived in Oslo just before noon and parked in downtown. Ashley wasn't feeling the greatest, due to a little motion sickness (driving standard on winding mountain roads for 8 hours does that to you). So we found a drugstore and picked up some motion sickness pills. Then we roamed around and compared prices on hotels in the area, before deciding on the first one we'd entered. After paying for the room, we learned that where we were parked required a parking pass, so we rushed back to pay for one. After some more touring around, we decided to visit the Vigelandsparken Sculpture Park a few kilometres away. This is a picture of Chad considering his future of many children.... :)

We finally checked into our hotel around 4pm and Ashley took a short nap. Then we walked to a nearby mall and ordered Subway for supper. We roamed the streets of Oslo for a couple hours more, but things were beginning to close up, so we called it a night. On Saturday morning, we had a delicious breakfast before setting off on our route home. After several stops and all sorts of weather on the drive, we arrived home safe and sound in Bergen around 5:30pm! As we entered the city, we noticed the approaching traffic was rather backed up. Suddenly, a runaway horse and cart flew by! Unfortunately, we were unable to snap a picture, so you will just have to take our word for it.

So that is life up-to-date. The rainy weather has set in once again in Bergen, and is probably here to stay. We're really looking forward to our Mediterranean cruise in 12 days!

We'll keep you posted.

~ Ash & Chad