I'm Hungary

I don't know where my head has been but I just realized that I never posted about my trip to Hungary.

Katie and I made the trip there and boy was it interesting.  So much history in Hungary.  I didn't know anything about Hungary before I went on this trip so I had no idea what to expect, and I was happily surprised. 

There is so much history in Hungary, it was under communist rule until 1989, it is very obvious when looking at the buildings, there are some that were obviously from the time of communism and some that are from before or after.

 The food was absolutely amazing and soooo filling, it was definitely a stretchy pants holiday!

We also enjoyed a ballet, for 2£/ticket, it was absolutely amazing!

Love locks in Hungary (like the love bridge in Paris)

Rub his belly for luck

The Cathedral

The chain bridge

This cathedral has lovely painted tiles on the roof that are apparently acid rain proof!

Heros Square

Paprika in the market

Hand painted eggs in the market

Lace in the market

Enjoying hungarian treats!

Katie and her massive snack!

It was so windy Katie nearly blew off the bridge

Stark contrast between communist buildings and not.

Inside the cathedral

At the baths...

Enjoying the ballet for 2£

The worlds second largest synagogue, the largest is in NYC

A memorial for the murdered jews in Hungary

Notice the street name above; this was the name of the street when under communist rule.

Oh Canada!

What a great day Canada day was here in London. I spent the day at Trafalgar Square where there was a huge Canada day party.

I was able to enjoy Canadian music and 'knock off' Canadian foods. I say knock off because the 'poutine' was not poutine at all there where no cheese curds. The vital ingredient to poutine. Also the hot dogs weren't classic hot dogs like we have in Canada.

But there was Molson Canadian beer which although nostalgic, reminds me why I don't ever drink the stuff, talk about watered down tasting and WAY over priced for Molson's that's for sure.

It was so nice to be around so many happy smiling people enjoying themselves. Even the Brits were showing their support for the colonies and were out in their red and white.

I was happy to show my Canadian pride I some red and white, but more importantly I donned my Canadian tuxedo!

Happy Canada day to all my friends near and far!

Italy ~ Part 1

I don't even know how to begin to describe my experience in Italy.

First of all Italy was never on my must see list when I moved to England last year, but after numerous people telling me Italy was one of their favorite places I thought well why not.  So I decided to do a Busabout tour from Rome - Pompeii - Sorrento - Isle of Capri - Positano - Amalfi - Ravello - Rome. This was the best decision I have made about a holiday!

This was without a doubt the best holiday I have been on since being in the UK.

Pisa airport

I arrived in Pisa and made a mad dash, suitcase in hand, to the Leaning Tower, which should have been straight forward, had I not tried to take a shortcut.  In the end I saw the leaning tower in all its glory and it does really lean a lot.  I also have to mention that it was about 35 degrees in Pisa so this was a sweaty mad dash as well, but so worth it to check this icon off the list.

I hopped on the train to Rome which was thankfully air conditioned!

Nuns taking the train

I arrived at the campsite in Rome and quickly ate and went to bed.  Sadly despite being in Rome for 2 evenings I did not see any of the sights of Rome.  I'm not worried as I know I will be going back to Italy!

We departed for Pompeii bright and early.

When driving into Naples Mt. Vesuvius is a looming sight over the city of Naples.  It was very easy to see why there was so much devastation when Mt Vesuvius erupted.

The city of Pompeii was so well developed considering what little tools the Romans had, they even had elevated walkways (which doubled as speed bumps for the horse drawn carts) over the streets which allowed the Romans to walk through the streets of Pompeii avoiding the water and sewage that would be in the streets.

In Pompeii there were also 28 brothels! Imagine! You could tell if there was a brothel because there was a penis in the wall of the building pointing towards the brothel. Naughty Romans. 

Plaster cast of a resident of Pompeii

The grand square in Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

I enjoyed my first Napoli pizza and then it was back on the bus to Sorrento, along the winding, narrow, hanging by a thread roads along the coast.

Kite surfing outside Naples

The beautiful city of Sorrento is absolutely gorgeous its location perched on the cliffs, the cobbled streets and narrow walkways and alleyways are absolutely gorgeous, everything you would expect from a quaint Italian town.

The cutest Italian man

Amazing lemon flavored candies.

We had a fabulous Italian meal, saw 3 wedding parties getting their photos taken around town, which couldn't have been a better setting for a wedding, then off to bed for an early start to the Isle of Capri in the morning.

Sorrento