MUNICH Day 37 Usually I avoid guided tours at all cost. I have not taken part in any throughout my whole trip thus far. But having arrived in Munich I decided to take part in the free (not so free, tip based) tour of Munich. Usually I feel that my own wanderings around a city are enough but because there is a lot of history that impacted on the whole world from within Munich I decided that I should do the tour so I could get some of the details that I wouldn’t have been able to get on my own. It was definitely a good choice. The tour began at Marian Platz where the Glockenspiel tower clock is located. It is a funny clock that starts a mechanical show at 11 and 12 each ... read more

LUZERN Day 35 On my way to the train station I met the owner of the hostel that I stayed in the previous night. I was walking down the road staring up at the mountains and sky when I heard a man say ‘you look very relaxed for a small girl carrying such a large bag’ and I said ‘well it must be the fresh air’. He laughed and introduced himself, which is how I found out he owned the hostel. We chatted as we walked to the train station and he told me how he lived in Toronto for a few years when he was my age at Young and Adelaide. He reminisced about the leafs and maple leaf gardens. As we parted at the train station he gave me three pens: 1 for ... read more

GENEVE/BERN Day 33 I arrived in Geneve and was a little disappointed. Yes, the alps are beautiful but there is not much else to this town. It would be great if I had a crap load of money to spend on expensive clothes and watches but I don’t so I only stayed 2 hours on got on the next train to Bern. I did find it really funny the amount of clocks and watches that are EVERYWHERE. I get that Geneve and Switzerland is the mecca for watches but really so many. I made it to Bern and immediately knew it was a better choice to visit. It is a small town but all the buildings are very swiss and the old town is really neat to walk through. You still have a lot of ... read more

BARCELONA Day 31 Having recuperated from my fall, although still highly bruised, I decided to begin my day with a self-guided Gaudi tour. Gaudi is Barcelona’s most famous architect having designed numerous buildings throughout Barcelona. His work is beyond creative and is almost unimaginable. The first stop was next door to my hostel being the Batilo. This is a Willy Wonka meets Dr.Seuss type design. There are curves, spirals, shapes, colour, a total feast for the eyes. This building in particular represents the battle of some saint against a dragon. Keep in mind that Gaudi was highly religious so a lot of his work reflects this. When you see the building you can see how it could be inspired by a dragon. Unfortunately, almost all of the gaudi buildings are outrageously prices (about 20Euros per ... read more

VALENCIA Day 29 After taking a night train from Granada I woke up at 6am in Valencia. I made my way to the hostel and slept for a couple hours before heading out to see Valencia. My first stop is the Mercado Central, which is packed with food and people. There were so many delicious looking things to eat. I stopped at the bakery and got heavenly looking pizza-ish bread. It had raisins and walnuts and some sugar sprinkled all over it! And let me tell you it tasted as good as it looked. I would love to have a market of that size next to my house but I can’t stand all of the people. As I was heading into the market I had noticed there was a large building that had beautiful curved ... read more