kifandpeter

Bom Dia, I left Evora in the early morning, which was really pleasant because it was not too warm yet, and i was able to get a beutiful view of the stars as there is very little light pollution on the Alentejo. I arrived in Lisbon during rush hour, which was not ideal, but after watching three metro trains pass by full, I managed to squeeze into one and get to my hostel. After meeting Joao and Jorge, two of the incredibly friendly and helpful staff, I dropped off my stuff and then ran off to the beautiful Rossio train station as I was racing off to Sintra to meet up with Daniella and Sandro, two friends I had made in Porto. After the 45 minute train ride west towards the coast, I hopped in a ... read more

Bom Dia, I arrived in Coimbra early in the morning, well, early for Portugese as it was 8am, proceeded to leave my stuff in the hostel, and then started walking around the city. Coimbra thrives around it's university, which happens to be one of the oldest in Europe. One of the highlights of the city is a visit to the university, which is housed in a former royal palace situated at the highest point in the city. Prior to the university, Coimbra had been a Moorish city, which was visible when I entered the old town through the Moorish gate. As I continued up towards the university, i walked past two people dressed in flowing robes. As I learned later, they were students who wore the traditional robes because they were writing exams. For some reason, ... read more

Bom dia, Peter was sitting at his office working hard one day, or possibly searching the internet for discounted flights as was most likely the case, and came across an excellent deal to Portugal. Being the last country in Western Europe I had not visited, he bought the ticket and started packing. As there are not many flights directly to Europe from Vancouver, the flight would involve a transfer in Toronto. I flew standby, and was actually able to get an emergency exit row with more than enough leg room! The connecting flight in Toronto, was not as smooth. Firstly, there was a security breach because, apparently "someone managed to wander into an area they should not have been. Don't worry, it's all fine now." However, this meant security doors had been shut in the terminal ... read more

Ola, Trinidad is beautiful. Just sayin'. After leaving Cienfuegos, we took the bus for an hour or so to Trinidad. We were met at the bus station by Pedro, who owns Casa Hammerhead, where we would be staying for the next few days. He drove us through the cobbled Old Town in what can only be described as a homemade dune buggy. We arrived at the Casa, met the rest of Pedro's family (Blanca and Alma), and then checked into our room which was even nicer than the one in Havana and had a bathroom which, except for the random pipe coming through the wall, would not have been out of place in a fancy hotel! After an amazing breakfast, complete with domo cake which is an off combination of vanilla, cinnamon, and lemon flavouring that ... read more

Ola to all! I realize this blog has not been updated in a while, but apparently it's hosts have been busy going to school/working/saving the world (the last one may not be entirely accurate, but we're working on it). So please pardon the brief interruption, but travelling has commenced again, hence this blog will be updated! Peter, and his buddy Luke, both decided they wanted to see Cuba before it opened up to tourism so they managed to find a crazy seat sale and hopped on a plane to the sunny Caribbean. The plane arrived in Toronto in the middle of the night and, after been given directions by a very nice flight attendant (with the longest and pointiest fingers nails either of them had ever seen), Peter and Luke found a couple of nice benches ... read more