Tag: Beer

Travelling with High Expectations = Disappointment (Greek Islands)

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Every time we set expectations for a place we seem to regret it. With the route we were following over land through Europe, we wouldn’t have made it to the Greek Islands until sometime in late October or November. So, we flew out of our way to make it for the tail-end of high season before it got too cold to enjoy the beaches and because most of the restaurants and hotels shut down for winter. We wanted to experience the famous party scene on Mykonos and watch the sunsets in Santorini. Greece was the only spot we booked our plane tickets and accommodation in advance. We booked a room right on Paradise Beach on Mykonos to be at the party area and a more remote (cheaper) room on Santorini planning to rent a scooter for four days and explore the island. We were going to eat cheap and delicious Greek food daily, buy fresh olives, watch countless sunsets, lay out on the beach, get tanned, etc. etc. Continue reading →

Zagreb & Plitvice Lake National Park

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Zagreb turned out to be ten times the city I expected it to be. It was cultural and alive, bustling with a mix of tourists and locals, day and night. The “cafe culture” that was present in Italy is even stronger in Croatia. While to North Americans, a cafe is somewhere to sit and enjoy a coffee and a snack; here, cafe’s are as much bars as they are coffee establishments. And at night some even double as night clubs. Something we have noticed across Europe is that it’s publicly acceptable to drink beer or wine at almost any time of day. We stopped being shocked by someone sitting and enjoying a beer at 10AM weeks ago. But nowhere was it more present than in Croatia. Continue reading →

A Day of Food in Ljubljana

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I have always wanted to do a food tour. I’ve heard so much about them from friends and fellow travellers expressing what a great way they are to experience a new city/country. We looked into it in Venice but it was insanely expensive. So, the next day we scheduled a food tour through old town Ljubljana with “ljubljananjam.” The company is a one-woman show; Iva was enthusiastic and energetic, she clearly loves her job as much as she loved food. Continue reading →

Entering Continental Europe via the Channel Tunnel

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The Channel Tunnel is one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Modern World’ selected by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It connects the UK to continental Europe. I remember thinking: wow, you can drive across the English Channel. Of course, being in England and on our way to Belgium, we wanted to go across the Channel Tunnel. The high-speed train is the obvious choice, until you see ticket prices. We went with Megabus (a coach bus company) and expected it would take the ferry and we would miss the tunnel altogether. So, when we arrived at the Channel Tunnel Border Crossing we were slightly surprised, a little excited and vastly disappointed. There was a train stuck in one of the tunnels and we had a minimum three hour wait ahead of us. Continue reading →