We got our flight through the always-cheap Ryan Air, flying into Girona, a city about 1 hour away from Barcelona. It was £85 return per person. The great thing about Ryan Air is that the flights are affordable, but in exchange they almost always fly into airports that are a bit out of the way from large cities.

Lisa and I easily took the train into Barcelona from the airport though, and found our way to HelloBCN, a hostel we booked through Hostel World. I’m more of a holiday apartment kind of person, so this was my first hostel experience. I think it would be fair to say that this was not your average hostel, and my experience was pretty damn far from creepy expectations (as in Hostel).

We spent three days exploring the beauty that is Barcelona, largely amounting to markets, picnics and Gaudi. If you have never heard of Gaudi (shame on you), let’s say he is one of the few architects who left a lasting impression for me since art school days. You don’t have to be an artist to appreciate his work – I think anyone who has seen photos or walked through one of his buildings will fall in love.

Now before we get into Gaudi,  I want to say that I absolutely love markets, and the ones in Barcelona didn’t disappoint as they were all FOOD! This probably deserves its own posts but ah, well.

Back to Gaudi. We visited three of his creations:

Casa Milà – Located near Diagonal metro station, the Casa Milà (also know as La Pedrera) was originally built in 1905 for a rich couple who wanted a building of rental flats. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the interior as well as the awesome roof and rooftop can be visited almost any day of the year.

Looking up on the Casa Milà, outside from the street

Catenary arches in the attic, which lead you to the rooftop

The amazing chimneys on the rooftop!

Closest metro station: Diagonal
www.lapedreraeducacio.org – Casa Milà website
Regular entry is €11, students are €7

Parc Güell – that same day, Lisa and I made it out to Parc Güell for a picnic and some relaxation. But in order to reach that point, we had some serious hiking to do. Because Parc Güell is not just any old park; it’s a park designed by (you guessed it) Gaudi, and it’s seemingly located at the top Mount Everest, especially when you’re out of shape. But yes, it was worth the hike!

As always, I packed a picnic because that is what I do at every park. Sandwiches got a little squishy. We bought some fresh pineapple and watermelon along the way. Orange Nestea is delicious, by the way.

Everyone chilling on the famous serpentine bench.

Closest metro station: Lesseps
Entry is free into the park. It opens at 10 in the morning and closes around 7 at night.

Sagrada Família – to close off what was now officially our Gaudi tour, we went to the Sagrada Família, fully known as the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família. I was most excited to see this. It’s a Roman Catholic church that was never completed in Gaudi’s heyday and has been in construction for over 125 years. Even though it’s not finished (and has eternal cranes around it), it’s jaw dropping. You will have seen nothing like it.

Closest metro station: Sardenya or Mallorca
http://www.sagradafamilia.cat - Segrada Família website
Regular entry is €12, students are €10

It rained on our last day, so we just strolled around the city before we had to get to the airport. Only Barcelona can look beautiful while pouring cats and dogs. Some cities have all the luck.

A Coney Island restaurant is one that sells Coney Islands, which is a chili cheese dog with chopped onions and mustard. They are a staple in Detroit. We passed so many Coney Island billboards while we were driving in Michigan that we had to have one. And if you’re going to have one in Detroit, it better be from one of two places: Lafayette Coney Island or American Coney Island. On W. Lafayette in downtown Detroit, they are located next to one another;  the story behind them is that two brothers started Lafayette together, and after a dispute, one decided to open up his own version right next door. This was back in 1917. Today they are both still standing strong, and creating a friendly divide between those who like one or the other.

We chose American (just because it looked like it had more seating) and when you enter, it feels like you’ve stepped into a Coney Island variation of a diner, complete with paper diner hats and checkerboard patterns. Think Pop Tate from the Archie comics!

An original Coney Island is an all-beef hot dog, topped with an all-meat chili (no beans), yellow onions and yellow mustard. We both ordered Coney Islands, Coney Island fries and a Pepsi.

Clockwise from the top left: Lafayette vs. America; delicious Pepsi (sorry they had no Coke); Coney Island!!

In a word, the Coney Island hot dog was delicious. Jon wolfed his down in no time and had to order a second. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed mine until I found myself craving one the next day when I was back in Canada!

There are four places that we all want to eat at when we hit the States. White Castle, Sonic, In-N-Out Burger and Hardee’s. We see their ads online, we hear about the crazy 1000-calorie burgers they invent, and we want some.

My husband and I celebrated my – gasp – 30th birthday down in Detroit, and the first touristic sight I wanted to see was Sonic. I learned of Sonic during the first season of The Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie and I have been wanting to go there ever since.

Sonic

Sonic is amazing because it’s a drive-in, a dine-in and a drive-thru. We pulled into the driveway and chose one of 20 drive-in “stations”. Each station has a board with their HUGE menu (see it here), and when you are ready you order in the intercom. It took a minute for the waitress to rollerblade our food out to us on a tray. Efficiency!

Clockwise from the left: "Open 'til midnight or later"; 12" hot dog smeared in chili and cheese for $3; tater tots

My first experience with Sonic was the best. The sandwich I got was huge (the Bacon Cheeseburger Toaster, it had a height of about 5 inches) but I did manage to finish it. My husband and I both got flavour shots in our Cokes – I got vanilla and he got strawberry. It had real strawberry bits in it. Strawberry flavoured Coke, who knew!

On our second night, we tried to go to this acclaimed Italian restaurant but got there too late, so we went to White Castle instead. Yes, I was happy with this substitution.

White Castle

The first time (and prior to this trip, the last time) I had White Castle was back in the early 90s, when my mother lived in New York. My uncle would always talk about this cool place that served mini square burgers. Even as an 11-year-old, I had been anticipating the experience of eating multiple tiny burgers with all my might. My first experience was great, but a sophomore visit was way overdue. Jon had never been before, and it was on his bucket list as well.

We found a random White Castle in Oakwood, and each got the 4 hamburger sack meal. Jon added bacon and cheese to his four. They were just as small as I remembered, though it seems that there’s a lot more packaging going on these days (White Castle, you really need to sort out your carbon foot print). Upon taking a closer look at the “burger”, I realized it was not so much a beef patty, but a thin slice of Spam. Lucky for them, my stomach isn’t that prejudiced and loves Spam along with Vienna sausages.

I gotta say that one of the highlights at White Castle was the unlimited packets of tartar sauce they had. That is always a showstopper for me (it trumped all the mayo that was sitting there, and that’s saying somethin’).

From left to right: New uneaten meal; lots of unedible paper left over.

We’re looking forward to visiting In-N-Out when we’re on the west coast. I’m also looking forward to my second Sonic experience. There was a Grape flavoured Creamslush Treat that had my name written all over it.

Image courtesy of Star Alliance

My husband and I flew Aegean Air during our honeymoon (from Athens to Istanbul) and we were thoroughly impressed with them. The flight was on time, the plane was clean and new, the service was impeccable, and we were served a hot meal during our 90 minute journey! If that isn’t enough to get you flying with them, it was just announced that Aegean Air has joined the Star Alliance network. It has now among the ranks of Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and 24 other airlines in being part of the world’s largest airline alliance.

The best part of all this for us? It’s just another way to collect more frequent flyer miles! As Canadians, many of us have an Aeroplan card already, so flying Aegean Air (and any of the other Star Alliance members) now let’s you collect miles and build status onto your Aeroplan membership.

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Witt Istanbul Hotel
Istanbul, Turkey

How do I say this? The Witt was the best place I ever stayed at. Better than the little beach bungalow in Thailand, the family home in Italy, better than the quaint little B&B in England. It was the best of the best.

My husband and I were really excited to stay at the Witt, because the web had so many super awesome pics, but you know… usually when your expectations are so high, they never get met (case in point: our hotel in Santorini, but I will save that for another post). Lucky for us, we were to be pleasantly surprised! Istanbul was our last stop, and we were only spending 4 nights, 3 days there. So if this hotel was the shit, we better enjoy the short time we had.

Upon arriving at the Witt, we were immediately blown away. The decor is fabulous, with service to match. Our suite was about 700 square feet – the size of a 1+1 condo in the city here – and came with a gorgeous kitchen, seating area, closet, bed, delicious breakfasts… the list goes on. And don’t get me started on their bathroom. Don’t believe me? Let’s have a sneak peek. All images courtesy of the Witt’s flickr page.

Six head shower, big enough for at least 3

Yes, Molton Brown!

This was exactly what our room looked like, if you were standing in the bathroom doorway.

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The images indeed look like renderings, but I kid you not, that is what everything looks like in person, too.

The location of the Witt is great as well – it’s located in Beyoğlu, a trendy district on the other side of the Bosphorus, away from the touristy old town. Access to Sultanahmet and the Bazaars was easy enough though; we just hopped on the tram (2 minute downhill walk from the hotel) and were there in about 10.

Closeby, there’s a great little area called Tünel, which was a maze of streets littered with outdoor bars and restaurants. All the cool 20-somethings were there, smoking, eating and drinking. If you find your way off the southwest end of Istiklal Caddesi (the long pedestrian street in Beyoğlu) you’ll get to the patios. One of the guys working at the hotel recommended it to us and it didn’t disappoint.

I could go on about the Witt (you can even ready my tripadvisor review here), but I’ll leave with only one bit of advice – if you’re ever in Istanbul, you gotta stay here!

The living area, with a flat screen, DVD player (DVDs available in the lobby) and satellite TV.

King size beds I never wanted to get up from

Rendering courtesy of Royal Caribbean

Crazy big! Photo from Dr. Kruz

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Cruising is enjoyed by millions of people each year, and they range from first timers to people who have been on more than 50 cruises in their life. Obviously the 50+ times cruisers love cruising, but what about the first timers?

I was a first time cruiser last January. I sailed Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, which at the time was the largest passenger ship in the world. Funny enough, going on a cruise was something I was never interested in – I figured it was a trip I would take when I turned 60 and had problems with my knees. However, by a stroke of fate, my then-fiancé and 6 of our friends ended up on an Eastern Caribbean cruise.

Now for the real question: did I like it? Well… I liked the cruising part. Being on the cruise was like being at Disneyworld for an entire week straight without the annoying characters. Everyone on the ship is incredibly nice (seriously, the service on a ship is impeccable), the food is pretty good, and I didn’t even mind that our room was a tiny bit bigger than my walk-in closet. On the contrary, our ship was HUGE. It had a Flowrider, rock climbing, casino, a 9-hole mini golf course, a running track, an ice skating rink, a theatre… the list goes on. And the quality of the shows? They were of Atlantic City calibre at the least! They had different ones every night, and one afternoon we even watched a 1.5 hour show on ice.

The promenade on the Independence of the Seas (where all the shops were)

What didn’t I like? The docking. It was rather lame. Cruises take you to different ports in different countries (ours went to Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Haiti in 10 days) but only for a few hours a day and then you’re off to the next spot. The terrible thing with the Caribbean is also that they stop at all the port areas, which doesn’t always give you a chance to go into the city and check out local sights and eats. I actually have an aunt and uncle who own a Jamaican take-out in St. Maarten, but we didn’t have enough time to visit them.

So do I recommend cruising? Yes. Under a certain number of conditions. You must go with a group. A group of four and up (or three if you’re friends). But do not go alone or with a significant other only. You will be bored to death and you’ll find that it’s hard to do your own thing. Second, you must accept that booze is not included, and you will be hit with a lovely bill at the end of your trip. Third, don’t expect too much in terms of culture and travel enlightenment. The cruise plays more to the cruising experience and not the docking/sightseeing – so if you want to really see Santorini, plan a separate trip sans cruise.

Lastly, for those who would like to go, I will leave you with my cruise packing list. Some things I didn’t bring and learnt that they were very handy!

1. Walkie talkies
2. Room Slippers
3. At least 3 sets of bikinis (they take long to dry, especially if you’re in an inside stateroom)
4. Alarm clock (again, if you’re in an inside stateroom, without lights, it’s midnight 24/7)
5. Matches (ventilation in washrooms not the best)
6. Nausea medication or some type of naturopathic aid for sea sickness
7. Waterproof container for keys, etc. and Ziploc bags
8. Money for gambling!!

During my recent holiday to Athens, I found out that for the 2004 Olympics games, the government took all the stray dogs off the streets, spayed/neutered and collared them. They were sent back to the streets, but at least they did something to control the population. Even though they are strays, it was heart warming to see tourists giving love to the dogs around Athens when I was there for my honeymoon. Most of them got water and food from local shop owners, and they were all friendly and simply looking for affection.

Everywhere around the world that I go, I seem to have a run-in with these homeless furry creatures (sometimes patchy). Whether it’s a hungry cat in Bangkok or disease-ridden dog in Cuba, I have to befriend them. And I have an album full of these guys. Meet some of my favourites here:

My temporary pet while I was in Sharm El Sheikh. He was always hungry!

My friend and I met this cat near Park Güell, Barcelona.

A stray kitten in Frosolone. His eyes were infected.

Not a "vacation pet", but Elsie, a cat who I fostered in London for 2 months, along with her 7 kittens!!

A bunch of cats I fed my leftover octopus ink rice to in Split.

This little Chihuahua (mix?) in Lisbon reminded me of my own dog! So I had to pet him.

This tiny little thing was on the streets in Bangkok looking for food.

Not your typical "pet", but a little snake I met in my open air bath in Koh Siboya.

My friends while at Joy Bungalow in Koh Jum!! We played on the beach every day.

This guy was hanging out with my husband and I while we ate in the Plaka in Athens.

This guy always hung out by the hotel I was at in Santorini. One day we found him yearning for attention!

Travel Hugger Blog

What are you supposed to make of that when your upcoming holiday is to a place that is supposedly dangerous? Make sure you do your research. Is it really as bad as they say? Everyone here at home is asking me if I’ve seen the news about Greece. Of course I have. Just like the rest of the world has – 5800 rooms were canceled within the first 24 hours of the protest news. Unfortunately Greece is €216 billion in debt, and tourism is one of the key economic sources that will help them get out of it. Should we really cancel?

I was on TripAdvisor a few days ago and read a few forum posts about the safety of Athens. A lot of locals are posting what they’re seeing in their own city, and their advice to panicked travellers. Some of the best advice? Don’t cancel. Plan well. Be informed. Most demonstrations and strikes are planned in advance – which means the public has access to the time and place for where it will be. If you want to be careful and avoid any possible conflict, make sure you’re in a different location. If you are – chances are you don’t even know what’s going on in the other end of the city.

The Union of Athens Hoteliers asked the media to stop showing violent images, as they want to reassure travelers that Athens is still safe.  The US Embassy has pinpointed the locations where protests take place, and say to simply avoid them. Canada has no official travel warning for Greece, but exercise high degree of caution (which you would in most “peaceful” countries you visit, including Dominican Republic, Croatia, or China).

As you would in any country, be smart and be safe.

Malta is not really a place that comes to mind for most people, when asked “where do you want to go next?” But for some bizarre reason, I had an obsession with going to Malta.

I visited Malta a few years ago, with the intention of ending up on Gozo (Għawdex in Maltese), one of three islands that make up this tiny country. Malta the island is the largest one and Comino the smallest one, and Gozo in between. This was before Malta officially became a part of the EU, and therefor was still using the Maltese Lira as their currency.

High season in Malta and Gozo is between June and the beginning of September. Although Gozo is the more obscure, smaller sister island, it still gets really busy during the summer. I went in the low season, in mid-November, which I highly recommend since there is virtually no tourists, yet the temperature is still in the low-20s; higher than the UK anyway, where I was traveling from.

This was one place where renting a car was the best decision I ever made. Convinced by the guy in the booth at the airport, I picked up an automatic (RARE in Europe) for 57 Maltese Lira to head over to the harbour. I then hopped onto the ferry (with car) for the short half hour ride to Gozo. Getting to my hotel, the Calypso Hotel, was a breeze. There were very clear signs everywhere; they may have been written in paint, but they did their job. Even though this was the last hotel I ever stayed at during my European years, it was pretty decent. Located in Marsalforn Bay, you get a great view of the Mediterranean, and good access to the rest of the island.

Marsalforn Bay

If I were to do it again, I would stay in a Gozitan farmhouse instead of a hotel. There are tonnes of these around the island, and I don’t know about you, but I love to live like a local while on holiday.

Gozo is small – 67 km² baby! – and can be seen quite thoroughly by car. If I made more of an effort to see the entire island, instead of staying in areas I fell in love with, I probably would have seen 90% of the island. In the 4 days I was there, I would say I saw about 50% of the island.

Another great decision I made on this trip was bringing a random guidebook that I borrowed from the Kentish Town library with me. Not one of those massive Lonely Planet ones; though I can’t even remember the name of this one. It was just a thin book focused on “interesting sites” in Malta. It detailed all the hidden little places on the islands, and how exactly to get to them. To the point of “drive down muddy road, pass a crooked fence and make a left at the short tree”. This book was incredible. There was lots of hiking, climbing up and down forested areas (I was fine in flip-flops but trainers are probably smarter) but it really paid off. I found beautiful gorges, secluded beaches and rocky coastlines where you could just dip your feet in the water while the waves came crashing in. And thanks to the off-season, no one was ever around.

An inland sea.

The gorge. What a find.

One of the big highlights of going to Gozo is to see the Azure Window. The Azure Window is a natural arch off a cliff, that was created millions of years ago from a collapsed cave. The water was too cold to go in, but this is an awesome spot for diving. It takes a little trek to get in there, but it’s gorgeous.

The Azure Window.

I recently read that the Azure Window is disintegrating because rocks are falling off of it. There are now signs that warn people to not walk above it. I did see people climbing it (as tempting as it was, it was a high climb), but I guess it’s taking its toll and they’re trying to save it in any way they can. I hope it doesn’t collapse!

Lastly, I have to say the Maltese people were lovely. I met a 90-year-old man who spoke English to me, and he was so talkative and sweet! Meeting locals like this is always a highlight of any trip. Their seafood ain’t bad either!! This country is definitely worth a visit if you love nature, water, seafood and friendly people.

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Official Malta, Gozo and Comino tourism site www.visitmalta.com
Wikitravel: Gozo wikitravel.org/en/Gozo
Gozo Channel (for ferry information) www.gozochannel.com
Read my review on TripAdvisor