So, drum roll please..... please find below in no particular order and with the full and complete knowledge that they are just the perceptions of two over-stimulated Canadians we give you....
"Our Best and Worst of Six Months Travel List"
Best Salon experience: (what could be more important?!)
Male - Granada - 9 euros - He simply said, "Not too short please." And it was done. He didn't even have to say that he was going to a wedding or a funeral the way he usually does in Canada. Good thing since our Spanish was limited to ordering beverages.
Female - Fetiyah, Turkey. The "Full Meal Deal." Went in for a colour and was treated to colour, cut, pedicure and every single superfluous hair removed from my face (that was a bit scary) for 70 Turkish lire (YTL's) we called them "yittles," that was about $25.00 Can. Amazing. They were so fast and fun to watch. The fellow who worked his magic on PJ's hair had an enthusiastic assistant who held the hairdryer while the master did the twirling. All of this took place in an uber chic salon tucked away down a back alley in this small port town.
Car Rental Experience:
We rented cars all over Europe - Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Greece so we had lots of chances to compare and contrast.
Best:
National Car Rental - anywhere in Europe that you work with them they are fast, fair, and efficient. These are not always words synonymous with car rental companies.
We did rent cars from other places like a really small, Opel, Panda we rented in Greece from Papa John's. And only once because the other car broke down, a really big car -some kind of four by four that practically drove itself in France. But by far our favourite was the Citroen C5 - midsized, big trunk and diesel so it was great on fuel.
Worst:
Europcar in Nice, France. S-L-O-W, and confused and slow and disorganized and slow and..... We ended up with a really small car for the same price we had been paying for mid-sized.
Public Washrooms:
When you are living your day to day life you rarely give a thought to the lowly public washroom. But take yourself out of your normal routine, eat weird food, drink lots of water, feel nervous sometimes and voila suddenly toilets are all you can think about. Where are they, do they cost anything, will there be paper...will I make it!
Best:
Represol Gas Station in Lanjaron, Spain. We were high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the Alpujaral region. Nothing around for miles (except bushes of course) and then it appeared in the distance like a dream. It was clean, there was enough toilet paper to make a dress, there was hot and cold running water, a mirror made of glass not polished metal that when you look in it makes you all distorted and scary looking. It was everything you could want in a washroom and more. I think I said "Gracias", 10 times to the attendant.
Worst:
Any public washroom in Turkey. They all make you want to weep. Those washrooms were especially troublesome for someone with not yet quite up to snuff in terms of butt and thigh strength trying to fit your feet into the two marked spots perked ever so precariously over the hole. The muscles quivered and shook as I attempted to maintain balance, not do myself and injury, not end up with anything unwanted anywhere on myself and all of this while trying not to touch a surface. A note: We LOVED Turkey (more later about that) but oh those public washrooms - a true test of a tourist's stamina.
Sangria:
This fabulous drink deserves a category all of its own. Having now drunks gallons of it we feel qualified to make some judgements on this most sunny of beverages.
Best:
Motril, just outside of Granada on the Costa del Sol. Mmmmm, nectarines cut into little bits, firm but not crunchy. Tart fruit but not mouth puckering. A wonderful blend of wine and juices. Nectar of the gods.
Worst:
Valencia. OK it was cool outside and we were sitting outside on a walking street and we were just a bit tired after driving all day from Cartegana but still... it was like Kool Aid masquerading as Sangria. Two or three tired bits of apple floated sadly in the jar. They looked as bad as we felt. (More about Valencia later too)
Form of Transportation:
Getting around fifteen (15!!) countries in six months requires a bit of imagination, a lot of money, stamina, a good sense of humour, a many, many forms of transportation. We used planes, boats, trains, cars, ferries, hop on hop off buses, taxis, but by far our favourite way to get around was the....
Best:
Pedal car in Pescarisolia in the Abbruzzi mountains with Anita and Lui. You've seen those little cars. This one had room for four, two in front two in back. It has a steering wheel and a thing on the wheel that acted as a brake. (See AJ's pictures in a previous post.) It was not something we had planned to do and looked so darn touristy but what the heck we were all in the mood and off we went. Really! Down, down the hill we flew completely out of control and everyone laughing so hard we hardly cared. We careened down narrow streets making little old ladies dressed all in black jump out of the way.
It is such a great memory of a time with family even far away from home.
Worst:
The return train trip from Rome to Pescina. Maybe because we had just had one of the hottest, hardest days we had experienced so far. We had spent a really hectic day in Rome battling crowds of tourists (we will ever forget the hordes at the fountains) or the "Christian Bus tour?" Whatever the reason we were all exhausted, cranky and wondering "Are we there yet?"
Mussels:
OK it's true not everyone loves mussels but if they are a favourite bivalve and you get good ones, well, it's like a little piece of heaven.
Best:
Cassis is a story book village in the south of France. It is almost too perfect with its gorgeous blue water, boat trips out to the Calanques, chi chi shops. But then to make it even more perfect on the waterfront we ate the plumpest, fattest, juiciest mussels served simply with white wine and lemon juice. Ambrosia! And as if it couldn't get any better they were served with what was then my favourite side - crispy, hot frites. Since then we have been served enough french fries to sink a ship (and put padding where it doesn't need to be.) At home they were always the once in a blue moon treat. But having them sit staring up at you with every meal has taken off their special aura.
Worst:
There was a terrible storm the day we drove to Cartegena, Spain. The rain came down in rivers making driving a test of stamina and nerve. Passengers simply grip the door handle bar and close their eyes. Somehow we made it to Los Lomas Village a surreal Hyatt resort/golf haven/old folks retirement villa just outside of the city. We had rented an apartment which was part of this behemoth of a property development which was a big as a small town. Our space was huge with a bed big enough for five, flat screen TV (and an English movie!!) with views (when the rain stopped) of the golf course. All very lovely. We were told it was best to make reservations for one of the on-site restaurants. We chose a Spanish themed one and hoped for tapas. We got their version of. The mussels (no I haven't forgotten them) we stringy, chewy, cold and gritty. Everything you don't want in a mussel. We had to drink of lots of wine to drown our sorrows at such poor shellfish.
Value for Money in Accommodation:
Best:
Quinta Serra Monte - in the Algarve, Portugal - sixty (60!!) euros a night. It was huge! A gorgeous fully equipped kitchen (it had everything you could ever want in a kitchen and more) a great living room (AJ says they were the most comfortable chairs he had sat on in Europe) BIG bedroom, glorious tiled bathroom and the best host ever. This little house was part of Jean Jacques property which was large and full of fruit trees. We ate pomegranets and oranges from his trees.
If you read my post about Portugal you know I had a few gripes. But you will also note that they never included the Algarve. Our only complaint was that we didn't have enough time in that area. We are definitely going back.
Worst:
For most of our six months we planned our route, our time, where we wanted to be, what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do it. All except for Ireland. We thought with only two weeks to spend on that Fair Isle we would let someone else organize our accommodation. Our first mistake. We spent two weeks touring Ireland. What a beautiful, magical place it is. And at the end of each day we had to find ourselves at our next B&B. All began well enough with a satisfactory hotel in Dublin but then things began to go sideways. On average we paid about 90 - 100 euros/night. Now this isn't actually bad in Europe but as we found out the places that we had been booked into were only receiving around 30 euros a night. So, you can imagine what you get for 30 euros a night. The worst of the lot shall remain nameless to protect the two, elderly befuddled folk who were running the place. They welcomed us in good Irish style and showed us to our room. Up the creaky stairs you go to a musty old room with two shaky little beds. It must have been (still was?) someone's bedroom because all their clothes were still in the cupboards. The damp room had that special musty smell that comes from lack of air. It was a sad, little place made sadder by the fact that the washroom was down the hall.
Meal:
Best:
Aix en Provence - Anyone who knows AJ knows how much he likes to cook. You can take the kitchen away from AJ but not the urge. We rented apartments throughout most of our trip primarily so we would have more space and could cook some of our own meals. This worked for the most part. Our most successful adventures in cooking came in France in particular while we were staying in our little pigeon house in Aix. It was a sweet place with a fairly well equipped kitchen. The best part however was the availablity of inexpensive, delicous fruits, vegetables and meat. There was one particular meal of lamb chops which AJ prepared which still makes us smile. We ate countless meals in restaurants while we've been away but that meal which combined the tastes of home with a dash of the exotic remains a favourite.
Worst:
Aix en Provence - yup, it wins in both categories. It was late, we were tired (it's a theme) we saw a light in a restaurant (I use the word loosely). We ordered the plate de jour - this is usually supposed to be the best deal. We didn't really know what we were ordering - we thought maybe it was some kind of meat. It came. We looked. We still do not know what it was. They were oval like a butterfly pupa (three per plate) and white. They were covered with a red sauce (ketchup?) and a scoop of rice. At first we thought that maybe something was encased inside the white stuff. Cutting into it revealed nothing, except more whiteness. It had the consistency of glue and tasted like it too. We chalked it up to experience. We have eaten other strange meals but those ghostly blobs were the extreme in awful.
Transportation Systems:
Underground train transportation in most European cities is amazing. It is fast, cheap, effective and efficient. Why can't we get it right in our beautiful city?
Best:
Athens hands down, no question. Its underground stations are beautiful examples of mixing art and technology. There is music playing all the time - soft and soothing. It cost 80 euro cents to travel from the heart of Athens up onto the train line outside and on to the coast. It is a ride that takes about 40 minutes. The seats are comfortable, the signage actually is understandable, the air inside is clean and fresh. The calming voice tells each station as it is coming in Greek and English. Loved it.
Worst:
London's Heathrow:
What the h---! Oh sure they brag about their multicoloured lines and how they go everywhere you want to go all you have to do is get to them. No elevators or escalators. You (read AJ) have to drag your monstrous bags up several very steep steeps and then down very steep steps. It was our first experience when we landed and we were not happy campers. If it is just you and your brollie then your OK you can run and dodge and duck and weave with the rest of them. There are lifts but only at some stations. Too bad if you have mobility issues.
And we could go on and on....
If you want more stories and hey who doesn't, you could always come over to our house and we could show you our pictures... all six thousand ( 6000!) of them give or take one or two.
AJ is actually going to try to post a few pics now that we have purchased all this internet time. Wish him luck. See you all soon. Five days and counting!
