Into the Woods!

We thought it would be fun to line up for free tickets to see a shakespeare in the park play in Central Park. We had to get up really early and stay until 13:00 to get the tickets.

3:10 - Woken up and got ready.  3:35 - On our way to the big line up.  3:45 - At the big, no small line up, realizing the we could have woken up later seeing that we were the fifth group in line.  4:15 - The sixth group arrives.  5:30- Now a steady stream of people coming from the subways, taxis and streets.

3:45 am arrival

Line up starting to build at about 5:30.

6:00- Start moving from the entrance to the park where we'll be staying for another 7 hours.

9:00 - Having a nap on the makeshift bed. 10:00 - Still having a nap.

11:00 - Madeleine comes and sticks it out for the next two hours.

The long line for tickets (we're at the very front!)

13:00- At last Our tickets!!!!

20:00- The show starts.  Just found out that we're sitting behind Meryl Streep!!!

23:00- The show ends. It was really good and a little funny!!!

UP

A Day in the Sierra Nevada Mountains

I finally found something that I actually liked to do in Europe.  A day hiking in nature.  Not the urban hiking that my dad likes to do, probably because he’s so good at directions. We took a bus to the Sierra Nevada Ski Village near Granada.  When we got out of the bus it was 16 degrees and up at the top of the mountain we could see snow. (I thought the arctic circle was supposed to be like this.)  I was so excited that there was snow.  In June.  I haven’t seen that much snow in a while.  We have always been in hot weather because my parents trip goal is to stay warm.  I do NOT agree with that goal!

We started on the trail leading up to the peak.  The altitude when we started was 2500 meters above sea level.   When we stopped we were about 3000 meters above sea level.  The climb up was very steep.  The first half of the trail was a little grassy and then the second half was all rock and some snow.

On the way up we saw an abandoned observatory.  Someone said it’s really good to go inside and look at the view but I was too afraid that there would be cockroaches inside.  There was also a monument.  I don’t know what the monument was for but it looked cool.

When we stopped we were 200 meters away from the peak. Some people would say “why didn’t you go all the way to the top?” Well, that’s because you couldn’t. There were no trails leading to the very top. 

On the way down we saw some mountain goats.  At first I said to myself, “oh, why is that dirt moving?”  Then I looked a little closer and saw that it was not dirt but mountain goats.  Brown mountain goats!

The Sierra Nevada mountain climb was great.  I hope I can find another hike in Seville or Cordoba.

All You Need to Know About Gelato

How to tell real gelato from fake:

Someone said about 80% of gelato in Rome is fake.  How you can tell is by looking at the colours.  If the pistachio is bright green, it's fake.  Or if the banana is yellow, it's fake.

Another way is if you see the gelato piled way up to the top it's a fake because the real ones are actually made in the container, not scooped out of a bucket.

But we've found some really good ones!  These are my top three places:
Perche-No! in Florence dates back to 1939.

Grom in Sienna.  This would be the best gelato I've ever had.

Maleti Gelateria in Verona was thick and creamy.

But you'll have to go to Italy to try for yourself!

galmc report presents: Top 10 airlines

1. Qatar Airways- Comfortable seats, TVs, wide selection of movies for the American,German,french,Arabic, etc.. We also had a 14 hour layover and they put us in this 5 star hotel free of charge.
2. Aero Gal- For a 1 hour flight they had TVs.
3. LAN-We had our first long, long flight with them and it was a good experience.
4. Emirates- On our plane we had flight attendant's from all over.
5. South African Airways-Very, very comfortable seats.
6. Jet Star- Good seats and they rented IPAD's for entertainment.
7. Turkish Airlines-We had a 1 hour domestic flight and they fed us.
8. 1time- It's really, really good for a budget Airline.
9. Air Asia-We flew Air Asia a few times in and around southeast Asia and it's good for the 1-5 hour flights.
10. Spice Jet- Really fast last minute booking.

Close Encounters of the Hippo Kind

Murchison Falls (the source of the Nile river) was our last safari experience. We were staying in a bush camp (with no fences) which means wildlife can just wander by. When we first arrived the staff said warthogs and hippopotamus are the animals that are there. Hippos are nocturnal, so when you had dinner and were walking back to your tent you should be careful not to run into any of them. The first night we didn't experience that but the second night we did!

At 8:00 pm my Mom was watching a show and I was reading. Then, out of the corner of my ear, I heard this really loud crunching sound. I looked out of the mesh and there was this this huge grey thing with eyes which I assumed was a hippo. I was terrified because the only thing keeping me and that apart was a thin wall of canvas. I was so scared I considered going under my bed. My Mom was so excited. Perhaps it was because the hippo wasn't on her side.

After a while it left our tent and went over to my Dad's. He didn't even know the hippo was there. Finally it wandered away and I was able to get some sleep!

THE BIG 5!

When you first think of Africa what do you think of?... animals. And what animals do most people think of?... The Big 5. The Big 5 comes from hunters who came up with it. It stands for the 5 most dangerous animals to hunt. There animals are: leopard, lion, elephant, rhino and buffalo.

We saw all of these animals in just 3 hours.  That's right,.... 3 hours!!

The "elusive" leopard is often a hard spot but a hyena made it easy for us by accidentally running into the leopard's territory.  Then after realizing what he had just done came running back at top speed.  The leopard came onto the road just to make sure the hyena was gone and on the way passed right by our car.

The rhino was another of the Big 5 that we thought we wouldn't see.  Especially after our friend told us that her rhino spotting experience was of a man guarding a rhino 24/7 with an AK47 on him at all times (Madeleine).

So there you have it,.... THE BIG 5!

The dubai airport

We had 12 hours in the Dubai airport. From Delhi to Cape Town there was no direct flight so we had to go to Dubai for a 12 hour layover.  Unfortunately the entry visa for the U.A.E costs $250 per person so we were only in the airport. We wondered around the airport for 3 hours looking at the 4 hotels wondering if it's $500 or $1000 per night.  We were also looking at the flight boards counting all the places that we've been that are on there.

Then we went to our gate and started doing whatever it takes to keep our eyes open. At 2:00 am we started doing laps around the airport so we didn't fall asleep. Then another hour went by (and it couldn't have gone by slower) and it was time to board the plane and for us, the 5hrs of sleep we needed.

South Africa Welcomes Us

Today was our first day in South Africa! In the morning we went down to Boulders Beach in Cape Town and saw a colony of African penguins. They were very small! Most penguins are smaller than you think.

After Boulders Beach we went to Cape Point. At the lighthouse there were signs pointing the way to New York, Singapore, Sydney, Aukland and many more places.

On the way back we saw some baboons and two ostriches!

Our first day was really cool!! I hope the second will be just as awesome!!!

For the Love of Taj

We all have been waiting in anticipation to see the frequently spoken about and photographed building in all of India.  After seeing so many impressive forts, temples and palaces throughout the state of Rajhastan we were a little worried that by the time we saw the Taj, it would not be as impressive as we had anticipated.  Our worries were for not; the majestic Taj does not disappoint!

Our first view of the Taj through the North Gate

The Taj Mahal is a beautiful structure (one of the 7 man made wonders of the world) inspired by a most beautiful love story.  Shah Jahan (who would become Emperor in 1628) met Mumtaz Mahal in the Meena Bazaar in Agra.  They fell in love and were married 4 years later in the year 1612 (He was 19 and she, 20).  Although Mumtaz was only one of the  Emperor's wives, she was definitely his favourite and accompanied him everywhere.  19 years into their marriage, Mumtaz died giving birth to their 14th child.  On her death bed she made Shah Jahan promise that he would build her a huge monument and never marry again.  It took 22 years to build and is now THE most visited monument in all of India.

After completing the great Taj, the now elderly and still heartbroken king began clearing a site for a black tomb for himself, that would be located directly across the river from the Taj.  His son, worried that taking on yet another large scale project would bankrupt the kingdom,  put his father, Shah Jahan, under house arrest until his death in 1666.

The Maharajah standing on the site of his soon to be erected black
tomb, imagining the satisfaction of always being able to look upon his beloved.

Going on a Tiger Hunt

6:30 am: pick up in the freezing cold wondering why we didn't do the afternoon when its warm.

7:00am: at the entry gate of the park. Vendors selling ear muffs are getting very good business right now.

7:15 am: at the entry gate for section 3 of the park ( our section ) where we spotted our first animal, but only because they were feeding the monkeys.

7:45 am: now starting to warm up a little.

8:10 am: spotted our first REAL wildlife, a spotted deer just like you might see in Canada...

9:00 am: bird attack on the people who have food! Thankfully we didn't have any but the people beside us did.

9:15 am: sitting in the truck waiting for ANY sudden movement. Oh wait, I see something! No that's just a deer.

9:30 am: our guide says that we should start heading back. As we were driving back our truck makes a sudden stop, our guide sees a tiger heading across the lake.

9:31 am: suddenly our guide says duck and starts the truck and we go rushing to the lake at top speed.

9:35 am: can you see him?

9:40 am: okay how about now?

9:55 am: we head back to our hotel feeling satisfied and in need of sleep.

The islands of asia- PLEASE READ FROM BOTTOM TO TOP

Finally we went to Koh Lanta to meet up with a friend who we were volunteering with up in Cuzco, Peru. We had already done some elephant riding before Koh Lanta but we decided to do a little more... And this time I went in the front and drove the elephant like a maniac!

Then we decided to go to a much quieter island that has no cars or motorbikes and has excellent snorkeling. Yes, it was Gili Air.

First it was the famous island of Bali. The snorkeling was soooo nice but I'm glad we weren't staying in Kuta or Seminyak because they are so busy!

paradise above and below

Gili Air was paradise.

Here are some of the things that made it awesome:

the snorkeling was AMAZING!!! You could see turtles off the beach.

Cats everywhere!!!

no cars or motorbikes but there are horse carts and bikes.

everyone is so calm and doesn't give the big sales speech.

Gili air was the vacation from traveling that we needed.

be careful what you wish for

I had two dreams that I really wanted to become true. One was staying up all night- which I did twice now (not so fun). The other one was sleeping in the car. I thought we would be sleeping in the car at least one night on the journey across Canada. But no that didn't come true. Well at least not in Canada. On our first day driving we made it to wave rock.

We looked into accommodation there. It was crazy price. So we decided we would drive a little longer to grace lake. It was a big cost for staying at a gas station. So we decided to push a little longer into albany. When we rolled in my parents were looking all over for a motel. They couldn't find one. So they pulled into a street, turned of the lights and went to sleep.

When I woke up at 4:00 in the morning I realized my parents didn't bring me into a motel room. And that is when I realized we were sleeping in the car. And I fulfilled my dream. I did have a very very bad sleep, but still I slept in the car.