Why I Hate Tour Buses

 

I hate going on tours on tour buses. When I was in Galway, Ireland, I was on a mission to see some cool things in Ireland, like the Cliffs of Moher and other cool stuff like castles. I’ve been living in Dublin for 5 months and still never seen the cliffs! My first two days in Galway were cloudy, and as you may now, it’s hard to take good photos. I was also very hesitant about doing a bus tour because I’d rather rent a car with a few mates and do it on our own. I did this in Iceland with a friend and it worked out awesome. We did about 4 different tours we would have paid for separately all in one day, on our own, at our own pace. We saw Geyser, The Golden Circle, Blue Lagoon, and an attempt at the Northern Lights. Our rental for one day was $150CAD and divided that by 2, so it was well worth it.

Iceland Road Trip

Iceland Road Trip

Iceland Road Trip

Iceland Road Trip

Iceland Road Trip

It was a nice day in Galway, so I paid €15 to go on a day tour to the cliffs. While it was nice to finally see the parts of Ireland you see on TV, doing it on a tour bus was super lame. I can’t event think right now to what it is in particular about them, but you get real sick of the saying “get your cameras ready…”, “on you left…” blah blah blah, and the stupid jokes that they tell.

Also, the people are be annoying. Little children and their non-stop crying, people getting on the bus and the driver getting pissed, and just the typical tourist things that tourists do to get a “good photo”. Its ridiculous. I just keep to myself and laugh at it all. It’s like a bad TV show on a Friday night. Nothing else to watch.

Also, when a bus-load of people get off at the next stop, you’re forced to take photos with a bazillion of tourists in them. My photoshop skills are expanding and am able to shop them right out of my pictures now. Wazza!

People!

No People…

People…

No People!

It’s not the kind of touring I like to do. I originally wanted to rent a motorcycle out of Dublin for 3 nights and tour around Ireland, buuuuut I couldn’t afford that (still a life dream for one day, but not today). How bad ass would that be?

I want to be a backpacker/explorer, not a tourist 😉

Check out my Iceland Golden Circle video

Overall Impressions of France

Final instalment of my adventure through France. Read the first 4: The ferry over, Pontorson, Caen, Bayeux, and Juno Beach.

 

France was an awesome time. I was a little nervous at first because I got on that ferry and didn’t have an itinerary, and it is really expensive to travel within the country as well as accommodation. I guess I got lucky and was able to spend a week with my friend, who knew French (so I didn’t starve to death), and had someone to hang out with for a week!

The restaurants in the smaller towns we stayed in (Pontorson, Bayeux) were authentic French restaurants, and we ate at some really nice, reasonably-priced restaurants in Caen. The French sure do know how to cook an excellent Italian meal! Also, I have finally killed my craving for a little THC, Tim Hortons coffee that is.

You may know that I have had a hard time finding a good cup of Joe in Europe. When I was in London for the first time, 2^nd week abroad, I walked into a McDonalds and asked for a coffee with two creams and two sugar. The chick taking my order looked at me like I had ten heads. She replied, “white or black?”. So I learned quickly that Europeans don’t use cream in their coffee, and there is white coffee in London. Dublin is a bit different, as it’s milk and sugar, but anywhere is really expensive for coffee.

After every meal in France with Veronica, she got dessert, and I got coffee. It’s served in a mini cup with a little chocolate to eat with it. IT WAS SO GOOD and that is how I kicked the THC craving. Writing this while I’m in Luxembourg, I am now craving a French coffee. Anyways, that’s enough about coffee.

The people were friendly, for the most part. We did have a few instances of rudeness. When we were finished at Mont St. Michel, we walked to the little town in search of a cold pint on a hot summer’s day before heading back to our hotel. A lot of restaurants seemed to be closed between lunch and dinner services. We walked into 2 or 3 of them and they were not open yet. We couldn’t even stop in for a pint! It was weird because it was about 5:30pm and nothing was opened. Yes, we were very confused. One restaurant we did walk in to, the girl working there told us that they were closed, that we couldn’t have a pint until they open (in one more hour), and suggested that we go to the grocery store just down the road to get a beer. Seriously lady? We’re not going to drink beers on the street like bums. We just wanted to have a beer on the patio on a summer day, a typical summer time thing to do. Whatever. We spent out money elsewhere. Some people working at small food stand and other tourist attractions aren’t the most happy and friendly people to talk to either. They either hate a) native English speakers who don’t speak French, b) hate their jobs, or c), all of the above! That’s fine; I don’t really like tourist attractions with copious amounts of people, especially with hysterical screaming kids, huge strollers, on a showering fast etc. I’d be grumpy too working at one of these places.

France is definitely an awesome place. I was getting the train out of Bayeux to Brussels, and had to transfer in Paris. I wasn’t thinking properly and what I should have done is stayed in Paris for 1 or 2 nights. I first originally didn’t want to go during the summer just because I’d be paying €40-50 a night. BUT I’ll see what’s going on there for New Year’s Eve!

I do plan on returning to France while abroad. I’d like to go to Vimy Ridge for Remembrance Day in my army dress uniform, and would also like to rent a car and explore the rest of the Normandy beaches; there are so many more museums and D-Day things to see and learn about!

Anyways, until next time France. Next up: the smelly streets of Brussels!

 

Chow.

 

Bayeux, Normandy, France

Out of the three or four places I visited in Normandy, this one tops the list. When I went to Juno beach and Veronica stayed behind, she researched options for our next destination, and since it was only a €6 train ride away, we were off to Bayeux. As we got off the train, it was so damn hot out, and had to hike about 3 kilometers to get the our B&B. This was an awesome little town, bigger than Portorson and smaller than Caen, but so much character. There are countless little restaurants on the sidewalks, parks, and old buildings and of course lots of sights to remember the allied invasion. Bayeux was one of the very first towns liberated during the Battle of Normandy shortly after the D-Day landings without any resistance. We ate more crepes, had more coffee and other French food that I’m not even going to try to spell but it was SO GOOD. We were really enjoying each other’s company by this time and probably one of my best travel experiences thus far.

Bayeux is not a hostelling or budget backpacker’s destination. There seems to be a lot of young families and couples visiting here. That being said, it’s not a big party town like other places I’ve been to. Veronica wasn’t feeling well one night, so I set out at about 1030pm on a quest to bring home some bottled water (tap water doesn’t taste too good in Europe). I walked and walked and walked and nothing was open. I ventured through the city centre again as out B&B was on the edge of town and it was dead. There was only one pub open with a few people on the patio around 11pm, but it was an Irish pub (typical). At least in Caen we saw a lot of partiers such as stag and hen parties, but Bayeux doesn’t have any nightlife. I’m not complaining as I’m not the biggest bar star to begin with and it’s a nice change of pace. Quiet, relaxed atmosphere, and would recommended this destination to any couple no matter how young or old.

Throughout Normandy, it is clearly evident that they are grateful for their freedom and the liberation of the allied forces during WWII. There was an old cathedral, Cathedrale Notre Dame de Bayeux, which in the courtyard had a huge tree known as the tree of liberation. The whole church and tree area were lit up each night by an array of colors, much the Niagara Falls, and every other night, there was a light, sound, and music show projected onto the tree. It was spoken in French but some segments projected symbols of the war, such as the Nazi party symbol dubbed over old speeches from Hitler, and sights and sounds of the invasion known as D-Day such as gunfire, solders etc. It’s hard to explain what I saw so you must go see it for yourself 😛

Veronica left for Paris, I stayed an extra night to plan my next trip. But before I did that I visited visited the Battle of Normandy Museum which was pretty neat.

 

More pictures:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjZUMWYn

 

Next stop: Brussels.

 

 

Juno Beach, Normandy, France

3rd instalment of my time in Normandy, France

*The internet in my hostel in Brussels is painfully slow. It’s taking about 20 minuets to upload one on here. I’ll update once I get better sig on my beeper, but the link to more pictures on Flickr is below.

 

This was really cool. Visiting the D-Day beaches was on my bucket list even before leaving Canada. Commuting there from Caen was about an hour bus ride. Veronica wasn’t feeling well that day so she stayed behind and made sure that I went since that was the main purpose of going to Caen 😉

 

Located in Courseulles-sur-Mer, I was walking along the boardwalk of Juno beach, and along the way there are reminders about what happened. Images of the veterans on Juno beach, military parades they had, plaques and other symbols of remembrance. I honestly got shivers down my back while walking along the beach, while everyone else was doing normal beach stuff.

One of my Lieutenants back at my army unit in Lethbridge used to work here and I asked him about it one of my last parade nights before going on leave from the military. I got to the Juno Beach Centre, which opened in 2003, and like most military museums I’ve been to thus far, took my sweet time. It was solely a dedicated to the Canadian involvement on D-Day, and took us through the history of Canada pre- to post WWII. A lot of interesting stuff and I learned things that I didn’t not know before.

At the end of the museum, they celebrated Canada’s modern heritage teaching Europeans what we’re about: hockey, big cities, technology and other things coming from Canada now a days. At the end of the museum was a 25-minute video about the Canadians on D-Day, which was a real tearjerker.

My tickets also included a tour of Juno Park. Having missed the last English tour of the day, I went with the French tour. I don’t know French but I’m also not an idiot. Having some knowledge of how a military works, my previous military history knowledge, I could gather what was being said. The tour guide took us through the German bunkers that they build in 1942 as part of the Atlantic wall that were overtaken by the Canadians. Observations posts, communication posts, network of tunnels, etc, so basic tactics in military have not changed much as I’ve participated in the same.

We should have stayed one night in Courseulles-sur-Mer, as it’s a cool little beach town. Oh well, next time.

 

I plan on heading to Vimy Ridge on Remembrance Day 2014 in France, and would like to rent a car to see the other 4 beaches, as there are many more museums for the Americans and British. It’s just not possible to see it all in one day and without a car of your own.

 

Here are more pictures:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/96126270@N07/sets/72157645311968727/Juno Beach Flickr

 

Caen, France

Part 2 of my multiple blog post of Normandy, France! 

I talked about to her how one of my main purposes in France was to see the D-Day beaches, Juno Beach in particular. After our stay Pontorson, it was my responsibility to plan the trip to Caen, so I booked another B&B, train times, and other stuff in order for us to get there. Travelling I’ve always just worried about myself, and now I had the responsibility of one other person.

We got into Caen, found out B&B, and did the normal ‘walking around like lost tourists’ for a while. We found cool places to eat crepes, have beers on a sidewalk patio, got lost, got found etc. and visited an old castle.

 

 

There was fierce fighting in Caen shortly after D-Day 1944, and a lot of the damage is still evident. Burnt building and other ruins of buildings once stood. However, since this year marks the 70^th anniversary of the D-Day landing, there are reminders all around of such a milestone. There are the allied flags and pennants flying, posters, paintings on windows etc to remember the allied invasion of 1944.

 

Veronica wasn’t feeling well our 2^nd day, so she stayed behind while I took a trip out to see the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer, which was about an hour bus ride north of Caen. I’ll write a separate blog post about this experience after I get this one up, because that was just too cool.

 

We stayed three nights in Caen, and then were off to our final stop just a 15-minute train ride away, Bayeux.

 

I didn’t take too many pictures in Caen. The weather was kinda crappy for it but here’s a link to the ones I did take!

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjZ74PbU

Pontorson, Normandy, France

Welcome to my five-part instalment about my week through Normandy, France. I’ll post a new post once a day for the next 5 or so. Enjoy!

 

There is a reason why I keep very loose travel plans, and it goes something a little like this: If you don’t know this by now, I usually travel by my lonesome. I like to do this because, like I’ve said before, you’ll be more open to meeting other travelers in hostels and other tourist areas, and I have made some awesome friends in the process and I’m not committed to one itinerary. When I finally got to the ferry port in Wexford in west Ireland, I spotted what appeared to be another solo traveler, who just so happened to be a cute girl. I went up to her before passing through the gate to board the ferry and since that moment onward, we didn’t spend more than five minutes apart until I went to see Juno Beach by myself a few days later (she was feeling unwell that day).

 

I boarded the ferry without knowing where I was going to be sleeping the next night. I was planning on just chilling during the 20-hour ferry ride and planning my next few moves through Europe. I already knew that France was going to be expensive, especially on my lonesome. The reason is because there are not a lot of hostels in parts of France other than the major tourist destinations, such as Paris and Nice.  The only option was the cheapest hotels slash bed and breakfasts, but I needed to decide which city or town I was going to head to first.

 

As the sun set over the English Channel, I was telling my friend, Veronica, that I needed to sit down and plan where I need to go in the morning, as our ferry was an overnighter. I really didn’t want to do this because I was enjoying my time but I knew I needed to. However, she said something along the lines of “don’t worry about and just come with me to Pontorson for a few nights and see Mont St. Michel”. I gratefully accepted this invitation and was able to enjoy the ferry ride with her without sitting in front of my laptop stressing out where I was going to go and how much money I was about to spend. So this gave us time to hang out. We walked around the deck of the boat taking pictures, watched the Germany versus Brazil football match, had a few beers, went for dinner….hell, it felt like I was in the Titanic movie. Ha.

 

Leaving Ireland

Leaving Ireland

Leaving Ireland

Leaving Ireland

Watching football

Once we got off the ferry, we navigated, well actually, she navigated us to the little town in Normandy called Pontorson. It was a quiet French town with old buildings and cobblestone streets with cool little restaurants everywhere. Not really a backpackers destination but I love visiting towns like this. The lack of tourists, street performers, beggars, and Amnesty International assholes pestering me for money all the time (ahem, Dublin), you’re able to relax and enjoy yourself more as opposed to avoiding tourist chaos. We found cool places to eat, and took our day trip out to Mont St. Michel, and old medieval walled city that is something like 1000 years old.

 

Docked in France

Mont St. Michel

Mont St. Michel

Mont St. Michel

Mont St. Michel

Mont St. Michel

Mont St. Michel

Anyways, those two days in Pontorson turned out to be a full week traveling with her. She cancelled her other bookings during that week in other parts of France so we could travel together for a while. After we saw what we wanted to see in Pontorson, I planned the next move to Caen.

Here are more pictures from Mont St Michel!!

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjZHHVJu

English Channel Cruise

Well it wasn’t really a cruise, just the cheapest option to get out of Ireland to continental Europe. Flights out of Dublin were pretty expensive , but I did some looking around and found that I could take a ferry to France from Ireland for about half the price. Even though the ferry was a 20 hour ride, it’s still better than flying Ryan Air. It was a solid 3 days of transit before finally checking in to a bed and breakfast in France, but as cliche as it is, it’s the journey, not the destination.

I took the bus from Galway Ireland to Wexford Ireland. It was pretty a pretty crappy day because I had to transfer to a different bus all the way back up in Dublin, so 3 hours to Dublin and another 3 to Wexford, and this bus stopped in every random town on the way.

I spent one night in Wexford which was a nice little town. Little tourist towns are a nice brake from the big cities from like Dublin.

The next morning I got on a bus down to the harbour to catch the ferry that left at 330pm. Met another solo traveller and have been hitting it off pretty good so far! We went for dinner on the ship, walked around the deck, got some cool sunset pictures, had some beers and watched the football match. I didn’t reserve a bed, just reserved seating but it kinda sucked to sleep on the floor. And some old lady stole my pillow 😦

It was about a 2o hour boat ride at it was way better than flying! Got out bearings in France and been having a time so far. More on that soon!

Made it!