VIVA ITALIA

Venice was another awesome experience. The only thing I would do if I could go back would be to PACK LESS. Honestly I didn't use half of the articles of clothing in my bag. I brought two deodorants (most of the days I forgot to put it on or went swimming). We had our first Airbnb in Venice. The host was amazing. There was a flood in her home but by the time we got off the water taxi our host already had other arrangements for us in a nice little apartment close to the town center

We had to pack a lot of Venice into one day. We went on a gondola ride, walked to Peggy Guggenheim Museum which is unfortunately closed on Tuesday unbeknownst to us. It did lead us to other side of Venice which we otherwise may not have seen. We went for lunch at La Rosa Rossa. They had amazing pizza and just to throw in some health we also got roasted vegetables on the side. Finally we walked to the top of St. Marks Basilica.

View from St. Marks looking right onto the Piazza San Marco

Emma and I love the Four Seasons after listening to them for hours on end while studying in school. That evening we went to see Vivaldi performed in a church and afterwards shared a plate of pasta. Splendida Serata!

Always wine

After Venice we spent a couple more days spent in a small coastal town called Fiumicino. Then its off to Rome to meet our Familia!

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Scuba Diver E!

One of the things we did in Santorini was get our scuba diving certification. I was not convinced at first but in the end I am thrilled I did it! The Atlantis Dive Center in Oia was amazing to us.

Our instructor Sophia was a super nice girl, very patient with me who is some what less then graceful above water. I found the hardest part was anything out of the water. The first day we were on a beach shore practicing skills and I did not have the strength to fight the waves and focus on the skills being taught. Luckily the next day we came back and did two deep sea dives. The tank was lighter in water and it was more fun to explore shipwrecks then rocks on the shore.

There was a 50 question multiple choice test we had to take and we are PADI certified! When you're on vacation and you have to take a test in really brings you back to reality and you realize how lazy your brain cells are on vacation.

I'm exciting to dive again in a location that is more friendly to underwater life. Because of the volcano in Santorini there is not much food underwater for fish.

See you underwater!

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Santorini

I have never stayed in a Hostel before and being the nervous traveler I am had a charming little emotional breakdown by the pool. I am attributing it to flying through the night and then lugging my suitcase to the hostel. Not that long a walk in retrospect but not what I wanted to be doing at 6:30 in the morning. We used Hostelworld and I would do it again.

I have nothing but positive things to say about Caveland and the island. The employees were very nice and if you're open minded anything you need is close by.

Fun tip: you can't flush toilet paper which apparently everyone knew but me

We rented an ATV from Santorini Scooter Rental. The owner Pano was very nice and gave us a great deal because we were renting for 10 days.

I thought 10 days was going to be too much in one place but I think it gave us the opportunity to get comfortable and really see what the island had to offer. It was also relaxing. We have time to explore without heavy suitcases weighing us down. Santorini is beautiful and these photos are only from the first few days!

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If I had a British Accent I would never stop talking

Despite the rain London is a beautiful city and they speak English! I would love to work here for a year to really travel around Europe even just for the weekends.

On Wednesday we went to Brew round 2 (if you find something you like it’s OK to stick with it). Then set off to see the Tower Bridge, Borough Market and Kensington Palace!

Borough Market was amazing I wish I had access to that every weekend. The atmosphere was very relaxed. You can wander around and get food from all over the world. It was a Wednesday so it was funny to see people coming down from their office buildings to grab a quick bite.  

In the Evening we went to Madison a rooftop bar near St Paul’sCathedral. It had a beautiful view and we only dropped one glass of wine.

On our last day in London we ran around the city looking for Stamps for our Grandmother... no luck apparently this is the most popular stamp EVER. We went to four stamp collectors and a dozen post offices. Crazy...

Cheerio... Off to Greece!

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London Calling!

Rain, Rain, Rain... I mean London, London, London

After a lovely Layover to Iceland in the middle of the night we arrived in London! We took the tube to Clapham junction where my amazing friend Katie met us at her quaint little flat.  Whoa, I sounded pretty British there. We had tons of fun running around the city with her. 

Katie took us to a restaurant in Notting Hill called Beach Blanket Babylon it was Alison wonderland meets... you should just go. Dinner conversation Brexit, the conclusion we are against it.

source

The next day we hit some major London sites. Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the House of Commons.

We ended the day with some fish and chips at Sherlock Holmes and then we saw WICKED at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Which I have to say is amazing. I didn't know the premise of the musical but I love the Wizard of Oz so then dropping little bit of the back story was really fun.

Keep Calm and Defy Gravity

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Smile!... but don't look at the camera

This past weekend me and my best old pal took a photography courses so we could stop being basic and start learning about these very expensive cameras we have purchased. GTA Photography in Toronto was a great experience. I love the "Field Trip" we got to take aka walk around the city and try and take pictures on something other then the automatic setting. The course was a Saturday Sunday class. I wish we had done that both days but I understand the technical stuff is important too...

Topics we covered.

• Aperture
• Shutter Speed
• ISO

Exposure Meter

As you can see I am still working on my tendency to over expose

Goal: Make the back ground clear and the object close to you, in this case the fence, blurry

My favorite model

Here are a couple more

Being in Toronto allows us to see our other amigo, Shauna! We stuffed our very hungry faces at La Carnita and went home and crashed in front of How to be Single (only 52% on Rotten Tomatoes but 100% to us).

Bye for Now!

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Travel Bugs

All you can do is keep going. I have a bunch of exciting things coming up this year. First on the list, Europe for a month! My sister and I are taking off the jolly old England thanks to WestJet 250 dollar deal to London. When we first started planning we were going to do the whole shebang, Oslo, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Greece, Italy etc. The more we were talking about the more we realized we would be travelling between places for more time then we would actually be in the place enjoying the experience. 

We are going to London, Greece and Italy. One my best friends is working in London and already has a bunch of amazing activities planned out for us. Next Greece. Emma was there in high school and has always wanted to take me. I found a sweet hostel in Santorini and she already has us signed up to rent ATV's and ride around the island.  FINALLY the rest of my family (Dad, Mom, Ty, Uncle and Aunt) are coming to meet us in Italy. We have rented to amazing Airbnb's. One is on the Amalfi Coast and the other is more north in  Tuscany.

What's your next big adventure? If not now, when?

Do you think we can get all this done in 3 Days? Its ambitious but so are we.

Aries, New Year Fresh Start

I am going to treat my birthday as a New Years because I have been missing in action for some time and I think its a great excuse to set a new goal and get back into whatever you were slacking on much like myself.

Horoscope from the Toronto Star on April 19: 

This year you open up to a new perspective. You might be tenuous as to how you use this new vision. If you decide to maintain the status quo, you will often reflect on the fact that you could create more. Many of you could opt to travel or go back to school as you want to understand and know more. If attached, the two of you find the more you grow, the better your relationship becomes. Your ability to embrace your significant other’s negative and positive traits highlights your relationship. You will see this type of acceptance and love returned perhaps not immediately but eventually.

Finally, if you're going through anything draining keep in mind, It's almost that time of year when this is the appropriate uniform.