Whose Traveler

Since I've done a bunch of traveling in my life, I thought it was time to talk about my trips, the pros and cons. So, here goes!

Canada (8 times plus 2 when I was a baby)
- Prince Edward Island (1988, 1991, 2003, and 2005) - It's a 12 hour drive from the Boston area. My family has stayed in the same area every visit, north coast mid-island aka "Anne's Land". If you want to be very unplugged and laid back, this is the place for you. The beaches are amazing and there's a lot of touristy stuff to do - thanks to the complete commercialization of Anne of Green Gables. I always love to visit Woodleigh (link).

- Cape Breton (1990) - I loved this area. It - is very similar to Scotland. Gaelic culture is very strong. The sights and history are amazing.

- Nova Scotia (1993) - Not as cool as Cape Breton. Very built up but if you want to get back to nature, try the Cabot trail. Also, a ferry goes from Maine to Nova Scotia (with gambling - woohoo!)

- Quebec (1992) - Amazing city with lots to do and a lot of culture. If you try to speak French, the people are very supportive. Lots of very cool historical areas to visit plus a vibrant jazz scene.

- Montreal (1996) - A very naughty city. I might be biased since I visited my freshman year of college and drank only alcohol the entire time. Lots of bars, strip clubs and a hopping night life. A very cool subway system. I also have a vague memory of some kind of carnival near the water that I liked.


Germany (1987, 2000 2 times)
My family toured Europe when I was 10 and we went to a bunch of places in Germany but the names escape me since my major memories from then were, "The place that smelled like manure." or "The place that had good cocoa." I've been to Freiburg the most so that will be my representative German city

- Freiburg - a wonderful city that is very tourist friendly. Plus, a univeristy city so there are a lot of cultural events and a nice variety of languages on the trolley. I have noticed that when in Germany, you don't make eye contact with strangers on the streets and if you do, you don't give them a friendly smile. People will stare at you like you're an ape. Freiburg is also close to the Black forest and it's a lot of fun taking a gondola up a local mountain to see the vast expanse. Another fun thing is to rock a 2 person gondola if you're with someone who is afraid of heights. In terms of food, beer is like water and it tastes amazingly good in Germany. I'm more a wine gal, but I downed beer after beer when I was over there in 2001. It's sweeter and doesn't have the nasty aftertaste. Asparagus in the summer is perfectly in season. Wiener schnitzle and spaetzle is delicious but will give you a coronary.

France (2000)
- Strasbourg - yes, yes I haven't even been to Paris... Since Freiburg is so close to France and Switzerland, I was able to take a day trip to Strasbourg. It is a lovely city with a huge imposing Catherdral in the middle of a vibrant square. On a food note, thay have these tarte d'alsace that are simply amazing. They are like pizzas on a thin pastry-like crust. My dad got a flambe one with pears. I got one with ham and sour cream. Mmmm... delish!

Switzerland (1987 and 2000)

- Basel - I became obsessed with cathedrals on my 2001 visit thanks to the Big Three cities (Basel, Strasbourg, and Freiburg). All of them are on the rhine and all have architetecturally gorgeous cathedrals in the middle of the city. If you visit Swizterland, you have to eat chocolate. You'll think you have died and gone to heaven.

Austria (1987)

This was my favorite country from our family tour. So much variety from city to city and lots of gorgeous views. We started in Bregenz and went up and over the alps to Innsbruck then Salzburg and ended our Austria leg in Vienna. Tons of castles, mountains with snow in mid-July, and very vibrant, friendly people. Vienna was simply amazing. I remember riding the biggest ferris wheel in the world. It was the same amusement park where I permanently skewed my lower teeth thanks to the bumper cars. Since I was 10, I thought it was very funny that there was a restaurant chain called Wiener Wald.


Hungary (1987)
Since this was 1987, Hungary was still part of the Eastern bloc and we have family in the countrry so this is why I have memories from this leg.

- Gyor - very quaint town with a cute center. During our visit, we drove down to Lake Balaton with family. On that trip, I saw a Russian tank and experinced my first nude beach.


- Budapest - The city is bisected by the Danube so there is a Buda side and a Pest side. Our family lived on the Buda side which is hilly and more suburban so I preferred it. Pest was pure city with a castle looking over it. Most of the cars back then ran on diesel so I remember trying not to puke from all the fumes in Pest. It's funny how as a kid nature and open spaces are more appealing to visit which is why I liked Buda more. But if I go back now, I bet I'd be bored to tears with Buda and would prefer Pest.

- Matrafured - my dad's old hometown at the foot of the Matra mountain. The family in this area were older and very formal. I remember the house had bear hides everywhere and they made their own sausages. When someone tries to entice you with "fresh sausage" run away by the way! We also cooked goulash in a big cast iron pot over fire in the vineyard. Oh yeah, my famiily used to have a vineyard way back when. My love of wine must be genetic, huh?

- Szeged - a very modern bustling city. Fewer diesel cars. Also since it's in southern Hungary, it was evilly hot in August. Huge boulevards and lots of shopping areas. The family lived in a northern suburb. I loved this part of the family since there was a passle of kids my age. Also, it reminded me of my mom's family with the bustle of noise and activity. We played cards. My brother and I learned that ace is pronounced like "Ahss" in Hungarian. Oh yes, we had a good giggle! We also played the piano with the kids.

Great Britain (1993)
My high school chorus toured Great Britain when I was a sophomore in high school. We stayed with local families.

- England - we traveled all over. Stratford Upon Avon was very cute and impressive (for the book nerds like me). Cambridge was a quickie concert and drive through so it didn't look too impresive. London was amazing. We got to see a West End play and had tons of time to wander around the city. I saw Madame Tussaud's museum and almost got run over by a taxi.

- Wales - we only spent a day trip here but I want to come back and spend weeks. So gorgeous and amazing. The whole area just vibrates with history. Every location has a story.

- Scotland - since I'm part Scottish, this was a wonderful experience. We had an authentic Robert Burns dinner complete with poetry and haggis (yuck). I shopped up and down Prince Street in Edinburgh. A bunch of us scrambled to find spouses at Gretna Green since you can marry there if you're 16. Sigh... no one would have me...

Ireland (2001)
The trip itself was awesome and packed full of activities. Unfortunately, I went with Airforce Asshole and I wound up having a stroke when I got home. So, ignoring that awfulness, I'd like to look at the trip in an impartial light. I seriously need to go back to Ireland to banish all the bad memories and hoodoo.

- Galway - the whole Connemara area is simply amazing. Galway is cute and has tons to offer plus the nightlife is pretty hopping. We saw the Cliffs of Moher and it was amazing. I'm not a big fan of scary high cliffs, with huge gusts of wind over a raging sea so this was a bit scary.

- Limerick - I don't have very distinct memories of this city but I remember that our B&B gave us a pink room. We drove the Ring of Kerry while staying here and it was the best drive ever. Amazing views and lots of discoveries from area villages.

- Cork - my family's old stomping ground. We visited Blarney castle while staying here. If you are claustrophobic and/or out of shape, beware and pace yourself! To get to the blarney stone, you have to climb flight after flight of narrow stairs that are barely the width of a body with very narrow steps. Also, to kiss the stone, you hang your head upsidedown over the side of the castle. I skipped that part. Coming down is almost as bad since the staircases don't have railings so you have to cling to this flimsy rope that is set up to help people to steady themselves. Once we got outside of the castle, I had to wander the ground to get some air and to stretch my legs.

- Dublin - we stayed several days in the area. I loved this city. They have an awesome tour bus system where you can hop on and off whenever you like. We went through the Guinness factory and visited Trinity College. O'Connell street was a fun mix of history and shopping.