Hey remember that time...

... the kid at the ski resort fell off the t-bar, but held on for dear life and was dragged for a few minutes up the hill?

Man, I do. I believe our instructor called him a "tortue ninja", meaning Ninja Turle in English. Curious to know if he was only holding on in hopes that there was a pizza at the end of the ride.

Minus the green skin, turtle-ish features, and you've got that kid... right?

NB: The kid actually looked a little more like this...not quite so fierce and a little more fear in his eyes. - Apes

Stinky cheese and wine party

Apes 'n Ju (+ Steph) recently hosted a Stinky Cheese and Wine Party at the apartment.

The turnout was wonderful, and more people than expected were in attendance. It was a hit and people seemed to really enjoy their time that they had here (well, maybe not the neighbours, but we won't get into that).

From Seabass' filthy Camembert cheese made with raw milk, to the 10+ baguettes that were in attendance, the shindig is something that we would like to do again.

We don't have any photos from it yet, but we will post them as soon as we do!

Just so much to write...

So in an attempt to start writing blog posts a little more frequently, Apes and I are going to write very short posts about different experiences that we had in our travels from the past two weeks. As you may know, we recently did a big travel stint going from England to the Czech Republic to Portugal and back. So anyways, each day (ish) we will post something about the journey. There should be enough to get us through to our next adventure.

I will commence by outlining our travels:

February 27 - Arrive in London, UK
February 28 - Meet Ju's sisters + Abe in London, UK
March 1 - Travel to Sheffield, UK via train
March 2 - Return to London, UK and spend that night in the Gatwick airport
March 3 - Arrive in Prague, Czech Republic
March 5 - Arrive in Porto, Portugal
March 8 - Apes and Steph return to Nice
March 10 - Ju returns to Nice

Now we do not have to explain in our stories, the dates that we traveled to these cities. I thank you for your patience.

Chocolate, Knives, and Watches....Oh my!

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Steph and I after discovering that the Swiss Alps do exist!

So Steph and I went to Geneva, Switzerland and let me tell you I've never had more trouble in an airport in my LIFE! I can officially say that I've been locked in an airport because of this trip. How did this happen you ask? Well it started with an hour plane delay out of Nice, which left us with one shot to catch a bus into Geneva once we disembarked. So we practically ran off the airplane, followed the signs that said France arrivals, buses and taxis and ended up in a parking garage? That's right. The sign said buses tho....so we waited and waited...and then decided to go and see if we'd made a wrong turn somewhere. Nope, we were right and yet wrong at the same time. How you ask? Well, we should have followed the sign off the plane that said International Arrivals and Connections. Stupid me just thought if you are flying to Geneva- you end up in Geneva, not France! But by the time we realized this, the French Terminal was closed for the evening and although we could see the bus we wanted, unless we decided to break through glass, jump barbwire fences or pick locked doors, there was no way we were getting into the Geneva side of the Airport. So we tried walking- WAY too long and sketchie of a road...freaky, and then finally resorted to calling a cab. 40 Swiss Franks later, we were kinda glad we did, as our hotel was located near some late night businesses!

Ya.... so no bus or taxi!

Our hotel was great however, providing us with a fabulous complimentary breakfast that also doubled as a lunch thanks to our ability to sneak sandwiches into our purses. With full tummies we headed to the hostel that we'd be staying at the next night to store our backpacks and then we were off to explore the city. It was a little cloudy, but way warmer than either one of us expected. We window shopped for watches and knives, popped into the odd Chocolatiers for samples, and attempted to find this giant fountain that was suppose to be one of the towns 'many' attractions. We didn't find the fountain, but we did find a great marina, old town, mall, play ground, flower clock (k so this one wasn't that impressive) and before you know it the sun was shining and we were surrounded by the alps. AMAZING! We then headed back to the hostel where we napped, made dinner and chatted with our Palestinian roommate before hitting the sack.

The Swiss Alps

The next morning we were up bright and early (k, not really) and off to find the UN and maybe this mysterious fountain. Without asking for directions, and only knowing the street it was located on...we found the UN with only a minor wrong turn. It was cold, and we were a little more than soaked from the rain at this point, so we really didn't hang out long. We were there long enough however to discover that someone had burnt themselves alive about a week before we arrived in protest of the war in Sri Lanka, and that the mark from his body was still on the pavement right by our feet. Kinda creepy. We then headed down the water front and finally saw the fountain we'd missed the day before, which was right in front of our noses the whole time, but not actually working because of the windy weather conditions. The grey sky provided a crappy backdrop for our photos, but at this point it was starting to snow and we both just wanted to be dry again. So we walked and we walk and we walked in search of a restaurant that wasn't going to rob us of all our hard earned money. We finally found one and with food in front of us we chilled out and watched a few different episodes on MTV...how American of us I know.

Birds Birds and more Birds

At this point we decided that we'd seen all that we needed to, and headed to the airport to chill out. Boarding time came and went and....you guessed it, an hour flight delay. The reason? A little snow that didn't even stay on the ground. I guess people in Switzerland are only use to seeing snow in the mountains...oh what we put up with in Canada! We finally arrived back in Nice at about 10:30pm, and thanks to our great timing ran into Ryan who provided us with money to take the bus home- ya I know, who travels without having at least a few Euros in their pocket?...this girl! Oh well...

And there you have it ladies and gentlemen...Geneva, Switzerland.

Like Julie said, next up -
London, Prague and Porto!

Bar"th"elona

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Apes 'n Ju at the Barcelona port

For V-day weekend, Apes 'n Ju, accompanied by Steph, headed to the country of paella, chorizo, and where they pronounce their 's' sounds like 'th'. It wa'th' ab'th'olutely 'th'plendid! Hahaha.

After a few problemos at the airport, we arrived in Barcelona around midnight Friday night. Thinking we'd arrive to a relatively quiet downtown area near our hostel, we were astounded as to how many people were actually in the streets. A handful of these people were trying to sell us cans of beer - thanks, but no thanks! One stop on the metro later and we arrived at our hostel, ready to head to bed (since it's now 1am). Oh wait.. did I forget to mention the manwoman that was staying in our room? Oh yes, yes I did. Anyway... as we are getting ready for bed, a scary-looking individual, whom none of us knew was a man or a woman, came in, chugged some vodka, and left. Disturbed and a bit scared from this encounter, Stephanie decided that perhaps sharing a bunk with said individual would not be a wise choice. She opted to share the bottom bunk with April whilst Julie slept in the top.

Casa Mila a.k.a. La Pedrera - designed by A. Gaudi

Saturday morning! Manwoman is sleeping (phew), but we later learn that when he came in the room after we had fallen asleep, he threw up in the toilet, waking up a German girl. German girl did not enjoy the sounds - in fact, they made her throw up as well. Reminds us of our friend Dana from back home. Bad.

Moving along, our complimentary breakfast consisted of a rock hard toasted baguette, OJ, dirty, filmy hot chocolate, and a slice of muffin. We QUICKLY left the hostel to begin our day. Walking down La Rambla (a main pedestrian strip in the city), we enjoyed watching shopkeepers and performers setting up for a busy Saturday. Walking past the large Christopher Columbus monument, we ventured out to the port where we came across, you guessed it, a Starbucks. Wait, you didn't guess Starbucks? My bad. Too late now.

Enjoying a nice iced beverage (oh I forgot to mention it was warm there), we wandered around trying to figure out what to do. "Hey, who would be opposed to taking a bus tour? No one? Okay, good!" After waiting in line for a decent amount of time, we hopped on a double decker bus (to the top of course) to enjoy a narrated tour of the city. Casa Batilo, La Pedrera, Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and Camp Nou were just a few stops along the route. There were a ton more, but I just named the most known - if you do not know, or wish to know more, click on the link for each one.

La guía turística

That evening, we took in a show at a bar known as Los Tarantos - we were treated to some Spanish music and Flamingo dancing. Did you just say Flamingo dancing? Ya, that's what it is, right? NO!! It's FLAMENCO dancing! Oh! So anyway, treated to some Spanish music and Flamenco dancing. I always say, you can't go to Spain without seeing a flamenco show! After the show, we took in some dinner - tapas, sangria, and paella all around! And after? Bed.

Sunday! We decided to take in the city by foot today and go back to see the sites of which we wanted better photos. Stephanie, the day before, had fallen in love with Gaudi, so his works (gorgeous btw) were our main focus. Hey! Did I mention we got Starbucks again? I didn't? Oh - well we did hahaha.

We took in some lovely Asian cuisine for lunch at a restaurant called "Wok", did a little shopping, enjoyed a nice walk to the beach, and headed up La Rambla to Placa de Catalunya to catch the bus to the airport.

Besides the fact that Vueling Airlines is the worst airline that we've ever traveled with, we had an excellent trip!! Barcelona was beautiful and we would recommend it to anyone who comes to Europe!

Heading out to catch some "big" waves

Up next for Apes: Geneva, Switzerland

Up Next for Apes 'n Ju:
London, England
Prague, Czech Republic
Braga, Portugal
You're not gonna want to miss it!

The City of Love

PARIS, FRANCE

Julie and I in front of Notre Dame

So, last weekend the gang headed to Paris to experience the sights, smells and sounds of the city of love- a week early we know! Like France in general, the smells left a lot to be desired, but overall we had a great trip.

My Favourite Painting at the Louvre

The Coles notes version goes something like this.

Woke up 4:00am, Got ready, Took a cab to the airport (cause Ryan informed us at 12:30am that he couldn't handle us walking because it was too much for him to worry about), Airplane to Paris. Arrive 7:30am, Starbucks, Notre Dame, Walk, Walk, Walk. Eiffel Tower- can't see the top of it because it's too foggy- GARBAGE, Lunch at a little family restaurant. At this point the drizzle rain turns into giant wet snowflakes- DOUBLE GARBAGE. Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees, 3 cold and soaked girls, Louvre. Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Lots of other paintings and statues. Hostel, Nap, Dinner at a Pasta Bar. Eiffel Tower at night- way better in my opinion, Lots of pictures, Back to the hostel, German MTV, Sleep.

Eiffel Tower at Night

Wake up 8:30am, Went up the Eiffel tower, Pictures, Pictures, Pictures, Souvenirs, Went up the Arc de Triomphe, Booted it to Starbucks and Subway- How North American of us?, And then finally to the train station to head back to Nice. Major time crunch here, but we made it and on time! THEN, we realized that our seats were not our seats at all, because the lady had sold us tickets for the wrong day- ya cause I get Sunday and Tuesday confused too. Refused to get off, Purchased new tickets and Sat back for a 6 hour ride. 8:00pm Arrive back in Nice- tired, but more cultured all the same.

Pont Neuf

Up Next- Barcelona, Spain
for D-day or V-day for those of you that like Hallmark!

We've dropped the ball again....

Sorry peeps, apparently we still suck at updating!


I'll give you a quick run down of the last 3 weeks until we can do better.

Lyon for Julie's birthday- Starbucks, Gaza Protests and Sketchy Hostels included.

WORK WORK WORK

April gets a CRAZY bad cold.

Julie gets a CRAZY bad cold.

Julie's friend Jackie came to visit...HI JACKIE!

Julie, April, Jackie, Katie and Seabass go to the Monaco Circus.

Julie gets a second part-time job.

3 First place finishes in the Ma Nolan's Pub Quiz..ie. 300 Euros in free food and drinks!

Nemo on Ice

Steph (My younger sister) comes to Nice and brings LOTS of presents with her! I love presents and letters!

April takes up knitting.

And there you have it, three weeks in a nut shell. We have lots of traveling booked for the next 6 weeks while Steph is here, so there should be tons to update you all about. Until then, I hope all is well with everyone!