So Long, Farewell

The world just absolutely fascinates me. Everything in it. There are so many different cultures and there's always something new to discover. It's just really exciting and I seriously can't wait to go exploring. Maybe this won't be the end of my blog. Maybe this can be the place where I keep track of all the places I want to go and things I want to see. Kind of like a bucket list that I'll be able to look back on and check off as I go.

I'm not really sure what the future will bring but I do know that travel is going to play a big role in my life. Whether I do it for pleasure or for work. As I've been working on what to make each blog post about, it's really just reminded me how much I love this world. No matter how stressed I am or whats going on in my life learning more about this world always seems to take me away and allow me to feel relaxed. It's what makes me happy and I can't wait to enjoy my lifetime of wanderlust :)

Natural Beauties

So I've decided to share with you all 5 kind of random places that I think are absolutely stunning and are places that I am definitely hoping to see in my lifetime. Here we go! Oh and these also aren't in any particular order.

1. Mount Roraima in Venezuela

To begin have you ever seen anything like this? Me neither. This is the tallest flat topped mountain in the world at 2810 m high. I think it's really astounding and I love the many water falls scattered around the mountain. It's said to be in Venezuela but its in fact on the border between Venezuela, Brazil and Guiana.

2. The Great Dune of Pyla in France

This is an incredible part of nature. It's a crazy phenomena because it seriously looks like someone took a piece of African desert and plopped it in the middle of Europe. This is Europe's largest sand dune. It's surface cover 1.5 square km and reaches a height of about 100 m. It's just a really neat place that would make for some exquisite photos.  

3. Rotorua in New Zealand 

So these babies here aren't located directly in the city of Rotorua, but can be found near the city. These are boiling mud pools. They occur because of geothermal activity. A lot of that goes on around this area and it can cause and odorous smell so be prepared. I just think these things are so neat. I'm sure they can be found in places other than New Zealand, but I really just need an excuse to go there and figured this was the perfect excuse. 

4. The Door To Hell in Turkmenistan 

About 40 years ago, geologists uncovered and underground cavern and took down the drilling equipment. They discovered a lot of poisonous gas in there and decided they would ignite it hoping that it would burn out in a few days. They slightly miscalculated though, because 40 years later the gas is still burning. I think that this would just be something really neat to see. I wonder how long it will burn for. 

5. Socotra in the Indian Ocean

This is the largest island of a group of islands located in the Indian Ocean. It's very isolated because it's nearly 240 km away from other land. The species of plants an animals are very unique and different. A lot of things found on the island are alien-like. For instance the tree above looks like something out of a strange fantasy world. The most famous plant that grows there is called the Dragon's Blood Tree (below) which looks like a really big umbrella. It would definitely be somewhere like no other and I think it would be fascinating to visit. 

So there you have it, 5 slightly random yet beautiful things that I would like to see in person. Our world is so fascinating and I guarantee that there is always something yet to be discovered. 

Mont Saint Michel

Mont Saint Michel is a tidal island considered to be a part of Normandy that is 297 acres in size. The highest point on the island is 92 m above sea level and as of 2009 the population has been 44. Its more of a tourist place rather than an actual place to live. There are no cars on the island, you have to walk everywhere.

I just think it's absolutely beautiful. Its so small and cute and I love the fact that you have to walk everywhere. I went many years ago and although I can't remember all the details, I definitely remember my legs being tired by the end of the day. It was well worth it though. 

The construction/layout of the island is a reflection of the feudal society that constructed it. God is at the top, then the abbey and monastery, then the great halls, then stores and housing, then at the bottom fishermen and farmers housing. I find this extremely interesting and you can learn a lot about the way society used to be. 

The tide changes very quickly, it can take a matter of hours for the tide to move several kilometers. Have no fear though, the path (causeway) connecting the island to the main land is never submerged. During the highest tide, the sea goes out 15 km from the coast and comes back very quickly. It's really incredible to watch the tide move throughout the day. 

Although the island is small there are many different things to do. There are four different museums, the abbey, the church, 25 stores and many restaurants. Plenty of things to keep you busy along with an incredible view. 

I was quite young when I went therefore don't remember much of it unfortunately. It is definitely high up on my list of places to visit. Also just a little fun fact, Mont Saint Michel is where my parents found my name! I know, really exciting stuff. It's one of the many reasons why I want to return. Oh, I also forgot to mention that it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's just a really gorgeous place to visit that I definitely recommend. 

Trip of a Lifetime

So this is kind of a different post. I just kind of wanted to talk about this opportunity that comes around every year. It's the Toms trip of a lifetime. Basically, you enter in this contest by explaining a little blurb about you and then the public has to opportunity to vote. The top 50 people are then chosen to go on a week long trip with Toms.

I just think that this is such an incredible opportunity that everyone should be jumping at. I'm not sure how much everyone knows about going on a trip like that, but they are insanely expensive. It's probably around 5 thousand dollars to go for a week. Tons of fundraising has to be involved but even then, it's a lot of money. If  you're one of the winners of this contest, Toms pays for the WHOLE trip. How amazing is that?! Pretty amazing if you ask me because you're basically given a free opportunity to not only travel to a part of the world you otherwise wouldn't, but to also give back to those in need.

On the trip, you travel with 9 other contestant winner along with a team of Toms people to help distribute shoes or help with whatever needs to be done. I think that it's such a sweet opportunity that will give you a new perspective on life. I've always loved Toms but what I love even more is there One for One logo. For every pair of shoes sold, they'll give a pair to someone in need. They do the same thing for glasses and eye care. They help people in over 50 countries I think it's really incredible. If you win a trip you could go to Africa, Asia, South America and even some places in Europe. I just think it's a great opportunity and applying doesn't cost you anything so you've really got nothing to lose. 

Although I didn't apply this year because I only recently discovered it, I will most definitely be applying next year. It would be amazing to travel to Africa or somewhere. I would be fulfilling my dream of helping those in need while also discovering parts of myself. 

Across the Ocean I...Stay?

Before I talk tell you all more about my travels, I'd like to tell you about the village in Germany that I lived in. It was a little place called Susterseel. It was a really small town, but it had everything you could ever need. The people were so friendly too. My neighbours were some of the nicest people I had ever met. Anyways, my house was at the bottom a big hill which was really cool. The house we lived in was brand new, we were the first people to ever live in it. It was a pretty nice house and had four floors. It was really modern and I loved that. They don't really like to have carpeting in houses over there so our floors were entirely ceramic. Yea, it was kinda weird and also pretty cold sometimes. The ceramic floors were actually pretty nice though, they allowed us to move furniture really easily so we'd always switch up the layout of our house just to keep things exciting. The only downfall was that if you dropped something, it was pretty much guaranteed to break. We also had to take a couple trips to emergency due to falling down the stairs.

Our house kind of stuck out in the village because most of the houses were classic European architecture so everyone kind of knew that we were the Canadians. Our backyard was really big which was awesome. We had a trampoline but also had enough space in our backyard to play soccer or football or something. Behind our yard was a huge field for cows. My brothers and I would always accidentally kick our balls into the field and to get them, we'd have to climb under the fence and through the cows. It was actually really neat. Some of the braver cows let us get close enough to touch their noses. Because of this, I had kind of become cow obsessed, but that's a totally different story. Oh and just a little fun fact, The Netherlands was also about 30 seconds away from my house. From our backyard, you could see the town of Jabeek which is in the Netherlands. You could simply go from country to country without having to wait in huge lines with ID and your passport. Pretty cool.

The weather is super mild over there which was really awesome cause you could pretty much bike all year round. At the top of the hill we lived on, there was this huge forest filled with hundreds of little bike paths. It was so much fun because you could take a different route every time. There were also some pretty sweet parks along the paths. I must say, Germany definitely wins the award for best parks. They have giant chess games, huge slides, zip lines and HUGE play structures. Yes, these parks are free. Considering I was 8 or 9 when we moved there, it was pretty much heaven and to be honest, I'm sure I'd still enjoy myself just as much. 

Like I said before, the town was really small but had all the essentials. We had small grocery stores and all that good stuff but we had the most amazing pizzeria ever. Its name probably changed about 4 times during our stay, but the food always stayed the same. To this day it is still the best pizza I've ever had. We also had a family owned bakery like 100 m down the street and the pastries were so good. My favourite thing from there were the nusseckens. They were this nutty, chocolaty, yummy goodness. I definitely have to go back there. 

The last thing I wanna mention about Susterseel is the Diddl store. Now I'm sure no one has heard of Diddl, but in Germany (when I lived there anyways), Diddl was huge. Basically Diddl is this cartoon mouse character. It wasn't an actual show or anything, there were just collectible items such as paper and stamps that you would trade. Along with Diddl, there was Diddlina, Mimihopps(rabbit), Pimboli (a bear), Galupy (horse) and others. I'm not sure what a North American version would be, but basically you would trade Diddl items or just collect them and this was the cool thing to do. I had an absolutely huge collection and going to the Diddl store was always so exciting. I still have all my Diddl stuff and love looking through it all. 

That's all I'll leave you with. I could go on forever but I wouldn't want to bore anyone. These were just a few of the things that really stood out in my mind. Susterseel was the perfect little town to live in and I would pretty much give anything to be able to go back. One day. 

Santorini, Greece

Santorini is an island in the sourthern Aegean sea and is about 200 km southeast of mainland Greece. It's not very big and has a population of about 15 000 people. There is a lagoon located in the center of the island and it is surrounded by 300 m high cliffs all around. It's really impressive. The first thing that really intrigued me, was the appearance of the place. It is seriously breathtaking. I've never seen anything like it before. I've been to Greece before and it was just stunning and the idea of visiting this little island kin of away from everything else is really appealing.

Like how stunning is that? It's just extremely beautiful. I just feel as though the island is bursting with historic architecture just waiting to be explored. By going there, I could learn so much about the ancient Minoan civilization. I love learning about the history places have hidden inside the walls of their beautiful buildings. Greece was definitely one of the favourite places I visited for that reason. Pretty much everywhere you walk, you see some type of artifact or statue. It's really incredible knowing that you are able to see some of the things that have built the beautiful country. Most of the buildings are white or an off white colour and it just looks so classic and timeless. I just really think its absolutely gorgeous and would love to have the opportunity to go and to explore even more of Greece. 

If I were to go, I would most definitely have to go sailing. I've always wanted to go sailing, I think it's just really cool and relaxing but also exciting. My parents actually sailed around Greece for a week and always tell me what an incredible experience it was. It's something I need to experience and what better place to do it than in Santorini. Being able to see the huge cliffs from water level would be an experience like no other. It would be an amazing opportunity to snap some beautiful photos. 

The island used to be a circular shape but about 3500 years ago there was a huge volcanic eruption that caused the whole center of the island to sink in the sea leaving behind a hugely magnificent lagoon. This same eruption was also said to be the thing that wiped out most of the Minoan civilization because it sent huge tidal waves across the sea taking out pretty much everything in its path. Some even say that the part of the island that sunk is part of the legendary lost continent of Atlantis. Everything I read about this place makes me want to go so much more and hopefully one day I'll be able to.  

Across the Ocean I Go

Going to England was the first big trip I ever made. It was also my first time leaving the continent which is why it is so memorable for me. The trip took place when I was in grade 2, so it was actually before I moved to Germany. My dad had been planning a trip for a long time, but he kept the location a secret. All my brother's and I knew was that we needed out passports. This made the trip all the more exciting. We were so curious and to find out where we were going and the anticipation was almost unbearable. We finally found out the location of the trip when we checked into our flight. I was ecstatic! I didn't know much about England but I had heard many stories about it from my parents because they had lived there. We were going to stay in a little town called Swindon, which is actually the place that my parents lived. It was also neat because my brother was born there. He's older than me so by the time I was born we were back in Canada which is great but it would have made my story a little more interesting if I could tell people I was born in England. Anyways, the main purpose of our trip was to visit some old friends of my parents but we also had to do some sight seeing. The flight was long, but was actually really fun just because I couldn't contain my excitement. There also weren't very many people on our plane so we were able to get up and move around quite a bit, which was nice especially considering I have never been on a plane for more than 4 hours. I just remember being extremely hungry when we landed, but by the time we got there most everything was closed. We went to this little Greek stand and everything was super expensive, but it was the best taking meal ever.

Our first sight seeing expedition was Stonehenge. You can't do England without seeing Stonehenge. I was a little young to appreciate it, but it was still fascinating. There were those audio guides where every person had their own little device and headphones and you could get kind of your own personal guided tour. To be honest I don't remember a single thing that the guide said, but I do remember being blown away by the stone structures. Those are some really huge rocks and the mystery of how they placed and what tools they used to do so is intriguing. After Stonehenge, we went to this other place not far. I honestly couldn't tell you the name of this place cause I don't remember, but I do remember that there were some more big rocks and there were also sheep roaming everywhere which was really neat. I was more concerned with what the sheep were doing than what I was actually supposed to be paying attention to obviously, considering I don't even remember what it was in the first place. The field we were in was full of stinging nettle. I don't know how many times my parents told me to be careful, but obviously not enough. I was wearing those pants that could be converted to capris or shorts by unzipping a section, I was really cool I know, but for some reason I decided it would be best to convert my pants into shorts even though I knew that if I touched these plants I would be in some serious pain. Me, being the smart and coordinated child that I was, tripped and fell into many stinging nettle plants. The pain was seriously excruciating. Once the initial sting was over it wasn't so bad, but I will never forget the pain I experienced that day. My pain made for a good memory though that I can now look back and laugh on because I kind of set myself up for it. 

We didn't really get the chance to go anymore sight seeing because of time. We spend the remaining time visiting with folks that my parents knew years ago. They all had kids around my age and it was actually really cool interacting with them because we were so different. We all clicked instantly though. It was almost as if we were best friends who hadn't seen each other for a couple of days, just picking up where we had left off. We shared stories about our schools and friends and it was really sweet being able to get to know these kids from a different part of the world. I even developed a little crush for one of the little British boys but what can  I say, the accent is very charming. England felt like a second home to me, everything felt kind of familiar but still new and exciting. It's probably one of my favourite places for that reason. It was definitely a trip that I will never forget and opened my eyes to a whole new world. I think it was the first real thing that sparked my interest in wanting to travel. It was the beginning to my lifetime of wanderlust.