A magical thing happens at 3pm on summer Sundays in Berlin, Germany. In Mauerpark, one of the many public parks in the city, in the amphitheatre aptly nicknamed “the Bearpit” a man named Joe puts on Bearpit Karaoke the most epic karaoke afternoon you’ll ever see. The Bearpit amphiteatre sits as many as 2000 people and there are always folks standing at the back, around the sides, and all the way around the platform at the front that acts as the stage. Joe provides the speakers, the computer, the microphone, and acts as the enthusiastic and incredibly supportive emcee.
I discovered Bearpit karaoke last year when we visited Berlin the first time. We sat and watched and laughed and sang-a-long for a few hours. I said to Michael, “I want to perform!” We agreed we would come back the following Sunday and I would try my hand in the Bearpit. Cut to the following Sunday (the day after the pride parade), and we were too hungover to get out of bed! I was so upset, but knew that the next time we were in Berlin, I would finally have my chance.
“I want to sing”
That brings us to July 8, 2018. Michael and I squeezed into the seats of the Bearpit, and awaited Joe’s arrival. When he did arrive, he set up the stage, and sang Copa Cabana to get the crowd warmed up. He reminded the audience that this gig costs money, and he sent a pot around to collect donations. One at a time, people’s hands shot up in the air and he selected people from the crowd to come perform. There is no list here, no sign up sheet. To perform you just have to be chosen! Each time a singer finished, I threw my hand up in the air, hopeful he would see me. Michael suggested I just go over to him and tell him I want to sing. So, I did! I put €5 in his donation pot and said, “I want to sing.” He laughed and asked what I want to sing. I told him my song and where I was sitting, and he nodded.
Introductions…
After the guy who sang “Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles, it was my turn! Joe pointed at me and I made my way down to the stage. While he queued up the song he asked me a few questions: What’s your name? Where are you from? How long are you in Berlin? I answered each one and then told him I was here last year and didn’t get a chance to sing, so now I’m back. He asked if I went to Canada and then came back. I answered, “No, I’ve been traveling around Europe in a van for the year!” “You’ve been living in a van for a year?! By yourself?!” he asked. I shook my head, no, and said, “no, with my lover.” The crowd burst out laughing. I pointed to Michael in the crowd. Joe told him to stand up! He did, then he waved and the crowd erupted with applause!
My song
The song was ready. Joe said, “Ok, Beth from Canada, ready?” and handed me the microphone. I remember when I was a kid, nervous to perform, my singing teacher would say, “butterflies in your stomach are good, as long as they are flying in formation.” I smiled. My song began, “Somebody to Love” by Queen. Of course, my voice shook the first few lines! I was standing on a stage, just me, a microphone, and 2000 people! I looked over at Michael, who was smiling bigger than I’ve ever seen. I forced those butterflies to fly in formation, and I channeled the only person who could possibly help me get through this song: Freddie Mercury.
It’s all a bit blurry.
I remember belting out, “I get down on my knees, and I start to pray, ‘till the tears run down from my EYES!!!!” I remember when the instrumental began, I grabbed my air guitar and played it like I’ve never played it before. I remember during the chant, “find me somebody to love” I got the audience to join in! I killed that final note, and the audience stood up and broke into thunderous applause. I somehow managed to stay standing on my gelatine legs, my heart pounded in my chest, tears stung my eyes. I just stood and looked at the people in front of me. Then I curtseyed…weird choice.
Today I learned…
Today I learned what people mean when they say, “I can’t even” because I just can’t. It was such a rush to be up there, to finally have the chance to sing my favourite song in front of this incredible crowd. I stood watching the people at the end, and filed it away into my memories. I never want to forget the feeling of all those shiny, happy faces, beaming down at me, cheering and hollering.
We were up at 6am that morning. My body begged me not to leave the bed, but I had to ignore it. This was the day that we would summit Mount Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia. Triglav in Slovenian means ‘three heads’ and the biggest ‘head’ has a peak that stands at 2,864m. Triglav wouldn’t be the tallest mountain I’d ever stood on, but considering our hike would begin at 526m, it would be the greatest altitude gain I’d ever hiked. Summiting Triglav is a rite of passage in Slovenia. It is said that one isn’t a true Slovenian until he/she reaches the peak. When we heard this, we knew we had to do it.
The bus that would take us from where we slept in the van to the trailhead didn’t start running until 9:30am and so, knowing that our day had to begin much earlier than that, we rode our bicycles 7km to the trailhead. We locked them up at Hudičev Most or Devil’s Bridge, which is a commonly used name for bridges in Slovenia that cross highly dangerous water (seriously, look it up), and hit the path. Gosh, it was boring. We hiked straight up and up and up, through thick forest. There were no beautiful valley views and no stunning vistas, just the occasional spiderweb that got caught on my face. After two hours of this, we arrived at our first stop of the day, the Uskovnica mountain hut. We took our bags off our backs, sat at a picnic table, and shared an apple with some nutella while we stretched our ankles. Ok, two hours down…
To Vodnikov Dom
The hike up continued. Dang, we gained a lot of altitude! Finally, after what seemed like forever, we cleared the trees and could see the view. From where we stood, we could see Bohinj Lake, where we started our day. We stopped for some water and a piece of chocolate… gotta keep that energy up! We walked along a cliff for a few more hours. We came to a big climb, and as we hiked up, the sweat began to drip. The sun was shining right on us, and was unforgiving. Just then, a couple of trail runners ran by. Carrying nothing but water on their backs, they scaled the hill like it was nothing, which made me feel ridiculous for sweating and panting like a dog. Michael assured me I was doing well, and his words of encouragement gave me the energy I needed to push through to the next stop, the Vodnikov Dom mountain hut. Again, we sat at a picnic table outside and had a snack — wraps with tuna and cucumber! From where we sat, we could see the final stop, the Kredarica hut, where we would sleep this evening. It looked so far away. If my legs could guffaw, they would have at the mere idea of climbing up to that hut. We filled our water bottles from the spring nearby and hit the trail. One. Last. Push.
To Kredarica Hut
Somehow, I didn’t collapse. Somehow, I didn’t stop. Somehow, my legs continued to step one foot in front of the other, and climb. We carefully crossed steep ice and snow patches that blocked the path and scrambled up loose scree. When we finally reached the top, I could have cried! My legs ached, my back burned, my feet were tight, and I yearned to sit down. One thing I love about hiking in Europe are the mountain huts. In Canada, you arrive to the backcountry cabin and have to build a fire, boil water, cook the food you brought. Not in Europe. Here we were, at 2,515m, and they were serving cold beer! Other hikers gathered around on the picnic tables, looking a lot less tired than us. We hiked 24km, gained 1,989m of elevation. We sat down and sparked up a conversation with Sarah and Jordan, from Pennsylvania, USA. We were all exhausted and loopy, and thoroughly enjoyed each other’s tired hilarity. We laughed so much. I’m not even sure that what we were saying was funny, but we were so tired it didn’t matter. At 8pm, we retired to the dorm beds and I was out like a light.
Day two:
I woke up at 4am when another hiker in the dorm room began rustling his clothes and preparing for his day. I’m sorry, 4am?! Through sleep-crusted eyes, watched him don his warm hiking layers, grab his poles, and head out the door. I lay in bed, looking out the window at the fog-covered Triglav. You should have heard the pep talk I was giving myself! I could have done anything after words of encouragement like those! At 5:30am, Michael woke up and rolled over. “What do you want to do today?” I asked. He smiled and said, “Let’s climb a mountain!”
The summit
We ate our breakfast at a picnic table on the deck, and watched as the clouds danced around the summit. At 6am, we were ready to go. We put on our helmets, harnesses, and checked our gear. The last 875m of this hike was a via ferrata with steel cables to clip our carabiners onto. Let’s do it! The first five minutes were the hardest. My body was stiff and cold and I was out of breath quite quickly. We had to climb up Kleiner Triglav (the smallest head of the mountain), walk across a skinny rock path, and then climb the rest of the way to the peak. I felt like I had three points of contact with the rock at all times; my hands were doing just as much work as my feet! We reached the top of the little head, and then came to the narrow walkway. This is the perfect example of when someone should say “don’t look down.” On both sides of the path were sheer drops of ice and rock. I can’t tell you more about them, because I took my own advice and kept my head up.
We climbed up the big head and reached the top of Triglav. We did it! We stood on top of Slovenia. It’s an incredible feeling, standing on top of a mountain that towers over everything around you. I felt huge and tiny, like I could laugh and cry, all at the same time. In the far distance, we could see Grossglockner, the highest mountain in Austria. It stands at 3798m, which dwarfs Triglav, and was the only peak we could see above the clouds in the west. Sarah and Jordan soon arrived at the top, too. We took turns taking photos for each other and sharing our thoughts on the ascent. Sarah confessed she is afraid of heights, so I was wildly impressed that she made it up to the top! I stood on the edge, wrapped my arm around Michael’s waist, and soaked in the view. What an extraordinary moment.
Then we saw wildlife!
Then I remembered the hike we have today and the moment was over. We climbed back down to the hut and arrived at about 8am. Michael bought an espresso and we sat to enjoy the view for a moment before heading down. We scrambled back down the scree and back across the steep ice and snow patches that blocked the path. We saw a marmot! Oh my gosh, I’ve never seen one so close. They are dang cute! Then, buzzing from our wildlife high, we turned the corner, and standing on the path in front of us was a zlatorog (a Slovenian mountain goat)! It was totally startled and bounded up the side of the hill into the trees. Woah! Two wildlife sightings in two minutes! That’s gotta be a record.
Hiking back down
We walked past Vodnikov and stopped briefly only to fill our water bottles. Then we arrived at a fork in the road. If we continued straight, we would take the same path down as we took yesterday coming up. If we turned right, we would walk along a totally new path! We chose the latter, hopeful for some new views. We hiked and hiked, down and down, through a thick and totally whimsical forest. We may not have had the views we hoped for, but I did see about a million butterflies! We sat on a big boulder for lunch, and while we ate, we watched the ants working hard on the ground, the busy bees buzzing around, and the butterflies fluttering by. I looked at my watch. We left the hut four hours ago. I looked at the map. We have only gone halfway. Holy moly, we’ll be hiking forever!
Out of the mountains
Down and down and down we went, until we reached a meadow with a few old buildings. It didn’t look familiar, but I took it as a good sign that we must be close to Devil’s Bridge. We followed the trail and walked along a dirt road that cut a field of tall grass right down the middle. A horsefly landed on my arm and I wiped it off. Another buzzed near my ear, so I whacked it away. Then another flew close to my face. I waved my arms and shrieked like a child. I looked at Michael and he too was swatting at big black flies. AHHHHHHHHH! We began to run! We ran as fast as our desperately drained legs could. We swatted at the air around our bodies. My pony tail did what a pony’s tail ought to do, and kept the flies away from my head. We ran through Hell’s Meadow (as I so aptly nicknamed it), and returned to a forested path. No more flies. Breathless, sweaty, and absolutely exhausted, I burst out laughing.
I think this was around the time we started brainstorming, nay, daydreaming about what we would have for dinner. The discussion began: We should definitely barbecue. Maybe burgers? No, too much work. We could just do rice or pasta. No, we should cook outside. Oh, let’s buy cold beer. Yes. Definitely cold beer. A few minutes of silent thought. I wanted pizza. Can you barbecue a pizza? Can you just buy a frozen pizza and put it on a grill? That would probably burn the bottom. A few more minutes of silent thought. Maybe we could wrap it in tinfoil? That would probably melt the cheese on top. Mmmmm, cheese. Oh my gosh, let’s add extra cheese! And meat! More silence. We could buy two frozen pizzas and put one on top of the other. Like a pizza sandwich! We could have a barbecued pizza sandwich! This will work.
Then we got lost
We walked and dreamed and planned until we didn’t know where we were. We started passing people walking the other way, which was a good sign, but didn’t know how far it was until our bicycles. Two young women joined us on the trail. I stopped them and asked if they speak English. They do! Alana and Katrine from Germany. They spent the afternoon at the waterfall nearby and were now walking back to their car. They invited us to follow them, so we did. To be honest, it was at this point I turned my brain off. I mindlessly followed these two German strangers, and would have followed them anywhere really. I was so ready to be done walking. We passed the time with them with conversation about our hike up Triglav, about their trip through Slovenia, and about Michael and my epic road trip the last ten months! And then, like a beacon, a parking sign appeared through the trees. It pointed us down a path, and on this path we found Devil’s Bridge and our bicycles! Oh my gosh, we still have a 7km bike ride!
After a quick stop at the tourist info centre to drop off our rented via ferrata gear, and an even quicker stop at the supermarket to buy cold beer and two frozen pizzas — yes, we are making a barbecued pizza sandwich, this is really happening — we cycled the rest of the way around the lake and arrived at the van. Faster than you can say “don’t forget the beers,” we were changed into our swimsuits, had the barbecue coals ready, the food in a bag, and the cooler in hand. We walked from the van to the edge of the water, placed everything on the ground, and dove right in.
We walked 24km on the first day, and a total of 27km on day two. There are easier ways to get up to the summit of Triglav; Sarah and Jordan started from Krma and it took them only 4 hours. Why we chose the long way? I’m still not sure. Would I do it again? Probably not. Am I glad I did it? I’ve never been prouder of my body.
Did the barbecued pizza sandwich work? Abso-fucking-lutely.
Looking for more things to do in Slovenia? Click here!
We also did a via ferrata in Spain! Read about it here!
You know Paris, Berlin, and Madrid. They are the big, metropolitan, European capital cities, that probably take up 75% of travel posts on Pinterest. They are the well known cities, the top travel destinations, the ‘bucket list’ vacation spots. But, there is a European capital city you may have not heard of. I know I hadn’t. And now I know, that the quaintest, most walkable capital city I’ve ever been to, is Ljubljana, Slovenia.
We enjoyed the perfect day in Ljubljana, and here are my top six things to do in the quaintest capital city in Europe:
1) A free walking tour!
I am such a huge advocate for free walking tours. It is absolutely the best way to see a city, learn a bit about the culture and history, and to get a local’s suggestions for things to do and places to eat. We chose to go with Ljubljana Free Tour (website here). We met in front of the bigm pink church in Prešeren Square. Our guide took us around for about two hours, to the different sites, points of interest, and best photo opportunities in the city.
2. For a coffee or an afternoon drink, go to Pritličje (don’t ask me how to pronounce it…)
For a trendy, super hip break from your day, head here for a coffee, a beer, or a fresh juice. With a shopfront right on one of the main shopping streets, Pritličje boasts an openly welcoming space for people of all sexualities, and identities. I am so happy that such an inclusive cafe thrives here, just two doors down from City Hall.
3. Try a piece of local cake.
Pardon the fact it’s half eaten. It was just so tasty!
After a two hour walking tour, you’ll be ready for a sweet little break. It’s the perfect opportunity to try a slice of the local cake, Prekmurska Gibanica. The cake is a layered pastry made of walnuts, poppy seeds, apples, raisins, and cottage cheese. There is a lot going on with this cake, and oh, boy, it’s is ALL right. We had a slice from Gujžina Prekmurska Gostilna. It was €3.50 for a slice to go, and €4.50 to eat it at a table. We chose to have ours to go, and enjoyed it on the steps of the city hall nearby.
4. Drink a beer!
Slovenia has two major beer brands, Laško and Union. They are very similar, but Laško is a bit stronger. When deciding which one to drink, we were told to think of how many you want. If you are just going to enjoy 1 or 2 beers, choose Laško. If you want to drink 3 or more, choose Union. Your body will thank you in the morning.
5. Wander through the open market.
In a big open square in the middle of the city, is the open market. Here, local farmers come and set up their tables to sell fresh fruit and vegetables from their farms. The market happens every day of the week, except Sundays, and is the perfect place to procure an incredible picnic. And, keep a sharp eye, for the Prime Minister of Slovenia is often seen perusing the stalls too!
6. For dinner? Eat a delicious meal, and support a noble restaurant.
We went to Druga Violina for dinner. The restaurant is known for its large portions, reasonable prices, and for employing people with special needs. Here, we enjoyed the Slovenian sampler plate for two people to share. It was €28, and probably the most expensive thing on the menu, but well worth it. The food was delicious, and we had the opportunity to taste ten or so different local specialties. If you go here around 7pm, prepare for a wait. We arrived just after 7pm, and waited for about 45 minutes. Our table was on the patio, and we enjoyed some wonderful people watching as we enjoyed our meal.
After a few epic days, hiking, white water rafting, and waterfall chasing in the Triglav National park, we decided we wanted to see a totally different side of Slovenia. We hit the road, and drove down south, to wine country! Wine country? In Slovenia? “But I’ve never had a Slovenian wine,” you’re thinking. I know! Me neither! Turns out, they make wine, and the grapes are grown on beautiful rolling hills, very Tuscan-esque. We arrived in Dobrovo, an incredibly quaint little village, and home to the largest winery in Slovenia, Klet Brda. We quickly found it, and parked the van in front.
Inside, we went to the little shop and asked about the wine tasting. The young lady who worked was so nice. She explained that the tasting costs €12, and it is self led. That meant, she would give us a bit of an overview of the winery and its history, give us the tasting notes for each wine, and then let us try the wines at our own pace. She said people often stay for an hour or hour and a half! Sounds like a pretty good deal! We followed her into the tasting room. In the banquet room next door, through a temporary wall, we could hear the chatter of some kind of party, but our tasting room was completely empty. The lady gave us a brief history of the winery, the names of the various grapes, wines, and some of the techniques used. She handed us the tasting notes for each wine, and told us that all ten wines are for sale in the store. Wait a minute. Ten wines? She smiled and left the room. We found ourselves in the tasting room, on our own, just Michael, me, and ten wines to taste. Ohhhh dear.
We started with the two sparkling wines, served straight out of the bottle. We sat near the big, picture windows, and looked out over the rolling Slovenian hills. Gosh, this countryside is stunning, and so, SO different than the mountainous, rocky, and extreme Triglav National Park from where we just came. As we tasted the sparkling wines, the party in the banquet room next door, sang a Slovenian drinking song and cheers’d! We joined them in raising our glasses and cheers’d each other.
We moved onto the whites, the six whites (!), that were served from a machine. Each bottle was connected to two buttons with an icon next to each button — one was a half full wine glass, and one was a full wine glass. You can guess which button we chose. We pressed the full wine glass button once, twice, three times. We read the tasting notes of each wine, and half pretended to follow along. I have never been that good at tasting the notes and nuances in a wine, and today was no different. Sure, after I read notes that the wine smells like kiwis and tastes like wood, the wine smells and tastes just so, but until I read it, it really just smells and tastes like wine. Every time someone walked through the room, to go to the banquet room, or through to the wine shop, we stuck our noses deep into the glasses and rambled on about tannins, the subtleties, and the tones.
By the time we moved onto the reds, again served in bottles, we were happily pouring very healthy portions. The first red was delicious, and I opted for a second ‘taste’ before moving onto the last wine. We thought those who spent an hour and a half in that tasting room must be crazy people, but, there we were, two and a half hours later, stumbling into the wine shop.
We paid for our tasting, and bought a few big bottles of our favourite wines. We left the winery, and went back to the van. We knew that after that much wine, neither of us could drive, so we went for a hilarious, drunken stumble around the vineyards.
We arrived back to the van after an hour or so. There was a big parking lot across the road from the winery, and it looked flat enough, like a decent place to sleep. So, because neither of us was fit to drive, we pushed the van across the road into our perfect little parking spot. The beauty of having your bed with you at all times is that after having way too much wine, you can just fall right into it. Thanks for the epic wine tasting, Slovenia!
After a few epic days, hiking, white water rafting, lake hopping, and waterfall chasing in the Triglav National park, we decided we wanted to see a totally different side of Slovenia. We hit the road, and drove down south, to wine country! Wine country? In Slovenia? “But I’ve never had a Slovenian wine,” you’re thinking. I know! Me neither! Turns out, they make wine, and the grapes are grown on beautiful rolling hills, very Tuscan-esque. We arrived in Dobrovo, an incredibly quaint little village, and home to the largest winery in Slovenia, Klet Brda. We quickly found it, and parked the van in front – it’s time for a wine tasting!
Inside, we went to the little shop and asked about the wine tasting. The young lady, Nina, who worked there was so nice. She explained that the tasting is self led and costs €12, and that people often stay for an hour or hour and a half! We followed her into the tasting room. In the banquet room next door, through a temporary wall, we could hear the chatter of some kind of party. Nina gave us a bit of an overview of the winery and its history, and handed us the tasting notes for each wine. “All ten wines are for sale in the store,” she said. Wait a minute. Ten wines? She smiled and left the room. We found ourselves in the tasting room, on our own, just Michael, me, and ten wines to taste. Ohhhh dear.
The sparkling wines…
We started with the two sparkling wines, served straight out of the bottle. We sat near the big, picture windows, and looked out over the rolling Slovenian hills. Gosh, this countryside is stunning, and so, SO different than the mountainous, rocky, and extreme Triglav National Park from where we just came. As we tasted the sparkling wines, the party in the banquet room next door, sang a Slovenian drinking song! We joined them in raising our glasses and cheers’d each other.
The whites…
We moved onto the whites, the six whites (!), that were served from a machine. Each bottle was connected to two buttons with an icon next to each button — one was a half full wine glass, and one was a full wine glass. Guess which button we chose. We pressed the button once, twice, three times. We read the tasting notes of each wine, and half pretended to follow along. I have never been that good at tasting the notes and nuances in a wine, and today was no different. Sure, after I read notes that the wine smells like kiwis and tastes like wood, the wine smells and tastes just so, but until I read it, it really just smells and tastes like wine. Every time an employee walked through the room, we stuck our noses deep into the glasses and made something up about tannins, the subtleties, and the tones.
The reds…
By the time we moved onto the reds, again served in bottles, we were happily pouring very healthy portions. The first red was delicious, and I opted for a second ‘taste’ before moving onto the last wine. Surely, we thought, those who spend an hour and a half in a tasting room must be crazy people, but, there we were, two and a half hours later, stumbling into the wine shop. We paid for our wine tasting, and bought a few big bottles of our favourite wines. As we left the winery, we knew that after a wine tasting like that, neither of us could drive. The responsible thing to do would be to wait, and so we went for a hilarious, drunken stumble around the vineyards.
We arrived back to the van after an hour or so. There was a big, flat parking lot across the road, and it looked like a decent place to sleep. So, because neither of us was fit to drive, we pushed the van across the road into our perfect little parking spot. The beauty of having your bed with you at all times is that after having way too much wine, you can just fall right into it. Thanks for the epic wine tasting, Slovenia!
(that aren’t the red light district or the Heineken brewery)
I lived in Amsterdam for six months while I was on an exchange through university! I spent my days cycling around the city, searching for the coolest, trendiest, and most Dutch places I could find. This is a list of ten of my favourite activities and places to go in one of the most beautiful cities in the world!
1) Get around like a local
Amsterdam is probably the most bicycle friendly city I have ever been to (Copenhagen is a close second…), and I firmly believe you can’t go to Amsterdam without renting a bicycle. Not only is the city built completely for them — it is faster to bicycle anywhere than walk, take a tram, or drive — but the bicycle is the king of the road, and has the right of way. The best place to rent your bicycle from is Starbikes located behind Amsterdam Centraal. It is not cheaper than any other bicycle rental place, BUT it does not have a huge “I am a tourist” bicycle rental sign plastered on the front. The bicycle you rent here will allow you to blend in and you will get less eye rolls from the locals on the bike path.
2) Learn the difference between a cafe and a coffee shop.
A cafe is where one can purchase coffee, tea, sandwiches, cakes, etc. A coffee shop is where one can purchase different varieties of smokeable herbs… Coffee and Coconuts in De Pijp is a cool old theatre that’s been turned into a crazy, 5 story loft Cafe with organic food and delicious tea and coffee. Coffeeshop 137 is a really cool cannabis store in the Jordaan area. You can tell them how you want your weed to make you feel and they will recommend the perfect blend for you. This coffee shop is a little less cliché. You won’t find any Bob Marley references here, and you may not even see another traveller here — just locals!
3) Wander around the Negen Straats (the Nine Streets)
In the heart of Jordaan, you will find nine intersecting streets that are home to super hip vintage shops, artisanal restaurants, and designer clothing stores. A lot of the clothing stores are expensive, but the streets are beautiful to wander along. My favourite store is The Darling on Runstraat. They sell cute, vintage clothes, and cupcakes!
4) Head to the Cheese Museum!
This is a museum/cheese shop, on Prinsengracht near the Anne Frank museum. It is free to get in, but really touristy. It’s a bit crowded, there are people wearing fanny packs all over the place, and it’s a bit chaotic, BUT, they have all of their cheese out for samples. I have been there many many times and have filled myself up for free with delicious Dutch cheese. They do have some cheese paraphernalia downstairs too, so you can actually learn something while you’re there! (Or just eat cheese).
5) Have brunch at Staring at Jacob
Open Thursday to Monday, Staring at Jacob is a super hip, restaurant east and a bit outside of the city centre. To get there is a delightful bicycle ride that takes you along canals and more classic Amsterdam canal houses. My favourite menu item is their chicken and waffles — real maple syrup (which is important to a Canadian), home made hot sauce, and flaky fried chicken. OH my damn, it’s good. They also have a hefty list of alcoholic brunch beverages, so take your pick and enjoy your ‘hair of the dog’ in the sun!
5) Have a beer at Hannekes Boom
Located just near Amsterdam Centraal, close to Nemo (the huge science centre), is Hannekes Boom. This bar has a backyard that overlooks the canals, with about 100 picnic tables each painted by a local artist, and a killer tree swing over the water. If in Amsterdam on a Sunday, try to go and snag a table! They have different bands play every Sunday around 4pm and you won’t disappointed. Live music, cheap beer, bearded men, and the feeling of a music festival. It’s the perfect Sunday afternoon!
6) Watch the sunset from a canal bench
Albert Heijn, the main grocery store in Amsterdam, sells pretty cheap wine. I’m talking €3 a bottle. Buy a bottle of wine, some plastic cups, and hang out somewhere! You can drink anywhere on the streets, unless it’s marked otherwise. One of my favourite places was sitting on the bench where Prinsengracht and Brouwersgracht meet. It’s a lovely place to watch the sunset over the canal, and watch boats go by.
7) Indulge in a slice of pie from Winkel 43
In Jordaan, across the street from the big, old church, Noorderkerk, is Winkel 43. Here, you will be able to order the best and biggest slice of homemade apple pie in the city. If you go in the afternoon for a coffee and a slice, prepare yourself for a long wait for a table. If you’re like me and don’t like waiting, go to Winkel 43 in the evening, after 7pm. You will be able to find a table, and they will happily still serve apple pie. The crust alone is worth the wait for a table at this cafe.
8) Rent a paddle boat and cruise the canals!
Paddle boats (or bicycle boats) are really cheap to rent and SO funny. Cruising the canals of Amsterdam in any watercraft is a must, and a paddle boat is a cheap and funny way to check it off your bucket list. Just beware of the huge canal tour boats, they don’t like when you get in their way, and will honk their horn to tell you! If a pedal boat isn’t your style, you can rent a motor boat from boats4rent (their website here). It is a cheap option as well!
9) Have a slice of cake at Zoet en Hartig
Directly translated from Sweet and Savoury, Zoet en Hartig is the place to go for any kind of food craving. They have a delicious spicy chicken wrap for lunch, and totally beautiful desserts. My favourite treat were the hot chocolate spoons, you melt it into hot water and it becomes delicious hot chocolate. You can also try their alcoholic spoons with whatever your favourite liquor that releases into the milk as your chocolate melts!
10) Try a classic snack at Cafe Thijssen
You can’t go to the Netherlands without trying some of their classic snacks. Cafe Thijssen serves the most delicious bitterballen — a ball of doughy deep fried perfection served hot with grainy mustard. You can also try their modern twists of the classic favourite! Two glasses of Amstel and a plate of bitterballen to share will set you back about €6, what’s not to like!
If you’re visiting Slovenia, chances are you are going to be in Ljubljana, and if you’re in Ljubljana, chances are you will take a day trip (or maybe a longer trip) to Lake Bled. We weren’t sure if we wanted to go to Bled for two reasons: Lake Bled is very popular among tourists so we expected that it might be really busy, and because of the prolific tourism, we figured that the prices of everything would be way out of our normal daily budget. We really try to avoid ‘tourist traps’ and worried Bled might be just that. That being said, we also really try not to let our dirtbag cheapskate lifestyle get in the way of experiencing everything a country has to offer, so we decided to go! On a Sunday…
We drove in to town and were stopped in standstill traffic. That’s when I realized the day of the week and did a facepalm. We had mapped out a parking lot offering free 2 hour parking on the other side of the lake, but at this rate it would take another two hours to get there! A sign caught Michael’s eye: the coveted, much beloved international sign for ‘campervan parking.’ We turned off the busy road and followed the signs. We came to a parking lot full of vans and RVs — our people! — with a sign posted indicating €10 parking for vans and RVs. Dang! I checked the map again to see if there were any other free parking lots nearby when a couple, maybe my parent’s age, driving a van with a Dutch licence plate, came over to offer us their parking ticket. They had paid for 24 hours and their ticket was good for another six! Score! Thank you, lovely Dutch couple, you’ve made two cheapskate Canadians very happy today.
We threw open the back doors of the van and pulled out our folding bicycles. We unfolded the frames and locked the hinges into place. Let’s hit the road! We quickly found the lake from the parking lot, and it was very clear why Lake Bled is so popular: it’s totally spectacular. The lake is quite small and is surrounded by steep, treed hills and crazy steep cliffs. On one side, the castle of Bled is perched high up on a cliff and in the middle of the lake is an island with a church and a bell tower built in the middle. All around the water is a 6.5km long walking path! We began bicycling. The beginning of the path was very narrow and with all those Sunday lake-goers crowding the path, our ‘bicycling’ ended up as more of a ‘walk alongside a bicycle’, but no bother: the sky was blue, the lake was beautiful — nothing could get us down!
We arrived at the other side of the lake from the town, where we found the trailhead to take us to the viewpoint of Ojstrica (not to be confused with Mala Osojnica!). We locked up the bikes and began our ascent. The way up to the viewpoint is about 600m, from the road, and straight up a hill. The sign told us it should take only 20 minutes. Ok, sign, that seems like a really quick climb, but we’ll take your word for it. We walked up and up. I couldn’t help but be a little sad, for my hair looked so cute and Instagrammable before the climb, and once we reached the top, the sweat had done its worst. From the top of Ojstrica we could see the entire lake, the church island in the middle, the castle of Bled, and in the distance, the peaks of the Julien Alps of Slovenia. Thank goodness for the bench up at the point, for my knees became weak at the majesty of the view. Here we enjoyed the lunch we packed: tuna wraps with cheese, cucumber, corn, and red pepper. We were joined by quite a few other groups of people, but way less than I expected based on the number of people on the walking path around the lake. People came, took pictures, and left. We took multiple pictures for other couples who were trying (and failing!) to capture the view with a selfie, and we had someone take our picture for us. It really was quite the view.
We walked back down, collected our bicycles, and continued on our way. Bled is famous for a few things: the church on the island in the lake, the castle on a cliff, and the real reason we all come to Bled, the Blejska Kremsnita, the Bled cream cake! We found the most perfect, quaintest little cafe, with a killer balcony, and a cream cake that looked unmissable. We ordered a slice to share, and a dark local beer to wash it down: the perfect combination! The cake is not too sweet, but so creamy and delicious. I wouldn’t even call it cake, it’s really just a slice of cream, but well deserved after our bicycle ride, and our 600m climb!
To finish our perfect day around this perfect little lake, I wanted to rent a rowboat and have Michael row me around the church island — how romantic! When we arrived at the boat rental shop however, the romance died. To rent a boat for an hour would cost €20! I was super disappointed, but there was just no way we could justify that, not even for the epic pictures and videos we could take with the drone! We hung our heads and left the shop. But wait! The sky was still perfectly blue, the lake was still incredibly beautiful, nothing could get us down! We continued to cycle along the path until a rope swing caught Michael’s eye! There was nobody around. We pulled over, locked the bikes, and headed down to the water’s edge. Michael changed into his swimmers and took a beautifully long dip in the water. He had a few turns on the rope swing, too. Some good, old fashioned, free fun.
The time on our parking pass was coming to an end, so we bicycled back into town towards the van. We arrived back right as our six hours finished. I’m so glad we came to Bled. I’m so glad we ignored our worries. We were able to have a perfectly cheap day in a super touristy town, find the secret spots off the beaten track, and have a really wonderful time!
Some tips if you’re heading to Bled:
The cake is amazing and you must try it. We went to Caffe Peglez’n where the cake was €4 and a big beer was €3.
How cute is this place?!
Whether or not you have an Instagram account, you really should go to the viewpoint of Ojstrica. Don’t confuse it with the viewpoint Mala Osojnica! That viewpoint is higher, harder to get to and doesn’t have views that are nearly as nice!
Bicycling is a fun way to get around. After the first stretch of path by the casino with all the people wandering about, the path widens and becomes a bit more bicycle-friendly. You can rent bicycles in Bled! Or just walk the path. I imagine if you walked it, you would find even more secret swimming spots with rope swings!
Rent a boat!(?) I read a blog that said they rent for €12-€15, so maybe we just happened to find the most expensive guy. If your travel budget is bigger than ours (let’s face it, everyone’s probably is), then I say splurge for the boat! Maybe even buy the cream cake to go and enjoy it on the middle of the lake! You do you.
We were up and at ‘em at 7am — not a common occurrence these days — and were scarfing down a hearty, hiker’s breakfast, by 7:15. The weather forecast for the day boasted a beautiful, sunny morning, and threatened afternoon thundershowers, hence our early start. Michael made a pot of coffee, and brought it to our French neighbours in the van next door, they had come over last night to ask if we had any weed, and even when we told them no, we ended up chatting for about an hour, Gavin and Tiffany, and their dog, Nina. They too, were up at 7 today to do the hike up to Lago di Sorapis. Last night, we parked in a big meadow under a bridge, next to a waterfall. Sounds idyllic, but the real dream of this spot was that we were a two minute drive from the trailhead!
We pulled up to the start of the hike, where only a handful of other cars were parked, and with a quick check to make sure we didn’t forget anything important, like the gummy bears, we began! The beginning of the trail was nice and easy. It was a bit of a climb, but the shade from the beautiful pine tree forest around us, made it very manageable. We came to a clearing in the trees and for the first time today, caught a view of the valley. Just totally spectacular. The Dolomites are a crazy mountain range. The mountains emerge from the ground as little mounds, and then, huge, flat walls, rocket up to become craggy peaks. The mountains we were looking at were no different, and the valley was wonderfully wide, giving us such a view. It’s views like this that make me want to climb higher and higher — if it’s this good now, imagine what it will be like 800m up!
The path emerged from the forest and we left the shady cover of the trees. Our peaceful, pleasant walk through a forest, became a rocky, sun-drenched, trail with a hefty drop on the one side. We held on to the cables bolted into the rock beside us, to give us some peace of mind about the cliffside, and took it nice and slow. We were directly in the sun at this point, and the sweat really started to roll. Nina’s tongue was dangling out of her mouth, and she was panting away.
We finally reached a fork in the road, with a signpost informing us the lake was only a few metres away. We took a few more steps up the trail, and as we crested the hill, we could see Lago di Sorapis. Oh. My. God. The water in this lake is ‘out of this world’ blue. If you had told me it was radioactive, I would have believed you. The icy, almost opaque turquoise lake was surrounded on three sides by huge, rugged peaks, and with no wind, they were reflected almost perfectly in the water. We stood for a moment, just staring at the view, experiencing what I like to call ‘summit brain’ (the phenomena in which the hiker, after experiencing intense muscle fatigue, great physical exhaustion, and, often, mild dehydration, forgets all of the aforementioned ailments upon reaching the summit of the mountain, or the ‘summit’ of the hike).
We walked a little ways around the lake, in search of the perfect lunch spot. I believed I found it, a big, flat rock protruding out into the water, but when I arrived, I discovered it wasn’t protruding at all, that it was actually surrounded by water. That didn’t stop Gavin! He stepped out to the rock closest to our lunch rock, and without hesitation jumped up, and heaved himself up onto the platform. One by one, we followed suit. Michael first, and then me. I jumped and somehow managed to pull myself up onto the rock. Woohoo! Now we really deserve lunch! I ate my wrap and dipped my feet in to the water below. It’s freezing!
After we enjoyed our lunch (and gummy bears), we continued to walk around the lake. We came to a crystal clear creek and filled our water bottles. Nearby was some leftover snow, the sun hadn’t melted yet. I’m not sure who started it, but someone discovered it was the perfect snow for snowballs. So, like the children that we are, we threw snowballs at each other. We giggled like idiots, as we tossed the snow around.
Then, it was time to go. We stood for a few moments, soaking in the views. Sure, we have photos of this place, but they don’t hold a candle to actually being here. We walked back to the fork in the road, and followed the signpost directing us to the loop. We began the walk down, a terribly steep path. The steps were uncomfortably big, and the sun was still beating down on us. We walked and talked, trying to take our minds off this ridiculous trail we chose, until a few hours later, we reached the bottom of the valley. Michael consulted his phone and the hiking app we use. We were close to the end in time, but not in kilometres. The super steep way down took ages, but we didn’t cover much ground. We walked and walked and walked. Then, when we were only about 5km from the end, we began walking uphill again. What?! Uphill both ways?! I looked at Nina, she looked at me as if to say, “why the F aren’t we home yet?” We stood in the path for a moment, all desperately trying to summon the last morsels of energy from deep down within. I gasped! I ripped open my bag, and fished out the near empty bag of gummy bears at the bottom of my bag. There were four left. We each took one and allowed the sugarto coarse through our veins. Let’s go!Up we went, sweat pouring down our faces. And then, just to top it all off, the skies opened up, and the rain began to fall. I was too exhausted to get out my raincoat, we all were, so we continued in t-shirts as the warm drops fell. I didn’t complain, it was actually quite a welcome relief from the sun.
We arrived at the road, and over the top of just one more hill, I could see the van! Van, sweet van. We drove back to the parking spot under the bridge to share one more meal with Gavin and Tiffany, before we separated ways. What an epic adventure to share with two strangers! The sun, the lake, the views, the company, all of it was spectacular. Yet again, the Dolomites didn’t disappoint.
We were in Lago di Monate, and wanted to get to Lago di Braies/Pragser Wildsee. When we Google Mapped the route, it gave us two options: we could drive through Italy, take the toll roads, and arrive in Braies today, OR, we could take the slow route, drive north to Chur, Switzerland, through Lichtenstein, over to Innsbruck, Austria, and then down to Braies.
There we lay, in the sun, on a pedalo, in the middle of the lake, weighing our options. On one hand, we could wake up in Braies tomorrow! On the other, we could visit our friend, Luca, in Chur, see a country we’ve never seen, go to an original version showing of Solo: a Star Wars story (which, is near impossible to find in Italy) in Innsbruck, Austria, and then drive down through the Dolomites, to Braies. So, on that pedalo, in the sun, in the middle of that lake, we decided to drive to Switzerland.
We drove out of Italy with one last stop to the grocery store. We need beer, meat, cheese, snacks— all the things you can’t get in Switzerland for a reasonable, cheapskate price. Our van was packed with Italy-cheap necessities, and we were on the road. As soon as we drove across the border, the highway was pristine, the cars drove the speed limit, and we were surrounded by beautiful mountains and incredible waterfalls. Welcome to Switzerland.
First country: Switzerland
On our second day in Chur, Switzerland, we woke up early and drove to the Pradaschier Toboggan run! On this day, between 9am and 11am, the tickets were two for one. Michael and I were a little bummed to find out they meant two rides for the price of one, not two adults for the price of one, BUT we decided to go anyway. Luckily, nobody else decided to come to the rollercoaster this day, and so, we were the only three people in the place! We took a chairlift to the top of the hill, which boasted stunning views of the whole valley, and found the top of the toboggan run. This is a 3 kilometre rollercoaster-type ride, that snakes down the hill, and ends back at the bottom of the valley. The toboggan itself is basically a chair that’s connected to the track, and the rider is strapped in with only a seatbelt and controls only the brakes.
One at a time, the rollercoaster operator showed us how to use the brakes, fastened our seatbelts properly, and made sure the coast was clear — of course it was clear, we were the only people there. Luca went first, then Michael, and then it was my turn! The man strapped me in, demonstrated again how the brake lever works, and then I was off! Ahh! The first drop out of the gate was quick! The toboggan flew down the track! I came to the first corner too fast, so pulled on the brakes. As I rounded the corner, I let out a small giggle. I let the brakes go, and my speed picked up again. My hair whipped out behind me, the wind muted my squeals and giggles — I was having the best time! I whizzed above wildflowers, hurtled through alpine meadows, and zipped past the grazing cows with their clanging bells. The smile plastered on my face was unshakeable. When I finally arrived at the bottom, I could see Michael with the camera ready for a picture, and Luca, already half done a cigarette. Was I gone that long? But it felt so fast! It was such a rush! And the best part? We get to go again!
Michael smiled and asked how it was, “AMAZING!” I replied! We walked back to the chairlift and the operator said something in German. Luca replied, and they both laughed. Luca turned to me and explained that the operator was making fun of how slow I went down the hill, “where was she?!” he had joked, “that’s the slowest run I’ve ever seen!” I smiled. I knew I had gone slow, but it felt fast enough for me, and I had so enjoyed myself! So, we sat in the chairlift again, and it whisked us up to the top of the hill. Michael asked if I wanted to go in his toboggan this time, but he would be in charge of the brakes. I knew that meant we would go fast, so I hesitated, but agreed in the end.
Michael climbed in first, and strapped himself in. I sat in between his legs, and strapped my own seatbelt, making sure it was as tight as possible. The rollercoaster operator told me to keep hold of the handle — let’s call it the ‘holy shit handle’ — the whole time. My heart started pounding. “You ready, babe?” Michael asked from behind me. I nodded, but wasn’t actually ready enough to use my words. The gate released and we were off. Immediately, going three times faster than I went on my own. We flew down the hill, flying over the bumps in the track, coming into the corners hot, and exploding out of them. The whole way down I half laughed, half screamed, because I felt half happy, and half utterly terrified. When we arrived at the bottom, my legs were jelly! And the best part? We don’t have to go again!
Second country: Lichtenstein
We hit the road. Google Maps took us north, out of Chur, along the valley, and towards Lichtenstein. One thing I’ve learned about Europe from driving through it, is how the countries seem to be divided by very obvious borders: huge rivers, big hills, or giant mountain ranges. We drove out of the mountain valley, and as we drove out from the shadow of the mammoth peaks that are the Swiss mountains, we saw a “Welcome to Lichtenstein” sign. Within ten minutes of being in Lichtenstein, we saw three archery ranges. Within another ten minutes, we drove past another sign, “Welcome to Austria” and we were back in the mountains, feeling lucky we hadn’t been shot with an arrow.
Third country: Austria
We made it for the original version showing of Solo: A Star Wars Story! It played only one time in the week, in one theatre in Innsbruck — on Tuesdays at 5pm. We were two of the six people in the theatre, and arguably, the most excited. Yay! The next day, we thought we would leave Austria, and finally make our way to Braies. But, something came up…
Last year, when we visited Austria the first time, we did a three day hike through the alps, that finished in a town called Umhausen (you can read the story about that hike here!). The last stretch of the hike was down an enormous staircase next to the biggest waterfall in Austria, Stuibbenfalls. We had seen some folks doing a vía ferrata up the side of the falls, and we decided it would be the coolest activity to do. We realized that Innsbruck is only 45 minutes away from Umhausen, and so, decided to drive there to do the vía ferrata!
Michael found a campground that would rent us the equipment, so we head there. We collected our harnesses, carabiners, and helmets, and walked along the trail to the beginning of the route. The vía ferrata began with a river crossing. One at a time, we clipped to the cable, and slowly made our way across the water. The cables were wobbly, making it hard to clip and unclip our carabiners. I had to ignore the thunderous rumbles of the rushing water below me in order to stay calm!
The route was quite easy after the river crossing. There were some parts of the path that felt more like a hike than a vía ferrata, and we found ourselves doing a lot of it without clipping onto the cables at all. Until the end. We reached the wall next to the waterfall. Stuibbenfalls is 159m (about 521ft) tall. The water erupts from the top of the cliff, bombs down the face, and slaps the rocks along the way. It roared as it passed us. I couldn’t even hear myself think, let alone hear the words coming out of Michael’s mouth. The final step of the vía ferrata was to cross the top of the waterfall. I’ll write that again so you have a second chance to make sure you read it correctly. To end the route, we have to cross the top of the waterfall. Two horizontal cables ran across the precipice, more cables hung between them, and acted like rungs of a ladder turned on its side. A third horizontal cable stretched a little ways above — that was the one we would clip our harnesses to. Michael went first. He clipped onto the top cable, and slowly shuffled across the bottom two. He was a champ! When he reached the halfway point, he posed for a picture, as if it was the most normal place to be, balancing on a lone cable, stretched across a monstrous waterfall, 159m above the ground. It was my turn. I clipped my harness, and I too, slowly shuffled out onto the cable. Immediately, I felt so powerful, like I was on top of the world. I laughed and screamed down the cliff, into the valley below. The water behind me splashed my legs and ankles. When I made it to the other side, I was greeted with a huge kiss from Michael. We did it!
The next morning, I woke up when cow bells began clanging in the distance. I stirred in bed, rolled over and opened my eyes. The clanging bells became louder. And louder. I opened the blackout blinds on the back window, and discovered three cow bums a metre away from the van. Holy shit! Then, a large whump on the side of the van and Michael jolted awake. A cow had banged right into the side of us! I shot out of bed and opened the curtains to the cab, cows there. I opened the blackout blinds over the kitchen counter, cows there. Cows to the sides, cows to the front, cows to the back…we were surrounded! I wonder if the cows think Vinnie is a cow too? I guess all the rust on him could look a bit like cow spots. It was the perfect Austrian alarm clock, and once the cows were finished humping the side of the van, or whatever it was they were doing, we left!
Fourth country: Italy (again)
We finally found Lago di Braies, also known as Pragser Wildsee, aka The Pearl of the Dolomites. The lake is surrounded on all sides by magnificent mountains, and the colour of the water is a deep and beautiful turquoise green.
The place is a bit touristy, with a big chalet hotel, lots of parking space for tour busses, and the almost laughably photogenic rowboats for rent, at a totally laughable price. No bother for us tho, the weather wasn’t all that nice, so we found ourselves walking around the lake alone. We sat at one of the benches, and looked out over the water, up at the towering mountains around us. Phew, life is good. (Check out some videos I took of the lake with my DJI Spark below!).
Our short Google Map route turned into a five day, super exciting detour, that gave us memories we will never forget. Perhaps we shouldn’t always look for the fastest way there. Perhaps sometimes, we should opt for the slow route, the route that may take longer, and could possibly take us places we might not otherwise go. Maybe that’s the lesson here.
Michael and I have been traveling now for 54 weeks, 36 of which have been living and traveling in our van. We’ve been spending a lot of time together. We eat every meal together, we plan activities together, and we spend our downtime together. We have learned a lot about each other too, how grumpy Michael gets if he’s hungry, how emotional I am when I’m tired, and which foods make us gassy — you know, romantic stuff. At the beginning of our trip, when we were in Italy, we went for sushi (yes, you can get something other than pizza and pasta in Italy!). That evening I wore lipstick, and we talked about everything under the sun except plans for our trip. It was lovely! We called it date night. And since then, every three or four weeks, we go on a date night. There are a few rules to date night: I wear lipstick, we go out for dinner, and we don’t talk about poop.
We were in Cannes, France during the International Film Festival (is a sentence I never thought I would say). We found the perfect cheapskate parking spot for the van — free street parking on a side street right off the beach! We found out pretty quickly that it would be near impossible for us to get tickets to see an actual movie, so we spent our days on the beach in the sun, topless tanning, baguette eating, yacht watching, and helicopter spotting. It’s pretty swanky in Cannes on a normal day. Pack in a bunch of celebs, ‘wannabe’ celebs, and ‘I-wanna-see-celebs’ and you’ve got yourself some crazy energy.
I, for one, have never felt poorer in my life. Picture this: we meander down le Croisette, past the exclusive beach clubs with various coloured carpets out front, where the paparazzi snap coveted pictures of models and actors. Then we walk along the main road where shiny black vans with tinted windows pick up and drop off important people at the fanciest hotels. We wander past ritzy cafes, where the espresso costs €3.75, and then down to the golden beach. From here, we can see that the sky over the water is busy with helicopters flying between the yacht helipads and the helipad outside the red carpet theatre, and that the horizon is made up of mega yachts, one of which is painted gold. Then, we turn a corner, climb into our van and pee in a jar. Paparazzi, see me now!
On our last night in Cannes, we went out for a date night. It’s been a year since Michael took me for sushi in Florence. He paid that night, maybe he didn’t realize he’d have to stretch his savings for over a year when he decided to take care of such a big bill. So, on our last evening, a year, almost to the day, later I reciprocated that date. I took Michael for a beautiful meal at L’Assiette Provençale.
Before dinner, we bought a cheap AF bottle of wine at the supermarket, took it down to the beach, and enjoyed it in the sunset. There were lots of people on the beach; couples drinking wine or beer like us, a bunch of young teenagers being goofy in the sand, families soaking up the last minutes of daylight. It was great. We finished our bottle and meandered past the empty red carpet (everyone was inside watching a movie), to the restaurant.
For dinner, we ordered another bottle of wine — this one was much more expensive that the last. I had zucchini risotto to start, duck breast as my main, and the most meringued lemon meringue pie I’ve ever seen. Michael had roast vegetables with candied goat cheese to start, sea bass for his main, and creme brûlée for dessert. It was all so scrumptious.
When we left, the movie was out. The streets were flooded with flashing bulbs and crowd of people. We rushed through the crowd to get where we needed to be: the beach! A few years ago, the Film Festival began showing classic winning movies from festivals past, for free at a makeshift theatre on the main beach. This evening’s movie was Silence of the Lambs! I have never seen it, but it’s obviously a classic, and what cooler place to see it than in Cannes where it debuted? This might have been the fanciest ‘dinner and a movie’ date I’ve ever been on.
I can’t wait to see what Michael does next year to try and top this!
Read about our last date night in Sidi Ifni, Morocco here!
Where the F is Beth? 