GENERATION-Y, I'M SPEAKING TO YOU!

Generation-Y

What I have come to learn these last six weeks is that self love trumps everything.
After much reflection and therapy, I have come to understand that at the end of the day, we are all the same thing: human. We all FEEL! I have come to develop such an innate sense of compassion for all beings lately. I never really realized how sensitive the brain is. What we all place in our individual pandora boxes, to keep secure and hidden from the rest of the world.  We find it so easy to judge other people; other human beings. We scrutinize, humiliate and taunt each other for personal gain and satisfaction. When did we lose our sense of grace, patience and humility?
What I am trying to say is, why has it become so taboo to openly be comfortable in your own skin. To be okay with being YOU! There is no one quite like you! How can you expect other people to accept you, if you are not willing to accept yourself?
I think of it this way: If I have the capacity to change in an hour, week, month, year, who am I to say you don't have the same ability?


You could die tomorrow. Do you want to die trying to be someone else? Or do you want to die knowing you lived YOUR LIFE the way YOU intended?

 I will leave you with this question.

When did we as a race, lose our ability to love and see light in all things and in each other? 

Monterosso

Monterosso, one of the five villages that span across the "Cinque Terre".

We decided to take a quick train ride from Genova to Monterosso, and as soon as I stepped off the platform, i was in heaven. Sandy beaches, beautiful cliffs with lush green trees and the vast baby blue salt water. We did not explore any further then Monterosso considering we only had the day. So we rented ourselves some beach chairs and an umbrella, sat under the sun and took frequent dips in the cool, yet inviting blue water. For lunch, we sat on the deck of this amazing italian deli/restaurant. Here is where we had the best pesto and foccacia bread! It was amazing.

In life, we have moments, tearful moments, beautiful moments but not often have I felt like my life was a movie. In that moment, sitting on the deck, eating such great food and looking over at Ben, with the ocean and blue, sunny skies as a back drop. It really was magical.

Wanderer - Summertime Sadness

I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world. 

- Mary Radmacher

To grow up is indeed a blessing. To journey through life with gratitude, a wandering soul, and an appetite for adventure has been truly eye opening. When you see so much of the world in a short amount of time, and you learn to live as a minimalist along the way, you learn to really seize each and every day. When you meet new and old family who take you under their wing, and spoil you with memories, and home cooked meals, you learn to appreciate the true essence of giving back. It has all been such a whirl wind; Honeymooning for four months with the love of my life!!! Learning that we really are each others best travel companions. Knowing that if either of us is grouchy it's all because we are hangry. (Hungry + Angry) We've listened to countless songs, written many pages in our travel journals, thousands of pictures and videos, confided in each other till the early morning, went baby crazy.. Then not so baby crazy, brainstormed ideas for the next ultimate trip of a lifetime, found a new love for wines, and food! I have lived a lifetime in these last four months. And we still have two weeks left until we are at the home base. So crazy! Too much time can be wasted obsessing over the past, what people think, the future. And I ask myself why?? If I die tomorrow, I am so content with my life and how I have lived it. I have grown up emensely on this journey! I know it is just the beginning of many wonderful years to come from this wandering heart! I yearn for the next world wonder my eyes will lay upon, the next beach to lay on, the next dish my lips will taste. 

I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world! 

The love of my life on our special day !

Wedding Video Teaser

Amsterdam - Holland

Amster-DAMN!

Amsterdam is a beautiful city, rich with Dutch culture, cheese, beautiful canals, medieval cathedrals and squares. It is a tourists paradise as it is home to the Anne frank huis, where you can explore the secret annexe where Anne Frank's diary was written. Amsterdam was also the home of the eccentric artist Vincent Van Gogh, and the city is rich with art galleries and tributes to this troubled man.

Amsterdam is also every stoners paradise. Typically known for its decriminalization of marihuana, we were quite surprised to learned only 5% of Amsterdams population are regular smokers. The "de Wallen" district is home to over 50 "coffee shops" that will sell you a gram of premium bud that you can enjoy with a cappuccino and smoke with your best friends. This is where we truly found our home. As stereotypical western Canadians we have enjoyed marijuana in all it's forms for years, and even would consider ourselves conoseurs of a sort. But nothing could prepare us for what an Amsterdam coffee shop has to offer.

We arrived at Schipol Airport on July 18th to beautiful sunshine, and set forth to check in to our hotel in the business district just outside Amsterdam. We met with our good friend Carter Obleman, and immediately set forth to downtown to enjoy the first joint we would have in over a month. We made our way outside of Centrall Statione and dodged trams on our way to get lost in the many alleys of the red light (de Wallen) district. We chose a path and were immediately drawn to the red, yellow and green colors of the "Double Reggae" coffee shop. We entered and were given menus of the many different kinds if marijuana and hashish that they had to offer. With our jaws on the floor we read the descriptions of the strain, strength and description of the expected high you would get and each made our selections. After sitting down with cappuccinos we continued to roll the green gold we had just

aquired and it was time for lift off.

The ten days we spent in Amsterdam are a wonderful smokey blur. We spent three nights with Carter,  trying new coffee shops, new strains of weed, getting lost in the canals and alleys, stopping to point out the interestingly dressed women in the glowing red windows, and eating as much ice cream as we could find. We laughed and giggled our way through each beautiful day, checking off the coffee shops on Carter's map as we went. Some highlights include a very informative afternoon at the "Canabis College" where you can get information on marihuana and hemp in every facet, which we found extremely informative. Along with entry you, get a lifetime membership to use there vaporizers and smoke for free on their comfy couch with a skylight right above you. They also had a grow room in the basement with all kinds of information about the plant, along with displays the Canabis plant in all stages of its grow cycle. Just next to the college is the, "Marijuana, Hemp and Hasish Museum", a must see for any stoner. It displays the first hash pipes, history of the Canabis  plant and its many uses, Canabis and its influence on culture throughout the ages, as well as the many Eco friendly ways to substitute hemp into the production of many products. It is a four hour exhibit, especially when you are under the influence. (Haha!)

We also had a day in the Amsterdam bas forest at the annual "Electronic Family Festival". Surprisingly there was a zero tolerance drug policy at this festival and the average age, was closer to 40 than anything. None the less we danced away to Cosmic Gate and enjoyed a few drinks.

We said goodbye to Carter and continued the rest of the week much the same but with a trip to the Anne Frank Haus, and the 3D Van Gogh experience, both attractions being phenomenal. We were also on a constant quest for the perfect candy store and found the same one many times while being lost and roaming around. Still have no idea where this candy store was or what it was called. Also it is legal to grow and sell magic mushrooms in Amsterdam so we had an afternoon experimenting with some magic truffles.

Overall the weather was beautiful, with only one afternoon of rain out of the 11 days we were there. The marijuana was the best we have ever had and the ability to know and understand what you are getting was awesome. A few hints we picked up were to never buy a "pre-rolled" joint, as there is lower quality marijuana used in these. Although it is a lot more expensive than in Canada it is a great experience to enjoy this in public, safely and to understand your product.

Our hotel was wonderful, but it was a airport hotel, therefore the added cost of transit each day into town makes it more economical and hassle free to book inner city, even if your per night rate is higher.

Ireland

We arrived in beautiful Dublin late on the 12th of July. We proceeded to our hotel in the dark and were delighted to enter a very clean, spacious and modern room at the premiere in airport hotel. After taking a day to get organized and get clean laundry, we proceeded into downtown Dublin. We adventured through the streets and alleys of temple bar and made our way to visit Dublin castle.  Dublin castle is unlike most castles you will find on the coasts in that it is inland, and has been expanded on, many times over the past few hundred years, only having one true "castle like" building. Still rich with history, it is worth the sight.

We had been talking about getting a tattoo, and spontaneously decided to check out a tattoo parlour just across the street from the castle. We walked right in and a hour later had new ink from a very thick accented Irishman named Paul. (Who has inked Britney Spears and Mike Mendozi).

The highlight of Ireland for us was our tour of Northern Ireland on the "Paddy Wagon". If you want to do any tour in Ireland, we highly recommend Paddy Wagon tours, as it is very affordable and the drivers are hilarious, and knowledgable.  The tour included a brief tour of Belfast, including a stop at the place the titanic was built and launched, as well as a view of the Europa hotel, the world record holding building that has been bombed 37 times by the IRA. We continued north to Carrick-a-rede and crossed the famous rope bridge to beautiful cliffs and views of Ireland's north peak and Scotland across the sea. The ocean was beautiful and high cliffs provided us with beautiful panoramic views.

We continued on the famous "Giant's Causeway", an ancient rock formation that is rich with Irish mythology.  The amazing hexagonal rock formation that starts in Northern Ireland disappears in the northern channel and resurfaces in northern Scotland in the isle of Staffa. Legend has it that the Irish giant "Fynn McCool" built the causeway to accept a challenge by the Scottish giant "Bennandonner". There are many different versions of the legend depending on which Irish local you ask, but the general idea is that Fynn built the causeway to fight Bennandonner, but upon crossing found that the scot was twice his size (over 80' tall compared to Fynn's 40' height") he retreats to his wife and has the townspeople build him a giant bassinet, where he lies in wait for Bennandonner to cross the causeway. He then pretends to be a baby and when Bennandonner arrives for battle he sees Fynn and thinks he is a baby thinking "If this is the Irish giants son, his father must be gigantic!". After he retreats to Scotland Fynn smashes the causeway so the dispute is ended. The entertaining mythology only adds to the beauty and charm of this volcanic formation that is 60 million years old.  The tour finished at a brief stop to see Dunluce castle, "Ireland's most romantic castle" where many scenes from the popular HBO series "Game of Thrones" is based. We hadn't yet seen Game of Thrones, but immediately downloaded it after seeing this beautiful picturesque castle ruins.  Overall we loved Ireland, it's beauty and myths make it an interesting place to visit and the people are always happy helpful, and willing to point you in the direction of craek! (Irish Gaelic for "fun"). 

Glasgow - Scotland

We arrived in Scotland July fifth bright and early. We stayed at a Central hotel called St.Enoch. For every backpacker it is a dream because of its central location. Right behind us was the River Clyde and right next to us was an amazing pub called, The Hootenanny"consisting of amazing beer deals, live music on the weekend and a menu to die for! We will have to admit, we didn't do our research on Glasgow, not knowing it was mostly a quiet city. Great shopping, not enough sight seeing attractions. We stayed in Scotland for one week! After London, arriving in a quieter city, we realized this was a blessing in disguise. Culturally, Scotland has plenty to offer. Stores dedicated to kilts and clan clothing! Frequent bagpiper's, kilts, friendly, accommodating Scottish accents and the constant smiling faces in the streets of Glasgow, made for a more than pleasant stay. We mostly explored Glasgow north of the river Clyde- Kelvingrove Park and museum is an attraction for Glasgow. we got to see Dali's infamous painting of Christ on the cross of St.John, and we also visited their mall called Xscape ! Which has an indoor ski slope, movie theatre, arcade, bowling, multiple restaurants and a sky park! So much fun! 

For Ben arriving in Scotland was a dream come true, considering his family history is Wallace. That's right William Wallace is in his bloodline! So, naturally we went on exploring certain parts of Scotland, our first stop being the capital - Edinburgh. We were blessed with beautiful weather all day. We took the train from Glasgow into Edinburgh, and started on our Journey to the Edinburgh castle, a short half hour walk from the train station. Along the way, your eyes are overwhelmed with awe-inspiring infrastructure! The Scott's Monument is one of the first things you notice! Tall, black stone, and a mass amount of detail. You have to see it for yourself. This city was our top pick for a home base if you are going to explore Scotland for a week, find a bed in Edinburgh! There are many enormous monuments and historical buildings making the beautiful skyline a clash of mid evil castles and cathedrals and modern centres.  With the coast a short drive from the city centre, you have the ocean, and the scenic highlands at your disposal. Seeing the castle is a must, but BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE! Not only will this save you 10%, you will get to skate by the enormous line and straight into the castle. The highlight by far is the very well done history exhibit on your way to viewing the Scottish Crown Jewels. Other amazing sights include the one o'clock gun and a very well done military museum. 

Our other day trip was to Sterling. This is a quaint town, with a beautiful scenery and the legendary Wallace monument.  Rich history surrounds the town as the battle of sterling bridge where William Wallace lead the Scottish rebels to their first victory over the English to win there independence.  The monument is a must, and has a great history lesson about Wallace and the constant struggle the scots had against the English. We fell in love with sterling and thoroughly enjoyed the monument, including an amazing exhibit of William Wallace's incredible 5 and a half foot sword. 

Scotland is definitely worth the visit and exploration!  

Good ol' London Town.

LONDON

A city of so many faces. 

Where do we even begin? Two weeks we were there, and I felt like I received one history lesson after the other. With our amazing Economical London Pass, we saw: The Tower Bridge, The ZSL London Zoo, The HMS Belfast, The London Eye, The Crypts, The Parliaments, Westminister Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park,The London Monument, St. Paul's Cathedral, British Music Experience, Camden Market, Stonehenge, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, London Pride Parade and the Warner Brothers Studio tour of Harry Potter!! Are you tired from reading that? Hahah. It was a great two weeks. A whirlwind. You can't possibly keep the pace high enough to see the whole city.  After two weeks we had only scratched the surface of what London has to offer, and with the sore legs to prove it. You can climb to the top of virtually every monument in this city, up terribly tight dizzying spiral staircases, to take in amazing panoramic views of all the landmarks that make London so interesting.  It is amazing to climb a monument like St. Paul's Cathedral that was built in the 1600s to view some of the most beautiful modern buildings like the recently completed "shard", Europes tallest building.

Our Review
Everything you have heard about London financially is true. It is very expensive. We had the great fortune of staying with family, so unfortunately we have no experience with getting good accommodation in London although the most economical, comfortable and clean as far as we can tell would be the YHA in SOHO. If you go for the purpose of sight seeing, we highly recommend getting the London Pass.  You get entrance into a lot of the main attractions of London with the convenience
 of swiping your prepaid card, and most importantly a week long tube card to all zones that you can reach on the subway. Economically speaking you save a ton of money (and as stated EVERYTHING from the zoo to the tower bridge tour is expensive), and the tube pass makes it so that you look for reasons to get on the subway and go.

As far as the city and people go, it is a vast tapestry of faces and sights. There is a very high paced vibe and a hustle and bustle that made us feel like people were very unpersonable and rude at times (especially on the side walks and in the tube stations).  No one seems to say "excuse me" or "I'm sorry", so save yourself the learning curve and check your amazing Canadian manners at home and allow yourself to throw a few shoulders. That is not to say that we didn't meet great people though.
 The shopping is unbelievable, with everyone you are used to and much, much more to accommodate the 7 million plus that consume in the great city.  Keep an eye out for the stunning architecture, we found it so awe inspiring for a 400 year old building to be next to a McDonald's or modern work of art, truly something to behold. If you are a history buff and love to browse free nationally maintained  galleries and museums you will have met your heaven. We figured out early that we are not the "spend a few hours in the gallery types" and thus stuck to things we knew would really interest us.
Some of our favourite sights and moments include:
1. The Warner brothers studios the making of Harry Potter:
If you have even heard the name Harry potter, read a single book or have an attic full of nerdy wizard memorabilia, YOU MUST SEE THIS TOUR. For Christina it was the tour of a life time, seeing so many of the props and sets that inspired her growing up with the movies. For me I acquired a whole new appreciation for Harry Potter, I can't wait to get to watch the movies again! From the tiniest props of the actual Horcruxes to the elaborately gigantic sets of the Ministry of Magic it is a must do on your list for London

2. Westminster Abbey
The history lesson and architecture you get in this amazing building is outstanding.  You can't move two fee with out stepping on a kings tomb or bumping into a creepy monument.  The craftsman ship in the ceilings is truly breathtaking and there is so much to see that truly anyone should be captivated.

After much reflection of this trip here are five things we are grateful for:

1. Creating New Memories

2. Sleep

3. Alberta Health Care - haha! Oh what a story. 

4. Ben's Uncle John, who hosted us.

5. Our family 

I am The Queen of Cheddar Town ..

Here it is... Another-more public-proclamation of my love for him. This is the outlet I choose, so I will let it out!  

I've been typing and erasing and typing and erasing scrambling, trying to string the words together to describe this feeling in my heart right now. I could simply say, "I miss you like crazy!" But for some reason that just doesn't seem to do it justice. I have never felt so far, yet so close to someone like this. To feel as though my heart is with you right now. I can't sleep, can't eat, can't focus. It is so consuming. The emotions involved in missing someone so much. Laying in bed doesn't seem right without your arms around me, learning something new is not as much fun when I don't have you to share it with.. It is so astonishing to me that I have been blessed, so young to have felt something this beautiful. To fall in love with your integrity, and kindness. To witness your altruistic hands, move and sway so wonderfully towards everyone you meet. That feeling everyone gets when YOU walk into a room because you put everyone at ease. To watch how magnificent you are in times of hardship, because your nobility and compassion is what gets me through. Every. Single. Time. What I've come to learn after all this reflection is that..

This is only the beginning of the rest of Our life together.

and that is a blessing all on its own.

So good.

Remember: Really listen. 

In My 20s

So here is the day I actually put my "In My 20s" project into motion!!
I will be documenting everything I do over the next decade. It is a project dedicated to everything I want to accomplish, experience, see, taste, and feel throughout my 20s! I have a bucket-list that I have talked frequently about so I will be posting very soon! I have a hard copy of this project that I am working on as well! This is something I am really excited and passionate about! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I will enjoy posting in it! (Keep in mind my posts won't be as frequent as Growing UP. You can find it, and follow me here!