Goodbye Topdeck, Hello Rome

We arrived in Rome in the evening with the tour and our amazing tour guide lead an awesome walking tour of the city which hit most of the main sites and monuments.  In the evening we checked into the campsite/resort where we stayed in bungalow tents which had two bunk beds and the showers were amazing! The next morning we took a tour of Vatican City which marked the end of our 10 days on the tour. While a large portions of the group stayed for the second half covering Germany, another group of people joined the tour at the halfway point as well.  My friend and I made our way to the Airbnb place we booked which was great (although we missed being bused everywhere) and we spent the next three days going back to a number of the sites we wanted to check out again and we of course ate lots of pizza pasta and gelato.

Spanish Steps

Vatican City  was pretty neat - they happen to be filming X Factor Italy that day (hence the chairs)

-M

Topdeck Southern Nomad: Florence

Florence is gorgeous! The art  and history surroundings city is insane and you can see it in every street corner. We drove from Nice to Florence stopping by the leaning tower of Pisa where we got some funny photos I probably shouldn't post on the internet in case I seek employment in the near future ;)  We lucked out and were upgraded at the campsite resort and got to stay in little cabins/sheds which had two beds and a shower/toilet inside.  Our first day in the Florence involved a walking tour where we saw most of the big monuments before going to explore the city on our own.   A group of us stopped for some lunch; ricotta cheese goodness and pizza!  My friend and I then visited one of the basilicas which housed the tombs of Da Vinci and Michelangelo.  Then we headed to the Duomo, a Dome attached to a church which has a narrow staircase going to the top with views of the city.  It was quite the climb and the view was fantastic!  In the evening my friend and I watched the sunset from the bridge in Florence and joined the rest of the Topdeck group at a Karaoke Bar!

-M

Topdeck Southern Nomad: Nice + Monaco

Nice is nice, really really nice.   It was perfect weather when we arrived in Nice and we quickly set up camp and grabbed a bite to eat.  The site was outside of the city but it was still close to the water front which was absolutely gorgeous.  We headed into town the next day for about 5 hours and raced around trying to see everything.  Nice was great for shopping, and people watching on the board walk was amazing as well.  We also had the time to check out the markets and climb to the top of an old castle which had amazing scenic views.  In the end, I feel like I definitely needed at least another day to fully absorb Nice but it was amazing nevertheless!

In the evening after everyone got dressed up we headed out to Monaco stopping along the way for a picnic dinner.  We went straight to the casino where some people headed to the Monte Carlo casino (which had a 10 euro cover) while the rest of us went to the Sun Casino downstairs.  I managed to win two cents in slots before we headed back to the campsite to packed for our trip to Florence the next day.

-M

Topdeck Southern Nomad: Paris

We joined the topdeck southern nomad tour (camping) in the morning which headed first thing to Paris via ferry.  The tour is quite convenient as the bus drives us from place to place and things like food and tents are pretty much taken care of.  The group, as with most Topdeck and Contiki tours consists of young people from Australia and New Zealand and yes, as is expected with most youth tours, drinking is a staple.  The nice thing is we get a lot of free time in the places we go and the whole "stay with the tour" thing isn't required. Unfortunately it was pouring rain when we got to the site and getting soaked on the first day is never fun. We set up camp while the rain continued to pour before grabbing dinner from the food tent and heading out for a night time bus tour. 

Paris is amazing, literally everything I imagined but more.  One day was not at all enough to see everything, I mean even three months wouldn't be enough.  Since my friend and I are coming back to Paris in a couple weeks, we spent the day walking along the river and looking at all the major sights along the way.  

-M 

Flashback: November Backpacking in Algonquin

So I've wanted to write about my experience at Algonquin for a while now, but my pictures are quite terrible so I've been contemplating whether it's worth a blog post.  Now that I'm in the procrastination mood, I figure I might as well rant about it anyways! The pictures in this post are pretty bad...sorry bout that xD.  A while back I blogged about my experience backpacking in Bruce Peninsula which was absolutely gorgeous, and still my favourite location for camping.  However, I don't think I would have been able to handle that trip, if I hadn't experienced Algonquin beforehand.  I've gone camping in Algonquin twice now for the practice journey of the Duke of Edinburgh Award which has been a lot of fun, but also quite challenging.  Due to the hectic university schedule, our club can only schedule the camping in for November which has been quite interesting over the years.  

November 2010 was my first backpacking experience, and probably one of the most eventful trips I'll ever have at Algonquin.  There was an extremely large group of us participating in this trip, which in many ways made it more difficult than normal.  The hike was extremely challenging because that particular winter was extremely cold, and the ground was a mix of wet, muddy and icy which was extremely scary, especially on the rocks.  We began our hike mid afternoon, but unfortunately got quite lost about 5km from the campsite.  We found ourselves stuck in a section of the trail while the sun was quickly setting.  As soon as we got our bearings it was pitch black out, and we were hiking in the dark, which needless to say was not fun at all.  By the time we got to the campsite we were beat, but we had to continue trying to pitch our tents and cook....in the dark.  Again, things like hanging up dry bags ended up being a million times harder than normal.  To top it off, it was a really cold night, there was snow on the ground and not many people managed to get to sleep.  Since the practice hike was only one day, we headed back to the parking lot the next morning, which was comparably a much easier journey (we were practically running back home).  Although this first trip was really difficult, it was also where I met some of my closest friends, and in hindsight I think it was a good introduction to backpacking - problems and all. 


My next trip to Algonquin took place November 2012: it was a much better experience and I was definitely more prepared!  For starters, it was a very very warm November, I think most of us ended up hiking in t-shirts; but it also meant the ground was very wet with puddles everywhere (no ice though, so can't complain too much).  The group was smaller, and we decided that since we made it all the way out to the park anyways, we might as well stay for two nights.  The hike was challenging - don't get me wrong, Algonquin is extremely hilly and rocky....but my most vivid memories of the trip were of the campgrounds (Psychology can explain why we generally only remember the good bits...but I won't go into that).  The first night we stayed at an a nice campground backing onto the water.  It rained overnight, but by the time we woke up everything was nice and dry.  After a long day of hiking on day two, our second campsite was amazing!  Again it backed onto the water with three large rocks sticking up above the surface. We had a nice fire pit, and of course a clear blue sky to see the stars at night.  One thing about me: I don't sleep very much in general, but when I'm camping, I barely sleep at all.  Somehow I always wake up at 6am if not earlier (which was totally cool because one of my friends was up at that time as well)...Anyhow, this trip was awesome...a bit more relaxing and a lot less chaotic!  

Soooo that's my experience in Algonquin...a bit of a love/hate (but mostly love) relationship going on.  I have to admit, writing about it is making me excited for the trip scheduled in two months!!!!  I just hope the weather is on our side again :) 

-M

Backpacking in Bruce Peninsula National Park

So I've been completing different levels of my Duke of Edinburgh Award for the past six years, which has introduced me to the world of backpacking - something I never thought I'd do.  To date, I've gone on seven big camping trips: five of them backpacking (including Algonquin which I've written about), two of them with a base camp. 

About a year ago I set off on a four day hike in the Bruce Peninsula - one of the most gorgeous National Parks I've been to so far.  For anyone looking for a bit of a challenge, I would definitely recommend this trip! The weather at the time was much nicer than what we're experiencing this year, and April/May was the perfect time to go with almost no bugs in sight. 

Map of Bruce Peninsula 

We started off day one at the end of Crane Lake Road where we headed towards our first campsite - High Dump.  Overall the hike was pretty relaxed, some hilly parts but nothing too extreme. The trail was very well marked (as is almost all parts of the Bruce Trail) and we had no problems in terms of navigation.

Trail towards High Dump

Securing dry sacks (100 times easier than using a tree)

The campsite itself was very nice.  A rope was secured at the top of the site to guide us down towards the less hazardly area of the campsite.   There were four platforms where we pitched our tents (as the entire area was situated on a hill) and there was a small clearance where a fire pit was located.  We were extremely pleased to see an outhouse at the campsite - luxury camping at it's finest!   

Waterfront at High Dump Campsite

The second day we headed towards Storm Haven, stopping to admire some of the views along the way. The trail was a little bit more difficult with rocky sections - but nothing we couldn't handle!  We got stuck in a couple areas, but we were able to retrace our steps and get back on the right track in no time.  

The campsite was absolutely gorgeous.  One of the most enjoyable campsites I've ever been to in my life.  It was similar to High Dump, however there were flat rocks which lined the waterfront almost like an amphitheater - perfect for cooking and relaxing after the day's hike.  

Storm Haven waterfront

On day three we set out to our last campsite by Cyprus Lake.  The hike itself was pretty short, so we took the opportunity to detour and stop at a number of sights along the way.  

The hardest part of the hike was through an extremely rocky section of the trail.  The sharp rocks along with the weight of our packs and our heavy boots made it extremely uncomfortable.  

 

There were some really cool places to climb and explore along the way.  At one point we saw two day hikers climb into what looked like a random hole in the ground.  To our surprise it led to an even more scenic area closer to the water.  

Overhanging point

Somewhere under overhanging point

And finally - our last night was spent at a campsite by Cyprus Lake.  Unfortunately the campsite was not by the water, and there were a number of mosquitoes which wanted nothing more than to attack us.  We had to walk about 10 minutes to get to the closest water source which made the task of purifying the water more tedious.  Later in the evening as we were building a fire, a lovely raccoon decided unzip the door to one of our tents and explore the inside *yay*.  After chaotically chasing out the little rascal we spent our last night playing cards and getting ready for the long trip back to Toronto via Greyhound Bus.  

Anddd that's it!   :) 

-M