Ciao! European Observations...

Observations from Italy>
1. Italians actually USE such phrases as: "Capesh?" And "Mamma Mia!" And "Ciao Bella!" I have heard every phrase at least twice a day
2. European women bring an extra bikini to the beach, now at first sight this may seem high maintence, an outfit change at the beach? But no! Its practical, after a dip in the ocean the women change into bikini number 2 so they dont sit in a soggy bathing suit and bathing suit number 1 is dry before they leave the beach! Brilliant
3. Mosquitos love me in Italy!! I am getting eaten alive I have bites all over my body, had no idea there would be so many mosquitos!
4. Instead of whistling at women, European men make a "ssss" noise, its apparently a sleazier version of "Hey Baby" or a whistle, creepy

Ciao ciao!

Life is all about the journey!

YO!
My travels have commenced, and so far= fabulous! Ive been travelling for 11 days. (feels like longer for some reason) 1st stop was Athens Greece. Unfortunately my hostel was in a pretty shady area, but have no fear, Canadian boys were there! We ventured to the beach on the coast of Athens together and had a great time. Sun, sand, and henieken? It was lovely, tasted some delicious souvlaki. The next day I took a walking tour, a 6 hour walking tour! And saw alllll of Athens and learned all about its history, pretty cool. On the tour I met an Argentinian girl who was also planning on hitting the islands next so we decided to go together so after 3 days in Athens I headed to Mykonos. We got on the ferry and were promptly told our seats were in the first class lounge! BALLIN! It was nice because it was quite a long ride. We got bombarded by people who want you to stay at their hotel/hostel when we got off the ferry which was really annoying. We picked, "Paradise" on Paradise Beach. It was a pretty cool place until we saw our "beach cabin", BARF. it was a shack with 2 cots thrown in and mosquitos everywhere. So we upgraded for a hefty fee and belingering decided we would only spend one night. The next day we headed for Santorini and met 2 beautiful, amazing, wonderful, hilarious (I liked them, can you tell?) Chillean girls. We tagged up with them and headed to a hotel called Pension George. Now that place was paradise!! 4 beds, a kitchen, bathroom, access to private pool, and beautiful location. I adored it there. We rented ATVs and scooters and saw the whole island in 4 days, visitng a new beach everday. Then yesterday it was back to Athens for one night so I could catch my flight out of the Athens airport to Rome for noon. While I was getting on the bus to the airport I caught this chick pretending to be a tourist pickpocket a man in front of me! She stuck her hand right in his front pocket and pulled out his big wallet. So I yelled HEY what the fuck are you doing! HEY excuse me she just stole your wallet!! The girl gave me the evil eye and said SHHH- Ya right, like im going to let you get away with that. But unfortunately the man didnt even react and the chick went about looking at her map with a confused look, tricky bitch, and the bus rolled away. The man and his family didnt even seem fazed, so I guess they are loaded and dont mind?
I flew Alitalia into Rome, it was short and sweet, and here I am. Tomorrow I plan on seeing the Vatican City and attending mass, it promises to be a moving experience- I hope this update with satisfy my hungry blog readers! (I only know of one, love ya Abria!)
So now, a few observations about Greece and the Greek:
1. Feta cheese really is everywhere, and Greek salads are the bomb, I think I had 15
2.The Greek people use their phones to double as music players, no ipods, and surprisingly no Blackberries!! (i only saw a few business ppl using blackberries at the areoporto)
3.Greek women are violent with their children. For instance, I witnessed this one chick slappin her super cute daughter around on the Tram.
4. Greek people randomly break into making the sign of the cross repeatedly...really not sure of the reason behind this one.

Peace and LOVE, from Italy :)

Ps. Thanks!

Thank you to everyone who has let me borrow something for this trip!
Sabrina, thanks for the sweet ass bag I will be hauling around Europe and the purse that will hopefully keep my valubles safe from harm!
Emma, thanks for the cute mini size backpack and awesome neck pillow that will have me sleeping like a baby on the plane!
Yvette, thanks for the comfy capris that I pretty much stole and forced you to be ok with! You rock.
Ian, thanks for the book I'll be reading. err ya the one you lent me, Im bringing it! Thanks!
Dad, thanks for the swiss army knife. I know its your pride and joy and hopefully I will make good use of it (at the very least, the corkscrew!).
Mama, thank you for lending me Granddaddy's rosary. I know it means a lot to you, and I will remember that my grandparents are always with me, and will pay special homage to both him and Granny when visiting the Vatican City.

Myself and all bags are decked out with Canadian flags so nooooo one could confuse me for those other North Americans!
Thank you everyone,
Love Lainie

Leaving on a jet plane!

It is 31 degrees in Athens!
I have a long day of travelling tomorrow, 16 hours in total with connections. Lots of time to read, and sit, and think! Maybe tomorrow it will seem real!
I already made my first travel faux pas... I realized I booked my hostel a day too early because I didn't take into consideration that my 11 hour flight= the next day arrival in Greece. Oops, so I had to call the hostel and change it. The dude seemed totally unfazed and was like "cool, as long as you get here! Its no problem". Wicked. I've said good bye to (most of) my friends and family and have heard every travel tip people have to offer. Some Im sure are going to be very helpful, and others have solidifed my decision to travel alone! I'm tired of explaining my story of why Im travelling alone, and responding to "are you crazy!", I hope when I meet other travellers they will have different questions to ask. Just kidding, it hasn't been that bad, most of my people are super proud of me! I think my trip is going to be the bomb, because for one, I really have no expectations. I am ready to go with the flow, see the world, and truly experience. I have butterflies in my stomach and am so excited to get on that plane!
I will try to blog whenever I can and share pictures... See you in Greece!
OPA!

peace and love kids, wish me luck ;)

Ryerson Spring Convocation 09

Thats right. Congratulations me! I know a BA doesn't get you much in the world these days, but I worked hard and am proud. Thanks to all my family and friends who are proud of me as well. I needed a lot of support over these 5 and a half years and I am grateful to everyone who played a role. Especially to my mother and father, I will continue to try and make you proud!

Surprise!

Surprise! With only 14 days left before I leave on my 4 month adventure, my girls threw me a surprise party! I was so shocked I walked away and starting crying! I’ve never been surprised before, and I appreciate all the lying these girls had to do to make it happen! They love me this much...

We were supposed to be going out to dinner but Anita said she thought she had busted her treadmill at her condo gym so we needed to pop by and take a look??? Haha ok, sure Anita. It was such a great time, lots of food and drinks, and of course flip cup!!!

With now only 12 days left before I leave, this trip is all I can think about. I find myself making lists about what I need and what I will do, when what I should be doing is working! At the top of my list tomorrow is to purchase a handheld camcorder! So I can record all of my fabulous adventures and stories to share and make lasting memories! I have been saying for a while now that I want to be on, or to have my own, reality show, and what better way than to make it happen myself! Ah if only it were that easy, but I still think it’ll be super cool. One of my dear co-workers bought me a sweet journal and I will definitely be writing in it along the way so that I can remember all of the little things many travellers wish they could bring to mind.
Its 33 degrees in Athens right now. Wooooey Im gonna sweat, I cannot wait. Meanwhile back to reality, Im watching Season 3 of The Wire right now. Fully addicted. And reading “Do You!” by Russell Simmons, truly an inspirational man, and so far the book is dope- down to earth and meaningful.
I graduate in 6 days, and just got my OSAP payments deferred for another 6 months. Phew! Life is good!!

Peace and love

Life changing

When I go home tonight, after being stuck inside the pub on this flippin gorgeous day, there will be no one there but me. No one else's things there but mine! My roomates have moved out...I just know its going to be eerie. But thankfully there is a bottle of wine in the fridge to help ease the pain! I am sure everyone knows as well as I do how much packing blows...so much work!
I am really looking forward to the next three weeks in Toronto before I leave. I have a lot of things to do, and am going to try to squeeze as much time in with my friends in between working my ass off! I have an awesome girls night planned and hopefully I will be able to hit some clubs as well.
I had a bit of a panic attack last night while I was packing, thinking "what am I doing?". Am I seriously packing up my life and leaving everyone I love for the unknown? And then my friend snapped me out of it as I realized, its so time for change!
Wish me luck with packing and moving :)