eurotrippin': venezia!

so. venice...

maybe it was a combination of a lot of other reasons but....i didn't find myself falling in love with venice like i thought i would.
i mean, gorgeous buildings, beautiful canals, bustling atmosphere...what's not to love? i wish i knew.
mama told me that venice and vienna are her favourite european cities but there's just something about this place that i don't quite like.

but anyway.

driving from the french riviera, we made a stop in verona for lunch and to be able to say we've been to a non cliche city in italy :D
my photos taken in verona are quite meh so umm, please google image piazza bara, verona arena and juliet's balcony :D

prior to arrival, a rooming list gets passed around usually from the front of the bus to the back and because of this, the people in front usually get to call dibs on rooms/roommates.
rooms are usually a quad share and venice was unluckily, one of the hostels that accommodate 3 people in one room.
when the rooming list got to where juls and i were seated, there were no more rooms that we can both bunk in together so we had to split up.

we were already at the stage where we went our separate ways with different people which is perfectly fine (we both knew it was bound to happen at some point) but when it comes to sleeping arrangements, i still want to be in the same room with her.
sharing a room with people you barely knew then (it was like day 11 out of 37) meant awkward small talks, sharing a bathroom and running around semi naked with them in the way :X
with juls and i, we have it all worked out - she showers in the morning, i go really late at night; we sync our gadgetry charging times, i can go all: "man i needa pangsai" or "ju i feel really horny" and she would just roll her eyes at me.

but since we had no choice, we just sulked for a bit and moved on.
to console ourselves, it was only 2 nights!

we got to the hostel (which is a contiki campsite) and realised that there were 4 other bus load of people.
in total, there were 5 contiki groups in one place.

the only problem is that the dining 'hall' (made of tents/marquees with no ventilation whatsoever) is SO FUCKING SMALL that people were really up against each others' shoulders when seated for any meals.
as if that weren't horrible enough, it was the peak of summer in july and man i tell ya, summer in italy is unlike any other. somehow hot doesn't even quite describe the discomfort that we felt.
it was just unbearable to be inside the dining hall so everyone usually gets food and sit on the grass outside.

the first night we were there, we had a beach party at the hostel bar so everyone on our tour got matching tops, only to realise that other tour groups had done the same thing -___-"
we thought we were so smart some more wtf.

i braced myself for a massive night because EVERYONE kept going on and on and on AND ONNNN about this epic drink called 'amnesia' which is supposedly quite potent.
i, and my remaining four brain cells can concur. THAT DRINK IS LETHAL. it lives up to its' name.



with a drink called amnesia AND considering that they're hardcore partygoers, they just had to la.





stage area where we got drenched, site of sculling and wet t shirt competitions.





our driver, nuno, sculling a jug of amnesia. i had about 4 glasses X___x

some party shots before i got trashed:



timmy | B | bec F | juls.



B | canadians claire and julie.



bec F | bec C | B | lisa | juls // timmy and joel at the back.



B | steph K.



B | steph K | britt.




B | diego from mexico!





see, we got DRENCHED.
all the red drinks u see are amnesias.



claire | B | jonny | juls.



britt | B | juls.



ohai!

on top of all the drinking/dancing/sculling, there were also some competitions organised among the 5 different tours.




that's ryan representing our tour (european adventurer) in the sumo competition. he and ariana buried everybody else 6 ft under.

then we got buried in the tug of war hhahahaha.
win some, lose some.

i drank way too much la and barely remember what happened.
i apparently made out with 5 different guys (none from our tour thank god) and...was given coke even though i ordered whiskey in it because i obviously had wayyy too many drinks.

i also ended up with freaking hip bruises that night.
it was all purple/blue/black on both sides of my pelvic bone and i showed it to lisa and diluz:

they thought some guy iron gripped me.
i think it was from leaning over the bar.

hehe.

anyway, stumbled into lisa and angy's room at like 5am or something stupid like that.
i woke up in the morning and went back to my room which is just next door.

i saw monique and hollie who got equally as shitfaced as i did, groggily mumbled a good morning and asked them if they were going for the walking tour.
they said they were too hungover to do anything but i soldiered on anyway.

i had the worst hangover ever.
the headache, dizziness and dehydration, i can deal with but combined with the crazy heat and boat ride there, i was in no mood to layan anyone -__-"
the walking tour was goddamn boring and i just wanted to stop by at all the gelato shops that we kept passing by *wails*

venice is undeniable a beautiful city.
extremely narrow cobblestone alleys lined with super tall brick buildings, it's almost like a giant maze and because you can't see what's in the next street, there's always the element of surprise.
getting lost in venice is the best way to discover the hidden gems but it's so easy to find our way back, we never actually got truly lost...if you know what i mean wtf.
just look up and look for the yellow signs that point you back to piazza san marco, the main square in the city.

shopping isn't really amazing there.
mostly a lot of novelty tshirts and venetian glasses/masks...

hung out with bec F, jac and juls :)



having our first authentic italian meal :)
THE FOOD IN ITALY IS AMAZING. so cheap some more omg la.




overlooking the grand canal.
see the blue audio thing that hangs around ju's neck; that was how our walking tour works.
the tour guide would speak into a mic and we just follow her like little lambs.
i took mine off because her voice DIRECTLY in my ear when i'm hungover makes my headache 10 times worse.




when in venice...
we be drinking champagne.

we spent a good 8 hours in town and i was just ready to die after.
8 hours was wayyyyy too much time for a city like venice because you don't really have an idea where you're going and somehow we kept stumbling back into the same streets.
we went to a park and saw people from our tour taking a nap under the tree hahaha.
see! too much time!

after a looooooooooong day, we all went back to our hostel and it was free and easy.
can't remember what i did earlier in the night but come night time, a few of us went to watch the olympics opening ceremony at the bar.
diluz and i went for a couple of drinks and made friends with a few other guys from another tour.

next up, my favourite italian city!

currentlies.

i am on a roll :D 3 entries in 2 days, HOLLA!

here are some boring updates because there are way too many travelogues lumped together.
part of me wants to rush posting everything before i forget the random snippets and because the partying grew exponentially CRAZIER in the later cities namely mykonos, dubrovnik, tyrol, switzerland & amsterdam wtf.
need to neutralize all the exciting europe adventures with some boring perth shenanigans.

in no chronological order.



affogato. orgasmic is the only adjective that can justify its' taste.
espresso + vanilla ice cream...yummmm.



skull cut out top. I LOVE CUT OUT ANYTHING!



i bought multivitamins awhile ago because...i fear for my liver wtf.
also, the whole family is on a freaking pill binge i swear to god my brother and uncle B takes like 10 different supplement pills in one day.

i saw my brother's stash and freaked out at the sheer size of ONE pill: "how the fuck do you swallow this!"
"how, swallow only la. don't think about it."

-__-" useful advice.

i'd rather put up with pain than to take meds.
period pain, cough, fever, headaches, sore throat, flu whatever. i'd take the discomfort over the act of swallowing one pill.
hayfever seems to be in love with me though so that one, i cannot tahan, i'd request antihistamines that are the smallest in size available, ignoring chuckles from the pharmacist.

i dunno what's wrong with me la ok i'm not even being dramatic.
last year, my hayfever was so horrible i bought these vitamin C + horseradish + garlic supplement that is supposedly a high potency hayfever reliever, and of course they're huge!
i had to mentally brace myself before i took those: deep breath, drink a big gulp of water so that the pill slides down easier, place pill far behind the tongue and just drink the hell up.

it stayed down for like 30 seconds before i threw up the pill in it's entirety.
my gag reflex is a leeeedle bit too sensitive.



set sail secret show in perth :D
we only knew the location like 5 minutes prior to the show and the only instructions given on their facebook page was to follow the monkey.
can see the monkey suit on the floor hahaha.



a keg of heineken. so what we get drunk right? we're livin' young, wild and free ;)



found a park by accident that has marked distances on the floor every 200m.
perfect for keeping track of progress.

i didn't push myself today which is a total bummer :(
i knew i could ran another 200m (to the next mark) without stopping but i stopped anyway for what reason i dunno.
resuming is so much harder so it's best to just keep going, i know this yet i stopped.

running really is a mind sport despite how physically demanding it might look.
sometimes i amaze myself when i've ran further and faster, spurred by nothing but my own thoughts (chants of sexy abs sexy abs/ you're almost there/ finish what you've started etc)...
then there are days when i let physical discomfort take over and just stop trying completely (if i stop now, i get to catch my breath and my legs will thank me for that).

the best run is when i completely lose myself in thoughts, literally, running away from everything.

y'know, motivation truly does come from within.

have a lovely tuesday dear readers.

xx

eurotrippin': french riviera & monaco.

after we bade goodbye to barcelona, we made our way back to france!

this was the time when people started saying hola & gracias to the french, and even reaching barcelona, we went all bonjour and merci to the spaniards.

adjustment issues yew. it was hilarious to watch.

anyway, juliana, bec F, jac, lisa, diluz, vaughan, myself and someone else signed up for cookies and dishies.
in hostels that are manned by contiki, a few volunteers are needed to prep for whatever meals scheduled and dishies would then clear the plates and sometimes help out with wiping the dishes.
cookies definitely have the better end of the deal, i think.
from our stint as cookies, all we had to do was rock up 20 minutes earlier prior to meal times and help chop vegetables (i had cucumber), stuff ham&cheese into croissants for breakfast the next morning and spoon food into people's plate.
easy peasy lemon squeezy.

moving on...







winding roads lined by lush greenery, it was pretty damn nice i tell ya.

first day, as usual, check in and dinner, free and easy.
hannah told us there was an amusement park nearby so we went to check it out and drinks at the bar after, of course.



steph k | B.

nightfall was tipsy time with diluz, lester, will, joel and i can't remember la.

day 2 in the gorgeous french riviera started out with a tour at the fragonard perfumery.
standard touristy crap.

i got bored and my nose was irritated after smelling like 10 different types of perfume so we chilled outside while waiting for the rest.



...and this was what greeted us.
look at those babies *wipes drool*



holy macaroni, people in nice are loaded.
it was like a ferrari club or something, the owners were all sipping coffee and sashaying around, examining the other ferraris.
the boys from our tour were literally frothing with envy.



angy | B.



back on the bus to head to town!
juliana | cam | B | bec. f.

at that point, the aircond was still fucked so the emergency exits (which is really, a hole on the ceiling) had to be opened for the sake of fresh air.
should have heard our collective sighs of relief. i am never taking fresh air for granted again wtf.

after the perfumery, we made our way to town where everyone was on a mission to get new clothes for later tonight.
boys went to buy suits, girls did what they did best...

nice is really...nice wtf.
traffic is not as bad as paris, people were friendlier, more greenery, less crowded.
definitely a place worth coming back to :)

i hung out with ju and bec. F.
we just spent a couple of hours shopping and i of course, abused my credit card at zara and bershka.

when we all gathered to go back to the hostel, nuno told us he had already fixed the aircond thank god.
apparently the mechanic he sent it to wouldn't even take a second glance at it because it needed about 2 days to be repaired and obviously we can't stay longer than arranged.
so nuno took matters into his own hands (literally) and succeeded whoopwhoop!

as soon as we got back to the hostel, IT WAS A MAD RUSH to get ready for monaco later that evening.
since i don't take ages to get ready, i let the other girls (tyne, bec C. and ju) shower first and i'd go after dinner.

we were checking out the casinos that night and everyone was told to dress to impress.
guys were looking dapper in their newly purchased suits (seriously) and girls be looking fiiiiine as always ;)

i had a minor drama with my dress though :X
i was all ready to go and as soon as i stepped out of the cabin all ready to lock the doors, claire told me: "brenda, there's a rip on your dress. do you have a sewing kit?"

....-___-"
sien.

man even if i did have a sewing kit, i couldn't be fucked!
i was gonna change into a back up dress (see, all that zara/bershka shopping came in handy!) then vaughan came up to me: "take off your dress, i'll sew it for you."

i must have stared at him for a good minute because he said: "hurry up! do you want me to do it or not?!"

now, vaughan is a pretty buff guy, all muscles, tall and macho la.
i changed, tossed him the dress and let him work his magic while i panic over which back up dress to wear.
decided that i really wanted to wear my initial choice plus vaughan was already fixing it for me, so i hopped over to his cabin to check on his progress/provide unnecessary stress.

i flung the door open and as soon as i saw him, i burst out laughing til i had tears in my eyes. hahaha.

imagine mr big macho man in his suit, shoes, tie, blazer the whole shebang, crouched under the lower bunk bed looking HELL intense with a needle and he was biting the thread as well, looking doubly intense.
hahahahahaha.
vaughan started losing it when he saw me laughing so he looked extra funny trying to stifle his laughs so that the thread in his mouth doesn't drop.

*wipes tear* :*)

after all the drama, we piled on to the bus and headed to monaco, an hour drive away from the french riviera.



tom | gibbo | juliana | B.

y'know how they stereotype people who sit at the back to be the cheeky, trouble causers?
IT'S TRUE I TELL YA.

slowly over the duration of the trip, ju, bec F, mez and steph moved up front and people like ariana, yvette, katie, hollie, monique, diluz and lisa started moving back.
a couple of us (me included) stayed back from start til end of the trip lololol.
i lost the keys to my room, turned up late and had to sing in front of the coach, groggily fist bumped the turks that i always party with and winked at those who knew what mischief i got up to. ahem.

but yes, the backseaters are those who rock up with hangovers, sleep for a good duration during a driving day and come up with all the mischief.
my patrick was so popular that the turkish boys actually took turns cuddling with it awww :)
shan actually fell asleep holding onto it and res, being res was humping poor mr starr against the window -___-"

i digressed. again wtf.

so monaco!

monaco is POSH.
by night time, all the casinos were beautifully lit up and all the luxury cars were lined in front and people there dress and look really nice.



monaco in the early evening - mah favourite contiki girls - diluz | lisa.




monaco by night.



B | juliana | lisa.

cameras weren't allowed in of course.
lisa and i got a mojito (16 EUROS BLASPHEMY! it's usually like 8 euros or something -__-") and just walked around watching other people play.





partay on the coach! other drivers must be wondering what the hell is going on.




back at the hostel bar!

slowly, people started going to bed/do laundry and dilz, lester, angy, ben and i were the last few standing.
juls was still awake when i went back to our cabin and i left the front door open when i went to brush my teeth, cam was sitting outside with a beer -__-"

tipsy talked for awhile before he made me go with him to the laundry area for company while waiting for his clothes.
after awhile, ben, angy and lester came over to join us wtf.

ALL THESE PEOPLE SAY SLEEP NEVER SLEEP WAN.

i was in my glasses, jammies and NO BRA talking to 3 boys wtf.

ben: nice PJs brenda. they look really sexy.
B: aww thanks benny.
cam: yeah they're pretty sexy hey....

those two were all winking and shit to each other so i just waited for the punchline -___-"

cam: .........but they'd look sexier on the floor next to my bed....

-___-"

boys i tell ya.

then angy came up to us and said: "so are you guys like...cuddle buddies now?"
cam and i looked at each other and smiled: "i dunno...are we?"

aww :)

after cam made me fold his clothes for him (that boy, seriously), we went back to our own cabins to crash.
only, the roomates were shuffled around that night at that hour because of umm, night time activities between other roomates wtf.

cam ended up in tyne's room and since we shared a bathroom together, both our rooms became one long open area when the bathroom door is unlocked.

cam was watching me from tyne's room while i pack last minute, shuffling in and out of his sight and him, lying down with arms behind his head, piped up: "brenda, you've got a nice bottom."

-__-" he's an ass man, that one.
went over to cuddle with him for like a minute before juliana and tyne gave us shit. teehee.

over time, he decided that "a nice bottom" is probably too posh wtf and chose "brenda, your arse. when are you gonna let me smack that?"

-_______________-"

fucker.
when i'm not facing him, he'd pretend to smack my ass and mez and steph saw him doing that and urged him "DO IT!" i whipped around, seeing him all disappointed while the two are howling with laughter. haha.
sometimes, he'd just go for it -___-"

i miss all the not so innocent flirting. haha.

contiki memories i tell ya.

SO. bedtime, then breakfast, then bags to coach for another driving day.

next up: ITALIA!