Entries about tower

Still having stomach discomfort I ended up skipping most of the breakfast but was definitely on the mend a lot quicker. By the time we had checked out and headed to the bus station, I was already starting to feel a bit better and the half hour bus ride was fine.

Trakai is located just outside Vilnius, and is a small town located on a thin strip of land between two lakes. At the northern end of the town on a small island just into the lake is a large castle. This castle has now become one of the icons of Lithuania and the whole area is surrounded by gift shops, cafés and boats for hire.

Little shops on the waterfront

Castle Walls

We weren't bothered about visiting the insides of the castle, but we did take a walk around the island outside the walls, and edge of the lake. If we had more time this would have been a nice place to spend the day. Having taken the mini tourist bus up there from the bus station, we walked back through the pretty village on foot, and caught the next bus back to Vilnius.

We had taken a short walk around the southern part of the city centre when we had arrived on Saturday, and today we went to explore the northern part, walking back past the Town Square, before the Presidential Palace and arriving at the Cathedral Square.

After sitting and enjoying the summer sunshine in this beautiful square, we then headed towards the Gediminas Tower, and luckily found the funicular was working, saving our already aching feet from a steep walk up the hillside.

At the top, a lot of the castle hill was undergoing renovation which meant we couldn't see the views of the south side of the city, but the views from the north and the tower were still nice.

We then headed back down, and walked passed the St. Anne's Church and through the bohemian Užupis area before finally heading back to our hotel to collect our luggage

Eventually after a busy trip we made it to the airport and without any delays headed home. Unfortunately due to our long delay on the way out it meant the holiday was a little more rushed than we would have liked, but nevertheless it was still an enjoyable trip.

Although Canada has never been top of my list, it has been somewhere I planned to eventually visit, especially after having been just metres away at Niagara Falls in 2013. And with my friend Halina from my Erasmus time now living in Toronto, this was the perfect opportunity.

Getting a bargain deal on flights, we flew out the Friday before the May bank holiday to Toronto from Gatwick. Getting on the flight we were already overwhelmed with Maple Leaves literally everywhere we could imagine - the plane wings, the brochures, the plastic cups. I was sick of the sight of it before we'd even reached land and started flying over Newfoundland.

Having taken off at noon for the 8 hour flight, coming in to land it was now 3pm - the longest three hours of my life. Meeting us at the airport was Halina, who then took us via bus and metro to her home in the city that she was letting us stay in whilst she crashed with her boyfriend.

By this point it was already 5pm, and having travelled all day it now felt like 10pm, and thus Fara and I felt way to tired to do anything major today. We therefore went for a short walk around the neighbouring area, in order to get food, with Halina and her boyfriend joining us. Unfortunately not being in the mood for anything more exciting on a Friday evening!

And this is where jet lag became a problem....heading eastwards I don't get too affected, but travelling westwards is where I encounter issues. There are simply too many hours in the day! I therefore easily headed to sleep at 8pm, but was well awake by 5am!

Having been awake for around 5 hours, Halina and her boyfriend met us the following morning and we went for a Canadian breakfast at a local cafe.

We then walked through the city, arriving first at the city hall and Nathan Phillips Square, a modern complex compared with the Old City Hall next door.

After walking through the market buying souvenirs, we then headed over to the Distillery District - a gentrified former industrial area that now has many small artisan shops.

Originally having considered travelling over to the Toronto Islands, due to the bad weather in the city the previous few weeks they were flooded and therefore closed to tourists. We therefore stuck to Toronto, viewing the Islands from afar at the coastline on Lake Ontario.

After saying goodbye to Halina's boyfriend, we then headed to the CN tower - still the tallest structure in the Western Hemisphere, for views over the surrounding area. Unlike the Burj Khalifa, which took over the tower's height record, the views are impressive, being able to see a wide area as well as the ground itself, via the glass floor. This was a scary sight but once reassured that the glass is stable is an interesting experience!

Coming back down we headed to get some Poutine, before saying goodbye to Halina for now, and heading back to the house via the University. However having woken up early for a busy day, by now we were shattered. We had been invited to a party, but before 8pm we had both fallen asleep and ended up missing it. But at least fully rested for our day trip to Niagara Falls.

Once again taking off the Friday afternoon from work, we headed to the airport to catch a flight from Luton to CDG for a weekend in the French capital.

Upon arrival in Paris we quickly noticed the effects the ongoing state of emergency was having. After buying our train tickets to get to the city centre, we found that the station was shut due to an unattended bag, and thus we had to get on the CDGVAL (pronounced Cheval, like the horse) to the other terminal, and then transfer to the train. However this had now caused issues with the trains to the city, and when we did arrive at Terminal 1, the train we boarded wasn't leaving for another 35 minutes. We did however eventually find a train that was leaving imminently - though still delaying our arrival in the city by an hour or so. Getting through Gare du Nord and onto the Metro, we eventually arrived at the hotel, checked in and then headed out for a meal at a local restaurant.

After dinner we then headed a little bit further down the road to the Moulin Rouge. Having visited Paris twice before, I had already seen the majority of the sites in the city centre. However as this was located outside the inner city it was new site for me too. Taking pictures of the building all lit up in the night, we then took a look inside some souvenir shops, before heading back to the hotel via a local supermarket for some snacks and cheap fruity wine.

After a relaxing evening, the following morning we woke for breakfast before heading out to explore the rest of the city. Starting by walking up a large staircase we first visited the Sacre Cœur, another new sight for me, before getting on the metro and heading towards the Arc de Triomphe.

Most sights in the city have reduced rates, with a significant number being free for under 26's from the EU, and so luckily for me I had free entry. However with massive queues for attractions tickets, as well as extra bag security, it still took a long time to actually visit the attractions in the city.

The queue for the Arc de Triomphe was a particularly long one especially in the cold of a November morning - however upon entry to the roof it was definitely worth the wait, as there were some beautiful views over the nearby architectural beauty, La Defense, and the Eiffel Tower. Heading back down, we walked towards the Trocadero, where there are good views of the Eiffel Tower, before heading to the tower itself. Having still not decided whether we would head up the tower itself, we nevertheless went through the security check to enter the complex. After deciding we would walk up the to the lower levels, we then queued up and bought ourselves tickets.

Unlike most tall city attractions, you can actually feel the wind through the structure, and see views of just how high you are. After stopping briefly on the first floor - where we were already at one of the highest points in the city, we then headed up to the second floor for even better views over the city. However unlike me, Chris was a little bit nervous of heights, and unfortunately the best form of encouragement I could provide was "Well we've paid for the second floor"....

Taking a look at the views from the second floor, we decided not to buy a top floor ticket, and instead headed down to the exit to continue our walk around the city. Taking in views of the Eiffel Tower once more, we then headed towards the Champs Élysées passing Les Invalides and crossing the Seine.

At the Champs Élysées, a large Christmas Market had been set up on both sides, and so enjoying some Mulled Wine and taking a look at some of the items on sale we then headed towards Concord and the Louvre. We would visit the Louvre itself tomorrow, and so enjoyed some dinner waiting for sunset so that we could enjoy our last site today - the Eiffel Tower by night.

The following morning after leaving our bags at the hotel, we headed back to the Louvre, where we managed to avoid the queues by entering through a shopping centre side entrance. Unlike the Vatican Museum, the Louvre clearly sign posts it's main attraction, obviously accepting that 95% of the people there simply want to see the Mona Lisa.

Located on a wall in the middle of the room, the queues to see the infamous painting are much less than we expected and so we were done with the museum pretty quickly.

We then headed out towards Île de la Cité - the oldest part of the city, walking towards the Notre Dame, where we arrived just as the Mass was coming to an end.

Heading back out, we then made our way over to the Deportation monument, which is almost hidden behind the cathedral, before we stopped for a bite to eat. With almost all the city having been ticked off our list, we then headed past the City Hall, towards the Pompidou Centre.

Our final attraction for the trip was the Catacombs, located in the south of the city. Taking the train, we arrived not long after but found a huge and very slow moving queue. Unfortunately we ended up getting caught in a shower during the two hours we waited and debated whether to skip the attraction due to time running out before our flight this evening. Just in the nick of time, we made it in, and after quickly taking a look around and overtaking everyone we had seen in front of the queue, we viewed the tunnels filled with the bones of residents from centuries ago. This eerie but unique experience was well worth the wait.

We then headed back to our hotel to grab our bags and headed for the airport. Luckily no bomb scares this time, but once again the understaffed city meant many delays - with a very slow security queue.

We had arrived at Border Control in plenty of time, but the Essex girls in front of us had diced with danger. Hearing we were also British they hopefully asked "Are yous goin' Saaaaaafend". "Err no" we responded.

Eventually making it through in enough time, the group of girls individually ran towards the gate for Southend just about making it. Our sympathy ran slim however as they had already each bought their duty free rather than making it through in enough time....

Eventually getting to eat, we waited for our plane and after a short flight, we finally arrived back home. A great trip even if Paris was overly busy!

Checking out of the hotel and making our way across the city to the station, we jumped on another cheap train with locked windows, for an hour's ride to our next destination - Pisa.

Pisa is relatively small, and after dropping our bags off at the station, it took just 15 minutes or so to walk across the city, over the River Arno again, to the main draw - The Leaning Tower.

Although not the most leaning tower in the world (that record going to the tower of Suurhusen, that I had trekked two hours across rural North Germany for a five minute view four years previously) it was still an iconic attraction that I'd always had on my list, which with it's close proximity to San Marino I had tied into a tour.

Unlike a lot of well known attractions that prove underwhelming, the leaning tower was as amazing as expected. Although the grounds were small, it was fascinating and well worth the visit - lovely weather and no admission charge to see the outside.

After having lunch, we then made our way back to the train station to collect our bits and then head towards the airport with plenty of time to spare. A nice relaxing end to the trip that was as good as planned and well worth it.

As my good friend Amalie had just had her baby, flights from Luton had increased to eight per day, as well as being pretty cheap, and the city is just great fun I had the urge to visit once again, and after planting the idea in some of my friends' minds, it soon spiralled into a Slough family holiday before my eyes.

In preparation for the trip I had not only reproduced maps for everyone, but recommended everyone got themselves a Caxton currency card - a thoroughly useful debit card that can be used abroad with exceptionally low fees and great exchange rates. Something particularly useful in Scandinavia where even the homeless take cards as no one uses cash! In the end, we didn't even touch the local money at all....

After answering questions like "can I take grapes?" and "will my jaw hurt?" from those who had not flown before, I raced home from work, grabbed my bits and then ran into town to catch the same bus on the way to the airport for the holiday to begin. Despite an hour's delay, we eventually took off and made our way over Northern Europe towards the Danish capital.

"Have we landed yet?". "No Abby, You'll know when we've landed". And then we did. Eventually making it into the city by midnight we grabbed some quick food before some sleep and our Cph day the following morning.

After grabbing breakfast at the hotel we began our day by heading just around the corner towards the pretty Nyhavn, before heading up to the Royal Palace and Amaliehaven.

Nyhavn

The Little Mermaid

Singing "Should've Known Better", whilst keeping an eye out for Soluna Samay's sister, who could for all we know have been right next to us(!), we made our way towards the Little Mermaid (which half of them had no idea about) hidden behind half of China, taking a few photos and then heading back towards the city through the Kastellet military fort. After a mooch inside the Marble Cathedral, we then paused at the Rosenborg Palace Gardens for a photo shoot and rest before making it to the city centre where we all had a rest in a cafe.

Fun at Rosenborg

Christiansborg

Our final major stop on the tour of the city was at Christiansborg Palace, to go up the tower inside for free views of the city and across the Øresund of Malmö and the Bridge we would cross tomorrow.

Heading back down, we made our way towards the City Hall, before walking back up Strøget towards the hotel for a well earned rest after today's 5 mile walk.

We then grabbed dinner in the evening before heading to an Irish pub and a bar before a well earned sleep....

After a busy day in Copenhagen and check out being at 11, we decided to check out at 11, grabbing breakfast before heading off over the bridge to Sweden.

Since my last visit in the summer the refugee crisis in Europe had affected Scandinavia, not only had we witnessed far more beggars in Copenhagen than there were last time, but also there were now passport control checks on the bridge itself. This meant that we wasted an extra hour or so to get to Malmö, but nevertheless it was worth it.

Whilst in Copenhagen we all stuck together, in Malmö everyone had different plans and so I went off to visit the city alone. Being the first time in the three I had been to this part of the world that I did my own thing.

Despite this, I still undertook the same tour as the previous two times - beginning in the main square, before heading to the castle, the Turning Torso and back to the station.

However this time I actually wanted to visit the Malmö Museum to see the exhibition on the TV series "The Bridge" which I am an avid fan of.

Luckily for me, today the museum was also free, and I spent a solid two and a half hours in the museum watching videos and looking at exhibits from the show itself. Realising that it had now got quite late, I headed back on my tour routine before heading back to Copenhagen.

Whilst everyone else was spending a leisurely day in Sweden, I raced back to Denmark as I was completing the third of my three must-do tasks for the trip, meeting up with my good friend Amalie, and her new growing family. Having dinner with them, I had a great few hours catching up on good times before heading to the airport to meet up with everyone else for our flight home.

Although I usually visit places on my own, it is always a great experience to share with friends - especially ones who don't faff; and as I had already seen the cities twice before I wasn't fussed about missing out on anything anyway - all I had wanted was a new pair of glasses from Tiger, to see the exhibition and visiting my friend! I was more than happy to give everyone the guided tour of the city, and it seemed we all had a great time in Scandinavia.

I look forward to the next time! Meanwhile it was time to sleep before the next holiday in five days time.... #WhoseIdeaWasThis?