We met some interesting people on the train to Aguas Calientes. Our tickets were consecutive but we weren’t seated together. Jon ended up sitting next to a guy named Craig. Apparently, he has been to every state in the USA and is now working on every Province in Canada. I was seated in a group of 4 with Andy and Angela and a nice Peruvian man. And Craig’s friends Michael and Michael were seated across the aisle with Andy and Angela’s friend Chad. (That seems as confusing as the role call scene from Ferris Beuler’s Day Off!)
Turns out Andy, Angela and Chad were staying at the same hostel as us in Cusco. And, Craig, Michael and Michael were staying at the same hostel in Aguas Calientes. Small world that Peru! They were all from the US East Coast and 3 had been skiing at Sun Peaks before.
Ok so that is a lot of backstory…the 3 dudes were in Peru for 4 days. Just a quick little weekend trip to Machu Picchu! We are pretty sure the two keep Michael around just for his humour and/or his Spanish skills.
Mid-train ride Michael dropped a bottle of beer out of his jacket. The beer started fizzing out the top; instead of wait for the fizz to die down, he opened the beer into a lovely Cusqueña explosion. Talk about an ice breaker. “And the sad part is that I’m a scientist!”
On the way to the hostel we made formal introductions so we could stop calling Michael “Beersplosion.” Turns out he’s a huge Matthew Good fan which led to talk about Canadian music. “Thanks a lot for Nickelback!” He and Jon also share the same hatred for Bieber. Kindred spirits immediately.
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And then I see Venice! Bet you though I was gonna say something about underpants! Tricked you.
As if anyone wants to hear about the economy right now, but it actually helped us out! Hotel prices in Venice went WAY down, so we switched our accommodation to something nicer for the same as we were already paying. (Note: We’re not going deluxe apartment in the sky, but it is still a cooler hotel and a SWEET location.) We’re staying at the Hotel Caneva which is about 2 minutes from the Rialto Bridge, and about 3 minutes from Piazza San Marco. Check out the photos of the hotel it looks pretty cute. It should be a fine place to stay for the few days we have in Venice.
When we were looking for accommodation in France, one of the places that made the short list was in Montmarte near the actual café that was in the movie Amélie. If you know me, you know that I LOVE that movie! Eventually, we decided not to stay in Montmarte after all, and choose a location closer to the sites that we’re going to see. After reading a ton of reviews, and looking for location and price, we ended up booking a hotel that has a few sketchy reviews about the area it is located in. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into a nightmare.
Tomorrow, I’m going to re-read the travel books and make a list of places that are a must see, places that are a hopefully see, and places to fill the time if we have any left over. I’m sure between the Eiffel Tower and Versailles we won’t have much spare time. After re-reading the travel books, will be movies–Amélie for sure, and Marie Antoinette. Even though Kirsten Dunst is moderately annoying, I’d like to see more of Versailles.
I found our first accommodation, the easyHotel, in one of my million travel books. I remember reading, “Our rooms come in three sizes: small, very small and tiny.” And apparently they also come in CLEAN and CHEAP which works just fine for me!
It’s gonna be awesome! Check out some of the reviews from trip advisor. I especially like the boneheads who complain about the rooms being too small. What were they expecting?!? Note the one reviewer claims “I have seen prison cells that are more spacious.”
But, it sounds like a great location. “The easyHotel Victoria is a short stroll from Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, London Eye, Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park and the Thames.” Who doesn’t want to see all of those?
Have you ever stayed anywhere tiny or quirky just because you could?
~j
ps: we’ll be sure to post photos of our actual room. I’m sure we’ll be wishing we’d spent more for the room with a window.
Adventures of a couple seeing the world 2 weeks at a time.