Ahhh, the Friday Five posts. Love these when I have a lot of things swirling around in my head at the end of a long week!
One.
Yoga went well yesterday. It was a Bikram class but definitely the best Bikram class I’ve ever been to! I enjoyed it a lot and I’m excited to go back this evening. This weekend they have a teacher from Vancouver coming up who teaches a different style of Hot Yoga so I’m excited to check that out also. If you want more instant updates on my Hot Yoga Challenge, follow me on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook.
Two.
I handed in my last university assignment yesterday afternoon. I am officially done. It feels surreal!
Three.
Europe is in 9 sleeps and I’m now freaking the fuck out (sorry for the language) that our whole trip is going to be ruined because of this damn volcano.
Four.
On the Europe note, please advise me of any things we need to get. We already have passport holders and money belts and we’re getting a converter and adapter this weekend for my camera charger. And what should I be packing for clothes? I was thinking sundresses, shorts, stretchy pants etc. Please correct me if this is a bad idea!
View our itinerary here if you need a refresher of where we’re going before telling me what to bring!
I’m also still looking for hostel/hotel recommendations in Rome and on the Amalfi Coast!
Five.
Despite being done school the crazy/money-hungry person that I am took on a whole whack of freelance projects that need to be finished before I leave. Yet I still seem to be lacking the motivation to do anything productive. I really need to get over that and just get stuff done.
Five.five.
REALLY freaking out about that volcano and the possibility of our whole trip being ruined 
What’s your Friday Five this week?
{ 41 comments… read them below or add one }
In rome, we stayed in Alessandro Downtown, http://www.hostelsalessandro.com/, it’s in a pretty good location, the hostel people were really nice and I remember having a good breakfast there.
Congrats on being done! Hooray!
And I’m awful at getting freelance done… I need more structure in my life!
Umm wow volcano ashes? Talk about random and unlucky. However, I have to assume they cannot cancel flights to London and Paris for 10 days!!!!! I mean seriously…hopefully it will be over in a day or two.
I’ve never actually tried Bikram yoga though awhile ago I used to think that all hot yoga was Bikram but actually my yoga place does vinyasa which I love
I’ll have to try Bikram sometime to see the difference.
Congratulations on being finished! Yay! I’m sending positive brainwaves your way about that volcano—being on pins and needles about something you’ve been planning for so long is no fun (heh, from the girl who is currently watching her own planned trip to Europe teeter precariously …). Happy thoughts!
i think it’ll be fine in terms of that volcano.
yay for being done!
just keep an eye on the weather — I honestly don’t know how warm it is in europe. I’ve been in april and august (august is perfect) april was like we got 4 seasons! so really monitor the weather!
I hope this volcano stuff doesn’t affect your trip! Keep your spirits up, because after all – you’re DONE with school!!! Wahoo!!!!
Don’t worry! I’ve been listening to BBC news for the last few days and it looks like flights are set to resume right after the weekend
And CONGRATS on being done!!
It’s almost time for big trip, so super exciting! Congrats on handing in your last assignment.
I’d bring a couple of sweaters. Especially when a) it’s beginning of May and b) you’re going to France too. Whats the equation? Take the number of days, divide it by half, and that’s the number of pants to take. Then take the number of days, times it by two, and that’s the number of shirts to take – I think that’s it. Eh.
I am so hoping that gulf stream moves, like, yesterday.
congrats on being done, done, DONE!
The ash will be gone by then. Promise.
Congrats on being done! I’ve got my fingers crossed that the whole volcano thing won’t last that long! I was in Paris in August and I found it COLD – and of course (since I was spending most of that trip in Spain/Morocco) I didn’t bring a single sweater. I was even cold in Morocco … go figure.
Silly natural disasters cramping your style! Hopefully it clears up enough by the time your set to fly out! I didn’t realize it was so soon! I want to travel somewhere new so bad so I’m going to live vicariously through you!
As far as clothing – I’d keep my eye on the long-term forecasts online! If the weather in Europe has been like it has here, it could be 20+ degrees one day and snow the next!
Congrats on being Doooone! I’m sure it will soak in after all this trip-planning, project writing, etc.
But, YOU”RE DONE WITH SCHOOL! awesome!
Uh, volcano?! Seriously?!! My fingers are crossed for ya….
I’ve known TONS of people to possitively rave about The Beehive in Rome so you might want to check that out!
In terms of clothing – just be aware that in places like Paris the locals don’t wear shorts. If you do you might stick out and assumed to be American. But really when it gets HOT all is fair game! I don’t know if you are aware of this but when travelling in certain places (mostly Italy) you are not allowed to go in if you have bare shoulders or your shorts/skirts are to short. To solve that dilemma I would always travel with a light sarong – I used it to cover my shoulders and ocassionally as a picnic blanket! lol
Congrats on handing in your last assignment, that is fantastic!! What a great feeling it must have been!
1. It’s Friday and I took a vacay day.
2. Said vacay day is full of sunshine.
3. I’m excited about running again.
4. I’m excited to follow your Europe trip (and slighly jealous!)
5. Did I mention that it’s the weekened?!
Make sure you have some below the knee pants/capris or skirts many churches or other religious places you might want to see require that you are ‘decent’
* Volcanos are assholes. There, I said it.
*I’d pack an eclectic mix, a couple of friends went to Europe last spring and found the temperatures in England/France could be drop quite low so make sure you pack some thermal sweaters (they have the heat without the bulk) as well as at least one pair of strappy sandals that could work in a nicer lounge that won’t kill your feet/take up room. An extra pair of sunnies (easy to lose and the Euro will kill you when it comes to stuff like that). You’ll definately want a cross over purse with an pocket against you that makes a great day trek bag (I have one if you want to borrow) and dry shampoo as it is a travel godsend. Pharmacies are not that convienent I’ve heard in Europe (there’s not many universal 7-11 type stores) so make sure you pack singulars of gravol/pepto/advil etc. And of course baby wipes and travel kleenex (doubles as TP) are great.
* You’re done lovely! Lets go for a drink and celebrate!
I totally understand about you being bummed but hopefully there’s some recourse by the airlines and etc? Like flying into a different airport or city? I know how badly you want to go but I don’t want your plane to crash cause of the grit in the air. Hopefully it will all clear out soon. Keep us posted.
Enjoy being done with university! So proud of you!
A friend once pointed out that New Yorkers NEVER wear shorts (unless they’re in a gym). So, when you’re walking the streets of New York, you always know who are tourists! From my limited experiences overseas, I’d say the same thing holds true for the bigger cities over there. I point that out to you, not to discourage you from wearing shorts on your trip, but merely as an observation. And you can decide whether you want to be noticed or not. =) Don’t worry, the volcanic ash shit storm will pass in the next few days and all will be lovely on that side of the pond in time for your arrival!
Hey Amber!
I agree with Meghan – volcanoes are assholes!
A co-worker was saying she heard on the news that its started to clear up… so here is hoping that damn volcano eff’s off for your Vaca.
My Friday 5 is
1 – Clean house before KP comes home
2 – have successful party tomorrow
3 – get ‘list’ of things made and then do them all
4 – start running again (need to loose my Mexico 10)
5 – I am NOT Craving chocolate… (seriously can’t stop thinking about..)
5.1 – call my Grampa!
What are your plans for the weekend? Are you going out to celebrate finishing school?
Glad you are liking Yoga! I purchased a work out DVD from Chapters last night, starting that this weekend too.
What ever you end up doing… HAVE FUN!!!
xo
Tam.
Congratulations on being done your last assignment! It must be feel so good.
Your trip is coming up so fast…so exciting! My fingers and toes are crossed that the ash clears up and your trip will smoothly!
Have a great weekend
I really think you’ll be okay with the trip, it’s ten days away right!? I’m sure you’ll be fine, no sense stressing about what you can’t control, just get prepared and you’ll be fine.
This is really random.. but I just want to warn you about straighteners/blow driers when you’re abroad (because I wish someone had warned me). Basically, even if you have a voltage converter it will still most likely blow your appliance eventually. So, I would advice not bringing one even though that sucks, or bring one you don’t care about at all. I actually don’t even know if you have naturally straight hair or not.. so maybe this won’t even be an issue for you. Now I’m just rambling.. haha
I was going to bring a small, fold-up, “travel-specific” blowdryer that my mom got me for Christmas. Is that a bad idea?
My hair is not naturally straight, unfortunately, and it looks quite terrible if I don’t do anything with it! I need to at least blowdry!!! Lol
If it’s travel specific, maybe it’s okay. Just check the voltage on the blow dryer and compared to the voltage levels of the country you’re in. When in doubt you could always ask at the place you’re staying or something like that. And make sure you plug it into a voltage converter not just an adapter. Good luck! (If it really turns into a problem you could always buy something cheap over there)
I’m thinking about you and really hoping that ash doesn’t delay your trip! Let’s just hope that 9 sleeps is enough to clear all the troubles (and ash) away.
Next, congrats on being finished! What an amazing feeling. I remember those days…fondly.
Finally, have you guys bought super absorbent towels from some sort of outdoor store? They are very thin, but are light and do the trick of drying you off. Yes, a sundress, skirt, shorts, tanks, jeans, tshirts, flip flops, running shoes. Basically, stuff that you can get miles out of. Each day I dressed according to weather and how much we’d be walking. One day we walked 12 miles around Rome.
PS- On the blow dryer front (since i saw your above comment about bringing one), it depends. I brought one of those tiny travel ones and used it maybe 4-5 times. My hair is mostly straight but not perfectly. In the end, I probably didn’t need it. A lot of times I would just put my hair in a ponytail or pull part of it back anyway bc the water pressure did funny things to the consistency/feel of my hair regardless of what I did to it. I hope that helps!
You are done school! ahhhhhh! How fab! Congrats…when is graduation?
In Rome, you could stay where I lived..it’s also a hostel: Medaglie D’oro.. loved it!
Sundresses are perfect! I brought ONE pair of jeans and only wore them in Paris cause it was chilly. Believe me, in Rome at least it will be HOT!
The actual graduation isn’t until June 3! Lol
Congrats on being done with school! Although being finish in April seems really early to me. Is that normal for Canada?
And I had no idea until the volcano until I saw your tweets about it. But how crazy is that! It’s the type of thing you never would expect. I’m crossing my fingers that the ash clears in time, and it doesn’t affect your trip at all.
Yup – I’ve always finished around the middle-ish of April. Technically final exams are happening right now but I just lucked out and had only one final and it was right at the beginning of exam week! I think we also start our semesters earlier than the States. My semester started on January 3!
I got an email from a couple of airlines last night saying that flights in the UK, at least, were going to resume today. Hopefully that’s the same for the rest of Europe?
Congrats on being done. What an amazing feeling. Like we discussed, it will truly hit you this fall!
I am so excited for your Europe trip. Sounds like the volcano disaster will dissipate in time. or at least I hope so!!!!!!
Yay for being finished with school! I’m so super jealous, especially after this semester, but I’m super happy for you!
And picking up freelance assignments? You’re crazy, lol! But it will give some some extra cash so that’s always good.
1. I’m glad you enjoyed the yoga!
) and by now we’re usually getting kinda hot. But we’re not. In fact we’re cold. 
So, bring layers. Also, bring a book(s) and/or some travel games or whatever (I like to take a pack of cards) just in case you have some time to kill in an airport/station/wherever.
2. Congrats on finishing! YAY!!!
3. Don’t worry about the volcano ashes – it’ll have cleared in the next day or two and the delays will have all been caught up on by then. I know people who are stranded as a result of the ashes and others who’ve had to cancel their holidays! In nine days time it’ll all be fine. I promise.
4. Pack layers of clothes. I’m on the other side of the Mediteranean (the hotter, Saharan desert side
5. You took on more work? Nine days before your holiday? You’re crazy! I’m sorry, but you are!
Please, don’t panic about the ashes though – it’ll all have cleared up by then.
Ugghhh, how random is the volcano thing?? It should hopefully clear up by the time you leave. Otherwise, airlines should start thinking about alternative routes, because they can’t cancel all trans-atlantic flights if the darn thing is spitting out ash for a whole month.
Of the places you’re going I’ve only been to Holland and France. In Amsterdam, my favourite things were the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank house. In France, seeing Versailles just outside of Paris was amaaazing. Ah! You’re going to have so much fun!!
ahhh i am so jealous of your trip!!! you are going to have so much fun! when i heard about the volcano cloud i instantly thought of you! my figners are crossed that it goes away QUICK!!!!!
Where exactly on the Amalfi coast again? And I’ll try to find the Rome hostel – right now!
*elevator music while I look*
Um ok i looked everywhere and can’t find the docs that I had with our itinerary
But our Rome hostel was kind of weird… we were like in an apartment with noone else… Thep rice was good (and it was clean and all) but it was a bit strange…
But let me know where on the Amalfi coast you’re going and I’ll try to find that one out
I’m thinking about going to a bikram class today. Nasty weather just calls for a warm, sweat inducing workout
Your trip sounds incredible. I really hope that in a week it will all be ok. I’ve been to all these places except for Amsterdam. Italy is amazing!! Make sure you do the hike in Cinque Terre (probably obvious but yeah, don’t miss it), and of course enjoy all the gelato (Grome was our favorite in Florence and Venice)
Make sure you have a couple of warm things with you – wherever you are in Europe, the weather can be pretty changeable at this time of year. And something waterproof – even if it’s an umbrella. In fact, whenever I go on holiday, even somewhere I expect to be sunny, I take an umbrella as an insurance thing – if I take one, it’s less likely to rain at all. For reals.
I hope the ash doesn’t affect you either – since I am having the same problem, it sucks when you have a trip planned for ages then it suddenly comes under doubt whether or not you’ll be able to go or not. With me, it’s the uncertainty – I hate the not knowing what is going to happen!
Fingers crossed for both of us!
Congrats on handing in that last assignment girl!!!!!
I hope everything works out okay with your trip.