Urban to Rural

Alright readers,
For those who know Italy, we were in Naples, soaking up the history, food, and culture.  We spent 4 days in Naples...got lots of stories to tell, but later. We then headed south to catch the sun. But instead, we caught a ghost town. Not a soul in sight. It was a town with everyone inside...during their siesta time, but where are the tourist!!! Its because there are no tourist left. We went to a town called Praya A Mare, or just Praya. Its beautiful but the summer season is over and everyone has gone home to go to school etc. There was seriously nobody travelling or people were not around. To make things worse, bugs got me. All over one arm. Not sure if its bed bugs or misquios trying to suck my blood or an allergic reaction to something. Well, we stormed out of that place right away.
We are now back into the city....gone south. Bottom of the boot. Catiania.
Well see if we hit the beach.
Over and out.

Onward Bound

Hi followers,
We are finished with Naples and onward to Priama a Mare. It is a beach place, hoping that they were not effected by the rain fall. Our plans has changed as the mudslide damaged the amalfi coast where we were going to go. It isnt a beautiful place to go so we are heading further south. We just want some beach time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I know i dont have time to call as its hard to get a phone around here. And then trying to make sure I dont call you at 3am. hahaha. I hope you had a great day with Stella and your friends. Im sure your friends took you out for dinner.

Time in Naples was great. There is a lot of history here. Lots of pizza. YUM. And lots of gelato. But most of all, i think ill miss the motercycle ride by the manager here at the hostel. That will be another post when i have time. Stay tuned.

Hope Vancouver weather isnt too cold yet.

In Naples and Safe

Short posting as its now 1am. We got to the Hostel Giovannis Home. We couldnt find the place, it was raining, and didnt get the proper email from Giovanni as it was in my spam box. It wasnt fun, especially when it is a place known for crime. Mafia, pick pocketers....ahhhhh, why are we here! But im here, safe and it seems to be a great place. Very home oriented. We got a 2 hour history lesson and an overview of what we should and shouldnt do while we are here. So much info at a late hour. It was already a long day with lots of excitment that i want to share, but its late so you will have to wait until another day. Here are some bullet points.
1. Getting on a moving train in Siena
2. Another train experinece, but glad it wasnt a fine!
3. I hate misquitos
4. Without a map, hope we can find our way in Siena
5. Naples, how bad is this place!
6. Will our schedule change again!

Jan and I, on a September Morning

This picture got sent to me so I was able to post it on my blog. Dont worry, more photos will come when I get home to Germany and all settled in.

This is one of the 2 mornings we spent outside for breakfast. It was still cold, but the sun was quite warm for us to be able to be outside. Look at this Canadian girl, no socks or sweats...and the German hunk, all bundled up to keep warm. What a wonderful picture. Our mornings were great. Lots of laughs making breakfast and lots of talks about everything.

Thanks Jan for a great time in Germany to start off my trip. I cant wait to learn more German to impress your mom. I know she is already impressed, but perhaps i can have a conversation with her in the near future about everything and anything.  Thanks for being my tour guide in your home town. Miss you lots.

Beer and Internet!!! IRONIC

I just had to add that we have gone to the same internet place twice in Florence and I had a beer with the internet. I hope I dont get a beer belly. Yikes. Why is is to hot!!! Its great! Im loving the heat. Germany is cold...but its also cold in the morning, but not for long. Im heading SOUTH!! Whoohoo.

Gladiator took my money!!!

A story in Rome to be told.
We are such tourist when a few actors pull you in for pictures. Thats what happened to us in Rome.
When we were siteseeing the Colosseum, we got pulled over to take pictures with these 2 gladiators. We laughed and walked off. Unfortuanlety, they followed us and made us laugh even more. We then gave in and took pictures with them. They made us to different actions right in front of the Colosseum. yes, it was fun, until they told us to pay the 10 Euros each. WHAT!!! What did we get ourselves into. Yes we had so much fun doing it, but didnt expect to pay 10 euros each. What a rip off. We thought it was by dontation. Well, we had fun as we gave the 10 euros and gave them each a kiss goodbye. They so wanted to come with us, but nope, we werent going back. Pictures will be posted, so watch out for them. You will get a kick out of this one. It better be worth 10 Euros.

Grouse Grind X 2

Alright you hikers out there. If you want to do an amazing hike, you got to go to Italy and do the Cinque Terre. Tanya and I didnt even do the whole thing. We did do the harest part which would be considered as doing the grouse grind twice. My calves are burning. We had to get up so early to catch the train. Whoohoo...no fines today. We better write in the date for tomorrow, today.
The little towns inbetween the hikes are amazing. Its so beautiful that it takes your breathe away. The view is amazing as well. Dont worry, pictures to come. Its expensive for internet time...remember.

Im cutting down the cost of food, but not for our next destinations. Tanya says Naples is the place for Pizza. Good pizza that is. Ive been having bread, cheese, salami for lunch and dinner. Breakfast, i do have some fruit. The day we went to the market to get figs were the best. Yum, i love figs, especially when they are fresh. Whoohooo.

Siena and Naples here we come.

100 EUROS LATER!!!! NO MORE FOOD ALLOWANCE! IM GOING TO STARVE!!!

Alright,
im finally safe and dont have to sleep at a train station.
so, instead of going to florence like we planned, we heading to milan instead. what the heck did we go on the wrong train? the conductor just said to get on. why dont they check more throughly. so we got to milan...aka. simliar to NY and everything was booked. i tried to get on the last train back to florence but was too late. it then took 2 hours to try to find a hotel. in the end, we stayed at the train station. we got woken up by police to check out ticket at 1am and then got woken up again at 4am for us to get up. what a drag. no sleep, so tired and when we got to florence today, we couldnt check it because it was to early. we then took advantage of the market and walked around town before taking a power nap at 3. then off into town again to check it some more brand name shopping. im not into fashion as much. i like the markets...so much to see. i would like a leather jacket,  purse, boots, wallet... but do i really need it? it would be nice to buy a mask, those beautiful italian mask. its so pretty. should i or shouldnt i??? Any feedback? Im here for a few days.

So tomorrow, im heading on a wine tour. i get to make my own wine. whooohooo....and pick the grapes too. i cant wait. i just hope i dont buy too much wine. i still have to carry it with me.

Siteseeing is quite tiring. especially when you only have two legs...so much walking. my legs feel like jello....but whats worth it is when you get to sit and eat, and eat, and eat!!!!

All this food. bread, cheese, meat!!! What more can you ask for!! I do need my fruits and veggies and its cheap here. i got a bag full of fruit for 3 euros. what a deal. but since i spent 100 euros on being fined, then spending 3 euros on fruit isnt that bad.

So, you must be wondering how i can get fined 100 euros.
1. we did not get our eurorail stampped. we thought the conductor does it for us.
2. we did not realize that the train was going to milan. we thought there was a stop.
3. we did not buy the right ticket. it was for 1st class
4. since we did go to milan, we had to go back to florence. we spent 3 euros for the seat booking, thinking that we didnt need to write in the date...FINED again.
So, total fine is 50 euros to Milan and 50E euros to Florence.
This vacation is costing way more than expected. This weeks food allowance has gone down the drain. No more geleto for me. I dont have the funds....anyone want to sponsor me??? hahahah. jk.

None the less, this has been a great experience to learn it the hard way. i know my sister did all the planning last time we traveled. i wish i learned more when i traveled with her. not knowing the language isnt fun.
Italian is very different than German. I was just getting the hang of German and now a new langauge....perhaps i,ll just go back to Germany.

Alright, i think thats enough for now.
More stories to come with pictures. not fun paying for internet....why didnt i bring my laptop??? BECAUSE ITS TOO HEAVY!!! HAHAHAHA

Im in ITALY

Good Morning,
It is hard to believe I am now in Italy. I have found my way to meet up with Tanya, my travel buddy for the next 2 weeks. I knew it would be fine, going from the airport to the hostel. I could not remember the last time time how it feels to be a tourist. No chinese people at all..well, not very many anyway. This always opens my eyes on how little I may know about my own culture as people wonder and ask questions.....i am Canadian, but Chinese too. hahha.
I am heading to Florence today and site seeing Rome...not sure how many pictures will be available for me to post as internet access can be expensive. ill post more when i get back to Germany.

I'm in France!!!!

I'm heading to Italy tomorrow and Jan took me to France!!! FRANCE!!! I never thought I was going to go to France. It was special to go to France. We took a small car ferry to France and had dinner. It was a surprise. I totally did not know that we were going to France. It's not far away at all. I have to now stamp my own passport as there are no coast guards. It is open boarder. So cool. :)

We went to Roth Wilhelm for Tarte Flambee. It was a very salty and burnt, but I still enjoyed it. It's part of he experience right! :)

I'm still shocked that I went to France. It sure wasn't on my list to do in the last 5 days that I am here.

I head to Italy tomorrow, so depending on how much time I have at each place, i might not blog as much, but will blog my experiences when I get back. Until my next blog...more food and pictures to come.

My partner's Family - First Impression

My decision of going to Germany is for one major reason! My love of my life (at least I hope it is)! Jan is my first boyfriend and I hope to have an experience of a life time. By coming to Germany, I get a chance to meet his family. I don't know anything about the German culture or what they like or don't like. I was in for a surprise. These are Jan's parents (picture on the left). They are very friendly people and had open arms and heart for my arrival. They are excited about learning about me and my culture. But most of all, they are excited for Jan, that he has found someone that he can live in laughter with. My smile grows very day with what their family does for me and what Jan provides for me. My view on Germans is that they are kind, simple and open to the community. They live a simple life and will live life with the people around them and lots of dinners as a family. Very family oriented people. :) I fit right in.

This is the rest of Jan's family. (picture on the right)
He has an uncle, in the back row, and these are his grandparents in the front. I didn't realize that German's have small families, but family is all that they need. They support each other and are very close. Although I wasn't able to communicate with them, they were still able to show friendliness and kindness to me. We weren't able to spend a lot of time with them, but  I know i'll see them again soon.

My Partner In Crime!

Look at my tired eyes!!! Still in Jet Lag Mode! I hope it ends soon. It's already been 3 days. I sure need to get more sleep.
So, for those who don't know, this is Jan-Moritz Mildenberger....short form "JAN." I met Jan at Greystone College, downtown Vancouver. We took the same TESOL course together. By taking this course, it has changed my life forever. It has been life changing. I never thought my life would go in this direction. Jan has been a great support in all I do and now that I get to be with him in his community, I have become a person of strength, wisdom, passion, and endless laughter in life. I get to learn a new language, share my thoughts and feelings, and meet great people in the community of Ottersweier. I know I won't be living here, but I got a chance to meet some of the important people in Jan's life. I'm glad to be part of his community. I look forward to future functions and gatherings.

The Bronze Sculpture of the Greek God and Molina eating grapes!

Today, I decided to have some grapes. Where should I have it? Well, this Greek God was hanging around and I decide that he would share with me. There are so many kinds of fruit at this time of year, but grapes are here all year round. Also known as wine!!! There were other sculptures in the area, but this one seems to catch my attention. Greek Gods are so masculine!!! hahahaa. Where is Jan feeding me grapes?

Today has been a long day with lots of driving and lots of German. I think I'm overwhelmed with listening to German and I don't even know what is English, Cantonese or German. I'm so confused. My brain needs more food to function in each language. All I remember is Guten Morgen, Schuess, Auf Wiedersehen and Danke Schoen. I also need my yoga or physical activity. Where is the volleyball??? 

Things are going well. A day and a half and I'm off to Italy. I hope i'll have some time to post while i'm there.

My first encounter in Germany

Alright peeps, why are there signs of women? I thought it was just for bathrooms to let you know which one to go in. I guess not. In Germany, they have parking spots just for women. What the heck is that all about??? Women apparently need more space for parking so they they get their own parking spot. Isn't that interesting! Some women can use the lines, like myself, but there are a few out there that need a little more parking practice.

Desert at a Castle!!!

Last night, Jan took me to the top of the hill in Ottersweier Germany, his hometown for desert. The Castle is called Burg Windeck.

www.burg-windeck.de

It was a beautiful night. We got to sit by the window looking out to the town. It was just like sitting in Horizon and looking down at Vancouver. But the difference is....I'm in Germany!!!

This is what we had: Plum ice-cream in a cappuccino, Brownie, Crembe, 3 different sorbet. Yum....It was great to end the night with some great deserts at the top of the hill in a castle. The prince and princess of Burg Windeck Castle.

Kiebingen, Germany

This is my address where I will be living starting October 6th til who knows when. Feel free to write me.   

Molina Chow & Jan Moritz Mildenberger         
Stiegelstr. 5
72108
Rottenburg - Kiebingen Germany

I have arrived!

To all my followers, I have arrived to Germany. To those who don't know why I choose Germany, I choose Germany for a boy! Yes, Jan swept my feet away and have arrived in a small town of about 6000 people in Ottersweier, Germany. It was a long day with many mini naps in between from the 12 hour journey in a plane to another 12 hours before it was dark, before going to bed. I am staying at Jan's place with his parents. His mom didn't go to work so we had lunch with her. We has spaghetti and tomato sauce. Just like if i was at home making it myself. I feel just like at home. The taste was similar, but a bit more texture as it was gluten free. Then I took a nap....jet lag sucks. So tired. Then went into town to pick up a few things for dinner and then came back for dinner with Jan's parents. We had cheese, meat and bread!!! Just like I would have too....but not sure if this is what i would have for dinner. It's almost like an afternoon snack to me...hahhaa. but I was full. That's all it matters. But by mid-night, i was hungry....so perhaps it's not as full filling. hahhaa.
Today has been low key. I got to skype with my sister, run a few errands and then went for a mini hike at Ruhestein. This word means Silent Stone. It's a mountain for skiing and snowboarding and we went for a hike in the area. It's not as intense as the Grouse Grind....actually not intense at all. I didn't break a sweat. hahah. It was a leisurely walk. The chair lift only has one seat. It felt like I was in the 50's or something when the chair lift just got invented. hehehe. I guess they aren't as high technology as we are. :)
Then another nap. Yikes.....when does this jet leg end!!!!

My Departure!

My departure was quite eventful. Never purchased from Flight Centre, and not sure if i will again or perhaps it was traveling with Air Transat. I didn't get a ticket from Flight Centre, but it wasn't a big deal cause i was still able to get on the plane. But perhaps if i got the ticket, i would have had information about how much luggage to bring.When I got to the airport to send off my luggage, i had too much. I had twice as much stuff. It would have cost me $400 to bring what I had. In the end, I only paid an extra $150 to bring what i needed. But there was so many other things that i wanted. But i guess that's what i pay for in a one way ticket. So instead of a $408 ticket, it was a $558 ticket. No bad. None the less, i was still able to get on the flight. Whoohhoo.....leaving on a jet plane, I don't know when i'll be back again!!!!!!

Visa Run Around!!!

Couple more days left and I guess I'm a last mintue kind of gal....or just want the best price. A girl has to shop around.

So, to get a German Youth Scheme Visa, you need proof that you have one years worth of travel insurance. There are lots of places to get insurance and I just want to save as much as I can. So I called Royal Bank first. They quoted $823 for a year. Alright, quite steep for my pocket. So I called Blue Cross as I have extended with them. They quoted around $600ish. But there was a process. Alright, save 200 bucks, i'll go for the process.

So I needed a letter from MSP staying that I was going to suspend my account. So I did and waited for the letter. When the letter finally arrived, i faxed the letter to Blue Cross and they called back that it was the wrong letter. I needed a letter that I was going to continue with MSP. Why don't they give me the right infomation. I waited for this letter for no reason.

So then I went with Royal Bank. I called again and they gave me another quote of $848. What happened to $823?? I'm so confused. They just want my money. That's why I don't like to do these things over the phone. I need human to human interaction. I can buy in person so I did.

I went to my branch and they also wanted me the run around of which package to buy and if i wanted to change my visa to get the other travel insurance for 15 days etc. Why do people don't listen to the needs?!!? All I wanted was proof that I had one year of insurance. In the end, i paid $180 for a 60 day multi-entry insurance that last for a year. I actually saved money. I would have to pay after every 60 days, so i guess it's more of a month to month payment instead of a lump sum, which is actually better. hahha.

So there you have it. Getting a visa isn't the simplist process. And I left this til the last mintue because......

If anyone is going to get a German Visa and needs advice. Let me know. I'm your gal!

Definition of "Life in Laughter" Blog by Molina Chow

Part 1:
It's hard to believe I started one of these blogs 3 years ago for my New Zealand trip and did not complete it. I'm here again trying it out to see where I get to. 3 year wiser I guess. Hard to believe that 3 years have gone by and I have learned so much about myself. And that is why I have decided to name this blog of mine Life in Laughter.

Life can bring so much joy and laughter depending on how you look at it and what you do in your life. Life isn't easy for sure as everyone has their own walk and their own story. I hope I can be simple and share my story with all my readers. So, during my journey, maybe my blogs will be too much for you to handle. Don't worry, and please don't judge.

What are stories all about anyway?

It's about learning, making mistakes and learn from them. Stories are can be about love, sadness, hate, bitterness, joy, laughter, and even scarness. What ever I blog are my thoughts. You can disagree or agree, it doesn't matter. I'm here to reflect on life and what I do with my life and allow my friends and family read what's going on. Feel free to comment and let me know how you are doing or how you feel. Feelings are to be told, not to be held in. I've held my feelings way to long and i'm ready to be free. Free from love, free from sadness, free from hate, free from anger, free from happyness...and much much more.

I'm excited to be able to share my journey with you and to keep a spot where I can reflect. Perhaps I can be an inspiration to you all who wants to travel.

:)