Real Conversation #14 - Travel (Gabriel & Brian)

GABRIEL: Okay, so Brian we can talk a little bit about travelling.

BRIAN: Sure.

GABRIEL: And so, tell us where have you travelled to, let's say in Europe, and what your favorite places were.

BRIAN: Sure, in Europe. I went there about ten years ago; we went to Germany, the Netherlands France and Spain. I went to Ireland also went to Morocco, which was…

GABRIEL: Nice.

BRIAN: But it was just a weird detour because we stayed with a friend of a friend of ours. Like one of my friends who were really nice I worked with them, just knew me a couple months and he just encourage me to like say “You know tell me when you're going to these different cities and I'll call some of my friends or family and that you can stay with us.

GABRIEL: Nice, that's a really cheaper awesome way to stay in these places which are really cool.

BRIAN: Yeah, and then you always meet someone new and then you're also making meals at home right? You're not always going out to eat and then I also had like a tour guide in the city, like if I wanted to, but yeah they show you like where to go, where to have fine; and then it just a great experience. I would definitely say that the best part was Barcelona.

GABRIEL: I personally love Barcelona as well. I've been there twice. What did you like about it?

BRIAN: I just love the fact that there is always something to do. Like during the day we went to the beach and it's just packed. It was awesome!

GABRIEL: It is awesome, because here we only have topless beaches. So you know I saw a lot of topless women.

BRIAN: Yeah, I saw that too.

GABRIEL: And here in Vancouver we have just have red beach actually I think I've only been there once …And yeah what is funny is that of course, you know, me being a young gentleman I was quite happy to be around there.

BRIAN: Yeah no kidding around

GABRIEL: But most of the people that I saw there, I wasn't going through all the spots, most of them are older people on the beach. Obviously, there are some younger ladies as well being topless.

BRIAN: You mean here at Wreck Beach?

GABRIEL: No actually in Barcelona.

BRIAN: Oh, okay.

GABRIEL: But you know people sunbathing and so on. Yeah, I find it a beautiful, glorious city, pretty awesome. Did you party there as well?

BRIAN: Yeah, I did. My street is the best part because the friend of ours lived in the old downtown was just a lot of rambles, so that's like the main street, the grand venue or something. People are hanging out these pub crawler tickets that go from what was the…so I paid like 15 Euros for 20 Euros and you go with the group of people and everyone is speaking English so that I could understand people. Because there's a lot of people that I found couldn't speak English or understand me.

GABRIEL: Interesting.

BRIAN: And I always try to speak the language wherever I am going…

GABRIEL: Because you do speak some Spanish right? But maybe not that good

BRIAN: Yeah, very, very little.

GABRIEL: Okay, fair enough.

BRIAN: And I remember I was in McDonald's and I said {Spanish word} I was trying really hard and then there's this British girl behind me. They didn't even try! {Spanish words} Just the tone and they didn't care.

GABRIEL: I've come across such a lot of people like that in Paris. The funny thing is that I've personally found that in Barcelona, at least you know I was with people that spoke no Spanish but I managed to get away. Maybe it was different because it was more recently you mentioned it was ten years ago for you. And I was there the first time two years ago and, yeah and most people spoke at least Basic English. However, you know worked at most places is it was like a more central locations that most people spoke at least some English. But in whoever didn't speak English they were pretty nice too.

BRIAN: Yeah, yeah!

GABRIEL: But in Paris…(Laughs) Before I learned French, you know and this was a long time ago but I remember being in Paris when I was 13 years old and I was with my mom and we spoke very minimal French and we were asked to leave this bakery because we spoke no French. They just said leave "allez", like “go” basically. Since then of course from my experience recently I've only had positive interaction with Parisians whenever I have been to Pairs. But of course I do speak French. I've heard that they have changed because their mentality now as “we're now perhaps the top most visited places in the world” so we have to be more open to the tourists, but they used to be at least more annoyed if someone happy didn't speak French. But I've come across also a lot of really annoying, rude tourists from everywhere. A lot people say, “Oh, only Americans are but not really people from England, as well. In France, they were so rude to French people, you know, just because they cannot understand them. Well guess what you're in Paris, and people won't necessarily understand you. You don't speak French so. I find it understandable... That's cool that you had a good experience in Barcelona and you know because in Catalonia they're really warm, chill people who are really friendly and open and so on.

BRIAN: Yeah, I know I had a really good experience.

GABRIEL: Awesome! Did you meet a lot of Spanish people or just people from all over the world?

BRIAN: It's a good question; mostly Spanish people.

GABRIEL: Nice. How did you find them?

BRIAN: Just by going out. I mean because I went to this pub-crawl. I did it once and I liked it so much that I did a couple of times. Whenever we went out I was honestly trying to talk to more people and then that's when I found out That the younger generation was able to speak English or talk to me and then they would be like “How's it going?” And then they want to talk to me and learn something about Canada. We were forming a kind of bond together. They were telling something about their country and what it's like. Because you never really know what it's like.

GABRIEL: It's a different culture.

BRIAN: Exactly.

GABRIEL: So you connected with some Spanish people, obviously of course met people from all over the world while in Barcelona. That's awesome. So, these pub-crawls, we obviously have them in Vancouver too but there not as fun as in Barcelona. There is no comparison. The nightlife in Barcelona at least what I experienced has been pretty amazing, pretty exiting pretty vibrant. There's always obviously you know top DJs and top attractions, performers from all over the world coming there and doing their shows. You can always have a great time in Barcelona for sure.

BRIAN: Yeah, yeah. Because here if you go clubbing, because I live in the suburbs I don't live downtown so if I don't drive into the city I have to leave the club at like 1am.

GABRIEL: Yeah, and take the final bus or whatever. You currently live in the port moody right?

BRIAN: Port Coquitlam.

GABRIEL: Is it half an hour to downtown?

BRIAN: It depends. If you drive and there is no traffic about half an hour, but usually over an hour.

GABRIEL: Over an hour? Wow! For you guys who are basically listening downtown Vancouver is where we go to party. Most people are going to go there for the clubs, for the bars. It's a nice area but of course most people don't live there, they live in the suburbs like me and like Brian. Of course we have to commute there we have to go the party and then afterwards come back home.

BRIAN: Exactly.

GABRIEL: And since then covers a bit spread out it's a little bit far for us. Cool, so what was your second favorite place that you travel in Europe? Besides Morocco of course

BRIAN: Yeah Morocco is a culture shock because I have never seen someone like malnourished or we saw someone who looked like he was dying from just not having enough ends.

GABRIEL: Oh, wow, on the street?

BRIAN: You can't forget something like that. And I remember we were at this marketplace and we're eating food like we had a tour guide, a family friend of ours, taking us out and then there was this woman watching us eat. And then we just paused for a few seconds because we're talking and then she pointing at us and then he waves his finger away and it meant that she wanted to eat the rest of our food that was on the plate. She was so hungry or desperate for food that she was willing to just have whatever it was whatever is left on our plate. I was pretty young at the time in the early twenties. I think back on it now and you know I could have bought her some food or something but you know the next minute we're going to get more juice and they're doing is like 30 orange juice stands on the same area they're all waving at you because they all want…

GABRIEL: Your business? (Laughs)

BRIAN: Yeah.

GABRIEL: To sell the orange juice. (Laughs)

BRIAN: Yeah, exactly. It doesn't make sense to me why they're all clumped together.

GABRIEL: They could spread up. That's true. (Laughs)

BRIAN: Yeah, so we've got a glass of orange juice and all these kids come out with straws, they have straws and they want some of your orange juice.

GABRIEL: So, they're ready to drink, ready with a straw. They're ready to beg for the tourist's orange juice. It is kind of sad but I mean…

BRIAN: It is sad.

GABRIEL: I haven't been to Morocco and I have no idea what the situation is like there but is it some guessing. Does it look like there was a lot of a big social gap in Morocco? Like, you know a lot of poor people and a lot of more like a bigger discrepancy. Is that what you experienced?

BRIAN: I was never really into politics before I was really ignorant of what I was even getting into going to Morocco.

GABRIEL: It has also this religious cultural aspect to it.

BRIAN: Yeah, exactly.

GABRIEL: Of course, there it's a Muslim country. Actually, I have not been to a Muslim country. I have friends that have been to Morocco from Canada as well, who really enjoyed it. And I even met this lady and his lady said that Morocco men were very kind and charming to them and so on. They respected them a lot which is nice but of course that I know very little about it as and yeah I just know that most of the Moroccan population speaks fluent French, which reminds me that I have a met this Moroccan girl and had a chat with her in French like about a month ago to the supermarket. I picked up on her accent. And so I have no idea what the situation is like there.