Hallway art continued...

So yesterday I showed off my new hallway art, but I didn't get a chance to quite explain the project. Basically it came about because after my last trip I saved the walking maps. I thought they would be fun as a souvenir, but I wasn't sure how I was going to use them yet.

When I went to make my gallery wall, I got the idea to frame some of the maps with my four Ikea Ribba frames. See them in there?

However, I had gone to five places, not four, on my last trip and one map stayed tucked away. I had guests over and people always seemed to stop and look at the maps and try to guess what cities they were. So I decided it would be a neat idea to frame walking maps of all the wonderful cities I have gotten to visit over the years!

Here are the steps I took:
Step 1: Find maps
Step 2: Realize this is impossible
Step 3: Give up project for months

Yup- finding maps was NOT easy. Either the stores didn't carry a city, or it was priced at $15 for just ONE map. And I am cheap. So this project was on the backburner for a long time. Finally one day I found a tourist map to Italy, which included 3 cities I had been to, for $10! My interest in the project was renewed! I slowly managed to find other maps online and print them off. This is WAY harder than I thought it would be!! Most city websites have interactive maps and I wanted printable ones, preferably with major attractions. The guide book websites didn't make it easy either because they want you to BUY the map.

Finally I managed it and I realized I was actually a few cities short. So I bought more frames (also needed to make the piece larger) and was able to finish- with the additional of my favourite amusement park because I couldn't think of a 14th city. haha.

Can you guess what cities these are?

Ok, it is impossible on the blog, but Assisi is a dead give away. haha. It was the best I could find! Please people, when you go travelling, bring me back some real maps!

Here are the cities and a short memory of each (in no particular order):
Paris, France
- I have been lucky enough to visit Paris THREE times and each time I have had so much fun. I love the Louvre! And I think after 3 visits, I might finally have seen the whole thing!

Lucerne, Switzerland
- I didn't spend a lot of time here, but we did go up a mountain and realized April is not the best time to climb a mountain because it will be a blizzard up top with no view. We also almost didn't make it to Lucerne because the ticket agent sold us tickets to Lausanne, Switzerland!

Venice, Italy
- I would also love to spend more time here, but we had fun on our canal tour and our private glass blowing show.

Rome, Italy
- I have gone to Rome twice and I just love the city! History is everywhere you turn! I also enjoyed the day our hostel owner brought us shots at 1:00pm.

Assisi, Italy
- I remember it being on a hill and being very beautiful, but I have no pictures because I forgot my camera on the bus that day! Doh!

Florence, Italy
- I climbed up to the top of the church and my legs suffered from then on. I also recall that my hotel bathroom had a bidet and I was highly entertained by this.

Athens, Greece
- We had the misfortune of timing our weekend there to coincide with Easter weekend so a lot was closed. But we did see the Acropolis and I saw a dead lamb wearing a hat and sunglasses. haha

Brussels, Belgium
- We went to this amazing bar there called Delirium that had over 2000 types of beer! I tried cookie beer, but traded it with my friend Jeni for a coconut beer (but sadly they were out of coconuts that they usually serve them in)

Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- I wandered this city alone in the rain for a day when I wasn't able to find my friends at a meet up point, but then a couple of days later we came back and stayed in the red light district and went for a blush-worthy walk at night.

Alkmaar, The Netherlands
- We were in this picturesque town for a wedding and stayed at the most beautiful hotel there. One night we went for dinner and the cheapest thing we could find were 20 EURO nachos, which we shared.

Munich, Germany
- OKTOBERFEST!! Oh my did we ever have fun here last fall. Lots of beer, lots of new friends, and lots of amazing memories. At one point I conducted a band in a restaurant. True story.

Havana, Cuba
- Woo! Some sun! My friend Veronica and I made the effort to leave our resort to visit this beautiful city and see the historical sites there.

Chicago, Illinois
- I got to visit Chicago last summer and I loved it! It was a beautiful city and we had a fun weekend of sightseeing, deep dish pizza, and baseball

Sandusky, Ohio
- Ok, it isn't a map of Sandusky- it is Cedar Point! Only the best amusement park ever. I went a few times as a teenager with my family, but a couple of summers ago my friend Ginny and I drove down for a weekend. I drove 7 hours there, we got a hotel, went to the park the next day, then after we left the park I drove 5 hours to Buffalo! haha

So that is how my new art is totally personal AND a fun way to display your souvenirs and remember your trips :)

UPDATED: I just realized I have also been to Pompeii. Cedar Point may be getting the boot. haha