God I love Rome. How can you not? I had about four people fall in love with me in the space of three days. I ate pizza, pasta and gelati everyday. It was a sunny 22 degrees everyday. And I could shop, because it was my last stop. Really what more could you want?
The hostel I was sceptical about at first. It was run by four young men. One of them spoke a little English, he say my surname and I was his "bella" from thence forth. Another worked in the British army from December to February each year and then at the hostel for the rest of the year and whenever I said, "Gosh it's hot", he would say, "You're hot"- Italian at heart. The other two were Indian and very lovely and polite - one was a fantastic cook too! Each afternoon when I walked in the hostel doors, I received a very warm welcome, a cup of tea and some biscuits- special treatment for "mio bella".
Number three faller for me was a Spaniard staying at the hostel. He said to me, "I am in love with you and tomorrow I will follow you"- (I got up super early the following morning!) And the fourth: well I was walking to the station with my ridiculously large heavy crush when a dreamy Italian man (who's name should have been Fabio) stopped me in my tracks and said, " May I help you? Where are you going?... Why are you going now? Do you have time to go out for a coffee? You are beautiful... May I see your eyes?" -OMG, stop! (But don't stop- I was enjoying the attention, it was extremely amusing.) He had this long blonde hair, light blue eyes and tanned skin and carrying a suit in a dry cleaning bag smoothly over his shoulder. It was difficult to say, "Sorry I have to leave" but if not for the tonne of bags I was carrying I no doubt would have had a coffee.
But anyway so Rome. Beautiful, amazing Rome. I walked past the Colloseo and Pantheon and loved the fact that I could watch all the tourists lining up and taking photos and I that I wasn't because I'd been there and done that. I stumbled across a quiet pretty park where I lay across from someone practising acoustics and listened for a while with the sun shining and settling in my bones. It felt so nice.
As I sleepily strolled out of the park I witnessed a very funny site- an old man exercising in his underwear in the middle of the grass. I had to sneak up and take a snap of this.
I have probably written this previously but one thing I love about Rome is everywhere you look there is something great and impressive looming in front of you and right around your next corner. It's just fantastic.
I walked to the trevi and again sat in the sun watching everyone take the same photo- throwing a coin into the fountain. I relaxed thoroughly enjoying a nutella/caramello/profiterole flavoured gelato. More and more and more walking followed this- it's too hard to stop! I went across the bridge to the castle, to the vatican, up a very long hill and stumbled upon another park. It was afternoon now so all the joggers were out. I could picture myself living here- coming out for an afternoon jog in the glorious parks... Then across to a passaggiato way with great views of the city and then down to Travastere- famous for it's food so I had to get a pizza. And then I was wrecked.
That night a group of us went to dinner - a four course meal... num num num my swollen tum tum tum
sabato 18 agosto 2012
Budapest: Goulash
The hostel is great. It's a bit like a little house with 5 dorm rooms. The woman who runs the place lives upstairs and it's located on the second floor of an apartment building. My room is quite cute. There are two beds with hut- type roofs over them and draping canopies. The strange part is the whole room is decorated with wigs which is a little creepy. Each room has a separate name and a theme to go with it.
I pair up with two American travellers- who soon become five Americans (and by the end become five too many).They are all just in Budapest for the weekend and doing a study semester in Prague.
Budapest was originally two separate cities - Buda and Pest - and became Budapest when they were joined by a bridge- logical. Today we did Buda. First stop was the largest mosque in Europe. It was large. And over the top. We then bought tickets to a food festival and strolled around sampling a million different types of cheese, jams, meats, biscuits, chocolates, mustards etc. I even daringly tried horse meat- it's disgusting (and not just because I knew it was horse meat). The day was full of walking, we walked to a church where the main attraction was the fantastic view (it's funny how far you go just for a view), we walked to the royal palace, got a bit lost, back tracked then walked up a mega never ending hill to see the liberty statue but mainly another fantastic city view. By this stage it was getting dark and the lights started coming on along the river. We spotted our next destination- the second biggest bar in Europe and walked to it. On the way down however, one of the girls slipped and rolled her ankle and by the time she had hobbled all the way to the bar her foot had swelled to double the size. The bar was located on a three- levelled ship. We were a little early for kick off so meanwhile we went to Europe's first biggest bar- the Ruins bar. It's pretty cool. Seats are anything from a bathtub to a toilet seat. You write on the wall any message you want to give to the world and there are plants and vines lining the roof.
Saturday morning is market time. The market is well under way by 8.30 when we get there. We head straight for breakfast- an interesting idea for brekky but we have to have it as Budapest is famous for it's fried bread. Picture a giant deep fried pancake with whatever topping you like- sweet or savoury. We opt for a semi healthy topping to try and balance out the artery clogging- sour cream, onion, tomato, cucumber and garlic. We purchase cheap fruit, admire the whole dead skinned pigs sitting on top of each other on the shop front ledges and take in the atmosphere of the hungarians fighting over food.
Then it's park time as it is of course a lovely sunny day. The park is home to an old lovely castle, a bustling flea market, crappy stalls all selling bathing suits, towels and fairy floss, and the largest thermal spas in Hungary.
Tonight there is a spas festival! You pay 20 euro and can go to any of the spas to enjoy bathing, music, dancing and drinking... Not a very smart mix but it's quite an atmosphere and awesome fun despite the filthiness of the place. I had to laugh at some of the swim costume choices... hideous!
By Sunday, I'm a bit sick of the Americans. They were a lovely people but too big a group so I get up early and escape. I market, shop, wander and then sit in a cafe called "Anna's cafe". I choose it purely for it's name because it is damn expensive!
That evening I decide to go to the opera, primarily because the building looks amazing and I'm dying to see inside and also because you can get cheap last minute tickets. I paid five euro for a pretty good seat- I could hear and see everything. On the way to my first opera experience I stopped in to a dingy dingy looking pub for some goulash made in a loaf of bread. The pub had two other customers having a beer and the lighting was tinged green. But the goulash was the most delicious meal I had had in Hungary and it was about 80 cents! The opera was great. I couldn't understand the first half so I bought one of the books mid way through and then things started to make more sense. But the theatre itself was spectacular. I was sitting next to a bunch of old ladies who couldn't speak English at all so I had to put up with my own company but lucky I had a block of chocolate as a companion!
And then I fly to Roma. But hec the train is hard to navigate! And I'm forced to remove half my clothes at the departure gates and still beep as I go through the damn detector. So then I have to be body checked and then my bag beeps, so then my bag has to be emptied and OMG... but it turns out I'm not a criminal so I can go to Roma after all. Thank the lord, I need to get out of here!
I pair up with two American travellers- who soon become five Americans (and by the end become five too many).They are all just in Budapest for the weekend and doing a study semester in Prague.
Budapest was originally two separate cities - Buda and Pest - and became Budapest when they were joined by a bridge- logical. Today we did Buda. First stop was the largest mosque in Europe. It was large. And over the top. We then bought tickets to a food festival and strolled around sampling a million different types of cheese, jams, meats, biscuits, chocolates, mustards etc. I even daringly tried horse meat- it's disgusting (and not just because I knew it was horse meat). The day was full of walking, we walked to a church where the main attraction was the fantastic view (it's funny how far you go just for a view), we walked to the royal palace, got a bit lost, back tracked then walked up a mega never ending hill to see the liberty statue but mainly another fantastic city view. By this stage it was getting dark and the lights started coming on along the river. We spotted our next destination- the second biggest bar in Europe and walked to it. On the way down however, one of the girls slipped and rolled her ankle and by the time she had hobbled all the way to the bar her foot had swelled to double the size. The bar was located on a three- levelled ship. We were a little early for kick off so meanwhile we went to Europe's first biggest bar- the Ruins bar. It's pretty cool. Seats are anything from a bathtub to a toilet seat. You write on the wall any message you want to give to the world and there are plants and vines lining the roof.
Saturday morning is market time. The market is well under way by 8.30 when we get there. We head straight for breakfast- an interesting idea for brekky but we have to have it as Budapest is famous for it's fried bread. Picture a giant deep fried pancake with whatever topping you like- sweet or savoury. We opt for a semi healthy topping to try and balance out the artery clogging- sour cream, onion, tomato, cucumber and garlic. We purchase cheap fruit, admire the whole dead skinned pigs sitting on top of each other on the shop front ledges and take in the atmosphere of the hungarians fighting over food.
Then it's park time as it is of course a lovely sunny day. The park is home to an old lovely castle, a bustling flea market, crappy stalls all selling bathing suits, towels and fairy floss, and the largest thermal spas in Hungary.
Tonight there is a spas festival! You pay 20 euro and can go to any of the spas to enjoy bathing, music, dancing and drinking... Not a very smart mix but it's quite an atmosphere and awesome fun despite the filthiness of the place. I had to laugh at some of the swim costume choices... hideous!
By Sunday, I'm a bit sick of the Americans. They were a lovely people but too big a group so I get up early and escape. I market, shop, wander and then sit in a cafe called "Anna's cafe". I choose it purely for it's name because it is damn expensive!
That evening I decide to go to the opera, primarily because the building looks amazing and I'm dying to see inside and also because you can get cheap last minute tickets. I paid five euro for a pretty good seat- I could hear and see everything. On the way to my first opera experience I stopped in to a dingy dingy looking pub for some goulash made in a loaf of bread. The pub had two other customers having a beer and the lighting was tinged green. But the goulash was the most delicious meal I had had in Hungary and it was about 80 cents! The opera was great. I couldn't understand the first half so I bought one of the books mid way through and then things started to make more sense. But the theatre itself was spectacular. I was sitting next to a bunch of old ladies who couldn't speak English at all so I had to put up with my own company but lucky I had a block of chocolate as a companion!
And then I fly to Roma. But hec the train is hard to navigate! And I'm forced to remove half my clothes at the departure gates and still beep as I go through the damn detector. So then I have to be body checked and then my bag beeps, so then my bag has to be emptied and OMG... but it turns out I'm not a criminal so I can go to Roma after all. Thank the lord, I need to get out of here!
venerdì 17 agosto 2012
Salzburg- the hills are alive
I arrive just in time for the hostel happy hour so I sit with the other hostellers who are all, bar two, Australian, and we drink and eat pizza :)
The next day the hills are alive for it is time for my Sound of Music tour. I am soo excited. Our tourguide, Paul, picks me up from the hostel and immediately I assume he is homosexual. He has an American sing song musical tone and is in love with the musical, but... he has a wife. ?? Apart from one other Aussie girl from my hostel, the carload is over sixty but they are fun. Paul drives us around Salzburg pointing out the the best walks and sites before driving up into the hills. Along the way he identifies the church where Maria was married, the hills where the opening song was sung, the wall the children march along, the river they fall into, the trees they climb- "and the this is where the scene was filmed where the children were in the trees and the captain drives past!" We visit the glass gazebo where Leisel and Ralph danced and pranced around singing "I am sixteen..." It is monumented in the park with a plaque and all but disappointingly small (one of Europe's disappointments for sure, up there with Munich's bloody glockenspiel). On the way home we listen and sing along to the soundtrack- Paul singing the loudest and occasionally turning the volume down to relay a terrible joke to us...
That afternoon I meander Salzburg. It is a beautiful sunny day - a coat is not necessary. I walk through the beautiful palace gardens, through grand piazas lined with horse drawn carts and up a big hill to the castle on top. From there you can walk all the way along the top of the hill spoiled with a fantastic view of the whole city on one side and the countryside on the other. Then you come down on the opposite end of town. I visit a hidden cemetery- which is actually very pretty, it is a little strange but the graves are quite beautiful. And by the end of the day I feel I have walked an entire country and my legs are about to drop off- time for some goulash and a movie.
The next day the hills are alive for it is time for my Sound of Music tour. I am soo excited. Our tourguide, Paul, picks me up from the hostel and immediately I assume he is homosexual. He has an American sing song musical tone and is in love with the musical, but... he has a wife. ?? Apart from one other Aussie girl from my hostel, the carload is over sixty but they are fun. Paul drives us around Salzburg pointing out the the best walks and sites before driving up into the hills. Along the way he identifies the church where Maria was married, the hills where the opening song was sung, the wall the children march along, the river they fall into, the trees they climb- "and the this is where the scene was filmed where the children were in the trees and the captain drives past!" We visit the glass gazebo where Leisel and Ralph danced and pranced around singing "I am sixteen..." It is monumented in the park with a plaque and all but disappointingly small (one of Europe's disappointments for sure, up there with Munich's bloody glockenspiel). On the way home we listen and sing along to the soundtrack- Paul singing the loudest and occasionally turning the volume down to relay a terrible joke to us...
That afternoon I meander Salzburg. It is a beautiful sunny day - a coat is not necessary. I walk through the beautiful palace gardens, through grand piazas lined with horse drawn carts and up a big hill to the castle on top. From there you can walk all the way along the top of the hill spoiled with a fantastic view of the whole city on one side and the countryside on the other. Then you come down on the opposite end of town. I visit a hidden cemetery- which is actually very pretty, it is a little strange but the graves are quite beautiful. And by the end of the day I feel I have walked an entire country and my legs are about to drop off- time for some goulash and a movie.
Munich walking tour
Tuesday we do the city walking tour- a little late as I've been there for days now and have explored most of the city but I still hadn't seen the famous glockenspiel- for good reason it turns out. At 11 am the glockenspiel comes to life- well when I say that, I mean a little man comes out, there is a joust and a jig and that's it. It is apparently the second biggest let down in Europe (second to Paris is what they said). I think it's perhaps the biggest, it's pretty crap.
There is a statue of Juliet in the city as Munich is said to be the 'Verona of Germany'. The Germans believe if you put a rose in Juliet's hand you will have luck with the ladies. The Italians believe you will have luck with the ladies if you rub Juliet's breast- and this is why Juliet's right breast is a very dulled texture in relation the rest of the sculpture...
Another fun tour fact: it was believed that the water in Munich was very unclean in the early days and for that reason everybody drank beer, even the kids.
Further facts: The famous beer hall- the Hauffbrauhouse - used to have a trough under the seat so you could pee without losing your spot at the table! Gross!!
There is a statue of Juliet in the city as Munich is said to be the 'Verona of Germany'. The Germans believe if you put a rose in Juliet's hand you will have luck with the ladies. The Italians believe you will have luck with the ladies if you rub Juliet's breast- and this is why Juliet's right breast is a very dulled texture in relation the rest of the sculpture...
Another fun tour fact: it was believed that the water in Munich was very unclean in the early days and for that reason everybody drank beer, even the kids.
Further facts: The famous beer hall- the Hauffbrauhouse - used to have a trough under the seat so you could pee without losing your spot at the table! Gross!!
Forced indoors and forced beer
Monday it's raining. Indoor activity time. We dash to the buses and across a large royal garden to visit one of the palaces. The most interesting room was filled with paintings of women from various social classes as requested by the king . We later discover that they were all women with whom the king had slept with and there were a dozen more paintings in the basement (including two male specimens!)
There was also a glorious carriage museum. They were decorated outrageously over the top with way too much gold and extravagant tassels. And each carriage was meant for a particular occasion. There was a funeral carriage, a carriage for when the king wants to visit the gardens and so on...
Oh surprise, we go to a beer hall tonight for dinner and a drink -just one tonight... one litre that is.
There was also a glorious carriage museum. They were decorated outrageously over the top with way too much gold and extravagant tassels. And each carriage was meant for a particular occasion. There was a funeral carriage, a carriage for when the king wants to visit the gardens and so on...
Oh surprise, we go to a beer hall tonight for dinner and a drink -just one tonight... one litre that is.
Munich beer halls
We hire bikes on Sunday and ride around another large park. There is a section of the river where a wave is created somehow and crazy keen surfers jump onto the wave from the bank with with their surfboards to surf the wave. It is the strangest thing. It's not at all warm so they are covered head to toe in wetsuit. They surf this one wave until falling off and then climb out and repeat the process...
We find a quaint restaurant out of the hustle. It's full of seniors and our waitress informs us it's a "locals" hang out and we should go to the Starbucks in the city centre to find all the young people. Starbucks??! We just want some hot German pancake soup to warm the soul.
In the evening we find yet another beer hall for Sally's birthday. Our party includes the three of us and two of my room mates- Chey: the beer drinking Aussie working in London/ but a lovely chap all the same- and an American on the way to visiting his sister who looks about 16 but is in fact 29. We indulge in delicious pork and crackling, cake, pancakes and free schnapps from our delightful waiter and litres of beer. The party continues at the hostel bar where mysterious shots are continuously delivered to our table... I'm sure the night ended with something involving twirls, poles and photographic evidence...
We find a quaint restaurant out of the hustle. It's full of seniors and our waitress informs us it's a "locals" hang out and we should go to the Starbucks in the city centre to find all the young people. Starbucks??! We just want some hot German pancake soup to warm the soul.
In the evening we find yet another beer hall for Sally's birthday. Our party includes the three of us and two of my room mates- Chey: the beer drinking Aussie working in London/ but a lovely chap all the same- and an American on the way to visiting his sister who looks about 16 but is in fact 29. We indulge in delicious pork and crackling, cake, pancakes and free schnapps from our delightful waiter and litres of beer. The party continues at the hostel bar where mysterious shots are continuously delivered to our table... I'm sure the night ended with something involving twirls, poles and photographic evidence...
sabato 21 aprile 2012
Munich/Munchen/Monaco
I arrive at the hostel strangely wide awake. After all I had been skiing for a week, had just endured a long late train ride and it was almost midnight. Maybe it was the excitement of a new city or the familiar feeling of checking in to a new hostel or meeting my new roomie... Something re-energised me so I went out with my Czech room mate. He has come to Munich for the weekend to see Snow Patrol play at a concert- the things you can do when another country is merely an hour away! We go to the Hoffbrauhous- Munich's most famous beer hall. It has a fantastic atmosphere: a lively brass band, people of all ages and nationalities talking and laughing, singing and drinking boisterously. You sit wherever there is room and we find ourselves across from a man dressed in traditional attire who cannot speak a word of English. He smiles and drinks his beer contentedly. And on the other side is a group of friendly Doitchlanders. The menu tells me they serve Dampfknudel- a desert that I had been searching for ever since one of the Swedes told me it is something I simply must try in Germany. The waiter brings it out and it is huge! It is a giant sweet cakey doughnut with vanilla sauce. Our companions laugh at me because it is not something that particularly "goes" with half a litre of beer but I eat it all and it is sooo good!
The next day I sleep in and have a very slow morning- dying my hair pink for something different... Outside it is gorgeous and sunny- perfect for exploring. I head to the ground where the annual Oktoberfest is held. It is a huge empty car park with a giant Barvarian woman statue to one side. Nothing special but I can imagine the festivities that take place in October and start planning my return trip to Germany in spring.
The main square is chocos full. Everyone is out and about on this gorgeous Saturday morning. The market is the main attraction it seems. Everywhere there are people eating sausages in rolls and sitting in the sun drinking beer (it's not yet midday but in Munich any time of day is beer time!). I grab a sausage in a roll from the place with the longest line and smother it in mustard and some other sauce like the person in front of me. After polishing that off I head to a stand with free olive and dip tasting and spend a good while lapping the trestle. But I'm a bit too conspicuous to look like someone new each time - what with my pink hair and red coat.
The next stop is the Maxamillion park, which encompasses the river. There is a heap of people sunbaking (and some swimming) down by the river, and after a good long walk around the giant park, I join them and nap in the sun.
That night I meet up with Maddy again and her friend who has just flown in from Australia. We go out to a mini Oktoberfest at one of the beerhalls and meet my swedish friends there. Everyone is dressed in traditional wear and they look fantastic. Our group (which somehow got to about thirty people) are a mix of all nationalities- most are exchange students. We drink litre beers and dance on the tables with the rest of the crowd - the Germans are a crazy bunch!
The next day I sleep in and have a very slow morning- dying my hair pink for something different... Outside it is gorgeous and sunny- perfect for exploring. I head to the ground where the annual Oktoberfest is held. It is a huge empty car park with a giant Barvarian woman statue to one side. Nothing special but I can imagine the festivities that take place in October and start planning my return trip to Germany in spring.
The main square is chocos full. Everyone is out and about on this gorgeous Saturday morning. The market is the main attraction it seems. Everywhere there are people eating sausages in rolls and sitting in the sun drinking beer (it's not yet midday but in Munich any time of day is beer time!). I grab a sausage in a roll from the place with the longest line and smother it in mustard and some other sauce like the person in front of me. After polishing that off I head to a stand with free olive and dip tasting and spend a good while lapping the trestle. But I'm a bit too conspicuous to look like someone new each time - what with my pink hair and red coat.
The next stop is the Maxamillion park, which encompasses the river. There is a heap of people sunbaking (and some swimming) down by the river, and after a good long walk around the giant park, I join them and nap in the sun.
That night I meet up with Maddy again and her friend who has just flown in from Australia. We go out to a mini Oktoberfest at one of the beerhalls and meet my swedish friends there. Everyone is dressed in traditional wear and they look fantastic. Our group (which somehow got to about thirty people) are a mix of all nationalities- most are exchange students. We drink litre beers and dance on the tables with the rest of the crowd - the Germans are a crazy bunch!
lunedì 26 marzo 2012
Bad gastein: skiing and drinking beer
Bad gastein is the ski holiday town for the Scandinavians I soon learn. Everyone seems to be Swedish, Finnish or Norwegian. The hostel is 100m from the chairlifts for the slopes. But there are many more ski parks surrounding the town and one pass gets you to all of them.
Day 1 on the slopes I'm by myself. It is so big and there are so many surrounding mountains. The weather is not the best it's quite foggy up top and it snows a bit. But the runs are great and there are many many many and I warm up quickly. I get back to the hostel and find 2 Norwegians who are about to head out for food and drink which I am in dying need for so I hop along. They've been here for a week already so they know where to go and give me all the hot tips. We go to the silver bullet- the biggest apre ski in the town. And each buy a round of half litre Weiss beer- my new fav. Apparently the thing to do is go to the apre ski straight from the slopes while a live band plays for a few hours and then go home, shower, change and then come back for when the band starts again. Which is exactly what we do of course...
Day 2 I have friends from the hostel- a group of Swedish/french/danish girls- to ski with. It looks like its going to be a shit day but the sun comes out eventually. We do some black runs that leave the legs burning and the longest run in the province which is 10km. Then to the silver bullet. But this afternoon is especially important because a very popular swedish band is playing and the girls are super excited. And of course because the town is full of sweeds at the moment the place is nuts. We head out to dinner and order the specialty dish of a mixed grill- a plate of meat just like the one I had with Elisa and joe- all kinds of meat on a bed of wedges!
Day 3 I go to a different mountain called sportsgastein with new friends- a frenchy an a finny. It is such gorgeous weather and sportsgastein is so so beautiful. We get so hot we lie in the snow on top of the world (it's the highest level). And at lunchtime we sit in our singlets drinking beer whilst others are sunbathing in the snow topless. That afternoon the apre ski party is at the bottom of the slopes because there is a battle of the djs party. So we all head over and the scene is great. There are 5 different stages with 5 different djs and the crowd moves clockwise as each dj plays. There are people sitting and dancing on the scaffolding in jumpsuits, others busting their moves on the snow d floor and the crazy gasteiners chanting the town's theme song "uh ah bad gastein uh ah bad gastein" and clapping and sipping on beer of course. Sipping makes that sound a little too delicate for what it was actually- I should say chugging.
Later on after a traditional Austrian cheesy pasta dish, cream cheese strudel with vanilla sauce and hot wine with a shot of jager... the party continued at the silver bullet. The funniest thing was the old guy. He was at least 65 but he was an incredible dancer. He had such energy and enthusiasm, he just wouldn't stop and everyone wanted to dance with him- not just all the girls either! He was having the time of his life and I think that is the element that attracted everyone.
Day 4: Alex and I decide to go cross country skiing for something different. After I drag her away from the cute guys at the rental store, Alex teaches me the technique and soon I'm gliding along. It is absolutely gorgeous weather, we are in singlets and sweating after the first track so it's lemonade time at the most gorgeous hidden home cooked cafe (we go back for lunch!). Then we head to sports gastein- another mountain where the track is a little more challenging and the view a lot more glorious! And now I'm flying along. It's hard work you have to move your arms and legs the entire time and your on these narrow skis where your heals aren't held in so you can push up the hills but it's brilliant. By the afternoon we're spent. We return the skis and head to the bottom of the mountain for a drink. Afterwards I decide to check out the town because I've been here all week and all I've seen is the slopes and the bar. The town is cute. There's this waterfall that gushes down in the centre of the town and that's really the only thing moving - apart from the bar which is why most of our time was spent there I suppose...
That night I catch the train to Munich with the swedes, fell asleep and got to the hostel.
venerdì 9 marzo 2012
The week with the del fabios
The boys woke up before me and went downstairs and said, "who is in our bedroom?" for I share a room with the 2 of them for the week and I mysteriously arrived over night.
Breakfast over the week is choc milk and biscuits- good start to the day...
Today there is a carnivale celebration in the next town so Tommaso dresses up in a clown outfit and we head to the parade. (poor Matteo stays home with a fever). The parade is great. All the different clubs of the town put on a different show, for eg the basketball club all dress up as smurfs. There is a lot of effort put into each- there are cars and trucks and music and dancing and terrific costumes. Kids throw streamers and confetti and dance around. Tommy's clown makeup doesn't come off for a few days at least.
The kids have the next three days off school for carnivale too. Monday we shop and eat gelato and meet joe for lunch.
Tuesday we head to thermal spas in Austria. This is cool: you're in a hot natural spring outside with snow all around and skiers just meters away. There's an indoor part with fun things too like fountains and whirlpools. And there's a separate part for the saunas which I don't particularly like but it's so relaxing up there because there are deck chairs in front of big glass windows facing the snowy mountains. The only thing is you have to be nude in the saunas. Elisa and joe couldn't understand why I didn't want to go in the sauna.
After the spas we go for Austrian dinner at Elisa and joe's fav restaurant. Goulash soup and a giant plate of different kinds of meat- sausage, pork and other delicious things - that is meant to be for 2 people- it feeds the whole family, leaves us full and there is still more on the plate!
Wednesday is Matteo's birthday party. Lots of little 6 and 7 year old boys running around playing games I don't understand but which involve swords and masks and shouting. Lasagna, pizza, sausage rolls, biscotti, a giant cake and a coffee with baileys for the adults. I love espresso with baileys.
I take Tommaso for a walk while Matteo plays with his friends. We don't speak but I sing a bit to fill the silence and it's cute.
Thursday I am introduced briefly to... The outlet. I return to it on Friday. Thursday I also go for a run around aiello ( the first in three months!). It is beautiful running through Italy's countryside and it is such a warm sunny day. I run through a sweet very small town called joannis uannis and around the back of aiello. It is really nice but afterwards I am completely spent. And the next day ooh I feel it in every muscle in my body. It's the first and last for a while. In the afternoon we pick up the boys from school and stroll and then we go and watch Tommy's basketball match. He hasn't played for a few weeks because he's been sick and so he is very unimpressed with his performance and blames it on the fact that he was playing against a tall big older boy. It's fun and very cute to watch and daniella and Sylvi (Joe's mum) come to watch too.
Friday morning I outlet shop big time- too big. I ride the bike there and it is a lovely sunny day I get sweaty quickly. The backdrop of patchy snowy mountains is a delightful bonus. In the afternoon elisa, tommy and i visit a town that was destroyed by an earthquake. It is not far from aiello. We stop by the church and it is very interesting because they rebuilt it keeping the original remaining parts as the foundations. You can see on the inside the walls of the original change half way up where the new building begins. Next to the church is a small museum of three naturally mummified people. The were found naturally preserved and were now on display. They were gross.
The town is also famous for it's lavender and we pop into a very purple perfumed store to see all things that could possibly be made from lavender.
Saturday we rise early and hit the slopes. The mountain is called zonkolan. Matteo and tommy have ski school there every Saturday from jan- march. It has been so warm the past week that a lot of the snow had melted and so it was a little difficult to ski smoothly and elisa said usually the entire mountain and surrounding hills are all white but today there was hardly any snow surrounding. But I loved the fact that it was so so warm. At lunchtime we could sit out in the sun at the top of the mountain in our t shirts drinking beer.
The morning was good - all 5 of us skied together. When it got a bit tricky for matty- joe guided him from behind. But they were all very good. Tommy liked to go off pist (off the slope) all the time and try jumps and tricks and matty liked to follow. I fell over about three times which meant i had to shout three drinks (which ended up being 1 drink and lunch otherwise we wouldn't have skied straight). After lunch the kids went to ski school and we tried some black runs. I got better as the day went on. I don't mind if I fall over but Elisa kept saying - slow down. It wasn't my fault some times I just couldn't slow down! The view from the top was gorgeous though... Of course.
Afterwards we went to an 'apre ski' or after ski bar where you buy a drink and they put out plates of food on the table. We franks apple spritzers- quite a few as I owed a fair amount from my stacks throughout the day and then drove home at first very merry and then very sleepy. I was in the back seat in the middle with tommy and Matty asleep on each of my shoulders.
Sunday we slept in and in the afternoon we took a trip to Trieste. It was a sunny day but windy and Trieste gets a famous wind called the boen wind. We had gelato and then visited the castle on the waters edge. It had beautiful gardens and got some great happy snaps.
When I wasn't busy with outings and such, time was filled in by playing wii for or foozball with the boys or babysitting Ricky (one of my favorite things), watching movies and massaging Elisa in the evenings or of course eating. Let's see every lunch and dinner had a pasta entree, a meat/fish dish with veggies, bread, cheese and prosciutto, fruit and then coffee and something sweet! It was such a hoorah- each meal took well over an hour to consume and I don't know how they're not all obese! And it was all delicious so you couldn't say no to anything!
Monday it was time for me to say goodbye. I hugged the boys before they went off to school (against their will) but they didn't believe I was going. Elisa took me to the train station with her sunglasses on- I didn't have any so my tears were quite visible. But I'd had a fantastic week and would go back to visit in a heartbeat.
martedì 6 marzo 2012
Day 71: more cool stuff and bloody trains
We did a canyon swing this morning. Check out the video it's cool. I sort of maybe accidentally force maddy to do it by booking it when she was in the bathroom but she loved it in the end. Basically you trek up a mountain, get harnessed up and jump into a narrow canyon. I don't know how long the free fall lasts but you're waiting for the rope to catch and actually start swinging for a bit. The scariest thing is you just jump off a cliff- who does that? I screamed as I jumped but after a second my voice got stuck and I was completely silent until I felt I could finish the scream which is when I actually started to swing. After the free fall you swing back and forth through true canyon and it's beautiful. It would be relaxing if you didn't have litres of adrenaline pumping through your body. When you get off the swing your legs are like jelly and you can't believe what you've just done but you sure as hell want to do it again and again.
I jump on a train to head to aiello to stay with the fam. I leave at 1pm. I get there at 11.30pm. Fricky dicky my luck with trains sucks. There were 4 different trains all up. The second one was late so I missed the third basically and got in 2 hours later. Poor giordano had to come and get me- lucky it was a Saturday night.
Day 70: cool stuff
Today we head up to one of the mountains. Oh what a stunner. I love the snow that sits pertly on top of the little houses. It reminds me of a gingerbread house and the story of Handel and Gretel. We walk around and watch enviously at the skiers because it is an absolutely perfect warm day. We chose not to ski here it was way expense. We hiked back down the mountain along a trail for half the way and sort of lost the trail for a bit (and had to trudge through knee deep snow for just a short time). The view of the city in the valley below was truly lovely. Then we went back to the chocolate shop because we got a voucher yesterday but couldn't even think about any more choc at the time. So we went and had some cake and truffles before getting ready to go night sledding! We were picked up and taken up the mountain in the dark- no lights apart from a flashlight on our back so people behind know there is someone there. Then we sledded down the mountain in the dark. It was hard work keeping to the track and not smashing into people. You have to put out 1 leg when you want to turn and lean to the side. I definitely was responsible for a few crashes... The run was 15 km long and lasted about an hour. That's not to say we were going 15 km/hr. There were definitely times where I was speeding along and felt uncontrolled and we stopped a few times to admire a frozen waterfall and to take some happy snaps. At the end we had a traditional Swiss dinner followed by cheese fondue and beer at a cute restaurant at the bottom of the mountain. Then it was back to the hostel for party times at the bar for it was Friday night and an entire crew of American exchange students had arrived for the weekend...
Day 69: interlaken
The snow is lovely and everywhere. Interlaken is a small town near some of Switzerland's ski fields. It is between two lakes hence the name. We hike to one of the lakes and it is stunning. The town itself has some shops and cute things to offer but is pretty quiet. Later we do a chocolate tour at a chocolatier. It is fantastic. The guy showed us how they make their chocolate and all the while there is a tray of all sorts of truffles for us I sample as we please- dangerous! Yes I end up having probably more than 20 truffles in the hour... And feel quite ill afterwards but it does not turn me off chocolate no way. That night we lounge in the outdoor spa and our new besty/ roommate cooks us curry because he is a chef from new Zealand. It was pretty difficult to find curry ingredients in interlaken but he did his best and it tasted good. We drink wine and head to the hostel bar for a bit then to bed.
domenica 4 marzo 2012
Day 68: eat pray love or eat eat eat
Bologna is famous for its food- eat pray love says so. We roam the town. It's mainly a university town and the university is the oldest or the largest in Italy (I can't remember which). We search for the best pizzas and find a place where we each have an enormous pizza. Then we search for the best gelato and find a pretty good one near the station. Its then time to catch our trains to Switzerland. For me the main highlight of the day was catching up with maddy- we had heaps to talk about so the nice little city of bologna was sort of a pretty background entertainment. We arrive in interlaken at about 11 pm and find our hostel then head to bed.
Day 66 and 67: Milano
Milano is the shopping capital so we spend some of the day doing that but it's not super exciting. A snow filled garden, some good fountains, the largest gothic cathedral in europe, a giant pizza for lunch and our tour was complete. Our dinner is our last one together so we do it well: entree no. 1: pizza and a plate of buffalo cheese. Entree number 2: big plate of pasta and bread ( I defs could have stopped there but had already ordered the main). Main: grilled steak and a side of a gigantic salad. There was no way we could do desert so a Chinese tea instead to aid digestion.
We parted ways at the train station. Me to bologna to meet my friend and them to Rome to fly home.
My train was delayed an hour and I got on the regional instead of the express by accident so it took 3 hours instead of 1. I of course had a little difficulty finding the place and it was only by chance that I saw maddy as she was heading out for a bite to eat after waiting for me for 3 hours. I told her I'd be there by 7.30, it was now 10.30pm. The poor darling had been coming down the stairs every 20 mins because reception was shut and stressing that something bad had happened to me. She even posted it on Facebook which mum found the next day and sent me a fretting msg...
But for now we were both safe and sound and found so we went out for pasta and caught up on all the goss.
Day 65: the Egyptian museum and Turin by night
Today Gianni takes us around turin to see the main city highlights. The snow covered town is lovely. We stop for espresso at one of the top pasticerias in town and it's pretty tops- I know my espressos by now. Then lunch at another family's house which is fantastic of course- highlight is the freshly made donuts!
After lunch we head to the Egyptian museum. Turin is sort of famous for it because it is number two in the world second to the one in Egypt so naturally it's a pretty epic Egyptian museum. There are tombs and mummies still intact and on display. There is even pieces of food still preserved from however long ago it was. The tombs were filled with not only the mummy but also belongings, food, figurines of the dead person and good luck ornaments.
After the museum we went for dinner to a Brazilian bar. We had good seafood again and delish tiramisu and lots of cocktails whilst we listened to a live Brazilian band. There was also a couple delivering Brazilian entertainment. They changed costumes and performed different dances and at the end pulled people up to teach the samba- me unfortunately included... Actually that wasn't so bad but then Giovanni's old friend wanted to dance with me so I had to be turned about and about again and again and get really dizzy for few songs whilst the others watched on in great amusement. And that was our Turin by night tour.
64: meeting Gianni
The journey to Turin is an interesting one. We catch three trains. The first is pretty empty with a French conductor who befriends us and shares his taste in music by playing tunes on his iPad. He occasionally gets distracted whilst chatting to us and forgets to do his job which is to blow the whistle at each stop and that's about it. We get off to change trains at the French - Italian border and there is snow everywhere for the first time on our winter euro trip. It is soft and white and abundant so naturally we snow ball fight, take pictures and make movies.
But then the connecting train arrives and the fun stops for this train is 2 small carriages long and it is already full to the brim. There are faces against the window before we even get on with our packs! I end up squished against the opposite window with both of the other girls' extra carry-on luggage bags because they are in the middle. They end up scoring s seat in the luggage room but I can't move an inch. Then the doors open at the next stop but they decided they would change sides that the doors open do I end up almost toppling out of the train with my pack still on along with 2 huge and heavy bags. Why is no one getting off and more people try to squeeze on? I'm sardined with crush plus the other enemy bags for the whole trip which lasts an hour and by the end my back is ruined.
Hannah didn't know what to expect of Gianni- her dad's cousin so we weren't sure how long we would stay but when we got there he was so hospitable and cute. He took us out to dinner to the best seafood restaurant where we had about 4 entrees including delicious muscles and a seafood platter. Main was fantastic grilled fish of some sort and then though there was no room I had amazing profiteroles- they were filled with cream and coated in chocolate mousse! When we were leaving Gianni ordered the deserts we had to take away so we could have them again tomorrow!
Gianni's house is an old style apartment on the top floor of a building in the city. All three of us sleep in his bed while he settles on the couch. Three in the bed and the little one said... Uh oh I may have farted
Day 63: nice one
Nice is nice. We do the free walking tour which is a short one- just an hour around the old town. There is a heavy italian influence and hence many pizza shops. The beach is lovely, the view from the top even better and the crepes for lunch maybe even better again. That night is another three course French feast of course then cards and tea at the hostel.
Day 62: not as windy
I get up early and surprisingly find it is not so windy today. So I walk to st Andrea's which is a castle on top of a hill. It is early so not many people are about but I exchange a few 'bonjours' here and there. The castle is very big and gives a brilliant view of course of the canal and the mountains and the city. Later we catch the train to Nice.
After a delicious duck and a variety of desert and some cocktails, we head to the most popular bar in town- Wayne's bar. It's small but very packed and for the first half an hour or so has a live band who aren't too bad. When the dj starts though, the crowd starts getting up and dancing on the tables! It's a norm at this bar apparently but it's hilarious and fun.
Day 61: the windy city
We wander around the shops a little. It's too too cold to do much sightseeing today so we then sit down for a long extended lunch of tart, duck, foi gra, delicious desert, espresso, vino... It takes a good few hours and the waiter is a good egg. He educates us on the tipping policy which we had not yet figured out and which is not expected- good to know.
We were lushed up at the lush beauty store, perused some more shops and got dinner supplies which we feasted on later with Patrick and his stories and a bottle of sangria.
lunedì 13 febbraio 2012
We sit on the train together
We sit on the train together
We nap, we read, we write
We gaze out the window
In wonder and delight
We sit on the train together
We snack and, often, feast
On pasta, panini, Marias
For half the journey at least
We lie and sprawl when we can
As often we're quite hung
And sometimes rush to chunked
That's just what happens when you're young
We takes snaps of each other
When someone's falling asleep
Cos it's pretty goddam funny
When they're falling off the seat
We chat a lot, of course
To each other and whoever
I feel sorry for the stranger
We're pretty intense altogether
And then we play makeup
When we're feeling unattractive
We have hours on this train
We need to be proactive
We sit on the train together
Three travelers, three Aussies, three mates
Where will we go next, you say
Well who knows what life creates
Day 60 part 2: wind
My train was delayed and so I got in a little later than expected- about 8.30 pm. I was aware that the reception for our hostel shut at 9 so I rushed out to catch the bus as the directions instructed. Uh oh the buses have finished for the night. I'm also aware that the hostel is a good 40 minutes or so from the station. It is very very cold and quite windy. I hurry back to the station and ask the lady for a map and how I can get to the hostel. She gives a map but says the hostel is very far it is out of the city. Great. So taxi it is. Outside there is a taxi rank. I wait for a little bit but there are no taxis coming. It is dead around here. I think maybe I'll have more luck in the city centre so I walk to the centre. The city is dead. No one is around because it is so cold and windy, and not a taxi in sight. I find McDonalds, defrost a bit and google map the hostel. It says an hour and a quarter walk. This is going to be fun. It is now 9pm. I walk. I see maybe 2 people along the way. Avignon is one of those cities surrounded by a wall. I walk outside the walls and then I have to go across the bridge. Oh my god the wind is quadruple the ferocity on the bridge. I cannot even walk without holding on to the rail and if I didn't have crush on my back grounding me I would be over the edge by now. It is absolutely ridiculous. The right side f my face is completely numb and wind blown. I can't feel my lips and my hands went a long time ago. Just when I think the bridge can't get any longer, I reach the end. But the street I want is not there. There aren't really any streets. When I walk a little further I realize why- here lies part two of the bridge. Oh my god jot again. Part two is just as long and blowy. And it is dark. This place has no street lights. I'm shitting myself just a little because I don't really know where I'm going, it's dark, freezing, deserted and I think the hostel will be shut by the time I get there. I panic a little and want mum. Finally the end of a bridge. I ask the closing pizza shop for directions and after a little more walking (why not?) I reach the hostel. It is dark. Reception us definitely locked. There are bars across it. I walk up some side steps and peer inside and bang on the door "hello Liz Hannah, anyone there". No answer. I walk around the other side of the hostel and find an open door to the building. Inside there are three levels each with about seven rooms. I bang on each door shouting "anyone here?". There is no answer. The place is deserted. I start to cry a bit. I don't know if the girls are asleep or of they came here then decided to change hostels because this one is fricken creepy or... I race around the rooms once more and then really start to psyche myself out. There's a painting sheet lying on the floor with reddy pink rains on it and for a moment I'm like "is it... What if it is..." I begin to think I'm going to have to camp out here in the corridor for the night and wait until morning to do anything about the situation. Then I decide I won't do that until I've explored the whole property from end to end. So outside again. I walk around to the back of the property. I see a door, open it and there sitting at the table is Hannah, Liz and a man. Oh my gosh I am so relieved I burst in to tears again. And relay my horrible night to them. They give me chocolate and tea and then we can laugh about it. Patrick (the man sitting with them) says he knows exactly what that bridge is like and tonight is uncharacteristically windy and cold so he can't imagine how it must have been...
In summer this hostel is very popular and is bustling with people but during the winter time the city is very quiet. Avignon translates to "the windy city". They got that right! And they are doing renovations at the moment so only the back part of the building is being used. I think apart from one other group, we were the only ones staying there.
So we sat and chatted with patrick who volunteers at the hostel. He is a very interesting fellow. He would be in his fifties I think and he used to be an artist. He has a condition where he is photosensitive so he invented lamps that did not affect him. He made them out of stone and has had many many exhibitions and newspaper articles written about him throughout Europe. He has traveled extensively but now is running out of money so he will start working at the hostel soon. He tells us about all the books he has read on medicinal herbs and flowers, diets that make you feel twenty years younger because they are suited to your blood type. He is wry intelligent and explains to us the importance of electromagnetic waves in relation to your body's health. We sit and chat and drink tea for hours.
The girls tell me later that he took them to a spring in the afternoon where they collected the water because apparent it is holy and fresh and very good for you.
After peeling ourselves away from his endless (but interesting) chat we retire to the bed chambers.
Day 60: with Lauren and brad
Glorious sleep in. Shower without thongs, chocolate-free breakfast, chill out with lauren and then we all head in to the city when brad finishes training. It is a very cold day in Montpellier and the wind has a biting chill. We have lunch at their favorite restaurant and then browse the boutiques. It is too cold to stay out for long so we supermarket shop before heading home to watch some movies. Then Lauren cooks me up a good hearty steak and I cook a peach crumble. Before I know it I'm back at the train station to board the train to Avignon to meet the girls.
Day 59: trains and chocolate
So I'm up early to head off to France to see Lauren whilst the girls stay another night in Barcelona. After quickly downing some coco pops and Nutella toast I get to the station. The first train is 3 and a half hours. The scenery is gorgeous countryside and it looks sunny outside. Though I'm glad I'm cosy on the train because I know by now how deceiving the sun is and I know it's really freakin cold outside. I pass the time by reading a book I picked up from a book exchange at one of the hostels. I'm really into it, near the end and it's only taken me like 3 days to read.
I get to cebere- a beach town with surrounding mountains at the border of France and Spain- where I'm supposed to change trains. There's a strike. No trains today from cebere. Shit. There is a bus I have to catch and then another train but I'm going to get to Montpellier station 3 hours later than I told Lauren. And oh crap I didn't write down her phone number. I know I'll msg fe to get it. Reliable fe gets back to me straight away. I msg Lauren then and now I've run out of credit. I hope she gets it. About an hour passes and she hasn't replied. She would reply. I'm on the bus but I can't appreciate the beautiful drive through the mountains because I'm stressed. I call customer service from the phone to recharge it but for some reason my credit card will not work. Oh my god could anything else go wrong. I wonder what to do then u ask the guy sitting across from me -using hand signals- if I can use his phone. I finally get on to Lauren and can now relax and enjoy the ride. 10 hours after setting off this morning (+ 2 Nutella sandwiches + 10 choc biscuits- just remember my breakfast too) I arrive and meet Lauren.
The evening is lovely and relaxing. We chat, have a lovely home cooked homey mustard chicken and veggies + French wine and desert, and watch some TV. Then I fall asleep peacefully without having to worry about bed bugs...
mercoledì 8 febbraio 2012
Day 58: cirqu du soliel
Sleep in was vital as we didn't get home until 5 am. Therefore we missed breakfast. But not to worry kebabs are just next door.
Then we hit the Picasso exhibition because on Sundays all the museums are free. The exhibition displayed his very early work and also some of the later stuff. And the contrast is striking. At first he painted landscape and then lifelike portraits. But some 20 years later his style changed to that of the weird misshaped or distorted figures. The colours changed too to more bright and less subtle.
I left the girls at the museum and headed up to Montjuik. It is an area of hills and gardens. It took a good 45 minutes to make my way up through the gardens- stopping to capture snaps of the city views. At the top of the hill is a castle where I strolled around, witnessed a drug deal and snapped some more.
Later that night we headed to Cirque du soliel. Oh my gosh it was absolutely fantastic. The acrobatics, the acts, the strength, their bodies- spectacular all of it. I was sitting by myself because we couldn't get 3 seats together and the whole time I was either gasping, laughing or saying "oh my gosh" or "ahh what are you doing?" out loud- very loud. I couldn't help it. I also happened to have a very good seat and right at the beginning a clown did a flip in front of me, I was sprayed with water and a 2-person donkey sat in my lap. It was all super entertaining and I just want to see it again and again.
Day 57: park Guell
Today we went up to park Guell which is s park that gaudi created. If is on top of a hill and therefore has the best views of the city. Not only does it have views but also brilliantly decorated entrance gates, fountains and water features, the famous lizard mosaic sculpture, weird and wonderful seats, rotundas and pathways. Gaudi's house is also in the middle of the park which you can visit if you like. We strolled along, past a cello and keyboard band playing beautiful music from Amalie. Then we strolled up the hill a little further. On top of the hill there was another band playing. But their music was a little different. There were bongos, maracas, a guitar, a cello and a singer and they were more bohemian style with their hippy outfits and energetic dancing. They were very entertaining and we stood watching and enjoying immensely the music and dancing for about half an hour before purchasing their CD.
That night i cooked up some pasta and then we headed out to the biggest football stadium in Europe to witness Barcelona beat another team who are clearly not that important because I can't remember the name. It was 1 degrees and yep you could feel it. But it was fun. We yelled and stood up and oohed at all the appropriate moments (and some inappropriate too no doubt).
When we got back it was about midnight so we got ready to boogie at one of barcelona's most popular nightclub- Razzmatazz. The nightclubs don't kick off until about 2 am anyway so perfect timing. The club had 5 rooms each playing different styles of music. My fav was the live band in robot masks playing Spanish electronic.
Day 56: gaudi
We conduct our own Gaudi walking tour. He has five famous buildings in Barcelona and each of them are fantastic. His style is very unique and quirky. He was always interested in nature and so took parts of nature and used the ideas in his artworks.
Our first stop was a fountain he created which was a pretty magnificent fountain- it was just huge and had a bridge to walk over it.
The second was his most famous piece- sigrada famiglia. It is a church but unlike any church I've ever seen. The theme is that of a jungle. Outside it has 16 towers with flower-style crosses on the top. Inside there are pillars resembling trees and the roof is like the tree tops spanning out above you. There are magnificent staircases and railings and windows that allow natural light to illuminate the building. The style is so quirky it doesn't even feel like a church- the stained glass windows make it way too colorful. And gaudi himself is buried in this church. We saw his tomb. The remarkable thing is the basilica is not finished. It has been in the making now since the 1800s and it isn't expected to finish until half way through the next century! The idea is to make it as similar to gaudi's original plans as possible. It would be good to see it when there's no scaffolding that's for sure.
Our third stop was a house that he created. Again the nature-ideas bring this quirky style building. He's pretty fantastic.
And then an apartment block which was also wacky and amazing.
That night I cooked up some croquettes (fuoi gra flavour) and pizza with fresh produce from the market- one of the bases was a 5 cheeses pizza base!! Yep I went there.
Day 54-55: Valencia and cheesecake
Getting to Valencia at 5 am is death. We fall asleep on the sofa at our hostel- its 10 times more comfortable than the train! After a few hours of semi descent shut eye we head in search of breakfast. And then out to explore Valencia. It apparently is the town of oranges and they are proud of it- the whole train station is decorated with them. It also has a park running through the centre of the town that used to be a canal. Now it is full of fountains, paths, joggers, cyclists and a few soccer grounds. Poor Hannah got a big from something- perhaps a food thing and she ended up back in bed by early afternoon whilst Liz and I went out for a romantic dinner. The next morning Hannah was really crook. We took her to the doctors but they couldn't see her because (from what we understood) she's not a European citizen. They told us to take her to the hospital. Instead liz and I tried our luck at a pharmacy and they were much more helpful. We gave han the drugs and put her to bed ( where ahe made besties with damiano- the italian traveller who has run out of money so he stays in bed reading and only gets up to hunt for food) while we explored a little more. At the biggest food market in town i found a cheese cake. It was enormous and it was from a cheese stall so it was real cheese. And it had a slab of melted chocolate on top. It made me feel slightly sick but it was worth it. Then it was train time again- off to Barcelona.
Day 53: carving up Sierra Nevada
So I'm up at 6.30 to get the bus to Sierra nevada. At the bus stop I see a girl who's carrying ski boots so I pounce and make her my friend so I an follow her where to go because I don't really know. She introduces me to the group she's with- french, german and spanish students. The bus ride was lovely. The mountains are so large and white and numerous. And there's a lake between them that looks stunning as the sun is coming up. We arrive by 9 am and it after hiring all the gear we hit the slopes. So you take a chairlift to get up to the initial part of the snow fields and at mt bullet this might take 10 mins max, here it takes 20. They are huge and there are mountains surrounding. And there are so so many chairlifts all over the mountains I get so excited and worry that I'm not going to have enough time to do them all. The day just keeps getting better, the sky gets bluer and the sun shines brighter. I start sensibly on the green runs- but bore of it after one ride down so then move onto the blue which are a good fun fast level for me and not a 'falling' level which maybe is not such a good thing as it may have caused a bit of cockyness... So naturally move on to red colour after a few decent runs. The red are definitely more challenging. I feel my legs burning after the first one and I stack it for the first time too. It's a good one- skis come off and I slide for at least a further 10m down the slope. I dread climbing back up to retrieve them so I lie in the snow sprawled for a minute. Then a lovely stranger stops and picks them up and brings them down to me. Thank you stranger.
The sun burns brighter and it starts to get hot. Except at the very top of the mountain. It's quite a bit cooler up here as it is the highest peak. And the view is incredible. You can actually see the sea and beyond that morocco! Yeah you can it is wonderful. From up here you can choose red runs or black runs. But they all have signs saying "very difficult for solo experts" hmm that's not me but oh well. I do some of the reds. There is one run that expands all the way around the edge of the mountain right down to the bottom. It is not very steep but it is narrow. It's a scenic route and it is beautiful. I cruise down it at a very leisurely pace admiring the surrounding mountains. It is truly awing. And then I go back for black runs. Wowza they are steep I definitely half fall down the first black one. But the next I do very wide turns and as much as it burns my quads I manage to stay upright for the length of it. The best part was at the end there is an uphill part. I see it coming so you don't really have a choice but to go really fast down the last bit of downhill so that you make it up the up hill (if that makes sense) oooh that was super dooper fun!
The lifts shut at 5 so now it's food time while we wait for the bus. We sit outside in the setting sun with jackets off it's so warm and order hot wine and bocadillas and chips. Most of the time the group is speaking Spanish so I sit back and absorb the atmosphere. But they each make an effort to converse in English and include me. I don't mind it's cool to hear. And occasionally the Germans speak German and the French French so everyone is not understanding at some stage. It's funny when they try and speak English then get confused and accidentally say a few words in Spanish.
The bus comes and we sit and fall asleep. Back at the hostel the girls are cooking burritos. I down five of them before we head off to catch a 10.15 train to Valencia... It gets in at 5am what a ridiculous long day... But awesome!
Day 52: ahlumbra
This place is fantastico. It takes us a good few hours to explore it. It is a moorish palace built in the 14th century for the last Muslim emirs (or Amirs). And then when the Christians reconquested, prince Charles V (Roman emperor) used it as his palace. After falling into disrepair for a while it was restored in the 19th century.
There are rooms and passages and courts with gardens and flowers decorated with Muslim art. And the gardens are glorious of course. There are two palaces, many gardens, the dungeons and an absolutely magnificent viewpoint where you can see the mountains with snow on one side and the sea on the other.
We get back and chill for a bit then han and I go out for late night tapas to Carlos' (the hostel dude) recommended tapas bar. It was so busy (good sign already). We stood around the bar with all the other locals (no mistaking it) and ordered a beer. You get the tapas for free when you order a drink and there not a bowl of chips. The tapas tender asked what we'd like but the menu wasn't in English so we said "you choose" and he came back with delicious herbed pork sandwiches.
The group of spaniards next to us taught us how to order a beer in Spanish so we ordered another round and this time got a plate of pork in a good sauce with some chips and bread. All in all a good and very cheap tapas experience.
mercoledì 1 febbraio 2012
Day 51: ahh crap we're hung over again
But it's not too too bad so after 6 pieces of toast and a croissant we head toward a park of some sort walking nice and slowly. Then out along the pier where at the end lies ruins to a castle- who would have thought? Well Cadiz was protected by a wall as it was a very valuable piece of land. After meandering I was super hot again so I headed to the beach (just feet this time) whilst the others visited the cathedral. Personally I don't know if I can do any more cathedrals regardless of how spectacular they are. I can't even distinguish the Vatican anymore and that's saying something. Then another train ride to... Where is the winning city! "Granada"! We get there and 5 mins later -zzzzzz
Day 50: The treasure hunt
Mike the hostel dude put on a treasure hunt so of course we're going to enter- there's competition and treasure involved! He gives us a map, some questions and instructions and a competing team. (unfortunately the idea wasn't that popular among the hostel occupants). So we set off at a fast pace to find the sites and answers to the questions. Liz had epic map reading skills, Hannah was the eyes (as she was the only one with sunnies on this glarey day) and I with the mathematic skills- for the place where the treasure was hidden had to be mathematically solved. So naturally we smashed it and won some chocolate treasure. The highlight of the hunt was the garden you ended up in - Genovese garden. It had a lovely waterfall and was also strangely filled with dinosaur sculptures... Actually the thing I loved about it was that there were little garden beds laid out in rows and each had their own mini fountains going- they were really sweet.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at... The beach! Yeah we did. It was 15 degrees but felt like 30 the sun was glorious. Han and I stripped down (Han had bathers...) and swam in the pacific ocean. The water was freezing but that didn't stop us from ducking under and swimming for a bit before sun- baking to warm up again. It was the perfect way to spend a gorgeous afternoon.
Wait for it... What a pub crawl? Why not go for the third pub crawl in 1 week?? Ok done. This time we had crazy LA frat boys on the crawl- they were very entertaining. We ended up at an Ibiza-style night club until early hours of the morning. (Ibiza is the party town of Spain and we are hoping to get there...)
Day 49: the hangover
So yep we we're all hung over- Liz was by far the worst- throwing up every hour. The rest of us including our Texan mate were able to enjoy a fantastic view of Seville atop a piece of architecture known as the mushroom. It doesn't really look like a shroom but you take an elevator up and walk around the top admiring a panorama of the city. And then we enjoyed an epic lunch- more delicious pork. Our fellow Aussies mates were not to be seen all day- they were still in bed when we left for the train a about 4 pm so fair to say they were in worse shape than us. When we arrived at our next destination- Cadiz, we ate delicious tapas ( I ate pork tongue) and then had a very good sleep.
Day 48: Australia day!
So Seville you offer a free walking tour- we're on it. Seville is cool as pretty of course. Every city seems to be. It is the oldest city in Europe which is a pretty good effort considering what it's up against. But really it has the perfect location, right at the bottom of Spain- perfect for shipping. And shipping is what it was famous for. We saw the old ship yards that became a hospital when the shipping industry grew too big. The hospital was vey large and at the entrance gates to the city so that all the sailors coming in could be checked to see if they were bringing new diseases.
We also saw the amazingly gothic built cathedral with the contrasting moorish tower next to it. Reason being the Romans came and took over of course and when an earthquake ruined the moorish church, the Romans decided they'd build a massive cathedral. The tower was too sturdy and well built to be affected by the quake and it was the tallest tower in the Spain at that time so the Romans kept it as part of the cathedral. A little while after the cathedral was built the king decided to put a sculpture depicting the story of Jesus shouting at the people for trading in the church. This is because gypsies were numerous in Seville and being very hot they found the cathedral was a nice cool place to trade. So the sculpture was erected to remind the people this is wrong an not allowed. Instead a hall was built across the road for trade. After a deal the parties would hold hands and point toward the cathedral to promise it was an honest deal.
We saw the statue of the richest woman in Spain. She owns 40% of Spain and is more powerful than the royal family- queen Elizabeth bows to her! She is now 85 and has recently married a 45 year old man - ick!
We saw a beautiful beautiful plaza espania with a moat surrounding where people were hiring boats. The plaza itself is built in three different styles- moorish, roman and something else. You can tell the different styles just by comparing the patterns in the roof. There are also pictures about Spain's history all around the plaza. The one our guide explained to us was of Christopher Columbus kissing the queens hand when he returned from his journey to south America bringing herbs and native south Americans. The story goes that perhaps he had something going with the queen for if you look into the picture he is shutting the king down and favoring the queen. Legend has it that the king was impotent so the queen was in search for someone. She was Christian and so only bathed twice a year so no one wanted to sleep with her. Then if you delve deeper it is proposed that Columbus was perhaps Jewish because he planned his trip so that he left the day before all the Jews had to leave the country if they did not convert to Christian... So who knows really... The plaza is also shaped in a semi circle facing west. This is to signify an embrace to south America to say sorry. The architect was the same guy who created the Eiffle tower too.
Our last stop was the Tobacco factory. It is now a university and it is a beautiful building. And it is huge- 9000 people worked in it and they were all female too!
Ahh so much writing- feel free to skim over...
After the tour we went for lunch with the group for Moroccan pork. Then off to the alcazar palace. This was the palace of... It was brilliant. The design was again a mix of moorish, Christian and Islamic architecture. The most outstanding though was the gardens and they went on forever- not quite like Versailles forever but still long enough to be called forever. And there were orange trees everywhere! I decided it was necessary to steal a royal orange but I felt like I had disobeyed god after that... Eating the forbidden fruit... Oh there were also peacocks in the garden and I was somehow sexy enough to make one sprout his magnificent tail to us!
So being Australia day we of course had to celebrate and how better to celebrate than with a 12 euro liter of vodka? Well I know- how about add a pub crawl after that... And that is what they did. My fav part of the pub crawl was the salsa dance lessons at the beginning- probably because I was chosen to accompany the teacher- whom of course had all the moves. My second fav part was the second bar where there were a group of people on rollerblades??? My least fav part was the hangover the next morning...
Day 47: days in the sun
Another gorgeous day. I head out for breakfast with a new friend and enjoy the people watching game whilst the others head to the royal palace. There is no way I can be inside on a day like today! I stroll around the palace gardens. There is a Japanese style emerging with many little fountains and small bushes. I think for some reason that uncle joe would like this. I find another garden area and lie on a bench in the sun in front of a fountain. There are many many people about and every 30 minutes or so there is a parade in front of the palace with a band and soldiers and horses. But between the loud hoorahs, there are two musicians providing the perfect chill out tunes two benches down from me. So I lie there writing away listening and watching for over an hour until its time to meet the girls.
Eliza leaves us :( back to portugal but she says we are very welcome to come and stay with her in brazil. She says the Brazilian boys will go crazy for Hannah with her blonde hair and bun douw (big but).
We then head out for a googled 'best churros Madrid'. The hot choc sauce is a mug of melted dark choc. Omg my heaven... Usually but not when I'm feeling this hungover... It is quite sickening actually...
Then off to Seville. Our hostel is cool and full of Aussies and Americans of course. The hostel cooked us up some paella and sangria for dinner then it was cup of tea and bed for us.
Day 46: Toledo
Today we train to Toledo for the day- the old capital of Madrid. What an interesting place. There were three events i suppose to separate the eras in Toledo. First the community was Jewish so there is some evidence of Jewish buildings in the town. For example there are scratched out engravings where Jewish writings were written across the doors of houses. And some Jewish influenced architecture. But in the 15th century the Christians took over. And if you didn't convert to Christianity you were kicked out of Spain. So many families now are trying to trace back to see if they were actually Jewish decent. And some when they found they were tried to come back to Toledo to claim land. Some people find that they practice other Jewish traditions but are christian- indicating that they were forced to change somewhere down the line.
We met a man in a shop toward the end of the day who took us on a private tour- mainly because he wanted to set Eliza up with his son in Portugal... Anyway he worked for the council in Toledo. He was Jewish but his family had converted to Christian during the inquisition. He showed us the houses where Christians had scraped away the Jewish writing and the house of the richest Jew in Toledo at that time. He was so rich he had his own Rabi in his house! It was an absolutely ridiculous house.
Toledo was very pretty and there were gorgeous old ruins and castles all around the city even outside the city. But it was full of tourists. No one really lives there and there is only one school and university. Many of the houses are for sale and no one is buying them.
We visited the mosques and saw stunning views, ate Spanish omelettes in bocadillas (rolls), almost got locked on the university and almost missed our train back to Madrid. All in all it was a wonderful interesting history -filled day.
That evening I sat drinking 3.50 euro vino with a bunch of American, welsh, French and British travelers. We shared stories and advice and then hit the town true Spain style- going out at 1 am getting home at 6.30. However I missed the part where you have a sleep in and only managed 2 hours sleep...
Day 45: Tour and dine
Walking tour just for a change. Our guide is pretty funny. She's short and boisterous and worked at Disneyland for 6 months which may help explain her character as she had to wear a costume the whole time. So Madrid: the city has a lot of history but as I'm way behind in my writing I can't remember too much of it. The mist interesting part I found was the inquisition. During the 15th century I think when the Christians were killing off those who weren't Christian enough or who would not convert to Christianity. To show that you were a true Christian you weren't supposed to bathe more than twice a year- eww. Also during this time there weren't any toilets or a sewerage system so families would empty their buckets out of the window into the street! So all the men would wear long black coats so whenever someone yelled out that their buckets were coming down, pedestrians could throw their cloaks over to cover their entire body because if they got shit on them - well they couldn't shower could they?
Madrid became the capital of Spain only after the queen apparently requested the royal family move to a place less humid than Toledo (the old capital) because her hair was going out if control in the humidity of Toledo. What's history without it's stories...
However when everyone moved to Madrid there was not enough room or work for everyone. So the government introduced a type of tax for the madritians where they had to pay per number of rooms they had or they had to give a room for the newcomers to live in. This lead to 'malicious housing' where houses were built with windows at all different levels to obscure how many rooms and levels there actually were in the house so dwellers could avoid the tax.
After the tour Erica took us to a good local restaurant where we indulged in a bottle of wine, chorizo pasta, fish and calamari, endless amounts of crusty bread, pudding and espresso all for 9 euro. We sat chatting to Erica for hours enjoying the courses and the company of everyone on the walking tour.
Day 43: tapas, pinxos and pub crawl
Arriving in Madrid at lunchtime (spanish lunchtime-3pm) we head to a tapas bar and order delicious rounds of tapas sitting out in the sun in a little lane way people watching. Then we nap and then we wake up and go out for dinner. Ha ha yes eat sleep eat. This time we head to a bustling pinxos bar. People stand around the counter and order tapas on bread. There were so many to choose from and they were a very descent size. I couldn't go past the quail egg burger and the baby eels. There were hundreds of baby eels piled onto this piece of bread. I felt a little bad gobbling down the 3cm little suckers but soon got over it cos they were very tasty.
I should probs mention that we also died the ends I my hair pink but it was semi permanent and not as bright as I would have liked...
Then it was Madrid pub crawl time- why? Because rule number 3 states that every Saturday night we have to go out so off we go... Good fun of course but Hannah's jacket was stolen which put a bit of a damper on the night.
Day 44 continued: flamenco
That night we went to a flamenco show. It was in a tiny room with a small stage and small barrels to sit on. The whole experience was very intimate. We sat with our sangria and listened to a band of 2 guitar players and a singer. She had an amazing deep strong voice. They each stamped a foot and she clapped as well to keep the rhythm going. But the main form of keeping in time was watching each other, especially the 2 guitarists. They were looking intently at each other the entire time, reading the signals of what was to come. The dancer was absolutely beautiful. She would start tapping her feet to signal to the band that she will start dancing and this is when the singer would know to be quiet. Due to the informality of the show we were able to ask the performers questions. The dancer said often she improvises the moves - there is a lot of visual communication between dancer and musicians too. Of course the song was in Spanish but when we asked the story behind the music, she said there wasn't really one. It's about love and the town but there isn't really a flowing story. I found this a little disappointing at first but it's nice to be able to sing about different aspects of life without having to follow a story.
Day 44: sun baking
At breakfast we meet a Brazilian woman- Eliza. We like her immediately. She is 27 and studying in portugal for a year. She takes us to the biggest market I've ever seen and it has everything! It takes us a few hours to peruse. For lunch we google the best paella in Madrid and begin the hike. It is a bit of a let down to be honest but they do it properly- with the big pan and the service is good. My fav part of the day comes next. The glorious park and it is so sunny outside that the park is doubly beautiful doubly busy and doubly perfect. I lie in the sun on the grass in front of a lovely lake where tourists are rowing boats and lovers are being lovers. It feels so warm in the sun that soon I'm in a singlet- in the middle of winter! I never thought this would happen in this trip and as I am such a summer bumpkin this excited me- so much so that I fell asleep... Half an hour later I wondered through the park at a very leisurely pace. Everyone was rollerblading or doing skateboard tricks or jogging and enjoying the gorgeous Sunday afternoon. I said I'd meet the girls at one of the museums so I found them there but could not get in the mood to look at paintings so I left them there and headed back again at a very leisurely pace.
venerdì 27 gennaio 2012
Epic accidental discovery in Barcelona
We get off the train in Barcelona feet dragging and bleary eyed. Suddenly Liz yells out "Jess iovannella?" yep we have a screaming girls reunion at the train station. After the excitement dies down because we didn't know they were going to be here, we head to our hostels and arrange to meet later. Do later comes and we head off to find their hotel. The streets of Barcelona are a tad crazy. Men everywhere making comments as you walk past. After about an hour of wrong turns and asking people we find their hotel. We are jealous - a gigantic shower, beautiful beds, robes, buffet breakfast... They've pt it all. It's about 1 am and we're all pretty tired but excited to see each other so we go out for some late night tapas- true spanish style. The tapas are great- calamari, chicken, potato balls, frittata, salads, oil soaked bread and proscuitto, chorizo and tandoori accompanied of course by sangria. We are leaving the next morning for Madrid so again we separate and this time it's for good...until we get back to Melbourne anyway.
lunedì 23 gennaio 2012
Day 42: sitting on the train
I'm sitting on the train watching the beautiful French countryside drift past. It's a gorgeous sunny day and in thankful its early afternoon and daylight so I can actually see the scenery. It's not often we travel in the daylight.
This morning was gorgeous weather too and Montpellier is a gorgeous little town. It is 2 hours from Lyon in the south of France. It is also a university town with a large medical and commerce school so quite a young hip crowd and lots of trendy alley way bars and cafes. We were able to walk the city centre in about an hour so it's quite small but lovely. We stumbled upon a viewpoint where you could see the sea in the distance and the city and countryside too. However being extremely windy up there we couldn't admire for too long. We strolled the shops of course and then we found... Frog's legs! They are delicious- a bit of mix between chicken and fish and they had a lovely garlic butter sauce.
And I also purchased a dress for Fe's wedding. I wasn't even looking for a dress and I can't really fit anything else in my back pack but we saw it from outside and I tried it on and it's from France, 100% silk, on sale, it has ruffle and it has pink leopard print. It must be sounding pretty hideous at the moment but the girls let me buy it so it mustn't be too bad...
Day 41 continued: the unexpected zoo
We decide to visit the parc de tete Lyon next. It is 100 acres and is filled with green houses, botanical gardens, joggers, zig zagging paths and surprisingly a zoo! The zoo is open air and just part of the park so it's free to view the animals. There are deer, turtles, those Madagascar animals that look a bit like raccoons and live in the trees, buffalo type animals with big horns, flamingos! and pink pelicans! Liz's fun fact for the day flamingos are pink because of the food they eat- shrimp -so the pelicans have obviously been eating too much of the flamingos dinner!
We then went in search of frogs legs for an early dinner but no success - no one is open for an early dinner. We settle for pasta in a box :( it was good though and did the job. Last time up the hill then off to Montpellier.
We meet a businessman in the train. He is an environmental engineer or "the smiling bad guy" as he puts it. He seems like the kind of person who plays the good husband at home but a bit of a party goer when he travels- just the vibe we got from some of his stories. But a good chat and a nice person all the same. The interesting thing is he never learnt English. He taught himself by reading English books and watching movies. But his English was great. So that's all I need to do- watch la vita bella without subtitles and read Italian books...
Day 41: ferviere hill
I'm sitting on top of ferviere hill overlooking lyon. The notre dame cathedral of Lyon is looming just behind me. It's a misty day so it's hard to see all of the city but most of it is visible and beautiful. The mist makes it all seem mystical and even more foreign. A short walk away are the ruins from an amphitheater that was built in 51 BC and sat about 11 000 people. Below is a path winding down through a pretty little park to the town. It's all very prettily French.
Day 40: meeting strangers
Our hostel is half way up the hill that overlooks the city- ferviere it's called. We have a great view of the city from our window but it is a very misty morning so not much is visible. The church below - st jean looks eerie in the grey fog but it's very beautiful inside. The city is divided by two rivers into new town and old town. We are in old town. We hike across the river and up another hill to find one of the markets. It's much colder up here. But we resist the temptation of sitting in a restaurant for lunch and instead buy a rotating roast chicken, avocado and a baguette from the market. We sit in the park, tear our chicken apart and create delicious rolls with our hands. Lucky for the invention of wet wipes. By his point we are really freakin cold so we decide to head to "Lyon's legendary indoor market". It didn't look too far away on the map I swear... The indoor market is another food market which we didn't know but it's indoors so we sit and the girls drink an entire chalice of peppermint tea out of shot glasses with a side of mini macaroons. I'm feeling a bit worse for wear at this stage so whilst the others head to a shipping centre I head home back through the fresh pretty Lyon streets and back up the dreaded St jean hill to our hostel for epic nap time. This served me well and by 7pm we were out having dinner at an apparently very recommended and good French restaurant. I ordered black pudding otherwise known as the insides of a pig in a sausage form served with apple... It was very black looking but it tasted very good. We made friends with an English lecturer who travels around Europe and Asia guest lecturing technology of behavior. When he was kicked off his table we invited him to join us and had very academic conversations over two bottles of wine. Once he left the restaurant the table next to us of about 20 people wanted to practice their English and speak to the token Aussies too. Not enough of us to go around. Through pictionary and symbols they were able to tell us where and how to order frogs legs. After the restaurant we headed next door to the Irish pub because Madrid and Barcelona were playing- the 2 top teams. Again our English conversation drew attention and more of the French wanted to speak with us. This was unexpected because all we've heard is that most French people are snobby and rude and won't have a bar of it if you don't speak French. But the times they are a changin'.
Day 39: versailles
Wowza. This place is beautiful. Firstly I'd like to thank Paris for putting on another beautiful sunny day for us. But the palace is grand. The roofs are so detailed and in every room too! The whole time i was there i felt i should have been wearing a corset and a puff dress. But alas I was in jeans and hiking boots. The gardens are something else. They are 3.8 km long. I got lost in them and I loved it. There are lakes, fountains, statues, trees everywhere. The French style gardens are different. They have more stones than grass and not sure if it's just cos it's winter but there are no flowers. Also the fountains were not in use because the lakes were ices over! True fact. Hannah tried to break it with her foot but no success. The funniest site was the seagulls standing on the ice- Jesus style... (insert chuckle here). Having said all that the gardens were absolutely beautiful in a different way. I loved walking around snapping away.
We were very pushed for time in the end and had to speedy walk/ run to make it back to the hostel, collect bags and back to the station to get our train to lyon. We made it and here we are now. I am finally up to date- thanks 5 hour train ride! Oh our dinner should get a spesh mention cos we took our left over big bowl of pasta, pulled it out in the carriage, added some more sauce then all dug in and gobbled it on the train. The rest of our booth were jealous I could tell. Then we pulled out a half kilo tub of cus cus and repeated the process...
Day 38: Three - cheese fondue
Already the new hostel is in the good books- it has an elevator! But it also gives us breakfast so we fuel up for the day on croissants and coco pops. Then head around the city some more for more big impressive monuments. I love that you can turn a corner in Paris and run into a huge ancient beautiful building. We made many "accidental discoveries" which called for many accidental discovery dance performances. My fav was the pantheon for it was dedicated to me - saint Genevieve, the patron saint of France and my library was right next door- thanks ill be here until Thursday...
We also revised the louvre when it got dark and it was amazing. So many snaps! That night we searched hard for fondue. We almost gave it a miss for it was pricey but decided what the hell we're in Paris baby. So three- cheese fondue was Kaye's before us sizzling, along with different meats and bread- amazing. I love melted cheese and I love Paris.
Day 37: Giant pomme crown cake
We headed to Paris' biggest Sunday market. It was big and had everything. Lunch was market savoury crepes all around- mine with chorizo and cheese.
The crown cakes had been everywhere eyeing us from every pastry shop window so we gave in and bought a giant pomme (apple) cake. With it came a free bottle of cider. I also couldn't let down the custard flan that was yearning at me to eat it so that was pre-cake desert. The legend behind the cake is that there is a tile hidden in it and the person who gets the tile gets to wear the crown. Liz got it. All exciting stuff. The cake is only around at this time of the year so we felt pretty spesh gobbling down our giant pomme crown cake.
Sadly it was time for Jess and Leah to leave the wolf pack (and happily for us to change hostels). The parting of the ways happened at the metro station where we went one way and they the other- tear.
That night our trio went to sacre ceur at night. Gosh Paris- why are you so damn beaut at night- sparkly big things were everywhere!
giovedì 19 gennaio 2012
Day 36: exploding snails
Big day of site seeing. Arc di triumph- the monument erected in memory off all the soldiers who had fought in each of the wars the French had encountered. A delicious market where delicious choc flan was purchased and demolished by none other than myself. The Eiffel tower soon to be nicknamed the eifs. Many many photos including romantic shots for those missing their loves ones ie Jess. Then to napoleons tomb which was gold but not that impressive- in leah's words "my pastry was better than this". Then the catacombs. What an interesting place. There was an overcrowded cemetery where masses of graves were piled on top of one another so it was decided that the graves would be dug up and moved. The workers arranged the millions of bones in arrays underground. There were so so so so so many bones it is too hard to comprehend how many people were actually there. It was spooky and dank and odd. The bones dated back from the 1700s through to the 1900s and with some you could tell. They were rotting. Tunnel after tunnel after tunnel all filled with piles and rows and rows of bones.
Having had enough of that we walked on in search of herme's famous macaroons. Along the way we turned a corner and boom Paris by night in your face. The arc, the eifs, the ferris wheel, the whole city all lit up for us to wow at and wow we did. Every hour the tower sparkles it's lights and we were just in time to witness it. I could have stood there for ages but macaroons were calling...
We didn't find herme but we found another just as famous apaz- they were good my fav flavour is salted caramel. We then hiked to the moulin rouge to dance and sing diamonds are a girls best friend out the front. It's pretty minute really.
Tonight was also the last night as a quintet so we went put for a French fiesta to an authentic French restaurant. We were the only English speaking customers and the life of the party really. We all had different types of duck. Mine had cheese and ham and mushrooms and scallop potatoes in a big cheesy stew and was absolutely delicious. We also had escargot. However one was evidently still alive as when the sizzling plate was put on the table it exploded and popped right out of it's dish splattering snail juice all over Liz! What an experience. We stayed in the restaurant chatting to the waiters until midnight and finally decided it was domire time.
Day 35: Walking with philipe
We met philipe on the steps of le opera. He was touring us on theatre, fashion and history in a pink vest- need I say more?
He was great. He told us stories of king Luis and Napoleon among others. The opera house was built by Napoleon and was used by the public to gather and share gossip. He showed us the street where the most expensive jewelry was sold- they didn't even have price tags on their items cos if you ask the price you can't afford it so we window shopped. We also stood in the square where the most expensive living quarters are as well as the Ritz hotel which costs 45 000 euro per night!!! Wtf? Some of the best designer lables were either side of us. We also went to the royal Gardens and learnt that back in the day these were open to the public with the exception that you had to look nice to enter them. This started a new trade- selling smart attire along the garden gates!
The gardens were lovely esp on this sunny Paris day. We frolicked and chased a man who was jogging inan orange t shirt and matching knee-highs for a photo. We looked at a beaut fountain that was ruined by the image of a man peeing in it and then drinking from it... Yes that happened. We strolled through the Louvre admiring, then to notre dame to start a second tour with philipe- the notre dame tour.
The building is impressive. It is the biggest church in Paris after all. It's interesting how due to the fact that it took do long to build, you can see the change in architecture style as you go up the building and as your eyes move over it front to back. The front of the church displays lessons regarding good and evil, virtues and velocies, heaven and hell. Women were not allowed to enter the church in the early days for they were considered the devil. The church is gothic style with gargoyles and spikes decorating the towers. Another noteworthy is that the doors were designed to be separated with a post between them so one could not enter through the middle of the doorway. Entering to one side ensures he leaves his ego behind. However a door to the side was created for the king to enter which was not separated. This door is today, ironically, is the VIP entry...
mercoledì 18 gennaio 2012
Day 34: beautiful sacre ceur
Morning stroll to sample more chocolate before leaving the country of chocolate. Then check out time to depart for Paris. We thought it would be a short way to the station but it was not so. Crush got heavier and heavier with each step. We ha to stop half way for falafals. Tots worth the journey though. This place came with a self serve salad bar so I kept topping up my falafal pita with all the different types of salads and sauces until the girls told me we had to get a move on. So off to the station with crush again- but with a lot more energy this time cos we were full!
We arrived in Paris in the afternoon and I was in love with its weather straight away. The sun was shining and I felt a bit hot walking! Imagine that!
After checking in we strolled to sacre ceur. However our hostel was not in the friendliest most beautiful part of town. So walking the streets did not feel safe even with 5 of us together! The men were standing around because no one works. They spit all the time and there is spit all over the footpath but this is all over Paris. We don't understand how they have that much phlegm!
Anyway we got to sacre ceur in one piece and what a site. The view of Paris was gorgeous. What a gigantic city with big things popping up everywhere. The church was impressive too but the guy climbing the light pole and performing soccer ball tricks up there was more impressive! We got our first glimpse of the Eiffel tower too.
Cooked up some pasta and 1 kilo of broccoli for dinner as well as a traditional French entree of cheese and bread.
Our 1st hostel in Paris
This deserves it's own section because it was quite unique. Firstly it was atop a bar. The bar was the common room, the reception, the dining room if you please. There were no elevators. Han, Liz and I were on the top floor. That is the 7th floor. That is also 120 steps up a narrow winding staircase. Our bunk was a triple bunk and my knee banged the roof if I lifted my foot up whilst lying down. If we weren't in bed only 1 person could fit in the room. We had to turn sideways to enter the shower. But it does not end there. The hostel has a 24 hour check in so poor Leah and Jess got not 1 but 2 late night visitors who proceeded to get it on in the small room and then she vomited! Not the best hostel experience really. I say you've got to experience the shit ones to appreciate hostels cos they're all pretty scrappy really. We moved hostels.
Day 33: bike riding
We were told that the flea market was best at 6am. So we alarmed ourselves at 6 am and walked 30 mins in the fresh (and still black) morning air to the flea market. They were still setting up the lazy things and it looked pretty poor actually- old antique treasures... Or old antique crap whichever way you want to look at it. We sat at a nearby cafe and had coffee instead. It seemed this was what all the sellers were doing too for it was full of old men. Due to the intensity of having 5 girls together all the time we decided to split for the day. The iovannellas headed off in one direction and the bass, han and gen in the other. We headed home first for a hearty bowl of muesli but unfortunately when we bought milk last night we accidentally purchased butter milk - it tasted crap basically. The muesli was ruined. I put coffee in it and ate it anyway.
We then decided a self walking tour was in order. The first place visited was unfortunately the dodgy part of town and not so pretty. It was where the shipping used to take place.
However we did happen to walk past some hire bikes so on this perfect sunny Brussels day we rode of to the other sites and found that Brussels is actually a beautiful place.
We rode to some gardens which were mega and awesome and the royal palace was at the tip just to top it off. We had mass photo time on another pretty park with a lake and water feature. We got super hot riding up hills on shitty bikes. We bought delish fresh bread and salad and made rolls in the park befriending the ducks. We walked some more then to the palace of justice and a surrounding gorgeous view of Brussels. We also visited some churches of course. And dad i may have found the carpark and the cafe near the church where you and mum spent the night and ate brussel sprouts but there are so many churches that one can never be sure. Then we went back to grand square to admire it in daylight. We didn't think it could get better but it did. In the light you were able to see all the detail of the carvings and statues. A little street off grand square had numerous chocolate shops and we self chocolate toured these obtaining free and bought samples in each!
That night we went out for beer at a place famous for it's friendly service, home brew, sour beer and flavored beer. I had a peach flavored beer and it tasted sweet like cider. Me like peach beer and it came in a big glass. We also tried the sour beer- not so much like there though. It tasted like warhead lollies- the blue flavour.
After beer of course comes waffles so we found the apparent best waffles place. They were three times as much as the street vendors but they were three times better. Mine had hot choc sauce and icing sugar.
Day 32: waffles and beer
A morning stroll was in order so han and I strolled through the gardens. Three of us found an "accidental discovery" market on morning stroll number 2. We left for Brussels then but our journey was interrupted when the Belgium train staff decided to go on strike. Thus we had time to walk the main street of Antwerp - unfortunately with the accompaniment of crush (and the other packs). An hour later we were back on the train to Brussels.
Brussels is cool. We wasted no time in exploring. It was night time the first time we saw grand square but it was grand all the same and we were super impressed being encased by looming grand buildings. It was not an uncomfortable encasing nor intimidating, just awing and impressive. The next thing we saw (and couldn't pass off) were Belgium waffles. Warm, fresh, scrumptious. Then it was dinner time. It was difficult to miss the Lygon street - style eateries and too much to pass up the offer of a 12.50 three-course meal with a bargained deal of including extra desert, a glass of vino and a coffee. Entree was prawns, main grilled fish and desert waffles again but with hot choc sauce and cream + choc mousse. Delightful way to end the day. Liz and Jess were sleepy as but the rest of us went across the road to a pub that had 25 beers on tap. Pretty impressive and a difficult choice!
domenica 15 gennaio 2012
Day 31: Rotterdam
Up early to walky walk. It was still dark at 7 am so walking past the old beautiful museum with the moon shining through the naked trees added an eerie medieval feel. I walked for about 45 mins admiring the sites i hadn't yet seen and accidentally discovered.
We then went to Rotterdam for the day- the second largest city of the Netherlands. Rotterdam was hit very heavily during the war and the city has to be rebuilt. In stark contrast to all the other European cities we had visited, it was extremely new and modern. There was interesting architecture all over the place. We did a self walking tour and played (again like 4 yr olds) on the boats. We shopped too of course and then headed back to amsty. On the way home we had apple flavoured sheesha at a cafe.
Day 30: heineken- you do it to us every time
Today we get up late and hannah and i go out for an epic bacon, eggs/ the lot brekky which lead to much happiness. Then we all went on the Heineken tour. This is something I recommend doing in amsterdam. The heineken family were/ are very environmentally and economically conscious. It seems they are very aware of the well being of their company employees and there were so many government awards displayed- they just seem like genuinely good people so of course we're going to go out and buy some heineken now- good marketing I say. We were taught how to appreciate and drink beer properly- you need to take a big gulp rather than a sip so you don't taste the bitterness of the froth first up. We also learnt the main components of beer and how to vary the process to get different brews. All very interesting. The best part was the 'ride' where we got the chance to be 'brewed' like beer. It was a 4d movie and it was epic fun being churned and sprayed and bubbled! We were definitely behaving like 4 year olds on red cordial. Oh and the coasters that popped up on the electronic tables when you put your glass on it- heineken you do it to us every time!
That night we went out to a local restaurant for dinner and pointed to what we wanted. I had a delicious pork in gravy roll. The owners were adorable. After that it was desert time of course and then a stroll around the canals- super romantic. Love Amsty.
Day 29: Self touring Amsty
I got up nice an early (surprise) and strolled up to the floating flower markets - not impressive at all really. Then purchased breakfast goods from the supermarket for the masses. After brekky we walked to meet the free city tour guides but were too late and missed the tour so instead we downloaded an amsterdam app that had a guided walking tour- it was brills, super informative. Amsterdam is a great city. There are so many bridges and canals it reminded me of venice without the ridiculously narrow dead-ended confusing streets. The vibe is cool and reminded me a bit of melbourne- esp brunswick st. Everyone rides bikes and dresses a little indie. There is a ridiculous number of bikes thrown into the canals and left at the bottom each year... Among other things. I think I could live in Amsterdam. It's full of tourists but most of the time I felt quite safe and welcomed and everyone spoke English which is always helpful. After our tour of the main attractions including statues and churches of course, we shopped around and then headed back to get ready for Hannah's second birthday- the red light district pub crawl. This was fun. The red light district is interesting. We didn't expect the women to be so young and attractive but the ones with the window positions definitely were. Who knows what lies behind the scenes though... We learnt that the red lights were for women and the blue lights were lady boys- take your pick! The funniest scene was when a man walked out of one of the clubs and was cheered by absolutely everyone in the street! Apart from that there's not that much I remember from the night. Oh actually I might have had a dance off at some stage...
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