Nice!
Well, we departed Switzerland, just as the mist and cloud lifted, revealing the true beauty of our campground. We had breakfast in Switzerland, lunch in Italy and dinner once again in France. We drove through one of the longest tunnels in Europe - 18kms or so. The amazing thing was that they started building it 300 years ago!!
Nice was very nice! A coastal holiday town on the med - a blend of really old buildings mixed with the new. We were warned to keep a very close eye on our belongings as we pulled up to the bus stop. The bus driver said that he had occasions where scumbags had climbed on the coach as people were getting off to steal what they could! For this reason, one person from the trip had to guard the door anytime the bus was open. Despite being told to be careful, we did not see any crime in this town.
The tour leader, Heather, told us that if were to swim in the Med, we would find it very salty. A few of us scoffed at this. Later in the day, as we scrambled down the pebble (well rock) beach - first time I had ever seen a beach that did not have sand - and plunged into the freezing cold water, we realised she was right! The water was that salty, it aided floatation! It was very clear and cold - a pity the sun was not out, otherwise it would have looked magical. We dragged ourselves out of the water and lay rather uncomfortably on the rocks drying off. Not many people were in the water that day - only the tourists!
Here is a link regarding Nice: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nice
Nice is very close to a range of famous towns and cities - Cannes - you may have heard of the film festival - as well as the principality of Monaco. We went to Monaco for the night - it was only about a 30 minute drive from where we were staying. Like Switzerland, it also was a fairytale town - more so for it’s man made beauty and the way it hugs the steep shore line. Here is a link to check out - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaco
We drove past billion dollars worth of yachts and motor vehicles as we approached the casino. The amount of money in this town was amazing, The buildings were pristine, no graffiti in sight and no litter on the ground. The casino was just like any other casino I have ever seen - admittedly, I did not go into the main one - you needed to pay a 10 Euro cover charge just to enter! The “paupers” casino was set downstairs - even still it was very plush.
All in all, this was a very beautiful part of the world! We departed Nice early on the second morning and stopped at a perfumery - very interesting place to see . We were now on our way to Florence - which will be my next update!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The Switzerland Section
Alas, I can not seem to get my video camera recharged, so the promised vids are still not ready for presentation. The weather here has turned and the "summer" days are almost equal to a cold winters day in Brissy! As well as it being my Dad's birthday, this Sunday is going to be the longest day of the year - there is some excitement - but also disappointment - cos it means we are on the slide to winter! Enough of this - on to the Switzerland part of the trip!
SWITZERLANDI would vote this place as the most magical country in the world! We stayed in a valley in Lauterbrunnen - about 72 waterfalls pour into the valley - it was magical! There is a big rock filled river flowing down the middle of the valley. We had got there just after the winter melt, so it looked spectacular! The only problem was that it was raining and a little bit overcast - but that did not dampen the mood or the spirits. Here is a link to it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauterbrunnen
Walking through the green meadows, all you could hear were cows and sheep with their bells a-ringing. Apparently, they have these so they can be found in the fog/snow. A lot of the houses in the valley were made from pine and some where even built round about 1750! Unfortunately, or cabins were very small - we had to have 4 people in each cabin - you could not swing a cat in there - yet alone bend down to pull your socks on! One of the girls from Canberra had an unfortunate snoring problem - as soon as the bus took off, her head would be nodding and her snores would echo up the aisle. I had the misfortune of being placed next to her cabin - the snores reverberated through the wall and woke all of us up....
We needed to change our Euros to Swiss Francs - this was the only country we needed to do this in, so it was not too painful. We bought beers from their local general store - in front of it - was a cold little mountain stream that came from one of the waterfalls - the stream eventually fed into the main river. We were encouraged to leave our beers in the stream to chill them down! It was awesome. Also, if you stood still for long enough, big trout would swim out of the drain pipe and among the beer!
Had a bit of a bender at the bar on our first night in - got to bed at about 2am. We got up early the next morning and again had the choice of a couple of optionals - I decided to jump on the train that takes us to the top of the tallest mountain in Europe - Mt Jungfrau - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungfrau . Our guide warned us that some people may suffer altitude sickness. I scoffed at the thought and eagerly awaited the train to take us up!
We stopped at a few mountain side towns on the way up - I expected to see Heidi come bouncing round the corner with a basketful of daisies. Still feeling OK - despite a little bit of a hangover.
We stop at a look out half way up - still feeling fine - unfortunately, there was a white out, which meant we had no views at all. We continued the trip to the top - and as soon as I got off the train, it hit me!! It felt like I was walking in space or under water. My heart was beating abnormally fast and it felt like I would faint. Several other people who got off the train were affected in the same manner. We walked through the big complex at the top of the mountain - and I felt worse and worse. All I wanted to do was get back down to the valley. Again, it was a white out on top, so the spectacular views which the brochures promised were not seen :(
I started to spark up on the descent back into the valley and was back in beer drinking spirits by the time I got back to camp. The little bar encouraged people to write on coasters and then hang them on the roof - my contribution was:
Pat a sheep, milk a cow
See the sights of Mt Jungfrau
Just don't do it if you are weak
Return to camp, beers chilled in the creek
Hit the bar, become a wreck
Enjoy your tour with Topdeck!
After two days here, I've decided it's definitely going to be a place to visit again - this thought was reinforced as we left the country to go to Nice (back in France) - driving past massive mountain ranges and glistening green lakes.
Enough for now - the next part will be about nice Nice!!
SWITZERLANDI would vote this place as the most magical country in the world! We stayed in a valley in Lauterbrunnen - about 72 waterfalls pour into the valley - it was magical! There is a big rock filled river flowing down the middle of the valley. We had got there just after the winter melt, so it looked spectacular! The only problem was that it was raining and a little bit overcast - but that did not dampen the mood or the spirits. Here is a link to it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauterbrunnen
Walking through the green meadows, all you could hear were cows and sheep with their bells a-ringing. Apparently, they have these so they can be found in the fog/snow. A lot of the houses in the valley were made from pine and some where even built round about 1750! Unfortunately, or cabins were very small - we had to have 4 people in each cabin - you could not swing a cat in there - yet alone bend down to pull your socks on! One of the girls from Canberra had an unfortunate snoring problem - as soon as the bus took off, her head would be nodding and her snores would echo up the aisle. I had the misfortune of being placed next to her cabin - the snores reverberated through the wall and woke all of us up....
We needed to change our Euros to Swiss Francs - this was the only country we needed to do this in, so it was not too painful. We bought beers from their local general store - in front of it - was a cold little mountain stream that came from one of the waterfalls - the stream eventually fed into the main river. We were encouraged to leave our beers in the stream to chill them down! It was awesome. Also, if you stood still for long enough, big trout would swim out of the drain pipe and among the beer!
Had a bit of a bender at the bar on our first night in - got to bed at about 2am. We got up early the next morning and again had the choice of a couple of optionals - I decided to jump on the train that takes us to the top of the tallest mountain in Europe - Mt Jungfrau - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungfrau . Our guide warned us that some people may suffer altitude sickness. I scoffed at the thought and eagerly awaited the train to take us up!
We stopped at a few mountain side towns on the way up - I expected to see Heidi come bouncing round the corner with a basketful of daisies. Still feeling OK - despite a little bit of a hangover.
We stop at a look out half way up - still feeling fine - unfortunately, there was a white out, which meant we had no views at all. We continued the trip to the top - and as soon as I got off the train, it hit me!! It felt like I was walking in space or under water. My heart was beating abnormally fast and it felt like I would faint. Several other people who got off the train were affected in the same manner. We walked through the big complex at the top of the mountain - and I felt worse and worse. All I wanted to do was get back down to the valley. Again, it was a white out on top, so the spectacular views which the brochures promised were not seen :(
I started to spark up on the descent back into the valley and was back in beer drinking spirits by the time I got back to camp. The little bar encouraged people to write on coasters and then hang them on the roof - my contribution was:
Pat a sheep, milk a cow
See the sights of Mt Jungfrau
Just don't do it if you are weak
Return to camp, beers chilled in the creek
Hit the bar, become a wreck
Enjoy your tour with Topdeck!
After two days here, I've decided it's definitely going to be a place to visit again - this thought was reinforced as we left the country to go to Nice (back in France) - driving past massive mountain ranges and glistening green lakes.
Enough for now - the next part will be about nice Nice!!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Looking for Work in London....
Well, as you can all tell, I have been very slack in filling in my blog and keeping you all updated. Now that I am back in London - looking for work - albeit slowly - will use this time to bring you up to speed about my travels.....
I think the easiest way to do this will be to break it into each city I visited. I do have some vids of each place which I will eventually upload to you tube and can then pop the links in the blog. So, without further ado, lets talk about Paris!
PARIS
We caught the bus to Dover from London - alas the white cliffs were covered with white fog, so the views were not that great. The ferry ride over was pretty cool - serving beer at the bar! I did not realise how far away Paris was from the coast line - about 6 hours after touching down, the bus pulled into the outskirts of the city. We rocked up to our hotel - and were a little disappointed with the size and quality of the place - but given it was our first day on tour, we were excited!
We did a bus tour of the city on the first night - got to get out at some of the major land marks and see them in their lit up glory. We ran into a heap of black conmen - referred to as “string men” - they try and grab your hand as you walk past and tie a friendship band to it - they then make you buy it.
The next day was ours to spend doing what we wanted - we climbed the tower - ie walked up to the second platform, before catching the lift to the top. Great view from there! After that, Mark and a new girl we met called Rachel braved the Metro train and went out to the catacombs - there is an ossuary (a display of human bones) in the cavern as well - which was awesome to see. The catacombs apparently spread for hundreds of kms under the city - only a little part of it is open to the public. You walk through a series of tunnels with dripping water (and very cool temps) before you come to the first part of the bone displays - unbelievable to think the whole display is made up of bones that used to be humans that lived their lives! Read more information about them at this link!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Paris
We left Rachel and we went into the back streets to a tapas bar - yeah - I know - why eat Spanish in Paris?? Had a great coffee though! We then headed back to the Arc de Triomphe - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe
This sits in the middle of one of the craziest roundabouts I have ever seen - when I get my camera charged, will put some vid of it online - we climbed it and stayed up there for a while watching the city traffic.
We then walked down one of the lardy-dar streets - and saw a riot - students laying in the street causing traffic chaos. Within a few minutes, the French riot police turned up in about 8 big paddy wagons - they looked like imperial storm troopers - with a few swings of their batons, the rebel rousers were soon moved on. We followed the riot march to the Arc - again I got some vid footage of the paddy wagons - so will put some on line when I get a chance.
Had a champagne picnic in the evening under the shadow of the tower - pity it had been raining though, since the picnic was outside!! Was pretty weird to watch the French military guarding the base of the tower, walking round with machine guns.
Six of us made the mistake of choosing to do one of the optionals the tour offers - it was to see a cabaret show - very much aimed at tourists - and was certainly not authentically French. We left it very disappointed that we wasted our money - we voted this as the worst optional when we filled in our end of trip survey.
Well, I have about another 10 cities to blog about - so stay tuned! In the mean time, we are looking for jobs - and then it will be looking for a unit to live in.
Adios!
Matt
I think the easiest way to do this will be to break it into each city I visited. I do have some vids of each place which I will eventually upload to you tube and can then pop the links in the blog. So, without further ado, lets talk about Paris!
PARIS
We caught the bus to Dover from London - alas the white cliffs were covered with white fog, so the views were not that great. The ferry ride over was pretty cool - serving beer at the bar! I did not realise how far away Paris was from the coast line - about 6 hours after touching down, the bus pulled into the outskirts of the city. We rocked up to our hotel - and were a little disappointed with the size and quality of the place - but given it was our first day on tour, we were excited!
We did a bus tour of the city on the first night - got to get out at some of the major land marks and see them in their lit up glory. We ran into a heap of black conmen - referred to as “string men” - they try and grab your hand as you walk past and tie a friendship band to it - they then make you buy it.
The next day was ours to spend doing what we wanted - we climbed the tower - ie walked up to the second platform, before catching the lift to the top. Great view from there! After that, Mark and a new girl we met called Rachel braved the Metro train and went out to the catacombs - there is an ossuary (a display of human bones) in the cavern as well - which was awesome to see. The catacombs apparently spread for hundreds of kms under the city - only a little part of it is open to the public. You walk through a series of tunnels with dripping water (and very cool temps) before you come to the first part of the bone displays - unbelievable to think the whole display is made up of bones that used to be humans that lived their lives! Read more information about them at this link!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Paris
We left Rachel and we went into the back streets to a tapas bar - yeah - I know - why eat Spanish in Paris?? Had a great coffee though! We then headed back to the Arc de Triomphe - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe
This sits in the middle of one of the craziest roundabouts I have ever seen - when I get my camera charged, will put some vid of it online - we climbed it and stayed up there for a while watching the city traffic.
We then walked down one of the lardy-dar streets - and saw a riot - students laying in the street causing traffic chaos. Within a few minutes, the French riot police turned up in about 8 big paddy wagons - they looked like imperial storm troopers - with a few swings of their batons, the rebel rousers were soon moved on. We followed the riot march to the Arc - again I got some vid footage of the paddy wagons - so will put some on line when I get a chance.
Had a champagne picnic in the evening under the shadow of the tower - pity it had been raining though, since the picnic was outside!! Was pretty weird to watch the French military guarding the base of the tower, walking round with machine guns.
Six of us made the mistake of choosing to do one of the optionals the tour offers - it was to see a cabaret show - very much aimed at tourists - and was certainly not authentically French. We left it very disappointed that we wasted our money - we voted this as the worst optional when we filled in our end of trip survey.
Well, I have about another 10 cities to blog about - so stay tuned! In the mean time, we are looking for jobs - and then it will be looking for a unit to live in.
Adios!
Matt
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