European Tour (FRANCE)

Where to start...

Day 1 was ok. Met a few people, felt a little out of place but everyone soon got talkin. Took the ferry from Dover to France and from there traveled the 8ish hrs to Paris. The countryside of France is absolutely stunning but, like most places, once you get to the cities the scenery isn't that appealing. It was absolutely INSANE in the way of driving. they literally have no lines on the roads in 'some' parts.

Didn't really even feel like I was in another country until we did a bus tour by night where we saw the Arc de Triumph (or whatever it's called) and the Eiffel tower lit up. The traffic was again MAD/INSANE (I would fit right in). Sparkle-thingys went off at 11pm? from the Eiffel tower so it was really awesum.

The people are as arrogant and scary as they're described. I was hit on (aggressively) and insulted by 4 different people in one day.

the streets are crawling with black-french sales guys calling out 'Bling-bling' and rattling gigantic key rings full of metal Eiffel tower souvenirs. There are also swarms of black 'string-men' in some dodgy areas that 'apparently' con you into being entertained by their 'string-trick' (which is ultimately them trapping your fingers so they can nick your wallet. didn't see anyone get their stuff stolen but we did get surrounded by them. One girl in our group got too close and when he approached her she squealed really loud and bolted away down the street.

Probably wouldn't go back but the countryside is definitely worth a look and the sightseeing is really captivating by night.

We went to a cabaret show full of French boobies. Michael (another guy on the tour) even got kissed by one of the cross-dresser waiters - was AWESUM!!! I got a little sloshed on the free wine and we had a crazy party on the bus ride back.

Also watched a French cartoon and drama series which were both funny, stupid and disturbing lol.

Hopefully will get another good stop with internet and free time to upload my photos.

Au Revoir!

Days 5-6

Had my 1st mini-meltdown yesterday as there was an unexplainable purchase on my credit card for $245!!! First of all I'm a tight-ass so I know 'exactly' where & when my $$$ is going. Secondly, I've been making sure to use my UK debit card for all purchases in case I don't have internet access & can't pay off the credit card.

Turns out the hotel I stayed at for the first 3 nights, has charged me twice. Once on my credit card (what I used to book the room), and the second time was when I payed with my UK Debit card.

In the process of ringing them back (I have to wait until specific times 'apparently'). Also (thanks to IT and overall guru 'Dad'), I now have unlocked my mobile for FREE (I'm starting to like this word more & more). Fiddly process with dodgy looking codes, but managed  :)

My UK number is now up & running.

Met a girl (Sandy) yesterday who took me down to the British Museum with her. I'm not big on history but the real corpses and skeletons were cool  ;) I also noticed that all the statues of naked guys had no peckers? Lol. I will post up the piccys sometime in the next wk (assuming I'll have time on my tour).

I was starving and she wanted Chinese food (which I'm always up for). I wasn't, however, up for the 2hr hike through the city lost & looking for China Town  :(  Cost us 18 pounds total for fried rice, a chicken dish and a extra vegetable side dish. (Which I 'think' is pretty good?)

Also met a Danish/Australian guy who was kind enough to give me heaps of tips for my tour. E.g. "Nightclubs" are stripclubs/prostitution houses, and "Danceclubs" are what we would call nightclubs.

Would make some joke about getting a job, but apparently the pay is shit - you get a "night" with the lady of your choice for literally the price of a $50 beer. You can actually buy them the beer as well - you don't actually have to give them the $50. (I don't even like beer) lol.

Having today off as I'm completely knackered and need to repack my bags so I don't have to leave stuff behind on my tour.

Chow darlings

xo

Days 3-5

So I’ve officially had my first bout of true English weather & surprisingly – I actually liked it. Australia has this nasty sting to the cold and by lunchtime you’re stripping off because it’s too hot. England is just this constant, but not unbearable, cold. I’m assuming I’ll change my mind once November swings around brr... lol.

Seeing as the train was out of service and I didn’t trust myself not to get lost jumping across transfers and buses, I went to Osterley Park. Basically it’s this huge chunk of land to explore.

I surprisingly had fun exploring the grounds with Nutsy & the duck poo – lots of duck poo.

I also got my first view of English towns/streets. It’s pretty much exactly like in the movies. Identical, charred brick houses lined nice and close together.

Food seems pretty expensive here. I exchanged $50 AUS for pounds & it seems I’ve blown half of it on breakfast & lunch (for 1 day)   :s

It seems I’m also hooked on Panini’s. Their cappuccinos are also huge. You have a choice between medium & large and the medium is big enough that I can’t even wrap my hands completely around it lol.

Got my UK mobile number only to find my phone isn’t unlocked & therefore useless. London was nice – kinda like any city but prettier. The buildings are older and more Victorian looking – all lined with vibrant purple flower window boxes.

The parks are the most noticeable thing of all (that and the weather). Their weeds are patches of small and bright white, yellow or purple flowers.

Went exploring/wandering (glad I’m in no hurry for the amount of times I’ve had to double back coz I was lost) lol. The streets are annoying. They don’t run in straight lines like in Aus. & the street signs aren’t on posts at the end of each corner, they’re these measly signs pinned to the sides of random buildings. I also found that the exact same/never changing street will have three names. The first unchanged 100m will be Pentonville, the next 200m Gray Inns Rd??? Wtf?

Getting very fit & thin very fast. I walk everywhere (including 2hrs of getting lost & retracing my steps), & I’m living off 2 meals a day. Thanks to the hostel I’m in at the moment – breakfast is free.

Went wandering down to Buckingham Palace & missed the ‘Changing of the Guards’ by only seconds, because (wait for it) – I was heading in the wrong DIRECTION! Took a few happy snaps around the area, including Big Ben & saw my first ever squirrel and goose?

Got up at 4am today (Tues), bounced down to my FREE breakfast and made friends with a few people getting ready to depart for their own Topdeck tours that morning.

After breakfast (6am) I walked 2hrs down and around to Shakespeare’s Dome thingy? Was pretty nice. Because of the early time, I was the only one there (+ a security guard and a small performing arts group). Security cameras everywhere so I was too intimidated to do any crazy stunts/poses up on the stage lol. Got lost on the way back (how unusual) and my 2hr hike back turned into 3.

Unless I get super bored tomorrow, I think I’ll take it easy and just lie in all day. Gotta rest up for my Topdeck Tour Thurs!!!

London Tomorrow!

So I've decided to get off my lazy ass & finally go into the city. It didn't help that the tube & trains were undergoing maintenance the whole weekend so I'd have had to do so many transfers & buses I was sure to get lost.

But Mon I 'have' to go in. Not only for myself but for my interview. This is the interview where they'll help setup a bank account for me, give me my UK SIM mobile number, etc, etc.

This is in Piccadilly and only takes up 2hrs of my morning so I may as well make the most of it and go exploring. Have no real plan or idea of what I should prioritise to see.

So - any suggestions?

Note: Once I get a map I should have no probs lol

Tomorrow?

Ok so this weekend, the Tube doesn't run into London. It'll only go a few stops then I'll have to bus it 5 stops closer before I can get on again.

So I'm unsure about what to do?

Should I risk getting lost and wasting money on transport mistakes? Or should I stay in and eat, watch tv, and use the internet.

There isn't anything around except the airport, but should I just go for a wander around? See what's 2hrs down the rd other than the airport? Maybe I should do abit of both?

Let me know what you think?

:)

Flighty Friends

On the flight over I made friends with the girl next to me named Amber. After all this talk about ending up next to a fat, perverted guy, I ended up with her  J After talking for awhile, she explained that she was doing a long tour with the same touring company as me, in the same week! (What are the odds?) She was also staying at the same hostel as me in the lead up to her tour.

Her tour is tomorrow though and mine is on Thursday, meaning we probably won’t cross paths again, but the odds of ending up next to someone with such similar plans is amazing.

The guy sitting in front of us, Phil, was also really nice. He must’ve been the only person on the entire flight who bothered to turn around and ask me if it was alright to recline his seat back lol. He was from the UK (and you could tell by his accent), but he had impressively sounded Aussie in the start of his sentences.

At our Singapore stop over, where the penalty for drugs is DEATH, Amber had fun learning about the different types of toilets offered ===>

At our other stopover in Abu Dhabi, we all clambered onto the back of a random gold camel near our gate?

 

·         All pics are posted under ‘Arrival’ (Picasa)

Plane Trip

So Etihad was nice, pretty comfortable and didn’t play havoc with my claustrophobia. But I don’t think any plane in any class would be comfortable enough for the long distance haul I did. You get headaches, queues for toilets, too cold from air conditioning, defiantly need to use your neck pillow after 10hrs, & it doesn’t matter how far back you recline or how you snuggle down – it’s not comfortable.
I watched practically every movie they had, but my fatigue made it hard to focus. Everything sounds a little muffled from your ears constantly popping and towards the end I began to feel a little sick on the stomach.
Upon walking around and/or getting off of the plane, the ground seems to have a mind of its own and likes to sway beneath you – like still having your sea legs after getting off a boat.
 On a more positive note; I’m sure any other airline would’ve been far worse and they liked to feed you every 2hrs, which was great & the food was excellent as well  :)

ARRIVAL!

Ok so I arrived yesterday at 5am (2pm Aus. time). I was on the brink of total ‘real’ exhaustion. No sleep (except for 1 hour of broken sleep on the plane) since I left Brisbane. So basically no sleep for 30+hrs   :s

After getting out of Heathrow and onto the tube (surprisingly easy – just like when I had to train it to uni in Brisbane), I got off at Hatton Cross. From there, all I had to do was walk across the road and 2mins further down the street “straight ahead”. But instead of opening my exhausted eyes, I turned right and travelled, in my trendy boots and billions of kilos worth of luggage, 30 mins in the opposite direction. After a change of shoes (to runners), I decided to head back to the station from which I could see the hotel – was not impressed with my groggy directions.

The weather was surprisingly pleasant. Blue skies with moderate clouding. It was supposedly 6˚ when I arrived but it wasn’t that cold – just... ‘crisp’. It could’ve been all that trekking around though that warmed me up. The wind was the only thing icy but it lacked the biting edge that the Australian winter wind has (which was nice). The sun also didn’t threaten to burn your face off like in Australia, even when not behind the clouds; the sun seemed a little – ‘dull’? (Again, this was quite pleasant).

Anyway after a shower and a quick (& slightly delirious call from the parents) I slept for 15hrs straight. I’ve noticed I’m extremely thirsty too? Six glasses of water per sitting & not having to rush to the toilet after? Talk about dehydration.

Today is all about setting myself up. I am setting up my Oyster card (tube card – like our ‘GO’ card), getting a map of London (& surrounding areas), exchanging money, and contacting people via internet (skype, email, etc). If I have the time (or energy) I will also venture to into London for some sightseeing. If this headache doesn’t go away though, I might save it for tomorrow.

Goodbye

Goodbye People!

My 16hr flight departs at 12.15pm TODAY & is with Etihad, who are apparently about to take over the world - in the airline industry. (Sorry Sarah, they do look good though... even if they're not Australian)
After my stop off in Dubai, is another 8hr flight to London  :s

If you don't hear from me in awhile, it's because I'm trekking somewhere with expensive or no internet access. So be patient & keep an eye on my blog as this will be my most consistent up-to-date form of keeping in touch.


Hope you all have a good yr in Australia - I know I'll have a GREAT/AWESOME time in Europe :)

Chow darlings... (heehee) xo

Last/Final Note

Depending on how busy I'll be, or the type of internet access I have, I'm planning to keep a twice weekly update on my/this blog. So keep checking for new stuff & feel free to keep the comments & poll voting coming.

If you're unsure on how to comment, there is a 'Commenting' post in the Blog Archive on the right (beneath the polls)  or under Labels =====>

You can use these (archive & label links) to find any posts you may have: missed, want to see again, or need information off of.

At the bottom of the page is also a 2010 calendar I have created which will enable you to see every scheduled event.

At the top of the page under the Title, is also a series of tabs so far labelled: Home; and Contact. Me. These will link you to separate 'pages'.

The main events however (including pics, polls & exciting stuff) will be posted on the main page 'home'.


PHOTOS:

I am using Picasa for my main photo storage. To stop any of the creepy stalkers stealing my piccys, I've protected them with a secret link. I will email you the link for each album (or post it on Facebook) & if I don't have your email, feel free to scab it off mum & dad  :)