Day 32 - Funny story...
Flew from Athens to Amsterdam this morning on the Greek equivalent of Qantas, even got a meal! Hostel is in a cool cobbled area filled with restaurants and coffee shops. Only problem was the shower - literally a closet with no window or place to put ur clothes but on the wet floor and the whole thing was covered floor to ceiling in bright multicoloured tiles. Needless to say it would not be a good idea to go in there if you're claustrophobic or high! Weather in Amsterdam is poles apart from Greece - from 39C on the beach to a sprinkle of rain in the Dutch capital. Tonight I treated myself to pancakes for dinner (when in Holland!) and was randomly joined by a Brazillian guy Daniel, who was also eating alone. Later we went to an English comedy show by the Boom Chigaco comapny (Mykle, Phil, Sam - thanks for the recommendation, I found it!!!) where I was turned into an omnipotent Indian IT guru on stage! Long story short I was taken on stage, asked some funny questions and my answers were later used in a Bollywood finale to the show in which an image of my head floated on a screen behind! So for the record I'm not famous in Amsterdam!
Day 33 - Exercising my democratic right ... and my legs
WHAT a mission - today I trecked to The Hague to vote. Being Friday it was my last chance. It took me an hour to train to The Hague from Adam, 2 hours to find the embassy on foot (during which I stopped to ask a receptionist for directions at a building called PsychQ which I'm sure was a mental facility!) and then about half an hour to actually do the deed. The poor Dutch bloke at the embassy's security desk looked ready to shoot someone after two weeks of bolshy Australians pouring through his door and the Aussie guy behind the counter looked about to keel over from exhaustion. I myself nearly cried when I saw the bloody Australian flag out the front after traipsing around for so long! Definitely glad I made the effort though, given the tight contest at the moment... :S
Day 34 - Idiot tourist on the loose ... in the Red Light district
Today was not my finest travel moment ... I managed to walk absent mindedly in a number of bike lanes and almost got hit, couldn't figure out how to use my tram card and was made a fool of by the conductor who gave me directions over the microphone and THEN got yelled at by a Dutch market lady ... in Dutch! I had no idea what she was saying but everyone around me did. This amounted to a solid bout of homesickness and feeling sorry for myself which was cured by taking a picnic lunch to the Vondelpark (like a botanic gardens but cooler and more famous) and reading a book in English for a bit! Later that night I joined a walking tour of the Red Light District with some blokes from my hostel room. Was very ... informative ... really! the guide pointed out all sorts of cool, quirky things and we learned a lot about how the girls in the windows rent the space, what they charge, what's legal and not etc. At the end there was the option to go to a sex show at the oldest sex theatre in Amsterdam, the Casa Rosso and ... (parents - perhaps stop reading here!!!) I'm not going to lie, I went (when in Amsterdam...?). I won't "bore" you with the details but let's just say it was eye opening. Funny in some parts, surprisingly tasteful (and distasteful in equal measure) in others and even quite boring at times. An experience that had to be had though I guess... tick.
Day 35 - Pancakes and "coffee"
Started the morning at a Lonely Planet-recommended pancake place (helpfully called Pancakes!) and it did NOT disappoint. Had poffertjes (the little pancakes they sell at the Royal Show) and even know how to pronounce the name now! They even gave me a little clog keyring with my change. Later I toured the Heineken brewery but was a bit disappointed to find the guide-yourself-tour was really just a big fat add for Heineken. At least you get a couple of free beers though!
Now, on my last night in Amsterdam there's one thing you may be thinking I hadn't ticked off the list yet ... so yes, our little hostel room group (3 german teenage boys, 2 italian girls and a slightly older French-Canadian guy) all wandered off to find a coffee shop. In addition to the obvious, I did in fact did order a coffee (well hot chocolate). Inside it was expectedly smokey but there was no cheesey Bob Marley music, just a really cool vibe. I still find it bizarre to see people publicly ordering a joint for $6 Australian and wandering around lighting up! Can't say it was exactly a mindblowing experience though ... after ticking that one off the list I reckon I'll just stick to being "high on life".
Observations: Fries with mayonnaise are awesome. So are fresh, warm Stroopwaffels - crispy waffle biscuit sandwiches with chewy caramel sauce in the middle - VERY popular here. Krokettes from vending machines on the street however are not so great (sorry to disagree Matty). The Dutch also seem obssessed with spare ribs. And since hello in Dutch is Hoi, I'm wondering if this is where the saying "Give us a hoi" comes from?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Days 29 to 31 - Yasass, Yamass, lots of ass in Greece!
Day 29 - Cooling off
Started off the day in a new room. Turns out pumping freon into a broken airconditioner doesn't do much and an hour after the nice maintenance man visited it was stinking hot again. So new room and new A/C for me. Also on the upside, discovered yestereday the hotel had a rooftop pool, and it was here I returned when, I'm ashamed as an Australian to say, it got ... too hot ... at the beach! I know at home it would be fine, but 39C in the sun after 15C winter at home ... body no understand!
Day 30 - To be honest, spent much like day 29, except swap the beach for the pool again. Life's tough I know ...! One memorable moment though at dinner (at a table on the sand, about 1m from the lapping waves ...again, tough!) I left a tip for the waiter, a young guy, who then offered the phrase "oh, you're very sweetie" ... but with his accent and thin grasp of English I first heard it was "oh, you're very sweaty" which was also true!
Day 31 - Stuck in Greece (the bathroom at least...)
Back to Athens by ferry this morning, following the most terrifying car ride of my life. The guy from the hotel gave me a "transfer" in his bomb of a car at about 60 miles per hour, hurtling around corners, nearly cleaning up a lady with a kid on her bike, overtaking long lines of cars ... and apparently double, unbroken lines in greece mean "overtake without care"! Made it alive eventually to my first proper backpackers, in Athens, sharing with 5 other girls. On arrival I and others were made to wait for about an hour while the hostel underwent a "tax inspection"?!?! Then, once in my room, I managed to get locked in the bathroom!!! This is literally my worst nightmare come true. However, I managed to control the claustrophobia while the girls still in the room got the guy from reception to come up with a screw driver. When that didn't work, this 5 foot nothing Pommy guy was contemplating having to bust down the door (with me there in my undies and towel!!) when suddenly I managed to jiggle the lock just right and it popped open! In the heat, I needed another shower after that. Unfortunately, my run of bad luck continued a little longer ... as I reached the rooftop bar just as the keg ran out - halfway through pouring my 1 euro beer. 15 minutes later when they'd lugged another one up to the top floor I could finally sit down, enjoy the beer and the night time view of the Acropolis in the near distance, all lit up for the tourists...
Observations: Every Greek woman at the beach has a wedgie ... on purpose! something about tan coverage I think. More disturbingly, even the little kids have tan lines ... :S Also, the Greeks smoke EVERYWHERE.
Mini victory: Managing to open a bottle of Amstel on a door handle after buying a pop-top beer at the supermarket but failing to own a bottle opener!
Mistakes: Not pre-tanning before Greece - I feel like an albino amongst Gorillas!
Started off the day in a new room. Turns out pumping freon into a broken airconditioner doesn't do much and an hour after the nice maintenance man visited it was stinking hot again. So new room and new A/C for me. Also on the upside, discovered yestereday the hotel had a rooftop pool, and it was here I returned when, I'm ashamed as an Australian to say, it got ... too hot ... at the beach! I know at home it would be fine, but 39C in the sun after 15C winter at home ... body no understand!
Day 30 - To be honest, spent much like day 29, except swap the beach for the pool again. Life's tough I know ...! One memorable moment though at dinner (at a table on the sand, about 1m from the lapping waves ...again, tough!) I left a tip for the waiter, a young guy, who then offered the phrase "oh, you're very sweetie" ... but with his accent and thin grasp of English I first heard it was "oh, you're very sweaty" which was also true!
Day 31 - Stuck in Greece (the bathroom at least...)
Back to Athens by ferry this morning, following the most terrifying car ride of my life. The guy from the hotel gave me a "transfer" in his bomb of a car at about 60 miles per hour, hurtling around corners, nearly cleaning up a lady with a kid on her bike, overtaking long lines of cars ... and apparently double, unbroken lines in greece mean "overtake without care"! Made it alive eventually to my first proper backpackers, in Athens, sharing with 5 other girls. On arrival I and others were made to wait for about an hour while the hostel underwent a "tax inspection"?!?! Then, once in my room, I managed to get locked in the bathroom!!! This is literally my worst nightmare come true. However, I managed to control the claustrophobia while the girls still in the room got the guy from reception to come up with a screw driver. When that didn't work, this 5 foot nothing Pommy guy was contemplating having to bust down the door (with me there in my undies and towel!!) when suddenly I managed to jiggle the lock just right and it popped open! In the heat, I needed another shower after that. Unfortunately, my run of bad luck continued a little longer ... as I reached the rooftop bar just as the keg ran out - halfway through pouring my 1 euro beer. 15 minutes later when they'd lugged another one up to the top floor I could finally sit down, enjoy the beer and the night time view of the Acropolis in the near distance, all lit up for the tourists...
Observations: Every Greek woman at the beach has a wedgie ... on purpose! something about tan coverage I think. More disturbingly, even the little kids have tan lines ... :S Also, the Greeks smoke EVERYWHERE.
Mini victory: Managing to open a bottle of Amstel on a door handle after buying a pop-top beer at the supermarket but failing to own a bottle opener!
Mistakes: Not pre-tanning before Greece - I feel like an albino amongst Gorillas!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Days 24 to 28 - My island home (for now)
Day 24 - The end (of Contiki) is nigh...
I woke this morning to a symphony of alarms. Following the toga party we had a cruel departure time of 7am so about 5.30am alarms began ringing on the hills of corfu and sleeping and sore contiki-ites began emerging from sheets they'd party in (as togas) and then slept in! It was a mammoth trek to athens, first by ferry of about 1.5 hours to the mainland and then driving until about 6pm that night to Athens. First impressions were not good - there were security and police stationed outside the hotel, because it was a slightly unsavour neighbourhood we were told! (The next day I happened to pass four transvestite prostitutes taller than our 6"9' Contiki driver sauntering down the street in leather, inappropriately hot for the weather!)
Dinner that night made up for it though - spanikopita, house-made sausages, more tzatziki, these awesome butter beans in garlic and tomato sauce, lighlty battered/fried crispy salty zucchini rounds ... mmm so good but led to...
Day 25 - Acropolis Now
... more garlic breath! not to worry, the heat was likely to kill us all before the garlic did. After a short bus tour of the city it was up the Acropolis hill to see the Parthenon and other such important architectural structures. However, most of us felt literally weak with heat (and keeping in mid this is the tail end of 3 weeks of the contiki lifestyle) so it was a to-the-point tour, pix and we were back to the airconditioned coach. After that tour it was time to say farewell. Gathered in the lobby of the hotel our motely group of just 25 now (was 36 at the start but some departed in Rome) hugged, a few cried, some were probably relieved and then just like that, we were all on our own. Some continued on for greek island hopping, many went home ... I went to the travel agent. See, I had booked accommodation for one more night in athens and following that ... I would be homeless! I needed a place to stay and to my rescue came Maki, the athenian travel agent whose daughter is currently in Australia playing water polo! Long story short he booked me ferry tix and five nights on the closest island to the mainland (why waste time ON the water when I could be IN it I say) - Egina.
Day 26 - Home sweat home!
Firstly, I have to say ... breakfasts are not good in greek hotels. The tap water is like a saline solution one gargles for a sore throat. The OJ is ... cordial... but using the salt water! Not much is refrigerated and there's no fresh fruit or anything to speak of. The saving grace is the bread, white, with butter... So on this wholesome fuel I headed off for the train station to the port. Of course the line I needed to take was closed so I circumnavigated Athens and about an hour and a half later arrived at the port of Pireas. The ferry ride actually went quite smoothly and, after a slight misunderstanding about my "Transfer" to the hotel I arrived at Hotel Galini. The thought of having five nights here, without having to repack my back or be on time for the bus ... heaven! So I promptly did what was impossible on Contiki - and had an afternoon nap!
Day 27 - Sweet Greek
The beach here is in a bay, water about 27C I reckon, dark sand beach covered in sun loungers and umbreallas (which I made the most of). The day consisted of swim, lounge, read, swim, eat, drink, lounge, swim ... eventually go home. Via the bakery that is ... I have stumbled across the best bakery in the world! Feta filo swirl pie thingys, shortbready biscuts filled with nutella and strawberry cream, custard pastries, sausage rolls ... needless to say I told the nice man behind the counter I would be back tomorrow! While this island seems to be a bit of a family getaway for Europeans, particularly greeks (I think I'm the only nativeEnglish speaker on the entire island!) and therefore not many people have spoken to me, the people in the service industry here are so nice. Friendly and mostly speak English. And are very surprised I've chosen this tiny, not so well-known island on a trip "all the way" from Australia! But back to the food - I also managed to find 1 euro beers in the supermarket accompanied by 2 euro yiros for dinner. At this rate I'm not going to fit into my bathers by the time I leave!
Day 28 - Sam same, but different
Admittedly there's not much more to report - more heat (about 38C), more beach, more bakery. Only problem - the A/C in my room stopped working (where is my airconditioning mechanic boyfriend when I need him!!!) but, after one uncomfortably hot night, the nice maintenance man came to fix it. Now my only problem is choosing which food outlet to try next!
Observations: You wake up with garlic breath every morning in Greece, no matter what you eat. Most Europeans have holidayed or worked in Australia or have some relative (no matter how distant) who lives there, even in Adelaide!
Mini victories: Did I mention the food ...?
Mistakes: Accidentally changing the combination to my backpack lock in Athens without knowing it and then having the get the hotel manager to bust it open with pliers and a hammer! Not booking accommodation in the Greek high season early enough and paying for it accordingly... :S
I woke this morning to a symphony of alarms. Following the toga party we had a cruel departure time of 7am so about 5.30am alarms began ringing on the hills of corfu and sleeping and sore contiki-ites began emerging from sheets they'd party in (as togas) and then slept in! It was a mammoth trek to athens, first by ferry of about 1.5 hours to the mainland and then driving until about 6pm that night to Athens. First impressions were not good - there were security and police stationed outside the hotel, because it was a slightly unsavour neighbourhood we were told! (The next day I happened to pass four transvestite prostitutes taller than our 6"9' Contiki driver sauntering down the street in leather, inappropriately hot for the weather!)
Dinner that night made up for it though - spanikopita, house-made sausages, more tzatziki, these awesome butter beans in garlic and tomato sauce, lighlty battered/fried crispy salty zucchini rounds ... mmm so good but led to...
Day 25 - Acropolis Now
... more garlic breath! not to worry, the heat was likely to kill us all before the garlic did. After a short bus tour of the city it was up the Acropolis hill to see the Parthenon and other such important architectural structures. However, most of us felt literally weak with heat (and keeping in mid this is the tail end of 3 weeks of the contiki lifestyle) so it was a to-the-point tour, pix and we were back to the airconditioned coach. After that tour it was time to say farewell. Gathered in the lobby of the hotel our motely group of just 25 now (was 36 at the start but some departed in Rome) hugged, a few cried, some were probably relieved and then just like that, we were all on our own. Some continued on for greek island hopping, many went home ... I went to the travel agent. See, I had booked accommodation for one more night in athens and following that ... I would be homeless! I needed a place to stay and to my rescue came Maki, the athenian travel agent whose daughter is currently in Australia playing water polo! Long story short he booked me ferry tix and five nights on the closest island to the mainland (why waste time ON the water when I could be IN it I say) - Egina.
Day 26 - Home sweat home!
Firstly, I have to say ... breakfasts are not good in greek hotels. The tap water is like a saline solution one gargles for a sore throat. The OJ is ... cordial... but using the salt water! Not much is refrigerated and there's no fresh fruit or anything to speak of. The saving grace is the bread, white, with butter... So on this wholesome fuel I headed off for the train station to the port. Of course the line I needed to take was closed so I circumnavigated Athens and about an hour and a half later arrived at the port of Pireas. The ferry ride actually went quite smoothly and, after a slight misunderstanding about my "Transfer" to the hotel I arrived at Hotel Galini. The thought of having five nights here, without having to repack my back or be on time for the bus ... heaven! So I promptly did what was impossible on Contiki - and had an afternoon nap!
Day 27 - Sweet Greek
The beach here is in a bay, water about 27C I reckon, dark sand beach covered in sun loungers and umbreallas (which I made the most of). The day consisted of swim, lounge, read, swim, eat, drink, lounge, swim ... eventually go home. Via the bakery that is ... I have stumbled across the best bakery in the world! Feta filo swirl pie thingys, shortbready biscuts filled with nutella and strawberry cream, custard pastries, sausage rolls ... needless to say I told the nice man behind the counter I would be back tomorrow! While this island seems to be a bit of a family getaway for Europeans, particularly greeks (I think I'm the only nativeEnglish speaker on the entire island!) and therefore not many people have spoken to me, the people in the service industry here are so nice. Friendly and mostly speak English. And are very surprised I've chosen this tiny, not so well-known island on a trip "all the way" from Australia! But back to the food - I also managed to find 1 euro beers in the supermarket accompanied by 2 euro yiros for dinner. At this rate I'm not going to fit into my bathers by the time I leave!
Day 28 - Sam same, but different
Admittedly there's not much more to report - more heat (about 38C), more beach, more bakery. Only problem - the A/C in my room stopped working (where is my airconditioning mechanic boyfriend when I need him!!!) but, after one uncomfortably hot night, the nice maintenance man came to fix it. Now my only problem is choosing which food outlet to try next!
Observations: You wake up with garlic breath every morning in Greece, no matter what you eat. Most Europeans have holidayed or worked in Australia or have some relative (no matter how distant) who lives there, even in Adelaide!
Mini victories: Did I mention the food ...?
Mistakes: Accidentally changing the combination to my backpack lock in Athens without knowing it and then having the get the hotel manager to bust it open with pliers and a hammer! Not booking accommodation in the Greek high season early enough and paying for it accordingly... :S
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Days 20 to 23 - Garlic breath in Greece
Day 20 - 24 hours of travel
Man did I stink after this day. Up at the crack of dawn, leaving Rome for the ferry to the greek island of Corfu. Arrived at the port at 7pm, ferry left about 10pm, arrived at Corfu about 6am. Slept on the floor of the ferry. No change of clothes. Need I say more ...
Day 21 - Death by tzatziki (for my cold at least)
Contiki seems to have a non-stop policy because no sooner had we docked in Corfu than we were (after a quick shower thank God) back out on the water. This time on the infamous "George's Boat". A reasonably sized engine powered, sail boat looking vehicle (gimme a break, I'm not overly nautically minded) with the craziest but coolest 60-something Greek captain at the helm. Spent the day on beaches and jumping off the side of the boat into water that was both the perfect temperature and colour. Lunch was plucked from George's garden and featured the most lethal tzatziki I've ever tasted (a nose clearer for sure!). George had a habit of yelling "come get your food, it's good for your sex life" every time grub was up and "get off the boat NOW" every time it stopped! By the end of the day I'd finaly achieved some semblence of a tan and was covered in a crust of salt... mmm mmm
Day 22 - Finally some free time
The first sleep in of the tour and a whole free day to ourselves. The highlight - stumbling across a bakery in town where I scored a whole bag of deliciously crumbly greek cookies for one euro!!! Spent the avo by the pool (bliss, its STINKING hot here) and then off for an extravaganza of greek food, dancing, singing, clapping (so much clapping), stepping on people's feet and plate smashing that night.
Day 23 - Toga it up
Another free day - more time by the pool and a little beach across the road. It's pebbles here but they're small enough to not hurt too much. Crossed the road to a little taverna for lunch and was so worth it. Lightly fried calamari, fresh salad, slightly less lethal tzatziki and the crustiest but softest brown bread I've ever had (right up your alley Mum). And talk about absolute waterfront location, waves lapping at the pilons under the deck. Toga party tonight - everyone at the Contiki resort is given a white sheet and has to somehow fashion a toga. This afternoon's mission - find a shop that sells nappy pins :P
Observations: Greek mosquitos are the only ones to bite me so far... Some greek food is actually better at Estia's (but only some). Garlic breath is ok if everyone has it.
Mini victories: Finding free wifi at the taverna across the road when they're charing about $6 an hour at the resort.
Man did I stink after this day. Up at the crack of dawn, leaving Rome for the ferry to the greek island of Corfu. Arrived at the port at 7pm, ferry left about 10pm, arrived at Corfu about 6am. Slept on the floor of the ferry. No change of clothes. Need I say more ...
Day 21 - Death by tzatziki (for my cold at least)
Contiki seems to have a non-stop policy because no sooner had we docked in Corfu than we were (after a quick shower thank God) back out on the water. This time on the infamous "George's Boat". A reasonably sized engine powered, sail boat looking vehicle (gimme a break, I'm not overly nautically minded) with the craziest but coolest 60-something Greek captain at the helm. Spent the day on beaches and jumping off the side of the boat into water that was both the perfect temperature and colour. Lunch was plucked from George's garden and featured the most lethal tzatziki I've ever tasted (a nose clearer for sure!). George had a habit of yelling "come get your food, it's good for your sex life" every time grub was up and "get off the boat NOW" every time it stopped! By the end of the day I'd finaly achieved some semblence of a tan and was covered in a crust of salt... mmm mmm
Day 22 - Finally some free time
The first sleep in of the tour and a whole free day to ourselves. The highlight - stumbling across a bakery in town where I scored a whole bag of deliciously crumbly greek cookies for one euro!!! Spent the avo by the pool (bliss, its STINKING hot here) and then off for an extravaganza of greek food, dancing, singing, clapping (so much clapping), stepping on people's feet and plate smashing that night.
Day 23 - Toga it up
Another free day - more time by the pool and a little beach across the road. It's pebbles here but they're small enough to not hurt too much. Crossed the road to a little taverna for lunch and was so worth it. Lightly fried calamari, fresh salad, slightly less lethal tzatziki and the crustiest but softest brown bread I've ever had (right up your alley Mum). And talk about absolute waterfront location, waves lapping at the pilons under the deck. Toga party tonight - everyone at the Contiki resort is given a white sheet and has to somehow fashion a toga. This afternoon's mission - find a shop that sells nappy pins :P
Observations: Greek mosquitos are the only ones to bite me so far... Some greek food is actually better at Estia's (but only some). Garlic breath is ok if everyone has it.
Mini victories: Finding free wifi at the taverna across the road when they're charing about $6 an hour at the resort.
Days 17 to 19 - Me speak no Italiano
Day 17 - Limoncello electronica
A full day in Florence culminating with limoncello shots at dinner and boogying at Florence's coolest nightime establishment - Space Electronic Discotheque! Yes, it's as cheesey as it sounds. Yes, the neon sign out the front says "discotheque". And yes, there was karaoke.
During the day we hit up one of our tour manager's favourite lunch spots for awesome creamy spaghetti carbonara and THE BEST STEAKS IN THE WORLD! They're called Florentine steaks, are 1kg each (shared between tow) are almost raw in the middle but strangely still delicious and come off a bone that would send Nellie and Noodles into a coma!
Also wanted to visit the David statue but the line was about 2 hours in the stinking sun, so we saw the replica in the town sqaure instead! And took a squiz at the Gallileo Museum (Dad, I think you would have liked this) - highlights included big guns (metal not muscle), "portable chemist boxes" or the olden time pill pouch, a globe of the universe as they saw it in the 15th or something century with the earth in the centre and an orbit "for god" and these crazy wax sculptures of babies hanging out of utereses!! Was genuinely mazed by the amoung of scientific knowledge they had back then though ...
Day 18 - The never ending trek to Rome
After a half day drive we arrived in Rome and were straight off the bus into a tour of the Roman Forum and Colloseum. Weird to walk among the rocks and rubble and think how longs its been there and all the real people who ued it so long ago. Later our tour manager took us on a whirlwind Rome checklist walking tour past the Pantheon, Spanish steps, rich rich shopping strips and the Trevi Fountain. Legend has it ur supposed to throw in a coin each for 1) luck 2) returning to Rome and 3) finding a nice Italian boy. I threw in one coin ...
Day 19 - When in Rome
I thought the lines at Disneyland were bad until I went to the Vatican City. The general line to get in snaked kilometres down the road to the point where you couldn't see that it was actually the Vatican museum they were queueing for! We took the easy option, paid a bit more and scored an hilarious Italian guide in a full white suit who told us how to say "get out of the way" in Italian. I even was able to snap a few sneaky pictures of the Sistene chapel byt showing my camera in my cleavage! Thanks again for the Bloggie Mum :P
Later we visited the cemetery of the Cappucin (i think that's how you spell it) Monks - or "chipmonks" as one well meaning Dutch Girl on our tour tried to pronounce it! Basically its bones of 4000 monks nailed all over the walls in strangely artisitic designs.
Last stop was the "Mouth of Truth" a whole in the wall that looks like a face. You put your hand ing the "mouth" and tell a lie and its supposed to bite your hand. I told it I was a man ... I'm still typing ... hrm
Observations: Green in ancient paintings was the colour of hope. Monkies in such paintings however were bad news. Italian pizza at truck stops is as good as Australian cafes! And (gross-out warning - stop readingfor those who don't know my nose) my cold has been so bad I have callouses on my fingers from tissues! However, Italian drugs seem to work better than Spanish ones...
Mistakes: Messing up languages - the more countries we visit the harder it gets to spit out the right hello :S
A full day in Florence culminating with limoncello shots at dinner and boogying at Florence's coolest nightime establishment - Space Electronic Discotheque! Yes, it's as cheesey as it sounds. Yes, the neon sign out the front says "discotheque". And yes, there was karaoke.
During the day we hit up one of our tour manager's favourite lunch spots for awesome creamy spaghetti carbonara and THE BEST STEAKS IN THE WORLD! They're called Florentine steaks, are 1kg each (shared between tow) are almost raw in the middle but strangely still delicious and come off a bone that would send Nellie and Noodles into a coma!
Also wanted to visit the David statue but the line was about 2 hours in the stinking sun, so we saw the replica in the town sqaure instead! And took a squiz at the Gallileo Museum (Dad, I think you would have liked this) - highlights included big guns (metal not muscle), "portable chemist boxes" or the olden time pill pouch, a globe of the universe as they saw it in the 15th or something century with the earth in the centre and an orbit "for god" and these crazy wax sculptures of babies hanging out of utereses!! Was genuinely mazed by the amoung of scientific knowledge they had back then though ...
Day 18 - The never ending trek to Rome
After a half day drive we arrived in Rome and were straight off the bus into a tour of the Roman Forum and Colloseum. Weird to walk among the rocks and rubble and think how longs its been there and all the real people who ued it so long ago. Later our tour manager took us on a whirlwind Rome checklist walking tour past the Pantheon, Spanish steps, rich rich shopping strips and the Trevi Fountain. Legend has it ur supposed to throw in a coin each for 1) luck 2) returning to Rome and 3) finding a nice Italian boy. I threw in one coin ...
Day 19 - When in Rome
I thought the lines at Disneyland were bad until I went to the Vatican City. The general line to get in snaked kilometres down the road to the point where you couldn't see that it was actually the Vatican museum they were queueing for! We took the easy option, paid a bit more and scored an hilarious Italian guide in a full white suit who told us how to say "get out of the way" in Italian. I even was able to snap a few sneaky pictures of the Sistene chapel byt showing my camera in my cleavage! Thanks again for the Bloggie Mum :P
Later we visited the cemetery of the Cappucin (i think that's how you spell it) Monks - or "chipmonks" as one well meaning Dutch Girl on our tour tried to pronounce it! Basically its bones of 4000 monks nailed all over the walls in strangely artisitic designs.
Last stop was the "Mouth of Truth" a whole in the wall that looks like a face. You put your hand ing the "mouth" and tell a lie and its supposed to bite your hand. I told it I was a man ... I'm still typing ... hrm
Observations: Green in ancient paintings was the colour of hope. Monkies in such paintings however were bad news. Italian pizza at truck stops is as good as Australian cafes! And (gross-out warning - stop readingfor those who don't know my nose) my cold has been so bad I have callouses on my fingers from tissues! However, Italian drugs seem to work better than Spanish ones...
Mistakes: Messing up languages - the more countries we visit the harder it gets to spit out the right hello :S
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Days 13 to 16 - bulk blogging (its been a while)
Day 13 - Want to bet?
Our short stop in the French Riviera ticked all the boxes - snooty, skinny women with small dogs (check), swimming on a pebbled beach (check - with some difficulty), gambling in a Monte Carlo Casino (check - well I went inside but the stakes were too high for my student budget!), driving along a section of the Monaco grand prix track (check).
Day 14 - Romance and Romeo
Cruised the Amalfi coast to Venice today, via Verona, the home of Romoe's Juliet. A visit to her balcony involved rubbing the right boob of a bronze statue of the lady herself in the courtyard (it's a very shiny boob - lots of pervy tourists) and writing on the love wall (a wall people are allowed to grafitti with "julie hearts johnny 4 eva" and other such gems, which is painted over every now and again). I did write something, but that's between me and the millions of other tourists who will pass it till the paintbrush comes out next...
Day 15 - Finding myself in Venice
It's true, it's easy to get lost in Venice - and it's true that it's fun. So much so I purposely ditched the group I was walking with and just started wandering down alleways. I passed a "wall to wall biscuits" bakery, backdoors to restaurant kitchens, gondola dudes on cigarette breaks and plenty of roads to now where which abruptly stop at te edge of a canal. In the afternoon we went on a gondola ride. Our guy was called Pedro - naturally. He didn't sing Pizza Pie for us but he did admit to regularly bumping into things and dropping the occasional tourist overboard ... hrm.
Day 16 - Leaning towards Florence
ANOTHER driving day (a short 7 hours this time!) from Venice to Florence, via the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Apparently it leans over a scary 4m! Of course there were the obligatory chesey photos holding it up, leaning against it ... one creative Asian tourist Dad even did a handstand "against" it.
Observations: There are Westies (like Nellie and Noodles) everywhere on the French Riviera! The sun in Europe is actually as hot as home but you don't seem to burn as much (have managed to avoid embarassing tourist sunburn so far...)
Mini victories: grabbing lunch from the market instead of a cafe in Nice - cheaper, fresher and even involved macaroons! Also picked up a delicious hot dog French style (think crusty baguette and awesome cheese) on the drive to the Riviera.
Mistakes: not getting on top of my cold sooner ... have now been stuck with it for a week!!!
Our short stop in the French Riviera ticked all the boxes - snooty, skinny women with small dogs (check), swimming on a pebbled beach (check - with some difficulty), gambling in a Monte Carlo Casino (check - well I went inside but the stakes were too high for my student budget!), driving along a section of the Monaco grand prix track (check).
Day 14 - Romance and Romeo
Cruised the Amalfi coast to Venice today, via Verona, the home of Romoe's Juliet. A visit to her balcony involved rubbing the right boob of a bronze statue of the lady herself in the courtyard (it's a very shiny boob - lots of pervy tourists) and writing on the love wall (a wall people are allowed to grafitti with "julie hearts johnny 4 eva" and other such gems, which is painted over every now and again). I did write something, but that's between me and the millions of other tourists who will pass it till the paintbrush comes out next...
Day 15 - Finding myself in Venice
It's true, it's easy to get lost in Venice - and it's true that it's fun. So much so I purposely ditched the group I was walking with and just started wandering down alleways. I passed a "wall to wall biscuits" bakery, backdoors to restaurant kitchens, gondola dudes on cigarette breaks and plenty of roads to now where which abruptly stop at te edge of a canal. In the afternoon we went on a gondola ride. Our guy was called Pedro - naturally. He didn't sing Pizza Pie for us but he did admit to regularly bumping into things and dropping the occasional tourist overboard ... hrm.
Day 16 - Leaning towards Florence
ANOTHER driving day (a short 7 hours this time!) from Venice to Florence, via the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Apparently it leans over a scary 4m! Of course there were the obligatory chesey photos holding it up, leaning against it ... one creative Asian tourist Dad even did a handstand "against" it.
Observations: There are Westies (like Nellie and Noodles) everywhere on the French Riviera! The sun in Europe is actually as hot as home but you don't seem to burn as much (have managed to avoid embarassing tourist sunburn so far...)
Mini victories: grabbing lunch from the market instead of a cafe in Nice - cheaper, fresher and even involved macaroons! Also picked up a delicious hot dog French style (think crusty baguette and awesome cheese) on the drive to the Riviera.
Mistakes: not getting on top of my cold sooner ... have now been stuck with it for a week!!!
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