Shakespeare - Contiki days 10 to 11

Sorry for the lack of posts since Paris. I have been a combination of lazy, tired and without wifi. So I have put up several days worth at once. Thank you
-W

Two countries, both alike in history.
To fair Verona we made our way.

And there ends my attempt at destroying poetry. After the night in Monaco, the bus ride followed a familiar pattern. Sleep. My cold was (hopefully) coming to an end, but my eyes were bloodshot. Actually that is an understatement. Normally when I get sick my eyes go bloodshot. This time my eyes were red. There were no whites left. So I slept and kept my sunglasses on. We were headed from France into Italy with Venice being our final destination. The drive was spectacular, when we weren't in tunnels. Winding around the coast looking down over cliffs. It was the best drive so far and I feel bad that I slept for so much of it. Our first stop in Italy just about made the service centre run out of pizza.

Our city stop on the way to Venice was in Verona. This meant that Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliett was played on the coach, and meant that I got to sit there and quote it from memory after studying it so many times at school. As we were visiting, we took the obligatory photos of Juliett's balcony and the statue of Juliett. With that done I headed straight to a pharmacy and in a combination of english, italian and charades I managed to buy some eye drops.

The campsite in Venice I will remember for two reasons. One that I watched a couple of games of football at the bar (Athletico vs Chelsea and Bayern vs Real) and the other reason being the millions of mosquitos. They were both numerous and large. However unlike their NZ cousins these ones were slow and dumb, making them easy to squash. I realised, while there, how much I missed stars. This was the first time I had noticed them in the sky. Although apparently there were plenty at the chateau.

The day that we spent in Venice started differently to normal. Normally we are dropped off by the bus and go from there. However Venice doesn't have any cars. Instead we started with a boat ride from the campsite to the middle of Venice. There were two optional extras today that I didn't do, a walking tour of Venice and a gondola ride. We were given maps and told to explore. Starting in St Mark's square I wandered around behind the Doge's palace to see the bridge of sighs. Then knowing that getting lost in a city is the best way to see it, I walked down a couple of narrow streets and was lost. In the process I found the Rialto bridge, some more pizza and some gardens. I also explored St Mark's basilica, which I felt the ceiling had too much gold painted on it so that it looked tacky. The walls and floor however made up for it. The floor was composed of a huge colourful mosaic of tiles and the walls were made of marble with many different patterns and colours. Well worth the line to get in.

We were in Venice on a good day. The morning fog burnt off to leave a hot sunny day. I think that it could have been different on a cold damp day. Even on a hot day, walking down some of the alleys you could smell the mold and rot in the mortar of some of the stones. But it was beautiful with roads of water rather than stone and something that I noticed from the beginning was how much cleaner it was than other places we had been. I really wish that I had not forgotten my camera that morning...

Juliet's balcony

France take 3 - Contiki days 8 to 9

After a taster of Spain it is back to see more of France. Which as guessed meant another long ride on the coach. Hindsight being 20 20 showed me that maybe going out in Barcelona wasn't such a good idea. Following my sore throat I had been blocked with a cold and cough. By the day in Barcelona I was starting to feel better, the day after Barcelona I had gone backwards. I was back to being blocked up.

So the trip wasn't as comfortable as it could have been. Oh but HAPPY EASTER! It turned out to be Easter Sunday. Although as everyone was a little under the weather we kept that quiet for the first half of the trip. On the way between Barcelona and Antibes in the French Riviera, we stopped at a town called Arles. It has a large old stadium thing alot like the coliseum. However more interestingly for us they also had an easter parade. Not that we were there in time for the parade itself. We arrived just after the parade to stalls and a party atmosphere. There was a massive selection of foods and people, lots of fun.

The campsite where we stayed was just down the road from a carnival. So after dinner we traipsed down to find that being Easter Sunday it was shut. Well the gate was open but no one there and no rides running. It was slightly creepy walking around an empty theme park in the dark. The plots to a few horror movies come back to you.

Easter Monday was nice, I mean in Nice. We initially headed to the Fragonard perfumery in Grasse. Having a blocked nose really did not help with that experience. Although it did make it cheaper than it might have been, as I didn't buy anything since I couldn't tell what it actually smelt like. After that we headed into Nice. It was a relaxing day with some stunning views. The day started off cold, so as we walked along the promenade we didn't feel like going swimming. However by the time that we had climbed up to the chateau for the view over Nice, a swim might have been welcome. Heading back into town for lunch we wandered through oldtown finding a restaurant with some delicious food and a stall selling gelato. By then it was time to start wandering back to our pick up point. We had a short day in Nice as we were heading that night to Monaco.

Apparently after just about going broke, Monaco built a casino. Now they have so much revenue from it that they have abolished income tax. Our first stop was the royal palace, which has a great view over the second smallest country in the world. The royals didn't invite us in to say hi, so we headed off to the famous hairpin turn from the Monaco Grand Prix. Conveniently this corner is located just below the Monte Carlo casino. So from there we headed up to the casino. The building that it is in is stunning, but the look was spoiled by the neon lights of the slot machines that are the first thing you see. The second thing that you notice is that the place is tiny. Only two rooms are available for the general public. One room of slot machines and a room of tables. Once you get past that you notice that the place is ridiculously expensive (€6.50 for a small coca cola). Several people lost a bit of money and a couple of people won a fair bit. I decided it was safer to keep my wallet in my pocket and walked out with the same amount of money I walked in with. It was fun watching other people playing and went for a walk outside and saw alot of very expensive and fancy cars. It would be scary being a valet there.

Overall I'm unsure what I think of the French Riviera. It was nice to look at, but I didn't get the same feeling that I had got in Paris and Barcelona. Maybe if the weather had been better and we had spent more time at the beach it would have been different. The difference between the haves and have nots is really thrown in your face in a place like that. As my last taste of France it was a bit of a let down. Time for Italy.

View near Fragonard 

A something in Nice

Nice

Barca, barca, barca! - Contki days 6 to 7

Leaving the chateau was sad, but all I can really remember about the trip to Barcelona was that I slept for most of it and that my throat hurt. There was some nougat from Montmellier. Otherwise it was a long day of driving for the Contiki crew and a long day of sleeping for the rest of us. Good Friday was spent trying to recover. We got to Barcelona late, had a mostly raw and uninspiring cheeseburger for dinner, then moved into the bar to try their sangria. With not much to compare it to, it tasted good. In hindsight, it was pretty average. By then bed was calling and I was still sick.

Saturday dawned full of possibilities and promises. I had always wanted to visit Spain and still want to go back and see more of it. We started the day with a trip to Sagrada Familia. A massive, still incomplete church that when they started building it they expected would take 750 years to build. With advancements in building techniques they expect it to be complete in 2026, 150 years after they started. It was designed by someone with a mind similar to Dr Seuss. It towers over Barcelona. Massively intricate the detail is breathtaking. Unfortunately I didn't have time to go inside, but those who did said it was better than the outside. They had the videos to prove it.

Instead I went on a quick tour through the gothic quarter. I have decided that I quite like gothic architecture. We should build more buildings now with the care and detail that they did then. We explored the area and saw the steps where Christopher Columbus presented the rulers with the results of his voyage to discover an alternate route to India, including oranges. This was his voyage where he actually discovered America. Another interesting spot was a place where thousands of people were executed by firing squad during the Spanish civil war.

A group of us had planned to head to Camp Nou. So from the gothic quarter we took the metro across town to the stadium complex. The place is huge. Eventually we worked out how to get tickets to see inside. Making our way to the entrance I realised that my ticket was no longer where I had put it. A thorough hunt back where we had been showed no trace of it. I was too angry at losing my ticket to get another one, so I explored everywhere else that I could while the others did the tour. I tried to get into the handball stadium but with no luck. Barcelona FC Handball were playing the next day, but I couldn't get a ticket as they were all sold out. Eventually the others came back out and we went in search of food. We found a random hole in the wall cafe and I tried something that had a spanish name. It turned out to be a pile of hot chips with cut up hotdog and roast chicken on top. It was delicious. We took the metro back to the centre of town and wandered down Las Ramblas seeing alot of street performers and a statue to Christopher Columbus.

We had a special evening planned for us that night. We went to a flamenco show followed by a walk about dinner down in the port region. The flamenco show was good. Turns out flamenco isn't what I though it was. The perfomers were great and they included alot of audience participation. The free sangria and tapas helped too. From the show we went to the port and negotiated our dinner with all of the resturants trying to lure us in. Again free sangria was the clincher. The food was amazing. I had a seafood platter that included whitebait, calamari rings, baby octopi, prawns and fried peppers. Was definitely happy with that dinner. From there we proceeded to a bar that did cheaper drinks for Contiki. I had been feeling better that day, back to about 80%, so decided I could go out. Was a good night until I lost everyone. After a short search I found some people at a hookah bar and found out that the rest had gone clubbing. Instead a few of us went for a walk down the beach before heading back to the hostel and sleep.

Barcelona was great. Alot like places Paris. Big old buildings, layers of history and memories. However it was a bit more fun, relaxed and arty. It was more Spanish than Paris, so was always going to be a winner.

Sagrada Familia

Location of a delivery of oranges

Christopher Columbus

This way to Camp Nou

Living like lords in the Beaujolais wine region - Contiki days 4-5

So Paris was amazing. This is a Euro trip though, not a weekend in Paris. Meaning that we had to leave. On the bright side, the time in Paris had tired most of us out. People hadn't really worked out the pacing for the trip. We were ready for a break. A holiday within a holiday. As if Contiki had been in this situation before and knew what we needed, they conveniently had a Chateau waiting for us just out of Lyon.

So on a bright and cheerful morning alot of hungover and bleary eyed tourtists fell asleep on the coach. After a night at Moulin Rouge, not many people had got even a partial nights sleep. A quiet bus ride got us to a little town by the name of Foutainebleau. This had a palace/mansion/giant house that I think looked better than the Palace of Versailles. However having not seen everything at Versailles, that probably isn't a fair comparison. It is a place that was made famous by Napoleon. It was his residence when he resigned and was exiled. There are some famous stairs that he stood on as he told the staff of his resignation. However the reason that many on our trip will remember this place is that it is the place where alot of people almost missed the bus. We had wandered into the town and to a supermarket, not realising how long it would take and how far away the bus was. We waited though as there were so many people. Had it been one person, the policy is to leave without them. Moral of the story was don't be late!

The Contiki chateau is a 16th century chateau that Contiki has owned for the past 50 or so years. It is on the property of a vineyard that has been owned by the same family for the last eight generations. It looks spectacular and I forgot to take a photo. Sorry. We had the place to ourselves and it was nice to not have to worry about your gear, after the constant vigilance we had to have in Paris. We arrived and went straight to a wine tasting. The wine was miles better than anything we had tried on the trip. That night was a combination of a 'P' themed party and a birthday party for one of the girls. Needless to say, everyone was still exhausted or drunk in the morning.

Luckily for us, the only thing planned for the next day was a light hike and a picnic from a lovely look out spot. Or atleast it should have been a light hike for 45min through the french countryside. After everyone got lost and the group broke into smaller groups, it turned into an hour and a half hike down random paths before some of us made it to the correct place. I am not sure where the others gave up and had lunch. Everyone somehow met back up on the walk back to the chateau. The afternoon was spent recovering in the sun and laughing at the people who underestimated the sun and imitated a cooked crayfish. The evening there was nothing planned, so some people took it on themselves to hold a dance party in one of the rooms. From all accounts it was a success. I had a sore throat so took it easy and played cards before heading to bed.

The rest stop there was much needed and in a place that everyone looks back on with fond memories. However we couldn't stay forever and Barcelona was next on the list. Bring on Spain.

Foutainebleau

View from the chateau when we arrived

Wine and cheese

Oui Paris - Contiki days 1 to 3

Paris, the city of love, the city that so many find breathtaking, and the city that I wasn't really looking forward to. I entered Paris with no expectations apart from expecting that it would be really touristy.

But first I had to get from London to Paris. That required a bus trip from London to Dover, a ferry to Calais and then a bus to Paris. Due to the awesome driving skills of our driver, we caught an early ferry. This excited the Canadians on the trip because it meant that we had time to visit Vimy Ridge. This is a memorial to the Canadians that died in WW2, with a similar meaning to them as Gallipoli has for kiwis. It was an enjoyable stop, most of us learnt some more about the war and we got to see some preserved sections of war trenches as well as an active minefield, complete with craters where some of those mines had exploded.

Enter Paris. We dropped our gear at our accommodation, grabbed some dinner, then were back on the bus for an evening trip around Paris to orientate us with the city. This was all it took to change my ideas about Paris. All of the old buildings and history crammed into a small city centre. All of the best things I liked about London on a greater scale. It was amazing.

The next day we were free to explore the city. Armed with maps we were dropped in the middle of the city and left to discover. My first stop had to be Notre Dame. A giant gothic cathedral so intricately designed and decorated, it was everything as great as I hoped. From there I visited the Conciergerie enroute to the Lourve. Wandering aimlessly down random streets, stumbling from one breathtaking view to the next. After taking a back way into the Lourve we mingled with thousands of others in an attempt to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. After escaping the press of people we wandered up to the opera house from Phantom of the Opera. The roof of the Gallery Lafyette, behind the opera, gave a chance to relax and soak up the skyline.

In a search for food we walked via the Church of Madeline to the Plaza de Concord. After aquiring a hotdog and a banana Nutella crepe, relaxing in the park people watching, a quick walk up the Champs Elysees to the disney store was all we had time for before returning to the Musee d'Orsay and the bus. Following a quick dinner we were off again to see the Eiffel tower at night. With it all lit up we climbed to the top and were rewarded with a wonderful view of the lights of Paris. Witnessing the hourly light show was spectacular, although difficult to capture on camera.

Our second complete day in Paris started with a trip to the Palace of Versailles. As the line to enter was about 200m long and there was a cost to enter the gardens, we enjoyed the view of the outside before venturing into the local village, running to a market with an astounding variety of fresh fruit, meat and cheese. From there I returned to the centre of Paris to climb the Arche de Triomphe. In my opinion this provided the best daytime view of the city that I saw. No matter how many photos of the Eiffel tower I have, each time it comes into view I know that I need atleast one more from this new perspective. Wandering down the Champs Elysees led us to Laduree and apparently some of the best macarons in the world. While they were nice, I am not sure they were the greatest thing ever. Continuing on down random streets we found ourselves at the memorial to the site where Princess Diana died. From here we passed back under the Eiffel tower and headed into uncertainty in an attempt to find Rodin's statue, the thinker. We had no luck and had to hurry to make it back to the bus.

That evening was something special. A dinner out where we were served snail, duck and a dessert that I can not remember anymore. Normally this would have preceded a trip to the cabaret. The normal one was not running, so we instead went to the actual Moulin Rouge. While this was an amazing experience and I am glad that I went, although I am not sure that I would go again. A night out at a bar afterwards rounded off a great, albeit final day in Paris.

Definitely much better than I thought it would have been.

Saying goodbye to England

The white cliffs

Old WW1 trenches

Vimy Ridge memorial

My first taste of french cuisine (actually quite nice)

Notre Dame (the hunchback wasn't home

The sun behind a fountain around the back of Notre Dame

Vaulted ceiling of the Conciergerie

Part of the line outside the Lourve

The inverted pyramid next to the much shorter line

Champs Elysees

Dusk light on the Arche de Triomphe

Evening sky from under the Eiffel tower

Dusk over Paris

Thousands of people at Versailles

Another view of Champs Elysees

Sacre Cour

Arche de Triomphe

Eiffel tower

The last of London (for now)

So I am writing this several days later and after alot of new and amazing experiences. So it will be brief and not quite encompass everything.

Basically it was all just a slow build up to departure day. The main point of these days was to meet other people that I was going to be on Contiki with. There was further sightseeing, this time with a camera. Unfortunately I can't upload photos easily while on this trip, so I will have to go back and add them after I get back to London.

More packing meant more exploration of what I can get over here, and how to go about getting it.  Different stores and different ways of doing things that I will have to learn. Mixing that in with a bit partying, and you are left with a pretty good generalistion of my last couple of days of build up to Contiki. Onward to Paris!

Starting to get my bearings

Still in London, will be for the rest of the week.

Decided to sleep in this morning.  Figured I could, so why not.  Was quite nice.

After the failure with sorting important things yesterday, I decided to give it another crack today.  This translated in my head as go for a walk around Hammersmith to see what the place I am staying in looked like, grab some breakfast and see how things work out.  Surprisingly well as a matter of fact.  Finally managed to get my phone to accept it's new sim card and then realised that I hadn't been able to contact the right people about my NI number because I was in fact trying to call the wrong number.  With the correct number I managed to contact them and they will apparently get back to me.  So a successful morning.

About this time, with the weather being relatively warm and sunny, one of the guys at the flat decided that heading to the pub would be the most productive use of our time.  I agreed with that thinking.  So both beer and time passed, until I put down my glass and headed toward Hyde Park.  After forgetting one yesterday and being told by a couple of people what a stupid idea that was, I took one today.

It turns out Hyde Park is quite big.  Quite a bit bigger than I thought.  After half an hour of walking through the park I got to the end.  However rather than walking the length of the park like I thought I had, I had walked the short width.  This put my half a map in alot sharper perspective.  Never the less I continued to explore and a couple of hours later, I feel that I have now seen atleast half of what the park has to offer.  It may require several more visits over the next few years.  On the positive side, I got to play with squirrels.  Any day involving squirrels is a good day in my book.

A curious squirrel

Memorial for the London bombings

Part of the Princess Diana memorial

Flowering tulips

Royal Albert Hall

Albert Memorial

Kensington Palace

Lost in London

My first day in London, if like me, you do not count the couple of hours I was conscious last night before passing out, was mostly spent wandering aimlessly and lost. I started out with lofty ideals, but ended up just plain confused.

Last night I arrived and miraculously found my way from Heathrow to my mates flat without getting lost. After a shower and a quick catch up, we headed to the pub for dinner then called it a night.

This morning she headed off to work and I thought I would try to organise my insurance number and bank account today. Neither of which I got even close to achieving. Although I now know what I actually have to do.  Instead,  today was spent wandering around lost and discovering half of the monopoly board (without my camera, sorry).  In wandering I found myself outside Buckingham Palace at the changing of the guard,  along with thousands of school kids.  After walking through a park I looked up to discover that I was standing under Big Ben.  I followed the river around and ended up at St Paul's cathedral.  Walking down The Strand and Fleet St, I somehow got back to Chinatown near Piccadilly for lunch.  A trip down through Leicester Square delivered me to Trafalgar Square and where I spent my afternoon.

On the edge of Trafalgar Square is one of the entrances to the National Gallery. It is filled with paintings by famous people who I had both heard of and never heard of.  Evenme, who isn't really all that interested in paintings found it fascinating.  As shown by the fact that I managed to spend most of the afternoon there.

So although it wasn't a productive day, it was fun.  Also surprisingly it was a sunny day. After cloud and rain yesterday and everyone saying how damp the UK is, long may the sun last.

Gooo....!

And thats it. All of the planning and packing done, all the stress done (well probably not, but I'm allowed some wishful thinking), tearful goodbyes completed. Now off into the wide unknown. Wellington to Auckland, Auckland to Singapore and Singapore to London. Time for alot of boredom and reflection as I spend 30 something hours pushing on through to the other side.

Next stop Europe...

Steady...

With only a few days left to go before the adventure begins, it was time for a farewell tour. A chance to travel around and say goodbye to friends and family. The trip started with the farewell to Kristine. A sad farewell at the airport and the end of the way things had been. As she left, I flew to Hamilton to do a greatest hits sort of farewell tour. Unfortunately I couldn't visit everyone and everywhere that I would have liked, so missed seeing some people I would have liked to see.

The first night was spent with my sister and her hunter and collector. Was a nice chance to see them again and was followed by a comfortable day of quiet relaxation. The following night was spent in Cambridge. A return to my old hometown and a chance to catch up with old friends. This turned into a night of drinking, celebrating and meeting new friends. Eventually we staggered home and I was delivered to my grandmother's house by a sober driver that ended her night early specifically to drop me off. Thank you.

Sunday meant a trip to Tauranga. A chance to see an uncle and some cousins that I hadn't seen for several years. News was exchanged and updates on life, all over a delicious lunch. Dinner back in Cambridge with Grandma, sister and other half, before a quiet night of conversation and whisky with Grandma.

On the road again, bus from Cambridge to Palmerston North. A catch up with my old boss, night at my sister's, sold my car, finished off sorting some stuff and a mini family lunch before taking the bus to Masterton to see the other side of the family. With a cousin visiting home from Perth, a family dinner was a good way to catch up with and uncles, aunts, cousins and Granmair.

A couple of days in Wellington with my parents while I pack, then I am off. Jetsetting around the world. Nerves are kicking in...