Well it’s time for another blog instalment
(the most exciting yet) and I've decided to split the next few up, as I honestly
can’t fit everything that has happened over the past 2 months into 1 - Lucky
you! The past 8 weeks have seen me venture to 13 different countries and
beyond. I can honestly say I've had the time of my life. The countries, people,
food, culture and history exceeded all of my expectations. I met people along
the way that will be friends for life and made memories I will never forget.
Putting into words the time I've had just doesn't do it justice but I’ll do my
best...
It had been a long time coming but after 6 months of not seeing each other, Lisa (my best friend from home) had finally touched down in London! It was so great seeing her and spending a week together sightseeing, shopping and hanging out. Before we knew it, it was Friday night and we had finished packing ready for our big European Escapade to begin!
We met our tour group at 6am at a hotel in the centre of London, after the essential paperwork was complete we hopped on the bus, our new home and mode of transport for the next 4 weeks. First stop was Paris. After experiencing it all with mum, I had some idea of what to expect, yet you can NEVER get sick of Paris. We finally reached our hotel after what seemed like forever on the bus (we soon became very used to this feeling)! Our hotel was in an extremely rough area of Paris, surround by gypsy fleet markets and after a quick change (we also became very good and being ready in under 20 minutes), we were off for our first big group dinner. The food was average, but company and wine was great. On contiki there are lots of 'optionals' that you can choose to either do or not and tonight they had a Cabaret show. We opted not to do it as I had seen the Moulin Rouge and that was enough. Instead we headed out with the boys to a pub called O'Sullivans (don't ask me why we were at an Irish Pub in Paris)! What a great first night... Lots of drinks, bar being lit on fire and crazy dancing with our new friends. From this night on I knew we were in for a good time.
On Contiki sleep becomes a thing of the past and you learn to function very quickly on little to no sleep. It would be easy to stay in bed all day, but the reality is you miss out on a whole city so what’s the point?! No matter how tired or worse for wear we were feeling, Lis and I always got up and made the most of our day. We were on the bus for 9am which dropped us at the Eiffel Tower (it gives me goose bumps every time) for our free day in Paris. We started with an open bus tour of the city taking in the magnificent sights of the Concorde, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre and everything else in between. We got off on the Champs Élysées and strolled along relishing in the fact we were in such a beautiful city. After a food stop (I warn you now this blog will be consumed with lots of food talk as we did COPIUS amounts of eating), we headed to Notre Dame, one of my absolute FAVS and then to the famous 'Locks of Love Bridge'. We each brought two padlocks - one with mine and Lisa's names and one with our families attached them to the bridge and threw the keys into the river. So we are now attached to Paris forever <3 We strolled back through the Latin quarter indulging in a scrumptious baguette and natella crepe before meeting back up with the group for a glass of French champagne and snails, which were just as garlicky as the first time I tried them. Tonight we headed to the Montmartre District and saw the Sacré Coeur Basilica church. It was absolutely stunning, with spectacular views looking right out over Paris. One of my favourite things about Europe is the incredible churches I have seen, all so different architecturally yet each has so much culture and history. Dinner was typically French and consisted of French onion soup and beef bourgeon! We decided to head back to the Eiffel Tower so Lis could see it at night... My absolute favourite part of Paris, seeing it all lit up and beautiful is just breathtaking. We climbed the stairs to the first level for the ultimate experience. Back at our hotel we found out one of the girls had been pick pocketed and lost all her valuables, you just have to be so careful! I adore Paris and have now been able to experience it with my mum and best friend, incredible!
After Paris we made our way to the gorgeous Beaujolais wine region of France, where we stayed in a 400 year old Chateau. The sun was shining and we had perfect weather to match such perfect scenery. Lis and I were lucky enough to have a room to ourselves with a beautiful view over the endless vineyards. After a quick bag drop we headed off for some wine tasting of the local Beaujolais wines... Mmm mmm mmm. The rosé was our favourite so we just had to purchase a few bottles, shame I couldn't ship any home for mum. After dinner it was time for our first 'themed' party. We had been give a days notice to come up with something starting with 'P'. Lis and I decided we would go as 'Parisians' wearing berets and 'I <3 Paris' t-shirts. The boys looked awesome wearing girls PJ's and one guy even went as a prostitute, the effort he put it was great and got a well deserved best dressed. The party was located in a cave at the chateau so it was a really cool setting and we had a great night, everyone just gets on so well, we couldn't have asked for a better group of people.
Day two saw us head off for a picnic in the countryside. After walking up hill for about an hour we finally reached our spot which was magical. What more could you ask for - a French stick, cheese, fruit, chocolate, wine and my best friend, it couldn't have been better. After our picnic a couple of us stopped at the local pub for a quick drink (more like a house, with lots of elderly French men enjoying their wine and bread, so cute)! We spent the afternoon lazing around soaking up the sun. Tonight consisted
of a few lazy drinks and games before retreating for a semi early night! I fell I love with the French country side, the setting and Chateau where just incredible, something I will probably never experience again, but I will never forget!
Today we were in for a LONG bus journey as we head off for Barcelona, Spain. On the way we stopped at a town called Avignon which is where the pope relocated for a while hundreds of years ago. In between sleeps the drive was beautiful, through the Pyrenees Mountains, where the mountain section of the Tour De France takes place. The drive took about 12 hours and my legs ached the whole way. The hostel was about 20 minutes out of the city centre and in a pretty rough area surrounded by gypsies, lucky we are in a big group and the hostel itself was nice and clean. We decided to head out and the European nightlife is quite different from back home. People don't go out until after 11pm and bar tenders don't measure the shots of alcohol, they free pour, which can be dangerous! The boys in our group are great. They always make sure there is at least one of them in our taxis and if we want to leave early they will walk us to the taxis just to make sure we are safe. Barcelona has more gypsies than Paris that’s for sure! We had a fun night although some of the clubs where full of awful men... Thank god we all stick together.
For our full day in Barcelona lots of people decided not to get on the bus due to a lack of sleep, but Lis and I made sure we were up and ready by 7.30. We drove into the city and saw lots of the sights Barcelona is famous for - La Vila Olimpica (where the 1992 Olympics where held), the Arc de triomphe which is the Spanish version of the Paris beauty and the Christopher Columbus monument which points out to sea. We stopped at Sagrada Familia, which is certainly one of the most incredible churches I have ever seen. The architecture was unlike anything I had ever seen for a church, just beautiful. We were dropped off on Les Rambles, the main street in Barcelona. We had been recommended to try the local food markets and how could we resist?! We had the best strawberry and kiwi juice and the fruit just looked amazing, so fresh and yum! We continued to wonder before retreating to the park for a rest before it was time for lunch. We found an authentic tapas bar down an ally and of course had to order 5 dishes to try - paprika potatoes, roast lamb, chorizo, mushrooms and a roast pepper and zucchini tart. The food was absolutely beautiful, just as I imagined real tapas should be and it was washed down with a glass of yummy sangria. We headed back down Les Rambles for some window shopping before meeting up with the boys for the rest of the afternoon. After heading back to the hotel for a quick change we went back to meet everyone for dinner at Port Olympia - a huge port right on the seaside full of restaurants and bars. Lisa, James, Nick, Costa and I choose a great Spanish restaurant where we paid for endless amounts of food. Think cold meats, cheese, prawns, squid, gazpacho, olives and that was only starters, then we had paella, which I had been hanging out for and it didn't let me down. Time to meet back up with the group for our last night of dancing and drinking in Barcelona. Lis and I became close to 3 beautiful girls from Sydney, Sam, Lisa and Monique. They love food, a dance and a good time just like us. Our tour guide Jimmy stayed true to his word about being late when we were forced to leave a guy behind in Barcelona. We waited an hour for him before having to leave for France. He had a big night the night before and didn’t come back to the hostel; we met back up with him in Rome though (a little strange if you ask me)! All in all Barcelona was nice, I’d love to visit other cities in Spain, but the sights were stunning. It was just a little scary at times, probably the most out of anywhere I have been.
On the road for yet another long bus ride back up to France. After crossing the border we stopped at a small town called Arles, which houses a smaller (a lot smaller) version of the Colosseum. We ate salads for lunch as we have not stopped eating bread, baguettes and everything else in between, but hey we're on holidays. Back on the road driving through the magical French country side before reaching our destination of Nice in the French Rivera. Our cabins where really cute and it felt just like school camp. For the first time Lis and I did some well needed washing and Sam, Lisa, Monique and I gave each other a well over due pedicure as our feet were horrendous! After dinner about ten of us went for a stroll down to the beach where we lit a fire and had a few drinks listening to the wave’s crash, it was so relaxing and beautiful and for the first time it hit me... Oh my god we're in the FRENCH RIVERA!!!!
Up bright and early for our free day in Nice. Our first stop was Fragonard’s perfumery, where we saw how the professionals actually make perfume. We tested out a few and Lis and I brought some Argan oil for our hair and skin, it was lush! Back on the bus for a stunning scenic drive through the hills and sights of the French Riv. I didn't realise how high the towns actually where, literally up in the clouds. We drove down the hill to the centre of city in Nice. It was so surreal walking around mixing it with the best of the best, in what I think may just be one of the most beautiful cities I have seen thus far (although I'm only 8 days into the tour)! After a quick baguette we headed off on our own for a spot of shopping and sightseeing. Walking past Dior, Prada, Chanel and the endless high end stores the city is famous for, I was lucky enough to find a cute pair of wedges for £20! Then we headed to the beach which was exquisite, yet certainly gave my feet a workout because of all the rocks, no such thing as sandy beaches in Europe. The water was pristine, all be it freezing, even though the sun was shining bright and most people there were topless and ridiculously tanned. We dipped our feet in but that was as far as we got, a little too chilly for me. After meeting back up with our group we headed back to our cabins in Antibes pronounced Onteev. It was time to get all dolled up for a night out in Monaco (I was so excited, like a kid in a candy shop)! Lis and I scrubbed up pretty well, in fact everyone looked great. On the bus for an hour bus ride which was breathtaking. The magnificent yachts, houses and views over the ocean were amazing. We reached Monaco after an hour, pretty incredible that we were in a whole new country in an hour’s drive, all be it the second smallest country in the world. We saw the start and finish line of the Formula 1 grand prix (Uncle Terry, you'd be proud), the palace were the prince of Monaco and the gorgeous Grace Kelly once lived and of course the major focal point and the place Lisa and I had been looking forward to most - THE Monte Carlo casino. When we arrived there were fireworks going off over the city, it was meant to be. The casino itself, what a spectacle, filled with the most affluent people and CARS (Ferraris, maseratis etc. as far as the eye could see)! The carpet and chandeliers where unlike any casino I've ever seen. They usually charge an entrance fee and some people choose to go to the smaller less affluent casino next door where it’s easier to bet etc. Not Lis and I we were mixing it with the high rollers and were lucky enough to get in for free. We had a €16 Bellini which was well worth it and had €50 between us that we choose to bet on roulette. We certainly made the right choice as our numbers 0, 27 and 11 came up. We walked away from the Monte Carlo Casino after winning €250 (my dad would be so proud)!! What a truly amazing night, one that I will never forget. The French Rivera met and exceeded all of my expectations, love, love, loved it.
Well that’s enough to keep you jealous for a few days before I enlighten you all with my adventures through Italy, Vienna and Germany!
Stay tuned xxx
It had been a long time coming but after 6 months of not seeing each other, Lisa (my best friend from home) had finally touched down in London! It was so great seeing her and spending a week together sightseeing, shopping and hanging out. Before we knew it, it was Friday night and we had finished packing ready for our big European Escapade to begin!
We met our tour group at 6am at a hotel in the centre of London, after the essential paperwork was complete we hopped on the bus, our new home and mode of transport for the next 4 weeks. First stop was Paris. After experiencing it all with mum, I had some idea of what to expect, yet you can NEVER get sick of Paris. We finally reached our hotel after what seemed like forever on the bus (we soon became very used to this feeling)! Our hotel was in an extremely rough area of Paris, surround by gypsy fleet markets and after a quick change (we also became very good and being ready in under 20 minutes), we were off for our first big group dinner. The food was average, but company and wine was great. On contiki there are lots of 'optionals' that you can choose to either do or not and tonight they had a Cabaret show. We opted not to do it as I had seen the Moulin Rouge and that was enough. Instead we headed out with the boys to a pub called O'Sullivans (don't ask me why we were at an Irish Pub in Paris)! What a great first night... Lots of drinks, bar being lit on fire and crazy dancing with our new friends. From this night on I knew we were in for a good time.
On Contiki sleep becomes a thing of the past and you learn to function very quickly on little to no sleep. It would be easy to stay in bed all day, but the reality is you miss out on a whole city so what’s the point?! No matter how tired or worse for wear we were feeling, Lis and I always got up and made the most of our day. We were on the bus for 9am which dropped us at the Eiffel Tower (it gives me goose bumps every time) for our free day in Paris. We started with an open bus tour of the city taking in the magnificent sights of the Concorde, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre and everything else in between. We got off on the Champs Élysées and strolled along relishing in the fact we were in such a beautiful city. After a food stop (I warn you now this blog will be consumed with lots of food talk as we did COPIUS amounts of eating), we headed to Notre Dame, one of my absolute FAVS and then to the famous 'Locks of Love Bridge'. We each brought two padlocks - one with mine and Lisa's names and one with our families attached them to the bridge and threw the keys into the river. So we are now attached to Paris forever <3 We strolled back through the Latin quarter indulging in a scrumptious baguette and natella crepe before meeting back up with the group for a glass of French champagne and snails, which were just as garlicky as the first time I tried them. Tonight we headed to the Montmartre District and saw the Sacré Coeur Basilica church. It was absolutely stunning, with spectacular views looking right out over Paris. One of my favourite things about Europe is the incredible churches I have seen, all so different architecturally yet each has so much culture and history. Dinner was typically French and consisted of French onion soup and beef bourgeon! We decided to head back to the Eiffel Tower so Lis could see it at night... My absolute favourite part of Paris, seeing it all lit up and beautiful is just breathtaking. We climbed the stairs to the first level for the ultimate experience. Back at our hotel we found out one of the girls had been pick pocketed and lost all her valuables, you just have to be so careful! I adore Paris and have now been able to experience it with my mum and best friend, incredible!
After Paris we made our way to the gorgeous Beaujolais wine region of France, where we stayed in a 400 year old Chateau. The sun was shining and we had perfect weather to match such perfect scenery. Lis and I were lucky enough to have a room to ourselves with a beautiful view over the endless vineyards. After a quick bag drop we headed off for some wine tasting of the local Beaujolais wines... Mmm mmm mmm. The rosé was our favourite so we just had to purchase a few bottles, shame I couldn't ship any home for mum. After dinner it was time for our first 'themed' party. We had been give a days notice to come up with something starting with 'P'. Lis and I decided we would go as 'Parisians' wearing berets and 'I <3 Paris' t-shirts. The boys looked awesome wearing girls PJ's and one guy even went as a prostitute, the effort he put it was great and got a well deserved best dressed. The party was located in a cave at the chateau so it was a really cool setting and we had a great night, everyone just gets on so well, we couldn't have asked for a better group of people.
Day two saw us head off for a picnic in the countryside. After walking up hill for about an hour we finally reached our spot which was magical. What more could you ask for - a French stick, cheese, fruit, chocolate, wine and my best friend, it couldn't have been better. After our picnic a couple of us stopped at the local pub for a quick drink (more like a house, with lots of elderly French men enjoying their wine and bread, so cute)! We spent the afternoon lazing around soaking up the sun. Tonight consisted
of a few lazy drinks and games before retreating for a semi early night! I fell I love with the French country side, the setting and Chateau where just incredible, something I will probably never experience again, but I will never forget!
Today we were in for a LONG bus journey as we head off for Barcelona, Spain. On the way we stopped at a town called Avignon which is where the pope relocated for a while hundreds of years ago. In between sleeps the drive was beautiful, through the Pyrenees Mountains, where the mountain section of the Tour De France takes place. The drive took about 12 hours and my legs ached the whole way. The hostel was about 20 minutes out of the city centre and in a pretty rough area surrounded by gypsies, lucky we are in a big group and the hostel itself was nice and clean. We decided to head out and the European nightlife is quite different from back home. People don't go out until after 11pm and bar tenders don't measure the shots of alcohol, they free pour, which can be dangerous! The boys in our group are great. They always make sure there is at least one of them in our taxis and if we want to leave early they will walk us to the taxis just to make sure we are safe. Barcelona has more gypsies than Paris that’s for sure! We had a fun night although some of the clubs where full of awful men... Thank god we all stick together.
For our full day in Barcelona lots of people decided not to get on the bus due to a lack of sleep, but Lis and I made sure we were up and ready by 7.30. We drove into the city and saw lots of the sights Barcelona is famous for - La Vila Olimpica (where the 1992 Olympics where held), the Arc de triomphe which is the Spanish version of the Paris beauty and the Christopher Columbus monument which points out to sea. We stopped at Sagrada Familia, which is certainly one of the most incredible churches I have ever seen. The architecture was unlike anything I had ever seen for a church, just beautiful. We were dropped off on Les Rambles, the main street in Barcelona. We had been recommended to try the local food markets and how could we resist?! We had the best strawberry and kiwi juice and the fruit just looked amazing, so fresh and yum! We continued to wonder before retreating to the park for a rest before it was time for lunch. We found an authentic tapas bar down an ally and of course had to order 5 dishes to try - paprika potatoes, roast lamb, chorizo, mushrooms and a roast pepper and zucchini tart. The food was absolutely beautiful, just as I imagined real tapas should be and it was washed down with a glass of yummy sangria. We headed back down Les Rambles for some window shopping before meeting up with the boys for the rest of the afternoon. After heading back to the hotel for a quick change we went back to meet everyone for dinner at Port Olympia - a huge port right on the seaside full of restaurants and bars. Lisa, James, Nick, Costa and I choose a great Spanish restaurant where we paid for endless amounts of food. Think cold meats, cheese, prawns, squid, gazpacho, olives and that was only starters, then we had paella, which I had been hanging out for and it didn't let me down. Time to meet back up with the group for our last night of dancing and drinking in Barcelona. Lis and I became close to 3 beautiful girls from Sydney, Sam, Lisa and Monique. They love food, a dance and a good time just like us. Our tour guide Jimmy stayed true to his word about being late when we were forced to leave a guy behind in Barcelona. We waited an hour for him before having to leave for France. He had a big night the night before and didn’t come back to the hostel; we met back up with him in Rome though (a little strange if you ask me)! All in all Barcelona was nice, I’d love to visit other cities in Spain, but the sights were stunning. It was just a little scary at times, probably the most out of anywhere I have been.
On the road for yet another long bus ride back up to France. After crossing the border we stopped at a small town called Arles, which houses a smaller (a lot smaller) version of the Colosseum. We ate salads for lunch as we have not stopped eating bread, baguettes and everything else in between, but hey we're on holidays. Back on the road driving through the magical French country side before reaching our destination of Nice in the French Rivera. Our cabins where really cute and it felt just like school camp. For the first time Lis and I did some well needed washing and Sam, Lisa, Monique and I gave each other a well over due pedicure as our feet were horrendous! After dinner about ten of us went for a stroll down to the beach where we lit a fire and had a few drinks listening to the wave’s crash, it was so relaxing and beautiful and for the first time it hit me... Oh my god we're in the FRENCH RIVERA!!!!
Up bright and early for our free day in Nice. Our first stop was Fragonard’s perfumery, where we saw how the professionals actually make perfume. We tested out a few and Lis and I brought some Argan oil for our hair and skin, it was lush! Back on the bus for a stunning scenic drive through the hills and sights of the French Riv. I didn't realise how high the towns actually where, literally up in the clouds. We drove down the hill to the centre of city in Nice. It was so surreal walking around mixing it with the best of the best, in what I think may just be one of the most beautiful cities I have seen thus far (although I'm only 8 days into the tour)! After a quick baguette we headed off on our own for a spot of shopping and sightseeing. Walking past Dior, Prada, Chanel and the endless high end stores the city is famous for, I was lucky enough to find a cute pair of wedges for £20! Then we headed to the beach which was exquisite, yet certainly gave my feet a workout because of all the rocks, no such thing as sandy beaches in Europe. The water was pristine, all be it freezing, even though the sun was shining bright and most people there were topless and ridiculously tanned. We dipped our feet in but that was as far as we got, a little too chilly for me. After meeting back up with our group we headed back to our cabins in Antibes pronounced Onteev. It was time to get all dolled up for a night out in Monaco (I was so excited, like a kid in a candy shop)! Lis and I scrubbed up pretty well, in fact everyone looked great. On the bus for an hour bus ride which was breathtaking. The magnificent yachts, houses and views over the ocean were amazing. We reached Monaco after an hour, pretty incredible that we were in a whole new country in an hour’s drive, all be it the second smallest country in the world. We saw the start and finish line of the Formula 1 grand prix (Uncle Terry, you'd be proud), the palace were the prince of Monaco and the gorgeous Grace Kelly once lived and of course the major focal point and the place Lisa and I had been looking forward to most - THE Monte Carlo casino. When we arrived there were fireworks going off over the city, it was meant to be. The casino itself, what a spectacle, filled with the most affluent people and CARS (Ferraris, maseratis etc. as far as the eye could see)! The carpet and chandeliers where unlike any casino I've ever seen. They usually charge an entrance fee and some people choose to go to the smaller less affluent casino next door where it’s easier to bet etc. Not Lis and I we were mixing it with the high rollers and were lucky enough to get in for free. We had a €16 Bellini which was well worth it and had €50 between us that we choose to bet on roulette. We certainly made the right choice as our numbers 0, 27 and 11 came up. We walked away from the Monte Carlo Casino after winning €250 (my dad would be so proud)!! What a truly amazing night, one that I will never forget. The French Rivera met and exceeded all of my expectations, love, love, loved it.
Well that’s enough to keep you jealous for a few days before I enlighten you all with my adventures through Italy, Vienna and Germany!
Stay tuned xxx
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