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Hi All,
Sorry it's been a while since i've updated - have had limited internet access. Since the last blog i had one last day in London which i spent wandering the City again - managed to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace which was really extravogant - SOO many guards, police officers, bands etc - the sun actually decided to come out that day and i managed to get really sunburnt as i needed to be there 1 1/2 hours prior to it starting to get a spot where i could actually see. So many people - unfortunately i can't load any photos on here as i'm on a computer at our accomodation because they don't have wifi. I walked through and had ate lunch in Hyde Park - then headed down to Knightsbridge to have a look in Harrods - very fancy - but still just a department store...HOWEVER - the food hall in Harrods...oh my god. amazing. goes from biscuits and desserts cakes and souvenir type things to fresh fruit (all perfect looking and blemish free) then to cheeses, baguettes, seafood, chocolates, fudges etc - every food you can imagine. very impressed. (was very upset i'd just eaten lunch)
I had a new room mate by the time i got home - which was interesting to say the least but i will inform you separately of this.... Had my contiki group meeting that night (Friday) where we just met the group and went through a couple of details. I went out for dinner with a group of girls from the contiki then off to bed as we had an early start to head off to Paris in the bus.
Bag weighed in at 19.78kg (lucky as it was only allowed to be 20kgs) - fielded a few pay outs due to my bag umm would we call it a choice???- but managed to get through it !!
Tour Manager Sara is Canadian and very knowledgable - we got to Dover and had to get out to have our passports stamped - then on the ferry across to France. Eventually reached Paris where our accomodation was really nice (in the Broncs - but it was newish and nice, own bathrooms and only twin share which was a massive win). We had dinner at the restaurant next door to the hotel then off on a bus tour of Paris which was freezing and RAINING!!!!! the tour showed us pretty much everything you can expect to see in Paris - i took photos of everything i could however as it was rainy - the photos didn't turn out real well given that the windows had rain drops all over them - i knew i wouldnt get the chance to get back to most of the places so did the best i could as we only had 1 day in Paris. We stopped at a resturant and i can now say that i have tried Escargo (snails) - can't say i would do it again, but at least i tried it! seems a bit pointless really as they are so covered in garlic that they dont really taste like anything. i did have to convince myself i was eating something else to ensure i could get it down without gagging and bringing it back up as the texture was not good. it doesnt get dark here until like at least 10pm - however a few of us got off the bus at the Eiffel Tower to wait for the lights to go on - then wait until 10pm to see the lights flash as they do on the hour at night time. the main lights went on at about 9 so we had an hour to kill until they would sparkle. we went to a cafe and had wine and dessert while we waited - but time went quite fast and i ended up seeing something flashing through the trees - only to notice it was 10pm - so we missed those ones and waited it out until the 11pm lights. so worth while - very pretty - and a huge crowd waiting to see them especially considering it was so cold and raining. we caught the metro back to the hotel which was an experience in itself as while we were on the correct metro line - we definitely were going the wrong direction - so 3 more trains later - we got back to the hotel....at about 12:30pm.
Breakfast was provided in the hotel and everything on offer was just so packed with sugar - even the bread for toast was so so sweet!! the bus then dropped us off at the Arch De Triomphe - my biggest mistake today was gauging the weather from our window...as it turns out we were in a really protected area - i decided on shorts and a singlet top with thongs....when we got dropped off - it was absolutely freezing, windy and raining. soooooooooooooooo cold. we waited in the underground tunnel until 10am for the Arch to open and we paid to climb to the top - view was unreal - didn't matter which direction you looked there was something amazing to be seen. we then made our second mistake for the day - headed down the Champs Elysees - and yes it really is a busy street. Our group was 8 girls - and with 8 different people wanting to do different things - and being on a street packed with shops - this was pretty much where we spent the whole day which i was a bit upset about because i really wanted to at least see all of the attractions given that the photos from the bus tour hadn't turned out well at all. eventually we all had to buy umbrellas because of the poor weather and we caught the metro to the eiffel tower as we at least wanted to get up and close to it and hopefully climb it - we got there at 2 and the lines were huge -- we lined up for about an hour then gave up as it was so cold. we caught the metro back to the hotel to begin getting ready for our night as we were heading out for dinner in the red light district and to the Moulin Rouge. the bus dropped us off and we had to walk up a steep hill and a heap of steps to get up to the resturant where we had a 3 course meal with a few different choices - i had french onion soup (which was packed full of soggy bread which was not ideal in my eyes - but the soup itself was nice), then beef burgundy and a choc mousse-like cake for dessert - the waiters were your typical old French men playing it up for the girls but they were lovely. the entertainment was a guy playing the piano and singing in French.
we then went and had a group photo infront of the Sacreca (i have no idea how to spell it) then headed back down to get to the Moulin Rouge - originally we were supposed to be going to just a cabaret show - however Sara received a call to say they had electrical problem on the previous nights show and they hadn't been able to get it fixed so they had cancelled the performance for tonight (Sunday night) - we had already let her know how much we wanted to go to the Moulin Rouge so she managed to get some tickets for those who wanted to go - it only cost 15 euros more than the cabaret was going to cost which we were more than happy to pay given that we would be seeing the real thing. We were sitting at little tables up on about the 3rd tear - so perfect seats - all of the tables had little red lamps on them and 3 bottles of champagne. the show was amazing - costumes so unbelieveable - and a lot of boobs...like a lot of boobs. the guys were incredibly good looking - clearly not interested in anything a female has to offer, but still incredibly goodlooking. they had a guy that juggled 7 batons at one stage which was very impressive - then had a couple who would balance on top of each other which was absoultely crazy - the started off with the girl doing a headstand on top of the guys head - and him moving around into different positions from there - and that was just the beginning of it - ridiculous amount of strength and balance. They also had one of the dancers dive into a pool that rose out of the stage that had massive live snakes in it - then had little miniature ponies as well...they spare no expense at all - definitely worth while.
we then headed next door to O'Sullivans pub to meet the rest of the contiki group that chose not to go to the Moulin Rouge - we stayed until about 4:30am to experience a bit of the Paris night life. Soooo many good looking French men - like sooooooooo many. however, they all seemed to be incredibly confidence and full of themselves - if you even looked at a guy within 5 seconds they would be introducing themselves and would be in the middle of your group showing off their dancing skills. Very forward/sleazy.
we packed up in the morning as the bus was leaving at 9am - we drove to Fontainebleau where we had to find costumes for our white, tight and bright party to be held at the contiki Chateau in the Beaujolais Wine Region that night. - we also bought supplies from the supermarket as there wouldnt be shops at the Chateau - bought a bottle of smirnoff vodka for 12.94 euro - which is around about $18 - crazy cheap. got back to the bus a bit late - but luckily there were a couple of people later than us as if people are late - and the group has to wait for them - they need to do Coacheoke - where they have to get up the front of the bus and put the ipod earphones in and sing the song into the bus microphone - i will NEVER be late for this reason. After a full day travelling we arrived at the Chateau - we had a wine tasting then dinner and then the party in the cave - which is the underground bar at the Chateau - was a pretty big night as there were 2 other contiki groups here and because we knew we didn't have to travel anywhere the following day - we had the whole day at the Chateau just to chill out by the pool and had an option of going for a mountain walk for a picnic - however i managed to sleep until 4pm - so the day was gone - which wasn't a huge issue given that it was cold and raining - and that brings us to now!! Nothing on tonight as everyone is still recovering from last night - and we have a bus ride to the French Rivera tomorrow to visit Monte Carlo and the Casinos etc - thank god there will be washing facilities at this next place as i'm running out of undies again (AZ that inclusion was purely just for you....haha).
We were given the list of optional extras to tick off what we want to do - and i've chosen all of them - figure may as well while i'm here - probably most looking forward to Paragliding and White Water Rafting in the Austrian Tyrol - along with all of the water sports and island cruise in Corfu - but they aren't for a few days yet!
Hopefully i will get to update you all again soon but it will depend on the availability of the internet!
Hope everyone is going well.
Love Holly xoxoxo
PS This blog absolutely killed me as after i had written majority of it....it deleted itself and i had to start again - so even though it's not that interesting...please appreciated the effort that went in!!! haha
- comments
Merro Holly you are a machine. Shame about the weather. Hopefully the sun is shining on the French riviera so you can swim in the Meditteranean. xxx
Gae I'm remembering almost all Paris spots with you. Would love to go to Moulin Rouge again, Glad you loving it. One could not love Paris Hope the weather has improved by now. Great to read your blogs
Karen McManus That was a great read Holly - I love your writing style! So descriptive I can see the visions in my mind. Keep us updated when you can - there are probably a lot of us living vicariously through you at the moment. xx
M-Rae pretty much all I took out of this blog is that with a little bit of editing you will have a number 1 best selling european food guide on your hands.
den-ham Snails sound good, what about the frogs legs? Good story - very descriptive. The umbrella will put you over weight baggage!!!
Aunty Rob Great update - yes much appreciated. Hope you have some improved weather to enjoy the water stuff!! xx
Karly loving it hols. its a pity its been bad weather for you! i am glad you are doing the exact same tour as me so i can relive it all. love you and safe travels xoxox
Hollie 'OE' Holly-montser! Loving your blogs.. I am also reliving my time in Europe, and am ready to hop on a plane tomorrow and do it all again! I want to hear all about the yummy food you are eating - dont count calories! I came back a balloon! ;) Love you and cant wait to hear the story about your last room-mate in the London Motel..xx
CHELCH How crazy is the change of guard...such a massive deal! Im soooooo jealous of the food comments :( Food there is amazing! Your blogs are so descriptive...wellllll donnnneeeee :)
sammond u r very good at writing. well done.