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It's daunting to think just how much I have to update you all on!! Since my last blog, we have visited the French Riviera, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Pompeii & Corfu (Greek islands). So...... Here we go...
We left the Chateau in the Beaujolais Wine Region at 8am on our way to the French Riviera. One of the Canadian girls from our tour had to leave today as she developed a blood clot in her leg and has to fly home which would be pretty disappointing. The scenery out of the bus window was making it difficult to sleep - the mountains and different style of houses in the French countryside were so interesting to look at - and I didn't want to waste it by sleeping!! Had a couple of service stops during the bus ride and played a few coach games including Coach Olympics which involved the 2 aisles playing against eachother to locate and pass the specific item that Sara would call out to the front of the bus before the other team - this helped to pass some time.
We arrived at our campsite in Antibes on the French Riviera - the weather was beautiful, sunny and warm - which was exactly what we were after - FINALLY we had hit Summer!!!!! The campsite was nice - we each had a cabin which had 2 separate bedrooms with a bunk bed in each which were joined by a bathroom. We unpacked a bit as we were there for 2 nights - then headed for dinner where we tried 'cuisses de grenouille' (frogs legs) - was put off a little bit because they still looked like frogs legs - but they tasted just like chicken - so that's another thing I can tick off the list of never need to do that again :).
We then had dinner at the campsite with the other contikis - pork sausages (which were still really really pink - but we were assured this was just how they were in France) and salads. We dressed up then boarded the bus to go to Monaco to visit the Royal Palace and a Monte Carlo Casino. The bus ride was windy around the mountains with unreal views of the ocean and over Nice and Monte Carlo. The drive reminded me a lot of the great ocean road between Apollo Bay and Lorne with the cliffs and tight corners etc.
We took photos with the Royal Palace and a group photo with Monte Carlo in the background - then on to the Casino. We parked the bus at the bottom of the hill and hiked up the steep slope and stairs in our heels to the casino. We paid our 10euro and went into the casino which was a lot smaller than I thought. Was only a couple of rooms - one with tables and one with pokies. The detail on the roof and walls inside the casino was insane - but ofcourse - couldn't take photos in there so for those of you who haven't been there - you will have to take my word for it.
Bus back to the campsite to the bar for a while and to bed!
Today we got up and got the double decker train to Nice. We walked down via the shops to the beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful esplanade of Nice. Wow. So pretty and such a perfect day. We ended up at a restaurant actually down on the beach for lunch and had pasta and cocktails. Doesn't get much better than that. The beach is little grey rocks, not sand - and they really hurt your feet to walk on. The beach was packed with people and umbrellas and sun beds to hire. We got in the water which was made difficult by strong waves breaking really close to the shore and feet constantly sinking into the rocks- eventually got past and it was very deep straight away. The was so blue and refreshing - there were s few jelly fish around which we had to be careful of. We got out and sunbaked for a while then headed to a mountain Sara had told us about which had an elevator to take you to the top where you could get good views of the coast. Had ice-cream and relaxed up there for a while before walking back and catching the train to the campsite for dinner (turkey steaks). After dinner most of the group headed to the theme park down the road for a bit of fun - then home to the bar for a bit and to bed!
The next day we got up, packed and left on the bus to Florence. We stopped at a french perfumery for a demonstration and at Pisa on the way to see the leaning tower. It was about a 15min walk from the bus park to the tower where they charge over 100euro to park for an hour. One of the girls on the tour caught a pick pocketer in the act (the woman had a baby in her arms- had been warned about this one - can't believe we actually saw it in action though!!). We spent a while taking novelty photos and walking around - then followed by gelati and back on the bus again. We arrived at the campsite in Florence (which was about a 15min drive from the city as most of the contiki campsites and accommodations are) - the cabins were set up similar to the last ones with 2 bed rooms and a bathroom in the middle.
We had lasagne for dinner at the campsite which was nice then caught the bus in to Florence and walked to Red Garter which is a karoke bar that contiki frequent. It was happy hour and they were serving litre jugs of cocktails for 15 euros - so I went halves in a couple of those - we only stayed for about half an hour (due to restrictions on the bus driver as the bus must be parked by 11pm each night - we could have stayed and caught taxis back to camp but decided we were happy to get the bud back and drink at the bar at the campsite) so that was a lot to drink in a small period of time. Can't say a lot more about this night because I had one of my memory blocks - but I have been informed that shots were involved - and evidence on my legs would suggest I stacked it up the stairs. Also got back to the cabin to find my roomy asleep next to the toilet so was a big night all round. The next day was hellish. More details re this night but I'll wait to tell in person!! Had to get on the bus to drive into Florence for the day - coach rules are that if you're going to be sick - you need to do it in a doubled plastic rubbish bag - needless to say i prepared for the worst by grabbing my 2 bags on the way into the coach - luckily they weren't needed though. We went to a leather factory for a demonstration then had a walking tour if Florence - incredibly painful as most of us were feeling very similar and almost falling asleep while walking. Could still appreciate the beauty of this city even in this state. We had lunch at a little cafe that was recommended - spaghetti bolognaise which was nice - but I have found they don't use much meat in their pasta sauces so trying to get used to this. Had the afternoon free so we went to see the museum where the statue of David was - managed to get in fairly easily and pretty much went straight to David - wow - he is huge and such detail - amazing to see what could be created without computers etc. We sat and stared for ages. then saw the duomo and basillica Santa croce among other things that I can't remember the names of (it's really hard to keep up and take everything in!!!!) then shopped in the markets for a while before catching the bus to the campsite. We got dressed and headed on the bus back in to florence firstly for our group photo from the look out over the town then for our tuscan dinner followed by space electronic disco. Dinner was beautiful - so much food - antipasto, pizza, 3 types of pasta (spaghetti bog, pesto bows, spinach and ricotta ravioli), chicken, meatballs and mashed potato, salad, ice-cream cake and finished off with a lemon chello shot. So full we pretty much had to roll to the disco. This night had been talked up quite a bit but was pretty disappointing. We were handed a card when we walked in which was to be used in the place of cash - Your card would be stamped everytime you bought a drink and you just needed to present your card to a specific counter before you left and pay for what you used. There didn't seem to be an age restriction on entry do the place was packed with 15/16year olds and sleazy old men trying to pick up the young ones. The italian guys definitely don't work the same way as in Australia but I won't go into that here! Didn't leave a very good impression. We got a taxi home at 1am for 22 euro then to bed.
We got up and packed up as we were off to Rome today. Arrived at around 1pm and went straight on a part driving part walking tour to see the main attractions including: the colosseum, St peters basilica, the Vatican, Trevi fountain (where ofcourse we had to throw a coin - 1 coin to have luck in love, 2 coins to fall in love with an Italian and 3 to marry an Italian - I just threw one as im not that fussy!!) pantheon, Spanish steps, michaelangelos keyhole ( big door on top of hill and through the key hole you can see a path lined by a beautiful garden which points straight to the basilica) etc. Then headed to the campsite which was about 30 mins out. They were wooden cabins which were a similar set up to before. We went straight into the pool (as it was hot in Rome) for an hour as it was due to close at 7pm - then up for pizza for dinner at the restaurant at the campsite. This campsite didn't function with cash. When we arrived we had to go to reception to get a card which we could load up with euro to be used to purchase anything in the campsite. We stayed in the bar for a while then off to bed.
We got up for breakfast - today was our free day in Rome. We caught the train into the colosseum but couldn't get in there as a group until 4pm so went off individually before we needed to meet at the Vatican at 1 for a tour. We walked around for a while but found it very difficult to navigate given that the map we had was very small, street signs were hard to come across and the street names on the map were often abbreviated. We were attempting to head to the Pantheon as we wanted to take a look inside however we ended up at the Trevi fountain again and gave up on the pantheon as time wise we would be cutting it fine as we wanted to have a nice lunch at an authentic Italian cafe also - so we went with that instead. Was a bit of a screw around with lunch which turned out to be an absolutely amazing fettucine alla panna however due to the time it took to prepare - we were left with 10 mins to meet the group for the vatican tour and had quite a bit of distance to cover. We managed to get a taxi and even though he couldn't speak English he got that we were in a hurry and got us where we needed to go so we were very grateful and ofcourse tipped him. the vatican was absolutely packed and it was so hot. It was very difficult to take in the information that our tour guide was giving us via our little earpieces as there was just so much and it was quite rushed. So many photos in the Vatican because everything you look at is just amazing. Sistine chapel was quite unreal but no photos were allowed in there as well as no talking. Next in to the basillca which has so much detail inside it as Westminster abbey did. The tour finished at around 4pm so we were late for our booking to go into the colosseum as we had to catch a few trains to get there but made it and went in - it's huge and just looking at the bricks all worn away and walls partly fallen down - wow. Definitely need to see Gladiator when I get home. We caught the train back to the campsite for dinner which was antipasto plates and chicken parmis and spaghetti. Had a whiteboard party that night so everyone hadnto wear white and write on eachother with textas. The campsite even had a mechanical bull so a few people had a go on that then off to bed.
Got up and on the bus at 745 as we had a full travel day today to get to the ferry across to Corfu in the Greek islands. We stopped on the way at Pompeii to have a tour of the ancient city. It was so so so hot here - but we were shown how to recognize the shops that would have been the 'mcdonalds' of their day as well as the rich houses - we were shown the red light district and inside one of the brothels which had stone beds with stone pillows and pictures on the wall so clients could communicate what they wanted. Some people believe it was because of the sex and red light district in Pompeii that it was ruined by the volcano. There were moulds of bodies and dogs from when the volcanic ash fell. There were no street names as most people couldn't read - so the streets were distinguished by features such as fountains with different symbols on them. Mount Vesuvius was huge and a beautiful backdrop.
Finished the tour then had lunch at a cafe and back on the bus to the ferry.
We were lucky as the ferry was for 12 hours and instead of being stuck in airline seats the whole way we were upgraded to quadshare cabins with bunk beds and bathrooms which made the trip so much better than it could have been (not saying that it was good though by any stretch the imagination) we boarded at 7pm and the ferry departed at 10pm - we had a little look around- had a bar, disco, pool and restaurant so we ate dinner then went to bed - had a horrible sleep as I knew we had to be at 4am as the ferry docked at 5am and we didn't want to miss it!!! So tired in the morning but up in time and got off the ferry and on to the bus to our accom in Corfu. We got to see sunrise on the drive to the accom which was beautiful - another lovely day. Our hotel was right on the beachfront with a beautiful pool area. As everything on thr island, it was set on the side of a mountain so our rooms were up the topnof a steep slope. Was a decent hike so when you left in the morning you wanted to make sure you had everything you could possibly need for the day. Air-conditioning in our rooms was optional and was 2 euro per person per day - best 6 euro I have spent. The rooms were for 3 people and had our own bathrooms, balconies and fridges which was good. Was feeling pretty sick when we arrived from the ferry ride and being tired etc so had a little sleep then down to breakfast of cold meat, cheese, tomato and bread then down to the pool for a whole day of swimming and sun baking. Most of the group did this as we were all pretty worn out from the overnight ferry - some people went into town for a while but I felt no need for this. The pool had it's own bar and served food as well so there was no need to leave. One thing about Greece is you can't flush your toilet paper down the toilet.... Yep that's right... You have to put your toilet paper in a bin next to the toilet otherwise you will clog the pipes. This was disgusting and took a while to get used to. The accom didn't operate with cash either - you had to exchange your cash for tokens at reception. I had a gyros for lunch which is pretty much a tiros/kebab but isnt all wrapped up together - wasn't too bad but I actually prefer a yiros from home!!! Went up to our room for a shower then down to dinner which was mousaka garlic bread and salad which was nice then down to the pool party - ended up getting in the water again because it was still so warm then up to bed.
Got up in the morning and down to breakfast - same as yesterday's - then on the bus to the port as we were going on 'George's boat' today. George was a bit of a sleazy old man and everything he said would have a sexual connotation but he was harmless. We had music as he took us around the island and had us take part in different activities/singing/dancing etc. He stopped a few times for us to jump off for a swim - the water was so so blue and a really good temperature. We went to a beach and did water sports - skiing, parasailing, tube etc and sunbaked - the water was so so salty it stung your skin so much but also meant we floated really easily. George then provided lunch of bread, cucumber, tomato , homemade really garlicy tzaiki. Had a bar on board also. We then went for a cruise along the coast which is just mountain after mountain with houses built on the sides of them - but we werent at the islands where everything is white and blue which I was a bit disappointed about - and in terms of going out on your own - I don't think Corfu would have the same nightlife as Mykonos or San torini so i'm disappointed we didn't get to see those places as I dont feel I have experienced the Greek islands as such - more like we just visited a beach/pool location - so those other islands are still on the list of things to do. We swapped from georges boat to another bigger boat and headed to skinny dippy island where we all jumped in - various amounts of nudity could be seen - was quite entertaining. We then headed back to the port and got the bus to our accom. Had soulvlaki for dinner by the pool (overall I haven't been impressed by the food here) then off to get ready for our togs party. Making a dress from a white sheet isn't really that easy it turns out!!! 3 other contiki groups were at the party but they had to leave at 1230am as they were part of camping groups which were staying elsewhere - the party was so much better once the other groups left as now that we are 2 weeks in, I think everyone is finally comfortable with eachother and we all just had a good night. It was so hot though...especially in sheets that aren't exactly breathable!!!
Slept until 11am the next day - must have needed it!! Then down to the pool for the day again. Our Greek dinner was on that night so we were waiting foe the shuttle bus to pick us up at 815ish - we were warned that everything in Greece operates on ish timing and to be prepared for this - so sometimes they can come late and sometimes not at all. So while the bus was supposed to arrive at 815 - it actually arrived at 840... We got to dinner where the 3 other contiki groups were as well as large tables of other groups of people from different countries which meant the mc of the night had to say everything in about 5 different languages to ensure everyone could understand what was happening. We were served so much food. Dips and bread, sausages and feta filled pastries, baked potato with fillings, chicken, lamb, rice and watermelon. There was Greek dancing and singing as the entertainment during the meal with various different costumes that required crowd participation at certain points. There was also fire and plate smashing (of course) - we were all so warn out by the end and got the bus home and in bed by 1 am.
Alarm went off at 4am as we had to be at the bus by 445 to head to our 24 hour ferry to Venice. Was very tough to get up. Got to the ferry and it was late coming in so we got to see another beautiful sunrise in the greek islands. Boarded the ferry and straight to our cabins which were just like the last ones. Breakfast was provided for us in the restaurant which wad crossaints, bread rolls, boiled eggs, strawberry yoghurt, freshly squeezed orange juice and tea - definitely the best breakfast so far. We ate and went straight to bed at 830am to make up for our early morning. Slept until 430pm when we had to meet Sara to arrange groups for our gondola ride in Venice tomorrow. Then went for a little look around and had dinner then began writing this epic blog (2.5 hours ago) so sorry its sooo long and not that interesting but hard to include so much detail when there is so muchbto cover!!!
We get to Venice at 730 tomorrow and have a full day to explore with a walking tour and a gondola ride - then on to Vienna, prague, Munich, Austrian Tyrol, Swiss alps, Rhine valley and amsterdamn. We are officially half way through our tour and I'm enjoying it - not sick of it yet which is a good thing. I'm sad the Greek islands is over as I was looking forward to that the most so will be interesting to see what the next couple of weeks bring!!!
Love Holly
Xoxo
- comments
Merro & Glenn I love you blogs Holly. So much information and memories for us. You still have so much to look forward to. xxx
Kaz Great blog again Holly! I check all the time to see if you have written a new one because they are SO entertaining! Sounds like you are having a wonderful time. Luv Kaz. xx
Aunty Rob Wow! I think you can publish a book from your adventure when you come home! Gives us all a great picture of the fun you are having so far. Looking forward to the next chapter. xxx
denham Wow!!! Snails, now the frogs legs, good onya, adventureous - not like someone we know? You survived the crabs in the sea!!! Enjoy the rest of the trip. XXX
CHELCH Epic blog woman! what a great bedtime read :) I am very jealous of the beautiful sites you have been too, sounds so pretty!