I: France
Day one: trip from London to Dover, Dover to Calais and then Calais to Paris. We became intimately acquainted with the bus - it was aptly described as our second home and as you can imagine by the end of the tour we'd had enough of the bus, and halfway through we'd had enough of bread! But let me not run away with things.
First stop Dover - supposedly departure from London was set at 8am - make that more like half 8/9 since the bus driver was late for whatever reason - this was to set the tone for most of the tour! Finally leave London and it's dreary weather behind - it being a typically English day upon departure.
Get to Dover, go through customs and then wait on the bus to load onto the ferry for the 90min journey across the English Channel. The weather being horrible made for a choppy ride and many a tour group member felt seasick - what with the ferry tilting this way and that, water slapping up against the window - it's good way to feel drunk without drinking.
Land at Calais, board the bus, leave the ferry and head for the city of love - Paris. Get to Paris around peak late afternoon traffic. Everything you've heard about French and Parisian drivers being bad - it's all 100% true! I've never seen such chaos. Add that we're driving on the 'wrong side of the road' and it can be a little frightening. We were all just glad that we weren't the ones navigating the bus through that mess. There were cars and bicycles and scooters and motorbikes and pedestrians - all trying to get somewhere! Eventually the cops came along and did the clearing thing, we could've easily spent an hour sitting in traffic - despite being very close to our hotel. Clear traffic, some manoevours to get to the right side of the road to offload the bus of passengers and bags - room allocation and then we hit the streets for night time walk of Paris.
First stop - the Sacre Coeur. Wow, is this church magnificent - add the evening light and it just adds to it's beauty. Grabbed something to eat at one of the numerous stalls around the bottom before taking the stairs all the way to the top. Get to the top and the vibe and the view is just awesome. It's a Saturday evening, everybody's sitting on the stairs - a guy is playing his guitar and singing. The song he was singing when we first arrived was Halleluia but as the evening progressed - so did the tunes...a couple french songs and well known rock tunes...
The view from the Sacre Coeur is the second highest - with the Eiffel being the highest view of the city. The only thing that wasn't in direct line of sight from the Sacre Coeur was the Eiffel - the rest of the city was sprawled before us.
Inside the Sacre Coeur - which translates as the Church of the Sacred Heart - it was spectacular. So huge - both in circumference and height - just thinking about how so many of these buildings were built without the aid of fancy machinery, and the detail that went into the smallest things - from the floors and walls to the ceiling and external architecture - amazing. There were so many lady chapels, places to sit in quiet contemplation and place to meditate to the stations of the cross. You could even light a candle - for a 2, 5 or 10 euro donation! The church had such a serene feel to it despite it being filled with tourists. It is certainly one (of many) places I must return to in Paris - nevermind in France.
From the Sacre Coeur we wandered down to the artists area - Montmarte. Another place with an awesome vibe, everyone sitting down in the cafes and restaurants to dinner, musicians playing their instruments and artists drawing their subjects for a fare. Had the yummiest chocolate crepe and just wandered through the area soaking it all in before heading towards the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge is basically in the Parisian red light district - or at least that's what it seemed like. But, the Parisian red light district certainly doesn't compare to the one in Amsterdam! But let me not get ahead of myself. Took some snaps and then walked back to the hotel, catching the metro along the way.
Oh boy, the amount of PDA seen throughout Europe - some was tolerable, just barely, often times it was like eeeeuuuuuw, get a room already would you. Being in the city of love it can be excuse - sort-of!
Day two - Paris walking tour. And did we walk - all over. Started at the Louvre, walked along the streets to a few places including St Eustache, the Pompidou, Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter before splitting for lunch. Grabbed a light lunch just outside the latin quarter then made our way back to the Notre Dame. Another amazing church - however it still pales in comparison to the Sacre Coeur. After the Notre Dame - back to the Louvre.
It being the first Sunday of the month the Louvre was free - which was a good thing in the sense that saved on that expense, but geez were there too many people and then some. I couldn't really enjoy the artwork, and although spent close to two hours there - only saw a fraction. Made our way to the Mona Lisa then the Venus de Milo and we took a wander through Napolean's Apartments.
From the Louvre...headed to the Eiffel - it seemed so close...yeah -45min later we finally reach the base! Queued for about 20min and then to the top we went! It was awesome! All of Paris beneath you. It is such a cool city, and all you see below you are white buildings.
It's amazing how different Europe (as a whole) feels compared to the UK. I can't quite explain it, but it's awesome! Saw the Arc de Triomphe - from the top - and all 8 roads leading in and out of it. It's the one place where cars are not insured if there's an accident.
Down from the Eiffle - by now it's early evening and we head to the Trocadero where we meet up with some of the others, get something for supper and just chill at the Trocadero waiting for our group as we were to meet up there that evening to see the Eiffel light up. In the evening light it was so pretty, and as it got darker a blue light lights it up. On the hour - from 9pm - for about 10min it lights up like a christmas tree in white flashing lights. Group photo at the Eiffel and then we took a walk to the Arc de Triomphe...where our tour guide kindly told us to not cross the road - the cars were insane - but to use the walkway beneath it.
Get to the middle, little bit of history about it all, see the flame for the unknown soldier and had a really cool view of the Champs Elysees at night. Took a stroll along the Champs Elysees - seeing all the designer stores and the Mickey D's with the white sign and golden M (only way it would be allowed on this particular road) - before making our way back to the hotel.
Next day we leave Paris for the Burgundy wine region - if you didn't know you were in France, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were in the Cape Winelands. It was beautiful - and the weather was spectacular. Cloudless, clear blue skies, green vines - hot summer sun! Wonderful! Needless to say - we went wine tasting at one of the Chateau's - it was in a 17th century castle - idyllic! Learnt about wine making - the difference between the ones made in the aluminium containers...and the oak barrelled ones - the taste difference in so clear once you know how it's done. The good ones - and of course, appropriately priced ones - are those left to complete fermentation in the oak barrels.
Onward to the hotel and dinner - yummy pork chops, noodles, chips (or fritte), leaves - it certainly wasn't a salad! - and fruit salad was my dessert of choice. The description of liquid cheese as the other option just didn't appeal. I tasted someone's and it was more like a fromage frais than anything else but I liked the fruit salad.
Day four and we're off to Nice, with a stop at the Pont du Gard and Avignon on the way. The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct and Avignon is where the Papal palace had moved to for a couple years way back when before moving back to the Vatican City. Avignon another quaint town I'd love to go back to and get lost in its streets.
Arrival in Nice - in the French Riviera, the playground of the rich and famous. Awesome. What's so odd about the French Riviera - or the Meditarranean sea at least - there's not a wave in sight. Small waves break on the shore but others the sea is calm and inviting you to just lie there and drift enjoying the sun on your face and water all around you. Not that I got to swim in the med sea - for long anyway.
Got to our hotel, room allocation, grabbed a buffet for dinner at a place down the road and then we hit the streets of Nice. Well, just to get to this one bar, AkaThor - had a live (French) band. They were so so - or let's make that çomme ci çomme ca. My ears were ringing when we left. There were some entertaining folk though - one noisy American shouting that she's gonna eat our babies... dressed like a skank and danced like one...and some super drunk - what turned out to be English - dude who ended up dancing with one of our tour group...the skank - she wasn't happy!
After Thor, took a stroll along the promenade, and some proceeded to purchase booze... one interesting fact about Nice - it has a pebble beach - but people still lie there and sunbathe. And it's not comfortable! I tried walking on it without flip flops...or thongs...or jandals (if you're a kiwi) - it hurt!
The following day was like go go go - and see as much as possible in the limited time. Breakfast and then first stop - Grasse - and the perfume factory and museum.... a race through the streets of Grasse seeing as we didn't know the bus timetable and wanted to get the 12.15 train out to Cannes... People must've thought we were crazy - girls running through the streets in summer frocks and flip flops! Made it to the train with minutes to spare - and of course all hot and sweaty.
Get to Cannes and the group splits up - some head immediately for the beach (sandy) and the others take a wander through some of Cannes. Strolled along the promenade in Cannes, wandered near the harbour and then returned to where the others were swimming - and I joined them... felt so good on that hot day to be in the water!
From Cannes, back on the train to Nice. Some of us headed to the markets, and others to the promenade and old town. Nice is another beautiful city with the quaintest alleys and areas. Soaked up the atmosphere in Nice - grabbed an early dinner at a lovely restaurant before heading back to the hotel, quick change of clothes and getting the train to Monaco. At the train station we waited and waited and waited for the train to leave - eventually it did. Arriving in Monaco we found some of our group waiting for a train back to Nice and they told us there'd been a bomb scare somewhere on the train line hence the delays. And, that the last train at 23.57 wasn't guarenteed - this of course cut down our time in Monaco drastically...walked uphill - past the docks and the posh cars, up to the Monte Carlo casino - gaping at the rich (but not famous - at least no-one we saw) and then wandered back down to the train station and returned to Nice.
And that was France...
Hello France! WOOHOO
Insane Parisian traffic!
When in the city of love...
One famous landmark at night
2 comments:
just rememberd - one tune played by the musician at the Sacre Coeur: Oasis Wonderwall.
Twas such an awesome awesome vibe!
Man, this is soo cool. Our own trip through Europe.
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