Oktoberfest in Munich

Well blow me sideways and cover me in beer.

Imagine Hobart show, remove the animals and craft stuff, times the rides by 3, and add about 16 huge beer 'tents' (these are actually massive halls). Add to those tents a progressively inebriated audience to some crazy german band and a whole bunch of beer wenches....... Beer heaven I say. The crowd just gets louder and louder, more beer gets spilled on the ground than actually gets drunk due to all the 'prosting'... Unbelievable atmosphere!!! Can't explain it well enough, you just need to be there.

I'll write a separate post later regarding the shit that happened on Tuesday night, but let's just say I lost EVERYTHING (passport, tickets, Visa.. the works), and spent hours looking for my bag.... Several really lucky things happened the next day which ended up with me having my bag back with everything. The only outstanding issues was the cancelled Visa card = no cash... Luckily I was meeting Craig Wednesday night and he loaned me some to get me through to when my replacement card would arrive.

Wednesday night: met up with Craig and went to meet the Contiki group he was with. Damn, some of those guys were WASTED!!!! They were prosting with all their might... Imagine a Mohammed Ali left hook, add a 1 litre stein of beer and 5 really pissed guys.... there were broken glasses every 5 minutes, and heaps of spilt beer. Janine ended up wearing over a litre for the night!! Hit some of the rollercoasters after a few steins and have them both on movie with my camera... what a scream!!

It was totally awesome to meet up with someone I actually knew... you really appreciate it after being on your own for almost a month. Although I am never really alone as it's so easy to meet people and just hook up for a couple of days, but a real piece of home in flesh and blood is PRICELESS.

Anyways - more info later, hitting the town in Prague now.

Amsterdam .... well damn!!!!

Arrived Friday afternoon, and after what seemed forever at the station reserving my night train to Munich for Monday night and getting some info at the tourist info centre, went and unloaded my gear at Hotel Hans Brinker..... (so close Pykey, I can hear you saying it right now!! "Hans Brix? Oh no! Oh, herro. Great to see you again, Hans!")

After the disappointment of Stella Artois in Leuven the first thing on the list was the Heineken brewery just to check out the story and see if I had to book.

Score! €10 entry for the Heineken Experience In which you get 3 drinks and a 'free gift' at the end. So I wandered around, took some photos, enjoyed the free beers and even found an extra beer token in the bar at the end. Was kinda cool, they have a short movie to show you what it's like to be a Heineken bottle, another simulating riding the Heineken horses around Amsterdam, and a whole bunch of other interactive stuff. The site is actually the old brewery, so they have turned it into a living museum... kinda cool. When it came time to leave and collect the free gift I got talking to the guy at the desk and as I was leaving asked if I could get a second. He said "Sure, if you can beat me a rock, paper, scissors - that's how we settle things around here."

3.... 2.... 1.... he went for 'Paper' (As most inexperience RPS players will go rock first up, paper is always a safe bet for an experienced player) and by some semi-tipsy half-ESP enlightened state I went 'Scissors'... you NEVER go scissors first up against a newbie, but this guy was "a pro" so there it is... 2 free gifts for me!
Turned out to be a 1/2 pint glass in a funky Heineken can, now I just gotta get them home!!

Anyways - just kinda cruised the town for a few hours Friday night, basically got my bearings and then headed for a sneak-peak at the Red Light District. Unfortunately (or fortunately maybe) I didn't end up finding the real heart of the RLD, just one small street, and all the windows bar one was empty anyways - the sole lady wasn't exactly what you'd call a looker either... (little did I know that the majority of the working girls in this city are well less than 'up to standard').

Saturday I just kinda set off to wander around and see some more of the city and the museums. Went to the Torture Museum, walked passed the Anne Frank house (the Jewish girl that published her diaries from WWII), chilled at a cafe with coffee & bloody expensive chocolates, attended Cannabis College and went to the Hash Museum (damn they had some serious buds growing under the hydro man, ...word, ...nigga, ...yeah!) Topped the afternoon off with a trip to the Erotica Museum.... NOW I had round the Red Light District!!! Damn, skanky birds in almost every window - I reckon out of the 50 or so I saw over the next 30 minutes 30% were over 45, 1 was the size of an elephant, and 94% were skanky as!!! Actually they were all skanky, but only a couple of them were good looking. Saw one old guy coming out of a door with two chicks drapped over him... massive grin on his head!!

Went out to "Club More..." Saturday night with Carolina, awesome Columbian girl that has been learning English in London for the last 6 months.... she's already got her law degree from back home, and is returning for Post-grad studies early next year. The club rocked the big one. Psychadellic trance with funky light display and glow in the dark paintings all around the club...

We were kinda late getting back so we did the get up have the free breakfast and go back to bed thing... I went and saw the Van Gogh museum in the afternoon, and just a bit more of the ambling around town. Went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, Carolina had already eaten, so she just came for a drink and a chat. We were sitting out on the deck over looking the canal - t'was beautiful!!! So really not much happened Sunday, but it's great to have a rest day every now and then.

Monday: Well I am catching the night train to Munich at 20:00 (just under two hours) so had to check out this morning - took my massive pack (damn it's big at the moment - watch out mum I am about to send ANOTHER package home!) to the station and put it in a locker (€5.70 for 24 hours, even though I only needed like 8/9). Carolina also leaving today, flying back to London, so we walked around for most of the day, seeing the North Eastern part of town that we hadn't explored yet. There is soo much reclaimed land, and they are still making more!! Pushing all the waters back and bringing loads of landfill, then building massive ultra-modern buildings... apartments/offices/hotels.... Made quite a difference to walking around the old part of the city.

So anyways - it's off to get the train and I might be lucky enough to find some accom. when I get to Munich... hopefully I won't be paying €100 for it!!

Antwerpen - city of Diamonds

With out a doubt The Diamond Capital of the World - 7 out of every 10 diamonds finds it way to Antwerp in it preparation phase... quite amazing really! You step out of central station and the entire street (although under construction - something new and exciting for my Europe trip) is jewellery stores.... crazy stuff. And remember the bad Jewish costumes of those guys at the start of 'Snatch' (the next movie after 'Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels') when they where in Anwerp after the diamond? Well I saw a bunch of Jewish guys that looked just like that.... ROTFL... if only I could access my camera quick enough!

Anyways.

First day - spent a few hours walking around town in full kit searching for this hostel mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide 'Boomerang' - it said "a laid back hostel", I am guessing they were sooo laid back that the authorities closed them down... the place was stone-motherless-empty when i arrived at the front door. That left the HI affiliated hostel in the south of the city... another 30-40 minutes walk... NO WAY - enter the tram. Ooooops, too many stops past my target, lets get another one back the other way.... finally arrived at about 14:50, but the place was locked until 15:00... perfect timing really i guess.

Spent the afternoon/evening in the city of Antwerp... just another big city with shops really except for all the DIAMONDS. Extended the Belgian beer count and got some Friten (French Fries) - which the Belgians swear they invented. Even went so bold as to have mayonaise and Belgian pickles on them.... YUM!!. Walked up the the river bank (OMG - bloody huge river, no wonder Antwerp is one of the 8 biggest ports in the world) and just sat there listening to Pearl Jam as the sun set..... heaven.

The next day I jumped ship, well jumped on a train a headed down to Leuven (the home of Stella Artios). After walking around town for an hour or so taking in the tranquilty I went to the brewery in hope of doing a tour. "Sorry we only do tours on Wednesday and you need to book on the Internet"....... DAMN IT!!

Ahh well, cest le vie - jumped back on the train and headed for Brussels, only like 20 minutes away. The capital city of Europe apparently (so I keep getting told). Brussels is a massive mix of the old and the new.... I have pictures of 700 year old buildings and not 3 minutes away - towering futuristic skyscapers that appear entirley reflective. I got hold of some classic belgian chocolate, strolled around the Grand Place (main square) and located the Mannekin Pis... the little boy statue taking a wee..... also stumbled upon a statue of Vincent Van Gogh, with a guy next to him dressed exactly the same... busker, but damn he was funny!

Ummm, not much else to report from Antwerp. Ohh, Phill - I bought a Canondale riding spray jacket with zip off arms, kinda cool and will do me as a rain coat as I am now in rainy country apparently and the plastic poncho doesn't really cut it!!

Left Antwerp Friday 23rd Sept for Amsterdam.... and I arrived. Pretty good on my behalf I reckon!!

Brugge / Brugse / Bruges

There is nearly as many ways to spell Brugge as there are beers in Belgium.... well not really because there are over 400 different beers in Belgium!! If only I had the time to try them all! Had a crack last night but failed dismally! Put away 6 different types... and can i say - watch out for "Bush" it is like 12% - OMG!! Maybe the bottle of wine with dinner didn't help the case either... The local beer Brugse Triple is an amber clocking in at 8.5%, that was really nice. But the award for "Something completely different" goes to Kriek - cherry beer, not too sweet and goes down really well.

Brugge is the most spectacular little city I have stumbled upon so far!! Like all of Belgium it is very green, but Brugge has soooo much character - and a whole lot of canals too!! Apparently they call Brugge "The Venice of the North". Easy to see why when it's so gorgeous... and expensive too!! Just like Venice!! Had Mussels for dinner last night (apparently a must in Brugge) and they were gorgeous!! But hellishly expensive!! (€16 or something i think).

Just walked around yesterday and saw the sights, before retiring to the hostel for beers and pool with Tim, this local guy (from Antwerp) who is riding his bike around the country. This morning I went and did a tour of a local brewery (The Half Moon), which is the only remaining privately owned brewery in Brugge... and they have just started making a new beer called Brugse Zot (Zot is Flemish for "crazy"). After the tour I hired a bike and just went for a ride along the canals out of Brugge, through Damme (this tiny town with a tower that you get a great view from) and on and on and on.... I had no map and no idea where I was going.... reckon I rode about 30-40kms on this weird ass bike, just through the Belgian countryside... it was magic!!!

Heading back to the hostel for dinner and a few more beers now, then tomorrow it is off to Antwerp and then Amsterdam!!

Belgium in a nutshell

"The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament.

My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds - pretty standard really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it."
-- Dr Evil, Austin Powers I

A life lesson from Lille

Crazy stuff. For the first time in my life I think I felt truely excluded... (not the whole time, just on several occasions). For the guys in Lille reading this, you should not feel bad or offended - it's just the way it is. I thank you very much for all your English conversation, and for putting up with my lack of French.

Sitting down listening to a group of people laugh and talk in a language I know nothing of... it really made me think about the asian students that come to study in Australia. At first I was thinking poor them, and how bad and excluded they must feel, but then I thought about it a bit more and to start with they generally have a grasp of the English language before they come to Australia, hell they would want to if they expect to study there. They also appear to go out of their way to collect in a group to shield themselves/each other from the local environment and customs... Whereas I was just a lost sheep in the wrong paddock... trying to fit in, but struggling. Very hard for a person that enjoys being the life of the party, especially when you have to wait and hope that someone explains what the hell is going on.

So here's where I stand; for someone that tries to adapt and fit in, I will do my best to help them. For the lazy that choose to isolate themselves, I have no time and no pity. You just can't expect the world to fall at your feet because mummy and daddy have paid a mint for you to go overseas and study... try and fit in and the people around you will respect you for it!!

*reads back over what I just wrote*

... Damn, that's some serious stuff there!

Lille

Arrived in Paris on the night train about 10am after yet another train being delayed. Got the metro to the Gare de Nord (Paris North station) to catch the train to Lille. Here's where the fun really begins. [FYI Flandres is the old train station in Lille, Europe is the new one (both still in use though)] My ticket says "Lille Flandres", the board says "Lille Europe", the chick at the reservation desk says "Lille Flandres", but the train says "Lille Europe"... so anyways I tell Justine that I will be arriving at the "Flandres" station, figure I can trust the chick at the desk and my ticket...

So I get on the train, and when we arrive I ask the girl next to me which station we are at... turns out to be "Europe". So she walks me to the Flandres station - 5 minutes in the rain!! Great... I still only have my sleeveless Nike top on (Hey, it was hot in Madrid!) So I look for Flo and Justine but can't see them anywhere, SMS Justine and she said they worked out that I was going to Europe station and they are there... wait where you are, we are coming to you! Ahhh, so I feel like a right goose, and wet too!!

Anyways, all's well that ends well. They found me, went back to their flat, settled in, had a shower (hot Madrid day, night train, rain... no shower = stinky Richard!) and then we went walking around town. Went out for tea that night and then went for a beer at Palace Cafe, kinda like the old Club Surreal back home for those that know it (just the down stairs part, but bigger). Beer, dance, dance, walk home, SLEEP!

The next day we went to the Market (heaps of people), Art Museum, Government House (All open and free due to some special weekend in Lille) and then to the show/fair thing - just like the Hobart Show, but no animals or craft stuff - just rides and dodgy food!! I had this massive donut like thing that was sliced in half and filled with Nutella.. OMG, how sickening!! And yet delicious at the same time. Also saw this zoo/park thing that had an array of animals - the thing that shocked me the most was the Kookaburra they had... first Aussie I had seen in a couple of days (bar Bianca on the train - long story, no time here).

So anyways - Lille was different, and yet strangely familiar. The weather was just like autumn back home, but my lack of French really hampered me... thanks to the guys who spoke in English and did the the wonderful running translation of ER for me on Sunday night!

Monday was a sleep in, and then train to Brugge... stay tuned for the story of Brugge in our next exciting chapter!

Madrid and goodbye to Spain

Stayed two nights in Madrid... both in Hostals like the one in Sevilla. Single bed in a room to myself, but right in the heart of the city - beats travelling around in the heat of the day..... well that was the theory anyways. Ended up lugging my pack around about half of each day anyways as i had to find a new place for the second night (Hostal Neito was already booked out for Thursday night - haha, Neito
.... kinda funny as the place was really clean... only just got that then)

Lisa (see photo from Granada) gave me a list of things to see, and pretty much covered them all off. Saw the Reina Sofia (art museum with lots of Picasso and similar stuff, like Dali aswell) the first night I was there. Second day I spent wandering around the city just 'taking it in' - once again a city with old buildings and many squares... no matter how many you see they are all still unique and somewhat interesting. Spent a bit today (justified as have been under budget pretty much EVERY day) bought another Newcastle football top, and *whispers so Chloé doesn't hear* a Man United sleeveless top.... sacrilege I know, but hey I am over it!! Settled into a quite Irish pub for one beer and ended up talking with a Norwegian guy and we proceeded to sample a number of Belgian beers - ohh it's just so Cosmopolitan over here!!

Spent a couple hours on Friday uploading all those photos for you guys to see... so i hope you appreciate them. Also went to the Retiro Park which has a statue depicting Lucifers fall from Heaven into Hell. The only capital city in the world to have a statue of evil.... kinda cool huh!!

After that, kinda chilled in the park for a while then made my way to the train station and got the night train to Paris. Swapped trains in Paris and am now in Lille staying with Justine and her flatmate Florence. The weather here is pretty much like Hobart: raining one minute, fine the next, it's about 17 degrees at 4pm..... ahh if it weren't for all the French I would feel like I was at home!

Movie quote #016

"Behold I send you out a sheep among the wolves"

Pictorial y Espanola

Just chilling in downtown Barcelona:


My attempt at artistic photography:


Some funky stuff in the Gaudi Park:


The good ship Bounty:


Some of the pisshead crew in Barcelona:


And some more:


And again:


A shocking photo of the Sagrada Familiar (Gaudi):


A close up of the fantastic sculptures:


And the design sketchs:


A lunchtime view of the Alhambra (Granada):


Lisa (Canadian) in the Alhambra main palace:


The beautiful palacial gardens:


Water was used for cooling and for reflections, increasing the apparent space inside the palace and it's gardens:


A view from the fort over Granada and out to the Sierra Nevada:


The placid gardens of Generalife (a removed separate palace but still in the Alhambra):


The ceremony of Vegemite and Boags Draught - congrats Jake!


The Sevillian crowds outside a Tapas Bar:


The Giralda Tower from the Orange orchard/plaza below:


And from the tower looking down:


The Sevilla Bullring:


Jim and Gorge with the Spanish beer wenches:


The crazy Real Betis fans:


Fuzzy, but this was the first goal, inside 2 minutes for Liverpool:

Pics of Italy (Finally)

Megan and I just out of the Coloseo metro stop... what's that behind us?


The Pantheon


The scary road to Anacapri:


A beautiful Caprisian sunset:


The Sorrento drinking team Mike (Candian), Me and Janne (Germany):


Later that night in the awesome cafe:


One of the unlucky from Pompeii:


Siena's massive clock tower:


And now looking down to the Piazza below:


Our Tuscan villa in Florence:


Queen Megan on a gondala ride in Venice (ca´n't work out how to rotate this picture, bloody programs are all in Spanish!!):


Me being arty with the extended shutter:


Art? Apparently so, it was in the Guggenheim:


Neale, didn't know you'd been posing for art in Venice!!


Juliet's Window.. well we were in Verona!!


Megan and I on the cathedral in Madrid:


One for Andrew and Neale; not quite the "Rodgey", but close!


Not in Italy, but here's the not so nice beach in Nice... look closely boys!!

Sevilla

Cruised into Sevilla and when I arrived, it was damn hot... broke out in a sweat just thinking about putting my pack back on. It was somewhere in the high 30´s. Met this German couple waiting for the bus to go find accom, so I tagged along with them and ended up in this dodgy little single bed room... but hey it was right in the heart of Santa Cruz (the old Jewish quarter) and really close to everything I wanted to do.. so all´s well that ends well I say.

Didn´t do too much the first day, went out and grabbed some tapas and cervezas with the German couple and strolled along the river at night, was quite nice!!

The next morning I went and checked out the Cathedral and the Giralda Tower. I started reading the Dan Brown book Digital Fortress last week and it is half-based in Sevilla, so it was really cool to see the things talked about in the book - ie. the Giralda Tower, the Cathedral, the orange orchard near the tower and the tiny streets of Santa Cruz.

MOST IMPORTANTLY - headed out to Estadio Betis in the afternoon to buy tickets for the Champions League game between Liverpool and Real Betis (local Spanish club). They were all sold out, but managed to get a €20 ticket off a scalper for €80... well worth the money, once I finally got in. Met us with these two random Syndey guys on the way to the ground so hung with them and had a few beers we bought off these beautifal Spanish sinoritas... mmmm Mmmmm! When I went to go in the ticket didn´t work... F$%K!! So after talking to the official, then going back to ticket office, and then back to the official he finally let me squeeze through the turnstyle even though it still wasn´t working. Found myself and seat, second tier seating behind the goals, almost at the corner of the 18 yard box.

The Spanish footy fans are CRAZY!!! I got some movies and photo´s so you´ll be keen to see them I am sure!! Liverpool scored inside the 2nd minute, and then again in the 14th minute.... the sea of green Real Betis fans were going nuts, and they only got louder. Halftime it was 2-0. The second saw the game turn totally on its end as Real Betis totally outplayed Liverpool, but only managed 1 goal. So Liverpool won 2-1... all 3 goals being scored right in front of me!!!

The best €80 spent so far on this trip!!

Granada

Caught the night train from Barcelona to Malaga, and then a bus to Granada. Luckily I asked the information chick about the hostel because she rang and reserved me the final room for the night at The Oasis - this chick in Barcelona said it was the place to go.

Sure wasn´t wrong!! Smallish hostel in the tiny muslim quarter streets.. barely drive a moped through them, but there are little market stalls on both sides and feels quite middle-eastern.

Quick history lesson: After the Roman rule crumbled and the Spanish ruled in their own right, the Muslims invaded from the south and over ran the entire Iberian Peninsular - Granada and Sevilla were their strongholds for several hundred years, and Granada was one of the final places to fall back into the hands of the Spanish as part of the Requestador (¿name accuracy?).

Visited the ALHAMBRA which is the massive fortification and palace´s built by the muslims and later inhabbited by the Spanish king and queen. Amazing gardens, palacial architecture and extremely secure fortifications perched on a hill over looking all of Granada and the Sierra Nevada.

Met this great group of Aussie´s there as well - they were salivating when I mentioned the spare jar of vegemite I had, so I donated it to Jake who was off to Equador and has been without for several weeks already... really doubt he would have survived without it.

The people you meet

Was sitting in the hostel in Barcelona on the afternoon before leaving and saw this guy from the corner of my eye - thought I recognised him... but didn´t pay it much attention as that happens a bit over here. 5 minutes later he walks back in.. OH MY GOD - Stewy Williamson !! - I worked with this guy back in high school stacking shelves and fetching trolleys... what a total blow out!!

Went and had a few beers at the local English pub to watch the cricket but there was none on - crappy weather, guess it was always gonne be a draw!

Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926)

There is some info here on the man.

A truely inspiring artist and technical expert - he designed sooo many trippy buildings, parks etc here in Barcelona. His legacy is continued today as they continue to build the Sagrada Familia (the Holy family), a cathedral that began construction back in 1882. He was in charge of the operation till his death 40 years later. There is no expected finish date, but they still have the biggest towers to build.... can't believe that it has taken so long!!

Have heaps of pics and bought a book as well!!

[news interrupt]
Geelong lost the footy to Sydney... DAMN IT
Australia are 0/112 at tea on the second day. England made about 370 and Warney took 6 wickets!

--> going to the pub to watch the last session play.

La Paloma... Club Surreal eat your heart out!!

The club we went to was called La Paloma, it was HUGE!!

Set in an old ballroom, there were the elevated second floor box seats for the rich, a huge stage at the front and this MASSIVE chandelier that totally dwarfed anything else in the room. There were these crazy dancing chicks with next to nothing on, and these guys that busted the hugest moves on the dance floor!! The DJ was totally MAD!! Really awesome beats, and there was this black guy doing vocals - he kinda looked and sounded like Snoop Dog!!
Only downsides where the cover charge and the price of drinks (€8 to get in and €9 for a Beam and Coke... that´s a $15 drink!!!)

For some reason the 3 hours sleep I got is starting to catch up with me... hopefully I can get some ZZZ´s on the night train tonight.

So the gist of the story... if you come to Barcelona, you should stay here at the Kabul Youth Hostel; you must go to La Paloma, but make sure you drink your full at the hostel before going out. The other must see´s are anything that Gaudi has done - see the next post for Gaudi info.

Movie quote #015

One more to keep your grey matter ticking over!

"I got you. You the lawyer. Well, you sure f$%/ed this one up, didn't you, counselor! Looks to me like they're gonna shoot ol' Aaron so full o' poison it's gonna come out his eyes!"

Movie quote #014

C'mon, what is wrong with you guys?? Where are the answers... I am spilling over with ideas here and you can't even manage a simple reply!!! "Weak man, really weak!!"

Anyways, here´s another to keep you thinking... if you get this I will certainly shout you a beer on my return!!

"Listen, here's the thing. If you can't spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker."

Barcelona........OMG

What can one say.... after happy hour with 2 one litre beers for €3.... this place rocks!!!

It's my third night in Barcelona, and heading to Granda on the night train tomorrow.... going to find another club tonight...(can´t remember what it´s called but these guys in Nice told me it´s a must see!!).... last night was HUGE!!! Don´t worry mum I´ll spare you the details!! Suffice to say I am still alive, haven´t anything of significance stolen yet (touch wood) and am having a great time!!!

Went and checked out the Gaudi park today - that guy was one trippy dude!!! Better go see the catherdral or whatever it is that is not yet been finished built... based on his designs it has been under construction for the best part of 200 years...... they don´t even know when it will be finished!!

Totally crazy city Barcelona... if you ever wanted a place to come stay and party, but didn´t want to pay the Ibiza prices, Barcelona would be it!!! To be honest I am gonna be glad to get out of here tomorrow - really need a rest!!!

And this hostel is THE PLACE TO BE - Kabul Youth Hostel.... apparently it´s like the most famous one here in Barcelona.

Anyways, checked the cricket scores, looks like Warney has been cleaing up - 5 wickets on the first day..... C´MON!!!!

The Beach in Nice is not very nice

So Megan has headed off to Rome for her last night; I have gone the opposite way and am currently in Nice. Just staying the one night here - there is even more construction happening here than there was in Italia!! Catching the train to Barcelona tomorrow morning - I have a 2.5 hour stop in Montpellier, all up the ride will take almost 12 hours.

Totally unimpressed with the beach here, pretty much all pebbles.... with a little spot of sand for the beach volleyball. A whole bunch of chicks without tops on though... nice one bruva!!

So anyways - going to scope out this Nice thing and get some cheap food from the supermarket (if I can find it!!!).

Movie quote #013

Couldn't help it:

"Now when they slow down for turn four, I want you to pass them on the outside. "

Movie quote #012

Just to keep them coming:

"I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your home on the wedding day of your daughter. And may their first child be a masculine child."

Enter Venice, Verona & Milano

So we've been to Venice, that was awesome. Just such a different city. Canals and narrow streets, NO CARS\BUSES\VESPA'S.... alot of people but so peaceful. There is vertainly something to be said for being by the seaside. We stayed away from the busy tourist spots thought still and walked the back streets... Megan spent a small fortune on gifts for people back home (she leaves in two days). I had the most unreal seafood meals while in Venice.... boy do these people know how to cook!!

In fair Verona where we set our next scene..... (hmmm I think I may have heard something similar to that in the past!! Not too sure where though) Only spent one night, but went for a walk and saw the Arena (like the colleseum but in better state of repair) It's currently being used as the local opera house (open roof of course). And we stumbled upon this chick called Juliet's house, with some funny looking balcony..... yes Verona is the scene where Shakespeare set his tradgic love story of Romeo and Juliet - apparently after two local families that had been feuding for AGES!!!!

Now we are in Milan, it's not doing much for me actually - just another big city with expensive shops..... really keen to leave, think we might head down to Genova for tomorrow night and then I am off by myself. Reckon I'll take a night or two in southern France on my way to Spain, see how the French treat me...

Miss you guys!!

Ciao.


P.S. Not missing work though - you guys can get stuffed (hehe). I love this getting paid while sweating my ass off in a foreign country.