Europe

In the past 2 weeks I have been in 7 different countries.

After Italy I went over to Paris to start the buabout loops. One night in Paris then off to Amsterdam, passing through Belgium.  Bruges is such a beautiful little city, I wish I’d spent more than 30 minutes there. Amsterdam is such an interesting town. Nothing like I’d expected. I hate to admit it but I imagined everyone would be stoned and there’d be prostitutes everywhere. How bad is that?? Well, it’s nothing like that at all. I did a bike tour around Amsterdam and saw windmills and went to a clog factory. Lots of fun. Visited Anne Frank’s house (very moving), Van Gogh museum (amazing stuff) and ventured into the red light district. I don’t want to sound like a perve but it’s quite fun to just walk around and watch people, and not just the ones in the window. It’s funny to watch all the guys standing around. So Amsterdam was a good dew days.

Next was Berlin. I learnt soooo much there. It’s amazing how a city that faced so much war and conflict can rebuild itself and grow so much. Each memorial or artistic structure built after 1989 has so much meaning behind it. I did a walking tour that showed us pretty much everything to be seen on foot. Then I visited the Jewish museum. It’s not a memorial to the murdered Jews (there is another museum for that) but it’s all about their history, suffering, growth, strength and general culture. So that was very interesting. Berlin nightlife definitely lives up to it’s reputation too.

Then it was onto Prague. I had high expectations for this city, and I hate to say it but I was a little disappointed. It is a beautiful place, but I guess it has suffered so much and hasn’t yet moved on. The old town and the castle are amazing to walk around. The Jewish quater is depressing and the new town is very ‘communist’. I don’t know how to describe it, but those of us there all agreed there is still a strong communist vibe. And it’s not surprising given their history.

Now I’m in Vienna. I can completely understand why Michael loves this city so much. And I do too. It’s beautiful, with old style, elegant buildings, and cute little streets. The palaces are amazing. It’s great, there’s this old feel to it yet it’s so modern. I still have one more day here. Tonight I’m going to the open air festival to see Snow Patrol. Should be fun. Tomorrow it’s onto Munich. Home in 10 days

Italia

as I write this I am in a campsite in Venice. I have been camping in Rome. It’s great. So far I’ve visited Rome and Florence and now I’m in Venice. I have coincidentely been staying in hostels owned by the same company, but that’s not a bad thing. They have a great set up. I stay in a cabin/bungalow.shack for less than 15 euros a night. They have free (or very cheap) shuttles to the city centre. The hostel itself is like a little village too. They have swimming pools, spas, bars, restaurants, supermarkets, laundry facilities and in Florence there was even a beauty salon. And it’s not too expensive. So it’s given me a chance to catch up on the scrapbook, relax in the sun, meet new people and also see the sites in the city.

Rome was amazing. I saw the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Paletine Hill, Vatican city, the pope (100m away from him) and the Trevi fountain and the Spanish steps at night time. Since seeing all this, I’m now really interested in Roman history. I found a second hand copy of Michelangelo’s biography and I don’t want to put it down (except to go see his David in Florence ofcourse). Rome stirred something inside me and now I need to know more. In Florence I walked everywhere. I saw all the churches I could find. Visited the Duomo, 4th largest cathedral in the world, and went to see the famous David. It’s unbelievable. I was second or third in line when the museum opened this morning and I spent a good 30 minutes just staring at him. I highly recommend going there. But the problem is that after that museum I was walking through Piazza de Signoria where there are alot of statues and I didn’t like them as much as the day before. The other highlight of Florence was a day in the heart of Tuscany. I had an amazing opportunity to go horsebackriding through the tuscan countryside, past vineyards, olive groves and forests. Then I had a delicious 4 course traditional Italian meal next to a 13th century castle. It was beautiful, and the best meal of my entire life (so far).

So now I’m in Venice. Just relaxing before a big day tomorrow. I plan on taking a water bus through the Grand canal, see the Rialto bridge, St Mark’s square and then get incredibly lost. Sounds like the perfect day.

Taken from the Paletine hill facing the Colosseum.

Croatia

The last 10 days have been in Croatia. It’s a beautiful country with a lot of history.

Split is the capital of the Adriatic Coast (but not the capital of Croatia). There are some of the oldest Roman ruins and a lot of little streets to get lost in.

I did a sailing trip along the Dalmatian coast for 7 days. First stop was Hvar Island. A beautiful island known as a spot for the celebrities to hang out. George Clooney went to a bar and the next day the prices had doubled! But there is an old fortress up on the top of a hill. Beautiful views across the sea from up there.

Next stop was Mjet. We went up to the national park where there is a lake, with a little island, with a monestary. It is no longer in use, but we kyaked out there to check it out. We found nice swimming spots and even got to jump off the monestary into the water!

After Mjet we visited Dubrovnik, the gem of the Dalmatian coast. Unfortunatley we didn’t have the greatest weather. It rained a lot. But it was still amazing, so I can only imagine how much better it would be in the sunshine. Maybe it’s a good excuse to go back there. The walls around the city offer a great view, and a big history lecture. It’s easy to find bullet holes and see the effect of the bombing in 1991. On the other side of the big hill behind Dubrovnik is Bosnia. So it’s easy to see how the Serbians attacked the city.

The weather was still bad but we made it to Korcula. Known as an island where Marco Polo lived. Although recent historical information shows that the house that is claimed as his was built a century his death. So it’s a bit iffy. Not much to do there apart from drink coffee and look out at the boats.

After Korcula was Makaska. Beautiful. Beaches. Sun. Blue water. Perfect day.

Then is was Omis. Known for its pirates. So we had a big pirate party. But that was after we sat on the neach and swam all day.

Then it was back to Split for 2 nights. Tonight I’m taking the overnight ferry to Ancona, Italy, and then I’ll travel around Italy for a week.

So in love with Croatia. I will be back.

Leaving the west coast

The last few hours in La Rochelle (not including waiting at the airport) were spent in the sunshine. I sat outside the residence with some friends drinking red wine and watching the boats.

A perfect way to end an amazing semester. But it’s not exactly over yet. As I close a chapter on La Rochelle, I open another chapter. For the next 6 weeks I’m travelling around Europe, visiting some top tourist sites and seeing as much as possible in 8 different countries.

It’s sad to leave La Rochelle, even sadder to say goodbye to now-close friends. But at the same time it’s exciting to embark on a new adventure. It seems that each emotion has cancelled each other out, leaving me feeling rather, meh. I really can’t put it any other way

Le’t go jump of Tour St-Nicolas!

This week in La Rochelle was nautical week. The region is boat crazy so it seemed like everyone had come to town. Friday was definitly the best day though. As you may, or may not know (I didn’t know about it till now) each year, the best cliff divers from around the world do a little tour of Europe. For the first time, they came to La Rochelle to dive of the tallest of the historical towers in the port. You know, the tower that is in every poster or photo of La Rochelle. 

The dive was 26 metres high and these guys pulled some amazing tricks.

Here are some photos that I pinched off google images:  

and some that I did take:

 

España

I am in love with Spain. I will find any excuse to go back there. It’s a colourful, lively and beautiful country with so much to see and do. 

I started by catching a train from La Rochelle to Paris. We had a few hours to kill before the flight to Barcelona so we wandered the Parisian streets. Go to Barcelona at night. Headed to the hostel and then went out for Sangria. Yum. After finishing up at one bar we went for a little walk because it was still really warm (although it was after 11pm). We saw a really funky looking building, and it wasn’t until after we returned to Barcelona later in the week did we realise that it was one of the many Gaudi sites around town. Gaudi sure was a special architect. The Sagrada Familia is an amazing cathedral due to finish construction 2020. The structure itself is impressive, but it’s the inside that got me. It’s so detailed and unique. We took the lift up to the top (it’s compulsory!). Beautiful views of Barcelona and an upclose look at the towers (4 Evangelists, 12 apostles, Mary and Jesus). After that we just chilled out in the park facing the cathedral.

Next was a night train to Madrid. Cheap tickets in first class too. Arrived in Madrid before 8am so plenty of time to see the town. Not a lot to see though. We spent most of the day in this really pretty park with a lake. Then we caught a bus to Salamanca to visit Mary’s friend. Salamanca is really beautiful. There is a lot of history there and a massive cathedral from the 14^th century. We were only there for a night though. The next day was a bus back to Madrid then a train to Seville, my favourite place in the entire world. I love it. It’s the warmest city in Europe (an average of 29 degrees year round). We happened to be there at the same time as the city’s largest festival. Everyone was dressed up in typical Spanish costume, women in long puffy dresses and men in matador suits. We had planned to see a bullfight but it was impossible to get tickets. We ended up staying in a swanky 3 star hotel that was super cheap. It made a nice change from 8 bed hostel rooms. The next day we headed down for a little day trip to Africa. A bus to Tarifa, then a ferry to Tangier. Morocco was fun. But the ferry returning to Spain was late, so we missed the bus back to Seville and the train to Barcelona. So we went to the next town over, Algercias, and bused to Seville and trained to Madrid then to Barcelona. The interesting part was between Madrid and Barcelona. We arrived in Madrid at 1.30 am and the train to Barcelona was at 5.45am. And the train station was closed. Lucky for us, the security guards pitied us and let us stay inside the station. Now, the Madrid station has a forest/large garden in the middle of it. Which meant that we got to sleep in a train station, next to closed stores and lots of bushes! Fun times.

Back in Barcelona we did some great shopping and relaxed on the beach. The whole week was really sunny and warm, with only a little bit of rain some mornings. I learnt a bit of Spanish and really want to learn some more. I will definitely be returning to Spain, I just don’t know when.

A princess found her castle

Chateaux de la Loire. Visiting the Loire region gave me a taste of French aristocracy. We drove through chateaux countryside and stopped to visit two castles, and have a wine degustation. 

First stop- Chateau de Chenonceau, my 16th century fairy-tale castle; complete with moat and drawbridge, beautiful gardens, a labyrinthe and a donkey farm. 

(google images)

Next stop was the wine tasting at ‘Maison Darragon’. A wine producer specialising in white wine. We got to walk through their cellar, learn about wine making, and then taste some wonderful wine. Yummy. I had to buy some.

Stayed the night in Tours. A beautiful old French town, full of bourgeois history. It’s said to be the second Paris and the French spoken is thought to be the purest French in France. We only had the night there so we scoped out the old town with all the restaurants, cafes and bars.

Day two and a visit to another castle- Chambord. 16th century castle for Francois I. The most famous feature of the castle is the double helix staircase, attributed to Leonardo De Vinci. Very confusing.  There are 77 staircases and 282 chimney.  So for all that space, Francois I only stayed there for 72 days of the 32 years he was in power. 

(google images)

Sunshine and Lollipops

I spent Easter weekend at a little seaside town 2 hours north of La Rochelle called “Bretignolles”. There was a surfing contest on so we got to watch that. It was a great weekend hanging out in the sun, watching the surf and meeting new people. There was a kiwi in the contest, who I managed to chat to. He travels the world surfing. How awesome is that??? He’s off to Portugal next. That would be the life.

While I was away, La Rochelle practically doubled in population. The carparks are full of campervans and RVs. I can no longer cycle to the town centre because there are just too many pedestrians (there’s a path because bikes shouldn’t really use the road). New stores have opened up, little stalls pop up everywhere and there are heaps more accents and languages around.

The last 6 weeks left in La Rochelle (actually 4 and a half if you count the days I’ll be travelling to spain and Tours) should be fun as the town gets busy and exciting.

Time flies when you’re having fun

I’m in my last week of classes. Well, except for the French language class that goes right up until I leave and one random class next week. It still feels like I arrived here last week. It’s crazy how time plays tricks on you like that. I have 2 months left in La Rochelle, and then a month or so travelling around Europe. In thses next coming months I will see more of France, a bit of Spain, a glimpse of Morroco, sail the coast of Croatia, roam around Rome, forget Amsterdam, drive the Autoban, walk around Prague, visit Vienna and see heaps of famous musicians in Paris. Wow…that’s a lot to do in not a lot of time. But I’m sure it’ss go by so quick.

There are lots of artists (writers, singers, painters etc) that focus on this idea of time and memory.

Marcel Proust wrote about time and memories. He discussed the idea that everyone has something that provokes a memory, that transports us back in time and that changes our emotions, if only a brief glimpse of our past. He also discussed time and memory and how the two are so intertwined that we rely on each of them so much, but without one of them, we could never have the other.

Or Abba, with that song in Mamma Mia that makes me cry every time I hear/watch it, when The mother is helping the daughter get ready for the wedding.

I’m sure there are many other examples, but I wanted to write about Proust and Abba in the same post because they are two things that seem to always come together at the moment. I’ll be doing some work for French literature, and then in my break I’ll put on one of my many movies, including Mamma Mia.

It’s been a while…

I have been so super busy that I haven’t had a chance to stop and fill y’all in on my french life.

So a quick update:

-I’m now 20 years old

-I am stilll sick (so that makes nearly 2 months with the same cold)

-I have one week left of classes, then a month break and then exams (except my french course keeps going right up until the day I leave) In that one month I will go to Spain, Morocco and Chateaux de la Loire. Maybe Normany too.

La Rochelle is still as amazing as ever, and it’s getting better. The town is really coming alive now that it’s spring. The streets have been cleaned (not that they weren’t dirty before) and new shops have opened up. That can only ,ean that it’s tourist season! Unfortunately this also means that the price of a coffee at the port side cafés has gone up and there are soooo many people in the streets that it’s getting harder to bike everywhere. I don’t mind though because the atmosphere is great. There’e always a buzz in town. Plus, with more people in the bars and cafes there are more people to meet.

Day light savings has kicked in; which means the sun now sets just after 8pm. I have classes right up to 7pm most days so now I get a chance to watch the sunset. It really is quite stunning. This is the beach that is next to the marina that I live in the middle of.