Hello all!
We arrived in Venice earlier today, having to trek through the streets to find a supermarket, while Steph loitered outside the Central Station in the fading sunlight (apparently being bothered by American people).
Since Marseilles we have crossed the boarder, taking a nine-hour journey from Marseilles to Milan yesterday having enjoyed our extra day of lazing on the beaches of the med (and burning a bit).
When we got to Milan, had a tram journey and an epic circum-navigation of the city and itàs backstreets to find our hostel, to be told the receptionist had "accidentally" cancelled both our nights of accomodation. Fool of a Took! Befriending fellow Dutch hostel rejects, we went back across town on a questionably safe tram to the other end of Milan, where our new hostel, Hotel Mayorca, was to be found (THREE STARS MATEY!)
It had a shower door. THE FIRST WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED ON OUR JOURNEYS. So we enjoyed that greatly, and the hotel was very cheap for what it was (clean and not murderous). We went out for a meal in the evening and I (Andy) had a GIANT PIZZA BIGGER THAN ALL OF OUR FACES PUT TOGETHER, Steph had a pizza turnover, and Helen had a Carbonanza. We then ventured to some OH-SO-BUFF ice cream, served by a man who loved London. Yes. Big times.
Headed back to the hotel, avoided the insane localas who lunged at our ice cream, possibly trying to explain the meaning of "q" in Italian. I had an early night, apparently falling asleep before the others, and woke up at 9am. Had a free croissant. It was good. The scary man at reception would not let me take any to the room for the others. Epic fail.
While Steph did more loitering in Milan Central station (very facisty) Helen and I strapped on our intrepid socks and headed to explore Milan in all itàs massive glory. We eventually ended up in the Italian equivilent of the Glades, Bromley. There were less chavs. But still a McDonalds. How lovely. Also saw a huge Gothic cathedral, the second oldest in Europe. But unfortunately we were not allowed in as we were dressed as harlots. Apparently.
Train ride to Venice after a lunch of paninis was comfortable, and NOBODY left their wallet in the train toilet for the entire journey. Ahem.
Arrived in muggy Venice and went on the afformentioned shopping trip, finding cheap chocolate and crisps (abandoning Steph. AWHHHHH)
We then got the bus to JOLLY PLUS CAMPING (written in blood on the floor) helped by the directions of an old man. Our room is ONLY 12 euros a night and, according to Steph, our resident expert on camp cinema, looks like the setting for a Carry on Film. Her bed is hanging off the ceiling. We can fold her away when we're tired!
Have bought a stupidly cheap bottle of vino, under Steph's orders, which we will now go and drink in our caravan-from-home. Tomorrow we shall explore Venice for 11 hours, and get free (not exchanged for bras) t-shirts. Apart from me. Sad times.
LOVE
xxx
Monday, 29 June 2009
Saturday, 27 June 2009
Salut from the South of France
We hope you appriciate the effort, the keyboards here are WEIRD
Anyway, hello from Marseille, Steph here on behalf of the other two who have wandered off to find a cash point. Currently sitting in an internet cafe in the Arab quarter of Marseille, we have been here for two days and tomorrow we wav au revoir to France and bonjourno to Italy.
The TGV from Lyon to Marseille went smoothly, and we were able to stretch out and enjoy the scenery (inc. Avingon, as in the song pont d'avingon) and go to Marseille at about lunchtime. Thinking that we were really clever, we went to book tickets to Milan for the next day, HOWEVER we were foiled, as there was no tickets left or alternate routes available :(
However, we went on our way to our hostel, which was in the newer and redeveloped area, away from the town centre. A quick (and sweaty) Metro ride, followed by a short stroll lead us to our hostel (*, get in). Another 'lively' hostel with a great view of the roof and opposing way...yummy.
Dumping our stuff, we headed back into town for wanderings and FOOD.
Hang on, the others have returned...sucessful...oh dear they went again, damn so called friends...Anyway, after an immensely huge meal, we managed to wander the town for a bit longer, but eventually returned to the hostel for one thing...THE BEACH.
A short bus ride away, we soon were greeted with the sight of the gorgeous Mediterrainean sea, and we soon settled ourselves on la plague for the next few hours. Despite it being the late afternoon when we arriuved, the sun was still out in full force. Spending most of the time frolicking and such in the sea (Andy complained it was cold), it was verging into evening when w eventually returned to our room.
Climbing out onto the roof like the rebels we are, we sat outside until the bats were flying around our faces (and the birds were warching us suspiciously) chatting and organising tommorrow. It was eventually decided that as we had enjoyed the day so much, we would spent an extra day here, and go to Milan the following day. After eating copoius amounts of watermelon, we eventually retired to bed...
Waking up this morning, we prepared ourselves for the day ahead. Dismaded that we couldn't book another night in the EMPTY hostel we were staying in, we headed into town to book train tickets and find a place to stay. But not before DISASTER as any stepped on Rufus, the uku, and cracked its neck :(The first part of was successful, and we managed to get seats for a ridiculously early train. The latter, however, proved to be more difficult. After some failed attempts, we eventually found a room in a dodgey rundown horror film styley house, but while we waited for it to be clean, Andy luckily found a cleaner, less murderous hostel for us.
After this malarky was sorted and Rufus was attended to with tape, we headed back to the beach, taking a bus recommened by Uncle Bill, which drived along the beautiful coast :)
Arriving at lunchtime, we bought our lunch and then enjoyed the afternoon in the sun, on the beach and in the sea in hot weather of high 20s°c. Reluctantly returning to our room for an early night's sleep, we eventually dragged ourselves away, big salty hair and all.
Now, we will return to our room, as a day of swimming has caught up with us, to stuff or faces with cheap food and juice boxes (a bit of an addiction) in order to wake up EARLY.....
Anyway, hello from Marseille, Steph here on behalf of the other two who have wandered off to find a cash point. Currently sitting in an internet cafe in the Arab quarter of Marseille, we have been here for two days and tomorrow we wav au revoir to France and bonjourno to Italy.
The TGV from Lyon to Marseille went smoothly, and we were able to stretch out and enjoy the scenery (inc. Avingon, as in the song pont d'avingon) and go to Marseille at about lunchtime. Thinking that we were really clever, we went to book tickets to Milan for the next day, HOWEVER we were foiled, as there was no tickets left or alternate routes available :(
However, we went on our way to our hostel, which was in the newer and redeveloped area, away from the town centre. A quick (and sweaty) Metro ride, followed by a short stroll lead us to our hostel (*, get in). Another 'lively' hostel with a great view of the roof and opposing way...yummy.
Dumping our stuff, we headed back into town for wanderings and FOOD.
Hang on, the others have returned...sucessful...oh dear they went again, damn so called friends...Anyway, after an immensely huge meal, we managed to wander the town for a bit longer, but eventually returned to the hostel for one thing...THE BEACH.
A short bus ride away, we soon were greeted with the sight of the gorgeous Mediterrainean sea, and we soon settled ourselves on la plague for the next few hours. Despite it being the late afternoon when we arriuved, the sun was still out in full force. Spending most of the time frolicking and such in the sea (Andy complained it was cold), it was verging into evening when w eventually returned to our room.
Climbing out onto the roof like the rebels we are, we sat outside until the bats were flying around our faces (and the birds were warching us suspiciously) chatting and organising tommorrow. It was eventually decided that as we had enjoyed the day so much, we would spent an extra day here, and go to Milan the following day. After eating copoius amounts of watermelon, we eventually retired to bed...
Waking up this morning, we prepared ourselves for the day ahead. Dismaded that we couldn't book another night in the EMPTY hostel we were staying in, we headed into town to book train tickets and find a place to stay. But not before DISASTER as any stepped on Rufus, the uku, and cracked its neck :(The first part of was successful, and we managed to get seats for a ridiculously early train. The latter, however, proved to be more difficult. After some failed attempts, we eventually found a room in a dodgey rundown horror film styley house, but while we waited for it to be clean, Andy luckily found a cleaner, less murderous hostel for us.
After this malarky was sorted and Rufus was attended to with tape, we headed back to the beach, taking a bus recommened by Uncle Bill, which drived along the beautiful coast :)
Arriving at lunchtime, we bought our lunch and then enjoyed the afternoon in the sun, on the beach and in the sea in hot weather of high 20s°c. Reluctantly returning to our room for an early night's sleep, we eventually dragged ourselves away, big salty hair and all.
Now, we will return to our room, as a day of swimming has caught up with us, to stuff or faces with cheap food and juice boxes (a bit of an addiction) in order to wake up EARLY.....
Thursday, 25 June 2009
The Escape from Hostel (III) to Lyon! 26.06.09 - 09.36
Je suis desolate por la retard blog!
Day 3 into this crusade, and already much has happened.
Let us start from the begining...
A ridiculously early wake up call at about 5am was the official start to our journey, arriving in Dover slighty dazed in order to board the ferry. Calm weather ensured a smooth and relaxing ride and we arrived in Calais unscathed and with all limbs intact.
At the bus station into Calais Ville, we encountered other interraillers and struck up a comaraderie with them.
When attempting to book tickets to Paris, SHOCK HORROR we discovered Helen had forgotten her ticket duh duh DUH. However, we still managed to book tickets on the legendary TGV (changing at Lille Flanders). After being laughed at by the French for various reasons, we soon ended up in the ghetto endz of Paris, bloody miles from the centre, where our hostel was situated, which we eventually found.
The next day, we went into Paris, with the intend to visit all the tourist shizzle, starting with the iconic Effiel Tower. Crepeing it up for breakfast, we climed all 328 steps up to the first platform, and spent a while looking at the panaramic views (which essentially looks the same pretty much). The rest of the day was followed pretty much the same fashion, walking from the Arc d'triumphe (being tricked by STRING man), down the Champ Elysee, la Lourve, and finally Notre Dame. The weather (in the words of Borat) was 'verry niiiiice'. Returning to the hostel (in what can be dubbed as the Brixton of Paris), it was then we discovered the more sinister side to our accomandation....
Bored, we took the chance to explore the hostel, intrigued by the lack of company. Forgoing the elevator, we took a route down some flights of stairs. As we approached the bottom, there were no more lights only a dark dead end and an ominous metal door. We fled.
Helen and Andy then proceeded to return to the safety of the lift, while Steph found a different staircase to take. Having been in the reception surrounded by Japanese tourists for a couple of minutes, Helen and Andy were then met by a shaken looking Steph. She took us of to the staircase she had unwittingly taken, to show us the horror she had encountered! The stairs were innocent enough to start with, but as we continued down, darkness ensued, a faint humming filling the air. At the bottom of the stairwell there was a corridor leading left ond right, lit only by a harsh red flourecent light, flickering ominously. This was accompanied by a black bolten door straight ahead of us. Again, we lost our nerve, and legged it back to the lift of safety.
When back in the "saftey" of the reception, Helen decided to explore further. She led us through the dark breakfast room, to a flourecent backroom which had the door ajar. We looked through, to discover what can only be described as a torture chamber, with one solitary chair in the centre, and a netal table. The next room, completely covered in white tiles, had nothing in but two deep freezes (for the bodies of the victims) and a heavy metal door on the other side of the room. We thought it may be our last night. Ever.
Luckily, we survived the night, the Japanese tourists had disappeared, leaving nothing but a solitary camera on the floor...
Leaving early, to avoid death, we had a sweaty journey into the Gare de Lyon where we intended to book tickets for Lyon (land of Uncle Bill). But alas, when we got there, the obviously unimpressed desk attendent foiled our plans, forcing a last minute diversion to Dijon, which she insisted didn't exist but we did it anyway.
6 hours later, we arrived in Lyon to be greeted by Uncle Bill. Due to the earlier transportation set backs, we were quite late meeting him, and didn't have time for a proper explore. So instead we headed back to the flat to dump stuff and then set off to dinner after a quick glass o' wine. On the way we had a mainly car based tour of Lyon, with the walk to the restaurant including a 10th centuary Cathedral and lots of headless statues. We then gorged on fine french cusine at 'the restaurant of bread and salad'...it was delish.
Had a good nights sleep and were up ready to hit Marsaille with a vengence.
LOVE
the Crusaders
Day 3 into this crusade, and already much has happened.
Let us start from the begining...
A ridiculously early wake up call at about 5am was the official start to our journey, arriving in Dover slighty dazed in order to board the ferry. Calm weather ensured a smooth and relaxing ride and we arrived in Calais unscathed and with all limbs intact.
At the bus station into Calais Ville, we encountered other interraillers and struck up a comaraderie with them.
When attempting to book tickets to Paris, SHOCK HORROR we discovered Helen had forgotten her ticket duh duh DUH. However, we still managed to book tickets on the legendary TGV (changing at Lille Flanders). After being laughed at by the French for various reasons, we soon ended up in the ghetto endz of Paris, bloody miles from the centre, where our hostel was situated, which we eventually found.
The next day, we went into Paris, with the intend to visit all the tourist shizzle, starting with the iconic Effiel Tower. Crepeing it up for breakfast, we climed all 328 steps up to the first platform, and spent a while looking at the panaramic views (which essentially looks the same pretty much). The rest of the day was followed pretty much the same fashion, walking from the Arc d'triumphe (being tricked by STRING man), down the Champ Elysee, la Lourve, and finally Notre Dame. The weather (in the words of Borat) was 'verry niiiiice'. Returning to the hostel (in what can be dubbed as the Brixton of Paris), it was then we discovered the more sinister side to our accomandation....
Bored, we took the chance to explore the hostel, intrigued by the lack of company. Forgoing the elevator, we took a route down some flights of stairs. As we approached the bottom, there were no more lights only a dark dead end and an ominous metal door. We fled.
Helen and Andy then proceeded to return to the safety of the lift, while Steph found a different staircase to take. Having been in the reception surrounded by Japanese tourists for a couple of minutes, Helen and Andy were then met by a shaken looking Steph. She took us of to the staircase she had unwittingly taken, to show us the horror she had encountered! The stairs were innocent enough to start with, but as we continued down, darkness ensued, a faint humming filling the air. At the bottom of the stairwell there was a corridor leading left ond right, lit only by a harsh red flourecent light, flickering ominously. This was accompanied by a black bolten door straight ahead of us. Again, we lost our nerve, and legged it back to the lift of safety.
When back in the "saftey" of the reception, Helen decided to explore further. She led us through the dark breakfast room, to a flourecent backroom which had the door ajar. We looked through, to discover what can only be described as a torture chamber, with one solitary chair in the centre, and a netal table. The next room, completely covered in white tiles, had nothing in but two deep freezes (for the bodies of the victims) and a heavy metal door on the other side of the room. We thought it may be our last night. Ever.
Luckily, we survived the night, the Japanese tourists had disappeared, leaving nothing but a solitary camera on the floor...
Leaving early, to avoid death, we had a sweaty journey into the Gare de Lyon where we intended to book tickets for Lyon (land of Uncle Bill). But alas, when we got there, the obviously unimpressed desk attendent foiled our plans, forcing a last minute diversion to Dijon, which she insisted didn't exist but we did it anyway.
6 hours later, we arrived in Lyon to be greeted by Uncle Bill. Due to the earlier transportation set backs, we were quite late meeting him, and didn't have time for a proper explore. So instead we headed back to the flat to dump stuff and then set off to dinner after a quick glass o' wine. On the way we had a mainly car based tour of Lyon, with the walk to the restaurant including a 10th centuary Cathedral and lots of headless statues. We then gorged on fine french cusine at 'the restaurant of bread and salad'...it was delish.
Had a good nights sleep and were up ready to hit Marsaille with a vengence.
LOVE
the Crusaders
Monday, 22 June 2009
The (final) countdown is coming to an end, tomorrow we will wake up at an unreasonable hour and finally head off to invade and subsequently reclaim Europe as our own :)
Today, despite 5-odd months of planning and organisations (we even made spreadsheets), will be spend doing the washing and packing that ought to have been done a few days ago....Ah well.
Saturday, 6 June 2009
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