The last few days have been pretty huge, although I think it's nothing in comparison to what awaits.
After departing from London, we headed down to Dover and caught the ferry across to Calais in France. The ferry ride was short, and the novelty had worn off as a result of my previous journeys to and from Ireland. My plan to queue up 'Stayin Alive' several times in a row on the provided jukebox failed miserably.
Once arrived in Dover, we embarked on one of the now common lengthy bus rides and tried to get a little bit of sleep. Several hours later, I had arrived at my accommodation in Paris and settled into my cabin. After the obligatory escargot (snails) and pink champagne before dinner, we left on an evening bus tour throughout Paris, which gave us a bit of insight into what we could look at the following day. But back to the snails – they taste like prawns, although somewhat more rubbery.
I awoke the next day and prepared to spend the day trekking through Paris. Dropped off at the Eiffel tower, we decided to queue up as early as possible in order to avoid the length two hour queue's we had heard of. A cold, chilly French hour later, and we were on our way up to the summit of the tower. The views were as expected, unrivaled by anything I have ever seen previously, and it was an amazing start to the day.
After heading back down the tower, I wandered over to the Arc de Triomphe (Arches of Triumph), via a French eatery where I picked up some of the local cuisine – a croissant and quiche. The Arch de Triomphe, like Paris as a whole, is such a fanciful and attractive piece of architecture. In retrospect my amazement at the beauty of Dublin was nothing in comparison to that of France. It's almost as if every building on every street is worthy of a photograph.
We headed down the Champs Elysees, one of the worlds most famous streets/parades, to the Place De La Concorde and Obelisque, the location of Marie Antoinette's beheading. Napoleon Bonaparte and Hitler had both marched their soldiers down the same parade which houses many high end fashion houses including the unofficial home of Louis Vuitton.
Champs Elysees
Crossing over the River Sien momentarily, we walked past the Musee d'Orsay, before heading back over the river towards the Louvre. With it only just being past lunch time at this stage, we decided to enter the Louvre and try and find the Mona Lisa. Not being any sort of art buff at all – the two exhibits I had really heard of (Mona Lisa & Venus De Milo), were clearly well directed to – or so we thought. After seeing the incredibly underwhelming Mona Lisa we navigated our way through the labyrinth that is the Louvre to the similarly underwhelming Venus De Milo.
The Louvre
Inside the Louvre
People taking photos of...
... some painting
My next point of call was Notre Dame – a huge, gothic looking church, which was the last Parisian landmark I saw before heading back via Rue De Rivo (a huge shopping street) to the Louvre..
Notre Dame
I then headed to dinner up in the hills of Paris which included spectacular views of the city from up near a church called Sacre Coeur. The 3 course meal at the quaint little Parisian restaurant I went to was amazing, and topped off with camembert and cheesecake.
The cabaret performance at La Nouvelle, a local theatre, despite having several humorous and impressive moments, reminded me of a rock eisteddfod for adults. My lack of enthusiasm for wine did not help my cause however, as the tables were full of complimentary champagne.
The next day we headed on a bus to the Beaujolais wine region south of Paris, to stay at a French Chateaus, in a picturesque set of hills and vineyards. Slightly after arrival we were treated to another wine (arghh) tasting, but I was more keen on the complimentary cheese and crackers than the award-winning wine. The night consisted of a bit more socialising amongst the group, with a few drinks and dancing the night away France style. I don't even know what France Style is, but for the sake of this blog, I'll run with it anyway.
Beaujolais Wine Region
The next day in France was Bastille Day, the day that marks the anniversary of the French Revolution... it's basically the French version of Australia Day/Independence Day, so there's a lot of celebration going on around the place. Once we awoke, we headed up into the hills of the region for a relaxing walk which turned out to be more strenuous than one would have hoped, and gave us all memories of Edinburgh and climbing Arthur's seat.
After returning back from the walk and picnic lunch, everyone relaxed at the Chateaus before heading into the nearby village for Bastille Day celebrations, which included a parade of sorts, and then a mini dance festival at the nearby fire-station/sporting grounds. The bar was selling Kronenbourg stubbies for 1.5 Euros (About $2.50 Australian), so needless to say these were pretty popular.
As the night rolled on into the next day, a few of us decided to call it a night, and make our way back, sans street lights, torches, or any form of light other than the moon's, back to the Chateaus in order to get a well earned (haha...) sleep.
After waking up, cleaning up and packing up our gear, as well as treating ourselves to an elaborate continental breakfast, we once again left on a bus, heading further south in France and then eventually leading onto Italy. The weather has also been a bit better, after having been rather cool (if not cold) the previous couple of days.
Once we arrived in the coastal town of Antibes, the move further south had most definitely resulted in warmer temperatures, as everyone switched into more summer gear than they had been wearing for the last few days. Antibes is situated in the French Riviera (Cote D'Azure), between the rich an luxurious cities of Nice and Cannes. Both cities have amazing beaches and villa like houses covering the surrounding hills.
I got a pretty good view of Nice on the way to Monaco and the Monte Carlo Casino. Monaco is only a couple of square kilometres in area, and is essentially a town full of high rollers. Everything is incredibly well built and extravagant, and the streets are littered with Ferrari's and the like. I had a look around the place, and saw the home of the Monaco Royal Family and some spectacular beaches, before heading to the Casino. After playing a bit of Roulette and looking around the casino for a while, I headed back to the cabin and called it a night.
Monaco
I spent today exploring the nearby and aforementioned town of Nice. After arriving in the town centre, I slowly made my way down the main shopping district into 'Old Town', and the local markets. Being the incredibly hot place that Nice is, the markets were littered with fresh fruit and icecream stalls. After sampling some of the local cuisine, we made our way up to Le Chateaus, a huge hill/park/lookout type area that overlooks the beach and city.
Nice, France
After getting a few photos of the local beach and beach-side road strip 'Promenade Des Anglais', I made my down to the beach (which is pebbles, not sand... a weird and uncomfortable experience..), and wandered amongst the tanned and topless sun-baking locals before having a good swim.
Nice, France
Cooled and refreshed, I headed back up into the shopping district and looked through the various shops before picking up a Royal with Cheese from McDonalds. Awesome. I've never been so smug as I was ordering that burger. Complete with Vincent Vega accent.
We all made our way back to the local train station and then back to the cabins before settling in with a few drinks and a couple of games of pool.
Onwards to Italy next...
Au revoir,
Mark.
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