Bologna

We are in Bologna right now, in the middle of our Bus tour. The internet has been sporadic, so we have struggled to keep in contact.

New stuff:
- The northern part of Italy is beautiful.
- Buffets are great.
- Italian coffee is good.
- We saw the pope.
- So many cathedrals.
- I miss my friends, family, guitar, job, basketbal and Aussie food.
- And apprently there is some drama involving my tenants leaving my house in a bit of a mess.

Talk to you all soon, we are back next week.

Ciao.

Roma

Hi guys,

we are in Rome, and are still having a good time. We have seen the Colliseum, Circus Maximus, the Palatine hill, St Peters Basilica, the tombs of the Popes (and the Scottish Kings), and we have had Gelato. We have been run off of our feet. We are very much looking forward to our bus trip.

Ciao.

P.S. Hey Dad, we were just wondering whether you were planning on picking us up from the airport when we return? It would allow me to pick up my car and have it for the next day. Otherwise we will take a taxi and I will pick up my car at a later date. Just wanted to check. Cheers.

Mediterranean Coast

We are in Nice. Do I dare to say it is nice? I do.

The scenery on the train from Barcelona was incredible. Mountains, fields, cute villages, sea-side, power stations, cliffs, castles, Cannes, Antibes and little churches on the top of coast-side peaks. This would be a good coast on which to own a holiday home.

We had a great time in Barcelona. Yesterday morning we took the metro to the Olympic Park on the top of Montjuic. It is basically on top of a mountain. We were tired after reaching the top, but we got to see the Olympic Stadium. It was built in the 30's for an Olympics that they didn't get to have until 1992. The main stadium was shockingly small. A lot smaller than either of us expected. Our lunch there was a huge rip-off, but we got to feel Olympic.

We then headed over to the Museu d'Olimpic, and it was closed on Mondays. Louvre flashback. This was really annoying, partly because we had looked up the opening hours that morning (and it should have been open), and partly because we had just climbed a mountain.

We then headed to the Beach. Thanks to my awesome navigation skills we got off at the wrong station and walked through the Marina district to get to the Beach. It was very pretty, but we were tired. We eventually collapsed on a grassy knoll to watch the beach bums.

Then it was off to El Corte De Ingles to experience shopping in Spain (and practise a bit of our Spanish). Unfortunately because everyone around Barcelona speaks Catalan, a lot of things are not labeled in English or Spanish. So a lot of our learning was not able to be put into practice.

We then had a salad buffet for dinner and had an early night, because today we were travelling on the train for about 12 hours or so.

Tomorrow in Nice we plan to go to the Beach. And swim in the Med.

Here is some stuff I forgot to include on earlier blog posts:
- We went to the Louvre. It is HUGE! We went straight for the Mona Lisa. Here it is:

They had set up a D barrier, and given that it is only about A4 in size, it was even less impressive than I expected. We liked the paintings by a guy called Guido Reni. They were all religious, and there was one with an Angel and Mother Mary that had great lighting. Then we left the feeding frenzy that was the Italian Masters of painting to go and check out Ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian artifacts and sculpture (including the Venus de Milo - which was assembled from two halves). We then looked at the ancient foundations of the Louvre (when it used to be a castle), and finished up in Mesopotamia, Ancient Sumeria and Persia (which was abandoned compared to the rest of it).
- Here is our view from our Paris hotel:

I am not sure I mentioned it, but Paris is the land of the midgets. Everything was tiny and I was constantly stubbing my toe, or hitting my head or shin. I think it was all built for Napoleon.
- In New York we were on TV. There was a sports show doing a bit on baseball, and we could stand behind the hosts and be visible through the glass. Everyone else was just waving, but then I started jumping up and down as high as I could, and we started a little moshpit which was clearly visible on the screen.
- Also in New York we randomly wandered into the Magnolia Bakery and got some of the best cupcakes ever. They are world famous, and the icing was in-cred-ible.

More pictures to come!

Cameron Out!

Barcelona!

Barcelona has been fun! However there is no wireless here, so I have to type this up on a common room computer.

We are starting to get to that point of the holiday where we need a little break from it all. Maybe 6 weeks is long enough. Instead of 8 weeks away, next time I will do 6 weeks away, and then 2 weeks in front of the TV watching Oprah and Dr Phil back at home.

Today we went and saw a bunch of Gaudi stuff. The Casa Batllo, and the Sagrada Familia. Really cool buildings designed by a really cool man. I liked the mushroom room the best. But the audio guide was a little pompous.

I had a Spanish Omelette for lunch today which was incredible, and last night we went out with a couple of American dudes and had some drinks at a little bar. Quisiera Un Jarre San Miguel y Un Vodka Y Fanta Naranja, Por Favor. I think I still speak broken Spanglish, but at least I can order drinks, with enough pointing.

Buenas Noches.

Quick One: For the fans

We have spent the last two days in Bordeaux. We head to Barcelona today. We will be on the train for 7.5 hours. Luckily we have comics, books, magazines, iPods, DS's, and a laptop (which can play our Always Sunny In Philadelphia and X-Men DVD's) to distract us.

This morning we met Ziggy Marley. I think.

Au Revoir.

Belgium and France

We took a train from The Netherlands to Belgium. I read my book, listened to my iPod, played Advance Wars on my DS and just chilled while looking at the scenery. I am really enjoying this train thing. Cara slept a little, and kept an eye out for interesting things.

We were a little nervous about Belgium. We had heard that half the people speak Dutch, and half the people speak French. We decided that it was time to practise some French. So I pored over the phrase book on the train. Je ne parl pas Francais. Bonjour. Parlez Vouz Anglais? .

When we got to the train station, I asked the guy selling bus tickets Parlez vouz Anglais?, and he replied, in perfect English (and with a quizzical look on his face), "Yes I speak English". I think he was wondering why I didn't ask him in English. Meanwhile I was just chuffed that I was understood.

We got to our Youth Hostel, after being dropped off a stop or two too early by our helpful bus driver, and it was great. The guy there gave us a map of things to do in Bruges by Day, or by Night. He gave us a bruges card (which got us discounts), and a voucher for a free sampler of three beers at their restaurant that night. Cara and I went to our room, and tried to use the internet, which was intermittent at best. We then went and had dinner.

Cara had Beef Stew "Flemish Style", which was basically stewed with a dark Leffe Ale, and I had a ham and mustard dish, where the boiled ham was served on the leg bone. It had some crazy Belgian name, and was delicious. The three beers we got were very reminiscent of the Belgian Beer Cafe: Hoegaarden, BelleVue Kriek (cheery) Bier, and LEffe Dark Ale. Cara tried all of them and ended up drinking all of the Cherry beer and some of the Hoegaarden, and I finished of hers and mine. We then explored the town and went on an impromptu pub crawl. We especially enjoyed a student bar that had vinyl on the walls and record covers on the ceiling. I had some Jupiler and Brugse Zot beer. We also were caught up in a fevered crowd watching their home team Cercle Brugge take a victory. It was a good night.


The next day in Bruges we:
- climbed the famous brick spire of the old Belfry in the main town square. It is 400 steps, each of which gets progressively steeper and narrower. We were knackered once we finished. We barely made it in before it closed too, as we had been too busy doing other things earlier in the day.

- went to the Tintin store. It was cool, and Belgian, and I nearly bought a Tintin tin, but it was exorbitantly priced.
- went to the Frites museum. This was really interesting, with a history of the potato and the "French Fry". We got to eat some chips afterwards too, and they were good. The tips they gave us for cooking the perfect frites were to use Cow Fat with some Horse Fat mixed in. Cook the chips for around 4 minutes at 137 degrees, then remove them from the fat and let the oil drain away a little. Then cook them for a further two minutes (or so) at 167 degrees. I am writing these instructions a few days later, so who knows if I have remembered them exactly, but that was the gist.

- We also ate and drank a lot of very Belgian things. Belgian chocolates, Belgian Waffles, Belgian Frites and Belgian Beer. It was awesome.

On our final day in Bruges we got up early and took the bus to the train station. We booked our train from Brussels to Paris (the Bruges to Brussels part was free), and it was going to cost 52 Euros each in booking fee to travel first class, or 26 Euros each if we travelled second class. And this is on top of our expensive rail passes that cst us an arm and a leg. We went with the second class option. At the station we saw some CaraPils:


As we entered Paris we knew that we were not in such an English speaking place anymore. Less of the signs are in English, and when I say Bonjour, Parlez vouz Anglais? the most common response is a wiggle of the hand along with the words, "a little". But it has been fun.

We decided to book our trains to get to Bordeaux and Barcelona first thing in PAris, and the guy who helped us got us First class seats for three different trains for both of us for only 30 Euros. This seemed so cheap compared that one Brussels to Paris train, and so we were ecstatic.

When we got into our hotel we found a lift on the bottom floor, and pressed the button to call it. Once it opened we realised it was probably actually a service elevator for baggage or room service purposes. A dumb-waiter if you will. The guy at the desk gave us a room on the top floor (7th), and we asked where the elevator was. He pointed at the tiny one and did not seem to understand our problem with its tininess. We had to go up one at a time with our luggage, because we could not fit more than that. How can I best describe it? It is smaller than most wardrobes. But the long wait for the lift was definitely worth it, because we have a view of the Tour Eiffel from our hotel room.


We walked there the first night, saw it during the day and at dusk. The top level is closed so we decided to not climb it. Lets leave that for another trip. We explored and found a relatively cheap cruise on the river Seine, and so we did that as the sun went down. We saw Notre Dame, the Louvre and lots of other stuff from the river. And then we wandered back to our hotel room.

And it sparkles at 10PM (maybe at every other hour too, we're not sure)


Yesterday we went to the Louvre with the plan of viewing that museums great works. But apprently it is closed on a tuesday! So we walked from the Louvre, through the Tuileries Gardens, past the Place de la Concorde, and up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triumph. It was an incredible walk. The gardens were so beautiful. The obelisk in the Place de la Concorde was so incredible, and it had etchings on its base describing how the frenchies stole it from Egypt. And I think the Arc de Triumph was bigger then I expected. We also checked out the Virgin Music Megastore in Paris, and Cara bought me a Croissant halfway up the Champs Elysees. We then headed to the Hotel des Invalides, and explored one the first large military Hospitals in Paris.

We had a great dinner at a place not too far from our hotel, and we talked about World History (and other things we learned about in high school Social Studies, and movies). My desert was a "Cafe Gourmand", which was basically a very small black espresso with a belgian chocolate, a macaroon, a coconut slice, a tiramisu and a creme caramel. It was possibly the best desert of the holiday so far, and the coffee kept me up and enabled me to write to you all last night while Cara slept.

Today we saw the Louvre, and relaxed a bit more, and tonight we head to the Moulin Rouge. I will give you a more detailed update for today at a later date.

Au Revoir.

Filling in the Gaps

OK, we have been so busy that I feel that I have been letting down an important group of people - YOU - my adoring public.

So, I plan on trying to fill some of the gaps in our stories, as I have not really told you guys much detail about our time in New York, London, Amsterdam, Bruges, or Paris.


****


I will start with NY. We had heard that if you go into Time Square and queue up at the red TKTS booth (under the red stairs), then you can get half price Broadway tickets to all the great shows. We headed there on our first day in New York, with the plan of buying half price Lion King, Chicago or Guys and Dolls tickets. When we got there at around 5:30PM all that was left were shows that we had never even heard of, although one had Angela Lansbury and Rupert Everett, but we thought we could do better and planned to do a show a few days later (when we next had a free night with no sporting events planned). Me in Times Square:


So, a few days pass, and Cara and I return to Times Square, this time just before the 2PM opening time for the TKTS booth. And there is a huge queue. I mean, really huge. We had been told that the line looks long but will move fast and so we joined it. It took one and a half hours before we got our tickets. In that time promising shows such as Chicago and Guys and Dolls (featuring Oliver Platt and the chick from Gilmore Girls) had sold out and so we bought tickets to a show called The Fantasticks. It was apparently a delightful musical. We went and checked out the outside of the Letterman Theatre and then got dinner.


It turned out that the show was in the Jerry Orbach Memorial Theatre (dedicated to the main police officer actor from the original Law and Order series). It had some cool photo of him on the wall. We then went inside, and while the show was OK, it seemed a tad amateurish. But one of the guys playing the father had a bit-part in No Country For Old Men, so we figured it was at least somewhat legit. And it was on Broadway! We got a milkshake on the way home, and were excited about our fun night.

While in London I got to see my Cousins Julie and Peter, which was great. It would have been nice to be able to spend more time with them, but after being delayed in the US, we suddenly didn't have too much spare time in the schedule. Cara and I got to say hello to Katie and all of the kids, and spend an afternoon relaxing and playing video games with Daniel. Then it was off into the countryside to meet up with Cara's Mum's cousin Lin. She and her husband Duncan were great fun, and we had a quick look at the English countryside before having a great meal at a pub originally built by King Henry VIII.

Other things we did in London included:
- Visiting the Science Museum and exploring. We saw lots of medical history and some steam engines.
- Going into the National gallery and enjoying all of the great free art there. We saw Van Gogh, Monet, Manet and a bunch others that I can barely remember.
- I took Cara to see London Bridge, Tower Bridge, The Egg, The Gherkin, The Thames and The Tower Of London. Here she is, looking great in front of the Tower Bridge.

- We went on the London Eye (although it was a little bit hazy), and it was more fun than I thought it would be. Followed by walking around all the things we had seen from the sky; Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square.
- We had some pub meals and some beer. I programmed Belle and Sebastian "White Collar Boy", The Fratellis "Look Out Sunshine", and Muse "Starlight" into the video jukebox on our last night in town, me and Cara grooved a little. Ok, maybe a lot.
- We took the tube. A lot.
- Go to Harrods and explore. It is basically like a big Myers, but way bigger and with a lot more variety. We saw a crystal and precious stone inlaid foosball table selling for 80,000 pounds. That is ridiculous. But ferg would love it:



When we left London we had to fly out of Gatwick at 7AM. The last train from London Victoria Station to Gatwick leaves at 3:30AM. So we went to bed at 10PM and tried to sleep. Woke up at 2:15AM, caught a bus to London Victoria Station and got to the airport, we then had some serious time to kill, so we had breakfast. Good thing too, because the "legendary" British Airways breakfast was a festy looking ham and cheese roll with congealed buttercheese and stale bread. We got into Amsterdam and attempted to check into our hotel, however they had not yet finished building it, so we were ferried from our planned accomodation to a different hotel in the same chain. They are called Citizen M, and are a modular hotel chain. Each room arrives in a shipping container and is connected together like Lego. They also have giant beds, weird circular showers and toilets, and a "MoodPod" which controls everything in the room from the temperature to the blinds and the colour of the lights. Here is a picture of our ultra-modern room:


Amsterdam was so pretty, with its canals and cobblestones, and I was a little shocked about it. I was a little afraid that Bruges would not be able to live up to how picturesque Amsterdam had turned out to be. Cara and I ate at an Argentinean steak-house and had a few drinks at a bar before wandering around the cafe strip and a little of the red-light district. It is quite an eye-opener. Then it was back to CitizenM to sleep.

The next day we rode the train to Bruges, and it was great! Way more room than on a plane, and it takes longer so you have more time to relax, read, eat, sleep and listen to music. We spotted Windmills and Tulips, and everything you expect to see, except for the milkmaids with the upside-down, blonde, plaits and clogs on. A field of tulips (as seen from the train):


I think I will continue my story with Bruges tomorrow, but first I will give you a quick update on our current status; we are in Paris, Cara is asleep right now and it is late, we go to the Moulin Rouge and the Louvre tomorrow. And I need some sleep.

Au revoir.

P.S. And we can see the Eiffel Tower from our hotel room(I'll upload the photo next time).