Yesterday we headed to London to see a play called '3 days of Rain'. We headed in and met Greg on Portobello Road, had some all day breakfast washed down by some tall cold pints in a Tapas bar. Greg couldn't quite reconcile the idea of having beer with breakfast. Wandered along Portobello road to check out the markets. The houses along here are all painted different colours and the effect is like a big colourful lolly. I have no idea why the rest of England doesn't get on board with the colour scheme and brighten up this dreary country. We happened to see the home of George Orwell- had no idea he lived in Notting Hill.
The highlight of Tim's day was another chance at some waffles- but alas they did not live up to his past waffle experiences and he finished his strawberry chocolate waffle feeling unsatisfied. The search for the best waffle continues.
'3 days of rain' was an interesting play. In all honest we just booked tickets because it had James McAvoy in it and we didn't really know what it was about. Basically (like all tried and tested plays) its a story about family and secrets etc. The first half was set in the current day after the death of the characters father- basically trying to unravel the mysteries of the childhood - why their parents were so eccentric why their mother was mentally ill. Not as depressing as you might think from the overview. Very well written and fairly humorous. The set was really cool- old run down loft apartment in NEw York. The second act the actors became different characters- their parents during the time they met '3 days of rain'. I liked the second half better and Tim liked the first half. Neither of us are sure exactly why.
I felt a lot better just being in London for the day. So much more happening, way less pregnant teenagers and racist drunks. I think I am getting a very negative view of England from living in Gravesend and after a bit of soul searching and some tough decisions we are deciding to move to London at the end of Summer. Going to stay here because it is cheap and we can save up for big summer holiday- then come back and Tim will look for work in London and when he gets something we will move up. I will keep working at the school until such time as Tim gets something. We will move up and I will do supply teaching. I can't handle the stress of permanant position when my intentions of being in England are not to further a teaching career. So now we have made that decision I feel ten times better. Who knows if we really have enough we might move sooner. But at the moment its good to benefit from cheap living and school holidays! Also Tim has a teaching assistant job at my school.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Last day in Paris
We were pretty buggered by Friday as we had been partying with Bron all week and checking out the sights. So we took a slow wander around the Pompidou centre before deciding none of the exhibitions interested us that much and then we wandered over to the Louvre and wandered around in there. It was cool to see all the famous artworks we had only ever seen in books but by the end it all got a bit too much to take in. Lots of tourists going mental again kind of destroy the atmosphere.
The next day our train left at 8 in the morning. This time we were in Leisure select which emant we got more space and a meal but really all we cared about was snoozing.
The next day our train left at 8 in the morning. This time we were in Leisure select which emant we got more space and a meal but really all we cared about was snoozing.
EURODISNEY
What can I say? Disneyland truly is the happiest place on earth. I had a smile from ear to ear all day (except for about 2 minutes when I was relegated to a small horse on the carousel because all the children beat me to the big ones!). Even cynical anti-disney Tim was won over by the charm of the place. What is most striking about Disney land is that its not just a trashy theme park with dodgy rides, but its this masterpiece of planning. There is so much attention to detail. the gardens are all beautifully sculpted. There is not a blank wall in the place. its not all tacky bright colours- Main street is like a beautiful New Orleans style street with Victorian tea houses and ice cream parlours, shops etc. Gorgeous.
Because we only had a day we didn't get to see everything properly but we made a pretty good effort.
hilarious occurance that I don't want to forget: when we were on Thunder Mountain roller coaster (which is fairly tame) there was this kid behind us who just screamed at the top of her lungs the whole time. even when we were travelling on zero incline or decline. At the very end of the ride she called out 'Get in there!' in this hilarious way- Tim and I pissed our pants laughing. probably had to be there but I still get the giggles thinking about it.
Best part of the day: about ten minutes before the park closed Mickey and Minnie appeared on the top of Sleeping Beauty's castle to say goodnight. The whole castle lit up with fairy lights and Tinkerbelle shot glitter out of the top turret. It was a magical glitter overload of excitement and given my fondness for glittery tackiness I was in ecstasy. I think Tim secretly enjoyed the silliness of it all too.
Because we only had a day we didn't get to see everything properly but we made a pretty good effort.
hilarious occurance that I don't want to forget: when we were on Thunder Mountain roller coaster (which is fairly tame) there was this kid behind us who just screamed at the top of her lungs the whole time. even when we were travelling on zero incline or decline. At the very end of the ride she called out 'Get in there!' in this hilarious way- Tim and I pissed our pants laughing. probably had to be there but I still get the giggles thinking about it.
Best part of the day: about ten minutes before the park closed Mickey and Minnie appeared on the top of Sleeping Beauty's castle to say goodnight. The whole castle lit up with fairy lights and Tinkerbelle shot glitter out of the top turret. It was a magical glitter overload of excitement and given my fondness for glittery tackiness I was in ecstasy. I think Tim secretly enjoyed the silliness of it all too.
Montmartre
We headed to Montmartre today and I have to say I felt like I had finally found an area of Paris that lived up to my expectations. On the top of the hill is a beautiful white Church called Sacre Cour (not sure if spelled like that). Perched alone on the hill it is stunning. From the top you can look out over Paris. It but fairly smoggy/foggy but still a good view.
We wandered around the little streets surrounding. Montmartre is the area where all the artists hang out do portraits etc surrounded by lovely little shops, cafes, bars etc. We wandered into an art gallery focusing on Dali and had a look. I think most of the work were reproductions but still cool to see.
One thing that I was shocked by in Paris was the food. People rave about food in France but most things and not that fresh- all sandwiches are pre made and sitting there etc. They even premake hotdogs with melted cheese on. Gross. Also- how lazy can you be to not make a hot dog fresh?
Everywhere you go you can buy crepes with Nutella- they really love nutella in Paris!
After this we wandered around looking for the Moulin Rouge. By this stage of the day though the camera battery had died. The Moulin Rouge was fairly disappointing- the windmill was tiny and just plonked on top of an ordinary building on the street. Lame. Not to mention we had to wander through the sex district to find it.
So we wandered onto the Montmartre cemetary which is the final resting place of many famous people. Most of which we had never heard of. Nonetheless the cemetary was incredible. Each plot is a mausoleum- so the cemetary is divided into streets you walk down and you are surrounded by these miniature stone buildings complete with stained glass windows, turrets and gargoyles. Spookily on one fairly impressive tomb sat a black cat which just stared at us intently as we walked past.
Tim and I ended up hanging out in a bar in Montmartre during happy hour to end the day.
We wandered around the little streets surrounding. Montmartre is the area where all the artists hang out do portraits etc surrounded by lovely little shops, cafes, bars etc. We wandered into an art gallery focusing on Dali and had a look. I think most of the work were reproductions but still cool to see.
One thing that I was shocked by in Paris was the food. People rave about food in France but most things and not that fresh- all sandwiches are pre made and sitting there etc. They even premake hotdogs with melted cheese on. Gross. Also- how lazy can you be to not make a hot dog fresh?
Everywhere you go you can buy crepes with Nutella- they really love nutella in Paris!
After this we wandered around looking for the Moulin Rouge. By this stage of the day though the camera battery had died. The Moulin Rouge was fairly disappointing- the windmill was tiny and just plonked on top of an ordinary building on the street. Lame. Not to mention we had to wander through the sex district to find it.
So we wandered onto the Montmartre cemetary which is the final resting place of many famous people. Most of which we had never heard of. Nonetheless the cemetary was incredible. Each plot is a mausoleum- so the cemetary is divided into streets you walk down and you are surrounded by these miniature stone buildings complete with stained glass windows, turrets and gargoyles. Spookily on one fairly impressive tomb sat a black cat which just stared at us intently as we walked past.
Tim and I ended up hanging out in a bar in Montmartre during happy hour to end the day.
17th Feb
After a big night out we slept in and were feeling a bit seedy. We eventually made it out of the house and headed for The Catacombs. When we got there we were confronted with a line that was about 100 people long. Anyway we stood in the cold and much to our indignant Australian anger watched as a girl about to push into the line just behind us. Unfortunately she was successful and we couldn't believe how sly she was.
Anyway that aside the Catacombs were underground tunnel mine things that got turned into tombs in the 1700 when there was a massive plague. A whole bunch of people died and were tossed into mass graves- but because there wasn't much room it was very unhygenic and they decided to take them down into the tunnels. The bones and skulls are all arranged in patterns, love hearts and different shapes. Its quite beautiful. You have to walk down about 130 steps and walk through very winding tunnels to get to the bone section. There are so many bones- thousands of people in there. I thought it might be creepy in there but it wasn't- just interesting. No strange vibe. Just peaceful.
We did see some hilarious things in the Catacombs that I don't want my ageing brain to forget.
1. this little kid was walking around with his legs wide apart like a cowboy. Hilarious.
2. There was this girl who was being photographed in the tunnels by these two others- and she was acting like a model even though she didn't really look like one and it was fairly funny. Probably had to be there.
3. Not that we saw this but Bron and I were making spooky noises to scare these kids but ended up scaring ourselves.
After the catacombs we headed back to the Latin Quarter where we saw a 15 Euro 3 course meal advertised. Not a bad price in Paris.
Bron ordered snails (Tim and I were a bit hesitant to order a whole plate and just tasted Brons). Basically tasted like garlic butter chewy gobs. Not unpleasant- quite nice but nothing to rave about really.
Anyway that aside the Catacombs were underground tunnel mine things that got turned into tombs in the 1700 when there was a massive plague. A whole bunch of people died and were tossed into mass graves- but because there wasn't much room it was very unhygenic and they decided to take them down into the tunnels. The bones and skulls are all arranged in patterns, love hearts and different shapes. Its quite beautiful. You have to walk down about 130 steps and walk through very winding tunnels to get to the bone section. There are so many bones- thousands of people in there. I thought it might be creepy in there but it wasn't- just interesting. No strange vibe. Just peaceful.
We did see some hilarious things in the Catacombs that I don't want my ageing brain to forget.
1. this little kid was walking around with his legs wide apart like a cowboy. Hilarious.
2. There was this girl who was being photographed in the tunnels by these two others- and she was acting like a model even though she didn't really look like one and it was fairly funny. Probably had to be there.
3. Not that we saw this but Bron and I were making spooky noises to scare these kids but ended up scaring ourselves.
After the catacombs we headed back to the Latin Quarter where we saw a 15 Euro 3 course meal advertised. Not a bad price in Paris.
Bron ordered snails (Tim and I were a bit hesitant to order a whole plate and just tasted Brons). Basically tasted like garlic butter chewy gobs. Not unpleasant- quite nice but nothing to rave about really.
16th Feb
We wandered about some little streets in the centre of Paris. The little cobblestone streets are lovely and there were some charming shops - most hilariously was a posh looking kebab shop. We went up to the Latin Quarter because we read there was a pub there that had live jazz which we thought would be cool. Turned out it had a TV playing top of the pops and full of Poms. Not very charming at all. But we saw some cool things wandering about.
We had a beer and headed off to see the Eiffel Tower. It costs a fortune to climb and none of us were that interested. We saw it so I feel we conquered it.
Best part was we got ourselves in some Japanese Wedding photos.
That night we headed out to a bar with Bron's friend Freddy and had a few beers. I was very proud of myself for ordering in French. So now I now how to ask for 4 Leffe beers in French. Thats about it. Was a good night.
We had a beer and headed off to see the Eiffel Tower. It costs a fortune to climb and none of us were that interested. We saw it so I feel we conquered it.
Best part was we got ourselves in some Japanese Wedding photos.
That night we headed out to a bar with Bron's friend Freddy and had a few beers. I was very proud of myself for ordering in French. So now I now how to ask for 4 Leffe beers in French. Thats about it. Was a good night.
15th Feb- Paris Day 2
On Day 2 we got up excited and ready to see Paris in the daylight. So we headed to the River Seine for a stroll and to see where the day would take us.
Basically we got off at Pont Neuf because for some reason I thought I had heard of that and thought if I had heard of it something about it must be interesting. Turned out it was a bridge with a bunch of carved heads underneath. The Seine has about a kazillion bridges running across it. Quite pretty.
We wandered along until we ended up at the Louvre and took a look around the outside.
From here we wandered through what I expect is a a fairly notable Parisian park full of statues and ponds. I am sure in the Spring it must be stunning but in the bleak Winter it wasn't that exciting and the ice on the ponds made it look a bit scummy. At the end of the Park was the Obelisk and from there the Champs Elysses.
From this point we spied our first sighting of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. But more excitingly for Tim he ran into a waffle van. Tim can't pass a waffle van without stopping for a snack and amazingly enough waffles were super popular in Thailand which is where Tim's waffle obsession took full flight.
We then wandered back in the direction we came to find Notre Dame Cathedral.
Its a very impressive building. The stained glass windows are incredibly beautiful- the colours are not your typical churchy glass windows but have bright pinks, torquoise etc. The colours don't show up well on the photos. There isn't much atmosphere in the Cathedral though as its so jam packed with tourists wandering around with cameras etc.
After this we headed back to the apartment to meet Bron who was travelling up from Renne to stay with us.
It was great to see Bron and almost quite weird to be in Paris with her. But like all good girls from Dubbo we spent our first evening gossiping about people we haven't seen in ages and drinking beers from a can. Poor Tim!
Basically we got off at Pont Neuf because for some reason I thought I had heard of that and thought if I had heard of it something about it must be interesting. Turned out it was a bridge with a bunch of carved heads underneath. The Seine has about a kazillion bridges running across it. Quite pretty.
We wandered along until we ended up at the Louvre and took a look around the outside.
From here we wandered through what I expect is a a fairly notable Parisian park full of statues and ponds. I am sure in the Spring it must be stunning but in the bleak Winter it wasn't that exciting and the ice on the ponds made it look a bit scummy. At the end of the Park was the Obelisk and from there the Champs Elysses.
From this point we spied our first sighting of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. But more excitingly for Tim he ran into a waffle van. Tim can't pass a waffle van without stopping for a snack and amazingly enough waffles were super popular in Thailand which is where Tim's waffle obsession took full flight.
We then wandered back in the direction we came to find Notre Dame Cathedral.
Its a very impressive building. The stained glass windows are incredibly beautiful- the colours are not your typical churchy glass windows but have bright pinks, torquoise etc. The colours don't show up well on the photos. There isn't much atmosphere in the Cathedral though as its so jam packed with tourists wandering around with cameras etc.
After this we headed back to the apartment to meet Bron who was travelling up from Renne to stay with us.
It was great to see Bron and almost quite weird to be in Paris with her. But like all good girls from Dubbo we spent our first evening gossiping about people we haven't seen in ages and drinking beers from a can. Poor Tim!
Paris- in retrospect
Ok so I am writing this 2 weeks after we returned but thought I should update before my memories get even foggier.
Tim and I travelled on the Eurostar to Paris on Valentines day. I was feeling a little bit nervous about travelling through the Channel Tunnel but in the end we were only in the tunnel for about 20 minutes and then we were up and out in France. Very strange. The scenery looked surprisingly like Kent scenery. Green (ish because its Winter) fields. Little villages spattering the country side etc. It did seem less populated than Kent though with the emphasis on little villages rather than sprawling towns that merge into each other like in Kent. The villages could be identified by a town church tower and mostly the houses looked to be fairly old and reddish in colour.
We arrived in Paris at about 7 at night and decided to head straight for our apartment in the tenth district. But as usual we kind of ran out of the house unorganised and didn't bring the instructions on how best to get there. So we bought a map and navigated our way through the metro system. Stupidly we ended up on the wrong end of a very long street and had to make our way back again until eventually we found our place opposite a very large and easily accessibly metro station. One that we did not travel to.
Nonetheless I need to remark on how brilliant European subways are. You can get basically anywhere from anywhere and rarely have to wait more than 5 minutes. Truly brilliant!
Our apartment was quite cute and I was very excited to finally have access to a shower instead of a bath (which is all we have at our place). I really miss standing up to wash. Its the little things.
We went to a Japanese restaraunt for dinner and had a few wines to celebrate Valentines day. I suppose a lot of people dream about being in Paris for Valentines day. Tim and I never take it too seriously but I realised that we were pretty lucky.
Tim and I travelled on the Eurostar to Paris on Valentines day. I was feeling a little bit nervous about travelling through the Channel Tunnel but in the end we were only in the tunnel for about 20 minutes and then we were up and out in France. Very strange. The scenery looked surprisingly like Kent scenery. Green (ish because its Winter) fields. Little villages spattering the country side etc. It did seem less populated than Kent though with the emphasis on little villages rather than sprawling towns that merge into each other like in Kent. The villages could be identified by a town church tower and mostly the houses looked to be fairly old and reddish in colour.
We arrived in Paris at about 7 at night and decided to head straight for our apartment in the tenth district. But as usual we kind of ran out of the house unorganised and didn't bring the instructions on how best to get there. So we bought a map and navigated our way through the metro system. Stupidly we ended up on the wrong end of a very long street and had to make our way back again until eventually we found our place opposite a very large and easily accessibly metro station. One that we did not travel to.
Nonetheless I need to remark on how brilliant European subways are. You can get basically anywhere from anywhere and rarely have to wait more than 5 minutes. Truly brilliant!
Our apartment was quite cute and I was very excited to finally have access to a shower instead of a bath (which is all we have at our place). I really miss standing up to wash. Its the little things.
We went to a Japanese restaraunt for dinner and had a few wines to celebrate Valentines day. I suppose a lot of people dream about being in Paris for Valentines day. Tim and I never take it too seriously but I realised that we were pretty lucky.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)