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.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
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.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
a day of culture and stuff
Yesterday we decided to head into London and actually see some exciting things instead of the inside of a bunch of public houses. So we caught the tube to Leicester square and then stood around confused as to which 'official half price ticket stand' was the real 'official half price ticket stand' so that we could buy some theatre tickets. In the end we chose the one with the shortest line- probably not the smartest idea really as a short line generally indicates something. W wanted to see 'Wicked' but it was sold out so we got tickets for Les Miserables. With tickets in hand we decided to warm our hearts with a coffee. It was at this stage of our day that I began to really understand that there are 3 times as many people in England as Australia- In London there was a massive line up for everything- including a simple cup of coffee.
After our coffee we followed a sign saying China town and the sound of banging drums etc. There are still Chinese New Year celebrations happening so we had the opportunity to follow the dancing dragon around China Town as it went to each shop front to retrieve the hanging piece of lettuce from the front door. Again there were masses of people. Here we found a couple of Asian grocers and in true ex Aussie uni student fashion we went on a search and rescue mission for Mi Goreng noodles. Success- we packed our bags full of the little suckers! yay!
We found a chinese restauraunt that did £3.55 lunch meals and seeing as we are totally sick of pub food (which seems to be the only option in most places) we went in and shoved our faces full.
We wandered up to Trafalgar square and popped into The NAtional Portrait Gallery- it was fairly disappointing in all truth. Momentarily it was cool to see all the old Tudor portraits that I;ve seen a million times in books but this wore off as it took forever to get through the throngs of people out and about. The contemporary collection was fairly bland and neither Tim or I could figure out all the fuss over a photo of a few celebrities. We didn't bother with the Annie Leibovitz exhibtion because you had to pay for that and we are stingy.
So off to South Kensington to the NAtural History Museum where we met Greg. This building is absolutely breathtaking - its massive with ancient creature gargoyles and blue tiles everywhere. Inside the rooves are really tall andthere are beautiful stained glass windows. It was worth the trip for the building alone. Anyway we wandered around the free exhibitions- we wanted to go ot this Darwin exhibition but it was sold out. But Tim particularly had a good time looking at weird insects etc. They had a room full of old stuffed birds from the 1800s when this was fashionable- there were dodos etc. There were some crazy things there. We saw big dinosaurs and all the things you would expect at such a museum.
Then it was off for a beer before the show- but apparently thats fairly impossible in the West End on a Saturday night- we wandered for nearly half an hour before finding a pub with a table left. The atmosphere was really cool though- considering there is an economic crisis people were out liviing it up and the theatres were packed. I really like the fact that in England a Saturday night at the theatre is so popular and normal- our show was full of people our age - which is a rare sight in Sydney productions. Its very exciting to be in an area totall dedicated to theatre.
I have been listening to the recording of 'Les Miserables' for the last decade and have always wanted to see a production-which I think was to my detriment because it meant I left feeling a little disappointed. Apparently my imagination dreams too large for the actuality. It was still great and I am glad we went (I dont think it was Tim's cup of tea). I loved the chorus parts because the music is so beautiful and I enjoyed the girl who played Eponine. But every time the show really built up and I thougt finally here's some spirit it returned to a really slow pace. Considering all its grand themes of revolution, love, revenge etc. I left the theatre feeling fairly placid. I was only momentarily stirred to jump out of my seat and start a revolution against my bourgois oppressors- to me this isn't really good enough. But oh well- I've seen it now and I can safely say the music is still great!
After our coffee we followed a sign saying China town and the sound of banging drums etc. There are still Chinese New Year celebrations happening so we had the opportunity to follow the dancing dragon around China Town as it went to each shop front to retrieve the hanging piece of lettuce from the front door. Again there were masses of people. Here we found a couple of Asian grocers and in true ex Aussie uni student fashion we went on a search and rescue mission for Mi Goreng noodles. Success- we packed our bags full of the little suckers! yay!
We found a chinese restauraunt that did £3.55 lunch meals and seeing as we are totally sick of pub food (which seems to be the only option in most places) we went in and shoved our faces full.
We wandered up to Trafalgar square and popped into The NAtional Portrait Gallery- it was fairly disappointing in all truth. Momentarily it was cool to see all the old Tudor portraits that I;ve seen a million times in books but this wore off as it took forever to get through the throngs of people out and about. The contemporary collection was fairly bland and neither Tim or I could figure out all the fuss over a photo of a few celebrities. We didn't bother with the Annie Leibovitz exhibtion because you had to pay for that and we are stingy.
So off to South Kensington to the NAtural History Museum where we met Greg. This building is absolutely breathtaking - its massive with ancient creature gargoyles and blue tiles everywhere. Inside the rooves are really tall andthere are beautiful stained glass windows. It was worth the trip for the building alone. Anyway we wandered around the free exhibitions- we wanted to go ot this Darwin exhibition but it was sold out. But Tim particularly had a good time looking at weird insects etc. They had a room full of old stuffed birds from the 1800s when this was fashionable- there were dodos etc. There were some crazy things there. We saw big dinosaurs and all the things you would expect at such a museum.
Then it was off for a beer before the show- but apparently thats fairly impossible in the West End on a Saturday night- we wandered for nearly half an hour before finding a pub with a table left. The atmosphere was really cool though- considering there is an economic crisis people were out liviing it up and the theatres were packed. I really like the fact that in England a Saturday night at the theatre is so popular and normal- our show was full of people our age - which is a rare sight in Sydney productions. Its very exciting to be in an area totall dedicated to theatre.
I have been listening to the recording of 'Les Miserables' for the last decade and have always wanted to see a production-which I think was to my detriment because it meant I left feeling a little disappointed. Apparently my imagination dreams too large for the actuality. It was still great and I am glad we went (I dont think it was Tim's cup of tea). I loved the chorus parts because the music is so beautiful and I enjoyed the girl who played Eponine. But every time the show really built up and I thougt finally here's some spirit it returned to a really slow pace. Considering all its grand themes of revolution, love, revenge etc. I left the theatre feeling fairly placid. I was only momentarily stirred to jump out of my seat and start a revolution against my bourgois oppressors- to me this isn't really good enough. But oh well- I've seen it now and I can safely say the music is still great!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
LONDON WEEKEND
Yesterday we went into London meet up with a friend I went to University with. We were originally going to see a play but Amanda's boyfriend wanted to see some sights- principally 'The London Bridge'- so we agreed to meet them on London Bridge. As soon as I heard that Brad wanted to see London Bridge I thought he surely must mean 'Tower Bridge'- because London Bridge is nothing special. But stupidly I didn't say anything just continued on our merry way to London Bridge. Tim and I arrived and phoned Amanda- she said she could see London Bridge in the distance and were walking along the THames towards it- would only be about 10 minutes. SO we stayed on London Bridge (it was extremely windy and cold) looking out for a girl in a green jumper to come towards us. Eventually we got another call from Amanda saying that it was a longer walk than she expected and they were nearly there- I asked her which side of the bridge she was on- and she said the side with the glass building- I looked around and saw at least 2 glass buildings on every side of the bridge. So we just said ok we will meet you in the middle. Another 5 mintues past and we thought they should have been on the brdge by now. So I called Amanda and said, 'hey are you on Tower bridge or London bridge?'- she said I think London Bridge- I said, 'is there a tower on your bridge? and as I expected there was. So we walked donw and met them on Tower Bridge. It seemed a lot funnier than it does in this post. So by this stage everyone was over the idea of sightseeing and in need of some lunch. So we went to the place we go every time we go to London- Camden and had some food and checked out the markets. We found this awesome bar in the middle of the markets called 'The Cuban' which had a really great atmosphere. We had a beer there and then went to Euston to meet Amanda and Brads mate. He took us to this Australian pub called the 'walkabout'- apparently its a chain and its full of bad Aussie gimics like kangaroon burgers and stuff. We drank (what is apparently an Australian favourite?) snakebites- cider, beer and cranberry mixed in- it was an ok flavour but a bit too sweet for me. And really Australians are too tough for the that kind of girly drink. We ended up staying there the rest of the night. It was a good night because of the company but I wouldn't bother going back to the Walkabout pub- I didn't think it had much charm really and truly had no Australian feel to it aside from all the Aussies working behind the bar.
Some UK stuff
Last weekend we went to Rochester which is a very old town close to Gravesend. It is famous for being a point where a lot of invasions occured I think. It was quite quaint- little cobblestone alley ways everywhere etc. There was a massive cathedral which we explored - it was like most big cathedrals here- really beautfiful stained glass windows- some sort of crypt underneath etc.
There was also a massive castle on the hill overlooking the Medway River. We wandered around it but were too stingy to pay 5 pounds to go in. I mean we've both seen castles before- Im sure we didn't miss much.
Best part of the day we went to a pub that had 1 pound lasagne and chips and 2.50 fish and chips! Bloody Brilliant! Obvioulsy like all food in this dreary country it had minimal flavour but you can't complain for that price!
There was also a massive castle on the hill overlooking the Medway River. We wandered around it but were too stingy to pay 5 pounds to go in. I mean we've both seen castles before- Im sure we didn't miss much.
Best part of the day we went to a pub that had 1 pound lasagne and chips and 2.50 fish and chips! Bloody Brilliant! Obvioulsy like all food in this dreary country it had minimal flavour but you can't complain for that price!
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