Me Tarzan, she Jane!!

Ah, my dear friend Jane. :D

Fondest of memories - where shall I begin? Let's start at the very beginning . . .

Way back when, I was working in St Kilda Road. I had been working for about 6 months, and along came a new girl to sit opposite me. My local HR representative had obviously done the tour, etc, and introduced us. I was very polite, and only gave the general pleasantries. However, when the HR woman walked away . . .


Up popped this head, which said "Now that Heather's gone, we can talk!" and thus proceeded a great deluge of verbal diarrhoea which resulted in Jane (who, oddly enough, is quite outgoing but couldn't get a word in) and me (i.e. Tarzan!) becoming fast friends. :D


Now, I have mellowed. A little. :D Just ask me.

Jane and I caught up for a lovely little dinner last night. Reminiscing old days, catching up on all the news and visting what has, I think, become a tradition for us - Max Brenner!

What delight. :D

Development

I have been moved to another floor...again.

Let's see if I get this right. I started my job in June last year. In my *first week* I moved from Level 47 to Level 49. In ... February? I moved from Level 49 to Level 44. A few weeks ago I moved from Level 44 to Level 46. And... Friday I moved from Level 46 to Level 49. In two weeks I'll be moving back to Level 46.

Why??!! I hear you ask. Well...

All of the moves have been refurbishment-related, except for the last two (i.e. move to Level 49 and back). I am currently working on a matter that I can't speak to anyone about, and I have to avoid a certain bunch of people on my floor. So, I am sitting up on Level 49, smack-bang in the middle of the national management team. Oh, it's all happening here. :D No more footy in the corridors, yelling across the office, or playing music on my PC.

No, no...it's all very serious. And quiet.

But a nice view. I can see a marina - and the Shrine! Oh, and the flag at the Governor's house - well, if he was home I would see the flag at the Governor's house...

The many names of Suz

Well, today I have a new nickname. Super-Suz. :D Tee hee!

This is to be added to my already impressive collection: Suz; Suzbegoose(r); the Suzinator; Snooze; ... hmm... and the rest escape me for now...

Contact has been made

His name is Jonathan. And that's about as far as we got. :D

Lookalike contest

I just figured out who train guy looks like! Stephen Quartermain!

Update

Oh the shame. Today is Tuesday and I *still* haven't spoken to train guy... Here is my saga.

For those of you who are unaware, our lovely local train folk currently have an ad campaign called Don't hold others back. Although it's not really obvious from the advertisements, the general gist they're trying to get across is that the trains are running late because of us. The people who catch them every day. Funny that. How many *gazillions* of people use public transport in Japan every *minute*. And what's with them thinking that if a train is running less than 6 minutes overdue, it's still ON TIME??!! Hmmm...

Enough venting. Here is my story.

Yesterday (Monday) I arrived at the train station *slightly* rushed, and I did the whole dive for the train door (as it was beeping). While two people on the inside of the carriage, and myself on the outside, were trying to keep the doors open so I could get in, the "Don't hold others back" advert ran through my head. And I let the door go.

I was infuriated.

1. At myself for being in that position - I would rather completely miss the train than be there at the door going for the dive.

2. At the train folk for blaming the infrequency and unreliability of our public transport system on the users - as opposed to them always running late.

3. At the station attendant on the platform who walked past quite smugly as I vented.

4. At the people on the opposite platform who witnessed part of my venting as the train departed.

Then...

It happened again today.

You cannot be in any doubt as to how infuriated I was today. For it to happen again. To go for the dive. Although today, it was a new train, so there was no handle.

There were only people. People who, like me, follow routine, and so no doubt saw me going for the dive yesterday as well.

To do it once is understandable. To do it twice - and on consecutive days - is plain foolishness.

Train guy

I, like most people who get the train into the city, have a bit of a routine I follow. I usually get the 8.03am train, from a particular station, and I always stand in the same place on the platform and get on the same carriage, same door each day. Funnily enough, so does the "train guy". I have a train guy that I get the train with each day - we travel on the train together, not speaking, not making eye contact, then walking down the street to our respective buildings - which, funnily enough, are opposite each other. The scary thing is that for quite a few months we were getting the train together morning *and* night... Same time, same carriage, same door. Day in, day out.

Now, I've got a bit of a reputation for talking to people I don't know, so on Wednesday I put my foot down. I vowed to some of the girls at work that I would speak to him the next time I saw him on the train. I figure we get the train together each day, he doesn't have someone to talk to (or something to read), and I'm not exactly shy, so I thought I would strike up a conversation. If he thinks it's too odd, then that's fine - I'll just say hi every now and again and leave it at that.

Yesterday the opportunity presented itself. As I righted myself and donned my coat and scarf (since I usually run to the station with them in my arms so I don't miss the train) I realised I was actually quite nervous about talking to him. Realising how ridiculous this was and, of course, perplexed at my response to the situation, I began analysing my feelings and questioning myself as to why I was so nervous and gathering up my courage.

In the minute that it took me to run all this through my head, the train arrived and we ended up standing in different spots.

*sigh*

Today was a new day, so I decided to give it another go and to jump at the chance.

He wasn't on the train.

I guess there's always Monday. :D

Trivia

Some more trivia from Suz's (momentarily) uneventful life.

Last thing I ate: A cracker biscuit to keep my stomach quiet- will be "lunching" shortly.
Last CD I bought: Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Beatles, for those who are uneducated)
Last time I did my hair: Yesterday morning. Made an effort for a corporate function.
How I drink my coffee: Black. And as strong as it comes. Funny how it's changed since I came back from Europe!
View from my desk: (1) Internally - I can see about halfway down a corridor to nothing much, lots of glass and a couple of people sitting in offices, a coat tree, a couple of people sitting in open plan, and Hank, my camel. :D (2) Externally - I can see about the top quarter of the Melbourne Central tower, a floor of the BHP building, about half of the Commonwealth Building, most of the Rialto, and everything in between, a bit of the Westgate and a couple of other buildings that aren't important enough to rate a mention.

Here's something you may not know. I hate black pens. I can't stand them. Of course, if I *have* to write in black pen, I will, but especially if it's something like a card or a letter or something, I will refuse to write in black pen - I would rather through the hassle of going out and buying a new pen than write with a black one. Having said that, I also hate biros. Sometimes I put up with them if it's all I have - however, you can imagine the situation if I encounter only having access to a black biro... It's disaster...

Spring has sprung!

Welcome, dear spring. I have long awaited the days of short-sleeve t-shirts - with long-sleeve shirts underneath in the mornings, rain so persistent my backyard is one big puddle, wind so violent you can't wear a skirt, sunny afternoons that are freezing and, of course, the spring racing carnival.

*sigh*

Spring in Melbourne - you wouldn't miss it for the world!

Humble Pie

Well after kind of "gloating" a couple of weeks ago about how good my netball team is, we were completely *slaughtered* last night. :-( 36 to 10!! How depressing. What made it most depressing was that for a quarter I was in goals - and I am *dreadful*! I discovered that I can't shoot at all (granted, I have never practiced because I never figured I'd play in goals), and that I should practice running a bit more. The game was serious hardcore - I played centre for the first half, then I was hammered so I went into goals, then went back into centre. I can't remember the last time I played that hard... But yeah - having not ridden to work last week has made a big difference to some fitness levels. I should probably get in some more low-key riding on the weekends...

Contact

Now I have to tell you about something I find quite amusing. In the past couple of weeks I have received emails from and been able to chat on msn to people I met on my travels. Now, I'm not talking about people I travelled *with*. I'm talking about random people I met in odd locations. For example, Denes - who I met in a laundromat in Berlin; Mark - who I also met in the laundromat in Berlin (and is in no way connected with Denes); Laurent - who I sat next to on the plane from Paris - Hong Kong and then spent the day with in Hong Kong. I just find it completely amusing that I have randomly met these guys in a completely foreign location, to both myself and them, got along famously and have kept in contact. :D Travelling is a wonderful thing! *sigh* When am I going again?

And who could forget my dear Canadian friend Holly? Hi Holly! I'm sure you're reading this. :D I will post you a box of Australian goodies, and be sure to include a jar of vegemite! :D

Farewell

Folks, sadly it is time to farewell my dear friend Laurelle. You may know her (or not) as Lerel, Relle, Laurie, L'Oreal, Latrelle, or one of the many other variations. My dear Lerel is off to the countryside for placement for uni so she will be a fleeting visitor in my life each weekend for the next 10 weeks. *sigh* Gone is my netball chum, my fellow back-cracker, my little movie quoter.

Safe driving my friend.

Netty

Folks, my apologies. I seem to have neglected telling you about a rather consistent part of my life. We've been involved for about 6 or 7 months now - ooohhh! :D I'm talking about netball...

Some of my galfriends and I formed a little netball team we like to call "Wingin' it" and every Monday night we thrash the skirts off some unsuspectingly amateur team. Okay, maybe I shouldn't be so arrogant, but we are good. Last night we won 36-13, last week I think it was 33-16? And the week before that 34-11. Something like that. Anyway, we have lost a couple of games. Usually it's 'cos we're down a player or two for various reasons. Like last season I was overseas (obvioiusly), one of the girls had fractured her foot, various holidays and this season one of the girls is going on medical placement for 10 weeks. I don't have a photo of the team, but I'll see what I can rustle up . . .

An example of my brain not working

Today I had to go to work. I know, it's Saturday. I did, however, get there at an "okay" time (obviously, not ideal, but moderately reasonable) and was able to spend a good few hours there. However... this is the point at which my brain switched off. Instead of parking my car in a parking lot and paying, I dunno, somewhere between $7 and $9, no, I decided to park in the street - in a 1hr parking zone. Hmmm . . . Now, when you use a meter, you don't get a receipt. Which means I won't get reimbursed, and I had to go out every hour to feed the ravenous machine (it was about $3.50 each time!!), and then to top it all off I got a parking ticket.

Ideal situation: Spending $7-9 and being reimbursed, i.e. I shell out nothing!
Actual: Spent about $13, then got a $50 fine.

You do the math. Obviously, I'm not impressed.

Trivia

Today's trivial little information about Suz

Last book I bought: "Yes man" by Danny Wallace - funny stuff
CD currently listening to: Evermore's new one - Real Life
Amount of credit on phone: $25.13
Colour of my nickers: like anyone cares - including me??
Length of hair: about 3cm? Hmmm . . . I should use a ruler.
Last thing I ate: a muesli bar

I think that's enough for today. :D

Stay tuned for more uneventful news from Suz's life.

Ever had the feeling you have to make things up because nothing's happening? Welcome to my "return" to reality... :D

Happy birthday to...

...my brother! He turns 30 today.

Nice work. :D

On the Hong Kong ferry

My 12-hour layover

My my, was I in for a surprise when I got on my flight in Paris!

Firstly, my little experience at the airport was quite invigorating. A French lady tried to use her children as an excuse to avoid the long queue for check-in... I was *infuriated*!! I refused to let her in.. The French family in front of me sided with me and told her off in French with me nodding in agreement (as though I understood!). She ended up behind me because the woman behind me gave in and didn't have the guts to say anything.

Then I get on the plane and I got bumped to business! :D Needless to say, I was so excited!! Despite trying to look professional and nonchalant, I was overcome with exuberance, clapped my hands and squealed at the poor French guy I ended up sitting next to. Obviously, in my excitement, my English chatter was too quick for him, so he pretty much missed everything I said and just kind of grinned at me. Poor thing. He probably thought he had a lunatic sitting next to him!

Now, you would think that being in business class (i.e. being able to lower the seat until it's pretty much like a bed), having full-on rugs and a wonderful entertainment system would help me to catch a fair bit of shut-eye, but no. 30 mins is about all I got - while the good-looking French guy next to me managed to doze off. Over brekkie we managed to have a bit of a chat - it turns out Laurent was going to HK on business and used to live there when he was in his early 20s. He was *horrified* when he found out I wasn't planning on doing anything with my 12-hour in Hong Kong. Frankly, I just couldn't be bothered doing the research on how to get to/from the airport and getting 'round, so I had decided not to venture. But...who can refuse when you're offered a guided tour? :D

Laurent and I then spent the day together in Hong Kong (with my mother in the back of my mind telling me off for being in a foreign country, with a *French*man and touring 'round all the countryside letting him pay for everything). Yep, he paid for everything - except my train ticket to/from the airport. And it was fun!! :D Very muggy, though - I couldn't believe how suffocating it was!!

We went to the jade markets (I bought a handmade chinese checkers set; Laurent bought some necklaces for his girls), we went to Kow Loon Island, we went on a ferry (it drizzled) and... we cruised 'round in a couple of taxis and played chinese checkers and drank coffee in the lobby of a hotel where Laurent had stayed before. :D Fun, fun, fun - and so random!! Actually, maybe it was so much fun *because* it was so random?

So that was my 12-hour boring layover in Hong Kong airport that turned out to be 12 hours of stimulating and fun conversation with a handsome young married Frenchman who showed me the highlights of beautiful, humid Hong Kong and Kow Loon Islands. Thanks, Laurent! For someone who had never had any desire to visit any part of Asia, I'm pretty keen now to tour the Asian countryside!

Hol and Self eating crepes in Paris

Can-can go to Paris...

Yesterday I hung out with my good friend Holly again - she got in from Munich the night before, so we went to the Notre Dame. Then I went back to the hotel just to cruise until dinner when Holly and I met up with some more mates to go to the Moulin Rouge. Oh my! Interesting...! I have *never* seen so much boob in my life!! :D But the costumes were amazing, we drank champagne, and the night life was still going when we left - at about 1am!!

Parisian encore

Here I am using a dogdy keyboard. Again. So we'll see how this turns out! :D

Well the past couple of nights I've been staying in a hostel (although getting accomm last night was a bit interesting - everything was booked and I hadn't booked ahead! I basically spent the entire day walking 'round with my pack trying to find somewhere to stay...) I ended up sharing with a chick who had been forced to book a private room (even though she didn't want it), just because they had nothing else. So, she was more than happy to share with me. Amusing. So I moved to a hotel this afternoon - the same one I stayed in when I first arrived. It's wonderful to have my own room, a big bed, and a nice clean bathroom!! Exciting stuff. :D Oh, and a TV! I've been watching the BBC - it's not much fun watching McLeod's daughters that's been dubbed in French... :D

...newsflash...

I have just realised I have a 12 hour lay-over in Hong Kong on the way home . . . :-(

Bern, i.e. Bear!

Here I am in Bern - which is "bear" in ... some language. Hmmm... maybe I should research that before I post this entry? :D Nah...

Today is Sunday. And the shops are closed. And I'm only here for two days. So essentially, I haven't seen much... I was checking out the signs on a couple of the shops yesterday and found out that most of them are closed on Sundays and don't open until 2pm on Monday!! So, since I'm leaving early tomorrow morning, I'm not fancying my chances of doing any shopping here...To tell the truth, I didn't really believe that all the shops would be closed (I'm not sure why...?) - until I hit the town today. Not a soul on the streets! No traffic whatsoever, and I didn't get to see any people for ages. Pretty funny. I could count on one hand the number of cafes/restaurants that were open, too.

Since nothing is open I had a bit of an exciting time trying to find the entrance to the train station this arvo - normally you can kind of get away with following the crowds, but not today. Actually found out that if I'd walked another 10 metres at one point, I would've been right where I wanted, but I turned around, got a little lost and 20 mins later finally found it from the other side. :D I bought my train ticket for paris tomorrow - scary stuff - $117!! ridiculous!! and that was second-class!! can you believe it would´ve been $20 more expensive with stops? Anyway, it´s direct to paris for about 4.5 hours. Bad thing: it leaves at about 8.30am, so I have to be at the train station at about 7.45 (just to make sure) which means I need to leave the hotel at about 7am... hmm... needless to say, I'll be doing my packing and having a shower tonight so that I can kind of fall out of bed...

Now. About Bern. Bern is lovely. For a capital city I'm surprised how small it is - like seriously, you can pretty much walk from one side of the main part to the other in about 20 mins... and not miss anything! It's kind of funny though, 'cos depending where you go, they might speak German, French, Swiss-German or something else that i just have no idea... so pretty much I've been sticking with the German. I've got the whole "Sorry, I can't speak German" down pat, and the "Can you speak English?" works pretty well. I've actually had a few people look at me oddly and then tell me my German is pretty good. Obviously they don´t believe i can´t speak it. :D

Oh! And I stumbled on a market yesterday - funny stuff! I just walked around a corner and *whammo*! There it was! Love that kind of thing. Lots of hippy stuff though, funnily enough, 'cos you don´t see anyone wearing it? Odd.

Yodel-ey-i-hoo!

Folks, welcome to Switzerland. The land of the cows and the home of the Jungfrau. Man, these people love their cows. If it wasn't for the Alps and the flags everywhere I'd swear I was in India... :D Lauterbrunnen is about 20 mins out of Interlaken - it's a cosy little town, with a church that does weird things with its bells. I mean, these bells are ringing randomly day or night, and for an interminable time. There does not appear (to a foreigner) to be any particular pattern or reason. Just when you think you've figured it out, it'll gong 15 times at 12.45pm on a Thursday. Hmmm...

I seriously love Switzerland. This country is so beautiful and relaxing (and baffling!) - I've never seen so many waterfalls in one place! The place we're staying also has a massive river running through - yep, a white water river. :D Very tempting to just jump on an inner tube and go wild - although, I have no doubt that it would take 15 mins for me to reach the Mediterranean and be somehow floating down an ocean current off the coast of Western Australia by tomorrow afternoon. :D

Have met up with some girls I was travelling with earlier and we all ended up bunking together, so it's worked out well - also pretty cruisily. Sleeping in and strolling 'round is mostly the order of the day. Today we came in to Interlaken which seems to kind of exist for the sole purpose of extreme sports.

I have to say the most amusing thing about Lauts was having one of our mates clamber (while completely trolleyed! i.e. smashed) through our window, fall smack onto the floor, with his pants around his ankles. Thankfully, there was underwear present, and in his near-comatose state he was very amiable and given to following instructions - the pants were soon pulled up, and he was soon coasting out our door - until we noticed the blood! He appeared to have gashed himself as he fell in the window! So I managed to hail one of our other mates to try and get him back to his cabin, but my drunken friend decided to fall over his own feet and smash his face on some random concrete object on the ground. Unconscious on the ground, we all scrabble around trying to figure out what to do. In the meantime, he arouses and has very obviously broken his nose. Quite badly. And obviously has no idea, 'cos he's calling my friend "Dennis" (even though his name is Simon!) and going on and on about Dennis being his mate, etc. I have to tell you that in the situation I wasn't laughing, but in hindsight, it really was quite amusing. And had he been more lucid I'm sure he would've found it quite amusing, too - managing to fall in the window of a cabin with 4 semi-naked girls and with no way of escape! :D What an entertaining fellow...!

Further report on the ear infection: I have come to the conclusion that it kind of defeats the purpose of staying here much longer... On the antibiotics and the train, I will be burling off to Bern tomorrow for hopefully a bit more of an entertaining stay. :D

No, this is not a postcard

Grounded

Just an update on the itinerary and what's going on. I arrived in Lauterbrunnen (Switzerland) last night - on schedule. However, I woke up this morning with a nasty middle ear infection. Mum: don't ask me how much the doctor cost. Let's just say I'm glad I've got travel insurance! So, middle ear infection in Switzerland means:

1. No skydiving. yep, was seriously gonna do it - I was all but booked in.

2. No going to the "top of Europe" which of course is the whole reason for being here... can you believe it?! So I'm stuck at the campsite all day today and tomorrow.

Consolation: I might be able to make it to some waterfalls very nearby - hopefully they`re not up some massive hill.

To the point: Switzerland is absolutely gorgeous. The view where I'm staying is absolutely stunning, surrounded by beautiful Alps and waterfalls. Oh, and to top it off I've met up with some girls I was travelling with earlier - de ja vu!

Nice Nice and Monaco :D

Nice was nice. Except, once again, the area we were staying in. Pretty seedy. Although, to it's credit, it was a pretty easy walk to the "old town" and the aussie bar that we watched the italian match in. Don't talk to me about it. we were so gutted...

Some great beaches, some great rollerblading stunts along the boardwalk (these guys were seriously PROFESSIONAL!) and some good friends. Met some random aussies and spent some time with them dinnering, shopping, etc. Oh! And there was a *great* chicken shop around the back which did a *mean* grilled chicken. In case you haven't realised, I'm eating my way 'round europe. :D

Oh, and went to Monaco for a few hours. Odd place. I have never seen so much money in the one place at the one time. Yachts galore, cruise ships, people walking 'round with personal minders who carry their shopping out to their flash cars and hold umbrellas to keep the sun off them. Sadly, I was a *little* under-dressed to enter the casino for a gawk - sadly, it also had a 10E door charge which I was most unwilling to pay. :D The coastline is absolutely gorgeous and i was very tempted to just pop off the train at the numerous stops between Nice and Monaco - just for a little dip in the beautiful ocean or a laze on the beach.

Cinque Terre

Well, I ended up bed-ridden for a day after having a completely exhausting day - I think all my "travelling" caught up with me - I slept for about 30 hours in two days. The weather was great (what I saw of it) I did a walk between two of the towns and completely regretted it. :D Great beaches though, and all the towns are very quaint. I was staying in a little 3-bedroom apartment and somehow managed to end up with a room to myself!! It was good to spread out my stuff for a few days and not have to worry about packing everything up and locking it all up when I was going to the bathroom or something...

Cinque Terre

Monterosso

Riomaggiore

Monterosso - Cinque Terre

Firenze

The place we're staying in is so far out of town that I can hardly be bothered going to town . . . but of course, you have to when the place you're staying in is such a hole! :D Florence is nice enough, but not much to see sight-wise, so once I'd done Ponte Vecchio and checked out the David replica (no, I'm not going to bother seeing the original), that was kind of it! Needless to say, I also tried the best gelati place in Florence. Meh - I don't know what all the fuss was about - frankly, I think the best gelati was in rome.

I did, however, manage to party the night away while watching the Croatia game. Man, it was going off and so good to be with a bunch of drunk yobbos again yelling at the croatian fans: "you're going home in the back of the divvy van" :D It did my heart proud. Awesome match, too - I seriously hoped someone taped it 'cos I'd love to see it again!

European observations

Pringles. They are EVERYWHERE. Jalapeno, Smoked bacon, paprika - you name it, they flavour it. Seriously, I reckon every single traveller in Europe has bought at least one packet (small or large) at some point in their trip. I have no doubt made up for all those that don't!! It's so easy to pay 3E (about $5.20) for them, too, which of course is ridiculous. I refuse to pay more than 2E, which of course means I have to find them in a supermarket or tobaccinist somewhere. I think i paid 1.70E? Something like that. My diet has quickly become Pringles, Gelati and dinner. Sorry, mum! :D

Water fountains - gotta love them. Paying for water is ridiculous when you can get it falling out of a random wall! In venice I wasn't quite sure what they were and what was going on, but I have since been advised that they are fine, so man, if I can drink Roman water and have it for free, I'll be there. :D The water is always absolutely freezing as well, which is great, especially since the weather has been so hot.

There are beggars everywhere here as well. It's very sad and difficult to get used to, since we don't see that kind of thing at home. Sadly, they have become expert in making people feel guilty if they don't give them anything. What I'm particularly unimpressed about is when a mother has a small child with her and she makes the child beg by going up to people to ask for money. makes you wonder where they live and if they really do have enough money to feed their child - what kind of parent makes their child beg for money?? I'm talking about 3-4 year olds!! Very sad...

I've heard of a few instances of pick-pocketing. One of the buses that stops out the front of our hostel (in Rome) is notorious for it apparently. Funnily enough, you can actually spot the people who are pick-pocketers since they're not ashamed of it or try to hide it, but gee, they're good at what they do. They can unzip your bag, pull out your stuff, and zip your bag back up without you having any clue. Thankfully I haven't been hit, or seen anyone hit, but it happens. Also heard of a girl having stuff stolen out of her bag in the hostel.

Ancient Rome

Myself and a travel buddy decided to do a self-guided "Ancient Rome" tour. We started off at the Colosseum - that was great!! I got some video footage - simply because it's so vast that you can't really get the gist and do it justice with photos. I'll whack some photos in later.

After the Colosseum we followed the "trail" and walked through the Forum, then the Pantheon, then the Trevi Fountain. No, I did not throw a single coin in the fountain - I'm not into that kind of thing. Oh, and of course I topped it all off with some gelati. For lunch. :D

Return to Rome

Once again, I have fallen out of bed at a time that should be banned. We all jumped on the bus and drove further south along the coastline. Now, you think the Great Ocean Road is bad? The amalfi coastline is DREADFUL. I had to sit in the front seat and still felt absolutely horrible. We stopped in Amalfi itself for morning tea, but I only ended up nibbling on a plain bread roll and drinking water...! :D No gelati or custard-filled something for me. :D Then we went to another town further inland (Ravello) - very quaint, cute, but couldn't be bothered. Coastline is beautiful, and there are lemon and olive groves EVERYWHERE. driving was amusing, too. :D there are so many hairpin turns, and we were in a massive coach, so i don't know how many times we had to make 3 or 5 point turns on a corner, and this guy was a local!! :D a bit hairy scary at times... then, we stopped in Naples (Napoli). *So* unimpressed. Very dirty, messy, falling apart, and a really negative vibe in the place. i could count on one hand the number of people on the bus who were interested in stopping. afterwards, I found out our guide didn't even want to stop there!! it was really hot too (apparently about 33-35 degs) and since we were all exhausted from a couple of really busy days we just couldn't be bothered. everyone was just hanging to get to rome. arrive in rome we did, and i had time to shower and see the second half of the aussie vs brasil match. disappointing with the outcome, but was impressed with the attack the aussies kept up. wasn't a steady flow of brasil attacking, and the aussies had some good pressure happening. missed a few good goal opportunities, though. As soon as brasil scored their second goal i went into the restaurant for dinner to avoid the rush at the end of the match - ended up having dinner with 3 girls who i'd been in sorrento with, and caught up with an old friend. ended up sharing a cabin with a couple of girls on holidays from an exchange program in france. Interesting conversations...!

Pics from Capri

View down the bay

View from the cliff

Blue Grotto

Isle of Capri

Today I got up at ridiculous o'clock (which, considering I'm on holidays, could be anything before 11am - today, specifically, I am talking about 7am) to get a bus, then a ferry out to the island of Capri. WOW. That place is GORGEOUS. Apparently the hideaway of the rich and famous, and I can understand why. I couldn't get over the colour of the water... it was seriously amazing!! I spent lots of time on various ferries as well, did a ferry tour (for about an hour or so) all the way 'round the island, including stopping off at a place where the famous blue grotto is. Very amusing. We're in this big ferry, and all these little row-boats are sitting in the bay and come and swarm 'round the ferry to take passengers into the grotto - four at a time. The guys are amusing how they can stand on the boat, get people in and out, and row, and never lose their balance! hilarious. :D A lot of people were impressed - but for something that lasted about 1 min I didn't think it was worth 8.50E. Anyway, after we get back to the mainland, jumped on a funicular (kind of like a bus/tram/train thing that goes up the side of the mountain - oh, kind of like a cable car on the ground, without the cable, but with rails) to go up to "capri town" - don't know what it was called down the bottom, but it was all the same to me. it was a bit posher up top, but not surprised, since the views were divine. took some more photos, checked out some gardens and enjoyed the views. Once again, ate gelati (yes, this is becoming a daily meal). :D After that we hit the beach!! The water was beautiful... seriously, it is a beautiful colour (difficult to describe), but sadly the beach isn't sand, it's rocks!! and small rocks at that. varying in size from a 5 cent piece to about the size of a large fist. VERY difficult to walk on. So much so that i walked down and back from the water once. as tempting and beautiful as the water was, it wasn't worth the pain of going back down again, so I lazed on the beach. Oh, and now I have a ridiculous tan that I haven't even been trying to get... Seriously, I think this could be the brownest I have ever been in my life! I've got a pretty serious set of raccoon (i.e. sunglasses!) eyes happening... :D Watch mark is pretty pronounced! Oh, and my feet as well. Have an upside-down Y happening from my sandals. :D very funny. Ah, after beaching, ferried back to Sorrento, hung out with a few of the girls, grabbed some dinner, got some of my photos burnt to CD (got two copies, so I'll post one set to you, and keep one set on me) and then headed back to the campsite. Watched the Italy vs USA match - very disappointing. Pretty scrappy game. Wasn't impressed. And that was the end of the day! :D

I *have* to come back here sometime... It is amazing! I'll attach some pics just so you can see how gorgeous the water is!

Heading south...

Today I drove down the Amalfi Coast and went to Pompeii!!!! Very exciting...

Anyway, packed bus (about 50-odd) and managed to hit it off with a chick in the check-out queue. :D Lauren's from Geelong and been living in London for a year. She's travelling for about another 2 weeks, then a week in Noosa then going home. :D Drive down the coast was beautiful. But before all that, we had a guided tour at Pompeii. Very very very hot... Took some good photos, but we noticed there were a lot of things we didn't get to see. Disappointingly, there are quite a few areas of the ruins that are still being excavated, and even more that are undergoing restoration. So, pretty much all the famous pictures of Pompeii we didn't get to see. Oh well. Was still pretty good. After Pompeii we cruised on down to Sorrento. Right on the coast, gorgeous scenery, and where we ended up staying for 2 nights. We went in to town that night for dinner (which was GREAT!) and the waiter STUFFED me with tiramisu. It was DIVINE!! Seriously, the best tiramisu I've ever had in my life... wow. :D I ate all of mine, finished off Lauren's, then Sandra's, and Danny doesn't eat tiramisu, so I ate his, and I was done (I realise you don't know any of these people, but it doesn't matter!). The head waiter came out and was so impressed by me saying that his tiramisu was "perfetto" that he brought out another piece and told me he'd give me some limoncello (a local lemon alcoholic aperative) if I finished it all. I'd already had a bit of a slurp of some limoncello. Ooh! Powerful stuff. Not a fan - too much "cello" and not enough "limon". :D So of course, I wasn't fussed, but he was obviously going to be VERY offended if i didn't finished the tiramisu. Well, finish it I did, and he was very happy. :D told me to come back if ever i wanted tiramisu again and he'd give me a plate (with his hands about a foot apart) of it. :D not surprisingly, i smiled, said "grazie" and rolled out. :D everyone thought it was hilarious and was very impressed. :D

I do, however, have one grip. Here I am. For two days. In a TENT. There was nothing remotely resembling the word "TENT" when I booked accommodation. Somehow they construed "TENT" to mean "private room". :-

My little "religious" altercation

Today I did the Vatican tour - the most expensive tour I've done yet (30E - that's about $50-55). But to tell the truth, it really was worth it. It included the Sistine Chapel, St Paul's Basilica and the Vatican Museum. We had little headsets so it meant I could stroll 'round and not really be with the group which was great. It was tour group city!! Absolutely insane - mainly because the Pope had spoken that morning (he speaks every Wed at about 11am I think?), and then the crowds all massed to the Vatican. Waited in the queue in the sun for about 50 mins. Not bad, considering you can wait up to 2 hours... Imagine that... Very impressed with the interior, etc. I'm not into paintings, etc, but frescoes I *can* appreciate!! Oh, and I nearly had a punch-on with a tour guide in the Sistine Chapel. :D HILARIOUS!!!

Here're the facts:
*Sistine Chapel - silence is to be maintained
*Sistine Chapel - tours are not to be conducted within in any kind of manner
*my guide had switched off our headsets because she wasn't conducting a tour

And now here's the story: me - standing still; tour guide - talking at a normal volume into her little microphone, walking in the opposite direction to which I am facing; old italian momma (OIM) - walking in the same direction as the tour guide, but on my right hand side. OIM reaches across me and grabs the guide on the arm, very agitated and rattles off something to the tour guide - essentially telling her to be quiet because she's in the Sistine Chapel. tour guide, continuing to conduct her tour, looks at the OIM but is not really listening to her. guide stops talking, I poke her on the arm and say: "silenzio!" (i.e. be quiet), as both the OIM and I are frowning at her. guide looks at the OIM, then at me, then starts getting aggro at me!! :D she pokes me on the arm, and then the dialogue is as follows:
TG: Don't you touch me!
S: Be quiet, you're in the Sistine Chapel!
TG: What, you want me to punch you? Huh?
S: you're in a church...?
TG: blah blah blah

...and off she stormed. :D I thought it was HILARIOUS since she obviously thought she was intimidating... I was fully thinking "surely you don't think that I'm scared of you? I just think you're an idiot for conducting a tour in the Sistine Chapel and then challenging someone who tells you to be quiet?" Saw her a few times outside the chapel and was so tempted to go up to her and say: "how about now? now works for me..." :D But I decided not to, since we were still in the Vatican city... :D Anyway... many people (including a couple of the busabout guides) have found the story extremely amusing - especially since a couple of the girls were there (oh, I met up with a couple of girls on the tour who I'd been travelling with from Berlin -> Vienna). One of the guides kind of collects anecdotes from some of the travellers so she's gonna use that one. :D

and then I played some more pool... I'm detecting a definite theme here...

When in Rome...

Firstly, let me tell you about where I'm staying. It's like a massive caravan park, kind of on the outskirts of town, with a massive supermarket over the road, a bus stop out the front, and on site they have a bar, restaurant and swimming pool. You could seriously stay here and never see Rome!!

Today we're off to Rome! Left a few of the girls in Venice - they were staying a couple more nights. And the rest of the girls got off at Ancona to get the ferry to the Greek islands. :( on my own again, but I know they were stoked to be finally hitting the sand and heat! :D

Burano - the "mini" Venice

Venice

The true Venice
St Marco's Square

Bienvenuti a Venezia!

Venice has been wonderful! You have to love a city that you don't need a map to get around in.
We stayed in a "campsite" outside of town - we were just near the Marco Polo Airport and yeah, it was kind of like living in Coolaroo. Stacks of planes going over at ridiculous o'clock in the morning!! Met up with an old travel buddy (on the way from Salzburg to Venice) so it was good to have a mate to hang around with again. Had some friends she'd also palled up with while she was in St Johann so we all just kind of hung out together.

The first day dawned and we decided the first thing we *had* to do was have a gondola ride - lots of fun! We complained to our gondolier that we weren't getting our money's worth because he wasn't singing... He much preferred to coach me in my italian!! Also took a photo of him on the phone...while "driving" - surely somewhere, somehow, that has to be illegal?? The grand canal is absolutely gorgeous - lots of things you don't really think about that they do completely differently. EVERYTHING is done on the river. You're moving house? You do it with a gondola. Having renovations done on your place? In comes the gondola with all the gear on it. :D Hilarious! And mostly it's a case of the pushiest - not the biggest - wins. After that, we all kind of went our separate ways and went off and did whatever. We (my friend and I) went and checked out the Palazzo (palace) which was great, then vegged out at a cafe for a bit. This is also the *first* day of excellent weather that has continued through. I haven't worn socks since I hit Venice!! :D In the arvo we strolled 'round the streets, ate gelati and just enjoyed the local culture. We met up for dinner with everyone later in the day which was great. Sat in the middle of a square under umbrellas, then strolled back to the bus to get back to the campsite. Then I played pool for a bit (okay, until the wee hours of the morning!) and met some new folk.

Our second and final day in Venice, we bought a "hopper" ticket and then queued for St Mark's church. The hopper ticket (our own name for it - don't know what it's really called!) means for ... 12E? ... you can hop on and off any bus, train or ferry for the entire day - until 6am the next day I think? So hop we did!! :D There are quite a few islands off the coast of Venice (since Venice itself is made up of stacks of islands!) and each of the islands have a particular thing they are renowned for. Burano: lace, lace and more lace... There was also some really corny (for lack of a better word) lace, too. But the island itself is really quaint. Very small (you could probably walk all over it in about an hour), and is really a mini Venice! Little canals everywhere, very picturesque. Took a few photos. Murano: glass. They blow and colour glass into any and every shape!! They really do have some amazing stuff. I bought a ring and a necklace - the colours in them both make them look like they've got that gold paper or something inside them? Very pretty... I had been looking at rings and stuff when I was in the Czech republic, but nothing grabbed my eye and since they were pretty expensive I wanted to make sure I really liked it if I was going to justify buying it. In the end, I didn't get anything. So I figured paying 5E for a necklace and 7E for a ring on Murano was pretty good... :D Ah...next was Torcello: they have a church and that's pretty much it! Can't say I was impressed... the design looked like it had a really strong Spanish influence. Very dilapidated and run-down, though. A couple of the girls went inside and they said they found it really freaky... Statues of things being killed, snakes, etc. Very odd. Glad I didn't fork out the dosh. Strolled 'round outside and took photos, then back on the ferry again and back to Venice. Managed to get a ferry that took us straight to where the bus stopped, so saved our legs quite a bit!

Cup Fever

Munich. Need I say more? The hub (aside from Berlin) of all football fever. And yes, it's as crazy as it sounds. Funnily enough, I'd read that the Town Hall was a beautiful building, so I went off on the trek to find it, check it out and get some pics. Do you think I could find it? Nooo... I think I walked the couple of blocks about 3 times before I realised that the reason I couldn't find it was because they had a massive stage and screen set up in front of it for the cup. *sigh* Reminded me of the massive football (bigger than a house) mounted behind the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin. Charming. Like to see that on a postcard!

Now this is where my journey takes a little twist. For the first time on my trip I am not sleeping on a bunk, sharing with at least 3 other people and living on pringles for breakfast. :D It's alright, it's not a secret - my mum knows about that little vice I picked up. While I am in Munich I am staying with Andrea - ah, the lovely Andrea! Now, Andrea is a cousin to one of the girls I work "with"...or "for" if you wish to be politically correct. Andrea's english was *excellent*, she met me at the hostel where I was dropped off, cooked me dinner, and did my washing. I was considering adopting her as my mother but then figured that Matthias would have had a few words to say about it. :D Andrea's stellar performance peaked when she whipped out a guidebook and some maps that she'd found for me.

Today I went to Dachau (a WWII concentration camp) - they had a documentary which they show in the main hall which was very moving. Lots of visual displays as well, but I was pushed for time so I was very disappointed that I didn't get to read very much. The impact I felt was a little different to what I'd expected - most of the buildings have been destroyed and all that are left are the foundations - they've reconstructed a couple of sets of barracks so that you get the idea, but it's difficult to imagine the enormity of it all if it's just looks like a bare kind of space, instead of row after row of building - I think I counted about 30 rows of barracks? Something like that. And the "Work will make you free" sign was on the front gate, as always.

On a lighter note, tonight is the beginning of the World Cup. I'm spending the evening with a bunch of Andrea's friends at a BBQ - don't ask me what they eat or do at a German BBQ...

The hills are alive...

...with the sound of Smeee... :D Yes folks, I am in Salzburg!! And yes, I did the Sound of Music (SOM) tour. Julie Andrews, eat your heart out. :D Now, I'm a SOM fan along with the best of them, but to tell the truth I did wonder about my decision to do the tour. I'd already paid the money though, so I figured there was no point in *not* going. So, tour I did. To the soundtrack of the SOM. That's right folks. The bus was alive...with the sound of the chick across from me proudly singing (quite loudly I might add) to prove that she knew all the words. I knew all the words, too, but realised how downright*weird* it was to be proud of the fact. I will admit, I hummed a little, and yes, I even sang (to myself) the chorus of a classic or two (or in fact the whole song, as is the case for the 'Lonely Goatherd').

Now, despite the fact this was the SOM tour, I have to admit that I enjoyed the scenery that the drive offered a lot more than the actual SOM relics we were on our way to visit... For example, the pergola that Rolfe and Leisel pranced around in (who cares?), the fact that the front and the rear of the house in the film are in fact two different houses? Mere trivia. But the Alps - did anyone see those Alps? While everyone else was snapping the lake the kids fell into (yes, I did get a photo or two, too), I was facing the opposite direction looking at the mountains. :D I'm a sucker for the scenery.

Oh, another tour I did - the glacier tour! Wow! Talk about amazing! And freezing... On go my two jumpers!! Now, I've been to the snow, but I have *never* seen it snow before - that is, until now!!! :D It was *snowing*!! I have video footage, too. :D Oh, and then an AVALANCHE!! :D Talk about amazing... we all thought there was a storm or something and then realised it was a massive wall of snow rolling down the mountain no more than 30 metres away! I came back with a whole lot of blurry photos (not enough light), wet pants (snow) and a new headband. :D What's a tour if you don't buy some trinket?

Coffee, choirs and ballet

Hit the road, Jack - we're going to Vienna!! :D Folks, Vienna is a beautiful city - not to mention my hostel! Swish! Once again we have swipecards (like Berlin), but this time the cards open our *lockers* as well!

A quick rundown on my activities: Yesterday we (Nicole and I) went and queued up to see the Viennese Boys Choir! Wow - in a church funnily enough! They were great! We had great standing spots, but I ended up having a coughing fit after their 2nd number (due to the copious amounts of incense they were throwing around), so I had to elbow my way through the crowd back outside - I ended up watching it on a screen in the foyer which was better, anyway! Until of course, they came down from the balcony and stood right up near the altar. Then I couldn't see a thing. But the whole service was in German, so no matter where I was standing it was going to be interesting.

After that, we wandered 'round town for a bit (saw the library which was amazing!), then last night we went to the ballet! Talk about excellent! Never been to the ballet before, and to see it in Vienna was particularly exciting - we saw Coppelia. By then though, my coughing had receded somewhat, it's just that I had three *very* large people sitting in front of me - one of the ladies had hair like a raccoon. Seriously. It was shameful. Her hairdresser should be shot. In some country somewhere I'm sure it would be illegal to have hair that bad.

Today we went and visited a massive palace (Schloss Charlottenburg) which has beautiful, beautiful rooms. Did my first "audio" tour which was a little interesting - it's good though - it means you can zoom on through if you're not really interested in something or pushed for time . . . The grounds are pretty extensive, too, so much so they even have a miniature zoo. Hmmm . . . Anyone who can afford to have their own private miniature zoo obviously has too much money. Oh, and when I say "miniature" zoo, I don't mean all the animals are "miniature", I mean that they just have less on display than your stock-standard zoo. Up on top of the hill they also have an excellent vantage point of the city - talk about some great photos! Another walk back through the gardens and a final dinner with some friends was a lovely way to top it all off.

Food highlights: I know you're going to think this is really weird, but in Vienna I found the *best* Indian I have ever eaten in my life - I had no idea that that was what Rogan Josh was meant to taste like!! Mmmm...! We also went to an other place (no, not on the same night!) that had something we dubbed the "Excalibur" which is one meal with enough food for about 6 people... Basically they bring out a massive sword mounted on a stand with 6 schnitzels and 6 pork chops (with some kind of basting). Underneath the sword are chips, chilli con carne and some chicken wings (with some other kind of basting). Talk about major meat overload! Now I'm a pretty good carnivore in the best of circumstances, but this was even too much for me!! Phew! What an effort. :D Needless to say we didn't finish it. Bargain meal!

Cesky wha?

Folks, welcome to Cesky Krumlov. Yes, we are still in the Czech Republic, but even now, after poring over a map, I have no idea where we are. :D

Cesky Krumlov is the home of cobbled streets, a castle, a freezing river (it feels and looks like it should be a river of ice), and two bears. Yes, two bears. Now, I've been to the zoo however many times it is appropriate for you to go to the zoo in your childhood, just like anyone else, so it's not like I haven't seen animals in cages before. But this . . . this is ridiculous. The "enclosure" (i.e. a massive concrete moat around the castle that they've decided to convert into an enclosure) is apparently an ancient tradition with the town from way-back-when. Unfortunately, the poor bears (1M, 1F) are stuck living with each other and the endless crowds of people hanging over them. It's all very sad really, watching them walking 'round and 'round the same path for 5 mins - I walked away. It was a bit depressing. Apparently they have had people attempting rescue missions for them. :D

One amusing situation did present itself, though. Today a friend (Nicole!) and I did the tour of the castle and decided to offer ourselves the lovely view on the way up by hanging out one of the windows. One of the bears decided to come walking up the hill and have a bit of a stroll 'round too, so I was within a couple of metres!!! It turned out someone had dropped their passport and/or travel documents out the window and the bear had spied it!! No, they weren't mine. :D So now I've got photos of the bear playing with the passport, tossing it 'round and ripping out pages. Amusing - and he was so close! :D

A couple of mates decided it would be a great spot of fun to go rafting down the river on the rapids. I didn't think that pneumonia was a great spot of fun, so I declined. When I tell you it was cold, I'm not exaggerating. It was *COLD*. Sheesh! I was rugged up and still chattering! :D The rain didn't help, either!

Oh, and I bought two hats. :D And had a conversation (of sorts) with an old drunk German guy who couldn't speak Czech. Or english. Or German either, by the sounds of it. :D "Schlafen" (i.e. sleeping) was said a lot. Very amusing. Still not quite sure what we were talking about.

Inventory

At this point in my trip I have come to the realisation that I did not bring enough warm clothes. One long-sleeved jumper is not enough, especially since you kind of end up *living* in it day and night... Enter the purchase of a new jumper in Prague. Inventory: two jumpers.

Guess who met Tom Williams in Prague??? Nope... not me. :D Some of my friends...

Prague

Wow - what a city!! Talk about beautiful! All the buildings are gothic and multi-coloured - and the cobblestone streets! :D Checked out Charles Bridge today - the view is great, the river is high (almost to flooding level) and there are stacks of art vendors with their little wagons set up all along the bridge. Up the hill we went to go to the castle and do a tour - got my photo taken with one of the guards in classic "Buckingham Palace" style. But, I think the most amusing thing has been the currency. Don't get me wrong, everything is *really* cheap, it's just trying to figure out how much things cost in AU$ . . . I was great at maths when I was at school, but there was no way I learnt my 17 times tables . . . Pity, though - would've come in handy!

Movin' on...

Well, Amsteram was a little *interesting*. . . For those of you wondering, no, I didn't smoke any pot, and no, I didn't eat any mushrooms. I did, however, try their traditional Dutch fries. Meh, a little overrated. But tell me this - what is the obsession with mayonnaise on chips??!! I was willing to give it a go and get over my judgemental attitude towards the mayo, but no . . . I have to tell you it was an experience that shall be reserved for a torture chamber. Blurgh! Didn't meet my roomies until the night before I was leaving - they were either stoned the whole time, or sleeping it off!! What a way to see the world... Did a bike tour as well - what fun. Not. It rained the entire time - I thought my fingers were going to fall off!! But, the tour itself *was* fun. The scenery was beautiful - it's amazing how quickly you can escape the city into the countryside! We went along one of the rivers and out to a farm where they make wooden clogs and also produce various cheeses - yummo! Cracked pepper and garlic was a winner! The worst thing about amsterdam? My accommodation. Not very encouraging when you rock up and they have fliers about "building up your immune system". For all you 5-star hoteliers, basically they have a reputation for bedbugs - but thankfully I didn't get any!

Right now I'm in Berlin. The hostel is *excellent*, with swipecards, comfy beds, spacious bathroom and massive windows.

Now, you would think that doing your washing is pretty mundane and a task worthy of procrastination. However, doing my laundry here in Berlin has become a bit of a highlight!! For starters, trying to find the laundromat was such an entertaining exercise for myself and 3 other girls. It took us about an hour and a half, and it was *pouring* with rain - I was walking along with the bag on my head. Needless to say, my pants ended up drenched to the knees. When we got to the laundromat (which ended up being only about 700m from where we were staying) we hit it off with the owners and couple of fellow launderers. One of the guys ended up being a fascinating artist with some published on the net. Obviously his arty talents run in the family - nice work Denes! :D

Doing a bike tour tomorrow, seeing all the sights. Berlin is a beautiful city - so much history. Will keep you posted!!

View from the top of the Eiffel

Parisian antics

Here I am in another internet cafe... did some sight-seeing 'round Paris today and managed to find the holocaust memorial. Wow. Very sobering. I probably should've visited the one at home first just as a little mental/emotional preparation.

On an amusing side, I did the massive walk yesterday. Got the train to just near Notre Dame, did that and St Chapelle, then walked over to Isle de Paris and walked all through there, over to the Louvre, through the Jardin de Tuilleries (sp?), down the Champs Elysees all the way to the Arc de Triumphe. What wasn't so amusing was that it started absolutely *pouring* with rain when I was just starting up the Champs Elysees, and then one of my sandals broke.
:-( My first day as a tourist, in a foreign country, and my shoe dies. *sigh* Well, they have fared me well (pre-travelling), so I will have to bid them a sad farewell and figure out what I will do without them.

So, post-shoe-breaking I ran into an American woman who looked like she was *completely* lost. She was ecstatic to find someone who spoke english, but of course she was very unimpressed with my efforts when she realised I couldn't give her directions to anything other than the obvious - the Arc de Triumphe! So off she went a little disgruntled... :D

*enter pouring down with rain*

The next thing you see is me hitching up my pants ('cos they're dragging a little . . .) and scooting up the street to try and find a shop to shelter in. Picture this: Christian Dior, Gucci, Ermenagildo Zegna (sp?), Calvin Klein, blah blah blah, you get the picture, and here's me shuffling along in true backpacker style looking for a haven. Needless to say, I spent the next 20 minutes in the Disney Store (DS) and felt guilty at even *that*! I did a token "perusal" of their wares to satisfy even the crabbiest of salespeople. Tell me, who buys all that stuff??!!

Back to my huge walk. I've now stood in the DS for 20 minutes waiting for the rain to subside, and even though it hasn't, I plunge into the great outdoors shuffling at a much faster pace - urged on by the glaring of the security guard watching me drip on the floor. Hmmm. . .

As I make my way "up" (literally - the Champs Elysees is a gradual incline *all the way*) towards the Arc de Triomphe, thankfully, the weather clears, but it appears that the traffic does not. I thought Sydney was bad. Parisian traffic is incomparable (at least I thought that until I went to Italy). Imagine a massive roundabout, with about 10 streets coming to a junction at it. Imagine it is the width of about 8 lanes all the way 'round, but of course, there are *no* lines marked . . . It is a case of the gamer, the quicker. You hesitate, your car gets bumped. You hesitate again, the car behind will just give you a little nudge until you get the idea . . . Now you tell me - who would pay 11 euros just to go and stand in the middle of that insanity?! Stacks of people apparently, but not me.

Right. Down the hill from the Arc, and I'm making my way towards Trocadero (thanks, Ails!) for an excellent view of the Eiffel Tower. Of course, I'm not going to come all this way and just look at it from a distance, so now that it is no longer raining, but blowing a gale at a mere 120km/h (in round figures), I think I will in fact go up. :D Funnily enough, a couple of Aussies were standing next to me in the queue so we got chatting. Man, was it cold. I don't think I could feel my toes at the end of that little episode!! Oh, and what's with the guide book? Apparently that walk was meant to talk 3.5 hours. For me, 8 hours later and I still have about 4 kms to go!! Maybe I'm a stroller... :D

And now to today. My walking today (which included the Holocaust Memorial) also took me through the Jewish Quartier (funnily enough) - man, do they make good felafels! Also found a simply smashing store and bought some new sandals! They are *the* most comfortable shoes I've ever worn in my life! I tried on ONE and said I'd buy them... :D

Also randomly ran into a crazy parade going on - what was with that?! I have *no* idea what it was all about. There were about 10 semi-trailers, oh, maybe about 800m apart, each with a different band on the back and they were just driving through all the streets belting out their gear! Wow! :D So I walked in the opposite direction and managed to see them all a little quicker and ended up sitting near the Bastille memorial and watching the post-party procession - i.e., the street-sweepers and garbage cleaners. Those guys are ruthless! They use massive pressure hoses on the trucks and spray you if you get in the way. :D Some drunk guy was collapsed on the ground next to me - the police nudged him then left him there. Nice work.

Heading out to amsterdam tomorrowmorning - been brushing up on my dutch. Actually, I think I'd better not say a single word, since I don't know any dutch and am liable to abuse someone by saying something awful. Or amusing, at the very least. :-(

I have arriv-ed!

I'm here . . . in Paris!

Am sitting in an internet cafe right now 'cos they've blocked off two of the platforms at the train station - yep, one of them was mine. Something happened, not sure what, but loads of scary looking guys, variously uniformed, all running 'round with guns ranging from the size of holstered pistols to massive machine-gun-type things. weird. So, yeah, just biding a little time until the platform opens again so i can go *one* stop, then change lines again and get to the hotel and settle in.

Flight over was a little eventful, but definitely an education. First leg was pretty bad - 9.5 hours - had an aisle seat which i prefer, but leg space was limited and I realised (too late) that I didn't walk enough. The second leg was 12.5 hours, but *much* better. I spent the entire 2-hour layover in Hong Kong just walking 'round to get the circulation going again! Thankfully I managed to sleep about 9 hours on the flight, but had an idiot sitting next to me who wouldn't turn his mobile phone off so the air-hostess would come and say something to him about it every hour or so. Of course, by this time, I've been awake for 19 hours with only 6 hours sleep backing me up... I didn't take it too well!! Eventually he did turn it off, but only after the air-hostess was leaning over me in the wee-hours of the morning (Paris time) and woke me up with a massive jump 'cos I thought she was talking to me! Tosser!

Closure

Today is my last day at work...but not forever! I've been offered another contract, and of course I accepted. This one is for 12 months, which is what I asked for - woo! :D
5 days to go...

My life in 7 months...

...wow - so much can happen! For example, I'm going *overseas* next week! Woo! Yes folks, for the first time in my life, I will be flashing my passport, lugging luggage and jet-setting off to Europe for 8 weeks. Let the countdown begin... 7 days to go.

World's Greatest Shave

Folks, today I shaved my head. :D Yep, you heard me. Shaved my head - a No. 2. "Why on earth would you do that?" I hear you ask? Well, because I was raising money for The Leukaemia Foundation (final tally: $6,898.50). Lots of fun on the night, and it turns out I don't have an odd-shaped head!! Here're a couple of pics for your visual entertainment. :D Thank you so much to all of you who sponspored me in my efforts!