Okay, I'm officially on tour, and I haven't had an enormous amount of time to write etc... The access to the wifi has been pretty limited, so I've been collectively adding to an ongoing word document as I've been going along! To make things a little less boring (especially seeing my last post was boooring as batshit!) I will try to break things down in cities….. and only post a few cities at a time! So here we go....
London to Paris
The drive from London to Paris is a looooooong one. We drive the couple of hours from London through to the Cliffs of Dover (which are absolutely incredible to see, the limestone face is really stunning) and then hop on a P&O ferry through to France! The crossing takes about an hour and a half or so. The ferry is huge, it takes busses, trucks and passenger vehicles. It has coffee shops, an eatery, a bar, slot machines, and numerous places to sit and just enjoy being out in the English Channel.
I got some lovely photos off the side of the ferry looking back to the Cliffs of Dover, and Dover Castle, and then a few other cool photos of the initial sighting of French soil.
The drive from here to Paris, was freaking loooong, but Jude had us playing speed dating on the bus to get us all talking to one another.
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly little cliques seem to form when you put a bunch of young people together. This was definitely no different.
Last year, I spent a lot of time at the back of the bus, usually with a hangover, this year, it’s been very different. I am up the front of the bus, as the back of the bus is full of kiddies all born in the 90’s (geezuz!)
Finally arriving in Paris I was very happy to see we were in a different hotel to last year, our Hotel was nice and close to a Metro stop and a few little convenient places for things like water, chocolate and gum, none of which I seem to be able to get enough of this trip (yes my ass is rapidly expanding, even as we speak! )
The first night in Paris was rather quiet for us, after a quick drive aroud the major sites, we stopped at the Eiffel Tower and I finally got to the top. Last year the Eiffel Tower was closed courtesy of the Parisians on strike. No surprise there, they strike at the mention of anything they may not be happy with. Too cold? Strike!, Too drunk? Strike! Not enough baguettes to go around?? Definitely STRIKE!! Lol As much as I LOVE paris, some of the people can be quite pushy and rude. It was ABSOLUTELY freezing up the Eiffel Tower!! We took the lift up to the second viewing platform, and then headed up once more to the top. The views from the top, are absolutely breathtaking.
The city below looks like one big shimmery sea of coloured lights, flanked by the dark winding river sene which winds its way through the city.
After coming down from the Eiffel Tower we all headed to the Metro to catch the train back to the Hotel. Others went out to try to find clubs and pubs, but I was quite happy to settle for my warm bed!
We do have quite a few little groups on the bus that are really getting their drunk on on the tour. We have two guys in particular that literally seem to be having their first beer at breakfast. YIPES! I thought I was alco!
The next day, we decided that our plan of attack was to head to the Catacombs first up in the morning (one of the things I didn’t see last year) via Notre Dame Cathedral. Notre Dame is truly stunning, the inside of the Cathedral is absolutely amazing, there is stained glass everywhere in a myriad of colours and patterns. We were lucky enough to head into the Cathedral as one of their usual Sunday services was starting, so we were greeted with music and prayer. Very special.
From Notre Dame we headed to the Catacombs. About 200 metres underground and winding around 2km under metropolitan paris, the catacombs are a very eerie experience. I don’t really know what else to say about them, fortunately we were allowed to take photos, flash free of course, so I’ve posted a few below so you can see what im talking about. Just hundreds of bones and skulls all neatly packed into the walls, or even creating walls themselves. Very cool indeed, but still creepy in the same sentence! Lol
From the Catacombs we then headed to the Arc de Triomph, so that the rest of the group could head up to the top and have a look around! I braved the 307 stairs last year, needless to say this year I decided that I didn’t’ need to put myself through that pain again! Can anyone say JELLY LEGS!
It was about Lunchtime now, so we wandered down the Champs Eliseeinto it’s stunning christmas markets. Nutella crepes and pretzels were definitely on the menu, as was mulled wine and churros (oh yeah my diets fabulous over here)
Last stop on my itinerary for the day was to head to the Paris Opera house. Apparently they do tours around the opera house, another thing I missed out on last year, but unfortunately for me as last year, I found out upon arrival that there were no tours on Sunday. YAY ME! Lol So from here I walked back through the Louvre courtyard, and then headed back to the afternoon meeting point to get the bus back to the hotel to get ready for our Moulin Rouge evening.
Now, I did the Moulin Rouge last year, didn’t’ really think all that much of it. It would seem that my oppinion still stands. I really think for all the hype, it’s totally overpriced and overrated. The show is the same one that they have been doing for the last 10 years at least, and really it’s not that great. I’ve seen better shows at the local Jupiters Casino! I know that seems a little bit harsh, but really….. it’s not. Yes you get boobs, but other than that, it reminds me of a drag show I saw at the trocadero. I should have saved my money and put it towards seeing a stage show back in London. End rant.
After Moulin Rouge, we all heded to O’Sullivans for a few drinkies, Manda decided to head home, I can’t blame her, and I stayed out for a drink or two with the group and then jumped in a taxi and headed home myself.
The next morning we were switzerland bound.
Paris to Lucerne
Lucerne is honestly one of my favourite places in Europe, It’s such a quiet sleepy little city. The people are lovely and friendly even if I do offend their ears with my version of their native tongue. This year Luzerne was very different from last year. Still damn cold, just like last year, although this year, no snow! It wasn’t until we headed up Mount Pilatus that we saw any snow at all. This time last year, the entire of the little city was covered in about 15 inches of beautiful white puffy goodness! This year…. Nil! There isn’t a hell of a lot to do in Lucerne, it is, as I said, a sleepy little city. After heading up the mountain for some snow time, we headed back down for a fondue lunch washed down by an icy cold beer. In the afternoon we took a walk around to the Lion Monument. This monument is a carving into a cliff face of a lion that represents the hudreds of Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when the mob stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris. It is an absolutely heart breaking monument, the face of the lion is just incedible! I'll eventually post some photos!
I wisely decided not to go out that night, and stayed in, there were some pretty large hangovers on the bus the following moring and I think that we had our first bus vomits and double bagging going on!
Lucerne to Barcelona
The trip from Lucerne was rather uneventful, which is kind of good when you're on a bus with 48 other people. We did the normal three hour stops and then finally arrived into Barcelona in the late afternoon/early evening!
Last year Barcelona was definitely not one of my favourite places, this year I've changed my mind (typical female) and have decided that I would definitley go back to visit again! Although there are quite a few places in Spain that I would definitely like to visit!
After arriving in Barcelona we took a drive around the streets so that the group could get orientated (or dis-orientated) and to see some of the sites before heading into town for a few drinks (I swore black and blue I was going to have a quiet night! Alas this isn't exactly the way things actually went). We started drinking in the late afternoon, and then headed to the a Bar near the waterfront called Olympica to continue to drink quietly..... Holy hangover batman! I remember most things about the night, but somewhere along the way I managed to lose my credit card, and lost track of time, and got home at about 4am. YUCK!
The next day was a bit of a waste, as both Amanda and I were hung over like crazy so we decided to just sleep in, and then go for a wander around a bit later on in the afternoon and see a few of the sites etc around Barcelona.
That night we went to a traditional Flamenco show, followed by another night drinking.... of which I didn't dare partake! The Flamenco show was the same as the one I went to last year except this year things were a bit more interactive with the crowd which was pretty good. It's a very intense show, and not anything like I had imagined prior to seeing it last year.
The next morning we were off again, now with some of the biggest hangovers of the entire trip so far on the bus! It was vomitsville everywhere! Kinda wrong really. But I suppose the amount of hangovers keeps the bus pretty damn quiet! lol
I dont think I've mentioned that we have a day song and a wake-up song.... The day song is pretty tame, the wake-up song is a fair bit louder... it's quite funny to see everyone groaning in hangover agony everytime they are told they need to wake up for a pit stop somewhere. *giggle*
