If you don't get bored after just reading this, well.... here's some of my experiences in Spain and France!
PS: There's more photos on facebook. :)
Day 1: (Sept 22)
Left from College at 10am for the 2 hour drive down to Sydney airport. Flew out on Thai airlines, bound for Bangkok. That was a long flight – 9 ½ hours – and we were all pretty tired after that one. At least we had TV screens on that flight. Transferred to another flight to Madrid, after a brief cat nap in the airport – this time there were no TV screens, and it was a 12 hour flight. And airline food is never nice…
Day 2: (Sept 23)
Arrived in Madrid, transferred for our final flight into Barcelona. Only a one hour flight this time, thank goodness! We were all so relieved once we arrived!! Got buddied up so that we would always know who to look out for on the trip, and met our tour guide for the trip, Osciri, an Italian, who happens to be fluent in 6 languages (English, Italian, French, Spanish, Hebrew, and something else I can’t remember) and was an amazing guide. Threw all our bags on the bus and headed out for our panoramic tour of Barcelona.
We were all extremely jet lagged and exhausted, and feeling awful after more than 28 hours of travelling, so none of us really wanted to be touring around looking at sites just yet. We had only 2 days in Barcelona, though, so we were told that we had to make the most of it. First stop: the Barcelona cathedral. Saw the crypt of Sainta Eulalia, a 13 year old who professed there was only one God before the Roman council, and as a result was horrendously tortured 13 times before being hung upside down on a cross. Oh to have faith such as hers!
 |
| The Cathedral in Barcelona |
The group broke up for lunch, and I went with Nathan, Jesse and Niki (my buddy group) off to find some real food. We came upon what looked like the equivalent of a Subway, and had our first experience trying to order food in Spanish! Fortunately the guy knew some English, so we weren’t completely lost! The food was pretty good too. Went for gelato afterwards, and when the man didn’t understand Lauren’s question about the sorbet (Is is dairy free?), she decided to take on a different approach. “Does this have any MOOOOOOO??”
Toured the old town afterwards, and finally got taken to our hotel (Hotel Azul – that’s right, the blue hotel; and it really was bright blue!). I was rooming with Niki, Steph, and Andi , and all 4 of us were pretty desperate for showers! I felt so much more human after that!
Dinner was in a little restaurant next to the hotel, called “Kikiriki” (in English it means ‘Cock-a-doodle-doo’ hahaha). It wasn’t anything particularly Spanish, or even particularly tasty, which was a bit disappointing, but most of us were too tired to care.
Went out for gelato afterwards, then came back to the hotel and slept like a rock.
Day 3: (Sept 24)
Woke up refreshed, feeling alive, and ready for the exciting day ahead! Breakfast was delicious – wow, European breakfasts are amazing!! Why can’t we have these back home?!
Spent the morning looking over Gaudi’s masterpieces, including La Sagrata Familia (The Sacred Family), a beautiful cathedral, still in construction almost 200 years later. The inside was fantastic. Gaudi, drawing his inspiration from nature, designed all the elements of the cathedral to blend in with nature in some way – the huge columns inside are shaped like giant tree trunks, and the outside front façade looks like a sand castle.
After the cathedral, we walked through Park Guell, also another work of Gaudi’s.
 |
| La Sagrata Familia |
 |
| Stained glass windows inside the cathedral |
 |
| At Gaudi's park |
For lunch, Niki, Lauren, Ketannah and I had Tapas – yum! It was absolutely delicious!! And then crepes and waffles afterwards, what a treat!
We joined the group again for a walk down La Rumblas, enjoying the festivities (it was a public holiday in Barcelona; the holiday of their patron saint). Saw the human castles – that was amazing! Then headed off to the Roman museum to see the ancient underground ruins of Barcelona.
Experienced the Spanish metro – wow, that was an experience! It’s so much more efficient than back home! It needs to be, of course, since Europe has so many more people, but I couldn’t help wishing that trains would come every 2 minutes to wherever I wanted to go back home, instead of every hour, when I’m lucky…
Dinner in the restaurant with the group again, and then it was time for bed!
Day 4: (Sept 25)
Goodbye, Barcelona! :( After a rushed breakfast and a quick worship on the roof of our hotel, we said goodbye to Spain and climbed on the bus, heading for France. It was a long journey, but a beautiful one – the countryside is simply gorgeous!
Crossed over the border into France! First stop – the beautiful medieval village of Carcassone! I’d wanted to visit here since my Auntie Rhondda got married here a few years back, and we couldn’t make it to the wedding… but the pictures looked absolutely stunning, and I’d wanted to go ever since! And the castle didn’t disappoint!
 | |
| Carcassone |
 |
| Looking down from inside the castle |
Unfortunately, our time there was a little rushed, and all too soon we were back on the bus, headed for our next stop – Aix en Provence. Finally arrived and checked into our hotel. Niki and I were rooming together, and we were lucky enough to have the best view ever! The room was quite lovely too, with plenty of space, and windows you could easily climb out of and sit on the roof outside (not that we did that… *cough cough*)
Had dinner in the cutest little French restaurant, it was delicious!
Day 5: (Sept 26)
First breakfast in France, and already I have no idea how I’ll ever be able to eat just cereal for breakfast ever again!
Went on a walking tour of the town centre, and visited the museum of old Aix, before having the afternoon free. Had pizza for lunch in a cute little restaurant, and then wandered down the main road, looking through markets and just taking in the atmosphere. Niki bought a coat that she fell in love with, and I found a great present for mum, and we all discovered a stall with the most amazing macaroons ever! It was love at first bite! Definitely need to come back here a few times before we go!
 |
| The food markets |
 |
| Sunflowers! |
 |
| Lauren and Niki at lunch |
Day 6: (Sept 27)
Went off to Nimes today – this part of the trip was what I was most excited about, since I’d done my pre-tour assignment on the ancient history of France, and couldn’t wait to see the ancient Roman sites! Visited the amphitheatre, which was such a great experience! It was like stepping back in history and actually being there… I could just imagine the flocks of people that would have crowded into the theatre, to see the games and fights. Apparently the amphitheatre is still used today, but for Spanish bullfights instead of gladiator fights. It’s only marginally better, I think. But anyway.
 |
| The outside of the amphitheatre |
 |
| Lauren at the Amphitheatre |
 |
| Us and our sunnies! :) |
On to the next Roman site – the Pont du Gard (the Roman aquaduct). And to think, its survived for all these years, this massive structure built in the 1st century, and without mortar or anything apart from very accurately cut stones! We walked up the hill behind the aquaduct, through the bush, and got some great photos!
 |
| The Pont du Gard |
 |
| from the hillside |
Dinner that night was on our own, so Lauren, Ketannah, Niki and I went out in search of a restaurant. There were so many adorable little places to choose from! We ended up picking one because it had crème brulee on the menu (which Niki was desperate to try!), and then by the time we ordered dessert, they had run out anyway… but the meal was lovely, so it didn’t really matter!
Day 7: (Sept 28)
Went exploring ancient history again, this time at Gallo-Roman site of Glanum, the ruins of a Roman city in Provence. It was so interesting to think about the people who would have lived and worked here all those years ago! They’re not much different from us, are they? A different time period, a different culture and society; but in so many ways they are the same as us today. It was an interesting concept to think about.
 |
| Glanum ruins |
 |
| Oh yes, that's us! haha |
Next stop: Orange, and the AMAZING Roman theatre!! It was stunning!
 |
| Roman theatre, Orange |
Day 8: (Sept 29)
Today was the day for medieval villages: Fountain-de-Vaucluse, Menerbes, and Lacoste. Saw the mountains were many Waldenses used to escape, and the Fountain-de-Vaucluse was simply amazing! Jesse even went in for a swim (a bit idiotic, but entertaining!). Bought a quilt from one of the markets there too, and I wasn’t the only one! I think almost every girl and even some of the guys on the trip came back with quilts by the end of it!
 |
| View from the bus, the French countryside |
 |
| The three of us at Lacoste |
Niki and I went to the supermarket to get bread and cheese and other stuff for dinner that night – our French language skills were severely tested! We had French people laughing at us in line… it was quite amusing! Attempted to watch French TV, and ended up watching Desperate Housewives in French (its bad enough in English… and so much worse in French!), and ended up practicing our French vocab by waiting until we understood a word one of the actors said and shouting out its English equivalent. Must say, though, those words were few and far between – my French is atrocious!
Day 9: (Sept 30)
Well, Thursday was supposed to be our free day – I’d already planned to spend it in Switzerland, or possibly Italy, if Switzerland by the TGV was too far – but thanks to economic turmoil, terrorist threats, and strikes, we had to cancel our free day and move it to Saturday instead, and move the visit to the Abbey of Le Thoronet (planned for Saturday morning) to today. Apparently there was a strike planned for Saturday, so if we wanted to visit the Abbey, it was now or never! I’m glad we went, it was a lovely experience. We had worship in the chapel, and sang a few songs as well – the acoustics are fantastic in there! It has an echo time of 14 seconds, second only to the Taj Mahal, apparently! I could have stayed there singing all day…
Wandered around the shops in our free afternoon, and bought food for dinner, to cook back in our rooms. Went to Paul’s, as well, a little patisserie that has become our favourite, and bought raspberry (fromboise) tarts… yum!
Day 10: (Oct 1)
Day trip to Avignon, and the Palace of the Popes. This was the day we all hit the wall. I don’t think any of us wanted to see another castle, or another monument, or another cathedral, or anything except for a bed! The trip had been quite draining – on some days we were walking for up to 14 hours, exploring the sites and the old towns – and we were all so tried. That being said, the Palace of the Popes was a intriguing fortress; I just wish I’d been able to concentrate and actually take everything in! Some people were so tired that when we got a lunch break, they went off to the park and slept on the grass for an hour!
 |
| Inside the Palace of the Popes |
Our lovely bus driver, Pierre, decided that we were such a lovely bunch of people, and that he wanted to do something extra for us, so as a farewell gift he took us to the Cathedral of Mary Magdalene, where we saw (what is claimed to be) her crypt. It was quite interesting. And the church had a magnificent pipe organ!
Day 11: (Oct 2)
Free day! I slept in, then went along to the little SDA church in Aix-en-Provence with a few others in our group. The little church was so welcoming! Daniel, our history teacher, had to translate the sermon, of course, but it was a wonderful message! Quite ironic, as well, they were discussing Michigan, and the beginnings of the Adventist church – horary for Battle Creek / Kalamazoo, where I grew up! Looks like I flew all the way from Australia to France, to learn about where I used to live! Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool.
 |
| outside the church |
Had a relaxing afternoon, lying in the sun and just enjoying Aix-en-Provence for the last time. I love this place. It’s just so beautiful, so old, so laid back… I have to say, this is probably my favourite place on earth. I could live here. Even with the language barrier! It’s just so wonderful… I wasn’t looking forward to Paris, to be honest, because I didn’t think there could be any way that it could beat Aix!
Had our last dinner in the cute little French restaurant down the road, then back to the hotel to pack up all our stuff, ready to leave in the morning.
Day 12: (Oct 3)
Said goodbye to Aix en Provence this morning.
I’ll be back one day.
I have to come back.
Took the TGV to Paris – wow, if trains back home were this fast, getting home to South Australia from College for the holidays would be a breeze! (And cheaper than a plane ticket!) It took 3 hours to get to Paris, past the beautiful French countryside zipping past the window at 300kph…
Panoramic tour of Paris, and saw the sites that we would come back to explore later on. Saw the Eiffel tower from a distance. Checked into our hotel – it was nowhere near as nice as in Provence! The room was too tiny to even fit our suitcases in next to the beds, and the bathroom was flooded… I was missing Provence! But we made do.
Dinner was at an interesting little place a few streets away from the hotel. It still wasn’t authentic French, but it was a nice meal.
Day 13: (Oct 4)
Visit to the Louvre! Definitely a major highlight in the trip so far! It was so cool!! We walked around to see the paintings, managed to dodge the hundreds of Asian tourists to get a glimpse of the Mona Lisa, and saw so many other interesting things… my brain was getting so overloaded with information!
 |
| Ketannah, Lauren, me, Niki... waiting in line at the Louvre |
 | |
| It's the Mona Lisa! That took about 10 minutes to get close enough to see it! |
 |
| Ketannah and me, and the Code of Hammurabi! |
After the tour officially ended, we were given the afternoon off. Ketannah and I really wanted to see the Code of Hammurabi, so Osh offered to show us the way, and Lauren and Niki tagged along. They were getting a bit sick of museums, and understandably so, but everyone who knows me knows that there are two things I have always been obsessed with: Space, and Ancient Egypt. And here we were in the Louvre, with one of the biggest Ancient Egyptian exhibits ever! It was something I’d wanted to see since I was in Elementary school – there was NO WAY I was leaving Paris without seeing it! Naturally, I lagged behind a bit, and ended up getting lost. I didn’t realise I’d been left to myself until about an hour later, but even then I didn’t really care, and it was another hour before I finally pulled out my map to find out exactly where I was. The Louvre is MASSIVE, I could spend weeks in there and still not have seen it all! It’s huge!! I wish I’d been able to stay longer…
I reluctantly wandered out a few hours later, and sat down on a staircase outside the Louvre to do a bit of journaling and one of my favourite pass-times – people watching. I always find it so fascinating how people act and think, and then I’ll watch someone for a while and try to imagine how they live their life… it might sound a bit creepy and stalker-ish, but it’s really not; it’s all in my imagination, and its great inspiration for future short stories!
Wandered down through the gardens with Jesse, Elise, Hannah, Sav, and Simon, when they came by and saw I’d been deserted, but I went off on my own for lunch (extremely late; by this time it was probably almost 4pm) and ate in the park, overlooking a beautiful fountain and watching the world go by. Started writing again; I was in a writing mood, I think!
 |
| Tuileries Gardens |
Strolled down the Champs Elysees, and met up with the whole group later on, when we went for an evening cruise down the Siene river – that was AMAZING. Saw the Eiffel tower by night, as well as the Notre Dame and many more of the old historic buildings around Paris… it was wonderful! I just wish my camera hadn’t died that night, I’ll have to rely on everyone else for some good night photos…
Day 14: (Oct 5)
Had the morning free, so Lauren, Niki and I went for a walk around the Latin district, and did a bit of souvenir shopping. Met up with the group again for the tour of Ile de la cite, Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette was kept in prison), and Notre Dame. It was a miserable rainy day, but full of interesting things to see!
 |
| The Notre Dame! |
 |
| "Under my umbrella, I don't get wet..." |
 |
| A few of the soldiers we saw everywhere... just in case we forgot about the terrorist threats |
Day 15: (Oct 6)
Niki was too sick to come with us this morning, so she stayed back in our room while the rest of us went to Musee Carnavalet, an amazing museum which had the most beautiful gardens ever. We then went walking through the Marais district, and had lunch a little Kosher patisserie in the Jewish quarter – it was so yum!
Lauren and I went to Gallery Lafayette, where we bought Mac lip gloss and took some great photos on from the 7th floor, overlooking Paris. We decided to visit the Sacre Coeur as well, yet another beautiful cathedreal on the hillside, but it was also one of the places we weren’t allowed to take photos. L
Took the metro back to the hotel, where we found that Niki had improved and decided to go out shopping for the day. And that our bathroom had completely flooded. Again.
 |
| The gardens, through the museum windows |
 |
| The Eiffel tower is there somewhere, honest... |
 |
| ...there it is! :) |
Day 16: (Oct 7)
Toured the Palace of Versallies! That was the icing on the cake! Took the train out of Paris to Versallies, and had a wonderful tour – the only disapoinment was that there was some modern art exhibition, and some Japanese artist had his odd looking statues displayed thoughout the palace… I don’t have a problem with modern art, but did it have to be in Versallies? It ruined just about every picture, plus added more to our entry fee… But apart from that, the Palace was amazing, and the gardens were beautiful…
 |
| Say cheese! |
 |
| Versallies!! |
 |
| Thats us - the most awesome history tour group ever! :) |
The group had the afternoon off again, so we (Niki, Lauren, me) went back to Gallery Lafayette for Niki, down the Champs Elysees again, and then caught the metro to the Eiffel tower. Security was so tight, thanks to the bomb threats to the tower just a few days before, but the lines were still huge. It took us over an hour and a half to get to the top, and almost as long to get back down again. We only had about 10 minutes at the top, but it was gorgeous. I can see why everyone raves on about the Eiffel tower! It’s also true what they say about couples in France… they’re everywhere.
Ran back to the metro after we finally got down, ran between stations, ran from the station back to the hotel… and just managed to get there in time, before everyone left for dinner. Whew!
 |
| The tower at dusk |
We had our farewell dinner that night, since Daniel and his wife and many of the students were choosing to stay back in Europe instead of go home with the group. It was quite bittersweet. I was getting to the point where I was ready to go home, back to my little dorm room at college and not do any more touring for a while; but at the same time I was having the time of my life and didn’t want the adventure to end! But all good things must come to an end eventually, I guess. Especially amazing history trips.
Day 17: (Oct 8)
Said a reluctant goodbye to France. It was good to be heading home though. Less than half of the group was going home on the original flights, most were staying behind in Europe for a few more days for a bit of extra sightseeing in London, Switzerland, and other exciting places. The rest of us got dropped off to the CDG airport in Paris, said a sad goodbye to Osh, our amazing tour guide and friend, and then headed off on our own, teacherless and guideless. We got slightly lost less than 2 minutes after Osh left, which was funny since we, being adults now, should have been able to navigate the airport alone…
After passing through all the check in and security counters (my bag wasn’t overweight! YES!), we waited at the gate for a while for our first flight to Bangkok. The boys played cards, I used up my last few Euros so I wouldn’t have to exchange them back in Aus.
The flight back to Bangkok took forever… but the seats had personal screens, and once mine finally worked, I found and watched one of my favourite movies of all time – Apollo 13. So that made me a bit less grumpy! The stars outside were so beautiful, and I managed to catch up on a bit of journaling and finish a poem I’d started in Paris. Didn’t get much sleep though, as per usual, and the food wasn’t worth touching; not that I was surprised! It was a very long 12 hours…
Day 18: (Oct 9)
We all got lost in Bangkok airport as well, but it was good to go for a bit of a walk and stretch my legs! Had a bit of a cat nap while waiting for our flight to Sydney. Didn’t sleep or eat on that flight either! Felt a bit like a zombie when I finally stumbled off the plane 10 hours later… (I can’t even count how many times I’ve flown, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to long haul flights!) It was good to be back on Australian soil!
I was happy to be home. That is, until I got to security, and showed them my New Zealand passport… and then the trouble started. “Are you an Australian citizen?” I was asked. Well, of course I am. I have dual citizenship, thanks to mum being Kiwi. Born in Adelaide, with an Australian father and Australian birth certificate, and living and studying in NSW… I explained that all, but apparently, my Kiwi passport means that I’m not an official Australian, and I have to apply to Canberra for residency. RESIDENCY. What?! The government says I’m fully Australian – they’re giving me Centrelink and FEE-HELP, paying for my tertiary education – and yet border security doesn’t want to let me in the country as an Australian?
Go figure.
(Oh, and just as a side note, the sniffer dogs in customs are SO CUTE!!)
Called my family from the airport, it was nice to talk to them after so long. Relaxed on the bus for the drive back up to Cooranbong. It was great pulling into College drive. It felt like home. And dragging my bag up the stairs and into my little room was such a relief… it was so good to be back!
It’s funny how I’ve only been here since March, and already College feels like my second family. We got welcomed back by Karina that night, and then by everyone else the next day, when they all arrived back after break. It was lovely. I spent Sunday morning sleeping in (attempting to, anyway!), and the afternoon and night attempting to study and catching up with great friends. Still wasn’t hungry by dinner time, but figured I should probably eat, considering that I hadn’t eaten since France 3 days before!
All in all, though, it was a good day. It’s going to take me a while to get over the jet lag, though. But the trip was an amazing experience.
I just went to Europe, and got Uni credit for it – who could say no to that?!
1 comment:
Wow... I'm breathless just reading it! Glad I didn't come along though, because - as you know - I'm not a tourist!
Clearly though, you are and you, equally clearly had a great time. Glad to have you safely back in Aus.
YES, you are Australian, and don't let anybody try and tell you otherwise.... what would they know anyway!
Dad.
Post a Comment