BootsnAll Travel Network



Day 21: Munich, Germany – Prague, Czech Republic

May 5th, 2006

I’m not a morning person! That is a simple statement of fact, so when my alarm goes off at 5.20am I am far from feeling my best! I’d have been annoyed had I not actually set the handy mobile phone buzz to go off at that time! Half regretting my decision to go for the early train I readied myself for the day ahead and skulked out of the door as quietly as I could.

What had dawned on me last night was now sending me off in a mild panic. Money, or lack there of. To be more specific, Czech money. Having forgotten that those cheeky chappies across the border don’t actually take Euros until everywhere had already shut last night, I was in search of any money changer I could get my hands on! The other small problem here was, of course, the rather ridiculous hour of the morning I was out hunting for it! After a bit of searching and a bit of asking I was pointed in the direction of the change office at the train station. My brief moment of celebration was abruptly halted when reading the opening hours and realising it would allow me in 15 minutes after my train had departed. Oh how wonderful! Grrrr.

So it was that I arrived in Prague without a spending dime to my name. This problem was quickly corrected as I changed up a small amount of money at one of the many kiosks at the station. Armed with, what would hopefully be enough money to see me through my 3 days here and a set of instructions to the hostel, I set on my way of walking the “short distance” to my new home.

Now, I’ll admit it was a short distance. No, really, it was. Obviously getting somewhat lost and an inability to even pronounce the name of the street the hostel was on get me somewhat sidetracked. I map might have helped, without that I was in the lap of the Gods. Fortunately after teasing me a little, the Gods were smiling on me in the form of a kind local who was able to reroute me in the correct direction.

The hostel seems in a pretty good location, a 5 minute walk from Wenceslas Square and set around an outdoor square. Apparently I’m staying in the original part of the hostel according to the staff. The 3 rooms of which I’m in the middle of were the only 3 rooms the hostel had but had since acquired the surrounding buildings.

I met an Irish guy in the dorm room and we headed out for some pizza and a few beers. We wound up in a cool little underground restaurant and the pizza was certainly worth dismissing some local cuisine for, and with beers at about 50p a pint things were looking good! I was supposed to be meeting Ceala’s friend, Alexis tonight but after a few phone calls she decided she was too ill to come and meet me so we arranged to get together tomorrow and just headed back to the hostel where we met with a couple of guys (actually a guy and a girl) who work at the hostel and joined them for a few more drinks. Tomorrow would be my big sightseeing day so I didn’t mind that today was just about chilling out!

Tags: , , , , ,

Day 20: Munich, Germany

September 26th, 2005

After last nights beer indulgence it was time to go see the City and take in some sights. With just today left here I just headed off into town and would just let my feet take me anywhere that looked interesting.

Walking through Munich’s main streets, it was far more commercialised than I had anticipated. I guess it felt more like walking through a City Centre back home than anything else. After opting for a fast food breakfast to get me going I stumbled on a street market. Contained within was an open air seating area, arranged somewhat like the inside of the tents at the Oktoberfest. The tables seemed pretty much full with everyone outside drowning themselves in Bavarian Beer. The time? 10:30am. I guess it’s never too early to start drinking around here!

Sure enough my feet just carried me here, there and everywhere, taking in buildings or areas that just looked like they may be interesting. I wound up somewhere by a University and rather grand looking building. The grounds led into a small park, a maze of little paths shooting off and a band stand in the middle where you could be entertained by the rather talented busker. I wish I knew more of what I was seeing but without a guidebook or anything similar it was just a case of wonder and take it all in.

My brain and feet feeling a little jaded and last nights endeavours catching up with me I grabbed a seat at a bar on my way back and just let the day unwind for an hour with a coke until I felt rejuvenated and headed back to the scene of the crime….Oktoberfest.

Ahhhh, Oktoberfest! My return this time was of an entirely different nature. This time it was alcohol free! No, don’t choke on your peanuts in amazement. I had an agenda. I actually wanted to take it all in, go see what the Oktoberfest had to offer, and besides, that 6.44am train was going to be hard enough to catch without the aid of the amber nectar!

The place had the feel of a big carnival or fair, super rides most of which would cause even the most steady of tums to lose its grip on reality (man, imagine going on some of these things after a few steins!! – That’s just going to be messy!!). Amazed as well by the sheer number of people in traditional attire, walking about as if it was normal (which in many ways, I guess it is) and the sheer size of some of those hotdogs! I had to try didn’t I! The Germans certainly do their beer in style!

Sights taken in, pictures taken, brain and body in need of a rest, I headed back to the hostel, this time successfully, in about 15 minutes and get my stuff packed and ready for an early exit in the morning.

Tags: , , , ,

Day 19: Venice, Italy – Munich, Germany

September 25th, 2005

European trains!!! You have to love them. Today’s little adventure involves the mysterious disappearance of the train I was planning on catching to Verona for my change to Munich. I mean, I made a reservation and there was no mention of there not being a train, I checked in my European train times book, no mention and online again, no mention. So yes, it’s a Sunday and yes, things change but seriously, you’d think at least the bright spark who sold me the ticket would know!

So here I was trying to find out what the hell was going on and all they would say was “doesn’t exist, not today”. Now wait a minute here, I RESERVED my ticket!! So I showed them the evidence and, once again, the same stock response. Well you could at least tell me what on earth I am supposed to do in order to make my connection!!! Just asking around I was eventually told that I needed to catch the Milan train and change at Verona as planned, the only draw back? My train gets in, if on time, just 10 minutes before the one to Munich leaves giving me such huge amounts of time to sort myself out in Verona!!

As things turned out, I made the connection without too much hassle and I have to say that the journey from here is a pretty spectacular one! As the scenery rolled by I couldn’t help but smile as I took it all in. I had been looking forward to the actual travelling part of, um, travelling before I left and was revelling in its delights now.

I managed to locate the hostel pretty quickly from the train station, they certainly weren’t wrong when they said it was just a short walk from the train station! Now this hadn’t been my first choice of a place to stay here but as I passed a couple of hostels n the same road and came across mine, I had to admit that from the outside at least it looked like it could be alright. The hostel itself seemed pretty bog standard and it may be that I am still feeling spoilt after Barcelona but I cant say it looked great, just, well, ok. The common area was pretty deserted and right by the main door and reception so it didn’t surprise me that it lacked an atmosphere. The rooms themselves, clean, tidy, nice bathroom (possible the best so far) and again, pretty deserted.

Dumping my stuff I decided I’d head out and thought I’d ask the staff where was good to go out, good to do etc. This brought with it a rather comical response. Now, in hindsight it could possible be conceived as the most stupid question ever asked. When the girl at reception promptly replied that “apparently there’s some kind of beer festival or something going on” I could have died. I’ll admit that even then it took a few seconds to sink in. After getting my directions and starting the walk, I started adding it all up. Munich and beer festival DID go hand in hand and I did think the price of my room was unusually high, but one thing kept bugging me, it was, well, it was September. Surely Europe’s most famous beer festival would fall in the month by which it was seemingly named!

It doesn’t! It really, truly, doesn’t! So here I was, walking past drunken hoards of people and spying a festival site. Heading, tunnel visioned towards it I spotted the sign. Ladies and Gentlemen, I’ve arrived! It was official, I was there, by chance no less, and what a chance!! How things fall favourably sometimes. As I passed through the Oktoberfest signs a huge, and I mean ear to ear, grin surfaced, and stayed!

So, Oktoberfest and I had collided head on. I honestly believe that the pure coincidence of the whole thing and the unplanned nature of it all made me appreciate it far more than if I had come with the purpose of going. As I wondered into the first beer tent I hit a warm feeling came over me and I was shocked at what was now before me! A huge, tent, filled to the rafters with people. The tables, those oh so famous tables completely full, people up dancing on them, people dancing wherever they were, beer flowing left right and centre and the band providing the entertainment elevated high above everyone!

Now to get myself a stein! The giant litre capacity glasses the beer halls of Munich are famed for. My plans however seemed to be foiled. I had no idea how to get a drink, I asked and was ignored, and I walked around the entire circumference praying I’d find a way only to be denied at every corner! This was mad! Insane! Here I was at the Oktoberfest and I couldn’t even get myself a beer!!! Time to try a different tactic!

And so it was that I left the beer tent to go find out how the hell I get a drink at this thing! My fortunes changed as I found myself another beer tent, less full, less lively for sure but at least I could grab a seat and seats it seems are the key! With beer in hand (they put a head the size of Everest on these things), and a seat, all I needed now was some company. It didn’t take long before I got chatting to a couple of Polish guys. They didn’t speak much English and we tried hard to converse in German, just about holding a basic conversation. Conversation or at least any in depth chat is not really needed here. Clinking of glasses 5 times a minute pretty much does the talking. All you need do is the drinking! And so I did.

They introduced me to a lovely lass, I think she may have been Polish as well but she could at least speak some English and we seemed to be getting on pretty well. Just as things were heading in a promising direction the Polish guys literally dragged me away, and I do mean dragged. It was their opinion that I was getting nowhere and it wasn’t worth perusing. I on the other hand was pretty annoyed. I tried getting back to her but I was pretty much held in my seat. I still believe they were trying to be helpful but as time went on I found tem increasingly annoying!

Eventually managing to escape I ended up outside and got chatting to an Aussie lass, and getting in pretty well too I might add! Unfortunately neither of us had a pen or any other means of taking any info down and just had to let this one go. A couple of the other Aussies that were with her were headed back to their hostel which they though was pretty close to mine so I just ended up following them. After about 10 minutes I had a strange feeling that I was going in totally the wrong direction. Nothing looked familiar and it all just felt wrong. I asked them where they were going and just got “We’re going to Wombats” back in reply. Not having a clue where this place was I made the decision to cut my losses and head off back in the other direction. We said our goodbyes and off I went.

Now, it was a decision made on the evidence I had. I’m not saying it was the best decision I’ve ever made but I had made it none the less. Now totally lost, I figured I’d just follow the crowd. Again, maybe not the smartest move ever and now completely and totally lost in Munich! I eventually stumbled on an S-Bahn station and went down to ask where I needed to go. Apparently I now needed the train. THE TRAIN! Had I gone that far wrong??! I guess I must have!

1 Stop and I arrived back at the HBH Train station where I had arrived earlier in the day. Easy from here surely. Wrong once again Dave. Wrong again! The S-Bahn had pulled into a different part of the station and I couldn’t get myself up to the main train part and out the way I had gone before. Instead I just hit the streets and just tried to find my way from there. Unable to locate my street I just started asking random people. My question, even in my best German, was met with blank looks. Blank look after blank look. 40 minutes of blank looks. Eventually I stumbled on someone that did know. Off now and on the correct road I saw my hostel just down the road! And just next to it? Yep, you guessed it. Wombats! Oh my!

Tags: , , , , , ,

Day 18: Venice, Italy

September 24th, 2005

Despite a decent nights sleep it was still a struggle to raise my body from the sheets this morning! When the mission was finally accomplished, time had ticked on and I was heading down to the station to catch pretty much the same train as yesterday.

In much more confident mood today I opted to just hit the street and take myself wherever my feet carried me, just trying to head in the general direction of Piazza San Marco a good few bends away as you look at a map of the island.

Venice I was discovering rather quickly, wasn’t the easiest place to navigate on foot. I mean, there’s a lot of water for starters (yes, I know you know that) and it’s not possible to just walk along the side of the Grand Canal. I managed to for a while but before long I was being forced away from the great water way and off into side streets and across small stretches of water. I was now officially becoming acquainted with Venice’s backstreets where signposting comes and goes on a whim it seems. I was for the first time in my two days here feeling the warmth of the place. Monuments, buildings, shops and cafes that you never knew existed kept cropping up all over the place. It was odd to feel that in a City famed for its water, it was in such hidden beauties away from the blue passageways that I was experiencing my enjoyment of the place the most.

Not having a guidebook with me or anyone that knew Venice well (or even a few people sharing a little knowledge) I was wandering without any real plan. I didn’t really know what I should be looking for or wanting to see, I was a just hitting and hoping and I think I came out of it quite well! I’d passed the stop for Rialto on my way back from St Marks yesterday and when signs started appearing for it (whatever “it” was), I just followed. When I emerged into streams of tourists I knew I must have hit one of the hot spots and took myself around the streets along Per Rialto and over the bridge (taking time for a snap or 2).

Getting lost can be fun! It CAN be fun; it can also be a royal pain in the backside! My attempts at locating Academia brought me both sets of feelings! I figured after finding Rialto that things wouldn’t be difficult for me but somewhere along the lines I must have veered in the wrong direction and found myself walking alongside another large water way. This however, was NOT the Grand Canal. This was bigger, this was…well, somewhere completely and utterly wrong. Like I said though, wrong can be good, mistakes can turn fortunate and as I walked I as admiring churches galore across the canal. There was no visible way to get across this rather wide stretch of water but the views from where I was walking were certainly worth getting lost for. It was only after about 30 minutes walk and hitting a dead end that I started appreciating the other side of the coin. The one that makes you curse and swear under your breath! The 30 minute walk to get here was obviously going to mean 30 minutes backtracking! Damn this stupid water!

My eventual arrival in Academia was enough of an achievement to warrant a drink at one of the bars. A chance to recoup, recover, enjoy the sun and have a little read for a while. The ability to just take time and soak up a place by simply relaxing and people watching is highly underrated. There are folk that think they always need to be active, moving from this to that, a few pics here, a few pics there and off to the next site. For me, this is one of the great things about travelling. I get more a feel for a place and its people simply by stopping and doing nothing. So, sat relaxing with my coke (I remembered how much my beer had cost me yesterday!) and out of nowhere pops a marching band, a bunch of people with flags and seem to carry out some kind of protest for the next 15 minutes or so before marching back and onto somewhere else. There’s no great story to go with it, I don’t know what any of it was about but it certainly put a smile on my face as I sat there witnessing it!

My intended final destination of St Marks was to elude me today in the end as I eventually wound up on the island opposite it admiring the impressive church. With no obvious way to get across easily and with time pushing into the evening I was left with getting a Vaporetto back to the train station and the train back to my hotel for the night.

Tea consisted of a delightful McDonalds. I was just so hungry I couldn’t wait. I think the only plus point was that I couldn’t be ripped off! After dumping my stuff back at the hotel, a drink seemed like a good idea and the local bar a good option.

A good option huh? Well, that depends what you like! In one way it was a good option in that I wouldn’t have this story had I not gone, on the other hand, watching someone have the crap beaten from them piece by piece isn’t an enjoyable experience! Just sitting there minding my own business, writing some notes down and just generally chilling of my evening and suddenly I hear raised voices across the road. Before I know it there are punches being exchanged between 2 guys. Out of nowhere one of them is joined by 4 others who have all ganged up together on just one guy. It was nasty to witness as they held the guy down kicking him in the face, and then stamping on hid head to finish the job off before leaping into a couple of cars and speeding off before the police and ambulance arrive.

The whole thing had the feel of an incident in a sleepy old town where the whole village is woken by the goings on. This time it was one of the guys (maybe the owner) from the bar I was at who manage d to break the thing up by going over with his dog. I wasn’t long in finishing up my drink and heading back to retire for the evening. Onwards and upwards to Germany tomorrow!!

Tags: , , , , ,

Day 17: Venice, Italy

September 23rd, 2005

I didn’t survive entirely unscathed this morning from last nights over indulgencies but a little lay in and I wasn’t feeling too bad! Venice proper was the call of the day! A chance to explore the famed floating City and, after all, THIS was what I was here for! Eager to experience the wonders that may lie in front of me I set about getting into town.

Train or bus? Bus or train? Although the bus route had been explained to me yesterday by the owner of the hotel, I opted for what I saw as the “safe option” of the train. I mean, I knew where the station was, I knew that Santa Lucia was only 10 minutes or so away and, well, I had been getting trains everywhere so far so I should be experienced enough to get the short distance in without any problems. Right?

Mistake numero uno. It seemed simple enough (I should have already learnt from my experiences so far that “looking” and “being” are two entirely different concepts. So I shuffle along the underpass to select a platform. See the board say “Venezia S.L”, see the train was only 15 minutes away and think” Job done”.

Job, definitely NOT done. About 3 minutes before the train is due in, the board changes, farewell Venezia S.L, and hello somewhere completely different. Now, maybe I somehow fell asleep or time stopped but I had witnessed no train to Venice come in or leave and I as feeling somewhat perplexed. A confused little soul now, I wandered back down to the underpass to see if I could locate another train into Santa Lucia. Seeing that about half of the platforms had it listed I opted for the next available one (a few minutes time) and this time a few minutes down the line, I was on a train to famous canal laden City.

Arriving into Santa Lucia station and just generally following the masses out, I figured life should get a little simpler. Yep, bingo! You got it! Mistake number 2 of the young day! I had been told that the Vaporetto #1 would take me down to Piazza San Marco (why not start with arguably the most famous square in Venice) and that seemed pretty straight forward. It didn’t take me long to locate the entrance for said water bus and just as it came in I overheard someone saying that this was heading to Piazzale Roma, which a quick check on the map indicated that I was indeed about to get on the bus in the opposite direction to St Marks. To confuse matters further, the stop for St Marks (Piazza San Marco) isn’t called either of those names. Instead you should get off at Vallaresso and my lack of knowledge nearly cost me getting off at the correct stop!

Hoping I had indeed got off at the correct stop, I was pleasantly surprised, not to mention relieved that as I stepped around the corner, Piazza San Marco stood before me! Stress abated and a new found eagerness to explore, I just had a wonder around the square but felt somewhat lost without my guidebook. Coming across a museum I decided on a whim to just go with it. The Doges Palace or “Palazzo Ducale” is “a combination of Byzantine, Gothic and renaissance architecture”, Grande certainly yet not so much spectacular as bizarre. The mix of grandeur, a maze of rooms without direction (meaning I wound back in the same rooms on several occasions) and the labyrinthine prison cells made for an interesting if claustrophobic experience. I did wonder if I’d ever find my way back out!! 3 hours later I was back in the warm sun and settling down to some lunch!

Ah yes, Lunch. Better chalk this one up as mistake number three. I figured I had got this one right, restaurant off the main drag, check the prices first, order something small. So my Omelette came with the small beer I had ordered. I think it was small all round! I dint exactly get a feasting from the omelette so I made the most of the bread that came with it. I figured I had done pretty well so was, how can I put this nicely, “shocked” when the bill arrived! €9 for the omelette (That was fine, I knew that), €7 (yes, that’s seven) for the beer (!!!), €3 for the water (hold on, I was just brought this!) and €2 for the bread (ditto the water), oh and don’t forget the compulsory €3 service charge. Making for a grand total of €25 for just an Omelette and a beer. The conclusion? I’d been well and truly shafted!

Grumbling as I walked away with directions to the internet cafe I swore that was my only eat out meal in Venice and I would feed myself by alternate means for the rest of my time here. After a walk up and down the street I was again pointed in the right direction to what can loosely be described as an “internet cafe”. In reality it was a shop with a couple of PCs charging the earth to use a connection slower than Victoria Beckham’s mind! It did just about survive me booking my hostels for Munich (I couldn’t get in my first choice and it was a little more expensive than I thought) and for Prague.

Heading back to Mestre was almost as much fun as getting here this morning with no indication anywhere as to which stations any train called at. I wound up waiting to get directions from the help desk who pointed me in the direction of platform 14. The rest was plain sailing and I was back at my hotel before I knew it. Catching up with my washing kept me amused most of the evening along with the TV coverage of Hurricane Rita. An early night and damn, those mosquitoes bite!

Tags: , , , , ,

Day 16: Nice, France – Venice, Italy

September 22nd, 2005

I love surprises! So when my morning was interrupted by a text message from Ceala saying that she had a wonderful time last night and would like to meet again, I was alarming all kinds of strangers with the grin across my face! So grin affixed, I bounced up the road (even this early in the morning) to catch my train to the magic waterworld they call Venezia. Yeah, ok, Venice! Happy now?!

Had my usual panic ridden moments along the way when all the doubts cross my mind about being on the right train and winding up somewhere in Siberia instead of Venice, but as usual my doubts subside and we pull in to Venezia Mestre on time. Unfortunately this hadn’t been the case where I’d changed at Milan! Making the connection with less than 2 minutes to go and just praying that I’d read the board correctly!!

I had pretty clear instructions to follow to get me to my hotel and just checked by asking a local shopkeeper which way it was and found I was just about there anyway.

The hotel was a lot nicer than expected! It makes a change to have my own space for a few days and not have to pay for the room until I leave! Strange how your mindset changes on things like this. It just felt so unusual! The owner seemed nice enough and gave me directions on how to get into town and what was around locally (not a great deal by the look of it).

I decided to have a quiet evening, a chance to recover from all the travel and just unwind for a night. Wound up taking a walk to try and find the local supermarket (Jeez, there really is NOTHING here at all!!!) and grabbed some food and some breakfast for the morning and headed back to the hotel, scoffed the grub and put my feet in the direction of the bar I had seen on my little jaunt! It was certainly nice to just sit outside, grab a beer, have a cigarette or two and just take in this rather quaint, quiet and odd part of Venice. I guess I hadn’t expected the outskirts to be just this quiet!!

Back at the hotel, the bottle of wine I had purchased with my grub was looking ever more appealing and before I knew it I was consuming the stuff! Have a bottle later and my body was telling me it hadn’t been such a great idea!! A decent sleep now would hopefully set me in good unhungover status for Venice proper tomorrow!

And so to bed……

Tags: , , , ,

Day 15: Nice, France

September 21st, 2005

Feeling like I had seen as much of Nice as I really wanted, it was with relish that I disappeared off to Monaco for the day. Dustin was going to go as well so it made sense to go together and opted for the less stressful train over getting the bus. By all accounts (mainly Ceala), the bus is the nicer way to get there as you get to enjoy the scenery far more rather than heading through tunnels most of the way on the train. As it was, I was feeling a little impatient and the train was just an easy option.

Despite the feeling that we were missing several trains we could have caught, we hung around for one we knew was headed to Monaco (Monte Carlo), a mere hour’s wait at the station! We did get to see a good amount of the landscape as we headed along the coast and part of me just wished I could get out and enjoy these places as well, but I guess in a month, you can’t do everything! Maybe I’ll get to come back and do more of France one day, just take my time over the country. I guess I worry too much sometimes (how am I going to get there, where will I stay, can I find my way etc etc), which can really put me off just playing it by ear. For me it has its advantages as well, but there are definitely times I wish I could just be more of a free spirit!

Maybe we caught Monaco on a bad day, I’m really not sure. Perhaps it has to be super sunny here for you to see what makes it so special. I guess I just didn’t get why it attracts so many of the super rich! It struck me very quickly as being grey, very over crowded (both with people and traffic) and just rather uninspiring! Maybe I was expecting something else, expecting too much but overall impression was a let down.

Of course, there was some fun to be had, not least in our “cow” spotting! We were rather entertained as we made our way from the train station down to the marina by the “Safety Cow”, a model cow done up in a racing car and acquiring the said name. Now, there’s a connection here obviously with the grand prix, it was the other “cows” that we passed that day that made us gawp in bewilderment on occasion! There were arty cows, historical cows; political cows, emotional cows and many many more just doted around the place here and there. Wherever you walked, you just had no idea if a cow or 2 would crop up around the next corner. Welcome to MonaCOW I guess!

After several little detours (and many cows) we wound up in Monte Carlo and hunted down the famous Casino, for a little look round. Unfortunately it seems, the main casino like to charge €15 just for the privilege of entering, so we had a quick poke round the free to enter tourist trap with row upon row of annoying fruit machines and back out again, opting to take our loot to the somewhat less grande, yet rather impressive 2nd casino (I forget the actual name of this one) who allowed us on the main floor for absolutely nothing. Mind you at €25 the minimum bet at the blackjack tables was rather too high for the likes of me! Still €10 in a few machines disappeared pretty quickly and I could say I’d been gambling in Monte Carlo! Onwards and homewards!

Back at the hostel I got a rather unexpected text from Ceala and we arranged to meet up again tonight. I have to admit, I never expected to see her again but it’s a pretty nice surprise! She had also passed my details on to her friend Alexis in Prague who had already replied back to me saying she’d love to show me round. Sweet bonuses coming from all directions!

I met up with Ceala again at her place (eventually finding it after standing outside the wrong block for 5 minutes!) and she took me out and about to see a bit more of Nice. She took me in the Hotel Negresco foyer to show me around as you are apparently allowed in to do that. It seemed though that this very plush (and rather controversial – the name gives it away) hotel was having a plush do on and they quickly asked us to leave. From what I saw though, it really is quite an incredible place! I don’t think I’d be paying the astronomical sums of money needed to stay there but it was pretty cool to take a peak at how the other half live!

We ended up going for a drink/milkshake and just chatting away and seemed to get on pretty damn well! We had enough in common and enough differences to make the conversation easy and fun yet be able to have an intelligent chat! Being a baseball fan REALLY helps!!!!

We wound up back at her place and I got the feeling she was pretty nervous with all this but we did get pretty close that night! Her nervousness just put a slight dampener on things and it was clear we were going to remain close but nothing was going to happen that night! When her roommate came back any slim chance of me staying seemed to vanish and she walked me back to my hostel (which was very sweet of her!) at 2am. We hugged, exchanged details, I asked her up but already knew the answer and we went our separate ways. Maybe we’ll meet again sometime. Who knows! I tried carefully not to wake anyone on my return and set my alarm ready to catch my train to Venice in the morning.

Tags: , ,

Day 14: Nice, France

September 20th, 2005

After feeling whacked out last night I was up in good time this morning ready to delve into Nice. A chance to just wonder and explore for a day, whist soaking up the warmth of the sun!

I’m pretty glad I hit Nice is such glorious weather, I get the feeling it wouldn’t be the most thrilling of places to be in the wet! In the sun the Promenade des Anglais looks a picture postcard as the beach stretches round the coast. I have to admit the tiny patch of sand amidst all the stone mad me chuckle though!

I wondered along the seafront to the Parc du Chateau (the 12th century Chateau was actually razed by Louis XIV in 1706) and walked up the hill past the last remaining tower (Tour Bellanda) and found myself enjoying some stunning views of Nice along the way. At the top of the hill I was greeted by a rather beautiful and surprisingly quiet park. The man made waterfall perhaps the noisiest thing there! After wondering around taking in the stunning views from all around, I caught up on a little reading and just unwound…I could get used to a retreat like this!

I had a good wonder through the market (some amazing looking food on display) and through a few of the shops before giving in to temptation and headed into a bar for some pub grub and a beer!! An Irish bar in the centre of town and not one Irishman in sight…and the food was ordinary at best…Guess I should start appreciating pub food at home a little more!

I succumbed twice in quick succession, firstly to an over priced internet cafe and secondly to booking into a cheap hotel in Venice after failing to find a hostel to stay in. €50 a night isn’t too bad but it’s certainly more than I wanted to pay and it also means staying out on the mainland. It might just be a good chance to recharge the batteries a little but I really don’t know what to expect. The reviews are pretty favourable but I guess I’ll just have to see. I completed my mission up at the train station (another nice long 45 minute wait to buy my ticket) and am armed and ready for my march on Venice the day after tomorrow!

The evening brought somewhat of a surprise. Dustin (yes, I’ve remembered his name now, had met someone in an internet cafe earlier in the day and had arranged to meet with her later. He went on to add that she may bring her roommate if I fancied going, so with nothing to lose, I agreed.

We finally met the two young ladies after initially ending up in the wrong place. Both were Americans living and teaching here in Nice so we were lucky enough to get a little guided tour of the city. I seemed to get on pretty well with Ceala (the roommate) and soon we got chatting about everything from film to baseball! A chance to sample some beer ice-cream was too good an opportunity to pass up as the girls indulged in the local specialities! I have to admit, as ice cream goes, I wouldn’t order it again, but, you know, being a Brit abroad I felt it my duty!

We ended up back at the girls’ flat (a pretty small 1 bedroomed affair with the 2nd bed taking up most of the living room) and Dustin, who had been harping on about wanting to watch some telly all night (I’m not sure I particularly liked this mentality) finally got his wish. An overlong fixation on the porn that was freely available actually started to concern the rest of us and we tried to drag his attention away by playing cards. I had taken the opportunity to have a longer chat with Ceala and we seemed to be getting on very well but I could tell she was getting tired and tried to get Dustin to move on as quickly as possible. We eventually left them to it at around 2am after a thoroughly enjoyable evening!

Tags: , ,

Day13: Barcelona, Spian – Nice, France

September 19th, 2005

An early start this morning was a bit of a struggle, the alarm going off at 6.45 in order for me to get to Barcelona Sants station for my train to Nice. I’ve been trying to give myself a little extra time than is probably needed in order to make it in time for the trains without having to stress too much and after a brief stint checking my email in the hostel (too early for brekkie unbelievably!) I headed onto the metro to the train station 4 stops away.

Despite giving myself what I thought was ample time I hadn’t quite figured for the complete stupidity of Barcelona Sants Station! Following on from my joyous adventures in trying to buy a ticket, I now found platforms 1-6 easily signposted and very obvious to find. The problem? Well, I wanted platform 7. After walking around the station for 10 minutes not going any further knowledge, I opted for the “ask the guard in your best Spanish” approach. The end result was me following the instructions (as I understood them) and still coming up blank. Now getting nervously close to my train departure time I started to panic just a little when I noticed a sign…hidden away indicating platforms 7+. Asking a puzzled looking lady “Siete?” she took some time before nodding and waving me to follow her into a lift. With minutes to spare, I made it. Just!

The train journey to Montpellier was pretty much uneventful and the early start meant I just crashed listening to music. Despite being about 15mins late into Montpellier, I had plenty of time before my connection in about 2 hours. A coffee (really THAT was a coffee???) and some book reading later and I was back on a train (nice easy platform finding mission this time!) and headed to Nice…..

…Via Marseilles! Marseilles??? Hold on, I just passed through Marseilles!!! Fortunately, as it turned out I was on the right train, they just loop back through! Phew! The train ride itself is worth the money!! A glorious mix of hill, mountains and beaches!! The joy of just being able to watch the world go by!!

I found my hostel in Nice eventually after initially locating the street with no problem at all just unable to find the number! With luck on my side (???) a couple of Chinese guys were also looking for the same hostel and we uncovered it (seriously, there is not one signpost indicating this place even exists!).

Located on the 2nd floor of an old (and, yes, crumbling) apartment block in the middle of what can loosely be described as “Chinatown”, not far from the station, was my “hostel”. I use the term lightly here! There isn’t a lot of life here, it feels like the three of us are the only ones actually staying here and the room was certainly the grimmest I’d stayed in yet. The mattresses looked like you would pick up a disease from just being near them and there was no security in the rooms at all. Hopefully I’ll even figure out how the lock on the door (and main door for that) actually work before I leave here!

One other person did arrive, an American guy whose name escapes me. We wound up going for a beer and something to eat. Well, actually I went for a beer, he didn’t order a drink (jeez!) and the Chinese meal was pretty average. I got the feeling pretty quick that I want going to get much life out of this guy tonight so we just headed back to the hostel (I was actually pretty tired anyway) to catch some kip.

The two Chinese guys leave tomorrow so looking at this place it could just be the two of us left tomorrow!!

Tags: , , ,

Day 12: Barcelona, Spain

September 18th, 2005

Why do it?

That question has been asked by so many people about so many things!

Why do you do it?

A very similar question yet somehow slightly more personal!

I’ve been asked both of these on many, many occasions! Yet most seem to come the day after a big night out and usually involve me in a somewhat hungover state!

Today, it’s me asking that question of myself! Or phrased in a slightly different way, “Why do I do it?”.

There are no two ways about it, I’m hungover! Not so much the sick hangover, more the dead to the world hangover! That funny feeling that nothing is going to get done today! I’m not alone though! The whole hostel seems to have a rather subdued feel to it today, like someone stole the life out of the place! There is an unusually high number of people just floating about the common room, awaiting regeneration of some kind and I guess I’m one of them.

It certainly feels like I’ve got to know a lot of people here now….there’s a lot of a familiar faces around and conversation (of the basic hungover primitive kind) is flowing with them! Mainly the stories circulating from the previous night’s excesses! There were those that stayed till the light had risen this very day and those that, just well, hadn’t coped too well with the over indulgences, those that had mysteriously disappeared and not heard of since and the one who had managed to end up with his hand bandaged up after putting it through a glass stage!!

I wound up spending much of the late morning come early afternoon with Ned and Francis (who seem to be getting on rather well although (and trying to put this a nice way) I think she’s using him somewhat. I mean, I’ve seen it a hundred times before (normally involving me), she has a boyfriend back home, is pretty damned cute in a I look like I don’t know it but secretly I do kind of way, and is enjoying the attention and security of a guy showing interest in her! Now, if I’m wrong here, I apologise right now! Dragging my thoughts back to reality, we eventually decided that some form of food was needed and Ned returned 30 minutes later with a KFC bargain bucket!!

Now, eating a KFC was also on my list of things not to do on this trip…somewhere after watching footy, eating at the golden arches and scoffing a McDonalds (all already notched up) yet it has to be said that on this day at this time (am I really saying this??), KFC never tasted so good!!

I decided midway through the afternoon that I really needed to get out for a while so went for a bit of a wonder down to the Ramblas mainly to go pick up some essentials from the supermarket (or anywhere that happened to sell the goods in question). It being Sunday, there was very little open. Not just like back home where a good few places close, I mean, I struggled to find one place open!!!). Eventually tracking down what I needed I wondered back up to the hostel, passing as I did a bar who looked like they were showing Southampton v Derby in a couple of hours time.

Trying to persuade the masses back at the hostel that watching the aforementioned game was an attractive way to spend 2 hours of their day was like trying to persuade the Americans to take up the sport! And just like the yanks taking it up, I managed to drag a few stragglers with me! Unable to cope with any more beer, coke sufficed for the duration and when all was said and done I could leave reasonably happy!

The evening degenerated into poker night again and although buying myself a litre of beer for the evening I just couldn’t face it! Now, those that know me will be aware of me suddenly producing a pack of cards from nowhere and attempting some rather lame magic tricks! No need to go finding cards tonight and it has to be said, feeling unsure if I had my new gem down I was a little nervous about performing in front of a crowd (albeit a small one!). In the end it all went pretty well and I went to bed silently chuffed it had all gone so well!! I might just have to try this again sometime as it turned out pretty good entertainment…and a good way to meet folks!

I opted for a fairly early night given that I had to be up pretty early to catch my train to Nice tomorrow. With the hostel being full, I’d had to shift rooms for my last night and unlike my last room, this was tiny!!! The bed I had been allocated looked empty but I really wasn’t sure so just went with it. Unfortunately the shouts at 4am of “the bastard stole my bed” not only made me realize I was in the wrong one but awoke me from my sleep!! If they had stuck with the allocated beds in the first place we wouldn’t have had this problem. Oh well, I’ll be gone in the morning! Back to France and the Cote d’Azur to Nice!!

Tags: , , ,