Why hello there, I thought I’d post up a blog covering my recent travels around Europe; places comprising of Barcelona, the south of France, Venice, Berlin and London. I’ll just write a quick rundown of my impressions of each place :)
Barcelona 17-19 December 2011
This was the first stop for Wradle (Rachel) and I and let’s just say that it certainly set the bar high for the rest of the European cities we were going to visit!! Basically – it was love at first sight in Barcelona. The sun was shining, there were trees everywhere – there was SPACE.
What we seriously couldn’t get over was the wide open spaces on the streets of Barca. The roads are extremely pedestrian friendly. I loved how nature, i.e., trees and shrubs could be found everywhere dispersed throughout the city.
Don’t even get me started on their architecture… Their buildings, even just their everyday buildings are just soo nice. Wow. Great warm colours for their buildings as well! Wradle and I were content just to stop in the middle of streets and gape. It’s amazing that one can get tingles down one’s spine just by BEING on the streets. Wow.
Tip to anyone travelling to Barcelona – CHECK OUT any building designed by the Spanish architect Gaudí. Frigging amazing.
Marseille 21 December 2011
The feel of this great southern city in France is somewhat less charming than others I’ve visited – which is not to say that it wasn’t nice. Wradle and I only spent one day here so we stuck by the vieux port which is a KEY destination in Marseille – being a great port city of France.
First up, we went up to the basilica Notre Dame de la Garde which is up on a super high hill. It had GORGEOUS views of Marseille and the ocean. Wow. I really enjoyed that church visit :)
The other main thing we did in Marseille that day was take a ferry out to the Île de Frioul – only a 15-20 minute boat ride away from Marseille. We loved the amazing views of the ocean and Marseille on the boat ride over as well. So … wow.
In Marseille – I also saw the most beautiful dusk over the port in my life. I won’t even try to describe the depth of the blue I saw that evening. *shiver*
Some things to note about Marseille… Well firstly, at least every second or third car there had a ding!! The roads there are craaazzyy busy, confusing, narrow and tight. Holy crap. I was SO glad we decided not to rent a car ‘cause it would not HAVE been a calm experience.
The metro closed before midnight. This… shocked me. Marseille is the second largest city in France – I just couldn’t comprehend that their main transport links shut that early…
Finally – there’s a RIDICULOUS amount of pharmacies in Marseille. It was literally every 3-4 minutes of walking that we could see a pharmacy. …what???????
Oh not to mention – I had me some bouillabaisse for dinner that night – which is a regional dish consisting of a type of salty-ish soup and a platter of seafood and bread and you get to dunk the fish etc into the soup :) I can happily say I’ve had me another traditional French dish!
Menton 22 December 2011
Menton is the little French town on dreams on the Riviera. When I was researching places in France to do my exchange – I originally wanted to go to the Sciences Po campus in Menton due to the beauty of the town. Basically – Menton is right on the border of Italy (literally within walking distance, which is what we did do).
Stunning is the only adjective I have really. So beautiful… I was very, very happy to have made it to Menton. When I decided to go to Lille instead – I always told myself that I would make it down to Menton.
Monaco 23 December 2011
Monaco, which is super close to Menton, is also a very nice place which is to be expected since it’s on the Riviera!
Basically – it’s a place for rich bitches. I think the most noteworthy thing is that we lost five euro playing the pokies in a casino :P
Venice 24th – 27th December 2011
Venice was probably the place I liked the least during our travels. The canals themselves were of course pretty cool but the city was a very confusing place to try to navigate. Had we not had our maps with us at ALL times – we would’ve been so screwed.
I think by this stage of our trip, we were starting to feel a bit numbed by all the amazing new places we were seeing. It gets tiring being wowed by new cities all the time! I know, I know, first-world problems :p
Berlin 28 – 31 December 2011
Berlin – wow. It was a definite sea-change to the other cities we had visited so far. It’s all fairly modern with a distinct difference between east and west Berlin. The former having many more uhhh practical buildings whilst the west had gorgeous modern structures reflecting the section’s wealth.
I HAVE to recommend the Sandemans free walking tour. It was amazing to walk around the city and have its history recounted in a really interesting and accessible way. Berlin was like high school modern history come to life – a feeling I really love.
New Years in Berlin was also… wow. It’s the first time I’ve actually felt that elusive New Year’s vibe in reality out on the streets. Everyone was out on the streets drinking, setting off fireworks and randomly dancing! It as so great :D I loved how the city made you feel alive. Furthermore, the city of Berlin put on a free concert with cool lighting and effects and everything :D Just… wow. :)
London 1 – 4 January 2012
Oh, to have cars that drive on the left hand side of the road! I liked London overall – but travel numbness had really hit hard by then. It’s a super multi-cultural place, and there were numerous times where I’d hear so many foreign languages on the street that I’d forget that I was in an English-speaking country. (England itself nonetheless…) It was also the first time I’d been in an English-speaking environment since leaving Australia so yeah… It felt really weird to know that it’s OKAY to speak English haha!
In London I did many-a touristy thing. I got onto one of those sightseeing buses and took heaps of crooked photos of places and things I don’t quite recall… By this stage Wradle and I had split up but I linked up with a uni friend from Perth and we hung out a bit as well :)
A favourite memory was our pub crawl through Camden Town in north London. Fell in the love with the music at the club Proud Camden – a definite re-visit if I ever go back to London
On my last day there – my friend and I went and did the London Dungeon tour – a bit cheesy! Topped off with posing with the waxworks at Madam Tussauds :p
Ski-trip in the Savoie soon this Saturday!
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