Yeah it's back to reality for me. The year is gonna be crazier than I thought, especially after I did course approval and was somehow talked into doing a 4th year post grad marketing paper as opposed to one of my 3rd year ones. Honestly, I'm somewhat scared that this time I've really bitten off more than I can chew. I mean doing 51 points when the max is 48 is already crazy enough, but throw in a post grad paper...everyone else thinks I'm nuts. Well, I suppose if I do end up in a psychiatric ward, at least it's close by! Lol
I've got one weekend before hell breaks loose and during this time, I shall be praying fervantly for a freak blizzard to snow all the lecturers in or an earthquake or a fire that somehow burned the uni such that lectures have to be cancelled. I suppose it's pretty obvious that I desperately don't want lectures to start... In the meantime, while waiting for one of these miraculous events to occur (I'm banking on the blizzard coz it snowed yesterday up till 1200m), there is much to do. Moving in completely being one and partying being another.
Our living room looks like a typhoon hit it and resembles a storage closet. The sink is currently full of dishes since we've yet to run the dishwasher, having only bought dishwashing powder yesterday. Perhaps the only thing that's settled is my room. I've completely moved in, set all my furniture up and filled all the drawers and shelves...somewhat. In moving into my room, I learnt that my dad has absolutely no sense of interior design. He told me he set up my furniture and arranged it for me. To my horror, he put all my furniture to one side of the room...and it looked terrible. I ended up having to expend considerable effort to move every single piece of furniture (with the help of a friend of course!)
One weekend... I'm dreading Monday, but at least today we went out clubbing. It's good to be back in Dunedin...entering clubs are FREE!! My flatmate and I managed to drag my sister along with us, but she sat in a corner and stoned the entire time, leading several people to ask her if she was ok...including a bouncer. I think the next time we go out, we'll leave my sister at home...she's much happier that way. Still, it was a good night out...good music in intervals...met a couple of guys and one was pretty cute. I wound up giving him my number, much to my sister's horror...and yes I was completely sober. Lol Well hey I'm 20, single and it's fun to meet new people...not to mention flattering. :p Anyway, soon I'll be too busy to have a life so I should probably have as much fun as I can now. Monday is the beginning of the end of my life...and I'll be too busy to attend my own funeral. *Sigh*
Saturday, 25 February 2006
Wednesday, 1 February 2006
Ireland: Home to the Leprechauns
Despite having been in many cities in Europe, there's something about Dublin that make it somehow different from the rest although it looks the same. Plus the fact that it was really warm there at 2 degrees compared to Scandinavia didn't escape my notice.
What I can say about Ireland is that it's a green place. It just makes you feel like green if you get what I mean. Cheerful irish music from gift stores, so many people on the streets, sunlight, and unlike Scandinavia, the gardens were still lush and green and some had flowers too, like an early spring...well duh I guess, it is almost spring. Then there are the statues and monuments everywhere commemorating great poets, writers etc. Not unexpected though, since Dublin is known for it's literary prowess.
At night, even at midnight, it's crowded and noisy and everywhere you turn there's a pub serving beer and grub till the wee hours of the morn. Almost all pubs have live music on every night and some with dancing and the likes. It's a pity though that I was by myself coz it meant I didn't get a chance to go into one of those pubs for a pint (of guinness what else?) and music since I didn't think that it would be too practical for a single female to do so...except maybe if I was bigger... Nonetheless I did have a good irish dinner at one of the restaurants in Temple Bar with a glass of guinness laced with blackcurrent. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but guinness with blackcurrent is really nice! The waiter was also kinda cute with typically irish green eyes. Lol
I think Dublin is definitely one of the places I will have to visit again coz I didn't have enough time to see everything, but when I do go again I'll definitely not go alone! It's a place for 2 or more... The only annoying thing about my time in Dublin was that someone messed with my towel which I was pretty sure I left on the bed but when I returned it was in the bathroom and really damp as though someone had just used it. Ugh! Maybe it was the leprechauns....
What I can say about Ireland is that it's a green place. It just makes you feel like green if you get what I mean. Cheerful irish music from gift stores, so many people on the streets, sunlight, and unlike Scandinavia, the gardens were still lush and green and some had flowers too, like an early spring...well duh I guess, it is almost spring. Then there are the statues and monuments everywhere commemorating great poets, writers etc. Not unexpected though, since Dublin is known for it's literary prowess.
At night, even at midnight, it's crowded and noisy and everywhere you turn there's a pub serving beer and grub till the wee hours of the morn. Almost all pubs have live music on every night and some with dancing and the likes. It's a pity though that I was by myself coz it meant I didn't get a chance to go into one of those pubs for a pint (of guinness what else?) and music since I didn't think that it would be too practical for a single female to do so...except maybe if I was bigger... Nonetheless I did have a good irish dinner at one of the restaurants in Temple Bar with a glass of guinness laced with blackcurrent. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but guinness with blackcurrent is really nice! The waiter was also kinda cute with typically irish green eyes. Lol
I think Dublin is definitely one of the places I will have to visit again coz I didn't have enough time to see everything, but when I do go again I'll definitely not go alone! It's a place for 2 or more... The only annoying thing about my time in Dublin was that someone messed with my towel which I was pretty sure I left on the bed but when I returned it was in the bathroom and really damp as though someone had just used it. Ugh! Maybe it was the leprechauns....
Monday, 30 January 2006
Scandinavia: Viking Land
Winter in Scandinavia is really the epitome of winter...or at least it sure seem like it while I was there. Think complete white all over with black leafless trees and large snow covered areas that would be water in the summer. Oh and of course it has to be snowing too, with the wind blowing snowflakes about, making them dance in the air.
Beautiful? Certainly...as long as you're indoors looking out. It's an entirely different story if you're outside and then the whole situation I've just described takes on a far less pleasant view. For starters, the temperature would be about -10 degrees or lower and the snow covered ground while pretty, gives cold feet and makes the ground slippery and more strenuous to walk upon. The wind blows the snowflakes into your face, especially your eyes, numbing your face and making it tough to see where you're going.
I guess beauty pretty much always comes with a price. It's too cold to even make snowballs coz de snow doesn't melt enough to stick, but it's perfect ski snow though. I ended up having to purchase furry boots for walking through the snow coz if I stayed using track shoes, I reckon I'd have lost my toes long ago! Still I liked Stockholm even though it snowed every day I was there. It was pretty imressive seeing the snow-covered frozen sea that was just tempting me to step on it. Fighting the temptation wasn't very easy, especially when the hostel I was staying in was really a boat and the docks make it pretty easy to just step off!
I spent quite some time in museums simply coz it was warmer and most museums were free. I think I know more about viking history and the whole royalty back when they wore armour and such better than I know NZ history. Anyway it made for an interesting experience. I think the only complain I have about the place is that the stores all close by 6pm...even the huge department stores. By 6.30, the streets are pretty much deserted, and can seem a trifle scary in Gamla Stan which is the old town with it's tiny alleys and cobbled streets.
Compared to Sweden, Finland was much better, it being warmer by the time I arrived and certainly stores were opened till much later. I really liked that there were so many outdoor skating rinks, simply coz all the lakes were completely frozen over so anyone can just ut on a pair of skates and skate (which many did). The "rink" I went to was the size of 2 olympic size rinks. It rocked. There's just something about skating outdoors, plus there's plenty of space for everyone!
During the time I was in Helsinki, I also went to Suomenlinna, an ancient island fortress listed on the world heritage list. As they wanted to preserve it as it was, there wasn't any railings or stuff anywhere and you pretty much could climb everywhere at your own risk. The view is great from the top of the fortress walls and climbing up is pretty easy with lotsa natural footholds. If you slipped though, it would mean a nasty plunge down to the rocks and the frozen sea below. Being very helpful, signs are posted from time to time reminding people to look out for small kids if they have them with them. My friend told me many a person has met an unpleasant end at the bottom of the cliff, her grandmother being one of them and the most recent being a 9 year old girl last year. It's easy enough to fall and die without any railings as it is, but it's even more treacherous in winter, when the place is totally snow covered. The problem with snow covered ground is that you don't know how deep it is so if it turns out deeper than you think it is you end up slipping...which I did at the edge of the cliff and almost fell if not for this plant I grabbed hold of. I like plants. Not many tourists come in winter so the fortress was pretty deserted while I was there and you really feel totally alone in a silent fortress with the stone walls all around you and caves and canons. It's almost magical really, you feel like you're really looking into the past. Unfortunately I am unable to put into words the intensity of the feeling so please do go and experience it yourself!
Beautiful? Certainly...as long as you're indoors looking out. It's an entirely different story if you're outside and then the whole situation I've just described takes on a far less pleasant view. For starters, the temperature would be about -10 degrees or lower and the snow covered ground while pretty, gives cold feet and makes the ground slippery and more strenuous to walk upon. The wind blows the snowflakes into your face, especially your eyes, numbing your face and making it tough to see where you're going.
I guess beauty pretty much always comes with a price. It's too cold to even make snowballs coz de snow doesn't melt enough to stick, but it's perfect ski snow though. I ended up having to purchase furry boots for walking through the snow coz if I stayed using track shoes, I reckon I'd have lost my toes long ago! Still I liked Stockholm even though it snowed every day I was there. It was pretty imressive seeing the snow-covered frozen sea that was just tempting me to step on it. Fighting the temptation wasn't very easy, especially when the hostel I was staying in was really a boat and the docks make it pretty easy to just step off!
I spent quite some time in museums simply coz it was warmer and most museums were free. I think I know more about viking history and the whole royalty back when they wore armour and such better than I know NZ history. Anyway it made for an interesting experience. I think the only complain I have about the place is that the stores all close by 6pm...even the huge department stores. By 6.30, the streets are pretty much deserted, and can seem a trifle scary in Gamla Stan which is the old town with it's tiny alleys and cobbled streets.
Compared to Sweden, Finland was much better, it being warmer by the time I arrived and certainly stores were opened till much later. I really liked that there were so many outdoor skating rinks, simply coz all the lakes were completely frozen over so anyone can just ut on a pair of skates and skate (which many did). The "rink" I went to was the size of 2 olympic size rinks. It rocked. There's just something about skating outdoors, plus there's plenty of space for everyone!
During the time I was in Helsinki, I also went to Suomenlinna, an ancient island fortress listed on the world heritage list. As they wanted to preserve it as it was, there wasn't any railings or stuff anywhere and you pretty much could climb everywhere at your own risk. The view is great from the top of the fortress walls and climbing up is pretty easy with lotsa natural footholds. If you slipped though, it would mean a nasty plunge down to the rocks and the frozen sea below. Being very helpful, signs are posted from time to time reminding people to look out for small kids if they have them with them. My friend told me many a person has met an unpleasant end at the bottom of the cliff, her grandmother being one of them and the most recent being a 9 year old girl last year. It's easy enough to fall and die without any railings as it is, but it's even more treacherous in winter, when the place is totally snow covered. The problem with snow covered ground is that you don't know how deep it is so if it turns out deeper than you think it is you end up slipping...which I did at the edge of the cliff and almost fell if not for this plant I grabbed hold of. I like plants. Not many tourists come in winter so the fortress was pretty deserted while I was there and you really feel totally alone in a silent fortress with the stone walls all around you and caves and canons. It's almost magical really, you feel like you're really looking into the past. Unfortunately I am unable to put into words the intensity of the feeling so please do go and experience it yourself!
Tuesday, 10 January 2006
Netherlands - Land of the Giants
Staying with Wouter here in the Netherlands is great! For one I get to see him again. The funny thing is it feels like we've never been apart as though I've still been seeing him everyday. Secondly, coz he's currently staying with his mum, he's staying in a national monument...so I get to live in a monument. His stepdad is really rich and the house is really pretty. It's funny coz there's this plague that says "monument" right beside the front door and the year the house was built 1633 is painted on one of the walls (the age of the house is what makes it a monument).
The Netherlands is great, although I can't read the street names, people do speak english. I've not had to look at a map at all since arriving since Wout has been taking me around and he picked me up at the train station when I arrived. Nothing in Holland has been made for small people though and I certainly feel tiny compared to the Dutch! On Sunday I went to church and even the pews were made for bigger people. My feet could touch the ground and when kneeling my feet couldn't touch the ground either! Not a very comfortable experience! But the Dutch are nice, well all Wout's friends and his family is nice.
Tomorrow we're heading to Amsterdam and it's great having someone else decide where to go and what to do. Planning an itinery is somewhat tiring! I'll be going to see coffee houses there too....which don't sell coffee but 'legal' drugs. The thing is most of the customers of the coffee houses are really tourists rather than Dutch which is expected since by restricting something you only make people want it more. Strange how the human mind works that way...
The Netherlands is great, although I can't read the street names, people do speak english. I've not had to look at a map at all since arriving since Wout has been taking me around and he picked me up at the train station when I arrived. Nothing in Holland has been made for small people though and I certainly feel tiny compared to the Dutch! On Sunday I went to church and even the pews were made for bigger people. My feet could touch the ground and when kneeling my feet couldn't touch the ground either! Not a very comfortable experience! But the Dutch are nice, well all Wout's friends and his family is nice.
Tomorrow we're heading to Amsterdam and it's great having someone else decide where to go and what to do. Planning an itinery is somewhat tiring! I'll be going to see coffee houses there too....which don't sell coffee but 'legal' drugs. The thing is most of the customers of the coffee houses are really tourists rather than Dutch which is expected since by restricting something you only make people want it more. Strange how the human mind works that way...
Monday, 9 January 2006
Flings
I'm not cut out for flings. My french guy and I have been either emailing of texting each other almost everyday, even though it takes me about an hour to write an email in French. He writes to me in English, but it's really bad it takes awhile for me to comprehend. I guess my French is better than his English.
Anyway now that Bovy can't make it to Germany, which was our next stop after Netherlands, I am going back to France. To see Bovy again (she is still stuck in Paris)...and of course to meet up with my French guy. Lol Guess I'm not really bummed out about not seeing Berlin or Cologne, but I think I'll go ahead to Frankfurt earlier if only to get the Ritter Sport choc with yogurt in it that you just can't find anywhere else in the world (believe me I've looked in every country I've been in!).
Anyway now that Bovy can't make it to Germany, which was our next stop after Netherlands, I am going back to France. To see Bovy again (she is still stuck in Paris)...and of course to meet up with my French guy. Lol Guess I'm not really bummed out about not seeing Berlin or Cologne, but I think I'll go ahead to Frankfurt earlier if only to get the Ritter Sport choc with yogurt in it that you just can't find anywhere else in the world (believe me I've looked in every country I've been in!).
Saturday, 7 January 2006
London
Since Bovy lost her passport and with it her visas, she couldn't travel to London and I ended up having to travel to London by myself. My London trip didn't go very well right from the start. First off, I missed my train to Tours despite rushing to get there in time, but the RER took ages to arrive. Had to pay extra to catch the next train. Then when I got to Tours, because it was late I missed the airport shuttle so I had to take a cab to the airport which cost me heaps. Then when I checked in my luggage, they told me it was too much past the weight limit so I had to pay for excess baggage.
I was totally exhausted after arriving in London coz I had been lugging all my luggage which was really heavy around almost all day...and I had to take a cab to the hostel. In London, the cab drivers don't help you with your luggage, they make you put it in the cab yourself. Upon arriving at the hostel, I discovered there wasn't an elevator and I was on the 3rd floor. Think heaps of stairs and very heavy luggage. Plus the room I was in was only for 1 night before I was supposd to change rooms. So I lugged everything up, with much difficulty and when I got into the room, it pretty much seemed to be an all guys room coz there were 6 guys taking a nap there. Didn't feel too comfortable taking a nap myself (although I really really wanted to) so I had to go out wandering around in the cold. The other big prob;em with the hostel was that for some reason the luggage room is located on the 3rd and a half floor. I mean of course that is the most logical place to locate a luggage room. After all, everyone just loves carrying their luggage up a few flights of stairs!
Being alone and female in London is not nice...London is full of dodgy guys, but don't tell my mum that coz she'd freak. Anyway my experience with dodgy brits amounts to meeting a flasher at a bus stop at 5pm (by then it was already dark) and having this man older than my dad try to kiss me and ask if he could take me home. I am still trying to forget the awful image of the flasher and I still shudder at the thought of that old man whom at first seemed like he was just being friendly. Well moral of the story there is don't talk to strangers. Honestly he seemed harmless... Give me grabby, clingy Italians over Brits anytime...at least they dun attack you!
My last 2 days in London were pretty good though, mainly coz I met these German girls who stayed in the new room I moved into and so I had people to go around with. It also meant I could take photos with me in them too! Lol
Overall London was ok I guess (if frightfully expensive where transport is concerned)...just not nice to be there alone. I definitely love the theatre there I went to watch Fame which was fantastic and they've got pretty good deals for students. Shopping was good too with all the post New Year/Christmas sales. Sandwiches are great. It was also nice to be able to understand everything...the ads, the road names etc!
I was totally exhausted after arriving in London coz I had been lugging all my luggage which was really heavy around almost all day...and I had to take a cab to the hostel. In London, the cab drivers don't help you with your luggage, they make you put it in the cab yourself. Upon arriving at the hostel, I discovered there wasn't an elevator and I was on the 3rd floor. Think heaps of stairs and very heavy luggage. Plus the room I was in was only for 1 night before I was supposd to change rooms. So I lugged everything up, with much difficulty and when I got into the room, it pretty much seemed to be an all guys room coz there were 6 guys taking a nap there. Didn't feel too comfortable taking a nap myself (although I really really wanted to) so I had to go out wandering around in the cold. The other big prob;em with the hostel was that for some reason the luggage room is located on the 3rd and a half floor. I mean of course that is the most logical place to locate a luggage room. After all, everyone just loves carrying their luggage up a few flights of stairs!
Being alone and female in London is not nice...London is full of dodgy guys, but don't tell my mum that coz she'd freak. Anyway my experience with dodgy brits amounts to meeting a flasher at a bus stop at 5pm (by then it was already dark) and having this man older than my dad try to kiss me and ask if he could take me home. I am still trying to forget the awful image of the flasher and I still shudder at the thought of that old man whom at first seemed like he was just being friendly. Well moral of the story there is don't talk to strangers. Honestly he seemed harmless... Give me grabby, clingy Italians over Brits anytime...at least they dun attack you!
My last 2 days in London were pretty good though, mainly coz I met these German girls who stayed in the new room I moved into and so I had people to go around with. It also meant I could take photos with me in them too! Lol
Overall London was ok I guess (if frightfully expensive where transport is concerned)...just not nice to be there alone. I definitely love the theatre there I went to watch Fame which was fantastic and they've got pretty good deals for students. Shopping was good too with all the post New Year/Christmas sales. Sandwiches are great. It was also nice to be able to understand everything...the ads, the road names etc!
Sunday, 1 January 2006
New Year's Eve
There's something about New Year's eve that makes you wanna spend it somewhere special. And so I did. In Disneyland Paris. It was a fantastic New Year's eve despite all that had happened before. The 'before' I'm talking about is Bovy's handbag getting stolen and in her handbag was her passport among other things. We definitely didn't have a very nice eve of New Year's eve. I spent 7 hours sitting on my suitcase in the RER station in Paris outside the ticket counter while Bovy went running around trying to find the Thai embassy.
Still, Disneyland was great...and tremendously crowded. I've never been to Disneyland before and neither had Bovy so I guess both of us were catching up on our childhood. It's a huge place and despite the whole day we spent there...from 11am to 1am, we still didn't manage to cover everything or see all the shows. The highlight of the day would have had to be the christmas parade. Disneyland screwed up our tickets so to compensate for that they gave us VIP spots to watch the parade which was fantastic (we had all this space to ourselves and an unobstructed view).
I'd studied about EuroDisney as a case study in Business Strategy earlier and one of the things the case mentioned was that Disney is very selective about the appearance of their employees...they all have to be beautiful. I guess it's true coz all the princes on floats in the parade were really drop dead gorgeous...certainly fairy-tale like. The thing is, even the bad characters looked good too! I don't suppose it would be very pleasant to get rejected for a job because one isn't good-looking enough. I wonder how many people apply and get rejected...
We definitely had a magical, if cold, New Year's countdown. Might have been better with a partner I guess coz during the countdown we were entirely surrounded by couples, which made Bovy miss her kind-of boyfriend and me...let's just say I hadn't gotten over my french guy yet. 8p
Still, Disneyland was great...and tremendously crowded. I've never been to Disneyland before and neither had Bovy so I guess both of us were catching up on our childhood. It's a huge place and despite the whole day we spent there...from 11am to 1am, we still didn't manage to cover everything or see all the shows. The highlight of the day would have had to be the christmas parade. Disneyland screwed up our tickets so to compensate for that they gave us VIP spots to watch the parade which was fantastic (we had all this space to ourselves and an unobstructed view).
I'd studied about EuroDisney as a case study in Business Strategy earlier and one of the things the case mentioned was that Disney is very selective about the appearance of their employees...they all have to be beautiful. I guess it's true coz all the princes on floats in the parade were really drop dead gorgeous...certainly fairy-tale like. The thing is, even the bad characters looked good too! I don't suppose it would be very pleasant to get rejected for a job because one isn't good-looking enough. I wonder how many people apply and get rejected...
We definitely had a magical, if cold, New Year's countdown. Might have been better with a partner I guess coz during the countdown we were entirely surrounded by couples, which made Bovy miss her kind-of boyfriend and me...let's just say I hadn't gotten over my french guy yet. 8p
Friday, 30 December 2005
Barcelona French Fling
I never dreamed I'd actually get into a fling...much less with a French guy. Those 4 French guys staying in the same room? Well went out with them last night for a drink at a bar and though they didn't speak much English, we did actually manage to communicate. Had lotsa attention coz I was the only girl since Bovy decided she wasn't feeling well enough to go.
I must say that French guys are really something. Definitely way better than Italians. For one thing, they aren't cheap. They bought my drink. Then when we were walking back, all of them were finding some opportunity to hold my hand or put an arm around my waist. It was definitely very flattering for my female ego. Luckily for me, I only really like one of them...lol so at least I didn't have to make a choice as to which one I'd go for!! Hahaha
French guys are definitely great kissers...and wonderful for a fling coz of the language barrier. It's a pity I'm leaving today although he did try very hard to get me to extend my stay in Barcelona. I must say that I was sorely tempted, if I hadn't already paid €70 for my bus trip back to Paris and booked my accomodation and bought disneyland tix. Ah well, I suppose at least I'll have some nice memories! 8p Now just where has the conservative me gone?
I must say that French guys are really something. Definitely way better than Italians. For one thing, they aren't cheap. They bought my drink. Then when we were walking back, all of them were finding some opportunity to hold my hand or put an arm around my waist. It was definitely very flattering for my female ego. Luckily for me, I only really like one of them...lol so at least I didn't have to make a choice as to which one I'd go for!! Hahaha
French guys are definitely great kissers...and wonderful for a fling coz of the language barrier. It's a pity I'm leaving today although he did try very hard to get me to extend my stay in Barcelona. I must say that I was sorely tempted, if I hadn't already paid €70 for my bus trip back to Paris and booked my accomodation and bought disneyland tix. Ah well, I suppose at least I'll have some nice memories! 8p Now just where has the conservative me gone?
Wednesday, 28 December 2005
Barcelona
Being sick on a holiday sux. Here I am in Barcelona and I've just wasted the entire day staying in the hostel coz I was sick. I threw up when there was nothing to chuck (which is the worst kinda feeling) and I've still got a headache and I keep getting chills. I'd planned a full itinery for today too, but now I'm gonna have to revamp the entire itinery to make up for lost time.
On the upside, we met some cute French guys who are staying in the same room. They're design students from southern France. The downside is that I'm sick...so although they invited us to join them to go out clubbing, I don't feel up to going. Argh! They don't speak much English though, but one of them is really hot... Sigh. They're gonna be around tomorrow though so maybe we can go out with them then.
I might as well have not taken a course in French for all the French I can speak. Everything I wanna say comes out in Italian. On the upside, I can actually understand some Spanish since it's so similar to Italian. Italian is still stuck on me though when I find myself saying 'Sì' instead of 'oui' and 'grazie' instead of 'gracias' and going 'ciao' pretty much all the time. The whole language switching thing as you cross borders really mucks up your brain...
On the upside, we met some cute French guys who are staying in the same room. They're design students from southern France. The downside is that I'm sick...so although they invited us to join them to go out clubbing, I don't feel up to going. Argh! They don't speak much English though, but one of them is really hot... Sigh. They're gonna be around tomorrow though so maybe we can go out with them then.
I might as well have not taken a course in French for all the French I can speak. Everything I wanna say comes out in Italian. On the upside, I can actually understand some Spanish since it's so similar to Italian. Italian is still stuck on me though when I find myself saying 'Sì' instead of 'oui' and 'grazie' instead of 'gracias' and going 'ciao' pretty much all the time. The whole language switching thing as you cross borders really mucks up your brain...
Monday, 26 December 2005
Christmas
Merry Chirstmas to everyone! Spent Christmas eve at the Eiffel Tower and we walked for 16 hours that day. The Eiffel Tower was real crowded. It seemed everyone wanted to climb the Eiffel Tower that day! It's definitely worth going up though. From the top they tell you in which direction different countries in the world are and how far it's from Paris. Wellington is almost 19 000km away...definitely one of the furthest. The view of Paris at night from the top of the tower is fantastic...a very romantic spot.
I attended the midnight mass at Notre Dame...and yep all of Paris wanted to attend too. It was so crowded and they had to get police control. It was in french though, but the gospel was in English. The choir was fantastic...as it would be for such a grand affair.
We met some of the other backpackers in the same hostel yesterday. They're from Canada...asian Canadians who speak better French and understand more French than Mandarin. We spent the day with them, went to see the Moulin Rouge, which was really disappointing compared to what it looked like in the movie. The one in the movie is more impressive! I'd have liked to watch one of the cabaret shows, but the cheapest tickets for the shows cost more than €80! One would think that with those kinda prices, they could have renovated the exterior...make it more impressive. As it is, it was kinda small.
We ended the night at this fantastic french restaurant with the Canadians which wasn't too expensive I guess. Then went to Place de la Concorde for a ride on the ferris wheel. Bovy was squealing the entire time...she doesn't like moving heights much. She squealed going up the Eiffel Tower as well. One of the guys mentioned he saw a guy propose to his girlfriend at the top of the Eiffel Tower yesterday. Pretty romantic...and of course she said yes. He said he didn't think the tower was romantic until he witness that and now he would like his future wife to propose to him at the top of the tower too! I think a proposal at the top of the tower is kinda romantic I guess, but not too original.
We're leaving for Barcelona tomorrow, to begin phase 2. Time is really flying! It was kinda sad having to say goodbye to the new friends, but we're probably gonna see them in Germany in Cologne coz they're on exchange there. One of them, we're gonna see him again when we get back to Paris coz we're going to Versailles together. Should be interesting, together with the countdown in Disneyland Paris! My sister is gonna be so jealous!
Friday, 23 December 2005
Paris
It's phase 1 of the Big Europe Trip. I saw Wouter off at the bus station the morning I left for Paris...and was trying desperately not to cry (without much success). I think the people at the bus station must have thought I was pathetic...red nose, running eyes...you get the picture. Saying goodbye is always the hardest for the people staying behind.
Anyway, as I was saying, the Big Europe Trip has begun. I can't quite believe I'm in Paris...seeing the Eiffel Tower, and going to the Louvre. It's pretty surreal. the hostel I'm at is kinda awful...they don't have an elevator and we had to carry all our luggage up 3 flights of stairs!! It smelled bad and there wasn't much lighting in the rooms either. Staff isn't very friendly and they lock you out from 10 to 3pm. For those who wish to stay in Paris, my advice is don't stay at Auberge Internationale Jeune (I think that's the name, or something pretty similar). Despite the lousy accomodation, Paris is fantastic. You can really tell the difference between buildings in France and Italy...even though they're almost as old as each other.
Bovy and I paid a visit to the Louvre today...mainly to see the Mona Lisa. It's not very impressive though. Lol...it was kinda like ok this is the Mona Lisa and that's it. Nothing very 'wow'. There were some really nice paintings though, especially Galerie de vues de la Rome moderne and Galerie de vues de la Rome antique. They were my 2 favourite paintings in the Louvre. The medival section of the Louvre is kinda creepy, being underground and it was especially creepy close to closing time when no one was about. Think dark and chilly and bare. You'd expect to see something floating towards you any minute. I'd hate to get lost down there! The Louvre building itself is really impressive being so long. We never got to see everything and after awhile you get bored...
Gonna scale the Eiffel Tower tomorrow. I can't believe it's almost Christmas!
Tuesday, 20 December 2005
End of Exchange
Another chapter of my life has ended, with exams being over and everyone leaving. Funny how fast time goes. I really hate to leave and to say goodbye, knowing that chances of seeing certain friends you've made again are pretty slim.
Despite all it's shortcomings, I'm gonna miss Italy...it's nightlife, the great (if non punctual) transport system, aperitivos...and yes, pizza and pasta. There's no pizza anywhere like in Italy. Or mozzarella. Think brick oven, traditionally baked pizzas.
Definitely, what I'll miss most are the people...even returning to Italy in future won't be the same coz the people make the difference. Actually I still can't quite believe I've been in Italy. I think maybe it'll really hit only after I'm gone.
Naturally the people I'll miss most will be Bovy and Wouter. I'm gonna be travelling with Bovy all around Europe over the next month, but we'll only see Wouter some time in January when we go over to the Netherlands. I'm gonna miss seeing him everyday... As Alex, my roommate would say 'Charlie's Angels' is no more. We're going to Simon's tomorrow to hang out and stay up the whole night...and cry over saying goodbyes. Did I mention how I hate saying goodbye?
Friday, 2 December 2005
Turning 20
Gosh time really flies…can’t believe my birthday just came and went like that! Not that I didn’t have a good time of course, I had really good friends to celebrate with and it was one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had. It started off the night before, watching a movie with Wouter and Bovy until midnight when they surprised me by bringing in lighted candles and singing happy birthday. It was so sweet…but then I wouldn’t call them my best friends for nothing would I?
I’d actually intended to just pass my birthday quietly…probably just with Wouter and Bovy, but my room mate objected to that…she’s definitely more of a party girl than I am…so I ended up inviting about 20 people to dinner at this Chinese restaurant where some friends had been too before and said it was great. And so it was…good food, good friends, great birthday. 8) They even ordered a cake thing and asked for a candle to be put in as a substitute birthday cake. They tried to get me drunk though, ordering a glass of grappa which is about 70% alcohol and telling me I had to drink it. They didn’t know it was so strong….and neither did I but we figured since it was served in such a huge portion, it couldn’t have been too bad. I mean, pure vodka is served in shots and this drink came in a portion similar to a full wine glass…which lead me to make the huge mistake of taking a gulp from the glass, because if it was gonna taste bad might as well take it like a shot right? I nearly died….or came close to anyway. It totally burned like drinking liquid fire…and it burned for awhile. Of course I didn’t finish the drink (if I did I’d probably be in hospital right now) and I passed the drink around for them to try the poison they just tried to feed me lol.
Speaking of alcohol, I received a bottle of liquor from Will and a bottle of wine from Ben and Mike (figures it’ll be the guys who give alcohol 8p). How it’s all gonna be consumed by the time I leave beats me. Fiona and co got me this really nice scarf, which would certainly come in useful for when I head to Sweden and Finland! Pietro gave me roses. Wouter and Bovy got me something, but it’s not here yet or not ready yet…and I’m dying of curiosity juz wondering what it is.
Originally I’d intended to go out clubbing after dinner so I gave Will the roses and wine (since he lives 2 doors down from me) to take back. He was being accommodating since it was my birthday, although he looked funny carrying 4 roses and a bottle of wine walking down the street. When I cancelled plans to go clubbing and decided to head home instead, he and Julie disappeared…alone, so I couldn’t relieve him from the task of carrying wine and roses. Must have been a sight though, he had wine, roses and a girl…now all that was missing was the guitar…
Tuesday, 22 November 2005
Work & Projects
Finals are around the corner, got projects to complete, really need to study, but somehow can't bring myself to do it. I can't seem to get outta holiday mode!!! The thing is, neither can most of the other exchange students and while we're all ordinarily not like this at home, there's something about going on exchange that makes you not wanna study.
It's been more than 2 months now...of not really studying. I wonder what's gonna happen when I return home to reality. In the meantime, I'm still not studying (but trying hard...well kinda) and when I'm not trying, I'm busy going out or planning my travels. Can't wait till school is over so I start my big 1.5 month Europe tour! Gonna spend Christmas in Paris, then head to Spain and back to France for New Year's then to London and after that Holland, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Ireland before meeting up with Addie in Warwick and going to either Denmark or Norway. I so love how easy it is to travel within Europe!!
Sunday, 20 November 2005
Prague Photos
And here are some of the photos I took in Prague. Era bellisima!
International travel mates: Wouter (Holland), Me (NZ), Nadia (Singapore), Julie (Canada)
Prague Castle
In the Prague Castle courtyard: Nadia, Me, Wouter
Old Town Square during the day
Almost magical: Old Town Square at night
Tyn Church - much like a fairy tale castle aye?
On Charles Bridge at night
View from Chrales Bridge
View of the city
Thursday, 10 November 2005
Mid-Semester Break I: Prague
Prague has gotta be one of the most beautiful cities in the world! I returned to Milan Tuesday night from my way-too-short trip to Prague (Czech Republic), Vienna (Austria) and Bratislava (Slovakia). We (Julie, Nadia, Wouter and me) spent 2 days in Prague, 1 day in Vienna and about ½ a day in Bratislava…that is not counting the time we spent traveling from place to place.
We left Milan 3 November to catch the flight to Bratislava in the evening coz Ryanair doesn’t fly to Prague and landed in Bratislava at around 6.30 in the evening, only to find that we had missed the bus to Prague. That’s one of the problems with flying with a low cost airline…you get flights at inconvenient times and to small places, but hey it’s way cheaper (€40 for a return trip). Anyway, this left us with no option than to catch a train to Prague which was about 4 ½ hours away (5 hours by bus). Getting to the train station from the airport was another story altogether….we ended up taking a cab and got entirely ripped off. My advice to those who wish to travel to Bratislava: Don’t take a cab!! One would expect it not to be so expensive since the Slovakia isn’t exactly a very developed country, but the cab drivers really rip tourists off!
We had to switch trains to get to Prague and it was kinda scary coz they didn’t speak English (only Czech) and for quite a couple of stops we didn’t see the name of the station on the stations so we were quite afraid we would miss our stop. The other worry was that we’d miss our connecting train as our train was late and there were some problems along the way. Julie was pretty worried and kept telling us not to worry; Wouter’s Dutch so he was cool throughout (I never seen him worry before…); Nadia and I were kinda in-between. But as Wouter says, it all works out in the end and we did stop at the right place (nearly got off wrongly though!) and we did make our connection.
Arriving in Prague at midnight, we then faced the problem of getting to town, or rather to our hostel. The train station was kinda dodgy with bums lying around and scary-looking people. I can’t figure out why Wouter said he felt safe there…honestly “safe” didn’t come to mind when Nadia, Julie and I looked at the train station. We ended up taking a cab and getting ripped off again. The Czech Republic is also not a good place to take a cab!!
Day 1 in Prague was spent at the Prague Castle, with its gothic cathedral and numerous museums. The cathedral was definitely impressive…I’d say it was on par with the Duomo here in Milan, but scarier looking…the gargoyles looked quite evil… It was cold in Prague though, which made the grog (hot spiced wine) we had in the afternoon much welcome. Food isn’t too expensive in Prague, although having to convert from euro to Czech crowns to evaluate prices was rather tiring (1 euro = 30 Czech crowns).
Night time found us wandering about Staré Mesto (Old Town), with its cobbled streets and alleys and the stores lining them. The buildings looked gorgeous lit up at night and the view from Charles Bridge was totally breathtaking, with jazz buskers playing at certain points on the bridge. We had dinner at one of the outdoor restaurants which had decent prices and wonderful food. I had pork medallions in port wine sauce with potato purée which was simply divine. Ended the night in a jazz bar recommended by the Lonely Planet but the book gave the totally wrong address…thankfully we found the right place by accident. The band playing that night was good and the saxophonist was female (a nice change from the usual male players!), the bar was warm and the drinks were good….a lethal combination to put you to sleep coz you’re so relaxed. When we got back to the hostel we met these 2 Belgian chicks who were staying in the same room. They assumed we didn't speak French though and were talking about Wouter and whether he was 'dangerous'...probably coz he was the only guy in the room. They kept glancing at him throughout talking to us...and about us. We didn't tell them that Julie, being Canadian, studied French as a 2nd language coz it was compulsory in her school and Wouter, being Dutch, also had to study French among several other languages in school. For me, my French has gotten really rusty so I only managed to pick up certain things. It was funny though.
Day 2 was spent wandering about town and visiting the Jewish part of the city as well as the St Nick's Cathedral and the Child of Prague Church which were really impressive. We also visited the Charles Bridge in the day...and it was awfully cold and rainy. Still, the view from the bridge was great! At night we found ourselves having dinner at the same place since the food was so good there and the prices were decent. Then we headed back to the hostel which had an underground bar for drinks...and an early night since we had to get up at 6.30 the next morning to catch the bus to Vienna.
Wednesday, 2 November 2005
Lost Wallet
Ok I've pretty much come to terms with the fact that I'm never gonna actually catch up with my travelling blogs so I've given up writing them...well for most places except when I feel like it. I'll try and post photos, but it's rather annoying to upload them coz I've to resize them first.
Anyway, this is really outdated but on the way to Portofino I lost my wallet on the train and I only realised it was gone when I wanted to pay for ferry tickets and couldn't find my wallet. Chances of me ever getting it back are negative so although I asked the guy at the station to call the staff in the train to see if they could find my wallet, I pretty much expected that they wouldn't find it. I mean it was a Versace wallet and it had quite a sum of cash inside and...it's Italy. Probably if it was another European country, my chances of getting it back are higher but oh well... Thankfully my credit card wasn't in the wallet though as I forgot to put it back into my wallet and had shoved it into my coat pocket in the morning so I guess it wasn't so bad. The worst thing about losing my wallet is losing all the cards I had in it. Sigh...they're a real pain to replace and my pretty Otago student ID is lost forever and can't be replaced coz I get a new card next year and it'll be different. 8( I lost my NZ driver's license too which is also kinda a pain but I can only get that replaced when I return to NZ next year. My insurance company is pretty good though (did I mention I love insurance...especially travel insurance?) so they're compensating me for my wallet and for the cash I lost and are playing for my card replacements.
Filing for the insurance claim was a bit of a hassle though coz I had to submit a police report. In any other country I suppose it wouldn't be so bad, but this is Italy. Since it's Italy, filing a police report was naturally a horrendous experience. Naturally they don't speak any English at all (which I expected and so I asked a friend to come along as a translator) and naturally their computer system had to crash for an hour. Naturally they also gave priority to Italians rather than foreigners so even though this Italian lady came after me she got to go first. Now I'm just waiting to hear from my insurance company as to how much they'd be willing to compensate me coz I couldn't find the price of my wallet online, although I found a similar looking Prada wallet and gave them the link to that...so maybe they'll get me that wallet (it was really nice). 8P
Friday, 28 October 2005
Italian Exams
I just finished my mid term exam (had only 1 for Innovation and Technology Management) and am now blessedly free and will soon be heading to Prague, Vienna and Bratislava for the rest of the break. I've come to understand why Italian students can still afford to party hard when exams are just around the corner...they cheat. I don't mean sneaky cheat, but rather openly cheat...like take their friend's paper and copy it or discuss the answers or copy from a cheat sheet. They do it right in front of the examiners too! The examiners know that they cheat but they don't do anything about it. In one exam (unfortunately not the one I took), the professor told the class “Just don't cheat too much”!! Or if the professors do anything it would just be to shush the class from time to time. For the “stricter” ones, they'd give students who were cheating too obviously a verbal warning once and if they caught them again, they merely take 1 or 2 points off their grade. Like Hello? This is a university exam counting towards your final grade right? What's 1 or 2 points out of 30 if you can get 30 by cheating?!! Us exchange students are completely astounded by this Italian way of doing things. I mean all of us have discussed the issue several times and the consensus is that never would you find a university where cheating in exams is so widely accepted except in Italy!! It's insane!! Anyhow, people didn’t cheat too much in my exam...coz my professor is Swiss, rather than Italian, so it'll probably be more fair considering that they moderate results according to a Normal curve.
Saturday, 15 October 2005
Note on travelling blogs
For those who have noticed, my travelling blogs tend to be somewhat backdated...unfortunately I've been travelling more frequently than I blog. Lol In my backlog of travel blogs there's still Pisa, Siena & Bologna and later Portofino coz I'm leaving for Portofino tomorrow. I wonder if I'll ever catch up with the travelling...
Friday, 14 October 2005
Intellectual Stimulation
My date was a really nice guy and very different from other Italians…intelligent and philosophical too. While I don’t think anything of romantic nature is gonna happen between us, I think he’d make a great friend. We talked a lot the whole time about different cultures and about food, music, life etc. It turned out to be great despite my initial apprehension, unlike the last Italian guy I went out with (who seemed nice at first but turned out to be real sticky). Perhaps this guy turned out to be decent coz I met him when I was completely sober…lol…the sticky guys I’ve met were after I had a buzz in my head. Or maybe it’s coz he’s older (well 1 year older than the last guy who was 25) and so more mature?
Anyway, it was an intellectually stimulating conversation and we’re gonna meet up again sometime next week or the week after. He suggested cooking for me coz he likes cooking…so well, see how it goes. Got back from the date and I ended up having another intellectually stimulating conversation….very intellectually stimulating (involving poetry and history and politics) with the night-shift security guard for about 2 hours. Honestly, I really don’t get why he’s just working as a security guard because he’s very widely-read and very intelligent. He’s my favourite security guard and we have good conversations every time, although since he doesn’t speak English very well, our conversation is a mix of English and Italian and his dictionary. Still, I’ve learnt much from him and I was really flattered when he said he learnt much from me too…coz he’s really way more knowledgeable than I am (also partly due to the fact that he’s over 50) 8)
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