Day Two: Paris

- Elise

I don't think I've ever been so cold in my life. The London weather was actually quite tolerable, not at bad as everyone had told me it was going to be. So when we went out into Paris today I did not prepare myself for the weather properly.

And it was 2 degrees.

The day started well enough with a coach tour around Paris, seeing different things like the Ritz where Princess Diana stayed before she died, the Lourve, the Notre Dame, the National Assembly, the Hotel des Invalides, the Egyptian Obelisk which stands where the guillotine once did; and even where Napoleon went to military school and where he was buried. But no tour would be finished without a drop off at the Eiffel Tower. 

It was so foggy that we couldn't even see the top until later in the day, and only half of the elevators were running. We decided to skip the ride up to the top until we come back, and went with our new Contiki friends Jen and Kate to find a Cash Machine. Then it was onto the River Seine for a cruise to show us more of the sights. Because of all the melting snow and rain (presumably that is) we couldn't even go all the way down to the Notre Dame the river was swollen that much, so Justine and I headed into the Metro subway to catch a double decker train to the famous gothic cathedral. While on the train, 2 men were playing very French sounding music on the accordian. It was quite cultural to say the least.

I entered the cathedral with songs from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame stuck in my head, and left in a state of awed silence. The church is overwhelming. Every inch of it is simply amazingly crafted, and stunningly beautiful. I feel I could go there every day and still feel in awe of the power and presence it holds. We walked around the enormity (though are saving climbing the tower to another day) and ate lunch gazing at the back of the church. It was simply amazing.

Next off was a stop to the street Rue de Rivoli where we walked through the cold to find some warmer clothing. We finished at the Bastille station and a monument I presume stands where the prison once did, then it was onto the Metro to the other end of the street where we did some shopping at H&M. 

Feeling overwhelmed and having had very little sleep the night before, we decided that it was time to leave Paris for now and put everything on our to-do list for a few weeks. We rested up in the hotel before getting on the bus at 8.30pm to head off to the O Sullivans bar and club where Contiki had organised us free entry for New Years Eve.

Situated in the Montmartre, exactly next to the Moulin Rouge, we (that's us, Jen, Kate, Steph, another Kate, and Tiffany) were able to leave the club at 11 to walk up to Sacre Coeur where we saw the new year in eating Nutella crêpes and watching the Eiffel Tower light up between the people and the fog. The French were setting off their own fireworks in the street (one hit Justine on the back of the leg but I think she's going to live!) and it was simply amazing to hear the calls of Bonne Année as we wandered down the cobbled streets of Montmartre.

It was an amazing experience, despite the crowds and only being able to catch a glimpse of the tower for a minute. But the cultural experience is something I will never be able to replace.

 

Bonne Année everyone!

Contiki: Day One (London to Paris)

- Elise

I’ve come to the conclusion that the people in the hostel hate us. Not only do they bang on the door in the middle of the night and wake us up at odd hours playing musical beds, but we then had to wake up before 7am, pack our bags and get going to the Contiki Basement to meet up with our Winter Wanderer tour. I hope we woke the rude ones up! We caught our first London cab (which was marked thank you) and arrived in the Royal National Hotel only a few minutes late.

With 7 Contiki tours leaving this morning, it was a little bit hectic to figure out where to sign in. Thankfully we found out tour manager Megan and our bus driver Steve, then it was off into Coach A.

We drove out of London where Justine and I caught our first sight of the River Thames, including the London Eye and Big Ben, then it was driving for 2 hours before we arrived at the Dover port. There we saw, as Steve put it, “the most overrated attraction in England”; the white cliffs of Dover. Unfortunately it was too foggy outside to see Dover castle as we motored past, or anything past the PnO ferry that was taking us to Calais.

Just under 2 hours on the ferry and we managed not to be sick, then it was another 2 hour drive to our first service stop. As we went we saw little patches of snow scattered across various fields and town, until they eventually extended into fields of white ground blending into the fog. We drove past the Canadian war memorial (which was too far away from the road to see in the fog) and through parts where the Battle of the Somme took place. Some of it was so picturesque you could barely imagine how many soldiers lost their lives here, but then we would drive past another war memorial and see the graves stretched out in the snow.

After a quick service stop we were back on the road to Paris, arriving at the Holiday Inn just over an hour later. It’s amazingly strange to be in a country where not everything is written in English. I keep trying to read information books or maps and find that I struggle to understand a single word of French.

We settled in our room (the best we’ve had yet. It has a window and a HUGE bathroom!) then headed onto the Champs-Elysees to see a cabaret show at Lido. We drove through the busiest roundabout in Paris, around the Arc De Triomphe, then down the beautifully lit Champs-Elysees. There we go to see the largest Louis Vutton store in Paris, which has been classified as a fashion museum, and strangely had a pirate flag waving above it. Lido is one of the oldest cabaret houses, and we happened upon the end of the 100 year anniversary of the Bluebell Girls.

A three course meal ensued, though the waiter was a little nonplussed about how little salmon everyone ate at entrée, while jazz music played in the background. We had roast chicken for mains and a chocolate mousse cake for dessert, then it was time for the show to begin.

It is astounding the type of effort that goes into these shows. The costumes are so incredibly elaborate while only being on stage for a few minutes. There were huge sets that would move around with the stage, including an elephant, ice skating rink, fountain, hotel and even a live dressage horse. There were a light, comic and rope climbing act (where I definitely caught an eyeful of the man twisting around on the ceiling) and everything was so meticulously planned and perfected it was almost hard to believe.

Paris is simply amazing, and I can’t wait to see more tomorrow.

London

- Elise

London isn't as cold as either of us expected it to be. Probably because inside all the buildings the heaters are blaring so it's impossible to find a stable heat. Inside = hot. Outside = cold. Hot, cold, hot, cold; I feel like Katy Perry. Now feel my wrath from afar as that gets stuck in your head!

Due to the heat (and possibly the steet light outside our window...or the time difference) Justine and I woke up at an ungodly hour and were able to shower without waiting. There was just one catch. You know those taps you push in that eventually turn themselves off? The showers were like that. Very inconvenient...

However this allowed us to make the most of our only day in London before being shipped off to Europe. We spent a productive morning on the computers, before walking towards the Contiki Basement, and subsequently Russell Square. It was there that we found SQUIRREL! Yes, quite literally, there were squirrel's everywhere and I have decided that I want one. The only problem is customs...

We also managed to find several London icons such as the red bus and red phone booths, which both seemed to have semi-naked women on them. An interesting image for your city, but whatever floats your boat.

After this we organised our Sim cards at the Contiki Basement and headed to sample some famous Brittish cuisine...McDonalds. Then it was a trip to Kings Cross station, where the attendant was not at all surprised by us asking about Platform 9 3/4. Judging from the que, I believe he may have had that question before. Unfortunately Justine and my owls seem to have been lost in the weather, so we were not able to pass through for the second semester. My charms work will surely be affected.

We were after a few more things so we visited Tesco's and headed to Westfield London to do some shopping. Justine and I have come to the conclusion that Westfield is bigger than Chadstone, and judging from the existence of both a Lego and Disney store, highly superior as well. It was simply beautiful, but far too hot inside (I know, it's supposed to be winter right?) so we left earlier than expected to head off to Contiki to check in for tomorrow's tour.

We've walked over far too much of London without seeing a lot of the main attractions today, and my feet are starting to disagree with me. No snow yet, but we've entertained ourselves with a couple of choice signs found on the streets of London. We hope you enjoy them too.

Singapore to London

- Elise

I was wondering why I was feeling so disorientated in our Singapore hotel room last night when I finally realised at around 4am. It had no windows. Justine had already told me about this, but in my groggy and tired state I didn't really realise until my alarm went off at 8.30 and there was no light. At all.

After I'd had a cold shower, Justine figured out how to turn the hot water on. I'm glad I'm travelling with someone who has at least some common sense. However, we did have a 200ml bottle of Bailey's that we couldn't take over to London with us. There was no other choice; we just had to have a nip before breakfast! Then it was off to the airport again for the dreaded 14 hour flight.

As I mentioned yesterday, Changi airport is huge. And not only that, it's still decorated with beautiful Christmas decorations and displays. Worth the visit I think, even if we did rock up 3 hours early, forgetting that we didn't actually have any baggage to check in.

After some aimless wandering we finally found what we were looking for; food. Ah Burger King, I've always wondered how you differ from Hungry Jacks, and now I know. I miss Hungry Jacks bacon. Real bacon, that melts in your mouth as your chew and is more than a wafer thing piece of crunch.

After some more duty free shopping (thankfully I wasn't the only one who bought something) we hopped on our flight which, to our delight, was not full. Why is this delightful you ask? Because Justine and I got to have an entire 3-seater row to ourselves, that's why. Ah the leg room, the relative comfort, both the window and aisle seat!

In no time the flight was over...wait, what am I talking about, it took freakin forever! Even comfort couldn't make it THAT good. But we touched down in London alive and well, managed to get ourselves into the country and caught a train to the city. Again, I took us in the wrong direction, but we eventually found the Clink hostel after at least 30 minutes of lugging our suitcases around the dark, damp streets of London.

And now it's off to bed in our mixed dorm room, with our little metal bunkers and hopefully people who do not snore. Hopefully, we'll make it out of this one alive.

PS> Happy Birthday Rachel!

Melbourne to Singapore

- Elise

It's somewhat amazing that this time last year we were worrying about paying off one tour, let alone embarking on a 59 day journal around half of Europe. For me, it still feels too surreal. We did the early start, the check in, the teary goodbye, and the painful flight. But sitting in this Singapore hotel room contemplating Justine and I sharing the first of many double beds, it doesn't feel quite real.

We were seen away by a party of 8 this morning (4 Mackie's, 3 Hughan's and a Daniel) as we trotted through the gate. I was prompty frisked while Juz stood and giggled, followed by an insane purchase of delicious duty-free alcohol.  Kudos goes to Singapore Airlines; your airplane meals actually taste like real meals. And yes mother, we both had a Singapore Sling. The man next to us befriended Justine and we struck up a conversation about Singapore and the best places to visit, which has turned out to be quite useful. But there is something about watching the clouds fly beneath you and the coast line fade as you leave your country for the first time, that conversation just cannot replace.

Touching down in Singapore was another thing. Changi is huge. Huge. And rather clean. I may have had a slight spasm upon arriving when I realised I was stepping foot in my first foreign country. A taxi brought us to the Joo Chiat Fragrance Hotel, which is rather nice despite the aforementioned bed sharing. A few flight hours, humid weather and sleeping in only t-shirts is just one way to push your friendship to the limit!

After scouring the map, we headed out into the sweaty weather to find the train station and go to the Night Safari. We'd even found a 7/11 and bought Taco flavoured Doritos (quite like Cheese Supreme) before I realised I'd taken us in the wrong direction. Poor Juz then had to wait another 20 minutes while I bought a singlet top and shorts, which the sales lady insisted I keep trying until I found a pair that fit over my comparitively gigantic Western thighs. I even wore Justine's shoes, an interesting proportion killer.

Then it was off to the train station, onto the MRT system (Myki, you need to learn how trains work) and onto the 138 bus to the Night Safari. Unfortunately by this stage it was getting late (try 10pm Australian time) and Justine was unwell, so after watching a fire display and lining up for 20 minutes, we caught a taxi home to sleep until tomorrow's adventure.

Singapore has been an interesting experience, though strangely underwhelming because I haven't quite realised I've left yet.
Hopefully London will be different.