Only need to be asked once BigK.
I love her e-mails and not just cos I'm her mum. I thought everyone would LOVE it because it's about France. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
"Well, after leaving the champagne houses of Epernay we drove to Versailles where we had one full day to explore the gardens of the palace which are so vast you can get lost in them. We also managed to meet up with the friends we had made in Tuscany and they cooked us a full French meal, complete with cheeses and red wine <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Dropped off Perry the Peugeot in the middle of the financial district of Paris and began our car free leg of the trip (which meant a lot of throwing out from the car – you can acquire a lot of crap in 4 months!!) 16,000kms and no accidents – even in Paris! Our taxi driver decided it would be a good idea for us to go around the Arc de Triomphe … I just shut my eyes and held my breath. Paris was really pretty and we spent our first full day walking around for 5 hours and seeing all the sights from Bastille to the Arc de Triomphe, Effiel Tower, Notre Dame, Louvre…….
Our friends, C**** "I have to watch the rugby" C***** and J***** came over from London for a couple of days to have a few bevvies and enjoy the sights. Had a fantastic night out with them and stumbled onto a little fairground in the middle of Bastille where we challenged each other to fooseball….A little worse for the wear the next day and A*** had the flu but we still managed to fit in a trip up the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.
Sampled some escargot which pretty much just tasted like garlic, but fun to try. Also met up with a cousin from NZ and her French husband who took us up to the Sacre Coeur at night which was really beautiful and fully lit up. They have 2 children who go to a French school and speak in bursts of French and English – so cute!
Thought it might be a good idea to try and get my hair cut in Paris – hmmmm not that easy when the hairdresser speaks no English and uses clippers to cut your hair……
Left our little apartment and met up with A****'s parents at the airport before the next leg of the trip….. Croatia. It was really lovely to see A*****'s parents after such a long time!! First stop was Split where we managed to get in some sightseeing and taste some of the local cuisine (lovely meat and potatoes and a 3.5kg fish!) and wine – which is TERRIBLE and needs ice cubes to be drinkable. From here we picked up our catamaran for a week sailing around some of the islands.
Bliss! No driving, swimming off the boat every morning and having run ins with our skipper Nick who seemed to think that I was his beer slave and that A**** was the second mate. He always seemed to have "connections" wherever we moored and chose the nicest restaurants to eat at!! He was very funny though and by the end of the week it was sad to see "skipper Nick" go!! We even had a go at trying to catch calamari late one night and ended up catching an octopus that squirted water at us and stuck to the hull and ripped off Nicks lure! YUCK
After a week of pure relaxation (and happy hour cocktails every night) on the boat we docked at Dubrovnik which has a very scenic walled city. Had some pretty crappy weather, but managed one day where we could walk the city walls and take in the beautiful vista! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> From here we caught the overnight ferry to Bari on the Adriatic coast of Italy. As it was overnight we splashed out on a tiny cabin with bunk beds…he he…and climbed over the Lonely Planet back packers who had spread their sleeping bags on the floor. If a ferry wasn't bad enough we then had a 7.5 hour train to catch to Rome..ahh the joys of travelling.
Tired and scratchy we arrived at our hotel just behind the Coliseum! Only thing to do in that situation is grab gelati – ah chocolate chilli that burns the back of your throat!!!
Showed A***** the sights and sounds of Rome in all its glory…….with the tiny old nana beggars who shuffle in front of you then stand up behind the coliseum and have a smoke… to the gladiators who grab their crotches and say "your boyfriend/husband he would like a photo,yes??"...no!.......and of course the pedestrian crossings with no little green man so you have to hold your breath and hope that scooters, cars, buses don't hit you………..Rome?!………
Louise "I like to feed homeless people’s dogs" H**** came to meet us for 2 nights which was REALLY fun. Her first introduction was the taxi ride from the airport which is worth the 50 euros as it’s like a theme park ride, minus the seat belts! A***** enjoyed showing off his new found knowledge and we took her inside the coliseum (which was free as it was a Jewish holiday – go figure), St Peters (rosary beads!), Ara Pacis, Roman Forum, Spanish Steps, Via Del Corso, threw our coins in the Trevi Fountain (and watched a homeless man swimming in the fountain and collecting up everyone’s wishes) and that's all before 1pm!
We farewelled Louise this morning and hopped on a plane to Greece where we are now in Athens and enjoying a different country again! Great shops with plenty of shoes and jewellery everywhere and old Greek men playing with their worry beads <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Off for a look around the Acropolis tomorrow and more Greek salad…."
