-The high speed train makes you a tad queasy. It goes something like 200 mph. We went from London to Paris in 2 1/2 hours which would take 6 hours to drive.
- Croissants and pain au chocolat are amazing.
- Most people speak a bit of English, but it is a lot better to know some French (street signs, telephones are not in English at all).
- Paris is expensive. I will reiterate Paris is bloody expensive.
- Today wasn't a long day, because it was starting to rain and I don't really feel like getting ill.
- I went to Champs Elysees which is incredibly crowded.
- The Mona Lisa is quite small, only because the paintings beside it were 20 feet tall. So it's unfair. There were crowds that just went to see the Mona Lisa and left.
- Liberty Leading the People was beautiful. There were artists in the museum reproducing the paintings before our very eyes.
- Some Parisiens are rude, but they are a lot nicer and more helpful if you try to speak a bit of French. Just like the French back at home :P I find that a lot of French are amused that I try, and get the wrong verbs.
- I took the free walking tour here too. Totally worth the money :P Though like the other free tour, you are expected to tip.
- I walked up the Eiffel Tower. 668 Stairs. Booyah. Its only 3 Euros to walk up it, its 12 to take the elevator. The view walking up is totally worth the tiredness.
- Paris is a beautiful city and the food is expensive, but they use REAL stuff. Not the preservative filled crap we have. Eat Provencal Sandwiches. Mmmm.
- Take most of the day off for Versailles. There are a lot of grounds to cover and even missed some of it due to extreme fatigue :P Versailles is 25 Euro but worth every penny. Audio guide is quite useless and silly. Hall of Mirrors is a must see.
- There will be lines everywhere. No way to avoid it.
- To those who have young kidlets, there isn't much of a point in taking them. They will not appreciate that much. In fact, they will complain about being dragged around to boring stuff.
- The Metro is very extensive, but once you get on it, it's fairly simple. The prices are fair too.
- St Christophers INN in Paris is very nice too :D
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
CHEERIO LONDON et AL!
I think that perhaps my expectations for this city were way too high and thats why they were not met. The best times I had were when I left the city. The list of places visited were
-Buckingham Palace and the Changing Guard
- Westminster Abbey
- Big Ben
- Tower of London (very cool)
- Hampton Court ( I cried like a baby)
- Piccadilly Circus
- Leicester Square (Lester) :P
- Trafalgar Square
- Hyde Park
- Stratford Upon Avon
- Warwick Castle
- Oxford
- Wanderings randomly around the city.
Ladies, you will find that British men are NOT shy when they want to pick you up.
The teeth thing is not a myth. Overall British people have way worse teeth than North Americans. As a rule at least. Though, I have seen many a dental office around.
Football is like a religion here, people cry fight and riot when theres a loss. I witnessed it during the Chelsea vs. Manchester United match.
People in your hostel will have sex in the room. No way to avoid it.
Pick a hostel with restaurant in it, there are many a times where you want a HOT meal. Like yesterday, when it was raining all day.
Service people in Britain don't tend to participate in small talk. Don't be offended if they don't do it. If they do, they are foreigners likely. But if you are lost ask an old British man. They always helped me :P
Travelling alone has its perks meaning that I can do what I want, but then I don't always have people willing to come with me.
So my final thought on London is that you only really need a couple days there.....then LEAVE to go to Oxford or other towns that have way more character.
-Buckingham Palace and the Changing Guard
- Westminster Abbey
- Big Ben
- Tower of London (very cool)
- Hampton Court ( I cried like a baby)
- Piccadilly Circus
- Leicester Square (Lester) :P
- Trafalgar Square
- Hyde Park
- Stratford Upon Avon
- Warwick Castle
- Oxford
- Wanderings randomly around the city.
Ladies, you will find that British men are NOT shy when they want to pick you up.
The teeth thing is not a myth. Overall British people have way worse teeth than North Americans. As a rule at least. Though, I have seen many a dental office around.
Football is like a religion here, people cry fight and riot when theres a loss. I witnessed it during the Chelsea vs. Manchester United match.
People in your hostel will have sex in the room. No way to avoid it.
Pick a hostel with restaurant in it, there are many a times where you want a HOT meal. Like yesterday, when it was raining all day.
Service people in Britain don't tend to participate in small talk. Don't be offended if they don't do it. If they do, they are foreigners likely. But if you are lost ask an old British man. They always helped me :P
Travelling alone has its perks meaning that I can do what I want, but then I don't always have people willing to come with me.
So my final thought on London is that you only really need a couple days there.....then LEAVE to go to Oxford or other towns that have way more character.
Archive: London
Natassia's EuroTip Number One: If you are taller than 5'2 do not use Air Transat. Unless you want intense suffering.
2: If airports offer shuttles to your hostel/hotel. Take it. It's worth every penny and less aggravation. :D
3: Airplane food still blows.
Addendum
4: FREE tours are AWESOME. Well by free I mean theres no fee outright, but you are expected or hoped to give tips to the tour guide. But that means that they work hard for their tips.
5: There are a lot of loud loud stupid people in hostels... Bring ear plugs if you are a light sleeper.
6:St Christophers Inn is great. Cannot complain so far. Except that someone (points at self) shorted the fuse, and they haven't been able to fix it yet, so my first day pictures will blow.
7: Marmite (Yeast Extract) is disgusting.
8: Pimms Cocktail is GREAT :D
9: Warwick Castle is GREAT :D BEAUTIFUL views. As well as the whole medieval thing.
10: Oxford and Stratford upon Avon are really nice towns and worth the visit. Though iwth Stratford basically its just the whole Shakespeare house thing. But the FUDGE is GREAT :D
11: Buy good walking shoes.
12: You can drink pretty much anywhere.
13: You are always within 2 feet of an Aussie.
14: Everything shuts down at like 9pm save for pubs (which usually close at midnight) unless they are clubs. They close at like 5am (sweet).
15: There are always ignorant Americans around saying stupid things. Though quite honestly they are often our best ally, because of the whole North American thing.
16: Sunday= Most things are closed.
17:Sometimes it's lonely travelling alone, but you will usually find a friendly face. Though sometimes it takes a while to find one.
18: A lot of the meat in London seems rather gross and substandard.
19: Oyster card for the London underground is a must have, though sometimes the travelling day pass is much better it really depends on how far you intend to go in one day. The underground is broken into Zones and I mostly stay within Zone 1 and therefore it doesn't cost me much.
20: The offical England Dance makes me giggle. A bunch of old men hitting sticks against other sticks.
2: If airports offer shuttles to your hostel/hotel. Take it. It's worth every penny and less aggravation. :D
3: Airplane food still blows.
Addendum
4: FREE tours are AWESOME. Well by free I mean theres no fee outright, but you are expected or hoped to give tips to the tour guide. But that means that they work hard for their tips.
5: There are a lot of loud loud stupid people in hostels... Bring ear plugs if you are a light sleeper.
6:St Christophers Inn is great. Cannot complain so far. Except that someone (points at self) shorted the fuse, and they haven't been able to fix it yet, so my first day pictures will blow.
7: Marmite (Yeast Extract) is disgusting.
8: Pimms Cocktail is GREAT :D
9: Warwick Castle is GREAT :D BEAUTIFUL views. As well as the whole medieval thing.
10: Oxford and Stratford upon Avon are really nice towns and worth the visit. Though iwth Stratford basically its just the whole Shakespeare house thing. But the FUDGE is GREAT :D
11: Buy good walking shoes.
12: You can drink pretty much anywhere.
13: You are always within 2 feet of an Aussie.
14: Everything shuts down at like 9pm save for pubs (which usually close at midnight) unless they are clubs. They close at like 5am (sweet).
15: There are always ignorant Americans around saying stupid things. Though quite honestly they are often our best ally, because of the whole North American thing.
16: Sunday= Most things are closed.
17:Sometimes it's lonely travelling alone, but you will usually find a friendly face. Though sometimes it takes a while to find one.
18: A lot of the meat in London seems rather gross and substandard.
19: Oyster card for the London underground is a must have, though sometimes the travelling day pass is much better it really depends on how far you intend to go in one day. The underground is broken into Zones and I mostly stay within Zone 1 and therefore it doesn't cost me much.
20: The offical England Dance makes me giggle. A bunch of old men hitting sticks against other sticks.
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