France

July 16, 2010

Fine French Wine

I was really sad to leave Spain as I had completely and utterly fallen in love with San Sebastian that was until I got to Bordeaux and Tours and re-fell in love with France. Oh dear I can be such a country slut at times but when there are beautiful old buildings, patisserie, wine tours and cute little bars its hard not to fall in love with a new city.

I arrived in Bordeaux at about 12pm which was great because it meant that I had an extra half day to explore the city as I was only spending two nights there. Unfortunately we could not check in straight away because our rooms weren’t ready so after dumping my bag reception I planned on going for a wander. Have a walk around is the best way to  orientate yourself so I had a bit of wander down the main road, along the river and up back to my hostel.

When in Bordeaux do as the French do and drink wine – so I arranged a winery tour for the next day.  I decided on a winery tour of two wineries in the Bordeaux region. The first winery was pretty modern and we got a guided tour by a Frenchman that spoke English. We got to see the vines, the barrel room, the bottle room and then got the chance to taste five of the wines that they produce while snacking on cheese and crackers. To be honest it was slightly boring as there was such a big group it was hard to hear especially with the heavy French accent. The wines were good but as they were all red wine I was slightly disappointed as I much prefer white. I’m also a bit of a dork when it comes to wine tasting as was evident when people were swirling and sniffing and talking about ‘woody undertones’ and ‘fruity flavours’. I was just standing there trying to not think about all the red wine that was involved in all the sangria which turned into all those hangovers.

We then headed to the second winery which was more of what I was expecting as it was by a river in a really old classic building. It was more exposed brick and old furniture and typical beautiful scenery where as the other one was more modern. This winery was run by a family and the little old French lady that toured us around did not speak a word of English so we had a translator. This was fun for about five minutes until I realised the tour would take twice as long. At this place we got a chance to try some rose but once again was mostly reds which I couldn’t stomach.

Bordeaux had been a great host and I loved my visit although I think its much better suited to those who know more about wine!

 

June 28, 2010

Nice to be in Nice

I had been really excited about this place because it was on the French Riviera which meant days at the beaches. Turns out Nice is actually pretty scummy. There is a really high theft rate so the tour guide had to guard the doors of the coach to make sure no one went on there to steal stuff while we were getting out bags off. He walked us down to a little hotel that was two stars and I would have to say it wasn’t even that.  Considering it was only for three nights we figured we could manage but when your in an area that is famous for being glamourous its hard not to be disappointed.

Our first day in Nice we decided to take the train over to Monaco. It was about a 20 min train ride that only cost €6 so it was well worth a visit. It is the second smallest country in the world and it takes the average person 56 minutes to walk from one side of the other. Once we arrived there we walked along the water front checking out all the beautiful old buildings, the luxury yachts and the flashy cars. Caroline was in car heaven randomly yelling ¨omg there is a Ferrari” and “look a Lambourgini” while I was just like “woooo a shiny black car”. We passed the famous casino (that you have to pay €10 just to get in the door – we definately passed on that one) and saw all these people dressed up to the nines, chucking the keys to the Ferrari at the valet and walking through the door. We thought the crowd must be for a wedding or something. Turns out it was a graduation ceremony. What a place to have a graduation! It makes where I had mine look like a crack den. It was fun doing a bit of people watching around this area but we soon got pretty hot and hungry so we headed down to the beach to check out somewhere to eat.

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June 15, 2010

Paris – take two

My second time in Paris was less of a whirlwind then the 1.5 days I had spent there on Topdeck. This time it was our first stop on a 2 month trip through Europe and while we were doing Busabout – it meant more time to do things our way. Since Caroline hadn’t been to Paris before I kind of left it up to her to plan our itinerary and I’ve got to say she planned a pretty good one.

The first two days we were in Paris we spent at Disneyland. It was a pretty good way to break up the historical and sightseeing stuff that I had spent ages doing and that we were both about to embark on. When we got there I was like a kid all over again. I got so excited there was so much do – ¨Do I go on a ride? Do I go find Mickey for a photo? Do I buy Minnie Ears? Do I get some fairy floss?” Ahhh I was so excited. Luckily for me Caroline is a pro at Disney theme parks and she divised a plan to get us through the two parks. We had so much fun doing all the old school rides like the tea cups and story rides and then moving onto more excited adventure rides like the Indiana Jones rollercoaster and the twilight zone haunted hotel. We had a suger high after eating candy apples and pigged out on junk food for lunch. We saw the parade and got to see all the little kids dressed up as the princesses and had heaps of fun.

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The last day in Paris we managed to have the best luck. We headed off to see the Lourve which was free because it was the first Sunday of the month but once we arrived at the metro station it was pouring down rain and we didn’t bring our umbrella. So we were a bit caught – should we go back and get it? buy one? do this the next time we are here? But we decided to make a run for it and ended up running right into the side entry, straight down the stairs and right into the foyer without delay. We quickly got the book as a guide and made our way to the Italian portraits. We had a bit of a look around before decided to get the Mona Lisa out of the way. I was happily surprised with her because she was bigger than I had thought and we were lucky enough that it wasn’t too crowded yet so we got to have a good look without being pushed and shoved. After that we visited the Napoleon Apartments which made me drool over the beautiful furnishings and elaborate decorations. After two hours we were a little bit over the crowds so we made our way to the Eiffel Tower.

It was nice to be up the Tower in the day time as last time I was there at night. It was a little bit rainy and foggy so the view wasn’t the best but it is still one of my favourite things about Paris. After a hot chocolate up the top and a bit of a wander in the park nearby we headed back to the hotel to rest our feet. That night we decided to head up to the top of the Sacre Cour and see it both in the daylight and at night time. Luckily for us our metro tickets worked on the funicular railway so we didn’t have to charge up the steps twice. The second time we were up there at night we timed it so we could see the Eiffel Tower light up. I’ve been to 15 countries in two months and seen some amazing things but the sight of the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night still takes my breath away and will always be one of the highlights of my trip.