21st Birthday Present - a Trip to Paris!!

Saturday, November 29, 2008
Day 1.
So we got up at 6.30 and got to Brighton station to catch the 8am train to London then the tube to Kings Cross St Pancras station for our Eurostar at 10.15. We had a coffee at The EuroStar station then took the 2 hours train ride under the English Channel to Paris, France.
We then had to navigate our way to our hotel, which wasnt too far from a metro station - kelly did most of the navigating since i was too confused with it all in French.
We made it to the hotel, dumped our bags then went out and walked to Galeries Lafayette - a massive mall...
On the way there we seen some wicked cool buskers outside the opera. They were playing claranets and trumpets and dancing and singing!!
On the walls outside the mall they were filled with dancing little toys and things. There was so many people there! We only went to the toy level, and then left and it took us nearly 2 hours, we then walked up the the Place de la Concorde and seen the eye, which was only there for the christmas period. We then walked along the Champs-Elysees and seen all the christmas markets... i bought some gloves and we both tried mulled wine. Kelly couldnt finish hers! It was really strong in flavour and tasted too much like alcohol!
We went to catch the metro back to the hotel, but had to wait nearly an hour to get on cos the the trains that stopped were too overfull and the platform was so crowded. It was scary!
Afterwards we went back to the hotel, got changed and went out to a traditional little French resturant. Where Kelly had French Onion Soup for her starter and duck as her main. And i had Duck Pate to start and salmon as a main. It was really yummy.
We then wandered around - we were gonna find a wine bar or pub or something but by that time we were exhausted and couldnt be bothered. So just went back to our mini hotel room and crashed out!!


Sunday, November 30, 2008
Day 2, we got up relatively early and went to starbucks for breakfast.
We then walked to Fat Tire Bike Tours and as we walked past the Eiffel Tower it was almost completley covered in cloud!
We got our bikes and with 2 others and our tour guide we biked around the city of Paris, we spent 3 hours biking, and got to see most of the sites and learnt a bit of history about them all. The rain held off which was good. It was freezing cold. But really worth it!
we got to see The Eiffel Tower , Napoléon's Tomb , Louvre Museum, Musée D'Orsay , Tuileries Gardens, Champs-Elysées , Arc de Triomphe , Ecole Militaire, Rodin Museum, Les Invalides, Alexander III Bridge, Grand and Petit Palais, Place de la Concorde.
We had a late lunch - french onion soup. Then went up to the Muse du Louvre and seen the Mona Lisa and Aphrodite sculpture. We stayed there until well a fter it closed and left when we were being kicked out. It was a massive museum. We only did one floor and it took an hour and a half.
We then walked home and got changed and walked up to The Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. It was so awesome - with all the signed guitars and photos on the wall. We had burgers and chips for dinner. Then walked about an hour up to the Moulin Rouge. It was good to see it. We didnt go to a show - was too expensive. But walked down the road and passed lots of sex stores and shops.
We then caught a cab home and crashed out about midnight!

Monday, December 1, 2008
Day 3... So we got up early, and again it was raining - not heavy but still rainy.
Starbucks for breakfast again :)
We went to the Arc de Triomphe which was such a good view of the city! The worlds largest roundabout, with 12 entrances/exits. And no insurance company will insure your car if you go on the roundabout.
We then went to Notre Dame Cathedral and walked around the lanes and caught the metro to the Eiffel Tower. We went up to the very top. Luckily the top part is all enclosed cos it was very windy and cold.
We then went and had a massive lunch at another french resturant. I had escargot (snails) - i had to have them once in Paris!
We then had a mad mission back to the hotel to collect our gear, then back to the metro then to the main station and on the Eurostar with 5 mins to spare.
The journey home was 2 3/4 hours. But we got home around 10pm, exhuasted!

My Birthday DAY

(me outside of buckingham palace... back view)

Thursday 25th September 2008, My 21st birthday!

We caught the train into London, and went and did Buckingham Palace, and seen the state rooms and drawing rooms... didnt get to see the Queen tho.

We then walked up to Harrods, a huge department store for the rich. :)
We spent 2 hours wandering round, and only looked at the kids section, toys mainly, and clothes.. a baby stretch and grow, jus a standard one for cheapest price of 40 pound... which is around 100$ nz, and that was just the cheapest!!!
We also looked at the food section all the chocolates and cheese and wines and everything imaginable!
We had a quick look at the Gucci, and Dior handbags... tempted to buy a Dior handbag but they were a little bit expensive... 1900$ nz :)

we then walked out behind Harrods and walked past all the designer stores, Dior, Chanel, Gucci, Fendi... didnt see any big stars tho.

Later we went out for dinner down in Brighton, and i recieved the coolest present ever! A weekend away with Kelly in Paris! November the 29th... next thing to look forward to!

I had the best 21st birthday and didnt expect anything but got so much!! Cant believe it all!!

First Week in London

Friday, September 12, 2008
So today i took the train into Victoria and meet Craig (whom id never met) at the train station and from there we caught the tube out to Cannons Park (10 mins from Wembley) I meet 2 out of 10 flat mates and we started drinking. Later we headed into Leicester Square in the city. It was awesome at night! We went to a few different bars, mainly the ones that handed out tokens for a free shot! We caught the last tube home at 1am and crashed out. Was a good into to a small part of the city!


Saturday, September 13, 2008
So... today we caught the tube out west to Shepards Park to watch the All Blacks Vs Australia in the Tri Nations. We went to an aussie/kiwi pub called The Walkabout. After pushing our way through a couple hundred people we started drinkning. (11am) My new fav drink is Cider.... so much nicer than beer!! And much easier to drink! It was an awesome environment to be in, and when the All Blacks took back the lead and bet the Aussies all the kiwi (3/4 of the pub) went crazy! I meet some other guys from NZ (pukekohe) so spent most of the day drinking with them. It was an awesome day.
We got home bout 7pm, i wanted to go out again but the boys were way to drunk to do anything. so we sat around and drank, not my ideal say night but was fun anyway.

Sunday, September 14, 2008
Today we caught the tube to Camden town which is where they have huge markets every day... think VictoriaPark Markets but 10x bigger. And you barta with them to get a good price. :)
Later we went into the city and went to see the London Eye, and the Big Ben
And we went to the park next to the thames river for a festival, we sort of stumbled across it, so went and sat down and had a beer and enjoyed the afternoon sun.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Today i went to Brent Cross Shopping Centre out by Edgeware, had a look round the shops then went into the city and walked down Oxford and Regent St, took me over an hour to do so cos there were so many people! Seen some of the designer stores... FCUK, Karen Millen etc.

Made my way down to Picadilly Circus then onto Trafaglar Square.
Was alot of walking in one day.
Trafglar square was so busy, would be awesome at night.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Today i went to the city and watched the changing of the guards ceremony outside of Buckingham Palace, i got there 45 minutes before hand just to get a good spot outside the gates. Was ok, a bit boring but at least ive done it now! :)
afterwards i walked up to Hyde Park and spent a few hours walking round the Park, is so huge.... i didnt realise how long i had been walking, so stopped for a hot dog and sat outside in the park and had lunch.
At about 2pm i went up the british museum and spent 3 hours wandering round there, its so big and there was so much to look at. I really love all the Egytpian stuff and the Greek Statues!
That night we missioned it across town to Brick Lane in East Acton. And the guys bargained with the resturant guys to get us 25% off our meal and a free round of drinks. I had some VERY spicy prawns as my entree and good old butter chicken with garlic naan for main. Was really yummy!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Headed home back to Brighton

France

Spent the week travelling around the Normandy region of France. Seen some awesome things and learnt some french too. Thanks to Kelly and Vaughan for taking me with them!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008
So day 1. We drove for 2 hours to Giverny to see the Monet gardens.
Claude Monet was an impressionist who in 1883 rented a house in the small village of Giverny and here he painted the famous water lilly.

Im not much of an arty person myself but walking around the gardens was pretty cool and got to see what he painted.

It was a nice day today too, but overcast but not too cold.

Also went to the French supermarket... was AWESOME! haha. they are so big and there is so much stuff, i spent ages browsing, not even knowing what i was looking at!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Day 2, The Normandy Beaches.

We travelled 2 hours up to Normandy along the coast. We went to the fish market first where we got fresh fish, scallops and oysters for our dinner that night.

The invasion to liberate northwest Europe began on June 6, 1944.
The Normandy beaches were chosen by planners because they lay within
range of air cover, and were less heavily defended.
US troops landed on Utah and Omaha beaches in the west whule British and Canadian troops landed at Gold, Juno and Sword beaches. These names are the code names for the beaches and are still used today

By the end of D-Day over 135,000 men had been bought ashore, with losses totalling around 10,000.

We then went on to see the American cemetry where over 9000 american soliders are buried. It was a huge cemetry and really well done.

We spent the afternoon looking around the cemetry and looking at all the grave stones.
Was a nice day. No rain today.

Thursday, September 4, 2008
Day 3.... Drove 3 hours to Mont Saint Micheal.
The history of Mont-Saint Micheal is thought to date back to 708, when Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, had a sanctury built on Mont-Tombe in honour of the Archangel.
Mont-Saint Micheal is a rocky tidal island in Normandy. At high tide the carparks next to the road are covered in sea water. The road is the only thing visible.

if you want to read more history on this huge castle go to
http://useit.vn/content/view/1362/336/lang,english/

We went to the neighbouring town of Orbec for dinner there was only 2 resturants open, we went to the Italian Pizzarier. Although it was Italian resturant the waiters were very much French.

When we got home this evening, we had some 8 legged visitors. 6 large light brown creepy spiders. Vaughan went on a mad mission to eradicate the buggers. Kelly and I were freaking out! SO GROSS!!!

Friday, September 5, 2008
Day 4... We drove to the outskirts of Paris to see the huge castle thats Versailles.
The Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles, France.
In French, it is known as the Château de Versailles. When the château was built, Versailles was a country village; today, however, it is a suburb of Paris. From 1682, when King Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in 1789, the Court of Versailles was the centre of power in Ancien Régime France. Versailles is therefore famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy that Louis XIV espoused.
futher reading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Versailles#History

We walked through the gardens.... which are huge! we spent all day there!

We went out for dinner this night, in Versailles. And i tried Escargot... snails. They were done in garlic butter and were really yummy.

Saturday, September 6, 2008
Drove 2 hours South To the Loire valley to visit a small town of Chartres.
Which has the greatest Gothic cathedral in Europe.
It was built in 1020
The cathedral was the most important building in the town of Chartres. It was the centre of the economy, the most famous landmark and the focal point of almost every activity that is provided by civic buildings in towns today
The cathedral has three large rose windows: one on the west front with a theme of The Last Judgment, one on the north transept with a theme of the Glorification of the Virgin, and one on the south transept with a theme of the Glorification of Christ.
Statistics
length: 130 m
width: 32/46 m
nave: height 37 meters;
width 16.4 m
Ground area: 10,875
Height of south-west tower: 105 meters
Height of north-west tower: 113 meters.
176 stained-glass windows

We had a look around the town, and had lunch, and i had escargots for lunch. On the way there i we stopped so i could post my postcards i had to test out my french as the lady spoke no english. so i hope they arrive ok.




Sunday, September 7, 2008
So today was our last day on France, we drove to the town of Rouen on our way to the ferry.

In France, between the hours of 2.30 and 4.30pm most shops are closed for siesta., and the resturants dont re-open until 7pm. And being Sunday no shops were open. so we went and had a look at another church, then went and had mussels for lunch, i was quickly put off my lunch after finding many small crabs throughout my mussels. I couldnt eat anymore after that.

The ferry ride home was ok, bit rough getting out of the harbour but smooth most of the way.
We arrived home about 7.30pm