Today is Dec 23th, a full 4+ months after the end of my trip. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Go shop, it's Boxing day!! And every other holiday and tradition that occurs around now.
So what the heck happened? It's all a fog, but a good thing that I took a billion pics (ok ... 2635 photos, give or take 2300) to reminded me of what happened and where we went on this Panoramic journey. I think I'll scribble a day's worth of stuff each day so this log should be a growing journal for about 28 days. Maybe I'll be adventurous and write more than one journal per day? Or maybe I won't.
Day T-1
Saturday, July 23
Since the trip hasn't really started, perhaps you could count this as Bonus footage!! Bye bye Miami - Hello London !!
I hop on board Virgin Atlantic Flight #6. Now isn't that an odd number for a flight ... a single digit. My return flight was Virgin Atlantic Flight #5. I guess they don't have that many routes/flights. Virgin Atlantic seems quite different from all the airlines I have been on in N. America. It seems like all the flight attendants could've been on the Contiki trip. By all appearances, the average age of the flight attendants was roughly 26 and I don't think I saw any that looked older than 32. Mostly female and the token male. Yup ... this flight troop really could've been a Contiki group. Ohhh ... and did I mention that all the female flight attendants looked smokingly hot!?!?!? Yes, this wasn't your average airline. This was Virgin Atlantic. Way to go Rich !! Hi 5's all the way.
The gourmet was pretty good on the flight ... I had 3 serving of the steak, because ... well just because I was hungry so I asked for more food - twice. They also give you a little travel kit which consists of eye shades or socks, tooth paste/brush, earplugs and some other odds and ends. There is also an envelope for donations for needy kids or something. If you can afford to fly, I think you can afford to at least toss your loose change in the envelopes. As for entertainment, there is a detachable control pad on your armrest that controls the video screen in front of you. You have the option to listen to music, watch movies, see real time flight status, play games, or play network games against other passengers on your flight. I saw Million Dollar Baby and it is indeed a very good movie - worthy of the Academy Awards that were bestowed on it. Then there was the Longest Yard w/ Adam Sandler -> what a shit flick, excruciatingly boring that it put me to sleep quick !!! According to Contiki, this is considered as Day 1 on the tour; Nice way to inflate your numbers. I think all flights from N. America are overnight flights. Miami to London is a little over 8 hours flying time and the plane departed at 7:30pm (Miami time). I think they served dinner at 9 pm (Miami time) and let you go to sleep afterwards. To get you adjusted to the time difference (-5 hours) you see sunrise only a few hours later and you are having breakfast 5 hrs after dinner. It is now 2 am Miami time and the sun is peering thru the shade upon all us weary travelers as we wake from our slumbers to eat some semblance of breakfast. We will be landing at 3:30 am Miami time or 8:30 am London time. Yawn ... it is now day 2.
Day 1
Sunday, July 24
London pics.
As mentioned in Day 0, the tour doesn't really begin until tomorrow, but Contiki has creative accountants mucking with the calendar. And so begins Day 2 and there is no Contiki in sight - I am still on a plane. It's too early in the morning for me still, but it's 9 am UK time. Yippee ... I get my one and only passport stamp. Actually, I get 2 stamps on my passport and they are both from UK - go figure. No EU passport stamps. Is England like a pseudo-EU country with their own currency (£)? While we are on the topic of currency, yes, there are a few currency exchange places in the airport that will be more than happy to take all sorts of paper currency and travellers checks, but at a cost. Ouch was that a cost. For $100 US, I receive £50 (receipt). Exchange rate on that day was 1US$ = £0.5755 which works out to 13% commission. So suggestion #1: use your ATM card for a better exchange rate, but contact your bank first to see what the commission charges are ... probably less than 13% I would guess. My bank was charging only 1% over the interbank rate. Look at the Pretour suggestions I mentioned.
Let's get to that hotel ... As everyone on our tour arrived from around the world (err, mostly Australia), it also happened to be 2 weeks after the July 7 London Bombings involving 3 Tube subways and a Double Decker Bus. Getting to the hotel would not be that easy. But things are back to normal now and getting to the hotel via the tube is a piece of cake, and you'll save 50£ cab/taxi ride. You get on Tube/subway at Heathrow (E1 on the map) and you get off at Russell Square (C5 on the map). It is one line, no transfers nor buses to take. Russell Square Tube stop is right in between the 2 Contiki London hotels (Imperial and Royal National) -Map. The pretour meeting, and the Basement are located at the Royal National. All tour coaches also depart from there as well.
Being dead tired, I crash out in my room only to be woken by the front desk informing me that my roommate is on his way up. Who is this kid? Now normally, you can get anyone as a roommate for that first night before the tour - they might be just ending their tour or they might begin a tour the next day - but not necessarily yours. So ends up that this guy is on the Panorama tour like myself. Cool. "So what keeps you busy ie: work/school?" and he replies. "I just quit my job." Shit - we are gonna get along just fine - I just quit my job too !!!
We meet the group for the pretour meeting and see complete strangers. All the tours are meeting at the same place at the same time so it's quite a jungle. More of a jungle the next morning when everyone has their luggage waiting for the weigh-in (20kg max). So what happens at this pretour meeting?
Later that night, we meander aimlessly in search of his buddies who are also in town. Apparently, there are Jack The Ripper walking tours that wander the various sites where Jack the Ripper found his victims and the various crime scenes. It's an interesting tour to kill (no pun intended) off the first evening. If you do this, take the one by the foremost authority on the subject, Donald Rumbelow:
- Your TM will ask for a voucher that comes with your Contiki docs/itinerary.
- You need to provide your passport number and insurance policy number.
- Perhaps a number to contact in case of emergency.
- Who has any dietary needs or allergies that the road crew must be aware of - special meals are requested in advance.
- If there are any other issue that you think the TM should be aware of, now is the time to bring it up.
- You will also be given a quick description of the daily routine and what time you need to be at the bus tomorrow morning.
- Beyond that, make an effort to introduce yourself to everyone. Perhaps go out for dinner.
- He's the author of the definitive book on the subject, the best-selling The Complete Jack the Ripper.
- He's the former Curator of the City of London Police Crime Museum.
- He's a two-time Chariman of the Crime Writers" Association.
- He's been the chief consultant for every major television programme and film on the Ripper over the past 20 years. Indeed he's appeared on several of those programmes, including one that recently aired in the United States. And he will be appearing in another one that's in the pipeline.
- Donald was the consultant for the recent Johnny Depp film on the Ripper, called "From Hell...". Indeed, Johnny came to London in order to go on a private Ripper walk with Don.
- And I hasten to add, Don's not some dry-as-dust academic...he's an ex-City of London Policeman who pursued a dual career as a crime historian. Which in effect means you're taken over some of the most famous crime scenes in the world by a law enforcement professional who just happens to be the world's leading expert on those particular crimes. Can't be bad.
- When Donald's Ripper Walk dates do get set out here they are definite but with the usual proviso about the "unforeseen" - i.e., the schedule is subject to Don's not coming down with the flu - or being hit by a bus!
- Donald's Ripper Walk goes at 7:30 pm from just outside the exit of Tower Hill Tube Stop.
Break time: shoot some Hoops (place cursor over paper, hold and release left mouse key - I got 20 so far)
Day 2
Monday, July 25
Paris pics.
Now the tour has started. We get our bags officially weighed-in. 20kg max. If you are over, then you will have to place some items in storage at the Contiki Basement. You could weigh your stuff the day before at the Basement. Or you could but the heaviest crap in your day bag since they do not weigh that. I recommend travelling as light as possible and 20 kg is boatload to carry when some hotels do not have lifts (or not enough elevators). Everyone passes w/ flying colors and we are off to Paris. First stop: the ferry ride across the English Channel. Once on the mainland, it's a good time to crack the ice and your TM (Tour Manager) will probably ask you to come to the front and introduce yourself. It'll take a few more days to figure out everyone's name. Being the only Canadian in this ragtag group, we don't stop at Vimy Ridge, but rather, we zoom by (at 100 kph) and catch a glimpse of the Canadian WW1 memorial (my pic from the bus; bottom RHS). Actually, the real reason we didn't stop is because:
In 2004 the memorial was closed for restoration work (satellite view of site under restoration - until google refreshes images), including general cleaning and the recarving of names. The statues will be moved off-site and also cleaned and restored. The restored memorial will be inaugurated on April 9, 2007, the 90th anniversary of the battle.Upon arrival at Paris, there's a quick bus tour of the sights before unloading our stuff at the hotel. Chow down on the included dinner at a restaurant a block away from the hotel - which was not that bad. The Contiki brochure says that you visit the Eiffel tower the next day, but I doubt that any tours visit it during the day, but rather during the evening. Time to update the brochure. No spoilers here so you'll have to find out for yourself. My roommate & I - we're both lazy asses - OK, I speak for myself - anyway, we're late for a large part of the group that heads out in search of a bar. No luck in trying to find the group after 1 hour of searching. Time to crash out, I'm still on Miami time. Roommate is on California time.
Break time: Tetris (I got 144 rows)
Day 3
Tuesday, July 26Today is a free day on our own in Paris. The only thing on the agenda is the optional (& costly) evening Dinner Cabaret show . The French CanCan. €105 for food and see some boobies - I think I'll pass (only because I've done it before). The coach ride into town has 2 stops after breakfast; one is at the Arc de Triomphe at one end of the Champs d'Élyse, and the other is at some Obélisque at the other end. So that almost seemed like a no-brainer. Maybe the tour manger organized it that way? Either get off at the famous Arc de Triomphe, or we can dump you off somewhere else out in the middle of nowhere. That's a surefire way of getting rid of us quick. One thing I've noticed is that there seems to be many Obélisques all over Europe. Actually, the route we took did cover much of the main tourist sights in Paris, from the Arc, up thru the white storefronts on Champs d'Élyse until the other end at the Obélisque de Luxor at Place de la Concorde. A nice stroll along the Sien river over to the next stop: Notre Dame cathedral. Since many didn't want to stand in line for the 1 hour to go up the Bell Tower (~€7), I was on my own. No probs. I am going regardless - it's not everyday I go to Paris. It is a long way up the 422 very narrow steps. 6:45pm is the last admission (it is very tiny up there). There is also a crypt which I did not know about. In case you are curious, the Crypt (€3.3) is open everyday from 10am til 6pm(Apr-Sept) or 5 pm(Oct-Mar), and there is a guided tour on the first Thursday of every month at 10:30am. I wonder if it's as good as the tour in St. Stephens in Vienna?
Seen the Bell Tower, now back to the hotel since it started to rain slightly. Today was probably not a good day. If people were gonna get hit by vehicles, I'd figure that London was probably your best bet. Driving on the other side of the road, etc. But everyone on tour survived London pretty well. Day 2 in Paris was another story. Paris went 1 for 3 in our group. Wynette was whacked by a bus and had to go for surgery. That effectively ended the tour for her and her husband. Poor girl. Same day, 6'2" Angela almost got hit if it went for her 6'3" hubby who yanked her away from the oncoming bus at the very last second. Then finally there was me coming back from Notre Dame. I saw 4 lanes of traffic and 3 of them were bumper to bumper in one direction. I figured the last lane was an express lane for car pooling. Oh boy was I mistaken. That last "empty" lane was for buses travelling in the opposite direction. If it weren't for another pedestrian who screamed at me just before I got creamed ... well I would've been road kill if it weren't for the Matrix-maneuver dodging the bus. So here's a lesson to you all: Look both ways before crossing the road. Period.
Since half went to the CanCan dinner, the other half searched for some fine cuisine in the red light district. We happened upon a little Italian restaurant and most every (mostly Aussies) sampled escargots for the first time. Michelle's reaction (as shown on the video) was indeed 'priceless'. Later that evening back at the hotel, the group gossiped and got to know each other more on the concrete steps outside. A complete stranger started to chill with us. Then disappeared. Then reappeared with 2 dozens beers. How cool is that !!!
Tidbit: Jim Morrison of the Doors is buried in Paris. Some other notables reside there as well.
Break time: Cube buster (4063927 pts)
Day 4
Wednesday, July 27
Chambord/Bordeaux/Carcassonne pics.
We didn't do the Louvre Museum yesterday, so we are sneaking it in today for those who wanna see it before we jet to Chambord which used to be retreat for French royalty. That previous link is the official link, but all the info is in French (and the English translation is all but non-existent), so if yer curious, you might wanna try this link instead. Not much time to do anything since we're here for only an hour (a common and recurring theme). So what is one hour good for? It adds up to taking a few exterior pics and grabbing a bite at the large outdoor food court. I think it may also have to do with the European driving laws mandating that commercial drivers (like our coach driver) must take a break after "x" hours of driving. It also makes for good filler in the Contiki catalog - woohoo !!! We see Chambord. If you do happen to have more than an hour's worth, it sounds like a pretty nice castle since it was for royalty. A cool feature of this castle besides for the splendor and beauty is its double double helix staircase. Yes, that's two double helices; this allows for a person to go up and another person to go down the staircase at the same time without ever meeting each other !! Maybe they had a lot of 1-way traffic on the staircase? Who knows?
Onwards to Bordeaux.
This is the famous wine region, although I personally didn't see any vineyards. In fact, I think I saw more warehouses and it seemed more industrial than anything else. No rolling hills with rows of fresh grapes anywhere. We have our included dinner at a ... what was it. We were the only customers there. Well there must've been a kitchen somewhere since we were served food - although the wine was extra (nice touch for the famous wine region - thought it'd be free dammit!!!). If you do go around late July, and it was swelteringly hot, try to get to a table close to a window all the time. I don't think that Europeans have discovered air conditioning yet. Food was OK. Our tour guide mentioned that if we did want to visit the area, then walk up the street for about 2km until you get to the church - OR - you could just take it easy and relax for the evening.
I'm wondering how to paint this picture. What we've seen so far of Bourdeaux looks very uninspiring. We are staying at the Holiday Inn which is modern. Dinner was not one would consider as "a gastronomic delight" and it was friggin hot outside. Crashing out seemed like a very nice option. But we are in Bordeaux - and it can't be all gloom. So roommate & I head towards the church as our TM had described. Maybe I'll give my roommate a name. How about Allen? Yeah ... that sounds good since that is his name. The scenery along the way to the church is ... mundane ... this town going downhill very fast. Then we pass an odd shaped structure with upside-down-wooden-acorn-looking structures about 4 storeys high. What is it supposed to be?? Well it turns out that that is the Court House. Wow. This is quite interesting. Ahh, there's the church off in the distance. Once we passed it, it was like night and day. This part of Bordeaux is beautiful. Old classical style buildings with marble stone walkways or cobble stone. There's a very modern tram running thru the area. Check out the pics ... this place is nice now !!! Thank goodness I didn't miss this. But they must've run out of funds when building beyond the church. This area of town of 2km x 2km is the Bordeaux that people come to see. So Allen and I wander around town looking for anyone in our group. Chances of finding anyone would seem close to nil. There are bars and restaurants everywhere, but somehow Contiki-sense kicked in and I was drawn to a bar that seemed oddly out of place. It looked like an English pub. What are the chances of an British-style pub in France ?!?!?! Lo and behold - fellow contikiers !!!! From here, we venture to another bar. Nice bartender. So I ask her a question in French (we are in France, remember) and she replies in English, but w/ a British accent. She's lived in Bordeaux for the last 5 years. Abby is her name. Shot after shot ... and more drinks ... and more shots from her own special concoction of unlabelled bottles. What an awesome time we had - in attendance - myself, Allen, Alyson and James. It was time for Abby to close up shop, but the party must go on and she directs us to the Cuban Bar. At 2 am (or was it 3 am?), that place seemed as spacious as a Tokyo subway car during rush hour. I didn't know it was physically possible to pack in that many human bodies into that crawlspace. How we made it to the bus the next morning is still a mystery to me ...
Break time: Red Barron
Day 5
Thursday, July 28
Barcelona pics.
We are headed to Barcelona with a lunch stop at Carcasonne, which is an restored medieval town surrounded by high fortress walls. Aside for the crowds, this is probably the most authentic medieval town - with the arrow slits in the castle walls and a courtyard where jousting competitions are reenacted. There's also a pretty gory Museum of Torture for those who can stomach it. Outside at the entrance of the castle was a fair maiden in a purple dress. Quite a pretty gal I must admit since quite a few of the guys were outside waiting for the rest of the Contiki gang to come out while admiring this pretty girl in purple.Upon arrival at Barcelona, we pay a visit to the Sagrada Familia which is Barcelona's most famous church (which seems will never be completed in my opinion). You see, they began construction on this not during that last century ... but the century before that!! 1882 to be precise. There's a guestimate that it *might* be done sometime in 2040'ish, but with all the siestas going on, I wouldn't bet my money on it. We are housed in the NH chain of Hotels, NH Cóndor to be precise. Wow ... what a nice hotel that was - especially the bathroom. Not the best hotel, but definitely way up there. An included dinner at the hotel and then a night on the town down Barcelona's famous Las Ramblas street. Beyond that, we cross the Ramble del Mar bridge to go clubbing at Maremagnum, a large shopping complex in the middle of the bay (pic) with a dance club on the second floor. A good time had by all, but this place was very hot - temperature wise. Oh BTW, Kahlua doesn't seem to exist in Spain, what's up with that?!?!?! Try asking for a drink which has Kahlua and the bartenders return a dumbfounded look. Hummm ... looks like I am missing the first 20 or so pictures in the Barcelona picture set.
Note to self: Need to fix that one of these days.
Break time: Simon (how good is your memory?)
Day 6
Friday, July 29On the itinerary today is ... "do what ever you want" day. It's a free day in Barcelona. If you can get up in the morning, you'll get to see the home of the 1992 Summer Olympics (ie: the Stadium). Afterwards, we head into Placa de Catalunya - Barcelona's Main Square. There might be a leather demonstration where a guy with a real strong lisp accent - a Catalunyan trait - will try to hawk off some leather jackets. On a completely different tangent, what's the difference between Basque & Catalunya? I never figured that out and am too lazy to Google it. There'll also be a walking tour of the Barri Gòtic or the old Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. You'll see a wall riddled with bullet pock marks where people were executed. Quite moving. There's also a Bridge of Sighs or Carrer del Bisbe where convicts were paraded thru before their execution. This is similar to the famous bridge in Venice. Come to think of it, I saw another one in Cordoba, Spain (large pic, small pic). There must be a bunch of Sighs Bridges across Europe. Maybe it was the "in" thing back in the day? So getting back to the Sighs Bridge in Barcelona, your tour manager will point out the bridge to you. I think any small old looking bridge with walls and a rooftop that spans over a walkway (or canal in Venice) is probably a Sighs Bridge ... But this one does have an certain morbid peculiarity. Take a trip under the bridge and look up while underneath the archway (ie: you don't have to cross the bridge, you are on the main road underneath the bridge). What do you see. Well that could be difficult to answer right now if you haven't been on this tour yet. But here's the answer: There is a real skull with a dagger passing thru it. Kinda cool, huh? I wonder who's head that belonged to? I wonder if your Tour Manager will point out that little tid bit to you, eh? Maybe I should be a Tour Manager? Well I didn't get to see it. I only found out about this after my tour. Oh well ... no worries.
So by now, it's around lunch time and you are free to go on your own. Lunch ... hummm ... hunger. Spain is known for it Tapas - or finger food, and we happened upon a restaurant called Mikel Etxea. This restaurant has a huge selection of Tapas. It's good to go as a group so you can sample many foods. Don't order the Broccoli though, since it is included as a side dish with many of the Tapas items. I don't recall if it was pricey ... it may have been, but the food was excellent.
Please, if you don't want to be stolen in Barcelona, don't go to a restaurant tapas bar, MIKEL ETXEA, in las ramblas, the price is really really EXPENSIVE,and believe me I'm from Barcelona. And almost I can't pay the bill. The trick is that in the menu what you think that the price for a tapa (normally a plate) is not the price for a mini slice of bread with something on the top. If you want to go to a good place you can go to c/ Mandri, Bar Mandri for little tapas, or to the restaurant El Pescadito in the same street if you like see food.Well we went to the aforementioned restaurant and were able to pay the bill hence no dish washing was necessary. Maybe Elena is from another restaurant? Or maybe it really is expensive - at least for locals? Or maybe Elena ended up washing dishes after seeing her bill? Ahhh, the conspiracy theories abound ...
Elena
Elena Pastor Jaén on January 3, 2004 11:25 AM
http://www.nyceats.net/eats/2003/10/barcelona.html
What else did I do ... more walking and the best aerial photos of Barcelona are from the cable car which had a funky pricing scheme. It was something like 3€ elevator for the ride up the tower and 3€ for the Cable Car ride. But here's the catch, if you want to take the Cable Car ride, you must also take the elevator ride as well. Now who wants to go up a stupid tower and not go on the cable car ride, duh !?!?!?! Barcelona also has a nice beach ... as with many European beaches, topless is the norm - but not mandatory. This day's entry is getting a little long so to speed things up, there's the optional Flamenco Dinner this evening which many attended. You can read about it in the optionals section. That's all for today.
Oh forgot to mention one last thing, Gaudi's architectural works of art is quite something to see. Here are 2 sites that have many photos of the Casa Mila (Site 1 or Site 2). Actually, there was one site that had many awesome pics of the Casa Mila, but I haven't been able to find it again :( ... Don't you hate when that happens !?!?!? In case you are curious, it's somewhere in the Flickr online photo universe.
Break time: Counterstrike (duck hunt?)
Day 7
Saturday, July 30
French Riviera pics.
Ahhh ... the fabled French Riviera. Before arriving, I had no clue as to the location of the French Riveiera or Monaco except 1) it seems to be in France, 2) it seems to appear in James Bond movies, and last but not least, 3) I *think* people here have lots of money. So here's the breakdown, the French Riviera (aka Côte d'Azur) is probably the resort/playground of the über-wealthy residents of the planet Earth. It's located southeast of France on the Mediterranean coastline just before the Italian border. It consists of Saint Tropez to the west (where the rich live), then Cannes (apparently, they host some sorta film festival, but for some reason, I never get invited), Nice and finally Monaco (where there's a Royal Family and the total area of the *country* is less 2 square km ~or~ 1/2 the area of most International Airports). So it goes without saying that Monaco doesn't have its own international airport. What do I remember about Nice ... hummm. I thought Nice was AWESOME! A decent hotel: Kyriad It was the first stop where you could get laundry done for a reasonable price. A full pillow case of laundry set me back about €10. They charge per pound. Ok, there must be more highlights than dirty laundry ... and there are! Tonight is the included dinner at Les Mets de Provence, a small restaurant that caters only to large groups ... like Contiki. I believe there was soup & salad and the main course. Good food :) ... but I think it was a little hot. We were on the second floor of a building and did they have air conditioning? hummmm. Maybe, but I think the AC unit was struggling against the summer heat + a packed mess hall. After dinner, it was off to the clubs! The most famous is Wayne's Bar, where EVERYONE dances on the tables. If you Google "Waynes Bar", it's the first link that appears! Hummm ... going to that sight right now and what appears on the Waynes Bar home page? "Wayne's Pornstar Party - Feb 1st." Sweet !!!! At Wayne's Bar, I introduce the group to B52 shots and we do a few rounds of 3 shots each. I think I had about 12 shots - mmmm .... tastes good! After dancing on the tables, we all ventured for a late evening/early morning Mediterranean swim circa 2 AM. Oh, if you plan on doing the same thing on your tour, remember to complete EMPTY OUT your pockets, especially anything of electronic nature. I thought I had cleared my pockets, but apparently not. The next morning, I found a rechargeable battery dangling somewhere in the multitude of pockets of my cargo shorts leaking green slime. Batteries don't like to go swimming in the salty Mediterranean Sea. R.I.P. my spare battery. Hope you're in battery heaven. Peace.
Break time: Cubefield (417660 pts)
Day 8
Sunday, July 311/4 of the trip is over. And so begins week 2 of 4. Waking up is one of those interesting things in the morning - especially after a night of drinking and you really don't want to wake up. Standard procedure for most on a free day is to either catch the last 20 minutes of breakfast or miss it completely. No hangover luckily for me. In fact, I don't think I ever had a hangover on this trip. So there you go kids - never do beer, wine and shots all in the same night - a big recipe for disaster. Stick with either beer, wine, or mixed drinks. I think I locked out my roommate the evening before - oops so there's my public apology.
Today was hot. Very hot. Allen & I decided to tour the beach. Some very "nice" pictures indeed of the beach and its "surroundings". En route to the beach, Allen attempted to withdraw money from an ATM w/o any luck. Apparently, the bank froze his account due to suspicious withdraws. Seems reasonable enough since the last few withdrawals were nowhere near Los Angeles. So as mentioned in item #3 of my Pretour Suggestions, "Inform your bank of your travel dates and where you will be so they do not freeze your account due to suspicious activity."
Have you ever tried to frame someone in a photo - attempt to give them directions, without telling them why? ie: Tell them: Trust me... this photo will be a keeper !!! Well it's easier said than done. Which photo is this? Well it's one of the beach photos. Happy hunting ... The day consisted of more walking and wandered around town and towards the marina and older section of town on the eastern side of the beach beyond the lookout. I never really mention why I like the French Riviera - it's really tough to quantify. There are no pictures to definitively frame a portrait of this area. It's the totality of the experiences that define the French Riviera, and that, you can't really put into words. ie: you had to be there. A little wordy, eh? Anyway, tonight, part of that experience is in Monte Carlo where there is the optional dinner and a visit to the famous casinos. Later that evening, we put on our fine duds and head 20 minutes east over the mountains towards Monaco. Should I cut and paste or put a link here ??? Too lazy so here's the review for the dinner and Casino description. A really fine dinner !!!! Hummm as a little aside, looking at the Restaurant Cavanetu website for the Monaco optional dinner, looks like they uploaded a mirror image of the restaurant ... oops. Here's the photo from their website and here's my photo Here's a Quicktime virtual tour
Break time: Funny - Video of George Bush on border control.
Day 9
Monday, August 1
Piza and Florence Pics.
Today we bid "Adieu et Au Revoir" to the Frech Riviera and a "Ciao or Buon Giorno" to Italy, the home of many tunnels and where we wine and dine Chez Autogrill !!! But before heading off to Italy, there's a stop at the Fragonard Perfumerie. This definitely must be a stop for the girls because to me, it was a little too much. Too many strong scents in the air - similarly to being in an elevator and someone enters with overpowering perfume. A hint of perfume is nice, but this was overboard !!! Remember to bring your gas mask. OK just kidding. They give you the tour of how perfume is made, how many tons of a certain flower is required to make perhaps 50 mL of a perfume etc ... Then the guide mentioned that there were something like only 40 people in the world with noses sensitive enough and trained to know when a perfume batch was correct - or some spiel of the sort. Talk about a case of the Emperor's New Clothes !!! I wonder what cut Contiki gets from the perfume sales? Fragonard website says that the tour of its factory is free - a good price for Contiki !! At one point in the tour, I think I counted 4 Contiki coaches (including ours) outside the perfumerie parking lot. Well enough of that. Now what would've been cool is if we went to the Ferrari or Lanborghini museum. That would definitely rock!
Next stop: Piza. Apparently, people flock here to see some old crooked building - or is it the all the fake handbags and stuff sold in all the outdoor merchant stalls? I think it's probably the crooked building thing. Joking aside, the Leaning Tower of Piza is the one and only main attraction in Piza, and everyone does the mandatory pose as a Leaning Tower prop. Other ideas come to mind, but ;) heheheh ... This place would lose "mucho dinero" if that tower ever came crashing down. Hummm that's Spanish, not Italian. Let's try: This place would lose "lotti di soldi" if that tower ever came crashing down. Onwards to Florence ...
What can I say about Florence? You'll hear the name Medici get tossed around a lot. They were a powerful family that ruled Florence during the Italian Renaissance. Our digs in Florence is the Autopark Hotel. They have one computer with free internet access I think, as well as a parking lot surrounded by a 10 ft high power wrought iron fence and gate with spikes on top. Hummmm .... By this time, I am have been overcome with the Contiki Cough, runny nose, & fever. Tonight is an included dinner in town. Where was this place and what was it called? I have no clue since there were no signs posted. You would've missed the entrance if you blinked. The restaurant was quite hot and stuffy, and it seems like they only cater to groups since I saw another group filter in to an adjoining room. Ok food, but not anything to write home about. I think there were others who were also sick at this point from the Contiki Cough. While walking to the restaurant, I imagined Florence to be this old beautiful Renaissance city, but it seemed like it was more in need of a good scrubbing because of all the pollution. Other opinions I have of Florence is that there seems to be some underworld corruption still going on here, like the fact that it costs €300 or so for a daily parking pass of a coach/tour bus. Lotsa kickback going on here ... Case in point, after dinner, we head over to Rod Carter bar for drinks. Not feeling up to snuff (and nor is my roommate), we decide to head back early. We ask the bar manager how much is a cab and if he could call a cab for us. He happily obliges saying that it would cost around €25 (or was it €30). In any case, the cabbie let the meter run and at the hotel, it was reading €12 but he tells us it's €25. So hail a cab yourself and LET THE METER RUN !!! I really am not liking Florence. Those mega doses of vitamins before the trip (as suggested by some postings on the Contiki message board) and during the trip are not helping any - I am feeling sick as a dog!
Break time: Funny Norelco Advertisement.
Day 10
Tuesday, August 2Hummm, what does the Contiki Itinerary say ... "Today our local guide takes us on a walking tour of the Duomo, Giotto's Belltower, Basilica of Santa Croce and Piazza della Signoria. Shop for leather and silver and gold. Take time to visit one of the many galleries or museums in this 'City of Art'. Tonight why not join the locals in a restaurant or club." Reality check: what we REALLY did.
We start off today with a visit to Leonardo's Leather Works factory. They all claim that their leathers are authentic, but apparently you can never tell. So I didn't buy leather from them (not that I wanted nor needed anything) - but I still got suckered into buying "tourist trap" stuff later on ... in Germany. But hey, if buying the stuff makes you feel happy, then buy it, albeit overpriced and everyone gets a cut. How so you may ask? Tune your ears, the shops that we are herded into always ask for the tour group and tour manager's name when ringing up the sale. Afterwards, we did have a local guide and the walking tour was perhaps a little over an hour. This is one manner that Italy, or at least Florence supports its own local economy. You'd think that many Contiki Tour managers have heard this routine quite a few times and should be able to do the song and dance description of Florence, no? But I guess this is good since we have an expert guide. Sometimes the Tour Manager goes along for the walk, and other times, they bail out opting for some free time for themselves. I don't blame them, you can only see some old building a billion times before the novelty wears thin. So getting back to the itinerary, the 1 hour walking tour has stops with a description of the Belltower and Duomo(Cathedral) of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Vecchio, and Ponte Vecchio which is a very wide bridge built a long time ago with shops on both sides. I didn't know what the Uffizi was until this tour. It's kinda like Florence's Louvre museum. Also, the lines are long (1+ hour wait time). Many Renaissance works can be found here like Michelangelo's Statue of David. If you plan to visit the Uffizi, I suggest that you make reservations and purchase your tickets in advance so you can skip the line. Reservations must be made 2 days in advance and there is a €4.47 service charge for each ticket. Oh, and no, I didn't visit the Uffizi. The line was too long, didn't know about the Uffizi, nor the reservation system.
What else did I do ... I think we had 3 hours after the end of the walking tour for lunch and free time. I recall being feverish at the time and I needed food that I was used to. I was in dire need of McDonald's. I believe that this is the one Allen and I went to. It has since been renovated. Now why would I remember such a silly thing like McDonald's? Well this one was like no McDonald's I've been to. The design motif was of a dance club with modern/new age furnishings. This place was nice. Get rid of the McDonald's menu and they could've had a cover charge !!! 2 more hours to kill - let's find that Santa Croce Church meeting place. The funny thing is, it seemed like all the guys had the same thing in mind. They were all tired of Florence and were ready to return to the hotel. They did the same thing as us - eat and headed for the rendez-vous point. As mentioned before, Florence needed a good scrubbing of all the exterior surfaces - the effects of pollution were clearly visible. After the luxuries of the French Riviera, Florence was a letdown. Just being blunt and honest - no holds barred. Oh did I mention that all the bath towels in Italy look like thin table clothes? How utterly useless is that ?!?! A completely different tangent, I know, but I am using my artistic freedom to write whatever comes to mind. So with 2 hours to kill, roommate and I venture into the Santa Croce Church. Nice place. Lotsa dead people are entombed here; Galileo, Machiavelli, and Michelangelo to name a few.
After returning to the hotel, the rest of the evening consisted of the Contiki group photo, dinner and disco optionals. That's all for now ... 18 more days to write up ...
Break time: Soccer Shootout
Day11
Wednesday, August 3
Rome and Pompeii Pics.
Florence is not that far from Rome and we arrived in Roma around 2 pm - according to the time stamp on the photo. If it weren't for the info on the photo, do you seriously think I'd remember what time we arrived? I hardly remember what I did last weekend ... hehehehe. Our hotel is the Cascina Palace. This is one place where you really need to keep your stuff under lock and key. The hotel rooms have a safety deposit box - but the useless ones that require a key that is attached to the same key ring which has your room key and room number. Sure ... let the fox guard the hen house. This was one of the shadier hotels. The only safety deposit boxes I ever used were the digital ones that you program yourself and was bolted to the wall - none of this key crap. Kinda like writing the PIN on your ATM card. There, I think I've made my point. Furthermore, this was the only place where the TM (tour manager) did not post a day sheet of our activities. Not enough warning for ya? Well there was a Mediterranean Highlights tour there at the same time as us and on their last evening, 4 rooms were broken into. No signs of forced entry... Hummm, inside job? Front desk has the keys ... Hey, there's the skeleton of a burned-out car in our hotel parking lot (pic 1, pic 2). Last point I didn't like about this hotel was it was VERY far from Rome. How far? Once you got of at the end of the subway line, you had to take a bus for a few more kilometers. About an hour's travel from downtown - or so it seemed. Don't know if this hotel is still on the tour since both TM's complained to Contiki management about the hotel.Suggestion: read Dan Brown's Angel's & Demons. The book is as good the Davinci Code. Why am I harping about it? The book is a fictional murder mystery during the Concave election of a new Pope. Besides for a captivating storyline, many buildings and monuments in Rome are referenced in the book.
Before heading into town, we unwind and ensured our suitcases were locked up. Our TM warned us that Rome is probably the pickpocket capital of the world. You'll notice that anyone with a backpack will have it in front for fear of pickpocketers. People have come to accept this as the norm. I guess every society is different. Coming from Montreal, I never see police walking around with machine guns, but when I went on the Greek Island Hopping tour, many of the Athenian cops seemed to be packing HK MP-5k or Uzi sub machine guns. In town we tour the Coliseum (entrance fee not included), many Obelisks, the Pantheon (how'd they build such a large dome around 118 AD?), the Vittorio monument, the Piazza di Spagna (aka the Spanish Steps), and the Trevi Fountain. We had some free time to grab a bite in town as well. Now as if our TM hadn't warned us enough about pick pockets, we had this one individual who was wearing an Outback-looking hat with full of pins from all over the world. He was also wearing a fluorescent yellow t-shirt with Australia printed in huge letters. What else ... he was also carrying TWO hand bags - one in each hand, no back pack / knapsack. What the *&%# did he have in those bags anyways? All you really needed was your wallet and camera. Well both his hands were occupied and while were in the subway, he got hit by pickpockets - even with 35 of us Contikiers around him. I guess his outfit was screaming, "Tourist!!! And both my hands are occupied carrying bags!!! Take my wallet !!!" Don't let this happen to you ... you have been forewarned.
Break time: Sit back ... relax ... and checkout some awesome soccer skill 1 2 3
Day 12
Thursday, August 4Today was an early day. We left the hotel by 7 AM with snack pack bags for breakfast. Nothing special ... maybe an apple or banana, a muffin and a juice box. We took the public transit into town. I am only wondering as to why we did that? Or did we? Maybe to avoid morning rush hour? It was too early in the morning in any case. It's a good idea to get to the Vatican early since as a tour group, you are allowed to enter about 1/2 hour before the general public ... and those lines can be VERY long. By 7:45 AM, we were in line waiting for our Vatican tour guide at the entrance of the Vatican Museum. Our tour guide is a small old lady with a great sense of humour who quietly cussed at Vatican guards when she didn't have her way. She called us her Contiki children. We had no problems hearing her since she had a transmitter and everyone was given headsets. As mentioned in the optionals section, your TM will remind you many times that knees and shoulders must be covered up. At the modern entrance of the Vatican museum is a huge ramp for wheelchair access - that in itself is a work of modern art I think. Once inside the actual museum itself, there are 3 grand corridors. The first corridor is lined with statues on both sides and beautiful artwork on the ceiling line with gold leaf everywhere. The second corridor is oddly insulated. Temperature and humidity controlled as you enter thru glass doors. There is no sunlight here, I wonder why? The corridor is devoid of statues along the wall, but they are replaced by tapestries. At first sight, there appears to be is an intricately carved and painted ceiling. Then they drop the bombshell, there are NO carvings on the ceiling. It is all a painted optical illusion and that the ceiling is a very flat surface and that the shadows are painted. Holy carp[sic] (no pun intended)!!! Then you enter the 3rd corridor, the map room which has both paintings and statues on the ceiling. I think they went overboard with the gold leaf in this room though. I wonder how they painted those corridors. Makes me cringe at the thought of trying to paint it - even if I had a paint spray gun !!!
Besides for this, there are many more rooms with historical relics and paintings. Then you enter the Sistine Chapel - a place where you are not allowed to use camcorders nor cameras and the utmost silence is demanded (ie: hushed whispers and turn off your mobile/cell phones). But people being people, the noise level increases until a one of the priests claps his hand 3 times and announces silence in a frustrated angry tone. Hell I'd be bored to tears if my job was to do that every 5 minutes for the whole day. And that concludes the Vatican Museum tour. While I'm the subject, and yes, I've babbled about this elsewhere, read Dan Brown's Angels & Demons.
The rest of the day was on our own. Not to be missed is St. Peters Basilica (Wikipedia). Try to find one of the free guided tours (one of the last items on this link) . And check out the grottoes (I missed that). This place is ginormous. It's twice as long as 2 football pitches (soccer fields) at 230 meters (that's almost a 1/4 of a kilometer) and an interior capacity of 60 000 people !!
Some of us took a Hop On / Hop Off double decker tour bus afterwards. The good thing about these tours is that you can hop on and off at any of the given stops and the pass is good for 24 hours. The also give you really cheap earphones. Seriously, I've never seen cheaper pieces of garbage. The sound was worse than using 2 cans connected by a string. So use your mp3 headset if you have them handy. No need for any advance reservations as mentioned on the website, just pay the bus driver ... probably cheaper that way too. There are too many things to see in Roma so I'll let you get lost and discover it for yourselves. We made out way back to the hotel for the included dinner afterwards and most just chilled out on the patio chairs outside the hotel that evening with beverages of choice at hand. BTW, the hotel doesn't like streakers. :p
Break time: Sit back ... relax ... and checkout some awesome soccer bloopers.
Day 13
Friday, August 5
Rome and Pompeii Pics.
Yeah, here are those Rome pics again, but the last bunch are from Pompeii, of which, I didn't take that many photos. As mentioned in the optionals section, I previously had done a Greek Island Hopping tour and had visited the Akrotiri Archaeological Site excavation. Honestly, the Akrotiri site blows this outta the water, but this is a good tour if you've never seen an ancient site, frozen in time due to a volcanic event. Yes, I am a Contiki junkie. Also did a Spain & Portugal - which unfortunately, is no longer offered. Back to Pompeii... I couldn't find Pompeii weather forecast, but Naples is only 10 km away. Weather is generally the same within 10 km - unless you live in Florida. Pompeii in August is hot and dry. Not that much wind that I can recall. Definitely a Sunblock day. So where is Naples/Pompeii? It's on the west coast of Italy south of Rome. As you can see on the map, there is much travelling to be done today. After the guided tour and lunch, we are on our way to the port of Brindisi for the overnight ferry to Corfu, Greece.
The ferry we are taking to Greece had me worried. It was not that big a ferry, albeit it did have a very interesting name - seen here as we enter the bowels of *ship name*. I have not had that much luck with Greek transportation while on Contikis - Greek ferries seem to sink all the time. On my Greek Island Hopping tour, 3 Greek Ferries crashed within 5 days leaving 78 dead, and I was on one of those boats. Maybe the captains were watching the 2000 summer Olympics? If you're curious to hear about that adventure, leave me a message on the guestbook. If there are a few curious souls, I'll add that write up (here's that write up Firefox / Internet Explorer) ... :) But to summarize, this ferry stayed afloat, but we hit a few rough patches which made me wonder if we were gonna make it. To put things into perspective, all the glasses and bottles at the bar came crashing down during our voyage. I suspect this Greek ferry company must be frequent shoppers and have bulk discount on beer and wine glass supplies :) Where's that Gravol motion sickness pill? The cabin was pretty crappy - see the Corfu pics. Ohh ... today is one of those days where you REALLY need an alarm clock!!! You need to vacate the cabin by 5 am or some early insane hour - no kidding because by 6am, we were already at the Corfu Divani hotel. Oh BTW, no Greek ferry tragedies while I was on this tour, but a Greek airliner crashed during my tour. Maybe people should refrain from Greek transportation while I go on Contiki's ? Tidbits and photos from my Contiki Greek Island Hopping tour. *** New update Apr 6, 2007 *** Another Greek Incident (Archived) ... More pics ... Greek transportation and mishaps appear to be like 2 peas in a pod.
Break time: Caught on film!!! 30 second clip of Football (ie: soccer) training camp ... Spy Video.
Day 14
Friday, August 6
Corfu Pics. Corfu (or Korfu, or Kerkyra) is the midway point of the tour. And we actually get to stay here for 3 nights. Woohoo what welcome relief!! Time to convalesce. We are housed in a very nice hotel - the Corfu Divani. Have that Contiki 2006/2007 Superior & Budget Tour guide handy? Check out page 19 (too lazy to get the booklet or don't have one, here it is), nice pool eh? We arrive before sunrise and crash on the lounge chairs for a few hours. The human body is not meant to be woken up this early during vacation - maybe go to bed at this hour, but definitely not rise and shine at 5 am. It is here that you discover that you are part of the "routine" 3 days later whilst on your way to breakfast (or Brekkie as the Aussies would say w/ their Vegemite), we see the next batch of Contikiers sound asleep on the same sofas & couches that we once occupied. Other than that, I don't think I ever saw anyone else use those couches ... hummmm .... sleep for 2 hours before some breakfast and heading into town. One thing about this hotel is that the breakfast buffet is very very good. Probably on par with the one in Vienna, but not as good as the one in Munich. This had every imaginable breakfast stuff (except Vegemite). Munich on the other hand blows this outta the water (as seen in the movie).
Corfu is a Greek resort island off the northwest border between Greece and Macedonia. I like these little small tourist towns since traffic jams are non existent. This was reminiscent of the Greek Cyclades (Santorini, Mykonos, Paros) - small narrow crooked streets & alleys. The Cyclades distiguishes itself differently with distinct blue rooftops and whitewashed walls. After wandering around in town and grabbing some lunch, we head back to the hotel to check-in, crash out by the pool (or do some hand wash laundry). It's quite hot during our stay here and there's plenty of time for stuff to dry out. Dinner tonight is included at the hotel, but you have to pay for any beverage (including the bottled water) - it's a sit down affair ... no all-you-can-eat buffet like breakfast. Oh, speaking of which, at the bottom of the driveway to the hotel across the street, there's a small store where 1.5 L bottled water was only 40 or 50 cents or what ever they call partial euros/coinage. The small mini bottles 500mL or 750 mL was something like 15 or 20 cents. Don't know how water could be so cheap. The hotel was charging €2+ for a bottle of water. Maybe because it came in a glass bottle. What a dumb idea!! All I want is water, and for it to be chilled and cheap. Inexpensive (alcoholic) drinks are also appreciated !!!
Break time: Definiton of the Internet by US Senator Ted Stevens (clueless old fart)