Nice

The morning after my last post, I caught an early morning ferry from Bastia, back to Nice. Although Bastia looks closer on the map to Nice than Ajaccio, it actually took an hour more on the ferry to return to Nice.

It was raining lightly when I arrived in Nice, but I decided to walk back to the hostel anyway, and didn't get too wet, which was good. I noticed on the way that there didn't seem to be any shops open at all. I was a little worried, as I was a little bit hungry, but there were a couple of cafe's open, so that eased my mind a little.

I stayed inside the hostel for a couple of hours after my arrival, as it actually started raining quite heavily outside, and I didn't want to get wet when there actually didn't seem like there was anything to see. By 4 o'clock, however, the rain had stopped, so I decided to go out and explore the streets a little (as I hadn't on my last two overnight stays in Nice), and see if I could find something to eat.

On first sight, Nice appears to be dead on Sundays, but I discovered that all the action happens in the old town, or Vieuwe Nice, where there are quite a few little boutiques down some very narrow streets. A few of these little boutiques were open, as well as some cafe's and bakery's. I also found the best chocolate shop in the world, down one of these little streets, and bought about $500 dollars worth of chocolates in there! Actually, that is a bit of an exaggeration, it was only about $25 worth of chocolates and nougart, and I think it was the nougart that bumped the price up, as it was charged by weight. Anyway, it was really good chocolate, and the smell inside the shop was truly intoxicating!

I took my chocolate, and went for a little wander back down to the port, as Mum had told me to watch out for James Packer's boat, as he was supposed to be in the French Riviera for his wedding. I didn't see James, or his boat, but there were lots of luxurious, impressive looking boats down there. Far more impressive than those at Porto Vecchio! There were some nice looking colourful little fishing boats as well. After my unsuccessful hunt for James, I walked back along the esplanade, and found some steps which led to the top of a cliff and a lookout over Nice. There was also a garden up there, and some ruins of an ancient town. By the time I left there, and walked back to Vieuwe Nice, the market was just about in full swing, and there were quite a few people about. I didn't actually buy anything from the market, but it was nice to look at all the jewellery and locally made products. I got a panini take-away, and headed back to my hostel, where I stayed for the rest of my evening.

Fortunately, (for me that is, for you it is a bit unfortunate, as it means that I don't have any interesting stories to tell), there were no freaks in my hostel dorm that night. There were two girls from the Scottish Highlands who were looking for work on campsites in the area, a lady from Japan who was travelling around France (she worked in Paris for a few years), and a girl from Canada, who was travelling around Europe for a month or so, before she started a new job. There were a couple of other women in the room as well, but I didn't actually meet them.

The next morning, I went for a little wander up the main street of Nice, and spent about an hour in the queue at the post office just to buy some stamps (enjoy your postcards, people), before catching a train in the afternoon to Paris.

I will write more about my week in Paris later, but (maybe you can tell by this pretty uninteresting blog) I haven't got much enthusiasm for blogging today. I went and saw an accountant this morning just outside of London, and now I am a little confused and worried about my work and taxation etc, and it has taken away some of my enthusiasm and excitment of being here!

Love,
Lis x

ps. comments and emails truly appreciated, otherwise I will feel like no one loves me, and I won't come home (or update my blog).

Corsica

Bonjour from Bastia, Corsica!

Well, last Sunday, I got up bright and early and hopefully didn't wake up too many of the girls in my hostel dorm in Nice (although another woman did wake me up a couple of hours beforehand - at 4am- when she got up, had a shower and left) and headed to the ferry terminal. The ferry terminal was about a 40 minute walk from my hostel with my backpack on, and I had done a little practice run the night before just to make sure that I knew where the port was and how long it would take me to get there. When I got to the ferry terminal, I showed a lady there my ticket and she said "yes, you have a ticket, that's fine", then she must have thought about it for a few seconds and she asked to see my ticket again, so I showed her, and she said "Oh, you're going to Ajaccio, the ferry is on the other side of the port, there is a free shuttle bus, but it may be easier for you to walk", sure, SHE wasn't the one carrying my bag! I thanked her and headed towards the other side of the port, which would have taken about another 15 minutes to walk. Luckily for me, the shuttle bus appeared, just as I was heading out the door, and he saved me the walk!

The ferry took about four and a half hours to reach Ajaccio from Nice, and I'm pleased to report that I didn't have to spend the trip drugged up on Travacalm, or with my head in the toilet - it was a very calm ride across the Mediterranean. I did actually spend half the trip snoozing though, then the second half watching the movie that they showed (In Her Shoes - which I also once saw on a plane trip to Perth, WA, but I quite enjoyed it, and it was a novelty to read the French subtitles).

Ajaccio (pronounced Ajax-sea-oh) is a beautiful little fishing village, which also has a nice swimming beach and is surrounded by mountains. It was also the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, and on the Sunday afternoon, I visited the Maison Bonaparte, the house in which he spent the first nine years of his life. Quite a grand building. They're pretty proud of their Home-grown emperor, these Corsicans. Pretty much every town has a main street named after him and a statue.

On Monday I caught the early bus to Bonifaccio, which was another four hour trip. I'm sure the scenery on the ride was quite lovely, but unfortunately, I couldn't keep my eyes open for it! We arrived in the port of Bonifaccio shortly before 1pm. Immediately the first thing that strikes you in Bonifaccio, is the citadel that is situated on the cliff, towering over the port. I checked into my hotel and had some lunch before deciding to tackle the climb up to the Citadel and haut ville (high village). The view of the citadel is awesome, but as you make the climb up to it and turn the corner, you catch a glimpse of the houses perched precariously on the edge of the sandstone cliff, over the sea, and it is quite spectacular! I went for a walk along the cliff to the east of the Citadel, and took in the view of the houses, the Citadel, and the mountains behind it, and then to the south, a short distance across the sea, is Sardinia.

Below the cliffs are a couple of pebbly little bays, and at the base of the Citadel are steps leading down to some of them. I went for a quick walk up through the Citadel and through the old city, before heading back to my hotel (which was right on the port), getting changed, and heading back to one of the bays, Plage de Sutta-Rocca, for a swim and relax, before dinner.

The next day I headed to Porto Vecchio, which is another nice fishing village. Alex and Ryan would have been in Little Piggies Heaven: there were lots of flash looking boats down on the harbour. I had breakfast at one of the cafes lining the harbour, and was congratulated by the Canadian waiter for choosing to visit Corsica on my travels. After Breakfast, I decided to look for my hotel and the tourist office, and of course, they were located in the haute ville, so I had a steep little walk with my pack up the hill. At the tourist office, I enquired as to how to get to Santa Guilia, and the girl had absolutely no idea where I was talking about. I showed here a picture that they had in a brochure at the tourist office and she said "Oh! Santa Guilia!" It seems that it is pronounced "Julia", and not "Goolia", which is really something that I should have known after my French lessons!! She pretty much dismissed the idea of me getting there if I didn't have a bike or car, as it was at least 7km away and no busses at this time of year. I asked her where I could hire a bicycle and she showed me on a map, and told me that I could also rent a scooter from there as well.

That afternoon, I decided that I may as well get some use out of my bike helmet that I have been lugging around Europe with me and haven't used since The Netherlands, and headed to the bike shop to rent a bike. I decided that I would probably need my passport and some cash to rent a bike, but I didn't want to take too many valuables with me to the beach, and decided that after I got my bike, I would go back to the hotel, drop off my passport, then be on my way to the beach. I decided that 50 Euro would be plenty of cash to take with me to hire a bike for the day. When I got to the bike shop, the man behind the counter said sure, I could hire a bike, did I have some ID? I got out my passport. And did I have a credit card? No, didn't have that with me, sorry. So how would I be paying for the deposit? I said "Cash". The man looked at me with disbelief "ok, you're going to pay the 350 euro deposit in cash?" Oops! No, I thought the deposit was the 16Euro that it cost to rent the bike for the day, seems that they also needed a 350Euro deposit, which I assume was refundable! I told him that I would come back, and made the hike back up the hill to my hotel to get my credit card. I decided halfway back however, that instead, it would be easier and quicker to just drop off my helmet and passport back at my hotel, and walk to Santa Guilia instead (Yes, good one Lisa! Quicker? And what University did you say you went to?)! I was also a bit wary of leaving the hired bike on the beach when I went for my swim and didn't want to have to say goodbye to my 350euro if someone knicked it.

So, at about 3:20pm, I headed off in the hot sun, to the beach, 7km away. I was a bit wary of the passing cars and a bit scared that someone would pull over and offer me a lift. By the time I was about two-thirds of the way there, I was absoulutely OFFENDED that noone pulled over and offered me a lift! About an hour into my walk, and just as I had nearly finished all my water, and I was contemplating turning back, and wondering if I was becoming delirious from heat stroke, and if any place could actually be worth this: Voila! I caught a glimpse of Santa Guilia, and it was all worth it. I started running in the direction of the beach (the sight of it gave me a second wind, and by this stage it was downhill anyway).

The sand on the beach at Santa Guilia Bay is white, and the water is varying shades of aqua-blue, and crystal clear!

I had a swim straight away, to cool down, then walked to the other side of the bay and had another swim there (just to compare- it was just as good on that side). The water was lovely and refreshing- and actually quite warm. Of course, there were more topless bathers about, and one woman in a very fetching g-string (it seems that if you don't have a bikini body here, they figure that it's best just not to wear anything), but apart from that, the view was beautiful!

I could have happily spent a whole day at Santa Guilia, just relaxing and swimming, and laying on one of the lounges, ordering drinks from the restaurant, but after an hour or two, I thought I better start the long trek back to Porto Vecchio, so that I was back before dark. That night, I thought that I needed a bit of an energy boost, so did a bit of Carb loading and had a delicious cheesy, creamy pasta dish from an Italian restaurant (very garlicky too!).

The next morning, I caught the bus to Santa Luccia, which the lady at the tourist office had suggested to me when I asked her where the nearest waterfalls were. I then had to walk for about 2km out of town, through another town, and the falls would be there, along with some natural basins that would be good for swimming in. I walked the 2km, and saw some waterfalls that may or maynot have been the ones that I was looking for (there weren't any signs directing me where to go, or any well marked paths).

I asked a few guys who were mountain biking in the area if they knew where the falls where, but they were tourists too, and didn't really know where they were, but looked on their maps and told me to keep walking further up the road. I walked about another half hour up the road, seeing no waterfalls, before deciding that I didn't really want to go swimming in some stupid natural water basin near some stupid waterfalls, and decided to walk to the beach instead, which was another 2km from Santa Luccia in the opposite direction.

The Beach was called Pinarellu Bay, and it was another beautiful beach, with clear water and white sand, and the water seemed to be a little warmer than Santa Guilia, but it didn't have quite the same atmosphere.

I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and swimming at the beach, before deciding that I should walk back to Santa Luccia, to make sure that I caught the last bus back to Porto Vecchio. On the way back, a couple of guys pulled over in their car and asked me if I would like a ride back to Santa Lucia with them, I politely declined, but it made me feel better about myself after the previous day of walking in the hot sun with no offers!

When I got to the town, I asked one of the locals where to catch the bus for Porto Vecchio, thinking that it would either be across the road from where it dropped me off that morning, or up the road further, where there was a sign for the bus. The man I asked didn't know, but he asked the bar tender in the bar next door to his shop and she pointed me in the direction of the sign for the bus. So I stood there and waited, and started to get a little worried when the bus was late, as it was the LAST bus for the day, and I really had to catch it, I didn't want to have to stay the night in Santa Luccia, that was for sure- it started to look a little dodgy to me, and nowhere near as nice as the other towns I've been to here in Corsica. I eventually spotted the bus coming down the road, and - you guessed it- it stopped down the street, just across the road from where it had dropped me off that morning! It was too far for me to run and catch it though, and I knew that it would have to pass by me, so I decided that it was either going to pick me up or run me over! As it approached, I stood out in the road, waving my hands at the driver. It turned out to be the same driver that dropped me off that morning, she saw me and slowed down (but didn't at any stage come to a stop) enough for me to jump on! I have never been so glad to be on a bus in my life. That night I had another lovely meal- a VERY cheesy, Four Cheese Pizza! Delicious. And I treated myself to Tirramisu for dessert!

The next day, I decided that I needed a sleep in before checking out of my hotel in Porto Vecchio, and catching the bus back to Ajaccio that afternoon. I managed to keep my eyes open for the whole trip this time, and I'm pleased to say that the scenery was beautiful! We passed around lots of mountains, and through villiages built on the mountainside, and saw lots of sandy beaches. There were a couple of towns that I wouldn't mind visiting if I get the chance to come to Corsica again: Sartene and Propiano.

That night I stayed in a different hotel from the one I had stayed in the first night I was in Ajaccio. I think the 60's and 70's had vomited all over my room. The decor was revolting! There was a furry chair in the corner, that I was too afraid to sit in in case it had fleas! Yuk! But it was very close to the shops and restaurants and a comfortable nights sleep at least.

Yesterday (Friday) I took the train to Corte. The ride between Ajaccio and Corte is spectacular. The train passes through tunnels through mountains, along the edges of the mountains, through forrests, over bridges which the rivers pass under, many metres below.

Corte is another nice villiage in Corsica, and very different to the other villiages I've been to.

It is the capital of Corsica and situated right in the centre of the Island, surrounded by mountains. I spent the day lugging my pack around the streets, doing the tourist walk, checking out all the historical monuments. It was a nice place to spend the day. I caught the train in the afternoon to Bastia, in the North of Corsica. It is yet another fishing villiage. My hotel that I'm staying in is the cheapest I've stayed in since being in Corsica, but is also by far the nicest! I have a little balcony, and the decor is quite tasteful, but at the same time it has a little French touch to it. This morning I was going to catch the train to Calvi, and spend the day there, but I decided to have a rest day instead (I couldn't face taking a 3 hour train ride, spending 3 hours there, then taking another 3 hour train ride back), so Calvi will have to wait until the next time I come to Corsica, with one (or some) of you, and we will hire a car, so we have a bit more freedom in where we can go! I had a long luxurious petit déjeuner (breakfast), before heading out and seeing the sights of Bastia (which didn't take very long, to be honest!).

So now that I have spent a good couple of hours on the internet, I think I'll spend the rest of the day relaxing, and eating, and generally trying to recharge my batteries, ready to tackle Paris in a couple of days time!

I only have one more week in France, before heading to the UK, and although I have enjoyed my travels immensely, I'm looking forward to doing some work and staying in the one spot for a few weeks, and meeting some new people (as well as catching up with some old friends). For those of you who don't know, my first job is in Belfast for 4 weeks, starting on July 4th.

So, I guess that's it for now.

Love,
Lis x.

Perpignan Continued...

Hi Everyone!

This is just a very quick blog to let you all know that I finished my French lessons in Perpignan last Friday and I'm currently in Corsica (which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited). I will write more details about Corsica later, when I don't have a computer with a blurry screen.

A few people have requested information regarding how things turned out for the couples in the house in Perpignan, and I regret to say that I don't know much...

The Italian Guy in the house returned on the Monday afternoon, and on the Tuesday night, us girls in the house were all going out for a few drinks, but the Italian Girl decided to stay home and have a D'n'M with the Guy. It looks like they sorted everything out (they had a date in the garden on Thursday Night) and I think the guy's ex girlfriend knows everything now.

The French Guy and the American Girl were still having problems on the Tuesday night (he called her while we were out to say that he hoped she enjoys the rest of her trip - even though they will be sharing a house together for the next month and they will still see each other in that time!). It looks like they had sorted out their differences and were together again on Saturday morning when I left! She only has another month in France though, and I think they are going to break up when she leaves...

I don't really know what is happening with the other 2 Italian girls' romances, although they were fighting with EACH OTHER last Sunday night (I guess when you share a room with someone for a few months, you are bound to have a few arguements). I didn't hear too many heated arguments over the phone, although the Italian girl who wasn't arguing with her boyfriend (and who we think likes David, the other French Guy), had an argument with HER boyfriend on the phone on the Monday Night because she had started a new job that day and he didn't ask her how she went!

As I mentioned before, a few of us girls in the house went out last Tuesday night for a few drinks. We met up with one of the American girls friends, a guy from the UK, who works at a Swedish Restaurant, and had a few drinks with him, and the Swedish owners of the Restaurant. We then went to a bar in the Place de la Republique (a little square, basically) and had a drink or 2 there, before one of the girls and I decided it was time for us to go as we had to get up early the next morning. We got a little lost and had to ask for directions-TWICE!

I went to Collioure on the Friday with the 2 ladies in my language course in the afternoon after our final lesson. Collioure is where the Australian lady lives and I think I could quite happily live there too! It is a beautiful little villiage. We went to the beach and I had my first swim in the Mediterranean (very refreshing!). As always, there were topless bathers about (or the "Titty Club" as the Australian woman refers to them).

The next day I caught a train to Nice and then on Sunday morning I caught the Ferry to Ajaccio, Corsica. As I said before, more details on Corsica later, but right now my eyes are starting to spin!

Love,
Lis xxx

p.s Thanks for those of you who have left comments or emails! I love to hear what everyone else is doing and what the gossip is! As for the rest of you...

Perpignan

I arrived here, in Perpignan, on Sunday the 27th May. Florence, one of the ladies that runs the language school that I am attending (ALFMED), picked me up from the train station and took me to my accommodation, which is actually one of the ALFMED residences, and is adjacent to her house. Florence was VERY impressed with the fact that I only had one bag with me! The residence where I am staying is very close to the train station, but she thought that I would have lots of luggage with me because I came all the way from Australia, and so she picked me up in her car.

I am sharing the house with three Italian girls (one speaks quite good English, one speaks some English, and one speaks no English), one Italian man, one American girl (Florence's Au pair) and one French Man. I am currently living inside of a soap opera!

The American girl and the French man are an item. At least, they were when I arrived. I awoke last Tuesday night (well, Wednesday morning really, it was about 2am), to hear them arguing and the girl crying, and doors slamming, and it seemed that they had broken up. By Wednesday night, they were back together. On Friday evening, they were fighting again, and he left to go to Montpellier for the weekend, where he lives, and she wasn't very happy with him. By the way she was talking on Friday night, she was ready to dump him, if they weren't already over. He arrived back late last night, and I am currently unsure as to what their romantic situation is. I heard no arguing last night, but then, they didn't seem to talk to each other either...

The Italian girl who doesn't speak any English, and the Italian Guy are an item. At least, they were when I arrived. It turns out that they both had some pretty big ex's back in Italy, and they only just got together before they came here to France (about a month ago) and their families don't know that they are here together. In fact, the guy's family thinks that he is in Montpellier. The guy got a phonecall last Thursday from his ex, to say that she was coming to visit over the weekend, so he had to go to Barcelona for the weekend! So, the Italian girl is not really sure if she and the Italian guy are still together. He had not returned when I went to bed last night, so I'm not sure what is happening there either...

The Italian girl who speaks a little english has a boyfriend in Italy that she has been going out with for 3 years. At least, she did when I arrived. Over the weekend she has been having some very heated, passionate (well, all discussions in Italian sound heated and passionate) discussions over the phone with him, as he feels that she has changed since she has been here in Perpignan and feels like she is neglecting him. Over the weekend things have been going downhill, I'm not sure if they're still together...

The Italian girl who speaks very good english also has a boyfriend in Italy. The rest of us girls in the house, however, are a bit suspicious that there is something going on with her and one of their male French friends, who came over on Saturday night and made us all Paella. There definitely seemed to be some chemistry and flirting going on there from both sides, which of course, when we questioned her, she denied (blushing). Her boyfriend is coming to visit her in a couple of weeks, and on Friday she went through her computer and deleted all the pictures of her with the French guy!

So, I am the only one in the house without romantic issues at the moment, which I guess is the advantage of having no romance in your life... The girls have been calling the house "Maison Bizzare".

I am having a great time here in Perpignan. It is nice to actually experience a city by living in it, rather that just doing the "tourist" thing. It is LOVELY not to have to pack and unpack my bag every other day. I have French lessons for 15 hours every week. Last week, because Monday was a public holiday, I had 4 hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings and 3 hours on Friday, and this week I have 3 hours every morning. Our teacher's name is Cecile and she is VERY funny! We are not allowed to speak English at all in class (although, sometimes it is so frustrating that we do anyway). There are two other women in the class with me; one is a 39 year old Australian who has just moved to Colliere with her husband, one 61 year old from the Isle of Man who has a holiday home in central France. They are both lovely ladies.

I am watching lots of French television to practice listening to French people speak. French is a very difficult language to listen to. They string all their words together, so even if you know the word, they become unrecognisable (at least to me) when they put them in a sentence. I find it much easier to understand my housemates when they're speaking French, as they are still learning as well, so speak more slowly. Today I went to the post office, and had a very difficult time trying to send a parcel. The lady spoke so fast, I have no idea what she was saying to me, I could have cried if I didn't find it so funny! Hopefully it will get to the right place!

I did manage to buy a t-shirt on Friday though! I was on a big high when I walked out of the store with my purchase, after the vendeuse (female shop assistant) understood what I had said when I asked to try it on. Ahh, the small things... The high I was on may have also had something to do with actually buying something as well (it has been a long time, as I have been trying to be economical with the space in my back pack)...

As part of the French experience here at ALFMED, we also have a few cultural excursion, if we wish to take part. Last week, we had a short tour of the city of Perpignan, where Nicholas, the man who is in charge of the cultural activities, pointed out some important places we should note, such as the tourist office, the bus station, the town square, and really, really, really, good restaurants which he likes (which seemed to be every second restaurant that we passed!). Last Wednesday, we did a tour of the Medieval sites of Perpignan, which would have been really interesting, had I understood a word that the tourguide was saying! Actually, she was lovely and realised that we were English speaking, and so as we were leaving each spot, she explained to us in English, what she had said.

Yesterday, the other Australian woman and I went on a Wine and Jazz tour. We hopped on a bus at the tourist office and they took us to two winneries, where we listened to a Jazz band play, and tasted the wine. It was a very warm day yesterday, and a great way to spend the afternoon! In the evening, they took us to a restaurant, where we had dinner and listened to the Jazz Band some more. I was fortunate enough to sit next to a German man, who was not only a little bit strange, but also a little bit boring. He had a touch of the "Rain Man" about him, and I can't quite put my finger on why. I think it had something to do with the way he walked... He was a photographer, and hence took quite a few photos during the night, some of us, which was quite annoying and quite zoomed in. He was telling us how he has been editing his photos on Photoshop. The other Australian woman is quite worried now that he will have edited her head onto someone else's body and she will be on a porn site somewhere on The Net! He was quite weird, although I'm sure quite harmless... his parents were there last night also, and they seemed quite normal and nice. His mother was a language teacher and could speak about 8 languages- very impressive! They also brought their dog along for the ride!

That is about all I have to say about Perpignan at this stage. It is a very nice city, although there are lots of building and reconstructions going on at the moment, and I think it would be a lot nicer without all the scaffolding and dust etc. Some days have been quite warm, but it is a very windy city and can be quite gusty. I was a little scared on my second day here, as the wind was so strong, and with all the works going on, I thought something would probably fall and hit me on the head (or that I would blow away!). The country side around Perpignan is quite beautiful, as I discovered yesterday. It was just what I had pictured France to be; lots of vineyards, some peaks, and villages with narrow streets.

Until my next blog,
Love,
Lisa x.

p.s. I have put some more photos in some of the previous blogs.

Cannes

Bonjour!

I'm currently in Perpignan, France (on the Mediterranean, just on the border to Spain). I'm doing a French language course here and the French is coming along quite well. This morning I learnt how to say " Can I please try this on?" and " yes, I'll have it," so my wallet may be in for a beating this afternoon!

After the last blog, I went back to my hotel room and had a shower, and tried to make myself look presentable for all the movie stars I would be meeting! I didn't quite know what would be happening, and when it would be happening (and didn't know how, or where to ask) but I did know where it would happen, if anything was going to. So, I assumed that if there was going to be a premier, it would probably start around 8pm, so I headed out to the Palais de festivals at around that time. Wrong, Lisa! Apparently, movie premiers start a bit earlier than that, so by the time I got there, they were cleaning up the red carpet. I didn't realise this, however, as it looked to me like they were getting it all ready for people to arrive. So, I hung around there for about an hour, until my stomach started growling, and I decided to go and get some food. When I returned, after my dinner, there were a lot more people standing around, and about half an hour later the doors to the Palais opened, and out walked George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Matt Damon, and others from Ocean's 13! It turns out the famous guy that walked past me earlier that day was one of the stars of the film (I've forgotten his name again, but it's something like Don Chevrie).

I managed to get a few photos of them all, but you will have to get out your imaginoscopes when you look at them to recognise George, Brad, Matt etc.

The next day, I made sure that I made it to the Palais a little earlier: This time I managed to see them all arrive. I saw Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes and a couple of other people associated with the film We own the night. Once they had all gone in, I then went and had dinner (and had the best creme brulee EVER!) then watched them all come out again once the film had finished.

Unfortunately; I didn't see any celebrities just roaming the streets in Cannes. I don't know where they hang out, but it wasn't anywhere where I was!

I spent the rest of my time in Cannes wandering around the streets and relaxing by the pool. I think Cannes is a good place to relax (and shop, if you can afford and are willing to pay the asking price on the designer clothes they sell). It reminded me a little of Hawaii. They are very relaxed about nude bathing over here, also. I knew there were some nude bathing beaches, but I was a little shocked when the old lady by the pool at my hotel got her gear off (well, her top, anyway)!

Unfortunately, I only had two nights in Cannes, so on the Saturday, I left it until the very last possible minute to check out of my hotel. It was the nicest hotel I've stayed in in France, and I'm sure it will remain so (I'm not planning on staying in any more 4 star hotels while I'm here). I think when I turned up on the Thursday, grotty and sweaty and lugging my back pack, the lady at the front desk thought that I was in the wrong place. I was surprised that the doorman actually let me in!

I caught the train from Cannes to Montpellier, and stayed one night there. It was a bit of a reality check going from a 4 star hotel to a youth hostel, and a pretty ordinary hostel at that! When I got to my room, I went to make up my bed, but found that someone had put their books and an empty cardboard box up there. All the other beds were taken, so I put the books and box on the floor and made my bed, then went out to find some food, and take a look of the city.

I have decided that I'm going to have to make an effort not to base my opinions of a city on the place I'm staying in, as my first impression of Montpellier was that it was a dump! On second sight, however, once I had wandered around the city a little, and found a nice park, and square, I actually found that Montpellier is quite lovely! I sat on a bench in the park to eat an apple and banana I had bought from a near-by grocer, when a man decided that I looked like I needed some company and sat down next to me and started speaking to me in French. I told him that I didn't understand him, and he explained to me that he was saying that I was beautiful! I thanked him, then he started saying something else to me in French, so I told him that I didn't understand and I left and sat down near a group of people who were watching some young boys play chess. I had been warned that French men think that women on their own must want company, but this was the first time that I had experienced it!

When I returned to my hostel room, there was a girl there, who started talking to me in French and pointing at the bed. Once I explained to her that I don't speak French, she asked me in English if I had made that bed? I said "yes, that's my bed" and she said "well, I like my things to be put on the shelf, I don't appreciate them being put on the floor". I said "sorry", but only because she could speak only a little english, and I wasn't sure if she would understand "well, why the bloody hell didn't you put them there in the first place, instead of my bed?" and also, I had to share a room with her that night, and didn't want to get off on the wrong foot AGAIN. I had a bit of a chat with her, and her name was Magalie and she was from somewhere in France. I think she was a little rude, actually, but I put that down to the language barrier. The next day, however, I saw her in the city and I waved at her as she passed, but she either didn't see me, or she pretended not to. I think it was the latter!

I noticed that there were quite a few police around Montpellier. When I was waiting for my train, a woman in police uniform walked past and she was followed by a group of three men in army uniform and carrying machine guns! It was very intimidating, I felt guilty and I hadn't even done anything!

On Sunday May 27th I caught the train to Perpignan.

I'll write more about Perpignan and what I'm doing here soon, but right now, I need to go and eat!

Take care
Love,
Lis x

Belgium

I've managed to find an internet cafe here in Cannes. Although the keyboard is French, the man here showed me how if I press a button on the screen, I can use it like an English keyboard. So, Belgium:

I caught the train from Brussels to Maastricht last Wednesday and managed to locate Grand Place all by myself, without even trying! I confess I was actually trying to locate the tourist office at the time, but that turned out to be in The Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) which was in the Grand Place. Grand Place is really... Grand. There's no other word to describe it, and the photos that I've taken really don't do it justice. You really need to be standing in the middle of Grand Place, dwarfed by the surrounding buildings to get a feel of how magnificent it is. I've just looked at the photos that I've posted here, and they make the place look grotty, so you're just going to have to believe me, or see it for yourself.

Elise arrived in Brussels a couple of hours after me, so after we found our hostel and dumped our bags we headed back in to Grand Place for a caffeine fix at one of the many cafes lining Grand Place, and try to plan our week.
After our much needed coffees and a Croque Monsier (ham and cheese toasted sandwich) we headed off for a little look around Brussels. Our first stop was Galleries St Hubert, a shopping arcade which opened in 1847 which contains a mix of shops and cafes. Elise was looking to buy a lace hanky (for her mum), I was looking to buy chocolate (for me).
After we both had a chocolate fix (this is a photo of Elise eating her 1st Belgium Chocolate from Belgium), we went searching for the Mannekin Pis. And we found him! For those who don't know, the Mannekin Pis is a statue of a little boy peeing, in the centre of Brussels. It is a bit like the little statue in the Conservatory of the City Park in Launceston. Once we were satisfied that we'd taken enough photos of the little guy, we checked out St Katherines Church, then decided it was time for Dinner. We had both decided beforehand that we were going to have mussels and fries for dinner, and there were quite a few places offering mussels, fries and a glass of wine or beer for 10 euro, so we thought we'd try one of those. We got sucked in, however, by a waiter standing outside one restaurant lining the street, who told us that he'd give us a glass of wine for free! So we went inside and it wasn't until we were seated that we saw the menu and found that the mussels here were actually 20 euro! So we decided to save the mussels for another night and instead tried some traditional Flemish Dishes. Elise had the Rabbit cooked in Beer, and I had the Chicken Waterzooi, which is a creamy chicken stew with potatoes and other veges. It was YUMMY! In fact, it was so good that I had Waterzooi again later in the week at another restaurant. It reminded me of the chicken casserol that mum used to cook and put in Crepes.

The next day, in the rain, we visited The Cathedral. It wasn't a great time to visit, as there was a service in progress, so we couldn't walk around, but I heard some of the best church singing that I have ever heard! We then went to the Musees royaux des Beaux Arts de Belgique and spent most of our day there, wandering around the 17th and 18th Century paintings in the morning, and the 19th and 20th century paintings in the afternoon. Unfortunately, they were undergoing some renovations, so the 15th and 16th Century art wasn't on display- we still saw enough art to satisfy us for the rest of our Belgium trip, however.

That afternoon, we had a couple of Krieks (Cherry Beers) at Grand Place, before finding a spot to have some Mussels and frites for dinner! They were pretty good. Elise ordered the Mussels in White Wine, and I ordered the Mussels in Garlic. It wasn't until Elise had munched on her 20th piece of garlic, and I was just about on my last mussel, that we realised that the waiter had mixed up our meals! It didn't really matter, as we enjoyed them anyway.

We managed to squeeze in Belgium waffles with chocolate sauce for dessert! VERY RICH. Having since tried the Belgium waffles plain (the way the locals eat them), I have to say that I actually prefer them that way. I never thought I would find anyone with a sweeter tooth than me, but I think that in Belgium (and also in the Netherlands) I am way out of my league! They put sugar in and on just about everything.

On Friday, Elise and I headed off to the Victor Horta Museum which is located a little out of the city centre, to check out some Art Nouveau architecture. We had to catch a couple of metro trains and a tram to get there, and it wasn't until we were waiting for our tram, that we realised that we were actually there 4 hours before it opened! So we checked out the outside of the museum anyway, then went for a walk along some of the surrounding streets which also feature some Art Nouveau architecture, before heading back to the centre of the city, to catch a train to Antwerp.

The Central Station at Antwerp is very spacious and grand, and a lot nicer than the Central station in Brussels. Our first stop in Antwerp was to visit the Diamond Museum, where we saw lots and lots of diamond jewels, and learnt everything you could want to know about diamond (and more). Unfortunately, they didn't let us play with any of the diamonds or give us any free samples. Very disappointing.

That night I learnt a very important lesson. Kriek should be drunk on it's own and not mixed with food! It doesn't taste that great if you are eating a meal while drinking it.

The following day, Elise and I went to De Kathedral in Antwerp, where we took ourselves on a guided tour. It is certainly the nicest and most informative church that I've been in. The parish was first established in 1124, and since that time the church has undergone expansion, been ravaged by fire, has been confiscated by the French revolutionaries, been reclaimed and restored. It is a seven aisle church, and features some famous paintings by Baroque artists such as Peter Paul Rubens. As Mary is the patroness of the Cathedral, many of the works feature her. There are also two large organs, one which contains 5,770 organ pipes!

After the Cathedral, we checked out Antwerp's Grote Markt. Much less grand than Brussels' Grand Place, it is still nonetheless, a nice place featuring all the essentials such as guildhalls and a Stadhuis, plus a rather snazzy water fountain of Silvius Brabo, flinging the hand of the giant Antigonus, into the Scheldt. Legend has it that that is how Antwerp got it's name (which is literally "hand-throw".



We also managed to go through the St Anna Tunnel which is a pedestrian tunnel, 32 metres underground, and travels 500 metres under the Scheldt, linking the city with the Left Bank. It is like you are about to enter a new world or spaceship when you enter the large elevator that takes you underground to the tunnel. When you get out of the elevator at the bottom, all you can see is white tunnel wall stretching out in front. It was a relief to get to the other side without having the walls cave in.

We also visited the National scheepvaartmuseum (ship museum), and I'm happy to say that I have satisfied my curiosity for boats for a lifetime! And we also did a fashionwalk which took us past stores featuring clothes by designers we had never heard of, and could not afford. We also felt a little too dorky to actually enter any of the stores!

That night we did our laundry and felt like geniuses when we managed to work out how to get the soap out of the soap dispenser, as it required you to use 2 machines to do it! We were so proud of ourselves (the instructions were all in Dutch).

On Sunday, we headed to Bruges where we spent 3 nights. The day we got there, it decided to pour with rain, which put a little bit of a dampener on our sightseeing. We managed to find the Belfort in the Markt, and climbed the 366 steps to the Belfry. I did feel a little puffed when we got to the top! It was a lovely view though, and as soon as the man who works here figures out how to get my CD out of the computer (it's stuck) so that I can put my other CD in, then I will put more photos up, but that will probably have to wait for another day!



















We also did a tour of the Stadhuis, and learnt about a little of the history of Bruges. The Gothic Chamber on the 2nd floor was absolutely amazing, with murals painted on the wall, and decorations on the ceiling (unfortunately, weren't allowed to photograph it).

We had dinner at an eetcafe (pub) just around the corner from our hotel, which served greek food. The meal was fantastic (and the beer wasn't half bad either).

On Monday, as the weather had cleared a little, we decided to do a canal cruise, which was a nice way to see a little of Bruges and learn a little about the history of it's buildings (if you could understand the guide, he spoke German, French and English, and I found it a bit hard to catch his English explanations. Elise had no problems, however). We then had the best hot chocolate in the whole world at a little tea-room. It not only tasted great, but the presentation was also superb- a cup of steaming hot milk, and a little saucer of melted chocolate sitting on the top, which you mix in the milk. On the side, a little saucer of whipped cream which you can put on top if you wish (I thought, why not?) and a little saucer with a selection of 4 chocolates. We then went to Choco Story, a chocolate museum, which offered far too much information, and far too little free samples, if you ask me! We did manage to put what we learnt about chocolate to good use though, and went out and bought some!

In the evening we went to 't Brugs Beertje, to sample a couple of the 250 odd Beers that they have on offer. I started with a sweet Trappist (made by monks) Westmalle Blond which was rather nice, then Elise and I shared a REAL Kriek. A real Kriek is one that is made with real cherries, and doesn't just have cherry flavour added to it, and it comes out of a bottle with a cork in it, and it tastes sour. It was great. I prefer it to the "artificial" one. I imagine it will be especially lovely to drink on a warm summer evening. Very refreshing. After staggering out of the pub (Belgium beers have rather high percentages of alcohol), we went and had another beer with our dinner.

On Tuesday, we did a bus tour of the World War I battle fields near Ypres and the surrounding area. This was a very sobbering experience, to visit a few of the 207 war cemetries in the area, and see and walk on some of the places where battles were actually fought, it really emphasised the reality of war. The people in the area are still suffering the affects of that war- there are a few fatalaties every year from unexploded shells in the area, some crops don't grow due to cannisters of poison gas still in the ground, and some houses are collapsing due to being built over some of the dugouts and tunnels. Hundreds of bodies are still being discovered every year, and there are thousands more still buried, in mass graves, having not had a proper burial. We also visited a field dressing station where John McCrae spent much of his time during the war, and where he wrote his famous poem Flanders Fields. I found this tour to be much more thought provoking and worthwhile that any museum I visited in Belgium. Our bus driver/tour guide was Sharon, and she was an Australian.



Yesterday morning, Elise and I said goodbye and she headed off to Luxembourg, and I headed off to Nice. I stayed in a hostel there last night, then caught a train to Cannes this morning. The weather here is much warmer than what I've experienced in The Netherlands and Belgium. I'm looking forward to going swimming and celebrity spotting while I'm here, although after spending half the afternoon typing this blog, I don't have much time to do either today, it may have to wait until tomorrow...
I did see someone famous while I was eating my lunch today. I can't tell you who he was though, as I only recognised him by the crowd of screaming 14 year old girls who were following him. He looked a bit like Puff Daddy, but I'm not sure who he actually was!

My next update will probably be from Perpignan, where I am going to be taking French lessons for 2 weeks!

Hope you are all well, keep up with the emails and comments!

Missing you all

Love,

Lisa x.