Paris, Le Deuxieme Jour
Wednesday May 3, 2017
I tried really hard to get to the Palace of Versailles at 9am, opening time. I was quite tired from the day before and only made it out the door at 8.30am. I got to the metro station and with my amazing command of the French language I managed to ask the attendant for tickets to Chateau Versailles. Somehow I managed to take the wrong train so two hours later, I finally made it to the palace entrance and I got stuck in line to get in. I did cut the queue by smoothly joining a random Asian tour group though, and I'm more pleased about my ability to do that than I should be.
Versailles is massive. It's all about opulence; the lavish and extravagant lifestyles of the French royalty that ended abruptly with their overthrowing in the French Revolution. Though the Queen's Quarters are under renovation, I found the rest of the palace quite interesting. I followed Rick Steve's audio guide for the most part, but it didn't cover some of the rooms off the main tourist path. I also went on a private guided tour of the King's Apartments, which was pretty cool too.
Not only is the palace massive, but the surrounding garden is as well. I spent a few hours walking around the suggested path. The musical fountains at the Mirror Pool were operational today, and reminded me very much of the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas. Unfortunately the Theatre Grove had broken, so I had to skip that.
It was close to 5.30pm so I decided to see if I could get to the Catacombs before they closed. I missed the Catacombs and Versailles when I was last in Paris, so both of these were must-visits this time round. I made it in with plenty of time to spare and I explored the 800m of underground cavern. It's astounding how it feels. At a constant 14C, the Catacombs were originally quarries that provided the stone for many Gallo-Roman buildings. After collapsing, Louis XVI ordered them to be strengthened and then to combat the problem of expanding cemeteries, it was converted into an ossuary.
There are so many bones. I was quite shocked, to be honest. I didn't realise how many there would be. There's also many French and Latin inscriptions on plaques around the gallery, and I almost wished I had paid more attention in Latin class in third form. My favourite is at the entrance to the ossuary: "Arrete! C'est ici l'empire de la mort", "Stop! Here is the empire of the dead"
After a lovely slow paced dinner where I once again showed off my command of the French language successfully, I wandered back to the hotel, 14 hours after I left. Another day seized!
Posted by Jeremy at 8:16am on Wednesday May 3, 2017 :: 0 comments :: 
Paris, Le Premier Jour
Tuesday May 2, 2017
My first full day in Paris was extremely busy. I covered all the famous landmarks; I've been here before in 2001 - so long ago that they didn't even have the Euro - I wanted a quick revisit without spending too much time at one spot.
The city is incredibly pretty. I love the little bridges over the Seine. The flowers are out in bloom and there aren't too many people. However, the line to get into Notre Dame was ridiculously long; I totally cut the queue like a smooth operator. Admission is free though, so I don't think people would have minded that much. I remember the magnificent stained glass window shaped like a rose, and to this day remains as memorable as it was 16 years ago.
From Notre Dame, I walked to the Louvre and its famous glass pyramid. As it was a public holiday, the museum was closed but having been inside already (and it was free for me back then), I didn't feel like I had to go again. Besides, everyone always complains about the horde of people surrounding the Mona Lisa trying to take photos, and you're so far away that it's like looking at a postage stamp.
I continued down past Le Jardin les Tuileries and Place de la Concorde, and onto the Champs Élysées. I found the memorial site of the recently slain officer, covered in French flags and flowers. Further down, there was Laduree, a famous patisserie with a massive line to get in that extended outside. Finally, I made it to the Arc de Triomphe, with the largest French flag billowing in the wind under the arch.
From there, I walked towards the aquarium and the Eiffel Tower. It is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the world, and with recent security concerns, it has been completely fenced off with checkpoints and military presence. Thankfully it was relatively quick to get through on the north side, but the lines to buy tickets were way too long, so I left and walked down the Champ de Mars.
I took the metro up to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. I remember sitting on the stairs there, overlooking the magnificent views of the city. In the distance I could make out the George Pompidou Center. I continued down from the stairs into the red light district - Moulin Rouge!
I often walk around with headphones on, mostly so people don't try to talk to me when I'm on the street. That didn't stop several people chasing after me and trying to offer me free tickets to the various strip shows or whatever around the place. One even tried to talk to me in Chinese. I was not interested. I had places to go and things to eat!
I went back to the Champs Élysées and waited in line to get into Laduree. There is definitely an air of elegance and poshness, and the desserts are presented immaculately. I got three macarons and the classic mille-feuille. Yum!
I had a quick dinner before returning to the Eiffel Tower. The lines were so short now, it took me a few minutes to get a ticket to the second floor - via the stairs, of course. I love the view from there, and as the sun set, the red glow of the sky peeked out from behind the dark grey clouds and the lights of the city started to flicker on. I went to the top as well, for an extra €6 but it was a bit too crowded for my liking. At 9.45pm I made my way back to ground floor and down the Champ de Mars to watch the famous Eiffel Tower light show.
What a day. Paris, je t'aime!
Posted by Jeremy at 8:18am on Tuesday May 2, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
The Next Adventure
Sunday April 30, 2017
It sits inconspicuously in many places. Wellington brings one out on a good day in Frank Kitts Park. There's one in the Melbourne Airport departure lounge. There's another in the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. I saw them in three different train stations in Italy. Whenever I see one, it brings such a big smile to my face. I am of course talking about the humble public piano, its ebony and ivory melodies filling the atmosphere with glorious music. I make it a mission to play as many public pianos as I can, but am often constrained by time.
I rarely voice strong opinions on the Internet. But today has pushed me to the edge. It is the second time it has happened to me. I was in St Pancras International train station in London, waiting for my train to Gatwick Airport, when I chanced upon a public piano. I played Let it Go with gusto, attracting a few people who had pulled out their phones and others with kids who danced gleefully at the famous tune. With a smile on my face, I left to grab some food and head to the train.
As I walked to the platform, I found another piano. It blew my mind. I had to play this one too. But someone else was on there. And she remained on there, hammering the same two songs. She played a little while, then stumbled and mashed the keys in frustration. She repeated this for 20 minutes. It was painful to watch and hear. I get that we all have different levels of talent, and that it's difficult playing in public. But this is a piano available to all people and you shouldn't be monopolising this for more than 10 minutes; others have a right (and a want!) to play and if you're just repeating the same thing over and over again, then you should probably invest in your own piano to practice in your own time.
There. I said it.
I'm off on my next big adventure today, heading away for a total of 40 days, covering six countries in West Europe and even Africa! It's going to be wild and crazy but I'm going to love it.
Edit: I have arrived. The train station at the airport has a piano but someone has parked themselves on the seat with a massive book of sheet music. Screw you, selfish wench. Nobody got time to wait for that.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:47am on Sunday April 30, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
Brighton
Thursday April 27, 2017
I spent the weekend in Brighton, catching up with Dale and Becca. It reminded me of Wellington to some extent, it's a small, cozy town with a great cafe culture and a good vibe. There's lots of little art murals everywhere, and I can imagine the beach getting super busy during summer when it's warm and sunny.
We walked down the waterfront on Saturday after having brunch. Dale and Becca are also big Pokemon Go players, so there was plenty to discuss and share and gripe; unfortunately they're on a different team to me, so we couldn't go on gym runs. We ended up at Brighton Pier, where we went on some of the rollercoasters there - not too shabby! We went biking in the afternoon past the white cliffs when suddenly we got an alert for an Ampharos that had spawned about 13 minutes bike ride away. We had 15 minutes to get there.
There began an awful uphill bike ride for 13 minutes. It has been a long time since I have ridden a bike, and even then, I've never used a bike with gears before, nor have I ridden on the road, so all of that was new to me. It wasn't easy but we made it, the last stretch I ended up getting off the bike and pushing it up the hill because I was so sick of pedalling. There marks the last Pokemon that I can catch for this region - my remaining two are Steelix and Scizor, which require an immense amount of luck to get their items to drop from a PokeStop.
We returned to the white cliffs for a few photos and then went home, via a Dragonite that was also slightly up the hill. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the balcony with some other expats, enjoying cheese, tomatoes, crackers, cider and truffle oil, because we are grown adults and we are fancy. Dinner was at the pub nearby, and I ordered a massive platter of delicious things.
We went up to Devil's Dyke on Sunday. It's a valley carved out by an immense water flow into the chalk rocks during the Cretaceous period, and it's a short bus ride north of Brighton. Though it was a bit cold, the scenery from the cliffs was amazing, and we trekked down one side of the hill to the Shepherd and Dog for an awesome traditional Sunday roast lunch.
I left Brighton on Monday, stopping by Choccywoccydoodah, an eccentric chocolate shop with the most stunning displays of chocolate and cakes I've ever seen. I got a white hot chocolate from there, very reminiscent of the hot chocolate that Ned Flanders serves Bart Simpson in the Simpsons Movie.
I'm off on my next big adventure on Sunday. It's been horribly cold back in London, with rain, wind, hail and thunderstorms hitting yesterday. I barely left the warmth of my bed, venturing out only to get food. This trip will take almost 6 weeks, and I'll be covering France, Switzerland, Spain, Morocco and Portugal!
Posted by Jeremy at 7:15pm on Thursday April 27, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
Naples
Thursday April 20, 2017
It was a short time in Naples, but my departure also marks the end of my Italian journey. What a time I've had here - so memorable for so many different reasons. I've enjoyed it immensely, despite some of the hiccups along the way.
I took the ferry from Sorrento to Naples without a problem, and checked in to the hostel. The friendly guy at the reception recommended some sights for me to see, as I hadn't planned on visiting anywhere specific. Down from the port is Castel dell'Ovo, which overlooks the Gulf of Naples, so that was the first stop. I continued down to a park by the waterfront before heading back to the center of town. If there was one thing I needed to do, it was visit L'Antico Pizzeria da Michele, a Michelin star pizza restaurant in Naples.
I got my pizza takeaway as the restaurant was full, and although the ambience wasn't quite right, the pizza was pretty good, and only €4. I wandered around some more but retired to the hostel soon after. I was a little miffed at the poor quality wifi and couldn't even get 3G reception, so it was a pretty boring night.
Today was pretty relaxed. I wandered around the block, stumbling upon a few churches and whatnot. I got some takeaway pizza from nearby and took the bus to the airport, and caught my flight to Milan, then to Heathrow without a problem. The view of Italy from the plane is stunning. As we left Naples, the sight of Vesuvius overlooking the gulf was so pretty. As we neared Milan, you could see fields of green and gold stretching to the horizon. We flew over Switzerland and its snow-capped mountains, and over France's green pastures. We neared the English Channel... and suddenly all this cloud covered the land.
It rained as I left Heathrow and took the Underground back home. I picked up some microwave food from Sainsburys on the way. A pretty sad welcome after four weeks of adventure!
Posted by Jeremy at 8:40pm on Thursday April 20, 2017 :: 0 comments ::