London Calling

Hi everyone!

We are safe and sound in London, arriving last night. We had a bit of a bumpy experience; catching the wrong train and then having to lug our heavy bags up and down several flights of stairs before finally being able to get to our room. But overall we are safe and sound.

So, here we are, London, England. So far away from home, yet the weather is so similar (so much for escaping winter!). Today we’ve set our sights on sight-seeing and exploring the city. We only have a day to spend, so we were going to make the most of it by hopping on a bus tour and making the most of the “summer” weather. We had a delightful breakfast this morning, provided by the hostel, and then we were off. Catching the right public transport this time.

Our hostel

From Picadilly we wandered and cught our tour bus. First stop, Buckingham Palace; after stopping by some familiar sights and names first (Pall Mall and Park Lane are places not just Monopoly properties guys!!). We arrived just in time for a cramped and crowded view of the changing of the guard. Totally worth it though. Buckingham Palace was beautiful and I managed to get some pretty beautiful views of the city we were to find ourselves lost in today.

Buckingham Palace; searching for the queen

Our tour bus took us to all the fantastic “Touristy” sites, it was a quick rip around to see some fantastic architecture, classic destinations, and of course, good food. Of course, the heavens opened up. We were drenched after 15 minutes atop an open top double decker.

We ducked into Hard Rock for some well deserved reprieve and to sample some classic sounds and tastes. Colour me very full I wont be able to eat for weeks!!

Luckily, we got to explore the Thames as well. Hopping onto a cruise for a couple of hours took us around to all the sights and we got to relax and take in the scenery. Wow. This is when it hit. Toto, we aren’t in Kansas anymore. Perth seemed a sleepy dream away, it’s little city and bustling atmosphere that seemed to be bursting full of life was overshadowed by the city that is London.

The amount of people walking around on the streets, enjoying a beautiful summer’s day (by English standards) and the chaos and the noise was just fantastic. A bit daunting and scary at times for us “country bumpkins” from Perth, Western Australia. I have never been to a place (bar New York City) so full and brimming with culture and diversity.

Lots of fun was had during the day.

Our evening was spent walking the streets on the hunt for Jack the Ripper. A morbid trail that filled my heart with excitement and childish wonder that had enthralled me when I first found out about his murderous ways all those many years ago (really says a lot about my personality, I think). A bit morbid, but for historical enthusiasts like myself, it was a blast. Once again, it’s hard to actually believe we are here!

We are off early tomorrow morning to begin the next leg of our tour. So off to bed, the sweetest dreams of European fantasies on our minds.

Best wishes,

Kristen

Goodbye Perth!

Hi everyone!

Off to the airport today, and saying our goodbyes.

It’s going to be a long month away from the comforts of home, but it’s a price we’ll have to pay for a trip of a life time. Contiki prides itself on a #noregrets attitude, so let’s grab the bull by it’s horns here. No regrets. None at all. From hangovers to unexpected (and probably well deserved) weight gain. Let’s not have any regrets at all this trip.

Here’s to 4 blissful weeks of European cities, landmarks, countrysides, and beautiful food. Tuth be told, we’ve been planning this trip for almost two years now, so it’s kinda fantastic to actually get onto the road (onto the plane, perhaps?). Watch this space, I’ll be documenting the trip (to the best of my ability) as we go and you will get to see a sneak preview of all the adventures we are having.

So ciao my darlings, I’ll be seeing you soon!

Kristen

Midnight In Paris

Today is the final day of our stay in Paris. Breakfast scoffed down, handbags packed, and sunscreen applied we headed into the city for a day of exploring, shopping, and sight seeing.

We only had 6 hours in one of the most beautiful cities in the world so we were going to make it count. After all, you can sit down when you’re dead; I wasnt going to have any regrets that I hadn’t experienced the city to its fullest. So we set off our epic adventure, feet to the pavement and making headway to the Arc de Triomphe. We had whizzed by the Arc on our city tour last night, but a closer look was warranted.

I think the thing that surprised me most about Paris is the sheer size of everything. You get so used to seeing pictures of these great sites, you forget how real and how magnificent they all are. Beautiful carvings adorned the Arc’s walls, the eternal flame burned in rememberance. Its waves of heat mixing with the warm summer air. It was going to be a very hot day.

You can’t go to Paris and not go shopping. This is something that we all found out soon enough. Walking the Champs Elysses was a lesson in self control. I couldn’t leave Paris without a quintessential European outfit, however, and I indulged myself in H&M. I’ve been doing a lot of indulging as of late, but maybe that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Shopping turned into exploring, and with a map in hand we decided to find some major sites by foot. What we discovered was that whilst it was still morning the sun was bearable. By mid afternoon though, we were sweating. A lot.

We wandered around the streets, found Laudree and picked up lunch. Macarons. Well, I did tell you I was indulging a lot on this trip.

Soon the heat got so unbearable we had to catch a cab. We visited the Notre Dame. Only able to admire the structure from the outside; the thought of waiting for hours in the hot sun seemed unappealing. After all, we only had 6 hours.

I think that’s the biggest regret of this tour. The lack of time meant that we could only admire some sites from the outside. Queues were our worst enemy. The sun’s scorching rays assured us of that.

The evening was warm. It was a hot summer’s day in a country where the sun set at 9pm. We climbed the stairs to the Sacre Coure, wilting in the heat but all dolled up for a special night ahead. We were to attend the cabaret, after a beautiful French dinner. French onion soup, duck, beautiful red wine…. I am definitely indulging on this trip. We finished quite a few bottles of the wine. It was probably the best red wine I have ever tasted. Smooth and delicious.

The Cabaret was a steep walk down hill, we passed the Moulin Rouge and headed for Nouvelle Eve. A much more intimate show, where the champagne was flowing freely. Having never seen cabaret before I was taken in and thoroughly enthralled by the singing, the dancing, and the artistic display of beautiful bodies adorned in feathers and beads. The interval shows entertained us and made us laugh, the cabaret dancing had us captivated and falling in love. Absolutely the best show I have ever seen.

But the night wasn’t over. A few too many glasses of champagne in we were heading out to a pub to continue the festivities. We danced till 2am, only stopping as the fatigue started to kick in. We had spent the entire day running around the city in the summer sun. It was time to hit the hay, climbing into a taxi we headed back to the hotel for our 8:30 am departure tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow we are off to the French Riviera, staying in a French château for a few days and enjoying the country side.

Until next time,

Kristen

Hello Europe!

Well, the countdown has begun.

A few more weeks left before I’m jet setting off to Europe for a month long holiday! Woohoo! I won’t say that I’m planning on some big Eurotrip-esque adventure, but I’m sure there will probably be enough shenanigans involved to write home about!

So if you are a family member, friend, or fellow traveler, please tune in for a play by play of my adventures abroad.

Love,

Kristen