All Good Things Come To An End

Which sucks because it means that my good thing - my Euro trip - has to end sometime and much to my dismay that day is today.

I was really sad to leave Spain as I had completely and utterly fallen in love with San Sebastian that was until I got to Bordeaux and Tours and re-fell in love with France. Oh dear I can be such a country slut at times but when there are beautiful old buildings, patisseries, wine tours and cute little bars its hard not to fall in love with a new city.

I arrived in Bordeaux at about 12pm which was great because it meant that I had an extra half day to explore the city as I was only spending two nights there. Unfortuneatly we could not check in straight away because our rooms werent ready so after dumping my bag reception I planned on going for a wander. While we were sorting out our non check in I started talking to a guy called Nathan who was wearing the armband from the Topdeck tour I had just done in Pamplona who was also travelling solo. We decided we would go for a wander and grab some food while we waited until our rooms were ready. After a lunch at an Irish pub (it was so nice not to be eating a bagettue!) we had a bit of wander down the main road, along the river and up back to our hostel. Once we got there and checked in we found out we were staying in rooms in a different building down the end of the street. After finding the right building and realising that my room was at the very top of the four floors I decided that this place was the crappiest and biggest waste of money ever. Nathan couldnt even find his room and ended up trying every door with his key to see which one it was.

It cost me €56 euros for my room for two nights and it was disgusting. The bed spread was stained so I though 'oh I will just lie on the sheets and use my sleeping bag'. The sheets were worse! I pulled back the covers and there were hairs on the pillows and more stains on the sheets. I would have slept on the floor except that the carpet looked like about thirty cats had vomited on it. The shower had a hose that had no holder so you had to clean yourself with one hand while fighting the scungy shower curtain and trying not to flood the bathroom. There was no air con or fan so the only ventilation was the window which had shutters on it. that probably hadnt been painted in my lifetime. I got a splinter (and probably tetnus) from trying to open them up just so whatever breeze there was could come through the window. Oh but dont worry, it had a tv which was its only saving grace because it meant I could pass the time watching east enders and listening to french MTV.

After my discovery of such a fantastic room I figured I would take another walk down to the tourist info centre and book myself a winery tour for the next day. I then sat under a tree in the shade with a breeze in the main square and people watched for a little while because the last thing I wanted to do was hang out in my hotel room. I was enjoying the serenity until a guy sat next to me and started talking to me in French. After I told him that I didnt speak French and asking if he spoke English he told me no but he did speak Spanish. I then informed him that I didnt speak Spanish but I understood English (when I say informed I mean I mimed and repeated 'non francais, non espanol, angalis? anglais?' ) he continued to have a converstation with me in French. After about five minutes of pointless nodding and smiling I decided that I might not want to be agreeing with what he said and I got up and walked back to my hotel.

Once I got in the main door of the hostel I had to laugh because Nathan had stuck up a sign with his room number on his door using a scrap piece of paper and vegemite. Turns out it was the very first door as you walked in and he had traipsed up and down the stairs with his backpack for a few minutes. That night we went around the corner to an English pub so we could watch the final of the World Cup. I was slightly devastated that I was not in Spain for this as it was Spain vs Netherlands and it would have been an incredible atmosphere but it was still good to go out and see it. I am actually suprised at myself as a non soccer fan I probably watched about 85% of the games. Its hard no to as it is the most social thing going on and it always provides a rowdy pub and fun atmosphere. I was pretty happy that Spain one after the longest most frustrating game in the whole competition and even in the streets of Bordeaux people were honking ther car horns and dancing in the street with spanish flags.

While we were at the bar we met a couple from London who gave us some train tickets for around the area and some advice on what to do while we were in Bordeaux. I also got some handy tips about living in London and heard a few travel stories of theirs. One of my favourite things about backpacking is that as soon as you hear a fellow aussie accent or even an english speaking voice your almost automatically friends for the evening (or current drinking session). We ended up staying on after the game until closing time at 2am. Here I was thinking I would be taking it easy over the next few days and winding down from the binge drinking festival that is Pamplona. I was so wrong!

The next day after a sleep in (which is suprising considering how uncomfy and mankey the beds were) I had a lazy wander through the town before grabbing a bite to eat before my winery tour. I also scored a good book during in a book exchange which meant I had something to occupy my time while I sipped on my first decent coffee in months. That afternoon I went on a winery tour of two wineries in the Bordeaux region. The first winery was pretty modern and we got a guided tour by a frenchman that spoke english. We got to see the vines, the barrel room, the bottle room and then got the chance to taste five of the wines that they produce while snacking on cheese and crackers. To be honest it was slightly boring as there was such a big group it was hard to hear especially with the heavy french accent. The wines were good but as they were all red wine I was slightly disappointed as I much prefer white. Im also a bit of a dork when it comes to wine tasting as was evident when people were swurling and sniffing and talking about 'woody undertones' and 'fruity flavours'. I was just standing there trying to not think about all the red wine that was involved in all the sangria which turned into all those hangovers.

We then headed to the second winery which was more of what I was expecting as it was by a river in a really old classic building. It was more exposed brick and old furniture and typical beautiful scenery where as the other one was more modern. This winery was run by a family and the little old french lady that toured us around did not speak a word of english so we had a translator. This was fun for about five minutes until I realised the tour would take twice as long. At this place we got a chance to try some rose but once again was mostly reds so I was a bit bummed. Im glad I did the tour as that is what Bordeaux is famous for but the €30 I spent probably wasnt worth it.

The best part about the day is I got chatting to a few people that were on Busabout and staying in the room opposite me. After heading back to the hotel and having a nanna nap (what else do you do after a lot of wine) I spent the night with them and Nathan drinking and playing cards in their room. Once again I didnt get to bed until the early hours but it was good not worrying about getting up at 7 for the bus at 8 because we were a halfway drop off point we werent getting picked up until 11.30 so I got yet another lazy sleep in.

In the morning I grabbed my croissant and coffee from a cute little patisserie and jumped on the bus from Bordeaux to Tours. We arrived in Tours and checked into the nicest hotel that I have stayed in with Busabout. It was in every way everything that you would imagine about a cute little french hotel. Floral wallpaper? check. Old wooden furniture? check. Winding staircase? check. Cute little tea room? tiny courtyard? well dressed tall slender french woman as the proprieter? check check and check. Since I had booked a double room but no longer had a travel partner and Nathan hadnt booked we ended up sharing a room as there were two beds. We were at the very top floor (again!!) in a cute little atticy room. The room was pretty funny as it had a shower and a sink but no toilet. The toilet was just outside the door but had no sink so it was always a bit of a mission when you needed to go.

That night we headed around the corner and up the road a little to a cafe that had english on the menu! phew! We ran into another girl, Fiona, from busabout and ended up spending most of the night eating our dinners and having a few drinks. We got kicked out of there at about 11 as it was closing up for the night so we grabbed some drinks from a little supermarket and headed back to our room to chill out. Although we were situated in the Loire Valley which is renowned for its wine I somehow managed to buy a bottle that tasted like petrol. I think that even when you are in wine country if its a cheap bottle it will still taste like cheap wine.

The next day was Bastille day which is a holiday in France celebrating the French Revolution. It also happened to be the laziest day of my whole entire life. Out of the 24 hours in the day I was awake for six of them. The combination of late nights plus a comfy bed plus a rainy day equals a very late sleep in and a very lazy Bronwyn. After sleeping in until 12.30 then listening to the rain for awhile we headed out into the old town of Tours for a quick look around and something to eat. I love all these old towns around Europe and Tours was no different. The buildings almost looked swiss as they were thatched roooves and wooden beams on the outside. There were little cafes and crepe shops everywhere. We had a wander along the river too and managed to get mud and clay caked through out shoes. After awhile the sun came out which was good as it meant we didnt have to worry about getting wet as well as muddy. I thought it would be good to find a cinema and see if they had an english film. We were a bit unlucky and couldnt find one but managed to stumble across the cathederal of St Martin. It was next to another old building that had some beauitful gardens so after a wander around there we were pretty much buggered. With a total of four hours out of the hotel room we went back for a nanna nap (oh how am I ever going to survive without my afternoon siestas???). I woke up at around 9.30 and Nathan woke up at about 10.30 at night. It was one of those times where you dont know if you have slept through the night or not. The best part was that we were actually finally revialised and raring to go.

After a visit from Fiona we all decided to hit the town as it was my last proper night on my Euro trip so we had a few pre drinks in the room before heading back into the bars in the old town. We just sort of chose a bar at random and while we were waiting to order a drink we befriended some cool american girls called Katie and Monica who was studying french in Tours. They decided to take us to their local and most frequented pub 'The Pale' which was an Irish pub around the corner. After a couple of shots there (to get us in the mood and to catch up with Katie who was already quite pissed) I tried out a cocktail called the pink panther. I have no idea what was in it except for alot of alcohol. The bars close quite early in Tours because of the law so we had to leave 'The Pale' quite early and headed to the only place that was open - a club called Excalibar. One of the guys called John, that Katie knew came with us which was handy because he was also studying french so we had a bit of a translator.

It was a pretty exxy place with a €8 entry fee and expensive drinks. The drinks they poured you were free poured shots in a teeny tiny glass with maybe a splash of soda or lemonade. It wasnt too bad because at least you got better value for money but they certainly didnt taste the best. The place was a bit of a sausage fest and I could count the amount of girls there on two hands but at least they had a dancefloor. Spent most of the night dancing to the very average music and but still having heaps of fun. After awhile I was getting a little sick of fending off guys trying to dance with me (I know that sounds conceited but Im not exaggerating) and we decided to head home. Fiona was lucky enough to get talking to some very cute french guys who were apparently famous sports reporters so we left her to it and headed home. John escorted us to our hotel which was nice because it meant we didnt spend the night wander but also a bit stalkerish and I was glad when we had got inside and we were rid of him. By this stage it was about 4am and the sun was coming up so we dived into bed.

We didnt surface again until about 40 minutes before check out time when we awoke tired, seedy and starving. As we had spent the previous day sleeping we had only eaten the one meal so we were ravenous. What do you do when you are hungover and hungry? Find a kebab shop! So we dumped our bags at reception and headed straight down the road for a fix of greasy food and a coke. While we were there devouring our first meal in about 24 hours we ran into another girl from our bus Hillary. Fiona then met us there once she had managed to get out of bed and we all spent the day wandering around Tours. We crossed the river before realising there was nothing much to see there and then turned around and headed straight back into old town for a coffee and a sit down. Being hungover and tired is always a bit too much to handle when you have time to kill before the bus comes. As we were getting picked up at 4.30 pm we had most of the day to wander around. I walked along the street where my cousin lived while she lived in Tours, grabbed some lollies in a cute littel lolly shop and had some food from a patisserie. Which means I basically spent the day moving from one food place to another.

That afternoon we had an hour long wait for the bus only to be told when it arrived we had a further half and hour to wait because of drivers hours. Once we got on the bus there was a bit of confusion as there werent actually enough seats for everyone on there. I was starting to get cranky and paranoid they would kick me off (as I was the last on) and after a day of waiting I was ready to hit the road. Luckily for me - but not for them, they kicked off a couple of passengers that had been on standby so after about another half and hour delay (two hours in total) we were on the road back to Paris.

It was a fairly uneventful and smooth drive into the city which was a releif. As it has been so busy with summer holidays, Pamplona (the bus starts from San Sebastian), Bastille Day and the Tour de France some busses were not getting into Paris until early morning (even though they were supposed to arrive around 9.30pm). We got into Paris city at about 10pm which was a bit of a releif as I was ready to get into bed and catch up on sleep that i missed the night before. On the way through Paris they give you a bit of a guided tour which is always nice because Paris is beautiful at night. On the way through we were lucky enough to be driving past the Eiffel Tower as it lit up and even though that was the fourth time I had seen it, it still took my breath away and made my heart race. Our bus driver was really cool and actually turned off the satelitte and drove us around the Arc Di Triomph a couple of times. They arent allowed to drive on there because of the insurance and time delay it would cause but our bus driver was a bit of a rebel so we were treated to that and a cruise along the Champs Elysses which lit up at night is called the avenue of 'diamonds and rubies' because of all the cars head and tail lights. We drove past all the sights lit up at night and it was a good way for my final view of the city before heading back over to England. We had a pretty rough time once we arrived at the hostel as it took nearly two hours to check us all in. It was so frustrating after a day of travel to have to wait and wait and wait just to get into a shower and get a chance to sleep. It also sucked after having a hotel room for seven nights to be back in a dorm room.

I started to get a little sad as it is offically the end of my europe trip and I am now having to face the reality of being broke and more or less homeless and jobless in London. It was also a bit of a bummer to say goodbye to the few friends I had made along the way but hopefully I can keep in touch with them and see them in my travels in the future. The saying 'Dont cry because its over, Smile because it happened' is pretty much my motto at the moment as I try and focus on all the good things I have seen and done. As sad as I am for this stage of my trip to be over I know it wont be my last time in Europe as I have many many plans on coming back - first of which is Oktoberfest in September. Its also good because it means I can embark on the next stage which is living in London - something I have wanted to do since I was 16. I know the next few weeks will be a bit rough on the job and apartment search but Im lucky I have a few family and friends there to support me. I am looking forward to having a place that is mine to call home and eventually putting my degree to good use (hopefully). I am also liking the idea of money going into my bank account rather then rapidly filtering out of it.

So for now im off to the airport for my flight from Paris to London. I will have access to my own computer once Im there so be prepared to be bombarded with posts featuring all the things I have been wanting to write about but havent had a chance because I have been too busy typing up all my stories and adventures. I would love any comments or questions about what you want to know and I will hopefully be able to share my wisdom!