Its been a long road....

Well, things certainly have changed since I last wrote. I left that blog on a bit of a sad note and Im happy to say I have perked up a great deal since then. A really kind, beautiful and sweet person wrote to me and sent me this quote which pretty much made me wake up and realise that I really was embarking on an adventure.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

The topdeck tour I am on so far has been incredible. Im lucky enough to have met some really really cool people who will also be living in London so im slightly less freaked out about that. Im also lucky that everyone on the tour has been really friendly and fun and interested in the countries (not just getting pissed - although we do that too). The accomodation hasnt been like the hostel I stayed at in London where i shared with 8 people. Ive had rooms of 2 or 3 mostly with private bathrooms and comfy enough beds.

Since London I have been to 3 countries in 7 days and experienced things I have been dreaming about for years. I promised a shorter post this time so Im going to try and do a summary of all the things I have done however I must say its going to be hard.

PARIS

• Did a bus tour by night of all the key spots in the city. Saw the Eiffel Tower light up, drove on the Arc Di Triomph (which is a 12 entry roundabout with no lanes which has a crash on it every seven minites). Saw where Chanel lived at No. 5, the old opera house, and lots and lots of beautiful city sights.
• Tried to see the Mona Lisa but the Louvre was closed so just had a wander around the streets of paris followed by a 3 hour bike tour where I road on Californian Cruiser bikes with no helmet around the crazy streets of Paris.
• Had a big picnic with cheese, bread, seafood, salads under the Eiffel Tower. Cracked open a bottle of champagne that cost 1.80 Euro (even though its 2 Euro to go to a public bathroom) then walked up to the second level, then caught the lift up to the top to see the city lights. A M A Z I N G!!!
  
  
  
  
  
  

LAUTERBRUNNEN

• Spent the first night in Switzerland at the bar near our cabins where almost everyone from our tour ended up drunk and dancing on the tables.
• Stayed in a cabin/campsite thingy that when i woke up i looked outside and could see snow capped mountains, 4 waterfalls, tiny cottages with thatched roofs and shuttered windows and cows with their pretty cowbells on.
• Wandered the tiny town and bought myself a real swiss army knife. Had a 4k trek down to a feild under a waterfall to have a picnic lunch then spent the afternoon snuggled in a coffee shop eating a swiss chocolate brownie and writing postcards.
• Hung up a coaster with my name on it in the bar that night and will be back to visit it in about 2 months!
  
  
  
  
  

FLORENCE

• Had a big drive day from Switzerland but stopped off at the leaning tower of pisa. I took the traditional photo of me holding it up. We then spent the first night in Italy eating bread dipped in olive oil, pizza, pasta, gelato and red red wiiiiiiiiine. We also managed to score a shot of lemoncello yum yum.
• The next day we did a walking tour of Florence in the rain. Saw the statue of david (the fake one) and the town halls and cathederals. Also saw a demonstration on how to tell real leather from the fake and had a bit of a browse but couldnt afford anything.
• Had a massive piece of pizza for lunch and then went to get a sneaky Gelato. Somehow managed to order the super large jumbo size through the language barrier - it ended up costing me 15 Euro. Yes thats right I paid around $28 aussie dollars for ice cream. I was sooooooooo pissed off i barely enjoyed it and it was so massive I barley finished it. After awhile i saw the upside of it but I tell you what i know how to say "Quanto Costa?" (how much?) for sure now.
• Went out to a karaoke bar and drank a fishbowl full of cocktails, followed by some wine and a 4 hour dance in the campground nightclub.

ROME

• Spent a slightly seedy bus trip to Orvieto where we went up a little train ride to a village on top of the tuscan hills. Had a wander through the streets and sat in a real italian cafe and ordered the best coffee ive ever had.
• Got to rome where we jumped off and did a walking tour of the Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Colusseum via a gelti shop that has over 180 flavours (this one only cost me 4 Euro).
• Had a personalised walking tour of Vatican City where i got to see the Sistine Chapel ( it really is as amazing as you hear it is) and St Peters Basillica. Visited the Popes Catacombs and saw many many sculptures from Michaelangelo.
• Visited the colusseum again to see inside then spent the arvo drinking italian wine that cost me 1 Euro outside our cabins in the sunshine.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

So that pretty much sums up the past week. Tomorrow we head off for Greece where we are actually crewing several Flotilla sailing ships around the islands. Mainly Corfu which is apparently beautiful. I have never sailed before and there are only 6 of us on each boat so it will definately be an experience. Im very excited about seeings some sun as i have been in jeans and jumpers for nearly 5 weeks now. After that is Croatia and Albania which I am really looking forward to.

* I apologise for my lack of punctuation and captials. The keyboard Im using has a whole range of funky punctuation marks and a sticky shift button.