Friday, February 4, 2011
Bienvenue a Paris
Next on the European adventure is one of my favorite cities in the world - Paris. It is actually the first international place that I have been to twice, so I am quietly relieved that finally I am going somewhere outside of Australia and I know what to expect and don't have to start from scratch unlike everywhere else I have been.
I caught the Thayls train from Brussels and takes 80 minutes. Like seriously are you even kidding? Because Belgium operates in French, Dutch, German and English each anouncement on the train has to be in all four languages, so basically by the time the bish has time to say "Welcome onboard Thayls - the dining cart is now open" you are basically pulling up in Gare du Nord.
The first time I was in Paris I was staying just outside the city in the South, but this time I am staying in Monmarte which is thankfully in the city and to the North, a part I didn't fully get to explore on my last trip here.
So far so good right? Not so dear reader, I are well totes staying in a hostel this time. Can you even imagine, me in a hostel? Luckily I 'm staying in a private room. I maybe as broke as Lindsay Lohan's manager but bitch still has some sort of standards. The hostel is creatively called Monmarte Hostel Paris. The staff are super friendly and nice, but the room is shit. It reaks of ciggerette smoke, some parts of the corridor have holes in it (not joking) for the shower to work you need to hold down a button and it gives you water 10 seconds at a time and its cold. It's seriously gross.
But the location is amazning. Just down the hill from Sacre Coeur which I haven't been to before, so that is exactly where I went as soon as I put down my bags.
I caught the Thayls train from Brussels and takes 80 minutes. Like seriously are you even kidding? Because Belgium operates in French, Dutch, German and English each anouncement on the train has to be in all four languages, so basically by the time the bish has time to say "Welcome onboard Thayls - the dining cart is now open" you are basically pulling up in Gare du Nord.
The first time I was in Paris I was staying just outside the city in the South, but this time I am staying in Monmarte which is thankfully in the city and to the North, a part I didn't fully get to explore on my last trip here.
So far so good right? Not so dear reader, I are well totes staying in a hostel this time. Can you even imagine, me in a hostel? Luckily I 'm staying in a private room. I maybe as broke as Lindsay Lohan's manager but bitch still has some sort of standards. The hostel is creatively called Monmarte Hostel Paris. The staff are super friendly and nice, but the room is shit. It reaks of ciggerette smoke, some parts of the corridor have holes in it (not joking) for the shower to work you need to hold down a button and it gives you water 10 seconds at a time and its cold. It's seriously gross.
But the location is amazning. Just down the hill from Sacre Coeur which I haven't been to before, so that is exactly where I went as soon as I put down my bags.
SHIT IS GETTING REAL IN EGYPT - THEY HAVE GONE AFTER MA BOO!
I'm pretty much lighting all the candels I have in the house, putting up every Anderson photo I can find and putting on some Enya in the hope that my Ma Boo vigil will see the silver fox through this troubelling time. Surely CNN could have sent one of their other talents to cover this, preferably someone who is replaceable, like Anna Coren or Kathy Griffin. Well actually I do die for Kathy Griffin, BUT BITCH NEEDS TO BACK OFF MA BOO!
Also today his car was attacked by an angry mob and glass was smashed etc. Luckily Anderson's face nor favorite polo shirt were harmed. Bishes can take a sigh of relief now. If he really wants to report from a war zone he could always go somewhere closer to him, like Jersey.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Do you know where you're going to?
On my final night in Brussels I checked out Bozar - which is an amazing museum as a side bar - and then headed back to the old town to check out the grand place one last time. On my treck down from the museum I saw this girl struggeling to get her barings and control her map against the strong wind, I was about to cross to her side of the road so I thought I would ask her if she needed a hand finding somewhere.
Anyway she was the one to ask me for some help in the end and surprise surprise it turns out that she was trying to find the grand place. So I took her there and we introduced ourselves. Her name is Julietta and she is Brazilian and in Brussels for a week for work, nice life right?
She was ofcourse amazed by the grand place and it was really nice for me to see someones reaction to seeing it for the first time. We ended up having coffee and waffles in a near by cafe which was divine because I hadn't really had many opportunites in the last few days to eat a meal with another person.
At coffee we spoke about each others countires, what is was like to have a Christmas is summer, a bit about Brussels, some Brazilian politics. Julietta explained to me the Portugese influence on Brazil and the struggles that Brazil is facing at the moment not being a first world nation and all. Interestingly enough she told me that Brazilian's always say that Australia was the Brazil that worked. We are both relatively new countries, discovered by European motherlands and have similiar terrain and are both big countries in our regions.
After dinner I took her around the grand place and to see Mr Pis and a few other touristy things, the poor thing only had Sunday night to explore the city because from Monday - Friday she was working and then flying out on Saturday morning.
It was nice to meet someone new in a totally random way, normally I hate talking to randoms especially people from the street but this one worked out well and I even got a new facebook friend out of it.
Anyway she was the one to ask me for some help in the end and surprise surprise it turns out that she was trying to find the grand place. So I took her there and we introduced ourselves. Her name is Julietta and she is Brazilian and in Brussels for a week for work, nice life right?
She was ofcourse amazed by the grand place and it was really nice for me to see someones reaction to seeing it for the first time. We ended up having coffee and waffles in a near by cafe which was divine because I hadn't really had many opportunites in the last few days to eat a meal with another person.
At coffee we spoke about each others countires, what is was like to have a Christmas is summer, a bit about Brussels, some Brazilian politics. Julietta explained to me the Portugese influence on Brazil and the struggles that Brazil is facing at the moment not being a first world nation and all. Interestingly enough she told me that Brazilian's always say that Australia was the Brazil that worked. We are both relatively new countries, discovered by European motherlands and have similiar terrain and are both big countries in our regions.
After dinner I took her around the grand place and to see Mr Pis and a few other touristy things, the poor thing only had Sunday night to explore the city because from Monday - Friday she was working and then flying out on Saturday morning.
It was nice to meet someone new in a totally random way, normally I hate talking to randoms especially people from the street but this one worked out well and I even got a new facebook friend out of it.
I don't know if you have noticed but I really like parks
Literally just up the road from the main EU buildings is this amazing park. It was really pretty even though it was freezing and pretty grey. The centrepiece of the park is an amazing gate which reminded me of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
Next to the gate is a museum which showcases Belgian's culture throughout the years, it also features some great pieces from all over the world, including an actual face from Easter Island which is amazing to see anywhere in the world, but especially in Brussels because it is so far away.
Next to the gate is a museum which showcases Belgian's culture throughout the years, it also features some great pieces from all over the world, including an actual face from Easter Island which is amazing to see anywhere in the world, but especially in Brussels because it is so far away.
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