Beautiful Iceland

'And God saw that it was good' - Genesis

Admittedly the first time that I've used a verse to begin a blog but in the case of Iceland, I honestly think it would've been one of those places where God went to town on creation, not that he didn't love creating creation anyway, but the beauty was so breathtaking that you can't help but admire the splendour.

The trip was Wednesday to Wednesday, with my class and both biology and danish teacher - the bio teacher is a little funny - not only does she speak to me in english, when I do understand some danish, she speaks very slowly as if I don't understand my mother tongue, and questioned me as to if in Australia, we know who Charles Darwin is.... yup, as it happens, we're not too behind the times. Still, just another odd memory to add to the exchange book.

The Blue Lagoon

We left pretty early in the morning and got into the capital, Reykjavik around midday where we then headed of to the Blue Lagoon which is a geothermal pool about 40 minutes from the airport. The temperature in the water is max 39 degrees and is refreshed every 40 hours - it is also a beautiful pale blue cloudy color that smells every so slightly like rotten eggs due to the CuSO4 - ain't that just dandy, I havn't forgotten all my year 12 chem lessons (unless thats wrong in which case - awkward..., nah actually not really considering the amount of other errors I make in my blog) anyway on with the show. The water is filled with many a mineral, silica and algae which all contribute somehow to 'exfoliating and deep-cleansing effects' and 'reduce UV degredation of collagen in the skin and stimulate natural collagen production' - truthfully there wasn't enough sun to do any damage/ any sun at all so we've got that one covered.

So the experience was very cool. We spent about 4 hours in the water, just relaxing - we had to have a shower before hand so we would'nt introduce any bacteria into the water I guess. It wasn't very deep - maybe a metre, but the one pool itself is relativly large and there are steam rooms, sauna's (beats me what the difference is?) around the edges as well as a waterfall that is strong enough to give a pleasant back massage.  Twas lovely indeed. There were also tubs of white silica around the place which you ut on your face until it drys - or for some, they coat their whole bald skalp with it and come out looking like a ghost - guess they're trying to encourage regrowth or something :P anyway, at one stage, being in excess of this gloop, my friend and I slathered it on our arms and necks as well, and attempted to let it dry - not very easy when you're too short to be able to comfortable put your arms out because the seat is to low...sigh...

But it was a great couple of hours, with some slight drizzle, as the steam rose from the spa and the nearby mountain/hill (my perception of height is a bit distorted after spending so long in such a flat country) overshadowed us! I also met two Melbournites while in the steam room - they could'nt have had a stronger aussie accent if they tried. Turned out one of them had lived at Modbury heights and knew Eynsebury college - but you'll here more on these very odd random encounters.

The Golden Circle

On our second day, we headed out in the bus with an Icelandic tour guide, who spoke danish, to visit three very famous sights, well at least in the south of Iceland. The first was Thingvellir - which , is basically just a big open plain area, with a lake in the middle, and small cliffs overshadow parts of the plain and in the distance, larger mountain ranges can be seen. After looking at a crack where Iceland is pushed apart by 2 cm a year, effectivly 'growing' the country, we headed down to the lower levels where we could see where the old Icelandic parliament ( called the 'Althing')  met and lived while laws were made and so forth. In the distance was a beautiful little church and some quaint houses - If I could live anywhere, it'd make my top 5. It is hard to describe the beauty, the lush fields, the small waterfalls and ponds and the overshadowing rock formations but if you have ever been to NZ, I imagine some of the scenery to be similair. Just before we boarded the bus, we saw a little pond with the clearest teal water, and the was money sparkling on the bottom of the floor which made all the water shimmer! I can imagine it being a beautiful place to swim.

The gap where Iceland is pushed apart

Sparkly 

The beautiful houses and church

So after the delightful time at Thingvellir, we headed onto the Geysir's which as the name tells, are a bunch of Geysirs (Hot water that boils up and shoots in a stream) So this place smelt dreadful! The rotten egg smell mixed with steam was a bad bad mix - its like having at least 10 fart bombs in a very small steamy space but the geysirs themself were pretty and the water was a beautiful hot Aussie sky blue color and very clear. The first one we walked to was to old to no longer be active but its neighbour would shoot every 5 - 10 minutes. It was here, while waiting that I again heard that glorious Aussie accent and turned around, smack bang into a Adelaide crows scarf - Joy of  joys, I was with fellow South Aussies - we chatted for a bit - these two couples were on a cruise and in Iceland for 2 days with the next stop being NYC - however our conversation was brought to a close after the geysir suddenly went up and rained down on an unsuspected, non rain jacket hooded Hannah - yay for smelling like rotten eggs. Sarcasm should be noted. But it was lovely talking with them - they were the first SA people I've met this year, aside from my two friends and brother!

Following a picnic lunch in the forest, we then took the bus to Gulfoss - a very splendiforous waterfall that lies very close to a glacier - the first I ever saw. This waterfall is as beautiful as McKenzie falls in VIC but 10+ times bigger, and you can go and stand 5 metres from the water edge - it was very impressive to say the least.

We spent about 30 minutes down there, climbing the rocks, taking pictures and in general, being very touristy. Admittedly I find waterfalls one of those places that of course are incredibly stunning, but after 30 minutes, the water doesn't change direction, a dragon won't come crawling out and you realise that while you could sit and relax in front of it for hours, nothing will change, you you trump up back to the bus - I think perhaps I'm a tad impatient....

On the bus rides from place to place, there was little to do but listen to Sigur Ros, a fantastic Icelandic band that make very different music, and admire the green rocky outcrops, silhouettes of mountains, and various lakes and rivers winding through the countryside. It made me realise how much I miss going into the bush and camping, when you see nature that pure.

South Coast

Another day we headed out to the South coast to see some of the sights and yet again, saw two new waterfalls.  At the second one, two friends and myself attempted to get one of those jumpy photo's and only managed it after 30 or so tries - I think we're a bit uncoordinated :) We also went past the Volcano that erupted last year and sent all that ash into the air that stopped airtraffic for a while. There is a family who have a dairy farm directly below the mountain (as its normally a glacier) and during the eruption, had to be evactuated and when they returned, found the farm to be covered in 5 cm of ash - luckily enough they're managed to get the farm back to working order but I think its a bit like, at home we live in constant fear of a bushfire, they live in constant fear of a volcano blowing its top. We watched a doco that her and her husband had made with footage of the ash descending and don't get me wrong, would've sucked to be in that situation but it looked so cool. There was this one photo of a man standing in the middle of a road and the black cloud was covering half of the photo and coming closer to his car - natural disasters are obviously destructive and whatnot but at the same time, you can't deny their mighty awesomeness.

The dairy farm below the volcano

We finally got our photo!

Camilla, Jeanette, Jesmin, Sabina and myself - my wonderful
roomates and friends from London and Iceland

Glacier

The glacier was much dirtier that I expected

We also went to a beach with rather than sand, tiny, very smooth black rocks - it was pouring down with rain, but in the grey smog, you could make out some rock formations lying in the distance and see the seagulls circling above the cliff (no matter where you go in the world, I think seagulls are always as annoying as ever) Admittedly I probably should not have taken my camera out - it required some recovery time later on from the water but at least it survived that experience. Still it was a beautiful beach, and we sheltered for a bit under the very odd rock formation cave - all the rocks were rectangular cubes stacked alongside one another.

Chill time

Both days when we were out in the country were very rainy, but fortunatly on the day that we explored Reykjavik central, it was nice and sunny. The weather makes such a difference and I'm no so sure that we appreciate it enough in Australia. But none the less, the city is very small but has a very camperish atmosphere and there are travellers everywhere. It also had some of the coolest little flea markets and 2nd hand vintage shops I've ever seen as well as a brilliant cafe that sell the most amazing chai latte - I consumed at least 5 over my time there! It took about an hour to get from one end of the main st to the other side - looking in shops included. There are a lot of Icelandic wool products there seeing its so famous but I actually thought it felt pretty scratchy - not the nicest wool to wear.

Waiting to take off

One of the first churches in Iceland

The money thing is a bit different - 10 AUS$ = 1,000 IS krona
so I felt pretty rich :D

A viking ship in Reykjavik

The Opera house

We went to this art museum that had a expo with cameras and this one,
after 5 or so minutes, would have a replay of where you moved so as you can
see, I'm doubled

Any town with a Haberdashery is immediatly

Hallgrims church

Just the best chai latte...ever

We also went to the Volcanic studying uni and heard a prof. speak on the eruption last year, which didn't help me much as she spoke very fast danish - I ended up, not on purpose of course, sleeping except I was also doing that head nodding thing - just a bit embarrasing. We also visited Hallgrim's church which was very beautiful - it overlooks Reykjavik and when we went up the tower, there was a superb view over the whole city.

 In the evenings, after one of the class groups had all made dinner for us ( I was going to make a Pavalova but no oven would create a problematic situation) we headed down to the local pool, which included 4 geothermal pools from 38 degrees to 44. I found that I could stay in the 44 degrees for maybe a minute and a half if I stayed completely still and at that time, the tingly feeling in my arms and legs had just turned to numbness - a very long dip in the cold pool was neccesary afterwards. 

Wool covered bike and tree

Why I now believe the world to be a very small place - On my second night there, having already met the blokes from Melbourne and cruise people from Adelaide, I went down to the social room in the hostel we were staying in to the sound of more Aussie accent - turns out these two guys were from Adelaide and travelling around the world on their gap year, and we had a mutual friend - in a place like Iceland, thats pretty random!!

Our trip to a viking museum - the saga history in Iceland is very
interesting, well worth a read

With Jesmin on our last night

So, thats pretty much my Iceland trip - there was a lot of free time to sit and relax - I did find Heinz baked bean, Betty Crocker cakes and cadbury chocolate so that was a bit of a silver lining - but it was ever so swell to have the time with my class to chill and enjoy the beauty of Iceland. 

Hopefully, I'll start doing blogs a bit more regularly but I make no promise - always got to have a disclaimer in place :D I only have 3 months left of my year, which is very weird but I think as this weather continues its slide into winter, I'll be ready for the aussie summer!

Just living.

I realise that its been a while since I've actually explained what being an exchange kid is like so I'll let you know about another side of exchange that perhaps isn't heard very often. Don't get me wrong, for the most part, exchange is awesome and there are a good many opportunties that open up, but every now and then, home is the only place you want to be. 
So since I got home from eurotour a while back, I ended up with a cold that since turned into a nasty case of sinusitis and made life quite miserable - I watched a large number of movies and daytime TV, read and slept, but it was been the one time when I would do anything to be lying on the green sofa in front of the wood fire, while the winter rain pattered down on the roof in Verdun, and know that Mum and Dad are around, probably making another cup of tea or coffee - I believe this quote sums up the homesickness part of exchange, mind you, sinusitis doesn't really count as an adventure

“When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home”

You know, I seem to begin these pages with quotes that relate, and now I stumble accross many that have significant meaning so by Ralph Waldo Emerson ' Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail' - I remember using this in my Year 12 Valadictory speech and now, as I look over the past 6 months, I do question how I am making my own trail - perhaps no one will follow it, and perhaps that is a good thing - the way I live my life, the trail I  create will be unique to me, my exchange is completly different to anyone elses, you can't keep the variables constant and truly, I like it that way, I like my trail - this year especially, it has not been the easiest, but I've learnt, and am in the process of growing.

The second quote was by Robert Frost, learnt also in year 12, in a brilliant English class, with one fantastic Mrs. Chesterfield 'Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the diffirence' and exchange I do think is the road less traveled by. At times, I have wondered ' Why on earth have I taken myself out of everything familiar, out of an amazing family, splendid friends, a solid church and everything 'normal'' but even though I'm only half way in, this year will make all the difference, be it appreciating Australia and my family, looking forward to the joy of studying again, catching the travel bug and wanting to get on a plane and just fly some where, not being so stressed over not having a plan, and learning to enjoy the 'little things' - the road less traveled, sometimes scary and frustrating, has many joyous moments, that shape what will be a very experienced year

So, what has it been like since Eurotour? being on summer holidays and just living?

Goodbyes in the back yard

Well - lets see, my brother and my soon to be sister visited at the end of their trip to Switzerland - the plan was that I would fly down and meet them and we would spend some time together at L'Abri, a christian fellowship community in the Alps and do a bit of travelling and I would get to meet Andrew's own old host families - but alas, no go on that one so they came to Denmark for a couple of days.

Heidi and I

We went into town both days and walked along by the beach, and just mooched around all the shops and cafe's. They also got to meet my swell counsellor Sven and his wife Connie, and see the Tall ships doing a little flashy sail by with cannons going off as well. Seeing someone who knew me from home, and understood the ins and outs of exchange was so great, and their visit came at a time that I was unsure of everything, especially if I had made the right decision to come on exchange.

Andrew and I

 Just knowing that they supported me, and understood what Denmark is like really helped as well as them being christian, and of of course the familiar faces were swell!

Sven, Connie and I

And then, two weeks after their trip, Sophie and Lorinda, two Aussie friends came and visited at the start of their own eurotour! And again that familiarity was welcomed with open arms! We had a trip to Legoland which far exceeded my expectations - the rides were awesome -going through mini castles where all the sets were made of lego, and lakes with life size lego boats and sharks, lego meerkats that bobbed up and down - ah! not only does someone have a somewhat boring life to make all those sculptures, but they provided much entertainment. The mini lego land was really cool!
 You could see heaps of famous places made from lego, with moving cars and bridges and boats. Suddenly places like Amelianborg palace were in perspective, as was Amsterdam, Oslo etc. We attempted to get a nice picture of us on the rides but it would seem that those amusement park camera's dislike me and the only decent photo of me, was when Sophie and Lorinda got soaked on a pirate ride... I'll never win. But no, it was a great day, minus the queuing and the long time it took to get to Billund. 

Mini Amsterdam

The Dragon that shot steam from its nose

The life size lego boat

Life size Duplo

The next day we spent in Copenhagen, looking at all the shops, and buying amazing green tea with peach from the royal tea shop ( you cannot understand how good my room smells from the tea now) and going to the little mermaid statue and Amelianborg (got there just in time to catch the changing of the guards) We also went to the Icebar, found out that the guy serving us was an Aussie (first non exchange student Aussie that I've met here), got dressed in some fashionable winter cloak thingies (while Sophie and Lorinda rocked socks and thongs...not ;p ) and drank from ice glasses, touched ice chandeliers and posed with an ice car (or at least  the very front of one) 
We also went to Tivoli and saw all the games, and amusement rides, pretty little boutiques and restaurants and some ballet performance - a swell ending to the day. Seeing them made me realise that going home isn't so far away - only 5 months till I board the plane for the wonderful place that is Australia!! The train ride back to Fredericia (2 hours away) wasn't so great-due to recent flooding, all the train schedule's were out of wack so I didn't get home till 2 am and then had to cycle home, one of the moments where you think ' What on earth am I doing here?' - mind you, when I've cycled home at 3 am in mid winter listening to Mumford and Sons, I couldn't love this anymore. 

The one photo were Sophie wasn't pulling a face
was the one the Lorinda and I did

Icebar Copenhagen

The icy drink

Sophie and the car

I also spent a week in Amsterdam at a resort with my host family chilling out, reading books, playing cards, going to the aquatic centre, shopping at an outlet store and a day in Amsterdam - we went on a canal tour for about an hour, which was pretty nifty - we saw more than what I had seen on Eurotour, and went down the grand canal. Amsterdam seems pretty small but since London and Paris, my view on capital cities is a tad tainted. 
It was strange seeing all the little drug stuff in all the stores there and going past many a 'coffeeshop' - made me giggle a little - yes, I'm still that wee bit immature. The rest of my summer holidays have been spent reading, going to the gym (when I have enough motivation - although I've enjoyed the various yoga and pilates classes - bikefit sucks though- utter horridness) catching up with friends every now and then, going for walks and yeh, thats about it.

With friends at a class party!

 I think one problem going to a country where the summer holidays are backwards to your own country is that you have this 3 month block, where you can't get a job to fill the time, you don't have assignments to do, friends go abroad for holidays or have work, and you have to find a way to fill the time - which, I must admit, can be a bit of a bum. So, yet again, I am excited for the prospect of school... how lame. 

One thing that had helped when I've felt incredibly alone, is a book by Beth Redman called 'God knows my name' and a lot of it relates so well to that homesicky feeling and she made referance to many verses, one really good one being 

'O Lord you have searched me

and you know me

You know when I sit and when I rise

You percieve my thoughts from afar

You discern my going out and my lying down

you are familiar with all my ways

Before a word is on my tongue

You know it completely O Lord'

Psalm 139:1-4

Jut knowing that the Lord fully understands all my feelings and struggles, and even when I worry about what lies ahead, if I'll get a job? Where I'll live? etc., it is an amazing encouragement and support to know I'm not alone, even in times when I may be surrounded by people but in a pretty dark place in my own head! So, yet again scripture wins the point :) thankfully. 

So chappies, in a couple of days, this kid shall be changing host families for the first time- and yes, I'm nervous, but a bit excited for a new challenge, and they have a dog!! Obviously nothing can replace one crazy labrador called Sheena, but still, I'm looking forward to having a dog round the place. The small things make me happy. 
For now cheerio, have a good day/night/month/year/life and my fellow Aussies, see you in less than 5 months! Much love, xx

One of the beautiful flowers in the garden.

Eurotour part 2

So, back on with the show!

Following on from SanRemo, we headed over the Italian/French border, still continuing along the coast and entered into the Principality of Monaco and it was here that I realised something I probably should have a while back. The reigning monarch of Monaco is Prince Albert who recently got married and I was a tad confused as to why he wasn't a king, and it seems to have just clicked that it's because its a principality rather than a kingdom - for all my love of monarchy, I should have known that one.

Monaco -(I should let you know that my 'e' key is being very tempremental so some may be missing - mind you in the scheme of things my spelling is still terrible so it won't add much)

The royal palace is on top of that land mass in front of your
eyes - I would say mountain but it's not the right word..can't
think of it.

Getting down into the centre of the city was pretty hectic - narrow, windy roads in every direction and on top of everything, we arrived 2 or 3 days between the Grand Prix, so all the trucks carrying cars and whatnot for the stands were also blocking up the city.
We managed to somehow find a big enough park for the bus, and headed off in small groups and after a few coordination mishaps, myself and my American mate found ourselves in the heart of the grandprix area, where all the car fanatics wer busy preparing all the beasts for the race - by beasts, I refer to the Ferrari's, Lamborghini's and various other pretty cars. No doubt my brothers would be there drooling but I was on a mission to see the sights of Monaco and 2 hours goes very fast.

We continued around the harbour, which was filled with ginormous, very expensive yachts and other sea faring things, and made our way up to the Belle Epoch style Monte Carlo Casino, which I believe features in James Bond at some point, and various other movies.

Big pretty boats owned by people with too much money

I'll chuck in some facts about Monaco because to me at least, it's quite interesting.

• The small city state(second smallest following the Vatican in the world) is made up of ten wards (small divided areas)
• The official language is French but the traditional one, spoken by a minority, is Monegasque
• The house of Grimaldi have ruled since 1297
• It has the highest life expectancy and lowest unemployment rate in the world
• Citizens of Monaco are not allowed to gamble at any of the casinoes......What!?!?!?
• Monaco levies no income tax on citizens

Due to that last 'fun fact' - beats me if you actually find it fun, perhaps it becomes more interesting when you've actually been there... but yeh, onwards - Most of the citizens are very rich 'tax refugees' from European countries who are living out their life savings in an incredibly luxurious setting, buying from only the most exclusive shops - How splendid old chap. Or perhaps that is a saying better suited for the Brits.

And I don't know if I could live in that atmosphere for ever - maybe a bit to stifling, but for one day at least, walking around a crazy expensive shopping mall with stairways taken straight out of the Titanic and many a chandelier, in somewhat daggy clothes in comparison, and eating marvellous macaron's with a swell coffee, was most delightful- The temperature was pretty warm so we tended to look in all the air conditioned places, stay out of the sun, and after the mistake of hugging a bronze bear statue, steer clear of any type of metal - you'd think after 18 years of life, I would have learnt not to touch metal thats been chilling in the sun!

Titanic style shopping mall

Even though we didn't see any museums or palaces, seeing the Monte Carlo, and a few little markets, and two of the big harbours was enough so afterwards, we headed yet again, back to the sweet old bus (which in fact, no bus can ever be - I ramble a lot dont I ? - sorry...) We ended up spending more time waiting for one of the other exchange students who had strayed off and become lost - 50+ students, relativly tired from the heat, and no air conditioning was not very pleasant. Overall though, I quite enjoyed Monaco and would go back again.

the Monte-Carlo casino

Natalie(Minnesota) and I

Macaroons and coffee in Monaco!

The Parisian Opera House

France

Avignon

About an hour outside of Monaco center, we stopped alongside the riviera at a perfumery called Fragonard where we were taken on a tour of how they make perfume, and soap and various other beauty products - for us females at least, it was awesome. Actually seeing all the equipment for creating the essential oils, and smelling the pure oils was quite enjoyable- and the view overlooking the French Riviera was fantastic! And then of course, we had the opportunity to buy the essential perfumes (by essential oil, thats the most pure form without added alcohol so the smell (one drop) can last up to 24hours) and I managed to walk out of there having spent around 2 days allowance - totally worth it though
.

Feeling very French in one of the main streets

We hit the town of Avignon a former papal city around 8pm, after travelling through Nice, and had a pretty bland dinner where the cranky French lady kept telling us off for being too loud and spent the rest of the evening, chilling out, realising that many of the beds had broken slats and trying to ignore the ongoing alarm, which I think was set of by the tweeny French kids who couldn't speak english.

The next day we had free in the city so we went on a little bus tour within the walls, and around the church and then just going in and out of the little, typically French shops, filled with fresh olive oil, or lavender soap, or cute little tidbits. We managed to find a store selling sugared fruit which we bought (pineapple) but it had little taste, and felt like you were eating pure sugar - I ended up swallowing it, in the sweltering heat, with the help of a mint flavoured mineral water which took some getting used to - seemed like I was swallowing mouthwash straight.

Sugared nothingness

My minty mouthwash that they labelled
as a drink

But it was a very peaceful day, if not a bit warm and although we didn't spend the day running around trying to see everything (not that there was heaps) it was good, especially given it was southern France, to see all the little things - like little balcony's covered in flowers, and laced iron chairs, a dog lying in the window of a old book store and three men playing violins in the town square.

Paris ftw!!

Arc De Triomphe

We arrived in Paris at about 6pm after a pretty hectic drive through the center and a sort of bus/car scrape which we were given the night off to explore Paris!
During the two days there, I managed to fulfil many a dream.  I climbed the Eiffel Tower, right up to the 3rd storey - technically I took the lift to level two and then walked. The line took about an hour but seeing the hagglers scamper when the police were near provided enough entertainment as well as the couple in front who I think were on a first date - He wasn't such a great english speaker and I sort of got the vibe that she didn't want to be there, but he bought a big eiffel tower statue which he said to give to her mum - I love the funny stories. Being able to get a feel for Paris and it's layout was pretty helpful I must say, and eating the chocolate croissant on the top was a nice moment - but then again, anything with chocolate is bound to make a nice moment. Oh, and waking up Mum and also Chanelle, even though it was 2am in Adelaide made me happy :D

The glass pyramid of the Lóuvre

I also went to the Louvre and may I say, it is a massive gallery - has everything from famous paintings (especially ceiling size Jaques Louis David's and Delacroix) to sculptures, and Napoleans apartments, and of course, the somewhat pitiful Mona Lisa, which is very small and much less impressive that you would expect. I only had about 3 hours there, so with a lot of running and getting lost, I saw most of the stuff that I wanted - doing it alone was much better as well, I could go at my own pace, see what I want and babble to myself about the background of some of the paintings - not literally ...

David's 'Death of Marat'

I also went to Musee d'Orsay which had a lot of impressionist art like Monet and Renoir as well as Van Gogh - its all the art work that really appeals to me, that makes me feel relaxed and can transport me to another time and place, where my feet don't hurt after all the running around, or where I don't have to worry about getting in to the hotel by curfew. Seeing some of the Van Gogh work, and the exact brush strokes, of paintings that I have studied or that even featured in Dr Who, was swell indeed.

The hall of mirrors

Chateau Versailles

Without doubt, my highlight of France was Chateau Versailles!!! and was it amazing!! After having studied the French revolution - twice, being at the place where all this crazy history went down was phenomenal. We had to wake up early to be in time to get the train there (16km out of Paris) and by the time we got there (the palace not even open at this stage) the line was already about 500m - and after not reading the instructions right, by the time we were admitted, it turned out we had to have tickets , when in fact we didn't need them, being EU citizens- anyway, nice complicated mess led to us finally getting in after about an hour.
My goodness, passages filled with statues of king and queens, bedrooms lined in beautiful fabric, frescoes covering every bare inch, luxurious and often excessive ornaments and furniture, intricately detailed bedspreads - it was like an even more elaborate Schonnbrunn Palace. Walking through the Hall of Mirrors which looks out onto the amazing gardens, and seeing all the chandaliers reflect was very ..sparkly, which could not appeal to my feminine glitter and sparkle side any more. I also went for a jog round the gardens - to the Petit Trianon, where Marie Antoinette had her own little village built - sadly I was in bit of a mad rush so I didn't get to take in the beauty of the gardens but they seemed very grand, as did the mini village. Just being there, the former hub of Paris, where the aristocracy used to party down, and to an extent, uneffectively run France was mind boggling - a true pleasure and highlight.

One of the many intricately detailed bedchambers

Petit Trianon

On a bus tour, we also went down the Champs Elysees and up to the Arc De Triomphe in all its splendour, and past the Pompidou centre, and where the Bastille once stood and of course, past the magnificent Notre Dame - unfortunatly I didn't have to time to go there but it looked very beautiful. One night, following an Ikea style dinner, we headed up to Montmartre (the arty district) to Sacre Coeur (a famous church) which overlooked Paris. That was an excptionally good evening - after snooping through all the shops, listening to the yells of an American mother looking for her daughter who had run off after a dinner argument - the daughter being 21, we made our way to a glittering Eiffel tower to yet again take pictures and eat what was my 5th or 6th cheese crepe - they tasted so good! also nutella with banana/strawberry and cream made a good combo :p

From the Eiffel Tower looking towards the Trocadero

Paris was in all, amazing and took the place as the best European city, London not included. Catching the metro by myself and not getting mugged, getting around a very crazy city, not being squished by the drivers who follow no road rules- simply because I don't think they exist - ah I love the feeling of travelling, not knowing what will surprise you next, or who you might meet, the adventures you could have - it's such a freeing feeling, and I didn't feel it anymore strongly than in the city of love....or shall I just stick with Paris?     :D

Looking down the Champs de Mars

Tintin, Captain Haddock and Snowy being a little bit sneaky
in Belgium

Belgium
So, driving from such a big city into such a small one, was a bit of an odd feeling but not such a bad one - we arrived late afternoon and only had the evening there. It's a very small capital and by this stage, I at least, was feeling the tiredness of two weeks on the road, running around Europe flatout. So my friends and I spent the night seeing Manneken pis - a small stautue of a male...eating waffels and chocolate, and taking a break. The town center was under renovations so it wasn't such a spectacular sight but it was very busy!!
After Paris, this seems like a very short entry but I simply was not as impressed by it and I guess thats what happens when you just seen Paris - all the other places seem a tad more boring. But thats not to say I didn't enjoy the down time. 

Holland
We got into Amsterdam midday and the first thing I noticed were the houseboat - fully functioning houses, some double storey and very modern, only 10m wide, just bobbing along the large canals- anyway, we were taken in a boat tour, down some of the main canals and the little side ones, and also past Anne Franks house. It was strange to think that at one stage, Amsterdam had been one of the busiest European ports for trade and industry, especially with the East India companies, yet now I struggle to imagine all that business there. Saying that, it was a lovely city, very quaint and peaceful - I thought it was swell that the main transport is either bikes or boats - while we sat on the bank of some random canal blissfully letting our last eurotour moments drift by, a group of teenagers sailed their little boat right by, which for them is totally normal. I didn't really get into the heart of the city but seeing some of the souvenir shops and the various products they sold, showed how open the country really is to the drug culture, if it can be called that. 

The Canals of Amsterdam

We spent the night in a town called Arnheim, about an hour out of Amsterdam in the middle of a wooded area - the rain was lightly falling and on our last night, a couple of us went for a nice stroll down through a beautiful park and through a farm - unfortunatly one person had the mishap of rolling in dog doodoo which was of course, smelly, but hey, another memory for the box! It was a comfortable ending to a long 2 and a half weeks, a good dinner, nice hostel (shared with scotsfolk - just to add some more coolness) and relaxed atmosphere spent with my newly made friends!

Thats all for Eurotour folks.  I know it was a bit of an essay, with far too much rambling on my part but maybe, just maybe, you have a better feeling for Europe and all the adventures we lived, and dreams reached!
One thing that I did do was find a movie for each country so here they are

• Germany -  Caberet I felt like I understood the setting to the movie much better after getting a feel for the pre WWII culture 
• Prague - Dirty Dancing It was the song the played during the water light show and since then, every time that I've heard it, I'm instantly taken back to that night. Also Life is Beautiful is very fitting for the experience of Theresienstadt concentration camp - I will never fully comprehend life in those camps, but seeing one makes it that little bit more real.
• Vienna - Does the Sound of Music ring any bells, the hotel was taken right out of the film
• Italy - We have a couple here. The Italian Job shows a robbery in Venice at the start so its a given, as is Brideshead Revisted when they go to Venice, and also Casanova - the one with David Tennant.  Likewise the visit to Verona makes Baz Lurhmans Romeo and Juliet an obvious
• Monaco - Let's get Skase reminded me of Monaco, even though its set in Majorca - must have something to do with the whole tax thingy. Also 007's Casino Royale for what more than the Casino's, and Perfume: The story of a murderer. My main thoughts while being taught how to make the essential oils were that of Grenouille making 'perfume' - little bit creepy, don't get me wrong. 
• France - We have a few contenders here. Amalie - for all the Parisian quirkiness. Chocolat - for the time in Avignon. Je t'aime Paris - because I do! Phantom of the Opera - not only because it was set in Paris, but we went past the Opera house on all days. Marie Antoinette - as much as I disliked Kirsten Dunst's portrayal, the props and settings were perfectly matched to Versailles, and finally, Ratatouille for the escargot, foie gras and baguette that I didn't get to eat.
• Brussels and Amsterdam fail in movie thoughts - my brain had stopped functioning by then. Although any movie with reference to drugs will do for Amsterdam I guess! :p

I apologise for the essay length - I think, and I hope it will be my largest! Now I'm keen to get cracking on what exchange life is like, and getting through summer break with my sanity intact. Anywho, hope all is well wherever you live in this crazy world and vi ses chums! 

xx