Leigh McKnight

Hi All,

 

Its been a While but I am about to embark on my next adventure.  This year I will be taking an extended career break and becoming a Ski Instructor in Whistler, followed by a USA Roadtrip, the World Cup in Africa and finishing off with an 8 week Safari.  I will then ben moving to London to live life European style for a while.

 

Stay tuned and I will speak to you all Soon!!!

 

October 5 and I'm off, off and away!

 

Leigh

Hi all, I have now conqured a few more countries and a few more cities.  I am on an 8hr flight to Montreal so here is an update!

Since leaving Holland and consequently the Contiki Tour, our journey has continued.  Following our time in Amsterdam, Leesa and I flew back to London so that we could catch a train to Reading for the Reading Music Festival Weekend.  Jono had organized tickets a few months back and this had been something Leesa and I had been looking forward to.  After getting up at 4am on the Friday morning in Amsterdam, and being booked on a 11:30am train from London Paddington we knew we could not afford to miss our flights and we did not, we got to the train station at Paddington with a few minutes spare and off to Reading we were. (I love it when a plan comes together...there is a first for everything!)

The Reading Festival, Jonathan and Emma had set up a tent in a good location for us so we were not to close that we could not sleep from the noise and we were not so far away that it took an hour to get to the stage.  The festival was good with some big bands playing such as Pearl Jam, Franz Ferdinand, Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Jet and lots of other bands.  Lucky for us the weather was good, we did have a little rain on the weekend but this festival has a reputation of becoming a mudpit.  Leesa and I really enjoyed ourselves however after 45 intense days on the road, we certainly felt it and we caught up on a lot of sleep, I guess we just needed it.  The highlights for me were Placebo, Jet, Franz Ferdinand and The Vines but all the bands were good.  I was also really impressed with Taking Back Sunday, Less than Jake and My Chemical Romance was also quite good considering they had to play directly after Slayer…much to the disapproval of the death metal heavy fan base in the crowd. (Shayne you would have loved it) Considering this I was impressed how they played on despite a barrage of bottles and rubbish being lobbed at them from a disapproving crowd.  It was a really good atmosphere and the amount of tents sprawled out really was quite a sight.  As good as it was, the smell of 3 days worth of port-a-loo juices certainly would not have me running back in a hurry but good to do once...ohh yeah and there were no showers, such a pleasent odour.   Leesa and I left the festival late on the Sunday night / early Monday morning so we could make our way back to London in order to catch our flight to Spain early Monday morning.  This normally would not have been a drama but since the Notting Hill Fetsival was on, all transport and roads were closed off, this meant several hours to get home and left us quite tired. (and cranky...sorry Leese and least your charm got us a taxi that broke the rules )

Monday and on our way to Valencia via Madrid, but only after Leesa nealy knocked out one of the security guards at heathrow Airport because they were tools.  Bascially they have halved the carry-on limit leaving Heathrow and the bag can not be wider than 15cm, try finding a bag like this.  So after arguing with the official he said if we could “make” it fit he would let us through.  So we “made” it fit by forcing it into their little holder and then even though we had made it fit, as we went to pass through his boss told us we could not force it like that…Assehole.  This is when Leesa got upset…  understandably.  The funniest part about it is after all the hassle, we actually accidentally had left a bottle of contact lense solution and some razor blades in my bag, and they did not even pick it up, this is when there are meant to be no liquids…morons!

So Valencia, we arrived to warm sunny skies and after a relatively easy time getting into town and finding our hotel, we were very impressed with our hotel considering how much we paid.  It was 4.5 stars for less than 22 Euroes each a night, great value and in the middle of the city centre.  Whilst in Valencia we mainly just relaxed, we spent time at the beach, went to restaurants for nice dinners and just took in the city.  We slept in almost every day and on the Wednesday we took a day trip to Bunol for the annual La Tomantina festival, which is basically a massive tomato fight.  The story goes that the festival originated last century when some kids started throwing tomatoes at each other, the next year they met again but this time they started throwing tomatoes at visitors and passers by.  From this it has involved to the massive day it is today.  I can tell you that I always thought the idea of a massive tomato fight was great, but there were a few things I had not really considered.  1) Tomatoes stain clothes and it is very hard to get out.  (I have not got out the stains and had to dispose of some clothing) and 2) Tomatoes left in the sun have a disgusting odour.  Having said this, it was a great day and although its not something I would got back and do again, it is definitely something you should do once in your life if you have the chance.  Ohh yeah, Did I mention that the girls here love to go topless on the beach? well, yeah they do 

Having spent 5 days in Valencia, it was now time for us to return to London so Leesa could leave for Sydney.  Leesa left on the Saturday and it has certainly been difficult going from spending os much time with someone and having had had such a good time, now being by myself and without her there with me.  Its has been hard because since then there are so many things I wish she could have seen but I guess that’s why we have photos, and I am sure we will travel again. (There may have even been a tear or two... I think I had something caught in my eye) 

With Leesa on her way back to Syndey, Jonathan, Emma, Iain, Alex and I, and a few others went out in Old Street for one last night out in London.  It was a good night and this being the area in which I first went out when arriving almost 3 months earlier, a fitting way to depart.  On the Sunday Emma, Jono and I went and saw the Lion King Musical in the westend.  This was by far the best theatrical production I have ever seen.  (What a big word, Theatirical production, wonder if i will ever use that again) I have never seen anything like it and if anyone has not seen it yer (I think it is still playing in Sydney or Melboune) it is definately something you want to see.  After leaving the thearte we walked through the west end area and there was a Spanish festival being held, there were a lot of people around and a really good atmosphere.  We also happened to run into the lead singer of a band called the Kaiser Chiefs, we had seen them the weekend earlier at the Reading Festival and we all got photos with him.  He was pretty drunk but I guess thats the norm for the Rock 'n' Rollers!  It was not time for me to depart London for the last time this trip and head onwards for the next part of my journey.

After the usual hassles of Heathrow Airport (A two and half hour wait just to go through passport control) I was on a plane and bound for Stockholm, Sweeden.  Stockholm is a beautiful city built on a series of seas, a lake and hundreds of canals that make it quite an awesome sight.  It is very old and the old town is well preserved.  Whilst here I met some really good people in the hostels.  Roo form the UK, Katrin and Mary from Germany, Julia from Bavaria (not Germany J) and a host of other people.  It was a good atmposphere at the hostel I thought and even though I had been lead to belive that it was extremely expensive in Stockholm, on the whole I think London is more expensive, beer was probably the most expensive at about $12AU for a schooner, this is because they have massive tax rates on alcohol so if your a raging alcoholic, Sweeden probably not the best country to come to for you.  Whilst in Stockholm I did a lot of walking.  I find that walking around a city gives you the best orientation and also lets you take it in a bit.  I did a canal cruise around the city shores, this was ok but the weather wasn't great and I fell asleep on the boat (oops).  I visited the Vassa Musuem which is a ship from around the 1600’s that sank after it was floated and then salvaged and preserved in the 1900’s, this was really quite interesting.  Apparently there is something "not" present in the Nordic waters which means the wood was not eaten away, had it been anywhere else in the world after a few short years it would have been in ruins!  As far as food goes, it did not try the Sweedish Meatballs but did try some of the local hotdogs which were great...mmm, cows feet amd pigs eye!

From Stockholm I flew to Helsinki in Finland.  Helsinki was quite a nice city aswell built on rivers, canals and a sea.  Helsinki is probably not as beautiful as Stockholm but it was not bad at all.  There was a South Korean convention in town and there was an enormous police and army presence on the streets.  I could not find hostel accommodation in Helsinki so had to stay in a budget hotel.  This is not as fun as a hostel because its harder to interact and meet new people.  There was also no bar where I was staying and the restaurant was very expensice so the people I want to meet were not hanging around the hotel.  The few nights I was there I did go out, I went to some music bars and there were a lot of bars that played live music.  I thought the nightlife here was really good and better than Stockholm.  It rained very heavy for some of the days so I went and saw a movie, Pirates of the Carribean II, lucky for me it was in English.  i also was a "massive" NERD  and bought a few computer games to play when it was raining because it was just too heavy.  Once the rain stopped, well it softened for a few hours, I went on a canal cruise and this time guess what, I did not fall alseep.  The waterways are pretty cool and the fortress was good too, there are so many beautiful houses on the water that look like log cabins and stuff, it would be really cool to saty in one for a while.  As with most other cities, I did a heap of walking, the rain did not help but I did see quite a large amount of the city.  One crap things was I went to an "Australian" Bar to watch Many vs Newcastle in the NRL semifinals and the stupid bar didn't show it...how un-Australian is that, I had to rely on SMS updates!!!!!! (Thanks Adzy and Leese)  After a few days it was time for me to pack my bags and head on to Russia…ah Russia.

I Survived Russia!!!  They seriously should sell tshirts like that at the airport when you leave.  Nah, it was not all that bad but it was not without a few lets just say less than pleasent experiences.  I also can say that now that I have left.  Arriving in Moscow after a 3hrs flight, I was confronted with the Russia Immigration Controls, which looked more like a riot than a border processing checkpoint.  I guess its like trying to get on a subway train in any major city, the harder you push the quicker you will get on...not!  There were no official lines, gates or markers to build queues, there was no order and people just pushed harder and harder towards the passport windows trying to force their way through.  Quite honestly it was pretty poor.  It took two hours to get through passport control, and if trying to fill in an immigration form which is only in Russian isn’t bad enough, the fact that there was no order, rules, queues etc did not help the situation or the tempers in the lines, lets just say there were quite a few unhappy people.  I obviously was not one of them, I was too concerned with being robbed or kidnapped by the Russian Mafia ;).  After finally getting though passport control I picked up my bags and headed out to the arrivals area.  Once out I was bombarded with taxi drivers harassing me to take up their services.  Not only did I have to put up with them giving quotes like $200 Euro ($400AU) for a 15 minute cab ride, they would follow me everywhere I went.  If I sat down to get out my instructions to the hostel, so did they.  Went I went to the ATM, they stood next to me…as if I was going to take money out with one of these guys next to me!  It made it very hard for me and was quite unsettling.  This really had me on edge and being in a country where you dont understand the signs, the language or the alphabet is quite intimidating, at least with Spanish, French, German etc they use like a,b,c etc, the Russians are like the Greek and use the Cyrillic alphabet...Ouch!

After finally getting a small amount of money out, I found a bus that would take me where I needed to go, well, at least I hoped it would.  It was funny on the bus, I was last on the bus and there was only one seat left up the back.  I sat down and there was a very beautiful girl next to me, when I sat down she said something to me in Russian and I said to her in English I did not understand and she spoke English, so she introduced herself.  It turned out she was on her way back from London after taking English classes for a month and she was on her way back to Siberia where she was studying marketing.  Where it got funny is that after a few minutes, she asked me if I would go to Siberia with her, it was just amusing because of I guess the stereotypes I had in my mind about Russian girls…obviously I declined her invitiation.  She was a very nice girl however and she helped me a lot to get to my hostel, she came with me off the bus and showed me which train to catch and where to get off.  I think I would have had a lot toughter time had I not met her.  

By the time I reached my station it was now dark, arriving in cities in general at night is something I had deliberatly planned around to ensure it did not happen.  The two hour delay at Russian immigration through this plan astray, and in all places, Russia.  After getting off the train and following the directions from my hostel on how to get there, the instructions ended as soon as walked out of the subway and there was no hostel to be seen.  I asked in a shop and the assistant basically pointed “that way”, I thnk he understood but who knows.  Unfortunately for me, "Down there" was down a dark alley, so as you can imagine I was quite intimidated and nervous.  I walked down the alley a little and came to a junction, all I can think was great, I have all my crap on me and i am going to get robbed on my fiirst night here!.  Luckily for me a young person was walking by, I asked if they could help me and not only did he speak good english (with a Russian accent of coarse) but he happened to live next door to the hostel so he walked me there.  When I got to the hostel I found out that nearly all the patrons had had traumatic times trying to find it, even in the day let alone at night like me.  they really should do something about it.  Having safely made it to the hostel, I was honestly overwhelmed by it all and really felt quite dejected.  The hostel was old but the people were great, they were so friendly and within minutes I was feeling better.

After the traumatic experience of trying to find the hostel, some of the other travellers asked me if I wanted to go out and see Red Square at night then go for a beer at a Blues bar, this sounded like a great idea.  We went to Red Square to see the Kremlin and St Basils Cathedral by night.  It was an amazing sight and I took a heap of photos that just don’t do it justice.  It was raining but if you are ever in Monscow, you must see it by night, I think it is better than in the day.  After our night tour we went to a Blues Bar but it was not too big a night, just a few beers and stories, we actually were the only people in there but this bar had seen the likes of Madonna, Bryan Adams and the Gypsy Kings amongst others, it had a really good warm feel about it. 

After a sleep in, I got up so I could see some of Moscows sights by day as i was heading to St Petersburg on the overnight train later that night.  I walked into town from the hostel which was about 20 minutes, again to orientate myself and to feel some of the city.  I had been told that Moscow was the most expensive city in Europe, but I thought it was cheap so maybe it is expensive for locals based on their annual salaries.  Moscow is a big city with a population of over 10 million which is the biggest in Europe, and it definately shows.  The subways are packed, cars park anywhere and everywhere and the city looks quite rundown in places.  I went to Red Square and looked at the Kremlin, St Basils and other landmarks by day but as I mentioned, they look better at night however they are still impressive.  I did not get time to go into the Kremlin because there was a massive queue and Lenin's tomb and the armoury were closed.  Although at the time I thought the opposite, I think I would like to go back to Moscow but only if it was with a local or with someone else.

Later that night it was time for me to get the train to St Petersburg.  It was at the train station where I had my most unsettling experience in Russia.  If you don't want the details just skip this paragraph becauses it quite long, but i wanted to write it in detail so you can be mindful if you every come to Russia.  Here goes, when I was waiting for the train, an older man came up to me and said something in Russian to me.  I did not understand so politely said I do not understand.  The person then asked me in English what time the train to St Petersburg left?, so again I politely told him the time.  It stuck me as strange that a Russian, who can actually read the Cyrillic alphabet would ask me the time a train departs, it took me 15 minutes just to translate the symbols.  The person asked where I was from and the normal chit-chat and we headed out to the platform, I had to go out to get my train and as he was also going to St Petersburg (or atleast I thought) we went together.  Once we got out there the trains had not arrived so we sat down in a café on the platform.  He started asking a bit about why I was travelling and where and he seemed fair enough. As we were speaking, another person approached the table and said he overheard us speaking English, he introduced himself and said he was American, however I could tell his accent was Russian so I was starting to think that it was a bit weird.  We talked a little and then the first person pulled out a pack of old cards and put them on the table.  He said he would teach us both how to play an old card game.  He put out the cards and started talking though the rules when a third person came and sat at the table, he said he spoke English and he was from Estonia, again he sounded Russian to me and I was now getting a bit concerned.  I made sure my bags were attached to my legs and locked and continued to watch the card game that we were being taught.  Basically each card was worth points with a joker being worth 12 points as the highest card.  Each person got two cards and the person with the highest amount wins.  He showed us how to play a few times and then he shuffled the cards and gave them to me.  He told me to deal myself two cards first and then the other 3 people so I did.  When I looked at my cards, I had two Jokers, an unbeatable hand and as I checked my cards, the first person pulled out $500 and put it on the table.  The other two also put $500 on the table and they all looked at me.  I told them I didn’t gamble, it was against my religion of all things. I was really worried now because the odds of the three people speaking English, them all having $500 and me getting an unbeatable hand, I was thinking it was a scam and they were going to rob me, either as soon as I got out my wallet or if I did they knew where it was so they could take it.  I again declined and said no, after they tried several times I insisted no and they all packed up and left together.  To me, it was clear that it was dodgy, they came separately and left together, they all had a lot of cash and I had two jokers after the first guy shuffled and said deal myself first.  I was quite shaken up but luckily for me I got out of a pretty dodgy situation.  I had to ring Leesa because I was shaking, not a good feeling when these people had also said they would be on your train!!!  The other things that went through my head was whether it was even legal to gamble in Russia, and epecially in a Café.  I could have been arrested in a second had I pulled out cash and it was illegal…anyway, for me it that was the worst of the experiences and it got a lot better in St Petersburg. 

St Petersburg, formally Leningrad, what a difference to Moscow!  If anyone is coming to Russia, make sure this place is on your itinary and I would go as far to say that if you are coming to Europe, make St Petersburg a stop off.  St Petersburg is a beautiful city and could rival any city in Europe.  I really loved this place, it is not a city built of sky scrapers but more a sprawled city of lowrise buildings and it has a very open feel about it.  There are trees, parks, churches, gardens, canals, rivers all over the city and the buildings just look fantastic.  There a so many cafes and restaurants, and there is so much to do here that you really need a good week here.  If you are time contrained, then Hemitage is your number one attraction.  This building used to be the winter palace of the Russian Tsars empire and it has been converted into an art gallery, and it is the enormous amount of famous artwork that almost distracts you from the building, it is a truely amazing sight.  I am not a big art person but this place blew me away, I thought this was better than Musee du Louvre in Paris however as I say, I am no expert.  I got bored in the Muse De Louve very quickly but this placed grabbed me, and if art can grab me it must be pretty good.  For me, the artwork displayed here was fantastic and I could have spent days inside.  As it turned out I only spent 3 or 4 hours but even then I felt I missed out on things.  I also saw the Aurora Naval Ship, St Peter and Paul Fortress and the Church on Spilt Blood, which was named so because it is built on the very spot where Tsar Alexander II was assinated.  I also had the chance to go to an Ice Hockey match between St Petersburg and a team from Moscow, this was a very good and interesting experience.  The cheerleaders were all "HOT" and wear g-strings (I guess this is normal in Russia though), the Russians sing ACDC (but dont speak english huh) and the hockey is played quicker an more technical than what I have seen in Canada.

The hostel I stayed at was called Nord Hostel and was two minutes from the Hermitage.  The place was small, cosy and had a really good mix of people.  The hostel felt more like a home than a hostel, everyone was so friendly and by far my two hostel experiences in Russia have been the best hostel experiences on this trip. Three great people I met in particular were Helen, Shantel and CJ.  I got on with these guys like a house on fire and really had a good time with them.  Its funny, I have known these guys for what, 3 days and I feel like I have know them forever.  They were like sisters and a brother and I spent most my time here with them and I really hope we can stay in touch.  Everyone at the hostel was great and it made it a much more rewarding expereince for me in St Petersburg.  

All in all, despite some early "annoyances" I really enjoyed my Russian experience.  I think it is the places that challenge you, such as Egpyt and Russia for me, that these places turn out to be the most rewarding.  Don't get me wrong, at the time it is hard to see it but now in the comfort (not) of an airline seat and flying away from the continent of Europe, I will treasue these memories for a long time.  Despite probably being one of the few countries in the world that when you see a police officer or army officer you walk the other way or cross the street, its not too bad.  There are a lot of stories about people being harassed by the police and army but for me, it was not to be.  Also Russia by far, anywhere I have been in the world, on average, has the most beautiful girls.  I say average because obviously Leesa is the "most" beautiful  but on the whole, they are a race of stunners!!!.  They are also very "open" to foreigners so Lachlan, if you are still in any doubt about coming to Russia i say do it, and for anyone who travels the world to appreciate human beauty, you will surely indulge whilst you are here.   A well versed traveller once said  "If I was ever having a mid-life crisis, Russia and St Petersburg would be the place I would come", no points for guessing who that may have been.  Russia is a far cry from western Euorpe but honestly, do yourself the favour and come!  This is what travelling is all about!

Having departed Russia I was now heading home, or to my second home.  Outside of Australia, I have spent more time in Munich than anywhere else in the world and Franca and Florian and the rest of the guys really do make me feel like I am coming home, it is a great feeling.  At the airport I offer assistance to tourists on how to get into the city, what trains to catch, where to get off, its pretty funny actually.  Emma and Jonathan were also flying into Munich for what would be my last weekend in Europe, and what a way to end it but with the opening weekend of Oktoberfest!  On Saturday we went to Café Munich and had breakfast before some sightseeing.  We walked around town and bought some traditional Bavarian clothing to wear to Oktoberfest.  Having purchased our gear we headed to the festival to have a look.  The only way I could describe it I think is that it is the Easter Show on Steroids, and with beer instead of animals and showbags.  There were so many people here on the Saturday, 500,000 in fact.  The rides look more like permenent fixtures, some of them more advanced than anything we have in Australia and these things are temporary!  We walked around but most beer halls were closed because they were full so we went to the beer garden where Florian’s mum was working to say Hi.  This resulted in my first ever Oktoberfest stein being on the house, and a few minutes later was empty thanks to the help of the team.  Saturday was just for us to take it in while sober, our big day was Sunday, in which we were arriving at 9am to have a crack at the Franca and Florian tourist record of staying in a beer tent.  Later in the night we had a very good dinner in Marienplatz and retired early to ensure we were ready for our big day on Sunday, but not before watching Lethal Weapon 2, man thats a good movie!

Rising nice and early, and doing up our leather lederhausen’s, we were ready to embark on Oktoberfest.  We arrived around 9:30am in the morning and took our place at a table in one of the tents.  Our tent was called Ox something and they had a bull on a spit roast, that’s right, I said a bull, not a pig.  We all ate traditional Munchen breakfasts consisting of white veal sausages, sweet mustard and a pretzel to line our stomachs for the big day ahead.  Our group for the day consisted of Franca, Emma, Manwella, Manwell, Florian, Jonathan, Ruppurt and myself.  The atmosphere at Oktoberfest was truly amazing, the tents fill up very early and by 10:30am there was hardly a seat left.  Marching bands walk through, bands play, people dance and sing on the tables it is absolutely fantastic.  We drank, sang and danced for 12 hours, comprehensively beating the previous tourist record of 5 hours under Franca and Florian record keeping.  I also did a test to see how long I could hold a full litre stein in my outstretched arm, holding only by the handle.  The average is usually 1 minutes so I am told my 3 minutes was quite an effort…it was about this time my arm gave way and violent shaking ceased.  We drank between 4 and 6 steins each, I had 5 and half but it was just enough to keep me singing and dancing, not overdoing it, like most.  It can be a funny sight just watching the drunks stumble around the outer grounds.  After leaving the tent, the 12 hour marathon of drinking was complete so now it was time to go on the rides… probably not the smartest thing after 5.5 litres of beer but what the hell!  

Sunday at Oktoberfest was one of the best days I have ever had, I had so much fun and to think we drank, sung and danced for 12 hours is quite funny.  For me, it was hard not having Leesa here to share it with me but I am sure she was thinking of me and she will be able to watch from the 1GB of movies I took yesterday J.  To anyone who has not been this is an absolute "MUST" and I have some friends in Munchen that would be happy to teach you how to drink Bavarian style!

I am now leaving Munich, and for me Europe and heading towards the continents of North and South America.  Today has been quite tough, I leave behind some great friends in Franca, Florian, Emma and Jono and with it I take the memories of a great 3 months in Europe.  I am not sure if it is the cold giving me shivers as I write this but its has been quite emotional today.  Leaving this time is the hardest because I was previously always either coming back to London or coming back to Munich, and now I am not.  I am sure I will one day visit Munich again and hope Franca and Florian and the rest of the guys will one day come to Australia and let me show them parts of our beautiful country.  Franca and Florian, Thank you SO MUCH for taking us in and truly showing us Bavarian hospitality and culture, Andrew, Jonathan, Emma, Leesa and I will NEVER forget these experiences, truly unforgetable.

Hi everyone,

Well the first three legs of my journey are now complete, part one being the world cup, part two being the Contiki tour of Europe and part three in Spain including La Tomatina in Bunol.  You will have to excuse the summary as it was almost two months ago we started the trip. (I did send an email from Greece halfway through but most people said they did not get it, I guess it was the Greek god of Internet…)  This is a long email because I have not sent much back so you may need to get a coffee, tea or whatever does it for you!

Interesting Trip Statistics to date:

Countries Visited:     19

Shorts:                        1 x K.I.A (I didn’t know Tomatoes didn’t come out…La tomantina)

Shirts:                          2 x K.I.A (Sunscreen accident in Egypt and La Tomantina)

Thongs:                       2 x K.I.A (Severe Blowouts in Munich and Madrid)

Sunglasses:               1 x M.I.A (Somewhere in the Meditaranian) & 1 x K.I.A (Don’t try swimming with sunglasses on…  both waterborne incidents)

Girlfriend:                   1 x M.I.A (Or on her way back to Sydney…at least I think) L

At the rate I am going I am not going to need a suitcase much longer!

Our tour started in France, we went to Paris and did the tourist thing, the Eiffel tower, the arch thing with a big roundabout around it, Arch de Triumph or something along with a variety of museums.  We also went to the Palace of Versai or with a name similar to that and we were lucky enough to be in Paris for Bastille Day, our group bought some picnic dinners and we watched the fireworks with the Eiffel tower in the background which was very impressive.  The fireworks went for 45mins and were choreographed to classical music such as Mozart and Strauss, as gay as it seems it was actually really good.  The only unfortunate part of the night (Apart from being around the extremely rude “Paris” frenchies) was their public transport system shut down about 30 mins after the fireworks leaving millions of people left in the city, it hence took us over 5 hours to get back to our accommodation.

From Paris we headed to the Boujoule region, which is a famous red wine growing area.  We stayed in a nice Chateau (Well from the outside it was nice) and the next day had a picnic in the countryside which was good although by this time everyone was kind of getting over baguettes.

Next stop Barcelona, a full days drive from the Chateau, we arrived late and stayed in cabins in a campsite on the beach.  Whilst in Barcelona we went to Flamenco dancing, where I was “lucky” enough (yeah right) to be pulled up on stage to show the group how it’s done!  I had read Barcelona was a beautiful city but apart from a few small sections, overall I though it was ugly and I probably would not go back there.  Also considering it was a whole day’s drive to get there and a whole day’s drive back, just to spend one day in Barcelona, I am not sure if it is really worth it, I would have rather spent an extra day in the French Riviera.

Ahh the French Riviera, this place is Nice!  Excuse the pun.  We stayed near Nice and spent a day there, the landscape in this area was certainly some of the most beautiful I saw in Europe and there rock beaches were certainly interesting.  Trying to get out of the water in a rock beach when the beach is on an almost 45 degree angle is certainly a challenge, or a laugh to any local watching the tourists make idiots of themselves trying to get out of the water.  We had a day just to relax and relax we did however Leesa’s idea of relaxing (Shopping) was not quite the same as me.  Whilst in the region we also headed to Monaco and went to Monte Carlo, the Grand Casino was a beautiful building however overrated it was.  As far as Casinos go, forget the James Bond movies, Star City has more to offer.

From the French Riviera we headed to Venice, the city of canals.  I don’t know if we were lucky but despite what we had been told about the town smelling, it really didn’t when we were there.  We really liked it here and definitely a must see when in Italy.  The nights in Venice also included a lot of drinking, this was also the location where I fell backwards off a table whilst dancing in a pub!!!

From Venice we did the cities of Florence and Pisa.  Pisa has the leaning tower but not much else but Florence was interesting.  Home of Michelangelo, we visited his house which is now a museum and although the famous David statue is located here, we were not fortunate enough to see it as the museums are closed on a Monday.  We did see a to scale replica however.

Next stop Rome, for me, this was one of the highlights of the whole Contiki trip.  How these people built some of these things over 2000 years ago is amazing…how so much is still intact is almost just as amazing.  The coliseum, the Parthenon, the Roman Forum… its hard to comprehend.  We also saw Vatican City, the Sistine chapel was ok but I guess after seeing some of the other churches and palaces, it was not all that amazing.  St Peters Bascillica however is amazing, I think the sheer size of it is what blows you away.  Other things we saw in Rome included the Trevi Fountain, the cappuccino monks, Spanish steps and a lookout that had a view of all Rome however I can’t remember what it was called.  We also saw Circus Maximus and a few other plazas….and that was Rome, all in 1 and a half days…hectic to say the least.

From Rome we left for the ferry to Greece but not before seeing Pompeii.  Pompeii was ok but the city was completely covered in Smog due to neighboring Naples and we could not even see Mt Vesuvius.  The town however is well preserved including a ancient brothel with some lets say interesting frescos to indicate its purpose…lets such say the Romans did not leave much to the imagination.

Next stop Corfu, one of Greeks hundreds of Islands.  We had a relaxing couple of days here staying at a waterfront hotel.  Our time here included a traditional Greek dinner including plate smashing and the Zorba and the following day included a all day cruise around the island, very relaxing swimming in the beautifully warm waters surrounding the island.

From Corfu we headed to Athens.  We did not spend too much time here , before heading to Egypt however we did have time to see the birthplace of the modern Olympics, the Acropolis and some of the sites from the 2004 Olympics.  (This was where I wrote my “disappearing” email from).

Ok, now Egypt.  Damn!  Wow!  Umm…words can not describe this place.  It’s not that it’s so amazing or so poor, it’s just like nothing I had ever seen before.  The fact this country is not rated third world amazes me yet the extremes these people endure and how friendly they were towards us was great.  Cairo was insane, 20 million people in one city, and these people are not wealthy, sure, there may be parts that were well off but by and large, this place is dirty, dusty and extremely poor…and I loved it.  If anyone thinks driving in Sydney, London, the USA or ANYWHERE in the world is bad they have not seen ANYTHING until they have been to Cairo!!!  Road rules, courtesy, manners go out the window here, here is a place where the biggest vehicle wins…just ask the kid on the bike our bus ran over when he did not get out of the way!!!  Not to mention the punch ups after the incidents that occur almost by the minute!

The pyramids were fantastic, an achievement that is still hard to comprehend.  These things were built 6000 years ago…and they still stand, and they are not ruins like some of the things in Rome, these things are more often than not completely in tact.  We went inside the tomb of one of the pyramids, a dark and narrow pathway that had me almost crawling, one thing I can tell is the Egyptians were not tall!  An interesting thing also was I had an expectation that the pyramids were out in the middle of the desert, and once upon a time they were, however as Cairo has grown, the Pyramids are literally in amongst housing estates, businesses and even a golf course!

Other places we visited in Egypt included Aswan, Abu Simbiel, Luxor and Hurghada.  We saw the temple of King Ramses II, we took a camel ride through the desert at sunset, we floated on a felucca down the Nile, we visited the valley of the kings include King Tutankhamen’s tomb amongst others and many temples and monuments.  In Hurghada, which is a tourist town on the red sea, we went on a day cruise and snorkeled in the sea where there are some amazing reefs and sea life…not something I was expecting in Egypt.

The food and water in Egypt really caught most people out, let just say the Imodium came in handy for almost all of us.  Even if you are careful, it is pretty common to get ill here.  Other interesting things we experienced was for two of our legs on the bus, we had to get a military escort as we were crossing dangerous parts of the desert, the first convoy probably had 30 coaches but on the second, we were the only bus, I think this was more frightening for us as if we were attacked we were the only target.  We also had to tip / bribe the guards on our overnight train on the first night to ensure they guarded our carriage more than any other as the trains can be dodgy.  At one time in the night, our train stopped and killed power for a few minutes, to the few of us that were still awake, not a pleasant experience, I don’t think I have heard my heart so loud in my ears before.

All in all, Egypt so far has been the highlight, it’s a place which is so culturally different to back home however I am told if you have been to India you will probably find it the same.   It’s definitely a place I recommend to all of you to see at least once in your life.

From Egypt we flew back to Athens and headed north towards Turkey.  Our first day in Turkey saw us in Gallipoli and Troy.  Gallipoli was a tough place for most of our bus as the bus was largely Australia and new Zealanders.  I don’t know that much about the circumstances around World War I but when I get home, it something I am definitely going to look into because it was very emotional and sad to see the burial grounds that surround this place.  We were there on a beautiful day, and the coastline looked like paradise, hard to imagine so many young, both foreign and Turks died here.  I guess for me some other realities that we were told by our guides was the fact that all in all, Australian and new Zealand forces were invading this country and they were just defending themselves, I guess that’s why I want to understand “what” we were fighting for and what turkey was defending… I guess I will know in time.

From Here we headed for Istanbul, for me everywhere we went was a history lesson.  I had never been a big history fan back at school but this trip has left me with a hunger to understand so much more.  An interesting fact about the city is that part of the city is actually on the continent of Europe and another part is actually on the continent of Asia, this is why Istanbul is seen as the gateway between Europe and Asia.  Also through the ages this city has actually been called different names, and it was also the where the eastern half of the Roman empire was controlled from when the empire split in two because it was too big to manage from Rome.  Whilst we were here we went to a belly dancing dinner show and we also went to the grand bazaar and spice markets which were an experience.  Our time in instanbul also included some shisa smoking (big water pipes) and also a Turkish bath, which if you are ever in Istanbul make sure you get one.  It’s a traditional wash and massage service but you are contorted in ways that make you scream, much to the amusement of any of your friends or mates who happen to be inside with you not to mention the overweight Turk who is inflicting the pain, I think they work on the system of the louder you scream the harder the push!!!

Our next stop after Turkey was Bulgaria but I will skip that as it was one day and all we did was get drunk and run through fountains naked before inadvertently being taken to a brothel when we asked for a night club…I guess a night club means something different in Bulgaria, I think we wanted the disco!  (Well maybe some of the guys on our tour were happy).

From Bulgaria we did Romania.  I guess as with Bulgaria, these guys in Eastern Europe are quite far behind Western Europe but this is largely due to the fact that most of these places were still communist until the late 1980’s.  For me this was also another history lesson as I was not to aware about how the communism system ran and what impact it had on its people, and what the corruption and flaws in this system did to the countries.  In Romania, although I was not a massive fan, we did see Dracula’s castle and we did go to Transylvania (a place I though was fictional before this trip) and it was a beautiful area surrounded by Alps.  Skipping right along (like most of our bus wished we had done through Romania) we headed for Hungary and Budapest.

Budapest, the city of two towns, Buda and Pest.  One on the hills side of the Danube and one on the flat side…I can’t remember which is which.  We did a river cruise and had dinner on the boat which was really good.  They loaded us up with bottles of Alcohol so maybe that’s why dinner tasted so good but hey, who’s complaining!  Whilst in Budapest we also went to war museum which was located in a  building that has actually been used as a headquarters for both the NAZI party and Soviets during different periods.  This place was not very nice but I think it’s important to see it, I think everyone should see it in the hope it never happens again.  One other little thing (not sure if it was true) but “apparently” Hungary got its name from the people who initially settled there, they were so starved that they would eat anything (including humans or so they say) that people called them by that term and it since has become the country name.  Hungarians did not call themselves Hungarian however they called themselves something else which has also slipped my mind…ohm well!

Hungary completed and off to Austria.  Our first stop was Vienna.  We stayed in a hostel called Wombats (yes it was Australian) and it was surprisingly modern, more like a hotel.  Vienna was great, we basically just walked around the town, just relaxed.  We saw the chapel in the heart of the city and we went in the catacombs underneath that was quite eairy.  Whilst in Vienna we also had the chance to go to a Strauss and Mozart Symphony, which actually was good, I think had I not seen the fireworks in Paris to the music I probably would not have gone but it was well and truly worth it.

From Vienna we headed north to Germany and back to Munich.  We arrived in Munich and I had organized to meet up with Florian and Franca who we had met during the world cup so they could meet Leesa and vice versa.  Before dinner Florian gave Leesa a walking tour of parts of the city and then we went to the original beer hall that Jono and I went when we first met these guys to have dinner.  We had a good meal and the night was really good.  Whilst in Munich we also got to have a traditional Munich breakfast which consisted of white sausages, sweet mustard, a pretzel and a Weiss beer, an interesting combination at 9am in the morning but it was really good.  From here we completed our walking tour with Florian and joined back up with our bus to head back to Austria to visit the Austrian Tyrol.

On the way to the Austrian Tyrol we stopped at a famous crystal factory, Swarovski I think it was and that was ok…I guess. (The girls liked it).  The Austrian Tyrol lead us to a town called Hophgarten, which is a very large Austrian ski resort in Winter.  Whilst we were here we were supposed to go paragliding off the Alps but as we were driving to the jump off point a storm blew in and we had to cancel our jump.  We had earlier gone for a bike ride through the Alps which was quite intense, the hills were not small and it was a 25km ride however I think they may have miss calculated because it did not feel that long.  In the afternoon, due to the cancellation of our jumps, Leesa and I took our bikes up in the Gondola to the top of one of the ski mountains and decided we would ride down the mountain in the mud and pouring rain…a good idea at the time but maybe we should have thought better of it…nahh, then again it was a tonne a fun and getting covered in mud is always good!

The Austrian Tyrol complete, it was time to head to Switzerland to Lucerne and the Swiss Alps.  But not before a white water rafting expedition.  After dressing up in full body length wet suits, water slippers, life jackets and helmets, we jumped into the 5 degree water and hit the river.  The rapids were quite tame, grade 2 apparently but they were nothing too bad, the worst I copped was when Leesa and Tasha decided to try and overpower me and throw me in the river, I ended up with a finger in the eye!  It was a good experience and even though the water was “bloody” cold, I definitely would like to have another go at it in some stronger rapids.

Our trip towards Switzerland took us into Luxemburg for lunch before hitting Switzerland and the city of Lucerne.  Lucerne was a beautiful town with a large lake, the kind of scenery that postcards often portray.  After Lucerne we made it to our stopover in the Austrian Alps which was a beautiful town however again, I can’t remembers its name, I think it was Lauterbraughton or something like that.  We took the cog railway for 2hrs up the really big mountain we were in the valley of and there were some spectacular views of the mountains and the glacier.  I took a heap of photos which you can see as this was the only place there was snow.  We did some tobogganing but nothing close to Mount Selwyn in Australia when it comes to tobogganing!  One thing I did experience for the first time, was altitude sickness.  We were only 3800 odd meters and in South America I need to go to 6000, that should be interesting.

From Switzerland we headed back to Germany for a stopover in Rhine Valley, a well renowned white win district.  The countryside was great however we did not spend a lot of time here, we did do a wine tasting and although the wine was good, it was in a cellar not a vineyard so it was not quite what we were expecting.

From the Rhine Valley we headed up to Holland and Amsterdam.  Whilst in Amsterdam we did a bike ride around the canals, there were so many bikes here, the whole town commutes this way.  We also got to Edam and saw how they made cheese, I bought one of them and it was fantastic, a peppercorn cheese.  Whilst we only had one night in Amsterdam, we experienced some local delicacies, we had an optional tour extra which was a sex show, this was an interesting experience and something I am sure we won’t forget among other things.

So that’s it! 45 days on a tour bus traveling Europe and Leesa and I did not kill each other, or anyone else on the bus!  We met some really cool people and there are many people I would like to stay in contact with.  Next we are off to the Reading Festival, then Spain, and then Leesa flies home!

Until next time!  Odeios, Chow, Ovwah, Bye!