Buon Giorno!

Ok, so I am back from Rome. I would have to rate it as my least favourite place thus far (well, not including Calais, which was merde). I think I did it the wrong way though, but there seem to be only 2 ways to do Rome as a backpacker. Make your own way around and look at the pretty things and have no idea what they are cos there are very few written notices for tourists, or you can pay for a tour, where you get WAY too much information because there is 5 years of history in the one spot, and you cannot process it all, you get bored with hearing all the dates and figures and your brain actually shuts down. I spoent the first 2 days in brain shut down mode, and the last 2 in wonder around mode, and I prefered the least information. I can always read about it later if I am that interested! There are LOADS of backpackers (almost all Australian) walking around Rome with maps and confused looks on their faces. The only people with smiles are the rich old people who are probably on their 50th trip and don't need the facts anymore, or the love sick honeymooners almost having sex everytime they see anything new (don't mind me, you carry on, I'll just squeeze past to get to look at that over there shall I?). The good thing was it was about 15-20'C every day and I didn't need my coat at all, and most days barely needed my jumper. I shouldn't say only good thing, as it was very pretty in parts, but there's just too much going on to appreciate all of it. It needed to be spread out over like 5 cities so you didn't get overwhelmed. Anyways.... here's my journey to Rome...
18/1- I left England on one of the windiest days ever (50-60mph winds) as there was a hurricane somewhere near by. On the way to the airport we passed 4 massive semi trailers that had just blown over. It was bad. Half the flights were delayed, some were cancelled, but even though we took off 45 mins late, due to what the captain called "a very strong tail wind" we only arrived 10 mins late. I got a transfer coach to the station and then walked to where I was sure the hostel was, going by the instructions on their website, however it was not on any maps. I found it fine, only 3 minutes from station. I was in a room that shoulod be the boys room first, cos there was a mixed group in the girl's room. It was ok though, apart from the world's smallest shower! I had a drama about what to do with my luggage cos everyone tells you muggings are high, yet there were no locks on the doors or safes for bags, so I would have to decide whether to take stuff with me or risk it in the hostel!
19/1- I got up fairly early, had my free breakfast and left for the open top bus, to get my bearings on where things were. This was over an hour of information on bits and pieces. I went on a loop and a bit as I needed to be at the Colosseum for a 2pm tour. I got there early so I sat in a cafe just opposite and had lasagne. Then when I was walking around a person asked me if I wanted to go on a tour inside, skip the queue and get a guide. There were only 2 others on it, so it was almost apersonal tour. I did that, as my walking tour I booked only did the outside. It was quite infomative,but not too much. Then when that finished I went and joined the walking tour. Our guide for this was a Roman archaeologist who was very passionate so we got WAY too much information and our 3 hours tour turned into over 4 hours! We went to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Wedding Cake building, Trevi fountain (where I threw in a coin), Pantheon and Piazza Navona. By the time we finished it was dark and noone was able to listen anymore. He was very knowledgeable, but it was just overload of information. Some interesting, some not. Then I got lost trying to get back to the hostel and was starving so I had maccas with one of the best views!
20/1- I was booked on a tour of the Vatican and Sistene Chapel so I went to catch the bus with the tour and off we went. The Vatican is massive and such an excessive place. It is very beautiful and full of loads of nice, expensive things that have been presented from other countries. Again, there are no labels for what everything is, and the guide was on a strict time schedule so we only saw what she showed us. On interesting fact was all the ceiling that looks like it is relief is all trompe l'oil and painted flat. The sistene chapel was nothing like I expected and was like being in primary school as you had a load of guards clapping their hands, shushing everyone and yelling "no photo!" (but I snuck one anyways!). Then when the tour ended I caught my open top bus again to the Spanish Steps, where I sat and ate Pizza. There were so many people around, locals out walking, shoppers from the sales, toursists. I had to catch the metro to the steps as I got lost, and that was an experience in itself. You have to shove onto an already crowded carriage before everyone has even gotten off, as the doors just close and off it goes. FUN!
21/1- Oh My God! I took the advice of my guide book and went on a walk. I walked for 9 hours! I was exhausted! On my adventures I went to the most confusing museum ever (Capitolini) which the only cool thing in was large fragments of statues from the excessive days of BC Roman times. Then I went to a church which has the 'mouth of truth' a marble disc outside that they used to put people's hands in to see if they had sinned and legend says it would sever the fingers of the hands of a sinner. Apparently a priest used to stand behind it and whack the fingers of those he knew had sinned. I survived so I must be a good girl! Then i went to Ponte Sant' Angelo and from there Castel Sant' Angelo, which you can walk to the top of and get an amazing view of Rome. It was a cloudy day though, otherwise it would have been perfect. I then went on my own adventures to the most expensive street in Rome down from the Spanish Steps again, where there are all the lahdidah shops, and found an amusing sign telling you the rules for the Spanish Steps. Then on to a park with another commanding view, and I somehow ended up back at the Trevi fountain where I had a Gelato.
22/1- My everything ached geting out of bed after my marathon the day before! I went to St Peter's Bascillica with my 2 roommates from the hostel, and then they went one way and I went to Circo Massimo which used to be a chariot arena, and is now a running track, and then back to the Pantheon as when I went before it was night time. I had a very nice (if not expensive) fettucini and hot chocolate in front of the Pantheon, and then I went to the market I tried the day before on my walk but was closed, to find I had just missed it and they were finishing up the packing away. GRRR. Then I gave up and went back to the hostel.
23/1- I got back to England and it was 3'C! COLD!!!!! I went to the pub quiz with Louise and her friends, then stayed the night at the rellies place.
24/1- I woke up thismorning to discover that last night it snowed! Not much, but is snowed!!!I am back in Bristol now and I don't think it snowed here. Noone is home yet for me to ask.
Anyways, that is my adventures in Rome.

Head full of snot

Yes, I still have my cold, and still going through roughly a box of tissues a day, with the odd arrival of an excruciating headache to go along with the fun! I worked Monday and then took yesterday off because I woke up, felt like crap, rang and said i was unavailable, and went back to sleep for another 3 hours, making a grand sumof 12 hours sleep, which i obviously needed. I was in 2 minds about whether to do the same today, as I really need to shift this cold, because i don't want it lingering around for weeks and ruining the next few weekends of stuff for me, yet I also am desperate for the money. So which is more important? my health of my money? I decided today I would not ring and make myself unavailable, but I would leave it up to them to ring me if they have work, that way it's out of my hands. It is 7.51am now and so far nothing. But sometimes they don't ring until 8.30am.
I am slightly annoyed because I typed a whole blog entry yesterday and was almost finished when the screen dissappeared and said the site was under maintenance until 9.30am (10.30pm) and I have lost everything I typed :( Not Happy Jan! I will now try and recall what I wrote...
Monday, at work, I worked in a school that I have only worked at once before, back in my 2nd week of teaching here, 4 months ago. I taught a year 6 class then, and once they learnt I was Australian we ended up having an impromptu lesson on spiders. Monday I taught the other yr 6 class at the school, and when I took them down to assembly the class I had 4 months ago waved at me and a couple go "its the spider lady!". Later they came up to me and were telling me some of the facts I had told them about spiders, 4 months earlier! I was quite impressed that they took in so much, as the class I was teaching that day didn't seem to retain information for longer than 2 minutes! So it is true, you only rememeber what interests you! The class I had on Monday were ... um ... noisy! I had to raise my voice a couple of times to get them to stop talking while I was talking, but generally they weren't too bad, compared to some classes I have had. I am not quite sure why I get given year 6 classes, as I was not very good at yr 6 maths myself, so teaching them is a bit of a joke! They were doing subtracting decimals and I had to look at their work to see how they worked it out so I could help the ones who didn't understand it! Tee hee hee! Then in the afternoon we were doing revision on the sun, moon and earth and orbits and gravitational pull etc. After we had talked about it, drawn diagrams on the board, had kids come up and be the moon, earth and sun, and answered the worksheet I got them up to play celebrity head, but with the words we had just been discussing. Like 'orbit' and they had to guess what it was by asking yes/no questions. Then we moved on to 'things in the classroom' then the kids wanted me to have a go and they chose an actual celebrity. I was guessing away and they said they would give me a clue cos 'i would never get it'. The clue was 'she's going out with Jay-Z (if you know who that is)' so I said 'Beyonce' and you should have seen how shocked they were! Once girl said, in typical Bristol style "you're well young miss to know that"! So I think I got some fans in that class! One of the boys who had been horrible all day and I had been on his case all day actually asked if I was back in the next day, and when I said no, he said that I should ask to be back in. Which I thought was odd, cos if anyone was going to not like me, it would be him!
Hmm, what else? I have some housemate changes coming up... the 'small room' as we refer to it, yes, it is smaller than mine, is being filled on Monday by Ashley... which we discovered if a boy Ashley. Then I think next wed Frenchy is leaving to go back to school in France, so we will be getting a replacement for his room at some time too. The smallroom was empty for about 3 months tho, so who knows. Gavin is talking about buying his own house somewhere, so he might leave, but no date yet. I think if I was here any longer than 5 months I would consider getting a different place, just because it has become quite blokey in here, with the level of blokey conversation and blokey comments slowly rising, and its like i dont exist when they say them, whereas before they would appologise when they got too blokey and I was in the room! There is also the issue of the one who plays techno doof doof stuff rather loudly ALL the freaking time! It's only 5 more months here, then a month with the rellies, and of those 5 months, I worked out 43 days i have booked in different places, so its really only 4 months, not including weekends at the rellies, so I think I can cope!
Hmm... what else? Oh, if anyone finds $1000000 lying around anywhere, send it my way, cos I could really do with it! I don't understand HOW people come to live in London, in a flat with 8 or 9 other Aussies and do supply teaching and go to different countries only to look at the ouside of buildings cos they can't affordto go in, and don't buy guidebooks cos thwy cost too much etc, but I now understand WHY they do it! But if i have to go back to Australia with no money left in my pockets, yet the experience of having lived in England like and English person and really experienced the culture and history of different countries, rather than ticking them off a list, then that to me seems so much better than the alternative. Surely you would go to England to see English people? Not to hang out with as any Aussies as you possibly can in the Aussie part of London where is isn't really England anyway. *end rant*
Ok, so, looks like I will not be working today, which I am kind of glad about, except not I am showered and dressed for no reason. But I will definately ring them thisafternoon and ask about work for tomorrow and Friday. Keep the comments coming, as I love to read them, and I probably wont blog again until I get back from Rome.
Oh, and it wouldn't be English of me if I didn't mention the weather! It has rained on and off for about 10 days straight now, so I will be sending some of it you way as soon asI work out how to control the weather. I shouldn't complain about the rain, because I might not ever see it again when I get back to Oz! Anyways, just thought I'd rub that in! I actually get excited at the number of different shades of green lush grass there are in the countryside here, which is quite sad, because its all pale green- brown in Australia, and from what I hear, just getting browner! So, I will head off now, and try and get my weather controlling powers working, and blog again when I get back from Rome on the 23rd.
Ammendment: I just got home from work, as soon as I clicked Publish the fone rang and i spent the day with feral 4 yr olds at the worst school in Bristol (where i worked in my 1st 3 days teaching) and I'm back again on Friday! Huzzah! I'm eating mickey mouse pasta bake with the micket mouse pasta I bought in Pisa! (just thought I'd throw that in!)

Hippo Gnu Ear!

Hello! Yes, I know it's been a while but oh... the dramas!!! I don't know whether I mentioned the fact that my old laptop commited suicide (merry xmas to me!) btu I had to order a new laptop and get it delivered up at my Aunt's place where I have been since a few days before xmas. It is a reconditioned IBM and thus far I have noticed a few small problems, the most obvious of which is the space bar is temperamental, so I blend words together! So yes, new laptop, and wasn't at home, so didn't have my cable to download photos so I thought I would save it until i got home and could do that.
So.. xmas eve I went with my Aunt and Uncle to the village hall for an xmas carols event which I played 2 pieces on my clarinet at, and also participated in general sing-a-long-ness. It was different, but good, a nice community turnout. There was also this little boy who sang 'in the bleak midwinter' (a real uplifting carol) in proper church boy high pitch stuff. Was pretty good.
Then xmas day we had pressies ( i got the coolest monkey slipper socks that when u move ur feet they eat the bananas!) and croissants and then a proper xmas dinner (lunch) at one Aunts, then in the evening joined the other and all the family to play charades (family tradition) and open more pressies and other such family xmas-ness. It was young vs old in charades, and of course we won! HUZZAH!
Then on boxing day Marion and Linda (both aunts) and I went to see 'the holiday' at the movies which was a real tear jerker rom-com (apparently what we now must call romantic comedies). Then I headed back to Marion's as the grown ups (i know, i know) were going out to a neighbours for drinks.
I had an excursion to a local castle and the home of the porkpie at Melton Mewbray and Stamford, for a look around.
On the weekend I went back to Linda's and we went to Oxford (but the rain had been hanging around for a couple of days and came back to make our open top bus experience rather foggy and impossible to see, but at least I got a sense of what there is that I could go back and see). And on the way there we went to a little pub called the Turnpike and I had my very friest toad in the hole! Very Exciting!! That night though I developed the dreaded lurgy, which my cousin got on xmas day, and I have been sick since, with a rather bad head cold. Joy!
I got 12 hours sleep sat night so wasn't too bad for NYE! I spent it back at Marion's (even though they went over to Linda's) cos Louise and Dom's friends were coming over, and I have met them a couple of times now, and they are some of the nicest people in the world, as they welcome everyone in and are very warm! Oh yeah, i forgot to say when I first got up to Marion's I went out with them twice, once to a pub where they meet up with an old teacher from time to time, and the next night to one of their houses to experience their new Nintendo Wii (i won bowling, yes, thankyou! new record!). So I knew most of them. In the one room, with 12 people on NYE there was only 5 girls and 3 of us were called Rachel (Rachael)! How odd is that! It was a nice night!
Then yesterday i did NOTHING other than use a whole box of tissues, and I drove back down today to Bristol. My new years resolution is to try and spendless money on crap i don't need! I conquered last years! It was no maccas! I was having issues with a new years resolution for this year as some of the bigger goals i have had for myself I realised that I have actually come a good way to achieving in the last 5months of being here, like improved confidence and taking more risks, and improved ability to handle new social environments. I think I have had to tackle these head on being over here, especially with different schools and different countries and different housemates and different hostel dormmates, I have had to talk to more strangers than ever before and not be so scared of them, or take the attitude I wont see them again so why make the effort, which I can normally get away with. Maybe i'm becoming a grown up! EEEEEK! No! not gonna happen!

Do they know it's christmas time at all?

Hello! I am still tying to get used to the fact that it is still 10 sleeps til xmas! I don't feel festive. Despite the fact that every school I have been to I have been enduring xmas carols and other fun stuff like rehearsals for plays, reading '6 white boomers' everywhere I have been, kids making decorations, and school classrooms that look like a tinsel monster threw up in them! I have no decorated anything, partly because I have nothing to decorate things with, and partly because I wont be here for xmas, as I am going to the rellies, so I don't see the point. I am most missing my xmas nails tradition, as thats what gets me in the mood for xmas.

We had our band concert last weekend. It went ok. Considering a lot of the pieces I have no played the whole way through at a rehearsal (due to me missing some, and due to us not making it through in one go) it could have been a lot worse! The conductor(s) were pleased, so I spose we didn't do anything too bad!

I am waiting for a phone call at the moment, as I have been in demand for work! The school I have done a lot of work at, I got approached by the Head Teacher (what we know as a Principal) who asked if the Deputy Head had found me to discuss dates for next year. I then went off in search of her in the afternoon, and she said she had heard lots of good things about me, and how consciencous I am, and asked if I was interested in covering a couple of the teacher's PPA (programming time), as I had been requested. I said yes, gave her my dates I am going to be on trips for, and was told they would call Select who would call me. I am now waiting to hear back from Select, I just rang them and asked them to chase it up, as it could be 2, maybe 3 days work. Probably 1/2 days, but I can find additional work for the other 1/2 of the day, and at least it is teaching, so if they gave me a 9 hour nursery shift (like they did yesterday... in Swindon again) i would still be earning the same amount as 3 hours teaching! So, the moral of the story is, I am brilliant!

I have discovered the worst thing about working over here. It's not the traffic jams from hell, it's not the shocking education system, its not the unenthusiastic teachers, nor is it the lack of pay...it's the playground duty when it is gale force winds and 6'C before you factor in the wind!! I tried to keep my hands in my pockets but the kids found a worm, so I picked it up for them to look at, and I couldn't put my hand back into my pocket then as it had worm guts and dirt on it!

I don't think I have anything else to share with everyone, so I will leave you now. I am going up to Northampton for xmas, and I will try and write more during the xmas/new years break, as I am taking the laptop with me, but until then, MERRY XMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

ahoj!

Yes, I know i haven't blogged in a while but there's only so much you can ramble on about how boring work is, so I thought I'd wait until i got back from Prague. I got back Wednesday but then I went up to visit my Aunt and Uncle as they live only 30 mins from Birmingham airport, not 2 hours. OK, so... i have filled half a notebook on jottings from my time in Prague, and I'm sure I will bore you all stupid if i re-write that all exactly, so I will just summarise bits of it. With the odd pretty picture for those who dislike reading!

Wednesday 22/11- I arrived at the airport a good solid 4 hours before the flight, however they let me check in, so at least i was through to the interesting part of the airport. They are allowing fluids on flights now, but no more than 100mls and u have to put them in a see through carrier bag. And they made me take my shoes off to walk through the metal detector...not just me, everyone, not that I can fit anything in there except socks, orthodics and feet! Then the dude checking the passports just looked at the ticket and said "Prague hey? cultural trip" and gave it back. Didn't even look at the passport photo! But that's ok cos i don't have a bomb in my shoe! SO, i board the plane, and I notice a major difference between BMIBaby and Thomson... on the safety card it says to pull out the exit above the wing and escape over the wing.. however Thomson is intelligent enough to put a picture of flames outside the window and a cross, but BMIbaby assumes people will not open it if the wing is on fire! never assume anything with the general public!! The flight finally left 40 mins late yet we arrived on time, according to the captain "thanks to the traffic control giving them a good tail wind" ... since when do they control the weather?? So i got an airport shuttle transfer organised, lady holding a card with my name on it, and off we went. Glad I did, cos i would never have found the hostel by myself! I get shown up to the 4th floor... all stairs... no lift... and the room I have by myself as I asked for a female only room and noone else had. So I found the sheets with the least stains and the pillow without the black mould and made the bed using their base sheet and my own pillow case and quilt cover as theirs came with added hair! Then I went to bed.

Thursday 23/11 - I had a crappy night sleep and gave up at 7.30am when I showered (smashing my foot when getting out of the shower) and headed out into the gorgeous blue skies, but freezing weather! 4'C! Jeans, long sleeve t-shirt, jumper, jacket, gloves, beanie and scarf and still cold! I walked towards the old square, or Staromestske namesti (with lots of accents on everything) and fumbled around there for a bit. I saw the astronomical clock, which chimes every hour, and stumbled across the Vltava river. WOW! It was pretty damned impressive! Then from here I walked over a bridge and up the hill towards Prague castle (Prazsky hrad), or so I thought, but I ended up walking further than I needed up a steeper hill, and then coming down on the castle. At least there were good views. I walked round a corner and saw the castle, this awesome view, and there was a 3 piece group busking with classical music and it just was the perfect soundtrack for the view! Inside the castle I went to the cathedral and went to a classical concert in one of the rooms of the castle, where a pianist, flautist and violinist played a range of classical music for an hour. It cost me 390Kc (about $20) for the experience. My knees and feet were quite sore from all the cobbled streets and hills, so I went back down, via a supermarket, where I shopped by picture! Any country that sells smurf marshmallows is alright by me! And realising I hadn't eaten anything all day and it was 4pm, I had traditional Czech KFC and went back to the hostel. I got 3 drips of rain on my as I turned the corner into the hostel street, but that was all. I took off my shoes and my foot that I smashed in the shower decided to be excruciatingly painful, so who knows if i have broken anything? Oh well.

Friday 24/11- My foot killed as soon as I stood on it, but I don't have time to rest it and see a doctor and blah, so I'll just cope. I caught the metro into the old square where I had decided to get a tour out to somewhere else for the day. It was another glorious day. I got off at Muzeum instead of Muztek and walked further than I would have if i just walked from the hostel, so everything was already really sore by the time I got to the square, including a blister I was starting to rub from walking funny! The tour was me, an Irish couple who whinged about everything and I know all the intricacies of her bowel issues, and Julian (sigh) a Canadian who's work paid for him to come cos it was the same cost as a flight home. He made the trip worth while! We went to a church called the Ossuary which was AWESOME! They had to make the land smaller, so they dug up 40,000 people's bones and the dude who was the curator or whatever at the time didn't want to throw them away cos they were someone's history, so he decorated the church with them! Then from here we went on to Kutna Hora which is one of the many Unesco listed towns in Czech republic, where we walked (hobbled) around a bit and then had a traditional Czech lunch (mushroom soup, chicken steak and potatoes and an icecream cakey dessert). From there we went into St Barbara Cathedral which had really nice views. Then from there it was back on the bus and back to the hostel.

Saturday 25/11- I got up at 6am and went to take a photo of the sunrise, having found the perfect spot on Karluv most (Charles bridge) so I walked around to there, having got off at the wrong metro again, and my foot was in agony, plus it was freezing! Then I made it to the bridge, sat there for about 1.5 hours, realised the sun had risen but was behind clouds and went off to do other stuff. I got on the funicular railway that took you to the top of a hill where there is a little mini Eiffel tower called Rozhledna which is 60 metres high and was built for some Jubilee expo. Of course it is all stairs too, and being cloudy there was not a great view, but it was quite good. It looks very stable but it actually sways at the top when the wind picks up! Then back on the railway, which is on about a 45' angle back down. I wandered for about 3 hours, in agony, looking for somewhere to sit (there's nowhere!) but I did get some more xmas gifts for people. Nowhere sells charms for my bracelet, which is annoying, cos everywhere I asked answered like they had heard the question 1000000 times, so why hasn't someone cottoned on to the idea that there is a market for them? Then I hobbled back to the hostel and rested my foot. I met 3 other people in the hostel. Jan (yan) from Slovakia who smoked like a train, Paul and his friend who I never heard his name from England who were there together. We chatted and stuff until about midnight. The smoking didn't help the cough I seem to have developed though.

Sunday 26/11- I went on another outing to Karlstejn Castle which was beautiful, but painful. 2.3km up a hill between 15' and 23' the whole way (according to a sign) and of course about 750m into this my right knee (same as sore foot) committed suicide cos of the way I have been walking to compensate foot, plus cobbles, plus hills! So I was in agony for the whole day. The castle was very nice, and we were the last tour through before it was closed for the winter, so that was handy! There's a room in there with relics in it and some of the jewels. There is a crocodile skull that king Wenceslas bought as he was told it was the skull of the Dragon that St George slayed. So it is the most expensive crocodile skull in history! There is also a patch of blood still on the floor from when one of his wives used the secret passageway between his bedroom and her bedroom, but he was out and she forgot his hunting dogs guarded the room, so she was mauled to death. I made a compromise on the charm for the bracelet and bought a small garnet as they are mined in Bohemia which includes Prague. The people on the tour were French and Russian as well as English, but they spoke when the tour guide was giving his blurb in anything other than their language. He even turned around and yelled at them at one point cos it was so rude! I got back, showered and sat on my bed with my leg elevated. If anyone else was in the pain I was in today they would have been screaming on the floor. It took me the whole 45 mins we were given after the tour to get back down the hill cos my knee was so sore. But I didn't have time for agony, so it would have to wait.

Monday 27/11- I got up at 6am again and headed to the same spot, and again the sun didn't come up! I wasted the 2 days of sunshine cos it has been cloudy (but not rainy) every day since. GRRRR. I sat on the bridge listening to classical music on my ipod which was a bit surreal but seemed appropriate. The metro was much more crowded, being a work day, all it was lacking was the guys in Japan who shove people on! First thing in the morning the Vltava looks like a scene from Titanic as there are hundreds of seagulls and dozens of swans just floating on it in the darkness, semi-asleep. Very odd. I gave up after the sun failed to burn through again, and headed off to the Mozart museum, which was really the Mozart 7 minute walk through 4 rooms. I even read every single thing in English on the walls. I then went back to the hostel via the supermarket again. Riddle me this... when is a Smartie not a Smartie? When it's a Lentilky! I got back, had a chat to the boys about soccer and cars (wow) then Jan and person who's name I don't know went off to get a very cheap student meal that Jan knew about (he had been there for 2 months). It was traditional Czech mystery food! You got to pick a number based on a photo of the dish you want. Who knows what they were. I think I had beef goulash and bread dumplings. I also bought a ticket for a tour for Tuesday which is a 10 hour tour, hopefully not 2 hours travel and 8 hours walking, cos I will cry!

Tuesday 28/11- I woke up to discover another 2 girls in my room! I had no idea what time they came in so I must have been really tired! I slept from 9pm to 7.30am, which is good for me! I missed the sunrise, but it is cloudy again anyways. I went on a tour out to Karlovy Vary which is a spa town. There is the locals down the bottom and then a town of all hotels up the top which is where people come to have treatments. The people that go are called patients, and some go to escape the rat race, and others go cos they have medical disorders. But you go and included in the hotel price is 3 meals a day plus 3 spa treatments a day (massage, sauna, colonic irrigation) and then u walk around the town in between and sip water from the 12 different mineral springs that are channeled up through taps. The peak time is summer, so there was hardly anyone there as stupid as us an enduring the 2'C temps! We got lunch included here too, as the aperitif was Becherovka which is Czech vodka, and I had a sip. It is strong stuff that is herbal, so u can't even mix it with anything cos it tastes like grass clippings (to me who doesn't drink). Then vegetable soup (with more mushrooms), goulash (with 3 pieces of meat hidden in a pool of sauce) and no dessert. Bastards! We were shown where part of the new James Bond film was made (I saw it on Saturday with the rellies) and it's the bit where they say they are in Montenegro or somewhere, the poker scene. He stays in the hotel I have a photo of!

Wednesday 29/11- I decided to not get up early for sunrise, which was good cos it didn't... again! I packed all my stuff up and checked out at 10am, then went to the old town square where I did some people watching while I ate a traditional Trdelnik which is bread rolled in nuts and sugar and cinnamon and vanilla. It looks donutty but it rather thin bread, so stale is a word that sprung to mind! It crumbled to the floor as I was eating it so I had a collection of pigeons by my feet eating the crumbs. This old lady brought her 3 yr old (?) grandkid to watch the pigeons and they stood and watched me feed the pigeons and when I had finished walked off, so now I'm the crazy pigeon lady! I got to the airport about 8 hours early because I couldn't really go anywhere with my whole backpack and everything. I read a dodgy UK magazine I paid way to much for and was just about to lapse into a coma (there are 3 shops in the bit before customs at Prague airport) the 2 Malaysian girls who are also staying in UK working and travelling... the ones who I discovered in my room... showed up and luckily they brought extra trashy UK mags so we traded mags and then I headed through, got on the plane and drove to my Aunt's place where I spent the last 4 days.

I learnt a couple of Czech words:

Tam = Push

Sem = Pull

Yay me! Everyone spoke English, so why learn such a confusingly hard language! I ate traditional Czech food. I drank traditional Czech drink. I went to places outside of Prague. I met people. I broke myself. I survived the cold. Oh... in addition to the smashed foot, blisters on foot from walking funny, buggered up knee, sore calves from cobbles, bruise on hand from taking on and off backpack, cough (which turns out to be asthma cough and I am on medication)... I somehow managed to roll over in bed and smash my head into the bed post which woke me up and i let out a scream... only to discover this was the night I had acquired 2 people in my once empty room! But other than my general ability to injure myself in unconventional ways, I had a very good time, and Prague is so far the most beautiful place I have been to, because of the hills, which allow perspective and you can see more than just what is in from of u. Shame about the sunrise/sunset photos.

snot factories

I have spent the last week working with tiny little snot factories in a nursery in Swindon. Not only were they little snot factories, but they came with 10% added drool for one low cost! Yes, I spent the week with 1-2 yr olds. Some of them were cute, because they didn't have a fountain of bodily fluids pouring down their face all day, and some were just *shudder*. There was one little girl who screamed when u left her alone, screamed when u came near her, she hated me, she was just a little bundle of rage. So she was fun. The other crier attached himself to me, so I spent 3 of the 5 days with him in my arms most of the day, which was ok, because he was cute and snuggled in, and wasn't a snot factory, but he was huge! Not like Pavarotti huge, but he was just big, and my back, arms, legs, hips, shoulders, everything hurt because u constantly shifted him around.
I managed to dodge a bullet though because they didn't get me to change any nappies, even though I am legally allowed to as I'm not a paedophile, so I just go to them "he has done a poo" and they changed him. BRILLIANT!
The car survived the trip every day. I have done over 500 miles in a week. It shudders when I change gears, well, jerks more than shudders, and when u get it to 5th gear and take it to 4 on the revs dial (staying well within the legal speed limit at all times, of course) the car starts jerking again. So I had to stay with the flow on the motorway. Monday was fun, and Tuesday, but Monday particularly as I wasn't sure where I was going. It was foggy, like couldn't see the house over the road foggy when I left at 7.10am. The motorway was less foggy than Bradley stoke, but it was still quite bad, so you couldn't see the signs until the were right next to you, not good when your not sure where u are! There are these electronic signs down the middle of the motorway so when there is a crash or something they flash and light up "50" so you know to slow down. On Monday and Tuesday they read "Fog" which was AWESOME and helpful, because you couldn't see them until you were upon them because of the fog! The red ring shows the sign that says fog. See what I mean! I have discovered some new ways to talk and some new words thanks to spending a week with 20 something girls. Here is my "how to speak pommy" guide:
Well - used as a replacement for very, e.g. "I was well impressed with that"
Lush - cute, adorable, "awww, you're lush"
Paddy - tantrum, "he just had a proper paddy then"
Babes - apparently exactly the same as babe, "aww, babe, come back" but said as a plural
And now for the confusing ones:
Rubbish is considered a swear word "that was rubbish" "you're rubbish"
lunch is called dinner, but only when it's hot otherwise it's still lunch, dessert is called pudding, dinner is called tea, unless u had lunch, not dinner at lunchtime in which case it's still dinner, unless its at 3pm, then its still tea but its afternoon tea. Did you get all that?
Hmm, what else? Nothing. It's been a busy week with all the traveling, 9-6pm shifts and leaving the house at 7 and getting home at 7. Tuesday I have a fun day, because I am back in Swindon, in a different nursery, from 8-6. Joy for 10 hour shifts and joy for 8am start, because it means I get to leave at 6.30am! WOOT! And Wednesday is 10-6, so that's not SO bad. They offered me a 5 day a week contract until Xmas as a teacher in a class with autistic children (with 3 support staff) however there were 2 problems. A) It was in Swindon. B) It was starting Monday and I am going to Prague on 22nd so not available. But it would have been good experience otherwise. I asked why they keep sending me to Swindon and they said it is because there are more jobs there, and I am one of the few who will go, so they offer it to me. I don't like going, but if I don't go I might get no work or half a day nursery stuff here, which is crap pay, plus they pay me some petrol money, so it's not TOO bad.Thanks for my ONE comment last time, random as it was. I'm over my home sickness. For now! Looks like it might rain. I think I’ll nip to the shops now and get some food before that happens. Ciao!

Brrrrrr part 2

OK, so I felt the need to add some pictures of my winter woolies I got on my shopping adventure for Prague and to survive winter. I got a cute beanie with hangy down ear covery bits and some rainbow "arm wamers" and 2 pair of fingerless gloves/arm warmers. They are so cool, very comfy and nice and bright (me, bright? no! never!). So now i have rainbow beanies, scarves, socks, jumper and glove thingos. Yay me! They are all from different times tho, so none match perfectly, o I went with a black beanie with hangy down things cos i thought a patterned one might clash with my scarves, PLUS cos of my giant head it was the only one that fit! In addition to this I also got thermal socks, thermal tights and a thermal singlet.

I think I have discovered what homesickness is all about. I am feeling quite lonely on the other side of the world. I have loads of people to talk to at work, band, housemates etc, but no real friends. So its a bit hard. Plus I watched a movie on friday night "eight below" about the huskies left behind and it was sad in a couple of bits and it made me miss Ernie. Altogether now.... "awwwwwwww". SO yeah, if anyone reading this wants to send me an email, a proper letter, a comment at the end (just click on add comment... dont forget ur name)... anything I would GREATLY appreciate it because i'm just a bit lonely at the moment. It could be because I am sending everything via this, and assuming people are reading it, but I then don't get replies like I would with emails on how everything is going for those who are reading it. (some of you are keeping me up to date, and thats great...thanks!). I think because everything has settled down into a routine i've kinda had enough time to take a breath and for it all to catch up with me. Don't panic tho, I wont be rushing home any time soon, I still have lots of stuff to do.... and I have to stay until May at least because May 26th I am going to see Dirty Dancing the stage musical!!! Because nobody puts Baby in the corner! (oh, not related to anything at all, I taught a kid the other day who's parents are apparently druggies, and he's called Buddy Holly!)

Brrrrrrr

I want to know how the weather knows that it is winter now??? We have gone from 3 months of "unseasonably warm weather" to the 1st of November being the first day of proper weather for this time of the year, and frost on cars, thick jackets needed, highs all day of 11-12'C. How does it know??
Well, my week has been average, I didn't ring in for work on Mon and Tues as I was so exhausted from all the travelling I just wanted a sleep in, and they didn't ring me, so obviously they weren't desperate. Then Wednesday I worked all day in the place I was at last term, where I got asked back too. I was sitting in the staff room and someone asked someone else who I was, and they obviously said, and I just heard "oh, so that's Rachel?" and then they started talking to me about how I had this reputation and they would request me wherever possible, but I'm known as the kookaburra lady for teaching them the Kookaburra song! The teacher I was with was lovely, and had only been teaching 3 years, decided to get her degree once her kids had grown up. She asked me at the end of the day for any suggestions I had to help her, she was one of the best teachers I have worked with yet, and I told her so.
Then yesterday I was booked to work at Swindon (over an hour away) and to be there at 8am. So I set the alarm for 5.30am, got up, showered, got dresses and left the house at 6.15am. The car was covered in ice and it was FREEZING outside. I turned the engine on and all I got was a flash of the lights and then they all went out, no engine turning over noises. Then I waited and tried again (once the 'door open' light was on again, as it meant the battery was working again) and the same thing. I tried several more times and at around 6.20am managed to get it on, but a little orange light with the car and a spanner came on. I tried to drive and there was no power, so I got as far as reversing out and 3 metres down the road, inbetween my house and the neighbours. So I rang AA (our NRMA) and I only have roadside assist, don't I?? So I gave all my details, then she put me on to the person who I had to pay another 88GBP to get home start added to my membership. I was told it will be some time before 8am. It was now 6.30am. I rang Select and left a message. I rang them again and left another message at 7.15am when he still wasn't there. AA arrived at 7.25am. He said he would 'download' to see what the fault was, but might not be able to fix it, because it was electrical. He does this and 'no fault registered' comes up and the light went out. So he asked me to drive it round the block, which I did, and it worked fine, so he filled in the paperwork, told me if it happens again to take it to the local dealership, and left. By this time it is 7.33am. I ring select for the 4th time and finally get a real person, who tells me to please still go to Swindon and they will ring the nursery and tell them what happened. So off I head, I got about 2 miles down the road and it is jerking and the engine starts miss firing. So I drive it, carefully, to the local dealership and leave it there for them to look at. I also rang select and said there was no way I was going to get to Swindon and they would have to replace me. Then I get to sit and wait for the courtesy bus to take me back home again, which I finally got to at 10am. So 6.15-10am all that took. I was not a happy camper. I did a couple of loads of washing and watched a DVD that I hired that had come in the mail (I highly recommend "Confetti" if you read this mum, you will like it), and then at 3.45pm I got a call saying the courtesy bus would come get me again as the car was ready to collect.
120GBP later I got new spark plugs and a fee for them to assess the vehicle. I drove it around a bit and it was still not 100% when I changed gears, better, but still a bit jerky. I took it straight back and the girl at the desk said to leave it til tomorrow (today) and she would leave my card out, but they can take a while to settle down. So I did.
Today I worked at Barton Hill again in the morning, and the car was still doing the same thing when I changed gears. So I took it back after I finished work and she said she could book it in for this afternoon but she couldn't guarantee they would even look at it, and if they did, t still wouldn't get finished til Monday, or I could bring it back next week, but as she had no courtesy cars that wouldn't work, because I have been booked in every day next week to work in Swindon, so I NEED a car every day, cos I can't afford a taxi to Swindon, even for one day, and me and public transport don't mix, especially when I don't know where I am going and have to be there by 9am! So it is booked in for the 13th November and I am going to cross my fingers that it will work until then!
I have NO plans for the weekend, and now, because of my car saga it doesn't look like I will be getting any, other than maybe going to the shops and buying myself some leggings or long johns or something, as I have managed to keep my top warm, but my legs are freezing! I even wore my thick bed socks to work today inside my ankle boots to stop by feet freezing! So I will DEFINITELY need something for Prague!
Mum (being technologically impaired) asked me whether I had been printing off my blog for prosperity as what happens to the old entries. They get archived on the blog site, but I had already thought of using my blog entries as the text to go with my scrapbooky items I have been collecting (maps, tickets, photos etc) for when I get back, so I went through and copied and pasted from "30 days to go" into Word this afternoon without formatting and pictures and stuff, so I have it all in one spot and it's easy to print off, and now it's less of a job to do 13 months worth when I get back. It was interesting to read my ideas from back then, to what has actually happened! I didn't do any travel until October, when my original plan was to do the tour in August, and I still haven't been to the places that were on that tour! I have booked the following trips though:
Nov- Prague (Czech Republic)
Jan- Rome (Italy)
Feb - Paris (France)
Feb - Salzburg (Austria)
Mar - Dublin (Ireland)
April - Hanover (Germany)
Giving myself roughly 4-5 days in each place, some over a weekend, some during the week. Salzburg is during school holidays, that's why I have 2 in Feb. I have nothing in December because I need to work to survive the 2 weeks school holidays when I will be up with the rellies. It is rather a juggling act with the money, but whilst I still have something in the savings I wont panic too much!
Oh, and I also read about my speeding fine... here's the latest update on that... I sent away my licence and a cheque for the fine and it came back a week later saying because it wasn't a UK licence it could not be processed as a conditional fine, and had been referred back to the Northampton Police who may wish to pursue the matter further. So at the moment, I have had nothing happen. I don't know if I will have to pay? If I will have to go to court? If I will just get a slap on the wrist and be told to be more careful. I have no idea!! And I don't really want to ask because I don't want to remind someone about me, incase I just slip under the rug somewhere and manage to avoid this for a year!
Hmm, ok, I can't think of anymore news, updates etc. I have a new housemate, another boy! Ola, he's African or something, very dark colourings. He's nice, but has a very deep voice so it vibrates through the house so you can hear him everywhere! There's an empty room, so who knows who will get that? Its the TEENY room, that now its empty I see it doesn't even have a wardrobe, just a single bed and bedside table!
PLEASE write comments, or send emails, or send actual mail, because I love hearing what is happening on the other side of the world and keeping up to date. Susan and Karl and Izzy from Neighbours are doing the tour of media interviews at the moment over here, which is very sad that everyone is so interested!

Hallo!

Yes, Hallo is Dutch for hello! Challenging isn't it? I suppose it doesn't really matter much because as I found out almost 50% of Amsterdam is multicultural! And most people speak fluent Dutch, English and Spanish, and several are also fluent in Italian and other such things as well. I was a good girl, no sex drugs and rock and roll, although I could have had all if i wanted to! So, here's my week...

Monday: Boy was it cold, driving to airport and it was 12'C at midday! Got there and had some dodgy fish and chips for dinner. There was a rather posh man speaking loudly on the phone to his wife "yes, this airport is rather dreary. yes, dinner with _someone_ Parker-Bowles was delightful". Good for him! Arrived at Amsterdam in the rain, to discover when I claimed my bag it had been put on top of all the others, because it was soft, so it was almost soaked through, where as the hard ones can at least be wiped clean! I struggled along with my backpack on my back, carrying the large pack, looking at a map, under and umbrella, in the rain, in the dark. Luckily a possibly homeless man helped me! Turns out it is a Christian youth hostel, with bible study and church outtings. I was on the top bunk, joy! And there were church bells dingling away all night on the hour, so I didn't get a great deal of sleep!

Tuesday: I woke up at 5, 6, 7, 7.30 and decided to give up around then, showered and put on my jeans that were slightly damp still from the rain the night before. I had my free breakfast, listening to Bernard Fanning being played, which was rather odd. It was still raining, but I went for a walk around. I saw red lights in the windows 2 doors down from the Christian Youth Hostel, which was odd! Went to Anne Frank's house, saw a couple of churches, went to the flower markets, which sells all different tulip bulbs, and also tonnes of souvenier shops. You could buy seeds to grow your own cannibus plants, and you could buy cannibus lollipops etc. Walking throught Dam Square, which is the main square, you could see every type of restaurant ever, because Amsterdam is VERY multicultural! There are bikes everywhere! Everyone has bikes, everyone rides bikes, none of them are new, they are all old style bikes, but there i heaps of them! It chucked down with rain in the afternoon and I got jack of walking through the rain, so I went back to the hostel with some postcards and got changed out of my jeans that were soaked up to my knees. On the way though, I stopped off at the Hemp, Hash and Marijuana Museum to see award winning plants and learn about all the things you can make from one plant, including clothes, paper, plastics, shoes, teddies etc etc etc. Anyways, then the sun came out about 2.30 and I had seen that there was a 3pm tour of Amsterdam, so I put my shoes back on and rushed to catch that. It was 2 hours in a closed in coach with comentary. The 2 hours was actually 2/3 tour and 1/3 Coster Diamond factory trying to get us to buy diamonds once we had learn about how they are cut etc. I learnt a fair bit about the city, and it was all rather interesting. I booked a 1/2 day tour for Thursday aswell. I got back, grabbed a slice of pizza (seems to be the done thing) and walked back via the red light district with ladies in the windows at this stage, (possibly not ALL ladies to begin with) to the hostel where I sat and ate pizza, wrote postcards and watched Rex Hunt on tv! I managed to move down to the bottom bunk as the girl that was there moved out, so YAY! I saw this in a window in one of the shops from the red light district...

Wednesday: I slept for over 11 hours after going to bed at 8pm last night. There were 2 new people in the room who didn't even hear come in (god bless the inventor of ear plugs)! My hip was sore from walking about 8 hours the day before, plus I smashed it getting off the coach. It wasn't raining though! I walked up towards Centraal Station and along from there. The sun rose but dissapeared behind fog. It was about 9'C. I could see the Windmill I saw yesterday on the coach but it was hidden in the mist and fog. Then I walked down to the zoo. It was a good zoo, one of the oldest in Europe, but it had some different animals, which was good! There was a new butterfly enclosure you could walk through, and that was amazing as they were landing on people and there were hundreds of them! I have discovered that the Dutch are very rude people though. They push and walk straight into you, and talk very loudly in queues, and ride their bikes almost into you, and are generally rude when it comes to social skills, but as for public relations and customer service, they were really good. When I stopped for lunch I sat near the Zebra enclosure and got to watch 2 of them try to make little zebras! Which was amusing! I then walked around to something the signs said "Kindermuseum" and I thought, yeah, ok, but when I got there it is FOR kids, not about kids, and was full, being school holidays! I got on the Canal bus to go around to the Van Gogh museum and Rijkmuseum, and you get informative commentary with that too, however to "fun" it advertised was possibly overrated! It was cool seeing all the differen houseboats along the sides of the canal though, this one had its own floating garden next to it, but most were just covered in pot plants. The Rijkmuseum was closed for renovation, so I went to the Van Gogh museum, which was like any other art gallery, but I'm glad I went, seeing as how I was on his territory. I was lucky that it rained while I was in the museum then stopped again. I got Frites on the way back from the canal bus stop at Centraal, which seems to be the national dish, but instead of the traditional mayo I got ketchup with mine.

Thursday: I had an average night sleep. I was up at 6am and got no more sleep. I went to Madamme Tussauds in the morning, and some of the statues were really good, others looked rather waxy. I got to have dinner with George Clooney though! I then went back to the hostel, charged the camera, dumped some stuff and went to sit in Dam Square and people watch while I waited for my afternoon coach tour. Dam Square is the origin of Amsterdam, as it was a dam built on the only true river, the Amstel river, and the Dam became the city, from there it has expanded into a number of canals etc, however the Amstel is still the only true natural waterway. Amstel Dam became Amsterdam after time. Anyways, I watched a family hand feeding pigeons, and that can't be hygenic as the bird were up on their arms clawing them and they are the rats of the sky! Coach trip was good. Went out to one of the 2 true Delft blue factories that exist, where you got to see how it all works. Then on to the Hague and look at the Peace Palace, and then on to Madurodam which is 1:25 scale model of Holland. That was quite good. They put carp in the water, which was interesting, considering it is 1:25 so the carp look like whales. And a heron landed and watched the boat going back and forth across a canal, so it looked like Godzilla! On the way back was this beautiful sunset.

Friday: Up at 5.30, dressed in the dark, lugged my stuff to Centraal, then caught a train to airport. I didn't really realise on the way in but Amsterdam airport is massive! It has a casino, hotel, museum, childs play area, sleep area etc. I caught my plane back and all went well.

The rest of the weekend was spent down in Devon with my Aunt and Uncle which was nice and relaxing.

Been nowhere, done nuffink

I got requested to work somewhere Monday, and then I was in the staff room on my break and 2 staff were outside and one asked about the person I was replacing, so they other mentioned I was there, and the first one said “she is sposed to very good, Helen said she was good with the kids when she came last week” so I am getting a name for myself, and the head teacher came in and asked me to work for them again after break. Plus I have been back to another place I was at last week, they didn’t say whether I was requested or not, but obviously I wasn’t not asked for.
Had my national insurance interview today, that was fun, I mean boring. I was one of the few ppl having an interview that didn’t have to be SPOKEN ... TO ... SLOWLY ... AND ... LOUDLY ... WITH ... THE ... HOPES ... THAT ... WOULD ... HELP ... THEM ... UNDERSTAND. Cos everyone knows if u don’t speak English, being spoken to like ur a deaf idiot makes it suddenly all make sense. There was another aussie guy there, he actually sounded like mick Dundee, which I thought was hilarious, cos that’s how ppl think we talk anyways. I have had several children ask me if I speak Australian. I say “yes”. They say “cool, can you say something in Australian?” I say “yeah, I just did” and they look confused. Yet they all know steve Irwin and I assume could understand him when he was speaking. Very odd.
Its raining…… yet again….. I can see why ppl who live here are referred to as whinging poms, and I really don’t blame them, I’m turning into one myself! What with the rain and the traffic and the price of everything! I am bracing myself to purchase a winter coat, cos the cheapest I have seen was like 50 pounds and for 3-4 months of wearing, its hardly worth $120, considering the cheap ones aren’t exactly glamorous, or even vaguely stylish! I keep putting it off, because a) I don’t think its “winter coat” cold yet, and b) its expensive.
I can’t understand how ppl who live here, therefore are more aclimatised wear thick coats as early as september and turn up the heating so it a sauna when it is only 17 degrees outside, yet I am coming from one of “the most unforgiving climates in the world” as I read the other day, yet I am ok with just a think jacket on, and have the windows open.
I got a blister today cos all my socks were in the wash and were drying, so i hadta wear my shoes with no socks, and i go and get a blister, which i really hope fixes itself by next week for traipsing around amsterdam. Speaking of which, I am going to be completely seized up by the time I get back to Australia and the physios are gonna have a field day on my leg muscles, because all this walking I have been doing on my adventures, coupled with all the sitting down in between (driving for hours, flying etc) is not doing my legs any favours. I COULD find a physio here, but i would waste the entire initial consultation just filling them in on my history! Plus, if I can barely afford a winter coat, I can't exactly see my forking out UK money for someone to inflict pain and suffering on me! I am not that much a masochist! I will wait until the pain comes entirely from my legs, not also from my bank account!
I just watched Extras, which is quite funny... ricky gervais new tv series. dunno if u have it out there yet, but it is amusing, then every episode has a really hilarious moment in it.
No photos from this week, so I will put in one of my random fotos of some underwear u could buy in Pisa of Michelangelo's David. He also came on an apron...

Bonjour!

Calais c'est merde avec ne pas d'attractions touriste et ne pas de soleil! Here is the rundown of my last 3 days:
Friday: I got up at 8am and drove for nearly 4.5 hours to get to Dover. The whole way along the M4 I was hearing about an queue or 6-7miles as there had been a truck fire overnight and a lane was blocked. When I was IN the queue they said it had grown to 12-13miles of queues. As I drove past it was the container of a semi-trailer that has caught on fire near the back. The cab had driven clear so there wasn't petrol involved or anything. The trailer was loaded onto a trailer to be towed away and they were just sitting there. This was about 11am, why hadn't they cleared it by now when it happened at about 3am and noone had died or been injured? This was an omen! Then I carried on to Dover and caught the ferry, getting to see the White Cliffs of Dover. Ferry travel, how the other half live. And by other half I refer to those too cheap to fly, or too bogan to grasp that planes aren't just going to fall from the sky willy-nilly. I have never seen such a group of uneducated, poorly dressed (think "the 80's" and u'll be about spot on), loud, top-decked hairstyle wearing, beer swilling buffoons in one place, apart from Mt Druitt! (top deck hairstyle is bleached dramatically on top and dyed black underneath... for those who weren't sure, a specialty of the westie woman). There was 3 types of people on the ferry... the type mentioned above, which ruled supreme, the teenagers on school trips running around primarily unsupervised, and older people who had brought their caravan on and were going to see europe for a week of 2. Anyways, when I arrived in Calais, I caught a shuttle to the train station, then bravely caught a public bus to where I assumed the hotel was. It is quite a challenge to catch a bus when u don't know exactly where u want to get off! Then I checked in to my glamorous F1 hotel, complete with double bed, bunk ontop and sink. The toilet was down the hall! JOY! AS wa the shower, so I just did my best with the sink (to wash, not to toilet, I'm not that grose!). Right next door was a massive supermarket, so I wondered over there to get some pain and some poulet for dinner and an Orangina (aka chicken and bread rolls and orange fizz). Then I got back and had me a little picnic, and realised I was bored. So I flicked through the 7 french channels realising I did not recall enough french to have any idea what was going on, then I flicked up again and it was Neighbours, in English! Turns out, I guess for the tourists, they got BBC1 and BBC2 in the hotel! Hallelujah! Come 9.30 I was buggered tho, so I went to bed.
Saturday: I woke up at 8am-ish and got changed ready for a full day of sight seeing. I opened the blind to discover a thick blanket of fog "nevermind, it will burn off" I thought to myself, and head off for the fort down the road. I get there to see it was closed, and not open to the public, and hidden behind a think blanket of fog. "Nevermind, I'll go explore the centre of town" I thought to myself, so I caught the same bus back into town and started at the train station. I walked up through the main street, purchasing a croissant and a brioche for brekky, and a sardine, as you must sample the local wares (sure, it was a chocolate wrapped in foil, but it was still sold as "sardine"). Then I wondered around a shopping centre, bought a couple of xmas pressies, headed back up the main street, and realised I had reached the end of the exciting stuff. It was 11am, there was still a heavy blanket of fog. I decided to walk back to the hotel, and stop of for lunch along the way. I stopped for lunch at the shopping complex next door to the hotel as I didn't fancy stopping anywhere else, I had stumbled across the bad part of town. I had me some Calamari and Frites and then thought I would go back to the Hotel, read a book and wait for the sun to burn off the fog, and go back to look around the fort. My feet and legs were killing me from the walking for 4 hours, so I needed a break too. I ended up watching darts competition on the tv and then the new BBC1 version of robin hood (which is really very good, even tho I missed last weeks) all the time keeping an eye on the window, and the fog NEVER lifted, not even a little! So I gave up and for dinner had the rest of my pain from the night before. I did achieve one thing tho, I spoke french ALL day (mostly "gare sil vous plait" or "merci" or "oui", but STILL french!).. well, except for the one time a lady pulled over in her car, honked at me and asked where something was in french, she asked again, I still didnt understand, so I felt compelled to say "i dont speak french" which if i said it in french would have confused her EVEN more, so I didn't!
Sunday: Thismorning I woke up at 9.30am. Hallelujah! A sleep in! I looked out the window and everything was blanketed in fog. I was ready to leap out the window by now! I packed up all my stuff and headed for the bus stop, to go into town and to the ferry port and see if i could change my booking. On the way in the bus the sun started to burn off the fog! I actually managed some fotos of things that weren't hidden in white! I walked down to the beach which was surreal, cos the massive car ferries come out and turn and travel along the beach, so they are like about 30mtrs out from the shore, and SO massive, its VERY odd to see. I had une escargot for breakfast (not the snail, but the pastry, altho it was rubbish, i didn't eat it all, very stodgy, the puffy ones from oz are much better), and a quiche for lunch as I wondered around the long way to the ferry port. On the way I came across a few monumenty things that were fotoworthy, now I could see! Then I arrived at the ferry port at 1.30pm and my ferry was at 4.10pm. I handed in my ticket and she said "would u like the next one? it leaves at 2pm?" so i happily nodded and went thru th security check, where a massive security breach had just occurred, a lady was bringing a can opener, one of those big chunky one with ergonomic grip handles, in her bag, and the security ppl did not know what to do about this! Anyways, I got on the ferry, with even more bogans on this one, inlcuding lots of loud, tracksuit wearing yobby men with long hair who went straight to the bar. There were also lots of aussie accents, apparently they were on a coach tour and the coach was on the ferry down below, so they had all come up to get pissed and buy large amounts of duty free beer! It was a 3.5 hr drive back again, well, almost 4 hrs, I was doing so well, and just before the turn off for Bristol we all stopped and everyone merged over, cos an accident had JUST happened, there was a mini-cooper inbetween the 2 slower lanes, facing the oncoming traffic, very dinged up, both airbags had gone off and there was a smash in the windscreen. But I couldn't see the ppl from the car, or what it had hit. 4 cars had stopped and were obviously witnesses, I passed the police and ambulance coming from Bristol to the crash site, so they were still there sumwhere. Odd.
So the moral of the story is, Calais is pointless, unless u are going sumwhere from there, want cheap booze and smokes, or are actually French and live there. I did however get a free pass to Paris Disneyland with my ferry ticket, which was a pleasant surprise, so I am looking forward to going there, as I was thinking of going before, but I didn't see the point in spending nearly $80 to go an look and people walk around in large costumes of cartoon characters!
And I just got a phone call as I have been requested for work tomorrow. I am in demand! :P OH, and Don't watch "the squid and the whale" as it is rubbish.