Paris - Part 1

After about 6 weeks of waiting the day finally arrived for Britty and myself to take off to Paris for our 5 day adventure to the capital of France.

Our flight to Charles De Gaulle was scheduled to leave Hamburg at 7am, this meant we needed to forgo some sleep, and leave for the airport by 3:30am. The bus from Kiel to Hamburg takes about an hour and a half, and after what felt like more like 3 hours in the bus, we made it to the Lufthansa check-in with a little time to spare.

When we got to Hamburg Terminal 1, the line for Lufthansa check-in was huge! We were approached by a Lufthansa employee who asked us if we wouldn't mind using the new auto check-in facility. All we needed to do was swipe our credit card, select our seats, and bob's your uncle, it spat out our boarding passes. I guess it is similar to the system used by the Aussie airlines.

After we checked our bags and went through security, we boarded pretty much on time. The Lufthansa plane was quite old and pretty small which made for a rough ride on the way up threw the fog and cloud. After we got above it everything was fine.

When we got to Paris we found our way through the airport to the baggage claim section. After waiting about 30 minutes the bags arrived and we were on our way. For those that have never been to Charles De Gaulle I would have to say it is the ugliest airport I have ever seen. The colours were dead set shocking, and there was no colour anywhere.

Once we had our bags it was on to finding the train station. We knew we had to catch an RER, but we had no idea where the station was. We soon found out that the French are not particular good, or perhaps don't really care much for quality signs that point travellers in the right direction (this is a trend that would continue through the whole trip!!!!!).

After a short bus ride, we got to the RER station, and found the information booth. The guy behind the counter said that all the ticket machines were broken today, and the trip was free to the first station in Paris. Excellent!!! We save ourselves 16 Euros!!!

When we got to the first stop, we got out and headed for the exit only to find that we needed to put our ticket through the machine!! This of course was an problem given that the ticket machines were broken! After searching for what felt like forever, we finally found an information booth. The person in the booth rudely pointed us to an exit that was opened for people without tickets.

Next we started our search for bus number 31. We searched the train station about 5 times for a sign that would send us in the right direction. After about an hour we found a sign that pointed out toward the street in front of the railway station. When we got outside the bus station was now a building site. As I said earlier, the French aren't particularly keen on providing good signs for tourists. We looked up and down the street, asked a number of different people and no one could tell us where to go. After another 30 minutes of walking around in circles, we found another information box. This time the attendant was very helpful and pointed us down the street about a 1km to the bus stop!

When we finally made it to our hostel we checked in, and left our luggage in the very secure luggage room (anyone could walk in pretty much). We were then able to do our first site seeing tour of Paris. Here are the photos.

When we emerged from the underground we saw this building first. I really have no idea what it is, so if anyone knows please make a comment!

Same with this one. It looked cool, but I don't know its name. Once again please comment if you know what it is! :)

This picture was taken outside the Louvre looking back toward the buildings of Paris.

A triumphal arch outside the louvre. If you look through it you see toward the Arc of Triumph.

Me in front of the Louvre! What a wonderful atmosphere here!

The outside wall of the Louvre.

On Saturday night we caught up with Anne and Scott at a cafe that took us forever to find! It was great to see them again. The place was really really good, food was excellent, and wasn't the most expensive place in Paris, that's for sure.

All of us dinning together. Was great to catch up. Anne also managed to meet up with her friend Angela and her boyfriend Christoph who were also in Paris for a holiday.

Me and Scott at the table in the Cafe.

Tomorrow I will post the next installment. Until then, keep well. Scott

Back from Paris and ....

Britty and myself made it back from Paris today after what was a short, eventful, and very exhausting 4 days in Paris. We had a great time, saw so many things, and met up with Anne and Scott who were visiting the UK and France. It was certainly great to see them again!

We spent 3 full days exploring Pairs, and got our monies worth out of our Metro tickets. On the trip we visited:

• Notre Dame de Paris - Cathedral
• Château de Versailles
  
• Eiffel tower
• Louvre museum
• Sacré-Cœur basilica
• Catacombs
• Arch of Triumph
• Concierge
• Sainte-Chapelle Church
  
• The Panthéon
• The Moulin Rouge (only outside of course)
• Trocaderont>

Sønderborg Denmark

On Monday Britty had the day off so we decided to take a trip into Denmark to a small town called Sønderborg. The drive into Denmark takes about 1.5 hours and then it was another 30 minutes until we got to our destination. The town was a little quite on the day because it was a Monday, but it was still quite a nice little place. Here are the pictures from the trip.

Down by the river was nice. I couldn't believe how quite it was!

In the main street. There was lots of shopping here. We didn't buy much because we didn't want to exchange any money.

Me and Britty at the fountain toward the middle of the main street.

Another look at the main street, however from the other direction.

We also took a drive to Flensburg on the way home. Flensburg is a northern city of Germany, and is quite beautiful. I will post those pictures later. Enjoy the Friday! Scott

We're heading to Paris

On Saturday morning at about 4am +2 GMT, Britty and myself are heading to Paris for 5 days. We are really looking forward to it, and we will also meet up with Scott and Anne sometime during our trip.

At this stage we are doing the standard tourist things. We are really hoping the weather stays good, and it doesn't get too cold. Maybe a bit of a chill in the air wouldn't be too bad, maybe it would help keep the crowds down, meaning we don't have to wait as long in lines for major attractions! Wishful thinking I guess.

If anyone has any must see items for Paris, please leave a comment. Always love to hear other peoples suggestions.

I have a confession to make!

For those readers that are not Australian or have never witnessed it first hand, there is a huge rivalry in Australia between two car manufacturers. Ford and Holden. In Australia there is a motor sport created especially, putting the two manufacturers up against each other. Almost every week the two different makes battle around race tracks mostly around Australia in an attempt to distinguish which is the better brand.

In my family the rivalry is particularly strong!!! We are divided pretty much down the middle. My family and the Doebs family are very passionate Holden supporters. The Jorgo's, and the Janson's are very passionate Ford supporters. The Vhay family is a bit of a split, with different members of the family owning a variety of Holden and Fords over the years.

This means there is always fireworks at our family gatherings!!! Of course we can never agree which is the better vehicle, and I am pretty sure this will never happen.

As I said I am a Holden supporter, but I also have a confession to make. Since coming to Germany I have been driving around in Britty's car. It is, that's right, you guessed it, a bloody Ford!! Check out the photos.

The little car runs quite well, and can get to 160KM/H on the autobahn.

Ok, I am driving a car with the Blue Oval!

I still maintain that in Australia I am a true Holden support, and in most cases I doubt I will ever buy a Ford. I must admit that Fords these days do look a lot better than they use to, and maybe they have caught up a little. Yes Fords have been performing well over the last few seasons of V8 Super Cars (these are not the typical Fords you see in Europe), but I still think they don't look as good.

Here are a few pictures of Holden and Fords you see in Australia. You can see the Holdens look a lot better. :)

The grace and style of the Holden! Doesn't it look awesome!

The box style and grace of the Ford, or the Blue Oval. You can see why I prefer Holden. :)

Test Drive - Audi A3 TDI

Last weekend, Britty and myself took this little beast for a test drive. Britty's Dad was in a minor car accident (someone ran up the back of him), so he was given this to drive around in for a few days while the insurance company fixed the car.

What a beast this thing is! It is an Audi A3 turbo diesel, and it absolutely flys! I use to think the Skyline was fast, but this thing rocks. I am sold, I want one when we get back to Australia!

Might have to do a bit of saving though. I think this one is worth around 60K in Australia, and I guess there really isn't anywhere you can drive it fast. During the test drive we took it up to 200KM/h on the autobahn, and it still had something left. What a cool car!!!!!! I especially love the paddles on the steering wheel to change the automatic gear box. The seats were full sport, and the steering was perfect. Just point it in the direction you want it to go, and it goes fast!!!

Me and Charlie admiring the car! What a super auto! And no, Charlie was not allowed to come driving with us.

Nice arse! (however not as hot as Britty's)

2.0L Rocks. Got to get me one of these!

Bye for now. Scott

Plans for next year and travel!

Well I am officially lazy!! Over the past week I have been far to lazy to write a blog post. It is really stupid because I really enjoy creating blog entries, but sometimes I just couldn't be bothered. So today I have decided that I am going to break out of this state of laziness, and post something.

Over the 2 past weeks, Britta and myself have been seeking advice as to what we should do next year, and what is the best way for us to stay together. We decided we had a couple of options.

1. I come back to Australia, get a job, and then we work on getting Britty and Australian visa. This is quite a long process but it means we will be together, and we can make a life for ourselves in Australia. Once Britty gets a visa (yes I am thinking positive), we will both be able to work, and we can save for a place!!!

2. We both go and work in the UK. This would be good for travelling, but I think in the long term we will still have visa issues, and we will be required to go through the process of visa application anyway.

After getting some advice we have decided that next year we will try to come to Australia. At this stage I am looking at coming home some time in February, and then Britty will come to Australia when the visa is granted. This could take sometime, but we are very committed to each other, and we really want it to happen.

So that means I need to make the most of my final 4 or 5 months in Europe!!! Even though we really want to come back here again one day, who knows how long that might take.

Next weekend we are heading to Paris for 4 days. We are really looking forward to the trip, and we are also looking to catch up with Scott and Anne, who are currently visiting the UK.

In November I am also looking at doing some type of trip. I really haven't made up my mind yet as to what sort of trip I will do. I really want to go to Italy and Spain, but I am not sure if I should do this myself, or with a tour group. When I decide I will create another post.

In December Britty has some holidays and we are looking to go on a bit of a tour of Germany, and maybe even the surrounding countries. We have to establish the route, find out if we can afford it, then make a decision.

Then it is Christmas time, and New Years! I would really love to go to Berlin for New Years, but maybe the other million people will turn me off the idea as we get closer.

Autumn is finally here! It is getting cold and I had to add some more clothes to my collection. I had to buy a winter jacket. When I first got here I was told that my Australian winter jacket was actually a German summer jacket. I have since found out that this is absolutely true, and yesterday I had no other option but to buy this huge, but very warm jacket. When I get a chance I will take a photo of me with all my winter clothes on! I have never been so rugged up in my life. It is a weird feeling, one that I will no doubt get use to. All these clothes mean you have to be organised when you do simple activities such as going to the gym. You rug up before you go, get to the gym, strip down, put stuff in a locker, work out, rug back up, get home, and take it all off again! It is bloody exhausting, and sometimes you think should I really be bothered! Especially when you get up at 8am and it is still dark, and all you can think about is just going back to sleep! Arh well at least it is something different.

It's lunch time. Must eat! Have a good weekend where ever you are! Scott