Destination Europe

Religion

Andrea — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:17:01 +0000

France vs Austria | Stade de France

Andrea — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:28:36 +0000

I never imagined I would find myself at a ~~soccer~~ football match but last week I made my way out to Stade de France to see France vs Austria. I booked the tickets a few months ago, more than anything just so I could say I’ve been to a football match, but also because F is a football fan and he wanted to go.

At first I was worried that it was going to be full of thugs and it might be violent but it wasn’t at all the uncivilized event I thought it was going to be. The fans were fairly quiet and calm, cheering at the 3 French goals and booing at the 1 Austrian goal. Maybe things would have been different if the opposing team was more competitive or, heaven forbid, France had lost. Actually, I must admit, the atmosphere was great. Some of the fans near us were hilarious and every oh la la! and c’est pas vrai! cracked me up. I’m also happy to say I got to see Thierry Henri play (and score a goal), one of the few footballers I actually know and like.

Next I think I’m going to see Paris St Germain play at Parc des Princes. I live just down the road from the ground so I can always hear the fans cheering when a game is on which always makes me wonder what I’m missing out on. Probably nothing but it will be good to see for myself.

Of course, it goes without saying that soccer is one of the most boring sports that exists and it will never be as exciting as an Aussie Rules match but when in Rome…

Femme de Menage a Paris

Andrea — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:38:08 +0000

If anyone is looking for a excellent, hard working house keeper, let me know because my current femme de menage is looking for work. She is by far the best cleaner I’ve ever had and she seems to love ironing (which is amazing in itself) . Aside from always being 15-30 minutes late, I can’t recommend her enough

Payment is negotiable but 10E/hour seems to be the going rate. Give her a try, you won’t regret it

Cannes

Andrea — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:37:00 +0000

I loved Cannes. F and I spent an afternoon there and I would really like to go back and explore the city a bit more. Yes, it’s very, very touristy but still fun and the beaches are much nicer than those in Antibes.

Monte Carlo

Andrea — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:11:00 +0000

I didn’t really like Monte Carlo. Does anyone? It’s all very fake and uber wealthy. At least now I can say I’ve been there

Antibes

Andrea — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:29:00 +0000

It seems most Europeans take their holidays once a year, usually in August, head to the beach, lay in the sun for a couple of weeks, get burnt to a crisp, then return to the city showing off the ‘gorgeous’ tan. That is not my idea of a fun holiday. But this year I did the same. Well, except for the lying in the sun, getting burnt and getting a tanned bits.

F and I spent a week in Antibes with F’s cousin and his French girlfriend. I think this was also my first time holidaying with another couple, which wasn’t always easy. It did give me a chance to work on my French though as neither of them speak English. We stayed in a two bedroom apartment which was very poor quality and the staff were rude but it was free (F’s cousin works for the hotel group) so I can’t complain too much.

I did go to the beach a couple of times, just for a quick swim, but most of my time was spent exploring the city as well as nearby Cap d’Antibes, Monte Carlo, and Cannes. Photos of Antibes including its beautiful old town:

Wiesbaden

Andrea — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:27:52 +0000

We visited Wiesbaden one afternoon on our recent trip to Frankfurt. A few people had told us it was the most beautiful town close by Frankfurt but, to be honest, yawn

Frankfurt

Andrea — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:54:54 +0000

Five days in Frankfurt was way too many. I have no idea why I booked so many days. Probably to get a cheap train ticket. Even though I was getting bored towards the end of my trip, I enjoyed the break and exploring the very modern city.

Frankfurt has a very small old town which had been rebuilt after the war. In fact, it seems like pretty much the entire city was rebuilt after the war. Still there were plenty of traditional pubs and cafes and we enjoyed trying them all out It’s clearly a very wealthy city as we spotted 7 or 8 Ferrari’s and a couple of Lamborghini’s and numerous other high end sports cars. Not surprising seeing Frankfurt is the financial capital of Germany.

What I loved most about the city was our hotel! The Roomers hotel is super modern and the spa on the top floor was incredible. You could have drinks while overlooking the city and then relax in the spa, sauna, and steam room. Plus they had these heated stone bed type things and a water massage bed which was the most relaxing thing ever. A 5 star hotel and only 78 euros per night. I think that is my favourite hotel of all time!

Aix En Provence

Andrea — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:14:35 +0000

Three days in Aix-en-Provence in July meant three days of lazing around doing not much. Every morning was spent by the hotel pool, lunch was either by the pool or at one of the many restaurants around the town. The afternoons were spent exploring all the little streets and local shops. The evenings involved sipping wine and trying to avoid the tourist restaurants (unsuccessfully). It was fun and relaxing but wouldn’t go again. Too touristy for my liking. Here are some pics:

Le Panthéon

Andrea — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:09:07 +0000

The next free visit was to le Panthéon. While nowhere near as interesting as le Senat, le Panthéon is worth a quick visit. To be honest, it’s probably not worth paying to go inside so take the opportunity to visit either during les Journées du Patrimoine or on the first Sunday of the month when access is free (as with many Paris monuments and museums).