befok!

Yesterday on the way to Florence we stopped to see the leaning tower of =
Pisa. The town itsself looks like a regular small town which simply happens =
to have a large tourist attraction.

We arrived in Florence in the early evening. An hour after check-in we went =
to an Italian restaurant. There was plenty of food and drink. We were =
entertained by an accordian player, pianist and an opera singer who took =
turns to strut their stuff. The waiters were funny. They kept skipping one =
person on our table when bringing food or only dished them one potato. We =
ended up dancing the Zorba, Chicken dance and YMCA! Must have been all the =
red wine Just to keep my name in good sted; I did not dance the =
Macirana

This morning we were up early. After a tour of a leather shop, where they =
demonstrated the making of of Florentine jewelry boxes, we went =
sightseeing.

First stop was the Uffizi where we saw the birth of venus. We then went to =
Museo di Storia della Scienza where they had a Galileo exibition, =
unfortunatly it was closed. We walked up to Duomo and took some pictures =
and then went into Galleria dell’Accademia to see Michelangelo’s =
David.

Then it was back on the bus and off to Rome. We took a night drive through =
Rome, followed by a quick walk and dinner. We needed to find our own dinner =
so it was off to find an Italian restaurant. It seems they can’t deal with =
groups of people arriving at a time as we waited 40 min for our =
pizzas!

Tomorrow is Christmas and sightseeing in Rome.

Steps: 16298

Just had my first slice of genuine Italian pizza at one of Autogrills (a =
petrol station restaurant). In Italy a slice of pizza is the equivalent of =
quater of a family sized pizza, which is pretty huge. Interesting fact: the =
Autogrill chain is owned by the vatican. The toilets are mostly terrible. =
In Italy you need to pay 50c (R5) to use the bathroom!=20

Oh I almost forgot. You can buy 3kg jars of Nutella! We have also tracked =
down 99% lindt as well as the extra dark lindt balls. Yum! Yum!

We have just crossed over into Italy. .

We drove along the French riviera this morning while watching a beatiful =
sunrise We also drove past Monaco. The houses and cliffs remind very much =
of camps bay.

I’m feeling better today and looking forward to some more sightseeing.

Today is sightseeing day in Nice. Unfortunatly I am sick. Damn the =
Europeans and their central heating. Passing through sub-tropical buildings =
and then back out into the cold seems to have taken its toll on my immune =
system.

We managed to visit Beaux art museum where we discoverd Gustav Adolf Mossa, =
who I am certain must have influenced Brom. I also like the works of Jules =
Ch=C3=A9ret.=20

Next stop was the St. Nicolas Russian Orthodox church. It was closed, but =
we took some very nice pictures and had lunch in the garden. The was an =
Asian man with about 3 front teeth who kept hassling us for money and =
ciggarets which was a pain.

I also managed to drop my camera. It still works perfectly but now sports =
some huge scratches (bugger). At this point I decided that I had enough of =
today and walked back to the hotel. I did get to see a VW Golf R32 in the =
flesh (yum).

It looks like we won’t see Monaco this evening. We opted not to partake in =
the optional dinner and the only other thing to do is gamble and none of us =
like casinos. So that cuts my trip down to 10 rather than 11 =
countries.

I’m going to have a nap now till the others return from sightseeing. =

PS. You need to watch your step in France; the pavements are full of dog =
poo, ciggaret butts and human spit (and they call South Africa third =
world).

Wednesday we spent the day sightseeing in Barcelona. There was a lot to =
see, so we had to plan carefully. As in France, we made extensive use of =
the Metro. Once we figured out which ticket to buy (very few people speak =
english) we were off. The Metro is just as good as in Paris. We never =
waited more than two minutes.

First stop was the Sagrada Familia, which was not without adventure. We got =
off at Sagrera. I was expecting to be able to easily spot the Sagrada =
Familia (it’s huge and has cranes around it), but it was nowhere to be =
found. So we checked the map and figured we needed to do some walking, but =
after a while we decided we were lost, so I asked a lady pushing her child =
around in a pram. It was all in Spanish, but she pointed us in a direction =
and we started walking towards it, but ended up where we got off at the =
metro. We the went down another street, but turned around again, we then =
discovered that the lady had followed us down our wrong turn and using our =
Metro map pointed us at the connecting line to get us to the Sagrada =
Familia. Gracias!

The Sagrada Familia was designed by Antoni Gaud=C3=AD. They started =
construction in 1882 and are still building! It is definatly the most =
uniquely designed church ever. We took the lift up one of the towers and =
got to walk back down the narrow staircase (it’s tight!).

Next stop was Park G=C3=BCell and Casa-Museu Gaudi, where he used to stay. =
The park is awesome.

Next stop was La Pedrera, a house designed by Gaudi and just down the road =
was another one of his houses, Casa Batll=C3=B3, which we visited =
therafter.=20

We then headed down La Rabla, which is street market renound for its trade =
in live animals. From ferrets to porqupines to tortoises. It’s a rather sad =
sight.

We then popped in at La Catedral de Barcelona. It was as impressive as =
Notredame.

Just around the corner was another Dali exhibition. This was a private =
collection so we could take pictures. We ended the days’ sightseeing with a =
walk up Av. Portal de l’Angel which is one of the streets to shop in when =
you are in Barcelona.

Spain, amougst other European countries, is renowned for pickpockets, so =
you need to keep everything close and out of sight. We were approached by =
someone dragging a suitcase looking for directions for the busses. We told =
her we were using the metro and had no idea how they worked. I pulled out a =
metro map to show her. Another guy apprached and. started speaking spanish =
to the person asking us for directions, who then replied in spanish! This =
sounded fishy to me so we we left at pace.

The Aussies on our tour were less fortunate however. A few of them were =
robbed while out drinking.

We just crossed the French border and are on the way to Nice.

Steps: 25915

..We left Lyon bright and early this morning for Barcelona. We will be on =
the road for most of the day, but we get to see more of the country side, =
which is great. There are lots of villages with interesting curches. We =
also saw a castle up on a cliff of which I managed to snap a picture of. I =
think I already have over a 1000 pictures!

We spent most of the day on the road to Lyon. We stopped Fontainebleau to =
see Ch=C3=A2teau de Fontsinebleau where Napoleon used to stay. We arrived =
in Lyon late in the afternoon.=20

After check-in we walked through Lyon. There is a really nice night market =
20min walk from our hotel. We alo took pictures of some of the churches =
which are lit at night.=20

Salom=C3=A9 got a nice pair of sunglasses from one of the shops and we =
bought a nutella cr=C3=A9p=C3=A8 from one of the stalls. It’s basically a =
wholewheat pancake covered in nutella. Yum!

Tomorrow we head off to Barcelona.

So being my first time abroad, there were a lot of preconceptions that had =
to be experienced first hand. The tubes in London, while convenient, are =
terrible. Peak hour we had to pass over 2 trains before forcing our way =
onto the 3rd. I like my personal space. The Metro in Paris in my opinion is =
much simpler to navigate. I have not yet seen it during rush hour.

Europe is expensive! Most sights average 8-12 Euro to get into. Food here =
probably costs double in the equivalent rand value.

Paris traffic is scary! They have round abouts that can take 5 lanes of =
cars (not that anyone sticks to them). Traffic entering the circle has =
right of way. This creates much excitement. Indicators are seldom used. =
When you park you must leave your hand break down, this is so cars on =
either side of you can “gently” push your car so they can get out of their =
spot! It is no wonder most cars have dents in them.

Grafitti, the scourge of our society is as prolific here as in South =
Africa, what a terrible eyesore. In Paris there seems to be trend in =
tagging panel vans. I spotted a number of them that had been defaced.

Everyone says the french. are rude. We must have been fortunate not to run =
into them. We got help with directions from a very nice couple and most of =
the shopkeepers and hotel staff were frendly to us.

So far I like Europe but not enough to want to stay in it. What I do like =
is how easy it is to get to places and how much there is to see and =
experience. While you still have to be alert to pick pockets, I have =
generally felt safe everywhere.

Absolutly amazing! And yes there were lots of boobs. I was sceptical about =
paying 130 Euro per person for a show (and a meal), but I have to say it =
was worth it.=20

Today we are on the road to Lyon.

We kicked the day off with a trip up the Eiffel tower. It was a beautiful =
day in Paris, after the grey rainy day we had on Saturday. The view from =
the top was spectacular. While we were right at the top Rob dropped his =
lens cap which then. got kicked by another person. It managed to squeeze =
through a thin slit between the floor and railing where none of us could =
get a finger in to reach it. We then started digging through our backpacks =
and using our McGuyver skills assembled a platic name card and some =
plaster. This managed to stick to the cap, but as it was looking like it =
was going to come out it popped away. Henriette managed to get hold of it =
again and using a second card we managed to wedge it out. By this time we =
were all freezing so it was back down.

After a short walk along the river we caught a underground train (called =
the Metro) to the Arc de Triomphe. The we took a walk down one of the main =
shopping streets, Avenue des Champs-=C3=89lys=C3=A9es. Then it was on to =
Notre-Dame. The stained glass windows are breathtaking.

Then went to the Louvre were we got to see the Mona Lisa amoungst other =
famous artworks. It is difficult to explain how huge the Louvre is. There =
are over 40000 items on display, we only had two and a half hours!

Tonight is Moulin Rouge. Horaay!