Adventures So Far

Gallery: Christmas 2007

claireg — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:06:00 GMT

Christmas and Belfast

Back in Belfast

claireg — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:02:00 GMT

I have made it back to Belfast safe and alive after a casual weekend in London taking in a few of the sights and Christmas cheer, although I was slightly disappointed at the Hyde Park markets.... maybe I missed something.
I've spent the first few days re-acclimatising to work and not being able to do what I want when I want. Luckily I arrived back here with enough time to see the Belfast Christmas markets which were slightly more what I was thinking an xmas market should be. Lots of mulled wine and great food in front of city hall. If all goes as planned I will be back on a plane to Sheffield on Friday night to spend christmas in England and hopefully get a bit of snow.

Rome and South coast

claireg — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 03:59:00 GMT

So I've just come back from a fabulous week in Italy. I spent 2.5 days wandering around Rome seeing all the famous sights and then headed to the south coast to sorrento and amalfi for some much needed sun. I stopped at Pompei, Sorrento, Isle of Capri, Amalfi, Ravello and Positano. All of which are absolutely gorgeous and well worth a visit. The highlights of the trip would have to be all of the sights in Rome, sipping coffee in a famous Piazza in Rome with an acoustic guitar busker beside us, taking on the crazy roads on the south coast and checking out the amazing views and landscapes on the isle of capri. I won't bore you with too much written detail, i'll let the photos tell the story!

Gallery: Random Photos

claireg — Wed, 9 May 2007 05:13:00 GMT

Random things since I've been in the UK

Gallery: Yorkshire Dales & Scotland (Easter 07)

claireg — Wed, 9 May 2007 04:58:00 GMT

The trip with Sean and Lara

Gallery: France

claireg — Tue, 8 May 2007 22:33:00 GMT

Paris and Nice

Nice & Monaco

claireg — Tue, 8 May 2007 13:40:00 GMT

Well I'm back in the UK now, but my last couple of days in France were really nice. I spent them in the Cote d'Azur (French Riviera). I stayed in Nice where I spent a day and a half wandering around the streets and along the promenade with the crystal clear water (when it was sunny) beside me. Also tried to get through all the streets in the Old Town which is a small couple of blocks along the water with a maze of old streets, cafes and shops (mostly aimed at tourists). The town was quite beautiful but unfortunately there were road works going on EVERYWHERE which made it a little less pleasant. The main street and almost all of the surrounding streets were effected so it made my navigation skills even worse and resulted in me getting lost again. I then took the train to Monaco about 30minutes along the coast. The train ride alone was worth doing as the train travels directly along the coast for most of the way so I got to catch a glimpse at some of the towns along the way. Arrived in Monaco and spent the day there. Visited the Palace and Monaco Ville up ontop of a clifftop which over looks the rest of the city. They even have a changing of the guards. Quite funny really. There is some beautiful walk ways all the way around the coast and the city which is a much hillier and richer version of Nice. The boats along the main harbour were mind blowing. From Monaco I headed back to Nice before catching my flight back to Heathrow on Sunday.

Paris Day 3

claireg — Wed, 2 May 2007 18:10:00 GMT

So, day 3 in Paris is over and tomorrow I am on the train to Nice. I'm actually looking forward to the 5 hour train ride so I can put my feet up. Took off early this morning to visit the Catacombes, which is a whole lot of old bones buried 20m under the city. Very spooky and pretty morbid but quite amazing to see. Most of the rows of bones are about 1.5-2m high and probably the same deep, so as you can image, a lot of bones. I think the tunnel runs for about 1.5km.

From there I got on the metro and headed to the Louvre where I spent the rest of the day. Saw the famous ones and then tried to work my way around to see a little bit more of the museum. I can't say I'm all that good at appreciating paintings but I did really enjoy the artefacts and different pieces that the gallery has. Saw the famed Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, so I can tick those off my list of things to do.

Overall I think my attempts at speaking french have gotten worse, but I've decided it's just not the language for me. Oh well, maybe the next country I will master.

Paris

claireg — Tue, 1 May 2007 18:40:00 GMT

I've been in Paris now for 2 days of my France trip. I arrived on Sunday from Heathrow and managed to find the hostel without too much hassle. Unfortunately being a Sunday and everything was closed, my first taste of Paris was Pizza Hut! I've since managed to sort that situation out and have eaten most of my meals from the patisseries. That being partly to do with the fact that I am terrible at trying to speak French and it's easier to order when you can just point at the food you want.

My first day was spent doing far too much walking to visit Notre-Dame Cathedral and the North Tower which involved a que of about 1.5hours. Well worth the wait though for the view from the top. Not to mention the butt work out on the stairs. From Notre-Dame I moved on to the Pantheon and the 'Jardin du Luxemberg' (the Luxemberg garden). Both very beautiful and very crowded.

From there I began my rather long walk to the Eiffel tower (thinking it wasn't really that far). I managed to get lost and stumble across the Hotel de Invalides before finally making it to the Eiffel tower. From there I then stood in another que for about 2hours to head to the top. Unfortunately, just before I was going to purchase my ticket they closed the top. I did though get to see Paris by night from the second and third floors, and being on the lift to the second floor was probably enough. I don't know that the lift to the top would have been all that good as you are pretty exposed standing next to the glass doors. I finally headed down from the top about 11pm and was totally buggerd so headed home to bed, nursing my battered and blistered feet.

Today was my second full day in Paris and was not as sucessful as the first as today unfortunately was a public holiday so a few things were closed, ie most of the shops that I planned to visit for a bit of retail therapy. I did though still get to the huge cemetary (the name escapes me) and then the Arc du Triumphe. Then, as per yesterday I managed to get lost but find the Louvre and the Jardin Des Tuileries (gardens) near by. The Louvre wasn't open, being a Tuesday anyway, so that's my plan for tomorrow. Once again I think it will be a night in the hostel trying to rest my feet before another on-slaught tomorrow.

Leaving Aberdeen

claireg — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 07:50:00 GMT

Unfortunately my time in Aberdeen is almost over after about 10 weeks. My job finishes on Friday and I am off to London on the over night bus. I've had a great time in Aberdeen and have managed to see a lot of Scotland while I have been here. I'm trying at the moment to find another job which I will hopefully have organise by Friday.

From Aberdeen I'm heading to London for a day and then am off to France for a week to visit Paris and Nice. I'll then have to return to reality and work.

Gallery: Weekend in Forres

claireg — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 19:20:00 GMT

Night out and Funicular Railway

Weekend in Forres

claireg — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 19:20:00 GMT

So, I spent the weekend in Findhorn (North East Scotland) with Fiona from work and her family. The weekend involved a bit of shopping in Inverness, spending way too many ££ and then a rather random night out in Forres the nearest town. Needless to say Fiona and I woke up a little worse for wear on Sunday. It was a great night out though, especially mixing with a few of the interesting locals.

After a slow morning on Sunday we all headed to Aviemore which up until this time has managed to elude my travels despite all my plans. We went up the Funicular railway which runs up the Cairn Gorm Mountain. Spectacular views from the top before a short trip back down.