Kate's European Adventures.

Gallery: Last minute sight seeing in Dublin

murrihyk — Mon, 9 Nov 2009 19:33:00 GMT

Off to Heidelberg to relax, joined my slugs on steroids.

murrihyk — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:36:00 GMT

After yet another early start, we headed to the small, but pretty town of Heidelberg situated on a flooded river (again!). The town is stunning with the river flowing through the valley and high mountains on either side. We had the afternoon to wander around the town, or visit the castle perched high above the town. The girls (Christine, Katarina, Brooke and I) headed straight for a little coffee shop and bakery that had the best range of cakes you’ve ever seen, and spent the time sitting there drinking coffee and eating cakes! We wandered around the little town and browsed through the tourist shops before hitting the supermarket for supplies and getting caught out with the gassy water trick. Squeezing the bottle to check the pressure for carbonation does not work that well – and Christine and I, like so many before us had finally got it wrong and each bought a litre of carbonated water instead of still water.

Back at out picturesque campsite on the river, we made a big batch of punch to share over our last Cam-cooked meal. There was a great feel tonight around the campsite, and it didn’t take long for the guitar to be brought out and a few of the talented people began the entertainment. Cam gave us his much loved rendition of the guacamole song and Kiwi Sam did us Aussies proud with a great version of Flame Trees.

The night also saw a few of us (myself included) get a chance to wash and dry clothes – thank god for that! The night was relatively quiet by Contiki standards but a great night just hanging out with each other as our trip was winding down.

The following morning I woke up in a relatively dry tent to see two of the biggest, brownest, most disgusting slugs I have ever seen in my life, on the inside of the annex bit of our tent making an extremely slug-fast beeline for my open bag of clothes!! Now, I’m not good with bugs of any description really, but these monster slugs did me in. I managed to get out of the tent and then stood there like a completely hopeless girl until my tent buddy and Chilean military member used her skills to flick them off. I loved Heidelberg, but never want to see those gigantic slugs again – eww!

We left Heidelberg and had one more stop in Germany before we left the country for the Netherlands. St Goar was another very pretty little town where we had a chance to check out some beer steins, cuckoo clocks and Birkenstocks. Including the largest hanging cuckoo clock in the main street!

After that, we headed through the Rhine Valley and said farewell to Germany, in anticipation of what was ahead of us in Amsterdam.

Munich – mad dash for clean towels and underwear, and drinking beer to forget wet tents.

murrihyk — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:18:00 GMT

After leaving the mayhem and wet weather of Prague behind, we were excited to be hitting up Munich and the Beer Halls that night. However, not so exciting was the prospect of having to get back into the went tents, with wet sleeping bags and mats and wet clothing (great!).

Again, the tents were erected with the looming clouds above but unlike Prague this time the torrential rain held off long enough for us to get our tents up and waterproof. But didn’t hold off that long that we got slightly wet when trying to get ready for our afternoon and evening in Munich.

After the luggage/tent/possessions and belongings disaster that was Prague, there were a few of us that needed to do mad dashes for clean clothes, towels and undies; myself included. So we were walked right into the centre of Munich, and dumped outside of the Marienplatz and the glockenspiel. We only had an hour so it was a choice of wanting to do some sightseeing or needing to purchase some items. We synchronised watches and designated a place to meet back in half an hour, while a bunch of us went our separate ways me heading to trusty H&M to purchase some new underwear. I also needed a towel slightly bigger than tea-towel and that wasn’t so gross that it just pushed the water around, however clean underwear was a high priority. After a mad dash to the right section of the shop, trying to get around a rather large lady stocking the shelves with a rather large bottom, selecting what I needed then dodging and weaving through the throngs of people to find a queue out the door to the register. Bugger. So I had to concede that my ideas of clean undies wasn’t going to happen today and that i’d just have to do the real backpacker trick of washing in the shower with you. So i was down clean underwear and a clean towel!

We raced back to meet the group and was greeted by our illustrious leaders kitted out in lederhosen – Nice work guys! What else was there left to do when in Munich but visit a beer hall and that’s exactly what we were about to do. Now, before I let you know the events of the evening, you must realise one thing. After the deluge in Prague that saturated not only us but all of our belongings and camping equipment, the general consensus tonight was that we needed to get rather intoxicated otherwise there was no way we were getting into wet tents with wet sleeping bags and wet mattresses. And that’s exactly what we did – it traditional German style with great food, lots of beer in steins, singing and dancing and lots of shouts of ‘prost!’ We were the first group there and got stuck right into the mood of things, so by the time the other groups arrived after us, there was no easing into the clashing of beer steins and singing, we were already up and merrily singing ‘Mein Prost’ every 2 minutes.

In typical Contiki fashion a sculling of a whole stein competition was called for and upon careful selection, the Campers decided to enter our very own Irish gal, Charlene. Despite here stature (she’s quite a petit little thing) she gave the bloke she was up against a run for her money, even if the stein was about the same size as her head. Charlene certainly did us proud, Good work! This then led on to another Party Bus event back to our campsite.

With all our favourite tunes cranky (I want to go to the Discotheque), Cam the super cook doing his strut down the aisle to ‘Hey Good Looking, what you got cooking?’ we added a new song to our repertoire: Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ became ‘Charlene’ that night, and forever more it will be known. Camaraderie was high that night, with Aussie Daniel in a Venetian Gondolier’s hat and Kiwi Jamie in an Akubra arm in arm singing along to whatever song was getting us all going at the time.

Despite our fair efforts at the beer hall to forget about out wet tents, a few of us still needed a little help from the beer dispensing vending machine back at campsite (which I think is an invention that needs to made far more use of around the world, how convenient?). And to make it even better, these vending machines come complete with built in bottle opener – I tell you these Germans are thinkers when it comes to alcoholic beverages. Once sufficiently drunk to get back into the wet tent myself and Cristal ventured to the bathrooms before bed where we came across two of our drunken pals, trying to help each other get up from the grass patch they had found. Daniel and Katarina were doing their fair impression of the blind leading the blind at this point, so Cristal and I in our wisdom decided to put Kat to bed in her tent. Which we did. Twice. Eventually, I am told, she stayed in the tent and went to sleep. And Daniel made it back to the right tent too.

The best thing about German beer is its lack of preservatives - meaning that hangovers were relatively minor the next day and also endearing Munich to all of us.

Gallery: I Love Paris in the Spring time - well Autumn really.

murrihyk — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:58:00 GMT

Paris

Gallery: Side trip into Stockholm

murrihyk — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:42:00 GMT

A very hot and rushed day in Stockholm

Gallery: Entering the Soviet Bloc - Latvia!

murrihyk — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:07:00 GMT

Gallery: 21 day Contiki Camping Part 2

murrihyk — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:05:00 GMT

Prague Day 2 and the sun is shining.

murrihyk — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 23:46:00 GMT

After our crazy introduction to Prague the day before, we woke up bright and early but not so bushy tailed (some not making it to breakfast). We made our way into Prague using public transport and started our big walk around the city led by Jonny. We got to see the Prague Palace and the Gothic St Vitus’s Cathedral before walking to a little park with a white peacock and then onto the Franz Kafka museum to check out the peeing man fountain out the front. You can send a text message to a number written in the ground beside the fountain and the men will pee whatever you wrote. We tackled the smallest street in Prague, complete with traffic lights to control the flow of people, crossing Charles Bridge and then onto the river to meet our boat for our lunch and boat tour of Prague.

The recent rains had flooded the Vltava River in a few places, so while we dined on more goulash and other great foods, it felt like we were cruising up and down the same 5km stretch before turning around and going back again!

A free afternoon in Prague meant we could explore as much as we could – and I was on a bit of a mission to find myself a birthday present. We wandered the streets of Prague and the Charles Bridge again. The town really is a pretty place, all gothic and sort of dark, but with the Soviet touch to it. Despite the hordes of tourists everywhere, it was a nice place to just wander and not really rush to do all the famous sightseeing things. We found a really cheap restaurant for dinner (more goulash) and then on our way back to the town square we got accosted by an old Czech man hissing at us!

We got back to the cabins just in time to pack up the wet tents ready for the next day, and a few more drinks outside (for a change) before we hit the sack and the comfort of cabins for the last time on the trip.

Canada Day, a surprise, dancing in the rain & my birthday – Welcome to Prague!

murrihyk — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 23:20:00 GMT

The 1^st of July had always promised big things for this trip. We were leaving behind the somewhat calm of Vienna, Austria and heading towards the nightlife of Prague.

Besides the fact that we had one of the earliest starts of our trip, I reluctantly woke up to my 27^th Birthday. I really didn’t want to celebrate this birthday, as being another year older meant that I was getting that much closer to having to think about being an adult and settling down – something that at this point of my journey and year overseas, I really didn’t want to think about it. But it certainly turned out to be one birthday I certainly won’t forget. Celebrating your birthday with 40-odd other people all there for a good time promised a good day.

We had left Vienna by 7am, when Jonny, our tour guide, promised us a big surprise before we crossed the border of Austria into the Czech Republic. We would detour slightly and get to visit Mauthausen concentration camp. Being a history teacher this was a pretty big surprise for me – and when people commented that it wasn’t that nice a thing to do on your birthday, that’s exactly what I would tell them: that I’m a history teacher and it was a great surprise for me.

The experience of the concentration camp was incredible. For me, taking into account the studies I’ve done and the fact I’ve taught the subject almost every year I’ve been teacher, it was really surreal to be standing in the place where it actually took place. One of the weirdest parts of the experience was the fact that countryside around the camp is incredibly beautiful (luscious green rolling hills), so to think that there was this place where so much death took place right in the middle of it seemed strange. The contrast is completely obvious the second you enter the place. I want to say it was one of the best experiences but that is completely not the right word at all – it was something that I think has to be done when in this part of Europe, and it is certainly a very moving and sobering experience. The mood was sombre, but contemplative when we were back on the bus, and talking to others afterwards, I think there were quite a few of us moved to tears by the experience (so, thanks Jonny for that experience).

Next stop across the border into the Czech Republic was the medieval town of Cesky Krumlov – complete with a castle with a moat containing bears! It was a bit of a mad rush to swap money and grab some lunch and we soon realised that the shop and restaurant owners would prey on us naive tourists attempting to work out the different currency. Word of warning – make sure you count your change and ask for a receipt. Oh, and we discovered that beer is cheaper than water!

We eventually got into Prague just at the greyest clouds in the history of the world were rumbling in. The drive into the camping ground was interesting, as we trailed (in the bus) through the back streets of outer Prague wondering where in the hell Aaron (our up to now so reliable bus driver) was taking us, and whether he actually knew the answer to that question. The worrying did not subside when we got to the camp ground and grabbed tents, bags etc for what needed to be the quickest tent set up ever – those clouds were closing in on us, as was the thunder and lightning. Tents were thrown everywhere and frustration could be heard as people were swearing at the gravel which really isn’t conducive to putting in tent pegs. Then it hit. Rain like I have never experienced before in my life; one minute there was no rain, the next it was this torrential down pour that saturated everything and everyone in its path within a matter of seconds. There was frantic panicking, bags getting thrown about in the hopes of keeping them dry, the people in the cabins watching us were nice enough to come and take some peoples bags into the dry, it was chaos. I stopped for a minute and looked around because at this point I could not have got any wetter. A few of the guys had started to strip of their excess clothing to make it easier to run around, the girls had rolled up pants and got rid of shoes, nobody could possibly get any wetter. It was at this point that someone came and shouted that we could upgrade to cabins if we wanted (about 20 minutes too late for our luggage and camping equipment really, but hey) so we organised groups and ran to get keys. But then the next puzzle hit us. Do we go into our cabin dripping wet, or stand in the rain? My cabin full of girls decided to just grab our luggage and get out of the rain and we would deal with the dirty cabin later on. Another cabin (predominantly boys) later told us that their solution was not so quick thought. They had decided to only dirty/wet one side of their cabin so they put all the wet luggage and themselves on this one side. However, they couldn’t quite think of what to do next in terms of drying themselves – so that idea quickly went out the window as they stood on the dirty side wondering what to do next! We on the other hand, threw inhibition out the window and quickly stripped off out wet clothes. Our cabin had a bathroom in it, so we took turns to sort ourselves out and clean up. I’d been to hire up clean, and more importantly dry, towels from reception, however the problem with these was that they were no bigger than a tea-towel. Most of us coped okay and managed to not expose ourselves to our cabin mates; then there was Katarina. It was just myself and Tonia (my Chilean tent buddy) in the cabin when Kat came out of the shower apologising. We looked up, and Kat had failed to realise the size of the towels when she went into the shower, not taking any clean clothes with her. Clearly the towel wasn’t going to wrap around her, so she had tried to protect her modesty by holding it up in front of her, problem was that it either covered her boobs, or her lower parts, but not both. With us all laughing and Tonia pronouncing that Katarina was an ‘exhibitionista’ it was one of the funniest parts of that evening!

The rain had subsided enough for dinner (after the boys did a stella job in putting the cook tent up in the pouring rain), but our so-called campsite where our sorry excuse for tents were hanging about was a good couple of inches under water – I’m convinced it’s really a car park, but they had nowhere else to put us. Dinner also saw a cake for Matt (also celebrating his birthday on this eventful day) and I and a nice rendition of happy birthday, before we journeyed on the public transport into the heart of Prague and to party the night away.

The Beer Factory promised great things for us that night – a bar with beer taps on the tables so you can pour your own beer and have competitions with other tables. Plans changed slightly when the place had been turned into a night club and we had to pay a cover charge, but it was still a great night. There was drinking and dancing, and then we moved to the Irish pub down the road for another drink before hitting up KFC in Prague in the early hours of the morning. I still don’t know how I managed to order the kids meal but it sure tasted great. And the best part about the evening was that we didn’t have to go back to wet tents!

Vienna and the search for Wiener - don't be fooled by Wiener World.

murrihyk — Sun, 6 Sep 2009 22:13:00 GMT

After the massiveness of Italy (and not just the sightseeing), we left Venice (without having to pack up tents, thank God) with its copious amount of drinking and enormous amounts of food about 4kgs heavier and headed to Austria.

Getting into Vienna, we got the tents up just in the nick of time before the thunderstorm hit. Dinner tonight was a venture into the oldest theme park in Europe, complete with wooden Ferris wheel. After a quick wander around in the rain, we found a pub within the theme park with great cheap food and beer, and a few of us holed ourselves up there for the few hours we had to spare. A great way to taste some goulash and sample some Austrian beer while keeping dry – and the best part was the price of it all!

The next day the Contiki cough hit most of the people who had remained unscathed by it, so the walk around Vienna this morning was a little hard work. The weather was great (humid, but warm) but it was hard to get into the spirit of things. We drove the ring of the old walls, visited the Winter Palace and walked through the city to St Stephen’s cathedral. After a Viennese coffee to get things going and a visit to an ‘apotheke’ for some cold and flu drugs (and foot fungus cream for Kat who hadn’t been wearing her thongs in the shower), we went into St Stephen’s Cathedral for a look at the building that dominates the square in the centre of Vienna. Being half way through the trip most of us wanted to get some clean/new clothes to wear, so that mission was accomplished as was buying some ‘NO KANGAROOS IN AUSTRIA’ memorabilia (still making me laugh).

Lunch time took us on a little detour. Since we’d arrived in Vienna, Katarina had wanted to eat some of the local delicacy known as wiener. So we went on a little mission to find her some. Imagine our delight when we came across a restaurant called ‘Wiener World’, they were sure to have the best wieners we could find! Alas, after a little hand gesturing with the waitress we managed to get a menu in English, and not one wiener on the menu. Plenty of smokers sitting in the restaurant, but not a wiener in sight. So much for Wiener World. Unfortunately, Katarina had to go without her Wiener’s for lunch today.

Our tour took us to the Summer Palace just outside the city for a walk through the majestic gardens. The weather had cleared up perfectly – the grounds of the palace are certainly a place you could spend an entire day wandering around in the sunshine. Then it was back on the bus and off to a Schnapps museum.

The man that ran the museum was hilarious. He spoke about his family run business and the ins and outs of the making of schnapps and the different varieties they had on offer. He told us how he had cured thousands of Contiki coughs over the years with his ‘Rocket fuel’. So when the ladies of the tour got the first lot of samples, we headed straight for that one to test it out. This little outing was by far one of the best on the trip - €8 well worth spent. The guy taking us around was entertaining and the samples at the end were a bonus too.

We had to do a mad dash back to camp to get ready for the Mozart concert that some of us were attending that night. Some of the group that weren’t going to that extra excursion had decided they would head out on the town in Vienna instead. The concert was lovely, and a great night to relax really. The music, singing and dancing was lovely. Imagine my surprise when we got back on the bus to find the group of those fellow campers that had been so dead set on a big night out in Vienna. Listening to them recount their story was funny. They had searched the city for a pub, couldn’t get served in a couple so kept moving on, got incredibly lost and then packed it in and decided to head back to the bus in time to meet up with the rest of us.

So back to camp it was, with a quick stop at the servo for some drinks to be had back at the site before we hit the sack. There was some very excited people that night – the following day promised big things for us all and it certainly didn’t’ let down.

Canky and the Cankster do Venice!

murrihyk — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:23:00 GMT

After have a blast in Rome enjoying being tourists in summer, we reluctantly (but quickly) left the campsite and headed north to Venice. Once again, it rained most of the way and Venice being marshland, our camping site had turned into a water logged muddy swimming pool so we got to enjoy the luxury of cabins once again. I think the most exciting prospect was getting a pillow as most of us hadn’t brought one (in defence, Contiki didn’t have that listed on the what-to-bring list) and our necks were getting a little sore from using jumpers.

Our tour manager warned us about the havoc that is the bar/night club at the Venice site, but little did we realise how correct he was. If you’ve ever experienced Italian free pour spirits, you’ll understand. 11pm this night gave us the halfway mark of our trip and we all celebrate in style, carving up the dance floor to our tour song (Use Somebody by Kings of Leon)in the true style of the campers that we are (and wearing the same unisex perfume called ‘Bug off’ to ward off the gigantic killer Venetian mosquitoes). After wine with dinner, some beer and a hell of a lot of free pour vodka (tipping the bar tender works a treat) a very messy night was had by all. And in all fairness to the other campers I’ve mentioned in this chronicle of our trip, myself, Christine and Megan were included in the evening shenanigans.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that vodka and I are never friends, let alone quite a lot of vodka. Needless to say, being forced to get up early the next morning and pretend that I was feeling dandy was not so much fun. The boat ride over to Venice was hell for quite a lot of us (boats and I can never agree on things) and South African Martin getting on and asking what the ‘bag system’ on the boat was epitomised the feeling that morning. (The bag system put in place on the Contiki coach for spewers was a double lining of shopping bags, perfectly designed for hanging the handles off your ears and aiming into the bag!) A quick walk to St Mark’s square and a chance to sit and recover from the boat was a godsend before we headed to a Venetian Lace making demonstration. Off the demonstrations that we got to see on the trip, this was one of the most interesting. The lady was entertaining and it was impressive listening to how the skill of making lace by hand is still in place. However, I may not have been witness to all of it – the heat wasn’t helping matters and let’s just say the boat ride and its side effects still hadn’t subsided.

Next we were off to a Murano glass blowing demonstration. Impressive – well worth it if you ever get a chance. The guys made it look so easy, and judging by the designer suits and shoes the guys working in the shop/factory were wearing, I’d say there’s a fair bit of money in it. When a walk in the not so clean Venetian air won’t help your ailments, the only thing left is to make a beeline for the nearest McDonalds and that’s exactly what a lot of us did before hitting the winding alleys and bridges of Venice.

The weather could not have been better, pretty hot and the heat coupled with the alcohol consumption of late saw my traveller’s infliction of swollen ankles at its worst. Canadian Christine was suffering from them just as bad as I was and walking around all day on cobblestones just made it all a little uncomfortable. This was where the nicknames of Canky (Christine) and the Cankster (I like to think because I was the original!) came out. The girls and I headed to the Rialto Bridge to check out the markets and the Venetian glass jewellery. After fighting with the crowds and the heat we found ourselves a quiet ledge on a shop front to sit on. Above us an Italian man was playing old school music out his window and this old woman kept walking back and forward passed us, pointing and laughing at us. We found ourselves some food and then sat by another bridge with our swollen feet in the water. Then with what was certainly the theme of the day we found yet some more food and yet another little street to sit on and watch the Venetians pass us by.

We met the rest of our group for a gondola ride. It was lovely sitting in the sun with a (plastic) glass of wine being driven around the canals of Venice by a not so talkative gondolier. Ducking and weaving through this magical city was impressive; the gondola ride just topped it off and is of course a must do experience when you visit this city.

After our massive night before, we had all sworn (typically) that this night would be quieter, but the relaxing gondola ride and the BBQ that the Contiki Reps put on for us put a lot of us back in the mood for another beer or two. Granted it was a lot quieter than the night before – until Shanna wowed us all with her voice and The Cranberries, Zombie on karaoke. She certainly got us up and dancing!

When people ask me what I did and saw in Venice I can only reply not a whole lot. But I think that was the beauty of my day and my Venetian experience. The whole sitting and watching Venice pass by is definitely the best way to experience this city.

When in Rome...

murrihyk — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:44:00 GMT

For me, that meant wearing what my mum would call my Roman sandals (purchased in Florence, mind you) because there was no dressing up in toga’s or gladiator get up for me! A little change of pace on our trip today meant that we got into Rome right in the heat of the day, and set up camp in the shade a little after lunch. This was our first encounter with Pepe – the campsite cleaning man.

Does anybody else think it’s odd that a campsite has their cleaner go through the bathrooms about 3 in the arvo? Hmm...at this point not really, but keep posted for the Pepe shenanigans that followed. This was also where a bunch of us got to meet our Nona! The campsite in Rome was the best equipped one we stayed at on the trip, pool to while away the heat in, a funky little bar/shop complete with a mechanical bucking bull, and Nona in the laundry (or launderia). Not quite halfway through the trip meant that clothes were starting to get a little stinky and underwear was running low. Off to the launderia we trudge (up this massive hill and a mammoth amount of steps – welcome to Rome really) and encounter this older Italian lady who we paid €4 or so to wash, dry and fold (!!) our washing for us, ready to be collected the following afternoon. The funny thing is that it was cheaper than doing it yourself with the available washers and dryers. Perfect really!

Freshening ourselves up for a late afternoon walk around Rome, we encountered Pepe in the shower block again. He seemed to have been ‘cleaning’ the girls side of the loos for a while now (hours really) and he had this really bad habit of talking to you as you were putting makeup on/brushing hair/teeth or generally beautifying yourself. Not to mention how he saw Katarina hand washing her delicates (yes her underwear) and decided to show her how to do it properly?! Little creepy, but hey, we’re in a foreign country so you go with the flow.

Rome on a summer’s evening was gorgeous. The sun was still shining and there were people everywhere just milling about. We got to check out the Trevi fountain (where we did the obligatory throwing coins in over our shoulders – which also saw my picture produce an extra 3 chins for me, so you may never get to see the evidence), ran up the Spanish steps (well half of them before we all got puffed and walked the rest) and found out why they are actually called the Spanish steps (named from the Spanish embassy that was housed at the top and next to them). We headed to the Pantheon and got to wander around there for a bit. The whole time I was in awe with this city. Everywhere you turn there are monuments and buildings that are hundreds of years older than my country is, and being a history teacher walking around this city was a little dream like. We headed to the Piazza di Fontana, where Bernini’s Four Fountains is, to grab ourselves some dinner. The girls (Brooke, Katarina, Christine) and I headed to a little restaurant at the top of the Piazza that looked out on everything happening and sat outside enjoying more Italian food. We even got to see a Bride and Groom pulling up to have their pictures taken at the Piazza. Summertime in Rome certainly has a special buzz about it. We bussed back to camp and grabbed ourselves some very cheap bottles of Peroni to drink around the campsite and be entertained by the few who braved the bucking bull.

Day ten of our trip saw one of the most anticipated sightseeing days. Quick showers trying to dodge Pepe again, and then off for our mega day. Rome is the pinnacle of tourists in Europe and we were all going to do our best impersonation today. We joined in on the real Roman experience by catching public transport into Rome and came out of the underground station faced with the Colosseum. Tour leader Jonny, said that he loves watching people’s faces when they walk out of that particular station and realise what’s in front of them. We had an Imperial walking tour of the Forum and Colosseum – which I would say you could give or take. I think the fact that we were, yet again, a little sleep deprived, it was hot and the woman wasn’t terrible interesting meant that we were struggling a little. Having a guide in the Forum was certainly worth it though – otherwise I think the place would just look like ruins without any real purpose. Our guide was able to point out where Cesar stood and where the Emperors gave speeches from, where the philosophers of the day would gather and where the churches were. Wandering around the Colossuem was pretty impressive, just as you would expect from it really. It would have been an incredible atmosphere to have the whole place full of cheering Romans.

After a quick call home to mum and dad (‘just sitting in the shadows of the Colosseum dad’), we crossed the city, and onwards to Vatican City. Considering that the Vatican City is the smallest country in the world, we still managed to get lost in there and quickly realised that if you were sticking with one friend that was a good thing; trying to stick with a group of 20 was a nightmare. After wandering up, down, around and through corridors lined with artwork we found the Sistine Chapel. I don’t know what I really expected but perhaps it was the entrance (through a little door, not much grandeur there) or the fact that there were guards shushing everyone who looked like they were going to talk, but it was sort of not what I’d thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong, it was amazing and amazing there was no scaffolding or repairs being conducted, but not the experience I had thought. St Peter’s Basilica on the other hand was incredible. After getting lost (again) trying to find it, walking through the doors and into the cathedral was the experience I had expected from the Vatican City. However, I didn’t get to meet the Pope, so I had to make do with a fridge magnet calendar of him and not the sexy Italian pin up Priests calendar.

We really didn’t have that much time to kill before we had to head back to camp, so a wander up to Castel Sant’Angelo pretty much filled in the time. Then our real Roman experience kicked in – the train ride back to camp in peak hour. Needless to say I never want to get that close to a sweaty, fat Italian man again!

We became real campers that night, drinking while sitting around on our inadequate camping stools (with me being the first to break one – I really didn’t think I’d eaten that much food in Florence – and copping a fair amount of stick for it too), but having a blast and enjoying the Roman summer evening.

Stepping back into Renaissance Florence.

murrihyk — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:31:00 GMT

After leaving the rich and famous behind in Antibes, France, we got back on out coach and headed for Florence – with a side journey through Pisa.

Stopping in Pisa meant the obligatory tacky photos – trying to push the tower back up, groups doing a pushing battle from either side of the tower and of course the guys lying on the ground looking very pleased with themselves. Pisa also meant dodging the shady characters trying to sell you rip off Gucci handbags, chasing you down the street if you so much as sneeze in their direction. And of course hunting for the tackiest souvenir we could find. Some gems were the Rastafarian tower statue (complete with dreadlocks, hat and joint), the ever-so-classy boxer shorts with the tower strategically placed, and lots of pointless Pisa inspired key rings with bottle openers and nail clippers.

After our first venture into the tourist havens of Italy, we headed towards Florence and our camping site. That night meant the fine Contiki tradition of the Red Garter pub with super cheap jugs of cocktails. The cheap cocktails and the presence of karaoke proved to be dangerous grounds for our group – but the drinks were flowing and the songs were being belted out. Our bus ride back to the campsite turned the coach into a party bus for the first of a few times on the trip. There were people dancing in the aisles, people hanging from the luggage racks and Katarina splitting her pants by climbing over the seats.

Back at camp, after a talking to from our drunk (and not so serious, despite his best efforts) tour manager about the need to not be loud and drunk, we ended up at the bar with no sign of bed in sight for a little while at least. Megan, from Aus, had belted out some tunes with the best of them at the bar, and was taking advantage of her slightly drunk stake, some of the other girls told her she had won the competition (that was never a competition) and her prize was the lovely necklace she was wearing around her neck. Good on Megan! She was ecstatic and even though the rest of us were slightly perplexed because we didn’t remember there ever being a competition, we were happy for her too. Eventually, someone thought the whole scenario was a little too odd and asked Megan if she had been wearing that necklace all along. She paused for a moment, touched the necklace, and her face dropped as the realisation hit that she hadn’t won any competition and in fact it had been her necklace all along. Sorry Megan, but it provided us with some great laughs for a fair whack of the trip.

Still kicking on, someone in the bar brought out the grappa and our previously mentioned Canadian friend, Katarina (for splitting her pants in the bus) got a little too excited. She came running out the bar, threw her hands in the air and yelled ‘Grappa!’ while doing the splits. Completely forgetting she had already started to split her pants, doing the splits certainly didn’t help. So Kat gets up, turns her back towards us and asks if we can see her bum. Sorry too Kat, but that certainly had us going for a very long time!

Completely forgetting we had this massive day ahead of us the following day, the night ended with the New Zealand boys, Sam and Jamie, doing the Hakka on the table and a few of us girls coming back from the loos and finding Kinan, from Cyprus, a little intoxicated and lost, wandering around the camping ground but not being able to find our tents.

The carnage of the Red Garter saw more than a few waking up feeling a little shabby and tired. Our big day in Florence started with a chance to watch the parade of flag throwers and musicians that were part of the Renaissance festival we were lucky enough to catch. It happens around this time every year (24^th June) and the city was all buzzing with renaissance flavoured things – costumes, parades, the works! Certainly worth considering if you want to visit Florence around this time of year. We got to do a guided tour of the Florence where she pointed out all the major sights and buildings, and then check out a leather factory, but by this stage most of us were severely feeling the after effects of the night before and had fallen in a dirty big heap. Nothing a little Pizza and coffee couldn’t fix though!

The girls (Brooke, Katarina, Christine) and I decided we wanted to head to the Academia to check out Michelangelo’s statue of David. The woman that had given us the tour in the morning had said the queue moves quick – hmmmm, not quite sure what her definition of quick was, but 2 hours later (and with Mish joining us) we got into the gallery and marvelled at the statue. A quick browse through some markets and it was time for our next Florentine adventure.

Jonny (tour manager) had told us about the grand final of the Florentine Football match that was happening that afternoon. This is a renaissance era football variety, where about the only rule is that you can’t bite. The game had been cancelled for a few years due to the increasing violence levels, so we were all expecting some cross between a scene out of Fight Club and an out of control soccer match. I think the fact that it was the first time the games had been run for a few years, and that they took half the red team and swapped them with half the blue (to lower the violence) all meant that the match was probably a little tamer than we had though. There seemed to be a bit of wrestling and a fair bit of hugging going on. Having said that, it was an incredible experience sitting in these stands put up around the main Piazza in town, where the cobble stones had been covered with a layer of sand. The fact that these guys are in full renaissance costume added to the atmosphere of it all and the gorgeous Florentine summer afternoon certainly helped. We were all glad when the Red team won; because that was the side of the arena we were sitting on!

Next a quick change of clothes and we were off to our Tuscan dinner for some great wine and more food (ah, if I must). All fed up after some incredibly tasty food we went to watch the fireworks over the river. The craziness of the festival came into play here, with stubborn Italian drivers insisting they drive down the roads where thousands of people were waiting for the fireworks. What a spectacular way to signal the end of the day. Of course our night was not quite finished though, and we were off to the Space Electronic Discoteque for more karaoke and more drinking. Tonight was Lucy’s birthday and we all tried our darndest to provide her with a memorable Florentine birthday experience, dancing the night away at the discoteque.

Another quick pack up of tents the following morning, we left Florence a great deal heavier than when we got there from all the great food (well I know I certainly did!) and headed to the tourist capital of Rome.

Living the high life in the French Riviera.

murrihyk — Sat, 8 Aug 2009 23:25:00 GMT

What more could you ask for, arriving in Antibes on the French Riviera just as the sun is setting... ah, but back in to the tents after the luxury of a pillow and mattress for the last two nights. The fact that where we were was just gorgeous (blue water and clear skies) certainly helped.

Our free evening in Antibes meant we could all walk down the beach and splash our feet in the Mediterranean, then head to the fun fair that was there for a ride on the ferris wheel. The views from the top over the Riviera were incredible – a perfect way to spend our first evening.

The next day continued with the relaxed feel – a visit to a French Perfumery, after a slight issue with the bus (good on you Aaron for getting it sorted) then off to Nice for a relaxing arvo lying on the beach with the rich people. The only thing that prevented me from heading straight to the beach after lunch was my hunt to find a Pharmacy where someone spoke English – i was suffering from a little travelling condition technically known as ‘cankles’ (the swelling of your ankles and feet until they all join with your calf) and was a little concerned about being able to get real shoes on for our evening’s expedition. Eventually I found someone who sold me some old lady sock looking devices and we went on our way to enjoy an afternoon of sunshine and the beach. Now, this is the life. But I did question whether I should have spent the afternoon hunting for a rich man who could keep me in this lifestyle forever, ah.

The night time activities saw us all required to put on our best outfits we had – which for campers is always a challenge. For me (and most of us I think) this ended up being the same ‘good’ outfit I wore for the night out in Paris, and shoving my swollen feet in my shoes, where I ended up with overhanging ankles for the first time in my life (but not the last time, keep on reading the journal). All jazzed up, we boarded the bus for the bright lights and fortunes of Monte Carlo, Monaco!

Along the way we stopped for some champagne at the lookout point over Nice and a quick game of Contiki bus wheel roulette. Connor, our friendly Irish traveller, took out the money with the condition that he was to gamble it all in one go when we reached the Casinos of Monte Carlo. A quick dash up past the beautiful sights of Monte Carlo at sunset to see the Palace and the views over the Marina before the rain, then it was off to check out the Grand Casino where we encountered a little problem. As previously mentioned, the good outfits for campers were what not most would consider ‘good’ outfits, and Connor happened to have shorts on. Which meant that the casino’s wouldn’t let him in, but not to worry. His trusty girlfriend Charlene came to the rescue and took the first lot of winnings into the casino where she placed it all on the table and lost it in one go! The night saw a few people come home with little winnings, which of course meant that we needed a celebratory drink or two back at the campsite bar.

The following morning saw us attempt to pack up the tents for a second time (yes we are getting better at this business) and leave the luxurious French Riviera and France for what would become our notorious trip through Italy. It was amazing how much more lively everyone was this morning without terrible hangovers like in Switzerland.

I want to become a hippy and live in the Swiss Alps.

murrihyk — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:42:00 GMT

After our first successful attempt at packing up our tents and luggage on time, we headed towards the beautiful Swiss Alps. Today we also encountered our first border crossing, which coincided with our tour leader, Jonny’s second prank and probably his best one for the trip. The Switzerland border was the reason that for the rest of the trip whenever Jonny told us to do something, we were all very sceptical.

Being dutiful and law-abiding travellers when told to have our passports ready for the border we all did. Jonny had spent a fair portion of the morning telling us how advanced Switzerland is with so many aspects of society, including their passport control. Just imagine this: a bus load of people, all on the right hand side of the bus, with the picture page of their passports pressed up against the windows waiting for the high tech border control machines to take a photo of the side of the bus and our passports. When Jonny asked us if anyone could see the flash, were when some people started to get suspicious, and the fact that we really didn’t slow down that much through the crossing. The laughter from Aaron our driver, Cam our cook and Jonny was the sound that made us all realise we had been duped in a big way!

After a massive driving day through some stunning scenery (these massive mountains like I have never seen before – Australia, we don’t have mountains, they are hills compared to these), and increasingly steady rain we got close to Lauterbrunnen, our next home. The positive aspect of the pouring rain was that we had the options of upgrading to cabins. So yes – on the third night of our trip we did pike on the tent business (except a few brave souls) and took to the luxury of bunk beds, pillows and a roof.

Lauterbrunnen lies in this little valley in the heart of the Swiss Alps and is incredible. Glorious mountains completely surrounded us in every direction, with these waterfalls cascading over the mountains everywhere you look. There was this rushing little river through the middle of the campsite, with a covered wooden bridge that lead to the chalet there. This was also where we were introduced to the bomb shelter and the concept that the 21 day campers really can’t go somewhere ‘just for a few drinks’. It had been a massive day and everyone had thought that we would just go to check out this funky bar built in the actual bomb shelter of the chalet for a drink or two. We knew that the next night there was a planned party, so a quiet night was what we thought we all needed. Yeah, right. Hours later, shots of Red Bull liqueur later and copious beers later, we stumbled into bed about 3am. So much for the few quiet drinks.

Another early morning took us up the highest mountain in Europe, Jungfrau, on a cog railway. The sky had cleared for us and there had been fresh snow up the mountain over night. The railway trip was slow, but lovely; you could see all these tiny little towns (well clusters of houses) positioned precariously up the mountains, and the greenness of the valleys. Arriving at the top of the mountain we were literally on top of Europe, above the clouds and surrounded by snow covered peaks. I could have sat there all day just looking out across Europe.

The second night at the bomb shelter had a gothic theme – so there we were all dolled up in our black, piles of black eyeliner (for girls and boys) and resulted in our second big night. Everyone dressed in black and rocking on all night and for the second night in a row, the campers were the last Contiki group left standing. Goes to say a lot about our durability, despite the fact we bailed on the tents at the first chance. The funniest part of my night was when we were heading to bed. All night I had my precious ‘I love Frankston’ stubby holder with me (the town in Melbourne where I grew up). The town had put out all this tacky memorabilia, including bumper stickers. Here I am in Switzerland, at about 3 in the morning, and for some strange reason I look up at the lamp post and here is this ‘I love Frankston’ sticker on the light! Needless to say there are some interesting photos of me with the lamp post and my stubby holder. No matter how far I travel, there is always something that reminds me of Frankston.

Breakfast the next morning was hilarious, lots of very weary and shabby people. I sat eating toasted sanga’s with Lucy from Perth, who told me all about how her boyfriend Cole, and Kent the New Zealander had not been ready to go to bed when the rest of us did, so they wondered on down into the town to the pub frequented by the base jumpers that call Lauterbrunnen their home. It was funny listening to the tales from the night before and the suspicious tent antics that someone had tried to hide, despite the fact that there were only about 5 tents up.

Despite the rain, Switzerland is the type of place I felt like I could spend a lot of time. Just hanging out really and looking at the mountains, maybe drinking a little more coffee than alcohol. Katarina and I decided that it would be cool to become hippies and live in the alps! We said farewell Switzerland half an hour late and slept our bus ride through to Antibes on the French Riviera, all in desperate need of some sunshine and recouperation.

Gallery: 21 day Contiki Camping.

murrihyk — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:50:00 GMT

21 days of camping fun across Europe (aka: my 21 day bender across Europe) - Bonjour France

murrihyk — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:28:00 GMT

With my 3 months of summer holidays from working in Dublin, I was always going to take the opportunity to travel across Europe and see as much as I could. And being a relatively young Australian what better way to do this then with the great Aussie tradition of a Contiki tour.

I chose the 21 day camping trip for two reasons really – 1: it was a cheaper option and fit in with my budget and 2: there would be no pretentious giggly girls that can’t be without their hairdryers and straighteners for longer than 2 hours.

Despite the fact that I never want to see a tent or a self-inflating blow up mattress (self-inflating, yeah right!) for quite a while, I had a blast. So the next several entries are going to detail the rain, the drinking, the eating and of course the sight-seeing that took place for my 21 day camping trip around Europe.

Bonjour France.

It’s always funny when you start a tour watching everyone doing the sizing up deal. Thinking about who they would like to be friends with, how old people are, how geeky they are and more who would end up hooking up by the end of the trip. At the meeting the night before our trip left, this is exactly what was happening. Then after a stay in the noisiest 1970’s decor hotel in London, we boarded our coach extremely early and left England bound for France.

The day involved massive driving, having the same introductory conversation with the 40-odd other people of the bus, but we eventually got into our camp site in Paris where we were introduced to our homes for the next 21 days. I discovered why the camping groups get to know each other so well compared to some of the more luxurious tour groups. The tents are basically only canvas and you are so close together that coughing, snoring, farting and any other nocturnal noises can be heard, and shared, by all, whether you want them too or not. Oh and I can’t start chronicling this trip without mentioning the self-inflating mattresses. Excuse me for a moment – self –inflating my arse! But let’s not start complaining too soon into the trip.

We jumped back onto the bus after a feed to see the highlights of Paris. Here we encountered Jonny’s (our illustrious tour leader) prank number 1. Driving up past the building where Napoleon himself lived we were told to keep our eyes peeled for Napoleon’s teddy bear that is still kept in the window (yes, yes, I know we really should have seen it coming). Here’s a bus load of people, eyes peeled to the left for this teddy bear and wondering where it is, when Jonny says, ‘Oh maybe it’s on the right.’ So we turn to the right of the coach, and there’s the Eiffel Tour. Thanks Jonny, thanks. Didn’t we all feel like idiots (note that I wrote, Jonny’s prank number 1 – keep reading for the doozy). The walk under the Eiffel tour at dusk was well worth the embarrassment of the prank though. All I want to do know is have a picnic at sunset underneath the Eiffel tour.

Night one meant a few 'quiet' drinks at the campsite. At some point after midnight I learnt how well we were going to get to know each other in our little tent city. I could hear one of the boys, Duro, yelling at his tent buddy, Daniel to move over so he could get in. This drunken argument went on for a while, with a bit of laughing by everyone listening and I think the problem was resolved when Duro literally pushed Daniel out of the way. The following morning there was no sign of the boys until Cam, our super cook, yelled 'Who wants some more breakfast?' and then from the tent closest to the cook-tent popped two bleary eyed heads in search of food.

Day 2 meant a mammoth amount of sightseeing to be had in Paris. Thankfully, Paris turned on a lovely day for us and for the first time in months my legs got some sun and air on them in a skirt (whoo hoo). Hopefully my newfound Irish paleness won’t last too long.

I headed straight to the Louvre with my tent buddy Tonia (from Chile) and we met up with some fellow campers to spend the next 2 hours getting lost and stumbling across some amazing works of art. We did the highlights walk basically, saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, both well worth seeing. I can completely understand how people spend days and days wondering through this place in awe. There is so much to see and the building itself is as amazing as the artwork it holds.

We were all in desperate need of some Parisian coffee so we found a little coffee shop to sit and pretend we were real Parisians looking out over the streets. A baguette for lunch on the go went down a treat while we walked to Notre Dame Cathedral. It was great to take a moment to sit and pause in the calmness of the cathedral after the craziness of the hoards of jostling tourists at the Louvre.

A quiet afternoon was in order so, after finding more fellow campers we ambled our way back up along the River, looking at the street vendors random items (everything from books to souvenirs to French pornography) for sale. A great way to spend the afternoon and to pick up some souvenirs for people, certainly a must if you want something really Parisian.

We had a high class evening prepared for us with a Parisian Dinner (quiche, escargot, duck, beef and desert, and of course lots of wine). This was a great way to get to talk to some of the other people on our trip, with everyone all glammed up. Next stop was a Cabaret show at La Nouvelle Eve. We got some real French Champagne and laughed our way through the trip. It was hilarious when Sam the Kiwi farmer, got pulled up on stage to be the acrobats assistant. Or perhaps it was the French Champagne?

Paris had turned on some great weather for us and a perfect start to our trip. The following morning we had our first go at packing up the tents and coach, and left Paris headed for Switzerland, leaving the dry weather behind.

I attract the rudest people in London.

murrihyk — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:44:00 GMT

I’ve been in London for 5 days and I have discovered I have this uncanny knack for seeking out the rudest people in this bloody city. Perhaps it is my stupid need to talk to random people I come across, who knows; all I know is that today I cracked the shits!

It started Friday night – well very early Saturday morning really – on the night bus back to my friends house in Kent after drinks with her work buddies in the city. Lisa and I were being our usual selves, laughing and talking to the people around us, trying to rouse the man asleep behind us so that he didn’t miss his stop, chatting with the music director (ha!) sitting in front of us who was awfully polite until he offered us his spare weed. Then we encountered the rude fella sitting beside our friendly stoner. When Lisa said hello and asked how his night was he ignored us, when the friendly stoner tried to get him talking he ignored us too. Then when he stands up to leave he turns to us and calmly told us that he doesn’t like Australians because they are uneducated. Well – did that get my goat up or what? Of course being a teacher of education and all I found it terribly offensive being called uneducated, and coupled with the fact that it was closer to sunrise than it was to sunset and we had yet to make it home to bed, I was down right peeved! So I did what any self respecting, educated person would do and gave him the what for! Anyway, I got over that by about 8pm the following night – ha.

Today however, was a different story. I left the comfort of my friends home in Kent yesterday and made my way to a hotel in the city before I depart on a tour of Europe tomorrow. So after going on a hunt last night for a Pizza express and then getting incredibly lost, I was a little bit wary today about being let loose on this city. I went in serve of a coffee shop at lunch for a sandwich, found myself a nice one and entered. To start with the two men who were serving were reluctant to acknowledge the fact I was standing there, then when I ordered they didn’t ask whether I wanted to eat in or takeaway, they just assumed and put my sanga in a bag and my coffee in a paper cup. They were too busy talking to each other to notice I tried to get their attention so I just walked outside and sat myself down at one of their tables in the sunshine. Just as I bit into my not so tasty sandwich, the little waitress comes out and politely tells me that seeing as I asked for a take-away I cannot sit at their table. I politely countered that I was never actually asked whether it was takeaway or otherwise and I really wanted to sit there. She didn’t seem to mind but said she had to talk to the boss, who then inturn came out and refused to have it that when he served me I never allocated takeaway or eat in and that I had to pay £2 to sit at teh table. I very politely told him that his sandwich was shit anyway and it wasn’t worth the hassle and slowly packed up my stuff. That put me in a bad mood to start with.

After I finished my shitty lunch on the steps of the museum, I went inside to have a wander. Now let’s not gloss over the fact that the British Museum is well worth a visit. If not for the artefacts that it contains, but even for the imposing building itself. I managed to spend a good 3 hours wandering around. However, in order to wander and not get lost inside this massive building I quickly realised that I needed a map. Over I head to the information desk where teh two men let me stand there for a good few minutes while they continued their conversation. One eventually looked at me like I had completely ruined their day by interrupting their terrible important conversation, and I took the opportunity to request a map. Without even pausing in his chatter, he said down there and gestured to the hoards of pamphlets sitting inbetween us. So i picked up one that he had roughly gestured to and the other wanker says with more sarcasm than I though was possible, ‘No the one that says map on it’. I just smiled weakly but had half a mind to scream at him that there was no need to be so rude. Then after I walked off I thought I should have gone back at asked for a complaint form and filled it out in front of them!

Tonight it my last night in London for a while and I really hope that some Londoners will come my way to redeem my shitty opinion of Londoners at the moment! Here’s hoping!

Sunshine and Summer in the land of rain.

murrihyk — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:24:00 GMT

Ireland has been having some very un-Irish-like weather of late. Yes, I’m talking about more than a few hours of sunshine! So what does a bunch of Aussies do in the land of rain when the sun comes out for the first time in 6 months? Bake themselves in it, that’s what.

After a few days of doing a decidedly good impersonation of an Irish person (that means consuming as much Guinness/Smithwicks/Cider as one can) I jumped on the train to Kildare very hung-over and headed for the Carragh races with a bunch of other Aussies. The weather was relatively warm and we were all going to make the most of it. When we got there we found a nice little grassy spot just opposite the finish line to sit on, in full sunshine, for the rest of the afternoon. We took it in turns to climb the mountainous stairs to the bar for rounds and spent the entire afternoon drinking and enjoying the sun while we could. Funny thing was, we sat there cracking jokes about the red haired Irish and how sunburnt they would end up by the end of the day, but looking around, we were the only idiots who were sitting in full sun for the entire event. Needless to say, when we got to the pub back in Dublin, we were all comparing our sunburn, but excited about the prospect of a tan in the land of overcast skies and rain.

The clouds came back the next few days, just to remind us that we were indeed in Ireland, but by the end of the week, I was sitting eating my lunch outside in a cotton dress and working on my tan a little more.

A friend, Belinda, arrived from back home and I decided she was the lucky sunshine charm – having brought it with her from Africa of course. So I cut off my skinny jeans and made them into the only pair of shorts I currently own, excited at the prospect of a bit of vitamin D on my sun deprived legs. We spent the weekend sitting in St Stephens Green and enjoying the weather as many Dubliners were doing and then decided to head to the docs for the Maritime Festival that was on for the bank holiday weekend. In the only nice t-shirt I own and my new favourite shorts we walked, with the rest of Dublin, up and down the docks enjoying the sun and feeling like summer. We even went so far as to buy a picnic rug! Ambitious, I know. After walking up and down, eating some lunch and listening to whatever music/buskers were happening – all the while enjoying the sunshine – we headed home to drink some of our €4 a bottle Cider.

Monday, saw us get in a car with some friends and drive to Galway for the Volvo Ocean Race festival at the docks there. This was to mark the round the world race that had stopped in Galway. Now, I don’t know what these officials call a Round the world race, but I would like to disagree. They don’t go anywhere near Australia! If someone could tell me how it’s a round the world race that doesn’t stop at all the continents, I would be very appreciative. Putting that aside, the day couldnt’ have been better. This time we were smarter and brought out the sunscreen and the hats, but it was perfect weather for the occasion. We seemed to need to drink a fair amount in the sun, so that meant more beer but you do what you have to. The atmosphere in Galway was great, just this massive party really; people everywhere enjoying what was on offer and soaking up the sun. The paddle in the bay was a bonus and I can now say that I’ve been in the Irish waters! Up to my knees anyway.

So after a weekend of loads of sun and a fair amount of alcohol consumption, due to the sunny weather of course, we headed back to Dublin and back to the rain – well a few days later anyway. Now I can say that I’ve had a summer heat wave in Dublin; above 25 degrees for at least 4 days in a row! Who says this country never gets sunshine?

Gallery: Out and About in Dublin

murrihyk — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:11:00 GMT