Angies silly stories

Uncles house = SLEEP

pimcflangington — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:48:00 GMT

Language lesson 1:

I’m at my uncles at the moment (beautiful house in Gignez, Corbonod, close-ish to swiss border and that’s about it), reading my little lonely planet phrasebook and I noticed some funny things in the ‘romance section’.

Not if you were the last person on earth “Jamais de la vie”

Do you have a fetish “Est-ce-que tu as un fetiche?”

Your ego is out of control “Tu es completement imbue de toi meme!” (aromas people use that one on franc for me??)

What star sign are you? “Tu es de quel signe?”

Then, for when things get more, er, intimate:

Oh yeah “Chouette alors”

Easy tiger! ‘Vas-y mollo’

Don’t worry, I’ll do it myself “T’inquiète pas, je fais ca tout seul..”

So now that you are all up to speed on the more important parts of the language of love we can continue..

From Paris to Mulhouse (grandmas) I caught an IdTGV which is a newer faster TGV.. stupid fast and pretty swish inside, especially in comparison to the stupidly slow regional trains! I got a whole four seater to myself and had a nap (sever lack of sleep in Paris!). On the train they hand out little paper packets. They contain a toilet seat cover, 12 pieces of toilet paper, 12 actual tissues and one large napkin. And then on the packet it has descriptions on ‘how to use each paper’… Just in case I’d forgotten. The train only took three hours, the normal train takes over five!

The taxi driver snapped himself lifting my enormous bag, whoops! I would have felt bad except for I warned him and he was all macho and tough and what not… GOT HIM

Mulhouse is basically an alsacian town, (French German) and is overflowing with flowers and goody treats. There is also a great street for shopping and it just so happens the annual sales started the day I arrived… AAALLRIIGGHT

However I spent way too much money on the earlier/frivolous part of the trip and have to start cutting back!! Less coffee… Sad (even if it does tastes like poo)

When I got to grandmas I spent five minute buzzing and grandma couldn’t hear it, could’ve been disastrous had mum and Joelle not turned up at that moment!!

I got to stay with mum and Joelle in the hotel around the corner. It has an awesome little gym and a Hammâm and a sauna. It also had a shower with three different jets of water from different heights. Really really nice if you know how to use it, unfortunately mum managed to turn them all on, full ball and freaked out. They had to get the hotel OWNER and his son the Manager to come turn it off… They both got soaked and where clearly trying to hide their giggles every time we entered the hotel after that!! Sometimes she worries me!!!

We went and had dinner with my mums cousin and his family. His son Laurent (lolo) came with his lady friend and their two MASSIVE rottweilers. Both are girls, and they are both huge but super cute! They have some pretty cute tricks and are really well behaved. I want a St Bernard when I finally settle down (in say… 90 yrs time), they were everywhere in Budapest, almost every third house had one…

SO apart from that Mulhouse was pretty uneventful. We got to visit some people I hadn’t seen in years. We went to ‘the rich house on the hill’. Friends of the family that have an amazing house just outside Mulhouse. I remember going there when I was a kid and thinking it was the most amazing house I’d ever seen!!! I used to get lost in all the different rooms, I remember once I fell asleep in the old school bathtub for hours until mum found me. Sadly the woman who owns it had a stroke a while ago and since then the house has deteriorated severely. Its not what it used to be…

We also had a visit from some friends who we used to know from when grandma lived in Paris and it was really great catching up with them and seeing how vibrant grandma became when there was a bit of stimulation around her.

I’m going back to Mulhouse to live with Grandma for a few months to help out and keep her company. Lolos lady offered me a job already and there is a really cute cheese shop that I’m going to try and suss out when I get back!! Ooh and I’ve applied for a job at the youth hostel as well for something different, I figure it would be a great way to meet people and also a great way to fill in the gaps between visitors…

From Mulhouse we went to my uncles house in the country. It’s a fair way away from everything but in a very beautiful area. Its only about forty minutes to Switzerland from here and a really great region for skiing so I’ll definitely be coming back for ski season!

All we’ve done here so far is eat and walk. I have pretty much slept all day everyday which has been AWESOME! Kind of enjoying being a hermit and not talking to anyone for a change!!

My cousin Remi is in training to be the next Mick Jagger with his new Awesome electric guitar, mum keeps trying to join him on the piano accordian but he keeps 'disappearing' everytime she turns up.... Coincedance, I think not

I think I may have caught up on sleep by now, however I’m going to keep on sleeping coz that’s what you do when your on holidays right!!!

Cheerio leerios

McFlangington

Gay Paris

pimcflangington — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:01:00 GMT

Hello ladles and jelly spoons,
So I think I left off with my relief that air Italia hadn’t yet folded…
When we arrived in Paris I was taken over by a state of delirium that was probably brought on by the severe lack of sleep and the fact that we were in paris!!!!!
I had to bust out the French pretty quickly and realized that my French is actually not so bad. (although now, two weeks later, I’m starting to think its not so great!)
We had planned to meet Anna at a train station and my mum, sister and our friend Sam were all meeting us too. I had a horrible little moment where I thought we’d never find Anna. But there she was like a frog in a sock, bouncing and ready to go. And then we found mum and Sam and had a little Maleny reunion… (Which I would assume would entail a few illegal substances, some under age drinking and the wearing of an I WON’T SHOP THERE badge..)
The girls went off with Sam (man slut) and I went off with mum to our cozy little hotel in the Latin quarter of Paris.
I woke up Thursday morning deciding that I was going to move to Paris, get a job and find a unit straight away. I got really excited about how beautiful this city is and the prospect of actually LIVING IN PARIS!!
We spent the day walking around with yours truly as a tour guide. Half the time I got us lost (most of the time I just didn’t know where I was in relation to where I needed to be, that’s my reasoning anyway!!)
We took my little sister Joelle for a little walk… About 10km later we had walked around la seine, through the louvre, past the Concorde, up the Champs Elysees, up to the arc de triumphe and still hadn’t reached our destination.
I took everyone to a place called ‘le cite des sciences’ the city of science. Its one of my favourite places in the world (so far) and I went a little crazy when we came out of the metro and I saw the big beautiful building. Ah memories!!
Its basically the like the science center at home but 78 millions time better! Anna and I had a little nap on the massive bean bags while Sam tried to sneak into the sex exhibition!!
That night we went out to dinner with mum and Joelle and afterwards went and did the BAT-O-BUS, which is a boat tour around Paris. Afterwards we went into town and happened to run into Sam (which is CRAZY considering how MASSIVE Paris is!!)
I finally got to meet his house mate David.. Not the best introduction seeing as it started with him coming out of the club yelling BITCHES at the bouncers!! (Since then I’ve gotten to know him and he’s actually a normal nice person… some first impressions are sometimes wrong I guess!)
We wandered around for a while until a very drunk Sam decided it was time to get their drunken selves home.
I went to walk home, as I was only 15 minutes from the hotel but got a little confused. It was 2 am, I got horribly lost and freaked myself out. I was a bit drunk and by myself (silly I know) and after an hour of walking around aimlessly I stopped at a restaurant, had a shot of coffee and then BAM I was good to go. I had my mini deodorant spray (the ‘legal’ replacement for pepper spray) Found my way home with the help of two lovely guys from Belgium. That was, however, the end of my love affair with Paris.
The next day I moved into sams (5 of Davids friends moved in also.. Very small unit, LOADS of people!!) and we just wandered around checking out the sights. Isis and Anna went and checked out the Louvre and then we met up and went walking around Paris. I found some cool little cheese spots and wowed the girls with my incredible French skills (ha!!)
We went and checked out Sam’s work its in a really touristy area and therefore the drinks are VERY pricey, but it was nice to see him at work (I even got to call ‘Garcon’)
On Saturday it was Le fete de la Musique (the festival of music) and the streets of Paris buzzing!!
It was really nice just sitting at a café and watching the huge amount of people walking past from all walks of life.
The festival is basically one day in the year where buskers can play wherever they want and people are invited to share their talents (music, dance, art) with the public. Although it may be a worldwide celebration as its also the weekend of valley fiesta (maybe? Was it ay good anyone??), I think it coincides with the beginning of summer here, and beginning of winter in Oz. It was great and we got to see quite a few amazing acts (especially the Tibetan monks and the Indian American bands) but I thought there would be more varieties of music. I envisioned guitarists everywhere and piano accordion players (mum maybe!!) in the parks but it was nothing like that. By the end of the night it was more like an excuse for paris to go insane and trash itself!! Sunday was a sad day for gay Paris!! It was so hideously dirty, as in piles of rubbish two metres high every 100 metres and glass and crap everywhere.. Oh and the SMELL!! Not nice!
We did see two guys in bizarre outfits. One was a guy dressed in a white shirt and a nappy and weird photos and signatures all over his shirt, he was going up to people and hugging them and getting them to slap his arse and stuff. The other was a guy dressed in a little girls school uniform with a pink wig and massive glasses (gotta get me some of those!!) and he was walking around with his mates doing different dares. He was doing ‘fake’ caricatures and inviting people to through cream at him. The only reasoning that I could come up with was that it was some kind of hazing process or two guys on their bucks nights!!
Isis and I went for a walk to Notre dame at 1am and watched this AWESOME fire twirler doing his thing. I’ve never seen anyone do what he could do with pois! Made me wish I had remembered to bring mine! And then he busted out pois that were sparklers!! The sparkles had a 2 meter diameter and looked absolutely amazing! Wish I could do that!! It was all fun until his drunk friend had a go in the background and let go of the poi and it landed in the crowd and almost burnt two girls!! WHOOPSIE!!
That night one of David’s friends confessed his love for me and has decided to buy me a cheese shop in the middle of nowhere so we can be together forever!!! Finally got a Frenchmen to fall in love with me!!! Shame he was stupid drunk and will probably forget my name by the end of the week… Aw well!!
I made the girls come with me to Sunday Mass at the Notre dame even though none of us are remotely religious I think there is something magical about that church and the way the sounds from the organ reverberate around the walls..
Isis and Anna have now officially been up the Eiffel tower.. I opted out seeing as its 12€ and I’ve done it a handful of times already!
We also went out to the Luxembourg gardens and had a little nap on the park benches… Sleep!!
Anna and Isis bought berets and had coffee and crepes and did a little photo shoot!! Such crazy French ladies!
Isis left for Ireland on the Monday and Anna and I spent the rest of our time walking around and relaxing.
Anna left for Pisa where I think she had an amazing time and is now walking the cinque terra..
I left for my grandmas… But that’s another story and I’m sure your all ridiculously bored by now so I’ll leave you be!
Grosses bises et a bientot.
McFlangington

Pest or is it buda?

pimcflangington — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:06:00 GMT

Sorry this one is exceptionally long but it covers a week and a half of random anecdotes.
From Prague we took a bus down to Budapest, via Bratislava. I’m really looking forward to going back to that area and getting out into the country a bit more and really getting a feel for the locals and the quieter parts of the country.. Its so beautiful out there and a lot of it is still quite untouched by tourists… Damn those tourists!!
We arrived in Budapest quite late at night but I remembered the place pretty quickly, although it didn’t make the dodgy walk to the hostel any easier!!
As soon as I stepped foot inside our hostel (Backpack Guesthouse, HIGHLY recommended!!) I felt like I was home! The staff are so welcoming and friendly and the whole vibe of the place is so relaxed and carefree. Unfortunately we didn’t get the Bob Marley room which is the one Jaime and I had last time but our room had a massive Buddha painting in it and it was very comfortable and homey.
We went to bed early that night (although it was actually almost 2am!!) and prepared ourselves for what was to be a MASSIVE day of walking!
We woke up the next day to the sounds of reggae dub coming from the main room and went out and explored the hostel a little.. It’s so awesome, there is a really beautiful garden out the back with a Yert, a hammock and a sleeping balcony… Such a nice setting to just chill out and take in your surroundings!
In Pest we found a massive Market Hall, checked out the cheeses (of course) and had ourselves our first (but not so great) Hungarian Langos!! Love the langos baby! Its set in a beautiful building with stained glass windows and loads of Hungarian sausage (if you know what I mean!!)
Outside the hall I stopped to take a photo and must has stopped in the path of a grumpy old Hungarian man coz he then proceeded to walk around me barking at me!! Woof woof..
I had five missions in Budapest. One was to stay at and enjoy every minute of the Backpack Guesthouse. Second was to find the AWESOME coffee shop on the river that Jaime and I had discovered last time. Third was to find the cocktail lounge in Pest that had the amazing cocktail that I’ve been trying to find ever since last time.. And fourth was to find the cute little asian restaurant where Jaime and I ate (shoes off, wasabi and mango sauce… Awesome), and fifth was to share the joy of the Spring baths with Isis and Anna..
Mission 1 was a complete success and I can’t wait to go back later in the year with Laura (sorry Laura but I’ve basically mapped out our entire trip!! We’ll talk later!)
Mission 2 was also a success with at least one if not two visits each day.. The coffee is pretty much like a warm flatwhite with frozen cream on top and cinnamon sugar.. Tasty!!
Missions 3 and 4 were both failures even though I spent hours walking Up and Down the main street and market looking for them (sorry corka maybe next time!)
Mission 5 was definitely a success although I must say I think the baths were much better in the middle of winter, it makes you appreciate the heat more I think and the contrasts between all the different saunas and steam rooms.
Basically the baths system is you get a pass for the day and you go inside this amazing building and get naked with all the old Hungarian men…………….
Nah not really (although some of them may as well have been naked let me tell you. HELLO!!)
There are heaps of different pools of varying sizes and temperatures ranging from 8 degrees (stupid cold) to 38 degrees (nice but a little too much for me after a while!)
There are also a few saunas and steam houses also varying in heat… All roads lead to the outside pools which are 38 degrees and a bit more like the local swimming pool in that its where all the kids are and the big groups of people.. Inside is more chillaxed and soothing…
We went and checked out a flea market in the city gardens which was pretty cool. People basically had all their random knickknacks from home for sale, everything from toys-clothes-food and dvds to war medals jewellery and even personal porn collections. Thats right guys, if your ever hard up for cash (excuse the pun) just take your porn collections down to the markets and have a crac!!
I bought a cool little Spiderman figurine to attach to my key ring…
We also went out to the Island between Buda and Pest and had a picnic on the grass. The island itself is so lovely and the gardens are really well done.. There is a fountain near the entrance that sprays with the music… It has classical orchestra music playing in the background as it sprays and gets higher and louder with the music. It reminded me of something like Fantasia (with Mickey Mouse and the broomsticks!!)
We walked up to the Citadel that overlooks the city. The walk was one of the most intense climbs ever but it was well worth the view and photo poses up the top.
The rest of our time in Budapest was basically spent tasting the local cuisine and ‘Getting amongst it’ at the hostel. We met some really great people there, loads of Aussies of course (Some of whom I’ll be catching up with shortly) a crazy finish girl who kept getting up in the middle of the night to answer to her booty call.. (such a dainty girl I thought until she didn’t return 2 nights in a row!!)
We played loads of drinking games, I took everyone on a safari and then we went around the world.. I also had a few more people fall victim to my awesome card trick.. All right!!
One night I returned from a walk to find Isis in a room with seven Irish guys.. I’m not going to ask any questions but I invite you all to ask her for details!!
One of the guy in our room got horribly lost one night and spent almost twelve hours getting home, just proves that wine tours and late night trains and not speaking the language just don’t mix well hey John 
I had a great time getting to know the staff at the hostel. They are all pretty awesome in their own rights, especially the dude who makes his own Hungarian Salami (seriously, bestest EVER).
And of course there is Jai who is basically the life of the hostel, such a true scottsman and an absolutely awesome guy..
Anna, Isis and I all left Budapest on the same day for Paris. I was still half expecting to turn up at the airport to find that air Italia had folded (its in receivership) and have to find another way to Paris ( either $200aus 18hrs bus or $500aus flight!!).. Turns out it was all fine and we had really great seats for both flights which made life a little easier as Isis and I had stayed up till 5am playing poker (I TOTALLY TRASHED EVERYONE.. yay) and watching movies..
At the Airport we bought 3 litres of alcohol and relished all the funny looks we were getting from all the staff on the plane. Yeah Aussie!
So all in all Budapest was a little less eventful than Prague but that’s probably a good thing!!
So next installment will be from gay Paris…
Hope all is well wherever you are!!
Would love to hear from you
Over and out
Angie

beer factory!!! aww yeah

pimcflangington — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 03:10:00 GMT

first of all

GO QUEENSLANDER!!!! 30-NIL!!!! YOU LITTLE BEAUTY

ok so.. I'm going to honest with you, the last week has been a bit of a blur....
It may have something to do with the insane amount of walking we have been doing, it could also have something to do with the beauty of prague and the breathtaking moments as we walk down old town..
I could tell you its because the 6 kinds of goulash we found, or my brilliance when it comes to bartering at the markets..
It might also have something to do with the great assortment of amazing people we met (especially the guy who new us from Brissy!!) and the danger of the cobbled streets in old town...

But, if I were to be TOTALLY honest with you, I'd have to say it has something to do with the 11am four litre cocktails, my search for a half decent bloody mary, the absinthe, finding a take away cocktail bar (and becoming regulars.. The dude now knows us by name!), the aussie bar, the army boys and the insane amount of vodka and redbull/cocktails I consumed....

I don't want it to sound like all we did in prague was cement the Aussies reputation as booze hounds, but the fact is we had a reputation to uphold... I think we did our country proud

So Prague.. Its such a stunning city, from the amazing architecture and the cobbled streets to the views from the castle and the beautiful city park.
We spent sunday night staying up till 3.30am chatting to the other people in the hostel and the people who work there. We met a guy who is good friends with some people we went to school with and it turns out we have met him before.. Such a small world!
We spent most of our days wandering around the old town sipping on our T/A cocktails (honestly, such a great concept!!) and losing ourselves in prague.
We got to meet up with our friend from home which was awesome, its so great to see a face you know (even if he's a crazy rooster) and it turns out his friends weren't too bad either.. I guess
They introduced us to an aussie bar 'Fat Boys', and we organised for them to open for us to watch origin..
I spent a fair bit of time searching for places jaime and I discovered last time, and had a bit of success... There's a great little bagel shop where we had coffee and then there's the restaurant around the corner from the hostel with the HUGE pasta for $5 aus.... Awesome
On monday Isis and I went with the boys up to the prague castle. Its so beautiful, inside has the reflections coming through from the intricate window glass paintings. Its actually set in the parliament area I think and is surrounded by the 'kings garden'. A beautiful HUGE garden that was fountains and mini waterfalls running through its gulley's.
On the way back to the hostel we walked all the way through the city park, Isis almost got run over buy a bicyclist and we came across some pretty attractive Man Blading. That night my friend Anna arrived so we added her to our little twosome...
We went out to Kutna hora with Nick and Fenno and checked out the bones castle.. Its this amazing church that was built on a cemetery, it has the bones of 400 000 victims of the plague and somewhere along the way someone decided to use the bones to decorate the church!! That's creative, the chandeliers and the mirror frames are all made from bones. There are four dungeons with bone pyramids in them... Its pretty amazing! In kutna hora we also checked out the amazing cathedral, its a old style gothic cathedral that over looks the valley... Pretty
I learnt how to 'dance like a duck on a hot plate'.. It takes a while to learn but it looks pretty damn fine on the dance floor.. Just think about it
And then there was State Of Origin...
Well what can I say.. The day started with a 4Lr 'sex on the beach' and ended with us not getting back to our hostel till 10am the next day!! We rocked up to Fatboys and there was quite a strong Aussie presence.. I had my enormous Aussie flag blowup finger which contributed to the vibe...
We got an 'aussie' pizza, it turns out an aussie pizza round these parts is a bacon and cheese pizza with an egg cracked into the middle!! yuck
So after queensland FLOGGED NSW we basically spent the rest of the day cruising around finding new places to drink.. At some point on my search to find a decent bloody mary (still no good...) I had one that was so bad i had to add half a jar of pepper and tabasco sauce to it.. Interesting
We eventually made our way to an irish bar called the Shamrock, orginal I know, but they had good music.... From there we went to the WORLDS BEST DRINKING PLACE EVER!! The beer Factory
You get your own table with four beer taps on it and just pour away... One litre is 73 czk (about $4.5aus) and they keep a tally on the wall.. The dj doesn't like having water squirted at him (not that i would do something like that) and the tables are also good for dancing on...
I unfortunately dont drik beer but the cocktail list is quite good (I'd made my way through it by the time we left at 4am) and the atmosphere is brilliant! Highly reccomended and I can't believe there isn't one in Aussie land!!
It was a brilliant night, i was a little sore from the dancing (and maybe a hangover, or lack of sleep) the next day but it was well worth it!! Poor fenno snapped his ankle dancing like a duck on a hot plate.. (FENNO hope its ok?? Did u use the bandage i gave you)
The rest of our time in prague was spent recovering and drinking more (to escape the pain).. I managed to make a few more people cry at the markets on our way out!! Noice
Then we caught a bus here to Budapest and the rest is for next time...
Sorry its so long,
Hope all is well in your world and would love to hear back from you all!!
Until next time
XOXO
Angie

Arrival, FINALLY

pimcflangington — Sat, 7 Jun 2008 03:13:00 GMT

Hello hello!!
SO..... We have finally arrived in prague - 3days, no showers (eww), 3planes, 4 buses, 2 trams, 7hrs sleep and 11 coffees later!! (Not that anyone is counting)
The flight was good, a friend of ours from school (Pihan, thats you) was our flight attendant so that was PRETTY cool, although poor isis had the worlds grumpiest Brit next to her for the first two legs and she was NOT happy!!
We got to frankfurt really early and were pretty unimpressed by the customer service, NO ONE wanted to help us but we figured things out ok anyway..
We spent the day hanging around checking out the city, it was quite beautiful but after 2 hours I was ready to bail. I found a huge market hall and actually cried a little when i saw the Yummy cheeses, but my german is so horrible i was too ashamed to buy any!!
I had my first german sausage bratwurst!!
So, we basically just spent the day watching people and trying to keep each other awake, i decided that i have to get rid of half my stuff coz my bag is SO ridiculously heavy!!
We spent ages at the train station trying to waste time, we were napping on some benches and we heard this massive CRACK BANG.. Some poor drunk dude had fallen off the bench just down from me and thumped himself pretty hard!! Then he just layed there sprawled on the floor for a few minutes, i thought he'd carked it! Turns out he was just rotten drunk and very very confused!
Then i left isis for 5 minutes to go get changed and i come back and theres a homeless dude sitting there yelling at the poor young guy opposite him!! He was pretty agro and pretty stinky.. All in all we probably didn't see the best side of germany!
We did notice that there were 8 starbucks in a one kilometre radius.. Thats a little excessive if ou ask me! Ones enough..
So then last night we caught a bus from Frankfurt town to Prague land. It was an hour late and the guy next to me Snored the WHOLE trip, it was like a bulldozer crawling down my ears for 7 straight hours! Plus isis and i were in desperate need for fresh clothes and a shower!
But once we arrived in prague all our problems were forgotten as Isis was awed by the beauty and i was trying to remember how to get around. Once we got off the bus it all came flooding back to me and we made it here to Sir tobys pretty quickly which was good!
We had a MASSIVE buffet breakfast and i managed to convince the night manager to sneak us into a room so we could shower coz we were pretty manky!!
I don't think I've ever appreciated a shower so much in my life! And the people of prague are probably pretty stoked about it too...
We went down to the clothes markets and did a spot of shopping.. Everytime we looked at something for more than 2 seconds we'd have people grabbing our arms and trying to convince us to buy.. One girl showed us her room full of rip off Louis V and D&G stuff, and then almost wouldn't let me out unless i bought something! I think a few people got pissed at me coz i kept bartering down and down and down.. AAALLL RIGGGGHHHT.
I'm glad i've gotten rid of some clothes coz i've got quite a few more things to shove in my already overweight bag and i think by the time we leave next week i may have to get some extra bags for stuff!! yay for prague!
So we are about to check into our rooms and sleep on an actual bed which I'm SO looking forward too! Tonight we are catching up with nick, a friend who just happens to be here for a week at the same time as us so that should be awesome!! Such a small world!!
Well thats pretty much it for now, hope i havn't bored you too much and hope all is going well for you wherever you are....
Until next time
So Tea-hlay Zub-bey prr-avvvy
Angie