Switzerland

Well after leaving the awesome beauty of Austria i didnt think i could be excited much more. Then came Switzerland, and as Mike has told me, every place i go i seem to think is more beautiful than the last. This time is know different. We got informed it could be quite hard to get through the border so be ready for a long wait. Well 20mins later we were through, Matt (our tour manager) was very impressed. No problems. So off to Lauterbrunnen. And WOW!!! This camp site sits under sheer cliffs that rise up into snow covered mountains. It is fantastic. The facilities are good too. (Always a bonus, no squat toilets). They had a theme party for us the first night, the 80's, so yes i would have really enjoyed this but unfortunately i was sick and went to bed early. Got up the next morning to alot of very sick people. ha ha ha. Caught the train in the morning up to the top of Jungfrau, being so high up made me feel that much more sick. But there was one thing i wasnt going to miss out on. The husky ride, yep i did it. Went for a sledge ride being pulled by the husky dogs, and i loved it. And im so glad i did it. After that however, i proceed to get back on the train and leave the highest point there and come back down to camp and go to sleep. Unfortunate i know, but you cant help these things. After being so cold i am looking forward to meeting up with mike in cairns and enjoying the warmer weather.

Austria

Crossing into Austria is certainly a breath-taking experience. The beauty of the country is unbelievable. Winding through the mountains, there are little settlements scattered all along these fantastic blue rivers. In Austria they have big houses and every now and then you come across a castle perched on a hill (mountain) overlooking the valley below. It really is beautiful. Went to Vienna, saw the Hapsburg Palace and Sigmund Freud Park. And i know Collette will be jealous cause i also went to the Spanish Riding School. We went to the home of the Vienna Choir Boys, this was very interesting. Some not so nice stories about that place. We all had a great night at Prater(Amusement Park). But the best thing in Austria and most disturbing was the visit to Mauthausen. This was the last concentration camp to be liberated in WW2. We watched a movie at which i cried through, it was a horrible place to be, and very hard to believe that the evils that went on there were only 60 years ago. You could walk the Stairway to Death, and also see around the complex, through the barracks and gas chambers etc... Everyone was quiet on the bus for a few hours after that experience. We then hit Salzburg and yet another lovely little river side town of Austria. I loved it very much. This is where alot of the sound of music was filmed. And no i didnt go round singing 'The hills are alive with the sound of music'. Austria is beautiful, what more can i say...

Italy

Well Italy is certain alot different to France, there are lots of tunnels so the roads are fairly straight and you drive thru them rather than around them. 137 and a half to be exact, from Nice to Florence. The ordering of food is different here, you show them what you want, go and pay for it, then take the receipt back to the other person and they will get it for you. On the way to Florence we stopped in at Piza and saw the the Leaning Tower. Its a beautiful place to visit but there are alot of pick pockets in Italy so you had to be very careful. Florence is where i got my first taste of a Italian pizza. And yum yum yum. The streets are all made of stone and everybody walks all over them and occasionally you have to move for vehicles, they are also very narrow, was a scary trip on the way home by taxi. I dont think anyone follows the speed limit. I saw the statue of David and the statue of Neptune. The history surrounding these countries is just amazing. I walked on a brigde in Florence which was the only one left standing after WW2. Have been trying alot of the local food and had a beautiful Tuscan dinner with the rest of the tour group. Rome was also amazing, did a visit to the Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel. That was something else, just breath taking. And the Colosseum... this was my favourite, it is huge. It takes you back in time to when Julius Cesear ruled. You walk from there down into the forum, which is a big square which the palace overlooks and you have all the ruins of the Roman Empire there, i am sure they would have been the biggest empire the world has ever seen. I then went to the Trevi Fountain, rumour has it if you throw 1 coin into the fountain and make a wish it will come true, 2 coins = you will come back to Rome, 3 coins = you will marry an italian. I only threw 1. Now onto Venice, the city that floats. Wow... It is amazing to think that hundreds of years ago, they built this fantastic city floating off shore to escape the turmoil that was happening on the mainland. Saw the Bridge of Sighs and the Doges Palace. The first thing you notice about Venice is the piegons. There is thousands of them, the streets are small like Rome and canals everywhere. I took a ride in one of the gondola's around the canals, it was great. Very hard to go pass that when in Venice. We visited a place called San Gimignanao. They claim to have the best Galato in the world, and man it was nice. yum yum yum. A very pleasant way to leave Italy.

France, WOW!!!!

After staying at the Royal National Hotel in London for one night i was all ready for my contiki tour. So up bright and early at 5.15am to catch the coach. There are many diff people on the tour, N.Z, Ozzies, South Africans, Singapore, Canada, USA, China and even Pakko from Mexico. All of which are very nice people. So we headed off, bound for the White Cliffs of Dover, which happens to have a massive castle sitting on top of it that William the Conquerer had built when he invaded England. Passed thru border control and onto the ferry. It is only about an hour and a half to Calais, France. Just enough time to get breadfast in. Then onwards to Paris. After putting the tents up,the contiki reps surprised us with a feed of escargot(snails). And yes i tried them, and no i will never eat them again. ha ha ha. We headed into Paris for a night lights sightseeing tour. And wow... Nothing can prepare you for the beauty of this wonderful city, it truly is amazing. We saw the effeil tower, arc de tromphe(sorry not sure on the spelling), we went around and around the round about(very scary). Paris drivers are not the best, on average there is an accident every 12 minutes on this roundabout. But we did it without a scratch. We drove along the seine river, pass the lourve and notre-damne. There is so much to see in Paris to name all of it would take forever. It truly is awesome. The next day was a free day in Paris, so I had organised a trip to the top of the effiel tower, then i spent the rest of the day walking thru the back streets and along the seine taking in the sheer beauty of the place. I find it hard to find words to describe it. We jumped on the bus that night for a cabaret show, La Nouvelle, and also a French Dinner. Both were fantastic. The whole coach had a ball. But we were all tried, some still partied on but i chose to get some sleep, it had been a very long day. Up early again and off to Lyon, stopping on the way to visit a holiday home(castle) of Louie 15th. Massive and wow... Then onto Lyon and a wine tasting evening. We got to try and buy some French Red Wine. Yes once again i tried and this time i bought some as well, ha ha ha. In the coach again we head for Antibes, stopped at the home of Nougat then also in Grasse at a Perfume place. The tour showed how they made it etc it was very interesting. So 4 days into France and i have a selection of wine and perfume, i'm loving this. We then hit Monaco that night, talk about a place for the rich, did the whole casino thing. But alot of the tables had a minimum bet of 25 Euro so wasnt able to play them. Monaco is only 1.75 km. It only has 30,000 residence and you have to apply to the reining monarch for residence, with at least $1,000,000 to you name. I just missed out. Porche and Lamborgine city. I am now having a free day in nice, just chilling on the stone beach in the sun. A total relax day on the Mediterranean Sea. I know, I have such a hard life a. I'm trying to cope with it all, till next time.