Parlez-vous francais?

After close to a week back in the real world it is probably about time I started posting about my European adventure as a means of explaining my three week absence from this here bloggy blog. So, without any more convoluted sentences, I shall begin.

Over the Easter/mid-semester holidays I partook in a ridiculous coach tour around Europe. We covered 7 countries in 15 days. Ridiculous. I met some seriously fantastic people and saw some unbelievable things. I'm also wrecked and now recovering from my fourth bout of sickness since being in the northern hemisphere.

Before the tour started, a series of unfortunate and unforeseeable events led to me doing some travel, of the southern France kind, by myself for a few days. I was in Nimes for 3 nights and Marseille for one. And this is what I saw...

My first day in Nimes I pretty much just walked around the city. It really is very tiny. It is also quite a a strange town, with Roman ruins just popping up out of nowhere. Although I really enjoyed my time there, 3 days was sufficient.

Maison Carree

Carved details on the Maison Carree

Nimes Amphitheatre

I spent a good few hours wandering around the amphitheatre. It is in such good condition that you can actually climb all the way to the top - the perfect place to stop for lunch and admire the panoramic view of Nimes.

I didn't know what this structure was when I stumbled upon it. Turns out it is the remains of an aqueduct.   

My second day was spent meandering through the Jardins de la Fontaine. I was really looking forward to this as I'd driven past it when I first arrived. I decided that, since the day was shaping up to be a hot one, I would head straight for the Tour Magne which is conveniently located at the top of quite a steep hill behind the fountain garden. The ascent took the better part of 45 minutes but it was worth it.

Tour Magne (The Great Tower)

The view from the top of the tower

Navy stripes - such a French cliche

After taking in the rather lovely view I headed back down to the gardens for a proper look at the statues and fountains.

The last day of my little adventure was spent in Marseille. I really only had an afternoon and an evening here as my flight to Amsterdam was booked for a hideously uncivilised hour the following morning. I had an expectation of what Nimes was going to be like, but I headed to Marseille with no expectations beyond knowing that it is a port side city. I spent the afternoon just walking around, taking in the hustle and bustle of the city.  

The strange paradox of these two vastly different buildings next to each other was fairly typical of both Nimes and Marseille

I'm glad I got the chance to do some travel by myself, regardless of the fact that I spent the week before I left freaking out about it. It wasn't nearly as daunting as I anticipated but I'm in rush to do it again - everything is more fun if you have someone to share it with.

So from Marseille I jumped on a plane to Amsterdam, ready to start a coach tour on the 2nd April. Stay tuned for a multitude of posts documenting 7 countries in 15 days.

Please be patient...

...regular programming will resume shortly.

What's the craic?: part 2

After a slow start on Saturday morning, we eventually made our way to the street to find a place ready for the parade. Luckily we only had to step outside our hostel, as the parade came straight past us. Perfect!

The Irish are an attractive bunch.

The parade was a lot of fun. Unfortunately my camera battery died half way through so I had to resort to Instagram for the rest.


After the parade the party continued in the form of a pub crawl. No, I will not be posting those photos but suffice it to say, a good night was had by all.


By the time Sunday morning rolled around we were all a little worse for wear. We made one last effort to head down to Temple Bar but the this time it was for something a little more civlised. We indulged in tea (and hot chocolates for those of us with an aversion to tea) and scones in the Tea Room of the Clarence Hotel, otherwise known as Bono and the Edge's joint.  T'was a brilliant end to a rather fantastic weekend, I have to say. I definitely think everyone should do St Patrick's Day in Ireland at least once. You won't meet any Irish people but you will meet about 10,000 Australians and you'll have a a ridiculous amount of fun!
 



What's the craic?*: part 1

At the end of last week a friend and I packed our bags and boarded a plane, Ireland bound. We arrived bright and early Thursday morning (and by early I mean our flight got in a 9am which meant a 4am start) to a not so bright but very cloudy Dublin. We checked into Kinlay House, dumped our bags and headed towards the city centre to explore. I'll be honest, I couldn't be bothered taking photos, I just wanted to take it all in and enjoy myself.

Thursday night was a big meet and greet night where met the 3 million other Australians on the tour. Not going to lie, it was nice to be surrounded by the Aussie accent again; I've successfully avoided Australian here in Manchester so far. It is a strange, in a good way, feeling when you meet people half way across the world who live in the same city as you.

Friday was big day of exploring. Luckily all the girls in our hostel room got along superbly so we venture out for the day; first stop was the jail. Unfortunately the tours times were too late for us so we headed back via the Gallery of Modern Art.

 No, there is nothing wrong with my lens. The blurry greyness is due to the incessant drizzle that followed us all day. Understandably, before heading into the photography exhibit we stopped for coffees and hot chocolates inside to dry out a bit.

This is the courtyard of the gallery.

 The photography exhibit was in a separate building and to get there we walked past this beautifully manicured garden.

Our detour home via the gallery meant we missed the start of our walking tour but we managed to catch up with them outside the Christ Church Cathedral. Most of the photos I snapped along the way aren't the best in quality because I didn't want my camera getting too wet and we were a bit rushed.

Far too much money was spent in this iconic pub.

A bit of festive bunting never goes astray.

A building in Trinity College

Trinity College entrance

The Dublin castle entrance

 Our walking tour ended at the Guiness storehouse. I'll admit I'd never had Guiness before this weekend but when in Rome...and who was I to turn down a free pint!

We spent the rest of the afternoon sipping our Guiness and listening to the live band playing in the storehouse bar.

*I wanted to avoid cheesy leprechaun-related humor for a post title so I went for the slogan that was printed on our Shamrocker tour t-shirts. See here for an explanation.