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June 08, 2017

May 2017 - Europe trip 2017

The trip to Europe really challenged me. Although I was not a solo traveler, but it felt I was on my own when it came to figuring out location of food, toilets, money exchange, transit routes and schedules.


More to come....


1 May 2017

It was a rainy night. Not odd autumn night in Victoria. The Melbourne airport seems to be under development yet again. It is fine. Sigh. Is rent the only way to make money in airports? Really? 2017 and the best thing the airport could do is expand retail space, reduce chairs. Eh, why not offer baggage service? So, people can dine, get a facial or massage, and play some VR games before they board their flight?

We have found our check-in gate and man, did people line up way ahead of 3 hours. I noticed the previous airline has completed it check-in of it's guests. Yet our airline didn't put their flag, I took risk and decided we should line up too. Oh boy, was the gamble correct, we ended up with middle seating numbers. Yes! And she scores!

Boarding didn't take place until 11:05pm. The announcement were muffled most of the time. Priority boarding was poorly announced. I found it odd that families and people with wheel chairs were not urged to come on board the plane between at 10:30pm and 11:05pm. Oh well.

The entertainment system was buggy at best. Half way through the movie, The Girl on the train, it would pause with a black screen of death. No matter what button I tapped it would freeze. After we had our late evening meal, the head hostess said they had to reboot the system. It turned back on 2 hours later. Hence, I'm writing this journal entry.

They have darken the cabin to some extent. Now that it is 2:15am. Yet our row has gleaming yellow lights above us that is so bright I can file my nails in it. Sadly, you have no control over it. Sigh.

Watched:
- The Girl on the train [movie]. I learned we can be tied together by unfortunate events and lies.
- Why him? [movie]. Kaley Cuoco's voice as artificial voice system of Laird's mansion is pretty cool.
- Arrival [movie]



2 May 2017

There was a concierge in the airport who calls the courtesy van to pick you up. It comes by every 10 minutes. Pretty sweet. The hotel by the airport was pleasant and the room was comfortable. We managed to sneak in nap time and make it to the buffet breakfast. The bathroom had this giant window looking back into the room itself. Some may find it delightful, while I find it creepy. The room has complimentary water, toiletries , and tea. No fridge though.

The airport rail link was straight forward to ride. To buy a ticket you tapped your destination. The ticket would dispense a circle plastic token. Slippery. Easy to drop. Tap it on the gates and you are through. Upon arrival at the destination you just drop the token into the gates.

We got off at Phaya Thai station. We walked several blocks to Wat Benchamabophit buddist temple. Bro have been there before using a taxi, but doesn't know how to get there by bus. He wanted to burn calories by walking in sheer heat and humidity. In my opinion, not the best way though. I bear and grin it. This heat sure gets you thirsty. Sadly, there is not many shops on blah blah street.

The temples were gorgeous. The first we went to was Wat Benchamabophit buddist temple. The use of mirrors and ceramic to create patterns was eye catching. During our long walk down Ratchadamnoen Nok Road we turned left into a street by pier 5, there were cafes, and one had otters as pets. It is hard to stop a taxi on the busy road. After observing locals they tend to wave down taxi in front of nearby driveways. We got ourselves a duk duk since my brother is afraid of catching a bus. Either the fear of being taken on a joy ride or cost. I had enough money for the both of us.

We got dropped off at Granfld Palace. Strolled over to pier 9 to catch Prayathai express (orange) to Wa Arun temple. Costed 15 baht each. However, to depart from Wat Arun costed us 40 baht each. Ouch. The ships came up and down the river., and dropped off tourists. River city was posh. There was air condition and clean toilets.

The location of China town was unclear. The tourist map was vague at best. Bro doesn't remember it being so decrepitated. Since I have never being here I has no idea. After several arguments with bro about how without mobile internet I cannot pin point the location, but I can ask a stranger. I walked up to the Chinese medicine shop and asked for directions. It pays to have the ability to speak in Mandarin. Man, am I skilled.

The street adjacent to Hua L metro station is the worshipping Buddha street on China town, while this other street had big restaurants, street which bro reminisce was an alley way with bird nest soups and dried shark fin for sale.

We ate in a small market, off shoot from the main street. Lots of hawkers were setting up their stalls for the evening as we left. The cheapest meals can be found at the worshipping street. The street with the big restaurant hike the prices because of the tourists.

Back to the airport and catch our connecting flight. There I watched several movies again.
- Keeping up with the Joneses [movie]. If you let someone use your work computer can leads to misuse and illegal transactions.
- Joy [movie]. Always register your designs with the patent office.



3 May 2017

Zurich was easy to navigate. Once you get the hang of buying tickets with your credit card and the directions of each line. The trams are pretty old. Not suitable for wheelie suitcases. They have a 24 hour daily ticket. You can so use it till the very next day. Clean air. Heaps of sloped hill streets in the old town area. Boutique shops. Art galleries. At the base, you can see the two famous clock towers. We took the tram to the inner suburb and visited two parks. There the kids learned to sail in tiny yacht boats. The view of the lake view and the city was so so. We walked along the lake eating German chocolate filled with alcohol gel. We watched the sunset and ate stuffed pretzels for dinner on the steps of the opera building.

No one ever told me how hard it was to blog, navigate, shoot videos, take photos, find toilets, and re-plan the plan everyday. My iPhone did everything, while my brother used his iPhone for games and video watching. We did not have a power adapter for Switzerland. So, we used the digital television's USB slot to power up our portable batteries.



4 May 2017 - part one

The sky was dark blue. It is 5am. We did one last run of packing our suitcases. We get downstairs and deposit our key into the box. Then hope on the tram to the station. Proceed to stare at the display board for our train's platform number. The red section lists intercity (inter state) trains. Which was very helpful indeed. Finding which is coach number 2 was bloody hard! The display screen said at the back. Yet the outside of the IC (intercity) train only had words: first class, bistro, and second class. I could not coach number two. Eh? Where is coach 2?! We hopped on coach 4 and proceeded to the upper deck, traversed through the corridor until we found coach 2. There two guys were found occupying our seat. But bro spoke to them and we managed to get the mm back. Phew!

One hour later the inspectors came by and advised I only failed to fill out one spot of the pass, but other than that, I have filled it out pretty much correctly.

The train arrived late by 10 minutes. I really thought we missed our connecting train. Once left the platform I quickly scurried to the display screen to see when is the next interstate train coming and which platform. To our surprise the 9:29 was late by 16 minutes and it was on platform 7. We ran like hell to catch it. There are so many little corridors in between it felt like ages. Then we scuffled up the platform with our heavy suitcases and boy, did we made it. Only had 4 minutes to spare.

The TER trains were smaller than the Switzerland's IC trains. It sure does cover mountainous towns in the alps though. Plenty of good views. Too bad it was rainy.

Upon arrival Lyon areas around the station was under renovation. We had issues orientate for ourselves as the main train station has two major exits. Oh, and they don't mark on the street "you are here". So, we took a wild guess and exited on the west side. Boy did we get it right. Once we have found our hotel we went back to train station and departed for Grenoble.

Off to Grenoble (say it without "LE"). We caught the TER to it. Yes. It is raining pretty hard. Along the way we saw very tall mountains that resemble Oboke in Japan. Very well maintained.

The clouds were dark as hell. Ugh, the rain will oncoming alright. Upon decent it rained like cats and dogs. Trouble is finding where to buy a tram ticket when the machine on the street doesn't accept bank notes, only coins and credit card via pin. I asked the guy at the information booth but he pointed us back outside. I scurried around the train station until I was to find a ticket machine that accept PayPass. Phew! I got us 2 daily tickets.

To pay a day pass for the tram, which called Tag. Costs €5 for one adult. You have to validate at the station before boarding tram. Due to the heavy down pour we hid in shops like Galeries Fay..., CA, and Fnac (underground bookstore which by the way sells gadgets too).

When we did manage to reach the rope away and the mountain behind the fort had many surprises. Bro found cave holes. We did go in but only where the four holes are, nothing further as it was close to sunset time. The fort itself had extreme rope sports routes for teenagers and adults. The land boards were placed in the most scariest spots of the cave edges and the fort's roof.

We managed to reach the cable car station behind a small park, but to get there you had to wander through small streets behind shops. We stopped by many of shops and departments to dry ourselves off, since we didn't bring any umbrellas.

The cable car took high up the mountain. Behind the fort is another even bigger mountain. With such short amount of time, we walked around the fort, the cave, and the restaurants. The air was fresh. The view was lovely. Quite peaceful up here. The restaurants were so so in price and food options.

Looking down at the river the divides the city, it was quite wide. One way street through out the town. Back down streets many shops and restaurants were closed. We were left with baked goods and clothing stores. The market hall was closed too. Here we ate bagels (one salmon, one chicken), madeliene, and canéle. Grenoble' Monoprix had a plenty of small alcohol bottles than Lyon. We brought one Gris Blanc no brand.

Galeries Fayette resemble DJ. CA resemble Target. Primark resemble Kmart. Carrafours resemble the old Coles in my childhood days. Monoprix resemble Woolies. At least, we found cheap options, the Euro cuts every Australian dollar in half. AUD $6 equals €3. Vice a versa. Upon de-ascension we walked along the shopping streets of Grenoble. In front of the meat market was good takeaway joints. We got some bagel, mini cakes, and white wine.



5 May
There was no market by Rhone, near Bellacour there was a market, but there was no oyster for sale. Probably not in season. It had delicious meats, cheese, bakery. Bro was getting hungry. We randomly picked a cafe and I ordered us a drink. Here "Un Cafe" = One serve of coffee without milk or sugar. Oops! Beginner woes. At least, I was understood by the staff. I think, that's pretty neat. A djoir means dine in.

Everywhere we went we saw nothing but burgers and pizza joints. It is as if the locals are turned off by French food and seafood. Was Lyon ever famous for its seafood? I wonder.

Off to Hénon an inner suburb. Where there cheap long baguettes. €3.95 we had poulet tex mex. They have a love park on the hill. People had there lunch out here. There we saw a duckling amongst humans. It was the cutest thing.

Walked to Crox rousse and saw plenty of hand made crafts. I loved the chocolate ones. I brought Sis chocolate lipsticks. Basically, a chocolate bar in a shape of a lipstick? Nothing like Cabury lipgloss that smells of chocolate. One whiff and you are there. This area has a major bus terminal. What appealed to me was the Monoprix here has good cuts of smoked meat and tiny hand size cheese. I'll be coming back here for my next picnic supplies. Sadly, unlike Zurich it does not have a great deal of choices in juices.

Between Bellour and Crox rousse there are heaps of designer brands. Not suitable for the budget conscious travelling folks. Some alley ways had people setting up tent. While drunk passer by would piss against it. Across the bridge and against the Rhone river were ships setup as bars selling alcohol and burgers or pizzas. Not far apart is children play ground and sun lounge chairs.

Plenty of locals rent bike to travel across the town. However, we saw more people gliding along the streets of Lyon on pedal scooters. Even the elderly use it. Skinny elderly people anyway.

We wandered to Guillet and San Matta which according to recommendations from Yelp has cheap clothing. Yes. Ratty ones. Very downtown looking streets. Very worn buildings. Plenty of beggars. Teens would loiter around the entrance to the Metro.


6 May

Ou tour means take away.

We spent the morning buying umbrellas which we should have brought over from Australia or bought them last night from Primark. They aren't the best umbrellas. Bro's one already has a bent in one the arms and some metal is protruding through the handle. Well, he did drop his umbrella to the ground to take some snaps.

The Notre Dame Saint Jean was beautiful. Outside and inside. Very sacred images. The banisters were well carved. Just draping your hand over it felt nice and you know that you are touching history. Building parts created by people of the past and used by people of the past. The building was located above the hill. So high up you can see the whole Unesco area. Wow! Sadly, it was raining, but you can see some of the icon spots, such as Place Bellacour.

We walked down and around the corner from the building, and came across this ruin. It was once a thriving theatre. Now an open amphitheatre. What a great idea. Sussing out upper end of the old theatre, we noticed some small hidden tunnels, I wonder if people used it for other means. Um.

Taking the angle tram back down to the main stop. We explored the local vincity. There was a puppet shop and museum but it was closed. Boo! 

Rain kept coming but in bursts. Many cafes were empty probably due to poor weather or pricey prix. We lined up with many others at this bakery store. It had quiches and Crocquant. Crunchy yummy.

Took the bus to Hotel de ville, then to Perrache, and then a tram to Confluence. In garden where the river meet was nothing of spectacular. Just dirty. The most interesting is thing to see is the boat houses docked by the side of the museum. They are posh looking.





7 May 2017

The train station refused to display which platform to catch my train. According the security guard it will be revealed 20 minutes prior to departure. Oh wow. I felt ill stricken and panicky.

Narbonne train station doesn't have lift or escalator at all. Everyone had to lift their suitcases up and down the stairs. Two flights of stairs. You can imagine how tortuous to change platforms. They didn't announce our platform number until 20 minutes before the train is due to arrive. Sigh. Well, we drag our suitcases once, but still it is a very dated station. I saw a mother lift her baby in a pram by herself. Strong, but so not 2017.

There were two strange characters on board the train. They would walk up and down then randomly tell people they reserve that seat. Who is an idiot to reserve three seats in three different coaches. Seriously. Unbelieve.

Barcelona was unbelievable warm. A sigh of relief. The Picasso Museum was sold out of free tickets and paid tickets. Everyone was to come back on Tuesday. That's how popular it was. Oh well. There is always NGV. From there we detoured to an ice cream store and a sweets store selling cinnamon and blue berry scrolls. Yummy.

Then we kept walking and ended up in a Park walk. Big fountains. Big monuments. Big sculptures. People climbed each and one of them. With little or no respect for history.

Beach walk. Volleyball players, exercise park, jet skis, and power boat para gliding. Little old me collected rocks for Sis.

Bro wanted hot food. He is sick of cold meats. Which is what Europe is famous for, o'duh. Here I am ordering him a paella because he hates learning other languages. I do not know why my brother insists on fatten me up till I puke. I hate overeating. Especially overeating crap food. My fave food is not the seafood of his prefers. I like cooked Japanese seafood. Things he can never afford.

I decided to go with the unique tapas found in Barcelona. Cod fritters and fried squid legs. The textures on these tapas are delicious. Also, ordered bro an Estrella (beer).

San a mixer = sangria



8 May 2017

The santa cantina market was delightful and delicious. There we tasted and drank food at price reasonable price. Cheap I might add. Fresh to boot. Bro had coconut strawberry juice and I had kiwi fruit juice for €1.50 each. We had a cup of jamon with bread sticks for €2.50. Ooh la la.

Strolled over to the Gothic quarters and the Cathedral of Barcelona was beautiful. Sadly, the cloister area was closed off after 12 noon. Boo! As the hoards of school tour groups and walking tour groups descended, security guards were tripled. Ouch much! We were pretty much on our way out by then.

Bro had bladder issues so we had to leave the Gothic quarters and find a loo in the tourist district. There we found one near the information centre. Bro insisted we visited some so called "shopping centres" in case of a sale. There were no sales by the way. More like malls than shopping centres. These one near La Ramba lacks the basics of a shopping centre. I insisted we finish walking the Gothic quarter. There we found cheap iPhone cases. Bro was adamant to score a Oakley sun glasses. I think, it is pointless when you have no strong case to store it. We visited all the marked "places" (squares) and historic buildings in the quarter.

At this bay, people would take off their shoes and lie down on the boardwalk. Or watch big ocean liners rear park. Not far from here is a shopping mall by the marina's shop. With the cold winds building up the top floor where the bars are located was a ghost town.

We caught a bus 59 to get some kerbabs. While we were eating shamwa two chiuwawa barked at other dogs. Quite the vicious little things.

Caught bus H14 and it was suppose to go to Torre Agbar, but no, it decided to head east. Ugh. I wanted to go north. I had to get off and walk to the nearest stop for bus 92. Which did take us there. Phew. So, much of the main streets are filled with American branded shops. Also, heaps of burger joints. Commercially, Europe looks to penetrated by American culture.

Barcelona is filled with one way streets. Sometimes you have go to another street to catch a bus in the opposite direction.



9 May 2017

At the Boqueria market. We ate boar and deer meat, as well as fresh oysters for €2.50 each. Then we went to Bar Central and had Parrilada de Pescado y Marisco. Assortment of seafood for €27. Bargain!

Park Guell is huge. We came across the highest peak the three crosses. Then the garden house at the back upper hills. We visited the house and uncover seating made from rocks. The monument section with the mosaic balcony costa money. Unfortunately, the tickets were all sold out until 8:30pm session. I dunno, if I want come back at late night. The iPhone doesn't take great shots at night.

Upon hopping on the bus 116, my ticket decided to be defective. Three days in. Aw man, I still have two more days. The ticket doesn't expire until the 12th May. At Lesseps metro station I decided to buzz the customer service agent for assistance. Most station are unmanned. However, at this premium station they sent a person from the control room to investigate my issue. Sweet! In the end, we both got new tickets. Bro doesn't have a pass holder. I do but ticket got bent by the subway gate earlier this morning. Ah geez.

Sagrada Familia was also sold out of tickets. Everyone wanting to go in was left stranded outside. We all took photographs of it outside and smile, despite the despair. People still go up to security and ask when will there be more tickets. From the sounds of things you have to buy tickets online in advance or keep coming back another day. Sheesh.

There was gift store that sold lovely, clean, and had regional goods. Not official ones as the shops inside the paid area of Park Guell or Sagrada Familia, but it will do. Examining closely the products came from those shops and sold here. Wow. Bro and I shopped up a storm and got things for our family members.

As it was noon by now, we went to a park to eat some baked goods.

We then went to big shopping mall near the Torres Agbar and had Udon noodles. Free wifi. Free charging station. Great seating and water features. It had some mosaic seats with garden. You feel at home here and you don't want to go home. Lol.



10 May 2017

The architecture of the Casa Amallter and Casa Batllo was magnificent. The use of wood and cement in the most creative ways.

The fireplace on one side and water fountain on the other was creative for its time. In winter the fireplace would warm up the pipes offering hot water. Splendid idea. The use of wood panels as ventilation was spectacular. You flip them to allow in air. You close them to shut out cold winds.

Each of the rooms in Casa Amallter was gorgeous. I can see myself relaxing in each of the room. It is so extravagant but tasteful, even more colourful than most mansions of today. The emboss technique was heavily used on the walls, in the furniture, and the panels. There was even song lyrics against the upper sections of the walls.

Casa Batllo was ocean focused, it has lots of wavy ceilings and doors, and blue tiles. The augmented device did help us imagine what the rooms once looked like in the past. As you went higher up the staircase the blue tiles got darker. The upper rooms ceiling supports resemble an rib cage. The most interesting room for me was the one on top of the roof that reflected light from the water to the ceiling. When the door is closed you as if you were in a dream state. Swimming under the water.

To attend these tours you had to book online in advance. Due to the short time frame in between the two tours. We had a quick lunch at El Fornet.

We then went to big shopping mall near our place and it had no chairs whatsoever. Heaps of shops and big brands too. There was Primark at Lilla. Bro wanted to take pics of swim wear for his friends. So we went around taking pics. Then caught the bus 59 back to La Ramba for iTapas buffet. Sadly, buffet was full of oily fried stuff and bread. Ew. Bro like the ribs though.






11 May 2017

The bus 27 gets to Barcelona Sants faster than the metro. The bus 150 goes straight up to the castle and saving us €11 each, rather than take the Telephonic cable car ride. The bus stops at several look out points and museums.

The castle looks simple from a far, but it has an avant grade defence design. Full of layers, arrow shape one end, high angle walls, and sharp shooting towers. You can see the city, the beach, and the mountain from the first floor and the terrace. The exhibition explained the history of this castle and its role in shaping Barcelona, and my, it was not always good. Innocent citizens were bombed on by the castle twice in one century.

There were high school students doing a group visit and primary school kids running around the square (inner walking grounds of the castle). Twice the little ones came up to ask, where you from. Curious yet not amazed. They be exhausted to see so much tourist around the city day in and day out. Well, anywhere near an attraction is heaps of tourist groups. The area near La Rambla has the most (free) walking tour groups.

We took the bus down to Palau National. MNAC. Instantly, we proceeded to the roof top. The view was amazing. Parts of the terrace was scary. While the rest is perfect. Sadly, the rain and wind was upon us that we had to disappear inside.

The museum houses two sectors of medieval art, some are pasted upon ceilings and columns. Pretty amazing. There were so many depictions of Jesus, Mary, and Angels such as Sant Michael. 

Here I am thinking it closes at 6pm. I sped through the museum really fast. The security guard said they close at 8pm. Even so, I have to get going to a shopping mall, since bro wants to buy a gift for a certain person before the shopping centre closes. Off we went and found the right item. Phew.

We did some grocery shopping and had dinner at Udon.




12 May 2017

Barcelone sants station was reachable by bus no. 27. To find your train was easy. Platform 5. Security check - done. Even queuing up was orderly. The structure was based on what and which ticket did you purchased in the first place. One for Eurail pass holders, one for online tickets, and paid in cash from the station.

The train passed through wetlands, farms, ruins, and towns under the alps. Pretty amazing views for 6 hours. There was this one house on an island on its lonesome in middle of a lake. So like an image on the cover of fiction book. Too bad I'm not a fast photographer. I didn't capture it. However, when I do shoot I kept getting poles in my photographs. Ha ha. Not suitable for sharing online. The abrupt ride does make it hard to nap and you end up with a headache. Thank god I have Nurefen tablets with me.

There is no wifi aboard these trains. It is hard to get reception for your mobile too. Quite odd. I never had this issue in USA or Japan.

In Paris you need a credit card to buy train tickets. There is counter. But we are always rushed for time and bro doesn't like to order tickets for us. Sigh. Our host kindly punch through the self serve ticket machine and get us tickets. Since I'm the only one with a credit card. I pay for them each time and each one. Oh. Did you know he doesn't have a credit card?




13 May 2017

Yin gave us a personal tour of Paris iconic landmarks. Each one was packed to the brim. It is advised we will need to book tickets in advance and a rainy weekday to score a spot.

The Eiffel Tower was indeed grand and structurally curvy. The amount of people taking pictures of it was on a phenomenal scale. Stretches all way to Trocadéro and all the garden grounds around it. Every corner was tourist and street sellers. Oddly, there were these girls asking people if spoke English and for signatures, but never explaining what cause it was for. Weird. Gave them angry and confused look. I never give people my signature out in public while on a holiday. How rude!

The Point Alexander bridge had amazing sculptures.




14 May 2017

We nearly missed our Eurostar train. Difference of 2 minutes. The process of getting to the Eurostar check-in from the metro station is mega undertaking of dash and dash until you cannot dash no more. It doesn't help that the machine to print your ticket decides to go out of service.

The Eurostar train doesn't provide sufficient warning before approaching the destination. Failing to give you time to pack up and put yourself together. The business class has mirrors on the back of their seats and USB charging slots on their arm rest. Wow. Extra €30 for that, um, I have to think one that over. 

Watched one movie. The Fabulous Mr Patar.

London is packed and busy. Buses, cars, taxi, coaches take over the inner roads of London. Renting bike is the best solution to getting around, as metro doesn't get close to your destinations. However, it can easily be stolen around here.

The Tower Bridge is a must see. So much history and amazing machinery. Love the glass floor and mirror ceiling.

Tate Modern was mega huge!  Many, many, many rooms of art work.
Harrods was so pretty on the inside. The Egyptian room was impressive.

Burgers and Lobster has nice burgers. Too bad there is only a tiny serving of lobsters.

Night lights stem from Big Ben to London Eye and nothing else. No public toilets around here. People pee in phone boxes.

In Some trains the last carriage doors do not open and you have to head to the front doors of the carriage to get out.




15 May 2017

Abbey road was in ruins. Graffiti can be found against fences and walls. Buses and cars coming and going despite tourists tried taking photographs on the infamous zebra crossing. No cultural heritage maintenance.

Camden is an interesting area to visit. Cheap food. Cheap accessories. Cheap souvenirs. Amazing shop fronts. Camden lock has three areas of food. We got full from the food we ordered in area by the canal. Ha ha. Amy Winehouse sculpture was near the horse tunnel stables. Beneath her was a tiny green space for people to sunbath.

V&A museum was huge! I managed to see human objects once used by the royal family. Tapestry was used to record major events in war, celebration, coronation, and death. Paintings didn't always reflect history. Several other kings from other countries especially France requested their fantasies be captured in paint and be displayed to visitors to show their current passion and thoughts.

The courtyard was pleasant. The guards started to warn patrons they were closing and I haven't being to the floors upstairs. Oh well. We ladies quickly queued to use the loo. The cleaner warned us we had 30 minutes and no more.

Selfridges was an utter disappointment. Nothing but international brand not much London brand items to be found. The service was foul staff favour Arabic customers over other races. Whom to seem to make up majority of their customers. Also, the same case for Harrods. However, Harrods staff are the most polite people you will ever come across.

I have learnt there is no high end brands I love here. They use horrible zips that scratch your mobile phone and pockets that doesn't fit your smart cards. Design were more or less bland bold colours. London doesn't have exclusive "made for London" items, unlike Japan.

The food in Knightsbridge is on the expensive side. Off to a pub for dinner in King Cross.




16 May 2017

Traffic is so bad that it takes along time to get anywhere in London.

Bus no. 12 took a while to get into town. Then there was this dark skin elderly woman boarded the bus and started ranting to the middle section of the bus, yelling "bus, bus, help". The bus driver halts. Asks "what's going on?" One lady passenger responded and said what do you need help with? Politely now. The elderly woman said "Algerian bus". Another lady passenger guesses and asks, "did you mean Algerian embassy?" The elderly answers "yes, yes". The second lady passenger starts Googling it. The bus moves on. Sheesh!

The Buckingham palace was nice. Nothing to do. Many tour group can be outside of the gates talking about the sculptures. Foreign high school groups were even there outside. We watch guards change over but that's about it. There were no tours for anyone.

British museum mega huge. Lots to see. Not enough time. Some nice shops around it. 

British library. Hospital clean. Requires reader pass to visit any of the reading rooms. There was a permanent paid exhibition section. Many people came by to have their lunch in the front of teh library. Apparently it was quite the destination.

We took the Eurostar back to Paris.




17 May 2017

The national library was very research focused. You have to pay to use the reading rooms. There were free exhibits with very tall ceilings. There was a cinema located in the basement. People come here for the quiet corridors to study and use wifi.

Parc des Buttes Chaumont. Metro: Botzaris

We tried taking bus no. 26 to the Cemetery, midway a lunatic jumped out at the bus. The bus came to a halt. The driver rang his supervisor. However, the bus will not be move any further. The doors were left open. The patrons went out to confront the lunatic. They asked him to calm down and go away. The bus remain in an angle and never moved an inch. We left the scene to catch a metro train instead.

Père Lachaise Cemetery is full of tombs in the shape of houses. Some even had stain glass. When the sunshine through you can see the art through the dark inners of the little houses. Many had crosses on them, others the Christ and Mary in a held position. Only a few had the faces of deceased on the side position. Sadly, many were desecrated by looters.

No. 30 Jim Morrison
No. 31 Rond-Point-Perier
No. 10 Monument aux morts + WC 

We vaguely walked around the centre commercial canal walk in Republic. However, bro did not want to ride the small boat along the canal.




18 May 2017

6am bus. Caught the limited express train.

Bruxelles Midi station is mega huge. Upon arrival we were instantly lost. Where is the exit?! Where do we go to buy our metro day pass?! Instead we found the toilet. Then chocolate stores. After asking a staff he pointed us to the metro and kiosk for buying tickets. There the counter staff refused to sell us the smart card. Stating the reason being "you don't need it". Ugh. Confused. The patron behind explained. The smart card is not useful for regional train rides. Really? Why introduce it then? Anyhow, we decided to go with the paper day pass. Interestingly, you tap with it. I'm impressed.

Het Atomium is an amazing structure. One you never see again. It defies logic. Though it may not be functional, it looked spectacular on the outside, and an amazingly small space. Inside we saw displays explaining the history of this building, surrounding grounds, and the Sabena airline. The images still reel in my head. The lobster. The overhead locker bed. Bloody amazing.

The area to the comic museum was filled young people walking in packs and smoking away their lives like there is no tomorrow. The streets filled with smell of urine and the odd dog poo. 

The comic museum was insightful. Housed inside classy building. Which was originally built to be a conservatory for plants. Never quite finished.

Boerke = funny comic character.

I asked a few teenagers from the school group to help to take a photograph, since the selfie stick won't be able to curve around the plaster stand. Then they proceeded to take a selfie of themselves as a keep sake for me. LoL.

Jennis pis. Your could not see it from the street. It is hidden behind the Delirious Cafe (bar) and covered by the drunks spilling out onto the street covering the sculpture.

We were staring at the prices of meals at these restaurants nearby the sculpture and only a few listed any. One that did not have any price tag, explained to us their food is fresh food because they have hordes of people coming through everyday. This could be true and false. Only a handful had Belgium national dishes, whereas many had the usual steak and fries. 

Mont Art square. Pretty. A walk away from the palace. Teens use it for disco. Others use it to sit and absorb the sun rays.

Makken Pis. Tourist went crazy over it. People kept piling into that intersection. Snapping pics like mad. The tiniest of sculptures. Yet the most sought after one. Many walking tours bust in the area and many of its patrons stay for the €1 waffles (sugar coated or plain only). Some what burnt. Crunchy and soft inners. Clogging up the intersection.

Grand Place. Each building with grand looking facade. A plethora of beggars and tourists. Each restaurant had outdoor dining filled with drunken tourists.

Somehow we walked to the dead train station called Bruxelles central. South east from Grand Place. Nothing but druggies and hobos loitering the place. Very sinister. We walked to the nearest main street and caught the bus number 27 and tram number 3 home.

I slept in. We didn't go out for dinner. Bro bought kebabs. One two many and too much fries. Lol.

At 11pm the thunder cracked! It rained heavily that night. People on the street ran like crazy for shelter. Still chatting loudly to each other.

Public transportation. Tram network look straight forward until you want to change platform. You have to pay to switch to another platform at big transit stations. Oh wow. That's a costly exercise for those who get lost easily. Thank the lord for Google Map and transit routes.

 

19 May 2017

Stored away luggage in a locker at Bruxelles Midi train station. Nearby Thalys ticket counter. I received a free piece of chocolate from promoters. While Bro received a mineral water with coconut flavour. Ew.

We purchased our ticket to Gent-Saint-Peiters station. Then took tram number 1 to Ghent's Vrijdagmarkt. Ate some brekkie. The clothes and shoes costs around €5. Yeah. They look dated but hey, it is cheap. They also sold cookies cheaply. 6 for €5. For a big family or people having a party it would be a bargain purchase.

The castle Gravensteen was everything you wanted to see from an medieval castle. It has the pointy roof, squared off edges, arch windows with stained glass, hidden rooms and tunnels. Here they showed us the various ways poop was distributed from this castle. From the high upper floor there are walls built in to transport poop to the ground floor. Tall holes. On the castle outside against the waters were tiny pooping holes built into the castle walls, and the poop would plonk into the river. Ew.

The Rabot was the only old building against the canal. Everything else was being redeveloped with high rises. Along the canal was some old building facade, but it has long since being emptied.

The bell tower in Het Belfort van Gent had narrow stairs and narrow balcony. Luckily, there is a lift! A balcony looking out to churches adjacent to it. Down below is a square and centre of the square was a fountain. I do love the giant music box on the top floor. When the bell rings, it plays music to blend in with ringing. Nice. Sadly, you cannot hear it the entirety due to noisy students chatting in the background.

Becourse metro station. Pronto pizza.




20 May 2017

We had lunch at Bastille. Bro had tagine chicken and I had boudin (sausage) with potato purée.

Took a stroll to Paroisse Saint Paul church and looked inside. Free entry. The seats of the chairs were made of hay and they chip away pretty easily. Multiple chandeliers towards the centre of the hall. On the side rooms you can find above doors the cherubs in position of slapping a your face. Ouch. The medium size sculptures were perched nice and high.

Arc de Triomphe. amazing. To get to it you go underground tunnel. The intersection was way too busy for pedestrians to cross over. In the tunnel there images giving the views you can expect. Plus a history of the arc. There were names of fallen military officials from Napoleon period.

Ladurée near the arc was very packed and busy. Could not squeeze in.

La Maison du Chocolat. High end indeed in price. Not much variation on offer. Classics chocolate flavours that you can get from any where.

•Free museum night•

Louvre Museum. Bloody huge! Several different entry points. So much areas to cover. We chose to look at medieval and French revolution's sculptures and paintings. Of course, we did stop and look at the painting of Mona Lisa. The crowd gathered like crows over a pie crust. It was the most tiniest painting of all. Lol.

Underneath it m were shops underneath the street. Big brands at that too. Facial service. Many of the tourist gathered in hives under the pyramid. Our fiend tells us it was designed by a Chinese architect.

The building itself is gorgeous. It used to be a castle. Hence, the grand salon and dining rooms. I loved the ceilings the most. Dreamy paintings. Gold leaf sculptures. Very decadent and rich.   





21 May 2017

Palace of Versailles

A very large garden. The fountains only squirt water between 15:30 and 17:00. There were more than one fountain and they were hidden through out the garden. You had to go through mazes of hedges to find them. We did 75% of them and we ran out of time. Many were straight up water spraying. Only one offered a musical performance. Sadly, the sculptures were knee deep in water. Making them hard to see and take photographs of them. It needs to be fixed up.

The palace itself was modest looking on the outside. Heavily decorated on the inside. There is no corridors. To get to any particular room you had to go through many small rooms were small. You can imagine how interruptive that would have been in the past. The kings had paintings of their war victories. There were statues and bust of the kings everywhere. The paintings of the kings were kept in a bright lit room with no shade from the sun. How awful.

So much of it original self has been modified over the years. Especially after the revolution. No longer grand. Less water fountains. Water fountains moved to lower grounds of the garden.

EU organised people under 26 can enter cultural institutions for free. Wow.




22 May 2017

Angelina. No free water. I had croquant chocolaté-noisette: hazelnut and dark chocolate.

Basilique de Saint Denis. Scary and sacred. Amazing cravings. Sadly, graffitied by youngsters. Many had huge heads and bodies. The first king Dogbert had stories craved into his stone, while the others focused on their tailored outfit and gears. Doherty was cement other kings were in marble.

Opera house was closed.

Cojean. Like a prêt in London. Only more healthier.

Fragonard perfume museum tour. Wow. So much to learn. To reset smell is to smell your own arm. Spray and tap tap. No cloud spraying. Above your head maybe. L'toilette 15% and cologne 10% perfume. No as concentrated. Here they make perfume 40% concentrated. With heavy notes that lasts longer. Glass bottle is disposable version of perfume. They only last one year.

Luxemberg garden. Supplied chairs. Bring it to the pond. Many just sun bake. You can hire a toy boat and move it around.

Montorpasse tower. Talk alright. Good view of effiel tower sparkling at 10pm.




23 May 2017

9:30am Les Catacombes de Paris. Staff didn't give us audio guide yet we were charged for it. WTF!
freaky stuff. Many other sections were locked up and not available for viewing.

Musee d'Orsay. The website states it shuts at 6pm. In truth, feature exhibition shuts at 5:15pm and entry is another queue via the middle section of the ground floor. Artist collection are chopped and spread across cultural institutions. You only get to see a snippet in each one. 

I have noticed there are no drinking fountains in Paris. BYO water. Unlike Barcelona there is a drinkable water fountain every where. Paris is such a dry city.

Moulin Rouge. Best seen across the street. It is a red light district alright. Happy hour displayed at every bar.

Sacré­Cœur paris. High above the hills. A lovely view of the Paris city. The IC card can be used to catch the tram up the hill too.




24 May 2017

La Grande Épicerie de Paris. Old lady coughed and followed bro the patisserie area. He ended up with runny nose through out the day. The place sells fresh fruit and veggies. Lots of wine selection. Pastry was so so.

Orangerie Museum.
Small but beautiful collection. Oh, so museum are formed from private collection

Lego store. Sold out of Harley Quinn key ring.

Centre Georges Pompidou - cancelled. Bro could not wait for Yin's brother to show up and organise free entry for us.

Le Bouillon Chartier (dinner). Pig trotters with fries. Antoudille sausage is definitely acquired taste. Very liquorice-ish flavour.

Ladurée in Champ-Élysée has three section the salon, the bar, the cakes. Oh, I could not resist anyone of them. But time is limited. Just macron this afternoon.


25 May 2017

Feeling tired most of the time now. This sore throat has been unshakable. No matter how much honey lemon juice I drink and cough lollie consume. It just won't go away ever since the 21st of May. My writing is becoming more sloppy as time goes by.

Château of Vincennes.
Formerly a military based, but there is a real one next to it. The moat is just grass now. There was a flame tattoo at the bottom of the moat. The arches have faces. Many of the sculptures were damaged.

Walked over to the chapelle, observation terrace, and Parc floral de Paris. There was a lovely lake. Kids were every where and so was horse riding poo.

For sweets we went to La Pâtisserie des Rêves. We saw gorgeous cakes. Purchased a small set of cookies and was given a packet of random cookies. Marshmallow filled one won us over. Pricey.



26 May 2017
Trying to catch the early bus, but bro had to go for a smoko. Eh. What's the point then. I was inches away from the bus stop and the bus came. I yelled with my raspy voice. Straining m'y throat, "jam".

At the train station he said the foods, drinks, and the tissue packets were straining his back. Sheesh. We agreed on this yesterday you will carry the food and I carry the medicine and paper work.

Every train station, everywhere you stand or sit is another begger or con artist waiting to nab your shit. Gare de L'Est is no exception. The train stations in France are not governed. You don't need a ticket to come into these train station. Only in metro and RER do you need a ticket to enter. 

Along the train line to Frankfurt we saw many farm, solar farms, factories and warehouses.

Dialogmuseum
Experiencing what it is like to be blind in a control environment. I found it challenging.

In a wide open space it is hard to orientate yourself. Where is my left and my right. What is this? Is it the drink I ordered?

The apple cider tram and Mind on mini golf are permanently closed. How sad. Why are they still listed online then. Someone needs to clean up these listings on the Internet. We wasted a full hour and half.

The closed tourist attractions that fail to clearly update their information on the Internet has upset me so. My brother cannot handle how upset I am by it all. He states it is frustrating to deal with. Cancel the AUD $600 German Rail Twin Pass now. It is not refundable ticket because it is tied to your name and passport number. Not something the train company can resell to another patron. Idiot. I was even more upset and frustrated as he kept asking where go next and what are we doing next. I'm only human god damn it. I need to think. Google doesn't give directions for trams and buses in Germany. Only train lines for some unknown reason. I resort to the paper map and that takes time to think. My brother at the time states "I don't want to walk anymore". When I stated we have catch an underground train at the Zoo underground station. He states "I'm not going to no zoo". Ugh. It is a train station name for fuck sake.

The Eisenhower tower was so so. Not worth your time. The financial distract bear and bull was very popular. The locals and the tourists cannot get enough of them. There were wine tastings and beer near MyZeil shopping area.

Follow the people bro say. It lead to a bridge with love locks and people picnicking, drinking, and pissing by the river. Lovely. Walked all the way to other side of the bridge and to the Main Tower. Where it is full upstairs but they still sell you tickets and that you line up for security check.



27 May 2017

Munich

To get the fastest train to Munich. You have to head to the airport. From there you find in the upper floors long distance trains. Our's was ICE 511. We found bro a toilet and I got myself cheap a sandwich for the 3 hrs train ride with tea from a grocery store.

The train offers free wifi connection.

Upon arriving in the city. The sun blasts its heat on us. Whoosh. The street to the market was pretty far. Bro didn't want to catch the underground train there. He wanted to walk it. So be it. I ran off to the G clock to record its melody. It is now or never. As bro doesn't allow me time to re-visit locations.

We had lunch at V but he didn't want to dine in the beer garden and insists we stand and eat. Sigh. He said this is not really a market. So many small shops everywhere. I see them as boutiques. One specialised in honey. They have a variety of honey types and fusion ones. Also, they had honey alcohol. Interesting.




28 May 2017

Cologne is an utter disappointment on a Sunday. No market. No festival. Nothing is open. Church that is listed as tourist attraction is actually a local church with nothing to see. Ugh. Google recommendation is shit. Everything in the city is closed. People in masses hang around the main train. Never really going anywhere.

It is better to pay someone to drive you around and do sightseeing. Otherwise you waste a whole day walking on foot. My brother refused to use the bus in the outer suburb and then he refused to use underground tram within the centre of the city. That's where we wasted €13 (AUD $26). Not all is shit in #Cologne the mini sculpture park was lovely, and it was not far from the tram stop and the river where caravans park.

Back in Frankfurt.
Ebbelwoi Unser
The green sauce was delicious and the Apfelwein did not cause a break out of hives. Yay. The staff was very considerate and tentative. The restaurant is very popular with other tourists too. We are all trying these German food for the first time.

I tried to get some sleep but I kept having coughing fits. So much that my bro said I was annoying. Geez. As if I asked for this. Who's idea to visit a dirty city day in and day out? Who said oh it will go away on its own if you just vomit the mucus out. Huh. It has been bloody 8 days of sleepless nights and raspy voice. Yeah. I really welcomed all of this. For fuck sake I still have order tickets to everything and order food in this condition. He has no consideration for my pain. No wonder people call him a man-child.




29 May 2017

Saw the doctor first thing in morning and yes the antibiotics really do help. My coughing fits have dramatically reduced a great deal.

Heidelberg is worth the visit. The castle perched high in the mountain, the river with lush green trees growing along the bank, and market place with home made ice cream (got to eat the banana flavoured one) and hand made craft (music box).

The castle ruin has so much hidden gems. Too ran out of time to book a guided tour to see the inside of the palace. However, the outside was pretty spectacular. The underground cellars has hidden rooms were they use to concot medicine. Another cellar had a giant barrels that used to contain beer. Wow. The garden is pretty big. Some of the trees had bird house nailed to it.

After crossing the bridge bro and I went down by the river bank and put our feet in the cold river. Ooooh did it feel refreshing! We saw blue dragon fly to and from trees. It was nice and relaxing. The Greeks nearby weren't so welcoming, they don't like Asian in the vicinity. Too bad suckers. The early bird gets the worm. We beat you to the spot with shade.

Just just made it to the grocery store REWE and purchased some drink bottles of water, juice, and food for tomorrow's train ride.

The doctor said to keep my fluids up. I brought bottles. I drink a whole heap of water. The night before I have to catch an early train, as I slept I find by 2am my throat was dry as hell. Apparently, my brother decided to shut all the windows. There is no air condition in the room. Just a free standing fan. Which does not cool down the room at all. The room became a hot house by 2am. I'm back to square one. Yay. The dick head sure does not understand science of heat. The fucker trapped it and ruined my sleep! Geez. Christ. He is one shit travel companion.




30 May 2017

The Zurich airport is happy to change your notes to coins for lockers. The lockers are accessible before midnight. Any later then you have wait the next day.

Now I just to buy the Zurich card, 1 daily ticket, and two one way tickets to the airport. Then we are done with this trip.



31 May 2017

Breakfast?
Umwelt Arena Spreitenbach (20% off w Z; 10-6pm). Lucky for us there were multiple group bookings that they are even open today. Educational on energy consumption and ideas for energy efficiency. Too bad we didn't reserve a time slot to test out electric vehicles. Sadly, they only take group bookings only, no on the spot booking.

Thank god there was a shopping centre next to it. There you can buy cheap lunch and have fresh fruit juice.

Bruno Weber Park (20% off w Z; 11-6pm)
Amazing. Interactive. Inspirational. The artist used ideas from sculptures found in India, Burma, and Indonesia's monstatry. Where the objects are part animal and take on characteristics of human. Many of the sculptures can be walked on, climbed on, and sat on.

Bro kept harking on how none of this is polished. Not finished works of art. The person is not skilled. Not famous. Ugh.

Museum of digital art (20% off w Z; 11-7pm). The staff guided us through each exhibit. Showing us how each one is changing architecture. Robot designing parts of a building. Precision and continuous pattern making. Architects doing programming. Teaching robot to randomise - sand display. Sucks up sand and drop sand. Depth sensor technology. Levitating using micro speakers and ultra sound technology. The tiny planet was held in the by the turbulence caused by the two ultra sound waves. Bro got bored out of his mind. Wanted to smoke and go on the internet.

Frau Gerolds Garten - dinner
Cancelled. Bro freaked over price yet again. The place is more of a beer garden with grilled meats. Dishes ranged from CHF 13 to 15.50. Apparently, bro doesn't want to share the dish. Instead he went off to buy 3 pieces of chicken for CHF 5 each at the train station. I had broccoli quiche for CHF 2.40.

I decided the cheapest place for bro to hang out is a park, an Arboretum is the closest one to the train station. There we wet our feet in the lake. Watch ducks fight and squawk at each other. A little bit further down the arboretum is a small water fountain within the lake. To get to it, walk on this floating path that connects to a small concrete walk path, it is hidden among the yachts.

Was going to walk along the lake, but bro keep freaking out over food prices at every restaurant and cafe that was still open. So, to not embarrass myself any further I decided it is best to send the fucker home. He can entertain himself with the Internet as per usual (like he does in Australia after work everyday). No different really.




1 June 2017

Luftseilbahn Adliswil. Felsenegg & Restaurant Felsenegg. The fondue consisted of cheese and sour dough bread costing CHF 29.90. Anything else was an extra cost. 

The air is fresh up here. Not much wild life up. The paths are carved up for bike and walking patrons. Not far from the restaurant is cows grazing in the lower hills and no fence. Bro didn't want to walk up and down a hill. So we did not see them up close.

The wildlife park is 1.7km up hill from the train station Wildhofil Park. Without a bus bro didn't want to walk any further. We turned back and headed to the city to buy some souvenirs.

Meng Cultery (10% off w Z; 10-6pm). Swiss knife. The discount is real. Bro was able to shave off CHF 10.

Manora Restaurant
Everything has an individual price. Similar or IKEA restaurant. You pick and plonk the food on your tray then at the end you pay at the cash register. Food pricing ranges from CHF 1.90 to 16.90. We had one smoothie and a bottle of Coke Cola.

Uetliberg is impressive high up. Lots of connected walk and bike paths. We saw several bush mice, one frog, a few small birds, and one large bird. There several hidden restaurants here. They use the planetary system to work out how far they are from the city. We only got as the Sun and possible Jupiter.

Lindenhof Hill. Grey park. Little of green. A few roses. Over looks the river on the side. People playing basket ball and chatting.



2 June 2017

On the plane. Heading back home now. Watched movies: Split, Valentine's Day (old one), and The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Collateral beauty, My dad & Mr Ito (Japanese), The Precipice game (Chinese), Vanishing Time: A boy who returned (Korean), Frantz (German/French).






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