http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Etienne3570/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Etienne3570 en-us Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:12:10 +0000 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:12:10 +0000 So my next stop after Christmas was Lyon. Im staying with a good friend Cyril his younger sister and older brother. Yesterday and today I have been out cruising the city. Of all the places I have seen so far Lyon has by far been the prettiest. The city has a vibrant nature and the streets are filled with peole young and old gay and straight black and white. Everybody is so happy and frendly. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Rh-ne-Alpes/Lyon/blog-114751.html I was supposed to bein Paris for Christmas. But with the insight and suggestions made by my mom039s cousin and a very special friend from the US I decided to stay in London for Christmas. To be completely honest I do not regret it and never will. Looking back on Christmas now I cannot even imagine what it would have being alone in Paris during Christmas. So I was in London with my mom039 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-114748.html I039ve been quite busy during the last few days of my stay in Russia. I payed a visit to the Hermitage St Isics Cathedral and several other places. St Petersburg really i a very beautiful city and would have been such a better place to live in should the people have been able to speak English and hae just a hint of friendliless in them. These are a few of the pictures that I took during the l http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-114738.html Ok so three days before my departure to the rest of Europe I woke up this morning and everything was white. It finally started to snow last night and the temeratures hit zero. Gosh the Russians are so excited about it and for the first time since I arrived here they have something to smile about because they will have their white Christmas. I took these pictures at a church near the appartmen http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-114737.html Today I went to St. Petersburg again. I was accompanied by two very good friends Sergey and Katya. We decided to go to the bowling alley for some games. The sun was shining and this is very rare in this time of year for Russia. We went for coffee and then headed off to the alley. We had a lot of fun. My bowling was up to shit and I lost all the way and felt so damn sheepish. Nevertheless it was g http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-109289.html Hello again. Today I had quite a nice time going into town. As you know by now I live in Gatchina right now. Today we went into St. Petersburg for the day. It was raining but not cold at all. We had some coffee and then did some sight seeing. It was great fun and I once again fell completely in love with the city. These are a few of the pictures that I took in the drive. As for the rest of the day http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-108870.html Die van julle wat bewus is van hoe dit in Eastern Europe lyk sal vertroud wees met dit wat ek nou met julle gaan deel. Ek bly tans in 'n spoguitbreiding van die dorp Gatchina. Die mense hier is of ryk of ten minste bo gemiddeld. Die foto hier is hoe dit hier by my net in die straat af lyk. Elke dag stap die Russe hier met hul kinders of alleen verby. Almal kry so swaar en hulle lewe letterlik net http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-108611.html I arrived safely in Russia. I landed in St. Petersburg and then took a drive with my friend who I am living with to Gatchina a smaal town outside St. Petersburg. The weather is quite fine and according to the Russians quite impossible for this time of the year. There is no wind and the temperature is about 10C. There has not yet been any snow and the foracst for the week is the same temperatures http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-108304.html So I arrived in a clear and cool London. What a wonderful flight... The city is really beautiful and the weather is fantastic. I just bought myself a europeSIM so that my loved ones could stay in contact with me at all times. I cannot recieve any international calls but I sure can recieve and send smses. So those of you who wish to stay in contact with me through this media please feel free to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Heathrow-Airport/blog-108301.html For all of the people who are following my travels for this fantastic holiday and once in a lifetime opportunity. The flight was not that long and it passed sooner than I ever thought it could. There were so many things to do on the plane to keep me busy with that I barely saw the sun rise as we flew. Things like movies live video concerts music internet and seattoseat calling. It was great f http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/United-Arab-Emirates/Dubai/blog-108298.html MAP http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/blog-104172.html The clock is ticking. Soon my exams will be over and I will be embarking on the most wonderful trip through Russia Europe and the UK. For my 21st birthday I recieved this travel opportunity as a gift from my parents. With some extra savings hard work and the assistance of some family members I am now able to prepare myself for this once in a lifetime opportunity.I have already done most of my p http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/North-West/Potchefstroom/blog-103621.html