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John McKnight
Ancient Chinese Proverb - "Man with bald head, and big ears, no take self portrait"Hoze
Travel Blog Posts
May 17th 2005
We said goodbye to Paris, on the 13th, and boarded a comfortable, second class French carriage on a train heading for Munich. In Germany, at Mannheim, we had to change to another train. We noted that this train left precisely on time - give or take 10 seconds or so. Unfortunately, our faith in German efficiency was soon to be destroyed. Our train broke down and we had to disembark and wait for the next train, at a small station 10 minutes outside of Stuttgart. The next train was overcrowded and we could not get on. We did manage to board the one after that, but had to endure 2 hours sitting on our bags next to the toilet. Thankfully a German Theology student took us under her wing. We could not understand any of the ... read more
May 13th 2005
A city of contrasts. Unbelievably extravagant buildings, with fantastic statues, and ornamentation. Dog droppings on the pavement. A superb public transport system, in the Metro, and RER train networks. But you are in danger of being run down when crossing the road - even when on a pedestrian crossing, with a green light. Incredible cathedrals - we visited Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, and Saint Chappele. Rampant consumerism along the Champs Elysees. At Notre Dame, you can climb the towers, all the way to the top, and pretend to be one of the gargoyles. The Louvre has too much stuff, and is absolutely huge. The Eiffel Tower is ridiculously tall. I went no higher than the second level, feeling rather uncomfortable at the prospect of the final lift ride to the top. A magical place to visit. ... read more
May 7th 2005
It takes around 40 minutes to take the tube from Heathrow, into Earls Court station. Just around the corner is the Mayflower Hotel. Our room is small but comfortable. We had a delicious meal at an Indian Restaurant, very nice. It's odd seeing Policeman walking around the streets. It's a shame that we can't have them doing that at home. Apparently Chelsea won today, It seems that football fans, who have too much lager on board, are loud and obnoxious whereever you go. When we left the Train Station we came out onto Warwick Road. In front of us was Earl's Court Exhibition Centre. Kylie Minogue was putting on an "exhibition" that night. A fat guy wanted to sell us some tickets. "ooo waans a teeckit fo kylee then". We decided to watch TV instead. ... read more
May 7th 2005
Heathrow is not very nice. Well not the bits I have seen anyway. We have arrived safely and are trying to stay awake. There is a three hour wait until Sandra arrives, from Madrid.... read more
The Calm Before the Storm
Published: May 5th 2005Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington Region » Wellington
May 4th 2005
Two days left - well less actually - before I leave home for a month in Europe. As usual, I am not ready. Have looked at suitcase, but not packed anything yet. The list of things to do, before leaving seems to be getting longer, not shorter. Having recently read "The Art of Travel" by Alain De Botton, I have convinced myself that travel is almost a necessity if one wishes to find the time and werewithal for a decent dose of introspection. Of course I knew this before reading the book. I just didn't know that I knew, so to speak. I just wish that Mister De Botton had written something like "The Art of Preparation", or "Stuff you should have done three weeks ago".... read more
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