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Stacey Hatton
Snap Shot Stacey
About Me:
I'm a 26 year old Aussie who's been dreaming of traveling Europe since I was about 14. What took me so long? Good question. Too much dreaming and not enough doing. But I've decided it's time to finally start living my dreams! The rest of the world seems so exciting and exotic to me that I can't wait to be a part of it!I'm a Melbourne girl born and bred, and it´s definitely a beautiful city and a fantastic place to live BUT I've now been living in England since December 2009 and I LOVE it! So may stay here for some time.
Date I Left Australia: September 2nd, 2009. I haven't yet managed to return for a visit so if anyone fancies donating a return ticket to me I will love you forever! haha.
Highlights so far: Watching the opera Notre Dam di Paris at Verona's old roman amphitheatre. And of course meeting heaps of new people during my travels has also been a wonderful experience!
Travel Blog Posts
Birmingham - A Guide to Englands Second City
Published: February 20th 2012Europe » United Kingdom » England » West Midlands » Birmingham
February 15th 2012
Though I stopped blogging for a while I've continued my exploration of England which this week took me to Birmingham, sometimes called Englands 'second city' because it has the largest population outside of London. Known for its industrial history a lot of people I've spoken to don't seem to think Birmingham is really worth visiting. I beg to differ! Even in winter there's a fair bit to do here depending on what you're in to. SHOPPING One of the things you hear about a lot is the famous Bullring, which not only has nothing to do wiith bull fighting, it doesn't even LOOK like a bull ring (though there is the ever popular bronze statue of a bull outside). It actually looks like is some kind of futuristic silver parasite has eaten a building, which I ... read more
November 28th 2009
Who'd have thought that only a year after first visiting it, I'd be back in Paris?! Where the first time I did all of the typical touristy things like the Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower I made a point of not repeating myself this time around. Paris is a city that has so much to do it's difficult to make a decision! I began my trip by catching up with my lovely french friend Sylvain. Sylvain and I met on the steps of the Sacre Coeur, perched on the top of the Montmartre hill. Whilst the inside of this catholic bascilica is worth a look and is known for having one of the worlds largest mosaics, it's the view from the steps outside which caught my attention. You can see across the city of Paris. ... read more
November 28th 2009
A strange name for a blog you may think, but apparently that's what the name Lyon actually means! (And here I was with lions on the brain *shakes head*) And it was to Lyon, France's third largest city, that I headed next. Mind you the city doesn't actually feel all that large. Perhaps because of the two rivers, la Saône and la Rhôn breaking it up. After hiking up quite possibly the tallest mountain in France, with my magic backpack which seemed to get heavier with every step, I finally made it to my hostel. I have to admit it had a wonderful view across old Lyon (though that was about all the character this hostel could muster up). Tip: I've definitely learnt that for the indipendant traveller ie. someone not travelling with kids, the privately ... read more
November 23rd 2009
I had the best stay in Europe EVER in Nice! Though much of that had to do with the fantastic people I met in the most amazing hostel, Villa Saint Expury. I highly recommend it! Fantastic value for money. Free breakfast, internet, sheets and towel. Huge kitchen and lounge area and a great bar (with the most amazing chocolate brownies). The staff are awesome too. Only 18 euro when I stayed! (Okay, I have to shut up now.) A large group of us would just hang around drinking cheap wine (and beer. Yes, I actually drank beer and didn't hate it! One for the record books. And no, there was no lemonade in it either!) and chatting until the early hours. One night we headed out to Wayne's bar which has a fantastic live band. It's ... read more
November 14th 2009
The only reason I went to Avignon was because mum had taught me the song all about it as I was growing up. I can't speak french but I can sing it! So I was thrilled to finally get onto the bridge. What I found suprising was that it didn't actually stretch across the whole river! It stopped about half way because some of the arches fell down over 100 years ago. The reason the bridge is so famous is because a man claimed God insisted it be built and to prove it he had to pick up an incredibly heavy boulder and move it to lay the first stone. Apparently God helped him lift this impossible stone and so everyone believed and they built the bridge. He became a saint from then on. The bridge ... read more
Aix-en-Provence
Published: November 18th 2009Europe » France » Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur » Aix-en-Provence
November 12th 2009
When I first walked down the main boulevard of Aix-en-Provence I thought to myself 'Ah, so HERE's France'. Sadly, apart from that one street, Aix wasn't as pretty or quintissentially french as I'd been led to believe. Also, because tourist season was over, a lot of the things worth visiting were closed. I did get to see the artist Cezanne's studio though! I'm not totally mad about his art but it was quite amazing to look down at a table and statue which are depicted in so many of his still lifes. What really struck me though was the paint smeared jacket and worn hat on a hook in the corner of the room. They looked like they'd only just been taken off. I got a real sense of this being a space which was thoroughly ... read more
November 10th 2009
Ah Marseille. A city where motorbikes think footpaths are roads and dogs think they're toilets. (You seriously wouln't believe the amount of dog poo I've seen traipsed along the streets here.) It's a pretty city from on high looking across it, but walking around it isn't the most pleasant of experiences. And can you believe as I was walking through a park a totally normal looking guy turned around and decided a particular bush looked like a great urinal. He was in full view of everyone in the park and on the road! Weird. One of the first things I noticed were posters everywhere about an exhibition at the Musee Cantini showing David, Klimt, Toulouse-Lautrec and Degas among others. What caught my attention was the picture of 'Ellen Terry in the role of Lady Macbeth' by ... read more
Bordeaux (pity I don't like red wine much)
Published: November 18th 2009Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux
November 8th 2009
I can see why Bordeaux is now an Unesco World Heritage Site. It's stunning! Lots of 18th century architecture and a beautiful river to walk along which is particularly nice as the suns's setting. Sadly it was raining buckets the whole time I was in Bordeaux, so things looked a bit grey (actually kind of reminded me of London). The city is known for its wine, but alas I only drank the cheapest plonk I could find so I can't comment on its quality! I stayed with my second ever Couch Surfing host Maxime and his flat mate Paul. They are very cool people! We listened to heaps of great music. They took me to a costume party with a 'funky' theme. Didn't exactly have much in my pack to choose from but (unsuprisingly) I was ... read more
November 5th 2009
I went to Lourdes because I wanted to visit the caves and to a day tour to the Pyrenees as mentioned online. However, when I arrived these (and nearly all other attractions) had closed 4 days before I arrived. Apparently 'through November' doesn't actually INCLUDE November. But that's okay because it was interesting eing in a tourist town when there are no tourists. Usually people flock here on a pilgrimage to see the Grotto where Saint Bernadette supposedly saw 'the immaculate conception' appear to her eight times. (I find it astounding that a whole towns prosperity and trade is still based on a story told by one little girl centuries ago). After the 31st of October this place has no spirit to it. Its incredibly quiet, even during the day until about 1pm. I did get ... read more
November 1st 2009
My first day in France wasnt exactly a smooth one. The train I wanted was cancelled and the one which followed terminated one stop before the station where I needed to catch a connecting train. So myself and about 20 others were left stranded in a one taxi town only 5 minutes train ride from where we actually wanted to be. Madness! 2.5 hours later me and two boys from Ballarat finally made it to Cerrbere station. Then we got to hang around there for another 1.5 hours for another connecting train (because of course we'd missed the first one). Eventually, after a full day of travelling (in which more time was spent just hanging around) I made it to Toulousse. All I can say is Im glad I love reading. Hehe. SO, day 2 in ... read more
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