mindbait

July 30th, 31st… whatever It is pissing down with rain (oh, at least it was a second ago) which is probably not a bad thing, we arrived at 7.30am to 27 degree temperatures. I snoozed off and on for an hour or so. Ah the old airport routine; buy a coffee so you can sit in the nice seats in the café, nurse your coffee for a good hour or so… repeat the process as needed. I still have about 5 hours to kill, will have a browse a of the shops, which will be a nice bit of walking after all the sitting down I’ve just been doing. Actually the Paris to Seoul flight didn’t really feel that long… well the bit in between the turbulence and landing felt INSANELY long but the rest was ... read more

July 28th: Fairly early start; the crowds start early at Versailles. The lady at the bakery gave me change for €10 instead of €20, when I pointed this out she offered me a bag (?) somebody in the queue translated what I was saying in much clearer French and the matter was resolved… hopefully just a communication breakdown rather than “rip the tourist off” she did seem like a nice lady, lacking in ripabillity, but then one never can tell. For some reason there are lots of soldiers at the station, soldiers with automatic weapons. Now guns generally make me nervous, but BLOODY BIG GUNS make me very nervous indeed! ~Later~ Went to ask someone which tube to take to get to Versailles and as luck would have it, the people I asked were heading there ... read more

July 26th Up and about! Today is a bit different in tone, instead of the mad crowded crush of Amsterdam; I’m off to look at windmills with Bev. After several false starts (including a flat tyre) we set out on bikes. This is a good thing about Holland, you can bike EVERYWHERE and depending on the heat, you hardly break a sweat. I haven’t ridden a bike since the last time I was in Holland but it’s easy to get back into, just like riding a simile. It was quite exhilarating to be riding around the beautiful (yet smelly) countryside, though by the end of the day my backside was tenderer than a sunburnt back. Bev and I stopped for coffee at a café on the lake shore, a good chance to relax and get out ... read more

July 24th Good sleep, good LONG sleep… 9 hours or so of more or less unbroken sleep. These are the benefits of having your own room! The bathroom IS shared however, and the guy who was in there before me (for at least 10 minutes) must have used up all the hot water because the room was full of steam but when I got the shower going, that shit was icy! Not great either because you want a good shower if you happen to be recycling socks and underwear again on account of having had a run of hostels that don’t have laundry facilities! After some faffing about over which of the EIGHT bus stops outside the train station the girl at the hostel meant when she said; “the bus stop outside the train station” I’ve ... read more

July 22nd Ildiko and I met latish in the morning for a bit of breakfast, we went to a nice café for coke and toasted sandwiches, followed by coffee. The café had photos of various musicians on its walls (and in its toilets), including recognition of the awesome Billy Gould of Faith No More (he was in the nice dining area, not the toilet). Ildiko took me on a pretty comprehensive tour of Subotica (turns out I’ve been pronouncing the name wrong) and it’s kind of a pity; it’s a lovely city, but there are so many buildings that are half completed, as one mayor starts them and the next abandons them in favour of some other project that, in its turn gets abandoned… I wonder if Dave Cull envies that approach. Quite a few statues ... read more