http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/spidermiss/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from spidermiss en-us Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:29:02 +0000 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:29:02 +0000 It was great being back in Paris after having a wonderful stay in July. This time I spent three nights in a wonderful hotel Hotel De L'Europe. I got a good deal for a single room ensuite with breakfast included via Hostelworld. For Paris standards it was good value for money and it was near Gard du Nord where I can take to metro to the main sights and attractions.In my current university http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-457775.html I tend not to blog about my UK travels. However I feel it would be a good idea to share my travels home as well as abroad. Besides I hope my travels at home will give ideas for travellers who are planning to visit the UK.I recently spent a couple of days in London. Although I have been to London many times I am still fascinated with the capital and there is so much to see and do I remember http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/London-City/blog-454883.html Sightseeing Highlights from my stay in AlicanteAlicanteOne afternoon we went downtown to Alicante. Alicante is the gateway to Costa Blanca and its popular beach resorts including Benidorm Altea and Santa Pola. Me not being a big beach fan I was not worried visiting the resorts where many travellers flock to. It was very hot exploring Alicante and we took a couple of breaks for drinks and ice http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Valencian-Community/Alicante/blog-434972.html With my end of course assessment looming for my beginners' Spanish course I wanted to consolidate what I learnt so far. This gave me an opportunity to travel to Alicante where Spanish Intensives run one week courses at different levels for students during the summer. I signed up for a beginners course starting on the 29th August 2009 and hoped this would give me the confidence for the assess http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Valencian-Community/Alicante/blog-434398.html GivernyAs far as I can remember I always wanted to visit Monet's house. I am a big Monet fan and love his landscape paintings. One of my favourite paintings is of the waterlilies pond in the Japanese gardens of his home. I was very excited seeing the spot where he painted this I decided to join a tour one afternoon. There were six of us in the minibus and we made our way to Giverny. I got http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-424427.html It has been eight months since travelling abroad and a trip was well overdue. So after an hour and a half flight delay and bumping into two old friends Suzette and Wanda we eventually got into Paris late. I travelled with Suzette and Wanda on the RER train to Gare du Nord where I got off and walked to my hostel. Fortunately the hostel is open 247 and had no problems checking in. I booked m http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-424416.html Yesterday I got my new travel money card to use on my forthcoming Paris and Alicante trips and also for future trips. It is just under a month that I am off to Paris. Lately I have been thinking where I would love to travel on future trips. The list is so long I come to a realisation that it would not be possible to see everywhere and do everything in my life so I have to prioritise. I http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/West-Yorkshire/Leeds/blog-413062.html Today I purchased my annual travel insurance with The Post Office. Originally I was going to purchase it just for Europe but because of my travel plans for Europe and beyond over the next couple of years I decided to extend it worldwide except North America and the Caribbean where I do not intend to travel to. I got a good deal with The Post Office and it works out a lot cheaper than purcha http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/West-Yorkshire/Leeds/blog-402702.html It has been a while since I last made an entry to my blog. Finally I have got round to booking flights and making travel plans for this year. I have decided to stay in Europe and explore more of the continent.At the end of July I have booked a trip returning to Paris coinciding with my birthday and having opportunities to explore more of the city. I would like to revisit some of my favourite http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/West-Yorkshire/Leeds/blog-385910.html After a very long uncomfortable and uneventful flight including a change of plane in Paris I finally made it to Manchester Airport where my parents met me and took me home. The hero returns scene. I was looking forward to my home comforts in the days to come.Looking back this has probably been the best trip I made up to date. There has been a lot of highlights and a lot more than I anticipa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/West-Yorkshire/Leeds/blog-347885.html After uncertainty and definitely anxiety of a strike threat involving Chilean immigration and customs staff the day came when I would get the bus back to Santiago for my flight home the following day. I was very concerned because if the strike happened the consequences I would face would obviously seriously affect my plans returning home such as missing my flight The threat did not help my is http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-347511.html I remember the wonderful time we had in Mendoza last year and I was hoping to replicate this. However my mood on this occasion was low. It all started with the Argentine Border Police not fully completing my entry formalities so I need to explain that to them when I leave Argentina. On settling into the hostel I lost my personal keys. I think I threw them away by accident. So I am getting http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Mendoza/Mendoza/blog-347507.html I got picked up around about 7.30 am and we picked some more people from another hostel. We began out journey on the Ruta 40 nothing special just the suburbs of Mendoza then we joined the Ruta 7 towards Chile. Our first stop for a comfort break was Uspallata a village famed for Seven Years in Tibet movie and this was the village and the surrounding areas where the movie was made. We drove http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Mendoza/Aconcagua/blog-347199.html One afternoon just to get out of the hostel I joined a wine tasting tour. I learnt that it was not just wine tasting we were doing but tasting other goodies.I got picked up from my hostel later than the time they said but I have to remember I am in South America and not the UK we picked up some more people from other hostels and we then began our tour.First of all we stopped at Carmine Grana http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Mendoza/Mendoza/blog-347196.html I caught the 9.15 am bus from Pucon to Santiago. I felt sad leaving Pucon after having such a wonderful time and will miss my memories made there. I decided to get a day bus so I can able to spend a minimum time in Santiago and get my connecting overnight bus to Mendoza. The bus journey was uneventful but long It took around about eleven hours to reach Santiago and it was a nice opportuity to http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Araucania/Pucon/blog-347192.html One afternoon I joined a mini van tour around Trancura and Lincura valley. This again was part of my adventure package. There was Ricardo from Brazil who joined me and Mauricio the driverguide. The three of us began setting off stopping first at Saltos de Marimann and then Ojos de Carbargua. The waterfalls were stunning especially the Ojos de Carbargua. Afterwards we stopped for a com http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Araucania/Pucon/blog-346187.html From Valdivia I had a very eventful journey. We were making good progress on our journey and suddenly there was a sudden bang and bus sounded unhealthy. At first the drivers did not know what was happening even if I suspected it was a burst tyre. For a bit the bus trundled on for a bit in the slow lane and ended up stopping. They explained it would take around an hour and a half for a repla http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Araucania/Pucon/blog-346173.html One afternoon I decided reluctantly to do some horse riding I have not been horse riding for two to three years because of almost from having a serious accident on a horse whilst cantering in North Wales UK. The experience affected my confidence especially with cantering and for a long time I had been put off doing the activity. However the main reason for choosing horse riding was to a http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Araucania/Pucon/blog-345591.html I wanted to do a Spanish course on my trip and to build up the little Spanish I already know. I wanted to be in a location where it is a short walk from my hostel and the lessons to be onetoone. I remembered from last year how I was not really keen learning in a group and the ridiculous long commute I had to do every day when studying Spanish in Santiago. I chose Pucon because of being in a s http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Araucania/Pucon/blog-345582.html I booked an activity package with the language school in Pucon. This included a day out at Parque Nacional Huerquehue with a guide. My guide Dominique met me at my hostel at 8.00am and we made our way to the bus terminal to catch our bus to the National Park. It was a beautiful day and I knew I would be guaranteed seeing stunning views and scenery. It took approximately half an hour by bus t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Araucania/Pucon/blog-344792.html