Call Me Stubborn But I Still Think Australian Wine Is Better!! Leaving the coast I made my way South back down to a little town called Blois in central France in the Loire Valley. Made famous for it's concentration of Chateaux, I intended to get out to Chateau Chambord which was built in by the monarchy with influences from Leonardo Di Vinci who lived just down the road. Unfortunately I didn't arrive until late afternoon and I already had a train booked for 2pm the next day. With the bus timetable the way it was the earliest I could make it back to Blois was 3pm so that plan went out the window. In saying that, I did manage to fill my time in Blois productively though as the town has numerous walking trails throughout the ... read more

The Things You Just Have To Do When In Paris. The last day in Paris was spent doing all those things that you have to do when here. Bright and early, I was off to the Eiffel Tower to try and beat the crowds. On arriving all I could think was epic fail! as the line stretched from the corners of the tower around the plaza and out to the bridge over the Seine. Thankfully, that was the queue for all the fatties that wanted to pay more for taking the lifts to the first and second levels. The queue for the stairs on the other hand only had about six people in it and was only four euro instead of ten. At the halfway point between the first and the second levels they have put ... read more

.... And Beyond!! With Tuesday being Bastille Day, the French national holiday, I decided to beat the crowds and head to Euro Disneyland on the Monday instead. Like Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, the European version is split into two parks, Euro Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios Park. The similarities don't stop there either... Disneyland is split up into "lands" with nearly the same headings and even the rides are almost identical (and of course they both have the trademark Disneyland Castle). Frontierland, home to the wild west, covers Big Thunder Mountain as well as attractions from Pocahontas, The Mark Twain Paddle Boat and Woody's Roundup. It also has an old mansion house set up as a spooky ride called Phantom Manor. Adventureland captures everything from Indiana Jones, La Cabane Des Robinson (Robinson... read more

I Don't Know How But I Missed A Whole Day Out Of My London Blog!!! On the second day in London I decided to head West for the day to go to Windsor Castle. It just wouldn't be right coming to London and not seeing it so an hour later I was queuing up at the gates to the oldest inhabited residence in the world, not to mention the largest castle in Europe. From the gates, you walk up to the castle along the outside wall to the entrance to the royal residence to have a peer through the gate. Now on the inside of the wall your confronted with the oldest part of Windsor Castle, the Round Keep. Dating dack to the 11th Century and the time of William the Conqueror, the keep is the ... read more

From Two Huge Cathedrals To The Centre Of Industrial England Leaving all the wild parties behind, I was headed for the quieter countryside again. Plans for today were to catch a quick train to Durham to check out the Cathedral and Castle before getting through to York for a couple of nights. Durham is just a short trip from Newcastle, only about fifteen minutes on the train, and the main purpose to visit is perched on top of the hill in the centre of the town. Durham Cathedral was originally built in the 11th Century but suffered major damage during the Reformation in the 16th Century. Now days, most of the stained glass dates back to the Victorian period but the building is impressive none the less. It houses the tombs of a couple of important ... read more