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Published: October 2nd 2006
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Winners
Steves cricket team after winning the Grand Final Hi to all! I know this blog does not have photos, but were are finding it hard to get an internet cafe that will allow us to put them on the computer. I will put in extra photos on the next one.
Steve and I have officially left Burton, but on a good note. Steves cricket team won their League and will be promoted to the premier division next year. We made some amazing friends so it was hard to go, but we know we will keep in contact.
Well Steve and I have officially started on our European adventure! We started in Munich, getting up at 4.30am and off to the airport. Our friend Tony was generous enough to offer to take us to the airport. It was only after we accepted the offer that we informed him of what time we needed to be there 😊 He took us anyway, thanks Tony!
We started in Munuich at Oktoberfest. We got to the hostel and some of Steves friends met us shortly after and scurried Steve and I off to the festival. Steve had a great evening (of what he can remember) and I enjoyed the atmosphere.
Oktoberfest
Us with Dolph, Bez, Kurt and Trent also our waitress in one of the beer tents. Since I dont actually drink beer and there isnt really much else on the menu, I was probably the only sober person out of approx 6000 people in the beer tent. It was fantastic to see though and I did manage half of one of the steins (1 litre beer). The next day Steve actually pulled up well and we walked about the city. It was pouring rain, so we had to invest in an umbrella that Steve ended up leaving at the Hostel when we left.... We walked about the city and although we saw some nice buildings and things, we were not to sure what they were, so we will do a guided tour on our next stop there. We headed to one of the permanent beer halls for dinner which was good fun. Singing and dancing (we did not participate) and really nice food were on the menu. Not as crowded as the festival, but still a great atmosphere.
Up early the next day and off to Paris. Almost 12 hours later we arrived in the Red Light district of Paris. Our hotel was not too far from the Moulin Rogue and what a hotel it
The Louvre
Outside the Louvre in Paris was! A leaking toilet, shower held together by duct tape and exposed electrical wiring. All said and done, there were not any cockroaches (that we could see) and it was a place to sleep, so we didnt complain. In the evening we didnt really do all that much that evening but we planned a walking tour for the next day. Up early and on the tube, we met our tour group for a 4 hour tour of Paris with an American run and owned company called Fat tyre bike tours (also walking tours). Our guide John was fantastic and although it was a long day we enjoyed every moment of it. The weather was fantastic. We started at Notre Dame and made our way past a few lesser known sites and ended up at the Eiffel Tower. Anyone who has been to Paris will realise that the city is much bigger than you expect and it is quite a walk, although it is not that bad as Paris is a very flat city. That evening we went to the Sacre Couer which is practically the highest point in Paris and watched the sunset over Paris (awwww).
We had a
Top of Paris
At the top of the Eiffel Tower reasonably early evening and were up the next day, back to Notre Dame to actually go inside this time. Out of all the Cathedrals and buildings we have seen, Notre Dame is a step above that. Hard to believe that after the French Revolution they used it simply as a store house for a while! We then visited the Louvre after buying some emergency poncho's as the weather was not quite as kind as the day before. The Louvre is so big you would need a whole day at least if you wanted a good look around the whole thing. Steve and I narrowed it down to the 'must see' list and did it in a couple of hours. Mona Lisa and Venus De Milo were the top 2 on the list, and although both fantastic works of art, seeing them close up does make you wonder a little about why they are considered so wonderful. Was still good to see though. Poor Steve was then dragged to Musee d'Orsay which has a fantastic colletion of Impressionist Art which I personally think is a little more entertaining that the Louvre. Monet, Manet, Renoir... they are all there and so many
Fruit Beer
You can see the excitement on my face, fruit beer is GREAT works as well. I could have stayed for hours, but we had more things to do and Steve looked as though he was about to fall asleep standing up. We were then off to our final stop of the day at the Eiffel Tower. We did not have to wait in line all that long, then it was a lift straight to the top! There is not much more to say other than the view was wonderful, and it really does have a presence about it. Hard to believe it was originally made as a temporary structure that was only meant to stand for 20 years. We didnt get the chance to go to the Moulin Rouge, but I am sure we can make a quick weekend trip over one time once we get back to London.
Another but trip in the morning and we were off to Bruge (Belgium). We arrived early afternoon and checked into our hostel. The first room we were given had a leak in the shower so the room smelt like mouldy carpet, so Steve complained and we got moved to a nicer room. We did not do all that much in Bruges as
The Bible
Steve is reading the beer menu at one of the bars in Bruge, note my fruit beer on the bar.... it is only a small place although there is still quite a bit to see. We did however focus on the 2 main attractions, beer and chocolate. Now as most of you know, I dont like beer. We visited a pub that sold 350 different types of beer and then heard about onethat sold some 450 types. We visited both of them and I managed to stay sane and enjoy a beer as well.... a fruit flavoured beer! From what I can gather it is basically beer mixed with fruit juice and it is delicious. Sadly I have become addicted and no where else we have visited seems to sell it. We also purchased some lovely chocolate and will hopefully finish them off soon. They are not lying when they say it is something else. Funny story from the trip is that we planned to climb the local bell tower (Bellfort) 366 steps to the top, we ate some lunch and then Steve decides at 12.50 that he wants to make it to the top for the 1pm ringing of the bells. So by the time we queued and got our tickets we had 6 minutes to get to the
At the tour
The beer tour of the Heineken factory. You dont learn a great deal, but there is lots of beer included in the entry price. In Amsterdam top. 366 narrow and steep stairs later we made it to the top just as the first bells started to ring. I dont remember much else as I was close to passing out at that point........Still not sure why we couldnt pass some time and make our way up for the 2pm ring.... never mind.
Bruges was a lovely place, and that is where I will leave it for now. We have since passed through Amsterdam and have now arrived in Berlin. I will leave them for the next blog otherwise this one will just be too long. I am trying to condense it as much as I can, but Europe is such an amazing place with so much history, I am finding it difficult.
I hope this finds you all well and hopefully I will get the chance to send another one through soon.
Lots of love... Liz and Steve.
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Derek Styman
non-member comment
Busy
Hi. Looks like you are having a ball. Until I read this blog I hadn't realised just how much you have managed to do even when you were busy in Burton with cricket etc. Europe looks good, you've seen more than I've seen of europe, in fact more than I'm likely to see. I may venture to some of the beer based cities though. Keep enjoying. Looking forward to you coming up to the club for youth presentation evening (24/11) and club dinner (2/12). Sorry you won't be at the league dinner this friday but we'll have a beer and toast the pair of ya. Derek