the next morning we had to get up early because my brother, my dad, and me were going to get the train from Paris to London. mum stayed in Paris but came to the station to say goodbye. we had to run to get on because there were long queues to go through customs(they had us go through UK Border Control in the middle of the french train station) but we got there.
when we got to England we dropped our bags off at the pub/hostel that we were staying at and got a taxi to the Chelsea Football ground. the game was between Chelsea and Norwich and the final score was 3-1 to Chelsea.
the next day was the game that i had been looking forward to. we got the train from London to Manchester and had time to drop our bags off at the hostel before going to the stadium(again). the stadium itself didnt seem as big on the outside as it did on TV, but when you got inside it is huge. we found our seats in time for the 4pm kick off and by the time the game was finished it was Manchester United 8 Arsenal 2. you dont often get to see a scoreline like that so i was really lucky. one of the lower points of the game was the kid behind us. he was about 6 or 7 and he just squealed for the whole game. whenever the ball got near the goal he would start screaming as if it had gone in. eventually he went hoarse and quietened down so that was a relief.
the next day we went back to Paris on the train via London. when we finally arrived there we dragged our luggage to the apartment and collapsed.
then the day after we visited Euro Disney(Disney Land). a few of the rides were really boring and we only managed a few because the lines were giant. there was one roller coaster called Space Mountain that was quite terrifying.
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Paris 1
the next day we travelled on the train to Lucerne. it took about 3 hours but had a few extra stops along the way so it was around 4 and a bit hours. when we finally arrived we had a quick walk to our Youth Hostel. not long after we got there it started raining. it was the first time it had rained on our trip and soon the thunder and lightning started. it was a monstrous storm and some of the lightning flashes looked cool.
the day after we went to a mountain called Mt Titlis. we went up quite a long cable car and then another to get to where we needed to go. then we split up. mum and my brother stayed at the bottomarea and me and dad went off up a chairlift so we could come back down the mountain on things called Devil Bikes. they are basically normal bikes with very fat tyres and you dont pedal. the path we took was very steep. most of the track was covered in large rocks and slidy gravel.the view of the mountains was fantastic but i was concentrating on staying on my bike. eventually we reached the bottom of the track. the ride was quite painful and i had to jump off the bike a few times. we joined back up with the others then rode down to the very bottom on Trotti Bikes (those scooter things with bike wheels except bigger). we had to then quickly run to the train station so we didnt miss our train.
the day after that we went to Paris (here). we got up early and went to the train station. from there we got the train to Bern and then on to Geneva. in Geneva we had to wait for a couple of hours and then the plane was delayed. when we finally arrived in Paris it was around 9 pm. the man unlocking the the apartmentwas late and so when we got inside it was past 10.
the day after we went to a mountain called Mt Titlis. we went up quite a long cable car and then another to get to where we needed to go. then we split up. mum and my brother stayed at the bottomarea and me and dad went off up a chairlift so we could come back down the mountain on things called Devil Bikes. they are basically normal bikes with very fat tyres and you dont pedal. the path we took was very steep. most of the track was covered in large rocks and slidy gravel.the view of the mountains was fantastic but i was concentrating on staying on my bike. eventually we reached the bottom of the track. the ride was quite painful and i had to jump off the bike a few times. we joined back up with the others then rode down to the very bottom on Trotti Bikes (those scooter things with bike wheels except bigger). we had to then quickly run to the train station so we didnt miss our train.
the day after that we went to Paris (here). we got up early and went to the train station. from there we got the train to Bern and then on to Geneva. in Geneva we had to wait for a couple of hours and then the plane was delayed. when we finally arrived in Paris it was around 9 pm. the man unlocking the the apartmentwas late and so when we got inside it was past 10.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Interlaken, Switzerland
on the day after i last wrote/typed we visited the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel in rome. one of the things i learned there is that the painting on the ceiling of the chapel is the most racist painting ever. in a whole room of paintings(all the walls and the ceiling) there is not a single black person. apart from that the paintings were spectacular, but i still find it hard to believe that it took 1 man 4 years to paint it all.
the next day we went to the Pantheon(a big circular church) and another church full of monk bones. the bones were aranged into patterns. it was also weird seeing childrens bones in the last room. in the whole thing there were thousands of bones. some of the skeletons were still inside their robes. The Pantheon used to be a temple for the roman gods, before a pope turned it into a Catholic church. most of the Brass and precious metals were stripped off and used on other buildings like St Peters Church.
the next day we flew to from Rome to Geneva, in Switzerland. then by train on to Bern and then Interlaken. when we got off we took the bus to our Youth Hostel and dumped our stuff. i think that Switzerland has reminded me most of home so far because of all the farming land, mountains and forest.
then yesterday we didnt do much until the afternoon when we caught the bus to the other side of the lake to a town called Iseltvalde. even though its summer the water in the lake was freezing because it had come down from the glaciers.
Today we went up a huge mountain. it is called Schilthorn and is about 3000ft shorter than Mt Cook but it still felt high enough.on the mountain there were lots of cable cars. they all traveled dangerously high above the ground on very flimsy looking cables. especially the last one where we went off a 1000ft drop and shot down until the brakes caught up.
the next day we went to the Pantheon(a big circular church) and another church full of monk bones. the bones were aranged into patterns. it was also weird seeing childrens bones in the last room. in the whole thing there were thousands of bones. some of the skeletons were still inside their robes. The Pantheon used to be a temple for the roman gods, before a pope turned it into a Catholic church. most of the Brass and precious metals were stripped off and used on other buildings like St Peters Church.
the next day we flew to from Rome to Geneva, in Switzerland. then by train on to Bern and then Interlaken. when we got off we took the bus to our Youth Hostel and dumped our stuff. i think that Switzerland has reminded me most of home so far because of all the farming land, mountains and forest.
then yesterday we didnt do much until the afternoon when we caught the bus to the other side of the lake to a town called Iseltvalde. even though its summer the water in the lake was freezing because it had come down from the glaciers.
Today we went up a huge mountain. it is called Schilthorn and is about 3000ft shorter than Mt Cook but it still felt high enough.on the mountain there were lots of cable cars. they all traveled dangerously high above the ground on very flimsy looking cables. especially the last one where we went off a 1000ft drop and shot down until the brakes caught up.
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Rome
yesterday we went to see the Roman Forum. we tried to get out early so that it wasn't too hot but by the time we arrived it was over 40 degrees. we got tickets and wandered around the ruins of it with a really boring audio guide.
i did learn that the area used to be a swamp and only became usable when King Tarquinius Priscus used very modern reclamation(drainage) techniques to dry out the land so they could build the buildings that make up the Forum. the romans thought it was the centre of the world.
There were lots of exhibitions and small museums around the Forum grounds that had carvings and statues that had been found in the buildings. most of them had their noses chopped off because the romans believed that when you died you could inhabit your statue if you still had your nose because you could still breathe.
when we left we went and had lunch at a place where they sprayed you with water mist as you ate. it was quite refreshing because it cooled me down a lot. then we went and saw a famous fountain in Piazza Navona created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, called The Fountain of the Four Rivers.
Today we have just stayed in our apartment because it is so hot. later on we might be going to a swimming pool(they are surprisingly hard to find in Rome) but apart from that we are staying inside with the air conditioning.
Oh, and Celton wanted me to mention him in my blog so there i mentioned him.
i did learn that the area used to be a swamp and only became usable when King Tarquinius Priscus used very modern reclamation(drainage) techniques to dry out the land so they could build the buildings that make up the Forum. the romans thought it was the centre of the world.
There were lots of exhibitions and small museums around the Forum grounds that had carvings and statues that had been found in the buildings. most of them had their noses chopped off because the romans believed that when you died you could inhabit your statue if you still had your nose because you could still breathe.
when we left we went and had lunch at a place where they sprayed you with water mist as you ate. it was quite refreshing because it cooled me down a lot. then we went and saw a famous fountain in Piazza Navona created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, called The Fountain of the Four Rivers.
Today we have just stayed in our apartment because it is so hot. later on we might be going to a swimming pool(they are surprisingly hard to find in Rome) but apart from that we are staying inside with the air conditioning.
Oh, and Celton wanted me to mention him in my blog so there i mentioned him.
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Rome
after leaving Pisa, we stayed at a youth hostel in a town called Perugia. during our two nights there we visited the village of Assisi and walked around the monastery of Saint Francis (of Assisi). he is one of the only saints who was not very religious when he was young, and only converted sometime after he was in jail. he also really liked animals and when he went and lived in the mountains all the animals would go and follow him around.
We left Perugia on the 14th and travelled on the train to Rome. our first day in rome was a public holiday so nothing was open, but we managed to walk from our apartment to the Vatican city and into St Peters Square. (the catholics seem to be very clear about where the boundaries of the Vatican city are because they have put a huge brick wall all around it)
Today it has been 36 degrees. we went to the Colosseum and found that most of it really has fallen off or been stolen. the goths started nicking bits first, then the vandals. then the catholics took stuff to make St Peters.
We left Perugia on the 14th and travelled on the train to Rome. our first day in rome was a public holiday so nothing was open, but we managed to walk from our apartment to the Vatican city and into St Peters Square. (the catholics seem to be very clear about where the boundaries of the Vatican city are because they have put a huge brick wall all around it)
Today it has been 36 degrees. we went to the Colosseum and found that most of it really has fallen off or been stolen. the goths started nicking bits first, then the vandals. then the catholics took stuff to make St Peters.
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Pisa
after 1.5 hours of flying, we arrived in Pisa. we had to get up at 4 am to get the bus to the airport.
its only a minutes walk from our hotel to the leaning tower of Pisa, so we've just been there. its boiling even now when im writing this at around 7 in the evening. we havent done much else today but we hired a 4 person bike thing and cycled around a little bit.
its only a minutes walk from our hotel to the leaning tower of Pisa, so we've just been there. its boiling even now when im writing this at around 7 in the evening. we havent done much else today but we hired a 4 person bike thing and cycled around a little bit.
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Barcelona
Yesterday, after i finished my blog, my family went to visit the Sagrada Familia. it is a huge church/cathedral that started to be built in the late 1800s and isnt meant to be finished until around 2026. it was designed by a guy called Gaudi who died in 1926. then this morning we visited a garden also designed by Gaudi, then went by bus to an art gallery with pictures by Juan Miro in them.(he draws squiggles all over everything)
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