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I left Amsterdam with a massive feeling of relief – I had a (new and) full wallet (owing to the extreme generosity from my parents via Western Union), and going to a place where at least I spoke their language.
Obviously, to those who have read my blog, I stopped updating it about 2/3 of the way through my trip. This was mainly owing to lack of time, but the Scottish in me also started complaining about the cost of internet in cafes, so I gave up. In the briefest of descriptions, the rest of my trip consisted of: Continue reading
I treated myself to an epic sleep-in on my second day in the big smoke, then got up and went for some wanders. First stop was a bakery to get my a baguette, which I gnawed on for a while, spraying baguette crumbs all over the metro and providing an alternate source of food for the local birdlife.
Next stop was Les Halles, a shopping area that I remember being in on my last trip. Not a lot had changed – the 1970s-style shopping mall attached to the Les Halles metro stop looks the same, but I read somewhere that they’re looking to flash it all up in the next year or so. Maybe that can be an exciting surprise for my next trip? I looked at lots of shoes, and was saddened by the fact that it is surprisingly difficult to find a pair of decent heels this season that don’t have a platform attached under the toe. Seriously, what is with the platforms? They weren’t cool when ABBA wore them, and I don’t think they’re cool now, but any women’s shoe shop now seems to preferentially stock platforms rather than your good old platform-less 4 inch heels. It was a huge source of disappointment for me on this trip – I was hoping to come home with a pack full of beautiful heels, and instead I just threw out 3/5 pairs of shoes I originally packed (not a huge loss). Continue reading
Monday 14th was checkout day in Nice. Emily the Aussie was also checking out that day, so we got a lift down to the tram together and went into town. I was due at the train station at midday, she was due at the airport by 2PM, so we were on a tight timeframe for our speed shop. I tried on many a pair of sparkly shoes but bought nothing. This whole lark of having a smallish pack and needing to be physically capable of carrying it on your back is a great anti-purchase incentive for me. I’m sure I saved heaps of money because I imagined how I’d fit it in my pack with all the other potential purchases, so everything got filtered through a prepurchase inspection. While this wasn’t exactly an official process the following list of questions provides some insight into my mind’s inner workings:
Any item scoring over +3 can be tried on. Seriously, it’s saved me hundereds. Continue reading
Me waving goodbye to Italy
Beth giving Italy the royal goodbye
My last day in Italy – I flew out to France in the afternoon. We’d decided the night before that we’d all get up super-early and go to the fish market in the morning. We all slept in, so the fish market idea quickly swam away and instead we went out for breakfast. This time it was one of those strange wee Italian bakeries where you order your coffee and food at the counter, then stand and drink/eat it at the counter with half the village, before paying and leaving. I like to nibble at my food and drink my coffee only once it’s cold, so it seemed a bit rushed for me. This is, of course, why Italians drink coffee in a shot, and eat cold pastries – easier to scoff it down and rush off through the streets to walk your dog. I think. Continue reading
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