Contiki Days 11, 12, 13 and 14

My last post ended on my last night in Rome and since then we’ve been going non-stop through Venice and into Munich, Germany. Leaving a place such as Rome is tough because of all the history that it holds from different eras anywhere from 2500 years ago to 100 years ago and the nerd inside me wasn’t happy. However, the transition to Venice didn’t disappoint. What a beautiful place! Our day in Venice included a walking tour through the little alleyways, avenues and canals as we learnt about the formation and history of Venice. It was incredible to think that over 2000 years ago Venice was founded as a city built on thousands of tree trunks stuck into marshy surrounds resulting in a stable but very, very slowly sinking city. We also enjoyed a romantic gondola ride along the canals of Venice, seeing the city from a different angle and experiencing what life would have been like when this was the main mode of transport around the city. Free time involved trying but ultimately failing to get purposely lost in the never-ending labyrinth of back streets as well as a trip into St Mark’s Cathedral and a picnic on the banks of the Grand Canal. The weather didn’t let us down with a beautiful blue sky and bright sun.
The next day we ventured to Munich via Austria and again ticked off what was a fairly unique experience for the second time in the trip. 3 different meals in 3 different countries in one day!! Breakfast in Italy, lunch in Austria and Dinner in Germany. Fair to say everyone was pretty excited to see a salad bar at lunch and dinner after 5 days of Lasagna and a severe lack of any vegetables. This sounds crazy for me to be saying but I quite enjoyed a SALAD for lunch. Unbelievable!
Munich transported back into more modern eras of history as we were opened to the events of the world wars, in particular world war 2 and the rise of the Nazi’s. This was before a trip to a local and quite famous beer house where we enjoyed a significant amount of pork and a few coca-colas to the sounds of a german brass band. Today we’re travelling to Vienna via Mathaussen Concentration camp which is sure to be a confronting and eye-opening experience. Until next time,

Watch this space.

Dillon

Contiki Days 7,8,9 & 10

So there has been so much to tell you about the last 4 days that I don't think I could do it justice. I could probably title this blog "Italy" as the last 4 days have seen us head from Nice in Southern France to Rome via Florence. Day 7 basically consisted of a day on the Coach travelling to Florence with one major detour, Pisa, the home of the leaning tower. This was a rather large shock, mainly as a result of the surrounding ghetto. It was quite odd to see such a beautiful square of history including the Leaning tower and attached baptistry and cathedral located right in the middle of the darkest part of a ghetto comparable to Elizabeth. After a week of the high life it was a shock to the system to see what was basically slums where it can only be expected that unemployment and crime levels would have been high. This soured the experience for some but for me it was just more of a shock until you got through the beggars and the squares surrounding wall to the trip Pisa square.

FLORENCE
Heading into Florence we were treated to a walk through the historic town to an all you can eat lasagne and an early-ish night before our next day exploring Florence. We woke to a beautiful day, a traditional leather production demonstration before a walking tour through the historical sights of Florence, most importantly the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio. It brought back many memories from Year 10 History and it was amazing to see such a building which if I was to say dominated the Florence skyline it would be an understatement. Luckily enough we were able to climb the second biggest dome in christendom (behind the St Peter's Basilica) and look out over the seemingly never ending spread of terracotta roofs. We also quickly visited the palace of the Medici family who are basically the founding family of the banking and monetary systems. This was also the sight of a 1.5kg Florentine steak for lunch (shared between 3) and a Tuscan feast (5 course meal) in a castle above Florence. This only served as the precursor to my first clubbing experience at space and it was certainly an incredibly enjoyable night to remember.

ROME

Arriving in Rome was something I will never forget. It was a serious of WOW's as we took a coach trip through Rome past the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Altar to the People (also commonly known as the wedding cake) and the Roman Forum. This was before a walking tour through the Colosseum to the Trevi Fountain, consuming Europe's best voted Gelati (amazing!!) and to the Pantheon. Today was spent revisiting the places the we skimmed over on our walking tour as well as the Catacombs (morbid) and a 3 hour tour through the smallest country in the world, Vatican City. After going to a Catholic School for 6 years of my life it was hard not to be excited about this tour and it didn't disappoint. We scoured the Vatican museums, took shneaky shnaps of the Sistine Chapel roof before heading into St Peter's Basilica. It was amazing to see such incredible art and architecture for what is assumed to be a sacred space. Around every corner was a different famous sculpture or painting by Michelangelo or Boticelli. A paragraph on it just doesn't do justice.

Tomorrow we're off to Venice via the home of the Ferrari where some of us will be driving Ferrari's around a custom made highway track. Should be an interesting experience. Until then, watch this space!

Dillon

Contiki Days 4, 5 and 6

So by now you're probably getting sick of having to read through my stories of having an amazing time overseas so I thought i'd just keep you updated on what's happening. Short and shiny.
It's been three days since I posted last and since then the biggest highlights have been generally related to the amazing scenery that we've been blessed with. We've explored what seemed to initially be a nice, cosy little town called Lucerne which had a couple of main streets and a few main attractions such as a historic old bridge. The trip up to the top of the closest mountain proved those observations wrong as we were treated with incredible panoramic views of the swiss alpine region, some amazingly white and clean snow and a view of what turned out to be a big sprawling city. The scene provided time for some quality snowballing and some even better group photos.
Since then we have travelled through 4 countries; Switzerland, Italy, France and Monaco (the second smallest country in the world, 5 square kilometres). We've travelled from endless snow capped mountains into the quaint italian countryside through to the beautiful french riviera with possibly the bluest water I've ever seen. It's pretty incredible to think that we travelled through 4 countries, from snow to surf and had 3 main meals in 3 separate countries, all in one day!
Last night was spent in Monaco, a country which has no taxes but requires residents to have a passport worth $4 million each. Fair to say there was a serious amount of money being thrown around. Mansions, yachts, at the casino. It was just incredible. Fun fact: A piece of land 1 square metre by 1 square metre costs $56,000 in Monaco!

We had dinner in a cosy little restaurant off one of the alleyways before heading to the Grand Casino for the rest of the evening. It was an odd sight seeing people just walk up to a roulette table and place a $500 bet every once in a while and not even care what the result of the bet was. It was similarly enthralling to witness what a $200,000 chip looks like. Luckily some contiki-ers won a bit of cash to provide some entertainment as we all cheered to the amusement of the dealers in the tuxedos.
Today was a relax day, allowing us to do some washing and a picnic up above the cote d'azur of some local delicacies before heading out to dinner later on tonight. This morning was one of the most picturesque runs i've ever done in my life, along the beaches of Nice as the sun rose. Breathtaking!
We head into Italy for the first time to stay tomorrow as we explore Florence. And I can't wait.
Until then,

Watch this space,

Dillon

Contiki 3 (and other snippets)

Hello again,

Today was a relatively uneventful day as we spent close to 8 hours on the coach travelling from Paris, France, to Lucerne in the Swiss Alps. Therefore I will take the opportunity to branch out on the description of Paris and also add some photos for you to enjoy from our trip so far.
Evidently the coach ride provided some to recover from the night prior at Moulin Rouge and the Irish Pub. Others just caught up on some sleep and some just enjoyed the beautiful sights of the French countryside. And then there was the ninja who unfortunately after an incredibly unlucky start to the trip on day one found himself in struggle town and took many a trip up the centre aisle to relive what was a decent breakfast. It also provided us with an opportunity to branch out from our friendship groups formed early in the trip and meet some others in the group.

The ninja, also referred to as the lurker or of course Ben is a group favourite as the ‘back seat bandits’ look to allocate nicknames to all that we meet. So far we have Kim, ninja, manchild, kiwi, bus-slut/tiger, the fresh prince and Annnnnnge (said with a hearty twang in the throat) I refer to the contiki-ers as they have been recently introduced to the reading of this blog including a group public reading in which Charlotte decided to express my sentiments with plenty of laughs and a critiquing eye on my grammar and spelling (although many have already picked up on this)

As I said this opportunity is perfect to revisit what were a jam-packed couple of days in Paris. The city is beautiful but the actual structure of the city and its planning I believe is what leads to this being the case. It is structured around a central cross which incorporates the arc de triumphe down the champs elysees to the Louvre palace and its public gardens. In the centre is an Egyptian obelisk and then going perpendicular to this and crossing the river seine is the French parliament assembly and another identical palace. This makes for some incredible views and pictures to be taken, a tourist friendly atmosphere and a beautiful city scape. We also visited a famous bridge (the scene of Big and Carrie’s infamous scene from Sex and the City) which crosses the Seine and on which couples put a padlock with a message written on it, lock it, and throw the key into the river. Consequently there are thousands of padlocks on this bridge ranging from the heavy duty to the decorative.

The Moulin Rouge was a definite highlight, not only me but for most in the contiki group. It was the in-between acts which some found the most enjoyable. Acrobatic groups, python swimmers and comedians but an impressive juggler was a favourite. He just kept going, more and more implements to which some just couldn’t believe, repeatedly going, ‘Noooo, nooo, surelyyyyy, nooo!!’ Ive never heard people clap as loud as they did.

So we’ve arrived in Switzerland, a beautiful country and are in a hotel which is on a mountainside covered in snow with an amazing view down over the city of Lucerne. This provided high levels of excitement particularly from those who hadn’t seen snow before and it’ll only get better as we head up to the peak today followed by a fondue lunch and some time to explore Lucerne.
Photos are hopefully attached to this blog and if not there are some more on facebook for those who are lucky enough to be my friends J

Until next time,

Watch this space.

Dillon

Contiki days 1 and 2

Hi guys,
Apologies again for the delay in blog update. It just means this one is going to be an absolute cracker, no pressure.
So when I left you last I was about to head onto contiki. And what an incredible two days it has been since then. A 5am wake-up running into our french roomies coming back from their soiree. We jumped on the coach and went straight over the white cliffs of dover, through customs and onto the english channel for the 1 and a half hour ferry ride to the sunny shores of France (debatable) I very quickly found out that we were in a completely foreign place as they drove on the wrong side of the road, looked at you weirdly when you started talking English out of habit and you had no idea what each road sign meant. However, this was a blessing in disguise as it forced me to pick up quickly what I had left behind in yr 11 french and it is surprising how much i remembered. Although most did understand english they appreciate it if you give the local language a try and fair to say a couple of the contiki-ers were relatively impressed. We arrived in Paris, hit our hotel, had a rushed dinner, left two people behind for being late and we were off to the Eiffel Tower for night one. WOW!!! What an incredible sight, driving through Paris at night, all lit up. We passed through the louvre courtyard and past the infamous glass pyramid, along the river seine past notre dame and war museums. It is just such a beautiful place. The set up makes it almost impossible to drive around but in the hands of our trusted driver Chris we made it for an hour wait and a 5 minute lift trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower and get blown away (literally and metaphorically speaking)
Day 2 consisted of free time in which we were allowed to explore Paris at our own pace and see whatever we most wanted too. My group voyaged up the Champs Elysees, did some shopping whilst listening to Parlez Vous Francais? certainly some odd looks there. Visited the Arc de Triomphe which also provided an incredible view of Paris and its construction. The most treacherous round-a-bout in the world and you can understand why. There are NO LANES!!!! You just go wherever, whenever and hope someone else stops. This provided some entertainment in itself. We made it down the other side of the busy street, bought un chocolat chaud et un croissant (hot chocolate and chocolate croissant), got caught in a terrential downpour before making a b-line for the Mona Lisa and the Louvre. It is such a phenomenal place and one more that I can tick off  my growing bucket list.
Notre dame cathedral was next and this was one of my highlights so far in the trip. A gothic cathedral, it contrasted so much to the cathedrals we visited in london and provided for an eerie but beautiful space with some incredible stain glass windows and similarly impressive stone work.
To end what had been an incredible day already, we dressed up and were off to the MOULIN ROUGE!!! We sipped $80 bottles of wine and ate caviar and duck, sirloin steak and the best mouse i've ever tasted!!! And this was all before the show even started. Dancers and dancing were impressive but I found that the acts in between scenes were brilliant!! Jugglers, acrobats, swimmers who dove into a pool and mucked around with snakes, comedic actors. All made the night one to remember. And yet it was only young. The party moved next door to an Irish pub where its fair to say yours truly comprehensively started and destroyed a dfloor after a few too many sips of french wine and with the night danced away we arrived back at the hotel at 4 and ready for a decent nights sleep.
What an amazing couple of days, and it only gets better. Today we're on the coach travelling off to Lucerne, Switzerland. Can't wait for the next set of stories to come across.
One fun fact for you and what an incredible one it is:
-If you were to spend 4 seconds looking at each piece of art in the Louvre it would take you 9 and a half years to see everything!! Wow, mind blown!
So until next time, watch this space.
Dillon
P.S Photos are coming soon i promise

Day 4: Our last day in London

Hello all, Just a quick issue for today to keep you up to date. We went from 17 degrees and sunny to a bitterly cold 11 degrees and overcast. Back to our typical 3 layers and after a well earnt sleep in we were off to the tower of London. A building which is incredibly old, historic and fully of incredible stories. We saw the crown jewels of the monarch, a room guarded by a 2000 tonne series of steel doors and 10 well dressed guards it was incredible to see up close an object which by itself is worth upwards of 2 million dollars. We then ventured out to the home of cricket, Lords! As incredible as it was to venture through the hallowed halls of the home of cricket and explore the scene of many famous cricket events, Aaron and I both somewhat biasedly agreed that we prefer the adelaide oval. The tour guide was probably 95 years old, couldn't count, and was the stereotypical English cricket fan. He did however have some amazing stories which kept some clueless Indian fans in awe. A particular highlight was viewing the original holy grail, the ashes, in person. It is always inspirational to walk the halls that your idols have previously walked and you yourself aspire to walk along in the future. We both can't wait to get out and play some cricket. Well tonight is an early night, a load of washing and a good nights sleep on behind us we head off on our Contiki tour of north west Europe tomorrow. First stop Paris!!! Hope all is well wherever this is being read. Until next time, watch this space. Dillon

Day 3

Apologies to all those avid readers of this publication who have lost sleep due to the late writing of this issue. A late night in London town is the reason and I think I'm entitled to that as it was my birthday. Another fantastic down in London. 17 degrees, blue skies and sun definitely brought London to life and ensured Aaron and I went from 3 to 2 layers for the first time in the trip.
After a bout of homesickness with birthday wishes from home and a pep talk from the big bro we were off on another day of touristy-ness (yep that's right, I invent words now)
This was not after a work meeting between Aaron and a work colleague at a local coffee house and some lightning fast hot chocolate which no joke took under 1 minute from order and payment to sipping with a high degree of satisfaction. Certainly was interesting to see a side of Aaron that I have never seen before.
Fair to say it gave me plenty of time to invent the life stories of every one of the thousands of londoners who walked past on the sidewalk.
We then ventured to Piccadilly Circus which to Aaron's disgust was indeed not a circus but a mini time square and certainly came to life later in the night.
Buckingham Palace was our next visit and we scrambled just in time to see the changing of the guards which honestly didn't make much sense but was an interesting experience none the less. Incredible to see som many people one place watching something that happens relatively frequently.
We have a new favourite place to eat. Unfortunately we still don't know the name of the place after two visits but a main meal and a drink for 8 pounds ($13) is a money saver and therefore we love it. Interesting to listen into conversations which involves one guy which just insists that 'you know what I'm saying y'all'.
Madame Tussauds was a definite highlight not only for the day but the entire trip so far. Some of the sculptures were uncanny in their resemblance, others not so much. But there were many many photos taken with hilarious poses which brought smiles to many a strangers face (these will be updated shortly) For those twilight fans there was one with James Patterson and Taylor Lautner (correct spelling?) and the JB fans won't be disappointed but it was hard to get his face and mine in the same shot due to his significant lack of height.
Our night consisted of a night on Piccadilly Circus town and a show at the Queens theatre called 'Les Miserables'. I know what youre thinking. "Aaron and Dillon at a musical theatre show? What's going on there?" But to our surprise and yours we both quite enjoyed it. Although there were some sickeningly high notes hit by men who really shouldn't be even attempting it.
For those more interested in the partying. I was asked for ID and still allowed entry at an Irish Pub which was a first. As was buying my first drink (it was a Southern Comfort and Coke. Marcus, Malcolm and Ben Howland should enjoy that).
In continuing with my fun facts for the last couple of issues:
-Aaron still loves that he just "gets inflation"
-We definitely did not know what the man at lunch was saying.
-London comes to life in 17 degrees and sunny. So much so that some skin really shouldn't ever be seen by some people and yet ventures out on such days.
-Ben Howland loves his Southern Comfort
and some funny quotes:
-Aaron: Sorry lads, that was supposed to be silent
-Dillon: Aaron!! That was horrendous
-Aaron (whilst just walking down the street during the day): I just get it, you know. I just get inflation.
The next issue of this might be a little while off as we head on our Contiki trip around north western europe tomorrow and internet might be scarce but it is poised to be a quality piece of reading.
Until then, watch this space.
Dillon

Day 2

Just to relieve you of all of your worries, this blog will not be maintaining a day by day post for the whole 7 months while I'm overseas but will try and keep you posted throughout the more exciting times when travelling around the north-west parts of europe over the next month or so as thats all the stuff you want to hear about.
Today was another incredible day. Woke up after a solid 14 hours sleep (thanks jet lag) to two new french guys sleeping on the other side of our room (4 bed dorm). Aaron also informed me that I missed a phone call, some heated russian discussion and noise from the hall and their entry and unpacking. Fair to say it was a pretty deep sleep.
Today we covered more of historical England. We travelled to the site of the Globe Theatre reliving Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night for all those shakespeare enthusiasts from English Studies with Fr Hogan back in Adelaide. Then crossed the newly constructed the new Millenium bridge to explore St Pauls Cathedral. Absolutely monstrous in size I personally found it significantly better than Westminster Abbey and was surprised that I personally hadn't really heard much about it. (Google it)
We visited the Bank of England to satisfy the business and commerce side of things for Aaron and he felt proud that he knew exactly what was being explained with regards to inflation and the economy. Also lifted up a bar of gold worth $10 million. Incredibly heavy and yet small enough to be lifted by one hand.
The day finished with a tour of the Tower Bridge which looks over 500 years old but is only 100 years old.
We still have so much to cover yet our feet are feeling the effects of covering some serious km's. We will push on however to keep you all updated with the happenings of London.
Again some London fun facts for you,
-London bridge did in fact fall down...and was rebuilt 30 years ago much to our disgust due to its lack of history.
-London has a lot of stairs.
-There is a fee for those who are game enough to drive their car in the city of London. 8-10 pounds a day.
-There is an initiative in place for bike riding in London resulting in thousands of bikes absolutely every where and some streets being constructed solely for them.
-There are no bins located in the London underground or any major landmarks following the london bombings.
-London is home to an incredible amount of Adelaidean dopplegangers and some are just uncanny in their  similarity to the extent where at times I feel offended that they don't automatically say hello.
-There is an asian restaurant chain called Wagamamma which was the scene for our recent dinner.

As a result of some requests I have revisited my sign off and will be trialling some over the next couple of issues.
So for the next issue, watch this space.
Dillon

Day 1

Hello everyone,
So it's the end of day 1 of my trip and what a day (well nearly 2 days it has been!) Seen off by close friends and family at the airport Aaron and I embarked on a 21 hour flight which would take us to the other side of the world. With minimal sleep, some serious movie watching and mischievous seat shuffling we arrived to a frosted, foggy, cold English morning at Heathrow airport.
With suburbs and suburbs of streets and alleys with the same frontage and thousands of flats with minimal space behind us we ventured into London. After an hour commute and one blood nose, how my perceptions changed. The buildings became more majestic, and this was before we even found our hostel. Arriving before check-in time, we donned the kathmandu backpacks and ventured out.
What an afternoon it was. From Trafalgar square we ventured past scotland yard to the house of parliament and big ben, rode the London Eye, sat in on a horribly boring debate in the British House of Lords and took a self-guided tour through Westminster Abbey. It's fair to say that the wow moments just didn't stop. Such incredible architecture from over 1000 years ago with so much history, it's hard not to be blown away. Plenty of happy snaps were taken which shall be uploaded soon starting off what will no doubt be an intense series of photographic memories helping us relive what is poised to be an incredible 7 months.
Some fun facts to keep you occupied.
-Londoners are angry people behind the wheel or when bumped into as we witnessed countless times in our commute into London.
-I am yet to find a London overhead powerline
-The crossing sign doesnt go 'tick tick tick tick tick' when it's time to walk so you have to be on your game'
-Old English men can grow incredible beards.
-London food and drinks are really cheap (comparatively speaking)
-London taxi's are not.
Until next time,
Dillon