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