Archive for November, 2003

Episode 2

Bonjour!

C’est Richard, en Paris! Yes…. I’m in Paris, and I’m sitting in my Hostel on the computer, writing to you! Don’t you feel special?

I left yesterday (thursday) at 5:30pm, and spent about 9 hours on the plane to Bangkok. I met a couple of really cool people on the plane, who gave me the idea of getting a massage while I was waiting for my connecting flight to Paris - pity we arrived 1/2 hour late. So… I missed out on my massage, I didn’t have time (or money) to check my email and write anything to you lovely people, but… I did get to have a laugh at all the “children” sleeping in a “playground” in the airport (when I say “children”, they were all over 40).

The flight from Bankgok to Paris was unevental - I slept for most of it! 12 hours on a Plan, cooped up in a area barely big enough to turn around.

I finally arrived in Paris at 6:30am (Paris time - about 3:30pm Melbourne time), and had a coffee at the airport while I waited for my friend to come and pick me up.

Most of today, we spent roaming around the city - we first dropped our bags off at the hostel, and then we went out to see the Eiffel Tower. There were some FANTASTIC views from the top - it was awesome. I’ll hopefully post some of the photos when I can find a decent computer (I’m currently at one of those “Kiosks” that have a tiny keyboard, a crappy mouse, and that charge by the minute!)

We’ve already made plans to see the other major tourist attractions tomorrow (Notre Damn, and the Arc du Triumphe), and I’m going to have Sunday and Monday to myself, so I’ll be able to go at my own pace.

For those of you who know what I’m talking about, I should be visiting “Cafe Signes” tomorrow as well (for those of you who don’t know - it’s a Cafe owned and run by deaf people), so I’m really looking forward to that.

Anyway, I’ll keep in touch, and hopefully post lots more messages to you all soon.

A Bientot!

Richard.


Update: Photos from the airport - “pre-going away”


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Dick's Adventures Ep. 1a - Website!

Oh, and one more thing - if you haven’t already figured this out, you can view these messages, along with my calendar, and photos up on the web:

http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/richards_travels/

And if you need (or want) to contact me while I’m away, I’ll be taking my mobile phone with me. I’m going to divert incoming calls (cause I don’t want to pay international rates for people to call me!), but you can still SMS. Otherwise, you can just email me!

Dick's Adventures Ep. 1 - 5 more sleeps

Hey all!

It’s only 5 more sleeps till I’m jetting off across the world to Europe!

As you probably know, I’ve going over there to meet up with my best mate from school, Paul. He’s been over there all year studying / working (and having a ball, from what I’ve heard!)

I’m going to be flying into Paris, arriving at 6:45am on the 28th of November. Paul will be meeting me there, and we’ll probably stay a few days in or around Paris, before heading off to the south of France. From there, we’ll be traveling through Italy, and Austria - and hopefully making lots of stops along the way!

Most of that is still undecided, and we’ll just play it by ear. From the 12th of December, we’re going to be in and around Berlin. A friend of Paul’s is going to be there at the time, and we’ll be staying in the same hotel as her (a nice cheep one - 22EUR/night).

We’ll be leaving Berlin on the 17th and going across to Strasbourg (west side of France) where we plan to stay until the 22nd. Most of Paul’s time over the last year has been spent in Strasbourg, where he’s been working/studying. Hopefully, we’ll also be able to fit in a day touring around the wine districts - and sample some nice French wines!

We’re going to be spending Christmas with some of Paul’s family, who live in Holland. So as soon as we’re done with French wines (not sure how easy it’s going to be to drag me away from them!), we’ll be heading over to Geleen. Hopefully, for the first time in 16 years, I’m going to have a white Christmas! Other than the cold factor, I’m definitely looking forward to that.

Sometime after new years, we’ll have to make our way back to Paris, as we both fly out on the 6th of January, arriving back in Melbourne at 11:55pm on the 7th of January (with a stopover in Bangkok, and a quick stop in Sydney).

I’ll hopefully see most of you before I go - but if I don’t see you, know that I’ll be thinking about you all while I’m away! I hope you all have a blast for Christmas and New Years, and I look forward to catching up with all of you again when I get back!

Love you all!

Rich. (aka Dick, from “Dick’s Adventures” - thanks to Rachel for the idea!)


Update: Photos from my “Going away party”:


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