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Reflecting...while at Dubai airport
Entry 44 of 44 | show all | print this entry |
Greetings everyone,
So here I am again, at Dubai airport. And still loving the free wifi. Flight wasn't the best ever, I had a lovely young man next to me who did not understand the concept of keeping his elbows on his side of the seat. And he decided to dance a little as well. Now I'm sure whatever he was listening to on his iPod was fantastic, but really, there is a time and a place for boogieing and it's not at 2am on an airplane.
So as I return home, I thought I would write down my musings about Europe:
I am looking forward to not having to pay to use toilets. Also looking forward to not having to purposely dehydrate myself as there isn't many public toilets. What is with Europe, do people not have to use the bathroom?
I am happy to say that I have not been run over by a bicycle. While you are trying to look out for trams or cars that seem to come from every direction, you also have to watch for the bikes as they will just take you out. I don't think I will ever be able to hear a bicycle bell again without having the fear that I was about to be run over. Or remembering Lex running through the streets of Amsterdam while slightly inebriated ringing all the bells.
I like beer now. German beers anyway. I have never really liked beer before, but now can drink it and kinda like it.
I am a little scared of buses. I still have nightmares about the bus in Granada where the doors close but do not lock. I then fell into the door when the bus took a corner, and they started to open I could see the road whizzing by. Also nearly had my arm taken off my a Trafalgar coach in Rome- thanks Lauren for pulling me out of the way and making sure I am coming home with all limbs in tact.
I can now never look at a pigeon without thinking of Caz.
I feel as though I will not have to see the Legally Blonde musical if it ever comes to Australia. Thanks for that Kaity and Caz. And luckily I have it on video so can relive the experience over and over.
I never want to watch CNN or BBC again. I'm sick of cyclones and earthquakes, and never want to hear about Clinton or Obama again. If anyone is ever really bored, you can watch CNN or BBC and count how many times they repeat the same segments every couple of hours...it's heaps of fun. I am now well versed on the global food crisis and oil shortage.
I am looking forward to not thinking I am continually at risk of being run over. I have basically been confused since day 1 in Spain about what is a pedestrian crossing and what is not. There is always a moment where you think they won't stop.
I can't wait to get home and never have another male pay any attention to me. It will be very nice not to be stared at (which always makes me think I have food on my face) or to have (insert creepy voice here) 'Hola chicka', 'Hello ladies' or 'Ciao Bella' said to me ever again. But German guys can be sleazy if they wish...they were the best looking out of all of Europe.
Following on from that, I am also looking forward to not having creepy older European men think it is ok to hug me. What is it about me that screams please invade my personal space? First there was the weird mustached man in Venice who's hand imprint I can still feel on my shoulder blade, and then the man in the beerhall in Munich. I miss the 1 metre personal space rule.
If I come to anyone's house for dinner within the next few years, please do not feed me goulash, schnitzel or seafood paella. I cannot eat them anymore. Particularly schnitzel, I still think I am digesting that huge schnitzel from Vienna. But apple strudel is still good, no matter how much strudel I have I can still go more.
I can't wait to be able to go on the internet whenever I want...I promise I won't take that for granted for at least a week after I get back.
I am looking forward to trying a shot of Baileys and Apple Schnapps when I get home. It was really nice in Barcelona. We only got it as there was nothing else to mix the Baileys with but it was really nice. I think it was anyway...we had already consumed a little alcohol so our taste buds may be wrong. Oh well, more of a reason to try it again.
I will miss being able to walk around in dirty jeans and an unironed shirt and use the excuse that I'm traveling. I guess I will have to learn how to use an iron again.
I can't wait to bring home the European style of driving. For instance, parking wherever there is space in Spain, and driving like a madman in all other countries, particularly Italy. If you see my car coming, you may want to get off the road.
And along the same lines, here is my favourites list:
3 favourite cities: Barcelona, Venice and Prague. Barcelona because it was fun, Gaudi's buildings were nice and I had the best time. And of course, the mask hails from Barca. Venice and Prague because they are absolutely beautiful.
Least favourite cities: Firstly, it's not like I didn't like these cities, it just that they weren't my favourite. London became a little annoying as it was so busy and smoggy, but there is so much to do and it is still very pretty. Budapest was a little boring as nothing was open, not even the touristy things as it was a public holiday. Also people on the streets peeing on cars and cutting their toenails don't necessarily add to the allure of a city.
Favourite hotel: I have a couple. Firstly, the Senator Hotel in Barcelona. Free mini-bar- do I need to say more? Fairly big rooms too, I stayed in both my room and Kaity's room so I did experience more than one room and minibar, so I can vouch that it was good. Secondly, the Hotel Britannique in Paris. Gorgeous hotel and great location. Worth the extra money. Honourable mentions also go to the Top Hotel in Prague and the Radisson in Amsterdam for their free wifi.
Worst hotel: I think there was a really small room in Avignon. And I actually didn't like the Sheraton resort in Rome. The hotel itself was fine, but we were so far out in the middle of nowhere that it was hard to do anything. You couldn't go back into Rome after getting back from Pompeii as it was too hard to get back to the hotel. Although there were transvestite prostitutes in the area so that does help it's cause.
Best night out: Barcelona. Don't need to say more. There is a reason why it is referred to as the 'best night ever'.
Worst night out: Vienna. No good venues and it is never good when you step over a syringe in the street. And the Berlin pub crawl wasn't very good either, particularly the dilapidated caravan park we were taken to.
Best public transport system: Barcelona. It even counted down the seconds till the train arrived.
Worst public transport system: Rome. It was a bit grubby, however reminded me of home in a strange way. Thankyou Cityrail for lowering my standards so much.
Best museum: The British museum. There was so much there it was overwhelming.
Worst museum: The Stasi museum in Berlin. Our tour guide had recommended it and it took us a couple of hours to find it. When we finally did find it, it was in a complex of buildings which were kinda like a hospital with health professionals practicing out of the buildings. There were no signs to the museum, and this should have been the hint to not go in. But we were stubborn, and after all the trouble that it took to find the museum, we were going in. Biggest waste of €3 ever. Nothing was in English so I couldn't understand anything. Did get my picture taken with the Soviet flag though (a life long dream), so I guess it wasn't all bad.
Funniest moment: Well there is the taxi driver/bullfighting story in Barcelona. Kaity and I were trying to find the bullring as everyone thought the bullfighting was on. We caught the metro to where the picture of the bullfighting ring was on the map. Unfortunately this was the old bullfighting ring that was being turned into a shopping centre. We then decided to walk a few blocks away and then catch a taxi as we didn't want the taxi driver to think we were idiots and had gone to the wrong bullring. We managed to hail a taxi and asked him to take us to the bullring. He didn't understand this and we had a couple more minutes trying to explain before Kaitlyn impersonated a bull (I will be able to reenact the movements if anyone wishes) and then he went 'ah, toros'. He then drove past the old bullring and must have figured out the mistake we made as he chuckled at us. He then tried to tell us 'no toros, no toros' over and over, but we didn't understand and kept saying 'si toros'. He then laughed at us, and coz we didn't know what he was laughing at, we laughed too. When we dropped us off at the bullfighting ring, we realised he was right, there were 'no toros'. Very sad.
Favourite meal: At the restaurant 'Architect' in Prague, which was down in a crypt under a church. Best meal ever. I had salmon and garlic pasta, but there really wasn't a meal on the table that I wouldn't have eaten. And it was really cheap too. Actually another favourite meal would have been when we went to the supermarket in Avignon, got some baguettes, ham, cheese, salami and sangria and then had a picnic down by the river. And then mucked around inventing superheros and falling over. Yes we acted like children.
Worst meal: Well technically it wasn't mine, but Kaitlyn's sneeze sandwich in Rome wasn't the best ever.
Favourite drink: Sangria of course. I got so excited when I saw it in Germany at a service station that I bought a huge bottle and then carried it around for a couple of days before drinking it. Can't wait to get home to make it. I did also get acquainted with Jagerbombs and absinthe while I have been away, but Sangria still takes top place.
Best dessert: A tie between the coconut gelati behind the Duomo in Florence and the apple strudel with hot custard in Berlin. Only bad thing about the gelati was that after eating it Suzzelle and I had to run through the streets of Florence after getting lost to make sure we didn't miss the bus to Rome.
Favourite park: Parque Del Reitro in Madrid. It was the first day of the tour, and I spent it with Lauren, Caz and Kaitlyn and we bought baguettes and ate them in the park. Spent a fair while in the park, which was probably due to the fact that there was a young Spanish man conducting a personal training session. But the park was really pretty and had these unusual trees. And of course there was the devil statue. An honourable mention also has to be given to the Englischer Garten in Munich (the nudist park). I still chuckle when I think of the awesome photo I have from that day. Which I will be soon showing everybody (who is over the age of 18).
Favourite souvenir: Well you can't beat the Mexican wrestling mask from Barcelona. It has become a character all on it's own and has also been seeing the sites of Europe.
Favourite traffic signals: This may seem like a weird category, but I loved those traffic signals in Granada so much. It was like he was strutting (if you haven't checked out the video, you need to).
Best t-shirt design: Of course Amsterdam had some beauties. Particularly my iPope t-shirt which is sure to offend some. Also had a great 'Jesus loves Amsterdam too' shirt but I didn't get that. The shirts in Austria were also quite good, with the clever catch phrase of 'there are no kangaroos in Austria'. I got sick of seeing 'good girls go to heaven, bad girls go to Prague/Budapest/Amsterdam/Berlin' tshirts. So I am assuming that if you are a bad girl you get a choice of what city you get too, since there are so many options? I am also very happy with my Rome pub crawl t-shirt, especially coz I didn't even have to bother with the pub crawl to get the shirt (apparently the crawl was terrible anyway).
Worst injury: I am just excited that I am not coming home with any broken bones. There have been a few minor injuries though, and my legs constantly have bruises all over them. My worst would probably be stacking it in Avignon trying to jump off a wall in the mask (my vision was occluded) as that drew a little blood. I was just happy I didn't tear my clothing, but my white t-shirt will never be the same as it has grass stains all over it. But the bruise on my shoulder from hitting the windowsill in Barca (don't ask) and the bruises on my knees from climbing that stupid I Amsterdam sign are also memorable and hurt a lot.
Person I am most likely to keep in contact with: Haha I won't even bother answering. I already talk/email this person daily already. It's a little sad how much I miss Sangria Girl.
Person that I am least likely to keep in contact with: Probably people from the 2nd part of the tour as I didn't really even know their names. My bad. But they weren't friendly so not all my fault. But overall, probably a very strange man that was on the Madrid to Rome part. He is one of those people who may go on a killing spree one day, and when you see him on the news you would go 'ah, I kinda saw that one coming'. Scarily he is a tree trimmer so had access to chainsaws. But he said he was moving to London so I think we are safe in Australia.
So there you have my musings. Thankfully that took a little while and I now have less time to waste before my flight leaves.
See you all soon,
Ash
Where I stayed:
On an Emirates plane
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