Can't believe I'm in Bruges...

RECIPE for fun: take 40-odd travellers and place into a big blue bus; mix them around a little bit, then sift into random medieval town. Add personal preference of beer, fries and chocolate. Stand back and watch the results…

That was the recipe we used in Brugge anyway. Just over 40 of us jumped onboard the Busabout coach for the first time, with most of us jumping out in the well-preserved Belgian city made infamous by Colin Farrell’s incessant moaning.

First we had to get there. There was already a good crew waiting for breakfast at St Christopher’s when I got downstairs, so everyone had the chance to have a bit of a chat before Driver Dan loaded our bags and guide Nick checked us on. Once aboard I ended up chatting to fellow Brugge-ing Busabouter Lisa, whiling away the hours as we passed through the Somme and Lille before crossing over in Belgium.

Brugge itself was a lot better than Colin Farrell’s character gave it credit for – although had he been part of this crew he might’ve enjoyed himself a lot more. Nick had told us that beer and chips were Belgian specialties, so we wasted no time in trying a few beers before going on to grab some chips (and more beer).

Now full, we set off to explore the town. After the obligatory pics in front of the Belfort, we went down a random street and came across a Tintin store and a chocolate shop. Nothing special about that… but the chocolates were rather interesting. Think of certain parts of the human body (male and female) in chocolate form… Needless, a few brave souls gave them a try!

After that we kept walking down the same street, just chatting away when we came across something none of us were expecting: a fun park! Being a pack of big kids it was straight onto the fun house before Matt, Taleish? and I went on the scariest-looking ride there, screamed our heads off and came out sounding like the cast of The Godfather.

After that the day was pretty chilled. A few took advantage of some free wifi to organise travel plans while Matt and I took advantage of the fact we were in a pool hall to partake in ye olde trash-talking competition with some pool thrown in.

Day two dawned with most people hiring out bikes and going for a cruise down to a Belgian beach; Nick jumped onboard a Flanders battlefields tour; while I took the chance to have a quiet wander around town and catch up on some work-type stuff. Plans to head up the Belfort were thwarted though when I realised my camera battery had somehow gone from full to dead in one day…

Night brought more beer-tasting and quite possibly the worst restaurant lasagne ever! Tempted by a sign advertising €3.50 lasagne we went in, ordered up, then listened to the sounds of the microwave heating it up. To make matters worse Joel and Nick had upsized on account of being very hungry, only to find their €6.50 large was very similarly-sized to our €3.50 medium…

Aah, the joys of travelling… Good thing our recipe for fun was tastier!

Pedestrian in Paris...

I LOVE walking around cities. Or riding bikes. Rollerblading I’m not so keen on, although that has everything to do with a complete lack of coordination on my part.

The reason I enjoy walking/riding is the random things you find when you’re not crammed under someone’s smelly armpit on the metro. You can come across some markets, a hidden gem of a church – or even a gift from Canada to France. You’ll never guess what that one is…

It was with this in mind that I decided to spend my last day in Paris walking from St Christopher’s hostel down to the Seine before turning right and heading towards the Hôtel des Invalides. The sun was out so there were even plans to pop into Sainte Chappelle, the church built to house the crown of thorns worn by Jesus when he was crucified. The church contains stained glass windows that tell Biblical stories, and on a sunny day is supposed to be quite the sight.

Unfortunately it seemed like half of Paris had the same idea, so I went over the Île de la Cité and instead lined up for the Musée d’Orsay. The building itself is an old train station that fell into disuse after electric trains kept getting longer and longer; as an introduction to Paris it would have been quite the sight!

Inside the museum contains many works from Impressionist artists like Van Gogh, Renoir, Cézanne; check out Van Gogh’s self-portrait for an insight into a troubled man. I was also quite taken by Jean-Léon Gérôme’s La Réception de Condé à Versailles showing King Louis XIV and his rather impressive court. Also interesting but for less historical reasons was Thomas Couture’s Les Romains de la Décadence. I’ll leave that one to your imagination…

Having had my fill of culture, it was off to the Hôtel des Invalides where Napoleon awaited. As expected his tomb was very grand – legend has it that because Napoleon was so paranoid about his height, he wanted his tomb set up so that you either had to look up or bow down to see him. Also impressive was the Armouries Museum in the main building itself; but for me the best part was something I had no idea about.

Contained within the Hôtel des Invalides is an excellent exhibition on World War I and World War II. When you first walk in there’s a small amount on the Franco-Prussian War before getting into the two World Wars. I was particularly intrigued as to how they would deal with World War II, given the English-speaking view that the French were on the wrong side of useless (or cheese-eating surrender monkeys if you prefer) during that particular time. As expected it does go quite a lot into Charles de Gaulle and the Resistance movement, but also looks a little at the war in the Pacific.

So that was it for Paris then. I walked back to the hostel, muttering and cursing that perhaps the metro would have been a better idea instead of tramping through the wind and cold, only to remember the afore-mentioned gift from Canada resides in a small park just below the statue of Louis IV on the Île de la Cité. I went in, had a look… it’s a rock!

London's Calling; Paris Answers...

I WRITE this as I wait for that inevitable bane of traveller’s lives to finish: the laundry.

It’s amazing how something that’s so simple back home – add dirty clothes to washing machine, insert powder/liquid, close lid, turn on – can turn into a mission when you’re out and about. Here at St Christopher’s in Paris it’s a two-minute walk to the laundromat, where everything (washers, dryers and laundry powder dispensers) is run through a central payment thingy. Once you know how to work it it’s actually quite easy, but it is a reminder that metaphorically, we’re not in Kansas anymore Toto!

Of course you tend to realise this when you fly for over 24 hours from Australia. Flying Emirates I left Brisbane at 2am on April 29, had brief stopovers in Singapore and Dubai before arriving into London Gatwick around 2000… on April 29, which works out to something like 27 hours in transit (and about 3 years in imagined time when you’re surrounded by screaming children). Fortunately the food was good, immigration was quick and before too long I was tucked away in bed dreaming of the day when someone pays for a first-class ticket…

London itself was a chilled time, visiting friends and paying a first-time visit to the British Museum. In the two years on-and-off I lived in London I’d never made it to this very impressive museum, home to the Rosetta Stone amongst other things. Knowing the popularity of this one exhibit the museum has very thoughtfully put it just to the left of the also-impressive grand chamber just after walking in, which then drags you towards the Ancient Greek exhibit, containing a number of artefacts from the Athens Parthenon that the Greeks would very much like back.

To leave after just seeing these two rooms would be a shame though. Although many rooms were closed the day I went there, I managed to spend a couple of hours wandering aimlessly through rooms detailing Ancient Egyptian life – and death; perused Italian history pre-Roman domination; then finished up with a spot on Enlightenment. All this… for free (although they do have boxes asking for donations).

After this there was a failed attempt to catch Afghanistan playing India in the World Twenty20 Cup, a May Day march through the Strand, and possibly the best steak pie I’ve ever had at the Sussex Gardens near Chiswick. Seriously chunky pieces of steak in a rich gravy with an astounding pastry on top… it’s amazing how much you can fit in even when you’re not hungry!

ALL good things must come to an end though, and on Monday it was off to Paris on the Eurolines bus. This wasn’t too bad, apart from the inevitable hour wait at French immigration as they went through 40-odd passports, had a cuppa, watched Days Of Our Lives, had a smoke, then finally gave us our passports back – in my case minus entry stamp. Not cool.

Here in Paris so far I’ve managed to head across to Cemetrie Père Lachaise, final resting place of Oscar Wilde, Heloise and Abélard… and a singer called James Douglas Morrison. Jim Morrison’s grave was the busiest by far, with a fence around it to stop over-eager fans from getting too close! No such problems with Wilde’s grave, which is covered in lipstick marks; Heloise and Abélard’s merely covered in authentic medieval scaffolding.

There was also the excitement of watching the first coaches of the season pull out and head on their way to Bruges and Amsterdam. Tomorrow I’ll be jumping onboard Big Blue myself to head to Bruges, but later today it’s off to Hôtel des Invalides for another tomb – this time for the most famous short man in history.

Which I’ll do right after the laundry finishes…

It's The Final Countdown...

SO I'm sitting at work on my penultimate shift with thought buzzing around my head like news helicopters around an Icelandic volcano.
Said Icelandic volcanoes permitting, this time next week I'll have swapped bustling Bris Vegas for the funky French capital, having already lounged around London for a few days beforehand.
This lead-up time to travelling's the worst though isn't it? Right now everything seems to be done: nice, shiny new passport complete with horrendous photo; international driver's permit in case I end up on the roads; assorted electronic paraphernalia to while away the hours, store photos and video footage with (not to mention update this blog!); and a nice, shiny new backpack waiting patiently in the corner of the room. Undoubtedly there's something really important I've forgotten and won't remember until I'm on the shuttle bus out to Brisbane Airport, but you get that.
It's times like these that Lonely Planet online is both a blessing and a curse: with some spare time and a brother to entertain for a while the whole of Europe's just waiting to be explored. Hell, I might well end up in Moldova at some point!
For now though it's focusing on the first few dates: London April 29 and Paris May 3, then Busabouting Bruges May 6, Amsterdam May 8 and Berlin May 11... provided of course time stops slowing down the closer I get to leaving!
Looking forward to meeting y'all out on the road!!!

What To Do, What To See???

IS there anything more exciting than getting your travel tickets?

Ok, so apart from winning the lottery, becoming a parent and your sporting team winning the championship. But other than that, what else gives you that rush you feel when you've actually got that ticket in your hot little hand (or inbox more often that not nowadays) that says you're not just planning, you're ACTUALLY GOING!!!

Ahem. Excuse me there won't you.

As you might tell, I'm a little bit excited right now. My flights across are locked in without having to use one of my lifelines; the Busabout e-ticket + itinerary smile upon me every time I have a rubbish day/night at work.

So I know when I'm over and now know roughly where I'm going. Big question now is: what do I do over there?!?

Hmmm.

A good place to start researching is everyone's old favourite, Lonely Planet. Their destination guides online have a wealth of material, not least in giving you some inspiration about what you can see/do around the place.

For a more personalised touch though, the Busabout website has some Guide's Top 10s hidden away. To get at them, Bring up the Busabout Explorer main page, look down the left-hand column below the two orange boxes to the "Where do you want to go?" box, pick out a destination, then find the little orange link that says "Click Here For Our Guide's Top Ten!". This link will take you to a Madrid Top Ten to get you started...

Google Maps is a pretty cool little tool as well. If you decide to get away from it all, typing the address in will help you know where you need to go. Believe you me, this is A Good Thing.

Finally though, be open to suggestions. When I travelled around the first time art was pretty low down on my list of things-to-do. Mind you though, the only two things I absolutely HAD to do/see were Lord's Cricket Ground and Berlin. Despite my cultural ignorance, I can definitely recommend Barcelona's Picasso Museum to everyone: and I only went because the guide told us about it.

In fact, I might even go there again. You know why?

I've got my tickets in my inbox and I'm not just planning, I'm GOING!!!

I'm On The Road Again...

YOU always remember when you start a great love affair.
Mine started in Paris in late May 2005. We were waiting on Paris' Boulevard de Rochechouart when we first exchanged glances. It was pretty much love at first sight: I, the young, slightly naive first-time European traveller; her, a 51-seater coach with "Busabout" written in bright orange down the side that we soon called "Big Blue".
Our love affair grew over the next two months as we travelled around Europe together, leaving France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Italy and Spain in our wake. When it was time to finally say goodbye back in Paris in July, I promised myself this wouldn't be the end.
As things turned out, it was only the end of the beginning. I've been lucky enough to spend the last four years working as an on-board guide with Busabout, and despite flirtations with other coaches, boats and ferries, it's always been Big Blue I've come back to.
Now though, it's time to finally say goodbye. While I'm not back as a guide, my role this year is probably the next best thing: alighting at each stop, blogging (written and video) about my experiences, and hopefully giving all you out there the motivation and/or inspiration to come on over and experience Europe for yourselves!
As such I'll be travelling all three Busabout Loops between May and July. To say I'm excited barely begins to hint at it: a chance to combine writing and travel, catching up with old friends around the continent, and showing at least one of my brothers around Berlin! In the lead-up I'll be blogging about my trip preparations before going a bit more frequently once on the road; I'll also try and take you guys a little behind the scenes and introduce some of our awesome guides and drivers, and maybe even explain just why we do certain things certain ways.
Either way it promises to be quite the adventure - hope you guys enjoy the ride!

Viva Bris Vegas

ASK your regular punter fresh off the plane to Australia where they wanted to go, they’d probably give you a standard range of responses.

Sydney, Melbourne , the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru would all be there; given the vast distances most people have to travel just to get there in the first place, a nice comfortable bed would probably feature pretty highly as well.

But while the country’s two largest cities are generally pretty high up on said lists, #3 on the Australian Largest Cities countdown generally doesn’t.

Queensland’s capital Brisbane has suffered from an image problem ever since its founding as a prison for the very worst of the New South Wales convicts. This endured through the 20^th century, with the typical photo from the city in the 1950’s and 1960’s not being one of the city skyline, but rather of rows of outhouses guarding the backyards of the typical Brisbane home. Floods in 1974 killed 16 people and caused nearly $1billion worth of damage, while Queensland ’s conservative government of the time meant that many looked upon Brisbane as an overgrown, backwards country town.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that Brisbane began to be seen in a more positive light. Brisbane hosted the 1982 Commonwealth Games, with Matilda the winking kangaroo providing a highlight as the city proved it could host big events. Expo Oz the platypus was the next big animal to drag Brisbane onto the world stage with Expo 88, where Brisbane “showed the world” what it was capable of. In many respects Expo 88 proved a watershed in Brisbane ’s history, marking the boundary between the city’s old, conservative self with its new, flashier model.

That’s not to say the old traditions have been forgotten. Drinking in Brisbane still revolves around some old-time favourites: the Victory has Brisbane ’s only CBD beer garden; the Caxton, the Paddington, and the Normanby are all just outside the city; while Toowong is blessed with the Regatta and the RE (Royal Exchange). All bar the RE and the Victory (rebuilding after a 2008 fire notwithstanding) have been done up in the last 10 years and offer restaurant-style eating. Tip for the unwary though: most of these pubs have dress codes later at night – don’t be surprised if you’re asked to leave just for wearing a pair of shorts.

For those that want to dance the night away, it’s away from the CBD and into “The Valley” – Fortitude Valley to be precise. Named after the ship that brought the area’s first immigrants in, The Valley is absolutely rammed with entertainment options. Try Family, the GPO, the Alhambra , and the new Cloudland for starters; once again though watch out for quirky local customs. After complaints about alcohol-fuelled violence each weekend, some nightclubs are starting to scan ID’s and take fingerprints in an attempt to keep known trouble-makers out.

Brisbane’s main sights are few and far between. In the CBD, check out the Baroque sandstone of the Treasury Casino before spending a pleasant day in the Botanic Gardens. Nature lovers have many different options: native fauna at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary including Tasmanian devils, wombats, echidnas and aforementioned koalas; while Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo is about a 90 minute drive out from the CBD. For native flora, check out the Brisbane Botanic Gardens near Mount Coot-tha before heading up the hill for that postcard view of the city itself.

To get into some old-school Queensland culture, Milton ’s a good place to head. Queenslanders take their XXXX very seriously, with the iconic brewery featuring on XXXX logo. Check out the brewery and sample some of the nectar with a tour before heading next-door to Suncorp Stadium (formerly Lang Park ). Home to the Brisbane Broncos, the Queensland Reds and Brisbane Roar, the stadium really made its name as the home ground for the Queensland State of Origin side. While tickets for State of Origin are few and far between (tip for the newbie: don’t wear blue), the Broncos, Reds and Roar play virtually all year round. There’s also a stadium tour on Wednesdays for those that can’t get to a match.

Getting around Brisbane can be harder than necessary. The city has a brand-new integrated ticketing system that means the one ticket covers buses, trains and ferries; the new Go-Cards make it even easier - and cheaper - again. Most trains only go every 30 minutes outside of peak times and don’t seem to have network maps as standard; the extensive bus system makes full use of new busways, but finding where your bus leaves from in the CBD can be tricky. On the plus side, the Gold and Sunshine Coasts and their various attractions all use the same ticketing system, so that one Go-Card can save some serious cash.

Brisbane’s major star though is the river that runs lazily through the centre; the best way to see this is to jump onboard a CityCat ferry. Fast ferries cruising from the University of Queensland, up to the CBD and Southbank Parklands (redeveloped home of Expo 88), under the Story Bridge and up past the old wool sheds of New Farm and Teneriffe to Bulimba, the CityCats mirror Brisbane itself: moving fast while staying laid-back.

It’s a tough trick to perform, but one that Brisbane does well enough to entice thousands of Australians to move there; if word gets out Australia ’s #3 city might just move up on the tourist wish-list as well.