Even after
separation the Earthbound Astronauts are still going strong! As you’ve probably
read, Casey was busy conquering Eastern Europe one sexless hitch at a time, whilst
I’ve been cavorting my way through parts of Western Europe. We have surpassed
the midpoint of our journey, but in true Earthbound Astronaut style, things
continue to take off!
Sofia, Bulgaria – July 1st
I started my
solo journey by heading to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Sofia has to be one
of my favourite cities thus far. There is an intersection that has an Orthodox
Church, Catholic Church, Jewish Synagogue and Islamic Mosque in unbelievably
close proximity of each other! Sophia was really a city that I felt at home in,
a complete patchwork of culture and history. An interesting story I heard that
portrays this intriguing identity is: Bulgaria was allied with Nazi Germany
during WWII, and not only did they continue to delay (until the end of the war)
the deportation of Bulgarian Jews, but they had not committed any form of
violent act, and attempted to remain neutral. Now, of course, the German Reich and
Axis Powers were not very impressed by this situation, questioning their
loyalty, and applied pressure to the Bulgarian government. Thinking they were
safe in Eastern Europe, they naively threatened the US (who had just entered
the war), in a not so humorous twist of fate, the US bombed Bulgaria. Not so
long after this, Bulgaria joined the Allied Forces.
I promptly
had to adjust to this newly gained independence, which was both welcomed, but
not without slight hesitation. I quickly made a few friends in my hostel,
joining them for a city tour before we finished the day off at a popular Irish
pub. The following day, I headed to the airport to fly to London where I was
looking forward to seeing my good friend Angie.
London, United Kingdom – July 2nd
– July 11th
As I arrived
into London airport, it was surreal to be surrounded by the English language
again, something I’d become comfortably accustom without. However, whilst in
England, I still seemed have issues understanding the majority of people. One
example was when I walked past a counter, when I thought I heard a guy say “how
is it?”. Thinking people were just friendly here and asked questions in a
bizarre manner, I replied “Good thanks mate”. After a very awkward stare, I
realised that he was asking a customer “Is that it?”. This type of situation
seemed to arise on a regular basis for me. In a passionate protest to every
British person I meet, “You right” is a question, not a greeting.
Getting to stay
and spend time with Angie was great! She had to work everyday, which allowed me
the opportunity to relax and relish in a break from my somewhat nomadic
lifestyle. This rapidly mutated into an opportunity for me not to get out of
bed until the early afternoon. This lasted for about fived days before I
decided my lack of productivity was interfering with my opportunities to see
London and determining my next move. Other then seeing a multitude of movies
whilst there (my guilty pleasure back home), I had the pleasure of seeing
another one of my good friends, Susie. As a trio, we spent the day seeing the
Tower of London and various other sights, a day that I efficiently and
ruthlessly choreographed to the horrific dismay of both girls.
I had decided
to head to Paris on the 15th, which allowed a few days to visit
Portsmouth, a costal town South of London, to visit the historical dockyard.
Stupidly, I booked my bus ticket from Portsmouth to Paris without checking if
there would be any accommodation available in the area. I was able to get
accommodation for the first night, but there seemed to be a complete scarcity
for the second, so I thought I’d be creative.
Portsmouth, United Kingdom – July 12th
- July 14th
Having
visited Portsmouth and the Historical Dockyard before roughly 12 years earlier,
I was excited to see what I remembered. The Historical Dockyard berths The
Victory (Admiral Nelson’s flagship and place of death), The Warrior and the
remains of the Mary Rose, a warship commissioned by King Henry XIII in the 16th
century. My fantastic memories of the Historical Dockyard were untainted, however
Portsmouth itself, which was still home to amazing forts and structures, lost
it’s magic as swarms of redneck English beachgoers reveled in the opportunity
to bask on the traumatically pebbled beaches…
Having still
enjoyed my time in Portsmouth, I had decided to spend a night in Salisbury,
intending to visit the local attraction, Stonehenge, before returning to
Portsmouth the following afternoon to board my bus. I walked from Salisbury
station to my already booked hostel, only to find out that I had erroneously booked
for the previous night and they were fully booked. Frantically searching for a room
in even some of the more upmarket hotels, I was disturbingly told by a hotel
employee that he’d heard there weren’t any available rooms within an 80 km
radius of Salisbury. Contemplating my next move, I seriously considered
sleeping in a park if I could locate one. As a last ditch effort I asked at a
few pubs on the way to the train station, being denied numerous times before I
finally found a room at The Cat Tavern. After enjoying a celebratory drink,
this incredibly authentic English pub made me feel like I’d hit the stereotype
jackpot of the old English pub dweller. Envisioning an episode of “The Vicar of
Dibley”, I shared some very interesting and ‘insightful’ conversations with
some very colourful characters.
Paris, France – July 15th –
July 21st
Having
enjoyed the change of pace in England, I made my way to Paris to meet Sofie, a
friend that Casey and I had travelled through parts of Vietnam with. As Sofie
had never been to Paris before, I acted as a sublimely mediocre tour guide.
This involved visits to such illustrious sights as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de
Triomphe, the Musée de Louvre and the impressive Château de Versailles. I romanticise
and marvel at all these infamous Parisienne icons, but there is one unmentioned
touristic titan that soars above the rest, Disneyland Paris. After convincing Sofie
that we needed two days to truly appreciate the magic, which was no mean feat,
we spent two euphoric days at Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios. After satisfying
the child within (for the third time), we returned to the city in time to
witness the final leg of the fabled Tour de France and feel the incredible
atmosphere of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées overflowing with enthusiastic fans
waiting to get but a glimpse of their favourite competitors.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands – July 22nd
– July 28th
Having just
over a week before I had to start my French course in Lyon, I decided to go to
Amsterdam and meet up with some friends Casey and I had met in Mongolia, Frans
and Sien. They kindly set me up in their old student housing, which was an
enormous 16-bedroom labyrinth in a beautiful part of Amsterdam. It was great to
hangout with a few of the people that were living there including Niels, Pieter
and Frans’ brother, Sam. I’d organised to meet up with my Mum in a few days, so
avoiding the Amsterdam tourist attractions, I explored the canaled city by
foot. I stumbled upon the most amazing library I’ve ever seen, allowing me to
research a growing fascination with the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Sam
graciously took me on a motorbike tour to the outskirts of Amsterdam to see a
part of the countryside scarcely seen by visitors to the infamous city. The
countryside was just as impressive as the city, an exquisite patchwork of
colours, windmills and canals, it was easy to see why The Netherlands had such
a remarkable reputation.
It was great
to meet up with my Mum and visit the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum seeing the
ornate masterpieces of distinguished artists Rembrandt and Van Gogh. We also
enjoyed a canal cruise, exploring the canals that are synonymous with
Amsterdam, playing such a vital role in Dutch success and expansion over the
centuries. We did briefly visit the degenerately renowned red light district,
somewhat of an odd experience to share with a parent…
Lyon, France – July 29th –
September 28th
My Mum and I
travelled down to Lyon a few days before my course was to begin to explore some
of the sights. Visiting the iconic Basilique Notre-Dame
de Fourvière that loomed over the city
and jumping on the tourist bus gave me the perfect opportunity to become
slightly accustom to the city I was going to inhabit for the two following
months. Lyon was a very lively city with cafés, boulangeries and pâtisseries found all over town and an atmosphere
that only a French city could provide. As I farewelled my mother and began the
difficult trek up to my course organised accommodation on a hill overlooking
Lyon, I was excited to see what the next two months would bring.
I was staying
at a university residence that had been built within a historical fort. The
accommodation was incredibly rudimentary; a room with a single bed, desk, small
fridge, sink, share kitchen and bathroom. When I say share kitchen I mean a
microwave, a sink and two electrical hot plates... And a share bathroom where
you had to provide your own toilet paper… But, with all its faults, it was a
good temporary home to revitalize myself after the months of continuous travel
and copiously indulge my love for French food/cheese away from the judging eyes
of society.
I began a two-month
intensive French course at Alliance Française, which really hit the road
running! On my first day, I was quite nervous and had absolutely no idea what
to expect, especially as my French knowledge was lacking after neglecting my
French studies since completing my undergraduate course. I walked into the
classroom, took a seat and was horrified as the students started conversing in what
I considered perfect French. Not expecting to understand everything on my first
day, I at least hoped to be at a similar level to my peers! However, as the
roll appeared, to my relief, my name was missing. I’d gone to the wrong class.
As I arrived into my actual class and we started by introducing ourselves and
saying our nationality, I knew I was in the right place and started to feel comfortable
with the level. Over the two months the classes, of course became more
challenging, but I really enjoyed the teachers and observing my progress, even
though it was intermittent at times. Other then providing me with a partial
routine for the time I was in Lyon, class acted as my primary social network. The
people I met are what made Lyon so memorable. Whether I was hanging out with my
fellow Australians, Jakeb and Katrina, practicing my French with Kai and Jing,
frequenting the Boston Tavern or contemplating who destroys antique furniture
with Thula, Itsasne, Ismael, Alexis, Caz and Lancel, struggling in class with
Hagen or seeing movies with Manuel, I was always having a great time, all
contributing to a life experience that I’ll continue to treasure. Lyon was
truly a home away from home.
Towards the
end of the two months I was excited to start travelling once more, knowing that
a third of our adventure was still to come. Packing up the solitary room I’d
become so accustom to, I enthusiastically farewelled my new friends and parted
Lyon excited about the possibilities of the coming months. The Earthbound
Astronauts are reunited, revitalized and ready to embark on the next part of
our adventure.
Keep posted.
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