A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine...

I saw that saying on a sign on my first day in Florence, I thought it was pretty cool.

So, Florence is basically rad. I got the super speedy train here from Venice which only took two hours - I was checked into my hostel and ready to explore by 3pm. Wooo!

I didn't really know that much about what to see in Florence, so I spent my first afternoon just walking around going "Oooh that's cool...I dunno what it is...Oh look at that! I wonder what it is..." (The next day I took my guidebook with me!) I climbed up to Piazzale Michaelangelo, which is by far my favourite place here. It's a fair hike to get up there, but luckily, as I've been climbing so many towers, it wasn't too much of a struggle. From the piazza you get an amazing view of the city, you can see absolutely everything! And it's even prettier at night...I cannot be bothered to put up photos right now though, sorry!

The other day my Mum pointed out to me that there wont be anything for me to climb in Canberra when I get back...I was sad. Anyone keen for a group hike up Black Mountain? :)

When I got to my hostel the receptionist informed me that it was free museum weekend in Italy, so if I wanted to go to the Uffizi Gallery or The Accademia I didn't have to pay. I felt really bad about this because my gorgeous mother had bought me tickets online so that I didn't have to queue - I am SO glad she did! I queued for about 15 minutes at the two galleries - one of the girls in my room queued for 3 hours at both! Crazy! And it wasn't just because they were free, I walked past The Accademia this morning and it was just as bad! I'm not a big fan of Renaissance art, but I really enjoyed both places. Michaelangelo's David is very cool...there are in fact three David's in Florence - the original in The Accademia, a copy outside of Uffizi and a bronze version in Piazzale Michaelangelo - I have seen them all. I thought his hands and feet were a bit silly though, why are they SO big? The only thing I didn't like about Uffizi were the human statues outside...there was an old, fat man dressed as Cupid sending kisses this way and that...SO CREEPY!

Yesterday I went on a wine tour of the Chianti region, it was swell! The tour was called 'Chiantipsi' which I thought was really cute. We went to an adorable little vineyard and got to stroll around then taste some wine and eat extra virgin olive oil on nummy, nummy bread. Then we went into Greve, the capital of the region, and went to the biggest wine shop. Here we tried a delicious Italian desert wine - my friend described it as 'Christmas in a glass', it was so good! We also tried truffle oil on bread, it was tasty too. After this we went to a big old villa and got a lovely lunch and more wine. Also, our guide for the day, Irene, was possibly the coolest person I have ever met. She was so full of energy and talked non-stop. She was hilarious because she'd tell us these stories/myths and then say "It sounds like bullshit to me, but you can make up your own mind." - rad.

My hostel here is one of the best I've stayed in. It's called Plus Florence and I am staying on the floor called Plus Girls. The walls and curtains are bright pink, which is a bit sickly, but the rooms are so good! They give you towels and hairdryers and straighteners and a little toiletries pack and there are no snoring boys! It's pretty luxurious. There's also a restaurant, bar and nightclub downstairs and a rooftop terrace.

I spent my last day doing basically...it was all gloomy outside and I didn't really feel like getting rained on...so I did a mountain of laundry instead. I have come to love the hours I spend doing laundry :)

I am now in beautiful Roma and am going to explore and find some biscotto gelato! Sorry for the lack of pics, I'll put them up another day!

LOVE! <3 Courts

Is this a face you'd like to wake up to?

No. Me neither.

I wont lie, when I got up and saw my face I burst into tears! I'm still not sure what happened, but I suspect mozzies were behind it. My room mate was a bit terrified. The receptionist told me to go straight to the hospital. The pharmacist laughed at me... It took two days but it's gone away now so all is well!

On to brighter things...

I have spent the past three days in Venice. It's been incredible. I was really looking forward to coming here, but was feeling a bit lonely when I arrived at my hostel to find NO ONE else here. It takes about 30 minutes to get from here to Venice proper (it costs an arm and a leg to actually stay in there), so people leave in the morning and don't come back til the evening. I was then prepared to dislike Venice because it hadn't given me a warm welcome.

I tried to remain upbeat though and hopped on the bus into town. When I got there I realised that I had no map, no guide book and no idea where to go. I went to the information point and asked where I would find shops. The woman laughed at me and said "Shops and restaurants in Venice are no problem. Pick a direction!" So I picked a direction and went walking. After about three hours of strolling along the canals I decided that I really did like Venice. It's gorgeous. I'm sure many of you have been here, so I wont go on too much about it...

I love the complete lack of street signs! The only way to get around Venice is to have a general idea of what direction you should be going in and follow the signs. There aren't street signs, but there are signs to the different districts - San Marco or Rialto for example. It's fun to walk around because even if you're walking to the same place you went yesterday, you always go down different streets and see new things. I spent a day in San Marco Piazza just chillin'. I ate a whole lot of gelati, had my first Italian coffee, went into the cathedral and went on a gondola.




Canal and pretty houses...



More canals and pretty houses...



...and again...



Gondola ride...

Fun fact: Venice floods all the time! Not fun for the locals, but I thought it was pretty cool. When the water comes up they put these boards out so you can walk without getting your feet wet. Nifty.

On my first night the girl in my room told me that you can do a day trip into Verona, so yesterday I did that. It takes about 2 hours on the regional train and my return ticket set me back a whole 12 euros. It was one of the best days that I have had on this trip, no joke. I just walked and climbed and ate gelati all day long. I didn't get to go into The Arena because it closed early for no apparent reason...but I did climb the Tower dei Lamberti, the views from the top were stunning! I also went to Juliet's house...a few months ago Kim and I started having Limelight Movie Night once a week. We would drive out to Tuggers and see the trashiest movie they had going. One week we saw Letters to Juliet...If you haven't seen it, don't! But if you have seen it, let me tell you, the scene where she goes to the house and the courtyard is full of teary young women is actually quite accurate. It was one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen...


...Love graffiti...



Juliet's balcony

Even prettier houses...

View from the tower

I climbed to the top of a massive hill and stumbled upon a castle! So cool! This was the view...

All in all I loved Venice and Verona, and I was sort of sad to leave the region...until I got to Florence two hours later. Then I was happy again! 

Love to you all,
Courtney <3

Das Oktoberfest!

At the moment the hostel is playing 'Twist and Shout'. It makes me think of every Dendy party ever. For example:



WOOO!!!



                            



YEEEAAAHH!!!



etc.

Today I went to Octoberfest in the most ridiculously nice weather ever. The bluest skies you've ever seen. I have been told that the weather is on the verge of turning though. Honestly, all the better, As a red head I was brought up to be diligent sun screen-wise, and I'm damn sick of it! Bring on the cold!!! 

I don't know anyone in Munich, and the combination of that and the prospect of spending 10 euro for a litre of beer put me off for quite a time. However, last night I made friends with a couple of people at the hostel I'm staying and thought 'I'm paying a bomb to be here, might as well make the most of it.' The grounds of the festival are but a hop, skip and a jump from the hostel (not that that stopped me from getting lost on my way back) and we headed off into the heat for a couple of lunch time beers. Octoberfest, notorious reputation as it has, is actually quite family friendly. Much like the blessed folk festival it is all rides and pretzels during the day, only to (I assume) degenerate into Australians and the like getting pissed off their nuts as the sun sets. As we arrived at the hostel we were given wrist bands with the address and of the hostel and our room numbers on them. I suppose it's for the best. I can only assume that the rides are for the more sober crowd. They seem a bad idea for the drunkards. The beer is stronger than the average. I was there from 12-5 and experienced a friendly atmosphere with very good vibes. Meals that smell delicious are served, people walk around selling pretzels, pickles and radishes (yeah, I don't get it either) and everyone endeavours to get pleasantly drunk, if not more. A stein of beer costs between 8-9 euro, however, if you don't give the waitress 10 euro, she'll bugger off and find someone else who will. Blokes wear lederhosen and the ladies wear dirndl's. A pair of lederhosen will set you back a couple hundred euro but a knock off dirndl and blouse will usually cost a lady less than 70 euro. Unfortunately most Australians and Americans end up unwittingly buying theirs from sex shops in the assumption that the shorter the better. Oh dear. I'm told that if you tie the ribbon at the back you are widowed, the right you are taken and the left you are single. In Vienna Walter politely put it that dirndl's accentuate a ladies shoulders...Yeah... Shoulders...   

GIANT BEER!!!!

                      



Friend called 'horse.' Love the horse beanies. Check out that blue sky!!!



                                       

I wandered around the rest of Muncich a bit the day before and got to check out a few sights. Mostly lots of nice churches and parks and the like.



The fountain at Karlsplatz.



                             

When you start traveling it feels like to get your money's worth you're obliged to visit every museum and gallery possible, but after a while you start to realise that as long as you're having fun, it doesn't really matter what you're doing. Going to a market and getting some tasty food before heading to a sunny park is generally cheaper and more gratifying that the former. Not to mention less tourist riddled. Tomorrow I'm off to Venice. Very excited. Not only for the fact that it's Venice, but for the fact that it's about 50 euro cheaper a night. WOO!!

Love Bron xoxoxox

Sacher, Squirrels, Snacks, St. Stephens, Shöbrunn and Star Trek.

Photo's!! Wooo!!!

Prague:

Charles Bridge

The view from the bridge. Distant castle...

Vienna:

St. Stephens Cathedral. Check out that roof! Phwoar!

A famous coffee house. Apparently it was designed as a bank but deemed inadequate. It seems a very sensible alternative to turn it into a coffee house. I'm told this one is well stocked in the newspaper/magazine side of things too...

Those Austrian's know how to advertise. 'Mmmhh Snack' indeed.

This one's for the nerds (Melissa...) For some reason there was Star Trek stuff everywhere in the hostel. Spock is everywhere in my new hostel too...



The ceiling in the Opera house foyer.



Gorgeous seating. Worth the entry fee just to get a look. I forgot to mention that the posh Austrian opera crowd manage to be exactly the same as the posh opera crowd in Australia. Magic! The glass of champagne I got was more than the ticket too!!!



Dramatic scribble curtain!!




Look out Joseph! Your wife's a lesbian and she's going to cheat on you!!!



A balcony at Hofburg Palace infamous for being where Hitler gave a persuasive speech to the Austrian people.

I'm sure there's a reason why I didn't notice this picture was so rubbish... Anyway. This is one of only a few horse statues in the world that stands on it's hind hooves without anything else balancing it. Impressive. Less impressive is the guy it's of... Archduke Karl. I'm pretty sure he only ever won one battle. Whilst building it the sculptor went a little loco from the stress, but the people who comissioned it liked it so much they asked he make another of Eugene of Savoy who was actually a hero of sorts.

No matter what he did, he couldn't get Eugene's horse to stand up by itself though. It has chains and the like in it's tail to keep it balanced. Eventually he got so stressed out he committed suicide.

Baby torte!! Isn't he just the cutest?! (and tasty)

Schöbrunn Palace (or at least some of it...)

Little Red!! He has an acorn in his bitty squirrel mouth!!!

Palace gardens

Roman ruins

So much pretty old stuff!!!

Bron xoxox

Attendez le Creme!

Damn, we've got a fair few posts going now don't we?

A few days ago I zoomed along to Vienna to discover another city I knew pretty much nothing about. The scenery in Austria is incredible. The roads going into Vienna were stunning, and I found out today that they are even more so on the way out. Trees and mountains. And trees! I saw deer frolicking through a field on the side of the road too.

On my first night I checked into the hostel, which for a big hostel was a good one. They had a kitchen and free pasta, rice, herbs, spices, tea and coffee. Very nice of them. I headed off on a tour to check out Vienna at night. I've found that, hit and miss as they are, if you don't have weeks to wander around a city like we did in London, the easiest way to get oriented is to take a tour. Alternatively, they can completely confuse you and turn you around.

This was a good one though. We had a guy who dressed like a classier Jeremy Clarkson, with more hair and an umbrella. His name was Walter and he had the exact same voice and accent as Arnold Scwarzenegger. Chances are he's subsequently an equally good actor as Arnold Scwarzenegger, if less ripped. He also managed to slip 'I'll be back' into the tour at least twice.
He took us around the centre of the city and showed us things such as the Spanish Stallions. These little horses are only about 155cm tall and are black when they are born. When they turn four they begin to train them to do all the dresage and tricks. Every horse gets taught the same routine and their very own signature move. Once they're eight or nine years old they turn white and are ready to strutt their stuff in the court.
Whilst talking about a certain kings wife the words Walter used were 'Little did he know what a militant lesbian she was.' Ha! Turns out she was and cheated on him with his sister...
We saw the Sacher Hotel, home of Sacher Torte, and discovered that in Vienna coffee houses are a place to sit and spend time rather than money. Get a coffee and sit and talk or read or write for hours and hours and no one kicks you out! They are also obliged to be extensively stocked with magazines and newspapers for the customers. Rad.
I then went and had schnitzel, beer, schnapps and apple strudel with cream. When in Vienna...
I returned to the hostel to find an odd band called Herr Pashulke (Mr Pashulke) playing in the bar. They were all students and played odd ska/oompa music. The lead singer worn a fuzzy hat on his head and was so tall he almost hit the ceiling when he jumped. The hostel also gave us free beer vouchers when we checked in, and the people I met that night didn't want theirs, so I was blessed with free beer. Are there any two better words? 'Free Beer.'

The next night I went to the opera. I went to the opera in Vienna. For four euro. The Opera was La Boheme and I dressed up as well as I could only to set off out the door... and walked in the complete opposite direction of the Opera House! I had a map in my hand and everything. I did get to see a bit of Vienna that way though. I think I almost walked to the Palace. After that I decided it was probably safest if I just catch the metro... For the standing tickets they ushered us into a kind of cattle stock set up that had bars to lean on and little rectangular screens with the subtitles on them. Vague outline of the story: Boy meets girl. Ten minutes later, in the same act they decide they love each other. Girl gets sick. Girl dies. Man gets all upset. It was great though. It was the first time I'd seen opera live. I'd been to many Dendy opera's, but it's not really the same. Of the Puccini I've seen it was better than Turandot but not quite up there with Madame Butterfly. And nobody has anything on Tosca. The lead soprano had a divine voice though and there were some goosebump inducing duets. Very nice. At one point there was a donkey on stage too. What a star. And to the customers who complain about the volume of the opera's; That's how loud opera is. Get better ears or pipe down!!

The next day I wandered back into the city to sample Vienesse coffee which I was told was pretty damn good. It was very nice. None, of this milky stuff you get in Australia. Though still not as good as coffee from Kingston Grind. Yes that is shameless advertising. Go there. It's amazing. I also got my very own little Sacher Torte that was about the size of a cup cake. Super yummy. (I seem to remember my mum making Sacher Torte at some point. Don't worry mum. You make them just as well as the Austrian's do.) St Stephen's cathedral was very near where I had my coffee and has the most gorgeous tiled roof. All blue and yellow.

I hopped back of the metro to check out Schöbrunn Palace and it's stunning gardens. I wandered around them for about an hour, but they looked like you could easily have got lost in them. As I sat eating my lunch little red squirrels scampered about everywhere. They're possibly even cuter than grey squirrels. They have funny pointy, tufty ears. There was a wooden wheel-y scaffolding thing near where I was sitting that it looks like they use to trim the trees and one cheeky little guy was climbing around on it like it was a jungle gym. After that I zoomed over to the other side of town to a little carnival that's a permanant fixture of Vienna. I didn't stay long, but most of the rides felt like they were about to fall apart.

Mozart was everywhere in Vienna. Shops selling crappy souvenirs and guys dressed up like him trying to promote concerts. I got so wrapped up in the whole thing that it was only about halfway through my time in Vienna that I remembered how much I hate Mozart. So fiddly and insipid. Gimmee a ballsy Russian over him any day.

Vienna was a pleasant surprise. At no point did I assume it was going to be disappointing, I just didn't know what to expect and didn't realise it was such a gorgeous city.

Love Bron xoxox

Dog Days Are Over

First up, my soundtrack to Europe is this foxy young red headed lady here:

FLORENCE!!!

I can't stop listening to Florence and the Machine. I listened to her a lot in Australia. But now can't stop. It may be due to the inadequate selection of music I managed to put on my MP3 player before leaving, though I don't think so. I would give at least two of my limbs for her to be touring over here right now. Also...

When I get back I intend to get a rabbit and call it 'The Machine'. I have a feeling rabbits make better pets than guinea pigs anyway. Not to rag on Pig or anything.

SO! Overseas stuff. I had no idea Prague was rad. No one warned me. We struggled to find the Metro from our stop off point and then lunged into the city. My, oh my, if Canberra had public transport like every single city we've been to over here I would never drive anywhere. Ever. The trains rarely take longer than a five minute wait and the maps are so easy to read. It may be because I'm a small town spazz, but I couldn't even get the hang of Sydney trains when I used to visit. Dogs are also allowed to ride on the trains over here, which I think is very considerate. Dog's gotta get around too! In Vienna when you go to purchase a ticket after selecting English as the language it comes up with a little button that says 'OK, I buy the ticket.' It makes me giggle every time. Adorable. There are also trams and buses and taxi's in just about every city. In Prague they tell you to be careful not to take certain taxi's though because they'll rip you off big time. Though to be honest, I don't see why you'd need anything else when you have the glorious metro's and tube's.

Prague is a mix of gorgeous architecture, gorgeous views and sex shops. It's easy enough to ignore the last part though; If you want to that is. This time we had the cutest little hostel. It was clearly just a two story apartment in a five story building that had been converted into a hostel of sorts. There were probably no more than ten of us staying there the whole time and the receptionist only came when she had to check someone in. The owner was a crazy but endearing Czech lady who we only met once. It honestly felt like staying in a house. When you stay in big hostels you feel obliged to always wear shoes when you're walking around and sitting in common areas is an odd and sterile experience. In thís place the kitchen was about five metres from our little room and it felt so nice to be able to pad out and make a cup of tea and sit reading a book. Charming.

Prague also has a whole lot of British stuff. They had a Tesco's and everything. We went into it and the first thing I did was hustle to the biscuit isle. I immediately got really excited when I saw the words 'Jaffa Cakes' but was soon shocked to find that they were cherry, strawberry and peach flavoured. 'What the hell?!' I thought. 'What is this?! Cherry Jaffa's?!?!' Don't panic though. While we were in France and down to our last few Jaffa Cakes we noticed a brand of biscuits called 'Pimms' (not to be confused with the mysterious drink) that looked a whole lot like Jaffa Cakes. We were suspicious then and didn't buy any. They had them in Prague though, and after the bitter disappointment of the other three flavours I was willing to try anything. Now, there were a few differences that us Jaffa Cakes connoisseurs could notice (flakier chocolate, squishier orange) but they were ostensibly the same thing. Panic over. And yes, I am aware that Jaffa Cakes aren't very interesting, but you'd understand if you tried them. There isn't really that much to write about Prague... Ah... they have really nice muesli over here and really cheap yoghurt... You'd think what with all the cows in Australia we might have cheap yoghurt too.

Amazing cheap vegetarian food that would go down a treat in any city, gorgeous walks by the river, a huge metronome on a hill that's supposed to represent change (yeah, I don't get it either. They probably should have thought it through more...) a massive castle, Pilsner, disappointing clocks, horses with beanies, annoying tour guides and cool statues. Nice vibes altogether really.

I'm going to leave it here to save from boring you all and to escape the twelve year old screaming German girls who've descended on the computers. I swear I'll actually have something to write about when I get to my Vienna blog.

Bron xoxoxoxox <3

Friends...

Bron and I possibly have the best group of friends in the world back in Canberra. THE BEST! I miss them all a lot. I just wanted to take a moment to tell you that in a few short weeks we'll me meeting up with this guy...

...and only a couple of weeks after that we'll be meeting up with these mighty fine ladies...

I just wanted them to know how incredibly excited I am! See you soon!!!

Love Courts xox



Bohemia...

Situated right in the middle of the Bohemia region of the Czech Republic is the city of Prague. Since 1992, Prague has been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites and it's not hard to understand why.

All of the places we have been so far have been beautiful, but Prague really is in a league of its own. Some one told me that when walking around Prague you'll be tempted to look at your feet (because the paving can be quite hazardous) but that you must ignore this temptation and look up! They were right. The buildings in Prague are all gorgeous, but I suck at describing architecture, so here are some pictures...

The walking tour we did was not the best, our guide was an ex school teacher and you could really tell...she was also just really boring... BUT we did get to see most of the sites. The Old Town Square is quite lovely. We saw three wedding parties getting photos outside the church and were informed that most people don't actually get married there...they just come for the photos. Weird, right? We spent a bit of time shopping in Wesceslas Square. As in Good King Wenceslas...I had the Christmas carol stuck in my head for a good portion of my time in Prague and also really wanted to watch Love Actually!

King Charles Bridge is pretty, but full of tourists all the time! So there was quite a bit of pushing and shoving involved in crossing it. I hiked up to Prague Castle as well, it was pretty cool. The cathedral was especially beautiful.

The food in Prague was really tasty and cheap, which was great. We went to an incredible vegetarian restaurant that had been recommended by Linda...it was probably the best meal I've had in the past 5 weeks. If you ever go to Prague, go to 'Clear head'!

More cool pictures from Prague...

The horses wear hats! So cute...

I have no idea what this is, I just stumbled upon it and thought it was cool...

 

Prague Castle...

Yesterday I got a bus to the small town of Cesky Krumlov. Most people haven't heard of little Cesky, but it is really lovely! I nearly got off at the wrong bus stop on my way here, but thankfully a friendly local stopped me. Czech people seem to always look really angry and scary, but most of them are really nice. Also, on the bus they played 'The Prestige' so I got to perv on Michael Caine for two hours! Anyway, back to Cesky...Only about 14, 000 people live in and around the village so it's very pleasant to stroll around and is not too touristy. It's by far the most picturesque town I've been to, more so than Bruges even, which I didn't think was possible.

The view from my hostel terrace...not too bad, eh?

I want a private slippery dip into a river at my house...

 

 

View from the top of the Castle Tower...

 I spent the day strolling around with an Aussie guy I met on the bus, Andy. We were staying at different hostels but Cesky Krumlov is so small we just kept running into each other. Today I went on a rafting pub crawl...as in me and 20 other travelers were put into rafts and sent down the river with no life jackets or supervision. We were simply told to be back by 8pm and not to die. It was fantastic! They have pubs all down the river, so we just stopped paddling whenever we wanted another beverage. Every few hundred meters we had to go down a man made rapid, and unfortunately I always seemed to be sitting in the wrong spot and ended up drenched! ...I also may or may not have fallen in...but it was due to my complete lack of coordination, nothing else! By the time we got back I couldn't feel half of my body (I'm not entirely convinced that I don't have hypothermia), but I met some amazing people and had a really great day.

Tomorrow I'm heading back to Prague. If I'd known that there was so much to do here I would have stayed longer...but I wont complain because on Tuesday I'm heading to Venice!!!

All my love to you all,

Courtney xoxo