Signing off

My exchange has come to an end.

So so much has happened since my last post - London, Norwich, New York, and Washington D.C.

After arriving back in London from Venice I ventured up to Norwich for a few nights to say my goodbyes to my friends at UEA. There were definitely some sad times, but I will no doubt be back sometime soon / they will visit me in NZ! I enjoyed staying on the floor in Leah's room.. the clothes on the floor made an excellent mattress. After a few nights there I caught the train back to London for my final night there, before departing for New York on the 14th of January.

I arrived in New York late that afternoon, but I am not sure which took longer - the flight or the queue to get through border control. That night in New York I did the most obvious thing in my mind - make my way to Times Square. I was not disappointed at all. It was nothing that I had ever seen before - I thought the advertising at Piccadilly Circus in London was awesome, but Times Square was simply on another level. The next few days I spent seeing the sights of NYC, including the 9/11 memorial (which was incredibly moving), the docklands, Top of the Rocks (a lookout up the Rockefeller Centre), Broadway, the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, and the New York Stock Exchange (to name a few). I met a Brazilian girl up the Rockefeller Centre on my second night, so we spent most of my last few days in NYC together seeing as many places as we could cram into a couple of days.

On the 17th I traveled to Washington D.C. to see as much as I could in just 20 hours. The city reminded me distinctly of Canberra with its layout and 'city-vibe'. The highlights definitely included having a quick look at an actual copy of the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and Magna Carta. I also had no idea how awesome the museums along the Mall were.

I then traveled back to NYC on the Greyhound and left of Auckland the following morning, via Dubai and Sydney.

So I arrived back on the 21st, but since then I have literally not been able to sit down for a second until now. I'm now in Wellington where I commence my Residential Advisor training on Monday.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all.

Thanks for all the interest over the past 6 months!

Lots of Love, Harry.

Just before I hopped into the Taxi at UEA to leave for London before my flight the following day.

The morning of my flight... got out of the country just before flights were cancelled.

On the Brooklyn Bridge

Top of the Rockefeller Centre looking at the Empire State Building.

Grand Central Station.

Chilling in Central Park

Michelle Obama's vege garden.

Last days on the continent..

I made it to Venice safely on the Trenitialia late in the evening on the 6th, leaving from Rome Termini. My first impressions of the city were not great - the train station was a mess, the ferry service to my accommodation a few stops away was to cost me €7, and there was no one around at all! But as soon as I made it into the centre, that all changed. I've never seen any place remotely like it (apart from in a Las Vegas Casino).. The city was simply stunning. The only thing that let me down was a lack of cheap Italian food around the place.

I don't have a huge amount of time to write much sorry. Since the 8th I've flown home to London, then arrived back in Norwich to say my goodbyes.

Back to London tomorrow for a sad night preparing to pack all of Sunday. Then leaving UK for good on Monday morning...

Loving it.

The token tourist shot.

Disappointing pasta to be quite honest..

A Mussolini, fascist-inspired, train station in Venice.

Off home to London and Norwich to say my goodbyes.

Roma and the Italian way

So, ah, Rome. Where to start? The whole city is quite literally a giant museum. So rich in history, culture, and good food. The city's dynamic very much operates around 'the Italian way'. I've been stuck a few times naturally trying to speak French (after being in France for so long)... But the Italians seem to be quite forgiving as my Italian speaking skills are more or less non-existent.

As I said in my previous post, I arrived at Rome Termini on the overnight train from Dijon, on the 4th. I found my way onto the metro and met my friend somewhere down the line. The metro system reminded me of Barcelona with all the creepy classical music that was played on the platform while everyone waited in silence. Anyway, I digress.

I stayed in the south of Rome with my relative, Keir. We had a relaxed afternoon on the 4th, eating delicious pasta and walking down one of the arterial roads of Ancient Rome. Tracks in the stone forming the base of the road still showed the marks where Roman carts cruised the streets of Rome - I felt so young. Tombs lined the street, remembering the heroic service of generals to the Roman Empire. It was a nice introduction to what was to follow the next day.

On the 5th I travelled directly into the city centre using the chaotic Italian transport system. Once I made it, I waited in the queue for a decent while in order to enter one of the key historical sites - the Roman forum. It was impressive to see so many buildings that had been preserved so well over the past 2000-odd years. The one thing that disappointed me was the lack of written information at each building... So at some places I literally had no idea what I was looking at - yeah I could have paid for a tour guide, but that would have costed an arm and a leg.. Checked out the Colosseum, which was easily a highlight. It brought back memories of battling to stay awake in Latin class as my 85 year old teacher droned on about Roman history. The Colosseum was a stunning building, and structure that NZ architects could learn a thing or two from when it comes to stadium design.

After trying to take in as much as I could at the Forum and Colosseum, I made tracks to the Vatican City through the hectic streets of Rome. I didn't spend too long there, but I had a quick look at the Pope's balcony and the grand churches that stood nearby. The roads of Rome were obviously not made for cars so navigating through the streets by foot through the traffic was a bit of a nightmare - footpaths were frequently non-existent (and interesting fact).

I've quite honestly been eating some of the best food while in Rome. The pizza was out of this world, and oh the pasta and wine wasn't too bad too! It definitely rivals French food very closely - apart from the cheese - the French can claim that.

I'm currently cruising at a couple of hundred kilometres an hour on the TRENITALIA to Venice. I'll spent a couple of nights there before returning home to London.

I will update you soon. xo


Easily the best pizza consumed so far.



Walking down one of the key aterial roads of Ancient Rome!

Taken in the Forum, on of the many historical attarctions in central Rome.

This obviously doesn't need a description...

The Pantheon - a still fully functional Acient Roman building.

My new friends.

Onto my next destination - Venice!

People, places, wine, and cheese.

 So much has happened since my last post. It has been a packed few days with so many place seen, people met, wine consumed, and cheese eaten.

I was picked up early morning on the 31st by my friend, Fanny, and her boyfriend, Baptiste, from Gare de Vaise in Lyon. We then road-tripped to Bordeaux, along with Fanny's friend, Hélène. I guess the main purpose of the trip was to party for New Years, but we also ended up seeing so much of Bordeaux and the surrounding region. It pretty much turned out being. French food extravaganza!

The party on the 31st was simply awesome. So many cool people, great food, decent wine tasting, and of course the language.

Obviously the next day was dedicated to our post-New Year recovery, but we still managed to visit one of the greatest wine-producing villages of France, St Emilion. For all you wine drinkers, if you have tasted good French wine, it is probably from here. The village was beautiful, so old, and largely untouched since its prime in the 18th century. I ate my first canelé, which is a baked custard-type cake native and famous to the wider Bordeaux region.

The next two nights we stayed with Fanny and Hélène's friend, Lise, who was very kind to have us to stay, and quickly learnt about my love for vin (wine) and fromage (cheese).. Some of the cheese demolished that night included Bria Saverin, St Nectaire, and Chamoix d'or..

On the 2nd we drove to, and climbed, Europe's highest sand dune, Dune du Pyla! Such a stunning mound of sand on the southern coast of Bordeaux - pictures obviously follow below. The sad thing was to see a large amount of oil washed up on the beach from ship leakages etc.. Reminded me of the Rena disaster and how pristine we must keep our coastline. That afternoon we visited Arcachon which seemed to be the old people capital of the Bordeaux region... Lol yeah and that reminded me of Orewa.. It felt like summer so we had more vin, fromage, pain (bread), and saucisson (sausage), but this time on the beach. We ended the night with dinner at a Bordeaux restaurant with everyone from the New Year's Eve party - duck, French fries, and salad was eaten.. along with champagne. Ahh soo good.

The 3rd consisted of a usual early morning start and a comprehensive tour of Bordeaux, led by Lise! St André Cathedral, the Grand Thèâtre, and the Bourse Maritime were visited (to name a few), and Lise outlined the historical significance of each! So much was subsequently learnt - so if any of you want a run-down of Bordeaux's best historical sights - hit me up!

We then reluctantly left Bordeaux for Lyon.

My plan from there was to catch the overnight train from Dijon to Rome, a journey that I was unable to purchase a ticket for either through the Internet or by phone. So I decided the best way was just to catch the TGV to Dijon and hope I could by a ticket for the Dijon-Rome ticket. It worked out after a bit of arguing, and I was given a bed in a couchette with with a couple of old people who weren't in the slightest happy with my arrival - neither was I with their snoring.. But at the end of the day I was onboard and that's all that mattered. Anyway, 12 hours later I arrived in Rome, caught the metro to Arco di Travertino, where I was met by my friend.

Now just about to go out and check out some Roman sights before pizza.

Churr.

Our loose New Year's celebration.

St Emilion - one of the best wine areas of France.

Me, Lise, and Fanny in St Emilion!

A stunning statue.

Me and Fanny in one of St Emilion's many narrow, and beautiful streets.

Testing the soil fertility of St Emilionàs latest vineyard.

One of the stunning panoramic views at Dune du Pyla.

One of the best picnics ever had.

Outside Bodeaux's famous theatre.

Canard (duck).

Bordeaux.

Principauté du Monaco

Right now I'm just chilling on a five hour train journey from Monaco to Lyon thinking back over the past 3 days. It has been an extremely rushed trip to the Monaco and the South of France so I've been flat out trying to see as much as I could.

The wealth of Monaco was obvious as soon as I stepped off my train - the immaculate station, marble floors, and women dressed in fur coats. CCTV cameras, tracked my every move, but I have to say that I've never felt safer while travelling in Europe.

Monte-Carlo, Monaco was just stunning. It has been built in the one the most beautiful parts of the southern French coast, and has been well planned in such a small geographic area - so small that I was able to walk the length of the country in about an hour. It is winter so instead of ever second car being a super-car, only about one in five were... I presume all their owners had fled in their super-yachts to the heat of the Caribbean. I managed to see all the essential sights - like the Royal Family's palace (which has nothing on Buckingham Palace), and the casino where part of a recent Bond film was set (I can't remember which one). It was also pretty awesome to walk some of Monte-Carlo Grand Prix.

I spent much of today in Menton, France with a couple that I met at the Christmas market! To be quite honest, we were all a bit let down by the town - it was a tad messy... Mind you, my standards were set pretty high from what I saw in Nice and Monaco.

One and a half hours to go in this train journey... It has been an interesting one for sure. I've been watching a couple of Italian blokes scouring the train for things to steal. Lol they've already been talked to by guards - but since they are innocent as of yet, one of them has decided to sit behind me. It's all good - cos I've got my bags either at my feet or on my lap. It reminds me of Barcelona - if you know what to look for, you can see the thieves coming from a mile away.. And no, I'm not being judgemental.

I'm off for New Years in Bordeaux tomorrow with one of my French friends from university! We're leaving early tomorrow morning, and I think the driving time is about 8 hours - but I'll be in good company so it will be awesome. I'm back in Lyon on the 3rd and straight off to Rome to stay with a friend, so that should also be legit.

Enough from me. Stay safe over the new year xo

Christmas in Grièges

I honestly had an awesome time in France for Christmas. I left from Heathrow on the 23rd bound for Lyon, and was met at the airport by my fav French friend, Marina, and her father. I hadn't seen her is simply ages so it was so awesome to see her. We then drove an hour north to their home in Grièges, where I was to be for the next 5 days!

Christmas was amazing, and completely different to that in New Zealand. So much delicious food, wine - little did I know that I was actually right in the heart of the best region for French wine (the Beaujolais Valley). I was introduced to many different types of French cuisine - including foie gras, fromage, different meat dishes, and desserts (to name just a few). I've always loved my French food so I more than happily had my fair share!

It was really awesome meeting Marina's family. They were so generous and showed me around much of the area such as Macon, Lyon, and the Musée de vin. I also like to think that my French speaking skills have improved a fair bit so feel free to test me when I'm next in NZ - just putting it out there..

I left for Nice yesterday, and have since left and am now in Monte-Carlo, Monaco.

While it was a very short overnight visit to Nice, I still managed to see a fair bit. The markets were amazing, and possible produced the best croissant I have ever had. I took some spectacular shots of the city so I'll copy them below.

I will save my update on Monaco until later as I need to sleep. Meeting up with a Aussie and Estonian (who I met at the Monte-Carlo Xmas market) tomorrow to go to Menton, which is right on the French/Italian border.

Stay safe team.

Entreé for Christmas Eve dinner! So delicious.