Nice, France (pop. 347,000)

Quite frankly, Nice is just well… nice. It’s basically the middle child of the French Riviera. Not quite as flashy as Monte Carlo, or as charming as St Tropez, Nice is more the commercial and tourist centre of the Côte d'Azur and it certainly feels like it. Perhaps it's the continual influx of tourists into the town centre, but the first impression you get when arriving into the town centre is a certain taste of tackiness. From the abundance of fast food chains (a no-no in other parts of France) to the cheap stores that line the main boulevard, this is not the impression you’re supposed to get from one of the main towns of the Côte d'Azur.

The town certainly has its quirks and beyond the main drag is where the city’s real charms show themselves. There is of course the pebble beach, which, for any Australian visiting is more a novelty than anything else. The problem is not the beach itself, but trying to get out of the water with rocks jabbing at your feet certainly doesn't make it easy. Heading just a couple of blocks east of the main boulevard (Avenue Jean Médecin) and one finds themselves in charmingly narrow streets and laneways that wind their way up and down the hilly terrain. These hills lead up to Castle Hill, which provide the highest and most beautiful views of Nice and the surrounding coastline. It is only from up here that you realized just how big Nice actually is, with the city extending vastly inland up into the north.

On a sunny weekend day, there is nothing better than living the French dream by taking a stroll along the older part of the city where numerous cafés and patisseries line the streets as well as the food markets where exquisitely grown fruits and vegetables prove that once again, the French know a thing or two about food. Giant strawberries, succulent melons and all types of fruit representing every colour spectrum of the rainbow adorn each vendor’s table, and provide a feast for both your eyes and tastebuds.

Useful Hint:

Because it is not as flash as some of the other cities in the Côte d'Azur, Nice is the idea place to stay as it is cheaper than say Monte Carlo or St Tropez and thus saves you a bit of cash to spend elsewhere in the expensive French Riviera.

Getting Here:

• Nice Côte d'Azur Airport: serves flights from all over Europe and is the main airport serving all the Côte d'Azur cities. If you so happen to be lucky enough, private jet parking is also in abundance.
• TGV trains arrive from all parts of France and Italy frequently.
• Cruise ships dock in nearby Monaco and Nice is connected by both bus and train to the city-state for those looking to go on a day trip.

Paris, France (pop. 2.2million)

Paris; the city of love, the city of food and the city of light… That's a whole lot of city in one! Paris is the epitome of French culture, chic tree lined streets, delicious restaurants with more Michelin hats than most countries alone, lovers publicly displaying their affections for all to see and museums holding more artworks and treasures than visitors have time for. One of the most visited places in the world, Paris is a destination that any worldly traveller must have on their list and more often than not, it’s at the top.

When in Paris and you’re confronted by some less than helpful locals, go with the flow and adopt the French saying – Cest la Vie. If you do need directions or help, err on the side of caution and assume that the person you are talking to speaks fluent English – those that do won’t rebuff you because they are insulted by the fact you think they may not be educated in English or those that don't will probably help you anyways. Always remember however, that hello (Bonjour), thank you (Merci) and goodbye (Au Revoir) should be said in French and not English – they are easy to remember and assist in disarming the French of their contempt.

Besides the traditional blasé attitudes of the French, Paris has a lot to offer the tourist. The city is large, so be prepared to do a large amount of walking and don’t be afraid to catch the city’s famed metro system. Walking from one attraction to another is not only good for your fitness, but enables you to see things off the tourist track. When necessary however, the city’s large and broad metro system is efficient and reaches almost all areas of the city. It’s rather cheap and convenient, albeit sometimes rather smelly. Visitors to the city are spoilt with the tourist Orange Carte – it represents really good value for those who are doing a lot of travelling around the city (and believe me, you will). It also provides some discounts and savings around the city so keep the booklet handy with you.

To begin with, visitors should begin their tour of Paris near the metro station of Saint Michel near the Notre Dame. Head into the world famous cathedral first thing in the morning before it gets busy before coming back out towards the fountain located in the heart of Saint Michel. From there, head west along the River Seine until you reach Pont Nerf, and from there it's a short stroll to the Louvre. Finally, continue west towards the Champs Elysees, home of the Arc de Triomphe. One you have walked this leg of Paris, a majority of the city’s highlights have already been seen. What remains is Montmartre, the Eiffel tower, Montparnasse Tower (and the surround St Germain des-Pres area), La Defence and some retail therapy at Galleries Lafayette. If you are not confident in walking such a long distance on your own, there is a free walking tour that leaves from St Michel every morning that is free, purely based on a tip to the tour guide (I would suggest roughly 5-10euros). Perform an Internet search of “new Europe walking tours” to find information about additional tours, meeting times and information.

Useful Hint:

The best view of Paris is either from the Sacre Coeur (free) or the Arc de Triomphe (nominal). The view of Paris from the Eiffel tower isn’t complete without the view of itself. That being said, views of the city at night from the Eiffel tower are spectacular and sunset/evening is the best time to visit.

Getting Here:

• Trains from all over Europe arrive into Paris Gare du Nord frequently. It is the most convenient to catch the train from London to Paris, rather than flying out of the many London airports.
• The national rail operator, TGV, connects Paris to other French cities easily and very quickly.
• Most planes land at Charles De Gaulle airport or Orly airport. Both are well connected to Paris by the regional train operator RER.
• Cruise ships dock a few hours away in the port of Le Havre.

Stockholm, Sweden (Pop. 674,000)

Ahhh Sweden, how many Swedish icons there are in popular culture and around the world? For a country of less than 9million inhabitants, the Swedes have been embraced by the world through cars, alcohol, pop music, clothing and flat pack furniture. The household Swedish names we’ve all come to know and love include ABBA, Absolut, Volvo, Saab, IKEA and H&M.

Stockholm is the epicentre of Swedish business and as such, one is instantaneously transported to Swedish heaven upon arrival at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. The short bus ride into the city passes the green rolling hills of the Swedish countryside and during the summer, you can see why the Swedes sport around such beautiful tans. In the city area, Stockholm is built along the east coast of Sweden and also takes up a number of islands including the one that holds the royal palace. Connected by a series of bridges, Stockholm’s old town area is the picture perfect cobbled stone lined street one imagines in fairytales.

The palace itself covers about a quarter of the old town island and is a rather non-descript stone building. Inside however, its arts and relics from kings and queens gone by combine to form a rather dazzling collection of jewels and treasures from one of the world’s oldest monarchies. Similar to many other Scandinavian and European cities, Stockholm is a bike friendly city that is easy to navigate and provides safe bike lanes for cyclists to roam about. If biking is not particularly high on the agenda, then the city’s public transport system is clean, efficient and frequent albeit a little on the expensive side.

Some notable sites in Stockholm for tourists include Skansen, which is one of the world’s largest open air museums, providing an intriguing look at early Swedish life and also contains an animal park that somewhat resembles a zoo. Children and adults will be both amused and interested, and traditional Swedish food is served in the cafes and patisseries. The Skansen is also located across from the Tivoli amusement park and a short stroll from the yacht permanently tied to the harbour that acts as a youth hostel. The Vaasa museum is also located along the water from and has an original wooden ship that sunk during its maiden voyage as it was leaving Stockholm harbour over 400 years ago. Art lovers will also enjoy the Moderna Museet.

Useful Hint:

Staying further away from the city is a significantly cheaper option than living in the heart of the city. Being away from all the tourist attractions and living closer to the locals also means that eating out and general necessities are also cheaper and easier to find. If budget is a concern, accommodation, which allows for self-catering is a brilliant idea to combat the high prices of the Swedish economy, as DIY dinners are reasonable value even in a country such as Sweden.

Getting Here:

• Arlanda is the main airport serving Stockholm and is the home of SAS airlines (Scandinavian air service) and its partner Star Alliance members. One World alliance members are less prominent but none the less still fly here. Flights leave here to all parts of Europe and the world.
• Skavsta airport is a regional airport labelled by RyanAir and other low cost airlines as an airport for Stockholm. Coach most conveniently reaches it and currently there are 2 bus companies at war on the route and offering deals and specials on tickets to and from the airport.
• Trains from around the country and neighbouring Finland and Denmark all terminate at Stockholm central station.
• Cruise ships and ferries dock close to the city centre at the terminal on Stockholm harbour.

Copenhagen, Denmark (Pop. 480,000)

When one thinks of Denmark, often ice cream, cookies and Danish pastries coming into mind, as do Hans Christian Anderson fairytales and perhaps Carlsberg beer. More recently, Princess Mary’s marriage to Prince Federeik can induce women all over Australia into dream-like states where she wishes she were the one who had met him at Slipp Inn during the Sydney Olympic games and became a real life princess.

The Danish are famed for their architects and the city’s main buildings are a showcase to the understandings of form and aesthetics. Without the Danes, the Sydney opera house would perhaps not be as famous as it is today. The city’s buildings are a mix of new and old (more old than new) but they work well against one another and make Copenhagen a beautiful city. It's the little things that make Copenhagen so special. Situated on the Eastern part of Zealand, the waterfront of Copenhagen contains the most famous statue in the city. Far and wide, people come to Copenhagen to see this small statue that lies on the rocks of the harbour.

Elsewhere around the city, palaces and royal residences of the world’s oldest surviving monarchy. Jewels and other valuable items are well preserved and organised in museums located all over the city, but perhaps the most highly recommended of those is the Amelienborg Palace located in the King’s Garden.

It is quite easy to find one’s bearings in Copenhagen and being quite flat, walking around is fairly easy. If however, you would prefer to bike, hire places concentrate around the central train station and there are some bike stations around the city that have public bikes that require a 20kr coin as a deposit, returned to you when you re-lock a bike at any one of the stations dotted around the city.

At night, the city’s Tivoli Gardens light up and the part amusement park, part open museum is a great way to spend an evening. Tickets sold can either be bough as an entry only ticket or an unlimited ride ticket. Entry for individual rides however, can also be purchased once inside if you did decide you wanted to go on a ride or two once you are inside. Once inside, restaurants and entertainment is in abundance.

Finally, the best view of Copenhagen can be seen from atop the city hall’s clock tower.

Useful Hint:

Get to the city bike racks early if you are planning to get one of the free bikes available in the city, as they do go fast and are limited in numbers.

Getting here:

• Copenhagen is well connected to Europe by air, served mainly by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). Some budget airlines do fly to limited cities such as London and other parts of Scandinavia (easyJet and Norwegian come to mind). Copenhagen airport is well connected by a train running into the central railway station.
• DSB is the national train operator and connects Copenhagen to other parts of Denmark, Germany and Sweden.

Belfast, Northern Ireland (Pop. 290,000)

Unlike it’s Irish cousin Dublin, Belfast was plagued with damage and decline during the 1970s due to sectarian violence by the IRA and Loyalist paramilitary groups. However, in the past couple of years, the city has found its feet and grown substantially. Whilst it may not a pretty as other parts of Ireland, Belfast certainly has its own beautiful character and charm.

Any visitor to Belfast needs to visit Shankill Road, where today murals and paintings along building walls commemorate those that died during the violence that took place here. It would be ideal to catch a bus up Shankill road and walk back towards Belfast city centre, admiring and paying respects to the many men (and women) that died.

Another significant site that visitors to Belfast should visit is Stormont Estate. It is here, that the Northern Irish Assembly sits and visitors are often able to head into one of the chambers to have a sneak peak (the foyer is open to visitors, however, ask one of the guards nicely and they usually guide you into one of the two chambers).

Back in the city centre, Belfast’s city hall has gardens open to the general public and is often quite crowded in the early afternoon during a warm summers day where people are out and about to catch some sun. It is also here that a London eye-esque observation wheel sits for those who would like to see Belfast from the top.

Again, like most European cities, the main shopping district is a haven for fashionistas. Major European and British stores can all be found along the high streets and the main enclosed shopping centre offers a free viewing platform that gives shoppers a 360° view of the city.

Useful hint:

The city’s bus system is well developed and efficient, with buses going to all major areas of the city. A day pass costs less than £4 for the day and gives you unlimited rides on all of the city’s buses, including the bus that stops right outside the terminal building of Belfast City airport.

Getting here:

• Belfast city airport is located close to the city and is well served by budget airlines flying to and from the UK as well as some cities in Europe. RyanAir, Aer Lingus and BMI Baby are just a couple of the airlines servicing Belfast City airport.
• Ferries run from parts of the west cost of the UK and enable those with cars to come over to the city with their cars.
• Buses and trains run to other parts of Ireland.

Dublin, Republic of Ireland [Baile Átha Cliath] (Pop. 500,000)

There’s a lot to be said about how well a country can make fun of themselves, and right up there would have to be the Irish. Rather than be offended by the clichés that have come to be associated with the Irish, they embrace it and are proud to own it. Stepping off the plane you are greeted by a wash of shamrock green whether it be in advertisements, signage, souvenirs, company logos etc. It is also, of course, Ranga land with possibly what could be one of the worlds highest percentage of redheads in the population. The luck of the Irish, Guinness beer and leprechauns are brandished proudly to visitors and tourists.

Dublin itself is the capital of southern Ireland – the part of the island that is a republic and is independent from the United Kingdom. It is a fairly rainy place, however when the sun does come out, the Irish spirit shines more brightly. During the summer months, the city is full of tourists as a result of cheap flights from what now seems to be the Irish flag carrier – RyanAir. Notorious for their cheap flights and the hundred or so add-on fees from anything to counter check in to drinking water and peanuts, no one can argue that the airline offers unbeatable value. So much so in fact that the actual Irish flag carrier, Aer Lingus, converted from a full service airline to a low cost carrier in order to compete with RyanAir. Dublin airport itself has grown significantly over the past couple of years and the influx of carriers both from the US and other parts of Europe continues to grow.

Once arriving into Dublin, its compact size (like most other European cities) allows the visitor to easily walk to the major sites. When necessary however, the city’s bus system is efficient, clean and somewhat inexpensive. Lost? Then ask a friendly Irish man and they’ll more than likely throw in a joke free.

A great starting point is at the bridges that span over the Liffey River. From there, head north towards Trinity College and the Bank of Ireland to admire the architecture of some of the city’s oldest buildings. Other recommended sites include the Guinness factory where one learns about the process and history of making Guinness with the tour ending at the panoramic bar perched high above the factory, offering the best view of Dublin while enjoying a pint or two of Guinness beer. For castle lovers (and lets face it, who wouldn't expect to see a castle in a major European city?), Dublin castle satisfies your quench for fortified walls and royal living. Sport lovers must make the trek over to Croke Park – home of Gaelic Football.

Dublin is also a city of churches and cathedrals, as the staunch catholic background continues to be instilled in the Irish community. One of the biggest in the city is St Patrick’s Cathedral, and during a sunny summer’s day, its adjoining park is a great spot for a picnic or a place to rest. Finally, the last stop for many visitors to this beautiful city is the home of Oscar Wilde, the famed literary genius who’s quotes are thought provoking and more often than not, wildly outrageous. The building is now occupied as part of the Irish American university and is located across the city’s main park, not dissimilar to New York’s central park. Coincidentally, walking out of one of the park’s exits, one could be forgiven in thinking that they’d suddenly been transported to New York.

Last but not least, the city’s shopping areas (located 5mins of one another) offers the shopaholic absolute paradise. Its stores line pedestrian-only streets filled with the usual British high street stores and a mix of those from further afield. When its time to drop, a short distance away is the Temple Bar, arguably the most famous place of worship in the city. The strip sums up the general feel of Dublin itself – traditionally British mixed with the Irish sense of humour and out look on life, teamed with influences from the Americas and continental Europe. Dublin is a sophisticated, fun-loving and cosmopolitan city.


Useful hint:
Bring comfortable walking shoes so as to not miss the sights and sounds of the city. Walking is by far the best way to get around the city and even if you do get lost a single confused look at the map magically summons up a friendly local willing to offer you directions.

Getting here:
• RyanAir is undoubtedly the king of budget airlines and with Dublin being it’s home base, cheap airfares from just about anywhere in Europe will get you there, often for well under £10 each way. Fares have been known cost just 1pence including all taxes and fees. As a result, other airlines also offer cheap airfares in an out of the city to parts of northeast USA and Europe.
• The airport bus runs frequently and drops you off right in the heart of the city costing just a couple of Euros.
• Ferries run from parts of the west cost of the UK and enable those with cars to come over to the city with their cars.
• Dublin is connected to other parts of Ireland and Northern Ireland by buses and trains.

Nottingham, United Kingdom (Pop. 261,000)

Located in the centre of England, this city is the home of the Sherwood Forrest and all things Robin Hood. Although there are references to the hero of the poor in the form of a statue outside Nottingham Castle and a forest exhibit dedicated to all his endeavours, this English city in the midlands offers much more than just a the story of Robin Hood and his men. About an hour away from the much larger city of Birmingham, Nottingham offers its visitors a blend of English countryside and metropolitan life.

In the city centre you’ll find the typical English high street with its chains of Carphone Warehouse, Debenhams, Top Shop/Top Man, Marks & Spencer, Boots and WH Smith. The city’s town square is brightened up in summer with the space used for fair rides and a fake beach that utilises the centre fountain – thoroughly enjoyed by kids young and old alike. For the shopaholics out there, its selection of shops is quite broad, international and, being less populated than larger cities found elsewhere in the country, less crowded and usually well stocked with items that may have been sold out earlier elsewhere in the country. A compact town centre means your feet will thank you at the end of the day, and the hike back to the hotel would also be much less painful. In saying that however, the notorious English supermarket (Morrisons, ASDA, Tesco and Sainsbury) is located in the ever-popular big box sites dotting around the outskirts of the town centre.

Venture further afield however, and you’ll find fruits to pick in the University of Nottingham grounds (think apples and blackberries), canals full of river boats during the summer and activities generally confined to small English towns usually found much further from larger town centres. During my stay here, I walked along canals with fields brimming full of waist tall grass lined with blackberry bushes, watched river boats chug along at a leisurely English summer pace and visited the site of a kayak and canoe white water centre.

It's a fantastic place to relax and wander along the shores as you watch riverboats coming in and out of the canal locks. That is, when the English weather co-operates. Temperature-wise, Nottingham is usually a couple of degrees cooler than London, but is usually wetter than southern England. Although not as wet as dreary old Manchester, you’ll spend a good 50% of your time under the brolly trying to avoid the rain.

Sport fans can enjoy the dog races (something not often found in modern day England); catch a home game of one of the two soccer teams – Nott’s County and Nottingham Forest or spend a day or two at the cricket.

Useful hint:

For those of you who are addicted to you Internet (much like myself), you’d be comforted to find that many cafes and eateries around town and smaller high streets offer free wi-fi, so order that coffee and whip out those iPhones or netbooks to log on for!

Getting here:

• National Express and Megabus services depart from most major English cities to Nottingham often and if booked early enough, fares as low as £1 can be found.
• Train services link Nottingham to the rest of the UK. Book early for the cheapest fares (cheapest tickets go on sale about 2-3 months before travel)
• Nottingham is linked to the major highways with England’s notorious A-Roads. It’s about a 3-hour drive from London, 1 hour from Birmingham and about 2 hours to Manchester.
• RyanAir, easyJet and BMI/BMI Baby currently fly to the east midlands airport (serving Derby, Lincolnshire and Nottingham), however, easyJet is about to cease their flights, so flight will become a little more limited. The next closest airport is Birmingham.

New Blogs...

So I'm going for a bit of a new style when I'm blogging during my holidays.

Rather than recap my trips, I'm going to write up each city kind of like a guide. Hope you enjoy it!

Alex

Bangkok to Macau to Bali to HOME!, 30/03/09

This morning was an early morning (again, I really need to choose later flights when they are available…) and after having our early breakfast, we finished off packing our bags and checked out of the lovely Holiday Inn to catch a meter taxi back to Suvarnabhumi Airport. The trip there was quite bemusing as our taxi driver must have been on the wrong side of 80 and insisted on making phone calls throughout the trip, laughing hysterically about what was being said by the other person and then relating the hilarity in his not so great English to us.

All checked in for our return flight with Air Asia, we browsed the duty free shops and came to the conclusion, like at Siam Paragon, that Thailand really isn’t the place for cheap brand name items, that is, unless they have been knocked off and serious copyright infringements have been made.

The flight back to Macau wasn't too bad – my heart did skip a beat when, during take off, our pilot decided to drop a couple of feet down about 10secs into the wheels having left the tarmac before realising his/her mistake and then gaining altitude again. Lets just say, emergency exits were sought out and my grip on the hand rest did tighten a fair bit…

Arriving in Macau, we dropped our bags off at left luggage and caught the free shuttle bus to the Venetian Casino where we spent the next 4 hours or so doing what seems to be the number 1 activity of this trip – SHOPPING. If we were disappointed by the sales and variety of clothes on offer in Honkie Tonks, The Shoppes at the Venetian more than made up for it. 70% signs dotted storefronts throughout the centre and the higher Macau Pataca also made things a bit better.

Dinner tonight was some nice Portuguese food, namely a duck baked rice bowl and some chicken curry. We also loaded up on local sweets of Almond Cakes and Peanut Candy. About 6hours into our 12hour layover (why, oh why?!), we gave up on walking around anymore – perhaps more so being vetoed by our feet than anything else and parked our tired asses on a couch in Starbucks and reading, listening to music and writing 4 blog entries to make the time pass by. We still have about 11 hours worth of travelling to get home, as the fantastic people at Viva Macau (*sarcasm*) generously decided to re-route us through Bali, Denpasar again to refuel (*more sarcasm*). Fingers crossed we get home in one piece!

This will be my final blog entry (unless there is something to write about and we have an eventful flight) until August when my European adventure begins – well actually, it's a bit more of a United Kingdom adventure due to the falling Aussie dollar to euro conversion. Until then, there may be a few domestic trips in between, so stay tuned! ☺

Bangkok, 29/03/09

Our last full day in Bangkok and we had set it aside to join a tour that would take us to an island located about 20kms north of Bangkok, called Koh Kred. This island is renowned for its ceramics and pottery, and for the bargain basement price of 300baht, we were provided with comfortable seats on a tourist boat, an English speaking tour guide and the knowledge that we would be taken to all the places of interest without having to haggle and find our own way.

On the tour, we spoke with a German backpacker who had been travelling on her own for over 2 months (she was doing an internship here in Bangkok) and an English couple who lived permanently in Spain.

Cruising up the Chao Phraya River, we stopped of first at a temple and then next a well-known restaurant that served traditional Thai curries and sweets. An interesting fact about Koh Kred is that whilst it is currently an island, it did not begin this way. In fact, it was part of the mainland but as the need for a canal to widen the Chao Phraya River was needed, this island was separated from the mainland and as the canal got wider and wider, Koh Kred became its own little island. The island is sometimes translated as Koh Kret and is equally populated by Thai locals and Mong people, a group of people who had migrated from Myanmar/Laos, sharing it with a small number of Indian and Chinese immigrants.

We had about 2 hours to wander around the markets on the islands, with some variety of pottery and ceramics, but generally all fairly similar and of designs difficult to distinguish from one another. There were also other stalls selling other merchandise, not dissimilar to what we had found at Chatuchak Markets yesterday.

The cruise back to Bangkok was leisurely and having had a very pleasant day in the much less bustling island of Koh Kred, we had a quiet evening, again having a Thai dinner at the Irish pub, but tonight I taste tested a Singha beer – not unlike a Toohey’s New.