Jess Hits Europe by Coach

Hellooo again!

For our last day in Paris the Weather was really nice, so we had a picnic in a beautiful park near to our hostel, with two american girls we had met. It was really nice and we spent the rest of the day wandering around Paris eating crepes and ice-cream.

In the evening we went on a tour of Monmarte which was really fun, our tuor guide was hilarious and we got to see all the sites around the red light district, like the moulin rouge! Its 8 Euro but worht it, you get a free drink too!

After that we went on an organised pub crawl around the city centre. It was good but be prepared to get some looks off the locals, because some people get a bit too merry! It was really good though and we met loads of fun people from all over the world.

We left for Brussels in the morning, it was really easy to book our tickets, and the journey is only 4 hours. It would have been a nice journey, other than the fact that the lady infront of me decided to put her chair back refusing to move it and crushing my legs for hours!! She is the rudest person we have ever met!

When we arrived at where we where staying in Brussels (after getting lost), we went for a few drinks with some girls we met. This is when we realised how scary Brussels is! We did have a good time, but you have got to be careful and watch out for your purse, because there is a lot of shady characters around that you probably want to avoid. We went out for the night, and we have only good things to say about brussels nightlife. Be prepared for a very late night, because most clubs stay open until 8 or 9am, and don't really get going until around 3am!

During the day we wandered round, and saw the Mannekin Pis and the parliament buildings, amd walked round the main shopping streets. We could probably have used our time better, but we were REALLY tired from the night before!

From Brussels we got a train to Bruges ( as the coaches don't run here, but it is really cheap from Brussels, 12 euro 50) which is rougly an hour away. So far Bruges is really pretty (and ALOT less scary than Brussels).

Write again soon!!

Jess and Rach

Arrived in Paris yesterday early morning, the journey was quite long, but the coach was comfy and we managed to get a bit of sleep, it was good to travel overnight so we didn't waste any days in Paris.

Paris is a beautiful city, although the traffic can be a little bit daunting at first, the cars don't seem to care about traffic lights very much so you need your wits about you!

Today we went to a park local to our hostel in the Crimee area - (St Christophers....it's really good and has a good bar too) it was really nice with a big cave and a massive hill with a tower on top that you can walk up to get a good view of the city.
Next, we went onto the Eiffel Tower, it took us a little while to find (even when it was right in front of us) and the que was pretty long but when you finally get to the top it's all worth it! It is 12 Euro to get to the top (less to the 1st and 2nd floor) and even though it is a bit scary it has an amazing view from the top - and you can't go to Paris and not go to the top of the Eiffel Tower!

We bought a Metro pass that lasts a week, which is 16 Euro (but make sure you bring a passport photo) - you can also get a 10 ticket book for 11 euro which is good if you are only staying a couple of days - so we've been travelling all round Paris on those for a lot of the day seeing the sights!

Tonight we are going down to the hostel bar for a kareokoe night which should be fun and tomorrow we are planning on doing a pub crawl around Paris (organised for us) - so the night life is pretty good (although drinks can be expensive).

Tomorrow we are planning to go to Notre Dame Cathedral- which is free, and the Louvre which is 9 Euro but free after 6 on Fridays and free on the first sunday of every month (all the museums are free on that Sunday).

We're off now, for pizza and drinks in beautiful Paris!

Somewhere in my head I have this idea of what Europe is like. In fact I think my geography's OK. So when I decided to take some time looking around Europe the last thing I wanted to do was fly over large parts of it. That would be copping out. I want to see how it is connected. For instance....what lies between Paris and Brussels? There's only one way to find out and that's to travel over land. I've been researching how best to really get a flavour of the continent and opted for coach travel with Eurolines. It's a cool deal with two great things going for it - Firstly, it is VERY good value. My 30-day Pass only cost me £179, so I've a load more Euros left in my travel fund. Secondly, it covers all my main routes to over 40 cities.....so I've loads of options for where to go and what to see.

Because I'm not exactly sure about my route yet, I've been looking at the map and a ton of websites and guide books. Everywhere would be great, but not realistic. I could head north and take in Scandanavia, then Central Europe or pitch down to the South. Decisions, decisions. Still, I had to choose my first journey to be able to get our Passes, so it's first stop Paris and who knows where next. My friend Rachel is going to be travelling with me, so we can argue about the rest of trip on the coach out of Victoria Coach Station. Now where's my French phrase book?.....