Nice

25th September

And so began the worse day of our holiday.

• In the morning we had planned to go into the Blue Mosque but decided that we couldn't be bothered. Looking back on that decision it would appear that we angered Allah.
• We hadn't heard whether Alitalia were still flying. Thursday (today) was to be the day when it could all go to shite. We decided we should get to the airport early to find out.
• Alitalia was flying but our flight was delayed by an hour. Then 1 hour 20 mins. In the end it took off 2 hours late.
• When we eventually got to Rome, the ATM at the airport would give me money but not Ben. I bought us train tickets to the Termini. We had a train leaving for Nice at midnight. We missed the train, saw it pulling away from the platform. Had to wait 30 mins for another one.
• We needed to use the internet so when we arrived at the Termini we went to the internet cafe nearby, but it was no longer an internet cafe! We'd used it a week earlier!
• Found some food (our other desperate requirement). When the bill arrived at the end, there were some illegible squiggles that were apparently worth €4 and €6 but which didn't correspond with anything we'd ordered. We decided not to tip the waiter (he seemed to have tipped himself)
• Ben tried to get money from an ATM. It wouldn't cough up.
• We had 1 1/2 hours before our train left so we decided to go to see the Trevi Fountain.
• Ben tried another ATM. Third time lucky?... It ate his card! His combined credit and debit card. It was 10:30pm so we couldn't go into the bank. We also couldn't go in tomorrow because we were leaving for France! Ben was unable to access cash for the rest of the trip. I became the sugar daddy (or that's how it appeared. In reality, Ben transferred some money via the internet to my account!)
• We threw a coin in the Trevi and stomped back to the Termini, annoyed.
• Ben took another look around for some internet facilities. The Termini train station is huge and has a mall attached.... but there was nothing. It was getting cold. There was also no news of our train until 10 mins before it arrived. We got on with relief.

26th September

• I wouldn't recommend overnight train travel. Especially if the journey is only 6 hours! Perhaps if you had longer to get used to the movement you could get more sleep. As it was we had to change trains at 6am at Genova having not managed a wink. Then another change on the Italy-France border.
• Finally. Nice. And it lived up to its name (ha!)
• Found the hotel, very cute and right on the main strip, one block back from the beach.
• We went for a walk, ate crepes and Ben went for a swim, even as a storm began to blow in. I was too wussy and sat on the beach under my umbrella instead!
• We had dinner at this strange little restaurant attached to a cabaret venue. Their specialty were "les panisses". I asked what these were, had no idea what the waitress said in response but she nodded when I asked if they were vegetarian so we ordered them. Turns out they were chips with dipping sauce! I'm not sure what we were expecting but it wasn't that! Thick-cut fries with, for me, a pesto and tomato dipping sauce. So odd. Tasty but not the most filling dinner.
• That night I fell asleep with my book still in my hand.

27th September

• We had a continental breakfast on our hotel balcony. Very civilised.
• Went to an old castle on top of a hill (yes, we saw many castles on hills on this trip!). Most of the old parts had been knocked down by various kings, but the view was excellent.
• Had lunch at a trendy salad bar place (which served actual vegetables, something we desperately needed). I got annoyed because the waitress laughed at me when I said "une sandwiche chevre" and I don't know why. Perhaps I mispronounced chevre? But we ordered chevre all the time and no-one else thought it was a joke. Quelle vache.
• We both went swimming. Ben got his shoes wet by jumping into the water with them on. Then he seemed disappointed that they were wet. Wasn't really sure what to say to him.
• We found out what time the train left the next day (too early). Foolishly, we didn't pre-book our seats.
• Ben had a nap. I went shopping and bought a funky new coat to help me deal with London winter (it will appear in photos on this page in no time!)
• Had a beautiful dinner on a market square. I had creme brulee for the first time. I always knew that I'd like creme brulee... and I was right!

Next... up north. To the Medieval town of Vezelay.

Istanbul Highlights & Lowlights

Istanbul is one of the most exotic places I've ever been. You are constantly reminded that you're "not in Kansas anymore" by the regular calls to prayer broadcast by the Mosques across the city 5 times a day (starting at 5:00am!)

21st September

• In Rome, the day after the wedding, we decided to share a cab with sis to the airport. When we got in the cab, however, we realised that we were going to different airports! I had to leave her on the side of the road, taxi-less, so we could catch our flight.
• Weren’t sure if Alitalia were flying anymore. They were. Still weren’t sure if we could get back in 5 days time however.
• I was exhausted when we arrived in Istanbul. Ben went for a walk around the neighbourhood (we were down the street from the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, as well as the Hippodrome) and also saw the Mosaic Museum, an archaeological excavation site and a local bazaar.
• That night we went out for dinner. The whole month of September is Ramadan and this involves huge celebrations in the evening, because people can’t eat during the day. The Hippodrome square was turned into a carnival, with games and rides and stalls selling lots of sugar (especially popular were toffee apples, fairy floss and soft lolly pops that the store owner makes in front of you).
• When we eventually found somewhere to eat (with vegetarian kebabs) the waiter wanted to be friends with us. He sat down with us afterwards and we had a very awkward conversation in broken English. The only Turkish word we could say was teshekur (thank you. That’s not how you spell it though I’m sure!)

22nd September

• I was unwell. Being sick before the wedding then all the organising of the wedding and the adreneline of the day itself eventually took its toll. I spent almost this entire day in bed. Lucky we were staying at a nice hotel (thanks to Ben’s parents!)
• So in the morning, Ben went to the St Xavier in Cora church and the Theodosian walls. He was like an excited 4 year old about the walls, the old city walls of Constantinople (I think. Better to ask him about this stuff!)
• In the afternoon, we attempted to see the Hagia Sophia but it’s closed on Mondays! Instead we went to the Byzantine Cistern, the ancient underground water supply. It was very dark and spooky, although the atmosphere was ruined somewhat by the synthesised pipe-organ music playing covers of bad pop songs! I swear that one of the tracks was a version of “You say it best when you say nothing at all” (can anyone remember who sang that high quality ballad? Was is Ronan Keating?)
• We also went to the Topkapi Palace (the Sultan’s Palace). It was pretty cool, but it cost extra to see the harem so we didn’t bother! Tourist sites in Istanbul are expensive, be warned.
• I went back to bed. Ben went for a walk and took another 100 photos. He was also offered drugs but (claims he) didn’t accept!
• Had dinner overlooking the Blue Mosque, which was lit up differently every night for Ramadan. I got a lollypop made.

23rd September

• Feeling much better today, we went on a ferry cruise up the Bosphorous to a small town on the edge of the Black Sea.
  
• There was a castle atop a hill overlooking the black sea, an old fort, so we climbed up there and ALMOST DIED BECAUSE WE'RE SO UNFIT! It was quite hot and the hill just went on forever. I'd been so respectful of the culture up until that moment, always keeping my shoulders covered, but the mid-length sleeves had to come off and I climbed the last few metres in my singlet top.
• In the actual town it was very touristy. About 20 or more restaurants that all try to spruik for your business as soon as you get off the ferry. We chose a restaurant and sat by the water's edge. Not long after finishing our lunch, the waiter politely approached us and said "excuse me, there is wave coming". We looked out at the perfectly calm sea and could indeed spy a small wave rolling our way. We got out from our chairs and took a few steps back, just before the wave crashed over the restaurant, washing away two umbrellas and everything that was sitting on the first row of tables! Plates, glasses and more got washed into the ocean. We got drenched from the knees down. A pretty memorable meal, despite the fact that they overcharged us.
• We got back from the cruise in the late afternoon and walked (more walking) up to the Kalata tower (more uphill walking) overlooking the whole city. It would have been great if the narrow viewing platform hadn't been swamped with two tour groups, one large Japanese group and another German group.
• I was exhausted and drank a Turkish coffee to revive me. Tasted like mud but did the trick!
• That night we ate baked potatoes, a meal described by our hotel as a traditional Turkish dish introduced in the 1980s!
• There was a huge storm when we got back to our hotel. Ben got excited and went onto the rooftop to photograph it (!) but was washed away.

24th September

• The Hagia Sophia was open today so we went in. An incredible building, absolutely huge, and one that has passed through so many regimes and been worshipped in by Christians and Muslims.
• There are dozens of multilingual tour guides who hang out near the ticket office. It's amazing to think that these people speak 3 or more languages and yet they work as a tour guide! Perhaps the pay is really great. Or they just love the Hagia Sophia (that's easy to believe).
• We went briefly to the Grand Bazaar. Neither of us being shoppers we only lasted 10 minutes! It's really intense.
• Bought turkish delight from the shop that invented it in 1770.
• Also walked through the Spice Bazaar (which is much more interesting than the Grand Bazaar, if you ever go to Istanbul. The smells are incredible).
• In the afternoon, we each had a Turkish bath and massage. Coming from a country with no water this felt particularly indulgent! You are surrounded by steam and splashed with running water constantly. Completely naked, you are washed and massaged by an attendant. Evidently the men's and women's experiences are different, however. Mine was very gentle but Ben got pummelled by his masseur! I was slightly jealous. He came out of his bath walking like he was high on something.
• Thought we'd look at buying a carpet and went to the shop recommended in Lonely Planet for having reasonable prices, good quality carpets and an owner who isn't too pushy. I wanted 2 small carpets, one for me and one for a present for my sister. In the shop, Ben also took a fancy to a small Turkish carpet. We asked how much and were told $600 each! I was expecting $150-200! Needless to say, our faces dropped. No point in bargaining really, we exited the shop with our tails between our legs.
• To top off our indulgent day we went to a rooftop bar after dinner and smoked nargileh (a Turkish water pipe) with lemon tobacco. We both coughed a fair bit but it was very relaxing.

Will we make it back to Rome flying Alitalia so that we can catch our train to Nice?? Find out in the next installment...!

The Wedding...!

The wedding day went so fast. For a more comprehensive understanding of the ceremony, I'll be sure to add the YouTube link to my Dad's video! He got some excellent coverage (including morning establishing shots of Rome and the Baths, as well as a tracking shot around us as we said our pieces!) Haven't seen it yet but I'm sure it'll be the video event of the year.

What I can remember...

• Beautiful day. The pouring rain from the day before was nowhere to be seen.
• We had breakfast with Ben's Dad (the rest of the family went to view the Sistine Chapel)
• Sister and I went to get our hair styled. The hairdresser, Enrico, didn't speak any English so we had brought photos of what we wanted. It took an hour each because he was very precise! Would work on one curl for about 10 minutes. He was very sweet though and our hair looked great. 
• We had to race back to the apartment afterwards, grabbing some pizza on the way for lunch!
• Mum did my makeup at the apartment, which I kept trying to wipe off because I never wear makeup and it felt like she'd caked it on! It was actually fine.
• We arranged that everyone should go into the Baths in staggered groups, in case we got into trouble for holding a wedding in a tourist place! Cost everyone €6! No problems though, ticket sellers didn't even blink an eye.
• We waited for Mum and Dad. They were late because Dad had made them walk, refusing to hire a taxi! They were a bit hot and bothered when they arrived, but Dad quickly got out the video camera.
• There were some pesky tourists hanging around "our" spot (the place Ben and I had chosen for the ceremony). After being glared at by 16 sets of eyes they eventually moved on.
• We did the ceremony. I remembered my lines (phew!) My ring got a bit stuck but otherwise it went swimmingly.
• Photos were taken. LOTS OF PHOTOS. I felt like Amy Winehouse (not actually, because I wasn't drugged up to the eyeballs, but it felt like being stalked by paparazzi!)
• The guests wandered around the ancient site. I sat down with some relief for 20 mins!
• We caught the underground to the Spanish steps! Not many weddings can say that!
• I almost got run over by a crazy Roman driver as I was crossing the road. I had a green light on the pedestrian crossing, and this woman threw her arms up at me for inconveniencing her by trying to cross the road! Imagine the headlines if she'd run me over...
• Had a drink at a bar while we waited for our restaurant booking. The waiter was very funny. Sis was asking for the wine list so pointed at the menu and said "vino, vino?" He replies with "Vino vino? Prego prego. Grazie grazie." And he gave us free strawberries because it was a wedding party.
• Restaurant was great (another funny waiter) but there was a misunderstanding about the food. We thought the waiter was going to bring out big plates, with 2 vegetarian dishes (pasta/risotto) and 2 fish (pasta/risotto). Actually they brought out serves for everyone, with 2 courses made up of 2 dishes! So everyone was given a plate with prawn risotto and clam spaghetti, followed by pesto risotto and tomato spaghetti! With a few vegetarians at the table we had to make some adjustments, and everyone got VERY full (SO many carbs!)
• There were drunken speeches given by my Dad, Mum, Ben's Dad, Ben's aunty, LK, Ben's brother and my sister! At a wedding with only 14 guests, that was impressive. All the speeches were lovely though.
• When we were asked to speak, I had a major coughing fit! So Ben had to talk on our behalf (which is unusual, I'm usually the talker!)
• Ben's Mum fell asleep at the table.
• After dinner, we caught a cab to Ben's parents' apartment then walked back to our apartment. However, we got lost and wandered through a street market. If I hadn't been so cold and tired I would have considered it romantic, but as it was, it had been a long day and I wanted to go home! We also had to get up early the next day to catch a flight (Alitalia of course) to Istanbul.

The next installment... Istanbul!

Rome Highlights and Lowlights

15th September

• Very bumpy landing into Rome. We were flying Alitalia, so it was possible the bumpy landing was just the pissed off pilot letting off some steam. We had three flights with them throughout our trip so we were ensured a sense of "living on the edge" at all times because the news told us they could go belly-up at any moment (I believe they're still flying, but I would never fly them again!)
• Arrived and called the landlord for our apartment, as per instructions. No answer. Figured we should catch a cab to the area anyway. 
• Cab driver drove 140km/hour in a 90 zone, in the pissing rain, talking on his mobile. No seatbelts were available to passengers. 
• Arrived at apartment, no-one there. Then we noticed a small note had been stuck to the door, addressed to me. There was something very cool about having a note left for me in Rome! Found the key, let ourselves in.
• Next door to a spaghetti restaurant. This is what Rome is about!

16th September

• Walked ALL DAY. From about 10am til 5pm. 
• Looking for the perfect spot for our wedding. I should at this point mention that legally we were already married! We got married about a week before I left in Melbourne because the Italian bureaucracy fucked us around for ages. No-one who was coming to Rome knew this, it was all a secret (thanks to Petrea and Miles for managing to keep such a big secret!) The point is, we could get married wherever the hell we wanted to in Rome because the ceremony was totally up to us, there was no red tape to deal with.
• Found the perfect location, the Terme di Caracalla (Baths of Caracalla). An Ancient Roman site that is just south of the Forum but is not listed on any of the free tourist maps so no-one knows about it! Beautiful gardens and the huge stone Roman Baths.
• Chose the most photogenic spot (obviously!)
• Walking just outside the baths site we had a very weird experience. We were scammed by a man who had an Italian accent but claimed to be a Parisian fashion designer! He drove past in his car and showed us a map and asked where he was. We showed him. He said he wanted to give us a present in return for our help. He was in Rome for a fashion conference and they'd been given these leather jackets for free, worth €900 (about $1500) and he wanted us to have it. We said we didn't really want it, but he was most insistent. Then, when we had accepted his gift, he asked for some money for petrol! So weird. We gave him €10 and he asked if we had more. We said no. Afterwards, we opened the plastic that the leather jacked was in and the jacket STANK! Like rotten eggs or something, really foul. The label said 60% polyester! Lucky we only gave him €10. A strange scam.
• LK arrived at 2am that night and slept on our couch. The next morning we confessed that we were already married and asked her to be our celebrant. Needless to say she was ecstatic.

17th September

• The other element we had to organise for the wedding was dinner at a nice restaurant. We'd had a place recommended to us, which was on the top of the Spanish steps overlooking the city, and our friend Nina had been trying to email them in Italian to book it for the Sat night. They had been rather difficult and elusive, eventually asking for a €650 deposit to book a room that we didn't even want! Ben and I decided to find the restaurant and sort it out (they also didn't have their menu online).
• However, we couldn't find the restaurant's address on our map. After a lot of walking from the Termini (main train station) we managed to stumble upon it but were not greeted with a warm reception. As soon as we walked in they yelled at us that they were closed and shooed us out the door. The menu was difficult to understand on a number of levels: as well as being in Italian it was extremely pretentious! We couldn't tell if the meals were made from root vegetables or some kind of animal tongue. Rather ostentatious.
• Down the street, we came across a smaller restaurant that also had a view of the city and a glass terrace. There were vegetarian dishes on their menu, as well as a caprese salad (Ben's favourite!) We booked a table for 16, no problems, with a €200 deposit. It suited our wedding much more, down-to-earth and simple!
• Went back to Trastevere (the district in Rome where we were staying). Most of our guests were arriving that day, so we went to a bar, sent messages to tell them where we were, and sat back with a drink while people drifted over. Very pleasant.
• All decided to have dinner on a piazza near Mum and Dad's apartment. Dad somehow got lost with a few others and ended up sitting at a different restaurant (don't ask!) but our restaurant was excellent. I had eggplant parmigiana, which was good, but mine is better!

18th September

• A frustrating morning with lots of plan changes. In the end, I went home while Ben went to the Colusseum and a "freaking cool church" (you'll have to ask him which one!)
• My loverly sister arrived so we booked a hairdresser to get our hair done on the wedding day, ate gelati on the main st then drank beer in the piazza in the warm afternoon sun.
• That night, all the guests went to Ben's parents' apartment for dinner. When everyone was gathered around, and Ben's dad had given a speech and asked everyone to think of a song to describe our relationship (!), we announced that we were technically already married, although we will consider Rome to be our true wedding because we didn't do the full ceremony in Melbourne. Ben was really nervous about this announcement, he thought people would feel ripped off or disappointed. Turns out, most people were relieved, because they'd been worried about the red tape in Rome failing us!
• My Dad and Ben's Dad made lots of bad Dad jokes. It was like they'd planned a double act.

19th September

• Day before the wedding. Pissing with rain. All day, non-stop.
• Ben and I went to see the Pantheon (a bit disappointing, to be honest!) and were then due to meet about 8 people at the Forum. All chickened out because of the weather, except LK.
• Despite the rain, the Forum was great. In fact, the overcast sky seemed to add to the atmosphere a bit. There's something eery about it, a ruined city.
• A bus drove through a puddle and soaked me from the knees down. I still had a nagging cough, so I figured maybe it was time to go home and get dry!
• LK came home with us and we had a rehearsal (minus the pieces Ben and I had written for each other, which was to be a surprise on the day).
• Had a smaller number of guests for dinner at Mum and Dad's apartment. CB arrived and joined us for dinner with her "man friend"!

Feel like, in 5 days, I didn't really get to see as much of Rome as I would like. I think I'll definitely have to go back one day when I don't have any organising to do! Even for a small wedding like ours it was all a bit much; all these people had come a long way for this one event and so it was hard to relax and just enjoy it. Next entry... the wedding!

Snot funny

Uggh. Mucus.

Sorry, you probably don't want to hear about this but I promised myself I'd be honest in this blog about what's on my mind and currently snot is it!

Also our shoot on Thursday.

I wanted to spend yesterday relaxing so that I could get rid of this cold quickly. Unfortunately it didn't turn out that way. We booked a studio OK, but the camera equipment turned into a nightmare. I was booking through an online hire company who, after they had taken my credit card details, said that I had to provide a 1,500 pound deposit (my credit card has  $AU 3000 limit so that wasn't going to work). Then, after I'd found them the deposit, they said we needed to sign and fax back their terms and conditions, plus send photo ID! Who assumes these days that people have access to a fax machine and/or scanner? Also a photocopier presumably, to copy the photo ID. They wouldn't let us just show the delivery driver when the equipment was delivered. It would have been easier to go into a shop.

Anyway, I THINK it's all been organised.

Sis and I looked at 2 more apartments last night. Both quite decent, but I think I'm going to call the small-but-nice apartment people in Bethnal Green today to confirm that I can move in there.

Fun times.

If only I could breathe.

Birthday blues...

It was my birthday today. A strange non-event considering the other things going on in my life. And the only present I got was a cold (I asked for a pony, I got a sore throat. What's up wiv dat?)

Spent the day running around trying to book a studio space for our video shoot on Thurs. It's amazing how such a small and seemingly simple task takes all day because people take forever to call you back! Or never do. Got 2/3 cast confirmed. No big names unfortunately, mostly due to the aforementioned problem of people never calling back! Still, the actors will be really good so the video should still be pretty powerful.

Been offered the small apartment with the nice people, which makes me happy. Might have somewhere to live, quite a relief!

That's all for now. Look forward to hearing the goss from home.

xx

The good, the bad and the ugly

Jetlag is a total motherfucker. There's no 2 ways about it.

Usually I find coming to Europe the jetlag isn't all that bad, it's much worse going back to Aus, but this time I've been hit with the worst of both jetlag worlds. Not only can I not get to sleep at night but then I wake up AT 5:30 IN THE MORNING! Last night I managed 3 hours sleep then got up, pottered around, rang Ben (who I think would have preferred not to speak me in such an emotional and confused state) then eventually fell back asleep at 9am for an hour. 

So that's "the bad" (jetlag) and "the ugly" (me with 4 hours sleep)!

But there are two "goods", so it evens out.

Last night I was given my second surprise party in as many weeks! When I was a kid I longed for a surprise party. I threw surprise parties for 4 of my friends but never got one in return (I should add here that usually I organised my own party well in advance, so I guess a surprise one was never really an option!)

2 weeks ago CB and PC surprised me with a cocktail party (we called it a "chicks night" because "hens night" has unpleasant connotations!) Then last night, my sister and my other CB gave me another surprise party in London! It was quite funny, I'm clearly the most gullible person in the world. I had been out with my sister and she suggested we go back to her house for a while before having dinner with CB and she then proceeded to try to hold me there (without my knowledge) because the guests weren't arriving at CB's house for a while. She showed me all the dresses she'd been buying and a new jacket, she got changed, put on makeup, rearranged the contents of her handbag... and I didn't realise she was doing it on purpose. I politely (but unenthusiastically) looked at her clothes, patiently waited while she organised her bag, but then I whisked her away to the bus and we ended up being 20 mins early!

Sorry sis. But you did really well!

Had a lovely evening, but I did start to fade around 10pm, when CB started an argument about correct grammar vs slang. I think most people took that as their cue to leave!

I also looked at 2 places yesterday where I might move to. The first one was quite small, but I really liked the people, the second was huge but I didn't like the people as much (it wasn't that they were unpleasant, but I just didn't connect with them the way I did with the first group). Hopefully I'll hear back in the next couple of days and then I might know where I'm going to live! Keep your finger's crossed for the first one.

It's going to start warming up in London this week, it's been pretty much the same weather as Melbourne ever since I got here (18 and showers).

Will write soon. I promise I'll get into the every second day thing!

xxx Charlotte

Off tomorrow

I fly out tomorrow at midnight. Today has been a mixed day emotionally. Became very stressed when I thought I'd lost the earrings P&A gave me (I hadn't. I'd just put them in a special place. So special that it was camouflaged!) For some reason David Bowie is getting me through. Been playing Best of Bowie and the Labyrinth while I pack and find him most comforting.

Making dinner tonight for P, A & Ph. Sounds crazy, making dinner for people when I move overseas the next day, but it should be a good way to distract myself from packing. And from writing my thesis, which I still have to work on before I fly out tomorrow! These will be sad goodbyes; although I know it's not forever I don't know when I'll be seeing them again. And they are three of my greatest friends. At least I get a honeymoon with Ben before we part company!

Vegetarian pad thai. I'm getting hungry.

L's scales don't seem to be working. So I can't weigh my suitcase. I suspect it's over the 20kg limit. Think I might just have to cop it on the chin and pay for excess luggage.

How weird is John McCain's campaign turning out?? They're making some odd decisions and seem unprepared for the (rather predictable) consequences.

Anyway. I'm off to soak the rice noodles. Maybe I'll post some recipes on my blog in future? Got some good ones. And since I won't be in Melbourne to cook them I suppose there's no harm in passing on my culinary secrets...

xx

I refuse to join Facebook!

This is what you get instead.

I'll try to write every couple of days and update the photos.

Except when I'm on my honeymoon, because I won't have a computer! So you have to be more forgiving then.

Feel free to leave comments or send me emails.

xx Charlotte