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France and Italy, 6 Dec 1999-4 Jan 2000

Wrote this on 3 Apr 2011 based on some rough notes - it was tough remembering things!! And unfortunately, photos are very limited to what I scanned from hardcopies many years back..

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My very first trip! While most freshers went back to Singapore for winter, I packed up my bags and embarked on a one-month extravaganza with KF and KP!

Here is a brief summary of the cities visited:

Lyon Avignon Marseille Cannes Nice Monaco Monte-Carlo Venice Florence Pisa Rome Siena Paris

6 Dec 1999 - Lyon

We took a nauseating ship ride from London Dover across the English Channel to Calais in France before catching a train to Lyon. Why? I don't know!!

KP and KF planned most of the trip, and tempted this fresher to go along with them. More people, greater economy of scale. And I jumped on - my first trip! :)

Lyon was tough; too much walking for a first timer! There happened to be a town hall festival - Festival of Lights. We walked/stood for such a long time that I fell and a big angmoh helped me up otherwise I might have become mince already! Memory is dim now but we also visited a rose park somehow. In winter. Think dead roses.

But as I moved on to other cities, I finally felt more energetic.

8 Dec 1999 - Avignon

Avignon was on the way and we spent a day at the Palais des Papes - The Popes' Palace - built in those days when there were popes in France. I remember St Benezet Bridge, a broken bridge. A couple of years later, a Swedish girl sang the song associated with the bridge for me! :)

Somehow, I remember the pensione in Avignon. Perhaps cos that's the first time I stayed in a hotel! We stayed at KF's friend's friend while in Lyon. I still feel stupid for carrying a sleeping bag for a month just for those two nights of free accommodation!

We booked our hotels for only Rome and Paris in advance given the holiday season. For the rest, we called one stop ahead or looked for lobangs at the train stations! And the options were quite good - we changed hotels in Rome from the prebooked one to a random one that was cheaper and better.

9 Dec 1999 - Marseilles

I remember spending a lot of time walking along the coastline of Marseilles to the top of a fortress and singing along the way!

11 Dec 1999 - Cannes

We went to the this island where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned. I could only remember the toilet in the cell *.*

12 Dec 1999 - Nice and about

Nice was nice. =) Part of the beach was full of pebbles and pebbles only. All of us rolled up our jeans and played in the Mediterranean! And I even got a *taste* of it! All thanks to the guys...

We took a day trip out to Monaco Monte Carlo on 14 Dec 1999, just walking around the Grand Prix area and the casinos. But no we didn't go in :p


15 Dec 1999 - Venice and about

It took them a night train to get to Venice but it was all worth it. In the famous square San Marco, they played with pigeons - thousands of them! - and visited the palace grounds, walked through the original Bridge of Sighs and went on a gondola ride.

We took a day trip to Vicenza on 18 Dec 1999 but I don't remember anything about it today *.*

19 Dec 1999 - Florence and about

It was getting cold as it was winter and it got worse in Florence. We were roaming about this square of statues, like Piazza della Signoria. Then it snowed while we were on a day trip to Fiesole! It was light but still, it was my first snow!! :)

KF and I took a day trip to Pisa on 21 Dec 1999 while KP went to the Uffizi. Later, like 2005 or so, when I became more interested in museums, I regretted not going to the Uffizi then!!

The next day, we were supposed to go to San Gimignano but ended up on the highway *.* So we headed for Siena instead but there wasn't much time to look around..

23 Dec 1999 - Rome

The reason for being in Rome was to hang out at the Holy See during Christmas! And because it was Christmas eve, there was no entrance fee for the Sistine Chapel. And because it was free, it was very crowded *.* We walked slowly for quite a while, passing from room to room until we reached the Sistine Chapel. It was tough looking up all the time man! But it was good.

Then we were in St Peter's Basilica, admiring the gold columns, amid other things of course!

And finally, we stood out there in St Peter's Square and listened to the Pope, then John Paul II, for two hours as he blessed the crowd in many many languages! We even took the holy communion with the rest - I had no idea what people were queuing for so I went along and when I found out later, I was like, what were we three non-Christians doing?!

I should note that there was no more public transport by 2 am so we walked back to our hostel!

This was outside the Colosseum:


We ate at this nameless pizzaria and hit it off with the Italian owners!


We later went to Tiberian island - there was nothing but a hospital on it, as become widely known after the 2003 Dan Brown novel! But we knew someone born there! And we were free, very free :p

And we were at the Trevi Fountain of course. But I found the Fountain of Neptune to be more memorable - I still remember it more than 10 years on!!

I remember we saw Michelangelo's statue of Moses, so it must be San Pietro in Vincoli. We heard a tour guide say that after the artist finished the statue, he found it so real that he hit it with his hammer and asked, "Why don't you speak?" !!! Hence the chip at one knee of the statue!

Somehow I remember liking the Spanish Steps very much though no image remains in my wee head!

27 Dec 1999 - Siena

We were deciding on the timing, I think, on getting to Paris. And after some hesitation by KF, we decided to go for this train for Paris but missed it. And KP lost his temper at KF! But KF thought he was kidding *.*

Anyway, since we'd checked out and we'd missed the Paris train, we headed to Siena. Yes, again!

28 Dec 1999 - Paris!

After Christmas is NEW YEAR! Yay! And we spent it in Paris! We met up with QX while KF left us to stay with an uncle in Paris.

Went to the usual places, Arc de Triomphe..


And the Lourve!


On the eve, we joined the crowds around Eiffel Tower as the clock chimed down to midnight and the fireworks flared beautifully into the sky... and then onto us as ashes!! And so we crossed into the next millennium, and the first thing we did was to walk two hours back to our little hotel! It was quite fun along the way - it wasn't too cold and we were singing along the way and walking with many many others!

I proclaimed my love for this city as we trodded through shopping routes and slogged (ok, only I slogged) up slopes. But strangely, today, I don't feel the same about Paris :p I mean, it's lovely but after my last trip there in 2008, I find it more melancholy than romantic..

The next two days were spent in the city area and the Basilique de Sacre Coeur. The city was pretty dead since it was new year, duh.. But we had the place to ourselves! Just roamed around..


The church was more fun. The area was full of activity and each of us had someone draw a portrait of ourselves! They thought I looked Vietnamese in the portrait somehow *.*

Me and my artist:


Sighs, so when will I return to Rome??

Update 9 Jul 2012

Found a list of my train travels during this trip while sorting out my memorabilia. I wrote it out back then as I sent in my Europass booklet for a free gift... So on this day, five days shy of my EDD, I've compulsively typed out everything here!

Date	Time	From	To	Train
6 Dec 1999	1811	Calais-ville	Paris Gare du Nord
6 Dec	2200	Paris Gare de Lyon	Lyon	TGV
9 Dec	0734	Lyon	Avignon
10 Dec	0828	Avignon	Marseille-St Charles	TGV 801
12 Dec	0720	Marseille-St Charles	Cannes
13 Dec	0823	Cannes	Nice-ville	56925
15 Dec	1044	Nice-ville	Monaco Monte Carlo
15 Dec	1751	Monaco Monte Carlo	Nice-ville
15 Dec	2100	Nice-ville	Ventimiglia
15 Dec	2205	Ventimiglia	Venezia-St Lucia
18 Dec	0958	Venezia-St Lucia	Vicenza
18 Dec	1504	Vicenza	Venezia-St Lucia	00037
18 Dec	2332	Venezia-St Lucia	Roma Tibutina	00843
19 Dec	0731	Roma Tibutina	Roma Termini
19 Dec	0805	Roma Termini	Firenze-Santa Maria Novella
20 Dec		Firenze	Fiesoli	Bus
20 Dec		Fiesoli	Firenze	Bus
21 Dec		Firenze-Santa Maria Novella	Pisa
21 Dec		Pisa	Firenze-Santa Maria Novelle
22 Dec	0915	Firenze-Santa Maria Novelle	Poggibonsi-San Gimignano
22 Dec	1440	Poggibonsi-San Gimignano	Siena
22 Dec	1740	Siena	Empoli
22 Dec	1858	Empoli	Firenze-Santa Maria Novelle
22 Dec	2152	Firenze-Santa Maria Novelle	Bologna Centrale
23 Dec	0232	Bologna Centrale	Roma Tibutina
23 Dec	0731	Roma Tibutina	Roma Termini
27 Dec	0621	Roma Termini	Chiusi Chianciano Terme
27 Dec	0821	Chiusi Chianciano Terme	Siena	Autobus
27 Dec	1556	Siena	Chiusi Chianciano Terme
27 Dec	1800	Chiusi Chianciano Terme	Roma Termini
27 Dec	2315	Roma Termini	Nice-ville
28 Dec	1015	Nice-ville	Marseille-St Charles
28 Dec	1448	Marseille-St Charles	Paris Gare de Lyon	TGV
3 Jan 2000	0925	Paris Gare du Nord	Calais-ville

Oxford, 1999-2003

I have separate entries for touristy trips I made during university days - look under labels "first/second/third/fourth year".

Here, I attempt to put together a brief (I try!) account of other trips taken during those days. During this time, I've visited friends and/or attended events in London, Cambridge, Birmingham, Nottingham.

For university life per se, check out this some time towards the end of this year - still writing...

The Trout

I love this place although it's a little out of town. Peacocks would walk around us freely!



It should be this one.

London

I no longer remember how I started but I remember coming out of Tottenham Court Rd or Oxford Circus station and walking up and down Oxford St for most of one afternoon! I would then take a turn to Regent St and continue shopping. More like window shopping la - I was a poor student *.*

Regent St would bring me to Piccadilly Circus, which is literally a hop from Leicester Sq and Chinatown. Used to grab dinner in Chinatown... That's XY and mf.



..before catching a musical or play in one of the nearby theatres :) This is mf with KP and BH.



And I love to shop at Harrods too. Used to go for around new year when it was crazy! But hey, I like the atmosphere!

On 31 Dec 2002, a few of us went to the Big Ben for countdown. And I met MS there!



No la, the world isn't that small.. We arranged to meet, took a photo and said bye bye! The Oxford people had to go home..

One day, we set out to find the bridge of our childhood - London bridge! It was..just a bridge! But Tower Bridge was fun - that's G and mf.



More on London here.

Cambridge

I went to Cambridge with a bus load of guys for the annual soccer match with CUMSA. Don't know if they're still doing it.. But last time, OUMSSA always lost, even with foreign talent! Haha!

This was when all of Kel, Jon and I were thin hoho! In front of the Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge - Kel would taunt us that the Bridge of Sighs should be over a river, not over a road, bah!



Cambridge is quite similar to Oxford. But perhaps I'm less familiar with it, I find it more spread out than Oxford. I remember walking quite a bit that first trip to Cambridge *.*

Nottingham

Went there twice during university days for Nottingham Games! This photo was taken during my first trip where OUMSSA scored zero *.*



I didn't go the next year but heard it was zero too.. In my third year, we had one point! Haha! The next year, they did better if I remember correctly.

Nottingham city itself is covered here.

Birmingham

Went there about two or three times due to SingNite 2001. I only remember the lake:



Liverpool

It was road trip to Anfield to watch Liverpool play against Man City. I wasn't a fan but well, it was new for me! It was cold in the stadium and I couldn't tell one player from another. Hell, I couldn't even tell the teams apart! But that wasn't my first soccer match - I later went to watch Arsenal play against Aston Villa at the Highbury and another at Camp Nou in Barcelona!

My souvenir picture :)