Friendly Parisians

Well, I`ve finally found the one benefit of not having a credit card - it means you can get into the Louvre for free. Yes boys and girls, absolutely free if you don`t have a card. I rocked up there yesterday just after 5 `cause I knew it was open `till 9.45pm, and I went to a side gate. Went through security and then noticed that the ticket booth was closed. But, my eagle eyes spotted a ticket machine. Wandered over and saw that it only accepted cards (which I didn`t have). So being the honest girl I am, I went over to a woman who was working and told her I only had cash. She looked at her watch and said, `It`s okay, just go on through`. I was so excited! Anyway, stayed until it closed and only saw a miniature portion of the bloody thing. It`s unbelievably huge. Will have to go back anyway!

After the Louvre, walked back to the hostel and along the way stopped at a Turkish kebab shop for dinner (very cheap). The Turkish owner started chatting to me a little and gave me two cups of really yummy black tea for free! Then, went back to the hostel, and the receptionist asked me if I wanted a cup of coffee. I had a really good day yesterday. My Euros have been stretching further and further since the weekend with the girls.

Right, the weekend with the girls. Had a ball!!! We were all there in our fabulous apartment by about 1pm on Friday, and from that moment on, there was no break in our conversation. It was the first time in 4 and a half years that we`d all been together. We`ve all seen each other separately, and sometimes 3 of us have been in the one place, but never the 4 of us. Had a couple of bottles of wine underneath the Eiffel Tower on Friday night, it was so, so beautiful. Saturday played tourists, then bought some champagne and wine in the evening and drank that before getting all dolled up and going out at midnight! We didn`t get home `till 5am. It was a fantastic night. So sad to see them all leave me on Sunday! I`m in Paris alone now, but it`s been great. Have met heaps of people at the hostels and have loved walking along the streets of Paris by myself. It`s a wonderful city to do just that.

Who knows?

Well, didn't get that 24 hour Tallinn card, but did a walking tour by myself using my trusty Lonely Planet. I absolutely loved the old town in Tallinn. Really, it's an amazingly beautiful town. I saw all of it and loved every minute!

While in Tallinn, I found out that I'm not really good at going out by myself! I thought I'd be okay, but I'm actually not good at going up and talking to people when I'm alone. I tried one night in Tallinn. I'd gotten back to the hostel at about 10ish, and when I went up to the room, nobody was there. I really wanted to go out to a pub or something, so I asked the guy down at reception where a good place was. He recommended the Beer House right near the main square, said it was always packed and fun. So, I headed there by myself, and ordered a beer....looked around for a nice group of people, sat nearby, but I couldn't start a bloody conversation! So, I finished my beer pretty bloody quickly, and went back to the hostel! I was so disappointed in myself.

I met lovely people in the hostel though. I went to a seaside town called Haapsalu on the west coast for the day with a French guy, P, from the hostel. We walked to the castle, had lunch in the grounds, walked along the promenade and around the lake, then had a beer to finish it all off. It was nice getting out of the city.

Anyway, met A finally in Riga last Sunday night. I caught a bus down and couldn't find her at the station, so I walked around with an American Peace Corps guy, H, who I met in the hostel back in Tallinn. He had lived in Estonia years ago, so had travelled all around the Baltics. He gave me a great tour of the Old Town here, which was nice 'cause since that Sunday it's been raining every day. I think Tallinn has made it's mark on me, 'cause Riga just doesn't compare at all. It's still nice, but hasn't got the same feel.

It's been wonderful to catch up with A. We've been having an absolute ball together. We've been drinking copious amounts of Latvian beer every night and it's just been fantastic! We've been on a few trips out from Riga. Went to a place just east of Riga called Sigulda where we stayed with a Latvian woman who spoke Latvian and German, neither of which helped us, but it made for funny gestures and the like. Walked around in the rain looking at castles and caves, tasted Riga champagne, ate ice-cream....Sigulda was lovely! The train ride there and back was fantastic. It was like we were on an old Soviet train and when the train stopped we couldn't see anything around us AT ALL, so we were sticking our heads out the window just to make sure there was actually a platform (which there always was). Seriously, the stops out here are in the middle of nowhere.

The other place we just got back from is Leipaja on the west coast. Stayed in a funky hotel called the Fontain Hotel and it was great! Leipaja wasn't all that good though. Came back to Riga late last night and A then went on to Lithuania this morning and I'm following tomorrow morning.

A and I went to the Occupation Museum which was great. It explained ėverything about the Occupation of Lativa, from about 90 years ago. So much that I didn't know! It was just horrible reading some of the stuff. Today, I went to the State Art Gallery with a lovely Italian guy from our hostel, AC, but it didn't impress me as much as the one in Tallinn, then we went up to the top floor of Hotel Latvia where we had pretty foul cappucinos, but the view was to die for.

Have stayed in heaps of different hostels, all which are giving me ideas for my own. The only one we could find beds at last night was called 'Profit Camp'! It's so fricking funny. It's literally directly above a strip club and you have to walk through this seedy looking entrance where the sign for the club is flashing and special lights with naked women are flashing all around, then you see the hostel. Anyway, we were really dubious about it, but when we walked up the stairs it looked like a hotel! It is really posh. The reception staff are all really neatly dressed and everything is new. The sheets are flowery and it's just funny. I've got photos!

Not sure what I'm doing tonight. Wish A was here to drink beer with me! There's always tomorrow night...

Churches

I must say, every church tour I've ever been on has been fantastic. The Cathedral in Lund was no different. Seriously, if you want to know about the history of the place you're visiting, have a bit of a laugh, hear interesting stories, churches and cathedrals are the places to go. You learn just as much there as you do in a museum I think. After Gothenburg, I spent a few days with J's mum in Horby. Went to Lund with T (it's a beautiful little town), and from there caught the night bus up to Stockholm. Stockholm is just beautiful. The National Museum was fantastic, so many works by famous artists, it's a must see. Also went to the Vasa Museum which is a museum of the war ship Vasa, which sank in the Stockholm harbour on its maiden voyage. Saw the actual ship, as it was pulled up out of the harbour in the 1950's. Really interesting museum.

Caught a ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn last night and I was so excited 'cause my image of the ferry was completely off base. Just imagine a ferry.......and then change that picture in your head into a cruise ship! Yes! A bloody cruise ship! It was fantastic!!! Arrived this morning and have been walking around the old town all day. Tomorrow I'm going to get a 24 hour Tallinn card which gives you entry into millions of museums and art galleries and free bicycle tours and free sightseeing tours, it's really cheap so I'm very happy. Actually, maybe on relfection I'll get the 48hr pass. Meeing A in Riga on Sunday night. Looking forward to it!