Los Amigos
One of the things I love about solo travel is that you meet other like-minded travellers. Some you meet on the road (bus buddies) with whom you spend X hours sat side by side. Some you meet in hostel dorms or kitchens and some you meet out and about, trekking, at a museum, the possibilities are unlimited. All of these friends however seem to fall into one of two catagories; those whom you meet for a couple of hours/days and may never see again, and those with whom you travel for a while and become good friends.
Johan and I finally managed to get ourselves on a bus out of El Chalten for the arduous 2 day bus journey on the infamous Route 40 that follows the Andes North. Personally I would have liked to have spent more time in the mountains, especially now that the weather had improved but Johan had a rdv with a friend in Bolivia so after 10 days of travelling together we said our goodbye promising to keep in touch, knowing that our Laguna de les Tres adventure would always be a strong bond between us. I would have loved to have continued North with him but had an important rdv in Bariloche to arrange...
Back 7 years ago I landed in Hanoi on a cold dark wet February evening and over the next couple of days became friends with Martin from Holland. We hung out in Hanoi and then headed in different directions. Vietnam being a long thin country though a week or so later out paths crossed and for about 2 weeks, along with a Danish couple and two Brits, we travelled together. Those of you who remember my ramblings from way back then may remember ´The Night of a Thousand Badgers´- a night that i´ll never forget and an experience that cemented Martin and my friendship for life. Not put off by the ordeal Martin and I both continue to travel and keep in touch, and so it came to be that we´d organised a rdv in Bariloche (Argentina´s answer to Switerland, complete with chocolate and St Bernards...)
He and his girlfriend, Ingeborg, quit their jobs and have been bumbling around S. America for the last 6 months and it was truely awesome to see Martin again, re-live those Vietnam memories ( favourite quote from Martin: ´we should have died so many times on those motorbikes´, hes right!) and meet Ingeborg. Their plans are to keep travelling for quite a while longer (7-years were mentioned...) and i´m insanely jealous that their able to take their time and see more of the country. I would have loved to have stuck around and spent more time with them. I´m grateful that we managed to arrange our RDV though I didn´t take any photos-doh!- and hope that we dont have to wait another 7 years before we all meet up again (M&I - Les Alps are calling...).
Thats the difference between bus buddies and good friends. With good friends even after 7 years you´re able to pick up right where you left off. And one of the joys of these friendships is the element of serendipity. Of not knowing when your paths may cross again.
Imagine my surprise when 3 days later arriving in a hostel early morning in Mendoza i´m tapped on the shoulder and theres Johan again. Plans may change but good friends don´t.
xxx
ps. For those of you that answered ´West´ i´m sorry to report that you´ll not be continuing the adventure with us. With at least 56hrs of bus journey between here and Buenos Aires (to the East) heading further West doesn´t make sense, especially given that Chile is more expensive than Argentina and El Nino is screwing with the passes over the Andes. We´ll save Chile for another time.
At the risk of sounding like I have a plan the next 5-6 days are going to be spent in the Central Sierras before heading NorthEast up to the Brasilian border for Iguazu Falls. We´ll see...
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
El Chalten
Having said goodbye to Alex in El Calafate Johan and I jumped on a bus NorthWest up a bumpy unpaved road to El Chalten, high up on the Chilean border.
Established in 1985 so as to claim the area as Argentinian the place has a very temporary feel about it. It lacks unpaved roads, has no banks or cash machines, no mobile phone connections and in fact all communications with the outside world rely on the satelitte links that allow phone calls and internet connections. What El Chalten lacks in technology it makes up for in natural beauty with the town being surrounded by fantastic hiking trails and the stunning Fitzroy peak towering at 3441m.
Arriving at night the first thing that struck me was the stars. Here in the Southern hemisphere there are just so many more stars (proximity to the milky way or something...) but high up in the mountains where there is zero light pollution the number of stars visible is awesome. Having been dump struck by the stars I was then quite literally swept off my feet my the wind. El Chalten has a bit of a reputation when it comes to blustery weather and what would be light rain anywhere else is transformed into a hail of bullets as the rain is driven horizontally at a rate of knots, and when it was not raining the wind will drive the dust at you with the same force.
The next morning the weather was a little better. It wasn´t raining but the wind was vicious. We set off none the less, wrapped up in Gore-tex and armed with the ubiquteous ham & cheese sandwichs and some cereal bars. Our route was the 8hr hike up to the Laguana de los Tres whch climbs up about 1200m. The first couple of hours were hard work thanks to the wind but nothing overly strenuous. The fun really started when the rain came on.
After about 3 hours of slight climb the last kilometer was at almost a 45º ascent on loose rocks and as we climbed that driving rain turned to driving snow so that when we reached the top visibility was seriously hampered, as was my ability to stay upright against the wind. This little hike had just turned seriously nasty. The tops of our bodies were somewhat warm and dry in Gore-tex but neither of us has waterproof bottoms on and so my trekking trousers and Johan´s jeans (!) were soaked. Stopping to admire the view or take a break at the top was not an option. I took a quick photo to capture the moment then we scrambled down that steep kilometer of loose rocks and an incredible speed, however with the wind in our faces the volume of water running off my jacket and down my legs was too much for my boots and for the first time ever my boots started to fill up giving me cold wet feet. Quickly I lost feeling in my toes making walking all that more difficult and dangerous.
The flash helps make the scene seem prettier than it was, I promise.
In the basecamp at the bottom there was, thanks to the trekking gods, a German couple who had just fired up their stove. We traded a bar of Milka for a couple of cups of tea but having stopped moving we were both quickly turning hypothermic. Johan rang out his jeans and we put our heads down for a quick march back into town against that bloody wind.
What should have taken us 8hrs took a little under 6hrs given that we practically jogged back to the hostel in order to keep warm, the only thing we stopped for being the supermarket to pick up mountains of pasta and a bottle of wine to sooth our aching limbs. We were still quite literally soaked, as was everything in our packs; money, passport, camera, maps. Even Mixie!
A hot shower, change of clothes, plate of pasta and couple of glasses of tinto later we could look back and laugh about the day, and also reflect on how lucky we´d been. If either of us had slipped or fallen on the climb or descent, or if that German couple hadn´t been their with their stove we´d not have faired so well, in fact things could have gone seriously wrong. Johan is a soldier in the Swedish army so when he says a hike is pretty hardcore I consider that relatively extreme.
Still we survived and over the next 2 days the wind dropped and the clouds evaporated giving us the most spectacular views of Fitzroy and some of the best hiking i´ve done in a long time. This is what I crave. Being in the wild, under enormous skies, in the mountains with high altitude sunburn being my only concern.
xxx
Having said goodbye to Alex in El Calafate Johan and I jumped on a bus NorthWest up a bumpy unpaved road to El Chalten, high up on the Chilean border.
Established in 1985 so as to claim the area as Argentinian the place has a very temporary feel about it. It lacks unpaved roads, has no banks or cash machines, no mobile phone connections and in fact all communications with the outside world rely on the satelitte links that allow phone calls and internet connections. What El Chalten lacks in technology it makes up for in natural beauty with the town being surrounded by fantastic hiking trails and the stunning Fitzroy peak towering at 3441m.
Arriving at night the first thing that struck me was the stars. Here in the Southern hemisphere there are just so many more stars (proximity to the milky way or something...) but high up in the mountains where there is zero light pollution the number of stars visible is awesome. Having been dump struck by the stars I was then quite literally swept off my feet my the wind. El Chalten has a bit of a reputation when it comes to blustery weather and what would be light rain anywhere else is transformed into a hail of bullets as the rain is driven horizontally at a rate of knots, and when it was not raining the wind will drive the dust at you with the same force.
The next morning the weather was a little better. It wasn´t raining but the wind was vicious. We set off none the less, wrapped up in Gore-tex and armed with the ubiquteous ham & cheese sandwichs and some cereal bars. Our route was the 8hr hike up to the Laguana de los Tres whch climbs up about 1200m. The first couple of hours were hard work thanks to the wind but nothing overly strenuous. The fun really started when the rain came on.
After about 3 hours of slight climb the last kilometer was at almost a 45º ascent on loose rocks and as we climbed that driving rain turned to driving snow so that when we reached the top visibility was seriously hampered, as was my ability to stay upright against the wind. This little hike had just turned seriously nasty. The tops of our bodies were somewhat warm and dry in Gore-tex but neither of us has waterproof bottoms on and so my trekking trousers and Johan´s jeans (!) were soaked. Stopping to admire the view or take a break at the top was not an option. I took a quick photo to capture the moment then we scrambled down that steep kilometer of loose rocks and an incredible speed, however with the wind in our faces the volume of water running off my jacket and down my legs was too much for my boots and for the first time ever my boots started to fill up giving me cold wet feet. Quickly I lost feeling in my toes making walking all that more difficult and dangerous.
The flash helps make the scene seem prettier than it was, I promise.
In the basecamp at the bottom there was, thanks to the trekking gods, a German couple who had just fired up their stove. We traded a bar of Milka for a couple of cups of tea but having stopped moving we were both quickly turning hypothermic. Johan rang out his jeans and we put our heads down for a quick march back into town against that bloody wind.
What should have taken us 8hrs took a little under 6hrs given that we practically jogged back to the hostel in order to keep warm, the only thing we stopped for being the supermarket to pick up mountains of pasta and a bottle of wine to sooth our aching limbs. We were still quite literally soaked, as was everything in our packs; money, passport, camera, maps. Even Mixie!
A hot shower, change of clothes, plate of pasta and couple of glasses of tinto later we could look back and laugh about the day, and also reflect on how lucky we´d been. If either of us had slipped or fallen on the climb or descent, or if that German couple hadn´t been their with their stove we´d not have faired so well, in fact things could have gone seriously wrong. Johan is a soldier in the Swedish army so when he says a hike is pretty hardcore I consider that relatively extreme.
Still we survived and over the next 2 days the wind dropped and the clouds evaporated giving us the most spectacular views of Fitzroy and some of the best hiking i´ve done in a long time. This is what I crave. Being in the wild, under enormous skies, in the mountains with high altitude sunburn being my only concern.
xxx
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
East or West, which is best? You decide!
So, i´m currently in Mendoza and wondering which way to go. West over the Andes into Chile for a couple of days unplanned adventure in Santiago and on the coast, or East for high-jinx big-fun paragliding, skydiving and land yachting...
You tell me! post a comment below and we´ll let the votes decide
xxx
Ice Ice Baby
Large swathes of Southern Chile and Argentina are in fact covered with glaciers and the area contains some of the most active glaciers in the world. Active unfortunately not just in that they advance and receed quickly, but that they're disappearing. Between '95-'00 the area experienced twice as much melt as it has for the last two decades.
Being one of Air France's favourite customers I have a carbon footprint the size of the Antarctic (thanks Jenko...) and so probably contribute considerably to the stat above so I thought i´d pop by the Perito Mereno glacier in order to apologise.
I´ve seen a few glaciers in my time but none quite as awesome as this. Its a 65ft high wall of ice, twisted into sharp towers with deep fissures and undulating through different shades of grey, blue, white and green. The photos really dont do it any justice, especially as you cannot hear the deep groans as the mass moves or the gunshot cracks as chunks break off and crash into the water below.
Many agencies in the area sell tickets to allow you to hike on the glacier, or if you´re skilled enough ice climb, however given that I was supposed to be paying my respects I decided to skip these and head for the ecologically sound walkways that have been constructed nearby.
It used to be that you could get a lot closer for the glacier face but since a couple of folks were killed by falling icebergs you´re now kept a safe 30m or so back, but thats plenty close enough to really appreciate how amazingly beautiful and powerful these things are. I´ve stolen the photo above from someone elses blog as it was kinda grey and rain the day I was there - punishment for my polluting now doubt...
Large swathes of Southern Chile and Argentina are in fact covered with glaciers and the area contains some of the most active glaciers in the world. Active unfortunately not just in that they advance and receed quickly, but that they're disappearing. Between '95-'00 the area experienced twice as much melt as it has for the last two decades.
Being one of Air France's favourite customers I have a carbon footprint the size of the Antarctic (thanks Jenko...) and so probably contribute considerably to the stat above so I thought i´d pop by the Perito Mereno glacier in order to apologise.
I´ve seen a few glaciers in my time but none quite as awesome as this. Its a 65ft high wall of ice, twisted into sharp towers with deep fissures and undulating through different shades of grey, blue, white and green. The photos really dont do it any justice, especially as you cannot hear the deep groans as the mass moves or the gunshot cracks as chunks break off and crash into the water below.
Many agencies in the area sell tickets to allow you to hike on the glacier, or if you´re skilled enough ice climb, however given that I was supposed to be paying my respects I decided to skip these and head for the ecologically sound walkways that have been constructed nearby.
It used to be that you could get a lot closer for the glacier face but since a couple of folks were killed by falling icebergs you´re now kept a safe 30m or so back, but thats plenty close enough to really appreciate how amazingly beautiful and powerful these things are. I´ve stolen the photo above from someone elses blog as it was kinda grey and rain the day I was there - punishment for my polluting now doubt...
Monday, March 19, 2007
Pictures!
Yeah, finally in a town that has a real internet connection (ie not via satelitte) and a PC that has a USB socket.
Mixie, having always to be first has managed to get some photos up on her earlier posts (scroll down) but for the time being i´m putting everything up on Flickr. Click here to take a look.
Hope you´re all doing well
X
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Dont mention the war....
Pick up any Argentinian map and huddled just off the east coast, right down there at the bottom you´ll find Islas Malvinas, better known to the rest of the world as the Falkland Islands.
Easily mistaken for cake crumbs on the map they should be avoided in all conversations by Brits travelling in Argentina, and if you must talk about them dont for god´s sake call them The Falklands.
Back in 1976 in a bloodless coup the military took control and launched the ´Dirty War´ in which thousands (30,000 by some human rights group´s estimates) of Argentinians ´disappeared´. The wives, mothers, and children of the missing still parade every Thursday afternoon at 3pm in Buenos Aires in the hope of getting information of the fate of their loved ones or retribution for the crimes commited.
In 1981 public support for the military leader was fading fast so he played the nationalistic trump card and in 1982 General Galtieri invaded the Falkland Islands (sorry, Islas Malvinas).
A wave of national support and pride quickly swept through the country, then just as quickly disappeared when it became obvious that Galtieri had wildly underestimated the Iron Lady´s determintation not to lose an inch of British territory.
323 soldiers drowned on the Belgrano after it was torpedoed and every village town and city in the country has a public square, street or avenue named after the ship so that no one forgets. After just 74 days and with substantial losses, the Argentina forces, most of whom where no more than 20 years old, surrendered.
There is a happy end to this story though. All support for the military rule was quashed and in 1983 the civilian Alfonsin was elected President and the Dirty War ended once and for all. Those guilty of the crimes however have yet to be charged and the wives, sisters and children continue to parade each Thursday.
Pick up any Argentinian map and huddled just off the east coast, right down there at the bottom you´ll find Islas Malvinas, better known to the rest of the world as the Falkland Islands.
Easily mistaken for cake crumbs on the map they should be avoided in all conversations by Brits travelling in Argentina, and if you must talk about them dont for god´s sake call them The Falklands.
Back in 1976 in a bloodless coup the military took control and launched the ´Dirty War´ in which thousands (30,000 by some human rights group´s estimates) of Argentinians ´disappeared´. The wives, mothers, and children of the missing still parade every Thursday afternoon at 3pm in Buenos Aires in the hope of getting information of the fate of their loved ones or retribution for the crimes commited.
In 1981 public support for the military leader was fading fast so he played the nationalistic trump card and in 1982 General Galtieri invaded the Falkland Islands (sorry, Islas Malvinas).
A wave of national support and pride quickly swept through the country, then just as quickly disappeared when it became obvious that Galtieri had wildly underestimated the Iron Lady´s determintation not to lose an inch of British territory.
323 soldiers drowned on the Belgrano after it was torpedoed and every village town and city in the country has a public square, street or avenue named after the ship so that no one forgets. After just 74 days and with substantial losses, the Argentina forces, most of whom where no more than 20 years old, surrendered.
There is a happy end to this story though. All support for the military rule was quashed and in 1983 the civilian Alfonsin was elected President and the Dirty War ended once and for all. Those guilty of the crimes however have yet to be charged and the wives, sisters and children continue to parade each Thursday.
Tastes, Sounds & Smells
As scratch and sniff blogs have yet to be invented with the help of my amazing discriptive powers and your wild imagination i´m going to try and help conjure up the sights, sounds and smells of Argentina for all you armchair/desktop voyagers out there.
First though we need to set the scene so pop open a new browser and find some Gotan Project out there on the web or click here and search them out.
Next you need to get yourself 3 tins of condensed milk, 2 jars of caramel and 1.5kg of sugar. Mix throughly and ´hola!´ you´ve just made Dolche du Leche, the nation´s favourite food. Spread throughly on everything you eat, squeeze it into sandwichs, bake it into cakes and mix it into drinks at every opportunity. The quantity outlined above should be sufficient for an adult for about 8 hrs. Mmmmmm feel that sugar rush :-)
So far i´ve managed to pretty much avoid the stuff given that i´d quite like to keep all my teeth and i´m living on a diet of purely ham and cheese sandwichs, about all my backpacker budget will allow.
It would not be fair to describe the Argentian´s as only eating Dulche du Leche (DDL). Meat figures heavily on the agenda with crucified lamb being a firm favourite.
Take 1 lamb, lop its head off (smear head with DDL and eat for breakfast - probably).
Crucify lamb on iron cross and lean it up against a fire. Bingo, dinners ready!
The preferred serving suggestion seems to be as part of a chinese all-you-can-eat buffet which, let me tell you, when you´ve been living on ham and cheese sandwichs is pretty damn good. Washing the whole lot down with a 1 litre bottle of Quillmes, the national brew should set you back no more than Eu4.
Bon app!
x
As scratch and sniff blogs have yet to be invented with the help of my amazing discriptive powers and your wild imagination i´m going to try and help conjure up the sights, sounds and smells of Argentina for all you armchair/desktop voyagers out there.
First though we need to set the scene so pop open a new browser and find some Gotan Project out there on the web or click here and search them out.
Next you need to get yourself 3 tins of condensed milk, 2 jars of caramel and 1.5kg of sugar. Mix throughly and ´hola!´ you´ve just made Dolche du Leche, the nation´s favourite food. Spread throughly on everything you eat, squeeze it into sandwichs, bake it into cakes and mix it into drinks at every opportunity. The quantity outlined above should be sufficient for an adult for about 8 hrs. Mmmmmm feel that sugar rush :-)
So far i´ve managed to pretty much avoid the stuff given that i´d quite like to keep all my teeth and i´m living on a diet of purely ham and cheese sandwichs, about all my backpacker budget will allow.
It would not be fair to describe the Argentian´s as only eating Dulche du Leche (DDL). Meat figures heavily on the agenda with crucified lamb being a firm favourite.
Take 1 lamb, lop its head off (smear head with DDL and eat for breakfast - probably).
Crucify lamb on iron cross and lean it up against a fire. Bingo, dinners ready!
The preferred serving suggestion seems to be as part of a chinese all-you-can-eat buffet which, let me tell you, when you´ve been living on ham and cheese sandwichs is pretty damn good. Washing the whole lot down with a 1 litre bottle of Quillmes, the national brew should set you back no more than Eu4.
Bon app!
x
Tierre del Fuego - Land of Fire
Sorry about the complete lack of photos on the blog but until I get to somewhere with decent internet service and reliable PC´s you´ll just have to use your imagination....
Looking back over my last entry I really didn´t say much about Ushuaia or Tierre del Fuego so here goes with an attempt to fill in the gaps.
Split unevenly between Chile & Argentina the area was named Land of Fire after the activities of the Yaghan tribes people that inhabited the area when Fitzoy first navigated the Beagle into the channel. These days the tribes and their fires are nearly extinct, replaced by the exploitation of the natural gas fields in the area.
Although the remaining tribes people are rare the region has abundant marine and wildlife. Even without really looking I saw penguins, sealions, guls, cormmorants, seals, albatross and a whale (ok, it´s hump) in the Beagle channel and whilst hiking in the national park came across foxes, woodpeckers, rabbits (hundreds of) and eagles, although the beavers and pumas remained elusive.
Despite being the Southern most city of earth with all the tourist trappings that the moniker brings Ushauaia remains remote. Its a damn long way to the nearest town and all communications with the outside world have to be transmitted via satelitte. These could be seen as inconveniences but coupled with the long daylight hours and stunning views they just add to its appeal.
Sorry about the complete lack of photos on the blog but until I get to somewhere with decent internet service and reliable PC´s you´ll just have to use your imagination....
Looking back over my last entry I really didn´t say much about Ushuaia or Tierre del Fuego so here goes with an attempt to fill in the gaps.
Split unevenly between Chile & Argentina the area was named Land of Fire after the activities of the Yaghan tribes people that inhabited the area when Fitzoy first navigated the Beagle into the channel. These days the tribes and their fires are nearly extinct, replaced by the exploitation of the natural gas fields in the area.
Although the remaining tribes people are rare the region has abundant marine and wildlife. Even without really looking I saw penguins, sealions, guls, cormmorants, seals, albatross and a whale (ok, it´s hump) in the Beagle channel and whilst hiking in the national park came across foxes, woodpeckers, rabbits (hundreds of) and eagles, although the beavers and pumas remained elusive.
Despite being the Southern most city of earth with all the tourist trappings that the moniker brings Ushauaia remains remote. Its a damn long way to the nearest town and all communications with the outside world have to be transmitted via satelitte. These could be seen as inconveniences but coupled with the long daylight hours and stunning views they just add to its appeal.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Mixie - Live from South America!
Trixie thinks shes got one up on me with her US trip and now HK but i´m going to whip her arse with this South America trip :-)
It took some persuading but I managed to find a Mixie sized hole in KD´s backpack and have hitched along for the ride. The flight over was cool and I made friends with a big group of Argentinian´s on the plane who were totally up for drinking and partying all night. I had hoped to stay in BA and rock the city for a couple of weeks but KD had booked flights to some tinpot town down South so I didn´t have much say in the matter.
I made friends with the crew on the flight down to Ushuaia though so it wan´t so bad.
Much as I was grumpy about having to leave BA, Ushuaia was pretty cool. Here are a few snaps of me out and about in the snow, on a boat and with my new friends and some pengiuns.
We landed in El Calafate last night and are headed up to some glacier or something tomorrow, at least that seems to be the idea, I´m perplexed. At work KD´s like clockwork and I know exactly what to expect when but this backpacking lark is totally freestyle. Guess i´ll just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!
I´ll post as often as I can and drop all my photos here
Trixie thinks shes got one up on me with her US trip and now HK but i´m going to whip her arse with this South America trip :-)
It took some persuading but I managed to find a Mixie sized hole in KD´s backpack and have hitched along for the ride. The flight over was cool and I made friends with a big group of Argentinian´s on the plane who were totally up for drinking and partying all night. I had hoped to stay in BA and rock the city for a couple of weeks but KD had booked flights to some tinpot town down South so I didn´t have much say in the matter.
I made friends with the crew on the flight down to Ushuaia though so it wan´t so bad.Much as I was grumpy about having to leave BA, Ushuaia was pretty cool. Here are a few snaps of me out and about in the snow, on a boat and with my new friends and some pengiuns.
We landed in El Calafate last night and are headed up to some glacier or something tomorrow, at least that seems to be the idea, I´m perplexed. At work KD´s like clockwork and I know exactly what to expect when but this backpacking lark is totally freestyle. Guess i´ll just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!
I´ll post as often as I can and drop all my photos here
Buenos Aires to Ushuaia
I thought i´d struck lucky on the plane when I persuade the check-in guy to give me an emergency isle seat but hadn´t bet on the Argentinian´s on the flight turning the galley area into an impromtu tapas bar and partying just feet away from me all night long. It didn´t really matter though as for the first time in a very long time I´M ON HOLIDAY!!!!
Having recently visited the Paris of the East (Shanghai) after 13hrs of flight I found myself in the Paris of South America - Buenos Aires, where it seems life revolves around the tango and steak.
Sunday the San Telmo area becomes a sprawling street market where at every intersection the cafes spill out on to the streets and dancers strut their stuff to any one of the numerous bands. The ambiance is relaxed but the passion is high and its almost impossible not to get intoxicated by it all.
Outside of the San Telmo area the city has a much more commerical feel and the pace quickens ensuring you know BA is where business is at and theres money to be made.
I´d arrived in BA sunday morning and had booked a flight down to Ushuaia for Monday afternoon but didn´t end up there until the wee hours of Tuesday morning thanks to El Nino. Yep, 2007 is El Nino year and the storms somewhere in central Argentina had knocked out the air traffic control & radar systems plunging the country back into the dark ages and leaving passengers stranded. I should count myself lucky at only being delayed 4 hours, some other passengers were going nowhere for the forseeable future.
El Nino had also brought early snow to Ushuaia so on my first morning I awoke to breathtaking blue skies and snow capped mountains. Ushuaia is sandwiched between these mountains and the Beagle channel and touts itself as the Southern most city on earth. In the hostel I met up with an English guy (Alex) and a Swede (Johan) and the 3 of us set off up the hills behind town to the nearby glacier.
I have to say the glacier was somewhat unimpressive but the views from the top and getting to lark about in the snow definitly made up for it.
I left Ushuaia yesterday having been blown away by the scenery on the Beagle channel and had a great couple of hours trekking in the Tierra Del Fuego national park. I´ll post photos once I get to a place with a fast enough connection to let me upload.
Leaving Ushuaia was tough in that I felt I could have easily spent another couple of days soaking up the scenery and that the radar and air traffic systems are still not fixed so the flight to El Calafate was delayed by 3 hours. I have to say it was one of the best delays i´ve had in a while as Alex, Johan and I sat on a grass verge outside the small terminal in the sunshine with a bottle of cheap Argentinan Shiraz and a glorious view of the mountains. Thats what backpackings all about, impromptu friends and no fixed agenda.
x
I thought i´d struck lucky on the plane when I persuade the check-in guy to give me an emergency isle seat but hadn´t bet on the Argentinian´s on the flight turning the galley area into an impromtu tapas bar and partying just feet away from me all night long. It didn´t really matter though as for the first time in a very long time I´M ON HOLIDAY!!!!
Having recently visited the Paris of the East (Shanghai) after 13hrs of flight I found myself in the Paris of South America - Buenos Aires, where it seems life revolves around the tango and steak.
Sunday the San Telmo area becomes a sprawling street market where at every intersection the cafes spill out on to the streets and dancers strut their stuff to any one of the numerous bands. The ambiance is relaxed but the passion is high and its almost impossible not to get intoxicated by it all.
Outside of the San Telmo area the city has a much more commerical feel and the pace quickens ensuring you know BA is where business is at and theres money to be made.
I´d arrived in BA sunday morning and had booked a flight down to Ushuaia for Monday afternoon but didn´t end up there until the wee hours of Tuesday morning thanks to El Nino. Yep, 2007 is El Nino year and the storms somewhere in central Argentina had knocked out the air traffic control & radar systems plunging the country back into the dark ages and leaving passengers stranded. I should count myself lucky at only being delayed 4 hours, some other passengers were going nowhere for the forseeable future.
El Nino had also brought early snow to Ushuaia so on my first morning I awoke to breathtaking blue skies and snow capped mountains. Ushuaia is sandwiched between these mountains and the Beagle channel and touts itself as the Southern most city on earth. In the hostel I met up with an English guy (Alex) and a Swede (Johan) and the 3 of us set off up the hills behind town to the nearby glacier.
I have to say the glacier was somewhat unimpressive but the views from the top and getting to lark about in the snow definitly made up for it.
I left Ushuaia yesterday having been blown away by the scenery on the Beagle channel and had a great couple of hours trekking in the Tierra Del Fuego national park. I´ll post photos once I get to a place with a fast enough connection to let me upload.
Leaving Ushuaia was tough in that I felt I could have easily spent another couple of days soaking up the scenery and that the radar and air traffic systems are still not fixed so the flight to El Calafate was delayed by 3 hours. I have to say it was one of the best delays i´ve had in a while as Alex, Johan and I sat on a grass verge outside the small terminal in the sunshine with a bottle of cheap Argentinan Shiraz and a glorious view of the mountains. Thats what backpackings all about, impromptu friends and no fixed agenda.
x
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Final Approach to Ushuaia
I had to call forementioned tin-pot airline the other day in order to pay for my ticket (their website didn;t support online payment) and after an enternity on hold got through to Miguel. He very kindly took my credit card details then explained that it was actually 2 flights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, with a stop for refueling en route. OK, I thought, these are small planes so thats pretty normal.
'Where do we refuel?' I asked, curious to know which other town I might get to visit on the way. 'Please, one minute' he said and in the background I could hear him flipping pages in a book. 'Sorry, you have to refuel but it does not say where on the flight plan I have'. Great. What do they do? Just wait for the needle to hit zero then glide down to the nearest petrol station. Now I have images of that 'Alive' film flashing through my mind.
Part of me is thrilled by the unknown and the adventure of it all, the other part of me is somewhat less excited. Nervous may be the word i'm looking for.
In case I never make it to Ushuaia Doug very kindly found this clip on YouTube for me so I know what i'll have missed.
x
I had to call forementioned tin-pot airline the other day in order to pay for my ticket (their website didn;t support online payment) and after an enternity on hold got through to Miguel. He very kindly took my credit card details then explained that it was actually 2 flights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, with a stop for refueling en route. OK, I thought, these are small planes so thats pretty normal.
'Where do we refuel?' I asked, curious to know which other town I might get to visit on the way. 'Please, one minute' he said and in the background I could hear him flipping pages in a book. 'Sorry, you have to refuel but it does not say where on the flight plan I have'. Great. What do they do? Just wait for the needle to hit zero then glide down to the nearest petrol station. Now I have images of that 'Alive' film flashing through my mind.
Part of me is thrilled by the unknown and the adventure of it all, the other part of me is somewhat less excited. Nervous may be the word i'm looking for.
In case I never make it to Ushuaia Doug very kindly found this clip on YouTube for me so I know what i'll have missed.
x
Monday, February 26, 2007
To infinity! and beyond?
I've just spent the last 10 minutes on the phone with the Argentina air force trying to find space on one of their flights down to Ushuaia, the planets Southernmost city.
I emailed them on the weekend to enquire about a flight on Monday and got a somewhat confusing response:
After 10 minutes on hold I finally got put through to a lovely lady who explained that the plane was broken (at least I think that was what she said). Apparently the plane wouldn't be fixed for another 5-10 days so I thanked her nicely and paid through the nose for a one way ticket on some tin-pot budget Argentinian airline. I'm hoping their areoplanes are as efficient as their online booking service, which worringly requires the name and phone number of your next of kin when you book a flight.
Its only now that I realise the 13hrs to Buenos Aires and further 2 flights to Ushuaia will take me the furtherest South i've ever been - almost to the end of the earth. Then i'll be able answer for myself that that has puzzled man for so long...
The Flat Earth Society:
All sounds a bit Mulder & Skully to me
x
I've just spent the last 10 minutes on the phone with the Argentina air force trying to find space on one of their flights down to Ushuaia, the planets Southernmost city.
I emailed them on the weekend to enquire about a flight on Monday and got a somewhat confusing response:
'Hello from Buenos Aires! Sorry no possible Monday, we only fly on Monday and Friday. To pay your reservation please call number xxxxxx'
After 10 minutes on hold I finally got put through to a lovely lady who explained that the plane was broken (at least I think that was what she said). Apparently the plane wouldn't be fixed for another 5-10 days so I thanked her nicely and paid through the nose for a one way ticket on some tin-pot budget Argentinian airline. I'm hoping their areoplanes are as efficient as their online booking service, which worringly requires the name and phone number of your next of kin when you book a flight.
Its only now that I realise the 13hrs to Buenos Aires and further 2 flights to Ushuaia will take me the furtherest South i've ever been - almost to the end of the earth. Then i'll be able answer for myself that that has puzzled man for so long...
The Flat Earth Society:
'But why? Why do we say the Earth is flat, when the vast majority says otherwise? Because we know the truth.'
All sounds a bit Mulder & Skully to me
x
Thursday, February 22, 2007
SShhhhhhhhhh...
After a quick side trip to the UK, i'm now back in Paris where everything is just as I left it. Well almost...
Work is still work. Same people, same building, same quartier. Honestly it feels like I never went away.
My friends, thankfully, are all here, exactly where I left them; and like me a little older and none the wiser.
And my apartment is still here, same view, same crazy neighbour, only now theres 2 of us living here (well 3 including Mixie).
Given that i'm only in town for 2 weeks and both Doug and I are trying to save to by places of our own we've decided to 'co-habit' for a while. All in all its working out quite well, given that we hardly ever see each other. Doug is on the 'evil' shift at France 24 so each morning at 3am an alarm rings and he pootles off to work. In the evening when I come home hes tucked up in bed (which is why we're having to be extra quiet right now...).
We've taken the 'ships in the night' one step further and created 'blogs in the bathroom' (or 'blogs in the bog' as I prefer to call it). This new form of communication entails mindless scribblings and reminders from him stuck on the bathroom sink at some horrible hour in the morning and non-witty responses from me, complete with coffee and porridge breakfast stains which he picks up when he comes home mid-afternoon. Bizarre, but it works.
It's great to be at home but still effectively 'camping'. I sleep on the sofa, i'm living out of an old shipping trunk and everything feels very temporary. It doesn't really bother me and its all good practise for my future hobo aspirations.
x
After a quick side trip to the UK, i'm now back in Paris where everything is just as I left it. Well almost...
Work is still work. Same people, same building, same quartier. Honestly it feels like I never went away.
My friends, thankfully, are all here, exactly where I left them; and like me a little older and none the wiser.
And my apartment is still here, same view, same crazy neighbour, only now theres 2 of us living here (well 3 including Mixie).
Given that i'm only in town for 2 weeks and both Doug and I are trying to save to by places of our own we've decided to 'co-habit' for a while. All in all its working out quite well, given that we hardly ever see each other. Doug is on the 'evil' shift at France 24 so each morning at 3am an alarm rings and he pootles off to work. In the evening when I come home hes tucked up in bed (which is why we're having to be extra quiet right now...).
We've taken the 'ships in the night' one step further and created 'blogs in the bathroom' (or 'blogs in the bog' as I prefer to call it). This new form of communication entails mindless scribblings and reminders from him stuck on the bathroom sink at some horrible hour in the morning and non-witty responses from me, complete with coffee and porridge breakfast stains which he picks up when he comes home mid-afternoon. Bizarre, but it works.
It's great to be at home but still effectively 'camping'. I sleep on the sofa, i'm living out of an old shipping trunk and everything feels very temporary. It doesn't really bother me and its all good practise for my future hobo aspirations.
x
Friday, February 09, 2007
The end is in sight
With less than a week to go my stay in HK, and the project thats consumed my life for the last 4+ months, is almost over. And it seems that HK has been saving its best until last.
For the past week the weather has been stunning; 25c, clear blue skies, low humidity and even a slight breeze to move the pollution about a bit. I was hoping that I could start to wind things down a little this week and maybe take an hour or so each day to explore the island but work has been relentless, with everything ramping up to the final delivery date. So I was pretty frustrated to be still be in the office at 7pm on friday night, having still not had lunch and waiting for a couple of calls from Paris to come in. It was at this point that Randy, the MD for Asia, wandered in sporting a huge bottle of campagne and a big blue box.
With less than a week to go my stay in HK, and the project thats consumed my life for the last 4+ months, is almost over. And it seems that HK has been saving its best until last.
For the past week the weather has been stunning; 25c, clear blue skies, low humidity and even a slight breeze to move the pollution about a bit. I was hoping that I could start to wind things down a little this week and maybe take an hour or so each day to explore the island but work has been relentless, with everything ramping up to the final delivery date. So I was pretty frustrated to be still be in the office at 7pm on friday night, having still not had lunch and waiting for a couple of calls from Paris to come in. It was at this point that Randy, the MD for Asia, wandered in sporting a huge bottle of campagne and a big blue box.
'Have you read your email?' he asks.
There, in my inbox, squished between some spam, is a mail from the big cheese in Paris congratulating me on winning the IHT Publishers award.
Oooooo, i've won something. Cool!
My eyes catch the box in Randy's hand and for a split second I realise its blue, that special kind of duck egg blue that only means one thing - Tiffany's!
It was only a split second though, come on, this is the IHT. I count myself lucky if I get a free lunch so swanky Bling-Bling is definitly out of the question.
So I now have a large piece of perspex to prove that it is possible to survive extreme sleep deprevation and live to celebrate the fact.
I'll keep the blue box somewhere special though - maybe one day I get some Bling to put in it!
x
Monday, February 05, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Shopping
Having promised not to buy anything I didn't really need it was obvious after the Shanghai trip that my camera was on its last legs and so knowing HK is the place to buy photographic equipment I managed to concinve myself I really did need a new camera. Et voila!
I've not played enough with it yet to be totally happy but here are a couple of shots from todays hike over the top of the island to Repulse bay.
I'll no doubt be boring you all with more snaps very soon. Consider yourselves warned.
x
Having promised not to buy anything I didn't really need it was obvious after the Shanghai trip that my camera was on its last legs and so knowing HK is the place to buy photographic equipment I managed to concinve myself I really did need a new camera. Et voila!
I've not played enough with it yet to be totally happy but here are a couple of shots from todays hike over the top of the island to Repulse bay.
I'll no doubt be boring you all with more snaps very soon. Consider yourselves warned.
x
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Miserable
Today is 31st Jan and i'm truely miserable. Just a few hours from now I should be climbing on board that Air France jet and bidding HK farewell, but the bags are not packed and i'm spending another night sat on my bed working.
When I accepted to come here I was clearly focused on the return date of 31st Jan. I knew that if I put in all my effort and pulled off the Call Centre launch successfully this date, or possibly an earlier one, would be obtainable. Now with the Call Centre launched and my job done i'm stuck here waiting for others to pull through on their part of the bargain. Its like having your jail sentence extended because of someone elses bad behaviour. Whats more, the longer i'm here the longer I have to wait before I can take vacation, and the less time i'm likely to be able to take which increase the chance of me losing vacation. I feel like i'm being penalised 3 or 4 times over for something I have no control over.
For more than 3 months now i'm effectively been camping here in this apartment. Wearing the same clothes, reading the same books and without the creature comforts that make a house a home (books, cds, clothes, photos, bath...). My new return date is only 16 days away and its going to be a very long 16 days. Roll on mid-feb and then roll on les vacances
x
Today is 31st Jan and i'm truely miserable. Just a few hours from now I should be climbing on board that Air France jet and bidding HK farewell, but the bags are not packed and i'm spending another night sat on my bed working.
When I accepted to come here I was clearly focused on the return date of 31st Jan. I knew that if I put in all my effort and pulled off the Call Centre launch successfully this date, or possibly an earlier one, would be obtainable. Now with the Call Centre launched and my job done i'm stuck here waiting for others to pull through on their part of the bargain. Its like having your jail sentence extended because of someone elses bad behaviour. Whats more, the longer i'm here the longer I have to wait before I can take vacation, and the less time i'm likely to be able to take which increase the chance of me losing vacation. I feel like i'm being penalised 3 or 4 times over for something I have no control over.
For more than 3 months now i'm effectively been camping here in this apartment. Wearing the same clothes, reading the same books and without the creature comforts that make a house a home (books, cds, clothes, photos, bath...). My new return date is only 16 days away and its going to be a very long 16 days. Roll on mid-feb and then roll on les vacances
x
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Paris of the East
It was only on my way back from Paris that I realised my visa for China was going to expire before the end of the month and so within a couple of days of landing back from Paris I was on a flight to the 'Paris of the East, otherwise known as Shanghai.
I came into town late at night and was overawed by the skyline. Shanghai was certainly a city of light with the whole Bund and Putong area alive with neon.
Beijing had been a bit of a backpacker weekend for me but i'd decided to lux it up a little for this trip and booked into the Peace Hotel on the Bund, a beautiful old Art Deco haunt of Hemmingway and Noel Coward. I had an enormous room (suite), with an even bigger tub and promised each night to treat myself to some of the best restaurants in town but during the day I planned to hit the city streets, walking and exploring as much as possible to see what the city really had to offer.
The difference between Shanghai and Beijing is stunning. Whilst Beijing has the Forbidden City, Ti'anaman and the Temple of Heaven everything else is being buldozed to make room for the Olympics. Shanghai in the meantime has gracefully morphed into a pulsating metropolis embracing both its past and future so whereas Beijing lacks soul, Shanghai has plenty of soul and character to go with it. Its possibly to be wandering through dark hutong alleys one minute and then pop out on to a teaming street lined with glass and steel skyscrapers the next. Its a city of contrast be it architecture, food, art, or fashion, Shanghai has some stunning examples of the best of the west and the east. At times I felt like I was in Berlin wandering through areas of old factories and storage sheds that had been converted into galleries and cafes. By night its was difficult not to imagine being somewhere in the US, Las Vegas perhaps thanks to all that neon, but then there are times that are most definitly Shanghai. Its difficult to describe but the city definitly has a vibe and you dont need to scrape too far beneath the surface to find it.
I'm going going to ramble on more but instead let the pictures speak for themselves. I'm not overly impressed with them (the grey weather didn't help) but I hope they'll give you a taste of this fantastic city. Slide down to the bottom of the screen for the link and take a look.
x
It was only on my way back from Paris that I realised my visa for China was going to expire before the end of the month and so within a couple of days of landing back from Paris I was on a flight to the 'Paris of the East, otherwise known as Shanghai.
I came into town late at night and was overawed by the skyline. Shanghai was certainly a city of light with the whole Bund and Putong area alive with neon.
Beijing had been a bit of a backpacker weekend for me but i'd decided to lux it up a little for this trip and booked into the Peace Hotel on the Bund, a beautiful old Art Deco haunt of Hemmingway and Noel Coward. I had an enormous room (suite), with an even bigger tub and promised each night to treat myself to some of the best restaurants in town but during the day I planned to hit the city streets, walking and exploring as much as possible to see what the city really had to offer.
The difference between Shanghai and Beijing is stunning. Whilst Beijing has the Forbidden City, Ti'anaman and the Temple of Heaven everything else is being buldozed to make room for the Olympics. Shanghai in the meantime has gracefully morphed into a pulsating metropolis embracing both its past and future so whereas Beijing lacks soul, Shanghai has plenty of soul and character to go with it. Its possibly to be wandering through dark hutong alleys one minute and then pop out on to a teaming street lined with glass and steel skyscrapers the next. Its a city of contrast be it architecture, food, art, or fashion, Shanghai has some stunning examples of the best of the west and the east. At times I felt like I was in Berlin wandering through areas of old factories and storage sheds that had been converted into galleries and cafes. By night its was difficult not to imagine being somewhere in the US, Las Vegas perhaps thanks to all that neon, but then there are times that are most definitly Shanghai. Its difficult to describe but the city definitly has a vibe and you dont need to scrape too far beneath the surface to find it.
I'm going going to ramble on more but instead let the pictures speak for themselves. I'm not overly impressed with them (the grey weather didn't help) but I hope they'll give you a taste of this fantastic city. Slide down to the bottom of the screen for the link and take a look.
x
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Its getting hot in here... 
Whilst ice storms knock off handfuls of people in the Southern US, and bits of the rest are crippled by massive snow storms the Alps remain green, folks flock to the Cote d'Azur for a quick dip and new islands emerge from beneath the retreating ice-caps. Global warming has officially arrived! Bring on that seasonal creep...
2007 is set to be the hottest year on record (something to do with El Niño and cow farts) and given that it was 15c in Paris last week i'd like to lobby for adding the long-armed wooly jumper and five-fingered mitten to the endangered species list.
As I sit here on the 15th floor looking out across the harbour its difficult to make out Kowloon a couple of hundred metres away for the fug in between as I we flew in from Paris I saw first hand one of those brown clouds high up in the atmosphere, chocked full of fossil feuls and various other crap someone somewhere had burnt. Hence my 'better late than never' new years resolution - be as green as possible.
Things got off to a great start. I cut down my shower time to reduce water, unplugged or turned off everything electrical that I didn't need then picked up my bag and ran to the supermarket. In Paris I was buying as many organic and green products as possible, but here its practially impossible. Asia might be a newly awoken tiger when it comes to business but its a beast that doesn't give a shit about the environment it lives in. Recycling is practically unheard of - I got a strange look when I asked where the recycle bins were in the building and the girl at the check out till look positively disgusted when I said I didn't need a plastic bag as i'd brought my daypack. I find it mind boggling that so many people here are infatuated with cleanliness; face masks in the metro, hand sanitisers in every building lobby (sometimes also in the lift); and yet there seems to be so little care for the environment. So, it looks like i'm just going to have to step up my efforts to make up for them. And if a single one of you makes a smart comment about the amount of air travel I do i'll recycle you ;-)
x
Whilst ice storms knock off handfuls of people in the Southern US, and bits of the rest are crippled by massive snow storms the Alps remain green, folks flock to the Cote d'Azur for a quick dip and new islands emerge from beneath the retreating ice-caps. Global warming has officially arrived! Bring on that seasonal creep...
2007 is set to be the hottest year on record (something to do with El Niño and cow farts) and given that it was 15c in Paris last week i'd like to lobby for adding the long-armed wooly jumper and five-fingered mitten to the endangered species list.
As I sit here on the 15th floor looking out across the harbour its difficult to make out Kowloon a couple of hundred metres away for the fug in between as I we flew in from Paris I saw first hand one of those brown clouds high up in the atmosphere, chocked full of fossil feuls and various other crap someone somewhere had burnt. Hence my 'better late than never' new years resolution - be as green as possible.
Things got off to a great start. I cut down my shower time to reduce water, unplugged or turned off everything electrical that I didn't need then picked up my bag and ran to the supermarket. In Paris I was buying as many organic and green products as possible, but here its practially impossible. Asia might be a newly awoken tiger when it comes to business but its a beast that doesn't give a shit about the environment it lives in. Recycling is practically unheard of - I got a strange look when I asked where the recycle bins were in the building and the girl at the check out till look positively disgusted when I said I didn't need a plastic bag as i'd brought my daypack. I find it mind boggling that so many people here are infatuated with cleanliness; face masks in the metro, hand sanitisers in every building lobby (sometimes also in the lift); and yet there seems to be so little care for the environment. So, it looks like i'm just going to have to step up my efforts to make up for them. And if a single one of you makes a smart comment about the amount of air travel I do i'll recycle you ;-)
x
Sejour bref...
Being in HK is a good experience, and one that might be great if I had time to get out an enjoy it, but being based here temporarily is awkward. I have a funky little apartment but it doesn't feel like home (no matter how many books I buy) and knowing my time is limited means i'm less motivated to go out and build up a social life.
Originally I was only supposed to be here until the end of Jan so when it became obvious that my stay would be extended I have to admit I was pissed. I miss my friends, I miss my bath, I miss my books and I miss the sky. Sometime I feel like I go whole days without seeing more than a couple of square inchs of the stuff here and although i'm not claustrophobic I certainly feel cramped in this concrete metropolis. Therefore having the opportunity to get back to Paris for a week was fantastic.
Paris hadn't changed a bit, although I have to say that after HK it looked somewhat poor & shabby. January remains grey, streaked with rain and that special flat light that only comes out in winter, the metro was dirty and crowded and both the number of homeless (sdf) and the amount of dog shit on the streets seemed to have doubled. I wouldn't have exchanged it for the world though.
In Paris I can walk from one side of the city to the other, without having to take a single skyway, tunnel or pass through a mall, the number of independant bars and cafes heavily outways the number of Starbucks, not all the shops are chain brands and there is sky everywhere.
On top of this theres the dining out. Cheese, cheese and more cheese. Oysters by the dozen (make that 2 dozen), great wines, huge hunks of meet and delicate deserts.
What really makes Paris home though is none of this, its my friends. Whether it was coffee on the terrace, quick lunch or full blown dinner every mealtime was an opportunity to catch up with my friends and I loved it. Thanks to all of you who made yourselves available at such short notice and Cama and Doug for putting me up, and sorry to those of you that I didn't spend enough time with. Dont worry though, HK has no hold on me and i'll be home again before you know it!
x
Being in HK is a good experience, and one that might be great if I had time to get out an enjoy it, but being based here temporarily is awkward. I have a funky little apartment but it doesn't feel like home (no matter how many books I buy) and knowing my time is limited means i'm less motivated to go out and build up a social life.
Originally I was only supposed to be here until the end of Jan so when it became obvious that my stay would be extended I have to admit I was pissed. I miss my friends, I miss my bath, I miss my books and I miss the sky. Sometime I feel like I go whole days without seeing more than a couple of square inchs of the stuff here and although i'm not claustrophobic I certainly feel cramped in this concrete metropolis. Therefore having the opportunity to get back to Paris for a week was fantastic.
Paris hadn't changed a bit, although I have to say that after HK it looked somewhat poor & shabby. January remains grey, streaked with rain and that special flat light that only comes out in winter, the metro was dirty and crowded and both the number of homeless (sdf) and the amount of dog shit on the streets seemed to have doubled. I wouldn't have exchanged it for the world though.
In Paris I can walk from one side of the city to the other, without having to take a single skyway, tunnel or pass through a mall, the number of independant bars and cafes heavily outways the number of Starbucks, not all the shops are chain brands and there is sky everywhere.
On top of this theres the dining out. Cheese, cheese and more cheese. Oysters by the dozen (make that 2 dozen), great wines, huge hunks of meet and delicate deserts.
What really makes Paris home though is none of this, its my friends. Whether it was coffee on the terrace, quick lunch or full blown dinner every mealtime was an opportunity to catch up with my friends and I loved it. Thanks to all of you who made yourselves available at such short notice and Cama and Doug for putting me up, and sorry to those of you that I didn't spend enough time with. Dont worry though, HK has no hold on me and i'll be home again before you know it!
x
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