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ANNA HAMMILL ON HER TRAVELS AROUND EUROPE

Last photo of Anna ready to go on her travels leaving Exeter Bus Station, Exeter, Devon, England on 29th June 2002. The coach arrived 15 minutes late and was then held up in the bay with all passengers on board  for a further half an hour as they discovered the coach was overloaded with luggage. I was getting anxious, let alone Anna inside the coach as she had to make her first connection at Victoria Coach Station, London for Amsterdam - her first port of call where she would meet up with her Busabout Coach.  All the following information has been supplied to me by Anna through her emails and is nearly verbatim. The odd bit of editing or so - more suitable for public consumption!

OFF WE GO!

 

'map courtesy of www.theodora.com/maps used with permission'

30 June - 2 July  AMSTERDAM First stop. Did my  walkabout !!! Went to red light district with an oz girl and 2 Canadian guys last night....very very amusing !!!!its raining today so am on my way to the Heinekin brewery which is only 5 euros and you get free mug in a tin !!!! I dont even like beer but everyone says its worth a look anyway.....and I may look at the Anne Frank place but the queues are unbelievable !!! anyway off to Berlin tommorrow.

2 July - 7 July  BERLIN I have  been in Berlin 3 days now  and I have met up with a fellow solo traveller an aussie girl who is doing the same as me up to Venice. The weather has been cold and rainy. I did the Berlin walk yesterday and  went up the Reichstag (Parliament) lots of sites are free here which is a bonus ...off to concentration camp today and its bloody raining - god it just does  nothing for my hair !!!!  I look like I have been travelling for at least  6 months not the actual 5 ish days !!! so anyway I'm having fun, my clothes are dirty and my feet hurt but its all worth it. I went  to Sachenhausen Concentration camp yesterday with Jaclyn. A lot of the exhibitions were in German with no  English translation so had no show of  knowing what was going on. Today we went to Checkpoint Charlie  museum (7 euros) and are heading off to the Olympic Stadium later today... my feet hurt so much and I look  about 30 !!!off to Prague on Sunday for 3 nights hopefully it's as cheap as  I heard!!!  I am looking for a denim  skirt now as have been living in jeans  since I left and its not really  sarong weather (or places)......... Go to PRAGUE   VIENNA Here in Vienna for  the second day and off to some  palace and the zoo...( oldest in the  world or something) still very hot but  yesterday had a cool breeze  thank god cause my white skin is just  dying under the heat ....off to Venice tomorrow and then  Greek Islands on the Monday ...have met soooo many people its been great and spending probably too much money on food and ice cream ....hostels are nice, which is good but  Vienna is the most expensive place I have  come across so far too good to move on ...anyway gotta go.. More news below

8 July - 10 July  PRAGUE Well here I am in Prague on the second day and god my feet are in such a state !!! Left hostel at 8am yesterday and didnt stop til 11.30 pm !!! so, very long day checking out the sites... Prague is awsome, we went up the observation tower (like a mini Eiffel) last night at sunset, was fantastic and we got taken up in the lift (bonus as was long way up) because they were about to close..... Have upgraded my room here to share with Jaclyn..is bliss to only have 2 and not nearly 15 in a room..... Very hot here, 34 degrees yesterday so I was very near dead from too much sun exposure....but I'm not getting lobstered (burnt) like I thought I would..... Off to Vienna tommorrow for 2 days then Venice and then the Greek Islands YAY.....have met heaps of people and on busbabout you keep bumping into the same ones..anyway off for another day of sites and she looks like a scorcher yet again....           Go to VIENNA

 

15 July 2002 Anna has just rung from Venice, having a great time and really likes this place the best, so far. She is leaving there tomorrow and catching the ferry to Greece in the afternoon, arriving in Patras on Thursday morning. She was going as a deck passenger but has decided to 'upgrade' to an airline type seat inside instead! It seems once a deck passenger always a deck passenger even if it pours with rain. More updates later when Anna emails from her next port of call - most likely Patras or Athens. Obviously couldn't wait! - here comes another email. 16 July 2002 I am in Venice (which I really love !!!) and is nearly one of my favourite places so far.... and today I take off on the ferry for Greece...34 hour boat ride, yes thats 2 nights of hell......will stay in Athens a night then head off to Santorini then Naxos ...only been travelling 2 weeks now but it feels alot longer......weather really stormy in Venice like mega thunder and fork lightning....did manage to have a few too many drinks with some aussie girls on our first night here in Venice and we ended up all learning the salsa and merengue with some Costa Rican lads !!! very funny night....and I didnt feel too good in the morning so we had a late start !!! Went to a couple of islands off Venice and did a bit too much shopping on the good old visa card !!!  21 July 2002 Here I am in Greece. Well I left Athens on a Tuesday night and got to Patras on Thursday morning ( 34 hours) then took a bus to Athens (3 hours), am glad I upgraded to an airline seat on the ferry as I would have died out on deck..... Stayed in Athens one night then another 11 hour ferry to Santorini !! this time out on deck and god it was soooo cold thankfully I had hooked up with some Aussies and Canadians for company. So I am in Santorini for my 3rd day and god its awsome....got a cheap hostel for only 8 euros a night which is the cheapest so far on my trip...went out last night with a group of about 20 !! had a couple of cocktails as you do on the islands...have bought a few things here too (thankgod for the old Visa ) am moving on to another island tomorrow not sure which one yet...either Naxos or Paros... Athens was the hottest place I have been to so far, went round the Acropolis but other than that there's not a lot to see in Athens....have not done much at all here in Santorini but wander around and laze at the bar at the hostel so its been really different to hooning around cities trying to see as much as possible......there are soooo many Canadians and Aussies around but not too many Kiwis but its all good ........wanted to hire a scooter to hoon around the isalnds but didn't bring my licence so the crazy bus it is. The Greeks are scary drivers man and the buses are like a hundred years old and the roads are nerve racking...I was very pale on the bus from the port to Thira (main town in Santorini) as it zig zags straight up a cliff  with just a shear drop down. .......... 29 July 2002 Its my last night in Rome after 2 days of heaps of sight seeing !! not alot of time to see Rome but I did all the basics like Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Trevi fountain, Roman forum and of course the Colliseum....and a few things in between. I really like Rome but again another very hot city to be walking around all day, so am a bit sunburned today.....off to Florence tomorrow for 2 days also, only have about 3 weeks left of trip (I think...have really lost track of time) and had my clothes machine washed yesterday...oh my god what bliss to have real washed clothes rather than my half hearted hand wash attempts !!!! .....dont seem to have spent too much over budget which is good cause it means I can spend more now!!! 3 August 2002 I am in Nice now, went to Monaco yesterday with my new clique - fantastic.  Saw the changing of the guards - always a fun experience.  Payed our respects to Grace - some very loud cathedral music going on in there - and we all had images of the hunchback playing the organ.  Went to Monte Carlo - very very rich - nice cars - got some photos of porches and ferrari's.  The water is a lovely blue type colour.  In case anyone is interested in living there you have a US$1 million application fee which is non refundable. Today am going to wonder around and check out the beach.  Yesterday we declared it International McDonalds day due to the fact we had it for breakfast, lunch and tea, and breakfast again today.  Very cultural with the food intake....... 6 August 2002 Hi everybody yes its me again and I have been in Barcelona for 2 days now, didnt do much for the first day as had a nightmare of a time with the accomodation here. Anyway today did bus tour of Barcelona which is a good idea as the sights are spread out far apart !!!  8 August 2002 Well its me again and my time in Barcelona is over, leaving for Madrid tomorrow, soooo today woke up to rain for the first time but not too matter as we were being arty and going to the Picasso museum anyway ...wow I never knew he drew normal things at the start and only went wierd at the end of his career...but I didn't mind the whole art museum as much as I thought I would, but I was first out by at least 30 mins ( I think I spent more time in the gift shop spending up large on postcards..heeehee)  so yeh that was pretty much my day as I had to come back to hostel for a snooze which turned into a full on snore up !! but believe me it gets tiring when you feel the constant need to sight see and be out there amongst it all .........so I guess thats it for now ummmmm did I tell you I went to the Barcelona Zoo and saw the only white gorilla in the world ??? got photos of course...anyway til next time 10 August 2002 .....am now in Madrid and its really nice even though we were told by various people that it was horrible, dirty etc but we all find it feels alot safer than Barcelona !!! and at least the locals aren't hanging onto their bags for dear life which is a good sign ....... went to the Royal Palace today which is very over the top inside and had the hugest banquet hall... and I bought a mini, mini sword as a souvi, and also went to another arty museum ....went out last night to a Irish pub...yes I can hear you all groaning but we all needed somewhere we felt we´d get the drink we wanted !! (did I ever tell you about the cucumber salad I ordered in Prague ?? well what I got was a whole shredded cucumber soaking in vinegar !!! yummie -not) so yeh that's our excuse anyway and they don´t measure the spirits so in the 2 drinks I got it was about 4 normal drinks.........ummmmm  ....what else, going to the markets tomorrow and another museum but then off to San Sebastian the next day for beaches, parties and not much else !!! have only 10 days to go now and I cant believe it has gone sooooooo fast..... 11 August 2002 Dont know if I said we were looking at going to bull fight ??? well saw some video of it in a cafe tonight and I was nearly crying so I am NOT going to one now, its so cruel...we thought we could go till it got rough then leave but I dont want to contribute to it at all....off to San Sebastian tomorrow for some beach parties and relaxation, need it sooo bad,  ....today went to Sunday markets then home to sleep as nothing is open on Sundays here, not even souvinier shops !!! so needed a rest anyway and went back out to meet the girls at 8 for tea, its been quite cold here in Madrid, because the city gets so hot they designed it for cooling down as in lots of wide streets and fountains and trees everywhere so when there's a cold wind its quite cold !!  ....my hostel is so nice and clean its great and quiet for a change....... There were no further emails from that point on as Anna travelled from: Madrid - Bilbao - San Sebastian where she stayed 2 days San Sebastian - Bordeaux - Paris where she stayed 4 days Paris to England 20 August 2002 Arrived back at Exeter Bus Station after a great trip but travel weary. The End If you wish to contact Anna Click Here  Have you ever thought of doing trips the easy way? Let our agency be your guide to Royal Caribbean Royal Caribbean cruises information - Ships and Cruise Destinations. Royal Caribbean Cruises  We only do Cruises with Royal Caribbean!

© Alison Orchard Hammill July 2002 Updated: August 2003