Turkey

After leaving Croatia in our wake we fly into Istanbul which is completely opposite to what we just left behind. It is a bustling hub of activity and you are not sure where to look first. We check into our hostel on the Asian side and rest up. The next morning we join "The other tour", it is as the name suggests a very different tour. It looks at the real life in Istanbul with two brothers as the guides they take us through the city and explain the history and show us their home town including a having their mum cook us an amazing typical Turkish lunch in her own home. The tour also included a boat ride and a Turkish bath in the oldest Hammam in Istanbul. The next day we visited the Blue Mosque and wandered and indulged in Turkish food and wine and prepped for our long trip in the morning.

Wednesday morning we left for a bus trip to Gallipoli for the Anzac Day dawn service, we travelled most of the day and arrived early afternoon at Anzac Cove to secure a seat for the next mornings ceremony. I am not sure what I expected when I arrived at Anzac Cove, but we waited in line for a couple of hours for the local authorities to open the site to us, then we went through security very similar to the airport. We arrived at a good time because there was still space available, we found seats in the grandstand which we thought was a great idea however later realised it was a bitch to try and get any sleep. We took turns in laying on the concrete between the rows in an attempt to get any rest. The whole way through the afternoon and evening they had naval bands playing, people doing speeches. They had a big screen and played war movies as well as interviews with Diggers about their personal experience during the war. It was very sobering and enlightening but at the same time I thought maybe a little too commercial, perhaps silence was a better way to show respect for the grounds we were standing on. It was absolutely freezing and this made the 13 hour wait even more uncomfortable. Just outside the cove were the food stalls and all through the night you heard the constant sales calls of the locals for "Kebab, Apple Tea, Turkish Tea"!
The ceremony itself is hard to explain, standing on the very soil where so many gave their lives, watching the moon sink and the sun rise over the mountains and listening to the last post was an incredibly moving moment.

We headed back to Istanbul that afternoon on the bus and flew out the next morning to Dalaman on the southern Turkish Coast. From there we got a bus to Fethiye and did some shopping, had lunch in a fish market where you chose your fish which was filleted and cooked and brought to your table at the restaurant of your choice for about $4.
Saturday we did more shopping and exploring of Fethiye, had some traditional Turkish Kebabs and then in the afternoon boarded our Turkish gullet for the next 8 days of sailing.

Once aboard we met our ship mates for the next week and immediately gelled with 3 other Aussies who seemed easy to get along with and just plain good fun. Andy and Danielle were a couple and were travelling with Danielle's sister Jasmine. Apart from the obvious drinking shenanigans, the cruise showed us parts of the Turkish coast line that just blew my mind. The water was an iridescent blue and the coves were just pristine. We travelled alongside another gullet and often swam between the boats and mixed with that crew as well. We had one night at Pirate Cove where they opened the islands bar just for our boats. Now when I say bar it was basically a shed with no walls, just a roof and a healthily stocked speed rail! Perfect!!
We stopped in one cove where we drove up a mountain with no safety railings whatsoever in an overloaded combi van with a speed freak as our driver to throw ourselves off it...Well Paraglide... it was amazing! The view was just ridiculous, so breathtaking. I would love to share photos, but me being me, my GoPro didnt work when I got up there and then I bought the CD the company sells and I left it on the boat...
Holiday romance you ask? Well, maybe :) When in Turkey ;)

Undoubtedly the most memorable part of our cruise came at the expense of one of our mates.
Danielle decided one day when we were docking for lunch that her mission was to get absolutely hammered! She started by having a liquid vodka breakfast and continued in style till after lunch when she hopped on the back of a strangers motorcycle and disappeared. When we got back to the boat we saw a commotion and realised Danielle was in the water behind the boat. She had tried to get on the wrong boat, then got 2/3 up the gangplank and fell in with her bag containing 2 iphones and a brand new camera with all photos from their few months travelling. Mission accomplished Dan! It was not funny at the time however gave us great laughs later!!

                                   Andy       Rach         Danielle       Jasmine

After our cruise we spend a final night in Fethiye before Rachel and I say our goodbyes for probably another couple of years and I head back to London where I am greeted by rain and 7 degrees. Just like I never left.

Much love Yvette xxx

Croatia!!!

Well all the planning is over and departure date is finally here!!! I am on my way to the airport to fly to Split to see Nada whom I have not seen in 5 yrs and to catch up with Rachael who I have not seen in over a year. Nothing can dampen my spirits!! Well... except for the tube breaking down... After waiting more than 20 mins and having no idea how long it is going to be I make a run for the exit and a total stranger helps me flag down a cab in the rain at five in the morning so I can make my flight on time. Sixty pounds later (Grrr) and I am at the airport!

I fly into Split and meet Nada and her boyfriend at the airport, I spend the night with her family who are so lovely and welcoming. They try their best English, cook me their best home cooked meals and we wash it down with their home made Rakia. The next day we explore Split and then head out on the town for a long awaited catch up over many drinks.
It is a short visit but a lovely one, I was very well taken care of and am very grateful to Nada's beautiful family for having me.

The next morning I meet up with Rachael and her friends Tara and Mark, and we board the ferry to stunning Hvar. We check into our VERY expensive and VERY deserted hotel and head straight to the roof terrace for cocktails.
Hvar is a gorgeous old town but we realise very quickly we are travelling in the off-season. Very little restaurants are open, tours are not operating and simple things are unavailable. The spa is not even full of water! We have a lovely dinner at a restaurant called Mizarola and call it a night. The next day is Rachael's birthday so we start the day with champagne cocktails at breakfast followed by a hike up the mountain to take in the stunning views. We go for a gorgeous seafood lunch by the water and birthday celebrations include Verve and Vanilla cigars.

After lunch I go for a massage to try and alleviate the headache I have now had for 4 days. It is a complete failure. She gives me a robe, which barely covers my modesty, slippers which my feet hang off the end off, she talks the whole way through my massage, which you could barely call a massage, and I come out not only still with a head ache but with more oil on me than a BP spill!
The next morning Tara and Mark leave us and head off on their own travels. We meet a British photographer, Tesh, at breakfast and he joins us for the day. We wander around for a bit and meet a local fisherman who offers to take us out on his boat for the day. Ricky, is an Australian born Croatian (Wallabies hat and all) and he and his dog Gerry take us to the Pakleni Islands where I get in the water because it looks so amazing. IT IS FREEZING!

That afternoon we jump on the ferry to Korcula and check in to our hostel which is run by a cute old lady Nina and her son Marte, whose English absolutely cracks me up. Everything he says is in a booming, slowly enunciated monotone voice that I cant help but laugh at absolutely everything he says!
We share the hostel with a very strange couple who we noticed in Hvar. He wears his button up shirt open and tied up over his belly. I quickly nicknamed him Brittany. They seemed to pop up everywhere we go. Although that wasn't hard as due to "off-season" Korcula was practically deserted.
The next morning Nina makes us homemade crepes and we set off to explore. Our intention is to go up the mountain to the lookout and take some photos but somehow we end up on the other side of the island and cant get back so have to get a taxi. Tesh goes for a sleep and Rachael and I finally get to have a catch up. We begin a "balcony session". A tradition of ours from back home where we would go to each other's place and set ourselves up on the balcony with vino and cigarettes and not move for hrs while we caught up on things. This time the balcony was in Croatia overlooking the beautiful water and this time we had a waiter :) who I am pretty sure was happy when we finally called it a night.

Thursday morning we get an early bus to Dubrovnik, wander around the Old Town, get ice-cream and have an afternoon snooze. That night we found a sushi place (I had been craving sushi for days) and had the best sushi I have ever tasted! It was so fresh and just melted in your mouth.
The thing no one tells you about travelling in Croatia is the stairs!! Yes everything is gorgeous and usually overlooking the water, but I dont thing I have ever climbed so many stairs in my life! My calves are on fire and I am gonna have buns of steel after this!

Friday Rachael and I went on a walking tour of the Old Town and learnt about the history and the war and how Croatia is still fighting to remain its own country. After the tour we have lunch and head through the hole in the wall (literally) to have a beer overlooking the water. An afternoon nap is in order before heading up the cable car for dinner and then Irish pub for a nightcap.

After breakfast we transfer to a hotel nearer the airport as our flight was changed so we had no accommodation. We booked a hotel online but when we arrived the hotel was not even open! A man passing by told us that we would be staying at the sister hotel across the road. When we arrived there they didn't have our reservation at first then found us a room, it was the ugliest thing I have ever seen, the wifi was shit the service was shit, everything about it was awful. Thank god we were only here one night. We left the hotel and went and found a lovely seafood restaurant for lunch and got chatting to the ladies at the table next to us. Whilst we were chatting they bought out our entrees, and then our mains even though we hadn't touched our entree's so everything was cold. When we mentioned it to the waiter he got a major attitude and it just soured the whole thing. We were ready to leave Croatia by now, screw the off-season! When the ladies left we racked our brain for ages trying to figure out who one of them was as we were convinced she was a famous actress. After a while I said "I have got it! Jessica Tandy, that was Jessica Tandy!" Rachael agreed but when we googled her later we found out Jessica Tandy has been dead for 9 yrs!!! Obviously not her...
The next morning is our early flight to Istanbul for the next segment of our trip! Bring it on!!!
So long Dubrovnik.

Much Love Yvette xxx

2013 Beginnings

Well the year has begun with a few changes. New beginnings for myself and friends.

I have been promoted at my job to Cafe Manager which will be a great financial boost to allow me to do what I came here for, TRAVEL! I have started planning a trip in April with my friend Rachael for 3 weeks in Croatia and Turkey and am starting to get crazy excited.

My best friend Lisa contacted me recently to let me know her and Nathan finally are engaged!! I am so happy for them, they are a wonderful couple and I have no doubt they will make each other very happy.

I was promoted as my manager Alec is moving to Madrid to begin his new life with his lovely partner Carles. It will be a challenging time for him, learning a new language and finding work in hard economic times. He is a fantastic, driven, smart, lovely guy and I am sure things will work out for him and Carles.

Gerry left Wallacespace :( he got a job in HR which is his area of study so as much as we miss him we are very happy for him and wish him all the best.

I had a few catch ups recently with people I have not seen in yrs. I stayed the night with Coleen and Chetan with whom I worked on the Disney Cruise ship over 5 yrs ago! We had a great night reminiscing over several bottles of wine.
I also caught up with my mate Brian who I have not seen in about 5 yrs either. He is now living in Bournemouth right on the beach so will definately be getting down there for a few catch ups over summer.

Maria and I had a photoshoot together where they did our hair and make up and we had to take several outfits and pose like morons. We promised ourselves we were just doing it for fun and would not buy any photos, but of course we did!

For Maria's birthday I got some vouchers for a facial, manicure, pedicure and massage. Girls day out. It turned out to be the worst spa experience I have ever had! The girls were completely inexperienced (mine told me it was her first day), and they had no idea what we had paid for or what they were doing! My massage felt more like a stroking at times and a beating at others. She tried to kick me out without giving me my pedicure and the facial I am sure removed at least 5 layers of my skin! FAIL. Gave us a good laugh afterwards though when we swapped stories.

Thats all I have at the moment, nothing much exciting...

Much love Yvette xxx

Goodbye 2012!

So when I started this blog I was dead set on updating it weekly, like a diary, including everything....Now it has been a couple of months since my last post and I have to rely on a very lacklustre memory and a phone full of photos to find anything even slightly interesting to relay.....here goes nothing!

When we left off last I was really struggling with life in London, I am happy to report that even though things here are not easy, I am fairly happy! 
The job I started back in September is great, fairly easy work, flexible managers and great staff! I have made some really good friends here which has made all the difference in my overall experience. As with everywhere you go, it is the people you spend your time with that make the journey worthwhile. 
Maria is the person I am definately most close with here, she comes from Spain and is an actress who would quite literally kill someone for a role opposite Bradley Cooper!! She is an absolute sweetheart and I don't think she realises how hilariously funny she is. We spend most of our time outside of work together and it is nice to have someone to talk to, rely on and have fun with. Especially since Jonathon, my housemate, left early September to try his hand at a new career path back in Spain. He was my rock from the day I arrived and I miss him daily but know he is happier where he is.

Maria and Bradley :)

Jonathon and I at his farewell

I am still going through proceedings to get my money back from my previous landlord. I have seen a solicitor and he issued them with an official letter giving them 14 days to pay up or expect to go through court proceedings. They have ignored the warning so the next step is small claims court, which I have to go through without representation. My solicitor will help get details ready but cannot go with me to court.

My friend from Berlin, Schenja, came to London through an agency and worked at a bank for a few months so it was nice to have another friend to hang out with outside of work colleagues. Her sister Anastasia also visited twice during that time and we had a ball catching up. There was a bit of a language barrier, but generally we figured out what each other was saying!! Lets just say Anastasia's English teacher was very suprised when she returned and told her a couple of phrases we had taught her :)

One weekend whilst both sisters were in town, Maria, myself and the girls went out for dinner and to the musical Rock of Ages. It was fantastic!! I was suprised at how funny it was. Maria had seen it before but took great amusement in watching me nearly wet myself with laughter at some points during the show.

Over the Christmas period Winter Wonderland opens at Hyde Park, it is a Winter themed fair with food stalls, ice skating, carnival games, rides and most importantly hot cider and mulled wine!! I have realised now that no matter how old I get I am always going to be a kid at heart and the best way to bring that out in me is to take me some place where there are amusement rides!!!!! Both times I went to Winter Wonderland there was at least one other person with me in the same mindset and we would half run around squealing and giggling, "I want to go on that one,.... and that one......and that one"!!

Alec & Maria @ Winter Wonderland

Maria, me and Alec @ Winter Wonderland

Work crew! Alec, James, Maria, Ben & Me

My first visit was my favourite with a bunch of us from work heading out we danced and had some hot cider and another of my favourites from work, Gerry, and I went on several rides and decided they are the best form of stress relief to date! Gerry  is from the Philippines, he is such a lovely guy with a great sense of humour and a child at heart too. He also looks a little like PSY that sings "Gangnum Style", so every time that song comes on (which is a lot!) we make a big deal of it and try to convince passers by he is famous :)

Gerry

As I am sure you all know, according to the Mayan calendar the world was supposed to end on December 21st 2012. This was the only excuse we needed to get together for a drink so a group of 11 or so of us headed to Sth London to a pub we had heard was a really great place to chill. I also invited my friend Mike who I met in Canada but who is now living with his dad for a year in a country town called Bradford, which is about a 2 hour train ride from London.
We had such a great time, good laughs! Searching for another stupid calendar that says we are all going to die soon so I can arrange another get together!

End of the world crew x

Maria, Kalim, Gerry, me and Mike "The Unibomber"

It is starting to become a yearly pattern now, hence the reason I don't particularly like Christmas, but on the 13th December the world lost another beautiful soul. I met Kathleen in South Africa, she was a very good friend of the person I was staying with, they had known each other for yrs. We just seemed to click right away, she told me she wanted to adopt me.
We were planning on going scuba diving together. Kathleen passed at age 50 in her sleep. I am sad we will not have a chance to continue our friendship and bond but I am blessed to have known her for the short time I did. She will be missed.

Kathleen x

Kathleen & me taking stupid selfies

Christmas itself could have been very very lame.... London tends to shut down over Christmas Day and Boxing Day there is no public transport. Maria and I wanted to spend it together but getting away was too expensive and seeing we are on opposite sides of the city we were screwed. I though I was going to spend the 2 days shut up in my room, however a couple of days before I happened to run into a friend of mine Kalim, who lives around the corner from me and he invited me over to spend Christmas with him and his other housemates. He loves entertaining and cooked an amazing lunch for us and we all had way too much wine and a lot of dancing and fun. I am very appreciative to him for including me.

Kalim & I

Over the past few months I have decided it is time to start dating again, well if you can call it again, I have only ever been on a date with one person before! Either way it is time to stop hoping for things that are long gone and focus on what may be in store for me.

It hasn't really gone so well so far lol!! 

Went on one date with an Irish guy, went really well had great fun, then found out he had a girlfriend and gave me a fake name.....FAIL

Went on a date with a french guy who sounded really good in theory, but not so much in reality. Found myself doing "The Cobra" to avoid his kiss at the end of the date......FAIL

I have met an interesting person recently though that I think is going to be a very good friend to me. Sometimes you just know that you are not only going to learn things from someone, but they are going to learn things from you too. 
Funny what you find in places you never would have looked!
Being very introspective these days and it is nice to have someone else to analyse, appreciate and direct you when sometimes you just need to hear things from someone else's point of view.

The weather, everyone wants to talk about the weather right?!
Its cold. Its wet. Its depressing. Its London. Discussion over. Could do with some Vitamin D!!

Well tomorrow is New Years Eve and looking back on this year I have had some of the best times in my life as well as some of the most trying times. Looking forward to the next challenges. Bring on 2013!!

Much love 
Yvette xxx

PS. Always be yourself, unless you can be a unicorn, then be a unicorn!!!

My nightmare

Ughhh!! What is that smell?? It smells like clothes unwashed for days, sweat, grease and dirty feet. Where am I? I can hardly see, they have me pinned. I cant move my arms or protect my head. I feel like I am suffocating. What is that? Something is sticking in to my back, I am being hit in the side of the head. Such an isolating feeling, and they are pushing me again, and again, and again. 
I need to find an escape, where can I get out?? I'm confused, disoriented, scared almost... I don't want this, I want air, I need space, I need to breathe. Someone help me!!!
THERE!! Finally, I see a chance and I run, run for my life. The doors are open and I scramble before I am trampled by the swarm of zombies all around me.

Dear London tube,

I hate you!!!

Much disgust,
Yvette

Euro trip 2012

During the break between the Olympics and Paralympics I went on a trip with two girlfriends that I met whilst living in Canada, Jori & Lauren. It had been 12 months since I saw them last so could not wait to catch up and explore.

BARCELONA, SPAIN
After a stressful month in London I am more than ready to have a holiday. My plane is an early one so after 2 and a half hrs sleep I make my way to the bus station (tubes do not run this early) and make my nearly 3 hour journey to the airport.
Once I land in Barcelona I realise I only have the name of the hotel and no address, my wifi is not working so I rely on some VERY broken english to point me in the right direction. Two trains later and a couple of circles I find the hotel and go upstairs to meet the girls. 
By now it is after lunchtime so we decide just to wander around and try and get our bearings. We are staying very close to Las Ramblas which is a quite central and happening street. We end up going to the Aquarium which we were recommended by at least 4 different people….. Recommendations are not always accurate…. Apart from the sharks it was an extreme waste of 20 Euros.
That night we take it easy as the girls had a long flight and me practically no sleep. The next morning we take the "hop on, hop off" tourist bus around the city to take in the sights. The weather is HOT, very HOT! Barcelona is very lovely architecturally, and we enjoyed the tour however it was extremely long and we got hot and bored so jumped off the bus and headed back to make our own fun. 

Of course Sangria and Paella are a must in Spain so we combined the two and then headed off to find a nice bar. We were handed a coupon for cheap cocktails and a free shot for a bar named Sinatra's, thats all the encouragement we needed, so were lead down a not so nice looking alley toward it. We were about to turn and run but when we saw the bar were glad we didn't as it was gorgeous. Every detail of the decor was stunning and they had a fantastic cocktail list, menu and service. We ended up staying there all night, making friends with the bar staff and heading out to a club with them afterwards. Unfortunately a great night turned a bit sour after Lauren had her purse stolen from her back by one of the street people, but it is a very common thing to happen and the little gypsies all cover for each other, there was no way we were getting it back. The early hrs of the morning were spent trying to get the police to help (fat chance!! they told us to go and have another drink and just laughed at us) and calling to cancel and re-issue Lauren's cards. The next day was fairly well wasted as we were exhausted and hungover for most of it. SETBACK #1
We went back to Sinatra's that night as we HAD to try their menu, and we were definitely not disappointed. I cannot rave about their Fois Gras enough! It was so amazing! Everything was, we had Tapas and the owner gave us a complimentary champagne cocktail and extra course and had us sit downstairs where he could make sure we were looked after. 

NICE, FRANCE
The next morning we boarded our 10 hour train to Cagnes Sur Mer, just outside of Nice. We arrived late and Lauren's friend Cara, who lives nearby, picked us up from the station and dropped us at the hotel. We had dinner and went to bed straight away.
The next day was spent entirely at the beach. The medditteranean sea is amazing!! It was so hot out, around 38 degrees and the water was about 20 degrees. The beach is pebbled and gets deep quite close to shore so you are not battling waves and a bikini full of sand getting in, like the beaches in Oz.

Off the coast you see all the yachts belonging to the rich and famous, some are just ridiculous.
On Wednesday Cara picked us up and took us up the mountain to a little village called Saint Paul de Vence. It was spectacular!! Exactly what you expect villages in the French Riviera to look like, old cobblestone streets and tiny wrought iron balcony's with plantar boxes and vines growing on the walls. 
We wandered around there for a couple of hrs and then headed back to Cara's house in Jean le Pin to have a glass of wine with her parents who were visiting from Australia. It was funny to hear her Dad's typical Aussie accent amidst the backdrop of France. After this we get dropped off in Jean Le Pin and browse all the little stalls along the boardwalk as the sun goes down (at 9pm!!). 

Thursday we made our way into Nice for shopping and then spent the rest of the day on the beach.

MONACO
The next day is my birthday, and what a birthday it is! We do a day trip to Monaco, which is my new favourite place! The architecture is amazing and all these old houses built into the hill surrounding the beach and harbour. Very rich looking without being gaudy. We walk around with our jaws dropping to the floor every 2 mins from either the expensive houses, cars, hotels or just the spectacular views.

We find a second hand store with the idea of picking up a cheap item of clothing however when we pick up a scarf with a €700 price tag we have a reality check. We start to chat with the lady working there and she is an Australian who has married a boat captain and become a resident of Monaco. She said due to the small size of the place the women will buy Dior, Chanel etc, wear it once then bring it to her shop to sell as of course they can't be seen wearing an outfit twice!! She also said Julia Roberts shops there, no big! She gave me some advice, as did Cara, on applying for work on the private owned yachts in nearby Antibes. They both said half the girls doing it had no experience so I would have no problem, plus having cruise ship experience it would be easy. Stewardesses earn a minimum of 2500/3000 Euros per month tax free with no expenses. Pretty sure I just found my next job plan :))))
After that we went up the hill to Monaco Ville to see the Palace and the Cathedral where Princess Grace was married. Earlier we had seen a coupon for 10 min scenic helicopter flights for €60 and it was now up on the hill that I decided that would be my birthday present to myself. I was so pumped for it but when I called they said it was for a minimum of 4 people, dammit!! SETBACK #2
We made our way to the Monte Carlo Casino instead and Lauren bought me one overpriced glass of wine to celebrate and we sneakily tried  to take photos of the inside without getting caught. We decided we should have a little bet but after losing €40 to electronic blackjack in about 2 mins, I decided luck wasn't on my side today.

We headed back to our hostel to get ready for a night out. We were excited that they happened to be having a festival on the beach that night with 4 DJ's.
That excitement turned to dismay as we listened to what I'm sure were hits from the seventies and eighties being blasted to an eclectic crowd. It seems to be a pattern in France, the only English music on the radio is 80's…..Seeing as the "beach party" was boring we decided a drinking game of Never have I ever was in order and now have enough blackmail information on each other that we must remain friends forever!! 
We ended up walking toward Nice and found a bar that seemed busy enough had a few drinks, made a few friends and went into Nice to another club before forking out €60 cab fare to get home.
Saturday was spent on a 2.5hr train ride to Marseille then a 3 hr train to Lyon which was halfway to Paris. We were supposed to go straight to Paris but when we tried to make the reservation a few days earlier they were all booked out.  SETBACK #3

PARIS
We took an early train on the Sunday morning from Lyon to Paris and when we arrived I tried to reserve my train to London on the Tuesday, what a surprise, all booked out so now I will be staying an extra night by myself. SETBACK#4
We dropped, bags at the hostel and went exploring. Paris is beautiful, similar architecture to the French Riviera and sooo big!! We had very limited time here so had to choose wisely what we wanted to see. We went straight to the Lourve, but after seeing the line decided it was a waste of 3 hrs standing in line and instead walked from there toward Champs Eleeys stopping for crepes and coffee along the way. We did some shopping down the famous strip then headed over to the Eiffel Tower and took in the view. It is an amazing structure and allows you to see just how huge Paris is. We also decided when we saw the additional line up to the summit that we would not go, it would only be a few more metres up anyway…….. Well looking at photos later and staring at the tower for a bit, I realised we had only made it halfway!!! Seriously!!! What else is going to go wrong on this trip LOL. SETBACK#5

After the tower we took a sunset river cruise down the Seine River which was lovely and on our return the tower lit up like a christmas tree, it was just gorgeous.

We all had 1 thing we chose as a definate thing we wanted to whilst in Paris. Jori's was to visit the grave of her favourite Author, Simone De Bouvoir. Well when we arrived after travelling halfway across Paris the cemetary was closed SETBACK #6 so we had to make an early trip the next morning before the girls left. We also saw the Notre Dame Cathedral and wandered down along the Seine river for a while.

The girls left the next morning on a boat to Ireland but I had to stay an extra night in Paris as when I tried to book my train back to London I couldn't get one till the next day SETBACK #7

My one thing to do while in Paris was go to the Moulin Rouge, but when I looked at the price it was 175 Euros for dinner and the show!! SETBACK #8 so I decided that one could wait till Mum comes to Paris with me!! Right Mum?!

My last night in Paris I was by myself so went up the hill at Montmarte to try and get a view of the whole city at night. I had dinner in a nice restaurant and just wandered around. I met a nice french guy who walked around with me and took me for a glass of wine and then went back to the room to pack. While packing I realised somewhere along the way I had lost my jewellery bag with pretty much every piece of jewellery I own in it, including stuff that I had bought on this trip! SETBACK #9
The next morning I got a cab to the train station and headed back to London to face reality again. A few days later the girls arrived in London after their Ireland trip and we had one last night together. It was Jori's birthday also so we headed out to a nice wine bar, then dinner and a club afterwards. It was so great to see the girls again and we are already talking about going to Italy next year :) Even though we had a few setbacks it didn't ruin the trip at all, it was nice to travel with people who just rolled with the punches. Love you both girls and cant wait till the next chapter!!

Bye for now,
Yvette xx