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Interwail of a time

I wrote this as a diary as we were travelling. Some entries I wrote on the day, some the next, others I just wrote notes and finished them the following summer from memory. I'm sure it's full of mistakes and typos, but it was fun to write and fun to live.

The beginning...

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02/07/19- The Eurostar-"hold your breath"

Trains- 3

A united departure, in true form we did not manage it. But once we picked Ollie up, two stops later, we were ready to go. I averaged a nap per train, whilst the boys played cambio and Issy raced through the beginning of her first book. We supposed that perhaps all this would start to feel real once we reached France, for now it felt no different from carrying our bags to school on a six lesson day.

It appears as though a lack of school has put our brains on standby with my asking, "the eurostar is a tunnel right, not a train on a ferry", of which a confused conor only heard the last clause and began wondering at a mechanism that would line up the tracks, port to ferry. The eurostar is nuts and I haven't yet looked into how they make it so smooth at high speeds but I am going to look it up (perhaps MAGLEV??), and how they made the tunnel in the first place, Conor suggested they hired Moses whilst I suggested they had a guy with a hoover like at the dentist.

Paris is super busy; upon arrival at Paris Nord we had to walk for twenty minutes through hectic crowds to get to our hostel, I felt sure we'd lose something or someone, but we made it. Our hostel is cute, a room to ourselves, a shower with decent pressure and aside from a distinct lack of kettle we are very happy.

We walked up to the Sacre Coeur, looking for entertainment and hopefully a cheap pizza, and spent a beautiful evening drinking cold beer eating warm pizza and listening to two speakers playing opposing French techno really loud. We completed our evening by walking over to the Moulin Rouge, Issy and I politely declining the generous offer of free entry to a fine looking establishment entitled "hot pussys" along the way.

Today has felt surprisingly easy and we are looking forward to what's ahead.

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03/07/19- Internailed

Metro- 2

Today we nailed it. Setting off later than expected after we failed to set an alarm we were keen to get going. Picking up our croissants from a supermarket we marched high speed past many an expensive looking boulangerie drooling. We stopped only for the crazy Parisian drivers and a coffee. We visited the Tuileris gardens, and peered at the Louvre, before heading for the Musee D'Orsay.

In a gallery full of beautiful art Issy and I became acutely aware of the teenage nature of the boys we chose to travel with. Once they became bored of the boobs in almost every painting, the conversation turned to lunch. With Issy and I determined to get our free tickets' worth we continued on to the Van Gogh and Monet galleries until a game of bogies within our party threatened to get embarrassingly loud.

Lunch was ham baguettes from the supermarket and a long sit down in the shade of the Tuileris gardens, entertaining ourselves with watching someone clean the bronze statue of a naked lady.

The afternoon consisted of a long and hot walk down the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triumph (which is much bigger than it looks on TV). On the metro home, Issy put us to shame again with her amazing ability in both French and solving problems, managing to woo the woman on the counter into changing our incorrect tickets.

After some napping and yoga, having spent yet another day well under budget, we decided we deserved a proper meal so went out for a steak frites, before heading home with a crate of beer to play cambio.

Today we nailed tourism and nailed team work. Legs are going to ache tomorrow!

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04/07/19- Inter-derailed

Metro- 4

Bus- 1

(written the following afternoon)

We were surprised to find ourselves saddened by how easy it was to check out of the little room we had called our home for two nights, but headed out with our heavy packs to the station. After a game of tetris we left our rucksacks in one tightly filled locker and set off in search of a nice boulangerie to treat ourselves before a long train ride that night. On the search for cake (or as the French say petit déjeuner), we discovered a park with both red pandas and a physics lab, covering all interest bases within the group. We trekked pretty far before we found the droid we were looking for, a cute bakery in the sun with cheap but awesome cakes.

Seeing notre dame for the first time was bizarre because although we knew its spire was missing it was still an awesome structure without it.

It wasn't until we reached Le Jardin de Luxembourg at about 1 o'clock that our chilled day ended and our gong show commenced. Sitting down in the shade of a palm tree we heard an unnerving "Oh God" from Issy; bad news: our overnight train from Paris to Milan was canceled; even worse news: their solution was a replacement bus service. With just over six hours until our train was due to leave the shit had hit the fan. We completely ignored the beauty of Le Jardin de Luxembourg whilst we sat on our phones looking for cheap flights or a replacement train, but to no avail. Looked like the bus was inevitable. Our moods thoroughly dampened, we decided to try not to let this ruin our remaining time in Paris so headed off for the Eiffel tower. But sat eating ice lollies in the surrounding park, the tower was not the only thing looming over us.

Eventually we headed back to the station to try and figure out where to catch our bus from. Arriving at the desk we weren't shocked to see a queue but considering our tickets belonged to carriage number 83 we were surprised at how few people there were.

At this point I took some dramamene so my memory from here on in is somewhat hazy.

From our nice cool(ish) spot in the station we were moved outside to a pavement in the sun where we discovered the other 82 carriages worth of people and four very stressed company reps having their worst day ever. Once we found our assigned coach we were handed a warmish tuna sandwich, a small bottle of water and a fleecy blanket ready for 860km journey in a 27°C bus. Once the driver stopped stalling the bus and set off, it was pretty hellish but we all agreed it could definitely have been a worse twelve hour journey. The only real low point was when both the company rep and bus driver began smoking, and when complained to, put the AC on so high- in order to blow the smoke away- that everyone on the bus was left shivering.

We considered titling this chapter interfailing but decided that we didn't fail, we were just derailed by external forces. Disaster struck but we dealt with it, and I'd count that as a win.

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05/07/19- Takeaway pizza is Italian Cuisine

Bus- 2 (if you count that we were on a bus when the date changed)

Train- 1

We arrived in our stinky and freezing bus in Milan shortly after our connection. Great. But in no time Issy had us new reservations and we all got some breakfast. Hopping onto the new train we marveled at the beauty that is Italian trains. Comfy, clean and even better they brought us free coffee, this interrailing thing is a lark.

We hopped on another bus to the apartment where we met our host and home for the night. The apartment was so lovely that we felt guilty turning up smelling of sweat and second hand smoke having not been able to wash for over 24 hours. Even more exciting than our arrival was the presence of a kettle, however our hopes were dashed when we discovered it was broken. After bagsying rooms and showering we discovered a pile of takeaway menus and decided to order pizza to the apartment because it was simply too hot to move. As soon as we were fed we all fell into a food coma/sleep-deprived lull. Around mid afternoon Tom, Beeley, Conor and I went to fetch ingredients for a home cooked dinner, Tom and I wowed with both our aprons and our cooking.

In the evening we walked up to Piazza Michelangelo to watch the sun set and drink booze and coffee. The chilled day we deserved after the stressful bus fiasco.

(an edit: it was discovered later that when we had changed our tickets we had been upgraded to first class… Well we deserved some good luck)

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06/07/19- Hot and Sweaty

Bus-1

Train-3

After three attempts from Issy we were up and, quite a while later, we were out of the apartment. Leaving the door we walked for 2 minutes to the bus stop by which point we were already drenched from head to toe in sweat. These packs may have seemed easy in the mild Harrogate climate but in 30°C+ they were not!

Florence was nice, the old buildings made it feel like you were in a Dan Brown novel (or, I have been told, Assassin's Creed). But in this heat we were all wilting a little, especially me. We stopped at a funky little ice cream store, I went for red wine, and white chocolate and popcorn, whereas Issy went for Ed Sheeran (apple, cinnamon and ginger). Aside from Conor being attacked by pigeons, Issy sitting in the only muddy puddle Florence had to offer, and our group being confronted but not falling for a scammer who we subsequently saw get someone else, Florence presented nothing more of note. It was a cute city but we were glad our stay wasn't longer.

We headed back to the station looking forward to a train like the previous day, only to discover that due to the chaos of the day before our previous train had been upgraded, and now we were back in standard class. It had felt too good to be true! (although we would all still pick Trenitalia over Northern Rail any day).

Stepping out of the train the air was sticky, making you feel as though you were sweating profusely, and though prepahs we were, the seaside humidity was the main culprit of the clamminess; despite it being our 5th day I still haven't adjusted to expect the heat wave that hits you as soon as you leave an air conditioned space.

We arrived at the hostel in Venice, on the 9th floor it felt more like a hotel than a hostel with a funky interior and a great bathroom. We wanted to check out Venice but tired and hungry we decided to just head in for food and then go home. We consumed a lot of food, Ollie in particular ate the large calzone I had even seen.

Venice is cool, the canals are crazy. It's like nowhere else I've been. But aside from the lively atmosphere around the street basketball competition we stumbled upon, the town was ghostly quiet, especially for a Saturday night. Perhaps we will see more of Venice and the crowds it draws tomorrow when we come back to investigate further.

Today felt like a bit of a non-day because we stretched our time out rather thin, however looking back on it we did and saw lots of cool stuff and that's what this trip is about.

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07/07/19- Interraining

Train-2

Starting with a pretty crap but very filling €7 hotel breakfast we were ready for a day of properly exploring Venice. It was our latest start yet not getting out of the building until twelve, delayed also by the rail strikes and the slowest ticket machines ever it, we were keen to get going.

The streets of Venice are chaotic, full of tourists (20 million a year according to Tom), and a muggy type of warm very different from the blistering dryness of Florence. Fun fact: There are 417 bridges in Venice but 72 are private.

St Mark's Square was somewhat underwhelming under cloud cover, the big grey buildings, dirt, and immense flock of pigeons gave it an air of Billingham town centre. Kids and adults alike allowing black and dirty-grey birds to land on their hands, arms, and heads, even paying money to buy feed to attract them. Gross. I couldn't help but imagine the chaos that would ensue if a Greggs was introduced to the square.

We paid to go up the tower overlooking the square, it was the newest addition to the square as it was rebuilt in 1912 after it collapsed a few years previously. The view from the top was awesome but not as great as the cool breeze! Tom read us many interesting facts from Google as we explored, but he maintained that it was tradition to drink from the Canal on a visit. Whilst Tom pretended to drink from it Beeley heckled him with his trademark "see it off" which had us all chucking. We walked around the bay and sat at the edge laughing at Tom soaking his shoes in the sea, telling him it would be bad to get his shoes wet at this stage of the trip as they'd smell really bad for the next two weeks.

The weatherfront we had thought was coming for us had blown straight over, our gamble of 50% of no rain so no coats had paid off!

We stumbled across a cool looking art gallery and after discovering that it was both free and air conditioned (our two main criteria) we headed in. Some were really fun like a glitter installation and others super interesting like tanks that changed the circadian rhythms of a type of Jasmine plant in order that it released it's scent. I could have spent hours in there reading about each piece but the boys were getting restless (read accosted by security) and we were all quite hungry.

Given the early start the next day we decided an early night was in order, we would head home and pick up some take away pizza on the way but as we stepped out of the gallery we were surprised to see it had gone dark and thick droplets of rain had begun to fall. With just over half an hour walk back to the station (provided we didn't get lost in the maze that is Venice) we were going to have to move pretty quickly. We only made it 10 minutes before the heavens opened. All of a sudden the bustling city had emptied and there were only six English teenagers, unafraid of 'a bit of rain' left in the square. The thin streets turned wind tunnels channeled walls of heavy rain at us and we danced about like maniacs but as the neatly placed chairs and tables started to fly across the square Issy and Ollie had the good sense to take shelter. Conor, Tom and I however continued with our madness under the conclusion that there was no way we were coming out of today dry so consequently we should enjoy the wet. Only when it started hailing ice the size of 20 cent pieces did we finally take shelter, we weren't about to explain concussion by hail on a 30°C day to the insurance company.

Eventually the rain became lighter, more like the drizzle we are used to, so we made a break for the station. Issy was the only one of us who still had dry(ish) shoes until she was so busy laughing at how wet we were to see the massive puddle in front of her.

Finally we got back to our dorm, showered, stuffed shoes, and Conor and I went to fetch pizza from the end of the street which we all ate on the floor. Turns out finding newspaper with which to stuff shoes at a late hour on a Sunday evening is a pretty tricky escapade, so instead I ransacked the paper towel dispenser in the lobby, much to the amusement of a bunch of drunk and sunburnt women, and the nice Canadian couple in the lift. A nice warm end to a thoroughly damp day.

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08/07/19- Is this the way to Ljubljana? *to the tune of Amarillo*

Bus-1

Train-1

An early(ish) start on our way to Ljubljana. We mourned the last Trenitalia train we would ride on our trip but not before stealing the magazines from the carriage to stuff Beeley's shoes with (as they were a stinking biohazard).

A rather quiet bus ride later we arrived in Ljubljana. After dropping our bags off at our unfortunately named Hostel Dic we grabbed lunch to eat by the river. Before going back to our dorms. For the first time this trip our group has been split into two separate dorms in a hostel, the divide being Beeley, Conor and I, and Issy, Ollie and Tom. This generates a strange dynamic as plans have to be formulated in advance and it feels a bit like a school trip (this could also be to do with the fact we are staying in what appears to be boarding school accommodation).

The storm from Venice appeared to be following us as when we were settling down in our rooms the thunder started rolling and once again the heavens opened, except this time we were prepared. Opting for clothes and shoes that dry easily, as opposed to being waterproof, we headed up to the castle to enjoy the storm in all its glory, much to the amusement of the crowd of our fellow hostelmates who were huddled in the entrance for shelter and a cig. The rain and cold however was not what Issy, Ollie and Beeley signed up for when they agreed to go interrailing in Europe in the summer, so it wasn't long before they headed home to begin redrying their clothes. Conor, Tom and I however continued up the hill splashing in every puddle we could find until the rain ceased, the clouds broke and we were offered the most beautiful view of a gently steaming Ljubljana.

For dinner we met the others in a nice little restaurant where we ate the most amazing stew and dumplings (served in a cauldron), before running home through even more rain.

This storm we've been encountering has taught us two things: number one, you can't waste time waiting for the storm to pass. Number two, the only real waterproof thing you wear is your skin.

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09/07/19- Innit Bled

Bus- 2

(happy one week anniversary to us)

We had the best breakfast yet today (because it was free), before heading off to catch the bus to Lake Bled. I'm sure the landscape on the way was filled with immense natural beauty however all we saw was the back of our eyelids, napping is the new socialising.

Lake Bled was even more beautiful than we had imagined, and although the air was a little colder than we had been used to after Italy, the water was the warmest I think I've ever swum in (26°C). An attempt was made by the others to swim over to the island in the middle of the lake, but no one was successful (although I bet Issy would have done it had she had someone to swim with).

Whilst the boys went to fetch ice cream, Is and I swam out into the lake, took our swimming costumes off and swam as nature intended (which was all fun and games until I'd put her costume back on inside out). When we got back from our swim the boys had finished their ice creams so were ready for lunch. We ordered six burgers and six half litre tankard of beer and demolished them in almost record time- swimming is hard work. To digest our food before we swam again we walked the duck boards around Lake Bled, but once we got back the only person who fancied another swim was me as the water was getting choppy. Again we missed most of the view to sleep but at least this time it was well deserved.

In the evening we headed out to the centre of Ljubljana in search of dinner. Still digesting my burger I opted to go for an explore whilst the others ate. Ljubljana is a stunning city, the old buildings are beautiful, the streets were full of music and I stumbled across many a cute square and interesting side street. There was a spooky little park with a life like statue of a man and a load of stray cats wandering around it as if on guard.

After their dinner I met back up with the group, our original intention had been to explore further but it began to rain and we're all getting a bit sick of drying our shoes.

On the way home the first proper argument of the trip began. When the slower party (Issy, Conor and I) reached the hostel Ollie and Beeley were sat in the entrance without Tom. I'm still not entirely sure what the argument was about but Issy was dragged into it too. With the dorms being split Conor, Beeley and I were left in the dark for the most part, but I feel a good night's sleep will help put whatever the problem is into perspective and enable a resolution. So for now we've put on our after sun (we're all a little rosey after a day swimming), cleaned our teeth and will see what tomorrow brings.

Other than the argument today has been by far my favorite day, swimming, exploring and two naps. A winning combo!

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10/07/19- Wien will we ever get there?

Train- 2

Metro- 5

We can't both wear beige

Museum

Ollie window

Boys from huddesfield and gals from spain

Pasta in the bath

[So folks, from here on in the blog gets patchy, we were more and more tired and going to bed later, and I quite often found myself writing this with my eyes closed. So I wrote myself notes, some make sense, others.... So here is what I can remember]

From Ljubljana to Vienna was quite a long journey, on a pretty rickety train, with Beeley's biohazardous shoes. And consequently the day did not start off well.

By this point in the trip most of us had already started recycling our wardrobe and the boys were starting to discover that they owned exactly the same clothes, with group laundry becoming a thing the only way to decide whose was who's identical white t-shirt, was the M&S, Top Man, Next check, and that didn't always work. But a highlight of the day was the boys playfully arguing about wearing the same colour "we can't both wear beige".

I had even recommended a museum called the mumok, a modern art museum in the Museums Quarter. Not only was it free and air conditioned but it was awesome. Issy and I spent a long time in the Vertigo exhibition, a collection of audio and visual illusions. By the time the museum closed we felt sufficiently dizzy, so decided to get an aperol spritz to still our heads. Where were the boys at the point, you might wonder? Well them all being tall, well brought up adults, with more than a week's worth of 'solo' travel experience under there belts, we thought it would be okay to leave them in the flat with instructions to cook dinner... Apparently we were wrong.

Whilst we were sat in the square as the sun set drinking our cocktails, Issy received a text from Ollie that read 'I've fallen out of the window of our 5 floor apartment building'. Apparently the punchline was 'fortunately it was out of a ground floor window' however Ollie had overlooked to send the punchline leaving Issy panicking. None of the boys would pick up their phones (I found out after they were in the middle of a serious game of wist). Eventually Conor picked up his phone, but had no idea why I sounded concerned, asking him to give the phone to Ollie and handing mine to Issy, led to an uncomfortable conversation and an angry metro ride back across the city. This was a weak point in the trip, fortunately I had finished my quince spritz.

Once we arrived home issy and ollie went out into the stairwell for what I hoped wasn't ollie's murder. Meanwhile I ate the pasta the boys had cooked for our dinner. Whilst I can't remember what 'pasta in the bath' relates I still giggle at Tom's "you're only ever as good as your last pasta bake" quote. It has stuck with me.

Once dinner was over I went out into the corridor to see if we were still a group of 6. The good news was Issy and Ollie appeared to be in better spirits, the bad news was there was black smoke coming up the stairwell from the floor below. Having already checked the fire exits I knew this building wasn't well equipped for an escape so I ran down to the floor to see what was going on. There was smoke coming out of the window of the flat directly beneath ours. Walking up the the window I hear a crash and then "f*ckin' 'ell". Not only was it English but it was a Yorkshire accent. Asking though what was left of the window if everything was alright Issy and I were relieved to discover that the smoke was just from the fried frozen fish fingers the boys were making in the kitchen. The eleven or twelve lads were from Huddersfield, we had already invited the Spanish girls next door round for our evening card games so we invited them along too.

Despite the girls not showing up and half of the lads bailing because of food poisoning (fancy that...) it was still fun to have a bigger group than just the six of us, and they loved cambio so much we wrote down the rules to pass it on.

This was an odd day, tensions were high but being in a bigger group (and witnessing the sheer dipshittery of other lads our ages) made everything feel a bit better.

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