 |
 |
 |
| 17/9/02 - Florence Let me hear all you party people scream! ... Coz I'm way too knackered to even let out a meager yelp! It's been a while since I've had a chance to update this thing... The past week of The Last Stand has really progressed full steam ahead. We've only got a week to cover Rome, Florence and Venice - and the experts reckon that you need at least a week to explore Rome itself! I guess we shouldn't have arsed about in the Greek Islands so much! Let's start at the top shall we. When I last ranted on, we were finishing up in Santorini and about to head over to the mainland of Italy via Athens and then Patras (see our tour map in Miramar). Funny/dodgy story about a cab ride from Athens airport to the train station: The cab driver was The Charlatan of charlatans - I'm telling you this guy was a complete clown! Anyway he bundled all four of us into this old shitbox Volvo of a cab (it should have only carried two of us) and proceeded to go make his way into the heart of Athens along the main (four lane) freeway at 60km/hr - the speed limit was at least 120km/hr! When he got above 60 he even threw the gear into neutral. Upon getting into Athens city he took us on the "scenic" tour before delivering us to the train station after a total drive of 1.75 hours (he initially said it would take 40 minutes!). Then this frocchio had the gall to charge us 30 Euro when the meter clearly stated 15 Euro! He got away with it too! The local high-jinks of The Last Stand to date have not stopped there! Another funny/dodgy story: During our brief stop-over in Bari (the destination port in Italy) we were witness to an action-intense, COPS-style arrest of a CD thief in the middle of the street. It seems everywhere we go, the scene is never short of drama! ... And the weather is fantastic too. So far we have had too short spells of rain during The Last Stand - one on our first night in Athens (when we were too pissed to care) and a light afternoon shower in Rome (when we really needed a drenching to cool off). Which brings us to Rome. I believe the saying goes "Rome wasn't built in a day". Well we sure as hell tried to see every tourist site there in one day! About 16 hours straight on our feet was the conservative estimate. Needless to say that we were absolutely stuffed at the end of it all! No really, Rome was magnificent (just like The 7!) - my only regret being that we did not "allocate" more time to immerse ourselves deeper in it. However I did throw a couple of Euro into the Fontain di Trevi which means I am destined to return there one day. The highlight for me was The Vatican - in particular St. Pietro's Basilica - stunning is not even getting close to how awe-inspired I was! After Rome we had to hot-foot it to Monza (just outside of Milan) for the Italian Formula One Grand Prix. The best weekend of the Tour so far... by far! Not only were we witness to the mecca of world motor sport, we witnessed a very favourable result (Ferrari 1-2... although Schuey winning would have been perfect), an absolute glamour (Megan Gale was in attendance... man she is worshipped - and I mean worshipped - in Italy!), and plenty of eye-candy (the Italians sure know how to put on the entertainment at the "stalls" around the track!). We also got drenched in the champagne from Schuey's bottle at the presentation, Wilbur got the best of tours down pit lane, and most importantly we hooked up with Magnificent 7 member number 7 Dougy (absolutely corker to see you again mate... looking forward to the Octoberfest!). The only downers were that Bugsy got his video camera flogged, and 30 Euro was nicked from Wilburs wallet (at least the thieving bastards had the courtesy to return his wallet with his credit cards!). Florence was next on the agenda, and touring this city followed much the same trend as touring Rome. One day to get as much covered as possible. Florence really is a beautiful city... and a reasonable size too (I can't imagine that it's much bigger than Adelaide). Plenty of art here - we got a great gander of Michaelangelo's David which is even greater than it's cracked up to be! But by the end of the day I can honestly say that I'm completely overloaded with art... If I walk into another museum I am going to go 'nanas! What I'll never tire of is the pizza and gelati here (and the rest Italy in general). Italians take food to another level (almost spiritual), and chances are I'll return home looking like a big, fat blob of uncooked pizza dough (what'll you think of me then Bella? ...BJ better start making "arrangements" mate!)! Tomorrow onto Florence, then onto the Octoberfest. In the meantime, chances are you will receive (or have already received) a postcard from the undisputed champion of The Magnificent 7. If you haven't then no doubt one is in the works. Till next the next Bat-update on this Bat-channel, be cool. Ciao for now! |
| 10/9/02 - Santorini Back in Santorini after a very loose three nights in Ios. Out of action for two days after belting out the first and third nights... crazy! You've heard about the first night. As for the third night, a similar amount of fuel was juiced (I never learn!) with less potentially disasterous results (maybe I do!). I could'nt be stuffed going into the nitty-gritties, but aside from the totally bogus hangover the next day it was another great night chalked up by Panama Jack! Cheers Michael, Barry and especially Damo... mate you probably won't ever see this (it's not like I gave you the address to this site like an intelligent person would!) but you're a bloody champ and a worthy adversary in the disciplines of boozing and dancing like a mad mofo on top of bars! For all you back at home - enjoy the photos! Peace out. |
|
| 7/9/02 - Ios I am f**king hung... over! Oh my God last night has got to be the biggest night of my overseas sojourn so far! Let me give you a brief summary of how the night unfolded (what I can remember of it anyway!): After settling in here at The Purple Pig accomodation by the beach at Ios, we took a dip in the water and generally chilled out on the warm sand (by the way I finished It's Not About The Bike... absolutely killer!). A couple of hours later we headed back to our lodgings and started up a game of Gin Rummy (official card game of The Last Stand) with Michael our next-door neighbour... He's a top bloke from Sydney. Pistacios, Canadian Club, Vodka and Bacardi were all downed (substantial amounts of each) to start the evening rolling. Then it was off to the bar at The Purple Pig for happy hour. A note about the Purple Pig: It's tailored for Aussies in a big way... The atmosphere is fantastic (cf. The General Havelock on Super Sunday) so we all fired up and got smashed on Heinken (two euro for half a litre!). Then it was off to town to rock the Casbah! The rest of my account is very sketchy. What I remember is us all getting separated but still having the good presence of mind to represent The Magnificent 7 in fine form individually! I consumed heaps of beer, spirits and shotties (arguably the most alcohol I have had in one night... moving from one club to another. I got kicked out of one for extreme drunk and disorderly behaviour (bullshit in my opinion!), shared the most sensational yiros with Bugs (and some chick he was trying to pull!) then called it quits at about four in the morning. I walked the wrong way back and before I knew it I was in some Port about 10km away from where we are staying! So I gave up and passed out on a wall. When I woke up it was about eight in the morning... and I figured I should make an effort to flag down a cab to take me to The Purple Pig! Wondered around like an idiot for about half an hour before I ran into a guy whose job it is to wait at the Port and convince travellers getting off the ferry (only way to get to Ios) to stay at The Purple Pig and then take them there. Basically I just got into his van (didn't bother asking if I could) and he got me home. Next thing I remember is getting up at one in the afternoon! What a night! Maybe I'll take it easy for the next couple... |
|
| 5/9/02 - Santorini G'day, G'day, Our third day in Santorini and (big surprise) we're still having a corker time! The weather, scenery, and women (my God there is so much eye candy!) have maintained their end of the bargain in keeping things absolutely choice. And for the first time so far on tour we have curbed the boozing (if only a little)! This sober experience makes for a real appreciation of the finer (which are also the simpler) things here... and in life in general. Sunrises at 6:30am (who would have thought I could religiously get up that early... I'm usually the first one!); swimming in the glassy, crystal clear waters of Perissa beach; climbing up near vertical flights of stairs (all 250 of them twice over) to get to the top of the cliff at Oia before toasting a spectacular sunset with 500ml Heinekens (AUD $2.60 each!). This is the life I tell you! I don't know what it is: the beauty here, the fact that we're doing this - independent of parents, a forced re-evaluate of my priorities in life, or the fact that I have been inspired beyond comprehension in my reading of Lance Armstrong's "It's Not About The Bike"... I feel I have really started to appreciate the simpler yet finer things in life, and in doing so mature a little along the way. Or maybe that's all a bunch of crap, and it's just the alcohol from the first three nights on tour still talking! Thanks for everyone logging on and leaving messages on our Guestbook. I should take this opportunity to mention that the length of the messages you can leave here is very limited... for longer messages email via the provided individual links. Personal shout-outs to Wacko Macko, and Isabelle - thanks guys for saying hello, and Izzie thanks for putting me in the shit with my girlfriend! Dhar good work with the school work... keep it up and say hi to Mum for me in the way only you know how! BJ thanks for keeping Stef occupied... it's your great persona (in a blond bombshell frocchio kind of way) that will get her through the torment of my absence! Much appreciated buddy - you do all the work and I'll reap the benefits on my return. Finally, Bella hope you are keeping well. Make sure you keep Kieran... and BJ at a distance! (Just kidding :-) ) Miss you heaps, love you lots! Andio y'all! |
|
| 29/9/02 - Amsterdam Amsterdam has been awesome... A really fitting end to The Last Stand. The Heineken factory/museum was great. |
| 27/9/02 - Berlin First and foremost I must apologise for the poor maintenance of the site. Once again a very hectic schedule has seen regular updates of Magnificent 7 dot com drop in the priority stakes. (If this is the trend of all big dot coms then I guess this could be construed as a good thing!) Throw in a heap of fuel at the Oktoberfest, piss-poor weather, and primal behaviour at Thalkirchen Camping Ground, and not surprisingly the care-factor meter registers a big zero with regards to any form of correspondence. The last week or so truly has been a fight for survival! Fortunately, in magnificent style, we have all survived to fight (down) another stein and recount our harrowing tale... It all begins in Munich. We had just finished a whirl-wind tour of Italy at Mach 3 speeds finishing up in Venice, which really put a cherry on top of that leg of the tour. I was always expecting Venice to be a stand-out destination but I don't think you can really gage its splendour without seeing it in the flesh. And yes we did do a gondola ride... and yes it is all it's cracked up to be! Anyway back to Munich: The first shock to the system when we entered Germany was the weather. Up 'til now we were blessed with an average temperature of 26 - blue skies, fantastic sun. Then as we approached Munich we were hit with rain. Bloody rain! And lot's of it. See you later sunshine and glorious weather! This set the backdrop to 99% of our stay in Munich. The first day of Oktoberfest was OK (cold but OK), but from then on it was Water World 24-7 until the latter half of Oktoberfest Day 4, when the rain actually deteriorated to hail... and then snow! So we're in Munich in the foulest of foul weather, camping in leaky tents by PP (Piss-Poor) Travel at Thalkirchen Camping Ground, or as Wilbur so aptly named it "Loose City". A bit about Loose City. It is full of feral Aussies being outdone by loose South Africans, further being outdone by even looser Kiwis! And at all hours of the night too! So if a river flowing through your tent didn't wake you up in the middle of the night, a pissed idiot at 3am would. That said, Oktoberfest was great. The atmosphere - which was wonderfully set by the Germans (great people!) was awesome. Drinking steins (proper 1L jobs) is a phenomenon in itself, let alone the absence of a hang-over the next morning because the beer (brewed specially for the festival) does not contain any preservatives! To be honest I was at the end of my tether at the end of our four nights (cut back from 5 because we're not that hard!), but it was a great experience that I will cherish for the rest of my time. Other sights to note were the Neuschwanstein castle (even though we saw cazzis because the weather was rank), and Dachau Concentration Camp. I did go in the end (for those of you who were following the drama building up to our tour). And it did affect me immensely... so much so that I was in no mood to kick on for the rest of the day. The words "Never Again" will not have as profound as affect on me for as long as I live. Following Oktoberfest we sought asylum in Stuttgart (another pleasantly calm and clean German city) for a couple of nights in some quality lodgings... I will never take hot showers, warm beds, and clean bathroom facilities for granted again! Along the way we visited the homes of Porsche and Mercedes... I have never seen Wilbur go nuts like that! And now we've made a last-minute adjustment to our itinerary to include Berlin, the center of German efficiency! Gotta jet now. Dharshan Happy Birthday for 23/9, and have fun at your formal! Happy Birthday to you too Kathy! Take it easy. |
|
|
| 2/9/02 - Athens It's on for young and old! The Last Stand has kicked off in fine form with a hot and sweaty... and polaxed stop-over in Singapore. Highlights were axed Gin Rummy during the flight. Downers were West End Export tinnies during the flight, dodgy Singaporian taxi drivers who wanted to sell us "stuff" and take us around Singapore for a buck an hour (... yeah bullshit mate!) and "No Teeth Man", who dished out suspect authentic cuisine. Well done to The Scum, bringing it home by 16 points over Pembroke on Sunday. You guys are legends and I love you's all (except for you's two Russy and Huppatz... you're both arseholes!). Shout-outs to Abs... Happy 21st mate! Hope you had a great one... I downed a can of Tiger Lager 12,000ft up in honour of you! G'day Bertie - Hope you're tuning in as you promised. I also hope you're coping having to put up with Damith without my support! Hey Bubsy! I trust everything is going well. Aunty Gopi checked in and made sure that everything's cool my neck of the woods. Keep your head down, and carry it over the line for the home side! Reardon, Mick and Glen: Behave yourselfs... coz I'm not! Hey stugatz (Glen)! You would lose your mind with the number of minchias here! Mick and Mike please check on my email RE progress with those frocchios at Gemstar and leave me a status report at [email protected]. |
| 3/9/02 - Santorini G'day Crew, Since I lasted logged on (which was yesterday arvo) general productivity has slumped (if you don't include the massive efforts I have put in on the throne every morning... bloody incredible how much I can off-load in one sitting!)... mainly due to extreme intoxication. We actually had three full sessions yesterday in which we consumed beer, a bottle of Malibu, half a bottle of Vodka, half a bottle of Canadian Club before having an Ouzo nightcap (lethal stuff - the final nail in the coffin!). No surprise then that as soon as we touched base here in Santorini, we strolled down to the beach for a lazy afternoon of frolicking in the beautiful, clear and still waters, and working on our tans by the waters' edge... not that I really needed any work on mine! Santorini is gorgeous. As soon as we get some photos done I'll post them here. There's no point me raving on about them - you really need to see it for yourselves. A picture says a thousand words. Women in Santorini are also gorgeous... and often naked... enough said. Plans for tonight are to chill out for the first time in this trip... at the rate we're going I'll need a holiday from this holiday (hint, hint all you guys at e Info!)! Andio! |
|