Hockley Heights Gazette

'Ello everybody! Well this might take awhile because so much has happened in the last couple of weeks that I can not take in at the moment let alone write about but il try my hardest. Our odyssey began very well with our upper class cruise across the channel involving old people, newspapers and complimentary drinks.Our first few nights were enjoyable with a night in a rustic cottage and the next two in a caravan park although the breakfast for the first place was interesting because it was bread and well there wasn't much else besides cheese. I thought the French and the cheese thing was just in movies but they're actually rather obsessed with it and eat it for breakfast, lunch and tea. The next two nights were even better as there was people who spoke English. I know it had only been two days but three days of “J'adore Fromage” had already annoyed me. These were ex English people who had started a Bed and Breakfast in a small village it was situated in the central square and had neighbours like a postbox and a restaurant. The English speaking people were a good thing but the next was even weirder. That one restaurant was full of English people it was like something from a book but we were in France with no French people and the scariest thing was they were all from the same place in England! Besides that the place was nice and the room had a great shower. The next day we did cross country through France and ended up near Grenoble in the baby Alps where we stayed in a camp ground. This was probably the worst night for me but I don't know why it was just kinda bad although this time they had warm showers not like the other camp ground. During the night some “Germans” walked past our tent and yelled “SHIZER” then made a farting noise which was very funny and we don't know if they were serious but if they were, how silly! The next day was in Italy and when we got over the Alps it had suddenly become very hot which was good as it is summer. That night we stayed in a great place which was probably one of my favourites because it was on a farm type place and had a big pool. Also because that night we ate at a great pizza place (of course) in a bigger town close by and we saw a three wheeled truck. The next two nights were very scenic and pleasant and absolutely ridiculous. We were now in Tuscany in some random village stuck on a mountain which was full of goat herders and took 5 minutes to walk from one side to the other! This place was fantastic and the view was extraordinary and the apartment so-so. The apartment was actually very interesting as it was three stories but very skinny, only able to fit two rooms a floor and the stairs were so steep and didn't even look permanent. We ate in the apartment these two nights as there wasn't a restaurant in the village and took ages to get down and was loud as you have to keep honking your horn. So we were filled with excitement as we head towards Rome our first and only capital city that we visited. Our high expectations were useless in Rome as it was way better then any of us could have predicted. There wasn't anything in particular which made it so great just the whole feel of the place was great. The history was ridiculous; so ridiculous I'm not even going to talk about it, they had huge, over two thousand year old temple entrances just standing there. We had some great pizza in Rome and also some great free, cold water which would just run out of fountains, this was very handy because it was very hot. The two days in Rome were fantastic and unimaginable I still don't believe I have been to Rome! After Rome we went all the way to the top of Italy and beyond where we stayed on a lake in Switzerland which was very enjoyable. This night was in a camp ground where a man gave us some nails instead of camping pegs like we asked but oh well, he didn't speak English. The next day was cool literally HAHA (dad joke) because we went into the mountains where we saw some breathtaking views, shame it was so rainy outside the car. We then stayed in a luxury hotel near Basel which was great but expensive and we had a Chinese meal in Switzerland like every other country we go to. The next day we drove into Luxembourg which was silly cause I hadn't even heard of the place before I went. We stayed in a great place with everything a teenager could want in a house and more! And of course we had Chinese food. The next day we went into France again heading towards our last night which we were all very sad about because it so far had been so much fun and very mind opening. On that last night Dad had booked us in to a very expensive, supposedly grand place which was disappointingly non-grandish (if that makes sense). But it was still good and we went to the restaurant there and had a very interesting meal. It was a fancy French place and I started off with, well I don't know what it was, it look liked cat vomit and jelly with stale bread and that's supposed to be good I ended up laughing lucky the waitress didn't know why. I then had beef on a stick, yes i know it was fancy but me the Aussie did order the beef and that's literally what it was beef on a stick although it did have small mash weird shapes. They then brought out a red ball which was sorbet but didn't taste nice it was for cleaning your pallet or something. Then the waitress brought out more kinds of cheese then I had ever seen in my life and she got Mum and dad to choose some and one was very stinky and when I say stinky I mean it, it nearly made me vomit. So that was our French dining experience one we didn't exactly enjoy but one we will remember. So the next day we sadly headed home but before we got on that luxury cruise again we went shopping in this big place which was great because I bought lots and didn't have to pay. So that was our Summer trip over, one full of many great memories that I will remember for ever and one that was so fantastic I don't even believe I ever went!