It's been a busy few weeks! I left Paris with Leslie on an early train which I was determined to not miss. In order to get the TGV, I had to be at Gare de Lyon early - the train left at 8.20. I was staying in the suburbs so getting there involved a train and a metro. I JUST missed the first train, with the end result being I made it to the TGV at approximatelz 8.10, but still had to find Leslie, my seat etc... Thankfully someone took pity on me and let me use their phone so I found out Leslie was on the train already and all was good. Since then I've tried to be super extra early and all has gone well!
Stayed the night in Cagnes sur Mer with Leslie's family who took me to dinner in the old town, within the old castle. We were entertained by some local kids playing soccer in the courtyard. Then left the next morning for lake Como, via the Pavia Carthusian Monastery which was amazing!
Then off to Lake Como which was even more so! The first day included lots of ferry trips to visit some really amazing houses and gardens of various famous people... won't bore you with details but will include some pictures later. Then the second day was a 2 hour hike up to a lovely church with an amazing view! 
Then we went to Bellagio (across the lake) to visit some beautiful gardens, and got stuck on the wrong side of the lake with 200 other people all waiting (well, waiting in the proper Italian style) for the ferry which was very late. We eventually managed to get back to the hotel and were on our way home. I was dropped at Milano and caught a night train to Wien, where I stayed for a fairly relaxing and uneventful day before heading to Prague where I was to meet Bec and Tristan.
I think half the Italian male population under the age of 30 have gone on holidays. Every train I've gone on I've been sitting next to some, they've been in all my hostels... they're everywhere! My non-existant italian is growing ever so slightly, especially with some help from Sophia over the net! (THANK YOU!!!) Even so I found it strange that when I arrived at the
hostel in Prague (after being helped through the wonders of Prague public transport by a group of Italian backpackers) that I would find another group of Italian backpackers, only one of whom spoke any English. That being said, I hung out with them for a while, especially once they found out that a) I was alone since I had found out that Bec and Tristan would onlz arrive at 11, and b) in a few hours it would be my 21st birthday. We had cheap kiwi vodka, gummy bears and chocolate biscuits to celebrate. They were 
reluctant to let me wait for my friends alone, but failed to convince me to come out partying with them! Valentino (the one who did speak English) did manage to convince me to at least consider going to Naples... and it certainly is a tempting idea! (Since Bec has to be back at uni a whole month earlier than I do, I've got a few weeks spare.) Also in the hostel we met an eccentric group of Irish boys who celebrated my bday with me, as I was still waiting (more and more nervously) for Bec and Tristan to arrive. They finally arrived at 1:30am, the train had been delayed and then they hadn't taken the most direct route.
Prague itself for me was a mix of fascination, beautz and repulsion. The buildings themselves are amazing, but the people, mainly tourists, leave something to be desired. Within 5 minutes of arriving in the main tourist area, trying to find the hostel, I'd seen a dealer sell to two young parents (complete with toddlers in prams) outside a Maccas, as an English speaking tour of about 50 people walked past. Shops and the hostel itself regularly tried to rip us off. Our hostel was in a great location, - just near the main square, but also just across the road from Erotic City Supermarket! That being said, some of the Prague locals were very friendly - a few people tried to help me find the hostel, one woman even insisted I took her map. Another guy approached me as I was staring around and consulting the map saying, 'Don't worry I'm not trying to sell anything. I work around here and can maybe help you find what you're looking for.' He did, and 
it was greatly appreciated, but it's sad that he had to forestall my reply due of the multitude of people pushing a certain hostel, bar, pub, restaurant, strip club... black light theatre production... everything. The worst part about Prague was without a doubt the tourists. Hens nights, bucks nights, tour groups... cheap holiday, cheaper alcohol. Bad mix. Loud, rude, obscene, offensive and positively repulsive scenes ensued. And you should all know I'm not easily offended. I think the t-shirt on a group of women proclaiming "I'm 40 and very very naughty" really said it all. The men's were invariably worse.
Despite all that, Bec, Tris and I all had a really good time in Prague. It was nice to be travelling with someone else. Travelling by myself was getting a little bit lonely, especially eating alone! Bec, Tris and I went on a great walking tour of the city, got completely lost wandering around at night, ate WAY too much - constantly - but had fun and games getting any food at all at night. We seemed to be too busy doing things and only realised we hadn't eaten at 11, by which time most of the restaurants had closed the kitchen. We also went to the museum of Communism which was really really good! And our last night was also much better in terms of horrible tourists. Evidently they had all gone home, back to work, families... if they still had any!
Prague was not too bad, all in all, but we were ready to leave, so jumped on a bus to Vienna. Rejoiced at the prospect of a clean shower and sheets! Have been having a great time here, despite the fact it's been raining on and off. The rain forced us into the tram to do some
sightseeing yesterday, but we ended up with the whole tram carriage giving us a guided tour, with one old granny staying on for the entire loop of the tram telling us about the most famous cafes, oldest churches, where the Gestapo used to work... it was great! Also visited the Hundertwasser house, had Kebab for lunch and Chinese for dinner. A great day all in all! Today we had fun and games at the train station trying to organise Bec and my trip to Barcelona. All in all I think we're taking 6 trains and the journey will take 24 hours, but at least I won't be doing it by myself! Then we went to the KunstHausWien, which has a large exhibition of Hundertwasser paintings, and also had a special exhibition of Giger's work, who designed all the aliens from Alien. Scary. No seriously, that guy has MAJOR unresolved issues... Bec's not sure that description expresses it enough but it will have to do - I don't want impressionable people like my parents and grandparents learning bad words.Well, that will have to do it for this blog I guess! Got a few more days here in Vienna, then off to Barcelona (hopefully meeting Shannon there!) and Valencia for the Tomatina festival. Bec and I bought ourselves some 35csk (about $2.50) clothes in preparation! Then the vague plan is to go to Milano and maybe Naples! Then back to Paris to pick up my stuff, and on to Berlin and Potsdam to hopefully find a place to live! :) Thanks for all your emails! And if any of you want postcards, email or post me a comment with your address! :)
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