Bonjour, top 'o the mornin', ello, & how do you do!
Over 26 days I had the pleasure of touring through France, Ireland, Scotland, and England! I have never been on so many types of transportation, including many busses! I'm going to attempt to count them all at the end, for now here are some pictures of all of the different ways I traveled to and from each lovely city and country. I'd have to say overall, trains were my favorite. With the Eurail pass it was simple; being able to board whichever train you like without a reservation makes for simple traveling! 2nd favorite would have to be riding in taxis in Ireland, Scotland, and England on the opposite side of the road with the driver on the right! 3rd favorite would be going upstairs on most of the public busses! Okay, onto a mini photo journal of my adventures.
First stop: Paris, France
Paris is a huge, bustling place and was just overwhelming and wonderful all at the same time! My friends and I decided the underground Metro was the easiest way to get around. There are stations all over the city and each one way ticket was around $2. We bought packs of 10 and it was quick and easy to go in and out of the stations. For the most part, the trains were on time and would come about every 7 minutes. During the weekdays, it was mostly business people heading to work, and the weekends it would be full of families, couples, teenagers, etc.
Here's what a Metro ticket looks like:
Metro maps were posted all over the place which was so helpful! Our apartment was closest to the Arts Et Metier station in the lower right corner:
Busy station:
On the Metro! And enjoy a lovely surprise below...
One day it was a bit rainy so we decided to hop on a water taxi that takes you all around the city to the famous sites along the Seine! Then of course it got sunny after we boarded :) :
We ventured by Metro on a day trip to the Palace of Versailles. The gardens were unbelievable and huge, so we rented bikes!
On Bastille Day, which is France's independence day, the Metro was SO crowded! Some stations were even closed because of safety hazards with too many people underground. We took the Metro as far as we could go and hopped off to go see the firework show at the Eiffel Tower!
From Paris we flew up to Dublin (after almost missing our flight...)! From the airport we took a very convenient bus to the City Centre and were able to find our hostel pretty easily! For the most part we walked around Dublin since it was so pedestrian friendly and not too big. We took a train down to Cork to go see the Blarney Castle! Here is a picture of our lovely bus!
Next stop: Ireland
And what better way to wait for the bus...mmm
From Cork, we took yet another train up to Galway on the west coast of Ireland. While there we took a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher also by bus! The windy roads to the cliffs were miniature, yet somehow this huge bus maneuvered around every single one...:/
Next stop: Scotland
A few trains and busses later, I headed over to Scotland by ferry! Walking on I was expecting a little tiny boat that I would FREEZE on as we got tossed around the Irish Sea. Little did I know the ferry was actually 10 stories and basically a cruise ship!
After arriving and taking a quick bus ride, I was in Glasgow, Scotland! I spent the day there and then took a bus to the.....you guessed it....bus station! Bus is the word of the day :)
Here's my bus fare, a mere 1 pound 85 pence!
From there, I payed 6 pounds to go over to Edinburgh which was about an hour ride. After walking my poor feet off there I decided to take my first double decker, open air bus tour! Which really is a fun way to see the city from above!
Right above my head, on the hill, you can see the Edinburgh Castle in the distance!
Next stop: England
After my day in Edinburgh I took 2 trains down to England and made my first stop in Liverpool! From Liverpool I took a taxi to the train station.
I felt like royalty sitting in the backseat of this precious little taxi!
After a few days outside of London, it was time for me to hit the Olympic city!! I was really excited for this last week of my trip in such a happening place! I was a little bit nervous to tackle the "tube" which is London's metro system that goes all over the city. I got a little map and loaded up my "Oyster card" rather than buying the individual tickets like in Paris.
Special "Olympic Lanes" only. Big fines if you drive here if you're not part of the games!
A double decker bus with the lovely St. Paul's Cathedral in the background
Here's my Oyster card that I payed for a week of use on, so handy! You just scan it each time you go downstairs to whichever line you're using.
There were musicians all over the stations. Sometimes there would be artwork in the tube stations!
I found the tube so incredibly simple to figure out and I used it several times everyday I was there!
There was one day that the tube was really crowded and delayed because of the Olympics, so I hopped off and found a bus to take me where I wanted to go! This was my first experience on a two story indoor bus! This view is looking over Oxford Street in London, which is a major shopping area of town! (And no, I did NOT eat at KFC while I was there :) )
After a week of wandering around London and getting to know the tube, it was time for me to go home :( Yet again, there was a simple bus route that took me right to Heathrow Airport from where I was staying!
Here's my lovely luggage all set to go!
Time to do some calculations!
50+ Metro/tube rides, 17 bus rides, 11 train adventures, 6 trips by car, 5 plane flights, 5 taxi rides, 2 boat floats, 1 fun bike ride, and infinite miles of walking...
=a fantastic European holiday!!!!!
I miss it already!
Love,
BusGirl
