After a night in Florence our course took us towards the lakes and mountains of Switzerland. The road wound past snow covered Alps and lush countryside before we reached the pretty lakeside town of Lucerne. We spent the afternoon relaxing, eating Swiss chocolates and wandering the quiet streets before heading across town to the unusual Lowengraben Hotel.
Converted from an old jail, the building was pretty much what you would expect: Heavy steel doorways concealing deep musky halls and small concrete rooms with barred windows. There were early 20th Century inmate uniforms and even a ball and chain on display! Lying on my hard narrow bed I kept imagining I might wake in the night to the spirit of an old prisoner, but this (and they) didn’t materialise. It was an interesting place and I would recommend the Jailhouse to those after budget accommodation with a bit of character, in quite an expensive country.
The last leg of our journey took us into the French countryside towards our final destination -Paris. The Ibis hotel was a nice change from the previous night’s lodgings and after checking in, me and a couple of friends took the Metro to Les Champs Elysees. All the trees along Europe’s most famous avenue were lit up and created a gold and silver pathway leading to the illuminated Arc de Triomphe in Charles de Gaulle Place. The intricate marble arch was originally designed to honour French war dead, particularly from the Napoleonic wars. Today it stands on an island in the middle of an extremely busy roundabout and is one of the most famous landmarks in all of France.
We were desperate to find a local restaurant to try Frog’s legs and Escargot. After about an hour walking up and down the avenue and around its side streets we gave up. It seemed you can find anything but French cuisine on the Champs Alysees, so we went into a Steakhouse instead!
We met a couple of young French guys sitting nearby who recommended some good wines to try. Drinking these with our meal we got to thinking it would be fun to visit some clubs. One of the Frenchmen Henri told us he had free tickets to a swanky nightspot nearby so we settled our bill and headed a few streets over. Once we got past the well dressed security men we checked our coats in the foyer before heading through the big double doors. Peering through the gap I could see a woman dancing. Was she in a bikini?…naked? Oh …it was that kind of club.
It turned out to be a high class Parisian strip joint and we found ourselves surrounded by women sprawled around the lavish furnishings in varying states of undress: Each one more gorgeous than the last. As it was only about ten o’clock customers were still the minority in amongst scores of these mostly Eastern European girls sauntering around, giggling and waiting for their turn to dance onstage. It felt like walking into someone’s harem.
Oh well I thought, not really my kind of place but we can at least have a drink there. My friend Marty got the first round. To say it was expensive would be an understatement. Forty Euros for his Vodka and Cranberry alone! Ouch! We spent a while nursing our drinks at the bar and then quietly left.
Converted from an old jail, the building was pretty much what you would expect: Heavy steel doorways concealing deep musky halls and small concrete rooms with barred windows. There were early 20th Century inmate uniforms and even a ball and chain on display! Lying on my hard narrow bed I kept imagining I might wake in the night to the spirit of an old prisoner, but this (and they) didn’t materialise. It was an interesting place and I would recommend the Jailhouse to those after budget accommodation with a bit of character, in quite an expensive country.
The last leg of our journey took us into the French countryside towards our final destination -Paris. The Ibis hotel was a nice change from the previous night’s lodgings and after checking in, me and a couple of friends took the Metro to Les Champs Elysees. All the trees along Europe’s most famous avenue were lit up and created a gold and silver pathway leading to the illuminated Arc de Triomphe in Charles de Gaulle Place. The intricate marble arch was originally designed to honour French war dead, particularly from the Napoleonic wars. Today it stands on an island in the middle of an extremely busy roundabout and is one of the most famous landmarks in all of France.
We were desperate to find a local restaurant to try Frog’s legs and Escargot. After about an hour walking up and down the avenue and around its side streets we gave up. It seemed you can find anything but French cuisine on the Champs Alysees, so we went into a Steakhouse instead!
We met a couple of young French guys sitting nearby who recommended some good wines to try. Drinking these with our meal we got to thinking it would be fun to visit some clubs. One of the Frenchmen Henri told us he had free tickets to a swanky nightspot nearby so we settled our bill and headed a few streets over. Once we got past the well dressed security men we checked our coats in the foyer before heading through the big double doors. Peering through the gap I could see a woman dancing. Was she in a bikini?…naked? Oh …it was that kind of club.
It turned out to be a high class Parisian strip joint and we found ourselves surrounded by women sprawled around the lavish furnishings in varying states of undress: Each one more gorgeous than the last. As it was only about ten o’clock customers were still the minority in amongst scores of these mostly Eastern European girls sauntering around, giggling and waiting for their turn to dance onstage. It felt like walking into someone’s harem.
Oh well I thought, not really my kind of place but we can at least have a drink there. My friend Marty got the first round. To say it was expensive would be an understatement. Forty Euros for his Vodka and Cranberry alone! Ouch! We spent a while nursing our drinks at the bar and then quietly left.
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