Firstly, it’s fantastic news that my mother has had her first ’successful’ eye operation in over a year – finally there has been an improvement in her vision. It has been a stressful and tiring past 12 months for her but finally we feel as if progress has been made. Fingers are crossed that this is a change in luck. My mother is staying in London with me for the next few days to recover from the surgery, returning home on Friday. I’m sure that before we know it, my eagle-eyed mother will be driving home, somersaulting into the sea and catching sharks for dinner.

I can’t really do an email update without mentioning the recent events in London. It’s obviously a bizarre time to live here; a friend of mine was caught in the bus blast and apart from the stitches and bruising, he’s not handling things very well due to the things he saw immediately after the explosion. Another friend got off one of the tube trains two stops before it exploded.

Nonetheless, London is still my favourite city. I’ve had more time recently to find new spots, restaurants, pubs etc. I’ve even gone inside Tower Bridge to see how it all works (I was particularly excited that the bridge was being raised whilst I was on the crossing above it, only to find that from that spot, you can’t actually see the bridge…)

The best London thing I’ve done recently was actually a birthday present from Emma: We went to see ‘We Will Rock You’ – the absolutely amazing Queen/Ben Elton musical. I’ve been rather concerned about the quality of musicals I’ve seen in London (apart from ‘My Fair Lady’, we’ve seen some pretty awful ones). However, We Will Rock You was cracking from start to finish; I couldn’t recommend it enough.

Despite my re-born enthusiasm for the capital, this doesn’t mean I’ve missed out on holidays! Emma and I had two small trips; one to Paris and another to Dublin. There’s not too much I can say about Paris – it’s a great city. Their passion for hosting the Olympics was unbelievable; everywhere we turned there was something to advertise it (oh well..!)

Dublin, on the other hand, was one of the most boring places I’ve ever visited. It had nice restaurants and pubs (of course), as well as the great Guinness factory, but there was absolutely nothing else! It’s supposed to be the capital city and I swear there are more tourist things to do in Knaresborough! As always, photos are on www.carlobezoari.com.

A last minute trip to Morzine, on the border of Switzerland and France, with a few mates was absolutely brilliant. To be able to ski across the border with endless amounts of pistes was great fun. We then had several mad evenings chucked in there too. Best of all, we’ve got some of the funniest (and maybe a little tipsy) moments captured on film – and I’m currently in the process of (my latest hobby) editing the footage to make a DVD.

Soon after that trip, Emma and I went to Venice for a long weekend over Easter. I was expecting to find it nice, but it truly is fantastic. I ate and drank like a king for all four days and we managed to see so much of the city too.

Finally, Emma went off on her own ski trip last weekend, so I decided to head to Poland. I was in Warsaw for four days, and because I stayed in a youth hostel, I met loads of other travellers; the best of the bunch were from Canada. They truly are the friendliest bunch of people in the world! They are just so happy all the time!

Anyway, I’m all “Poped out” after Warsaw – the scenes of mourning were unbelievable. That along with visits of the post-war monuments made for quite an emotional weekend. Fortunatately, come the evenings, the Poles are keen for you to try all their food and drink and party the rest of the night away!

12th March 2005 – Morzine

So another adventure begins. This time I start quite organised. I’m in the very small City Airport very early, sipping a cappuccino and I’ve already got my pad and pen.

I’ve been told I’m not allowed to take a photo of the two English guards with massive machine guns I’m also asked to remove items from my luggage as they are suspicious of the contents. However, after a second x-ray, I’m ready to fly and so is my bag.

The airport is small, but the landing strip is right next to a stretch of water. It looks bizarre knowing I’m so close to home and planes are landing every second looking like they are heading for the Thames.

I’m now in Switzerland; I think this is the 20th country I’ve been to in my life. Mind you, it’s lucky I’m here in one piece as the turbulence when landing was the worst I’ve ever experienced I’m not looking forward too much to the flight to Geneve.

The airport is new and clean but after five minutes I’m bored. I don’t mind waiting for flights but it’s a shame the other guys are in Milan and Paris whilst I’m here in Zurich! It’s very cloudy but there’s quite a lot of snow around which is really getting me in the mood for tomorrow’s skiing!

The wait is helped by chatting with a couple of people. One Swedish girl lives in London and another guy is Israeli but lives in Vienna.

The next flights is a little better, although still no food. However, a bigger problem is when I meet Sy in Geneve. Tom and Stick’s flight has been cancelled…

They’ve managed to get on the next flight which arrives five hours later!

Sy and I go for pizza and beer after our failed attempt to call the bus driver to let him know of the delay.

Two hours later, we’ve arrived in the chalet. It’s much better than I expected, with living room, kitchen, two double bedrooms and bathroom. We’ve arranged for another driver to pick up Stick and Tom later in the evening.

There’s a further panic at 10.50 when we find that their second flight was delayed by nearly an hour and the driver isn’t there!

We think of alternate options (hotel in Geneve, 300 euro taxi to Morzine) but just a short while later the driver turns up.

The guys arrive after 1am and soon we’re all asleep.

13th March 2005 – Morzine

I wake at 7 and after getting ready I make my way to the ski hire centre. It’s a 15 minute walk, but on my way I do some food shopping from the “Shopi” supermarket.

Back home the guys are up and 30 mins later we head for the slopes.

The weather is outstanding, clear skies and strong sunshine makes the mountains look incredible. The pistes are great too and our 14 resort pass gives us over 650km of slopes from which to choose!

Sy is still learning how to snowboard, so we leave him to improve and head towards Switzerland. Tom and Stick show no fear and are pleased to go very fast. This is great, but on the first day it’s very hard on the legs. By one o’clock we find a restaurant at 2200m and I dig into some spaghetti whilst the boys have some chips and sandwich.

I stupidly have a beer and it’s not long later when we get back to the slopes that I start feeling a little dehydrated. It’s also not too long before Stick and Tom go the wrong way and I lose them.

This gives me a chance to head back to Morzine and explore some of the routes we’ve yet to do. The best view was in Avoriaz, whilst the best run was back in France through a tree-filled, deep powdered stretch.

My legs are starting to give so I sit down for a rest. By complete chance, about 10 minutes later Stick and Tom fly by. I hail them to stop and we’re back together for a final few goes.

We get the camera out and take some great footage of speeding down the pistes with some funny incidents including and near miss with a female learner and another collision narrowly missed by Tom with another snowboarder. We try a few jumps but I’m not ready for it and I think Tom and Stick are too worried about their bones at the moment.

We finish at around five and pop to the supermarket on the way back.

A hamburger and 2 beers later, I’m shattered. The others are still drinking beers and they want to go out.

It’s nearly 9 and I’m showered and ready for bed. The guys are on their way to find a bard and the hope of a strip club later in the night.

14th March 2005 – Morzine

The guys are really tired. Sounds like they had a poor night waiting hours for the naked dancers only for them never to arrive.

The day starts like yesterday with me getting everyone up. We’re soon out on the other side of the mountains towards Les Gents and the snow is fantastic again. The weather is a little cloudy and because o that it feels much colder.

We’re getting a little more adventurous with speed and jumps and because of that, we lose Sy again quite quickly.

Not quite so many video clips of stunts although we did have a great hour in a bar near the bottom of Morzine, jumping from the edge of a snowy hill edgy.

In the evening, we discover that Tom eats an absurd amount of crisps and Stick hasn’t washed his hair for four years.

This time I do decide to go out for drinks and they take me to a couple of bars. The Jolly Good Bar is good for darts and another is good for pool but around 12ish we head back.

15th March 2005 – Morzine

I feel pretty good this morning despite quite a few drinks. Once again I’m the one who goes to the supermarket to buy food. It wakes me up well and I find the footy score too.

The guys get read reasonably quickly and we’re out again. My body is shattered and I struggle as my legs just feel like they are giving away. We’re back on the Swiss side and unfortunately it’s just too hot. The snow is starting to melt which is really slowing things down as well as being harder on the legs.

Another spaghetti lunch and a few more stunts in the boards park and we’re back home.

I tidy the place because it’s an absolute pigsty – it’s obvious that these guys still live at home. I’m also onto the beers and have five before we leave.

Unlike yesterday, I actually win some games of darts and a few euros too. We then head further away from the chalet and actually find the main part of Morzine. There’s an Indian restaurant which was very tasty (although even the mild dish was too hot for me) and then Dixie bar which shows the footy and has loads of younger people. We chat to a few girls who have been here for months but soon we’re tired so we head off. Plus, the bottle of white I had in the restaurant has gone straight to my head and I really need to sleep!

16th March 2005 – Morzine

I had a lot of water before going to sleep, so I feel ok. We have practically nothing for breakfast and this time catch the 10.30 bus to the bottom of the slope. We’re not hung-over, but we’re all feeling very tired and lazy.

We’re expecting the slopes to be bad again, but it seems a cold night has hardened what was warmed yesterday.

What is weird is that my confidence gained in the last few days seems to have vanished; I’m going much slower, particularly because my legs are shattered and I can feel them struggling on every turn.

It’s omelettes for lunch, with an absurd amount of chips. Tick orders chips alone for about the fourth day in a row. Along with his packets of noodles he’s brought from England for his dinners and the 10 cigarettes per day, as well as his hygiene � it’s a wonder he’s not always ill.

We split up after lunch and Tom and I make it back to the same bar on the slope. Soon, Sy arrives and we dig into three large beers.

We play an amazing trick on the other people in the bar, pretending Sy has fallen off a cliff edge. From sitting, it really looks like a big drop so Sy pretends to trip whilst I film. There’s a scream from a woman and about five people rush to the edge. It’s only when people notice Tom and me in hysterics that they realise it’s a joke.

We head our way down to the bottom and go home, with another stop for supermarket essentials.

Stick is at home and after some showers all around, we start on the beers again.

We’re in the Jolly Good Bar before too long and all determined to know Stick out straight away as it’s funny to see him lose.

After a few beers, Sy, Tom and I are on our way to being drunk. It’s midnight and Stick decides he’s had enough. He steals a (much needed) roll of toilet paper and head home.

Not for us! We head to a rather posh restaurant! It’s so late but they are still happy to serve us. Sy has pasta but Tom and I go for steaks (they refused to serve me the three course meal).

They are absolutely delicious, but unfortunately the three Leffes we order don’t go down so easily. Tom is off his face and provides us with some drunken video footage whilst we head back home.

17th March 2005 – Morzine

It’s St. Paddy’s day and we feel pretty horrendous. Despite Tom’s wake-up call at 9.05 (everything has to be at 05), we’re not out until 11.30ish. Stick isn’t happy as he could have had more sleep but Sy and I are grateful. We’re so tired and just need a chill out.

Which isn’t what Sy gets, as he remembers the half block of wax he needs to remove from his board.

Once we’re on the slopes, we head for Switzerland again. I was bad yesterday but today I’m awful. I’m also so sunburnt that it’s really a hard ski. We soon find a large bar/restaurant and settle down. Sy and Tom have a chicken dish of the day. I have pasta carbonara (delicious even with the mushrooms) and Stock has his usual enormous plate of chips.

Sy and I are happy to sit there whilst Tom and Stick go out for more rides. They are soon back though and we all decide to head to higher ground.

That we do, on a ski lift that takes us over the remains of about ten avalanches. We’re much higher and it really feels it. The air is thin and it makes me feels more tired than I already am. I decide to head back to the chalet.

It takes a long time even though I take the most direct route. I’m kilometres away and practically flatline the while way. Back at home (after a couple of pain au chocolates) I go to bed. It’s five o’clock and one by one the guys get back.

They leave me to sleep before suddenly announcing at 9.30 that they’re off out.

Again I feel awful! I think I slept too long but force myself to go out. I’m glad I do as a Guinness in the Jolly Good Bar and a couple of games of darts certainly does the trick.

We then spend about an hour looking for a decent restaurant (most are fully booked) before settling for one closer to the night-lit ski slope.

Onion soups all around (bar Stick) followed by lasagnes for Sy and T, steak for me (it’s awful) and pizza for Stick.

We eat, pay and go home. I’m so tired so I hit the sack.

18th March 2005 – Morzine

I wake at 07.30 but the others aren’t keen on doing the same. The plan is to be on the slopes at 09.00 so I catch up on my journal with a plate of pasta (!) and a cup of tea.

The others finally get up at 8.15 and we start getting ready.

We follow Sy’s idea to get to this off piste area which turns out to be perfect. We build a massive jump and literally launch ourselves off.

Tom and Stick are quite good at jumping, Tom even managing to land a forward flip. Sy has never jumped before but by the end of the day he is very good. I can’t do it to save my life, so I just go steadily faster, creating more and more stupid falls.

We save the best till last though, stripping to underwear and landing bottom first down the slope.

For the first time in the holiday, we all ski until they close the lifts. It’s great and it puts us into the mood for another night out.

We start earlier at 19.00 and find a restaurant with onion soup and pizza for me, fondue for Sy and Tom and pizza for Stick.

With the bottles of red, we’re starting to get drunk and we head to Dixie’s again.

It starts very silly as Tom and Stick play a coin trick on me. They don’t tell me Stick is involved so I don’t know whether it’s Stick or Sy who is helping him , This last at least an hour, by which time Tom has Sy convinced he’s helping him with the magic! I’m totally confused and Tom keeps insisting it’s Sy who in turn gets very angry that he’s being blamed for something he didn’t do. I don’t know who to believe, but finally Tom and Stick tell all once Sy is ready to go berserk!

At that point, the camcorder comes out and Tom and Sy have a dance off. It’s incredibly funny and loads of people in the pub are cheering along.

As the hours pass, Tom gets more and more tired, so he disappears.

Stick, Sy and I head to a club, haggle the entrance fee from 10euro to 2euro and then watch Sy do more (awful) dancing inside. We’re falling asleep so we head back.

Tom isn’t there and only a bit later we find him on the floor above, asleep on the stairs. We leave him and go to bed.

The next thing we know is Tom has left the building, climbed to our first floor balcony and ripped down the shutters. He then goes crazy and breaks a few things. I get a boot thrown at my head before I fall asleep.

19th March 2005 – Morzine

We all wake feeling pretty rough. Tom accepts blame for his antics (apparently he went off to another club before coming home) and soon the chalet owner arrives to arrange lifts to the airport and for his money.

I’m now in Geneve airport. Tom and Stick may have missed their flights (I heard their names on the tanoy system) and I’m about to get to Zurich on the way back home.

Our journey commences! We left Warmingham at 3pm hoping 10 hours to get to the Channel Tunnel was enough – taking into consideration my map-reading skills. Fortunately, Sarah decided to take over and we arrived soon after 9pm. A small concern was that they couldn’t find out tickets, but some clever talking did the trick as we found ourselves under The Channel four hours early. Ignoring the fact that Sarah walked in on a German on the loo – a successful start to our adventure!

We arrived in France at around 11pm French time. After some desperate searching for a comfy campsite, we accepted our fate: A night in a car outside a petrol station.

16th July 2001

Waking to the beautiful, natural sounds of the motorway, I thought a shower would complete my wake-up call. I fully understood the French service station attendant when they explained I could use their shower, but there was no hot water. What I failed to understand – was just how cold…

Now fully awake and advising Sarah to take an equally refreshing delight (she declined), we took to the road once more. With the French radio blasting and the little Micra crawling, we enjoyed a quite trip to Paris; arriving just in time for rush hour!

With a bit of skill and a little more luck, we found our first proper stop: ‘Camping Bois de Boulogne’. Quite cheap, still not very comfy.

After setting up camp on some rather stony ground we headed for the centre of Paris. We saw the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, along with all the designer shops on the Champs Elysees. It was sunny but got a bit nippy later on so we headed back to camp. Very tired – so the hard ground didn’t affect our sleep too much.

P.S. Decided to invest in a sleeping mat for tomorrow night.
P.P.S. Went to Pompidou Museum and saw lots of priceless art. I reckon I could do better.

17th July 2001

Lots of rain. A bit of wind – some more clouds and a lot more rain. We took shelter under the Arc de Triomphe and got photographer by lots of Americans.

After taking a peek at Planet Hollywood, we went on a drive but got caught in the rush hour on the Paris inner ring road. Lots of angry French business people. Went to La Defense and saw tome groovy modern buildings, including La Grande Arche.

After a bit of late night shopping, we legged it back to camp to catch the last bus to town so we could climb the Eiffel Tower at night. It was far less busy and even more beautiful. We nearly had to walk home but we jumped on the last Metro train to get back. Phew.

P.S. Slightly better night’s sleep due to today’s sleeping mat investment.

18th July 2001

With a bit of persuasion, Sarah finally got me out of bed. Even more rain today. I managed to drag Sarah to the Stade de France to look at the grass. It was really, really good. Sarah wasn’t quite as impressed but I thin she was holding in her true feelings for football (again).

Back to the car and windscreen wipers on again, as we set off to the Museum of Science and Industry. There, we learned very little, with the exception of the mathematics department! We also saw a pretty awful 3D show but a three mirrored triangle type room made up for it!

Out of the museum and into more rain. We set off south expecting to leave the bad weather behind us. After a few changes of minds, we decided to head towards Poitiers, a bit further than originally planned. We arrived just in time, to book in and set up camp in the Camping Futuriste just near (and overlooking) Futuroscope.

We were both impressed with the modern site (and pool!) and the ‘future park’ tomorrow.

P.S. It’s still a bit rainy but a wee bit better
P.P.S. The pool has a slide. Nice.

19th July 2001

Today was Futuroscope day! We spent the whole day on bumpy 3D rides and lots of clever special FX which I really liked. We ate candy floss and burger and sweets and chips and crisps and chocolate crepes – so a very healthy day! Tomorrow we are back on state baguettes and cheap bottled water.

We managed to see every ride but one – so we did really well. Sarah’s favourite was the 3D Atlantis film. Mine was the groovy, bumpy ride through the streets of Vienna.

At the end of the day, we saw a pretty spectacular water and fire display with lots of laser lights. It was rather impressive – in fact, Sarah now thinks it was better than the Atlantis underwater thing!

P.S. Bit of sun today
P.P.S. Showers here are really lovely.

20th July 2001

Unfortunately we had to leave the futuristic park and campsite and head west this time. After a few wrongs turns we finally arrived in a beautiful seaside town called La Rochelle. Store upon store of cheap(ish) stuff and lots of tourists spending their Francs (or Euros – it is 2001 after all).

The sun went to our heads a little and we moved on after my pathetic attempt to outsmart the parking attendant – we had to pay for parking and to use the toilet. I shook my head and said ‘Mon Dieu!’

After more wrong turns and a 30 minute road trip to avoid a toll motorway, we finally arrived in Ile d’Oleron and our next stop: Rex Camping 4-star. Sounds promising.

We were a little disappointed by the smelly loos, but we were happy to see the Atlantic Ocean. I paddles but Sarah was brave and went all the way in.

Soon our tent was up and we went in search for a restaurant. The camping restaurant closed at 8.30pm for some reason so we took the car to find ourselves a yummy pizza.

Luck was on our side as we found a mini-supervan in the middle of nowhere making super yummy pizzas. I was very happy!

We set off home but the mean French camping attendant wouldn’t let us in with the car because it was too late (10.15pm!) Roll on my second attempt to win an argument in French (another fail).

Anyway, we’re back in our wee home again and ready for a trip south!

21st July 2001

Wow! What a wonderful shower! (I’ll work my way backwards this time). Really hot and powerful! I’ve shaved my semi-beard off now so I don’t look like Gulliver anymore.

The campsite tonight is really good; most probably – actually – definitely the best so far. Big swimming pools, restaurant, lots of facilities and in a nice quiet area (and lots of sunflowers for Sarah).

We were lucky to get in a s they were booked up – but the friendly Dutch bloke let us and our wee tent and car (Micky) in.

Micky took us quite a way today. All the way from the island past Saintes, through Bordeaux (with 1 hour stop looking about – not bad – very cute centre) and down towards Toulouse. We stop about an hour away from our next city at a campsite called Camping de Florence.

Our trip made me note a few things today:

1) Roundabouts are very exciting with each on having its own ‘modern art’ monument in the middle
2) French put a cut-out black wood in the shape of a man on every point where there has been a fatal accident. I guess to try and slow down future traffic. Scary how many you see.
3) Virgin Megastores in France are much more modern than in the UK!
4) Wine is bloody cheap!
5) It gets very hot as you approach Southern France!
6) Petrol stations are mad here!

At the end of today, I’ve realised how beautiful the countryside is around Bordeaux. Also – it’s very hot driving Micky down here! Finally, friendly French giving free wine on the roadside helps lots!

22nd July 2001

My feet still are a very smelly duo. However, today has been a wonderful day – by the pool all day long with the exception of me cutting my hair.

Later on in the evening we visited a cute little town called Condom – very rude! Sarah finally stood in a sunflower field and that made her very happy.

Just before bedtime, we planned the next couple of days. We’re very excited since we’re now going to visit a third country on our journey, excluding England.

P.S. We both got a bit brown today.

23rd July 2001

A poor start to the day – some poo stole my battery charger! Also, it was a bit cloudy and people were dumping their wee and stuff not far from our tent.

However, considering it was the best campsite, it was very nice to find out it was by far the cheapest yet!

We moved on towards Toulouse. We arrived at lunchtime just as all the shops were closed and found parking just outside the central shopping area. We were shocked, horrified and mortified to see three naughty women selling themselves, as we walked into the centre…

From a not-so-nice centre, we suddenly found ourselves in the main market square (apparently Toulouse has the second most number of students in France) and they all appeared to be hanging around that pretty square.

Lots of shops open now and the sun shining, we went on down the main shopping street. After some Franc spending, we went back to carry on with our journey south.

Oh – I forgot to mention, we went through Condom again and a pretty place called Auch!

An attractive and quick journey down from Toulouse and we fud another cheape place; Camping de Lac, in Foix – just on the edge of the mountains and border of France. It was a great stop – again with good facilities and a very nice pool where we played for the rest of the late afternoon. Now we’re ready for bed on possibly the comfiest ground yet!

24th July 2001

To sum up the day:

- Visited three countries
- Went in mountains
- Saw sea
- Nearly crashed

Heading south we started climbing the Pyrenees and found ourselves in Andorra after several photo (and wee) stops.

Cheap booze and electronics awaited us there and we moved on when I thought I had no water left in me.

We decided to make our way to Barcelona since there was very little in the 200km in between. We arrived between 8 and 9pm and started looking for a place. After a few wrong turns and a speeding Spaniard nearly hitting us (after my dodgy lane manoeuvre) we arrived in a youth hostel about four hours later! A rude welcome and only just getting in, we had our first beds of the holiday.

P.S. Getting bloody hot now.
P.P.S. Sarah has never been so stressed in her life. Sorry.

25th July 2001

Well, today has certainly made up for last night. We had to be up for 8am to get our free breakfast (stale bread) and be out by 10am. We were happy to do so.

With the aid of a good map, we quickly found a campsite just north east of Barcelona. We take advantage of its very good pool (and diving board) before getting the Zona 1 train to the centre. There we saw La Ramblas main shopping street with fake footy tops, people dressed as statues and artists.

We moved on to the dock which is much more modern and beautiful in the scorching dun. The shopping centre in the middle of the sea (!) had more expensive and genuine shops. It started getting into the late afternoon so we decided to visit the Nou Camp since that was out of town.

Arriving, we saw that it wasn’t too new at all and not as nice as the Stade de France. However, inside was huge and although not modern – I was very impressed (Sarah wasn’t). We saw the trophy cabinet and lots of statues and stuff in the museum.

Walking out, we saw a crowd of people around the training camp, so we wondered over and saw some players training. It was quite far away so I couldn’t recognise any of them.

Back in the centre, we saw the La Sagrada Familia, designed by Gaudi. It was unbelievably impressive! After seeing the heart of Barcelona, we returned home again on the train with (like on the way into town) a walk along the beautiful beach near our campsite.

I at most of the big baguette we bought just before going to sleep. I felt a bit fat.

26th July 2001

Not a bad night’s sleep, We got up early to play in the pool. After a few dives and plops, we headed back to Barcelona. We saw the gardens around Gaudi’s house – Park Guell. It was very cool to see how different his architecture was to others of his period.

We wondered around streets other than La Ramblas which were less touristy and it was funny to see a Gaudi building every now and again amongst all the other similar buildings.

We headed back to camp quite late and got ready for our last night in this tent for this adventure.

P.S. The Australians near our tent are drunk and rowdy…