Munchen und Oktoberfest 2010!!!

The excellent weather enjoyed in Paris continued as we continued onto Munich for Oktoberfest! Okay, I was really in Munich to visit a lab but the visit just happened to coincide with Oktoberfest. Seriously, it was an unplanned happy coincidence.

As neither of us had actually visited Munich prior to this, we also played the tourist around the city.

I also purchased a dirndl in preparations for joining in with the festivities!

We also met up with Pooey's friend Rita for dinner, who is a true-blue Munchener!

The restaurant, Frauenhofer

Pooey and Rita toast with their...spitzsi? Coke mixed with orange!

Check out my tired eyes!

Liver dumpling soup

Pooey's venison

I start attacking my pork knuckle!

Rita's comments on our decision to go to Oktoberfest included, "It's good that you've decided to come during the first week before the Italians and the Australians arrive!" Apparently these two nationalities party especially hard. Surprise surprise! We also decided to roll up early, just before lunchtime, to try and avoid the crowds of drunken people who would vomit on our shoes and clothes.

Pooey at various levels of excitement at the gates to the Theresienwieser (where they hold Oktoberfest)

Pooey tries on various hats. Rita nearly disowned her as a friend.

Liederhosen!

We planted ourselved in one of the Paulaner beer tents where we got some food, some beer, and sat back to enjoy the Bavarian dancing.

With Rita.

Pooey felt out of place without a dirndl so she tied her hair into pigtails to get into the mood.

Those steins are heavy! 1kg of beer + however much the glass weighs!

Various dances

This cameraman hottie was videoing the revelry.

Chugging with the dancing troupe

Starting...finishing...finishing...finished!

We decided that rather than get smashing drunk, we'd not be too Australia and instead take a walk around and take in the sights of Oktoberfest.

With the Paulaner beer barrels

The Paulaner draught horses moved just as I was taking this pic :D

Schatzi!

The Lowenbrau tent came complete with a lion that roared "Lowenbrau!" every minute!

Don't remember which tent this is...Augustiner?

Did you know there are amusement rides at Oktoberfest? I didn't!

The view from the ferris wheel. Despite the number of people you see, Rita said that this was apparently this is "not crowded."

Rita confessed that she had always been too scared to go on the ghost train. Cue us dragging her onto the ghost train :D

Eeeeeeeeekkkk!!!!

She survived!!!!

Friendly Freddie Kruger

Oktoberfest started as the wedding celebration between Crown Prince Ludwig (later Ludwig I) and Princess Theresa of Saxe-Hildburghausen. 2010 was the 200th anniversary of the original wedding party - it amuses me to think that the year after their marriage, some guy went "Hey! Remember that awesome party we had for your wedding? Let's do it again!" There was a special 200th anniversary dedicated area that had things from Oktoberfests of the past.

The special anniversary beer tent with a rendering of the happy couple.

They had animals at the original Oktoberfest! Some cool chickens, a horse, and patting a shetland pony! I want a pony!

Patting a cow on the antique merry-go-round

It was a long and tiring day so to end, here's this photo!

I sure did!

Paris 2010

These posts may have alerted regular readers to the fact that I recently took a vacation from M-town. Because I'm a bit of a party viking (go hard or go home!), I endured 20 hours flying to London, immediately attended a going away party for the Grand Empress, and had a quick dinner and nap before waking at 4:30am to catch the first Eurostar of the day to Paris. It was kinda tiring.

Pooey happy to be on her way to Paris!

The St. Pancras station - nice!

Pooey still happy to be on her way!

Our initial plans to sleep on the train were thwarted by some very loud-speaking fellow passengers and so after dumping our luggage in our hotel in Les Halles, Pooey and Smee went to Versailles while I went to meet up with Gnoudesavanes. Except he was an hour late. And then I got lost in the Gare de Lyon. For reals, I got lost in it. To refind myself, I pretended that I couldn't speak French and went up to a security guard with this wonderful exchange:
Me: "Excuse me, do you speak English?"
Guard: "A leetle"
"Could you please help me? I'm lost."
"Ov course! You are in zee Gare de Lyon!"
"Yes I know I'm in the Gare de Lyon...I'm lost in this station."
"(insert strange look)"
"(sheepish tone)....I need to get to Le Train Bleu."
"Eet's upstairs."
I did eventually make my way there so here are more pics!

The view over Les Halles from our hotel room. If we really poked ourselves out, we could see Sacre Coeur!

The inside of Le Train Bleu lives up to the unofficial Second Empire motto - If it's not gilt in gold, it's worth nothing!

Gnoudesavanes trying to pat the Train Bleu chat. Very fat, very cute, and very angry. It did not appreciate being stroked while trying to sleep.

Later we went to Le Centre Georges Pompidou. The view from one of the galleries.

Pooey booked L'Escargot on Rue Montogueil for dinner because she wanted to eat snails.

Posing with Smee outsie the restaurant. Gnoudesavanes looking perplexed.

Lots of snails! They came in different flavours. My favourite was foie gras (of course).

We also ate frogs' legs - they do taste like chicken! Gnoudesavanes noted that these were the biggest frog legs he'd ever seen. Cue cane toad leg jokes.

Despite being absolutely wrecked, I continued to go out with Gnoudesavanes for drinks because I'm a stellar chum and he wanted to redeem himself after I outdrank him a few times in Melbs. He failed because even he realised it was unfair to force someone who'd been in Australia less than 48 hours before to get smashed.

The next day we met up with Alix and Gnoudesavanes again for lunch in Chinatown. The day before, Gnoudesavanes had told me that a friend of his told him he needed to eat *Asian style baguettes*. Cue the purchase of poison pork rolls!

Excited to taste it!

HAHAHAHAHAHAAH
Alas, Pooey and I have decided that Melb poison pork is superior to Parisian ones.

We then went to the Champs Elysee and became *true tourists* by visiting the Arc deTriomphe.

The view towards La Defense.

Tigger and I are happy tourists!

We followed it up by visiting Laduree for desserts.

The guys waiting for their desserts.

Peeking into the other rooms.

As various people returned to their respective homes, Pooey and I were left alone for dinner. We settled on crepes.

Waiting for the topiary elephants in the Les Halles garden to come alive

I was posing with the nutella jars at the creperie when the crepe-maker gave me this HUGE NUTELLA JAR to pose with instead! It's bigger than my head!!!!

Happy with our crepes.

The next day I went to visit a lab while Pooey went on a free walking tour. When my visit was over, I joined up with her where I then became a nuisance to the guide by interrupting him to clarify various points about certain sights. Pooey said I should have just given the tour.

Also, we took pics while he was explaining stuff.

WE LOVE PARIS!!!

And here I am, writing about our adventures on the Eurostar back to London.