Friday 16 May 2008

Blogger the art critic

I was hoping to get at least something up from my long weekend in Barcelona today, but it looks like Blogger really doesn't like my photos, so it's going to be a little bit longer before you hear about my first experience with fantastic Spain. I also wanted to try and fix up my Strasbourg entry as I've noticed that Blogger didn't seem to like any of those photos either and has decided to delete them all. I don't ask you to critique my photos Blogger, just let me upload them, damn you! It will now have to wait until next week as tomorrow morning I'm off to Nimes and Avignon to check out some Roman artifacts. About 20kms from Nimes is the second biggest Roman structure in the world, it's only 6 feet smaller than the Colosseum in Rome, and is a 3 storey aqueduct that's been around for 2000 years. Impressive. So I'm looking forward to checking that out and the Avignon walls as well. That city name really sounds like something straight out of a King Arthur story to me.

I can tell you about my latest experience with the French health care system though, which is bloody fantastic. Don't worry there are no photos associated, Blogger won't let me upload them :). I received a note at work telling me I had to go get a check up at the uni health care centre, or infirmary as they call them here. Which surprised me, which uni in Australia checks up on everyone? The check is to find out if you work with lasers or chemicals or any other freaky science things. I suppose the difference is that here you don't seem to have to do any safety courses so I suppose they have the health care check to make sure you aren't poisoning yourself or blasting your eyes out with lasers. The health check isn't really preventative though which is a little scary. But what is awesome is that you don't have to pay and you don't have to wait or make a booking. So I got my vaccinations done, for interest it was 10 euros for polio, tetanus and diphtheria combined and then 70 euros for my combined hep A and typhoid, not bad. It's cool because it is just the nurse who gives them to you, so you don't have to wait for the doctor, I was a little worried as she told me a lot of stuff in really rapid-fire French and I was a little worried that perhaps you weren't meant to get 5 vaccines in one day, but she didn't seem to be too concerned and I haven't fallen over sick yet, so I think it's going to be alright. But bring on Egypt I say, now the only thing I have to contend with is projectile vomiting and diarrhoea, and unfortunately there are no vaccines for that.

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