Back to Venice!

It feels like forever, but it has only been 3 months that I have been back in Australia. Since coming home (give or take a few weeks when I was busy soaking up my homeland) I have been hanging out to hear when Topdeck wanted me back in Europe. The other day the news arrived! There is a meal for me to cook at the Venice campsite on the 8th of April. As always with Topdeck this is simply pencilled in, however, how much can possibly change at the very start of the season?

 

I spent two and a half months at the Venice campsite last year and I am so excited to go back. Topdeck this year has 4 sites in total, one in Rome, Venice, Paris and Lauterbrunnen in the Swiss Alps. Hopefully this year I get to experience a few more of them! This starting position that I have been given is that of Site Manager, which is pretty cool even if it is only for a short amount of time until the real site managers start. Then, with any luck, I can keep working as a Site Assistant until my first trip.

The majority of a Topdeck Chef's time is spent on these sites, so let me give you a quick run down as to how they work. On an average day we might be serving 150 people breakfast, lunch and dinner. This number however can vary wildly, from 40 at the start and end of season to 240 during peak.

 A site generally has a Site Manager and two Site Assistants. We serve an alternating breakfast of hot (scrambled eggs and potato gems) and cold (fruit and yoghurt) from about 6:30 each morning, then it is straight into prep for the dinner and packed lunches for each group on the day they leave us. We provide each trip with 4 huge salads as well as fruit, cake and cheeses. Or if they want an individual packed lunch, we make each passenger a pasta salad and lunch box.

 After prep we probably need to go for a shop. Luckily our supermarkets are really close in Venice, it means when we have to do two trips to pick it all up it is not the end of the world! Shops can last for several hours, we have to visit two supermarkets to get all we need and the trolleys are like something you might use at Bunning's (huge) and there are often 3 of them piled so high that I can't see over them. We spend a lot of money and time at these supermarkets and get to know the checkout ladies enough to joke in stilted Italian and English as we go through.

 

Back at camp we have to unload and then it is probably lunch time and break time. An average day would mean that I spend my couple of hours off poolside, doing laps, drinking vodka and reading. Sometimes we visit the market in our town and on days that we have prepped really fast and not had to shop we might have time to get into Venice city. A lot of people don't understand that our campsite is not on the island itself. It is a 15 minute drive away in the town of Marghera. Last year I managed to get into the city once a week, it isn't hard, it's just finding the time.

 

Back at camp, dinner is usually served somewhere between 6:30 and 8pm depending on where the group is coming from. So we are back in the kitchen at least 2 hours before that. Again it is an alternating menu, one night is marinated chicken, salad and roast potatoes with make your own sundaes for dessert and on the other it is antipasto plates, caprese salad, Amatriciana pasta and creamy mushroom gnocchi. On a good night we start cooking at 5, serve at 7, have our dinner for the crew outside then do all the washing up and are out around 9:30. In peak season we have to have 2 sittings. We will start cooking at 4, serve at 6:30 then again at 7:30/8pm and will probably be all cleaned up around 10:30. Then it is straight to the bar! Of course it ends up that when we are quiet with little to cook, that means that there is also little partying going on. But when we are busiest, that is when there are pool parties, live bands, toga nights, and nobody wants to miss out on them! During 4 weeks of peak season I think I only missed two nights at the bar. Up until 12-2 then back to bed to start it all again at 6:15 tomorrow!

 

It's a busy lifestyle and it is almost more restful to actually be on a trip (you don't have to cook every night!) but when I do get down time, I try not to waste it. On days off at the end of last season I went to Verona, or into St Marco's to listen to the bands play under the stars. There is still more I need to see in Venice and especially the other sites.

The other exciting thing about this start date is that hopefully it will be the beginning of an even bigger adventure for me. I am in the process of applying for my 2 year visa with the UK. I intend to stay over next winter (when Topdeck don't have any work for chefs) and find a way to support myself! I have never even spent a whole year away from Australia (9 months is the most) so 2 years is going to be huge and hard but hopefully also will let me achieve a few more things that I have been dreaming of. I hope I will find the time to post on here a bit more often this year to keep everyone in the loop, but for now, I have 2 more months in Sydney so I had better make them count!

The Red Garter

Some things just go together automatically. Amsterdam and bikes, Rome and Pasta, Barcelona and Flamenco. When you travel around you discover that there is good reason that these things and places are joined in the minds of so many. It is because when you go to Amsterdam you can’t help but trip over bikes wherever you go, in Rome the pasta is like a religion with restaurants its house of worship on every street. Flamenco souvenirs, music and advertising are so prevalent in Barcelona that it comes as a surprise that it is a dance that is not even native to the Catalonian region, however it is a vital part of their tourist scene. These connections are easy to explain, but what about those strange relations that come up, like for me Florence and Karaoke? Where did that come from?



Matt and Paula treat us to a duet

Down the relatively unremarkable Via de’ Benci near the Basilica of Santa Croce is a small bar/restaurant. The restaurant is called House of Sizzle and the bar is the Red Garter. Not particularly Italian names because this is in fact an American bar in the heart of Florence, an American bar that does Karaoke.

Topdeck has been visiting the Red Garter since the 70’s for a good night out. As the book Top Deck Daze tells –

“No Top Deck tour ever left Florence without spending its last night in the Red Garter Bar. Not only was it the liveliest one in town, it was the most liberal in its supply of free grog to the buses’ crew, so the punters (passengers) were rarely given an alternative even had they desired one.”

Not much has changed since then and the booze still runs freely, and with the Italian’s free pouring, that means freely like a river that has found its way to the sea at last and can’t wait to join it. The passengers love drinks like the ‘jug’ of beer that is served in a canister with a tap at the bottom and a small firework on top shooting off sparks. The girls love all the cocktails and there is also a hearty meal of pastas, bruchettas and meats. After dinner the karaoke starts. Some nights it might just be one group by itself but on others you might be joined by another Topdeck, two Conikis and a busabout tour. In those cases room is tight but the night is much more interesting.

I am a terrible singer but passengers always coax me up onto the stage. On one occasion I performed a One Direction song with a One Direction look alike and on another I ‘sung’ Candle in the Wind with a budding musical theatre student. Crew and passengers who you thought you knew can surprise you on a night like this. On Training Trip our Trainer Lyndsay got up to belt out Alicia Keys and her Scottish accent disappeared and a powerful singing voice was revealed.

 

 

Another great thing about the Red Garter is that all our accommodations are within walking or stumbling distance! Shoes have been lost and statues climbed on the late night hike back up to Camping Michelangelo and cartwheels have been performed outside the Palazzo Vecchio on the way back to Plus Hostel.

Of the last 5 times I have been to Florence, on 3 of those trips I have spent time in the Red Garter bar so it is no wonder that the two are now linked in my mind. If you are ever in town, it wouldn’t be that hard to merge into the pulsing room full of tours and join in the fun, maybe give it a go?

Things to remember from training trip - part 3

When we got to Tyrol in Austria, some of us got a huge treat. Our names were drawn out of a hat to experience one of the optionals that passengers partake in on trips. One person skydived. 3 went paragliding and a big bunch of us got to canyon. I was lucky enough to get a go at canyoning. For one day we were allowed to act like passengers and just have fun! We got all suited up in our crazy wetsuits, took illegal pictures, and went to jump off a few waterfalls. The water was freezing but I couldn’t stop grinning for the whole experience.

Canyoning crew!

• Dressing up – Later on that night in Tyrol we had a dress-up party with the theme as cross-dressing. As usual it is funniest to look at the boys and we were surprised by how much everyone got into it (well, they had to really). The eastern European boys may not have been comfortable to start with but they all got into it in the end. Some were too comfortable (*Cough* Ray). And Greg looking like your creepy old Aunt? Awesome.

Obviously enjoying it!

•  The cooks sat on the back seat, sometimes we got the seat in front of that as well but we were pretty exclusively back seat bandits. And you know how that used to be the cool spot when you were at school? It’s not cool now, I always wanted to sit further up where you could see and not be cramped. However we did have fun times squashed 5 in a row. Crispy would inadvertently go crazy on sugar and I would tease and laugh at him as he bounced up and down. Laura (my exit buddy) Emily and I would sing under our breath (because singing out loud was not allowed) and I would trace maps of Europe on the window for Kat to practice her countries on. This was all until Bessie came down to make us do work and be quiet.  

• Saying goodbye to people in Rome – In Rome we were culled. We had driven in 2 coaches and would only be driving 1 out. Luckily instead of firing lots of people (they did send a few away) they sent a lot of cooks off to be on site. Laura and Holly to Lauterbrunnen,  Hightower and Dee stayed in Rome and Tobin and Caity went to Venice. I was really sad to see them all leave us, and shed a small tear when we drove away. Several of those guys had been my support network and I was worried that I would need them again.

• Whispered puns from Kevin in Berlin – Driving tours in Berlin went until 3am and were SO BORING. (purely because all I had to do was stay awake, the TLs had very interesting spiels) There was lots of room in the coach because the drivers had gone to bed and so the cooks got to move down where we liked. I ended up sitting in front of Kev who whispered puns to me from between the seats and I had to try not to laugh out loud. It improved my night tenfold!

• Helping Jose in Dubrovnik and with his spiel – Jose was a Spanish driver with not much English but a lovely personality. I always made sure to have a chat with him each day and see if he needed any help. One night in Dubrovnik he came to me with the drivers safety spiel that he had written out and asked me to correct it. It was mostly great just a few grammar things to correct but I enjoyed going over it and helping him spiel it. It also helped me the next day when the trainers asked me to get up on the mic and do the Driver safety spiel.

• Blake’s rat on a dog – Blake came back one day in Paris so excited because of what he had seen. He pulled out a Dictaphone so we could listen to what had happened. “And here you see the pitti palais which was built for the... OH MY GOD LOOK AT THAT! IT’S A RAT RIDING A DOG!” Again another scenario that had us all in stitches.

Things to remember from training trip part 2

The low in Antibes – In Antibes, barely 3 weeks into our training I had my breaking moment with tears and sobbed calls back home in the middle of the night. Plans were made to fly out of Florence and back to the Netherlands where I would find some sort of accommodation. The other cooks saw me in this state and a beautiful thing happened. Apart from just them comforting me and talking me through it they also sat down together and asked if anyone else was feeling this way and what particularly was troubling them and talked through it. A beautiful thing is people supporting each other even when they themselves need supporting. It wasn’t just the cooks either, it was everyone.

 

• The high in Rome – After my low point in Antibes came a strange time in Rome where I felt invincible. For 3 days I felt this strange energy sitting at the base of my throat carrying me through. On our first night I ran around trying to locate lost keys for people close to tears. I comforted those who wanted to leave, I found the energy to be interested in the Rome walking tours! Somehow I always was able to find a smile those days (to my memory) even though it was also the point when I became so tired that I started seeing things. Loosing many people on our last day did bring me down but I still felt better after Rome than I had before it.

Pool party in Venice

• Dancing in Florence and Venice – On 2 occasions we were forced to stay up and dance. This may sound strange and it was. In Florence I thought it would kill me. I was already feeling down and we had had yet another big day and we thought we had already had our night’s activities at the Karaoke bar (which had actually been fun). I was just ready to go and do my pile of study when we pulled back up to the campsite at 11:30 but we were told to go change and be back in 15 mins at the nightclub. I almost cried. But I didn’t, I didn’t, I pulled myself together, got ready and went down to be locked in until 2am. They gave us drinks but I refused them, worried as I was about being watched. I did end up having a great time keeping everyone buoyed up and for one of the first times, doing something normal with the group. I remember ballroom dancing with Mihale, watching Crispy do the worm, the trainers joining us and just everyone pulling out their own moves. At 2 we were allowed out (The trainers were checking us off on a list) and told to check back in at 5:45. Boo, back to the game.

Masked party in Venice

• In Venice it was a little different. We were a much smaller group who had bonded for a lot longer and I had just finished my day as cook and it was great so I wasn’t worried at all when they said we had a masked party to attend. I was thrilled to dance away the tensions of the day! Roma gave us all masks and this time I allowed myself to drink. I danced with the trainers and the GM who was also there. Again I remember Crispy’s dancing (He is a good dancer!) and this was the night Pete got his nickname. Previously quiet Pistol Pete pulled out all the moves and later would be the only person to come out of training with a nickname. Again we were let out at 2am but this time I was a little more reluctant to leave.

 

 

• Cleaning out the coach in Krakow and our defiance – In Krakow we were so close to the end. We were down to just 6 chefs and we were pulled out to the carpark in the dark and the cold and told that our mess under the coach just wasn’t good enough and we were going to clean it up now. We just shrugged our shoulders and got to it. Bessie stood there getting into us “how could you have let it get to this state” “what did you think you were keeping that for?” “I thought you guys were on top of this, apparently I was wrong”. But for some reason that night the words were just water running off our ducky backs because we almost ignored her, choosing instead to talk to each other. “How about I clean that bit” “Oh I’ve been looking for those herbs!” “Ha! Look guys, MORE corn!” we got it done and didn’t feel downtrodden. Success!

• The classroom in Krakow – That night continued to be one of successes (although many did feel tortured by this exercise) we were led into a classroom in the hotel and told that we were being questioned on trip codes until we could answer correctly. This started around 11pm. The way it went was that they gave you a trip code (PT for instance) and you had to tell them the real name (European Adventure) how many days it is (34) and all of the stops. It was hard. Barry was the first to get out. He was given the UK/Ireland trip and he rattled off each of the stops as fast as he could, gathering his things as he neared the end and finished by calling ‘and goodnight’ to the open mouthed trainers as he walked out the door. Confidence! I think it took me 3 or 4 goes to get it right, by which time it was 1:30. Some people were there until 3.

• Pete shone in this test. He didn’t know much English at the time and the trainers were asking him about the shortest trip (11 days) and ridiculing him because he didn’t even know that. He just told them that he was sorry but he only knew the ME (Mega European, longest trip, 49 days) The trainers laughed, crossed their arms and said sure, go ahead. As Pete worked his way through the long list of countries and cities, they sat more forward and their jaws dropped a little lower. When he finished even they stood up to applaud him. Then in a wonderfully kind act Pete refused to leave as he felt it was unfair for the last few people to be stuck there on their own and so he stayed with them until the end.

Things to remember

As I know I have mentioned before, the Topdeck training trip was the hardest thing I have done. Physically and mentally it put me to the test. What got me through was the end goal and the people I was with. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Applications for the next training trip are open now and it has got me reminiscing on TT 2013....

Things to remember from training trip 2013:

Crispy finds a quiet spot

• What it feels like to fall asleep without realising. -Whether sitting on the coach driving though incredible scenery in Austria or sitting in a hostel’s reception listening to the receptionist speak one moment and realising that you just fell asleep the next. I would wake up and see that my handwriting had scrawled across the page illegibly whilst I had thought that I was listening and recording what was being said. Notes would read – “(Illegible) opening hrs 4-6pm - hard cheese (Illegible) €4 for wash €4 for TESCO” and I would have no memory of writing it.

Martina and Eoin in Kracow

• On our last night on the continent -We finished the Paris driving tours at about 3am as usual and on the drive back to the hotel the trainers put on a playlist as an example of what music to play but also as a bit of a celebration. Because we hadn’t been allowed to listen to music in 8 weeks everyone went a little nuts. I was sitting next to Tom and just remember him belting out Adele’s ‘Someone like you’ with real gusto, everyone laughing, and Kat asking ‘geeze, who are you holding on to?’
• Standing on the coach - When we couldn’t stay awake we were encouraged to stand on the coach. Most people stood in the aisles or stairwell but I fitted under the baggage racks so I just stood in my seat. I ended up spending about 75% of my time in the coach standing because it was my favourite way to stay awake. This way I could watch the scenery and write leaning on the back of the seat in front of me and take full advantage of the air-conditioning. Oh, and give an interested face to the TL’s occasionally
• Sarah and Titanium - We had only been on the trip for about 3 weeks by the time we got to Florence and the Red Garter. We were still getting to know each other and no one was super keen on Karaoke and I think we were all slightly surprised when Sarah volunteered to go first. Her song of choice was Titanium and she left us all with mouths hanging open when we heard her powerful vocal chords. When we asked her afterwards why she had never told us she could sing, she pointed out that ‘Hi my name’s Sarah and I can sing’ was hardly a normal introduction.

Sarah surprises Dave at karaoke

• The yogurt incident – I can’t remember exactly what country we were in let alone town. It was during the drive of the Balkans and we passed through so many boarders but barely stopped. Let’s say it was Montenegro. We were doing a normal shopping trip, that is, high speed. And at the counter during ‘high-speed-bag-packing’ a big pot of natural yogurt was handed to me. Hands did not quite make contact with yogurt and suddenly the pot was on the floor and the yogurt was all over me. In my hair, on my face and on my clothes. Bessie was laughing at me, the checkout girl was laughing at me and I was laughing at me. Good times.

Waiting outside the sex show

• Ross’ face at the sex show – Topdeck trips generally end in Amsterdam with an optional activity that the passengers can go to which is a sex show. On TT we got to go to many of the optionals we provide and this one was no different. The sex show involved crowd participation and for the finale the dancer had audience members eating banana off her body. The final person on stage was Ross, he put his head between her legs as she lay on her back and she trapped him in a headlock between her thighs and threw him around like she was a crocodile with her pray. Did I mention she was naked? Ross’s face was priceless.

Reviews and resolutions

2013 was the year I never saw coming. I didn’t know the company that would change my life existed until just 2 months before I joined them. Not only has Topdeck taken me on a whirlwind year of new places and new experiences but it has also caused me to think differently about what is possible, about how I want to live my life and about my priorities. All of that is pretty heavy hitting stuff so for now let me keep it light! It’s a new year and I want to do a round-up of some of my favourite places of 2013 and what destinations I have my eyes set on for 2014.

2013

This year I went back to a lot of old favourites, Florence and Amsterdam still remain two of my most loved cities. Each visit reveals something new to me and both places have a flavour that is distinctly theirs. Fresh, clean designs in Amsterdam and the beauty of old techniques in leather, paper and gold still carried out in Florence will keep me coming back again and again, whether or not Topdeck takes me!

Florence by night

Amsterdam!

Barcelona – During many years going back and forth from Europe for some reason I never made Spain a priority. This meant that when I first set foot there on our training trip at the start of the year it was full of fresh and exciting idiosyncrasies that made me wonder why I hadn’t done this before. When holidays came up for me later in the year this ibeiran melting pot of new and old called me back for nights of wild dancing and days of rich food and hidden churches. It also provided a starting point to seeing the rest of the country, Tossa de Mar and Madrid were other highlights of this holiday.



Barcelona gears up for the night

Berlin – Germany was another country I had never really delved into before Topdeck. I thought I knew my WW2 history but as we drove up in our coach to Treptow Park on the borders of Berlin I suddenly realised I had no idea of the aftershocks of the war. That park will forever be to me a place of learning, walking around with Laura answering all the questions that were suddenly occurring to me surrounded by enormous carvings carrying the words of Stalin and giant Soviet soldiers carrying German babies. It was surreal. When we got into Berlin later that day I was much more prepared and I came out of that city with an incredible respect for it. Each time I have gone back I have endeavoured to go out and discover a new museum or sight, not something that happens in every city but there is so much still to see!

Treptow Park

Venice – I had previously visited Venice twice and not been overly taken by its ancient islands but when I was posted there by Topdeck for two and a half months over the summer I don’t remember being disappointed. I was eager for it to reveal its true flavour to me. And it did. Venice is a slow city; it needs time to attach itself to you. Like water lapping at a piece of glass it gradually smoothed my emotions towards it and grew on me like a barnacle on a boat. Now I’m home I have ‘Bramare Venezia’ a yearning for Venice. A yearning to see it on the horizon, growing larger as you cross the long bridge over, after just the first few foot bridges all sounds of the outside world are quieted and you are left surrounded by lapping waves, footsteps over steps and the chatter of tourists and locals. It calms the mind.

2014

This coming year I have a few trips in my sights that I would love to take. The 34 day camper visits Dubrovnik and Budapest, two places I haven’t been since training trip when they caught my fancy. Dubrovnik was one of the first places I got to relax and eat ice-cream in the sun (and then stay up until 1am waiting for a burnt dinner, but that’s another story) so it already has good vibes for me and the same with Budapest. It was a stupidly hot day and I had to climb to the top of the castle district but the view was worth it and Pete a local Hungarian took me to eat Retes (a pastry) after we watched the aerial show from our high up vantage point. There was great food and intriguing museums, fingers are crossed for both these destinations this year!

Dubrovnik

Budapest

The other trip I want to take is the Red star special. A hard trip to take (because you are going to all new destinations, travelling blind as we say) it might just be worth it for the places you go. Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Estonia are the places I would get to go as cook. The trip goes on into Russia but I would leave the group in Tallinn, Estonia. The thought of all these new and exciting places gives me shivers, I want to walk on glaciers, see the midnight sun, eat in mediaeval halls and visit Santa’s house!

I do also have places I will need to do outside of Topdeck. Morocco has been calling me from the many pictures that friends have taken there throughout the year. I was so close to going to Portugal last year so it feels like a necessity this year. Iceland has been a dream for a long time, watching the Aurora borealis has taken on mythical qualities in my mind which I hope it can live up to. I still have a crazy desire to know every square mile of Italy but specifically this year I think Sicily should be on my list, books are sparking my imagination on this right now.  A brief visit to Krakow on training trip got me interested in a country that I have never considered before. Maybe this will be the year to discover Poland? Then there are the places I know very little about but would love to venture to with no expectations. Romania and Bulgaria top this list.

So many places, so much time. Get me to Europe!

(Check out how many of the places I achieved from my last Inspiration post!)