Europe 2010 - Day Twenty - San Sebastian to Bordeaux

I was supposed to stay two nights in San Sebastian, but because some crazy French train drivers went on strike, it was cut short so that I could catch up with Marc and Mylene.

I was a bit bummed to be leaving San Sebastian so soon, I really liked the people and the vibe of the hostel, but I was really looking forward to catching up with Mylene and Marc too. 4 hours on the bus, was not looking forward to that.

The bus didn't leave til 8pm, plenty of time for a swim and a walk around. Images below. The bus was very interesting, two people got booted off for not having proper passports. Then, I arrived in Bordeaux a bit after midnight, not speaking a word of French, battery on mobile and laptop very low and having no idea where I was. Thankfully Marc and Mylene weren't far off and picked me up, no dramas.

2010-09-23

Europe 2010 - Day Nineteen - San Sebastian

I can honestly say, the trip from Bilbao to San Sebastian was one of the best bus rides of my life. I splashed out an extra 4 euros to take a first class bus. Leather seats, ample leg room, charge points for my laptop and WiFi. Though I spent most of the time looking out the window, the north of Spain has such an amazing landscape.

I arrived in San Sebastian around 1 o clock. It's a stunning place, exactly what I wanted it to be. A cool, laid back town with a great beach. I wish Lagos was like this. Obviously there were tourists, but it was much classier than Lagos.

The hostel I stayed at was Holga's Place... It was pretty much full with Aussies, Yanks and Germans. It was very social place which was really cool. I went to the beach, had a kip, read of a book and a swim. When I got back to the hostel, I played some cards with some Aussies there and then we all headed out for some beers.

I was very lazy on my first day and didn't take any photos.

Europe 2010 - Days Eighteen - Bilbao

Bilbao

Bilbao has the Guggenheim, enough said. I arrived late the night before, so I just went to bed. In the morning I went for a walk to the old quarter, climbed up the hill to get a view of the city and then went to the Guggenheim.

At first I didn't like the building, but as I did more and more circles of the place, I started to get it. The art inside certainly isn't as good as the actual building.

There's not too much else to be said about Bilbao, it's a beautiful city, but there's not too much to do. It's not like the rest of Spain, it shuts down. Dinner isn't at 10pm. Overall, I loved it. But I was ready to leave for the beaches of San Sebastian.

Europe 2010 - Days Fifteen, Sixteen and Seventeen - Madrid

Bernard, Craig, Liz and I jumped on the high speed train from Seville to Madrid, opting to get to Madrid asap as opposed to hanging around and listening to the Cats game, like Bernard and I had done a week before in Lisbon. Turned out to be a good move.

I said it in a previous entry, and I’m feeling a rant coming on. Train travel is the absolute best, probably losing only to naval travel on a calm day when you’re not in a hurry. As you may tell, I’m a few days behind on the blog and I sit on a train to Bilbao as I type this. I rocked up to the train station 30 minutes before the train left, grabbed a ticket and I was on the train no dramas. I got 1^st class for a few extra bob and I’m sitting very comfortably taking in the stunning Spanish landscape. No hassles checking in, boarding, listening to the safety announcements. If you’re hungary, get up grab a feed or a beer. Its just the best. As opposed to the six hour bus from Faro to Seville which sucked in every way imaginable. Australia needs to invest in rail infrastructure… The skeleton is there.

Anyhow, train travel absolutely rocks. We took the high speed from Seville to Madrid. It took just over two hours to cover over 500kms. When we arrived we got a cab to our hotel and got our bearings. The first thing we noticed about Madrid is the traffic. It is a nightmare. Cars go wherever they want, whenever they want and without indicating. We saw one guy try and merge lanes but was cut off by two drivers. What did old mate do? Sped up a bit, then forced his way in between the two cars that cut him off. It was nuts.

We went around town and had a look. To be honest, there isn’t much of a story to tell. Plaza De Mayor was cool, the city centre was bustling, especially at night. But Madrid has not won me over. The best part was hanging out with my brother, sister and brother in law. We had a great time eating the world’s best ham and chilling in a really cool bar.

Day two in Madrid, the lads went for a walk to Santiago Bernebau, the home of Real Madrid, while Liz went off and saw the Museo de Prado. The stadium was a fair hike, very unimpressive from the outside and very expensive to go and have a look. We cut our losses and took the metro back to town to meet up with Liz.

We had lunch near the Market and then we went and checked out a modern art exhibition, while Bernard went and read a book. The exhibition was awesome. Saw some of the world’s most famous artists, including Dali, Monet, Manet and of course, Picaso.

We spent our last night in Madrid just chilling and playing cards. It was a fun evening and a good way to spend some time with family before going our separate ways in the morning.

I would be taking the train to Bilbao as mentioned above. It was a six hour trip, but it went by really quickly. There was vista after vista, from rugged almost desert terrain, to slum towns, to castles and even wind farms. When we passed through the mountains and some of the more historic areas near Miranda, it was approaching dusk and the views got even better. I can’t describe how amazing it was. The only downside, the glare caused from the windows made taking photos nigh impossible. By 80 Euro ticket had paid for itself.

Madrid

Europe 2010 - Day Fourteen - Seville, No Do

Above is the official logo and saying for Sevilla. The story goes, one of the old Kings was ousted by his heirs up in the north. He travelled all around Spain and never felt at home, until he returned to Sevilla. So I'm not sure what the literal translation is, but the sentiment is: Sevilla, you never left me, you were always loyal. The symbol in the middle is a rotated infinity symbol. It's based on the old Celtic tradition of a bride and groom tying the knot at their wedding ceremony.

Today was our full day in Sevilla, united with my brother and sister again. And our last day in Sevilla. I loved the city... The mazing streets and it is filled with interesting stories.

Today we went inside the old Cathedral and climbed the spire. It provided an awesome view of the city. Interestingly, the whole spire is made of ramps to get to the top, not stairs. This is for two reasons, first it was an old Moorish building technique. The second reason is, the town crier used to go to the top a few times each day and shout a prayer to the city. It was too much to walk a few times a day, so he would go up on a horse.

We had a spot of lunch, walked around some more, visited the old Expo sites and then dinner and a few drinks on this pontoon on the river. The food is excellent in Sevilla, the drinks are cheap and the stories are great. Sevilla - No Do.

2010-09-19

Europe 2010 - Day Twelve and Thirteen - Seville

The bus from Lagos to Seville to 6 hours and it wasn't really pleasant. There's the smallest amount of legroom ever and there wasn't a bathroom on the bus either. It took pretty much a whole day - but I was glad to be in Seville.

Seville is an amazing city and the food is top notch. There's so much history to the city and the streets are placed seemingly at random...Actually they are more like alleyways. Anyhow they all feed of each other and the buildings are really tall its just great to wander down. We were told the reason why the streets are built that way was to channel cool air around the city. It was a lazy 38 degrees yesterday.

The thing I like most about all these little streets is there is shade cloth between the building, its an excellent idea and really helps to cool the city down. We went on a walking tour to get our bearings and hear a bit about the town. There's so many interesting stories, to many to type out.

Most of the photos here are terrible. It's really hard to capture the sights, because there of such a grand scale, but with the most intricate detail.

2010-09-17

Europe 2010 - Day Ten and Eleven - Lagos

Had a fairly early start to catch a train from Lisbon to our beach side town of Lagos. I was fairly bummed to leave Lisbon to be honest. While I think I’d seen pretty much everything it had to offer, I really enjoyed my time here. The people were great, the sights are cool and it’s got a very laid back vibe. Still hard to argue with the prospect of a couple of days sitting on the beach.

The train ride was about 4 hours. We bought a first class ticket for 26 euros, six bucks more expensive than a plebs ticket. That’s really great value, we had charge points for computers etc and plenty of legroom.

It was a great train ride, a good way to take in the countryside – which is remarkably like Australia’s. Dry grass, scattered with trees and for the most part, pretty flat. I really like train travel and I reckon it’s a shame that Australia doesn’t have the infrastructure or networks to make it a viable form of transport.

Spent most of the time here bumming around on the beach. There were so many Aussies here it wasn't funny. We met a few nice groups, but most hostels are full with Aussies getting smashed each night, not really what I was looking for. You can do that stuff at Mooseheads.

All in all, I enjoyed my time here and the beaches were pretty good, but I'm happy to be moving on to Seville.

2010-09-15

Europe 2010 - Day Nine - Sporting Lisbon

Editor’s note – Typos in the previous couple of entries can be attributed to the whacky Portuguese keyboards. Back on familiar turf with my PC.

Having slept in for the first time on the trip, I was feeling tip top. Bernard and I spent the morning wandering around the northern part of the inner city, where there were several parks to laze about in. One place even had a Lake Burly Griffin-esque water feature (which one bloke took his shirt off and waded through – no worries).

We had several hours to kill before heading to the Sporting Lisbon match, so we went to the pub to watch the EPL. Was great to watch football during the day, rather than half asleep at 2/3 am. We watched Everton fight back against Man Utd and Bernard insisted we watch Arsenal V Bolton. It was probably best we didn’t catch the Spurs game.

We quickly went back to the hostel – where I found out the Tigers had lost in a heart breaker… I was still very excited to be catching my first game of football in Europe.

We arrived at the Jose Avalade stadium, which was completely re done for the Euro 2004 Championships held in Portugal. It’s an awesome stadium, not many bad seats. We paid not much and got some of the best seats available (which is a trend in Portugal…Pay little, get heaps). The atmosphere was excellent, but sadly Sporting were not. They wasted several chances to take this game out, but just couldn’t. They were probably pretty lucky not to go down, as the Olanese had a perfectly good goal disallowed. The Portuguese have great talent on the ball, but their tactics and final delivery just isn’t as good. So many times they would break down the wings and then just faff about instead of crossing it all in. I guess that’s because most people in the country are so short. Bernard and I are giants amongst them. Anyhow, I loved my first footballing experience, despite the game being a bit ordinary.

2010-09-14

Europe 2010 - Day Eight - Hangovers... and Sintra

So I woke up a little worse for wear. All those one dollar beers and late night chatting to other tourists had hit me pretty hard.

Bernard and I had always agreed to spend this morning following the Cats v Dockers game, so I was very happy to lie there and nurse my sore head. Just quietly, the radio commentary of the game was pretty awful. Dunstall and Lyon were absolutely giving it to Geelong, despite never freo not even being close at any stage of the game.

After the game we checked into our new hostel. We hadn't intended to stay in Lisbon 4 nights, but because we scored Sporting Lisbon tickets, we had to stay. Not as impressed with our new hostel, but it's still quite nice.

We then jumped on a train to a neighbouring town of Sintra. It's ab ancient Moorish town, dating back to the 8th century. I was still feeling dusty, and the bus ride up this tiny track to the castles on the hill was not helping matters much. We came within a mm of tacking out several cars.

We both aren't castle goers. But we paid 6 euros to walk around the walls of this really old castle. It was excellent, we could go out our own pace and check the place out. Amazing views - wait for the photos.

We returned. Had a traditional Portuguese dinner at this place called Antonio's. The service was piss poor, but to be honest, I think that's what makes Portugal special. It's so laid back. No one is in a hurry, everyone is friendly even when I make a meal of their language.

2010-09-12

Europe 2010 - Day Seven - Lisbon

Edit - Photos Up.

Ok so this blog is taking a turn for the worse. The wireless access at our new hostel isn't fab and I can't upload my pictures. Pretty useful considering all we have been doing in the last couple of days is admiring views. I'll upload as soon as possible.

We started the day by visiting a quarter of Lisbon called Belem. It's a portside kind of area and is where the original explorers of the world would come and go after their voyages. There's a big memorial for De Gama and the like. As well as a huge monistary, war memorial and a few other bits and bobs. There were also some interesting warning signs on the paths... You have to see the pictures.

Bernard and I went wondering up the backstreets and stopped into this awesome little cafe for lunch. We had a traditional Portuguese feed for about 10 bucks. Both me and Bernard couldn't finish the meals. The love big servings in Portugal.

We then kept wandering around up the hills etc until we stumbled across the home stadium of Second Liga side Belenese - they only got relegated this year. Anyhow, we just wandered right inside and had a look at the stadium. It was excellent. They cram 30,000 people into a stand that covers 3/4 of the pitch and leave the rest of the area open to preserve the view of the port and belem... Magic.

We then started exploring the other side of town, it's very hilly and has a couple of Castles and churches we couldn't find the day before because it was starting to get dark. We found the castle which was about 8 euros to get into, so we politely declined and set off walking. We ended up finding a cafe with a veiw over the city, including the castle. It was magic. We decided to spend the money we saved on beers at this cafe. We sat there for a bit more than an hour just taking in the view... and some of the interesting characters. One bloke got there and had a video camera, so what did he do? He filmed himself drinking a beer at this cafe with a great view. We may have photo bombed his vision.

We then went back to the Hostel for some traditional Piri Piri Chicken. It was amazing and we got a talking to a heap of people from the hostel.

2010-09-11

Europe 2010 - Day Six - Lisbon

First of all, a fact about Portugal. Beer is cheaper than water. Enough said.

Portugal is the place I wanted to come to most of all - and Lisbon certainly didn't disappoint on day one. EasyJet may have forced me and Bernard to get up at the crack of dawn, to sit in a tin shed (Luton Airport) for a couple of hours. But it was certainly worth the wait.

The airport is exceptionally clean. To the point where it is sterile, and Spartan. We got through customs and boarded a bus to the city. This was pleasant surprise number one. The public transport system here is brilliant. The bus was cheap, air conditioned and very comfortable and took no time to get to the city.

We arrived at our hostel and immediately asked about tickets to see a football match. Unfortunately, we had to go all the way out to the stadium box office to get tickets. On the plus, their PT is so good, we went out there (ten stops on the metro), got tickets and returned back to the city within an hour and a bit... Brilliant.

Before heading to the stadium though, we had lunch and this little authentic cafe down from our hostel. I had a traditional Portuguese sausage dish, recommended to me by the guide at the hostel. It was ok at best. Bernard ordered something that started with an "l" and could have roughly translated to linguine. The actual translation was Ox tongue. Pleasant surprise number two, it was delicious. Bernard didn't really rate it though.

After returning from the Stadium, we had to organise extra accommodation. We are staying a extra day or so to catch the football. After that, we went exploring. Lisbon is truly amazing. Streets weave and form hairpins. Side alleys have heaps to explore. We walked for a couple of hours and only went through a very small section of the inner city. I'm looking forward to exploring more over the coming days.

Lisbon - Day One

Europe 2010 - Day Five - Marcus Wearing at the Berkeley

Today was Craig's birthday. To celebrate, we had arranged to have a tasting menu at the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge. The chef, Marcus Wearing is looking to obtain his third Michelin Star at the restaurant.

The food was brilliant, the wine was great. But with all that said, it wasn't really my thing. I was pretty uncomfortable with the whole scenario - being waited on hand and foot. Filling up the glass of water before it even gets a quarter of the way empty and all that stuff. It's just not my thing. To me the whole thing is forced, while some of our waiters were good to have a chat to, it's all too formal for my liking.

The food though, was exceptional. Craig enjoyed the whole experience and that's what really counts. Afterwards, we went to Gordon's Wine Bar. It's one of the oldest wine bar's in London. We jagged a table inside this candlelit cellar - but at this point we would have fallen straight asleep if we stayed there for some time.

After finishing another bottle of red, we caught a cab home (during the tube strike, which really sucked) and packed for the adventures awaiting us in the morning.

Another brilliant day and a fitting way to Celebrate Craig's birthday.

Europe 2010 - Day Four - Gone to the Pub

Nothing much to report today. We had to go shopping for backpacks to take to Portugal and Spain. Bernard took us to Covent Garden, picked up our packs and went to the Pub.

Bernard and Craig went back to see Liz who got home from work early to head to the proms. I blundered around town for a bit. Headed up to Oxford Circus to buy a new pair of shoes. My other ones (called socks to many of those in Canberra) had bite the dust. I also went to Hyde Park, saw some squirrels and redic signs. There's no water fights allowed in the park - also bathing in the stinking, disgusting serpentine is also not permitted.

Liz and Craig went to the Proms while I met up with Bernard. We had some ribs and then went to a dutch pub in Soho called De Hems. It was brilliant - lots of awesome beers to choose from. We then went to a cocktail bar for the best cocktails i've ever had.

Europe 2010 - Day Three

Europe 2010 - Day Three - White Hart Lane

The day started with me rising earlier than the others... again. I went for a stroll to the Emirates to have a squiz and to stop off and grab a coffee. I'll give Arsenal this, its a pretty impressive stadium. But today was all about White Hart Lane.

When I got back from grabbing a coffee and bagel, the others were up and we were planning what to do. Liz really wanted to come to WHL with us so we figured today was the day. We went to the Angel (as in Angel Islington on the Monopoly Board) and had brekky and picked up some sim cards for our phones. Then we jumped on the Victoria Line to Seven Sisters Station.

It's quite a trek from the station to the stadium and to be honest, Tottenham isn't the greatest of areas. There was a block sectioned of with police tape and a forensic crew there. Several blocks up the road, was White Hart Lane.

The tour was awesome. We went to the press area, corporate boxes and facilities, the Chairman's box, Bill Nick's room, the Changerooms and the managerial area on the side of the field. It was awesome to be there, it's a great atmosphere there... If only it was game day.

We went to the spurs shop and then headed back to Liz and Bernard's where we scoffed on cheese and wine.

WHL

Europe 2010 - Day Two - London

First of all, a list of reasons why England is backwards.

1. People wear denim jackets, shiny denim jackets - apparently the shinier the better
2. People still roller blade and ride razor scooters
3. They cant speak their own language - Southwark is pronounced sutthock
4. I saw a guy slide down the bannister of the escalator in a train station...

Denim jackets, sliding down bannisters, razor scooters!!!! GET WITH THE TIMES ENGLAND!

So anyhow, I arose first and went for a wonder around my sister's neighbourhood. It's an awesome spot, pretty close to the city, there's parks and shops just outside the front door. The downside is, it's in Highbury - Arsenal HQ... Despite this, it's a great spot.

When I returned, the others had awoke and we had brekky. I made the call early, that I felt Tip Top and was going to beat jet lag. I was greeted with scepticism, but I had the last laugh. We caught the bus (with two stories) into the city and blundered around. We saw Borough Market, which was awesome and all the touristy stuff like the palace, big ben etc. It was great - Liz and Bernard were great guides and it was good to see all that stuff. Its hard to imagine all that stuff was built before Australia was colonised. Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus and Leicester Square were less than exciting.

We stopped at several pubs along the way and sampled the many beers available here. Highlight was the Satan Ale (as seen in the gallery below). Belgian beer, great flavour and 8% alcohol... Reminds me a lot of Coopers Sparkling, except nicer. We took a boat up the Thames, which was the highlight. Before returning to Liz and Bernard's for dinner and a couple of games of crib.

We crashed at about 10.30... Several hours after our doubters (Liz and Bernard) said we would. plus we had walked more than 30,000 steps - thanks global corporate challenge. All in all a great day.

I don't know what it is about London, but it's great. It was a lot more relaxed than I thought it would be - with that said - I certainly wouldn't want to be on the tube during peak... That would totally suck - those train's are so small and they all pack in like sardines. Honestly, I just expected it to be more hustle and bustle but it had a great vibe. It really reminds me of Canberra. They have hight restrictions on buildings here, so there aren't too many skyscrapers and its really spread out. I can see why so many aussies live here.

England

Europe 2010 - Day One - Planes

The day started at 2.45 am for a 3am check in... very few good things can be said about that. Though, the travelling gods must have been smiling on us - we scored emergency exit seats for the 14 hour trek to Dubai... Legroom was glorious. Sleeping on the plane, less so. I think I managed about an hour or so sleep, scattered in 15 minute bursts for the entire flight. The Emirates in flight entertainment system is quite good though. Still 14 hours on a chair = sore arse...

We flew pretty much over cloud the whole way to Dubai, so looking out the window wasn't very exciting at all - until we actually got over the UAE. It looks awesome - especially Dubai, I really wish I'd opted for a day or two stop over. Oh well, next time.

It was a cheeky 45 degrees when we landed. We literally had 15 minutes between stepping off the plane and check in for our connecting flight. That was enough time to be very confused by the UAE's monetary system. Desperate for a coffee I handed over 20 Australian bucks to the exchange and hoped for the best. I ended up getting 60 odd godknowswhattheycallits - enough for my coffee, a bottle of water for Craig and some change for the scrapbook.

The 7 or so hour flight from Dubai to Heathrow will now and forever be known as the Tetris leg of the journey. Having made a pact to stay awake for this leg, we passed the time playing tetris. Again, the travel gods liked us, as the passenger supposed to sit on the window seat next to us didn't arrive. Glorious Legroom again!

Anyhow back to the tetris. We literally played multiplayer on the Emirates flight system for at least 4 of the 7 hours. Pausing only for meals and the occasional episode of Better off Ted. Craig got out to an early lead as I was clearly rusty. We had some epic battles - one game, I won 90 lines to 87. I finished strong, winning several games in a row - but in the end my slow start hurt me and I'll give my brother the title.

We finally arrived in London, more than 24 hours after awaking in Sydney. Immigration sucked, old mate let me walk right on through after having a squiz at my passport. Craig got given a more thorough interrogation by one of the more diligent boffins at the counter. She finally let him through and we were off to pick up our bags - and to customs. I couldn't get over how lax it was. We didn't even get inspected - customs is literally a door saying 'welcome - bring whatever crap you want in..."

Big sister met us at the gate and took us back to her place. I slept the majority of the taxi ride, though I do remember the first song I heard on the radio in the UK... Savage Garden's I knew I loved you... We said gday to Bernard - the brother in law, and my travel companion for parts of Portugal, had a beer and crashed.