Europe 2010 - Days Twenty Four - Twenty Six - Octoberfest

Octoberfest

Reunited with Craig, Liz and Bernard - we hit Munich town for Octoberfest. There's not too much to say other than it was awesome. Munich is a pretty city and Octoberfest was awesome. It's much bigger than I expected, people tell you how many people etc visit, but that doesn't really give you a true indication of the size and scale of the Beer Halls and fairgrounds. Such a great vibe and so much fun!

Europe 2010 - Days Twenty One - Twenty Three - France

Ok, so I let this slip a little...

France (Creon, Bordeaux and St Emillion)

So Marc's place is in a smaller town just a bit outside of Bordeaux, called Creon. He lives in a really awesome old place, it was built in the 1700s. I must say, it was awesome to be catching up with Mylene and Marc and they were awesome hosts.

Marc had some work he still had to do, so Mylene and I took a walk around time, had some awesome bread and probably the best Macaroons I've ever had. We then trekked into Bordeaux while Marc and Claire (Marc's girlfriend) had some errands to run. Bordeaux is an awesome looking city. Old Bordeaux and new Bordeaux is separated by a river, and the view into Old Bordeaux is absolutely stunning. The more we walked around, the more I liked the city. We stopped for a couple of beers before heading back to Marc's for dinner. They cooked me a traditional meal - Gallete - which is like a savory crepe which we filled with ham, cheese, egg, mushrooms and sour cream. They were excellent.

In the morning, I made the frenchies pancakes. They don't have them in France, so it was something they were missing from their Australian adventures. To be honest, I hadn't made pancakes before, but I totally smashed it and they turned out pretty well. We then went to a little village call Saint Emillion. It's an ancient village and one of Bordeaux's most famous wine regions. It was visually stunning, we climbed up an old castle spire to get a panorama which was pretty special. The wine also lived up to scratch!

After Saint Emillion, we went into Bordeaux to go Rock Climbing. arc and Claire are avid climbers, so Mylene and I gave it a crack. It was pretty awesome, my shoulders were killing me by the end of it... After that, we went out for dinner, where I was promised raclette, which I assume is French for Death. You essentially get a plate of assorted meats (Salami, Pancetta and Spanish Ham) and some potatoes. You put you plate under a small heater which is melting this really thick cheese (it's kinda like a rich camembert). I reckon it took a few years off my life, but boy it tasted good.

The last day in Bordeaux it rained a fair bit, so we stayed in and played cards for a bit, before we took Mylene into town to catch her train back to her home town. Marc and I explored Bordeaux a bit more before I had to get my plane - which was delayed because the french like to go on strike!

I can't thank Marc enough, he was such a great host and Mylene made the effort to come down from Northern France. It was an excellent stay, one of the real highlights of the trip!

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