So after my stupidity of missing my train, i awoke at 5am, the first time of being awake that early since i would go to bed at that time ib winter. I caught a train to Barcelona airport, and caught my pla e on time. I had 45minutes in Paris, before catching a quick train down to Bordeaux(a convoluted route, but rapid and efficient), to enjoy the sun while I waited for alex after he knocked a guy into the ditch, then got lost. A tirin day, ended by hanging with his mates and siblings, but me too tired to speak French.
Said my good-Bye to alex over juice and off again.
Yesterday I drove up, pretty uneventful until I hit paris, which usually I avoid, but without map, driving alone, I let the gps do her job. It took me two hours to get around Paris, it Gould have been less than one. Je deteste la peripherique!
So to Amiens. I got here eventually. I tried contacting catherine earlier in the day, but got the number wrong. I met catherine in lacauno, in the campsite. But I got the number off my laptop, and she came to meet me. We walked through the pretty town, drank wine, when in France, then went to her friends party.
I’d met most of these guys already, and they were super drunk, entertaining, maybe embarressing for catherine.
I’m sleepy, in bed, chilled, happy.
Tag: ‘barcelona’
Only myself to blame
Saturday, June 27th, 2009So it’s been a pretty bad day all in.
I woke up after a noisey nights sleep on laia’s sofa, caught an hour of sleep in her bed after she left for work. When I finally went to leave for Barcelona, to catch my train for France, I found she had locked me in. There was no answer from her mobile, leaving me contemplating jumping down balconies to escape. In the end, marta managed to call the hair salon where laia works, an laia’s nephew came and released me.
I spent a short wander in Barcelona, and a quick lunch with her and her mates and dogs, one looking like a confused lamp.
So then came the stupidest moment, not checking the time, I guess the sun and heat had got to my head. So I took a walk up montjuic to see the city from above, I thought it would take maybe 30 minutes. I have no idea though, I enjoyed the walk, took a couple of photos, and just while I was wondering through the castle at the top, I checked the time.
It was 6 minutes before my train left for France, Shit!!!
So I listened to my music to keep chilled and made the 45 minute journey to the station. The station looked so close, I could have glided down one of those wires in seconds.
So in the station, as I’ve begun to notice in all Catalan stations, it’s total disorganisation, huge queues, and people running round stressed like, chickens with no heads.
I spent an hour and a half in there and I; got no ticket, as tomorrows train is fully booked, sweated a lot, got information of a slow train tomorrow thy can’t be booked and involves lots of stops and changes before France, but on the up side, I got my ticket refunded 
! (something I had heard is the norm in Europe)
So I spent ages wondering the streets, to find a net cafe and organise myself.
I now have a flight to Paris at 07:30 tomorrow morning, thank fffk, I’m sick of trains for now. From which I an get to Bordeaux by TGV, and still meet alex in time to take me home after he drops his girlfriend off at the airport. This shouldn’t come to much more than the cost of training it all the way, even with the cheap hotel which I have here by the train station.
It’s a good thing I’m tired, because I need early sleep before my 5am wake up. And good riddence to today.
Yay for 4 cheese pizza, chilli oil and red wine 
the perfect recipe for sleepiness.
And I can’t wait to go to England!!!
Organic is orgasmic
Friday, June 26th, 2009I had a lovely vegorganic breakfast near the ramblas in Barcelona this morning. I haven’t eaten since then an am a bit peckish, I feel like eating cold tortilla.
Just now the waves came flying up the beach, screams all round, and some people fleed with wet towels
I’m laying on the beach near mongat nord, it’s just about a barable temperature in the air. I’m waiting for laia to finish work, then see what we will get up to. Hanging in premia is boring, but going into Barcelona is expensive, so have to wait n see.
Last night I stayed in a pleasent enough hostel, ramblas house, supposedly a chilled place. I needed sleep, otherwise I would have loved to have joined the cards and drinking.
But the highlight was going to see the ‘magic fountain’ near placa españa. Last year the fountain wasn’t running due to drought, but my god, everybody has to see this. It’s an opera of water, a giant colour changing, musical phenomena. There were maybe 2000 people there. It was possibly better with the occassional showers passing over, and red yellow sky off inland.
activity
Saturday, September 6th, 2008i’ve spent a whole lot of time wasting time on the net. mainly reading, about tech, about mountains, about photography. cramming more information in there. harriet thinks my laptop is the ideal bed, but only when i am trying to use it!
but i have also been a little active. no visits to the beach, i think i will do enough of that in cadiz next week.
on tuesday i cooked a lasagne from scratch, and it was delicious, and super cheesey, my belly shows growth!
but on wednesday marta went to work. she’s not too happy about it, but who would be after a 5 month holiday?
so i went to montserrat not the Caribbean island but the monastery/mountain slightly inland from barcelona. i was a fool and not only left the gps at home, but didn’t even think to look at the map. i drove past the mountain on the way to andorra, and thought i could find my way there unaided. so i ended up with a tour of central barcelona, and many traffic lights!
the mountain is very interesting, and the reason i went was to walk, not so much to visit the monastery. i’m told that excavations centuries ago unearthed a statue of the virgin mary and the monks build their refuge there. i was going to walk from the base of the mountain, but since there was no information online, i couldn’t find a route to start from so rove to the monastery. very touristy! but i made for the summits (there are funicular railways but that takes the joy out of it) and went to the further higher peak. very nice warm day, but it was hazy, so no great views. i made my way to the other side of the mountain, where the lift goes. i made my way down. i had a quick look around the new monastery. there are even hotels built up there! but i missed out the main attraction, the caves built into the mountain by the monks, purposely. i will make another trip back there and walk the entire mountain from the base to the caves. it’s the only large mountain so easily accessible.
to find other routes, i will have to enlist marta to search the net, or invest in some books, or wait until i get to the alps.
yesterday i walked from badalona to barcelona, about 20km and took some photos. i ended the evening in a bar with a transsexual and a couple of others. so it was nice to socialise, and made me feel like i was in london in a way.
i feel i’ve missed much socialising this summer, but i think it is relative, because i have done a lot, even though it isn’t like london. it’s great to have new experiences and do new things.
i’m thinking about buying a kite, so that i can learn to kite surf!
some flickr pics of mine:
i’m off to seville to meet ben, harry and amy on monday and stay in cadiz for a few days, so more sun sun sun!!
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