Road Trip part 2



San Sebastian coastline



Ahh now what i forgot to mention was that the bus we randomly chose to get to Santander turned out to be a pleasant suprise, recliner leather seats, movies, and even a hostess who offered drinks, sandwiches and nuts FOR FREE! ohh we were quite happy on this trip! The plan was to rough it on this trip, sleeping in bus/train stations or on benches.. we were going to buy a pop up tent and just place it where ever we felt fit yeah that didnt happen! instead we got a luxury bus.. but in our defence we didnt even know we just got the first available time.

However after our short time of being comfortable we arrived in Santander and the weather still hadn't cleared up. And what made it worse was that we walked around in circles trying to locate our hostel. Yeah and turned out that our area whas quite getto which was interesting. Our Hostel was more like a hotel where we couldnt meet anyone and the reception guy couldnt really help us out with any bars to go to so we just stayed in and watched movies. 

The following day we were fresh and ready to go exploring however after breakfast i fell asleep for another hour while Yvi watched cartoons and night rider. Ahh and then afterwards i was told that i was purring and mumbling in my sleep.. hmm interesting!

So we ventured out and luckily the weather had cleared up! yeah but Santander just didnt do it for us. Though we saw an interesting boat parade where un monton of boats, dingies, and ferries were all decked out in world flags, honking their horns, driving stupidly all over the place. 

Besides the beach i must say there isnt really much in Santander except a very strong patriotism the buildings had flags everywhere.

Later that day we moved on to the next stop BILBAO! oo and this one was pretty. The hostel we stayed in was just great we had a view in front of the river and the Guggenheim Museum which i must say is the weirdest looking building i have ever seen.



This was our view


That night we met some guys in our hostel ahh yes and of course an Australian, a Kiwi and another two English guys and a dutch girl. While yvi and i polished off a bottle of vodka we drew some interesting caricatures of all our friends. Then we convinced them all to come out to a bar.. and that followed on to a club. HA and of course it started raining half way there. In order to find a club we asked a guy who looked about 12 where to go and he led us there. and oh boy it was SHIT! For a Saturday night it was deserted! So after 30mins Yvi wanted a smoke (chain smoker) and we decided to venture the streets for a bit.. but we ended back in the club about 40mins later. The club was no better. But our hostel buddies were now drunk and had been having a great time with a hens party that was there. Hillarious!
 We got to sleep about 4- 4:30 so it wasnt too late we were quite happy with that.. we could have a little sleep time!
Oh and we wished we never woke up .. the hangover was torture! To add to our pain the weather was cold and rainy (and stupidly i didnt pack any kind of jumper or long pants .. woops so i scabed clothing from Yvi). We were quite grumpy. Though we did our sight seeing for as long as our heads could handle.. we were at the point of laughing at everything and making the stupidest and retarded comments. Another attempt of eating great food once again failed ... Burger King oh geeez. But it was just what the hangover ordered. We also weren't too suprised to find all customers eating there were Americans.. shocking get some tastebuds people!
 As the weather just got worse we bailed from Bilbao and moved on to the next stop... San Sebastian! The bad weather followed us.


We highly indulged in the pintxos

 But we were determined to do some sightseeing and eat some awesome food! Finally it was a success.  San Seb is packed with small Pintxo bars (Pint-cho) where a similar concept as sushi trains occurrs, you pay for the amount of toothpick meals you have. Usually bits of bread with crap on the top (meat, cheese, veggies, seafood, tortilla and of course OIL). We had this for lunch and dinner and then a second dinner. yummm. San sebastian has a really beautiful coastline with good surf and a really great old town. I really loved it!




The old town is really pretty.  Literally it is just full of tiny restaurants, bars and ice cream
stores! It hasnt become commercialised .. yet.

The hostel we stayed in was quite funny it is just an apartment where this old lives. And surprise surprise there were all Australians staying in the hostel. Yvi was soooo happy. well at least when she was bragging about hamburg she was happy. Germans!

As the weather was just shit, rainy, and a tad windy and we were already tired and hungover we got the brilliant idea of going to see the new HArry potter. After getting all excited and standing in the line for about 20mins we were harshly let down because the movie was in Spanish and yeah unfortunately our spanish is not good enough to get through that and our brains were hurting enough at that point. So long story short no harry. Instead we settled for lollies and then i got sick from them.



Road Trip North of Spain part 1

A few months ago Yvi and i made a drunken decision to go on a road trip alond the north coast of Spain and i dont know how, but we actually did it.

On Thursday we flew to Santiago de Compostela and then hit the road going through at La Coruna, Oviedo,Gijon, Santander, Bilbao, San Sebastian then back to Barca.

In all of our excitement we ended up going out to a couple of bars and not going to sleep until 3am the night before our flight.. and may i add this flight was at 7am in the morning. We were absolutely rotten when we woke up and especially on the plane because Ryanair is just shit in everyway.

A major goal of this trip was to soak up the sun on nice beaches and to taste awesome northern Spain cuisine. Ah this didnt start off too well. Once we arrived in Santiago we were tired hungry and grumpy so we resorted to over-priced bocadillos in the airport.


well maybe the German didnt feel stupid



Then we headed to the famous old town and cathedral of Santiago and may i say wow it was soooo great. We were actually slapping ourselves once we saw all the fantastic restaurants they had in the old town offering a whole Menu del dia for less than what we paid for the stupid airport food. 



With as much enthusiasm as we could conjure up at that point we wandered the streets taking photoes here and there like good little tourists. However, we weren't staying over night in Santiago so we felt pretty damn stupid wheeling our wheelie bags around everywhere with us. 

We took a pit stop passing out in front of the cathedral.. and then i wonder why so many backpackers are in this one plaza kissing the ground and cheering. So she enlightens me with a little information that these people had walked to this plaza from either france or San Sebasian. So the fact that we flew there, had wheelie bags and were only tired because we were hungover and stayed up too late was just lame. Though we still embraced the cultural history of this town learning about the iconic 'Queso de Tetilla' this translates to 'titty cheese'. This is exactly what your thinking, cheese shaped in a triangle to represent boobs. The inspiration of this icon was the original statue of Queen Esther inside the Cathedral which supposedly had much larger boobs than the current size. It is said that locals leaders deemed them inappropriate and filed them down  and in response the towns people created cone-shaped cheese in Esther's honour. Nice, a town that loves tits.  

Well three hours later we were over it, the weather was turning shit and we just wanted a bed so we set off for our next stop La Coruna where we could crash for a bit. And of course our beds were not ready when we arrived brilliant! so we were given an umbrella and found a bench on the beach to sit for a while and within that short time we somehow lost the umbrella. oh trying to explain that in spanish was just a mission. how do you say woops in castellano?

Anyway we had our siesta, watched some cartoons on tv primarily 'beaver man' then started some more sightseeing. We were told that we should walk to the headland and see the torre de hercules 'Tower of Hercules' bah what a waste of time. It was shit! ha pardon my lack of cultural sympathy but honestly we walked 5km to see that. We were much more impressed with a statue of a sumo man with big boobs.

That night we had another unsuccessful attempt at eating authentic food. Hunger called too early 30mins too early so thought we could just have a drink and wait it out.. Then Yvi ordered a salad and bread and beer. And we were full. DAMMIT! Then she decided to fall asleep at 9:30pm and sleep for 12 hours!

Next stop Gijon. i must say this was an unexpected favourite. It is a small city but it is soo beautiful it is clean, well maintained and not flooded by tourists. While we planned to hire a car that idea went out the window because neither of us wanted to be the designated driver and again this was a city we wouldnt be staying overnight so we had to wheel our bags around.

This city was sooo great, we went for a walk onto the headland (yes dragging our wheelie bags up the grass and rock hill) The view of the beaches were worth it.

WE had quite a tough time deciding where to eat luch everywhere smelt and looked sooo good. We came across outdoor market style bbq's with paella, ribs, jamon, and more and more meat. oh and of course Kebabs. But we chose a winner because they were offing free bombay Gin cocktails for free that day. nice way to end a yummy seafood lunch!
We really didnt want to leave Gijon it was soo great! \

Next stop was Santander. but i will leave this for part two!

Some travelling

well many adventures have happened since i last posted.

Its that time of the year that all the european exchange students have pretty much left Barca well except for my beloved Yvi. the German version of me.

i dont think there has been a day that i havent seen or talked to that girl. And boy.. the many nights pre-drinking there! Lately we have been dedicating our drinking nights to making playlists of old school songs that we havent heard for a while oh and playing with the photobooth camera on her Mac computer.

Example no#1

For the past 2 weeks i have had Brie staying with me. We made a trip to Palma Mallorca. twas a lovely trip however Brie was quite sick. However, this turned out to be quite a benefit because the trip was more relaxed rather than partying!! But when we got back then it was time to party. A spare of the moment decision was made one night to go to San Fermin 'the running of the bulls' in Pamplona. Oo it was a good decision.

The trip however ended up quite frustrating after we had a mishap with our bus tickets there.. really it was just a VERY embarrassing blond moment! We stayed with a tour group called Stoke Travel. This was awesome they provided tents, sleeping bags, FREE ALCOHOL, a free bbq, buses to pamplona, and music.

 The place was flooded with Aussies though. i dont think i met a spanish person there. There was a memorable Irish guy.. memorable of course for being absolutely blind.. at one point someone was packing his mouth with ham and more ham and more ham.. ahh wrong

But overall it was a great setup except for the 4am wake up calls of pots and pans being bashed calling out that breakfast is cooking and the only bus into pamplona leaves at 5am! ohh so the first night Brie and i decided it would be way easier to not sleep. well i think i had an hour. Oh and the tourture! i actually fell asleep for a moment while in the arena watching the bulls chase people. Again i passed out while waiting for the bus to take us back to camp on a nice patch of grass with a whole heap of rubbish around me. Im all about class!

The bull run was great to watch but i wanted to see more injuries.. the bulls seemed too tame! booorrring

The Campsite we stayed at was on the beach near san sebastian. it was such a great location surrounded by green mountains and a really pretty beach. so on our last day we dragged our hungover asses down the massive mountain (luckily there were stairs) to go for a swim. But then the mission of getting back up that mountain killed us. (unwanted exercise)



the beginning of our mountain mission



Our plans of getting the bus back home were destroyed when we couldnt get back to pamplona where we were catching the bus because they were all full. so we had to stay the night in san sebastian and get the next available bus to Barca! However again we were unlucky because EVERY hostel was booked out but we did find a hotel that wasnt too expensive outside of san seb pretty much in the middle of nowhere for us. So we stoked up on food that did not require any cooking and did not move from our hotel room. i was lucky enough to find Austin powers was on tv so that was my night. the next day i wanted to explore san sebastian but of course my luck didnt want to fail me... it was raining. grrrr

but we managed to get back to barca arriving just in time to head out.. so home, shower, then to the bar i went.

Lisbon - part 2 of Portugal

From oporto we caught a train down to Lisbon which is only 3hrs... a much needed 3hrs of sleep!

Our initial impression was even better than Oporto.. Lisbon maintains its historic appearance without looking worn down like porto. Here EVERY street is cobble stone, and the side walks are smaller cobble stones made into patterns. All i could think about was that my dad being a concretor could make life here a whole lot easier if he taught them how to pour a slab! ha ha but i would not nearly look as pretty.

We were lucky enough to again pick a great hostel to stay in.. the OLD TOWN hostel..

It was near everything.. however lisbon is full of hills so our calves really got a work out which the boys did not appreciate having such horrible hangovers

In lisbon we did saw quite a few attractions the city had to offer while getting a taste of the nightlife.. rather just the bars with 1L cups of beer for 1 euro and 1L cups of vodka+sprite for 5euro.. The nightlife pre-disco is in the streets where there are numerous small bars with super super cheap alcohol and every one just drinks outside the bars. Along with your fellow drinkers there are 10000000000 drug dealers asking you, if you want drugs. now i thought i was used to seeing these guys in Barcelona.. no siree.. lisbon is a whole other level.. these guys just walk up to you showing you the stuff in their hands and asking you to sample it.. crazy!

Enough of that.. when we were not drinking we were doing some sight seeing.. we saw Saint Jorge's castle in the middle of the city which was well.. full of well big stones but when you get your imagination going its quite cool to think that people actually lived in it. A man playing the flute and jingling bells helps the mood!

I was lucky enough to get to visit a flea market near the castle.. i say I because the boys were dead bored within 10 mins.. lost as to why i was so excited.. quoting Gato '..But what do you do with this shit, it is old shit '. ahh precisely the point! but the market was not all old.. there where many stalls selling leather items, and local designers' items.  i did find one thing they could show some interest though...

So we moved on but there wasn't anything that would motivate these boys..

 We also caught the metro to the town of Belem, where we saw the Belem palace the official residence of Portucal's president since 1910. It was built in 1559 pretty damn old.. and could do with a scrub to get it white again if i may say. There was a mighty storm brewing at that moment. but the rain lasted a mere 30mins. so to pass the time we found an all-you-can-eat japanese restaurant and ate and ate and ate.. quoting Gato 'ohh i love this shit, oh and this shit.. it is the best shit'

After our experience of the Francesinha we were not willing to explore any more 'popular' meals. So insead it was japanese, then all you can eat asian buffet, then indian cheese burgers (a whole 1.4 euro ) and then sandwiches..



Green and gold shots.. literally has pieces
of gold in the alcohol



We definitely had some wild nights in Lisboa i blame the alcohol being soooo cheap. we indulged! Especially the 1Euro shots

Which turned into about 8 for the boys.. my antibiotics sped up the 'drunken' feeling so i couldnt really keep up.. dammit.. however the consequence of these shots made a path of destruction. on our way to the disco we were suddenly kicking, climbing, hanging and pushing absolutley everything.

The funniest i may say was Gato throwing a green garbage bin at the boys and it hitting Igor in the head! Hallarious!

 A GREAT HOLIDAY FULL OF LAUGHS

Oporto - part 1

Eat, walk up hills, siesta and drink ..This was my lifestyle in Portugal

For the last 6 days i have been in Portugal with 5 Erasmus guys i lived on campus with .. and what a week it was. Unfortunately i got an inner ear infection a couple of days before i left so i wasnt in my best form over there... and the fact that i drank every night could not have helped the infection get better!

The Group minus lukas - Gato, Marko, me, Balla, Igor

But nevertheless i had a ball. The trip started in Porto also known as Oporto - for all those Australians i suppose you may know it for its chicken burgers with peri peri sauce.. but may i correct you i did not see ANY chicken burgers on the menues and little did i see anything with peri peri sauce except for in the Grocery store.. highly dissappointing! Instead the traditional and most popular native food of Porto is a dish that looks like absolute shit! (excuse me for anyone who may be offended). The Francesinha - It is a kind of sandwich with several meats covered with cheese and a special sauce made with beer and other ingredients.

But to wash down this 'heartattack' Oporto is famous for its Port Wine (hence where the name came from). Although none of us really like port wine we still went on a tour and tasted some port that we were pleasantly suprised at.. and even though it was not a drink we would buy for ourselves the boys insisted that we must drink all of the samples because one must not waste free alcohol! So an hour later.. we left

The beaches in Portugal are really nice .. and they actually have white sand.. unlike barcelona! and oo la la no paki's so i could sleep with my hangover in peace!

But my favourite thing in porto was the litre cups or should i say potplants of vodka + sprite for 5euro.

Quoting Gato (polish) ' oh i love this shit.. this is the best shit'

 

Another Unfortunate thing was that the Final of the Champions league was on while we were in Portugal.. but we represented Barca pretty good in Porto.. When they won we were chanting the Barca songs in the street and for some it did not f***ing stop i.e. Balla. singing/shouting it in my one good ear..

On a cultural note Porto is quite unique .. There are many works of art throughout the city inspired by the Moors over a century ago. The most elaborate are the hand pained ceramic tiles that cover building walls.
The lower ribiera area is declared a UNESCO heritage site. It was actually quite a mission walking through the winding lanes with really steep stairs to climb down. But while trying not to get lost the walls, pavement and houses were really quite beautiful minus the washing hanging out them and the occasional broken down house.

IBIZA

 IBIZA.

 Last week was the best and wildest week of my life....i went to Ibiza with ESN Barcelona (erasmus student network)

Preparation - With my room mates for the week - Benedetta (italian ) Yvonne (Germany) and Pauline (french) we went shopping for some cheap alcohol not knowing what Ibiza prices would be like the result  = 8 bottles of vodka and 2 bottles of wine...  to start off

The adventures all began Monday evening, on the ferry to Ibiza. We were recommended to bring our own alcohol for the Ferry to pass the time because there would be a party on the way there. So we turn up to the port and beyond the luggage .... alcohol. Boxes of champagne, tequila, and huge water containers filled with sangria. It wasnt until about 4am that we realised we didnt have anywhere on the boat to sleep but on the tiles oh boy that sucked... imagine it 600 students drunk, lying around anywhere they could find - tables, chairs, tiles, doormats, or on the luggage so funny

So we arrived at 7am Tuesday Morning then we had to checkin... but having such great luck our room was not available until 2pm - and because i dont have a boyfriend's bed that i could crash on so i resorted to a deck chair - then got told that i had to pay to lie on it!! whhaaaaa. The hotel was great right on the beach with beach bars, a day time dj, and 2 pools.. but when we finally got our room it was not great to find out that salt water came out of the tap... you never want to brush your teeth with salt water trust me. and really whats the point in showering in salt water.. we did anyway..

That evening was the first party the WHITE PARTY - only white allowed = a little too much alcohol was consumed and it was a long night

Second night was the 'Wild and Wet Party' at Club Eden - with no dress theme we soon understood where this name came from when two dancers stripped on stage and almost had sex - hmm yes interesting

One day we hired a car and did some exploring to see what ibiza has to offer besides awesome clubs.. we found a few gems....

 



beaver tail



Thursday we had the School party at Club Privilage - this is the biggest nightclub in the world- and 800 students overtook for the night= this was a great great night!!! It ended with Yvi's boyfriend stealing a branch of a cactus bush 'the beaver' oh there were many laughs with this, beaver bashing, beaver tails, beaver bills, you name it, it was discussed!!



This is the crew i spent most of the week with



Friday was great we went to a pool party followed by a water party in club paradis afterward. This meant that from 4pm when we were leaving the hotel we wouldnt be returning until 7am ....first thought on all of our minds was "ohh we need to pack a lot of alcohol' so we did - and only to be told by the coordinators that we couldnt take alcohol into the pool party - it was a licenced venue that wanted to charge us 7euro for our drinks. So no imagine 800 students in the carpark drinking our water bottle filled alcohol then everyone stashing the alcohol to pick up later ... so everyone was drunk before entering the party.. not a great idea when your about to be swimming..

This party was great... a huge venue with two dj's, a bbq (which was shit.. Europeans are shit at cooking bbq's) and a foam party ..  A foam party that apparently can kill you says pauline.... but the boys made the most of it






the only bottle we could find to fill with alcohol to
take for pre-drinks

Saturday was the mascarade party at Space... great music me and Bene went crazy .. dancing or more like jumping around the nightclub ... but checkout was at 8am and i got home around 7am.. so no sleep ... and sleeping on tiles on the boat wasnt really possible so when i got to my bed... i was in heaven...










Results of the week

1. definite loss of brain cells and liver cells

2. a massively bruised body