Hola España!

After 2 quick weeks and 2 countries later I have managed to arrive back to England where Internet access is available through other means than sitting at the far end of a stone Turkish garden on a chilly morning hacking into the neighbouring café’s Wi-Fi internet. Also time. That is more available too. So now I have to try and cram my last 2 weeks into the next few weeks. ENJOY!

The 8 hour drive went fairly quick in between Cenac et Saint Julien and Barcelona, with the beautiful mountainous terrain, waterfalls and snowy peeks providing breathtaking panoramic pictures for our minds to consume.

Stopping every now and again was a pleasure with the stop at the border of France and Spain providing my first experience of eating a kinder surprise. My surprise was certainly super, as it was a little figurine of Millhouse (from the Simpsons) playing ice hockey. 

Soon enough, we arrived to amazing situated apartment in Barcelona. After settling in, we headed for the shops to buy some tucker and decide on what we were to do that night. Alice and I had made our decision of tackling the streets of Barcelona. The task proved more difficult than first imagined, having no clue of where to go, what to do, how the metro worked or how to speak a word of Spanish. Nevertheless, our fortunes did us well and lead us to a little alleyway of La Ramblas (probably the most popular and well-known street in Barcelona) and into a cute little bar with a great vibe that played rockin’ records non-stop.
Our feet took us further still that night, to a club called Jamboree (coincidently we had looked at reviews of the club earlier, but had no idea of its location). There, we drank gin and tonics, met people of many origins (English, French, Spanish, American, more English) and danced until the club kicked us out at 6am. Basically the club had two floors. The bottom floor (where we started) that provided music of the 2011 rappin’, poppin’ and hoppin’ generation (I managed to know none of the music) before heading upstairs to the true musical brilliance and ‘golden oldies’. There is something of a Ferris Bueller dance that takes over you when ‘twist and shout’ comes on. 

We tackled more of the Barcelona streets the next day. Being the daytime, a different Barcelona comes out to play, one where stalls, markets and a cloudless sunny sky makes one want to walk everywhere and discover every little knick and knack. After walking down La Ramblas and seeing the great number of stalls, human ‘performances’ and my very first look at a hamster, we arrived at the end of the vivacious street to find what was my favourite group of stalls for the day. There, in front of the harbour, was a group of stalls consisting mostly of old magnets, badges, coins, records, jewellery, magazines, newspaper clippings, black and white photographs and books. Tempted by several badges of musical geniuses, I opted for two Spanish badges one with Spanish writing and another, with the Spanish flag. 

Walking an unknown path that seemed to be the Barcelona Boulevard, Alice and I eventually decided on trying to find our way to the Picasso museum. However, when we got to the museum the line was unbearably long. But, fear not, the journey was not completely pointless. These were some of the sights we were lucky enough to see when becoming lost on the way:

I must admit, at first I was very disappointed in the general architecture and grid formation of Barcelona (a similar annoyance that brought upon me by the structure and grids of Canberra). All streets visually seem the same and you find yourself getting stuck in a sort of blurring unknown universe. It is not until you really stop and take a long look that you are able to see the small detail that is the true beauty of the city, Barcelona.

After a traditional dinner of Tapas, Paella and a big jug of Sangria, I took another chance to just stop and look. This is what I saw:

In terms of visually pleasurable sights, our full day 3 in Barcelona was the most excellent. Just simply by walking you see things on the side of vents or walls that make you wonder whether they have been created by the next Peter Booth or Pablo Picasso.

 I also quite liked how graffiti can make a boring grey 4 story building look individual. 

Guadi’s architecture was our next pleasure and artistic inspiration.

Yet, pleasurable sights do not purely belong in architecture or paintings. The St Josep La Boqueria market displayed how food is also an art. Especially FUDGE. We also tried another traditional Spanish dish earlier in the day called ‘Churros’ or ‘Xurros’ (that’s the correct Spanish spelling).

But I am not sure that anything was as rewarding as seeing the array of colour hanging from the Spanish balconies and the posters that sat on the street walls, as we were searching hopelessly for some Barcelona Opportunity shops. 

Later that night, struggling to decide what to do, we got a message from a fellow couch surfer (a sight we had joined before leaving Australia) who was from Germany travelling in Barcelona. Planning an early night didn’t go well, for we ended up meeting up with Timur the couch surfer, getting free entrance into a club, free drinks for an hour and meeting some rather lovely Swiss men, as well as some very beautiful south African men who worked at the club. A 30-minute sleep was all we got before getting up, driving to the airport and flying to our next destination, Turkey, Istanbul. 

A pique-nique with a troglodyte

You may look at this title and say to yourself "uh what!?". On the other hand, you may just realise that I am a wanky traveler who likes the spelling of certain words. Well either way, this heading seems to sum up my last few days in the Cenac et Saint Julien area.


This is where I explain myself (or, attempt to), so be prepared!


The last few days in Cenac et Saint Julien have been rather beautiful. The housekeeper was right about the weather saying that we were in for a treat of a sunny and warm france. Well, to be honest they weren't her EXACT words...seeing as though she spoke french. But I specifically remember hearing the word 'semaine' which means week. You can see that my french is just remarkable!
Being Tuesday the 5th of April, it was Fraser's birthday and the weather had made it particularly good for exercise and adventuring. We decided to take a walk up to Dommes, which is a lovely town above Cenac et Saint Julien. Basically the two towns are situated directly above and below one another, separated only by a massive hill/cliff and a lot of shrubs. The walk was quite exhilarating with the top providing a medieval type town equipped with arrow slits which were used 'back in the day' when the French and English were fighting over land and castles. We stopped a little way and had some not so medieval sorbet and ice-cream.

Scenic views was apparently a thing of ours. Dommes and Cenac were the first that our eyes took sight upon, yet it was only the next day that Sarlat and Beynac joined the queue of picturesque views. Sarlat was where we walked the streets through the Wednesday market and Beynac, the town where we walked to the high tops which looked out over farms, rivers and ever so green grass...Oh and a really cool run down old car!

Yet, I cannot forget lunch that day. We were faced with our first french picnic. Which in french is spelt 'pique-nique' (I really enjoy that spelling!) 

Now to yesterday. Yesterday was quite a big day as we traveled to Le Gouffre de Padirac. What seemed like just a 'big hole in the ground' from the top, le Gouffre de Padirac was much more. The cave Padirac is the most famous chasm in Europe. It is 103 metres underground with amazing rock formations, such as the 60 metre tall stalactite which takes the shape of a ram's head from a particular angle. Other popular shapes include mushrooms and jellyfish. At one stage in the cave, the water stretches out to form a river and the only way across is by boat and a tour guide named Yvre (I think that's how it was spelt on his name-tag). The cave allows you to view the bluest water, so pure from the minerals in the cave. 

Later on that day, after yet another 'pique-nique', we traveled to a place called Rocamadour. There we viewed the 'black Mary' which is Mary made from black stone. This is not Mary, it is just a cool coca-cola sign. 

Our cave expeditions continued today, as we got up nice and early to attend the 11am tour of the 'Font de Gaume'. This is where the troglodytes come in. They used to live in the caves around the area and perhaps were even involved in the amazing cave paintings in which we were lucky enough to view. Bisons, horses, mammoths and reindeer were carved and painted into/onto the walls of the caves. The paintings show perspective through the use of 3D shaping and shading. These artistic testimonies illustrate the two stylistic phases (early and middle) of the Magdalenian era (15,000 BC!)

Tomorrow brings Barcelona. Vaya España! 

Les morts et the words.

I do love words. I think for this reason, it brings me both pleasure and pain to be engrossed in a completely different country and language.
The last few days have been of great joy. 
We visited the Catacombs.

I have cycled up the Champs-Élysées with my dear friend Alice, narrowly avoiding getting squished in the heavy traffic. Therefore, reaching the Arc de Triumph alive was in fact a triumph of our own. It was a day of absolute spontaneity where the streets of Paris directed our whims. 

After yet another rich food filled day, we retired to bed to get up early and drive to Berric where Alice had previously gone on exchange for 3 months when in year 10. However, before reaching our detination at Berric, we stopped at Versailles and took sight of the massive castle there. And yes, the castle and gates are painted with GOLD. Alice's mum Gina provided insight and said that before the French Revolution, King Louis XVI would tax 'his' people so that he could buy things for himself (thus, the gold). However, his head was cut off in the revolution and luckily the castle was left practically untouched and the beauty remains able to be viewed today. 

After a rather short visit we continued to Berric. There, we unpacked and had dinner. Now dinner in france is 4 courses! First there is the apperatifs, which is basically an entre. Following was the main meal then cheese, then dessert. Coffee or tea was also provided afterwards if you wished. 


The next day we got up early went for a run, then headed to Vannes and went to the market. Fresh food, clothes and nick nacks were present. From there, we headed home for lunch before going out again, this time, to the beach for a nice long walk. Although quite chilly, we found the walk very refreshing and as Alice said "cleaned out the cobwebs". My jet lag held me back a little this day, making me feel like I wanted to sleep nearly every couple of hours! However, dinner did wake me up a little, for we had the most divine rich crepes and cider. Later that night was Simon's (on of Alice's french friend) party where we met a Jacob (twilight) doppleganger. Twilight tweenies would've gone crazy. The party was quite enjoyable drinking my favorite brazilian drink caipirinha. The only down side was the fact that I couldn't communicate with anyone. Now, this is where I am referring my love hate relationship. It is unbelievably frustrating when you cannot use words to communicate and express yourself with. There was a moment, just a quick one, before Marie (Alice's french sister) tapped me and smiled, where I felt like a very little doll sitting in a dark corner of a very large room. Being surrounded by a sea of strange and unfamiliar people, I felt all alone. It was at this moment, I missed Australia, my home. 

The next day saw our departure from that sweet french house filled with kind people to a road and a new town, well, port called La Rochelle. There, we were to stay for a single night in a hotel. Kicking back and relaxing after dinner we watched 'American Beauty' in french. 


Now to yesterday. After a 6 hour amazingly picturesque drive (with stops) we arrived at our gorgeous cottage in Cenac et Saint Julien. This cottage is simply beaituful! I think we must've looked in awe for about 1 hour before heading to the supermarket for supplies. Check it out: