Barcelona

Well, it was a really good idea, but in actuality it ended up being a lot of stress and work. On the other hand it was a lot of fun and I likely would do it again given the chance. In the end I only had three and a half hours in Barcelona itself, after accounting for trains, waiting, finding a luggage locker...all those mundane little things that end p cutting into your ‘fun time’. So it became somewhat of a marathon.... I am glad I was able to visit, but it wouldn’t be the first place I return to...I found it really big and really busy and really, really crowded –especially after being in sleepy little(ish) towns for the last couple of weeks!

Last night I started to clue in that I needed to be prepared, so I got online and found out the locations of a bunch of ‘places to see’ and plotted them on my map and uploaded to my GPS (which ended up saving the day) then went to bed early so I could get up early. Got woken up a little too early as my new neighbours came home around midnight and had a little get together on the balcony – thankfully didn’t last too long but of course I couldn’t really sleep after that so at 5:30 I finally just got up and had a cup of tea. The taxi arrived at 7:00 and I arrived in Barcelona 13 minutes ahead of schedule.

Finally made it into town at noon and soon realized that there was just way too much stuff to see if I allowed myself to be distracted – there is art or culture or history or something around every corner (not to mention another corner around every corner).and not just little stuff – most of it is really, really big.

 I eventually left the crowds behind and ended up in the gardens above the city. Very peaceful and beautiful (and really a long walk). I planned my tour in a kind of circuit with a second exit that cut things short in case time ran out. I had set myself a time limit that I had to start my return run for the train at 3:30 . Well it was all going well until 3:20 when I realized all the gates to the garden I was in had been locked except the one I came in – which was now nearly a kilometre behind me... and then the street I need to be on is closed so now another half kilometre to go around..thankfully I had the second train station programmed into the GPS so I made a bee-line for it...If nothing else, it was exciting! I know I wouldn’t have dared doing what I did without the GPS to navigate by. I see people all the time with street maps trying to figure out where they are and how to get to the next place and I remember being just like them and I smile and say to myself “I hope my batteries don’t run out!”

Saturday night in Alicante – got to the hostel at about 20:00 and the evening was just beginning so I’ll save that for tomorrow.

Trip Total 11172km

Eivissa

 

Cathedral, and castle above upper fortifications

old town and lower fortifications...

Absolutely massive!

... can you see the two workers on the wall

 in the forground?



I was actually quite impressed with Eivissa, especially the old town (Dalt Vila) which sits on the hill high above the 'modern' town. Dalt Vila is, for the most part, a fortified town and much of what didn’t survive (relatively) recent history has been restored....and it is all free – no entrance admission anywhere for anything (that I saw). I wandered in here for hours – absolutely huge – gigantic – massive, yes massive is the right word. I’ve never been in a fortification before that you would walk for 20 or 30 meters through the fortifications to gain the inner grounds... and as to the height of the walls... well, let’s just say, “wow”!



...how about now if i zoom in a bit?
That is a road along the top of the wall - wide enough for a semi!



The town was originally built on the hill some 2800 years ago by the Phoenicians and fortifications were added later to provide protection from pirates and invaders. Most of what can be seen today is much more recent however, such as the current fortifications which were 'upgraded' in the 16^th century.

 

one of the lower bastions overlooking the port



 Just outside the lower walls, the streets (in the newer town) are well worth a wander as they are chock-full of cafes and shops and plazas. It may not be worth the €100 ferry ride on its own, but if a person had other reasons to be here, they could easily occupy themselves here for a couple of days...and then there are the beaches, nice ones, lots, big....empty! (but that is sure to change in 2 months)

Trip total 10244km....so the question becomes whether or not I can break 20,000km.... The circumference of the earth is about 25,000km isn’t it? Nope, won’t make that. J

Sant Antoni de Portmany

...island of Ibiza in the Balearic Sea ...which is in the Mediterranean Sea. I was a bit confused at first because there was this place everyone kept calling Ibiza Town, but all I could find on the map was a place called Eivissa ....and then I remembered some pronunciation rules, and it started to make sense....and then I found out a different dialect is spoken here, hence the spelling... (but I don't suppose that's going to matter to me much anyhow as no one understands my Spanish anyway...) I'm not in Eivissa, but on the other side of the island near San Antonio (or Sant Antoni, depending...) in an area called Port des Torrents, which ...and I don't mean to be mean or anything, but in winter this place is about as alive as a slug in salt water... My apartment building is on the beach and quite modern and large, but currently I am one of the only residents, so its a tad 'quiet' here even for me ...so I walk the 4km to town every day to see people. My apartment does have a wonderful view though. Sant Antoni has a rep for wonderful sunsets (probably due the haze from the mainland on the horizon) ...anyway, as luck would have it they occur on a fairly regular basis (almost exactly every 24 hours) right outside my window - which is pretty cool... oooh, look, there's one right now!

So, no new photos, but I was modifying the context of some old ones by blowing up small pieces

  

 Trip total 10,192km

Malaga

  Strange thing happened today - I got up and it wasn’t sunny. Didn’t know what to do! Ended up taking the train to Malaga, and as fortune would have it, by the time I got there the sun was working again. Malaga itself is fairly standard – it’s got the old town with the tiny streets and a square at every corner and an impressive old church/cathedral/mosque in most every square and an old fort on a hill and a palace – you know, the usual stuff. Since the fort “Castillo de Gibralfaro’ has been sitting up there looking over the town for 700 years, I decided to go there first. Its a fair good hike up (~130m) but there are lots of benches and lookouts along the way and obviously lots of good views from the top.€2.20 to gain admittance to Gibralfaro and €3.65 to see both Gibralfaro and the palace below (Alcazaba) that Gibralfaro was built to protect. On the way down, pass through the Alcazaba Tunnel and in about 100m you can find a most excellent tapas cafe (on Calle Mundo Nuevo).



YUM! One free tapa with each beer!
those are little mini burgers and
eggplant con miel - delicious!



Once again, the only customer, but the tapas were superb! ..and cheap... There is definitely no shortage of cafes and restaurants to choose from in the old part of the city – nearly every square and every street has one, if not a row...



another square with another monument and more cafes - actually this
one was quite neat - absolutely huge!

 Trip total 9382km

 


- Alcazaba Tunnel -
look carefully and you might
see me sitting there enjoying
a beer and tapas in the sun!

  
 


art is everywhere - a wall of glass at the port



more art in the middle of the street!



and must not forget, El Toro!

Benalmedena

...typical

Tried to do a bit of studying today but got bored and went for a walk – had the thought that I might take the gondola that gives a 600m lift to the top of the mountain, but unfortunately it is still winter. Speaking of which, I heard a rumour that it’s the coldest winter in 25 years... I don’t think it really qualifies as cold here, but I will admit the mornings are rather chilly. I’m thinking the nail is pretty much in the coffin for the term ‘global warming’!

Took the bus to the old town Benalmedena Pueblo which is described as a typical white Spanish village (well it is that – a bit blinding at times) but I’m not sure if there is any ‘old’ left...certainly the streets are narrow – the main street is only wide enough for one lane, so there is a traffic light at each end. Had a look round, then ended up spending a sunny afternoon studying my Spanish on a pub patio.  I named the bus route there the ‘Circle Tour’ because I’m sure whoever designed the route simply played connect-a-dot with all the traffic circles they could find – a little bit like taking the teacup ride at the fair...

on the left, note the elevator which will take you up (or down)
the cliff - in case you don't have time to walk the path...now
that is public transport!



to Malaga

View from my patio

Train from Seville to Malaga was very reasonable (19.85euro). This was the slow train - there was a faster one that cut about 45min off the time, but I wasn't in a hurry and at €2.50 per glass of wine, I’m sure I could find a better use for the extra €30.  Initially, much of the trip was rather dull - once out of town, flat farmland for the most part, but after leaving Bobadillla, the last stretch into Malaga got rather mountainous and there was much scenery to look at. A short 5 minute stretch consisting of a series of tunnels and gorges was particularly fun, then lots of white houses with red tile roofs as we left the mountains and entered Malaga area. GPS didn’t work for the entire ride – I guess the trains are signal -proof, but the information panel said we travelled at up to 150km/h. 2hr40min later in Malaga main station I hop on the local train (€2.20) and zip off to Benalmedena (sort of a resort suburbia community). A 5minute walk down the hill and there is my apartment/hotel. It has a kitchen, and I can see a supermercado down the hill so off I go to get supplies. For those of you who were wondering if Spain is expensive or cheap, I'd have to say the travel so far was really inexpensive, the hostel I had in Seville was maybe not cheap, but it certainly was excellent value at €22 (desayunaro incluido). But let me describe groceries - this is going to kill you. Total bill €26... 1/3kilo each of cheese, ham, salmon, coffee, cocoa, 2Lwater, 750ml red wine, 2L beer, 1L orange juice, 3 tomatoes, cucumber, pizza, olives, 8 yogurt, 5 avocados, box of biscuits & a bag of rolls... Now some of you might say, “But mate, you’ve got 17 items on your list, how can that be? Everything would have to be like €1.5!” ...well, you’d be right...except for the cheese. It was €3.

uno el grande cervesa
..and cheap too!

....would you be interested to know how much it is to rent or buy an apartment?...

Apparently I was tired last night, after a walk round, I had dinner at 8ish, came home, put my feet up and fell asleep. Today is Sunday and the sidewalks have been put away for the day...so I will tell you about dinner. €18 total (tip tax everything including desert). I have always had this vision of the Mediterranean, sitting on a patio, eating fish and roasted peppers topped off with a nice glass of wine. Well its winter, and although I did sit outside last night, tonight I opted to sit inside...so no patio. It was a small restaurant, off the strip, but very nice. I was the only customer other than two gentlemen drinking coffee, but they assured me the kitchen was open. I recognize 'atun parrilla' on the menu and since I am already drinking a rather nice red wine... Rather clumsily, I ask for it 'less grilled' - thank goodness the waitress has a fair understanding of English! The chef brings it out and I perceive grilled pepper, potatoes and two rather large slabs of tuna. I give a tentative prod as I am initially sceptical, but the tuna falls apart exactly the way it should and I see that only the outer 3-4 mm are grilled. The flavour and texture are perfect! I notice the chef is watching me from the kitchen as I take my initial taste so I give him ‘the nod’. A moment later he brings out a tray of course salt in case I wish to augment the flavour a bit more... It was perhaps the best tuna I have ever had...and defiantly one of the better meals. Imagine how good it could have been if I’d gone to one of those busy places on the strip!.  J

Trip total 8992km



Seville

Well all the connections worked - got through at Gatwick a bit quicker than expected so had a fair bit of time to kill. Decided against going into London and opted instead to have an authentic English lunch at an authentic English pub. So I took a train to Crawley and 'ad a walk’ round the town center in search of said pub. ...bloody cold! Just as I was about to give up, there it was, the perfect pub!  It even came with a lively set of regulars, with whom I had a good chat. Seems it is a bit colder and snowier than usual for the south of England... 

Arrived in Seville on time -apparently Ryanair arrives on-time 90% of the time. Picked up the airport bus for 2.40euro and then a tram for €1.30 and walked the few remaining blocks and voila, here was my pension. Next morning, a nice breakfast of cereal coffee, juice, toast (con jamon y queso) and I was ready to explore.  The old part of Seville is the traditional medieval town design - narrow streets (many only a couple of meters wide and some nothing more than a shoulder width walkway)...and of course winding every which way.... a person probably could get lost in about three minutes in that maze! But, besides my paper map, I had my GPS and never a worry about where I was.... sometimes I'd find myself going in entirely the wrong direction, but I always knew where I was!  Had dinner at a restaurant/bar at the edge of a 'square' (more correctly a triangle). It was enlightening. The square was about 30 by 50 meters, a busy lane on one edge, and a fenced kids play park in the middle. Outside of this area served as a dog park and meeting place where you could have a drink and a chat while your dog or child went about their respective business.... Lo and behold, no catastrophe occurred during my time there due to animals near children who were near adults drinking in an unfenced public park... amazing! ...and I was there for a while - the kitchen wasn't open when I arrived at 7:00 pm so had no choice but to have a glass of wine or two while I waited....  Trip total 8750km

Seville really does have everything; 

 

old art

fashon



oranges - lots - everywhere!





a big tower

architecture

 

meeting places

 




shopping

 




decent transportation

  



medieval cathedral and palace

Christopher



parks



romance