so, what's on dmentedboy blogger ? everything dmented about jxe's travels. here, there and everywhere.
hey jiang,
so, still hanging on in dubai ? you should be finishing your year by now right ? any plans to stay on or travels ? update me !
avila
friday 21st december 2007
day 99
(avila: random shots)
wanted to do a day trip out of madrid. it was either avila, segovia or salamanca. after contemplating for a few days, i picked avila. dont know what the other town is like, only hear stories and seen pictures, but avila was worth the trip. so far i think one can't go too wrong with a spanish town. this town is fully fortified. kinda reminds me of a bigger version of carcassonne back in france except you have to pay to walk the walls. man, the spanish are cheap. otherwise, like all other spanish cities, there is the cathedral (how can one miss that ?), the fortified town and the new town. very pleasant to just get lost. many great photo-ops.
(avila: into the fortress)
(avila: inside inner walls)
(avila: the walls)
(avila: more random shots)
xxx. j.
dear wenmin.
so, having a good semester break ? well, thanx for getting me in touch with justo. he is a great host. showed me around, introduced me to some fantastic people and showed me what being spanish is all about. having such a great time. you have to make it here sometime soon. justo is waiting for you ;)
madrid
thursday 20th december & sunday 23rd, monday 24th decemeber 2007
day 98 & 101, 102
(madrid: random shots)
ok. after a hideously long 9 hour overnight train ride from santiagoDC, i arrived in a wet city. it literally rained the whole day. gawd. walking in the rain is painful but somewhat fun at the same time.
(madrid: the cathedral and the palace)
madrid is probably the most advance city in spain. the public transport here is every efficient. madrid connects to the rest of spain. the subway is fantastic. only problem is the cleaners are on strike. what is me and strikes ? the subways are filthy as. not trashed by the patrons by the cleaners (just to prove a point). i think thats dumb becoz they will eventually have to clean up all the gunk after the strike anyway. idiots.
(madrid: more random shots)
called up justo. he came out immediately and hang. boy i am impressed. he showed me the city in the rain. was kinda fun. got completely soaked and realized that my new pair of shoes isn't waterproof. sigh. i hate soaked socks. took me to some amazing local bar/restaurants. that night we went to alcala de henares, 30 minuted drive north from madrid and hang with several of his friends. ironically i saw more cars than people in that town. three, 30 something spanish guys, do really know how to have fun. i hope i dont lose it when i reach that age. we went to have some amazing tapas, went to a salsa club, a disco club and another pub. whoa. all that in one night. ok. i am an old 25 year old. just cant keep up !
(madrid: justo and gang)
sorry for the lack of pictures in madrid. it was wet and cold. too cold to take out the camera. hehe
xxx. j.
dear andrew,
so, it wont be long before little andrew start running around the house huh ? must be exciting. i am excited for you. if i am not back by then, do send me some pix.
santiago de compostela
sunday 16th - wednesday 19th december 2007
day 94 - 97
(santiagoDC: the sign.)
after 8 hour of struggle in the train, i arrived at this fucking amazing place at night. i walked with awe through the old city to where i booked. one thing i learnt was never to book anything over the internet if you can help it. just check the availability on the net and then call up the place directly. this way, you dont have to pay any booking fee plus i got 4 euros off per night. way too cool. also, this place has an amazing view out of my room. fucking awesome.
(santiagoDC: dinner at some fancy restaurant)
(santiagoDC: room with a view)
santiagoDC is surrounded with lots and lots of amazing cathedrals. apparently many pilgrimage walk all the way from germany, sweden, france etc... to the cathedrals here. i call them crazy but what do i know. i met one korean girl who did that. i told her she is insane. but i think shes abit of a nut anyway. she walked from a small town in france. took her 35 days. another friend of mine told me that a friend of his did it too. but he drove. only took him 2 days. smart boy !
(santiagoDC: into the churches)
(santiagoDC: more churches)
(santiagoDC: much more churches)
(santiagoDC: square of churches)
(santiagoDC: churches ...)
(santiagoDC: inside some church)
(santiagoDC: side wall of a church)
this place really do have alot of character. the town's got everything ... there is the old town, the new, a huge park, great shopping, good food ... etc. really glad i made it all the way. should have come here sooner. oh well.
(santiagoDC: random shots)
(santiagoDC: more random shots)
i got a map and there were some advertising about shopping on it. it reads ... Here we have the most prestigious national and international firms: Alcampo, MCDONALD'S, zara, roberto verino, ... go firgure.
anyway ... be mesmerized by the pics ...
(santiagoDC: the park)
xxx. j.
hey michelle ho.
so, you have planned your trip to south america yet ? btw, thank you very much for the spanish book. it has come in very handy especially those long train rides. i am learning a few words a day. i figure, at this rate i am going, i'd probably speak perfect spanish when i am 95 ! hah.
btw, do u have a twin sister who is traveling in spain atm ?
burgos
friday 14th - saturday 15th december 2007
days 92 - 93
(burgos: random shots.)
ok. i am going to whine about the public transportation here in spain again. i wanted to go to gijon but the train dont go there. the only way by train is to catch a 6 hour train ride to leon and then catch a connecting train there the next day. or else catch an 8 hour bus. if you look at the map, its only 3 times the distance to bilbao. so if one does the math, it would only take 4 hours max. go figure. instead i should catch the train to santiago de compostela but would have to take a 11 hour train ride. ! gawd. so i decided to break the trip up to 3. catch a 3.5 hour train ride to burgos then 2 to leon and then 6 to santiago de compostela.
the train ride was nice. met a girl from hawaii who was going to santiago de compestela (same train). we chatted the whole journey and time was easier to pass. interestingly she looks asian, looks like michelle and talks exactly like michelle and thats not all. she even thinks like michelle. hah. perhaps her sister ?
(burgos: the main square.)
burgos is a little town. the main attraction is the cathedral. i notice that the cathedral seems to be the focus of EVERY spainsh town/city. its like the town hall for other country. apart from that, i didnt find much character to this place. also i was so exhausted i totally crashed. i had a really nice lunch in this restaurant. the even gave me a whole bottle of wine which i only drank like a glass. hah. what a waste. i crashed from 3pm right to 9.30pm then crashed again from midnight to 8am. i totally needed it . now i feel recharged to go on.
(burgos: the cathedral where everything revolves around it)
(burgos: some demented trees paved the roads)
just when i thought i got away from the cold, it just got colder. i woke up to -3C. urgh !
xxx. j.
dear stephane,
so, its been more than a month since i left paris. hah. i hope you have gotten over my cooking by now. haha. next time i come by i promise i wont cook. hehe. i miss france terribly. i am so tempted to catch a flight from barcelona to nantes seeing the air tickets are so cheap. i am glad i made it to san sebastian. i can understand why its your favorite place in spain.
san sebastian.
tuesday 11th - friday 14th december
days 89 - 92 after
debating for days whether i should go down south to valencia or up north to san sebastian. surprisingly, most people i talked to have never left barcelona or just heard to places to go to. i dont really blame them coz its so easy to get stuck in barcelona. it wasnt easy for me to leave too.
(san sebastian: a raphael moneo piece, gift wrapped)
(san sebastian: really cool square in the old town)
public transportation here in spain is hell. its so hard to get to places even on the map it looks like its only 1 hour away. the train system dont go everywhere and the buses not only take forever to get to anywhere but the leave at really odd hours. PLUS both trains and buses ARE NOT CHEAP ! so many people are so gonna get their ASS KICKED !!!
(san sebastian: random shots.)
so the train ride to san sebastian took 8 hours but it was sooo worth it. i fell in love with this place the moment i got here. i managed to find a really nice 'pension' right in the heart of the old city. they dont have a room for a single but the gave me a huge room for the price of a single. it has a balcony that faces the street. how awesome is that.
(san sebastian: the really cool pension)
(san sebastian: behind the really cool pension)
also its very low season at the moment, i didnt see many tourist there at all. it was really pleasant to just walk around, go into any restaurant and try any food and not get packed with people. shopping here is good too. i found a shop that sells locally designed jackets. really cool stuff. unfortunately nothing fitted me. sigh. since this is a tourist destination, i m not surprised if they only cater for the insipid americans.
(san sebastian: up the hill from the pension)
(san sebastian: higher ... )
(san sebastian: and higher ...)
one of my favorite thing is to sit in a cafe/bar, at the counter, order a coffee and pick on the tapas stuff all over the counter. most of the time i dont really know what i am eating but hey, i am willing to try anything so long as i dont know what it is i am eating. also i realized that gambling is really big in spain. you almost have a casino in every major city and pokie machines in every cafe/bar. gawd. spanish needs help.
(san sebastian: the surf beach)
the beaches are ok, maybe its because its winter and feels really grey but the hike up the mountain was just amazing.
xxx. j.
