so, what's on dmentedboy blogger ? everything dmented about jxe's travels. here, there and everywhere.
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.
hey bernice.
so this one is for you, as promised. when i received your text message the other night (your morning), the one u commented about the photos in nyc, i was like gawd, "ting lei mm shun !" haha. but then again i definitely can understand why. anyway. i m sure all goes well down at your end. u must be like missing me heaps by now.
barcelona
thursday 6th - tuesday 11th December 2007
days 84 - 89
took the overnight flight from jfk airport to munich. all went well. didnt get to sleep much. the plane touched down an hour earlier which was nice but the plane to barcelona was delayed by 1.5 hours. so i had to fucking spend 4 hours at the airport waiting. wasnt fun at all. and what is it with europe ? haven't they heard of free wifi at the airport for the passengers ? gawd.
(barcelona: at first sight.)
(barcelona: a closer look ... )
so i arrived at the airport. caught the bus to plaza catalunya. my first impression on barcelona is that it looks like kuala lumpur. the whole colonial feel and the buildings all look grey and similar in color. hah. i was expecting to see another paris but thank gawd i was wrong. the radio was blasting "heaven is a place on earth" by belinda carlisle and i was convinced i was in heaven !
(barcelona: plaza catalunya)
(barcelona: there's no escape from jean nouvel)
i got totally disoriented when i got off the bus. the map was confusing and the street signs were hard to spot. it took me an hour to find my way to where i wanted to go when in fact that place was only 5 minutes away. but once i got the hang of it, i was in love.
one of the first thing i noticed is that the spanish looks great. they are abit fatter than the french, still they look good. again, whenever i see anyone fat and ugly, they are probably americans or married with kids or older ppl.
it goes to show unless you are american or maybe australian, 90% of the time :-
single = looking good
single + single = married with kids = fat and ugly
i must somehow detach myself from this equation. but then again i m already blessed. its not easy being 25 and still look this great.
(barcelona: center of music)
after being frozen for a week in nyc, arriving in barcelona is great. it feels great to be a place where its over 10C. it was bet 12C - 18C the whole time i was there.
(barcelona: some church's courtyard)
shopping here is great. they have a great variety of shoes. gawd, i so should have gotten my shoes from here. clothes are good too. i managed to find a really cool pair of jeans that fits. thats another plus for spain. they do cater for people that looks good with perfect proportion. i had to dig a grave for my old pair to make room for the new. oh well.
(barcelona: view from the top)
called up vicky (friday 7th december - day 85) and we had the best time. she caught up with several of her friends that night and i got to apartment hop. i got to see a really beautifully renovated studio in the old town and a beautiful large pad on the other side of town. i met up with her again on monday (10th december day 88). she showed me her office and later went to this amazing japanese-spanish restaurant for lunch. i cant stress how nice and friendly she is.
(barcelona: vicky me and some random shots)
i finally got a chance to use my spanish after months of so-call self studying. i m so proud of meself (not that i m never) that i could go into a restaurant, order everything without using any english ! woo hoo. need to go a whole lot further now.
gaudi kinda dominated this city. u see and hear of him everywhere. its very pleasant to just walk aimlessly because you never know what you might find at every corner.
(barcelona: gaudi building)
(barcelona: gaudi park)
all the hype about the beaches was really disappointing. probably because we are all spoilt coming from sydney. then again, its winter. might be worth making a trip back in summer.
(barcelona: one of many beaches)
lastly whoever told me that spain is cheap to travel is so gonna get their ASS KICKED when i next see ya ! i find france way cheaper !
xxx. j.
