World Trip 2011

Photos: Back in Australia

brettcooke — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 15:04:00 GMT

Back in Australia

brettcooke — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 14:56:00 GMT

What a ride it has been, but right now everything’s seems too familiar.

My parents, Lyn and Trev picked us up from Adelaide airport in two cars. When I told them how much stuff we had they thought it just easier to drive both down. It’s always good to see them but especially after two years. Whispers of time have aged us all but our relationship is better than ever. We stayed at their place in Adelaide for two weeks where we bought a car off my mate Smitty and caught up with a lot of old friends from some crazy party days back in Adelaide. Good people. Now all these crazy party people have a kid or three and are still looking fantastic. I managed to get novelty surf with old mates Grom and Gilli out at Southport as well. After a while though it felt like it was time to go so we left Adelaide but we took a detour to Portland in Victoria. We took this way because I think we really didn’t want to drive home (Coffs) yet, as well as catching up with an old friend, Fred- the Swedish Viking. Once again, I hadn’t seen Fred for many years and at times it seems that our lives run in parallel. It was good to see him but unfortunately he had a bike accident where he broke a few ribs, punctured his lung and a slight neck tweak. So he wasn’t surfing, but I managed to get a couple at a little reef called Crummies. It felt a little funny surfing again, my stomach and shoulders hurt but otherwise it was a fun surf. Danielle opted out due to fear of the cold.

The drive back to Coffs from Portland was surprisingly easy, some bad weather but the majority of the trip was on freeways so it was easy and fast. When we got to Coffs we stayed at a good friend Carla’s place on her couch for two weeks until we got on our feet. Honestly without Carla we would have been in a caravan park so we are so grateful and appreciative of her hospitality and kindness. In the 2 weeks we managed to both get work, get a place to live and move all our things from the storage container to our new home. It’s on the other side of town but close to Sawtell beach and close to Danielle’s work. We both have some work lined up and it’s looking like a smooth transition back in to the coastal life that we enjoy up here on the North Coast of New South Wales. This is home, for now.

I guess this is our last post. Maybe we could have traveled for longer, but money and impending careers eventually drew us back. Can’t live the dream for ever. Societies need the worker bees to go to work every day. That feeling of mourning still lingers, and now it sort of feels like a dream. All the places that we went and adventures we took over the past 15 months have condensed into tiny frame grabs from a supernatural movie. It has been absolutely amazing. Everywhere we went, the snow was good or the surf was pumping. It was filled with beautiful moments in time from all over the world where the memories of people and places will always bring a smile to my face.

Thanks for following us throughout our travels and I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading our stories, clicking through endless jpeg images and soaking up bandwidth with our snowboarding videos!

Photos: Hong Kong

brettcooke — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:49:00 GMT

Hong Kong

brettcooke — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:08:00 GMT

It was a hasty retreat from Italy yet the five trains and one bus seamed to take forever. We traveled back to the chalet in France where we had left our snowboards and other gear and stayed for one night before jumping back on the train to St Pancras station in London. We then got some sleep at my sister's house in Chiswick and hired a car to get back up to Manchester to get our surfboards and say a thanks to my aunt Elaine. Then it was back to London to see Will, Chris and Jess and then heading to Heathrow for our flight. It was a hectic week but we got everything sorted. The flight from Heathrow to Hong Kong was a grueling eleven and a half hours, its a long one for sure. The first day was a jet lagged dream of half consciousness, but we went to Temple street market in the evening where the stereotypical display of Asian manufactured goods were on sale. The prices, although cheap, are not as low as Thailand or Indonesia but cheaper than Australia or Canada. The next day we went to Ocean Park which is a fun park near the city that has roller coasters etc. It was good day but the heat and humidity was over whelming. On the Wednesday we went to a Asian buffet with Danielle's Grandmother, who was also kind enough to let us stay at her house in the city for the duration of our stay. So we definitely had a authentic Hong Kong experience. We ventured out to the Big Buddha, the must see tourist destination in Hong Kong, as well as a few visits of the beautiful gardens that are scattered amongst the immensely crowded concrete jungle. A mandatory trip to the peak was also undertaken to get the obligatory photo of the city all lit up. It was a good five days and I think I enjoyed Hong Kong more than I anticipated, but now a feeling of proud reflection has crept over us, as we think of all the places we have been over the last fifteen months and the impending moment of reaching Australia. But we haven't gone around the world just yet. We arrive in Adelaide to see my parents and see some old friends, before driving halfway across Australia back to where we started- Coffs Harbour.Let the adventure continue.

Photos: Florence, Rome & Cinque Terre, Italy.

brettcooke — Wed, 2 May 2012 02:24:00 GMT

Florence, Rome & Cinque Terre, Italy.

brettcooke — Wed, 2 May 2012 02:19:00 GMT

We started our south bound journey to Italy from Moutiers train station where the TGV fast train picked us up at a much slower pace than its 300km an hour capacity. Our first stop was Milan before whizzing through the rolling Tuscan countryside and Apennine Mountains before arriving in the beautiful city of Florence. The hostel that we chose was fairly close to the train station so although we needed eyes in the back of our heads to lookout for pick pockets, we didn’t get lost and we found it easily. Steeped in history, Florence’s religious buildings are both vast and spectacular, and although not being the religious types, it is easy to be in awe by its architectural, engineering and artistic masterpieces. The Duomo is spectacular but the crowds swarm like busy bees around it. It’s ironic that I’m complaining about the same crowds that I am part of, but it does get a little intense. Some of the line ups for the museums are just crazy, and it was only April! However, there is lots to see without going into the museums. We checked out the beautiful church of Santa Maria Novella, Palazzo Vecchio as well as the Archaeological museum and a stroll through the bling corridor of Ponte Vecchio, where the bridge is lined with jewellery shops There are loads of piazzas, palaces and statues designed by Michelangelo and his posse of renaissance gangsters that cost nothing. The Piazzale Michelangelo is one such place and sits above the city and provides great views of the Tuscan landscape.

Next stop was Rome. Another train and we were in Rome in about an hour and a half. Checked into another dorm room and set off to see the Colosseum. Pretty cool. The line up didn’t take long and it was a great experience to wander the ruins of a place that saw so much death, drama and excitement. I couldn’t help but imagine Russell Crowe slaying his enemies as Maximus in Gladiator! It was good that we saw the Colosseum and the Roman Forum that afternoon because there is much to see and we needed all the time we could get. The next day we got a hop on/ hop off tour so that we didn’t have to walk as far. Our first stop was Basilica Di San Giovanni which was amazing. It’s a spectacular church with frescos adorning the ceiling and massive statues of religious figures. Then we made our way to St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican. We thought the previous church was amazing. This was unbelievable. So opulent, so extravagant. People must really believe in their religion to construct places like this. As mentioned before, the crowds were off the Richter scale, but we braved the lines of the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel, checking out renaissance art by all the big names. The experience was like being a sheep following the flock down an unbelievably artistic corridor! So many people, and so much to see, too much really. We then jumped back on the bus to see the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and a few others that I can’t remember. That night we drank beers and talked about gladiators with some crew from Colorado, Italy and the Caribbean.

On our last day in Rome we took the Metro and local trains out to some ruins called Ostia Antica. It was a nice day out of the hustle and bustle of Rome but that’s not to say we had solitude as the usual stream of tourists were still present. The ruins gave me a good sense of the technology of ancient Rome and how modern they really were.

After a frantic departure from Rome due to a last minute station change, we were on our way to Cinque Terre. The train followed the coast all the way and it was a beautiful trip. A friend in the French Alps told us about this place and it was exactly what we wanted. We didn’t really want to go to another city, because they all start to look the same in Europe after a while. Cinque Terre is a group of 5 towns built into the cliffs and steep hillside on the Mediterranean coast. The weather was fine and sunny and we spent the first afternoon just wandering the coastal path from Riomaggiore to Manarola. That night we dined on pasta, pizza and cheap wine (we’re backpackers!). The next day we hiked the coastal trail all the way to the last town of Monterrosso. Due to recent landslides, it is impossible to walk all the way so we had to get the train past one section. We got to Monterrosso in about 5 hours and jumped in the chilly Mediterranean waters to cool off. We were in Cinque Terre for 3 nights and a total of 9 nights in Italy. Every single night we had someone in our dorm snoring their heads off. I think now when we travel we will be getting private rooms!

Now back to pick up our snowboards from the Alps, and then back London. Heading home.

Photos: French Alps, April 2012

brettcooke — Wed, 2 May 2012 00:48:00 GMT

Chamonix, Val D'Isere, 3 Valleys, Val Thorens

French Alps, April 2012

brettcooke — Wed, 2 May 2012 00:43:00 GMT

So our season in the Alps was finally coming to an end. There were times that we thought it was never going to, and then all of a sudden there were only a few weeks to go. We tried hard to get out of the 3 Valleys area and managed a few day trips to keep things interesting. We spent a foggy day in Chamonix/Mont Blanc, and a beautiful powder day in Val D’Isere with Karen and Joeri. With only one day at each mountain, you can only get a taste. Chamonix is very Whistler-esque, with an extreme sport feel to it. It is in the valley below Mont Blanc which is the highest peak in Europe at 4810 meters. The gondolas extend into the heavens from the valley floor at extremes angles, disappearing into the clouds. We were used to seeing big mountains by now but Chamonix still had the ‘wow’ factor of a huge mountain. Val D’Isere has a beautiful and purpose built village, which is situated at the meeting point of multiple valleys. We had fresh snow so the terrain up in the higher altitudes was about 30cm deep and the glacier region provided a few fresh tracks. We would go back again one day if we can. Upon returning to our chalet after our day trip to Val D’Isere, we had a closing party of our own and took advantage of the hot tub for the first time this season, with no guests around. Joeri, Karen, and Luna joined us and we spent hours in the tub just talking, laughing, drinking and eating. Fabulous! We then headed to the neighbours for their closing of season shindig and toasted a great season with some beers.

In our final week at the chalet during our endless list of cleaning responsibilities, we did manage to go out!!!! I know, that was a huge feat but we had a fun night at the Piano Bar where some awards were presented to the saisonnieres. We celebrated a birthday in La Rochette, that ended with fighting in the street (those darn French people), and enjoyed our chalet, our workplace and home for the first time all season without any guests to bother us. It was well worth the wait although I can honestly say I don’t think we will ever be back at Chalet Chardon Bleu. Happily, on our last day riding we had fresh powder and the fog parted so we could enjoy some clean lines in one of our favourite areas at Val Thorens. Awesome! With so few tourists remaining, it was an epic way to end the season.

To summarize the season, the 3 Valleys is an absolutely epic area to snowboard in. The terrain is vast and varied with something for everyone. We had one of the best seasons for snow fall in recorded history, and we definitely took advantage of all the powder days. We had a combined total of over 500 000 vertical meters descended, 1000 lifts and 100 days on the mountain. So there is no doubt that when we were on the mountain, we were happy. But, the work sucked. It was relentless. 6 days a week, living and working at the chalet and being located away from the main town meant that socializing on our terms was difficult. One major gripe was the lack of money. We really struggled for tips and we were denied an end of season bonus. I emailed the owner to inquire why, seeing that we continually got 5 star reviews and saw twice the amount of guests than any other chalet in our area. He didn’t even email a reply, nothing. That's the reality. We were disposable workers, so I realized half way through the season that you just have to get what you can out of it and ride hard when you’re on the mountain. We definitely needed each other to lean on throughout the season. I don’t know if I would do it again, but snowboarding is just so damn good, who knows...

Now, off to Italy!

Photos: French Alps, March 2012

brettcooke — Sun, 1 Apr 2012 02:31:00 GMT

Snowboarding, X games

French Alps, March 2012

brettcooke — Sun, 1 Apr 2012 02:24:00 GMT

As I sit here using all my mental strength to resist the constant urge to scratch, I contemplate the parents of the little girl who gave me chicken pox. Her parents said to us that she was feeling unwell on the drive from London to the chalet, but the penny dropped when she came out with bumps all over her body the next morning. “It will be fine” the collective audience replied. “Everyone’s had it by now, surely?” Well actually it turns out that I hadn’t had chicken pox before and adults get it a lot worse than children. In hindsight the child should have been put in isolation in her room but wandered throughout the chalet touching everything. I tried to stay away from her but it was inevitable. I have a fever, headache, sore throat and not to mention the bumps. It pretty much sucks. Cry baby.

On a considerably happier note, March as been pretty good. We managed to get two light snowfalls in the past month which was badly needed- both for the mountain, and my mental sanity. Danielle, myself and some friends have being doing short hikes along ridge lines and into nearby valleys to get some untracked powder. We have also been riding up at Val Thorens more because it’s at a higher altitude so it has more snow and better quality. We even managed a night out in VT which was a welcomed break from the Piano Bar in St Martin. One week we drove out to Les Arc which is a ski resort about an hour away. Although the weather wasn’t good we still had a good time exploring a different mountain.

From the 14-16^th of March the European X games were on in Tignes. We couldn’t miss this opportunity to see the best in the world performing in our sport. The drive to Tignes only took about 1 ½ hours including a small vomit stop (Thanks Sy for getting none in the car!). The land rover had 3 mates in the back. Jenny, Jakob and Sy who had decided to come along for the day. We also got a free day skiing courtesy of having a 3 Valleys season pass which was a bonus. During the day we managed to see the Mens Snowboard slopestyle, Mens Ski slopestyle, the snowmobile demonstration and the Mens Final of the superpipe, as well as some exploring on the mountain, and a few laps of the terrain park. It was a massive day and totally worth. To see Shaun White and Louie Vito flying massive Playstation tricks over your head is simply awesome. This is the link to see Shaun’s winning run http://search.espn.go.com/shaun-white/video/6. I even got a high five from Louie Vito and the end of the final. Check the vid. Classic.

On the work front March has been steady but we did have a week with only 5 guests which was amazing. All the staff had a chance to get some much needed rest and recharge a little. The guests that week didn’t even stay for the whole week. It also looks like the relationship between the chalet staff and the owner has turned weird. The other couple that we work with have taken another job for next season at a different chalet after a disagreement with the owner. The owner seems happy with the professional job we have all done this season, but there seems to be something that is possibly personal to attribute the shift in his attitude. To be honest, Danielle and I don’t really care. Ha! We also found out that we are finishing on the 21^st of April- 1 week earlier than we expected. Danielle’s pretty happy about that as she has been keen for a new scene. I’ve got mixed emotions. I’m keen for the work to stop, but I’m now counting the days of snowboarding that I have left. 3 more weeks. I'm already looking forward to Canada next winter.

Photos: French Alps, February 2012

brettcooke — Tue, 6 Mar 2012 20:10:00 GMT

French Alps, February 2012

brettcooke — Tue, 6 Mar 2012 05:38:00 GMT

Just another month of rubber gloves, skid marks and pubic hair that is the reality of my working life here in the French Alps (Gross I know!). But I have to earn my turns on the mountain I guess. It was a month of a Chalet that was jammed with non tipping guests every week. No other chalet in St Martin has as many people as consistently as us. This has been partly due to the midterm European break. The mountain has been packed with rude and pushy Parisians which has been providing me with no end of frustration (Get your F#$%#ing skis off my F#$%#ing board!!!). One positive through this period was a good friend of ours, Will and his girlfriend Jess came to stay for a few days. They had to sleep on our floor and do a few chores to earn their keep but it was good to show them around the 3 Valleys and have a few beers with them.

The weather has been crazy. The first 2 weeks of Feb were absolutely freezing. Daytime temperatures on the mountain were at about -20 with night time at about -30. It was intense but cold temps kept the snow in great condition and we managed a few sneaky powder days but that soon ended around the middle of the month. The temperature rose to spring time conditions with daytime averages of +10 which is so warm for the Alps. Added to this the freezing level was at 3000m so the entire mountain is now melting at a rapid pace and the snow is like boarding through slush. We have started to ride in the terrain parks more, hitting the jumps and rails and filming. We have also been skiing alot more because of the marginal conditions. Danielle is really starting to get the hang of it and is now parallel turning. We saw the Redbull/ Frost Gun Invitational event in Val Thorens which was an awesome display of airtime as well as relaxing with some mates at the local bar on our much earned day off.

We also celebrated our 1 year anniversary of our travels! What an epic year it has been. Our flight back to Australia left without us on the 27^th of Feb so we will have to find our own way back (Hello Visa card). But we knew this was the case when we took this job.

Once again thanks for tuning in to our adventures. We are up to 4082 views with over 200 views of the last posting, so due to the overwhelming popularity of the last video we have made another one. Check it out!

Photos: French Alps, January 2012

brettcooke — Thu, 2 Feb 2012 04:17:00 GMT

Snowboarding

French Alps, January 2012

brettcooke — Wed, 1 Feb 2012 08:17:00 GMT

After an action packed last post we feel that nothing that interesting has happened in the last month. For us the work load has softened a little (down from 70 to 50 hours a week), so we have been able to get up on the mountain a lot more, which is why we are here after all. On the work front, Danielle continues to dominate the kitchen with creative dishes for the vegetarians, dairy free, gluten free, allergy prone, and just plain fussy eaters that we continually get. I feel that I am getting better in the kitchen and feeling more comfortable. There has still been so much driving and with the continual snow fall the conditions are testing every time I get behind the wheel. Our road up to the chalet runs along a cliff and has been like an ice skating rink so it has been sketchy at times. I was exiting the car park and the back end of my 4x4 slid into the side of a parked car and scratched the paintwork. Nothing I could do, but now the Frenchy that owns it reckons that I smashed in the other side of his car as well! He wanted a couple of thousand in cash to fix the scratch. What a tripper! He’s blatantly trying to get the insurance money. I should have just drove off but my conscience got the better of me. Check the photos of the scratch on the blog.

January proved to be financially beneficial in the way of tips which were definitely well received. I even managed to save up enough to get myself a new board. It’s a Ride Berzerker for all those who are interested. We celebrated Australia day by going up the valley to Val Thorens where we found a few little powder stashes that no one had hit, before heading to the bar and downing some beers with friends. The sun was shining, the beers were flowing and it was a great day to be an Ozzie! We also managed to rent some skis for the season. We have only been out on them once but it was good fun and we will be out on the again soon on the next icy day.

We get asked all the time in the chalet about which area is better for snowboarding, Canada or The Alps. Canada definitely gets more snow but this season in the Alps has been the best for snow fall for the last ten years. On a purely snowboarding angle it’s a tough one because there are so many crazy lines around the 3 Valleys that I am amazed every time I go up the mountain. There is a lot of terrain that is above the tree line so there are ample bowls, chutes and cliffs of all heights, but that’s not to say that there isn’t scary stuff in Canada as well. The one huge advantage that Canada has is the amount of trees. White out days here in the Alps are basically wasted days because there are not many tree areas to orientate yourself, making it impossible to ride and really dangerous. I actually had a good friend that died a few years ago after he accidentally went over a cliff in white out conditions here in France. Just the other day I had to help a few tourists that were lost and couldn’t get down the mountain. Additionally, the level of safety that is maintained in the 3 Valleys resort is much lower than in Canada. There is too much terrain out here for the ski patrol to maintain so consequently a lot is really unsafe and prone to avalanches. You really have to be careful out here and never stop thinking. Danielle and I had one scary moment where we nearly went off a 15 meter cliff. The mountain started funneling us down towards the cliff edge but we managed to stop in time. I had to do a controlled fall down it, (it wasn’t that controlled) and Danielle had to unclip and hike back out. It was a sketchy situation.

From a system analysis perspective, the North American resorts have thought of everything and have a plan, and this makes for a much more efficiently run mountain. The French seem a little half assed and blasé about providing tourists with the best experience that they can get. I would also say that there are more fair weather skiers here in Europe. There are restaurants all over the mountains, from Michelin star to modest establishments complete with sun soaked decks and exorbitant prices. I'm sure that by the afternoon half the tourists are skiing down the mountain half cut on French Vino. Canadian resorts are more about the skiing and attacking the mountain and less about cruising the pistes. So at the moment Canada is in front but it’s not even half way through the season yet so we will see at the end.

Make sure to check out our snowboarding video!

Photos: French Alps, December 2011

brettcooke — Thu, 5 Jan 2012 22:04:00 GMT

3 Valleys

French Alps, December 2011

brettcooke — Thu, 5 Jan 2012 21:56:00 GMT

Car, train, taxi, train, train and van. Our trip from London was another long day but we eventually arrived at the chalet in La Combe, France which would be our new home and work for the next five months. La Combe is a tiny, traditional French village that is about 5 minutes drive from St Martin de Belleville. This area is part of the three valleys ski area, the biggest in the world. The chalet was originally a barn and is around 250 years old. So it’s not what we imagined a ski chalet would look like. Canadian chalets are awesome examples of timber workmanship, custom fitted into the hill side. The French style is older and looks more like a handy man special. This became evident in the first two weeks as my job was to fix almost everything. So many things were broken or just simply shoddy that sometimes it was hard to believe. Added to this was that I had a very limited supply of equally shoddy tools to get the job done which made for some creative solutions. Danielle was also fixing things up by painting, sewing and working hard with the never ending job of cleaning.

The two people that we are working with are Darren and Becky. Both are mid 40’s and have thrown in their respective jobs in the south of England and have come out to France for a different scene. They worked in the chalet last year doing the jobs that we are doing this year. They are both nice but living and working in close proximity has been inevitably testing. All good though.

Our first week of guests was an easy one as we only had 3 people which was good to get a feel for the operations of the chalet. Then came the next group. The Christmas period is obviously a busy one but I really don’t think that we were prepared for it. The first drama was that the septic system broke. The smell was horrible, especially in one or two of the rooms. The guests who were in these rooms were understandably not very happy about it, but to be honest they don’t pay me and Danielle enough to be fixing septic systems! We had a total of 30 guests; some of the families knew each other and some didn’t. That is what the chalet is, shared living. However, some of the women started getting bitchy and some of the husbands were being loud mouths and there were a few nights around the dinner table where the tension was palpable. There were women crying and leaving the table or just refusing to eat with the other guests. We didn’t realise that we had to be counselors as well! It felt like we were back in the school yard. This went on for a few days until one of the families decided to leave. It was the only thing that could be done, but one of the loud mouths said something to another guy’s wife and so the husband drove up to the mountain, found the loud mouth and a punch up ensued! Classic stuff. Now our chalet is renown throughout the valley, but for the wrong reasons. On a positive note for us personally, all of the guests were happy with our performance (no tips though). Later in that week, Danielle and I were driving separate vans up to a restaurant to pick up the guests and Danielle’s van broke down. I had to continue up the mountain to pick up the guests that were waiting in the freezing night, leaving Danielle in the middle of the cold, mountain road with no hazard lights. She wasn’t very happy. Neither were some of the guests, but what could we do? The engine in the van seized and that was the end of that. We are still one van short nearly two weeks later. Christmas day wasn’t much fun as we had a lot of prep to do for the evening dinner. The chalet has a tradition of dressing up on Christmas day and going out snowboarding so we managed two quick runs down the mountain before heading back to the kitchen where we remained for the rest of the night.

The group that came for the New Year’s break were much nicer and there weren’t any dramas like the previous week but we are feeling really worn out and frustrated at the hours that we are working for such little pay and the owner continues to make our list of jobs longer. Comically, the owner came out to the chalet over the New Year’s period and in three days he managed to spin one of the cars out of control on the mountain road with guests in it, get the four wheel drive stuck in a ditch and get the van wedged in a driveway, stopping both lanes of traffic! New Year’s night was similar to Christmas as we slaved away in the kitchen. However, we managed to have a couple of beers that night and even managed to get into a huge snow ball fight with the guests from the neighbouring chalet. It was all in good fun.

I guess we are paying the price for having not worked much this past year. The universe has a strange way of balancing out. Needless to say we have thought about quitting, maybe we still will. On a positive note we have had about ten days up on the mountain. The terrain is amazing but I will leave that for another posting. Not quite living the dream anymore, but there has been some great powder days that are keeping us interested.

We have had over 3300 views of our travel journal now so thanks for tuning in. Shout out to Judith (Danielle’s aunt) who may be our number one fan and to everyone who lives vicariously through us!

Photos: Lisbon and Ericeira, Portugal

brettcooke — Sat, 3 Dec 2011 03:41:00 GMT

Lisbon and Ericeira, Portugal

brettcooke — Sat, 3 Dec 2011 03:03:00 GMT

It was just another sunrise as the train pulled in to Lisbon train station in Portugal. Tired and only a little irritable but we had things to do and friends to see. However, our friends Henrique and Verena were at work so we had an entire day to experience Lisbon before they picked us up. We met Henrique and Verena in Las Flores, El Salvador where we stayed in a super basic palapa right on the beach. We got sick waves down there and spent many good sessions sharing the waves with them a few months prior. Anyway, we left the station after stashing our backpacks and cruised to Sao Jorge castle that sits on top of the hill overlooking Lisbon city. The castle dates back to the 2^nd century and Roman, Suebic, Visigothic, and Moorish settlers lived where the castle now stands but more recently it was used as a military structure. We continued our tourist trail by heading down into the city where midsized apartment blocks stand above cafe owners setting up their shops for the day. It certainly has an old feel as Lisbon has been a trading route through Northern Africa for many years. These trading routes bring up the famous Moroccan hash that is so prevalent through southern Portugal and being young (ish) backpackers we were offered it and other things quite frequently. We jumped on the tram and headed down to the Belem area. Once there we found the Belem Tower and the Jeronimos Monastery which was nice but to be honest, all the churches are starting to look the same by now. Walking along the water front we were impressed by the scene but it was hard to ignore the ugly industrial buildings and ports that contrast the vista. We spent the afternoon laying on the grass in the botanical gardens. We were so tired from the previous night that it was awesome. After that we got some food and a waterfront restaurant, which sounds like it would be expensive but Portugal is so much cheaper than a lot of parts of Europe so we ate and drank without a conscience.

Henrique picked us up from the metro station and drove us out to his house in Ericeira which is about 30 minutes north of Lisbon. Ericeira is a surf town and rightly so as it has some really good point breaks and beach breaks. After a nice sleep in, we went and surfed two point breaks around the Ribamar area. Both were clean, fun and crowded but the crowd were quite mellow so I got my share of good waves. We also checked out the new skate park that adjoins the Quiksilver surf shop. That night we went to a local seafood restaurant with Henrique, Verena and some friends of theirs. Being a coastal town, Ericeira is renowned for its seafood and we dined on Octopus and fresh fish. The next day we went and surfed Ribamar again and because it was a little smaller Danielle paddled out for a couple. It was a good scene down at the beach with Henrique who was a local celebrity and seemed to know everyone at the beach. The sun setting, waves coming in, kids playing on the beach, beautiful. That night we kept a low profile so that I could get up early and grab a couple of waves in the morning before our flight back to London. The next morning didn’t disappoint as Coxos, which is reportedly one of the best waves in Portugal was big, clean, powerful and had no one out. I was the first one to paddle out and I definitely was a little nervous as I watched from the rocks as booming sets came in. I had never surfed it before and there were strong currents running. I paddled out and managed to get three really good waves before I had to run for the bus that was to take us to the airport. It was a short surf but worth it. So now it’s back to London for a few days before jumping back on the Eurostar to start our chalet jobs in St Martin de Belleville, France. The dream continues...

Photos: Barcelona

brettcooke — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:41:00 GMT

Barcelona

brettcooke — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:19:00 GMT

Time is of the essence when it comes to ripping around Europe in three weeks and this lead us to the overnight train from Bilbao to Barcelona. The train companies deliberately make the seats semi- uncomfortable so that you are more inclined to purchase a sleeping cabin. We didn’t though because we are too cheap. This meant another uncomfortable trip. We found our hostel after a short cab ride and the central location was perfect for exploring the city. So many people had recommended Barcelona over Madrid and we weren’t disappointed. The first day we went to the Segrada Familia, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. His famous church is so detailed that it has to be seen to be believed. It would have been even more spectacular if it wasn’t for all the construction, scaffolding and cranes that hung from all sides. It has been under construction since 1882 and isn’t planned on being finishing until 2026—the centennial of Gaudí's death. However, with the current austerity measures, who knows when it will be finished. During our walks around Barcelona we utilised the opportunity to taste the local flavours such as chorizo,paella and sangria, probably too much sangria actually. We went and checked out the beach which is on the Mediterranean and to my surprise, there were people surfing. The waves were about waist high and there was a definite buzz of excitement on the beach, as I wouldn’t think they get too many good days around these parts.

On our second and final day in Barcelona we had to go straight to the train station to get tickets to Lisbon as our existing plane tickets had been cancelled due to a strike at the airport in Portugal. There is definitely an air of discontent with the current state of the economy throughout Europe and with some areas having unemployment rates as high as 30%; it is easy to see why. After getting our tickets for another night train we put our bags in a storage locker and walked down to Placa d’ Espanya area where the grand Museu National d’ Art Catalunya building sits proudly on top of a hill overlooking Barcelona. The 1992 Olympic stadium is in the same vicinity as well as parks, gardens, monuments and museums. On our way back to the train station, we cruised up Las Ramblas and pulled in at an old bullring that has been converted into a shopping mall due to the fact that bull fighting has been outlawed in Barcelona since 2010. In summary, Barcelona is a great city that has a cosmopolitan feel to it, yet retains much of its history through its architecture and proud Spanish people. It was a shame that we only had two days to explore.

So now it’s onto Portugal!