Yikes! It has been forever since I have updated my journal, but have no fear, I will fill you in on what has been going on. Also, please forgive me for not being able to add punctuation to any word that needs an appostrophe-I cannot find it on this keyboard. haha. You wouldnt believe how many differet versions of keyboards there are! I think they move things just to make your internet time and euros tick away.
I think I last finished talking about going to San Sebastian Spain. What a great place and a good place to stop! Right on the beach San Sebastian was a quiet little town just past the French border. We took the overnight train to San Sebastian from Paris, which was 2nd class accomodations (oh, poor me right? haha) and was a coach with 6 bunks in it and a lovely French couple with 2 suitcases the size of the Eiffel Tower blocking the way into the cabin! Ugh. Foreigners! haha. Our bunks, naturally, were on the top, so we had to climb the mound of luggage to the top bunk inches from the ceiling. No worries. I dont think I slept a wink due to the semi-claustrophobic quarters and with the train making what seemed to be every stop that was on the line! Who would be getting on a train at 2 in the morning? We arrived at San Sebastian at about 8ish in the morning and went to the hotel to check in only to find out the woman tells us that we have no reservations. But we do. Maybe it is a translation thing. She is nice enough to use 2 euros of her own money to activate the internet so we can show her our email identifying our reservation. I cant find it. Alan cant find it. I know we spent a good 2 hours in Paris booking our hotels, so where is it?? We give up and appologize, but she is even kinder to call to her friend next door and scores us a room for 2 nights and at 50 euro a night (25 each). It wasnt until later that I realized that we never even looked at the hotel that we thought we had reservations for... not sure how I locked in on the name and though it was our hotel. haha. But no worries, we were saved.
San Sebastian had 2 beaches one in the more resortish side of town and one in the old district side of town that we were in. They were getting ready for a Jazz festival, naturally, the day we were leaving. Big tents on the beach in preparations. The beach was nice and quickly got filled up. I mentioned to Alan that women usually are topless in Europe, but was surprised...er rather shocked.. to see old men naked. ew. Actually there were old men and young children naked. haha. Things you just dont want to see when sunning yourself at the beach. Seriously! After beach time it was time to eat, but there was a twist to how one eats here. They have bars all around that serve Tapas, but this isnt your typical tapas bar. They have like tapas buffets, all spread out on the bar and you basically walk in, eat what you want and drink what you want and when you have had your fill, you tell the bartender and wha-la, he produces a bill for you. Most tapas range from 1.50 to 3 euro each. It is funny for people like Alan and I who dont know what to do and stand waiting for acknowledgement from the bar staff that it is okay for us to eat... most times we waited and waited and then just went for it. It was difficult too because there was so much to choose from from other bars and some were packed wall to wall with people. So where was the real food? I dont know. I just remember seeing these tapas on the bar from sun up to sun down. haha.
We left San Sebastian for Madrid and then Barcelona. I wont go into much detail here because we only stayed for about 2 days each and didnt do much here at all. I have already enjoyed the sights of both places in the past and they are still the same. Alan isnt much of a cathedral guy and we were both tired of museums and the cost of getting into most places that we just took in the walking sights of each city. Of course both were crowded as usual- mostly with loud young people (god, i feel old saying that) and loud italians. Is it necessary to YELL when talking to your friends? haha. I think Europeans like to talk loud in general.
From Barcelona, we took the train out to Arles France on our way over to Italy. Arles is on the Rhone river and has some Roman ruins to see and provided day trips to Avignon. Arles was a cozy little town. Not loud at all, but had its small group of travellers visiting. There was a coliseum there that was over 2,000 years old! Woah. Looked like the one in Rome. And as luck would have it, there was a bullfight there too.. when? then day we left. haha. (can you tell we are missing the cool stuff?). It is funny because we have to plan ahead and we dont know when the cool stuff happens until we get into town and find out that it is happening on our departure. From Arles, we took a day trip out to Pont Du Garde, which featured a beautiful 2,000 year old Aquaduct. It was amazing, HUGE and stretched over what must have been a beautiful river, but now is a small stream. On our 3rd day, we decided to jump on the train and go to Aix-en-Provence. This area bosted the life of Cezanne, the famous artist. I had seen a lot of his paintings at an exhibit in DC last summer. Other than Cezanne, there wasnt much to see in Aix. LOL. Maybe it was just us, but it was rather boring. At least the 30 minute train ride was fun. haha. Speaking of trains... I have to fill you in on a little secret. Have you ever wondered where the stuff goes when you flush the toilet? Well, I have found the answer! If you wish not to know, cover your eyes... I found from a Rick Steves travel book (LOL Ill fill you in in a min about the book) and he explained that when you flush, the stuff goes out all over the tracks, plain and simple. Hmmm. That explains why when you are in a station and you see water leaking out from the bottom of the train. HA. Thats not water really now is it. When you are in the bathroom of a train, they usually tell you not to use it when at the station. No wonder. No need for doodie on the tracks to add to the already somewhat filthy stations right? haha. So, there it is. Now you know if any one ever asks. haha.
After Arles France, we found HEAVEN: Cinque Terre, Italy.
