Spains brains and back again

Yeeeeeeeeeees welcome back!

Sorry for the delay in posts, though it is indicative of the wonderful time we are currently having. Since we last chatted, Meg and I have stopped in Pamplona, Zaragoza, Barcelona, back over the border to Montpellier, Nimes and finally in Avingon....which I know will please Alarna Chapman to no end!

So Pamplona is famous for the running of the bulls...well we had to substitute with the cupping of the bulls and the getting squashed by the bulls (see pics). There are some majestic vistas up in the Navarre country where little towns are bowled by rocky outcrops, vast mountains and large expanses of nothingness. As we arrived in Pamplona the feeling of truely being in Spain sunk in. Not very much English is spoken or written form around here and the language barrier becomes apparent. We made camp in a very cheap hotel (25 Euro) and set out to see the sights. What a beautiful town...we sampled some more sangria and then paid 26 Euro in total for a 3 course meal each!! I unfortunately ordered meat (thinking hake was a fish) but when all is said and done it was super cheap and not too bad at all! We returned to a KebaP hut the next day where felafel Kebabs are the most tasty you will ever get and totally different before trekking swiftly to make our train to Zaragoza.

It was here that we again set the bar for cheap accommodation and slept in a very comfortable Pension. Zaragoza had the most amazing basillica yet and we wandered through briefly before giving up on walking and settling down on the street to watch the world go by. You may have noticed that we happened upon a bar that just happened to have 1 Euro Heinikens for happy hour! Oh yeah...after some nice coldies in the fading Spanish sky we had a bad frozen pizza, cured by some delicious churozs...MMMMMM....

So we bailed early on the next day to add a day to Barcelona. The train that we needed to reserve was a A V E, complete with televisions, food service, bar, and a top speed of 350 KMS! I clocked the top speed of our journey at 298Kms! It was a dream ride. Once we arrived in the city Meg and I determined that we would make our first camp and give ourselves extra play money. We caught a bus out to Castelldefels and paid 20 Euro a night to sleep on the ground! Doesnt quite sound right does it? Anyway the tent was errected and we found that our sight was a 30 second walk to the Costa Brava were I took my first chilly dip in the Mediterranean. Meggy and I had a nice little picnic on the beach and relaxed in the sun. Possibly the most relaxed I had been so far!! Barcelona was amazing! We took a 2 day bus tour throught the city and explored some beautiful sights (None more impressive than the Sagrada Familiar which towers over the surrounding area and is constantly being added to as funds are donated to the church).

Long story short, we ate some exquisite morcels of Paella Marisco, tapas, and sipped some more sangria in between cheap meals from our campground tuck shop. We met some lovely Icelandic folk who moved in next door with their very luxurious camper (pictured). On our last morning of camping, after being subjected to two sleepless nights due to a beach rave (you know.. doof doof doof doof) we were invited to have some homemade bread and coffee...oh yeah...just what we needed to function. So we were mothered on mothers day before packing our world back onto our backs and moving on like little hermit crabs. We resolved to stay an extra night in Barca and I tried in vein to procure some scalped FC Barcelona tickets. No Such Luck! Boo to them! It was an amazing game too 3 all at full time. We got to experience the madness of futbal in Spain though and it was fantastic to see all the colours and hear the chanting of the crowd as they marched towards the 100 000 capacity staduim (biggest in Europe)! Meggy and I had a cold one and watched in a cramped little bar where the old bar lady cooked a giant octopus in a pot and pig hocs hung from the rafters like trophies! Each goal that Barca scored send waves of euphoria through the place and stirred the smokey haze.

Yesterday was a huge day of travel! We boarded a train from Barcelona to Montpellier (think a jazzed up red rattler with a bar) and spent 5 hours click clacking up the Costa Brava and out of Spains emphatic, intoxicating grip. We had our first border search and passport check and I couldn't help but imagine being on the run from the law...too many movies mee thinks! We got off at Montpellier after being treated to some more wonderful views of the coast and then boarded another train to Nimes. Here we found absolutely nowhere to stay and the shadows were elongating. So after briefly checking out the old Roman Ruins we again hopped the train to Avingon. Cue the synchronicity, first place we look... bang accommodation in our price range! Oh yeah....then a cheap meal at Maccas...yeah yeah I know....but whats a vagabond to do? HUH? Then we settled into our grotty little Chambre (never have I appreciated our clean rooms in OZ more) and watched a movie to fall asleep...Thanks ipod!

Meg has been a little under the weather....sniffles and coughing...so we are going to take it easy and stay another night! Ill make sure she eats well and rugs up mums so dont worry! But Im not letting her shower in that place again...no pressure...ages to heat up...and the sink does not drain so your feet soak in the bubbly filth of the dam at the bottom...ha ha ha...now we are really doing it back packer style! Well it wont be long before we are in Italy and so we leave to soak up the charms of this lovely little town and treat ourselves to some good food! All of our love is flowing home in torrents!

P.S Sorry Leish but can you fix up sideways photos?? This connection is shite and Im outta time!

M & J xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoox

Au Revoir France :( Hola Amigos :),

Meg and I have crossed the border into Espangol and are winding down from our first night in San Sebastian, a lovely little costal town with beautiful clean streets and people having fun everywhere. Included in our photos are some shots of the marina town of La Rochelle, Wine tasting in Bordeaux, partying with friends in Biarritz and spending time with our lovely new soul sister, Dolores, from Buenos Aires in Argentina.

The last few days have been very lazy, with little exploring/effort on our part to venture into massive expeditions. I think we were both keen for a slow relaxing pace in comparison to Paris etc. Meg and I had our first tiff after walking 15km around the whole of La Rochelle before finding the Hostel, quite hilarious now we look back but there were some cranky pants being worn that afternoon. We spent two nights and ambled around the town with no real purpose as the weather was not so good. We did however see the Famed Fosters sign and ate some wonderful Indian food. Fritz, our hostel bar guy, was nice and later ran into us in Biarritz. Then we got into wine country. The river that feeds Bordeaux famous grape juice region was impressive and filtered into tributaries that spawned some enornmous vineyards that would dwarf some I have seen in Aus. The tour itself was not so impressive and the wine....well let me just say...its not really a Hunter Shiraz or NZ Pinot. Our guide was nice though, if not a little crazy and the country side was gorgeous. Place Gambetta in Bordeaux was lovely and our room was hilarious!! Absolutely built for a mouse complete with cartoonesque apartment French man ¨Gil¨ (Pronounced Shhhhhhhhhhil to his declaration).

We then contacted home only to be given the very sad news that a good friend has passed away. I hope it is not inappropriate but... RIP FROSTY...you will be much missed, and Meg and I were glad to have known you! Our thoughts are with your family. The rest of that day was uneventful.

So onto Biarritz...a chic little coastal town that boasts some impressive surfing heritage and one of Europes finest hostels. This is where I spent my birthday and met some really lovely people, Fritz included and decided to go and get our first taste of French night life. Starting at 11pm...not such an early kick off, we caught a cab into Bayonne. Lots of little bars with great tunes and weird drinks...photo included of Meg downing a rather interesting ¨Cocktail¨ that featured a coffee soaked lemon wedge and a shot of Vodka! Ewwwww....the reaction says it all! Also pictured is the Kookaburra club that we went to without our input and watched the German guys sing in chorus to a very funny song.We danced and laughed and made a wonderful couple of friends. After arriving home at 0530 we slept for 3 hours, careful not to wake our dorm buddies and then peeled our eyes awake to make sure we did not miss out on free breaky...its a backpackers life to squeeze every freebie no matter how hard it is! And then we spent the day riding bikes we hired through the town and along the coast...just the two of us! It was wonderful...my second best day so far....have I mentioned that I really love Megs to bits?

Today we bid farewell to our party buddies and we departed for Spain. Dolores came with us to San Sebastian for a day trip and we intend to catch up later in Prague. We shared some Paella and Sangria and meandered around the beautiful narrow alleys allowing our senses to soak up San Sebastians ambience and surprisingly different feel, despite being only 30 minutes from the border. Everything is slightly cheaper and the people a little more our style here which is a fresh and welcome change regardless of how amazing France was. So we head off for Pamplona tomorrow and then onto Zaragoza! Having the absolute time of our lives and still thinking of you all with fondess! Lots of love and hugs and kisses and more and more and more of the same, again and again and again!

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