French indulgence and door curtains.

Leaving Spain was really difficult, after spending a good 5 weeks, covering not even a third of the country, we did not want to leave! Adding salt to our wounds, we had to go back to those French jerks. Basically, we had really low expectations and so we were pleasantly surprised by the power house town that is Bordeaux, France.

We spent a few nights there, and went on a rainy day trip to St. Emelion with a few fellow travellers we had met on the bus trip over. The journey out there was a beautiful winding road that took us through some small French towns, amazing to see the architecture incomparison to a bigger city. My favourite thing was spotting all the curtains that they put on the outside of their front doors, still can't figure out what purpose it served, but it kept me amused the full hour journey! Once in St Emelion, we indulged in some wine tastings, a few sneaky macaroons and crepes so delicious we were almost in tears. 

The next morning we prepared for Paris, oh the anticipation!

Xx Jaz

Dream cellar much!

 

Bilbao, Guggenheim, San Seb and other strange nouns

We left central Spain to travel north, we were lucky enough to be given a lift up to Bilbao with our friend Pedro, who we met at our second VaughanTown. He was incredibly generous and took the scenic route to his favourite place in Spain; Parque Natural de la Sierra de Cebollera. Serisously, it was like we had gone through a wormhole into Canada. I never thought Spain could be so incredibly Alpine. 

I will always remember it, just being so astounded by the raw beauty of that national park. Not something that is on the tourist radar either, it takes a local to bring you there! 

Pedro then drove us on to his home town of Bilbao, and took us to dinner at an amazing seafood restaurant. Slightly awkward that I (Jaz), don't have much of a palate for seafood. However tried and liked my first meal of crab, complete with the hammer and prying tool! We also had some squid and a beautiful super fresh fish, like swimming in a tank next to the table. After dinner Pedro escorted us to our hostel, where we indulged in some much needed sleep. The following day we met up with Jon, whom we also met at VaughanTown, and he took us on a guided tour of Bilbao including the incredible Guggenheim Museum and also for coffee, drinks, dinner, and more drinks. We can't get over the hospitality of the Spaniards, so accomodating, generous and genuine. The culture and people are addictive, we have fallen head over heels in love with all things Spain.

Bilbao through San Sebastian by train was a great scenic route, following the coast. San Sebastian was a much needed rest for us,after a few months travelling, we spent a lot of time catching up on emails, trying to get our resume's in order and sorting out 'real life' things again, such as jobs and housing for our arrival into Amsterdam in about 3 weeks time. Had the weather been better, and invested into a less scummy hostel and not have been so exhausted, I think San Seb would have been far more of a hit. We still had a great time, enjoying the San Sebastian film festival, and relishing the last days of summer and the last time our toes will touch the sand until next summer... when and whereever that may be!

Xx Jaz

The beginnings of Spain

From the peaceful Avignon, we headed to Barcelona. A city of grand energy, and zest. Once we found our hostel, we headed straight to the nearest Tapa’s bar, to get our hands on some Sangria! As for the sites, we headed to the Sagrada Familia, built by Gaudi with construction beginning in 1882. Basically this guy is insane, and the church definitely reflects that. It’s absolutely extraordinary, Rick and I just stared at the building, so long, our reactions sometimes a laugh, a snort, or a shake of our heads. So crazy.

From Barcelona we headed down the coast, through Valencia and made our way to Altea. We stayed in a remote little village, Altea la Vella. We had a 20 minute walk through the bush into the town to pick up groceries and to catch a bus into Altea itself. We had an amazing 10 days, in the most beautiful apartment, and made the most of the pool within the apartment complex... absolute luxury after spending 3 months in various hostels and dodgy hotels.

In Altea we bought some snorkelling gear, and went snorkelling at the beach. Not exactly a comparison to scuba diving in Koh Tao, but fun nevertheless. We also took a walk up to the top of the village, and I had tears running down my face, the streets were so incredibly beautiful. White buildings with electric blue doors and window shutters, black gates and pink flower baskets every where. The smells were divine, along with the flowers were all the bakeries, the tapa’s bars, oranges and the salty sea air. This is one of those ‘this is why I quit my job’ days. Photo’s to follow, and more on our facebook!

From Altea we made our way up to Madrid, to begin our courses with VaughanSystems, a volunteer program, teaching English to Spaniards. We managed to spend s few days in Madrid beforehand and explored what has become one of my favourite cities ever.  A few highlights include San Miguel Mercardo, the upmarket-market. Basically a market style building, but incredibly beautiful and gourmet food counters, along with wine and sangria. Did I mention that everyone is immaculately dressed? These Spaniards sure know style. After being in Europe and expecting more in regards to fashion, I finally found what I was looking for in Madrid, the women have an impeccable style which is truly personal.

We also checked out the sites, with my favourite ever church, the Almudena Cathedral which faces the Royal Palace and surrounded by immaculate gardens. 

VaughanSystems was a great program, we were taken out with the other Spaniards on a bus to Barco de Avila and for a 6 days we taught the Spaniards, through immersion and purely conversational.  The program is from 9am until 10.30pm, but most people stay up later and talk. You have all our meals with two English speaking participants, and two Spaniards, along with a bottle of wine at lunch and dinner, we had some interesting conversations. After a week, you see the Spaniards relax, and English flows much better, it’s great to know you’ve helped them. After the Gredos program we headed up for another week of VaughanTown with a fresh batch of Spaniards, to an abandoned Spanish town Valdelavilla which was the original ‘VaughanTown’. We met some incredible people, and made some great friendships and contacts. And absolutely fallen in love with Spain in the process, the food, the people and culture, the routine and the wine! How could I forget, Rick's obsession with the Jamon Serano!
Xx Jaz

Avignon, Food and Jazz

An early morning start leaving Nice meant that we arrived in Avignon around lunchtime. We endured the tedious process of checking into our hostel with the lady that refused to speak English. We eventually found our rooms, which were separate male and female dorms. I questioned her after our check in and pointed to my ring finger and Rick’s ring finger. She shook her head furiously and walked away.  Definitely why we got married, so we could stay in separate dorms, right?

So, we grabbed lunch and headed down by the Rhone River to eat lunch in the shade of a tree, along with two young lads playing some incredible guitar.  We read our books and had a lazy afternoon and were serenaded to sleep by the two guitarists.

That evening, after the intense heat had subsided, we ventured into the walled city of Avignon, a UNESCO world heritage site, with some serious charm and character. We wandered the streets, and did away with the map and stumbled upon the most typically French area, untouched by the swarms of tourists and Irish pubs. We couldn’t really negotiate the menu’s at the restaurants, so we decided it was the perfect place to eat.

We sat down and ordered, Rick the Beouf Tartare and the Chevre Quiche for myself. Well I was just beside myself; with tears overflowing and my eyes tightly shut I was sure that I had just tasted heaven… incredible flavours, and the most perfect combination of ingredients. All the while the owner/ operator is having a ciggie with the owner of the restaurant next door.

When we left, Rick spied a sign next door with “live Jazz”, we made plans to return the following night. The girls in my dorm came with us the next night and we went to the same restaurant. All of us were melting with the delicious food that was served to us. Post dinner we went to see the jazz band who had set up on the curb, and we downed a few ‘desperado’s’. The perfect night and one of the highlights of our trip, Avignon will always have a special place in our heart.

Oh and for the record, Rick never had any room mates, so they put a married couple in separate dorms, even though one dorm was completely empty? Needless to say I sneaked in on the last night!

Xx Jaz

Lauterbrunnen - Lake Como - Nice

Lauterbrunnen - Lake Como - Nice

A stunning trip through Switzerland, and through the Italian and French Riviera bringing us to Nice.

In Nice we experienced our first taste of mass white pointers, or topless sun bathing. Mothers quite literally hanging out... With their kids. We copped an eyeful quite often!

Our days were filled with heading to the market, and to the beach. There is a great path down the length of the beach so we hired a bike and a long board and towed eachother up and down the beach front.
We had some great room mates while in Nice and some great cocktails with a cute Swedish couple.

Our highlight of Nice was definitely the weird busker. Nice had so many talented buskers; musicians, actors, dancers and every hybrid you can imagine. However, one afternoon we were enjoying lunch after a few hours on the beach and a boy, maybe 17 or so, awkwardly drags a wooden pallet along the street and sets it up near the restaurant we were at. He stands on his 'podium', and freeze frames with one arm raised.
Bearing in mind it's about 2pm and it was a scorcher of a day, he got really hot, and after 10 mins and no donations he decided it was time for a ciggie.

His nicotine habit dealt with, he clambered back on his stage and did a few movements we can only guess was meant to be robot-esque. After another 10 mins, with random intervals where he puts his hands on his hips, looks around and then re-positions himself, he makes a move to somewhere else where is more opportune... dragging his darn pallet behind him...

Xx Jaz

Firenze, Zurich and Senf Man

Our introduction to Florence, or shall we say Firenze since we're in Italy, was not the best. We missed our 8am bus from Rome - Florence. We organised a train ticket online and headed to the Metro and then train station. We met a nice Italian family on the journey, and we had a conversation with our limited Italian and their limited English. We exchanged snacks and laughs. Once we got to Florence we had to find our two bus connections to our Hostel. We finally arrived at our most social hostel we have stayed at, not to mention there was only about 20 people in the whole hostel. We had dinner and then drinks in the park with half the hostel, so nice! We had some interesting entertainment in the park, as the father of the Italian girls will not allow them to bring their boyfriends home, and the Italian boys don't bring girls home to their mama, they end up being very public with their public displays of affection. Wow is all that is blog-appropriate!

After much investigation of the markets, Rick invested in his dream leather man satchel and I discovered an amazing check man shirt in a second hand stall... It's all about the man clothes!

We had a great lunch with a couple we met in a cafe, we had a two or three hour conversation with them about our trip and their lives and about Albania where the woman was from. I also discovered my taste for artichokes, so so good on toasted bread with Ricotta and a sly glass of Red on the side. Times like these is why we quit our jobs.

We signed up for a tour of Tuscany, with a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano. Postcard views and heartbreaking architecture, it was exactly what we imagined. We finished the day with a wine tasting, the old Italian man who ran it was hilarious!

We had a great lunch with a couple we met in a cafe, we had a two or three hour conversation with them about our trip and their lives and about Albania where the woman was from.

Another revolution was the book that Rick picked up from the hostel, which he read in six days.  This from a man who has never been a reader!  Goes to show we are craving to learn again, and to entertain our brains.

Next stop was Milano! I'd dreamed of walking the high fashion streets for so long, and we were finally there! Crazy to see Giorgio Armani's full block of shops... Complete with his multiple fashion lines, homeware range and the Armani cafe. This guy!!

We continued on with an incredibly scenic train ride into Switzerland. Beautiful crystal clear lakes and amazing yachts, and the mountains reminding us of home. We arrived in Zurich and grabbed tickets to Winterthur, where Rick's friend Ben from NZ is living. We stayed with him for the weekend, and partied with the locals at the annual Zurich Street Parade, where we were told to dress in our best "bi sexual" outfit. Not something you generally pack in your 75 Litre backpack, but a bit of trusty yellow paint, and Rick became "Senf Man", that is "mustard man".

The rumours are true; we found Switzerland to be unbelievably expensive. We're talking 11 Francs for a diner kebab. That's NZ$15!! We spent about $300 on train tickets in one weekend, luckily we had the generous hospitality of Ben, so accommodation was free for a couple of nights.

After Winterthur, we trained to Lauterbrunnen. Again a stunningly scenic trip and stayed a few days in the valleys between two mountains. Delicious fresh air and beautiful snow topped peaks, we'd love to go back in winter!

Xx Jaz

 

A day on the Bus, Venice to Rome

So daily life in the bus..Today we leave Venice for Rome...

7:45 am
Check in with guide and reserve seat.. The busses have power sockets in the middle only so to charge iPod and laptop you need to get in early and a seat near by. The 8am starts arnt ideal!!


8:00am
Bus departs for the days trip. Usually quite long days, 7- 10 hours some up to 14-16 hours. But due to E.U law they have regular breaks every 2-2.5hrs. So it's something to eat and pee then repeat again a few times.


9:33am
There are two buses on our route today so it's luxury as with spare seats. We chose the non express bus cos it's a sneaky way to see more of the country for free. Especially with the stops you can have a quick walk around 3 more city's that you would have and all for free(relatively speaking).


Driving along the plains away from Venice, hundreds fields of crops and orchards, old 2 story tile roofed  Italian houses painted in typical pastel tones. Some houses are now abandoned and quietly falling down without too much fuss. I want to buy them and live there. We pass a few factories and see grand castles in the distance and a few close to the road.


10:22
We stop at our first autogrill, an italian intsution steps above the BP connect. No pies but enough paninis filled with procuito and mozerlla to feed the hundreds of Italians stopping for their caffe!! After elbowing our way thru the italians we ordered in italian!! Boom! It was delicious.


A few more service stops and we are making our way into Rome.


12:00
After another autogrill, they chuck a movie up on the tv on the bus..Gladiator, to continue the Roman Theme!  It's pretty sweet, with two screens on the bus and a cool system like airplanes for your headphones with music and the movie it's pretty cool. And they play flight of the Concords!


5:15
Very exciting to think we are gonna be in one of the oldest city's in the world! Our guide John-the american gives us the low down on Rome and the history surrounding the roman empire etc.


As you com into each city they give you some history, and so things to do an offer you some suggestions and excursions to do in each of the city's. In Rome we have chosen to do two walking tours, as we are only there for 2 days and there is a alot to see.


5:30
We arrive at Camping Roma our BusAbout accommodation. The thing about Busabout is that they have investigated the decent hostels around Europe and stop right in front of one in each city. You can choose to stay wherever you like, but usually the one they choose has a good rating and you get dropped off right in front of the door so it makes it alot easier. And it's a great way to make friends with other people from the bus!


And that's a day one the Blue Lady!