Valencia, Spain

Alright, I clearly remember my last post, as I was writing it on the train from Granada to Madrid. This one is being written on an ocean going vessel from Barcelona to Livorno. How I got from A to B follows. So I was on said train to Madrid, which was a nice ride. We arrived in the Madrid station and I had a half hour or so to relax and get a pastry before boarding the high speed train to Valencia. I ran in to two Americans who gave me a bit of travel advice and helped me find the shuttle from our arrival station to the one where a friend of a friend (and soon to be just friend) was waiting to meet me. A couple of my friends have been studying in Valencia this spring and they were great hosts during my time in Spain. For those of you paying attention, these are the same friends I was with in Granada. I stayed with them one night before finding a hostel of my own for next three nights. After dropping of my stuff I got a great tour to begin orienting myself to the new city. I made it back in time to meet my friends from Granada who had taken a bus back and we got dinner and relaxed a bit. Over the next four days (Mon-Thu) I did the following: A lot of wandering around Valencia, 2 Spanish classes, midnight chat with Americans studying at Oxford and vacationing in Valencia, several trips to El Mercado Central (giant farmer's market), found the Holy Grail, climbed the tower of the ancient cathedral, explored some Roman ruins, took a siesta, bought a bus ticket, changed said bus ticket, visited the City of Arts and Sciences, danced salsa, ate crepes, ate kebabs, witnessed a strike, ate stir fry, ate a milkshake, ate southern food, and of course chocolate and churros. I think that's a pretty good summary of my activities for the past few days. My interesting travel challenge was navigating around the strike. It was a general nationwide strike, so pretty much everything was shut down. I had originally intended to get to Italy by train but there were none running or with available spaces to get me where I needed to be in time. So enter the ferry I'm on, not a bad way to get across the Mediterranean, and I've got a cabin to myself. Just so people know, my itinerary for the near future is to catch a train to Venice and spend a few days there before heading down to Florence and Rome. So, Italy week, it begins. As for pictures, I'll try to pick out a few of the best ones so I can upload them quickly the next time I have internet access

Granada, Spain

So where were we? I'm writing this on a train, so I actually can't recall or check what I last wrote, but I'm pretty sure it was from Agadir as I was wrapping up my stay there.

I woke up early Thursday morning to catch a taxi to the Agadir bus station where I took a 5 hour bus to Marrakesh, the main city in the south. From there I got a train to Casablanca where I had lunch before boarding another train to Tangier on the northern coast that arrived at about 8pm. Next I took another taxi to the Tangier port, where I boarded a ferry to Tarifa, Spain. Another bus to Algeciras, where I caught a train to meet my friends in Granada, finally arriving just after 11am. There will be a lot of days like these. I'm trying to keep up with my tickets so they can tell the tale.

So I said I was on a train, and this one is headed to Madrid, although I won't be there for long. I'm meeting the friends I was with in Granada back in Valencia where they were studying. They're taking a bus, but the pass I bought made a combination of high speed trains the cheaper (and faster) option.

Been burying the lead here, but Granada was amazing. It is an Andalusian city, and the site of the last Moorish stronghold in Spain prior to the Reconquista. The highlight is El Alhambra. (which comes from the Arabic "Al-Hamra" or "The Red One") It's kind of a palace on a mountain. The Arabs like building things into mountains. It includes a beautiful garden, a palace built by the Moorish rulers, another built later by the Spaniards (they put their church where the most used to be - this will be a theme we return to again), and the ancient Kasaba (or castle) built to defend the city. I guess it should have been bigger.

The rest of the city was equally amazing with a very Arab "medina" concept of lots of narrow streets built into the mountainside in a criss-crossed pattern with shops selling many items I just saw (for cheap) in Morocco. And tapas. Lots and lots of tapas. Needless to say I'm loving Spain and will miss it dearly.

On the subject of missing Spain, I seem to have narrowly averted catastrophe in trying to leave the country in time to meet up with another friend in Venice. So there's a strike that's essentially shutting down the country on Thursday. I need to be in Venice by Saturday, but the only direct train to Italy from Spain leaves on Thursday or much later. So after a frantic half hour  at the train station trying to see if there were any other routes (there aren't) I stumbled upon an ingenious solution. Just take a ferry from Barcelona to Italy. One of the fringe benefits of my rail pass is discounts on those ferries, and one leaves on Friday (meaning it will actually run) and put me in Italy in time to meet my friend in Venice. Hooray for multiple modes of transportation.

Alright, I'm operating on 3 hours of sleep, as I'm combating both the Spanish style of beginning the night out at 1am and the effects of the daylight savings time switch so I'll leave it here and upload a selection of pictures.

Hasta luego.

Agadir, Morocco

So Agadir has been great, looks like I'll be on my way to Spain tomorrow in order to get there by Friday.

I spent the first day getting my bearings and wandering around. Its a little tough when most of the streets are unmarked, but I figured out how to find my apartment from the nearby roads.

The second day was more fun. I took a taxi up the coast to visit a few friends at a tiny town with a nice beach. We relaxed, did a little surfing, and got a pretty good fried fish dinner. I made it back shortly after nightfall. Great day for only $10.

The next day I spent back in Agadir trying to figure out the next steps of my adventure. Looks like I'll be competing with Spanish strikes and station construction in Turkey. I decided to walk to the Agadir bus station where I'll have to catch a bus to Marrakesh to make the night train to Tangier and from there take the ferry to Algeciras, Spain. So yeah, probably offline for the next few days as I'm in transit. But here are a few photos to keep you happy.

Me vs. the Airport

So day 1 of my Super-Awesome-Make-It-Up-As-I-Go trip around Europe (and north Africa and maybe Asia) got off to a auspicious start.

I arrived at the airport slightly later than planned because of a waiter who was slow to bring the bill at lunch (not that I minded, great conversation was provided courtesy of Sheneka White) and the mandatory Tube delays. But fear not, I still arrived two hours before departure time. I went to check-in and after depositing my one piece of checked luggage I was told that my carry-on was overweight and I would have to pay 50 Euros to have it checked. I was miffed but willing to pay up to get on my plane. I went to a separate counter where I was told the true price would be over 100 Pounds! I avoided panicking and talked the man at the counter into letting me shift some stuff around and eventually I was able to convince them my bag would fit. Financial crisis averted.

I rewarded myself with what was probably the most delicious brownie I've ever eaten. And I still have another.

So I boarded the flight to Casablanca and chatted with two Americans who were in England shooting for a travel show and on their way to Marrakesh for a little vacation. I got to Casa and had a two-hour layover before a 45 minute flight to Agadir. I touched down half an hour before midnight and was on my way to my apartment when the car got a flat tire! No one really knew what to do, but luckily we had stopped right in front of a gas station where someone was able to help get us on our way.

And thus began my adventures in Agadir.

Amsterdam

So I know its been a week or two since I've posted, but that's because I've been busy, and day-to-day life in London isn't that exciting if you neglect the fact that you're in London.  But fortunately, there was plenty of excitement this weekend as I made my first visit out of the country to Amsterdam.

So after a near-miss with my train tickets I made it to the bus station where I took an overnight bus from London to Amsterdam.  I think it took roughly 11 hours and included an hour and a half ferry across the English Channel.  Fortunately I was able to nod in and out of consciousness for most of the trip so it didn't feel as long as it actually was, but it certainly wasn't my most comfortable voyage ever.

I arrived in Amsterdam and called my awesome friend Allison with whom I stayed.  I hopped on their version of the Metro and she rode her bike to meet me at the station.  We walked a few blocks to the student apartment she was sharing and introduced me to her roommate and the two friends staying with her.  It was pretty crowded, but as we were out and about most of the day it didn't really matter.

We had a delicious breakfast and then went for my first bike ride in a few years.  Happy to say I only hit one car, one bike, and one pole.  In addition to the bike, Allison had also gotten me a museum pass from one of her friends so we had free entry to most of the city's museums, which made the trip much more affordable.  We took advantage of this and went to the National Museum, the van Gogh Museum, the Royal Palace, and Anne Frank's House.  We also explored the Red Light District, which was a little underwhelming.

We ended the night at a very nice Indonesian restaurant where they filled the table with plates of meats, vegetables, and rice and we somehow managed to roll out the door in the end.  I was just able to make it back to the apartment before falling asleep on a mattress that was actually long enough for me.

Sunday was my day to travel back and I thought about stopping the Hague for a few hours before going to Brussels, but after a late breakfast I decided it would be safer to just go straight to Brussels and not worry about catching my train back to London.  I got into Brussels several hours before my train, but because it gets dark and Europe so early I couldn't go out to see the city.  I did however enjoy a delicious Belgian waffle with ice cream.

So yeah, that about sums up my trip to Amsterdam.  Shout out again to my wonderful host Allison Belfield who made it all possible.  No pictures from inside the museums (except for the royal palace), so  you'll just have to use your imagination.

Oxford and all that Jazz

So another week, and another blog post as a result.  The weekdays are getting pretty standard at this point, so let's skip to the fun part.  This Saturday I went on a day trip to Oxford and the Cotswolds.  I had to get up far too early to catch the coach we took, but I slept a fair amount on the bus to make up for it.  The Cotswolds are a pretty sleepy region west of London where lots of rich people have homes to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city.  Post-industrialization it seems to thrive largely off tourism and light industry.

The second stop was none other than Oxford University, home of 39 different colleges that come together to make the oldest university in England.  I got to see the dining room that Hogwarts' is based on, where Lewis Carroll took Alice, and one of the most impressive libraries on Earth. And fudge.

And to wrap it all up I went to a free jazz concert at the equivalent of the Lincoln Center on Sunday for free, because London is awesome like that.

Because I've been neglecting this bit for a while, here they are, from more than a month back: pictures.