Eire (Ireland)

Safe and sound in Dublin after a long day on the road (well, the road and the air, I suppose). Will be spending the next 3 days here, and then another long day of travel which will return me to the states. Oddly enough, I arrived in Britain on the 26th of Jan (though I left the states on the 25th), so exactly 6 months to the day I will fly from here. Didn't plan it that way, but I realised it a week or two ago. So, I guess that's about all. My next post will probably be from somewhere in the states, though I will try to get back on and check my messages before then.

Homeward bound

Well, things here are winding down. In a week, I will be stateside once again.

 

The three and a half  weeks in Spain and Portugal were amazing, and I met loads of cool people along the way. I spent a few days in Lisbon; then headed to Lagos where I stayed for four days lounging about on the beach, then rented cars with some people and road tripped it from there to Pamplona (16 hr drive - each way- from the most southwestern part of Portugal to one of the most northeastern parts of Spain) for the Running of the Bulls, then back to Lagos for a couple of days; also rented some mopeds for a day and drove out to Sagres (once thought to be the end of the world); next I headed over to Cadiz for four days more lounging on the beach and sleeping on rooftops in hammocks; then on to Granada for a few days where I stayed on top of a mountain (in the Sierra Nevadas) across from the Alhambra (an old Moorish palace, which sits on top of one of the other mountains); and then back here to Swansea.

 

The trip with my seastar was great as well. A few days in Paris, a week in Wales, and a few days in London. All in all the last 6 weeks have been quite mah-vah-lous. I'll be leaving for Ireland day after tomorrow, and then, after a few days there, I will be flying to Chicago. Four flights in under a week... look at my frequent flyer miles soar, hah. Traveled for 17 hours straight yesterday... a hike down the mountain, a taxi, a bus, the metro, a plane, another bus, a train, another train, and a taxi later I had gone from the top of a mountain in Granada to Madrid to Bristol to Cardiff to Swansea. Not too bad I suppose.

Back to the UK

The day before yesterday, I spent 17 hrs traveling...

I climbed down the mountain I was staying on in Granada, caught a taxi to the bus station (because I had inadvertently missed the only train that would have gotten me to Madrid on time for my flight), barely made the bus, rode the bus for 5 hours to Madrid, took the metro to the airport, flight was delayed for a bit, flew to Bristol, caught a bus to the train station there, caught the train to Cardiff, the train from Cardiff to Swansea was very delayed, but finally caught a train to Swansea and a cab to my flatmates' new house. Left my hostel at 9 am and arrived at my mates' house at 2 am. So, yea... lots of traveling and that's the smooth, undramatic and thus short story of events.

Tomorrow, I'll be catching a train back to Bristol to fly to Dublin . The second of my 4 flights this week. So, tonight it's all about saying goodbye to all the Swansea kiddos... and laundry, that too. (The last time I did laundry was before I left to go to Spain, haha... well, I did wash some stuff in the sink about a week ago). But yea, only 4 days left to go on this side of the pond. My trip is quickly winding to a close. Really do wish that I could put some photos up, but I think that that'll be impossible until I get back. So, this will be one of my last posts from over here. Hope to see lots of you really soon!

Cadiz & Granada

I'm in Granada now. I left Cadiz this morning, after spending 5 days lying on the beach and 5 nights sleeping in a hammock... it's a rough life.

 

The place I'm staying here in Granada is up on a mntn. (The Sierra Nevada mountains run through Granada). On the mntn right across from me is the Alhambra... very famous Moorish palace. I'll be going there tomorrow. You can see the whole city from up here too. Buuuut,  the walk to get here was craaaazy. After 20 or 30 min of walking with my bag on my back (and 12 hrs on trains or waiting on trains) I got to the hill. It was as steep and long a climb as the hill up to Sacre Couer in Paris (which if you've never been there or seen photos, is reeeeeeally steep)... and then there was another set of about 50 stairs after that to get to the hostel!!!!

 

I thought I might pass out before I made it to the top. haha... no food, lack of sleep, and 100 degree weather plus a 40 lb (or more) backpack can make you feel a bit light headed. But, the view is worth the climb. I ate dinner on the terrace looking out over the city with a magnificent close up view of the Alhambra. But now I know why they give you a glass of water when you check in. hahah.

 

I fly out of Madrid back to Swansea Wednesday, so my adventures in Spain and Portugal are almost over. [the trip: Swansea to Bristol to Madrid to Lisbon to Lagos and Sagres to Pamplona to Lagos to Cadiz (via Sevilla) to Granada (via Sevilla) to Madrid to Bristol to Swansea]. There will be more photos up sometime in the very near future. More later.

Still on the road

Still in Lagos, but tomorrow morning I am planning on leaving to go to Cadiz, the oldest city in Europe, on the coast in southwestern Spain. It will take a bit of back tracking due to the way the rail lines are laid out, but I should be there day after tomorrow in the afternoon.

Lagos has been amazing, as was the road trip to Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls. I really hate to leave, but you have to keep moving on... I suppose. This place does seem like a home away from home already though, especially because of all the great people I have met.

I am still working on getting the pictures up. Maybe it will happen in Cadiz... hopefully...

Pamplona

In Pamplona. Doing well after the opening ceremonies yesterday and the running of the bulls this morning. We woke up at 5 am to get down there. We have a 12 hr, 800k drive ahead of us later tonight... from the northeast of Spain to the most southwestern point in Portugal. Now that´s a road trip!

Road trip to the Running of the Bulls

I am still here in Lagos at the moment, but shortly 12 of us are leaving for a road trip to Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls. We decided to go over breakfast, rented cars, and now we're off. Gotta love spontaneous travel. Yesterday, we rented scooters and drove about an hour away to Sagres, the western most point in Europe once thought to be the end of the world. It was an excellent day. The views were amazing, and we had a picnic on one of the cliffs.  After we got back last night, the hostel had a BBQ for the fourth of July even though lots of the kids staying there are Aussies or Kiwis but it was fun anyways. There's much more to tell and loads of pictures but I am short on time. Must go join the caravan for the trip.

I will post again as soon as I can. Until then, I will be enjoying the craziness.