The Fouvriere (inside and out), Traboule tunnel
Friday, September 26, 2014
Nice, St Tropez and Monaco.
We woke early to get the 5:50am E77 bus from outside our apartment in Gros to San Sebastian airport. It was an interesting ride with some revelers returning from the city from the night before. We think they were a drunk couple who were going though a lover's tiff, which was interesting to watch. Soon we were in the airport all checked in for our flight to Nice (transiting through Barcelona).
Our first impression of France was quite interesting, there were army officers strolling around the airport with machine guns; this is something we have seen in the middle east, not something we expected in France! Our hotel was in a great location, 15 min walk to the port, 5 min walk to the old town, and the tram and bus stops were at our doorstep (well almost). Lunch was almost a disaster, Mick ordered a "steak" hamburger and was expecting a steak sandwich of sorts, when the waiter asked how he wanted the beef, Mick said "medium". To Mick's horror, he got a hamburger with a "medium cooked" mince pattie. Luckily it was more of medium-well cooked piece of mince, definitely not as bloody as the mini hamburger from San Sebastian, this experience has definitely put Mick "on guard" whenever ordering meat at a French restaurant (which is every meal).
We wandered the streets to familiarise ourselves with the city before going to a very delicious restaurant. We got complimentary "kir" which is a very sweet alcoholic mix of white wine and BlackBerry liqueur and some soggy toast with cold sauteed onions on it (tastes better than it sounds). We started with massive salads, which were followed by ravioli (with beef stew sauce) and lasagna. The ravioli is a Nice specialty, the lasagna is simply a take off from the Italians!
Our first full day in Nice was a day trip to St Tropez, which involved a 2.5 hr ferry ride along the French Riviera. Unfortunately we were a fair way away from the coast line to really see it, but at least we can say we "sailed along the French Riviera". Once at St Tropez we aimed for the public buses to take us to their infamous beaches. Unfortunately because it was a Sunday the buses run very infrequently and we just missed the 12 noon bus. The next bus was at 1.30 pm and the bus to return us to the port for our trip home left the beach at 3 pm. We thought going to the beach was getting way too hard so we decided that we would stay in the (exorbitant) main town and pay through the nose for lunch and drinks. We did come across the Citadel at St Tropez which had free entry, so we went in and were glad that did not have to pay 3€ entry because at 3€ it would have been a rip off. Damo did get some great photos of the town though. It was a rather disappointing day, mainly because we had such high expectations of how beautiful St Tropez would be, and it really did not live up to the expectation.
Our plan for the final day in Nice was to go to the modern art museum and then go off to Monte Carlo in the afternoon/evening. We were very unimpressed to see that the museum was closed on a Monday (a rookie traveller mistake we won't be repeating in Paris). So we spent the morning undertaking some well needed retail therapy before heading off to Monte Carlo.
The ride out to Monte Carlo was spectacular and we decided if we ever return to the south of France, we would stay in one of these small villages between Nice and Monaco (depending on budgets!).
Once in Monaco we did a tour of the royal palace, and were thrilled that this palace actually had furniture in it (unlike the one in Seville). We saw the royal throne which is in need of major repair, it was thread bare for goodness sakes! We then walked up the massive hill to the Grand Casino and saw some "boats" and high end cars, and became rather envious of the super rich. We didn't go into the casino as Mick had been there before, it cost 10€ each for entry, and at end the day it's just a casino. Mick was also not too keen as he remembers how the croupiers expect a tip whenever you win a hand (regardless of whether you just lost the prior 10).
Dinner that night was back in the old town of Nice, at a small but very busy provençale restaurant that had a truck load of customers; we assumed the food would be good, and it was. Mick had his first French onion soup of the trip, which was pretty good, but not as good as the one he recently had at Carly and Chris' home. Our Nice experience was redeemed that day by the magnificent coast line and Monte Carlo, and our final dinner.
Next stop Lyon!
Thursday, September 25, 2014
San Sebastian
Mick was slightly unimpressed that Damo decided to give them a 30 min warning for their 4:30 am wake up, he had no intention of seeing what Barcelona looks like at 4 am.
The hotel told us that the cab fare to airport should be between 25€ and 35€. If the cabbie tries to charge us more than 35€, we should refuse and go to the police at the airport. Mick was intently looking at the meter the whole way there and was pleased to see a fare of 34€ when we got to the airport. But then the cabbie added all these extra supplementary fees ontop and it came to 45€. Given the time of morning and a plane needing to be caught, we just paid it and wrote it off as a travel scam.
Our very first airbnb apartment for this trip worked well. Checking in was a breeze and the apartment looked just like it was advertised - apart from the neighboring balcony that had a number of marijuana plants growing. With the heat of the day, the plants were giving off quite aroma, whenever we opened the balcony door we were hit in the face by the smell of weed!
Our apartment was 5 min walk from the surfing beach, so we made sure we went to that beach every day. The far left hand side of beach is where some nude sun bathing occurs, however giving it was a week day, the only people nude sun bathing were very old, brown, wobbly and hairy. When we caught up with Robbie and Maureen at the beach, they were horrified by the "sights" and did not appreciate the old nude man who bent over right in front them, we're sure he winked at us (and not with his face!).
When not at the beach we were in pintxos bars experiencing the culinary delights of this wonderful town. Our apartment was in a suburb called Gros, which is where the locals go for their pintxos, and our lonely planet guide recommended a few bars. Our first experience was a bit confronting. We ordered mini hamburgers, which looked delicious, but one bite in and we soon discovered that the meat pattie was rare/raw inside. Apart from being repulsed by the thought of raw mince, Mick was petrified that it would set his stomach off again. Given it was a mini burger, one more mouthful and the raw meat was a distant memory. During our pintxos bar crawl we came across a bar - Borda Berri, which was renowned for their veal cheeks, and rightly so! We went to Borda Berri on two occasions for their veal cheeks. On the second occasion Mick ordered two servings just for himself, so did the lady sitting opposite Mick, and they gave each other knowing glances as they ate their orgasmic veal cheeks. Mick was tempted to get a third serving but decided to be adventurous and try some peppers that were stuffed with veal cheeks. Mick had eaten this before at another bar and was expecting small diced pieces of veal covered in a cheese sauce. What he got this night was essentially a half of a veal cheek shredded and stuffed inside a capsicum, he could not have been happier! It turns out his happiness could get bigger by some delicious hazelnut and chocolate gelato.
On our final full day in San Sebastian we said a sad farewell to some amazing women we met on or tour. We promised to visit our "Canadian Chicas" Maureen and Robbie at some point in future when we travel to Canada. We also promised to visit Adelaide some time soon to catch up with Julia. To cheer Mick up, Damo agreed to spend the afternoon at the beach with the nudes, it turns out all young nudists like go to the beach on a Friday afternoon! We had an early night as we had another 4.30 wake up the following morning for our flight to Nice.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Barcelona
Arriving in Barcelona after a 4 hour bus ride, we went on the metro to our hotel located near the university. The hotel was a little grim and noisy but at least it was air conditioned (well for some of us, poor Robbie who can't survive without AC scored a room that had a broken AC).
We headed out on an orientation walk where Delia, our guide showed us some off the main sites. We walked north to the Casa Battló, a famous Gaudi building that was inspired by a salamander or chameleon, the symbol of Barcelona. After this we made our way to Plaça de Catalunya, one of the largest plazas in the city with numerous fountains and statues. This plaza marks the beginning of The Ramblas, a wide mall that runs the length of the old city.
We walked down this mall and into the Gothic Quarter, characterised by narrow lanes, medieval ornaments and gargoyles. We visited the Gothic cathedral, which was pretty, even though it was quite dark and spooky.
After the cathedral we went back to our hotel, where the obligatory siesta was undertaken. For dinner a number of the group decide to go to a Vietnamese resistant for dinner as a change from all the tapas meals. It was a good choice, but Mick could not have anything too spicy as he was having stomach issues again. We then took the sweaty metro, with some of our dinner companions, to go and see the Magic Fountain, a light and music spectacular held each evening. The fountain was magnificent, with jets reaching over 10 metres in height while changing colour. But soon it was time to leave, as Mick was afraid that he would soon be putting on his own chocolate fountain show. We went back to the hotel via the sweaty metro with hundreds of other sight see'ers, before hunting down a 24 hr pharmacy then turning in to get some well earned rest.
We were up bright and early the next day with a busy schedule planned. First stop was the Sagrada Familia, which did not turned out as planned as there was an hour long queue JUST TO BUY TICKETS and then once you got to the ticket office you then got to choose an entrance time (earliest was 12:15). Rosey from our group had a great plan whereby we go to the Maccas across the road to use free WiFi and then buy tickets online (for a 12.15 entrance).
Given it was just after 9 am we decided to squeeze in our second agenda item of the day, Parc Güell. We walked for 40 min in the heat up some very steep streets and breathed a massive sigh of relief when we saw that there were no queues to buy tickets to enter the park. Our wallet earlier disappointment returned when we were told that the next admission to the park was at 12.15....FARK! So we walked around the free gardens for a little while before walking back to the Sagrada Familia. Thankfully it was all down hill, so it took less time.
Once we finally got inside the Sagrada Familia, all the frustrations of the morning dissipated. It is an amazing and awe inspiring cathedral. Gaudi was an absolute genius, and the Cathedral does not need tonnes of gold ornaments or massive paintings, the architecture is the masterpiece of this place. The cathedral is still under construction, so it's amazing to have been able to see it in its current shape. Construction started over 100 years ago and still has over 20 years to go.
The last bit of culture for the day was a visit to the Picasso museum, where Mick impressed Damo with his complete lack of art knowledge. When looking at a self portrait of Picasso, Mick said "so that's what he looked like with 2 ears!" Damo politely pointed out that it was van Gogh who cut his ear off...
We had our final dinner of the tour this night, where we paid 20 euros for unlimited food and drinks. Although Mick was still sick he made sure that he took part in this final dinner. The tummy troubles this time was different, rather than fearing an explosion in the underpants, Mick suffered severe upper abdominal pain immediately after eating. Mick was willing to put up with the pain. We said goodbye to a number of our traveling friends as half the group were leaving the tour the next day (us included) while the other half were doing an extended tour of northern Spain. As we had extra time in Barcelona this gave us an extra day with some of group and the opportunity to catch up with them again in San Sebastian when our paths would cross again.
The following day we made their way back to Parc Güell where we saw some more amazing Gaudi architecture and design. We took the bus this time so there was no 40 minute hike thankfully! After the park we did some shopping and then had a siesta.
We had a dinner by ourselves at '15 Nights' (English translation) which was really good (apart from the severe pain Mick felt). Following dinner Mick did some self diagnosis via Dr Google and determined he had acute pancreatitis (infection of pancreas)! One of the worse things for this is consuming alcohol, which Mick was massively upset about. Mick had decided if he wasn't better by San Sebastian in 1 days time he would seek medical help.
The following day we took a 40 min train ride to Sitges (rhymes with 'bitches'), a small beach town with small cobbled streets and white washed buildings. It was very similar to Mykonos.
Unsurprisingly there was a nude beach where Mick could do his 'extreme people watching' or as Damo would say 'being a dirty perve'. The highlights were (a) the old guy that was sporting a massive 'Prince Albert' piercing, he looked like he had a massive pendulum between his legs and (b) the 60+ year old who was walking out the water with an erection. He was furiously splashing cold water on himself in order for it to go down, but as that was not working and he was quickly approaching the beach he decided to fall into the water and sit in the shallow end for a while. He was obviously very happy to be there as even after his 'rest' in the shallow end he still needed to keep splashing water on himself.
After doing enough 'extreme people watching' we stayed around the town, having lunch and wandering the streets, before heading back to Barcelona. After a stop at the rooftop pool it was an early night as we had a 4:30 am wake up the following morning for our flight to San Sebastian.
Valencia
As we pulled into Valencia we were slightly concerned with the heat that we were about to encounter.
There are signs all over Spanish cities telling you the temperature, we saw signs of 35+ degrees! We had the orientation walk of the city with Delia our guide and then had a short siesta.
We met up with Robbie and Maureen at 6:30 pm to go for a walk down through the "river" (a dammed river bed which is now a series of parks, gardens and walking tracks) which runs along the city. Our destination was the City of Arts and Sciences which we thought was a 1 hr walk. 2 hrs later we got there, the difference in timings were due to us underestimating the distance but also underestimating the number of photos Damo and Robbie would take (and the heat).
Along the river we saw families at play, a massive kids play area where they could climb over a 'Gulliver's travels' giant tired to the ground, lots of joggers, and even a medieval game (similar to dodge ball, but players had weapons such as ball on chains and big sticks).
The City of Arts and Sciences was spectacular and unlike anything else we had seen in Spain. The modern architecture is probably not too everyone's taste, but it's definitely an amazing area to see.
Given it was 8:30 pm and we hadn't eaten dinner we headed back to the hotel, the heat snuck up on us as although it was so late, it was still a stinker! We had to stop for beers along the way to rest and rehydrate. Dinner was at a small bar which was full of young locals. We worked out that it was so popular as the beers and food were super cheap (but still good quality). Given Damo is so good with languages he has been the designated 'food orderer' for the majority of the trip. However tonight Damo was ensuring that we all got to practice our Spanish, so Robbie and Mick we forced to try to converse with their non-English speaking bar staff. After much pointing and shaking of heads we were able to order. The barman told us the price and Robbie and Mick looked at each other, looked back at the barman, and then just fanned out all the euro notes they had and let him take however much we needed/wanted. Luckily he was an honest barman.
Anticipating the next day wad going to be another scorcher we made plans to go to Valencia's beach. It was a good call as the day turned out to be a 40 degree day. The sand was so hot that it burnt our feet and the water was so warm that it was like having a bath, it was the ideal place to be.
On the bus ride back, saw a sign saying that it was 43 degrees. As we passed the City of Arts and Sciences, Damo went up to Robbie and Maureen and said "I think we should all get off the bus here and walk back" (obviously Damo was joking). The look on Robbie's face was priceless! The stranger sitting next to Mick turned to him and said "I don't know what your friend said to her, but she does not look impressed at all!".
The group dinner was at a restaurant that served traditional paella, which we learnt contains no seafood (hooray) and had chicken and rabbit meat. It was slightly concerning that we couldn't really distinguish between the rabbit and chicken. Half the group headed out for drinks where Mick impressed everyone with his maths and geography skills. We had a cocktail pitcher that cost 15€ which was shared between 5 people. Mick worked our that each person had to pay 2.50€.....they all find it hard to believe that Mick works in a bank!
On the walk back to the hotel we were telling Delia about our Lonely Planet book on Spain which had a top 25 Spanish attractions, and how our trip was covering the vast majority of the 25. At that point Mick declared "I am amazed the Algarve (which we had visited while in PORTUGAL) did not make it into the top 25 Spanish attractions. Delia was dumb founded, and was probably wondering how the hell did the Australian banks survive the GFC when there are idiots like Mick working there!
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Madrid
After the 4 hour bus ride we arrived in the mid afternoon and were taken to a jamon museum. Essentially, it was a busy bar with an over supply of ham, there were so many legs of ham hanging off the ceiling and walls (5 deep in some cases) that it was impossible to try to count how many there were.
We struggled to order food, but Delia (our tour guide) came to the rescue yelling our order to the barmen in Spanish. Our orders were promptly delivered. We are still not sure if the quick service was due to Delia's assertiveness, or the fact she is an extremely attractive ex-bikini model - either way we win! The jamon museum had really, really cheap food, 200ml of beer is only 40 cents and breakfast consisting of croissant, orange juice and coffee was 2.40 euro.
We were then given a quick walking tour of Madrid after which we made our way to a laundromat to do our washing. nothing gets Mick happier than clean underpants and clean shirts (especially after traveling for a while).
Dinner was with Maureen and Robbie at a tapas restaurant based off a recommendation from Mick's boss. After getting lost trying to find it, we were slightly unimpressed with the food. For this to be a recommendation (out of all restaurants in Madrid) we were expecting amazing things. One of the things Mick is quickly learning is that his tastes are very different to his co-workers. Mick has some Barcelona recommendations from his other boss, which he will probably now ignore.
The best part of the night was the company and the post dinner drinks, Robbie and Maureen opted for the safe option of beer, while we had the bizarre sangria concoction which seemed to consist off random white spirit (possibly Cointreau), random dark spirit (possibly port or sherry) followed by a splash of red wine and then lemonade - strong but very sweet.
Our second day in Madrid started off at the Prado art gallery. There was an amazing exhibition on Greco (an artist Mick had never heard of before); in this exhibition they had original Greco pieces hung next to other pieces that were inspired by the original (e.g. Picasso had done some work inspired Greco, so they would have both the Greco and Picasso next to each other). We also saw Chagall and many other artists alongside the radical painter from Toledo. Also in the Prado are hundreds and thousands of religious paintings. We still remember all the "Madonna and child" paintings from our Italy trip, so we zipped through the rest of the gallery, taking time to see the Bosch, Velazquez and Goya exhibits.
We then spent the rest of the day wandering Madrid's gardens and streets before meeting up for a Group dinner/feast of grilled meats and vegetables is a cellar dining room.
Granada via Cordova
We took a three hour bus ride to the quaint, world heritage listed town of Cordova on our way to Granada.
Cordova is world heritage listed because it contains a Roman Bridge (very over rated!) and the Mezquite (which deserves the world heritage listing). The Mezquite is an amazing Catholic cathedral which still contains vast Muslim structures (from when the Moors had occupied Spain). The numerous red and white striped arches seem to go on forever. Words can not do it justice, so check out the photos Damo took!
After the Mezquite we had lunch at an organic sandwich bar (getting a bit tired off all the tapas and bread). This was a big mistake (confirms Mick's opinion that organic is never better than scientifically enhanced food), Mick's travellers belly returned. So for the next hour Mick got to visit most of the public toilets in Cordova. What was most concerning was that we had a 4 hour bus ride to catch, and some of the buses we had caught did not have toilets. Our tour guide told us not to worry, if there was no toilet on the bus, the bus driver would pull over on the side of the highway if necessary. The thought of Mick having to squat on the side of a road with a whole bus waiting for him to finish was terrifying to him. Mick took some of his trusty Lomotil tablets to try to stop the onslaught, but being the true risk manager that he is, he started some contingency planning. Thankfully the tablets worked and there was a toilet on the bus, crisis averted!
We arrived in Granada (with underpants intact) and headed straight to a tapas bar. Granada has as bizarre custom where you get free tapas when you order a drink. Mick had been looking forward to this free food, but was disheartened when he quickly realised that free tapas does not include dry bread, but rather oily (yet delicious) foods.
After dinner we hiked up to the top of the city to a look out to see the Alhambra all done up in lights, it was spectacular. We got to go inside it the following day and it was truly an amazing building with amazing gardens to wander through. The rest of the day was spent wandering the city before we met up with the group to go back to the look out to see the sun setting over the Alhambra. On the way to the lookout we stopped by an olive and dried fruit shop where it seemed every second person in our group bought a tub of olives. So a shitload of olives needed to be eaten while we waited for the sun to set. Even though we tried the were still quite a few olives thrown out when left.
We then made our way to dinner for more free tapas (and Mick paid for bread and water/lemonade). For dessert Damo and 2 others from our tour shared churros and chocolate, they over ordered and had to leave some behind (which was also an indication of the quality).
We then had an early night as we had an early start the next day.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Seville
We arrived into Seville at 9pm and went straight to a tapas bar.
Damo got the usual suspects of jamon, croquete, chorizo and oxtail stew (for something different). Mick had usual suspects of bread, water and clear soup (for something different). After dinner drinks were had at a fancy hotel overlooking the cathedral (apparently the largest gothic cathedral in the world).
The following morning we had an orientation walk of the city followed by our visit to inside the cathedral and then the Réal Alcazar (a palace that is still used by the royal family). The rooms we saw definitely are not still used by the royal family as we simply saw empty room after empty room. The only thing that was different about each room was the mosaic tiles. The most memorable moment of the palace visit was when Mick and Damo were discussing the mosaic tiles in one of the rooms when Mick turned to Damo and said (in all seriousness) "its got a definite Spanish influence..."
Afternoon tea/dinner was tapas (where Mick could finally eat) at a small bar that was populated with the family or relatives of the proprietor. It wasn't the greatest, but it definitely beat bread and water!
The tour group then went to a Flamenco performance. The male dancer looked very much like the scary "child collector" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with extremely long and greasy hair that kept getting stuck to his face as he spun around. Being all in Spanish, we had to make up own story line for the songs. In the first song the female singer was highly emotional and very upset. Mick called this song "I stepped in dog poo" (the inspiration for this made up title came from the time Mick stepped dog poo in Lisbon, he felt her pain).
In the second song the only word we understood was Antonio, so Damo called this song "Antonio, Antonio, please buy me some new shoes." In the third song, the dancer was brushing her foot to the ground like a bull. We gathered that Antonio could not afford the shoes, so the dancer was showing the singer how too clean her shoes and save them from rubbish bin.
All jokes aside it was a very emotional and powerful performance, and we were surprised took find from Delia that the 2 singers, guitarist and 2 dandancersd out likely never met before and that flamenco performances are often improvised with people who have never met before
We celebrated the fact that Mick could now eat by having the first churros for the trip. They were nice but not as good as churros back home! Seville is a place we will definitely return to (even with their sub par churros)
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Lisbon, Evora and Lagos
Our day started with a guided morning walk through the streets of the old quarter of Lisbon, Alfama. We were taken through the small winding and hilly streets to see the Pantheon and then up to Sao Jorge castle. The combination of the fierce heat and steep inclines made the going tough, but the quality scenery made up for it.
A friend from Mick's work had highly recommended visiting Sao Jorge castle. She claimed that this was the best castle she had ever seen. Given she is from the UK, she has seen a lot of castles in her time, and was considered a reliable castle connoisseur. While the castle was "nice", Mick wasn't convinced that it warranted the rave review. Damo thought Sao Jorge 'gave good castle'.
We explored the castle ramparts despite the heat, climbing the walls and looking over Lisbon. The view was amazing. After the castle we had a quick lunch before taking the tram back down the hill to the plaza near the hotel.
That night we had our first group dinner with our guide Delia and the whole group. We sat with two kiwis who were very entertaining (Darryl has many similar expressions and mannerisms to Mick's mum, which helps abate homesickness a bit) and close by were two wacky Canadian 'chicas' with the most beautiful hair we had ever seen on a female head (it turns out that when we arrive in a new town and only have 30 minutes to get ready for dinner, Mick and Damo jump in the shower while Robbie and Maureen spend the time blow drying their hair).
After dinner we meandered back from the Bairro Alto to the hotel, stopping along the way to have a shot of cherry liqueur from a chocolate cup. Known as 'cotiñas' it was delicious. Thanks Delia!
The next day we left Lisbon to head to the coastal town of Lagos, first stopping in the town of Evora to explore this quaint town, see the Roman ruins of the Temple of Diana, and visit the grisly Chapel of Bones. It was a hot day and after wandering the narrow streets we settled down to a lunch of pork scallopine served with rice, potatoes and the obligatory fried egg (it seems a meal isn't complete in Portugal unless it is topped with this additional ingredient).
We arrived in Lagos and headed to the hotel, only 3 mins walk from the bus stop. Our room overlooked the bus stop, but luckily wasn't noisy. The group explored the nearby old town and split for dinner as some people wanted seafood, and others tapas. Mick was keen for a steak, so we went to a restaurant called Henrique along with Americans Arielle, Anthony and David. We all had nice meals if a little pricey, before heading back to the hotel bar for a nightcap.
During the night Mick got sick from the delicious steak and unfortunately didn't get a lot of sleep. He did however get well acquainted with the bidet.
The next morning the group went for a hike along the Algarve coastline. The word 'hike' had instilled a little fear into us, but luckily the walk was not very challenging. We started by visiting the local fish and fruit market to get supplies for the trek. The fish market had an amazing variety of fish that we had never seen before including the 'pespada' or scabbard fish, a thin silvery critter almost 2 metres long. These specimens were mostly rolled up, but when extended were quite impressive.
What was less impressive however, was the smell of the markets and Mick, an avid fish hater, didn't find the experience pleasurable at all. Thankfully we shortly moved on and began the hike proper.
The views of the rocky coast were fantastic and we were all soon snapping away with our cameras. At the end of the trek some people split to go to the lighthouse, while some headed back the hotel. We descended with a few others to some of the small beaches below to have a swim. It was quite a hot day but we were surprised (read shocked) at the temperature of the water. It was freezing! The Atlantic numbed us down but it was a relief from the inescapable heat. We stopped off at a number of beaches on the way back to the old town.
We found a little tapas place and sat down to a meal of caprese salad, cheese with honey and almonds, piri piri chicken, and some amazing lamb. Unfortunately the meal didn't agree with Mick who had to be reacquainted with Bob the Bidet, and then have a siesta when we got back to the hotel. Damo joined some of the group on the hotel roof terrace, drinking wine by the pool. Mick was very jealous, but Damo did get sunburnt feet which took some of the shine off the afternoon.
We had another group dinner that night, but Mick was still sick, so he stayed at the hotel eating bread while Damo had tapas. After dinner some of us went to a bar to have the most amazing mojitos, dubbed the 'mojito bandido' by their discoverers Oendrilla and Ash. The bartender took a great amount of care creating these perfect drinks, and each one came out with a red napkin around the glass much like a bandana - hence 'mojito bandido'. Again, Mick was jealous.
The following day we went for a boat trip to see the coast from the water, with the Canadians, and the Kiwis. We went on the first morning trip which meant that we didn't have too many other boats out on the water with us.
As we sailed around we visited grottoes, caves and pinnacles and we were reminded of the caves of Kleftiko in Greece. After a pleasant hour and a half on the water we made our way back to the hotel to checkout and head to the bus stop for a long ride over the border to Seville. The scenery as we passed stunning, and in some areas reminded us of home (we even saw a bush fire and water bombing helicopter).
Monday, September 8, 2014
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