Porto today.. I know, i know.. i should slow down..

Words can´t express how beautiful this city is, at least not my words. It is completely different to Lisboa, people who i´ve spoken to share that thought, yet I´m unable to put my finger on what the main differences are. It could be that Porto feels more like a large village, whereas Lisbon is more of a city and has some of the drawbacks a big city has. Porto on the other hand, is outstanding from whichever angle you take.

It may be a bit windier and colder here than mid-Portugal, but that doesn´t distract from the scenery and architecture.

Yesterday´s hostel was amazing. It had a roof terrace and some amazing views.. I may go back there after tonight. The people there were all really friendly and later that evening I went to see some of them playing some a Folk jam in an Irish Pub. They were really good, and seemed to have been playing together for years, but had only just met.

One of the people who lived next to the hostel was a young guy who had his own architecture studio. He knows about that row of flats in Sheffield (I forget the name... near Ponds Forge) that are incredibly ugly, but because they´re listed they won´t be knocked down.

Now then, as promised i have a small treat... i have a few photos uploaded, you´ll have to forgive the size as I can´t change that... so in no particular order - enjoy.



Today I ate a proper Portugeuse dish - Francesinha. A hearty dish of two slices of bread, bacon, sausage, steak... covered in cheese and in some kind of gravy. It was brutally good, if i bit heartattack inducing.

I´m still getting used to the whole meal-buying process in Portugal though. Before your main dish arrives they put lots of little starters on your table (bread, nibbles, etc) and if you so much as breath on them they charge you 2€ a pop. I sent 3 of them back, assuming the additional chips were part of the meal, but then got stung at the end. It doesn´t help when it feels like you´ve just trod on their kitten if you ask for them to be taken away.

Meanwhile, as it is my birthday on Thursday (24 - argh), I´ve decided to splash out and go to a Metal Festival near here. It´s not that expensive really (65€ for 3 days) and camping is free. I´m going to head out now and see if they still have tickets available.

Bye for now.

Hola

Well clearly this Day 1, 2, 3 thing isnºt working for me. Iºm having far too much fun to go looking for Internet time!

Bordeaux was fantastic. I was there for a couple of nights and got to know my room mate, Tom, from Australia, quite well.

He was complimenting me on the size of my sack (oo err). High praise indeed from someone who has been travelling for a few months every year since he was 30 ( he looked well into his 40s now, but I didnºt want to ask ). He seems to think I have the right idea about travelling light, then again Iºm sure i saw a couple of kicthen sinks in his luggage...

Iºve not had any trouble with the French as per the cliches. I only get the feeling, the more I go into these rural-ish towns, that I wish i knew more of the language. Its all good if you just grin and say merci repeatedly.

Here I am on day 9, and Iºm loving every minute of it. Aside from splurging too much too often on single rooms recently ( Northern Spain has NO hostels?!) Iºm loving every minute of it.

Just yesterday (23rd) I was in Santander. A lovely sea-port, directly linking to Portsmouth. A little touristey, but not too much to cope with. I had a balcony view, of the water for 25€, yes 25€. At lunchtime yesterday I was sitting in the park, enjoying some cheap red wine and some bread in the cool 24ºc heat, with a nice breeze, couldnºt have been much better.

As of this morning Iºm in Lisbon, Portugal, as the knowledable among you will be able to tell by my typos.
I got an overnight train at 3:20 in morning from Vallatolid, using a sleeper - quite an interesting if vastly expensive experience. Not quite as fun as waiting 7 hours for a train beforehand though!

Yet again I canºt upload any photos as they probably dont want computer plague or something, but eventually there will be some pictures floating around. Then you can all laugh at my 2-second stop and snap attempts at photography.

Oh speaking of spending too much on accommodation, Iºve just managed to get a dorm room for 10€! God bless hostelworld.com.

Anyway, ive been taking down a budget of my expenditures for each day, when I remember, and its turning out to be quite useful.

Day 3

I was up in time for a free hostel breakfast this morning. I wolfed down some milky coffee and a croissant with jam and got a move on.

I took a train from Gare De L'Austerlitz to Blois initially. Twas the first time using the InterRail ticket and found it really easy - you can make a decision on a journey and within seconds you can be ready to go, having written the details down.

I got off a stop or 2 early and had my first real conversation with a French lady. It was a little embarrassing trying to speak about myself almost solely with a phrasebook, but i got my point across. She was really nice and was impressed at my doing this alone and I got a big gasp at the mention of trois mois. The train arrived and she wished me bon voyage.

Blois is a really nice, little town. Full of little patisseries and tiny walkways between buildings. A massive contrast with the huge, fast-paced Paris.

I searched out the place in my guidebook for a place to stay - this time in early afternoon (its how to do it kids). The owner was a legend - he was fully booked, but he took me to his brother's hotel (read b+b) about 2mins away, which was only a couple of € more.

He spoke English quite well and I explained my lack of sleep on the previous 2 nights so he spoke to his brother about getting me a quiet room. This was just what I needed! It had a shower and toilet en-suite... and a TV! Nothing much was on it though - just the usual tat you get on terrestrial in England. I did have a big laugh at the French Family Fortunes though.

After a shower i went off around the old town and posted my first 2 postcards.

That evening i had a meal in a cool, family-run pizzeria. I was the only customer there, so everything was amazing. Had my first taste of proper French wine - delicious. The whole thing cost about 22€, not bad at all.

Paris, Blois, Bordeaux

Well where to start..

I'm only on day 5 and I already feel like i've been doing this ages.

Paris was a bit of a nightmare on the 15th. Even though the hostel was only meant to be 10 mins walking distance from the Gare Du Nord it took me 2 hours and a lot of sweat to find it.

It soon turned pitch black and i'm sure i looked a right prune. Nevermind an easy target. Some dodgy bloke approached me; gave me directions to the Peace and Love Hostel (which by that point was a few metres away, but may aswell have been miles) and then proceeded to start asking for money and started grabbing my jacket.

Fortunately i was able to shake him off and found a top geezer in a hotel reception to point me towards my hostel. Needless to say, it was a huge relief when I did find it - just inside the 3hour limit before they give your bed away!

Hardly slept that night. Just my luck that every 2mins an ambulance with sirens blazing would rush past my window. Add that onto the music seeping through the floorboards of the bar downstairs (I was on the 1st floor) and it could've been better.. still, can't moan - would've been a lot worse with no roof.

Day 2
This wasn't so bad. I got some excellent directions from the Peace(?!!) & Love Hostel staff to the next place I was staying - the Oops Hostel. Got there nice and early. There wasn't much sleep here either because of some American girls getting up at 3am, then at 6am. The beds were also made of a metal frame, so if you so much as blinked the whole room knew about it.

Today I had my first Parissien croissant then went off walking down Ave De L'Hopital and then along the river Seine. I saw all the big attractions along the way and had sore legs and feet by the end of it. The Eiffel Tower was as crowded as you'd expect; i walked upto the 2nd floor then got the lift to the top.. some amazing views, though i doubt my camera did them any justice.

Had a genuine crepe avec jambon along the way, got to watch it being made - the guy made it look easy. Bought a book from the Shakespeare and Company english bookshop (For Whom the Bell Tolls), a real gold mine.. the owner is from England.

Wrote a couple of postcards today. By the time it got to posting them the Bureau de Poste was closed, so i managed to get them sent off when I got to Blois.

By the end of the day I was feeling a lot less nervous about Paris. I think there is a bit of a steep learning curve when it comes to navigating this place. I'd have done well to get a street map which was more useful than second-hand toilet paper, unlike the tiny map i tore out from the Europe on a Shoestring guidebook. Got there in the end though, which is the main thing!

"Booked it, packed it, fucked off"

Well It's been a long time coming, but I'm finally here. Tomorrow I leave for Paris. 

I have my first night in a hostel booked - 10 mins walk from the Gare Du Nord station and I should arrive around 8 o'clock... or 9 o'clock in Paris time.

I have a big hefty book to take so I'm all set for those long train journeys (at least for a little while). 

Maybe I should do something like this before I go. The impact may be slightly less on a terrace house, but still...

So... I can't really think of much more to say at this point, think I've covered most of the important stuff. My next post will likely be from France. All that remains is to leave you with an au revoir - oh yes. 

Revelations.

Right, done with injections until the end of July now - happy about that. Got around €600 aswell so that'll sort me out for a couple of nights in a Parisian brothel. I have also taken a morsel of last minute advice..

I was focusing too much on buying clothes and such that were either quick-drying, waterproof, or generally made of amazing materials. Pretty much stuff that's suitable for dancing in torrential rain, or going on a Ray Mears excursion.

I've come to that conclusion that, unless I'd be comfortable wearing that get-up in my home town, I should reconsider my wardrobe. I hadn't thought about it like that until yesterday - which of course threw me into mild, last-minute panic - always good!

So, I took back a raincoat that cost £50 and instead bought a lighter, casual jacket with a hood. I'd feel like a right plum wearing a cagool in the middle of trendy Paris. Can't say any of my guidebooks mentioned anything like this, which surprised me. 

So... a handful of things to do now, but otherwise plain sailing:

• book first night in Paris. I'll be arriving around 8pm, so could be a little dodgy wandering around for a bed at that time
• buy a more detailed map for Western Europe, and a Western Europe guidebook to take with me
• make my stuff look less new
• pack bag, test bag
• decide on a novel to take

Just a quick post to show my route on a map, and the calendar of my dates. The first image is large (3MB) so that you can hopefully zoom in and read the place names.

 

Nearly 8 days to go...

My last full week until I disappear. 

The nerves are beginning to surface and the butterflies have woken up. At least I know I'm feeling the right things.

So with 9 days left, I still have a few things to do. Not least is the first of my injections (totalling around £250!) on Wednesday. These are mainly for Eastern Europe and Australia. I've also said all the necessary goodbyes to the relatives and given some generic response for the "getting a job when I get back" worries, so I think everyone's happy. 

I'm going to start off by buying £500 worth of €uros and see how I go. Unfortunately, I wasn't organised enough to get myself a credit card while I was still earning and getting a Nationwide account for use abroad proved to be impossible. So if anyone else is planning a trip like this, I'd recommend getting those two things sorted before packing the 9-5 in!

Another thing on the old to-do list is to get some Malaria tablets. Malarone and Doxycycline are the two I've been recommended by the Doc. I may leave these until July. 

The Australian Working Visa cost £130 by the way and the best part, upon reading the terms and conditions, is that if they refuse my application they keep £120 for "administration fees" or similar bullshit. Needless to say, I hope they accept it! - should find out in 4 weeks by email. I could always try for a New Zealand one if that fails...

Anyway, I've drawn out a vague itinerary to set minds at ease. I've used an InterRail map, which shows the rail lines and used it to plot my route, avoiding the expensive high speed trains. I'll try and translate it to a map, but for now it is as follows:

• Sheffield - Paris (via Eurostar)

• FRANCE
• Evreux - Lisieux
• Alecon - Le Mans - Tours
• Saumur - Nantes
• La Roche-sur-Yon - La Rochelle
• Royan - Bordeaux

• SPAIN
• Facture - Dax - Bayonne
• San Sebastian - Vitoria
• Miranda de Ebro - Bilbao
• Leon - Oviedo - Gijon
• Ferrol - Lugo - Monforte
• Ourense - Valenca

• PORTUGAL
• Viana do Castelo - Porto - Aveire
• Pampilhosa - Figuiera da Foz - Sintra
• Lisboa - Casa Branca - Beja
• Funcheira - Faro - back to Lisboa
• Entroncamento - Valencia de Alcantara

• SPAIN
• Caceres - Merida - Zafra
• Cordoba - Linares - Granada
• Manzanares - Alcazar - Albacete
• Xativa - Valenca - Teruel
• Zaragoza - Tarragona - Barcelona
• Ribes de Freser - Puigcerda

• FRANCE
• Foix - Toulouse - Albi
• Rodez - Figeac - Aurillac - Neussargues
• Clermont-Ferrand - Vichy
• Roanne - Lyon - Chalon sur Saone
• Beaune - Dijon - Dole
• Besancon - Belfort - Mulhouse
• Colmar - Strasbourg

• GERMANY
• Karlsruhe - Heidelberg - Mannheim
• Darmstadt - Frankfurt - Giessen
• Marburg - Kassel - Halle - Berlin
• Wittenburge - Ludwigslust 
• Luneburg - Hamburg - Bremen
• Weener

• THE NETHERLANDS
• Groningen - Zwolle - Schiphol
• Amsterdam - Rotterdam

• BELGIUM
• Antwerpen - Gent - Brussels

• Brussels to Sheffield (Eurostar)

I'll decide stuff such as which places to stay and for how long when I'm on the move. I think I'll use this route as something to fall back on if the "playing by ear" doesn't lead anywhere.

And now some set dates for you (or rather me) 

15/04/09 - Eurostar to Paris

17/04/09 - 08/05/09 - First InterRail ticket valid

13/05/09 - 03/06/09 - Second InterRail ticket valid

08/06/09 - 30/06/09 - Third InterRail ticket valid

22 or 23/07/09 - Eurostar from Brussels to Sheffield (can't buy it until Apr 28th)

19/08/09 - Plane to Eastern Europe (maybe Czech Republic or Slovakia)

Between 19 - 21/10/09 - Plane from Turkey to Australia (intend to arrive in Australia around 22nd)

Again, I'll try and find a way of displaying all this on a calendar so it makes more sense.

I have yet to get plane tickets for the second trip to Eastern Europe, but I may well do that when I return near the end of August with 3 weeks to kill.

Since starting this post I received the email concerning the Australian working visa and I'm glad to say it's been granted! I'm well chuffed. It looks as though everything is slotting into place. I have until 4th April 2010 to earn enough pocket money for New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

Right I'll leave it there... I'll be sure to add some pictures for the next post....

I have changed the comments thing so that you can leave a message without having to register. Any comments are appreciated! You can also email me: dan_jamesi@yahoo.co.uk