Take Me Home

Well the Christmas period is more or less over and I've at last got a chance to catch up on the last few weeks. This is where I really wish I'd done this earlier as I won't remember anywhere near as much as I should, but never mind. It'll make for a shorter blog I suppose.

Our journey out of Spain was a little fraught to say the least. We got up early to catch the bus to Marbella on Saturday 8th of December only to find that the bus wasn't going to come as it had been a national holiday two days previously. Our host Christina very kindly gave us a lift to Marbella so we could catch our connection to Granada which was running and we caught without too many problems. As we headed further north and further up the fog grew thick and the temperature dropped considerably. We had the afternoon in Granada so after checking into our hostel we had a wander around the city. The weather made it a little grim and our map not particularly good but eventually we found one of the viewpoints indicated on the map. The fog had lifted a little so we had an excellent view of the Alhambra (we're saving the visit there for another time) and the snow capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada. There was a small market and a couple of restaurants where we ate - the food was good and not overpriced considering it was in an incredibly busy tourist spot.

We had an early night as we had an early flight the next morning. When deciding how to get to Paris, we had two options. Either we could fly early from Granada or from Seville in the afternoon. Even taking into account the hostel and the taxi the cost was more or less the same, so we thought we'd take the opportunity for a few extra hours in Paris. We caught a taxi without too many problems, but when we got to the airport it was fogbound. There was a little confusion as to whether the flight would go or not - at one point it was 90% yes, but the 10% won out and our incoming plane was diverted to Malaga and our flight cancelled. We were given the choice of flying the next morning or (you've guessed it) the Seville flight that afternoon. The most annoying thing being that by the time our coach left the fog had cleared and planes were once again taking off and landing. Too late for us.

So we flew from Seville and had to race to our hotel, change quickly and hotfoot it to La Locomotive. We met up with friends Michael and Siobhan before we went to watch Fish. Last time I saw Fish he was not absolutely awful. I said at the time that I would never go and see him again, much less make a big effort. So here I was having travel a damn long way to see him. And it was a good thing I did because he was excellent. The venue was a bit odd, but we managed to get a spot on the stairs with a good view (the main area was packed). He performed some songs from his new album which we hadn't yet heard but sounded very good along with some of his older material and songs from his last album with Marillion, Clutching At Straws. A fantastic gig by a man who is definitely back on form.

Another day, another journey. This time, a coach to Amsterdam. Not a bad journey and a bargain at €39 return. The only headache was realising that the coach station was a lot further out from the centre of Amsterdam than we had realised. Still, we could get a train and a tram to virtually outside our hotel which was in a great position, just 2 minutes walk from the venue that Marillion would be playing. On the Monday however, we had the evening free so we went to one of our favourite restaurants in the world (so far). The Tokyo Cafe is a Japanese and sushi restaurant that does an excellent all-you-can-eat deal. We were lucky enough to get in on our last visit to Amsterdam and managed to book this time. The best thing about it is you can try lots of things you wouldn't normally try. After we met up with Neil who had also come to Amsterdam for the gigs.

On the Tuesday we did some touristy things, including the excellent Torture Museum (not to be confused with the Amsterdam Dungeon) and the Theatre Museum. We also took a brief trip to see Ajax's Amsterdam ArenA - we might have to have a look inside some time because from the outside it looks like a road runs right over the pitch!

So that night was the first of three Marillion gigs. Somehow, this band just get better and better live. We stood on bassist Pete Trewavas' side of the stage which is normally the most fun (as well as the easiest to get nearer the front) and certainly had an excellent time. Afterwards I caught a plectrum (properly caught it, none of that scrabbling about on the floor) which always wraps a good gig up nicely!

The next day (we're on Wednesday in case you're not keeping up) we hit Museumplein. First up was the Rijksmuseum - not my personal choice but I really enjoyed it. I actually found myself appreciating still life painting - you can see so much more detail when you see it for real. The museum also provided an excellent history of the Netherlands through the art.

Next up was a museum that we had seen in one of the tourist booklets at the hotel. The House of Bols is brand new and attached to a bartending school. For €10 you get to discover a little about the company who produces a most extensive range of cocktail ingredients. There are interactive portions which explore taste and smell and a flair booth where you practise your own bottle throwing techniques. Best of all, at the end you can choose a cocktail to try which is freshly made for you (it's somewhere for the students to train obviously!) AND we had two additional shots each of different flavoured Bols. The Green Banana was particularly nice. At the end the receptionist commented that we'd been in there a long time - clearly a lot of people pay their €10 and head straight for the bar! We staggered back to our hotel to change before heading out for the next gig. We stood in the same place (boring I know, but Pete is a legend!) Another great gig with a couple of changes to the setlist and an amazing atmosphere.

It was another early morning start to catch the bus back to Paris. We got there in plenty of time to meet my sister Vicky at Gare Du Nord. It was fantastic to see her after so long - a couple of days in Paris was my Christmas present to her. We had another quick journey on the Metro to our hotel, to change and to head out for the gig, although we did have time for a crepe before the show. Again the atmosphere for the gig was electric - the band clearly love playing in Paris and I could see why. It's always fun to see the last night of a tour as the band let go a bit more. I wanted to hang around and see if the band would come out and socialise but Darren had a ridiculously early start so we retired to our hotel.

Vicky and I then had one day to "do" Paris. First stop had to be the Eiffel Tower. We got off at Champ de Mars stop and when came out of the station we couldn't see the famous tower anywhere! We walked in what I thought was the general direction and suddenly, behind a building, there it was. It's head was shrouded in cloud but it looked spectacular still. We opted (Vicky's decision) to take the stairs to the second level as it was much cheaper and we didn't have to queue. This was quite high enough for Vicky and we decided that it wasn't worth the extra time, money and queuing to go to the top, especially as the weather hadn't improved much.

For lunch I had to take Vicky to one of my favourite places in the world - Angelina. Angelina is a salon de thé on Rue de Rivoli near the Louvré. It looks quite small from the outside but opens up like the Tardis,managing to be opulent and personal at the same time. The croque monsieur and madame are built like doorstops and the pastries are beautiful, but it was the African style hot chocolate that we'd come for. At €6.50 it isn't cheap, but it is like pure melted chocolate and comes with a pot of whipped cream and a much needed glass of water to wash it down with. Of all my travel tips, this has to be number one!

We then decided to go somewhere I actually hadn't been to on my previous trips to Paris - Pere Lachaise cemetery. Although it was still cold it was pleasant enough to walk around. As well as the large number of famous graves there were lots of very ornate resting places. There were two people we did want to visit however - Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde. Morrison's was the first we found, a relatively small grave festooned with flowers left by his fans. Oscar was a little trickier to find. We think there were maps but we weren't sure where people had got them from so we navigated by to occasional maps by the entrances. Eventually we found it, elaborate and unusually designed and covered with lipstick kisses.

I insisted that Vicky saw the Notre Dame Cathedral. I'm not sure how impressed she was (especially with me getting lost on the tiny island it sit on) but I love it. Plus it was somewhere we could go indoors for a while to warm up! We then headed for the Louvre - cheaper on a Wednesday or Friday evening. Like the still life in Amsterdam I think the Mona Lisa looks amazing when you see it for real, but Vicky just didn't get it. Philistine!

We traipsed around the Louvre for a few hours, and when we got bored headed for the next sight - the Arc de Triomphe. The Christmas lights on the trees all the way down the Champs Elysée were absolutely breathtaking. We were both pretty hungry again by now, but eating in Paris is really tricky. Everywhere is either too touristy, too expensive (or both) or impossible to find. We walked down the Champs Elysée and took the plunge at a hopeful looking restaurant. It actually turned out to be a good choice. In particular I must mention our very friendly waiter, not something Paris is renowned for!

The we rounded off our day where we began - the Eiffel Tower. This time we approached from the Ecole Militaire at the opposite end of the Champs du Mars. We managed to plan it so we only had a few minutes to wait for the 10pm show - the Eiffel Tower glitters for 10 minutes on the hour every night. It was a special moment to spend with a special person.

We could do no more. Back to the hotel to catch up a bit more on our time apart and watch Sex & The City in French. The next morning we took the Eurostar out of Paris - after 5 months away I was back home.

Spanish Castle Magic

Yesterday we took our second trip to Malaga. Last time we had decided to leave a tour of the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro Castle until we had a complete day to spend, so we headed straight for the Alcazaba only to be greeted by the worst words; "Cerrado Lunes". Fortunately this only applied to the Alcazaba, so we instead to the long trek up the hill to the castle instead.

The castle itself wasn't particularly interesting, but the views over Malaga and the surrounding area were breathtaking. It was built when the city was under Muslim rule in the 14th and 15th Centuries, and was certainly a superb lookout point (the name comes from the Arab for "hill" and the Greek for "lighthouse"). We had a great view over the sea, towards the mountains and of the city's cathedral, bullring and port. It was incredibly hot for a December day, but the wind at the top of the rampart made for a real difference in temperature. Back down the bottom, it was warm enough for us to eat lunch in the sunshine before heading off to the Museo de Artes y Tradiciones Populares.

I had seen an article about this museum in the local English language paper. It is in a building that previously housed the Victoria Tavern and it displays the day-to-day life of the people of Malaga, both working and middle classes. It's very well done, placing as many objects as possible in "room" settings to give them a more realistic feel.

On the recommendation of our host, last week we took a trip out to Ronda. It was a long bus journey and we had to catch the 7am bus to Marbella. As we travelled back inland, the sun rose over the sea making Marbella oddly picturesque! Having spent the last few months in mountains I think I may have started to take the scenery for granted, so I made sure I enjoyed every minute as the bus swerved around the mountain roads.

Our first stop was the Plaza de Toros, Spain's first purpose built bullring still in use. Inside was also a museum detailing the history of the bullfight, although I would have appreciated a bit more information about the fight itself. You could walk almost throughout the whole building, including onto the ring itself and into the paddocks. We watched one girl training a horse for a while with an amazing disply of balance - riding without stirrups or reins. The bullring also had displays of riding gear and an exhibition on duelling with swords and pistols.

Ronda is a town cut in two by a gorge, across which the Puerto Nuevo links both halves of the town. The bridge provides some of the most spectacular views of the trip so far, miles and miles of mountains. It was incredibly relaxing - like Villefranche-du-Conflent, I could quite happily revisit Ronda just to sit out in the sunshine. I'd also like to return to try and find a decent restaurant. After the worst meal of the trip (and I didn't think I'd say that after Marseille) we went in search of the Bandit Museum.

Lots of tourists come to Ronda to take in the views, but the locals obviously want to get in on the act. There are a huge number of museums for such a small place, many of them seemingly set up in people's houses! The Museo del Bandolero is no exception. It's a very impressive collection of bandit memorabilia, from costumes to birth and death certificates to comics and videos. I'm not sure I learnt too much from the museum, but it was good for just a couple of Euros.

For another couple of Euros we visited the museum under Puerto Nuevo. The small exhibition explained how it took several hundred years for technology to catch up to the design of the bridge and how important the bridge has been to Ronda's development as a town. It also gave us a better view of the ravine itself. Then it was back to the bus station and the long journey back to Monda.

Unless I have the time and the facilities in Paris or Amsterdam I suspect this will be my last update until I return to British shores. As much as I am looking forward to returning home, I will miss Monda. It's a wonderful little town in a really beautiful area. It's the sort of place I can imagine living. Maybe I'll return one day.

Picture This

Darren's uploaded lots of new photographs from La Fonda, Figueres, Montserrat, Malaga, Marbella, Gibraltar and Monda for you to view. And Blogger is providing me with a nifty little slideshow function on the sidebar which I'll probably use for pictures of our latest location.

Yesterday morning we went for a walk. Christina took us and Matt - an American WWOOFer who has been with us for the last week - to a spot from where we could walk to a lovely view over Marbella and of the sea. At first the sea and sky blended seamlessly, but eventually we got a very faint view of Gibraltar and Morocco. Tomorrow we are taking a day off to go to Ronda, a town about 60kms away which is apparently a very nice example of an old fashioned Spanish town. It is also home to the oldest bullring in Spain.

Enjoy the photos!

Take The Long Way Home

We spent yesterday on British soil once more! Being this close, we felt the need for a visit to Gibraltar. We caught the first bus out of Monda to Marbella, then another to La Linea. Watching the sun rise during the journey, the big rock came into view. As we got closer the Atlas mountains of north Africa also became visible. Once in La Linea, we walked over the border and across the runway of Gibraltar airport into the territory. We then walked through the town to the cable car which took us to the top of the rock.

For an extra £1.50 (yes, that is good old sterling) we also got an audiotour which gave us a very interesting potted history of Gibraltar. Most importantly however we got to see the monkeys! The Barbary Macaques are famously the only wild monkeys found in Europe, and they were very entertaining. We particularly enjoyed one small ape tucking into a pineapple, and tried not to laugh too much when another stole a tourist's bag, took it out of reach and studiously unzipped all the compartments before leaving it when no food was discovered inside.

Back in the town, we had a pub lunch before hopping on some of the local buses to guide ourselves to the southernmost tip. We alighted at the 100 ton gun where we had the museum all to ourselves to investigate. We then continued south to Europa Point. Unfortunately the weather had really turned against us at this point and we could only just make out Africa across the surprisingly narrow strait of water.

We used our remaining time to peruse the many "duty free" shops on Main Street before walking back over the frontier into Spain. Then we discovered that - once more - we had misread the bus timetable and missed our planned bus back to Marbella. By the time we had gone to Estepona and then to Marbella the last bus to Monda had long since departed. A taxi worked out cheaper than a hotel or hostel would have done, so another €20 taxi fare was spent. I think I'm going to start taking photos of all these bus timetables...

How Much Is That Doggy In The Window?

I like getting a night train. There's something magical about going to sleep in one place and waking in another. There is also something incredibly English about going to Malaga. We had a slight change of plan in who we were staying with. We are in a village called Monda which is a fairly typical southern Spanish village - to our eyes at least! Our host is Christina, an Englishwoman who has lived in Spain for over 20 years, so her opinion is somewhat different. I like it here a lot though. We are staying at her house in the village and travelling to the land each day which is about 30 minutes walk. This is quite a departure for us - firstly the feeling of "going to work" and also being near some civilisation. We can go to the pub at night here! We're also just a few minutes away from buses to Malaga and Marbella and lots of places inbetween.

The land is on several levels and is dotted with orange trees. We've been digging up new plots for the most part to plant in. I think Christina sells some of her produce but most of it is for her own use. We normally get a lift up and walk back when we're finished. On our first walk back we stopped to read a sign about some local walks when I heard a squeaking coming from the nearby bins. I knew it was going to be more trouble than it was worth but I just couldn't resist such a distress call. A plastic bag was writhing in one of the bins - I fished it out and there were two newborn puppies inside. Darren thought he had seen a vets in the village so we carried them back with us.

It turned out there was no vets. We tried to call some local dogs homes - one that spoke English said they had no room and the others we simply couldn't converse with. Christina was unable to help as she was busy. Without any way of feeding them they were not going to make it through the night. We couldn't keep them in the house and unfortunately this story simply could not have a happy end.

On our first day off (last Saturday) we took the bus to the city of Malaga. The city was not at all what I expected it to be. It's probably true what they say - all that most tourists see of Malaga is the airport. Which is a shame because it's a lovely little city. It's nice and manageable to walk around and there is lots to see including 23 (I think) museums. Our main reason for visiting was to see the Picasso Museum. I've never been much of a studier of Picasso's work, but - like the Dali Museum - it was interesting to see some of his less famous work and how he came to Cubism. It makes it a little easier to understand. We had fun improving our Spanish as none of the titles were in English. Not that Picasso always makes it completely obvious what he's painting!

We thought about visiting the Moorish castle grounds but decided to leave it until we had a full day to appreciate them. Instead we went to the Interactive Music Museum. It wasn't bad althoughall of the explanations were in Spanish so we probably didn´t get anywhere near as much out of it as we could. We did however see some of the Rodin statues which are currently displayed on the city's streets including The Thinker.

The weather has mostly been beautifully sunny, but today has been wet and very windy. Instead of kick our heels at the house, we took a bus to Marbella. What a horrible place! OK, it's probably not improved by the weather (which was distinctly drier and warmer than in Monda), but it's a fairly soul-less town. Dali has some good sculptures which was the highlight of our day. You can tell that Marbella is where the wealthier tourists go - it's full of designer(ish) shops and restaurants selling lobster for 75€. We wondered round, got the cheapest meal we could without resorting to McDonalds and came back.

Food Glorious Food

Sorry, I've got some catching up to do haven't I? Let's start with our final week in Catalonia.

The one thing I most wanted to do was visit the Dali Theatre Museum in Figueres. About 2 hours north of where we were staying, we decided to visit on a weekday in the hope that it wouldn't be too busy. If Saturdays are busier than I'm very glad we went on a Thursday! There were a lot of guided tours and school trips which was a particular nightmare when they stood in front of a piece you wanted to view. However, it is a fantastic place to visit.

The entire museum stands as a piece of art. The experience begins with the outside, decorated with Dali's symbolic eggs and bread rolls and the statues in Placa Gala i Salvador Dali. Once inside you are greeted by the open courtyard containing what Dali considered the biggest surrealist monument in the world - it's almost a compilation of pieces by both himself and other surrealist artists. There is then the stage area, dominated by a massive backdrop of his beloved wife Gala. Dali's love and passion of his wife oozes out of almost every room in the museum. The museum also contains the Mae West room - along with the famous Mae West lips sofa, other pieces have been arranged so that, when viewed from high up a long way away (or in this case up some stairs through a concave lens) the face of Mae West is created. There are actually very few of Dali's most famous works in the museum and it's interesting to see where he started and ended rather than just the things you already know.

On our final evening in L'Ametlla del Valles we visited the restaurant we had been working for over the last month. It would have been easy - having looked forward to this meal for 5 weeks and already tasted (albeit in a much more rustic form) what the chef and his staff could do - to be disappointed with the meal. However, disappointed we most certainly were not. Every course surpassed our expectations. We were first presented with appetisers of veal tartare and tuna sashimi. For starter Darren had foie gras cannelloni and I had a wild mushroom stew. My main course was veal cheeks and Darren had the Butifarra - a traditional Catalan sausage which absolutely astounded both of us for it's complexity of taste and velvety texture. We were then served a delicious lemon and ginger drink to cleanse our palettes before dessert - figs and red berries of toasted bread for me, pumpkin pie for Darren. We really were incredibly impressed. This is food which deserves to be eaten and enjoyed, and I really hope that La Fonda goes on to be as successful as it should be.

It was time to move on. The following evening we left Lluisa to catch the night train to Malaga from Barcelona...

Calendar Girl

I've been having a play with Google Calendars. Have a look at the new little device on the right there, and let me know if scrolling down causes you any problems. It keeps crashing IE here, but it might be this computer!

The Incidentals

It’s been a bit weird at this WWOOF. I really love the area, being so close to Barcelona, the restaurant, the house and our host Lluisa. But it’s a difficult time for her as the restaurant is not doing good business. This is demoralising for everyone involved, including us. It’s also meant that Lluisa has had to go to lots of meetings and hasn’t been able to guide our work. So we’ve ended up doing a lot of weeding - it’s often the safest thing to do on someone else’s land. Lluisa herself has said the vegetable patch has started to resemble a Japanese garden! But there's only so much weeding you can do, and we're seriously running out of ways to occupy our time. We feel a bit like we're imposing and that we're not earning our keep which is not a great feeling, but Lluisa still seems happy for us to be here.

Lluisa's is quite a cautionary tale. Her original vision was to work in the kitchen and garden herself, but she spends most of her time doing business and trying to promote the restaurant which she doesn't enjoy and doesn't feel she is particularly good at. She recruited a head chef, and he is absolutely brilliant. Maxi is originally from Argentina, and I think he was working with some top, top chefs before coming here, partly for a less stressful life. It’s unlikely I know, but if anyone viewing this blog is in Catalunya over the next few months, come to La Fonda in L’Ametlla del Valles as it’s a really wonderful restaurant with a very talented chef in the kitchen. We can’t wait to be proper paying customers before we leave – every time we go in for our meals with the staff we have another look at the menu. I've really got my fingers crossed that things improve over the next few months as it's a fantastic project and I'd hate to see it close.

We have managed to get a few other jobs done. Last week we harvested the olive tree and got a huge haul. Sorting cut this down to about half, but we still think there is about 10kg. They’ve all gone into a bin of water which we had to change twice (without touching or spilling any olives, not easy) and then changed for salt water. Hopefully they’ll be edible before we leave – I don’t really like olives but I still want to try one! Our favourite job of the week is to collect things for the restaurant on a Thursday morning. It’s surprising just how productive a small piece of land can be. We pick peppers, tomatoes (if they ever ripen), aubergines, courgettes, lettuces, spinach and figs, as well as basil, rosemary, thyme, chives, mint and various flowers (some for decoration, some for cooking).

Last week the weather had turned quite a lot colder - cold enough for Lluisa to light the fire! This week has been warm enough in the sun for us to work outside in T-shirts, an instant indicator that we are English rather than Spanish as they’re already wrapped up in winter coats. It's cold at night though, especially in the caravan. We've got three duvets on the bed, and it's a real struggle to get out of the cosiness in the mornings. And my tan is fading fast!

We've eventually sorted out our final home for the year. After contacting many places in the south of Spain, one person replied to say they didn't need anyone, but that they had friends who were thinking of taking on helpers. I spoke to Natalie yesterday and we're booked in as her and Mark's first WWOOFers! They are based near Estepona in Malaga. We're going to go to Barcelona tomorrow to book our overnight train. It's all fairly mysterious as we could only talk briefly over a bad line so I'm quite excited (and Darren's rather apprehensive!).