Random is Good, Random is Life

24th July 2005

Yes I have been slack, using the web cafés here is not very easy, the computers are so locked down, which is fair enough for security etc, but is also very quite a pain. I’m now using Annelie’s laptop to write everything out so I can upload everything into the blog.

But now as you can see there are plenty of new entries. Sorry if I have blathered on here and there but I hope it’s worth the read

Tonight I fly to London, get about 3 hours sleep in the hostel then off for the Contiki adventure! I’ll be there dodging the bloody terrorists and with any luck the Gatwick Express will be on time from Gatwick airport to the hostel.

I have learned a fair bit of Spanish, I can now say:

Beer: Cerveza - thervatha
Chips: Patatas Fritas - (as it looks)
Please: Por favour - por fahvor
Hello: Hola - hollah
Goodbye: Adios - (do I really need to?)
Thankyou: Gracias - grathiath
Train: tren - tren
Platform: Via - Veeya
Hamburger: Hamberguesa - hambergetha
Good: Bien - beeyen
Grande: big - grunday
Sorry: Pardone - pardonay
No: Noa - No (easy eh?)
None: None - Non
Shit: Mierde - mierday (close to the French Mierd)
Spain: Espana - eespanya
Spanish: Espanol - eespanyol
And: Y - ee
See you: Bueneos - byeenoth
Tomorrow: Manana - munyana

Plus of course counting: uno, dos, tres, quatro,…

What more does an Aussie traveller need??!!

If someone says Gracias to you, you say “bien”.

I must be getting fairly good with the accent, as people can usually tell if you don’t really know any Spanish, but I order some food or whatever and then they rattle of a couple of incomprehensible sentences, and I must say “No Espnanol Pardon”!

I have had a fantastic time in Spain, I have chilled out alot and have definately slowed down to a nice gentle pace… no need to rush. I am also very used to the long days, doesn´t get dark until about 10pm… it´s fantastic! But I am definitely ready for the contiki tour now… it’s gonna be grouse.

Now the real adventure begins! Woohoooo!

Adios

Pablo

22nd July 2005

Some money from my business has finally come through, thank Bacchus! I left the country with only 200 euros and about $30!!

Now that I’m solvent I can finally get a few things. I take the train to Barcelona to buy a camera, phone and mp3 player.

Could’nt be stuffed working out the bus timetables so I grab a taxi from Barcelona Sants station (estascio Sants) to Plaza of Catalonia (Placa De Catalunya). Here they have a large department store called El Corte Ingles. The cab is only €6 so well worth it for the sanity!
Speaking of sanity, Barcelona is busy like any large city, but the Spanish are friggin’ loco drivers!

El Corte Ingles is extremely busy, it’s a huge square with department stores, Hard Rock Café, Burger King and heaps of cafes. This is also a major stop for the bus tours. Today I’m on a mission: Get my stuff and get the hell outta there!

Walk over to El Corte Ingles and tell ya what for a store with “Ingles” (English) in the title, they sure speak bugger all “Ingles”. The first stop was for the camera, luckily the store guy here spoke enough English to get by. I bought a Canon Ixus 40 (after seeing Paul’s ixus, I was quite impressed) it has movie with sound, is very solid, is very compact and packed full of features. Also bought a 256Mb card for it, not very big I know. But I can always buy another one if I run out too soon. Got a phone next, then and mp3 player. No ipods here at all, so I bought the next best one I could get. This saleswoman spoke NO English at all, quite a challenge!

Anyhoo, a good half-day in Barcelona, $1000 spent, uneventful but very enjoyable.

21st July 2005

Today is Sani’s 6th birthday, to celebrate we’re off to a water park called Caribe Aquatic Park, which is next to Port Aventura, which is a huge theme park. The water park is massive, apparently it’s the largest in Europe.

There are many waterslides, a huge wave pool. Spinning fountains and water sprays everywhere. You wouldn’t believe that Spain is in drought here! They have a massive kiddie pool area which is inside a building about the size of an airplane hangar. It’s a great way to stay out of the hot sun.

The perving also is excellent! All these hot babes in bikinis *everywhere* I go is starting to drive me nuts! I think my eyes are gonna fall out of their sockets soon, my neck is starting to feel the strain too!

The only beer sold here is Budwieser, man what weak horse piss that is. The food is expensive, as you would expect but it is also largely inedible. The chips (patatas fritas) are old, the ravioli, I’m sure, is straight out of can, it’s rubbery, bland shit.

We had a very fun but tiring day. Chasing the boys around all day is absolutely exhausting.

About 5pm we pick up our photos from the booth and walked back to the train station. The train station has these very high covers, apparently to shade the people, but no. The shades (the ones that aren’t torn off that is, cover the orleander bushes behind the platform very well. The 5:30pm train does not come, this happened to Annelie too when they went to Port Aventura. As the platform is packed I guess the train was permanently cancelled and they didn’t tell anyone!

Here we are, in the blistering heat, bugger all shade and two very grumpy, tired and bored boys waiting for the 6:20 train. It finally arrives at about 6:30. These to really nice English gay guys see us with the two exhausted boys and help us out. They actually blocked everyone from getting on the train to let all of us through. How nice is that?! We just get on the train and Dad announces: “My wallet is gone”. FUCK. The two guys tell us that someone got on the train and then straight off again while Dad was helping Sani on.

How is that? Two times in two days, both while embarking a train and both when Dad’s hands were busy. That of course is prime opportunity for pickpockets. Dad even said that he makes it a point to keep his hand on his wallet. Luckily Dad did not have much cash in it, but of course it had his license and credit cards. Which means that Dad cannot drive in Austria, as you have your international driver’s license but it must be accompanied by your actual drivers license to be valid.

That’s it from now on its travel belt all the way. I must admit I have been a little slack, but I also keep my hand on my wallet in those situations. If you do that the pickpockets will look elsewhere.

As soon as we get back to Calafell I head to the internet café to lookup the Visa number for Dad. All good, luckily no new charges had been made on it. Also lucky for Dad that he took out a large amount of Euros to take advantage of a favourable exchange rate before he left, so he should be covered for the rest of his trip.

Ciao

Paul

Here are the pics as promised! Sorry for the ordinary quality, but my website has very limited space. Will be organising something bigger soon…

The Duckman hits Europe!

The view of our Apartment

The Family on the Beach

Sani - Poweranger

Bashir - Superbrat

The Beach in Calafell

Paul and Bash (Bash by name, bash by nature!)

Dusk Fountain

20th July 2005

We headed to Sitges which is about 25 minutes north by train from Calafell. It is touted as a very popular spot for gays in the brochures, and sheesh are they right… Gay boys all over the place! Naturally the shopping here is excellent, I splurged a little on some cool clothes and sunnies.

Sitges is a very classic Spanish town, feels more like the ‘real’ Spain here. Narrow cobble-stoned streets with ceramic street signs embedded in the buildings, classic Spanish architecture and galleries everywhere, very beautiful.

We shopped, we stopped for cerveza, shopped, stopped for cerveza then strolled around the esplanade and narrow intertwining streets. We took a quick road train ride up and down the main street which follows the esplanade, tonnes of mansions and tonnes of people!

The boys were getting a little restless so we walked back to the train station, it was chockers with people waiting to head south. The train finally arrives, Sitges is a very popular spot and were waiting for the masses of people to disembark the train, by the time Annelie, Sani, Bashir and I *just* got on as the door alarm sounded which gives about 2 seconds warning before they close. They closed and I just grabbed the doors instinctively so Dad, stroller in hand, could get on too. Naturally this effort was for naught. Dad and dozens of other people, yelling and waving their arms about, were left behind on the platform. Bugger.

I disembarked at the next stop, Villanova, to return to help Dad. Thankfully I just got under the passageway to the other platform in time for the train back to Sitges. I arrive and Dad is nowhere to be seen, also the platform is much emptier, considering the number of people left behind. I had a good look for him in the station café etc but no Dad. I figure he hopped another train, which was weird as they only come every ½ hour or so.

I hop the train back to Segur De Calafell to see Dad on the platform. It turns out that as he was about to get the stroller on a group of women were yelling something at him and pointing at the ground. It seems that someone attempted to pickpocket his wallet and thankfully failed. He got the next train, but it was the end of the line at Villanova, he got the next one. So we were on the same bloody train! Oh well, a good day all in all.