Ben's Blog

A week after being back...

I’m not sure if closure is the right word, it’s wasn’t a goodbye, more like hello. I hope I got to know and understand my grandparents a little better, saw a bit of who they were as a young couple, before I was born. It was quite a powerful thing to experience, possibly put things into perspective. They were a major influence on my life and will always remain a part of me.

day 16, homeward bound

I spent my last night in France, checked out of my hotel, bought some pastries for breakfast and spent the day walking around Perpignan, the sun was out, it’s an attractive city; but with no guide book though I was sort of wondering about aimlessly. I checked up on 43places and Wikipedia, but there wasn’t much listed about the town, popped my head into another gloomy church. I kept saying things in Spanish rather than French, I missed the place already.

day 15, I'm sitting at a railway station, got a ticket for ma destination.

This is my third day in Barcelona. I’m feeling unrelaxed, torn in two. I want to see all that Barcelona has to offer, but I know there’s no way I’ll get to know this city in the short time I have here. My time off is coming to an end, I think that’s what saddens me.

day 14, barcelona night-time trip

Started thursday still in Barceloneta, Barcelona, sitting on my balcony; the sun was out, with a cooling sea breeze to accompany me. I fixed my skates, packed up a small bag and headed out.

day 12, onwards on water...

The day was spent on the move; starting on Formentura with a breakfast by the beach again, today the orange juice was back in stock, so I had that with a local pastry.

day thirteen, shopping for wheels.

After being relaxed, away from people, today was a bit of a shock. I felt like a naive peasant, learning about the ways of the city for the first time. I had to figure out how the metro worked, reading instructions in a language I didn’t understand, deciding the most cost effective ticket. I pushed my ticket in the wrong machine, a guide tried to explain, but at first I didn’t understand, I felt very stupid. Leaving the metro is different too, I’m used to swiping the ticket on exit, but on Bacelona metro you just push through the double gates. I had to watch someone to see how it was done.

day 11, Belearic bathing.

I have spent the day at Fonda C’an Rafalet, on Formentera, the smallest inhabited island of the Belearic archipelago. It’s a little hostel and restaurant, at the fishing port of Es Calo; when I say port, I meen a humble haven. There is scarcely enough room for a dozen small elderly wooden boats. I noticed at reception, a painting of the spot, the detail had a recognizable likeness; I then saw the date of the picture, 1986. It’s great knowing that this place hasn’t changed for at least 20 years.

Day ten?

I must be relaxed, I have to think twice to remember what day of the week it is. It is great to have the freedom to sleep when tired and wake up when I want, refreshed, without the need of an alarm clock.

Day nine, costa blanca

I was harsh about Benidorm in the last entry, I could have avoided it, but I went there for a reason. It marks on the map the furthermost south of Costa Blanca that I knew, the area I loved going to on holiday as child.

Day 8 on the move...

On Friday morning, I was still in Granada. The guide book I have is the rough guide to Andalucia, it’s great, but doesn’t cover the whole of Spain. So, I spent Friday morning looking in the bookshops for a new guide, one that would cover the next part of my journey. It was easy to find Spain – Lonley Planet, but I’m not a fan of LP, it’s too popular, if it’s in the guide, it quickly becomes the beaten track. I think the editors know this, so they deliberately fail to mention small interesting places. I couldn’t find a rough guide, so I bought the only other one “Fodor’s Spain 2006” I was impressed that it mentioned Moraira, LP didn’t even mention it.