Buenache de Alarcon

my cutie pie


aftermeal indulgence




Edu´s mom high on pot


aftermeal recreation


lunch with edu´s family and friends


all-night party


My mates


Josete caught in a foam fight


the real deal


learning how to bullfight from young!


Belen and her Sangria


Me practicing on the pavement before the real deal

Alcala La Real, Andalucia


Alright, im seriously running a lil´late behind schedule, fine, i´ll confess, i DO have an itinerary to follow...

as much as i would like more flexibility in my travel and stay on much longer here in Spain, ive bought a ticket from Madrid to Cologne on the 26th of september, i really needa be in Germany by then if im serious about making it to Oktoberfest...

i know this is all very bad planning on my part, as it is, im not ready to leave Spain yet. damn, im having so much fun here! if i could do anything differently, i would have left London much earlier...sigh...anyway, that´s that...

So we left Buenache De Alarcon and make our way down south into the region of Andalucia...they say southern Spain is the place to go if you wanna see the very Spanish side of the country...

it took us hours on the road and arent we thankful that we´re traveling in Fabi´s comfortable Merc? (you have no idea how rich my spanish hosts are, the spoilt kids!)

we arrived in Alcala for yet another festival that continues on after Buenache, and as much as im loving it, i told the boys that i will have to leave for Portugal by tomorrow, im really running out of time and i will hate to miss Portugal before going to Germany...

back to the bad planning part, im gonna be punished with a whopping 100 euro for getting a bus ticket this late, still cant get used to spending so much after not spending anything at all for two weeks... :p

Oh yeah, i did it, i did it...

I challenged the bull! the feeling was indescribable when the entire arena cheered you on and cried: Torero! Torero! (an honour for the bullfighters) i know the reason im getting so much attention is because im a foreigner, but who cares? it really was awesome to be lifted up in the air and hear thunderous applause...

why dont time just stop when you´re dying for it to?

Valencia

Buenache De Alarcon, Cuenca


this is just so thrilling, after a week in Valencia, im ready to get into more action with the locals, so i followed Edu and Fabi back to the village to see more of the local traditions and to experience the authentic spanish lifestyle...

When i mentioned village, i really did mean it...this is a community of 700 people where everyone knows each other and they dont mind just their own business...it so happen that the village is having a week-long festival where people dance and drink whole day and get involved in a whole range of local activities...

being the only foreigner there, everyone is trying their best to showcase their spanish hospitality, i feel so welcome amidst the local and really enjoy getting all the fuss from them.

Edu´s mom is an excellent cook, there was so much food that i was spoilt for choice, and everyone is trying to get me to try everything and make an effort to stuff me with as much food as possible. The wine that was offered is first-rated, the grapes come from Edu´s vineyard and is the very best, aint i the luckiest freak on earth?

When night falls, we went to join the dancing marathon at the local community hall, i let myself be taught some spanish traditional dance routine by some ladies who just couldnt lay their hands off me...haha...no, seriously...

we later went star gazing at the moor, staring into the millions of shining starlets, allowed our thoughts be wandering across the endless field of wheats and sunflowers, at a chilly temperature of 10 degrees...it was very relaxing...

apparently when the people get into the action of partying, they dont believe in taking a break, it really is a marathon, and the event is a whole night/morning affair, where people just keep going, songs after songs, drinks after drinks, the stamina they have is astounding, considering some of the folks are way past their prime...

at 5 in the morning, the major event kickstarted - Bullfighting. Ppl of all ages gathered at the arena and cheered upon the courageous bullfighters...and no, u dont need to be trained to be one, anyone can just step into the rink as and when they feel like it, and trust me, you really need to be very drunk to do that...

I was encouraged and challenged to perform the act by Jose, edu´s brother, but his mom wont hear of it. It is like nothing you see on television, when you are upclose and personal to the raging bulls. The moment it charges so near the bullfighters, bellowing for all it´s worth, it just send a chill to you, giving you the cringe, the flinch, the gasp, and everything all at once.

we will witness the act again this afternoon, and hopefully by then i will have garnered the courage to actually step into the rink...

Im falling in love with the craziness of the people here...


p/s: i still dont encourage animal cruelty, but they dont actually kill the bulls here, just waving some pink and yellow cloth before it and taunting it...it´s not right, but it´s Spain...

Valencia

This has gotta be the coolest place ever, first off, ive succeeded in getting off the tourist trail, and now i dont see anymore bloody tourist, getting in my way all the time, taking pictures of everyone and everything (a little like me, hehe), and annoy the helloutta me...

yes, this is the ultimate spanish experience, im staying with the spanish, eating like a spanish, and party like one!

met up with Eduardo at the bus station and the dude wasted no time in bringing me to savour some of the weirdest food ever, Jamon and Fuet...they are some fermented, uncooked meat from God knows which part of which animal and he refused to tell me...and no, i didnt really enjoy it...

the highlight of the day was obviously the drinking session that happens before dinner...oh yeah, their timing is all screwed up, lunch at 2pm, siesta thereafter, and then dinner at 10pm! I particularly enjoyed the San Miguel and the Sangria that the folks have prepared, and of course, the sweet wine MISTELLA, it´s gotta be the best sweet wine ever, so cheap and yet so toxic... :p

the next day we had Paella, Gazpacho and Fideua at the local restaurant, and as it is a buffet, we ate till we could hardly move...

the thing i like about the spanish is that, they are just such a carefree and laidback bunch, imagine sleeping in till noon and party whole night till the next morning! and no, apparently u dont need a reason to party, i was asking edu on saturday night what was the occasion of the party that his friends were throwing on the rooftop, and he gave me a blank stare as if i was from outer space, ´we party every weekend!´, he said...

im really enjoying my sojourn here as im meeting new friends every day, my spanish vocabulary has increased in a tremendous rate and im starting to feel like a spaniard myself...lying on the beach whole afternoon and sunbathed till we got so tanned, and then off to the bar for tapas and beer...

now that´s life!

Barcelona

La Sagrada Familia




Parc Guell


Palao Nacional


Birdseye view of Barcelona


Museo de la Art


Placa Catalunya


La Pedrera


Casa Batllo

geez, im just so loving the free internet service that can be found in certain corners of downtown barcelona...

was talking to my fellow roomies yesterday and it turned out they are all architects and sculptors! three japanese, one russian and one romanian.

It was a very informative talk that lasted till 2am, and i learned a great deal about some of the buildings and sculptures in town, mostly by Gaudi, Picasso and Fuster, it sorta broaden your mind when you listen to their interpretation of a certain monument and building.

Took a walk to Parc Guell (by Gaudi) this morning and went looking for that certain characteristic that my friends have mentioned, well off the beaten track from the tourist path, and sure enough, there it is, that little detail that spells Gaudi, his intention and his little secret...It´s like reading Da Vinci Code once again...

will go back to Sagrada Familia tonight to decipher some more hidden codes in the building that reflect certain history...the building is still under construction (rumoured to be completed by 2026), though not under Gaudi´s supervision anymore...needless to say that after his death and the lack of a blueprint for the building because he was working purely based on his imagination, no one can complete his masterpiece the way he had wanted it to be...it´s just so easy to distinguish the difference...will try to get a good picture later to post it here...

this is all very intriguing indeed...

Barcelona


now that´s what im talking about, a bit of sunshine!

Barcelona is a vibrant metropolitan with so much to see and so much to do...i arrived here in the afternoon and was immediately slapped with the integrated underground and railway map; i dare say that the metro here is even more complicated than the london underground...

first of all, their public transportation is not THAT integrated, i got lost so many times trying to get from the TMB to the FGC rail (think of our Star and Putra lines), their connecting stations are not CONNECTED at all, you have to get out of the underground, walk on the street for a couple of blocks and get into another underground station, in the same area...

and no, the spaniards speak either very little or no english at all...ive learned to communicate with them in broken spanish along with lotsa hand gestures, it is kinda fun...the people are friendly and eager to help, they will go all out in bringing you to your destination even if it means they are getting out of their way...now u know why i love them so much...

im staying in a hostel on top of the mountain in the middle of a national park, it is still in zone 1 in barcelona but you get away from the city buzz at night, and you are also rewarded with a glorious view of central Barcelona...

Been walking around rather than taking the underground because that´s how you get to explore the city (and to save money, of course). Their buildings are very unique and lotsa them are inspired by Gaudi, that include the infamous Sagradia Familia and La Cathedral...

will post some pictures later...

First pit stop: London - Barcelona

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NottingHill Carnival 2007

Everyone has pretty much gone now, Zeus and his sister, Maria left for Paris two days back and Rafa left for Madrid this morning, life is quiet again, i suppose...

that's why ive signed myself up for a bar and hospitality training at the RSA (royal society of arts), and you know what the best part is? they pay me for taking up the course, it does sound too good to be true, doesnt it? well, it's true... £6 an hour, from nine to five...i would hate to sit around at home and wait for my trip to start in two weeks...

due to some unforeseen circumstances, i might have to cancel my Moroccan trip of Marrakech and Casablanca, and head on to Germany earlier, but on the way back to England, ive added Prague (Czech republic) and Amsterdam (netherland) to my itinerary....

cant wait to speak some foreign languages soon...


Zeus and Maria (Mexican)


Edu at the Chinese Buffet


Artistic picture attempt #2


Tower palace


Tower bridge


Canary Wharf


Suya at the Eye


Eduardo and Rafa at camden town


Carola and Petra (german girls)


Christmas comes early in London

Alright, first thing first, some updates...

my sushi days are officially over, spent some memorable time with my coworkers on my last day and i know how much they will miss me, as much as i'll miss them, hell, i miss them already...

but then again, when you gotta go, you gotta go...

i have purchased a one way ticket from London to Barcelona, flying on the 4th of September...that means i still have some coupla weeks in London to chill for a bit...and guess what, the ticket only costs me £0.01, unbelievable? you better believe it...(let's just go along the flow with me and pretend that there is no tax, fuel surcharges and a million other things...)

my tentative travel plan is as follow...

London - Barcelona (Spain) - Valencia (S) - Alicante (S) - Jaen (S) - Granada (S)- Cadif (S)- Casablanca (Morocco) - Faro (Portugal) - Madrid (S) - Munich (Germany) - Vienna (Austria) - Frankfurt (G) - Hannover (G) - Hildesheim (G)

my plan stops at Hildesheim where Chloe is staying and im not sure where to head from there...it all very much depends on my funds and if im good enough at budgeting and still have some money to spare after Oktoberfest, i'll be heading to Amsterdam to find Archie, my saviour in Australia...

will update more soon when i get the details...


****

Last week, we planned a surprise party for Jolanda (spain) who was leaving london for a SE Asian trip beginning from Vietnam and ending in Singapore...her initial plan was to skip Malaysia altogether, but i managed to persuade her that it is still worth visiting, at least go to Kuala Lumpur, i told her...

it was an Indian themed party and everyone dressed up as indian ladies...Yes, everyone, including the boys...it was my first time cross-dressing and it felt really weird, but the experience was worthwhile when we saw Jolanda's face...she burst into uproarious laughter when she saw us, walking out from the room one by one and performing indian dances...

we later walked down the street in our costume and passers-by were amazed and very much entertained by us, wooing and taking pictures with us and giving us the thumbs up...

and since i've stopped working, i had the time to bring my visiting German friends on a 3-day London tour, we went to all the obligatory tourist spots during the day and hit the popular bars at night...and as the girls are really into drinking (they are germans), we really spent most of our time in the bars...

Rafa from Spain will be visiting us today and will be crashing at our place for a week, and tomorrow i will be meeting Suya who is coming all the way from Devon to London to babysit her nephew...

Zeus's sister is arriving from Mexico on saturday, and yes, it will be fullhouse in our humble house and lotsa fun is expected...

pictures later...

Latin Carnival


Nelson´s Column


Statue of the Angel


Buckingham Palace


Green Park


An afternoon indulgence: A good book, good SB Coffee, good SB Panini, and a good tub of Ben & Jerry´s (the next best ice cream after Haagen Daaz)


Meal attempt #2


we probably had the best weekend last week since summer started, the sky was blue and temperature hit an all time high of 26 degrees, it was really hot! anybody and everybody who has a life were out in the sun, filling every inches of every parks with deck chairs and books and food, soaking in the sun for all they´re worth...

it was already late by the time we got to green park, half naked sun worshippers were already all over the place...so we took a stroll to the buckingham palace, hoping to catch the ´guard changing´ceremony...but alas, they only do it every other day and it so happened that we were on ´the other´day...

not to be downcasted, we walked to trafalgar square where we were supposed to meet Eduardo´s friends: a bunch of spanish students studying in Brighton and were on a one-day trip to London...

so we were basking in the sun while waiting for them to arrive, when Eduardo suddenly turned around, put on a solemn face and asked:´what are you gonna do when you meet the girls?´ I was like: ´what do you mean?´ by then he can no longer control his grin and asked:´are you gonna give them the two kisses or the hand shake?´

knowing very well that we dont embrace intimacy so much from our part of the world, the dude was having a good time picturing me in the embarrassing and awkward moment when he should introduce me to his friends; he then went on educating me that the hand shake should best be avoided if i do not want to offend anybody...

i didnt want to spoil the fun by telling him that ive traveled and have met people outside my country, i know very well when to give the kiss and when not to, thank you very much...

as it turned out, his concern was totally uncalled for, upon the exchanges of names, the girls simply reached out their arms, grabbed your back, pulled you closer and sticked their cheeks towards your lips for you to give them two pecks, you hardly have time to protest, not that i wanted to.. :p

it was really great meeting new friends, albeit for only few hours, we had the obligatory drinking session, chilled out for a bit, i listened to everyone babbling in spanish and everyone made an attempt to talk to me in their limited english words that they learned from school...

The same thing happened on Sunday - Me having a lotta Spanish exposure...we went to the latin music carnival at Burgess Park, in Elephant & Castle...it was a massive event, thousands of revellers having the time of their life, dancing to non-stop hispanic songs, enjoying the rides and food fair, and for the most part just lying down on terra firma and taking the infamous Spanish Siesta...

i met two of Fabian´s friends from Barcelona and Madrid, getting the contacts so that i have places to crash when im there later next month...

it´s gotten so comfortable that it´s a lil´hard to leave right now...

why am i such a confused and indecisive person?

hola mi amigo...

the sun is out again and everyone is pretty much getting the most out of it whenever they can...summer has finally arrived!

nothing much happened for the past few days except i feel that my days making sushi are numbered...it´s just time to move on...

will try to make some plans now and see how it goes...dun wanna procrastinate anymore...

till you hear from me again...