Or perhaps a better way of looking at it is "With Age Comes Wisdom" (sometimes, anyway :P). It is kind of strange though, you spend your whole childhood looking forward to your 18th, then 21st, then suddenly they're gone and you have no more significant birthdays. Oh well.
I had an awesome weekend though. Wednesday night I went with Carmen (from the ORI) to Inma's house (also from the ORI) and spent the night there. Inma lives about an hours drive away so we just came back to Ciudad Real with her in the morning. It was wonderful, to be in a house, with a family, (not that the student life is that bad but sometimes...) They even gave me a birthday present, a homemade, warm, fluffy scarf. Thankyou!!
Thursday I wanted to meet up with some friends and have a few quiet drinks in the main square. It was fun although not many people came, sort of reminiscent of the pancake party that didn't happen. I don't think I'll bother organising anything else. But we went back to a friend's place where some turkish people were making turkish food to share, then ended up going out to Botellon (essentially drinking in the street). It was a good night. Two Lithuanian girls got me a present too - an alarm clock! I'll never be late to arabic again! Seriously though, it's got a cat on it, and it's nice to have a clock again. I quite like the ticking sound, I find it calming. Thanks girls!
Friday was a huge party organised by the university for students from all four campuses (in different towns) to meet. There was a concert too with lots of different bands, which was pretty cool (especially when I got close enough to the stage to watch the bass players...), after we left we went to the nightclub district and ended up playing an italian card game in one of the bars. Best. Birthday. Party. Ever.
And last night, Saturday, I went out again. First to the flat of a few french students, then we had a few drinks in town and ended up at a salsa bar. I would like to learn one day I think, although I will stick with Swing for a bit.
So it was a long weekend and is now Sunday afternoon. I need to do some study so I shall do that now, before I get too tired, because it is guaranteed that I will crash tonight.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Random Roadtrip to Toledo and Madrid!
Ciao!!
So, I received an email on facebook on friday detailing a planned day trip to Toledo. I was going to the house of the organiser that night anyway, as it was a mutual friend's birthday party, and when he asked me about it I said "Sure, I'll come along". We were going to take the bus, but when we got to the bus station the next morning we had such a large group (40 or so) that there wasn't enough room, so we had to rent a couple of cars as well. I ended up with the car-rental group.
We drove up to Toledo, meeting up with some (but not all, I have no idea where everyone else went) of the others once we got there, and spent the day looking around and having lunch (several hours on the lunch part). There is a guy from England here this semester, James, and while I enjoyed hanging out with the other kiwis last semester they weren't people I'd usually be good friends with. James has much the same sense of humour as me and it was a real pleasure to talk to him. Now, before you start thinking "ooooh" he has a girlfriend, and I have a not-boyfriend, so it's nothing like that. Anyway it was an awesome day and after the bus-group hopped on the last bus home the car group met up and thought about what to do next. We didn't have to return the cars until 10am the next day, sooo....we went to Madrid!! It was a little chaotic, the two cars got separated in the city centre and we all ended up at various fast food places to eat (we were pretty hungry - I had KFC) before wandering around for a while, as most people hadn't seen it before having only just arrived in Spain. We were all italians except me and a polish guy at this point, and he'd spent a few years in italy so his italian was pretty good.
Finding Madrid is easy, to be honest. It's pretty big. However, leaving it is not quite the same deal! We started walking back to the cars at midnight, found them and got them out of the garages by 1am (we walked slowly), and it took us an hour of following motorway signs for Valencia (!!!) before we were on our way home. I was exhausted so I removed my contacts and went to sleep, only to be woken up god-knows-how-long later by torches and voices calling "over here". The police had pulled us over.
In Italy, it is not compulsory to wear a seatbelt in the back seat. So when we first got the cars, one being more like a minivan with the back two rows of seats removed, and four or five italians jumped in the back and stretched out on the floor, I wondered briefly if that was legal but didn't make a fuss. Turns out it's not :-(. Legal, that is. So, after giving the driver a hard time about alcohol (none of us had been drinking) one police officer got very excited about the fact that we had ten people in a six-seater car, and another one ordered us out of the vehicle. I had just woken up, couldn't see/focus properly coz I'd taken my contacts out, and it was a bit cold so I was shivering. I'm pretty sure that's the reason one officer shone his torch in my face, then asked me to empty my bag. And of course then they had to search everyone else's bags as well. They let us get back in the car after that though, which was good because I was starting to shiver quite violently.
Then the cops had to go. I have no idea why, but maybe there was some kind of emergency somewhere. They rang the local police in Ciudad Real and told them to detain us if the van arrived with more than six people in it, and we waited for the other rental car to return before finally (!) setting off home. We were only about 15mins away. We filled the cars up with petrol before dropping people home, and I got to bed about 6am.
So it was ok in the end. Although I didn't really believe that I personally was liable for anything illegal (had my seatbelt on and everything) I wasn't sure and I thought they might arrest the driver or something. In retrospect we were a bit stupid but I guess there are far worse things you can do. I believe they did the right thing. Give us a scare then let us go. The polish guy asked the police to take some people back (they talked about calling a taxi before the other car was mentioned) which was clearly not an option. "The police are for the people". Some are truly brainless!!!
It was an adventure!!!!! I made some wonderufl new friends though and had a great time. I really quite like Toledo. It's cute. Very quaint.
So, I received an email on facebook on friday detailing a planned day trip to Toledo. I was going to the house of the organiser that night anyway, as it was a mutual friend's birthday party, and when he asked me about it I said "Sure, I'll come along". We were going to take the bus, but when we got to the bus station the next morning we had such a large group (40 or so) that there wasn't enough room, so we had to rent a couple of cars as well. I ended up with the car-rental group.
We drove up to Toledo, meeting up with some (but not all, I have no idea where everyone else went) of the others once we got there, and spent the day looking around and having lunch (several hours on the lunch part). There is a guy from England here this semester, James, and while I enjoyed hanging out with the other kiwis last semester they weren't people I'd usually be good friends with. James has much the same sense of humour as me and it was a real pleasure to talk to him. Now, before you start thinking "ooooh" he has a girlfriend, and I have a not-boyfriend, so it's nothing like that. Anyway it was an awesome day and after the bus-group hopped on the last bus home the car group met up and thought about what to do next. We didn't have to return the cars until 10am the next day, sooo....we went to Madrid!! It was a little chaotic, the two cars got separated in the city centre and we all ended up at various fast food places to eat (we were pretty hungry - I had KFC) before wandering around for a while, as most people hadn't seen it before having only just arrived in Spain. We were all italians except me and a polish guy at this point, and he'd spent a few years in italy so his italian was pretty good.
Finding Madrid is easy, to be honest. It's pretty big. However, leaving it is not quite the same deal! We started walking back to the cars at midnight, found them and got them out of the garages by 1am (we walked slowly), and it took us an hour of following motorway signs for Valencia (!!!) before we were on our way home. I was exhausted so I removed my contacts and went to sleep, only to be woken up god-knows-how-long later by torches and voices calling "over here". The police had pulled us over.
In Italy, it is not compulsory to wear a seatbelt in the back seat. So when we first got the cars, one being more like a minivan with the back two rows of seats removed, and four or five italians jumped in the back and stretched out on the floor, I wondered briefly if that was legal but didn't make a fuss. Turns out it's not :-(. Legal, that is. So, after giving the driver a hard time about alcohol (none of us had been drinking) one police officer got very excited about the fact that we had ten people in a six-seater car, and another one ordered us out of the vehicle. I had just woken up, couldn't see/focus properly coz I'd taken my contacts out, and it was a bit cold so I was shivering. I'm pretty sure that's the reason one officer shone his torch in my face, then asked me to empty my bag. And of course then they had to search everyone else's bags as well. They let us get back in the car after that though, which was good because I was starting to shiver quite violently.
Then the cops had to go. I have no idea why, but maybe there was some kind of emergency somewhere. They rang the local police in Ciudad Real and told them to detain us if the van arrived with more than six people in it, and we waited for the other rental car to return before finally (!) setting off home. We were only about 15mins away. We filled the cars up with petrol before dropping people home, and I got to bed about 6am.
So it was ok in the end. Although I didn't really believe that I personally was liable for anything illegal (had my seatbelt on and everything) I wasn't sure and I thought they might arrest the driver or something. In retrospect we were a bit stupid but I guess there are far worse things you can do. I believe they did the right thing. Give us a scare then let us go. The polish guy asked the police to take some people back (they talked about calling a taxi before the other car was mentioned) which was clearly not an option. "The police are for the people". Some are truly brainless!!!
It was an adventure!!!!! I made some wonderufl new friends though and had a great time. I really quite like Toledo. It's cute. Very quaint.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
El Gregor Fiddle School Rocks The Casa!
Hi! Don't you love this post title? Thankyou Anne-Marie (and americans) for coming up with such an awesome name. With a name like that Gregor will be turning down applicants by the dozen!
Anyway, it was an absolute blast. I took the train to Madrid on Friday lunchtime, the metro to the airport (*ugh* - not a fan) and went through security with an hour to spare. There, I had the worst airport sandwich I've ever had (which is saying something), and felt so sad I bought some oreos to cheer me up. They were very nice :-).
The hour-long flight to Alicante was uneventful, the day was so hot there was a haze at ground level and I got some good photos of the clouds. I landed ok but it took a few minutes to catch up with Gregor's wife, Steph, who very kindly picked me up from the airport. She had their two little boys with her too. I'm not really a little-kids kind of person but these two are gorgeous.
So, we drove out to the Casa, which is actually about an hour north of Alicante, near Bellus, in Valencia. It was awesome to see some kiwis again! Anne-Marie, Wayne and Shelley...I think I was supposed to know a couple of other people too but I didn't recognise them. I did remember Lorraine though. We had Kiwi Paella (think rice risotto but DON'T call it that!) for dinner and had a chat around the table.
During the days, when the others had their fiddle lessons, Shelley and I did some exploring. The first day Wayne drove us out to some little town about 45mins away, and he had planned to go back but decided to stay with us and do some walking. It was called Bocairent, and has old muslim caves, and the twelve stages of the cross on a path leading up a hill to a church. It was a nice day, and a lovely walk. Shelley commented that it was her 'open-air walk', which got me thinking 'what's a closed-air walk??'. Apparently that is a walk in a town. Oh well :S.
We stopped off at the bullring and the supermarket before leaving and I decided to introduce these kiwis to Tinto de Verano (think red wine+fizzy water), and most people tried some that night, before we went out for dinner. It was a cute little restaurant, but the prize for the most notable part of the evening has to go to the dying, later dead, snake on the pedestrian crossing outside. I have a photo of me with it! About a metre away from it, actually, but you get the point.
During the evening Lorraine said jokingly to Steph, Greg's wife, "so we'll pay for your dinner and you'll cook us lunch tomorrow, right?". It turned out that Steph doesn't really get the kiwi sense of humour, and was up at 8 preparing vegetables for 12 people the next morning. Oops :S. Shelley and I were heading out on a bike ride when Gregor announced that lunch was at his place in a nearby village, so Shelley and I biked over and met them there. It was about a 45 minute bike ride, quite pleasant except for the heat. We went past a fireworks factory and a solar farm (they grow solar panels :D), as well as a stinky piggery.
After their class the rest of the group joined us in the main square drinking Sangria (they'd never heard of it!!) before we went over to Gregor's house to eat. It was delicious!!!!! Thanks Steph!
After biking back, which we really didn't feel like but was ok when we got going, Shelley and I lay around by the slightly green pool (we'd done that the day before too - very pleasant) and when class finished I asked Gregor about the bass he'd brought. It was a bass guitar, not a double bass, but I didn't mind because IT WAS SO AWESOME!! I enjoy playing the guitar but the bass guitar is something I'd really like to get into.
That night was the last night of the camp. I listened to Anne-Marie and some scottish guy playing a few tunes with Gregor on the bass, I got a video, I'll try to post it online somewhere. Then Gregor handed me the bass but I didn't do so great with the scottish music :S. Practice!! I was sad when he had to pack it away though. I have since gazed longingly at the bass guitars in the windows of the music shops here in my town. One has one on sale for 320 euro. Birthday present, anyone??
Anyway, the next day we headed out to Alicante in groups, co-ordinated by rental car requirements and plane check in times. My train didn't leave until 5 so I hung out with Lorraine until her train left (thanks Lorraine, you have some incredible tales about Africa) then walked down to the waterfront. I contemplated going to the beach but I only had a couple of hours and it wasn't that close, plus it was quite hot, so I settled for some photos of all the yachts in the marina. I was pretty tired by the time I got on the train so it was pleasant to watch the countryside flash by.
I did hear some tunes but this camp wasn't as focussed as SHISSF - it was much more relaxed. Gregor turned up to lessons 20 mins late...but that is the spanish way I suppose. It was a lot of fun. I also got rather more sleep than I was expecting which was good considering how active we were during the day, and that I had to get up for 8:30am lectures in the two days immediately afterwards.
I got the obligatory postcards too, and am now back into uni. Monday is a national holiday, because in 1492 (!!) they discovered America. Whoop whoop. I am taking the opportunity to organise a pancake breakfast though. Yay!!!
That's pretty much it for now! Write to me?
:D
Anyway, it was an absolute blast. I took the train to Madrid on Friday lunchtime, the metro to the airport (*ugh* - not a fan) and went through security with an hour to spare. There, I had the worst airport sandwich I've ever had (which is saying something), and felt so sad I bought some oreos to cheer me up. They were very nice :-).
The hour-long flight to Alicante was uneventful, the day was so hot there was a haze at ground level and I got some good photos of the clouds. I landed ok but it took a few minutes to catch up with Gregor's wife, Steph, who very kindly picked me up from the airport. She had their two little boys with her too. I'm not really a little-kids kind of person but these two are gorgeous.
So, we drove out to the Casa, which is actually about an hour north of Alicante, near Bellus, in Valencia. It was awesome to see some kiwis again! Anne-Marie, Wayne and Shelley...I think I was supposed to know a couple of other people too but I didn't recognise them. I did remember Lorraine though. We had Kiwi Paella (think rice risotto but DON'T call it that!) for dinner and had a chat around the table.
During the days, when the others had their fiddle lessons, Shelley and I did some exploring. The first day Wayne drove us out to some little town about 45mins away, and he had planned to go back but decided to stay with us and do some walking. It was called Bocairent, and has old muslim caves, and the twelve stages of the cross on a path leading up a hill to a church. It was a nice day, and a lovely walk. Shelley commented that it was her 'open-air walk', which got me thinking 'what's a closed-air walk??'. Apparently that is a walk in a town. Oh well :S.
We stopped off at the bullring and the supermarket before leaving and I decided to introduce these kiwis to Tinto de Verano (think red wine+fizzy water), and most people tried some that night, before we went out for dinner. It was a cute little restaurant, but the prize for the most notable part of the evening has to go to the dying, later dead, snake on the pedestrian crossing outside. I have a photo of me with it! About a metre away from it, actually, but you get the point.
During the evening Lorraine said jokingly to Steph, Greg's wife, "so we'll pay for your dinner and you'll cook us lunch tomorrow, right?". It turned out that Steph doesn't really get the kiwi sense of humour, and was up at 8 preparing vegetables for 12 people the next morning. Oops :S. Shelley and I were heading out on a bike ride when Gregor announced that lunch was at his place in a nearby village, so Shelley and I biked over and met them there. It was about a 45 minute bike ride, quite pleasant except for the heat. We went past a fireworks factory and a solar farm (they grow solar panels :D), as well as a stinky piggery.
After their class the rest of the group joined us in the main square drinking Sangria (they'd never heard of it!!) before we went over to Gregor's house to eat. It was delicious!!!!! Thanks Steph!
After biking back, which we really didn't feel like but was ok when we got going, Shelley and I lay around by the slightly green pool (we'd done that the day before too - very pleasant) and when class finished I asked Gregor about the bass he'd brought. It was a bass guitar, not a double bass, but I didn't mind because IT WAS SO AWESOME!! I enjoy playing the guitar but the bass guitar is something I'd really like to get into.
That night was the last night of the camp. I listened to Anne-Marie and some scottish guy playing a few tunes with Gregor on the bass, I got a video, I'll try to post it online somewhere. Then Gregor handed me the bass but I didn't do so great with the scottish music :S. Practice!! I was sad when he had to pack it away though. I have since gazed longingly at the bass guitars in the windows of the music shops here in my town. One has one on sale for 320 euro. Birthday present, anyone??
Anyway, the next day we headed out to Alicante in groups, co-ordinated by rental car requirements and plane check in times. My train didn't leave until 5 so I hung out with Lorraine until her train left (thanks Lorraine, you have some incredible tales about Africa) then walked down to the waterfront. I contemplated going to the beach but I only had a couple of hours and it wasn't that close, plus it was quite hot, so I settled for some photos of all the yachts in the marina. I was pretty tired by the time I got on the train so it was pleasant to watch the countryside flash by.
I did hear some tunes but this camp wasn't as focussed as SHISSF - it was much more relaxed. Gregor turned up to lessons 20 mins late...but that is the spanish way I suppose. It was a lot of fun. I also got rather more sleep than I was expecting which was good considering how active we were during the day, and that I had to get up for 8:30am lectures in the two days immediately afterwards.
I got the obligatory postcards too, and am now back into uni. Monday is a national holiday, because in 1492 (!!) they discovered America. Whoop whoop. I am taking the opportunity to organise a pancake breakfast though. Yay!!!
That's pretty much it for now! Write to me?
:D
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