Setecientos
"Welcome to the 700th post! (and the 100th this year) We are reporting to you live from the southernmost point of Europe, and, although the blog has been neglected, Ellies sun tan has not!"
Okay, so I'm pretty much still pale and pasty, but, oh the sun. How glorious. I am currently in Tarifa, Spain, one of the most beautiful and charming places I've ever been. Can we say house hunters international? I am utilizing the hostel internet, and can look off of the terrace in front of me....and see Africa. I'll be up close by tomorrow evening for which I am stoked! The beach is amazing and goes on for miles with crystal clear blue water and a rash of kite surfers. Tarifa is where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic meet which among other things, makes it windy. There are literally hundreds of wind turbines in the hills behind the city, which is clearly awesome. I can't imagine that Tarifa emits any carbon.
It's been a fab couple of weeks, firstly in France, trying 10+ types of cheeses, and other generally awesome foods. When a meal consists of tiny frying pans of cheese, heated by a strange tabletop appliance, then poured over potatoes and ham, I dont know what else one could possible need. We also visited a champagne maker in Reims which was very interesting. I didn't know making champagne was such a complicated and dangerous process. I mean, after the very first unreinforced bottles of champagne exploded, I admire those determined to make it work. Good decision.
On my last day there my friend took me to fontainebleau, where world class bouldering can be had. It's basically an area where over time, huge boulders were carved out of the earth, which many people enjoy climbing. I am about as far as one can get from an expert in bouldering, but I conquered a few of the easy ones which consisted of walking with style. But what a cool place. Some of these boulders were crazy big and the climbers crazy good.
From France I took an overnight train to Barcelona which was an interesting experience. I was in a crappy reclining seat, which was not too bad, until the person in front of me reclined as well. Then they were basically in my lap. Despite that, it was still as fun and romantic and interesting as I expected. Sleep was patchy and when I arrived I felt as though I was jet-lagged without having flown. Luckily, an afternoon siesta is more or less required in Spain.
Barcelona is big and touristy and full of energy throughout the day and night. Gaudi is pretty awesome and can be seen on practically every corner. I visited la Segrada Familia, his magnum opus of sorts. It is wacky and cool and hopefully will be finished in my lifetime. I am curious to see the finished product.
I met up with a woman from Vermont who was dangerously open to suggestion so she came with me to Madrid, even braving the overnight bus which trust me, is not nearly as fun as the train. And by not nearly a much fun, I mean almost no fun. But it gets you places without having to pay for accommodation. Madrid has a great feel and has what became two days worth of fantastic art museums. The Prado, Thyssean, and Renia Sofia, are all wonderful in their own ways, with art spanning pretty much every era since painting was conceived.
Anyway, those are the basics of the last two weeks. I just wanted to give the blog a little love before what I imagine will be a fortnight of silence until I am back from Morocco. Thanks for reading (even if not all 700 posts), I hope to update more soon!
Okay, so I'm pretty much still pale and pasty, but, oh the sun. How glorious. I am currently in Tarifa, Spain, one of the most beautiful and charming places I've ever been. Can we say house hunters international? I am utilizing the hostel internet, and can look off of the terrace in front of me....and see Africa. I'll be up close by tomorrow evening for which I am stoked! The beach is amazing and goes on for miles with crystal clear blue water and a rash of kite surfers. Tarifa is where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic meet which among other things, makes it windy. There are literally hundreds of wind turbines in the hills behind the city, which is clearly awesome. I can't imagine that Tarifa emits any carbon.
It's been a fab couple of weeks, firstly in France, trying 10+ types of cheeses, and other generally awesome foods. When a meal consists of tiny frying pans of cheese, heated by a strange tabletop appliance, then poured over potatoes and ham, I dont know what else one could possible need. We also visited a champagne maker in Reims which was very interesting. I didn't know making champagne was such a complicated and dangerous process. I mean, after the very first unreinforced bottles of champagne exploded, I admire those determined to make it work. Good decision.
On my last day there my friend took me to fontainebleau, where world class bouldering can be had. It's basically an area where over time, huge boulders were carved out of the earth, which many people enjoy climbing. I am about as far as one can get from an expert in bouldering, but I conquered a few of the easy ones which consisted of walking with style. But what a cool place. Some of these boulders were crazy big and the climbers crazy good.
From France I took an overnight train to Barcelona which was an interesting experience. I was in a crappy reclining seat, which was not too bad, until the person in front of me reclined as well. Then they were basically in my lap. Despite that, it was still as fun and romantic and interesting as I expected. Sleep was patchy and when I arrived I felt as though I was jet-lagged without having flown. Luckily, an afternoon siesta is more or less required in Spain.
Barcelona is big and touristy and full of energy throughout the day and night. Gaudi is pretty awesome and can be seen on practically every corner. I visited la Segrada Familia, his magnum opus of sorts. It is wacky and cool and hopefully will be finished in my lifetime. I am curious to see the finished product.
I met up with a woman from Vermont who was dangerously open to suggestion so she came with me to Madrid, even braving the overnight bus which trust me, is not nearly as fun as the train. And by not nearly a much fun, I mean almost no fun. But it gets you places without having to pay for accommodation. Madrid has a great feel and has what became two days worth of fantastic art museums. The Prado, Thyssean, and Renia Sofia, are all wonderful in their own ways, with art spanning pretty much every era since painting was conceived.
Anyway, those are the basics of the last two weeks. I just wanted to give the blog a little love before what I imagine will be a fortnight of silence until I am back from Morocco. Thanks for reading (even if not all 700 posts), I hope to update more soon!
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