In Good Company: Màlaga

A huge part of traveling is the people you meet, and often it determines how you will remember a city. My first impression of Màlaga was not positive - after a windy six hour bus ride and arriving in the polluted and hideously modern city center, it took me two and a half hours to find my hostel (a combination of me not writing down the address and getting directions from shopkeepers to where the hostel used to be). Eventually found it, and partially thanks to the people I've met, my impression has been improving.

Went out for a few drinks last night with my roommates which included: a 70-ish year old eccentric gay man from Ottowa who just completed the 1000km Santiago pilgrimage and is about to travel for six months in Africa, a 40 year old from Italy that actually uses the phrase "Mamma Mia!", and an extremely handsome 30 year old British doctor/ice-climber/world traveler (aka my future husband). It's been so amazing to meet and talk with people I typically would never meet (obviously because of location) but also because the nature of solo traveling requires that you break down your wall and open your mind a bit.

My childhood dream came true! Malaga on Halloween turned out to be pretty crazy...

I think I'll head to Cordoba tomorrow, then Seville after a couple days. Then in a little over a week I fly to Rome, and two days later to Bangkok (which includes a five hour layover in Cairo). The evening I arrive in Bangkok, I´ll hop on a 12 hour night bus to Krabi, then a boat to Ton Sai in the morning. Pray for me.

Off the (main) Tourist Track: Garrucha

Time for some relaxation. As fun as it is to sight-see and stay in hostels, it was time to take a break from the big cities. Obviously I can only scratch the surface by spending only a few days in each city, but I started to get the feeling that even the tiny bit of surface I'm scratching is fake. It's so easy to follow the well-worn tourist track.When I had the chance to experience a smaller town, I took it. I was the last person on the bus from Granada, and the bus driver looked at me like "what the hell are you going to do in Garrucha?", but I am so happy I came.

Garrucha is a little town of about 6,000 people on the southern-ish coast of Spain.  So far, I've hung out on the beach, eaten delicious tapas, watched terrible Spanish TV, and that's about it. I also exercised for the first time in six weeks (besides all the walking) and went to a spinning class. It's been awesome staying with Gretchen (a friend from Bellingham) and her roommates - she has an apartment with a view of the ocean (there's kind of a port in the way), and it's only a couple minutes walk to the beach!

Almost Six Weeks: Valencia and Granada

Reading back on my first post and how I was concerned about many months of homelessness, I do find I miss certain things (cooking in my own kitchen, family and friends, jogging, knowing the language) but not as much as I expected.  My shoes are my home. Sounds silly, I know, but I find comfort in my shoes.  The Teva´s I have with me I bought at Stanley Market in Hong Kong when I was 15 and have been with me through thick and thin. From hiking in the North Cascades to exploring Osaka during my exchange program, backpacking through Vietnam and China, roadtrips to California and across the mid-West, and trekking up a river in Mexico. And now, they have been with me as I´ve stepped in nasty dog shit in Berlin to wading in the Medeterranian.

The second I dropped off my bag in Valencia I went to the beach.  After getting lost for an hour (you think it would have been easy to just walk east, but the streets are confusing) I finally made it. There was a scattering of litter, but other than that it was great. Met some hilarious older American women (they are working as nurses in England) and spent most of my time in Valencia with them. Hopped on a train down to Granada and am trying to understand Spanish culture. It´s a lot different here than the rest of Europe - the people are a bit more rough (in a good yet slightly intimidating way - maybe just more honest?) and from what I can tell the general attitude towards working is a lot more relaxed.

View of Granada from the Alhambra 

Now I just have to make some decisions and figure out how the hell I´m getting from here to Italy and where to go next. Malaga? Seville? Smaller coastal towns? Morocco?  By bus or tain or plane? I suppose if these are the types of decisions I have to make, life is good.

Going to the Alhambra tomorrow morning (looks amazing - google it), and maybe after that I´ll figure out where to go next.

Living in Luxury: London

What was I thinking leaving my own queen sized bed with jacuzzi tub ensuite? London was much more than a luxurious place to stay, but good times with Syd and lots of walking. It´s also where I got my dose of culture - Brazilian symphony (it was actually an underpriviliged youth symphony), Billy Elliot the musical (amazing!), National Museum, Natural History Museum (somehow I made it a month in Europe without going to any museums, but they´re free in London)...

The line of definition of time and place (for the whole world!)

I also straddled the longitude meridian in Greenwich and tried to go to platform nine and three quarters at the King Cross station. Unfortunately there was lots of construction and you needed a train ticket to access the platforms. At least I tried.

Train-hopping: Belgium

Antwerp: Finally felt like fall, took a great walk to the 'beach', but the highlight was surely ginger tea at Lombardia’s. Ginger tea the highlight? Yes. The best combination of sweet and spicy with a hint of creaminess. And I enjoyed Antwerp a lot (except for being alone in an ancient hostel - me and nine other empty beds and creaky floors was a bit creepy). Reminded me of home in a way, it is a college town, but unlike Bellingham nobody wears sensible shoes. 

Canal in Bruges

Bruges: Lots of Belgian beer sampling with an international crew from the hostel. Probably shouldn't have started out with the Kasteel Brown Ale and didn't realize it was 11% until too late. Also went to the Chocolate Museum, a great outdoor photo exhibit, and explored lots of cute shops.

Brussels: Note to self - don't whip out your map in the seedy part of town. Nothing bad happened, but it definitely attracts the creepers. Ate a waffle and saw some old buildings. Not my favorite of the three.

Change of Pace: Paris

Taking a break from the hostel world to stay with a real French family for five days was wonderful. I think I could get used to their way of life - baguettes with every meal, true appreciation and respect for free time, drinking wine while cooking, a certain nonchalant attitude...

Some of the more notable dishes made by Katie (mostly) and I (a little) included: zuchinni/leek/blue cheese soup, potato salad (recipe courtesy of the Old World Deli in Bellingham), apple crumble (with apples from the country house), walnut pesto made by mortar and pestle (with walnuts from the country house),  and stacks of eggplant, roasted tomato, mozarella and basil.

Katie picking out produce in the Vincennes farmers market 

Of course I did all the tourist sites (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomph, Jim Morrison's grave, Notre Dame), but also got to do non-touiristy things (shopping for produce at the market, mushroom exhibit, fire show/outdoor concert, 'clubbing').  Clubbing, by the way, is extremely expensive. 'm not sure if it's worth spending 12 euros on a gin and tonic (that's like 17 USD, I only had one) and wasting the next day by sleeping in until one.

In a Nutshell: Budapest

- Thermal baths
- Corn on the cob and goulash
- Worst stubbed toe of my entire life - left my blood on the streets of Hungary
- Hostel experience was the closest I will ever come to knowing what it's like to be on the Real World (the Australian version)

That's Pest across the river. Photo taken from the Buda side.  

Made it to Paris today and am staying with my friend Katie and her boyfriend Boris at his parents' house. What am I looking forward to the most? Not sharing a room with nine other people. And the food. And hanging out with Katie.

Schnitzel and Reunions: Vienna

Took some time off from sightseeing today - old buildings are just old buildings, right?

Went on a coffee date with a Viennese (one of those guys in the funny coats that sells you classical concert tickets), and as interested as I am in experiencing local cultures, I declined his offer to go back to his apartment for "wiener schnitzel". No thanks, buddy. Later that evening at the hostel I ran into Dan and Nicole from good old Bothell High School. Nicole and I were actually in the same third grade class, and she lived just a few streets away from me. Small world.

Budapest by bus tomorrow. Wunderbar!