Chad Is Everywhere

Within a few days in Barcelona I have come to the conclusion that there is a history of Creativity, Experimentation, or Drugs. Perhaps all 3 at the same time. Supporting my case I present to you: Cronuts. Oh wait Cronuts are legit apparently. Well in that case I present to you evidence item no2: And 3: Still not convinced. Well in that case I present to you. Tibidabo. The only place I've known where you can catch a funicular train to a viewing point and a church, but also include a Theme Park visit.

So I'm in Barcelona I walked everywhere. Of course after buying 3 day transit card. This is what I do. Lots of photos. Below is a selection.  In the evening we went to a restaurant. And of course there was a slight misunderstanding. I think you only get to chose the kid if you speak Spanish. Must be a lots of lefties around in Barca. In the evening I eventually managed to meet up with my former couchsurfer Anna. She took me to a huge waterfall show they do at night. That was cool.

Valencia has been a fantastic stop. What a life the residents here have. The beach area is massive and great. Even without waves.   The history is amazing. And the food. I love it here. Tonight we found a music staged production with the historical centre as the backdrop. Just after having the customary paella at a small restaurant.

So the 2014 running of the tomatoes is over. And a big squish it was in many ways. Having not organised more than our tickets to the event we drove the 45 minutes to the outer edge of the town. Left Valencia at 8:15am as opposed to the tour bus groups at 5:30 through to 8:30am. After all no prizes for being late.  From there we needed to hike to the other end to the ticket exchange. All good if the signage had of led us on the correct fork of the road... Whoops probably a 10 minute delay following the wrong sheep herd. Anyway we got the tickets with an hour to spare. So we had time for a 10am beer. As you do when at festivals. At 10:30am I managed to convince the group we had to get inside the gated area where all the throwers were entering, and had been doing so for some time. Anyway we must of been like number 8000 of the 10000 as we didn't get to the point where we could see the ham drop. But still much fun to be had shouting 'water' to the balconies above wh...

We have arrived into Valencia yesterday afternoon. Found there is a reason the festival tomorrow is not called the "Running of the Tomatoes". It's too f'king hot. Oh my, nothing like a balmy 40 degrees to cleanse the body of any liquid. Of course first stop was the beach. Luckily we didn't arrive until after 3pm. Otherwise it would have been sun dried tomato for me today. Last night we ventured out for some Tapas. And finished with a nice liquor. 

So I've noticed we're driving a long way to the town of Girona from Grenoble. We just had a picnic lunch in Beziers. Very pretty. Anyway now that we're back on the road I've noticed there are a few ladies on the side of the road waiting for their friends. Kinda weird time and place to be wearing their cocktail dresses in the afternoon. Just in random points too. Must all be going to the same party. And we can't offer a lift. Oh dear how will they get there... Sorry ladies Spain calls. Tomatoes to be thrown. But now instead of playing a game of "I spy", I'm counting...

This time around I had very little choice in terms of good flights to and from Lyon. So I got creative. Went with a Malaysian Airlines combination as it got me as close as I could to Lyon, and then allowed a London departure after. The connection home is awesome.  The connection there is 17hrs no matter where in Europe you were planning. An instant cancel for many... But I thought of it as an unofficial Kuala Lumpur stopover.  Worth it for the ability to get away from the airport. Booked a cheap hotel for few hours shower, nap, dinner, and then train back. And not an airport hotel stop. I walked around KL. Only failure, KL doesn't open up until 10am. I got into KL centre at 7am. Next time I'd search better for a "day rate" hotel. My hotel only allowed early check in at 12 noon.