Tabarca

Arriving on Tabarca.

One of the most pleasant surprises I had when I came to Alicante was that it wasn't, well, ugly. I'd always been a bit presumptuous when it came to Spain's Costas, thinking that they were full of sunburned and boozy Brits abroad. Just the kind of people I wanted to escape from, to be quite honest. Hence my surprise as I wandered round Alicante's barrio, or old town as I discovered quiet little squares, colourful houses and not a Brit in sight.

Fast forward 6 weeks and it's still the same. I think Benidorm just up the coast houses all the Brits on the Costa Blanca as I rarely speak English here. In fact, I haven't even had a conversation with a British person here, I hear the occasional voice on the beach but there are far more Germans and French.

Yes, I am not oblivious to the fact that Benidorm and such resorts do exist. However the province of Alicante is famous for its beautiful villages, which I need to start exploring. I started by visiting the Island of Tabarca (or Isla de Tabarca for all you Spanish nerds) last week.

A bit of a history/ geography lesson for you now. Tabarca is the largest inhabited island in the Valencian community and lies a mere 11 miles south east of the brights lights of Alicante. Its population is around 100, which can swell to 3000 during the summer months. Although peaceful nowadays, Tabarca's history is fascinating- in the 18th century, the king of Tunisia invaded the island and took as his prisoners the people living there. In later years pirates used the island to attack the Costa Blanca in the 18th century. Ooh-arrrr!

So after a pleasant 70 minute boat trip from Alicante, we (myself and 4 French) arrived on the island which is just beautiful! It was relatively quiet for a summer day, so we headed straight to the beach armed with home-made sandwiches, fruit and a ridiculous amount of crisps. One sandy picnic later we were ready to hit the water- naturally we spent a few happy hours splashing/swimming around, loving the fact that we could see our on feet beneath us through the clear sea. Absolutely beautiful, peaceful and great for diving/snorkeling too!

After our 3 hour stint on the beach, we started to explore the island, marveling at the sea (which seemed even clearer from a height), walking on coastal paths, eating a much deserved ice cream and annoying the cat population of the island. I felt like I was on a Greek island- beautiful white-washed houses, peace and quiet. Definitely worth the 18 euro boat ride.

Hope you enjoy the photos. My only regret is that we didn't get to sea the island at sunset. I'm a sucker for a beautiful sunset. The trip to Tabarca proved to me that there is much more to the Costa Blanca than obese, red faced Brits demanding a pint and a cooked breakfast. Proof that we really shouldn't judge a book by its cover...

Swimming in crystal clear waters. Bliss.

Escaping the sun.

Leaving Tabarca.

Madrid

I''m not usually one for revisiting somewhere so soon after I've been (with the exception of Paris, where you can take me anytime). I usually prefer to explore new places and add to the increasingly long list of 'Places I have been'. I like the unknown- those moments when you arrive at a bus station/train station/airport without a map/local currency, etc. It makes it all the more worthwhile when you find your feet and start experiencing the place for yourself. Last summer I visited Madrid, Spain's capital for 4 days- the start of 2 brilliant weeks Interrailing around Spain. Almost a year to the day, I was back to visit Jackie (American flatmate from France) who is working there this summer as an au-pair.

The benefits of being (relatively) unemployed is the fact that you can pack up and do whatever you want. I decided on a whim to go to Madrid (booked on the Monday, went on the Thursday, in true Peter Kay 'Packed it, booked it, fucked off' style). Naturally I chose the 50€ return bus ride rather than the 75€ train, so spent 5 and a bit hours staring out at Spain's dry landscape.

A few hours later and I'd checked into my hostel and was off exploring. I love the fact that Madrid's centre is small and easy to walk round, so did just that, stopping to watch protesters in Sol, meeting point and central hub of Spain. After meeting up with the wife, we ate a LOT of cake, had some cider and headed to a small bar in the Lavapies district, the traditional immigrant area where alcohol is generally a lot cheaper. Win!

Things I did in Madrid

• Met up with friends from both Nancy and Newcastle. Had a great time catching up and swapping stories.
• Ate a LOT of ice cream. Would have been rude not to in the 32 degree heat.
• Wandered around Plaza Mayor, Sol and the beautiful Retiro park
• Swam in the pool in Jackie's complex. She's a lucky one.
• Ate a LOT of tapas. Found a great little bar where you get a free plate of tapas with every drink.
• Discovered Mojitos. I'd never really liked them before but this trip changed all that. Brilliant news!
• Went to a quiz in an English bookshop. Lost. Felt dumb (how am I supposed to know who the last King of Albania was??)
• Went to an indie club! Danced like no one was watching (although everyone probably was seen as NO ONE was dancing).
• Sat in parks, watched little yappy dogs yapping around. Saw a lot of protests. Sat down and listened. Spain is angry.

Protests in Sol.

Why Madrid is better than Barcelona

• Fewer tourists. Yes, there are still a lot but in Barcelona it's just ridiculous. Result- stuff is cheaper.
• Easier to explore the city centre on foot. You can easily walk from the Retiro on the east side to the Palace on the west.
• Better tapas.
• Safer. Not once did I feel uncomfortable or feel like I had to watch my bag.

Needless to say I'm glad I returned to Madrid. This is a young city that has a lot of offer in terms of culture/nightlife and I could see myself living there quite happily. It's a shame it is sometimes overlooked by its Catalan sibling and neglected by tourists. Then again, maybe that's a good thing..

Tan-bloody-tastic.

In the winter, I couldn't give a shit. In the summer, quite the contrary. TANNING. Bane of my sodding life right now.

It's probably because I'm in Spain where everyone is

a) Tanned

b) Naturally tanned (bastards).

I would definitely win the award for palest person on the beach in Alicante. I don't even burn and then tan. Year round I am white/slightly red. Pas juste!

After a couple of mishaps with Holiday Skin (some of you have seen the damage and laughed uncontrollably- I bought a mitt soon after), I can't really fake it. I'm sure someone's come up with an 'idiot proof' fake tanning product, but it sure ain't 'Helen proof'.

Went to the beach yesterday for two hours between 4-6pm and managed to burn my stomach and right arm/leg whilst wearing factor 50 suncream. Even being safe in the sun can't save me...

Still, at least I don't look like this:

Quitting...

Well, I am certainly integrating in Spain. Like 45% of the Spanish youth population, I am now unemployed! Desempleada. Parada. Punto. At the moment, there are 5 million unemployed in Spain. ''Now there are 5 million and one'' someone kindly pointed out to me the other night. Cheers for that mate.

Soooooo to cut a long story short, I quit my job. Strange as I've never 'quit' anything before, but so glad I did. The bipolar boss I spoke about last time is a bit of a nutter- she wanted me to work as an au-pair for a family while she got paid for it as well as working in the office! Ha! What a deluded old crow! Fuck that...

So don't really want to ramble on about it, it's a shame though, especially as I came to Alicante to work and now ironically have nothing to do. Still. It could be worse. When I was bored the other day I thought to myself 'Stop whingeing! You're in Spain, right by the beach, good weather, nice people, etc.'

The job hunt begins...

In other news, I've wandered around Alicante a lot this week (thankfully not alone). There was a medieval market in the old town at the weekend which was cool- busy, but cool. Had a picnic on the beach with my flatmates on Saturday and wandered uphill to the castle area, then went out with some (ex) work colleagues to a random Italian house party (complete with tiramisu much to my delight) and the favourite bar, Carpe Diem. Have been in there 4 times now and can practically guess the entire playlist.

In other news, have consumed rather a lot of ice cream. Win.

Sexy politics

A website apparently intended to help the British public get to know their members of parliament.

Shexy.

http://sexymp.co.uk/

Worringly enough, Boris Johnson's younger brother is high up on the list. The British public clearly have some work to do.

Amusez-vous bien!

In Spain in the membrane

Sooooo la prochaine aventure has begun!

Home for the next few months.

I am now in Alicante, Spain a.k.a. home for a while. It's been a strange 2 weeks, ups and downs, etc. Working in a language school, which DEFINITELY is not as exciting as I thought it would be when I got the job. So far I've been making databases and finding basketball clubs in England/France/Spain/Ireland and just about every other European country I can think of.The boss is bipolar- one minute moody and huffy, the next rambling on about something completely irrelevant, etc. And to top it all off, I'm unpaid! Bof, alors.

Alicante is a nice city, particuarly el barrio, a.k.a the old town, so cute in the day and home to all of the bars/restaurants at night. Had a few good nights out already with my work colleagues (mainly French, much to my delight) in Carpe Diem, Alicante's equivalent to Sinners in Newcastle. (I seem to find this everywhere...) and a few clubs around the port.

Beach is good, there's an old castle and H+M/Mango/Zara and that's Alicante in a nutshell. There's not a great deal of culture, although I did watch a free screening of Grease in the town hall square last week with some CouchSurfers, v. cultural if I do say so myself. Especially brilliant as characters burst into song in English.

Have spent copious amounts of time in Mercadona, supermarket for anyone on a budget in Alicante. I think the cashier recognises me already- should probably get more of a life...

Aims for the next month:

• Go to Benidorm (only one hour away from Alicante on the tram). Just to see if it's what I've been imagining in my nightmares. I've already started streaming the TV series in preparation.
• Go to the beach. Get something that resembles a faint tan/ colour in my cheeks.
• Learn the lyrics to the Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight'. So far I can do about 20 seconds.
• Revise Spanish. Arrived here and realised I can't remember anything. Mierda!

Boredom?

This is brilliant. Cheers Tucknutt. http://twitter.com/#!/kanyewest/status/27590685489.

• Geordie Shore= my new TV obsession, despite the fact that all of them belong in a skip in Whitley Bay. Trash TV at its finest, although apparently the Geordies aren't too impressed. According to my source (a shit newspaper), Geordie Shore has sparked a backlash for making girls from Newcastle look like 'fat slags'. Brilliant.

• Listening to this a lot. Reminds me of my last few days in France when all I had was a radio and a shit load of food to eat up. Happy memories.

Soooooo Alicante. So far it's nothing on France......

Musings

If you're bored, take a look. Year Abroad projects have driven me to procrastination.

Brilliant.

Horrific.

Interesting.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/may/15/slutwalk-debate-sexual-discrimination

Off to Spain tomorrow for the summer! I will be working in a language school. I just hope my Spanish can keep up. Stay tuned...

Italia.

Florence

After an epic 13 and a half hour coach journey from Montpellier (the pillow I had stolen from my foyer in France saved me), I arrived in Parma for a taste of la dolce vita. Impressive!

Of course, the main reason of my visit was to catch up with Sazzle, fellow 'Love-Manorette' a.k.a university housemate. It had been a long time since we had seen each other, so spending time with her was a priority. After a much needed shower (13 hours on a Eurolines coach doesn't bring out the best in me), and some scrambled eggs I was ready to hit Parma hard.

We ended up going to an Erasmus picnic put on by some of the Spanish students living in the city. They'd made sangria and tiramisu (always a winner as far as I'm concerned)- almost as if they knew I was coming really! After trying my best to understand Italian/ eat as much tiramisu as possible, we headed home.

Early on in my visit to Parma I discovered Italians know how to do apératifs, or aperativo. We went out to 'Acquolina Leoni', ordered a cheeky prosecco and helped ourselves to the FREE BUFFET. Pizza, ciabatta, crisps, those Italians knew how to woo me.

My second day in Parma was spent seeing the sights, sounds and smells of the city, namely Il Duomo (church) and H+M (standard). Also learned how to play backgammon in Palazzo, i.e. outdoor public space where you can drink sans harassment! Win! Went for a romantic meal in Trattoria Corrieri, a traditonal trattoria (like a restaurant but less posh and a lot cheaper). Of course this meal was accompanied by a bottle of local Lambrusco red wine and tiramisu. Italy was quickly becoming my favourite country...

Tiramisu, cheers Italy.

As Sazzle had the day off *cough* skived her lectures *cough*, we took a cheeky day trip to Florence! I'd been wanting to visit for years, beautiful city! Especially if you're an art lover (not that I am....). After a quick coffee and croissant pit-stop in Bologna (another city to tick off the list), we arrived in Florence! It's actually a lot smaller than I thought it would be- lots of small streets, cute cafés, bridges with jewellery shops and squares. We wandered around the streets of Florence for a good few hours, admiring the impressive Duomo. Had a meal at a cute little restaurant (crept around for a good 15 minutes trying to snag the first outdoor table that became available) and then climbed up the Piazzale Michelangelo for fantastic panoramic views of the city. The ice cream made it all the more sweet...

Reunited with my love! No bridges in sight!

Sooooo, Florence is beautiful, yes. However the sheer number of tourists can get slightly annoying at times, especially whilst trying to cross the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge). You can find quieter quartiers of Florence if you amble the streets, which incidentally is the best thing to do in my opinion. Florence is clearly still one of the places to visit in Italy, just be prepared for a shit-load of whiny American/British tourists.

Florence, Il Duomo.

My trip to Parma had been a great one and marked the end of my epic European travels (for a while, anyway). From Parma I was going HOME. Unfortunately...

HOWEVER

...the end of my journey was quite exciting/stressful/annoying/delete as appropriate. I was supposed to be catching a train from Parma to Milan, then catching a bus from Milan Central station which would take me to Bergamo airport, about an hour away. Was supposed to arrive at Bergamo airport at around 1pm, a whole twenty minutes before check-in opened. Anywaaaay, the Italian SNCF equivalent bodged up the platforms at Parma and blissfully unaware, I found myself on a train heading to Turin. Only realised 70 minutes into the journey when the (surprisingly helpful) ticket inspector came round to check tickets. To cut a long story short, I had to change trains in a dead-end station with a load of confused Italians including a minor Italian celebrity chef with whom I conversed in French. He kept going on about Gordon Ramsay and told me how to make the perfect tiramisu/lasagne. You really can't make this stuff up! I finally arrived at Bergamo airport with 15 minutes to go before check in closed. I was one lucky badger.

I'm taking it as a sign- 'Europe' clearly did not want me to leave.

Olé, olé, olé- A trip to Montpellier!

After a fabulous seven months in Nancy, what better way to soften the blow than a cheeky trip down south to Montpellier! After just one hour of sleep (don't ask...) I met Rhiann, Ellie and Fabi at the train station at 6h15 ready for our epic TGV ride south.

Mandatory train photo...

So, after a 4 and a bit hour TGV from Nancy to Lyon and a 2 hour train from Lyon to Montpellier, we finally arrived at our destination. And like the expert travellers we are we spent our first afternoon in Montpellier having une petite sieste! Definitely needed.

After a panini and classy can of Orangina (when in France....), Rhiann gave us a tour of the town (she was first an assistant in Montpellier). It's a great little place, nice atmosphere, you can easily see why it's one of France's main student towns. I think anyone who worked as an assistant down in Montpellier will have had a completely different Year Abroad experience- without meaning to sound pretentious the vibe is completely different. More relaxed- I blame the weather. We ended up meeting up with Sophie, a friend of Rhiann's she had met during her stay in Montpellier and her boyfriend Christopher for some demi pêche-s. Good chat, chilling outside with a beer. So far Montpellier had met my expectations...

Our second day in Montpellier got off to a slow start due to the Royal Wedding, which we watched from the comfort of our Hotel/Apartment room! Can't believe the hysteria that surrounded the day back home, personally I prefer this.

Anyway after oohing and aahing for a bit at the wedding, we headed to the beach! Caught a bus, reapplied suncream every 20 minutes (I'm a little paranoid) and avoided crabs in the Med (ooh-er).

Our evening was spent with Rhiann's 'French family' who were lovely. They drove us to their place, we drank Muscat (the local apératif), ate a LOT of cheese and generally had a nice time. Speaking French too, they were so so so nice. We got to hear stories about school trips to London (trying not to leave the kids on the Tube) and learn all about the local area from genuinely lovely people. Lovely.

French family meal, too good!

Our third and final day in Montpellier was spent in a seaside resort- Palavas-les-Flots with Rhiann's French family, who had kindly offered to take us out. We ate lots of ice cream and took a free boat to a museum. We finished our day by wandering through Montpellier's old town, having a casual Muscat and yet another bloody panini.

Sooooo Montpellier, go if you get the chance! It's completely different to the French Riviera (Nice, Cannes et al)- more laid back and fewer tourists. Personally I can't wait to go back for the Muscat alone...