France, Spain, etc
Trip Start
Jun 27, 2005
1
13
25
Trip End
Sep 22, 2005
Barcelona, Spain
Monday, August 15, 2005
well, Despite my lack of updates, I am alive and well. A lot has happened since I left London, and its been a busy whirlwind of traveling without many breaks for internet use or travel blog updates.
I left london on the 7th of August and took the chunnel to Paris where I caught a train to Amiens, A smallish city in the northern French region of Picardy. I was sad to leave London and leave behind many of the new feinds I had made, but I was more excited to be on the road again and see what adventures lay ahead. so, in Amiens, I was greeted by my family with dinner, beers, and genereal warm-hearted cheer. I have to say I had a really good time with everyone, and it was great to see some family that I rarely get a chance to see. Jeremy took me to Lille, a city in the far north of france, very close to the Belgian border. For the next few days, we drank and chilled out with his friend Henri and a few other fun and interesting people. After my Return to Amiens, Ellen introduced me to some friends of hers and we went to St. Valery, a sort of small beach town. We all had a fun, walking along the muddy coastline and eventually finding a strip of actual beach. For lunch, I had a crepe made with intestines...im not sure what animal those intestines came from, but I wouldnt reccomend it...
Right now I am in Barcelona. I came here to meet my friend Josh to chill out for a few days before heading off to the real eastern european adventure. It took me almost 24 hours to get here from Amiens. I had to take a train to Paris, Metro to the Austerlitz station, wait 4 hours for the sleeper to Port Bou (the Barcelona direct was sold out), and then wait another two hours to catch the two hour connecting train to Barcelona. I left Amiens at 4:25PM and didnt get to Barcelona until around 2pm the next day.
Still, Im very glad to be here. Barcelona is a very welcoming city and I have some very fond memories of people I met here last year (you know who you are). So, Josh and I have been relaxing on the beach and exploring GaudiŽs twisted archetectual masterpieces of the Parc Guel. I explored the city with an awesome French girl yesterday who had lived here for a year and knew the city very well. Its been a fun stay so far and I have two days left before I leave for...well, Im not sure exactly where im headed next. I guessa youŽll have to wait for my next update to find out...
until then,
-justin
