Striding through Catalonia part 3b.

But it wasn't the end of adventures for the day.
Just after descending from Mont Gris we drove to Albert's
place. There I had a pleasue to meet his family and participate in famous
Catalan Calcotada!
Calcotada is kind of barbecue or fiesta where apart from meat you consume ... calcots.
What's that, you may ask?
It is kind of onion...or something. First your fry it on a strong fire,
than dip it in a special sauce and afterwards devour like you've been
starving for weeks.
Just check the photos:




On our way back to Girona we stopped at Peratallada - one of the countless
charming villages in the region ( Catalonia seems to be filled with old
churches, castles and medieval towns), which was especially famous for it's
unchanged medieval architecture.


At the end we enjoyed fine spanish cofee.
Tasty final for a tasty journey.
Hasta luego!

Radek

p.s
You probably noticed the title of both posts ... and you wonder where is "Striding through Catalonia part.2"?
Well, It will be about my journey to Palamos. I plan to write it...maybe..someday...mańana...whatever...

Striding through Catalonia part.3a

Hello friends!
Wanna get a good tip?
Striding through unkown land is fun but... striding through unknown land with a good guide is even better.
Yesterday, I went for a journey with Catalan scout, my good friend - Albert.
Firstly we were supposed to walk to a hill situated just one hour by foot from Girona...but frankly, what kind of adventure is that?
So, we used that chance that Albert came with his car and we headed out to Castella de Mont Gris. Now, you probably don't have the slightest idea what is it...
Me neither at that time. But than after half an hour of driving I noticed it...yeah the thing up the hill:



And two news arrived in my mind.
Good one - Castella de Mont Gris is indeed fantastic castle situated on top of impressive hill and the view from it has to bee breathtaking.
Bad one - before you see that beatifull view you'll need to climb up that impressive hill...

We took a "bye-bye photo", like the himalaist take, for their families to remember them in case of ...bad luck.



And we headed up.



Arriba muchacho, arriba!



While ascending we didn't hesitate to stop from time to time and do some sun bathing, like on this cosy stone-bench:



Eventually, after conquering the last cliff we managed to get to the castle. And there we were.
On top of the world.

Almost like a Carnival - Holy Grail of my Erasmus

I've got bad impression that I am starting to write more about a places I
haven't been to, that about places I actually visited...
Today we ( me and my Erasmus friends) were supposed to go for a big
Carnival fiesta to Platja D'aro.
Carnival is always well celebrated in Catalonia, and what's especialy
famous here is it's Costume Parades. This year's one of the biggest parades was in
Platja D'aro - small town situated aprox. 45 min. by bus from Girona.
It was obvious for us, that if you are so close to one of the biggest
Carnival Fiesta in Catalonia you have to go there.
Unfortunetely, it was also obvious for many other people...

So, when we arrived at bus station and saw the queue, we realized that
probably we won't get to Platja D'aro on time to see the parade.

And that's what actually happened.
Only few some of us were able to get into the bus. I wasn't the
lucky guy.
So what could I do?

Fall into depression, lock myself in small room and drink cheap alcohol
till I losse my consciousness?
I was considering this option but together with my friends we decided
different.

You know what churros (or in cat. xurros) is?
It is one o the main reasons I came to Girona. Not adventure, not Costa
Brava, not spanish chicas , not even sangria but churros con chocolate.
Holy Grail of my Erasmus.
Together with my friends from France, Germany and Poland, we went to a
cafeteria serving it.
And whole Carnival in Platja D'aro lost it's meaning to me...
Afterwards we went sightseeing old part of town, we've visited Cathedral
from 11 century and museum with exhibition about Charlie Chaplin...but who
actually cares?
Just look at the xurros:

THEY are among us!

Funny thing.
I finally forced myself to do some serious writing. I started to write a story about encounter with alien civilization (yeah, I know it's original, isn't it?)...and in a mean time I was doing photos of planes above Girona.
And incidentally I catched on my camera ... THIS.
What is THIS exactly?
I offer you three explanations of the...phenomenon:

a) I'ts unbeatable proof that E.T, Greys, Ewoks and Teletubbies are visiting Earth since it's origin, invading us, raping and kidnapping to carry out nasty experiments including making enemas in the middle of the night. Luckily I managed to reveal their cruel plans and by publishing this photo I will save humanity from extinction and get a Pulitzer prize.

b) I'ts unbeatable proof that I got and not only had halucinations but also ( somehow!) I managed to catch one of them on photo. Halucination with three happy Yetis dancing flamenco unfortunetely managed to escape.

c) I'ts unbeatable proof that today I didn't have time and idea for a good subscription to my blog so in my insolence I've decided to put just anything hoping that you'll be happy anyway...

The one who choses the right answer will get a cookie!
The one who choses the bad answer will be kidnapped by Teletubbies and has to prepare for some cruel experiments including enema in the middle of the night.
Results in two or three days.

Cya Chicas y Muchachos
Radek

7 minutes from my apartament

Sometimes most valuable treasures lie just on the tip of your nose.
All you have to do is look for it.
Two days ago, I took a long delayed walk.
Together with my French friend - Emeline, we visited some medieval ruins of Girona.
Short walk turned into fascinating exploration of another world. World of monumental towers, miracolous gardens and breathtaking views. It's realy unbelievable to find such treasures - just few minutes from your apartament...

One day, I'll put most of my photos to picasasa... but nowadays I am still struggling with Spanish education system ( finding any kind of usefull information about where and when you have classes at UdG is a task for most patient poeple-BTW sounds like a good material for next letter ). I remember also that I've promised to write something more about my second trip to Costa Brava.

Be patient! Maybe manana?

Cyu

Radek

Striding through Catalonia part.1

!Hola!

Missed me?

Mayhap I could try to make some excuse for such long period of silence but frankly, we all already know spanish attitude for being punctual ...so let's say that I am more and more getting used to that.

And when I say mańana I really mean that...

But anywayz to reward you your patience, this letter will be longer and full of nice photos.
Remember earliest letter called "Almost like a release"?

I was so tired I couldn't write anything more about my journey. But today I am fit and ready( and I was running in the morning!).So here we go:

Starting from the beginning.

There were 14 of us wanting to go for a trip. People from Belgium, Poland, France, Slovakia, Slovenia, Germany...truly Erasmus company.So we've arrived at train station.

Our brave drivers went to airport to take the cars we had booked some days earlier. And then first problems occured. It happened that we can take only two cars instead of three...so only 10 poeple could go( I proposed to put someone to trunk, but suprisingly noone volounteered).

So then there was intesified discussion who should go and why. Whole situation got even more funny becouse of one of the drivers( he might read this so I won't mention who it was...) He was so confused that he bumped the second car while was parking at the airport. You should see the faces of people who were supposed to ride with him...

By the way - I proposed to be the driver as well, but I also didn't forget to mention that I've passed my driving licence for the sixth time and that during one of the exams I've hit the bus...so again suprisingly noone was eager to my proposal.

After few minutes of discussion we came to fair agreement. And so four people who've booked car late( or already have been to place where we were supposed to go) resigned.

So from 14 people at the beginning only 10 went on the journey ...and maybe I watched to many horror movies but I was curious how many will come back...

Anywayz, we headed north east.

To Cadadaques - home of Dali --->

In two cars.

Company in my car had one main advantage and one main disadvantage.

Advantage was - that our driver - David was experienced and realy good.

Disadvantage was that all people apart from me were from Belgium...now I have nothing against Belgium,but were there are so many people from one nationality sooner all later they will forget about your presence and start speaking their mother tongue.

And that's what happened.

So I had fantastic opportunity to learn some flemmish, ...naturlik.

Anywayz,we didn't know the exact way, so not going into detalis, we got lost several times and separated from the other car's team.

Our first stop was La Figueres. City not that much beatifull itself but having one of the most interesting museums in the region.

The Theater Museum of Salvador Dali. Place full of surrealistic artifacts and unique art, most famous heritage of this world known Catalan genius. A must-see point for all tourists.

But, we didn't go there anyway...

So after short walk, we were back on the road.

Heading to Cadaquez passing National Parc of Cap de Creus.Now that was wonderfull!Landscapes were breathtaking and there was no other option - we had to stop again.

We took a long walk through mountain paths, crossing ruins and olive gardens, shooting as many photos as possible.Here are just few of them:

See that white settlement on the right-bottom photo?

That's Cadaques, home town of Salvador Dali - main point of our journey.

Just as we arrived we met with team from the other car.

Together we took a short walk along the cost, well to be more honest for some of us i t wasn't short at all, becouse we were ... starving.


And so we stopped for some pasta ( it was the only dish there suitable for student pocket) and a coffe( spanish cofee is the best in the world!).

Then we walked to main point of Cadaques - Port Lligat. It was a small bay were Salvador Dali used to live. There, just at the coast stands his house were he was creating all his weird and brilliant art.

Nowadays it's main tourist attraction.

But it was closed.

Anywyaz, the view from this bay and the exterior of the house were worth seeing. Check it yourself:

Although it was getting late, we were still eager to discover Catalonia.And so we drove south - to beatiful city called Roses.

Roses is located at the coast and has many interesting tourist attractions like the citadel below.

But guess what?

It was closed.


So, we went to tourism office to ask about something which is opened. We got nice tourist map..and there it was!

Megalitic complex...catalan stonehedge!

It was located at the outskirts of city, up the hills.

Climbing upn there was tiring indeed..but worth the effort. We were just about to see the sunset.

And that was it. Great final of great journey!

Of course it was not the end of the adventure. On sunday, we headed for another trip. But that's completely different story...maybe for mańana?

!Adeu!

Radek

Mańana

Today we will talk about tommorrow.
Or to be more exact - a word which means tommorow.
Mańana.
I think you've already heard about it before.
This one little word is indeed very significant becouse it shows spanish attitude for...everything. I think spanish people believe that by saying manana - they will make things to be done by their own.
There are many spells - "Abrakadabra", "Alakazam" - but none is as powerfull as "manana". Using black magic of "manana" - requires years of practice.
I thought I was very experienced in that..but after coming to Girona I've changed my mind. Here are some examples of how can you use it - all taken from life.
Remember don't try this at home! Of course most of dialogues were held in Spanish....what made this experience twice as difficult for me.


- Hola! I am ill, I would like to visit a doctor.
- Sure! Is 10.30 ok?
- Absolutely...so in one hour from now?
- Nope, mańana.


- Hello! I phone becouse the electricity is out in our apartment...
- So?
- SO ...it would be nice if someone comes and fix it.
- Ah ok. Probably manana someone will come.


Phone on on the next day.

- Hola! You were calling us becouse of the electricity in your apartement, yes?
- Yes, it is down in whole apartament.
- Ok. Manańa someone will come.
-But it was supposed to be today. - Yes, I know. But we had some important things to do. But mańana around 11 ok?
- ( sigh) Ok.


- Hola! I would like to use university wireless internet.
- No problem. You just need a password.
- Cool. Where can I get it?
- You've got to go to IT center and there you will get your personal password.
- Aha...I guess IT center it is not opened today?
- No, I am sorry.
- Mańana?
- No, next week.

So eventually, I came up to an conclusion that I have to options. Either get used to great power of "manana" and start using it as efficient as Spanish or...end like a guy on the photo below.




See you probably mańana - then maybe I will write something more about my journey to costa brava.


Radek

Almost like a release...

Bad news- this letter will be extremely short. That's becouse I'm extremely tired.

Good news - there are gonna be some photos. That's becouse I don't have the mood to write. Guess why?

I am extremely tired.

And from the photos you may check why. I was on a loooong journey. See?

That's Cadaquez, Cap de creus, Roses, Costa Brava...

That's Adventure!

Love Story(e)

I had really great concern what to write about for the beginning.



What could be so special that would interest you so much, that you'd start visiting this small blog regurarly from the beginning?



What's one of the most important parts of the erasmus experience?
You can guess when you look at the innocent title of this letter.And also when you take a glance on the photo. See that great glowing letters"Love store"?
Yeah, that's what we are going to talk about.

My acommodation...

You, see - I have booked my flat before even coming to Girona.
You my call it risky but it was proposed to me by University service, so frankly, I was quite confident about my acommodation.
And then I arrived in Girona...

Firstly I met my German roommate Matthias. When he started leading me to the door I said:
-Wait! I think you've missed the door...this is a "love store" you know?
Matthias smiled:
- No, it is door to our flat.
- Aha! - I thought - German sense of humour...very funny indeed, ha, ha.
But than I took second glance at Matthias face. And I knew it was serious.
Welcome to Girona Love store-baby!

Not to make things so dramatic - the flat from the inside isn't that bad.

I would even risk the opinion that it's even quite nice( I love the view from our windows! Straight to the river Onyar and you can see the cathedral). And it has nothing to do with the "love store" apart from that that the door are so near to it.
Anywayz, something special for the end. See the photo here on the right?
It is my and Matthias room.
Now, I don't know what they told you about the german sense of order and polish love for chaos.....but try to find find difference beetwen beds of German and Polish.

Good luck!

Radek

Hello and welcome!

Hello and welcome friends!
This letter was supposed to be released aprox. two weeks ago.
That's when I firstly arrived in Girona. But yet it was't the time when my Erasmus truly started.Before departure I promised myself - to do during my stay in Catalonia three things- drinking, drinking and drinking...uh, sorry, cut this - writing, running and experiencing( whatever you can imagine by that hr, hr...).
The last one was quite easy, even from the beginning - let's say that experience banged down on my head - during first days of my arrival I caught flu ( including 39 deegress, and visiting spanish doctor...but that's another long story) .
Anywayz, two other activities were more problematic -a s far as you concern my love for most delightfull hobby in the world - doing nothing.
So as for an professional lazy bone, it took my almost two weeks to force myself to go running. Eventually, yesterday I 've overcame myself, put on sport shoes, went down the stairs, entered beatiful Girona's park, felt wind in my hair ...and stepped into dog shit. That's how I started running.
Now it's time to fullfill third part of my - self-promise.
Start writing.

Blog is a first step. I do hope that thanks to my subscriptions here you will feel the spirit of Erasmus and through your attention and comments join me in this great adventure.
Though, I've got many stories to tell and many dreams to realize. My blog as well as my Erasmus are officialy opened.
!Hasta la proxima!
Radek