Benicassim

Benicassim City

On the 18th of July we caught the train from Barcelona to Benicassim for the 2013 4 night music festival. Over the 4 nights we will see bands including La Roux, Queens of the Stone Age, Dizzy Rascal, Beady Eye, Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Rudimental, Azealia Banks and The Killers.

Dizzy Rascal

The Kaiser Chiefs

The Killers

Azealia Banks

We booked a small apartment between the festival and the beach which had a swimming pool and was next door to the supermarket = perfect! Each day we would go to the beach, buy some groceries for a late lunch and then head to the festival.

Our Apartment

Benicassim Beach

Dinner and Drinks before heading to the Festival

The lack of sleep / Too much dancing and drinking caught up with me quickly and on the 2nd night of the festival I came down with a nasty chest infection. I had been looking forward to this festival for months so I powered on through and got to see all of my favourite bands. At the same time I made my infection much worse and by the ended of it I couldn't wait to get to Madrid to sleep and relax for a couple of days.

Arctic Monkeys

Beady Eye

Lost my other thong on the last night :(

Barcelona

Barcelona Family

We arrived in Barcelona after a 6 hours bus trip from San Sebastian on the 14th of July.

Some of our friends invited us to stay at a gorgeous apartment on the 'bad side' of the La Rambla but we didn't find it too bad at all.

Our first day we got our bearings and did a walking tour of the city. Here we learnt about the history and architecture of the area. We also headed to one of the main food markets off La Rambla. Here you can buy everything including wine, fruit + veg, fish, meat, lollies, fresh fruit juices and more.

That night we headed out for a quick dinner of pintxos before embarking on a pub crawl tour. The tour began at a hostel where we had a couple of mojitos before heading to our first bar. The tour included a free shot at every bar and buy one get one free deals. Our first shot was like petrol which was lit on fire and then put out, ready for us to drink. The next shot was an orange nipple which was really yum.

Flaming Orange Nipples

This particular shot bar also does the famous 'Monica Lewinsky' drink which Michael was voted to take part in. I won't give away the secret but it's a must do in Barcelona!

Michael, Partaking in the Monica Drink

After the pub crawl we headed back to the hostel for a couple of games of beer pong before moving on to the nightclub next door. We stayed up til 5am dancing like crazy to classic 90's hits then headed back to the apartment before sunrise.

Barcelona Beach

The next day we headed straight to the beach (a good 40 minute walk from our apartment) where we swam off our hangovers and met some club promoters, trying to sell us tickets to all of the super clubs in Barcelona.

Hangover Cure - Burgers + Chips

That night we headed to a nice spanish restaurant for some potatoes bravos, jamon, hummas and many other dishes.

Sagrada Familia

The next day we caught the metro to go and see the famous Sagrada Familia, first built by Antoni Gaudi which started over 500 years ago and they are still finish building it today.

Inside Sagrada Familia

San Sebastián

San Sebastian Beach

We arrived in San Sebastian on the 10th of July where we spent 5 nights staying at a lovely airbnb apartment on the far side of the railway station.

Traveling from Bordeaux, we caught a europe train to Hendaye and then another train from there to San Sebastian.

River Urumea

Our first night we were relieved to find that the apartment had a great kitchen and that there were many gorgeous grocery stores surrounding a 5 minute walking radius. Yay this meant our first proper home cooked meal for the trip!

First Home Cooked Meal in Europe

My brother arrived on the 2nd day after spending a week at the Greek Islands. Feeling a little under the weather he wasn't too excited when we told him we were going to do an all-nighter in Pamplona that night so we could watch the bulls run the following morning. Thankfully most places in Spain have large shutters that make the house extremely dark during the day. So my brother slept for the most of the day to prepare for the nights festivities while Michael and I hit up the beach.

Steps Leading up to the Statue of Jesus, Monte Urgull

The beach in San Sebastian is very lovely with warm salty water and some fun pontoons with water slides and diving boards to play on.

After our big 15 hour trip to watch the bulls we arrived home at 1pm and were thankful once again that the apartment had shutters so we could catch up on some sleep.

Laneway to our Apartment in San Sebastian

That night we decided to treat ourselves to some ice-cream but just as we got up to leave a huge thunderstorm shook the town with lightening flashing every couple of seconds and rivers of rain streaming down the windy roads. We decided this was a sign that we should just go back to bed and start fresh the next day.

View of Monte Urgull from the beach

The next day we walked through the old town, around the coast and then hiked up the windy paths to the Statue of Jesus, Monte Urgull. At the top you can see all 360 degrees of San Sebastian including the  whole bay of Biscay. If you ever go to San Sebastian, this is a must do! The view is amazing, it's good exercise and theres no entry fee!

View from the top of Monte Urgull

That night we headed to the Old Quarter to go pintxos bar hopping, in and out of the old, famous basque restaurants. Each pintxos costs between 1 - 2 euros. If you want freshly cooked pintxos, with larger servings they are around 8 - 12 euros.

One of the many Pintxos Bars in San Sebastian

After eating until we felt sick we headed home for a good nights sleep before heading off on a 6 hours bus ride to Barcelona in the morning.

Pamplona - Running of the Bulls

Running with the Bulls 12/07/13

On the 11th of July we caught the 9:30pm bus from San Sebastián to Pamplona for the Running of The Bulls festival.

We arrived at 10:30pm and the Alas bus dropped us off right in front of the firework display. There were thousands of people all wearing white with red neck and waist ties, sitting sipping on sangria, waiting for the display to start.

At ten to eleven the loudest firework I'd ever heard went off as warning that the display was about to begin. We quickly grabbed some drinks and found a spot to sit and watch.

11/07/13 Fire Work Display, Pamplona

They were the best fireworks I'd ever seen. Some exploded in the shape of love hearts and smiley faces, others exploded with glitter rain. The display went for roughy 20 minutes.

Afterwards we followed the crowd, weaving through cobbled streets. Eventually we caught up to the marching band which lead us to the main square where a dj was playing. We danced away until 2am and then wondered off to find a bar. We managed to find a street full of them and hopped between them trying various sangria and Spanish beer.

By 4am we were done and ready for sleep but we still had another 4 hours until the race started with nowhere to stay. We continued wondering the streets and found the starting line for the race where the bulls were penned up relaxing before there big day.

At 6am we went to the stadium and waited out the front until the doors opened at 7. We managed to get a seat at the very front next to the entrance where the contestants enter the arena.

At 8am the race began which played on the large screen. Several men were hot by the bulls. One in particular was knocked to the grown and Tossed around by the bull for 2 minutes, eventually a man grabbed to bull by the tail while others helped the man up but the bull resisted and kept going for him, ripping his pants down and pushing him around. He was freed eventually and the bull continued stomping down the path and was the last to enter the arena.

Once the last bull was through they released 1 of 6 smaller bulls entered the arena for 5 minutes each. Hundreds of people remained in the arena, some trying to get its attention by tapping its bottom, others were petrified and jumped out.

Once the 6th bull was rounded back out of the arena the show was over. At 8:30am we wondered back to the bus terminal where we waited for our 11am bus to return back to San Sebastián.

Pamplona was defiantly the best par of our trip so far. The energy for the whole
Night was electrifying and although the race was quite cruel it was very interesting to witness the Spanish culture.

We now have 3 nights to recover in San Sebastián before heading to Barcelona. Xxx

Paris

The Eiffel Tower

On the 5th of July we caught an 8 hours but from London to Paris. I know that sounds like a long time but it wasn't as bad as we thought.

Our accommodation in Paris was amazing, a tiny apartment we found on airbnb.com. It was located a couple of blocks from the Seine River, across from the Louvre.

The Louvre, Across from the Seine River

On our first night we wondered through the cobbled streets to the Eiffel tower. It was sundown and everything looked so romantic and sun kissed.

The next day we climbed the tower. It was roughly an hour wait in line until we eventually got to climb those stairs. The views from the top are incredible and places you much higher than you would except.

Arc de Triomphe

That afternoon we rented bikes and rode up to the Arc de Triomphe and then down the Champs-Elysées to the Louvre. On the way home we stopped at a bakery for afternoon snack of baguettes, wine and eclairs.

Delicious Goodies from our Local Bakery

Once rested we headed down towards the Norte-Dame cathedral for dinner. Before dinner we decided to buy a lock, engrave our names and the date on it and put it on the lovers bridge. It was quite funny once we had attached it a Parisian told us not to put the lock on because it with curse our relationship. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen!

Lovers Bridge, Paris

We had a set dinner at Le Tournebievre which included a variety of dishes including snails, lamb, chicken, duck, chocolate and raspberries. Everything was delightful. After dinner we wondered home through the back streets and stopped at a pub for a drink.

Entree at Le Tournebievre - M's first taste of Snails!

The next day we tackled the Louvre where we lined up for 2 hours in the hot sun, waiting to get a glimpse at Mona Lisa and other historical art pieces.

The Louvre

That evening we headed down the South Bank for dinner and drinks by the river. I had a yummy salad and M had a burger and chips. Then we rented bikes again and did one last lap around town before we departed in the morning.

South Bank, Paris

The weather was amazing our whole stay in Paris, always sunny and around 28 degrees. Which apparently only happens for 2 weeks of the whole year.

A beautiful florist, Paris

Now we are heading off on an 8 hour to Bordeaux, where we will have a 2 night stop over before catching the train to San Sebastian in Spain.

Au revoir!

Iceland

Top things to do in Iceland:

- Buy alcohol at the airport - a beer in Iceland is $9AU and a glass of wine is $12AU. You can get a bottle of wine at duty free for $12AU so if you want to have pre drinks before the pub crawl do this to save some cash! 

- The golden circle drive (Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir and Parliment Alpingi - all driving distance)

- Hire a bike and ride around Reykjavik coastline

- Reykjavik pub crawl (Friday and Saturday nights)

- The Blue Lagoon

- Go Whale Watching

- Eat a famous Islendingar Borda Ss Pylsur Hot Dog

- Go swimming in the ocean at Ylstrondin

- Try the fish at the Icelandic Fish and Chip restaurant

Gullfoss Waterfall

Geysir

Hire a Bike and Ride around Reykjavik

The Blue Lagoon

Whale Watching (Humpback Whale coming up for air)

Try a Delicious Icelandic Hot Dog

Go Swimming in the 'Warm' Icelandic Ocean - Yistrondin

On the 28th of June I flew into Keflavik airport in Iceland. 

Once we arrived we caught the fly bus ($35AU return) to our accommodation. The Bus Hostel is relatively new and is tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Reykjavik. The hostel had large bunk beds and private bathrooms. Hire a duvet and you will never want to get out of bed, they are so warm and fluffy!

Bus Hostel Common Room

Bus Hostel 10 Bed Room

One of my favourite things about Iceland is that in summer it's daylight 24/7 so you aren't restricted from doing certain things due to nightfall. 

On our first night we walked to the city centre at 11:30pm where we found a cute Italian restaurant that  is open until 1am in the summer. After dinner we had a quick walk around and then headed back for bed because we had a long day of travelling. 

The next day we had a bit of a sleep in and booked a trip to the famous Blue Lagoon for the afternoon to help prepare ourselves for the famous Reykjavik pub crawl that night. 

The Blue Lagoon was truly beautiful and although expensive ($90AU inc return transport) it was worth it for the view and relaxation!  We headed back to our hostel at 7pm to get ready for the night ahead..

Our first stop on the crawl was the Micro Bar. Here they only serve beer and have over 50 different varieties. I don't really like beer so we moved on after a drink to the English Pub. Here we met many friendly Icelandic people who showed us all the popular places to go on a Saturday night. 

First we headed to Opid, a bar that has lots of bands playing and a great outdoor section. This is where we tasted our first Gulf beer and Icelandic liquor which is made from potatoes, it tasted like licorice.

Opid Bar

Then we headed to Austur but it was too busy so we went to Hressingarskalinn where we spent the rest of the night dancing to old 90's music. Before we knew it, it was 5am and I was ready for bed but not before we tried Iceland's famous hotdogs! These small, warm, crunchy rolls are worth very dollar they cost ($3AU). Apparently they are Bill Clinton's favourite and I can see why! 

That afternoon, once we got over our sore heads we hired bikes and rode down the road to Yistrondin - A beach that has 2 natural hot pools and a small swimming area of warm water (this is from waste water from houses nearby). Being a Sunday, there were lots of locals frolicking in the hot pools, playing soccer and sun baking. There were even some locals swimming in the cold side of the ocean (8 degree). Mind you it was only 15 degrees, but when the sun is out in summer Icelandic's love to sunbake and make the most of it.

After checking out Yistrondin we rode to Old Town Reykjavik and booked a midnight whale watching cruise ($80AU) at the old harbour. By this time we were starving and decided to give the famous Icelandic fish and chips a whirl. This restaurant is famous for a reason. I ordered the wolf fish in batter with chips ($15AU) and it was incredible. I've never eaten fish that has just melted in my mouth like this before. I highly recommend it!!!

Icelandic Fish and Chip Restaurant

Then it was time to depart on our whale watching cruise. First the boat cruised to and Island where the puffins live and mate during summer. Then we went out cruised out of the bay into the ocean to spot some whales. The first whale we saw was a Minkie which looked like a dolphin. Then we saw a huge blow of water in the distance... We quickly started chasing it and bomb! A giant humpback jumped out of the water (about 80m  away from the boat). We continued to follow the humpback for the next half hour but unfortunately didn't get to see it jump again.

Whale Watching Cruise

On the Monday we hired bikes again and rode all around Reykjavik, checking out the shops, restaurants and tourist attractions before booking an Golden Circle afternoon tour with Greyline Iceland Excursions. On the tour we saw more of the amazing Icelandic landscape including: The Parliment Alpingi, the Gullfoss waterfall and the Geysir and Strokkur. These are all sites you can drive around and see yourself if you feel comfortable driving in an unknown area but otherwise I highly recommend the tour because you learn so much about the Icelandic culture, history and people from the tour guide.

Geysir's

All in all Iceland is extremely colourful, intriguing and beautiful! I'm so glad I got to see this country with my own eyes as I've never seen such a beautiful landscape before.

Reykjavik City View