A soccer pitch where?

Walking around Valencia, the map shows what I thought to be a river running through the city, a number of bridges cross this low area, this was for all intense purposes a river bed.

You can imagine my surprise as we walked across the bridge to find a soccer pitch and other sporting facilities in the low area - good use of space though.

Two days in Valencia

There was so much messing around getting out of Barcelona, we departed the city late and naturally arrived late in the city of Valencia. The city centre, located slightly inland gives the impression of being an inland city, actually, the city is actually coastal.

Looking on a map, it looks like a river borders the city centre. Built on what I thought to be the old river bed is a number of sporting facilities. However, unlike other cities of Europe, the former river, or what I thought to be a river is not the definining feature of the city of Valencia.

I am informed this is the third largest city of Spain, we stayed within the centre, we found the city centre to be reasonably compact and the main sites close.

After navigating our way through the centre to our apartment, there wasn't much left to do except go out to dinner, we walked a few local streets next to our accommodation.

We were to get an early start the next day, the consumption of way too much wine into the morning put a stop to that, regardless, we were able to see everything we wanted after our late start.

So, the next day, a very late wake up and sore heads. We were out of the apartment late morning to purchase train tickets to Malaga, then we got serious about looking around.

A new dress

We were down the Barcelona marina complex, I was trying to hook onto free WiFi in the building and Noriko was running around looking at shops. Finally, I'm online and answering emails and reading the news, I don't want to be disturbed with such trivial things.

When Noriko returns and wants me to view two dresses she has tried on, I guessed my solitude is in danger. I also sense danger here, I am in a no win situation here, she wants to drag me into a deep dark world of indecision and regret. I'm not buying into this - no chance.

My obvious answer is buy both, then you can't be disappointed,  I then go about explaining to her that I will say this dress is better than that dress if it means getting out of there earlier.

To my delight, she did exactly that, off to now enjoy an illy double expresso in peace.

Place de Joaquim Xirau

Just tucked in off La Rambla is the square, Place de Joaquim Xirau, filled with various restaurants, we decided to go for these after eating on La Rambla the evening before.

While they seem to be offering slightly better deals price wise, we found the service to somewhat lacking, the place is very busy and quite competitive, potential diners are checking every restaurant for price, service doesn't seem important.

While expensive, our meal was adquate in every respect and a reasonable evening was enjoyed.

Dinner at La Rambla

One of the in places to be in Barcelona is La Rambla, a street packed with people milling around enjoying the Barcelona summer atmosphere. We headed down for an expensive dinner in the famous street watching the people of Barcelona pass us by.

I must say, I enjoyyd this night out.

Paul Gruel Park

When Noriko gets something in her head, no amount of reason or logic will change her mind. I explained to her that this park was all the way across town up the hill overlooking Barcelona and there was nothing of interest for us getting there.

Of course, all she heard was there was plenty to see along the way, when we were walking through the backstreets of Barcelona, through what felt like a Hollywood ghost town set, I asked myself, why didn't I just stay in Perth? Naturally, she argued and fought the whole way, what hell had I let myself in for? She was, as normal, moving slowly and my leg was already starting to hurt, fuck I hate this shit.

I stated that if we are going to walk there, we are going to get a move along, no dawdling or stuffing around, I ended up getting plenty of both. Let me elaborate, I have had knee pain since I was 21 after a work accident where I hyper extended my left leg and hence knee, in the last years, the pain has increased tremendously.

Somehow, if I keep moving it and walking at a reasonable speed, the onset of pain is delayed and take plently of rests inbetween. Noriko prefers to move slowly, take her time, stop all the time, she doesn't need stress and she feels no pain.

I sought treatment for the knee and after countless doctor, specialist, physio, MRI, CT and other appointments, they came to the conclusion it is the hamstring and tendons causing the issues, regardless, towards the end of the day, I struggle to walk despite dropping thousands of dollars to various medical practitioners.

So no doubt, she had read on some Japanese website that "you must go and see the Paul Guell designed park" so that is what you must do in Barcelona, follow the advice of some arsehole on a social media page.

When we finally arrived, it was worse than I expected, firstly, they wanted €7 to enter the park, fuck that. I had already seen parts of the park and it looked like it had been designed by the guy who designed the Cadbury chocolate advertising - tasteless shit.

As we walked back, I wondered if this Paul Guell was still alive, I would love to punch this wanker in the face. Now, what about this other tasteless fuckwit who had recommended this bullshit destroying my Saturday in Barcelona, could I beat this prick to a pulp as well?

By the time we made it back to La Rambla, it was 7 pm, people were out and about enjoying them selves, I was hobbled by this stage, I couldn't enjoy the moment, I was moving from park bench to park bench to take the weight off my leg.

What a waste of Barcelona.

Barcelona water fountains

We had some bottled water, it was ok, well, we had been out walking all afternoon and the water was quite warm, so I decided to tip out my warm bottled water out for some fine Barcelona scheme water.

Big mistake - the water was awful to taste, that's when I noticed the colour, off-white, it appeared to be calcium rich. I couldn't believe it, I just tipped out drinking water and now I have a bottle full of water not fit for drinking, albeit, slightly cooler.

So, I emptied my bottle again.

Now I was really thirsty, apart from a mouthful of foul tasting off-colour water.

When I thought back, I couldn't recall seeing anyone drink from the fountains. Over the next days, I saw people fill up buckets of water for cleaning, people washing their faces but I never saw one person filling up a water bottle or drinking from one.

Learnt that lesson the hard way.

Barcelona beach

Arriving by train from Montpellier at Barcelona's main rail station at 12:30 pm, we walked to our hotel and checked in. We were out of there and headed towards Barcelona's excellent beach. The place was really pumping, people sunning themselves on the beach, catching waves on surf boards, body boarding or just generally posing.

Barcelona has an excellent vibe, the atmosphere is electric and I don't feel any aggression. We only made it to the beach once during our three day trip, one of the negatives of living so close to Scarborough Beach I suppose.

I can see why Barcelona is well liked as a city, this is a popular place and while I didn't get the chance to experience the nightlife, the afternoon down the beach was fun.

Le Yam's- Montpellier

Heading back up to the old city after a siesta in the afternoon, we ended up in the old square looking to have dinner with a reasonable view. We found that at Le Yam's, the seating looked out over the square, the tables were a little tight, the food quickly made up for any perceived problems.

We decided on a set menu with entrée, main and desert - we had a number of options from each range. Noriko craved a rare steak after her four pork entrée selection, my salmon steak complimented my entrée mussels with a delectable sauce. Deserts came in a cup, she had chocolate mousse and my cottage cheese and berry topping was more than just serviceable.

Coupled with a couple of glasses of wine and coffee, the bill was always going to be higher than I initially hoped, such is life.

A day in Montpellier

Speaking to the train staff in Marseille, we were booking a ticket to Barcelona and saw the train made a stop in Montpellier, I asked her if it was worth an overnight stop and her answer was a resounding yes.

We arrived in the morining at 10 am after boarding the 8:30 am Marseille train, we dropped our bags at the hotel and set off looking around this smallish city. There was two main areas of interest, the old city and Antigone. Just two streets away from our hotel, we headed to Antigone first, I enjoyed sitting in the park playing on my tablet after locating a free WiFi connection.

Walking through the park, we headed towards the river and the contemporary buildings of the area.

Then heading towards to streets and alleys of the old city, we located a number of historic buildings, the Arch de Triumph was receiving maintenance all round, the old wall was the highlight despite being accosted by a charity collection tout, man, they are really aggressive there.

We spent just a single day in Montpellier,  the city was charming, although for us, one day was enough.

Marseille marina

Arriving in the afternoon from Lyon, firstly the views of the city from the train station were quite something.

We had the afternoon to look around the harbour, this was wonderfully scenic and the central attraction of the city.

Walking up towards the old castle, the views of the harbour were spectacular, this was a dirty but beautiful city. I wondered about some of the sailing events in this southern French metropolis, we watched a number of yachts and power boats head out from the safety of the harbour through the heads.

The water around Marseille was flat and predictable, there was enough wind to sail, it wasn't blowing at a great rate of knots, enough to get you moving through the water though.

Hotel de la Faculté

The feedback on booking.com was not great, we were having trouble logging on to a WiFi at the Marseille train station, the connection was really slow after we had already arrived after quickly leaving Lyon without booking ahead.

The place was cheap and close to the train station, I don't need much in the way of hotels, so I wasn't too worried. Big mistake, this place wasn't that cheap and was terribly run. The room was home to a squadron of mosquito, they kept you up buzzing around all night, waking up full of bites, I believe flea bites compounded with the mosquito squadron ensured you were active scratching all day.

The room was dirty, old and run down, I don't mind old and run down, but they should make the effort to clean properly. The toilet nearly fell over when I sat on it, if an effort was made to secure it to the floor, I would be surprised. Naturally, it wouldn't flush correctly - oh well.

We had a small room on the first floor, outside, a television blarred to well past 2 am, once the TV was finally shutdown, the slamming of doors and crashing around the place continued well past 3 am, the crashing around was happening while the TV played, soccer world cup was on. I mistakenly thought it would finish once the TV was switched on - wrong.

We slept in late, woke up around 10 am so missed half the morning, we arrived the day before and hit the pavement, this was going to be our only full day in Marseille, we would catch the 8:30 am train to Montpellier the next morning. I was annoyed at sleeping so late, even if we got to sleep at 3 am, we didn't, it was just the last time I looked at my watch in my anger, I was awake much later than this then we would be sleeping in. The next night, some moron was banging on the door in a fit of rage at 4 am, it just doesn't stop there.

On a positive note, the WiFi connection is really fast, the location is close to the train station and not far from the harbour - that's about it.

Marseille - bikes for hire

All throughout the major European cities, we saw bikes for hire from local government authorities. I am still not sure how they work, you have to pay for their hire at a centralised machine and it unlocks the bike from its stand.

I imagine you can only pay via credit card and that becomes your identification check, I am still unsure if you have to return the bike to its original location or to one of the numerous racks around the city, needless to say, these bikes are very popular as you see them being ridden around all over the place.

Marseille

Marseille is a city of contrasts, viewing the marina from the vantage points near the heads; the heart of the city is beautiful, yet two streets back from the harbour is a dirty polluted city full of undesirables.

Rubbish lines the roads, the bins are overflowing and you get the inkling a criminal element is hard at work. When the sun set, I made sure that I was fully alert to my surroundings, a hard core population emerged from the shadows, it appeared to me that the people I had viewed during the day were nowhere to be seen now.

Lyon to Marseilles

What an absolute hassle, we spent the whole day and evening exploring Lyon the previous day, our plan was to waltz into the train station, book a ticket to Bordeaux and head off. Our day instead was to be one of disappointment, hours wasted and frustration. Finally, a ticket to Marseilles, we had planned to head there after Bordeaux, Toulouse and Avignon - so no issues there.

So, when a ticket came up, we had only 10 minutes to race to the platform, no time to book accommodation, that would have to happen in Marseille. Our problems compounded when a solid WiFi link couldn't be established, battery running low and frustration building.

Finally, a weak link and a booking slowly goes through, ok, a place to stay, not a great placebut a place.

France v Nigeria

The world cup was on, we had been out all day exploring Lyon and came back to our pension get eat dinner and drink some wine. The window was open as we relaxed and we listened to the game, we headed out as the mood around the city was one of celebration, France had won.

As we we got closer to the centre, the mood changed, riot police were out in force and setting up. As a police convoy drove through the centre, the youths descended on the vehicles rocking, jumping and banging the convoy. The police officers in full riot equipment

moved in and broke up the crowd dispersing them to more open areas. They regrouped starting problems in different areas. I stood nearby to watch the police tactics, it looked as if every available officer was on duty, they had a long night in front of them. I wondered what it would be like if France had actually lost the game.

Fourviere Hill

Hanging out down in the city of Lyon is excellent fun, however, Fourviere Hill beckons and a nice hard workout is inevitable and strangly welcomed.

A wonderful park leads up from the restaurants down below, the park and trails are fantastic, a number of transport options exist, my preferred option is is leg power. I really like the exercise and no one knows more than me that I need it.

The views of the UNESCO registered city of Lyon are spectacular, the city for the best part are low rise, I was disappointed to see a couple of high rise buildings scattered throughout. Lyon is a beautiful city, there is no doubt, I never knew what to expect, I knew I just wanted to go, I'm glad I did.

Le Rhone

The river Le Rhone winds its way through Lyon; this majestic river flows at a fairly fast rate, the most interesting sections of Lyon for me is the peninsula, for me, it has the feel of an island, it is actually not.

Europe is full of bridges connecting banks of cities strategically located on old trading routes - Lyon is one of those cities. This is a inland wonderful city with plenty to offer the visitor, we had a tight schedule, I could easily spend longer here.

Lyon's electric cars

Walking through the city of Lyon, we marched past the local government offices and saw a row of electric cars and charging stations outside the city offices. I can only imagine at local government level, the sustainability initiative involves testing and implementing electric vehicle technology. I see the role of government leadership setting the agenda through transformational processes, this is an outstanding program run by the city of Lyon.

Not leaving a tip

This was the local place, just around the corner from our accommodation,  I thought this was going to be our local eating place in Lyon, after the first service, I knew this was not going to be the place. I liked the old guy who first served us, he seemed nice.

Then the old woman took over, she was, well, less than nice, she had no interest in service and was plain rude. When we finally coaxed her over to pay the bill, she refused to give the correct change, our expensive coffee and croissant was having the tip automatically deducted, needless to say, we got our change and never left a tip.

Lyon restraunt scene

The restaurant scene in Lyon is very vibrant; the choice of fare is both fine and expansive, I am told this city is a world leader in the culinary arts. In the morning, we saw what seemed to be teams of apprentices taking their breaks just before the lunchtime service routine. By the numbers of apprentices indentured in such fine eateries, it is not difficult to see that their training appears to be world class.

The quality of restaurants is undisputed; the vast numbers of tourists to France in general and Lyon in particular ensures the high standards remain, the competition between restaurants is immense.

Berlin to Lyon

Hurtling through the French countryside at a tad just under 300 kph, I was felling less than supurb, I will hold Babette and this bunny she needed to feed responsible after my Saturday night in Berlin. I was able to focus on the speed of the train at times, I saw a max speed of 292 kph but I really missed the amazing French countryside wizzing past at breakneck speeds.

This is a shame, I was really looking forward to the views. When I woke up, I realised I was still drunk - this was a poor revelation, I would start sobering up on the train. Then the hangover would begin, I had hoped to see Roman architecture along the way. I have seen aquaducts in the past driving through the south of France, today I would be lucky to open my eyes.

Berlin hauptbahnoff

The Berlin Hauptbahnoff is an amazing place, I guessed it was going to be big, yet I was still surprised at the scale of the facility.

We were there to purchase tickets for the train to Lyon; I knew purchasing tickets on a Saturday for Sunday morning departure was going to put a dent in the bank account, I was correct, it hurt.

We had to be back there for our 9:30am departure, no excuses, these tickets are only valid for the day of travel. We had to change trains in Manheim, fortunately, same platform, number 5 just 10 minutes later.

Our travel time was going to be 10 hours, we expected to arrive in Lyon around 8:00pm in the evening, everything going well. Fortunately, for this part of the world, we still had a couple of hours of light left - fantastic.

Berlin train stations

Berlin has a fabulous public transportation system; there is the S bahn and the U bahn trains, former GDR trams and busses crossing the roads of the city.

I absolutely love the old U bahn stations, the interior of the stations remind me of the1920s, such is their style. The Berlin public transport system is really dominated by trains and to a lesser extent trams, I view a new world city such as Perth and its poorly developed public transport system as dominated by the automobile. Catching busses and trains to work is problematic due to a lack of lines and scheduling, living in Berlin, why would you bother owning a car?

While the S bahn stations are highly functional, they tend to lack the romance and style of the U bahn, this is a world class public transport system built on the foundations of old world facilities.

Berliner Dome

The Berliner Dome is an integral part of the Berlin historical scene, consecrated in 1454, I am told this hugh structure has never been a cathedral as has never been the seat of a bishop. I need to brush up on my Roman Catholic knowledge as I know precious little of their structure. I do know this dome has been under constant construction throughout the centuries,  as work is being undertaken on museum island, the area around the dome once again resembles a construction site.

Getting inside will cost you money, I am against a church charging an entrance fee, it just isn't right.

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Berlin trains

The Berlin train system is an old system, the stations are old, the routes are old and even the carriages are old, yet this system is so efficient.

No matter where you want to go in Berlin, it is easy to get there, jump on a U or S bahn, you are on your way. You may need to change lines between stations, sometimes even from the S to the U bahn to end up closer to a more convienient station, no worries, this system works fine.

A day in Potsdam

A great day trip out of the heart of Berlin is the short train ride to Potsdam, viewing the map, you may feel like you haven't really left Berlin, the change becomes apparent stepping off the train.

The cityscape Iis entirely different to nearby Berlin, you immediately view the bright colours, the feeling of movement and openess.

The feeling of freedom was not lost on me, more expansive areas to enjoy leisure activities, a less restricted life beckons. Potsdam just seemed a more friendly place.

Berlin waterways

The wonderful waterways of central Berlin are interesting from a historical context, the old style watercraft are seen berthed just out of the central area. A complete transport system must have been in use probably right up to the segration of the city, even now, marine craft are still in use for construction activity.

The bridge mechanism on the canal heading towards museum island is an excellent example of machinery that was not only functional, engineering can look good too.

Potsdam police cars

A pair of luxury cars in Australia, the German police get to drive around in BMWs and Mercedes Benz, how is that for a police presence?

Bab's apartment

For us, this was excellent timing, my good friend Babette was yet to move into her new apartment, we were free to stay without disrupting her life too much. We were running low on cash and this was an opportunity to save a few Euro before embarking on the next phase of our trip.

I tried to get the apartment ready for her to move in, she had been paying rent since the start of May, we were getting to the end of June and he apartment was still vacant. Hopefully, we would both benefit here.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed spending time with her and young daughter, these are the moments that really make a trip. Instead of just hitting city for a day to a week, we gained a sense of belonging in this city.

I like Berlin, I like hanging with Babette even more.

It was a case of "Ich bin ein Berliner" for me, this, of course was way from the truth, but I was feeling relaxed there.

Berlin waterpumps

We were walking down Leberstrasse towards Babette's apartment when we came across this old disused waterpump on the footpath, I was dumbfounded, this is what I expected to see in an African village, not the German capital.

The pumps still work, however, the water is now not drinkable, this was not always the case. In the immediate period after the defeat of Germany in world war two, the German capital lay in ruins from strategic bombing and then later fighting street to street. Essential services such as water, electricity and gas were damaged to the point of non operation. People lined up in the streets to pull water manually from the system as the main pumps providing flow and pressure were damaged.

In this older section of Berlin, the housing and streets maintain pre-war construction, I was informed the buildings in the street and immediate surrounds are used for filming period movies.