To Pamplona

OK so I didn't go swimming either as the free access was only before 4pm. The hostel allegedly had a bar but in practice this meant buying a ticket from a machine to give to a man who would disappear out back and return with a beer. Why the man could not be paid directly was not clear.

I decided to find an authentic local place to eat and ended up in a back street tapas bar where the menu was not even Spanish let alone English. After guessing what the Catalan words meant I ended up with a plate of fried squid, potatoes and a pink sauce that I never did identify.

The train to Pamplona should have been easy but just over halfway everyone was made to get off and wait at a small station for another train.The landscape started out looking decidedly Mediterranean and got slowly greener and wetter going west until snow covered mountains surrounded us.

Pamplona itself was not snow covered, though there are patches. I looked around the citadel, which is now a park containing several art galleries ranging from quite nice woodcarving to quite disturbing short films.

Carcassone

I took a fast train south from Paris passing through fog and snow to emerge somewhere called Montpellier, which the map tells me is on the Mediterrranean coast though all I saw was the station. From there it was a short trip to Carcassone where I arrived shortly after one.

The town is two or three parts depending on your point of view. There is a 'new' town around the cathedral built in the 13th Century and surrounded by a ring of wide roads following the old city walls, which are still visible in places. Outside this on three sides are more modern suburbs but it is the fourth side that is of more interest. Across the river on a hill top is old Carcassone surrounded by still standing walls that link to the castle.

After exploring the old town in the morning I bought a ticket for the castle and discovered it included a tour in English along the city wall - which was as fascinating as it was cold. In between I tried the local cassoulet for lunch and confirmed that the south of France is not warmer than the north.

Paris in the winter time

The journey to London was uneventful enough and I found a cheap bed for the night near the coach station. Unfortunately the bed was the top of a triple decked bunk (yes there are such things) with two rather large Russian gentlemen below who moved in their sleep so it was a little like sleeping in a boat on a stormy sea. In the morning I got a coach to Paris via the tunnel, I'm not normally claustrophobic but there was something odd about being in a bus, in a train, in a tunnel. The driver was a cheery chappie who managed the journey in total silence until arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport where he put on the intercom and muttered "Charles de Gaulle" in a tone that implied he had been telling us for hours and was sick of being asked. This done he did not speak again including at the final stop in Paris.

I made my way across the city to where I am staying, which turned out to be a classic Parisian garret (check spelling) a tiny three room flat in the top of a block with a view of the Eiffel tower.

 As my host had plans for the evening I went to a couchsurfing meeting in a bar across town and on the way discovered a fascinating art gallery/workshop where you could watch various art being made.









Today I walked from the flat to the Latin quarter then up to Pantheon where I tried to work out the, no doubt fascinating, information boards that were only in French. Then I met up with my host and we did a walking tour from the Chinese area in Belleview down to the cemetery  where Jim Morrison is burried - although his was not one of the graves we found. There weren't a lot of sights as such but some great views of the city and it was fascinating to see a side of Paris tourists don't normally get to.

Another silly idea

My work such as it is is very seasonal and there isn't likely to be a lot until March, so what to do for the next month or so?

After a lot of procrastinating I decided it is time to go away for a bit. The plan as follows goes like this.

Tuesday 5th Feb - coach to London booked
Tuesday night - hostel in London booked
Wednesday 6th - coach to Paris (yes I know there's a bit of water in the way, I assume this will be addressed) booked
6th-8th Couchsurfing in Paris - my first attempt and I got a reply with my first message - booked

8th onwards - unbooked, I have a vague idea of making my way south across France and Spain to northern Morrocco and a few tentative ideas of where to go along the way but the point is to be spontaneous. Or as spontaneous as I can be without getting into too much trouble.

22nd - the date I have to be back in the UK to meet a friend.

I will try and update this blog as I go along.

Berlin

Last week I was able to spend a few days in Berlin, didn't get around to writing any blog entries but here are some photos.