Sunday June 28 We left Madrid on the train as the bus and train were pretty much the same price (45 Euros/90$Au each) but the train was 3 hours faster.
We arrived in Valencia and it was very hot, hotter than anywhere we'd been so far. We checked into the Indigo Hostel which was a pretty cool hostel, the staff were nice and the hostel was pretty well serviced and had a friendly atmosphere.
We didn't do much and cbf thinking about it right now. This is hard work writing and in depth blog!
Monday June 29 Was booked in to get my tatt with Xavi today. Most painful tatt ever. By far. Really awesome job, so happy with it. Afterwards, Xavi took us out to dinner for tapas and then to a blues band. One of his friends was playing in a bad that was the support act. The band was from Mexico, it was Igor Prado and band, they were pretty cool... They had faster pussycat playing on a projector screen the whole time too.
Tuesday June 30 Steve went and got his tatt done so we couldn't really visit the beach even tho the weather was perfect for it. I'm not much of a beach person at home, but on holidays I really like beaches.
Once they are healed Xavi said they will soften in colour, they are designed to be softer look that normal tatts. Will post some pics when they have settled down.
After his tatt we decided to go on the pub crawl as there were a bunch of people from our hostel going. It was good fun, we met tonnes of people and the pub crawl was really large. It was 10 Euros and included a free drink at each place. It was the biggest pub crawl we had been on. We stumbled home at around 5am and slept most of the next day.
Wednesday July 1
Got up at 1 and decided to do the tapas tour at 2. We went to 4 restaurants, and we got a free beer or sangria plus tapas at each. It cost 12 Euros each. At the last restuarant we got tonnes of food, not just one tapas, it was such good value and it filled up lunch and dinner so we were pretty happy. We met some Aussies we had stayed in the same hostel as in Santorini and they were doing the pub crawl that night so we decided to do it again.
At the last bar Steve has his phone pick pocketed so that pub a shit end to an otherwise rad stay in Valencia. Was my fav place in Spain fo sure. Steve went to the police station to report it because we knew we wouldn't have time before our flight in the morning.
Thursday July 2
Got up a bit seedy, packed and left for the airport. Flew to Amsterdam.
Tuesday June 23 Barcelona was expensive so we decided not to stay. We checked out at 10 and went to the train station and put all our luggage in storage for the day an went out exploring. We were all really tired from more than a week of partying, so we kinda of dragged our feet around and got bored a lot before our bus. Rosie left us and headed to Paris to meet up with another Melbourne girl – Grace. We’d booked a night bus, but I think we were all wishing we had just booked the day bus anyway. We got on the bus at 11.30pm to head to San Sebastian on the opposite coast of Spain.
Wednesday June 24 The bus trip was very uncomfortable. We arrived in San Sebastian rather worn out still. We got a bus then a taxi to the hostel which we arrived at way too early but they hadn’t filled the beds so we were able to check in and sleep. The place was Ernie’s Place and it was really a 3 bedroom apartment that had the 3 bedrooms turn into dorms. We booked a 4 bed dorm which was the master bedroom so we got an ensuite to ourselves. It was all quite new and the kitchen was good too so we had a nice meal in that night. During the day after we slept we headed down to the beach. It was a very busy beach and there were lots of topless people, something we had noticed all over Spain. Everyone from teenagers to old fat ladies had them out, it seemed to be the norm. Shelley and I didn’t however :P
Thursday June 25 My 29th Birthday! I don’t have it listed on facebook so I was expecting to be forgotten but plenty of people remembered anyway. The only person who didn’t that I was upset about was Buzz... It’s usual for my family not to wish each other a happy birthday but I expected him to remember. Byron wins however, as I haven’t seen him in a while and he remembered out of the blue... We headed out to climb a big hill and see a castle with a big Jesus statue on it which looked out over the whole of San Sebastian. After that we went for another swim but it was quite cold so we didn’t stay long. We went back to the hostel and changed to head out. We went for a tapas/pinxtos dinner and drinks for my bday. We went to several different places and sampled a few different types of food and drink on the way. We didn’t stay out too late as we had a bus to Madrid the following day and we were intending to party for my bday then.
Friday June 26 One the bus to Madrid I messaged Buzz to see how he is doing and if he has net access yet cos he hasn’t replied to any emails since we have been away (and he forgot my bday :P). He still didn’t remember my birthday ah well. He hasn’t had net access so he won’t have even read the blog to know what we’ve been up to... Hurry up ya bastard!
We arrived in Madrid in the biggest bus station I have ever seen. We booked an apartment hotel as it was cheaper than 4 dorm rooms. We booked one between the main city area and the club I had picked to go out to that night. We were going to see Deadmau5. I had really wanted to go out to techno but the club I wanted to go to was hosting Stacey Pullen and I thought that would be boring. I missed some of my favourite artists over the last month at that venue so that was a bit of a bummer.
We had a cooked dinner and drinks at the room as we knew they would be expensive out. When we got there, there were hundreds of people drinking outside. We asked on the way in if once we were in we would come out again and they said yes. We went in at around 12 and they had only just opened and it was empty. We went to go out and they said we couldn’t! So we just had to wait... Over the course of 2 hours the club went from empty to full – a couple of thousand people. The club was a pretty cool club... The opening DJ was good, building up well with fat minimal. The 2nd DJ just flat lined it and was pretty boring. Deadmau5 started and he was playing with a big mouse head with big ears, his opening track was awesome and the crowd really got going. It seemed promising, but from there, it was only downhill. He took his mask off. He got more boring as the night wore on and when he sensed he was losing the interest of the crowd he just put his mask back on so everyone cheered again. But he didn’t play more upbeat tunes to match. We called it a night at about 4.
Saturday June 27 Lazy day! We slept in until 3 and all we had to do today is book a train to Valencia and go our for a feed.
Steve’s uncle drove us to Birmingham Airport where we flew to Barcelona.Our week of partying had arrived.We booked a hostel for that night but we didn’t get in until 11.30pm and there were no showers or kitchen/common room/net after 11pm which was a bit of a bummer. After a thrown together meal of tinned tuna, corn and olives we crashed out.
Monday June 15
Shelley, Luke, Rosie, Shane and Pia met us at the main bus station where we got the bus out to Lorrett De Mar.Last year we had bought tickets to Hardcore Til I Die in the Sun which is a week long party with hotel and 2 meals a day included in the ticket.We got to stay in a 4 star hotel as we’d paid for an upgrade from dorms for 12 pounds a night. We checked into the hotel and dumped all our gear before heading out in search of food.Later we had dinner at the hotel before heading out to the first night of the party. Hixxy and Brisk were playing who we were all excited about seeing.We didn’t have too much of a big night as we had to pace ourselves to last all week.
Tuesday June 16
Out and about during the way we found a club that offered free drinks all night when you paid 8 Euros for girls and 10 for boys entry. We bought tickets to that as a beer at the HTID venue (in a small post mix cup, think maccas style) was 4.50 Euro ($9 Au).
At 5pm Steve, Shelley, Luke, Rosie and I headed to the first of the foam parties.The first hour they didn’t turn the foam on but at the start of the 2nd hour they pumped heaps of foam from a massive foam cannon into the crowd. All of the lighting gear etc was bagged up.It was so much fun, we were up the back where we had room to move and the foam was thicker.Cally Gage and Hixxy played the 2 sets that made up the foam party.
Then we headed to the club with the free drinks that we’d bought tickets to.After drinks I decided not to go out and went back to the hotel and crashed. Steve stayed on with Shane and Pia (who didn’t make it to the foam party but met us out later) until close though and saw Squad-E, Al Storm, Ramos, Seduction and Dougal.
Wednesday June 17
Everyone got up and went to the water park – I didn’t feel like going so I stayed back.We had been made to think the party was running there that day but it wasn’t – it was just discounted entry that day for party goers (a measly 2 Euros cheaper).
When they got back we went to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. The water goes from shallow to deep quickly and the sand is more like little pebbles and quite rough.The surf was a little rough and so good fun.
We went to a cocktail bar right on the beach that served massive cocktails. Every bar in Llorett De Mar was cranking hardcore due to the massive numbers of tourists there for HTID.The cocktails were about ½ a litre to a litre, but for an extra 5 Euros you could upgrade to 2 litres. I had an Alexandra (Brandy, Tia Maria and cream) and it was really strong. Suffice to say we got off to an early that that day :P
DJs we saw that night that were good were Gammer and Darren Styles. Steve and I left half way through Darren Styles.
Thursday June 18
We went to another bar for drinks before HTID then headed in to see Joey Riot (awesome set) then Robbie Long and Sy closing. Steve, Shelley, Luke and Rosie went home early and Shane Pia and I stayed specifically to see Sy. He was the set of the event for me so I was glad we stayed.I stayed up with Shane and Pia for a little while back at the hotel before heading to bed for the afternoon.
Friday June 19
I got up for dinner and went back to bed again. I met back up with everyone out at about 1am. Shane and Pia hadn’t surfaced yet but we ran into them later.I wanted to see Supreme and Force but the boys didn’t so I only watched them for about 20 minutes before going up to see Hixxy’s dnb set and then Kevin Energy in the side rooms.We went outside after that and at about 3.30-4 Steve went inside and left me outside, and they stopped letting people back in to the venue, so I sat outside by myself for 2 hours until it closed and they came looking for me. They came out and left without me also, they assumed I had gone home.Apparently Dougal and Breeze closing were awesome. So my night was pretty shitty all in all but everyone else had a good time.
Saturday June 20
Went to the beach again today.Water was calm and no so fun and also lots of floating rubbish.So we didn’t swim for long.Rosie, Shelley and I went back to the cocktail bar for 2 litre cocktails before heading back to the hotel. Someone reminded us about the other foam party which we’d forgotten about, so we headed down there about 6.15 and the foam was already going by then. It was just the 3 of us still as everyone else was asleep.Rosie left early so it was just Shelley and I but we had a ball.
We then went back and had dinner and got Steve and Luke and headed in to the free drinks deal again. We headed in to HTID to watch Gammers old skool set, then went back to the free drinks again. We went back to HTID main room for Joey Riot, Druid (95 anthems – and I re-lived my early rave days) and Sy closing again.Steve, Luke, Shelley, Rosie and I were all there until close, Shane and Pia never made it out.
Sunday June 21
Our final night of party had arrived. The lineup for the last night was huge. Shane and Pia had an early flight so they didn’t come out again and everyone else was too stuffed from the Saturday night to last very long.There was no way I was missing Tommy Knocker though, so I stayed by myself for him, Gammer, Slipmatt (old skool) and the start of Hixxy’s close.Slipmatt was awesome and was Tommy Knocker.My favourite sets for the party were Gammer on the Wednesday, Druid (95 anthems), Slipmatt (old skool), Sy on the Thursday closing and Tommy Knocker.
Monday June 22
We all left the hotel and headed back to Barcelona. We had booked beds at the Sants Jordi and Luke and Shelley came too to see if they had room for them also.They did... Steve cooked white wine and mushroom pasta again and we stayed up having a few drinks with some of the people in the hostel. I got to speak to Cate on Skype too, the line was really bad but I found out her friend Luke Mitchell had been stabbed to death in Melbourne around a month ago for breaking up a fight at a club – the guys that stabbed him got on a plane to Thailand the next day.I had met him a few times, but not for a long time.She wished me a happy birthday for later in the week.
Back to driving on the left side of the road, unlike the rest of Europe.
Taxi’s are a different type of car, with lots of space in the back.
You can tell where people are from by their accent – I can tell Liverpool and Birmingham apart :P
People in England don’t feel the cold. Their idea of a warm day is not mine. One of the little girls at the wedding said “I’m so hot poor a bucket of water on me!” I’d guess that it had hit about 25 degrees.
After Steve getting searched and also getting my Swiss army knife on as carry on, we flew to Liverpool. We were only going to the UK for Steve’s Cousin’s wedding. It was cheaper going to Liverpool and getting the train to Birmingham than to fly straight to Birmingham. We stayed in a hostel in Liverpool for 2 nights – the Everton Road Hostel which was well serviced and very cheap. The beds were by far the most comfortable hostel beds we’ve been in so we got 2 nights of good sleep. After our stuff up with the fares we were careful not to spend any money which we were in the UK, other than some clothes for David & Rebecca’s wedding.
Friday June 12
We got the train to Birmingham then on to Redditch where we met David & Rebecca – the couple to get married and Marcus and Jill – Jill being Steve’s Cousin who lives in Germany. They were just tying up the last few lose ends for the wedding. That night we all went out to the local pub to enjoy the carvery and a few beers. Steve’s aunty and uncle came to as well as the groomsmen.
Saturday June 13
We were staying with David at his place, Beccy had gone to stay with her mum but the groomsmen got ready at David’s place so we got to see the pre wedding stress kick in. Leigh (best man) and David were both very stressed. We had some breakfast before heading to the pub for a beer then on to the wedding. The wedding was out a nice old church, the scenery was very green and pretty. It was a traditional wedding and lasted about half an hour. The girls were late as one of the cars had gotten lost so we were waiting in the chapel for a while, David and Leigh of course looked even more stressed. After the ceremony was over we headed to the local golf club for the reception. The staff went out of their way to make sure none of the food would make me sick, which was nice. After the reception we headed back to David’s place which we had to ourselves which was nice after living dorm style for so long. PS Happy Birthday Jess!
Germany overview: No pictures this time as they seem to mess up the font types and sizes in the blog!
People speak lots of English very well. The people are very alternative: There are lots of punks, metal heads, Goths etc who dress extreme every day. There is a weird sense of fashion in Berlin. It’s very eclectic. There a ways for homeless people to make money legally. The hostels, in general are big and impersonal – the worst we’ve staying in in Europe. The first dog we saw in Germany was a German Shepherd. I found that extremely amusing for some reason :P The bike path network is extensive and lots of people ride places. Internet cafes are cheap.
Ruth favourite things: The whole of Berlin! Steve favourite things: Street art, Tresor Ruth disappointments: Leaving! Not getting to practice speaking more German. Steve disappointments: The hostels
Once they are healed Xavi said they will soften in colour, they are designed to be softer look that normal tatts. Will post some pics when they have settled down.
