Day 3 continued
Friday was good in the end. After walking round the main touristy area of Barcelona all day I was shattered. Eventually I found a nice enough looking restaurant. I ordered Asparagus and Brie as a starter followed by grilled lamb chops in a tomato sauce.
The Aspargus was good although there was a bit too much. I should have just ordered that as a main and I would have been happy. The lamb arrived and wasn´t very impressed. What should have been a sauce turned out to be two lightly grilled tomatoes. Never mind, at least it was cheap. By this time it was about 10 so decided to walk to the central plaza and see what was going on. Some sort of band was playing so watched that for a bit. Then go in a cab and went home to bed.
Day 4
Saturday was probably the hotest so far. I think it was about 28 degrees. Today I went down by the docks. It was quite nice with hundreds of yachts. I found a nice air conditioned coffee shop and stayed there for a bit.
http://moblog.co.uk/view.php?id=156593
One thing that i´ve really noted that the heat really effects your hunger. Apart from the meal the day before and the breakfasts i´ve hardly eaten at all. And i´ve never really fealt hungry. In fact this morning I couldn´t be bothered to grab a breakfast so didn´t bother and still don´t feel hungry now and it´s nearly 2pm. Something must be wrong...
I then sat in the sun for a bit by the main plaza listening to some bloke rant on in Spanish about one thing or another. I found a nice bar in the middle of nowhere had a couple of beers and then went home.
Today once it´s cooled down a touch i´m going to head to one of the beaches and perhaps try and get a little sunburnt. I´m not in the mood to wander around far today so hopefully I can just find a nice spot somewhere to read.
See you
My people call me the dude. I share my teachings in the passages below... (along with many typos, grammatical errors and lazy writing)
Sunday, 28 May 2006
Friday, 26 May 2006
Barcelona log 2
Day 3
Hola
Just walked from my hotel to the Museum of Contempory Art and it´s quite a treck. What can I say? Very contempory...
Tired now, so thought i´d update my log.
Last night was good, after much walking I eventually found a bar with the England B game on. Ended up chatting to this random Geordi character. He was over on business (it´s alright for some) to visit the Nissan factory. Managed to get to a tube and tried to get home. Leaving the tube I had no idea where my hotel was, so I decided to try and find it...
20 mins later I gave up and got a cab. The driver laughed at me but took me anyway. The ride cost €2. A one minute drive! Very funny though.
Not sure if I can hack the Spanish way of living though. They don´t start going out until 10 / 11. By that time i´d be smashed. I like the idea of siesta´s though. Lazy buggers!
Off to have another look for Ian...
Adios
P.S. I now know about 5 words in Spanish.
Hola
Just walked from my hotel to the Museum of Contempory Art and it´s quite a treck. What can I say? Very contempory...
Tired now, so thought i´d update my log.
Last night was good, after much walking I eventually found a bar with the England B game on. Ended up chatting to this random Geordi character. He was over on business (it´s alright for some) to visit the Nissan factory. Managed to get to a tube and tried to get home. Leaving the tube I had no idea where my hotel was, so I decided to try and find it...
20 mins later I gave up and got a cab. The driver laughed at me but took me anyway. The ride cost €2. A one minute drive! Very funny though.
Not sure if I can hack the Spanish way of living though. They don´t start going out until 10 / 11. By that time i´d be smashed. I like the idea of siesta´s though. Lazy buggers!
Off to have another look for Ian...
Adios
P.S. I now know about 5 words in Spanish.
Thursday, 25 May 2006
Barcelona log 1
The first of hopefully a series of logs for the beautiful city of Barcelona.
Day 1
My journey to the airport was uneventful but my first worry was when my luggage was getting weighed in. My smaller bag that was packed for two nights in Cologne weighed only 1kg less than my much bigger Samsonite bag that was packed for 7. What had I forgottenÇ (Can´t find question mark so am going to assume that this is itÇÇÇ).
I arrived at the airport a little early and the BA flight was delayed due to the bad weather (Ha, ha) for half an hour so just sat and read and watched lots of chavs with Luis Vouton bags walk by.
My flight eventually arrived in Barcelona at around 6pm local time and it was nice and warm with the sun shining, not a cloud in the sky. Good start.
I made the decision to use local transport rather than get a cab as it couldn´t possibly be that hard. Luck would have it I found it very easy to get near my hotel but handed in the towel soon after once I started wandering aimlessly around the city bags in tow and eventually got a cab.
With a mixture of me pointing at my map and making car steering wheel hand gestures I arrived at my hotel 5mins later and €5 lighter.
I was very pleased with my hotel room (I should be, it cost over 600 quid (another symbol I can´t find on this bloody keyboard).
Í was very tired at this point so decided that all I was going to do was have a wander around the local vicinity and maybe try and grab a little to eat. There are no bloody shops in Barcelona. Or at least there are none open at 10pm. Eventually I gave up and had to laugh at myself. I ended up going to a garage forecourt ´Alan PArtridge Travel Lodge esc´. I´d like to point out that my hotel wass much nicer than a travel lodge and was no where near a motorway.
I must brush up on my Spanish however as there´s only so far "I-o speak-o no-o Spanish-o" gets you. So far so good however.
Day 2
I got up around 9am and went down for my breakfast. It´s the most important meal of the day afterall, and if I don´t want another repeat of the Alan Partridge incident i´d better stock up. I was impressed, avery good spread...
In my meanderings the day before I stumbled across a tube so made my way there. I was heading towards the Gothic district on the off chance I would bumpinto Ian. As it turned out it was very sunny (again) so there where no goths around). Being very warm I had drank quite a bit of water, and by the time I got there was desperate. Looking around I saw my saviour. A home from home, Starbucks. And to add a special little touch I was asked for my name when I bought my coffee, when it arrived I had a personalised paper cup with my name on it. Lovely!
I plan on updating if and when I get a chance.
See you.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?id=4063
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=0042
Day 1
My journey to the airport was uneventful but my first worry was when my luggage was getting weighed in. My smaller bag that was packed for two nights in Cologne weighed only 1kg less than my much bigger Samsonite bag that was packed for 7. What had I forgottenÇ (Can´t find question mark so am going to assume that this is itÇÇÇ).
I arrived at the airport a little early and the BA flight was delayed due to the bad weather (Ha, ha) for half an hour so just sat and read and watched lots of chavs with Luis Vouton bags walk by.
My flight eventually arrived in Barcelona at around 6pm local time and it was nice and warm with the sun shining, not a cloud in the sky. Good start.
I made the decision to use local transport rather than get a cab as it couldn´t possibly be that hard. Luck would have it I found it very easy to get near my hotel but handed in the towel soon after once I started wandering aimlessly around the city bags in tow and eventually got a cab.
With a mixture of me pointing at my map and making car steering wheel hand gestures I arrived at my hotel 5mins later and €5 lighter.
I was very pleased with my hotel room (I should be, it cost over 600 quid (another symbol I can´t find on this bloody keyboard).
Í was very tired at this point so decided that all I was going to do was have a wander around the local vicinity and maybe try and grab a little to eat. There are no bloody shops in Barcelona. Or at least there are none open at 10pm. Eventually I gave up and had to laugh at myself. I ended up going to a garage forecourt ´Alan PArtridge Travel Lodge esc´. I´d like to point out that my hotel wass much nicer than a travel lodge and was no where near a motorway.
I must brush up on my Spanish however as there´s only so far "I-o speak-o no-o Spanish-o" gets you. So far so good however.
Day 2
I got up around 9am and went down for my breakfast. It´s the most important meal of the day afterall, and if I don´t want another repeat of the Alan Partridge incident i´d better stock up. I was impressed, avery good spread...
In my meanderings the day before I stumbled across a tube so made my way there. I was heading towards the Gothic district on the off chance I would bumpinto Ian. As it turned out it was very sunny (again) so there where no goths around). Being very warm I had drank quite a bit of water, and by the time I got there was desperate. Looking around I saw my saviour. A home from home, Starbucks. And to add a special little touch I was asked for my name when I bought my coffee, when it arrived I had a personalised paper cup with my name on it. Lovely!
I plan on updating if and when I get a chance.
See you.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?id=4063
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=0042
Wednesday, 24 May 2006
The Holiday begins..
I fly out to Barcelona today.
Next 5 days weather in London 14, 16, 16, 15, 16 degrees all wet
Next 5 days weather in Barcelona 25, 26, 26, 27, 27 degrees all sunny.
I did want to have a cheap holiday but it's already turned out quite expensive however.
£250 flights, £600 hotel. Just going to relax all week so hopefully won't spend too much.
Wish me luck.
Back next Wednesday, back to work, a week on Monday.
Next 5 days weather in London 14, 16, 16, 15, 16 degrees all wet
Next 5 days weather in Barcelona 25, 26, 26, 27, 27 degrees all sunny.
I did want to have a cheap holiday but it's already turned out quite expensive however.
£250 flights, £600 hotel. Just going to relax all week so hopefully won't spend too much.
Wish me luck.
Back next Wednesday, back to work, a week on Monday.
Friday, 19 May 2006
Holiday
40 mins left before I'm off on holiday for two whole weeks!!!
Haven't booked anything yet but i'll do that on Sunday / Monday.
Should be able to get a cheap deal somewhere nice.
See ya.
Haven't booked anything yet but i'll do that on Sunday / Monday.
Should be able to get a cheap deal somewhere nice.
See ya.
Tuesday, 16 May 2006
Possibility of another flatshare
I'm going for lunch on Thursday to discuss in more detail but it will be with a couple of friends from work. One of them I really get on with (Liz) and the other seems really nice and also came to Cologne with us so watch this space.
We haven't thought about an area yet but we should be able to get a really nice place and I'll still save money.
Nothing's confirmed yet but it's certainly another option.
We haven't thought about an area yet but we should be able to get a really nice place and I'll still save money.
Nothing's confirmed yet but it's certainly another option.
Indoor Golf
Last night I played indoor golf for the first time. I am so crap.
Basically you're in a booth and you smack golf balls at an overhead projector screen that is showing you where you are in the course. Very good graphics too.
In the hour slot, the 4 that where in my bay managed to complete two holes. And I finished with a superb 14 over par, i.e 25 shots. If you extrapolate that to the full course of 18 holes it would have taken me 9 hours and a mamouth 126 shots!
I think I'll keep my day job for the forseeable future.
Next week
Indoor skydiving
Basically you're in a booth and you smack golf balls at an overhead projector screen that is showing you where you are in the course. Very good graphics too.
In the hour slot, the 4 that where in my bay managed to complete two holes. And I finished with a superb 14 over par, i.e 25 shots. If you extrapolate that to the full course of 18 holes it would have taken me 9 hours and a mamouth 126 shots!
I think I'll keep my day job for the forseeable future.
Next week
Indoor skydiving
Monday, 15 May 2006
Cologne 2006
I went to Cologne for the weekend and had a great laugh. Very tired now but well worth it.
9 of us went in total. Seven from work and two girlfriends.
We arrived at 11pm (10pm UK time), and headed straight out to sample the Cologne nightlife. The first thing that was surprising was the beer glasses. They only served beer in 200ml glasses. The second was that you only ever paid at the end. The waitress simply marked your drink totals on a beer mat. Very useful if you often forget how much you've drunk. The girls went back to the hotel at 3, the men, all three of us stayed out till gone 5am and then staggered into a Burger King.
Saturday was good too, in the morning we had a leisurely wander around the city centre (1 million inhabitants) and then climbed up the city's cathedral. 509 steps to be precise! Quite an effort, but worth it as the view was quite something. We then grabbed some traditional German food, on the menu there was jellied pigs head, but I opted for the safe option and just had some sausage. We then moved on to a pub to watch the FA cup final.
What a game. Very exciting and nerve racking, almost on par with last years antics in the Champions League.
In the evening we went out for a Mexican meal before moving onto the student district. Again, lots of fun. Not quite as late however, only till approximately 3am.
On Sunday everyone was shattered so we ended up going to the chocolate museum before heading back to the hotel to collect our stuff. I eventually got back at a very tired 11pm, but it was all good fun.
Unfortunately I have a very busy week planned with work and play. Indoor golf tonight, out in Greenwich with old flatmates Tuesday, Champions League final on Wednesday, meal with work on Thursday and 'Dentist appointment' on Friday so I doubt I'll get a chance to recover before I go on holiday.
Wish me luck.
9 of us went in total. Seven from work and two girlfriends.
We arrived at 11pm (10pm UK time), and headed straight out to sample the Cologne nightlife. The first thing that was surprising was the beer glasses. They only served beer in 200ml glasses. The second was that you only ever paid at the end. The waitress simply marked your drink totals on a beer mat. Very useful if you often forget how much you've drunk. The girls went back to the hotel at 3, the men, all three of us stayed out till gone 5am and then staggered into a Burger King.
Saturday was good too, in the morning we had a leisurely wander around the city centre (1 million inhabitants) and then climbed up the city's cathedral. 509 steps to be precise! Quite an effort, but worth it as the view was quite something. We then grabbed some traditional German food, on the menu there was jellied pigs head, but I opted for the safe option and just had some sausage. We then moved on to a pub to watch the FA cup final.
What a game. Very exciting and nerve racking, almost on par with last years antics in the Champions League.
In the evening we went out for a Mexican meal before moving onto the student district. Again, lots of fun. Not quite as late however, only till approximately 3am.
On Sunday everyone was shattered so we ended up going to the chocolate museum before heading back to the hotel to collect our stuff. I eventually got back at a very tired 11pm, but it was all good fun.
Unfortunately I have a very busy week planned with work and play. Indoor golf tonight, out in Greenwich with old flatmates Tuesday, Champions League final on Wednesday, meal with work on Thursday and 'Dentist appointment' on Friday so I doubt I'll get a chance to recover before I go on holiday.
Wish me luck.
Friday, 5 May 2006
For all those 24 fans.
And i'm refering to the TV programme 24, not all of my 24 fans. As you all know there are far more than that.
FYI
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=DTGOGLBYDDW1TQFIQMFSFF4AVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2006/05/05/ukiefer.xml
FYI
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=DTGOGLBYDDW1TQFIQMFSFF4AVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2006/05/05/ukiefer.xml
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