Correfoc This is another Catalan “tradition” that will really have the health and safety people worried. I first saw this as part of the La Mercè festival but I think it happens during several other festivals. Correfoc literally means “fire run”. People dress up in “devil” costumes, dance to the bands of drummers and run through the crowds of spectators letting off fireworks. Other groups of people make large “monsters” which are also armed with fireworks which are fired into the watching crowds. I came across Correfoc at first when exploring the La Mercè festival. I came across a children's version of the parade. This is the “safe”, watered down version of the event that is consider... read more

Arriving In Barcelona Off To Barcelona Things worked out quite well. My career as a grape picker was very brief {one day!}. But two days after getting the sack the job offer from Barcelonacame through. Everything then went into a panic. I had a few days to get back to England, sort out lots of loose ends, get my house in a fit state to rent out and get myself to Barcelona in time to start teaching. Fortunately lots of friends help me out and I find myself flying out to Barcelona on the Sunday afternoon ready to be in the classroom on the Monday morning. I fly out with "BMI Baby Fly Extra" which I guess is there is their equivalent of business class. Who knew that BMI Baby had a business class?? I've only ... read more

Back To Beaune I'm returning to Beaune after a couple of years. My friends Nick and Anne have been living here for the last three years. Sadly they are having to return to the UK soon so this is one last visit before they leave. I am again visiting at the time of the Vendange, the annual wine harvest. The grapes in the area around Beaune are all picked by hand so at this time of year there is a lot of casual work available and a lot of people come into the area looking for work. This year we are fairly optimistic that one of Nick and Anne's friends has been able to arrange some work for the three of us. Le Shuttle Because I'm likely to be ... read more

Strasbourg – The Tescos of Europe Waitrose or Lidl? As you drive into Strasbourg the signs welcome you to “ le Carrefour de l’Europe”. As an ignorant foreigner I only know Carrefour as a major French supermarket chain. “Carrefour” actually means “crossroads” which is one way of describing the fact that France and Germany spent years fighting over Alsace before Strasbourg rediscovered itself as one of the first “European” cities. The Alsatians {literally} seem to be quite happy just being Alsatians – the area has quite a lot of autonomy within France and even has a different social security system than the rest of France. Strasbourg I have a couple of days in Strasbourg and my host and guide, Kati, has taken some time off wo... read more

Venice Ministry of Misinformation The journey from Ljubljana to Venice ought to be an easy one; it’s a relatively short distance and I expect there to be a number of train and bus connections. However the information desks at the bus station and the train station do their best to make it difficult. On my first trip to the bus and train stations I am told that the only train is at 2a.m. and that the only bus is at 5a.m. Just as I’d resigned myself to an evening on the station platform I learn from a chance conversation with a couple of people staying at the hostel that they are taking a bus to Venice at about 8a.m. I return to the bus station and am told that there is indeed a bus at 8:15! ... read more

Bled Sunday 24th April The small town and lake at Bled are very picture postcard. I’m trying to meet up with Martyn here who is Inter-railing with some friends across Europe in the opposite direction. We’ve arranged to try and meet up in Bled today. The journey from Ljubljana is again quite easy. There is a bus every hour and the journey takes about 80 minutes. Most bus fares in Slovenia seem to be around the €6 mark. The bus passes through quite a few picturesque villages on the way but it is Bled that seems to pull the tourists in with its location by the lake, its castle perched on top of a cliff, and the island-with-a-church in the middle of the lake. I manage to find Martyn and his friends {I don’t know how ... read more

Postojna Monday 25th April url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereissteve/5784048584/" title="The Caves At Postojna by WhereIsSteve, on Flickr"img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5023/5784048584_a8cae7a495.jpg" width="425" height="350" alt="The Caves At Postojna" align = right The caves at Postojna are one of the largest cave systems in Europe. It’s a limestone cave system with more than 20km. of spectacular caverns of stalactites and stalagmites. They are well worth a visit. A couple of people from the hostel where I’m staying in Ljubljana have done all the work in finding out how to get there and back so I cheekily invite myself along. Getting there is actually quite easy from Ljubljana. {Getting to most places in Slovenia is quite easy – it’s a small country with good transport links}. There are... read more

Ljubljana – The Only Capital City I Can’t Pronounce Sunday 24th April Today I say goodbye to Emma and Jo as they have to return home and go back to work. url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereissteve/5819211633/" title="First Sight Of Ljubljana by WhereIsSteve, on Flickr"img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5106/5819211633_4bafeb1177.jpg" width="467" height="385" alt="First Sight Of Ljubljana" align=right I still have another week until I have to start work and I want to avoid all the hype of the Royal Wedding back home. I head North through Slovenia towards Venice. There’s a train every day from Rijeka up to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Sanja has done all the research for me and we’ve been to collect the ticket the previous day. I have bad memories of train journ... read more

Triesting Times Three Countries In One Day url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereissteve/5821439446/" title="With Miki And Doris by WhereIsSteve, on Flickr"img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2388/5821439446_d3d07acf46.jpg" width="411" height="428" alt="With Miki And Doris" align=right The hospitality being shown us in Croatia continues. Sanja’s brother, Miki, and his girlfriend, Doris take a day off to take us to Trieste in Italy. This involves travelling from Croatia, through a corner of Slovenia, and into Italy. There are good quality roads all the way. There has been a lot of road building in recent years but there’s also a lot of toll stations to pass through to help pay for it. Miki is also very careful to keep to the speed limits in Slovenia – both him and Sanja have to... read more

Sex On The Beach Dobiti Sobu! We are very lucky to have an apartment to ourselves just a short walk from the beach. On the Wednesday we decide to spend the morning on the beach. It’s not a particularly sandy beach but it seems to be the best beach in the Rijeka area. This is where people come in the summer and we’re told it gets very busy. It’s still quite early in the year, the sea is still quite cold {We’re not brave enough to go too far into the cold water} and we almost have the beach to ourselves. The only other people on the beach are the couple who are apparently having sex on the opposite side of the beach. {OK. I’ve deliberately called this page “Sex On The Beach” to see if ... read more