http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Spain , Catalonia , Girona en-us Sat, 05 Dec 09 08:19:12 +0000 Sat, 05 Dec 09 08:19:12 +0000 The bus was an okay ride to the airport because we had a lot of extra room so we could have one person in each set of seats. It wasnrsquot until about 11pm that we made it to the airport in LondonStansted. We got to play the fun waiting game until 5am by sleeping in shifts. I was glad that it was just myself and Danielle on this trip mainly because the other girls who had invited themselve http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-420139.html Day 53 Easter MondayI finally arrived in Girona before 9am and stopped for a morning snack I now had 14hrs to kill before my bus would leave for the airport. My first port of call was to find a tourist info office and hopefully a placce to leave my bag. I managed to do both and by 10am I was backpack freeWith my map in hand I went out to explore the old city of Girona. I walked through the old wi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-405677.html I met Adva in my hostel. She and I instantly became friends. Adva is from Israel. She had been traveling around Europe alone for the last 5 months. We had decided to hop a train and spend a day exploring Girona. She and her family had visited there when she was young and her mother had suggested she go back. We had a great day. We relied on the locals to help us find our way into town. They laugh http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-368485.html I travelled to Girona on Monday which was an exhausting trip. I said goodbye to my landlady and hauled my suitcase into the rickety old lift and found myself back on the front doorstep bags and all my month in Barcelona finally over. Unfortunately a month's worth of notes essays and lesson plans has made my suitcase considerably heavier and it was with some difficulty that I navigated the metro http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-356905.html Hello FriendsThere is much to say as I have been away from the blog for many weeks.It has nowbeen over 2 months of living abroad and though I have had one bout of homesickness yesterday I saw my kittens over webcam aww times have been amazing and I have learned much about myself and what I am capable of the world and all its natural beauty and just how generous people are. Spaniards the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-348067.html Wow what an amazing trip to Spain Our whole group spent two weeks touring 6 different cities. We left October 2 and returned on the 16th of the same month you'll notice that I am slowly but surely catching up on these posts. We started off flying into Girona. Girona is a medium size city in the region of Catalonia. Catalonia has had it's own separate language for over 600 years though the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-342416.html Early Friday morning my fellow students and I lined up in front of Americarsquos finest Hard Rock Caf Barcelona and with North Face backpacks and Starbucks coffees in tow we climbed onto our bus and headed towards Costa Brava a region on the northern coast of Catalonia. In an attempt to link our trip with the world of academia our chartered bus ride up the coast had a historical theme and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-333307.html I spent one day here waiting for a transfer flight going to alghero sardinia. the city is quite charming and small enough so you can walk all around it easily in a few hours I think cause I left back to the airport earlier than I thought. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-322749.html A tourist area that feels like it's been used up and discarded. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-316968.html On Sunday the boys and I left Dave in Edinburgh to finish up his teaching gig we flew to Girona Spain in Catalonia North East which is not too far from the Pyrenees in France.We stayed at a new Express Holiday Inn in Salt a town on the outskirts of Girona. When we visited the nearby mall in search of dinner 730pm we were surprised to find all the shops closed. We inquired at the hotel de http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-300862.html I am going to continue on my car blog. I have got a few more pictures I would like you to see. Most of these pictures I took on top of double decker buses so they are slightly from above. The silver car is a souped up MG convertible they donrsquot have MG in the u s a . The black convertible is a Porsche boxter the black BMW is a m6 coupe. The smallish black one is a smart for fun.my favorite http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-300861.html Morning http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-285563.html Morning http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-285556.html The chaos and trauma of the last few days are now at an end for the time being anyway. We are back to the comforts of spare rooms and lounges on improvised beds and mattresses. Our good friend Julianne meets us at the port of Barcelona and without further ado we are in a train and heading for a smaller town called Girona. It is pretty to say the least but beginning to rain. This is good because http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-269296.html Alrighty So Lindo and I have a conference to see how would be the best way to get to Barcelona from Rome. We have a few options open to us we could go first class using our Eurail tickets during the day do an overnighter or go by sea. Both the rail options involve transfers which for English only incompetents makes us a bit nervous and there will be border checks too we are still smarting http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-267142.html After beating my self up at the Paris Beauvais Airport I finally got in a better mood and came to terms with my flight to Girona. Reflecting on it all I had a great time in Paris. I did actually want to go to the south of France first before I headed more south to Spain. I was eyeing Bayonne and Biarritz but ended up kinda feeling uncomfortable going to a small town by myself. Its a little http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-203878.html To see our route click on this link Our route for the 1st four weeksBarcelona and aroundWell with the few days in Tossa to familiarise ourselves with the workings of the campervan Monday morning came and we knew we better get going if we were to see any of Europe. First we had a rendezvous in Barcelona with our wedding photographer so south we drove stopping along the way to pick up a new batte http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-201841.html So my last couple of days in France were jam packed. There is so much to see and do in and around provence and I have to prioritise where I wanted to go. My friend Nina had recommended the villages of the Luberon Valley and as they are difficult to get to via public transport I took a half day bus tour.The tour was a great idea as it helped me get out into the countryside and see the Provence I wa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-192431.html Spain. I have been looking forward to this part of the trip the most. We woke up and headed out to a morning walk along the Roman fortress walls of the city. Great views from up there. Killer steps and a long trek but worthwhile. We met a nice couple from England on the way when we encountered a bit of a roadblock. Seems someone had locked one of the doors in the middle of the wall about halfway http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-184791.html I found this castle hotel by complete accident on the internet the other day so for kicks I emailed to see if they had any openings and sure enough they had two nights at a rate LESS than my not so fab hotel in downtown Barcelona. I booked it and off I went. My first road trip in Spain. Wyatt recommended ldquopepecars.comrdquo for the best rates on rental cars. All the guide books talk about http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-171416.html