Sugiton. Pronounced something like "sue-gzhee-tohn." Words cannot describe this place, for many reasons.
Sugiton is a little beach/inlet a little ways outside of Marseille. We were told we must go there because it is so beautiful, and it definitely is a gorgeous place. Very secluded. However, we were NOT prepared for the serious trek that was required to reach this little area of paradise. We put on our bathing suits and cover ups, flip flops, packed a bag with the essentials including some food and water, and got on the bus. 30minutes to end of the route, then we were told it was about a 45minute walk from the bus stop to get there. Ok, no problem.
We start this walk... it's through a national park, kinda mountainy, mostly rock/gravel path. Pretty nice. Very hot but a decent breeze. An hour into this hike, we are still not there. We can SEE the water, but have no idea how we are going to get there. At a few points, we thought we were really close or maybe only 10minutes away, but we just kept walkinggggg... we get to this point with a sign pointing that Sugiton is "down" this way. Here is where some rock-climbing/cliff-scaling skills would have come in reeaalll handy. Or at least some damn tennis shoes. haha, then we realized a family with two little boys just made this climb, plus we had already been walking for over an hour, so it was too late to turn back.
Some seriously scary moments and feeling physically defeated, but we finally made it to the water and rocks (not a sandy beach, just steep limestoney rocks). And what a sight it was... stunning. My dad would have loved this entire adventure, so I took lots of pictures of the entire journey.
We settled down on some rocks, but still weren't actually at the water. More climbing down steep rocks was required, but we made it. In flip flops and dresses, no less. The water was freezing, but again, we'd come too far not to get in and swim around. Clare even climbed up a rock and jumped off--so proud of her! :)
The walk back was easier in some ways because we knew exactly what to expect and it went a bit faster. But we didn't want to leave because we didn't want to have to make the walk back at all, haha. I think our legs were sore for 3 days after all this. Ridiculous.
Definitely worth it.
07 June, 2010
06 June, 2010
Bonjour! (5/6-June)
We made it to France with basically no problems. RyanAir was an adventure, and actually not nearly as bad as we had somewhat anticipated. They played a nice little tune with a congratulatory message to themselves when we landed and were 5minutes ahead of schedule. Good job.
So the airport at Marseille, now that we've flown in and out from there, makes a lot of sense. But when you fly in on a shit airline, it seems to be the worst airport ever because you are in a separate terminal with no view of the rest of the airport. Thank goodness we found some friendly people, who also had no idea where to go or what to do, but we managed to get ourselves taxis to take us into the city... 63Euro later (CRAP!), we arrived at the hotel. It was pretty nice--no complaints. The traffic in Marseille is pretttty insane... definitely saw some vespas on the sidewalk nearly running people over. Not much to do since we arrived on a Sunday and most things are closed, but we found a good place for dinner at least.
Took a tram tour up to Notre Dame de la Garde and WOW, the views of the city from up there are stunning. You could see everything. Walked around a lot, saw another Cathedral and the harbor... very relaxed atmosphere. The people seemed a lot more considerate, for whatever reason. And they love sailor-inspired things when it comes to fashion, so lots of stripes and knots and what not... the one thing we hated was that tons of people had these awful Birkenstocks on (not that Birkenstocks are all awful, but these particular ones were), and men and women were all wearing the same, white style of these shoes. Not a fan. But that's ok.
So the airport at Marseille, now that we've flown in and out from there, makes a lot of sense. But when you fly in on a shit airline, it seems to be the worst airport ever because you are in a separate terminal with no view of the rest of the airport. Thank goodness we found some friendly people, who also had no idea where to go or what to do, but we managed to get ourselves taxis to take us into the city... 63Euro later (CRAP!), we arrived at the hotel. It was pretty nice--no complaints. The traffic in Marseille is pretttty insane... definitely saw some vespas on the sidewalk nearly running people over. Not much to do since we arrived on a Sunday and most things are closed, but we found a good place for dinner at least.
Took a tram tour up to Notre Dame de la Garde and WOW, the views of the city from up there are stunning. You could see everything. Walked around a lot, saw another Cathedral and the harbor... very relaxed atmosphere. The people seemed a lot more considerate, for whatever reason. And they love sailor-inspired things when it comes to fashion, so lots of stripes and knots and what not... the one thing we hated was that tons of people had these awful Birkenstocks on (not that Birkenstocks are all awful, but these particular ones were), and men and women were all wearing the same, white style of these shoes. Not a fan. But that's ok.
05 June, 2010
Muy fucking bien. (4-June)
So on our 2nd to last night in Spain, a group of 5 British guys got put in the room next to ours. At first, we were annoyed because we had had the hostel floor to ourselves and when you are sharing a bathrooms with strangers, having none around is nice, haha. But it also makes meeting people really easy and fun. So we end up going out for dinner/drinks with these guys. They are hilarious and most of the night involved us making fun of each others' accents.
Let me just say... I am officially a person who can say I have partied all night long, till the sun came up, and then some. These guys were crazy and we were out until 7am or so. Awesome. Overall, a very fun time and a night Clare and I will definitely never forget. Not something I think I want to do again any time very soon, ha, but it was kinda about time I guess. They taught me a new drinking/chugging technique called "gumballing". Not very difficult, but apparently something very impressive to do in the UK.
Let's get to the title of this post. It is, in essence, the new and everlasting quote of the lives of Erin and Clare. So there is this guy in Malaga who "sings" for money in the streets, all day, every day. If you go there, you will see him. We named him Mozart. We had told the guys about him so they could keep an eye out, but when we went out to dinner with them our last night in the city, he showed up right by our restaurant! It was priceless... they even gave him a slow clap before his got started near our table. Now when I say this guy sings, what I mean is that he strains what vocal cords he has left, making a grunting rhaspy noise until it looks as though the veins in his neck are going to burst. Anyway, we all pitched in some coins to give to him for when he finished, and we were clapping and one of the guys said, "muy fucking bien" with a genuine intensity that was just too funny to truly explain. Clare and I loved it and have adopted the phrase wholeheartedly. She also got a GREAT video of Mozart, so maybe I can figure out how to post it on here or at least get it on facebook for anyone who is interested. It is a must-see.
All in all... Spain was muy fucking bien. On to France! :)
ps-- Bob & Keith: You guys always tell me the best cure for a hangover is another drink. I tried it. I can't believe I waited this long, haha, works like magic! I should have listened long ago!
Let me just say... I am officially a person who can say I have partied all night long, till the sun came up, and then some. These guys were crazy and we were out until 7am or so. Awesome. Overall, a very fun time and a night Clare and I will definitely never forget. Not something I think I want to do again any time very soon, ha, but it was kinda about time I guess. They taught me a new drinking/chugging technique called "gumballing". Not very difficult, but apparently something very impressive to do in the UK.
Let's get to the title of this post. It is, in essence, the new and everlasting quote of the lives of Erin and Clare. So there is this guy in Malaga who "sings" for money in the streets, all day, every day. If you go there, you will see him. We named him Mozart. We had told the guys about him so they could keep an eye out, but when we went out to dinner with them our last night in the city, he showed up right by our restaurant! It was priceless... they even gave him a slow clap before his got started near our table. Now when I say this guy sings, what I mean is that he strains what vocal cords he has left, making a grunting rhaspy noise until it looks as though the veins in his neck are going to burst. Anyway, we all pitched in some coins to give to him for when he finished, and we were clapping and one of the guys said, "muy fucking bien" with a genuine intensity that was just too funny to truly explain. Clare and I loved it and have adopted the phrase wholeheartedly. She also got a GREAT video of Mozart, so maybe I can figure out how to post it on here or at least get it on facebook for anyone who is interested. It is a must-see.
All in all... Spain was muy fucking bien. On to France! :)
ps-- Bob & Keith: You guys always tell me the best cure for a hangover is another drink. I tried it. I can't believe I waited this long, haha, works like magic! I should have listened long ago!
03 June, 2010
What day is it??
Ok, Clare and I seriously debated for a solid 15mins at dinner today as to what day of the week it is today... literally, we truly and honestly were clueless. No idea. So confused.
It was awesome.
If you haven´t had the chance to go on a trip where you DO NOT wear a watch and actually lost track of the days, you MUST do it. Talk about utter relaxation and simply enjoying where you are at the moment.
It was awesome.
If you haven´t had the chance to go on a trip where you DO NOT wear a watch and actually lost track of the days, you MUST do it. Talk about utter relaxation and simply enjoying where you are at the moment.
Loving España!
¡Hola! Spain is wonderful and Clare and I are really loving it! Malaga is great... lots of cafes, the beach is a short walk, lots of shopping. Basically, everything we need for a vacation! :) I think some people think we are crazy for staying in Malaga for this long, but we are happy and just enjoying every minute of it. It is not as busy a city as others, from what we hear, but we are not into the hustle and bustle of things right now anyway. We don´t even take a watch with us for most of the day. So liberating!! Definitely a huge change from the typically overscheduled lives we lead at home!
To back track for a second... we had plane problems and arrived here about 12hrs later than expected. Because of this, all of the information desks at the airport were closed, as we arrived after 10pm. And, for some reason, NO ONE else could offer us a city map! We got on the bus in a hurry after exchanging some money and decided to figure it out when we got to our stop. As we are looking for our street name on a map we found (mall style), a nice gentleman comes to ask where we are trying to find. He ended up helping us find the place, even calling the hostel to ask for directions because HE didn´t even know our street and he was a local guy! Yes, yes, we were very cautious and paying close attention to where we were going--no worries. But seriously, we would have NEVER found this place without his help. Clare and I decided that he was our first (and hopefully, only?) major miracle. AND... here´s some irony for you. We also decided he must have been sent our way because at just that moment, both of our bosses (both named Frank) must have been thinking about us... the guy helping us was also named Frank. RIDICULOUS. I´ve never known so many guys named Frank and all of a sudden, I know three! haha... lame, I know, but whatev.
Interesting tidbits:
1. Lots of people singing or playing the accordian for change... quite talented, in most cases. Besides one guy who ´´sings´´... I think we got a good video of him. Hilarious.
2. Business Hours. There are none? No rhyme or reason for a place being open or closed. Open during busy/lunch hours, and again for dinner... ok, this makes sense for Spain, but there is no uniformity to it. So confusing.
3. Banks. Only open until about 1-2pm! Lines are long... ALWAYS. And I haven´t seen a transaction of any kind take less than 5minutes. Also, if you want to sit rather than stand in line, you can and everyone will still acknowledge your place in line.
4. Restaurants. This seems to be hit or miss, but sometimes we have really fast service, and other times it takes 10-15mins to even get our drinks. At ´checkout´ time, we have had to ask for our check every single time. Not sure if that´s just how it goes here, or they just sit and mingle much longer than we are accustomed to.
5. Beaches, and fashion in general. People wear absolutely whatever they want. Everyone. It is not so matchy-matchy, and definitely not what people at home would consider body-type appropriate. They have no shame, and it´s kinda awesome.
6. People. Not the cheeriest folks I´ve run into... not much laughing or smiling in general. Unfortunate, because Clare and I are doing both of those things about 98% of the time, haha... some guy actually mocked us a couple night ago because we happened to be laughing as we walked past and he started cackling to make fun... he´s just jealous he wasn´t walking around with us. hahaha
Ok, that´s a lot for one post. Clare was just getting showered up and I thought I´d give anyone who reads this something to read! :) lol... hope all is well at home! We miss all of you and are always thinking of you. Oh, and if you don´t recognize us when we get back, it´s probably just because we´ll seem to have changed races, hahaha... soooo tan after just a few days. LOVE IT!! :)
To back track for a second... we had plane problems and arrived here about 12hrs later than expected. Because of this, all of the information desks at the airport were closed, as we arrived after 10pm. And, for some reason, NO ONE else could offer us a city map! We got on the bus in a hurry after exchanging some money and decided to figure it out when we got to our stop. As we are looking for our street name on a map we found (mall style), a nice gentleman comes to ask where we are trying to find. He ended up helping us find the place, even calling the hostel to ask for directions because HE didn´t even know our street and he was a local guy! Yes, yes, we were very cautious and paying close attention to where we were going--no worries. But seriously, we would have NEVER found this place without his help. Clare and I decided that he was our first (and hopefully, only?) major miracle. AND... here´s some irony for you. We also decided he must have been sent our way because at just that moment, both of our bosses (both named Frank) must have been thinking about us... the guy helping us was also named Frank. RIDICULOUS. I´ve never known so many guys named Frank and all of a sudden, I know three! haha... lame, I know, but whatev.
Interesting tidbits:
1. Lots of people singing or playing the accordian for change... quite talented, in most cases. Besides one guy who ´´sings´´... I think we got a good video of him. Hilarious.
2. Business Hours. There are none? No rhyme or reason for a place being open or closed. Open during busy/lunch hours, and again for dinner... ok, this makes sense for Spain, but there is no uniformity to it. So confusing.
3. Banks. Only open until about 1-2pm! Lines are long... ALWAYS. And I haven´t seen a transaction of any kind take less than 5minutes. Also, if you want to sit rather than stand in line, you can and everyone will still acknowledge your place in line.
4. Restaurants. This seems to be hit or miss, but sometimes we have really fast service, and other times it takes 10-15mins to even get our drinks. At ´checkout´ time, we have had to ask for our check every single time. Not sure if that´s just how it goes here, or they just sit and mingle much longer than we are accustomed to.
5. Beaches, and fashion in general. People wear absolutely whatever they want. Everyone. It is not so matchy-matchy, and definitely not what people at home would consider body-type appropriate. They have no shame, and it´s kinda awesome.
6. People. Not the cheeriest folks I´ve run into... not much laughing or smiling in general. Unfortunate, because Clare and I are doing both of those things about 98% of the time, haha... some guy actually mocked us a couple night ago because we happened to be laughing as we walked past and he started cackling to make fun... he´s just jealous he wasn´t walking around with us. hahaha
Ok, that´s a lot for one post. Clare was just getting showered up and I thought I´d give anyone who reads this something to read! :) lol... hope all is well at home! We miss all of you and are always thinking of you. Oh, and if you don´t recognize us when we get back, it´s probably just because we´ll seem to have changed races, hahaha... soooo tan after just a few days. LOVE IT!! :)
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