Initial Impressions on Athens

It’s a little different to Barcelona to put it mildly!

Perhaps it has something to do with me being there at a weekend, or perhaps it is just the city itself, but Athens presents a totally different backdrop for my next few days stay than Barcelona.
Not, despite my Yorkshire upbringing, that I am intimidated by the change.

One dramatic thing you notice straight away is the pace of the country. I read that Greeks were supposed to be quite a laid back people, but in Athens that philosophy seems to be out of the window. Everywhere I look something is happening. If ever there was no place for an insomniac, it seems like this little section of Greece would be hugely unsuitable.
There are people gathered in shops, bars and restaurants, there’s an insane amount of traffic on the road and you can just sense the busyness of each and every person that you come across.

Luckily I managed to print off a map to find the hotel where I am staying, but that didn’t make it any easier. Thankfully I am now here and can begin to enjoy my stay in the Ancient city.

On the Move Once Again..

Waking up to face another day after the enjoyment of my appointment with Barcelona yesterday evening, you can imagine I was very much not impressed by having to wake up at 7.00am to begin my travels to Athens.

I figured that I would have some breakfast and then beginning travelling on my way to the airport to catch my flight at 11.30am.

Things turned out slightly differently.

Now let me say this first of all. I was slightly puzzled on Friday when briefly checking my emails before heading down to St Neots I had an email from Vueling Airways to confirm my flight. Bear in mind that I happened to stumble across this email having gone into my junk mail, and just about every detail in the message seemed from my destination, to the time, and including my name being spelt with one ‘l’.

I was slightly puzzled by this but my mum re-assured me that the card which paid for the trip had only been charged once, so instead I concentrated on enjoying my time off rather than what appeared to be a phony email.

Having let myself down by not getting up for the hotel breakfast yesterday morning (Sunday) I was rather glad to have stayed in bed for those extra few hours as that the hotel constituted as a breakfast (it’s free remember –not complaining) was rather less than I expected. Some small pastry type biscuits and a cup of hot chocolate was all that I found waiting for me in the empty reception lobby, not sure if it was the time or the quantity of what was available that put the rest of the hotel guests off.

Anyway, at least I had a little something and was now ready to hit the open road to Barcelona Airport.
I was pretty wary that setting off at 8am, I was likely to be travelling at the same time of the majority of commutors who travel from the area I was staying into the city, so I braced for the worst.
Aside from avoiding one tram this morning, and being able to catch one two minutes later I have to admit that it was a relatively successful journey to the airport with few hitches.

It was from there that things started to go wrong.

Making my way across the airport terminal on a bus to the departures lounge of Barcelona airport I looked, as you do, on the departures board for my flight. Staring at the electronic messages for a few minutes (as if that was going to help) I was rather disturbed not to find my listed on there.

Waltzing over to the Vueling Airways desk, the woman behind the desk serving me immediately picked up the phone after talking to herself for a little while and clearly struggling to find my booking, and before too long it became clear that something wasn’t quite right.
I was shunted from her to another lady who made another phone call and then informed me that the flight I was booked on had actually flown yesterday (Sunday 20^th) at the same time and asked if I had been informed via email.

From there she instructed me to speak to the Vueling Customer Services department which was in another part of the airport and the person who dealt with me there said that the flight had actually been cancelled on 14^th January and that I should have received an email to confirm that happening.
Considering I check my emails everyday, unless another message from them on the date they gave me had landed in my junk mail box (which I rarely check) then I hadn’t been informed.

My initial idea was just to get a flight back to England, but I decided against cutting my losses in this instance and headed back to the departures board. I managed to find another flight with a different airline that was setting off that afternoon and made a beeline for their customer services.

Thankfully I was able to book on a flight to Athens which set off at 12.15pm this afternoon so after all that a disaster was avoided. Due to the last minute nature of the flight that I booked, there wasn’t much sitting around in the lounge before coming here, and it was a case of getting myself a quick sandwich and finding my departure gate.

I was relieved to discover that unlike Easyjet’s budget decision making to cut the frills out of flying, there was food on this plane and I tucked into some rather nice pasta for my lunch before naturally falling asleep.
For once, however, I didn’t sleep through landing, and my eyes opened just in time to see the terrific view out of the window that appeared to be Athens.
The sea around the outside was a fantasy greeny-blue whilst there seemed to be hills and mountains almost everywhere you looked.

Once disembarking the plane and having to wait until 2^nd last to get my back, I was rather alarmingly stopped by the ‘airport police’ and questioned about my visit. I presume that the check was just done at random, maybe they don’t take too kindly to solo visitors from Barcelona.
No idea, but I didn’t take it personally, and eventually I was on my way again looking for the Metro Line to make my way into Athens itself.

Spending a few minutes looking around the airport I couldn’t actually find a clear sign or anything which said ‘Metro’ on it, so I just followed the signs for trains and busses. As it turns out I had actually headed the right way and in the same place as the suburban train was the metro service. I had my direction written down and it was as simple as just buying one ticket and then heading to where I needed to go.

The ride from the airport to my first stop, Syntagma, was about an hour long, and just like in London if you reach the outside bits like Southfields where I used to live, it’s more overground than underground. Once you get into the city it turns more into a metro and the stops become more frequent. At Syntagma I had to change from the ‘Blue Line’ to the ‘Red Line’ and then just another two stops down the line and I was at my destination.

With the experiences of Barcelona in my head, I contemplated getting a taxi, but looking at the state of the traffic and also the distance to my hotel, I decided to walk it following the careful directions I had written down. It took about five minutes on foot through the busy city streets and eventually I turned up at my hotel at about 6.15pm local time

The travelling has once again drained me and I doubt that I will be participating in many activities this evening except sleeping and eating. Such activities will prepare me just fine for tomorrow of course when I begin exploring Athens.

An Audience with Barcelona

SPENDING an enjoyable day in the city was all I needed to get me in the mood for the evening’s entertainment as last night (Sunday) was the big night on holiday for me as I travelled to the Nou Camp to watch Barcelona play Athletic Bilbao in La Liga.

Having managed to navigate the tight streets of Barcelona to pick up my tickets earlier in the day, I was extraordinarily enthusiastic to make my way to the stadium to watch the game. I have been to the Camp Nou before for a stadium tour, but that was in the daylight and without 120,000 other people surrounding me.
The atmosphere for a night game was bound to be special as thousands upon thousands of Catalans hoped that Barca could put their nightmare against Arsenal behind them and returning to winning ways against the team lying in 5^th place.

Real Madrid had won the previous day and therefore it was even more important for Barcelona to win their game in hand and maintain the gap at the top of La Liga. All throughout the day I had been seeing people wearing shirts and scarves of the famous club, it is something unlike I have seen anywhere else around the world if I am honest.

When you walk the streets of Liverpool or Manchester, there is always a divide in the number of blue and red shirts you will see, the same in London where there is no corrolation between the colour of the shirt and the teams which play in the city. Espanyol also play in Barcelona but I have a feeling that they are massively outnumbered by the fanatical support that the city’s ‘main’ club possess, and that was on show throughout the day.

After grabbing some dinner (and causing indigestion by waffling down a pizza and some potato wedges) I headed back on the route I had taken sometime earlier to each the Metro where I would be able to board and swiftly travel to ‘Les Corts’ which is one of five stops around the Nou Camp, and the closest one located to my seat.

Boarding the tram it was pretty clear that plenty of other people had the intention to watch Barcelona play this evening, and as we passed bars and restaurants on the street there were plenty of blue and red clad fans preparing for the game. I exited at ‘Zona Universitad’ and headed to the Metro where I was quite surprised to not see about a million people trying to do the same thing. ‘Zona’ is right at the end of the ‘Green Line’ in Barcelona so therefore it was an empty train for me to climb on, but even as we got to a couple of stations before my stop, there were no more than a few people on the train with me.

Once I got to my destination and headed out of the station, it was pretty obvious that I was not going to enjoy this experience alone. The streets were lined with people, and I hardly needed a map and a compass to lead me to the Stadium. The Nou Camp is pretty subtle as football stadiums go, of course it is massive, and can hardly blend in with the background, but from the angle I attacked it, it’s pretty hidden behind the apartment blocks before shining like a beacon, there is is in front of you.

By this point, I was thrilled to be in range of something I have seen on television so often, and that is the most recognizable stadiums in world football. I always get a special sense of anticipation when I visit a football ground and particularily when I go to watch Arsenal, but this was totally different.

Lining the streets there were plenty of souvenier stalls and people offering snacks and drinks in preperation for the game. I was to enter through ‘Zona 19’ which is basically the outside gate that you have to travel to before getting into the stadium. I walked around for a bit, just soaking in the atmosphere, and as there was more than half an hour to the game, I realised this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Next I was to navigate where I was to head to next, and as I walked around I eventually found ‘Enter 50’ which was the turnstile that I was to head through. Entering there I was confronted by a large number of stairs which wound their way up to my seat. I climbed up, and up, and up, and up, stopping off at each level to gain a measure of the teriffic view which waited me before eventually arriving at ‘Block 526’ which is where my seat was located.

Like a mischevious teenager on his first trip to the cinema with his girlfriend, I was located somewhere in the back few rows. By this point it made no difference to me as I was about to achieve a dream. Just as I stepped out to look over the beautiful view of the arena below, the Barcelona team came out to a teriffic applause from their supporters. I did the tourist thing and took a few pictures before deciding it was about time to find my seat and settle in for the match.

Rows at the Nou Camp go between 1 and 40 on each tier of the ground. I was in top corner of the highest tier about eight rows from the back and after some struggles to find my seat (for some reason the even numbers go one way and the odds go the other, so if you go with a friend and you’re in seat ‘2’ and they are in ‘4’ you’re actually next to each other) I found row 32 seat 16 and watched on as the Barcelona starting eleven was announced and began warming up in front of me.

More excited than a child on Christmas Eve or a teenager the day before their 18^th birthday, I was pretty overwhelmed by exactly what I was witnessing meters from my face. Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, they were all there, with the rest of the squad, and at the other end of the pitch, a team overachieving well in La Liga with a top class Spanish international in their ranks.

By this point, my camera was going into overdrive. I was taking pictures of pretty much everything, including a small bunch of Athletic supporters who were right at the back of the ground next to a giant scoreboard. I wondered if they could see, or even be heard down on the pitch from up there.

As the players headed back to the changing room for what I presume were final instructions, several Barcelona youth teams came out on the pitch to warm applause as I waited with bated breath for the sides to come out.
Greeted by what I can only presume is the Barcelona ‘Anthem’ (of which I know one word “Barca, Barca, Barca”, or does that count as three) the players were roared on by the enthusiastic crowd, clearly waiting to be entertained by their team.

Having watched Barcelona several hundred times on TV, I knew exactly what to expect, and straight from the off, the home side began to get into their passing rhythm. It didn’t take long for the first goal of the match, a good cross from Pedro on the left was headed back by Dani Alves to Villa who slotted the ball home to make it 1-0.

The rest of the half was pretty much spent admiring the play of Barcelona. Messi (of course) and Pedro, were the stars of the show, though I did admire the way in which Iniesta and Xavi kept the midfield ticking over. Some of Barcelona’s passing movements are quite, for want of a better word, ridiculous. The second part of the half was basically attack against defence as Barca tried to walk the ball into the net, they came closest to doing this when Villa hit the crossbar with a sublime chip from a tight angle.

At the half time interval, I decided to go all the way to the back of the ground and take some pictures of not only the stadium, but the superb view which you get from the concrete wall at the back of the tier I was in.
Before I knew it, we were back to the action, and most surprisingly of all Athletic scored and found themselves back in the game.

Some sloppy passing at the back for Barcelona saw Pique commit a foul in the penalty area, allowing Athletic to score with only their second shot on target of the game. Pique was lucky not to be sent off a few moments later when he took out an Athletic player who was running clear on goal. I think the angle the player was coming in on goal prevented the Spanish World Cup winner being sent off to be honest, it was a pretty blatant shirt tug and he “took one for the team” as they say.

As the half wore on, Barcelona got their rhythm back together and only their final passes were letting them down and preventing them from scoring. Messi was denied an obvious penalty after being taken out by two defenders. The move that led up to it was magical as he body sweved three times in the same direction but took on a defender each time, just before he was about to score, two players sandwiched him and somehow the referee didn’t award a penalty.

By this point, Barca fans were getting pretty frustrated with the officials, the white hankies were out everytime a decision didn’t go in their favour, and on the pitch Guardiola changed things to move Busquets from left-back to central midfield. The previously felled Messi got revenge on the spiteful defenders who knocked him to the ground as Villa crossed from the right allowing Messi to get in front of his defender and best the goalkeeper for 2-1.

As soon as Barca scored, that knocked the stuffing out of Athletic and it was quite clear there was only going to be one winner.
The final whistle blew to great applause from the crowd, and I was kinda sad that my experience in the Nou Camp were coming to an end. To ensure that I made the most of my time being there, I decided not to sweep out with the crowds who headed for the streets, but stopping in the stadium for a little I was able to reflect on what a great experience it was to be watching such a talented team in such a fantastic arena.

As I headed out of the ground, I was on a bit of a high (metaphorically and physically) and all I could see for yards around were queues and queues of people heading home from the game. Where there had been cars, motorbikes and busses before the game, there were now Barcelona fans as the traffic tailed back towards the metro station where I arrived.
Even though I appeared to be going in the opposite direction to most of the Barcelona fans on the way to the game, I decided not to even bother trying to wait in the queue at Les Corts and I spied quite a few people obviously walking onto the next closest station.
After about a twenty minute walk I found my way to Saints Estacio, arriving just in time to catch one of the last few metros out of the city. Once I got back to ‘Zona’ there was a bit of a wait for the tram back to the hotel, but still all around me seemed to be Barcelona fans.

Even as I walked back to my hotel there was a couple of people clad in scarves and shirts of the famous Catalan team.

I don’t think I have ever had a night like Sunday at the Nou Camp, and I’m pretty sure that as long as I live, I will never experience another football related moment that meant quite as much as that to me.
I loved every second of my time in the stadium and watching the game took my enjoyment of football to another level. I look forward to the next great experience that I can share with many others whilst enjoying ‘the beautiful game.’

La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell as a Starter....

Ola, as they say in Barcelona (or as I say very badly in my poor attempts at Spanish!)

Just a shortish update on my day in the Catalan capital so far. After last night's efforts to fight the tiredness and stay awake to watch the end of the football, there was no chance of me getting out of bed early this morning. Not even a free hotel breakfast could persuade me otherwise.

It's really confusing at the moment, I know there is only one our time difference between Barcelona and GMT but my watch is so difficult to change that I haven't bothered to do so, and this computer is also still on UK. The only thing which has been altered is my barely used phone, so I have spent most of the day working out what time it is, and where I need to be when.

As I eventually woke this morning, I was delighted to discover that it has stopped raining right outside of my window and the city looked rather sunnier this morning. Forgetting my coat as I walked out of the hotel, I was rather worried but I have managed to stay dry the whole day without having to dive for cover if the heavens opened.

I was still trying my best to find the best route into the main part of the city as last night I did cop out and get a taxi. This morning, being Sunday, after walking past a few shops I realised that as the city of the siesta, there was a large chance that busses weren't running a long schedule and also that the metro is virtually inaccessible by foot.

At first I was just going to wait for a bus and then got it to drop me off at the nearest metro station, but fearing the language barrier I avoided that option and started heading towards the busier part of where I am staying. En-route to working out what I was going to do, I spied the tram rail that I had crossed last night whilst getting some dinner and as it had an automated ticket machine I figured that might be a wise choice.

Indeed it was as once I'd managed to figure out the English setting, a tram turned and off I was headed to the closest station I could find. The tram map is actually quite good because it shows you where the metro station is in relation to the train track, and although two stops closer than the one I chose had metro stations, they both seemed like a bit of a walk, so I bottled that and headed for the one which was right next to the track.

My first mission of the day was to pick up my tickets to watch Barcelona this evening, in fact, scrap that, my first mission of the day was to find food! But after I had achieved that I knew the vague direction I had to be going in to pick up my tickets for the Nou Camp tonight. Unlike when I printed off the directions to my hotel, I actually printed off a map, but don't be under the illusion that it made it any easier for me to find where I was going.

Once I was off the metro I began looking for the name of the street I needed to be heading down, and of course once I'd found that street, I started heading in the wrong direction down it! The main problem was that I basically came out in the middle of a roundabout and had several streets all with similar names to chose from. None of them were exactly clearly signposted either so eventually realising the error of my ways, I used my scouting skills to map read and try and point myself in the right direction. Once again that failed miserably so I re-adjusted and third time lucky came upon the street I was looking for.

Smoothly I managed to navigate down the street I was supposed to be looking to find this ticket office, I was thinking it would be a relatively big facility, as having picked up tickets to a game in Sweden before I was thinking that it would perhaps be a souvenier shop where I could collect the tickets and me on my way.

Sadly it wasn't that simple, and after a frustrated half an hour circling the block to see if I could find this place, I somehow stumbled upon the address of the ticket office and found that, much to my surprise, it was basically at the top of an office block.

When I got up there, after being let in my the manager I picked up my tickets, the two guys who seem to run the business (I'm guessing that by the various bits of Barcelona memorabilia around their office) explained where I needed to be and I headed off to find myself something to eat. Being a bit of a wuss, and not being in the mood to really struggle to find food, I stopped at Burger King which I saw around the corner and thought I would eat my lunch there.

Doing so proved to be a wise decision as this might have been the flashiest, upbeat Burger King I have ever been in. Once again, as in Korea, I am astounded by the fact that people working in such places can speak a level of English, that my Spanish, despite studying is nowhere near.

Heading to my next destination back on the metro I decided to pick myself up a two-day metro card which can be used on the bus, tram, train or metro to save myself some money and went in the direction of 'La Sagrada Familia'.

I wouldn't say personally that Barcelona has any outstanding landmark, but thanks to the advice of my mum I chose to visit this gothic cathedral, as is the closest thing to the Eiffel Tower/Leaning Tower of Pisa that Spain has.

Were I able to attach pictures to this blog at the moment, then I would be able to show you the place I am talking about, until then, you will have to do a google search to prove that it does actually exist! It's basically a cathedral, I believe designed by Gaudi and once described by Oscar Wilde as "the most hidious thing I have ever seen."

It's original put it that way, no building I have ever seen before looks like it with things sticking out all over the place and a set of very tall spires which seem to go on forever and ever. Walking out of the metro station, the cathedral is right in front of you, but at the moment it seems that because it's not peak tourist season at the moment, some facets of the monument aren't exactly looking their best.

From my photos you'll be able to see that there's quite a bit of scaffolding attached to the building itself and there's also no access to the lifts at the moment, which take you to the top of the spires, and basically give you the best view. I walked around inside and took a few photos which was good, but I am disappointed that I didn't get the opportunity to go right up to the top and see pretty much the whole of Barcelona.

I did have a little walk round the edge of the building however and see about a million gift shops which were selling merchandise, not only to do with the cathedral but also Barcelona itself. Being a shameless tourist, I walked through a few and saw what they were selling before eventually deciding to settle on a few postcards for people back home and little else.

With time ticking on into the afternoon, I decided to move on to Park Guell which is pretty close by. Park Guell is another very little known attraction in Barcelona but after spending nearly three hours there I would highly recommend a visit should the opportunity arise. Again, created by Gaudi, the park is a hybrid of a maze (not sure they intended it that way) and a walking tour which allows you to climb up the hill it is based on and get some great views of the rest of the city and out to the coastline of the country.

As I said it was a bit a maze but walking through the entrance it reminded me of DisneyWorld as people flock to have their photo taken next to the tiled statues which were built there. Right at the opening gates of the park there are two what I can only describe as gingerbread houses which mark the entrance and make it pretty stand out for those who can see it walking down the street.

From the subway stop it was about a ten minute walk, but I just followed the crowds of people heading in that direction and also it is quite well signposted. Picking a direction to walk around in, I soon found myself on a windy path to the top of this hill. Stopping ever now and then to take some photos I found it quite difficult to pick a spot to take pictures from, this is mainly because there were so many good ones, and the higher you got, the more you felt like needing to take another one from the new vantage point you had just discovered.

I made my way to the top, or as high as you could go on one side before descending and the re-ascending after spotting a little stone pyramid on a hill that I had spied whilst taking photos from opposite.

I literally did spend about two hours walking around to take pictures, and once at the top I found a nice bench to sit on and stare out at the tremendous view which was afforded to me.

I decided to make my way home after having seen pretty much everything there was to see at the park, but I am pleased with the outcome of the day so far. I am more than excited about the potential of this evening as I attend the Nou Camp for Barcelona Vs Athletic Bilbao. The game kicks off at 9pm, but I am heading out to get myself some dinner in a little while and then hoping to head to the stadium in time to get a few pictures and sample the atmosphere.

As an un-ashamed football fanatic, I have to admit that it is a bit of a dream for me to be traveling to the stadium for a game. The main reason I came to this city was to watch one of my favourite teams play, and now the moment is almost upon me, I have to admit that I am anticipating something special. I know Barcelona weren't at their best against Arsenal in midweek but I expect them to play a full team and take the game to some quite decent opponents.

I only hope that match can live up to my expectations. Depending on what time I return, and the earlyness of my flight in the morning, I hope to be able to update you on how the game was and let you know of my plans for tomorrow, but we shall see.

For now, buenos noches

Ben xxxx

Barcelona-Bound: My Latest Adventure

HAVING spent the last five months working (except weekends, and Christmas, and all those snow days in December, and the day I had off for flu), I am obviously deserving of a holiday!

Rewarding myself for such a work-heavy schedule, I am currently typing this latest entry in my blog from a hotel in Barcelona where I have strategically positioned myself away from the snow and sideways rain of England for a few days.

For those of you who I haven't bragged about it to, I do have a week off due to schools being on half term, and have decided to spend three days in Barcelona before traveling onto Athens, Greece on Monday, and then returning back to England on Saturday.

I set off from Mansfield on Friday night and spent the night at my aunt and uncle's house in St Neots. Catching the train from there allowed me to travel for a much more acceptable price than the three figure quote than I found online when planning my latest adventure.

It's 11.21 in Barcelona at the moment, and it genuinely feels like I have been traveling all day to get here.

My train left St Neots this morning bound for Gatwick airport, I travelled via Kings Cross, braved the tube to London Bridge before returning to the overground train to complete the final part of my journey to Gatwick. I was massive early arriving at the airport, but flying with Easyjet, they seem to be not really bothered what time you check-in for your flight so at least I was able to do that before going through to the departure gate and finding some much needed nourishment (it was at least 2pm by then!)

It's been almost a year since I've been on a plane flying back from Korea, and after the dramas of almost not being allowed on the plane, nearly missing my flight thanks to Russian incompetence, and then returning to find a suitcase had disappeared, I was more than delighted to discover that I managed to make it here with few delays/disasters.

Being a cheapskate (it's the Yorkshire in me) I wasn't too delighted to discover that when booking my flight, Easyjet have some form of paint-by-numbers flight booking system in place these days, I presume, primarily to line their pockets with dosh, and basically rip-you off in as subtle a way possible.

As well as the added extras of being able to choose your seat, book a quick check in, and order in-flight food (all for a nominal fee of course) they have gone with the policy of charging you a 'fine' for taking a bag on board. Not only do you have to pay extra for the pleasure of doing so, but you are also now required to ensure that your bag fits into the small space you will be allocated in a carry-on locker once on board the plane.

I did have a few fears about the bag I selected to bring with me to carry onto the plane (I don't really do traveling lightly) and sheepishly as I was queuing to check-in I moved a few things into my suitcase to ensure that my bag was a little squashier. Having showed the woman behind the desk my bag, she didn't seem overly concerned that I would have any problems.

Only when I was about to board the plane and seeing the guy in front of me basically having to stamp on his suitcase to make it fit into the space, did I feel a bit worried.

Luckily with a bit of a shove I managed to avoid any embarrassment, and discover that another of Easyjet's ploys for cheap flying, is basically not to give you a seat number and basically cause people to rush even more to board the plane so that they can sit together.

Being a relaxed type (bordering on not being bothered), I never understand the whole rush people seem to be in when boarding or getting off the plane. I find it funny how as soon as the plane lands, people are taking their seatbelts off and trying to get their carry-on baggage out of the locker without even a thought for anyone else. I understand it even less if you have a 'reserved' seat and you rush to get on the plane, I personally would rather sit in the lounge than in the cramped space of a plane, perhaps I am strange in that way?!

Anyway, the flight over here was only about an hour and forty minutes so no major struggles, I have to admit that I slept the majority of the way, and my new thing when going on a plane seems to be falling asleep during take-off and landing. Almost like a small child (or my friend Rowan) on a car journey I barely manage to stay conscious during either.

Arriving in Barcelona I wasn't too worried about being on my own and finding my way, after all I'm pretty sure that the standard of English here is better than what I faced upon arrival in Korea. There's a pretty good metro system which runs throughout the city and after collecting my bag I headed to the train station to catch an overground train into central Barcelona before getting onto the metro to my destination.

Both of those bits went without a hitch, and instead of trying to navigate my own way to the hotel with the instructions I had got online, I felt it sensible to catch a taxi to my final destination.

It took half an hour before I could find one (they must be sparse on saturday nights) but after some initial skepticism from the driver about the address I had given him, he eventually dropped me off safely outside of the door.

Now that I am here, I must be honest and say that I am delighted to have touched down and not be traveling for another three days. I don't mind the traveling, of course, or I wouldn't do it, but it's nice as the A-Team would say, when a plan comes together, and in this case you eventually get to your hotel room.

When I did arrive, my body was naturally craving some food so I went walking to find a local supermarket to buy myself some snacks. Most of the restaurants around here seemed pretty closed up and I thought that might be the easiest option in curing my hunger. After eating I did go next door to my hotel to a local bar to watch the end of the Real Madrid - Levante game which I had spied being on as I walked past, and I am planning a reasonably early night to head into the city tomorrow.

My initial thoughts of Barcelona are firstly a delight to be out of England for a while. I'm not one to trash the country that I live in, but somewhere in my body perhaps there is gypsy blood which creates the desire to travel and makes me enjoy being in different places doing different things. I don't class being in Korea as a holiday as I was working, so it will go back to Thailand when the last time I was on an actual vacation away from work.

A dream of mine would be to be able to find a career where I can travel and also work in different places on a permanent basis, but for the time being, holidays like this provide me with the ideal opportunity to experience new things and different places whenever I am able to.

Traveling to different places, however, only increases my desire to watch to travel to even more places and I'm pretty sure that after some time in Barcelona and Greece I will have got the fever to go away again.

I've been to Barcelona before (I think Calella counts) but I am genuinely excited about being here and seeing some of the things I have planned to. Sadly the weather isn't brilliant at the moment, but I am hoping that will not dampen my enthusiasm to get out and see the city in my only full day here. So far what I have seen of the city, it seems like quite a lively place, my hotel is in quite a quiet part of Barcelona but it seems like there are good links with the rest of the city so I shouldn't have too many problems finding my way around.

I hope to be able to update this blog regularly in the next few days, especially as I am actually doing something interesting for a change, but that depends on my access to the Internet. If not, then I certainly intend to type up some entries and post them online when I get back.

Thanks for reading,

Ben x x x

My first podcast

It's taken me a fair while to get it all sorted, but my first podcast is now available.

Click here to have a listen...

Happy Trails to the 'Ruler'

Just a quick post to pay tribute to Brazilian footballer Ronaldo who retired from football yesterday afternoon following a series of injuries prevented him from 'being able to perform to the best of his abilities.'

It's a bit of a cliche to say this, but the word 'great' is thrown around too often. I would, however, put Ronaldo into that category having pretty much followed his career from beginning to end. As a 17 year-old the forward moved from Corinthians to PSV Eindhoven before going on to succeed with Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan.

He finished his career back in his homeland and will be widely remembered for his terrific goalscoring record at basically ever level he has played at.

To compile a list of the 'best' players in history would be an extremely difficult task, but I think that along with Zidane, Ronaldo should be considered as the finest player in his generation. I heard someone say yesterday, "Imagine how good he would have been if he actually tried!" A strange comment I found some some one who scored better than a goal every two games playing in some of the world's elite teams.

It's unfortunate that during his earliest moments in the spotlight, the France '98 World Cup Final, a huge cloud of doubt was placed over his future following a convulsive fit which saw him fail to perform and help Brazil retain the trophy. Injuries a season later almost saw Ronaldo leave the game permanently, but like any good player, he came back when people had written him off scoring two goals in the World Cup Final en-route to winning the Golden Boot.

The only major trophy missing from his resume is the Champions League and the fact that he was unable to appear in a final is a huge surprise having played for a quartet of teams who have all won the competition.

That aside, Ronaldo's retirement from the game should be mourned as greatly as that of Zidane, Maldini or Bergkamp. Scoring fifteen goals in World Cup Finals, a feat he achieved in 2006 pretty much quietens the doubters about his ability or physique. I can remember a game between Real Madrid and Manchester United when the Brazilian had three chances, scored a hat trick and earned a standing ovation from the Old Trafford crowd. That year he single handedly kept Madrid in the hunt for European and domestic glory, and despite the fact that English fans never saw him on their shores, we should appreciate the talents of Il Fenomemo (The Phenomenon).

Check out the skills of the now retired 'Legend' of Brazilian Football..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2NHqSXftzU