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Wowee guys I have totally left you in the dark for a while huh! We have really struggled to get internet in the last few places we have been and things have been rather crazy! I can't even begin to give every detail of our adventure since our last entry, it would be the biggest blog yet and I can't do that to Courts!
Tim has now officially 'Run with the Bulls' in Pamplona - San Fernin! And what a festival it was. I have never felt so dirty, stunk so bad, seen so many people peeing in public, spotted so much vomit and rubbish and never seen someone tossed in the air by a bull! It was certainly a week of surprises that's for sure!
Bands marched through the streets till dawn, people threw water from balconies, sangria went flying - as did every other beverage! Plastic cups, bottles, scarfs, balloons, food, vomit, people that had passed out, all lined the streets and the smell, don't even get me started! Never have I ever smelt such a rancid, rotten smell!
The first morning of the festival we got all dressed up in our red and whites - all looked very crisp indeed! We headed into the square for the opening ceremony and what an ordeal that was. I had the pleasure of getting an entire beer poured over my head by some drunk feral (remembering its 10am!!) on the way in which is always a nice start to the morning!! See-through shirt, hair now soaked, reeking of stale beer and mascara running… Attractive!
As we neared midday it really started to get crowded. Uncomfortably so! So uncomfortable in fact that by day two I was wearing 2 bras to try and stop my poor bruised breasts from bouncing! They were so sore from being so compacted for so long!
It was absolute mayhem, glass bottles smashed all over the floor, girls crying - being lifted out over the crowd to get them to safety! The crowd kept surging, forwards/backwards/sidewards - it just kept on going.. And it was really scary to be honest. I found it easier just to lift my legs up and be pulled with the swaying crowd than trying to stand on my feet. I was just terrified of falling over because we would have been crushed to death. I don't think I have ever been happier than when we were able to leave that square!! We just had no idea, it was going to get that ugly, that quickly!
This really nice man beside me yelled out, "try to smile sweetheart, it will get a whole heap worse, but in 5 minutes time it will all be over…"
"Worse??" I thought to myself… "How the f*#kin hell could this possibly get worse??"
Anyway, it did - tighter and tighter we were compacted. Harder and harder we were forced back and forth. Tim nearly got into a biff with the guy behind us because he was trying so hard to hold me up to get some air, absolutely horrifying! I never want to be in anything like that again, you live and you learn - I have certainly learned! I do owe Tim, if he wasn't there holding/protecting me I would have been in serious trouble!
The day Tim ran with the bulls was terrifying-for both of us! I went to the Arena to watch them all run in and it was only then, when the canon blasted and we could see the run up on a big screen, that I realised, the people actually ran 'with the bulls' like with bulls all around them! People were getting bucked left right and centre and I was sitting there with Lisa absolutely horrified! I thought the boys probably wouldn't even get to see the bulls led alone be running along playfully with them! People were tapping them on the butt and trying to grab their horns - it was so scary and bizarre, I couldn't believe it!
I'm glad we have ticked that box, I have done Pamplona and wish never to return!
San Sebastian was our next stop. It was so wonderful because we met up with Ness and Liam and to have a girl with me, with our own quirky sense of humour, was amazing! An absolute blast! We literally laughed the whole time, if we weren't laughing we were either eating or sleeping and because Ness was sleeping on the floor with pillowsthat I'm sure were filled with cement, there wasn't much sleeping! The chronic snorers sharing our room didn't really help either - there were honestly like freight trains ha ha Dad, Mum has nothing on these guys - Mandalina times a thousand!
The first day in San Seb was lovely, we spent the morning at the beach - had a nice bake! Man o man do the beaches get busy! We had a little siester in the afternoon - and I sure love those.. For dinner that night we bought a baguette, brie, chorizo, olives and some salami and headed down the beach to watch the sunset, simply stunning!
We were in Spain for the World Cup so to see Spain win was spectacular! Unfortunately, we were at the Basque Country who are totally against the whole thing so it proved tricky to find a bar to watch it! We did find one though, packed with Aussies! Always the drunkest ones at the venue! T'was a great night!
Yesterday we arrived in Hossegor.. So excited to hit the beach, surf and get a quality nights sleep! I was also really excited to catch up with the O'Neil's who have been absolutely amazing to us. They're wonderful and can speak French which is also a bonus! We were a bit cut to realise our accom is actually a lot further from the beach than the internet had us believe! Tomorrow we are hiring scooters to get around on because we are so far out - pretty disappointing, but Nikki's friend has a B & B close to the action so we may venture there.
Tomorrow is Bastille Day (spelling??) so it's great to be here for that! We are having a beach morning and then tomorrow night we are having a BBQ at Nikki's and will head out to watch the fireworks! Meant to be spectacular! The surf is predicted to get up to 13 foot in the next few days so I think the boys won't be out in the waves, they'll be sitting on the beach drinking a beer watching which I am quite happy about! Leave it to the pros!
Alrighty, that's a pretty good catch up, will try keeping it a little more frequent now that we have internet! We are looking into hiring a Wicked Camper Van and going for a bit of a road trip for the next couple of weeks. The Wicked Vans over here are nice too, more like Tarago's haha not like the old broken down ones at home! They still have a few crazy, disturbing paintings on them though!! Can't you just see Tim and I hurtling along the coast of France in a Tarago with pictures of animals in various provocative positions!!
Missing everyone more than ever xxxx
- comments
Mitch HAHA tim in a biff...last time that happened he got 2 in the face from some chick
Jan Hi Jaz, You have definitely put me off Pamplona - not somewhere I'll visit in the future! Hopefully a few days on the beach will lessen the memory. Give Tim a kiss from me! Love, J.
Robyn Oh wow sounds dreadful...just as well tim was your knight in..smelly armour??? Good on ya Tim! Love, Robyn
Mandelina Hi you two... Pampelona was soo peaceful when we saw it. I liked it but it sounds like the whole Running of the bulls is pretty horrible all round. I am so glad that is now behind you both and you can enjoy France. Its great that niks and derek are looking after you. i knew they would. It was great talking to you on Skype today Jas cause I hadnt seen you for ages. Gotta love the skype hey. LOve lots xox