Learnfromtheworld’s Weblog
Just another WordPress.com weblogPoitiers, France
Poitiers is a wonderful little town, near the center of France. I stayed at large house owned by a British couple, living with their two children, on the outskirts of the town. They rent out rooms to tourist groups and are extremely hospitable. The house is enormous and is complete with a swimming pool, a huge yard, and a barn filled with games and a basketball hoop.
The town itself is actually quite small and doesn’t attract great amounts of tourism. Its a little fish in a big ocean that is France. I was there in the end of June and this is important because of a certain event: their music festival. For one night, the entire town is transformed into a cornucopia of small performances, numbering, at least, in the twenties.
During this festival, you can walk around town freely, enjoying all the music, spanning from small groups in corners to bigger performances in the town square that draw large crowds that are inclined to dance through the plaza. In addition to traditional French music, you can find newer, hipper French music, as well as both classic and new American music.
One memory I will never forget is dancing in the streets to one of the main bands performing Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock & Roll”. I was with a group of other students from Salt Lake City, Utah and I remember drawing a lot of attention with our flamboyant dancing, singing along, and our general merriment.
I have never in my life witnessed such free happiness and frolicking in such a widespread manner. To this day, I’m convinced that the entire population was out partying for the better part of the night, into the wee hours of the morning.
So basically, Poitiers is a great town, especially around that time. Another plus is its location. It is located just a short drive away from Mont St. Michel, Chartres, Futuroscope (an interesting and one of a kind theme park) and one of the largest sand dunes in the world. It is also surrounded by tons of smaller castles and is steeped in history. One last fun thing to do in that area is the Velo-Rail. The Velo-Rail is basically a train track that spans for miles. For a small fee, you can take a small sort of bike made for train tracks that fits four people, and pedal yourself through the countryside and see all the beautiful scenery and historical architecture.
When in France, Poitiers is a must-see, even if your just stopping by on your way between the North (Paris and such) and the South (Nice and Mediterranean).
Poitiers- Wikipedia
Moving to Europe
Ok, so we aren’t necessarily moving to Europe, but we’re going to go backpack our way through for the next year. On the list we have Ireland, England, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Greece, the Czech Republic, and we might venture down to northern Africa, and possibly to Russia. Any suggestions? Cities? Hostels? Sights? Unforgettable experiences? Let us know we will appreciate all the advice we can get.
Picasso’s Corner – Malaga, Spain
Picasso’s Corner is a fairly cheap youth hostel located in Malaga, Spain. Don’t let the price deceive you, you get a lot of bang for your buck. Having stayed in the nearby Marriott in Marbella, a hotel that costs several hundred dollars a night, I can safely say that the $20-$30 a night hostel was a far better experience.
You are located right in the heart of Malaga. There is an outdoor mall two minutes away by foot and a large department store (far larger than anything I’ve ever seen in the States) is about fifteen minutes away by foot, or a 3-5 Euro cab ride. This outdoor mall has any type of store you can imagine, mostly clothing and such. The department store, El Corte Ingles, had everything and more! Electronics, Clothes, Music, Sporting Goods, Etc.
Just outside the front door of Picasso’s Corner is the Minisupermercado and Jefro’s. Both are good for buying drinks, baguettes, and snacks. I did find it funny that a liter of beer was almost the same price as a small bottle of water. Minisupermercado has a very friendly owner, you should definitely strike up a conversation.
Just around the corner is a Chinese Restaurant and Donkebab. Both good if you are hungry. A 5 euro combo meal at Donkebab will fill you up for the 30 minute walk to the historic castle on the hill, and last you the return journey to boot. Beyond the castle is the bullfighting ring, and if you’re lucky you can see them practicing from on the hill.
Now the good stuff. The beach. The water gets very warm in the summer and there is a nice sandy beach with very few rocks. All the people are friendly and there is plenty of room for everyone to lay out and enjoy themselves. You don’t have to worry about what you step on when wading out into the Mediterranean to cool off.
So the rooms themselves, how were they? Well I stayed in a 5 person dorm with 4 friends and had the time of my life. If you have the choice though choose a bottom bunk as the hostel isn’t air conditioned and it tends to get hot at night even with the windows open.
The staff was quite friendly. At the bar they will make you any drink you can think of, and they come from all over the world. You get quite the diverse collection of people. There seemed to be quite a few Swedes vacationing there, and we even made a few friends. There is a communal hookah in the lobby right by the bar which is great for socializing. There is something going on every night and they even had a Spanish BBQ, and the Sangria was great.
I wouldn’t stay anywhere else. You get a very personal vibe and they are very easy going. Next time you go to Malaga, be sure to make Picasso’s Corner your home away from home.
The first post – Reality?
Can reality actually be defined? Is it a self-contained entity? Or is it the confirmation and acknowledgment of human beings of others and their surroundings? If that is true, then for something or someone to be real, it must be acknowledged by another. Everything has to have a counterpart. That validity is a requirement of existence. if that is so, then human beings are connected by some greater bond, some collective consciousness. Without each other, we do not exist, and that holds us together.
