Treviso, close to Venice

After the first two nights in Budapest I had to change host. After a while that I was moving my casetta all around Budapest, I decided to just stop, have a beer, and — with a bit of luck — connect to some wireless connection waiting for my host to come home.

So, once arrived in my new host area, I chose a nice-looking bar. I asked the bartender about a wireless connection and she pointed me to the bar on the other side of the street. But, having been the bartender so nice to me, I just moved on the seat that were closer to that other bar, opened my laptop and checked the signal: it was fairly good.


After a while the other bartender noticed my computer, and smiled telling me that he has one too. We started the usual chat — where are you from, this is your first time in Budapest, how long you'll stay here, and so on — but when I was going with my good old « Treviso … — three seconds pause, just in case — … close to Venice » he smiled and said: « Ah, Treviso, I've been there! »

I almost fell off the chair, and asked more about it. It sorted out that fifteen years ago he and his wife used to go to Treviso to buy leather jackets, that in Hungary were too expensive!

When you travel alone you get more chances of knowing interesting people. The chances of getting bored to deeath are also high, but let's look at the silver lining :-)

Budapest

First thing first: if you are in Budapest and you are the happy owner of a laptop — that's me — you'll notice soon that quite a few cafes have free wireless connection. I wrote this post while having a fresh beer in a random bar.

Me-so-happy!

Second thing you notice is that public transportation is quite efficient — although expensive. Young and not-so-young people — that's me, again — tend to go to clubs with tram or bus, avoiding the need of killing random people when driving home completely drunk after clubbing all night long.

Just in case you are wondering, the bus photograph was taken at 1:30 AM.

A note for the Italian Government: move clubs and pubs into the cities and provide a few not-expensive night bus servvices, instead of complaining for the "Stragi del sabato sera".

Dead Sea vs Red Sea

Valencia, tres de la tarde

I've just discovered — or re-discovered — that in some southern cities the lunch-break is a bit longer than those I'm used to. Like tath you can't do anything before 5PM — except having a beer and some tapas.

¿Qué le vamos a hacer?

Thus I just stopped by a Lebanese tapas-bar for my obligatory kebab and started a chat with the customers and the owners, and it sorted out that they were actually from Jordan (but, as they told me, "All in all it's always middle-east!")

I was rapidly involved into an animated discussion about which sea was the hottest: the Red Sea or the Dead Sea. It was kinda funny because 1) nobody in the room had ever stayed at both seas, and 2) they all were arguing in Spanish for my own entertainement!

I told them I was going to Jordan and Egypt too, just for measuring temperatures … They seemed happy with that!

I think this is one of the main reasons for me having such a trip: the possibility of chatting with perfect strangers just about everything.

Random thoughts about Valencia

• Calatrava, wind, guiris pero no tantos.


• I highly recommend a good nap on the trencadis benches of the Umbracle.


• The ancient city is not so big, everything is in walking distance — if you can stand the temperature, though.


• Laundry with free wireless — otherwise it would be impossible having the time to write a blog!


• Wide deserted beaches, although you have to walk a bit for, it's definitely worth it: no loud music, no fighting for a towel place, no Hay servesa-cola-aguafresca-naranha-bíir!


• Horchata, of course! In Alboraya there's even an Horchata Avenue :-)


• For hours of entertainment, ask Valencians sabout the "Paella a la catalana" :-)