Not running at the moment

After some easy runs and alot of stopping due to my lower leg pain, I have decided not to push the body too hard and not compete for the Hunters this weekend. I wouldn't have done any justice to the team as I am simply not in shape to run 6km hard on the cross country. We'll see how they preform this weekend.
The family is going...well, you know...every family has their problems. But all in all, everyone is finding their own style of living.

Cruising at home in Frankston

OK, I have been home for a week now and it has been great to see everyone and all the little things that have changed over the past 2 years that I have been away. Jen and I are finally over out jetlag and are off to a day in Melbourne tomorrow. We are meeting up with some friends for a bite of Chinese and then some good laughs at the Comedy Festival watching 'Danny Bhoy'. Should be a fun night. Running is on hold as I have still taht bloody sore leg! :-(

Back on Spanish Territory

In Spain!
This is us on the border of Spain & France (Port Nou). We had a stop of 2hours and so had a walk along the beach to enjoy the view and a few Estrella Damms. Good to be back with the spanish language in the air! 

Carcassonne - Day 9/10

Carcassonne - Castle to beat all others
After a 45 mins train ride from Toulouse we made it safely to Carcassonne. A fantastic castle (cite) was the main thing about this stop. Jen and I both love castles and this is rated as one of the best in the world. This medival castle has over 2500 years of history and you can walk right through it! A walled city still has 120 people living there full time and the day just made the trip all the better. What a finish to our 10 day trip around France. The city centre of Carcassonne is a fortified city that has been growing, mainly due to the tourism, but also because of the cloth trade that is very popular there. Ok, back to Barcelona tomorrow.

Toulouse Day 8/9

Toulouse - A little bit of a downer
We came here with limited fresh clothes and tired legs, but made the best of our situation. Again we were lucky with our accomodation and found a good place close to the station and city center. We walked a long way the first day as we got there about 11am. After some local food (kebabs!) we made it to the internet place to play around. The next day we left for Carcassonne with a whole lot of excitement. I think we will love our next and fnal stop.

Montpellier Day 6/7

Nice little town: Montpellier
The 3 hour trip to Montpellier was pretty easy. Nice new trains make it a simple trip. Montpellier was suggested by a friend on mine and so we placed it on the agenda. We didn't struggle to find a place again and we have had really good luck getting cheap (under 40 euros/double/night) accomodation in the towns we have visited. We got some pizza, which wasn't very good but was food, and some beers (better than the pizza cos it was from Spain :-) ) and found the closest park to see the night bypass day. The 2nd day we were there we managed to walk the whole city a few times, finding the university, local hangout and a protest through the city centre by local youngsters (one of them had to stop at McD's for a bite to eat - must be tiring stuff all that protesting & Jen and I had a good laugh about it). Jen is just about right and I think the sunshine in Nice really paid dividends....or was it the spainish beers? 

Nice - Day 4/5

Nice - Southern France
After a 5 hours TGV train trip we made it to Nice, a nice town in a beautiful part of the world. Again we had no place to sleep as we stepped off the train, but had a place find us pretty quickly. We loved the old city and enjoyed getting some nice food in a little relax resaurant near the water. The 2nd day we were there we headed to Monte Carlo for the 'open car show' as I like to put it. These cars are sleek and expensive....and I got as close as I am probably ever going to be to them! Some nice photos at least. Jen is feeling alot better now that she sees the sun, so that is a big plus. We did however nearly call it quits on our holiday because she had her worst night since we have left Barcelona, but all is better now and we are off to Montpellier.