@ribo

My trip to Nepal is nearly prepared. I’m leaving London on August 5 and coming back on September 6 (though I am again flying to Barcelona the next day, September 7 :S). Originally, I planned to go to Delhi and get a bus to Kathmandu from there, but because of the Indian visa I had to change these plans for a flight to Kathmandu the same day I’m landing in India. Shame. Next time. It’s entirely my fault. I didn’t think of the Indian visa on time! For it takes at least 15 days to get it in London if you are not a UK national.

I am going to stay a few days in Kathmandu Then I’ll be in an organic farm project of the RUWON organization, where I’ll do some farming and teaching for women living in rural societies. I hope I can also do some trekking in the middle. I expect to update my blog regularly with pictures while I’m there.

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I made it. On Saturday, after missing my early morning London-Paris Eurostar train, I got to Gare du Nord, Paris, at 18.02 after a fantastic eight hour trip from London to Paris passing by Dover and Calais. At the end, it was easier than I thought, and much cheaper than any of the other options, i.e. Eurostar or bus. I spent £27.50 + €41.50, that is a total of €75, when the bus was €124 and the Eurostar €196!

It was as interesting and entertaining as I foresaw when I wrote my previous post on the train from Charing Cross (London) to Dover. This first leg of the journey started with my first encounter of the day while I was waiting for the 10 am train to Dover before the gates to the platforms. To kill time, I asked to a member of the staff (a Revenue Protection Inspector) in which platform he thought it was going be. This question gave place to a nice little chat in which this guy, who had the job of checking the tickets and fine people if necessary, confessed that he doesn’t like to fine but to help people while on duty. He just had helped a couple who bought a 1st class ticket to get £20 each back, for on the train there is no first class, so they needed to downgrade their tickets. Then I told him about my trip to Paris, and he told me that he was leaving for Las Vegas with his family in the afternoon. His dream had always been to visit the Grand Canyon and fly over it on helicopter. Now he was going to realise this dream he had had since he saw the Grand Canyon in a movie (unfortunately I don’t remember the title).

Being Saturday in the morning, the train was nearly empty. I had a 4-seat place for myself, so I turned on my recently-purchased iPad, and while surfing the Internet, listening to music and eating a cheese sandwich with a mango smoothie, I wrote the post on how far Paris was.

(more…)

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On Sunday, my brother William organized a walk for both of us through the English countryside. We started in Waterloo station, from which we took a train to Farnham. From there we went all the way to Guildford following the North Downs Way, a fantastic walking trail that crosses that area of Surrey. We stopped at noon for a vegetarian lunch (including hummus ) in front of an astonishing view. On our way, I took some good pictures, including the one above (click on it for a bigger version). The yellow flowers in the grass remind me of a dream-like walk in a park I did not long time ago…

Gracias Guillermo por un fantástico domingo.

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I arrived to the US last Monday and I am leaving again for London this afternoon, from Newark Airport. It’s been a good trip. I’ve visited DC, seen some friends, went to a conference (that was unfortunately suspended in the middle due to snow weather), enjoyed a private tour of the Metropolitan Museum and had fantastic food. Now, it is time for the second stage of my 4-week 4-country travelling period: Brussels. I’ll be there on March 3rd.

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