Ryanair, Valencia and getting to Benicassim

The Ryanair experience begins on their crazy website, which has so many advertisements its hard to trust it when you put your credit card details in. It continues at the airport...one feels in the middle of one of those popular late-90s UK airport show. Thankfully I was 2 kgs under so no troubles checking in...but almost everyone else was having to put on three jumpers, seven belts, and put shoes into their carry-on luggage.

You get to the plane by bus...packed in like sardines. Everyone is in a gigantic hurry to get the best seats (whatever they are) as seating is not pre-assigned. Kudos to Ryanair for an amazing business model: low fares on face value, pay-for luggage, and no assigned seating means they save on fuel, plus everyone RUNS to get on the plane. That helps them get away on time. On the plane the advertising onslaught continues, and the seats don't recline. But having said all that, they get you there on time.

Valencia airport is wondeful, and the metro is soooo good, one of the best i've taken yet. It doesnt yet go into the old city but will soon, so there was a wee bit of a hike to the hostel to meet Joe. Another great hostel experience, heaps of character and super-helpful staff. They told us where to buy a cheap tent for the festival, and it was done within the hour. Joe and I got on swimmingly, like always. Went out to one of the oldest family-owned tapas bars in the city, which was delicious and great, then along to Flamenco night at Radio City (again on recommendation of hostel). To be perfectly honest, we were there to see spanish women dancing in frilly skirts. Instead we got four sweaty men in the band, and an even sweatier man doing the dancing. Impressive but a let-down nonetheless. Then we wandered back to the hostel with the two other kiwis in our room (!!!), both Londonites.

Next morning we went and bough train tickets and some groceries, and a croissant for €0.50 from the amazing market across the street. Its under cover and has at least 100 stalls. I think its instead of a supermarket, because they really only have 7/11 type stores in the city. Valencia was great, is very alive all the time with narrow winding streets and heaps of bars. I hope to visit again with more time.

In the queue for the train we met a classic american guy, a trainee pilot from Atlanta, Georgia who talks like a wannabe gansta. Through security (side-effect of Madrid 05 bombings) and onto the train, called the 'Talgo' service. I think Talgo means "built in the 1980s, not particularly comfortable or fast, but quite expensive anyway¨. An hour later we were at Benicassim station and it was (only) 40-50 minutes walking/standing to get to our campsite. But we got there eventually, set up our tent (three person highly necessary with all our stuff), realised we were way underprepared compared to kiwi camping (when you have a car-load of stuff...) and buggered off to town. Thats also quite a hike, about 25-30 minutes, but worth it for the beach.

Dodgey camping food for dinner - sandwiches with tuna, cheese tomato, and the best cheap red wine you've ever tasted for €1.28 a bottle. Ow!!! We tried to sleep but were kept up by our neighbours, who I almost correctly picked as from Blackpool (id said manchester based on accents and music playing) who were drinking until about 4pm. But managed to get a few weeks at least before RAIN (!!!) woke us up at about 7am. Thank god we bought a decent tent and didn't just rough it.

The best thing about Benicassim as a town is that there is NOTHING to do except write emails, buy and eat food, and sit on the beach and look at continental european girls. Presumably due to the temperature (im sure its not been below 20 at night and 35 during the day) the music starts at 8pm and goes through to 4am. Its hell i tell ya...

I'm writing this after one night of festival music, so am still a few days behind on the blogging, but will report later today on night one (Sigur Ros and Battles...)