Major Treks

A (not so) brief log about my travels from the Cevennes National Park, France to Zagreb, Croatia.

1st Leg, Cevennes - Ales (0800 10/07):
Woke up at 7.30 to get a lift with David to get to Ales for the 9.20 train. David slowed down a few times to show me and lucy some views of valleys and castles and whatnot, after about 20 minutes i thinking about how lovely it would be to take a photo, i realised i had left my camera at La Capel. There was no way we could have gone back to get it and still of made the train. When we got to Ales, i thanked David for the lift and hospitality and after he gave Lucy a few kisses too many we went to buy tickets.

2nd leg, Ales - Nimes (0920 10/07)
The train journey lasted about half an hour, me and Lucy had a little chat about the last week, and then gernerally about love and life. I waited with her on her platform for her train to Montpellier where she was flying from before moving to the platform where i needed to catch my train.

3rd leg, Nimes - Marseille (1015 10/07)
A relatively quick journey for the distance covered, i just settled and read my book. When i got to Marseille i got some munch from McDo the woman taking my order wrong so i ended up having to pay for 2 portions of chips (I'm British, i don't complain). On the way to my platform i saw the sign up office for the French Foreign Legion, I stopped and considered it for a moment, merely for comedy value, then made my way to the train.

4th leg, Marseille - Nice (1215 10/07)
I get a compartment to myself, and thinking my fool proof plan of looking Algerian will mean nobody will come in and sit with me, start munching my food. About a minute later three female spanish travellers come and sit with me, making me jealous of their buff munch and fit bodies, an orgy followed (scrap the last bit, they weren't even fit...). I caught a few hours shut eye and a few chapters of my book. En route my mum texted me to say that she didn't need chemo, which cheered made my month.

5th leg, Nice - Ventimille/Ventimiglia (1420 10/07)
The short local train service along the Riviera was a pleasant one. The train passed through Cannes and Monaco on the way to the Italian border, as we stopped at one station i gazed into the bay to notice one of the worlds Mega-yachts, probably belonging to Roman Abramovich or someone similar. When i got into Italy i thought about stopping knowing that there was where Archie and Pierre has slept the night the year before making this very same journey, I overheard, on the other hand some fat Italian Lady saying 'Milano' and pointing at the train so i got a ticket for it and went to get some supplies.

6th leg, Ventimiglia - Milan 1630 (10/07)
I found another compartment to myself and had a little nap and a read of my book before trying to make a little sandwich out of my bread tomato and cheese that i had bought, without a knife. After about an hour and a half the ticket lady came and checked my ticket before telling me that I had to move. I moved to the 8th carriage where i had to be and found the least dodgy looking compartment, with three Italian women in it one young, two middle-aged. One of the middle-aged ones, a blonde woman was listening to that crappy euro-techno that is really repetitive, cheesy and shit, really loudly on her headphones. When we got to Genoa, to English speaking people got on, i found out that they had been in a business conference in Genoa so stopped talking to them. Obvo when travelling you van only talk to badass travellers like yourself, oh and the odd local. Luckily one of those odd locals could speak english and when i was telling the American and German about my journey she informed me about the train strike happening the next day from 9am to 9pm. This would mean if i stayed the night in Milan i would have to stay there for at least another 24 hours, which, unless you are a fashionista, is not a desirable scenario. Another thing of mention which happened to this journey was whenever we went through a tunnel, bare in mind that there were no lights on the train, the blonde middle-aged (who i later distinguished to be polish and not so middle-aged), would shine her phone light on me, me and and only me, for the entirety of the time we would be in the tunnel. We passed through a lot of tunnels and she only stopped doing it when a black guy started standing outside our compartment, so she shone it on him...

When i got to Milan station i needed to get to Venice or Trieste, i saw on the board that there was a train leaving to Venice in a half hour that had been delayed, but the ticket queue was too long and the machines didn't have it anymore. I would have to get to Trains to Trieste.

7th leg, Milan - Bologna 2300 (10/07)
When i got on the train a young Italian bloke asked me something which i didn't understand so the guy next to me who could speak english translated. We chatted for a bit about how he had lived in London I told him i was going to Bologna and he told me he was going to Bari (loooong train). I got about an hour shut eye before my alarm went off alerting me we were almost there. I think I must have drifted off again cos my english speaking friend alerted me that it was my stop, so i rushed of forgetting my mirrored aviators that i had bought only 2 weeks beforehand - gutted. When i got into the station i got a sandwich from a vending machine, probably one of the buffest things i have ever got from a vending machine, it being italian and all, then went to find somewhere to roll a joint. I found a suitably semi-secluded place on the platform and settle down only to find that i had given my last rizla to the girls back in Pierre's yard to roll some cigarettes the night before. I asked a traveller girl if she had some skins, she replied 'no, but i have some cigarettes if you want?' i replied in the negative -'ooooooooooh...'

8th leg, Bologna - Trieste (0335 11/07)
I got into to my compartment to find 4 spanish girls (again) dressed in their glad rags, they were accompanied by some tight shirted slick haired prick who shouted at one of them when she sat next to me. They were on the way home from a night out so they only stayed on one stop. Again i had a whole compartment to myself, so i pulled out all the seats to make one big bed. Conscious of the story when Crawf got his stuff jacked, I put my bags under the seats i was sleeping on - which was all of them. I kept my phone and wallet in my pocket so when at about an hour into the journey a guy came into my cabin i woke up and grabbed my pockets in a sort of assassin style reaction. When i woke up the next time i was effectively spooning him, and when i woke up the next time he was gone. I checked the time it was almost trieste arrival time. As we left Montefalcone station i got my first glimpse of the Adriatic, the morning sun reflecting beautifully off the crystal clear water. When we eventually rolled into Trieste i got some greasy munch, from the Spar supermarket in the station, but found it really hard to stomach, some guy in front of me was buying beers, i was like beer? at 7.30 in the morning? so i went across the road into the square and had a joint. The joint allmost knocked me out cold i grabbed forty winks on a grassy knoll lying on my beach towel then went to get my bus.

9th leg, Trieste - Kopar (0850 - 11/07)
There wasn't a bust to Ljubljana until 2 so i had to get a bust to Kopar, Slovenia's main port and the next town along the coast from Trieste in order to get a connecting bus or train. As the bus set off, i realised the African guy sitting just behind me on the opposite side of the bus was chanting to himself. I don't know whether it was because i was sleep deprived or just really high, but i started freaking out so much, and was wondering why nobody else on the bus was getting freaked out with me, i calmed down shortly afterwards when we got to Kopar and I got off.

10th leg, Kopar - Ljubljana (1005 11/07)
As i got on the train i remembered how attractive slavic women are. I started reading my book again having finished it the night before, but soon gave up to admire the slovenian country side. The train took a strange route through the hills, it felt a strange route anyway, stopping at all these stations deep in the Julian alps, reminding me of when we had been here 2 years previous. A fat ticket inspector man said something and the whole carriage groaned. I eavesdropped on some Slovenian man telling a french family (in english) that they were going to have to terminate the train early and get a rail replacement bus.

11th leg, Outside Ljubljana - Ljubljana Train Station (1105 11/07)
We left the train for the coach and i was one of the first on so tried to shotgun the entire back seat, there was obviously going to be less seat than passengers so i ended up getting shoved into one of the corners, as the coach set off 'Eye of the Tiger' came on the radio which instantly brightened my mood. As we got into the town centre i tried to spot things i recognised, and it was only when i saw the big Union brewery I knew i was close. I went and had burek in the restaurant where me and danny had that big burek barney 2 years ago for nostalgia purposes but also cos they had a plug in the wall where i could charge my phone. I went back to the station to get my ticket to Zagreb before bumping into Archie and Ali and then Tom Adcock who had flew out with them. In the station we met some girls who they had met the night before, one of whom new archie through their dads being in the same band. The girl, i think she was called Mathilde, was telling archie how she texted her dad, 'small world' the dad had replied. 'Craaazy' was Archie's response.

12th leg, Ljubljana - Zagreb (1430 11/07)
On the train i was telling the guys about my travels. I mentioned in passing that the train was heading to belgrade and imagine if we went to EXIT. 'Really? whos playing?' I explained it Kissy Sellout, Steve Angello, Etienne de Crecy live and Eric Prydz. At this point everyone got really hyped up, we started discussing how much we would be like heroes, contacting people to see if they would be able to get us day tickets. We asked the train man what time the train would get into Belgrade - 1230, ok new plan. When the train arrived in Zagreb, we ran straight to the Tourist Information to ask about car hire agencies...