We took a four hour bus journey to Bilbao where the BBK LIVE Festival was about to begin. Oh boy were Bruce and I excited, as you can also tell by our matching tops as seen below. Not only were we excited about not being restricted to white and red when dressing, but we were so excited to attend our first ever real music festival - one that had more than two main international headlines. What was also exciting, was that even the non-headliners would be big headlines in South Africa, so we were shaking in our takkies* to experience every single performance.
First things first, we headed to the bottle-o (bottle store) to get some pre-drinks as it was given that drink sales at the festival were going to be pricey. The boys went in strong with a huge pack of beers, and the girls conservatively got a few Spanish ciders.
... We also got a few snacks which we thought might help the dreaded morning after.
Before we knew it, our drinks filled the empty spaces in our hotel bar fridge (little did the hotel know).
We then went on a guided city tour of Bilbao, which is a beautiful Spanish city that comes across as very prosperous and wealthy, considering the big European recessions. The city was buzzing with people because of the festival.
After the city walking tour, we went back to our rooms to get ready and then head up to the festival to see the first artist take one of the four massive stages, Alt-J. The whole set up was so organised, with designated festival buses which are included with your ticket. The walk from the hotel to the bus point was quick and once you were up at the festival, they scanned your ticket and a machine melted a wrist band onto your wrist. This wrist band got you in to the festival for three days.
Walking to the entrance from the bus drop-off
Coke & Red Wine
Every type of food could be found at the festival, and there were bar stands everywhere you looked. The toilets, on the other hand, were fine for the guys as always, but for the girls... We had dreaded long drops!
... Squatting is a given anyway at a huge event like this, but it's the feet positioning in the dark which required some concentration in the midst of the chaos.
My squatting got better and better throughout the festival.
The festival started in the late afternoon and ended at about 5am. When waking up in the afternoon, we were so thankful for our hotel beds - and so glad we weren't camping as at the end of each day you're exhausted!
It was an experience that is hard to explain, and one that we'll never ever forget.
Our next stop was Toulouse, France. We were going to visit Anthony - one of Bruce's school friends - but unfortunately the only way we could get to Toulouse was by bus leaving at 5am. This meant that we literally went straight from the festival, picked up our bags, and then went straight to the bus station. It was still dark and the festival was still going!
With the help from our Aussie friends, we managed to make the bus on time. Bruce fell asleep straight away, but I was feeling so sick from the lack of sleep and what I still believe to be the after-effect of too many redbulls - I was feeling very very sorry for myself. As Bruce was fast asleep I tried to get sympathy from my mom, only to receive a message back saying "You are drunk." I guess nobody was going to give me attention coming straight from a music festival.
We hopped off the bus in some small French town, and then caught a train to Toulouse. I'm not so sure that we took the quickest route, but we made it and were looking and feeling a lot more normal again by the time we had arrived. Thank goodness! It's the only time I can genuinely say Mc Donald's at the train station made me feel better.
Goodbye Spain! We can't wait to see you again one day very soon.
* Takkies - South Africans call trainers/runners takkies. Not a word we very proud of when abroad. I guess it might be better than the Kiwi's calling flip flops Djandals!
