Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid & San Sebastian – Sept 20 to 30

~Barcelona~

Arriving quite late in the evening, we didn't have any daylight left to look around instead we had a quick meal of Tapas and a glass or two of sangria! 




We had been told that a great way to see Barcelona was on a bike tour – so off we went. This city is so vibrant and not at all what I expected it to be. For some reason I imagined it would be dirty and run down, quite the opposite. With the exception of the half naked prostitutes on every second corner in the few blocks surrounding our hostel, its really quite nice. Towards the end of the tour, we stopped at the beach for lunch and Sangria (hard life I know) and then after sharing 1.5L with two others, quite giggly and very relaxed – we headed off (may I add.. without any helmets - Europe has very relaxed laws). Fortunately, we all arrived back to the bike shed in one piece. Now, off to all we can drink Sangria for 10Euro – Nor do they have such a thing as responsible service of alcohol. A fun evening with the entire biking group, drinks, football in the main square (don’t ask.. all i'll say is Anna is very lucky she wasn't charged with assault with a deadly weapon), sunset on a roof top hotel bar, paella and more drinks... There was a few sore heads the following day! But me.. bright as a button – I have to save myself for the birthday celebrations with David!!


To see my big brother for the first time in over a year, on the other side of the world and on his 40th birthday.. I don’t think I’ve been so excited since I was a kid waiting for Christmas. But before I catch up with David, Anna & I headed to the Park where Gaudi built the wacky houses that resemble a gingerbreadhouse. Very very cool!
Back to the hostel to have a much needed siesta before meeting up with David at his Tourism Australia event (yes, I was crashing the party..)



At a spectacular location; roof top bar overlooking Barcelonas Marina and beach, we celebrated Davids 40th Birthday in style, compliments of T.A (and D's boss for arranging my invite), there was even fireworks! It was so nice of the city of Barcelona to put on such a display for his birthday! Ha ha. It just so happened it was the start of a festival in town.
The rest of what happened that night was a little hazy for a couple of days. It all came back over the following couple of days.






Valencia
The next morning at 7.30, I was outside and waiting for the bus to Valencia.. torture! I took a motion sickness tablet (just as a precaution) and within 5 minutes of the bus departing, I was out like a light! When we arrived in Valencia, I went straight to bed and woke up only when my stomach was rumbling so loud that it woke me up! After a quick feed, I was back to bed for a 12hour sleep.
Its now September 24th and given I wasted yesterday afternoon in Valencia sleeping, I hit the pavement and walked the entire city. Quite a cool place! We made dinner and spent the evening doing our own version of a quiz night with quite a few others joining in.

~Madrid~
After two nights in Valencia, we loaded the bus AGAIN (getting very sick of buses) and on our way to Madrid. Upon arrival, we went out to find some food.. tapas in one place then dinner at a university restaurant (staff are training so meals are super cheap). The meal didn’t disappoint but the service stank!! If only they had’ve given us the opportunity to critique, they may’ve learnt something.


Our first full day in Madrid was quite a busy one.. and quite Spanish in its structure.. Siestas & Late Nights! We were all up at a decent time, Anna & I headed off to the Reina Sophia Art Gallery (pretty impressive), Siesta, then out for the evening. A quick bite to eat which turned out to be the best pork i’ve ever eaten, then back to the venue for the show.

‘Corral De La Moreria’ - The flemenco dancing was passionate, emotional, powerful and extremely sweaty! I was sitting beside the stage and each time the lead male span around, I was sprayed with his sweat. Sounds gross I know, but the show was so exceptional that I didn’t mind too much.. it washes off and you cant get any serious diseases from someones perspiration... I hope!






Seriously, if there is one thing to do in Spain – this is it! If you don’t believe me, buy a book named ‘1000 things to do before you die’ , this show is voted #3. 

Nb. I have video clips taken from the evening, if you're wanting a look, let me know and I'll try to email the files to you as it won't let me load onto the blog.


~San Sebastian~

Already September 28th, we board the bus for San Sebastian. After quite the run around by the hostel, we were directed to our guest house in the old town. Best room we’ve stayed in thus far.. i was thrilled when I discovered we had a bathtub! Woo Hoo!!! A quick dinner then had a walk around the old town... This place is so gorgeous!
We all had a sleep in then made our way to the front beach (no waves) to enjoy what may be the last bit of sun for the summer. Quite a bit cooler than the Mediterranean Sea and the Ionian Sea, the water took some getting used to. During my last swim of the day, something stung me. Why oh why am I the only person that attracts things that sting or bite – argh! James, ever so generously offered his urine ‘just in case’ its was a deadly European Jellyfish that we didn't know about.. I told him at any point over the next couple of hours, if I passed out or started foaming at the mouth, he could pee on my knee while the others called for an ambulance!


Another Siesta (I love Spain) and then we headed out with a couple from Israel who have in the last 2 weeks walked over 260km.. yikes! Tapas, Tapas & more Tapas. Guess what i’m going to say.. yep, Amazing!! When every street and alley has multiple tapas bars, how are we to know which one is good.. 1. It is full of locals 2. You get dragged in as by a local and 3. The floor is filthy, food crumbs, tooth picks and used serviettes. We visited maybe 5 or 6 places, such a great night.

Off to the surf beach this time, located just on the opposite side of the old town where we’re staying. The water is much nicer and cleaner, still a little cold though. Little did we know that this is where most of the nudes hang out.. pardon the pun!! The nudes were mostly males and in their twilight years. Yep.. thats right – loads of grandpas sitting and walking along the beach in their birthday suites! Some things we did NOT need to know about the aging population. For the record, this was not an occasion that I complained about my failing eye sight! Blurry in these situations is very very good! After about 3 hours on the beach, we decided to call it a day and headed back to the old town to get a late lunch. The others climbed the hill to see the Jesus statue, but lazy me.. I opted for a bath, self administered pedicure and a siesta!

Next blog update.. Bordeaux, Paris (again) then St Jean De Losne to see my Aunt & Uncle, Marg and Peter Osment. Until next week xoxo

Lauterbrunnen, Nice, Monaco – Sept 14 to 19



~Lauterbrunnen~
Leaving Cinque Terre was difficult for me only having spent one full day there.. it was even tough for the others that had been there for 5 nights. A few hours on the bus and we were in Nice.. not for long though, just 1 night. We will be coming back here after Switzerland. A full day on the bus up to Lauterbrunnen, a beautiful mountain village, the views of the mountains (even from village level) were amazing. Snow covered peaks are quite a familiar sight for me having lived in Whistler, but still spectacular.


We did an easy hike (if you can even call it a hike) on Schilthram from Grutscnalp to the next village. We had discussed the previous day going up the Jungrau (tallest mountain in the Alps) but with a price tag of 140 Euros and having seen many a mountain view – I opted against it. The NZ Trio were thinking along the same lines – although we all acknowledge the Alps are something else.. we just couldn’t justify the cost. 

We caught the gondola back down – not sure whether it was the fast decent and change of altitude, I went white as a ghost, clammy and woozy! Once back to the valley level, we sat for a while so I could recover while we watched the Base Jumping qualifying finals.. Base Jumping is when people jump off a cliff and glide for a period before pulling their parachute. Apparently, Lauterbrunnen is a Base Jumpers heaven.. the finals of the world competition will be in a couple of days.  A very dangerous sport and many deaths are reported each year - apparently there was one on the day we were watching. Such a tragedy! 

Still not feeling very well – I opted for a quiet day on valley level as opposed to catching more gondolas to view waterfalls. So, I explored through the village of Lauterbrunnen, took a stroll to one of the local waterfalls and got dinner started for the others. On the bus again tomorrow... not looking forward to the windy trip down!! 

~Nice~
The trip to Nice from Lauterbrunnen was ordinary! I must remember to get some motion sickness tablets!
In the hostel, I woke to thunderstorms, and rain falling extremely hard - reminds me of the crazy Victorian storms we have.  We had a relaxed morning until the rain eased a little. We explored the old town and found somewhere for lunch. Someone had recommended that we try Socca, apparently amazing! Hmmm, not sure where that person had been living for the last 10 years.. it was a corn meal pancake with nothing served with it. Maybe we just lucked out, but I won't be ordering it again, thats for sure! We continued on and walked along the shore! A little disappointing that the weather was so overcast as we were very much looking forward to swimming at the beach that imports sand from Australia. Really! !! A touch of the famous Finocchios gelato (over 100 flavours) before calling it a day and returning to the hostel for a home cooked meal and few games of cards! (photo by James Sheldon) 

A new day brings much nicer weather which is ideal for our trip to Ez Village and Monaco. Ez Village was high on the ‘To Do’ list as I very much wanted to go to Fragonard Perfumery where my brother David had bought me perfume on his Contiki trip 15 years ago. The tour was great and the private demonstration/sales speil work on us a treat.. we each left the place with some goodies and of course, we were all smelling devine! We hiked down a very rough trail 45 minutes to Ez Village where we walked along the rock beach – sand is so much easier! 

Now off to Monaco. Such a small place, the grandeur impresses instantly, but the price tag for everything is considerable! The boats in the Marina made our jaw drop and James was getting quite excited by them.. Boys and their obsession with things that go fast, very entertaining!


Of course, the biggest drawcard of Monaco is the Monte Carlo Casino. We didn’t bother going inside as there is such a limited area that you can actually visit without being willing to put big money on the table! 

Some interesting facts about Monaco: (1) The pressure is on Prince Alfred and his new wife.. if they don't produce an Heir to the throne (all existing children of the family are out of wedlock and they're not eligible), the country will be returned to the French. (2) To apply for residency, the applicant is required to pay 1M Euro, if you're declined, you don't get anything back. (3) A private helicopter takes off every 15 minutes. (4) If you're a resident of Monaco, you're not permitted to gamble in the casino. 


The cars parked outside are quite impressive! I did however notice that there was one of each of the big name cars.. it makes me wonder if they are owned by customers (remember they can't be Monacan) or whether they are owned and put on show by the Casino as part of the appeal of the Casino. 

I shared the theory with a guide and a driver a few days later, and they were very intrigued - they're going to suss it out next time they're there.. shame I'll never find out! Back to Nice just as it was getting dark, such a lovely day trip.
  
Still more updates to come!! Spain next! xoxo




Monday, October 3, 2011

Rome, Florence & Cinque Terre – Sept 3 to Sept 13

~Rome~ 

A warm welcome by the NZ Trio (Anna, Fi & James) with drinks and nibbles! It was like catching up with old friends even though I only met some a month ago. We caught up on what everyone had been doing for the last few weeks over dinner and drinks! They left the following morning but I will be meeting up with them in Cinque Terre and travelling with them for the last month of the trip. 


When I headed into Rome (after 1 very relaxing day by the pool), I walked along the same path as the NZ trio had done during their walking tour. I visited all the standard sights... Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum etc. I won’t bore you too much with the details as I’m sure you’ve all seen Angels & Demons and the Gladiator – if you don’t remember your history from high school. 


The following day, there was a public service strike so it meant all government businesses, attractions and transportation were closed, so we made the most of the camp shuttle to take us to the Vatican. The French couple staying next door had the same plan so it was nice to get to know them a little better. 

Everything about the Vatican reminds you how much money and power they once had.. its all so elaborate. I was blown away by the artwork on the walls and ceiling in the hallway leading into the Sistine chapel.. and the SC – beyond words!! Did you know.. A Japanese television company owns the rights to all photos of the Sistine Chapel as a result of them paying for the cleaning and restoration of the chapel. It is for this reason and no other that photos are not permitted. Did I sneak some photos in there? You’ll never know!



My last full day in Rome was at the Colosseum, Palatine Hill & the Roman Forum. One thing that astonishes me.. why on earth would you line up for hours at the colosseum when you can walk 200 metres to Palatine Hill and get your ticket for both in 20 minutes.. that’ll serve them right for not looking at a tourist book or googling the attractions.

An amazing day, with the exception of the stomach turning gory details of the roman history at each attraction! 




~Florence~
September 8th and I was off to Florence.. when we arrived we met for a brief walking tour followed by a leather demonstration on how to tell fake from real then off to dinner as a group.

The following day, I got an email from my oldest brother David telling me that he will be in Barcelona for work on the same dates I will be.. as an added bonus, I also get to celebrate his 40th birthday with him! SO very excited! 


I went to the Accademia Museum to see the original statue of Michelangelos ‘David’ – carved from a block of marble measuring 4 meters in height. Thank goodness the statue makes no resemblance to my brother otherwise I'd have a hard time looking at it - let alone appreciating the intricacies of the carved marble!!!


Michaelangelo was quoted saying ‘I don’t carve a sculpture, the sculpture is already inside the marble, I just chip away what is not needed’. (Photo is of the exact replica where the original stood before it was moved to the museum- photos of the original is not permitted... I obeyed the rules in this instance).


I hit the pavement a fellow traveller I met in Paris at the beginning of the trip.. We visited all of the cities sights (its not hard as the city is quite small); Chruch of Santo Croce (where Michelanglos remains lay), Ponte Vecchio (photo), Piazza Strozzi where I literally ran into an American celebrity whos name completely escapes me, Cathedral Maria, the Duomo, Town Hall with the fake David and many other original sculptures. Florence is lovely, glad I didn’t have more than 3 nights here though.. even as it was, i felt rested when I left. 



~Cinque Terre~

Now its September 11th and I’m headed to LaSpezia (via Pisa), the gateway to Cinque Terre (5 Villages). 



I caught the train to the 3rd village Corniglia where Anna, James & Fi are staying (the NZ Trio). To get to the village from the train, there is either a shuttle or climb 380+ stairs... Given I was loaded with my 23kg backpack, I decided to take the bus – who wouldn’t?!? Glitch was that the shuttle left as we were leaving the platform – no wonder everyone was pushing and shoving. So, rather than waiting another hour for the next shuttle – up the stairs I went.
When I arrived, I instantly wished I had more than 2 nights here as it is the most spectacular place I’ve seen.  Even as I write this, so close to the end of my trip - Cinque Terre is still one of my favourite places I've visited. 



After a drink and catch up, Anna and I had a quick dinner before our mission for the evening... climb down the stairs to the beach to set up champagne, glasses, towel and candle for James where he was to propose to Fi shortly thereafter. Quickly we climbed the stairs but we were too slow – James and Fi met us half way. Luckily, Fi was none the wiser. When they returned to the apartment, the celebrations commenced. 





The following morning was a relaxed start.. then we were off to explore the different villages.
1. Riomaggiore            2. Manorola
4. Vernazza                5. Monterosa

I walked from village 1 to 2 then trained between the rest of the villages. If I was there for longer, I would have definitely walked the length, but as it was, I didn’t return to Corniglia until after 6pm. A great home cooked meal and wine on the terrace to watch the sun set was a magnificent way to round out our time in this magical place.


After dinner we ventured off to get our last dose of Gelato.. the man serving told me that I was very beautiful and so sweet.. oh shucks! Caught completely by surprise, I got embarrassed and blushed... What am I.. 12??? ha ha

The next morning we were packing up and on the move again. I am coming back here again, that's for sure!!!!



The next installment is written and photos selected, so it will be posted within 24 hours (pending uninterrupted internet access). 

xoxo