Home again, Home again

So, after over three months on the road, we've been back home in New Zealand for about two weeks.

We flew Singapore Airlines from Heathrow to Auckland with a two hour stop-over in Singapore.  I must admit, I highly recommend flying Singapore.  Great service, very friendly staff, and more gin and tonics and Singapore slings than perhaps were needed.  We left Wednesday evening and arrived home Friday evening, so about 30 hours in transit.

It must be said, it's nice to come back to a New Zealand summer after a London winter - from single figure temperatures to high teens, sun shine and beaches.  Still, there's something to be said for the crispness of a London winter's night, especially with the Christmas decorations up - walking through Hyde Park in the evenings heading to the Winter Wonderland, Regent and Oxford Street lights, the beauty of the watery light coming in through the empty branches of deciduous trees.  Plus mulled wine and hearty English meals!  Unfortunately we missed snow, but I'm sure there will be another chance.

I think there will be lots of things I'll miss about the other side of the world.  The sheer magnificence of the world's great cities, the ease of getting about - staying in one city and then going for dinner in another - experiencing new cultures, new ways of doing things, and of course the cuisine!  

Still, it will be nice to be home for Christmas.  I've been swimming, caught up with family and friends, eaten BBQ...

Okay, in a lot of ways, New Zealand is not as first world as it likes to think it is.  It's public transport is expensive and slow - no underground or light rail to speak of - it's infrastructure needs a lot of work, for a society that considers itself bicultural there are an awful lot of people who only speak one language and its media needs a good seeing-to.

Still, I went for a walk along Raumati Beach on Saturday night.  The sky was hundreds of different shades of blue, the water clear, the sand clean and I didn't have to fight any crowds as there was hardly anyone there.  And it's moments like that, of tranquility and peace, that make you realise that, for all its faults, for all its backwardness, New Zealanders are lucky to live in a particularly beautiful part of the world.

We'll go back... but we'll need to save a bit of $$ first.

Right... time to find a job and somewhere to live!  Will keep y'all posted!

Bath - it's old school!

It aint warm over on this side of the channel.

It's kind of weird to have gone from, two or so weeks ago, temperatures in their high twenties, to now overnight lows of below zero.  It's not necessarily a bad thing - there's something beautiful about a crisp autumn day;  Big piles of leaves to kick, clear watery light coming in through the empty branches of the trees, and mulled wine.

Oh, and flooding.

We headed up to Bath to catch up with a friend and to have a look at the city.  Even coming in by train, the water was everywhere, like riding a train over a huge lake, rather than a river.

The Abbey sits over the Christmas Market

Nonetheless, Bath is a truly beautiful city.  We arrived in the middle of their Christmas Market, so we drank mulled wine and ate British pies (What, I hear you ask are British pies?  Simple, they're pies made in Britain.  Duh.) and did some shopping.

As you can see from the picture, it was an absolutely beautiful crisp autumn day.

Our lovely host made us a roast pork dinner that evening, which was lovely!


Day two we made a late start to the day and headed to the Roman Baths.  Bath is a city that was built around service to these baths, so is a very old place.  Unlike other Ancient Roman cities we've visited however, the whole city was essentially built over the top of the older city, so it's a mix of ancient and other times.

How the Romans did it!

Still, the Baths are amazing.  Naturally hot, steaming water in these Roman Ruins, plus the story of where all the water comes and goes.  The ruins are quite well preserved and well researched, so you get a real idea of what the place used to be like.

After that, we had a walk through the Victorian Part of the city - Victoria Park and the Royal Crescent.  Quite beautiful.

The last day we decided to head out of the city and, rather than be overly touristy and go see Stonehenge, we went and saw a henge that was made of stones.  BAM!

Avebury is quite interesting - you get there by driving through this old English country side - thatched houses, cute brickwork stores, bricked in paddocks.  Then you arrive at the stones themselves - huge circles of stone in large circles.  Very interesting, and not as touristy and Stonehenge (apparently).  Well worth the morning out of the city.

Nick and Corry get Stoned!  Hah!

So yes, if you need a break from the Big City, I'd highly recommend a weekend away to Bath.  Take a car, because touring around the countryside is also very interesting and cute as well.

Oh, I do like to be beside the Seaside...

After five days in London, we decided a seaside holiday might be nice!

In November.

In temperatures ranging between 5-10 degrees.

Ah, a beach holiday!


Anyway, we took the train from London to Brighton (helpful tip for new players, make sure you book online in advance, you can end up spending three times as much booking on the day as booking online) and were met at the other end by our lovely host Shannon who met us at the station with - get this - cocktails in takeaway coffee cups.  Start as you intend to continue!

Then, after dropping our stuff off at the house and a quick dinner, we headed out to an quintessential British Experience - The Pub Quiz.  We came fifth, but who cares, we had so much fun!  And we met a few other locals who gave us their take on the city.  Plus cider.  There was cider.

So a quick tour of a couple of other local pubs (there may have been more to drink), we made our way back to the house.  

First evening, a success!

The next day we made our way downtown to the Lanes.  After a lovely brunch of Smoked Salmon Benedict and a soya mocha (yes, a real soya mocha!  Sorry, it's been a while), we window shopped in all the cute little stores in the middle of town.  Yes, I tried on a purple top hat.  Sorry folks, had to be done.

Then we made our way down to Brighton Pier - it's kinda gray, depressing and plastic.  But, as we are wont to do, we made the most of it.  I tried to win a stuffed Dalek and failed.  Brighton Beach is similar to Nice in that there's no sand, it's just pebbles.  So it's not that great for just walking or sitting on.  Plus it was raining and gray, so all in all...

After that, we made our way to the Royal Pavillion.  We didn't go in, but had a good look around the outside as well as a look around the museum.  It's an amazing building from the outside, with Indian style domes - very flamboyant.

After more coffee and chocolate, we had a quiet night in.


Day two started off with home made eggs benedict.  While we were going to head outside of the city and see the Seven Sisters, it was too late by the time we got out of the city.  So instead we just hung out at local places:
 - We drunk mulled cider and ate chocolate guiness cake
 - We had lunch in the gay district
 - Then headed into the lanes and had delicious chocolate brownies
 - And then Shannon cooked us home made Paella
 - Before we went out for drinks in the Gay District again.

So yes, essentially a day of eating and drinking.


So Brighton was absolutely lovely.  It's a funky city full of fun, hip people, amazing shops, great eatings and drinkings.  I think it would be lovely to go back for a long weekend in a slightly warmer period.

Next stop - Bath.

Last Day in London

Our last day in London was one of those, "What haven't we seen, what's still be done?" days.

So we started off with a visit to Tate London (Or Tate 1.0 as I like to call it).  Really not overly fascinating - it's free so that's all good, but if you only have time for one of the Tates, make it the modern.  Perhaps by this time we were slightly over museums - it's a possibility.

More walking ensued - lunch followed by a visit to Hyde Park and a walk along the Serpentine.  Then quickly swung by Royal Albert Hall and more wandering through Knightsbridge.  Then off to the Saachi gallery to look around.  This was much more interesting than the Tate.  These I imagine are exhibitions which change on a regular basis.  Slightly disturbing, but well worth it.

As always, the best part of any city is meeting up with locals and trying their recommendations - especially when it comes to food.  So we had dinner with a couple of expat kiwis and had dinner at a really cool hamburger restaurant - if you go to London, I'd highly recommend Meat Liquour.  Delicious things made of meat.


So, for all intents and purposes, that's London done and dusted for the time-being.  We'll come back for a day or two soon, but for now we're complete.  

London is an amazing city.  I was expecting something dark and enclosed and bland.  Instead, this is a city which mixes the old and the new - its history meets its modern role as a capital of Europe.  I found the city to be colourful and vibrant - its bars and restaurants were great, its travel networks are efficient and easy to use.  Like any big city, it can take a bit to get used to and figure out where you are, but that is something that comes with experience.

We'll definitely be back! 

Buh-Bye!

A weekend in London

Dragon-ey Goodness at the Tower

So Friday, after a late start to the day, we decided to go and look around the Tower of London.  We had turned up the previous day an hour before closing, and the entry person suggested we perhaps wanted to give ourselves more time. 

So glad we did!  We spent about three hours looking around the whole facility.  An absolutely fascinating piece of British history.  If you do decide to go, I’d highly recommend taking one of the Yeomen tours – for a start, you’re able to get into the Chapel which you wouldn’t otherwise be able to, also they provide some great stories and entertainment to go along with the visit, and there’s no additional cost.

Then, after catching up with a friend for a (very) late lunch, we took a stroll through Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Leister square etc.  I’d also highly recommend a quick tour around the National Portrait Gallery – some very interesting takes on ‘portraits’, as well as some great photography and painting.

Gay’d it up with dinner and drinks in Soho to finish off the day – thoroughly enjoyable, very vibrant and fun community.

Then ‘twas a weekend of markets.

We started off on Saturday morning by heading to the Barnes Market, this amazing little Farmers Market that had a lot of delicious gourmet food.  And a duck pond. 

After that, we caught a bus into town and headed to Notting Hill markets.  This is a... well, to be honest, a market for all sorts.  We ordered ham and cheese crepes, wandered down the packed streets peering into antique stores, food markets, clothing booths... You name it, you could get it!  Plus the Notting Hill Buzz is something else altogether.

Then we took our first double decker bus ride!!!  We went from Notting Hill to Knightsbridge and hit up Harrods.  This is an AMAZING store - we only hit the food halls and the gift shop, but even this is enough to make you drool.

After Harrods, we made our way up to the Victoria and Albert Museum and viewed the costume exhibit - this was sooo much fun!  The Tim Burton Catwoman costume, the Batman outfit, the Ruby Slippers (Take two), just a really interesting insight into Hollywood.  Very cool.

Brick Lane Markets

Sunday started off with a visit to Brick Lane Market.  Once you get past all the curry houses closest to the Subway, this is a fantastic way to kill some time on a Sunday afternoon.  Very kitcsh, very cool, very alternative.  We also found this old factory style building that had different food stalls with food   from all around the world, so we enjoyed the most delicious Chinese dumplings on noodles.  Absolutely fantastic.

Making our way back into town, we stopped for a quick coffee in SoHo and then made our way to the Natural History Museum (for those of you who are interested, you might want to have a quick look at maps to see how far this means we walked...).  Nothing like dinosaurs to finish a day off. 

Two more days left in London - my, we have packed in an awful lot of goodness over the last few days!

London, Part II

So, after a day of settling in and getting used to English again after three months on the Continent, we decided to start off with the tourist hot spots, so off to Westminster.

So when one arrives in the city and comes out of Waterloo Station and heads towards the river, the first impressive sight you really notice is the London Eye.  Towering over it's surroundings, it looks exceptionally touristy and out of place... but we'll come back to that.

Next, we've crossed the Westminster Bridge and came up to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  All that's going through my head is the first two bars of "Rule Brittania!"  Once again, one of those buildings that you've seen so many times in movies and TV, but there it is - in front of you for the first time.

Following that, we quickly headed up to Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guards.  While a little late, we were a little surprised to see them playing "Live and Let Die" and the Austin Powers Theme!  Good to see them having a sense of humour - I half expected the Queen to come onto the Balcony and say, "We are not amused!"

The Palace itself is not super interesting -  a large grey building, really, but the Changing of the Guard was a lot of fun.  The bright costumes, the fun music, the pomp and ceremony of it all, the police on horse back, would love to go see it again at some point.  By the time we got there we didn't have a great viewpoint, so will definitely get there early next time (trip for other travellers!)

Then a wander down Pall Mall, past Trafalgar Square and down to the London Eye again.  This time we took it for a spin (hah!  Dad Joke!).

From atop the Eye

Yes, it's expensive and touristy, but it's also a great way to get some perspective on the city which can prove difficult initially.  And the views are great, with the touch screen providing interesting history behind the different buildings.

From the Eye we made our way along South Bank where they were setting up for the Christmas Market.  We passed the Globe Theatre and walked up the Thames up to the Tower Bridge.  Stunning.  Then, after a quick visit to the Tower (we didn't go in this time), we walked back along the river to the Tate Modern.

Tower Bridge!

Tate Modern is an interesting buiding.  A converted power plant made into a modern art gallery, it has some stunning spaces.  We managed to catch a very interesting temporary exhibition on William Klein.  Absolutely fascinating.

So another busy day, and then back to the suburbs for the night. 

Plenty more London to come!

London, Baby!

Gotta love those trains.

11:00am, standing in Paris' Gare du Nord.
12:30pm, standing in London's St Pancras.

No two hour check in, no long drive to the airport.  Boarding half an hour before leaving, and straight off.  Not even a passport check on the other side. 

Trains are the way to go, folks!

On top of that, after leaving a rather gray and grizzly Paris, we arrived on a rather beautiful London day.  Not warm per se, but beautifully crisp and clear.  So we spent the first afternoon looking around Euston.

At the British Museum!

After quickly getting our bearings we started off by visiting the London Library, where they have the Magna Carta on display, as well as several other important treasures of the UK.  Very cool to see Beethoven's tuning fork and one of Shakespeare's folios.
Then, after that, a trip to the British Museum.  Following the Shakespeare theme through a little further, they had an exhibition about the Bard and London around his time.  Very fascinating to put his works into context.

Oh - also the Rosetta Stone and some ancient Egyptian-ey and Greek-ey goodness.  But we've seen all that before! :)

Then a quick dinner in town, and off to our friend's place to get a good night's sleep.

Further days to come soon, but am very much liking these towns so far.

DISNEYLAND!!!! (Oh, and Versailles)

When one is going to the Happiest Place on... well, in Europe, one might get a little excited.  Even if one is in one's thirties.  

So we got up and had breakfast.  After having a bit of a kerfuffle with how to get there and how to buy tickets, we finally arrived at Disneyland Paris at about 11:30. 

DISNEYLAND!!! (Paris).

Okay, I'm in my 30's.  I'm a mature, responsible adult.  But I really didn't care!  I was grinning from ear to ear, squee-ing with the best of them in sheer childhood joy.  We did all the standard stuff - Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean, plus a whole lot of little, fun stuff  - Buzz Light Year, It's a small World... 

And then at the end of the day, they lit up Sleeping Beauty's Castle with an amazing light show - fire works, flame balls, water projection.  Absolutely a stunning way to finish a great day.

Me about to go SQUEEE!!

Star Wars!

Who's cuter?

Pretty pink castle!

O-arrgh!  Pirates!

Had to be done...

Bye-Bye Disneyland, you were AWESOME!!!

 Such fun!

So, after a great day at Disneyland, the following day we spent at Versailles.  It's an absolutely amazing palace set in what has to be one of the largest gardens that I have ever seen in my life.  From the Hall of Mirrors to the King's bed chambers, the absolute majesty and sheer luxury of the facilities is overwhelming.  And this is after a lot of the furnishings were destroyed or given to the people after the Revolution.

You can understand why the populace was getting disillusioned with the Monarchy when they were living in such unadulterated wealth and they were living in such squalor.

Still, an amazing experience and I'd highly recommend anyone having a look around should they head to Paris - well worth a day trip out of the city.

So... for now we say goodbye to Continental Europe - next step, ol' London Town.

Paris, Part Deux

It was Nick's birthday wish to be in Paris for his birthday.  And of course, who am I to possibly object?

So we arrived in Paris on Saturday evening and, after settling ourselves settled in and having a good night's sleep, we decided on Sunday to tourist the crap of out this city.

We started off with a walk from the Louvre, down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.  On the way, we stopped off on the way to visit the Musee d'Orangerie (which had a rather lovely impressionist exhibition), the Grand Palais (currently exhibiting two very intriguing exhibitions - Boheme about the development of the French Bohemiem culture out of its gypsy roots, and also an extensive exhibition of Hopper's work, including the famous Nighthawks), and saw the end of the Armistice Day Parade (Sunday being 11/11).  

At the end we arrived at the Arc du Triomphe.  I think it's still going to be a while before one gets over the fact that one is in the prescence of these objects of cultural, political and popular history.  Still, rather magnifcent and great just to be there.

So, afterwards we headed away down towards the Eiffel Tower (It's still there, you'll all be pleased to know).  There was an exhibition of the Berlin Bears (2.5m tall painted bears - there was one to represent all the nations of the world), which was lovely.  And of course, it being Nick's birthday, we celebrated by having a picnic in the surrounding gardens.  Nick ate cake under the tower itself.

So, after our picnic lunch, we headed up to Montmartre to explore the area.  This is (apart from the EXTREME red light district) a very interesting part of the city (Yes, we saw the Moulin Rouge) - in between the flat and the Cathedral there are some lovely squares and interesting little side streets with great little boutique stores, cafes, bars.

So a busy day!

Day two and three - well, this has been a pretty long post in itself, I'll post the other two shortly.

A rather lovely side step

After Luxembourg, we had to decide where to for a few days?  We thought maybe Rheims, but without a car we'd probably just be bussing around all day, plus we can always buy Champagne anywhere.  Tours was an option, but it turned out to be very expensive.

So, quickly crowd sourcing the options, we decided on a few days in Lille.  

The beautiful city of Lille

We were a little concerned in the approach - it appeared to be more of a transport hub than a destination, and it has more of an industrial history.  However we were pleasantly surprised.  From the moment you leave the station, you see amazing sculptural art work on the streets, which are clean and fresh, especially in the autumn crispness.

We were lucky enough to arrive in the middle of their arts fest - Fantastic - so there were a lot of great things to see.  We managed to go and see quite a few art galleries - Tripostal, the Palais des Beaux Arts, the Maison Folies, the Musee de Hospice Comtesse, all with some absolutely fantastic works.  If you can get to this city before February, I'd higly recommend popping by.  Plus they have some impressive art work on display just around the streets.

Yes, that is an upside down house.

On top of this, we had some really delicious food, and the old town was truly spectacular - an interesting mix of modern and ancient.  I'd also highly recommend this small city for shopping - it has some great little boutique stores.  It's an easy place to get to - an hour outside of Paris by train on the TGV.

So yes, highly recommend a stop in Lovely Lille.

Luxembourg

We decided to add another country under our belt, so have left France for a couple of days and crossed the border into Luxembourg.  We didn't spend particularly long in this country - we based ourselves in Luxembourg.

Pretty canyons

 Quite a small country - about 1% the size of New Zealand land wise, and about 10% of the population.  Yet it is incredibly wealthy - it is one of the banking capitals of the world, and thousands of Europeans come in every day to work in the city from France, Germany and Belgium.  And being wealthy it is very expensive - it was cheaper for us to drive to Germany and have dinner there one night (in a lovely little town called Trier where we went to a Schnizel restaurant:  Nick had Schnizel, I had goose for the first time!  Delish, served with roasted chestnuts, potato dumplings and red cabbage!)

Nick's dinner - old school schnizel

And mine - roast goose!

Anyway, back to Luxembourg.  It's a city that is built around a set of canyons which provide natural defences for the city, which its human inhabitants have then made excellent use of, digging into the stone work.  Unfortunately with the weather now getting colder, these were closed to the public, but still the cliffs provide amazing views, and it's great to walk through the canyons with the bridges above you and the canyon walls running up.

Probably worth a couple of days exploring - at this time of year, like lots of places we've visited, it's stunning with the Autumn leaf colouring, but you do have to be careful, it can be rather cold and gray.  Although we were lucky.

Back into France again next!

Strasbourg

The hotel room has a slight wet dog smell.

We got caught in the rain as we went out for dinner this evening.  And wearing a woolen coat and hat, it has a slight... whiff now that it's sitting and drying.  But all considered, if that's the worst thing that happens to us in Strasbourg, we'll still have had a wonderful time.

So very pretty!

This is an amazing place.  On the border between Germany and France, this place has changed hands several times, so is a very interesting mix of German and French influence.  Honestly, the best way I can think of describing it is like something out of an old-school Disney film!  

Oh, and the food, the food!  We have eaten so many delicious things over the last three days!  Spetzel, tarte flambee, cockerel, duck, savoury crepes, vin chaud (mulled wine) ... absolutely stunning!  

We've walked along rivers, visited the cathedral (which is pretty cool), gone up to the EU buildings, admired Petite France and the falling autumn leaves, eaten gingerbread, walked across historic bridges, saw... something related to a beaver or otter in the river, all in all just had a wonderful time.

Such pretty houses!

Lyon

I've got to admit, in some respects, I prefer France's Second City to Paris.  Lyon is fresher, cleaner, less claustrophobic than its bigger sister to the North.  Still, I have a lot of both cities to explore, but so far Lyon has come off on top.

We started on the first day doing some shopping, Nick and I both need new winter coats, and the temperature is beginning to dip a li'l, and so we now both look a little sharper!

After that, we did some exploring of the old town (Vieux Lyon), and had some lunch in a lovely little bakery.  Vieux Lyon is lovely, with old buildings, cobbled streets and hidden passageways that make their way between buildings. 

After lunch, we headed up to the Basilica with views out over the city.  The area has lovely views out over the whole city, and next door stands a miniature Eiffel Tower!  Hilarious.  After that, we made our way back down hill via the Roman Ruins.  Lyon is built around the old Gaul-Roman city of Lugdunum, and the ruins are pretty wonderful, and surprisingly well preserved in comparison to those in Rome.

Then a wander around the old Silk Making district, and back to the Old Town for dinner.


Day Two started with brunch in old town - delicious quiches finished off with a local speciality, praline tarts.  After lunch, we took a leisurely walk up to the Parc Tete D'Or, a beautiful park in the northern end of the city, made even more beautiful by the falling leaves and the autumn colours.  A visit through the zoo, then back into town.

So in conclusion, if you make your way to France, I would highly recommend a few days spent in Lyon.  It's a lovely change of pace from other areas we've visited - no vast wealth like the Riviera, and not as busy as Paris, but still with its own personality and beauty.

Nice and Monaco

Last days of warm weather...

So, following on from my previous blog post, we arrived safe and sound in the French Riviera after a rather lovely train ride from the Basque Region.  

Nice is nice.  I know it's cliche, but there's really no other word to describe it. The sun was shining, the beaches were beautiful, the people were super friendly and the streets were clean and fresh.

The old town district of the City is buzzing and alive with locals and tourists mixing together amongst beautiful architecture, and the newer areas of town are open and clear.  Set in between the beach and the mountains, it was a great way to just relax - there's very little to do apart from just chill out and enjoy the weather.   It's October, and we're still getting days with highs in their 20's - this kind of good luck can't carry on forever, so we'll enjoy it while it lasts!

However while there we decided to head off to Monaco one day just to have a look around.  This little principality is absolutely amazing!

Super yacht much?

We started off by having a look around the Royal Palace which was fantastic, sitting up on the hill above the harbour.  After lunch up on the hill and a wander around the Royal Gardens, we made our way down to the Harbour - so very many super yachts!

Then we decided to indulge our rich Nick and Corry fantasies, and headed into Monte Carlo.  The Casino is fantastic - such incredible wealth!  Just seeing all the Maseratis, Lamborghinis and Porches!  Fantastic.  And the casino itself, wow!  So much money has been invested in this area, it's overwhelming.

Me with the Monte Carlo casino in the background

Then back to Nice.  We had a quick thunder storm, but then wonderful weather again.  We're heading North now, so imagine that it won't last. 

Next stop - Lyon. 

The French Riviera!

It's been a long few days.

We have spent, over two days, roughly 15 hours on train:

• From San Sebastian;
• To Hendaye;
• To Bordeaux;
• To Toulouse;
• To Nice

 Needless to say it's been a long couple of days!

San Sebastian, I imagine, would be pretty amazing should the weather be nice.  Unfortunately it just wasn't to be this time around.  There was pretty much no sun for the entire two days we were there.  Which is a real shame - no beaches, no swimming, no wonderful lookout points.  We shall have to make a time to come back at a later date.

However, the train journey from San Sebastian to Nice, while long, was absolutely magnificent.  I would highly recommend it to anyone travelling around Europe - from the beautiful vineyards of the Bordeaux, through to Beautiful Cannes, along the ocean.

So here we are in Nice.  We haven't acheived much yet, but it should be a lovely couple of days.  The weather has been great so far, so we might be able to work on our town.

Will update more when I have something more to say, in the mean time...


WE'RE IN THE FRENCH RIVIERA!

Lovely.

San Sebastian, Night One

Sigh.

I suppose it had to happen sooner or later.  When one is travelling in the shoulder season, one should not expect perfect conditions all of the time.  And it is getting later and later, and we are travelling further northward.

Still, did it have to happen here of all places?

San Sebastian is a beach town in the North East of Spain, almost on the French Border.  It is renowned as a beautiful beach resort style city.  And it would have been an absolutely beautiful place to chill out, relax and enjoy some wonderful beach style atmosphere... if the skies hadn't opened up on our arrival.

REALLY? 

We've been looking to destress from all this travel stuff, sit on a beach, drink cocktails for weeks now.  That was why we chose this place.  Instead we've had to wrap ourselves up in jerseys and waterproof pants and carry umbrellas with us.  Do you know how much fun it is to carry 15kg packs over two kilometers in the rain?  I wasn't laughing, I can tell you.

Sigh.  Part of me knows I shouldn't be complaining.  For goodness sake, we're having the adventure of a life time, doing things we've been planning to do for months now.  Still - definite frowny face moment.

Hopefully it'll improve before we leave and we'll be able to share some lovely experiences with you all.

I wouldn't count on it though.

Bilbao

Guggenheim Bilbao

Bilbao is located in the Northern end of Spain in an area called Basque.  It considers itself almost autonomous from the rest of the country - up until Franco it had its own language, which he tried to kill off.

Originally an area defined by its industrial and mining background, it had a resurgence from the early 90's after it was allowed its own language back.   This also culminated in the building of Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum.  It's now a thriving cultural mecca, with a strong artistic bent.

The Guggenheim was definitely the highlight of the city.  It is an almost magical building - from the way it looks both internally and externally, to the flow through the galleries themselves, the way the titanium coating changes colour given the conditions around it - and this is before you even get to the artwork!  And this in itself is pretty spectacular.  Even the pieces outside the museum are worthy of their own gallery.  

Otherwise, Bilbao is a beautiful city.  The architecture is probably some of the most stunning you'll see anywhere in Europe.  The use of the river is an example unto itself.  Each of the bridges that cross the river are slightly different, and give great examples of design from the periods that they relate to - the modern bridges up the Western end of the city areavant garde and interesting without being cliche or garish, while others reflect a much older design aesthetic.

Also along the river you can take in a sculpture walk which allows you to revel in the exterior art work of the city.  We also took the cable car to the lookout over the city - well worth it to accustom yourself to the layout.

The food was pretty fantastic as well - we ate pintxos (a Basque version of tapas) and a delicious meal out in Old Town (which is well worth a couple of hours wandering around, especially if you like shopping!).  

However as we head further north, we're finding the weather to be turning a little.  The first day was in the 20's, the other two were getting a little cooler.

So now off to San Sebastian.  We hear good things!

Hold on - a modern museum PLUS a giant fingerprint??? Hrmmm, where have I heard of this before...?

Barcelona II

So, after Gaudi-ing ourselves out the first day, we have decided to see what else Barcelona had to offer.

On Monday, because like everywhere else we visited most of the museums are closed, we started off at the La Boqueria, the local market.  This is a thoroughly enjoyable experience - vibrant, colourful and intense.  Highly recommend it.

After that, we made our way down to the MNAC - Museum of Catalonyan Art.  While the museum itself was closed, the palace itself is absolutely beautiful and the views from the top stunning.

On Tuesday we took advantage of the fantastic weather and made our way down to the Barcelona Beaches.  There's something rather magnificent about being in 20+ degrees on a beach drinking sangria when you know everyone else is only just getting used to wearing T-shirts again.  Ah well.

Then after a day there, we headed down up and had a look at the Picasso Museum.  It's an interesting opportunity, after seeing some of his more famous later work, to have a look at how some of that work was shaped.  A lot of the museum is dedicated to his earlier art work, which contains elements of realism and impressionism, and then slowly moves into his later work.

So, overall a thoroughly enjoyable three days in Barcelona.  If you are heading to Europe, I would include at least a short visit to this city on my 'must do' list.  It is a beautiful city and one i would love to spend some more time in.


Today, we got up early and jumped on a train to Bilbao.  If nothing else, the train ride between the two cities is beautiful.  Quite stunning, especially when we saw the big birds of prey circling over the mountains.  Old towns on hill tops, ancient castles, huge vineyards, a wonderful journey.

So here we are!  Will update all on Bilbao - once we've managed to explore the place!

Barcelona I

Sagrada Familia

Barcelona is completely nothing like I expected.  This is a thoroughly modern city.  Here I was expecting a dirty, brown and drab city stuck in the past.  Instead this is a city that, while it respects and appreciates its past, it is fresh, clean, open and colourful.  I was amazed at the amount of green space, the wide streets, the care taken with the city.  There are parks everywhere you turn, with a mix of modern, contemporary architecture with the older.

We arrived on ferry last night in the Port, and made our way into town.  We are lucky to be staying in a cute li’l apartment right in the middle of the city.  Down la Ramblas, there is such a buzz on the streets!

So after a good night’s sleep, we decided to dedicate today to Gaudi.  Starting off with Sagrada Familia.  This is an absolutely fantastic modernist chapel, and probably one of the absolute highlights of Barcelona.  Starting with the exterior of the building which only about half finished (after so long, it’s still only due to be completed by 2020).  It feels... organic, almost as if it could have risen out of the ground.  The inside feels fresh and clean, and is flooded with light.  I’d like to come back when it’s complete to see what they’ve done with the place.

Then from there we moved up to Parc Guell.  This is a park that Gaudi designed to be a suburb that never eventuated.  I think the best description of the space is like something out of a Dr Seuss book – not a straight line in sight!  Even pillars are off-centre.

Nick at Parc Guell

Then from there we went and had a look at Casa Battlo, a residential building that Gaudi built.  Full of curves and nautical themes, the house is almost like being inside a giant sea monster.

Then finishing the day with sangria and tapas. 

So yes, I am loving Barcelona.  I am looking forward to exploring more of this amazing city over the next few days.