karine
.k. Joined: November 9th 2005
Logged in: August 23rd 2007
Logged in: August 23rd 2007
- Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr Seuss.
I'm taking a leap into the unknown - I've quit my job in Melbourne, sold everything I had except for my clothes, and gone to Spain to catch a glimpse of a completely new culture, to challenge myself. I need to find out what and where the limits are for my life - if any. So far I know I can do a whole lot on my own and I don't need a whole lot to survive or to be happy. And I don't need people telling me what I can't do because I will find that out for myself!
"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." - Augustine (354-430)
Travel Blog Posts
View of Granada from the Alhambra
This is one of my favourite cities in Spain! The people were soo nice, the city so accessible, and especially the Muslim quarter (Albayzin) where I stayed - was intimate, cosy and homely. Rafa - the hostel owner - was possibly the nicest guy ever! I decided to extend my stay and even though the hostel was full, Rafa gave me his own bed while he slept on the sofa! Now that's hospitality!! The Alhambra is a must-see in Granada, even if we did have to wake up at 5am to get in line!! The earlier you get there, the better. The wait was waaay worth it, though, and some people even choose to spend a whole day there chilling out. Definitely understand why they'd wanna do that - it's a huge place with so much ... read more
Cathedral
Hot hot hot! Spent most of my afternoons here just chilling in the air-conditioned hostel! The Muslim influence is evident in the buildings around the city. I love the intricacy of it. The Alcazar here is quite amazing, though I recommend seeing this before the Alhambra in Granada because that really overshadows any other palace in the country! Unfortunately I missed out on seeing the inside of the Cathedral, the opening times in August were very limited and well, I basically couldn't wake up early enough to get in. Haha. My bad. Caught a flamenco show here - I must admit I'm not much of a flamenco person and the lady dancing really freaked me out! She was shush-ing everyone during the show and kept telling the audience "no video" which kinda annoyed me. A lot. ... read more
Outside the Colosseum
Arrived in Rome to scorching heat - I don't handle heat well, especially not without a beach nearby! Anyway, I took a walk in the evening, decided to just get a feel of the city. I walked into the path of the Colosseum, so I thought, heck, why not just go in and take a look? And as I was heading back to the hostel, I walked right into the piazza where the Trevi Fountain was. That basically sums up what walking in Rome is like; if you let yourself wander, you just find yourself infront of yet another amazing Baroque building, in a gorgeous piazza, or in front of a massive fountain. I loved this part of Rome - and I love that they are still finding gems (ruins) right beneath their city, wherever ... read more
Cathedral
Mallorca was beautiful, weather was awesome and I got a great tan! Didn't check out that many places, but I reckon the beach and sun is that you go to Mallorca for anyway. Spent two weeks at the Calanova Sailing Club with 51 teens. Oh joy! ... read more
My welcome.
One day and one night in Málaga, yet another whirlwind trip but it's a small enough city to enjoy in a day. Got a nice welcome from the hostel I stayed at - Picasso's corner, literally round the corner from where Picasso was born, of course now turned into a 'fundacio'. I spent a good part of the day at the Alcazaba, former palace/fortress for the Muslim leaders, built in the 11th century. Great views of the city and the port. There's a Roman theatre below the Alcazaba, which you'll see on your way to the entrance from Placa de la Merced (where I stayed). Of course, I only found out about a certain elevator that takes you up to the heart of the Alcazaba after I had climbed up. It figures! Above the Alcazaba ... read more
Musical horsemen.
The story - in a nutshell - goes that a local baker asked Sant Medir to cure him of an illness, and the saint did. Thus the baker started a tradition of going round handing out sweets to the locals - hence the "candy fiesta" nickname. Basically the parade consists of horsemen/horsewomen throwing out candy. It's like Halloween except kids don't go round to houses all dressed up, they just stand in the streets and catch sweets. Hehe. Man, can I just say that those sweets hurt when they're being thrown at you!! I call them little pieces of 'sugar coated hail' hahaha. Terribly fun, though, I couldn't stop laughing when we got pelted by sweets. It's kinda embarrasing saying this but spending an hour picking up candy from the floor really gave my legs a ... read more
The Alps from the plane
What a whirlwind of a trip to Geneva. This is one of the reasons I decided to stay in Spain - to take advantage of being able to be in another European country in two hours. Firstly, I have to admit I woke up on Saturday morning not really wanting to take a flight anywhere, after a long week. But I made myself go, and was half-dozing off in the plane until for some reason I felt like opening the window shutter and boy was I reminded of why I love travelling. We were just flying past the Swiss Alps and the view was awesome. I don't know if these pictures even capture half of the feeling but it's so good to see stuff that you've read about and seen in magazines, on tv, etc. I ... read more
Portal de L'Angel
Well, well. One blink and Christmas is just around the corner! Been awhile since I've posted anything on this travel blog. I guess that's because I've gotten into routine and have stopped feeling like I'm a traveller here. Hence the temporary halt in picture-taking! However, decorations on the streets of Barcelona really warrant some pictures, especially since I doubt I'll be here next Christmas! Christmas markets are popular here: they sell everything from trees to tinsel, and every house has a manger (el belen), complete with figurines of baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary, the animals and the three kings. What I think is really interesting is that the Three Kings (Los Reyes Magos) bring gifts on January 6th, instead of Santa Claus. I kinda prefer this version as, really, Santa is a Coca-Cola creation anyway. The ... read more
Roman ruins
Zaragoza was freezing!! Didn't actually know that it was Spain's fifth-largest city until I got there. The Rio Ebro runs through it and the amazing Basilica De Nuestra Senora Del Pilar sits on the the edge of the river. The domes are decorated with tiles of green, blue, white and yellow and it's quite a sight to behold. There are also Roman walls here which are quite impressive. Didn't do any proper touring here as the main idea was to catch up with a friend and just to chill outside of Barcelona!... read more
Sardana
A four-day festival of the patron saint of Barcelona (or was it Catalunya?) First night was the opening, with the sardana dance at the Cathedral, gegants (giants) and fireworks at Placa Sant Jaume. Next night we headed to the Correfoc - running with the ´dragons´. You have been warned, if you ever go for this, bring something to cover your head AND the rest of your body because these dragons shoot fire AT people, and some people were really crazy enough to run WITH them. It was fun, though, and really funny.... read more
