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Park Guell, Barcelona
Gaudi's landscaped park. Spain
(5th-13th April, 2008)
Leaving Melbourne on the 4th of April I had a seven hour stopover at Hong Kong Airport and then a night at a lodge near Heathrow Airport before meeting Rupesh in Barcelona. Rupesh had already been in Barcelona for a few days on a work conference and had some time off afterwards to do a bit of travel. The rain did seem to follow us around parts of Spain but didn't dampen our plans too much.
Barcelona
We spent a couple of days around Barcelona admiring Gaudi's (Spanish architect) work including his house and the La Sagrada Familia - the famous church which started being built over 100 years ago and still has another 40 years to go! The Olympic Museum in Barcelona was great as was the Olympic Stadium. The Olympic Stadium was rennovated in time for the 1992 Games. Being in Spain there was lots of Tapas to be eaten and Sangria to be consumed.
Clearly the highlight of being in Barcelona though was when Rupesh took me to see a football match(at home it is really soccer!) at Camp Nou Stadium - Barcelona vs Gafafi(one of the Madrid teams).
Vera de Moncayo
Mind the pedestrians in hats! It was a rather cold evening sitting in the open almost at the top of the stadium and unfortunately neither team scored. But I still assured Rupesh that it was one of the best nights of my life!
Vera de Moncayo
We had a hire car and headed inland and west to Zaragoza and this is where the rain started and continued to follow us. In Zargoza we visited the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del pilar where in AD40 Santiago (the apostle known as St. James) saw the Virgin Mary descend atop a pilar. The basilica was built around the pilar and a tiny portion is still exposed where people travel from far and wide to brush lips with it! We escaped the rain and I ordered what I thought was a hot chocolate at a cafe only I ended up with a cup of melted chocolate! Just out of the town of Tarazona we found a campsite at Vera de Moncayo very close to a monastery. To escape the rain again we found a tiny pub with almost the whole population of the town in it, it seemed. By the whole population I mean about 8
Aqueduct
Segovia people! They were all watching live bull fighting on the TV in Seville. I had no idea how gruesome bull fighting was.
Segovia
En route to Segovia we stopped in a tiny village on a hill called Calatanazor. Apparently it is the most romantic hilltop village of stone. We felt like the only 2 people there and spent a long time watching these huge rafters soar above the village. We then continued on to Segovia - you certainly know when you have arrived here by the size of the spectacular aqueduct.
Toledo
After spending the morning wandering around Segovia and admiring the Alcazar (fairy-tale like castle) we headed to Avila. Avila was once a walled city and the old part of town is still surrounded by this wall. We were able to climb on to the top of the wall and view the city (old and new) from the wall. We continued on to Toledo, finding a campsite on the river - Rio Tajo. We decided to spend 2 nights given that Madrid was only a half hour train ride away. Toledo is built on a rocky ridge above the River Tajo with lots
of narrow streets and small squares. The Alcazar (fortress) was the highest point in Toledo. The saying, 'Holy Toledo' certainly came to mind a number of times & from what I have read it did originate in Toledo, Spain. Toledo became one of the great centres of Christian culture & has a 13th century gothic cathedral which is one of the largest in Europe and houses the seat of the Cardinal Archbishop of Spain.
Madrid
Caught the trian to Madrid and the rain in Spain just kept falling on us. So, we found somewhere nice to sit and eat Tapas and enjoy sangria. The things you have to do when it is wet!! We jumped on one of the tourist buses and made a few ideal wet weather stops. The Prado Museum was quite impressive with works by El Greco, Rodriguez and Goya just to name a few. The Plaza Mayor was beautiful even though it was bucketing down. We found the ultimate Churros (Spanish donuts) cafe. The only thing they served were Churros with mugs of chocolate dipping sauce. Before catching the train back to Toledo we had a drink at a bar that was full
Paella
El Palmer, just out of Valencia. Home of paella. of bulls heads mounted on the walls and bull fighting pictures.
San Lorenzo de El Escorial
North of Madrid is San Lorenzo de El Escorial which was once the home to the Spanish Kings, Queens & Princes. The rooms in the complex were impressive and in the basement were the tombs of the Kings, Queens and their children.
Valencia
After spending the morning in San Lorenzo de El Escorial we spent the afternoon driving south east to Valencia. Just south of Valencia we found a campsite in El Saler in the region that is home to paella. Paella it was then that evening for dinner just down the road from El Saler in El Palmer on lake Albufera. On the drive back to the campground we spotted a hedgehog crossing the road. A first sighting for me. We pulled over a spent a good while trying to find it!
Spent the morning in Valencia. Found a great cafe in Plaza de la Virgen and for a change we were able to sit in the sun. It was a beautiful day. Inside the cathedral next to the plaza we found the Holy Grail -
apparently this was the chalice from which Christ sipped during the last supper. The Holy Grail was very well protected behind bullet proof glass with the odd security camera! We climbed the bell tower of the cathedral giving us grand views over the city. After watching some Brazilian street dancers we found the local market quite by accident. The market was full of loads of fresh fruit and vegies, cheeses and cured meats.
Barcelona
Leaving Valencia in the early afternoon we drove north back to Barcelona. We made it in time to see La Font Magica - the magic fountains at Montjuic. It is quite a specatcular sound and light show that happens only in the evenings on weekends. Watched some flamenco dancing before enoying our last meal of more tapas and sangria.
We had an extra day in Barcelona before flying back to London in the evening. It was another glorious day. The rain had finally stopped following us. We wandered past the Plaza de Toros however there was no bull fighting until the following weekend. We walked around Park Guell where Gaudi had turned his hand to landscape gardening. There were great views over
Camp Nou Stadium, Barcelona
Rupesh - very serious about football! Barcelona and we were amazed at how the La Sagrada Familia dominated the city with its size including the huge spires. Finally we took in some of Picasso's work at the Picasso Museum before heading back to London.
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