Barcelona

I arrived in Barcelona Wednesday afternoon.  I am heading to Malaga, Spain and it is cheaper for me to fly from Lisbon to Barcelona and Barcelona to Malaga than Lisbon to Malaga.  The difference is about two thirds more so as I wanted to come to Barcelona I took it as a sign and here I am for a couple of days.  I have been flying on Vueling airlines and it has been working out quite well.  Barcelona is a big city but with a friendly feel - lots of tapas bars and a huge influence by Gaudi.

I believe this is an office building - not sure how much you can see but it is really cool.

the Gothic area is the oldest area of the city with very narrow lane ways full of shops, cafes and tapas bars. 

you turn a corner and there is a little plazas

I mentioned my evening with Barcelona Taste in the previous post - I found this company on tripadvisor and I can definitely recommend them.  I was told to meet in the Placa del Angel at 7:00 and was greeted by Jo and Jill.  There were 8 of us on the tour plus the leaders.  We went to four little tapas bars in the Gothic area of the city.  We started at a cheese shop - cheese made the Catalonia way - we sampled cow, goat and sheep cheese accompanied by a glass of wine - yum.  They then showed us Catalonia and Basque style of tapas - Catalonia style is small plates served at your table - olives, peppers, blood sausage, cheese, Catalonia sausage, tomato bread (can't remember the real name).  I tried their homemade vermouth - very sweet but not bad with soda water added. The Basque style of tapas is things on a slice of baguette - all prepared and presented on platters on the bar - they all have a toothpick things include ham, sweet pepper & goat cheese, pate, crab salad, tuna, cured sausage and more.  You help yourself and when you are ready to go - you present the toothpicks and pay your bill - yes a bit of the honour system.  The final location was for dessert and Cava - sparkling wine.  Again I don't know the names but we tried a drunken cake - cake soaked in orange liqueur - yum! chocolate molten cake and ice cream - not traditional but Jo's favourite, a ricotta type cheese with honey with a pine nut and honey ice cream and a fried bread similar to french toast with honey and cinnamon.  All were delicious.  I really enjoyed the food and company - 2 Americans living in Sweden, 1 Australian living in London, 2 Australians living in Singapore, 2 Australians living in Sydney, 1 Canadian (me) and the tour leaders were American and French - a rather international and eclectic group which allowed for great conversations.  I have been very fortunate on travels and have met very interesting people.

Pictures from Porto

I promised some pictures from Porto and and I am finally getting them to you.  I am currently in Barcelona (with free wifi in the hotel - yippee) and just in from an evening tour with a company called Barcelona Taste - yes food and drink was involved - more on that in the next post but first some photos from Porto...

Porto City Hall - pretty impressive eh...

I climbed that hill - several times - my hotels all seem to be up...

this is the start of the Douro River which runs through Porto

the Atlantic ocean just up the road from downtown Porto about an hours walk or so

 note the tile work on the church - Portugal is proud of its history of covering their buildings with tiles

Porto is all on a hill...

Regardless of the hills I quite enjoyed Porto - it has a different feel than Lisbon - I am told that the north is the true Portugal and I am very glad I made it to Porto.  From Porto I caught the train back to Lisbon - really easy and relatively inexpensive - $24 euros.  The train was full - mostly with business people - most had on suits and not much in the way of luggage.  Off to Barcelona...

Fado - the music and heart of Portugal

I love Fado - the music is beautiful and haunting. Go to www.youtube.com and search for fado and an artist called Mariza - even if you don't understand the language - the music and feelings come through.  I was fortunate to have an evening of fado while in Lisbon, I did not hear Mariza but did listen to 4 sets, each by different singers 2 women and 2 men - each different but similiar. 

From what I have read, some call fado Portugese folk music, but it is more than that, it combines elements of Portuguese country folk music with Moorish and African influences, among others.  The Portuguese language has a word, saudade, which I understand doesn't translate into English. I found this meaning -'it roughly means "nostalgia" or "homesickness", but implies a bittersweet longing. This word, and its adjoining concept, form the basis of the lyrical content of fado music. Songs are often about lost or unrequited love, death and general sadness.'  Most of the music has a very longing feel.   I was also told that the best way to listen to fado was with good food and wine which I did.

 

 

Porto, Portugal

Ola from Porto in northern Portugal.  I took the train from Lisbon - very easy to figure out and relatively inexpensive - luckily I 'talked' with a lady at the station who told me how to read the ticket.  I say 'talked' as she only spoke portugese and I only spoke english so it was an interesting conversation with lots of acting out and pointing. 

Porto is quite beautiful and all on a hill too -  I really must look at topography in city seletion - lots of up and down for me - ;)  I don't have wifi so am at an internet cafe and did not bring the usb key for photos - so will upload some later.  I spent yesterday wandering the city and took in the Serrvaes comtemporary art museum and gardens -  I have to admit I did not understand most of the exhibits but it was interesting and the gardens were lovely.  I then made my way down to the watefront and did a bit of people watching - fascinating.  I am now off for another wander and a tour on the River Douro.

Fatima, Nazaré and Obidos

I joined a tour to Fatima - the funny part is that when the guide invited us to introduce ourselves - all of us were from Toronto! What are the odds!!  We headed out of Lisbon to the Sanctuary of Fatima - a very important site for Christians in particular Roman Catholics - it is the site of the marian apparitions by 3 children.  In 1917, the children were visited by a woman now known as Our lady of the Rosary of Fatima. The lady is to have imparted 3 secrets to the children.  It is an interesting story - just google Our Lady of Fatima.  The Basicila has a huge square - the leader said that today was quite a slow day - Sundays are busier but the dates around May 13, June 13 and Oct 13 - the crowds are huge. 

We then went to the 14th century Batalha Monastery - very impressive gothic architecture.

We had lunch in Nazaré - stunning views from the cliffs overlooking the town and then from below near the ocean - the surf was up and mesmerizing.

Following along the coast line and passing beautiful views we then came to Obidos - a quaint medieval village surrounded by castle walls with narrow streets, beautiful flowers and its own castle (now a hotel)

my Canadian tour mates...

Overall a great day in beautiful Portugal.

Lisbon

Lisbon is a city of hills  - up and down I go - I dont think I can get buns of steel in 4 days but I am trying... ;)

Lisbon has the old electric trams and a company has a bunch of them that they use for tours so I jumped aboard and took the tour.  Very interesting.

Here are some of the views:

Sé

the public gardens across from Sé

Praca do Comécio

 I think this is City Hall - it is the Municipal Square

I am limiting myself to one pastel de nata (custard tart) per day yummy!!! and just for Nancy - I had chocolate mousse tonight for dinner - very decadent! 

I talked about bells ringing earlier - walking around today I heard the church bells ringing again - it is a bit of a theme that I hope continues.

Au revoir Paris - Ola Lisbon!

My last couple of days in Paris flew by - a trip to the Musée Orangeriere - beautiful Monets - there was a sign at the entrance of the room - Please enjoy the room peacefully - hmmm... perhaps we should have more signs like that.

Speaking of signs - the locks on the bridges are love signs - couples attach a lock to one of the bridges and throw the key in the River Seine - locks are big and small, engraved with their names or marker, some quite elaborate and heart shaped - even combination locks.  I am told it is illegal to do this now but many people still do it. see the photo

Not necessarily a sign but I have really enjoyed the church bells in Italy and Paris - too soon to know if the bells ring in Lisbon.  Not unlike a Muslim call to pray the bells would ring out just before a service would start calling all to attend or reminding people of the time. 

We took a evening cruise on the Seine - but before the boarded - we enjoyed a little café.

The Eiffel tower at night...

Sunday I went to Versailles - while I was not really impressed with the Chateau - the gardens are wonderful - soooo very large - they seem to go on forever.  Unfortunately no real photos of the gardens as the camera died after a few shots inside but I did manage one of one of the fountains.  They definitely thought more is better...

Sunday was my last day in Paris as I headed off to Lisbon early Monday morning (I am rather proud of myself for making my way on my own to the airport via subway and train - and connecting with the right trains)

So Ola Lisbon - I just had time for a brief walk to the centre of the city and to find dinner and of course I had to have a custard tart - yum!! (dangerous food in every country!) but I am looking forward to exploring Lisbon.

Paris continued...

Wednesday evening I headed up to Montmartre to meet up with Patricia - the woman I met in the airport line. She lives just north of Sacre Coeur. We toured around abit looking at shops and climbed up to the church - lots of stairs. This made us thirsty so we went to one of her favourite places out of the touristy areas and had a jug of wine and coucous - both were very delicious. It was a tiny little place popular with the locals - I just loved it. It was a great evening and I felt very french... oh la la...

Patricia and Sacre Coeur

Thursday - I felt that I need to do something cultural so headed out to the Musee d Orsay - a bit of a queue but not too long. A beautiful museum and of course beautiful art - Dega, Rodin, Matisse, Monet, Seraut and more... I then headed to the Jardin des Tuileries for yummy ice cream (the first in Paris) sitting by the fountain in the sun. Then to the Champs-Elysees - I must say that I was a bit disappointed with the Champs-Elysees - I did not expect it to be so commerical and noisey. I prefer Montmartre and other areas instead. My feet were aching (hmm... a theme...) so I headed back to the hotel to take a break and do this blog.

Paris and sore feet!

While Paris is very easy to get around so through no fault of Paris - ooohhhh my aching feet! You can tell the tourists from the real Parisians by their footware - the tourists are wearing sneakers or comfortable looking walking shoes and the locals are in more fashionable shoes though mostly flats for the ladies. 

(I am having trouble placing the photos so you get to see them first and then my commentary us below)

Notre Dame

Hotel de Ville (City Hall)

Place de la Concorde - Arc de Triomphe in the distance

Tuesday I walked from my hotel in the 10th district down to Ile de la Cité - around Notre Dame, Hotel de Ville (City Hall) and then made my way past the Louvre to Opera Garnier where I met up with a walking tour (yep! more walking)  Our guide Phillipe met us on the steps of the Opera building - there was a Mum and daughter pair from Arizona too.  Just the four of us toured around the Opera building, through the back streets, about Edward the 7th (I think) he was a very naughty boy in Paris, we learned the origin of the love seat, we went by the beautiful jewelry stores - these have an exeption to the law that requires stores to post the prices for items displayed in their windows - the reason for the exception is that the jewelry is a work of art.  We made it down to the Jardin des Tuileries - wow! and to the Place de la Concorde - whew!!  After that I took the subway back to my hotel!

 The Pantheon

the pendulum

the view from the Panaroma - Paris...

This is where I want to live...

Wednesday - after cafe and a croissant - I love french bread!! with Gabby from Germany, we headed out again - this time on the subway to near the Jardin du Luxemburg. I planned to go to the Eiffel Tower and Gabby to the Jardin and then to Montparnasse.  I got turned around and ended up at the Pantheon so decided to go in - flexibility is key...  there is a pendulum swinging in the main part of the building and it is telling time - very cool!  They offered a tour of the panarama - you climbed up several steps up to the domed area - fabulous views of the city.  After climbing down I figured out the right direction and headed to the Eiffel Tower though encounter police barricades and demonstrations - I understand the President of Uganda is in town - lots of security personnel.  As this seem a bit like work and I saw a bunch of people standing around with what looked like invitations - I quickly scooted away.  I finally made my way to the Tower and had a picnic whilst looking way up - I had not urgh to climb the thing and once I saw the queue I was glad.  I walked along the Seine and came upon a photographic exhibition free and in the park - dont you just love when that happens...

my picnic view - not bad eh!

On the way to Paris

This year is about being open to opportunities – I struck up a conversation with a women as we waited in line at the airport – well actually she asked me what line I was in and quickly determined I spoke English.  She lives in Paris but is from the UK and is half Greek (very Canadian eh...) we made it through the line then headed for a bite to eat.  So the opportunity part – I asked for her recommendation on getting from the airport to my hotel – she said she does not live far from where I am going and suggested I tag along  - which I did.  Yep I took the train and Metro to my hotel – it was not too bad – though my luggage got stuck in the door of the Metro – thankfully 2 people helped me by holding the door – hey - Parisians are not so bad…  Patricia and I are going to connect later in the week, she lives in Montmartre and has offered me a tour. 

Rome day 2

We visited St. Peters Square and Basilica on Saturday morning  - very large and grand.  The line looked very, very long but it moved quite quickly.  They were very strict – no tank tops or bare shoulders and your knees had to be covered – they turned people away – regardless if you waited in line.  We were in another church – I think in Venice, and one of the priests spoke to people – it is good to remember to carry a scarf just in case.   

Some of the group left for the airport and Katie and I carried on – we found a biker bar for lunch – well we did not realize it was a biker hangout at first – they had great photos of minis and the names of their sandwiches was famous car races – it was not until the bikers started to arrive – they were not driving scooters (which are everywhere here) but real bikes -  all were of a certain age and all seemed to know each other.  When we left the bar was full and everyone was having a great time - We are sure they wondered how a couple of English speaking girls made their way into the bar…  Great sandwich though – made right in front of us - and of course excellent beer! 

The first one is the Spanish Steps, then Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Colosseum.

Katie left today so I am on my own - I walked til my feet were sore - most of the afternoon - found myself at the Colosseum so decided to go in and take the tour - you can bypass the ticket queue if you go in the audioguide line - you can buy your ticket and and guide and skip the long line up.  Our tour leader gave us this tip and it really works.  The colosseum is very impressive and the audio guide was interesting - a rather posh voice be pleasent to listen to...

All roads lead to Rome

We left Florence and headed to Rome via train - an easy trip.  Our hotel is near the train station so a short walk over and we were settled by noon.  After a quick bite at a little cafe - best pizza bread on the trip so far!  just like Mama Zitas!! we headed off for a walking tour - first a ride on the Metro to Piazza di Spagna - the metro is fairly easy to ride - just have to keep your eyes open as there is much construction.  Our tour started at the Spanish Steps and we weaved our way through the streets to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Colonna, past modern shops with designer clothes to cafes and gelato shops.  Yep, you are right we had to stop for gelato - we are all wine drinkers and gelato slurpers... ;) We made our way down to the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuelle II (wedding or birthday cake) then to the ruins, Roman Forum and Collosseo - all very impressive.

Friday is the last day for the tour so Richard planned a leaving dinner at a nearby restaurant - so much laughter and wine - we then ended up at a place called Yellow which we then figured out was a bar in a hostel.  I think many of us were reluctant for the night to end and some were a bit tipsy on the walk back to the hotel.  After breakfast on Saturday morning, we said our good-byes - most people were off to other adventures - Greece, France, England, Germany to name a few.  It is wonderful to hear all the adventures and exciting things people are doing.

I have stayed on for a couple of days in Rome and joined Katie, one of the other tour members - we set off to explore Rome and ended up finding the National Museum of Rome which is very interesting with a beautiful centre courtyard. We then watched a bride and groom have wedding photos taken and then wandered into a church - we then figured out it was the Santa Maria degli Angeli which as created out of the Baths of Diocletian and the current church was partly designed by Michaelangelo.  The really unique part of the church is that on the floor is a merdian  - a line that points north and acts as a sundial and calendar.  A ray of light enters the church through a tiny hole 65 feet up the wall.  The light sweeps across the meridian at exactly noon.  Where the ray crosses the line tells you the date.  We were too late to see the light but a really neat place to explore.  After wandering down to the Roman Forum again and to the Colosseo again - we found a great place for dinner - our complete view was the side of the Colosseo - gorgeous as the sunset. (photos to come)

Florence day 2

I am a bit behind as we have just been too busy,  I am currently in Rome but want to finsh up telling you about Florence first.  My second day in Florence was spent wandering the streets - looking at all the buildings, incredible door knobs, interesting piazzas and people watching - truly fascinating. I found more yummy gelato - yes, there does seem to be a theme.  I had just taken a spoon full when I bumped into one of the tour mates Katie - she laughed and said she had just finished her cup.  As this was a free day for everyone - we all separated and went our own ways - a couple of people headed to the Serial Killer museum - that is right - Florence has a museum of famous serial killers - I understand that Jack the Ripper was one of the highlights - the Kiwis were so grossed out by it they had to leave part way through.  Florence has something for everyone...

In the evening, we all met and headed up to the Piazzale Michangelo to watch the sunset over Florence - it was beautiful!  We brought a picnic, found a bit of grass to sit on and enjoyed the company and the view. A man was playing music in a nearby cafe - a bit of opera, some classical, some old movie music - it was lovely.  A wonderful way to say good-bye to Florence.   (I have some photos which I will upload shortly)

Florence

It is Thursday morning and we are in Florence - arrived yesterday via train.  Richard, the leader gave us abit of a orientation and found us a great place for lunch - homemade pasta - yum! With tummys full, we explored Florence - walked the Ponte Vecchio keeping our eyes averted and our wallets closed - this is the bridge of jewelry shops - lots of pretty things there...  After pointing out the main sights we headed out on our own - I went to the Galleria degli Uffizzi to view the collection of paintings and sculptures mostly donated by the Medici family - beautiful and rather overwhelming.  Thankfully we were all meeting for a drink - Richard took us to a little hole in the wall where you grabbed a glass of wine and drank it in the street - here is the group enjoying the vino.

Today I head off to explore Florence - so far easy to get around - may even do some shopping... Here is a shot of the city hall in Florence and the piazza in front of the building - a wee bit different that Toronto City Hall and NPS...