The bear and the strawberry tree

Olá!

Greetings from Madrid in Espana! On Thursday last week we caught a speed train from Barcelona and arrived in Madrid 4 hours later. As always, we really enjoyed it and are bleak that our long distance train trips are soon to be over. We enjoyed watching the scenery go by and the landscape change. Spain is more hilly than we thought with flat plains inbetween, much like Cape Town. There is quite a lot of agricultural use of the land between Barcelona and Madrid although the country side is looking quite brown.

After checking in, we had time to explore the city before the sun went down. We were blessed with a sunny afternoon and it was so good to be in the sun! First stop on our walking tour was Peurte de Sol, or gateway to the sun, where a statue of the symbol of Madrid is, the Bear and Strawberry Tree. We are not quite sure when the tree became a runner plant or vice versa, but hey. (by the way, no one commented that I got it wrong. The she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus is the symbol of Rome, not Siena!) This square, or semi-circle, is where a lot of important events in Madrid’s history took place. Our hotel was located close to Sol which was great because it was so central. It was also conveniently located near many restaurants so we didn’t have far to get back after a bit of sangria. However, Friday and Saturday night party-goers had the same idea and the Spanish are not quiet people! They were still going strong at 6am on both days.

We walked along San Jeronimo to Paseo del Prado, the street where many of the Madrid’s museums are located, to the city’s largest park, the Parque Del Buen Retiro. Most of the afternoon was spent wandering around the park, chilling on a bench and people gazing. It was quite interesting watching the buskers and exhibitionists on their roller blades! Spring is definitely here! So many trees are budding and in blossom and the days are getting longer. Sunset is about 7pm in Spain at the moment, think it will be earlier in Paris & Rotterdam though. We passed a whole orchard of trees in blossom, so beautiful! I love spring! Love-bird type-parrots were munching on the blossoms, so cheeky!

To end the evening we found a typical local restaurant and tried to decipher the menu! English is not very beeg in Spain, if you decide to visit here we suggest you learn some basic Spanish! Would have helped us a lot. At least know important or your favourite things. Tea doesn’t usually come with milk here so if you want some it is useful to know that it is called ‘leche’. We have really enjoyed Spain but have found the food to be a little unconventional. Every restaurant serves octopus or squid done in ink, tripe, cuttlefish and others. We also found brave potatoes (patatas bravas) and potatoes in a crisis (patatas de crisis)! We liked empanadas but our friend Mayira makes the better ones than the ones we tried.

Friday rained a fair bit so we took it a bit easy and had the first nap of the holiday! But first we braved the rain for a walk about in the opposite direction to the day before. We started with Plaza Mayor, past Palacio Real, down to Plaza de Espana and home again via the Grand Via, one of the main streets in Madrid. We found Don Quixote! He is off on his mission with his side kick Sancho Panza at Plaza de Espana. I didn’t know that he was a Spaniard or that the famous sketch of him is by Picasso. The Spanish love ‘Don Quijote’ and there are figures of him and Sancho almost everywhere.

Saturday we caught the 30 min speed train to Toledo. Wow!! What an amazing place! So typically Spanish and Mediterranean yet so different. An eclectic mix of gothic and Moorish architecture with spires and arches dominating and blending so well together. We loved the narrow cobbled streets with many side alleys and passages. Every street name is a tile and many buildings have colourful pictures in tiles on them, in Madrid too. We had a lovely day exploring Toledo and wandering around the streets. Sights we saw include the main plaza the Plaza de Zocodover, the Alcazar or old royal palace, the cathedral, the last Muslim building still standing (Ernita del Cristo de la Luz, a mosque which was converted into a church), the Peurta del Sol (an arch this time), Iglesia de Santo Tomé (a church housing an El Greco masterpiece) and the Monasterio de San Juan de Los Reyes. It is interesting how Jews, Muslims and Christians lived together so peacefully here for so long. What changed?

Toledo is well known for its silver smiths and their swords. You can’t miss the sword shops, they are everywhere! Justin was really keen to get a sword but getting it past airport security would have been interesting! Bron was happy to settle for a set of steak knives. Next time…. They also make jewellery inlaid with silver or gold in patterns, beautiful and so different. Other popular pieces are Don Quixote and Sancho and chess sets. We were really lucky with the weather and although it was cloudy most of the day it only rained as we boarded the train headed back to Madrid.

Sunday we explored the flea market known as El Rastro which sprawls across many of the central streets. Could have been a flea market anywhere except that the owners of the various stalls shout out what their wares, very interesting. We spoilt ourselves with a pair of cow skin slippers, toasty! We also wandered through the collector’s market at Plaza Mayor. Collectors of stamps, coins and bottle tops gather here every Sunday to check out each other’s collections and see what they can add to their own. Much smaller than El Rastro but equally as interesting.

After psyching ourselves up all week, it was time for the Museo del Prado! We spent about 6 hours in the Prado and probably saw about 70% of the museum’s permanent collection. The Prado is home to quite a varied collection including many well-known Spanish artists such as Goya and Velázquez. We enjoyed the work of El Greco, Goya, Velázquez, Ribera, Rubens, Bosch and of course the few Michelangelo’s, Raphael’s and Rembrandt’s. After 6 hours we were all paintinged-out and decided to call it a day!

Monday was our last day in Madrid and was a slower day preparing to depart for Lisbon on the night train. After a slow start we headed to the local Lavenderia or Laundromat, packed up and spent the afternoon wandering through Parque Del Buen Retiro again and down Gran Via. We discovered the National Geographic Café but had already had a tea break somewhere else, bleak! Next time!

We have really enjoyed Spain and would like to come back to explore some more. We have found Madrid to be a city that is so alive and vibrant and exudes energy. We enjoyed Barcelona too but it didn’t have the same alive-energy feel about it. Barcelona is way more chilled out; maybe it has something to do with the ocean? Next-time items include the Museo Thyssen Burnemisza and some of the other parks in Madrid, Seville, Granada with the Alhambra and other towns on the coast.

Last night we hopped on a night train and arrived in Portugal. We are staying in Estoril which is about 30 min from Lisbon by train. We are here for 4 days and move onto Paris on Saturday. Another flight, oh yay. Hoping the Portuguese are as relaxed as the Italians! We will be back in Rotterdam on Friday 25^th of March. While we are bleak that our holiday is almost over, we are also looking forward to setting up a new home and the challenges of a new job. We have an update on our furniture! The container left Cape Town on the 4th of March and is due to arrive in the UK this Sunday the 20^th. Depending on how long customs clearance takes, it should be delivered to our new place in Rotterdam 2-4 weeks later. So it is on its way but we will need to make a plan for the first few weeks. Hold thumbs that it gets there fast!

We have had a lovely day soaking up the sun in Cascais and taking it easy (read: eating good food and drinking sangria), we are on holiday after all! Looking forward to exploring Lisbon tomorrow and Sintra on Friday. But more about that next time!

Until then, hope you have plans for St. Paddy’s day on Thursday!

x

PS: Go Proteas!!

Colourful tiles

Trees in blossom in the park

Cheeky parrots!

Crystal palace in the park

Peurta de Alcala

Plaza Mayor

Don Quixote and Sancho! 

View of Toledo

Toledo

Arches inside the Ernita del Cristo de la Luz

At Plaza de Zocodover

Sword shop

Toledo street near Peurta de Sol

Protest about the speed limit! At Peurta de Sol in Madrid

A standing cup of tea and pastry snack

The bear and strawberry tree in Peurta de Sol

The top of Gran Via

Colourful tiles

Fountain

It was the first time that we met, Barcelona! …you took my breath away!

Barcelona! It was the first time that we met

Barcelona! How can I forget

The moment that you stepped into the room you took my breath away

Barcelona! La música vibró

Barcelona! Y ella nos unió

And if God is willing we will meet again someday

Friends until the end

Viva – Barcelona!

Whenever I think of Barcelona I think of the song from Queen that was the anthem for the 1992 Olympic Games. Hope you are humming it now too! We left a sunny Rome (Murphy’s Law) on Sunday and arrived in Barcelona after an uneventful flight, yay! No missions at security and no passport control, the Italians and Spaniards are much more chilled out. I love Europe =)

It was a beautiful sunny day in Barcelona too so after checking in we took our first walk out into the city. We wandered down the famous La Rambla, wow what an atmosphere! So many people out and about, walking or sitting at a side-walk café drinking sangria and eating tapas. There are many souvenir shops and buskers on the street which add to the atmosphere.

We made our way down to the waterfront areas and had our first view of the Mediterranean sea! We passed the yacht basin and saw some impressive yachts! We walked along the waterfront through the areas of Barceloneta and the Olympic Village. When the sun went down it was paella and sangria time!

Monday was a public holiday in Spain. Not knowing what to expect to be open, we stuck to the parks and open access areas and caught up on some admin (such as purchasing train tickets for getting to Madrid and then Lisbon). We started the day with a trip to Parc Gűell. Located on the top of a hill, Antoni Gaudi was tasked to create a ‘garden city’ for Count Gűell on his family estate. Our first taste of Gaudi; some interesting ideas. Very colourful with lots of mosaics and curvy architecture which was modern for his time. We enjoyed the warmer weather (~17°C) and soaking up the sunshine!

After Parc Gűell we made our way to the Sagrada Familia, another one of Gaudi’s creations. Building started in 1883 but the church remains unfinished; they are still working on it and there are currently cranes towering over the church. We didn’t go into the Sagrada Familia due to the exorbitant price, we were wondering if they are using tourist’s entry fee to fund the project? You can get a good idea of the church from just the outside of the building. Very different to most churches but very definitely in the gothic style. We are undecided as to whether we like Gaudi’s style or not, we liked some of his buildings but not all of them. Some of his designs are quite weird and don’t seem to fit in with where they are but others work well and complement the building. Maybe we need to see more of them to make a fair decision.

Tuesday we started in the opposite direction and caught the funicular (actually more of a cable car) up the hill of Montjuic where we explored the Castell de Montjuic. We couldn’t find the military museum that was supposed to be here but we were happy to walk around the grounds of the castle enjoying the views of the city and harbour and watching people practice their archery. There wasn’t a lot of information on the castle but we know it was used as a prison and sign of oppression during the civil war (1930s).

After the castle we walked down the hill in the direction of the city passing the stadium used for the 1992 Olympic Games. The stadium is open on one side so we popped in and had a look. Not much to see as it is just a stadium but there is a brief history of the stadium and some pictures of the ’92 games. We also passed the botanical gardens and Poble Espanyol, a village built to showcase the different styles of Spanish architecture (we didn’t go in because we thought it was a bit crazy to pay to look at buildings).

Finally time to explore the city centre! We made our way to the Arc de Triomf from where we walked down to Parc de la Cituadella, past the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar which we popped into later in the evening, past the Barcelona Cathedral and on to the Palau de la Musica Catalana designed by Gaudi. We really enjoyed walking through this part of the old gothic town. I love the narrow cobbled streets and colourful buildings with washing strung up outside. The Palau de Musica is one of Gaudi’s buildings that we actually liked! Lol. And it is still used for performances. We could go into the foyer area but not into the actual auditorium. We en joyed it because it was colourful, different and interesting.

Last stop for the day was the Museu Picasso. I didn’t know that Picasso was a Spaniard and that he lived so recently (1880-1973). The museum showcases his early works through the blue and pink era to the birth of cubism. Bron really enjoyed his early works; it was clear from the age of 15 that he was very talented. But she didn’t really like the idea of cubism and though it was a waste of his talent whereas Justin was more open minded about it. We also didn’t know that Picasso painted the famous the Don Quixote and Sancho paining. The museum also has a little bit of info on his life and the people he was close to. He led quite an interesting and colourful life, having four children with four different women! Recently we were wondering if there would be any artist (or musician) in our life time that would be famous during their life time and afterwards and realised that Picasso would be one! Can you think of others?

Wednesday, Ash Wednesday was cloudy with a cool breeze blowing, we headed out to Monestir de Monserrat for the day. We found out the day before how to get there but when we arrived the dude at the train station said that the station we would arrive at with that particular train would mean a longer funicular ride up to the monastery which we thought wouldn’t be a problem, more scenery and all that. It was only when we got there that we realised he meant a longer walk to the funicular! A walk which ended up being about 6km! Needless to say that we found out about the easier way back.

Even though it was a bit of a mission to get there and back the monastery in the ‘serrated mountains’ was worth the trip. The Basilica was really beautiful and we were on time to hear the boys’ choir at 1pm. We also saw the Black Virgin, a small wooden statue of the Virgin Mary with the Christ child. The monastery is set high up in the mountain and offers beautiful views of the valley and towns below. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to do any of the walks into and around the mountain. When we got back we had enough time to pack and have dinner out at an Irish pub (with normal food where they speak English!) before calling it a day.

We really enjoyed our time in Barcelona and would love to come back. It would have been nice to have more time to explore the Gothic part of the city and see more of Gaudi’s buildings. We also encountered all kinds of people in Barcelona. It’s amazing that sometimes the people that speak the least amount of English can be the most helpful. The public toilets, however, are worse than Italy! We have also been enjoying the warmer weather. It has been between 13-18°C, which isn’t exactly warm, but it has been nice to just wear a top and a fleece (and an extra jersey in the wind) without a ski jacket, hat and gloves! And it has been really nice to soak up the sun!

Today we caught the train from Barcelona to Madrid and have had a great afternoon exploring the city. More about that next time though! We are here for four nights until Monday when we catch a night train to Lisbon for another four nights. After Lisbon we head to Paris. The train would have taken quite long & worked out to be quite expensive so we decided to fly again. So we fly from Lisbon to Paris on Sat 19 March. Then we head back to Rotterdam sometime over the next weekend. We have no idea where our furniture is at this point so if you know of a place to get a good sleeping bag in Rotterdam, please let us know!

Hope you are all well & had a good week. Have a groovy weekend! Until next time, adios! 

x

Sangria!

Barcelona yacht basin

Barceloneta beach front area

Funky restaurant with glass ceiling

Gaudi's Parc Guell

The unfinished Sagrada Familia 

Palau de la Musica Catalona 

Near the bottom of La Rambla

View of the harbour from Castell Montjuic

Gardens outside Castell Montjuic

Turret on the castle wall

View of the national museum

The National Museum

Spring flowers!! (no flowers were harmed during this shoot!)

1992 Olympic torch outside the stadium

100m track at the Barcelona stadium

The Arc de Triomf

Inside the Basilica at Monestir de Monserrat

Mon' Serrat

View from the monastery

View of the courtyard from our room =)

When in Rome...

We arrived in Rome on Wednesday afternoon, our second and last stop in Italy.  It’s done nothing but rain since we arrived and I’ll be very bleak if it is a clear day when we leave tomorrow! Although it has been raining, we still got out and about to see the sights of the city. The city is very different in winter but is still crowded with tourists.

After checking in on Wednesday we did our own walking tour of the city (inspired by a certain Contiki trip 7yrs ago, lol). Sights included on our walk were the Piazza del Popolo, the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona with its three fountains, the Monument to Vittorio Emmanuel II and the Colosseum. It was not ideal photo taking conditions due to the rain so we re-visited these sights again during our stay.

Thursday we spent the day at the Vatican City! First up was walking around the Vatican Museum. We spent about 4hrs in the museum doing the long route, slowly, which means we saw most things. Amongst other things, we saw about a million statues, the gallery of maps, the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms. The museum has a really impressive collection but it is really tiring! Do-not-miss items are definitely the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms.

Next up was St Peter’s Piazza and Basilica. The square is lined with columns atop of which are statues of previous Popes. The basilica itself is HUGE and very impressive! The cathedral has many chapels and is very ornately decorated, obviously no cost was spared. There are many columns, statues and paintings and the floor and ceiling is also decorated or painted. There are many famous works in the basilica of which our favourite is Michelangelo’s Pieta; a statue of Mary with the dead Christ on her lap. If you get a chance to go to Rome, go to St Peter’s Basilica!

Before the sun set, we had a chance to explore Castel Sant’ Angelo and enjoy awesome views of Rome and St Peter’s as the sun set. The castle gets its name from the vision of the Archangel Michael that Pope Gregory the Great had above Hadrian’s Tomb (now the castle). The Pope led a procession to pray for Rome during the time of the plague and when he saw the Archangel he believed that the city would be spared. The outside of and views from the castle are awesome but the inside rooms are pretty random as they are mostly empty. There is however an impressive 360° ramp into the castle and a walk-way along the top of a wall connecting the castle with St Peter’s Basilica. Views of the castle from across the River Tiber at night are awesome!  

On Friday after a rained out attempt to repeat our walking tour of day 1, we headed to the Capitoline Museum at Piazza Campidoglia. The museum chiefly houses important sculptures but there is also a small collection of paintings, carpets, coins and porcelain. This museum would have been much better if there was more information (in English) on the history of the Capitoline Hill and more relevant information of the collected pieces. We enjoyed the big impressive statues but after a while busts of arb people and half broken statues all start to look the same and become random.

This is generally when we take a break from museums and do something else! Like take a walk to Trastevere or ‘across the Tiber’. This scenic part of the city has more typical Italian style architecture. As Justin put it, you could go around any corner and see a neglected bicycle under a window with washing strung across it, a plant of some sort and a lazy cat in the sun. We popped into the church Saint Maria in Trastevere and were awed by the golden mosaic behind the altar depicting Christ and the Virgin Mary. Interesting things was, the timer for the lights shining on the altar is coin operated so if you want see it or take a pic you have to part with your brass! We ended the day with a good meal near the Pantheon and some of the best gelato we have had so far!

Today we spent most of the day investigating the archaeological or ancient areas of Rome which is basically the areas of the Colosseum and Roman Forum/Palatine Hill. Previously we were told that it’s not worth it to go into the Colosseum and there isn’t much to see but we really enjoyed it! There is quite a lot of information up about the building, its history and the events that took place there which made the visit worthwhile. I always thought that the Colosseum is round but it is actually oval in shape. It is quite an impressive structure which took only 10 years to build. It is also one of the most complete buildings in this area. Spectators would engrave scenes on the marble (graffiti) and play games and also gamble at events which makes on think that people haven’t changed much over the years. Except that these days we like to think we are more civilised since we don’t have public executions or gladiator games any more.

After the Colosseum we wandered around the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. It’s quite strange walking next to such ancient ruins right next to a modern city. The ruins vary in intactness but are generally less well preserved than the Colosseum. It is mostly the arches and columns that have survived. There isn’t a lot of information on what each building was used for or what it looked like but audio guides are available. All in all it was kewl to wander around and imagine what life was like back then. Somewhere in the city there was a map showing the area under Roman control at one stage; pretty impressive for one city. After the Forum it was time to head home and get organised for moving on tomorrow.

Other impressions about Italy. We have been eating well; lots of fresh pasta and pizza. And of course real Italian gelato! Justin didn’t believe Bron that not every gellateria in Italy sells good gelato until we found an average one… if you find a good one stick with it! There are so many beautiful leather items for sale. Bron spoilt herself with a light blue leather wallet, so soft! Will have to come back for the leather boots though… no space, especially now that we are flying! Bron has felt very frumpy in Italy. Everyone dresses so stylish and chic! Her standard jeans, fleece, orange ski jacket and comfortable walking shoes just don’t cut it. And finally, the public toilets don’t have toilet seats. Hm. Hoping they do in Spain! Also enjoying the warmer weather. It’s a sad day when you consider 14°C to be ‘warm’. I console myself with the fact that it is about 30°C ‘warmer’ than the top of Hohe Salve!

Tomorrow we fly to Barcelona where we will be for 4 nights. Bron does not enjoy the processes involved with flying and hopes it goes ok! We booked with a budget airline and are expecting some luggage issues! Oh dear. Other favourite parts are airport security and passport control. Hopefully the Italians and Spanish are more chilled out than the British.

After 4 nights in Barcelona we head to Madrid for another 4 nights from which we are also hoping to make a day trip to Toledo. After Madrid the plan is to head to Lisbon and then Paris before heading home around 25 March. Feeling sad that we only have 3 weeks left but lots to see before then and also looking forward to having a place to call home again.

Hope you are having a good weekend and enjoying the sun for us! 

x

When it rains in Rome...

View of St Peter's Basilica from Castel Sant' Angelo

St Peter's Piazza

A terrace at the Vatican museum

Statue of the River Nile in the Vatican Museum

School in Athens in the Raphael Rooms

About to enter St Peter's Basilica

View of Castel Sant' Angelo from across the River Tiber 

The Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain

Statue at the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II

The Colosseum

Inside the Roman Forum

The Roman Forum

View of Costantino's Arch from the Colosseum 

BIG hands At the Capitol Museum

Fountains at Piazza Navona 

Gelato!