The second half of our Spanish holiday started with a long drive from
Valencia back to Barcelona starting at 06:45. We made it back in good time to
drop off our rental car before 11:00 and meet Brenainn and Kirsten at the
airport and then head off to get settled!
Bren and Kirst had used housetrip.com to book all their accommodation for
their European holiday and for the Spanish leg. On house trip people rent out
their convenient inner city apartments at good rates for short stays. So far
they had had really good experiences but that was all about to change! After
waiting outside the apartment for 45 min to check in, the guy phoned to say he
was still cleaning and could we wait. Sorry what?! The apartment was really
conveniently situated but not exactly clean and looked suspiciously like a
rocking New Year’s Eve party had gone down the night before. Not a good first
experience for J&B but that would fortunately change after Madrid.
The day had already almost passed so we decided to get our admin out of
the way so the next day could be used for exploring! The girls went to the
local Laundromat while the boys organised train tickets to Madrid for our next
leg of the holiday.
Evening came and we headed into the city! Our apartment was in the
Gothic city centre and that first evening we enjoyed wandering around the
streets, still festive with Christmas lights and many stores open, ambling
along La Rambla and of course finding a good Tapas bar for more pinchos!
Bron and Justin have been to Barcelona (and Madrid) before but were
looking forward to seeing some of the things we missed the first time, such as
Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. Construction on this Temple of the Holy Family started
in 1882 and Antoni Gaudi got involved and changed many of the plans in 1883. Unfortunately
Gaudi passed away in 1926, construction slowed down and funds were thin neither
of which were helped by the Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939). Construction is
still not complete but the roof is on, which allows visitors inside, and the
church was consecrated by the Pope in 2010. The plan is to have it finished by
the 100 year anniversary of Gaudi’s death in 2026.
Last time we chose not to go in due to the long queue, the rather pricey
entrance fee and not being really convinced by the style. This time we decided
to see what all the fuss is about and got organised and bought tickets online. At
first we held onto our view that the building is a bit random. But after taking
a closer look and listening to the audio guide, we started to appreciate the building
and the passion behind the design. The extra museum-type section in the church
on Gaudi and Nature also really helped to explain the symbolism behind Gaudi’s
ideas. We left feeling impressed, inspired and respectful of Antoni Gaudi and
his work. We highly recommend a visit to the Sagrada Familia if you are in Barcelona
but buy your tickets online and get the audio guide! Looking forward to the day
when it is finally finished.
The rest of the day Justin and Bronwen went on to explore more of the
Gothic city centre that they missed out on last time and soak up some sun at
the harbour while Bren and Kirsten found more of Gaudi’s buildings and explored
Park Guell. We only had one day to explore Barcelona which was sad but we saw
and did a lot in our one day.
The Sagrada Familia
Up in one of the towers
Construction is still ongoing, and likely to be for a long time
Bren getting creative in one of the towers at the Sagrada Familia
Inside the Sagrada Familia
The columns in the church are designed to look like tree trunks
Another of Anton Gaudi's creations; Casa Batllo on the right
Down at the port
The next day we jumped on a high speed train to Madrid nice and early
and headed to check into our accommodation. Our Madrid housetrip.com accommodation
was so much better than Barcelona and was much more like what we expected. The
people were so friendly, the house was clean and really well equipped, each couple
had their own bedroom and bathroom and it was so cosy! It was home away from
home. If you are planning a trip to Madrid, we highly recommend this one! (Get
in touch with us if you want more details.)
J&B spent the afternoon getting to know Madrid, again. We walked
from our accommodation at Pyramides up to Plaza de Toledo, to Plaza Mayor and
onto Puerto de Sol to say hi to the Bear and the Strawberry tree, then down
Gran Via to the National Geographic café where we had a tea and snack break
before heading onto Plaza de Espana. How to see Madrid in one day! At Plaza de
Espana we greeted Don Quixote and browsed the Christmas market. We discovered
that the Spanish give Christmas gifts at Epiphany 12 days after Christmas so we
were caught in the middle of last minute Christmas shopping! In the evening we caught
up with B&K again and headed back to Sol where the Christmas tree of lights
was now on. We had a lovely evening taking pictures and sharing a meal
together.
Pinchos!
Bron discovers an arty tree
Plaza de Espana
The girls and the healthy option
The boys and the VERY healthy option
The first stop the next morning was the Plaza de Toros Las Ventas, the largest bullring in Spain and Europe. J&B visited the bull ring in Ronda during their last trip to Spain and were curious to compare. Apparently the actual bull ring in Ronda is larger but Las Ventas has more seating space. In Ronda we walked around the whole bull ring by ourselves; on the sand in the ring, in the stands, around the horse and bull quarters. At Las Ventas we had a guided tour, this meant we had less freedom to walk around but more detailed information. Our guide was very good and explained to us the history or Las Ventas, the proceedings of a bull fight and the prestige of Matadors. We are still not convinced by the whole idea and I don’t think we would go to a bull fight but it is still interesting to visit a bull ring. Bull fighting is so quintessentially Spanish. If you want to understand Spain, then you have to attempt to understand bull fighting. Apart from all the details, we loved the actual building. It is in the typical Moorish style with many arches and tiles, it is really beautiful. It was just a pity that the circus had taken up residence in the middle of the ring for the low season obscuring views around the ring.
The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring Madrid with B&K, finding the best ice cream outside of Italy, looking for the perfect scarf and leather items and enjoying each other’s company =) However, in the evening we discovered that the metro service was experiencing a strike which was not ayoba for getting around the city over the next few days.
Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas
Puerta del Sol - the Bear and the Madrono (strawberry) Tree
Yum!
Eating ice-cream in Plaza Mayor
The next day we jumped on another high speed train and headed to Segovia
for a day of exploring! Segovia is well known for its well preserved Roman aqueduct
and has a Royal Alcazar, a Gothic Cathedral and old city walls. The bus from
the train station deposited us at the foot of the aqueduct and from there we wandered
about the narrow streets until we found the main square and the cathedral. Unfortunately
it was closed that day so we couldn’t go in but it is still impressive from the
outside. Then on to the Alcazar. This castle-palace was built as a fortress on
a rocky crag above where the Eresma and Clamores rivers meet near the
Guadarrama mountains. The view from the palace and towers over the fields and the
cathedral towards the mountains is spectacular. We especially enjoyed soaking
up the sun on the tower while enjoying the good view. Lunch was had on a sunny terrace
back in the main square and the rest of the afternoon was spent walking along the
old city walls approaching the aqueduct from a different angle. Back in Madrid
we were pleased to find the metro strike over and had a pleasant relaxed evening
at the apartment with a creative local meal by Justin while B&K packed.
Roman Aqueduct in Segovia
The Alcazar
View of the Cathedral and the town from the Alcazar
Inside the Alcazar
Sunday arrived and with it the end of Bren and Kirsten’s European
holiday =( We had such a great time with you guys!! Come visit us again soon! B&K
were off to the airport for the long journey back to Cape Town while J&B
still had the whole of Sunday and Monday before having to think about work and
the cold awaiting in Rotterdam.
Sunday was also the beginning of Bron’s cold so a slow day ensued. Every
Sunday the streets of the La Latina area are taken over by the El Rastro
market. We had fun browsing the stalls and enjoying the sun. In the afternoon
we took home made sandwiches to our favourite park and vegged in the sun
watching people paddle-boat in the lake. A quiet evening followed with a nap
and dinner at a local restaurant.
The El Rastro Market
Bron getting lost in her cup of Chai tea at the National Geographic Cafe
And then it was Monday and our last day of holiday =( We were so looking
forward to a last day in the sun and were severely disappointed when the day
dawned cloudy and cold. But we made the most of it with a last trip into the
city for a postcard writing session and lunch at the National Geographic Café. All
too soon we were on a plane and then a bus and tram and back at our front door.
It was a wonderful holiday but of course over way too soon!
The sun break has stood us in good stead for the lousy weather we are
currently having. It has been seriously cold over the last week. It has been
between 0ºC and -7ºC or so with a lot of snow on Monday and Tuesday causing
chaos with the trains. I do not recommend cycling in this weather! But it has
to be done. It is snowing again today and is forecast to snow more in the week.
Last year was much colder, around -15ºC in the day, but was only for 2 weeks.
At the moment we find ourselves at the beginning of Elfstedenkoorts. Hype
for the 200 km eleven city skating race is much less this year than last after
the country was so disappointed at the outcome. On Thursday news was that there
was an 80% chance of it occurring this year but all the snow is going to decrease
that. Only time will tell! We would love to experience an Elfstedentocht while living
here but think it would also be quite crazy. The last race was held in 1996 and
the Dutch are so ready for another one. Watch this space!
In other news we are patiently awaiting the arrival of Michelle and
Graham’s first child who was officially due on Friday, the 18 th of
Jan. All the best guys! We can’t wait to meet you little one =)
And we seem to finally be getting over our colds. Hopefully for good! Hope
you are all well and enjoying the SA summer!
x
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