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! 

Under the Tuscan sun

You know you are in Italy when you can smell cigar smoke on the train platform and in the streets, there are more Vespa’s than bicycles in Amsterdam, there is a church or gellateria on every corner and the restaurant menu doesn’t have beer on it, only wine!

We arrived in Florence on Saturday afternoon after a much easier trip than we expected from Hopfgarten. It was a lovely sunny day and so warm when standing in the sun. After checking in we had enough time to walk around the city centre before the sun went down. The city was packed with tourists and locals and had such a summer feeling in the last rays of light. On our walking tour we passed the Galleria dell’ Academia with a replica of Michelangelo’s David and other statues outside in the piazza, the Galleria de Uffizi with statues of famous Florentine’s on the pillars, the Piazza dell’ Signoria with Neptune’s fountain, the Ponte Vechio and of course the Duomo and baptistery with the golden doors or Gate of Paradise. We also tried traditional gelato and loved it! Florence is one of Bron’s favourite European cities and she is glad that she got to share it with Justin. After 5 years of jabbering on about how beautiful and romantic Florence is, he can finally see what she is talking about!

Sunday we woke up to rain and decided to spend the day doing the museum thing. After a two hour wait in the queue we finally made it into the Uffizi. Justin really enjoyed it but Bron is still undecided whether it was worth the two hour wait. The paintings and sculptures were good but Bron enjoyed the few Rembrandt’s that they had more! We accidentally skipped the rooms with the drawings and I have a feeling we missed something good there.

Feeling a bit museumed-out we wandered around the street markets. So much shopping so little time! The leather and wool goods for sale are just beautiful and not that expensive for the real deal. Not being able to carry much more than what we already have with us, we stuck to a scarf each, sheep skin gloves for Bron and a Venetian mask. Bron has decided that she is coming back for a shopping holiday! lol.

We still had some time in hand and because there was no queue we went into the Galleria dell’ Academia. A much smaller museum but home to the original David by Michelangelo. Wow! What an impressive statue! The statue is 5.2 m and the features and proportions are just amazing. If you are in Florence and have time for just one museum go to the Academia and see the original David!

On Monday we started with a walk up the 463 stairs to the top of the Dome of the Duomo. The paintings on the ceiling of the Dome are impressive; the figures seem so real and some look like they are coming right out of the ceiling. More stairs to the top of the Cupola for views over the city, except the Duomo of course. A bit of a hectic climb but definitely worth it!

After the Dome we made our way to Piazza Michelangelo for views of the River Arno and the whole city. Wow, really impressive. You can see from the hills, to the Ponte Vechio, to the Duomo, to the Santa Croce and to the hills on the other side. Really impressive. We supported a local artist and bought an original water colour of views from the Piazza (not like our printed one from Prague…). There is also another copy of Michelangelo’s David in the piazza. They really love the statue here! They call it ‘David Fever’, which I think we caught!

We walked up the hill a little bit to the Chiesa di San Maniato al Monte and Cimitero dell Porte Sante which is a fortress type place with a church and highly decorated cemetery. We made our way back past the Sante Croce and via a Gellateria. Our last stop for the day was the Duomo itself. We went into the Duomo but not the baptistery, the view of the Gate of Paradise was enough for us.

Having covered everything we wanted to see in Florence, we headed to Siena for the day on Tuesday. Typical Spring day it was overcast and drizzling! In Siena we mostly did our own walking tour of the city. We did however go into the Duomo. A very different cathedral to most others. The pillars on the inside are white painted with blue stripes and the ceiling including the dome is painted blue with golden stars. Another different aspect of this church is the floor. The marble floor has pictures and stories from the Bible rather than just a pattern. Most of the floor is covered with cardboard to prevent wear from the feet of so many tourists.

The walls however are more traditional with Christian paintings and sculptures and there is an impressive bronze of St John the Baptist by Donatello. Another interesting thing is they include the symbol of Siena, a she wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, in the church which we though was weird since it is legend and mythology.

We passed many other churches in Siena and saw the main piazza, Piazza del Campo, where the Palio is held each year. Check out one of the Daniel Craig James Bond movies for scenes of the Palio. Basically a bare back horse race around the piazza but very competitive with lots of local rivalry. We also saw the Palazzo Pubblico which is the town hall with an impressive bell tower.

We really enjoyed walking around the narrow winding streets of Siena with very typical Tuscan houses. We loved the washing lines with colourful laundry hanging outside, not too much laundry out though due to the rain. Siena is very hilly so at the top of one hill you have good views of another. There is also an old city wall and fortress which we explored as well. It is not as well preserved as the Festung in Salzburg where it is a museum you can go inside but you can still walk around the top and people were running and walking their dogs. After a long day of walking it was time to head back to Florence to pack our bags and get ready to move on.

We have enjoyed some really good typically Italian meals in Florence. If you are in the area try the restaurants 4 Leoni and La Lampara. It’s amazing what a difference just using fresh pasta makes. Not sure we will be able to go back to the pre-made stuff! Just watch out for the pasta with tripe that is on most menus. And of course you have to try the gelato! Looking forward to more good food in Rome!

Today, we arrived in Rome on the slow train (~4 hrs) where we will be for 4 nights. More rain today, hoping it clears up soon! Apart from the cold we have actually had pretty good weather since we have been in Europe and can’t complain too much. Shell & Bron had more rain during their two weeks in summer than we have had in 2 months in winter! Looking forward to Spring though. Can notice the days are getting longer and some trees have blossoms already. Come on summer come on! Sorry for those in the Southern hemisphere, it means that your winter is on its way but you still have some good days left.

From Rome we fly to Barcelona on Sunday where we will be for 4 nights. We really didn’t want to fly but to get out of Rome on a train was going to be quite expensive so we decided it would be better just to fly. After Barcelona the plan is to move onto Madrid, Lisbon and finally Paris before heading back to Rotterdam sometime at the end of the month (aiming for 25 or 26 March or so). Feeling sad that the end of our 3 months of travels is in sight but guess we still have 4 weeks left and many good things to look forward to in Rotterdam.

Hope everyone at home is well! Sterkte for Argus and Oceans training! Let us know how it is going, we would love to hear from you.

Until next time, ciao ciao!

x

Views of Florence from Piazza Michelangelo 

View of the Ponte Vechio from Piazza Michelangelo 

The Duomo

Front view of the Duomo

Gate of Paradise 

Inside the Duomo

Replica of David at Piazza Michelangelo

Replica of David outside the Academia

View from the top of the Dome

At the top of the Dome

View of the Sante Croce from the top of the Dome

Typical Tuscan houses

Vespa's!

Sante Croce

Gelato! 

Duomo in Siena

Streets in Siena

Piazza dell' Campo

Inside the Duomo in Siena

Laundry in Siena