Day 90 Barcelona, Spain

It has been around twenty years since we last visited Barcelona and I had forgotten how much I love this place. I love the wide boulevards, the hidden laneways with interesting little shops, the tapas bars and the secret restaurants that only the locals know about.  Our friends knew just such a place.

This place is so popular that you have to be there at least twenty minutes before the doors open because there are no reservations taken and it is a first in first served.  You are seated on stools along a bar that seats around twenty.  As more people enter they stand up against the wall behind you and wait until you finish and then they take your seat.  It could be intimidating but our seats were in a corner where no-one could stand.  There is no menu.  You are simply asked if you have a big, medium or small appetite and if you like fish, beef, or both.  The rest is up to the chef's. The food is to die for with eight courses from appetisers to mains to dessert. Good, honest, no frills Spanish food cooked so well.

This morning we woke quite late and had a very light continental breakfast to get us through our day.  It was all about Sagrada Familia today, the magnificent Gaudi designed Cathedral that we would be touring at around midday.  After breakfast we headed straight towards the marina that looked so inviting from our hotel.  We walked past some million (billion?) dollar yachts all lined up on one side of the marina and the other side was jam packed with the smaller boats, that probably still cost many hundreds of thousands of dollars.  A beautifully designed "shopping mall" was nearby and as we walked around it, I was fascinated with the design of the "ceiling" that reflected the restaurants below.

The morning seemed to slip by very fast and in no time at all it was time to meet our Uber for the drive to Sagrada Familia and to check in for our midday tour.  Everything went to plan and our guide meet us and took us across the street to the entrance of the Cathedral.  There were so many people.  It was the wrong time to visit the Cathedral but beggars can't be choosers and we were lucky to get any tickets at all with our late purchase.

 It took us almost half an hour just to get through security before we were finally facing the front of this magnificent building that towers 182 metres above us.   On every available space, Gaudi has characterised scenes from the bible and you could walk around the outside of the cathedral a hundred times and you would still see something that you missed the previous time. There is the birth of Jesus with Joseph, Mary and the archangels. Then on another tower there is a scene of Herrod killing all male children under the age of two.  It just goes on and on.  This is still a work in progress and although they say it is going to be finished next year, I have to wonder whether it will ever be completed.

And just when you wonder if you could ever see anything better, you step inside. Words just cannot describe the interior nor can photographs.  Gaudi's use of light is simply wonderful and it was not until I got home and started editing my photographs that I could see just how much of a genius Antoni Gaudi was.  The lighting, to the naked eye is not nearly as startling as it is in a photograph.  The immense soaring columns look almost like a forest of trees.  Simply beautiful.

Our tour was around an hour and a half and it was not long enough.  Our friends did a slightly different tour this morning at 9am.  They were the first through the doors and their tickets allowed them to go via elevator to the top of one of the towers.  However, the elevator was only one way.  The had to walk down hundreds of stairs to return to the bottom!

After our tour we made the decision to walk back to our hotel.  It is around 5km but an easy downhill walk. Around the half way mark we found a restaurant to stop at for lunch.  We ordered Paella but I have to say it was a disappointment after the one we had in Sevilla.  There was no crunchy base that the Spanish call "socarrat" that is formed when the rice sticks to the bottom of the pan.  However, the restaurant itself was very charming.

It was good to be able to walk off our Paella as we continued our journey back to our hotel.  We walked past a street entertainer, Barcelona's "Arc de Triomf", the old town (note the bicycles hanging off the balcony in one of the photographs) and lots of unique stores.  I stopped at a shop that sold hand-made Espadrilles.  I couldn't resist buying a pair that I know I will wear to death.  

We didn't arrive back to the Serras Hotel until 3.30.  I just need to say here how fantastic this hotel is.  Not only is the accomodation five star but the staff here bend over backwards to help you in anyway they can.  An example.  We were waiting outside the hotel for our Uber to arrive this morning, and after about five minutes one of the staff came out to see if we were okay. They thought we were trying to hail a cab…..

Tomorrow we start the long haul back to Australia.  Our first leg is Barcelona to Singapore - 14 hours - and then an overnight in Singapore before commencing the 5 hour flight to Cairns on Sunday.  I'm glad our travel agent has broken it down for us and I'm looking forward to a little last minute retail therapy in Singapore.  Mind you our suitcases are packed tight so it can't be too much…...

Day 88 (Day at sea) & Day 89 Barcelona, Spain

Our epic journey has drawn to an end. I have mixed feelings. Sad that it has come to an end, but happy when I think about all the places that we have seen.  What a tremendous experience it has been.  I think we will both be pleased to be home and get back some form of routine.  Exercise, exercise, and more exercise hahahahaha.  I am not looking forward to the washing though….

Last night we had our last dinner with the friends that we met very early in our voyage, and whose company we have consistently enjoyed.  Tina has set us all up on a WhatsApp group so I'm sure we will stay in touch and hopefully, sometime down the track, we may all get together again.  Who knows.

This morning we had to be off the ship by 8.45am and it was perfect timing for us as our driver arrived at 9am. It was then an easy transfer to our hotel - The Serras.  It is a beautiful hotel and is just a 10 minute walk to the Gothic area and Los Ramblas, the famous avenue in Barcelona.  Our room was not ready when we arrived, that was not a surprise, so we left our luggage in storage and went for a long stroll.  I think I mentioned in an earlier post that our Aussie friends, Tina and Russ, are also staying here.  Pure luck that we chose the same accomodation, and we will catch up tonight for tapas and drinks.

 I love the architecture of Barcelona with its heavy Gaudi influence and we went looking for the two buildings, close by, that Antoni Gaudi built before his death almost one hundred years ago.  The first is Casa Barliò with its beautiful mosaic facade, and this building is considered one of his masterpieces. 

The next is Casa Mià built between 1906 and 1912.  It is a controversial building with its undulating stone facade and the twisting wrought iron balconies.  It was the last private residence that Antoni Gaudi built.

We continued our walk and I can't stop looking upwards at the lovely architecture.  It doesn't make for the greatest photography but I love it so much.

We are now starting to feel hungry as we had a very light breakfast quite early this morning.  Philip has spotted a Hard Rock Cafe and as it's been ages since we have been inside one, that's where we head.  Certainly not the healthiest food, but we enjoyed it very much and devoured the whole lot!  Mind you, by this stage we had walked almost 10 kms, but I don't think calories in equaled calories out…...

It's now time to find our way back to our hotel.  We followed a different path back to our hotel that lead us down some very narrow streets.  These streets are used by both vehicles and pedestrians and when a large cement truck came down the street towards us we had to duck into a shop to give it room to pass!  I wish I had taken a photo.  When we arrived back our room was still half an hour away from being ready so it was suggested that we head to the rooftop bar and eating area and make ourselves comfortable while we waited.  The views from up here are lovely and tomorrow we will go and explore the harbour area.  

This is a very short post that make for a change - hahahaha… But it's time to shower and change before we head out for dinner. Until tomorrow….

Day 87 Cádiz, Spain

 Two different tours for Philip and I today. Philip a "forest" bike ride and for me "The White Villages of Andulusia".  Both tours were not until the afternoon so we enjoyed a walk around Cádiz this morning.  From our ship it is an easy walk across the road to the City Hall of Cádiz.  

The city hall is surrounded by lovely parks and as we wander further, guess what we came across?  Yes, another ABC.  This one is the Cádiz Cathedral.  

No mucking around with names a mile long in Cádiz.  Adjacent to the Cathedral is a Carousel unlike any other I have seen as it is a double decker.  It's gorgeous.

We walked around the town centre for around an hour.  Of course we got lost but google maps to the rescue again.  When will we learn that these ancient streets are never straight!  Back to the ship for a quick light lunch before we begin our afternoon tours.

Philip said that he enjoyed his ride although it was probably the most strenuous out of all the rides he has done.  Everyone was given a choice between electric or push bike.  Philip of course chose the push bike.  We were both laughing before his tour about where they would find a forest in this region of Spain and indeed it was not what we would call a forest, more like bush. They travelled over sand dunes and rode past some beautiful beaches with really lovely views.  Their guide pointed out land in the distance that he said was Morocco.  Here are his pics.

My tour was around five hours and I was lucky enough to be on tour with Keith and Judy so I was not lonely.  Our first stop was the village of Medina Sidonia.  It is not a long stop.  Just long enough to walk to the top of a small hill for some lovely views out over the terrain.  The landscape is literally covered in wind turbines, and the buildings within the villages are almost all painted in white paint.

Now we are headed for the village of Arcos De La Frontera, and as we leave the bus, we are fronted by a very steep hill.  I had read about this in the tour description but nonetheless it was very steep and really got the heart rate up.  Over the past three months most of our walking tours have been almost entirely flat so this one was a bit of a shock to the system.  When we reached the top of the steep hill our tour guide reassured us that we had done the hard bit.  Not so.  Although it was not as steep, the next hour of the walk was all uphill.  All I could think was "well, it's going to be all downhill on the way back to the bus!"

This village is another that is so typical of Spanish Architecture.  Yes there are lots of white buildings but now and then you will spot a splash of colour as if in defiance.  The Basilica that we were making our way towards at the very top of the hill was built in the 15th century and once again it defies my imagination as to how they managed to build such magnificent structures with just muscle strength.  When we finally reach our destination, just past the Basilica, the views are breathtaking.

Our guide takes us to a hotel near the Basilica where we enjoy a glass of the regions Rioja and olives.  I love olives and the taste of these was outstanding.  I would love to know what they pickled them in to achieve the orange colour.  The view from the dining room was extra special with its wall of glass looking out over the valley below.  

After our snack it was a long walk, all downhill thank goodness, back to the bus.  Our bus took a different route on the way back and we drove by some lovely beaches with golden sand and azure water. There are lots of surfers riding the long breaking waves and our guide tells us that it is a favourite place for surfers.

This is our last day of tours and tomorrow is a day at sea (and the packing!) before we reach Barcelona where we will stay for two nights.  Lots to see here so stay tuned.