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round-the-world in 2005

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Spain

June 18- June 24, 2005

Our Spanish speaking skills gained from Central America will come in handy in Spain.

Familia Sagrada spires

18 Jun 2005 Barcelona, Spain

Luxurious
We returned to the ‘Grand Bazaar’ for a mini shopping spree, and made purchases of sandals, shirt and shorts for Clare. That is all we had time in Turkey to do before catching the airport shuttle, then off to our next country, Spain. We arrived in Barcelona around 8pm, then straight to our luxury hotel. Our accommodation comprised two huge rooms plus en suite, a giant bed, TV, aircon - so much more lavish than we are used to. We relaxed with a bath, watched some TV and read the paper - and savoured this rare moment of luxury.

Barcelona beach

19 Jun 2005 Barcelona, Spain

No rain in Spain
We reluctantly had to change hotels - and what a contrast it was. The hostel we booked online at first we could not find. It was upstairs, behind an unmarked iron door. The cleaning lady let us in to what looked like a hospital - unlike any hostel we had been in. After we had settled in, we took a walk down the lively ‘Las Ramblas’ main street. The guy at the tourist office said that ‘everything’ is closed today as it is Sunday. However, we found plenty to do. In front of the magnificent gothic cathedral, locals danced to a band in the courtyard as they do each sunday. It seemed like a national routine, and too complex for us to join in. We enjoyed a wander around here in the medieval section of town - dark narrow alleyways. We were just waiting for pails of waste to be dropped on us from above. We walked down to the waterfront, through some standard markets, and Rob went for a swim in the chilly waters. The weather is very nice though, about 30 degrees celsius. The spanish we learnt while in Central America is coming back well, though here in Barcelona they often speak Catalonian, which is quite different, and many of the signs are written that way too.

Guadi house

20 Jun 2005 Barcelona, Spain

Going Gaudi
Barcelona is growing on us. Its architecture - old and new - is beautiful, the people are friendly and the streets are great to wander. We spent the morning discovering buildings designed by one of the city’s favourite sons, Antoni Gaudi. He was well ahead of his time, designing wonderful buildings that are actually ‘works of art’: Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, La Pedrera, Park Guell. In the afternoon, we both went for a swim in the ocean, and it was a bit hotter today - about 33oC. We expect to be even hotter in the next month though in Egypt and Italy. We finished the day gorging ourselves at another all-you-can-eat buffet! Of course we are only refueling!

Alicante festival

21 Jun 2005 Alicante, Spain

Fiesta
Today we moved further south to a smaller Spanish town on the coast, Alicante. The bus ride was long and we arrived around mid-afternoon. After finding tourist information, we found out there was an annual local fiesta happening in town all week. Great for the experience, not so good for finding accommodation. Luckily there was a room at a lovely guesthouse in town. We settled in our room before heading out to the closed off roads. We witnessed a parade of traditionally dressed men and women offering flowers to their patron saint Nicholas. Almost every corner had large colourful sculptures, all the restaurants and bars spilled out into the streets, there was action everywhere. Bars don’t kick off till midnight, when the partying starts. Unfortunately, due to our early start we couldn’t last the distance.

All matching beer hats in Alicante

22 Jun 2005 Alicante, Spain

Siesta
In the morning we visited some churches, and hiked up to the well restored fort on top of the hill on the coast. A sensational view of the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain. As part of the festival we witnessed a firecracker show. Ten minutes of intense noise and smoke in the streets - very spectacular, and the best point is we scored two free hats, which were given out to onlookers. We worked out the secret to partying longer - the wonderful ‘siesta’ - which we made the most of in the afternoon. We took a quick visit to the beach in the late afternoon, and on the way back to our accommodation we stumbled across some free beer! We love festivals! After a shower and a few more beers we headed out again for some late supper of famous Spanish paella, and to roam the action packed streets and see the midnight light show.

Madrid center square

23 Jun 2005 Madrid, Spain

Menu del dia
The first bus to Spain’s capital was not until 10am. The train was at 7 but we are still trying to stick to our tight budget and the bus is much cheaper although it takes longer. On arriving, we realised the accommodation in Madrid is much cheaper than the last two places - possibly due to the competition. After visiting the tourist office we started a walking tour of the town centre. As well as coming across a contemporary art gallery, we got a feel for the place, with all its lovely old buildings. Although we still think Barcelona has a better feel. Being very hungry we tried a Spanish menu del dia (menu of the day) - three courses which was completely satisfying.

Relaxing in the balmy summer evening

24 Jun 2005 Madrid, Spain

Sangria
We continued our walking tour of Madrid from yesterday. First was the elegant San Francisco El Grande church with the beautiful frescos on it’s huge domed ceilings. In the cathedral we saw a large exhibition of images solely of the Virgin Mary. In a small chapel away in the suburbs, where the ceilings had been fully painted by the Spanish artist Goya. We went for a tour of the opulent Royal Palace (Palacio Real). The Prado museum was next on the agenda and was full of art works of the masters, such as Reubens, Goya, Rembrandt, Cavaggio. After all this culture, we needed a break, so we headed to the large ‘Parque del Beun Retiro’, a park made for people to retire! Lovely paths to wander and some old pavilions and statues, very relaxing. We walked back along the Gran Via street which contains some very large stately buildings, and past more old fountains in roundabouts, that seem to be everywhere around this city. For dinner, we enjoyed some local tapas, and a jug of sangria - then a beer on our balcony watching the sun go down at 10pm!  

next we fly to Egypt.

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