Barcelona, amazing!

Today we had an 8 hour drive ahead of us from Madrid to Barcelona. Our tour director didn't want to tell us how long it was going to take, so he just said it was 600km to get there from Madrid. We had to work the rest out ourselves. In the end it took 8hrs with a couple of rest stops on the way.

Once we got to Barcelona, we had a city sightseeing tour in the bus and got out at the major attractions, such as gaudis famous cathedral and we ended up at a Spanish buffet restaurant for dinner.

This was great as anyone who knows me knows I get bored with food very quickly so to be able to choose a little bit of everything was a huge delight for me. Anyone who knows mum would know that all that food was not her thing and only one of us would really have appreciated the amount of choice.

I decided on some paella and some crab stuff and salads, and they also brought meat out on swords so I had some of that too. I tried the wine but it was too dry for me. Dessert was a chocolate mousse cake with raspberry sorbet which mum enjoyed more than the hot dinner choices.

The restaurant looked like the inside of a ship and the toilet had a table in the middle which had a glass top supported by a huge gold propellor like they would use on a ship. It's a bit odd to take a pic of a bathroom but this was so unusual we just had to.

After dinner we headed back into the city centre where we were treated to a light and symphony show which was choreographed to the water fountains located in the city centre. This was gorgeous and I just wanted to jump in and have fun. Mum was not as adventurous with that idea so decided it was best to stay dry. Funny thing tho, it began to pour with rain so we ended the night early. I did get a dance in front of the fountain in tho. I'm finally getting over my fear of public dancing and singing Annie!

Tomorrow is a trip to Montserrat and a dinner and flamenco show in the evening. We can't wait!

Oh and the amount of windfarms in spain is nuts! They are huge and scary and in my opinion just plain unnecessary lol.

Ye olde Toledo

After a good nights sleep we headed to Toledo which used to be the capital of Spain hundreds of years ago. Toledo is high up in mountains and has not really changed since it was first built which is the most amazing part about it.

When you first get to Toledo, the first thing you notice is the old brick work and the architecture. This city was built in the roman times and the fact it has stood the test of time, through wars and pillaging of the city is wonderous.

we walked up to the cathedral in Toledo and did a bit of sight seeing through all quadrants of the city. There was, back in the day, a Jewish quarter, a catholic quarter, and a moors quarter. They all look very different but great in their own way. Traffic can still drive in this city but the streets are so narrow I'm not sure I would do it. And the amount of times I nearly got run over I wonder how many hospitals they have there as they would need them!

Mum and I had some tapas in a place in the main square and overlooked all the other tourists and the activity below. We bought a couple of little souvenirs and some gelato (cos we could) and headed back to Madrid.

We were so tired that we went to bed and slept for almost 12hrs each. This tour has taken it out of both of us and it's only been a week so far!

Tomorrow we head for Barcelona and its a long drive, so more sleep is in order! Til tomorrow, adios!

P.S. the swords are for you Timmy!

Ole Spain amigos!

We woke up in Madrid this morning after a great nights sleep. We got 2 double beds in this hotel room and we are staying here for 2 nights so we were mega happy about that.

We began our day with a city tour by bus as we drove to the Prado museum, where thousands of famous Spanish art works are displayed. We saw works by Goya (my personal fave), Murillo and Velasquez. We only saw a select few artists work, or we could have been there for weeks learning of all the pieces and their histories.

Never having been to an art gallery before, I had never discovered my new found appreciation and love of art and it's history. I loved this part of our tour and it has made me want to see more galleries and exhibitions as the tour progresses. My favorite pieces were by Goya of the naked Maja and of Saturn devouring his child. Pretty morbid stuff the second one but the story behind it is something to be in awe of.

Afterwards we headed out for a traditional Spanish dinner which consisted of gazpacho (ice cold tomato based soup) or pescadore (a fish based soup). Unfortunately our palettes were not yet ready for these choices so we settled on a salad and some veggie soup. Mains were suckling pig (which I tried and it was divine) and mum had lamb (which was huge and everyone wanted pictures of it which was weird). I couldn't decide between the pork and paella so decided i would try paella in barcelona, which we are heading to on saturday. Dessert was a bombe Alaska type thing, but to be honest dessert didn't phase us as just after mains we were greeted by a Spanish guitar/singing group of 3 who were to serenade us all for the evening.

The singing and guitar was amazing and we both thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this. The group were talented and could really sing and play, but they were funny too and it made for a wonderful evening. Mum and I filled up on sangria (me more than mum of course, my head next morning was not too good) and our first experience of Spain was unforgettable. We can't wait to experience Toledo tomorrow!

Au revoir France and hola Spain - Biarritz to Spain - 2 very different places

We left Lourdes on Wednesday morning and I've got to say that after our debacle mum and I were kind of happy to see the back of that hotel. Lourdes is a beautiful place, however we wanted to start afresh and the best way to do that was to move onto the next stop.

We said goodbye to Lourdes and in a couple of hours said hello to Biarritz, the rich and famous beachside resort on the coast of France, right near the border of Spain. Biarritz is like any seaside resort town you may have seen in Australia, except there is one major difference - the French patisseries!

Mum and I began our stop mooching in all the little shops. We entered a lovely antique shop and patted the resident dog there but bought nothing, which is typical of us when an animal is around - our attention gets diverted elsewhere.

We shopped some more and mum bought a lovely plate and kitchen nick nacks for back home. We then headed to a patisserie called merimont which is renowned to be one of the best in the France. We decided that all the delights were delectible but could only really choose one each, so We shared a canelle and a black forest mousse slice thingy. They were just gorgeous and the patisserie interior and exterior view of the Atlantic set the scene perfectly!

After this we headed to Spain. Our first stop in Spain was Burgos where we spent the night. Burgos is a lovely place and mum and liked Spain from the moment we set foot into the country. We saw monuments to the great El CID and some fantastic architecture. This stop is only for the night however, as thurs we head for Madrid, bull fighting capital of Spain!

P.S. on the way to Biarritz we saw the French alps for the first time, and they had snow peaks. It was great to see!

Heading to Lourdes, land of the holy water!

We began our day in a little village called air sur l'adoure where there was a market on and we had a couple of hours to check it all out.

We headed to the post office first and managed to buy some stamps to send postcards to Australia. They have different stamps to send to different countries so my broken French mustn't have been too bad as we ended up getting what we needed.

Afterwards we headed into town and saw some lovely clothes boutiques and chocolatiers. We went into a patisserie and decided on a vanilla patisierre and a chocolate cheesecake style cake slice. Mum
And I shared these and they were delicious!

We then headed to a village called pau where mum
And I had a terrible time. We ended up at the back of the township for lunch and got lost coming back. We actually ended up on the outskirts of town and were completely lost. I attempted to call our tour director but my phone was playing up so I couldn't get through. After a while he managed to get onto us and after around half an hour on the phone he found us and brought us safely back to the bus. It wouldn't have been that bad if the bus wasn't due to leave that town an hour before we actually got there, and all the other passengers were waiting for us. What also made it worse was that is was freezing and pouring with rain, so we were frozen, sopping wet, and lost in a village in the south of France where not many people speak English and we had no idea if the bus had left without us, as they mentioned they would need to do this of we could not be found.

We then drove to Lourdes where we settled into a hotel which was the worst one to date. After the day we had however a bed was all we were concerned about. Things took a turn for the worst tho, as while I was down at dinner mum had a staff member walk in and head towards our bags, without knocking or letting anyone know he was there. He hauled ass out of there quick smart once he saw mum and she wasn't even sure at first if it actually happened as it was a shock and happened so fast. Luckily she wasn't showering or getting dressed!

After dinner I headed to the basilica and St. Bernadette's grotto where I was able to get some holy water and see the beginning of the candlelight procession to the basilica. There were literally tens of thousands of people there heading to the holy place for some healing and comfort. There were so many wheel chairs that it was spot the person without a chair almost.

After getting the holy water I stood and marveled at the basilica and went to touch the cave and stones where Bernadette first saw the visions of the virgin Mary and was amazed that I was touching a stone that millions of people have touched every year for hundreds of years and will continue to do so for years to come.

Tomorrow we will drive to Biarritz and enter Spain. Hoping our luck changes once we cross the border. Still all in all a great trip so far!!

P.S. I forgot to take my camera to the basilica so will get another tour companion to email me some, silly me xx

Quaint little French towns

Today was a long day full of driving as we headed from Paris to the south of France, into bordeaux which is wine country. We stopped at chatres - about 2 hours from paris - where we saw a lovely cathedral and some nice little shops but as it was Easter Monday nothing was open so we window shopped instead.

We then drove for around 3 hours and stopped at Amboise which is another small town where there was a market on with locals selling things from fresh produce to tacky jewelry and such.

Mum and I stopped into a bar/cafe where we got frites (chips) veggie soup (legumes de jour) and baguette. We didn't buy anything at the market as there was not enough time.

There were some gorgeous chocolate shops but as I am suffering tonsillitis at the moment I figured I can't taste the chocolate anyway so no point in buying til I can taste.

We arrived at Bordeaux around dinner time and went into a supermarket. The supermarkets in Europe are so strange. They are mostly double story and set out so different. They have alcohol in the actual shop with the rest of the stuff and chemists actually inside the supermarket which is weird. They have clothes which people actually buy, like a Coles and big w all packed into one with a chemist.

Bordeaux renowned for its red wine so as mum and I are not big red wine drinkers there was plenty for others to enjoy. We will topple the white tho when we get to the colder regions.

Heading to Lourdes tomorrow where we will get some holy water and see the candlelight procession to St. Bernadette's grotto.

So much to see, so little time

Have been rushed off our feet today. We have seen 3 major attractions in the space of 6 hrs today. We saw the Notre dame cathedral, the Eiffel tower and the palace of Versailles and they were all amazing.

Notre dame was a fast visit but wonderful. There was an Easter Sunday service on so we were so so quiet, but I had a chance to light a candle whilst there and also grab a medallion to remind me I was there.

We then headed to the Eiffel tower and went up to the 2nd level where you could see the whole of Paris in all its glory. This structure completely made from iron is beautiful. The French may not be that fond of it but in our eyes it was amazing!

We then headed to the palace of Versailles where Louis XIV, and Mary Antoinette resided at different stages of time. We were able to touch the building inside and out, and we're even able to touch the beautiful material that hung from the walls like wall paper.. We saw the king's and the queen's beds, the dining areas, and the most beautiful paintings and tapestries I have even seen. The front gates were laced with gold- real gold- and the opulence was unfathomable.

Moulin rouge tonight... No cameras allowed so only stories for that one. Unlike a certain someone I know I'm not that keen on being escorted out of France due to an "incident" at the moulin rouge. You know who you are lol xxx