Valencia home of the orange

Valencia is a beautiful city and once again we ended up staying longer than originally planned. The Mayor a woman has just been elected to her 5^th term……21 years in the job. Apparently she went to Sydney and saw the Opera House and the idea of Valencia having its own Opera House was created. Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia designed by the Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava. Certainly a great move for this city as there is now a school for students who want to study at this amazing place.

I knew very little about Valencia before coming here other than oranges. Lots of orchards. We did a walking tour which covered the old city where we were staying and a bike tour riding our bikes through the outer areas. Both were great value. The architecture both old and new is eye catching. We were warned not to eat the oranges from the trees in the street as they can give you a good dose of the Valencia Vapours.....diarrhoea and many tourists have spent their holidays in hospital. 

Apparently two Formula 1 races were held in Spain up to recently, with one in Barcelona and the other in Valencia. The one in Valencia has now gone to New York with the promise of sharing the last one between Barcelona and Valencia. Our sources tell us that the 2014 F1 event that was to be here in Valencia has not happened. Valencia was also a potential contender for the near recent Olympics, however it was suggested by the powers that be that all stops be pulled out for one single application by Barcelona, with the two cities sharing the events. Barcelona got the Games. But according to our source Valencia did not get one event; they were sorely disappointed. The area is world class sailing waters hosting the America’s cup qualifiers.

The people are very friendly and happy to assist the tourists. When we did our personal bike tour (we were the only two) with Constantine our guide we had the opportunity to eat at a family run restaurant called The Caves. Mama was very interested in how kangaroo should be cooked as it was available in Valencia but no one was sure what to do with it. Through Constantine we explained the method one should adopt to cook the kangaroo ( I should say I explained as Paul only makes spag bog). We returned to eat at Mama’s restaurant again before leaving and presented her with a kangaroo pin (thanks Beryl for these). Mama was pleased and we would definitely recommend anyone travelling to Spain to head to Valencia.

The 245 km train ride to Granada via Madrid is being executed.

A hat for any occasion......one chosen for Ross

Beautiful Barcelona

Ba Ba Ba Ba Barbara Ann Barcelona........ credit to the Beach Boys.

Flying from Lyon to Barcelona only took an hour arriving late afternoon. We had booked a private pick up at the airport which was very cheap thus not having to find our way by ourselves into the city to our apartment.

Settled straight into this place as it has a similar climate to Geraldton. It even  got to 24 one day as it is heading into winter. On our first night here we orientated ourselves to where our apartment was situated on Passeig de Gracia. Just a short stroll from our abode we stumbled upon two of Antoni Gaudi’s masterpieces. Paul was goosed bumped seeing them. The signs of a groupie were once again manifesting in Paul. I was going to have to manage this with an open mind and hand.

The next day off we went to do our bike tour starting at 11am with Moritz from Black City Bikes. The bike trip, passed through a lot of the old city called "barri gotic" which took in this area and the Barceloneta beach and Gaudi’s famous unfished work the majestic Sagrada Familia not to be confused with the Sangria Fimiliar. Of course PC was the only one to go AWOL on the tour and that was within the first hour. I was in a dilemma when I noticed he wasn’t with us when we stopped at a monument. When the guide had finished his spiel and it was time to move onto the next stop I had to point out that one of the group was missing. Everyone thought this was a great joke as most of them knew how long Paul and I had been travelling together.
Without too much waiting Paul found us on his way to take a photo of the monument we were next to. I told him he needed to shout a round of drinks for holding up the tour.

So many wonderful touristy things to see and do. When Paul and I visited the Cathedral of all Cathedrals there were  ten Greenpeace activists who had clambered up the 19th century church and chained themselves to the façade displaying photos of the 30 Greenpeace members arrested by Russian police. Paul thought they were cleaners at first and was wondering how you would go about getting such a job......then we noticed the police and fire brigade and the crowd was swelling.
We have really enjoyed Barcelona, perfect weather, paella, tapas, red wine, Moritz beer, Gaudi galore, funicular, forts, churches, beaches, metro, trams and now the train to Valencia. Adios Amigos.

Gastronomy masterpieces in luscious Lyon and the fools fondue.

Alighting from the train at Lyon and getting into a taxi saw us at our next pit stop. This hotel "Domain Lyon Saint Joseph" a converted seminary was about 7k's out from the city centre of Lyon closer to where our friends Sophie and Sylvain lived. The pace has certainly slowed down since Paris. Even the taxi driver was scratching his head as to why we are staying here. It looks like we will be using l'autobus to see the old Lyon. It was very easy to catch the local bus into the city and easy to understand where you were at bus stops as they are all individually named. Drinking the holy wine at Saint Joseph's certainly adds to the ambience of the place.

We were unable to do a walking tour of Lyon however we booked a river tour instead. Lyon has the rivers Rhône and Saone flowing around it. The tour gave us a great insight into the history of Lyon and lots of architectural landmarks could be seen from the boat. An area of Lyon was made a UNESCO world heritage site in 1998.

To get to the top of the hill where the Notre Dame was we hopped onto one of the funicular. The view was amazing. Walking around Fourviere Hill we stumbled across a Roman Amphitheatre. Making our way further along we descended by another funicular to walk some of the many traboules. I love this place.

Lyon is famous for its wonderful food and there was evidence of this not only by our waistlines but from all of the restaurants and small bars/cafés. We did get to try out a couple of the eating places with most of the menus in French. As we knew some basic French it was easy to work out if we were being offered fish, chicken and beef. At one place Paul chose a dish and asked for the steak to be cooked medium to rare.......the waiter just smiled and said that "monsieur will be cooking it himself" as it is a "fondue de boeuf".....Images of beef being dipped into a chocolate sauce entered my head for a split second with 60's music playing in the background!

Eating in the suburbs at our hotel's restaurant last night was one of the best meals in France. I think the cook used to work in the President's kitchen. Very little choice and no set menu as it all depends on what she has made for the days meal. A great fish dish with heaps of vegetables and then finished off with chocolate mousse and strawberry tart. Not a fondue to be seen......we all know this dish came from Switzerland!

Bonjour, oui, comment allez vous?, tres bien, vous et ici....Ninja turtles

Vous et ici .......you are here. When travelling around I wondered about going back to places that I had visited before in my size 12 days and I realised that Paul should experience some of these wonderful places, especially the great Cities. If you know Paul, he really likes the little places and feels more at home and at ease. We had seen lots of little Irish villages so now was the time for visiting Paris, the most visited city in the world. Paulapedia fact....26 million visitors a year.

We departed at the main train station and walked our way to our boutique hotel. I call it a boutique hotel as our room was only big enough to stand up two bottles of boutique beer in. Trendy as anything but very, tiny. We made do...we threw our cases in and quickly climbed over them and shut the door and headed off down the Rue (de Remarks) to get a bite to eat. The fact that you can get a great meal and a bottle of rouge at midnight shows that you are not visiting  a small town. Exploring our new neighbourhood was safe and easy as many people were out and about.

Up early to walk to the Louvre but on this Tuesday it was closed. Not sure why but there was a crane moving around a huge covered up statue. A walk down the famous Champs Elysees saw us ending up at the Arc de Triomphe where we jumped on a double decker sightseeing bus and toured the city in comfort. Home late..... climbed back over the cases and hit the wall.

Eiffel tower next on the list and of course there is always a queueueueueueue...........Well worth waiting for as the structure and the view are magnifique. We were able to get right to the top of the tower which was great as they were shutting this area off at stages due to the volume of tourists like us all wanting to see Paris from the top.

Next stop was the Trocadero which is an Architectural Museum nearby. This had the most amazing "Art Deco" exhibition. But what took Paul's fancy was this apparently new structure inside which had him intrigued and taking photos even before the museum attendant informed him that it was a full sized replica of a Le Corbusier townhouse built in the 1930's......he is even drooling now as I type this.

Pompidou Centre was another must do on Paul's list. Yes, now in Paris he has a list which is great as he is deciding on some of the famous landmarks and cultural hideouts that he wants to visit. Pompidou was a controversial building which silenced its critics due to its immediate overwhelming popularity. The collection of various artworks and exhibitions including Roy Lichtenstein, a major figure in Pop Art was well worth the early start.  As stated previously the Louvre was closed the first time so I decided that Paul needed to see the most famous smile. We only had one hour but worth the euros as it was nearly closing time when we arrived there. Ha ha....talking to Paul at a later date he thought Mozart had painted Mona........(Mozart was too busy drinking at his local) this was when I started to roll my eyes at Paul but he recovered quickly and mentioned Picasso the guy who cut off his ear......I am eyeballing him now mentioning that artist was Van Gogh.....He replied "No I am thinking of Michael Angelo"... He was having a ninja turtle moment and sooner than later he realized the aria of his ways........ I think he was still in Le Corbusier land.

Paris done and dusted we were packing our bags again to head south to Lyon. Let's hope the next room is biggerer and betterer.

me on top of the tower

well worth the visit

view from the top

Pompidou centre

Munich madness (Munchen luncheons) and autumn biergartens

Munchen
On the train again and Tom is still hanging with his oldies. Munich greeted us with wonderful weather and this gave us the chance to experience the biergartens and explore the city. First up Paul and I did a 'free' walking tour of the old city.....free apart from the tip that is expected to be given to the guide at the end of the tour. This included a visit to the Hofbrauhaus a beer hall in the city centre. Apparently Mozart lived around the corner and would often go there. I guess these days it would be considered his 'local'. We were also informed the beer hall was where the Nazi party held functions and decided on their policies. Another interesting place was the Cathedral 'Church of our Lady'  with its two onion shaped dome towers located near Marienplatz. In the entrance of the interior of the cathedral you come across the legendary devil's footprint in the floor of the church. Long story about this and Paul will inform you all at a later date.

Another lovely part of the city was exploring  the English Garden which is a large public park laid out like an English Garden hence its name. We discovered the surfing spots and spent awhile just watching the surfers do their thing on the wave that was created in a confined space on the water ways. Lots of cycle paths, shaded areas and of course beer gardens. One of these is right next to the Chinese Tower which has been burnt down several times but is always rebuilt to the original plans.

Just by chance we discovered the King's Square which has three temple buildings in the classic Greek style that appear to form a majestic statement to what would have been the main entrance into the city. You could almost believe that you were in Greece. Large statues adorn this area which is located off the main drag.

A day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle or the Fairy-tale Castle by train saw us climbing up to the top of the rock it is situated on. This castle was built for King Ludwig 2 who was King of Bavaria due to some unfortunate circumstances. Apparently he was rather shy, a good swimmer who met his death by drowning. Lots of rumours surrounding as to what happened on the fatal night of his death. Not long after he died the castle was opened up to the public in 1886......I guess everyone wanted to see what their taxes where paying for. Lots of swans around as this was the heraldic animal used.

It was also suggested by our tour leader that if possible a visit to a concentration camp should be one of the things to do. As I had already visited Dachau on my first visit to Germany I decided to forgo this and Paul went on the guided tour with out me. We haven't talked too much about it however the German philosophy is not to forget what happened in regards to the Nazi era. German high school students are required to visit two concentration camps as part of their education.

Munich was great fun however we needed to move on and Paris was our next destination. This was where we said our goodbyes to Tom who was off to Prague by bus.

Neuschwanstein Castle......Disney pays a royalty

for using this design.

Paul and the view

Autumn

The King and Queen

From one wall to the next.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber and a day trip to Wurzburg.

Our destination after leaving Berlin by train was to visit Julia who lives and works in Rothenburg during the week. Robert was also going to be there on the Sunday we arrived. We were looking forward to catching up again as they had both partied with us for Paul’s 60^th in Ireland. Tom was also venturing along for the ride. We had a few changes of trains at various stations, some with a 4 min connection…..this was a bit scary at first but having a 24 year old along helping to spot signs for the platforms was great. 

The walled medieval town we entered and explored was a truly amazing experience. I am not sure I would want to visit this place in peak season as it has over 2 million visitors a year. One of the first things we did was walk the city wall. It follows the course of the oldest town fortification. As you walk around the wall there are plaques acknowledging individuals and companies who have donated money to assist with the restoration of the wall.

A visit to the Medieval Crime Museum was thought provoking as it depicts a unique and detailed insight into 1000 years of legal history. There are lots of instruments that were used for torture and executions along with some very interesting masks that were worn to let people know you were being named and shamed for inappropriate actions, gossiping, rude comments or jokes.  

Some more history was uncovered at the Old Rothenburg's Craftsmen's House built at the end of the 13th Century. Apparently a hermit lived in this place for many years not needing electricity or running water. The house has its own well and due to no modern facilities being added it was preserved unaltered.

I really noticed the colour of the trees and the leaves here in Germany and the colours of autumn. Most of the shop window displays are based around this as a theme. Restaurants serve autumn foods such as pumpkin soup, local mushrooms, and lots of pork dishes. Really nice food and beer and thanks to Julia and her friend Thomas we discovered many delicious dishes.

Julia suggested we do a day trip to nearby Wurzburg . The train trip was very quick and easy and it didn't take us long to start exploring this City. During 1945 90% of this place was destroyed in about 17 minutes by fire due to it being bombed. Seeing a model of the city before and after the bombing and seeing how it has been rebuilt you realise that the history now apparent is due to the dedication of the population and the funding of the government. One of the most important palaces in Europe "Residence Palace" is in the central part of the city. This Palace has a magnificent staircase leading up to three large rooms with  brilliant vaulted ceilings painted by a Venetian artist depicting the four known continents. We Australians were not on the scene back then. Other parts of the Palace have been reconstructed to make this a wonderful place to visit. Crossing a bridge we ended up at the Fortress Marienberg for a quick tour and a visit to the museum and then back to the train.

Rothenburg was such a beautiful city, one we thoroughly enjoyed. Before leaving, Julia gave us a guided tour of Kathe Wohlfahrt an amazing Christmas shop that attracts lots of tourists. Thanks Julia, Robert and Thomas for showing us around. Next stop Munich.

An autumn view of the city

The valley below the city.

One of the gates

Tom and the nutcracker

The tourist and the Nutcracker.

The wall around the city

Wurzburg Fortress Marienberg on the hill.

Tom, Thomas, Julia and Father Christmas.

Wurzburg .. Fortress Marienberg

Berlin, Bears and Bunkers.

After such an awesome break in Mongolia staying with Rod, Aaggii and Tuggsuu our next port of call was revisiting Berlin staying longer this time. We were meeting up with Tom and both of us were looking forward to seeing him since we parted company in Ireland at the end of July. Tom was now travelling solo as Owen had headed back to Geraldton in August. Tom's hostel was very close to our hotel near Alexander Platz. It was great to see him again and to listen to his travelling tales. Beers at the bar then off for a bite to eat. Tom suggested we do a walking tour of the city with one of the tour groups.

The walking tour was very interesting and very thought provoking as I was reading Stasiland stories behind the Berlin Wall by Australian author Anna Funder who had lived and worked in Berlin. As we were walking to the meeting point of the tour we came across some activists outside the Russian Embassy protesting about Greenpeace protestors who had been detained by the Russians. Paul not missing an opportunity for a cause had a chat to them about the issues and then a photo shoot. The tour was well organised and took around 2 hours. Some of the areas we covered on our tour were Brandenburg Gate, State Opera, Bebelplatz scene of the Nazi Bookburning, Hitler's Bunker (Now a car park) Checkpoint Charlie and lots more. With lots to think about we headed straight to a bar for a beer.

The next day Paul who was hanging out for a kayak tour and a hot rod tour did both of these and I declined the invitation to join him to walk around Berlin. I headed back to some of the historic places that had been noted down from the walking tour.

PAUL'S PARAGRAPH........the kayak tour was a bit of an ezy-pezy with a young guide named Lars who was a uni student. One girl did the whole trip with her high heels on - oh well. I did a quick change and a cross town taxi trip to start my hot rod tour. I was 10 minutes late which was a bit of a worry as I was their only customer. Initially the guys were not going to do the tour but decided to go ahead with it as I was leaving Berlin the next day. The tour cost 70€ for two hours, but the first and last vehicles in each group are to be tour guide driven, so it really wasn't a cost effective exercise for the operators. None the less, the tour went ahead with me as their sole participant, and it was a real buzz hurtling around the streets of Berlin at up to 55kph in a small petrol driven hot rod. I've never seen so many pedestrians pointing, smiling and taking photos in my life - well worth the experience.

cheers

waterways

Handy little griller

Paul joining in

one of the many buildings

Symbols of Berlin

Paul climbing the wall

The centre of attention when driving on the streets.

King of the kayaks