Now we are flying solo, just the 2 of us. We left San Sebastian to head back into France for our 3 night stop in La Rochelle. We needed a stop for lunch, so popped into the town of Saintes, an historic town, apparently over 2000 years old with some Roman ruins. We opted not to explore too much but did think the Sainte-Pierre Cathedral was worth a look. It was rather impressive both inside and out and listed as an Historic Monument.
Then it was time to move onto La Rochelle, a city on the west coast, and a sea port on the Bay of Biscay, part of the Atlantic Ocean, and was once one of the greatest port cities of France. Our apartment was typically French, quite small, 2 stories but quite well situated for walking into the old town.
We wandered through the streets of the old town and all along the port area. The medieval Town Hall is the oldest town hall in France and quite impressive both inside and out.
The Grosse Horlage (clock tower) marks the entrance of the port to the old town and dates back to the 16th century.
The 3 historic towers that stand at the entrance to the harbour are listed as national monuments and form part of the towns defences against invasion from the sea. The largest, the St Nicholas Tower has walls up to 8 metres thick and also contains a chapel. The smaller, The Chain tower was built between 1604 and 1763. The 3rd tower, the Lantern Tower (round one) is the only medieval lighthouse on the Atlantic Coast that is still standing and was converted into a prison in the 17th century.
The Harbour area has an abundance of bars and restaurants that we HAD to pop into, and there were plenty of rather large yachts. PLEASE REMEMBER TO CLICK EACH PHOTO TO SEE THEM PROPERLY! We still haven’t worked out how to change the settings, bloody WordPress
Jean and Francoise came to stay with us for a night and we enjoyed a lovely dinner in the Old Town. and then had to walk off dinner whilst admiring the pretty colours of the sunset.
The following day we decided to leave the mainland and check out the Ile-de-Re, an island you reach by paying 16euros to travel across a bridge. Luckily, we had Jean with us with his credit card as the toll booth would not take cash and didn’t like our Aussie credit card at all. How rude! It is a very popular holiday spot for Parisians and EVERYONE rides bikes. It was quite busy and it wasn’t even true “holiday season”. It is only 30 kms long, so quite small. Our first stop was La Flotte, a small village with a pretty port and it was a good coffee stop.
Next stop was ARS-en-Re. The church and its rather weird spire is the focal point of the village. We decided at Ars that it was time for lunch so we opted for a crepe complet with a pichet of cidre,(a crepe with ham, cheese and egg and a jug of apple cider). Yummo!
Last stop of the tour, and our favourite was the pretty village of St Martin. It had a very lovely old town as well as the large port. The village has extensive fortifications and a citadel built in the 16th Century to defend the west coast from an English attack that never came!
It was a good day and a nice visit to the island but we could only imagine what July and August would be like. Way too many people and way too many bikes…not for us thank you!
We enjoyed our stay in La Rochelle but maybe a little too touristy for us, then it was onto Vannes.
We left Madrid to travel to San Sebastian for a 2 night stay. We had a lunch stop at Pamplona to show Julie where she could run with the bulls if she so wished. However, she declined after seeing the plaques on the street commemorating all those who have not finished the run….due to obvious reasons! The 18th Century City Hall is a beautiful building which we admired while having the “best bocadillo in the world” for lunch.
We then arrived in San Sebastian, a resort town on the Bay of Biscay in Basque country. quite close to the French border. It is famous for its pintxos bars which are Basque Tapas usually served on bread and the toppings vary from seafood, ham, peppers, cheese, even blood sausage which we did not try. It has more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere in the world, however we only frequented the smaller local bars. Our stay began, of course with a drink in the Plaza de La Constitucion to work out our plan of attack.
Our plan was…eat and drink our way through bars in the old town! Simple. Our one full day in San Seb was sadly quite a drizzly day with grey skies but it didn’t stop us going out. We had fun “trying” to speak in Spanish to order things and watching the waiters pour the local wine called txakoli, with their arms ridiculously high up in the air, the glass down below and not spilling a drop. It is tradition to have one pintxos and one drink, then move onto another bar, so when in San Seb, that’s what we did.
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We had started the day with a yummy pastry breakie but that didn’t stop us from eating all day. We did a bit of shopping, walked the streets and when the rain became a little heavier, it was into a bar for food and drinks.
We frequented many bars but our highlights were the meatballs, the beef cheeks and the torrija (french toast) at Atari and the zamburinas or scallops at Itxaropena, a recommendation from our host! Yummo!.
The next morning, quite early, 6am, we sadly bid farewell to Julie, and decided to go for a walk. It was a much better day with blue skies so took a few photos without the cloud hanging around.
We had a fun time with Julie, and it was time for us to head back to France. Next blog will be of our time in La Rochelle where the weather became a little warmer, not like it is in Melbourne!!!
We have arrived in Vannes, France, but we need to finish our time in Spain. So here is Madrid Part 2.
Once the festivities of the Kings Coronation Anniversary were over, the Courtyard of the Royal Palace was open again, so we were able to visit.
Then we went inside the Basilica of St Francis the Great constructed in the second half of the 18th century. Its massive dome is the largest in Spain and the 4th largest in Europe.
We wandered back through the old town discovering some of the street art that Madrid is known for.
Everywhere we walked we admired the beautiful buildings and the more we walked the more we needed to re hydrate!
The Posada del Peine or “The Inn of the Combs” is Spains oldest hotel dating back to 1610. Each room has a comb which guests can take home which is a “seal of distinction”, and apparently a lady ghost visits all the guests!
We thought we should experience the Madrid Metro so we decided to check out the Bull Ring, La Ventas, opened in 1931 and seats 23,798 spectators. It is the largest Bull Ring in Spain and the 3rd largest in the world. It was a rather impressive building.
Lunch was at Chocolateria San Gines. an institution in Madrid since 1894 and serves the famous chocolate con churros. Boy what a lunch it was!
Then we waddled onto the Church of Saint Anthony of the Germans, known for its magnificent frescoes. It was well worth the 5 euro entry fee. It is called the Spanish Sistine Chapel and it was pretty amazing.
We checked out Casa Botin, the oldest restaurant in the world, founded in 1725, but decided not to eat there. The thought of a huge full suckling pig staring at us did not excite us at all’ There are many bars in Madrid that Ernest Hemingway frequented, and we did visit quite a few, trying out all the speciality drinks of Madrid.
We had a fabulous time in Madrid and clocked up many kilometres of walking. Madrid is a great city with many beautiful buildings but then it was time to move on to San Sebastian to continue eating and drinking, but that’s another blog
We have had a wonderful time in Madrid and been way too busy to do a blog and there is way too much to put into one blog, so here we go!
We left Valencia and had a stop on the way to Madrid in Cuenca. a UNESCO site. The old town is a well preserved medieval fortified city and it has Spains first Gothic Cathedral, however its claim to fame are its “hanging houses” suspended from sheer cliffs and built in the 15th century.
The San Pablo Bridge (with the former monastery behind now a 5 star hotel), was rather scary to walk out on when Greg was rocking it, but it did give us great views of the town. We wandered back to Barney, loving the colourful narrow streets on the way!
Then it was time to hit the road and take Barney into the “slap bang centre ” of Madrid with its 6.7 million people, the largest city in Spain. After a little manipulation, closed roads and driving down pedestrian streets, Greg miraculously found our car park that we had pre booked, where we left Barney for our 4 nights to explore Madrid! Our apartment was fabulous, right in the heart of the city and every monument and building we wanted to see was within walking distance (well sort of). We did however have a little trouble sleeping with noise pretty much all through the night as we have discovered the Spaniards do not sleep!
Although our little street, Calle de Marques did look very cute, trust us at night it was rather noisy!
The first night in Madrid we were ready for a drink, so we headed first into Plaza Mayor, which originally was the first marketplace and bull fighting ring in Madrid. Today it is surrounded by bars and restaurants, particularly good for drinking jugs of sangria! The facade of the Casa de la Panaderia (The Bakers Guild) is covered in beautiful frescoes. It was where in the 1500 and 1600’s the main bakery of Madrid stood and controlled the price of bread and on the opposite side of the Plaza was the Butchers Guild where meat was stored and sold.
We then headed up to Puerta del Sol (Gate of the Sun) another huge Plaza and known as one of the busiest places in Madrid and we agree! The Casa de Correos is the Headquarters of the Madrid Regional Government and apparently each NYE as the clock on the top chimes 12 times it is traditional to eat a grape at each chime, slightly weird we thought! Spains klm zero is also in front of the building which is the starting point for all major roads in Spain.
We had read about the famous Iconic statue in the plaza, which is the symbol of the city, “The Bear and the Strawbery Tree”, with the bear symbolising the fertile soil of Madrid and the strawberry tree symbolising the aritocracy! ????? Well, we were expecting it to be quite larger than it actually was, even had to ask locals where in the Plaza it was situated, but here is a photo. The Tio Pepe is an iconic neon sign in the Plaza advertising a local Spanish sherry. Julie did try one but was not impressed so we decided to trust her and did not imbibe.
The next morning we went for a walk early and came across La Mallorquina, a wonderful pastry shop that was established in 1894. It had just opened and had no queues so we decided to go in and have breakie. Yum.
Then it was time for our walking tour of Madrid. When we arrived at our meeting point, we realised something was going on, there were heaps of people heaps of police and security cameras everywhere. Our guide told us it was 10th Anniversary of the Coronation of King Felipe of Spain and a parade was going to happen. We moved on as our guide told us some details of the Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace). The Royal family does not live there but it is used for State Functions. The present Palace was built between 1738 and 1764 after an “apparent accidental fire”, because the new tenants did not like it! It is said to be the largest palace in Europe with 3418 rooms.
We then went into the Almunda Cathedral. Construction began in 1883, so not old by European standards and was consecrated by the Pope in 1993 making it the first Cathedral to be consecrated outside the city of Rome. The Crypt of the Cathedral (you know by now that Rhonda likes to see where people are buried!) features over 400 columns and even has the Bear and the Strawberry Tree somewhere inside. We didn’t see it! It is the largest crypt in the country!
We then wandered through the Plaza de La Villa, known to have some of the oldest buildings in the city. It was one of the main centres of the Medieval Capital with buildings from the 15th 16th and 17th Century.
Julie had googled a place near the plaza where you could buy “cookies from the secret nuns” world, so when in Madrid! Our guide took us to a very non descript door, we entered, and came to a menu with a “lazy Susan” type thing. You order your kg or 1/2 kg of cookies, put your money down, and voila your cookies and change comes around back to you! You are unable to see the Nuns as they are “cloistered nuns” and do not have contact with the outside world. It was a bit of touristic fun and the cookies weren’t too bad!
We had a few drinks and lunch along the way to our next stop, Plaza Cibeles and Cibeles Palace. This a relative newcomer, it was built in 1919 as the Spanish Post Office Headquarters, a bit flash we thought for a PO now it is the Madrid Town Hall and it is pretty stunning.
Then it was onto El Retiro Park , Madrid’s answer to Cenral Park. It was once the Royal Gardens of the old palace built by the Kings of Spain in the 17th century. It was quite a warm day so wandering through the park and stopping for a drink was quite pleasant.
We decided to go out for dinner, so we booked a table at Posada de la Villa. It first became an Inn in 1642 but fell into ruins until 1980 when it was rescued and restored and the “splendour of the old inn” was returned. The specialty of the house is the wood fired oven roasted lamb, so of course we had to try it. The peppers and roast veges prior to the lamb was pretty good, and then had to have the after dinner digestive before heading off to get some night shots.
Because it was the latest we had been up we thought we should head over to the main squares to get some night shots…it doesn’t get dark till 10:30pm! So we returned to Plaza Mayor, Puerta de Sol and Plaza Cibeles.
So that is just the first couple of days in Madrid, part 2 hopefully will be ready tomorrow!
We are now back in France but have more of Madrid and also San Sebastian to bore you with!
So, it’s time to rest, have a drink and go to bed!!
We left Barcelona and luckily it was Saturday so there was not too much traffic. We had spotted a place on the map that we thought sounded a good spot for a lunch break! It was called Peniscola, so for obvious reasons we had to check it out! It is known as the “Gibraltar of Valencia”, a very picturesque coastal town.
It is a very picturesque coastal town with km after km of beach and of course Greg had to paddle. Its old town has the Castello perched on top. The views from the ramparts were pretty stunning. There were absolutely heaps of people on the beach, hate to think what it’s like at the height of the summer season.
We then continued onto Valencia, a city full of contrasts with its charming old town next to the ultra modern futuristic architecture of the City of Science and Arts. Although we had quite a walk to the old town, our apartment overlooked some of the amazing buildings of the “City”. It was created on an old river bed and runs for about 2kms, It consists of 6 areas surrounded by pools of water and all the buildings have stunning architecture.
The Science Museum resembles a whale skeleton and the L’Hemisphere is an IMAX theatre and planetarium and is meant to resemble a giant eye,
The Palau de les Arts or the Opera House is over 75 metres high and is rather impressive. L’Umbracle is a landscaped walkway with many plants and trees, including of course many orange trees!
The whole construction cost the city of Valencia 1.200 million euros, 4 times over the budgeted cost. Its construction began in 1994 and the precinct was formally opened in the year 2000. It was an amazing place to wander around!
The Pont de lar Mar dates back to 1591 and Greg loved the reflection. The Serranos Towers were part of Valencia’s medieval walls. Construction began in 1392 and the towers were saved from demolition when the city walls were knocked down in 1865. They were used as a prison for the nobility between 1586 and 1887. They were rather impressive! After a long walk up to the old town from our apartment, we needed to hydrate, and entered the Cafe de las Horas.
You would never guess that this cafe only opened in the mid 1990’s but it was like entering a time capsule. Our main reason for going there was so that Julie and Rhonda could experience their first “Agua de Valencia” a refreshing cocktail that “captures the essence of the city”. It consists of freshly squeezed orange juice (from Valencian oranges of course) cava, a sparkling Spanish wine, vodka and gin! It went down very easily, a little too easily actually but we were hot!
Our lunch stop had a view of La Catedral del Santo Caliz or the Cathedral of the Holy Chalice which was completed in the 17th century. The chalice inside the cathedral is supposedly “the same cup that the Lord used at the Last Supper”. We were a little sceptical so decided not to pay the entry fee to view it!Lunch was good though and another Aqua de Valencia was bought just to make sure we really enjoyed them!
We kept walking and walking. We saw the Bull Ring built between 1850 and 1859. The City Hall was built in the 18th century and it stands in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento which also had other rather impressive buildings.
We had a great day wandering the streets of Valecia and admiring the gorgeous buildings.
The following day we decided it was going to be a bit of a “rest day”. We caught a taxi back to the old town because we had to go to the market and have traditional pastry of Valencia called a farton! The Mercat Central de Valencia is said to be the largest market with fresh produce in Europe. We do dispute that, however its art noveau style inside did impress us. We were told we must have a farton with a horchata. We opted for a coffee with our farton although Julie experienced her first horchata, a drink made from soaked tiger nuts, milk, cinnamon and a “shit load” of sugar. The fartons however were rather delicious, we actually had 2 each, so much for the waistlines!
Then we made our way to the Lonja de la Seda or the Silk Exchange, a UNESCO site and listed as one of the best Gothic architecture sites in Europe. The silk trading was performed in the Contract room with its many impressive spiral columns. The building has a lovely courtyard with of course the obligatory orange trees. It was a beautiful building.
We then had to return home and spruce ourselves up for our lunch reservation. Valencia is the “home of paella”, and when we asked our host for a recommendation of where to eat the best paella she told us we MUST go to the small fishing village of El Palmar, about 20 kms from the city centre and go to a particular restaurant. The village is where the dish of paella was born and is surrounded by rice paddy fields. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch
Our grilled vegetables and grilled cuttlefish starters were both divine and then came the reason we were there. Our rabbit, chicken and duck paella arrived and it was absolutely delicious.
As you can see we polished the whole dish off and almost wanted to lick the paella dish. We decided that one lemon cheesecake with 3 spoons would suffice for dessert but little did we know that then we would be given a freebie of lemon cake and sherry to finish off a fabulous lunch! As you could imagine no diner was eaten that night!
We all really enjoyed Valencia, a wonderful city joining the old and the new in a very interesting way. We are now in Madrid, but that blog is for another day!
Just a note to say that some people are saying our photos seem to be elongated or compressed on the blog. If you click on each photo individually it will bring it up to full size!
Hope all of you Melbournites are coping with that cold weather!!!!!!!
It’s that time again for us….siesta time…..well when in Spain!!!!
Before we started on our Barcelona journey, we had one last beautiful night in Zaragoza, marvelling at the sunset from our balcony across the water to the cathedral! It was a lovely end to our stay!
Then it was into Barney for our trip to Barcelona. along with the rain! We stopped at the Monserrat Abby. It was founded in 1025 and rebuilt between the 19th and 20th Century. It’s location, built on the side of Monserrat Mountain gives you spectacular views….unless it’s raining and cloudy…which unfortunately it was for us.
We went up to the Monastery in a cable car which was a bit of fun. We went inside the Basilica because Rhonda particulay wanted to see the Black Madonna. According to legend , in the 9th Century an image of the Virgin was found in a cave by shepherds. She was named La Moreneta due to her dark skin and she became the patroness of Catalonia.
We enjoyed the visit in spite of the weather, and the photo below is what we were hoping to see…….
Barney then got us into THE MIDDLE of Barcelona. We have a great apartment in the Gracia district, more locals than tourists, just what we like!
We went out for dinner in the pouring rain the first night but had a great meal. The white and green asparagus was delicious as was the calamari, the obligatory potatas bravos and the fried chicken . We then finished with a creme catalan. Yum.
We also left our mark on the restaurant wall…..because we were allowed!!!!
The next day the sun was shining thankfully as we had a walking tour booked, “An Introduction to Barcelona Old Town”. It was quite good although Greg thought it was a tad information overload. We learnt the history of Barcelona from the Romans to present day. We wandered through the Gothic Quarter with its narrow medieval streets.
The Pont del Bisbe or Bishop’s Bridge is not as old as it looks, it was actually constructed in the 1920’s but thought it was worth a photo. The Barcelona Cathedral began as a Gothic Church completed in 1488 but its appearance has changed over the Centuries. Our guide told us it is not worth the 14 euro entry fee so we didn’t enter but we did like the gargoyles on the outside, particularly the unicorn.
After our 2 and a half hour walk we needed hydrating so went to the roof top bar opposite the Cathedral for a great view.
Then it was lunch time so we went to a great little rustic bar for their “Meal of the Day”. 18euros per person gave us a 3 course banquet!. The wok veges, cofit chicken, pasta, fish and apple pie. All were delicious!
There is a Pablo Picasso Museum in Barcelona but instead of paying to see his work we opted for viewing one of his free public pieces of art and it stands right in front of the Cathedral.
The Catalan Regional Government building combines Gothic and Renaissance architecture and we had a “manifestation” or demonstration happening in front of the building. Yes they happen everywhere. It was great wandering the streets and rediscovering the Gothic Quarter again after our visit many years ago.
WARNING WARNING WARNING! Heaps of photos to follow!
We were up relatively early the next morning to walk to the famous Sagrada Familia for our guided tour.It is the most iconic symbol of Barcelona and the most visited landmark in all of Spain and of course it’s modernistic architecture was designed by the “Legendary Antoni Gaudi”
It was begun in 1882 and is still unfinished. A “brief history”….In 1883 Gaudi took over as the chief architect of a project that was initiated the year before. He dedicated his life to it until his death in 1926 at the age of 73, sadly being hit by a tram!!!! At the time of his death less than one quarter of the Basilica had been constructed and the work slowed down due to lack of funds and the Spanish Civil War. He did however leave extensive plans and models as he knew it would never be finished in his lifetime.
His work was inspired by nature. The interior towers are inspired by trees and throughout the building you see turtles, sea shells, and fruits. the spires outside are laden with grapes, apples, wheat and oranges.It was hoped that it would be completed by 2026, the 100 year anniversary of his death, however our guide told us it would probably be another 10 years. We think may be longer as the last spire to be completed has a bloody long way to go!
The stained glass windows were magnificent with the sunlight streaming in and reflecting all around. The green and blue symbolising the birth of Christ and the red, yellow and orange the resurrection.
We could go on forever but in a nut shell it is an amazing place both inside and out. Antoni Gaudi was a man born well before his time! He is laid to rest in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia. Thanks Antoni for giving the world such a beautiful place. Words and photos do not do the Sagrada justice, Do yourselves a favour and get over here and have a look for yourself if you don’t believe us. Bloody amazing!
We needed to rest and hydrate and pause for spiritual reflection ( no we just needed to sit and have a drink) after our visit and then made our way to the Hospital St Pau, not because were ill but because it is a UNESCO listed site known as “The Old Hospital”
Due to the donations from a wealthy banker named Pau Gil, in 1902 construction began for a new hospital and it was a fully functioning hospital until 2009. The whole site consists of 27 buildings each of which has stained glass, sculptures, gargoyles and mosaics. It was stunning. The first heart transplant in Spain was performed here in 1984 and Antoni Gaudi died here after his “incident” with the tram.
The ceramics on the walls and ceilings are decorated with leaves and flowers to bring the outside inside for the bed ridden patients. We saw photos of the original operating theatre. They performed operations on 2 tables, maybe a 2 for 1 offer! It was a BIG day of walking almost 20 kms, but what a great day it was!
Today has been our last day in Barcelona and Julie organised a”Gaudi Inspired” day along with a guided tour of the Palau de la Musica Catalan. (The Barcelona Music Hall)
Our first stop of the day was the very colourful La Boqueria Mercato in The Ramblas. It has been a market since 1836. It was fun wandering and seeing all the different stalls of juices, meats, fish and an array of any type of food you could wish for.
We then wandered up the Ramblas to our first Gaudi building, The Casa Batllo, and we just viewed it from the outside. It is considered one of his masterpieces which he renovated between 1904 and 1906, It is known as “the house of bones”. Can you see the skulls and bones?
We then viewed Casa Mila which Gaudi designed for the wealthy Mila Family in 1905.
As we were making our way to the Music Hall, we came across quite a strange site. The Caganer. He is a typical figurine found in Catalkan Nativity scenes dating back to the 18th Century.It is said that through his defecation (shit) the land is fertilized for the following year bringing good luck, joy and good fortune to the family home. So check out the Roberts Christmas tree this year! After checking out Caganer, we needed our daily medication, our glass of vermut!
We then continued onto the Music Hall, UNESCO listed since 1997. Although it is a beautiful building on the outside, the inside was something to behold. It was built between 1905 and 1908. The concert Hall seats 2146 and has a very ornate glass ceiling dome inspired by the sun and the sky.
The pillars on the balcony are all decorated differently with mosaic patterns of roses and other flowers. It was absolutely stunning. We loved it.
Our 2nd last Gaudi stop was Palau Guell, a mansion designed by Gaudi for an Industrial tycoon and built between 1886 and 1888, another UNESCO listed site. The stables in the basement had a great ceiling. There is an ornate staircase leading to lavishly decorated rooms over 3 floors.
However the main reason for us to visit was to see the Chimny Stacks on the roof. They are covered in ceramics and simply outrageous for chimney stacks but it was worth the effort of climbing the stairs to the rooftop.
Our last Gaudi landmark for the tour was actually his first official commission from the Barcelona council in 1879.He designed gas powered lampposts, and they still stand today in Placa Reial. It was a relaxing spot to finish our tour, have a drink and marvel at what a man Antoni Gaudi was, and how he was well before his time. Thanks Julie for organising our Gaudi tour, and now Rhonda needs to find a biography of his life!
So it’s that time again, and after that marathon blog, that means bed time! Hope we haven’t bored you too much! It’s off to Valencia tomorrow for a 3 night stay.
We left Bordeaux to head to Spain and a 3 night stay in the city of Zaragoza, and what a surprise it has been. We had to drive through the Pyrenees to head south. We had our first look at some snowcapped mountains. Our question to ourselves was “will we go over or under?”. Our answer came soon enough. Through an 8.5 kilometre tunnel!
We arrived in Zaragoza and caught up with Greg’s cousin Julie who will be our travelling companion for about 2 weeks ( if she can put up with us for that long!) We checked into our apartment and hit the streets ready to explore.
Zaragoza is one of the oldest cities in Spain with a history dating back to the Roman times , followed by the Muslims , then the Christians all of which have left their mark in the city which is evident in the varied architecture.
The Basilica del Pilar, built in the 17th Century is one of the largest Cathedrals in Spain, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is said to be the place where she appeared before the Apostle James in the year 40AD. We saw people queuing for hours to “kiss” a portion of the legendary pillar where her apparition appeared. Not us though! It was huge inside but for us the outside was far more spectacular with its tiled roof.
We decided to pay 3 euros to climb one of the towers for a birds eye view of the tiled roof and the city. Luckily a lift took us up most of the way leaving us only 109 steps to the top.
The other important Basilica in the city is the Cathedral of El Salvador-Seo. Although the Pilar was free entry, the Seo was 7 euros, so we thought it must have something a little extra to see inside and there was! The Cathedral stands on the site of Zaragoza’s first Mosque, hence its beautiful architecture on the outside. It’s Christian facade was added between the 12th and 17th Century and was not quite as stunning.
Julie has introduced us to the “local aperitif” here, a glass of vermouth. It brought us back to the 1970’s but we have to say we are enjoying a glass or 2, it’s quite refreshing. We have had a rather strange Capuchino and an EXTREMELY STRONG expresso from the oldest cafe in Zaragoza, the Gran Cafe dating back to 1885.
Of course we have been eating well…too well sometimes.. and enjoying the tapas lifestyle here in Spain. For our lunch today, we found our favourite peppers , ham , beef check pie, beef ribs and a local dish of migas which was fried breadcrumbs with potato ,bacon, onion and egg with a local snag on the top. YUM!
Of course if one eats , one needs to drink so ……
We have checked out the Central Market and boy , there was some really weird stuff going on there!!!!Nothing that we would want to eat thank you!
This morning we walked to the Aljaferia Palace. It was built as a fortified Palace for the Islamic rulers of Zaragoza in the 11th Century. It was passed onto the Christians in 1118 and is now the regional Parliament headquarters of the region of Aragon. The architecture inside was beautiful. The rooves in particular were stunning.
We have walked km after km, admiring streetscapes and architecture.
The Plaza San Felipe (above left) has a statue of a small boy looking toward where a tall tower, rivalling the Leaning Tower of Pisa, once stood. In 1892 the tower was completely demolished before it toppled over and was said to be “the greatest artistic crime committed in Spain”, harsh but maybe true???? There is an image of the tower painted on a wall toward where the boy looks. The city is a photographer’s dream, around every corner, a new opportunity…and you all know what Greg is like!
Day after day it has been kms of walking for Greg’s knees which has been good for Julie and Rhonda as he needs to sit and rest AND rehydrate so it means a drink or 2. The vermouth is now his new daily medication for pain!
So tomorrow it is on to Barcelona for a jam packed 4 days! We hope Barney gets us there safely!
We left Angers to head to Perigueux to see the French Family before moving onto Bordeaux.
On the way we stopped to visit Fontevraud Royal Abby. It was founded in 1101 to house a community of men and women and later it became Europe’s biggest community of Nuns.
The French Revolution put an end to 700 years of Monastic life when the building became the Property of the State and on Napoleons orders it was converted to a Prison. Eleonore of Aquitane, Queen of France chose the Abby for her Family Necropolis . She is buried there along with hubby Henry II and her son Richard the Lionheart! It is quite a tomb!
The Cloisters were rebuilt in the late 15th Century and in it’s penal era it was divided into 2 prison yards. The frescoes in the Chapter room were pretty stunning.
The 12th Century Romanesque kitchen was quite a weird building!
During our drive to Périgueux after visiting the Abbey , it was time to think of a name for our car. We have had so many cars it was difficult to come up with something. All we could think of was that it was a W.hite C.itreon, hence WC but didn’t think that was appropriate. the French word for toilet/WC is toilette and that didn’t work but as we are heading to Spain, we looked up the Spanish word and it was “bano” , hence Barney was christened! It did occupy us for some of the driving time.
We arrived at our French Family’s home and it was not just Jean and Francoise. ALL the family were there, as our visit coincided with Jeans 75th birthday. We had Jean and Francoise, their 3 children with their partners and the 6 grand daughters. What a mad house but it was a lot of fun , lots of laughs, big headache for Rhonda trying to speak in french, a great time! It was great to see them ALL again.
Jean and Francoise took us out for lunch to a water mill in the country. Entrees were asparagus panna cotta (yes you read correctly) Greg had a “fish mornay thing”. Mains were steak and chips for Greg and Rhonda had (for the first time) Guinea Fowl (Pintade in French) and it was bloody good. Francoise MADE Rhonda have a Cafe Gourmand, A coffee with an array of small desserts! We really enjoyed ourselves.
After 3 nights we left Périgueux and headed to Bordeaux. Bordeaux has been a major port since pre Roman times and underwent a radical transformation in the 18th Century with grand boulevards , lovely squares and magnificent buildings. The main centre is UNESCO listed and we understand why.
We did our “usual” self guided Bordeaux Heritage Trail walk. The lovely Hotel de Ville, built in 1771 to 1784 was originally the Archbishops palace of Bordeaux. The Cathedral Saint Andre was built from the 12th to 15th Century. A 13 year old Elenore of Aquitane (remember she was buried at the Abby!) married her first husband here, Louis VII . He was 17 years old and the marriage was annulled 2 years later because she couldn’t produce an heir to the throne. Didn’t give her much time! Ironic as she ended up having 10 children to other blokes.
The Gross Cloche or “big Bell” was the cities Belfry and the only remaining part of the 13th defensive gate. It was quite impressive. The Porte Cailhau built between 1493 and 1496 , for 2 centuries was the main entrance to the city from the river.
The Place de la Bourse (Stock Exchange Square) is a beautiful square and played a major role in the cities trade, development and reputation. It was built in the 18th century by Louis XV. It is stunning!
Le Miroir d’Eau (The mirror of water) is 130 metre long and 42 metre wide set of granite slabs. It is the largest reflecting pool in the world. It works on a cycle of dry slabs, then a thick fog appears and then it is covered with 2 cms of clear water. The kids had a ball running and splashing through the water and the reflections were amazing.
After doing quite a few steps , it was time to re hydrate. We chose a lovely spot with a view of the Grand Theatre built in 1780.
We then proceeded to Entrocote for lunch. This restaurant is an “institution” in Bordeaux. One needs to queue (we did for 45 minutes) as they do not take reservations. The restaurant offers one menu, a walnut salad to begin, followed by thinly sliced sirloin steak with fries (as many you want, it is a bottomless plate) and a secret sauce that no one has been able to copy or match for over 60 years. This was all washed down with a bottle of their own Bordeaux red! YUM!
So after nearly 14 kms of walking, Greg’s knees said it was time to go home, so home we went to rest up for the following day.
The next day we decided to visit La Cite du Vin ,( the town of Wine), a museum of wine.
The purpose of this museum is to create a space where sensory experiences are centered wholly around wine. The building is fully dedicated to this “nectar”.
As you can see by the middle photo, Australia was mentioned numerous times however it was Barossa Valley that got mentioned more rather than the Yarra Valley!!!! It was fun sniffing, and looking but the best part was the tasting of a glass of Bordeaux wine at the end, on the 8th floor with great views.
After our tour , we went to the Halles de Bacalan, a market place for lunch and a cleansing beer and aperol spritz. Of course we had to have a “canele” a typical cake from the region.
Last day today in Bordeaux but still had a little time to walk across the Pont de Pierre. It was the first stone bridge ever built in Bordeaux and it was commissioned by Napoleon in 1822. The bridge has 17 spans, the exact number of letters in the name of Napoleon Bonaparte! Go figure, a coincidence or not. We think not!
We have enjoyed wandering around the streets of Bordeaux , stopping for drinks, every now and then, and admiring the buildings and street scapes.
So it’s that time, time to pack and tomorrow head off to Spain!The weather will warm up in Spain, tomorrow it’s going to be 34 degrees! Sangria time!!! We will be meeting up with Julie, Greg’s cousin, who will be our travelling companion for the next couple of weeks. Hope Julie will keep up the pace!!!!
After enduring our business class flights without too many hassles we arrived in Paris and picked up our car. Photo and the naming of our car will be advised in the next blog.
We have spent the last 2 nights in the beautiful town of Angers. We have been pleasantly surprised as we have never been here and did not know what to expect.
We have wandered the town ,eaten the baguettes and pastries and of course had a few drinks.
Angers is ranked as France’s greenest city and is located in the heart of France’s third biggest wine making region of the Loire Valley. It’s historic quarter is gorgeous with lots of stunning buildings.
The town’s main attraction is the Chateau d’Angers built in the 13th century as a fortress to mass the Royal troops but from the 1500’s it became a prison and remained as one until 1947, although during WW11 the Germans used it as a base.
The 15th century fortified gateway was rather impressive as was the Royal Residences built between 1435 and 1440.
The Chateau now houses the “famous UNESCO listed Apocalypse Tapestry ” (although we had never heard of them!) It is the oldest medieval set of tapestries in the world, woven in Paris between 1377 and 1382. It is said to have been used as covers for orange trees and also as curtain linings! Amazing that it has survived in such a good state!
We have walked our legs off over the 2 days (Gregs knees are talking to him!) The Cathedral Saint Maurice was built between the 11th and the 13th century and some of the stained-glass windows date back to 1165. We walked across the oldest bridge in Angers, Pont de Verdun, which crosses the Maine River.
We stumbled across the oldest house in Angers, built in 1399 and still standing, it was rather cute and the Museum Pince was a beautiful renaissance Mansion.
We have had a lot of fun just wandering the cobbled streets and finding heaps of great architecture, small green spaces and of course roof top bars to rehydrate with an Aperol and GandT, of course it’s only to rest Gregs knees!
We go for a walk each morning to buy our baguette and pastries and walk past a church that when the sun is shining is spectacular. Of course we need the baguette not only for lunch but also for our fromage and red wine after dinner. When in France……..
Our apartment here in Angers has been great. We are on the third floor ( with a lift thank God) and although we have no balcony, we look over a small courtyard with gorgeous views of the surrounding building. It has been very comfortable.
Tomorrow, we depart Angers and head to Perigueux , to stay with our French family for 3 nights. As you can tell by the photos the weather has not been overly warm so far but it looks like it will improve in the following week, as we head south.
We left Tuby and headed across the border to Switzerland, to spend the last days of our holidays with Esther and JP in their beautiful new apartment in Lenzerheide.
The views from their balconies in all directions are stunning and because the weather has been perfect, mid 20’s, it has been lovely sitting outside admiring the vista.
But it hasn’t been all sitting and admiring, Esther and JP have taken us on a few walks/hikes around the area. Yesterday we went to the very picturesque Alp Flix. Everywhere we walked we had views of mountains, it was stunning.
It was so nice to back in the mountains, as we had missed the Austrian mountains while we were in Tuby. Although Rhonda’s hayfever flared again! Too much grass!
We stopped at a gorgeous little Alpine Chalet for lunch. We had Quarkpizokels and it was delicious.
We came home for a rest, just so that Greg could go on squirrel watch, and yes, he saw one. That night we went out for a great dinner in Lenzerheide, and Claudie and Sandra and little baby Lio came too. It was great to see Claudie and Sandra again, and to meet Lio for the first time. Dinner was again fabulous. We had Hacktatschli with Kaitoffelstoch. A take on Swedish / Swiss meatballs. Delicious!
Today’s hike was a bit more of a challenge! Yesterday it was fairly flat but today was UP! It was again mid 20’s so quite warm but it still was a lovely “walk” with some great views and of course listening to those cows with their bells ringing!
We again had a wonderful lunch and again Claudie, Sandra and Lio came to join us. This time Lio was awake, so we were lucky enough to have a cuddle of our “Swiss grandson”.
Lunch was again fabulous, we had Rosti and it was delicious, it’s one of favourite Swiss meals.
So with our tummies full, we made the trip down the mountain, walking again! It was a great day.
Thank you Esther and JP for putting up with us again. We love coming to stay with you and your apartment is fabulous.
So tomorrow is D Day, departure day. We are on an evening flight so will be leaving our lovely Lenzerheide and taking Tony to Milan airport to start the trek home. It has been fabulous, Tony has travelled about 9500 kms, and our legs have walked many many kms!
So until next year, by the way our flights are booked for 2024 already, its goodbye from Europe. Hope you have enjoyed our travel stories. Looking forward to seeing everyone when we get home.
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