Paris

Ahhhh Paris. City of Romance, city of lights, city of 100's of unbelievable restaurants/bakeries/shops

On Wednesday we caught the Eurostar from London across to Paris on what is our last little break before we leave the UK and head for our final destinantion - Turkey.

We got to Paris around 12 and as we couldn't check into our hotel till 2 we found a restaurant to spend the afternoon. Ben was brave and had the steak tartar, I opted for the safe option and had a delicious chicken breast - and quite a bit of delicious French wine.

That night we had tickets to a local stand up comedian doing a show called "How to become Parisian in 1 hour". Very funny - and informative. We learnt all the important things like how to swear at taxi drivers, talk down to waiters and laugh when people fall over in the metro - apparently all typical Parisian reactions. Would highly recomend it for anyone in Paris.

Our second day we had a typical French breakfast and went for a walk into town, manily due to the fact that everyone was on strike and we had no choice but to walk (apparently this is a national pasttime). We walked along the Promenade Plantee, saw the Institut de monde Arabe, Notre Dame and the Pompidou Centre before heading for home.

Enjoying the local cuisine

Walking along promenade plantee

Outside Institut du Monde Arabe

Facade detail of Institut du Monde Arabe

Ben and Notre Dame

Me and Notre Dame

Along the walk we may have been tempted by one of the many boulangeries (bakeries) and the most delicious lemon meringue in the world!

Boulangeries Delicacies

Delicious delicacies

That night we went out for dinner to a Japanese restaurant. I don't know if you have ever tried to order Japanese in French - but its not as easy as you would think. Thanks to some pictures we managed to get some food by pointing - and despite one of Ben's dishes which contained very large bones for "chicken" it was delicious.

Day 3 we headed back into town to see some more of the sights. We walked the Champs-Elysees, saw the Arc De Triomphe and then headed for the Eiffel tower.

Tourist at the Louvre

Ben and the Arc De Triomphe

Eiffel Tower by day

Eiffel Tower, Ben and scary rain clouds


While we were enjoying the sights of the Eiffel Tower the rain clouds were gathering. Right as we got to the middle of the park they opened up and we got drenched. We were forced to take refuge in a deserted Capioreia tent and then run for the metro station.

That night we treated ourselves to the full French dinner Aperitifs and all. Possibly the nicest meal I have ever had - and no snails or frogs legs in sight!

Day 4 we headed for Montmartre and the Basilique Du Sacre Coeur. We'd heard good things but were a little disappointed. Very touristy - but it was a Saturday. We had a walk along Canal St Martin then another long lunch before heading in to the Eiffel tower that night.

We got there at the perfect time. The sun was setting and the lights all turned on. After about a 45 minute wait we got to the 2nd level and saw Paris under a gorgeous full moon. It was beautiful.

Our time in Paris was way too short. Could happily spend a lot longer. Now 2 more days in London then off to Turkey for 3 weeks. Then back to Australia.

Eiffel Tower by night

View from the Eiffel tower at night

View along the Seine from the Eiffel Tower

Full moon over Paris from the Eiffel Tower

Barcelona

After weeks of rain and confined spaces we decided we'd earned ourselves a holiday holiday and headed for the sun in Barcelona. We caught our first every easyjet flight and landed without incident around 2 o'clock. Finding our hotel was easy as it's located next to one of the newest tallest buildings in the area. It glows red and blue at night – so once the sun goes down its even easier to find. (Designed by Jean Nouvel for those architects out there).

We had big plans for the first night but unfortunately we didn't get much further than the supermarket across the road. They have an entire aisle that is just jamon (ham legs) hanging from hooks in the ceiling. We bought a selection of goodies and some local Cava and headed back to the room. It was a gorgeous room and so nice to stay somewhere that feels like a holiday as opposed to somewhere that feels like a world record attempt for longest time spent in a tarago.

Day 2 we caught the metro into town – wandered La Rambla and besides one nasty incident that involved me being locked in a toilet and having to wriggle on the floor to free myself, had a great morning. We saw the markets and found our way down to the beach for a very long leisurely lunch of sea snails (ben ate them obviously not me), some paella and a lot of sangria!

Ben enjoying the market

Colourful market stalls




View from our lunch table

Paella and Sangria - Heaven

Night view from our hotel

The next morning we headed out earlier with the first stop being Park Guell designed by Antonio Gaudi. We walked around for the morning until the grounds and the crowds got to much and we headed back into the town.

Park Guell colonnade by Gaudi

More Park Guell columns and Ben

I really liked the columns

Park Guell

Park Guell



After Park Guell we headed out to see Mies Van Der Rohe's German Pavillion. Which was pretty much the opposite of Park Guell and deserted when we arrived. It was great.

Mies Van Der Rohe Pavillion

La Rambla

Then back to La Rambla for dinner. It was Catalunyan National Day so the whole area was really busy. We finally found a touristy restaurant with tables available and went in for dinner. Unfortunately the girl sitting behind us got her bag stolen from the floor inside the restaurant. It certainly made us a lot more careful with our bags.

After dinner it was back to the hotel where we had some cocktails on the roof.

The next morning we headed straight for Gaudi's Battlo house, paid the exorbitant price to get in and spent a couple of hours having a look around. The house was amazing, so many gorgeous details. If the photos below are not enough I have about 200 more!

Battlo House facade

Battlo House spinal staircase

Battlo House interiors

Roof of Battlo House



We decided we really need to embrace the Spanish culture so headed back to the pool for a siesta in the sun. While I slept Ben scoured the surrounding area for somewhere to have dinner and stumbled across the best street. Basically it was like La Rambla with a big pedestrian mall and lots of coloured lights. But instead of tourists and those awful people who stand still and try and look like statues (my most hated type of busker), there were just locals out for a walk and some dinner. Neither of us are really sure exactly what we ate but it was delicious - and half the price of the centre of town.

Our last full day was basically a combination of all our favourite things to date. Bakery breakfast, tapas and sangria by the harbour for lunch, a siesta by the pool with some mojitos, and supermarket delicacies for dinner - with all the remaining time spent wandering through the gothic district, along the beaches and around all the great buildings around our hotel. Pure heaven.

View from the rooftop pool/bar

Relaxing by the pool

UK Roadtrip 2

After Fort William we decided that we had earned ourselves a break from the car and checked into a hotel for 2 nights in Glasgow. From Glasgow we headed to Edinburgh for a day at the fringe. The Royal mile was possibly the busiest street I've ever seen. And everyone wanted your attention - trying to give you flyers and impress you with their wackiness - it was a bit tiring and we sought refuge in the castle for the afternoon.

The top of Edinburgh Castle

After Edinburgh we headed North once again for the town of Crieff. We free camped at a hydroelectric dam and were soon surrounded by sheep (and clouds). The next morning we headed into town for the Highland games. We parked in town and followed the sound of 100's of bagpipes till we got to the showground. We saw bagpipe competitions, highland dancing and best of all - the caber toss. To say the guys were big is an understatement.

The Highland games in Crieff

Highland Dancers

The Caber Toss

After Crieff we headed south again and out of Scotland. We did a big day of driving and made our way down to the Lake district. Our campsite was great - complete with a stone pub with a big fire - a welcome break from the Tarago. Unfortunatley the whole time we were there it rained. Really rained. It was still beautiful and we had a nice drive around the lakes edge.

After the Lakes District it was another big day of driving out to Snowdonia in Wales. It was beautiful and well worth the drive. First we had a night on Anglesey then headed down to Porthmadog. Then back through the middle of Snowdonia national park and past the mountain itself.

Our Campsite in Wales

Wales Scenery

After Wales we headed to Manchester to catch up with some old friends. Was lots of fun. The next day we headed to Chester and then on to our friends parents cottage where we were treated to some good home cooking and hospitality.

After Chester it was on to Stratford upon Avon for some Shakespeare sightseeing - and then on to Bath.

Roman Baths in Bath

Tourist at the Baths

From Bath we headedto Cheddar and I have to say I have never been more mislead by a towns name. No cheese! A nice gorge and all - but no sign of any local cheddar. From Cheddar we headed down the coast to Padstow where we walked around and found all Rick Steins restaurants. Unfortunately the restaurants were a little out of our price range so we settled for some Rick Stein fish and chips - cooked in real beef drippings! I think that makes them healthy? Right?

The coast in Exmoor National Park

Scary narrow roads

From Padstow Navman took us on the narrowest, most hair raising drive ever. We had to reverse along narrow windy roads many times to avoid oncoming traffic. Besides taking the above photo I spent most of the time with my eyes closed (Ben was driving thank god - but even if I was I think I would have had my eyes closed)

The next stop was St Ives and it was gorgeous.

St Ives and blue sky

Enjoying the sunshine

Enjoying the cider in the sunshine

Tourists in St Ives

From St Ives it was down to Penzance and then on to Lizard point - the most southerly point of England. As you can tell from the Photo - it was a little windy.

Lizard Point - Southern most point and possibly windiest point in England


After Lizard point we headed to Truro for the night. From Truro we headed up to the "Cornish Rattler" cider farm and learnt the secrets of cider making.

From the cider farm we drove across Dartmoor national park. We saw some more gorgeous heather covered hills and lots of wild horses.

Dartmoor wild horses

From Dartmoor it was on to Exeter and then the Jurrassic Coast. It was a gorgeous drive. We stopped off at Durdle door and took a walk along the coast.

Tourists at the Jurrassic Coast

Durdle Door

The Jurrassic Coast


From Durdle Door we headed inland again and made for Stonehenge. And on from there to Oxford the last stop on our driving adventures. After 2 nights we packed the car, drove to London and said goodbye to our lovely little spaceship. It was bittersweet. We also managed to arrive back in London with all our belongings on the one day that the tube was closed to strikes. The bus rides were long and not fun in the least. Stay tuned - next stop.......... Sunny Barcelona!

Tourists at Stonehenge