Gems of Italy, France and Spain – 19 Days – Cosmos Tour – A Journal of the Tour – Part Two
Paris to Bilboa then Barcelona to Madrid
“……This bridge and its “accessories” was simply unlike anything I’d ever seen before, each padlock representing someone celebrating the moment of being in love, or being in Paris, and each symbolic of wishing for a lifetime of happiness……”
8TH. OCTOBER – Paris. It was raining and the sky was full of leaden grey clouds when we exited the hotel at 8:30 am. I had been told it often rains in Paris and here I was, in Paris, in the rain. We began our day with a sightseeing tour and with water spray and droplets all over the bus windows, photography was going to be challenging if not an extremely dismal affair today, even seated in the front. So I packed the camera away and took a turn at the back of the bus as we toured Paris in relative warmth and comfort. The day was to average 16 degrees today so it wasn’t going to be hot or cold, rather somewhere in the middle.
Our guide took us through Notre Dame first and it is a beautiful, simple (well, as compared to many Italian cathedrals) building whose stained glass windows are perhaps, its most outstanding feature inside. Mass is held every day here and twice on Sunday’s and there was a service in the cathedral as we walked through. There’s a statue of Joan of Arc here amongst others. The ceilings were high and vaulted and it was extremely dark inside. The side alcoves were richly decorated and each had stunning stained glass windows. During the Second World War the irreplaceable stained glass windows were removed and stored safely underground. The wedding photographer in me screamed out when I saw this magnificent building. This would be a photographer’s nightmare. How do you shoot a wedding in the dark in these cathedrals? Do you not need light? “No flashes allowed”. I love natural light photography, prefer it, but great wedding photography, indeed all photography, is about light, and some of these buildings are so dark wedding photography would be a huge challenge. I had my camera set on ISO 2500 but sometimes up to 5000, shutter speed 1/60 of a sec and exposure plus 2 for speed shooting architectural photography here (working at speed to avoid people getting in many of my captures, and without a tripod). With those settings, a wedding in these conditions would have meant grain, dark to black skin tones and absolutely no zoom. And no retrieval of your image if you stuffed up. Bin worthy. Well I guess I should be thankful I don’t shoot weddings in Notre Dame. Not really, it would be just a little bit amazing if I did……..
We exited Notre Dame, completed in 1345 AD, and trekked down one side, saw the Hunchback of Notre Dame gargoyle in a nook near the side entrance and then walked towards the back of the cathedral. The gargoyles are drainage points on the cathedral and they were all performing their tasks well today with rivulets and streams of water cascading out their mouths. Interestingly, we were told, the gargoyles were also put there to frighten demons away from the cathedral.
At the rear of Notre Dame was a beautiful garden and a little further on, a bridge with metalwork on its sides.
The Archbishop’s Bridge 1828 AD is a stone road bridge with metal framework crossing the River Seine. It was loaded down with tonnes and tonnes of extra weight in the form of padlocks all locked onto the delicate metal framework, completely obliterating it from view. Hundreds of thousands of padlocks, all with the names of couples, or words of significance, and almost all with dates on them, many of the dates distinguishing exactly when the couples or person leaving the padlock had visited. This bridge and its “accessories” was simply unlike anything I’d ever seen before, each padlock representing someone celebrating the moment of being in love, or being in Paris, and each symbolic of wishing for a lifetime of happiness. Very very very romantic.
We headed back to the bus passing by a Parisian flower shop, and continued touring the city but photos were really not an option at this point out the foggy rain splattered bus windows.
At the Eiffel Tower we stopped for ten minutes. Not enough time to create a masterpiece of photography. I took, however, the time to cross the road and stand in the rain where there was at least a half decent shot. I’d come to Paris with an idea of what I’d do at the Eiffel Tower in terms of framing a picture but that went entirely out the window when “ten minutes” resounded in my ears, and outside the rain was……pouring……down…….ten……minutes…….
We stopped in the city on the Champs Élysées and found lunch, then met the others joining the next optional tour which was headed to the Palace of Versailles. Initially a hunting estate, the Palace of Versailles, after rebuilding and restructuring, actually became the centre of French power in 1682.
I lost our guide within ten minutes of entering the palace. There were a lot of people and although I could hear the guide in my earpiece I some how lost sight of her and never found her or the rest of the group after that as she had ducked into a side room whilst I was photographing a ceiling unbeknownst to me. She drifted away to silence in my ear piece so I figured it was OK to go it alone as I could hear other guide’s recitations, and I knew what time we all had to meet up. The palace rooms sort of linked together and I soon realized I was going in circles. I searched for an exit, retraced my steps thinking I missed the obvious exit then ended up again where I started. I hadn’t missed it. It wasn’t there. That’s about when I began to get a little worried, I mean the palace is huge, HUGE! The opulence of the Palace was amazing though. Rooms richly decorated, many with hand painted fresco ceilings, gilt frames on massive paintings, bold colours including reds, golds and greens, and there were luxurious velvet furnishings and tapestries. One guide’s recitations said an artist was commissioned to paint the ceiling in one room. He took three years to create his masterpiece. I thought it was sensational BUT apparently upon completion he was so disappointed with his work that he committed suicide by stabbing himself nine times.
Statues were here and there, and there was an entire gallery of white busts of French dignitaries and French royalty. The war gallery was home to many paintings commemorating the battles that glorified and celebrated French victory in war, massive canvases twenty feet wide and fifteen feet high, all showcasing battle as purposeful. Some were famous paintings I’d studied at high school.
I also saw the queen’s bedroom, a gigantic bed set in a huge room where the royal births were a matter of public display to prove that heirs were legitimate and to ensure daughters were not swapped at birth with male interlopers. The were wide marble stairwells and exceptionally high ceilings. Roof to floor windows overlooking the most intricate designs created in the formal gardens stretched out from the rear of the palace as far as the eye could see. The front entry area of the palace was completely cobbled stone as the massive rectangular arena was where many horses used to congregate. Some of the exterior gates and fencing, roof top decorations and artwork were plated in 18 carat gold and looked extremely opulent. It was stunning.
I managed to find my way out after speaking English to a French non-English speaking guard, gesticulating my desire to find an exit, and he quickly figured out what I was wanting, then pointed the direction I needed to go to find my way out. From there I briefly visited the Palace of Versailles Gardens then made my way to the bus. To my relief I was first back.
The trip back into Paris was uneventful, and Giorgio drove us past some of the more famous city sights including the Paris Statue of Liberty and Le Tombeau de Napoleon, Napolean’s tomb. Paris is a stunning city. We disembarked at a cafe on the Champs Élysées. With two hours to pass until our night outing began, Sandra, one of the ladies in our group, and I headed off looking in shop windows until we had wandered in a large loop, ending back at another bar/coffee shop on the Champs Élysées. There we decided to sit and watch the people pass by so we ordered a couple of beers. Several others from the group showed up not long after and they joined us for our second round. Our dinner tonight, and optional excursion, was at a restaurant behind the Paris Pantheon so Giorgio our bus driver took us for a scenic drive in the rain, first past the Paris Ritz, Princess Diana’s hotel on her last night before she was killed, the Louvre and its glass pyramid, Sorbonne University, then the Pantheon.
We disembarked and walked two blocks down a winding street to a tiny French Restaurant which was housed in an old wine cellar. It was very dark inside. The menu was extensive. Entree was Chicken Liver Pate or Prawn Cocktail, Escargot, Frogs Legs or French Onion Soup. Mains was Beef Bourguignon, Roast Duck, Flambé Prawns, Chicken Breast or Salmon. Dessert Profiteroles, Creme Brûlée, Peach Melba, Chocolate Mousse or Apple Torte. It was nice but not the calibre of meal I was expecting and as usual, we were seated by six thirty, out by eight thirty. And the meal was not entirely French, it had some modern additions like the cream decoration being from an aerosol can, and “hundreds and thousands sprinkles” on the Peach Melba. Bus driver’s have restricted hours so this is probably the major reason if we are out to dinner or a show as to why we either have a different driver taking us out, or it’s a very early night. There was music, an accordion player and a guitarist and the patrons took a hat around for tips.
The night finished on a high note however with some sexy dirty dancing in the bus aisle by our fearless tour guide, Christian and then we made a quick stop for a rainy night viewing of the Eiffel Tower from a popular Paris lookout.
9TH. OCTOBER – Departure this morning for Bordeaux, some seven hundred kilometres from Paris through the Loire Valley. A huge drive. The landscape today has been relatively flat. Crops like corn are visible, and there’s fallow paddocks but I’m not seeing a lot of other things growing. We have passed by a nuclear power plant, one of 58 in France, a town with caves which the residents have turned into dwellings, a radio telescope, and a lot of country that is fertile with settlements dotted here and there. It’s been raining again today, on and off, so it’s been quite difficult to take photos of what I’m seeing.
We spent the first two hours on the Autostrada then turned off for a half hour traveling through some pretty country before ending up at Amboise, then the Amboise Chateau Royal, one of the French King Charles V111’s summer Royal Palace’s.
Chateau d’Amboise is also well known for the famous Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci who lived here for a time, and who is buried here. The fifteenth century Chateau is beautiful although four fifths of the original structure was disassembled after Napoleon Bonaparte gifted it to one of his men. The Chateau, originally the home of Charles V111 had been vacant for 200 years and had fallen into ruin. The new owner was dismayed when he saw it and having no funds sold the limestone blocks from four fifths of the palace building itself to raise money to provide means to restore and upkeep the remaining fifth of the castle. The castle overlooks the Loire River and is situated in the Loire Valley. The early French architecture of the castle was grand but simple. It was primarily a summer home for Charles V111 and his wife Ann of Brittany, and a safe haven from the political centre of France, Paris. King Charles V111 died in 1498 after hitting his head on a door lintel in the Summer Palace. Our guide was lovely and showed us through the remaining parts of the castle before we were given an hour and a half to either browse the castle’s manicured gardens or walk to the adjoining shops and restaurants for a leisurely lunch.
Everyone had gone in different directions so I wandered down to the shops and I bought an ice cream for lunch, as did half a dozen of the others. Fresh made French ice cream. Then I found a beautiful French pastry and chocolate shop, and I asked the manager, who was also the pastry chef, if I could take photos. Interestingly most of our group had settled out front to enjoy their lunch. I was amazed at the wide variety French pastries, cakes and chocolates, and I bought a small raspberry flan which I ate on the bus as I’d been wandering around the shopping area taking photos and too much time had slipped away to have much more.
The group were on the road again by 1:50 pm and we trekked back towards the Autostrada, but on the way it was suggested by some of the group that we should stop at a wine cellar and do some wine tasting. Christian then made an impromptu stop at a nearby cellar door, Grands Vins du val de Loire. We all paid 5€ and then set about tasting around 15 different red and white wines. It was an inexpensive few drinks and the mood on the bus was considerably lighter when we set off over half an hour later. A quick photo of me out front then it was onto the bus.
It’s been the biggest mileage day yet so we are all looking forward to getting to Bordeaux this evening.
Bordeaux is a lovely city, steeped en masse in early French architecture. The main drag coming in had block after block of four storied buildings all with similar facades, lots of windows and apartment style frontages. The buildings are somewhat grubby as they are old and city grime coats the stone but that in itself lends a real period feel to the city.
I would love to visit this city again, the third largest city in France, as our time here was nothing less than a titillating taste but time hasn’t allowed us to do more than stay overnight and briefly drive through some of its streets. I am enormously disappointed we didn’t do a night drive and eat in a Bordeaux French restaurant. But dinner tonight was an included meal at the Hotel, a buffet. Nicely done, but very much just an overnight stopover in a city we simply do not really see. Entree this evening was asparagus soup, and a selection of salads. Mains was chicken and potatoes. Dessert apple torte. Breakfast was also very nice, and the extensive buffet included scrambled eggs and sausage.
10TH. OCTOBER – Christian took us for a short drive into the city to the 31 acre Square de Quinconces where a fountain was erected between 1894 and 1902 in memory of the Girondists who fell victim of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. It is a magnificent fountain and was funded by the city. Upon closer inspection, all is not as it seems, regarding fountains one might be expecting to see. The characters within appear desperate, in peril or tortured. Horses are bursting forth from the spray with claws instead of hooves, the figures are wrestling or grasping for one another. It’s a conglomeration of action and intensity everywhere and it is all entwined amid a mass of spray and cascading water flows. Stunning. The square it sits in was filled with a circus so the main intention of visiting this specific place today was somewhat obscured.
The square is named after trees that were planted in quincunxes, in 1818. Bordeaux installed a tram system in 2003 and the square is now the most important public transport hub in the area with 2 tram lines, 21 bus lines including 3 night buses, an electric shuttle and 12 coach lines.
There’s also a beautiful cathedral in Bordeaux but we didn’t go nearer than merely seeing it’s Gothic influenced spire soaring skywards behind some other buildings. A pity considering today is supposed to be going to be wet later and this morning would have been a great opportunity to do a walk around whilst it was not raining.
Back on the road……….
Stopped for lunch at the seaside tourist resort of Barritz, in South West France and saw the Atlantic Ocean for the very first time. A pivotal moment. I keep having to pinch myself on this journey. So many places I’ve read about, so many places I’ve imagined, so many places that echo in my memory from things that people have said, from books, movies, news. We were able to wander for two hours in this seaside resort where Napoleon Bonaparte built a summer palace for his Josephine. It is tiny. Safe. Charming in a cosmopolitan mixed with heritage sort of way.
I wandered alone along the seaside from above on an elevated promenade and with the lighthouse in the distance, surfers catching waves below, rocks standing solid against the relentless crashing of the Atlantic’s waves, it all seemed just a little surreal. I came across a man made boat mooring whose boats were perched on rocky ground, the sea having receded as the tide was out. And a little further on was a church. The church was deserted when I walked through and it was quaint and dark, and yet colourful with beautiful stained glass windows on the sides, front and rear. The church was at the end of a large paved shopping area flanked by tiny open air French restaurants and cafes.
The shops were closed, which was a bit frustrating as we’d not had much time to shop or browse the last few days as it was after one o’clock when I walked through, the town being influenced by the Spanish siesta was asleep. France itself as a whole does not celebrate the siesta like Italy and Spain. Rather it wakes late with shops opening around 11:00 am, and staying open late, closing around 8:00 pm. I found lunch in a French restaurant and ordered the infamous Spanish dish, paella I’d heard so much about.
Why I ordered a Spanish dish for my last meal in France I do not know, but I did. It was full of saffron infused rice and had salami, chicken, mussels and prawns, peas and other a dozen other delicious things. I really should have ordered crepes or something French when I think about it as I honestly didn’t get to really enjoy much authentic French food whilst here except in Nice when we had a beautiful French meal the first night here which was showcased with a brilliant Nicoise Salad.
Walking back to the bus I started across the pedestrian crossing one foot on the road as no one was coming, the Australian way of course, when I looked the other direction, a bus was there and I was two steps from disaster. I guess the words look both ways before crossing have been ringing in my ears since I arrived so I had hesitated.
6:00 pm – Crossed the border into Spain at 2:54 pm. Nearly missed it as I thought it was just another toll gate but the roar from our four Spanish travelers soon bought the moment your attention. I managed to snap an iPad pic as I had it in my hands ready to do a shot of the tolls. We’ve passed through about a dozen toll gates since Paris and they all vary in price, many being in excess of 25€ a pass so it’s expensive driving buses and trucks on the toll roadways. Cars tolls are less but in my opinion, still pricey. Driving yourself would be considerably dearer in Europe than Australia with our only tolls near each states capital cities or along the coast roads.
Arrived in Bilbao around 4:30 pm and stopped at the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum the world’s most famous twentieth century modern architecture building which is completely plated in Titanium. A stunning piece of modern art in itself. We were allowed to wander for half an hour and saw some gorgeous landmarks around the museum, but we didn’t go in. The metropolitan area of Bilbao roughly has about 1 million people and is renowned first and foremost because of the museum. Bilbao looks very friendly.
11TH. OCTOBER – 10:00 am – Sangria, the infamous Spanish drink, last night, was delicious. At 10€ a small jug! Which equated to two massive glasses; it was good value. However wine here is 1,50€ and beer 2€ so drinks are generally cheap and easily affordable. Made with ice, half a jug of fresh fruit, oranges, limes and apples cut up, generous amounts of red wine, sugar, “fanta” and a vodka mix like a cruiser it took the barman a couple of minutes to create. Generous stir and rest then voila, Sangria! Quite nice but even better if it was a stinking hot day, which it wasn’t yesterday. Dinner last night was 28 minutes between entree and dessert. Oh I’m being picky, but really do we have to eat flat out? What about conversation? Enjoying your food? Entree was a vegetable dish although it looked like a hot mash of tuna and vegetables chopped up, mains was chicken casserole no vegetables. Dessert a sponge role with custard filling. Then out the door! Tonight’s meal was pretty ordinary. The best time to mix and gel as a group I believe is over the evening meal. So to fast forward the moment each time the meal is included is a shame.
Off by 8:30 am this morning. Spain is beautiful. So hilly, green and fertile here, or browned off crops from summer, in the north. It’s mizzling (misty rain) and the hills or mountains are shrouded in clouds and fog. Beautiful. There are settlements everywhere and the trees are coloured with autumn tones. I had heard there were eucalypts here but so far I haven’t seen any.
2:00 pm – We arrived in Pamplona at 11:00 am and spent two hours walking in the city centre finishing our time here just after lunch. We started in the streets where they hold the annual “Running with the Bulls” event every 6th. to 14th. July. We walked several streets until we arrived at the Pamplona bull ring. A brother and sister in our group, Fernando and Andrea and I found a shop that features bull taxidermies in running poses. The shop owner invited Fernando and Andrea to pose “Running with the Bulls”, and we got some great shots as both were natural actors and were extremely expressive in their suggested poses. The shop owner charged very little and this was such a really a fun thing to do and very realistic!
Bull fighting is the national sport in Spain, aside from soccer and the world famous Real Madrid, (or Barcelona) and is very well attended by the Spanish people. No fight was on today but apparently they fight to the death of the bull. The meat from the fighting bull is very prized and sells for up to 90€ a kilo. All of the bull is used Christian tells us, and he is reminded of a joke. A delicacy in Pamplona is the testicles of the bull killed from the bull fight.
Christian laughs as he recites then assumes a deadly straight face.
A tourist traveling in Pamplona noticed in the restaurant where he was about to order dinner a plate of food with a rich delicious smell emanating from it.
“What is that dish signor?” he asks the waiter.
“That is the testicles of the bull killed in the bull fight this morning signor.”
The tourist, interested, and keen to try something new, particularly as it smelt so good, said “I’ll have one of those, Gracias.”
The waiter responded, “Oh no sir there’s only one bull fight every day and those are the only ones there are today,” he said pointing to the customer who had ordered them “if you want to try them you’ll need to come back tomorrow after the bull fight.”
The tourist said he would return and to save the testicles for him. He went away but returned the next evening when he reordered the dish. He sat down and testicles were bought to him prepared the same as the day before.
Whilst the tourist was eating the delicacy he asked the waiter who was walking by.
“Excuse me signor, I noticed the testicles on the plate yesterday were much bigger. Why are these so small?”
“Well” replied the waiter, “sometimes it’s the bull who wins the bull fight!”
There is an ancient Roman aqueduct not far from Pamplona on the road towards Barcelona. It’s massive, in excellent condition, stretched a kilometre or so across the landscape, and is well elevated. I managed some pics out the window but almost missed it as there was not enough warning to get my camera ready.
3:00 pm – We have been traveling through a sort of valley for the last hour. In the distance there are mountain ranges and you can see in all directions for many kilometres. There’s irrigation here and there, and the local countryside is dotted with crops, apricots, wine grapes, and vegetables; as well, the locals, raise pigs. We’ve also passed sheep and cattle, and I saw a donkey or burrow as they are called here. The soil here is very light in colour.
Maybe I’ve watched too many spaghetti western movies showcasing Spain as a desert but it doesn’t seem to be at all like a desert at this point. I’ve been expecting high walled monasteries, isolation and desolation, instead there’s farming with settlements scattered here, there and everywhere.
4:30 pm – Zaragoza’s population is 600,000 and it is a major city in Spain. “Our Lady of The Pillar Basilica” built between 1681 and 1754 AD there receives over one million visitors a year. Zaragoza had an extra influx of tourists today as they were having a festival in celebration of The Lady Of Our Pillar, and there was a band and stage, screen show, large food and drinks open air stalls and market, tables and chairs. Our Lady of the Pillar is reputed to be the first church in history to be dedicated to Mary. The basilica was huge. Very ornate and typical of the catholic style with a little bit of everything thrown in sculptures, paintings, frescos, chandeliers, candles, ironwork, gold, silver, massive wood carvings and reliefs, column, marble, stone, and tiles. There was an enormous organ and side alcoves, as per usual in all the basilica’s we’ve been too thus far.
As we left the basilica we came across an open air food market which had massive frying pans, some five to six feet in diameter, sitting above coals. These were full of things like paella, ribs and sausage, as well as other meats. Several enormous saucepans held up to five huge hams all being boiled ready for serving. It was fabulous and I thought of my father, ill at home, who has a passion for eating ham hocks.
Passed many, many windmills on high ground today, and also many solar panel farms where green energy is produced all the way to Zaragoza. Since then however it’s become a lot drier with hills now to the north of the road, and these are mined for the steel industry. We also saw some huge stork nests built in the top of wire towers, the nests looked rather like the large wedge tail eagle nests that are found in Australia. We also passed a giant black bull mounted on a frame at the top of one of the sparsely vegetated hills. He is Spain’s recognized logo or symbol and appears everywhere along roadsides, on tee shirts, in advertising etc.
Half an hour on an we are in now in very desolate country in Aragon. What I thought were low white sand dunes is actually light grey dirt fallowed areas. It’s cropping country and it just looks impossible. It’s irrigated but amid rolling hills home to salt bush like vegetation. Just passed a thick crop of maize, then a thick crop of lush green, to soil is a white grey colour.
The hills have low vegetation like you’d find in the desert. Very confusing. There’re absolutely no trees at the moment. Another half hour on and we are in hilly country, very fertile, lush green everywhere. Fruit trees and packing sheds. Soils have become rich brown. Settlements. We are in the region of Catalunya, the biggest apricot region in Spain, near the city of Leda. Catalunya citizens are presently trying to break away from mainstream Spain and form their own state and there’s a lot of political unrest. Thousands of acres of fruit trees here, but they are not at all like the fruit growing regions in Australia, which are not in deserts, it’s like a reclaimed desert landscape here and it’s a vast landscape.
In a flatter area now and you can see for ten kilometres three sixty degrees. It is stunning and hard to describe.
11:10 pm – Drove into Barcelona late around 7:55 pm. Big day out in Barcelona tomorrow three tours, two are optional extras. Staying at the Hotel Santos Porta Fira, Barcelona for the next two nights, an award winning skyscraper hotel, reportedly the best skyscraper in the world. Very very nice. Dinner tonight was included. Entree was pumpkin soup, followed by a mains of chicken and vegetables, and chocolate cake with red berries which was rather like a slice of chocolate pudding was dessert.
Just finished hand washing my clothes. No laundries anywhere we stay although I haven’t checked here. Maybe I should have. Laundry is the most difficult issue to resolve so far with the trips. Looking forward to tomorrow and a trip to the famous Montserrat.
12TH. OCTOBER – We began the day with a city tour and picked up tour guide Somnia at our hotel before leaving at 8:30 am. Columbus Day here in Spain today and there were many locals out to celebrate the family day. If it was a weekday it would have been a public holiday. Columbus Day is in celebration of Spanish Captain Christopher Columbus discovering America on the 12th. October 1492. The discovery launched Spain into a new realm of wealth and power.
Today there were police everywhere. In this part of Spain the Catalunya people are fighting for independence. They speak their own language as well as Spanish and signboards often have both Catalunya and Spanish words on them in Barcelona. Many Catalunya flags were flying today, yellow with four red strips. Those flags with a blue and white empire symbol on the Catalunya flags near the centre mean they are Catalunya proud but are happy to stay part of a kingdom. The police were there to dissuade trouble and there were plenty of police to be seen in the streets.
The tour began with a drive round and it was often impossible to take decent photos, as the bus makes twisting turns around the town, traffic and reflections from the morning light detract on the internal bus windows, local guides telling you too late to be on the right side of the bus when you were seated on the left before you were past whatever was of significance. It was frustrating regarding that but otherwise really interesting.
Barcelona was the home of the 1992 Olympic Games and many stadiums, pools and sporting centre’s built to accommodate them are in use today and in close proximity to each other mostly being on a large hill within the city area. There are two schools, several museums and parks, sporting centres and churches on the hill also but no housing so a lot of people use the area for recreation or amusement alone. The hill afforded amazing views of the city so we stopped for a photo stop and ten minute break. You have to work fast if you are a committed photographer doing a tour, and racing around trying to capture images of quality in a short time frame is a total challenge. The view of the Port of Barcelona was particularly beautiful. The port is the third largest in the world for cruise liners ranked behind Florida and The Caribbean.
From the hill we drove into the city and the guide pointed out some different architectural styles and finishes before we stopped in front of a Gaudi block of apartments which were typical of his style. Gaudi didn’t particularly like straight lines so he used a lot of curves, even in window openings, so his style was quite different and unique. Jury’s out on whether I love his all of his work. Very, very different though. Architects from all over the world congregated in Barcelona at one point and many produced buildings, often in the same street, quite distinct from each other depending on the architect’s style. It was fascinating to view the mishmash of styles.
We were warned about pickpockets, or magicians as Christian calls them so I left my backpack on the bus. I had my money belt on with both my wallet and small change purse resting below my waist underneath my trousers which are firm to zip up, so no one, absolutely no one was going there. I had my iPad in my hands and a firm grip. Dean, from our tour, tried to be amusing half way through our walk to snatch the iPad and I spun round and frightened him. So no one was robbing me today. I managed to take plenty of photos and checked between each who was near me and whether it was safe and I had no problems. Christian had said a woman on the last tour was standing next to him and had been pick pocketed. Somnia led the group today, and Christian followed up the rear as he said the pick pockets usually target stragglers. He was watching us all the time and those around us, so there was a large measure of comfort in that.
The Sagrada Familia Basilica reminded me of a large ornate melting wedding cake, dripping with excess frosting and decoration. It was weirdly, hauntingly beautiful, yet somewhat gothic and almost dark. The cathedral is unfinished and building continues even though the build has been ongoing for over one hundred years.
I’ve read about this cathedral and studied it in high school and here I was, standing in front of an architectural masterpiece. I have to keep reminding myself on this trip that I am finally visiting many of the places I first heard of over some forty years ago. Remarkable!
From Gaudi’s Cathedral, we toured to the Barcelona Cathedral where those not going to Montserrat were to depart for free time and to head further into town.
A short stop at the Cathedral and a visit to some nearby shops resulted in, yes, some souvenirs. I haven’t been buying things for people on this trip in terms of I must get this or that for this or that person, but when I find something that I know would be just the thing for someone, I’ve been buying it. Just some small things here and there. Today I found a Barcelona soccer tee shirt to go with the Italia soccer tee shirt I’ve bought for my fifteen month old grandson. I also found exactly the right thing for my dad, who loves salt and pepper, two Barcelona bull china salt and pepper shakers, sitting in a little wooden crate.
Montserrat was a forty minute drive and is a large unusual mountain popular with cliff and rock climbers but is most well known for the monastery and boys choir associated with the beautiful land formation.
It was a lovely drive and only twelve chose to do this optional excursion as the rest wanted free time to be had in Barcelona. I had heard about Montserrat however and it was on my list of places to visit in Barcelona so I enjoyed the trek to this beautiful part of Spain. The road up was not too winding but it afforded the most amazing views for many kilometres.
At the village we were taken by Somnia around different highlights ending with the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey. It was a peaceful place. Crisp clean air, around fourteen degrees. Eerily peaceful and quiet. There was a candle corridor to the side and a courtyard in front of the Cathedral. People were quietly lining up and waiting turn to touch a gold statue of the Virgin Mary housed in the front of the cathedral. Many of the cathedrals I’ve visited are destinations for Catholics on personal pilgrimages.
I bought a coffee after the tour and sat in a square drinking it, enjoying the solitude. It was safe and unhurried and very calming there. We left Montserrat and headed back to Barcelona arriving around 4:00 pm then had two hours to have a kip or to shower then get ready for our Flamenco night. We then went for a walk in the city and there were thousands of people out, enjoying the evening amid markets and street entertainers; typical for Columbus Day. We worked our way towards the restaurant around some of the major sights. A night lights drive round the city was to follow the Flamenco show and Christian was to take us later to a fountain that danced to music.
We were ushered into the room following dinner, a buffet, at around 8:30 pm for the Flamenco show and the evening entertainment began around 9:00 pm. The show had four main musicians, three guitarists and a man seated on, and playing, a box drum. There was a fifth man who sang. Four girls and one more man (who had a likeness to Freddie Mercury), were the dancers. It was really very good. I didn’t understand a word of the songs, but the expressions on the dancers faces, their body gestures, and the passion they displayed in dance, was absolutely totally enthralling, riveting.
All in all, a very busy, very entertaining, fun-filled day.
13TH. OCTOBER – Left this morning at 8:45 am after the best breakfast of the whole trip. It had been the same yesterday. Water, wine glasses and jugs, fresh squeezed juices, at least five varieties including peach. Cereals, breads, rolls, sliced bread toast. Fresh fruit, not a canned variety in sight. Strawberries, honeydew melon, grapes, watermelon, pineapple, kiwi fruit, whole peaches, nectarines, pears and apples, plums and lychees. Lettuce, cucumber, olives, tomatoes sliced and baby whole, corn, carrot and capsicum. Cooked fried eggs, cold boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, hot prosciutto and sausage. Grilled capsicum, zucchini and mushrooms. Jellied fruits and preserves. Sliced hams and sliced cheeses. Croissants, at least four varieties. Lemon almond cake and two other cakes. Teas and coffees. Well, no point describing breakfast from now on as simply none will measure up.
Trekking to Valencia today. The orange grove capital of Spain. The landscape is built up for a distance out of Barcelona. We pass by Monserrat in the distance and head towards Valencia. We stop for a quick look at Pont del Diable an ancient Roman aqueduct, standing and still in good condition, then trek onwards. The orange groves are thick from a hundred kilometres out of Valencia, hence the name of it’s most famous offering, the Valencia orange. The coast comes into view about now and most of the way there are hills to the right and more flatter land, then the coast to the left. The Mhors, from ancient times, have left ruins here and there. I don’t think it’s the prettiest drive until we meet the coast and almost arrive in Valencia.
Some of the conversations on the bus today.
“Oh there’s a beach!” Beautiful coastline and seaside resort flies by. “Is there a church?” “Maybe we could stop if there’s a church,” says someone else. “Christian, I’m sure there’s a church down there. Or a castle.”
“Or a ruin” I say. Christian seems ambivalent. We don’t stop…….it’s not on our schedule.
Christian’s talking about Don Quixote again, a very important Spanish character. “Don Hiohottee” he says. “Hhhhiiioooottteee”
“No it’s Keyoatea (Quixote)” I say.
“HhhhhhHhhhhhHhhhh” he says, “Hhhhhhhiiiiiiioooooohhhhhhhoooooottttteeeee!”
Everyone starts going HhhhhhHhhhhHhhh swallowing our tongues. We all sound Middle Eastern.
The whole bus roars with laughter at our repeated failed correct pronunciation attempts.
6:00 pm – We arrived in Valencia and drove to the Opera House, Aquarium, IMAX and other buildings that form the new architectural precinct of Valencia, then picked up Sonia our tour guide. The buildings here are very modern, unique and very visual. Huge white metal, glass and concrete structures surrounded with with blue water, and feature mosaics in white and cobalt blue tiles. They are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. The buildings are modern architecture like our Australian opera house. There’s a huge harp like creation and a building that looks like a partially opened eye. It’s all quite startling and we are walking around not just architecture but incredible, imaginative, gigantic art forms. Twenty minutes later it’s back on the bus and into the centre of town to do a walk around the older historic section of Valencia, cathedrals, churches and period buildings for an hour and a half. I love architecture, the old and the new but would have enjoyed at last an hour visiting this visual feast of modern architecture.
Valencia is very old and on the Mediterranean. It is a resort city. We arrived at the hotel which was nice, roomy but older. So lucky to have better quality rooms as compared to the last trip, but of course, Barcelona’s Hotel Santos Porta Fira the last two nights was the best of all so nothing in all honesty can compare to that now in this budget range.
9:30 pm – Went out to dinner with Sandra from Cairns, Cathi and Cathi’s sister Angie, both from Idaho, USA. I’ve mentioned these girls before. They all have wicked senses of humour and we found an Indian restaurant a block away and shared three bottles of wine and a fabulous Indian dinner, 60€ all up for the four of us. So many laughs. As usual, we see snippets, there’s simply not enough time here to see Valencia properly though.
Tomorrow we head to Madrid and the last two nights of this tour. I pick up two more days at Madrid and one or two at the end of my third tour however so I will have an excellent opportunity to see a lot of that city. Enjoying myself enormously. Bring it on!
14TH. OCTOBER – Hopped on the bus this morning in Valencia to learn from Christian there are two thieves working in the hotel, dressed as tourists. They had been in the restaurant. They walk in, put a jacket over a bag. Pause maybe look at their watch. Pick up the jacket and bag beneath and leave. I bought my camera bag down this morning and left it on a chair whilst I got breakfast a few feet away checking every few seconds it’s safety. Well I won’t be doing that again. Apparently Madrid is not at all safe in the hotels either. So my camera bag with passport goes with me at all times now.
The country on the trek to Madrid this morning changes constantly. It’s reasonably flat right now. Scattered settlements, scrawny olive trees on tiny farmlets, grapes, houses here and there. Then a more arid area and we are in a natural hilly landscape that channels water flows to form a large dam. This has been developed to provide water for irrigation for the region. Much of the land is very fertile but water determines the productivity. The soils here are orange and high in iron. Up to 44 degrees Celsius in summer and snow falls in winter in this area.
Then the landscape changes again and there’s red leaved grape vines and short olive trees. Christian says the olive trees are much smaller here than in Italy as is “everything else”. Laughter throughout the bus.
The landscape changes again and it’s rolling hills. We pass through a natural pine forest where Christian tells us they collect pine resin for glue. Sunflowers, sheep and cropping are a little further on. The day is gloomy grey, low clouds, and there’s a smattering of rain.
2:30 pm – Christian took on board the suggestion yesterday to have lunch at a local restaurant and our time in Cuenca over lunch was well spent. Cuenca is famous for its cliffs and ravine and the local houses which are perched on top of them, sometimes spilling crazily over the cliff sides. The walk up was not difficult but steep and took about ten minutes. Great photos today with the sky looking gloomy. There was a foot bridge across the ravine when we got to the top but the best photos were to be had on the side that we walked up on.
I walked on my own after reaching the top and wandered the streets, and when I found Nuestra Senora de Gracia, Cuenca’s cathedral, I paid 3,80€ to go in. I’ve seen the inside of countless churches on this trip but when I visit a cathedral or church and don’t go in I feel a bit disappointed, like I saw only part of something beautiful. Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia Basilica for example, a visit inside wasn’t factored on this tour, as there was a charge and a long queue, and we were time pressed. I was extremely disappointed as Gaudi’s cathedral is so unique but the trip to Montserrat later that day in Barcelona would have to have been sacrificed if I had chosen to join the queue to go inside Sagrada Familia.
Leaving the cathedral I ran into some others from the tour and found out they were meeting at 1:30 pm at the cathedral so I wandered into one of the restaurants and had some authentic Spanish Paella for lunch.
The trip back to the bus was via a different path and the steps down were slippery as it was spitting rain. Christian was like a mother hen ushering us safely down the cobbled path. The light was truly beautiful here so I snapped photos all the way back. Quaint streets, steps and stone edging, metal band rails, terracotta tile roofs on the houses below. Pretty differently coloured houses, Autumn colour scattered here and there among the trees. It was just lovely.
We headed next to a Royal Palace located some 50 kilometres from Madrid to break the drive and the group headed off into the gardens, near the beautiful pink Spanish building for half an hour.
It is our second last night on this tour and we have a Tapas evening planned for dinner. Christian and Giorgio are playing some Spanish music as we drive and then Christian launches into a speech about the trip, the group and Giorgio being the best driver in Italy, France and Spain. The group seems to be gelling a little better each day, but the sad truth is, we have run out of days. It’s a fun trip into Madrid. We arrive at the hotel and head up to our rooms, tiny. One single bed. Well I guess it had to end. The beautiful, spacious rooms, were gone. Christian took us on a short excursion in the city before we all got off the bus and walked to the restaurant for our optional excursion banquet. The food was fresh, varied, light and delicious. Drinks were included and I liked the fact that the group dined at only one table for a change. Sangria all round.
The meal began with prosciutto and cheese and it was delicious. Next was toasted bread with goats cheese and caramelised onion, another soft cheese with garnish, and smoked salmon and caviar. A vegetable frittata, light as air followed, then a chicken and cheese croquette, and a large piece of white cod in a beer batter drizzled with soy sauce. A tasty veal dish and potatoes followed then we finished with dessert, a wafer thin crepe with a vanilla custard and drizzle of chocolate sauce. Best included meal of the entire trip although the meal in Nice the first night there came close. A street walk followed and we saw a crazy handmade clock, people by the dozens, and a Captain Sparrow lookalike, so incredibly like Johnny Depp it was confusing. We found Giorgio and the bus in the city centre and headed back to the hotel.
Toledo, our last full day on this tour, is tomorrow.
15TH. OCTOBER – We leave the Hotel in Madrid at 8:30 am with Antonio “Banderas”, our local guide and he surprises us by talking non stop from memory, interesting facts about Toledo for the next half hour.
“Many people call Toledo the Spanish Jerusalem…Toledo was built in a strategic position on the top of a hill and is surrounded by a river…The word “Toledo” comes from Hebrew…Jews were the first settlers here and Romans occupied Spain for some four hundred years…In 554 AD Toledo was the official capital of Spain…Toledo was the religious and government capital when the Arabs came the in the 700’s AD…The Spanish Middle Ages was a fight between the Arabs and the Christians…Toledo has the primary cathedral in Spain and although there are 100 cathedrals in Spain, Toledo is the home of the “Primary” Cardinal…This year is the four hundred year anniversary of El Greco, the artist made famous in Toledo and celebrations of his life and work have been underway since April this year…To get to Toledo you must travel on the Toledo Bridge…There are 200 kilos of gold, silver and precious stones are in the Treasury in the cathedral in Toledo…Toledo swords were the best in Europe as they had a very strong steel industry…Franco led Spain in a dictatorship until 1975. He was friends with Mussolini and Hitler…Spain is now in a democracy…They grow red poppies here in the spring…It is very dry in the spring and autumn, hence the saying, the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain…Olive oil, wine and wheat are grown here and form much of Toledo’s productivity…They also grow strawberries and asparagus…In Madrid there are three soccer teams…Estadio Santiago Bernabeu stadium seats 45,000.”
We clap. I’ve only caught some of it and only managed to record snippets but we were all very entertained especially with Antonio’s dry sense of humour. We get out at Toledo and start a walking tour. Toledo is beautiful. A little like St. Paul de Vence in France, bigger, but certainly no gallery town. Stunning architecture and a maze of streets, no planning, more an evolution of design and structure.
We head along a variety of tiny streets, many unable to take cars, and walk towards the centre and the cathedral. It is not unusual for tiny cars to drive up steps in the alleyways originally designed only for foot traffic. I am passing some exquisite shops but Antonio is on a mission, there will be no shopping today on his watch. The girls are a bit disappointed and the men who had been mentally plotting how to get an arsenal of the stunning Toledo swords through customs had to give it up for a bad joke. The cathedral is beautiful, of course, and huge. Quite a magnificent building and it houses a huge collection of El Greco originals.
The treasury room had gold, silver, crowns and jewels and these were particularly fascinating as historically the designs were very different to what may be popular now. Sort of understated and simplified.
We trekked a little further to a building that houses one of El Greco’s most famous paintings but were not allowed to take photos.
From there we walked down to the bridge of San Martinez. Antonio suggested if we became lost how to ask to find the bridge. “Dean Martin,” he said, “a very good actor.” “Steve Martin,” he said,”a not so very good actor. Ricky Martin,” he added, “very popular with the young ones. But don’t ask for Martin or they won’t know what you are talking about, it’s San Martinez.”
Giorgio was waiting for us on the other side of the river and we crossed the San Martinez bridge, which had an amazing view, to get there.
From the inner city we trekked a short distance to the jewellery factory and saw a short demonstration of how to make gold plated steel jewellery.
Antonio came with us back to Madrid and then we broke for lunch. A tour around the city followed with our Antonio “Banderas” and all of the group participated. We see the Real Madrid stadium, Madrid’s highest skyscraper, government buildings, fountains, the gates to Madrid, and the post office which is the largest and most ostentatious post office in the world. We go to a square we saw on foot last night, and the centre of the city. The place of zero kilometres where all roads lead out from Madrid through the rest of Spain. And a statue of Don Quixote. It is informative, educational and vibrant with Antonio B’s wry dialogue.
We returned to the hotel and the bar wasn’t operating so Andrea and Maria went to the supermarket a couple of doors down and bought some cans of beer at 0,58€ each. They were cold and about ten of us sat around having a drink before our included “Last Supper.” Christian arrived shortly after as well as the rest of the group, and he handed out copies to us all of everyone’s emails and receipts for the optional tour transactions. We then all went in to dinner. This evening’s dinner was Bolognese Penne for entree, Roast Chicken and Sautéed Grilled Vegetables for mains and Ice cream for dessert. Afterwards Naomi, Liz, Alan and I went walking to a nearby cafe recommended by Christian that had taxidermies mounted on the walls from bull fights. The bull ring was across the road and “down the way a bit”. We ordered coffee and a gypsy kept trying to bump into me at the counter. I kept my distance then went into the cafe seating area and eventually she left, without my purse or its contents or watch.
The bull’s heads were grand in such a small space and the framed photographs blanketing the walls all around them told the stories. The Matadors, posturing excessively, proud of their performances and their beloved sport; it was a dance to the death, and it wasn’t always the bull that died. I would almost like to attend a bullfight. But another part of me is quite appalled at my morbid curiosity.
I am a farm girl so slaughter is not new to me, but to make it a game? Is it really fairly weighted? Matador against bull? With the crowd cheering on? Bull fighting has been outlawed in only one area of Spain. I wonder if it is to keep growing in popularity or if the animal cruelty movement will have their say in the future?
We passed quite a few gypsies bedding down for the night in the streets of Madrid on the way back to the hotel. Homeless.
Our tour ends with breakfast tomorrow.
16TH. OCTOBER – No wake up call this morning, but of course, I’m awake at the usual time. I stayed in bed though til 7:30 am. Such a luxury on these trips. A lay in. Got up and down to breakfast by 8:30 am then it was goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. Christian and Giorgio had already left. Cathi, Angie, John, Sharon, Linda were also gone, Roxy and Joseph were staying on in Madrid a few days, Elly was catching the bullet train back to Barcelona. Dean, Naomi and Alan were off to Cairns but stayed for breakfast. June and Sandra, Mark and Sue, all from Australia also joined us for breakfast. It was nice.
I departed at 12:20 pm catching a taxi out front and trekked to my next Madrid hotel, closer to the city centre. It cost me 11,90€. My new room is bigger than the last one but smallish, and well located to walk to many sights. Meeting time for the next tour is 6:45 pm this evening in the hotel lobby. But for now……….Andiamo!
#cosmos #cosmosgemsofitalyfranceandspain #cosmostours
DEDICATED TO JACK TOMAMICHEL
The first three tour journals on my new web site Travel Essae are dedicated to my father Jack Tomamichel, a wheat and sheep farmer and a pioneer of the Victorian Mallee. My father didn’t travel many places outside of Australia in his 84 years and his only regret in life was that he hadn’t seen much of the world. He did however leave his mark, in hardwork, devotion to family, living by honourable example and he was extremely generous of spirit.
I had booked the first three tours on this web site before I found out my father had only a short time left to live so I decided to write comprehensive daily journals to him to share my experience, if not first hand, through his daughter’s eyes. I emailed them through to him and my mother Chriss, almost daily. They both enjoyed reading about the world as I saw it and very much looked forward to each daily installment. My mother and father were married almost 64 years.
Shortly after I returned to Australia my father was told he only had a few months to live. He passed surrounded by his family 49 days later.
My father was one of the kindest most gentle people I know, and I am very proud to be his daughter. I miss you dad. Everyday.
Glenys
Essae Photography
