26 December 2006
Home, at last
26/12/2006
Well, its all over! We are truly home in Perth now, we flew in on 24 December. A few last stories to tell and photos to show, and this will be our last Post. But please, we welcome and encourage any comments on this last post or the Blog as a whole.
We left Bruni and Dieter in Bad Homburg on 13 December and took the train to Paris, where we spent 8 days in what has to be one of the most beautiful and exciting cities in the world. We did not stop for breath as we roared around the city, its sights, restaurants, streets and museums, making the most of the last days of our 5 month holiday. We had 5 days of gorgeous blue sunny skys (still extremely cold), 2 of overcast weather and only 1 day of rain. Just a few of the highlights in Paris (apart from the obvious such as the Eiffel Tour, Louvre etc) included; a walk through the covered shopping galleries built in the 1900s; Musee d'Orsay (specialising in expresionism; 1840 - 1960); the wonderful gourmet specialist stores (with queues of discerning locals prepared to wait to buy their icecream, chocolate, macaroons, hot chocolate; we can attest that the wait was always worth it), the gorgeous squares, streets and extravagant architecture; Paris Christmas lights; and the friendliness of the people.
Note the brilliant, blue sunny sky, but also the jacket and scarf
Pâtisserie window in Paris, they taste even better than they look
Street scene, Monmarte
Gail in crowd at le Louvre; Venus de Milo
Christmas treat: Sparkling lights on the the Eiffel Tower, 20 minutes per night
Our lunch at the 3 Michelin Star restaurant Ledoyen was a real highlight. 3 Michelin Stars is top of the tree, meaning the world's best; there is only 9 restaraunts with this highest honour in the whole of Paris. Everything was over-the-top extravagant, and well worth it!
Lunch at Ledoyen
A REAL highlight was a suprise text mesage from Johnny and Edda telling us they had caught the train from Düsseldorf and were at a friend's place in Paris too. We got to spend a few last days with them and say goodbye properly before we finally left Europe. What a wonderfully delicious suprise! We also got to meet their Parisian friends and go to a party in one of their apartments.
Johnny and Edda above the Seine, Paris
The trip home was ANYTHING but straight forward. You might have seen on the news the chaos at Heathrow airport just before Christmas. Gail and I were caught up in the middle of all that. We had successfully got our boarding passes, checked in our luggage and gone through security checks and were just waiting to finally board our flight from Paris's Charles de Gaul airport to Heathrow, when we looked up at the monitor to find our flight had ben cancelled. Sh..! No information is forthcoming, there's no-one to call (as everyone else is trying to too) and support from our budget airline BMI was next to non-existant.
So, we decided to take a calculated risk to leave the airport and jump on the train back into Paris to the Gare du Nord train station to try to get seats on the Eurostar train to London. Our flight out of Heathrow to Singapore was not until 9.10pm that evening, so we had some time (it was 2pm by this time). Luckily we got seats on the 3.15 Eurostar, with 25 minutes to spare. The trip across country was fast and the Chunnel section lasted 20 mins. Then it took 1 1/2 hrs to get through London's tube system from Waterloo station to Heathrow, jam-packed the whole way. Loads of fun with our 5 bags! Finally we got to heathrow, where our elevator doors opened onto the departure area in absolute, cartoonish bedlam. There were people everywhere, carts, people and luggage crashing into each other as everyone was desperate to catch their sometimes non-existant flights or find out about alternatives. At one stage we had to queue in a huge marquee set up in the carpark! They were calling people to check in luggage by flight number; when each flight was getting too close to need to board, they called your flight number for you to finally check in. But our flight wasn't cancelled at least! We eventually boarded our flight which had been delayed twice and changed gates once, to sit strapped in our seats for a further 2 1/2 hours waiting to eventually take off, 4 hours late.
We never want to re-live that day!
So now we are home, sorting through all our stuff and through the house, counting the days when we have to go back to work (Tuesday 2 January). We can't wait to catch up with friends and family. We promise not to bore everyone with stories from our trip! Give us a call and we'll arrange a catch up. Thanks for all your comments, everyone, we look forward to your final ones. Remember you can email us as well on lockley@southwest.com.au
Well, its all over! We are truly home in Perth now, we flew in on 24 December. A few last stories to tell and photos to show, and this will be our last Post. But please, we welcome and encourage any comments on this last post or the Blog as a whole.
We left Bruni and Dieter in Bad Homburg on 13 December and took the train to Paris, where we spent 8 days in what has to be one of the most beautiful and exciting cities in the world. We did not stop for breath as we roared around the city, its sights, restaurants, streets and museums, making the most of the last days of our 5 month holiday. We had 5 days of gorgeous blue sunny skys (still extremely cold), 2 of overcast weather and only 1 day of rain. Just a few of the highlights in Paris (apart from the obvious such as the Eiffel Tour, Louvre etc) included; a walk through the covered shopping galleries built in the 1900s; Musee d'Orsay (specialising in expresionism; 1840 - 1960); the wonderful gourmet specialist stores (with queues of discerning locals prepared to wait to buy their icecream, chocolate, macaroons, hot chocolate; we can attest that the wait was always worth it), the gorgeous squares, streets and extravagant architecture; Paris Christmas lights; and the friendliness of the people.
Note the brilliant, blue sunny sky, but also the jacket and scarf
Pâtisserie window in Paris, they taste even better than they look
Street scene, Monmarte
Gail in crowd at le Louvre; Venus de Milo
Christmas treat: Sparkling lights on the the Eiffel Tower, 20 minutes per night
Our lunch at the 3 Michelin Star restaurant Ledoyen was a real highlight. 3 Michelin Stars is top of the tree, meaning the world's best; there is only 9 restaraunts with this highest honour in the whole of Paris. Everything was over-the-top extravagant, and well worth it!
Lunch at Ledoyen
A REAL highlight was a suprise text mesage from Johnny and Edda telling us they had caught the train from Düsseldorf and were at a friend's place in Paris too. We got to spend a few last days with them and say goodbye properly before we finally left Europe. What a wonderfully delicious suprise! We also got to meet their Parisian friends and go to a party in one of their apartments.
Johnny and Edda above the Seine, Paris
The trip home was ANYTHING but straight forward. You might have seen on the news the chaos at Heathrow airport just before Christmas. Gail and I were caught up in the middle of all that. We had successfully got our boarding passes, checked in our luggage and gone through security checks and were just waiting to finally board our flight from Paris's Charles de Gaul airport to Heathrow, when we looked up at the monitor to find our flight had ben cancelled. Sh..! No information is forthcoming, there's no-one to call (as everyone else is trying to too) and support from our budget airline BMI was next to non-existant.
So, we decided to take a calculated risk to leave the airport and jump on the train back into Paris to the Gare du Nord train station to try to get seats on the Eurostar train to London. Our flight out of Heathrow to Singapore was not until 9.10pm that evening, so we had some time (it was 2pm by this time). Luckily we got seats on the 3.15 Eurostar, with 25 minutes to spare. The trip across country was fast and the Chunnel section lasted 20 mins. Then it took 1 1/2 hrs to get through London's tube system from Waterloo station to Heathrow, jam-packed the whole way. Loads of fun with our 5 bags! Finally we got to heathrow, where our elevator doors opened onto the departure area in absolute, cartoonish bedlam. There were people everywhere, carts, people and luggage crashing into each other as everyone was desperate to catch their sometimes non-existant flights or find out about alternatives. At one stage we had to queue in a huge marquee set up in the carpark! They were calling people to check in luggage by flight number; when each flight was getting too close to need to board, they called your flight number for you to finally check in. But our flight wasn't cancelled at least! We eventually boarded our flight which had been delayed twice and changed gates once, to sit strapped in our seats for a further 2 1/2 hours waiting to eventually take off, 4 hours late.
We never want to re-live that day!
So now we are home, sorting through all our stuff and through the house, counting the days when we have to go back to work (Tuesday 2 January). We can't wait to catch up with friends and family. We promise not to bore everyone with stories from our trip! Give us a call and we'll arrange a catch up. Thanks for all your comments, everyone, we look forward to your final ones. Remember you can email us as well on lockley@southwest.com.au
11 December 2006
"Home" in Germany
Well, we're back in Bad Homburg, Germany, with Bruni and Dieter. We have arrived back safe and sound and delivered the camper "Bluey" (or "Blue" as Gail calls him) to them. It has been a fantastic (nearly) 4 months in the camper. We have seen some amazing things, had some awesome experiences and met wonderful people along the way. We've had no mishaps with the camper; no accidents, no scrapes, no breakdowns, no thefts, no losses. The worst that happened was we had to replace one of the headlight globes that failed, and we broke one of their wine glasses. That's it, campers! We did have two very close calls with trucks on motorways though. One in Italy and one in Germany, just a few days ago. But we got out alive.
Gail inside Bluey
Strasburg was a wonderful city, with the added bonus of enormous Marche Nöels, or Christmas Markets, at this time of year. There were about 300 stalls set up in squares throughout this beautiful French city's historic centre, selling everything from hot mulled wine to handmade christmas decorations. Needless to say our budget took a battering here.
Skaters on the ice rink in the main square in Strasburg, France
The Dom (Cathedral) tower in Strasbourg in the moonlight
After Strasburg we decided we would cross back into Germany and drive the Romantsche Straße, the Romantic Road. The route is about 400km long, winding through lovely villages and cities in the heart of Bavaria. It started for us at Füssen in the south, nestled under the Austrian and Bavarian Alps, all the way through nearly to Frankfurt in the north. We can't easily communicate how beautiful and historic and preserved these places are, and full of suprises. The latest suprise amongst many was a lovely, relatively new church here in Bad Homburg, built in the early part of last century and lined internally with reflective gold and silver and coloured mosaics, seemingly giving it an Arabesque feel.
Another one of those suprises; a sumptuous Baroque palace room in the city of Ausburg, along the Romantic Road
Back in Bad Homburg; Dieter and Gail warming up with a mug of hot glühwine at the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) in Bad Homburg (apologies for poor focus)
So, on Wednesday 13th we take the train to Paris where we spend 8 full nights. We plan to do it all, including dining in a 3 Michelin Star restaurant as our biggest single splurge of the trip. Then we fly home, via Heathrow and 2 nights in Singapore, to arrive at home on Christmas Eve.
Gail inside Bluey
Strasburg was a wonderful city, with the added bonus of enormous Marche Nöels, or Christmas Markets, at this time of year. There were about 300 stalls set up in squares throughout this beautiful French city's historic centre, selling everything from hot mulled wine to handmade christmas decorations. Needless to say our budget took a battering here.
Skaters on the ice rink in the main square in Strasburg, France
The Dom (Cathedral) tower in Strasbourg in the moonlight
After Strasburg we decided we would cross back into Germany and drive the Romantsche Straße, the Romantic Road. The route is about 400km long, winding through lovely villages and cities in the heart of Bavaria. It started for us at Füssen in the south, nestled under the Austrian and Bavarian Alps, all the way through nearly to Frankfurt in the north. We can't easily communicate how beautiful and historic and preserved these places are, and full of suprises. The latest suprise amongst many was a lovely, relatively new church here in Bad Homburg, built in the early part of last century and lined internally with reflective gold and silver and coloured mosaics, seemingly giving it an Arabesque feel.
Another one of those suprises; a sumptuous Baroque palace room in the city of Ausburg, along the Romantic Road
Back in Bad Homburg; Dieter and Gail warming up with a mug of hot glühwine at the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) in Bad Homburg (apologies for poor focus)
So, on Wednesday 13th we take the train to Paris where we spend 8 full nights. We plan to do it all, including dining in a 3 Michelin Star restaurant as our biggest single splurge of the trip. Then we fly home, via Heathrow and 2 nights in Singapore, to arrive at home on Christmas Eve.
30 November 2006
France Deux
After leaving the Dordogne area; we headed east to the Auverne area of France, which is on an elevated plateau so very cold (snowy in places). Unfortunately the whole area, or at least anything outside large towns, seems to shut down over winter, including entire villages! This combined with the fact that it rained pretty much the 3 days we spent in this area meant that we were a bit concerned that we had made a dreary mistake being in France in November and December. Fortunately, on moving further north-west to the lovely Loire Valley, our faith was restored. All the fabulous attractions have remained open, including all the famous chateau, the museums, wine degustaçion (tasting) caves, and others. So we spent 6 days in this area, staying in the same "4 star" campsite at night and driving around each day to visit the villages and attractions. (Excuse the chateau-heavy photos in this update, but they are pretty amazing, and all very different.)
"The burning bush" - autumn colours in France
Chateau de Hautefort, Dordogne area
Chateau de Chambord, Loire Valley area
Chateau de Chenonceau, Loire, built over a river
Now we are to the west of the Loire, in the famous Burgundy (Bourgogne) area, specifically the Cote d'Or wine region. This has included Beaune, Dijon and small wine villages. Our friend Carrie's grandparents live in this area, so we are jealous that her and Colin and the girls regularly visit this region. This area has also been great for us. You cannot help but be swallowed up by the French and their joy of wine growing, making and especially drinking around here. Last night we stayed, for free, on a Cotes de Beaune winegrower's property, in amongst his pinot noir vines!
We've said "Dieter and Bruni's spirit and generosity is worth bottling" (Aussie saying), and here it is! Inside the Musee Hospice de Beaune
Ian and Gail tasting Burgundy's wines. This historic place in Beaune has a 2 hectare underground wine cellar with 5 km of passages containing between 4 and 5 MILLION bottles of wine for aging at any one time. For €10 each you can wander through the labrinth, taste 15 red and white Cote d'Or wines, and keep the special tastevin tasting cup
From here we'll travel north to Strasburg (still in France, near the German border) before heading back towards Frankfurt.
"The burning bush" - autumn colours in France
Chateau de Hautefort, Dordogne area
Chateau de Chambord, Loire Valley area
Chateau de Chenonceau, Loire, built over a river
Now we are to the west of the Loire, in the famous Burgundy (Bourgogne) area, specifically the Cote d'Or wine region. This has included Beaune, Dijon and small wine villages. Our friend Carrie's grandparents live in this area, so we are jealous that her and Colin and the girls regularly visit this region. This area has also been great for us. You cannot help but be swallowed up by the French and their joy of wine growing, making and especially drinking around here. Last night we stayed, for free, on a Cotes de Beaune winegrower's property, in amongst his pinot noir vines!
We've said "Dieter and Bruni's spirit and generosity is worth bottling" (Aussie saying), and here it is! Inside the Musee Hospice de Beaune
Ian and Gail tasting Burgundy's wines. This historic place in Beaune has a 2 hectare underground wine cellar with 5 km of passages containing between 4 and 5 MILLION bottles of wine for aging at any one time. For €10 each you can wander through the labrinth, taste 15 red and white Cote d'Or wines, and keep the special tastevin tasting cup
From here we'll travel north to Strasburg (still in France, near the German border) before heading back towards Frankfurt.
18 November 2006
France again...
Bonjour! Yes, we are back in France, and we love it. Probably our favourite country of the 12 (yes, 12) we have visited on this trip. We are travelling a bit differently now, trying to stay away from the larger cities and towns. Also many of the thousands of French campgrounds have closed for winter, so we sometimes have to be a bit more creative. Free camping is fun, though, especialy as we have membership access to the 600 or so France Passion free camping spots on vineyards or farms across France.
Had to throw this last one in from San Sebastien, Spain, with its great tapas bars
Autumn colours - St Emilion, Bordeaux
We have been to 3 or 4 of the world's most beatiful villages in France in the past week or so, including St Emilion in Bordeaux, and Perigueux, Sarlat-la-Caneda, La Roque Gageac and others here in the Dordogne valley. Just spending a few days zipping around on 'our' bikes through these villages, visiting extraordinary 12th century chateau (think "castle") and amazing gardens. This area is awash with these plqces; it must get packed in summer. We have also been lucky to experience our first colourful nothern hemisphere autumn too. Yesterday we took a drive through the hills and small villages, and the forest colours were so beautiful that we found it quite moving.
Our France Passion free campsite near St Emilion, on a Grand Crue Classè vineyard
Wine tasting, St Emilion
Free camping on the banks of the river in Perigueux, with the cathedral in the background (10 points for spotting Bluey)
The magnificent Jardins de Marqueyssac in the Dordogne
The 12th century Chateau de Beynac, which is lit inside by spluttering oil lamps - very authentic
This area in the Dordogne valley is also famed for its foie gras (force-fed duck or goose liver that's so fine it is like eating the finest patè) and truffles. We haven't experienced truffles yet, but have had plenty of foie gras and confit of duck, another regional specialty.
The vegetable, foie gras and truffle market in Perigueux
It's starting to get very cold at night now. Last night I (Ian) wore 3 pairs of socks plus thermal underwear to bed, under a feather doona (duvet) plus a blanket. Our bed in "Bluey" is up the top next to canvas, so we have expected it to get cold.
We will be moving north and east soon, criss-crossing our way across France as we head back towards Frankfurt, then on to Paris later.
Had to throw this last one in from San Sebastien, Spain, with its great tapas bars
Autumn colours - St Emilion, Bordeaux
We have been to 3 or 4 of the world's most beatiful villages in France in the past week or so, including St Emilion in Bordeaux, and Perigueux, Sarlat-la-Caneda, La Roque Gageac and others here in the Dordogne valley. Just spending a few days zipping around on 'our' bikes through these villages, visiting extraordinary 12th century chateau (think "castle") and amazing gardens. This area is awash with these plqces; it must get packed in summer. We have also been lucky to experience our first colourful nothern hemisphere autumn too. Yesterday we took a drive through the hills and small villages, and the forest colours were so beautiful that we found it quite moving.
Our France Passion free campsite near St Emilion, on a Grand Crue Classè vineyard
Wine tasting, St Emilion
Free camping on the banks of the river in Perigueux, with the cathedral in the background (10 points for spotting Bluey)
The magnificent Jardins de Marqueyssac in the Dordogne
The 12th century Chateau de Beynac, which is lit inside by spluttering oil lamps - very authentic
This area in the Dordogne valley is also famed for its foie gras (force-fed duck or goose liver that's so fine it is like eating the finest patè) and truffles. We haven't experienced truffles yet, but have had plenty of foie gras and confit of duck, another regional specialty.
The vegetable, foie gras and truffle market in Perigueux
It's starting to get very cold at night now. Last night I (Ian) wore 3 pairs of socks plus thermal underwear to bed, under a feather doona (duvet) plus a blanket. Our bed in "Bluey" is up the top next to canvas, so we have expected it to get cold.
We will be moving north and east soon, criss-crossing our way across France as we head back towards Frankfurt, then on to Paris later.
11 November 2006
Northern Spain
Not much more to report, your all probably getting as tired of reading this stuff as we are of posting (judging by the number of posts).
After Santaigo we headed to the north coast of Spain, and over the next few days we went through, and stayed in, small villages, away from the larger towns and cities. This included an amazing drive through the Asturian and Cantabrian mountains, squeezing our way along the narrow, windy roads and tiny stone villages huddled up there. We made some real unexpected finds, like the high arched intact Roman stone bridge over the river at one of the little villages (Cangas). Back to the coast another of our unexpected finds was a village with its 11th century church and the beautiful village huddled around it (Santillana de Mar). We again looked for our three AnFuCa themes (see 6 Nov post titled "Spain - Portugal - Spain" for an explanation), we got 2 out of 3. Further below is a photo of one of them.
Santillana del Mar, Spain
A gruesome murder: Models of the severed heads of two martyred Saints in the church museum at Santillana de Mar
Heading into Basque country towards San Sebastian, we first stopped off in Bilbao for a few hours to visit the famous Guggenheim Museum. Anyone with an interest in modern art and extreme architecture should come here. San Sebastian is a beautiful smallish city huddled around a gracefully arched bay and a lovely beach (by European standards). The weather (up until today that is) has been absolutely perfect: days and days of clear, blue, sunny skies. San Sebastian´s tapas bars are also unbeatable. There are doxens of bars in the old town area, all of which have a mouth watering array of tapas (snacks) lined up along the bars, usually at least 20 types. They are all as good as any large canape served at a good business or restaurant function. You order a drink, get a plate and help yourself. You pay at the end by the number you have, based on the hnour system (all the bars are extremely popular and crowded). We missed out on seeing an ETA (Basque separatist movement) demonstration here in San Sebastian last night by half an hour, with riot police out in force, we´re a bit disappointed about that!
Bilbao`s Guggenheim Museum from across the river
San Sebastian from Monte Urgull
Tomorrow we head back into France, and Gail and I are very excited about that...
After Santaigo we headed to the north coast of Spain, and over the next few days we went through, and stayed in, small villages, away from the larger towns and cities. This included an amazing drive through the Asturian and Cantabrian mountains, squeezing our way along the narrow, windy roads and tiny stone villages huddled up there. We made some real unexpected finds, like the high arched intact Roman stone bridge over the river at one of the little villages (Cangas). Back to the coast another of our unexpected finds was a village with its 11th century church and the beautiful village huddled around it (Santillana de Mar). We again looked for our three AnFuCa themes (see 6 Nov post titled "Spain - Portugal - Spain" for an explanation), we got 2 out of 3. Further below is a photo of one of them.
Santillana del Mar, Spain
A gruesome murder: Models of the severed heads of two martyred Saints in the church museum at Santillana de Mar
Heading into Basque country towards San Sebastian, we first stopped off in Bilbao for a few hours to visit the famous Guggenheim Museum. Anyone with an interest in modern art and extreme architecture should come here. San Sebastian is a beautiful smallish city huddled around a gracefully arched bay and a lovely beach (by European standards). The weather (up until today that is) has been absolutely perfect: days and days of clear, blue, sunny skies. San Sebastian´s tapas bars are also unbeatable. There are doxens of bars in the old town area, all of which have a mouth watering array of tapas (snacks) lined up along the bars, usually at least 20 types. They are all as good as any large canape served at a good business or restaurant function. You order a drink, get a plate and help yourself. You pay at the end by the number you have, based on the hnour system (all the bars are extremely popular and crowded). We missed out on seeing an ETA (Basque separatist movement) demonstration here in San Sebastian last night by half an hour, with riot police out in force, we´re a bit disappointed about that!
Bilbao`s Guggenheim Museum from across the river
San Sebastian from Monte Urgull
Tomorrow we head back into France, and Gail and I are very excited about that...
06 November 2006
Spain - Portugal - Spain
OK, after that scary interlude, its back to a holiday update.
After Granada, we moved westward to Andalucia´s capital, Seville (Sevilla, pronounced se-VI-ya). Although we got some more rain here, we enjoyed this large, bustling city. The cathedral was awe inspiring, even for us, who are pretty much "cathedraled out" by now. Also, the Alcazar, Sevilla´s beautiful palace complex is a wonderful place to spend a good half day exploring. The bario (district) of Santa Cruz surrounding here is a place full of narrow, winding streets, plazas and tapas bars. Gail and I got to see some live flamenco on the last night, in a big flamenco bar, for the price of a couple of drinks.
Inside Sevilla´s Alcazar palace complex
A remains of a lovely splurge lunch in Seville, with many dishes featuring the lucious sweet sherry called Pedro Ximinez
Sevilla´s cathedral
Live flamenco
We farewelled Ian´s parents on the 2nd, as they were flying to Rome for their tour around Italy. We then took off north through Portugal. This country is more different to Spain than we expected. The language sounds to our ears like someone speaking Spanish with a very strong Polish accent. The lovely town of Porto is another case in point. Is is georgeously ramshackle with a tonne of character, especially the waterfront area, and, the dozens of port makers where you can do tours and tastings.
Inside the grizly Cappela los Lobos (Chappel of Bones) in Evira, Portugal (click on it for detail)
The waterfront of Porto, Portugal
Mmmm, port...
Now we are back in Spain, in the lovely town of Santiago de Compostela, with its famous cathedral and medievil, windy streets. We said earlier we are "cathedraled out". So we have invented a game to keep us from going crazy everytime we visit a new one. The pious Catholics amongst you may want to tune out for the rest of this paragraph... We look for three images amongst the iconography and artworks: 1 - A brutal murder (crucifixion not counted). 2 - A curvaceous backside. 3 - Someone going the grope on someone else. You may be suprised how often you find all three themes. Here in the famous Santiago cathedral we found all three a number of times over.
Tomorrow we head north and east towards Basque country and back up into France.
After Granada, we moved westward to Andalucia´s capital, Seville (Sevilla, pronounced se-VI-ya). Although we got some more rain here, we enjoyed this large, bustling city. The cathedral was awe inspiring, even for us, who are pretty much "cathedraled out" by now. Also, the Alcazar, Sevilla´s beautiful palace complex is a wonderful place to spend a good half day exploring. The bario (district) of Santa Cruz surrounding here is a place full of narrow, winding streets, plazas and tapas bars. Gail and I got to see some live flamenco on the last night, in a big flamenco bar, for the price of a couple of drinks.
Inside Sevilla´s Alcazar palace complex
A remains of a lovely splurge lunch in Seville, with many dishes featuring the lucious sweet sherry called Pedro Ximinez
Sevilla´s cathedral
Live flamenco
We farewelled Ian´s parents on the 2nd, as they were flying to Rome for their tour around Italy. We then took off north through Portugal. This country is more different to Spain than we expected. The language sounds to our ears like someone speaking Spanish with a very strong Polish accent. The lovely town of Porto is another case in point. Is is georgeously ramshackle with a tonne of character, especially the waterfront area, and, the dozens of port makers where you can do tours and tastings.
Inside the grizly Cappela los Lobos (Chappel of Bones) in Evira, Portugal (click on it for detail)
The waterfront of Porto, Portugal
Mmmm, port...
Now we are back in Spain, in the lovely town of Santiago de Compostela, with its famous cathedral and medievil, windy streets. We said earlier we are "cathedraled out". So we have invented a game to keep us from going crazy everytime we visit a new one. The pious Catholics amongst you may want to tune out for the rest of this paragraph... We look for three images amongst the iconography and artworks: 1 - A brutal murder (crucifixion not counted). 2 - A curvaceous backside. 3 - Someone going the grope on someone else. You may be suprised how often you find all three themes. Here in the famous Santiago cathedral we found all three a number of times over.
Tomorrow we head north and east towards Basque country and back up into France.
05 November 2006
On Friday 3rd November we had a contact from our daughter Gemma telling us she was going to hospital for a check up, likely to be her appendix. By that night Perth time (Friday night) she was staying over night for observation, and Saturday morning Perth time she was wheeled in for the operation.
It was very scary for us over here in Portugal, we felt so helpless, with all sorts of irrational scenarios running through our minds as we tried to sleep Friday night. By Saturday morning our time, we got a call from Blake´s phone; it was Gemma, she was out of surgery minus one inflamed appendix, but all went well. Today (Sunday 5th) she has gone home. Blake was with her a lot of the time and made sure we were kept fully up to date. Other friends, Bill & Gina and Cheryl, were also really good. This was important as Ian´s parents and also his brother Steven and wife Rachel are all away in various parts of Europe at the moment, and none of Gail's family are in Perth. Gemma sounds fine and is in good spirits. Interestingly, Gemma´s appendix was removed 10 years TO THE DAY that her brother Blake's was. P.S. Happy Birthday, Blake!
So, a real scare, but all is well. We will update the blog properly with photos etc soon. We are currently in Porto, Portugal, and are off to the port wine lodges for tasting soon.
It was very scary for us over here in Portugal, we felt so helpless, with all sorts of irrational scenarios running through our minds as we tried to sleep Friday night. By Saturday morning our time, we got a call from Blake´s phone; it was Gemma, she was out of surgery minus one inflamed appendix, but all went well. Today (Sunday 5th) she has gone home. Blake was with her a lot of the time and made sure we were kept fully up to date. Other friends, Bill & Gina and Cheryl, were also really good. This was important as Ian´s parents and also his brother Steven and wife Rachel are all away in various parts of Europe at the moment, and none of Gail's family are in Perth. Gemma sounds fine and is in good spirits. Interestingly, Gemma´s appendix was removed 10 years TO THE DAY that her brother Blake's was. P.S. Happy Birthday, Blake!
So, a real scare, but all is well. We will update the blog properly with photos etc soon. We are currently in Porto, Portugal, and are off to the port wine lodges for tasting soon.
31 October 2006
Spain
Hola, all. Mum and Dad arrived to meet us in Barcelona on the 21st Oct and we have been sharing our travels since. They have generally spent most of the days doing their stuff and we do ours, usually meeting in the evenings. Barcelona, by the way, is an absolutely beautiful city, full of lovely, stately buildings in a city setting that is very well thought out, with wide pedestrianised avenues and cool, quiet plazas. Gail and I made some great tapas bar discoveries. In particular, a place packed day and night so you stand shoulder to shoulder with locals, ordering cava (Spanish name for champagne) by the glass for only 50c, with fresh toasted buns full of Spanish sausage (churizo and others), cheese and bacon. Brilliant.
The Barcelona skyline from a nearby hilltop. Gaudi´s La Familia cathedral dominates.
Next stop was Madrid. We did the 640km drive between Barcelona and Madrid in in one day; once I have the bit in my mouth sometimes I just want to keep going! I had fond memories of Madrid from when I visited briefly in 2002 for work. Edda also lived there for a year when she was studying and she kept regaling us with stories of her favourite haunts and the mayhem she caused! Unfortunately we had pretty bad weather for some of the time, dampening our mood a bit. Plaza Mayor was largely deserted, but we all enjoyed the other major sights such as the Museo del Prado and the Palacio Real (Royal Palace). Madrid is as beautiful as Barcelona, especially the main street Grand Via. Completely lined with the most ornate and aesthetically pleasing buildings imaginable - any city could do well to hire a Spanish architect. It just declares, "I am the nation´s capital". The down side was that it was very difficult to get from our campsite into the city. Spanish eat and stay out very late (dinner starts about 10pm), but our buses stopped running at 9.30pm. Daft!
The relatively new cathedral in Madrid. Note the sky!
Next we moved onto Toledo, just 70km to the south. A magical hilltop town with narrow, windy, cobbled streets and the most sumptuous Cathedral you can imagine. We all enjoyed slowing down to the pace of this place. So much so Gail and I decided it was a good spot for one of our much-needed rest days, as we´ve been travelling and sightseeing hard for weeks. The campsite and weather was great too. Mum and Dad also enjoyed their lovely little boutique hotel in the middle of the old town.
Toledo from one of this ancient town´s chrch towers. The cathedral is to the right, with the Alcazar fort in the centre (under restoration unfortunately, so unlike me in 2002 we couldn´t visit)
La Mancha windmills south of Toledo, an area where Cervantes based his book Don Quixote
Now we are in Grenada, in the province of Andalucia in the south of Spain. The skys are sunny and we are loving the place. This large town is magical, full of the life and verve you would expect from Spain, with a mix of old arab history and culture mixed in. A massive ancient castle and palace complex dominates the town and is a place we spent an entire day exploring. Another was the old Arab quarter where Gail and I spent hours wandering the narrow cobbled streets, stumbling on architectural and cultural gems and hidden plazas with their bars and cafes.
The Alhambra fort and palace complex dominates over beautiful Granada
Tomorrow we move west to Seville where we farewell Mum and Dad who are on to their tour of Italy, while we head north through Portugal and to the north of Spain. Adios for now.
The Barcelona skyline from a nearby hilltop. Gaudi´s La Familia cathedral dominates.
Next stop was Madrid. We did the 640km drive between Barcelona and Madrid in in one day; once I have the bit in my mouth sometimes I just want to keep going! I had fond memories of Madrid from when I visited briefly in 2002 for work. Edda also lived there for a year when she was studying and she kept regaling us with stories of her favourite haunts and the mayhem she caused! Unfortunately we had pretty bad weather for some of the time, dampening our mood a bit. Plaza Mayor was largely deserted, but we all enjoyed the other major sights such as the Museo del Prado and the Palacio Real (Royal Palace). Madrid is as beautiful as Barcelona, especially the main street Grand Via. Completely lined with the most ornate and aesthetically pleasing buildings imaginable - any city could do well to hire a Spanish architect. It just declares, "I am the nation´s capital". The down side was that it was very difficult to get from our campsite into the city. Spanish eat and stay out very late (dinner starts about 10pm), but our buses stopped running at 9.30pm. Daft!
The relatively new cathedral in Madrid. Note the sky!
Next we moved onto Toledo, just 70km to the south. A magical hilltop town with narrow, windy, cobbled streets and the most sumptuous Cathedral you can imagine. We all enjoyed slowing down to the pace of this place. So much so Gail and I decided it was a good spot for one of our much-needed rest days, as we´ve been travelling and sightseeing hard for weeks. The campsite and weather was great too. Mum and Dad also enjoyed their lovely little boutique hotel in the middle of the old town.
Toledo from one of this ancient town´s chrch towers. The cathedral is to the right, with the Alcazar fort in the centre (under restoration unfortunately, so unlike me in 2002 we couldn´t visit)
La Mancha windmills south of Toledo, an area where Cervantes based his book Don Quixote
Now we are in Grenada, in the province of Andalucia in the south of Spain. The skys are sunny and we are loving the place. This large town is magical, full of the life and verve you would expect from Spain, with a mix of old arab history and culture mixed in. A massive ancient castle and palace complex dominates the town and is a place we spent an entire day exploring. Another was the old Arab quarter where Gail and I spent hours wandering the narrow cobbled streets, stumbling on architectural and cultural gems and hidden plazas with their bars and cafes.
The Alhambra fort and palace complex dominates over beautiful Granada
Tomorrow we move west to Seville where we farewell Mum and Dad who are on to their tour of Italy, while we head north through Portugal and to the north of Spain. Adios for now.
19 October 2006
Provence, etc
Geneva is nice but we would say if you are pressed for time, give it a miss. The huge water spout in Lake Geneva and the old town are interesting enough.
We headed off to France's Provence region to meet up with Johnny and Edda, first staying overnight near Lyon on the way. J&E were staying in the lovely, tiny Provence village of Sèguret, which is not in any English guide books. Our first real taste of this beautiful part of the world. We then all spent a couple of nights in the coastal town of Stes Marie de la Mer, in the Carmarge area of Provence, within the delta of the Rhone. Amazingly, pink flamingos abound in the plentiful marshes, as do mosquitoes. This area is famous for (apart from mozzies) black bulls bred for bull fighting (held in neighbouring Arles' 2000 year old coliseum) and white horses. Interesting! Next we moved east along the Côte D'Azur coast to La Ciotat, staying in a campsite right on the sea's edge. Nice - this coastal town is between Marseilles and St Tropez. We spent a couple of nights and a relaxing day there, swimming, chatting and catching up. Gail and I were a bit blue here, because we were missing my nephew Dane´s wedding to the lovely Jo while we were in La Ciotat. We really would have loved to be there.
Provence village of Sèguret where Johnny and Edda were staying in a tiny boutique hotel
¿Pink flamingos in France? What th´?
Johnny & Edda have also acquired a new dog since we were in Düsseldorf, a lovely Spanish Podenco named Sushi (first impressions were that she was like a whippet with HUGE ears), with a gorgeous temperament. This is interesting for us Aussies; unlike us, Europeans can easily take their dogs on holidays with them if they are camping. Almost all campsites allow dogs (they even have a standard charge for them), and you can even take them into most restaurants (at least the al fresco areas and often inside). Also, few male dogs seem to be neutered in Europe, which makes the frequent encounters between males. Interesting!
Sushi with Johnny and Edda, overlooking the valley near La Ciotat
Now we are on our own again, we had to bid poor J&E a sad farewell as they have to get back for work.
Gail and I moved on and stumbled on the extraordinary village of Gordes further north in Provence, which is every bit as awe inspiring as any in Itay's Tuscany, but with 1/100th the tourists (and we don't understand why), before spending time in lovely Avignon. More time was spent sloshing around the fab nearby compact wine area of Chateauneuf du Pape, which is literally littered with wineries. Fellow wine afficionados (Hi Colin) will be envious as they will know of this area's fame.
The beautiful village of Gordes. The photos will never do it justice
Just one of the village squares in Avignon
One of the wineries (caveau) we bought wine from in Chateauneuf du Pape. Interesting how the bottles we selected got progressively more expensive as the afternoon progressed!
The secret of Chateauneuf du Pape´s success? Big, round river stoney ground
On Tuesday 17th we explored the utterly captivating 12-13th century walled city and castle (chateau) - La Cité - at Carscassonne. Yet another great recommendation from Arnaud back at Alcoa. Later on the way south we visited the famous Musée d'Art Moderne in the small town of Céret just north of the Spanish border, which has WAY more than its fair share of Picasso, Matisse, Dali, etc. We crossed the border and visited the Spanish town of Figueres to visit the Teatre-Musea Dali (Dali Museum-Gallery) with its huge, famous collection. What an extraordinary talent he was, amazingly varied mediums (pen & ink through to jewellery) and styles. Completely twisted mind, though.
The Chateau inside the walled town of Carscassonne
After a night on the Costa Brava in north-eastern Spain (where the weather turned on us for a day), we are now in Barcelona ready to meet Mum & Dad Lockley, who will share Spain with us over the next 12 days or so.
Gail and I will be spending more time in France after Spain and Portugal before we head back to Germany in December, then a further week in Paris at the end. So we have only had a small taste of a corner of France so far. Therefore it may be premature to judge this early and of course it is purely our personal opinions; but although we really enjoyed Italy, we utterly LOVE France!
We headed off to France's Provence region to meet up with Johnny and Edda, first staying overnight near Lyon on the way. J&E were staying in the lovely, tiny Provence village of Sèguret, which is not in any English guide books. Our first real taste of this beautiful part of the world. We then all spent a couple of nights in the coastal town of Stes Marie de la Mer, in the Carmarge area of Provence, within the delta of the Rhone. Amazingly, pink flamingos abound in the plentiful marshes, as do mosquitoes. This area is famous for (apart from mozzies) black bulls bred for bull fighting (held in neighbouring Arles' 2000 year old coliseum) and white horses. Interesting! Next we moved east along the Côte D'Azur coast to La Ciotat, staying in a campsite right on the sea's edge. Nice - this coastal town is between Marseilles and St Tropez. We spent a couple of nights and a relaxing day there, swimming, chatting and catching up. Gail and I were a bit blue here, because we were missing my nephew Dane´s wedding to the lovely Jo while we were in La Ciotat. We really would have loved to be there.
Provence village of Sèguret where Johnny and Edda were staying in a tiny boutique hotel
¿Pink flamingos in France? What th´?
Johnny & Edda have also acquired a new dog since we were in Düsseldorf, a lovely Spanish Podenco named Sushi (first impressions were that she was like a whippet with HUGE ears), with a gorgeous temperament. This is interesting for us Aussies; unlike us, Europeans can easily take their dogs on holidays with them if they are camping. Almost all campsites allow dogs (they even have a standard charge for them), and you can even take them into most restaurants (at least the al fresco areas and often inside). Also, few male dogs seem to be neutered in Europe, which makes the frequent encounters between males. Interesting!
Sushi with Johnny and Edda, overlooking the valley near La Ciotat
Now we are on our own again, we had to bid poor J&E a sad farewell as they have to get back for work.
Gail and I moved on and stumbled on the extraordinary village of Gordes further north in Provence, which is every bit as awe inspiring as any in Itay's Tuscany, but with 1/100th the tourists (and we don't understand why), before spending time in lovely Avignon. More time was spent sloshing around the fab nearby compact wine area of Chateauneuf du Pape, which is literally littered with wineries. Fellow wine afficionados (Hi Colin) will be envious as they will know of this area's fame.
The beautiful village of Gordes. The photos will never do it justice
Just one of the village squares in Avignon
One of the wineries (caveau) we bought wine from in Chateauneuf du Pape. Interesting how the bottles we selected got progressively more expensive as the afternoon progressed!
The secret of Chateauneuf du Pape´s success? Big, round river stoney ground
On Tuesday 17th we explored the utterly captivating 12-13th century walled city and castle (chateau) - La Cité - at Carscassonne. Yet another great recommendation from Arnaud back at Alcoa. Later on the way south we visited the famous Musée d'Art Moderne in the small town of Céret just north of the Spanish border, which has WAY more than its fair share of Picasso, Matisse, Dali, etc. We crossed the border and visited the Spanish town of Figueres to visit the Teatre-Musea Dali (Dali Museum-Gallery) with its huge, famous collection. What an extraordinary talent he was, amazingly varied mediums (pen & ink through to jewellery) and styles. Completely twisted mind, though.
The Chateau inside the walled town of Carscassonne
After a night on the Costa Brava in north-eastern Spain (where the weather turned on us for a day), we are now in Barcelona ready to meet Mum & Dad Lockley, who will share Spain with us over the next 12 days or so.
Gail and I will be spending more time in France after Spain and Portugal before we head back to Germany in December, then a further week in Paris at the end. So we have only had a small taste of a corner of France so far. Therefore it may be premature to judge this early and of course it is purely our personal opinions; but although we really enjoyed Italy, we utterly LOVE France!
