Spain

From Nice we said good-bye to Ma and Pa and my Aunt and I continued to Spain.  First stop Barcelona where we had our first experience of couch surfing.  It was ok.  The people were friendly enough but we were a bit uncertain as to the expectations/protocol as I think each place you go to is different, so there were a couple of awkward moments.

I had already been to Barcelona but I still saw things I hadn’t seen before.  A lot of Barcelona is known for the stamp that the architect Antoni Gaudi has left on the city.  He had a very unique style that you see in a lot of the buildings.  It was him who  had the vision for the Sagrada Familia and who designed Parc Guel.  The best part about Barcelona was seeing the inside of the Sagrada Familia as that wasn’t open when I was there last time. What an amazing building!! I think it is one of the most amazing pieces of architecture I have ever seen.  The thought and skill behind every fragment of the design and construction is mind-blowing and very clever.

The columns are made and designed (in terms of load bearing etc) to be like trees. Everything is meant to mimic nature, therefore, giving glory to God and showing how natural design works so well.  Also, these columns are made from different stone for their colours and because the number of columns and their colours correspond with the apostles and the saints and ultimately the trinity.  The biggest, ultimate column will represent Jesus and the triangle light at the top is to point to this.  This is again made with natural light and materials.

When this is finished the church will be able to hold a choir of 1000 people.  Wow, how amazing will that sound!!

A column representing one of the apostles, with the triangle in the background

The emblems around this sculpture are meant to represent the grapes for the wine for communion and the bread. Even the seven columns around this part of the church represent something biblical.

We spent the rest of the day on the hop-on, hop-off bus snapping pics of all the sights and sounds of Barcelona.  We also stumbled upon a market with great food and lollies etc, so we bought some beautiful salmon to cook a great meal for our hosts.  It was a lovely evening.

Parc Guel

Parc Guel

View of Barcelona from Parc Guel with the Sagrada Familia in view

Parc Guel

Where Gaudi lived at Parc Guel

Entrance to the park

one of Gaudi's buildings

The markets

Yum!!

Next stop was Valencia.  We had scored a very nice hotel here but unfortunately, was not able to make the most of the pool and spa as we only had a short amount of time there and were out and about seeing everything.  We headed down to the beach in the evening and incorrectly followed the instructions about what bus to take to get there.  We took the right bus but in the wrong direction and ended up doing the tour of Valencia on the local bus as opposed to the hop on/hop off bus.  A great way to see the city and get our bearings.  We finally arrived at the beach and saw all the people still out and about making the most of it, even though it was a school night.  We discovered how the Spanish really do eat late and come out at night, as we waited till 8 to go to a restaurant and there was hardly anyone there.  In typical tourist fashion, we had tapas, followed by Paella accompanied with Sangria.  It was great.

The next day we were up early and walked down to the section where the museums and art galleries are.  We didn’t visit any but we were there to see the amazing architecture of the buildings.  We needed breakfast and popped over to the local shopping centre where we found breakfast for 2 euros, the best deal I’ve come across anywhere.  It was great!  We also made the most of being in the mall to check out the shops.  Lots of fun.

An exhibition (I don't know what for), that had flags of different countries.  There was no NZ flag (but there was an Australian one), so I just had to pose with my adopted country's flag.

Then we headed towards the old town to see the sights and sounds there.  We walked and walked and walked.  We came across some old markets that had cool Spanish food.  They also had a Zespri kiwifruit stand which I was very excited about.  They were giving away free kiwifruit for people to try.  I tried to explain to the girls working on the stand that I was from where the kiwifruit comes from but they didn’t understand.

The kiwi is eating a kiwi!!

Once we had looked around Valencia it was time to go back to the hotel and get our things as we had our wonderful Ryan Air flight to Malaga.  An aside, if I can ever help it I will never fly with Ryan Air again, they basically just try and scam you for as much money as possible.  They were checking the size of every piece of cabin luggage as people were boarding the plane and you could see the terror in everyone’s eyes as we saw the size of the bags they refused (and then charged 50 euro for) and then we would worriedly look at our bags to check they were the right size.  (I'm sure they make the box thing you have to put your bag into smaller than the requirements stated on the ticket).  It was high drama with people  unpacking and repacking bags and yelling abuse at the air stewards who weren’t very helpful at all.

Provence

Taking the TGV to Provence, saw the end of the rainy days and nothing but sunshine and hot weather for pretty much the rest of my trip.  We picked up our rental car from the Aix-en-Provence TGV station.  It was me who had the pleasure of driving our big Renault Kangoo around the teeny, windy Provencal roads.  It was off to Eau Vive, where I used to live in 2005, to stay for the week.

About to hit the French roads - eekk

From there we did road trips every day to discover the area.

First it was off to Aix-en-Provence town to show my family, another one of my old ‘homes’.  It was the first time I’d been back there so it was interesting to see it 7 years on.  It was also interesting driving around! Quite an experience.  I really wanted to show my family the lavender fields but unfortunately, the cooler weather meant we were a couple of weeks too early to see them in bloom.

The next day we took on more country roads to discover the hilltop village and market of Gordes.  I’d always wanted to see this town and it did not disappoint, neither did the markets.  We had a great day enjoying the town and then also discovered the Bories – traditional stone houses that people lived in for centuries.

Gordes

Les Bories

More driving stresses followed the day after that when we ventured to Marseille and looked around the town, saw the Basilica and sampled sea food – but not the Bouillabaisse, as that is ludicrously expensive.

The last day staying at Eau Vive we headed towards Avignon to see the old walled papal city and the bridge from the nursery rhyme.  Even though, I’ve been to a lot of these places before I always discovered something new and different each time which was great.

Friday, we were off, direction Frejus-St-Raphael to spend a night with the family I spent Christmas with.  This family has been to NZ and had a BBQ at my parents and they were super keen to return the favour and introduce them to traditional French meal time and that’s sure what we got.  It was a great time together, with fantastic hospitality and a wonderful time spent together.  Breakfast was a new experience when my family discovered how the French drink their morning tea or coffee in a bowl and that it isn’t for your cereal.

After Frejus-St-Raphael, we were off to Nice.  First off though was Grasse, via the scenic route, which, with its windy roads with no passing lanes, cyclists who thought they were the only ones on the road and crazy drivers, was a driver’s worst nightmare.  It was a very stressful experience and tensions where high.  We were very glad to park the car and stop at the parfumerie - Fragonard. 

The parfumerie was excellent. It was so interesting. We got to see how the perfume is made and the oils extracted. We got to see the room with all the different essential oils that the people mix to make perfumes. The people who create the new‘recipes’ for each perfume are called ‘Le Nez’ – the nose in English. There are only 50 in the world. They are highly trained and need to be able to smell and identify over 1000 different smells. They are well paid and only are able to work a couple of hours a day as otherwise its overload for their noses and sense of smell. The tour was free but we made up for that by spending a bit in the boutique. The perfumes were exquisite and it was well worth the experience. A real highlight of the trip for me.

Fragonard parfumerie - a selection of only a few of the oils used to make perfume.  The perfume maker sits here and follows the recipe of 'le nez' to mix together a new perfume.

After Grasse it was off to Nice for the final instalment of driver’s frazzled nerves trying to find the rental car drop off point.  We finally, happily, dropped our car off and gladly walked with our bags to the hotel apartment we had booked. 

The next day we discovered Monaco and happened to be in the right time at the right place as the Monaco Royal family were having a function and we watched all the guests arrive with their glad-rags on and then a car drove right past me and into the palace it was one of the Princesses, I think Caroline.  We enjoyed Monaco and seeing the lifestyles of the rich and famous.  The afternoon, we headed back to Nice to explore that a bit further and arrived there in time to see the wind pick up and create big waves and havoc on the beach.

Monaco

Back to France. Yay!

Paris/Normandy

After Greece it was back to Paris to meet my Mum, Dad and Aunt for two and half weeks travelling around France.  We had rented a great apartment in the absolute middle of Paris and spent our days walking around with me as tour guide, showing them all the classic sights and sounds of Paris.  Fortunately, the warmer, sunnier weather finally decided to arrive.  It was great to pull out the shorts, t-shirts, sunnies and sandles. 

Friday, we did the Notre Dame, Latin Quarter and the Louvre

Notre Dame

Saturday, we discovered the markets, le Marais (Jewish Quarter – rather quiet on the Sabbath!), Place de Vosges, Bastille, Montmartre, Moulin Rouge and the Sacre Coeur – which was heaving with people making the most of the great weather to get out and about.

Sunday, we went early to queue for the Eiffel Tower as we knew that there were delays and long queues as all but one of the lifts were broken.  However, Dad and I still queued for three hours just to get up to the next level.  By the time we got to the top and down again it had been more than 4 hours and we were shattered.  So we enjoyed a nice lunch in a restaurant near the Eiffel Tower.  Re-fuelled we walked to the Trocadero and then over to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysee, where I introduced my family to Sephora (the cosmetics store).  I love Sephora.

Eiffel Tower

Top of Eiffel Tower

Dad and I at the top of the Eiffel Tower

Lunch after our trip up the Eiffel Tower

Sephora

Monday, it was a day trip to the Loire Valley to see the Chateaux.  We visited three.  Chambord, Chenonceau and Chiverny.  Chiverny is the chateau that the illustrator of Tintin used for his inspiration.

Chambord

Chambord

The staircase designed by Leonardo Da Vinci.  its like a double helix where there are two stairwells intertwined that never meet

Chenonceau

Chiverny

Tuesday, we took some time out to relax in the morning and then spent the afternoon at the Chateau de Versailles.  This was my third time there, so I left my family to discover the Palace while I enjoyed the huge gardens.  For the first time, I was there while the fountains where working and they also had music to accompany them.  It was fantastic and very beautiful.  In the evening we also caught up one last time with Jason and Rebekah, as this was the end of their time in France and they were heaing back to the US soon after.  We enjoyed a great meal with traditional French dishes and wines, and it was great for my family to meet more of my friends over in France.

The fountains at Versailles

Wednesday, we ventured into Normandy, my old stomping ground.  To see Monet’s gardens.  A place that had always been on my ‘must see’ list as Monet is one of my favourite artists.  They were great.  Beautiful and just like the paintings.  The photos are cool because they resemble so much his famous works of art. 

The Japanese Bridge

In front of Monet's house and the garden

The next day it was back to L’Aigle, which was very exciting and emotional for me to see my friends and my old ‘home’ one last time.  It was great to introduce them and the town to my family.  My dad got the chance to experience local fishing and a traditional French meal.  In the evening, my friend had organised dinner for us all in a creperie where my family was able to meet everyone and try some typical French food and drink.  It was a great occasion.

Following that my family continued on to Bayeux to see the tapestry, the D-day beaches and Mt St Michel.  I had already done all of that and made the most of it to spend a few last days with my friends, before saying one more emotional farewell at the train station.

Normandy saw me off in typical fashion with a cold, rainy day.

Greece

Right, it’s been a while since I’ve updated due to travelling and not having much down time for maintaining the blog.  I’m back in NZ now and am hoping to complete this blog with my travels.

So...after the UK it was off to Greece in the hope of catching some sun and warm weather.  Well unfortunately May had unseasonally cold, wet weather and Greece was no exception.  I spent the first part of the trip in Athens.  It was definitely warmer, but still not as hot as I was expecting.  The first afternoon I went out exploring and found the centre of town with views of the Acropolis and stalls selling fresh summer fruits, such as strawberries and cherries at reasonable prices. 

Centre of Athens with view of the Acropolis on the hill

I discovered Stygma Square, where a lot of the protests etc take place in front of the Parliament buildings.  It was interesting to look up at the balconies of the surrounding hotels and see them with TV cameras from all the international press, ready to report back on news programs around the world. 

Stygma Square with Parliament in the background

I then went to go up the highest point of the city to see the view.  I had heard there was a funicular to get up to the top but was unsuccessful in finding it so ended up hiking to the top.  The view was great!

The next day I discovered the Acropolis which was really interesting and continued walking and discovering the city until my feet wanted to drop off.

Then it was off to the Greek Island of Naxos on the ferry.  A very long 5 hours.  On Naxos I was hoping to spend the four days I planned there doing nothing but lying on the beach, reading. Unfortunately, the first afternoon was too windy. I had a great hostel room with kitchenette and everything, but no roomies. 

Fortunately, a German girl came and we ended up hanging out.  So the next day, when the weather wasn’t so great, we rented a quad bike to discover the island, only for our little escapade to be washed out by the cold rain.

The following day we were joined by an Australian girl.  The weather still was better but not really sunbathing temperatures so we explored the township a little more.  Finally, the third day I was able to spend following my original plan of sitting on the beach reading, but it was still too cold for swimming.  My last day the weather wasn’t so great again, but I still made the most of it and sat on the beach as much as I could.

Naxos was a fantastic island and I would love to go back there (when the weather is better!!).  Everyone was so friendly.  We made friends with a local restaurant owner who gave us free stuff.  One night we went to a local tavern to check out some traditional Greek music.  We walked into people dancing, singing and smashing plates on the floor – your classic Greek cliché (I’m sure put on for the tourists, but hey, we loved it!!).  The owners welcomed us in with open arms, got us a seat, had a good natter to us.  They just wanted to share their island and their culture with us.  It was fantastic and I’ll definitely be back.

Traditional Greek music (see the smashed plates on the floor)

New friends with our friendly local restaurant owner