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2017 Europe & Asia Adventure

September - November 2017
A 62-day adventure by Courtney Read more
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  • Traveler2017 Europe & Asia Adventure
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    Day 10

    Day 10 - Granada - Best Day Ever!

    September 19, 2017 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Today might have been the best day of the trip. We woke up and had our best breakfast yet - fresh mango juice, fresh peach juice, cafe con leche, and two falafel tomato sandwiches. Then we wandered around the streets of Granada for several hours. One of the highlights of the day (and the first real planned event of the trip) was the Arab baths and massages. 90 minutes of different temperature baths - hot, medium, and super cold, with a 30 minute massage. Followed up with a siesta and a walk up the mountain to Mirador de San Nicholas. We drank a couple of glasses of wine with a beautiful view of the Alhambra and then decided to chase the sun until we found the most beautiful sunset view imaginable. We sat there for what felt like hours, basking in the beautiful view of the sunset and the city. Then we made our way back down to the city for a delicious dinner of mussels, peppers, and scallops. Now time for a good rest before our Alhambra visit tomorrow!Read more

  • Traveler2017 Europe & Asia Adventure
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    Day 11

    Day 11 - Granada - Alhambra!

    September 20, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    After checking out of our Airbnb and grabbing a quick breakfast, we set off up the mountain (on foot) to visit the Alhambra - a massive that fortress overlooks all of Granada. The Alhambra visit has three main attractions - the giant fortress, the palace, and the gardens. We spent about 4 or 5 hours up there exploring. It was pretty unbelievable and the views of the city were amazing. Then we had a late lunch, picked up our bags, and we are now sitting at the airport (3 hours early) for our flight to Barcelona! We are exhausted!!

    Overall, we loved our short visit to Granada. We were staying in a cool little part of town near the university, filled with students, cheap vegan restaurants filled with healthy food options and fresh juices, and a short walk to all of the city's attractions.

    Update: Made it safely to our beach Airbnb in Barceloneta! Goodnight!    Read more

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    Day 12

    Day 12 - Barcelona - Best Day Ever!!

    September 21, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    What a great day! We slept in after a late night of travel (and three jam-packed and amazing, but exhausting, days in Granada). Then we worked out, did some much needed laundry, and went out for a delicious breakfast of avocado and strawberry toast with fresh orange juice! Next, we relaxed on the beach for hours and then walked a couple of miles down the boardwalk, grabbing an amazing lunch on the sand - grilled mussels, eggplant tempura, sea bass with salad, chocolate mousse, and espresso. We walked some more, swam for awhile in the Balearic Sea (!!), and headed back to our awesome Airbnb for a warm shower and some rest.

    We headed out to a local restaurant, recommended by our host, for dinner. As we waited outside for our table, several people on balconies on the street, and all of the surrounding streets, began banging on pots and pans in protest of the Spanish government's suppression of the Catalonian region's vote for sovereignty. We have been witnessing these protests since our arrival in Madrid two weeks ago.

    The small local hole-in-the-wall restaurant that our host recommended ended up specializing in fried fish. We split a small meal (fried fish and peppers) and then went to grab second dinner...the burger than Tim has been craving for about a week. Now I need to sit up in a chair and read and digest for about an hour before I can sleep!!    Read more

  • Traveler2017 Europe & Asia Adventure
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    Day 13

    Day 13 - Barcelona - Gaudi

    September 22, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We walked A LOT today!! After a yummy breakfast, we first walked about 2.5 miles to Gaudi's magnificent Sagrada Familia cathedral. Unfortunately, there was a lottery going on this weekend only for free tickets, so the purchased tickets were limited and are sold out until we leave Barcelona!! So, we only got to check out the outside, which is amazing on its own. Next, we walked another 2 miles to Gaudi's crazy Park Guell (eating Chinese food on the way!). By the time we got to the top of the mountain at the park, we were completely exhausted. We took a cab back for an early evening siesta. After we woke up, we went to yet another amazing tapas dinner. Then we walked it off on the boardwalk (with a short attempt at joining in on some salsa dancing) and through a small carnival set up for this weekend's end of summer festival.

    Tomorrow - more beach time!!    Read more

  • Traveler2017 Europe & Asia Adventure
    Day 14

    Day 14 - Barcelona - Last Day in Spain!

    September 23, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Our last day in Spain started with an unsuccessful search for the perfect breakfast! Then we relaxed for a couple of hours on the beach near our Airbnb before venturing out for a good lunch and our favorite beach. For lunch, we had a delicious green salad, shrimp in garlic sauce, and mussels in marinara sauce. Then we continued the long walk down the boardwalk to our favorite soft sandy beach. On the walk back, we decided to stop in and watch the Mountain Dew street skateboarding competition. Then, after a little rest and showers, we headed off into the crazy busy part of Barcelona for dinner. The end of summer festivities are going on this weekend and things are a bit crazy - parades, drum circles, and fireworks all over. We ended up going to a delicious ramen restaurant for dinner - not quite the typical Spanish meal for our last dinner in the country, but it was so good! We walked back and enjoyed a bit of the festivities before returning home. We fly to Venice tomorrow afternoon!Read more

  • Traveler2017 Europe & Asia Adventure
    Day 15

    Spain - Random/Final thoughts

    September 24, 2017 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    - Spain is WAY cheaper than we expected. When we followed the advice of our Airbnb hosts, we were able to find amazing, local, non-tourist restaurants for a fraction of the price of the US. When we ended up in very touristy areas, we spent a lot.
    - Once we figured out what we liked, the food was great. At first, it seemed all they had was meat, cheese, bread/pastries, and paella. We learned how to order some fantastic and balanced tapas meals, figured out how to get our daily servings of fruits and veggies, and ate so much delicious seafood.
    - The public transportation system is awesome.
    - Throughout the country, we found that pet dogs are rarely on leashes. They follow their owners around loyally, no matter how busy the street.

    - Madrid was a great introduction to Spain. We had three back-to-back amazing tapas dinners. The day trip to Toledo was the highlight.
    - Seville and Granada are two of the coolest cities we've ever been to. And some of the friendliest people we have met in Spain.
    - Cadiz had one of the most beautiful beaches either of us has ever seen. Some of the people in Cadiz were a little rude to us, but we figured we were probably doing something wrong without knowing what!
    - Barcelona is pretty cool. A little dirty and a little crazy, but lots of great art and architecture, cool alleys and streets to wander through, and great food. Most of the beaches are a bit rocky and shelly, but there are some sandy beautiful areas to be found.
    - Everyone speaks English in Barcelona. In the other cities we visited, not so much. My Spanish came back to me throughout the trip, but it was definitely difficult to communicate. I could get around with the basics but couldn't carry on a decent conversation. Tim had about 5 or 6 phrases down.
    - Siestas, sleeping in, small breakfasts, big lunches, and tapas dinners will all be missed!!

    - Overall, we had an amazing time. We would love to come back and do a southern/Andalusian trip to Spain, revisiting Seville, Granada, Cadiz, and hitting some of the other southern beaches. There is so much to see in Barcelona that we could return for some of the museums and attractions (and to get inside Sagrada Familia!!), but I don't know that we need to return. There are way better beaches elsewhere. Three days in Madrid was probably enough. There is also the whole northern region of Spain to see!    Read more

  • Traveler2017 Europe & Asia Adventure
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    Day 15

    Day 15 - Venice - Welcome to Italy!

    September 24, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We are already in love with Venice! While we were sad to leave Spain this morning, we are so happy and excited to be in Italy. We had a smooth, short flight this afternoon and then took the Alilaguna (water ferry) directly from the airport to Venice. We met our lovely host at our Airbnb and she walked us through the basics of our amazing, romantic apartment and some recommendations for our three night stay in Venice. She didn't speak much English, but we got by with as much as we could. Then we set off for a night of exploring. We brought no map or GPS and decided to just get lost in the alleys for hours. We went back to our apartment to grab one of the dinner recommendations and set off for an amazing first meal in Italy - a first course of pasta with meat sauce for me and pasta with clams for Tim, second course of grilled fish and grilled veggies for both of us (all with a bottle of red wine), finished off with tiramisu to split, coffee with Baileys for Tim and decaf with Amaretto for me! Then we continued walking through the beautiful city. After wandering through alleys and over canals, we somehow managed to find our way home. We had to do a little bit of dancing to the "love songs" CD that our host left for us, and now we are ready for bed!!Read more

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    Day 16

    Day 16 - Venice - Best Day Ever!

    September 25, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Venice is awesome. Since our Airbnb host is so great, she left us with so much food that we didn't have to venture out first thing for breakfast and coffee. We were able to work out and eat toast with jam, fresh fruit, and coffee without leaving the house. After a late start, we set off for a do-it-yourself walking tour of Venice (which also included lunch of an amazing shared pizza and salad). We hit most of the main spots in just a few hours. We wandered through the touristy San Marco's area, seeing the San Marco plaza and its famous basilica, clock and tower. We went to the top of the tower to get beautiful 360 degree panoramic views of Venice and the surrounding islands. Then we ventured to the next spot on our list - one of the oldest bookstores/libraries in the world. It turns out we had actually ended up in here hours earlier, not knowing what it was. After that, we went over to the famous Rialto bridge.

    The San Marco tourist area that makes up most of these top attractions is cool, but jam packed with people. It made us so happy that we are staying in the Cannaregio neighborhood. We are about a 10 minute walk from everywhere on the island. But our neighborhood is quiet and empty and full of local spots instead of tourist traps. We are able to wander the alleys and bridges for hours, barely seeing anyone.

    After the busy Rialto bridge, we headed home to relax and get ready for dinner. We found a great local restaurant on Yelp and walked the few blocks to get there early for a table. Good thing we did, because if was full about 5 minutes later. Dinner was amazing - grilled scallop appetizer, first course of black ravioli stuffed with ricotta and sea bass for me and scallop spaghetti for Tim, then we split the fish of the day special (7 different kinds of fish and shellfish). No room for dessert this time!!

    Finally, we came home and drank the Prosecco left for us by our host and played several games of Chess and Checkers! So fun! Goodnight!!    Read more

  • Traveler2017 Europe & Asia Adventure
    Day 17

    Day 17 - Last Day in Venice

    September 26, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Another awesome day of alley wandering and great food. The highlight was definitely the Row Venice gondola ride - 90 minutes of riding and rowing through the Venice canals. The best way to see Venice is absolutely from the water. Sad to leave tomorrow, we could easily stay here another week.Read more

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    Day 18

    Day 18 - Florence Arrival

    September 27, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    I love how much fun we're able to have on travel days! We woke up and had our regular Venice breakfast of toast and fresh fruit. Then we said goodbye to Venice, walking to the train station and passing by several fish and fruit markets. Once we arrived in Florence, we had a couple of hours to kill before Airbnb check in, so we decided to wash our clothes at a laundromat and get a couple of slices of pizza and our first Italian gelato (pistachio and chocolate)!! After we checked in, we relaxed for a bit (and I finished my book!) and then we set off for our first Tuscany dinner. The restaurant we found was a tiny mom and pop shop that was definitely a local favorite - no English menu, few tourists, reservations required, and awesome food. They had a special of pasta with fresh shaved truffles, which is what we thought we ordered. Really, we ordered the mushroom pasta, which was awesome, and a steak, which was also awesome. We finished our meal off with a tiramisu and two limoncello shots. Throughout the meal, Tim practiced his newfound Italian skills and the waitress/owner loved it. She was so friendly and the food was so good that we might return on Saturday for our last Florence dinner (and try to actually get the truffle pasta). After we left, we returned to our Airbnb for another night of wine and chess (this time, we had to make chess pieces out of checkers pieces)!! Awesome day, awesome night. Excited to explore Florence tomorrow.Read more

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