Matera
7 gennaio 2018, Italia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
More photos of Matera
We made it to the other side!!!!
8 gennaio 2018, Italia ⋅ 🌬 12 °C
In the past 3 days in Matera, the awesomes have been investigating and planning a way to get to the other side of the gorge. On Day 1, whist visiting St Peters church, 3 of us saw Ruby being led through a door at the back of the church by an old man. We quickly followed as we feared that Ruby was being abducted, but were shown to a balcony with the most magnificent view of the gorge, the Sassi, and the old caves across the gorge. The old man, the registrar of the church, then offered to drive us to the other side, but not till after the weekend as it was the Epiphany and he was busy. Without speaking a word of English, he was able to make arrangements of the time 930am on Monday to take us. We weren't sure what to make of this offer or whether we understood right.
Kai excitedly discovered a bridge across only to find that it was closed and undergoing repairs. Spotting some people jumping the blockade to get on the bridge, we kept that plan in mind as a last resort.
Day 2 we found a manned tourist information, (that can be quite difficult to find in small towns) but they were as helpful as a screen door on a submarine. Asking if there was a guide that could take us, the only answer was NO. Best answer was get a taxi. They had not said how we would get back once the taxi dropped us off.
Ruby found information about a park guide that could take us on a hike. So heading to the tourist information again with the new found information to see if they could help arrange it for us, the answer was NO.
We then found a phone number of a guide, what'sapp the guide but was not successful as they said a hike was not a good idea because it was forecasted to rain.
We were left with jumping the blockade or going with Ruby's old man.
Taking the chance that old man remembers our arrangement, we set off to St Peter's this morning. Lo and behold, he was there and we set off with his Italian and my Google translate.
His name turns out to be Rocco and he works in Peter's church. Made me giggle as "upon this rock I will build my church" has rock working for it.
He was lovely. Armed with a torch, he took us to remote, off the beaten track Rupestrian churches and abandoned grottos. Even walked us through inter connecting caves. Showed us film sets and took us to the lit Presepe that we can see from the lookout at our accommodation in the evening. He even showed us where they filmed the crucifixion in Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ.
He was agile and fit as he led us through the mountain side and navigated rough uneven terrain. We were impressed to learn that he is 73 years of age. He was raised in the Sassi and left when he was 10 years. Like the statistics we learnt about infant mortality, he also lost 2 of his 3 siblings.
After taking us around for 2 hours, he invited us back into the church and presented us with a translated book about the history of his church. He even offered to drive us to our next accommodation in Ostuni, 70km away, and visit the Trulli town of Alberobello along the way. We had already booked a guide for the day, and had to decline his very generous offer. When it was time to leave, with tears in his eyes, he said that he was fortunate to have met us. What a lovely,wonderful man. How blessed we are to have another angel along our journey of Italy.Leggi altro
We always need food
10 gennaio 2018, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Sadly, our stay in magical marvellous Matera came to an end. We packed up our bags and hyped ourselves up for the tour we were absolutely to begin. Alessandro, a tour guide and as we later discovered, a wine and olive oil sommelier was taking us to Ostuni. On the way, we were to stop at Martina Franco and Alberobello.
The Awesome Foursomes don’t go anywhere with anyone unless food was involved. Alessandro knew us well and after a 10 minute drive, he stopped us at a bakery to eat some typical Matera bread and focaccia. We stocked up on 3 different types of focaccia which unfortunately was to be saved for Ostuni’s meals. No eating. Arriving in Martina Franco, we were amazed at how our guide was able to navigate the small alley ways to show us the beautiful town. We toured a palace and was described daily life in the ancient (pronounced ain-s-ient) times. Soon we were lead out of the town, back to the car and ready for or next stop.
Remember, we need food. So, our next stop was a cheese tasting. Our tour guide lead us passed the cheese shop and getting anxious, thinking we need to walk more for our food, we were lead through a beaded curtain and were greeted by 6 muscled men making the cheese. They were working hard and fast making buffalo mozzarella. Our tour guide explained to us that the liquid they are dishing the cheese out of is 65C and that’s when we discovered that the men’s hands were bright pink and they had to dip it in cold water every few minutes not seconds to stop it from scalding. Then they started making another cheese that was half ricotta half cream cheese. The blocks of this cheese that one man was scooping out of a 1m deep trough was 3kg and he lifted it like it was a marshmallow. Now, I appreciate cheese even more and try very hard no to think of all the sweat that may be in my cheese. Yuck!! We then were finally able to taste the various cheeses and were in love. We bought 3 different cheeses which were again, to be kept for Ostuni.
Alberobello is a town filled with trulli. Trulli are what look like tepees made out of stones. I will let the photos describe. Words can’t. They were phenomenal. Perfectly rounded and all the same so the town looks almost identical in every direction yet each corner has something different. From, houses owned by old Nona’s to restaurants and souvenir shops. Knowing us well, Alessandro lead us into a pastry shop known for their typical pastry cakes. So of course, we had to get some and these, we could eat immediately. Yay!
Our next stop was the olive oil farm where we going to find out how olive oil was made . This time, in an industrial way rather than a small farm production like Francesco and his families in Assisi. We were allowed to taste the olive oil. More food.
Crates containing 350kg of olives lined the factory and they looked yummy. I wanted to jump right in and start eating them all but I contained by urge and stayed out of the crate. We were explained how olive oil was made manually which takes 3-4 hours and mechanically which took 45 minutes. The mechanical machine was going full steam ahead and to see the process was amazing. From whole olives being washed to mushy olives looked like tapenade to curd looking oil to pure olive oil. It was quite amazing to see the process. We tasted the olive oils (all 6 types) and were amazed at how olive oil can taste so different depending on whether it is organic or not and manually or mechanically made. Quite frankly, I could not taste the difference between organic or not, but manually made olive oil tasted so much better than the machine made oil. Now average mini market bought olive oil is not nice. We are so spoilt in Italy with food.
Later arriving in Ostuni, we were taken to our accomodation which is 3.5 stories. Bedrooms on the ground floor and a bathroom (all very open plan), a bathroom as you ascend the stairs, a kitchen, dining and living area on the next level and the 4th level has a beautiful terrace.
We were so tired, we made our way to dinner then collapsed in our super comfy bed ready for our exploration the next morning.
I thought after the busy day we had yesterday full of cheese and olive oil tastings . We would be up at mid day.
First day in ostuni we all must have been excited to explore . We where all up by 8am . We had a very yummy breakfast of foccasies, cheese and bread. We all scoffed down our breakfast and decided to go and visit the only 2 sites listed in kai's Kindle. The cathedral which was amazing inside with beautiful facades. We where very fortunate to have the sun shine through the windows so we could see the interior of the cathedral. The second site was an archeological museum it was a 5 euro entrance fee so we gave it a miss.
We then went for a walk to find dudo's coffee. A nice lady in a shop recommended a coffee place up the street. Which serves appertivos so look forward to writing about it in our next post.
After a slow stroll in the park it started to bucket down with rain. In a panic Kai got the umbrella out and the camera went back in the case.
We where very fortunate to have some left over pasta , garlic and a tin of tomatoes and cheese from our cheese tasting shop yesterday to have for lunch. Otherwise we might have just starved. As we figured out ostuni is like a ghost town nothing was open except a few sandwich shops and coffee shops.
Now we are all sitting in our apartment catching up with reality Facebook, emails and what's app.Leggi altro
Ostuni
12 gennaio 2018, Italia ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
Ostuni
Ostuni is a tiny white hamlet that sits atop a hill in Puglia (or Apulia), guarding the region at the heel of Italy. It is so small that it takes only 10 minutes to stroll from one end of town to the other, and 30 minutes to walk the circumference with stops for photos and look into the few shops that may be open. Indeed, being off season, the town was very quiet and very few places were open. There was such a slow rhythm to everything, it seemed like the town just went to sleep, hibernating and waiting for Easter when the tourist season would begin. It was nice to have the narrow windy streets and scenic lookouts to ourselves, even if it meant that we were stared at by the few old men and old ladies around.
We explored the town most thoroughly on our first morning, before the rain came in the afternoon. Not having found anything interesting open for lunch, we cooked at the apartment, and were just about to settle for a restful quiet afternoon when Kai slipped on a puddle in the lounge. There was a leak! As the rain intensified, so did the number of leaks. Kai found more buckets, and we used all the buckets and all the pots and all the pans. Grace kept in contact with the apartment owner who received a progress report about the increasing number of leaks and their location. He was most apologetic and did not even mind that Grace melted his coffee maker. A brand new one with fresh coffee beans was delivered the next morning. Fortunately, the rain stopped by the evening and before the ceiling fell.
The sun shone when we woke the second morning. We explored the town again in the morning, and failing to find any corner or alley we have not been down at least twice, we decided to go to the beach. The lady at the tourist information was most helpful. She told us that there was only one bus in Ostuni, and only one bus stop. The microbus (honestly, the tiny bus is called a microbus) leaves Ostuni for the beach at 1.15pm and picks up from the beach at 4.50pm.
We decided to have lunch at the local cafe/newsagent/restaurant/bar. The town is so tiny that one little place served all those functions. We discovered it had great coffee and simple but tasty homemade pastas and sandwiches. When the owner heard that we had no car, he shook his head. Then he leant that we were going to the beach, and he exclaimed, " Mama Mia!" with his five fingertips pressed together and waving at us. Different regions of Italy have totally different cultures, different foods, different pastas, different dialects and accents. But, they all exclaim "Mama Mia!" in the same way, with the same gesture of five fingertips pressed together, waving in exactly the same way. Even the little boy of about 7 exclaimed it, with the appropriate gesture, when the soccer ball he kicked just missed Kai's head.
We went to the beach armed with Kindle, books and a pack of cards to occupy ourselves with. Before we got off the microbus, the driver gesticulated for us to wait. He got his bus timetable out and circled 4.50pm, the time for us to catch the bus back to Ostuni. Guess he did not want us to miss the only bus back.
We walked along the beach from one bay to the next. It was a mixture of sandy bays, rocky bays, and bays of dried corals. One thing that was prevalent was litter and garbage. It was sad to see a coastline robbed of its beauty by sheer laziness and care-lessness. Apartments and houses of various sizes lined the beaches, and all were shut and boarded up. Collectively, they formed a ghost town with stay cats that eyed us suspiciously. Needless to say, the beach was deserted. There were 2 men casting their fishing lines into the waves, and a few local tourists who stayed no more than 5 minutes to take a few photos before driving away. We walked along the bays, we walked in ghost town, admired the bigger and more fancy houses that fronted the beach, and explored the rock pools. Time flew by. Only Kindle emerged from the bag, but it was not read. When we went for apertivo, the cafe owner seemed relived to see us back from the beach. He gave us some pizza "free, free" as though to celebrate our return.
We could have stayed in Ostuni for many more days, but it was time to leave for Naples after 3 nights.Leggi altro
Photos of Ostuni beach
12 gennaio 2018, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
Naples, never! Pompeii, please!
13 gennaio 2018, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
Go to a small town as far away from Naples as possible but where you are still able to visit Pompeii and Herculaneum. I shall not start on how I do not have a liking for Naples. I will, however, tell you about how I loved Pompeii.
Pompeii is situated 7km from the volcano Mount Vesuvius. In 62AD a devastating earthquake severely damaged Pompeii, with some of the devastation still present today. The town busied themselves for the next 17 years rebuilding their homes, shops, palaces and temples. Unbeknownst to them, on August 24 at 1pm Mount Vesuvius was to erupt and that would be the death of almost all villagers in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Destroying the village where they had all worked so hard to rebuild.
Our guide, Alex, guided us through what Mt Vesuvius, decided to leave behind for us to wander through and I was just shocked. I was able to see exactly how the Vesuvians lived, what their houses, palaces, shops, city centres, restaurant and fast food joins and piazzas looked like as well as the brothel and what food they ate almost 1950 years ago.
One thing amongst many that amazed me about Pompeii was the graffiti. Don’t worry, it’s not modern graffiti like we know but ancient scratchings, which is the Latin translation of graffiti. During the games held in the amphitheater, children would stay in the street and write and draw (graffiti) stories on the street walls and kerbs. Advertisements for shops, restaurants and political elections were graffitied on the walls of shops, houses, streets and kerb by many villagers and merchants. This gave us a great insight into the daily lives of the people of Pompeii from over 1950 years ago.
Frescoes and mosaics were still present in some of the houses and palaces as well as some bed and door frames.
What was most devastating to see was the plaster casts of children, adults and even dogs who suffered through the 600C pyroclastic heat from the eruption. They were stunned in their last movement, last breath. This was more prominent in Herculaneum but I could barely glimpse at it in Pompeii.
As I neared the end of my visit in Pompeii, 5 and a half hours later, I had a very guilty realisation about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. If it never erupted and preserved the village of Pompeii, we would be guessing about the life from 2000 years ago. What food they ate, what their homes looked like, how they occupied their time, what tools they used and many more. I am very grateful for that but yet was holding back tears as I discovered more and more about Pompeii.Leggi altro
Herculaneum
13 gennaio 2018, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
What an adventure to Herculaneum.
It was an experience which was mind boggling. We saw a lot of houses and villas which were destroyed in the earthquake.
What was interesting was the mosaics on the floors of the villas and on the walls of bedrooms and dinning areas. They get the pieces so small and the size of the pieces are the same.
The shop fronts had different coloured scrap marble to make benches. The pots are made to fit inside the marble bench top which means are never washed.
Those days nothing was wasted, and I mean nothing. Something I learnt was they actually collect human urine which is used to wash clothes as a detergent or to remove stains from clothes.
There were Skeletons, that where not even moved after the eruption . It was heartbreaking to see even young children lying down and the facial expressions are in describible.
Herculaneum was closer to Mt Versuvius when she erupted. The damage happened at 0100 the night before it struck Pompeii. Herculaneum was buried in lava, so it was not as plundered as it is much harder to dig through then in Pompeii. The paintings, wooden structure like door frames, beds, rafters and even food like bread, seeds, fruits, all turned to carbon instantly by the pyroclastic combustion. But the damage to the structural buildings was greater in Herculaneum because of the weight of the lava.
It was very sad when we were chased out at 5pm, because there was so much more to see. We where first in at Pompeii and the last out at Herculaeum. What a heartbreaking experience.Leggi altro
Spain, Malaga
18 gennaio 2018, Spagna ⋅ 🌙 12 °C
We have ended our Italian leg of the journey and have started the Spanish one. We begin in Malaga, where once the people traded in salt as a currency. Malaga had a very checkered past, a melting pot of Roman, Visigoths, Muslim, Christians and Franco influences on their culture, music, and architecture.
Malaga's claim to fame is also that this is the birth place of Picasso, and Antonio Banderas, who was suppose to be filming a documentary on Pablo Picasso for National Geographics.
Kai found a well reviewed free walking tour and from that we extended to do 2 other walking tours with the same guide who was very good.
The first was a night mystery tour to highlight paranormal, ghost, and miracles tour. The 2nd was a tour of the historic centre of Malaga to highlight her history, architecture and food. Lastly we did a tour of the Alcazaba, the Muslim fortress that protected the once walled city of Malaga.
Food was super yum. We had breakfast at a typical Malaga place serving dips with bread, churros, paella and Malaguan salad and Moscatel fortified wine.Leggi altro
Sierra Nevada
20 gennaio 2018, Spagna ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C
I have only been to the snow 4 times so I was extremely excited to be going again. We were going to Sierra Nevada for snowshoeing. Snowshoeing is hiking in the snow with what looks like tennis racquets attached to your shoes. They have sharp spikes under it for gripping the snow and ice.
Never have I ever seen snow so soft before. Basically, the snow had been there for a few days already meaning there was a thin layer of ice over some parts of the snow. Under the ice layer was snow that was softer than icing sugar. Felt like how a powdered marshmallows might be. The only bad thing about this was that the snow could not be compacted to make a snowman or have snowball fights.
Our guide explained to us about the different skiis, snowboots and avalanche rescue methods. This was an incredible learning journey as I always thought there was only 1 type of ski. No! There are skiis that are for downhill skiing, cross country skiing, attachments for skiis for going uphill skiing and skiis for going through difficult paths or for going super fast. We learnt that the average speed for competition skiers are 80-90km/h. So, imagine going faster than that! The danger of such a sport was seen when a man zoomed past with one arm in a sling. I think I know where and how that injury occurred. We saw the people and snow dogs who were training for avalanche rescues. The dogs help find the people buried in the snow and the people are trained to dig them out in a specific way so the snow does not collapse and the person is safely extracted.
It was amazing to see the workings of the ski mountains. From the little 4 year olds skiing to the dogs and people at training, rescuers, the locals and us who were just taking it all in and have a magical time. Seeing the amazing views and hiking through the powder snow and seeing all the skiers wizz by made me want to learn how to ski.Leggi altro
Granada
20 gennaio 2018, Spagna ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C
Granada is a lovely melting pot of the Catholics, Muslims, and Spanish influences. The catholic kings tended to alter Muslim buildings and convert them into churches whilst still maintaining the Arabic nature of the buildings.
We arrived at noon from Malaga, and headed straight to Papa Elvira's for lunch. It is a tiny cafe that seats only 6-8 people. Food is amazing. Simple home cooked, cous cous, empinadas, and tea with delicious desert cakes and tortas.
We had booked for the night entry into Alhambra but silly me overlooked the fact that tickets needed to be printed. So at the very last minute, I was chasing around trying to find a photo copy shop. I finally managed to print the tickets at a pharmacy near by. The pharmacist was so kind, she didn't even take money for the printing. After a super quick dinner at a Syrian restaurant called Puerta Syria, we hurried up the hill to the Alhambra.
The Alhambra at night was simply unimaginably beautiful. It was stunning. Quite different to see the Nazrid Palace lit up. An architectural marvel. Even the photos we took does not do it justice.
Choo arrived with 3 friends from UK and Gibraltar. The whole group were a real nice bunch of people. They were very generous and would not let us pay for meals while they were with us. Choo stayed with Ruby and I while Jian, Jack and Hanky went snow shoeing with the girls. Ruby, Choo and I did the historic walking tour and the Sacromonte tour while the young ones besides snow shoeing did a tapas crawl.
We loved the Albyacin area which is the Muslim area of Granada. There you find a great lookout from San Nicolas mirador, and yummy teterias where you have teas in what looks like a Persian dens. There is even a mosque there now.
We also managed to catch up with Victoria and her daughter Lupe on our last night in Granada. Victoria is the mountain guide for Sierra Nevada that we met 2 years ago, who was also the girls snowshoeing guide. Victoria does not only run tours, either hiking or skiing or snowshoeing but she is also a professional cross country skier and a ski rescue worker. She knows everything and everyone on Sierra Nevada.
We have had the good fortune of meeting some lovely people here. Granada is turning out to be one of my favourite places in Spain.Leggi altro
Granada
20 gennaio 2018, Spagna ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C
More photos from historical walking tour and the Sacromonte tour.
Cuenca
25 gennaio 2018, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
Cuenca is an old fortress town in the middle of Spain, an hour on the train, east from Madrid. It is perched on top of narrow gorges carved by the Huecar and Jucar rivers, and known for its medieval buildings that cling onto the edge of the cliff, modified in the 1920s to include balconies that hang off the edge of the cliff. These used to line the cliff edge, but there are only 3 such houses left, and looking at them, I shudder to think of what happened to the others. These balconies really hang over a drop of over 300m, supported by nothing. Not even ineffectual toothpicks pretending to give some structural support.
Just about 25km from Cuenca is the Enchanted Forest. It is not a vegetative green forest of trees, but one of stones, rocks and monoliths carved through limestone by nature. The resultant formations resemble chatting faces, dog's head, ships, whale's tail, and even a city with high rise buildings and streets. All very amazing, amusing and, enchanting. Not driving, we needed to hire a guide. We found Alberto of Ecotourismo Cuenca for only €100 for a 4 hour tour. The tour included the Devil's Window, a lookout where he sets up a telescope for us to watch vultures nesting. He locates their nests by the white steaks their poos leave on the cliffs. It was really fascinating watching the nurturing side of these much maligned birds. Alberto also pointed out the effects of global warming to the ecosystem. For example, there is a population explosion of caterpillars that feed on pine leaves. The cold snowy winters curb their destruction of the native pine forests. However, without the extended days of cold, these caterpillars continue their life cycle throughout the winter months, and the poor pine trees have no time to recover. Indeed, as we were walking around the Enchanted Forest, we saw caterpillars, huge nests of larvae, and the butterflies.
There are many trails and treks that surround Cuenca town, around and along the rivers. We just explored and did little treks as none of the trails are very well marked, although attempts have been made at the town end to mark the direction of each trail. Once on the trail, the markers disappear, and one just follows whatever looks like a trail. It either leads somewhere, or to the cliff edge, which always presents great views. Being such a beautiful place, and with nowhere in particular to go, and no time restrictions, except "before it gets dark", we had a great time just walking. We must be starting to get travel weary as we also managed to watch a couple of episodes of House that Kai streamed onto the TV via a HDMI cable that we packed from Perth.Leggi altro
Our Taxi Did Not Come !!!
25 gennaio 2018, Spagna ⋅ 🌧 6 °C
After Cuenca, we were booked to catch a 6am bus to Toledo. Our apartment host booked the taxi for a 5.30am pick up. We waited till 5.38 before deciding to walk the 2.2km downhill to the bus station. Fortunately, we'd put our 4 suitcases into luggage lockers at Madrid Atocha Train Station and are traveling light with daypacks. We passed a pharmacy with a sign outside that showed current temperature, -2'C. Opps. We expected to go from taxi to bus to taxi and were not really layered for low temperatures. The half walk half run did very quickly warm us. We got to the front of the dark and closed bus office to see an oncoming bus. Whilst silently congratulating ourselves for just making the bus, (we were all too puffed to speak), we watched the bus pass us and turn the corner. What! We missed the bus! At 6am in deserted quiet streets, we were left standing in sub zero temperatures, and we missed the bus. The bus driver saw us and did not stop.
We need another plan. Grace tried to call the taxi company to price a taxi to Toledo. "No taxi go to Toledo. Taxi only to Cuenca." We needed another plan. We're needed to get out of the dark and quiet road. We needed to sit down and rethink, somewhere safe, and preferably warm. We walked back to the main road and found a bench to sit on across the road from a petrol station. Seat, safe, still freezing; 2 out of 3 ain't bad.
Eventually, the petrol station opened its doors, and Grace went across. The attendant called a taxi to take us to the train station. It was train to Madrid and then train to Toledo. We were not looking at getting to Toledo much before lunch time. The taxi arrived, and the driver agreed to take us to Toledo for €200. It was a 2 hour drive one way, and he'd have to return with an empty taxi. The reason we caught a 6am bus was that train tickets via Madrid would cost about €40 each. We tried the Chinese thing of bargaining on price, but very quickly agreed to €200. It was a wonderful ride. He was a great driver and we all had a nap on the way to Toledo. We were even delivered right to the doorstep of the cafe near our apartment so we could wait for our host in warmth and comfort. We happily paid his fare and gave him a small tip for coffee and cake (typical Spanish breakfast) before his drive back to Cuenca. He was really a nice man and seemed really pleased to have helped us.Leggi altro
Toledo
27 gennaio 2018, Spagna ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C
Toledo what an adventure , through windy streets and narrow walkways. When we finally arrived in Toledo after missing the bus.
We decided to explore the town. As the awesome foursome do when we arrive anywhere on our travels. We go on a walking tour to try and avoid getting lost. The walking tour took us through the Jewish Quarter of Toledo, which is a district of the city of Toledo where the Jews lived in the Middle Ages. It is my favourite part of the city. It has gorgeous souvenir shops and very yummy mazapan shops.
We only had 3 nights in Toledo so I would like to put it in one post. 4 of us got a tourist bracelet which gave us access to 7 of the mains sights of Toledo. Well worth getting it if you visit Toledo. It gives you access to different churches and a mosque which was a lot smaller then I thought.
My highlight of Toledo was the zip line . Adrenaline, excitement and scary . It’s the biggest zip line in Europe what an adrenaline rush. Over the river in toldeo beautiful day with blue skies.
Mum and Dudo treated us with an amazing lunch at a Michelin star restaurant at El Carmen De Montesion. It was a three course meal not just a three course meal 5 entrees and 3 main courses with two deserts with amazing flavours and different sorts of food from meats to seafood . They even were nice enough to change one of the dishes from Pork to venison because we don’t usually have venison at home.
After the small city of Toledo . We are on our way to Madrid for our last 5 nights before we head home.Leggi altro
Madrid
31 gennaio 2018, Spagna ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C
This is our second visit to Madrid. We came in Nov 2015, as the first stop of our first ever Europe experience, Spain and Portugal. This time, it will be the last stop of our second Europe experience, Italy and Spain. Both visits included 5 nights in Madrid.
We loved Madrid the first time round, and the love deepened this second visit. Our favourite churros and chocolate cafe, Chocolat in Calle Santa Maria is still as good, with additional "heart attack in a cup" combinations on their menu. Kai and I swoon over Bora Bora, a mocha made with their dreamily thick fudgy hot chocolate, strong coffee, condensed milk and whipped cream. Talk about swooning, Alfonso the owner was eye candy swoon worthy 2 years ago, and he is every bit so 2 years on. And, he remembers us. He doesn't speak any English, and is so shy that he just smiles. I'm sure his smiles are the secret ingredient in his food. It certainly lights us his little café. We communicate through his staff who translates for us. I have watched Alfonso interact with his staff and customers and have concluded that he is just the nicest, sweetest man ever. So, we go there for breakfast of churros, hot chocolate, patata tortilla ( potato omelette), coffee and Bora Bora (Kai and I hope to survive tomorrow morning's last dose). What is not in the menu but we do partake of in great amounts is the warmth and smiles from Alfonso. When he found out that it was Kai's birthday, he played "Happy Birthday" over the music system as he presented her with an enormous slice of his yummy chocolate cake. Kai was horrified that the happy birthday CD was in every conceivable language, and he left it playing all the time she was in the café. Most hilarious. He even whispered "Happy Birthday" to her in English.
We also revisited our next foodie haunt, Mas El Sur, for dinner. Again just as delicious as we remembered, and the staff are still lovely, although they are all different. Whilst having dinner there on our second last night, we met John, a gay guy from Philippines who now lives in Munich. He and his friend sat at the table next to us, and as the tables are quite close together, we got chatting. Within half an hour, we got the story of him and his family. It was most entertaining, and he was delightful dinner company. "Darlings, I've been to Perth, but what is there to do in Perth for a gay guy? So I had to. Had to, visit my friends in Melbourne and Sydney. Perth. It's so quiet, I can hear the birds!"
The other revisit we did was to Museo Reina Sofia and the Prado, both art galleries.Leggi altro
Madrid
2 febbraio 2018, Spagna ⋅ 🌙 4 °C
Madrid
This is our second visit to Madrid. We came in Nov 2015, as the first stop of our first ever Europe experience, Spain and Portugal. This time, it will be the last stop of our second Europe experience, Italy and Spain. Both visits included 5 nights in Madrid.
We loved Madrid the first time round, and the love deepened this second visit. Our favourite churros and chocolate cafe, Chocolat in Calle Santa Maria is still as good, with additional "heart attack in a cup" combinations on their menu. Kai and I swoon over Bora Bora, a mocha made with their dreamily thick fudgy hot chocolate, strong coffee, condensed milk and whipped cream. Talk about swooning, Alfonso the owner was eye candy swoon worthy 2 years ago, and he is every bit so 2 years on. He does not speak any English, so we communicate through his staff who translates for us. I have watched Alfonso interact with his staff and customers and have concluded that he is just the nicest, sweetest man ever. When he found out that it was Kai's birthday, he played "Happy Birthday" over the music system as he presented her with an enormous slice of his yummy chocolate cake with a candle. Kai was horrified that happy birthday played in every conceivable language, and was left playing all the time she was in the café. Most hilarious.
We also revisited our other foodie haunt, Mas El Sur, for dinner. Again just as delicious as we remembered, and the staff are lovely, although they are all different from 2015. Whilst having dinner there on our second last night, we met John, a gay guy from Philippines who now lives in Munich. He and his friend sat at the table next to us, and as the tables are quite close together, we got chatting. Within half an hour, we got the life story of him and his entire family. It was most entertaining, and he was delightful dinner company. "Darlings, I've been to Perth, but what is there to do in Perth for a gay guy? So I had to, Had to, visit my friends in Melbourne and Sydney. Perth. It's so quiet, I can hear the birds!"
We also paid our respects to our other Madrid acquaintances (the artworks) in the Museo Reina Sofia, Museo Sorolla, and Museo del Prado, all art galleries. Some familiar faces were there, and it was lovely to meet new ones. They were all still as captivating in their beauty and composition. The big change that we noticed that was that photography was not allowed anymore in the Prado. All the attendants said that it was only allowed in the main gallery, but no one seems to agree on where the main gallery was. Some said that it was in the basement, whilst others said that it was on the first level. So, we did not take any photos. Grace thought that we did progress through the gallery much faster not taking any photos. We were all there from 10am till 6pm, with about an hour for lunch. Grace and I retired after to a food court on the 9th floor of El Cortes Inglese to watch the last sun set on our wonderful 82 day holiday, and to await the girls who still had stamina to shop.Leggi altro
