Europe 2019

A 49-day adventure by Phil Read more

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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 24
Saturday, October 5, 2019 at 8:04 PM
🌙 20 °C
Altitude: 14 m
France Vieux-Port 43.29385, 5.3766843°17’38” N 5°22’36” E
Marseilles
October 5, 2019 in France ⋅ 🌙 20 °C
Arrived in Marseilles and found our apartment on the Rue Paradis. It was booked through booking.com, but it is more like an airbnb. It's very spacious and well appointed, with an enormous Samsung TV with a curved screen and super fast WiFi. Not the sort of features we expect from our price range. Then we couldn't find a sharp knife in the kitchen? We asked about it assuming someone had walked off with it, but no, they couldn't provide a sharp knife for reasons of security?
We only added in a couple of nights in Marseilles to fill in a bit of a gap in the planning, but I am pleased we did, it is quite a different experience. The North African influence is quite noticeable with touches of Istanbul thrown in. The feel on the street is quite different.Read more
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 25
Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 12:15 PM
⛅ 21 °C
Altitude: 8 m
France Université de la Méditerranée Aix-Marseille II 43.29541, 5.3615543°17’43” N 5°21’42” E
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Fort Saint-Jean plus
October 6, 2019 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
With our limited time in Marseille we nevera ventured very far from the old port. On both Saturday and Sunday the areas to the north and east of the port were alive with people, buskers, market stalls and cafes. We had a very enjoyable time poking around this old fort and the adjacent Place de Armes. Plenty of our favoured nooks and crannies to explore, just enough historical background and beautiful views of Marseille - all free and easy.
.Read more
Traveler That’s a good looking fort
10/10/19Reply
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 26
Monday, October 7, 2019 at 4:09 PM
⛅ 21 °C
Altitude: 144 m
France Cité de Carcassonne 43.20567, 2.3627243°12’20” N 2°21’46” E
Cite de Carcassonne
October 7, 2019 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
We are bidding France farewell and heading for Spain. To break the journey we decided to stop off at Carcassonne a medieval, walled city not to far above the border. The medieval cite is only part of the city of Carcassonne, but it was all that we had time for in our flying visit. It is pretty impressive and quite pleasant in this off season. We think it might be a bit crazy in the summer. Another hill settled a couple of hundred years BC and then occupied by the Romans and then the catholics, a familiar refrain. People still live in the cite, but it would be a strange place to live for sure.Read more
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 27
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 3:36 PM
⛅ 26 °C
Altitude: 95 m
France Cité de Carcassonne 43.21, 2.3643°12’36” N 2°21’36” E
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Chateau Comtal
October 8, 2019 in France ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
Back to the Cite de Carcassonne today to investigate the Chateau Comtal. This chateau wasn't part of the original cite, but as times became more fraught, the chateau became more heavily fortified. In the end it wasn't enough, but the effort was impressive.
We did walk down along the Aude River to city of Carcassonne for a quick look. But we were really here for the cite. I needed more space for photos, but what can I do?Read more
Traveler So pretty! Love the horses
10/10/19Reply
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 28
Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 12:59 PM
⛅ 23 °C
Altitude: 76 m
Spain Parc Central 41.98, 2.8116741°58’48” N 2°48’42” E
Girona apartment
October 9, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Avoir France, hola Espana.
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 29
Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 12:48 PM
⛅ 20 °C
Altitude: 82 m
Spain Basílica de Sant Feliu 41.98836, 2.8249441°59’18” N 2°49’30” E
Els Banys Arabs
October 10, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
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Day 29
Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 2:00 PM
⛅ 22 °C
Altitude: 112 m
Spain Centro Ciudad 41.98715, 2.8274541°59’14” N 2°49’39” E
Medieval Girona
October 10, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
We had a great day poking around this old section of Girona today. Except for all those steps. But what can you do? Girona is here because it's on a hill and could be defended. Such an interesting place - old buildings and remains thereof, of course, but lots of greenery as well. And history of course. The Romans arrived early and built some fortifications and a road which linked France and Spain (although obviously not called France and Spain back then) and the conflict started - the visigoths drove out the Romans and the Moors drove out the visigoths until Charlemagne came along and 'rescued' Girona from the Moors. More than 20 different sieges for lucky Girona over the following years resulting in the city being conquered 7 more times.Read more
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Day 30
Friday, October 11, 2019 at 11:00 AM
⛅ 19 °C
Altitude: 121 m
Spain Centro Ciudad 41.98667, 2.8283841°59’12” N 2°49’42” E
Muralles de Girona
October 11, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Today we made a full frontal assault on the walls of Girona. There are a couple of different sections of wall you can walk along. There are remnants of the Roman walls, but you can climb up and walk along a Carolingian or a medieval section. The Carolingian empire consisted of a Franco Roman alliance that did OK for a century and a bit in early medieval ages. We walked the slightly more recent medieval section the views were spectacular. The downside, as with most walls, lies in all the steps - up and up.Read more
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 30
Friday, October 11, 2019 at 3:00 PM
⛅ 26 °C
Altitude: 67 m
Spain Pont de les Peixateries Velles 41.9841, 2.8247341°59’3” N 2°49’29” E
Girona lite
October 11, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
The rest of our day was pretty low key. Two things you can need a break from on a long trip are restaurant meals and spectacular things. Our lovely little Girona apartment with its little kitchen and nearby shops has helped with the restaurant break and today we did some very untouristy noodling about which had nothing to do with these photos, but they needed a home.Read more
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 31
Saturday, October 12, 2019 at 3:55 PM
⛅ 23 °C
Altitude: 40 m
Spain Plaça de Gaudí 41.40425, 2.1747741°24’15” N 2°10’29” E
Sagrada Familia
October 12, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
We left Girona and our lovely, modern apartment today and we are back in a hotel room for three nights. Our only consolation lies in the fact that it is Barcelona outside our hotel door. We picked this hotel because it was comparatively cheap for Barcelona, but not too cheap and had good access to bus and metro. It came with the added bonus of being just up the road from Gaudi's masterpiece (or insane folly depending on who you ask) the Sagrada Familia. We were here 6 years ago and I have photos from then somewhere. I'm quite curious to compare and see how much progress they have made in the time. Unfortunately 201 3 was before Google was keeping yack of my photos for me so I will have to track them down myself. It's worth taking time to look at the photos on a computer screen if you can. All the whimsical details are worth checking out.Read more
Its awesome in its ugliness isn't it? I love it! Helen
10/13/19Reply
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 32
Sunday, October 13, 2019 at 11:00 AM
⛅ 22 °C
Altitude: 149 m
Spain Park Güell 41.41457, 2.1524141°24’52” N 2°9’9” E
Parc Guell
October 13, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 32
Sunday, October 13, 2019 at 4:17 PM
⛅ 24 °C
Altitude: 6 m
Spain la Ciutadella 41.3883, 2.1871541°23’18” N 2°11’14” E
Parc de la Ciutadella
October 13, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
The world needs more "bubble play"!! Looks like a great city! Beautiful photos as always. Helen
10/14/19Reply
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 33
Monday, October 14, 2019 at 11:00 AM
⛅ 22 °C
Altitude: 82 m
Spain Jardins Mossèn Costa i Llobera 41.36837, 2.1703841°22’6” N 2°10’13” E
Barcelona
October 14, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
We had an interesting day in Barcelona. The plan was simple - we would hop on the bus outside the hotel door, ride as far as we could towards the port cable car ride the cable car up on to Montjuic and have a poke around up there. Finally we could wend our way down again and make further plans depending on how the first part of the day went.
Problems began when the bus dumped everyone out about a third of the way to the cable car. It transpired that there were major political demonstrations to do with the Catalan independence movement and the bus was going no further. All efforts to find a metro which would take us to the cable car proved fruitless, so the plan was changed we would take the funicular up Montjuic and ride the cable car down to the beach. That started well, but when we got off the funicular we ended up in the wrong line (a specialty of mine) and so lost the wait time. Then we had to find the right cable car which took a while with a couple of missteps along the way. So not quite to plan, but quite a ride nevertheless.
The rest of the day was spent enjoying a relatively car free Barcelona. Before heading back to the hotel for a bit of rest before dinner and our flamenco and guitar show the lovely Palau de Musical.Read more
TravelerWhat an adventure!
10/15/19Reply
Phil DouglasYup
10/15/19Reply
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 34
Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at 10:01 AM
⛅ 17 °C
Altitude: 17 m
Spain Nord Bus Station 41.39416, 2.1822941°23’39” N 2°10’56” E
Estatione nord
October 15, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Bye, bye Barcelona - we love you still. A bus ride to Valencia for a change. 4 hour trip was just 10 euro each - hard to beat.
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 34
Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at 3:00 PM
☀️ 22 °C
Altitude: 24 m
Spain Plaza Redonda 39.47333, -0.3766739°28’24” N 0°22’36” W
Valencia
October 15, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
Valencia looks pretty good so far! We have only had a quick look around, settled into our Airbnb and done a bit of grocery shopping, but the city looks very promising indeed. Girona was quite interesting but maybe a bit short on things to do for a longer stay, Barcelona was Barcelona loud and chaotic and wonderful, but maybe a bit too much for us these days, but Valencia seems like it could just be the sweet spot.Read more
TravelerSo pretty! Looks like you got some great weather too!
10/19/19Reply
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Europe 2019 Phil Douglas
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Day 35
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 11:00 AM
☀️ 19 °C
Altitude: 21 m
Spain Santos Juanes 39.47357, -0.3788239°28’25” N 0°22’44” W
Merkat Central
October 16, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
First up today is the central market. We are practically living next door, but we got here too late yesterday as it closes at 3 pm each day. The market itself was very similar to the Lyon market ss far as the wonderful array of food and the lack of any cheap crap. Food is taken very seriously in these parts.
The market building, on the other hand, was an attraction all on its own. You would be happy to go and see it if it was just empty.Read more
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Day 35
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 11:43 AM
☀️ 21 °C
Altitude: 29 m
Spain Museo Nacional de Cerámica y Artes Suntuarias González Martí 39.47285, -0.3746139°28’22” N 0°22’29” W
Museu Nacional de Ceràmica i Arts Suntuà
October 16, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
You can tell I'm having fun with these names. The second part of our plan for our first full day in Valencia involved a walking tour sketched our for us at the tourism office which got us around to see some of the important monuments around the city. We continue to be so impressed by what a beautiful place Valencia is. We didn't go on many places today, but the streets and plaças are just breathtaking.Read more
Awesome photos! I can see why you love it! Wearing out your runners yet! Helen
10/18/19Reply
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Day 35
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 12:00 PM
☀️ 21 °C
Altitude: 23 m
Spain Plaça de l'Ajuntament 39.46994, -0.3772539°28’12” N 0°22’38” W
City Hall
October 16, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
All city halls should look so good - we even went inside. The view from the balcony was very nice.
TravelerThat’s a city hall?! Very cute
10/19/19Reply
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Day 35
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 7:00 PM
☁️ 24 °C
Altitude: 27 m
Spain Escalante, Teatro Infantil 39.47633, -0.3790439°28’35” N 0°22’45” W
Parroquia de San Nicolás de Bari y San P
October 16, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
That's quite a name, but the Church of St Nicholas was quite a place. We generally give the interior of churches and associated structures unless they offer something different (or they are free and we need a rest). We probably would of taken a look into Sagrada Familia if the line hadn't been so long, but generally no. This one sounded interesting, however and it proved to be just that. I was hoping the photos would turn out better, but the baroque style over the Gothic structure was quite effective.Read more
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Day 36
Thursday, October 17, 2019 at 12:10 PM
⛅ 25 °C
Altitude: 10 m
Spain L'Umbracle 39.45623, -0.3545739°27’22” N 0°21’16” W
City of Arts and Sciences
October 17, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
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Day 36
Thursday, October 17, 2019 at 11:00 PM
🌙 17 °C
Altitude: 27 m
Spain The botanic garden of the Universidad de Valencia 39.47816, -0.3852339°28’41” N 0°23’7” W
Cafe del Duende
October 17, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 17 °C
We had been looking around for a show of some sort and noticed that there was a cafe not too far away that had a flamenco show nearly every night. After our home cooked meal t tonight we decided to wall over and see if we could get in for the 9:30 show. It was sold out but they said there would be a second show if we wanted to come back. We had no idea really, but the shows were even later on the weekend so we decided to grab a couple of tickets and go for it and it turned out to be a winner. The cafe was quite small - maybe 60 capacity - everybody got a pretty good seat with a reasonable chance to see the action and the action was quite good. Very enjoyable night even if we didn't get home until nearly one!Read more
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Day 37
Friday, October 18, 2019 at 3:16 PM
⛅ 28 °C
Altitude: 57 m
Spain Plaça Antiga Moreria 39.68086, -0.2752939°40’51” N 0°16’31” W
Sagunto
October 18, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Hmmm! I'm impresed that you were up so late! The music would wake you up once it started no doubt! Nothing quite like Spanish guitar is there?
10/18/19Reply
Keep forgetting the sign-off before I hit 'enter'! Helen
10/18/19Reply
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Day 38
Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 1:00 PM
⛅ 25 °C
Altitude: 10 m
Spain Malvarrosa Beach 39.47913, -0.3240139°28’45” N 0°19’26” W
Playa de la Malvarrosa
October 19, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
It's hard not to be a bit of a beach snob when you live in Australia. So we set off this morning for the beach with fairly low expectations, but it's such a big part of Valencia we had to go have a look. It was a beautiful day and the Mediterranean was in full glory. The beach was pretty much what we expected, but the was a lot of it. It was fairly busy for the middle of October and everyone seemed to be happy, so we were too.Read more
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Day 38
Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 3:18 PM
⛅ 28 °C
Altitude: 27 m
Spain Llotja de la Seda 39.47468, -0.3784439°28’29” N 0°22’42” W
La Lonja de la Seda
October 19, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
La Lonja de la Seda is so much nicer a name (especially if you can pronounce it properly) than The Silk Exchange, but either way it was a pretty impressive building. We seem to be following our own little Silk Road here after staying in the silk quarter in Lyon we are practically across from the silk exchange here in Valencia. Certainly silk played an important role in the history of both cities.Read more
TravelerI’m getting a lot of decorating inspiration
10/19/19Reply
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Day 38
Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 6:26 PM
⛅ 22 °C
Altitude: 29 m
Spain Museo Nacional de Cerámica y Artes Suntuarias González Martí 39.47282, -0.374639°28’22” N 0°22’29” W
Museu de Ceramica
October 19, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
After the silk exchange visit it was time for a little grocery shopping (home cooked meal tonight) and then home for a coffee and a biscuit and get up for a bit.
Then we kept the museum theme going with a visit to the national ceramics museum or González Martí National Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Arts of you prefer. The museum is located in the Palacio del Marqués de Dos Aguas reputedly the best example of baroque architecture in Spain. No idea about that but you would have to say the building was as at least as big a drawcard as the ceramics and they were very good.Read more
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