Valencia

From Barcelona we went to Valencia by train. It was about 3 hour journey and we reached Valencia around lunch time. So the first thing we did after checking in to our accomodation was to look for the food market and have lunch there. The market, Mercado Central, was not as big as the one we visited in Barcelona but it was quite busy. We tried quite a few things as well as the famous paella. We then continued by walking around the old city following the Lonely Planet's walking tour. We visited the square, took some pictures of the Cathedral and enjoyed our walk.

That day was happened to be World Tourism Day and therefore public transportations such as trains, trams and buses were free. We also got a taste of Valencian Horchata (or Orxata in Catalan) which, I just found out, is made of tigernut. I initially thought it was made of almond. It's an interesting drink, I have to say, very nutty and sweet. I quite liked the taste after a few sips.

Nearby Torres de Serranos walking towards the fine art museum, El Museo de las Bellas Artes de Valencia San Pío V, we passed by 5 huge football fields and we saw people gathered around watching or playing football there. I just thought 'Wow'. I had never seen 5 football fields side by side like that before. We then finished our day at the museum before going for paella dinner.

A part from visiting the old quarter and the museum, there was nothing much to see in Valencia. I asked my friend why we put this city in our itinerary and she said it's because one of my friend wanted to go to the aquarium and due to work related issue she cancelled her trip with us. I supposed after we put it as a city to visit, we never thought much about cancelling any cities. Looking at what we visited I thought we could skip Valencia but maybe we didn't have enough time to appreciate it...

I must say though the paella I had in Valencia was the best I've tasted. Too bad we forgot to take photo of it until it's finished.

Valencia's Mercado Central. This photo was taken by HM.

Some of the food we had from Mercado Central

The Cathedral and Bell Tower from a distance

Details of the Cathedral

Torres de Serranos

I just have to show you this. This is from google map. We were crossing the footpath bridge (the blue dot) and you can see there the 5 football fields. They're huge!

Beware of Pickpockets in Las Ramblas

Las Ramblas is always busy and crowded and therefore it's good to watch out for your belongings. On the last few days back in Barcelona, my wallet was stolen from my bag. I remember all of us were watching a headless street performer sitting down with his head on the table. A lot of people gathered around there and I think that was the time my wallet was stolen. And then we continue walking towards Liceu metro station. I only realised I lost my wallet when I was to buy metro tickets. 

I then quickly rushed back retracing my steps in case I dropped it although I knew it's impossible. I went back to the shop I went shopping before and back to the area where the headless street performer was sitting. But I couln't find my wallet. 

At the point where I sort of accepted that my wallet had gone and thought about what I had to do next, I saw a policeman and a policewoman standing there looking at me. I thought since they were looking at me I might as well tell them about my lost wallet. And that was I did. I told them "I lost my wallet". And he suddenly took out his whistle and blowed it towards a man who was walking away but not too far away from us. He came rushing back towards us and I saw in his hand he was holding my driver's licence and he asked "Are you Josephine?". And I said yes. Apparently, he's an under cover police. He and his partner caught the pickpocket who stole my wallet. It was a lady in her 40s I think. She was caught in the act and my wallet was one of the items she stole. 

I guess the 2 uniformed policeman and policewoman were shown my photo on my driver's licence and were standing there looking for me. That's why he was looking at me when I was passing by. 

After being shown my wallet, I then followed the under cover policemen and went to the police station nearby filling up some forms. And voila! I got my wallet back! I just couldn't believe it! I was so lucky. 

And that's the story of my lost and found wallet.

Antoni Gaudi's Work in Barcelona

Another interesting thing about Barcelona is the people there worship Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect well known for his unique and distinguished designs. His buildings are everywhere around Barcelona. And it's not surprising really, I went into one of his building, Casa Mila (also known as La Pedrera), and was very amazed with what I saw. I don't think I had ever seen something like that before. In his time he already thought about ergonomic designs and use of nature forms in his creations.

I also went to the unfinished church, La Sagrada Familia. I had not seen a church with the kind of details presented there and I think it's definitely the most exceptional building in Barcelona. The outside area was in a better shape than the inside but the church is practically still under construction. Looking at workers working around the church, I had to agree with one of my friend's comment that it was a very historical moment and that when it's completed and we're still around we could tell our kids that we were there when it's being built.

The last Gaudi's work I visited was Park Guell. Park Guell, a UNESCO Heritage Site, is a park with a unique designs of architecture. There is not much activities you can do there apart from strolling around, looking at the building structures and designs in the park and sitting on the long and wavy bench with a very vibrant and colourful ceramic designs. Park Guell is also a great place to view Barcelona from high up towards the sea. In short period of time, I became one of those people in Barcelona who admire him and his creations.

Travel tips:

1. When in Barcelona, it's worth visiting Gaudi's Casa Mila, La Sagrada Familia, and Park Guell. If you haven't seen any of Gaudi's buildings before, then it's good to start with Casa Mila. There you will find a museum explaining his works and the roof terrace is just breathtaking. You have to pay to get into the first two buildings but it's free admission to Park Guell except for the Gaudi's house located inside the park. Another building worth going into is probably Casa Batllo. I only took photos of the building from outside. Click here to see list of Gaudi's buildings.

2. Nearest metro station to Casa Mila is Passeig de Gracia - Green Line, L3.

3. Nearest metro station to La Sagrada Familia is Sagrada Familia - Blue Line, L5 and Purple Line, L2.

4. The best way to get to Park Guell is to take bus no 24 and it will take you up the hill and stop in front of the park. You can catch this bus from Placa the Catalunya and let the bus driver know to tell you where to stop. If you take metro (Lesseps - Green Line, L3), you will have to walk up the hill.

Casa Mila (La Pedrera)

The Roof Terrace of Casa Mila

Casa Batllo

The many features of La Sagrada Familia from outside. There are just too many details for me to capture.

The inside of La Sagrada Familia

Park Guell

Gaudi's house at Park Guell

Oh How I Love Barcelona!

I took Ryan Air flying from London to Girona. It was just me and a friend, and later we were going to meet another 2 friends in Barcelona. From Girona airport we took a bus to Barcelona's main bus station for about an hour and a half and then we continued on by metro to our B&B which is located nearby Las Ramblas, Barcelona's main tourist area.

We walked around Las Ramblas enjoying the atmosphere there. Las Ramblas is a long walkway that's streched from Catalunya to Drassanes metro station. There are all sorts of shops, restaurants, bars, street performers as well as flock of people (mainly tourists, I'd say) along the walkway. There are stalls selling birds and other animals in one part of the walkway, around Catalunya metro station, and then flowers stalls somewhere in the middle and souvenir stalls towards the Drassanes metro station. It's very, very lively. I just loved walking and browsing around the stretch as well as people watching. One thing about it though, I find the restaurants on the stretch are too expensive for what they serve. I also think the shops on the Las Ramblas stretch are overpriced. I was surprised to find a 1Lt bottled water that costs over €3 and most of the shops there sell it around that price. It's just ridiculous.

Shopping was another activity we did in Barcelona and it was fun! There are a lot of shops around Placa Catalunya and on the small streets along Las Ramblas. You can get almost everything in this area. The most interesting shopping place I went to was Mercat St. Josep La Bouqueria. It's a food market selling variety of fruits, meat, seafood, and the lot. It's full of character and literary a very colorful market.

Travel tips:

1. Barcelona Bus between Girona and Barcelona. Tickets can be purchased at Girona airport.

2. We stayed at Vrabac Bed and Breakfast in Barcelona. The location is superb (nearest metro station is Liceu - Green Line, L3). It's only a few steps away from Las Ramblas. The place is warm and has got a character, it felt like living in local apartment. It's also clean and very secure. They provide free tapas on certain days where guests can meet and chat with each other. The only two bad points (and they are very minor) are it's shared bathroom and it's on level 2 and 4 with no lift and many steps.

3. Barcelona metro map.

4. Mercat St. Josep La Bouqeria is located at Las Ramblas. Nearest metro station is Liceu - Green Line, L3.

It was raining the first few days we arrived Barcelona. In this photos: Las Ramblas, the floor pattern of Barcelona, my friend posing with a street performer, Port of Barcelona at night, birds everywhere in Placa Catalunya, and Water view from Port of Barcelona.

Music is everywhere around Barcelona. I just love the atmosphere. Photo at the bottom left: the old man was dancing following the music. 

Some of the food items sold at Mercat St. Josep La Bouqueria. These photos were taken by my friend HM.

La Font de Canaletes (Canaletes Fountain) at Las Ramblas. The rough translation of the words on the floor at this fountain says: If you drink the water from this fountain you shall always love Barcelona. Away you go, always return.

Spain in 2.5 Weeks

I haven't done much with my blog lately as I just came back from my long awaited Spain trip. After I came back, I got what people call 'post-holiday blues' which I named it 'Spain blues'. I was not in the mood to do anything at all especially in the first few days when I was back. The weather in London was cloudy and it was raining most of the time. In comparison, the weather in Spain was very good most days I was there. It was cold at night time but generally nice and sunny in the day time.

And I was torn between continuing the Angkor trip and starting the Spain trip story. It's not easy to continue the Angkor trip as I was just back from Spain with all the memorable journey in my mind. Even until today, I'm still feeling it. So I decided to start with Spain trip and continue Angkor trip later.

And now here goes, the itinerary for 2.5 weeks in Spain:

- Barcelona (2 days)

- Valencia (1 day)

- Cuenca (1 day)

- Toledo (1 day)

- Avila (1 day)

- Segovia (1 day)

- Madrid (2 days)

- Sevilla (2 days)

- Ronda (1 day)

- Nerja (1 day)

- Granada (1 day)

- And back to Barcelona (2 days)

It's the six of us travelling - all girls. Two were lost in transit on the first 5 days :-). And by that I meant they were only joining us from day 6. There was a mixed up with their visa applications and they could only enter Spain on day 6. So they had their own trip to Edinburgh in Scotland and then joined us in Segovia.

We moved very fast from place to place taking trains and buses as well as driving a rental car. It's a very tiring trip, I must say, but I enjoyed all of it. And we had a lot of good food and wines. I guess it comes to no surprise as Spanish food is just very delicious. But during the trip, I felt we ate too much sometimes. I always felt too full after meals. It's yummy but it was a bit too much for me. But overall, the trip was very enjoyable and memorable to me.