Au revoir, France

Our last day in France... Manon took us for a quick walking tour of the city of Tours, especially the medieval old town. Its yet another amazing place, buildings from so many different ages surviving and being used in a vibrant living city. We saw examples of Roman, Gothic, Renaissance, all coexisting together. The angles of some of the house walls are interesting!! A highlight was when Manon took us down a little cobbled lane behind shops, past the rubbish bins, to a tiny opening into a passage under the medieval houses. The passage was originally *between* the buildings, but as the houses have started to lean over the centuries, they have come to touch and now hold each other up, and so closing over the top of the passage!
Manon then dropped us at the train station for the trip directly to Charles de Gaulle airport, where we are currently waiting for our flights home. It was sad saying goodbye to Manon, she has been such a wonderful guide, we would have loved to bring her home with us! We've had an amazing time in Spain and France, and have seen so much that is new to us, it will take a while to process it all. And we're proud we've got through sharing very small hotel rooms for 30 days and are still best buddies:):) But we are also exhausted, and desperately looking forward to seeing our loved ones (dogs are included in that, of course).

Villandry

Friday was Villandry day - Manon picked us up for the drive to this stunning chateau with famous gardens. We were again very lucky, in that there were no crowds, and we could easily see everything we wanted. Manon explained Villandry is a Rennaissance chateau, so more recent and less ornate than the gothic / Rennaissance chateaux we have already seen, but it was plenty ornate for us:) The rooms are beautifully furnished, and often we were the only people in a room, so could see details of the furnishing without fighting crowds. But Villandry is more known for its gardens, and it's reputation is justified. The most beautiful vegetable snd flower gardens we could imagine, plus maze, swan lake, snd a stunning children's playground. We Wandered around the gardens for ages.
Friday night was a free night, so back to our hotel room to watch the Olympic opening ceremony (in French).
We will upload photos but it might take us a day or so to catch up. We're off to the city of Tour this morning, then we say goodbye to Manon and catch the train directly to Charkes de Gaulle airport, for our trip home. We'll update this blog if we can get free wifi at the airport, but if not, expect a few days wait...

Ambling around Ambiose

Today (Thursday), was spent in Ambiose, all within a 10 minute walk of our hotel. Our guide for today, Letitia, picked us up in the morning (Manon had another commitment today), for the short walk to Clos Luce castle, given to Leonardo da Vinci by his great friend King Francois (who lived in Ambiose castle). He gave da Vinci the castle and grounds plus a mega salary, just for the pleasure of his conversation, and da Vinci lived here until his death. Many of his inventions were designed here, and they are not only illustrated throughout the castle, but demonstrated with large working models throughout the park, for children to play with and explore. So Clos Luce is both an ancient castle worth visiting in its own right, and an interactive memorial park dedicated to the genius of da Vinci.
We then strolled to Ambiose chateau (castle), 5 minutes away, to explore inside the chateau (we had visited the grounds for the reenactment last night) and admire the beautiful (and strategic) view over the Loire river. Again, lots of reference to Francois and da Vinci, who is really revered here, and who is buried in the chapel at the chateau. Lunch was in a delightful local patisserie, with a refreshingly light meal, before a free afternoon.
Dinner was the complete opposite:) we headed off n foot with map and pre-paid voucher in hand, expecting a mid-range restaurant, but got inside an amazing gastronomic experience! Our voucher entitled us to 3 courses from a semi-set menu, plus a bottle of wine, but we were instead offered 4 courses when we explained we didn't want the wine. What they didn't tell us was that we actually got 6 courses, with an unexpected tasting plate for starters, and another tasting plate (5 items each) of sweets as a pre-dessert course. Add the generous plate of chocolates with coffee, and unlimited bread, and it's fair to say we are currently lying down in front of the tv to recover. All of it was exquisite, both in taste and presentation, and made more fun by a gorgeous little waitress with a great sense of humour who was happy to explain everything to us.

Exploring the Loire valley

Strap yourself in for a long one - we packed so much in over the past day and a half, we both have flat batteries in our cameras / phones, so luckily we have a free afternoon today to catch up. First off, we started with a huge breakfast in our very posh boutique hotel (silver service), then our guide Manon picked us up for the drive to Chernonceau. This outing started with a delightful boat trip n the river Cher - so peaceful and beautiful. One point of interest - Cher river has a species of carp which can grow to 2.3 meters, and eats ducks - a point that the kinder kids on our trip found alarming:) Our boat took us *under* Chernonceau chateau - this is a palatial castle built on a bridge, so best appreciated from the water. And we had just the most perfect day to see it - clear blue skies and still waters. Our cute boat guide even entertained us with a flute recital, to further add to the atmosphere.
After leaving the boat, we entered the grounds of Chernonceau, checked out the beautiful flower gardens (every room of the chateau has fresh flowers every day), then took our seats at L'Orangerie restaurant for a fine dining, 4 course extravagance. We only managed 3 courses, and even that was an effort, but such beautifully presented and delicious food! Then onto the chateau itself - a royal residence originally the home of Diane de Poitiers, (mistress of King Henry II), then on the king's death, seized by his wife Catherine Medici. Both used it for palatial entertaining, and it's not hard to see why. Chernonceau became a hospital during WWI, and also played a critical role during WWII, when one side of the river was occupied but the other side was free.
Leaving Chernonceau, Manon drove us to Chaumont, which is where Diane moved in exile. It is on a stunning point overlooking the river, and with the grandest stables we've ever seen. Racing back to Amboise, we checked in for an early dinner (supposed to be 3 courses but we successfully begged for a single course of salad), before heading off for a balloon ride over the valley. This was originally scheduled for later in the week, but schedules were shuffled to get the best conditions. And we're so glad they did - it was just the perfect evening for a balloon flight! So we got to see Chernonceau again, this time from above. Charles our pilot kept us low while we moved over the castle and gardens, then took us up to 1000m for more distant views of the whole Loire region. Just stunning - cant even begin to describe it... You'll just have to look at our photos, and they don't do it justice.
You might think that is enough for one day, but no, we managed to pack one more event in. Ann had noticed a temporary grandstand peeking over the high walls of Amboise chateau from our bedroom window, and on asking, we found that the local villagers put on a re-enactment of key events in their chateau's history. So we managed to get last minute tickets, and made it back into Amboise just in time for their 10pm start, and again, so glad we did this!! A cast of hundreds is involved, and all acting, costumes, props and lighting etc is done by locals, including little children. The key story was told by the court jester, in French, but we picked up key events, from the death of one king (Charles VIII)through the succession, marriage etc of Francois I, including the arrival of Leonardo da Vinci (a great friend of Francois). Scenes included the king's wedding, with dancing, performing horses, and children performing acrobatics - it was all done so professionally we were so impressed.
So a long day saw us crawl back home in the early hours absolutely exhausted, but we couldn't get the smiles off our faces:)

The Loire Valley

We said goodbye to Paris and travelled to St. Pierre des Corps, in the Loire Valley, for our customized tour-for-two. Our guide Manon met us at the station, and we already love her to bits:) She is a recent Uni graduate (majoring in tour guiding), and this is her first summer as a guide. She will be looking after us all week. We started with a 3 course lunch in a little town called Vouvray, before exploring a winery where the wine is made and stored in tunnels dug into the limestone cliffs. Vouvray is one of those areas (like Champagne) that produces a protected type of white wine, only 8 villages can used the Viuvray name, and their wine has to be made to very specific methods. Ann enjoyed tasting a few of their wines, and Debbi bought a bottle for Simon (but don't tell him).
Then it was time to check in at our hotel, and what a delightful place it is! Very olde building (foot-thick walls), but very posh looking. Our room is large by France standards, (although still not large enough to store a suitcase), and we have a giant ensuite, with huge spa bath. Our tiny window even has a view of Amboise chateau (castle). We did get a peek at some of the medieval lanes of Amboise on our way to dinner (another 3 course meal), but have time to explore further later in the week.

Monet's garden

Our last day in Paris was spent getting out of Paris - to the little village of Giverney, home of Monet's house and garden, and scene of his famous waterlillies paintings. The train trip to Vernon was fun - first class travel (again), chatting to 4 other Australian women and an American couple, all heading to the same place. It was fascinating to hear their travel experiences, especially the two Melbourne women who have been following the Tour around France for the past week. At Vernon, we caught a bus shuttle to Giverney along the beautiful Eure river, then took our time exploring the magical gardens. So much more beautiful than either of us imagined. Time for a lovely lunch at a local restaurant, and to explore the village, before heading home again.

Who is following us?

OK, we know most of those viewing our blog are in Australia, with at least one in New Zealand and one in Switzerland. But we're curious about the other followers we have - apart from the odd viewer in Iran, Korea and USA, we seem to have a regular viewer in Russia? Is this someone we know??

Our Tour de France day!!

We saw the Tour de France!! We knew there would be enormous crowds, and were warned we wouldn't see anything, so were tempted to watch instead from our local bridge, since the Tour was entering Paris right by our hotel, but we decided that it was worth the risk to trek into town and brave the crowds to be part of the final laps, and are very glad we did:) Many people were staking out their spots from 8am (the riders arrived at 4.30), but we got to the bottom of the Champs Elysee just after 1pm, and got a pretty good spot 3 back from the rails, so could see between people in front. And we only had 3 hours standing in the sun!
One of the best parts of the day is the publicity caravan - something you don't get to see on TV. This is a parade of over 200 vehicles (floats, trucks etc) of the Tour sponsors, usually giving out freebies along the route (but not when they get to Paris). They drive along the Champs Elysee, zig-zagging from side to side, all playing loud music or sounding horns or alarms, and with people waving out every window and strapped to the roof etc - even the gendarmes!! It took over 45 minutes to pass, doing their lap of the Champs Elysee, so really helped to create a fun atmosphere (and list of noise).
Huge numbers of British people here to see their first ever Tour winner, with the bonus of another Brit winning today's stage - apparently thousands came over on the Eurostar last night and are returning tonight, so we can just imagine the party on the train tonight. We celebrated Wiggins' win with takeaway Grand Marnier crepes in the park:)

Lovin' the Louvre

Expecting the promised two-hour queues for tickets, we braced ourselves and headed off to the Louvre for the day. Here's a handy tip - when you leave the Louvre Metro station, look out for the little gift shop that sells entry tickets - with a queue of about 5 people for 3 ticket sellers, so only a 2 minute wait. That not only means you avoid the ticket queue, but you also get priority at the entry itself, so skip two queues!! What holiday luck to find that by accident!
The Louvre was so much better than we expected - although there were thousands of people there, you could still get close to nearly all the major pieces, with the only exception being the Mona Lisa, and we still managed to easily get to the barriers for that. There were plenty of comfortable seats available in most galleries, toilets that didn't have queues, and cafes dotted around the galleries. So we easily managed to see the major pieces we were interested in, and enjoy the whole experience. Ann couldn't resist accosting a handsome young man she met down in the mediaeval basement - amazing how she can spot an Essendon supporter anywhere! So as we moved through the galleries, he was updating us with scores being texted by his brother at the game (unfortunately bad news though).
After the museum, we couldn't resist the fun fair outside, braving the ferris wheel (check out our photos on Flickr!), and continued the relaxing day in the Tuileries gardens. We capped off the day with dinner at our local pub (under our hotel room), where our charming waiters are now giving us French pronunciation lessons!

Chartres cathedral

What a relief after the heat and crowds of yesterday: today dawned overcast and cool, and we headed out of Paris to Chartres to check out the famous cathedral. And not only was it worth the visit, it was practically deserted of the ubiquitous crowds, and free entry! Chartres is famed for the labyrinth set into the floor of the church, and we were surprised to find it covered with chairs, rather than cleared for those who wanted to walk it. We succumbed and joined our first tour group of our trip - the only way to get access to the crypts under the cathedral, so we joined 25 others on a French-only guided tour of the underground chapels, some parts from the 4th century, and 12th century frescos. Together with the incredibly-comfortable first-class train travel, we found today such a pleasant and relaxing contrast to yesterday.

Versailles

The weather forecast was too good to spend in museums, so we gaily headed out of Paris to Versailles, to explore the famous palace and gardens. Our overall impression? The palace is certainly spectacular, and the gardens beautiful, but the organizers seem to have spent energy designing the most inefficient systems to ensure you cannot possibly enjoy your visit:( of course, we are here in peak season, and we did take our time getting started today, so arrived with the worst of the crowds, but it still was a lesson in how not to do things. We caught the train to Versailles, and the palace is just a short walk from the station, but then we took 3 hours to get in. First you have to queue for tickets (in the sun), then you have to join a longer queue to get in. After standing for 30 mns in the first queue, an official told groups to split up - one person queue for tickets while the other hold a place in the queue to get in. great plan, which saved us an extra half hour, but we do wish they had explained that first. So, by the time we eventually gained access to the Palace, we were hot, thirsty and sunburnt. So not really in the mood to enjoy the state apartments in a huge crowd of equally not and thirsty people. The rooms we saw were certainly impressive - every ceiling an extravagant work of art, every wall covered in art work, gilt and marble, and even the doors covered in ornate giltwork. It must have been the height of fashion at the time, but seen through 21stC eyes, very 'over-the-top'. There was only so much gilt we could take, so we skipped the Dauphin's apartments and headed out for the gardens, with a detour via the 'Grand Cafe' - a crappy takeaway selling stale baguettes.
The trouble with Versailles gardens though, is that they are very ornate displays of formal garden beds, so don't include shade or seats. The best option seemed to be the Petit Train, at least it offered a seat while we toured the gardens. BIG MISTAKE! This was Versailles inefficiencies at its best - queuing for over 30 mins waiting for a train, then a ticket seller who was so slow and grumpy selling tickets that the train ended up leaving half empty! So it was nearly an hour before we got on. We did make friends with a group of Americans who needed two extra people to qualify for a group discount, so we didn't waste as much money as we could have. Then the journey was equally disappointing - rather than take you through the gardens, it took you 'around' them, dropping people at key sites. But the queues of people waiting to get on at those sites deterred us from getting off. Overall, we spent 10 minutes looking at the gardens, then couldn't wait to get out of there.

Up, up and...up even higher

Tuesday was Eiffel tower day - we were incredibly lucky to get summit lift tickets online last week, when most tickets are booked out weeks ahead. Queues for those without tickets were 2-3 hours waiting, and even with our prized tickets, it still took us nearly an hour to get to the summit. (Of course, we could have climbed the 1100 steps, but you had to queue for that too). First a lift to the second floor, then change lifts (with the inevitable queue), for the incredible trip straight up to the summit. How amazing is the view from here?? We both thought we might be a little nervous, but you just get so rapt up with the view, you don't get a chance to worry about anything other than maybe dropping a camera over the edge! We had great fun identifying everywhere we have been, where we sat in the park for lunch, and yes, you can see our hotel!! We were also lucky with the weather, a perfect summer's day, and just a slight breeze to keep the temperature down. On the way down, we stopped for a while on the second floor, and we're surprised to find souvenir shops and cafes! So we enjoyed an excellent baguette halfway up the Eiffel tower!
After the excitement of our Eiffel tower experience, we again parted company to check out different attractions. Debbi walked for an hour to the Musee d'Orsay, to check out the work of the Impressionists, but after an hour queuing in the blazing sun, could not see the artwork for the crowds, so quickly gave up and walked home - at least a lot of pedometer steps!
Ann had a more successful day - after further shopping on the Champs Elysee, she headed to Palace Garnier (the Opera House), which is so opulent - gold and marble everywhere, marble staircases, amazing ceilings and huge chandelier - and even better, it wasn't crowded, so she absolutely loved it.

The Seine, plus....

Today started with a much-needed sleep-in and leisurely start, but ended up anything but. We took a midday boat cruise along the Seine - it was OK, but we did feel a bit like sheep being herded onto the boat, shown a few sites, then herded off. After a spot of lunch, we hiked to the Champs Elysee on foot, and then happily went our separate ways for the rest of the afternoon:
DEBBI: The Champs Elysee is somewhere I would quite happily never return to! It is a beautiful wide avenue with stunning trees, but lined with ostentatious brand shops (eg Swarovski's crystal staircase, and queues just to get into Loius Vuitton), and overwhelming crowds, noise and traffic - omg the traffic!! Nevertheless, it must be braved to get to the Arc de Triomphe, which was my destination for the day. I climbed the 200+ steps to the top, so could look back down on the crowds for a welcome respite from the noise. I then walked (and walked) back to the river and along the waterfront to our hotel, exploring numerous parks, bridges and monuments on the way. A new personal best on my pedometer!
ANN: I was on the hunt for perfume, a particular brand called Sephora, which is a huge department store of just perfume and more perfume. The staff were fantastic, and my mission was successful, including a few freebies thrown in. I explored a few other shops - Zara and Gap - then headed off via taxi to Sacre Couer, the white church. This is on a hilltop (the Hill of Martyrs), overlooking Paris. It's 125 years old, and just beautiful inside - a stunningly painted domed ceiling. I sneaked a photo and was told off - no snaps allowed:( The whole location was amazing, but also very crowded. Then I took the funicular down the hill to Marche St. Pierre, and found an incredible 'street of fabric' - shop after shop selling different fabrics, their wares displayed on the street, and lots of hawkers. I then successfully navigated my way home, via three different Metro lines, and staggered in around 6pm, very proud of my efforts!

A day in Dijon

Despite our late night on Bastille Day, we were up with the birds this morning to head off to Dijon for the day, to catch up with Debbi's friends, Mark & Mary (Healesville ex-pats living in Basel). Our trip on the Metro (en route to the main station for the super-fast country train) showed many revellers still on their way home:)
We arrived in Dijon early morning, with an hour to kill, so took in a visit to a surprisingly good (and free) archeology museum, with a fascinating display of Roman relics in their enormous cellars. We then met Mark & Mary, who took us to a delightfully quirky local restaurant. The menu was completely in French, so we were all reliant on Mary's excellent skills to translate and ask questions for us. We loved the manager's response when we asked what size were the salads - she raced to the far corner of the restaurant, grabbed the plate of another diner, who had her fork in hand ready to start eating, and raced the poor woman's meal over to us to inspect!! Luckily everyone took itin good spirit - the restaurant appeared to be a favorite with locals, and for good reason - the food was excellent (including the salads!).
Lunch was followed by a stroll through the old town - fascinating little lanes with half-timbered buildings, crooked walls, and patterned tiled roofs - before we were dropped back at the station for our return trip to Paris. A lovely day in Dijon - and yes, we do have the mustard to prove it:)

Bastille Day #2

After our afternoon siesta, we set off full of anticipation to try to catch a glimpse of the famed Bastille Day fireworks show. We decided to head for the Trocadero - a high open area between 2 museums on the banks of the Seine immediately opposite the Eiffel tower. Our plans were to head back along the river (away from the tower) until we could find a view. We got to the Trocadero before 9pm (2 hours before the show was expected to start), and were delighted to find we could just squeeze in for a fantastic view of the tower, from the road in front of the open square (all roads in the area were closed to traffic), and noticed that the actual square was fenced off, but didn't realise until much later that this was because most of the fireworks were launched from *our* side of the river, rather than the tower itself! So we had close to the best position in Paris! 2 hours standing (following on from 3 hours on our feet earlier in the day) was exhausting, but absolutely worth it!
Despite the huge crowds, we were impressed with how good natured everyone was, very few incidents, and so many police, that we felt completely safe, and had no qualms about walking back to our hotel (about 20 mins walk) after midnight.
We didn't take many photos of the fireworks, preferring to enjoy in real life rather than focus on recording, but we did get a few which we're proud of - check them out on our Flickr site (link at the bottom of this page).

Bastille day #1

July 14 is Bastille day, with activities and celebrations going on all over the city. It must have started with a long fireworks show last night - we could hear it from our hotel but not see anything. This morning featured the famous military parade, from the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Elysee, to the Place de la Concorde (a huge square where temporary grandstands have been erected). We'd been told that the best vantage point for us non-VIPs was along the Champs Elysee, so we headed off via the Metro soon after breakfast. We got there about 9am, but the crowds were already 4-deep, so we had no real hope of seeing the hundreds of marchers, but got good views of the fly past, and of the big military equipment. Ann also got a good video of the President as he was driven past.
The Military Parade is nothing like our Anzac day parade, which is a thank-you to those who have served, and an acknowledgement of loss, and features veterans marching. This was a celebration of military might and success (hmmm...), and featured all the different branches of the current military. And it was *huge* - speeches and music over a PA system started around 9.30, then a band on horseback escorted the President (to cheers and applause from the crowd). Then nothing for half an hour - the marchers were all assembled in front of us, but no movement. Finally, 3 planes trailing red, white and blue smoke launched the fly past, and that was impressive - wave after wave of different aircraft, all flying in formation. The final trio of planes (the middle one upside down) signaled the start of the street parade, and that continued for nearly 2 hours! The last part was waves of helicopters, again all flying in formation. It certainly made a huge spectacle!
The afternoon was spent resting, and we're hoping to see the fireworks from the Eiffel tower later tonight, so let's hope the weather holds out for us.

Notre Dame cathedral

We spent yesterday (Thursday) getting our bearings around Paris via the tourist bus, and making reservations for our remaining train journeys, and also for the lifts to the top of the Eiffel tower - Tuesday lunchtime, so let's hope for good weather!
Today was overcast and showery, a bit of a relief after the heat from the south. We woke to find a neighbourhood market was being set up below our window, so had to check out the fresh produce there, before strolling along the Seine to the Eiffel tower, and catching the bus from there to the Notre Dame cathedral, where we spent the rest of the day. First the cathedral itself, which is enormous and beautifully gothic. Then down to the crypt to see an archeology display of some of the Roman ruins below the cathedral. After lunch at a little brasserie across the road, it was time to queue for entry to the tower and belfry. We spent half an hour in the queue before Ann realized that there were 400 steps and no lift access, so she decided to shop for gifts while Debbi braved the climb up - and it was completely worth it!! Not just for the views over Paris (amazing as they were), but for the close up views of the gothic chimeras (each one different) and especially the climb up inside the wooden belfry to get close and personal with the great bell. You could easily imagine a hunchback bell ringer hiding behind the beams just ahead....
Just enough time to call into a Parisian patchwork shop, and a coffee at our local pub before the footsore travelers collapsed, exhausted but very happy:)

Arriving in Paris

Yesterday (Wednesday) was spent travelling to Paris, but in what style! First class seats (more like arm chairs), in a booth of 4 seats, but since no-one else joined our booth for the whole trip, we could really stretch out. The TGV trains travel at up to 300 km/hr, but it is so smooth and quiet, you get no concept of how fast you are going. We took books & games to while away the time, but hardly touched the, the view out the window was so fascinating. The countryside changed from the sunflowers and corn from Gascony to the vines of Bordeaux, then back to sunflowers and hay fields. Plenty of beautiful rivers and canals, picturesque villages, and the odd castle or fort on hillsides.
We arrived at Paris train station after 11pm, and almost as soon as we got in our cab were rewarded with our first peek of the Eiffel tower lit up at night - such an exciting sight for tired travelers! It got better, when we crossed the river and realized that our hotel is almost in the banks of the river, and an easy stroll to the tower. Should mean we have a great view of the celebrations on Saturday - Bastille day.
Our hotel is very elegant, albeit tiny. Gilbert, our Indian receptionist was waiting for us when we arrived, and very eager to share news of all the attractions and conveniences close to the hotel. Our room iss microscopic, but gorgeous, and we have the cutest flower box in our window:). The lift only holds 2 people, or 1 person with luggage, and the hallway to our room is barely wide enough for a suitcase - cant imagine how they got firniture into the rooms? Breakfast is in the vaulted basement - ill try to get a photo for Bev.
Just heading out for our first day exploring Paris!!

OMG Carcassonne!

Imagine Robin Hood, King Arthur & Merlin, and every other mediaeval story you know, wrap them up together, and that might come close to Carcassonne (except speaking French). This is a complete village (called the cite/city) covering a hilltop, and surrounded by two giant walls, intercepted by dozens of towers. Inside the walls are the castle, containing the fortified keep, and a basilica. Between these two are dozens of streets and lanes, with shops, restaurants and even hotels.
We spent the whole day in the Cite today, with only a brief break late afternoon to drop off our purchases and change for dinner. Shopping was good, food was great, but we can't put into words how we felt exploring a town that is up to 1000 years old. Huge crowds enter the cite all through the day, speaking many different languages, but the area is so large, we rarely felt crowded. Check out our photos for an idea, but photos alone don't do justice to Carcassonne.

To Carcassonne

Bon Jour from France! We left Barcelona on Sunday, having enjoyed it immensely, and seeing no sign at all of the pickpockets that everyone warned us of - but possibly were so naive we wouldn't recognize them anyway. Travelling to Carcassone was more tiresome than we thought. We bought Eurrail passes online from Australia, but could not make any actual reservations until we arrived in Europe. So we turned up to Carcassone station, to be told they could book us on two of the three trains we needed to catch (Carcassonne to Figueres Viafant, then on to Narbonne), but could not book the third leg (Narbonne to Carcassonne), since that was a French train. When we arrived at Narbonne, the next 2 trains were full, so we spent a frustrating 2 hours sitting in a hot station. We eventually arrived at Carcassonne early evening, hot, tired & sweaty, but the view from our apartment made it all worthwhile! Wendy, thanks for insisting we had to come here!!
Carcassonne is a brilliantly well-preserved medieval walled city (cite)on a hilltop, with the 'modern' town (ie still ancient by our standards) spread out below. Our hotel is just below the Cite walls, which are lit up at night, and we can see it all from our apartment window! The cite is full of restaurants & shops, even hotels, all in these incredible medieval buildings. We've already walked up for dinner on Sunday night for our first peek, but will spend all day there tomorrow exploring in detail. today was spent exploring the town, and booking our train journey to Paris on Wednesday - again most of the trains were already full, so we won't get to Paris until midnight.

Montserrat

A day trip to Montserrat today, which was much more amazing than we expected. The journey itself was quite an adventure - first the Metro (2 different lines) to a central train station, then train to Montserrat town (about 50 km), then transfer to the rack train to take us up the mountain to Montserrat monastery. We then took a funicular up to the very top of the mountain for some stunning views, and some incredible chapels and hermitages amongst the peaks. There were several paths for long hikes, or even mountain climbing, but we chose a short option to a tiny little hermitage. Our Austalian health & safety rules certainly don't apply here - some of the paths were tiny goat trails, along the edge of cliffs, and nothing to stop you going right over the edge. Ann really wanted to try those, but was convinced to take the safe option (only kidding!).
The monastery itself is huge, with up to 100 monks still living there, plus hotels and apartments for visiting pilgrims. The basilica is also huge, hard to remember it is built on top of a mountain. We've uploaded a few of our favorite photos.

Friday Flamenco

Another full day, and a late night, hence a day late with this blog:). We packed another picnic from our local deli and headed to Parc Guell, another Gaudi landmark. This was a failed housing development from the 1920's, started by someone called Guell, who commissioned Gaudi to design the layout and landscaping. It is now owned by the city, and maintained as a free park. Most famous are the two gatehouses, which look like hobbit homes. See our photos (link at the bottom of our blog page). The day was very hot, and we walked LOTS, so enjoyed our afternoon siesta. Then, time to sample the Barcelona nightlife, so we ventured into pickpocket-central, La Rambla (a long avenue of tourist rip-off places). We had booked in for a Flamenco dinner and show, which was a fascinating experience, albeit much louder than we anticipated. A long walk home saw us getting in around midnight - late for us, but when the locals are just getting started.

Photos uploaded!

We've worked out how to upload photos to a Flickr site, so have added the first few:
Our photos on Flickr

How does does Barcelona cost?

We've been pleasantly surprised at the reasonable prices for just about everything here. A tapas meal costs about €15-20 ($18-24), and a lunchtime baguette around €3 ($3.60). A 10 trip ticket on the Metro costs €9, which covers train, bus, tram & funucular, cheaper than a single day on public transport in Melboune. Petrol looks expensive, about $2 a liter. Every clothes shop here has huge sales on, 50% discounts, so all the young British girls are spending their days shopping.
Entry to tourist attractions is also cheap, €2 at cathedrals up to €11 at the Sagrada Familia, and museums around €10, free for seniors (lucky Ann).

Fabric frolic:)

Yep, we've been trawling the patchwork shops of Barcelona today! Quite an organizational feat, navigating all over town via the Metro, into the residential areas (interesting by itself, to get away from the tourist areas), and finding little shops tucked away in side streets. Very proud of our efforts! Unfortunately, nothing new in the fabric line, all Japanese (not as nice as what we have) or batiks, but of course, Ann found something to buy:)
We also returned to Sagrada Familia today, and made it up to the rooftop this time. Completely amazing - not only for the view over Barcelona, but for the close up view of the workmen at the top of the towers. Will try to upload some photos when we find an Internet cafe (haven't seen one in Barcelona yet), since we can't do that from the iPad.
Dinner was yet another meal of tapas (yum yum!) -we've found a fabulous place just around the corner with an extensive choice and great service, who don't seem to mind us wanting to eat early. Locals eat after 10pm, but we haven't managed to stay awake that late!!

A day on Montjuic

What a full and exhausting day! A very warm day, spent exploring Montjuic, a large hill overlooking the city and port of Barcelona, and a centre of sport, museums, and the old castle. Montjuic was the site for the 1992 Olympics, so a visit to the Olympic stadium was a must-see. A brilliant little neighbourhood deli provided fresh baguettes, so we packed our books, some fresh fruit, and headed off for a picnic.
But first, we had to work out how to get there, so we're very proud to say that today we mastered the Metro system, and managed our way via several different underground train lines over the day. At the end of the Metro line, we changed to the funicular, then the cable car, to get to the castle, which has magnificent views over the Mediterranean, particularly the very busy port. It was fascinating having a birds-eye view of the tiny ant-like forklift cranes, scurrying around with their shipping containers - Gill, it was just like watching smurfs at work!!
We then meandered our way down the hill by foot (clocking up lots of pedometer steps), visiting the Olympic site and the MNAC (barcelona's main art gallery), housed in the Palace built for the 1929 Exhibition before returning home by Metro completely worn out. Just enough energy for paella....

Up close & personal with Gaudi

A stunningly beautiful suuny day (28oC with a gentle cooling breeze) gave the perfect day to explore Casa Batllo, an apartment block designed & built by Gaudi in the 1920's, and just 2 mins from our hotel. We went early in the morning, so no queues, and easy to view the incredible features up close. This is such an amazing building - no straight lines, and wonderful use of light and air movement. See the link at the bottom of this page for their website and gallery of images. Then, off on foot to explore the old town - Barra Gotti (the gothic quarter) and the cathedral, built on Roman ruins. We also found a fascinating older church from around the 10th century, which was much darker and more 'Gothic' to our untrained eyes. The effect was certainly helped by the organist playing exactly the right music to evoke memories of old Dracula movies!

Ann's day of independence

Debbi spent the day at her conference today, so Ann was allowed to roam free by herself:) She completed the remaining two routes of the tourist bus, and clocked up lots of foot-miles exploring and shopping (pity she is not the one competing in the pedometer challenge!). She got so excited at so many places to see, that when Debbi finished the conference, we both headed off on the tourist bus again, retracing Ann's journey! Lots of places we now must visit for much longer. And for all of you in Melbourne, we're SUNBURNT! It was deliciously pleasant, chilling out on the top deck of the open bus, enjoying views of the Mediterranean... Another highlight was the Patagonian meal at a nearby restaurant, a recommendation from our friendly hotel staff.

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Ole Espania!

First of all, how exciting to be here when Spain wins the Euro 2012 soccer cup! As we write this, we can still hear the fireworks, car horns and those vuvuzela things. Sounds like the celebrations will go on all night. Today we started our explorations on the tourist bus route, but abandoned our plans to do the whole 3 routes, and instead explore the Sagrada Familia (Basilica of the Holy Family), since there are no workmen on this building site on Sundays. Turned out to be a lucky decision, as a huge storm rolled in while we were in the queue to get in, and we made it inside by 1 minute, so could shelter while taking in the absolute wonder of Gaudi's masterpiece. OMG!! Helen, we can see why you love Gaudi. Hard to imagine someone starting such an enormous project, knowing it would take several generations to build.

We're here!

Day one in Barcelona, and we're thinking of everyone back in freezing Melbourne, as we take our warm evening stroll after a delicious tapas meals. Our flights were all great, but it was a *looong* trip to get here. Hotel is small but beautiful and friendly, on a quiet side street, about 3 doors from a main shopping/ dining road, Pg Gracia, so absolutely perfect location. Gauci's famous building, the Casa Batllo, is on the next corner, which was on Ann's list to see, and from a short glance tonight, looked amazing. The tourist loop bus stops at our corner, so that is our plan for tomorrow. Adios! Ann & Debbi

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Tuesday before departure, and we're getting very excited now:)