Epilogue

Fri 5 May

It's been 75 days since we left home. We've travelled many kilometres - lots of air time, plenty of rail time, especially if you count the various metros, and plenty of kilometres on foot. We did a bit of driving in an Audi (glad I took the GPS).

We had plenty of serendipitous times:
     - Mardi Gras in New Orleans;
     - Snow storm in NYC (certainly a treat for us - don't know about the locals);
     - St Patrick's Day Parade in NYC;
     - Seeing the recording of an episode of Doc Martin in Port Isaac;
     - Met interesting and friendly people wherever we went;
     - All the accommodation was great with some real surprises like in Bath and Wyke Farm.

We travelled on four different funiculars and climbed many flights of stairs to get some fabulous sights; met up with friends to share experiences; and put our bodies through extremes of temperatures. It was the proverbial cornucopia of experiences. Now we are looking forward to seeing family, friends and Kingscliff.

Bangkok heat

Thu 4 May

Wanted to go to the Grand Palace early today to avoid some of the 20 000 to 40 000 people who visit daily to pay their respects to the dead king. We were told by a guide at the entrance that it was only opened to Thais until 13:00h as monks were praying with them. He then pointed out on my map other places to go by tuk-tuk. He then hailed a tuk-tuk driver and gave him instructions.

Tuk-tuks lining the streets

When we were in the temple of the White Buddha, we were told that today was a "prayer day" so tuk-tuk drivers could only charge tourists 100 Baht to take tourists to various sites and wait for them at each place. The sites also included some warehouses (tourist traps?) where we were expected to spend a certain amount of time before moving on. We were a bit quick at the first warehouse and our driver said we should "be more looking, looking". If we followed the rules properly he would then get a stamped voucher to get 5 litres of petrol for their tuk-tuk paid for by the government.

The White Buddha

Back at the Grand Palace the crowds were enormous and we were melting. We headed to a local cafe for lunch - we were soaked and it was air conditioned.

We had paid for a late checkout at the hotel so we could shower and rest before heading to the airport for our very late (or very early) 00:01h flight.

Waiting ... waiting.

Bangkok tales

Wed 3 May

Bangkok is SO humid. The sky threatens rain but doesn't. Within a few minutes walk of our hotel is the Grand Palace including Wat Phra Kaew with the Emerald Buddha. Closer still is Wat Pho - the temple of the Reclining Buddha. This is the temple we went to at a cost of 100 Baht (about $4). For another 200 Baht we got "James" to be our guide. He was extremely knowledgeable about all the different parts of the temple including all the stupas.

The main attraction here is the giant reclining Buddha. All of the temple site has been refurbished in the last 5 years and looks very colorful. This temple also has a training school for people who practise Thai massage. Licenced masseuses have to be taught here - and you can get a massage here, too, but we didn't. James showed us the way across the road to a cheaper place. 250 Baht got us a 1 hour massage that really worked us over. At the end of it I felt my sciatic problem had flared up again and hobbled a bit for the rest of the day.

Frankfurt -> Bangkok

Sun 30 Apr

In Germany, Sunday means shops are closed, as well as on public holidays - like May Day tomorrow. However, there's still plenty of bars open and other places to cater for tourists.

We had a day on a bus tour to Heidelberg - about 6 hours all up. Heidelberg is a university city with an old town and market area, a Gothic church that was originally Catholic but Protestant after the Reformation and another church, Catholic again.

View over Heidelberg

The uni is a major part of the town, old and new. When we arrived there was a foot race of some kind going on around the old part of the city. We had a quick orientation by our guide before joining the throng of sightseers heading to the funicular to climb to the Schloss above the city.  The Schloss is a mixture of architecture from different periods and has a renowned garden and the SECOND BIGGEST wine barrel in the world. We took the very steep walk back down to the town to further explore the old city (now that the runners had disappeared) as well as the weir and lock on the river.

Facade of the Schloss at Heidelberg

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Mon 1 May

A damp morning in Frankfurt that only got damper as the day progressed. We packed our bags and took the train to the airport. We had a long wait before our flight at 22:00h.
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Tue 2 May

Landed in Bangkok on time at 14:10h after a flight of 11h 10m. There was a fairly easy flow through customs and immigration, then found a taxi to take us to the hotel; it's quite a distance and he got us there by 16:30h. We were hit by the heat and humidity but we're pleased by the location of our hotel right on the river, straight across from Wat Arun.

View across the river to Wat Arun - undergoing maintenance

We showered, changed, and went out for a walk around the local streets. We are very near the royal palace where up to 20 000 people visit each day to pay their respects to the dead king. We noticed the stream of people leaving at closing time.

Back to our hotel for another quick shower before dinner on the deck overlooking the river. Disturbed sleep through the night - got to get the body clock sorted out.

Musicians and shooters come together

Sat 29 Apr

After an in-house breakfast, we walked down to Konstablerwache where there was an open-air market selling local produce, fruit, veg, etc, and cheeses of course. But also included wine, cider and apfelwein. Many people were sampling, so we tried a local sparkling wine too - at 11:00 am.

11am here but 5pm somewhere

Found these Black Forest cuckoo clock in a nearby shop

We then took some pedestrian malls towards the river Main and crossed on the Eiserner Steg bridge which was covered in padlocks of people expressing their love for each other. The local shopping district was an attraction for some and on a local recommendation, we tried lunch at Apfelwein Wagner, a cider house and restaurant. Steph had the special stew of the day with meat and lentils and I tried the Schnitzel Wagner. It was filled with sauerkraut, onions and cream and was huge. (I didn't mention the gravy and mash on the side and the side salad - didn't finish.)

Back over the bridge to the Schirn Kunsthalle to see an exhibition of paintings by Belgian artist, René Magritte that were on loan from the Paris Museum of Art.

Outside in the Römberg Plaza, there were thousands of people gathered and it took us a while to work out why. Every two years the local sporting shooters organise a parade around the plaza. They are accompanied by a great number of marching brass bands. The band members are all in their uniforms and play enthusiastically while the shooting club members march behind in their club regalia, displaying proficiency medals and banners. All quite bizarre.

The rain in Spain ...

Wed 26 Apr

Our friend, Lesley, headed back to London this morning under cloudy skies. The threatening rain arrived soon after and settled in for the day - so we did too. Caught up on some reading, did a bit of research for the coming days and contemplated what to have for dinner.
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Thur 27 Apr

Weather still slightly damp but improving. After lunch we headed back to La Rambla and the Museu d'Historia de Barcelona. They have unearthed many of the ancient foundations and ruins of the Roman town of Barca, and pats of buildings from the times of the Visigoths, the Moors and more recent history. The excavations extend under the Plaça del Rei. The exit is through the Ducal Palace and the huge room where Ferdinand and Isabella received Christopher Columbus after her returned from the new world. Truly amazing.

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Fri 28 Apr

Easy trip to Barcelona airport but more sitting and waiting of course. Easy too from Frankfurt airport to city centre. The Fleming Deluxe Hotel is very nice and we're in the newer renovated section. The old part of the hotel has an operating pater noster lift - yes, go and look it up. Incredible.

We went out and strolled the local area later - found a snack for dinner.

Montserrat

Tue 25 Apr

Happy birthday to my dad, Jim. We're sorry we can't be there to celebrate your 86th birthday but will catch up soon.

We booked a bus tour to go to Montserrat (Serrated Mountain) about an hour out of Barcelona. The mountain itself is a spectacularly weathered landscape that dominates the local area and accommodates a national park with many opportunities for bushwalking, climbing and abseiling. It's main attraction, however, is religious.

A Black Madonna was discovered in one of the many caves in the mountain and was eventually housed in a Benedictine Monastery that was set up on the mountain. Some of the monks here decided that a hermetic life was better and took themselves off into the mountain caves to live a more ascetic lifestyle. Chapels have since been built at some of these cave sites.

Monastery and church perched in the mountain

The monastery, perched precariously on the side of the mountain, houses about 70 monks and is an important religious retreat for Catalonians. The church now containing the Black Madonna is large and ostentatiously decorated in mosaics and gilt statues. There is a boys choir that is schooled at the monastery and performs for pilgrims (and ordinary visitors) in the church each day.

The Black Madonna

Sculpture of the 12 apostles and Jesus - part of the facade of the Montserrat Basilica

The trip included a ride in the Sant Joan Funicular, one of the steepest I've seen, taking us from 700m to 1000m above sea level. We then walked a bit further up the mountain to see some of the hermits' chapels before beginning a 50 minute trek back down to the monastery. I think my thigh muscles will be feeling it tomorrow.

The funicular track

Looking forward to paella and sangria tonight. Lesley heads back to the UK in the morning; we have a couple more days in Barça.

Barcelona revisited

Sun 23 Apr

Rose early to get ourselves moving for a busy day. Croissants and fruit for breakfast and baguettes for lunch. First to the Fundació Joan Miró to view his collection. Metro and funicular to get there and a lovely park to view while waiting for the gallery to open. There's more in the exhibition than our last visit and Miró's expressionist art is quite exceptional - another of Stephanie's favourites.

Park near the Miró gallery overlooking the city

Studying Miró's work

Sculptural fountain - that's not water, it's mercury!!

Back to the apartment for lunch before a short walk to the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia. Audio guides make this more informative. Lesley was blown away as she hasn't been here before. The light coming in the stained glass window was exceptional today and produced a stunning effect. The museum of the construction, underneath the basilica, is more informative too. Antoni Gaudi's vision was truly inspired. Construction is due to be finished by 2026 - the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death.

Sagrada Familia Basilica above & below

Part of a celebration outside Sagrada Familia

Gaudi overload as we trained and walked up to Parc Güell to walk around this wondrous place also designed by Gaudi - find some images online to see what I mean. Crowds have been pretty thick at all these places so we found it was better to book online beforehand. The sites prefer this as they like to limit the number of visitors at any time.

In the afternoon sunshine in Parc Güell

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Mon 24 Apr

Took the Metro to La Rambla to join another "free" walking tour around the Gothic section of the city. We did a similar tour on our last visit three and a half years ago but this one, although covering the same district, was very different. The guide was Irish, with a touch of Irish humour, and was very knowledgeable of the area, the history and the people. The two and a half hours seemed to go very quickly and we came away with a lot more knowledge of Barcelona.

After lunch on the edge of the harbour we walked along the waterfront and back up through La Rambla to view the Gaudi designed buildings: Casa Batlló and Casa Milà. Didn't go into them, though, as the entry prices are pretty steep.

Madrid ... cuatro

Fri 21 Apr

Bought our tickets online and skipped the long line at Museo Reina Sofia waiting to see the special Picasso "Guernica" exhibition. It was an explanation of the times and influences that Picasso experienced at the time he was commissioned to paint "Guernica" for an exhibition in Paris. The exhibition included a lot of his work from the time and sketches of plans for the final work. And what a work it is! 3.5 metres x 7.75 metres it is mural sized and dominated the gallery room in the museum. Apart from the size, the content is so evocative and emotive. The exhibition also displayed his later works which were influenced by Guernica - especially the series of weeping women.

Viewing "Guernica" had been one of the main reasons for visiting Madrid and it didn't disappoint. We later walked to the Parque de El Retiro past the church of San Jeronimo (St Jerome), so had a look inside. So much gilt, so much ostentation.

Watched the boaters on the lake in the park again - I'm sure they're training the next Spanish Armada, but need a lot more work.

Jazz band busking to buy a new double bass

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Sat 22 Apr

Time to take the AVE - the Spanish version of the very fast train - from Madrid to Barcelona. The trip took 2 hrs 45 mins with the train reaching a top speed of 298 km/h. We got off at Sants station and made our way to the Metro and Segrada Familia station which is nearest to our Airbnb apartment. Met Lesley outside the station as she is spending 5 days with us before flying back to the UK.

Just some of the foods available at the Boqueria Market

After getting into the apartment we scooted off to the Metro again and down to La Rambla and the Boqueria market. We found salami, cheese, tomato and lettuce for our future lunches, and empanadas and fruit salad for our evening meal. Topped off with some red and white wine, we were very satisfied before retiring for the night.

Mmm, Sangria

Madrid 3 ... tres

Thur 20 Apr

Plans change ... the plan was: walk to Museo Regina Sofia to see the special Picasso exhibition, however, the line was very long and slow moving. An attendant handed out notices suggesting online tickets sales, which became our plan for tomorrow. So, plan B:

An exhibition of work by Maurits Escher. For those who know of his work, you would be very excited by the scope of work on display. For those who don't know his work, google it and you'll probably recognise some of it. I think the most interesting thing about it is that the bulk of his prints were done as woodcuts, a painstaking, manual process but impressive results in production. His later work included lithographs as well, but all his original designs were drawn by hand. The display here included many interactive features as well.

Later walked the length of one of the main shopping streets. Madrid locals really enjoy the daily stroll. They were out in their hundreds, no, thousands.

Madrid 2 to too

Wed 19 Apr

Today we took a "free" walking tour of Madrid with 9 other tourists and led by Abel. This tour showed us some of the history of Madrid, explaining its settlement by the Moors of North Africa, the retaking of this part of Spain by the Visigoths and the Spanish Inquisition. ("Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" - joke for Monty Python fans.)

Most of the street signs in Madrid have illustrations - a tradition dating back to times when most people
were illiterate but could identify the streets from the pictures. San Jeronimo (St Jerome) is famous
for having pulled a thorn from a lion's paw.

Abel accompanied his walk with stories about the city, the royal family and historical figures. We finished the tour overlooking the Palacio Réal and the Cathedral do la Almudena - both huge buildings but cordoned off today because of tight security around an official reception at the royal palace. Note: the king and queen don't live in the royal palace, they live in a smaller palace further out of the city. The tour lasted over two and a half hours and was well worth the tip we gave Abel as his payment.

The oldest restaurant in the world - with Guinness Book of Records certificate

Part of the wall built around the original Moorish city

Entrance to the Royal Palace

Found a small kebab shop for a very late lunch- very tasty.

Madrid 1

Tue 18 Apr

After a late night, we had a late start, but so does everyone in Spain. We found some breakfast then headed of to find our way to the Muséo Thyssen-Bornemisza. This is a private art collection ranging from Renaissance, through Impressionist to modern. It's a huge collection laid out in an easy-to-follow way; although we started at the ground floor and worked our way up the next two, but should have down it the other way around.

We had a light lunch (really afternoon tea) at a nearby café, then walked a few blocks to the Parque de El Retira. This is 120 hectares of gardens, paths, a boating lake and many public buildings. Back towards the apartment we passed a huge public building where graduating university students were getting their placements to medical schools. We talked to a young girl who had got a placement to do cardiac medicine. She was with her very proud parents and was very happy.

Sculptured pine trees in El Retira

Local buskers

Picnickers near the lake in El Retira. Could be a scene from a Seurat painting.

We had paella and sangria for dinner but made sure we were back before 22:00 which was the approximate time for a big football match to finish. This was between Réal Madrid and Bayern Munchen - a quarter-final of the Champions League. There were Bayern fans all over the city especially around the bars. We were able to watch the last part of the game back at the apartment as it went to extra time. Anyway the Bayern fans will have to go home disappointed.