Spain 2021
Saturday
September 25 - Flight to London: Spent
some hours with Avander and Char then Veronica dropped me at Victoria
airport. I have a few minutes before the
flight so I have a ½ pint. There is a
Empress Gin store inside the airport.
The flight to Calgary goes quick.
Transfer to a bigger plane and I have the whole row to myself and TV to
watch. It is a long flight and I slept
maybe 45 minutes.
Arrived in London’s
Heathrow on Sunday local time 11 am.
Steph was waiting at arrivals looking so pretty especially after 2 years without seeing her. 💖
We took the tube from Heathrow to her downtown apartment that is within a block of Tower
bridge. Getting out of the tube took a whole lot of escalators !
Allan joined us and we walked along the Thames river to a cute pub – another walk and another pub.
Allan made
us dinner while we reclined in the English garden of their home. Steph gave me her bed and I fell asleep at 8
pm London time – awake about 2 am and read for a few hours (Tidelands by P
Gregory about medieval English life) and
back to sleep.
Monday: Allan went to work and Steph made us
breakfast. We walked out in the
afternoon and went into the shopping district.
I found two lovely shirts. We
had an early dinner at an Indian restaurant and then stood in line for the Tina
Turner musical. It was a biography and
the music was, of course, fantastic !
Out about 10 pm and we walked home with a big moon over the many London
bridges.
Tuesday: Steph and I make a long trek to Greenwich on foot. We stop in the town to visit the market and there is a ship anchored that you can tour. We find a cafe for coffee and a shared piece of Red Velvet cake. Then to the castle and up the hill to where time starts.
Wednesday: We walked to the Museum of London and the Museum of England - both free. Also to Westminster Abbey and from there we went through Hyde Park and to the Kensington for tea and cake. There is a very long walk along the Princess Diana Memorial path back to the city centre. We had walked to Nottingham Hill and found a thrift store where Steph got me a lovely bracelet and herself beautiful earring and Allan cufflinks that say "Always Right" and Never wrong".
Buckingham PalaceBefore
crossing the street you need to look the opposite way of what a Canadian is use
to. And there seems to be no clear side
of the walk you should be on - chaos !
Thursday: We took a tour of the Tower of London with a
very entertaining guide. This is a BIG
place. There are Roman walls in downtown that the city built around while leaving them visible. And they have impressive community living downtown.
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| Tower Bridge |
Found an Indian restaurant near Steph’s place for a lovely lunch. In the downstairs of the Bloomberg building is a museum for the Roman Temple of Mithras. We took the tour. This part of London also has the Jack the Ripper museum ! Later we picked up dinner at the nearby Marks & Spencer and we wait at home for Allan to return from work.
Friday: Steph and I are up early to go to her gym (Leonard Hotel) to swim and have a sauna, steam and whirlpool. It is very lovely and only one other person there. When we left it was really raining – the first I have encountered. We took our wet selves to a nice river side restaurant for coffee and cake. We are getting a lot of cake. We toured a building called the Walkie Talkie that has a beautiful view and garden on the 36th Floor. When entering tourist spots your bags are scanned. I found "Fish& Chip" potato chips. I wish we got a picture of the three of us in London together.
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| River Thames |
Allan &
Steph have a favourite Italian restaurant in another district where we walk to for
dinner. It is busy and upbeat. Steph chooses a nice bottle of wine and I
order the lemon ravioli – which is delightful.
Prepared for early morning travel tomorrow to Barcelona. Filling out forms and ensuring we get to the airport on time is slightly stressful. We took the tube to the Gatwick airport and check in is all good. There were BIG clouds just before the Pyrenees mountain range. We are in Barcelona in under 2 hours and it is 26 degrees. A bus takes us to the airport. We catch a cab to our downtown hotel. It is in a car free neighbourhood. We walk to the beach and have lunch overlooking the Mediterranean Sea of the Spanish dish called Paella. We walk around and see a fair with rides.
Our
boutique hotel is very nice and supplies small portions of olive oil and
balsamic vinegar. The TV stations are
all in Spanish. The shower is very tiny - no
overweight people would make it into this shower, and then there are no wash
clothes in most hotels. A party is going
on outside as it is Saturday night in Barcelona.
Sunday: We have coffee on the pedestrian street near
our hotel and do more walking. Lunch of
pizza and a mimosa near the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. I take a tour of this massive church. It is incredible. Unfortunately, the small stairways up are
not open at this time. I get bookmarks,
and frig magnets and a t-shirt at the gift shop. A travel writer informs us to choose the
Euro value on the credit card rather than Canadian.
We collect our luggage and walk to the train that will take us to Valentia. It is an easy ride for 2 ½ hours with a varied view of some deserted buildings, some fields of perhaps olive trees, and small towns. At 7 pm we arrive in Valentia. Had a bit of trouble getting through the turnstile. Steph and I ran behind Allan through the open gate . We catch a cab to our hotel further south. (You & Co Saler)
We have
dinner at the hotel on the sidewalk after looking at the view from the rooftop
bar. I pick up Cerveza and return to my
hotel room which was upgraded at the front desk. Headed to bed at 11 pm !
The Spanish
mosquitoes are giving me large itchy bumps.
Monday: 7:30 am and the sun is shining and I have a
balcony. I find a path through the woods and walk to the beach.
Allan is working so Steph and I take a long walk through the National Forest and get lost. We do more walking and find our way back for a rest. Later we walk to a restaurant that is on the beach and have a late lunch of beet hummus and potatoes and zucchini - amazing.
On the same
street as our hotel there is a bicycle rental.
Allan and I get bikes for tomorrow, when Steph has to work ½ day. We are assured they will be safe locked up
on the street. We have dinner on the
sidewalk and watch the sun set - which
seems to me to be on the wrong side…
There are
two menus – one in English and one in Spanish.
Servers are very adept in English and/or try very hard to understand. The streets are very clean here. I get stamps for my postcards and a National
Lottery that stands at $178 Million Euros.
I did not win, or I would still be in Spain.
After 7 and ½ hours sleep it is Tuesday. I get my rental bike and cycle around the National Park at 7:20 am where I do my morning stretches on the beach watching the sun rise ! There are 10 large freighter ships sitting off shore with all their lights on. Breakfast in the hotel at 9:30 –outside. Allan and I head out for our day bike trip through the National Park. Allan has not ridden a bicycle in 15 plus years. He calls me Miss D. We find some interesting paths and great roads and get lost and laugh and stopped to swim in the sea about noon.
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| Allan in the sea |
We are dry by the time we get to the beach restaurant for lunch. Our server remembers me from yesterday. Allan and I enjoy a few beers and then Steph joins us for late lunch. Allan lets Steph ride his bicycle back to the hotel. Possibly because we had a few extra beers.
While Steph
and AL have time to themselves, I ride on the hwy into Valencia’s south
side. I find the beach side bicycle
path where there is a working harbour with big container ships. Unfortunately, I pass by the nude beaches
where men are standing out…. To commiserate
this I buy a frig magnet with this scene (but good looking male) for my work
friend. The bike path takes me back to
the hotel. We have dinner once again on
the sidewalk near our hotel.
Wednesday: Pack up and return bicycles and have
breakfast after which a cab arrives to take us to the airport. The staff at the hotel help arrange all those
details.
Our flight to Ibiza is with Ryanair - don’t use Ryanair. We had to pay $ 90 euros to print our boarding passes. But we were first to embark. Our flight arrived early at 12:10 -The airport is right at the base of the island. A bus takes us from the plane to the terminal. It is warm and sunny and we get a 30 minute cab to the north side of Ibiza in the Sant Joan area. There is a large quarry near the airport. Steph is not feeling well after a 30 minute car ride. Our hotel is adults only and has two pools and steps to the beach. We check in with a glass of champagne.
Our rooms have balconies and are very quiet. After unpacking we have a walk around. Change into swim suits and Steph and I go into the Mediterranean - 8 to 10 foot waves are crashing down on us and after the initial fear it is so fun. I scraped my knee on a rock. 25 minutes in this water in mid October and we are getting chilled.
So we swam in the hotels infinity pool.
Dried out on the deck with a beer and then dressed for dinner.
We settled on a beach side restaurant at 6 pm. Drank wine and watched the sun set. It was a perfect night.
Dinner did seem expensive at $ 96 euros for 3 of us. But we are on the island of Ibiza. There is mini golf near by and a water slide park that has been abandoned. My phone is reading in 14:25 time.
Thursday: Woke up at 8:15 after a 10 hour sleep. LOVE this place ! I could hear birds outside. Went to the beach to do my morning
stretches. I even found an English
speaking TV station while I showered and dressed for breakfast. The breakfast buffet has everything –
croissants, eggs, crepes, fruit, donuts and coffee. We ate on the patio next to the pool.
We walked to the cliffs and up a path to the lighthouse. Some of the paths were very close to the edge.
Steph would
zip by and Al and I would cling to the opposite side. We passed people who would say Ole. Who wouldn’t be happy in this
environment.? You can rent a stand up
paddle board for $ 20 euros. We went
into some of the shops and I got a Mars ice cream bar. We went to the beach with a book. Steph fell asleep on the sand. Beer and potato chips for lunch on the beach
and then a swim out as far as we dared.
In the afternoon Steph and I walk and find this gorgeous resort Six
Senses. Next to it is a deserted castle. We pick up Al and walk out for dinner of
pizza. Allan and I play a game of
pool. We get to see another beautiful
sun set and walk back to the hotel in the dark and quiet. Slept 7.5 hours
Friday: We have breakfast on the patio and book the
next destination – Seville and Madrid.
We sit on the pool patio with a beer.
This is our Spa day that we booked and we have the space all to
ourselves. A small warm pool, steam
room, sauna and warm benches to relax on.
It is very nice for a little over an hour. We head to the beach for another short swim
and lunch of beer and chips.
Al has us
at the highest rated restaurant for dinner on our last night in Ibiza. My cod was delicious, and we shared lime pie
for dessert. Allan has caught a cold
and did not sleep well.
Saturday: A quick breakfast and check out (so I forgot to pack my electric toothbrush) and into a waiting cab at 8:30 am to the airport. Allan is heading back to London. We wait in the airport while he gets checked in. Things are slower to start in Spain and it is still quiet at 10 am. Steph and I have a flight later in the afternoon so we walked into the town of Ibiza. It is a bit of a walk with our backpacks and bag to carry in the heat. At the Hard Rock we sit next to the beach for fresh lemonade and coffee.
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| Ibiza near airport |
We walk around and see the sites and many hotels. Finally settle on a café for lunch of spaghetti. Found a waiting cab later and got back to the airport. An easy check in with Vueling airline for our 1 hour flight to Seville. I can see the town of Ibiza (and the Hard Rock) from my window seat and it has a lot of hotels.
In Seville
it is warm and sunny. We get a cab to
what seems to be the suburbs where I have booked a hotel called Silken Hotel Palace
with a balcony on the sun rise side.
It has a gorgeous outdoor pool.
There are bicycle rentals at the front door and Steph texts Allan that I
am waiting to ride with him...
We walk for a bit to a grocery store for baguettes
and cheese (and beer) . Back in our
spacious room we snack on our dinner.
Go to sleep about 9:30
Sunday: I woke at 6:30 and sunrise was just before 8 am I do my stretches on our balcony.
We go for coffee in a lovely garden and they even have honey.
Steph and I head out for a Seville walk. We come across a Flamingo dancer. Then a large market where we have lunch at a Peruvian restaurant - outside of course.
I got new Spanish earrings. We do a tour of the Spanish Royalty house and gardens. This is where King John 1st took the Islamic structure and made it Catholic. We did hours of walking. They have beautiful trams for transportation in this area. On the way back we stop for beer (me) and coke (Steph) Now we are passing the Aquarium which has a lovely outdoor patio.
I loved the
look and feel of Seville. It was 30
degrees both days. The people are well
versed in the English language. Lime trees are growing on the streets and in
the hotel yard. Wi fi is free and readily available all over
this country and in their airports.
Here there
are plenty of pedestrian and cycle paths.
After arriving back at our hotel I go for a swim in the outdoor pool -
Fabulous ! Then I have a beer in the
sun while drying in the warn evening sun.
We had dinner at the hotel of fish.
Neither of us slept great that night.
Monday
: check out of our hotel and catch a
cab to the train station (only 9 euros) where we have easy access to our seats
on the train (12:30) headed to
Madrid. The train will get to 200 klm
in straight stretches. I see fields of small trees growing - perhaps
Olive ? The earth has become red in
colour here. Then you see lots of green
grass and hills. Sometimes there are old walls standing in a
field maybe from medieval times ? Also
see abandoned buildings enroute near Cordoba.
The train wifi is playing the movie Mulan. I see a water park in passing.
We arrive in Madrid train station at 1 pm. There is a long line of taxis and we catch one to our b&b for 8 euros. It is a glorified hostel with 2 floors. Steph has the upper floor as she has to work tomorrow morning. Both floors have a bathroom and mine is a tiny one - which I love as I am a fan of tiny spaces. We walk out and find a Spanish restaurant in what is mostly a lane way. We have a 2 euro glass of wine that is very good. The meal was excellent and involved pumpkin.
Headed to the centre of Madrid where we both buy new shoes in one of the abundant shoe stores. Then we make purchases in one of the many chocolate stores. On the way back coffee and laundry soap are purchased for the morning. At 7:30 pm I am watching NCIS in Spanish. But I now have the book Bad Blood to read as Steph found it at a used book store, even though it is new, for 5 euros. I love Madrid and you can buy a beer for 1 euro !
Tuesday: At 9 am it is 12 degrees but warming up quickly. I walk to the centre square and have breakfast on a table on the sidewalk. It is delicious and I have my book to read. 2 people ask for money while I am sitting there. I see two sock stores near and pick up 5 pairs for 70 euros – mostly gifts. I walk around and pass the African Consulate where there are armed police standing. Today is a National Holiday in Spain and there is music and a parade and an impressive air show.
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| Planes galore |
Very few masks being warn. Quite a few smokers here. I ended up walking in a less desirable part of the city and sort of got lost. Keep walking until I came across the restaurant we had dinner at and made my way back to the hotel. Steph and I went out for lunch after 1 pm and it was getting hot out. Found a great Indian place near by and indulged in appy’s, wine and main course all for 33 euro - so we tipped our waiter with cash. We did lots more walking and found the Hotel Derby. The top floor has a patio so we each had a pint (16 euro) and enjoyed the view.
Walked back to our place and watched a video of Tina Turner from the 1990’s
Booking a
flight tomorrow to Paris but the darn Canadian vaccine will not upload onto the
site. Fell asleep late
Wednesday: Woke at 7:30 and had Indian food leftovers
for breakfast. Checked out at 10:30 and
walked out for coffee. We sat next to a
Music school in the sun, which is right across from the train station. Walked further to catch a taxi to the
airport at 12:15 (30 euros)
Check in
line was already very long. Steph
upgraded our flights for 30 euros and we moved into a line with only 3 people in
front. And because we travelled
together I moved to the seat next to here in Row 4. We sat down at a good Sushi restaurant for
lunch. Then got our VAT refund from our
shoe purchase in the airport. This is a
vey nice airport and we are once again on a Vueling flight – great airline
!
We arrive in Paris on Wednesday at 6 pm. In the Orly airport it was difficult to find the transit into the city and we paid 24 euro for a line we did not use – they have private transit here. Once at our station we could not get out of the turnstile – luckily a bicycle was going through which held the gate open extra time and we ran through. After finally finding the way into the city and our B&B with Google maps we watch the sun setting. All pedestrian walk ways to our destination. It is very pretty here at night. Dropped our bags and walked to the nearest restaurant for dinner. It was a wonderful French restaurant and we had Argentina wine, of course, and a chef’s special dish of salmon.
There is a
multitude of underground train lines in Paris and I could hear them going by at
5 am from my room. But I had 7 hours
sleep regardless.
Thursday: I walked out to find coffee found really strong coffee from a local shop that only took cash..
Steph is not feeling well but we walked down San Sebastian street and around the city centre. Stopped in a café for a French breakfast (croissant involved) a rest. Steph had a nap at the b&b and had booked me a free ticket to the Paris Museum of History. I found my way there with instructions written out on paper. It was a lot to look at in a city block with 3 floors. Walked back a different way and found my way.
I missed the Ann Frank park that I wanted to see though. Steph and I walked along Rue St Denis with the many bakeries and cheese and wine shops etc. We went in search of the famous, historic bakery Stohrer and picked up an éclair. Being a UK resident and taking a train home, Steph picked up several bottles of good French wine. Headed back near the b&b for Taco’s for dinner. Finished reading Bad Blood late in the night.
Friday: Woke at 8 am. Steph made oatmeal while I picked up coffee. We walked down the pedestrian streets and stopped in a café for a chocolate latte and a rest. We walked to the Louvre and Seine river and more palaces.
Something was going on as there was lots of police. More walking to the Eiffel Tower. There are boats that serve as restaurants all along the waterway.
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| Restaurants on boats on Seine River |
We wandered around while the sun was setting and plenty of diners are sitting on the sidewalk cafes and lots of lights and it so very pretty here. Back to get ready for travel tomorrow.
Steph finds
her train quickly and we have a tearful (hidden) farewell.
The Paris train
station has lots of information people to help direct travelers – I spoke to
many of them and eventually got on a train that took me to the Charles de
Gaulle airport. It involved a bus at
the final stop that went through lovely farmland and eventually to Terminal
3. I have a hotel booked right near the
terminal called IBIS Select. The room
is very well set up (open cupboards so less likely to leave anything behind)
and the bed is nice and comfortable. There
is a Marks & Spencer store where I purchase cashews and beer. It is a lovely day out so I walk around the
airport and see an Air France plane being towed within 20 feet of where I
stand. Of the 3 terminals at this
airport only Terminal 2 is open – so I make sure I know how to get there for my
flight tomorrow - there is a free train
between terminals. I watch some French language
TV and notice there are far fewer commercials interrupting than in Canada. I have
dinner in the hotel and make sure to have some FRENCH fries.
Sunday: Woke at 8 am and had breakfast in the
hotel. I walk outside as it is nice and
my flight check in is hours away. But I
should have gone earlier.. My phone is off as I do not have a EU charger
and the battery is low. Packed and
ready at 10 am – I should have headed straight to my gate but I read my book (The
Red Queen) outside.
Had a bit of a mess getting home as I missed my WestJet flight over a damn covid test in a very unorganized French airport. And the Canadian web site very unclear. Caught an Air France flight back later that evening to Montreal. (return flight at $550 but I can go back to Paris later ?) At least I got wine on the flight. West Jet applied my missed flight to the rewards program.
In Montreal it was very late and the customs
line was long and then, per my declaration, I had to go through another line
where my French butter was confiscated. With
my phone plugged in at the Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport and wifi I found a
nearby hotel and then a taxi to it. ($18
minimum fare from the airport for a 6 minute ride) Was so messed up on the time and hungry so I walked to the
pub next door and chatted to the owner.
Almost had a Creemore Spring beer but the tap was empty.
Monday: I found a flight under $1,000 from Montreal to Vancouver that leaves tonight at 6 pm so I take the hotel shuttle back to the airport and then transit to the city centre. I walk quite a distance to St Catherine street which has changed drastically since I was last there in 2014 !
Montreal's St Catherine Street
I buy Nick some tee shirts for his birthday at Jack & Jones and
Avander a magic game. I had found cute
things for Char in Madrid. Come across
a 3 Brasseurs pub that I had been at with my sister on our last visit and sit for
two pints and a burger. Ran for the
bus that went back to the airport at about 3 pm.
Checked in my backpack because I had bought 2 bottles of French wine at
the duty free in Paris.
Arrive in
Vancouver local time at 9 but I don’t know what time zone I am in. Have a Travelodge booked and catch a bus
there. But nothing nearby is open for dinner.
Tuesday: I walk out to the bus that will take me to
the ferry, thinking I will catch the 10 am ferry, but there is a 9 am (missed)
or 11 am – which I am first in line to walk on.
The Tsawwassen
ferry has a coffee shop which I savour while opening my good French chocolate
bar.
Arrive in
Victoria at 12:30 and Veronica, Nick and Charlotte are there to pick me
up. I am so glad to be home.
But now I
am disappointed in Canadian food, fashion, chocolate, and the political
system. Spain is where I should be
living ! ! !
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