Floriade 2011
Since 1988 Canberra has hosted a major flower show known as Floriade. It runs for the months of September and October. Commonwealth Park on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin is used to provide hundreds of hectares of garden space. The beds are principally bulbs such as tulips and daffodils but they are also jollied ...
Barcelona
The trip from Onda to Barcelona took us through hilly country with what might have been spectacular views of the coast except for the mist which hung low and thick. As usual the expressway was excellent and had a speed limit of 120 which was consistently ignored. Our first stop was at Barcelona soccer stadium ...
Valencia
This day we headed to Valencia. It was a long ride in the bus. We left so early it was still dark and we arrived at 3 in the afternoon. The hotel staff did make us breakfast though. We pulled into a parking area beside the Science and Arts quarter. A bloke named Santiago Calatrava ...
Cordoba and Alhambra
We left the hotel so early that we were given a plastic bag breakfast. The staff would not work so early. The breakfast complemented the previous evening’s meal. It was pretty poor. We had a long run to Cordoba but still arrived around 9.00 am. We crossed the bridge to the old town. The bridge ...
Seville
It was a long drive to Seville. We arrived in the early afternoon and rushed off to the Cathedral. The building started life as a mosque but became a Church when Seville was liberated (captured?) by the Christians. The original minaret has become the spire. The top fell off during the earthquake and has been ...
Lisbon
We began Saturday by heading past Lisbon to Cabo da Roca or Rocky Cape. This is the most westerly point in Europe. The lighthouse keeper had fine accommodation. Unfortunately it was raining so the views were limited. We continued along the coast to the “blow hole”. The surf was all of 15cm so I had ...
Fatima
Today we had a choice; we could stay in Fatima for private meditation or go to the coast and spent 3 hours on the beach for an additional 20 Euros. We have been to the beach before so we saved our Euros and slept in. The first time in over a week that we have ...
Porto
I don’t know why but I so wanted to love Porto. I was disappointed. It is a dirty, smelly city with no consistency in its architecture. That said, it was an interesting place to visit. Entry from the north is via expressway which brings you over some seriously high bridges with spectacular views of the ...
Salamanca? No the other one
This was a real treat. Salamanca has a delightful old town made predominantly from yellow sandstone. This gives it a warm welcoming tone. We arrived at 9.00 am before the locals were out of bed. The streets were empty and the light was perfect. We roamed around for an hour and then entered the library. ...
Valle de los Caidos
The day began with a trip to Prado. We arrived at 9.00 am, just as it opened. We were quickly inside and enjoying the art; Rembrandt, Goya, El Greco to name a few. Simply divine. We had two hours which was probably enough as it was very hard on the feet. We made our way ...