Frankenfurter

My last train journey took me across France and into Germany to the city of Frankfurt, where my lovely man meet me with my excess luggage! We had a really nice few days just relaxing and enjoying the city. Not a big tourist destination it wasn't over run with people, but had a cute little old town centre. We enjoyed the local cusine of snitchel, and apfelwine (like cider) - delicious! Wandered the old town with its gorgeous old buildings, stumbled across a beach volleyball tournament in the city centre on the Saturday and enjoyed some impromptu volleyball. The following day was pouring with rain, and we only made it as far as a coffee house for breakfast and coffee! Was a lovely chilled out city with a great vibe and a really nice way to end my two months of amazing but chaotic travels. It has been an incredible experience, through seven countries, nine cities and a host of amazing friends and family. Thanks to all of those who meet me along the way, and shared some fabulous times and memories. Hopefully we can do it again soon!

But for now it is goodbye to Europe and London and hello to the land of the long white cloud! I'm coming home :)

Old town houses

Old little church

Frankfurt Cathedral

Volleyball time!

My travel warn chucks, served me well

Home sweet home here I come!

Versailles Palace

My final day in Paris I took a day trip out to Versailles. The Palace was home to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The interior was lavishly furnished with gold guilding covering the walls, enormous tapestries and furnishings. The famous hall of mirrors where they held their balls was exquisite, the ceiling covered with elaborate paintings and beautiful chandeliers along the length. Out into the gardens the sun started to shine, and the grounds extended in a large expanse down to the lake. I walked out to Marie Antoinettes 'cottage', a separate house Louis had built for her. From the cottage she had her own gardens, a grotto, and a little village built so she could get away from court life. It was a beautiful afternoon to stroll through the emaculate gardens, and incredible to see the sheer size and extent of their 'backyard'!

After enjoying a lovely few days in Paris it was time to head to my final destination, Frankfurt. My incredible two months of intrepid travels was almost over.

Back of the Palace

In the hall of mirrors

The chapel of the palace

Inside the King's rooms

A room with a view

At the top of the gardens

The side gardens

Front of the summer house

Inside the summer house

In Marie  Antoinette's village

One of the cottages

The Palace Versailles

City of Love

Monday morning I caught the train up to Paris. Feeling better from my sickness I was looking forward to seeing Todd who had made a last minute trip to meet me in Paris for a few days. I arrived in the afternoon to more hot weather, and meet Todd at our hotel. We headed out in the afternoon from our hotel in the north west towards the city. Walking down to the Republic district we grabbed a bite to eat, before continuing our stroll down to the main centre. Stopping outside the Hotel de Ville, one of the many large historic buildings. Then walked along to the Place de Vosges, one of the oldest squares in Paris. It is a beautiful little park with four large corner fountains surrounded by impressive old apartments. It was packed with people in the hot weather making the most of their evening after work. After relaxing in the park we went in search of some dinner, a yummy salad at a local restaurant. The heat of the day had burnt off and we headed over to the Isle Staint Louis, and then across the bridge to the Ile de la Citie, the two islands in the middle of the river Seine. We enjoyed the last of the day in the beautiful garden behind the Note Dame with is blossoming roses growing up behind the incredible church.

Tuesday I dragged Todd out to the Musee d'Orsay for a bit of culture. After waiting in the que in the hot sun, it was a relief to be in the cool of the building. The museum in housed in an old railway station, a beautiful building with increadible light to show off its sculptures and paintings. After our bit of culture we found some yummy lunch at an overpriced cafe, and then wandered down to the Hotel des Invalides. An impressive building built as a hospital for the solider's in the 1600's. Then it was time to get out of the heat and have a break, so we found a nice spot under the shady trees of the park to relax for a bit. In the evening we went up to Montmarte to see the Sacre Cour. A stunning white domed church set on the hill with an amazing view across the city. Then had a lovely traditional french dinner at a local brazziarie.

The following day Todd headed back to London, and after saying goodbye I went into town to check out the shopping! Firstly went to the Galleries Lafayette, a massive fancy shopping centre with a beautiful dome cealing. After my legs had had enough shopping I relaxed in Les Tuileries gardens next to the Lourve for a picnic lunch. Then I headed out in search of some of Paris's beautiful churches. Found St Eugistines in Les Hales, with its beautiful stain glass windows. And then down to the Notre Dame, which has a magnificent interior. Then lastly wandered past St Severn an old gothic church, with brightly coloured modern stained glass.

For my last day in Paris I was looking forward to a Day trip to Versailles.

Notre Dame garden

Place de Vosges

Inside the Musee D'Orsay

Todd and I on the balcony of the Musee

Stunning view

Sacre Cour

Galleries Lafayette gloriousness! 

Beautiful Jarden de Tuileries    

The pyramid

Amazing stain glass windows

Inside the Notre Dame

St Severn 

Picturesque Paris

  

Bordeaux

After leaving Palma I had a night in transit in Barcelona before catching the train to Bordeaux. The train took three changes and most of the day, I arrived into a very warm Bordeaux in the afternoon. In the evening I went for a walk down along the river side and into town to find some dinner. The old town is very pictureisque with small cobbled streets and scattered old buildings and churches.

The following day I walked in towards town, picking up some tasty pastries for breakfast along the way. Stumbled across the Marche des Capucins - the local market, filled with fresh produce. Then continued along up to the main street Rue ste Catherine with all the main shops. At the top is the Place de Comedie with two very grand buildings flanking it. One the theatre and the other one of the old hotels. I grabbed some lunch from a local supermarket and went to chill out in the public gardens, as the weather was a scorching 30 degrees! In the evening I endured a swelteringly hot bus to move accommodation to my hostel, which turned out to be quite a way out of town! But I had a room to myself with an en suite so I wasn't complaining.

On the Saturday I came down with a tummy bug, so wasn't feeling very well. But headed into town for a bit of fresh air. Visted the St Micheal church and the Musee de Beaux Arts, where there was only a small section open. But the museum also had a lovely courtyard garden where I enjoyed a bit of chill out time before heading back to the hostel. Sunday I was planning to go out to the winarys, but unfortunatly wasn't feeling well enough, so had a quiet day instead.

Bordeaux was a very pretty town, I unfortunatly didn't get to see it to its full potential because I was unwell. But would love to return and do a road trip around the vineyards to sample some of their famous reds.

River Garoone

La Porte Cailhau

St Cathrines

Roses in the Garden's

In the Public Garden's

St Michael's

Island Paradise

Flew into  Palma Monday evening, and the first thing that you notice coming into the bay is the massive cathedral lit up on the waterfront. It looked majestic against the backdrop of the island mountains. My first day I spent exploring the old town. Phil's apartment is very centrally located right of the main shopping street, with the old town just behind. A maze of small cobbled streets, up and down stairs and rising over the hill. Then I wandered down to check out the waterfront and cathedral. In front of the cathedral they have developed a beautiful park with an inlet of sea water. In the evening I went with the boys up to the hills where they did a bit of outdoor climbing. With a bit of encouragement they managed to get me up a couple of walls, in my sturdy chucks no less! But made it to the top and down without any dramas.

The rest of my week was pretty relaxed. Went into the cathedral for a look around, it has the largest rose (circular) stained glass windows in Europe which were beautiful and some very old gold gilded alter statues.

Walked along to the castle on the hill, which was a bit of a trek to the top in the hot sun. The castle itself is pretty old, and apparently the only one of its kind which has a fully circular shape. Was going to chill out in the surrounding 'park' but it turned out to be more like scrubby Australian bush, so walked down to the waterfront and read my book by the marina.
Friday night we headed out for some tapas and drinks. Dinner Spanish style however is very late, after 9pm so I required some snacks before dinner! Had some amazing tapas though - croquettes (creamy chicken filling), potatas bravis (potato with a spicy sauce) and a delish half chicken. After dinner was finished at about 11 I was shown the vibrant night life of Palma.

On the weekend a Spanish friend took us out to her batch in the middle of the island. A gorgeous little cottage in an orchard complete with rooftop deck. We drove out to the eastern coast for a walk. The coast there was very different, jagged volcanic rock. Then it was back to the batch for a big bbq dinner. With pimentos as entrees - one of my favourite Spanish dishes, small green peppers fried with salt - delicious! After dinner had a great game of 500 with the boys. (Just for the record Phil and I smashed them!).

On Sunday we drove north up the island and stopped at one of the villages where they were having their annual market. The market had a medieval theme, with the streets lined with stalls working their was up the hill towards the castle. They had the most amazing food - cakes, olives, a whole tray of meats, cheese, it all looked amazing. The castle itself was perched on the very top of the hill, and had amazing views out to sea and down across the village.
After the markets we headed out to the beach to cool off and relax. The beach had quite large waves rolling in, but jumped in for a refreshing dip (it was quite cold!) before drying off in the sunshine. Then it was time to trek our way back across the island and make our way to Phil's boss's house Fi who'd invited us for a bbq. We had an amazing dinner with far to much food, and I got my dog fix for the month (they and four crazy dogs running about the place!). As we were eating dinner we saw a lightning storm coming up the island from Palma - there were huge flashed and rumbles. And when we drove home, we drove through the storm which was massive, there were huge hail stones pelting down on the truck, and fork lighting which struck only about 500m away from us! It was crazy. But made it home safely if a little bit wet!

Moday I tested out my riding skills. Borrowed the flatties bike and took myself for a ride around the bays. I only realised as I went to turn to go back exactly how hard the wind was blowing. And on my one gear cruiser bike, it was quite an effort getting home against the wind! In the evening Phil and I went to check out the terracotta warriors exhibit. Theses life size warriors were built for the tomb of the first emperor of china, and there were 8,000 of them! Very impressive!

Tuesday the flat mates took me out to the markets for breakfast. And selected some fresh prawns which the local cafe in the market cooked up for us to have with our coffee - amazing!  Then I spent the afternoon chilling in the park and finishing my book. After Phil finished work we drove north up the island to Soller a cute little old town, and had some tapas and a wine while enjoying the last sun of the day. Then continued our drive around the northern bays to Deia set up in the hills with amazing views across the ocean, and then inland a little to vent another old town with gorgeous leafy trees. Before heading back to Palma to meet the others for some tapas for dinner.

And then Wednesday I was off on my next adventure. Had a fantastic stay in Palma, it was great to chill out after being all go travelling. Such a diverse and beautiful island I can see why it draws so many tourists there. Will defiantly have to return for another visit some time :)

Palma cathedral

Frontage Palma Cathedral

Local beach

Old town streets

Village Market

BBQ anyone?

The team

Overlooking the village in the north of the island

A wine in the sun at Soller

Soller in between the mountains

Looking over Palma

Barcelona

Arrived into Barcelona Friday afternoon and meet up with Kat, Ange and Paul for the start of a fun filled weekend. It was a super hot afternoon of around 30 degrees as we headed out to check out the city. Walked down to the port which is quite a newly developed area, and found some yummy gelato, only problem was it melted so fast! Then wandered around to the beach, which they made for the Olympics, importing sand from Egypt! A very nice beach though, and packed with people on a Friday afternoon. Wandered through the old town area and La Rambla, and enjoyed some sangria to cool off. Then meet up with Kat's friend Mel, Phil and Ryan for some tapas, followed by a little too much sangria and dancing into the night!

Saturday consequently started off a bit slower. When we rolled out of bed a little worse for the wear, found the Spanish equivalent of a greasy breakfast - bacon and cheese roll and potato omelet - yum! Then went to get our tourist on. Headed to the Sagrada Famillia, the most famous church in Barcelona. Designed by Gaudi, building began over 100 years ago in the 1890's and the church is still being completed! But it is an incredible structure even unfinished. From the out side you can see four towers, and each side of the church is decorated with a fresco. On one entrance the nativity completed in Gaudi's life time, is a series of carvings depicting the life of Jesus. On the opposite side a very different style, though still designed by Gaudi, depicts the final days of Jesus - known as the Passion. The interior of the church is impressive filled with branching columns into the very high ceiling, with amazing bright contemporary stained glass windows. There's nothing quite like it. The degree of the designs and engineering behind it is staggering. As building continues they are hoping to complete the church by 2030! So maby another visit in my retirement to see the finished work! 


After the Famillia we walked up to the Parc Guell, another place filled with Gaudi's works. Enjoyed a relaxing few hours out of the sun, before heading off in search of some dinner. Found a small restaurant in the middle of the old town and overfilled ourselves on tapas and paella.

The following day was a more relaxing one. Wandered into town and found the old cathedral with an attaching outdoor courtyard containing small chapel's in its archways - very pretty. Enjoyed some Spanish coffee and very yummy pastries from a local bakery. Then walked down to the Parc de La Ciutadella for a picnic lunch and some chilling out. Afterwards went up the fenicular on the other side of town to the Parc Montjuic. A beautiful green park set up on the overlooking Barcelona, we stumbled across an amazing building which turned out to be the museum, with the magic fountain in front. And found the olympic stadium, complete with escalators to carry the hoards of people up the hill to the stadium. Tucked into some more yummy tapas for dinner, before going back to the fountain to see the night show complete with music and lights. The fountain looked beautiful with an avenue of fountains stretching out in front of it, and the museum behind it.


Monday was another chilled day. Found some churros - pastry sticks you dip in chocolate, with coffee for a morning snack. Went to have a lye in the sunshine on the beach, which was nice, except the wind was blowing a gale! So gave up after a bit and went to the park instead. Before grabbing one last gelato before it was time to head back to the hostel and out to the airport. 


Had an fabulous weekend, great friends, amazing food, brilliant weather and a great city to enjoy it all in. Can't really ask for more can you? 

Beautiful beaches

The nativity facade

Sagrada Familia 

The interior of the church

Stain glass windows

The passion facade

Parc Guell

The team overlooking the city

In the Parc Montjuic

Coffee and Churros - yum!

Kat, me and Ange

Gaudi architecture 

Our massive Paella

Incredible Pastries

Red fountain

Overlooking the fountain