Martin Fuggle Downunder

We packed up and headed down for our last breakfast at Sol Galua before heading off to Granada. Unfortunately the car battery was flat because I had left the lights on but a few of the hotel staff pushed us down the hill and off we went. We decided to take the main roads to Granada and started on the A-7 back to Murcia before finding the AP-7 towards Almeria. We took a road off to the north a bit before we got to Almeria and headed up through the Sierra Nevada range of mountains. We could see the peaks which were covered in snow but most of the journey was through moon like landscape which was not all that pretty. We stopped off at a place that looked like the wild west for a coffee and peccadillo. A little way further on we found a 'wild west' cinema set with all of the wild west saloons and a complete village of Indian tepees. We finally got into Granada at around 3.30pm and found a note from Tania and Graham to say that they had walked into Granada and would be back at around 3.30pm. Well a few minutes after we arrived they arrived back and we spent a bit of time catching up on each other's travels.
T&G had developed a routine where they set out sight-seeing in the morning and had a good sized lunch before a siesta at about three in the afternoon. They then did more sight seeing around 7.00pm at night. Well out routine had been mid-morning coffee, a bit of sight-seeing, a big lunch, a bit more sight-seeing and then an even bigger dinner at night before heading off to bed. So we had to change our routine a bit but it all worked out OK in the end.
We took a walk along the river in Granada and walked back through some of the back streets before stopping off for something to eat in one of the squares in Granada and then off to bed.

The weather is perfect and our decision to come to La Manga has been really good. We had a big breakfast this morning and after a check on the Australian news (BHP making a takeover for Rio Tinto and Packer splitting his empire) we went outside to do a bit of sun baking. We then played Petanque with some Dutch people (they slaughtered us 10-3) and into the Mediterranean for a swim - perfect.

After a good breakfast we drove into Algemesi where parked the car and took the train into Valencia. The train came right into the centre next to the Bull Ring where there are bull fights every Saturday and Sunday according to the publicity. Twelve bulls tortured and killed every week in just one venue across Spain is something that should be stopped once and for all. It is a cruel and barbaric practise which is on a par with the clubbing of baby seals in Canada.
Anyway we walked into the centre of Valencia and got a good feel about the city. We eventually came across the Tourist Bus and hopped on for a trip around the city. Running through the city is an old river bed which is a long park used for many recreational purposes. At one end was the most spectacular group of buildings housing a variety of cultural and scientific exhibits. We stopped off at the Aquarium and spent a good portion of the afternoon looking at the dolphins and most of the other exhibits before catching the Tourist Bus again and doing the rest of the tour back to the centre of Valencia. We had a light meal and took the train back to Algemesi, picked up the car and drove down to the beaches at Cullera where we had more to eat before returning to The Secret Garden and having a look at the Internet to book somewhere on the way to Granada.
We thought we may stop off at Aguilas but Angie suggested La Manga so we booked into a place called Sol Gulas which looks as if it's right on the beach and with good facilities. It's just what we thought about the place at Erice where we were proven so wrong. Anyway we have good hopes for La Manga (at least I do).

After a good breakfast we drove into Algemesi where we parked the car and took the train into Valencia. The train came right into the centre next to the Bull Ring where there are bull fights every Saturday and Sunday according to the publicity. Twelve bulls tortured and killed every week in just one venue across Spain is something that should be stopped once and for all. It is a cruel and barbaric practise which is on a par with the clubbing of baby seals in Canada.
Anyway we walked into the centre of Valencia and got a good feel about the city. We eventually came across the Tourist Bus and hopped on for a trip around the city. Running through the city is an old river bed which is a long park used for many recreational purposes. At one end was the most spectacular group of buildings housing a variety of cultural and scientific exhibits. We stopped off at the Aquarium and spent a good portion of the afternoon looking at the dolphins and most of the other exhibits before catching the Tourist Bus again and doing the rest of the tour back to the centre of Valencia. We had a light meal and took the train back to Algemesi, picked up the car and drove down to the beaches at Cullera where we had more to eat before returning to The Secret Garden and having a look at the Internet to book somewhere on the way to Granada.
We thought we may stop off at Aguilas but Angie suggested La Manga so we booked into a place called Sol Gulas which looks as if it's right on the beach and with good facilities. It's just what we thought about the place at Erice where we were proven so wrong. Anyway we have good hopes for La Manga (at least I do).

We got up reasonably early so that we could finish packing and get a taxi to the airport to pick up the car. The apartment was left in reasonable shape and we went out into the square to have a final coffee before looking for a taxi. The normal places in Placa del Pi were not open so we went to a small place in the next square, had a coffee and croissant with ham and cheese, picked up our bags and walked towards La Rambla to find a taxi. We were lucky to get one within a minute and we were off to the airport to pick up the car.
We got a Skoda Octavia which seems to be big enough for the bags that we will need to carry when we catch up with Tania and Graham and it was also quite comfortable. We left the airport on the road to Valencia via Tarragona and a few other places. We didn't see many of them because we took the AP-7 (at significant cost) and didn't stop until we got to a place called Vineros on the coast. We wanted some lunch and parked the car close to the port and went to a place where we had some tapas and a drink and then continued on our way.
We eventually found our way to the B&B that we had booked on the internet the previous night. It was called The Secret Garden and was located some way south of Valencia at a place called Benicull not far from Algemesi and between Alzira and Sueca. It was run by an English couple from Essex called Gerry and Angie who came to Spain around five years ago and had been running The Secret Garden for about three years. The room was very comfortable and over looked a large orange grove. In fact it was hard not to over look an orange grove since they were everywhere. We hadn't had a lot to eat during the day so we had a look around Benicull and found a bar where they prepared a steak and chips for us. It has been a long time since we have eaten something as plain as steak and chips but I must say it was a pleasant change.

We got up early at 5.00 am and did lots of packing. The taxi picked us up at 6.40 am and we got the bus to Heathrow where we had a two hour wait until the flight to Paris at 12 midday.

We got to Charles de Gaulle airport which is a fair way north of Paris the trip into the hotel was horrendous. W took the shuttle bus and then the Metro but got off one station too early which proved to be a disaster. There were lots of stairs, escalators (some not working) and all the time having to carry our cases up and down stairs and then dragging them along cobble streets. Eventually we arrived at Hotel de Ville which was the wrong station yet again and we had to walk about two kilometres to the hotel which in itself was a bit of a disappointment.

In the evening we found a 'tapas' bar called Feria - great atmosphere with very French padded seats. We had assorted nibbles (cheese, octopus, salami. etc.) with great wine. We then had the most delicious ice cream made of various berries.

The area has lots of interesting little eating places which we are going to explore.

We had a bit of a lazy day and started by having a coffee in the square where the Pintors de Pi were set up to display and sell their paintings. From our coffee table we could see one painting that we really liked. Before we spoke to the artist we looked around all of the artists work and bought a 'life drawing' which we really liked. We then went to look at the oil painting that we saw previously and couldn't resist buying it. It was a painting of Tarragon by a painter called Irazon who gave us a book of his exhibitions and he seems to be well regarded.
We wanted to see the Music Palace and as we walked we found a group of people dressed up and playing music below a group of people on a balcony above the square. After the first group had finished another group came along and then another group. It was great to listen to but we had no idea what was really going on. We continued to the Music Hall and had bite to eat before we found that all of the guided tours had been booked out and the only thing we could do was book for the following day (or any day up to the next seven). Unfortunately we leave for Valencia tomorrow so we'll have to miss seeing what looked like a fabulous concert hall.
We had a lazy night and packed ready to leave for Valencia tomorrow after a very pleasant few days in Barcelona.

We planned to go to see the Parc Guell today which was another of Gaudi's projects. It was started as a project to develop a community but unfortunately it never succeeded and the only house built was I suppose a 'spec house' which was where Gaudi lived for about twenty years of his life. In spite of its failure the park was fantastic and the design very innovative. We had a snack in the park and apart from one of the most expensive rolls in the world we also had a jug of sangria at an exorbitant cost. It tasted a bit like raspberry cordial and was certainly nothing special - it did make Jenny have one of her laughing fits so maybe there is some stuff in it that's worth the price.
On our way back we had to get back on the Red Bus and do the rest of the tour again back to the Plaza de Catalunya.

We had our usual coffee before getting onto the tourist bus at the Christopher Columbus monument. It was raining and not very pleasant weather but we managed to get on the Blue Bus and started on the tour. We were a bit undecided what we would do because the weather was a problem and eventually decided that we would get off the blue bus at one of the crossovers with the Red Bus and go to see the Sagrada Famiglia. Jenny found out that their were tours at 1.00 and 3.00pm so we had a look around the interior of the temple and then went on the tour. The building is amazing and the history quite incredible. We were stunned with the size of the building and the attention to detail in terms of materials and design - it's little wonder that Gaudi is so recognised worldwide for his capability.
We got back on the Red Bus and had to go right around the tour just to get back to the Plaza de Catalunya and then walked back down La Rambla to the apartment.

The weather was good and we had a good feel about Barcelona. Our apartment was only a short walk to La Rambla and we wandered down towards the port and went up the Christopher Columbus monument and had a good look around the city with an outstanding view. We saw the tourist bus and decided to get that the following day so that we could do the same sort of trip around the city that we did in Palermo. We headed back along La Rambla and found the market half way along.
The market was wonderful with fantastic displays of fruit, meat fish and all sorts of lovely things. There were a few places to eat and we stopped at one of them where we had our first lot of sardines and grilled asparagus. From there we went home and struggled with the washing/drying machine (successfully).
We left it on and went off to the Cathedral and the Picasso Museum. The cathedral was really impressive and Jenny loved the white geese in the courtyard. Picasso was also great. We were able to see the development of his work from the time he was only 13 until his death. At thirteen has was painting old people from the village he lived in and the realism of these paintings was startling. They were from my perspective the most interesting of all of his paintings. I couldn't come to grips with his 'cubism' phase and really don't like it. We bought a few things in the shop including a couple of packs of cards so that we had something to do in the evening (Spanish TV is just as bad, if not worse than Italian TV. At least we could understand most of the Italian TV and the quiz shows were better).
We decided to return to Taller de Tapas where we had our second lot of sardines, chorizo in cider, tomatoes and anchovies and a few other things before returning to the apartment to retire to bed.