Friday, April 30, 2004
Rome trip - Day 1
We got in late last night and found our way to the hostel from the airport reasonably easily. We spent two hours on a coach (mostly just sitting in traffic!) to Stanstead airport before the two hour flight.
Rome trip - Day 2
Had a good day seeing the sites but are both really tired so we'll update you on the details tomorrow.
Nighty night.
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We got in late last night and found our way to the hostel from the airport reasonably easily. We spent two hours on a coach (mostly just sitting in traffic!) to Stanstead airport before the two hour flight.
Rome trip - Day 2
Had a good day seeing the sites but are both really tired so we'll update you on the details tomorrow.
Nighty night.
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Wednesday, April 28, 2004
A quick post to let you know that we have just uploaded our Spain trip photos so go check them out.
Also it was really nice to catch up with our friend Nick who has just arrived with his girlfriend Erica. They are living just down the road at the mo so we should be seeing them often.
Well got to get going. We have to pack because we leave for Rome tomorrow! Expect another blow by blow account of our trip over the next few days.
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Also it was really nice to catch up with our friend Nick who has just arrived with his girlfriend Erica. They are living just down the road at the mo so we should be seeing them often.
Well got to get going. We have to pack because we leave for Rome tomorrow! Expect another blow by blow account of our trip over the next few days.
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Friday, April 16, 2004
Spain Trip – Day 11
We went back to the Sagrada Familia in the morning so I could take some photos from the outside. It was nice to say good bye as well.
We then made our way to the airport to catch our flight home.
Back home
Although we thoroughly enjoyed our trip it was great to get back to our lovely new flat and a good nights sleep. One draw back with staying at a hostel is the noise in the shared dorms.
It’s also nice to come back to a four day working week. We went to Paulette and Reinhold Berger’s home for dinner on Wednesday. It was great to finally meet their daughter Ellie who stayed with Joy in Orewa on exchange from Germany. We talked with her and her friend Linda (from Berlin) about their love of NZ. Joseph, Joy, Rose and Simon will visit Ellie in Frankfurt in September.
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We went back to the Sagrada Familia in the morning so I could take some photos from the outside. It was nice to say good bye as well.
We then made our way to the airport to catch our flight home.
Back home
Although we thoroughly enjoyed our trip it was great to get back to our lovely new flat and a good nights sleep. One draw back with staying at a hostel is the noise in the shared dorms.
It’s also nice to come back to a four day working week. We went to Paulette and Reinhold Berger’s home for dinner on Wednesday. It was great to finally meet their daughter Ellie who stayed with Joy in Orewa on exchange from Germany. We talked with her and her friend Linda (from Berlin) about their love of NZ. Joseph, Joy, Rose and Simon will visit Ellie in Frankfurt in September.
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Sunday, April 11, 2004
Spain Trip - Day 8
The next stop on the Gaudi tour was Parc Guell. This is a large park on the side of a hill commissioned by the namesake for the well to do people to relax in. However the project ran out of money before it was completed and the park was handed over to the Council and opened to the public. A great win against capitalism! The park´s bridges look like natural rock, two houses that look like the ginger bread house in Hansel and Gretel and chameleon fountain. And its all free!
The Olympic village is by the beach and reminiscent of the Viaduct basin in Auckland, over priced restaurants, bars and little character. Unfortunately it was too cold for a swim.
On our way back to town we stopped at the Parc de la Cuitadella. A large open park with lots of grass areas which were fenced off but no one seemed to care. We sat in the sun, read our books and listened to the african drummers nearby. It reminded me of a summers day in Wellington at the Botanical gardens.
Spain Trip - Day 9
Speaking of Botanical gardens the one here is rather disappointing. It is very new so all the trees are tiny and the area covered is quite small. The gardens are on Montjuic a hill which has Castell de Montjuic on top.
Castell de Montjuic is a fortress which affords a view across the entire Barcelona waterfront although I enjoyed the view Lou was suffering in the cold wind and was not interested in the Military Museum in the fort (which is nothing on Waiouru). We took the gondola down to a park for some more rest and reading.
Spain Trip - Day 10
Being our last full day in Spain it was time to see the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi´s masterpiece. After seeing so many Cathedrals already on our trips it was interesting and refreshing to see a modern interpretation in construction. Even though it is not finished I must say it is the my favourite Church. The enormous spires reaching into the sky, the angular, modern sculptures of the Passion facade, the use of natural inspiration for the architecture makes it feel more alive and relevant than other churches certainly a highlight of the trip. Lous kicking herself for forgetting her camera.
The web site for the temple is actually quite good.
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The next stop on the Gaudi tour was Parc Guell. This is a large park on the side of a hill commissioned by the namesake for the well to do people to relax in. However the project ran out of money before it was completed and the park was handed over to the Council and opened to the public. A great win against capitalism! The park´s bridges look like natural rock, two houses that look like the ginger bread house in Hansel and Gretel and chameleon fountain. And its all free!
The Olympic village is by the beach and reminiscent of the Viaduct basin in Auckland, over priced restaurants, bars and little character. Unfortunately it was too cold for a swim.
On our way back to town we stopped at the Parc de la Cuitadella. A large open park with lots of grass areas which were fenced off but no one seemed to care. We sat in the sun, read our books and listened to the african drummers nearby. It reminded me of a summers day in Wellington at the Botanical gardens.
Spain Trip - Day 9
Speaking of Botanical gardens the one here is rather disappointing. It is very new so all the trees are tiny and the area covered is quite small. The gardens are on Montjuic a hill which has Castell de Montjuic on top.
Castell de Montjuic is a fortress which affords a view across the entire Barcelona waterfront although I enjoyed the view Lou was suffering in the cold wind and was not interested in the Military Museum in the fort (which is nothing on Waiouru). We took the gondola down to a park for some more rest and reading.
Spain Trip - Day 10
Being our last full day in Spain it was time to see the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi´s masterpiece. After seeing so many Cathedrals already on our trips it was interesting and refreshing to see a modern interpretation in construction. Even though it is not finished I must say it is the my favourite Church. The enormous spires reaching into the sky, the angular, modern sculptures of the Passion facade, the use of natural inspiration for the architecture makes it feel more alive and relevant than other churches certainly a highlight of the trip. Lous kicking herself for forgetting her camera.
The web site for the temple is actually quite good.
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Thursday, April 08, 2004
Spain Trip - Day 7 Barcelona
The weather today reminds me of London a couple of weeks ago, wet and cold. It is supposed to be warmer here! Anyway we took a the opportunity to do some indoor stuff.
First stop the Picaso Museum. The museum has a wide range of his work ranging from when he was 15 to just before he died. It is very interesting to see the progression of his style due to the influence of different people and events. In the early days his paintings were very traditional if slightly impressionist. He then made the gradual move to the cubism he is known for. Some of it was a bit childish for my tastes. He painted 24 different versions of a painting by an old master, and none of them looked anything like it!
The afternoon was devoted to Gaudi. There are two buildings of his on Passeig de Garcia the first being an apartment built for his benefactor, a wealthy textile merchant. The building has a nautical theme where he uses wood to make flowing shapes, green and blue stained glass, mosaics and whirl pool ceilings. He was not just artistically minded but also had ingenious inventions for ventilation and lighting. I would direct you to the web site but it is absolutely horrendous.
Further up the street is the La Pedrera. It houses a few local government departments but the penthouse is divded into two apartments open to the public. One has authentic furniture and contents so you can see what it was like to live in when it was completed in 1906. Although much simpler inside than Casa Batllo the real jewel is the roof. On top are some unique mosaic chimney stacks. In the attic you can see the structure of the brick arches that support the roof.
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The weather today reminds me of London a couple of weeks ago, wet and cold. It is supposed to be warmer here! Anyway we took a the opportunity to do some indoor stuff.
First stop the Picaso Museum. The museum has a wide range of his work ranging from when he was 15 to just before he died. It is very interesting to see the progression of his style due to the influence of different people and events. In the early days his paintings were very traditional if slightly impressionist. He then made the gradual move to the cubism he is known for. Some of it was a bit childish for my tastes. He painted 24 different versions of a painting by an old master, and none of them looked anything like it!
The afternoon was devoted to Gaudi. There are two buildings of his on Passeig de Garcia the first being an apartment built for his benefactor, a wealthy textile merchant. The building has a nautical theme where he uses wood to make flowing shapes, green and blue stained glass, mosaics and whirl pool ceilings. He was not just artistically minded but also had ingenious inventions for ventilation and lighting. I would direct you to the web site but it is absolutely horrendous.
Further up the street is the La Pedrera. It houses a few local government departments but the penthouse is divded into two apartments open to the public. One has authentic furniture and contents so you can see what it was like to live in when it was completed in 1906. Although much simpler inside than Casa Batllo the real jewel is the roof. On top are some unique mosaic chimney stacks. In the attic you can see the structure of the brick arches that support the roof.
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Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Amendment to the last post
In fact the number of members in the brotherhoods is closer to 1,000 than 200 and includes children in smaller versions of the outfits. And I was worried I´d miss the parades! We spent a lot of the next couple of days working out how to avoid them!
Spain trip - Day 4 Sevilla
We visited the Gothic Cathedral today. It´s supposed to be the biggest church in the world and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The Giralda Tower is attached the the Church and is one of the most important examples of Moorish architecture. The cathedral had everything you expect of a grand church. We are already starting to get church fatigue. Well, we have a couple more to see yet. One is the great Gaudi church in Barcelona and the other is the Sistine chapel in the Vatican City (we are visiting Rome at the end of April).
The great thing about the Cathedral and the Alcazar palace is that succeeding generations of the kings and heads of the church had enough foresight not to knock down the previous structures but to add to them instead. This leaves a mish mash of excellent examples of different styles of architecture that were around in each period.
The rest of the day was spent in the beautiful and peaceful Maria Luisa gardens and the Plaza de Espana, a grand but unused building on which work stopped after the Wall St crash. We also walked around the Jewish quarter which had a lot of character.
The temperature was a balmy 28 degrees.
Spain trip - Day 5 Sevilla
Did some shopping today.
Joseph likened the festivities of Santa Semana (Easter week) to the AMP fair back in NZ. Everyone from the region comes out in their Sunday best. We felt very under dressed. There are huge crowds. Cute little kids were dressed in smart outfits (boys in all in one braces and shorts suits and long socks with hair neatly combed, girls in pretty dresses with bows in their hair).
My lasting impressions are of the sound of Spanish trumpets, the coloured wax in the streets (from the brotherhood candles), the family feeling of the Santa Semana festival, the smell of orange blossoms, the beautiful gardens, the many shoe stores, the narrow streets, the view of the processions and floats progressing over the bridge with the hooded brotherhoods and throngs of people following. You don´t see that every day!
Our visit to Seville ended wonderfully with the sound of a classical Spanish guitar serenading us to sleep. I think there was a music school next to our hostel and someone was practicing. Divine!
Spain trip - Day 6 Travelling on the train and Barcelona
Another pleasant train trip. I managed to get tickets in the Tourist class for this trip. A 1/3 of the price of the 1st class tickets. It was still comfortable though.
We are now back in Barcelona and looking forward to checking out Senor Gaudi´s legacy.
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In fact the number of members in the brotherhoods is closer to 1,000 than 200 and includes children in smaller versions of the outfits. And I was worried I´d miss the parades! We spent a lot of the next couple of days working out how to avoid them!
Spain trip - Day 4 Sevilla
We visited the Gothic Cathedral today. It´s supposed to be the biggest church in the world and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The Giralda Tower is attached the the Church and is one of the most important examples of Moorish architecture. The cathedral had everything you expect of a grand church. We are already starting to get church fatigue. Well, we have a couple more to see yet. One is the great Gaudi church in Barcelona and the other is the Sistine chapel in the Vatican City (we are visiting Rome at the end of April).
The great thing about the Cathedral and the Alcazar palace is that succeeding generations of the kings and heads of the church had enough foresight not to knock down the previous structures but to add to them instead. This leaves a mish mash of excellent examples of different styles of architecture that were around in each period.
The rest of the day was spent in the beautiful and peaceful Maria Luisa gardens and the Plaza de Espana, a grand but unused building on which work stopped after the Wall St crash. We also walked around the Jewish quarter which had a lot of character.
The temperature was a balmy 28 degrees.
Spain trip - Day 5 Sevilla
Did some shopping today.
Joseph likened the festivities of Santa Semana (Easter week) to the AMP fair back in NZ. Everyone from the region comes out in their Sunday best. We felt very under dressed. There are huge crowds. Cute little kids were dressed in smart outfits (boys in all in one braces and shorts suits and long socks with hair neatly combed, girls in pretty dresses with bows in their hair).
My lasting impressions are of the sound of Spanish trumpets, the coloured wax in the streets (from the brotherhood candles), the family feeling of the Santa Semana festival, the smell of orange blossoms, the beautiful gardens, the many shoe stores, the narrow streets, the view of the processions and floats progressing over the bridge with the hooded brotherhoods and throngs of people following. You don´t see that every day!
Our visit to Seville ended wonderfully with the sound of a classical Spanish guitar serenading us to sleep. I think there was a music school next to our hostel and someone was practicing. Divine!
Spain trip - Day 6 Travelling on the train and Barcelona
Another pleasant train trip. I managed to get tickets in the Tourist class for this trip. A 1/3 of the price of the 1st class tickets. It was still comfortable though.
We are now back in Barcelona and looking forward to checking out Senor Gaudi´s legacy.
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Sunday, April 04, 2004
Spain trip - Day 2 On the train from Barcelona to Sevilla
We caught the metro to the train station. Lou had a bit of trouble getting through the turnstile at the entrance. The security guard helped her through, then showed us which way to go and followed us on the train, even when we changed to another line! We found it a bit unerving but it turned out he was just being helpful and once we reached the train terminal he went on his way.
The train trip was nice. The train booked up fast so Lou could only get first class seats (that´s what she says anyway). Food and drinks were provided. We went down the coast first and saw some lovely beachside towns. Then we turned inland, through the heart of Spain, and travelled through vast plains with mountains in the far distance. It was uneventful except for an unscheduled change at Madrid.
Spain trip - Day 3 Sevilla
We got going at about 11 am and headed for the river front. We had a pleasant stroll in the warm weather and ended up at Alcazar Palace, the haunt of many Kings of the past. It started off as a fortress and each subsequent King made additions. The most impressive are the Moorish sections with superbly intricate, 3D carvings on the walls and cellings. Another highlight is the immaculately manicured gardens.
In the afternoon the parades (and crowds) began. The night before we had seen people setting up vast arrays of wooden chairs and we wondered how they would be filled. At first we thought there was going to be one long parade and that anyone could take a seat and watch it go by. Oh were we wrong!
The parades have a long tradition in Sevilla. They began in the 15th century to explain to the illiterate masses the gospel. There are several Brotherhoods each with a float representing a scene from the passion of christ (yes like the Mel Gibson movie). The brothers wear outfits identical to those worn by the KKK (I think these marches were their inspiration) however there is no sinister connection to racism. Each brotherhood has a different version of the costume, like faculties at University.
Eager to watch the parade we found a spot and watched one brotherhood go by, there were maybe 200 members. We decided to head back to the hostel for a rest before the evening and on the way ran into another procession. We took an alternate route with the same result. By now the streets were packed with people, all in their best suits. Every way we turned there were crowds. I think everyone from the provinces has come in for the fun.
We managed to get a flyer (in Spanish) explaining the festival. There are 9 brotherhoods processing today. The first one started at 1 this afternoon. The last finnishes at 2:45 in the morning! They all begin and end at different places. A different group of 9 brotherhoods will march each day for the rest of the week, 54 brotherhoods in all. We will have to fit our timing and routes around them if we want to see more sites in the town.
There was one worrying moment when there apeared to be a stampede, luckily we were at the entrance to a hotel at the time and we rushed into the foyer, everyone was reminded of Madrid and what a perfect terrorist target this festival was. We never found out what the reason was and the parade continued. We have just now managed to find our way to this internet cafe for a brief respite.
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We caught the metro to the train station. Lou had a bit of trouble getting through the turnstile at the entrance. The security guard helped her through, then showed us which way to go and followed us on the train, even when we changed to another line! We found it a bit unerving but it turned out he was just being helpful and once we reached the train terminal he went on his way.
The train trip was nice. The train booked up fast so Lou could only get first class seats (that´s what she says anyway). Food and drinks were provided. We went down the coast first and saw some lovely beachside towns. Then we turned inland, through the heart of Spain, and travelled through vast plains with mountains in the far distance. It was uneventful except for an unscheduled change at Madrid.
Spain trip - Day 3 Sevilla
We got going at about 11 am and headed for the river front. We had a pleasant stroll in the warm weather and ended up at Alcazar Palace, the haunt of many Kings of the past. It started off as a fortress and each subsequent King made additions. The most impressive are the Moorish sections with superbly intricate, 3D carvings on the walls and cellings. Another highlight is the immaculately manicured gardens.
In the afternoon the parades (and crowds) began. The night before we had seen people setting up vast arrays of wooden chairs and we wondered how they would be filled. At first we thought there was going to be one long parade and that anyone could take a seat and watch it go by. Oh were we wrong!
The parades have a long tradition in Sevilla. They began in the 15th century to explain to the illiterate masses the gospel. There are several Brotherhoods each with a float representing a scene from the passion of christ (yes like the Mel Gibson movie). The brothers wear outfits identical to those worn by the KKK (I think these marches were their inspiration) however there is no sinister connection to racism. Each brotherhood has a different version of the costume, like faculties at University.
Eager to watch the parade we found a spot and watched one brotherhood go by, there were maybe 200 members. We decided to head back to the hostel for a rest before the evening and on the way ran into another procession. We took an alternate route with the same result. By now the streets were packed with people, all in their best suits. Every way we turned there were crowds. I think everyone from the provinces has come in for the fun.
We managed to get a flyer (in Spanish) explaining the festival. There are 9 brotherhoods processing today. The first one started at 1 this afternoon. The last finnishes at 2:45 in the morning! They all begin and end at different places. A different group of 9 brotherhoods will march each day for the rest of the week, 54 brotherhoods in all. We will have to fit our timing and routes around them if we want to see more sites in the town.
There was one worrying moment when there apeared to be a stampede, luckily we were at the entrance to a hotel at the time and we rushed into the foyer, everyone was reminded of Madrid and what a perfect terrorist target this festival was. We never found out what the reason was and the parade continued. We have just now managed to find our way to this internet cafe for a brief respite.
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Friday, April 02, 2004
Spain trip - Day 1 Barcelona
Ahh ... It seems like only yesterday that I was blogging from some tiny Internet cafe in Sri Lanka with an extremely slow internet connection paying by the minute. Now I am writing in a hostel with free broadband!
We have been here for just under 6 hours and I love it. There is something special about the warmth, tiny streets and amazing buildings. We looked inside the Barri Gothic cathedral in the center of the Gothic Quarter. It was similar to other churches we have seen except it had a lovely cloister and you could take a lift to the roof where you are afforded an expansive view of the city.
Outside the cathedral is a bustling, wide mall with a shoe shop every few meters (all of which Lou had to look through). We took a roundabout route back to the hostel and took in some beautiful architecture and lovely little paved side streets. There are many brasseries and bars that would fit 10 people at most with their regulars at the bar.
That's all for today. Tomorrow we are on the train to Seville!
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Ahh ... It seems like only yesterday that I was blogging from some tiny Internet cafe in Sri Lanka with an extremely slow internet connection paying by the minute. Now I am writing in a hostel with free broadband!
We have been here for just under 6 hours and I love it. There is something special about the warmth, tiny streets and amazing buildings. We looked inside the Barri Gothic cathedral in the center of the Gothic Quarter. It was similar to other churches we have seen except it had a lovely cloister and you could take a lift to the roof where you are afforded an expansive view of the city.
Outside the cathedral is a bustling, wide mall with a shoe shop every few meters (all of which Lou had to look through). We took a roundabout route back to the hostel and took in some beautiful architecture and lovely little paved side streets. There are many brasseries and bars that would fit 10 people at most with their regulars at the bar.
That's all for today. Tomorrow we are on the train to Seville!
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