Year: 2015

Adios Barcelona, Hola Madrid

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 An early start today, sadly leaving Barcelona, but not before breakfast at the market once again.  This is the laneway outside our loft. Our front door  The interior courtyard, all musty and mysterious.  We’re off to Madrid by train, a renfe fast train at that, but unfortunately a “stopping all stations” version, so not too much super speed action. A good chance to rest the legs, listen to some Django Django tunes (get on it peeps!) and watch the countryside rush past. But before that, some thoughts on Barcelona. – Wonderfully atmospheric – full of history – outstanding winding laneways packed with interest. – spectacular buildings, none better than Sagrada Familia – the gentle waft of sewerage on street corners can be a little off putting, but… – clean, tidy, and not nearly as dodgy as I was led to believe, stories of pickpockets etc are to be highly exaggerated. If you wear a sign saying ‘I’m a dickhead tourist’ you get what’s coming to you, everyone else…just simple precautions. – not much grass, or …

Barcelona Day Four

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After a much needed sleep in from our 6 hour photography tour the night before, we start the day in true Spanish style at 10.30 am! I truly believe I am destined to live a Spanish lifestyle, siestas in the afternoon, late nights due to a second wind from said siesta, and lazy mornings, what’s not to love? As we head off for brekky at our favourite market to enjoy our usual fare, Hugh is suffering for his art from the night prior, with a very sore ankle from being on his feet for 6 hours straight. As he hobbles along the laneways I am tempted to put an empty cup in his hand to see if he can’t generate enough donations for our last night in Barcelona!!!     Due to the lateness of brekky we are almost tempted to enjoy a glass of Cava, but cannot go past a coffee to kick start our day. With nothing planned we head off towards the Picasso Museum to try our luck for a second time. …

Barcelona Day Three

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First things first….I’m writing this update under duress, I have just discovered the evil powers of Sangria! So has Rachael, who is having a siesta!! Right! Day three…started with a run amongst the yachts and cruisers of the marina and the Barceloneta, followed by coffee/croissant/fruit salad brekky at the La Boqueria which is growing on us by the minute. A great market place! We spent the rest of the day wandering around the Barri Gotic, La Ribera & El Born districts, which are all tightly bound within the old town. Fabulous laneways filled with shops, bars and historic buildings, including the Santa Maria del Mar Church which is the exact opposite of the Sagrada Familia….dark, somber, foreboding! We thought we had hit the jackpot upon reaching the Picasso Museum to find no queues….and no open doors!!! Not open on Mondays! We had what was supposed to be a quick lunch at the Caterina Market, but turned into an hour long battle of wits between the bored waitress and the cranky Aussie tourist. We became invisible …

Barcelona Day Two

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After crashing early last night, and missing the huge celebrations with Barcelona FC beating Juventus in the championship final, we were up early to make amends. After very quick coffee/croissant brekky, we made our way by taxi to Sagrada Familia Basilica, the most famous landmark in Barca, if not Spain. Commissioned in 1883, it is still about 20 years from completion, which seems to be about square with the laid back style around here.    It may not be finished, indeed a lot of it is a massive building site, but this would have to be the most unbelievable place we have ever been in. Words can not do justice to the majestic beauty, the impossible imagination of its creator, Gaudi, and the sheer scope and reach of this Basilica. The colour and light, the volume, the…the…the everything!! How is it possible for one man to have such vision?     It was probably best described by a visitor from the USA we spoke to as being a happy cathedral, unlike most that are gloomy, …

Barcelona Day One

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So here we are, 22 hours flight time later, in spectacular Barcelona. It’s hard to believe after all the planning, and the longest countdown clock, we are actually at ground zero. The flights were long, sleep deprived, and incident free except for the toddler next doors occasional vocal impressions. Bang on schedule we touched down, bags turned up, sim for phone organised and taxis everywhere. First port of call was the city baggage locker to store ours for a few hours, then down La Rumblas to La Boqueria food market, a huge colourful array of all manner of fresh produce from seafood, meats of all description with a strong “pig” influence, through to fresh fruit and sweet delights.      Main interest for us centred around caffeine, which was dutifully satisfied, with a croissant accoutrement! Afterwards we wandered the aisles checking out all the wonderful produce on display, from those we knew to the strange and wonderful.      Next stop was the Barcelona Cathedral which is tucked away in the Barri Gotic region, very close to …

a quick reminisce before the next trip…

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Before we head off again next week to see some of Spain, Portugal & France…here are a few photos from our last trip. Hopefully with another two years practise, and some fancier gear, the shots will be better, and will tell the story of our time away.      Notre Dame will be visited again, and I’m pretty sure we’ll see another of France’s iconic vehicles!               The cafe scene in Paris, to the stunning light show in Reims. One of the highlights, ballooning over Burgundy. Pompeii was breathtaking, a must visit if you’re anywhere near.       There’s quite the art to walking on the beach in Amalfi, and a lot of walking in Rome.                     A strategically placed Vespa in Assisi, and a misplaced Boar in Chianti. In one of the most wicked “butchers/deli’s ever!!     The rugged splendour of the Cinque Terre, and the majestic beauty of Lake Como.      Venice, before the madness …

on-line wine cellars

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Everyone loves a bargain, a secret wine buy known only to those on the inside! The wine deal that started off all Chinese whispers, and progressed to virtual reality, wine style. The icon wine forgotten at the back of the cellars, until an over observant bean counter discovers said treasure, demands stock movement at any cost, and on-line wine guy pounces, thin chequebook in hand. Written up, praise heaped….ready to sell. A few clicks, a ready credit card, and whooshka…you-beaut, bonzer booze for a fraction of retail. This is the mystical on-line wine businesses dream of, had aspiration to, wish they could conceive, yet fail to deliver, turning into yet another bottleshop, sans walls! Many try, few succeed. A great website, funky layout, persuasive words, cool graphics….a great buying team! All these, and more, are required to succeed in this hotly contested space. Here are some I like…. vinomofo….the cool cousin, selling wine at a great price, sometimes so cheap they can’t reveal the maker until delivery, as well as own label stuff which looks …

Lanson

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Special occasions should always be celebrated with a bit of pizzazz, and nothing spells pizzazz like Champagne! Lanson Black label NV ~$40, exclusive to Dan Murphy’s. ‘A Champagne made predominantly with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the purest Champagne style. Vinification without malolactic fermentation: a historic decision at Lanson to guarantee a fresh and fruity wine.’ Everyone loves a ‘champers’, and nothing beats the birthplace of sparkling wine, Champagne. Aussies have forever been in love with the bubbly stuff we colloquially called ‘champers’, Australian sparkling wine made in any number of ways, but for many years labelled and marketed under the moniker “Champagne”, much to the annoyance of the French. Nothing wrong with Australian sparkles, just it ‘aint Champagne. Maybe our wine industry suffered from an inferiority complex in our early days, labelling everything after foreign wine regions such as Port, Chablis, Rhine Riesling, Burgundy etc. To make matters worse, we didn’t really even try to make wines true to those regions styles. For instance, Chablis is Chardonnay, yet our ‘chablis’ could have been almost any …

Why, why, why….Wye River?

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Quite often people ask me why we go to Wye River each year, why there and not, say….Inverloch, Waratah Bay, Mallacoota…? Others ask…”Wye River! Where’s that?” Of all the places to pick as your annual camping destination, a tiny coastal spot at the foothills of the wettest district in the state, the Otways, would at first glance not seem to be considered ideal! So why do we choose to come to Wye River every January? For me I guess it’s the familiarity, the sounds and smells, the memories…the rock pools! Here’s me and my cousin Louise, in about 1963… on the rocks, just like every year, just like everyone. Go to the beach, look left, look right….and you have these magnificent rock formations running down to the surf. Rock pools for all shapes and sizes. People walking over them, swimming in them, fishing off them, watching the sea from them, contemplating the meaning of….all day, every day.      Pools big enough for Kenzie, and Rachael! For me, a sense of history and family ties …