Hugh Maclean

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On to Lisbon via Evora

Published by Hugh Maclean

Up and at ’em pretty early today as we have a fair way to go, about 330km in all. It was nice to stay in a hotel for a change, and our choice in Caceres, Casa Don Fernando, was great. And cheap, Only €64! The same quality hotel anywhere in Victoria would be at least twice that. Caceres is a beautiful town, and highly recommended to anyone travelling through Spain.

Our first stop today is at another World Heritage site, the Medieval Roman town of Evora. Yep, more cobblestones, stone walls and ancient temples. Oh, and this place has a very special chapel, ‘Capela dos Ossos’…the Chapel of Bones!

I’d read about this place ages ago, and was really excited to see it, so you could imagine my disappointment when we got to the information desk and discovered it was closed between 12.45 – 2.30pm, and it was now 12.47!!! Nothing for it but to hang around for a couple of hours, so we thought a reconnaissance of the area would help pass the time.

First, where is the Chapel so we can whip through at exactly 2.30? Found it, found a reason to love Portugal straight away….still open, and virtually empty, and only €2 entry. Truly, these southerners have a lot to learn about gouging tourists! It’s a small side chapel to the main Cathedral, which is under major restoration, and it’s walls are lined with the bones of monks past. Two of the quotes that greet you as you enter, and inside translate to…

“We bones, lying here, for yours we wait”

“Better is the day of death than the day of birth” Charming!! Fascinating little chapel, not nearly as macabre as you’d think. The rest of the town is pretty good, including some Roman columns, and a long aqueduct. The Aqueduct!

“All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for US?” (Reg……life of Brian)

Thanks Evora, nice little pit stop….now, on to Lisbon. Once again we had the road pretty much t ourselves all the way into Lisbon, then we hit the ‘Ponte 25 de Abril”, translation = copy of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fran! Big bridge, lots of traffic, lots more to come…..yikes!!

I’ve heard the city centre is madness, one way streets everywhere, and what I heard is right. Luckily it’s Saturday afternoon and the streets aren’t too bad, and we find our apartment pretty easily, thanks in large part to Rachael’s navigation skills, and my learning to shut up and just listen to instructions. Finally!!! Getting a park is another thing, but we also fluke that, even though it looks less than secure.

Bags dropped off we thought it best to find better accommodation for the chariot, so set of to meet our parking KPI’s. I may mention going forward how inexpensive Portugal is relative to most of Europe, but when it comes to parking costs, they lead the way! Parking is at a premium, and pricing is set accordingly. We don’t need the car again till Monday, and by then we will be up for €70, which was the cheapest we could find.

A friendly bit of advice people, leave the car at home, fly to Lisbon!!! Not car friendly.

So, now the car hire costs have skyrocketed, I must have looked frazzled, ‘cos 10 minutes into our first stroll some dude offered me drugs!!

Time for a beer….done! Wandered around, bought a bottle of rose, and settled into our apartment for awhile, which by the way is fabulous. Great position, huge by any standards, and well equipped, even with a turntable and heaps of vinyl. A few tunes and a vino while we plan our next couple of days.

First plan was dinner, and relying on TripAdvisor, we headed out at about 9.30 to find the fifth ranked restaurant in Lisbon. We finally found it at about 10pm, it looked great, they had a seat, so in we went. Looks promising, prices are excellent, food looks good…what could go wrong? Well….50 minutes later we still haven’t eaten anything, and we are still waiting for our sangria! Wait, what’s this coming towards us? Can it be true? Sangria!! In a tiny tin mug….tiny I tell you! Food finally dribbles out, as do muted apologises, then slightly louder muttering of sorrow, then offerings of digestives to finish the night! Mind you it was almost morning by the time the bill comes, so who needs a digestive, more in need of an aperitif!!

Madrid to Caceres

Published by Hugh Maclean

Yesterday was huge, we walked about 25km all over the place, so how better to start the day than for Rachael to go for a run around Retiro Park again, while I walked around taking photos. It truly is a wonderful park, and the crystal palace is majestic especially earlier in the day with the reflection from the sun hitting it. Which would have been great if there had been any sun! The weather in Madrid has been pretty ordinary for our stay, unlike Barcelona where it was quite warm. Not to worry, we loved Madrid which is as different to Barcelona as two towns can be. From narrow cobblestone lanes, to wide boulevards with plenty of greenery and park land aplenty. The brash ‘in your face’ hustle & bustle of Barca, to the understated elegance of Madrid is not unlike the difference between Sydney and Melbourne. Both great cities, and it would be a shame to visit Spain without visiting both, as they offer different slants on the Spanish way of life, and the people living within their walls. One thing I have heard about the Spanish, but haven’t yet experienced, is their driving skills, or lack there of! Well that’s about to change, as it’s car hire time! Wrong side of the road, gear changing with the right hand, looking left not right, driving in the gutter for the first couple of days. What could go wrong? Well, actually…nothing, yet!? Finding the hire car joint tested the patience, but once set up we were off out of Madrid, on our way to Caceres for the night. The tolls were cheap (take note, Italy!!), and the roads virtually empty (you hearing this Italy?). We whooshed to Caceres in no time, all 300 km’s of it! So effortlessly did we do it, we proceeded to drive right through the main “traffic free” plaza looking for our hotel. Oops! For months now we have wondered how to pronounce Caceres, and finally our questions have been answered. ‘Carth…eee…res’ Caceres is a Unesco listed heritage site, with the most spectacular old city behind those wondrous walls only Europe can do. It sits high up on the hill, full of winding cobblestone lanes (yep, again!) covered with stone building on all sides, leaving the sun to fight it out with the shadows! Here is this outstanding setting with barely a soul in sight. Put this in France or Italy and it would be packed with tourists, beggars, and every tacky souvenir shop and gaudy restaurants pushing ‘authentic’ meal deals! And a ticket booth at the front entrance!! We basically had the joint to ourselves for the late afternoon, before people started to trickle on for drinks and dinner later in the evening. We had a couple of drinks at a bar overlooking the plaza, then regrouped before dinner at a very Spanish time of 10pm. We found the most brilliant little tapas bar in the walled city, where we settled in to enjoy a few tapas, plus associated beverages. Fantastic food, from gazpacho with cured ham to pigs snout with coriander! That one was for Rachael!!? Finished with another of Rachael’s staple dishes, rice pudding!! Man, she is building a whole new culinary dictionary this trip! I had a Spanish sherry, Pedro Ximenez, with the pudding which Rachael likened to church wine! If this was the church standard I would have attended more regularly!! 1am finish to dinner, and to digest, sleep. Probably not ideal but we are still getting our heads around the whole midnight feast thing the Spanish call dinner!

Madrid

Published by Hugh Maclean

With only one full day in Madrid we needed to hit the ground running, which is exactly what we did….running around Retiro real, a beautiful park once owned as leisure grounds for the royal family.

About 75 hectares of sculptured grounds, with a magnificent Crystal palace surrounded by lakes, and a huge rectangle man made lake, popular for rowing.

Absolutely fabulous, and such a change from Barcelona, with grass and trees aplenty.

They certainly knew who to live it up, the Spanish Royals, wallowing in an ostentatious display of wealth, but more of which we would see later!

Home, refreshed and off to the Mercato San Miguel, probably the most famous market in Madrid, for breakfast.

Unlike Barcelona La Boqueria, this market is quite compact, only about 20 stalls selling the usual market stuff, with a strong emphasis on grog!

Looks promising……oh wait, it’s only 9am.

Damn, coffee and croissants it is! Plus some fresh peaches to keep the PT crew happy! Ok, ok, maybe a churros as well.

Pretty much next door is the Plaza Major, the centre piece of the ‘Centro’ district, a beautiful plaza enveloped by a rectangle of five level terraced apartments.

As Plaza’s go it’s pretty stunning, and we would have really enjoyed it even more if not for the monster thunderstorm which stopped everyone , including the street performers in their tracks!

It belted down for about 30 minutes, and when it finally stopped we headed back home to make use of the complimentary umbrellas, before setting forth again.

Strolling the streets is a great way to get a feel for the city, and stroll we did…..and did….and did!! Finally stopping outside the Palacio Real, humble home to the Royals.
Feeling sorry for these downtrodden folk, we coughed up €20 to check out their digs.

As much as I wanted to enjoy looking at their ostentatious display of wealth and power, I just came away feeling a little sickened by the excess.

They had rooms for getting dressed in, for chatting, and rooms for morning tea for Gods sake! Every room was used for some menial task, mainly to display the wealth and privilege the common people could never even dream of.

The building isn’t even all that impressive, huge yes, but a bit shabby up close, and so over the top inside. And we only get to see a small proportion, as it is still the official residence of the Royal couple today.

No bloody wonder civilian revolt is a right of passage.

Rant over, pushing on!

We had a look at Egypt’s gift to Madrid, a 2nd century temple, dismantled and rebuilt here as thanks for their help saving the temples of Anu Simpel!

A little odd, but nice enough looking, except for the special art installation ‘ witches hats’v strategically placed to ruin all photo’s!

We made our way back through the city centre to the Retiro Park again, to have our lunch of baguettes and patisseries, at 3pm! Time gets away from you when your walking all over town.

We had our first brush with Spain’s intrepid pickpockets this arvo, sneaky little shits they are, working in teams to catch the unawares….um, unaware!

While crossing a busy intersection Rachael wondered why these three girls needed to be so close to her while looking at their map, not realising they were using said map to cover the fact they were trying to open her bag and pinch her wallet.

Dumb arse kids picked the wrong target, one filth look behind and they were gone…never get into Rachael’s personal space!

Mind you, it wasn’t till after we realised what they had tried to do.

Lesson learnt, keep your wits about you and your guard up.
Stuffed, and ever so slightly frazzled, we headed home to siesta, before travelling back up the hill to San Miguel for dinner, simply because I hadn’t partaken in the afore mentioned focus on grog this market seems to thrive on!

Quite the bustling place it is when the lights come on, heaving masses all elbowing their way to the bar, sprinting to grab that elusive bench space, and if the gods permit, and treasured stool to go with it!

We stood!! Losers!

Sangria with olives and gherkins with tuna, pickled onions and olives for starters. Mojito or Rioja with empanadas for main, fresh air for desert!

Another monster day, a million miles walked, thousands of calories consumed, hundreds of sights seen, and forty winks required!!

Adios Barcelona, Hola Madrid

Published by Hugh Maclean

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 trees…or vegetables!
– fantastic food and booze, the sangria and vermouth are to die for!
– jamon!

Welcome to Madrid, via a very smooth train ride. Caught a taxi a whole 2 km to our digs, then got stuck in the little plaza out the front of our apartment during a thunderstorm.
We are staying in the Lavapies district, which isn’t the sort of area you would immediately choose if you saw it before you booked!😖

The place is as multicultural as you could get, full of Africans, Indians, Arabs, shifty looking characters, and the odd Spaniard. It’s probably a bit like the crummy end of Smith Street, Collingwood.
But…once the dust settles and you get your bearings it’s actually pretty good, and as the day turns to night it changes complexion to become a diverse bar culture come tapas hangout for the inner city set. Plus a couple of Aussie tourists!!

Our apartment is great, on the first floor overlooking the small plaza, with a good living area, plus a great shower. The one at Barcelona was diabolical, so this is a Godsend.

The number one attraction in Madrid is the Museo Nacional del Prado, and it so happens that after 6pm it is free entry, so guess where we were at six, enduring a queue?
The queue was short, courtesy of us lining up at the lesser known entrance, planned of course!?

We spent almost two hours wandering around pretending to know what all this art meant, when in reality most of it was either Madonna & child, or Jesus meeting his maker…and variations on that theme. Actually it was pretty spectacular, especially those by the Spanish master Goya, as well as the retrospective Picasso’s.
The Prado is regarded as one of the great art galleries of the world, so it was nice to be there, just not sure if I have anymore Renaissance art in me this trip!
Regardless, we saved €30 which can’t hurt and will go nicely towards dinner.

Speaking of which, we’d heard of this very cool rooftop restaurant, hidden away behind the doors of a local college, which just so happened to be about 200 metres from our place, so off we went.
Gau&Cafe is an open air rooftop bar/tapas/restaurant with lovely roof level views over the city.

We sat down and perused the Spanish menus, tried with varied degrees of success to interpret it, and waited of our waiter friend to take our order, only for her to come back with the English version! We weren’t too far off, but would most probably have ended up with pickled tripe if left to our own devises!

As it so happened we had black ink squid croquettes, some fancy omelette(y) thing, referencing Don Quixote Man from La Mancha, with spuds and chorizo, and a strangely addictive dish of crispy skinned chicken rolled around prawn, with a curry and mango sauce! More food than you could trip over, which is a lesson learnt for next time…order one course at a time, pace yourself, and pace some more.

Now….did I mention thunderstorms earlier? Or that the restaurant was an open air place?
Or that the sky was becoming more ominous by the second?
No, well good….cause we beat it, just!

To celebrate we went to the local supermarket, bought a bottle of red, settled in at home to half a glass each, and promptly fell asleep.

Barcelona Day Four

Published by Hugh Maclean

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. Upon arrival it takes us no time to decide that with a queue 100m long we can wait until Paris to see his other museum.

There is a wonderful hat shop around the corner from where we are staying and each day as we walk past Hugh is besotted by a Castor (Fedora). Having already passed up the opportunity to buy one in Venice 2 years ago for €400 this was surely a bargain at €170. As Hugh encourages me to go in and buy a new hat to replace my very old one, I am pleased that for €30 I am now the proud owner of not one, but two hats, a bargain in anyone’s language. What I didn’t foresee was the intended purpose of this visit, and the underhandedness of Hugh’s true intention, when miraculously we walk out with the Castor and one very happy man.
(ed….I plead the 5th!!!)

Onwards we walk around this beautiful city of Barcelona. Having learnt our lesson from the previous day we grab lunch along the way before heading down to the harbour for some much needed respite in the Mediterranean Sea for Hugh’s ankle.

We are pleasantly surprised to find that the beach of Barcelona actually has sand. It is not hard to distinguish the locals from the tourists as our lack of tan gives us away immediately. As we walk along the beach we are confronted by bar after bar and therefore decide a beer on the beach is a must do in Barcelona

Suitably replenished we push on and stumble across a beach gym where the locals work out with the most amazing views. As I watch to ensure their technique is accurate I am pulled away reluctantly as we head towards our intended target, the shimmering fish.

Heading back towards home through the El Born district we stumble across a groovy looking bar. As the heat of the day starts to hit its peak, we are forced to hydrate over a couple of Sangrias, which are made to perfection. As we dream of the wine bar we will one day open back home, for now it’s back to reality working at the ‘K’ and Dromana Estate

Back in our apartment Hugh begins his blog whilst I take the necessary siesta to get through another late night. As I wake from my slumber and Hugh becomes aware of the time, we are now running late for our visit to La Pedrera, also known as Casa Mila, another Gaudi masterpiece.
The rooftop of this apartment block has to be seen to be believed, rolling along like the sea, full of sculpture figures, highlighted by the light show we went at nighttime to see.
La Pedrera was Gaudi’s last private commission, as he cracked it with the owners over money, and vowed never to design for anyone again. He spent the rest of his life dedicated to Sagrada Familia.
Seeing such bold, inspirational architecture makes you realise the importance of visionary figures breaking with convention to create unique, spellbinding structures to enjoyed of generations. We can only hope that such vision is never stifled

As we head back to find one of our food tour bars, Bar Colmado, we finally come across it, and once again partook in the Spanish tapas and a glass of Vermouth before hitting the streets to photograph Casa Balljo, another Gaudi masterpiece on our way back home.

As we hit the pillow for our final night in Spain, we are exhausted from all the walking, the late nights and the wonderful sights, but wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Tomorrow we head off for Madrid, where our Spanish travels continue

Barcelona Day Three

Published by Hugh Maclean

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 man/woman both before we got served, when our meals turned up intermittently ten minutes apart, and when we waited forever for the bill!
Baguette and coffee to go from now on for lunch!

A bit more shopping in the arvo, before a rest, then off to meet Nicholas for our six hour photographic tour

Poor Rachael been put through six hours of walking around Barcelona while Nicholas and I discuss photos, first thru La Boqueria market.

It was great to see another side of this great city, firstly through El Raval, which is pretty grungy. Streets filled with dodgy characters, not to mention the rubbish, and a potpourri of multicultural desperation and dispair. We were too early to see it, but later in the night is not the place for a tourist to venture safely, but it was an interesting side to see and photograph.

The arch way below shows the Catalonian flag, which generates much pride amongst the locals, so much so that they are trying to force a vote to segregate from the rest of Spain. Very proud people, who seem to identify more with France than Spain.

The photo of the the pock marked wall is caused by a bomb blast that killed over 40 citizens in the Gotic quarter during the Spanish civil war. The tiny square is much visited, and revered.
We moved from there back into the Barri Gotic, La Ribera, and El Born area’s, checking out Spain’s Arc de Triomf with its miriad of joggers, bikers and rap dancing dudes.

Back through the city, walking, walking, walking…getting tired, hungry….more walking….food, food!

Great shutter action on this building, and the mystery of the laneway!

Off to Montjuic, which is a train trip away. More walking, getting dark, keep walking.
Poor Rachael, the veritable shag on the rock. Me all involved, Rachael, sugar levels plummeting.

Finally, six hours and God knows how many kilometres later, Nicholas bid us adeu, after what was, for me, a fabulous opportunity to learn from a professional photographer the ways and how’s of better photos

So, it’s 11.30pm, and we haven’t had dinner, which is no problem in Spain as they eat soooo late, we find a spot, tuck down and are back home by 1am. Stuffed!!
According to the fancy app on the iPhone we have walked 39000 steps, and 33km today. No bloody wonder our feet are shot to bits.

Thanks baby, my shout next time.

Adios!

Barcelona Day Two

Published by Hugh Maclean

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, and serious.
This place, although full of religious iconography and serious religious intent, is so uplifting as to leave everyone who enters in awe.
I guess you could say we liked this place…
We wandered happily around for a couple of hours, and had to question ourselves a few times about whether we were ready to leave.

Eventually, leave we did via taxi to Park Guell, which was originally designed as a housing estate high up the hill overlooking the city, only problem was only two dwellings were ever built. The land became a great park instead, designed by Gaudi, with all his individual quirks on full display.
It’s famous for the terracotta mosaic tiled seats which follow the curve of the land with spectacular views. Only problem, to actually sit and look you needed to queue up and buy a ticket for said pleasure!
We gazed from afar!!
The park was pretty cool, very steep with little or no grass, lots of grotto’s and more buskers.
Not great, but a pleasant time had.

After a busy morning we indulged in Spain’s favourite afternoon activity….siesta time!
Then more wandering through winding laneways, getting lost, and found…and lost again, before our evening’s activity. Plus a little pre dinner tipple back home!

Yep, you guesed it. Barcelona FC won, and we are now rusted on supporters.

Our evening commitment….a food tour!!
We met our host, Ramain, and the other tourers, two couples from the States and one from the Midlands of the UK, outside La Pedrera (another Gaudi invention) and headed off to eat and drink!
We visited three restaurants, the first two tapas style, and the third a fancy newish fine dining joint.
The highlight was probably the second place which was a tiny, grungy local haunt, which no tourist would probably venture near, but was wonderfully atmospheric. Their specialty was a spiced rosso vermouth, bitter and full of clovers, cinnamon and other exotics. Drunk either straight or with soda, it was strangely addictive!!
The food was great, from tiny portions of marinated eggplant, to ravioli wrapped around cod mousse with dried blood sausage strips.

The company was great, conversation flowed easily…as did the booze!
Anyhow, we ate and drank till after midnight, which is a new PB for Rachael, and didn’t hit the hay till close to one am.
A long day comes to a close, with plenty still to come.

Barcelona Day One

Published by Hugh Maclean

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 our apartment. Building began in 1298 but wasn’t finished until about a century ago when the centre spire was completed. An impressive building with soaring ceilings, stain glass, and side chapels everywhere. It’s tower offers brilliant views over the rooftops complete with mandatory scaffoldi

We strolled around for an hour or so, then headed off to the Palau de la Musica for a tour of this most incredible music hall. Designed by one of Spain’s leading Modernista, Lluis Domenech, it’s highlight is the most amazing stained glass dome which drops down from the cenre of the ceiling, projecting glorious light to the stage floor. Fantastic!

Following that it was time to get our bags and head off to our apartment in the Barri Gotic, about 100 metres from the Cathedrale, and part of the old Jewish section.

For those who haven’t been to Barcelona, the old town is a rabbit warren of winding, narrow cobbled laneways surrounded by five story buildings, some lanes so close you could almost touch the opposite side. In fact, there is one such lane on which you can….but more of that another day!

Our apartment, behind an old wooden door, and up a few flights of narrow stairs, is a one room loft essentially, but brilliantly located to wander those magnificent lanes.

A shower, refreshed, we set off to have a drink or two with an old friend, Tim Dunlop, who was in town….as they are!? A cava or two in a bar on the very cool Placa Reial, and 48 hours on the go finally caught up with us, so farewell Timmy, a quick bite to eat in a little wine bar next to home, and lights out by 8.30! No typical late dinner, Spanish style for us, but we will rectify that on our food tour tomorrow night.