Barcelona and Valencia

We recently decided to take advantage of both being 'between jobs' and head off to Spain for a week of sun and fun. We spent 4 nights in Barcelona and 3 nights in Valencia. Enjoy the photos!

The Gothic Quarter of Barcelona: lots of striking, old, stone buildings and quaint alleyways.

One of the several fruit and vege stalls at a big market off La Rambla (the main street). Lots of yummy tropical fruits and fresh juices as well as butcher stalls with some interesting meats... sheep heads, pigs ears and trotters and big tongues.
The 1992 Barcelona Olympic stadium. We saw Danyon Loader's name on the champions' board at the pool.
View of Barcelona from Montjuic.
Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's cathedral which is still being built.
Barcelona coastline.
Coastal road in Barcelona.
Another Gaudi creation: Parc Guell - heaps of funky mosaics and a nice view of the city.
Parc Guell and the mosaic ceiling of the temple.
More Gaudi: Casa Mila. Looks like something out of the Flintstones.
This city is all about Gaudi architecture really: this is Casa Batllo.
The National Palace, Barcelona.
We took a boatride round the Barcelona coast.
Yummy paella.
Sunset on the port, Barcelona.
Gaudi's house in Parc Guell.
John in the hot Barcelona sun, Parc Guell.
Our first day in Valencia and there was definitely no shortage of wind! We headed to the America's Cup port and looked at the exhibition they have there.
John and Sir Peter Blake, America's Cup exhibit, Valencia.
The lucky girl picked out of the crowd to be this busker's assistant.
A bit out of sync, boat ride in Barcelona.
And again, a bit out of sync, boat ride in Barcelona.
Pretty square in Valencia.
The bullfighting ring in Valencia. John was disappointed there was no bullfight on while we were there. MC was glad.
Ultra-modern space-age buildings in Valencia. This is a science museum.
Palace of Arts in Valencia.
The Team NZ base in Valencia.
The great beach in Valencia.
Relaxing in the sun, Valencia.
This cathedral in Valencia has the only Holy Grail recognised by the Vatican. Don't know about the Holy Grail but we found a great place for lunch round the corner - 3 course meal and bottle of wine for 10 euros each!
City centre, Valencia. We liked Valencia - more laidback and less touristy than Barcelona, plus a fantastic beach. Also stayed in luxury but cheap accommodation: after surfing the net for a bit found a site which advertised top hotels but wouldn't tell you the name until you booked as the hotel didn't want to be associated with such cheap rates! We took a punt and definitely didn't regret it - 4 star hotel for only 10 euros more than our hostel in Barcelona cost.
Pretty alleyway in Valencia.

So back in London now, MC has a new job at the Royal London Hospital (first day today!). It is a maternity leave position so could be for up to a year all going well. She is working in the Production department, will soon have a surgical ward as well being the pharmacist on the hospital nutrition team (ward rounds with dietitians, nurse specialists and nutrition doctors). Quite different work to what she has done previously so will be a good challenge! It is also a bit closer to home (in Whitechapel) so not so far to travel each day.
John is still in temporary unemployment (but loving it...). MC is jealous so hopefully he will have to start work again soon! He is playing baddy and soccer and is enjoying being back into that.
Was fun to see MC's dad again in London before he travelled home to NZ, we went to one of our local pubs and tried mushy peas.

Have a few more trips lined up - we want to go to the Christmas markets in Germany (either Dresden or Nuremberg, can't decide which one yet) and also to a Leeds football game in ...Leeds (for MC's Dad). Also still have to decide where to spend Xmas and New Year (maybe Scotland?).
That's about all the news for now
Love MC and John

Long weekend in Berlin

So seeing Dad was taking his school tour group to Germany we decided to meet up in Berlin for a long weekend. Here's some pictures:

Cute Frederika on the Neptune Fountain

Dad, MC, John and Marion on the the Neptune Fountain

The World Clock in Alexanderplatz

John on the Neptune Fountain

MC in the Gendarmenmarkt

The Lustgarten outside the Berliner Dom had an interesting exhibition displaying big fat statues..

Dad at the Plötzensee Prison memorial (where some of the new Tom Cruise movie is being filmed).

MC and John at the Reichstag

Old and new: pieces of the Berlin Wall with the very modern Potsdamer Platz skyscrapers
Out for dinner with Marion and Reiner and Dad (he must be taking the photo).

John at Schloss Charlottenburg

MC and the River Spree, the Bodemuseum and TV tower

MC and the Berliner Dom

Surely this cat is fatter than Daisy...

More funny big statues

John and the Brandenburg Gate

Käse Frühstück on a beautifully sunny autumn morning in Berlin

John enjoying the sun in the Tiergarten

MC outside Schloss Charlottenburg

MC outside Schloss Charlottenburg

Paris

We have arrived safely back in London now, feeling just a little travel-weary and definitely not looking forward to the dramas of flat and job-hunting. But it will be kinda nice to have a home again despite the inconvenience of having to work for a living again! Our last European stop was Paris which we enjoyed even though the weather was pretty average (rainy and cool as it has been since Cologne 2 or 3 weeks ago). Probably the UK will get a decent summer just as we settle back into our 9-5s...

Our first night in Paris and MC couldn't wait to see the twinkling Eiffel Tower again. So pretty!

The Arc de Triomphe from the Champs-Elysees.
John in front of the Louvre. MC went to the Louvre last year and John wasn't too bothered about going in so we skipped it. Later we learnt that the real Mona Lisa is in New York being touched up so we would have seen a copy anyway!
MC in front of Notre Dame.
And John with the other side of Notre Dame.MC at the bottom of butte Montmarte (highest point in Paris), below the majestic Sacre Coeur.

Us with the Jardin des Tuileries in the background - very pretty gardens in front of the Louvre. You can also see the Sacre Coeur in the gap between the two buildings.
Yaaay Disneyland Paris! John in the swirling teacups at Fantasyland. MC was in fairytale heaven here. Our favourite ride, however, was Space Mountain in Discoveryland which we went on 4 times!
MC on Main Road, Disneyland. You can see the Sleeping Beauty Disney castle in the background which was modelled on Schloss Neuschwanstein near Munich (you might remember that from our Munich post).
Trying to be arty with the sepia function...
And finally the two of us at the top of the Eiffel Tower, a view of the Seine flowing underneath.

So that's our trip! We had so much fun but still have heaps more to see so keep checking our blog for much-anticipated further adventures while we're in London.

Brussels and Brugge

We have now been in Paris for the last 4 nights and in Brussels for the 4 nights before that. For all this time we have been waiting for some comment on our last entry but have now come to the conclusion that nobody loves us anymore....
But despite our disappointment, here is the latest instalment:

We were lucky enough to have a free place to stay in Brussels and also our very own tourguide (thanks Damien!). He and his friends got us acquainted with Belgian beer (John had a very good night out but wasn't feeling so great the next morning), chocolate (yum) and great hospitality.

Mmmmm Belgian waffles. This is at the Grand Place in Brussels. This square is surrounded by very impressive buildings.
Here is John and Damien (John's friend and our host for 4 nights in Brussels) after a few too many fine Belgian beers.
Here are some of Damien's Belgian friends at a dinner party. Damien cooked us a traditional Flemish meal called Chicken Waterzooe while we introduced them to kiwi homemade pavlova. Here is the waterzooe - you can see it's a creamy souplike dish with chicken and vegetables - very tasty.
This is the big gothic cathedral in Brussels.
John and the 'famous' (there's not much that's famous there...) Mannekin Pis. It's a wee boy urinating - usually he is naked but we were lucky enough to see him clad in Venezuelan attire!
We saw the city on bikes with Damien as our tourguide: here's John clowning around.
We went on a daytrip to Brugge, a quaint old medieval town about an hour from Brussels.
Brugge is built on canals a bit like Venice so we took a boatride through the canals and got a tour of the town at the same time.

Brugge's city hall.
The belfry in Brugge is really tall.

Amsterdam

Well summer has definitely changed back into winter over here now! The weather has gone from being hot and around 30 degrees to cold and rainy every day. Not the greatest for sightseeing so we're hoping it'll fine up for our last few days. Right now we are in Brussels and are heading to our last stop tomorrow - Paris.

The sex museum was a bit of a laugh...
We stayed at a camping ground on the outskirts of Amsterdam beside a lake. It was the perfect place for hippy stoners with its funky psychedelic animal statues and comfy hammocks! Here is John outside our little caravan.
There was a very cool open air photography exhibition on in Amsterdam with awesome wildlife shots. MC loved it.
MC outside the Anne Frank house. It's quite spartan inside but so interesting to see the secret annexe in person.
We did a walking tour of Amsterdam where we learnt quite a bit of the city's history. The red house in the photo is the smallest house in Amsterdam (1.8m wide). They built the houses so narrow because back in the day people were taxed on the width of the house, not how tall it is! All the houses have pulley systems so that when you move house you can get your furniture from the footpath outside up in through the windows.
Amsterdam is a pretty city with its canals and lovely building facades. Although the Red Light District was quite an eye-opener...
Will have to go back in the springtime to see some tulips!