LISBON & BARCELONA.

5th November 2017
This morning we get off the ship in Lisbon, Portugal. Somewhere we have always thought of going but just never got there. There are several delays and stuff ups getting off but I won't go into that here, just to say one of our bags couldn't be found here no one had any idea how or where to find or that I was very upset by it all. Suffice to say we wouldn't cruise with them again.

We caught a taxi to our apartment not far away and met our lovely host Lois, who was waiting with a platter of cheese and meats and some port. Bit early at 1030am but I'm sure Gary will sample it later. The apartment is beautiful and the views are stunning. Every little thing is thought of and Lois has left fresh bread, milk and cheese as well as supplies of tea and coffee. Maybe he should work for the cruise company they need to learn some customer service.

After relaxing for a while and admiring he views we have a walk through the streets. We are staying in the older, residential part of the city and there are lots of little corner cafes and small grocery stores. And lots of steep streets! Lisbon is very hilly and with cobbled streets as well it can make

it quite tiring walking around.
Tomorrow we'll get the hop on bus so we can save our legs and see more around the city and suburbs.

6th November 2017
A stunning sunrise greets us this morning and a beautiful view across the river. We can watch the cruise ships coming in and out and the cargo ships going down the river. Very nice. We are very lucky and sometimes it's easy to take for granted the wonderful places we have seen and great hosts we have met along the way. We are starting to miss home and family and our lovely Ziggy.
Today we go exploring another castle, this one overlooking Lisbon and quite a large complex with a lovely park area and fantastic views. We had purchased a voucher for an electric scooter that we could use in Rome, Barcelona and Lisbon. We have a certain number of hours and you just look on a map on their app where they are parked, tap onto the app check it out online and it opens up the seat and there are 2 helmets waiting for you.Then you drop it off in any parking space in the city and suburbs and check it back in.
We go around a few streets and then find it's not very practical for the really hilly parts on an electric scooter with 2 large bums on it . I had to get off on one hill and Gary had to walk it up, I nearly wet myself laughing. We head to the flat roads along the river as Gary wants to see a building there by architect Zaha Hadid he had seen pictures of. It's right next to a nice parkland

and beachfront area of the river and an amazing small castle jutting into the river. A nice place to stop for lunch. We check the scooter back out and get tickets for the hop on bus which goes from here and we take it the long way back into town for a good view of the area and save our legs . We have pass for 2 days so we will try and use it as much as possible. It's good to see other areas of the city.
Alot of the buildings are covered in painted tiles and some are really pretty with balconies and flowers as well. It is a different city to what we have seen and I think it is not as frequented by tourists as some are, quite old areas and new modern buildings in one area as well.
Back to the apartment for dinner and our lovely view over the river.

7th November 2017
Gorgeous sunrise once again. We have been so spoilt with the great weather. It's lovely to sit and have breakfast overlooking the river and watching the boats coming and going. We saw the big Club Med sailing ship with its 4 masts, docked at the harbour last night.
Today we walked a short distance towards town and managed to get on the old number 28 tram that goes around all the narrow streets and hills. They are from 1930's still used as an everyday commuter tram that just get so packed with tourists you can't move. We had seen so many go passed but wanted to wait until we could at least get a seat.

Very bumpy and screeching brakes down the hills and the driver really had an attitude, must be all those pesky tourists.

We get off in the middle of the city and walk down the wide boulevard type street that goes right to the waterfront. There are restaurants and cafes all the way along and we stop at the French bakery chain, Paul. Always good for nice sandwiches, rolls and of course cakes and pastries.

After lunch we all down to the waterfront and hop on the bus for a trip around town. A group of Aussies about our age got on boy did their accents standout. It's been a long time that we have only spoken to Italian and occasionally English people. Very rarely another Aussie.
We decide to have dinner out tonight and really wanted to find a bar or restaurant that has the local Fado music but seems to be mainly on the weekends or very touristy and expensive. We walk to the old area near us and find what looks like a tiny restaurant and decide that will do. Its a simple home cooked type of place but obviously a good choice as there are lots of locals inside and as we eat there are people queuing outside to get in. One guy kept looking through the door I thought he was going to push his face against the glass, it just made me eat slower. Home to pack up for our flight to Barcelona in the morning.

8th November 2017

We are up early and packing the car with our ever expanding amount of bags for our flight. We thought it better to leave early as we wasn't sure about traffic on a Monday morning. All was good and it was no trouble checking in or the flight itself. I was a bit worried as being a budget type airline, Vueling, a Spanish company.
We pick up our cute little car for the next 5 days a little Fiat 500 convertible. I never thought all the luggage would fit in and I was so tempted to say I told you so, but Gary squashed and manoeuvred and we managed to get all the doors closed... Just.
We are staying at Sitges a beachside resort town about 25klms from Barcelona, again another lovely Airbnb.
The view is wonderful again, I should be a travel consultant for magnificent view tours. We are staying just out of town near the harbour and have a lovely view towards the old town and the church is so nice lit up at night. I can see the balcony getting lots of use.

9th November 2017
This morning we decide to take a drive in the hills behind Sitges, there was supposed to be lots of wineries in this area.
The landscape is very different quite dry and rocky. We go passed a few places but nothing seems to be open it's still a nice drive and we keep going. We come across a tiny village with fantastic views across the valley and stop for a

snack, it's lucky we have bought our own as nothing is open and there is not a person around. They obviously take their midday siesta seriously. The wineries all seem to close between 12- 2 or 3 which seems quite silly when you could be offering lunches with your wine. It certainly not like Chianti where there are so many welcoming you to try their products direct from the owner. After driving to a few more and not a soul in site we give up and head back towards home. A quick stop to see Bacardi centre and museum in Sitges, the birthplace of its founder Don Facundo Bacardi Masso. We get some very nice Bacardi glasses to take home.

November 10th 2017
Today we headed into Barcelona, to have a look at the huge market there and a few of the Gaudi buildings that Gary wanted to see.
We find the buildings fairly easily and it's not too difficult to park. There are heaps of tourists out the front of the La Pedrera ( Casa Mila) building and even more in the gift shop. It certainly was different and I guess at the time unique to everything else. The second building is called Casa Batllo, not quite as many out the front of that one.
Driving around the streets of Barcelona reminds us in places of Melbourne, maybe it's the wide streets and naked trees. A bit like St Kilda road.
We go to head to the market and the GPS is really having a hard to time getting to where we want,

I'm glad we have a tiny car all the U turns we had to make. I think the problem was there were 3 streets with very similar names and it keeps taking us to the wrong one, then there are one way streets, but we made it and park in the underground carpark at the market.
It is quite large and there are stalls selling everything, it's all under cover in a building they built for it not long ago. They say the market has been going for about 400 years in a few different locations. There are heaps of second hand stalls stuff selling junk and rubbish stuff just like at home. And the stallholders all yelling and bantering amongst themselves.
Gary did buy one thing though, an old bugle, no idea why, but it's for the pool room I guess?
We grab a bite to eat and then head back to the car for the drive home. The freeways are good here, well signed and the traffic always seems to be flowing well and the drivers actually indicate and let you in. A real novelty after driving in Italy.

November 11th 2017
Off to an early start this morning as we have booked to go to see the huge Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, we booked to go up the towers as well at 900am so we don't have to wait in line.
It is pretty amazing inside and great that there are hardly any other visitors so we can get some pictures before the tours start.
There is a lift that whisks us up the tower and

then a one way walk down the stone spiral staircase of 400 steps. I thought it might get crowded as everyone stops and takes their time but we see no one else on the way down the others must have just rushed straight down and we are taking pictures and looking out the many view points as we go.
Back to ground level and we can have a good look around the inside. The windows are just stunning and it would be amazing to see them on a really sunny day. Goudi wanted his works to feel organic and you can really see this with the main supporting columns branching off like trees as they head to the roof. It would be amazing to see his plans, there must have been so much detail to be able to build like this. There is still a lot of building to be done and they are hoping it to be completed in 2026.The towers look huge now but they are much smaller than the ones still to be built.
We then drive over to the other side of town to see more Gaudi work in the Guell park. It was supposed to originally be upmarket housing estate but never eventuated and only two large houses where built and still remain there. There are many paths, grottos and beautiful tiled areas all around the park.
I did say to Gary let's head to the marina and hang around for a while to see the city at night but Gary thought it better to head back to the unit. That was a very good decision as there was a huge independence protest march starting at the marina

and ending up blocking all the streets with nearly 750,000 people attending. Wow that was a lucky escape. Glad to be watching it on tv and not from inside the car.
We had dinner at a nice restaurant in Sitges town, an Argentinian one for a change.Very nice and they had a lovely fire pit outside to keep us warm and the 2 dogs that where there with their owners. Very well behaved dogs in Europe I guess they are used to sitting under tables and being able to go everywhere.

November 12th 2017
After a lovely breakfast on the balcony we headed into Sitges township to have a look around. We find a small market on the outskirts and stop for a quick look around. There is mostly locals selling fruit and veggies and a few clothes and shoe stalls.Near the racetrack we call into a small farm shop selling fruit and veggies. The only thing I wanted to take from there was the gorgeous kittens. We continue on to try and find an abandoned, banked racetrack, Autodroma de Sitges Terramor. We find it at the end of a country type road with farms and houses around it. There is a gate and the usual Do not Enter sign but I know for sure Gary is going to ignore that. We walked further down a track and through a bit of bush and over the mound at the side to get onto the track. We are very surprised to see a young family sitting in the middle of the track having a picnic breakfast. They obviously can't read the

signs either. We wave hello and walk up a little further to get some more photos. As we head to go back out I can hear a guard dog barking and I am really hoping it is on a chain or we are in trouble. Gary assured me it was tied up but it is a distance away and I cant be sure, I just walk very quickly and get out of there as fast as we can.
We take a nice stroll along the boulevard that runs along most of Sitges, much more relaxing than the thought of being chased by guard dogs. There are lots of people out enjoying the beautiful weather and lots of cafes and bars all the way along.We stop in one of the small back lanes for a coffee and as a man stops at the cafe I pat his dog and he asks if I can hold it as he goes inside. Of course I can, sorry Ziggy.
We take a slow walk back to the unit for a relaxing afternoon before walking to the marina behind the unit for dinner. We find a lovely Italian restaurant and have the whole little cabana on the waterfront to ourselves. It was a lovely meal too.