France Road Trip

Final leg of the WINGAZ Euro trip!

Across France and back in 3 days!

 

This was the last part of our European adventure; we’d been travelling for almost 2 months and the end was almost near. In the morning we left San Sebastian on a train and travelled to Hendaye, a small French town just on the boarder between Spain and France. We then took another train to Bordeaux on the west side of France. At Hendaye we bought a road map of France, as we were going to hire a car in Bordeaux and drive around France for 3 days. When we arrived in Bordeaux we took the bus to the airport, as we were staying in a hotel close by and picking up our car from the airport the next morning.  

Staying in a hotel was like luxury to us, since we’d spent the good part of 2 months in hostels, large dorm rooms and single beds. The private room, fluffy pillows, queen size bed with its soft mattress and private bathroom were well deserved after roughing it for so long.

Yay, I was navigating!

San Sebastian, Spain

Basque Country!

Last stop in Spain…

 

Our final destination in Spain was San Sebastian, aka Donostia. San Sebastian is located in northern Spain in the Basque region. We spent 2 nights there enjoying the culinary experience that it has to offer and relaxing on the beach.

 

We were staying in a hostel in San Sebastian, very close to the beach. The hostel was not really a hostel, but a student home – so the place didn’t have to pay fees for being a ‘real’ hostel. The owner was a bit weird and overly friendly (we'll explain why later), and didn’t speak any English. Thankfully there were a group of American-Mexicans staying there to help us translate.  

 

Barcelona & Figueres, Spain

Exploring Cataluna!

view from the top of Sagrada Familia

Amazing Artists: Gaudi & Dali……

We arrived in Barcelona central station and continued onto our accommodation to drop our bags off and start exploring the city. We booked into another AirBnB place as it was cheaper than the hostels. The place was very central, located unfortunately up a hill, but close to Alfons X metro station and within walking distance to Sagrada Familia – if you enjoy the nice long walks. We had a small room, all to ourselves, a kitchen, lounge area and bathroom that we shared with a group of 4-5 other travellers throughout our 3 night stay there.

 

Our first attraction of choice in Barcelona was of course, the Sagrada Familia – the Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family. We walked down the straight road from our accommodation towards the grand church, you could spot it a mile away. Its creator and the brains behind the architectural genius is Antoni Gaudi. Construction of the building started in 1882, and still continues today. Your entry fees contribute towards the donations to complete the construction, and are well worth the money – even though they don’t accept credit cards at the door. Its three grand façades – nativity, passion and glory - are a wonder to marvel at while you walk around the exterior. But to go inside the church is a whole other world.

Valencia, Spain

Home of the Paella!

 

After our time in Seville, we took an early morning train back to Madrid, and another train across to Valencia. Valencia is known as where the Paella originated, but not the seafood type of paella that you see, instead the meaty paella.

We got to our accommodation and dropped off our bags and collected a map. We walked around the main historical centre, looking at all the beautiful architecture. Main attractions were the Valencia Cathedral and the Historic Central Market (Plaza del Mercado).  

Seville & Cadiz, Spain

Sun in Sevilla and Cadiz!

Flamenco, tapas and the beach :)

 

After our relaxing time in Cordoba, we headed south into Andalucia, to Seville. The sun was shinning bright, and we were so excited. We’d travelled around Europe during the winter months, starting in Norway with -7 degrees temperatures on average, and now we were in Spain, feeling like it was really summer. How amazing is that. Pity we had so much winter clothes, and not much summer clothes…

Anyway, after finding our hostel, which we’ve decided is the best hostel we’ve stayed at during our whole trip away; it’s called The Oasis Palace Backpackers Hostel at Calle Almirante Ulloa, 1 41001 Seville. The hostel is centrally located, very clean, facilities are amazing, and the atmosphere is electric. This particular hostel (as the Oasis Hostels have a few around Spain) is fairly new, so the mattresses are still comfortable, the bathrooms are modern and the décor is pretty good for a hostel, it really does look similar to a ‘palace’ as you enter with it’s grand staircase. They have free breakfast every morning, a functional kitchen (a tad small for the amount of people, but reasonable) and loads of activities on every day/night to meet new people and get involved in the Spanish culture. 

Cordoba, Spain

Heading south for some sunshine

Relaxation and some more tapas….

After Madrid we headed south to Cordoba for a couple of days of chilling out and to continue our exploration of the south of Spain. We dropped our bags off at the hostel, and then wandered off to find some food to fill our empty stomachs. By mid morning, the sun was shinning brightly and the sunglasses had finally come out.

We found a street of small tapas restaurants very close to our hostel. We picked one called the Muséo de la Tapas y el Vino (the Museum of Tapas and Vine). Prices were reasonable and they were open prior to the busy lunch rush. A more detailed post of this restaurant will come in the future.

Madrid and Toledo, Spain

First impressions of  Espana…

 

Tapas, vino, blue skies, grand buildings and green parks

We arrived in Madrid close to midnight and took the metro to our hostel, The Mad Hostel. Surprisingly the metro was safe, unlike what we’d heard from some people that had visited before. But over the past year or two, the Spanish transportation system has improved dramatically and it’s safe and convenient to travel on the metro in Madrid and the local trains which connect the major cities together.

After a good night’s sleep we awoke and started planning our few days in the capital of Spain. First stop was Plaza Mayor, a grand square arcade in the centre of Madrid. It was still quite early so the plaza was empty, but it fills up as the sun starts shinning and the people start getting hungry.

Plaza Mayor

Pompeii & Amalfi Coast, Italy

Ruins, Rugged Coastline & Tiny Beach Towns

Pompeii Lives

We had heard a great deal of positive talk about the Italian Amalfi coast – rugged little coastal towns set against the back drop of beautiful ocean views.  Bendy and winding roads that take you from town to town perched on the edges of sheer cliff faces.  Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

Well, couple that with the possibility of seeing the historical ruins of the town of Pompeii – yes, the town wiped off the map by Mt Vesuvius and its volcanic eruption – and a chance to visit an ongoing archaeological dig site.  A once lost Roman city still under the shadow of Vesuvius looming eerily in the background has a rather magnetic pull to the knowledge seeker within me.

Winnie and I planned a full day trip, leaving Rome very early in the morning with the view of seeing the ruins first, then the main towns of the Amalfi – in reverse, starting with the furthest destination and working them back (so we could marry up bus schedules). 

Our itinerary looked something like this:

Train: Rome to Naples

Train: Naples to Pompeii

Train: Pompeii to Sorrento

Bus: Sorrento – Sorrento (circular via the whole Amalfi coastline)

Train: Sorrento to Naples

Train: Naples to Rome

Rome, Italy

The grand capital of Italiano! 

We finally reached Rome, the capital of Italy. We’d heard great things about this city, and couldn’t wait to get out and explore it. After checking into our Hostel, the Yellow; we were ready with map in hand, the major sights circled and a route planned out.

First stop was the Colosseum, we made it there in about 20 minutes of walking, and saw the masses of tourists both hanging around the Colosseum and waiting in line to get in. There were loads of people dressed up as Roman Warriors & Gladiators, waiting for tourists to take photos with them. But I had heard the story of my brother and his girlfriend getting stung 40 euros for getting a photo taken with them when they visited Rome last year, so I was not about to make the same mistake.

Pisa, Italy

Leaning around Pisa!

Pizza-Pisa!

So, after a short train ride from Florence we headed straight for the tower.  We found it just after dark and took a few photos.  

It really does Lean at a rather dramatic angle.  It stands proud of the surrounding Duomo and its out-buildings.

Winnie trying to simulate the lean.

Florence Gelato Tour, Italy

Welcome Back ETD Readers!!

Are you ready for some Gelato goodness?

When we arrived in Florence and headed to our hostel we had a few issues, so we changed our plans and decided to stay the extra night in Pisa instead. We spent the day in Florence, while our bags were stored at the train station.

We looked at the map and saw that there was not much to see/do in Florence, so while we had a buffet lunch, we looked up some nice gelato places to taste the best gelato in Florence. What better to do than a gelato taste test fest!!

Bologna, Italy

Destination Bologna!

Fast Cars & Coffee!

Bologna is a quirky city, and its one of my favourite Italian destinations.  There’s something for everybody – motoring enthusiasts can head to the home of Ducati, Ferrari and Lamborghini; foodies can duck into any one of the local cafés, restaurants or bistros; and students (or budget travellers like us) can find numerous cheap eats and amazing coffee at ridiculously low prices.  Believe me or not, but the best part of Bologna is that although there are museums, you get a real sense of history just from wandering around. 

After arriving at Bologna’s main train station, we jumped on a number 25 bus and headed to our Air BnB accommodation, staying with Eli S and his Spanish girlfriend, which was luckily in a very central location (with respect to the cheap eats and coffee bars).  A quick introduction and a new map, with a new planned itinerary and we were off out into the city once again. 

Our itinerary for Bologna was simple:

Eat, Drink and Relax.

We were given some recommendations by our host, Eli, but decided to be adventurous, choosing a coffee shop at random.  As luck may have it, we struck gold.  There was a plethora of cakes and local fancies to soften even the hardiest sweet-tooth, and there was a small queue.  Locals were standing at the bar, ordering their “fix” of coffee and drinking it.  The place smelt amazing, a balanced roasted coffee aroma coupled with the delicate and pleasing perfume of delicately sweet pastries.  To start our day we ordered a couple of savoury pastries (a spinach one and a mushroom one) and the coffees.  The coffees we ordered were one large Café Ginseng and a Macchiato.

Venice, Italy

Buongiorno, ETD Readers!

Let me take you on a Gondola ride…

We arrived in Venice on a sunny day and walked through the cobbled streets to our hostel. Our first impressions of the hostel weren’t great. We were greeted by a typical Englishman who had a hairstyle like he’d walked out of a Japanese Anime movie, and put our bags in a small luggage room. We glanced at the rooms which were bare and only had 3-4 single beds in them. No bunks, no tables, no lockers or anything. The hostel provided dinner as part of the price, so that is why we chose it. But other than that, it didn’t offer much else, except for a decent location. We borrowed their hostel map of Venice which looked like it had had better days, and headed out to explore the main streets, canals and the main square.

Verona, Italy

Ciao e Bentornati!

“..Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene…”

Verona.  A “public place”, the location for William Shakespeare’s tale of love and sadness, and the next destination for WinGaz to visit.  This seemed like a great place to delve deeper into this literary classic and see if the town lives up to it’s reputation.

As Verona was going to be a short overnighter for us, we were hoping to spend a few hours walking the city’s streets and seeing for ourselves the place where Juliet spoke those timeless words:

“Romeo.  Romeo.  Where for art thou Romeo?”

Milan, Italy

Buongiorno, ETD Readers!

Home of Pizza, Pasta & Gelato!

our first gelato experience! OMG!

Next stop: Italiano, baby! First up on our agenda was Milan. We headed on another train from Nice to Milan, with a short stop over in Ventimiglia. Where Gaffa had his first taste of Italian coffee, and I opted for a hot chocolate – which was just awesome! It was very thick and full of chocolate-y goodness.

In Milan we stayed at another AirBnB place. It was very close to the centre of Milan, within walking distance to all the major sights. The apartment was up on the 7^th floor, and the elevator was very very small. Gaffa and I only just managed to fit in it with our massive backpacks on. It was one of those older style lifts where you have wait for the lift to arrive and then open a second door to get in – hilariously, the inner doors opened inwards which made getting them shut and open again tricky since we were oversized and just able to squeeze in!

Lyon, Nice & Monaco, France

Happy Days are here again, ETDers!!

The WINGAZ Grand Prix of Lyon, Nice & Monaco!

My "toy" car collection.

We have decided to combine the 2 days we spent in Lyon and Nice, since we don’t have a lot to talk about…even for me!  I could elaborate on how we spent the time relaxing, but that doesn’t make for much of a blog post.

To start us off, we travelled 2 hours south of Dijon to Lyon.  Lyon was a lovely city, lots of shops bistros and sunshine, meaning that since Dijon the weather was definitely turning for the better and spring is finally reaching Europe!

We arrived at our lovely Air BnB, a short walk from the train station and the heart of Lyon.  After quickly dumping bags, changing into shorts (me) and a glass of water we headed into town.  We walked along trying to decided whether to cook or eat out – we decided on lunch at a bistro and home cooking in the evening for dinner.

Dining in Dijon, France

Bonne Journée, Readers!

Dropping a gear, relaxing in authentic France, Dijon!

 

Leaving Paris on our 9:43 am train bound for Dijon I couldn’t help feeling an intense sense of relief to be heading towards the slower, more sedate pace of the more rural towns in France.  Paris was an amazing experience; we crammed a bucket-load of touristic endeavours into our action packed couple of days and made the most of our Paris museum passes, but now it was time to kick back and enjoy a couple of well earned days rest.   Honestly, I cannot think of anywhere better to take in a few days of authentic France.  Dijon has touristic wonders to be uncovered by the inquisitive, it has sights to spend hours taking photos of, but for WinGaz this location was slotted into our itinerary for one reason:

Food.

Paris, France

Bonjour!

The express 2 day tour of Paris begins!

We arrived in Paris after a long journey on the TGV from Munich. The TGV is a bit overrated. The seats are not as comfortable as other trains we’ve taken, mainly the German and Scandinavian trains we preferred.

For our accommodation in Paris we booked an AirBnB place rather than a hostel as it was the cheaper option… but not always the best! Normally the host has photos of the apartment/house, the room you’ll be staying in, kitchen, bathroom, etc, but this host didn’t at the time. I picked it because they had good reviews of other properties that they let out, but none for this particular one. I booked it, hoping for the best…

Munching in Munchen, Germany

Good Morning, Readers!

Munching in Munich, Bavaria

Leaving Vienna was hard.  Winnie and I both had such a great time in Vienna, as by now I hope you have read.  Nevertheless we jumped on the 08:14 train bound for Munich, arriving approximately 4 hours later.  The journey was comfortable, but all OBB German Trains are plush, luxurious and fast.  It was nice to sit in a comfy seat, plugged into the mains power.  The train even had screens overhead displaying the journey, maps and estimated time of arrival at each stop.  Only the Germans could go that extra mile!  Awesome.

Our prompt arrival in Munich allowed us to quickly and easily walk from the train station to our hostel.  We were glad to only have a 2-3 minute walk from the station.  We decided to stay at the Euro Youth Hostel, in a mixed dorm room with 12 beds.  The Hostel was nice, very clean and had a pretty good bar.  The shower facilities were on the floor below us, but had complimentary shower products (I like free stuff).  All in all a very nice, secure hostel (3 secure coded doors between reception and our dorm) with helpful knowledgeable staff.  The bar was reasonably priced, with a 50cl beer (Augustiner) for around 3-4 Euros.  It does get noisy at weekends, but remember you are in Munich, and noise and beer drinking are why you go there!

Viennese Whirls, Vienna

Guten Morgen ETD Followers!

From Hungary to Austria we took another morning train and arrived in Vienna in the late morning. After dropping off our bags at our hostel, Wombats; we again picked the brain of the guy on the counter of the hostel. The hostel was very helpful; they even had a pre-planned itinerary for travellers that only have 1-2 days. So we decided to follow the itinerary so we could cover all the main sights.

First stop we headed south to Schonbrunn Palace and Garden. This is where the beautiful Austrian architecture started. Grand buildings surrounded by wide open green spaces. It would be lovely in the summer time. There was a maze/labyrinth there also, but unfortunately it was closed as there were no leaves on the trees. I was a bit disappointed, oh well.