Paris the city of lights

What can I say about Paris, I am a bit biased when it comes to this city, it was my second visit and it still amazes me. I think Ney also liked Paris, but he was impressed by the big avenues and the beautiful parks , like The Tulieres Park in front of the Royal Palace of the Louvre, where we spent many afternoons during our week in Paris.

It was a wonderful week , we rented an apartment in the area known as The Marais, the bohemian and artistic area of Paris, about four blocks from the Seine and the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

Second day in Paris , and we decided to visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame, made famous by the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and it is a pretty spectacular cathedral.

The third & fourth day in Paris  and we did the tourist thing, and got on the hop on hop off bus, it is  after all  a big city and we wanted to make sure that we saw everything. First stop was the Eiffel Tower , and we can say that we have climbed the tower and have seen Paris in all its glory. Then it was Place de la Concorde, Les Invalides, Napoleon's tomb, The Champs Elysses , The Opera Garnier, The Palace Luxembourg, Montmartre and so many other amazing places. 

Our next stop was the Palace of Versailles and The Louvre Museum .

We could not leave Paris  without visiting one of its famous cabaret shows, so we had dinner and show at The famous Lido , costumes and special affects were excellent although I think the Moulin Rouge has more of a French flavour.

Our last day in Paris was spent relaxing in one of Ney's favourite spots at The Tulieres, while we waited for Paris to turn on its lights.

It was sad to say good bye to Paris, but we will definitely visit again !!!

Florence & Milan

Form Rome we took the high speed train to Florence , the birthplace of the Renaissance and   where the masters like Michaelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci were born. The Tuscany area of Italy is very beautiful , no wonder these and other masters from this area were inspired to do amazing works of art.

The Duomo Florence's amazing cathedral is a central and important figure of the city, the different galleries and museums , as well as the different Medici Palaces and churches are a reminder of times gone by when art and culture reigned supreme in this city. You cannot visit Florence , and not see Michaelangelo's amazing sculpture of David , an incredible piece of work .

Milan 

A very elegant and well organised city , it was amazing to see the Italian Alps from the city . It was also very beautiful , particularly the Milan Cathedral and the Royal Palace.

Next stop is Paris the city of lights !

From sunny Spain to Italy

From the beautiful city of Barcelona, we flew over to Rome to visit the capital of the old Roman Empire. Apart from the incredible number of tourists which made it sometimes uncomfortable, it is still an amazing old city . From the Colloseum, to Plaza Venezia, Via Corso , Plaza Navona , Trevi Fountain and The Spanish Steps, and not to forget Vatican City with St Peter's square and the Basilica . If you love history , you will certainly love Roma !

A day trip to Napoli & Pompey

We were surprised at how big the old city of Pompey was , and it is amazing that it was built by the Greeks 700 BC, long before the Roman's invaded and placed their mark on the old city. It was a very advanced civilization with plumbing, well planned roads, shops and residential areas. But it was a bit daunting to see the Vesuvius Volcano towering over the City , to think that it was responsible for its destruction.

Pompey

Ciudad Rodrigo,Sevilla,Granada, Puerto Mazarron, Valencia & Barcelona,

Hey to all , I finally get a chance to update the blog, hopefully you will get a taste of our lovely trip through Spain. It made a big difference driving, we were able to really see and experience the different regiions, as well as the difference in the people.
It will be a very long blog if I write about each town and city , so I will add photos and write a phrase with the most outstanding monument or experience that we had.

Ciudad Rodrigo ..

A very important fortress town in Northern Spain, a major battle against Napoleon was fought here and won by the English .

Sevilla


A very old and historical city, once a centre of power for the Moors when they ruled Spain, a lot of arab influence . The Giralda an arab fortress which is next to the Cathedral , the Alcazer ( the old arab palace) , are  amazing places both historically and beautiful to see.

  
Granada


Another very important city in the era of the Moorish conquest, it is where the famous royal palace of the Alhambra is located , above the city of Granada. We loved this city, the small strrets with arab shops and small restaurants with flamenco dancers.

Puerto Mazarron


A little resort town in southern Spain , on the Mediterranean where a lot of Europeans go on holiday . We spent three days at the beach , and catching up with friends that were travelling in Spain.

Valencia 


A very surprising city  full of culture and history but also with a lot of modern and futuristic buildings , like the city of Art , Culture and the Sciences. But we also visited the city's bull fighting ring and had a guided tour, although some people disagree with this tradition even in Spain , it is still part of its history and culture.

Barcelona

What can we say about Barcelona, the city is a mixture of old and new, well planned with spacious and green avenues, Plaza Catalunya , The Ramblas , Old Gothic Town and the incredible Sagrada Familia a real masterpiece. I was there six years ago and although a lot of work has been done, there is still a long way to go. Expected to be finished in 2026 on the hundredth anniversary of Gaudi's death .