Lloret de Mar

(For Granny - an update of what I've been up to in Spain :))

It's summer so naturally the weather here in Spain is unbearably hot (quite like England, I imagine).

In order to gain temporary relief from the heat, yesterday Sam and I headed up north to the Costa Brava, to Lloret de Mar in search of refreshment.

We found the beach quickly after arrival and you could tell it was popular with tourists because in shops the people talked to us in English. There were boats to hire, deck chairs and umbrellas and lots of languages on the beach. We went swimming to cool off after just under 2 hours of public transport to get there, and then went up around the cliffs to have a look at the castle and the coves further around.

The colour of the water was beautiful and there were lots of places you could go swimming. In the next cove around from the main beach there was a massive rock in the water and some teenagers had swum out to it, climbed up and were daring each other to jump, waiting to see who'd be brave and go first. Away from the main beach it was less touristy and you could hear the birds making a racket in the trees, and every now and then see the tourist boats sail past as they do a quick tour of the coast.

Having eaten lunch on a cliff looking over a cove, we spent the afternoon in the town and looking in some of the shops and cooling ourselves down with some ice cream before heading back down the coast to the city..

Montseny: Hiking

Last Saturday Sam's parents took us to Montseny, a nature reserve/small set of mountains about 60 kilometres from Barcelona. Driving around the windy roads as we made our way further and further up, we met cyclists going up and down, and got to enjoy the beautiful views of the surrounding towns and countryside. When we arrived in the little town of Santa Fe de Montseny it was amazing seeing the difference in temperature and climate on the mountain compared to the big cities, and all the greenery which reminded me of home!

After lunch we went for a walk. Every now and then there was a bang of thunder or a flash of lightning in the sky, but as there was no rain we continued our hiking around the woods and around the lake... There were lots of mosquitos and cockroaches which we had fun avoiding, and the shade from the trees seemed almost heavenly after weeks of summer, sun and no air conditioning in Barcelona.

We got back to the car and went for a coffee on the outside terrace of a small restaurant and about half an hour later the skies opened and we were forced to enter the bar to take cover as we watched the hail fill up the car park and bounce of the road. 

Terrace: Music

Lovely relaxing afternoon on Eli's terrace playing guitar, accordion, recorder and ukelele in the sun.

Basquing around Bilbao

8.30 in Barcelona and by mid-afternoon we were whizzing through the northern Spanish countryside towards Bilbao. We were going to stay with Elena, a friend of a friend and to be tourists in the Basque country. Elena was waiting for us as we got off the fast speed train as she took us back to her apartment to leave our stuff there before going exploring!!

The first thing we did was to go to the Guggenheim museum, which was interesting. The puppy with made of flowers outside and the architecture of the building were probably my favourite parts of the museum. Among my least favourite exhibits was the collection of paintings which were famous paintings painted inside a museum gallery with naked women standing looking at them. Strange art.

We had lots of time to explore Bilbao, walking along the river and in the old town. We met up with some of Sam's friends for lunch one day which was really lovely too!

San Sebastian

Today we spent the day in San Sebastian. We got up early and after an hour on the coach from San Mamés bus station in Bilbao we arrived in San Sebastian and found a coffee shop with a terrace looking up to a beautiful church/cathedral whose architecture reminded me of oxford. 

An hour later we were at the beach where got offered free ice cream on the promenade by a small ice cream stand which was doing a promotion. I went for a swim and then, after the beach we headed out to the other side of the bay: to the paine del viento, some iron statues/sculptures which are attached to the rocks and are famous, apparently. 

We had lunch with views over the beaches and the port, and then we went for a walk. There were small boat trips across to an island so we decided to get on a boat and go! After the boat we went and had some traditional basque pintxos (small tapas/plates of food) in a couple of bars and looked around the old part of the city. One man made me my own veggie pintxo for 2€!

A Day in Majorca

Last Friday Sam and I went to Mallorca for the day. We were on the plane at 7 and after the 30 minute flight and quick bus journey into the centre, by 8:30 we having breakfast in Palma, the capital of Mallorca. Coffee and traditional ensaimades woke us up among the locals before we headed off for a walk along the Rambla.

Sam had planned the whole day, including all the main sights such as the cathedral, the plaza mayor and ramble down the Rambla. For lunch we went to a delicious vegetarian restaurant, stopping off in parks and gardens and little majorcan shops and markets which we found along the way. It was a lovely warm day, about 30 degrees, so in the afternoon we walked along the beach and around by the port, along pretty streets and through peaceful squares until we got the bus back to the airport for our 11pm flight back to Barcelona.

I love the fact it was close enough to go to for just one day!!

Photos © Rachael Berry 2013

Czeching Prague Out.

Last weekend I went to visit my friend Íngrid in Prague. It was such a lovely weekend and a perfect time to disconnect from the uni before the last week of classes. Lovely gardens, bridges, cobbled streets and squares welcomed us as we got the tram into town for our first day of sightseeing. We had lots of coffees in cute coffee shops to warm us up and did lots of touristy things too, such as looking at the little shops on Charles Bridge, visiting the John Lennon wall, the Castle and a trip to the national ballet (1 euro per ticket!!) to see a beautiful performance of "Cravate".

On my second day, we were walking around the centre and we found a little farmer's market. One of the stalls was selling vegetarian sweets, so we walked over and the man started speaking in Spanish straight away asking where we were from. Íngrid said Barcelona, so he changed language and told us he spoke a "miqueta" (little bit) of Catalan as he'd lived there himself, and then he helped us decide which sweet to buy by recommending his favourite. Far from the stereotype that Czech people are quite closed, this man was extremely helpful and open, and even invited us to a free lecture on vegetarianism at his vegetarian restaurant.

On my last night we went to the vegetarian restaurant for supper and as he welcomed us he asked us where we were from, and then he told us he spoke a little bit of Catalan... He obviously didn't recognise us at all, despite our long conversation the previous day, so we had a giggle before sitting down in the indian style room. He took our drinks orders, but told us he'd bring the food as it was a menu. A couple of minutes later we were presented with a soup, rice, vegetables, a small salad and a pudding each and we were told that if we were still hungry we could get refills... And all this for the less than 4 euros!! Full up, we went to pay and he gave us a short summary of his knowledge of Catalan history. We saw the sweets again by the till and decided to buy a one more each... Our dear friend said "I bet you can't guess which is my favourite".

To his surprise, we could.

Typical Czech pastry with chocolate in the middle to warm us up from the rain outside!!

Tea, Coffee, Chocolate..... 

A Bride and Groom at the Lennon wall