Day 243 : Unexpected Adventures or Culture Shock?

It’s the 2nd day in Fes, and I can’t wait for this evening, when Betty arrives in Fes and joins me for a Moroccan weekend. 

Having more that 10 hours before Betty arrives, I decided to first check out what Fes has to offer.  Armed with a map, I was keen to take a different route from yesterday (despite warning from the riad staff to stick to the other route, since it looked shorter on the map), and try my luck walking through the complicated and windy narrow roads of the Medina – hopefully without getting lost!

1st Day in Fes

The 1st day in Fes has been rather interesting and a little intimidating. 

Arriving in Fes just before night fall, I made my way to the hostel first via an airport bus, before switching to a taxi.  Unfortunately, the taxi driver seemed to have stopped me at a different location from where I needed to be dropped off, and I found myself lost in the narrow streets of the Medina.  It doesn’t make it easier when there doesn’t seem to be any street names in English.

Day 242 : Escape 2 Africa (not the movie)

It is the first time I am taking a budget airline in Europe as I boarded Ryanair bound for Fes, and OMG!  Did I feel like I was in a marketplace!

The overhead storage compartment was packed with suitcases and not even space to squeeze anything else.  It was also free seating and with numerous Moroccan family travelling with young kids, it got rather chaotic.

Day 241 : Dali & Surealism

The last highlight of my trip in Spain… Dali Museum.  Dali is known for its eccentric art, and I was strongly recommended to visit the museum by Konstantinos when I first when to Athens and it was also the first time I heard about the concept of Surrealism. 

Located in Figueres and about 30 minutes by train from Girona, I had woken up much later than I had hoped for (perhaps it was because I was still trying to recover from my flu).  I quickly got ready and headed off to buy my train ticket, and by the time I reached Figueres, it was about 1.30pm. 

Upon leaving the train station, I followed the signs towards the Dali museum, and after about a 15 minutes walk, I reached the museum and paid for my admission. 

Day 240 : Girona

Girona is a small and compact medieval town, and worth staying at least a day to visit the beautiful sights the city has to offer.  Most of its sights are centred within the Old Town, enclosed within the ancient walls. 

Day 239 : Typical (or not so typical) Catalonian lunch

I was invited to join Miquel and his friends for a Sunday lunch at his friend´s place, which he says would generally last through till evening.

We arrived at his friend´s place (Mariona and Fernando) at 12noon, and both of us couldn't believe that we ended up staying till 10pm before walking home!  Miquel shared that this is not common, as they usually meet at a restaurant and will typically be chased out by around evening, but this is the first time they do it at someone's house and lasted much longer than he expected.

Wrap Up : Barcelona

Dates : 2nd – 3rd September 2011 & 28th February – 3rd March 2012
Highlights :

• Gaudi Influence Architecture eg. Sagrada Familia, Park Guell
• Parque La Ciutadela
• La Rambla
• Montjuic
• Montserrat

Day 238 : Last Day in Barcelona

After spending 3 days here, I had not had the chance to visit downtown Barcelona, as there are just so many other things to do in this city. 

Since it is my last day here, I decided to make a day trip to the downtown area and re-acquaint myself with the city scene such as La Rambla, the port area, and get lost with the crowd.

 

Day 237 : Cirque Du Soleil

I have never seen a Cirque Du Soleil production before, but have heard rave reviews about their production from others who had seen previous productions such as Saltimbanco and Allegria.  So when I chance upon a brochure about their performance in Barcelona for a production called “Corteo”, I was excited and quickly looked online to check seats availability.

Tickets were pricey, and better seats were already taken.  So after some contemplating, weighing out the price and seat allocation factor, I decided to buy the cheapest ticket at €48.00, and hoped that I would still get a fairly good view even though my seat was in the last row. 

The show was taking place in El Grand Chapiteau, a special tentage set up at the Zoo Marino Platform, located next to the sea.   It took me a while to find the venue, and had to ask for directions in one of the nearest mall.  I barely just made it to the venue about 5 minutes before the show was due to start. 

Day 236 : Montserrat

Located 1.5 hour from Barcelona, I took a day trip to Monserrat, where it is well-known as the site of the Benedictine abbey, Saint Maria de Montserrat.  

There are a couple of ways to get to Montserrat, which often involves changing from a train to either a cable car or Funicular.  I opted for the Funicular version, and took a train from Placa Espana to a station called Monistral - Central, before changing to the Funicular.   

Dinner at a Catalunyan Restaurant

Just got back from a late dinner (late in my normal dining hour, but eating at 10pm is a usual time in Spain!), and had a great meal at "Taverna Can Margarit" which Davide told me was typical Catalunyan food.

Located in Poble Sec, the entrance was filled with wine barrels in all shapes in a long corridor.  We were each given a glass and was asked to help ourselves from one of the 4 barrels a glass of wine.

The options were between 2 red and 2 white, and I chose a dry red wine to start, while Davide and I sat down in the corridor to finish our drink before being seated inside in the dining area.  Davide shared with me that staff employed at the restaurant are gays.