Josh and Leanne's Travel Blog

Florence - Day One

We leave Venice by train today and catch a ferry back from the famous Rialto Bridge to the station. We have a bit of s run in with an Italian train ticket officer who finds by technicality that our main eurorail ticket has not been validated properly by the inspectors on our through France, so she fines us 50 Euro, go figure?. I can tell you the conversation was extremely heated and we were forced to pay up in a very threatening manner. We were extremely pleased to get off that train.

Thankfully, awaiting our arrival in Florence was our lovely host Lorenzo who was waiting for us at the apartment with a bottle of wine and biscuits and fruit in hand. This helped take the edge off of a tough day.

VENICE - Day four

Today is our Venice day. We decide to be real adventurers and walk the island almost top to bottom.

We take a leisurely walk down past Arsenale and see some of the Biennale Exhibition spaces, we stop at a gorgeous cafe where I enjoyed a Cappuccino and Josh enjoys 100% freshly squeezed lemon juice, it was entertaining watching for the lemon zing twinge on his face. Hehehe. Then onto a park nearby where we decide we will have a picnic lunch overlooking the sea. It’s a beautiful day and we find a shady spot to enjoy our crackers and tuna and fruit. After lunch we decide we will brave the crowds yet again and stroll back via San Marco and the Piazza. It’s a long walk in the sun and by the time we do our circuit our poor feet are sore and bodies are lagging.

Tonight we are excited to return to Osteria Alla Staffa, where we dined the second night and we are not at all disappointed. A nice way to spend our final night in Venice. Tomorrow we will be packing up and heading to Florence, we have really enjoyed discovering Venice and feel very much in holiday mode.

VENICE - Day Three

As we have bought ourselves a 36 hour ferry pass that includes we decide to make the most of it and escape the crowds on the islands surrounding Venice. Good choice. We return to our old friend Murano and then onto the Island of brightly coloured building and the home of lace point, Burano. We spend our day exploring these spaces and for us both it was very enjoyable. It takes all day for us to do a round trip and we return back to have dinner at another little restaurant recommended by TripAdvisor in “Ghetto”, the Jewish district of Venice. We walk 20 minutes or so to find it but it’s a quiet area and we sit by a larger canal while the sun sets as we eat. The food is delish here too.

DAY TWO

After a poor sleep due to canal traffic and early morning construction works, Josh and I sleep in today. We are up in time for lunch - a slice of pizza, with some yummy fresh fruit.

Today we want to go to Murano to see the glass blowing and look at the wares. Our adventure is short lived as Josh feels ill and we return home for a few hours. Later in the day we attempt the island again to find most shops have shut up for the day. It’s ok though because we enjoy the afternoon sun and the glorious waterways.

It’s actually been a relaxing day and we return back the the main island this time to the most amazing food at small traditional “Osteria” style restaurant. We book then and there to come back to the restaurant on our last as well. : )

VENICE - Day One

We arrive in Venice from Barcelona. It’s lovely to fly in over the islands and to see what it looks like from the air. A shuttle bus from the airport and we are away. After Josh takes a quick trip to the tourist info centre, we learn the best way to get to our accommodation is by ferry (Vaporetto) - their equivalent to a bus system. It’s incredibly busy everywhere. We soon learn there are pockets of business and that the laneways are crowded. Getting our suitcase through the crowds was fun I can tell you. We arrive at our new home for the next few days and much to my surprise we  have a little balcony with canal/gondola views. We grab some lunch and do a ‘quick recy’ of our local area, back into the swarms of tourists. I actually dislike the place at first but it soon grows on me. We find a little place for dinner having successfully been spruiked. Mistake, we were ripped off. Average food and a lying menu. Since when does salmon look or taste like tuna? With a sour taste in our mouths literally we leave the restaurant homeward bound.

Sporting her new purchases from Barcelona and Murano.
1 Glass ring from Murano, Italy.
1 Silver ring from Casa Milá, Gaudi inspired.
1 Pendant necklace from Barcelona (see http://mimischolerbarcelona.blogspot.com for more beautiful pieces)
1 silk scarf also from Mimi Scholer. 

Barcelona - Day Four

Today we put our walking shoes on. It’s Gaudi Day!

We are going to see 3 great locations in great detail.La Pedrera and The Foundation Caixa Catalunya, La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. We have seen Casa Battlo from the street a few times already passing by, so we don’t go in - next time though :). All I can say is wow - you must see these places. Words won’t do any of them justice but we’ll try and let the pictures do the rest. At La Pedrera we skip the line as our art pass gets us access to the museum, rooftop and attik. I had forgotten this fact and luckily I pulled the tickets out by chance and the guide spotted them and we just went straight in. To the rooftop we go. The structure is amazing, the curves and the unexpected, almost ridiculous detail of finishes and sculptural features are beautiful and mind boggling. Quite inspirational. Inside the Attik are collections of scale models for all of his famous buildings and a collection of his chairs. Next to the apartment there’s exhibition where you can view the interior of the grand apartment. It’s very impressive, a large space to live in.

Next we walk a few blocks to La Sagrada Familia. On approach the spires poke out into the sky and the detail at a distance is evident. The line to enter wraps 3/4 around the block and we way for over an hour and a half in the blazing sun to get in. It’s worth every minute. The interior is overwhelmingly complex in detail and design- you almost don’t know where to look it’s all so amazing. Josh and I take a seat and take time to take in our surrounds before we rehydrateand venture below to view the exhibition space and Gaudi’s tomb. All magnificent and a must see.

Onto Parc Guell. We take a Metro to Vallcarca and climb a very very steep hill. We are lucky though as someone clever had thought to install escalators periodically and this is very welcome. Once we reach the top we get the most amazing view of Barcelona looking down from the west of the city. We climb further up the hill where it feels like we find a commune of hippies lined on top of the monument watching the man of the century sporting his dame Edna everage glasses. We think his brain was as fried as his skin looked- but damn he was entertaining! A highlight for me (brother Dave, you will appreciate this-I promise you a demonstration!). I climbed to the top if the rock monument to get an even more comprehensive look while Josh got well aquatinted to our new found friend. The youngins at the top were high as kites and When we walked away from the monument I felt like I’d walked out of a time warp and left a long lost commune on the hills of Barcelona-that or off the set of a new and interpretive version of Jesus Christ Superstar. Lol. Back down the hill avoiding dodgy hecklers and random squatters in the bushes, we finally came to Gaudi’s great incomplete structure in Parc Guell. A beautiful footing I can say very detailed! it’s a shame the full design was never completed but the gardens surrounding the structure are also by Gaudi - designs in the form of pathways, shelters and garden sculptures. They sit so beautifully with the foliage that surrounds. We also visit Gaudi’s residence of 20 years. It’s another museum good to see but we are now done for the day.

We still have a few things on the list to do including finding Josh a new suitcase so we head back to Catalunya square. Tonight we finish our time in Barcelona by finding a laundromat doing some washing while eating the most amazing tapas and drinking sangria at a nearby restaurant -Tapas Royale. What a time we have had.

From our window in Venice. Gondola shenanigans.

Barcelona - Day Three

After a day of walking yesterday we decide as there is so much ground to cover that we will catch a city sightseeing bus for the day. This will allow us to cover more ground and to see the sights further away from where we are staying. We grab our tickets and set off late morning on the route that will take us up the mountain to the national museum of art Catalunya. MNAC, Foundation Joan Miro and Castle of Montjuic. The national palace of Montjuic is stunning set in the mountain looking down at the city it is a great place for a view. The collection of artwork here is also impressive. After spending quite some time here we decide to head towards the Miro gallery and stop for an anchovie baguette and olive tapas-simple but nice from a park style cafe. We are disappointed to find that today being a Sunday, the Miro gallery closes at 2.30pm and we arrive 15 minutes before closing time. We aren’t allowed to enter. Oh well onward we go and we decide to catch the cable car up to the castle in the Montjuic Park, this is a great way to see the city from the sky and an easy way to get to the top. The castle at the top has a great view of barcelona shipping port, the Mediterranean and to Barcelona city from the south looking north.

From here we venture back down to the bus again to the city where we change lines and sit on the bus while it takes us to see Gaudi’s great masterpieces, Parc Guell, the royal palace and the stadium of Barcelona football club, Barca.

It’s been a long day. Once we are dropped back to the Catalunya square we walk back to out accommodation then to the marina for some tasty seafood dishes. Another great day of traveling.

Barcelona - Day Two

Today we are up and out mid morning. Our first sleep in Barcelona is a bit rough. After some breakfast we decide today we will head on foot out to explore the Gothic Quarter. After a quick trip to the tourist information centre we pick up a art/museum pass and maps to go. This dictates the rest of the day as now we have plenty of art/museum spaces to see. First stop is the Picasso museo, all I will say here is this was a fabulous visual narration of Picasso’s life that cleverly tells you intricate details about context and influence. The collection of his work is outstanding and the temporary exhibition here is a great documentation of his early years and his influence as a young artist. A must see.

On we go through the back streets to see Mercat de Sta Caterina and Palau de la Musica, on the way we stop in a stunning jewellery shop and I google at the handmade wares for a while before purchasing a piece. After we view these locations we head to the museum of contemporary art (MACBA) and the CCCB (the Catalan cultural centre). We view MACBA first, the building that houses the works is a stunning white architectural mass. It’s beautifully designed and we marvel at the interior for some time before we go inside to see the work. The work is nice - it’s ok. But we now feel a bit over exhibitions as we have spent most of the day looking at work. The CCCB looks uninviting do we move on to La Rambla for a walk down this famous strip to the waters edge.

Tonight we find a little place near our house to sample some more Spanish food and again decide a walk to the beach is a nice idea. Our feet are very tired and our bodies sore from all of the ‘on foot’ today and we sleep well.

Barcelona

Today we fly to Barcelona. We catch the train to the airport and jump on the plane. The flight takes 50 minutes and we are here. When we get to the baggage claim we find Josh’s suitcase has had one of his double zips torn out on route and his bag is 3/4 open. Luckily in true Josh style his luggage is neatly packed and he has fastened the straps inside which means miraculously he has not lost anything. This is lucky but it deems our luggage non-travel worthy now and so we have to go and report the incident and we are very annoyed. This stuff happens. A shopping trip is now in order for a new suitcase

We catch the aerobus from the airport into the city and lug our suitcases up and down what seems a million stairs through the metro on and off. It’s actually hot here and we are relieved when we get into the metro to find they are air conditioned. We finally find our accommodation at Hotel Del Mar to then be told the online booking service has not worked properly and we have now been moved to a new hotel. This works out for the best we think as we end up in the Gothic Quarter a block from Placa de Saint Jaume on Carrer de Jaume. It is a noisy and busy street though. Josh and I are exhausted and decide we should have an afternoon kip - this goes down a treat and wake later that day ready to explore. I go to the chemist and buy earplugs almost immediately as I know I’ll need this for a good nights sleep and we go to our first Spanish meal on Carrer de Ferran our lunch and dinner (we’d skipped a meal) consisting of steamed mussels as entree and seafood Paella for main. It was amazing and we both waddle out of there having enjoyed our meal(see pics)

After our meal Josh and I go for a walk down to the sea. On our way back the riot police have stopped traffic and we can hear a crowd chanting coming closer to us as we approach Via Laietana. Sure enough we find ourselves witnessing some kind of protest and watch from a distance as the noisy crowd glide by and turn away from our route home. Something I’ve not seen before - random group gatherings on a Friday night. Back home we go and settle into our accommodation when again we hear a flurry of sound from our street. We look down to find a big group of push bike riders calling out group chants and the riot police following them into the square. They circle around St Jaume for about 10 minutes and then move on. A crazy night of protests in Barcelona. So needless to say my earplugs do come in handy.

We soon learn the city comes alive after 11 and this place is a night spot.

Toulouse

Day one
We are super lucky to have been invited to stay in Richard’s friend, Clément’s apartment in Toulouse. Clément is working in Strasbourg for the summer so his apartment is free. We arrive after midday on train from Carcassonne. We lug our belongings through the streets a short way to his apartment and realise when we are inside the block that there is no number or name to match his on any door. We wait a while to get directions to his apartment on the second floor. We finally found the ‘good door, without the good name’ :). Toulouse is a bit cloudy today and it sprinkles a little. After lunch we head home and Josh and I are really tired from the our first week or so, so we have our first night in. We enjoy a very important french sitting - our appertif before catching some zzz’s.

Day two.
On go the walking shoes. Today we have decided we will go for our own walking tour of the city. We start at the city council building ‘el capitolio’. Here we find a treasure of historic paintings on walls and ceilings throughout- we are pleasantly surprised. I think these are the most beautiful I’ve seen. My favorite work is by the artist Henri Martin. This is is not a huge space but well worth a visit. A highlight for us both. On we stroll, to Basilique St. Sernin. Inside we were greeted by the organ chiming throughout the great hall. I think the organist was practicing, but like the choir in Carcassonne, we enjoy the samples we hear. No music sales here though. It is a stellar day in Toulouse it’s sunny but not too hot, by now Josh and I have done our fair share of inside museums, historic buildings and galleries, so we decide today we’ll enjoy the parks and spend time in the sun. Toulouse is a fresh and vibrant university city and we like what we see. On our map that we picked up from the tourist centre behind Capitole we find a Japanese garden located behind the ‘Centre de Congres and decide this is well worth a look. We walk via the university campuses and find this little gem of a place nestled behind a larger park. It’s a glorious day to enjoy the sunshine and gardens here. We liked the turtle and fish spotting in the pond and the Japanese gardens, while not large were very enjoyable. Next we catch the metro to the foot of the ‘Allees Jules Guesde’ where we walk from Palais de Justice up through the greenery to Jardin Royale and Grand Round. A slight tour off to look at Palais Neil and Toulouse’s ‘arc de triumph mini’ Monument Aux Morts to another place of worship Cathedrale St Etienne. This place is huge and quite a peculiar design. The cathedral appears to be almost divided in two parts with the back gallery’s off-set from the front. The choir stalls are impressive and the organ appears to hang high in the middle wall. In the chapels behind the pulpit a fruitloop chants from the back and a caretaker tries to shoo him away. Good news is he could hold a note. We walk by him and leave them to it. from the cathedral we are not far from home. We are getting tired and peckish and the afternoon sun is warm, so we walk on by the Museum des Augustines and have a look inside Hotel d’Assezal Foundation Bemberg to find a Cosy seat in a cafe on the cnr of Rue Peyrolieres where we enjoy a bubbly Perrier and citron sorbet! So nice after a day of hiking the streets. After our refresh we head on to view the famous bridge of Toulouse - Pont Neuf, and once we take a picture or two we pop our head into Englise ND de la Daured (enough churches now) this one is particularly dark and gloomy, it’s very impressive though and here the dedication to Mary is depicted as a black virgin aka ‘The black Madonna of Toulouse’. This makes this place of worship very unique. Nonetheless enough churches for us today well and truly. Time to find some tucker and head home for the night. We find a great little place around the corner from Clément’s that serves the best vegetarian ‘all u can eat’ (thanks to trip adviser) and we dig in. Toulouse is well worth a visit when in France- plenty to see and do. Lots of great shops and places to enjoy your days. We hope to return one day.

Big thanks to Clément!