Barcelona

Barcelona is a dynamic city pulsating with energy. There is something for everyone, be it the divine food, great shopping, vibrant arts scene, exciting nightlife or the blue glittering Mediterranean sea of the coastline. You won't be disappointed.

This dazzling city is strewn with historic and modern architecture. It's so beautiful that I found myself busy snapping away during my stay in Barcelona. And for the first time, the hubby actually declared that he would love to return to Barcelona again - something which is rare as no city/country has so deeply captivated his heart. I can understand why. The reason is obvious. It's simply too hard not to fall in love with this city.

The hubby and I went for a half day bike tour on our first day in Barcelona. I enjoyed it very much although I was struggling with the bike most of the time. I even crashed into a stone wall at the start of the journey. It was embarrassing but what the heck! I had fun anyway. The pic on the top left corner was taken at Arc of Triumph.

Gaudi's masterpiece - Temple of the Sagrada Familia. The church is Barcelona's most famous building. Construction began in the 19th century and the church is still under construction. It is estimated to be completed around 2025.

The different exquisite facades of the church.

Beautiful stained glass windows (from the left, 1st and 4th pic). The columns of the church resemble that of tree trunks and the ceilings are of the shape of flowers (from the left, 2nd and 3rd pic).

Food glorious food! How can we resist such tantalizing food?!

Amazingly gorgeous buildings. (Top left corner) La Pedrera, another of Gaudi's work. (Bottom right corner) Casa Lleo Morera.

(Top left corner) Plaza de Toros where bullfight takes place. (Centre pic) Casa Batllo, another of Gaudi's work. (Last pic from right) Palau de la Musica Catalana. This exuberantly ornamented redbrick holds hundreds of concerts each year.

Las Ramblas. The pedestrian boulevard is exploding with life. It's lined with street artists, musicians, news kioks and vendors selling accessories, clothings, flowers and even small pets.

Mercat de la Boqueria. A fresh food market which is one of Las Ramblas' highlights. I was happy just by looking at the numerous variety of food on display. It's one of our favourite places in Barcelona.

Barcelona's waterfront. (Top left corner) Rambla de Mar, a floating walkway. (Top right corner) Alfresco dining at the waterfront. (Bottom pics) Port Vell, a place for relaxation and leisure.

The Gothic cathedral of Barcelona which is under renovation at the time of visit.

Facades of medieval architecture spotted in the Gothic quarter.

(Top 2 pics) Characterised by its arcades and palm tress, Placa Reial is a beautiful square ringed with restaurants and cafes. (Bottom 2 pics) Placa de Catalunya, a circular plaza with fountains and sculptures, is a perfect place for people watching, feeding the pigeons or listening to Latino buskers.

The hubby and I took a cable car to the peak of Montjuic and from there, we were blown away by the panoramic view of the city.

Mes Que Un Club which means 'more than a club'. The hubby is a fan of FC Barcelona hence we definitely had to pay Camp Nou a visit.

Avila and Segovia

Segovia
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The hubby and I started our visit at the majestic Roman aqueduct. The aqueduct is 894m long and 28m high. According to our guide, it was built without a drop of mortar. It's so incredibly amazing and I wonder how they had managed to construct such a massive piece of work.

From here, we made our way to the heart of the town where the resplendent Catedral was. The church is a magnificent building inside and out. While I was in the church, all I wanted to do was to sit on the bench and admire its beauty.

Our last stop was the fortified Alcazar. Inside is a collection of armour and military gear. We also got to see the ornate interiors of the reception rooms. What I love most about the Alcazar is the fact that it's like a fairytale come true. You see a castle and you begin to imagine a knight in shining armour riding on a horse, galloping towards the castle on a mission to save the ravishing princess who was imprisoned in the tower by the wicked queen. And in the end, they lived happily ever after.

The town of Segovia. Walking towards the Roman aqueduct.

The majestic Roman aqueduct.

Another pic of the aqueduct.

The enchanting town of Segovia which has a picture-postcard look.

The hubby bought a lottery ticket hoping that he would win 1 million euro. I would have been a taitai now if he really did.

Approching the Catedral.

The magnificent Catedral.

The Alcazar.

Knight on horseback.

Avila

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Avila reminds me of San Gimignano. Like San Gimignano, this pretty old town is huddled behind intact medieval walls. The hubby and I visited 2 main tourist sights - Basilica de san Vicente and Convento de Santa Teresa. The town is known as the birthplace of Santa Teresa, a mystical writer and reformer of the Carmelite order. There's even a small museum where people can know more about her life. The most intriguing piece of exhibit is a piece of Santa Teresa's ring finger. Her finger was actually cut off after she died, preserved and then displayed in the museum.

Basilica de san Vicente.

Entrance of Basilica de san Vicente.

The splendid Basilica de san Vicente.

The city walls of Avila.

Walking through the laneways of Avila brought back many fond memories of my Italy trip.

Convento de Santa Teresa. It was built in 1636 at the birthplace of Santa Teresa.

One last pic taken outside the medieval walls before saying goodbye.

Mansion

Peppy has grown so much in 3 months. She's a big gal now. Her makeshift cardboard kennel is a little too small for her. So the sweet hubby built her a beautiful mansion. Now, whoever says 'a dog's life' is miserable must be wrong, isn't it?

We do not know exactly how old Peppy is. But we guess she's about 8-9 months now.

Isn't that a mighty awesome kennel? It's huge enough to accommodate at least 3 dogs.

A Night of Flamenco

Many of flamenco's top names perform in Madrid, making it an excellent place to catch a flamenco show. So the hubby and I decided to watch some passionate dancing before we leave Madrid.

We asked the hotel staff for some recommendations on where to see an authentic flamenco show. They suggested Corral de la Moreria. It is the oldest tablao in the world and is considered the "Cathedral of Flamenco". Besides winning several awards, it has an impressive list of celebrities as its clients, amongst which are Sandra Bullock, Richard Gere, Michael Douglas and Hugh Grant. We checked the price and thought 36 Euro per person (without dinner) was rather reasonable for such a reputable tablao.

The hotel staff helped us with the reservation for the 10pm show but it was fully booked. Only the 12am show was available. We had to catch an early flight to Barcelona the next day hence the hubby and I were deliberating if we should catch the show. In the end, we went ahead with it. We thought it would be such a waste if we decided to miss it. And true enough, the flamenco show did not disappoint us. It was superb! I was completely blown away by the powerful vocal of the singers and mesmerised by the rythmic hand clapping and feet stomping. The flamenco dancers were brilliant! Every step executed by the dancers utterly took my breath away.

At the end of the show, I was hoping that they would do an encore. Sadly, they didn't. Anyway, I recorded several parts of the night's performance and I could watch them over and over again back home. Ah...it was such an amazing night. I wish it never ended.

The hubby and I made our way to Corral de la Moreria by foot as it was only a 15-20 minutes walk from the hotel. The streets of Madrid seemed so peaceful and even more beautiful at night.

Can you spot the moon in the dark sky?

We just had to order some tapas cos we never got tired of them. Yummy!

Flamenco dancers performing their first dance.

Solo performance.

I am in love with the outfit.

And the fan too!

Hola Madrid! Adios Melancholy!

Enough of mourning already. I decided to embrace the rest of the holidays in Spain with zest.

The hubby and I hadn't visited any major tourist sites although we were into our second day in Madrid. Our first stop was the Catedral del Nuestra Senora de la Almudena which was located opposite Palacio Real. Honestly, I wasn't impressed with the church and its museum. It's still worth a visit but its beauty is nothing compared to Notre Dame, Duomo, St. Paul's, St Peter's Basilica or even the Catheral in Barcelona.

Next stop was Palacio Real. By the time we were done with the church, there was already a long queue outside the ticketing booth. We waited for about 30 minutes before it was our turn to get the tickets. A man in black suit at the counter asked us where we were from. We said we were from Singapore. And he gladly declared that we would be Europeans for that one day and handed us two entrance tickets to the palace for free! The hubby and I were pleasantly surprised! Apparently, the palace is opened for free to EU citizens on every Wednesday. So we got to save 20 Euros for that day! That was a good start for the day eh.

There are 2800 plus rooms in the palace but only about 50 are opened for the public. We visited several rooms and soon got bored. The initial enthusiasm gradually died off. We found ourselves zipping through room after room towards the end. No doubt, the palace is a magnificent building with opulent rooms, it isn't quite as majestic as the Buckingham Palace. In fact, the Buckingham Palace left such a deep impressive on me, I still think about it sometimes.

The most memorable part of the visit to Palacio Real was the changing of guards ceremony. I was lucky enough to witness it although I only got to see part of it. Marching soldiers, guards on horseback and pipe music - I got them all recorded down with my digicam. I'm going to show it to Gwen and Glenn when I returned home.

The hubby and I also visited the Prado Museum. The museum has a seemingly endless parade of priceless works from Spain and beyond. I may not fully appreciate all of them but my favourite piece is Adam and Eve - 2 separate portraits which makes a complete piece of art. It's so provocatively beautiful. I actually bought 2 sets of Adam and Eve fridge magnets from the musuem souvenir shop. One of them is for my sis. I wonder if she would stick them on the fridge. I'm sure Gwen and Glenn would be so tickled by it.

Plaza Mayor was our last stop for the day. Ringed with numerous cafes and restaurants and packed with people, the arcaded Plaza Mayor is an atmospheric place. There were artists displaying their works and people sitting around at the square soaking up the sun. The hubby and I decided that our aching feet needed a short respite so we sat at a spot doing nothing except enjoying the warmth of the sunshine and each other's company.

Later, we had dinner at one of the restaurants at the square. It was still early for dinner, considering that it was about 7pm then. Dinner usually starts at 8 plus for the locals. So we were the only customers at the restaurant. One quick scan through the menu, we knew we had to order the mixed tapas - a little of everything on the tapas menu. It didn't disappoint us. It was delicious and just the right proportions for the both of us. In fact, it was the best meal we had in Madrid so far.

After dinner, we did some grocery shopping and bought some stuff for Peppy from a pet shop. And when we got back to the hotel, we got a wonderful surprise! We got back our luggage! I was so overwhelmed with joy I thought I was a little hysterical. I even shook hands with the hotel staff while repeating 'Thank you! Thank you!' for several times. To think I was about to give up all hopes of getting my luggage back and then unexpectedly, it was found! Yay!

To whoever who had taken our luggage by mistake, thank you so much! You are a good man or woman! Whatever! Gracias!

While on the way to Plaza Mayor, we saw this candy shop which sells candies of all shapes, sizes and colours.

Check out the candies. So cute and colourful! I couldn't bring myself to eat them!

One of our favourite shops in Madrid. We saw several such shops which sell all kinds of cheese, smoked meat and sausages. The hubby and I would stand at the display window with our mouths salivating.

The Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Almudena.

View of Palacio Real from the 2nd floor of the cathedral.

I was indeed lucky to witness the changing of guards ceremony although I only saw part of it.

Plaza Mayor. According to the guidebook, the equestrian statue dominating the plaza's centre depicts Felipe III and was placed there in 1848.

We must have tried more than 10 times to take a pic of ourselves at the square. This is one of the better ones we took.

Tapas! We love tapas!!!

Mourning in Madrid

So the hubby and I arrived at the Ganivet Hotel without our luggage. While we were waiting to check into our room, we informed the hotel staff at the front desk that the airport staff would send our luggage to the hotel if it was found. To be honest, we weren't quite confident that we would ever going to get it back.

The hubby and I took a breather, freshened up and got ready for some shopping in Sol. We needed to buy some clothings and toiletries. I wasn't excited about the shopping at all. I didn't have the adrenaline rush when I saw pretty clothes on display in the windows. Usually, I would drag the hubby into the store and scout desparately for the prettiest clothes on the racks. H&M! Zara! Mango! Bershka! Topshop! Massimo Dutti! Nothing entice me anymore. Shopping no longer made me happy. It was more like a chore than a pleasure. All I wanted was to have my luggage back.

By dinner time, I was ready to call it quits for the day. I just wanted to return to the hotel and continue mourning over my lost luggage. So after dinner at KFC, we headed back to our hotel. And yes, it isn't a typing error. KFC. We went all the way to Madrid to have Kentucky Fried Chicken. And it wasn't that finger licking good. Such a disappoinment. I think KFC back home still taste the best.

We returned to the hotel and the first thing we did was to inquire about our luggage. "Nothing from the airport", the hotel staff shook his head while he broke the cruel news. My heart sank. The sweet hubby held my hands and comforted me. "Tomorrow. We'll get our luggage tomorrow", said the hubby. Sigh. I could only wish it would be tomorrow.

The Beginning of Our Adventure in Spain

Sometimes, I think I am a psychic. Who would have thought my premonition would really come true?

The morning before we left for the airport, I asked the hubby to find something distinctive to tie it at the handle of our luggage in case someone had mistaken it as theirs since our luggage was of such a common colour and design. I couldn't explain why but the thought of losing our luggage had been bugging me the whole night.

We touched down at the Madrid airport after a two hour flight and waited for almost an hour for the first luggage to appear on the conveyor belt. Already, there were several passengers standing around the belt waiting impatiently to retrieve their luggages. The hubby walked over to look out for ours. We waited and waited as the number of luggages circling on the belt gradually diminished. Soon, there was only one luggage left going round and round the belt. It looked exactly like ours but it didn't belong to us. Instantly, I knew I had lost my luggage!

I reported the lost of luggage to the airport staff and while waiting for him to finish up the paperwork, I almost wanted to burst into tears. All our belongings were gone just because of someone's negligence. Why didn't that 'blur sotong' double check the luggage before he left the airport with it? We were left with no clothes, no toiletries but fortunately, we had our valuables and important documents in our hand carry bag. The airport staff informed us matter-of-factly that there was nothing we could do except to wait for the person who took our luggage to return it to the airport. The airport staff would then send it to our hotel.

So we left the airport in a cab with no luggage. The cab driver must have thought we were some weird Asian fugitives who had run away in a hurry. What an exciting way to begin our holidays in Spain!

Madrid Airport - the start of our adventure!