Madrid

BEWARE OF PICK POCKETS!!!!!! Thats the very first part of my advice for Madrid. The metro system looks very clean and you tend to let your guard down as there are police and station guards everywhere. But of course in any packed train there are always these risks and I happen to have been one of those unlucky ones. Happened on the first day of our trip so we were left to wonder around the streets of Madrid looking for the Police station. After searching for 2 hours, we finally managed to file a police report. There were dozens of others waiting to do the same thing!

Not to be deterred by this experience, we still tried to enjoy the day and the rest of the weekend. The first thing we actually did was find lunch.

Our first place we tried was Botin (which is the World's Oldest Restaurant as recognised by the Guinness Book of Records). The restaurant was closed by the time we got there for lunch.

So we walked up the road and stopped at this cafe near Plaza Mayor (in Sol) as it seemed to have a good selection of tapas. After being seated it took a while to get the menus and then we were wondering why we had been seated at a table for 8 rather than for 4. It appears the waiter thought we had 8 people (how that happens when you only hold up four fingers is a bit of a mystery). He could tell we were pissed off. However, what did make up for his lousy service was the really good tapas (which were served in normal plates for most of the dishes as opposed to small tapa plates). Calamari, tortilla, garlic prawns, potatos and egg, Yum! It was good and we were all starving!

After eating lunch we explored Plaza Mayor and Gran Via and there were so many hawkers around dressed up as Micky, Minnie, Winnie the Pooh, bull fighters, bulls, monsters and so forth. We then proceeded to the Royal Palace (in Opera). On the way there we passed Plaza de la Villa which is a historic square and home to the 15th Century Torre de Lujanes, 16th Century Casa de Cisneros and the 17th Century Casa de la Villa. These are essentially all town halls in their times.

The Royal Palace or Palacio Real is Madrid's largest building and possibly its most beautiful. it was located next to the Plaza de Oriente square. This is a big garden with white statues surrounding manicured lawns. These statues were meant to be placed on top of the palace but due to their weight, they left it around the palace instead. The Palace is suppose to be the biggest palace in Western Europe. However, cause we couldn't get any closer, it didn't look very big.

The palace faces Madrid's most famous church - the Cathedral de Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena. There was a service happening when we went inside so only stayed for a short time inside.

That evening we explored Puerto de Sol and before long we were searching for our next venue for more eating... the recommendation for Paella was at a local restaurant called Restaurante La Baracca. They did a nice Sangria and the Seafood Paella was good as well...however it wasn't as crunchy or crisp as we wanted...rice was slightly soggy but still was good.

So after an eventuful Saturday we retired to our hotel rooms and tried to forget how our trip started...another day ahead in Madrid.

On Sunday, we caught the 'dreaded' Metro to Ventas to visit the famous bullfighting stadium (Plaza de Toro) where the famous bullfighting happens every week on Sunday evening. We joined the guided tour which ran for about 45 minutes which made it much more informative. You are considered a bullfighter if you manage to kill the bull with single strike of the sword. There are only a handful spainish bullfighters who have been successful in doing this a number of times over the years.

After visiting the bullfighting ring, we went back to Sol to find this churros place called Chocolateria. Must admit we were really looking forward to churros cause funnily there weren't alot of places which were selling them in Madrid. The churros weren't covered in any sugar so it tasted pretty plain even with the chocolate drink.... so I'd recommend trying something else. Churros isn't that tasty.

Just before heading to the airport we visited the Plaza de Cibeles and Retiro Park. The plaza's most famous sculpture is in the middle of a roundabout opposite a bus station at the end of Retiro Park. Its of a horse drawn carriage but we couldn't get closer cause it was cordoned off.

Definitely recommend Retiro Park as its got a really nice lake in the middle of the Park and there's heaps of entertainment, tourists (of course!) and food. It was a great place to finish our trip cause it was nice and relaxing. I actually thought it was nicer than Hyde Park in London. There's no animals around though so don't expect a squirrel to come up and eat your food. Kat & Linda picked up a pack of sunflower seeds and did as the locals did, munch and throw onto the ground! haha.

Another trip added to our list and again until our next trip.

Kat & Will

Malta & Gozo

Returned from Malta today after spending 3 days here to celebrate Kat's birthday. Malta is south of Sicily and one of three Islands (Malta where the capital Valletta is; Gozo & Comino). We arrived at Luqa International Airport and caught a taxi, which is prepaid so fixed price, to our hotel in St George's Bay. The Corinthia Hotel was really nice and if only it was hotter we would have made use of their pools.

Travelling around Malta, public transport wise, is either by taxi or bus. I'd hire a car if it was hotter as you can get to alot more places much quicker. We hoped onto a bus outside our hotel to take us to the capital Valetta. It was an experience cause the bus didn't have any doors and when you wanted to get off you had to pull this string hanging on the top of the bus. The bus takes the only route around the island passing by all the bays including St Julian's Bay. We hoped off alot earlier than we should have but we managed to get some great shots as we walked towards the capital, Valletta.

The capital of Valletta is the usual touristy town but wasn't overcrowded. Because it was winter when we visited, most sites like churches and musuems either close early, close during lunch times or are not open at all. Definitely would like to have seem the difference if we came during summer.

We visited a number of churches including the St John's Co-cathedral (in St John's Square) which was in the centre of town. After strolling around town we found the ferry terminal which took us from Valletta to Silema. The cost of the ride was like €0.93 each (very odd prices but cheap!). Silema was pretty much another populated tourist area but not as big as Valletta. We searched for our bus stop and finally found it. Dinner our first night was at a place called the Paparazzi in St Julian's Bay. We had pizza (which was better than what we tried in Italy) and seafood. The prawns were finally decently sized but all the dishes were huge so we didn't have any more room for dessert.

On our second day in Malta, we travelled by bus (again) to the Cirkewwa Ferry Terminal to catch the boat across to Gozo. This was a ferry carrying both passengers and cars. I must admit I didn't expect it to only cost only €1.60 for a return ticket but thats good. When we arrived in Gozo we hopped onto the Gozo Sightseeing Bus which took us around most of the sights in Gozo but cause we arrived in the afternoon we ended up very short on time so stayed on the bus most of the journey. We hopped off at Gozo's capital Victoria, but everything was closed so it wasn't worth the stop. All roads in Gozo lead into Victoria (also known as Rabat) where the fortified citadel sits atop a summit. The bus drove by Mgarr and the fishing villages of Marsalforn and Xleindi as well as the famous Azure window - which is a cliff on the ocean with a massive gap through it. We also drove past the Statue of Christ which looks like the very famous Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Gozo was cold though but after a few hours on the sightseeing bus we head back to the ferry terminal to catch the boat back to Malta. We had a nice dinner around Paceville (which is Malta's party area) at a place in Bay Street. Again, the food servings were huge as we tried a very puffed up pizza and grilled meat platter.

There's quite a number of popular bars around Paceville including Plush, Havana's and Footloose. You only need to be over 17 to drink in Malta or at least gain entry into the bars & clubs. There were alot of teenagers out at night and some looked alot younger than 13 but its safe anyhow.

We caught an midday flight out of Malta on Sunday but did get a chance to take in a massive breakfast at Cafe 24 near the Corinthia Marina Hotel (we stayed at the Corinthia San Gorg) very close by our hotel. The scones were the size of your average buffet plate!!

Definitely would go back to Malta when it gets much hotter. We don't recommend going there in winter as most things are closed but we still had a good time. A holiday is a holiday after all =).

Until our next trip.. in two week's time!

Kat & Will.

Luxembourg

We travelled to Luxembourg this weekend. First time we used the London City Airport and check in was a breeze. If only all the other airports were the same...check in 15 minutes before boarding! Kat was going to Luxembourg for a short work trip so I decided to go along with her for the weekend. We travelled in a Fokker 50 plane which had about 12 rows with 2 on each side but the flight was full and took just over an hour to get there.

Luxembourg was a very small city and wasn't the most interesting cities to visit in Europe. But we picked up a tourist map at the hotel and decided to see as much of the city as we could. By Sunday, we had ticked off every photo in the tourist map which included visiting the Notre Dame Cathedral, Bock Casemates (which was closed during winter but had a great view of Castle Bridge and is a UNESCO World Heritage site), Luxembourg City History Musuem, Petrusse Valley, Place d'Armes, the Three Towers and so on. Our hotel overlooked the Petrusse Valley and it was probably the most scenic part of the weekend visit. You could wander all the one down to the valley where historical houses and the old town was.

We definitely recommend going to a B&C Restaurant Grill in Place d'Armes. It did a really filling variety of kebabs. The service was great and Kat was able to practice some of her French as they don't just cut you off like they do sometimes in Paris.

Definitely a good city as a stopover but not to spend too much time in. Kat ended up staying there for the rest of the week but brought back these really nice chocolates and pastries which was really good.

We're off to Malta next, so hopefully some warmer temperatures there.

Reykjavik, Iceland

Returned from Iceland today after spending four days in Iceland's capital, Reykjavik. The flight with Icelandair was really good and the economy seats definitely have more room than other full service airlines. Although the food was not complimentary you could use your own headphones for their onboard entertainment system so that kept everyone occupied for the 3 hour flight.

The first day we arrived late in the afternoon and took the flybus to our hotel. The weather was cloudy and about 8 degrees but we were booked in to see the Northern Lights. Unfortunately, the tour was cancelled due to bad weather. Never got a chance to see the Northern Lights during our stay cause the weather didn't hold up for the tour to go ahead the following nights. With the tour cancelled, we ventured out into town (everything was closed except for the supermarket, bookstore and restaurants). The guide book recommended we try a place called the Fishmarket. It was a mix of asian fusion with icelandic specialities. We all had fish for our main courses... Kat had red fish, I had Salmon and Soo and Belle had smoked haddock...I think). I think overall the food was about 7/10 but the dessert was 10/10.

The second day we ended up booking a tour to ride Icelandic Horses across lava rock fields. We all dressed up in orange suits which made us look like we were about to go dig a tunnel or stand around looking important like those council workers =) The horses were very well-behaved most of the way... until Kat's one decided it would try to bolt off while the trainers weren't looking. Kat stayed on her horse thankfully but was definitely a scary experience. Soo's horse had real attitude! Lazy attitude... when the trainer would be looking, it would gallop forward but when the trainer looked away, the horse slowed down and often Soo was way behind everyone elses... I think Belle's one ended up being the most 'normal' horse... my one kept grunting cause it wanted to go faster but there was another horse in front of it and when I tried to overtake the horse in front, the horse in front charged into my horse! haha... so I never ended up picking up any sort of pace.... but it was enjoyable! We did get pelted with hail stones at one point and it was freeeezzing cold to be riding around outside. Lets just say we were glad to get back inside after it.

On the third day we went on the recommended Golden Circle Tour. The Golden Circle is a popular tourist route in South Iceland, covering about 300 km looping from Reykjavík into central Iceland and back. The three primary stops on the route were the national park Þingvellir, the waterfall Gullfoss (meaning "golden falls"), and the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. The best part of the tour is definitely the geysers as the ground is steaming and one of the geysers erupts every 5 minutes or so with bursts of steaming hot water. The national park isn't what we are use to in terms of a park. There are no trees. Just lava rocks and moss.

When we returned from the tour we decided to all take a walk to the Perlan (viewing point) about 20 minutes from our hotel. The viewpoint of the city wasn't great as the city isn't as lit up as other larger cities we've seen. We then walked from the Perlan back into town to to try the other famous restaurant called Humarhusid (The Lobster House). Lobsters were a speciality of Iceland (along with the Puffin, Lamb & Horse). The restaurant was fine dining but the waitress was extremely friendly and accommodating. Kat & Belle chose the same main course of Gratineraðir humarhalar með hvítlauk og humar-osta sósu (Gratin lobster tails with cheese sauce) and Soo & I chose the same main course of 'Surf & Turf'. The lobster tails were definitely the better dish! This restaurant is highly recommended. For the main courses I'd give it 9/10.



As our trip was almost over, on the last day we all visited the famous Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is powered by Iceland's clean geothermal energy. It was located in the Svartsengi Resource Park. If you end up doing nothing but the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, it will make your trip worthwhile. We were all expecting to freeze getting in and out of the lagoon but the lagoon is close to the change rooms so not much walking involved. The lagoon is a constant 40 degrees celsius and the water is a light blue silky white colour. Because it is heated by the natural geothermal energy, it does smell like rotten eggs at times but nothing that will put you off. We all rubbed this silken face mask on inside the lagoon. Belle of course was so excited she slapped the mask straight onto her eyes first! HAHA...after the stinging subsided (and we took many photos of it), she was ok. But thanks to Belle (who held he camera in the air for 2 hours whilst bathing in the lagoon), we have good photos of the lagoon and us relaxing in it!...photos to come from that!

So yet another trip comes to an end and we look forward to our next trip =)

Leeds Castle & Dover

We travelled to Leeds Castle and Dover today. It was a good drive (thanks to Linda) and we discovered the last renter left a Whitney Houston CD in the car... so it ended up playing again and again... Leeds Castle was about an hour or so from Central London and we arrived before the main crowds starting arriving.

We made an effort to go on this trip as Soo is currently here touring Europe and wanted to see everything she could physically see so we jammed in Leeds Castle and Dover today!

Leeds Castle was not as big as we expected (compared with Windsor Castle). The castle is set around a lake and 500 acres of parkland. Although the castle is over 900 years old, the inside of the castle is pretty modern as it can be hired for weddings, accommodation and conferences. The upper floors are renovated and modern looking. Its pretty easy to walk the whole thing in under an hour but we did manage to spend 20 minutes inside the Castle's Grotto/Maze trying to find the exit. Eventually we managed to escape and drive off to some pub for lunch.. the pub was the most memorable place of the day cause we arrived late for our booking.... on arrival the waitress/owner screams "You are late. You are ONE HOUR late! You can't sit at the main restaurant but in the pub area as you are late! We have 60 people about to arrive!"...We never actually saw those 60 people arriving... so many they were 'late' as well. Anyways we eventually all got different meat roasts, which Andrew loved cause of the massive Yorkshire pudding.



After filling up at lunch we headed to Dover. (Oh the pub was called Cock Inn, so if you want big Yorkshire puddings with a massive attitude, go for it!)

It was about another hour or so before we reached the White Cliffs of Dover. The walk across the cliffs and the view of the sea was a nice change of scenery and we were glad it was sunny. The weather held up and we managed to witness a nice sunset just after 4pm!



So after a nice stroll through the muddy tracks around the cliffs, we headed back to London.

Another two places we can now tick off.

Cheers,
Kat & Will

Our First Blog

Hey All,

This is our official blog created to let you in on all the travels we are getting up to and give us a chance to share in our travel stories, favourite places, food experiences, local experience and all the wonders of travelling. Its been almost a year since our trip across to the London and we've travelled to so many places already (some we've really enjoyed and some were not that great!). We've been to Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Brussels, Paris, Budapest, Frankfurt, Milan, Oslo, Rome, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Prague, Lisbon and other places around the UK. So many more places to explore and we'll be updating this blog to keep you all updated on where we are (if you haven't already seen our photos on FB).

Missing you all,

Kat & Will