Catalonia

 

There’s more to Catalonia than Barcelona and my latest trip to Spain was exactly to discover what else in Catalonia. I spent 5 days in Catalonia and used buses and trains to travel around. One thing about travelling is the fact that nothing runs on time and when you are seeking help, nobody helps which definitely impacted my trip! I was wondering why the tickets were so cheap! The food was average and that is because everything was targeted for tourists! I found it very hard to find authentic Catalonian cuisine that wasn’t tapas or paella. Because I went in the summer, I tried to visit places either early in the morning or after 6pm. However, since I tried to maximise my time, I picked coastal towns to go to during the day so I could swim! I also booked tickets to all the attractions in advance and online as the attractions are booked off very early on!

 

Here’s the itinerary:

-        - Exploring the city centre – I did my own walking tour to discover the city. This is what I included: La Boqueria Market, Gothic Quarter: Plaça Reial, Roman walls, Palau de la Música Catalana, Casa Milà, Casa Battlo. I didn’t do any guided tours so didn’t go visit inside of these Gaudi house or the Music Palace. However, what I did visit is Park Guell which was so much fun to visit withso many different architecture and designs to see in one place. I visited at 9am which I was very glad since no one was there! I really enjoyed it especially the views over Barcelona. A short walk down from Park Guell was Casa Vincens which was the 1^st house designed by Gaudi and I was blown away! I’m so glad I visited it since it was less busy and there were so many elements to experience. As part of the ticket, I also had a free ice cream which was much needed. I then took a long walk to Sagrada Familia and wow!!! To think that this was built in 1920 and it was so modern is beautiful! The exterior and interior are 2 different things! Take your time and admire because this is an architectural marvel! You can also visit the towers if you wish to do so but the queues were very long!

-        Montserrat- now I bought an all include round trip ticket with buffet and trains to Montserrat for less than £70 and had a blast with the furniculars and museums and the all inclusive buffet! I thought I was well worth the money! I visited the Cathedral and the gorgeous Black Madonna. Take your time walking around the cathedral as it was gorgeous!!! My mind was blown with the design of it! I will also recommend a hike especially to Sant Juan which offered beautiful views of the area! Do wear appropriate footwear! I spent a whole day exploring and really enjoyed exploring all the corners of this mountainous sanctuary!

 

-        Tarragona – A Roman town on the coast which is just an hour away from Barcelona. If you are on a tight budget then this beautiful town is for you because every monument was free;  Praetorium and Roman Circus ;Tarragona Mapping Tarraco; amphitheatre; balcony del Meditteani; Plaça del Rei. This was an easy half day trip which ended with a swim at the sandy Miracle beach.

 

-        Girona – I stayed in Girona overnight to explore Costa Brava. I explored Girona Old Town, The Cathedral, The Arab baths , Place de Sant Feliu, Plaça de la Independencia at 7am in the morning so couldn’t go visit inside some of these visits but I liked that there were no people around!

 

-         L’Estartit – I took Fadri boat tour to Medes Islands with swimming. Medes Islands are a group of seven small, rocky islets off the coast of Catalonia, Spain, near the town of L'Estartit. Spanning 53 acres, this protected nature reserve is one of the top spots in the Mediterranean for scuba diving and marine life. We were swimming with some beautiful fishes and also going through caves!

 

-        Olot – This is a town inside a volcano! Yes inside an extinct volcano!!!! O learn about the history and geology of the town, I visited Volcanic centre  which costs£12.50 and really learned some amazing things about the area. It also had a lot of interactive stations so perfect for the whole family. Other unique things to do are:, Museu dels Sants, Casa Solà-Morales and hiking a volcano!

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-        Besalut -  This is a cute medieval town and if you are doing anything there make sure it is walking across the iconic 12th-century Pont Vell bridge. Other things you can explore are the ancient Jewish Quarter and its historic Mikveh bathhouse, circusland,  and admiring the Romanesque architecture of the Monestir de Sant Pere and Micromundi.

 

-        Tossa de mar – I think this is the best town on the Catalan coast with its beautiful waters and a backdrop of an old fortress and wall. You have to visit Vila Vella which a  beautiful ruin of a roman villa with the original mosaic tiled floors, lighthouse, church of Sant Vicents and swim in any of the beaches in the area.

 

-        Figueres  - this is Salvador Dali’s birth town so plenty of quirky sculptures and art work around the museum including the weirdest museum I have visited far which is the Dali Museum. If you have time, Sans Ferran Castle on  the outside of the town!

 

So a lot was packed! I had fun but the people has really dampened by experience of  this part of Spain.

Isle of Portland

 

Did you know that just 3hours from London, still within the UK, you end up on an isle which feels you are somewhere that looks like a Mediterranean?? I didn't know either until I saw what Portland Isle had to offer. I was reminded multiple times during my day trip around the island of Malta and Croatia and I am not saying that lightly! I took a train from London to Weymouth followed by a bus to he Isle. The bus ticket was £7 for a day pass and made good use of it. It is also easy to walkaround the island as the buses are not as frequent. The coastal paths are sunning!

Here's what I fitted on my day trip, bearing in mind that I did unique attractions:

- Tout Quarry Nature Reserve and Sculpture Park. This is an active quarry of the famous Portland stone which is used in building quite a few iconic monuments such as St Paul’s Cathedral. It is one of 2 quarries in the world to get his special stone. The other quarry is also in Portland so a very resourceful island. The speciality with this quarry is that it also doubles as a sculpture park where you can find lots of sculpture dotted around the park. It was very fun and a good innovative way to explore the park! It is totally free to visit!

 

- Pirate graveyard, Rufus Castle and Church Ope cove – If you are doing one thing on the island, do this especially if the weather is gorgeous!! Church Ope Cove is a little secluded beach with crystal clear water that reminded me so much of swimming in the beautiful waters of Malta! In order to get to the beach, you will come across the ruins of Rufus Castle, which you can’t visit but can view from the viewpoint. Then, you will need to go down the stairs. If you are interested, half down the stairs, on the left, there’s some stairs that will lead you to the pirate’s graveyard but there are no pirates buried there! You can see the ruins of the church which the graveyard belongs to. It is a very small graveyard but if you are curious about who is buried there, like I am, then it’s a nice little stop before you resume you walk down the stairs to the beach! I loved swimming in the water. I have never seen such clear waters in the UK like this! There’s a couple of walking trails you can do around the area! This beach was not crowded at all and it had toilets too! It will be a beach that I will keep coming back in the summer month! It was stunning!

- Portland Bill Lighthouse and Pulpit Rock – The main attraction of the isle if the Lighthouse which is set amidst unreal views of the sea. You can go on a guided tour up the lighthouse and it also a small museum by the entrance which explored the maritime history of the area. Beside the lighthouse is the Pulpit Rock which is a unique rock formation.

Other attractions are the Portland Castle, D-day museum and the Prison museum.

 It has been one of the most stunning places I have visited in the UK and still can’t believe such unreal places are in this country!  A little gem that nobody knows about and it reminded me why I love expanding my travels to places in corners and nooks of any countries.

Andorra

 Have you ever thought of fitting a whole country in 2days? Andorra, nestled in the Pyrenees, Spain and France is this tiny landlocked country which is full of surprise. Apart from being nature haven for hikers and bikers, Andorra is home to; tax-free shopping; the longest Alpine coaster as part of  the outdoor park Naturland; the largest thermal spa complex in Europe, Caldea; the second largest Tibetan bridge in the world, Pont Tibeta. Andorra is popular in winter due to its key stations.

To get to Andorra, I took a coach from Barcelona. There are no public transport except from buses. The currency is euros. They speak Catalan, Spanish and French so a right mix! Andorra la Vella is the capital city which has a charming old town and can be easily explored in half a day with its shopping streets, Pont de Paris and the Dali sculpture, La Noblesse. There's also he big Central Park by the river.

So what have I done while I was in Andorra? I obviously had to go to the Tibetan bridge. I booked tickets through their main website https://www.ponttibetacanillo.com/en/. There are a number of combination tickets but I just wanted to visit the Bridge. I took a bus (L3 but you can also take L4) from the capital city, Andorra la Vella where the bus ticket was just under 2euros. Bear in mind that only cash payment is allowed on the buses. the ride is 20mins.You will bee dropped in the town of Canillo where you will need to the free shuttle bus to the entrance closest to the bridge. It is a 10-15minutes walk to the bridge. The bridge is looooooooooooooooooong but the views are so nice. The entrance and exit are the same so you will need to walk across the bridge  twice. It was a big scary because of the height and it as slightly swinging but I loved the experience! I really enjoyed it and I wouldn't miss it at all! 

I then wanted to do a walk and picked Vall d'Incles as it is known as the most beautiful valley in the country and god, it was stunning! It had a number of hiking trails and so you can have so much fun! There's also plenty of waterfalls and I went to see Cascada de Moles which is by the road. I picked this as I was short on time!

Andorra is such a beautiful country and so green which I needed as well as the fresh air! It is a country that you can easily visit during your French or Spanish travels. A tiny country but so fill of heart!