Day 23 - Going home!

We had to wake up early today at 8:30, and caught a taxi to the airport, said goodbye to Eduardo and his family and flew to Madrid! At Madrid we were held up at the check in counter due to the fact to STA Travel woman booked the flight under a misspelled name, but eventually we made it to the flight.

The flight was 7 hours long and not too horrible, got through two movies and multiple TV shows. We arrived in Dubai and had to wait for only an hour or so, hence we had something to eat as we were starving. 

Next we finally boarded our flight to Perth and it was too long- just over 10 hours and overnight so quite dragged out. I then arrived home! It had been awhile and an amazing trip. Such a great experience! 

Day 22 – Last day!

Today was our last full day of our trip! We woke up and had to wait a while whilst Eduardo found out some uni information. We went out and Ash got some coffee and after we did some shopping for presents and for ourselves for lunch. We returned to the apartment for lunch, the famous Spanish dish Paella, which was very good. Then after this we headed out to the hill overlooking all of La Coruna, and had a drink up there and enjoyed the view. We slowly walked home where we decided what to do next. We then left again to get some coffee and see the streets of La Coruna for the last time, we are leaving tomorrow morning! We returned for dinner, then got ready to leave tomorrow!

Day 21 – Relaxing day

Today after waking up, very late, we went to meet Eduardo’s La Coruna friends, and caught a bus to a shopping mall. We ate at an Asian buffet, it was 9 euros for all you can eat it was great! After this we just hung around as a group, two of them spoke English which was helpful.  We then roamed the streets for a while and got some Tapas and drinks. After this we walked around the boardwalk some more and then returned to the apartment for a while, then just Ash, Eduardo and I headed out for another drink and some more Tapas, before returning home to sleep.

Day 20 – Back to La Coruna

We woke up and immediately headed back to La Coruna by car. When we arrived, we rested for a while and then went to the port for a nice lunch, including the desert ‘fried milk’, which was actually alright. We decided to head to the largest shopping centre in Spain, and third largest in Europe! And it sure was large. We walked around and looked at different shops, and had afternoon tea there as well. We then caught the bus back to the apartment where we met one of Eduardo’s friends, and then walked around and had some tapas to eat. After dinner we returned to the apartment and then relaxed before going to bed.

Day 19 - Relaxing

 Today was a lazy day, woke up at 11ish and had breakfast. Then we walked into town so Eduardo could run an errand, and walked around for a while. We then returned to have lunch and then went out again to watch eduardos friends play some street football.

After the football we went to a cafe and had something to drink with Eduardos friends for a couple of hours, before returning home for dinner. There was a 3 vs 3 football tournament on tonight so Ash, Eduardo and I, and his friends went to watch it. It was quite entertaining. After this we returned home around 12am and went to sleep!

Day 18 - Foz

Today we went to Eduardo's family's home town of 6000 people, Foz. We left at about 12, Jose driving us, and it is an hour and a half drive. When we arrived we were involved in the weekly Sunday Fernandez family lunch, with grandparents, two uncles and parents. It really was a great lunch, ribs!

After lunch we played some football and basketball. Then we walked along the coast and went to the beach, where we met Eduardo's friends, which a few spoke some English. We left the beach at 7:30pm and went to meet some more of his friends and had something to drink. This friend spoke very good English so we could talk to her! We then walked around with them until about 10:15pm, when we returned for some dinner.

Day 17 - Bus Tour


Today we had to check out, so by 11 we were on the tour bus and heading on the busiest line, the red line. We saw the Plaza de España and got off there, and there was a motor bike convention going on! Despite that we still did some sightseeing and saw the spectacular museum behind the plaza, which also gave panoramic views of Barcelona.


After this we got back on the tour bus and saw the many, many sights as we went past, including the wharf and the history museum, and then stopped off at the Colombus statue to get something for lunch. We then  continued around on the bus and saw the modern torpedo tower, and the various beaches. We then stopped for something to drink on a terrace and got to sit and admire the Casa Battlo again. We then walked the streets and made our way to the hotel to get our luggage and headed to the metro and then the train to make it to the airport by 8pm. Our flight was delayed but we had something for dinner, and were in the air by 10:45ish and at somewhere around 12:10am we landed and by 12:30 were back at Eduardo's apartment, where we went straight sleep!

Day 16 -  Park Guell/Camp Nou/La Rambla/Old Town/Casa Batlle

Today we woke up earlier at 9:30 to do some extreme sightseeing. So many things to do in two days. First we caught the tourist bus to Park Guell, an amazingly abstract park which was really interesting. Gaudi is the famous artist or Barcelona, designing the Sagrada Familia, Park Guell and the Casa Batlle, and in all of his art he uses many curves and mosaics, it is very interesting. Nothing normal with him. Then we moved on to my personal favourite, the Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona. It was stunning and meant a lot to me! I was very excited indeed. It is a 100,000 seated stadium so it is very large.

Next we stopped in on the main street, la Rambla and had some lunch. Next we walked to the Casa Batlle, another strange creation of Gaudi. Following La Ramble down to the port we strolled along watching the port, and then walked through Old Town and saw the older cathedral, also impressive. Continuing on Ash, Eduardo and I made it to the Arc de Triomph and the surrounding parks and explored there. We finally headed back to the hotel, after 8 hours of straight walking, made it back and relaxed!

Later we headed out to dinner and viewed the Sagrada Familia at night, unfortunately not many lights highlighted it! We then returned to the hotel and got ready to check out tomorrow!

Day 15 – Barcelona!

Today we woke up at 9:30am as we needed to head to the airport for a 1pm flight. We caught the bus to the airport at 10:30 and our plane was delayed, and finally 45 minutes late we were in the air. At 2:45 we landed and caught a bus and two trains to our hotel, emerging from the metro straight into the breathtaking sight of the Sagrada Familia, the unfinished basilica in Barcelona. This is a 3 minute walk from our house. The cathedral is just amazing. Stunning. We headed to our hotel and then walked to the Casa Milo, the famous ‘wavy’ building in Barcelona. Then Ash, Eduardo and I headed back to Sagrada Familia to enter the Basilica. I cant even write down what it was like. Just the best example of churches and architecture. So strange, and modern but yet old as well, just stunning. We were just stunned and sat in there looking for over an hour.

We made it back to the hotel and researched some things for tomorrow and what to do tonight. Later, we left at 9:30pm and got something to eat, then walked around until about 10:30, then came back to the hotel and slept!

Day  14 - Monaco

Today we woke up at around 10, to get some more croissant breakfast and get ready to head off to Monaco! We made it to the train station, which is only a two minute walk from our hotel, and caught the 12:25pm train to Monte Carlo. We arrived in Monaco and made our way to the port. It is a stunning city, buildings built up along the cliff all facing the port. After seeing some of the biggest boats we've ever seen, we headed in a certain direction, towards the Japanese gardens and the casino.

We walked along the waters edge and found the botanical gardens and the famous Monte Carlo casino, which was really great. After sitting in the gardens for a while, we went to get some lunch at a small cafe along the port, very nice. After sitting here for quite a while, we made it up to the palace via a very steep set of steps. The palace was spectacular, and the view from the top was breathtaking. There was also much to explore along the highest level, many shops and  churches, as well as the popular oceanographic museum. All very impressive. We slowly made our way back to the train station at around 5:30, and were back in Nice by 6.

At 6 we got back to the hotel, got ready and headed to the beach for the last time. The water still perfect at 6:30pm, so good. We sat on the beach and played cards as usual until 8pm. Then we headed back got ready and found a restaurant by 8:30. At 9:15 we finished dinner and made our way back to the hotel, planned how to get to the airport for tomorrow, and then went to sleep!

Day 13 – Exploring Nice

Today we left to get some breakfast at around 11:30am. To continue our Frenchness we had some amazing croissants for breakfast, and only 80 euro cents! We headed back to the apartment and decided which way to go exploring, then we left.

We headed for the main street in Nice, and walked down it, eventually making it to Mount Colline du Chateau, which after climbing many steps we reached the summit to give a simply stunning view of Nice. You could see the whole beach strip, all of the buildings and churches, so stunning. After climbing down the stairs agin we made it to a café on the main strip and had a good (avoiding any use of the word nice) lunch, before returning to the hotel through a different street. We headed out again to the beach, which was just stunning again. At 7:30pm we left the beach, returned to the hotel, got dressed and headed out to dinner. To be really French was had escargot, snails! Didn’t taste too bad either, much better than expected! Then by 9:30 we returned to the hotel to get ready to sleep.

Day 11 – Beach and the game!

Today we woke up at around 11 and had some breakfast. We went out for a walk around town before returning to have lunch with the Fernandez’ which was a late one, we finished at 4pm! But it was a great lunch, I ordered roasted lamb, very good. After this Eduardo, Ash and I went out to the beach! It was very nice, not too hot but good beach weather. We played cards and lay there as the water was too cold. At around 7:30pm we had something to drink at some tapas, before returning to the apartment to watch the Euro 2012 final, Spain vs Italy!

It was such a good game which ended Spain 4-0 Italy. It was also great to watch it with people who were really into it and afterwards people celebrated in the street! It was so great to be there in that atmosphere. We had to wake up at 5:30 tomorrow morning, as we are off to Nice and Barcelona! So after looking out at the celebrations we went to bed.

Day 10 – Santiago

Today we woke up at 11ish and had some breakfast. By 12pm we had left and started walking to the train station which was a 25 minute ride before we arrived in Santiago de Compostela. Santiago is one of the oldest towns in Spain, so there was a lot of history to observe. We went through the great park and headed for the cathedral. It was a stunning building, so detailed its ridiculous so it was really interesting. After that we saw what university Eduardo will most likely be attending this year and had some lunch in a nice restaurant.

We explored more for a few hours, bought some gifts and then sat down at a café. By 6:30 we headed back to the train station and had a lengthy wait until we finally arrived back in La Coruna by 8:30 pm. Back at the apartment, we started some of the dinner we had bought and by 9pm we ate. Eduardo, Ash and I then watched a movie until 12am when we went to sleep.

Day 9 – The Lighthouse

Today was a relaxing day, we all awoke late from 10:30 to 12:30. Eduardo had to send in his university applications today so we were not able to go out until 5pmish. So until then we rested abit and researched some things for the rest of our trip.When we left we headed out to the icon of La Coruna: the lighthouse built by the Romans. It gave another great view of La Coruna which was again stunning. After this we all walked around La Coruna, about a 2 hour walk. During this we had something to drink at a café. We returned home around 8pm and got prepared for dinner, which we ate at around 10pm. After this we watched a movie and went off to sleep!

Day 8 – Exploring La Coruna

Today I woke up at around 8 but stayed in bed until 10. We had some breakfast at home, then Ash and I headed out to explore La Coruna. We walked for around 2 hours and stopped at a café so ash could drink a coffee. On our walk we saw the lighthouse which is a landmark of La Coruna, as well as the famous streets of the decorated terraces which was great. After our walk we returned for some lunch.

After lunch and a small rest Ash and I explored again, on the opposite side of La Coruna than we did this morning. It was great had another long 2 hour walk, saw some good sights. After returning from that walk, Jose, Maria and Alvaro took us to the park at the top of the city- which overlooks all of La Coruna, simply stunning views. We had a drink up there and looked over the city it was great. After this we all went walking to the older side of town and the docks, more great sights! It was a long day of about 6 hours walking!

We came back for dinner in time for the second football semi final, which Italy won. By the time the match finished shortly afterwards Eduardo returned! So we got to catch up by going out walking and sitting at a café with Eduardo, Ash and Alvaro which was really good. We returned around 1am to go sleep!

Day 7 – To La Coruna

Today we woke up at 9:30ish to get ready to check out by 12. We headed downstairs for some breakfast, some donuts. We had to pack up and we were checked out by 11:30. The hotel held pour bags for us while we waited around to head to the airport at around 1:30, as our flight was at 3:45. We had a snack in a café and sat there for a while, then had something bigger to eat from our favourite pizza place before going to the bus stop where we caught the airport shuttle bus. After a half an hour ride we checked in at the airport and waited for about an hour to board our flight to La Coruna. When boarding was called, everyone lined up and the first person in line had badly booked the tickets or something and held up the flight for 40 minutes before we could actually board, such a pain. But eventually we took off and after an hour flight we landed in La Coruna, where were were met by Jose and Maria.

They drove us back to the apartment, which is really great. Ash and I are taking Eduardo’s room whilst he gets a fold out! Eduardo flies in at 11pm tomorrow. After going out for a guided tour with Jose, Maria and Alvaro, we had some dinner consisting of some squid, ham, cheese, bread, pork amongst other things everyone (I mean everyone in spain, including us) went inside to watch the big Euro semi-final, Spain vs Portugal, which was a great game which Spain won on penalties. People were celebrating in the street it was great! That match finished at about midnight which straight afterwards we went to sleep. 

Day 6 – Bus Tour Again

Today we had some churros for breakfast at around 10am. Then we returned to the hotel and left for the second route of the tour bus trip. This route was more for sightseeing, which was good. The main attraction was the Royal Place which was very impressive, among other sites such as the Puerta del Sol. The bus also ran down the whole of the main street in Madrid, Gran Via, so we were able to see all of the older buildings and other attractions along that street. It was great and took some impressive photos. We investigated taking the airport bus tomorrow then returned to the hotel. After a small rest we went to stroll through the central park in Madrid, Park de Retiro which was really nice and surprisingly serene despite the fact it was in the middle of the city. There were some great photo opportunities that I took! After exploring the park we returned and got ready for dinner. At around 7:50pm we left for a restaurant called Gino’s on the gran via, which was great, had some pasta which I had been craving. After that wee walked home, which took around 20 minutes, and got to see some of Madrid at night. After returning we rested before going to bed.

Day 5 – Bus Tour

We woke up at about 7:30 today, but I did wake up as few times as I have half transferred to this time zone. We left at about 9am for some breakfast at a nearby café, which was really good. I ordered bacon and eggs with hot chocolate and orange juice. The hot chocolate was so strong! Very chocolaty! We then returned the room to pack up a bag for the day and head out for a sightseeing bus tour.

We walked to the Meseum Nacional Del Prado and took some photos before boarding the bus to tour around. There are twop roites for the buses, today we took route 2. here were some great sights around, old buildings and such but importantly I made it to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the stadium for Real Madrid. It was great I could not believe how great it was. It was 16 euros for a ticket and you could tour all the parts of the stadium at your own pace. We got to see the stadium from the stands, the trophy room with all of Madrids trophies, the pitch where you were able to sit in the seats, the dressing rooms, the presidents box, the press room and the players tunnel. It was just great. After leaving the stadium we continued the route on the bus before stopping for some lunch. After lunch our daily rest was taken, before going out for some coffee and donuts.

At around 7:30 we went out for dinner, searching for a decent place to eat. Madrid is not what I expected in terms of tourism, Paris and Rome I remember are much better for travellers, so Madrids restaurant/café scene isn’t really helpful, there’s not that many and not that many varieties. But we settled for a burger at a nearby café and ate that for dinner. We returned at around 8:45pm (its still around 35 and humid outside and very sunny). By 10pm it was still humid and bright! We headed off to bed at around 10:30 exhausted!