Mary & Peter's 2023 Trip to Europe

  We spent Sunday afternoon with Diego, walking from Gracia into the centre of town, getting lost and finding our way again, stopping for a drink (over 10 km by the time we got back to our apartment).  It was a beautiful day to be alive!  I was the tour guide - looks like I was on a mission! Fabulous little bar, Andurina . In tourist area so low expectations. The Grilled calamari was superb! We stopped outside Barcelona Cathedral to watch some performers (there must have been 300-400 people watching. I stood behind Peter & one of the guys pointed our way. I looked behind because I thought 'no way he means me'. Not sure why he called me out but had a quick chat & back to Peter & Diego I went. Fun though. Today, Tuesday, we did a guided tour of the Palau de la Musica, a beautiful concert venue. Antoni Gaudi was actually taught by the architect who designed the building. We have attended two concerts here but have never been on a tour. It was really interesting...

  We're happy, happy, happy! We arrived at Barcelona airport at 11 am on Wednesday, caught the Aeobus to Place Catalunya, then to our Gracia accommodation for the next 7 days, Espais Blaus Apartments. We quickly caught the Metro to see our dear friends Albert and Diana at Cafe L'Amagat . There were hugs, there were tears, there were huge smiles, and even one of Albert & Diana's regular customers was in tears!!   We were also very happy to have Al and Lucy's friend, Diego, join us. Coincidence that he is in Barcelona at the same time as us. He was in Israel when the bombing started so it was extra special to see him safe.  Peter received his first Catalan language lesson and a new word is being added daily. Very amusing to watch!  We are very happy with our accommodation - a modern one bedroom apartment in Gracia, surrounded by bars & restaurants, large food market and very close to the metro. Although we don't have the incredible view we had in our previ...

 I’m writing this on the ferry back to Athens and feeling a little sad about leaving Hydra. Arriving at the Hydra dock, the first thing I notice are the donkeys and mules, ready to carry all kinds of produce and supplies up the narrow streets of the island.  There are almost no motorised vehicles or bikes on the island so these animals do almost all the transportation, including building supplies and grocery items. Our accommodation, the family-run Hotel Angelica, was a 10 minute walk up a medium inclined cobbled street. We were met by Andrea.   I was a little disappointed with the room, particularly with the view. ! As it was a weekend, we had to wait two days to be moved to  a  room with a terrace. Much, much better Both of us fell in love with Hydra and from what the locals told us, the weather was unusually warm – blue skies and 23 degrees. We chose Hydra as we were looking for somewhere where we could just relax and Hydra delivered in spades. Without ...

  We arrived a little overdressed (20 deg C) at our apartment in Athens, ‘We Saw Athens’ at 10.30 pm and were met by our host, Penny. It was a spacious studio; apartment located just five minutes’ walk from the main metro station, Syntagma.   After Cologne, we agreed that Athens had a lovely vibe. Penny recommended some places for a late dinner and we enjoyed a light dinner and wine before bed at 1.00 pm (good practice for Spain!).    I had downloaded a travel app called Rick Steves Audio Europe before leaving home. It includes audio tours of different cities. The two I downloaded was a one-hr Athens – City Walk and a 50 min Acropolis tours . We used one Bluetooth ear pod each and found both tours to be very informative and easy to follow. I would highly recommend checking this option out.  Kapnikarea Church – a Greek Orthodox church built in the 12th & 13 th centuries.   I call the scarf I’m wearing, Barb’s scarf. When admiring the scarf a year...