We are off on the first leg of our journey- cruising over the Timor Sea on our way to Singapore and thence to Barcelona and our adventures initially in Spain and then on to Italy, France, UK, Denmark, Holland, Germany and Switzerland.
We are going to be away for 3 months and are combining a tour of the Gardens of Spain and Morocco with a Mediterranean Cruise, a wedding in Scotland and a Rhine River Cruise. In between we will be travelling by train through Italy and France, driving through England and Scotland, flying to Denmark and Holland and exploring Switzerland by train before flying home in July.
We managed to fit everything we needed for hot and cold weather and casual and dressy occasions into our suitcases, without going over the weight limit, left our home and chooks in the care of some good friends, farewelled family and in the predawn headed for the airport.
Ahead we have a 9 hour layover to experience the attractions of Changi Airport before departing at midnight for Barcelona.
Edgar : Across Australia we flew over country very familiar to me – Emerald, Clermont , Cape River, then west of Charters Towers and on towards Darwin past the southern Gulf. This is country I had flown over for close to fifty years, first in our little single engine Beech Bonanzas at lower altitudes and later in the Beech King Air at high altitude. A well worn road.
With admirable efficiency Singapore Airlines delivered tasty meals, clean toilets throughout the flight, a speedy exit, good advice on what came next and let us loose in Changi Airport. A little shopping, a visit to the Crystal Garden and the Butterfly Gardens and we settled down in the Ambassador lounge, where for a small fee we got two free alcoholic drinks each, a very adequate meal and comfortable chairs to wait out the remaining time.
The next 15 hour midnight to dawn flight was, as expected, tedious and offered little sleep. We arrived late due to headwinds, but were through immigration, collected our luggage and exited via the Nothing to Declare gate in less than 30 minutes. We were met by our Welcome Pickup driver and within minutes were on the road on our tour of The Highlights of Barcelona
Bhagwant had lived in Barcelona since he was a boy, and his obvious love and pride of the city showed as he shepherded his, somewhat jet-lagged, passengers around. Some of the highlights we explored then and some we noted for later, but it was a terrific way to spend the time before we could check in and to get advice and information from a local.
Our last stop was the Gothic Quarter. Cars are not allowed in the narrow streets so the plan was for him to drop us off on one side and pick us up on the other and he would stay with the car and luggage. He gave us a list of places to see that formed part of a map from one side of the Gothic Quarter to the other and with some trepidation sent us off
We negotiated the first couple of turns. It’s a fascinating place with lots to see and we eventually made it to the other side to be met by a somewhat relieved Bhagwant who, I think, had been a little doubtful that this rather vague couple would make it!
A great place to stop for a couple of baguettes with delicious filling, a coffee and a syrupy hot chocolate
It’s a fascinating place with lots to see and we eventually made it to the other side to be met by a somewhat relieved Bhagwant who, I think, had been a little doubtful that this rather vague couple would make it!
By this time our Airbnb was ready. It was housed in a beautiful old building surrounded by other equally beautiful buildings
and had a lift that made the Queensland Club look modern.
Though true to the photos, it was rather poorly equipped, which probably explained the reasonable price for a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment within walking distance of the city centre. However it was clean and the beds were comfortable and, after a quick visit to the nearby supermarket, we crawled into them for a well-earned sleep.
