We're coming to a close here soon, just about half a month left before I fly home! I realise I got a little behind on blogging so this may be a tad long. You've been warned.
Shameless plug: If you'd like to follow my trip on Polarsteps, check it out here!
Attempt to get more views: If you missed Part 5 of the series, you can find it here. You can find all the other parts of the series through links in each of the previous posts or on my other social media platforms!
As a preface, I left off in Barcelona on day 2 of 5.
July 11, 2017
The rest of Barcelona was both really great and a little annoying. It was the definition of mixed feelings. The weather was hot and humid but no rain, except for a 5-minute downpour while I was on top of a castle. Great view of the city though! It seems like in every city I try to get as high (ha.. in terms of altitude) as possible to get a birds-eye view of the place. Those views usually pay off.
I also did a couple walking tours and a bike tour around the city. Specifically through the gothic/medieval quarter and the modernist quarter. There is so much history in Barcelona and some beautiful architecture from Antoni Gaudi and a few others' names I do not recall. You may know Gaudi one of two ways: The man who died after getting hit by a tram in 1916. Or perhaps the man who dedicated a good chunk of his life to building the Sagrada Familia. This building is still unfinished after over a century of construction but what is built so far is truly breathtaking. The level of detail and storytelling of the statues built right on the walls and towers of this church deserve appreciation. It isn't something I can show a picture of to convey the experience of being there, but if you do want to see pictures and don't want to google them, I have them for you: Front and Rear. Google is probably your best bet though...
But as beautiful as the city was, I could not sleep in the apartment I was in. It was uncomfortably hot and no fan provided. And after 45+ days of travelling, not being able to sleep really puts a cloud over the day.
July 14, 2017
Moving onto happier places! Today I embark on a 10-hour journey to Nice, France. I hadn't originally planned to stop in Nice, but it was impractical to make it all the way from Spain to Italy, so I said, why not!?
And I am SO GLAD I did. I really loved Nice. What a beautiful place. Let me show you!
It felt like a proper vacation spot after going from city to city to city. Mind you, it was still quite busy with tourists and locals, but totally manageable. I did a walking tour and our guide brought us to this spot you see in the photo. What an amazing view. The whole Southern France Riveria is gorgeous and if I had more time, I would definitely be staying longer.
After nursing a minor hangover from a bar crawl, the next day I headed over to Monaco, as one does, to check out the F1 track and gamble. Turns out I didn't have a suit or the cover charge to even get into the casino, so I just explored the city. I was in awe of how average a Mercedes looked there, as everyone had Ferraris, Aston Martins or Rolls Royces. As a car fan, I enjoyed this place. Also yachts, so many yachts.
To end off an amazing couple days in the south of France, I went to watch the new Spiderman: Homecoming movie. It was a great movie if anyone hasn't seen it yet! I met a French guy in the theatre and we had a conversation mostly via Google Translate. It was interesting, to say the least. Anyway, I'm off to Florence today.
July 16, 2017
Currently in Florence and definitely enjoying it so far. There are so many statues around and I haven't even gone into a museum yet. The place feels old but in a good way. And the cathedral here is just massive. But my favourite spot so far was Michelangelo's Plazza (I know that's the English title but I prefer it since I butcher Italian words) which is a top a hill that overlooks all of Florence and the surrounding mountains.
What an extraordinary view. I even got gnocchi from a food truck up there. It was molto bene.
Currently headed to Pisa for a few hours to be a full on tourist. I want to get a comical picture with the tower because, well, it would be a missed opportunity if I didn't. Hopefully, it isn't too packed there.
The best part, well maybe second best part of being here is watching everyone try to get this (or a better version of this) picture. It is quite hilarious.
Well, that's all she wrote folks. I'll be back after about a week, once Rome, Pompeii, and Venice are in the books (or book, in my case). Thanks for reading!
J
Attempt to get more views: If you missed Part 5 of the series, you can find it here. You can find all the other parts of the series through links in each of the previous posts or on my other social media platforms!
As a preface, I left off in Barcelona on day 2 of 5.
July 11, 2017
The rest of Barcelona was both really great and a little annoying. It was the definition of mixed feelings. The weather was hot and humid but no rain, except for a 5-minute downpour while I was on top of a castle. Great view of the city though! It seems like in every city I try to get as high (ha.. in terms of altitude) as possible to get a birds-eye view of the place. Those views usually pay off.
I also did a couple walking tours and a bike tour around the city. Specifically through the gothic/medieval quarter and the modernist quarter. There is so much history in Barcelona and some beautiful architecture from Antoni Gaudi and a few others' names I do not recall. You may know Gaudi one of two ways: The man who died after getting hit by a tram in 1916. Or perhaps the man who dedicated a good chunk of his life to building the Sagrada Familia. This building is still unfinished after over a century of construction but what is built so far is truly breathtaking. The level of detail and storytelling of the statues built right on the walls and towers of this church deserve appreciation. It isn't something I can show a picture of to convey the experience of being there, but if you do want to see pictures and don't want to google them, I have them for you: Front and Rear. Google is probably your best bet though...
But as beautiful as the city was, I could not sleep in the apartment I was in. It was uncomfortably hot and no fan provided. And after 45+ days of travelling, not being able to sleep really puts a cloud over the day.
July 14, 2017
Moving onto happier places! Today I embark on a 10-hour journey to Nice, France. I hadn't originally planned to stop in Nice, but it was impractical to make it all the way from Spain to Italy, so I said, why not!?
And I am SO GLAD I did. I really loved Nice. What a beautiful place. Let me show you!
It felt like a proper vacation spot after going from city to city to city. Mind you, it was still quite busy with tourists and locals, but totally manageable. I did a walking tour and our guide brought us to this spot you see in the photo. What an amazing view. The whole Southern France Riveria is gorgeous and if I had more time, I would definitely be staying longer.
After nursing a minor hangover from a bar crawl, the next day I headed over to Monaco, as one does, to check out the F1 track and gamble. Turns out I didn't have a suit or the cover charge to even get into the casino, so I just explored the city. I was in awe of how average a Mercedes looked there, as everyone had Ferraris, Aston Martins or Rolls Royces. As a car fan, I enjoyed this place. Also yachts, so many yachts.
To end off an amazing couple days in the south of France, I went to watch the new Spiderman: Homecoming movie. It was a great movie if anyone hasn't seen it yet! I met a French guy in the theatre and we had a conversation mostly via Google Translate. It was interesting, to say the least. Anyway, I'm off to Florence today.
July 16, 2017
Currently in Florence and definitely enjoying it so far. There are so many statues around and I haven't even gone into a museum yet. The place feels old but in a good way. And the cathedral here is just massive. But my favourite spot so far was Michelangelo's Plazza (I know that's the English title but I prefer it since I butcher Italian words) which is a top a hill that overlooks all of Florence and the surrounding mountains.
What an extraordinary view. I even got gnocchi from a food truck up there. It was molto bene.
Currently headed to Pisa for a few hours to be a full on tourist. I want to get a comical picture with the tower because, well, it would be a missed opportunity if I didn't. Hopefully, it isn't too packed there.
A FEW HOURS LATER
Pisa was cool, it's a super chill place apart from around the cathedral and tower. The lean on the tower is only about 3.5 degrees, but it seems so much more in person, however, the photo you are about to see seems to exaggerate it slightly. It used to be upwards of 5ish degrees before some intervening had to be done to stabilise it. I did deliver with the comical picture though.
The best part, well maybe second best part of being here is watching everyone try to get this (or a better version of this) picture. It is quite hilarious.
Well, that's all she wrote folks. I'll be back after about a week, once Rome, Pompeii, and Venice are in the books (or book, in my case). Thanks for reading!
J
From Reddit (Cheerful Melancholy). Those pictures you took of Nice and Florence look travel magazine worthy!
ReplyDelete