As a side trip from London we took a day tour to Bath, Stonehenge and The Cotswolds. For our visit to the Cotswolds we stopped in the lovely town of Lacock. Lacock is a charming and well preserved stone village. We enjoyed spending some time wandering around this sleepy town.
Lacock is the perfect town to stop in at for a tea and a snack on your way to some other great sights in the area.
Tonight is the last night of enjoyment we have in Barcelona. Whatever illness we get hits C first. At first it is funny because he is usually the one with all the stamina and I am the person with low energy. He starts dragging behind and is having a hard time keeping up with me. He jokes that I am a force to be reckoned with after me completing my first half marathon, which I recently did. Then it catches up with me this evening, whatever ails us. I learn I am getting sick when I try to eat tapas in a late night restaurant tonight. C can’t even come into the restaurant and remains outside on a bench. I look down at what I believe to be the most disgusting plate of food I have ever laid eyes on. We are hotel bound for the rest of our Barcelona trip. However before that we have a nice evening stroll around the city. It is quite beautiful at night.
The streets were preparing for the Barcelona marathon for the following morning.
Plaça d’Espanya
Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya
Magic Fountains near Placa d’Espanya
Luckily we were there on a night that they had a musical light show at the fountain. We wandered around the fountain and enjoyed the show.
It is Whitney Houston tribute night.
We enjoyed our last real evening of the trip. The rest was mostly hotel room bound. After this trip we have discovered the art of probiotics while traveling. Probiotics have saved us from illness on many other trips since. We even survived a couple weeks in India!!
The illness has put Barcelona back on the list to must visit because there was so much more to see there. I hope one day to visit again.
For our second day in Florence we visited the Palazzo Vecchio
We started the day visiting the Cathedral Museum in Florence. It has a good collection of renaissance sculpture. We were able to view many pieces by famous artists. Below are pictures of some interesting works of art.
reliefs of Luca della Robbia (1400-1482) – original marble
On the way to the Palazzo Vecchio we took a stop at the Piazza della Signoria to see Bartolommeo Bandinelli’s Hercules and Cacus
We also came across Benvenuto Cellini’s statue Perseus With the Head of Medusa
Inside there are many interesting ceiling patterns.
Artwork inside the Hall of Lilies.
Hall of Maps
More interesting ceiling decor.
Artwork from the Sala dell’Udienza
Sala de la Audiencia de Francesco Salviati
Salone dei Cinquecento
View from the terrace.
There are many museums to see in Florence but these should remain in the must see.
If you are not familiar with architect Antoni Gaudà then you are missing out. His work under the Modernisme is some of the most unique that you will ever see. The city of Barcelona is a showcase for his work.
Lampposts around Barcelona
Casa Batlló
La Pedrera (Casa Mila)
We were able to tour the inside of La Pedrera or Casa Mila, an apartment building in Barcelona.
One of the most impressive examples of Gaudi’s work is the still unfinished la Sagrada FamÃlia. There really is nothing else like it in the world. Unfortunately the only day we were able to see it, it was closed for some special event. One day I will return to see the inside and maybe it will be complete then.
We both got sick at the end of the trip (nasty stomach virus) so we never made it to Park Güell. I have many reasons to return to Barcelona sometime in the future.
In May 2009 we celebrated our honeymoon in beautiful Greece. Our trip started in the beautiful white washed island of Mykonos. Mykonos (also called Hora) is known for not only its white buildings but also for its windmills and party like atmosphere. May is the off season so the island wasn’t packed with clubbers and it was a bit too cold to hang out at the beach. Despite the cold weather it was still a fun and relaxing vacation.
Our hotel San Marco was beautiful and relaxing. While we dined at the hotel they were filming there for a tv show. We never did look for that show. My only complaint is that the hotel was not in walking distance to the center of Mykonos and we relied on a hotel shuttle that had limited pickups, probably due to it being off season.
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We received a bottle of wine upon arrival. I spent one evening with the wine while reading and watching the sunset.
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