Lisbon Portugal

We left Barcelona and have flown into Portugal. 

Check out the legroom on this flight, if you think my belly looks big, it's just that you always look bigger in photos

Nice scenic flight, we stayed really low

Seems a very vibrant  city. Our little B&B is close to the water which is what I've missed. We went for a stroll down to the water after being shown around by our host. In the square near where we are staying they were setting up for a party with music food and drinks so we asked what was happening and all we could understand was Party, we looked at each and said " we love a party lets have dinner here". So we ordered dinner and drinks, sat down, then realised the flags that were flying around the place were Communist Party flags.

Check out the flag on the table

 DOOOHHHHH. We were dining with the bloody Portugal Communist Party! We had a good laugh to ourselves. Dinner was good, BBQ sardines and chorizos for me and Shaz had Galician soup. 

BBQ sardines, yummy

All through dinner I was waiting for the mobster car to drive past and spray us with bullets, I said to Shaz if I say drop I mean drop to the floor, as I was keeping an eye out. Anyway we ate and got out of there pretty quick in the end. They were friendly enough, it just didn't feel right. A funny twist was after ordering our food I was a bit cold so I ran up to our apartment just around the corner to get our jumpers, then when I got back Shaz told me who we were dining with and we relised I just bought back two RED jumpers! 

Trying to keep a low profile, our B&B is just up the back behind that building 

After surviving the first night we boarded a train in the morning which goes right along the coast to the end of the line. Like Spain, the public transport here is fantastic. What good timing, there was an air show on that lasted all day right where we were. So we spent the day looking at planes, riding on trains and what I like the most, looking at boats and the sea. What a great relaxing day, just what we've been after, as my feet are still quite sore from our walk, not so for Shaz, she just wants to go everywhere and I'm her handbrake at the moment. The enormity of what we have achieved is just starting to hit home, I relise now that we have walked so far, I feel like Cliffy Young, well my feet do.

We have got some good recommendations for local cuisine for dinner so looking forward to dinner tonight, I'm still on the lookout for a good Portugese tart, I'm dying yo have a taste of a good local tart, suppose to be a good shop locally but we haven't found it yet. 

Searching the stone streets for some Portugese tart.

Dinner was nice, and after we visited the local Basilica just for something different, ha.

Nice tree we came across this morning, Cyprus I think

I found Jesus

And my Portugese tart

Next morning we went shopping, I've really been looking forward to doing this, &$@€£#%#{>£€.

Then we boarded a ferry and went to the other side of the harbour and visited a rebuilt Portugues fighting ship originally built in 1843. Being Sunday it was free admission, you beauty. They rebuilt this ship from just a rotting hull, unfortunately we couldn't get any pamphlet in English but we watched a video of the rebuild and it was very interesting. No money spared here. They rebuilt the hull then floated to another dock  and put her in dry dock to build the rest of her. Everything was built as origanal, even the cannons all the way through to the cuttelry in the captains quarters. Just an amazing ship.

Here's some pics

It's called the "D. Fernando II e Gloria" 

Land Ahoy

Man the cannons

Wrong way Shaz

Make way for captain Dickie, I know the way! Full sail astern

This way, North southerly 

No this way, hard to starboard port

Pull the anchor up Shaz, no fish here

I'll have a kip while Shaz lifts the anchor

This is what happens when you question Captain Dickie

More cannons

More guns

More swords

The second gun deck

The shitter

Enough silly stuff. It's now our last night before starting our trek home, Sunday night, we are both stuffed and just kicking back, we fly out at 2 pm tomorrow to Dubai, short stopover then home to sunny Melbourne at 6am Wednesday. Hope you all have enjoyed the blog, last time I looked we have had over 50000 hits, pretty unreal ah. It's been a fantastic trip and we can't wait to catch up with everyone at home, well me anyway, Shaz just wants to keep holidaying, no stopping her.

Last selfie for the blog.

Cheers everyone and see you soon

Rich and Shaz

Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia which means ' Holy Family'

Unreal, incredible, amazing and any other word you can think off. This place is by far the most amazing place I have ever seen, (in my long life of travelling) Designed by Gaudi, construction started in 1882 and it's still under construction today. In 1925 the first bell tower was completed. Gaudi dies in 1926 after being hit by a tram. 1936 Spanish Civil War halted works. 1950 works began again, by 1976 8 spires out of 18 are complete. In 2010 Pope Benedict the church as a basilica. It is planed to have it finished in 2030. It is funded by private donations and entry fees. It has now become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world, and I can see why, it is very well organised. I couldn't get any photos to do justice to the size and grandeur of this place.  

I won't put up many photos as I wouldn't like to ruin someone's visit, just would like to say if you can it's a must see in my book. It made me feel like I was in 'Alice of Wonderland'. Things sort of look out of proportion and weird angles, and just so different to anything else I have seen elsewhere. The story around all the facades, the birth and crucifixion Christ.  Just totally blew us away, what an experience. 

This is 4 of the 18 spires, still 10 to go

Looking up the columns are like trees

Couple of good looking tourists

The design room where they make plaster models

Looking up a column

The widows are incredible and all tell a story

Julie in a moment of deep thoughts

Just one more

If you google this place you will get some better pictures.

We finished touring for the day, went back to the apartment for drinks, got a recommendation for dinner and it was great. 

Spanish hair dryers

Food was great

After dinner we walked back for one last look at the Sagrada Familia then home. 

Thanks to Julie for touring with us the last few days it's been great and happy birthday. 

Had a good sleep, big thunderstorm woke me at 6am, packed our bags and just waiting to head to the airport to fly to Portugal for our last leg of our holiday. Bit sad but I must say I'm ready for home. We plan to kick back in Portugal, little bit of sight seeing but mainly a rest for a few days, phew it's tough being on holidays.

Cheers

Barcelona bound

WOW. I'm not one for big cities but in one day in Barcelona we have had a ball. We've been all over the joint, travelled everywhere on the underground, seen heaps and had a ball.

Julie turned up to our apartment, we had some froffies, went out for dinner and then walked around the block and around the Sagrada Familia. It just blows your mind, we are booked in tomoz for that so I will fill you in then. Here's a sneak peak. The joint is massive.

Front

Back

I will just start by saying we have traveled heaps of places and changed trains many times today. The underground rail system here is incredible. The longest we waited for a train was 4 minutes, 

ticket system was fantastic and we didn't once get on the wrong train, it's that easy. We even had a busker on the train, just great.

Julie catching some ZZZZZSS on the train 

We decided we would start the day visiting the Montserrat. A Monestry built amongst the serrated mountains, hence the name. We caught the train there, then on the cable car and then on the funicular. It was unreal just getting there. Then we visited the actual Monestry, founded in 1025. Big history around this place if your interested google it, as I'm too busy having fun to go into it, this blog takes a fair bit of time, but I enjoy doing it, it's just the lack of sleep. 

Here's some pics of the visit. The cable car looking up

The Cable car looking down

Cable car selfie

On the funicular looking down at the Basilica

Inside the Basilica

The scenery from the top, incredible

We then headed back to Barcelona and did the La Rambla Rumble. A walk down this incredibly busy street, La Rambla, people everywhere, heaps of stuff going on, we did some market grazing, went through this amazing market and just bought bits and pieces of things to eat, bloody lovely.

The girls looking flabbergasted at the fresh produce 

We then found this square and had some froffies, bloody big ones at that, Grande.

Jules struggling to lift jug

We watched some street performers who were very quick to pack up and high tale it when the local fuzz showed up. 10 minutes later they would be back again doing it all again, great entertainment. Here's one bloke in mid air.

Then we walked dockside to Port Vell, where the cruises come in and had dinner, bloody nice. 

Big statue of Christorfer Columbus

I scream, u scream, we all scream for ice cream, including photo bomber, reminds me of Hannah

Then back on the underground to our apartment now, knocking off a bottle of champers and kicking back.

I've cut this blog really short as I would be up all night otherwise, having a great time here, still lots to see tomorrow and it's Julie's birthday, so I think we might be in for a big day.

Buen Barcelona