Week trip - Netherlands and Italy November 19th 2007

Every now and again Ian's job takes him to an international destination for a few days. When possible I accompany him - call me the luggage. A recent trip to Amsterdam and Padova Italy provided an opportunity to have a quick look around Amsterdam, Milan and Venice.

Day 1 of the trip was spent in Amsterdam. This beautiful city has so much to see.....obviously a day just is not enough. Accompanied by friend Beth we decided to fit in viewing the Anne Frank's House museum, Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.

Anne Frank's house is right in the middle of Amsterdam and was set up to display how the family hid during WWII. Walking through the building it was amazing that they were discovered as late as they were. The museum uses the words of the diary to explain the house and the circumstances the family were in.

Catching a tram across to the Rijksmuseum, we spent a couple of hours viewing old masterpieces, wonderful dolls houses and fabulous delftware. The delftware showed the heavy influence of the imports from the Dutch East India Company with its Asian influence affecting the type of designs and items produced. The old masterpieces clearly displayed the influence these Dutch masters had on the art world with their focus on light, reflection and depth. We followed with a trip through the Van Gogh Museum where impressionism was the focus. Beth's favorite piece was one of Van Gough's sunflower scenes which we actually found out was from a series designed to decorate a room in Van Gogh's house. That evening we again went into the centre of the city for a meal at a Thai restaurant just down from the red light district which anyone familiar with Amsterdam knows is one of the city's famed features.

Next day we were off to Padova (Padua) in Italy. This lovely walled city is situated along the Bachiglione River, between Verona and Venice. Much quieter than Venice and Milan it was a delightful place to stay for a couple of days with its historic Basilica di Sant'Antonio and beautiful old town centre. The shopping area was full of the Italian designer boutiques which was good for window shopping and adding to the Christmas "wish list" and finding a tourist agent which could sell me a train ticket to Milan for the following day.


Venturing by train to Milan was an interesting experience in itself. Having NO Italian language skills determining the correct station, platform and train was a bit hit and miss. However, thanks to the assistance of a nice couple who spoke as much English as I spoke Italian, I found my way into the correct seat, carriage and train. Two hours I arrived in Milan to catch up with friend Kathy who had settled in Milan three months earlier and provided company and guidance for the day. A short trip from the main central station and we arrived at the Duomo Cathedral. This spectacular building is awe-inspiring. The inside was covered with huge old master paintings and the stain glass windows were great - even with zero sun on a dismal winter day. From the cathedral square we were able to enter the "original Galleria". Again impressive architecture with glass archways and domes and a great place to warm up with a Caffe Latte (proper Italian style)

The entire area around the Cathedral was filled with architecturally interesting buildings. Walking along and finding ancient squares where buildings seemed to have been built from a series of different eras. This is definitely one area we will need to revisit and spend some serious time with a top guide book which will explain the buildings, their history and the cultural component of their existence. From here a quick visit to Kathy's place and another wonderful coffee and it was time to return to Padova for the evening.

Next day was another train trip - this time to Venice where it was COLD. My previous visit to Venice was disappointing. It was the middle of summer, the place was filled with people and we were on a bus tour which, in hindsight, was not the best way to see the city. This time, even though cold, I now saw why people love this water city. Taking a taxi down the main canal to St Marc's square, the water (much higher than last time) was lapping on the bottom steps of many of the centuries old palaces and museums. As I had seen St Marc's square previously I spent a couple of hours wondering around the narrow alleyways along the edge of the canal before catching another water taxi to the airport. Meeting up with Ian and the rest of the business guys we caught the plane back to Spain via about 40 minutes on the ground in Paris. Yes, we did make the connecting flight (just) and believe it or not - so did the luggage. My thoughts from this trip - we certainly need to return and spend some serious sightseeing time in all the cities visited during this week - just need to find the time.

Morocco November 10 2007

Saturday morning was an early start as we were on our way to Morocco again. Joining friend Chris and his sister Heidi, we were making the trip to pick up some spices and local handicraft for Christmas, as well as providing Heidi with the opportunity of doing some sightseeing whilst she was visiting. The ferry left Tarifa and headed for Tangiers at about 9am Spanish time.

The day started with some sight seeing along the coast including Hercules Cave. Local legend has it that Tangiers as developed by Hercules, and the cave opening looks a little like the map of Africa. The cave has been used for centuries including as a quarry which provided the stone the locals used to produce grinding wheels. The picture of Ian in the cave shows the ridges left in the cave walls by stone cutters in past centuries.
After completing the coastal views it was back to the old city. The market reminds me a little of the markets in Asia. Fresh fish, meat, vegetables and fruits, olives of all varieties and mixes - all wrapped up with the wonderful smell of the fresh spices and herbs. The stall holders go to a lot of trouble to ensure that all produce is displayed to advantage (it must take hours to set up some of the vegetable stalls). The mix of customers in western, Islamic, and the colorful Bedouin dress all yell and barter in a mixture of french, Arabic, English and various other dialects resulting in a colorful, noisy atmosphere.

After purchasing the various curries, paprikas, cumin, Cinnamon and nutmegs we were off to one of the many handicraft shops. These amazing places a crammed full of local bowls, serving tagines, urns wooden boxes and the inevitable rugs. You do need to barter, which is a bit difficult without some idea of the "fair" price. Our efforts of the day started with a price of 175 Euros with a final settled price of 50 Euros (less that 1/3 of the original asking). For that we were able to get a lovely little urn covered with silver filigree work, a serving tangine and two medium sized serving bowls.

Still in the old town, we then ventured through to the weavers and tailors area. The weaving is taken on by men, who use various natural threads to develop a variety of cloths - from heavy duty woollen and linens to the fine and colorful silk weaves used for expensive interior soft furnishings.
It was fascinating to see the guys at work - though I would not swap jobs with them on a hot day. Often there were two to three people to a loom with another man sitting on a bicycle wheel contraption spinning the finer threads into the ply required for the item being developed.

Once again Morocco provided us with an interesting day. Next trip we will try to take an extra day or so and see a little more of the place.

Malaga - Nov 3 2007

Malaga is one of those places people fly into, see the airport, and then move on to where-ever they have booked down the coast. Unfortunately it is not viewed as a place to visit by many of the expats coming into (and out of) the south of Spain. Its a pity as the city has much to offer, as we found out with a couple of KL friends (Dave and Monica), who have now returned to the UK and found time to spend a few days with us.

Starting at the Alcazabar (or Kings Palace), we were able to roam through this Moorish palace and its beautiful interior gardens, see the small museum dedicated to the Roman and Moorish bowls and urns found during various city excavations and generally get some wonderful views across the city.

A short walk from the high exit finds the ruins of a Roman ampitheatre. Whilst work is underway to excavate additional areas including more of the stage area, an impressive amount of restoration work has been carried out - it is almost unbelievable that something this old is still standing. As we walked down the road we were able to look back up towards the palace with the Roman ruins in the foreground - amazing history from different periods side by side. Coming from such a young country, Australians consider anything over 100 years to be old.....Europe's ruins dating from earlier than the 11th century are impressive.

A drive up to the top of the hill bought us to the Castillo de Gibralfaro. Originally a palace, it was rebuilt as a fortress during the Moorish period in the 14th century.

It is possible to walk the entire way around its walls - again with terrific views of Malaga as it is built overlooking the old town. Inside the museum displayed elements of Spanish military history, plus a model of the old town and the various connections between the palace and the fortress. Whilst we did not have time on this trip, previous visits to Malaga have included a walk through its old town - much of which is now up-market cafes and shopping areas. A very pretty place with some great tapas bars (particularly off the main streets).

Casares - October 25 2007

Brother Mark who lives in Glasgow arranged to visit for a few days. This a rare treat as Mark's job takes him all over the world and finding a couple of days to "just veg" is difficult and requires organisation well ahead of time. As his previous visits to Spain had been work orientated, and were pretty much based around Seville, we decided to keep our touring close to home. So....a trip to a pretty little white village close to Sotogrande was on the cards.

The drive from the main freeway up to the village goes past some lovely rural, mountain areas, where the Spanish hills seem to go forever.
With plenty of photo-ops on the way, we made our way up the high side of the village. By coming in this way, Casares suddenly appears as we turn the final corner into the main village street.

The white villages of Spain are beautiful and Casares is generally thought to be among the better. The ruins of an Arab medieval fortress and the Iglesia de la Encarnación Church overlook the white legoblock style houses below. In the distance is Gibraltar and the shores of Africa. The area between the village and the coast is the soaring grounds for peregrine falcons and kestrels.

After a wine at the little restaurant overlooking the village we made our way through to Maybella for a tapas lunch. The day was completed with a look around Sotogrande including the Valdarama area with a stop over for a coffee and views at the Almenara golf course. A really pleasant way to round up the day.