barmatelliandfriends

I have skipped ahead to Seville. It’s a short flight from Porto and it’s so odd to see the sun and feel the heat. Immediately you feel you are in a different space. Our hotel is lovely and all is well with the world.

We do a wander through the lanes and go get some tapas, vino and cervesa. Nothing is great with the exception of the place we are in. We then sit on the rooftop and once again watch the sunset over the rooftops.

The next morning I wake on a mission to take morning light photos and yet get trapped in a maze of lanes where the walls are to high and the light is to weak. It’s easy to get lost as every left and every right is never quite square and every lane walks away a few more unseen degrees. Then before you know it you are somewhere far from where you want to be. Another rounded corner and all of a sudden the square opens before us and the architecture unfolds as you view it from a distance.

We wander past cathedrals with the low sun hitting the steeples and watch and listen as the city comes alive.

It’s going to be a big day out as we head back to our hotel for breakfast which i have to share a photo of the pretty courtyard where we eat. We choose to eat outside and there is a really grumpy man who leaps up from his chair and slams the door after the waitress comes to serve us. It must be the cold draught in the 20 something degree heat that annoys him as he sits at a booth alone, in a setting for five, closest to the door , with a sea of empty tables far away from his perceived cool air. Tapping on his laptop with important looking eyebrows and grumpy looking mouth. We enjoy our breakfast in the cooler morning air but go in and out the door at the other end as I do not want the poor man to suffer further.

Right what’s next. It’s a walk to the park and then to see the big curved military building that seems to dominate the images when you go searching Seville. We walk. It’s hot. We walk some more. It’s hot. Somehow we get trapped in the grounds of the university and can’t get out. We are surrounded by a moat and no bridge, expecting security to come and deal to tourists any minute. We escape the university and finally are in the park. It’s hot.

It’s probably time to mention how much I hate google maps walking especially here in Seville. We follow it and then we are going the wrong way, turn around go back, turn around again, I feel like it’s just messing with us. Sitting in google space, watching and laughing. I don’t want to end up like breakfast man so I breathe deep and spin around again.

We walk around the outside of an ordinary looking building and WH suggest that as its curved perhaps it is our destination. We pass a car park and take some steps up to a door that we think will lead us inside antlers church but it is like we have stepped through a portal. Its beautiful.

There is so much detail you can’t fit it in. The tiles, the arches, the roof, the stairs, the bridge. In terms of monuments I think it is one of the beautiful I have seen. It is too much for my camera lens to take in as I try to capture it.

We cross the river and wander its banks. It’s hot. We look for somewhere shady to enjoy a late lunch and I wonder if breakfast man is at least happy sitting eating his lunch in the warmth. We meander back to the hotel, it’s been a big day out and the city is closed for Siesta. It seems such a civilised thing to do as we walk back in the heat. Evidently in the summer it’s around 40 degrees every day so my advice is don’t go in the summer. The lanes and alleys are breathless and the rooftop breeze provides a welcome relief along with a cervesca and Aperol Spritz.

With siesta over and our feet now rested we decide to head back into the streets below as we can hear the music somewhere and FOMO sets in as we pack everything into our weekend.

We are not disappointed as we walk into a small square and find not only the music but also the dancing. It’s the mayors party and all are invited as multi generations crowd into the space under the trees. You can buy cerveja for a euro and vino for 2.

It was a day to remember. Love Seville.

Portugal on a time budget. The weather in Portugal was not kind to us. From our pre departure weather speculating where temperatures where in the high 20;s we are barely hitting mid tens with showers every hours or so to keep us on our toes.

We wander in the wet, find a laundromat and do the washing. I know it’s only been a couple of days but it’s right there and it’s raining. We then head underground and ride the subway to checkout the subway art.

Truth be told I am writing this four days (now five)after the fact and I have so many photos and pieces of yesterday and the day before that and especially today that I want to put down. They are indeed rocking chair moments.

Lisbon was lovely and we then got a transfer to Porto where on the way we stopped at Obidos. It was a cute little walled town and the lanes were full of lavender and some other fragrant plant. At first we thought someone had been weeding but they were tied to the door knobs and around the edges. It smelled wonderful as more and more people walked over them. Evidently there had been a couple of weddings the day before and that is how the village decorates for the occasion, then outside a little church were the initials S&P in a heart. Cute.

Next stop was Nazare. Home of the big waves. We arrive in a downpour and scramble for cover, then walk down the hill to the lighthouse. It is hard to imagine the 100ft waves as tall as the lighthouse (check out the photos on you tube or just google big waves). The exhibition of photos and memorabilia of surfers who have conquered the coast was fascinating. Then the sky once again turned to drama as we raced the impending hail storm back up the hill. We won, only just.

We land in Portugal and head to our hotel. It’s all good. A venture out for something to eat and a bit of a wander and we luck upon a little restaurant that has roast chicken and all sorts of sides. I wash it down with lightly bubbled verde wine which is fresh and moorish. The whole meal was really nice and as we watched the queue form in front of us we realised how lucky we were.

The next day we head of to Sintra and Peña Palace with a driver “Jose”. It’s only about a 45 minute drive but traffic is busy. Jose can’t believe how busy Sintra is and it’s only April he says. We get dropped off and D&K walk up the hill whilst WH and I wait for the bus. We join yet another queue and await for our alloted 10.30 slot, along with a a few hundred others. Ready to join the hundreds already in from the previous time slots. We try to imagine it later on but can’t, as it’s a slow moving train already. It’s very pretty though and unusual and luckily worth the visit.

We wander back down the hill through the gardens and pop out the other side to the waiting chaos of buses, tuk tuks, black Mercedes vans and all other manner of vehicles trying to drop off or pick people up.

The drive back down shows a grid lock traffic line which I cannot see how anyone can make there alloted time slot. We head of to a seafood restaurant for lunch and whilst Jose highly recommends it I cannot help but be disappointed. WH tried some Octopus salad to start, eeeeeekkk. D tried some seafood soup which had all manner of bits in it. We have such amazing seafood at home that I always feel let down by some other countries fish. The saving grace was how the waiter filleted it all at our table. But our fish is better end of story.

We visit Cascais on the way back to Lisbon followed by a few other stops and in the end its a long touristy day fill of new sights, long queues, gnarly traffic jams, beautiful vistas, average food, interesting people and a lot more.

‘Twas a big day out yesterday but we managed to stay awake until 9.30pm. The sleep angels were not with me so it was a restless night and awake at 0400. I sneaked to the bathroom and had quiet coms with J back home so as not to wake WH. By 5 he too was awake so it was time to start the day.

We are off to Lisbon today so it’s check out and airport day. We do not leave until 11 so there is lots of early morning time and no washing in sight. We head to the Pantheon where we have tickets booked for 9am. Double the 5 Euro ticket price for special skip the line ones to make sure we are back in time.

We walk that way and it is so lovely in the early morning light.

We reach the lonely Pantheon being harassed by a noisey street sweeping machine, washing away the remnants of yesterday. We keep walking and unlike yesterday stumble upon memorable moments around every corner.

We walk some more towards the river as it’s a part of the city we haven’t yet seen and it too does not disappoint.

I cannot help but think of my wasted washing morning yesterday as the city is so enjoyable at this time in the morning. Although for much of the lanes and alleys we wander through, where the street sweeper has not or does not do a pass, it very much feels like Wellington the dawn after the conclusion of the old sevens weekend.

We head back to another wonderful breakfast and then zip back down to the Pantheon with our double the price skip the line tickets, there is of course no skip the line so we queue 80m metres which actually looks worse than it is. Once inside its dome roof dominates the space and for the last time in Rome I am in awe at its marvels. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you certainly can’t see it all in 3 and a bit, but it was fun.

PS

H10 Hotel Palazzo Galla was brilliant. Staff lovely, location 10 /10. Rooftop bar looking across the domes, 10/10 breakfast.

If you can’t stay there then google it and stay somewhere close as its location was perfect.

Gold cart tour was great.

Today we are off to do an underground tour of the Colosseum and then the Roman forum. It says it starts at 8.45 am and the small print says we should be there 30 mins prior. D&K are posting snaps from the Spanish steps at 6am and I decide that I want to do the washing at the laundromat we passed just down the road on the way to the Trevi fountain yesterday. I KNOW RIGHT.

But really you are never quite sure of when the next one, laundromat that is, might present itself. Another point being that I got pomodoro pasta sauce on my jersey and it’s quite cold so i need it. And another point is that we have a balcony at this hotel and it will be easy to dry them. Another point being that whilst the washing is washing we can walk to the Spanish steps, which are past the Trevi fountain, and also get beautiful crowdless photos.

We arrive without getting lost and place our washing in said machine but then we can’t work out how to turn it on. It doesn’t want our money or our card and nothing works. We take it out and try another machine. Nothing. We try to translate on our phones but alas no signal. We are nearly ready to give up when I accidentally touch the screen and it beams to life with a sign to push if you want English version of instructions. Too easy. So now feeling like dumb and dumber we exit the laundry to make our way to the steps.

We chat over the fact that there are so many surveillance cameras in the laundry that they shall be able to keep themselves and their friends amused for days by our efforts to turn on the machine. We walk up the big hill and walk some more and then some more still. We eventually get the top of nowhere and realise we have walked in the opposite direction and are simply at the top of a very uninteresting hill. I KNOW RIGHT.

We walk back down. I have no lovely morning light photos to share nor stories of stumbling upon across something wonderful. Just a walk up the hill and then a walk back down. The washing is still washing even though it’s supposed to be finished and the kids text to ask if we are coming to breakfast before we leave. The last 2 minutes of the cycle take exactly 4minutes and 25 seconds. I KNOW RIGHT.

We go back to the hotel hang, or drape the washing and we are off. Quick breakfast and walk to the meeting place where the small group tour which clearly states it has no more than 15 people has 24. I KNOW RIGHT.

And we are off, follow the umbrella, up here, through here, down there, round there.

The Colosseum is interesting and it’s a real privilege to retrace the footsteps of people from thousands of years ago. It’s a privilege to visit one of the world’s most iconic monuments. Our booked skip the line tour is definitely worth it, despite the size nearly doubling as we walk past the crowds lining up for what we are told we be about 2 hours. for When in Rome you must go to the Colleseum

We leave the Colosseum and go across to the Roman forum but I am now past my use by date for umbrella following or at least listening. The skip the line queue is very long and by the time we are inside my feet ache so I sit on a wall. I chat to Pops and his lovely wife, who are not sitting on the wall, who inform me they have been married for 60 years and I am impressed by their stamina not in their long and lovely marriage but there ability to not have sore feet and be sitting on the wall.

With the tour at an end we walk to the Jewish quarter to have lunch at another of Marco’s recommendation. We try the speciality of fried Artichoke and carbonara. We drink Prosecco and Peroni. When in Rome.

We head back to our hotel and 17,000 steps later I sit here writing this with my washing nicely dried and my feet feeling the joy of having no shoes on and D&K sending snaps of yet another monument and no doubt having clocked up another 10,000 steps.

Today we are off to explore. The full moon over the rooftops just before sunrise is a lovely start to the day. As the sun comes up we head to Trevi fountain as its a ten minute walk from the hotel.

It’s a chilly morning and we are wrapped up well in the early morning chill. The fountain is lovely and there aren’t many people as its just after 6 in the morning. I am amazed at the people there in there instagram outfits looking like they are just about to head out for a night on the town. They pose and click and pose and click, over and over and over. Turns out the girls in the photo on the right below were in D&K photos that they took 20 minutes before us. Later that day we returned, or should I say tried to return, home past the fountain and the crowds were absurd.

We have a highlights of Rome golf cart tour booked for ten so after a great hotel breakfast we are off. The trip is a lot of fun, as we bump our way over the cobblestones and through tiney tiny alleys to see the sights. Our guide Marco is great and the morning literally zooms by. We stop at a church, at fountains, at squares, at hill tops and even the circus, Maximus circus that is. It’s a great day out.

We finish up by asking Marco to drop us somewhere yummy for lunch and he doesn’t disappoint.

Reminding oneself that long haul travel is simply a necessity and that it is the exception to the rule of how it is not about the journey we arrive safe and sound to a major gridlock traffic jam buts what’s another hour or two added to the journey. We are here, safe and sound and soon to be able to wander in air that has not been recycled.

Our hotel is lovely and as it’s nearing 4pm we decide to wander and try to stay awake. April 25th is a public holiday in Italy as it is at home. It is their liberation day and the city is very very busy. We walk with the crowds and step sideways into a pretty courtyard where a nice security guard who speaks English tells us it’s free to visit today and shows us where to go to enter. We wander around in this not very touristy tourist attraction which seems to be the lonely place that doesn’t have crowds but is interesting enough with its sculptured walls and alfresco ceilings with giant chandeliers.

Once outside we once again join the masses and make our way to the hotel. It’s 6pm so we sit on the rooftop bar and order some spaghetti and pizza and enjoy the view. It’s bitingly cold and reminds us of a southerly from home but the benefit being there are very few others enjoying the view.

We decide that its time to call it quits and hope that we can at least stay up another hour but we lie on the bed to watch a movie only to wake half an hour later switch it off and go to sleep a restless timezone sleep. The new day dawns and we start a new day with a full moon still hovering over the domes of the city. It’s good to be here.

I just reread Amsterdam and I love the memories it brings back. Time travelling backwards, reading my blog. I guess that is the point of it really, maybe one day when I am in my rocking chair and my biggest trip is now within a driving miss daisy distance, then I will pick up my printed blog book and time travel backwards and I will remember what I know now, that I am indeed a lucky girl.

As I time travelled through my blog I wondered why I didn’t finish the trip off. After Amsterdam we went to Paris and we watched the best game of rugby I have been too, the quarter final between Ireland and ALL Blacks. The atmosphere was amazing, the sea of green in the squishy singing train, the tense exciting game, the slow trip back to the hotel but that’s about it really. I must of been blogged out or maybe as happens had dumb internet, or maybe i was too busy. I shall never know because just like the forgotten eggs at the supermarket trip I didn’t write it down.

Anyway enough of the history and to the here and now. We are flying Emirates this time around and I sit here 11 hours down with nearly 6 hours to go, the flight to Dubai truly deserving the name long haul. WH is watching yet another movie as time ticks monotously on and I try to quell my restlessness by beginning to write.

I have been to Rome before. On our very first trip to Europe about 20 years ago. WH got accousted at the airport by a “secret police” with a gun. In terms of time travel backwards I remember every detail of that incident even though it wasn’t written down. It still remains firmly etched in my small brain bank of scary travel tales. On that trip we spent two days exploring the eternal city before joining the never to be repeated bus tour through Europe. I loved it, the city that is not the bus tour, and vowed to come back. We did go back in 2022 when travel finally opened up again and just before we arrived I managed to get Covid so spent the majority of the days and nights set aside to explore the city, inside my hotel room.

So here we are, or actually: another 6 hours, then 4 in Dubai then 7 hours on another plane, and then “here we are” third time lucky in Rome. Can’t wait to share it with you.