Cullen Skink and Sticky Toffee. Oh yes I did.

Edinburgh did right by us today, despite the dour forecast for rain. We hopped on the tram this morning and in about 20 minutes, jumped off on Princess Street and from there, it was off to the Royal Mile with the rest of the thousands of tourists. It's a slow, but entirely pleasant, walk up the hill to the castle, with every kind of tempting store and market to lure you in. We did not go into the castle itself but loved the views from the top of the windy hill. Edinburgh looked green and charming, despite her blackened historic buildings and sooty church spires.

After our usual few hours of exploring, we managed to find a wee pub somewhere on St. Mary's Street. Almost three decades ago, mom, Jan and I were quite insulted by the bartender's admonishment to "move yer bags offa the table!" at the Jolly Judge Pub. He was anything BUT jolly. I am happy to report though that the atmosphere today was much more cordial, and my lunch of cullen skink (I'm going to make you look that up, but just know it was delicious) and sticky toffee pudding (everybody knew I'd cave) was delicious.

In the afternoon, the wind off the North Sea became strong and biting and the clouds rolled in, so we headed back to the apartment for the sad task of final packing, downloading boarding passes, and perfecting our exit strategy for tomorrow morning. There is a 100% chance of rain, so we'll try and figure out how to poncho our suitcases for the 20 minute walk to the tram station.

And so, this brings to a close the amazing European adventures for 2023. Ahead lies an 8 hour flight to Calgary and then the last short leg to Comox, which should get me home Saturday evening. I will then succumb to jet lag and use the quiet days ahead to reflect on the learnings of this journey, and all that it has added to my heart. Boudica, signing out.

The Firth of Forth, Newcastle

I really feel I have to give a shout-out to European airlines, both Ryanair and Vueling. I was absolutely stunned to find my luggage had arrived before I even made it to the pick up spot, both times. I mean, seriously, it was about a 10-15 minute walk off the plane and down to the luggage area. And in Barcelona and today in Edinburgh, two gynormous cities, by the time I got the carousel there my little blue suitcase was, merrily spinning around and waiting for me. Outstanding service, and maybe this is the result of non-union handlers. These are no-frills airlines with rock-bottom prices (unless you pay for carry-on luggage, in that case, it costs more to fly your luggage than it does to fly you) - they even charge for water. Planes are efficient but decorated like a sardine can. Still, that's probably why it cost less than $150 to fly from Barcelona to Edinburgh, a 3 hour flight. Amazing, considering WJ charges more than twice that just to get to Vancouver from Comox. After picking up our suitcases, we lost no time in opening them up and donning fleece vests, coats, and my favorite red scarf that has accompanied and comforted me on so many trips around the world. This time around, it has acted as a light blanket, a mosquito net, a shoulder shawl and a pillow. It is the most versatile item in my suitcase, and I have treasured it for more than a decade. Thanks to my sweet sis! Anyway, I am back in the English-speaking world, and I have to admit my ears were delighted to experience conversation that they understood. We caught the tram from the airport to the current lodging in Newcastle, and was absolutely charmed by the friendliness of the tram operator, the people I met along the way (like the Scottish gent busily walking 5 dogs at a time), and the helpful check in crew here in this pretty apartment that is overlooking the North Sea, complete with tugboats and massive cranes. This is a working port. I had fish & chips for lunch and a pint of some kind of ale. It took every bit of resolve that I had to decline the sticky toffee pudding, but who knows, maybe tomorrow. Now it is time to plan out tomorrow's day in Edinburgh. For 5 pounds, you can buy a tram ticket that is good on any tram or any city bus, right up to midnight. Hopefully the rain will be polite and we can get into the inner city, the Royal Mile and the Grassmarket area, which is tucked into the heart of the Old Town. I've got butterscotch, toffee and fudge on my mind, not to mention a bar of Scottish chocolate. Good thing there's probably 20,000 steps in my future!

Adios, Tarragona

You were a lovely spot to spend a few days and soak up the Spanish sunshine.

A millennium or two

Chills and thrills through this day, as we took a slow walk back a few thousand years. Beginning at the Miravet Castle (Castillo de Miravet), a medieval castle dating back to the Moors and later controlled by the Knights Templar, when they took possession in 1153. It saw its share of battles and defeats, succumbing to the French under Napoleon. An amazing place to sit and ponder the passage of centuries.

From here, to the outstanding Cathedral Bascilica Terragona, complete with belltower and an exquisite cloister from the 13th century, with a magnificent collection of funerary art from all times. This church was apparently built on the site of the barracks and part of the sacred area of worship remaining from the time of the Roman Empire, during the first century AD. It was consecrated in 1331, and is known to be the finest cathedral in Catalonia.

From here, a little "snack" in a sunny Catalonian plaka, sitting next to a partial wall dating from the first century.

And to finish the day's exploration, an absolutely thrilling visit to the Amfiteatre de Tarragona, where the chariots once raced on the Roman Circus. There were enough dark and spooky tunnels to explore to my heart's content and will undoubtedly fuel many of my dreams in the future. In its day, it could house up to 15,000 spectators, and I only had to close my eyes and imagine the sound and fury from so long ago. Ineffable.

The white marble statue of the lady was only discovered in about 1999, but it dates back to the first century. No doubt she lost her lovely head and an arm to the Moors, who did their best to desecreate all things of beauty in their violent wars. What a terrible loss to untold exquisite art throughout the ages, but history cannot hide the dark shadows of man. We have tomorrow morning to explore anything else we have missed, before catching a mid-afternoon train back to Barcelona. Then, a quick night at a hotel close to the airport so that we don't miss our early morning flight to Edinburgh. The clock is ticking.

Sand and Sea

Tarragona came to life this morning, and that was not a disappointment after a pretty sleepy Sunday. This apartment is on the Rambla, the main street of the town, and only a few blocks to the beach which is easily accessible by a clever series of ramps and stairs leading to a crossing high above the railway lines. First thing this morning we managed to find the most amazing mercantile, Mercat De Tarragona. It was a massive building and inside, hundreds of booths that all featured specialties. A huge amount of Iberian ham (hanging from every check out stand, even in the little stores), artisanal food stalls, pastry goodies and meat from every corner of the world. We picked up some fresh fish, a container of mixed olives, and the rest of the fixings for another Nasi Goreng, to last us the next two nights here before the next blast off back to Barcelona for a one night stay before an early morning flight to Edinburgh. Time is flying, as it tends to do when a journey such as this is down to the last five days. We had a long wander down the beach, enjoyed the powdery sand and the sight of many huge tankers sitting on the horizon. Surprisingly, the beach was not that busy and it was really peaceful to have a sit down after giving myself a dandy sand pedicure in the warm water. Feet liked it. Right now it's the heat of the day and we've retreated to the AC to supervise the clothesline containing (hopefully) the last of the laundry until I get home. Spain has been amazing but it also had a few tricks up its sleeve, like deleting a few integral icons off Dave's phone, for no reason at all. One of them was Google Maps so yeah, it was an issue. And for those who don't know, Shaw flagged my email account because it decided it was suspicious because I have been logging on from so many places. It took a two hour chat with a Shaw live agent and a desperate phonecall to Lisa, who took on the Herculean task of logging onto my account and resetting the password from Canada. Successfully. Boy, did she ever save the day, as there are a few essential boarding passes, etc, coming my way. And just when we thought we had it all figured out, Edinburgh's crime department decided that Dave's Visa card was from a Balkin spy. We may, or may not, have a place to stay in the UK. The joys of travel!

Tarragona, day one

We used our time pretty well on our last morning in busy Barcelona, heading out on the early side to try and avoid the heat of the day. Decided to poke our heads into the cathedral and wound up purchasing entrance to the entire majestic complex that included many side chapels, the choir area and best of all, rooftop entrance. The views were stunning, as always. Pretty much what a city of 5 million looks like:

From there, it was about half an hour to find La Rambla, a huge pedestrian street with every kind of shop you could think of. Flowers, music, live shows and some tempting sidewalk terraces, one of which was too irresistable to pass by. We asked for a glass of sangria and in short order two "glasses" about the size of a basketball each arrived. Filled with ice, fruit, seltzer, wine and who knows what other devilish good things that were in it. It went down with gusto and only when we got up to leave did I notice that it packed a bit of a punch. More like a wollop. Made for a silly but fast trip back to the hotel, where we picked up our luggage and literally walked across the street to catch the train for Tarragona. The first half an hour or so was disappointedly all in a tunnel, but I cleverly utilized the darkness for a rather good nap (thanks, Sangria.) Finally, the sun flashed me back to life and the rest of the journey was spent admiring the exquisite beauty of the Mediterranean beaches, all populated with happy souls enjoying a swim or a loaf in the sun.

We spent last night at the Hotel Canada, in an industrial part of Tarragona. The rooms were so reasonable, especially compared to Barcelona's crazy prices. Dave even got a balcony in his room, but my room has a bathtub! Pure bliss for sore feet. There is not much to do in this part of town, so we're putting in a few hours before moving to our next spot, just across town and quite close to the beach. No doubt that will also involve a trip to the closest grocery store to load up on goodies. I finally convinced Dave to throw out the remaining Kasekrainer, an Austrian sausage that I got to haul around in my backpack for the last few days. It's a wonder I didn't attract every dog in town. That, plus a jar of Italian seasoning and a couple of boullion cubes. This is what happens when you travel with someone who likes to cook! Happy October 1 to all!

Time to rest & digest

It was about a 40 minute walk to La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's bizarre and ingeninous Basilica, which is also a World Heritage Site. Barcelona wakes up slowly and the streets were relatively quiet, which made for a lovely walk and gawk. Google was in a good mood today and flawless in her directions - we rounded a corner, and there was the monstrous church, in all its bizarre, quirky, beautiful glory.

The line ups to get in were staggering, and so was the price (35 euros each), so we did our usual reconoitre while sitting on a bench and eventually decided just to walk the periphery. Somewhat annoyingly, they have done a good job masking the full view behind various barricades and as always, there was much work going on behind the drapes and under the cranes. They say it will take at least 100 years to finish this, and I believe them. Uber got us back to home territory around noon and from there, it was simply time to wander and explore, the waterfront being our ultimate destination. But only two blocks from the hotel we came upon the most amazing Street Food Fare. Lunchtime was the right time to be there and the aromas coming from the various booths and tents made it an easy decision. A few tokens bought a cold beer and mouth watering tapas from the vendors. There was everything from white tuna to handmade cheese, bluefish and squid, pastas, even rabbit with Kalamata olives. We took turns picking up the plates and sharing the goodies. Dave bought smelts. SMELTS. Sometimes brothers are just plain mean.

OK, so the smelts weren't as bad as they sounded. SMELTS. A name that only a mother could love. Stuffed to the gills (SMELT gills), we decided to wander the harbour, only about a 10 minute stroll further. It did not disappoint. Billion dollar yachts cuddled up to the party zone area, and everywhere people wandered happily, most with ice creams in hand. You just can't go wrong by exploring a major city by its harbourfront. A few pictures.

It's just 3 pm now, and I am back in my room with the AC on in an attempt to cool down. It is so hot here, and this is the peak of the day for the heat. Feet need a rest too. The original plan was for paella tonight and to walk La Rambla, but that plan might be under revision as I'm pretty bushed. And tomorrow is another travel day, this time to Tarragona, about 2 hours by train. This is where we'll be for the next five days or so, in a port city in northeastern Spain's Catalonia region. It has some remarkable ruins from the 2nd century that I am itching to explore. Plus, I am looking forward to the change of pace - from a city of 5+ million here in Barcelona to around 100,000, which should make for a peaceful few days to mark our final days in Spain.

Barcelona

This was a huge travel day involving ubers, buses, trains, planes and more trains. Arrived late afternoonish and managed to find our way here remarkably easily. There was time for tapas, some good Spanish wine, and a quick tour around the block. Much to explore in this huge city, and only a day or so to do that. Today will be a big one!

Picture taken somewhere over the French alps.... and the first store we hit was of course.... olives!

Auf Wiedersehen Salzburg

It was another picture perfect day, with fantastic weather and intensely blue skies. This magical place has captured my heart completely. Today we managed to find the right cathedral at the right time, and enjoyed the noon hour organ concert after the tolling of the bells in the Salzburg Cathedral. All of this for 5 euros. You can't imagine the acoustics in this undescribably beautiful church. It has six majestic organs, two of which were played by Mozart himself.

Do you see that baptismal font? It's from the 14th century, and that is where Mozart was baptised. Also another guy, that fellow who wrote the beautiful Christmas carol, "Silent Night." So much history here, much more than one could ever absorb in just a few hours. Intensely humbling. We had a few hours to fill in before our next stop at the Augensteiner Brewery, so we walked, gawked, and stopped again at the gardens overlooking the Mirabelle palace. Despite the population of this city, the traffic and tourists, it has a palpable feeling of peace. The hours were well spent just sitting reflectively in the rose garden and glancing up at the fortress far above us, where we stood just yesterday. Gratitude doesn't begin to describe my feelings. The brewery was a perfect ending to this part of our adventure, as it too has a centuries-old tradition. When you arrive, you purchase a beer token and are given a stone mug, weighing at least 2 pounds. From there, to a filling station. The stone crock keeps the beer icy cold, despite sitting out in the warm sunshine at picnic tables that can easily seat a thousand people. Inside the brewery is a fragrant warren of food vendors, all featuring the very best of Austrian cuisine. Mackeral with gherkin and dill and sour cream. Barbecued ribs. Sauerkraut. Dumplings of every sort. The portions were generous and delicious, and everything was washed down with a crock of beer in the company of hundreds of other happy souls. Quintessential Austria. And the perfect way to toast this part of our journey. Tomorrow morning, we train to Vienna, and from there, a flight to Barcelona. Next stop, Spain!

Of Dungeons, no dragons

Another picture-perfect day in Salzburg. First thing this morning, we set out to walk into the Old Quarter, on the hunt for St. Peter's church and graveyard. The walk was beautiful and relaxing. It's early fall here and yet the trees and flowers show no sign of surrender. It is cool enough for pants and long sleeves though, at only 8 degrees in the a.m. The claim to fame about St. Peter's is the graveyard. It is tiny, tucked in next to an equally tiny Medievil church, and the graves are what I would call, "living graves." They are all planted completely with flowers, each site has their own tiny garden and they are tended by family or friends with meticulous care. Some of the graves were too old to read the dates, and yet some new tenants arrived, surprisingly, just a decade or two ago. Because it is such a little graveyard, the graves are not owned, they are rented. And, if rent goes into arrears, the tenants are... er... evicted and put into a different kind of neighbourhood. You can see why I really wanted to visit this interesting spot! However. Google decided to have some fun at our expense. We set out confidently, through the Dam Platz (now so deserted in comparison to St. Rupert's Day.) And then we were duped into a series of tiny alleys and switchbacks, climbing higher and higher, up many old stairs, past ancient stone walls. Huffing, puffing, dripping sweat. And then, near the top, she announced with great pride "You have arrived." We looked at each other, then we looked around the vista. And we didn't see anything that even remotely looked like a boneyard. Shrugging, we backtracked down, down down down.... to the halfway mark. And oh look, what's that? A castle! Dave's face lit up. "Let's go there! Look at all the stairs!" Hello, Fortress Hohensalzburg. This was a mammoth and imposing 11th century castle complex, towering over Salzburg like a benevolent, powerful mother. It is one of the largest Medievil castles in all Europe, and for 13 euros, we secured our passes and began yet another climb that led to the most stunning views I have ever seen. I'll tuck in a few pictures here. I took about 500 today so I'll try to be editorial:

The climb to the top of the fortress was lengthy, but we trodded on. There was a light of amount of tourists, which certainly makes all the difference in the world. And every time we thought we had made it to the viewpoint.. surprise! More steps! All in all, the iPhones reported 50 storeys and I'm pretty sure that might be an understatement. I think she cheaped us out. At long last, the steps opened to the fortress courtyard, and that's when I could really appreciate the sheer scope of this monolithic castle. From the courtyard, you guessed it, more stairs and then ultimately came the payoff. A stunning view of Salzburg, enough to make me gasp.

This was a pano shot, so I hope it comes through and does justice to the beauty. The fortress included an absolutely excellent museum, with simple signage panels in multi languages accompanied with more modern graphics that did a great job of bringing history alive, right from the Middle Ages to the Baroque Century. I was absolutely transfixed.

Those shell-shaped dishes were from the Middle Ages, made of some kind of hard-baked clay and tucked into a shelf. I thought they were gorgeous. And the armour also included complete head sets of iron that the horses wore, and a full suit of armour that weighed 70 lb. Soldiers were damned tough in those days. No wonder these Austrians all look like Olympians. After another few hours of exploring, we discovered a funicular that would return us to ground zero. Great fun, and free. Everyone crams in and in about 5 minutes you are safely whisked to the bottom and as we descended I caught sight of the little graveyard below and lo and behold! St. Peter's it was! So, a bit of a circuitous route (to say the least) but so worth it. We found it. Take that, Ms. Google. Here are a few of the beautiful graves. I love the idea of such natural reverence to mark a final resting place.

Attached to the little church were the catacombs, and of course they needed to be explored as well. Although there were no tenants that could be seen, the atmosphere was spine-chilling, spooky, and ancient. The steps that were carved into stone were steep, uneven and sometimes very narrow, there was no consistency to them and I was grateful for the sturdy handrail, especially in the low light that pushed its way through tiny windows.

This last picture was taken from the atop the catacombs, and is a beautiful portrayal of ancient and peaceful St. Peter's church. It has been SUCH a day. Tomorrow, we will try once again to go to the Cathedral for the organ concert that begins after the church bells ring out at noon. And then wind up our last night in Salzburg at the Augerstiner Brewery. It is far too early to be saying goodbye to this compelling, evocative city. On the do-over list, for sure.