The Sun Also Rises – 17/09/02

We arrived in Paris for the second time in much the same way as the first, flying into CDG and making our way to the centre, this time using the railway straight into Gare du Nord. This visit was only a brief stop, a much-anticipated visit to the Musee Pompidou, one of the worlds premier modern art galleries being the highlight of the trip. The rest of the time was mainly spent wandering around Montmartre and Sacre Coeur, trying to believe the hype about it being the home of the cities intelligentsia but rather finding it being the home of the tacky souvenir shop.

A brief stop in Bordeaux next, on the way south to the Iberian peninsular. A quiet, provincial city, the main highlights of Bordeaux were the hot, sunny weather, the good and cheap wine and the tasty food, including the local speciality sweets.

Crossing the border into Spain on an interesting journey to San Sebastian followed and after experience inclement weather and a dearth of budget accommodation we spent only a day here wandering around the town, around the gothic architecture and modern developments and trying to imagine the town in the glory days described by Hemingway.

Old and new in San Sebastian

A night train sped us through Spain and into Lisbon. Back to sunny weather and perhaps one of the most relaxing and unassuming capital cities in Europe. The weaker economy in Portugal is evident in the prices of goods and services and the city of Lisbon also holds a slightly undeveloped feel to it. Nevertheless it was a beautiful city to wander around, especially the various plazas and parks in which to relax and watch the people walking by.

Close to Lisbon is the small town of Sintra. This really is one of the highlights of Europe. Castles and palaces are nestled in the thick forest, giving the whole place a medieval aura. The hilly landscape and forest are perfect for short hikes and there is an abundance of perfect picnic spots. The local farmers unruffled by the hordes of tourists circling around their land like vultures.

Heading down to the Algarve but avoiding the resort towns we made a brief stop in Faro. A nice little town with an historic port and a wealth of expensive yachts in the harbour it was an incredible tranquil place to while away a sunny Sunday!
 

Water feature, Faro

One of my favourite European journeys is the train journey along the Portuguese Algarve coast. The trains are filled with old Portuguese with big bags of fresh goods, men and women alike smoking big cigars or less impressive cigarettes. The highlight of the journey is at the end of the train tracks at Villa Real de San Antonio, after a short walk through an industrial estate is the ferry that connects Spain and Portugal across the Guadiana river. The journey is short but sweet, the tickets cost less than 1€ and everybody crowds onto the boat and fifteen minutes later chases off on the other side in the Spanish town of Ayamonte. A gloriously Spanish town, complete with white stucco buildings, bull ring, festivals and siestas.

The journey to Seville was not so exciting, requiring a bus to Huelva and a further bus to Seville. Once again the weather changed as the sunny weather we had enjoyed in Portugal turned back to the miserable weather we left behind in San Sebastian. Seville however is a lovely city, living up to its hype. The Cathedral, including the tomb of Christopher Columbus is one of the most impressive in Europe and the adjacent Gironda (tower) is worth climbing for a great panoramic view from the top. Unfortunately the Alcazar was closed whilst we were there so we had to leave that experience for next time.

Moving on to Madrid meant crossing the heat of the Spanish inland, luckily in the comfort of an AVE train! Madrid was hot and sunny and dry. The government buildings and palaces shone in the sun and the gardens basked in their green splendour. Madrid is another cultural capital and we enjoyed the modern art in the Reina Sofia gallery, including the massive and awe-inspiring Guernica by Picasso and a large collection of works of Dali. The Prado is one of the worlds premier galleries and we also spent time wandering around, admiring its collection. For me however it was a dull second to the modern art in the Reina Sofia, but that’s just my personal taste. The only complaint I have of Madrid is that it is a very young city, having only really become a city in the 15th Century. It therefore lacks the historic importance of Barcelona or Sevilla and perhaps this is the reason why it was for years the bastion of the Franco regime.

Heading back to the coast the next stop was in Valencia. A disorientating city full of Baroque architecture and based around a circular ring road we often found ourselves lost in the side streets. It is also the home of Paella and we indulged in a rare hot meal on one night here, for cultural purposes only of course. It was also the first time I had tried Gazpacho soup, and fulfilled another Red Dwarf ambition.

From Valencia we took the train along the coast to Barcelona, stopping through Salou, one of my old stomping grounds, along the way. Barcelona was already one of my favourite cities in Europe and I was glad to be back there. The Gothic quarter providing one highlight and the wander down Las Ramblas is one of the quintessential Barcelona moments, stopping at the flower, bird and pet stalls along the way. The unique architectural creations of Gaudi are the big highlight of Barcelona and this time I managed to visit his Parc Guell in the north of the city. It felt like wandering around Hanzel and Gretel world and the view of Barcelona is stunning. Of course one of his other creations, the still-in-progress cathedral Sagrada Familia also hogs the Barcelona limelight. He was such a curious person and architect and one of the real artists of his field.
 

Parc Guell, Barcelona

Leaving Spain for France I celebrated my birthday in Montpellier. Not exactly in style as the 5€ we had between us did not go very far. A birthday meal of a tin of tuna, some bread and sharing a portion of chips was slightly improved by the discovery of an extra 2€ which we spent rather sensibly on ice cream.

A brief stopover in Lyon en route to Geneva stretched the budget further. The town is nice with two distinct parts, the Fourviere Hill and Vieux Lyon area west of the banks of the River Saone and then Presquile sandwiched in between the Saone and the Rhone. Walking up to Fourviere Hill we passed a strange waterfall on the hill side of the road. The areas around the train station seemed to be full of homeless immigrants and the attitude towards them highlighted the difference between French and British attitudes and political stance regarding immigrants. It was a depressing sight.