September 6, 2015
Andorra
My first stop on the Iberian Peninsula is Andorra, a tiny country between France and Spain. There are two daily buses between Toulouse, France and Andorra la Vella – capital of Andorra. I took the morning bus and interestingly I was the only passenger. The bus takes about 3.5 hours.
Checking in the 4-star Hotel Diplomatic and tried my first tapas at the attached cafeteria - Longede Porc Garniture - for 6 euro. Not bad at all (big portion and good taste). Once my stomach was full, I started to walk to the smallest Parliament in Europe - Casa de la Vall. It's a lovely little stone building though it was closed probably because of Sunday.
Not too far from Casa de la Vall on a main road, there is bus L6 going to La Massana and Ordino every 30 minutes. I took one to the last stop - Museu Casa de Areny-Plandolit in Ordino (30 minutes). Unfortunately the place was closed and I had to take the same bus back.
Andorra is famous for hiking. Since my time is limited, I decided to hike on a trail - Rec del Sola – just north of the city. I entered the trail from stairs near Hotel Pyrénées. The trail is along a canal and offers good views of the city. It's pretty easy and I finished it in less than one hour.
After leaving Rec del Sola, I ended up in Les Escaldes, a city just east of Andorra la Vella. Les Escaldes is famous for Caldea – Europe's largest spa. I booked a two-hour evening session for 28 euro online (cheaper than the 3-hour day session). The place is really a treat – there are pools of different sizes with different temperatures and streams to massage different parts of your body. The human massage, though, is expensive (30 euro for 20 minutes – you need to buy when you check in at the ticket office).
 |
| Casa de la Vall, Andorra la Vella |
September 7, 2015
Barcelona
There are more buses between Andorra and Barcelona, probably because the two places share the same language and culture. I took an express morning bus and it only takes 3 hours to arrive at Barcelona Sants, the major railway station of the city. I bought a 10-trip ticket at the station and took the commuter train to Estació de França, right next to the historical Barri Gotic district.
There are two churches to see in Barri Gotic - Santa Maria del Mar (free) and Barcelona Cathedral (free, but only in the morning). I was lucky to be able to get into Barcelona Cathedral just before the closing time.
After checking out the Cathedral, I had my lunch at the nearby El Café de l'academia and tried Grilled Catalan Sausage with Poached Egg and Wild Asparagus for 7.5 euro. The amount is small but it's very delicious.
Leaving the restaurant, I checked out Placa Reial briefly before walking on the famous Las Ramblas. Areas of focus on Las Ramblas include the huge public market La Boqueria, the ornate Chinese dragon on the corner of the façade of Casa Bruno Quadros, the baroque style Iglesia de Betlem, and the clock on the corner of the Reial Acadèmia de Ciències i Arts.
Finishing Las Ramblas at Catalunya metro station, I took the metro for only one stop to Passeig de Gracia and started admiring Casa Batllo, one of the most famous works of Antoni Gaudí. I bought the ticket online for 21.5 euro, not cheaper but just to escape the queue on site. Good thing is it didn’t require me to specify a time when I bought the ticket online (different from some other sites in Barcelona). Another similar building by Gaudí – Casa Mila – is one metro station away. I walked along Passeig de Gràcia and only admired the building from outside.
Time to check out Barcelona's No. 1 tourist destination - Sagrada Familia. There was no queue to buy the ticket (15 euro) when I arrived there but I was given a time about 2 hours later to get in. I used this gap to take the cable car from Montjuic to the port (12 euro) and it turned out to be the best time I spent in Barcelona. The journey offers great views of the city and the beach in Barceloneta.
Construction of Sagrada Familia started in 1882 and is still in progress. To be honest, I was not very impressed by Sagrada Familia as I know nothing about architecture. In the basement of the building, there is the Parish Church of the Sagrada Familia / Crypt currently in use (separate entrance, free entry). Inside the church is the tomb of Antoni Gaudí.
Dinner in Barcelona was at the ever popular Can Mano in Barceloneta. Buttered Hake costs only 7.5 euro and is super fresh.
 |
| Casa Milà (La Pedrera) |
September 8, 2015
Barcelona to Madrid
Since my AVE high-speed train to Madrid was 11am, I had some time to check out Museu Picasso in the early morning. I booked the ticket online in advance (12 euro) to avoid the queue. It was some nice viewing, thought the collections are mostly Picasso's early works and none of his famous works are there.
Arriving in Madrid in the afternoon, I had a couple of hours to explain the city. All the major sites are in central Madrid and walking is the best way. I first checked out Palacio Real (10 euro) and the nearby Almudena Cathedral (1 euro donation), then walked to Plaza Mayor and sat down at the 100+ year old Chocolatería San Gines and tried the famous Chocolate con Churros for 3.9 euro – it's considered a must-do in Madrid!
At dusk, I took advantage of the free admission of Museo del Prado, one of the best museums in the world. There are a few must-sees at this museum, including Las Meninas by Velazquez, the Naked Maja by Goya, the Garden of Earthly Delights, etc.
I spent the evening in Madrid watching a Flamenco show at Las Tablas near Plaza de España. At 27 euro, it's definitely not cheap but the quality of the show is out of question.
 |
| Palacio Real, Madrid |
September 9, 2015
Lisbon
Budget airlines in Europe is a good thing for budget travelers, especially for long distance trips. A 1.5 hour flight from Spain's capital to Portugal's capital costs around 50 euro, much better than the 10 hour overnight train which costs more than 100 euro. Lisbon is a “red” city as rooftops of most buildings are red. This can be seen when the airplane is approaching the city.
The highlights of Lisbon are mostly historical buildings. However, some modern buildings around the expo area (Oriente metro station) are also worth seeing. As Oriente is only two stops from the airport by metro, I decided to get off the metro at Oriente to have a brief look at the area. The Oriente train station itself is a famous modern building of the city, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. There is a cable car in the area, but walking is probably more pleasant.
There are two major sightseeing areas in Lisbon – the central area and Belem. In the central area, Rossio Square and Elevador de Santa Justa are worth checking out. But the two most import sites of the city are the Lisbon Cathedral (Sé) and Castelo de São Jorge. Most guidebooks recommend tram 28. While it's a classical tram worth experiencing, tram 28 doesn't go to the castle directly. Minibus 737 goes right to the foot of the castle. This minibus originates from Cais do Sodré railway station and passes Lisbon Cathedral.
Also from Cais do Sodré railway station, tram 15 goes to Belem. There are three “sites” in Belem: Palácio Nacional de Belém, Torre de Belém and Pastéis de Belém. Yes the last one is considered a “site” because this 200 year old shop is too famous – almost every tourist wants to try its egg tarts. I myself didn't find the tarts particularly interesting and had my delicious dinner at the Timeout food court across Cais do Sodré, followed by a port wine.
 |
| Sé, Lisbon |
September 10, 2015
Lagos
The Algarve area in southern Portugal is a popular tourist destination, for its mild climate, numerous beaches and cliffs. Lagos is probably the best place to base on, due to it's proximity to some famous beaches and cliffs and it's relatively easy to reach. From Lisbon by train, passengers need to make a transfer at Tunes, that is not a very big deal.
Apart from the nearby beaches, a highlight of a trip to Lagos is taking a boat trip to see the rock formations in the surrounding area. A one-hour trip costs 10 euro (the cheapest) and is well worth the price.
A side trip from Lagos is Sagres, one hour by the hourly bus from Lagos. From Sagres, it's a short taxi ride to Cabo de Sao Vicente, the most southwestern point of mainland Europe (15 euro return with 15 minute waiting time, or by bicycle for the 8km journey). The view at Cabo de Sao Vicente is fabulous.
 |
| Boat Tour around Lagos |
September 11, 2015
Seville
A day most on the road, with brief “stopover” in Seville. A 6:30am bus from Lagos to Seville takes about 5.5 hours, with a couple of stops in Algarve and Huelva in Spain. Another bus from Seville to Tarifa departs from another bus station in Seville, giving me a good opportunity to “pass” the city center and have a glimpse at the famous Seville Cathedral and the Alcázar (from outside of course), I even had the opportunity to check out Plaza de España, the largest of its kind in the world.
Arriving in Tarifa around dusk, just in time to catch the 6:00pm ferry to Tangier, Morocco. There are hourly ferries between Tarifa and Tangier and the journey takes about an hour to cross the Strait of Gibraltar.
Tangier is a different world than Europe – a little chaotic but more fun. I walked from the port to Hotel Continental – rooms are a little old but the view from the hotel cafe is great. Since it's impossible to book train and bus tickets outside Morocco, I went to the train station and bus station and bought all my long distance train and bus tickets in Tangier. All my movements in Tangier were by petit taxis, a shared taxi system with each passenger paying his/her own fare – it was quite smooth.
 |
| Plaza de España, Seville |
September 12, 2015
Tangier to Fes
My train to Fes was 10:30am so I had a bit of time walking around the medina. There are not many people on the alleys in the morning and through the help of Google Maps I finally reached the kasbah. The museum was still closed when I was there but the view is good.
The train to Fes was a little bit late and when I arrived in Fes it was almost 4:00pm. Petit taxis outside the train station don't use meters and charge outrageous rates. I walked a little bit further to get a passing-by petit taxi and paid the normal rate by meter. As I had to take an early bus to Marrakesh the next morning, I stayed at a hotel in Ville Nouvelle. There is bus 29 nearby going directly to the medina and costing only 3.5 dirham. I decided to take it and it turned out to be the only time for me to take a bus in Morocco.
The main medina in Fes – Fes El Bali – is huge. As expected, a boy approached me to direct me. Knowing my capabilities, I didn't reject. The alleys in the medina are quite narrow and complicated and it's almost impossible to navigate without a “guide”. I asked the boy to take me to Chouara Tanneries. When we arrived there he introduced a man to take me inside. The man actually showed me everything in the tanneries and I did have a chance to look at the facilities from different angles. There is also a good view of the medina from the rooftop of the house. In the end I paid the guy 40 dirham (it seems he had to pay another guy 20 dirham somehow). When I got out of the tanneries, The boy's brother joined us. Feeling a little bit thirsty, I asked the boys to take me to a cafe for some mint tea. They did so instantly. The mint tea is actually very bitter and I had to put some sugar (though I normally don't put sugar in tea or coffee). After leaving the cafe, the boys gave me detailed instructions how to get to Bab Boujloud (the Blue Gate) and I gave the boys 10 dirham each - no problem for me at all.
Outsdie the Blue Gate, I took a petit taxi to Borj Nord to have an overview of the medina. As the museum was closed, the view from the outside is not as great as what I expected but still nice.
Another taxi took me to Central Parc in Ville Nouvelle. I had my dinner at the restaurant inside the park. The dish I ordered was a local specialty Tagin (lamb + dates) – super delicious.
 |
| Fes El Bali |
September 13, 2015
Fes to Marrakesh
Another day mostly on the road. Most tourists take the train from Fes to Marrakesh. However, the train takes the western route and passes Rabat and Casablanca. As I was to leave the country from Casablanca the last day, I decided to take the CTM bus using the central route passing Beni-Mellal. Not all the CTM buses use this route so I had to take the early morning one departing at 6:30am. The journey takes nearly 10 hours and there are some mountain views in the first half of the journey.
I've booked Riad Dar Ihssane in advance. The place is a little hard to find in the beginning – it's in a very samll alley and unless some other places there is no big sign from some distance away (only on the little door). However, the inside is a different world – you see a three storey elegant mansion with rooftop and it’s nicely decorated. Owner speaks good English and is very polite. Breakfast in the morning is simple but overall it’s good experience.
Not too much time left for the day and I decided to treat myself with a Moroccan hammam and massage. There are public hammam places which are cheap but there are no lockers. I decided to try a private one for 450 dirham (90 minutes). The package includes shower, scrub, food and body massage. Nothing very special but it was good relaxation.
After the spa experience, I went to Djema'a al-Fna to hunt for something to eat. There are numerous food stalls in the square with mostly local food at very reasonable prices. I tried two things - Tangia (lamb stew, 20 dirham at Stall #4) and Harira (vegetarian soup, 3 dirham).
 |
| Medina in Marrakesh |
September 14, 2015
Marrakesh to Casablanca
Unlike Fes, there are many “sites” inside the medina in Marrakesh, including Saadian Tombs, Bahia Palace, Dar Si Said, Musee de Marrakech, Ali ben Youssef Medersa. Each place charges 10 dirham except for Musee de Marrakech which is 50 dirham but quite worth the price. There are some good Moroccan architectures to be viewed at these places. The only major site outside the medina is Jardin Majorelle. While it's a nice garden to spend some time in, at 70 dirham, it's not very Moroccan and can be optional if time is limited.
A three-hour train took me to Casablanca around dusk. I took the tram to Place Nations Unies and from there stopped a petit taxi to take me to see the magnificent Hassan II Mosque. Due to limited time, I asked the petit taxi driver to take me directly to Gare de Casa Voyageurs after the mosque. He asked 70 dirham and I was totally OK with that. I arrived at the station just in time to catch the hourly airport train (30 minutes), finishing my entire journey of the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco.
 |
| Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca |
Summary
The Iberian Peninsula is definitely an interesting part of Europe to explore. The climate is mild and people are welcoming. Andorra is a little country without much tourists when I visited, which is an advantage to me. The Caldea is a must when you are in the country. There are more tourists in Spain, especially Barcelona where everything is expensive. Portugal seems to be a good balance with some but not overwhelming number of tourists. Morocco is totally a different world than Europe. The medinas are not too much different from other old Arab cities I've visited. However, the medinas in Fes and Marrakesh are huge. Relatively, you feel more relaxed in Fes, as there are numerous touts in Marrakesh.
No comments:
Post a Comment