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Last of Barcelona before meeting in Malta

I was given a new room overlooking Placa Catalunya yesterday so it was a nice view to wake up late to 🙂 With a night flight to Malta, I had time to kill before going to the airport.  I thought I’d make the most of my stay by visiting Gaudi’s Park Guell (pronounce Park Way).  […]

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Gaudi’s Barcelona

I had the Gaudi free walking tour booked for 1100 which gave me enough time for some exploration beforehand.  First up was Basilica Santa Maria del Mar which was stunning with its very leaping Gothic architecture despite being very stark (not ornate). Text continues after this gallery.     As the market was closed during […]

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Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter

Having purchased a 48 hour metro/bus pass, I needed to go to the station to redeem it. I went bright and early to find hot air coming out from the underground station’s opening. I thought the ground and also stone buildings keep things cool (like cellars), but there must be a limit to this. Perhaps […]

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Back on the mainland

I had set the alarm for 0645.  After a quick wash I left the hotel.  It was cloudy.  The north side of Gran Canaria is often cloudy, windy and a bit cooler than the south.  But it’s not all bad as it does make a pleasant change in summer. There was a short wait for […]

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Visit to the centre of the island

I had looked into doing a trip to Tejeda in the central highlands of the island.  It proved too difficult by bus from Playa del Ingles and it was only marginally easier from Las Palmas.  Apart from the long travel time (about 2h), frequences were limited. After breakfast on the roof at 0900 (when it […]

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Changing sides

Yesterday was a non-event day by the pool of another hotel which I had paid to go to.  I had skipped lunch but treated myself to a chop-suey at a Chinese resto.  But today would be a day on the move.  Firstly changing to the other side of Gran Canaria followed by going to an […]

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Beach day

I woke around 0630 and was planning my stay by 0700.  Ii worked through options for doing excursions by bus to see if it was feasible, otherwise I’d look at renting a car.  I had hoped to make a trip to the centre of the island, Tejeda.  This proved too difficult with infrequent buses. Stuffing […]

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Island time

I had trouble getting to sleep last night. With only some natural light and a one hour time change to the east, I woke up relatively late around 0800. I wasn’t hungry and delayed breakfast till around 1000 popping down to Pans & Company for a sandwich and coffee. Check-out for Hotel Pelayo was 1100 […]

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Morning of sightseeing in Lisbon

Exploring Lisbon I was up and out the door at 0730 for a wander down to Praca Comercio and the surrounding district inland, doing a loop taking in large city block and a few squares. It was an ugly start from my area and the bar patrons had littered the street with lots of plastic […]

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Overnight connection

Above: Street scene in Algiers before I fly out to Lisbon.   Making the most of my Algiers stay After an early breakfast I wanted to make the most of my short stay in Algiers and go to the casbah again. I took the metro as far as I could. I forgot that there was only […]

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