Port Barrelling

Oporto, Portugal is awash with Port. Here we are trying to sample directly from the barrel at "Taylors" winery. Oporto has many good port making wineries located on the river opposite the old city.

Port itself is an English idea brought to Oporto in 1715 and perfected by the locals and traded ever since. Port is made from local red grape varieties that Australia does not produce.

Oporto itself (pop 300,00) is a very old city, classic but VERY run-down and is built on a two very steep slopes coming down to a river - Paul and I have named it the "El Fiord Town" because it is so steep.

Ole!

Russell Crowe... stand aside!!!

Bull fighting is the 21st Century substitute for Gladiators!!! Instead of Christians, Bulls!!! In two hours Paul and I saw three twenty something Toriadors kill six bulls!!!

The Ventas stadium (capacity 23,000) in Madrid is the number one place to see bull fights. Any Toriador that makes it here becomes an instant celebrity. It might as well be a Colleseum.

Of the six bulls, we must say that two won! One guy received a gash to the shin and another to the derriere. The Spaniards just love it and yes, approx 40% of the crowd is women!

Wait till you see the movie footage!!!

Ole!!!

How Can An 82 Year Old Build This?

Justo Gallego

This is Justo Gallego. He is 82 years old. He is building a Catholic Church in a little town Megorada Del Compo, 40 km outside Madrid, in 36 degree heat.

He is building this church by himself.

He is using leftover and donated materials from nearby industrial estates, including concrete, wire, tiles etc. He is not an architect, or a builder, or an engineer. Just a simple man who says that he is doing it "from the heart to thank God for a full and good life". We found out about Justo from the Spanish guys we met in Madrid (refer post "In The Cool Of The Night).

When we visted there was a journalist from Holland who has done a story on him and now the Vatican is aware of what he is doing. Several architects and engineers have visited the site and are dumbfounded and impressed. The structure shows architectural flare and is structurally sound. How is he doing this?

Look at the next post to see his progress. This is an incredible story!

Holy Toledo

Toledo is the Spanish equivalent of Jerusalem. In the 13th century it was occupied by Jews, Muslems and Christians. It contains two old Synagogues and a huge Catholic Cathedral.

Toledo is also the home of "El Greco" or Dimenikos Theotokopoulos, the famous 16th Century artist born in Crete in 1519. We visited his home which is now a musuem displaying 18 originals.

In The Cool Of The Night

After a 36 degree day, we look forward to the cool of the Madrid nights and a refreshing Sangria or two in the myriad of corner restaurants and bars throughout the city.

In this photo, we met the Spanish guys next to us and the guy in white next to Paul just happened to have visted Sydney!!! Their summary of Spanish youth sounds the same as Greece - low wages, not enough jobs for educated people, very expensive housing, people staying at home, marrying late and the list goes on...

On our second Madrid day we visited the ultra modern "Reina Sofia" musuem of modern art which was a disappointment - only four Picasso´s but lots of Dali almost made up for it. We also strolled through the central park, complete with mini-lake and boats - the closest thing to a beach that the poor heat-stricken Madrilenos have!

We have travelled 3,071km to this point since our car pick up in Paris.

Madrilenos

The first thing you notice about Madrid is PEOPLE. Yes, everywhere! The impression you get is that there are five million people living in a city that was only designed for two million. Madrid is classic in every sense. A collision of rennaisance, baroque and even gothic rising above a literal "sea of humanity". Pictured is the Palace Real De Madrid which was built by the first King Carlos and only used by the current King "on special occasions"! Combined with 33 degree heat and five cars for every person and this city takes a lot of energy to visit.

The Prado Museum (we visited free on Sunday) lives up to its reputation - hundreds of 15-18th century paintings from the masters over three floors, the size of Westfields! Goya is especially prominent.

The night life is equally as impressive - the air swells with the smell of food (no vegies in sight) , wherever there is a spare space there is a restaurant or bar! "Madrilenos" refers to the young revellers who celebrated the release from totalitarian Franco in 1975.

Anyone For Some Water?

This is the impressive Roman aquaduct built in Segovia (80km from Madrid) in 50BC. It is approx 800m long and could transport 30 litres of water per second!

Segovia is in the middle of a barren dry plain, originally a fortified city with an "Alcazar" of castle and a huge Gothic cathedral.

Googleheim

This is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. There is a Guggenheim in New York, Berlin, Venis and believe it or not, Las Vegas!!!

This is a spectacular building. Constructed of Limestone, Glass, Steel and Titanium! Yes, the entire outside consists of 0.5mm thick panels of aircraft grade titanium which explains why the musuem in Bilbao cost $USD100m to build back in the early nineties. Note the spider next to Paul´s head - this is the entry to the museum, courtesy of Stephen King´s "IT".

Inside are several cavernous rooms, most with permanent exhibitions, like the plate steel labyrinth, the stock market style vertical LED ticker tapes and even one outside comprising fountains, lights and fireworks!

On this occasion, the visiting exhibition was from Russia featuring many icons and master artworks from the Tsar and communist periods.

Tapas

Here we are at our first Tapas Bar in San Sebastian, Spain. Yes. We can confirm that San Sebastian has the most number of bars per square metre in the world!!! We will reveal how we know when we get back!

The Tapas here are all bread based, ie, there are a variety of meats, egg, cheese, fish (but no vegies) served on small slices of bread or rolls. They are extremely filling and help to absorb the 500mL beers or nasty Spumante-style whites that accompany them. They are also very cheap!

Ola From the Top Of Spanish San Sebastian

Here is the Spanish version of Biarritz - San Sebastian and boy is it better!!! It is just over the Spanish border, some 40km west of Biarritz.

As you can see, glorious views, tourquoise waters and very reminiscent of South American cities.

This is a town for strolling and swimming! All the locals, young and old are out walking the huge beach promenade in the afternoon and immaculately dressed.

This town claims that it has more (tapas) bars per square meter - we are keen to confirm this!

Bathing in Biarritz

Biarritz is close to the border of France and Spain and is the "other, non Riviera" summer playground of the French rich and famous.

It is full of summer apartments and the water looks good. They have four different types of flags on their beaches - so confusing - as if surfers need to know where to surf!!!

Farewell France!!!

The man in the photo calls himself "Jean Le Blanc" (ie, John with White Hair!). He runs an award winning winery in Bordeaux (the last we visited) and is A SELF CONFESSED EUROVISION FAN - he asked us about it unprompted!

Jean was appalled with Finland, loved Anna Vissi and felt that France will never win with their slow songs!

Paul and John watched Eurovision live on their huge 12 inch hotel TV in Amboise. No Terry Wogan - instead two French commentators with verbal diarrohea, talking non-stop over one another and the Greek hosts - will you shut up!!!

Paul and John voted for Greece three times which resulted in France giving Greece cinq pointes!

Why did Greece give Finland douze pointes??? No one is taking Eurovision seriously anymore! Greece put on a great show but most entrants deserved to be fried in olive oil and fed to the cat!

This is our last day in France before we return again from Spain and our summary is as follows: if you make an effort to talk French and show politeness they are very warm and friendly! High points: baguettes and croissant, very organised around the tourist, excellent roads, countryside is lush and green, sunset at 10pm, many organic full colour vegies (but strangely not many restaurant meals serve them!). Low points: they laugh at our shorts, road signs point in strange directions and smoking everywhere (even on their bicycles!).

Thank you for your blog comments so far - keep them coming and remember to sign your name - no guts, no glory!!!

See you in Spain!!!

One Big Sea Of Vines

The Bordeaux wine growing area consists of five regions or "Appellations" and 90% of the wine produced is consumed by France, making it commercially very important and the largest volume producer.

Paul and John visited six wineries across four appellations, bringing the grand total wineries visited to 17 - Paul booked John into a Spanish Hospital for a liver transplant! Each appellation has its own soils, weather, wine making methods and certification. The predominant grape varieties are Cabernet Savignon, Merlot for reds and Semillon and Savignon Blanc for whites - mainly Botrytis affected Sauternes. The French talk more about appellation than grape variety (most bottles do not even mention the grapes).

What we noticed about Bordeaux was the "sea of grapes" - as far as the eye could see and every available spot had a vine, even the petrol station´s median strip!!!

Beautiful Bordeaux

This is the city of Bordeaux on the river D'Or. It is a beautiful, classic city reminding you of a mix of London, Budapest and Paris.

The tower in the background is the 114m bellfree of St Michel which unfortunately was closed for repairs.

We are now off to tour the Bordeaux wine regions! Aurevoir!

Cognac Distillery For Sale

This nice lady tried to sell us her Cognac distillery maker. They actually cost over several hundred thousand dollars. Most small makers only have one and it takes them several generations to pay it off - this lady is still paying off this one.

The distillery is made of copper (best conductor of heat without oxidising) and takes about 12 hrs to produce one litre of 70% proof "eau de vie" from 90 litres of grape juice.

After haggling we settled for a sip of "eau de vie" which was like drinking flowers and fire together!!!

Water Of Life

The tour of Hennessy in Cognac was tres formidable. Hennessy is owned by the Louis Voutton Group but was started by Richard Hennessy, an Irishman from Cork back in 1765. It has 250,000 (270 litre) barrells aging away in 42 sheds at any one time. Cognac is distilled from the Ugne Blanc grape to produce "Eau De Vie" or the "water of life" which is a fragrant clear liquid of 70% alcohol. The cellar master then blends from 3,000 Eau De Vie's, all of which he tastes once a year - John applied for this job!

Here we are at the end of the tour, deciding who will fork out 3,500 euro for 700mL of Hennessy's best cognqc (centre of picture). In the end John decided to go for the 15 euro "nip" of the Hennessy family's 100 year anniversary special reserve.

The town of and region of Cognac is the only area permitted to produce Cognac in the world.

Patron Saint of France

This is the church and crypt of St Martin in Tours which was visited by us and Pope John Paul II in 1996.

Tours, a city of 290,000 gets its name from the many "tours" or medieval towers that are scattered throughout the city.

We also visited St Gatien, first bult in the 4th Century and the railway station or "Gare" also dates back to the 16th Century.

Celebrating Our Successful Bid in Chinnon!

Here are the proud new owners of Tin Tin's castle!

Seriously, the town of Chinnon near Tours and all the castles is a great little medieval town to relax in with a Greek-style "platia". It is also the place where Joan De Arc was put on trial.

Another Chateux In The Window!!!

Here we are at Chenonceau, the Castle owned by women! Katherine Briconnet built it in over water in the 16th Century, Diane De Poiter used it for her secret affairs with King Henri II and Catherine De Medici took it back to raise her ugly children!

It is still privately owned by Athena Onassis - only joking! It is privately owned.

Paul thought this was the gardener's shed thinking the castle was further on - talk about big expectations! Isn't this big enough for you?

How Much For This Little Hunting Lodge?

This is the largest Chateaux in France - Chambord, 156m long, 56m high with 426 rooms.

Francois I started building it in 1519 at the age of 25 and never saw it completed when he died in 1547. He built it as a hunting lodge and stayed there only 72 days in his 32 year reign - "let them eat cake"!

Paul and I put in a bid for quatre vingt quatre dix-neuf!!!

How Much For That Chateux Over There?

Welcome to the land of castles and a new wardrobe near Tours in France.

The picture shows the Chateaux at Cheverny, which inspired Herge to create Captain Haddock's "Marlinspike Hall" in the comic book "Tin Tin". It was built in the 5th Century by Hurault Family who were financiers to 5 French kings - the descendants still own it!

Da Vinci Code

Here lies the original and the best "Leonardo Da Vinci" who died in Amboise on 2 May 1519. He is buried inside a small chapel in the town castle.

Amboise is a classic medieval town at the gateway to the huge and famous chateaus that we shall bring to you next.

Right now we are off to watch EUROVISION 2006 Live!!!

Wine Wonderland - Loire Style

The Loire Valley wineries have been nothing short of spectacular. We have visited 6 of 1,536 in the region. The Loire comprises six large regions (eg: one would be like the Hunter) and mainly specialises in Muscadet and Chinon (white) and Gamay and Cabernet Franc (red). The best way to describe our wine tasting experience is "up close and personal". We are so surprised. The locals take us into their cellars and vineyard and describe to us in detail their operations with pride and passion. The lady in the photo is called Marianette, 62 and grows wine!!! She took us into her vineyard and showed us her grapes (watch out for the movie!!!). Another couple called out their daughter to translate and poured tastings directly from their stainless steel vats. They also took us underground to show us their crushing machine, 70,000 bottles under method champagnioise and the bottling line. These are NOT tours - they did this on-the-spot. The French have been warm and friendly - we get the impression that they appreciate our efforts to speak a few French words. We have been staying in small wine towns along the way complete with Chateauxs, day markets (where we buy our baguettes, fromage) and old French men sporting oval caps with buttons on top. Tres Formidable!!!

19th Century QVB

Nantes has a 19th Century version of the QVB - as you can see in this photo. There is an interesting walking tour that takes you through old and new: a 14th century Romanesque church next to drab looking office buildings.

We are devouring baguettes with every conceivable filling - today we feasted on smoked salmon, egg and salad. We are also crazy about "Cafe Au Lait" and "Cafe Creme" - they are the same thing, only 12 heures apart!

Nantes has a population of 290,000 and is the gateway to the wineries of the Loire Valley.

Rennaissance Rennes

Rennes is a potpourri of Rennaissance Architecture mixed in with a vibrant university crowd. The photo showcases the largest of the Rennaissance buildings - the local post office!!!

Hidden away are quite a few wooden cross hatched "Burgher" style houses with cobblestone streets and lots of public squares.

Money St Michel

We were lucky to take this picture without losing our car and our money. This place is awesome but a tourist trap.

Mont St Michel is a self-contained island rock complete with town and abbey. A single strip of land with road connects it with the rest of the world. The car park is only useable at low tide, otherwise your car turns into a submarine!

Meanwhile on the island you pay for everything - even a piss - there is a ticket office at the dunnies and you pay 50 cents a shot!

D-Day

Today was devoted to visiting living history - all the sombre locations of Normandy where the allied forces landed on 6 June 1944 to liberate France.

We are standing on Omaha Beach where the bulk of troops landed and Spielberg filmed the opening scene of Private Ryan. We also visited the American War Cemetery where some 9600 are buried (another 1,500 are lost on the beach). This represents only 40% of those that died. We also visited the Commonwealth Cemetery where 4,000 mainly British troops are buried (including 17 Australians). The German War Cemetery was the sadest with 21,000 buried - that cemetery is managed by donations and is very stark compared to the American Cemetery.

Paul & John, The Conquerors

This is our palace! We conquered Caen in a couple of hours - the place further east from Rouen where William The Conqueror lived and died. The church in the picture contains his tomb with only his right femur!!!

Caen centres around William whose church and fortress were built by him in the 1060's.

Caen is also close to the place where the allied forces landed in 1944 to liberate France - we are visiting this place tomorrow - so stay tuned!

Rouen D' Arc

Rouen in Northern France is where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431. The cross in this picture marks this spot. To make matters worse for Joan, her ashes and unburnt heart were thrown in the river Seine by the English clergy who executed her.

Narrow cobbled streets and tudor style houses characterise the old town. A 151m tall spire (the tallest in France) rises from the huge Gothic cathedral.

Every second shop in Rouen is a bakery - the bread is unreal! There is even one called "Paul" and everything in it has his name on it! We confused the lady serving us when we asked for three "crusty Paul's" covered in poppy seeds!

Je m'appelle Jean Cluny!!!

What is that thing in the background? Je ne sais pas!

Our French has blossomed. All John had to do to get a ticket on the metro was to raise his index finger. Paul on the other hand chatted up the locals with his flamboyant Galic accent and when they responded to us with 500 words per second, Paul ran away and left me holding the baby!

After picking up our brand new Citroen C3 we headed straight to the Marais district to see the Place Des Vosges (where Victor Hugo lived), then on to the Jewish area. We then consumed the Notre Dame, feasted on the Sorbonne, had the Pantheon for desert and burbed out the Latin Quarter! The afternoon snack comprised the Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triumph, a 10AUD coffee EACH on the Champs Elysee and finished with the Place De La Concorde.

Bahrain on 7AUD

Bahrain is definately not for the faint-hearted. It is 123C in the shade, has no public transport, no pedestrian crossings or footpaths but lots of big buildings under construction, blokes walking around wearing white sheets and women dressed in black.

The good news was that Gulf Air provided downtown free accommodation, meals and transport because our flight to Paris left 17 hrs later. But that didn't stop us from touring the whole city for the equivalent of 7AUD!

Some interesting facts: Bahrain is an island of 700,000 people, the size of Singapore and was the first Arab country to strike oil, back in 1932. Before this it was famous for pearling. Alexander The Great sent sea-bound scouts there around 320BC and the Dimun (Sumarian) civilisation first lived there in 2,800BC.

Blast Off With Gulf Air

At approx 10pm on Sat 13MAY, our Gulf Air A340 lifted off with a bunch of Greeks, Arabs and air hostesses dressed like I Dream of Jeannie bound for Bahrain via Singapore. Meals were ordinary and we were limited to only one wine or beer per person at any one time - it took hours to get pissed!!!

After an hour in Singapore, surfing the net for free, we climbed back on board and in another 7.5 hours we touched down in the Kingdom, of Bahrain at 8:25am.

Europe 2006 Briefing - Final Countdown

With only a few days left before boarding Gulf Air destined for Europe, the ex-KONE IT department got together for one last final briefing session - the updated itinerary was distributed & discussed while we had dinner at the Perama Greek Restaurant (Petersham). The Greek cuisine was simply superb!

Europe 2006 Briefing - KONE

The KONE gang got together with Paul on Thursday 4th May to celebrate his departure from KONE (after 10 years) and also to learn more about the impending mid-life crisis (aka Euro-Trash) tour of Europe. We feasted on Newtown's best Thai food (Thai Pothong) as the tour details were discussed. A great evening was had by all.

Europe 2006 Briefing - Post Recovery

After the intensive briefing, some of the dinner attendees decided to pause for some much needed coffee in the back-streets of Sydney.

Europe 2006 Briefing

John showcased the tour routes and statistics during the Farewell dinner. In addition, detailed intineraries were circulated during the dinner to help our friends fully understand the magnitude of this Euro-Trash quest.

Thank you to all our friends for your company, we will certainly miss everyone and look forward to keeping you up-to-date over the next 4 months.

Euro-Trash Farewell - Saturday 6th May 2006

Tonight we get together with our friends to celebrate all that is wholesome and good with Euro-Trash in preparation for our departure next week (13th May 2006).

Along with great food, we will be listening to the best of Eurovision from years 2003/2004/2005 as well as those legends of trash "Modern Talking".

Stay tuned for further updates.

Cheers,

Paul