On to Spain, France, Italy

By: KAITLIN AND THOMAS GERTZ - For the North County Times
Editor's Note: Kaitlin and Thomas Gertz of San Diego are on a 16-month around-the-world trip in which they plan to visit 50 countries. They are sharing the experience with North County Times readers every month. Visit their stories online at http://www.nctimes.com/travel/. | Sunday, November 25, 2007 2:49 PM PST ∞

Madrid, Spain: Days 121-125

We woke up in Spain with a start! Our train had come to a dead stop and we were already past our 10 a.m. arrival time. All we saw was barren desert with no hills, let alone the snow-capped mountains that we had become so accustomed to in the Alps. The 12-hour sleeper train had been extended by a four-hour delay as we found out that our train had hit and killed someone. We groggily awakened and stumbled to our first bottomless toilet, meaning that there was nothing between us and the tracks. When we reached Barcelona, we had to wait several hours for the next train before finally reaching Madrid 24 hours after leaving Switzerland. Ý

In Madrid, we were greeted by an exceedingly friendly hostess who talked our ears off in Spanish for at least 30 minutes. We went to the Prado, one of the biggest museums in Europe. After seeing many of the world's best museums, we now focus on the unique artists or genres at each museum, such as Spanish works by Goya, Velasquez and El Greco at the Prado. We then went to the extensive Parque del Buen Retiro, where we found some great street performers and even a large drum circle. Spain felt just like home with its good weather, familiar language, informal atmosphere and reasonably priced goods.

Madrid's streets and restaurants were consistently packed with boisterous people until the wee hours. One night we had tapas, where we chose several items from a menu of about 300. Another night we went to a place called the Museum of Jamon, where we were surprised to find large raw ham carcasses hanging drying on the walls. Since we are not exactly early risers, we quickly adapted to the Spanish lifestyle and we soon found ourselves not being able to fall asleep before 4 a.m. and rarely rising before noon. Ý

Spain has a long tradition of bullfights, and we made the trek out to the arena and found a crowd of almost all locals. The spectacle as a whole was very gruesome and almost painful to watch. Perhaps the biggest surprise was that a few of the bulls actually did some damage to the matadors, knocking one man off his horse and spearing another man in the thigh. Overall, we found the bullfight to be a good one-time experience, though we didn't understand its full context in Spain's history.

Southern Spain: Days 126-130ÝÝ

We spent our first day in Cordoba checking out the mosque of La Mezquita, the first example of Middle Eastern and Islamic architecture that we have seen. Cordoba was also notable for narrow, winding streets and alleys with ancient mud brick walls that were easy to get lost in.Ý

Although Spain is a relatively inexpensive country compared with most of Europe, we found ourselves unconsciously spending the same amount as we had in other countries. We realized the importance of establishing a budget, as it is always easy to find ways to spend more. The truth is that after a while, a nice meal isn't even preferable to grabbing something from a local market and making a picnic.Ý

Our next stop was the town of Algeciras, a few miles outside Gibraltar, where we unsuccessfully tried to arrange a boat trip to Morocco based on our guidebook's recommendation. This reminded us to never fully count on a guidebook, as it is just a tool. The next morning we went to Gibraltar and hired a personal guide for a three-hour tour of the "Rock" and the town, which is a self-governing part of the United Kingdom. Our guide told us about the miles of tunnels that have been carved out in one of the world's most strategic strongholds. One of our favorite highlights was a gathering of apes that live on the rock and will eat out of your hand. The bus back to Algeciras was late, so we were forced to grab our luggage and make an all-out sprint to the only train of the day to Granada. Running with 50 pounds on your back is not exactly easy, and the overall transportation commotion over the last couple of days was getting a bit overwhelming. Ý

We had heard many good things about Granada's famous Alhambra, a fortress-palace perched upon a hilltop overlooking the city, which was built by the Moors more than 500 years ago. Viewpoints abounded, but our favorite revealed the Sierra Nevada mountain range on our left, the old cathedrals of the city straight ahead, and one of the original Arab communities nestled into the hillside to our right. We finished the day at the attached Generalife, the sultan's extravagant vacation retreat, which ended up being the perfect place to spend our anniversary. We capped the night with our best Spanish meal yet, delicious paella and sangria.Ý

At the train station the next morning, an ornery attendant greeted us by saying that there was one train to Alicante that day and it was full. He took it upon himself to see to it that we didn't get on board and failed to mention the bus station in town. Hoping that the private bus companies in Spain could actually assist in efficient public transportation, unlike the trains, we arrived at the station only to find everything sold out! We managed to finagle two seats on the last bus of the night and were forced to spend the entire day waiting at the station. The best we can say about the cramped and dirty seven-hour bus ride was that we made it, as the bus driver didn't seem in a hurry ñ--- we arrived two hours late after multiple "smoke breaks," "eating breaks" and "we're Spanish so we'll break whenever we feel like it" breaks.

Spanish East Coast: Day 131-136

Worn out from the transportation debacle, we were excited to awaken the next morning and see that our hotel was right on the ocean. It was our first real beach day of the entire trip and it felt like we were back in San Diego, enjoying a summer day with warm water and soft sand. We mustered up enough energy to go up to Castell de Santa Barbara, which rose above Alicante on a large rock outcropping overlooking the ocean and the entire city.

Our final stop in Spain was Barcelona, where we vowed to relax and never again book so many short stays consecutively. It was a very big city with many layers that we would rate as one of the top cities in Europe to see. We stayed just off the main street, called Las Ramblas, which is a non-stop parade of all types of shops, cafes and street performers.

Seeing countless centuries-old architectural masterpieces throughout Europe had often made us wonder what people would be capable of today. Barcelona stood out as the only city we have seen really making an effort to answer this question, with its present-day artistic passion present in everything from parks to hospitals. Perhaps the most famous work embodying this spirit was Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia, a cathedral that has been under construction for more than 100 years and will be for an additional 30 years. It flawlessly blended old styles with new ideas and boldly integrated nature into the structure. We also examined Gaudi's most renowned residential work, Casa Mila. The exterior and interior were striking, but the rooftop ---- an undulating multistory dream world ---- impressed us the most.Ý

Time in Barcelona can also be spent on its beautiful beaches or watching flamenco music and dancing, which we would highly recommend. We also got a hint about one of the best restaurants in the city, Les Quinze Nits. We waited in a long line to be seated, but were rewarded with a three-course meal for the price of a take-away snack in Scandinavia. Ý

In Spain, the true scope of our journey finally started to dawn on us, as it was now officially the longest that either of us had ever been away from home. In many ways, we hit the "wall" a little. We have now traveled long enough to know that we couldn't do this indefinitely. We miss family, friends and our cat Molly, whom we will all appreciate more when we return. We would also miss the feeling of having a career, any semblance of a routine, and being a part of a culture. So it was particularly good timing on our last night in Spain for us to meet our friends Karie and Scott, who had just moved to Barcelona to realize their dream of living abroad for a year. It was wonderful to see friends and talk about our journey, as sharing memories is what makes the journey worthwhile. Ý

French Riviera: Day 137-141

The next leg of our journey took us to the French Riviera, where the September climate still felt like summer. We started with Kaitlin getting her hair cut by a woman who spoke no English. Then we decided to take a long bike ride, a wonderful way to see the coastline. Our small town of Saint Raphael was hosting a film festival at the time, including many of the winners from the famous Cannes Film Festival, which was held about a half hour away. The British film "Death at a Funeral" caught our interest, and we had a great time watching this hilarious comedy in an intimate setting.Ý

We took a day trip to St. Tropez and were surprised to find a fairly relaxed town instead of the posh area we had expected. A nearby beach soon beckoned with its protected cove. We had heard a lot about the Riviera's topless beaches, but this was our first.

On to Nice, where we found a larger, livelier and rockier beach scene than other smaller towns of the Riviera. We took a short hike to the top of the nearby hilltop Le Chateau, which rewarded us with awesome views of the city and the neon-blue Mediterranean. We also enjoyed the old-town area of Vieux Nice, a wonderful maze of colorful buildings and cute shops.

We then went to Monaco, where clusters of wealthy high-rises clung to the steep hills overlooking an ocean filled with fancy yachts. We briefly stepped inside the ornate Monte Carlo casino and gambled away a few Euros, but the most fascinating part of the casino was the scene right outside, where wealthy locals who felt the need to be gawked at by tourists pulled up in their Lamborghinis and Ferraris. Overall, we preferred the tiny coastal villages along the Riviera to budget-busting Monaco. Like Villefranche-sur-Mer, a town between Nice and Monaco that Kaitlin had discovered many years before. We took the short but amazing train ride down to it in time to catch some late afternoon rays on its beaches. Thomas also started to feel quite sick and came down with a fever, which reminded us of how lucky we have been overall with our health on this trip. Ý

Northern Italy: Day 142-146

We took a slight detour from France to see our friends Lance and Rachael be married in Florence, Italy. The rehearsal dinner was at a vineyard in Tuscany, just 45 minutes outside of Florence. We were greeted with a lesson on how wine and olive oil are made and a tour of the vineyard before being whisked away to a villa that had been around since 1350 for wine tasting.

After making our way through eight bottles of Chianti, the wine of the region, we were escorted to the family's home, where we had a cooking class on how to make spinach and feta cheese ravioli. Our creations were cooked by the mother of the house in addition to several other wonderful courses. The next night, we went to dinner at a wonderful place called Aqua Al 2, which has only two locations in the world ---- Florence, and San Diego! We capped the night with some of the best gelato we've ever had.

The next morning was the ceremony, held in a grand old church that must have housed many weddings over the centuries. It was amusing walking with the newlyweds through the city with them all dressed up, and it was the first and only time we have ever seen people in Italy move out of the way on the busy sidewalks. The reception was held at a restaurant on the edge of the Arno River.

It was hard to leave the comfort of our friends, but we had decided to make a banzai run up to Milan to see a "football" game. We have each been playing soccer for more than 22 years and felt that no trip to Europe would be complete without a raucous game of football. It turned out to be easy to get the reasonably priced tickets.

The game featured the celebrated AC Milan vs. Catania. The famous San Siro stadium with a capacity of more than 100,000 people was probably about 70 percent full for this game, which was a deafening experience. Walking away from the stadium after a 1-1 tie in a crowd of 100 percent locals with fall in the air, we realized how similar Sundays around the world really are.

For more photos, visit the Gertzes' Web site: www.mytripjournal.com/gertzaroundtheworld.Ý

Hints

Best Place to Stay:

- Katti House, Florence ---- Filled with 400 year old antiques and a wonderful Italian couple running it, it is a treasure in Florence. Just a few blocks from the train station and in the center of everything.

#055 21 34 10

V Faenza 21 and 24

www.kattihouse.com/

Best Food:

- Aqua Al 2, Florence ---- Amazing traditional Italian food for good prices ---ñ specialties include blueberry steak and a variety of other steaks with unique flavors. The only other location is in downtown San Diego, which serves the same food cooked by some of the original cooks.

#055 28 41 70

V. Vigna Vecchia 40R

www.acquaal2.it/

OR 322 5th Avenue in the Gaslamp district, San Diego

www.acquaal2.com/

- Les Quinze Nits, Barcelona ---- Amazing Spanish fare for rock-bottom prices in a white linen setting. Be ready for some lines, but it is well worth the wait for your stomach and your pocketbook.

#933 17 30 75

Pl. Reial 6 ---- right in the heart of the Barri Gotic

www.lesquinzenits.com/

Most Unique Opportunities:

- Bullfight, Madrid ---- At the Plaza de las Ventas you will find the biggest bullfighting ring in Spain.Ý For as little as two Euros, get yourself a seat in front of the action but be ready for a bit of gore.

www.las-ventas.com

#91 356 2200

C. de Alcala 237

- Soccer game, Milan ---- Go to see the famous AC Milan take on another Italian futbol team. Get your tickets in advance from ticketone website for very popular games or just go to the stadium and buy them there. Take the metro MM1 to Molina Dorino exit.

www.ticketone.it

#02 39 22 61

San Siro Stadium, Milan

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