Travel
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Sightseeing in Barcelona
After breakfast we returned to Placa d’Espanya where we had seen the Font Magica light and sound show. It all looked very different during the day but nonetheless beautiful. Our next stop was along to the seafront and a walk from Port Vell, home of the large marina to Plaza Portal de La Pau…
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Montjuic Castle and La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
Our first stop of the morning was to the Montjuic Castle ‘Castell de Montjuic’, set atop Barcelona’s highest point at 173 metres. To get there we took the Green Line metro to Parallel and then transferred to the Montjuic funicular tram. It’s then either a steep, 15 minute climb through the gardens to the castle…
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A weekend in Lisbon – Day 1
We had been staying overnight at Canada Water in London’s docklands and needed to be up at 3.00 am to catch a night bus to Liverpool Streer for the Terravision express coach out to Stansted Airport. Our Ryanair flight to Lisbon was one of the first flights to depart, and after boarding, we were soon…
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Visiting Sintra from Lisbon
Breakfast at the Hotel Jorge V was relaxed, with the usual assortment of hot and cold dishes on offer. Our plan for the day was to visit the UNESCO World Heritage town of Sintra a short 30 minute rail journey from Lisbon. Sintra’s old town was a 20 minute walk from the station, the walk providing…
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Visiting Cascais and Estoril from Lisbon
The train to Cascais departs from Lisbon’s other station, ‘Cais da Sotre’. The line runs along the coast so be sure to sit on the left hand side to take in the sea views on the 35 minute journey. We loved Cascais, it’s a compact town with a pretty working harbour. We watched fishermen landing…
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Belem and Estrella, Lisbon
After breakfast we checked out of our room and left our luggage to collect later in the day. Then it was off to explore the district of Belem, catching a tram from the Praco de Commercial. Belem is dominated by its long suspension bridge ‘April 25th’spanning the river Tejo and by its ornate tower, ‘Torres…
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A spring break in Andalucia
Our Ryanair flight to Malaga departed on time at 08.45. It was the first time we had flown Ryanair since free seat allocations had been introduced. It was a big improvement avoiding standing and queueing ages to be able to sit together. We were also fortunate to have an empty seat next to us on…
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A day in Marbella
For breakfast we headed to a nearby bar which had cured hams hanging from the ceiling. We feasted on freshly baked croissants and frothy coffee before taking the 10.00 am bus along the coast to Marbella. Travelling by bus was the only option as there are no train lines on this section of coastline. The bus…
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By train to the Ronda Gorge
Our morning began with an early morning stroll around Malaga’s indoor fruit, vegetable, meat and fish market before taking the 10.00 am Renfe Media Distance (MD) train to Ronda. Our train was very comfortable with air conditioning and it was a relaxing journey over to Ronda. The main reason for our visit was to see the…
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Seville and the Semana Santa Festival
After breakfast we checked out of our accommodation in Malaga and on the way to the railway station, stopped to take a look in the Malaga indoor market. Here one can buy fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish and it was busy with locals buying their fresh produce. Our train to Seville departed at 10.10…
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Sightseeing in Seville
We spent the entire day exploring the beautiful city of Seville. We walked everywhere, and along the riverbank to the Torre del Oro (The Golden Tower). Seville owed much of its success in maritime trade to its river which offered ships more protection than a traditional European port. Built in the 1200’s the tower’s name…
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A Day in Cadiz
This morning we boarded a train bound for Cadiz. Trains depart from Seville’s other station, St. Bernardo and the journey takes two hours. Cadiz is the most westerly part of Spain, situated on the Atlantic Ocean. In need of a coffee fix, we found some inviting cafes in the main square overlooking the 18th century baroque…
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Sightseeing in Cordoba
It was off to Seville’s main rail station, Santa Justa for the 1 hour 20 minute journey to Córdoba. It was a cool, overcast day, the temperature feeling much lower than in Seville. Cordoba was founded by the Romans and it became a major port city used for shipping olive oil, wine and wheat to…
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Seville and its Semana Santa festival
We allowed ourselves a little lie in and it was just after 9.00 am when we were eating breakfast. The day’s plan was to explore Santa Cruz, the former Jewish quarter of the medieval city. This district contains many of the older churches as well as the massive gothic cathedral. It was crowded along the…
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From Seville to Malaga
We checked out of our lovely Seville apartment mid morning, and walked along to the Santa Justa station for our train back to Malaga. It was good to be able to spend a few more hours in Malaga, as it’s such an underrated city with most tourists heading off directly from the airport to Marbella…
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Qatar Airways flight to Kuala Lumpur via Doha
Awakening with nervous excitement as our latest travel adventure was about to take place, luggage in the car and driven to Manchester Airport in good time for checking in at the Qatar Airways desk for our flight to Kuala Lumpur via Doha. Boarding cards at the ready, there was plenty of time for a cappuccino…
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The Berjaya Times Square Hotel and Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur
Immigration and Baggage Reclaim were both quick and we were soon following signs to the KLIA Express. Single tickets cost RM35 each and the journey time to KL Sentral is 33 minutes. We obtained some Ringitts from an ATM in the station before buying two ‘KL Rapid Touch ‘N Go cards’ (similar to the UK…
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Merdeka Square and Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur
We woke early (6.00 am) due to jet lag so we were eating breakfast in the hotel’s Apple restaurant bright and early. The restaurant was on the 14th floor and sitting at a window table we had good city views. There was pretty much everything on offer for breakfast, catering for all tastes. The waiters…
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Petronas Towers and Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur
At 2.00 pm we set off again, this time to KLCC Park from where we took photos of the famous Petronas Towers. Although there was still haze overhead, the tops of the towers were visible. Around the far side of the complex lies a small park with fountains and a shallow lake which seemed popular with…
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Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur
Breakfast at the Berjaya was again enjoyable, lingering over our complimentary newspaper and several cups of coffee. We needed to get going, so we took the monorail to KL Sentral followed by a Kommuter train out to Batu Caves which lies 8 miles north of Kuala Lumpur. Batu Caves is one of the most holy Hindu…
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The Forest Research Institute of Malaysia and the Petronas Towers at night
It was harder to wake but we still made it down to breakfast by 8.00 am. The air pollution index (API) had now risen to 191 (100-200 being unhealthy) and it was now difficult to make out the outlines of the Petronas Towers and other landmarks due to the haze caused by illegal forest fires…
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Putrajaya, the Mitsui Outlet Park and Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur
After a leisurely breakfast in the hotel’s Green Apple restaurant we took a train to Putrajaya which is the administrative capital of Malaysia and a planned city. The railway station is too far from the centre to walk so we waited a short time for a bus to the main square. The bus fare…
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A Day in Malacca from Kuala Lumpur
It was an earlier start for us as we had booked a coach tour to Malacca. After breakfast we were picked up from our hotel by minibus and taken to KLCC where we transferred to a full size coach. There were only 10 of us on the trip to Malacca, 4 Australians, 2 Taiwanese, 2…
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Perdana Gardens and the Petronas Towers
First on our ‘to do’ list after breakfast was a visit to the Perdana Botanical Gardens, also known as Tun Abdul Razak Heritage Park. It’s a large area of parkland with several museums and the National Mosque within its grounds. The first building we came across was the Royal Police Museum, we hadn’t planned on visiting…
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