From Deiva Marina we travelled south by train to Florence with a quick stop in the town of Pisa. Famous for it's leaning tower and not much else, this one-trick-pony town provides not much more than one hour of interest to the average tourist. Having been there before, this was one hour too long for me, but we stayed long enough for Sam and Cade to get token photos holding up the tower and continued on our way.
Our first day in Florence entailed wandering the streets of the old town to see the famous Cathedral and Duomo, browsing the nearby markets and walking the banks of the river. One of the more interesting sights of the day was the line to see Michaelangelos David which stretched half way around the Piazza. Needless to say we gave it a miss - 3-hour line in Florences midday heat isn't fun.
In a search for a more typical Tuscan experience, our second day consisted of a two part day trip to the nearby countryside.
First stop was the town of Sienna, probably more famous for the opening scene of James Bond's 'Quantum of Solace' in the Plaza de Campo. Daniel Craig was nowhere to be seen, but they were setting up for the annual horse race the following week.
Next we ventured 1.5 hours north to the small town of San Gimignano - a walled Tuscan city with amazing views of the adjacent countryside. It took a while but our final roll of the dice yielded the Tuscan experience we were looking for. In true Italian style we finished the day with lasagne on the town steps.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Cinque Terre, Italy
- Three trains later and we lande in our fourth country in three days - Italy! We were working our way down the west coast via the Cinque Terre region which was extremely popular with Europeans during July and August. Due to this popularity, we had to stay at a campsite in Deiva Marina - a 20 minute train from the five towns.
- We arrived late on the first day but managed to plan verything for our day trip the following morning. As it turns out the day trip was only a half-day trip which gave us he opportunity to check out the Deiva Marina beach in the afternoon.
- We took a train from Deiva Marina down to Riomaggio (sic?), and then took the ferry north to each of the towns back to Deiva Marina. The towns all had a very quintessential 'Italian vibe' (if there is such a thing) and the myriad of paint colours on the buildings against the sea was quite a sight. Although each town was different in it's own right, each essentially operated in the same capacity - a main street with small pizzerias, jewlery stores etc and a lookout vantage point looking over the town back towards the sea.
- We arrived late on the first day but managed to plan verything for our day trip the following morning. As it turns out the day trip was only a half-day trip which gave us he opportunity to check out the Deiva Marina beach in the afternoon.
- We took a train from Deiva Marina down to Riomaggio (sic?), and then took the ferry north to each of the towns back to Deiva Marina. The towns all had a very quintessential 'Italian vibe' (if there is such a thing) and the myriad of paint colours on the buildings against the sea was quite a sight. Although each town was different in it's own right, each essentially operated in the same capacity - a main street with small pizzerias, jewlery stores etc and a lookout vantage point looking over the town back towards the sea.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Nice, France
- Despite departing 2-hours late, our bus to Nice arrived on time due to the drivers only taking 1 break for the duration. Make no mistake - this bus ride was terrible. We all felt like we were about to die upon arrival.
- After some food, we made the executive decision to get the train over to Monaco - home of the rich, famous and other people that can afford a €1-million application fee. Nice cars and generally over-the-top was the order of the day, especially up near the Grand Casino. Before departing back to Nice, we took a quick walk around Formula 1's most famous street circuit.
- After a sleep in the next morning, we ventured into the old town to see what was on offer, and then onto Nice's famous pebbled beach.
- That evening we walked along the water front promenade and saw all the acts for the nights 'Prom Party' warming up, including a rather peculiar banana race.
- After some food, we made the executive decision to get the train over to Monaco - home of the rich, famous and other people that can afford a €1-million application fee. Nice cars and generally over-the-top was the order of the day, especially up near the Grand Casino. Before departing back to Nice, we took a quick walk around Formula 1's most famous street circuit.
- After a sleep in the next morning, we ventured into the old town to see what was on offer, and then onto Nice's famous pebbled beach.
- That evening we walked along the water front promenade and saw all the acts for the nights 'Prom Party' warming up, including a rather peculiar banana race.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Barcelona, Spain
- The 8-hour ferry from Ibiza was suprisingly easy-going as we arrived in Barcelona in the early evening. We had to tread water for a few days with regards to sight seeing as we waited for Sam to arrive in a few days. After the week in Ibiza, we retired early on the first night.
- Before Sam arrived Cade and I decided to squeeze in a visit to the Camp Nou football stadium - the home of Spanish football, and home to the legendary FC Barcelona. We could have been excused for thinking it was a game day - queues around the corner for the tour ticket office and the merchandise store, as well as car park chaos. €20 seemed a bit steep so we opted to give the tour a miss.
- After Sam arrived, we ended up with two full days to see what Barcelona had to offer. Having been there before I was at a bit of an advantage as to what was, and what wasn't worth seeing. We teamed up with Evan and Roz and set off tothe Fort Montjuic, along the waterfront to Port Olympic, up to the Sagrada Familia, and finally Parc Guell. We ended the evening with a stroll up La Rambla to take in the atmosphere of Barcelona during it's peak season.
- The next day we had the opportunity to buy some souvineers and do a walking tour of the gothic region before our overnight bus to Nice.
- Somehow we managed to squeeze most of the touristy stuff, although not thoroughly, into the two full days. Hard work under the Spanish summer sun.
- Before Sam arrived Cade and I decided to squeeze in a visit to the Camp Nou football stadium - the home of Spanish football, and home to the legendary FC Barcelona. We could have been excused for thinking it was a game day - queues around the corner for the tour ticket office and the merchandise store, as well as car park chaos. €20 seemed a bit steep so we opted to give the tour a miss.
- After Sam arrived, we ended up with two full days to see what Barcelona had to offer. Having been there before I was at a bit of an advantage as to what was, and what wasn't worth seeing. We teamed up with Evan and Roz and set off tothe Fort Montjuic, along the waterfront to Port Olympic, up to the Sagrada Familia, and finally Parc Guell. We ended the evening with a stroll up La Rambla to take in the atmosphere of Barcelona during it's peak season.
- The next day we had the opportunity to buy some souvineers and do a walking tour of the gothic region before our overnight bus to Nice.
- Somehow we managed to squeeze most of the touristy stuff, although not thoroughly, into the two full days. Hard work under the Spanish summer sun.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Ibiza, Spain
- The undeniable king of party islands and living costs to match! Theres no Coca-Cola or McDonalds billboards here - just advertisements for the various club nigts on offer every night. This was my second time to the island and it didn't disappoint - it makes the competition (eg Mykonos, Greece) look amateur.
- Despite the plethora of club nights on offer, on any given night there is usually one or two that stand out. It was mostly these we were after. The itinerary for the week was jam packed with headliners:
Sunday: We Love @ Space - Jeff Mills, Derick May, Steve Lawler, plus about 20 others.
Monday: Cocoon @ Amnesia - Adam Beyer, Marco Corola, Richie Hawtin and Josh Wink.
Tuesday: Carl Cox @ Space - Carl Cox, Monica Kruse, Nic Fancuilli, Jon Rundell, plus some others. It was actually Carl Cox's bday which made for a pretty epic evening.
Wednesday: Decided to give it a miss. The best on offer was probably Erick Morillo @ Pacha which makes it hard to justify the cost.
Thursday: Cream @ Amnesia - Paul van Dyk, Eddie Halliwell and Filo & Peri, with John Dahlback in the Terrace.
Friday: Guestlist for Wonderland @ Eden was organised, but the financial damage of the aforementioned nights, in combination with an early morning ferry lead us to conclude it was best not to go.
- In between all this, our time was spst lazing around the beach. Our prime position in Playa d'en Bosa meant Bora Bora was only a stones throw away which made it easy to lounge the afternoon away.
- Before Cream on Thursday evening, we ventured over to San Antonio to check out the sunset strip which was well worth the effort.
- Despite the plethora of club nights on offer, on any given night there is usually one or two that stand out. It was mostly these we were after. The itinerary for the week was jam packed with headliners:
Sunday: We Love @ Space - Jeff Mills, Derick May, Steve Lawler, plus about 20 others.
Monday: Cocoon @ Amnesia - Adam Beyer, Marco Corola, Richie Hawtin and Josh Wink.
Tuesday: Carl Cox @ Space - Carl Cox, Monica Kruse, Nic Fancuilli, Jon Rundell, plus some others. It was actually Carl Cox's bday which made for a pretty epic evening.
Wednesday: Decided to give it a miss. The best on offer was probably Erick Morillo @ Pacha which makes it hard to justify the cost.
Thursday: Cream @ Amnesia - Paul van Dyk, Eddie Halliwell and Filo & Peri, with John Dahlback in the Terrace.
Friday: Guestlist for Wonderland @ Eden was organised, but the financial damage of the aforementioned nights, in combination with an early morning ferry lead us to conclude it was best not to go.
- In between all this, our time was spst lazing around the beach. Our prime position in Playa d'en Bosa meant Bora Bora was only a stones throw away which made it easy to lounge the afternoon away.
- Before Cream on Thursday evening, we ventured over to San Antonio to check out the sunset strip which was well worth the effort.
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