Whoops, there goes… two months since my last post. Things have been a little busy – it has been European summer after all, and we’ve recently moved continents! I sincerely apologise for this lapse in blog writing (feel like a politician writing this) and promise that I’ll catch up rapidly over the next week.
After 2 weeks of a much, much slower pace of life post-Camino (lots of exercise, good food, and relaxation), things stepped up a notch the moment we got on a bus out of our short-term home in Algorobbo Costa (near Malaga). We spent a rather pleasant travel day (relatively speaking anyway) making our way through Spain on high speed trains, and via Madrid, we made it to…
Barcelona/Calella
Immediately after arriving in Barcelona, we got a taste of what our next couple of months of Southern European travel would feel like: even at night, it was seriously hot. We spent a slightly uncomfortable night in a hostel in Barcelona, then headed to the train station to meet my parents and sisters, who were traveling with us for the next couple of weeks. It was great to see them after such a long time without contact with family, and having some fresh eyes gave us a new burst of travel energy for the next few weeks. It was also nice to have the broad travel itinery organised for us for a little while – my mum had booked the Airbnbs and transport for this period.
We stayed in a small town by the name of Callela, around an hour out of Barcelona for the next few days. This beachside tourist village was lovely, with narrow streets, endless great eateries and small stores, and the steepest beach I’ve ever seen (three steps into the water and you couldn’t touch the bottom!). We spent a few days here catching up with my family, swimming, exploring, and eating – mostly eating.
We did make it into Barcelona for one day trip, which was another hot and jam-packed day. This was our first taste of just how jam-packed the tourist hotspots of Southern Europe are in summer, and it was frankly overwhelming. We got in another “free” (tip based, nothing in life is free) city tour, which was interesting and took us through Barcelona’s long history (from Roman origins through to modern day Catalonian independence dreams). It was pretty surreal to finally see the Sagrada Familia, which is one of the world’s most unique churches. Designed by famed architect Gaudi in the late 1800s, it started construction in 1882 and is still under construction today, with completion expected in the next couple of years. It breaks a lot of the “rules” of church design, with flowing lines and dramatic, almost showy iconography all over the building.
So, after around 2 months in Spain, our time in this beautiful country came to an end. We never expected to be in Spain this long, but it turned out this way, and we have no regrets. The weather, food, countryside, people and affordability made it a great place to be, and I would love to come back for more Camino-hiking and beachside relaxation one day.
Marseille
Our next stop, via yet another Flixbus, was the Southern French city of Marseille. This was a very different experience to our relaxed Spanish seaside towns of the previous few weeks – Marseille is a town of around a million people, with a much faster pace of life (and French prices, which are much, much higher than Spanish ones). We enjoyed Marseille, but the main highlight of our time here was actually just out of the city – a visit to the Calanques National Park.
This beautiful coastal national park actually starts on the edge of Marseille. It is easily accessible by bus, which dropped us at what must be one of the most spectacular university campuses in the world, thanks to its excellent views of the neighbouring park and mountains. Calanque translates to “inlet” and the national park features a series of these beautiful, bluer than blue inlets. Charlotte, my dad and I spent an amazing day exploring the park (my mum and one of my sisters went stand-up-paddleboarding in the park instead, which I’m told was also incredible), hiking our way first to a spectacular view point over multiple calanques, then making our way down to the water level and rewarding ourselves with a swim in the vibrant blue waters of the Calanque de Morgiou. Next, we headed on another of my little wild goose chases – I’d heard of a “Blue Cave” nearby, which was meant to be a spectacular ocean cave you could swim into. My companions were somewhat dubious, but we followed my internet instructions, scrambling up and down rocky cliffsides looking for the right spot. Eventually, after a bit of head scratching and confusion, some boats stopping gave us a clue. Sure enough, the cave entrance literally couldn’t be seen from above the ocean water line. We jumped into the ocean, following the boat-swimmers, swam through an opening that was little more than a metre above the water, and found ourselves in one of the most magical places I had ever been. By some quirk of nature and the lighting, the water inside the cave was a florescent light blue – as is anything that sits in the water. We sat ourselves on the rocky shore inside the cave and just took in the remarkable sight for a while. Eventually, we reluctantly swam our way out. We made our way around to the next neighbouring calanque (walking is generous, some was scrambling, and one part even involved a ladder) before walking our way back to the bus stop. A pretty special experience.
Camogli
Next on our whirlwind Southern European tour was the magical Italian beachside town of Camogli. Located between Genoa and the Cinque Terre on the western coast of Italy, it was the perfect first stop on our Italian adventure. The painted buildings and idyllic beaches are extremely popular with day visit tourists, but in the evenings it is almost sleepy. On our first night, we headed out to take a look at the town and coastline, and ended up swimming under the stars, with a perfect view of the village under lights. We spent a few glorious days here, swimming, paddleboarding (we ended up doing this a few times as it is my mum’s current obsession, and I’m fast becoming a fan), and eating our weight in the local specialty, Focaccia.
Florence
Florence was intense. The heat was brutal, and the crowds were insane – the worst we’ve seen on our trip I think. It felt like there were more Americans than Italians in many areas… The city is beautiful, with some truly awe-inspiring buildings and art, but I wouldn’t say I would necessarily go back again – it felt like the definition of overtourism. An unexpected highlight of our time in Florence was the Da Vinci Museum. Hosting a whole bunch of Da Vinci’s inventions, built using his own sketches and specifications, it was a pretty mind blowing insight into this guy’s crazy brain, and just how far ahead of his time he was.
Charlotte and my mum also headed to see the statue of David, which I’m told was pretty cool – the rest of us settled for a copy in one of the central areas in Florence, which was impressive in itself!
Rome
We spent a couple of days in Rome with my family, and another couple once they had got on a plane home. Again, the days were brutally hot, but we managed to get out and about a lot in the evenings, which was a breathtaking time to see the city. The streets were alive with people, the lighting was perfect, and everywhere you turn in Rome, there is an incredible old building or ruin just waiting to be explored. We of course visited the iconic Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and the Colosseum. But it was some of the unexpected sights that were most memorable. One night while wandering, we came across a light show on the historic facade on the Temple of Hadrian. Walking past the Colosseum, we passed a jazz band playing nearby.
I had hoped to make it out to Pompeii during our stay, but it wasn’t to be. Instead, Dad, Charlotte and I visited Ostea Antica (while my mum and sisters went horseriding nearby) – a remarkably well preserved Roman port town located 40 minutes outside of Rome. We spent much of a day wandering through the ruins, exploring former Roman houses, bars, marketplaces and even bathrooms. It was a nice reprieve from the hordes of tourists too – seems to be much less popular than other sites.
After most of my family left, we moved to a hostel, and spent a couple of days introducing my sister to the world of hostel life. A lot of time was spent in the hostel bar, but on one day I went on a wander through the city and found the remarkable Basilica di Santa Maria – a church designed by Michelangelo, built out of the ruins of a Roman bath complex. That is the joy of Rome – you never know what remarkable historical site is just around the corner that you’ve never heard of.
Our stay in Rome passed in a blur, and before we knew it, our time in Italy was over. It was great to catch up with family, and traveling with them was an unforgettable experience. We held on to one of my siblings who joined us for the next few weeks of European adventures.
So what’s next? A plane to Zagreb, Croatia. We spent around a week in Croatia, then around two weeks in Greece before our time in Europe came to an end. Keep an eye out for the final European blog post shortly!
Next Stops: Croatia – Zagreb, Plitvice National Park, Zadar