Saturday, January 28, 2012

2011 December Spain

Spain 2011

This time I have decided to visit places around Barcelona. I stayed in Castelldefels, a small town nearby.

On the first day, I decided to have a short trip together with my friends. I saw ruins of a castle, just before Begues, so we went there. Unfortunately, we didn’t get there and finally we finished our trip in Sitges which means that we made a circle around Castelldefels.

Castle d'Eramprunyà

Sitges

Sitges is a town close to the sea and during the summer time it’s packed with people. About 35% population are people from France, UK, Holland and Scandinavian countries. There are 17 beaches. Near the sea there is a 17th century church of Sant Bartolomeu and Santa Tecla but I wasn’t inside. In the front of the church there is a figure of two painters.
http://www.sitges-tourist-guide.com

Church of Sant Bartolomeu

Barcelona

This time I visited ‘Poble Espanyol’ (this) which is an outdoor open-air architectural museum situated in the west part of the ‘Montjuic’ park. It was built in 1929 for EXPO and it should have been destroyed after it. It was so popular so they decided to save it. My ticket was cheaper because I had a brochure from the ‘Hop-Up’ bus so it’s a good idea to collect the brochure from the bus. Before building it the creators visited 1600 towns in Spain in order to choose buildings they wanted to reproduce. This place is well prepared to welcome all families even with small children.
http://www.poble-espanyol.com/pemsa/en.html

Arenas de Barcelona, it was built in 1900

Venetian Towers

The Poble Espanyol, my friends with a small child

The Poble Espanyol

The Poble Espanyol, the wish tree

The Poble Espanyol, Maja

The Poble Espanyol, it's me

We spent the whole day walking in the park de Montjuic. We were in the Olympic stadium and in the Montjuic castle where you can get by a cable car. Though you need to buy an extra ticket to use it. From the castle there is a picturesque view for Barcelona and the port.

Castel de Montjuic

The Olympic Stadium

We found a Guell Pavilions, this buiding was built between 1884 and 1887. Not many people know how to get there. It is located on Avinguda Pedralbes street near the William Shakespeare Park.
http://www.gaudiallgaudi.com/AA014.htm

The Guell Pavilions

The Dragon gate - Guell Pavilions

Castelldefels

There is a nice way from Barcelona to Castelldefels by train and I was travelling on the same ticket as in Barcelona. This is an incredible city with an excellent possibility for windsurfing.

Even in winter time there were a lot of windsurfers. There is also a Castle uphill.

In 1550 this castle was built to protect against the Mediterranean coastland attacks The southern half of the castle houses the chapel, originally Romanesque in design, with one single nave and transept and the associated facilities: the rectory, the sacristy, the cemetery and the courtyard. From there is an excellent view for Castelldefels.

In this town a famous football players Messi and Sanchez have their own houses.
http://www.castelldefelsturisme.com/en/qh-cultura-el-castell-en

Igor and Waldek

Castelldefels castle

Sunday, January 15, 2012

2011 December Italy

Treviso

As a low budget traveller I decided to walk to Treviso from the airport.

There is a pedestrian path from the airport to the city centre. From the airport I turned right and kept the right hand side. I walked less than 1 hour to the city and enjoyed views.

I had only 6 hours in Treviso. That’s way I decided to visit the city instead of a trip to Venice which takes 1 hour single way. I was already in Venice but I’ve never been to Treviso.

I took a map from the airport what helped me to get to the city centre.

I didn’t know that this city is so colourful. Inside there are few canals and many old buildings.

The old part is surrounded by a wall. I found there few interesting buildings like The Duomo Cathedral and the church of St. Marry Supperior founded in 780. I was there before the Christmas time so I had a chance to visit a typical Christmas market.