Algarve, Portugal

Beach, sand, sun.

Dresden

Dresden was destroyed during WWII, and came to life from ashes like the Pheonix. Filled with museums, German Cuissine, very nice buildings and  fairytale castles.

The Elbe riverside is a great place to travel by bicycle to near by towns. For example, an 8 km excursion to Pillnitz Castles is very rewarding with the fantastic view.

Another nice place to walk around is "Grosser Garten". Part of it includes a zoo and very nice fountains. It is also nearby the "Hygiene Museum". No... it is not about toilet paper, it is about the human body.

The "Altstad" is a gorgeous part from this city. It may remind us of Prague because they had the same Emperor August for a period of time. Some famous building are the "Zwinger" and the looong wall mosaic.

 Another beauty is Frauenkirche. It has been completely reconstruted. The inside is very....girly? The walls and furniture are pink, light blue, light green and gold.

 This city has also suffered from flooding. This wave represents how hight the water got with some torrential rains a couple years ago. Al the paintings in the museums were moved so they didn't get ruined.

The background from the picture right under, is the sameone than the famous painting with "Augustusbrücke" by Canalleto (1721-1780). It is a must-take-picture :)

 Another intereting part of the city, is the "Neustadt". As its names implies it is the newst part of the city. Many young artists live here. It offers different bars and bookshops...and vegeterians! :) Yummy and cheap ;)

Somo, Santander

Somo is a small town near Santander. It has a very nice beach which is great for surfing.We took classes and hired the material from Escuela Cantábra de Surf. Ryanair offers cheap flights there, so it is a great destination for a weekend.

Córdoba

Córdoba is an amazing city with a lot of history. Any history buff would love visiting it.
The must-sees are : Córdobas' mosque, Álcazar de los reyes Cristianos, Medina Azahara, Julio Romero de Torres Museum and the Andalusian House.

Another recomendation is going to a Hamman de Al Andalus.They are the nicest in all Spain. Plus, it is very relaxing after walking the whole day throughout the city.

Also, don't miss out on Carbonell's factory. They have a free guided tour of the facilities, a small museum and a small oil testing.

Córdoba's Mosque

Álcazar de los Reyes Cristianos

Álcazar de los Reyes Cristianos

Andalusian House

Beautiful

Medina Azahara

Medina Azahara

Carbonell's oil tasting

Hamman Al Andalus

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Antequera

Today we had lunch in Antequera, which  follows the pattern of an andalusian town.
The sites from the Alcazaba are great. Don't miss them ;)

Bull Fighting Ring

Fountain Roundabout

Fountain Roundabout

Fountain with Antequera's motto

Jumping at the Alcazaba

Andalusian Street

Andalusian Street II

A hidden corner in Segovia

Everyone visiting Segovia sees the Aqueduct, the Cathedral and the Alcazar. However, there is a small Monastery at the beginning of the aqueduct filled with unique and original crafts. I'm talking about Monastery of San Antonio el Real.It was built by Enrique IV in 1455. Later on, Isabell the Catholic, gave it to the Clarisas nuns.

This mudejar building treasures documents and paintings from the 15th century. Books with gold, numerous baby Jesus, amazing paneling, barroque and gothic style, and a small patio build up the monastery.

It is an unknown. Through out history, this pearl has not suffered from wars or fires. Everything is basically intact. The last room of the visit takes your breath aways: "La Sala Capitular". It was made with no previous planning, just with a set square.

There are guided tours in Spanish, one must enter the monastery and ring a small door inside. The tour costs 2 euros for adults and lasts about an hour. They are always open except for Mondays and Sunday's afternoons. If you don't speak spanish, I still think it is still worth it. The art inside is truly unbelievable... it hasn't been reformed.

Oh, and...¿Did you know nuns already called each other by "missed calls"? They didn't do it cell phones of course, but they did with a bell system.

¿For Lunch? We visited Casa Felipe in Torrecaballeros. A cute restaurant that offers the best lamb and pork. They also have vegetarian options, like cucumber soup and grilled vegetables. "Judiones de La Granja" is also a must (contains pork).

Dessert....Mmmm delicious! One can enjoy the famous "Ponche Segoviano" or a great "Tarta de queso con arándanos" (blueberry cheesecake). I'm not that much into cheesecakes, but this one was really good.

Vienna

Vienna is claimed to be the city where more people want to live in. The city offers a wide range of activities and attractions: museums, music, churches, palaces, film festivals, österreiches cuisine, parks, chocolates and ice creams.

I visited Vienna during July and August. The weather is usually warm during this time, but it was a little awkward during my stay.

I decided to stay at an appartment. It was the cheapest option I could find. Plus, one can make dinner at home, allowing one to save a little extra money. The appartment I stayed at was in Schnirchgasse (3 subways stops from Stephensplatz).  I definetely recommend it.

Grocery time! So, Österreich has a great production of bio-products. Almost all products found in supermarkets are bio. Spar has very good quality products but it is the most expensive. However, Zielpunkt offers a wide range of products at lower prices (specially fruit!).

The nicest cathedrals or churches I visited were Karlskirche, Votivkirche and Stephansdom. 

An atracction one cannot miss is Schloss Schönbrunn. I bought the Classic Pass, but just the visit to the entire castle is enough. One can visit almost all the gardens with the "normal" entrance.

I'm particulary very fond of Gustav Klimt's art pieces. Specially "The Kiss", it's my favorite. The best art works of Klimt are found at Oberes Belvedere (The Kiss),  Secession(Beethoven's Frieze) and Leopold's Museum (Life and Death). Museums are pretty expensive. The reduced fee ranges between 5 and 9 euros.

A great place to eat or just go for a walk is the Naschmarkt. The best veggie kebabs are at Dr. Falafel. It is also the cheapest place to buy nuts. The vegetarian restaurants I visted were Makro 1 and Loving Hut. Oh! And Mc Donalds and Burger King have veggie burgers for 1.50 euros and 2.99 euros respectively. The best ice cream? I would recommend Eis-Greissler wich offer bio and vegan ice cream and Eis Armando where the Joguhrtcup is amazing. Very near this last ice cream parlor, one can find Cupcakes Wien, a cute shop with a wide variety of sweets.

Other curious places to visit are the Hundertwasserhaus buildings and the Schmetterling Haus (one can see the whole metamorphosis process).