Where in Europe Photo Quiz
Can you match the picture to where in Europe it was taken? Comment below with how many you got correct and which ones you didn’t know. All photos were taken by me and can be read about in my blog posts 🙂
Tag: spain
Malaga and Ronda, Spain Travel Blog
Malaga Malaga was the perfect European destination for a 3-day weekend in February. The weather was perfect the entire time, the food was great, and the sights were gorgeous. Malaga lies on the Costa del Sol of the Mediterranean, about 100 kilometers east of the Strait of Gibraltar and about 130 km north of Africa. Malaga’s history spans about 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest cities in Europe and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Accommodation I stayed at Atarazanas Malaga Boutique Hotel in Malaga city center. The hotel itself wasn’t anything too special, but it was conveniently located. It is located near the Atarazanas Market. The Malaga Cathedral is a 7-minute walk, the Gibralfaro Castle is a 23-minute walk, the La Marina metro station is a 5-minute walk, and the Maria Zambrano train station is a 14-minute walk. The beach is also within-in walking distance so I opted to stay in the city-center vs. closer to the beach since I would be spending most of my time seeing the sites in the city and catching public transportation to Ronda. Transportation I flew from London Stansted to Malaga Airport (AGP). The most efficient option of getting into the city center is by getting a taxi from the taxi stand, which cost about 25 euros and took about 15 minutes. However, the train is also a quick option, taking only 12 minutes and costing 1.80 euros. Additionally, there is a bus that costs about 3 euros and takes about 20 minutes. Atarazanas Market Malaga’s central market is a restored historical building which had been closed for years. It hosts a daily market where locals go to get some fresh fruits, vegetables, and other local produce. The market is closed on Sundays. Constitution Square Teatro Cervantes This theater is known to host amazing events almost every day of the week, ranging from classical dramas to flamenco performances. Get more info here. Basilica of Santa Maria de la Victoria This ornate Baroque church is a bit of a detour, but I enjoyed looking at the street art on the way. El Pimpi Restaurant This wine bar has a really good selection of wines and tapas and a lovely atmosphere. It is very crowded so it is recommended that you book in advance. However, even though we didn’t have a reservation, we were still seated relatively fast since it is so large. The prices are also reasonable. Gibralfaro Castle The climb up to Gibralfaro Castle was not as easy as it seemed initially as it was quite a ways up. However, the hillside gardens made for a lovely walk along the defensive walls. The castle offers great views of the city. Admission price is typically 2.20 euros, but luckily I went on a Sunday, which is free after 2PM. The castle is open daily from 9AM to 8PM. The castle overlooks Malaga city and port and dates back to the 10th century. Inside the fortress itself you will find some buildings and courtyards. The ramparts have been well restored and you can walk all the way around them. At one point, you can get a good view down into the bullring. Some visitors linger here for a free view of the bullfight. There are three ways to reach the entrance of the castle. One is from the Alcazaba: This follows the fortress’s outer wall and joins a cobbled path, which traces the hill’s contours and passes through the pine trees on the Coracha. Another way is to climb the zig-zag steps which lead from the Plaza del General Torrijos at the east end of the Alameda Gardens to join the same cobbled path. The third way is to take a taxi or the tourist bus which uses the road around the back of the hill. Take a bottle of water, as there is no kiosk until the top. Bullring and Bullfighting Museum La Malagueta is the bullring in Malaga which has been around since 1876. It is located in the eastern district alongside the Paseo de Reding. Tickets are available at the UniCaja bank or at the box office at La Malagueta. Malagueta Beach This beach is the most popular and populous one in the city. It is just a short walk from the bullring. Muelle Uno After taking a stroll on the beach, I walked over to the huge waterfront complex and had a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants. Shops and cafes also line the pier. Centre Pompidou Malaga Parque de Malaga Alcazaba of Malaga This monumental Moorish citadel with its origins in the 11th century has a great strategic position with views over the city and over the coastline. It is probably the best preserved citadel in the whole of Spain. Admission is 3.50 euros or you can get a combined ticket with the castle that costs 5.50 euros. Malaga Roman Theater These remains of a Roman theatre were discovered in the 50’s. The Arabs used its blocks to build Alcazaba. Merced Square This is one of the largest public squares in Malaga’s city center, and is also known for containing Pablo Picasso’s childhood home. Picasso Museum Artist Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born in Malaga. The Museo Picasso Malaga opened in 2003 in the Buenavista Palace, and has 285 works donated by members of Picasso’s family. Admission to the museum costs 7 euros. Cathedral of Malaga The Cathedral of Malaga is a Roman Catholic Church and is in the Renaissance architectural tradition. Entrance to the cathedral costs 6 euros. You can get a great view of the cathedral from the AC Marriott Hotel. AC Hotel Malaga Palacio The rooftop bar at the AC Hotel Malaga Palicio, called Atico Bar & Restaurant, is one of the oldest in the city and a perfect place to enjoy the views from above. The rooftop is perched on the 15th floor giving it an incredible view over the city, harbor, and the Mediterranean Sea. Both
Valencia, Spain Travel Blog
Valencia is the third-largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, with around 800,000 inhabitants in the city center. The total population is around 1.6 million people. I flew into Valencia airport, which is approximately 30 minutes from the city center. There is a metro in the airport, which is the most convenient way I found to get to the city. The cost is 4.80 euros. Alternatively, you could take a taxi or city bus. The only downside of the metro in Valencia, is it does not expand very far. For example, it does not go all the way to the beach. I stayed at the Primus Valencia Hotel and Spa, which is about 20 minutes outside of the city center. The closest metro station is Maritim-Serreria, which is a 20 minute walk or 5 minute bike ride. The city has bike racks located all over the city, which you can rent for the week. Simply go to the website or purchase at one of the locations that allow it. I used these quite a bit during my trip. It was great to pick up a bike by the hotel and bike around the city and drop it off at a different location. The cost of the city bike rental is 13 euros for the week, which is much cheapter than I found for other bike rental companies for just a day. The Primus Valencia Hotel was very nice, but unfortunately, I did not get to enjoy the spa. It has an outdoor pool that is free of charge and an indoor pool that you can only use if you pay to use the spa. The price of breakfast I thought was a little unreasonable as well. However, I really liked the location of the hotel. Since I went to Valencia during Fallas Festival in March, I wanted to be outside of the city center so I wouldn’t be woken up as much from all of the fireworks. The hotel was also very close to the City of Arts and Sciences, which was my favorite area in Valencia. Fallas Festival Every March Valencia gets ready to welcome the spring. The Fallas is a traditional celebration held in commemoration of Saint Joseph. From March 1stto 19th, every day at 2PM in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento near City Hall, fireworks go off as tons of people watch. On the night of March 15th, the installation of the fallas monuments takes place in order to have them finished by dawn on the 16th. On the morning of the 17th, the falleros and their commissions go to the Plaza to collect prizes after all of the structures have been judged by the jury. Every night from March 15thto 18th, the sky of Valencia is filled with an amazing firework display at midnight. People gather on Paseo de la Alameda to enjoy the show. On March 17thand 18this an Offering of Flowers parade. Finally, on March 19th, all of the sculptures go up in flames to end the festival. Day 1 On my first day, I wanted to walk around the city center and see the main highlights. I started at City Hall, where I watched the Fallas Festival fireworks at 2PM. It was crazy to watch a firework show during the day. The streets were extremely crowded. I loved the atmosphere of everyone chanting and playing music. You are able to access the balcony of City Hall to get a view of the city and go into the history museum with the building although I did not do either of these things. After taking a look at City Hall and the Central Post Office across the street, I walked to Patriarch Square. I then strolled through Jardins de la Glorieta. Valencia has several beautiful gardens, all of which are worth strolling through to avoid the city traffic. I then ate lunch near the Valencia Cathedral at a restaurant called the Mercat de la Reina. It served traditional paella, which is a very good rice dish. It is usually served with seafood or chicken. I did not go into the cathedral because the entrance cost is 8 euros, which I think is a little much to see the inside of a church. I walked toward the Templar Palace before taking a walk through The Royal Gardens and the Gardens of Turia on the way to Serranos Towers. What once used to be a riverbed is now a cultural and leisure center of Valencia. It is also one of the largest parks in Spain, spanning across an area of 9 kilometers. Serranos is one of the city’s remaining two gates, which was constructed around 1392. It was built as part of the historical city wall, protecting the city of Valencia, and was later used as a prison. You can access the tower and take a look at the Gothic interior and the excellent view of the city upstairs for only 2 euros. Next, I walked to the Quart towers which is a memento of the old city walls protecting Valencia, built in the Late Gothic style. Napoleon entered the city through this tower, that once served also as a prison. It was cool to see the bullet holes. Next, I headed toward the Central Market, but it had already closed for the day. It is one of the oldest still running markets in Europe. However, I realized that Columbus Market was still open, so I headed there instead. By each of the markets, there are a lot of shops and restaurants. This is where I bought my souvenirs and had dinner before heading back toward the hotel. On the way back, I biked through the gardens behind the City of Arts and Sciences, which is extremely pretty all lit up at night. Even late at night, it was still busy with groups of people setting off fireworks and mini parades going on. The party never seemed to stop. Day 2 In the morning I got on
17 Days Around Europe with Eurail Passes Travel Blog
The first thing you want to do when planning for a EuroTrip is to decide which countries you would like to visit. I wanted to see as much as possible in two weeks. After knowing I had two weeks to travel, I purchased the 15 day continuous global rail pass on eurail.com (interrail.com if you are an EU citizen) and got 2 extra days for free since they were having a sale. https://www.eurail.com/en/eurail-passes/global-pass This pass allows you the freedom to explore all your dream European destinations using the Eurail Global Pass. This convenient train pass gives you access to rail networks in 28 fascinating countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, although be aware that you will have to pay a reservation fee in specific countries or for night trains. Once I knew which cities I wanted to visit, I downloaded the Rail Planner app to see how long it was from each city and which cities would not be direct trains. I took notes beforehand and had a general idea of when I would be traveling but still had the flexibility to plan as I went if I needed more time in a specific location. The great thing about Eurail passes is you don’t have to worry about missing a train. You can hop on whatever train you’d like without a timed ticket. You can download the apps here – IOS, Android. Rail planner shows you all the available times, type of train and possible connections for the city of your choice. The application is done by Eurail and the cool thing about it is that it is available offline! I used the app the entire time during my travels and was fully satisfied with it! There are some cases when you will need to reserve a seat on your trip and pay a reservation fee. This can be done at the train station. For example, it is mandatory to book your seat on a night train. We did this a few times. The average cost of a bed on a night train is around 20-40 Euros. We had time to sleep while traveling, which was awesome to wake up in our next location! One example of when we did this was from Madrid to Lisbon. You will also usually need to book your seat when using a fast train that is marked with an R on the Rail Planner App. This can be as low as 3 Euros or as much as 30 Euros. Sometimes you will have the option to take the same route on a slow-speed train but I think it is worth it to just pay the fee in some instances. High-speed trains are common in France, Italy, and Spain. Additionally, you will need to reserve your seat on popular routes that may not have free seats. Stop 1: Amsterdam https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/06/20/amsterdam-netherlands/ Stop 2: Berlin https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/06/20/bamberg-germany/ Stop 3: Prague https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/06/22/prague-czech-republic/ Stop 4: Vienna https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/06/22/vienna-austria/ Stop 5: Bratislava https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/06/23/bratislava-slovakia/ Stop 6: Budapest https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/06/24/budapest-hungary/ Stop 7: Lake Bled https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/06/25/bled-slovenia/ Stop 8: Florence https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/06/27/florence-and-pisa-italy/ Stop 9: Nice https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/06/30/nice-france/ Stop 10: Marseille https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/06/30/marseille-france/ Stop 11: Barcelona https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/07/03/barcelona-and-montserrat-spain/ Stop 12: Madrid https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/07/01/madrid-spain/ Stop 13: Lisbon https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/07/03/lisbon-portugal/ Stop 14: Porto https://mandytravelstheworld.news.blog/2016/07/03/porto-portugal/ Check out the links to each city’s blog for more information on the specific places. If you have any more questions about the Eurail pass or planning a EuroTrip, please comment below!
EuroTrip Video Travel Vlog
