As always, it took a while, but the hundreds of pictures from our Euro-Trip are finally up, at least the ones from Italy and Spain. We took literally thousands of pictures so sorting them down to a few hundred is already a major achievement so to say. The album is subdivided into four sub-albums, namely Italy, Spain, Poland, and Czech Republic, just to make the navigation easier. So that you can a follow along easier here is a very brief recap of all the places that we hit up during the two weeks in Europe: We flew in Zurich where we stayed only a couple of hours before catching a train to Milan. The train ride lasted about three hours and the spacious compartments and amazing views of the Alps were exactly what was needed after the long trans-Atlantic flight. After a short layover in Milan we caught a second train down to Brescia where we met up with our friend Alessandro. We made Brescia our center for exploration, from which we visited Lago De Garda, Verona, followed by a longer trip to Firenze, Pisa, a little bit of Tuscany and Sienna. Big thanks go out to Alessandro who was a fantastic host, and also for letting us drive his car all around Italy! A shout out also goes to Michele for hanging with us and to the second Alessandro for letting us feast at his establishment, Mille Gusta, and serving us the best espresso macchiato that we ever head. Of all the places we visited in Italy we most fondly remember Verona for its sophistication and Tuscany for the sheer scenic beauty which is next to impossible to capture in photographs.
Once done with Italy, we took a plane to Barcelona where we got a second rental car. As relaxing as Italy was, Spain proved to be the exact opposite. From the get-go we encountered problems. First, it took us almost three hours after landing before we finally found a hotel. Once we finally found a hotel we were so tired that we could not avoid a nap that consumed most of the day. Thus we really only had a single night to explore Barcelona which was a real shame. But we made the best of it and even found a really awesome restaurant named Sukur, where we spent hours eating and drinking wine. The next day we were off to Valencia to catch the Formula 1 qualifying, which is about a three hour drive from Barcelona. The drive was very pleasant but finding our way around in Valencia was difficult at best. Not sure who is in charge of signage in Spain, but finding anything the first time around by car is next to impossible. As we expected we could not find an affordable place to stay in Valencia after qualifying, but we did not realize that we would have to backtrack almost 100km to Benicassim before finding a hotel. The next day it was back to Valencia for the actual Grand Prix, which was an absolute blast. It was so much fun I’m thinking about getting some people together and maybe going to the Canadian GP next year, should it make a return onto the F1 calendar. After the race we started driving back to Barcelona, but ended stopping in a small town named Cambrils which proved to be an absolute delight. We chilled, walked around, ate well, and eventually had to get on our way to Barcelona before taking a flight to Poland early in the morning the following day. To be continued in Part 2.
Once done with Italy, we took a plane to Barcelona where we got a second rental car. As relaxing as Italy was, Spain proved to be the exact opposite. From the get-go we encountered problems. First, it took us almost three hours after landing before we finally found a hotel. Once we finally found a hotel we were so tired that we could not avoid a nap that consumed most of the day. Thus we really only had a single night to explore Barcelona which was a real shame. But we made the best of it and even found a really awesome restaurant named Sukur, where we spent hours eating and drinking wine. The next day we were off to Valencia to catch the Formula 1 qualifying, which is about a three hour drive from Barcelona. The drive was very pleasant but finding our way around in Valencia was difficult at best. Not sure who is in charge of signage in Spain, but finding anything the first time around by car is next to impossible. As we expected we could not find an affordable place to stay in Valencia after qualifying, but we did not realize that we would have to backtrack almost 100km to Benicassim before finding a hotel. The next day it was back to Valencia for the actual Grand Prix, which was an absolute blast. It was so much fun I’m thinking about getting some people together and maybe going to the Canadian GP next year, should it make a return onto the F1 calendar. After the race we started driving back to Barcelona, but ended stopping in a small town named Cambrils which proved to be an absolute delight. We chilled, walked around, ate well, and eventually had to get on our way to Barcelona before taking a flight to Poland early in the morning the following day. To be continued in Part 2.
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