Should We Stay or Should We Go - Our Travel Journal

  The day we spent in Cadiz was a rainy one. As we'd only planned on exploring the town on foot, we grabbed our rain gear and went out exploring anyway. Cadiz is thought to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in Western Europe. It was founded by the Phoenicians in 1,100 BC with archaeological remains that date back 3,100 years. Over the centuries it been ruled by various cultures such as Romans, Visigoths, and Moors, and it became a very important port and commercial center. What was once an Island, is now connected to the mainland by a narrow peninsula and several roads. Over the centuries, Cadiz has seen a lot of damage through raids, explosions, tsunamis, and earthquakes.  As such, the ancient structures you would expect to find in a city like this just aren't there. There is still a lot of historical structures that are very old, just not ones that are 2,000 years or more.  (In 1980 the remains of an ancient Roman Theatre was discovered and has only been partial...

 We had a stop in Alicante, Spain.  It was our first time there, but we decided not to explore the city.  Instead, we ventured out on an excursion to the beautiful village of Guadalest. Guadalest is known for its stunning views and historic significance.  Originally founded by the Moors as a fortified settlement, its strategic location on a mountain made it an ideal defensive stronghold. It was part of the Islamic Kingdom of Valencia as far back at 750AD.  After the Christian conquest in the 13th century, the village became part of the Kingdom of Valencia. The village has maintained it's medieval charm, with it's narrow alleys, old stone buildings, cobbled streets, and the iconic castle. Guadalest Castle Guadalest Castle is an 11th century fortress and castle that was built by the Moors.  After being damaged by an earthquake, the war of the Spanish Succession, and a mine explosion, all that remains is a restored tower.   Despite not being well-pre...

 Palma de Mallorca is known for it's beautiful beaches, stunning coastline, and historical landmarks. As we were only there for the day, we focused our attention on the Old Town. (although, the photos I've seen of the coastline really make me want to return and spend a few days exploring the beaches and coast.) Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca We started our day at the Cathedral of Palma,   also known as the Cathedral de Santa Maria de Palma or La Seu. This massive gothic cathedral dominates the skyline and is one of Spain's largest cathedrals.

   This is Barcelona  - the tourism slogan for Barcelona.  

Before our stop in Cannes, all I knew about the city was that it hosts a fabulous film festival every summer and serves as a playground for the rich and famous. To be honest, after spending a day there, I still don’t know much more than that.   I think that one needs more than a day in Cannes to really discover the city and surrounding area.

 Our Central Europe trip was quickly coming to a close.  We had one more stop - Prague. As the final leg of this part of our trip with the boys, taking the train to Prague felt like the perfect transition, offering a serene and scenic break in our busy travels. The trip was 7 hours long, and I spent time reflecting on the adventures behind us, while I began editing the hundreds of photos I've taken so far.  As we started pulling into Prague I was eager to explore the timeless charm of this enchanting city before we said goodbye to Son #1 and Son #2. We had two full days in Prague, which I quickly discovered wasn't nearly enough to really explore the area.  We narrowed our focus to the Old Town section - which seemed to have become the theme of this trip. Our airbnb condo was close to everything that we were planning to do and everything was within walking distance.

 

It was a beautiful autumn day in Bratislava.  We arrived in the morning and spent the day in this Slovakian town.  The tour we signed up for was the "active" tour which meant that on top of touring the Old Town, we ascended the hill up to the castle. Because we went up to the castle, we didn't see as much of the Old Town as the other groups did, but we had decided that we could see what wasn't covered in the tour after lunch. Bratislava Castle Photo by Dušan veverkolog on Unsplash  

 One stop that we were pretty excited for was Vienna. We had heard so much about this city. We knew that we were in for a very busy day, and we were right.  We were off on the buses right after breakfast.  Our driver and our guide started the tour by taking us around Ringstrasse   - the 5 km long ring road that circles around the city centre of Vienna. The road was built along the former city fortifications.  Along this route we saw many of the major sights that we would come back to visit later.  By the end of the bus portion of the tour, I was already beginning to feel overwhelmed with the volume of information and things to see. After making a full circle around Ringstrasse, it was time to get off the bus and walk into the historic city centre along with our guide.  She walked us along the streets, pointing out many points of interest as we went.  Most of the places we saw became a blur for me and I relied on the memories of son#1 and son#2 to ...

 Melk We had a morning in Melk where we visited the Melk Abbey. Also known as Stift Melk, the Abbey is a large (still active) Baroque monastery that sits on a rocky outcrop and overlooks the town of Melk and the Danube River. It was founded in 1089, but the abbey we see today was built in 1736.  The only raining structures from the original abbey are two white towers.

Our day in Český Krumlov felt like we were stepping onto the pages of a fairytale. It was a picture-perfect town complete with winding cobblestone streets, medieval buildings, a little river running through the town, and a castle on a hill. We boarded buses and left the port of Linz, Austria and within  about 20 minutes we crossed the border into Czech Republic. We travelled a little farther until we reached this magical little town on a bend of the  Vltava River, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.