Day 8: Rome – Angels and Demons

Waking up on the unearthly hours of 5am, we drag our bodies like zombies towards the holy land of The Vatican. We are up early because we joined the early-access tour to the Sistine Chapel which starts at 7:15am. Finally the Roman metro is working but it is quite run down compared to the ones …

Day 7: Rome – Doing as the Romans Do

Leaving colourful Barcelona, we took an early flight to Rome. A bit of a hazy day. Taking a shuttle bus from the airport to Roma Termini, we arrived at our inn located im the slummiest part of Rome to find that the metro is not running due to strike. Welcome to Rome! 🙋 So not …

Spain: Do’s and Don’ts

DO order paid drinks at restaurants, even if it's just water, and don't order tap water,  a lot of restaurants don't even serve tap water. Just accept the drinks fee as a a part of the service fee. DO pay attention to the twilight times in the different times of the year. If you are …

Day 6: Barcelona – Less Crazy Architecture

For the first time in Barcelona, we are visiting a building not designed by Gaudí, but by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, a Catalan architect in the early years of 20th century, The Palau de la Música Catalana (Palace of Catalan Music). The original owners were a choral society hoping to build a place of their …

Day 5: Barcelona – The Awesome-est Building I Have Been to in My Life

Sagrada Família, the building that has been under contruction for over a century and still going, designed by Antoni Gaudí of course. Once you lay your eyes on it, you will know why it's taking so long to build. The exterior is simply ridiculous. The randomest of decoration and details carved in stone, there is …

Day 4: Barcelona – Crazy Random Architecture

After getting a REALLY good rest, we left Toledo swearing we'd be back one day. Onwards to Barcelona! Sunrise at Toledo The best buffet breakfast I've had, not only are you seated with a great view of Toledo, the buffet had such a wide variety: fruits, juices, yogurts, cereal, cold cuts, cheese, chorizos, you name …

Day 3: Toledo – A Journey Back in Time

Leaving Madrid, we took a 30mins train ride to the town of Toledo, according to the trusty source of Wikipedia, Toledo "was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage and historical co-existence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures." Historically, it's natural surroundings made it a superb military base and it also …

Day 2: Madrid – Day of Art Museums

Today is the day we visit the two most famous art museums of Madrid: Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum) and Museo Nacional del Prado (Prado Museum). We start off the day with breakfast (included in our stay at the hostal), then took the metro from Opera station to Banco De España . Decent breakfast, orange juice …

Day 1: Madrid – Royal Palace of Madrid

After that transit from hell, we are finally on our way to Madrid, where the journey actually starts. Looking down at the patchwork fields of Madrid. After landing, we took our pre-ordered transfer from the airport to our hostal. When the driver left us, we were faced with a big wooden door and no sign …

Day 0: Transit at Dubai

From Hong Kong to Dubai is an 8hr 25mins flight, then from Dubai to Madrid is another 7hrs 55mins, ugh. Seriously, apart from sitting next to a guy who smells and took over half my seat, I can't find anything to complain about Emirates. Seats were comfy, plenty of leg room, cockpits were in excellent …