Wednesday 16 June: The Blue Sponge

The Edifici Forum is one of several new buildings in the Diagonal Mar area of Barcelona. Whilst it is mainly used for exhibitions, it’s an interesting place – apparently the architect intended it to resemble a sponge with water running down the sides. Whatever the intent, it’s a refreshing change from the slab-sided sheds that dominate this type of building.

Tuesday 15 June: Dynamic Port Bou!

En route between Montpellier and Barcelona, we changed trains at the border town of Port Bou. A sleepy place, it was extremely quiet when we wandered through it to use up some of the ninety minutes we had to spare. That said, you could imagine that Rambla Catalunya plays host to some lively town events ... just not today.

Monday 14 June: The Perfect Bridge

In a region abounding with Roman ruins, it takes something special to stand out. However, neither the Arènes in Nîmes, nor the Théâtre in Orange can hold a candle to the Pont Du Gard, a 40 minute bus ride from Nîmes. These days, they don’t let adolescent boys walk across the top unsupervised (Dye brothers, summer of 1985), but it’s still one of the most impressive sights you’ll see.

Sunday 13 June: Bollards!

Most of central Montpellier is pedestrianised, something that has taken a few years to achieve. In certain places, this has left redundant traffic bollards, which local citizens have taken to decorating. We particularly liked this one in the old town.

Saturday 12 June: The Traboules of Lyon

Lyon is riddled with traboules or passageways, dating from the 18^th & 19^th centuries. In particular, the area between Croix-Rousse & Hotel de Ville can be almost entirely traversed by means of these passageways. The Cour des Veraces is particularly important, having been the site of a revolt by the canuts (silk weavers) in 1831, protesting against the low rates paid by the silk merchants.

Friday 11 June: Marvellous murals

Along the river, Lyon has numerous murals decorating the ends of buildings. Probably the most impressive occupies the entire side of a building, and honours Lyon’s famous sons and daughters from over the years. The detail is incredible, and the unobservant visitor could easily try to enter one of the doors, so impressive is the rendering.

Thursday 10 June: Flower to the People!

Lyon has many examples of public art, but this bunch of flowers, not far from the Place Bellecour caught our attention. At the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers, Lyon has clearly been a city of great wealth, and also played a key role in the development of organised labour, led by the silk workers.

Wednesday 9 June: Trams old and new

Milan has an extensive tram system, on which both old and new trams are used. As in Melbourne, where we suffer the antique trams on the 78/79 routes, some Milanese are equally blessed. Whilst most visitors are (rightly) drawn to Il Duomo, the 1930s Central Railway Station is also an excellent example of its era.

Tuesday 8 June: Cameras & Crowds

It may be a cliché, but Florence really is one of the most picturesque cities. Everywhere you turn there is another tower, or classical building worthy of your camera. That’s if you can see them through the masses that (quite rightly) descend on the city in summer. One of the few places of relative calm is Giotto’s Campanile, which affords clear views of the neighbouring Duomo.

Monday 7 June: Street Art

As befits a town where students comprise over 20% of the population, street art flourishes in Bologna. We've seen stencils, paste-ups and sizeable murals, as well as general script commenting on Berlusconi and others. This roller shutter decoration was on a shop near Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, just along from the Opera House.

Sunday 6 June: Looking Down

The symbol of Bologna is the 12th century Due Torri (Two Towers), of which the Torre degli Asinelli (Donkeys Tower) can be climbed. At 97m, it’s clearly the tallest building in Bologna, and the 498 steps take you to a superb viewing platform at the top. The smaller Garisenda Tower (48m) began subsiding in the 14th century, so was reduced from its original 60m height.

Saturday 5 June: Market Day in Food Town

Bologna has always held a top spot in foodie-blog mythology and rightfully so. The markets were bustling with people looking for the freshest and tastiest of everything and we weren’t disappointed with our fragola (strawberries) and pomodorini (mini tomatoes). We can also now claim to have eaten the world’s best ice-cream (as awarded by the Ice Cream University in Orange, NJ) at La Sorbetteria Catiglione.

Friday 4 June: The Heart of Glass

Not only are Murano’s laneways and canals wider than Venice, there are fewer people and they have grass and trees! Everywhere sells or makes glass, after the Venetian glassmakers moved there in the 13th century to ensure that Venice did not burn to the ground. Murano Glass now has official government protection and major sculptures are dotted all over as part of the city’s public arts program.

Thursday 3 June: The importance of getting your story right

This letterbox, inside the Doges’ Palace (St Mark’s Square), was one of seventy or so such boxes where Venetians could post notes exposing dubious activity. However, it was important for the whistleblowers to be sure of their facts, as the same penalty would be imposed on them if the claim was found to be untrue.

Wednesday 2 June: Venice – It’s a Dog(e)’s Life

Perhaps the greatest surprise wandering around Venice’s lanes and passageways is the number of dogs that you encounter. Most seem well groomed and ‘kept’, but it just doesn’t feel like their natural environment. We saw several happily riding around on family boats, jumping on and off with ease, whilst others appeared to be supervising shops, or just wandering where their fancy took them.

Tuesday 1 June: Would you like culture with your shopping?

If Dubai does one thing well, it is shopping malls. Never anything less than huge, they cover vast swathes of land, inviting the visitor to lose themselves in a cornucopia of choice. Ibn Battuta Mall (named after the 14^th century explorer) differentiates itself via six themed areas, including the Chinese one shown here – note the blissfully unaware shoppers!

Monday 31 May: Welcome to ‘Al Vegas’!

Dubai really is the Las Vegas of the Middle East. Fuelled by oil, electricity and a belief that anything can be built, it defies all expectations. Whether it’s sustainable - economically or ecologically - is questionable, but there’s an undeniable energy nonetheless. The Vegas comparison even extends to the Bellagio-inspired fountains performing at the base of the “World’s Tallest Building”, the Burj Khalifa.

Just where are you going?

Some of you have asked for an itinerary or schedule for our trip, so we have made a map of our route - our first stop is Dubai for 48 hours.

Many thanks to the people at GIMP for the editing freeware and Eurail for the map.

Calm before the storm

At the end of this month, we depart on a ten week European trip. Travelling across eight countries, there will be plenty to see and do. Rather than attempt a comprehensive record of these travels, we've decided to focus on a single photo and paragraph to encapsulate each day.


There will be days when there are loads of great things to show and tell. On others, we might be pushing it to find one. However, this approach will focus us on what really stands out, to make following our progress more interesting.


Varying internet access may mean that we have to publish more than one entry on one day. However, it will still be one entry per day of travel, regardless. We hope that you enjoy this as much as we will doing it.


If you'd like to be notified when new posts are added, you can subscribe via your preferred reader using Subscribe to OPD at the top right of the page.

 Andy & Kalene