Madrid part 1

Better late than never, here comes the post about Madrid!

Mum and I had a little trip in a trip; during our time in Spain we took a train to Madrid to spend couple of days there.  We saw a heap of art, famous statues, fountains, buildings, parks, and the list goes on.    In this post you can see many sights, and in the part 2, I'll be telling more about my thoughts and how I liked Madrid.  Enough said, here come the photos!

Bear and the Madrono tree, the symbol of Madrid:

Puerta del Sol, the heart of Madrid.  This is where out hotel was located, also the home of the statue you saw above:

Metropolis Building, one of the landmarks with great architecture from the beginning of the 20th century:

Plaza Mayor, a huge (129 x 94m) area, which origins go all the way back to 1576 (bronze statue from 1616).  It's surrounded by three-story high buildings, having 9 entrance-ways and 237 balconies facing the plaza:

Monument of Cervantes, the Spanish novelist, playwright and poet who created Don Quixote:

Plaza de Cibeles, a big landmark and an iconic symbol of Madrid:

The Royal Palace of Madrid, this is where the king used to live:

The Almudena Cathedral, right opposite to the palace,

Parque de buen retiro, a park where lots of people go to spend time and relax:

This glass palace is located in the same park:

 

Stay tuned for the part two,

Liisa

Alicante

This post includes photos from our trip to Alicante.

We never even planned a trip like this, but so it happened that we didn't get the train tickets we wanted, as the train was already fully booked.  Therefore we ended up with eight hours to kill.  :D  

We went to the harbor, up to the Castle of St. Barbara with the whole family, and the rest of the time mum and I spent at the train station.  Actually a really good day.

Next time about Madrid,

Liisa

Opera House

We went on a tour to the Opera House, and this is a bit more detailed post about it.  It was just the basic tour, but it ended up being better than I ever imagined.  We went to three of the different venues they have; the Playhouse, the Concert Hall and the Opera Theatre.  I didn't know much about the Opera House to start with, so it was great to get to see the different venues and learn about the history a bit better.  The best part of the entire tour and my whole day actually, was definitely the visit to the Cencert Hall, because the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was rehearsing and we were allowed to listen for them to play for a while.  The acoustics are just amazing, unlike anywhere I've been before.  The tour was amazing, and the only down side was that it just made me more sad in front of the fact that I won't get to see a performance there.  

Couple of photos from inside.  We weren't allowed to photograph during most of the tour, so I only have couple of shots, and therefore added those links to different venues so you could take a better look.  (:

After that we walked to the Hyde Park.

And then drove to the Northern Beaches, here's the Palm Beach.

Busy, busy day,

Liisa

Sydney once again

Today we went to Sydney too see the Opera House and couple of other things.  We left early from Singleton so we would have a lot of time when we got there.  I will be making another post just about, the Opera House later, as it is late already and I have to be going to school tomorrow.  Three more days to go!!! :/

And our views during lunch, not bad aye! 

Wait for the next post to see more of the Opera House,

Liisa

Day in Sydney

Continues from my last post and about our little trip to Sydney!

We left the place we stayed the night at early enough to have time in Sydney.  We did a bit of shopping and I got a jacket to wear in the wedding, as the weather is already getting cold.  

We had lunch at Observatory hill, mmm.  One of my favorite places in the world with one of my favorite people.  Can't get better than that!  (:

And a little walk on the bridge.

Views of Sydney, old and new.

After an awesome trip it's always nice to get home.  (:

Trying to use my days wisely,

Liisa

Vivid

We went to the Sydney Vivid show last night.  The whole night was really nice, and there were so many different things to look at.  Only the Opera House wasn't quite as spectacular as we expected, because unlike previous years it didn't change color or get an interesting print all over it.  The weather wasn't the best either; ridiculous rain and therefore wet and cold.  Oh well, great company and Sydney, definitely a night to remember.  (:

We stayed the night in Sydney, so read to next post if you wish to find out what we got up to.  (:

Another short-notice-plan successfully put into practice,

Liisa