The Lake District

We had heard a lot about Lake District and despite the obvious meaning, were struggling to figure out what the place would have in store. As always, Mr Google and Mr Wikipedia helped us out. Lake District is an area in North West England which contains more than 20 peaks and lakes. Needless to say the resulting landscape is spectacular. 

There are many choices for where to stay and what to do but being first timers we opted for the touristy thing to do and stayed in Bowness-on-Windermere. Windermere is the largest lake in Lake District and Bowness is situated near the centre of the 10.6 miles long lake. Staying in a B&B (Bed and Breakfast) is the best option (and the most economical one). I recommend using www.golakes.co.uk. Found the site extremely well structured and very user friendly. We had decided to drive up to Windermere and given our "enjoy-a-journey-by-eating-junk-food" gene, we completed the 5.5 hr journey in 7. We stayed in "Oakfold House" and though the room was a little cramped it was quite tastefully done up. The room had its own library of an eclectic collection of music CDs, books and DVDs. I was quite impressed.

After a well rested night and a "propah" english breakfast, we took our first cruise on the lake. Luckily, we got to do it on the lake's oldest steamer "The Tern". What amazed me the most through the cruise was the fact that, across the length of the lake, the mountain slopes surrounding the lakes were perfectly manicured. Its as if there is an army of mowers that gets to work every night to ensure we get a picture perfect view. What I learnt later was that it was the controlled grazing of the sheep that was the magical secret. The banks of the lake were dotted with beautiful old houses and some picturesque hotels. 

We got off on the south side of the lake at "Lakeside" and went Quad Biking. A Quad bike is a true ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) and I quite discovered that as we trekked a muddy and stony track upto a height of about 800 metres. Not only was the ride on the bike exhilarating, the view that greeted us was superb as well. We were able to see multiple peaks and 2 lakes (Windermere and Ulswater). Some crazy amount of clicking of snaps happened.

The next day we took it a little easy and finally got out of our room only by 11am. Our first walk for the day was to "Orrest Head" that claimed unparalleled views of Lake Windermere. The trek was a fairly gentle climb (carrying my 2 year old provided some challenge but was fairly easily done) and, since more often than not one expects to "earn the reward", I started to suspec whether it was just a marketing gimmick. Boy!!! was I wrong. I dont remember seeing such a beautiful and panoramic view ever in my life. We could see the full 10 miles of Lake Windermere without any obstruction whatsoever and about 8-10 small to large peaks beyond it. Again, crazy amount of snap clicking happened. We wound our trip with a drive to the highest motorable road in Lake district - The Kirkside Pass. 

An extremely memorable weekend and a highly recommended place for almost anyone since Lake District offers a huge range of activities at almost any budget that you have. Only suggestion is that you go when the weather's nice and when you have atleast 3 days to spare. Follow the link for some snaps - Lake District Snaps

Spain

Spain gives you the sense that its an 'almost' developed nation. The extensive underground train network, the highly developed road infrastructure as well as good marketing of commonplace attractions to lure tourists are all signs of a developed nation. The last one particularly so since it indicates that they have time and resources to dedicate to the same and have risen above the more mundane issues that occupy the developing nations. I say 'almost', since they havent mastered the art of dumbing down things; sort of, making them foolproof like the US has. They still expect you to use your brains e.g. while you're driving or if you're trying to find food (especially vegetarian). There aren't signs like 'This might contain nuts' on a packet of peanuts.

But beautiful, it is. We started our trip in Malaga where I had my first experience with a left hand drive car and for the first couple of trips the only way I figured out which side of the road to drive on was when I noticed the 'are you trying to commit suicide?' look on other drivers' faces. However, having driven in warzones (I've stayed in Mumbai and Bangalore), I was equipped with the versatility to drive anywhere in the world and we escaped unhurt if not uncursed at. Our room at Club la Costa, in Fuengirola, afforded us panoramic views of the mountains, the coastline and a couple of swimming pools from our living room and the ocean and some more pools from our bedroom. We absolutely fell in love with it and spent the first 30 mins going ballistic with our Digicam and Handycam. Once we came back to earth, we planned out the next 4 days we had in Malaga.

Ronda: The 2.5 hour drive to Ronda was scenic. The mountains seem to change colours; what were white mountains (not snow but a stone of some kind) during the early part of the day reflected an orange hue in the evening. Its a small town that has shot to fame primarily because a stream has formed a deep gorge and the high bridge on the gorge now looks like its the only thing that's holding old and new Ronda together. The views from the bridge are nice and you quickly catch the contagious enthusiasm of the other tourists who are clicking away furiously. The other thing to look at in Ronda is the Bull ring; Plaza de Toros de Ronda. Its got a nice museum as well and gives you a some idea of the center place bull fights took in the sporting scene of ancient Spain.

Malaga: Malaga is a fairly busy town founded by the Phoenicians . It acts as a tourist hub for numerous day excursions to Granada, Nerja, Ronda, Gibraltar etc. The main attractions of Malaga are Alcazaba, Gibralfaro Castle and The Cathedral of Sagrada. Alcazaba is a small moorish fortification on the Gibralfaro mount that is unlikely to impress Indians who have seen forts that are bigger and stronger and can be avoided if one doesnt have the time. The Gibralfaro castle, built in the 14th century by Yusuf I of the Kingdom of Granada, is worth going to to catch a 360 degree view of Malaga. Again, as a castle, it pails in comparison to the ornate castles that adorn the landscape of India but the views are certainly spectacular and one can see the port, the cathedral, the bull ring, Alcazabo and the entire city on a clear day. For us the highlight of the day, apart from our first taste of Tapas, was the cathedral. It was the grandest cathedral we had ever seen and had 2 huge organs (the only larger one I've seen was in the Sydney Opera House)

Nerja: The reception at Club la Costa had recommended this highly and thankfully it lived upto its expectation every bit. Balcon d'Europe almost feels like a platform on the sea and Nerja caves were truly spectacular. The caves stretch for nearly 5 kms but only a small section is open to the public. One of the chambers of the caves has been converted into a natural amphitheatre and concerts are regularly held there.

We rounded off our trip to Malaga with a day in Benalmadena, a quiet village town between Malaga and Fuengirola, and spent the day along its virgin beach and had Paella at a beach side restaurant.

Barcelona: As soon as our plane landed in Barcelona, we came back to earth in more ways than one. The temperature in Barcelona was -1 C, our service apartment was a stark contrast to our apartment in Malaga and our first trip to the Barcelona Aquarium was a big dissapointment. However things did take a turn for the better.

Montjuic Hill: All of Montjuic Hill has been converted to a tourist destination. At the base is MNAC (Museu Nationale de Catalunya) and at the top is Fort Montjuic that can be accessed via a cable car. MNAC was a brilliant education in the history of art for a novice like me. It has seperate sections that trace the chronological evolution of Europian art right from Gothic to Roman to Baroque to Renaissance to Modern art. On the way up Montjuic Hill are numerous other art museums for art lovers. What we found most interesting though was Poble Espanyol, a mock up of a Spanish village that was built in 1929 during the International Exhibition. The intent was to synthesize Spanish architecture in one place and demolish it at the end of the exhibition but was preserved due to the impact it had and its popularity. The village also has an art exhibition that contains some of Picasso's work. We also covered the Montjuic Olympic Stadium and caught views of Barcelona city from Fort Montjuic. It would have been a perfect day if we had been able to see the Magic Fountain show, but it was not to be since it was closed for refurbishment.

Antonio Gaudi and his work: Never have I seen a major metropolis influenced by the work of a single architect like Barcelona is by Gaudi. Though Gaudi was unable to finish a lot of the projects he started, he left an indelible mark on its architectural landscape. Gaudi derived most of his inspiration from nature and that reflects explicitly in his work. La Padrera, Casa Batlo and Parc Guell are exceptional and unique but the culmination of his work is undoubtedly 'The Sagrada Familia'. The massive roman Catholic church's construction began in 1882 and continues even today. Of course, the church's client is in no hurry and the work is scheduled to complete in 2026.

We spent the last day in Barcelona roaming La Ramblas, the most "happening" street of Barcelona and took a ride in La Golondrinas, a cruise along the coastline of Barcelona.