A Travel Blog
Valencia sat on the banks of the Rio Turia until 1957, when the city had the river diverted after a series of devastating floods. The former river bed was turned into the Jardines del Turia, a 9 km-long park that now curves across the top of the city centre.
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Dean Village is a picturesque former village only a short walk from the centre of Edinburgh.
After Sunday’s visit to the more famous landmarks in the Belém area of Lisbon, we found lunch and then wandered through the nearby Jardim Botânico Tropical.
Much of these tropical gardens were originally installed for an exhibition in 1940, and the original intent was to showcase plants native to some of Portugal’s more tropical colonies, including Brazil, Goa and Macau.
Many cats roam freely around our Mouraria neighbourhood. They pop out through doorways and from beneath cars without warning. They are friendly but somewhat distrusting of any humans who are not in the process of feeding them.
We’ve seen this well-fed tabby a few times on Rua Marquês de Ponte de Lima.
After admiring the Castelo de São Jorge from many different angles since we arrived, we finally made a proper visit yesterday evening a little before sunset.
The Romans had created fortifications here by 48 BC, but most of the castle was built by the Moors in the 11th century. It was in ruins by the early 1900’s, then heavily reconstructed in the 1930’s and 1940’s, which is probably when most of the walls we see now were actually erected.
Our Reykjavik layover was short, so we only had a few hours on our last evening to explore the downtown area.
This was the colourful corner of Klapparstigur, Týsgata and Njálsgata near our hotel.
As in most cold-weather countries, Icelanders consume a lot of coffee. We visited Reykjavik Roasters, one of the city’s most serious coffee places, where I enjoyed a very nice and very hot $6 Americano.