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One of the challenges in Spain has been adjusting to "Spanish time". This means eating lunch after 2.30pm and dinner any time from 10pm onwards (a time when most Australian are getting ready for bed!). Now that our stomach clocks have been reset, we have been enjoying a refreshing cervesa or two and sampling the tasty treats at a number of Spain's bustling pinchos and tapas bars.

Most memorable Barcelona foodie moments:

1. A walking gourmet tour which was a great way to check out the foodie scene and sniff out some of the oldest establishments in town (pictured below is the entrance to Barcelona's La Boqueria food market).

2. Our 3 visits to Origens 99.9%. OK maybe a little excessive but we just couldn't get enough of their mouthwatering tapas including veal and pear stew, duck with peaches and roast apple stuffed with pork.

3. A pinchos bar where everything was served in miniature - think everything from gourmet hamburgers to chocolate fondants.

Gaudi's architectural gems dotted throughout Barcelona are one of the things that make this city so magical!

Having caught a good dose of Gaudi fever, we visited Casa Batllo and La Pedrera, two residential buildings in the centre of Barcelona designed by Gaudi around the end of the 18th century. The rooftop terrace of the aquatic inspired La Pedrera was spectacular with its funky sandstone chimneys and stunning views across the hazy city.

We also visitied Gaudi's Park Guell, famous for its mosaic lizard (Mum - I have posted a pic for you below) and two bizarre houses inspired by the Gingerbread House in the fairytale, Hanzel and Gretel.

We visited Park Guell and spent the remainder of the day lunching by and strolling along Barcelona's heaving beaches with Gemma - a Catalan friend of Nat's who she met when she lived in LA who lives and works in Barcelona. So great to see you again Gemma!

Barcelona has some fantastic street art. Our favourites included:

1) The 'gat', a sculpture of a giant cat which we renamed "The Big Pussy" in the Aussie fashion

2) This gem of a poster entitled "One hell of a leader"...

3) Although not technically street art, we thought this sign was also worthy of a mention.

Staying in Barcelona has been a treat.

We reunited with Gay & Steve, who had organised the most wonderful apartment for us in the Born district overlooking a quaint square called Placa des Olles where local musicians entertained cafe goers. The only problem we had in the apartment was when Jack managed to fall straight through the middle of his bed. Luckily both Jack and the bed survived.

We spent our first day exploring the city. This included the obligatory walk up La Rambla and a visit to the old cathedral in the Gothic quarter.

We also explored the multicultural streets of the Raval where we were surprised to stumble across Barcelona's concerntrated red light district (a single street patrolled by more than 100 hookers) which seemed rather busy despite the early hour of the afternoon!

Holland has been great. Staying with locals always makes it special and Leiden has been absolutely beautiful. Its canals rival anywhere else in Europe (although filthy - think male football fans relieving themselves after the game), and are incredibly picturesque - whether on the water, or having a coffee beside it.

We also made a day trip to Amsterdam to visit the Van Gogh Museum and check out the scene. While the Dutch often don't like what is really a massive version of Kings Cross, it's got a vibe like nowhere else and is filled with mushroom vendors, sneaker shops, women in windows and american tourists! Despite this, once we got off the beaten path the combination of architecture and funky little design/food/homeware shops makes it one of our favourite cities.

The best thing has been to hang out with Maarten and Ruth, eat 'yummy' food and drink wine... all while watching endless world cup matches. Thanks guys - we will miss you!

We are currently in the Netherlands - home of clogs, canals and the infamous coffeeshop. We are visiting Maarten (van Straaten) and Ruth, old friends of Jack's from his days studying in Korea, who live in Leiden.

Austria also provided the opportunity for some outdoor action. Christian took us hiking and white water rafting - both of which showed off the natural assets of the surrounding area. Nat even managed to make it to the top of the moutain this time. The level 4 rafting, apparently the most difficult level allowed in Europe, was lots of fun with a big group - but Nat enjoyed the apple cider + schnitzel lunch break in the sun more than anything.

Thanks Christian - we had an amazing time! We'll be back for Carcassone soon.

We took the train south from Leipzig over the German border to Innsbruck, a city in the Tirol region of Austria, to visit Christian (aka Dr Stadler), a friend Jack made when he was living in Paris.

Innsbruck has been a real surprise for me (Nat). Just imagine a picture perfect city with cobbled stone streets surrounded by snow capped mountains and a jade coloured river running through it. Add a couple of cows with bells and you feel just like you are in a Milka ad!

Below Christian and Jack are pictured in front of Innsbruck's most famous landmark - the golden roof. Jack never fails to tease Christian about its tiny proportions.

Thanks Mum and Dad (Steve and Gay) for the very comfortable apartment in Leipzig (above) and to Uncle Michael for keeping the accounts in true German fashion.

Black is back.

A few things around Leipzig reminded us that we were in the former East Germany such as the decaying buildings and the lack of English. However, none more than the fact that the gothic fashion scene appeared to be alive and kicking here in Leipzig. Gothic brides, gothic families, gothic midgets, you name it, we saw it! There was even an old man dressed as an elf for good measure.

We could never figure out if the Gothic and Erotic festival was what brought them, or if this was just your average weekend in Leipzig.

Lunch in Leipzig consisted of a bratwürst purchased from one of numerous street vendors around the city for the bargain basement cost of 1 euro. Catch cries common around lunchtime included 'the würst is yet to come' and 'prepare for the würst'...

Bach and beer in Leipzig.

We spent last week in Leipzig, Germany attending various concerts as part of the annual Bach festival (Bach spent a large period of his life working here).

Hightlights included visiting an old church where we were treated to a concert on 'Schreiber's organ' built some time in the 1600s and a trip to a brewery where we filled our bellies with free flowing beer and lard and blood sausage sandwiches whilst we listened to an awesome barber shop quintet sing numbers from Mozart to Billy Joel.

We also visited the old Stasi HQ, now a museum, where we saw examples of spy gear used by the secret police in East Germany during a time when no one was free from suspicion. This included pre-packed disguise kits like the construction worker alias which contained essential items such as a fake nose, wig and hard hat.