barcelona. (a little late)

hola,

i am so sad to be leaving barcelona. it was a lovely city with so much character. and i didn't get pick pocketed (knock on wood--i still have a long train ride).

there was a girl, renee, walking into the hostel at the same time as me so we started chatting. then we were in the same room and we decided to do some site seeing together. we cruised las ramblas, which is the busiest street in barcelona with tourists and little street performers and roosters and food. my hostel was right off of las ramblas, which was a very convenient location for getting around. we went to the market and had a cup of freshly squeezed juice. it was delicious.

then we took the metro to parque guell. it was marvelous! this is where gaudi lived and everything is designed in gaudi fashion. the idea was to have a park away from the city to escape the pollution. but only a few houses were actually built. i can barely explain the beauty of the architecture. even the trees were slanted.
i saw a school group eating lunch. i miss my students.

we went into gaudi's house and saw his bed, which was very simple--especially compared to all the furniture he designed.




then we walked to la sagrada familia, the church that gaudi designed. wow. breath taking. the whole place is covered in tiny details. most of the original church was damaged in the spanish civil war and so there will be renovations for about 100 years. quite impressive in how he created things. we paid the 10 euros to go inside, but it wasn't really worth that much money.

that night we went out for croquettas (via kelsey's suggestion) and also had some paella. it was good, but i don't understand why it is so expensive. next we went to a little bar and had some drinks and met really nice people. guillaume is from france, but has been working in barcelona for 8 months. he asked me for a date on friday.


thursday i went to the beach with these boys from my room who are from wales. they were in town for the primavera sound music festival. we bought cheese and meat and bread and took it to the beach. it was nice and hot. i managed to get another sunburn on most of my back. the spf 50 that i got must be sooooo good because the part that i could with my hands is very very white. by the time they went to the festival, i was so exhausted so i headed back to shower. then i went shopping. surprise surprise i bought more clothes.

friday i got up and ran and then went to museums. i went to the picasso museum, which was okay. it was a lot of his early work, which surprisingly looks nothing like the picasso that we know. my favorite part was all of his ceramics. really cool things.

then i went to the contemporary art museum. i don't know why i go to them because i don't usually get much out of contemporary art. but there were some cool murals like this one: a whole wall of dart boards and they had darts you could throw.



next i walked to the miro museum. it looked close on the map and then it was all the way up hill!!! i was sweating by the time arrived. but it was really really neat. i illegally took a picture of this painting. really amazing to see all of his art.

this was my favorite i think:

it was on the montjuic hill/park so i saw some really great views.

then i walked the streets of barcelona exploring and looking at all the amazing architecture. i met an old man while trying to figure out where the mailbox was and talked to him for about twenty minutes. he was telling me differences between spanish and catilan.

when i come back next time to europe i am going to photograph/document all the different 1) bathrooms and 2) mailboxes. it is amazing how many different types there are.

i went down passeing de gracia and saw the buildings by gaudi. i saw



la pedrera

and la manzana de la discordia. muy bonita.

then guill and i went out for drinks at a bar and then he took me for the "best mojito en barcelona." it was delicious and will be my new favorite mixed drink.

i must go back to barcelona and spend more time, i think. or maybe a whole other trip for all of spain. i love it here. now i am headed to marseilles to visit jord. he lives on the beach and we are going to go on his friend's boat tomorrow and lay on the beach. sounds lovely.

after marseilles i am going to berlin and then back to holland to be with vivian for a few more days! i can't believe it's almost over.

weight gain: 5 lbs.

hasta luego,
e.

jumping in the sea.

bon jour.
i'm working on my barcelona post, but am in marseilles with jord. yesterday we jumped in the meditteranean sea and today we are going hiking. it is lovely here. beyond lovely.

happy sunday,
e.

do they have these in the US?

they are my new favorite candy.

paris day two and three.

the second day in paris i planned on spending the entire day in the louvre. i found my way. maybe the coolest part was the pyramid outside. it was a very hot day and i don't think the a/c was working hard enough. everyone was waving the papers to cool off. it made it quite miserable and i found myself unimpressed. i think i might be burnt out on the old, religious art. i saw the mona lisa, which was small and unimpressive.
i noticed that across all art forms and movements, people like to paint or sculpt breast feeding. this was my favorite interpretation.

also, nipple twisting is not a new phenomenon.

i didn't stay too long because of the heat and i felt i could spend the little time i had doing something more enjoyable. i walked outside and saw everyone sitting around these little ponds. they had chairs set out and everything. so i sat for a while.

then i decided to check out some of the big department stores, which i had stumbled into on sunday but they were closed. i don't know how i always find the shopping even when i'm not looking. the gallery lafayette was packed with asian people and it was super hot too. but i sweated my way and even tried on some things that weren't too ridiculously priced. i got one shirt and found my mom a gift that is only sold in paris. the ceiling alone was worth the heat. look how beautiful it is.
oh and in the other store, the bathroom cost 5 euros to go in. you get to choose three colors of toilet paper you want. i couldn't believe people were ACTUALLY going in. i decided to hold it.

i went into this little store that was packed with people thinking i'd get a little snack. the macaroon display was incredible, so i thought i'd get a few. the price wasn't clearly marked and low and behold--i paid way too much. however, they were delicious.

i think my favorite part of paris was all the colorful doors. one street was lined with all different blue doors. my favorite color.

i was so tired of the crowds and the over priced food that i decided to go home at 6. i did some laundry, went to mcdonalds to use the free wifi (my hostel was supposed to have it, but it was down the whole time), and went to bed early.

tuesday i woke up and checked out of my hostel. then i headed to the picasso museum. this is as close as i got to it. it's closed until 2012. they really should mark that more clearly on their website. a nice french man helped me find it and asked me to his house for drinks, but i politely declined. i walked along the seine to the musee d'orsey.

i love love loved it. i saw monet and manet, renoir and van gogh, and so many others. i saw lots of paintings i learned about in humanities and they all warmed my heart.

then i went to the grocery store and bought lunch (between paris and london, i'm way over budget). i found a grassy area and laid out in my bathing suit (which i wore for that very purpose). i don't think i got any color though, due to the spf 50 that i bought. it was a lovely afternoon.

on the metro heading to my hotel, there was a school group of 10 year olds. they were talking about in me in french and i smiled at them and one of them said something to me. i said "i'm sorry i only speak english" then they got really excited, but they only knew a few phrases in english. they all exclaimed together "HOW ARE YOU TODAY?" haha something they surely learned in school. then they'd huddle together, figure out the next thing to say, and then ask me. they couldn't believe they were talking to a real american girl. i felt like i was in a zoo. they kept inching closer and closer and all talking at once. one of them yelled to the others across the train. all i could understand was "america." one little boy pushed his way forward, looked me in the eye and said "thank you." oh it was just so cute.
odds and ends:
train.
water fountain.cafe.

at the train station before heading to barcelona (which by the way i had to pay sooooo much money for the ticket. i definitely should have taken ryanair. it was not worth it other than having an experience of sleeping in a real bed on the train) i went into the bathroom. i only had to pay 50 cents and these nice ladies at the counter watched my bags. they didn't know much english but asked where i was from so i said chicago. then one said she went to phoenix so i was really excited to tell her i was from there. she was even more excited than me and talked to me for 5 minutes in french. i just shook my head and tried my best to understand what she was saying. i say au revoir, but then they start shuffling around for something. i wait and then she pops up with a pack of coasters. they had pictures of paris all over. usually you can buy them for about 8 euros, but she said they were a present for me. it was so nice. then she came around and hugged me and gave me two kisses. so so kind.

paris was definitely not my favorite city. people really do smell and it might be the dirtiest city i have been in. but there were also some lovely lovely things to see and do.

au revoir,
e.

paris day one.

bon jour.

a few things i forgot to say about london:
i broke my sandal. i was trying to move out of the way of a blind man and tripped. the thing came out of the bottom. we borrowed a stapler and tape and repaired it, which lasted an hour. then i just had to flop it around. what a pity.

also, you would not believe the high heels women wear. middle of the day walking through the park they are in stilettos. i think that would be madison. they didn't even appear to be in pain. i was so so impressed.

i got to paris late saturday night and checked into the hostel so that i could have all of sunday to explore. the hostel is right at the edge of zone 1. the sheets are made of paper. right after i came in, another girl came in. she was french. i started to smell something, but figured it had always been here. as i laid in my bed trying to sleep it was even worse because our beds were on the same level. the entire room full of smelly feet. then this really nice french lady starts talking to the girl. she then gets up and leaves. i asked what she said. "i asked her to take a shower because the room smelled so bad." i thanked her and everyone in the room agreed. we opened the windows. that girl lived right up to the french stereotype.
i woke up and had "breakfast" in the hostel, which was included. i headed to the cathedral of notre dame because there was a mid day mass. it was exquisite. i loved it so i will post a lot of pictures. i should mention the terrible sun burn i received in london. it is quite funny looking due to the shirt i had been wearing and very very painful.

after mass i waited in line to walk up the tower. i was trying to figure out where to go next so i asked the nice looking men in front of me who were speaking english. they appeared to know their way around and i thought they could save me some time. they ended up being from chicago! one couple lives in winetka, which is on the very north side beyond evanston and the other couple used to live in brookfield. we ended up talking the entire 1 1/2 hour wait. they were some of THE nicest people i have met.

then we got to the ticket desk and they paid for my ticket! i felt so lucky. here is a picture of them. (let's see if i get this right--i know they'll be seeing this) tom and christine. mike and julie. we got some really great pictures at the top.

look at the bell. like from the hunch back of notre dame! it was gigantic.


seeing the panoramic view really helped me get my bearings in the city, which was nice. this is a little shout out to jeff carl---see the flying buttresses? cool, huh?
after we parted ways, i walked through the latin square to find some food. i realized i wasn't really hungry so i took the metro up to sacre coeur. it is a beautiful white church at the top of a hill. beyond the church is a big square where artists paint and then that sunday there was a wine and food market. i bought a big bin of strawberries for 4 euros because they looked so red and delicious.

i ate them while listening to some men play guitar. then i went to the dali exhibit. what a strange, strange man, but also a brilliant artist. his paintings and sculptures were incredible.

i sat on the hill some more and did some people watching. i felt like walking so i walked from the hill to the eiffel tower. it took me about three hours because i would stop to take pictures or look at things. i laid in the grass once and watched the sun. (don't worry i bought spf 50 sunscreen).

my initials again.
the sun was in a perfect location for these pictures of the eiffel tower. i didn't enhance ANY of these pictures because the colors were so great. i have to say the eiffel tower is a little prettier in pictures than in real life. it was kind of weird. i don't know what i expected, but not that. the lines were miles long so i decided that i didn't need to walk up it. it looked a bit scary anyway.

by this time, i was very hungry and so i decided to splurge and have a 13.50 chicken and fries at this cute cafe. the protein tasted sooooooo delicious. my poor body is upset with this traveling. i am not getting enough nutrients i think and so i keep getting sores and such in my mouth. anyway, the chicken was just what i needed. i met a nice couple from spain and a group from holland. people are so so nice. that is my favorite part of traveling alone---talking to random people.

so the waiter took a half hour to bring my check and so i decided to go in and give him the money. as i was standing there, these two ladies were talking about me (in french). i thought maybe they were talking about my sunburn since i had a lot of comments about it already. so i pointed to it and said "sunburn?"she then spoke english asking where i was from. she had been telling her mom "see, there looks like a nice, wholesome girl." i guess there was a huge group of young people going to the hill of the eiffel tower to get really really drunk. it was organized by a drinking facebook group. there were about 300 police men (not exaggerating) out. she asked where i was from and kept asking questions so i eventually sat down with them. they are american, but spend half their time in paris. the father (who is now dead) built the tallest building in paris (which christine had mentioned that they went to the top for dinner). her mother is 88 and looked really fabulous. she wanted to go to bed so she left. amanda ended up buying me two glasses of wine and wanted to pay for my dinner, but i told her i already had. she pulled out a 20 (american) dollar bill and handed it to me. i refused, but she insisted. then she bought me my very first french crepe! they lit the alcohol on fire and poured it all over the crepe then topped it with powdered sugar. it was umm.... really strong. we talked for two hours about all kinds of things. she donates to hearts home, which is the program i applied for to volunteer abroad. she grew up as a wealthy aristocrat and couldn't believe i stayed in hostels. she was really fascinated by my stories because she never experienced anything like it. she kept wanting to set me up with the wealthy french boys. i didn't object.
long story long, we finally left and she showed me her house. guess what her backyard is: the EIFFEL TOWER. how is that even possible? she gave me her email and phone number so i could call if i needed her to wire me money if i ran out. we might meet for lunch again, but i'm not sure because i'm having difficulty getting internet.

i don't know how i had such a lucky day of so so so many nice people.
despite some great stories and experiences, it's not really my favorite city.
more to come.

salut,
e.