Paris: Casually Glamorous

My parents and my friends have always said that I somehow have great luck, and that held true 100% this past weekend in Paris. I saw literally everything first out of our group- the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Love Lock Bridge, everything! My luck also tends to carry over into the people that I sit next to on planes, and the weather, and these held true as well! When we visited Barcelona, it was uncommonly warm. Before leaving for Paris, our host family warned us that it rains a lot in Paris and that it's cloudy much of the time, however this weekend in Paris was sunny without a single cloud in the sky and around 65 degrees! All of these things worked together to give me the absolute best weekend I could have asked for for my first time in Paris, France.

I have to start out by saying that Paris was not on my list of places I wanted to go when I decided to study abroad in Europe. I didn't even tell my bank that I planned on going to France and had to have my mom tell them while I was already here! I tend to not like things that are hyped up for me, I guess because I go in with high expectations and then am disappointed. The opposite happened with Paris- I went in with such high expectations and Paris still overwhelmed me with its beauty. From the moment I sat down on the plane from Sevilla to Paris I was impressed with everything and everyone I countered. My seat was on the aisle with an older French couple (maybe in their 50's) in between myself and the window. The French couple spoke and understood English as long as I spoke slowly, and I learned that they were just finishing a five day vacation in Sevilla and returning to their home in a town 18 kilometers outside Paris. They were pleased to learn that I was from the United States and enjoying my time studying in Spain. I showed them the list of places that I was planning on visiting in Paris, and they told me that I was definitely maximizing my limited time there! They were a sweet couple, holding hands during takeoff and landing and even reading the same book during the duration of the flight! After we landed, I took my backpack from the overhead compartment and wished them safety for the rest of their trip home, and they told me that I was a pleasant travel companion, and that they were so glad I was visiting France. It was the best welcome to a new country that I could have asked for!

We flew into Bouveau airport, which was an hour bus ride outside of the city of Paris. We definitely didn't mind the bus ride however, because we spent the entire ride laughing at the most ridiculous things. We realized during the only moment that we weren't laughing (while we were eating) that apart from ourselves, the entire bus was silent. We couldn't help talking though- we were all too excited! Emily and I were seated in front of the two other girls we traveled with this weekend, Deanna and Jen. I was turned around talking to them, and turned to face the front of the bus again, when I caught my first glimpse of the top of the Eiffel Tower over the Paris skyline! I reached behind me excitedly and grabbed Deanna's leg (I think I actually grabbed the seat, but whatever) and Emily's arm on my other side and exclaimed "THE EIFFEL TOWER!!!" People on the bus smiled and laughed at us- we had definitely just defined ourselves as both Americans and tourists.

I honestly can't say where our hostel was located, but where ever it was I'm glad it was there. We stayed in Arty Paris hostel (highly recommended- clean and spacious rooms and a delicious free breakfast! Also a very helpful staff) and were fortunate enough to have a room just for the four of us. Getting up to our room was a bit of an adventure- I have never in my life seen a smaller elevator! It was probably a quarter of the size of a normal elevator. We could all fit just carrying our purses and squeezed together sideways with no space to move! We meant to get a picture of the four of us crammed into the elevator, but didn't have time. Also approximately half of the time that we needed to use the elevator it was stuck, so we ended up walking up the stairs several times. However we were just on the fifth (and top) floor, so it wasn't all that bad.

The first thing we wanted to do after arriving to our hostel around dinner time Friday night was cross something off the list of things that we all wanted to do- eat crepes. We asked the man at the front desk where we could find crepes, and followed up on his recommendation which resulted in the most pleasant first meal in France. We ate on the outdoor terrace of a small restaurant and were served by a waiter who did not speak much English, but we were able to communicate with him through the help of a French woman who spoke nearly perfect English, and was enjoying a solo dinner at a table near ours. Jen and I ordered crepes with Nutella, almonds, bananas, whipped cream, and vanilla ice cream. Emily and Deanna ordered crepes with crumbled cookies, apples, caramel, and vanilla ice cream. We tried each others, and both were so delicious!! Needless to say they were very unhealthy, but definitely worth it because they were so flavorful and filling. 

After dinner we took the metro, which was surprisingly easy to navigate, to the Louvre museum! We came up from the metro station, and the Eiffel Tower was right there, unobstructed and lit up, in front of us. Every single one of us teared up at the sight of it. And it wouldn't be the last time this happened to us. 

We spent an embarrassing amount of time walking around what we later learned was the outside of the Louvre without realizing what it was, and not understanding the numerous people who we asked for directions when they said that the Louvre was "right there". We were looking for the iconic glass pyramid! We stumbled upon it, much like we did our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, and therefore the excitement was even greater! I saw the pyramid shimmering through the pillars of the outside of the Louvre, and again excitedly exclaimed "THERE IT IS!" and we all began running/skipping to where we could see the pyramid.

Luckily we knew that the Louvre is free for students under 25 from 6:30-9:45 pm on Friday nights, which is why we chose to go during this time. I'm so glad it was during the evening, because it wasn't crowded at all! We decided that since the Louvre was so big, and we didn't intend to spend our entire night there, that we would see just what we wanted to see, including the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, the Egyptian exhibits, and the basement of the museum. I've heard so many people say that they were surprised at how small the Mona Lisa is, that I think I was expecting it to be tiny, and I actually ended up being surprised at how big it was! Still not large, but definitely not small either. Our host mom said that when she went, she could barely see the painting because there were so many people crowded around it, but when we went there were only maybe 20 people there and I was able to get to the rope surrounding it to take pictures! The same proved true with the other things we visited in the Louvre as well. We definitely lucked out.

The Louvre museum was originally part of a palace that was built in that location, and the ruins of the base of the castle can still be found in the basement! The last picture above is a model in the basement of the Louvre of the castle that once stood on its location. Of course I reached over the rope and touched the original castle walls- such a thrill!

After the Louvre we went to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. The journey was awesome in itself- we walked alongside the Seine River which is the most turbulent river I have ever seen. And also possibly the most dirty. It was so murky, and there were actual small waves in the river. With each turn we took while walking through the city, we would catch glimpses and then lose sight of the Eiffel Tower. Each time it came back into our line of vision it was bigger and brighter- but the best time was when we knew we were close because we could see the light it projects cutting through the night sky periodically as it circled, but the buildings we were next to obscured the Tower itself. We turned right down a small street, and the Eiffel Tower was right in front of us, only about two blocks away. We all stopped, and again tears were in all eight of our eyes. It was so big! That sounds like such a stupid statement- obviously the Eiffel Tower is big. But looming in front of us so suddenly in all of it's impressive massiveness it looked more majestic than the most glamorous queen dressed in her finest jewels. 

Every hour after dark, on the hour and for five minutes, the Eiffel Tower lights up with dancing lights that literally give the impression that it's glittering. It was so breathtaking to see. I felt mesmerized- I actually couldn't move. It was the most beautiful and inspiring sight I have ever witnessed, and I highly doubt that anything will ever make me feel the way that I did in those five minutes. I took a video and endless pictures of the glittering, but neither compare to the real thing, just as pictures of the Eiffel Tower can't express how being there and seeing it in person excites something inside of you that you didn't even know was there.

Saturday morning we rose by 8 to enjoy breakfast and take the metro to the island on the Seine River where Notre Dame is. Jen was meeting up with some of her friends from home in Paris, and they were going to spend the morning at Versailles, so she left the hostel to start her day before we even got up! When we exited the metro station we could hear the bells of Notre Dame chiming and followed them to the church itself. Even before we saw the entire thing, I glimpsed the famous two towers over the rooftop of another building! It's been a long time- since my very early childhood since I've seen the movie the Hunchback of Notre Dame, but Emily said that it looks exactly the same in person as it does in the movie, which is super cool! 

It's free to enter, and there happened to be a mass taking place while we were there! We sat and listened for a few minutes, but of course we couldn't understand what was being said. I guess I should have mentioned before that none of our group knows how to speak French, except for a few phrases between the four of us. We walked around the inside, and found small jar candles with a picture of Mary and the words "Notre Dame" on them, which you could light and say a prayer and then take home with you for a small donation. This was such a unique and meaningful souvenir!

After Notre Dame we walked the short distance to the famous Love Lock Bridge. We had a little trouble finding it, and asked a very helpful couple for directions. Almost everyone that we spoke to in France, whether a shop owner, a waiter in a restaurant, or a person on the street, spoke at least a little bit of English and was more than willing to help us! The Love Lock Bridge is something else that made me tear up when we walked onto it. I've seen pictures of the immense amount of locks that are on the bridge, but actually seeing just how many there were was unbelievable. It was so inspiring to see how many couples there are who feel so strongly about one another that they are are excited to make such a big commitment. If that many people can believe in love, what reason does anyone have to be afraid of it? It was so interesting to examine the locks individually. Some of them are combination locks, some are padlocks. Some locks are engraved with words and images, showing that the lock-hanging wasn't a spontaneous but rather a long anticipated event. Almost all of them have inscriptions of some sort, ranging from quotes about love to the names of the two people who hung the lock together. There is almost no room on the actual bridge left to hang locks, so many people have hung their locks onto locks that are already hung. It was while examining some of these locks that the most horrific thing possible happened- one of the locks became unhooked and fell straight through the gap in the board of the bridge into the Seine River!! Emily, Deanna, and I grabbed each others' arms and looked at each other with shock and amusement- what were the chances of this happening!? Of course I was freaking out- if I end up alone at 80 years old except for an excessive amount of cats it's definitely because of the time I went to Paris and knocked a lock off the Love Lock Bridge. The irony is that right before this, we were talking about how cool it would be if when a couple broke up, their lock fell off the bridge. Of course, for that to happen you would have to believe in magic, but after this trip and meeting some of the best magicians I've ever seen (more on that later) I just might believe in magic.

This wasn't the weirdest thing to happen on the Love Lock Bridge however. While we were standing near a lamppost on the bridge, we're 90% sure that we witnessed a sketchy drug deal. A man came up to the lamppost, opened a section in the base with a key, and slipped a super suspicious-looking package inside, and then locked the section closed again and put the key into his pocket. He stood around for a while as though checking to make sure no one saw him before walking away, again with more sketchiness than I've ever seen a person walk. I guess it will be a mystery for a while, but I kind of hope this is one of the things that you find the answers to when you die.

After the Love Lock Bridge, we took the metro to another part of the city to see the Opera House, or Palais Garnier in French. This is the Opera House where the novel (and movie) The Phantom of the Opera was filmed. His box (number 5) was even marked!

The Palais Garnier was built by a relatively unknown architect and ended up being amazing. The grand staircase was built with the intention of being a kind of theater itself, when ladies dressed in their finest attire could be both seen and see others. 

The architect wanted to incorporate lots of symbolism and references to mythology in his masterpiece, and so included marble statues of Tragedy and Comedy flanking the sides of the entrance to the main auditorium.

Touring the Palais Garnier was something that I thought would be interesting, but not something that I expected to enjoy as much as I did. We rented audio guides and were able to walk around the opera house and take photos at our own pace. It was so wonderful to be able to learn so much history about the opera house and the city as well! A wonderful surprise awaited us as we left after our tour; there was a wonderful singer with a microphone singing "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5 right in front of Palais Garnier! It was awesome to have such an incredible and memorable song sung in such a significant place. I definitely will never listen to that song now without thinking about Paris.

We needed to meet back up with Jen at 3:30 in front of the Eiffel Tower, and so we took the remaining time after our tour to search for a place to eat. We settled on a delicious Italian restaurant near the Eiffel Tower which was definitely a good choice!

While walking to the Eiffel Tower, we somehow managed to turn down the exact same street that we did on Friday night when we first saw the entire Eiffel Tower! It was awesome to see the tower from the same spot both by day and by night. The nighttime picture was earlier in this blog.

When we found Jen, we also found the most delightful surprise of the day- two magicians! The young men were teenagers, 17 and 19 years old, but I would have guessed that they were maybe 22 or 23. They both spoke English very well. They were so amazing!! I got way too excited about all of the amazing tricks that they did, and I think they enjoyed having me as an audience! They even asked if I would assist them with several of their tricks! There was one in particular where they asked me to hold a match box in my hand the entire time, and asked Deanna to think of a card. At the end of the trick, they asked me to open the box, and Deanna's card was inside! I actually have no idea how that happened. Like I said earlier, they definitely made me believe in magic again! They showed us tricks for nearly an hour before continuing on their way. It was obvious that they enjoyed having such an enthusiastic audience! They even went away and then remembered another trick and came back to show it to us! I swear I think those two boys will be famous someday- they truly were gifted! It was so wonderful to meet locals who were not quite in the norm of people in Paris who wanted to show us things for their own enjoyment, as well as ours. They didn't even ask for money at the end of their display of tricks. They were just wonderful artists wanting to show off their craft, and I'm so glad that they chose us!

We spent at least an hour taking pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower on the most beautiful, cloudless spring day!

After experiencing the beauty and majesty of the Eiffel Tower during the day, we headed to our last stop: The Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe was built by Napoleon to welcome home his troops after battle. He said to them "Returning home, you will pass under triumphal arches," and indeed the Arc de Triomphe certainly is triumphal. The only regret I have is that we went during a time when the side facing the Eiffel Tower was under restoration, however we could still catch a glimpse of it while peering around the side of the scaffolding. 

We ended our long and wonder-filled day walking along Champs-Elysees, shopping and eating. We returned to our hostel pretty early, maybe around 10:30 or 11 because our feet hurt so badly, but after we had all showered, we spent the night lounging in our room telling jokes and making pathetic pick up lines (this was mostly me, I'll admit it) and just talking and laughing. It truly was the most perfect weekend that I've ever had.

The next morning we left early to be at the airport in time to catch our 12:30 pm flight. On the flight home, I sat next to a wonderful boy who is from Philadelphia and is also studying in Sevilla! We spent the time waiting for the plane to take off talking about Sevilla and Paris and the United States. Like I've said, I always meet the most fantastic people on planes! That's definitely my favorite part about flying. He wasn't even weird about the fact that when I fell asleep, my head fell sideways and bounced off his shoulder for a second, waking me up. This truly was the most perfect trip to Paris that I could have imagined. Looking back, I wouldn't change a single thing, except maybe our flight times. But even with the flights, I'm so impressed with how much we were able to do in just a day and an evening. And also the fact that even though we did so much, none of it felt rushed. Paris is a city that I would love to come back to in the future, to see more of the city, do more shopping, and see Versailles and more of the Louvre! Paris is one of the few cities that I've been to- both in Europe and in the United States- that I could see myself living in and being happy. I'm so glad that I had the chance to go during this exact weekend, with the exact weather, with the exact girls, and have exactly the perfectly timed experiences that I did.

Portugal: Nata, Roosters, y Vino Verde

Two weekends ago I was able to add another country to my list: Portugal! The only regret I have is that they didn't stamp our passports when we crossed the border. We visited two cities- the capital city of Lisbon (Lisboa in Spanish/Portuguese) and Évora, which is a World Heritage Site and still contains many medieval ruins. Overall, the weekend can be broken up into the three themes that title this blog post: Nata, Roosters, and Vino Verde.

Nata

Nata is the pastry that Portugal is famous for, and after tasting one it was easy to understand why. The rich, creamy, sweet custard is contained in a thin flaky pastry shell and topped with a thin baked sugar-crust. I had my first taste of nata during our first meal in Lisbon during Friday afternoon. This meal was a fiasco for everyone except for me, to say the least. A misleading carefree-looking outdoor cafe, the restaurant served me a delicious sandwich which was just like the phenomenally overly-buttery grilled cheese sandwiches that Pitt serves at Market Central, except with the added benefit of ham too. It was arguably the best sandwich I've ever had, with the exception of course of Panera, the number one sandwich place in my heart. They also brought me a pastry that was alternating layers of flaky pastry and a glaze with a slight orange flavor and tint. It was delicious! And the entire meal was more than filling, both for my taste buds and my stomach, and cost just five Euro! However while I was enjoying my meal, everyone else was near tears over theirs. One girl in our program decided to order just a "slice" of pizza. She was brought a slice of keish. The others at our table tried to explain to me what exactly keish is, and what I got from them is that it is made from eggs and some frightening added ingredients that do not sound at all like they would taste good as a breakfast food. The keish served at the restaurant in Lisbon was stone cold, and contained tuna. Our friend couldn't even swallow it. When she pointed out to our waiter that this was not what she ordered, he explained that she simply ordered a "slice", and "slices" of keish happened to be what they had at the time... Yeah, this didn't make much sense to me either. This was the main meal fiasco, however everyone else had something small wrong, whether their food just didn't taste good, had mysterious sauces, or wasn't heated properly. Also, in Europe there is no such thing as separate checks, so trying to pay for our meal (there were nine of us) was another story in itself! Thankfully this really was the only bad meal experience that we had.

After lunch, we proceeded to climb a hill to the Castle of Saõ Jorge. The castle was more of a fortress, yet still majestic and wonderful! There were so many passages and turrets to climb and discover. It was easy to see the enticement that castles held for royalty, and eventually for Disney movies! In addition to the castle itself being regal, there were wild peacocks roaming the castle grounds with feathers of the most vibrant and glowing blues and greens I have ever seen in my life.

In Lisbon we were treated to two nights in a five star hotel. I was still full from lunch when it came time for dinner on the first night, and while Emily went out to dinner with some other friends I took the first bath I've taken in probably ten years. It was sooo relaxing, and definitely worth using all the hot water in the hotel, which is what my friends blamed their cold showers later that night on (not at all sorry- the bath was definitely worth it). Naturally, the breakfasts in the mornings were the best part of the hotel. We took an hour at least every morning to stuff our stomachs as full as possible with the freshest fruit, most delicious breakfast pastries, and homemade jam with toast. It was so so delicious and definitely worth getting up early for. If I had to rank the meals that I had in Portugal, the breakfasts would win just slightly over the meal that we had on Saturday night while trying to navigate our way home from a gypsy camp (more on that later). The guys we were with wanted to stop for something called "kebabs," which definitely was out of my scope of foods that I was willing to try. However I am so glad that I finally caved to my stomach's callings and got one- a sliced roll filled with lettuce, cheese, spicy chicken, and hot sauce, the kebab was scrumptious! This is one time I am glad I was adventurous with my food tasting. Also probably the only time.

Roosters

Roosters are a cultural symbol in Portugal- we had seen them everywhere in Lisbon but didn't learn why until our visit to Évora. The legend behind them is that a king in Portugal relied on a rooster to prove the innocence of a supposedly guilty man, which is in reference to a Biblical story. Évora, as well as having roosters everywhere (as did Lisbon), also had everything you could ever want made out of cork. Cork trees covered the land outside the city walls (yes, there are still the actual original walls surrounding the city boundaries) and in almost every shop you could find goods of every kind made out of cork! Purses, luggages sets, wallets, neckties, shot glasses (which I caved and bought- how could you not?! A shot glass made out of cork? Come on), postcards, the list could go on and on! The cork was so fine and so soft it looked and felt like leather. Our tour guide even informed us that the purses made from cork could be washed! Everything that you see in the photo below is made from 100% cork! It was so incredible to see what the artists and craftsmen could do!

We received a full tour of the city of Évora, including the cathedral, the Roman ruins, and the most important place in Évora, the chapel of bones. 

The Chapel of Bones is built with 5,000 human skeletons, and bears the phrase "Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos," which translates to "We, the bones that are here, await yours." While definitely creepy, the message of the chapel was loud and clear, even without the inscription. It was enough to make anyone realize how definitely mortal we are, and that really we all are reduced to just bones and flesh. Or in the case of those unlucky 5,000 people who became the chapel, just bones. 

Vino Verde

Literally translated to "green wine", vino verde is a type of wine that is only found in Portugal, and is a sweet, bubbly white wine which appeals to all of my favorites when it comes to wine. I even bought a bottle to bring back with me! Our guides from ISA recommended that we try the vino verde, and after this suggestion proved to be worthwhile, we also took into consideration their other recommendations, including where to go at night and what to do during our free time on Saturday. Friday night we ventured into Barrio Alto, which is a neighborhood in Lisbon consisting of winding streets of bars upon bars. We met up with some of the guys from our trip, and walked around with them through streets crowded with early twenty-somethings carrying their drinks from bar to bar and singing and chanting in the streets. It was so easy to get separated from the group in the masses of people who were pressed together almost literally without room to breathe. We rounded a corner down one of these streets, and immediately found ourselves surrounded by men selling questionable substances. The drug laws in Portugal have been decriminalized, which was undoubtedly the reason for almost every man who came up to us on the street asking "you want marijuana?" in a muttered undertone at some point during the conversation. However the Portuguese police were out in full force, and dispersed any situation that seemed to be brewing.

I wish the Portuguese police had been present on Saturday, when we wandered into a gypsy flea market at sundown. However before I get ahead of myself to that story, I can't forget about the beautiful morning we had visiting several monuments near the beach of Lisbon. First, we went to a gigantic monestary.

Our second and final visit of the morning was to the Belém Tower, which is a tower located in the actual river that runs by Lisbon, right where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean. When originally constructed, the tower had been built almost exactly in the middle of the river for the protection of Lisbon. However after an earthquake a few hundred years after the building of the tower displaced much of the water of the Tagus River, the tower no longer stood in the middle, but at the shoreline. Today it only stands in a few meters of water. 

We had been intending to visit the market (fería in Portuguese) during the afternoon, however some members of our group wanted to take pictures from the top of the arch in the main square by the beach in Lisbon and we ended up getting separated while trying to wait for them. Not having cell phone service was definitely a struggle. But anyway, Emily and I conveniently met up with some other boys from our program and they accompanied us to the fería, which ended up being nearly triple the distance we originally thought it was from the arch. We reached it with the help of many many locals, who thankfully spoke English, right around dusk, when most of the stand owners were closing up shop. The boys we were with went crazy over the selection of scarves that were for sale! I think they each bought at least one. That's one European fashion trend that I hope boys bring back to the United States- scarves look good on guys too! The fería definitely would have been awesome and entrancing to visit had we been there maybe two hours earlier, however by this time it was getting a little sketchy. Now that most of the customers had disappeared, the stand owners were socializing amongst themselves and beginning to get a little rowdy. One obviously drunk man still holding a small box of wine in his hand stumbled over to us and began shouting things in Portuguese at Emily and I. I've never been so thankful to be traveling with five guys! We hurried away from the fería and began the long walk back home, however of course we didn't know quite how to get back without retracing our steps. After walking for a few minutes, we stopped at a deli to ask directions, and met the sweetest young German man who spoke perfect English and was willing to help us! I am so glad that most places in the world, niceness will always be met with niceness in return.

Overall I loved Portugal as a country- everyone I met was nice and polite and energetic and passionate about their country. I have to admit that I expected it to be pretty similar to Spain because of its proximity, but it was a completely different experience. I'm so glad that I chose a program that offered this excursion to us.

A Weekend in Barcelona

So Jess, Emily, a Spanish man, a Russian man, a Belgian man, a Japanese man, a Chinese man, and a French man all walk into a hostel.... This sounds like the beginning of a bad corny joke, right? Well I can assure you that this was indeed my reality for this weekend. Hostels are something that don't exist in the United States, and after living in one in Barcelona for the weekend I definitely think this is a downfall. A hostel is a very cheap hotel, and you can pay more depending on which type of room you want. For example, Emily and I paid 12 Euro per night (not quite $20) to stay in an "8 person mixed" room. This is how we ended up with six male roommates, each with a different nationality, which resulted in the best weekend I've had possibly in my entire life.

Note: After finishing this blog entry, I'm somewhat appalled by how long it is. It probably looks intimidating, but I wanted to record the details of what happened this weekend in Barcelona. After all, ironically it's the details that slip away first yet are probably the most important. I tried to break it up by alternating descriptions of each of my hostel-mates with paragraphs about sightseeing, and of course lots of pictures!

The Spanish Man: Carlos. The first roommate we met was Carlos, the 40-year-old Spanish man who definitely loved having two young American girls as roommates. Carlos's favorite outfit was a light blue towel wrapped around his waist, and we rarely saw him in anything else. I think this was his goal, because once we came back around 4 in the afternoon while he was taking a nap fully clothed, and when he woke up and realized we were there he immediately changed into the towel. I have to note though I really only saw him get a shower maybe once- he just liked to walk around in the towel. He also called us beautiful every time we walked into the room. The compliment would have been much better received if he had had pants on. Carlos could understand English, but spoke to us only in Spanish except for a few words. I should rephrase that- Carlos spoke Catalan, which is the language spoken in Catalunya in the north of Spain. Catalan is sort of a mixture of Spanish and French. If you go to Catalunya and speak only Spanish, it's definitely not enough to get around. The signs, the shop names, everything is written in Catalan, which is like Spanish in some words but not most. I'm not exactly sure what his job is, but he was staying in the hostel (Urbany Hostel, for anyone who plans to visit Barcelona) while he was on business. Hostel Juan (more about him later) referred to Carlos as "The Catalunyan" instead of "The Spanish Man," and when I asked him why Juan said that if we asked Carlos himself, he would not say he was Spanish, he would say he is Catalunyan. It's interesting how much Spaniards identify with their region- I would never say "I'm a Pennsylvanian."

We left our home on Calle Pages del Corro in
Sevilla at 4:15 am on Friday (Valentine's Day) in order to catch a bus to the airport. Our flight left Sevilla at 7:35 am, but it's customary in the US to arrive 1-2 hours in advance of flights. This is not the way in Spain. Here being one hour early is more than sufficient. When catching our return flight out of Barcelona, Hostel Juan and the Russian Man were shocked when we told them we wanted to catch the 6 pm bus to the airport when our flight didn't leave until 8:55. After a slightly rocky flight, we decided to do some shopping/exploring before 1:30 pm when we could check into our hostel. Our exploring led us to Las Ramblas, which is the most famous shopping street in Barcelona. One of the girls we were traveling with had a friend who studied in Barcelona and told her about an amazing crepe place located in a market off Las Ramblas, and we made this our goal. I couldn't help thinking, upon entering the market, that if you were missing one of your five senses it wouldn't really matter all that much- all five were appealed to at the same time, it was sensory overload!

The colors hit my eyes before anything else- the fruits and vegetables were saturated with color and thinking they were anything but picked from the fields that very day seemed unrealistic. As the food was saturated with color, the air was saturated with the smell of fish and other seafood and with the voices of vendors enticing shoppers to their stands with deals and also with conversations, as older women met one another to discuss the best stands to purchase their groceries from. We stopped at a stand selling chocolates of every imaginable design and flavor and of course couldn't help ourselves from selecting some. It was incredible that by running my fingers over the chocolates I could feel the ridges and details with which they were designed. The taste of all the foods was the best sensation of all! The chocolates were rich and creamy- everything that chocolate should be with nuts and mint and caramel and turron and coffee flavors combined. I also bought a cup of juice that quickly became my favorite drink- mango and coconut juice. Even though the beach of Barcelona was over an hour walk from Las Ramblas, I felt as though I was already there while drinking this wonderful tropical concoction. In keeping with the theme of the juice I also had a cup of fresh pineapple, strawberries, and coconut. I love the flavor of coconut, but I've never actually had a coconut before now. It was difficult to eat and I gave up after a couple chunks because I don't like to bite into foods and it was too hard to cut, but the fruit was all sweet and juicy and savory! We returned to the market the next day, Saturday, as well for lunch. Emily got a dish from a stand called "Organic is Orgasmic" that had probably at least 15 questionable-looking foods in it. Anyone who knows me knows I'm definitely not brave enough to try that- I ate a cup of pineapple along with a glass of strawberry and coconut juice.

The Russian Man: Edgar. Edgar was definitely the funniest member of our little hostel group. We had known him for less than half an hour on Friday when he began eating a sandwich in our hostel room at 2:40 in the afternoon. After eating the sandwich we heard him laugh for the first time, a sound that will be unforgettable as long as I live. His laughter is the kind that rolls and doesn't leave the room even after his mouth shuts. He laughed with his tongue out, his whole face quivering with amusement instead of just his mouth. At 53 years old, Edgar considered himself a "tourist for life." When he was 18, he began his obligatory service in the Russian army where he ended up in Afghanistan. This next part I'm a little unclear on- he didn't speak English very well and spoke to us in Spanish. Juan tried to translate the parts of the story that we didn't understand, but some of the details were lost in the translation. What I did understand was that a bazooka exploded near him during the war and put him in a coma for six months. He also still has two bullets lodged in his body. Because of this, he smokes marijuana at least twice a day in order to keep his muscles relaxed. He has been literally all over the world traveling and meeting new people. According to him however, Barcelona is the best place in the entire world. He was impressed with Emily and I for traveling so much at only age twenty, and he encouraged us to never lose that sense of adventure and willingness to embrace strangers and let them into our lives as we did with him.

We started off Saturday by taking the metro to Parc Guell, which is where Gaudi lived amongst a park that he designed. The park is beautiful- full of palm trees (which are quickly becoming my favorite tree) among other kinds. Of course the natural beauty was enhanced by the perfect weather that we had during the weekend- it was sunny and around 63 degrees both Friday and Saturday! There were families picnicing and friends playing frisbee throughout the open sandy spaces in the park. We spent probably over an hour walking through the park and exploring the beauty that was around us. I think that I love parks because it's like a small getaway from the city life, but Parc Guell, though absolutely gorgeous, was small and cramped, and not open and sprawling like the parks I prefer in Sevilla and Pittsburgh. However it did have some breathtaking views of the entire city, like the one below.

After the Parc Guell we headed back to our hostel to drop off our bags from shopping that morning before heading to the beach for the remainder of the afternoon. However upon arriving at our hostel, we received the saddest news- our favorite hostel-mate, Juan (see below), had been switched into another room! We were so sad to see Juan go- he was definitely the most normal roommate that we had in room 1201. We changed into more beach-appropriate clothing, and then walked the half hour (which has become a short walk in comparison to how much we walk in Spain) to the beach! Every single time I go to a beach I always feel so excited and kind of jog the last few meters to the sand. It's just so wonderful! I love the open sand and the endless water, especially when the water is the wonderfully clear blue of the Mediterranean. I think it's so fascinating to think about where the water that is touching your feet has been other than where it is now. When we returned from the beach, we had a moment of panic- there was a man asleep in my bed!! I definitely was a little freaked out, but at the same time I felt like this was exactly the kind of hilarious and awkward thing that happens in hostels. However to our absolute joy, we discovered while climbing up the ladder to my top bunk with the intention of waking the stranger, we realized it was Juan!! 

The Belgian Man: Hostel Juan. Juan was the member of our hostel room 1201 who was most like Emily and I. At 22 and very good looking, Juan was a college student from Belgium who was in Barcelona completing the required internship during his last semester before graduation. Originally Carlos told us that Juan was from Finland, and then later Juan told us that he was French. It wasn't until giving me his phone number that I realized that +32 is not the country code for France (+33 is) and after calling him out on this, he laughingly admitted to us that he was from Belgium. I'm still not really sure why he lied or why it was so funny, but I guess everyone has their own sense of humor? We bonded with Juan quickly- Friday night while getting ready to go out, Emily, Juan, and I ended up sitting on his bed for three hours sharing a sandwich, drinking, and talking about everything under the sun- Barcelona, Belgium, France, the United States, and everything in between. Juan had come to Barcelona when he was younger, and knew that this was the place he wanted to return to to complete his internship. He also had many other options, including Paris and London, however he still chose Barcelona. He spoke four languages fluently- French, Spanish, English, and Dutch. Although he wasn't technically a local, he still knew enough of Barcelona to be able to offer to be our personal tour guide on Sunday!

Sunday we woke early and said goodbye to our hostel-mates, some goodbyes more sad (mostly Juan) and some definitely more joyful (Carlos). We walked to Gaudi's famous Sagrada Familia, which there is no better word to describe than insane, but in an enrapturing, majestic way. Although construction on the Sagrada Familia is not scheduled to be completed until 2026, which is 100 years after Gaudi's death, it was still absolutely breathtaking. It's been wonderful to see all the beautiful cathedrals in Madrid, Toledo, and Sevilla, but they were all built over 700 years ago. It's so inspiring to know that the Sagrada Familia was built recently (in just over the past 100 years) and possibly has even more detail and intricacy than the ancient cathedrals. It's lovely that buildings like this don't have to be old to be beautiful, cared for, and historical.

After the Sagrada Familia, we walked back to Las Ramblas, not entirely sure what we were going to do for the rest of the day before our flight. The answer came to us in the form of a text from Juan- he had nothing to do until 7 pm, and would we be willing to spend our last day in Barcelona with him? We readily agreed, and he said that he (along with Edgar, see the group picture below- Juan is in blue and Edgar is in the tan jacket) would take us to the Olympic Park, something that I didn't even know existed. However indeed, the summer Olympic games of 1992 were held in Barcelona, and the Olympic Park is now open to the public. The main stadium is still used for sports games and concerts today. Juan had never been there, but his friends had told him that it was definitely a place that he should visit sometime during his stay in Barcelona. I'm so glad he took us there. Standing in the massive stadium was an out of body experience- I couldn't help think about how many people had been there before me, and what it meant to them to be there, both athletes and spectators alike. I especially liked being there because although it is something that tourists do, it's not necessarily something that Barcelona is known for and it's not a super popular destination for tourists. Also, Juan knew a lot of the history behind the buildings and places, and he was the perfect tour guide for us. Visiting the Olympic Park with Juan and Edgar made our Barcelona experience unique, and something worth telling. 

The Japanese Man: I honestly cannot remember his real name. He spoke English well, and explained to us that he was here in Barcelona by himself to do some sightseeing before moving to the next city. What a brave young man, exploring the world by himself. He went to sleep early, and slept in the bunk closest to me. We were both on the top bunks along the right hand wall. He was so tall, and when he slept a lot of the time his feet extended onto my bed, which led to some semi-awkward sessions of footsie in the middle of the night.

The Chinese Man: I don't know his name either. He spoke English very well because he does business in Chicago sometimes, as well as Germany. He rose very early in the mornings, well before we did, and came back after we had already left for the nights. We didn't see much of him. but he was pretty normal. Although he did comment on how beautiful he thought I was, and slept in his underwear which I knew because he tended to throw off his covers while talking to me.

The French Man: 90% sure his name was Amin. Amin did not speak English or Spanish- only French. This wasn't so bad because we had Juan who could translate for us, but obviously Juan didn't want to spend his entire time translating from French to English and back again. Amin took over Juan's bed when Juan got moved out of our room, but he arrived before we knew that Juan got switched into another room. As a result, when we came back to the room and saw a man without a beard sleeping in Juan's bed, our instinctive creepiness took over and we leaned over him trying to figure out if Juan had shaved his scruff or if this was indeed a new member of our little family of 1201. Amin came out with us on Saturday night, and he seemed to enjoy himself. It was just harder to get to know him because of the language barrier.

We ended our weekend by sitting in a park by the Plaza de España in Barcelona with Edgar and Juan and shared a sandwich, a bottle of red wine, and a box of chocolate croissants with them. It was such a beautiful relaxing ending to the story of our weekend in Barcelona, but also so weird that we could do all that in a public park with lots of other people around. But as Juan explained it "who were we bothering"? Edgar and Juan walked us to the bus stop where we caught a bus back to the airport, and it was actually so sad to hug them and good bye. Of course, they told us to let us know if we're ever back in Barcelona. It's thrilling to know that I have friends from such different parts of the world now.

Overall this weekend was perfect. Yes, I prefer Sevilla. Yes, Carlos was probably the creepiest 40-year-old I've ever met. But it's wonderful how these six strange men have become a part of my story, and I've become a small part of theirs. All we did was book the cheapest possible room for the weekend, and I'm sure that they did the same thing. None of us expected to meet each other, yet meeting them was the highlight of my trip. I think that's what traveling is all about- it's not always what you do, it's who you do things with. Sometimes it's the other way around, but this trip it was definitely who we did them with. How many other people did the same touristy things that we did? Hundreds of thousands. How many did them with the filter of a crazy Russian and a random Belgian they've known how a couple of hours? Zero. That is why this trip was beautiful.

Mi Familia Española

Sunday morning, Emily and I rose early enough to go to church with Maria. Her church is just a two minute walk from our home, and started at noon. The church that Maria attends is just as ornate and exquisite as the cathedrals that we have visited in Spain! Built in the thirteenth century, it has high ceilings and stone arches and walls decorated with famous paintings. Most of the paintings and statues around the church have had to be restored since their original placement in the church, but they are still just as vibrant and meaningful as they were when originally painted. Maria assured us however that not all churches are like this- there are some modern ones around Spain, but she was still extremely surprised when I told her that my church at home has a gym! I've attended Catholic services in the United States only once or twice, so I don't really have anything to compare the service to except my own church services back in Lightstreet. Overall, the average age of the congregation was about ten-fifteen years older than the average age of my congregation at home. It was much more formal- you sure didn't see any blue jeans! The mass however was surprisingly short- only about 45 minutes total, and the actual sermon was comparatively short as well. After the mass, Maria gave Emily and I a small tour of the church, explaining various aspects of it to us. Her oldest son, Lorenzo, was married in that church, and her husband's ashes are buried there. Maria explained that is why she sits in the pew that she does, so that she is closer to the place where he is buried. Maria told us that there is no Sunday School here, but she does have a Bible study that meets Wednesday mornings.

After church, we walked home with Maria, her brother, and her sister-in-law. Emily and I talked with her brother, who it turns out lives just two buildings down from our home. He is a writer and a poet, and after I told him that I want to find a novel to read that is written in Spanish while here he offered to have us over to his personal library sometime soon. Maria's sister-in-law repeated this offer, with the added enticement of her supposedly delicious apple tarts. Continuing with the theme of learning more about Maria's family, after dinner we were shown by her an album of photos from Lorenzo's wedding. The album was put together by Lorenzo and his wife, Marta, and contained as many pictures as possible with Maria's husband in them. He died suddenly just seven months after the wedding. After the wedding album Maria showed us an album of photos of her two grandchildren, Lorenzo and Adriana. While writing this I am sitting in our living room after class while Adriana takes a siesta on her father's chest, and Lorenzo naps in a stroller beside the other two. Looking at their pictures, and being here with them made me realize how important family really is, especially here in Spain. Maria takes so much joy in every little action of her grandkids- from their smiles to their laughs to seeing them play. Every thing that they do makes her smile even wider. Even when her older children come to visit she greets them with so much contagious enthusiasm that I fall instantly in love with them because it's as if I'm seeing them through Maria's eyes.

Over lunch on Sunday, Maria asked us with a bit of a smile about our preferences when it comes to boys. We told her our preferences, and then she told us why exactly she fell in love with her husband. She said that he was nice and funny and together they laughed more than anything, but the most important thing to her was the way that he treated everyone else. She said that he was a good person, and liked by almost everyone who met him. She impressed upon us the importance of finding someone who makes you want to be something better than what you already are- happier, funnier, kinder. Of course she couldn't let the conversation be finished without also throwing in that "cuerpos atleticos" or literally "athletic bodies" are important too.

Monday was one of the most beautiful days that we've had while in Sevilla thus far. Finally taking a break from the rain, which my cultures professor assures us will only last at most a couple more weeks, the cloudless blue skies and brilliant white sunshine were perfect for taking photos of the breathtaking park I walk through each morning on my way to class.

 This is the magnificent Plaza de España, which was built in 1929 when Sevilla hosted the World's Fair. Now it houses mainly government buildings but is also a popular spot for tourists on beautiful days! Locals set up portable stands selling fans, scarves, and other goods. Heladerias, or ice cream stands, also crop up on warm days and provide a wonderful snack for tourists departing from horse-drawn carriage rides through the park. Again, this is one thing that is on my Sevilla bucket list.




El Parque Maria Luisa stands between the main street that runs parallel to the river in Sevilla and the Plaza de España. From the picture below you can see the view down the main street that runs down the center of the park and ends at the Plaza.

El Parque Maria Luisa is my favorite place to run to- it's about 1.75 miles from my house one way, so it's the perfect distance to run. I take the cobbled path along the river and then cross the street and run through the park until I get tired, which usually takes kind of a while because being in a place this beautiful somehow gives me more energy the father I go. 

This weekend was our last in Sevilla for a while, so I'm glad that I was able to make the most of it by getting to know Maria better, despite the not-so-great weather. Next weekend Emily, some of the other girls, and I will travel to Barcelona for three days, and the weekend after that I will be able to add another stamp to my passport as we go to Lisbon, Portugal with our program!