Hi everyone! I just got back from Paris, and it was absolutely amazing! Such a pretty city. I saw pretty much everything I wanted to see, with the exception of Versailles. It would have been cool to see it, but I didn't have enough time. But everything else more than made up for that! The first monument I saw Friday morning was Norte Dame. So beautiful! The stained glass inside was beautiful, and there was so much detail on the outside as well. I didn't climb up the bell towers, but I heard the bells! From there we went on a free walking tour, and our guide was hilarious as well as informed, and I got to see all the major monuments and things I would have never even thought to look for in only 3 and half hours. If you ever go to a foreign country, definitely do some type of tour, because they can add so much history and depth to your visit. I saw the Eiffel tower, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Tuillerie gardens, Musee de Orsay, the Petite and Grand Places, the oldest stone bridge in Paris, the Seine river, Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle, Sacre Couere, the royal academy of the French language, Saint Michael's square and fountain, a statue of one of the famous Kings, the old royal palace where King Louie (either the 14th or 16th) grew up before moving to Versailles (now a city/government building), Napoleon's Arc, Las Invalides (the palace where Napoleon is buried), and famously expensive hotel (the winner of the Tour de France gets to stay there for free for a night), and Egyptain obelisk that France said Eygpt "gifted" them (in reality, Napoleon stole it), and some more fountains and statues.
After the tour where I saw pretty much everything, I went back to the ones I wanted to see up close or museums to go into for the rest of the weekend. What was so nice was that I got in free to the major musuems because I am technically a resident of the EU, and I just had to show them my visa. I saw the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. The picture was not as small as I had imagined, but still on the smaller side with tons of people crowded around her! I was glad I was able to see it (my height helped!) I didn't spend too much time there, because I knew it was huge and the impressionist era paintings I wanted to see were over in the Musee de Orsay. I went over there and saw a lot of Monet, Renior, Van Gogh, and more paintings! I don't know much about art, but I know I do like the impressionist type paintings, and Monet and Renoir are my favorite painters (of the few I've seen/know about). I tried to go up the Eiffel tower, but I bought the wrong tickect and had to climb a good amount of stairs before I could get to an elevator. I made it to the first floor, and then decided to go back down and see more things before I had to catch my flight.
Now for the amazing food! My friend and I went out for a typical French meal to a restaurant recommended by her tour guide. There were no tourists there, and the food was so good and at a decent price, at least by Paris's standards. I ordered frog legs and duck breast, and she ordered S-cargo and foie gras (duck liver), a bottle of French wine and dessert. We tried all of the dishes, and it was so good! I never had s-cargo, frog legs or duck before, and I got it all in one meal! Crepes are popular too, so of course I had to have more than one! My favorite crepe was with nutella and banana. Also, I love the french macroons! These are not the chocolate and coconut kind you find in the states. These are like biscuit/cookie/brownie/frosting type of things. I can't really explain what it is, but if you are ever in France, try the macroons!
I could go on forever about Paris, but I think the word to describe it is amazing! Such a good weekend and a must see if you are ever in Europe.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Portugual
Sorry this took so long to update (midterms!), but I went to Lisbon, Portugual 2 weekends ago. It was such a pretty city, very tropical. Lisbon has similiar architecture to the rest of Europe, but the weather and greenery reminded me a little of Costa Rica. My friend and I were on an early flight together before the rest of the group came later, and the taxi ride was an experience. The hostel's website said that the ride shouldn't cost more than 6 to 7 euro, but the driver wanted to charge us 18 euro!! We were obviously americans, but I think what did us in was that we were speaking Spanish to the driver, which we didn't know at the time, but that is seen as very rude in Portugual. We ended up only forking over 10 euro, but lesson learned: don't be afraid to bargain with the taxi drivers, and always, always check the meter. The meter when we stopped only said 7.50 euro, but then the driver charged us 2 euro more per bag. At least it wasn't an 18 euro trip!
Our hostel was very cool when we got there and it was fun to meet and get to know other travelers, some who were in the same study abroad program as me. They gave us free breakfast and cooked us a huge meal at night. They then took us out to the bars. In Portugual, you go to the bars to get your drink, but then you go outside and hangout in the streets. So much fun!
The next day was our big tour day, and we saw a monastery, and then next door we went to get lunch at the famous pastry shop. Because of this one little pastry shop (now huge and serves real food too), a pastry called pastrie de Belem (I think that's the name) spread all over Portugual and then Europe. It was amazing, especially for me the sweet tooth! It had a very flaky thin crust (think baklava thin and crunchy) and filled with some kind of sweet filling. I don't know what it was, but it might have been a light cheese/jelly-like filling. Whatever it was, it was good! We then tried to go to the San Jorge's Castillo (Saint George's castle) but we got a little lost and of course, it started to rain. We walked in the rain for a bit, and when we finally found the castle, it was closing early because of the rain. We went back to the hostel to hangout and wait for dinner. The next morning, my friend and I were on the same early flight, so we got up early and went to the castle. It had great views! It was cool walking around in a real castle, my first since I've been in Europe. We also a lot of wild turkeys and a peacock just hanging out on castle walls! After seeing the castle for an hour or so, we left so we could catch our flight. I was so happy to finally be walking downhill too! Lisbon was built on top of 7 mountains, so lots of steep hills to climb just walking around the city.
That's all for now. Wish me luck on my midterms this week, and then I'm off to Paris right after!
Our hostel was very cool when we got there and it was fun to meet and get to know other travelers, some who were in the same study abroad program as me. They gave us free breakfast and cooked us a huge meal at night. They then took us out to the bars. In Portugual, you go to the bars to get your drink, but then you go outside and hangout in the streets. So much fun!
The next day was our big tour day, and we saw a monastery, and then next door we went to get lunch at the famous pastry shop. Because of this one little pastry shop (now huge and serves real food too), a pastry called pastrie de Belem (I think that's the name) spread all over Portugual and then Europe. It was amazing, especially for me the sweet tooth! It had a very flaky thin crust (think baklava thin and crunchy) and filled with some kind of sweet filling. I don't know what it was, but it might have been a light cheese/jelly-like filling. Whatever it was, it was good! We then tried to go to the San Jorge's Castillo (Saint George's castle) but we got a little lost and of course, it started to rain. We walked in the rain for a bit, and when we finally found the castle, it was closing early because of the rain. We went back to the hostel to hangout and wait for dinner. The next morning, my friend and I were on the same early flight, so we got up early and went to the castle. It had great views! It was cool walking around in a real castle, my first since I've been in Europe. We also a lot of wild turkeys and a peacock just hanging out on castle walls! After seeing the castle for an hour or so, we left so we could catch our flight. I was so happy to finally be walking downhill too! Lisbon was built on top of 7 mountains, so lots of steep hills to climb just walking around the city.
That's all for now. Wish me luck on my midterms this week, and then I'm off to Paris right after!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Madrid Trip!
I went to Madrid this weekend with my program, and it was awesome!! We took the high speed train from Barcelona, so it was only a 4 hour trip, which I slept through. Once we all got there, we checked into our hotel and had freetime for the rest of day, so a couple of girls and I went out to lunch. Note/tip: in Spain, get El Menu del dia, or the menu of the day. It's usually comes with 2 courses of food, a drink and dessert all included for around 10 euro. So good! Then we wandered around for a bit, and came across Plaza Mayor, Plaza del Sol, el Palacio Real (the royal palace) and some cool statues and parks.
Friday night we went out to celebrate my friend's 21st birthday. We started "boqueoning" (drinking in a public place ~ very common for Spain) in a park and then went to bar that looked like a cave on the inside. Very fun!
Saturday morning I went on the bus and walking tour for 3 hours, and it was very nice to see the city. I was surprised at how condensed it was compared to Barcelona, which is very spread out in comparison.
Later on Saturday we got into two famous museums for free. I first went to the Contemporary Art Museum of La Reina Sofia, which houses the famous Guernica painting by Picasso. I took a picture of it, and then was promptly yelled at for doing so, oops! No fotos aqui! I still have the picture of the world famous Guernica though!
Next we went to the Prado Museum, again, another very famous museum in Spain and the world. I saw Las Meninas by Velazquez and a few paintings by El Greco. I didn't stay too long there because we were all exhausted and 4 to 5 hours of musuems were plenty for the day.
Later that night we continued celebrating my friend's birthday, and we went to Kapital, which is a 7 floor club that plays different music and has dance floor on each floor. Very cool, but very hard to find people if you get separated from them.
On Sunday, my group of friends and I paid to see El Palacio Real, or the Royal Palace. Centuries of royal families lived there, and it is still used as a formal greeting area for heads of state, presidents, political leaders, etc. The current royal family doesn't live there, but it's kinda nice because the public gets to see it. It was absolutely gorgeous inside - everything very ornatly decorated with gold, silver, and crystal. After the tour of the Royal Palace, we walked down to a flea market, but on the way we stopped at huge bascillica. It was open and I got go inside and see a catholic mass in Spanish. I only stayed for 2 or 3 min, but it was enough to see the inside of the church and hear some of the service.
Then we went to the largest flea market in Spain - how cool! It literally shuts an entire city block down. I only bought a bracelet, but literally, you could buy anything there. After the flea market, we took the train back to Barcelona. Such a fun trip!
This upcoming weekend: Portugual!
Take care and adios for now :)
Friday night we went out to celebrate my friend's 21st birthday. We started "boqueoning" (drinking in a public place ~ very common for Spain) in a park and then went to bar that looked like a cave on the inside. Very fun!
Saturday morning I went on the bus and walking tour for 3 hours, and it was very nice to see the city. I was surprised at how condensed it was compared to Barcelona, which is very spread out in comparison.
Later on Saturday we got into two famous museums for free. I first went to the Contemporary Art Museum of La Reina Sofia, which houses the famous Guernica painting by Picasso. I took a picture of it, and then was promptly yelled at for doing so, oops! No fotos aqui! I still have the picture of the world famous Guernica though!
Next we went to the Prado Museum, again, another very famous museum in Spain and the world. I saw Las Meninas by Velazquez and a few paintings by El Greco. I didn't stay too long there because we were all exhausted and 4 to 5 hours of musuems were plenty for the day.
Later that night we continued celebrating my friend's birthday, and we went to Kapital, which is a 7 floor club that plays different music and has dance floor on each floor. Very cool, but very hard to find people if you get separated from them.
On Sunday, my group of friends and I paid to see El Palacio Real, or the Royal Palace. Centuries of royal families lived there, and it is still used as a formal greeting area for heads of state, presidents, political leaders, etc. The current royal family doesn't live there, but it's kinda nice because the public gets to see it. It was absolutely gorgeous inside - everything very ornatly decorated with gold, silver, and crystal. After the tour of the Royal Palace, we walked down to a flea market, but on the way we stopped at huge bascillica. It was open and I got go inside and see a catholic mass in Spanish. I only stayed for 2 or 3 min, but it was enough to see the inside of the church and hear some of the service.
Then we went to the largest flea market in Spain - how cool! It literally shuts an entire city block down. I only bought a bracelet, but literally, you could buy anything there. After the flea market, we took the train back to Barcelona. Such a fun trip!
This upcoming weekend: Portugual!
Take care and adios for now :)
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