Fall Break: Day 11

Sunday, 10/31/2010

All 5 of us had to check out of the hostel by 10 AM on Sunday. The other three girls were leaving Barcelona around noon so they decided to hang out in the common room until catching their buses and planes. Laura and I, however, only had a flight back to Prague at 8 pm, so in essence we had the afternoon to still sight see in Barcelona. We decided to give Gaudi a rest, and go to the aquarium. The place was right by the harbor too, which was nice. And the weather was finally perfect (on our last day) - blue skies and sunny temperatures! It felt like summer. The aquarium had a lot of interesting exhibits, but was somewhat of a letdown. The place inside was surprisingly small (it looked a lot bigger on the outside since the building was connected to its neighboring Imax movie theater) and not really worth the hefty admission ticket. But it had been a while since I had been to an aquarium, and it is one of the top visited sites in Barcelona.

  Some sharks in L'Aquàrium

Some colorful fish

Not sure what these are called...

Jelly fish

Angel fish

We were finished at the aquarium earlier than we'd initially anticipated so after walking around the water for a while we headed back to the city center to go to Las Ramblas. We were able to take our time browsing here for a couple of hours. We stopped by a small eatery and got some food to go (I had a ham and mozzarella calzone). Around 4 we were back at the hostel to pick up our belongings and head to the airport. Our flight ended up being delayed an hour and a half so instead of arriving in Prague after 10, we were instead back at almost midnight... when the metros close. So, we had to take the night bus (which we hadn't previously researched since we weren't expecting our return flight to be delayed. I mean, we were flying out of Barcelona, not Paris where there are strikes...). The bus took a while but luckily 40 minutes later it stopped at I. P. Pavlova, which is within walking distance to Machova. I still waited for a night tram though since I had my luggage and that conveniently dropped me off at Jana Masaryka, 1 block away from Machova. It was by then 1 AM but we were finally back in home, sweet, Praha!

The harbor

Common room of the Paraiso hostel

Fall Break: Day 10

Saturday, 10/30/2010

Saturday was Gaudi day! Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) used curved construction stones, twisted iron sculptures, and organic-like forms in his Barcelona architecture. He also added elements of color in his works, such as colored tiles arranged in mosaic patterns. What we saw that he had designed was all very unique.

We started off the day around 10 and (surprise, surprise) grabbed breakfast at a bakery on the way. I had a calzone shaped pastry that was filled with apple sauce. We were going to see La Sagrada Familia that day, which is his most famous work in Barcelona. It's a giant temple that has been under construction since 1882, and it's not expected to be completed for between 30 to 80 years. The building is really unique, because each side has a different style, everything is very intricate down to the most minute detail, and the inside was unlike anything I'd ever seen with the colors and shapes. We had to wait an hour to get in, but it was definitely worth it.

 La Sagrada Familia (one of the sides)

Some of the side

The interior

Some of the front of La Sagrada Familia

After getting a quick lunch of tapas (more patatas bravas and fried squid) we headed to Park Guell. This was a park commissioned by Eusebi Güell who wanted to create a stylish park for Barcelona aristocracy. The park has stone structures, colorful tiles and unique buildings. You go up a set of stairs that leads to a covered area where vendors sell small things. Atop of the covered area is an open terraced area where you get great views of the park and of Barcelona while sitting on tiled mosaic seats. From this area you can go on paths up the mountain. The initial walkway is supported by twisting rock pillars that look like tree trunks. Then come the trails. At the park is Gaudi's house as well. It's been converted into a small museum and we got to go in.

The bottom of Park Guell

The top terrace area

Gaudi's house

After getting our fill of the park and its trails, we headed back to the hostel to rest up for a couple of hours. Later in the night we set out to get dinner at a local place called August where we got paella again. We got a mixed seafood paella and it was hands down one of the best dishes I had the entire trip. Afterward, we wanted to go to the magic water fountain show. The fountain is below the Palau Nacional on the Montjuïc hill, and the show is well known for the water dancing in exploding colors and laser lights. We were pretty excited to see the show, so it was a letdown when we arrived there and realized the fountains were under construction... So, no show tonight. Well, at least we tried! We had to check out of the hostel by 10 AM the next morning so we headed back to get some rest and to pack up.

Seafood paella!!

Where the water show was supposed to be...

Fall Break: Day 9

Friday, 10/29/2010

Along with our new friends (Amanda, Bronwyn and Emily) we left the hostel by 10 to start out our first day in Barcelona. We stopped by a bakery for breakfast (why do these appear to exist everywhere but Prague?!) and I got a tube shaped pastry filled with chocolate cream. We walked a little ways to the center of town where we were meeting Bronwyn's friend Carlos. She studies with Carlos in the school she attends in Montpelier for her study abroad program and Carlos was in Barcelona for the weekend also since he is from there. Along with knowing the city layout well, he is also a history major so he was a knowledgable tour guide.

We first went to the Cathedral of Barcelona and then saw some Roman ruins in the Gothic Quarter and then Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas is a famous pedestrian street that has tons of small shops and eateries. We then took a break from walking all over the place and had lunch. What was on the menu? Tapas, of course! When in Spain... We all shared tapas of patatas bravas, croquettes with minced meat, and fried squid at Carlos' favorite restaurant. We then went for round 2 at a local place for plates of open faced 'sandwiches'. It was all new and interesting foods to taste - and they were all great!

Some fountains in Barcelona

Gothic Quarter

Part of an ancient Roman aqueduct in the center of the city

Barcelona Cathedral

Patatas bravas

More tapas!

We then continued touring after lunch. We went to the museum of history and spent some time there. We followed this up by going to Pablo Picasso museum. Most notable for me were the exhibits on his blue period and cubism works. It had been a long and productive day so after this we headed back to the hostel. I had also had shooting pains in my right eye all day long that were bothering me very much so upon arriving back at the hostel, washing out my eye was high on my priority list - and it worked!

Barcelona's Museum of History

Some of Picasso's Blue Period paintings

Passing by Spain's version of Dunkin Donuts - Guess they like coffee more than donuts in Barcelona...

After hanging out in the hostel for a while we headed out to find somewhere to eat. By the way, this was my first time staying in a hostel and I really enjoyed the experience. It was particularly suiting since we were on a college break - so a great part about hostels is that you meet so many people your age (like the girls we had went around with that day). This hostel had gotten good reviews and I have no complaints on it. Our room didn't have a private bathroom but the place had 2 full bathrooms and 2 half bathrooms for everyone to use, which was plenty. The common room had a television, vending machines, and desktop computer for everyone's use. Although I always kept my belongings safe in the provided lockers (lock's were an additional fee) I always felt safe. Anyway, back to dinner. We found a place nearby that had paella! This seemed very appropriate. Our paella had whole shrimp and mussels. It was good but a small portion, so we went to a grocery store afterward to get some snacks. Then it was back to the hostel to hang out and call it a night!

Fall Break: Day 8

Thursday, 10/28/2010

We had a 2 pm train to Barcelona and had to check out of our hotel by 10 AM. So we spent the morning walking around the town and window shopping... and stopping by plenty of French bakeries since we wouldn't have any of those to go to pretty soon! I had a breakfast of a double chocolate chip muffin and pan au chocolat (chocolate croissant). After buying a Parisian scarf and getting our luggage back from the hotel we went to the train station. Our train was cancelled - because of the strike but we were luckily able to take an earlier train to Barcelona since we were at the station early enough. This train ride had a connection in Montpelier so we stopped there. And it turns out, the connection didn't exist. This train ride had been canceled too - because of the strike. They told us about a bus available in Montpelier that goes to Barcelona. We went to the bus station and got our tickets for the 5:30 ride We had plenty of time to wait so we dug into some of the food we picked up from a local market - tomato provence and roasted eggplant. I also had a florentine escargot (my first time trying a snail) and a chocolate filled and topped eclair.

As more people came to the train station we met some girls our age. A group of 3 study abroad girls (1 studying in Montpelier and the other 2 in Oxford) were also traveling from Montpelier to Barcelona... and surprise, surprise, also staying in the same hostel as Laura and I! We decided to buddy up after this and hung out before boarding the bus. The bus got to Barcelona around 11pm and the 5 of us took public transportation to the lovely Paraiso hostel. We were pretty tired and called it a night. We would have plenty of time to explore Barcelona over the weekend!

Bakery breakfast!

Our hotel that was on a narrow street

An escargot!

Fall Break: Day 7

Wednesday, 10/27/2010

 We had a 10:40 train to Arles, a town in the province of Provence (known for their lavender market). I got a pine nut tart for breakfast from a bakery and we started sight-seeing. We passed by the amphitheater, but opted not to go inside since we had already done that whole thing in Nimes. We did go into the arena with its ruins though. Then we stopped by the Van Gogh space, but the museum was closed.

 The amphitheater

The Arenas

Van Gogh Spaces

Then we went to the ancient ruins of the baths. Afterward, we had some lunch. I had a leek quiche and a walnut brownie. Then we went on our way to the modern art museum. After browsing around we walked through the park and then went to the train station to wait for our train. Back in Nimes it was dinner time - we went to a Vietnamese place and I got the chicken with vermicelli.

Roman baths

The Modern Art Museum

Fall Break: Day 6

Tuesday, 10/26/2010

Tuesday we had an earlier wake up call at 8 am so we could get to the train station to go to Avignon. We ended up taking a pit stop at a close city called Montpelier since we were actually on the wrong train - due to changing platform numbers... The detour meant we had to stop and wait for the right train, and while we waited we got a quick bite to eat (I had a beignet filled with nutella) and walked around the town.

Montpelier

When we did get to Avignon, we went to the Palais des Papas (the Papacy), a medieval fortress and papal papacy from a few centuries ago. We took the audio guide tour of the place, and although the actual building structure was impressive, the tour wasn't. All of the rooms were mostly bare and the audio guide was information overload on a million and one things. Next up was going to the Saint Benezet Bridge, the 'bridge of Avignon.'

Palais des Papes

Inside the papacy

View of the city from the top of the papacy

Saint Benezet Bridge

After our sight seeing we got some French food from a local bakery for a late lunch. I tried out the croque-monsieur (a ham and swiss cheese grilled sandwich) and some fresh meringues. We caught our train back to Nimes and relaxed for a while until dinner time. We had an authentic French dinner for the first time and went to the Flan Coco, on recommendation of our hotel's owner. The menu was all in French so I pretty much had no idea what I was ordering... My dish came out and it turned out to be cod and some vegetables! The fish was a bit fishy, but other than that good. We also got the restaurant's namesake dessert - the coconut flan!

French meal of fishy fish and veggies!

Fall Break: Day 5

Monday, 10/25/2010

We woke up and caught an 11 am bus from the train station to the local Pont du Gard that's about a half an hour away. The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gard River and was constructed by the Romans in the first century AD. It is the highest of all the Roman aqueduct bridges and was the first I'd ever seen in person. Before walking to the aqueduct, we got a quick bite to eat at the visitor center. On the menu today was some more crepes! I went with a simple crepe with ham and grated cheese. Then we went to see the aqueducts and walked on some of the trails on the nearby mountains.

 The crepe station!

The aqueducts of Pont du Gard

View from the top of the mountain

After getting our fill of the aqueduct and the trails, we waited for the return bus in the 25 mph wind for a while and finally got back to Nimes after 5. We walked around the town in search of somewhere to have dinner. After a fruitless search and much walking, we called it quits. The French like to eat dinner late and every eatery was closed! We grabbed a latte at a local cafe while waiting for the restaurants to open up again, and at 7:30 headed to La Pizetta, an Italian restaurant. I had the 4 stagioni pizza, which has tomatoes, mozzarella, artichokes, bell peppers, mushrooms, and ham. Satisfied with our meal we went back to the hotel to relax for the next day of sight-seeing...

Fall Break: Day 4

Sunday, 10/24/2010

We got up at 5 AM, checked out of the hotel, and took the metro to the train station to catch our 7:15 train. I had to stand in line to get a ticket, and oddly enough, Laura did too. For some reason they wouldn't accept her EuRail pass for this particular train (it was TGV). We arrived in Nimes a couple of hours later around 10. Nimes is a really small town and the Hotel Concorde is within walking distance of the train station. The hotel owner was busy with 'family day' so we left our luggage behind the counter and decided to explore the town.

First stop? The Place des Arénes, the amphitheater. We took an audio guide tour of the place and walked around. By the time the audio guide was finished, we were starving. We decided to try some crepes - since we were in France after all. We stopped by a place called Au P'tit Nimois and I got the la forestiere crepe, which has bacon, mushrooms, fresh sour cream, and Swiss cheese.

 Ampitheater

 Looking down into the inside of the amphitheater

 La Forestiere crepe: lardons, champignons, frais creme fraiche, emmental

Refueled with food, we continued exploring Nimes. Next up was the Maison Carree. This is the only Roman ancient temple completely preserved. Unfortunately, the place was under restoration, so the front was covered up. Otherwise, the picture would look a lot better. We watched a short movie inside.

 Maison Carree

Next was an interesting set of monuments which is called La Place D'assas. This was created by Martial Raysee, a french artist in the Nouveau Realisme movement who did classical sculptures for this series. The series is dedicated to the sacred nature of the spring. Then we passed by some big water fountains.

 La Place D'assas

The water fountain

Then we walked to Jardins de la Fontaine. This was laid out in the 18th Century in the area of the former fortified ramparts and includes the ruins of an ancient sanctuary of a sacred spring called Temple of Diane.

Jardins de la Fontaine

La Temple de Diane

 Finally, we went to Tour Magne, which is a ruined Roman Tower set on top of a hill.

 La Tour Magne

After all of our sight-seeing we passed by a cafe and decided to take advantage of the free wi-fi advertised. I got a hot chocolate (which came out as a bar of chocolate and milk in a mug) and we checked our email.It was finally around 5 by then, when the hotel owner would be back. We were then able to check into our room... which was interesting. The room had a bed - and a sink and shower stall... right next to the bed (no walls or anything). I guess these are the perks of a one star hotel!

We settled into our room and relaxed for a bit then ventured out into the rain that had started to pour to get some food. We went to the same place we had earlier for round two of crepes. I got the la chocolatine crepe, which has chocolate, almonds, and coconut. Delicious!