B-B-B-Barca!!!!

We had full three days in Barcelona , so we started each day with a walk down the Ramblas, while discussing which area we should check out for the day. On Thursday we toured the Casa Batllo, one of the buildings designed by the crazy/modern architect Gaudi. It was built as a house for a wealthy Spanish family; there is a water-theme throughout the whole building (lots of blue mosaic tiles & stained glass, no right angles in the whole building, and a spectacular rooftop terrace with colored turrets that had a fish-scale-like quality. Although the guided audio tour was a little bit flamboyant and over the top, it was something cool to see.

That morning we also checked out the St. Joseph market - see the pictures below for the colorful spreads of fruit, chocolate, etc!

On Friday we went to Parc Guell, also designed by Gaudi, and this was my favorite sight from Barcelona. It’s a huge outdoor park with lots of winding paths which lead to a huge terrace/plaza overlooking the city. If you’ve seen l’Auberge Espagnole, then you’ve seen this park; it’s where Xavier and Anne Sophie kiss on the bench. Anyway, the view of Barcelona is great, and a long, brightly colored, mosaic bench snakes along the entire edge of the terrace; in the middle there’s a plaza filled with palm trees and random performers. Pictures below of Parc Guell:

Friday night we went out to a couple of bars and ended up receiving free passes to a club, so we decided to check that out. Uhh … not the best idea ever … turned out to be an exclusively-gay club which wasn’t all-too welcoming to females. After trying to dance but not really enjoying the atmosphere, we left and called it a night! Here’s a picture of my roommate’s impression of the bar … thanks, Metro! On Saturday we checked out the most famous Gaudi sight – La Sagrada Familia, which is a sprawling, unfinished church that has been under construction for over 100 years. We didn’t pay to go in, but just took a few pictures outside. This is the second time I’ve seen it, so I don’t really have any new impressions to speak of :)

Then we took the Metro over to Montjuic – another hilltop area that offers a great view of the city. To return to the waterfront, we took a funicular down the side of the mountain. We spend the afternoon and evening walking around the marina and Las Ramblas before stopping in a tapas bar for some drinks and food.

















All in all, it was great to spend the second week in Spain with my roommates! Barcelona is such a cool city – huge/metropolitan/international/festive atmosphere AND a beach! I’d love to go back when it’s warmer to spend some time on the beach!

And I'll leave you with this ... although Ronadinho didn't show up for the game, we luckily found him chilling on the street :

F.C. Barcelona Match!

Thursday we took a short flight from Mardrid to Barcelona, where we met up with Simone, our Italian roommate, at the airport. We took the train into the city and found our pensione, a couple of streets off of Las Ramblas, the huge pedestrian street through Barcelona. The three of us shared a room at a really cheap pensione (only 15 euro a night) … but after a few cold showers and early-morning construction noise, we realized we probably should have looked for another place for the last few days. But we decided to stick it out and ended up staying at the same place for all four nights. As soon as we got settled in, Andrea and I took the metro out to Camp Nou, where we saw a soccer match between F.C. Barcelona and Valencia. It was crazy, huge, and very fun! There were at least twice the amount of people there compared to the games I’ve been to in Rennes. Valencia scored first, but Barcelona ended up tying the game in the last 10 seconds of injury time at the end. I got to see Messi, the Argentine player who I’ve been slightly obsessed with since the last World Cup, so that was fun! Unfortunately, Ronaldinho hasn’t been playing lately; when we asked a local fan why he didn’t play, the man’s response was that Ronaldinho “likes the nightlife of Barcelona too much.” Hmm, interesting. When the game ended around midnight we unfortunately found out that the metro had closed, so we basically had no idea how to get home. Luckily we found a really nice man who fortunately gave us a ride back to Las Ramblas, as well as a few tips on some sightseeing.
















Video Clip - End of Game

Week Two of Vacation ... Hola, Espagne!

Now onto the second week of vacation … I flew from Paris to Madrid with my roommate Andrea on Monday afternoon. We stayed in the Huertas quarter at a cute pensione which occupied one floor in an old building. It was actually a really cool and cheap placed to stay; you enter at the street through huge wooden doors that open into a courtyard with a huge, old wooden, double spiral staircase leading to the different apartments/hotels on each floor. I took a picture (left) because it was so impressive! Monday afternoon we just chilled and then ate dinner outside at Placa Major, a giant plaza nearby.

On Tuesday we spent the whole day walking around Madrid. It’s a really enjoyable and easy city to explore on foot, and it was a nice & sunny day, so that was great! Among other things, we saw the Puerta del Sol, National Library, and the huge Parque del Buen Retiro. We enjoyed a typically Spanish (ie: late and leisurely) lunch at a café and then went to the Museum del Prado in the evening (free entrance). Well, we obviously weren’t the only ones with the idea of going at night for free, so we joined several hundred people in line. It’s supposed to be one of the best art museums in Europe – with paintings by Velazquez, El Greco, Botticelli, and many others. Obviously I’m not an art aficionado but I’m glad we went to it. After the museum we explored a couple other quarters that we hadn’t yet visited and stopped for drinks in a really cool, cavelike restaurant. We ordered a pitcher of beer that was served in the strangest glass container I’ve ever seen; the bottom was wide and flat like a wine decanter, and then it had a long, thin beak through which you poured the beer. And instead of serving wine in bottles, it was served in rubberlike pouches; I guess that could be chic, but it just reminded me of playing “slap the bladder” with Franzia, haha. And all of the waiters were wearing t-shirts with the restaurant’s motto written in Spanish – “We don’t serve Coke here.” I have to appreciate that! So that was a really unique and cool restaurant to find. After that we were hungry and tried to find someplace to eat by walking through streets packed with bars and restaurants. Apparently in Spain it’s customary for the doormen to solicit pedestrians by offering free shots (with no strings attached), so we took advantage of that custom, haha. Seriously though, everyone offered free drinks if you came in and just looked at their menus! Finally we decided on a small cerveceria where we ate paella.

At the Parque del Buen Retiro

Trying to drink out of the funky carafe ...

Tina goes back to Les Etats-Unis ... booooo

Monday morning we had a quick breakfast of café and pain au chocolat on our little balcony and then headed to the airport … where Tina finally got to meet one of my roommates! Andrea was at the airport waiting for our flight to Madrid, so they got to quickly meet each other. It was sad to say goodbye to Tina and impossible to sum up such a great week together!














Updates to come (somewhat) soon for the week in Spain!

Beautiful Sunday in Paris!

Sunday morning we leisurely woke up to a gorgeous, sunny (not typically) Parisian day in February – it was amazing outside! We grabbed coffee and started what turned into a 6-hour walk along the Seine through the city. It was beautiful, and everyone was outside enjoying the weather – one of the best days in Paris that I can remember. We ate baguette sandwiches on the bank of the Seine and continued our walk along the river until we cut up at the Louvre to walk through the Tuileries. We walked down the Champs Elysées, which was definitely too packed with tourists to be enjoyable, and then past l’Arc de Triomphe for the obligatory photo. This resulted in a seemingly friendly and harmless Frenchman asking to take individual pictures with each of this … creepy, but we obliged since he had taken a picture for us. He then gave us a piece of paper with his blog address and said something about Sarkozy (the French Pres), for or against, I don’t really know what he mumbled. But I just hope we don’t end up on some random blog! Then we walked over to the Tour Eiffel which was also packed! We took tons of fun pictures below it … and my favorite is obviously in my Minneapolis/Target shirt! No kidding, I think we have at least 15 pictures of us posing there. We finished Sunday afternoon by grabbing fresh crepes on Rue de Rivoli and then walked back to our area for happy hour outside at a café. Sunday night we really wanted to find a place with mussels, so we ended up back at Rendez-vous des Amis … full circle because we (unintentionally) started and ended our trip there. Wonderful day in Paris! Photos include lunch on the Seine and the square next to our hotel.

Back to Paris ... via a Night in Athens

Nothing special here … we got to the hostel after midnight and just went to bed since we had to get up early for our flight to Paris the next morning. We did manage to each receive a 60 euro fine on the train to the Athens airport; we tried to scrimp by buying the 3 euro reduced tickets (instead of 6 euro), and the controller told us we didn’t have adequate student status to do this. They wrote our passport info on a ticket (which is all in Greek), and then since we couldn’t pay on the spot, we were told to send an email within 20 days explaining how we plan to pay the fine. Somehow, I think we can sneak by on this one … the ticket is all in Greek, with the “official” email addressed scrawled on the side in handwriting; I just find it hard to find that very official. While waiting at the airport in Athens, an American sat down next to us and we started talking. Turns out she is also an Assistant like me, working in Burgundy! She was super friendly and very interesting, so we all sat next to each other on the flight and had a good time. After spending a week “couch-surfing” in Greece, she got to know some locals really well and even passed on to us a recipe for homemade stuffed grape leaves, “dolmathakia.” Among her other interesting stories, she shared with us that she was one of the near semi-finalists on the French equivalent to American Idol. Can't wait to check it out on tv or online! She was a very fun person to meet ... pictured above with Tina!

We got into Paris, took the Metro to the Marais where we’re staying, and before even dropping our bags at the hotel, we picked up a fresh baguette, Camembert cheese, and apples. Although Greek cuisine was amazing, we were both craving this French lunch! Our hotel was great – we got a corner room with two windows and balconies overlooking a lively square and the Hotel de Ville in the Marais. We enjoyed our leisurely lunch overlooking the square.

Late Saturday afternoon we went shopping, and Tina was happy to squeeze in 30 minutes at Galeries Lafayette, where she bought a pair of boots but probably could have done more damage if they hadn’t closed on us! For dinner we followed a recommendation from our new plane friend. She told us to go to Chez Papa, a restaurant specializing in country-style dishes from southwest France, and to order the salade de Boyarde. She described it as more than just a salad, and she was right! The salads were served in huge ceramic pots – lettuce, eggs, bacon, ham, proscuitto, sautéed potatoes, blue cheese, and a mild dressing – it was more like a casserole and was amazing! We made the mistake of ordering an appetizer before knowing the magnitude of the “salad” … escargot served in a huge pot with a cream sauce of mushrooms, tomatoes, and cheese. Add a couple of carafes of red wine and this easily joined the list of our most memorable meals! After that we went to a bar in our neighborhood. It was an 18^th-century hotel, turned bar, with 3 floors of small, dark room with tiny, low tables and chairs. It was a cool idea but not a good place for meeting people or talking since all the tables/chairs were set up in little groups. And the 10euro strawberry mojito special wasn’t really worth it … but it was a good way to spend a chill night.

Day in Paros

On Friday we had most of the day in Paros before catching the ferry back to Athens, so we strolled through the center of the town, went shopping, and visited a 1700 year old church. It was about 70 degrees and sunny, so we ate lunch outside on the marina. The café was really casual with great, “homestyle” Greek food. There was no menu, so to order we went into the kitchen with the waitress and she described all of the plates to us. Tina had lamb stewed in a sauce of cardamom and artichoke. I had a lasagna-type dish with pasta, sauce, and beef … but instead of where you would normally find cheese at the top, there was a thick layer of meringue-like egg whites. Super good. We sat there for about 3 hours because the sun felt so good. We spent the end of the afternoon napping on huge, marbled flat rocks on the beach before starting the 4-hour ferry trip back to Athens. So we didn’t necessarily tour much of the island of Paros, but it was a very relaxing day for us!

Island of Paros and Tina's Quote of the Trip - "I don't know how to not flirt."

We got to Paros, an entirely flat island whose marina & beachfront were covered with excellent seafood restaurants, around 8 on Thursday night. Although it wasn’t as scenic, we were pleasantly surprised to find that it seemed to be a bit more open and alive than Santorini. We checked into our hotel – a block off the beach, and then walked down the street to a beachfront seafood restaurant. Once again, the place was just filled with locals, and we found ourselves at another 4 or 5 hour meal. The menu only had seafood on it, which we were excited about since Santorini locals had only recommended us to eat meat there … so at least this island was know for its seafood! We started with eggplant dip, wild steamed greens (that we’ve seen all the Greeks eating, so we had to try), and lightly fried calamari. The calamari was amazing – the taste was so fresh that no seasoning/sauce was needed. Tina ordered a local fish, and I tried grilled octopus; this was the first time I’d tried it, but the cute waiter said it was local and his fave, so I couldn’t say no to that! It was basically just a small appendage, complete with the little suction cup things and all, and was chargrilled with a sweet glaze marinade. It was a bit tougher and not as good as the calamari, but I’m glad I tried it. There were still several tables of locals lingering, so we had another carafe of wine, and then the waiter brought us a complimentary dessert that was amazing. He served us small plates of the thickest Greek yogurt I’ve ever had, drizzled with fresh fig glaze. Awesome. Then our waiter brought us a couple more carafes of wine on the house, followed by another serving of dessert. Seriously, being the only non-locals in a Greek restaurant never gets old! Then our cute waiter finally pulled up a chair and started talking to us. Then he asked if we were going out that night, to which we responded that we thought everything was closed. Well, apparently not his friend’s karaoke bar around the corner :) Greek karaoke?? Are you serious?? That quickly changed our minds, so we headed over with him and his best friend, the cook from the restaurant. So that makes our second set of waiter/cook friends in Greece, haha .... their names were Cyrus and Dionosys, no lie. This is where Tina’s above quote comes in; I said to her “If we go out, no flirting.” To which she sincerely replied, “I don’t know how to not flirt.” Haha, “Me neither.” The karaoke bar was great … small, cozy, dark red lighting, funky couches, Indian-themed décor, and a black glitter door. Singing, dancing, beer, and raki shots ensued … so much for taking it easy for a night! I don’t know how we happened to meet like the 5 young, fun people on the island, but it was awesome.

Greek Dancing, Singing, Clapping, Napkin Confetti, Stomping, Bongo Drumming .. anything goes in Greek Karaoke!























Luckily he let me borrow his bongo drum because, umm, excuse me, it looks like he stole my shimmy!

Video at the karaoke bar ... hard to see, but the music is pretty cool :

Sad ... Time to Leave Santorini ...

Thursday morning we had breakfast outside on the sunny hotel terrace, and then took our rental car out for our last few hours of exploration. We went to a couple more beaches on the southern end of the island and through the wine road area. We attempted to drive the car up a narrow, winding cliff road to get to an ancient Minoan, preserved village but chickened out after the first few crazy tight turns. Guess we'll just have to read about that one in the guidebooks!

To wrap up Santorini, as well-known and visited as it is, there is still tons of new construction going on, with lots of raw, untouched areas for such a small island. But the people and the culture were very real; I loved it, and must go back for some quality beach time.

On Thursday afternoon we took a 3.5 hour ferry from Santorini to the island of Parus. While waiting to board our ferry, we watched the whole ferry-unloading process, and I was seriously fascinated by it. In a seemingly really random process that was at the same time chaotic & well-organized, we saw like 8 oil tankers, random motorcyclists, a truck full of potatoes, tourists with backpacks, locals, and cars all unload from the same spot.

The last pict I took in Santorini was of a group of donkeys carrying work supplies up the mountain. Instead of the shuttle to the hotel, my guidebook also suggested that we could hire donkeys to take us up to the village. Looking back, maybe we should have gone for that option!

Sunset in Oia and Last Night in Santorini

For sunset everyone said to go north to Oia, which is the village where all of the iconic white-stucco pictures of Santorini are taken. I can’t even describe it … tons of houses/apartments/cafés all in smooth, rolling white stucco built into the cliffs. But it was absolutely deserted like a ghost town, and almost every single door & window were padlocked. But it was so perfect that it felt like we were in a Disney movie set or something. Here are some views of Oia:































In Oia we found one cafe that was open, and they told us to walk to the nearby village to find the one tavern that was open. But this turned out to be yet another really enjoyable, traditional Greek meal. The server was a super-talkative Greek named Nikos, and he highly recommended that we start with the fava bean appetizer, which was an amazing warm fava bean spread with lemons, onions, and olive oil. Tina had lamb, I had a pork/beef/lamb burger, and we split a carafe of sweet white Santorini wine. After the meal he brought us a couple rounds of rosé dessert wine made on the island. The restaurant was actually in a former winery building; the backroom was used for stomping the grapes, whose juice then flowed into underground vaults in the current dining room. Today there are glass circles on the floor that you can look into to see the old storage tanks. It was very cool, and once again there were only locals eating there. Although a lot of things are closed in February, we’ve gotten a much more intimate intro to the people & culture this way. They have gone out of their way to talk to us about traditions/culture/food/history/etc and for this experience, it is worth coming in the low season … wouldn’t trade that for anything. And several different locals have told us to come back in September; apparently it’s perfect timing at the end of the busy season, so prices slightly go down, but the locals are happy with their “fat purses” after summer and are now ready to have a good time themselves! So we’ll be back in September … aiming for 2009!

Taverna in Finikia

Our last night in Santorini we met up with Diomos and Kiriakos to go to the local jazz bar for a chill evening. There was a fun DJ, and the bartender brought us over warm, spiced raki which was tasty! But we went home relatively early based on the previous late night.

Cruising through Santorini with Miley Cyrus and Flo Rida :)

Wednesday morning we forced ourselves to wake up at 9am because we had free breakfast at the hotel, but it wasn’t easy after the dinner the night before. Even though it was a gorgeous, sunny, warm day we had to sleep for a few more hours before fully getting up in the afternoon. When we woke up in the afternoon, we walked into Fira and rented a car, as all of the locals said this was the best way to tour the island = best idea ever. (However, this just serves as another reminder to get familiar with a stick shift before coming to Europe because it’s so much cheaper to rent manuals). But Tina drove our little car like a champ all over the island, which is only about 25 miles long and 8 miles wide. So we drove from the northern to southern tips, stopping at amazing beaches and cliffside views every few minutes. It was incredible. There is actually a dormant volcanic island about a mile away from Santorini, and we saw it from just about every angle. Some highlights of our drive (besides listening to the bomb CD that Tina made before coming!

Black Sand Beach of Perossa

Red Beach and Cliffs

Church at the Red Beach (with Tina ringing the bells ...)

Kamari Beach