Barcelona - Day 1

Since I am now home, the rest of my posts will be in past tense. I apologize for those of you following my blog who were expecting daily updates. Being across the pond, I realized how fortunate we are to have 4G and instant internet here in the States. Also, I was trying to enjoy myself the best I could with little stress, and to be honest with you all, it was a very stressful trip and feeling obligated to post on this blog only made it worse, so I will be writing the rest of my posts here at home in my leisure time, while remembering as best I can. I apologize for this inconvenience.

Our first day in Barcelona began very early in Paris. We woke up to breakfast at 5:50 a.m. on Monday morning because we were leaving for Orly airport to fly to Barcelona. Breakfast was normal, they offered everything they normally would, except the fresh squeezed orange juice. I was thankful that they had the typical breakfast so early because I was worried they were only going to give us a few things without options, since it was so early.
We left for the airport at 6:30 a.m., checked our luggage, and went through security. You know, the typical airport routine. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 10:55, so we waited around until we were able to board. Thankfully, the flight to Barcelona wasn't too long, just a little over two hours.

Once we landed, we piled on a charter bus and headed to the hotel, this time with a tour guide. I didn't see as much graffiti as I saw in Paris, and it didn't seem as dirty, which was nice.NWhen we arrived at the hotel, the charter bus could not park next to the hotel for very long because he would get a ticket for blocking traffic. Our hotel was in a downtown-like area on a very busy street. Yet again, it was too early for all of us to check into the hotel because they were still cleaning the rooms. They did, however, give us keys to two of the rooms so we could put all of our things in those rooms and not have to leave them in the lobby like the other hotel. Since it was around 1:30 p.m., we were all hungry and decided to find lunch.

About a block from the hotel was an bull fighting arena that had a mall and restaurants on the 5th floor where you could eat and see the city. We ate at one of the restaurants up there, which is where I immediately learned a few things about Barcelona.
Water, even tap water (which they don't have) is not free. It is all bottled.
Fresh mashed tomatoes on cracker-like bread is an appetizer, which they charge you for, but don't ask if you want it; they just bring it.
They eat a lot of fish and see food since it is near the Mediterranean Sea.
I was going to starve in Barcelona.

I ordered a Caesar Salad, my go-to meal that you can't screw up. It wasn't too bad, but still not the same as home.

After lunch, we were free to explore until our rooms were clean, but several of us decided to head back to the hotel anyway in hopes that they were ready since it was 2:30 p.m. (The hotel staff said they would be ready between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.) Thankfully, they were ready, so we got keys and headed to retrieve our things from the other rooms. 

The second toilet is a bidet toilet that uses water instead of wiping. I didn't try it. That was just going too far for me. 

Now, I can tell you my favorite part about Barcelona, so far.

Siesta (a nap) is really a thing. Now, the whole city doesn't shut down, but all the local small shops do from 2-5 p.m. for the daily Siesta. I was in love. I put my things in the room, and for the first time the entire trip, I was able to rest. Since we didn't have to meet back together as a group until 6 p.m., I decided I'd participate in this Barcelona tradition. I slept from about 3 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. and it was the greatest thing that happened on this trip. After non-stop walking in Paris, I was ready for a break. I slept pretty well and was ready for the evening by 6 p.m.

The whole group met downstairs for an evening at Las Romblas. This was a popular shopping street and district for tourists. We took the metro and split into smaller groups once we arrived. About 5 of us walked around for quite awhile and looked at all the different shops and restaurants. Las Romblas was known for large crowds and tourism, so it was also known for pick-pockets, so I had to be extra aware of my surroundings.
We saw a fresh food market and decided to check it out. The first things we saw were amazing! All kinds of fresh fruits and fresh desserts were everywhere. I wanted to try everything. We found some fresh fruit smoothie drinks at one of the stands for only 1 euro. We all got one and they were delicious. I bought a pineapple coconut one, and I loved it. I wish I would've tried more.

However, the desire to taste everything faded the closer we got to the back of the market. In the back was all kinds of fresh fish and sea creatures, and it smelled like it, too. We even saw a very large tuna fish being chopped up with a huge machete blade knife thing (I don't really know; it was just big). They were doing it right in front of everything, which did not seem very sanitary to me. Yuck! They had all kinds of fish back there for sale from calamari to salmon to sting ray. We left the back rather quickly.

We decided to find dinner after that since seeing all those desserts made us hungry. And you know you can't go to a foreign country without trying their McDonald's. So, that's exactly what we did. They had a lot of the same things as the States, but there were also several different things. Like for breakfast, they have donuts and croissants, not McGriddles and breakfast burritos. Also, to make ordering move more quickly, they have kiosks on one side to order and pay, then you just wait to pick up your food. A couple of us ordered from the kiosk, which was weird, but neat at the same time. I wondered several times why they didn't have that kind of technology in the restaurants in the States, but I think I figured out why. In Europe, there's no such thing as a drive-thru; you have to go in to order because they're so big on spending meal times together. Therefore, the lines inside are much longer than they are in the States, so the kiosks help reduce that wait and cluster.
I bought a single cheeseburger plain, and a McChicken sandwich. While placing my order at the kiosk, I realized that McDonald's is also a lot more expensive in Europe. I paid 7,50 euro (I used the comma in between the euros and cents because that's how they format money in Europe) for those two sandwiches. The cheeseburger essentially tasted the same as the States, but with a lot less grease, which was nice. The McChicken was breaded and seasoned a little differently, so it definitely wasn't what I expected, but it wasn't terrible.

After dinner, we walked around for a bit longer and found one of the ports to the Mediterranean Sea. The boats and birds were beautiful. We even fed some sea gulls popcorn, which we weren't supposed to do. Oops!

Then we decided to head back because it was starting to get dark. Overall, I had a decent first day in Barcelona.

Adios, friends.

Paris - Day 5

The 5th day in Paris was our last, and we didn't even spend it in Paris, but it was beautiful. We left the hotel around 10 a.m. and headed for Versailles. It was about a 45 minute RER train ride, and because the train was pretty full, most of us, including me, had to stand the whole trip. It wasn't pleasant. However, I was able to discuss with Dr. Philibert the things we planned to do in Barcelona.

Once we arrived in Versailles, it was a short walk to the palace. When I saw it, I honestly couldn't believe I was seeing what I saw. It was all you could ever imagine in such a place. Because I really can't put it into words,  I'll just let the pictures below describe themselves. Several of us paid a little extra to go into the king's garden in the back. It was huge, and gorgeous. We also walked through Marie-Antoinette's house on the property. Just walking through the garden and outdoors alone took us the whole time, since we were only there about 3 hours. Four of us also took a canoe out into the large pond in the garden. That was a beautiful opportunity. Here are the pictures from Versailles:

The garden 

Marie-Antoinette's home 

After we left Versailles, we headed back to catch the train. On the way, we saw a Starbucks for the first time the whole trip. 

I had seen several people caring Starbucks drinks, but I hadn't found one, so I just had to go in. Everything was very similar to the Starbucks at home, but they had a few different options. Even though I ordered the same thing I always do, it was awesome to say I went to Starbucks in another country. I also got a Paris tumbler from there. We rode the train back to Ecoli Militaire while enjoying our drinks.

Once we got back, Justin and I decided we needed to eat first, since we all missed lunch. We stopped at a local place about five blocks from the hotel. Their English was less than most of the French businesses, so it was a little frustrating, but we managed. I ordered Tartine Napolitaine, which was ham, with mozzarella cheese, and pesto. It was pretty good, just a little too oily, but I had worse at other places. 

After dinner, we did some local shopping and bought some souvenirs and some french wine to take home to our families. They even had a Pizza Hut near by. Tha was one place I never expected to see. 

Thankfully, day 5 was not quite as much walking, but just as beautiful and full as the rest. 

Au revoir, friends. 

Paris - Day 4

Day 4 in Paris was Saturday. We had another pretty much free day, except we all ate the typical breakfast and were planning to do the boat tour that morning, then we'd be free to do what we wanted. However, we set out for the boat pick up spot, which was right under the Eiffel Tower and it started to sprinkle. It was rather cold outside, so Dr. Stebbins and Dr. Philibert decided it would be best to skip the boat tour and head to the Arc de Triomphe. We took the metro and when we reached the light above ground, there were huge crowds of people and tourists everywhere. Right next to the metro stop was a large crowd of people around some dancers, similar to the break dancers I mentioned before, but I'm not really sure since I couldn't see over the people. The professors kept warning us about pick pockets in the huge crowds. After taking a few pictures, several of us decided we wanted to climb to the top of the arc. I didn't count on the way up, but I did count the stairs back down and it was 268 stairs one way. Wow, I was exhausted. It's moments like those when you realize how out of shape you are. The view from the top was beautiful though. Here's some photos: 

These are as we were headed for the boat tour: 

This was on the way to the Arc:

The Arc de Triomphe

The view from the top: 

After the Arc, we split into smaller groups based on what we wanted to do. 5 of us went to Notre Dame. The line looked really long, but we waited in it anyway and we got through it pretty fast. The stained glass inside Notre Dame was beautiful inside. They still hold catholic masses inside and let people walk through while they're doing so. 

After the quick walk through Notre Dame, we headed to the Latin quarters yet again to eat lunch. Two people who came with us hadn't yet went into Shakespeare and Company, so we stopped there first. I got to see the upstairs this time where the owner of the building lets starving artists and writers stay for a few days. There are also many books in all the rooms upstairs. I bought another book for my brother this time. 

We ate at a small restaurant called Aujoux. I ordered a ham and cheese crepe. It was pretty good, except the super strong cheese, but I enjoyed it. One of the people with us got icecream for dessert and let me try it. It was really good. There was strawberry and vanilla. 

After dinner, we went to the street vendors again, like I said I would. I bought some artwork, which I love and we were able to browse the other vendors as well. 

Then, we headed to an area known as Opera to do some shopping. It was mainly department stores, like H&M and some other French brands. It was rather expensive so we didn't stay too long. We stopped at a souvenir vendor and I bought a few typical tourist gifts. Then, the real adventure began because we headed back to the Eiffel Tower so Katie and I could climb it. 

We were both rather tired, but I know how much Katie wanted to and I knew I'd enjoy it as well, so we dropped our things off at the hotel, took a small break, then walked to the tower. My feet were already hurting from walking all day, but I really wanted to experience it. When we got there the line was fairly long, but it went by pretty quick. I was able to call my mom and talk with her for several minutes before we went up. We were in the line to take the stairs because even if we wanted to take the elevator, the line was way too long and it was more expensive. After about a 35 minute wait, Katie and I bought our junior tickets (I'm not sure why they considered us juniors, but hey, it was cheaper. We even told them our real ages) and went through security. We started up the stairs and took pictures along the way. We seemed to make it to the first level in no time, but the second level was a little more difficult and I had to walk slower. Once we arrived at the second floor, it had been a total of 638 stairs, which was all of them. To get all the way to the top, you had to pay a little extra and the only option was an elevator. Thank goodness. We bought our tickets and as I was trying to put my card back in my wallet, I set my ticket down and the wind at that height caused to blow away! I ran after it just like the girl in the movie, The Polar Express. I finally caught it under a woman's skirt, poor lady. 

Anyway, we got in line to head to the very top. We waited almost an hour, but it was well worth it once we got up there. The altitude end wind made it rather cold, but I loved it. The top made me miss Sam a lot because there were quite a few couples on top sharing kisses. The view was beatiful, and the Eiffel Tower was lit up on our way down because it was getting dark. It was well worth the pain I experienced for the next two days. 

We took several pictures once we got to the bottom and because it was late, Katie wanted to go back to the hotel. I was starving because we hadn't ate dinner, but I didn't want to go out all alone. Saturday night I ate American granola bars and fruit snacks for dinner. It was lovely. 

My feet and legs were purple when we got back to the hotel. I was slightly worried because it really hurt to walk. Sunday didn't feel much better. I'll explain those details on day 5. 

Au revoir, friends. 

Paris - Day 3

Sorry about not posting my days sooner. Now, I'm like 3 days behind. It's okay though. I needed sleep. Plus, my feet aren't handling all this walking so well. They're hurting pretty bad, but I've made it through the Paris half (remember it's technically day 6). 

Day 3 (Friday) started out pretty typical with breakfast in the hotel around 8:30 a.m. I've been eating similar things every day. Baguettes with jelly, an apple, fruit yogurt, and a boiled egg with orange juice. We left for the l'Orange art museum around 9:30 a.m. After taking the metro and walking quite a way, as usual, we arrived and got our museum passes from Dr. Philibert. Then, because the entrance workers at l'Orange saw us as a big group, he wouldn't let us enter at once. He said the museum passes were not supposed to be for groups and that we would only be allowed to enter two at a time. So, we decided to split into smaller groups and come back later. 

The museum pass could be used for all of the major museums in and around Paris. Five of us decided to go to the Louvre first. It was beautiful, but huge. Here are some pictures.

Mona Lisa 

       Bagpipe player

After the Louvre, we went to grab some lunch. We ate at a restaurant in the area, and I had a Cesar salad. It was a bigger portion than anything I've had here so far, and it was actually very similar to the states. They use a different combination of lettuce, which we have in the states, but I can't remember the name. It had purple leaves in it. No, I'm not mistaking those leaves with cabbage. It's not that salad mix. Anyway, it was pretty good, not as good as the states thigh. I really liked the smoked chicken in it. I've noticed every restaurant serves baguettes with their meals, like how some places in the states give different types of bread. I really enjoy those. 

After lunch we headed back to l'Orange, but we passed some souvenir shops on the way. I was rather surprised with how well we knew how to get around by ourselves. Katie, another girl, and I bought matching scarves. We didn't do it on purpose; we all just only liked that one. It was cute though we took a few pictures with them on. We went into the l'Orange, which was thankfully smaller than the Louvre. The pictures of Monet's water lilies were in these oval rooms, made specifically for those paintings. I'm not sure if the water lilies were really from Monet or if spelled that right; I'm not the best with art, but regardless, they were beautiful. I liked a few other pieces in this museum also. 

We left the l'Orange and decided to the Pompeii Do Center, which is the most modern art. We were all getting rather tired rather tired and no one else seemed interested in this museum besides me. That was a little frustrating because I didn't get to enjoy it the way I wanted to. I walked around the first gallery and took a few pictures. Most of the pieces in there everyone else seemed to think were weird, but I found them to be neat. We left there relatively fast and decided it was time to eat dinner. 

On the way to the Latin quarter to eat there was Shakespeare and Company, which was closed before. We went in and looked around. I bought a book called the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. It's found in the states, but a character I relate to in one of my favorite movies reads it in the movie, and I've slways wanted to. I thought it would be a neat souvenir because they stamp the books with the company name on the inside. I have no idea what the book is about, but I really felt like I should get it, so I did. We will see. 

We also passed some street venders selling different books, art, etc. I found some original paintings by art students in Paris according to the vendor, and I really liked several of them. I said I would go back after dinner if I still felt I wanted them. 

We ate dinner at an Italian pizza place in the Latin quarter. I can't remember if I told you this in day 2's post, but the hostesses here stand outside and spot tourists and try to talk you into eating in their restaurant. It's a little intimidating, but today it was nice because the pizza guy offered us free drinks if we came in. So we decided to eat there. A few people in the group though he meant free pop as drinks, but shortly after we sat down, he brought us sample glasses of wine, which he said was actually sangria, a mix. Everyone was sort of paranoid that he would actually charge us for them if we drank them, but Justin and I tried them anyway and it was delicious. Two others in the group took a small sip. We ordered two pizzas to share because we wanted to get crepes after. 

We ordered salami and cheese pizza as well as a margherita (spelled correctly here) pizza, which was basically just herbs and cheese. Pepperoni doesn't exist here. Instead they had anchovies, calamari, etc. I was rather disappointed. Both pizzas were delicious though. 

We left the Italian place and meandered through the busy crowds towards the Notre Dame. I stopped back at the paintings on the way, but she was closing. So I decided, if possible, I would return again the next day (Saturday). When we arrived at Notre Dame, it was again closed for tours, so we headed back to the quarters to buy some dessert crepes. I bought an applesauce and cinnamon crepe, which was pretty good. I wish it would've been more crunchy, but it was still great. After getting crepes, we decided to head back to the hotel. We got on the RER railway, which is so confusing, but we managed. That took us to Invalides where we switched to the M8 underground metro to go to Ecoli Militaire, where the hotel was. We made it back safely. 

Adventuring on our own was much more fun than the huge group. Until next time...

Au revoir, friends.