BARCELONA

La Rambla: After lunch on the beach we walked to a famous street in Barcelona called La Rambla. Tons of Chelsea FC fans were eating and drinking there because they had a big game against Barcelona that night; we seem to always run into British people when we are traveling outside of London. We also veered off the main street to find plazas that were recommended to us and to gawk at all the amazing food at the Mercat de La Boqueria. The market had mostly unprepared seafood, meats, fruit and veggies, but there was an extensive candy stand (my own personal heaven) and smoothies.

Parque Güell: Gaudi’s work is all over Barcelona and we were all excited to see Parque Güell because we have seen so many pictures from the famous tiled benches. It was absolutely amazing. His designs have no sharp edges, everything is rounded, which gives it a whimsical feeling. I also loved all the patterns he created with the tiles and that they differed and changed. The view from the park is stunning and well worth the steep walk; you can see all the way to the ocean.   

La Barceloneta: Barcelona is known for its beaches and unfortunately the weather was not fit for a beach day, but of course we tried anyway. I was huddled in three layers and still freezing from the cold breeze coming off the water. Despite the chilly weather, it was nice to be by the water and feel sand for the first time in I don’t even know how long. I vowed that I would be back during the summer at some time in my life.

Food/Wine: Many restaurants offer set menus that give you an appetizer, entrée, drink, bread and dessert for a very reasonable price, so we took advantage of this almost everywhere we ate. At our first meal in Barcelona we were very confused because we all ordered the wine that was included in our meal, but our waiter just left an entire bottle of red and white on our table. Our first instinct was to pour our glasses as full as possible before she came to take the bottles away, then I thought it was a trick and they would charge you if you finished the bottle or something, but after we paid and weren’t charged extra we agreed that the Spanish just look at wine like its water. For our last meal Susan and I had a massive seafood feast. From the set menu we got we got shrimp, mussels, calamari and a mixed salad as appetizers before splitting a huge pan of seafood paella—so fresh and delicious. We were delirious from all the food we consumed and abandoned our plans to go out that night.

Sagrada Familia: Our last day in Barcelona was all about Gaudi, and his famous church was unlike anything I have ever seen. His work is so distinct that no other church looks like what he did; it’s a masterpiece.

Casa Batllo: After Sagrada Familia we walked past several casa Gaudi designed before going inside Casa Batllo, which is probably his best known one. The house was designed with marine influences in mind, so everything is a gorgeous blue, green or purple and the rounded edges look like waves or ripples. And it wasn’t just designed for looks, Gaudi was very smart and came up with very practical design solutions to make the home perfectly livable. I especially liked the living room because an entire wall is a window that looks out to the bustling Barcelona street below.

   

MADRID

Temple of Debod/Parque del Oeste: We only spent two days in Madrid, so of course we wanted to make sure we saw the most important things. Unfortunately, one of the top tourist things to do is go inside an Egyptian temple that was transported to Madrid and it was probably the lamest thing we did the entire trip. There were projected phrases in Spanish on the walls, a model of how the temple would have looked during ancient times and tons of people packed inside (for what reason I’m still confused). But the trip there was not a total waste of time because the park the temple is in is on a hill so has great views of the city. It was also a nice place to take a break and relax in the sun for a little bit.

Parque del Retiro: The big park in Madrid, Parque del Retiro, is full of fountains, ponds, paths and monuments. We decided to rent a rowboat with the agreement that Susan would row the entire time, which proved to be a mistake when it took us 15 minutes to break away from the dock area. Despite our struggles it was a really fun way to enjoy the sunny day. After boating, we walked to the Crystal Palace, which is a large building with glass walls, ceilings and doors. Near the palace was a small pond where we decided to make camp for a few hours to eat, drink and watch hyperactive dogs chase each other.   

Tapas: I was so excited to get to Spain and finally taste authentic tapas! A woman who worked at our hostel told us about a street famous for tapas bars, so we headed there for dinner our first night. I had squid, roasted vegetables with goat cheese and quail with some of the best red wine I’ve ever had—I could eat like that forever.

Pub Crawl: It was a Monday night, so the pub crawl group was a bit slim but we made it fun regardless. Our hostel roommates, who happen to also be studying abroad at City, were on the crawl so it was fun to get to know them better. We also talked our way into getting a discount because we knew the leader was desperate for more that one girl to be part of the group.

Walking Tour: The tour took us to a ton of sites that we probably would not have visited on our own because of time and limited knowledge of the city. We saw the royal palace, Almudena Cathedral, Plaza Mayor, Plaza del Sol and a bunch of other churches. The tour guide also explained the history of Madrid and its Muslim conquerors while also telling us about modern politics and religion. It was one of the longest, but best tours we went on and it was our tour guide’s first time leading a tour. Many people said they didn’t like Madrid (especially compared to Barcelona) when we told them we were going there, which is partly why we only devoted two days to the city. But I think this judgement is too harsh, I really liked Madrid because it reminded me a lot of London. A lot of people don’t love London because they only have time to do the big, touristy things, but London and Madrid are cities where you have to immerse yourselves and find places off the beaten path to really appreciate it.  

Prado Museum: Our tour guide said the Prado was closed on Mondays, so I decided I would go to the Reina Sofia museum where Picasso’s “Guernica” is located. Luckily for me Madrid’s main museums are all near each other and I discovered the Prado was in fact open. It is a massive museum, so I decided to focus on the Spanish painters who are heavily represented, Velázquez and Goya. My favorite was seeing “Las Meninas” because I have studied it so much in school and it is a huge, impressive piece of work.     

Mercado de San Miguel: Lydia and Susan both have friends studying in Madrid, so we met up with them for dinner. They took us to an indoor market that is full of different stands selling prepared food and drinks. We circled the entire thing, grabbing paella, tapas, olives, sangria, wine and I even splurged for sushi. I loved all the fresh fish on the trip because I rarely have it in London and it reminded me of all the amazing seafood in Seattle. We also randomly met two separate USC alumni; one was a man about to move to Madrid for his work and the other was an older woman who has four degrees from SC. It was so crazy meeting two of them in the same indoor market… in Madrid.  

Chocolatería San Ginés: After dinner we went to a famous place that serves chocolate and churros 24 hours a day. The chocolate is basically a melted bar of dark chocolate, it is super thick not like regular hot chocolate. The churros were a scrumptious treat and a sweet ending to our time in Madrid. 

LISBON

Egg Tarts: Portugal is known for its egg tart pastries and the original bakery that came up with the recipe is in Belém, which was a short tram ride from our hostel. The tarts were delicious and they gave us cinnamon and powdered sugar to sprinkle on the top too, making it that much better.

Belém Tower: Belém is also full of museums and historical sites, and the most famous one I had heard about was Belém Tower. It is a fortress-looking building in the water and there is a great view of the 26 April Bridge, which looks very similar to the Golden Gate Bridge because they were built by the same company, and a large Jesus statue, which is a copy of the one in Rio. We asked a fellow tourist to take pictures of us in front of the tower and he took it very seriously—different angles and camera settings. When Susan got her camera back we were disappointed he didn’t take the most amazing pictures and it was on sport mode. Clearly this guy pretended to know what he was doing, I mean we weren’t running a marathon we were posing stationary.

Pub Crawl: The going out culture in southern Europe is different than what we are used to in the US and London. They don’t start their nights until midnight at the earliest and the clubs don’t get really fun until 2 a.m., which is when most bars in London close for the night. This lifestyle is particularly difficult to adopt when you want to sightsee and do things all day, but we did go on a pub crawl organized by our hostel. Susan and I ended up staying out long enough to see the sun begin to rise, but still managed to rally for another full day of walking and sightseeing.   

Sintra National Palace: The manager of our hostel told us about a small town 40 minutes outside of Lisbon called Sintra, so we took the train out there to explore the Portuguese town. Our first stop was the palace where Portuguese royalty used to vacation during the summer and each room was beautifully decorated with Arabic influences—I especially liked all of the title and mosaic work. The palace is most known for two gigantic chimneys that extend upwards from the kitchen. We also met an 8-year-old from London (he actually lives really near us) who decided to be our tour guide for the latter half of our walk through the building. He was really cute and loved taking Lydia and Susan’s cameras (they have nice Canons) to snap pictures.

Quinta da Regaleira Palace and Gardens: We ran into Arthur, the kid from the palace, and his mom who were headed in the same direction as us, which was a mysterious Masonic palace and garden. We ended up exploring the entire eerie place with them and found out that Arthur is a Burberry kids model and his mom is a travel writer and photographer. The massive gardens are filled with strange towers, secret tunnels, beautiful waterfalls, hidden grottos and a roped-off cat kingdom. Arthur’s mom is a curious and investigative person (such a journalist) and had no regard for prohibiting signs or barriers. She walked right around the rope blocking the cats’ area without hesitation and we all followed excited to meet at the kitties. The entire place was very mysterious, no one knows exactly why it what built or what the purpose of each structure was, but the map did indicate that it had to do with initiating members into the News Masons, which is quite an odd organization. Despite the creepy feeling of the place (it didn’t help that it was very foggy and gloomy out), the gardens were lovely and felt sort of magical. I felt like I was in the tropics, not Europe. We were there for about three hours and didn’t even get to see everything, we sort of got lost in it, going from one structure to the next. It is an amazing place that is somewhat secret, and I highly recommend it.     

Food/Sangria: None of us really knew what to expect from Portuguese food, but we were all pleasantly surprised that it meant big portions and lots of sangria. Because Lisbon is a coastal city, they serve lots of fish and I had delicious cod, salmon and octopus. We also went to a gourmet hamburger place (I know you are thinking why would you go there), but they were not normal hamburgers like the ones we are used to. These ones were more like a salad with two patties and there was no bun. Every dish we had also came with lots of sides, which we all really liked, because in London we feel like most of what we order doesn’t really come with anything else but the main thing or chips. The sangria was also delicious everywhere we ordered it and we vowed to start making the easy to prepare drink back home in London.   

Walking Tour: Our hostel offered free walking tours, so we went with a few Canadians around the historical part of Lisbon. The city is very hilly so it makes for some great viewpoints to see the city and water. We also stopped at a flea market, which was basically just people trying to resell things they stole or found in the trash (not exactly the kind of shopping we wanted to do).

Cascais: We took a 40-minute train ride to the beach (there aren’t any real beaches actually in Lisbon) and rented bikes, which were actually free to use, to ride along the water. The shoreline was gorgeous and it was really fun to see it via bike. We stopped at the Boca do Inferno, which is a large, natural grotto. Susan found some steps embedded in the rock and climbed down closer to the water, despite disapproving looks (one woman just stared at her with her mouth wide open) and Portuguese phrases that sounded like warnings or expressions of fear. People seemed to always continue to talk to us in Portuguese (or Spanish later on in the trip) even though it is clear we have no idea what they are saying.

     

ROME

Walking Tour: People told us to take advantage of the free (you just tip the tour guide) walking tours in most cities, so we decided to get a lay of the land during our first afternoon in Rome. Our tour guide happened to be British and he took us by a lot of the major sites: mouth of truth which is in Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn, Vittorio Emanuele II Monument that celebrates the unification of Italy, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon and a cat sanctuary near where Julius Caesar was stabbed. He also pointed out different ruins and told stories about them that were very interesting and gave us a general history of ancient Rome.     

Pantheon: The Pantheon was the only site on the walking tour that we actually got to stop and go inside. The dome was huge and has a large hole in the top for architectural purposes, but what do they do when it rains?

Dino & Toni: We met up with some of our other friends who are also studying abroad and happened to be in Rome at the same time for dinner. Sarah, a fellow Gamma Phi and my future roommate, went to this restaurant when she was in Rome with her family and they served them the house specialities. Our group did the same thing; I didn’t see a menu once and plate after plate of delicious food kept arriving at our table. We started with flatbread (some had bleu cheese and others had spinach), croquettes with unknown yet delicious fillings and of course the wine started flowing. Next we each got two bowls of pasta, one was a traditional Roman dish with ham and tomato sauce. The third course was veal and short ribs with salad and bread. Then for dessert we shared an amazing frozen espresso with whipped cream, flan, cookies and strawberries. It was the meal of a lifetime. I absolutely love food not just because of how it can taste but because it creates experiences like this. Definitely the best way to experience different cultures is through food.    

Trevi Fountain: Rome’s metro system closes surprisingly early, so we decided to walk across the city after dinner at Dino & Toni back to our hostel. And we definitely needed to walk off that huge meal. On our way we stopped to see Trevi Fountain at night, which was spectacular because of the lights and small crowd (it was around one in the morning and people were still there). We each threw a coin over our left shoulder and made a wish while taking ridiculous pictures and getting laughed at by locals. 

Roman Forum/Palatine: We walked through all of these ruins not knowing exactly what they used to be because of deterioration and lack of audio guide, but they were cool to see nonetheless. There are great views of the city from the Palatine Hill, and it was amazing to see structures that have lasted for so long. Our tour guide from the walking tour pointed out that the Romans made things to last (clearly) and that now we make things that purposely break in a few years so that people will have to buy a new one to replace it.      

Colosseum: After the Forum we walked across the street to the Colosseum, which was amazing. The stuff that went on there wasn’t so humane, but the structure is beyond impressive.

Piazza Navona/Spanish Steps: I don’t have much to say about these stops, not because they are unworthy of my time or words, but just because I don’t have anything extremely special to say. They are beautiful and fun to see (like everything else in Rome) and are great for a photo op.   

Cultural Conversations: We were so exhausted from our filled days that we didn’t really experience Roman nightlife, but we decided to stay at our hostel bar instead. I started talking to a Swiss guy who was in Rome with his grandma (don’t worry she wasn’t staying at the hostel) and thus began my pattern of engaging in deep cultural conversations during the entire trip. I don’t know if it is the journalist in me or what but I would constantly fall into asking people questions about where they are from, their background and their different cultural customs. Even though it’s not really the type of conversation for a bar or club, I loved learning about people from different places. Apparently Switzerland is called “Little USA” because of how Americanized their country is…   

The Vatican: Our last day in Rome was filled with exploring the massive Vatican Museum, which is actually more like 50 small museums all connected. The ceilings and walls of all the rooms were covered with paintings and engraving work that was awe-inspiring. The Sistine Chapel, which is completely spectacular, is also there and I stood just looking up at the beautiful ceiling and walls for a good 10 to 15 minutes. After lunch we went to St. Peter’s Basilica, which (again) is absolutely amazing. The entire Vatican City made me so proud to be Catholic and I kept thinking, “Yeah look what my people can do, we’re awesome.”   

 

PISA/FLORENCE

You always hear about people backpacking across Europe and I assumed I would partake at some point in my life, so it was sort of surreal that I was finally one of those people. The trip made me feel lucky to have the opportunity and means to experience these beautiful cities, but it also made me feel small because it highlighted how big the world is and how little I have seen of it. It was an adventure unlike anything I’ve ever done before or probably will do again. Travelling is completely different in your 20s than it is when you are a kid or older. I mean I shared rooms with complete strangers in some not-so-nice accommodations and lived out of a carry-on size bag for two weeks, can you imagine your parents doing that?

I had an amazing time, learned a lot and am so glad Susan, Lydia and I did it. I’ve decided the best and most interesting way to record my trip is to list everything we saw, did and ate in each place that defined our time there instead of detailing each day. Warning: I am going to overuse the words beautiful, gorgeous, stunning and delicious throughout this series of posts. Enjoy!

Leaning Tower of Pisa: We flew into Pisa and had some time to kill before taking a bus to Florence, so we went to accomplish one of the most touristy activities in the entire world. Posing like you are holding up the Leaning Tower. This task is actually harder than it looks because you have to position your hands just right so it looks like you are touching it.

Duomo: We climbed to the top of the tower next to the Duomo to get a spectacular view of the massive dome, all of Florence and the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Not only is the view stunning, but the Duomo building itself is so intricately decorated it is breathtaking. I could have stared at the details for days.  

Gelato: “A gelato a day” became a mantra during our time in Italy and it was quite the delicious and easy task. The icy treat is so good that we sometimes went for more than one. I became known for getting two flavors that don’t really go together; I think my oddest combo was lemon and mint chocolate chip, but it was still yummy. 

 

Hostel man: Lydia’s friend who stayed with us in London is studying abroad in Florence and we crashed at her apartment the second two nights we were there. We stayed in a hostel the first night because she was traveling and not coming back until the next day. Because it was only one night we booked one of the cheapest hostels we could find and we definitely got what we paid for. The man who runs the hostel is out of his mind. He had the flu and must have been on some intense meds because the stuff he was saying and doing was absolutely insane. This is definitely a "you had to be there" situation, but I'll do my best to illustrate it. He kept winking at Lydia, explained how his girlfriend left him for another guy, knocked a painting off the wall, claimed he also had an American name because he has family in the states and told me about his travels to D.C. after he saw my license said Washington state. He was also wearing a purple puffy jacket with a faux fur-lined hood and let his artist friend permanently live in one of the hostel rooms. I’m not going to go into detail about the shower situation, but I will say it was scarring.  

Uffizi: We went to the museum to see Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and “Primavera” paintings among other gorgeous works. It was well worth the two-hour wait to get in, plus everyone could get into all of Florence’s museums for free the week we were there.  

David: It was much bigger than I thought and it was very impressive to see in person. When my mom visited the David she got a provocative but hilarious postcard that doubled as a light switch cover (the light switch replaces... David), and I wanted to get one but the gift shop must have deemed it too inappropriate because it was no where to be found.

Ponte Vecchio: We walked past the cute shops and stopped to take pictures with the stunning background. It seemed like everything in Florence is picturesque.

Boboli Gardens: These gardens were extensive and filled with endless walking paths, and the lush greens and fountains provided the perfect setting to enjoy the beautiful weather. We were actually expecting it to be a lot hotter everywhere we went and packed accordingly (bikinis were in my bag instead of sweaters), so we were not fully prepared for rain and slightly chilly temperatures. We also went into the palace there to peek into the rooms and at some odd art collections.   

Michelangelo Park: We climbed up to this lookout point for the sunset on our last day in Florence. The view was stunning and made me want to escape to Tuscany to drink wine and eat delicious pizza and pasta forever. 

itinerary

It has been a busy week with exams and preparing for our long trip, but now it is only two days away and I couldn't be more excited. I thought I would post our itinerary (I am traveling with Lydia and Susan), so if you are interested in knowing where in the world I am you'll have something to reference. I looked up the weather today and it is supposed to rain in some of the places while we are there, but it is also supposed to be much warmer than it has been in London recently, which is a plus. I have one more final tomorrow before taking on the difficult task of packing and jumping on a 6:30 a.m. flight Friday morning. I won't have much internet access while I'm gone, but I'll fill you in on all my adventures when I get back!

13-15 Florence
16-18 Rome
19-21 Lisbon
22-23 Madrid
24-26 Barcelona  

Barcelona beach

a British Easter

On Thursday I will have written three essays, taken two exams and compiled one photography portfolio, which explains why my blog has not been getting any attention. And on Friday I will be on a plane headed south for a two-week trip through Italy, Spain and Portugal, but more on that later. Today was Easter and even though mass is not my favorite thing in the world, it was a welcome break from studying. Kristin, Susan, Alex and I went to a Catholic church on Exmouth Market, which is a street less than a 5-minute walk away from our flats.

The mass was very old school. Kristin, the other Catholic in the group, and I noticed a few differences from the normal routine at home with the most prominent one being the excessive use of incense. The smoke got so thick I was amazed some sort of alarm didn't go off. Even though it wasn't exactly what I'm used to, it felt good to be there. Now, I'm the first to admit that I'm not very religious, but I liked knowing that almost everywhere in the world I have a place I belong and will be accepted. A place where I could not know anyone or speak the same language, but we are instantly connected through ritual and tradition. A few little kids had their First Communion and the priest blessed and distributed Cadbury Creme Eggs, which of course made the whole experience that much better.

After mass we met up with Lydia and Susan's friend for brunch at The Breakfast Club. And even though I wasn't surrounded by family or friends I've known for much longer than my fellow Londoners, I liked keeping with Easter tradition by brunching on delicious food after church with those you care about. By the way, that meal has been the only thing I've eaten and it has kept me full all day. I hope all of you had a great Easter too!      

what I ate in Paris...

Jen flew into London Sunday morning and because she planned on being here a week we decided to squeeze in a two-day trip to Paris. We've both climbed the Eiffel Tower and perused paintings in the Louvre, so we wanted to focus on other things. And my focus was on the food. So instead of detailing all the sight-seeing we fit in I've opted to list all the amazing French cuisine we tasted while in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

1. "Giant" salad with lettuce, fried potatoes, tomatoes, prosciutto, bleu cheese, and some other delicious cheese we couldn't place with a creamy vinaigrette. This was by far our favorite dish from the trip, and I've vowed to recreate it although I know my attempts will never compare to the real thing.

2. Cassoulet with duck leg that was falling off the bone, white beans, sausage, and carrots with bread.

3. Steak tartar with frites, salad and bread. Jen was a little apprehensive, but eventually gave in to eating something that looks more like a burger patty than steak and was not disappointed. 

4. Pain au chocolat.

5. Cheeses, olives, cured meats and a baguette. We stopped in a grocery store to pick up lunch for a picnic next to the Eiffel Tower.

6. Carmel, pistachio, vanilla bean, and lemon macaroons. Well worth the 5 euro.

7. Pear, lime and raspberry sorbet.

8. Salami baguette. We each grabbed a sandwich for the late-night chunnel ride home.