Barcelona Round Two: a Euro Family Reunion

This weekend, I made the trip back to Barcelona, the spot of my first adventure to Spain, to meet up with Carlota, who hosted me on my first visit, Louie who is studying there and my cousin Jimmy and his girlfriend who were visiting for their spring break.  

My first mistake was that I opted to take the 8 hour night bus from 11pm to 7am rather than sleep in the airport to catch an early flight.  Well, I don't know why I thought I would sleep any better than I had on the night bus to Sevilla, but needless to say I didn't get much more than a wink of sleep in.  So at 7am Friday morning, I had yet to really sleep and was dead tired, that is until Carlota picked me up from the bus station on her moto and suddenly I was more than awake and fearful for my life.  If you have seen movies of European vespa drivers weaving in and out of traffic, that is exactly what it was like, I honestly thought I was gonna die right then and there.  However, once I made it out alive, I decided it was actually pretty fun and a little bit like a snowmobile ride without the snow.  Anyway, from there, I went and talked to Carlota's family for a little bit and they were all pleasantly surprised with how much my Spanish had improved since my last visit.  Then, I took a little nap so that I would be at least a little ready for the weekend ahead of me.  

Upon waking up, Carlota had class in a few hours so we got back on the moto to head to the beach towards where her classes are and to a spot where I told Louie I would meet up with him later on.  Carlota and I just walked around the beach and caught up with one another until she had to go to class.  At about 3pm, I met up with Louie, Jimmy and Libby and our weekend adventures began.  We just hung out at the beach for a bit then went and saw Louie's dorm.  From there, we were all a little hungry but it was in between our meal times so we decided to take Jimmy and Libby for their first tapas experience.  We got a pitcher of Sangria and a bunch of very typical Spanish tapas cuisine including tortilla espanola, croquettes, jamon serrano, pan con tomate, and patatas bravas.  It was all very good and unless they were very convincing liars, I believe, Jimmy and Libby enjoyed their first taste of true Spanish food.

A pleasant view of the Barcelona beach!...not quite how I remember it, just be glad I spared you the front view.

By the time we finished tapas, it was pretty dark out so we decided to go to the fountain show at Montjuic Palace, which was incredible and almost like a firework show on the Fourth of July.  Every night, outside the palace, there are huge fountains that get illuminated in different colors and do all of these different tricks with the water to a 15 minute playlist of songs, one of which happened to be Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" which was pretty funny.  After taking that in, we climbed to the top terrace where the palace is and got a beautiful view of the city and night.  We walked a little further and saw the Olympic stadium from 1992.  After all that, it was about time for dinner, so we went to a little pasta bar that looked pretty cheap and got some dinner.  Unknowingly, since the menu was in Catalan (the language of the region Catalunya in which Barcelona resides) I ordered some sea food pasta which was literally black spaghetti.  Luckily it was good and I ate the whole thing before finding out that it was actually squid ink that I had ordered on my pasta.  Carlota later filled me in and told me that it was a very Spanish dish, so I was a little proud of myself for that.  

Montjuic Palace all lit up at night

Progression 

of

the

Fountain Show

Louie, Libbie, and Jimmy taking in the show like children on the 4th of July

View from the top

Outside the Olympic Stadium
(looks cooler before you realize it's a satellite for a phone company)

The infamous black pasta

Apparently, squid ink dyes your mouth black

Saturday, Carlota and I woke up and since Louie, Jimmy and Libby weren't quite up and at 'em yet, we went off to some of the less touristy sights of Barcelona that I had really enjoyed last time I had visited.  We went to the Gothic part and went into the old Barcelona cathedral which was just as pretty as I remembered.  When we were walking out, we happened upon the set of a Spanish music video that was being filmed, so we watched that for a bit and were even filmed in the panoramic view of the crowd so maybe I'll happen upon that footage on the Spanish MTV someday!  After that, we went into the Mercado de St. Josesph which was a huge market like that one that we have in Madrid filled with the freshest produce, fish, meat and tapas you can find.  We then wound our way through another little neighborhood where they have really cool vintage stores so we walked in and out of those for awhile until it was time to meet up with the rest of the crew.

On set, filming a Spanish music video

Barrio Gotic, the Gothic neighborhood

We met up with Louie, Jimmy, and Libby then decided to get lunch before beginning the day's activities.  We went to the sandwich shop that Louie knew of and I got the best sandwich and patatas bravas that I have experienced thus far in Spain after which I was more than ready to unstuff myself with a hike through Gaudi's beautiful Park Guell.  To get there, we had to climb a virtually completely vertical street that has escalators to the top because it is so steep.  Once we got to the top, however, we entered the park and spent the next few hours wandering through the scenic nature combined with the unique architecture of Gaudi all flowing together for a very nice effect.  Louie then took us to the very outskirts of the park where we did a little mountain climbing and huffed it to the top for a 360 degree vantage point of the city of Barcelona at an insane height, definitely worth the effort to get there.

Park Guell

Entrance to the Park
(I cheated, this is actually from two summers ago..but the lighting was better then)

Same with this one..

The Stodolka-Czech-McQuillan clan takes Barcelona for a Euro family
cousin-brother-sister-cousin Irish-Polish reunion
(I swear I only look that small because of my surroundings)

Bienvenidos a Barcelona

Later that night, Carlota and I decided it would be cheaper and fun if we cooked dinner for everyone like a typical Spanish dinner that a group of friends would host for one another before they go out at night.  So, while the rest of the crew went back and showered and napped, we prepared a nice Spanish meal at Carlota's house complete with Spanish cuisine, Spanish wine and dessert and Spanish beer and shandy to cleanse the palate afterwards.  We all had a great time just enjoying the food and talking about the cultural differences between the U.S., London, and Spain.  At about 1:00am, it was finally about going out time (one aspect that Jimmy and Libby found to be insanely different than in London) and we went to a bar to meet up with some of both Louie's friends from his program and Carlota's friends.  It ended up being a great mix of people and I had a ton of fun.  Although, upon waking up at 8:30am to catch a flight back, I was slightly regretting having stayed out until 6:30am....

The dinner hostesses at work in the kitchen

Oh well, it's like they always say, you can sleep when you're dead...Let's be honest though, that has never been my motto and I will probably spend all week trying to catch up on the sleep that I missed.  I can, however, say that it was a fabulous weekend and worth the lack of sleep.  It was so great to see Carlota again and I am so thankful to her and her family for allowing me to stay with them again.  Also, it was so great and almost surreal to be able to meet up and hang out with my brother and cousin for the weekend in Spain and seeing all those familiar faces made me think a little more about everyone back home, love and miss you all!!! 

When in Rome...or Florence

Friday morning, we started off our first adventure outside of Spain in a 6:00am dead sprint across the entirety of the Madrid airport, making it just in time to board.  After wiping the sweat off my brow, I sat down to enjoy being the third wheel next to a kissy couple for the 2.5 hour flight to Roma.

After arriving in Rome, we made it to our hostel without a problem and then met up with some friends of my roommate's who are studying in Rome this semester.  At first, the vibe I got from the city didn't seem too far off from the feel of Spain but that all changed as soon as we walked a little further and were able to delve into the Colosseum and the ruins of the ancient city of Rome.  We splurged a little and took the guided tour of the Colosseum in order to avoid the seemingly never-ending line to get in and in the end it was definitely worth it as we got to hear a lot about the bloody history of the Colosseum and the story behind all of the ruins left by the ancient Roman Empire and all of the emperors in succession, which was really cool.  From there, we continued on to see the Trevi Fountain and I got to toss in a coin to make a wish, supposedly that means I'm destined to return to Rome which is fine by me!  We also got some real Italian gelato and saw the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps which were a nice vantage point from which to take in the view of the city. 

The Colosseum: from blood thirsty gladiators to blood thirsty tourists

View from the inside

Nameless ruins left by the Roman Empire

Part of the arch built in honor of one of the numerous Roman conquests of the ancient world

Tossin' my euro cent into the Trevi Fountain! Just like Lizzie McGuire..where's my Paolo?

The Madrid crew on the Spanish Steps, how fitting.

On Saturday, we woke up early to get to the Vatican before the crowds got really big.  We waited in line to go into St. Peter's Basilica, which was HUGE and very pretty.  When we walked out, it was actually pretty hot outside and we were famished, so we opted for some pizza and gelato, which was a fabulous decision.  We sat and ate in one of the local piazzas (plazas) and people watched for awhile while taking in the heat of the Mediterranean sun.  After getting our fill (temporarily) of Italian cuisine, we walked around and wound up at the Borghese Park, a huge park filled with locals perfect for a little nap in the sun or people watching at one of the cafes, both of which we managed to fit in before it started to get dark.  

The Vatican

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

Fun fact: those letters on the ceiling are 7 feet tall

List of all the Popes from St. Peter to JPII..I think you have to die first to get on there, so really Benedict should be happy he's not on there yet.

Park Borghese

Do as the Romans do..

Sunday morning, we woke up and walked to the Tremini train station to catch the trenItalia to Florence where we were going to meet up with my friend Anna Marchio from high school who is studying there.  After a few separations and missed train stations (not by me this time!!), we all managed to meet up at our hostel early that afternoon.  Although the cold and rainy weather was less than ideal, we decided we would walk around, get some food and take in the sights of the city.  We saw the Duomo, which is a beautiful cathedral in the center of the city and just took in the vibe of a much smaller Italian city with an old friend to show us all the hot spots.  

Il Duomo

Alternate view

Night out in Florence..at a Mexican bar 

(only after finishing a dinner consisting of the best pasta I've ever had)

Monday morning, we woke up to a much unexpected glorious day filled with sunshine, a much better atmosphere to enjoy the beautiful city of Florence.  We started the day with pastries and a cappuccino and headed down along the river and hiked it up the hill to the Piazza Michelangelo where we had an amazing view of the river, the Ponte Vecchio (famous bridge), and the entirety of Florence.  After that, we went to this market that takes place in the center of the city where you can get really good deals on clothes, accessories and Italian leather to your heart's content...and dismay of your shrinking wallet.  I tried to stay strong but I did end up getting a pretty good bargain on a pair of sunglasses, a scarf, and a purse, all made in Italy! That makes it okay, right??  Ah well, when in Rome..or Florence!

Ponte Vecchio
Fun Fact: this is the only bridge in the city that wasn't bombed during WWII

Florence from Piazza Michelangelo

A tad sunny...

A little better...CDH goes to Florence- Kenzie, Anna, and Myself

That night, we took the train back to Rome so we could catch our flight in the morning back home to Madrid!  After all that traveling, I was really looking forward to some rest and relaxation.  Unfortunately, that little winter break they gave us was actually intended to be a study break, as we have midterms today and tomorrow.  Who knew the "study" part of Study Abroad was supposed to be a real concept??  In which case, I have four tests then right after my last one, I have a bus to catch to Barcelona for the weekend.  Looks like sleep will have to wait until next week, wish me luck!!

It's Always Sunny in Spain: Back to the Basque

On Friday morning, we woke up early to catch a bus to San Sabastian, a city nestled in the northern coast of Spain in the autonomous region called the Basque Country.  If the Basque Country rings a bell, it is probably because they are in the news occasionally as there is a terrorist group from that area known as ETA that was established during the Franco era when the Basque people were the victims of much prejudice and persecution.  The group, with the support of many Basque people has been campaigning, often violently, for the independence of the Basque Country from Spain.  The Basque people are very proud of their origins and it is very evident, more so than in the other regions that I have seen, that they have a fierce loyalty to their roots.  There were Basque flags everywhere and we saw protests and a lot of signs that were pro-Basque separation.  Another interesting fact, in addition to Spanish, the Basque people speak a language native to the region called Euskera which is a completely isolated language that has no roots to any other language.  All of the signs were in both Euskera and Spanish which was lucky for us, because Euskera looks like total nonsense and I wouldn't even know how to begin to pronounce any of the words much less pronounce them.
Anyway, there is a little background information on the region, just don't bring up politics while you're there and the Basque Country will welcome you with open arms.

The Basque Flag, loud and proud

So, Kenzie, Steph, Liz, and I got to San Sabastian a couple hours before we thought we would which was nice as we had a little extra time on Friday to explore the city before the sun went down.  Being on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain is primarily surrounded by water and we were all excited to get out of land-locked Madrid for a little vacation on the beach of the Cantabrian Sea.  Unfortunately, the sunniest country in Europe decided to throw us for a loop and the weekend ended up being uncommonly gloomy and rainy.  Luckily, it was still pretty warm so with an umbrella and a poncho we managed to still get the most out of this beautiful beach town, if not in the way we anticipated.

La Playa Concha

Friday night, we went out with some friends we made at our Hostel, a big group of Germans who would go in and out of speaking English, German, and Spanish like it was no big deal.  The Spanish and English were easy enough to follow but we didn't speak a word of German so we were a little left out when they out-did us with their trilingual-ism.  They did, however, teach us a few phrases in German that might come in handy when we go to Germany but found it hilarious when we couldn't make a certain "o" sound that they make.

On Saturday, we went up a hill on this little tram called a Funicular that brought us up to a point where we could view the whole city which was really pretty.  Later that day, we went to the opposite side of the bay to climb up another hill at sunset up to where there is a giant statue of Jesus that overlooks the San Sabastian from the highest point in the city.  From here we got to take in the ocean air and look down upon the beach and island and the city itself.  Aside from taking in all the view from every possible angle, we managed to eat to our hearts content the local delicacies that the city provided us with.  San Sabastian, besides being known for its beaches, is famous for its delicious food, especially their pintxos (pinchos) which are basically tapas on steroids and fresh seafood.  After spending a weekend there, I can say that this is for good reason as the food was amazing.  We tried calamari, pulpo (octopus), mussels, a bunch of other fish that I couldn't name, and multiple really good mushroom dishes all very reasonably priced.

Wind Combs

View from the Funicular

A variety of pintxos, may or may not have accidently ordered a shot with mine at 2pm...

We found the way to Jesus!

Of course, we woke up on Sunday and packed up just to walk outside to a balmy yet sunny day greeting us as we were rolling out of town.  Ah well, such is life!

My City, My Rules: Leading a Madrid Tour and a Side Trip to Cuenca

So this weekend, Evan came down from Salzburg, Austria to visit Madrid, and it being my city, I took on the role as official tour guide.  As I am sure most of you are aware, I have a terrible sense of direction and thus was a little nervous about taking on this responsibility.  However, Evan got in on Friday morning and I was able to show him around without getting lost..for one day that is..

At about 9:30am I made the hour long metro trek to the Barajas airport where I was meeting Evan as he arrived.  Of course, not being able to go anywhere without a little bit of a directional mishap, I got off on the wrong stop at first and had to get back on the next train as soon as I realized my mistake.  Luckily, Evan wasn't with me at that point so I could pretend like everything went flawlessly.  Anyway, I met Evan at the gates and we got back on the metro and embarked on our second Spanish adventure together.  (The first being two summers ago when Evan and Zane met Claire, Callie, and I in Barcelona.)

We first went to El Mercado de San Miguel where we tried some interesting tapas including Bacalao, which is a type of fish, and some olive creations on a stick.  The weather was absolutely beautiful, about 60 degrees and sunny so we then decided to just go for a walk through my favorite sights of the city which included the Palacio Real and the royal gardens and then down along behind the palace to the river where we saw a really cool fountain and also, Evan discovered the entrance to a beautiful park behind the palace that I had previously thought to be private which was very pretty to walk through.  From there, we ate a late lunch at Cien Montaditos where we got a plate of six different sandwiches and Tinto de Verano so Evan could experience a multitude of Spanish favorites.

Fountain on the River

Quiet park behind the palace is actually public, despite being fenced in..who knew?

At that point, it was getting later so we decided to go to Parque Retiro to see one of the biggest and most famous parks in Madrid.  As I have mentioned before, the Spaniards are people of the night and so there was a lot going on including everything from a kickboxing class and a lot of kids practicing rowing on the lake to teenagers practicing rollerblading tricks.  We spent a good while at the park just sitting by the lake and then walking around and people watching.

On Saturday, we took a 10:00am bus to Cuenca which is a small town to the east of Madrid and got there at about noon.  We stopped in a little bar for some cafe con leche (coffe with milk) and toast in order to check out a map and come up with a game plan.  However, after looking at the map in my guide book, we still had no idea where to go and ended up wandering in the wrong direction until I decided I would just ask for directions.  I approached a little old man on a bench and in Spanish asked him where we were on the map and how to get where we were going.  Well, let me just say, that he was way more than happy to help me out.  He went on and on about how to get to the old part of Cuenca and how it's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen and how magestic it is, etc.  He then asked me where I was from and we had about a ten minute conversation and he explained at least three times how to get where we wanted to go.  It was very cute but finally I had to just cut him off a bit and say gracias!

So, finally, we were on our way headed in the right direction and we found the Rio Huecar, one of the two rivers encompassing the city and were able to follow it up to where we wanted to go.  I can't even describe how beautiful this old city was built up on the cliffs above the river and unfortunately, in the morning rush, I had forgotten my camera, so I will have to wait to show you until Evan e-mails me the ones that he took.  There are these houses called Casas Colgadas or "hanging houses" that literally are built hanging over the cliffs.  We walked across the Puente de San Pablo (Bridge of St. Paul) and up into the bluffs of Cuenca where we got a breathtaking view of the city.  Basically, we spent the day hiking up through the bluffs and just taking in the views while enjoying the 60+ degree sunshine and a complete contrast to the bustling, metropolitan feel of Madrid.

Recta, recta, recta, y sube, sube, sube! 

Fifteen minutes worth of directions from a local..

144 feet up on the Puente de San Pablo

Casas Colgadas

After enjoying Cuenca to the fullest, we got back on the bus at 6:30pm and while sitting there zoning out, I heard someone say my name.  I look up and there is my roommate, Stephanie, standing above me.  Funnily enough, she had booked a day trip to Cuenca for the same day without either of us having any idea.  It was extremely coincidental that I was actually looking forward to telling her that she just absolutely HAD to visit Cuenca.  I guess she beat me to the punch on that one..

Anyway, after separating to clean up and get ready for the night, Evan and I met back up so I could show him a little bit about the night life in Madrid.  Now after being a great tour guide the day before, I was pretty confident in myself and "my" city.  So I decided we should go to this bar called Champandez, also known as the Cave Bar.  Being that I had been there once before, I had a general idea where it was located so we got on the metro and headed toward that direction.  Of course, the line we were on didn't go to the actual stop we needed but past it to the stop where my school is.  At this point, I decided we should just walk from my school and we would hopefully just run into it.  Luckily, after a little wandering, I did manage to get us there.  It has a super cool atmosphere and it was packed with locals so it was a good way to experience the Spanish culture like a true Spaniard.  We mostly just spent the time people watching and got a kick out of watching everyone sing the words to some Beyonce and Rihanna songs and also got to hear some Spanish music which  was fun.
When we decided that it was time to leave, it was past the metro closing time so I decided we could just walk back and it would only take about 40 minutes... well, I guess I didn't factor in the idea that everything looks a lot different at night because a street that I thought connected to a main street didn't connect and I (yes, I take full responsibility) wound up getting us all lost.  Not wanting to make things worse, we decided to take the bus back, but having never used the bus system in Madrid, I didn't know the lines or route to take so we got on what we thought was the right one and were on our way.  Alas, Murphy's Law struck again and we wound up in some distant part of Madrid that I had never even seen before and tired and annoyed I decided to leave it up to someone who actually knew what they were doing and hailed a cab.  FINALLY, an hour or so later, we made it back to the central plaza.  Needless to say, if after 20 years in St. Paul I can still get lost, only 4 weeks in Madrid is the equivalent of being in a never-ending maze.

The inside of the Cave Bar: the leche de pantera comes out of the ceiling from the stalagmites and/or stalactites (whichever limestone formation grows downward, that is)

On Sunday, I took Evan to El Rastro, the HUGE flea market in Madrid that can only be described as the most crowded day at the State Fair but with bartering and flea market tents instead of food.  This chaotic event takes place every Sunday and at it, you can find everything from hunks of unidentifiable metal, books, and phone chargers to clothes and scarves.  It really is pretty cool but after trying to squeeze through streets of shoulder to shoulder people, we got a little claustrophobic and had to make our escape.  We had a few hours before Evan's flight so after getting some lunch, we went to the Prado one of the most famous art museums in the world and because we went early (or because the entire Madrid population was at el Rastro) we avoided the crowds and got to see some of the paintings I missed last time.  On our walk back towards the metro line, we stopped at the park and just hung out in the sun for awhile by the lake before Evan had to go back to the blustery chill of Austria.

An unlikely musical trio performing at El Rastro

Evan documenting the scene

My attempt at capturing the crowd at El Rastro was futile, as I couldn't move my shoulders enough to take a picture until I was no longer a part of the chaos

All in all, I had a great weekend and although I did enjoy being a tour guide, my senses (or lack there of) tell me that guiding people anywhere is not exactly my true calling...