A new day, a new city. Today we took the 10:00 train to Madrid. I was a bit uneasy, knowing that the 2004 terrorist bombing happened in Madrid´s train station, but what can you do. The train ride was around 4.5 hours, but went really fast. The AVE trains here in Spain are quite nice, with the comfiest seats yet, and movies to watch on board.
Once in Madrid, we took the Metro to our hostel, which was centrally located right off of Madrid´s main square, Puerta del Sol. We didn´t stay there long, but set out to find tickets to Sunday´s bullfight at a booking office nearby. We actually used mostly Spanish (and a bit of charades of acting out ¨bullfight¨) to get the tickets. It was pretty hilarious...just ask Katie for her "bull" impression. :)
Sidebar - Once again, it rocks actually understanding some of the language here...we´re attempting to speak it whenever we can. I think the only thing really tripping me up though is the word for "thanks" - gracias. We always learned to pronounce it "Grah-see-ahs, but here it´s "grah-thee-uhs." It feels like you have a lisp if you say it that way!
Anyways, next we headed for the Reina Sofia art museum, since it was free on Saturday afternoons. We realized that we totally picked the perfect days to come to Madrid, since everything we want to see is free on the weekends, or only held on the weekends (like the bullfight).
The Reina Sofia was a modern art museum, which meant we got to play our made-up game of "art or not art?" to decide which artworks counted as legit. Many of the canvases with just scribbles or paint thrown on them didn´t pass our test. :) The best part of the museum though, besides the room of art by Dali and a very disturbing surrealistic black and white film, was Picasso´s masterpiece, Guernica. It´s a huge, black and white painting showing the horrors of war, in a very graphic, emotional way. It was very moving to see and understand in person.
After the museum, we did something a little crazy...ok I'll start at the beginning of the story. So as you should know from reading the blog, we have become a tad bit obsessed with Mika and his song "Grace Kelly" during the trip...what with seeing the video on MTV Italia repeatedly, hearing the playing song EVERYWHERE we go, going to Grace Kelly's home in Monaco, etc etc. So, while in Barcelona, we found out that Mika was performing in Madrid, today. Craziness! So of course, we decided we had to go, even though it was sold out, to try to find some scalped tickets. :) It would just make the whole Mika saga complete. Well, we take the subway there and finally find the club it's at, which was way outside the city center in the more modern, suburban part of town. There was a huge line of people with tickets waiting to get in, but no scalpers... So, we just hung out, waiting to see what would happen. We did see three girls buy two tickets from someone, and then watched a soap-opera like drama unfold before our eyes as they tried to get a third by asking everybody around if they could get another ticket. It was pretty funny, but we definitely weren't that desperate.
We were there for quite awhile, hoping to at least hear Mika when he got onstage, but eventually gave up on that too since it was getting late. So, we took the subway back to Puerta del Sol and found the restaurant we wanted to go to, called "The Real Paella Restaurante." Paella (saffron rice with meat or seafood mixed in) is really big here in Spain, but apparently this place cooks it the proper way so it's even better. It was a really fancy restaurant too, so we got all these "interesting" extras with our meal...including some cold shrimp as an appetizer - with the head, antennas, legs, and tail still attached. Again, interesting. The paella was excellent though - they dish it out right in front of you from a big pan, and it was sooo much food. :) Then, for a dessert I guess, they gave us a little jar of some drink, which we think was some type of liqueur...again, not sure, but we tried a little at least. Overall, a very fun experience :)
This was our latest dinner yet, from 10:00 until like 11:30, so after that we just went to bed at our hostel. We're in a 4 person dorm here so we talked to our roommates a bit, they're both American so it was cool to chat with them.
Wednesday, 18 April 2007
Day #21 - The rain in Spain falls mainly on...us
Our final day in Barcelona...and it´s rainy of course. Eh. We were pretty tired and out of it this morning anyway, so ended up sleeping in until like noon. :) We finally dragged ourselves outside around 2, and headed to the train station to get our reservations to Madrid. Apparently in Spain, they don´t have the same concept of customer service, because we ended up waiting over an hour in line... Luckily though, you get a ticket for your place in line, so we did that, and then went and got some lunch in the meantime. We ate at a Pans & Company, which is Spain´s popular chain of fast-food, but with baguettes - much healthier than McDonalds. :) I got a "fun burger", which had shredded cheese and a slab of ham on it. Interesting.
For our only sightseeing of the day, we went to Parc Guell, which is a huge park also designed by Gaudi (couldn´t quite fit it in our Gaudi day yesterday). It had this giant mosaic lizard statue, which was the popular photo op of the place. There were also some curvy mosaic benches with a great overlook of the city. We just meandered a bit as we do in parks, and took plenty of pictures. Very relaxing.
Even though it was raining off and on, we decided to still check out Barcelona´s beach, just to see it. We took the metro there, and then walked through Barcelona´s former Olympic Village to get there...and found nothing. The beach was completely deserted because of the weather, but at least we got to see where we could have sunbathed. Ah, such is life.
We went from there to the area at the base of the Montjuic hill, which on weekend nights has "Magic Fountain" shows with lights and music. We stayed for two of the 10 minute long shows, which were really cool, especially at dusk. They played classical music timed with the fountains, which I really liked.
For dinner tonight, we finally got the traditional Spanish meal of tapas, which are basically small portions of appetizer-like foods such as olives, anchovies, or the more normal cheeses, mushrooms, or slices of ham. We split 5 dishes - meatballs, tomato bread, ham croquettes, (cold) potatoes with garlic sauce, and something else...
We were tired tonight so just packed up our stuff and went to bed pretty early. Hasta luego, Barcelona.
For our only sightseeing of the day, we went to Parc Guell, which is a huge park also designed by Gaudi (couldn´t quite fit it in our Gaudi day yesterday). It had this giant mosaic lizard statue, which was the popular photo op of the place. There were also some curvy mosaic benches with a great overlook of the city. We just meandered a bit as we do in parks, and took plenty of pictures. Very relaxing.
Even though it was raining off and on, we decided to still check out Barcelona´s beach, just to see it. We took the metro there, and then walked through Barcelona´s former Olympic Village to get there...and found nothing. The beach was completely deserted because of the weather, but at least we got to see where we could have sunbathed. Ah, such is life.
We went from there to the area at the base of the Montjuic hill, which on weekend nights has "Magic Fountain" shows with lights and music. We stayed for two of the 10 minute long shows, which were really cool, especially at dusk. They played classical music timed with the fountains, which I really liked.
For dinner tonight, we finally got the traditional Spanish meal of tapas, which are basically small portions of appetizer-like foods such as olives, anchovies, or the more normal cheeses, mushrooms, or slices of ham. We split 5 dishes - meatballs, tomato bread, ham croquettes, (cold) potatoes with garlic sauce, and something else...
We were tired tonight so just packed up our stuff and went to bed pretty early. Hasta luego, Barcelona.
Tuesday, 17 April 2007
Day #20 - The day of Gaudi
Another amazing day in Barcelona...so many fun things to talk about. :) We slept in a bit this morning, and then took the Metro to the Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family) church, which is this crazy ornate church designed by Gaudi. Gaudi was an architect from Barcelona who died in 1926, and his buildings are everywhere throughout the city. His style is just so unique and artistic, with lots of curves, mosaics, and fun shapes. His plans for the church were so high-reaching that the church still isn´t completed, and probably won´t be for another 50 years. After seeing all these massive cathedrals all over Europe, it was cool to see one still under construction and to realize just what a huge commitment building one is. The church had a spire to climb, of course, for yet another city view, and cool exhibits comparing Gaudi´s architectural elements to things found in nature, like trees, seashells, and ocean waves.
We didn´t get done at the Sagrada Familia until 3 or so, since the lines there had been sooo long. We were just starting to get hungry for lunch (we´ve adjusted nicely to the Spanish times), so we found a recommended restaurant from Rick Steves with a cheap menu del dia (menu of the day). Menus are definitely one of the fun things about Spain - you get 3 courses, of usually salad, meat, and dessert, plus bread and a drink for only €8-10. This place we went to was even more amazing because it was so popular with the locals - at 3:30 it was packed with a 20 minute wait! For our 3 courses we split everything in half so we could try a little bit of everything...we got peas and ham and a salad for the 1st course, steak and fries and pork and fries for the second course, and cake and creme caramel for dessert. It was so good...everything but the pork that is, which seemed like 90% fat and 10% meat. Maybe that´s how they like it here though...who knows.
Next we headed to Casa Mila, which is another building by Gaudi, but this time an apartment. We got to tour the cool rooftop, which has swirly designs that look like ice cream, and the attic, with special <> arches that he invented. (Fun fact of the day: << >> these are quotes in Spanish and German). There was also a tour of the insides of the apartments, as they would have looked 100 years ago. The whole museum was really fun because of all the interactive videos and the free audioguide...helped me appreciate Gaudí's genius that much more.
For our final Gaudi creation of the day, we walked a few blocks to the Block of Discord. It was called that because three different architects all built highly ornate houses on the same street - so it´s a total clash of styles. We didn´t go in, but I´d love to go back someday and see Casa Battlo from the inside.
By then it was 6 or so, so we headed back to the hostel and got some free dinner again. Tonight, it was tri-color pasta with tomatoes and peppers, and roast chicken. Again, awesome considering it was free! We also met more people tonight, this time 3 nice guys from Austrailia. I told them how I can never tell British and Austrailian accents apart, which they thought was funny. I did notice that they say "heaps and heaps" instead of the British "loads and loads", or the American "lots and lots". That´s all I´ve figured out for now...
We had fun hanging out tonight with the Austrailians. We also finally talked and got to know our our roommates tonight, which was good (we´re staying in a 6 person dorm). They're all from France and go to med school there, it was really interesting talking to them. It was a good night. :)
We didn´t get done at the Sagrada Familia until 3 or so, since the lines there had been sooo long. We were just starting to get hungry for lunch (we´ve adjusted nicely to the Spanish times), so we found a recommended restaurant from Rick Steves with a cheap menu del dia (menu of the day). Menus are definitely one of the fun things about Spain - you get 3 courses, of usually salad, meat, and dessert, plus bread and a drink for only €8-10. This place we went to was even more amazing because it was so popular with the locals - at 3:30 it was packed with a 20 minute wait! For our 3 courses we split everything in half so we could try a little bit of everything...we got peas and ham and a salad for the 1st course, steak and fries and pork and fries for the second course, and cake and creme caramel for dessert. It was so good...everything but the pork that is, which seemed like 90% fat and 10% meat. Maybe that´s how they like it here though...who knows.
Next we headed to Casa Mila, which is another building by Gaudi, but this time an apartment. We got to tour the cool rooftop, which has swirly designs that look like ice cream, and the attic, with special <
For our final Gaudi creation of the day, we walked a few blocks to the Block of Discord. It was called that because three different architects all built highly ornate houses on the same street - so it´s a total clash of styles. We didn´t go in, but I´d love to go back someday and see Casa Battlo from the inside.
By then it was 6 or so, so we headed back to the hostel and got some free dinner again. Tonight, it was tri-color pasta with tomatoes and peppers, and roast chicken. Again, awesome considering it was free! We also met more people tonight, this time 3 nice guys from Austrailia. I told them how I can never tell British and Austrailian accents apart, which they thought was funny. I did notice that they say "heaps and heaps" instead of the British "loads and loads", or the American "lots and lots". That´s all I´ve figured out for now...
We had fun hanging out tonight with the Austrailians. We also finally talked and got to know our our roommates tonight, which was good (we´re staying in a 6 person dorm). They're all from France and go to med school there, it was really interesting talking to them. It was a good night. :)
Wednesday, 11 April 2007
Day #19 - Living it up, Barcelona-style
So, it´s only our first day in Barcelona, and already I´m in love. This seriously might be my favorite city yet...it´s got it all - art, culture, great food, nightlife, amazing shopping, beaches, pretty much everything you could want. Barcelona is just fun, wherever you look.
We started today by a stroll down Las Ramblas, which was completely different during the day than it was last night! We walked down to the harbor area and across the pier to a modern indoor shopping center where I finally found a pair of shoes! I´ve been looking the entire trip for a certain style of shoes, and could never find them until now. Anyways, mission accomplished.
After that, we wandered back up the Ramblas until we found the La Bouqeria market, which was probably my favorite market we´ve been to yet - it was just packed with fresh produce, vegetables, and of course whole legs of pigs with the hoof still attached. (Spainiards are pretty much obsessed with jamon). The best part was the fresh fruit juice they had - they blended the fruit right there so you know it´s good. Katie got strawberry coconut and I got strawberry pineapple...pretty much amazing. :)
It was probably 2 pm or so by then, which meant time to start finding some lunch! We decided to try changing our eating schedule from now on to fit with the culture...which means eating lunch between 1 and 4, siesta style. Also, lunch in Spain is the biggest meal of the day, since dinner is only a small sandwich or tapas at 9 pm or later. We found the perfect place to stuff ourselves for lunch at a buffet called Fresc Co´s - we got a huge salad, and unlimited pizza, pasta, soup, and dessert for only €8. We were SO full after that...
After a short people-watching siesta in the park and time to digest, we wandered the old Barri Gotic neighborhood for awhile until we got to the Picasso museum. This museum was one of my favorites of the trip, since it was just about 1 artist. It showed the evolution of Picasso from boy genius to his depressed Blue Period, to the beginning of Cubism. I definitely appreciate his art a whole lot more now that I saw he was very good technically as an artist too. Sometimes with modern art, I think "I could do that", but now I see there´s so much more to it. Katie and I also had fun translating the Spanish titles to all his artwork. Those 3 or 4 years of Spanish are finally coming in handy!
After the museum, we headed back to our hostel, since they have free dinner every day at 8! Tonight, we got some spicy pasta with lamb, and spicy sausage and potatoes...pretty good for free food, and just the right amount for a light meal. We met a couple new people just hanging out downstairs...everyone at our hostel seems pretty friendly.
Tonight, we went to a flamenco show next door to our hostel, since because of our hostel we got in for free. Barcelona isn´t technically known for flamenco, Sevilla is, but we thought we´d check it out anyway. Luckily, the show was amazing, but definitely not what I thought flamenco was - it seems so much more about the music and singing than the dancing, at least at this show. The singing was so soulful, almost like wailing....hard to describe if you haven´t seen it.
We were pretty tired tonight and so didn´t stay out too much later. The nightlife in Barcelona doesn´t even start until 2 or 3 anyway...which is so strange. Katie and I are still trying to figure out what everyone does in the meantime to fill the time...we'll see if we figure it out before we leave Spain! ¡Buenos noches!
We started today by a stroll down Las Ramblas, which was completely different during the day than it was last night! We walked down to the harbor area and across the pier to a modern indoor shopping center where I finally found a pair of shoes! I´ve been looking the entire trip for a certain style of shoes, and could never find them until now. Anyways, mission accomplished.
After that, we wandered back up the Ramblas until we found the La Bouqeria market, which was probably my favorite market we´ve been to yet - it was just packed with fresh produce, vegetables, and of course whole legs of pigs with the hoof still attached. (Spainiards are pretty much obsessed with jamon). The best part was the fresh fruit juice they had - they blended the fruit right there so you know it´s good. Katie got strawberry coconut and I got strawberry pineapple...pretty much amazing. :)
It was probably 2 pm or so by then, which meant time to start finding some lunch! We decided to try changing our eating schedule from now on to fit with the culture...which means eating lunch between 1 and 4, siesta style. Also, lunch in Spain is the biggest meal of the day, since dinner is only a small sandwich or tapas at 9 pm or later. We found the perfect place to stuff ourselves for lunch at a buffet called Fresc Co´s - we got a huge salad, and unlimited pizza, pasta, soup, and dessert for only €8. We were SO full after that...
After a short people-watching siesta in the park and time to digest, we wandered the old Barri Gotic neighborhood for awhile until we got to the Picasso museum. This museum was one of my favorites of the trip, since it was just about 1 artist. It showed the evolution of Picasso from boy genius to his depressed Blue Period, to the beginning of Cubism. I definitely appreciate his art a whole lot more now that I saw he was very good technically as an artist too. Sometimes with modern art, I think "I could do that", but now I see there´s so much more to it. Katie and I also had fun translating the Spanish titles to all his artwork. Those 3 or 4 years of Spanish are finally coming in handy!
After the museum, we headed back to our hostel, since they have free dinner every day at 8! Tonight, we got some spicy pasta with lamb, and spicy sausage and potatoes...pretty good for free food, and just the right amount for a light meal. We met a couple new people just hanging out downstairs...everyone at our hostel seems pretty friendly.
Tonight, we went to a flamenco show next door to our hostel, since because of our hostel we got in for free. Barcelona isn´t technically known for flamenco, Sevilla is, but we thought we´d check it out anyway. Luckily, the show was amazing, but definitely not what I thought flamenco was - it seems so much more about the music and singing than the dancing, at least at this show. The singing was so soulful, almost like wailing....hard to describe if you haven´t seen it.
We were pretty tired tonight and so didn´t stay out too much later. The nightlife in Barcelona doesn´t even start until 2 or 3 anyway...which is so strange. Katie and I are still trying to figure out what everyone does in the meantime to fill the time...we'll see if we figure it out before we leave Spain! ¡Buenos noches!
Day #18 - ¿Do you believe in miracles?
OK, luckily this will be a short entry, since we spent 80% of today on trains. ;)
Today, we left the paradise of the Riviera for our next and final country - España, and Barcelona! Our train left Nice at 11:17, and around 2 we arrived in Marseilles, after eating our packed sandwiches on the train - have I mentioned that French baguettes are to die for? :) We had a short layover, then hopped on our next train, to Beziers. There, we were supposed to change trains one last time to go to Barcelona, but...
That day, all of the trains running out of Marseilles were running late, including ours. We were a little worried about missing our connection, which happened to be the last train of the night to go to Barcelona. So, the stop before Beziers, we get our stuff ready to get off, and Katie just so happens to decide to ask two of the train employees which track our Barcelona train will be on to save us some time. She asks first if they speak English. Nope, they both say. But, a girl who just so happens to be standing there too pipes up, saying she speaks English and French and can translate! Through her, Katie asks about our train, and to our shock the guy says not to get off at Beziers, that our ticket was a mistake and the train to Barcelona doesn´t go there! In fact, we had to go one stop more to get the right train. Holy cow. So, we do that, and sure enough, there is our Barcelona train, which also just so happens to be running late too, so that we´re able to make it. We get on, still dumbfounded by all our good luck...too many things seemed to line up perfectly to allow us to make it. We´re just lucky I guess. :)
So, we had a nice 4 hour ride there, where we got to see the gorgeous Spanish countryside for the first time. Kind of reminded me of Wyoming or Utah at first - very barren and rocky, with some sagebrush type plants. We ate our second French baguette sandwiches of the day for dinner on the train, and got in at 9:48 to Barcelona! After figuring out yet another new Metro system, we got to our hostel, which is just off Las Ramblas, the main drag of Barcelona that everything is centered around. Night or day, it´s definitely the place to be, so the hostel´s location is awesome. Our hostel is also probably the best backpacker friendly place yet too - free breakfast, free dinner, free internet, bar, and lots and lots of fellow travelers to meet. We hung out in the hostel for awhile and also took a short stroll up Las Ramblas. A bit sketchy at night though...Katie has a good story about that... We actually stayed up late tonight - until 1 am! That´s huge for us, after getting up early and getting to bed by 11 most of the trip thus far. However, we´re going to try to adapt to the Spanish way of life and strange hours while we´re here...so here goes nothing!
Today, we left the paradise of the Riviera for our next and final country - España, and Barcelona! Our train left Nice at 11:17, and around 2 we arrived in Marseilles, after eating our packed sandwiches on the train - have I mentioned that French baguettes are to die for? :) We had a short layover, then hopped on our next train, to Beziers. There, we were supposed to change trains one last time to go to Barcelona, but...
That day, all of the trains running out of Marseilles were running late, including ours. We were a little worried about missing our connection, which happened to be the last train of the night to go to Barcelona. So, the stop before Beziers, we get our stuff ready to get off, and Katie just so happens to decide to ask two of the train employees which track our Barcelona train will be on to save us some time. She asks first if they speak English. Nope, they both say. But, a girl who just so happens to be standing there too pipes up, saying she speaks English and French and can translate! Through her, Katie asks about our train, and to our shock the guy says not to get off at Beziers, that our ticket was a mistake and the train to Barcelona doesn´t go there! In fact, we had to go one stop more to get the right train. Holy cow. So, we do that, and sure enough, there is our Barcelona train, which also just so happens to be running late too, so that we´re able to make it. We get on, still dumbfounded by all our good luck...too many things seemed to line up perfectly to allow us to make it. We´re just lucky I guess. :)
So, we had a nice 4 hour ride there, where we got to see the gorgeous Spanish countryside for the first time. Kind of reminded me of Wyoming or Utah at first - very barren and rocky, with some sagebrush type plants. We ate our second French baguette sandwiches of the day for dinner on the train, and got in at 9:48 to Barcelona! After figuring out yet another new Metro system, we got to our hostel, which is just off Las Ramblas, the main drag of Barcelona that everything is centered around. Night or day, it´s definitely the place to be, so the hostel´s location is awesome. Our hostel is also probably the best backpacker friendly place yet too - free breakfast, free dinner, free internet, bar, and lots and lots of fellow travelers to meet. We hung out in the hostel for awhile and also took a short stroll up Las Ramblas. A bit sketchy at night though...Katie has a good story about that... We actually stayed up late tonight - until 1 am! That´s huge for us, after getting up early and getting to bed by 11 most of the trip thus far. However, we´re going to try to adapt to the Spanish way of life and strange hours while we´re here...so here goes nothing!
Tuesday, 10 April 2007
Day #17 - A taste of the high life in Monaco
Another day in the Riviera, another day trip to another exciting new city! Today's location: Monaco, land of the Monte Carlo casino, Grand Prix car race, ridicoulously expensive yachts, and Grace Kelly! Also, technically the third country we´ve been to so far on the trip, since it is it´s own country. :)
We headed straight to Monaco in the morning, arriving before noon so that we could see the changing of the guards at the Prince´s Palace. It was pretty cool, but only a 5 minute short-and-sweet processional, nothing near as fancy as England´s. Fun though to have seen two Changing of the Guards while in Europe.
The area around the Palace was just gorgeous, it was up high on the hill of Monaco-Ville, overlooking both sides of the city, which stretches along the coast between the hotels on the hills and the marinas on the sea. We got some tasty toasted sandwiches and just admired the view from a bench for awhile. Then, we wandered the back streets, souvenir shopping, until we found the Cathedral of Monaco, which had the tombs of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier, both with tons of flowers on them. As we walked back down the hill, wandering through various parks, there were many, many more perfect vantage points for some pretty awesome pictures.
At the bottom of the hill was the marina, full of the biggest yachts we´d seen yet! Seriously, some of them could qualify for cruise ship status! It felt strange in Monaco being among all of these expensive things...makes you feel pretty poor in comparison!
We had been craving crepes the whole time we´d been in France, so we finally stopped and had some at a sidewalk cafe right by the marina. Katie got chocolate and banana, and I got one with mint and lemon ice cream and chocolate sauce. They were pretty much amazing. :) We got to watch one of the yachts leave the harbor as we ate.
Next, we wandered around the coast until we found the Monte Carlo casino, and actually were allowed to get in by the doormen (we´d heard there was a strict dress code). However, since you have to pay to go in the actual gambling rooms, and we weren´t exactly keen on losing money, we just used their nice (free!) bathrooms. ;)
Outside the casino, there was probably the prettiest park we´ve seen yet. Tons of fountains, gardens, tulips in every color, and views of all the casino buildings around. Took probably a couple dozen pictures there...
Of course, how can I forget the other great thing about the casino area...the cars! Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Maseratis, Porches...it was ridiculous. I think Katie enjoyed the cars more than me, but it was still pretty cool seeing ALL of the cars in the casino parking lot being crazy rich.
From the casino, we went a bit farther down the coast to the beach area! The beach was small pebbles here instead of sand, so still didn´t beat Antibes. It was packed with families and suntanners, but since we didn´t exactly want to make our sunburns worse, we just chilled by a rock ledge for awhile to relax. However, I think I still did end up getting sunburned even more, whoops.
We left to go back to Nice around 6, and then set off to find some ravioli for our last night dinner in Nice. (We´d heard that ravioli was invented in Nice, so of course we had to have some!) This time, we wandered the backstreets to find dinner, since local neighborhood places are so much more authentic than touristy places in the main squares. We finally found a nice place that was so authentic that the one waiter didnt speak hardly any English! Katie had the funniest time trying to ask him what Pistou sauce was. (We think he said ¨grass¨, but we´re still not sure...) However, our ravioli that we DID figure out how to order was amazing, but sooo filling! After dinner, we then got gelato, since the places were all about to close, which ended up being good yet bad because they gave us SOOO much gelato too! We ate it on the beach, and as hard as I tried to eat it all, I couldn´t, I had to throw the rest of it away. :( Sad last day for gelato.
To cap off our last night in the Riviera, Katie and I just wandered the promenade for a bit, just talking about all sorts of stuff. It was a pretty emotional night for me, which I think happens from all the traveling. It´s hard to explain, but traveling like we are just brings up all sorts of emotions that normally you never have the time to think about. Living out of suitcases like we are, in a different city every few nights, you really feel like you don´t have a home...it´s strange. Good for soul-searching though I suppose.
Well, with that, that´s all for tonight. :)
We headed straight to Monaco in the morning, arriving before noon so that we could see the changing of the guards at the Prince´s Palace. It was pretty cool, but only a 5 minute short-and-sweet processional, nothing near as fancy as England´s. Fun though to have seen two Changing of the Guards while in Europe.
The area around the Palace was just gorgeous, it was up high on the hill of Monaco-Ville, overlooking both sides of the city, which stretches along the coast between the hotels on the hills and the marinas on the sea. We got some tasty toasted sandwiches and just admired the view from a bench for awhile. Then, we wandered the back streets, souvenir shopping, until we found the Cathedral of Monaco, which had the tombs of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier, both with tons of flowers on them. As we walked back down the hill, wandering through various parks, there were many, many more perfect vantage points for some pretty awesome pictures.
At the bottom of the hill was the marina, full of the biggest yachts we´d seen yet! Seriously, some of them could qualify for cruise ship status! It felt strange in Monaco being among all of these expensive things...makes you feel pretty poor in comparison!
We had been craving crepes the whole time we´d been in France, so we finally stopped and had some at a sidewalk cafe right by the marina. Katie got chocolate and banana, and I got one with mint and lemon ice cream and chocolate sauce. They were pretty much amazing. :) We got to watch one of the yachts leave the harbor as we ate.
Next, we wandered around the coast until we found the Monte Carlo casino, and actually were allowed to get in by the doormen (we´d heard there was a strict dress code). However, since you have to pay to go in the actual gambling rooms, and we weren´t exactly keen on losing money, we just used their nice (free!) bathrooms. ;)
Outside the casino, there was probably the prettiest park we´ve seen yet. Tons of fountains, gardens, tulips in every color, and views of all the casino buildings around. Took probably a couple dozen pictures there...
Of course, how can I forget the other great thing about the casino area...the cars! Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Maseratis, Porches...it was ridiculous. I think Katie enjoyed the cars more than me, but it was still pretty cool seeing ALL of the cars in the casino parking lot being crazy rich.
From the casino, we went a bit farther down the coast to the beach area! The beach was small pebbles here instead of sand, so still didn´t beat Antibes. It was packed with families and suntanners, but since we didn´t exactly want to make our sunburns worse, we just chilled by a rock ledge for awhile to relax. However, I think I still did end up getting sunburned even more, whoops.
We left to go back to Nice around 6, and then set off to find some ravioli for our last night dinner in Nice. (We´d heard that ravioli was invented in Nice, so of course we had to have some!) This time, we wandered the backstreets to find dinner, since local neighborhood places are so much more authentic than touristy places in the main squares. We finally found a nice place that was so authentic that the one waiter didnt speak hardly any English! Katie had the funniest time trying to ask him what Pistou sauce was. (We think he said ¨grass¨, but we´re still not sure...) However, our ravioli that we DID figure out how to order was amazing, but sooo filling! After dinner, we then got gelato, since the places were all about to close, which ended up being good yet bad because they gave us SOOO much gelato too! We ate it on the beach, and as hard as I tried to eat it all, I couldn´t, I had to throw the rest of it away. :( Sad last day for gelato.
To cap off our last night in the Riviera, Katie and I just wandered the promenade for a bit, just talking about all sorts of stuff. It was a pretty emotional night for me, which I think happens from all the traveling. It´s hard to explain, but traveling like we are just brings up all sorts of emotions that normally you never have the time to think about. Living out of suitcases like we are, in a different city every few nights, you really feel like you don´t have a home...it´s strange. Good for soul-searching though I suppose.
Well, with that, that´s all for tonight. :)
Day #16 - Easter in Paradise!
Bonjour, and Happy Easter everyone! Or, as they say in France, Joyeux Paques, I think. :)
This morning, we got up and went to Easter Mass at the Notre Dame. Nope, we didn't fly to Paris...there is actually a Notre Dame here in Nice, which is a miniature replica of the real thing. Mass was packed, and in French of course. Luckily, we had a bulletin, so we could follow along with the readings. Holy cow though, spoken French sounds nothing like written French seems like it should! Makes me realize just how bad I've been butchering words whenever I try to read menus, or anything else French. :)
After Mass, we hopped on a train to Antibes, which was only 25 minutes away up the coast. Compared to busy, crowded, noisy Nice, Antibes was small-town charm. We walked along the harbor, which was packed with huge yachts, and soon found the beach! Antibes is the only place in the area with actual sandy beaches, so it was wonderful. :) We laid on the beach for something like 2 1/2 hours, in the peak of the afternoon. Yeah, we got a tad bit sunburned...oops. :) It was strange though, because it was only mid-60s, so we had coats and jeans on, but other people were in their bikinis or Speedos. :) A perfect Easter afternoon though - so relaxing taking a nap with the sound of waves crashing at your feet...
We eventually pried ourselves away from the beach, and walked through the Old Town a bit. There were shops, and of course a market. Notice a pattern at all? We kept walking along the coast, taking tons of pictures and stopping in a park to watch some old men play bocce ball. Then, we found another beach, and just chilled there for awhile. There was a group playing sand volleyball, so we sat watching them, wanting to play, but they were all French and had too many people already. Next, we walked up a huge hill (yet another pattern to our trips :) ) to see an overlook of all of Antibes. We could see the harbor, the beach, and the other side of the coast too, which has the so-called "Bay of Millionaires" because of all the huge mansions.
By then, it was like 6:30 and we were starving, so we walked back downhill to the Old Town, where we found a pizzeria with Hawaiian pizza, which we were both craving. :) So, we each had a huge plate of pizza -which is so good and so authentic I'm convinced I'll never be able to eat Pizza Hut again!
We got back to Antibes by hitching a ride on a reservation-only train. Oh well, it worked. :) Then, we met up with Nicole Hance at her hostel. We were going to go out somewhere in Nice, but we were all pretty tired, so just hung out at her hostel's common room instead. We met her 3 other friends from Iowa State, and we had fun hanging out with them and sharing travel stories and getting tips on Spain. Great day, great night, great Easter. :)
This morning, we got up and went to Easter Mass at the Notre Dame. Nope, we didn't fly to Paris...there is actually a Notre Dame here in Nice, which is a miniature replica of the real thing. Mass was packed, and in French of course. Luckily, we had a bulletin, so we could follow along with the readings. Holy cow though, spoken French sounds nothing like written French seems like it should! Makes me realize just how bad I've been butchering words whenever I try to read menus, or anything else French. :)
After Mass, we hopped on a train to Antibes, which was only 25 minutes away up the coast. Compared to busy, crowded, noisy Nice, Antibes was small-town charm. We walked along the harbor, which was packed with huge yachts, and soon found the beach! Antibes is the only place in the area with actual sandy beaches, so it was wonderful. :) We laid on the beach for something like 2 1/2 hours, in the peak of the afternoon. Yeah, we got a tad bit sunburned...oops. :) It was strange though, because it was only mid-60s, so we had coats and jeans on, but other people were in their bikinis or Speedos. :) A perfect Easter afternoon though - so relaxing taking a nap with the sound of waves crashing at your feet...
We eventually pried ourselves away from the beach, and walked through the Old Town a bit. There were shops, and of course a market. Notice a pattern at all? We kept walking along the coast, taking tons of pictures and stopping in a park to watch some old men play bocce ball. Then, we found another beach, and just chilled there for awhile. There was a group playing sand volleyball, so we sat watching them, wanting to play, but they were all French and had too many people already. Next, we walked up a huge hill (yet another pattern to our trips :) ) to see an overlook of all of Antibes. We could see the harbor, the beach, and the other side of the coast too, which has the so-called "Bay of Millionaires" because of all the huge mansions.
By then, it was like 6:30 and we were starving, so we walked back downhill to the Old Town, where we found a pizzeria with Hawaiian pizza, which we were both craving. :) So, we each had a huge plate of pizza -which is so good and so authentic I'm convinced I'll never be able to eat Pizza Hut again!
We got back to Antibes by hitching a ride on a reservation-only train. Oh well, it worked. :) Then, we met up with Nicole Hance at her hostel. We were going to go out somewhere in Nice, but we were all pretty tired, so just hung out at her hostel's common room instead. We met her 3 other friends from Iowa State, and we had fun hanging out with them and sharing travel stories and getting tips on Spain. Great day, great night, great Easter. :)
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