The next day we woke up and decided to walk down Diagonal, a street that bisects the gridded Eixample at a diagonal angle to a huge open air market we had heard about. Diagonal is an extremely wide street that is perfect for taking a stroll! We walked down it for a long way and stopped at an older smaller cathredal and went inside. It was very quiet inside and the design was how you would expect a church to be. We continued to the market which was very far away. It was huge and there were tons of people there. They had everything you could possible want there. A lot of it was old junk though. We saw a stack of old play stations for sale and other antequated electronic gear. We decided to leave rather than get lost in the jumble of people.
After that we walked back up the street to head to the beach. We stopped to sit on a bench and a girl walked by and when she head us talking in English, she stopped and struck up a conversation with us. She was an american studying in Valencia who was in Barcelona for the weekend. She's from Georgia and decided to pal around with us for the day. We had lunch at a good priced Chinese food restaurant. Cant beat the menú del día for €8.50 where you get an appetizer, two full plates of food, desert, and drink. Then we walked down to the arc de trimof and past it to a wide boulevard that led to a nice park. There where a lot of people relaxing in the park taking in the sun. We then walked towards the ocean but got side tracked into the ciutat vella. This place was really cool. the Small streets and alleyways and an authentic gothic cathredal! we took tons of pictures before we finally walked to the port.
Again, tons of people everywhere and tons of boats here too. We decided to rent bikes and ride around the area to explore it faster. We rode up to the ocean where we all stopped and got off. Brett, Adam, and I rolled up pants and took off our shoes to go put our feet in the water. It was really really cold and I was def not expecting that. Just as we finally coordinated for a group picture, a big wave ame and splashed us. We then continued riding along the paseo until the end by the hospital and new port rebuild for the olympics. After taking some pictures we returned the bike and started walking down a street back to Las Ramblas. We saw a big statue of a man pointing and tried to take bets as to who it was. Everyone was saying Christopher Columbus, but I couldn't imagine why he would be pointing to the mediterranean rather than the new world. turns out I was wrong because everyone else had already read about the statue.
We got to La Ramblas and while walking up it we stopped to see a group of guys do gymnastics tricks. The pulled three volunteers from the audience and lined them up. One of the guys then did a flip over them! It was very impressive! Brett and Kat (the girl) went to find a market and and Adam and I went to find a store we thought we saw the day before. Turns out we had no idea where we were and went to Corte Inglés instead. We got back to our hostal to rest, eat, and change clothes and while there we met our roomates. there were two French girls, who were cousins, from Brittany there. they asked us If we wanted to go out with them later and we said sure since we were planning on going out later anyway.
the next few hours were spent trying to have conversation in slowly enunciated English while learning some French phrases. It was really fun trying to talk. During this our other roomates, three guys who live in Valencia arrived and joined our conversation. I was able to speak spanish with them and I managed to carry myself very well I thought. Once it got late enough we went and got on the metro which was full of young people doing the same as us. We got to the club and got in line and you could tell the area was popular with young people. There where old guys walking around trying to sell beer to people in line, but when the cop cars drove by they would hide because they were immigrants and street vending is illegal. the club was huge and jam packed with people. There were multiple rooms all playing techno music. We all started to dance and had fun.
The next day we woke up and checked out. We carried our bags to the bus station and locked them in a locker. We had a few hours before the bus came so we decided to walk around. We walked through the barrio gotico some more and saw some acrobat guys putting on a show for families. We watched for a while and were impressed with their skills. We continued walked and found the famous Palau de la musica. This is a famous opera house which is covered in cerramic tiles. We saw as much of the lobby as we could before we left. We walked right back into the plaza with the main gothic cathredal we had saw on the first day.
The plaza was PACKED! people were everywhere and looking up the street there were some poeple dressed in different colors for some type of religious festival. They were beating drums and jumping around to maintain their energy. Im not sure what the celebration was for but it seemed tradititional. On the other side of the plaza, there was a stage set up and some type of tap dancing group was performing. We decided to use this time to go into the cathredal. This cathredal permitted us to take pictures, but we couldnt go in very far because services were going on. (it was sunday after all) this one reminded me of Toledo because of all the gold and craftsmanship visible in the altars and chapels and such. We left ate and relaxed in the placa catalunya for a bit before finally heading back to the bus stop.
The bus for the ride home was much less crowded and I got a seat to myself which was awesome. It was a bit nicer and had tv's to play a movie. I slelpt for a long time and relaxed for the rest of it. We got home just in time to take the last metro home. 2 1/2 days in Barcelona and I felt like I saw a great deal of things. It was extremely fun and I am definitely looking forward to going back in the summer. I can't wait to the city when its really warm and the trees are in bloom!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Barcelona, el primer día
This weekend Itraveled to Barcelona with my friend's Adam and Bret. We had an absolute blast and in two and half days were able to see a great deal. We took an 8 hour night bus from Bilbao to Barcelona on thursday night and arrived in Barcelona at about 6:30 in the morning. The sun wasnt up yet and the streets were empty. I wasnt the one who booked the hostal so I really didnt know where it was. Fortunately we knew what street it was on and we were able to ask some cops how to get there. We then walked a few blocks trying to find the street. We walked by Barcelona's version of the arc de triumph and then we started walking through some narrow streets. We were actually in the old town and didnt even realize it. On the way we ended up passing it, but we got to Gran Vía (Great Way) which is one of the main streets that crosses Barcelona. We stopped at Starbucks so that we could get a big coffee and asked for more directions and continued walking. the sun was starting to come up and people were starting appear on the streets. The hotel our street is on is the other main street that runs perpindicular to Gran Vía and its called Passeig de Gracia. This was a very wide boulevard and we were about 3 blocks up. We found our hostel and locked our stuff in a luggage room and had breakfast. Because it was 8 and we couldnt officially check in for 3 hours we decided to go and explore rather than be lazy and wait.
We walked up the street and walked by one of the famous modernisme houses. This one had several ceramic towers on its outside and was very unique looking. Further up there was a famous building from Gaudí called La Pedera and because it wasnt expensive, we went in a took a tour. The outside of this building is very unique in that the facade is rounded and seems to have rolls. It is very difficult to describe because I have never seen a similary designed building. I took tons of pictures. Inside was also very cool. Gaudí designed the building to harness natural light and there are internal courtyards to let it in. As we walked through we were informed that the buildings weight is supported by a few strng pillars on the outside and inside and that the internal walls could thus by arranged as desired by the tenet. The windows are very large so as to let in the natural light. It was very elegant. The roof however was another new experience for me. Guadí disguised the buildings pillars and chimneys with modernisme arcitecture. Again one would have to see pictures to understand it. from up top though we could see over much of Barcelona. We could see the Sagrada Familia, Gaudís famous and still incomplete cathedral so we dicided to walk there next.
Barcelona is divided into two main areas, El eixample and la ciutat vella/barrí gotíc. the latter is the old town and lacks a cohesive organizing principle and the former is the new town which is laid out in grids. Eixample since it was constructed later was built for walking! There are long wide avenues with lots of sidewalk space. The buildings here all have that elegant 19th century arqitecture and look really nice. We walked stopping at some shops to buy snacks. Then we got to the Sagrada Familia. It was amazing! The design is again something completely different traditional cathredals. You would have to see it to understand. This place was of course loaded with other tourists from all over. The cathredral is still under construction because its entirely funded by private donations and collections. Consequently there are several cranes and scaffoldings and lots construction equipment everywhere distorting the view of the cathredal. Nevertheless it was very cool.
Next we decided to see the famous Prac Guell, but because we were told it was very far away and up hill, we took the metro. Some friends of ours from USAC who were also in Barcelona were just leaving and we talked to them for a while. One of the girls actually opted to come with us because we were more serious about site seeing than the others were. The parc was very cool and also full of tourists. We had lunch there in the sun and then walked around. It was a very interested place and different from traditional parks. it went up the hill and there was less grass then one might expect. At the front there is a cool ceramic lizard and cavern like place full of columns. Above that there is a terrace that overlooks much of Barcelona. Needless to say we took a lot of pictures. After that it was started to get dark so we decided to walk back to our hostal and get organized for the evening. We had made plans to go meet our USAC friends at their hostal which was on la rambla a very famous and popular street. After checking into our own place and eating dinner we headed out.
La Rambla or Las Ramblas was down three blocks and across a big plaza called Placa de Catalunya. This is a pededtrian zone that was full of tourists and locals. There were tons of people and shops and restaurants everywhere. There were tons of street performers doing gymnastics tricks, breakdancing, art, and there were several people painted up in costumes. It was a very lively place with tons to do and see. We met our friends but they were finishing naps and still had to get ready. Their hostal was in a plaza just off la Rambla and since we didnt want to sit around and wait for an hour we went and explored the area. We ended up in a big plaza in front of the old Cathredral of Barcelona. We just hung out and eventually started talking to an Italian couple for a bit who were in town for Valentines day.
finally it was time to meet back up with our friends. thier hostal had tons of kids and you could tell it was a party hostal. We hung out and talked to all different kinds of people because we were waiting for the hostal organized trip to a club. We went out and explored la Rambla more and there was tons of young people out and about. Then we met the organizers and headed to the club, we said we were staying iwth our friends in the hostal and got in for free and partied until it was time to go home. Walking up la rambla late at night is much different because it is a bit seedier. Fortunately everyone was mindful of their things and no one had any problems.
We walked up the street and walked by one of the famous modernisme houses. This one had several ceramic towers on its outside and was very unique looking. Further up there was a famous building from Gaudí called La Pedera and because it wasnt expensive, we went in a took a tour. The outside of this building is very unique in that the facade is rounded and seems to have rolls. It is very difficult to describe because I have never seen a similary designed building. I took tons of pictures. Inside was also very cool. Gaudí designed the building to harness natural light and there are internal courtyards to let it in. As we walked through we were informed that the buildings weight is supported by a few strng pillars on the outside and inside and that the internal walls could thus by arranged as desired by the tenet. The windows are very large so as to let in the natural light. It was very elegant. The roof however was another new experience for me. Guadí disguised the buildings pillars and chimneys with modernisme arcitecture. Again one would have to see pictures to understand it. from up top though we could see over much of Barcelona. We could see the Sagrada Familia, Gaudís famous and still incomplete cathedral so we dicided to walk there next.
Barcelona is divided into two main areas, El eixample and la ciutat vella/barrí gotíc. the latter is the old town and lacks a cohesive organizing principle and the former is the new town which is laid out in grids. Eixample since it was constructed later was built for walking! There are long wide avenues with lots of sidewalk space. The buildings here all have that elegant 19th century arqitecture and look really nice. We walked stopping at some shops to buy snacks. Then we got to the Sagrada Familia. It was amazing! The design is again something completely different traditional cathredals. You would have to see it to understand. This place was of course loaded with other tourists from all over. The cathredral is still under construction because its entirely funded by private donations and collections. Consequently there are several cranes and scaffoldings and lots construction equipment everywhere distorting the view of the cathredal. Nevertheless it was very cool.
Next we decided to see the famous Prac Guell, but because we were told it was very far away and up hill, we took the metro. Some friends of ours from USAC who were also in Barcelona were just leaving and we talked to them for a while. One of the girls actually opted to come with us because we were more serious about site seeing than the others were. The parc was very cool and also full of tourists. We had lunch there in the sun and then walked around. It was a very interested place and different from traditional parks. it went up the hill and there was less grass then one might expect. At the front there is a cool ceramic lizard and cavern like place full of columns. Above that there is a terrace that overlooks much of Barcelona. Needless to say we took a lot of pictures. After that it was started to get dark so we decided to walk back to our hostal and get organized for the evening. We had made plans to go meet our USAC friends at their hostal which was on la rambla a very famous and popular street. After checking into our own place and eating dinner we headed out.
La Rambla or Las Ramblas was down three blocks and across a big plaza called Placa de Catalunya. This is a pededtrian zone that was full of tourists and locals. There were tons of people and shops and restaurants everywhere. There were tons of street performers doing gymnastics tricks, breakdancing, art, and there were several people painted up in costumes. It was a very lively place with tons to do and see. We met our friends but they were finishing naps and still had to get ready. Their hostal was in a plaza just off la Rambla and since we didnt want to sit around and wait for an hour we went and explored the area. We ended up in a big plaza in front of the old Cathredral of Barcelona. We just hung out and eventually started talking to an Italian couple for a bit who were in town for Valentines day.
finally it was time to meet back up with our friends. thier hostal had tons of kids and you could tell it was a party hostal. We hung out and talked to all different kinds of people because we were waiting for the hostal organized trip to a club. We went out and explored la Rambla more and there was tons of young people out and about. Then we met the organizers and headed to the club, we said we were staying iwth our friends in the hostal and got in for free and partied until it was time to go home. Walking up la rambla late at night is much different because it is a bit seedier. Fortunately everyone was mindful of their things and no one had any problems.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
practica de hablar
Unfortunately I am stuck in school mode for this week and have been busying preparing for two texts this weeks I have had time to do new things. The weather has been better this week and there is less rain but its been very windy. the other day I walked through Algorta down to the Beach and the porte deportivo. It was nice to be right by the water and I hope the weather holds out so I can explore some more. I can't wait for Barcelona this weekend!
I got a chance to meet my intercambio (language partner) this week in Bilbao. his name is Imran and he is half Spanish Half Indian, but fortunately he speaks very good English although clearly the British type. We walked around Bilbao for a few hours talking about anything that came up primaryily in English. I was trying to correct his slang and phraseology to be more American. Unfortunately when it was my turn to speak Spanish I am no where near as advanced as he is. However, this means that I will have someone who can directly correct me as I make mistakes and it should lead to great improvements for me. We both have a bit of free time between classes and yesterday we met and talked mainly political things. Here in Europe, those who support the free market and less regulations are called liberals (basically the classical sense) and I explained to him the politcal terminolgy of the US and also introduced him to Ayn Rand.
I have also begun to have more conversations with my Spanish roomate Aitor. Generally we hang out he watches TV while I do my HW. I generally ask for a bit of help every now and then when it comes to translations of certain words and its very handy having an native speaker as a dictionary. the hard thing though is trying to circumlocute around the unknown word to provide a definition. Yesterday I played for him some songs I have on my Mp3 player that have Spanish in them and he was able to understand them pretty well. He likes some American rap like Eminem but when I asked if he understood it all he said he didnt. Im going to see if I have any other songs to play for him.
Also I got a new class at the english school where I have a part time teaching job. These kids are older so they are more mature and better behaved. I'm trying to get them to open up and practice their converstational skills because they dont seem to have many problems with the grammar. this should mean that I will bring in some more € at the end of the month!
I got a chance to meet my intercambio (language partner) this week in Bilbao. his name is Imran and he is half Spanish Half Indian, but fortunately he speaks very good English although clearly the British type. We walked around Bilbao for a few hours talking about anything that came up primaryily in English. I was trying to correct his slang and phraseology to be more American. Unfortunately when it was my turn to speak Spanish I am no where near as advanced as he is. However, this means that I will have someone who can directly correct me as I make mistakes and it should lead to great improvements for me. We both have a bit of free time between classes and yesterday we met and talked mainly political things. Here in Europe, those who support the free market and less regulations are called liberals (basically the classical sense) and I explained to him the politcal terminolgy of the US and also introduced him to Ayn Rand.
I have also begun to have more conversations with my Spanish roomate Aitor. Generally we hang out he watches TV while I do my HW. I generally ask for a bit of help every now and then when it comes to translations of certain words and its very handy having an native speaker as a dictionary. the hard thing though is trying to circumlocute around the unknown word to provide a definition. Yesterday I played for him some songs I have on my Mp3 player that have Spanish in them and he was able to understand them pretty well. He likes some American rap like Eminem but when I asked if he understood it all he said he didnt. Im going to see if I have any other songs to play for him.
Also I got a new class at the english school where I have a part time teaching job. These kids are older so they are more mature and better behaved. I'm trying to get them to open up and practice their converstational skills because they dont seem to have many problems with the grammar. this should mean that I will bring in some more € at the end of the month!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Francia
This weekend was pretty fun as I went to Biarritz, France. It was kinda a spur of the moment kind of thing as well. Wednesday and Thursday John, Riley, Adam, and I were talking about going somewhere and we decided hey why not go to France its close by bus. The next day we woke up and went down to the bus station and 30 minutes later we were on our way. The bus goes through San Sebastian and other places before ending up in Biarritz. The only problem with our plan was that there was no bus service home on Sunday and we couldnt miss monday so we decided to just come back on Saturday. The bus was totally full on the way to San Sebastian which took about an hour but once we got there just about everyone left. A few girls from the USAC program in S.S. got on the bus also going to Biarriatz so we talked to them for a bit. This time the bus was much emptier and we had the back to ourselves.
Something that surprised me about the trip is that there is no border control to get into France. I understand that they are all shengen countries and thus you dont need a visa, but I was never asked for my passport even when I bought my ticket. It was as easy as going across state lines in the US. I was very impressed. The only way I could tell that we had crossed to France was that all of the buildings and signs all of the sudden switched to French in stead of Spanish. It´s so interesting being able to cross a border and all of the sudden the language is totally different. The porousness of the border made me wonder how it worked historrically, especially during the intense isolation of the Franco era. I mean you could swim to France easily, so how did they keep people locked in Spain. Very Interesting. Anyways we got to Biarritz and it was a NICE day. for the first time in almost two weeks it was sunny and warm! The town is fairly small and we found our hotel quite quickly. It was nice and we got a great deal. The shower was great because not only could you accuratley control the temperature, it had a lot of pressure which I have been missing.
After putting our stuff down, we went around to explore and check out the city. The city is fairly compact and easy to get around in. We walked along the beach and around up to a point that overlooked the entire southern coast all the way to Spain. There were some serious waves crashing on the shore and there were a bunch of surfers. I got some good pictures too! We just milled around and then Riley and Adam went to the casino. riley ended up winning 180€ at roulette. That was pretty cool. We walked up to the light house and then around just stopping periodically. It was pretty relaxing.
The next day we went to a museum of the ocean and which was cool but all of the displays were in French so we couldnt really read anything. Then we went to a big market that had all kinds of french foods and wines. It was a lot of meat, bread, and cheese lol. They had a lot of foire gras which i guess is duck fat and we tried some spread over some bread. It was interesting. I didnt particuallary love the taste but I didnt hate it either, I suppose I could get used to eating it. Then we went and had lunch as this swiss like restaurant. John and I split a dish called roclette. Basically they bring you a heater It looks kinda like a lamp with sides where the heaters were. They attach on the top in the middle and can be angled. then the waiter wedged a huge block of cheese in the middle and we pushed the heaters down to melt it. We were given a wooden paddle shaped thing to scoop the cheese as it melted onto a plate. Then we combined the melted cheese with baked potatoes, meats, and bread. It was really cool and totally different. I have had fondue before but this was way different. We had some basque cider with it which was all right but less fruity then other ciders I´ve had. eventually I will go to a cider house in san sebastian and compare flavors. Later we headed home and that was a nice bus ride. We got back to Bilbao saturday night and headed out.
Sunday afternoon I got a new roomate. He is about 23 or so and just graduated from UMass Dartmouth. I dont remember his name but he seemed like a nice guy. He is here with a buddy to basically surf while teaching english to pay for it. I haven´t seen Aitor my other roomate in a week cause hes off working for his job. Later that afternoon I checked my e-mail and learned I got an intercambio. His name is Imran and I e-mailed him. Unfortuantely he has finals until friday so it is unlikely we´ll meet until next week. So far the weather has been better today hopefully it lasts!
Something that surprised me about the trip is that there is no border control to get into France. I understand that they are all shengen countries and thus you dont need a visa, but I was never asked for my passport even when I bought my ticket. It was as easy as going across state lines in the US. I was very impressed. The only way I could tell that we had crossed to France was that all of the buildings and signs all of the sudden switched to French in stead of Spanish. It´s so interesting being able to cross a border and all of the sudden the language is totally different. The porousness of the border made me wonder how it worked historrically, especially during the intense isolation of the Franco era. I mean you could swim to France easily, so how did they keep people locked in Spain. Very Interesting. Anyways we got to Biarritz and it was a NICE day. for the first time in almost two weeks it was sunny and warm! The town is fairly small and we found our hotel quite quickly. It was nice and we got a great deal. The shower was great because not only could you accuratley control the temperature, it had a lot of pressure which I have been missing.
After putting our stuff down, we went around to explore and check out the city. The city is fairly compact and easy to get around in. We walked along the beach and around up to a point that overlooked the entire southern coast all the way to Spain. There were some serious waves crashing on the shore and there were a bunch of surfers. I got some good pictures too! We just milled around and then Riley and Adam went to the casino. riley ended up winning 180€ at roulette. That was pretty cool. We walked up to the light house and then around just stopping periodically. It was pretty relaxing.
The next day we went to a museum of the ocean and which was cool but all of the displays were in French so we couldnt really read anything. Then we went to a big market that had all kinds of french foods and wines. It was a lot of meat, bread, and cheese lol. They had a lot of foire gras which i guess is duck fat and we tried some spread over some bread. It was interesting. I didnt particuallary love the taste but I didnt hate it either, I suppose I could get used to eating it. Then we went and had lunch as this swiss like restaurant. John and I split a dish called roclette. Basically they bring you a heater It looks kinda like a lamp with sides where the heaters were. They attach on the top in the middle and can be angled. then the waiter wedged a huge block of cheese in the middle and we pushed the heaters down to melt it. We were given a wooden paddle shaped thing to scoop the cheese as it melted onto a plate. Then we combined the melted cheese with baked potatoes, meats, and bread. It was really cool and totally different. I have had fondue before but this was way different. We had some basque cider with it which was all right but less fruity then other ciders I´ve had. eventually I will go to a cider house in san sebastian and compare flavors. Later we headed home and that was a nice bus ride. We got back to Bilbao saturday night and headed out.
Sunday afternoon I got a new roomate. He is about 23 or so and just graduated from UMass Dartmouth. I dont remember his name but he seemed like a nice guy. He is here with a buddy to basically surf while teaching english to pay for it. I haven´t seen Aitor my other roomate in a week cause hes off working for his job. Later that afternoon I checked my e-mail and learned I got an intercambio. His name is Imran and I e-mailed him. Unfortuantely he has finals until friday so it is unlikely we´ll meet until next week. So far the weather has been better today hopefully it lasts!
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