"Bonjour" Eiffel, The Louvre and Awful Croissants

So I was just in Paris for the last five days, still one of my favourite cities in all of Europe. It just has a feeling, an ambiance, an air of something I just can't fully explain... it is definitely romantic. Too bad yet again I wasn't there with Matt, maybe next time (hint, hint). Our short stay was filled to the brim with plenty of activity. Our first day was remembrance day so the Champes Elysee was packed with crowds paying respect and taking in the Remembrance day festivities. We walked from our cute, little apartment to the Louvre ( basically a hop, step and a jump out our door), from there we continued through the large park on to the Arche De Triumph beckoning us from the end of the famous Champes Elysee (lucky for my wallet most of the stores were closed). From here we wondered amazed by the number of Dior's, Chanel's and Prada's on every corner (this is without a doubt a fashionable destination where I tried my best to fit in). We than headed off to the Eiffel tower, along the way stopping for a photo exhibit along the Seine and long enough to snap some photos of an museum I wanted to see and a good example of new architecture. But what would a trip to Paris be without a ride/climb up the Eiffel tour, oh Gustav what an amazing view you created. As with my previous Eiffel experience I found the height a little daunting but the view well worth the climb.

We lived in style or at least we would like to think. When in Paris why not live like an artist, in a one bedroom studio. This is a picture of the beautiful courtyard at the entrance to our apartment. We were greatly surprised upon arrival to find our location right in the heart of the ritzy, expensive, artistic area known as St. Germain. I was astonished by all the home stores and galleries, this is I am sure where wealthy peoples interior designers shop, it was amazing. Never before have I seen such beautiful shops, bakeries, florists, etc... needless to say I felt inspired.

Casa Milla

La Pedra or Casa Milla as it is more commonly known was another destination I took my mom to see during her stay here in Barcelona. Like most of Gaudi's work it was yet another extraordinary building by this unique, modernist architect. Built between 1905 and 1910 it was an combined office block and apartment building. You can see this building coming from blocks away with its unique undulating, curvaceous exterior.

Tarragona

Just before my mom headed back home to Calgary we made a day trip to the town of Tarragona. A nice little place for reasons above and beyond its marvelous name. Similar to Toledo the old part of the town is enclosed by a surviving wall from Roman times. Within the protective walls of the old part of the city exists a maze cobblestone streets and beautiful buildings. A couple hours spent aimlessly wondering the streets of Tarragona provided us with a wonderful afternoon in the sun to enjoy the quaint yet beautiful architecture. If you ever go to Barcelona don't miss out on this town where you are bound to get caught up in the unspoiled beauty of the buildings and extraordinary Roman ruins.

The Apes of Gibraltar

Gibraltar was yet another afternoon stop on our way to a greater destination, that of Granada (which unfortunately proved to be a bit of a disappointment, as you will see there are no photos to follow). The three hours spent exploring the massive rock proved quite entertaining due to mainly the entertaining antics of the monkeys or the apes as they are accurately referred to. I could post plenty of photos of these rabies infested creatures but I will save you the boredom of monkey after monkey, a few pictures should suffice. Like humans these little guys definitely had personalities, I would sum up the trip up the rock as stepping into the movie "Planet of the Apes". These little guys were everywhere; in trees, hanging from rocks, in tourist shops and commonly on top of the cabs. To most people this would be cute but the idea of exiting a cab through the door under the legs of a large ape, which had casually decided to rest there wasn't the most appealing option (how did I know this monkey was going to jump on my back and attack me?) As long as I kept my distance and they kept theirs the Apes of Gibraltar provide a unique and exciting experience I hadn't anticipated having.

Seville

Seville, it is said to be the most romantic city in all of Spain. It was beautiful but some how it missed the romantic mark maybe because I was travelling with my mom and not my boyfriend, or because we didn't really get to see the city at night. This was a city full of color and vibrant buildings and proved to be very photogenic (how unfortunate for those of you who are getting sick of looking at photos of buildings, I promise I will soon make a conscience effort to take some photos that include me).

Toledo

Some how these photographs just don't capture the essence of Toledo. Just a little stop along the way to Seville we had the opportunity to explore the quaint, medieval town for a couple of hours. Toledo was incredibly beautiful, it was quiet, majestic and a little less travelled. It was one of those places I could have spent hours or a couple of days exploring, definitely somewhere to come back to.



Here are just a few facts:

Known as the 'Imperial City' Toledo is perched on a rocky ridge above the Rio Tajo. A labyrinth of narrow streets, plazas and hidden courtyards it has been refereed to as Iberia's Rome. Full of numerous mosques, synagogues, churches and museums Toledos provides an abundance of sites to explore within its ancient, medieval walls.

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First Stop... Madrid

Madrid, it was a lot like Barcelona but not as nice (or at least I didn't think so). Realistically though it is hard to get to know a city when you are travelling with your butt permanently planted in the plush velvet seating of a deluxe Trafalgar coach. Although a bus tour does allow you to cover more ground in a shorter amount of time it definitely left me feeling detached from the city I was intended to be experiencing. Almost two whole days spent in Madrid allowed me to come to the realization that like Barcelona there is too much to be seen and done in too little time. Unfortunately I didn't get to experience much of the city besides the public transit system and Placa Mayor but I was provide with an amazing excursion opportunity to see the Valley of the Fallen and San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

San Lorenzo de El Escorial was an impressive palace and monastery complex about 45 minutes outside of Madrid. A one time royal getaway this monastery attracts plenty of tourist to a quaint little town located where the foothills of Madrid meet the mountains. We have radium and the Mandrilenos have El Escorial, needless to say although the exterior was quite imposing I definitely enjoyed and appreciated my visit, at times it reminded me of the Palace of Versailles.

Valle de le Los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen) was a memorial created by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco (viewed as a tyrant by many) for those who 'fell' during Spain's civil war. It was an astonishing basilica and monument northwest of Madrid and home to Franco's final resting place. It is said that he actually used his prisoners of war to create this memorial tribute, how ironic is that. None the less, he may have been a horrible individual but he definitely created an incredible monument, it was breathtaking.

A Whirlwind Tour of Spain

Okay so I haven't posted anything in awhile, what can I say I finally had to do some homework (you know I am going to school, I am not just here on a vacation). Lets see what do I need to catch you up on? Well besides busting my butt working on a paper and a presentation for a week or so I pretty much got mugged, literally had my wallet stolen and than used as a weapon against me (although the weapon part may have been provoked). Here is how it went: I was working at school when I decided to grab a coffee with friends (I never drink coffee so I am not sure why I needed one), instead of lugging my entire back back I just grabbed my wallet in hand and headed down the street to a coffee place less than two minutes away. It was at this time that we were approached by some vagrant looking for a light for his cigarette, needless to say he was none too please when we told him twice we didn't have one. Than he decided to get in my face and aggressively request I give him a light, too bad I don't smoke. Anyways the guy gave me a really bad feeling and definitely creeped me out, we continued to walk and I tried to think nothing of it even though my gut was telling me to turn back and make sure he wasn't behind us. So the just of the story is that this skid (druggie, vagrant, bum, whatever) ran up behind me and snatched my wallet right from my hand. But wait it gets better because naturally my instinct brought out the urge in me to chase after him (against my better judgement). I caught up with him pretty quick and got a hold of his hood when my sense was knocked back into me by the impact of my own wallet against the side of my face. Obviously I figured out pretty quick that maybe it was better to lose a bit of money and to go through the hassle of ordering new credit cards than to wind up hurt. The only hurt I was feeling was to my own ego and the stupid decision I made to carry my wallet in my hand, so remember that fact the next time you are travelling, apparently purses are made for a reason.

Luckily this unfortunate incident occurred the very day of my mothers arrival. I know for a fact that if you ask my mom about the incident she will fill you in on her theory of how it was a setup and I actually paid the guy to take it, an intentional coincidence. Realistically it couldn't have had better timing I have been able to do a lot of shopping with someone elses money, okay so that is half true but it has really been a life saver I don't know what I would have done otherwise. As for how I have been spending my time, for the past week my mom and I partook in a "wonderful" tour of Spain (only my mother will relate to the partial sarcasm). The tour proved that Spain like anywhere else is full of beautiful sites, dingy hotels and disgusting buffets. I have since come to the conclusion I will never go on a Trafalgar Tour ever again, or at least not until I have surpassed the tended age of 65. I could go into much detail surrounding the negative aspects of the tour such as boiled hot dogs for breakfast, gas station meals and hourly motels (okay that might be an exaggeration) but instead I will try to share of some the amazing things I have seen and experienced over the past week.

Only an Architect Would Go to a Cemetery for Fun

Its true, we did take a field trip to a cemetery about 45 minutes outside of Barcelona. As you can see from the photos it was actually quite a breath taking place. Literally breathtaking, the minute we got off the bus we were all a little overwhelmed by the stench of cow manure, there were a few jokes going around about it being the stench of death. But the reality of the situation was that we were all really disgusted to learn that in fact it was the smell of death that was plaguing our senses. It ends that these aren't your typical cemetery plots, but they are actually built into the earth and stacked on top of each other in such a manner that they are open to the air in an attempt to assist in the natural process of decomposition. As beautiful as the architecture is it was incredibly hard for me and most of my classmates to fully enjoy the experience due to the slightly depressing nature of a cemetery.

Tapas, Homework and Wine

Well it has been a quiet week, a lot less touring and a sinus cold have kept me pent up inside the apartment... oh what a pleasure. This week is officially the first week of homework, I am so excited (please note my extreme excitement). I really haven't been up to much this week besides researching and working on a fifteen page paper with Ashley (I feel like her new twin as we are pretty much together 24/7, soon she will treat me like her twin Leah). I did however manage to skip a day of school to go do some shopping with the girls which was nice. Nothing like eating croissants, drinking coffee and seeing both Gaudi and Zara in a one block radius, that is every architect fashionistas dream.

To add a little excitement to the week we did however make it out last night to partake in the Barcelona tradition of eating tapas. I have come to the realization that there are two types of tapas; those intended for tourist from North America who like to tip and those in the true Spanish style. Last night I think we tried the latter. Between four of us we shared a couple bottles of wine and an assortment of little goodies. From tuna tartar, to Duck Faguar (I have probably spelled this wrong, in layman's terms this would be duck liver). When in Spain there is plenty of opportunity to step out of your comfort zone when it come to the trial and tribulation of sampling and ordering food, it seems never really know what you are going to get. (Photo: Kelly, Kate, Ashley and I at Ginger last night)

On an exciting note Ashley and I just booked some flights to Paris in November. I am going to skip a couple days of class and take in one of my favourite cities in Europe for a few days.

Welcome to my world...

I know, I know you are all soooo jealous looking at the tiny little room that Ashley and I share. I have a few more photos to share, but I am having some problems posting so I will try again tomorrow.

Festes de la Merce - Night Dose Cont.

Here are a few images of the MTV concert

which included performances by Cassius and Hot Chip.

Festes de la Merce - Night Dose

Well night number two proved a lot more action packed, literally. Ashley and I headed out to Borne (a hip community in the old part of the city) to join in the festivities of the fire run. The name says it all, lots of fire and lots of running mostly in an attempt to avoid having your hair and clothing lit on fire by the explosion of home made fireworks. This event reminds me of the Red Mile times 7 and minus all the unnecessary nudity. As you can see from the photos it was a sea of people and it looked as though the city just might be burning to the ground. There were kids decked out in ski masks and goggles dancing to the beat of drums and running through the bursts of sparks. They also had these amazing dragons that reminded me of childhood fairy tales, it would seem the dragons were sleeping and they would suddenly awake to spray the crowd in a menacing burst of flames and green smoke.

With a start like that it seemed inevitable that our night was

only about to get more exciting. From the Gothic Quarter we moved onto the Forum, a completely modern, public venue with multiple concerts and little reminders of Stampede. Needless to say we ended up at the MTV stage and took in three great concerts. As the night went on the beats got faster and we became engulfed in a sea of people dancing. All I can say is what a night... I guess I got to live out that fantasy of the European outdoor dance party, made it to bed at 6:00 am, oh my siblings would be so proud!

Festes de la Merce - Night 1

Last night was officially the first night of the Festival Merce, a week-long party celebrating the patron saint of the city, Our Lady of Mercy. The week is packed with events and free concerts. Last night wondering the streets we stopped in three different plazas where we experienced a range of music from salsa, cha-cha and even a Canadian hip-hop artist. We went out for an excellent meal of Tapas last night. One of my classmates took us to this little tapa bar on one of the narrow streets of Raval in which we were the only tourists, needless to say the food was authentic, delicious and well priced. Really where can you go in Calgary and get a two bottles of really nice red wine and 6 appetisers for under $25 dollars a person. Obviously the food here in Spain is not to be taken for granted. Tonight we are planning to attend a big DJ show out at the Forum, I hopefully I will have some good photos to post.