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| Barcelona, Spain |
In my last post I talked about my adventures on spring break, part 1. Therefore, without further ado, I shall continue….
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| Belgium Waffles in Belgium! |
The next stop on our Western Loop, was Brussels. This stop was just a quick three-hour stop, and the only thing Meg, Katherine, and I knew we wanted to see was food in front of our faces. When we got off the bus we walked to the center of town and from there our mission to find fries and mussels began. We stumbled upon a restaurant and the only thing all six of us ordered was mussels, beer, and fries. After we went to a local bar called the Delirium Bar. This bar was known for their world famous beer called, The Delirium Tremens, as well for their 3,000 different beers to select from. After two beers at the Delirium, Meg and I went off in search of “the best Belgium waffles”. With only 15 minutes before the bus was to leave, we found a small shop that made custom Belgium waffles. My waffle consisted of bananas, strawberries, whipped cream, and dark chocolate. I am not sure if the beer had any influence on the taste of the waffle, but it really was the best waffle I had ever had. After the waffles, we loaded up the bus and headed of to Paris, France. So in conclusion, Belgium was really just a quick food stop on our tour, but it was worth every bite. I could see how easy it would be for one to gain a few pounds from studying there for a long period of time…
We arrived to Paris at 9:00am that night. We quickly checked in and ran to see the Eiffel Tower light up at night. For some reason, our group had the brilliant idea to get all dressed up to see the Eiffel Tower for 10 minutes in the pouring rain. Because of where our hostel was located, we were cutting it close to see the Tower light up at 10:00am. The Eiffel tower lights up for 5 minutes at the top of the top of every hour past sundown. When we arrived at the last subway stop it was 10:01pm. In a furry, everyone made a mad dash for the Tower…keep in mind most of us (including myself) are wearing some sort of high heel…and it is raining. When we get to the last staircase to go down before reaching the viewpoint, my foot slips out from underneath me and I come falling down on the wet steps in the freezing rain. I knew everyone saw it when I hear a loud, “OOOOO” from the crowd. Once again, instead of asking if I am okay, start screaming (while dying of laughter), “GET UP ALLIE!!! YOU’RE GOING TO MISS IT!!!”. In my head I’m thinking, “Can anyone ask me if I’m okay?! Just once!?” (don’t worry mom and dad, I’m okay). Flustered, wet, and mostly embarrassed I get up and arrive in time to see the last minute of the sparkling Eiffel Tower. It was beautiful, but I’m sure I would have appreciated it a little more if I would not have taken a tumble just before.
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The "Random Building" I Wanted to
Take a Picture in front of... |
The next day, the plan was to go with the flow, yet see as much of Paris as possible. Our day started with a tour of the city. Our first destination was a large building that seemed to be quite popular. Unknowing exactly what it was, I said, “Hey Meg! Want to get a picture in front of this random building, I don’t know what it is but it looks cool”. In shock Meg replied, “Allie…Are you serious??? It’s the Notre Dame!” (Allie: 0, Paris: 2). After, we continued to see Lovelock Bridge, The Lurve, and other monuments. After the tour, we went to the Orsay Museum of Impressionism. While Meg is in love with impressionism, I really just wanted to get a picture in front of the giant clock. After, we went to the Arc de Triomphe and from there, continued on to my favorite stop…
Ladurée! For the sake of this post, I will spare you with exactly how excited I was, but like me tell you… I was excited! They had a macaroon that was 4 times bigger than a normal macaroon… 4 TIMES! Once we got subsided our macaroon fix, we decided that we should go to the Eiffel Tower. When we got to the base of the Eiffel Tower we had two options, wait in a long line to pay 26 euros to take an elevator to the top or wait in a short line to pay 6 euros to climb 800 steps to the top…Of course, the poor
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| One of The Most Exciting Moments of My Life...Laduree! |
college students we are decided that 40 floors didn’t sound that bad. 300 steps in I started feelin’ the burn, 600 steps in and my legs felt like jello, and at 800 steps I was ready to die. Nevertheless, we made it. Without planning, we timed our hike up the Eiffel Tower perfectly. We arrived to the top just as the sun was setting and it was beautiful. We ate macaroons, took pictures, drank champagne and enjoyed the views. Thankfully, on the way down we got to take an elevator so our legs were slightly spared.
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| Love Lock Bridge with Megan |
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| Orsay Museum |
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| Palace of Versailles |
The next day, Meg was insisted that we take a day trip to the Palace of Versailles. Unfortunately, it was the one day one spring break that the weather was terrible. Therefore, we did not really get to see all of the gardens. However, the palace itself was incredible. The amount of gold that was embossed in the small details was absolutely amazing. After visiting I can see why building that palace put France into bankruptcy.
After we visited the palace, Meg and I had one last touristy thing to do before we had to leave. The goal was to get to French baguettes, to go the Eiffel Tower, and have a sword fight. If this action didn’t scream.. HEY WE’RE AMERICANS! I don’t know what did. We finally stalked down a tourist looking couple and captured the perfect picture. The baguettes were pretty good too. We then went back to the hostel and prepared to go to out last stop…. Barcelona
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| Mmmmm..... |
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We Blended Right in!
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| Fruit from the Barca Market Place |
Not many people are aware that Barcelona was the country I was set on going to until the day before the applications were due at the study abroad office. Therefore, this was one of the places that I was most looking forward to visiting. When we arrived it was just as beautiful as I imagined. We went on our walking tour of the city, per usual, and after we went to the market. The market was filled with fruit, vegetables, and fish restaurants. For someone that is only used to seeing bread, pasta, and pizza this was so refreshing. After I had fruit overload, we went to a restaurant to have the traditional paleta (rice/jambalaya) and sangria. Then we ventured on our 45-minute walk to the Sagrada Familia Church that is in the process of being built. The church looked like a giant drip castle, similar to the ones we use to make on the beach when we were little kids. Although it was still being built since 1882, it was beautiful to see.
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| Meg and I Explore Barcelona! |
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The Sagrada Familia Church...
See the Drip Castle? |
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| Park Guell, Mosaic Benches, Barca |
The next day we went to Park Guell, a park filled with mosaic sculptures and benches that overlooked the entire city. After spending a good three hours getting as many pictures as we could, we went straight to the beach. The beaches in Barcelona are a little bit different than the beaches in America, because the sand was imported for the summer Olympics in 1992. The sand was more like tiny pebbles and the beaches were filled with people trying to sell you neon green mojitos and Indian tapestries. However, the water and the palm trees looked much like a resort. Meg and I decided to take a walk on the beach and on out way back, about 500m from where our blankets were, we saw a man about 75 years old, completely naked, standing straight up, starring right at us. That was a glass shattering moment for us because we then realized that we were at a nude beach. However, I’m pretty sure the only people comfortable enough to be naked on the beach were those over the age of 65 years old. It was comical, yet disturbing. After we went to a restaurant called FOC. It was a tiny whole in the wall restaurant; however, they had the best fresh squeeze sangria, with real fruit at the bottom, fresh fish, and the best nachos. It was a great find after a hot day on the beach. After the day was over we were all exhausted. Barcelona was not filled with as many tourist attractions as the other stops on spring break. Nevertheless, it was a great, relaxing way to end a perfect spring break.
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| Beaches of Barcelona! |
By the end of spring break we had successfully visited 5 countries in just ten day. I was broke, bruised, sore from the bus ride, and a little but fatter than when we first started, but it was worth every pound and penny. In As always, I learned a few things on part two of spring break. First, when you only have two hours to experience all the fattening delicacies in Belgium, don’t hold back, you won’t regret it. Second, never wear heels when running to see the twinkling lights on the Eiffel tower, with 5 minutes to go, in the rain…You will slip (again) and everyone will laugh at you…again. Third, when attempting to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower, you consider taking the elevator, unless you are okay with your legs being sore for the rest of your vacation. Fourth, never be afraid to be a typical American and fence with French baguettes at the Eiffel Tower, the pictures and the memories will be worth it. Lastly, when going to a foreign beach, always look at your surroundings before you pick your spot, because you may be in the middle of a nude beach filled with 80-year-old men. Well, that’s about it. Sorry it took me so long to post this. I had 3, 10 page papers due in one week. More to come soon!
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