Trekking Europe

             I apologize for my weeklong absence but last week he had our Midterm Break.  Kerri, Shelby, Nicole and I all packed up for a week and went on a few excursions around Europe.  We visited three cities: Paris, Nice, and Barcelona.  My original intent was to write a post about each location, but after coming back to the London flat I have found that there are some areas that are worth talking about more than others.  Although we ended in Barcelona, I need to get that adventure out of the way because it was the most disappointing part of the trip.  Before we left, everyone said we should do our best to spend the most time in Barcelona because it is just the most amazing place they have ever been. Well… we arrived at night and the next day it down poured all day and had incredibly intense winds.  Every single bin on the streets had at least one umbrella because the wind was just tearing them apart. 

Looking back, the day was pretty hilarious.  We were trying to be productive and see the aquarium but we never quite made it.  This is partially due to the fact that we were toward the end of our trip and just exhausted of being tourists.  Being assaulted by the weather did not necessarily help the situation.  Luckily, the next day we made it to the Sagrada Familia and the aquarium.  It was still freezing and our mood was still one of pure exhaustion, but we were still able to be somewhat touristy.  Still, we ended the trip on a high note by taking ourselves to a fancy dinner.  We each had three courses and tried different kinds of sangria at this restaurant that overlooked this beautiful bridge and a port for sail boats.  That dinner included some of the freshest seafood I’ve ever had.  I spent so much money, no regrets. After we got drinks at this little hole in the wall place in the Barceloneta area.  It was just a good place for us to sit and reminisce about our week...

       Now, rewind to Paris.  As soon as we got there, we were overwhelmed.  Luckily, we found our hostel, dropped off our bags and began our first touristy day.  Our first day of site seeing included the Sacre Coeur, the Moulin Rouge, the Eiffel Tower, and it ended with mass at Notre Dame.  I would dwell on those locations more but honestly, it was so cold that we stopped at each location, took some photos and moved on.  I don't want to sound like these places were mundane.  It was incredibly surreal to turn the corner and see the Eiffel Tower just appear out of no where. We just were not prepared for it to be snowing in Paris and mixed with the wind chill, we all just wanted to keep moving.  Now, mass at Notre Dame was the most surreal experience of the Paris portion.  It also helped that we were inside and out of the wind.  I wish I would have taken my Nikon with me that first day because my crappy little point and shoot would not be able to capture just the majesty of the cathedral.  Well, the theme throughout this entire break has been that no amount of photography can ever capture the sensation of being there.  The height of the ceiling itself is just breathtaking.  Also, before the mass, they rang the bells.  To me, nothing screams Notre Dame than the sound of those bells.  It’s the kind of noise that just chills your soul… as cliché as that sounds. 

 

         Moving on…stay with me people. I’ll eventually get to the highlight of the trip.  The next day in Paris, we focused on spending the entire day at the Louvre.  Because we are pushy Americans, we were able to convince the ticket taker that we were students of the UK, even though we did not have proper student identification.  After holding up the line for a while, the lady finally just let us through, so, we got into the Louvre for free.  I think the major works of art in the museum are severely overrated.  Yes, the Mona Lisa is incredible and I am still in awe that I got to see the Venus de Milo, but the atmosphere is really what makes the Louvre so enchanting.  I loved having the ability to just sit in front of a massive painting and just look at it.  You would be amazed how many details artists include in their works; details that on a daily basis just go so unnoticed by the average passerby.  Of course there would never be enough time to decipher every single work of art in the museum, but what I did accomplish made the visit that much more incredible. 

     

            To end our night in Paris, we picked our restaurant for dinner very carefully.  Nicole found one called Polidor and according to many sources, it was a location Ernest Hemingway ate at many times while in Paris.  Being the literary junkies that we are, this seemed like the perfect spot for us to end our day of culture.  Dinner was exquisite and the conversations that occurred during our meal were even better.  Actually, great conversation and discussion was another reoccurring theme of the entire trip.  It’s so bizarre to me to think that we were having these deep meaningful conversations in the same place that Hemingway could have been pondering his next work.  How COOL is that? Well, to add to the awesomeness of the situation, upon leaving the restaurant, we have evidence to believe Woody Allen used the restaurant for a scene in Midnight in Paris.  We are not 100% sure of this, but for now, I’m rolling with it.  

       Ok, thanks for sticking around this long because now I can tell you about the most incredible part of the trip.  Honestly, Barcelona could have been 60 and sunny and it still would have been disappointing compared to Nice.  It was actually perfect in every single aspect.  For starters, Nice is just beautiful.  Our hostel was located close to the Old Town where all the shopping is located, and only a block away from the Nice Carnival venue.  On our first full day, we went on a walking tour with a guy that worked at the Hostel.  He took us to some of the most beautiful locations I have ever seen.  We walked up to this location on a hill and the view was absolutely breathtaking. It just amazes me that I was able to see the Mediterranean Sea and with a simple turn of my head I could see the French Alps.  I cannot even begin to express how incredible this view was.  Again, photos do not do it justice. 

Nice Fruit and Flower Market

       I think the other reason I enjoyed Nice so much compared to the other cities was the fact that there was a social aspect that the other cities did not offer.  I loved the girls I was traveling with, but I am always eager to talk to other people who are in a similar circumstance as myself.  The walking tour provided me with an opportunity to start talking to others staying at our hostel, and after the tour we even dragged one of them to the carnival (which can only be described as a colourful and unique experience).  Back at the hostel, I socialized with even more people from all areas.  I got drinks with a few girls from the states, a group of guys from Wales, and eventually we all ended up playing beer pong with some Belgians.  The entire hostel atmosphere was just very welcoming and friendly.  Most people who know me may not automatically think of me as a social butterfly, but my desire to get to know others really brought me out of my comfort zone and in the end, it was totally worth it. 

Nice and Mediterranean 

         If you ever find yourself in Nice here are my recommendations: Stay at Villa Saint Exupery.  Go on the walking tour with James.  Participate in the hostel’s happy hour from 6 to 8 and make friends while doing so.  Go to Wayne’s Bar and have an incredible time.  You are now on your way to having a wonderful time in Nice. 

          I do have to note that Wayne’s Bar is the kind of place that I just want to copy and paste into London and Columbia. It is really popular among English speaking visitors, and before you judge me of staying close to the familiar just let me explain.  This is the bar that all the young people from the hostels come to.  The bands cover songs, but not the generic top 40 crap, but actual good rock music.  Yes, when we walked in they were playing “We are Young”, but they also played The Killers, The Strokes and other great bands that you could just dance too.  Also, there is no dance floor.  The tops of banquet tables are what serve as the dance floor.  For a last bonus, since all the people there are just looking for a good time in a different country, the dancing is fun, not dirty and creepy.  The entire atmosphere was just so positive.  I know this seems like a lot to write about on a little bar in Nice, but trust me.  You would understand if you’d been there.  

The start to the most terrifyingly
interesting parade I have
ever seen (Nice Carnival)

       Our final day in Nice actually occurred by a stroke of luck.  When planning our week, we all thought it would be best to travel in the morning and get to our next destination late morning.  Thanks to EasyJet, the cheapest flight we could get leaving Nice was at 6:15 pm.  This gave us the ability to explore the first half of the day.  We ended up going to this amazing place recommended by our walking tour guide, James.  For the moment the name escapes me, but it’s just this beautiful area where you walk on the edge of sea along this old castle like building.  This final day, we were able to shed our coats and just enjoy the sun.  The water was sparkling and the sky was blue.  We ate lunch outside at this little café where we could see the sea.  It was such a perfect scenario that we never wanted to leave.  Looking back, it feels like a dream.  I feel like I was never in the south of France, like I only imagined it. Everything about that moment was so ideal that it feels too amazing to be real. 

         My mind is already working out elaborate schemes of how I can make and save enough money to get back to Nice this summer.  It doesn’t look likely but I can dream can’t I?

        I’ve been learning a lot about myself while in London, but I also discovered a lot about myself over this trip.  Although using WiFi to figure things out made things easier at time, I now know that I don’t need the Internet to survive in a new city.  Give me a map and I am set. This is kind of a big deal to me in this day and age where WiFi seems to be everywhere.  

      I guess I also discovered that I'm not as much of an introvert as I've thought myself to be.  This is an idea that I have been coming back to for the past few years now but I really think my hard anti-social shell is starting to break a little.  To me this trip was so much more than just a trek across a few European cities to see the cites, to me this holiday was more about self-discovery.  I've discovered that I have the potential to be a leader when the time arises.  I now know that I can make friends no matter where I go.  Also, through our many deep conversations, I've learned a lot about my self and my faith.  That topic may be a little too deep for a blog like this, but all our conversations this weekend really got me thinking about the kind of person I want to be, especially when I return to the states.  It's sometimes easy to forget that at this age (21) I am becoming the person that I will most likely be for the rest of my life, so if I have any faltering character flaw that I would like to change (I'm a little pretentious and hard on people) then now would be the time to do it.  That may seem like such a random thought, but those thoughts are the kind of ideas I found myself thinking about while on this trip.

     So that was my midterm break: Snowy Paris, beautiful Nice, windy Barcelona, deep conversations, stepping outside of comfort zones, meeting new people and just enjoying life. 

Cheers,

Janelle


*Edit: I would like to put more photos up but Blogger is an AWFUL website when it comes to incorporating photos into a post.  Sorry about that.