Contemplating History

This morning Katherine and I set out for a day of exploring two of London's best museums: The Museum of London and the Imperial War Museum. 

Our day began with a trip on the Tube to The City to see the exhibits at the Museum of London. When we arrived at the museum we headed straight to the special exhibition entitled London Street Photography. This exhibit featured photographs of major city locations, such as Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street, and The City, between the years of 1860 and 2011.  It was amazing to see how much the famous locations in London have changed over the years.  Here are some of my favorite prints from the exhibit as found on the museum website.

Fleet Street during the 1920s

Piccadilly Circus during the 1920s

Great image showing fashions of the past

My favorite picture from the exhibition: Henry Grant's Trafalgar Square from 1955

I especially appreciated seeing the changing fashion and styles of buggies and cars.  It was just so fascinating to see what some of my favorite places looked like over 150 years ago and see how they progressed throughout each of the decades.  Following my advertising class during the first part of my program, it was cool to see street advertisements for some of the most popular brands. Further, it was interesting to learn how the techniques and purposes of photography have changed.  In the past photography was used as a means of capturing day to day life as well as creating social change.  The exhibit ended with some pictures from today juxtaposed with quotes about street photography.  My favorites were, "Street photography is about seeing and reacting" and "Capturing a slice of daily life."

Next, we moved on to the timeline exhibit which showed clothing, toys, furniture, and much more throughout the "recent" history of London. I really enjoyed seeing all of the dresses, shoes, and suits from different time periods.  They made me yearn to watch Pride and Prejudice once again.

Also, I thought it was really cool to see the display of town shops containing all of the objects that would have been found within them. The exhibit featured a pawn shop, bakery, and barber shop, amongst others. The most impressive part of this display was the Lord Mayor's Stagecoach circa 1757.  Bathed in natural light, its gilded edges and hand painted exterior were absolutely amazing.

The Lord Mayor's Stagecoach

Famished, we left the museum to find some lunch.  We decided upon the Gourmet Burger Kitchen which was across the street from St. Paul's Cathedral.  We both had been wanting to try this chain and were definitely craving some burgers and chips.  I was very impressed by my cheeseburger, chips, and chocolate milkshake.

Our next stop of the day was the Imperial War Museum.  Because of the wonderful weather, we decided to make the journey on foot to South Bank.  Along the way we crossed through the courtyard of the Southwark Cathedral. With blooming trees and crowds of people enjoying their treats from the Borough Market, it was a beautiful sight.

Southwark Cathedral

After a nice walk and navigating our way through the underground tunnels guiding us to our destination, we reached the museum.

Imperial War Museum

Before entering the building, we paused to look at a piece of the Berlin Wall which was displayed outside.

Portion of the Berlin Wall

Once inside, we began our visit by looking around at the impressive display of planes, tanks, and missiles found on the main floor.  The planes made me smile because they reminded me of my dad's favorite Christmas tree plane ornaments which are hung each holiday season.

Planes in the entry of the museum

Continuing further inside, we first went to the War through Children's Eyes exhibit.  The goal of the display was to show the visitor what the World Wars would have been like for children living through them.  I felt that it was an interesting take upon the historical material.  Many times we learn about the wars through the perceptions of governments or adults, but rarely do we think what impact they would have upon kids.  By sharing numerous quotes from children and toys, games, and school lessons, the exhibit was very intriguing.  It was interesting to learn that many children were evacuated from the city of London during WWII and sent to live with relatives or in boarding houses in the country.  Because I had never heard about this before, I was fascinated by the stories of individual children and their experiences.  Additionally, I enjoyed seeing the Anderson shelter, a small bomb shelter that many families had in theirs yards to protect themselves during the Blitz.  The tiny interior room was meant to hold six people, although it was hard to imagine that many people fitting within the structure.  I also liked seeing the model 1940s home that they had in the exhibit.  I loved seeing the old appliances and furniture in the kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms.

Kitchen in the 1940s model home

After this exhibit, we headed to the World War I and II displays.  I can easily say that I have never seen such an extensive and well-done exhibit outlining the World Wars.  The impressive amount of artifacts from the wars, paired with the easy to follow informational paragraphs, made this display incredibly detailed and thorough.  It was great to walk through the chronological areas of the exhibit to hear and see the story of the wars played out before me.  The museum even included an "Experience" room for each war to put the visitors into the footsteps of either a soldier or civilian during the Wars.  For WWI the experience was a trench that you could walk through, and for WWII the experience was the "Blitz experience" in which you could sit through an interactive show that demonstrated what it would have been like to live through an air raid. I thought these were a fun way to show what the wars were actually like.  It is one thing to read about the wars and see remnants of them in a display case and a completely different thing to be in a situation that feels life-like.  My favorite part of the WWI display was the personal letters and audio recordings documenting survivors experiences during trench warfare.  In the WWII section, I really enjoyed seeing all of the war time posters urging women to enter the workforce and promoting the rations and seeing the military uniforms.

WWII Poster

Nazi Uniforms

Discussing the exhibition, Katherine and I decided that what this museum did exceptionally well was to present the history of the wars from a neutral viewpoint. We found it interesting recalling what we were taught about the wars in school and how most of what we focused upon was the American involvement.  There was a much broader perspective to the wars which we couldn't remember touching upon in history classes.  This exhibit's ability to present all sides of the war in a captivating method provided a much thorougher look at what truly were worldwide wars.

Our final stop at the museum for the day was the Holocaust Exhibition.  It is difficult to put into words the experience of going through this exhibit.  I think that the museum website describes it best stating, "The silence and intensity of emotion only deepens as you go further into the exhibition."  While everyone has learned about the Holocaust in their history courses, it is a new experience to take time and reflect on the events while seeing pictures, letters, artifacts, and videos about the event.

One of the strengths of this display is that it includes many personal accounts of the Holocaust from survivors alongside the informative descriptions of what took place. Going through the exhibit you could recognize the individuals names and faces and learn about their horrifying experiences. I found it very moving to read the final letters that individuals sent to family members at home as they were entering concentration camps.  Their hopefulness masked their urgency and was both inspiring and heartbreaking.  At the conclusion of the exhibit there was a video of one of the survivors explaining his difficulties in sharing his experiences with others.  While he was in a concentration camp he thought that if he were to someday make it out he would tell the entire world about the atrocities that took place there.  However, when he was freed he struggled for twenty years to tell anyone about his experiences.  It wasn't until his daughter asked him about it specifically that he decided he needed to share.  His reasoning was that if he couldn't tell his own children about his story how would they be able to tell their children about what had happened.

Overall, this exhibit was very well put together.  Its quiet and somber feel gave me time and space to comprehend everything that I was reading, hearing, and seeing. The stark evidence of persecution and slaughter, collaboration and resistance shared in the exhibit left me contemplating the event long after I left the museum.

On A Lovely Saturday Afternoon

Today was a very relaxing and very typically British Saturday.  After sleeping in this morning, my roommate Catherine and I decided to book a table for afternoon tea.  Researching our options on afternoontea.co.uk, we selected the City Cafe in Westminster because of the pictures of delicious looking treats on the site.

At 1:00 we headed to the Pimlico stop on the Victoria Tube Line to do some exploring before sitting down to tea.  Surprisingly, as we began to walk towards Westminster Abbey the cloudy sky cleared up to reveal bright blue skies.  As it was the first time either of us had been in this area of town with the sun out, we snapped a bunch of photos of the monuments. 

Houses of Parliament

Big Ben

Because we had time to kill before our reservation we headed across the Westminster bridge to the area of South Bank. 

A quick snapshot while crossing the Westminster Bridge

It was amazing to have the chance to see the Houses of Parliament from the southern river bank.  It truly is a magnificent sight to behold.  We both agreed that the side that faces the river is a lot more picturesque than the northern side which is cluttered with street lights, fences, and hundreds of tourists.  Viewing it from across the river allowed us to take in all of the beautiful architectural features. 

View of Parliament from South of the Thames

As the time neared our reservation, we headed to the restaurant which was located in the London Mint Hotel.  Because the cafe was nearly empty, we were seated quickly and ordered our traditional English Breakfast Tea.  Our server brought over our tea and we each poured a cup.  It had a nice full-bodied taste and was perfect with one lump of sugar and milk.

Loving every sip

The afternoon tea service was a great deal.  Here, it cost us fifteen pounds and included a selection of four kinds of finger sandwiches, two scones with clotted cream and jam, three pastry desserts, and a small pot of tea each.  All in all, a wonderful bargain!  Soon our server brought over a cake stand for each of us filled with all the traditional tea time delights.

My selection of tea time treats

My favorite items on the tray had to be the scones.  With the cream and strawberry jam, there was just no beating them. The sandwiches were good and the other desserts were so delectable.  By the end of the meal Catherine and I were both so full.  Satisfied with a sugar-coma, there was no way that either of us could have had another bite to eat. 

On our way home on the Tube we decided to stop off at Knightsbridge to see the famous Harrods.  This high-end department store has over 1 million square feet of selling space and 330 departments. It's motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique—All Things for All People, Everywhere and it truly is achieved within this magnificent store. 

We began our journey in the world famous Food Hall.  They have everything that you can ever imagine wanting to eat or drink.  Dim sum, pizza, cheese, tea, pasta, candy, Krispie Kremes, seafood, and so, so much more.  Continuing on past the outstanding jewelry and watch department shimmering with chandeliers and huge diamonds, we found ourselves at the Egyptian Escalator.  All five floors were decked out from floor to ceiling with sumptuous Egyptian inspired decor. There was a stained glass ceiling, golden balconies, and hieroglyphs adorning the walls and columns.  At the top there was a gilded Sphinx and an opera singer serenading all of the shoppers.

We began our explorations of the various floors with the sporting goods featuring tennis, football, and equestrian equipment.  One floor down, we immensely enjoyed the Pet Kingdom which had everything you could ever need for your pet.  They even had puppies for sale! Next, we played around in the toy department.  Nostalgically we relived our childhood through all of the stuffed animals and dolls.  Our favorite toys were the Harrods bears dressed as guards, beefeaters, and scots.  On the next floor, we found furniture, fabulous vintage prints, and a bookstore.  We loved flipping through the book all about Kate and William dedicated to the upcoming wedding.  In the end, I have decided that Harrods is positively brilliant.  It was the most luxurious department store I have and most likely ever will see.

It is days like this that truly remind me why I love London oh so much.

Wombling About Jane Austen Country

Today I took a much anticipated trip to Bath and Avebury.  Before coming to the UK I did some research about different places in England that I was interested in visiting. Watching a DVD of my favorite travel guide Samantha Brown in Bath I knew that this was a place I simply had to visit!  Because of this, it was with much excitement that I boarded the bus this morning.

The two-hour long bus ride featured some of the most beautiful countryside that I have ever seen.  The rolling green hills covered with hedges, sheep, cows, and horses were so peaceful and pretty.  It is easy to see how authors such as Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters were so inspired by their surroundings.  How can you not be moved by such gorgeous scenery?

Countryside from the bus

The bus ride also introduced us to our tour guide for the day, Dave.  Dave was by far the best tour guide that I have had on any of the daytrips.  He had a great sense of humor and had very interesting facts to share with the group.  I especially appreciated how he used references to musicals such as The Sound of Music and Fiddler on the Roof.

As we approached the city of Bath, Dave shared the history of the town.  It was very interesting to hear how Bath was a Roman settlement and site where individuals would come to worship the Gods and soak in the baths.  Later, it became a place where rich families would come to socialize in the grand assembly halls.  Dave compared the city to something like a giant mixer event for the wealthy and noble. He also told us that the buildings in Bath feature a very distinct golden colored stone.  Whenever buildings are rebuilt, the stones are recycled to keep the city the uniform color and style.

Our first stop in the city was the Roman Baths.  The temple and baths located here were built between 60 and 70 AD at the location of a Sacred Spring.  It was a place of veneration for local people before the Romans came.  Its sacred pool is where the spirit of the Goddess Minerva dwelt and the hot waters were used by the Romans to supply the baths. 

Me at the Roman Baths

Statues of famous Romans

The remaining remnants of the temple and the baths were so well preserved and it was amazing to get to see them in person.  It was really fascinating to see all of depictions of the Roman Goddess of Wisdom, Minerva, as well as all of the stone relics.  Although you cannot bathe in the water, it was neat to be able to walk around the Great Bath and smaller East and West Baths and to imagine what it would have been like during the time of the Romans.  The audio tour that we were provided with gave great insight into what each of the areas of the site were used for and the layout of the museum really gave you a feeling of what it would have looked like.

Remnants of a part of the temple

Following our trip through the baths, we grabbed a quick lunch.  We had pasties which are basically flaky dough pies filled with beef, potatoes, and vegetables.  The traditional one that I had was delicious.  Soon after this, we met up with Dave who agreed to take whoever was interested on a walking tour around the city to see the sites. "Wombling" around the city, to quote Dave, we saw some of the best architectural features.  To start, we saw the Bath Abbey which is decorated with scenes from the Bible.  Dave pointed out the depiction of Jacob's Ladder showing individuals climbing to the heavens and one demon looking individual climbing down to hell.   

Bath Abbey

Continuing on, we saw the Assembly Hall which used to be used for social balls and gatherings.  Being the Jane Austen fanatic that I am, I loved picturing the social functions that would have taken place here.  I also enjoyed how Dave related many of the sites we were seeing to Pride and Prejudice characters, such as Elizabeth Bennett, and key plot points.

The coolest architecture that we saw on the tour were the famous Circus and Royal Crescent.  Designed by John Wood Sr and John Wood Jr, the Circus is a large circular roundabout of uniform houses.  The exteriors of these buildings featured beautiful columns, windows, and decorative features.  Acorns found on the top of them represented the founding of Bath by Gladud.  Gladud was a royal who was banished from the capital due to his contraction of leprosy.  It is legend that he was cured of his leprosy by rolling in the mud fueled by water from the hot springs like his pigs.  Because pigs eat acorns, the acorns tie this legend into a major site of the city. 

The Circus

The Royal Crescent is a large half-circle of extravagant buildings featuring tall stately columns.  This building overlooks a beautiful green park. 

Myself, Brittanee, and Miranda in from of the Royal Crescent

Dave said that many period movies are filmed in front of this building due to its preservation of the classical style. On our way back to the bus, we passed the Jane Austen Centre, which is dedicated to the great author and her works. Jane Austen lived in four different locations in Bath and spent some of the happiest and saddest times of her life in the city.  It was so cool that I got to trod on the same streets that one of my favorite authors walked on during her life.

The Jane Austen Centre

Our next stop of the day was Avebury and its famous ancient stone circles.  About 5,000 years old, imonuments in Europe. It is made up of two small stone circles surrounded by one larger outer circle of stones.  Much larger than the more well known Stonehenge, it surrounds a small village and allows visitors to get up close and even touch the monuments. Due to the rainy winter season, the ground was quite muddy around the stones.  This only added to the adventure of the day.  We had lots of fun trouncing through the mud and trying to avoid slipping and falling as we hiked up and down hills.  The circles were really cool to see.  It felt a lot less touristy than I can imagine Stonehenge is, because you can walk right up to the stones while relaxing and taking in the natural elements of the fields.


Path leading to the stone circles



Katherine with a row of stones

Me with one of the famous stones called the "Devil's chair"

What struck me most about this location was that just how inspiring it was.  The amazing landscape and stones provided a backdrop for a place that I could see myself just sitting and contemplating life.

On the way back into London the bus driver shared a copy of The Kings Speech in honor of the Oscars taking place this evening.  I must say, it was the perfect end to an even more perfect day.

Time to Intern

This past week I began my internship at Public Eye Communications.  It is a personal public relations firm which handles the publicity for many actors and athletes.  So far, I am really enjoying my time there.  Everyone is very welcoming and friendly.  They organized a lunch in honor of the start of my internship on Thursday which was a very nice way to get to know everyone a bit better.  Many people have come up to me on multiple occaisions to ask if I have any questions and to offer their guidance as I start to learn all about Public Eye.  Each day begins with looking through magazines for press coverage about any of the clients.  Next, I scan any of the articles that are found into the computer system and email out a short message transferring the information to the publicists who handle the mentioned client. The middle of the day is consists mainly of answering and transferring phone calls and working on various projects for individuals.  So far it has been a great experience! I have enjoyed learning all about the work that the publicists do as well as learning about the various clients.

Fiesta Forever

Spring Break 2011 was definitely one for the record books.  Three days in Barcelona, two days in Madrid, and many wonderful and memorable times.

Last week I finished up finals on Tuesday afternoon and then prepared the forthcoming trip to Spain.  Although Spain wasn't on the top my original list of trip destinations because I had already visited it, I was very excited when Tuesday night came around and I was preparing to leave.  After the crazy weekend of studying, I was more than ready to travel and experience some Spanish culture.

Our journey began very early in the morning on Wednesday.  I woke up at 2:10am to finish my final packing before catching a cab at 3:00am for the Easybus station near Earl's Court.  Our bus departed at 3:30am and we were finally on our way to London's Gatwick Airport North Terminal. The line for security was very short because of the early time we arrived and we quickly made our way inside the departure area. Since we had some time to kill before the plane boarded, we ate breakfast sandwiches at EAT and did some people watching.  A little over 30 minutes before our flight we were able to head to Gate 106 to board.

The flight left right on time and was very smooth.  We all caught some extra shut eye, falling asleep even before the flight attendants finished their safety protocol announcements. I woke up to a plane filled with blazing sunshine and one of the most amazing views I have ever seen out of a plane window: the peaks of the Pyrenees mountains.  It was so awe-inspiring to see the aerial view of all of the snowy peaks shimmering in the sunlight.

Once we arrived at the airport we proceeded to the Aerobus stop to purchase tickets for a bus to the city center.  Unfortunately at this time, Katherine realized that she had lost her wallet somewhere between London and Barcelona.  She was so calm about the whole situation though and insisted that we proceed to the hostel so that she could contact her banks and cancel her debit cards.  The bus ride was a great introduction to the city.  The immense amount of palm trees definitely made a bold statement that we were some place warm and sunny.  We got off of the bus at the Plaza de Catalunya and then made the short walk to the Equity Point Centric Hostel.

After checking in and Katherine finished settling her affairs, we decided to answer our growling stomachs' pleas with lunch.  We asked for a recommendation from the hostel and then departed heading west towards the less touristy part of town.  Along the way we walked along Passeig de Gracia which features many high end shops.  We also stumbled upon a beautiful courtyard filled with tropical palm and orange trees, benches, and flowers.  We at lunch at a small cafe that had a fixed price lunch menu.  I had an egg, ham, and peppers dish to start and a hamburgeusa for the main course.  For dessert I had the traditional custard dessert, flan. It was a great start to the tastes of Spain.

Flan

Following lunch, we had Starbucks to combat some of the tiredness of the early morning. Then we walked towards the Plaza de Catalunya to check out the fountatins that we had seen when we first got off of the bus.  This plaza was so pretty.  It has two large fountains that constantly spray water towards the sky surrounded by statues. In the center of the plaza there was a large open area which was filled with pigeons during the day.

Plaza de Catalunya

Continuing on, we began our relationship with one of the MVP's of the trip: Rick Steves.  Nikki brought along a travel book by Rick that was literally a lifesaver while in both cities of the trip.  We ended up taking many of his walking tours around Barcelona to see the sites and even took a few of his suggestions for places to eat. Following Rick's walking tour route of the Old Town, we made our way down Las Ramblas.  This is basically a wide boulevard with many tourist shops and sites to see.  Along the path there are many street performers (some creepier than others) and cute cafes to sit and enjoy the bustling scenery.  One of the coolest things that we saw here were the Roman ruins.  These ruins were discovered when construction workers in the city began to dig into the ground to build the foundation for a new hotel.  As they were digging the ruins were discovered and the plans had to be relocated to preserve this piece of history.

At the end of Las Ramblas we made our way towards the harbor.  We saw the famous statue of Christopher Columbus surrounded by lions, the pier filled with seagulls, and hundreds of sail boats.  Even though the sun had already set we decided to head off to the beach which was further north along the coast line.  It was so relaxing to stop and take in the ocean waves reflecting in the moonlight. Katherine and Leorah decided to run out onto a rock that was near the splashing tide.  Just as I was capturing their epic dash on film they were doused with a huge splash of water.

Lion by the Christopher Columbus statue

Returning back to Las Ramblas for dinner we found a restaurant located just in a large courtyard off of the main street.  We enjoyed sharing tapas and sangria before returning to the hostel to prepare for the pub crawl that our hostel was hosting.  The pub crawl group consisted of our group and about 20 Irish UCD students.  We enjoyed taking in the crazy, loud Irish students and hearing about their trip. Our first stop was a cute, small Irish pub.  The second was a posh, swanky bar that was filled with white furniture and red light.  We ended the night at a dance club that featured a house techno DJ, flashing lights, and steam.  Exhausted from the long day, we headed back to the hostel and got a good night's sleep.

We began our second day in Barcelona by quickly getting ready for exploring the city, despite the rain.  I decided to try my luck at the showers only to discover that there was not a single drop of hot water to be had.  Brrr! Warming up, I enjoyed a cup of cafe con leche, toast, crackers, and cocoa crispies for breakfast.

Soon we were on the road walking towards La Sagrada Familia, a huge cathedral designed by Antoni Gaudi.  The cathedral began construction during 1882 and is just over half way completed today.  It is expected that the cathedral will be completely finished by 2026.  I have seen a fair number of amazing cathedrals during my travels and I can say without a doubt that one takes the prize as the most spectacular.  The exterior of the cathedral has three different facades (the Passion facade, Nativity facade, and Glory facade) and is filled with symbolism.

View of the Passion facade

Sculptures on the Passion facade

Me in front of the Nativity facade

The internal of the cathedral was filled with beautiful stained glass and stunning high ceilings.  In the exhibit in the basement of the church we learned that Gaudi used gravity and models to design the structure of the building.  He hung sandbags of a relative weight on strings and organized them in such a way that they represented the layout of the building.  He then used mirrors to flip the image of the inverted arches right side up. So brilliant!

Depiction of Gaudi's models

What really set this cathedral apart from all other ones that I have seen was the immense spaciousness of the architecture and the brightness inside.  The sunlight shining through the colorful glass windows and bright lights combined with the domes and high arches made for a joyous, inspiring environment.  Absolutely spectacular.

Alter with stained glass behind

Following our visit to the cathedral we took cabs to Parc Guell which is filled with Gaudi mosaics and architectural pieces. Even in the rain it was so amazing to be able to see the colorful mosaic tiles decorating buildings, the ground, and benches.  From the top of the park there was a great view back down towards the city center.  We visited the Gaudi house museum and learned more about Gaudi and the home's other inhabitants.

Parc Guell

Famous Gaudi Lizard

Mosaic benches

After exploring in the rain we took Bus 24 down the hill to the city center.  Starving from the morning, we stopped at Cafe Zurich which is frequented by locals. I had one of the most delicious jamon y queso sandwiches ever.  The restaurant added an olive oil tomato rub on the bread which was awesome and really set it apart. Feeling the need for some sweets, we decided to partake in Rick Steve's walking sweets tour which took us through some of the side streets off of Las Ramblas.  At the first location we tried a traditional dessert called Torron.  It was a flaky, nutty treat made out of butter and almonds. Due to the Spanish siesta and closed stores, we took a brief hiatus from the tour and decided to go to a Jewish temple located close by.  After 30 minutes of searching in the rain for the temple and only finding plaques commemorating the Jewish quarter, we gave up and headed back to the tour route for some churros. We ordered five orders of chocolate con churros at a cute cafe with a fun owner.  When we received our order we dug into the cups of rich, hot fudge-like chocolate while being judged by the locals savoring each bite.  It was a great first churro experience of the trip.

Chocolat con churros

Our final stop on the sweets tour was a small chocolate shop where we tried a few of the chocolate bon bons from the window.  Having successfully filled our sweet tooths, we decided to head to our next cultural attraction, the Museu Picasso. I thought that was very interesting to see how much Picasso's work changed throughout his career.  He is known for a very distinct modern style, however he started out with very classical works including portraits and landscapes. The museum was split up by each separate style of his works making it very easy to see the stark differences between them. 

My favorite pieces in the museum were Picasso's recreations of Velasquez's painting Las Meninas

Unfortunately while we were at the museum we heard from our friend Stacey who had decided to sleep in and get some additional rest at the hostel.  She was so sick that she needed to go to the hospital.  She had had a cold for many weeks but it escalated to a new height forcing her to need to seek out the help of a doctor.  In the end, she was fine but a bit dehydrated and in need of medicine. 

After the museum we visited the Cathedral of Barcelona.  One of the most famous sites of the city, it exhibited great examples of Gothic architecture.  Inside, the cathedral had many different chapels which were each decked out by different groups of wealthy community members.  Also, the cathedral contained the tomb of one of the patron saints of Barcelona, Eulalia. The building featured many gilded statues and dramatic chandeliers.



Inside the Barcelona Cathedral


For dinner we headed back to Las Ramblas to meet up with Stacey.  Exhausted from the long day we decided to walk towards our hostel to search for a restaurant.  We ended up at a restaurant called "Obama."  It was a British African Restaurant which pretty much was equivalent to American.  Being so hungry we gladly accepted a dinner of sandwiches, pasta, mozzarella sticks, and pizza. After dinner we headed back to the hostel and turned in early.

Our third day in Barcelona we ate breakfast at the hostel and then headed for the Plaza d'Espana. There we saw the stadium which used to be a bullfighting ring and the monument in the center of the roundabout. Continuing on, we walked towards the base of Montjuic which was our main destination of the day.  Translated to mean "Mountain of Jews," it is a large hill located near the coast.  We took an underground shuttle and a Gondola to get all the way up to the top of the mountain. At the top of the mountain is a castle which provides the best views of the city ever.  Because of this we took advantage of the view with many photo opportunities.  One side pf the castle offered an aerial view of the city and the mountains while the other side gave you a view of the ocean and more industrialized port.

The Palau National and view out over the city

Taking in the amazing views

Statue on the ocean side of the castle

After soaking in the sun on top of the mountain, we took the gondola back down the mountain half way and then continued on foot.  On this path we saw the 1992 Olympic stadium and the Palau Nacional which contains the Museu Nacional D'Art Catalunya. Inside, we had the chance to see more famous Picasso works as well as relics from a variety of churches and paintings by Salvador Dali. The view of the city from this museum added to the already fabulous collection of art.


Overlooking Barcelona from the museum steps



Palau Nacional

After hiking down the rest of the mountain we caught a bus headed for the beach that we visited earlier in the trip.  Because of the warm sunny weather we thought that a second trip to the beach was more than called for. Grabbing some delicious gelato, we found a spot on the beach to rest for a while.  The beach was very busy with people soaking in all that the beach had to offer.  There were a few individuals who took it even further, shedding their clothing to sunbathe and go into the water. We all decided we would still be American and remain bundled up in our spring clothing.

For dinner we made our way to Port Olimpica for Paella.  Along the way we climbed on a red rope climbing jungle gym and walked out on the rock piers. The rising moon took on a great red color as it rose above the horizon as we continued to walk towards the port.  We came across a casino along the coast and we couldn't help but stop in for a few minutes to try our luck at the slots.  Katherine and I decided to put in 5 euros each and in the end just enjoyed the sights and sounds of the casino floor.  For dinner we found a restaurant and ordered delicious bread with olive oil and tomatoes and Paella.  We ordered the mountaineer style which featured chicken as opposed to seafood and it arrived in a huge cast iron skillet.  It was so great!

Following dinner, we took the Metro back to Plaza Catalunya and searched for churros and someplace to relax before having to return to the hostel for our bags.  We ended up at a fun bar filled with crazy Spanish hosts who started yelling random cheers and belting out tunes.  As we entered the bar they shouted "Hola Hola Hola!" and were joined in by all of the other bar guests.  Our favorite song was Bruce Channel's "Hey Baby!" and we gladly sang along.

We then returned to the hostel to grab our things and then headed for the bus station.  When planning our trip we decided that the best way to get between Barcelona and Madrid was by night bus because we then saved the charge for an additional night at the hostel and were able to sleep throughout the long 8-hour ride.  Our bus left at 1:00am from the Estacion Nord and we quickly fell asleep once we located the correct seats.  I thankfully was able to sleep the entire length of the trip and was only awoken when the bus stopped to let other passengers on or off the bus because of the freezing cold air that seeped into the bus when the door was opened.  By 9:30am we arrived in Madrid and were on our way to our second hostel amidst rain and puddles aplenty.

For this stay, we decided to stay at the Cat's Hostel which was recommended both by Hostelworld.com and many friends.  When we arrived at the hostel we weren't allowed to check in yet so we dropped off our bags and went to find breakfast.  We ended up at a chain called Pans and ordered a variety of coffee, orange juice, and pastries.  While there I was able to coordinate a time to meet Alicia, a friend from home, who had traveled to Madrid for the weekend to explore the city together.

After meeting up, we all left to take Rick Steve's walking tour through the main points of town. We started in the busy square Plaza del Sol by learning about the old post office and the plaque marking the center of Spain. We also saw the statue of Carlos III and of a bear climbing a tree. Next we stopped at an amazing pastry shop that Rick recommended to try Nepolitanas filled with chocolate.  They were beyond awesome.  The dough was so flaky and the chocolate was just the right sweetness.

Enjoying our Napolitanas

Our next stop on the tour was the Plaza Mayor.  It is a large courtyard that is filled with cobblestones, pubs, and street performers.  Our favorite performer was coined "Bubble Man" because he used string to create the largest bubbles I have ever seen in my life. There also was a man dressed up like Spiderman who loved to pose with tourists.

Bubbleman in the Plaza Mayor

Continuing on, we stopped in a Mercado to purchase a snack.  Katherine and I split a baguette loaf while others tried some fresh Spanish fruit. We then found our way to Palacio Real or the Royal Palace.  Because of the heavy rain falling we decided to return to the hostel and dry off while we settled into our room.

The inside of the Cat's Hostel was so cool.  It used to be a palace and in the center there was a large courtyard room that was decked out with decorative tiles and stained glass.  There was a fountain in the center and many floor pillows found around the room. 

Courtyard in our hostel

As we were settling into our bedroom Stacey had a bit of an accident.  She stood up and hit her head on the sharp corner of one of the locker doors.  Although Katherine and I originally just thought that she would have a large bump as proof of the incident, we soon realized that the situation was much more serious.  Stacey insisted that it really hurt and moved her hand from her head to find that it was bleeding quite profusely.  Katherine and I tried to calm her down and get the blood to stop running while a nice British woman who was sharing our room ran to get the hostel owners to call for an ambulance.  We eventually were able to get Stacey calmed down and thankfully she did not have to make a trip to the hospital to get stitches.

After the incident Alicia and I went to meet up with her two friends from Sevilla who were also coming up for the weekend, Cait and Grace.  We stopped at a small cafe and grabbed coffee and sandwiches.  Then we went to the Reina Sofia Museum to meet up with everyone else from the group.  The Reina Sofia Museum is dedicated to 20th century art with a focus on Spanish artists.  Inside we explored the second and third floors, enjoying the multitude of fabulous works.  While some paintings left us pondering what the artist was thinking, others were brilliantly intricate.  My favorite rooms were those containing Salvador Dali's pieces, Picasso's Guernica, and local photography.

Salvador Dali's Portrait of Joella

A classic Picasso

Picasso's Guernica

Following the Reina Sofia, we visited the Prado, another prominent art museum in Madrid.  It contains one of the world's most extensive collections of 12-19th century European art.  Because of the sheer size of this museum and our limited time in which to see it we decided to focus our visit on pieces by Goya and Velasquez.  For me it was really awesome to get the chance to see Velasquez's painting Las Meninas.  In the Picasso Museum in Barcelona I got to see Picasso's recreations of this painting and it was spectacular to see the original in person as well. Goya's works were very interesting.  His portrayals of people were somewhat creepy and yet still very intriguing.  These pieces left us contemplating long after we left the museum.

For dinner Alicia, Cait, Grace, and I headed to La Latina.  This is an area of the city known for its great restaurants.  We found a small cafe that featured many tapas and made ourselves right at home.  We shared garlic shrimp, a chicken and cheese crepe, potatoes bravas, and potatoes with fried egg and chorizo.  We washed everything down with a glass of a specialty concoction: half red wine and half lemonade.  I would describe it as a refreshing take on sangria. Finishing our great meal, we returned to the hostel to meet up with everyone else, getting lost only three times along the way.

We ended our evening with a trip to a club called Boom which is known for its Indie music flair.  It was a great place to sit back, relax, and enjoy being with friends.  Unfortunately for us the venue didn't get very busy until nearly 2:30am at which point we were very exhausted from the day.  We headed back to the hostel to turn in for the night.

In the morning we woke up and packed our bags so that we could check out of the hostel.  We left our bags in the luggage room once again and then headed out the door.  It was a beautiful day filled with sunshine and a mild temperature.  It was greatly appreciated after the rainy day on Saturday.

Our first stop of the day was the Royal Palace.  We all decided that we had to see the interior of the extravagant palace.  The Palace is the third largest in all of Europe and is known for its ornately decorated rooms, 24 of which are open to the public.  My favorite rooms were those of Carlos III's bed chambers. Featuring beautiful chandeliers, painted ceilings, and furniture, it was so elegant. It also was amazing to be able to see the quartet of Stradivarius instruments in the Queen's rooms.  The "orchestra dork" in Alicia and I were overwhelmed by the sight of them.  So cool!  After touring the house we went on to see the armory.  Out of all of the different displays of armor that I have seen during my time abroad this display was by far the coolest.  The representations of the full horse and knight together were so neat to see.  All of the armor was also much more decorative than those I have seen other places.

Alicia and I at the Royal Palace

We left the Palace all together and headed to the Plaza Oriental and then back to the Plaza Del Sol to pick up some additional pastries for lunch.  This time I ordered 2 Napolitanas: one with ham and cheese and the other with chocolate.  Being a gorgeous Sunday afternoon the Plaza del Sol was much busier.  There were many street performers and hundreds of people milling about. Continuing on we walked to the Botantical Gardens to see some pretty flowers and exquisitely trimmed hedges. It was so great to see blooming flowers and green bushes and trees.  It was as if spring was being hinted at.

Some of the beautiful flowers in the Botanical Gardens

Cait had heard of a city bus that would take us past the football (or soccer in America) stadium where the Real Madrid team plays as well as other newer buildings.  We hopped on Bus 27 near the gardens and road it towards the more modern section of town.  Throughout the ride we saw some of the futuristic buildings that were under construction and many other historic buildings. 

Real Madrid Stadium

Awesome new buildings

We ended our afternoon together sharing stories about studying abroad and the visa application process over one last cup of cafe con leche.

The group of Londoners met back up at the hostel and we said our goodbyes before heading to the airport on the Metro.  Our flight back was relatively smooth besides the short delay to take off and unboard the plane.

Overall, spring break was an awesome experience.  It was so cool to get to see both of these cities because they were so different and extraordinary in their own way.  Although it was exhausting, it was an amazing experience that I will always remember.