Europa - Part 3: La Vuelta a España

~~~               "The whole problem with the world is that               ~~~

~~~          fools and fanatics are so certain of themselves,         ~~~

~~~                    but wiser people so full of doubts.                     ~~~

- Bertrand Russell

More than a year of struggling to communicate basic phrases and questions was about to come to an end. Except for my week visit home for Tony and Michelle's wedding, I had not been anywhere that I knew the native language in 14 long months now! To suddenly be armed with language is like for a man to be given his tongue back after 14 months of being muted - what a relief!
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It may come as a surprise to many, but what we call Spanish - more accurately, Castillan or Castellano - isn't even the local language of many regions of Spain. While all regions have become at least bi-lingual in the last century, many still cling to the language of their ancestors. For example, in Catalunia - the Eastern part of the country containing Barcelona, Valencia and the Baleric Islands - Catalan has been preferred by locals for more than a millennium. This wikipedia link shows a map of the progression of languages and will give you a snap-shot idea the history of the country - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Linguistic_map_Southwestern_Europe.gif

I know nothing of Catalan and my Spanish may not be perfect, but it was enough to re-create the feeling of satisfaction from what I now consider to be one of the most taken-for-granted abilities we as a species possess: verbal COMMUNICATION!

We immediately found that Barcelona is an extremely active and excitable city - FULL of young travelers and tourists from all over the world. In particular, the 'Las Ramblas' area is where much of the action takes place, and we found ourselves in a hostel just a block from there. The city has awesome public transport and plenty to see and do so we got our usual tourist map and recommendations from the front desk of our hostel, and dove in.

Our first stop was in Park Güell - a city park designed entirely by Antoni Guadi - an extremely imaginative local designer, architect and artist. Much of the city looks like some kind of tripy 50's fun-house thanks to his swerving lines and attention to detail in his colorful mosaics. The park is not only a massive artwork in itself, it is also a cultural and touristic hub. We passed almost our entire first day enjoying the artists, vendors, musicians and performers!

My babe taking a rest in Park Güell. The artworks of Guadi can be seen all around her.

An artist whipping up a custom-made gift for one of my family members! :)

Tons of unique instruments can be seen everywhere in the park. These two both were of African decent if I recall correctly.

Unmistakable Guadi work everywhere you look in the park.

No straight lines + everything in colorful mosaic = Antoni Guadi was here.

We continued on to one of the most recognizable buildings of Spain - 'La Sagrada Familia Catedral' or 'Holy Family Cathedral'. This is an epic masterpiece of a building and is considered to be a living work of Guadi. Deciding what should be done with the incomplete structure has been one of Barcelona's highly debated topics ever since Guadi meandered out into traffic and was killed by a train in the 20's (yah!). Through the discussions, they have been very slowly working toward completion of the building as closely to what Guadi would have wanted as they can.

Resembling something of a massive, melting sand castle; La Sagrada Familia.

Up closer to show the unusual style and detail that Guadi often used in his work.

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An energetic and entertaining example of Barcelona's main touristic area, Las Ramblas.

Barcelona.

Barcelona's 'Plaza Real' or 'Royal Plaza'. Just a couple blocks from our hostel, we routinely stopped here to enjoy the culture and street performers over a bottle of 4 euro wine.

During my time in Italy, I narrowly missed a chance to go and visit one of my old roomies from my time in Spain 6 years earlier. I was determined not to miss that chance again as another one of them lived in Barcelona! Alicia had been like a big sister to me during my study-abroad, but we had last touch some number of years earlier when my old college email account had expired. The way technology is now, I was able to find her though the internet and make meeting plans all while on the road. It was wonderful for everyone but Sarah who came with me to meet my long lost roomie and her man, despite the massive language barrier.

It was instantly just like old times for Alicia and I. She and Javier, who was her best friend when I was there originally, were now 7 months along with their first child! How great it is to  catch up with lost friends!

My favorite picture of Barcelona came on our last day there, when I learned to shoot up-side-down to deal with that hideous lens scratch that had been ailing me since Thailand sometime.

We had thoroughly enjoyed Barcelona - Sarah's reported favorite city of our European leg - and were ready to move on. Although we had spent a couple extra days in France and Barcelona than originally planned, we still had a full week left before we were set to fly out of Madrid and were not about to spend seven days in the capital city. This is where we would get to cash in on our previous flexibility and add in a whole extra stop. We elected to spend some time on the island of  Mallorca - a return to where I had spent my semester during college! We boarded an overnight boat from Barcelona arrived in the port of Palma early the following morning.

Mallorca serves a similar purpose for Europe that Hawaii does for the Americas - an island vacation and party get-away! I was excited to show Sarah around the city and enjoy some down time in the German touristic beach area of S'Arenal.

Our NEARLY ocean-view balcony in Arenal, Mallorca for less than $30 per night!
'Sol De Mallorca Guesthouse'.

Beautiful sunset on Arenal beach.

The three S's of Mallorca: sand, sangria and a sunset!

Sarah and I snuck in our first ever round of mini-golf together - Arenal, Mallorca.

On more than one occasion, we made the 45 minute bus venture into the city of Palma. This age-old capital city is home to about half of the nearly one million residents on the island. Shown here, 'La Catedral De Santa Maria De Palma' - or just 'La Catedral' locally - has been standing there for almost 700 years!

Just outside the cathedral. Palma tends to have a totally unique feel - almost as though it doesn't know or doesn't care that the rest of the world is out there.

Sarah and I having fun with some of the art at a free museum in central Palma.

Palma's Plaza Mayor - a centrally located meca for street performers and small shop owners.

On our last day there, we rented bikes and headed out along the southern coast line; exploring any beaches and ports that we might find.

Self-timer pic with the entire port of Palma behind us during our bike ride.

After a fun, relaxing and light-hearted stay in Mallorca, it was time to get back to the mainland for our twenty-third and final stop in our long trip! After a brief flight to Madrid, our final stop there would amount to a little more than a long layover, but we had a couch-surfing host and were intent on making the absolute most out of our 36 hours in the capital.

Despite the lack of many distinct attractions, Madrid is beautiful, clean, inviting and highly livable! We enjoyed our full day there, but think that we were right not to invest any long period of time for our visit.

Our first stop was in La Plaza Mayor just to pick up a map, but we stumbled into their mounted police horse show by accident too.

The Royal Cathedral of Madrid



Sarah taking a rest in the Plaza España in front of the wittily-named Spanish sky-scraper, "Edificio España" or "Spain Building".



Plaza Cibeles.

Madrid's Plaza Mayor as the sun sets on the final night of our trip.

It had unmistakably been the adventure of a lifetime, but we were tired and excited to make our way back to the US for the first time in nearly a year. Our first stop would be in Alabama to meet and stay with the future in-laws while exploring the south for a couple of months. We were not sure what the next chapter would hold, but had a very distinct feeling that the previous one had been a great success!!

Europa - Part 2: The French Riviera

~~ Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass;

It's about learning to dance in the rain. ~~

- Unknown

When we arrived at the train station just outside of Cinque Terre in Italy, our intention was to head north to Interlaken, Switzerland. We were quite taken aback when we found out that the trip would require us to change trains 5 times and spend an 8 hour, overnight layover in Milan. Oh, did I mention the price was over $250 each?? Based on what we had been told about Switzerland, we weren't totally surprised by this and quickly got over the idea of possibly missing a stop we had very much been looking forward to.

We sat down in pile of backpacks on the train station lobby floor with our map, made a few inquiries and an hour later were on our way to Nice (pronounced NEECE), France! This had already been a planned stop on our route, but intended for about a week later after our time in Switzerland. The decision would not only save us a bunch of money, but suddenly having another week at our disposal meant we would be able to slow down our pace and still add in another stop if we so chose! This would come in handy later on.

I think the travel lesson learned in this case is pretty obvious: be flexible! Sketch out a rough plan in your head but don't fall in love with it or you might end up spending double what you need to! When you're on a new continent and there's awesome new-ness in every direction, you really can't go wrong! To a certain extent; let the wind carry you.

After a long series of trains, we stumbled out of Nice's train station barely after dawn, and booked the first motel we could find that would allow us to check in so early. We didn't even make it 100 yards before checking into......

The Hotel Interlaken! That's right, in a day originally intended to land us in Interlaken, Switzerland, we instead wound up at the Hotel Interlaken in Nice. Now THAT's irony, Alanis!

During our one-night stay at the hotel, we attempted to arrange some couch-surfing for the days that would follow. A French-Spanish guy named Manuel agreed to host us last minute. We shrugged at the fact that we'd be sharing a room with a 'gay nudist' as boasted on his profile page and hoped for the best. He turned out to be an AWESOME guy - one of the most generous couch surfing hosts to date! As a bonus, he didn't seem to practice his beloved nudism while he had guests staying with him. Now THAT could have been awkward!  :)

We cashed in on the fact that Manuel was a city tour guide by profession as he gave us the inside info for some highlights and must-do's. Then he gave us his copy of the city touristic map and we headed out to see what we could get done!

The main plaza in Nice. Everything seems orderly and immaculate in the south of France!

Since most buildings in the city remain right around 3 or 4 stories, we can see for miles from the 5th floor of the Nice Museum of Contemporary Art. All 20-some museums in Nice were totally free for everyone - not even a donation box to pay if you wanted to!

Sarah the babe enjoying the real deal - true French Crème brûlée!

Homelessness at its finest! Again, note the cleanliness and attention to detail that the French seem to put into building and maintaining their cities! (In the South at least)

We took advantage of our time in Nice and enjoyed a day trip to Monaco - a tiny nation surrounded on all sides by France, it is less than a square mile in area! Since enough revenue is earned by tourism in the region that the nation does not charge its residents any income tax, rich Europeans and Middle-Eastern'ers have flocked to the area over the years and the presence of wealth shows immediately!! Monaco is second only to The Vatican City for smallest country in the world, but evidently has some serious money crammed into it's tiny little borders!!

These are not cruise ships, but privately owned yachts in the harbor of Monaco!

Nearly the entire country can be seen in this one photo around the harbor.

World-renowned, the original Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco. Doesn't seem that spectacular, but the only casino I've ever seen that get away with charging an admission fee! (Note the Ferraris parked outside.)

We got off at the train stop in the small sea-side town of Villefranche Sur Mer to spend some time on the beach and throw the Frisbee around for an hour on our way back to Nice.

We packed up our things, bid 'adieu' to Manuel and headed on our way to our next destination.

If you remember from the stories of Joe's first nights in Korea, we met and hung out with a French girl named Luce at our hostel in Seoul two consecutive weekends. Well, we had such a great time together that we swore we'd meet up again during our travels through France. This is something that transient travel friends often do; perhaps subconsciously only to make the incessant 'good-byes' seem easier. It's always said with the best of intentions, but most of the time we know the odds of actually meeting up again are less than likely. It is sad, but comes with the territory as a traveler.

However; one such arrangement was about to defy the odds as Luce would be waiting for us on the other end of our train ride in Aix-en-Provence!

This leg of the trip turned out to be really relaxing and comfortable because of their hospitality and the charming quaint-ness of the little French town. We spent our days exploring the cities and our evenings enjoying savory cheeses, breads and wines. Looking back, I'm not sure how we ever got ourselves to leave!

The city center square - right out of the movies!

The newer, more modernized shopping area. Again, sparkling clean and pristine!

At the Central Market in Aix-en-Provence.

Sarah and Luce enjoying their breakfast on the porch on a sunny spring morning. We took this picture to send to Broey specifically to make him jealous for having left our party! :)



A nice little walk with Sarah and Luce through the wine country in Puyricard, the small town where we stayed, out-skirting Aix-en-Provence.


When it was time to move on to our next stop, Luce and her mother wouldn't imagine allowing us to pay for a bus or train - instead they personally drove us to Avignon! The drive was not direct, but more of a touring ride through a handful of picturesque little mountain towns to explore, hike, eat some lunch and of course; take LOTS of photogs.

How would you like for this to be your breakfast patio?

 One of my favorite pictures of the country; THIS is Southern France.

My babe and I up above the French wine-country and it's small towns.

Gordes. A timeless mountain town towering above the French country-side!

Old town of Gordes.

Last stop was in Fontaines de Vaucluse, pictured here, for a river walk and one last beverage with the ladies before parting ways. HUGE thanks to Luce and Mme. Grosjean for making our stay so pleasant and memorable! :D 

In the end, they left us at the front door of our hotel in Avignon and we said sad goodbyes, once again with all hopes that our paths may cross again, someday, somewhere in the universe! Luce and her mother had put a giant exclamation mark on the unimaginable hospitality we'd been receiving along our journey, and Sarah and I truly look forward to the day we might be able to repay the favor!

We would spend the next three days immersed in the history-steeped Avignon along the Rhone River. This beautiful town was the home of the popes during the 1300's, and remnants of that era still dominate the city-scape. The old fortress wall is still fully in tact with only few select entry points and the ultra-fortified 'Palace of the Popes' remains untouchable and marks the city's main plaza.

Avignon with Rhone River in the foreground.

Another laughable reminder in avoiding tourist traps: we were asked to pay $13.00 each to 'explore the city wall' and quickly declined. When we got to the other side of the river, we could see exactly what that admission fee would have gotten us - an out and back walk on the river pier shown in the right hand side of the picture above! Must be a sad moment of realization for the hundreds of people who evidently pay it every day.

'Palais de Papes' or Palace of the Popes and it's plaza; a main social center of Avignon. It's walls are said to be over 12 feet thick! I never did figure out the reasoning behind the acrobatic elephant statue that displays proudly almost 20 feet over the plaza.

Avignon was the former home of the popes and center of the Catholic Church during the 1300's.

Sarah contributing some euro cents to the 'cute old man' playing the accordion outside of The Palace of the Popes.

Beautiful city park and cafe created over the site of an old concentration camp (or so a memorial plaque led us to believe). As Sarah observed, I love that they turned something with such a dark past into something pleasant and enjoyable!

And that would be the official end of our time in France - a country which I had mistakenly made a loop around in my first European adventure. As usually happens when you travel and experience a place firsthand, my preconceptions about the people I would find there have been totally erased. We were as welcomed and comfortable during our time in France as anywhere I have ever been, and I hope to get to experience much more of it again someday!

We would continue on into Spain - my excited return to the land of my study-abroad during college and the first country in 14 months of travel where I would actually know the language!