As you may have deduced from the photos I posted, a few friends and I made the 3 hour train trek to Paris a few weekends ago. We decided to title the trip "Paris - 3, Kevin - 0" because Paris pretty much kicked our butts, specifically Kevin's. Kevin is the type of guy who is always on the go, always up for a good time, leaves little time for sleep and therefore, the lack of sleep caused brain lapses from time to time, so we blamed all our bad luck on him. (At least he can blame his brain lapses on something - but me? I'm just a flake.) Luckily, we had a positive group with a sense of humor, so we laughed off our mishaps from beginning to end.
Our troubles started before we had even left Aix: we went to the wrong train station. We got our tickets changed with no extra charge for an hour later and took a bus to the correct station. Little did we know, our train was late and so we got on the wrong one, but fortunately it was going basically the same direction and so we just had to make a transfer after getting a kind laugh from the ticket checkers and a few passengers. We made it to Paris only about 2 hours later than expected.
The rest of the weekend was fun but rainy and cold, and I was certainly not dressed for the rain (never trust French weathermen). We saw L'Eglise Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, Notre Dame Cathedrale, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triomphe and ended Saturday night popping open a bottle of champagne at midnight when the Tour Eiffel begins to sparkle. The second day we went to the Musee D'Orsay where I had the long-awaited experience (in person) of "Berthe Morisot," the painting that I did a study after in high school.
Later we went back to Montemartre to see the Moulin Rouge. Of course the entire weekend was littered with delicious food (too much; I learned there how to save money on meals and just cook in the hostel instead.) I'm glad that I will be going back to Paris a few times... there was far too much to see and I'm sure I will love it more in the sunshine. Our weekend ended with the lovely FIVE hour train ride back to Aix, being that the conductors felt it necessary to stop for 2 hours mid-trip. For lunch? Coffee and conversation? Fixing the train? Who knows - they didn't apologize or offer any explanation.
Our "winter break" was last week and so a few friends and I bussed down to Barcelona, Spain. Again, the European winter rain followed us and we were soaked pretty much the entire time we were there. Still, we had an awesome experience- the people were so helpful (the first guy we met off the bus walked us the full 40 minutes to our hostel in the rain even though it wasn't in his direction at all!), and the tapas ("snacks") were sooooo good. The Sangrada Familia, Parc Guell, and La Pedreda, all architecture by Gaudi, were our main attractions for the week and we revisited them several times... there was just SO much to look at in each building and garden. We ended each night with a drink out on the town... maybe a delicious sangria and my first mojito... new favorite drink :) .
On Wednesday, we flew down to Lisbon, Portugal for the rest of the week. I think I got a better impression of Lisbon than Spain because the weather was mostly sunny and dry, but the people were just as friendly. Our hostel was amazing (and provided free breakfast! anything "gratuit" these days is exciting!) and pointed us to the best spots: the old castle of Sao Jorge, the beautiful coast of Cascais, best shopping and the most active nightlife spots for students. There was a cheap porte-tasting restaurant that we went to after dinner one night... we were completely full and totally out of place in the classy atmosphere, but the dessert wine sounded too good to pass up, and it was. 3 glasses for 3 euro!
We learned a lot from that trip... 1) How to travel with people who have different traveling styles. We got tired at different times, hungry at different times, craved different things... it was just important to compromise. 2) How to save money. One night we cooked dinner for five of us at the hostel which we payed 6 euro TOTAL... whereas a dinner out might cost 10 euro EACH at the very least! And buy apples, oranges and cheese for snacks to hold you out until the next meal, otherwise it got really pricey. 3) Seriously, do as the Romans do. Or as the Spanish, or as the Portuguese. Thats not a joke. Even if its not what you're used to, LOSE YOUR EXPECTATIONS, you could end up liking it a lot and then having a much better time. (Yes, those words are directed at a certain member of our traveling group. :) ) and finally 4) Wear shoes that actually have soles and that don't soak up 8 liters of water every time you stand in the rain for more than 3 minutes.
Mot du jour: Gratuit = free
