MiguelDeMadrid's Crazy Awesome Semana Santa Spring Break Tour de Europe 2013!

Hi all,

I'll probably be a little late posting about my trip to Valencia for Las Fallas. Expect something on that in April...

Why the wait? Well, starting Friday, begins the Semana Santa Holy Week of Easter. For all universities, this is effectually their spring break.

So, what am I doing for such a long time? A grand trip around Europe of course!

Beginning Friday, I depart for my first country of Poland! Although not one of the most recognized traveling destinations, having met several Polish students, it is often described as one of those quietly beautiful countries. Two days in Krakow followed by two days in Warsaw.

Speaking about obviously beautiful countries, my next stop is Austria! There, I expect to meet my friend in Linz followed by two days in Vienna.

At this point, I cut my foreign travel short and return to Spain, finally arriving at the historic city of Sevilla. Here, the most famous Easter celebrations of the world are held annually. I doubt I will be disappointed spending the latter part of Friday and the remaining weekend watching the celebrations. I will leave my plans for Monday (also a holiday) open. Who knows, a trip to Gibralter might be in order!

I am really excited for this trip, my longest continuous trip to date! And living out of one backpack for the time, this could be interesting!

I'll keep you updated as the trip progresses!

Cheers!

We don't go big... we go LARGE (hadron collider!): Switzerland and France

Michael and Bobby Go to Switzerland and France: An Adventure Comedy

So it started like this:
Me: "Hey, check the weather in Lisbon."
Bobby: "It's going to rain all weekend."
Me: "Ok, now where do we go this weekend?"
Bobby: "Tickets to Switzerland leaving tomorrow are cheap..."

And so it began...

As the proponent of properly arranged trips, even going on the flight goes against my standards of traveling.
Bobby doesn't even know Fahrenheit... This could be bad. (<<< as written by Bobby)

Even with a lack of preparation, I felt completely comfortable right before leaving my apartment. By comparison, before our well organized trip to Italy I was completely freaking out. Joining Bobby at his apartment, we began the trip with our traditional travel oranges, a tradition having started from the trip to Italy. Though this time, we each brought our own oranges.

To my surprise, we had the most uneventful journey to the airport, catching every train as it arrived. Finding the Swiss Air desk, we did not need to check our passports. There was no line for security and neither of us was checked. In the end, we were left with a hour and half surplus, presently wasted at the duity free stores and lounging.

In a stark contrast to Ryanair, Swiss Air is a real airline. With plenty of legroom and reserved seats, our trip began with complementary Swiss chocolate. Thats right... Swiss chocolate on Swiss Air. Half way through, we were provided with a pizza snack and drink of our choice. I should have opted for the Swiss beer they had, as the group behind ordered the same at no extra charge.

Arriving at the Geneva airport, we were greeted by white cloudy skies. Without any specific arrangements, we decided first to visit CERN, if we did anything at all. At the airport, we received a free transport pass for the next few hours and exchanged our euros into Swiss Francs. Just past the noon hour and not knowing when we would get food next, we split a baguette from an airport cafe and waited for the bus. With a little sun peaking through, we could see some of the Alps at a distance.

Having found the two buses necessary, we got off at what we believed was the right place at CERN. Near us was the Globe of Science apparently sealed off by a fence. Walking a little further, we purchased some goods (Banana Energy Milk for Bobby) from a gas station and inquired about the location of the tour. Now properly oriented, we entered the visitors center and learned we could join the large tour groups, having missed the individual group tour. Perusing the children's museum-esque exhibit called "microcosm," we returned to a conference room before 2:00 to begin our tour, we were grouped with a class sized student group from some high school (maybe in the UK) and a group of IT consultants from Zurich. The whole tour was in English, thankfully.

A point on languages here in Switzerland. There are three languages of prominence in Switzerland depending on the region. Near France, including Geneva, you hear French. Near Italy, Italian is spoken. For the rest, German is spoken. For all of our time, we never really encountered a situation of difficult communication. Though normally greeted in French, saying hello and speaking in English would result in an English conversation. For the few times we could not speak in English, our combined knowledge (mainly Bobby's two years of high school French) would be enough to suffice with some good gesturing techniques.

Inside the CERN collider (ok... not really)

The first hour of the tour was a presentation given by our tour guide, a Jordanian researcher from the College of London. He kept things interactive by always asking questions and really holding us to our answers with follow up questions. To our knowledge, he is really just a researcher volunteering for this tour not receiving any additional compensation. He told us he wanted to keep things interesting, though my college student instincts took over and I actually dozed off a little! Given my background reading articles about particle physics, I really did not miss too much. I woke up just as he described the different detectors at CERN. The largest and most famous is ATLAS, the same detector responsible for finding the Higgs boson.

The final question before the moving tour, the guide asked if we believed the expenditure for CERN (a portion of each member country's GDP) of over a billion annually was worth it. For myself, I believe the curiosity of man is enough justification because these answers eventually need to be known. Beyond my esoteric belief, much like NASA, CERN serves to inspire further researchers, answer present questions, and advance related science (for example, CERN is home to the largest computing grid in the world, required to analyze the immense data collected during tests).

Magnetic testing facility

True geek right here

The next hour of the tour was spent visiting the magnetic testing facility. Here, the steering magnet sections of the 27 kilometer of the primary loop are inspected before installation. During large overhauls, the facility is very busy. Interesting news that the facility will be upgraded in the next few years to become the Super LHC. To produce the electrical conductivity necessary for high speed particle movement, the particle track is cooled to 1.9 K. By comparison, outer space is 2.5 K and 0 K is the coldest theoretical temperature where all matter 'stops moving.' In a sense, it is the coldest place in the known universe. As we left the facility, the sky was in full sun and the visibility was unlimited.

1.9 K is really... really... REALLY... cold

The next stop was the control center for ATLAS. Very excited about the possibility of seeing this famous collider (if you image search LHC a picture of ATLAS will pop up the most). I was a little disappointed when idealized we would not see the actual collector, just the control room and a cool 3D movie about its construction. Apparently, tours of the real collider are only made months in advance and only when the facility is not being used. Still, the control room with the famous red button that started the beam was really cool.

ATLAS: The large detector (depicted to scale in the mural) is 100m below ground

Control Room

Visiting such a facility is always inspiring. It fills me with an incredible desire to eventually work there.
An interesting point is with the border situation. With more than 75% of the collider and facilities located in France, there is really no border control around CERN. Every foreign researcher is a registered diplomat and transport within CERN is made possible with diplomatic buses. So, we never had to check our passports even when technically entering France. Most researchers actually live in France because of a lower cost of living.

Having seen almost everything, our next idea was to continue on our journey and find a place to stay for the evening. Though there are large dormitories at CERN, we would have needed official CERN business to stay there.

Downtown Geneva

Taking the street tram to the city center, we decided to walk to the nearest tourist office, as directed by our favorite tour organizer guy at CERN. Arriving at the Bel-Air river junction downtown, we walked only to find the tourist office closed. Not really knowing where we were going, we stopped in a hotel and inquired about rooms and told the last two person room was for 150 CHF (1 Swiss franc is around $1). Still, we were given directions to the nearest hostel and went on our way.

Getting dark, we walked to the first hostel, passing a number of restaurants reminding us of our hunger. Arriving, we learned they were completely booked but were given directions to the next nearest hostel. More walking, we navigated to find the Swiss International Hostel past some construction to the building. At the reception, we noticed a sign indicating full booking. Not losing anything by asking for the next hostel, we were relieved to learn they did have extra space! Getting our rooms booked before a 20+ large group entered (apparently the Swiss automobile exposition started that day), we finally settled down for the evening.
After some rest in our empty six-person room (so much for booked), we asked the front desk about a place to eat, something authentically Swiss. We had looked over prices at various restaurants we passed before arriving at the hostel; simply, everything is expensive. We were given the location of a fondue place on a pier not too far away.
The fondue place at Bains Des Paquis was well worth the visit. With a large pot of cheese fondue, basket of bread, and plate of Swiss ham, a we paid around 60 CHF split two ways. It was absolutely filling. With cafeteria seating with a view of the lake, we talked with a group next to us of locals who were from New Zealand, Ireland, and Singapore. From them, this was a completely authentic place and one of the best in town; a place even locals know to go to every now and then. A small glass of white wine finished our meal.
We walked around the pier, with a nearly perfect view of the circular coast of the city set in lights. The cathedral of Geneva, situated on a hill, was light up. At the end of the pier, a light house.
Walking back, I looked down briefly and noticed some colorful paper. Picking it up, it was actually a 10 CHF note! Wondering what to do, we eventually agreed on my idea: spend it all on some Swiss chocolate.
At that particular moment, the day was completely perfect.

We got to know our roommates the next day; two from Ireland and one from Liverpool. We all complained about the lack of hot water (maybe because I was the first to shower), how small the towels were, and how the outlets were always out of reach. For how 'booked' the place was, we did notice the extra bed we had.

Globe... OF SCIENCE!

Our day started with, of course, visiting CERN again. This time, I had to buy a few more things at the gift shop and we wanted to visit the Globe of Science. The Globe is the most significant architectural building on the campus; a three story dome made completely from Swiss wood. Inside, there is a small one room interactive museum. Every hour, a movie is projected on to the walls of the room about particle physics and CERN. We wanted to return just to see the movie. We looked at the exhibit kiosks and even talked with another researcher from the University of Liverpool. Between large groups of French students who could almost care less about the exhibit, we watched the English version of the movie and found a globe that showed which universities work on each project. A few more photos and we were on a tram back to the train station.

Inside the Globe

Our plan was to take a train to Lausanne, where a friend of Bobby studies at the university there. Without our arrangements properly made to meet her, we boarded a nice two level train and departed anyway. The half hour direct ride took us along the lake on our right and vineyards on the left. On a sunnier day, the view would have been marvelous. Arriving at the station, we took the metro towards the city center. There, our first priority was finding wifi to talk with Lucy, our friend.

Lausanne

Lausanne, is a rather vertical city set against a hill. Looking down, you can see the coast of the lake.
Thus begins our wifi search. Continuing toward the shopping district, Bobby bought some ice cream and asked the server where to find wifi. Going to the suggested coffee shop, I purchased some overpriced tea while we both tried to connect. The server mentioned that the wifi does not work with most apple or android products. So, we found an apple store while bobby used the display computers and I schmoozed the attendants. In the end, their internet did not work. We proceeded to McDonald's where we saw the prices for the most expensive burgers ever (12 franc for a Big Mac). We finally found success at Starbucks, where splitting a cookie allowed us access to the lounge (and a bathroom with only blue lighting). There, we learned that Lucy was in class for another four hours, so we had time to kill.

Inundated with maps from the tourist offices we had visited before, we started on our journey around the city. Walking around downtown and some public plazas, we made our way up toward the famous cathedral (yes, another cathedral). One of the highest points of the city, we had sweeping views of downtown and the lake. Unfortunately, the fog and cloudy skies gave the background a perfect white color if you took away everything except the buildings. Walking around the cathedral, we found a tourist office inside the church. Inquiring about our next visit, the Olympic museum, we learned it is closed for nearly another year. Learning this nearly killed our idea of visiting more of the city; we needed to see Lucy and did not want to spend too much time getting to the coast with nothing to see with the weather. Walking up toward a nice looking chateau and mistakenly entering a school was enough for this part of our visit. Proceeding back down the hill, we took a detour through the natural history museum without having to pay. Returning to the shopping district and very hungry (we had only bought some sandwiches at the train station in Geneva), we found a bakery getting some chocolate bread and rolls to split. Across the street was a bar, our second stop, to get some Swiss beer. Forgoing the 5 liter tubes of beer, we each got a deciliter of the house beer just for the taste. I actually believe the restaurant is a chain, but at least local to Switzerland.

Looking to the lake on a completely white afternoon

Inside the Lausanne Cathedral

Having exhausted our options (with the main chocolate store of the city a long walk away) we boarded the metro toward Lucy's house. Arriving before her, we were thankful she was willing to let us sleep over and cook dinner for us. A pasta dinner and long conversations was a good way to conclude a tiring day.
At this point we had a decision to make. With no plans for Saturday, our options were to travel to Zurich, Lichtenstein, or France (Grenoble or Lyon). Bobby's desire was to visit Lichtenstein, just for the sake of visiting. I wanted to visit Zurich (the famous Zurich chocolate was obviously not an influencing factor...). Spending hours scouring price lists, Zurich and Lichtenstein were both out of our price comfort. Lyon seemed a good bet. Besides, we had not "really" visited France by entering CERN.

Saturday, we returned to Geneva. We departed from a station closer to the university, allowing time to look around a little there. The ride was less interesting than the first because of the fog that morning. Arriving at Geneva, we purchased some very expensive tickets to Lyon. Going to the platform on the other side of the station, we passed through a French checkpoint, yet had nothing checked at all. Our train was actually part of the SNCF railway service for France.
Our trip had two parts, a train to Bellegarde (France) and then a change to Lyon. Twenty minutes for the first leg, we had a 40 minute break in Bellegarde. Getting near midday, we walked around the city as quickly as possible while looking for food. We stumbled upon a bakery, ordering some cheese bread, cheese with tomato sandwich, and the specialty doughnuts form the bakery. In total, France is way more cheap than Switzerland. Catching the second leg,  a brief 90 minutes placed us in Lyon.

Bought french doughnuts in Bellegarde

The trip through southern France was probably one of the most beautiful I've seen. We passed between small mountains with small towns, each with a central church with clock tower. Even with the white skies, it was still a good idea to look out the window and watch.

Arriving at the busy Part Dieu station in Lyon, we had to withdraw some euros and figure things out. Finding a tourist office, we got a map and were advised to take the metro to Vieux Lyon, the old city. Bobby also knew of a good hostel there. Buying a soda at a fast food restaurant, which looked a lot like McDonald's but not really, we got euro coins needed to take the metro.
We inquired about the location of the main hostel when we got to the old city. We were told to take the first right... and climb. And climb we did. The hostel is located near the top of the hill overlooking downtown. After our climb, we rested in a park with sweeping views of the city just as the sun came out. Checking in and resting briefly, we went our for an afternoon on the town.

Cathedral Saint Jean-Baptiste

When asking the hostel receptionist for things to do, she circled a whole walking tour of the old city and its center on a map. Though we thought she just started circling random places, we began our tour down the hill at the cathedral Saint Jean-Baptiste. The old and very Gothic cathedral had its doors wide open for the whole populous to see. Looking around briefly (it was another church by the way...), we turned down the bar street already filled with people. We noticed a few crepe stands, finally deciding to get a Nutella with banana crepe to accompany our walk. Yes, we had crepes in France. We passed an interesting temple before crossing the river to the city center. There, we saw the famous Lyon mural, a few plazas, arriving at a large plaza near a government building. There was a large fountain in the plaza and we decided to Trevi-it by throwing in our 10 franc cent coins (effectively worthless). Continuing, we wandered around arriving at the opera house with a statue plaza used mainly by skateboarders and break dancers. More wandering took us to the main plaza of the city. This huge plaza was highlighted by a Ferris wheel. A large bell tower connected the main plaza to the other riverfront with many people enjoying the day on the steps to the river. Getting hungrier, we continued our walk past more plazas, churches, the main shopping streets, and the most unique self cleaning public toilet. Another climb returned us to the hostel.

Streets of Lyon

Large plaza

Larger plaza (and Ferris wheel)

Overall, Lyon had one of the best atmospheres of a city I've visited in Europe. Everyone was out in the streets enjoying the nice weather. The population appeared very youthful and friendly. Best of all, Lyon was the least touristy city we have visited. For my travels so far, I would rank it my favorite city to live permanently.

View of Lyon from our hostel

After several hours in the city, we departed again as the sun started setting for the top of the hill and the famous basilica. We wanted to take pictures overlooking the city. At the metro station, there are hill climbing rail cars that take you to the roman theaters or the basilica. To our surprise, the line to the basilica was closed. Taking the second line, we got off past the theaters as the sun just set. Looking for an overlook, we were unable to find one. Very hungry at this point, we left for dinner at Chez Martial. Recommended by the hostel, we believe it was a more local establishment than the restaurant recommended by the tourist agency (which also advertises on their maps). I ordered the most Lyonnaise dish I could: salad Lyonnaise (horseradish dressing, egg, ham, lettuce) and Quenelle, a bread soufflé with a lobster bisque sauce. For desert, I had the cheese plate while Bobby had the very delicious chocolate cake. For drinks, the house mixed wine and a glass of white wine (from Lyon, so French wine) to go with the fish. Our most expensive meal in the city, but certainly the best for the price.

Night view of Lyon

We had to return to Geneva the next day because of our hostel reservation on Sunday. We first enjoyed our morning by visiting the roman theaters and then the Basilica Notre Dame on the hill. Entering during a mass service, we looked at the interior from the back. With the early morning light through the stained windows, the inside was absolutely pristine.

Basilica

Metro back to the train station, the next train for Geneva would leave in 20 minutes. Getting a place in line at the ticket counter while trying the machines with no avail, we had 5 minutes to catch the train by the time we got our tickets. Running thought the station, we found the platform easily enough and boarded. Unlike our trip from Switzerland, we payed half for the ticket with no transfer in between. This time, the French countryside was much more enjoyable with sunny skies.

In my opinion, the return to Geneva was a let down. On a Sunday, all shops and museums were closed. Checking in at the same hostel, we took the bus to the United Nations building (just to say we were there) and then the river. There we realized how empty the city was. The highlight was taking a water taxi (free for tourists) across the river with good pictures of the Geneva water jet. Finding lunch at a cheap Thai place (with price being the dictating factor in this expensive city), we rested at the hostel before going out in the evening.

The water jet never closes 

... neither does the United Nations sign

Taking a bus to the old town, we walked around the cathedral of Geneva and walked down the shopping district, looking at things we could never buy (at least in a few years). My objective was to find a good bar to actually have some good Swiss beer. Taking a bus toward the train station, more bars and shops were open. Finally buying my Swiss key-chain (France will need to wait), we walked toward some bars and looked at the menus. Finding one, we looked at the list as an older gentleman started talking with us. The retired former employee of the UN from Greece, we talked about traveling and the United States, himself having spent a few weeks there. His description of American sports was the best, "I find football very different. It is interesting to watch something different. Like, you throw the ball, run with the ball, they move the sticks, and then you go to second base..." Staying at the bar, we enjoyed a pint of reasonably priced Swiss-German beer. Bobby proclaimed it one of his favorites of all time. Ordering small pizzas each for dinner, we watched the conclusion of the Real Madrid game with some Swiss hockey also on TV.

Jet E'dau at night

With an early flight that morning, we departed sans breakfast and walked to the train station, taking the first morning bus to the airport. We did have a nice conversation with an Estonian gentleman (maybe the first I've met). Navigating the security, there was only one thing left to do: buy Swiss chocolate. With more than 20 francs to spend, we bought several bars of cheap chocolate with one specialty Bon Bon (chocolate with tea). Using our money perfectly, we proceeded to the gate only to realize, when boarding, we were at the wrong gate! A run down the length of the airport, we found the proper Swiss Air gate. We had decided well before the flight to get more Swiss beer on the flight, just as we had seen earlier. Even at 7:30 in the morning, we enjoyed our "good Swiss beer" and relaxed on the flight.

I conclusionq, Lyon was worth the visit entirely. Switzerland is very expensive with little to do for the time we spent there. We were certainly ready to return after our five days traveling.

Maybe, I can return to work at CERN!

"You Can't Tell God to Delay the Sunset" in Barcelona

In this day, people might think of Barcelona more than Madrid when Spain is mentioned. The 'second city' of Spain has come into the global eye over desires of Catalonian independence and, more notably, the recent fame of the Barcelona football club.

On a bus...

The trip was organized by the ever wonderful Erasmus Student Network, but this time it included all of Spain. This trip was the National ESN Event with students from every university in Spain. Being student organized, things were also planned on the cheap.

Lets start with the bus ride. Departing around midnight on Thursday evening, the 60 plus students from our university were fit into one large two-level bus. From the departure near the Atocha train station (traveling from Sol with my new roommate Audrey), we began our estimated eight hour ride. An eight hour ride is tolerable when you are trying to sleep throughout the night. Of course, this was easier said than done. Making a pillow out of my sweatshirt and the window curtain of the bus, I tried to sleep in a variety of different positions. Without a toilet on the bus, we stopped at a gas station two hours into the trip only to find everything closed. Another hour later, we found an open gas station with a 24 hour restaurant. We spent 45 minutes here, with the majority purchasing some overpriced bocadillos or other food. For me, some rice cakes and apricots made my snack. By that time in trip, we were in Aragon, which just sounds cool.
Sleeping on a bus is just like sleeping on a an airplane. I was prepared with my eyeshade but could only manage a few continuous hours actual sleep.

Waking up in Barcelona with voice of the student coordinator over the slightly too loud bus speaker, we were on the southern outskirts of the city. We passed the stadium of Espanyol FC, the second most famous team of the city (by a large margin) and proceeded to drive along the coast looking at the shipyards. Inland, we passed the Montjuic, the hill that houses the facilities from the 1992 Olympics. Easy to notice was the large TV tower from the games, one of my favorite structures from the city.
Finally arriving at the hostel, we had made room arrangements on the bus. A few rooms were allocated to us with between 8 and 14 occupants. My room was the 14 person room with a total of 12 beds, two of which are double beds. So, four students would end up sharing two beds. Luckily, my bed was on the floor level and a single (the bed allocation was random). A few minutes to unpack and freshen up, we had had not actually checked in but had to leave our bags in one room until later in the afternoon. Not really eligible for the complementary breakfast, a group of us from the bus went to eat at a coffee shop near the hostel. The hostel is located in the old gothic portion of the city, 20 minutes walking from the beach.

Breakfast!

Eating at the cafe was a mini introduction to the differences of Barcelona. First, everything is very expensive here. A coffee with milk and focaccia sandwich was 6 euros and we all ordered the same thing. The focaccia sandwich was probably the most expensive thing on the menu but we all were so hungry. Secondly, the menu was written in Catalan, the language of Barcelona and Cataloyna, the province of Barcelona. Catalan is a mixture of Spanish and French, given the influence of close proximity. If not for the pictures on the menu (which even at some nicer places I don't mind here), we might have been completely lost ordering. Luckily, you will find that everyone speaks Spanish also.

Beginning our hastily arranged day, we formed a large group and started walking around the city. Led by one of the coordinators from the University of Barcelona, we first walked past some buildings designed by Gaudi (if you do not know Gaudi, I suggest you look into his beautiful architecture). Then, a small cathedral built in the gothic style. For myself, given the multitude of cathedrals I've seen, it's design was distinct enough. We continued walking toward the large prominade, which begin with Barcelona's own version of the arc de triumph. Walking down the promenade and past the zoo building also designed by Gaudi, we returned in the direction of the hostel. The first half of the tour was the best opportunity to meet people from the group. You were not at a lack of conversation in this tour. So, there were parts of the tour where the tour information was a little less interesting than what you were talking about.

Arc de Trimof

Walking in the opposite direction than we started, we then walked to the old city center highlighted by the cathedral of Barcelona. Once again, the cathedral is distinct in its very French Gothic influences, but I have seen too many cathedrals to place it among the best. Following, we continued walking, much to the disdain of most of us still tired and now getting hungry.

Cathedral of Barcelona

The next walk was down the most famous street of Barcelona: Las Ramblas. A large pedestrian walkway flanked by city streets, the walkway is famous for its mini markets and specialty shops. We were not the only group with the same idea, so we encountered multiple groups if people, in particular other groups of Erasmus students. Every time we encountered a new Erasmus group, we began chanting the name if our university in unison (CARLOS TERCERO OH OH OH OH!!) and they responded with their name. Getting hungrier, many students were tempted with the small desert shops along the Ramblas. The specialty item (which I must get next time) are Belgian waffles covered in chocolate.

Las Ramblas

The destination of this part of the walk was the most famous monument of the whole city: la Sagrada Familia cathedral. But, we still had to get there.
I will remind everyone that there was a schedule of events and we did try to follow the schedule properly, but many things were changed throughout the day. The only thing that could not be changed was our guided tour of the cathedral.

Casa Batllo

Still walking, we walked past the Casa Batllo, the most famous of Gaudi's residential works. Though I wanted to visit the inside, the long line derailed any chance I had of visiting. Still walking, we were lucky to still be together as stragglers started forming and our group segmented into three small groups. We turned toward the Sagrada at another famous Gaudi building, the Casa Milo.

Casa Milo

My main opinion of the 'look' of Barcelona having walked through the gothic/old city (near the hostel) and the new city (near the Sagrada) is how 'unspanish' the city is. Having never been to France, the buildings have a distinct French feel at least from pictures I've seen. The old city has the small misaligned streets of a typical Spanish city, but a little wider. The new city is set to a grid and very wide.
Arriving at the Sagrada Familia, we still had an hour for lunch before our tour at 3. Left to our own devices for lunch, the cheap food instinct of university students took over. A large group went to KFC while I joined a group eating at an all you can eat buffet. The food quantity was appealing with my hunger. Eating more than I should have while leaving too much on my plate, we finished and made our way to the cathedral.

La Sagrada Familia

Now, I've seen a lot of cathedrals; some of the most famous in the world. The Sagrada Familia deserves its place among my favorites. The distinct towers complemented by construction cranes of the still ongoing construction are visible from far distances. Skipping the longest lines, we were given a guided tour of the exterior and interior. The present 'front' of the church is not the front. The front is still under construction. The two distinct complete sides of the church are decorated to represent the birth and the death of Christ. The organic influence if the church is apparent everywhere. Inside, 'tree trunks' support the weight of the ceiling. With half of the stained glass windows still missing, you almost feel like you are walking inside a well light forest. Surprising to me was the modern feel of the interior, a contrast to the old and dark exterior.
Now, it is still baffling how this place is still under construction. Started over one hundred years ago, Gaudi himself spent 30 years dedicated to the church. He left behind many models and drawings so other could finish. Still, some aspects have been changed due to the artistic influence of modern architects. Money has stalled the construction. Funded only by donations, the church is expected to be completed in another 30 years with four more towers and a central spire that would make it the tallest church in the world.
The weather all day was cold and grey. An occasional gust of wind would make it really chilly. When we finished the 40 minute tour, it started raining and we all agreed to take the metro back.

A model of the anticipated design of the church

With time now to check in and move into our rooms, everyone was tired and I need of some freshening. After a shower as one of the first people to move in (no shower line!), a nap followed until dinner. Taking the bus, the 'traditional dinner' was held at a bar mostly reserved for us (though I don't know many people who would find a group of college students adding to the atmosphere). The dinner consisted of platters of a variety of food: Spanish omelet, chorizo, potato chips, sausage, pasta, olives, other fried stuff. The most Catalonian part of the meal was the sardines on bread with cheese, which is good to a point. We still spent around two hours for dinner, some of us standing for most of the time due to the uncomfortable seating.

"I see America... and Sun!"

The next day was markedly better. First, it was sunny! Catching the last part of breakfast, we departed at 11 for the piers and the beach. Not really something very historic of the city, but perfect for some lazy students on a nice day. We took the bus to the famous statue of Christopher Columbus upon his return to Barcelona after finding America. I have yet to see a beachfront similar in Europe. We walked down the piers, overlooking the yacht docks. In the distance were the distinct towers of the cable cars that take you over the harbor and to the Olympic area. Walking and talking occupied most of the day. I was joined by my to Austrian friends and my other American friend. Along the way, we were joined by two English girls, a few Austrian girls, a Turkish girl, and some others. We eventually separated ourselves from the larger group by sitting and listening to a guy playing guitar. This was the best place to chill for some time listening to Beatles songs, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin (he only knew the first verse of stairway). We enjoyed watching a variety of people pass by: runners, tourists on segways, people on rented bikes, and locals on a stroll.

This guy is everyone's 'type'

Far away from the group now, we proceeded on our own to the beach. Having not been to a beach in a long time (besides the shores of Lake Michigan in the winter) it was a wonderful sight to behold. A number of people were out on the 60 degree day lounging on towels. A surprisingly high number of surfers were out riding the low rolling waves. We spent most of our time taking photos together. In my attempt to get close to the water, the next wave came and soaked my boots! We spent half an hour here just relaxing and trying to get the perfect 'jump' photo.

We had to keep in mind the schedule and the next event was a tour of the Park Guell, one thing we all wanted to see. With only the phone number of one of our friends, we called him to learn the whole group was eating between two towers, nearly five kilometers from our location! We then proceeded to walk along the boardwalk, stopping to listen to a street band with singers of a classic raspy French voice. We took more pictures and generally goofed off along the way.
Arriving at the towers, we joined the rest of the group, ate at a hotel restaurant (a rather greasy focaccia sandwich and beer for me), and waited for the bus. Near the bus stop, there was a film group filming a music video with break dancers. Some of the girls also decided to take a picture in the street posed in front of cars waiting at the red light.

Park Guell

Views of Barcelona

Main Entrance

Next the park, given around two hours to wander around, we climbed nearly the full height of the park. Having seen the famous gates, the dragon fountain, and snake terrace, our final sight was the Gaudi house. We passed a museum near the entrance with my guidebook telling us that the museum is 'very skipable.' Having climbed to the top only to find the wrong house, we were reduced to asking people. At least we could ask if they spoke English, Spanish, or German. We found a group who were actually looking for the same thing. To complement our representation of USA, England, and Austria, the other group had French, Italian, German, and a Turkish guy. The Turkish guy immediately asked for a photo of us with a scarf he had for a Turkish soccer team. We obliged, with him saying the scarf was for his home team. Following the advice of some of the questionably legal street vendors, we did find the house only to find it closed and something we had passed when we got the from the bus. We enjoyed the views of the park. Overlooking all of Barcelona, the views with the low sun were incredible. We enlisted the help of some very confused guy to take group pictures of us.

Sagrada Familia

The earthen-esque supports of the park

With our free time exhausted, we boarded the bus again for some unknown location. We got a swift yelling from the ESN coordinator when five people ended up late. The memorable line was, "I just can't tell god to delay the sunset because some of us are missing." So that's where we were going, to see the sunset from one of the hills overlooking the city.
Though a view from the park would have sufficed, we proceeded on the most interesting bus ride in my life. I sat near the front of the bus, the second row behind the large windscreen on the upper level. It was a nice view. So, imagine a top heavy, two story bus, navigating the curved roadways leading to the top of the hill. For every corner we turned, on single lane roadways, we would cut into the opposite lane, nearly colliding with cars going the opposite direction. With our size, we nearly hit dozens of signs, low overhangs, and buildings. The funniest moment (in a sadistic way) was turning a corner and straightening out slightly, driving straight toward a car in the other lane. The driver was scared out of her mind; we could see her face from out the window. Luckily, thanks to the pro driving skills of the driver, we hit nothing. At one point we pulled along side a city transport bus; from my point of view, we were actually talking with the driver of the bus. With the city bus taking the lead, we started a bus convoy with bus following bus. Turns out we were lost and for some reason the other bus offered to guide us. After an hour since we left the park, the ESN coordinator announced that we could not find the top of the hill and that our only chance to see the sunset was when we made a u-turn. So much for that. Still, the most interesting bus ride of my life. I spent the remainder talking with my English friend and a few other Americans (+ Canadian).
Dinner was on our own. We ate at a small restaurant near the hostel spending 8 euro for filling paella and house wine.
That evening, ESN had organized a party for all of the students visiting. It was held on the concourse of a soccer stadium under a tent. Overall, very enjoyable and we were able to take the metro back even late at night (unlike Madrid).

Sunday was an abbreviated day with everyone tired from the party the evening before. After waiting for the bus late by half an hour, we departed the hostel in full to the athletic fields of the University of Barcelona, the host university of this whole trip. There, we spent the next few hours eating a picnic in the fields and mingling with all the other university students from Spain. Unfortunately  most were like ourselves: very tired, hungry, and not too talkative at the moment. I found a group kicking a soccer ball around and tried to show off my 'American' skills. Our entertainment was a group of acrobats who specialized in constructing human towers. Every half hour or so, our attention was drawn to the rhythmic kazoo players who signaled the start of another tower. For support, they recruited some students to form a giant group and help push people upward. I volunteered for this craziness and helped push in the general direction of up as three people climbed on top of each other. I was able to meet many new people from almost every major country in Europe, including a few other Americans.
After a few hours, the sun and tiredness got too everyone and we agreed to depart early. For the next eight hours, we returned to Madrid.

Some human stacking in progress...

Overall, there is so much I need to see when I return to Barcelona in April (yes, I'm going back). I could have probably seen more on my own, but the schenagans of our group made the experience truly memorable.
Who knows what I will do next weekend... but Barcelona will live on forever!

Beach with the girls.