Barcelona, Spain

Oh Barcelona, how I love thee! Barcelona was so much more than I expected...if I had to pick a city to live, this might be it! I admit, that if I vacation, Paris or Italy might be more picturesque, but Barcelona is more modern, and has fantastic architecture, a good transportation system, and an AMAZING beach.

This picture above is of Barcelona's arc de triomf. This one is made out of a beautiful reddish stone and has a more ornate character than the one of Paris.

Paella, REAL Spanish rice!! I thought it was so yummy! This dish was everywhere throughout Barcelona, and it came with fish in it or vegetables. Very good, and very filling, but I must admit, it tastes a lot like the Spanish rice my mom makes at home...so good.

This is Antonio Gaudi's crazyyyy Sagrada Familia church. To me, the design almost looks like it was built out of stone and then melted in the sun. The crazy thing is, it is so complex, that construction was began 100 years ago and is STILL in process today!

The sculpture on Gaudi's church is unique, and I think very beautiful. This is a reinterpretation of Christ on the cross in a very geometric form of artistry.

This is the ceiling of the church. Do you see what I mean by crazy? I love how it is so unique. I admit, as a  church, maybe it doesn't function very well in my mind, but as a building it is fantastic! The long columns are meant to be trees, and then you can see the branches breaking off and then forming leaf-like forms on the ceiling. All of Gaudi's work is based on geometric forms in nature.

The stained glass windows are so vibrant; I really loved them. I can't really see a picture besides the idea of the red base being the ground, the green trees, and the blue sky, but it is so bright that I just couldn't get enough.

The entry facade of the church

The Torre de Aguar, a very modern building shaped like a bullet. The concept is very innovative, with louvres on the exterior to regulate wind and light, and then an interior skin. The louvres are tinted based on location, though I can't determine the pattern just yet. 

A market off La Rambla, a wonderful street in Barcelona. La Rambla has shops on one side, then a road, then a wide pedestrian lane big enough for vendors on either side and crowds in the middle, and then a road on the other side, and shops and buildings again. It is incredible exciting to walk down the pedestrian lane with all the people and sites to see and things to smell and watch and listen to. Then, about halfway down, there was this HUGE market with fresh everything! Including vegetables, very very yummy fruit, which I bought for very inexpensive, and ate on the beach later - mango, coconut, melon...oh my goodness it was amazing, and they also have cheeses and meats...very gross meats...we won't go into that.

This is the Torre de Aguar at night...WOW huh?! Sorry, I would have put it by the daytime photo, but I did this in chronological order of when I saw things. This building, though, is so iconic in appearance, we could see it from all over the city at night, and its colors are just gorgeous, just like the stained glass windows in Gaudi's church.

And finally, the amazing beach. Since it was only about 65 degrees, there were not all that many people, and the sand was tan and clear, and the water beautiful...ahhh.

Now I am going to get to more reasons why this beach is so brilliant. First off, there are lots of things to do! Here is a fun rope climby thing that actually was not used all that much by the kids, only because the adults were loving it! hehe. 

Ok, the true brilliance of the beach. So here is how this works. 

1. First, there is the layer of the water on the far right. 

2. Then is the clean, sandy area where people were playing, sunbathing, and enjoying the beautiful day. 

3. After the sand there is a layer of concrete, on which there are built in sunbathing chairs and workout stations which were actually very well used! 

4. Then, you climb up a ramp onto an upper level paved in stone with benches (seen above) and space for people to walk, bike, rollerblade, etc. 

5. Then there is another concrete layer with restaurants serving Paella, sandwiches, smoothies, other food, and Tapas, which are kind of like Chinese dim sum in the sense that they are mini dishes with smaller portions that you are meant to get multiple different kinds of. 

6. Then there is the skinny road with parking for cars to arrive. 

7. Then you cross the road to get to a nice mall and shopping area with outdoor eating and many stores.

My point in all this is that there is something for EVERYONE! Whether you like to swim, sunbath, exercise, eat, shop, everything is present and in good condition. There are also clean bathrooms and the beach itself is very well kept and pristine. Oh my, I just loved it.

Well, there you have it folks, a very debriefed view of Barcelona. Sorry that I don't tell more stories from my experience...blogging takes a lot more time than I thought hehe. But at least you now have a sense of the city and all it has to offer.

Adios Amigos

Jess

Paris: Ooo La La!

Sooo, I've finally decided to admit that blogging is not my strongpoint. Generally, I postpone blogging because it means I need to take a lot of time to think of what to write and what to say to convey my thoughts. At the time I am experiencing them, I can think of plenty to express in a blog, however, since I get so behind, my thoughts become less clear. Because of this, I am going to simply tell the story through pictures with captions and thoughts. Here goes Paris!

Paris

Paris amazed me simply by the shear amount of sites there are to see! Check this out: Notre Dame, the Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Luxembourg Gardens, Paris Opera House, Arc de Triumph, Champs Elysee, Burgess Gardens, Architecture museum, the list goes on and on and on! Side note before I go on, we decided to get 4 day metro passes and the museum pass, which allows you to cut lines and serves as your ticket. The price for the Museum pass was about 30 euro...but so so worth it. The lines were extraordinary, yet we managed to cut right in and see everything we wanted to see, which barely fit into our schedule as it was!

I can tell you what order I would rank the places to see if you only had limited time in Paris. So, drumroll pleaseeee...

Coming in at #1 site to see.... The Eiffel Tower!

This is sort of a duhhh, however, the tower is more impressive than I imagined, and much larger! Plus, at night, they light up the tower and every hour on the hour hundreds of lights flash causing the tower to sparkle ( video of this at the bottom of this entry) against the night sky...it is absolutely amazing. Note, however, the lines to go up the tower are really long if you want to take the elevator. Walking, no problem....but remember, its very very tall!







#2...Notre Dame

Now, you have to remember that this list is personal preference, really, but we managed to get into Notre Dame during a service, and the sound and the dimly lit stone walls, and the gorgeous stained glass windows - the space really is a site to see and hear. Inside there are sculptures, paintings, models, flowers, everything, and you proceed from the entrance, around the side aisle, up to the apse, and back to the entrance. Quite the processional.







#3...The Louvre

I had a hard time debating between Notre Dame and the Louvre, however the Louvre is so so large, and so by the end of this museum you will be tired, tired of walking, and tired of looking. Luckily, the museum gives you a map which highlights about the top ten works of art, so if you are in a hurry, you can direct yourself to these works in particular, perusing other pieces as you go. The Mona Lisa is beautiful, yet really it is only about an 8.5 by 11 piece of artwork and it is surrounded by many people. The catch here is the shock value of actually seeing the famous work in person...very cool.

#4...Arc de Triomph and Champs Elysee

So I admit that this site has less to do, but the historical significance of the structure itself, coupled with the INCREDIBLE 360 view of Paris from on top, the site is worth seeing. For those who are unaware, the arc was built in honor of all the soldiers who have fought and died for France. Beneath the arc lies the "tomb of the unknown soldier" with an eternally lit flame in honor of the soldiers of France. The arc has been present for many of France's historic moments, and almost all military victories occurring in France, including those for the French, German's, and American's have been celebrated by this arc. The history and symbolism really are powerful if you know the meaning.




#5...Musee D'Orsay

Now, this site is really only interesting to art lovers and people who love the shock value of seeing famous things. I happened to fit into both categories, so I enjoyed this museum. Within are contained famous works by Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Degas, Renoir, and many more. The paintings range eras, and are very different in styles, but all very interesting to see.




#5...Versailles

Perhaps it was due to the fact that we toured this palace and the gardens on the last day, a day which we were exhausted from nonstop sightseeing, but the palace wasn't as absolutely fascinating as I would have hoped. Also, it is out of town, so a little bit harder to get to (though not much with a metro pass and some time). Despite our exhaustion, the palace was beautiful. The walls and ceilings are all painted with gorgeous frescos and colors, and the hall of mirrors, is, well, lined with mirrors and beautiful materials. From this hall, there is an excellent view out to the gardens. The history added to the excitement of the space, we even go to see where Marie Antoinette escaped from her bedchamber when the palace was attacked. The gardens are so extensive, one could spend hours touring them alone. There were even people kayaking on the lake!




To continue...

Alright, well my list is becoming extensive so I will summarize a few of the rest. I didn't actually get to go in the Paris Opera House (it is not included in the pass), however it was magnificent to see, especially because there was a band playing on the steps. All the operas were sold out, otherwise I definitely would have gone! I'm sure touring the space with the large chandelier is magical given the hype of the Phantom of the Opera. Also, there is free internet connection on the steps outside the Opera House, which is also a bonus.

The Pompidu is a fantastic building to see, however the modern art inside...well, let's just say that I am not a huge fan of most modern art. The first exhibit was all about filmography, which was cool until the first one we sat down at ended up being literally a step by step process on how to remove your clothes while saying your action aloud...most unpleasant! There were a few pieces that struck my interest however. One artwork was a large cube, over which there was a large circular string. A fan from the ceiling blew down on the string, and though the string was floating in midair, it never left the confines of the space above the cube. Also there were a few exhibits one could stand under or interact with, and some architectural drawings which interested me.

Last but not least, it is necessary to include a picture of the food! Now, Paris was a very expensive city, but for a price, we were able to munch on a honest to goodness French Croix Mousier and a French Crepe with nutella and bananas!!!!!! SOOO GOOD!!! The vendor prepared the crepe right before our eyes, putting the batter on the flat hot plate and rotating her little rake around in a circle to evenly spread the batter. Then she used a spatula thing to remove the cooked crepe and spread nutella. From there, she layed on it an entire whole banana (minus the peel) and then chopped it up directly on the crepe. Oh the bliss!

Well, there you have it folks, the sites of Paris in a short summary. There is so much more to tell, but I just can't do it all. For example, our hotel, which was nice, ended up being located by Disney World Paris...which by the way is not in Paris, but on the outskirts. The area ended up being fantastic because we had a kitchen in our room and a mall nearby with a huge grocery store. There were shops around and the train station was very close, so crises averted. Anyway, ok, ok, ok enough, but I hope you enjoyed a brief synopsis on Paris!

Au Revior!

Jess

Venice: Navigating the Canals of Italy

Venice

Venice, I think, lives up to the magical hype that we all attribute to it. The boats, including gondolas, navigate the river bodies that run the city, and there are no cars at all! The city is the same as other Italian cities, except that as you walk you cross bridges and use boats, its so amazing! We were able to go into the Doge's palace, which is the palace the leaders of Venice used back in the day. Next to that is the local Duomo, which is absolutely beautiful inside - the entire ceiling is covered in golden mosaic and it shines! Then we rode up the tower in San Marco Square to view the city from above...WOW! Surprisingly, at least to me, however, is that there is a great deal of space to walk in Venice, so no need for boats all the time.

Murano glass was the main shopping exhibit. I must admit, I had never really heard of it before, but the glass artwork and sculptures they make with the local glass are absolutely beautiful and very colorful!

The food here was typical Italian - lots of Pasta dishes which were all very good of course.

While in Venice, I visited the island of Lido, which had a beautiful sandy beach, and was much quieter than the main island of Venice. Perfect for a quite getaway in a beautiful location!

Lido



Pictures tell the story best:

Piazza San Marco from up in the tower

Doge's Palace

Me with gondolas!

Oh the canals of Venice

Reflections in the water

Beautiful churches

Lido beach

From Verona to Vincenza

Hello once again! So much has happened since I have last posted - I traveled an extensive amount of Europe for Spring Break. Consequently, I am going to break up my trip into multiple entries. This first one will cover the week before Spring Break during which my classmates and I traveled to Verona, and Vincenza. Then, we will continue on to an entry devoted to Venice. The following entry will cover Paris, France (oo la la!), and the last entry will follow my trip to Barcelona, Spain, so be prepared to travel all of Europe as you read about these beautiful cities!

VERONA: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet

So, Verona, the city of loooove. For me, this stereotype proved to be true; I fell in love with Verona's juxtaposition of old world charm and modern amenities. Around the edge of Verona is placed the modern, commercial district, along with a busy street ring for transportation. Within the city, the roads are beautiful cobblestone and lined with the classic tall, connected Italian architecture. Do not worry, within the city there is also a lot of exciting sites to see, including the famed "Juliet's balcony" which is a stone balcony set within a small alcove and marked by a bronze statue of Juliet herself and a gate covered in locks set by lovers to mark individual romances all over the world. The wall, unlike common belief, is not available for writing letters of romantic turmoil, instead mailboxes are offered for this service. However, we were able to witness an acting school act out the play in the very spot it took place in the story. Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo...*sigh*

The city also contains a long street paved in an almost marble-like stone and lined with hundreds of stores filled with clothing, purses, shoes, and many other items - a shopping lover's dream! The street culminates at a very ancient stadium structure like the Roman Colosseum - see the interesting juxtaposition of old and new? Around the corner is a bank designed by architect Carlos Scarpa, a playful designer who uses context in an entirely new way.


For lunch we ate Kabobs - no not meat and veggies on a stick, instead it is made up of layers of meat sliced up and put with salad-like veggies into a yummy toasted tortilla (I don't normally like tortillas, but yum!). The dish is absolutely delicious!

Verona Photos:

Juliette's Balcony

Colosseum of Verona

Juliette's Tomb

Bank by Carlos Scarpa

Inside the Colosseum of Verona

Vincenza: a Palladian exposè

We only stopped in Vincenza for a short time, but it proved to also be a beautiful Italian town. First of all, the best cup of hot chocolate (chocolate con latte) I have ever had came from a cafe near the start of our walk into the town. They had gormet flavors of rich, creamy Lindor Chocolate including white chocolate, cinnamon, orange, mint, and many others. I chose to try a carmel flavor, and wow was it delicious! They also gave me a small pack of cookies and a Lindor chocolate with the drink to complete the experience. Wow. Anyway, from there we entered a large, picturesque park with a little creek, an Italian villa, statues, grassy space, the works. Again, there was a long street of endless shopping opportunties culminating at beautiful architectural pieces. This made up the majority of our short visit.

The Palladian visit is directly near Vincenze: the Villa Rotunda by the architect Palladio. This symmetrical piece of architecture has become the basic foundation for architecture around the world for the display of basic principles such as symmetry, space, and other founding principles. 


Following this we traveled to a cemetary designed by Carlos Scarpa, which combines the solemn attitude of death with the playful celebration of life. It was almost like a playground. The success of the project is up for interpretation, but I liked it!


Vincenza Photos:

Villa in Vincenza

Circles in Cemetery by Carlos Scarpa

Carlos Scarpa Tomb

This concludes the exploration of the Italian cities of Verona and Vincenza. Read on to explore Venice, Italy and the canals! 

Down South

Paestum, Pompeii, Naples, Almafi, Isle of Capri:

Sorry this entry is so long, I've waited too long to write! Feel free to just look at pictures if the text becomes overwhelming. Hopefully these descriptions give you ideas to plan your own trip to Italy. Move over Rick Steves, here I come! hehe. 

Paestum: connecting to ancient peoples

This city was a suprise to me! I had never really heard of Paestum before, which is incredible considering the content of the site. The entire complex, probably....maybe the size of the KSU campus perhaps...was filled with the entire bottom half of an ancient city from around 500 A.D.!! There are still beautiful mosaics inside the floors of houses, columns with inscriptions, doorways, and three gigantic temples! (Sorry for all the exclamation points, everything is so amazing, periods just don't seem to be doing it justice). The day we were in Paestum was gorgeous as well, the sky was blue with huge puffy clouds and the suns rays would stream through them. Plus it had rained the day before maybe so everything was lucious and green. It was hard to believe that I was walking on the floors of someones home that lived not hundreds, but over a THOUSAND years ago! The fact that they could build such impressive spaces, especially such tall and monumental temples, just blows my mind! Paestum really brought these people to life for me. 

Mosaic on the floor of an ancient Paestum house

A view of the city of Paestum and the ruins

Pompeii: one day that changed their lives forever

 Now here is a city we have all heard of - the city suddenly completely destroyed when the volcano Vesuvius erupted (note the picture of Pompeii with Vesuvius in the background to the left of this text). The city was also incredible! Ruins of houses, streets, shops (including counters and spaces for sliding doors), theatres, all these still exist in here. The story is also fascinating, bringing to life these people even more. The volcano erupted, and the people fled the city, leaving their slaves (about 2,000 slaves were left), to protect their houses and their valuables. It is the slaves, then, that faced their ends at Pompeii. The cloud of dust blown over the city by the wind, fell rapidly enough that as the slaves dug through house walls to find ways to escape, they could not find any way out, and were buried under the ash. I have pictures of the skeletons and molds of the spaces left in the ash after the bodies disintegrated, but I will spare you those scary images. They actually creep me out pretty bad. Anyway, I admit that I actually wondered if the city was destroyed due to wickedness, however, because there were "red light" districts (I think that is the right term) in the town. Reguardless, It was amazing to see the houses and streets and such still intact. 

Streets of Pompeii. Notice the large stones in the bottom right. These are stepping stones that lead across the road. Why? Because, in order to clean the roads, the Pompeiians would flood the street. In order to cross at these times, they stepping stones were used. It is amazing, because in between these stones, you can see the indents made bye the wheels of the wagons used to transport through the city. If you look , you can see them in this picture as well.

This is a set of stairs inside one of the hosues in Pompei. I included this to show how intact the spaces are.

Almafi: is this the meaning of beauty?

Now we leave the world of ancient ruins and enter the world of luxurious Italian beaches. Yes, I am in fact getting school credit to sit on the beach, hehe. Suddenly the long semesters of no sleep seem worth every minute. The water of the sea is the most beautiful part, I think, of all of this. The water is a pure, deep teal, and clear all the way to the sea floor. The sea is backed by the city, which is backed by steep stone cliffs. Our hotel was built directly into the cliff, sticking out from the cliff to below. The view from this vantage point was incredible! We spent the day playing on the rocks, the beach, and touring the local Duomo (every city has a large main church, called the duomo). We told the man inside that we were "Studenti di architectura" and he got very excited to show us everything inside. For one meal, we ate at this amazing pizza restaurant where a performer came in and sang and played the guitar while the restaurant owners, and some guests, sang along. It was really cliche Europe, and I loved it. For the other meal, we decided to save some money and use the kitchen in the hotel. Unfortunately, this kept turning the power off. The meal, of an alfredo-like pasta, was sooo good. We were able to watch the sunset and sunrise in Almafi...both spectacular. 

A group of us on the beach

The duomo of Almafi

Movie of the restaurant

Capri: tropical paradise

Capri actually suprised me. I expected extravagant beaches. There were beaches, but the main event was the tropical hike through the island hills. The beauty is that we were able to get lost and just hike for hours, with no concern for time or location. There was green all around us, and there were constant views of the blue/green ocean and the rocky cliffs. We also toured the Villa San Michele, which is a beautiful villa on the hill off Anacapri with gorgeous gardens, sculptures, and an amazing Italian house. I think of all the places I have seen here, Capri is the most beautiful. However, if traveling to Italy, remember that the beauty of the island is spent hiking through the island. 

View of part of the hike

Naples: hmm...

So I will not put much of Naples, because honestly, Naples did not live up to my expectations. I hear that the people are wonderful, but the city was run down and covered in graffiti. I didn't even get pizza...but its all good, there is so much pizza in Italy!

Sunday: a spiritual pick-me-up

Last, but not least, I would like to update on my church experience here in Italy. Actually, Sundays are probably my favorite days. The Urban family, a local family, is so sweet; they travel to pick me up and drive me to church. This Sunday, they brought along their 23 year old daughter who came home from Utah. She goes to a school in Utah, and has not been back to Italy for a long time. She speaks English first and foremost, and has no accent, but also speaks Italian fluently. Anyway, she was soooo sweet and I loved meeting her and spending time with the family again. Since I have not discussed this much yet, I will debrief you on Brother and Sister Urban:

Sister Urban is a nice woman, probably in her early 50's, and she is Italian. Her English is very good, but she does have a very noticable Italian accent, which really makes her all the more cute, hehe. Brother Urban is an American man (now Italian by location), and he is so sweet.  He is so full of smart/funny comments and jokes, he always makes me smile. They treat me just like a daughter, the Urbans, and I feels so at ease. "Are you sure your not Italian, you get along so well with us," Sister Urban said to me, which made me so happy, I felt so loved! 

At church, I am getting to know the members. In the past, I have had people translate for me (one man who translates for me, Emmanuele, reminds me of the guy from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," he and his family are awesome!) during the meetings, but I feel bad because the translation disrupts people around us. Consequently, I decided to forgo the translators today and just feel the spirit of the service. Usually, I can get the main gist of the conversation based on words I know and the scriptures we read, and the spirit is very powerful. 

The Urban's daughter, Narina, and I during our Sunday outing

Anyway, during the meetings, I've met a few people. Paolo is the institute director, and he is wonderful! He always calls to make sure I have the opportunity to attend institute and sets up transportation for me and everything. This Thursday I will finally be able to attend! Marco is an architect who is one of the people in the I Am a Mormon ads. Him and his family are also great people, and, who knew, he is a beekeeper! I also I met a girl, about my age, who is getting baptized on the 10th. She is from the Czec Republic studying languages in Perugia, so her English is good enough that we can communicate and I absolutely love her! I told her that I would go to her baptism, and she gave me a huge hug and was so happy! I immediately wanted to be her friend since she was so kind to me. Her name is Margharita. There are so many more wonderful people, I could go on forever, but I will move on for now.

Speaking of kindness, its funny how happy any kind of interaction at church can make me. The Relief Society president asked me, in Italian, to go get five hymnbooks (cinque libro) to bring upstairs, and I was just so happy that I understood her and that she had enough faith in me to ask this of me, that I was probably over excited to complete the task hehe. Another lady decided to tell me a story from her experiences that week (she did this in English), and she just talked to me so easily, I was thrilled to be let into her life. Italians are very touchy feely too, so she did the common thing of kissing both of my cheeks when she said goodbye afterwards, as do all the Italians once they are comfortable with you. All the Italians put their arms around each other, hug each other, rub each other's arms to express support, etc, even to me right off the bat. We stopped at some friends of the Urban's on the way home and they overwhelmed me with hugs and putting their arms around me, and inviting me to dinner, they are all just so friendly! Meeting them and going to church renews my desire to really learn Italian, since I want to badly to return the sentiment with more than gestures and just a few words. I hope I follow through. 

Then after that visit, the Urbans took me to see another town in Italy which had such beautiful old world charm. We drove through the mountainside and viewed the valley below, from which we could even see where part of the movie "The Gladiator" was filmed. I really enjoy these trips through Italy with the Urbans. 

Anyway, so overall, this trip was incredible. Italy never ceases to amaze me with the sights, smells, stones, and so many experiences. I am thankful to be experiencing a whole new lifestyle from my own, and I hope that I can take from these places and experiences some lessons that will influence me forever. 

Ciao!

Jessica