under the spanish sun

Puerta del Sol

This past weekend was Easter weekend. Easter has always been an important day for me, as a Christian, but I celebrated a little differently this year. Instead of Sunday morning service at Gold Creek (or watching online from a dorm room in Pullman) I visited Madrid. I will admit this is not the most conventional way to spend the holiday, and while I felt bad about missing church, I knew that I had to take advantage of the 3-day weekend that the French have for Easter weekend. After all, aside from praising the Lord, one must take advantage of the opportunities He has given us as well.

Well, this isn't a religious post, it is a travel post, so let's get into it. We flew in early Friday morning and found our way through the city's very clean metro to meet our friend at her hotel. We then found a hostel, checked in, and set out to explore the city. As it was my 21st birthday on Friday and my friend was starving, we stopped in a small restaurant where she got herself a late lunch and ordered a bottle of wine for the four of us to enjoy. It was a delicious Spanish merlot, and such a treat. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Puerta del Sol, a large square that marks the center of Madrid, as well as the center of Spain. On our way back to the hostel we caught a glimpse of the Easter parade, but the streets were very crowded and the parade was slow, so we kept walking

Saturday morning we got ourselves a large delicious breakfast of thick-cut toast, fried eggs, bacon (unfortunately European bacon is just sliced, fried ham, and I am still craving the American sort) and fries (the Europeans love their french fries!). After a hot cup of black tea I was ready to hit the city. Unfortunately it was chilly, so we tried to keep inside. We spent the early part of the afternoon at Museo Thyssen, in a temporary Chagall exhibit. As a fan of Chagall's very unique and colorful work, it was a treat to see such a large collection for just a few euros to escape from the rain. After, we spent time in souvenir shops, eating some Spanish pastries and shopping. Everything was much less expensive in Madrid, especially compared to Paris, making eating and shopping a much less stressful experience. That night we went to a popular tapas bar, El Tigre, for dinner. Tapas were originally a Madrid bartender invention to keep flies out of drinks, and developed into an essential part of the city's culture. At a tapas bar with any order of a drink, it comes with food, the tapas. Depending on where you go, this is anything from small finger sandwiches, to raciones, the full-meal sized portions. With our order we got a large plate of patatas bravas and two plates of a bruschetta-like dish of sliced bread with thick slices of ham and melted cheese over them. The potatoes were one of the most delicious things I've ever had!

Sunday we slept in, as we had a late night the day before. We checked out of our hostel at noon, and got a traditional Spanish lunch at a restaurant near the center of the city. The weather was incredible: bright sun, clear skies and warm temperatures. Because food was so cheap, we decided to treat ourselves a bit: a friend and I split a plate of paella (Spanish rice, usually with shrimp, but ours had clams, chicken and peas) and another plate of fried calamari. We strolled through the streets toward Puerta del Sol, grabbed ice cream cones and soaked up some sun by a fountain watching the street performers. The square was full of people dressed up in character costumes: Spongebob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer, and at least 4 Mickey Mouses. There was also a man painted all in silver dressed as Jesus: cross, sheep, crown of thorns, the whole thing. After a few laughs a few of us bought postcards and took the metro to the beautiful Parque del Retiro, a large park with a pond, fountains, lots of trees and grass and a beautiful glass building called the Palacio de Cristal. We spent the rest of the evening resting up for a long night at the airport. Our flight was too early to take the metro to the airport so we hung out overnight, tired and delirious from being so tired. We finally made it back to Paris at noon on Monday.

I will be posting soon with a few more updates: some cool places in Paris & my spring break travel plans! Click here for a few photos from Madrid! Adios amigos :)

when katie comes to town, we live like queens

Hall of Mirrors in the Chateau de Versailles

This weekend Katie visited me to kick off her spring break. She is currently studying in Milan, and this was her first time in Paris! We had a wonderful time hitting up the usual sites: Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower at night, the Louvre Museum, Shakespeare & Co., Pompidou Center and the Tuilleries. It was a whirlwind tour, but she loved the city.

The highlight of the weekend, however, was visiting Versailles. This is a place that has been the top of my "To Visit" list for over a year, since I first saw the film Marie Antoinette. I remember watching the movie with such amazement that such a beautiful place and lavish lifestyle could exist, wondering how it had taken me so long to watch the film. This film was part of what inspired me to come to Paris to study. While I had already decided to take French as my language in school and was already interested in French culture and history, I was determined to see this place for myself after seeing the film. Seeing the chateau, gardens, and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet was an incredible experience, and a reminder of why I came here to begin with.

I wish I could tell you all every detail of my visit, however that would be dull for you, and time-consuming for me. Instead, I will leave it at this: Versailles was better than I had anticipated, and easily tied with Cinque Terre, Italy and Gimmelwald, Switzerland as the best place I've ever been. It was absolutely beautiful and I cannot wait to go back again in May and spend even more time there (I didn't even get to see all the gardens!)

Katie and I ended our weekend with some American flair: cheeseburgers at the Hard Rock Cafe. Guys, I'm talking cheddar cheese and bacon and the perfect french fries and milkshake. It was positively American, albeit overpriced, and left us completely satisfied as far as our State-side cravings were concerned. Afterward we went to a popular cafe on Rue Oberkampf, which is near my apartment, so Katie could buy me an early birthday drink: a mojito, of course. It was one of the best I've had, but maybe that's because someone else paid for it.

The weekend was fabulous, and I feel so blessed that I have a friend in Europe that I've been able to see twice. My friends from my program have families visiting, and since mine can't, its nice to have someone from home. I don't know how I'd get through the semester without a familiar, smiling face, that knows me so well.

Katie and I on the steps of the Chateau de Versailles

a day at the opera

Each Thursday morning, my professor for my History of Paris: An Architectural Perspective course, takes us to a different site in Paris for lecture. Moving chronologically throughout the semester, she uses the buildings and evolving architectural styles throughout Paris to teach us the fascinating, and often complicated, history of this city. One of the reasons I love this class is that I get to cross sites in Paris off my list without any extra effort or time: a free, guided tour built right into class time, what could be better?

This past Thursday this class helped me discover my favorite building in Paris: the Opéra Garnier. Also known as the Palais Garnier (Garnier Palace), it is named for its architect, Charles Garnier, who built the structure in two parts from 1861 to 1875. It is famous for many reasons, one of them being that the famous Phantom of the Opera is set in the building. The architecture at the time of its construction, was unlike anything that had been in Paris before: colored marble on the outside contrasted with the white-only facades of other structures in the city and elaborate designs throughout stood out against the simplicity of the apartment houses surrounding it.

The inside auditorium is much smaller than most European opera houses, however the stage remains the largest in Europe. This theater was built originally for the emperor of the Second Empire, Napolean III, who died before its completion. At the time, the opera house's primary purpose was for the upper classes to show themselves, rather than for theater performances. Of course, performances still occurred frequently, and the large road leading up to the building, as well as two major stores, Printemps and Galeries Lafeyettes, aided the rich in preparing to show themselves at this exclusive building. One could not simply enter the opera house: a person must have a good deal of money and social standing just to get in the building. A side rehearsal stage, which could be closed off, was used for men to choose mistresses from a group of performers, and until the queen of Spain showed up and entered on her own, women were not allowed inside without a male escort.

Today, the building remains one of the most elaborate and, in my opinion, beautiful buildings in Paris. I am lucky that my class took me there, as a guided tour costs a few euros. Currently, my Flickr is under a little rearranging (I'm only allowed 200 photos without upgrading to a Pro account, so I need to delete some which takes some time), but for those of you who are Facebook friends with me, you can see the rest of my photos in my Paris album.

"this is perfect chateau weather"

Chateau Chenonceau

This past weekend our program took us for two days to Loire Valley. Only a few hours southwest from the small quarters and noise of Paris lies the large grassy fields, vast vineyards, and stunning chateaus that the Loire Valley is famous for. I can say that, without a doubt, I am fully in love with this part of France. Years ago on my high school journey to France, we visited the Dordogne region, in the south of France just east of Bordeaux. At the time I didn't fully appreciate what I was seeing there: my trip was fast-moving and I was seeing plenty of beautiful landscapes through train windows and had just come from the mountains of Switzerland. It was hard to realize that what I was seeing was special, it was France. Going to the Loire Valley from the bustling city of Paris I was able to fully appreciate the beauty and serenity of the French countryside. Staring out the windows on countless long bus rides might have been my favorite part of the trip.

On our first day we stopped in the town of Amboise where we saw the place where Leonardo di Vinci's remains lay, then made our way to the romantic Chateau Chenonceau placed carefully over the water. We got ice cream, sat by a fountain, and ran through the tiny labyrinth on the grounds. Our hotel was a small converted chateau and horse stables. That night we ate in a cave. Yes, a cave. Poor French in the valley used to excavate the sides of rocky hills to make homes for themselves, and this restaurant enlarged one of these old homes and now runs a top-notch restaurant and serves their own wine.

The next day we started our day at Chateau Nitray, owned by a count (yes, a count...the surprises in this place just don't stop) who runs a family winery and uses the grounds for chateau tours and events such as weddings. After meeting the whole family, seeing the house, and playing with the dog, we had a wine tasting. Originally he had just four wines for us to try: two reds, a white, and a sparkling wine. Somehow he bumped into a 1989 chenin and thought, what the hell, why not let these kids try it. And we did. Personally I was not a fan of the two whites, one of the reds was a little too dry but the sparkling and the second red were fabulous. I bought a bottle of the red I liked to bring back with me to Paris. Maybe I'll share with Katie this weekend. Later in the day we made our way to Chateau Chambord, one of the largest in the Loire Valley. The "hunting lodge" contains 440 rooms. I suppose it was built for a king. This really was the most stunning of them all with beautiful details.

The weekend was just what I needed to ease my mind: clean air, an abundance of green grass and quiet. It is a place I would not even hesitate to return to. But for now, I must work on a paper, and prepare for Katie's visit to Paris this weekend. She is in for a real treat this weekend on her first visit to Paris :) Until next time, à la prochaine!

a book and some sun

Life in Paris is becoming brighter, quite literally! The sun has come out, and hopefully its here to stay. Paris is called The City of Light due to the way it looks in the sun, after all. I can say that a grey Paris is a pretty Paris, and Paris at night is my favorite time, but when the sun comes out the city is truly magical. Due to this new discovery (sunshine! blue skies! warmth!) I have taken to the National Archives, located just across from my school. The courtyard's benches invite me to take a seat and relax, and the walls let me forget that beyond them are cars, dirt and millions of people. It is a peaceful place to bring out my Nook, and enjoy a book while I eat my lunch between my classes.

we got a cheap flight to the most expensive city in the world

I just got back from Zurich. What a weekend.

Our flight was short (and cheap), but what we didn't know is that Zurich is one of the most expensive cities in the world. While Paris is high up on the list as well, the difference became apparent with food options. Admittedly, Paris is very expensive: food, drinks, real estate, transportation, you name it. The difference comes in food options: Paris has a variety of street food options, hole in the wall Greek and Turkish sandwich shops, and bakeries with sandwiches, quiche, bread and pastries for less than €5; Zurich, on the other hand, has none of this. Food is expensive everywhere, cheap food options don't exist, anywhere. This was frustrating for a group of college girls looking for cheap, authentic eats. We had to sacrifice a few extra dollars for some good grub, instead, but it was worth it! Between the real bratwurst and potato salad, and the incredible pesto spaghetti at Europe's oldest vegetarian restaurant, we made sure we got a lot of bang for all of our bucks.

The people we stayed with were a lot of fun, as was our Saturday night adventures for St. Patrick's Day. While some stories stay just between us girls, I can say this much: we got some good laughs about some rather coincidental situations a few times. I visited the city with two of my roommates and another friend from the program, and they were great travel companions: not in too much of a rush, ready to try new food, and always willing to stop when taking a photo. the people of Zurich were extremely nice too. On our last afternoon, at the top of a large hill overlooking the city, my camera died! I was pretty distraught about it (if you know me well enough, you know that my camera is my baby and I'm lost without it), but by a stroke of luck (and one of those coincidences I mentioned before) a man had the same camera as me, and allowed me to borrow his battery for a few minutes. "I don't want you to miss out on these pictures," he told me with a smile as he handed it over. I couldn't be more thankful, and now I have fabulous photos from the top of Zurich! Well, despite the grey, foggy weather.

a fairytale castle

Photo Cred: Isabel; picnic at Rambouillet

Last weekend our program took us on a short day trip to a nearby town: Rambouillet. A small, picturesque French town, it is known for Chateau Rambouillet, a castle that looks straight out of a fairy tale, with large grassy, tree-covered grounds. We first stopped at an open-air market in town to get cheese, bread, meat, fruit and sweets for lunch. Then the group reconvened walked around the grounds and found a place across the pond with a beautiful view of the castle. After a fun outdoor lunch, we walked around the town, and fully exhausted hopped on an afternoon train to nap back in Paris. For more Rambouillet photos click here for my Flickr, or check Facebook.

View of the castle from our picnic spot

These last few weeks in Paris have been a lot of fun. My friends and I continue to find new places around town to hang out, grab a drink, and especially eat. We recently found the best crepe place around the 5th arrondissement, a nearby frozen yogurt stop (where the 'petite' froyo looked more like a large!), and Student Bar, expensive at night, but a €4.50 happy hour that is hard to beat for an after class break to catch up with friends who live all over town. Life here has been pretty laid-back lately, but I'll be catching up on cultural things here soon. I needed to take a break from landmarks for a while, as there are so many here, but I'm feeling reenergized to get back out and explore the Louvre, Orsay, and other noteworthy spots around the city. This will also mean more blog posts!

For now, though, I must get some rest for my trip to Zurich, Switzerland this weekend! Bonne nuit mes amis!