Paris, Part Deux

Out of all the cities that I've visited in Europe, I think that Paris will always have a special nook in my heart.

The last time I visited, I didn't have the chance to visit the Rodin museum. And, Rodin being my favorite artist of all time, I made the extra trip to go see some of his greatest works. It is probably my favorite museum I've ever visited in Europe. Outside, there is a sculpture garden lined with trees and a huge fountain in the center. It was weird, pairing the serenity of these natural elements with the disturbed and highly emotionally charged sculptures. Just to see his stuff and hang out in the garden was worth the Chunnel ride.

While I was in Paris, there was a short laundry list of things that I really wanted to see/experience. Shakespeare and Co. was definitely up there. It's almost cliché to want to make a mini pilgrimage to this little independent bookstore where greats including Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, and James Joyce stayed in the attic and found inspiration in this beautiful city. But, even with its induction into popular culture and all, it was darling.

Everything from the writer upstairs typing away at his laptop, the old typewriter cubby, the notes on the wall, and of course, the shelves upon shelves of great literature, was beautiful to me. So I ventured there twice during this trip and came away with What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver.

One of the most incredible pastry experiences I've had was at Ladurée with Alanna. We had an assortment of macarons, which was apparently invented by this shop, and it was incredible. From the perfume-y rose flavored one to the rich caramel, every bite was unique and delicious.

What was funny was that everyone in the little square we were sitting in was eating a box of pastries too. It's still a mystery to me how the French manage to produce and consume some of the best pastries and food in the world, and yet manage to stay so fashionably thin.

At the risk of sounding like a complete pig, I must pause here to discuss the best ice cream I've ever had, Berthillon. I had three scoops: pear, chocolate, and raspberry. It was luxurious, subtle, and really tasted like the flavor it was trying to replicate. I've been on many eating adventures with Alanna, especially since touching down in Europe, and this was certainly a major highlight after hearing so much about it from her.

There were so many more memorable moments from Paris, but I will end my account of them here. I hope that Paris will become a regular part of my life as I move on from college and start 'real life.' It's so beautiful, and any time that I spent alone there did not feel lonely, because as cheesy as it sounds the city is vibrant and rich in history and culture, and was as good a companion as I could ask for.

Estrella, Sand, and Gaudi

Even though I have returned from my 9-month stay in beautiful Europe and by now no one is reading this blog, I think I owe it to my experience to write a few more posts to finish up.

On I went to Barcelona, a city that made the most lasting impression on me. Throughout the trip, my skin started to brown from the warm sunlight so unfamiliar to London. My hair was constantly in relaxed disarray from the beach breeze and smelled of salty ocean air. We ate and had incredibly pleasant and involved conversations late into the evenings. And at night...it was surely an adventure if I'd ever had one. We soaked in the Spanish culture and relaxed, completely confusing our internal clocks and necessitating naps before dinner.

It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.

Food: Walking along La Rambla, a main central street in Barcelona, we were drawn to this food market which I consider to have been an attraction all on its own. Stalls upon stalls of fish, vegetables, candies, meat, hot foods, coffee, bread, and on and on filled this enormous covered market. Whether it was a quick empanada lunch or an incredible chorizo and cheese pairing we picked up for dinner, this market hosted many delicious and special memories during our stay in Barcelona.
The tiny, inconspicuous local restaurant across the street from our hostel deserves a special mention here. Upon an assured recommendation from our hosts at the hostel, we headed across the street for the food highlight of the entire trip. We were served an enormous seafood paella that personified abundance. There were piles of shrimp, mussels, octopus, vegetables, and everything else you could ask for of a single dish. It was served hot, went right to the soul, and nourished us after another amazing day of wandering in the Spanish sun.

Drink: One of my favorite 'going out' experiences abroad has to be in Barcelona, where we were led by some American friends to Taverna Rustica, an unmarked, plain-looking, German-style beer hall. It felt relaxed, the theme of our vacation. Eight pitchers of sangria later, we were making loads of new friends as we all headed to the beach to the strip of nightclubs positioned right on the sand.

On our last night, we stumbled upon a local bar where we were witness to an impromptu salsa lesson on the dance floor as we sipped our mojitos. The 'class instructor,' an extremely attractive man whose hips moved like I could never even hope for mine to, led a mesmerizing 20 minutes of salsa which made me regret ever buying a return ticket out of Barcelona.

Art: The great thing about Europe is that it is an art-lover's paradise. Without even stepping into a museum, the time-tested buildings scattered throughout the historic cities are incredible in themselves. This is especially true of Barcelona, a city with Gaudi written all over it.

It was a surreal experience, from the perplexing Sagrada Familia to the wonderland that is Park Guell. Gaudi's architecture made me feel like liquid, like I was melting into the world that he created. It was confusing, magical, awe-inspiring, and absolutely amazing as I'm sure most people who visit will tell you.

There are so many things that I loved about Barcelona. By the end, I felt addicted to the simple pleasures and childlike joy and wonder I was able to experience throughout my time there. I would love to sit here and list every meaningful bite, drink, and moment that I had there (and there were many) but to spare any scarce readers I will leave it at that. And maybe in the not-so-distant future I'll be back to enjoy it all over again.

Peace, Love, Berlin

Here are my top three moments/stories from Berlin in no particular order:

3. Real World: Berlin

We arrived at our hostel in the morning after waking up at 2 a.m. the night before to catch our crack-of-dawn flight. Tired, and sore from carrying our luggage everywhere, we were ready to unload, take a quick nap, and get exploring. As we walk up to our hostel, a man with a camera stops us and asks if he could film us walking up to the hostel. Turns out that they were filming a promotional video to put on their Web site and they wanted us in it.

At first, we thought it was kind of funny and were pretty good sports about it. But after more than one take of us walking in, filming us checking in, and having a camera shoved in our faces while we unpack our clothes, I think we had all had enough.

Even worse, the next morning, while half of us were half naked getting ready, the camera crew barges in and asks to film us! They filmed us at breakfast, they filmed us on the computers, and on and on...Finally, as a last request, we all sat along the bed and yelled 'We LOVE the Rixpack!' enthusiastically. We were told to imagine we were speaking to Brad Pitt, and in our sole male traveler's case, to Pamela Anderson...I'm not sure if it worked...

At this point, I think most of us were annoyed, especially because filming was slowing down our morning a little. After that experience, we all had a little sympathy for those unfortunate souls who decide to enter the realm of reality television. Given that they didn't know what they were getting into, it must be an extremely aggravating and painful process being filmed 24/7. We were about to do some damage on those cameras after 20 minutes. However, for those pitiful reality television stars who decide, after having been through it once, to take this on as a career, I have less sympathy.

The hostel itself was actually wonderful, clean, shiny, and new. Our flamboyantly gay hostel owner, our perfect-for-building-forts bunk beds, and free breakfast made for a positive experience. So hopefully if y'all ever stay there filming will be over...

2. East Side Gallery
In 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down, hundreds of artists flocked to the stretch of the wall between the Oberbaum Bridge and the Ostbahnhoff and painted pictures of peace, freedom, and the overcoming of inhumanity. Because it was such an ad hoc initiative, the preservation of these paintings weren't held in mind at the time, and a huge restoration process began as it started to deteriorate.

It was a unique experience, being at both a historically charged site and an art gallery in one. The paintings were so emotional, and it was a brief glimpse into the feelings and thoughts that were stirred up by this separation between East and West.

I really liked this quote that was painted alongside one of the paintings...
Aside from the commentary, the each of the paintings were really beautiful and moving in their own way. Here are some of my favorites...

'Brotherhood Kiss' by Dmitry Vrubel
I like how the light got caught right at the border of the painting.

A gate embedded into the wall. Very mixed media, very cool.

1. Bears!

Strolling along the Berlin streets, you come across a LOT of bear statues. Yellow bears, Coca-Cola bears, Native American bears etc. etc...Turns out, that the bear is a symbol for Berlin. Called 'Buddy Bears' they were designed to promote peace and harmony, and the 144 bears standing in a peace circle at the Berlin Haupbahnhof station in Berlin represent the 144 countries in the UN. And the two buddy bears in the middle are little beacons of global peace.
...not to mention they are adorable!

Hehe...Alanna, I thought you'd appreciate this one.

Berlin definitely brought out my inner hippie. The tragedy and intolerance the city has seen in its history has made it wary of a repeat, and as a result it's shaped up to be a pretty progressive city. There is something for everyone here. Lots of delicious vegan and bio restaurants for the veg population, an underground scene for the alternative crowd, and lots of bears to remind people to love one another.

Fiona Needs Her Groove Back

This weekend I paid a long overdue visit to Stonehenge and Bath. It was a sunny, beautiful day, with a peace and calm that would have gone uninterrupted if it wasn't for our crazy anal tour guide, Fiona.

We barely made our 8:30 a.m. tour bus, and because there was one other girl who was running a bit late, we ended up leaving at 8:32. Upon setting off on our journey to Stonehenge, our first stop, Fiona gets on the bus microphone and whines a little about how late a start we got and how we need to make up for lost time (2 minutes! *eye roll*).

Stonehenge was smaller than I expected, but definitely a sight worth seeing. I had heard countless stories about how boring and pointless Stonehenge was from others who visited, so I was a little nervous about what we would do with an hour of free time. It was admittedly uneventful, but it was still really cool to see such a massive monument that is so shrouded in mystery. No one knows for sure how or why these huge stones were arranged as they are. Apparently, according to Fiona, the BBC attempted to recreate this monument using the tools that were available at the time it was established, and failed. So, they were pretty smart 4,000 years ago.

What was the highlight of seeing Stonehenge was perhaps the cute little sheep that were grazing all around the area. Apparently, these sheep are a big deal, because at the Stonehenge gift shop, the had these cute little stuffed animal versions of them.

After about an hour an a halt at Stonehenge, we headed off to Bath, where it's famous for the 18th century architecture and the Roman Baths. The Roman Bath Museum was very well constructed. They taught us about the historical context and the architectural background of the baths. After hearing all about the healing properties of the magical spring water, we got to have a taste of it...bad choice. It tasted super mineral-y, as if a bunch of quarters had been rusting in the water for a while. Hopefully, in exchange for drinking it, we were healed or beautified as the legend advertises...

After touring the Roman Baths, we attempted to catch Fiona's 18th century architecture walking tour, which was meeting at 2:20. We arrived at 2:25, and she was far gone. Apparently, some other girls who had arrived at 2:23 also missed it. We were clearly false for thinking there was at least a 5 minute grace period for people to get to the meeting point.

Instead of the walking tour, we wandered around Bath, walked along the riverside, and enjoyed the city. It was adorable, with different street performers taking turns in the town center every 20 minutes or so, musicians on all the street corners, and lots and lots of shopping. Supposedly, Bath is only next to London for shopping in England.

When we got back to the meeting point to catch our bus, we ran into Fiona again. Apparently, waiting five minutes was not an option because she needed to cover a certain amount of ground in a set amount of time (even though we knew she had time to wait five minutes). I guess it's our fault for being late, but it was just a little extreme how intense a stickler she was about time. If we had by chance not arrived at precisely 4:10 to catch our tour bus, they would have left without us and we'd have had to take the train back home.

Bath and Stonehenge were both very pleasant experiences that made for a wonderful Saturday. As for Fiona, I hope that she gets what she needs to relax a little, maybe the sunny weather helped her along that process.

Mad About Tea

Afternoon tea is something as common in England as brunching is in New York. It's just something people do in the weird in between period between meals.

The first time I went to tea was at Kensington Palace last semester, where we had the standard finger sandwiches, scones, and of course tea. It was a more formal, very traditional, and a uniquely British experience.

Recently, I went to tea again at the Sanderson Hotel. In honor of the premiere of Alice in Wonderland, the Sanderson decided to have their own version of the Mad Hatter's Tea. Our set included brightly colored finger sandwiches, a pocket watch-shaped tart, a queen of hearts chocolate confection, and a lollipop that turned from hot to cold in your mouth.

The setting was a lot more modern, and the tea set more interesting to look at and strangely more delicious. It was definitely a chocolate overload moment for us after we finished trying all of the different candies and pastries, but it was all so very worth it.

Coolest thing about Mad Hatter's Tea was the setting. The Sanderson is a really modern hotel with funky decorations that we were all obsessed with. My favorite was the Chanel chainsaw in the entrance window. It's what every girl needs.

Chin Chin

It's weird, after traveling with Alanna for 18 straight days and constantly being around people, you would think that I needed some alone time.

So I thought it would be perfect to go to Cinque Terre, a cluster of five little fishing villages on the western coast of Italy, and chill out for a few days before heading back to the craziness that is London.
Five days of no internet, no texting, no phone calls, no television later, I was pretty ready to get back to civilization. As much as I enjoyed a different pace of life, hanging out at the beach and making friends with some more strangers, it became crystal clear to me that I'm not cut out for small town life.

Cats!
They were everywhere! A note about Italian cats: they are the friendliest, most emotionally expressive cats I've ever encountered! The ones that we met along the way were meowing like crazy, as if they were trying to say something really pressing or important.

In Monterosso, one stray cat followed me for about half an hour, meowing continuously, along the beach...
In Riomaggiore, the town I was staying in, one cat kept making a really aggressive meowing noise, almost a bark, at all the strangers walking down the street. Then he chilled with me and the other guys staying at my hostel for a while...
And finally, the sweetest cat followed us during a midnight stroll along Via dell'Amore, leading the way since it was so dark and dimly lit...
All three of these cats were huge attention whores and meowed more than any American cat I've ever met. I am definitely a dog person and don't usually like cats, but these guys were so sweet, friendly, and talkative that they somehow won me over.

Monterosso
This small beachfront town was probably my favorite of the five towns that make up Cinque Terre. The sand has little gold flecks that sparkle in the sunlight. The rocks were made up of so many different colors...red, orange, green, purple... The water was so many different shades of beautiful blue.

What was the most charming about Monterosso, especially visiting it during the off-season, was the sense of authenticity the small town had. There were children getting out of school, old men strolling along the beach, men in cafes bickering boisterously about the latest soccer match... It was the first time I didn't really feel like a tourist, more like a guest.

A "small world" moment happened in Monterosso when I stopped in at a cafe where I chatted a bit with the owner, who ended up being from Chicago! We bonded over having family in Southern California, Chicago in the Fall, and learning different languages.

All the Love
I can see why so many people fall in love in Cinque Terre. Just along the Via dell'Amore, there are locks attached to all the fences, netting, EVERYWHERE. I only found out on the last night that these locks represent wedlock. How could you not fall in love here? These five towns are so beautiful, protected as a national park and uncorrupted by the hordes of enterprising salesmen who would like to capitalize on the tourist value of this national treasure. Everything about it is romantic, dreamy, and makes all the stresses and troubles of everyday life seem so far away.

But beyond romantic love, the locals that I met during my stay were all so friendly both to me and to each other. There was a real sense of community. Everyone knew everyone. It was certainly different from anything I'd ever experienced.

I had a lot of time to think and reflect during my 5 days in Cinque Terre. I realize how lucky I am to have friends and family who love me as much as you guys do, and how you all make my life so much richer. Traveling, seeing and experiencing new places and people are definitely rewarding and worthwhile experiences, but I feel as though the farther and longer you're away from a sense of home, the more you realize how important and valuable it is.

The fellow travelers I roomed with at the hostel were all in a transition period in their lives. One had quit his job in London 3 days before. One was preparing to leave his office job for life as a chef in San Francisco. And the other was moving to the Netherlands to begin an artistic career. I was the baby of the group, and one thing they talked about really resonated with me. Traveling and escaping from your everyday life is great and oftentimes necessary. But, it better serves you when done with a purpose, an intention of bringing back the ideas and realizations you have during your journey and turning them into something concrete and productive in your real life.

So by the end of my time in Italy, I was ready to return and buckle down, not just on work but taking advantage of my time here in London and making the most out of everything.

That's the end of my Italian adventure! Cheers (or Chin Chin)!

Loving 2010

Although Venice is pretty small and you can get all the sightseeing you want out of it in about two days, I think I most enjoyed my time in the "The City of Light."

Here are some of the highlights:

Water
I think I spent maybe 90% of my time in Venice being partially or completely wet. Not only is the city surrounded by water, but there was also the flooding...and the rain...almost every single day that we were there. I was only equipped with my canvas Converse sneakers which offer no waterproof capabilities, so I was basically screwed...

I even resorted to shelling out a ridiculous 9 euro for huge purple plastic shoe-bags to makes sightseeing bearable. It was embarrassing, but I suppose I felt a sense of solidarity with my fellow tourists who were equally unprepared for the underwater experience that is Venice.


The Vitruvian Man
By the time we hit Venice, Alanna and I were pretty art museumed out. I had seen so many priceless, beautiful, one-of-a-kind paintings and sculptures that they all started the blend together and these works started to lose their impact.

But when we heard that Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man was on display at the Galleria dell'Accademia for the first time in seven years, we had to go. It was odd, because for something that is as big a deal as the Vitruvian Man, there was close to zero publicity for it, no crowds at the actual display, and no extra fees to see the exhibition.

For a single sheet of paper with some scribbles on it, it was so harmonious, precise and in it's own way, very beautiful. After all, the Vitruvian Man is the representation of human perfection, right? A note about da Vinci: his handwriting is really really pretty.

I'm so glad that we were able to catch this. We were planning on skipping the Galleria dell'Accademia, and were it not for the two American ladies lunching next to us one day who were discussing the exhibition, we would never have seen it. In fewer words, it was awesome!

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection
I know I said we were museumed out, but at a certain point in Venice we just plain ran out of things to see (five days is way too much for standard sightseeing there). However, I'm glad we did make it to the Peggy Guggenheim museum. It's a modern-looking building that used to be Peggy's home in Venice the last leg of her life.

The collection itself was pretty phenomenal. Pollock, Brancusi, Duchamp, Kandinsky, Klee...all the heavyweights of modern art were represented. What made the experience cooler was that the museum still felt like a home. There was furniture, a dining table, and pictures of good friends of Peggy's. Seeing so many incredible and important artworks that all belonged to one woman made me realize just how influential (and filthy rich) Peggy Guggenheim was. It made the trek out there in my oversize rainboots our hostel had lying around completely worth it.

Making Friends with Strangers
Our hostel in Venice was probably the homiest place I've ever stayed at. Although it did have faults (they kick you out of bed at 9:30 every morning so they can move around the bunks and clean the mattresses), it did offer breakfast and dinner, during which we were basically forced to socialize with the other people staying there.

The friends that we made in Venice are probably people I'd hang out with again in a heartbeat if we were ever near each other again. We all bonded over crazy Australian drinking games, how weird our hostel staff was, and being a tourist. Recently, I was reunited with two of the Aussie girls we met on the trip when they were traveling in London!

It's weird. When you're traveling, or put in a situation where you're not completely comfortable, you are so much more likely to make the effort to get to know new people.

Bringing in the New Year
There are so many things about my New Year's Eve that could, to some people, be seen as disastrous. First, I was separated from Alanna. Then, when we arrived at St. Mark's, it was way too crowded for us to be able to squeeze ourselves through to the main stage. And, thinking that I had dodged the high tide since the flooding had receded by 1pm that day, I just wore my sneakers to the New Year's celebrations. What I did not anticipate was a dreadful thing called "second tide," where the whole square floods again right around 11pm. By the end of the night, my entire lower half was soaking wet. However, it was probably the best New Year's that I've had and an important self-actualization moment for me.

Mass celebrations with a big crowd of strangers has it's good and bad moments. Good: you become automatic best friends with the people around you because, after all, you are squished up against each other. Bad: there are creepy men who try to take advantage of the crowd situation and try to feel you up.

The two girls I was with ended up getting into a screaming match with some of these creepy men who were splashing water at us, at which point I was dropped into the water by one of the girls, who was carrying me on her back since I had no rainboots on. So in between mediating the fight, shoving away creepy men, and practically swimming in the water with my clothes on, I think many people in my situation would have been either really stressed out or just plain miserable.

But, really, I was quite the opposite. The countdown began, the fireworks lit up the Venice sky, and all the couples around us gave each other their New Year's kisses. Amidst all the drama, all I felt was appreciation and happiness for being lucky enough to be in such a beautiful city to ring in 2010. There's so much pressure on us to make certain holidays or moments perfect. But even if my New Year's was as perfect as I could possibly imagine, it might not have been this memorable, or fun, or real. And, I realized that I am pretty damn good at handling conflict and staying calm in crisis situations. I've definitely come a long way (as those of you familiar with Eu-crazy know).

Alanna
Most duos would probably either kill each other or go crazy after spending 18 consecutive 24 hour days together, but not Alanna and I. In fact, even as Alanna was walking me to my train as I departed for Cinque Terre, we were babbling on and on about the million and one things we have yet to talk about. Even though we're as different as we can be and have disagreements on certain issues, somehow we work amazingly well as friends.

After nearly 4 months away from home, it was really therapeutic (you have no idea how literally I mean this) to be with someone who knows me as well as Alanna does. We laughed until our tummies hurt, cried (in public), and helped each other put all the thinking we've been doing over the past year into something concrete. And surprisingly, as frequently and at length as we talk, we learned new things about each other. So 8,000 cafe lattes later, we're somehow better friends than when we started this trip. Thanks, Alanna for being my rock. I couldn't have asked for a better travel buddy. I really think it's impossible for us to get sick of each other.

After 18 blissful days, Alanna headed back to Paris and I was off to Cinque Terre for the last leg of my journey.