Barcelona: Day 1

Hello all!

I decided to take a very last-minute trip to Barcelona this past week with a friend of mine. We have a semester break right not until February 21st so why not take advantage of the proximity of other European countries and travel? My round trip ticket to Barcelona was only 95 euros! Anyways, we took off from Paris Beauvais Airport at about 9am and landed in Barcelona a couple hours later and went straight to the hostel to check in.

After getting settled in we took off and headed straight for Parc Guell. One of the main attractions of Barcelona, this park was designed by the famous artist Gaudi. The trek was made easy by conveniently placed escalators.

And now the park

After spending a good amount of time here and taking too many photos we ventured off to the main downtown district known as La Rambla where we found an amazing "mercat" that sold amazing food for nothing. We ended up coming to this market everyday of the trip.

After eating and exploring this area we took the metro back up north a little to check out La Sagrada Familia. A church also designed by Gaudi. We snapped a few photos of the exterior but decided to come back the next day since we were both pretty fatigued.

We went back to the hostel for a small siesta and then headed out for a paella dinner and then a stroll along the port at night. After our walk, we went back to the hostel and had a nice conversation with our Australian hostel-mate and then passed out.

Stay tuned for Day 2!

-Michael

Bonne Année!

Happy New Year everyone! Here are some pics from my night out on the town in Paris on New Year's Eve. I started my night at about 9pm and headed towards a friends house. We left there around 11, which was a mistake because the metro (which was free all night long) was insane. We were forced to get off the first train that came because it was just crowded and the one we did get on had so many delays because of something either blocking the door or there was too much weight.

Ended up counting down to midnight on the metro which wasn't the best spot but.. at least it was in still in Paris? Anyways, here are some photos from the night. Most are on the Champs-Elysees which is a prime location for all your shopping needs, and then we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. There were random fireworks going on here and there but for the most part the streets were just filled with people, very drunk people, shouting "BONNE ANNEE VOISIN!" HAPPY NEW YEAR NEIGHBOR !

(From left to right: my roommate Maddie, Tiffany, and Megan.)

Bring it on, 2011.

-Michael

Reims

Took another day trip with my program a couple weeks ago to a town about 2 hours North of France called Reims. It is located in the Champagne region so of course we visited a "Cave" for a champagne tasting, but first stopped to see one amazingly cold Cathedral located in the center of the town.

I think it is referred to as the Notre Dame de Reims because of the similarities in architecture. One of the main reasons this cathedral is so well known is because this is where (about) 25 kings were crowned. Knowledge acquired from both my language exchange partner who was born in Reims and the tour guide. I'm really not sure if it the cathedral was somehow colder than outside or we were all just freezing due to lack of movement but after a certain point all I could think about were my poor toes and how cold they were.

After the cathedral, we were able to spend sometime in the Christmas Markets near by which were fun but due to the fact that we had a very limited amount of time I was so busy racing around the little shops I didn't have time to snap some photos. Got a couple of one of the town's main streets on my way back to the bus though:

We left this part of the town an took about a 30 minute bus ride to Cave Mercier for a tour of their champagne cellars and a champagne tasting.

I really have no interest in champagne but they made the tour pretty interesting nonetheless. We started off with a descending in an elevator and opposite the entrance was a large window where we were able to see recreations of the cellar's history. And then, we boarded a laser-guided tram for the rest of the tour.

So that was pretty interesting. And then after our little ride we ended the day with a champagne tasting. After my first sip, which tasted like acid - I volunteered my glass to a friend who happily accepted.

And that concludes my day trip to Reims!

-Michael

Musée Guimet

Decided to visit the Asian Art museum here in Paris as it is one of many museums that is free for those who are younger than 26 years old. At this museum I found many sculptures and other artifacts from varying Asian countries such as: India, Nepal, Cambodia, Korea, China, and Japan. The ones that seemed to catch my the eye the most were the different variation on Shiva, the God of Destruction.

Also, this morning I experienced a bit of snow!

Living a city that snows is something very new to me. I really like a fish out of water on my way to the metro. I had no idea what to do with myself as the snow poured down on me. I felt like I needed an umbrella! It was really kind of bizarre. Although, at least for now, I think I prefer snow over the rain. This is the first day the snow has stuck and it stopped falling after about an hour. What's to come next?!
All I know is, I won't be freezing to death because thanks to my amazing parents I now have thermal pants and shirts to keep me warm underneath my usual layers. Thanks Mom and Dad!

-Michael

Catacombs

"STOP! THIS IS THE EMPIRE OF THE DEAD!"

Probably one of the last major tour hot spots left on my list of places I need to go while here was the Catacombs. Thankfully, I was able to cross it off my list last Saturday. The Catacombs span across nearly the entire city, underground of course. There is a main entrance for tourists in which you can pay to enter. However, it is possible to go exploring for your own entrance into the depths of the Catacombs and explore the underground city solo. But, I'm not about to do that.

Unfortunately, no flash was allowed throughout the entire walk so the majority of my photos turned out quite dim like the one above. But with a couple camera tricks I managed to get some visible carnage. Enjoy.

Just a couple fun facts:
- There are over 6 million Parisian remains in the Catacombs today.
- Bodies were initially thrown into the catacombs (relocated from cemeteries due to public health concerns) and it wasn't until much later did someone come along and re-organize them.

Alright, well tomorrow it's predicted to hit 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Awesome!

-Michael

Musée d'Orsay & Le Petit Palais

Brrrr!!

It is freezing in Paris, well at the moment it's about 34 degrees F, so technically we aren't freezing yet. It began to snow yesterday but I was inside a classroom for the bulk of it which was nice considering I wasn't clothed properly. Anyways, I've been taking advantage of my free time and this past Thursday I visited two museums to check out two art exhibits. The first was the Jean-Leon Gerome exhibit at le Musée d'Orsay.

This poster is displayed all over the city in various metro stops and billboards and really caught my eye so I took it up on myself to go and check out the real deal. Unfortunately, you cannot take a photograph of ANYTHING in the museum so this is all I have for you guys. This gladiator painting here by Gerome is titled "Pollice Verso," and inspired scenes for the Scott Ridley film, Gladiator.

After the d'Orsay I still had enough time in my day to check out another exhibit. This was one much smaller and more appropriately was at the Petit Palais which is located on the Champs-Elysees. I wasn't sure of the photography situation at this museum but I always feel a little strange taking a photo of a photo and because this particular exhibit I was visiting was titled "100 Photos" I have no photos of the actual pictures that I observed.

But here are some photos of the exterior and interior of the museum itself.

The exhibit featured photos from world famous photojournalist Pierre Boulat and his daughter Alexandra Boulat who followed in his foot steps and became a photographer herself. Their combined exhibit presented photos from all over the world; exposing cultural traditions and the effects of war in certain countries. Also, photos of celebrities such as Truman Capote, Edith Pilaf, and Yves Saint Laurent.

After my museum visits I went to a friend's place here in the city and helped her prepare for the pseudo-Thanksgiving meal we decided to have with a few other American compatriots. It was a great night of food and friends.

Tomorrow, I'll be posting a blog about my visit to the Catacombs so stay tuned!

-Michael

Château de Versailles

So, one night I had this dream that I woke up and was back in California. My initial reaction? I was happy to be home! But then I realized I hadn't done nearly enough in Paris during my time so, since then I've felt very motivated to run out and do as many things as possible. Well... because of school, cold weather, and money I can't say that I've accomplished too much but today; after my morning run I was sitting in my apartment thinking of what I could do. And then it hit me!

Versailles :) Thankfully, it is quite easy to get to the Chateau from Paris. One (RER) train will take you directly there. I didn't have much time to explore the grounds as I would have liked but because it's only about a 40 minute ride away, I'll be going back soon enough.

There is currently a semi-controversial art exhibit taking place at the Chateau. Japanese artist Takashi Murakami has temporary installed some of his art pieces throughout the grounds. His art style contrasts incredibly against this traditional Chateau but I really enjoyed this one piece that I found and probably would have liked his others as well. Although, due to a time constraint I didn't have time to find them.

Next on my list? Perhaps the Catacombs! Stay tuned.
-Michael