Amsterdam: Day 2

Unfortunately I did not take as many photos on my second and last day in Amsterdam. We didn't really do much that was noteworthy. However, we did start the day off with some amazing apple pie at a restaurant called "Winkle."

After that we essentially just wandered around the town and then went to the Anne Frank house where no photos were allowed so I was unable to document that. We didn't really do much that night either because we had an early train the next morning so all in all I'm very glad I had a chance to visit Amsterdam but it was much too short of a trip and I really hope I can go back before my year abroad is up!

Next up, my trip to Prague!

-Michael

Amsterdam: Day 1

Now before you get all excited about seeing a triple X, let me start off by saying that this is the symbol that represents Amsterdam! Nothing too scandalous about that is it? It's on the garbage trucks, street lamps, buildings, etc. Just a couple weeks ago I took a train from Paris to Amsterdam (about 3 1/2 hours) and it felt as if I had entered an entirely different world.

The buildings  and canals were beautiful but the streets were dangerous! Not only are there roads and sidewalks, but there are designated lanes for bicyclists and for the tram which was almost impossible to hear approaching.

We spent the majority of our time walking around and getting lost in this (at the time, very windy) city but did do some noteworthy activities such as visiting the Van Gogh Museum. Home to a vast majority of his early and later collections.

I actually wasn't sure if we were allowed to take photos inside or not, but I took some nonetheless. After the museum we wandered around a bit more, found a park which was nice to release some energy in after being in a museum.

And then later that night we made our way to the infamous Red Light District where are you are most definitely not allowed to take photos! But a strange sight awaited us there in the canal that divided the street.

Swans! You can see a glimpse of the windows with the red lights where the women stand and wait for.. clients.

Stay tuned for Day 2!

Cluny Musée & Saint Sulpice

Bonjour!

Back in Paris I decided to check out a couple sights that I had to visit after Barcelona and one of the first ones on my list was Musée National du Moyen Age Thermes de Cluny de Paris. Woof! What a name! Essentially it is the museum of middle ages and of course it was free entry for me because I am student of France. 

 I've actually walked by this museum several times because it is on the very busy St. Michel and was surprised to see how large the interior was. Definitely glad I went to check it out!

I also went to visit a church that my brother had wanted to see while he was here called St. Sulpice, I had never really heard of it before but thought it might be worthwhile to check out. I was also surprised by how large this church was but yet still so hidden from most of Paris. St. Sulpice, unlike Notre Dame, was very peaceful and not flooded with tourists.

And that's all for today! Stay tuned for my trip to the Pantheon and Amsterdam!

-Michael

Barcelona: Day 3

Hola!

Alright so on our last day for Barcelona we headed towards the Joan Miro Fondacion which is a museum dedicated to the artist Joan Miro.  To get there we had to take the metro to tram-like metro because the museum was on a hill.

After the museum, we explored a little bit and found another museum nearby that we didn't go inside of but it was still a good opportunity for some photos!

After this we went to La Rambla and headed to the port that we visited the first night. But because it was dark then we couldn't really see much so we made a plan to go back there during the daytime.

Then we decided to re-visit La Sagrada Familia because the first time we only saw one side of it and didn't go inside. So, this time we spent more time there. This church is pretty incredible and breath-taking. I've never seen anything like it before. Gaudi, the artist who designed Parc Guell was also the man behind this church's architecture.

When we finished with La Sagrda Familia we killed some time and then asked the lady at the front desk of our hostel if she knew of any good tapas places around and she gave us the name of a place that was within walking distance.

Yum! And the next morning at a very early hour we boarded the metro to the bus to the airport, to the airport in Beavauis Paris, and then the bus to Paris, and then took the metro home. Woof! It was a great trip filled with sunshine and seafood. I really hope to go back there again someday.

-Michael

Barcelona: Day 2

Hello everyone!

One of the great things about going to a city for the first time is that everything is new! So even though we got lost on our way to the Picasso Museum on our second day in Barcelona it was fine because we ended up finding some other things that we could take pictures of!

For example Barcelona's version of the Arch de Triomph.

Arc de Triomf

After this we did eventually find our way to the Picasso Museum which I would highly recommend to those who ever make it to Barcelona. After the museum we decided to head to the beaches because it was just so sunny, how could we not?

Unfortunately, the wind was incredibly cold as was the sand but that's to be expected at the beach in the middle of January right? All the same, it was nice to be near the ocean. One can feel pretty landlocked in Paris if they don't venture outwards. After the beach our appetites grew so we headed to our always reliable and very loyal Boqueria where I had an amazing seafood platter for lunch.

Yum! After the market we went and found the Catedral de Barcelona which was undergoing some major reconstruction so I wasn't able to get the best photos.

Voila! That night my friend and I visited some of the nightlife and found a very heavy populated bar to get drinks. Spain, especially Madrid/Barcelona are known for their nightlife, for many people their nights do not end until around 6am or so. But for us tourists who had spent the whole day walking we decided to call it a night around midnight.

Stick around for Day 3!

-Michael

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