Paris

The goal was to live like a Parisian. I think I succeeded. Having visited the major Paris sights previously, I landed in the city of light with a completely different mindset. The Parisians appreciate the fine things in life, like to be sophisticated, take their time, and generally live well. I wanted a taste of this lazy life that most tourists don't get. 

After landing and dropping my bags at the hotel, I went straight down the street to Montparnasse to sit at a cafe and enjoy a glass of wine. Service at cafes and restaurants is different in Paris; slow service is good service. Waiters stay out of your way and let you enjoy your meal. Afterward I took the metro to Ile de la Cite for a peak at Notre Dame. My real goal was Shakespeare's and Company, a bookshop that James Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway hung out at. I grabbed "The Last Tycoon" to read throughout the week. I got started on the book after dinner at the cafe where I ate got to cross off Croque Monsieur from my list of French foods to sample. 

Day two began with un pain au chocolat and a walk to Jardin du Luxembourg, a beautiful park in the 6th arrondissemont. This one had tons of chairs and benches, tennis courts, and walking paths. The incredible thing is that there are nice parks like this all over Paris and they are all very quiet. I began my Parisian life there with un espresso and some reading time. Afterward I briefly visited St. Sulpice, mentioned in the Da Vinci Code, and the unique stores nearby. It was noon by then and I met up with Holli on Boulevard St-Germain. 

We immediately grabbed a crepe sucre citron and headed off toward the Seine and the Marais area. It was nice just to walk around and see the city. The best falafel I've ever had, from L'As Du Falafel, was for lunch. It's better than in Israel, I kid you not. With full tummies, Holli and I wandered around Paris with no real direction. It's such a big city and there are cool hidden spots everywhere.

For dinner I got a true Parisian experience, shopping for groceries at the market. The produce is top notch in Paris, especially the French strawberries. I've never had better. We made stops at the fromagerie and the patisserie for French cheese and a great baguette. The next morning we caught a train to Normandy.

The train was so full that we had to sit on the floor, but no bother, we made it to Bayeux for our D-Day tour. Our ride took us to Point du Hoc, Omaha Beach, and the American Cemetery. It was a solid tour considering the short amount of time we had. The whole experience was eye opening. The obstacles the Allied forces had to overcome were enormous. It's truly amazing that they succeeded. We had a particularly cool experience at the cemetery. An old Marine veteran was there to help lower the flags and play Taps. The Americans were asked to gather around the flag as it was lowered. It was a very patriotic moment supporting the veteran and representing the United States on foreign soil. 

Day four in Paris began with a stroll down the Champs Elysees. The grandeur of this street is very very cool, one of my favorites out there. Somehow South Congress in Austin actually reminds me of the Champs. Holli and I made obligatory stops at Laduree for macaroons and in front of Abercrombie to laugh at the people waiting in a long line to shop at A&F. After a quick baguette break, we sought out my small secret garden near the Champs. Again, it's amazing how quiet some places can be in such a huge city. 

Our next stop was to the Orangerie where Monet's enormous Water Lilies paintings are housed. I love impressionism so this was a cool spot to pop into. A stop for Angelina's hot chocolate was next. I swear this hot chocolate was like drinking Hershey's kisses. It was absolutely incredible and entirely too rich. After dinner, Holli and I went separate ways because she had a super early flight to Croatia.

I rounded out my last day in Paris by being as lazy as possible. I began with a walk from Montparnasse to the Orsay, through the Jardin des Tuileries, and over to Centre Pompidou. I plopped down in a recommended cafe for un cafe au lait and a Nutella and banana crepe. I was craving one of those the whole trip and it was glorious. After getting through a solid chunk of my book, I strolled through Marais again and took the subway to the Eiffel Tower. I walked around a bit before sitting down again for coffee and an omelette. See, like I said, lazy. 

And that was it. I took a late flight back to Edinburgh. I could spend weeks in Paris. This past trip gave me a totally different perspective on the French who seem to have a poor reputation on the home front. If you learn and use a few words in French you get excellent, friendly service. Also, understanding and embracing the French culture makes for a great experience that many tourists often don't get. 

Madrid

We arrived in Madrid on the high speed AVE train. Spain has one of the most punctual rail systems in Europe. It definitely beats the laid back, strike prone, usually tardy trains of Italy. After a short walk down Paseo del Prado, the main street with art museums and parks, we put our bags down at our hotel and headed out to explore.

The forest inside the train station

On the way to Palacio Real, we went through Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor which are major hang out spots. I was impressed that we went clear across the main area of the city in only 20 minutes. No public transportation necessary here to see the main sights. Palacio Real is an old palace for the Spanish royalty. It was certainly impressive. Every time I stop by a European palace I cannot help but wonder why so much money goes toward the royalty who has little or zero legislative power. They tend to be token figure heads and brand logos for the country. It's a huge difference between here and the US.

Typical family dinner table

This brings us to a monumental moment of the day. We got to see my friend Allison in Puerta del Sol! A trip to Valor for chololate con churros. These things were out of this world. Greasy churros and rich thick chocolate is a fantastic combo. Allison left to do some homework so Dan and I headed to the Museo del Prado to see some famous art for free. Spain is nice about admitting students into their museums for free.99. After staring at famous pieces by Goya and Velazaquez, we took some time to recoup before dinner. We went to Mercado de San Miguel for tapas. My favorite was the tortilla which is like a quiche made of potatoes.

Our next day was spent wandering around the city of Toledo just soaking in the sights. Beyond a nice day in a beautiful quiet town, a trip through the El Greco museum, and a couple old Synagogues it was fairly uneventful. The Don Quixote story passes through Toledo so there were tons of souvenirs in honor of it such as swords and statues. Also, on the train to Toledo we sat across from these two sisters from Australia. While very nice, one sister was probably the least humble person I've spoken with in recent memory. She told what I imagine was her entire life story of rising from nothing, making bank on this educational CD-rom, starting a successful ad agency, and now screenwriting. She asked us finance majors if she should put ALL her money into this "Little Miss Sunshine" that she wrote. Dan answered with two words: 'no' and 'diversification'.

It was dinner time so naturally we waited until around 9 to meet up with Allison and her friends for drinks and tapas. It was a great time at this bustling place where the waiters dip, dodge, duck, and dive navigating the crowd with plates of greasy, starchy snacks. And yes, those tapas were most certainly dinner.

On our final day in Spain, we took it easy and saw the rest of the Madrid sights. We got to see a relocated Egyptian temple, a statue of Don Quixote, and the Museo Reina Sofia which holds Guernica by Picasso. I could not believe how massive the painting is. It's a true behemoth and it has a neat story behind it. Before taking our customary siesta, we went rowing in the Parque del Retiro. It's worth noting that a woman from China joined our boat since she was by herself. That evening, our last in Madrid, we got one-euro tapas with Allison before attempting to explore the Madrid nightlife. It wasn't easy especially since we had to wake up at 4:30 am for our flight to Italy. More on that later.

Barcelona

Sunday marked the end of our nineteen day excursion through Spain and Italy. Barcelona greeted us with our first dose of warm sunshine this entire semester. Barca is bright, welcoming, and an overall great place to begin our hiatus from the cold in Scotland.

We walked 13 miles on our first day. Beginning in the old Gothic neighborhood, El Barri Gotic, we wandered from the main square called Placa de Catalunya down to the Cathedral of Barcelona. Remnants of Rome and an outdoor Picasso frieze were our first tastes of Spain and Italy. Ancient artifacts and famous art were regular sights this past trip. A stroll through narrow alleys lined with drying laundry led us down to the water and the Columbus Statue. From there we rambled up the Ramblas, the main tourist street shaded by big trees. For lunch, we ate our way through the Boqueria market. Fresh cut mango was one of my favorite snacks. The rest of the afternoon consisted of the Picasso museum and the beginning of our negotiation for the cheapest Barca jersey in town.

 

After a siesta, we set out for dinner and sangria before meeting up with a friend. A couple lessons learned: 1) when it comes to Paella, 'cheap' and 'delicious' are mutually exclusive, trust me 2) sangria is a specialty of southern Spain and the sangria in Barca is actually similar to Manischewitz. Afterward we set off to meet up with our friend. We ended up playing a game called 'navigate without a map or phone'. Long story short we walked more than was probably necessary and ended up seeing Howie Mandel, the Deal or No Deal host, at a hotel that was helping us navigate.

Day two in Barcelona was not actually in the city. We took a guided hike to Montserrat, the tallest mountain in Catalunya and a favorite spot for rock climbers. It was almost mystical hiking through the clouds up to the summit. Along the way we witnessed adventurous souls walking a tightrope stretched over a large drop. We wrapped up the day with Alex, our guide, taking us to a local hole in the wall tapas restaurant for a genuine Barcelona experience.

Our third day began with a tour of the absolutely incredible Sagrada Familia. This church is enormous, gorgeous, and breath-taking. Having now seen the greatest cathedrals in Europe, I can say this is my favorite. Inspired by nature, the inside feels like a forest colored by light shining through stained glass. It was actually very peaceful inside despite construction still taking place. After a brief trip to see the overlook at Park Guell, we made our way to a sandwich shop frequented by abroad students.

 

It's a good thing we did because otherwise we would have missed the FC Barcelona game we had tickets to. It was Saturday and I was fairly certain the game was Sunday. After getting to know our neighbors in the long food line we were shocked to learn the game was Saturday night. This meant we had to haggle with every souvenir shop in Barcelona before 8pm to find myself a jersey in time for the game. Don't worry, I got one.

Our last day in Barcelona was nice and relaxing out on the beach. I really enjoyed just walking around, sitting in the sand, and people watching. The people I see in each city never fail to outdo themselves. It's always a spectacle. The next morning we took the high-speed train to Madrid to begin our next adventure.

Dublin for St. Patrick's Day

By the time we arrived in Dublin on Friday, the city was already lit green. The contrast of the bright green lights against the otherwise dark city made it clear that St. Patrick's Day was upon us. Having just traveled several hours from the south of Ireland, we went straight for our hotel in the center of town. From our window, we could look out onto the Liffey River running through the center of town. After a little much needed rest, we headed out to the crowded city.

We walked to Temple Bar, just across the river, to figure out what St. Patrick's Day in Dublin is all about. In short, people from all walks of life were everywhere. Of course everyone was wearing green. The atmosphere was energizing and made me excited to be there even though I frankly had no idea what we were celebrating. Sure, we know the one sentence answer to "What is St. Patrick's Day?" but I am fairly convinced that no one in Temple Bar actually knew what the occasion is signifies. But not to worry, this slight lack of knowledge wasn't a hindrance for anybody. Live bands played at each bar and I swear I heard the songs "I'm gonna be (500 miles)" and "Country Roads" a dozen times each that night. After wading our way through crowded bars for several hours we decided to call it quits before too many more drinks were spilled on us.

Live music in Temple Bar

Saturday was our only full day in Dublin to explore the city. We began by walking though the city on our way to the Guinness factory. The line there was already quite long and the area was teeming with tourists. We decided to come back later after we completed our scheduled tour of the Jameson factory. The tour was interesting but having toured several smaller distilleries in Scotland, it was clear the tour was quite bland. The taste test made up for what the tour lacked. Afterward, we made our way to Christ Church where gourmet food trailers were set up. The fish and chips there made for an excellent lunch. A trip to St. Patrick's Cathedral was the last stop before attempting the Guinness tour again.

Ultimately our attempts at seeing the Guinness factory were a complete failure. Not surprisingly, each time we went back, the line grew longer. We gave up on drinking a Guinness at the top of the pint-glass shaped building in favor of a Hop On-Hop Off bus ride. We figured some quality narration while cruising around the city would be a good alternative. Turns out the tour's a sham. The driver didn't tell a single interesting story about the city or sights we drove by. I was actually falling asleep in my seat.

That night we went out to Temple Bar again and had a great time. There were definitely some wild people. We woke up the next morning in time to see the St. Patrick's Day Parade. On our walk to find the optimal parade viewing spot, we purchased obligatory, silly green hats. The parade itself was fun and definitely quite odd. We couldn't figure out what most of the themes of each group were supposed to be. Regardless, it was really cool to be part of the enormous crowd lining O'Connell street for St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, Ireland.

Dingle, Ireland

I'm telling you upfront that Dingle is my favorite place we have been to thus far. Yes, even more so than skiing the Alps or London or Amsterdam. Dingle is a small town in the southwest region of Ireland that has retained the Gaelic culture. So this is the real deal. Spencer (here for his Spring Break), Dan, and I made the best of Dingle in our short time there.

The harbor in Dingle

I knew I would love Ireland from the moment we landed in Kerry, forty five minutes from Dingle. The slogan "40 shades of green" is no joke. It's very green and very beautiful. On our taxi ride to Dingle, our driver told us about the area and filled us in on some history and culture. He also gave the two finger wave to everyone we drove by. If you have ever driven in West Texas, you should know exactly what I'm talking about. The friendliness of everyone in Dingle made me feel genuinely welcome to be there. The slow pace of life made the trip that much better. All in all, I felt relaxed and at home in this quaint old town and no other European city has made me feel that way.

When we arrived in town, we walked around a bit to scope things out. Among other stops was a craft guild that sold local products and a hardware store called Foxy Johns with a pub inside. What's wrong with sipping a local Crean's brew while browsing for power tools? Of the 52 registered establishments in Dingle, 35 are licensed to sell alcohol. That should help explain the slow way of life.

We took a nice walk from the Marina, out along the harbor, and up to the lighthouse that guides ships in from the Atlantic. It was absolutely beautiful on the rocks below the lighthouse where we just sat and stared. There was a dolphin swimming and birds were diving for fish. It was truly unbelievable. I actually feel like I could be writing fiction right now. On our walk, several storms blew through, each only for five minutes or so. Just another reminder of Texas and its unpredictable weather.

The Lighthouse

After checking into our lodging, we ate dinner at a local restaurant. Dingle is known for their fishing so we all ordered a fresh fish dish, straight from the docks. Afterward we enjoyed beer and conversation at a couple pubs, one of which had live local music.

The next day was a 26 mile bike ride around the peninsula Dingle is on. The ride follows the narrow Slea Head Drive out to Slead Head (the westernmost point in Europe and the closest we could get to Austin, Texas) and back around to Dingle. We made many stops along the way to soak in the sights. Among our stops was a beach where we played with a dog, some 4,000 year old buildings, some great lookouts, and a local pottery store. It was a long day that may or may not have included some uphill bike pushing for a particular unnamed member of our group. Cough Spencer Cough.

We recouped back in Dingle with some delicious ice cream. I chose to mix the Guinness and Bailey's ice creams at which point Dan blurted out that my ice cream was like an Irish Car Bomb. You have to assume that saying such things is sort of taboo while in Ireland.

Murphy's Ice Cream Shop

Our trip to Dingle came to an end sooner than I hoped for but it was time to drive over to Killarney, near the Ring of Kerry. The next day in Killarney, we took a few hikes in Ireland's largest national park. From there, we headed off to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day.

Everyone knows baby sheep are adorable

St. Anton - Austrian Alps

It's been forever since my last post and I need to fill you on our ski trip to Austria before I blog about last week's trip to Ireland. 

Going back awhile, late in February, we finished our Munich/Prague trip with a few days in the gorgeous Austrian Alps. Getting from Prague to the mountains turned out to be quite the adventure. It was actually fine and dandy until we arrived in a small town outside the resort where we planned on staying before our first day on the slopes. The directions we had to our hostel were completely off track. It was dark on arrival and long story short, a ten minute walk ended up being an hour walk or so. It was miserable. Cold. Dark. Lost. Heavy luggage. You get it. Finally, we found a generous soul to help us out. It was fortunate that she did because most people would not get out of their car at night in a deserted parking lot and talk to two strangers like Dan and me. Her husband drove us to our hostel and told us about his daughter who studies in Utah. Let me just say that their act of kindness restored a little faith in humanity.

 We were sort of delirious after 12 hours of travelling

 Dinner. Yes, dinner. We were in the middle of nowhere. 

Now to the good stuff, the skiing. St. Anton am Arlberg is a supposedly one of the best places to ski in the Alps and I now understand why. The place is absolutely amazing. Up above the clouds you can see for miles and miles. Bright blue skies, fresh powdery snow. Here's a picture that doesn't do it justice.

 

Three days of skiing in this weather was too good to be true. At St. Anton there is lots of skiing 'off-piste' which is basically an avalanche-free area that is not groomed. Thicker snow and tougher skiing was a thrill. It really put my average skills to the test. I noticed that on the tougher trails, everyone was very conscientious about keeping the runs free of traffic. Periodically down each run, people would stop and wait for it clear out. This kept things safe and more enjoyable than what I expected. 

If you haven't been here, St. Anton is worthy of your bucket list. 

 Obligatory Texas Flag pic

Prague

After a long bus ride from Munich, we made it to Prague. It was clear from the old communist zone we went through first that Prague would be a little unlike any other city we've visited. From the bus station we took a short bus ride to the Charles Bridge and our hostel. I think this was the nicest, most friendly hostel we've been to. The cup of tea during check-in might have sold me. After settling in and orienting ourselves to a new city, we took off to explore.

The Charles Bridge was literally outside our window. There is a long story about the bridge that is pretty interesting but what you need to know is that the view from this pedestrian bridge is very nice. Actually, if you've seen Vin Diesel's XXX, you have seen this bridge. From there we grabbed a snack in the main square before heading north to explore the Jewish quarter. (Side note: the first cafe we walked into was full of cigarette smoke. We couldn't believe that they still allow smoking inside in Prague. Sorta bizarre, huh?)

 Charles Bridge at night

The Jewish Quarter is the home to a handful of  beautiful old synagogues and important Jewish sites. We made the decision to explore the Spanish Synagogue. The Moorish architecture was complete inside with gorgeous gold engravings. It was getting late by then so we headed back to the hostel for a free walking tour.

Spanish Synagogue

Our friendly hostel receptionist led the tour. She told us interesting stories about one of the Charles Bridge statues, the extravagant National Theatre,  the Lennon Wall and a spot where part of Mission Impossible was filmed. Afterward we got a great recommendation for a nearby restaurant with excellent goulash. This dish is a Czech staple sort of like soup with tender beef. It's served with their version of dumplings which are really more like moist bread. That night we met some students from Vienna. Most notable was this German kid who wanted to know if we thought the German language sounds angry. The ensuing conversation was pretty comical.

Lennon Wall

We started off the morning on Tuesday by taking the tram up Petrin Hill to the look out tower. It was a very snowy, windy day so visibility wasn't exactly stellar. Actually, we couldn't see a thing. Supposedly the tower is their version of the Eiffel Tower and the city takes great pride in having such a structure. Having seen the Eiffel tower, I think they could have done better but who's judging? The Prague Castle, which is enormous and easily the best site to look at, was our next stop. We made our way through a couple exhibits about the story of Prague and then checked out the intricate St. Vitus Cathedral.

Prague Castle entrance

We spent our final afternoon exploring Wenceslas Square on the other side of town and making arrangements to travel to St. Anton the next day. We actually had other plans but we lost our map and when we finally made it to this church famous for a WWII spy story, we realized it was closed for the day. It just wasn't meant to be I suppose. Overall, Prague was a nice city to visit with hearty food perfect for cold snowy days.