Sunday, August 26, 2012

It's a long story...no seriously. It's a LONG story...

Barcelona, Spain
October 2011


 I woke up around 8, Mary had already woken up and was halfway through getting ready. My foot was still hurting and it wasn't like we got a lot of sleep that night since we got to the hostel really early in the morning. I think we only slept for 6 hours. Either way, I decided I was going to limp around for the day. We found a pamphlet about a free walking tour around the "Old City" of Barcelona. Jeff, Mary and I booked it to Plaza Reial where the tour people would meet. Because of construction it took us a while before we got to the metro. Writing this very much in retrospect, I can say I do appreciate the greater amounts of metro stops there are in Paris, though I still think that Barcelona has one of the best metros that I've been on. The cleanliness and modernness really stack up some points. Anyways, back to the tour. Jeff, Mary and I and another handful of people were led by this very lively, middle-aged Spanish man to explore the Gothic Quarter, the old Jewish Quarter and some government buildings, churches, etc. The history in Barcelona is so rich and fascinating and it was great learning it from an energetic and charming tour guide, who at the end offered tips and recommendations for places to eat at, since by the end it was lunch time, and the three of use were quite ready to have our first Spanish meal.
Plaza Reial















We walked to a resto called "El Foro"; it was a beautiful and sunny day by the way. After we were seated and given our menus, we were crestfallen to see that everything was in Catalan! The local language of Catalunia in Spain. It took us nearly 10 mins to semi-decipher the menu, but when we began to order, rather hesitantly, the waiter quite politely took my menu and flipped it over to the Spanish side. We were all really, really embarraased by this and laughed at ourselves. We re-evaluated and corrected our orders. I had a green broccoli soup which was creamy and tastey! Afterwards I ate black pasta that had shrip and mussels which was delicious! Lastly for dinner (yes, we hadn't even had the main course yet!) I had the Spanish version of duck a l'orange; and since lunch is the biggest meal like in France, we also had dessert. Sadly I made a poor selection and basically got chocolate pudding. I don't remember what Mary got, but I remember it was fabulous!
After flagging down the waiter to finally bring the check (which took abnormally long), we went to find the beach! We wandered for a while but soon started heading the right way. At one point we could see the Marina and Mary and I got really, really excited! I cried out "I CAN SEE THE BEACH!" and this Indian man with his son next to me said calmly "I see it too..." We spoke as we all made out way and he was a tourist too (go figure) and used to live in WINNIPEG! Score one for me and the Peg! HA!
After getting half wet in the Mediterranean Ocean (well...Mary and I did, Jeff barely got his toes wet, lol) that was when we went looking for a convenient store to purchase some necessities, like shavers for Jeff, and shampoo for those of us whose original bottles were thrown out by security at the airport in Beauvais. While at this convenience store, a Polish woman who spoke English (who was also clearly a tourist), came to me and asked about some laundry detergent. Guess what? She used to live in Winnipeg too!!! 2 Points!
 We didn't really know how we got to the convenience store, and didn't really know how to get back to where we were on the beach, where we knew there was a place to eat called "Las Migas" which we hoped to reach for supper. Before trying to find Las Migas, we visited Plaza Catulunya which was gorgeous with many fountains and surrounded by a more modern Barcelona.
As we passed the Museum of Catelunia, my foot was hurting really, really, really bad and it felt easier and better to run, so I did. I ran for a good 150m then stopped so Jeff and Mary could catch up. Once they were within 30 ft or so from me, I began to limp slowly forward along the Marina. It was night time and there weren't many lights in this area. 5 mins passed by when I finally got fed up with Jeff and Mary for not catching up yet. I turn around and with horror couldn't see them anywhere, not even at the corner of the Museum where the Marina began. I hobbled back and forth not understanding how in the world we got separated. Of course I forgot that I had turned my phone off because the battery was almost dead, so I couldn't receive Jeff's calls. I was near tears and played all kinds of scenarios in my head when finally, on my 2nd hobble back to the Museum I saw them. They had been just as scared as I was and as soon as we were close to each other we threw our arms around each other and didn't let go for a while, overcome with relief and promising each other to never, ever let something like that again.
Near where I got lost.

By the time we got to Las Migas, it was closed, as most things were by that time. We passed many restaurants on our way to a metro stop, but we never went in any of them. One plate of lobster at one of them cost a mere 97 euros...We hopped on the metro back to our hostel. Near it we found a diner that was open and serving tapas. I ordered meatballs and it was cheap in every respect.After our assez-filling dinner we got back to the hostel to discover that 3 of our roommates in our 8-bed room were French. Moreover, one girl named Cloé Pierzo was studying in Beauvais! Of all places!!! We chatted for a while then they went out, while we were physically and mentally drained. It must have been around midnight that we all got tucked in and fell asleep.


- Fin-


Day Trip to Paris

Paris is always an adventure, and no two days are ever the same.

My day trip to Paris on Jan 27th was no different, and in a word, amazing! The day started off perfect with the promise of sunshine for the day. Mary and I took the 11:37 train, it was a Friday and I had the day off while Mary had one morning class. I, inspired to be more French-like, bought a baguette and croissant amandes (croissant with almond paste inside, to DIE for!) for the journey. While heading towards Paris we came up with a list of things to see and do.
A building that reminded us of Barcelona.
Our first stop was Montparnasse to do a little shopping, and to see the roof-top garden over the Montparnasse train station. We went into a handful of stores, H&M being the main one we were trying to get to. Sadly I didn't have a great shopping day, but considering how much I had already spent (Soldes were still going on --a nation wide winter sale), I was perfectly happy with one purchase I made that day: a black beret that cost me under 7 Euros from UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON. Mary was finally able to get some new pants and also 2 tops. We spent a little more time shopping than planned (we girls are infamous for that after all...) but when we were done we went in search of the roof-top garden of Gare Montparnasse.
The way to get to the Jardin Atlantique is by an elevator that goes up a floor. The elevator had, however, a very misleading button which pointed down instead of up and it confused Mary and I for a while. Winter is not the best time to go see gardens, though there were some plants and flowers, most had died and been pulled out or trimmed away. But it was still really cool and we spent an hour there exploring it and imagining how much more awesome it would be in the spring or summer time.
This is a shot from when we arrived at the Eiffle Tower while it sparkled
We left hoping to catch the sunset while at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and while heading towards a metro stop we decided to get some Vin Chaud. It was by far the largest cup of vin chaud we had ever seen! It was quite yummy and we were quite rosey-cheeked and cheerful afterwards. As we got close to La Tour we knew we would miss seeing the sunset from the top, but were pleased to see it sparkling upon our arrival. It was the closet I had been to the Eiffel Tower while it sparkled. Once the sparkling was over we got in line with the rest of the tourists. Sadly, after at least half an hour in line we noticed a sign about the very top of the tower being under construction, therefore closed. We were quite déçu :(
A bakery that looked straight out of a fairy tale book.
So we decided that we should find a place to eat dinner at a peaceful pace in order to catch the last train back to Beauvais. My bladder was about to burst so after crossing part of les Champs de Mars, I hopped into a resto to use the washroom. When I came back out Mary had her map laid out, trying to see if we were close to (what we fondly call) Neily's Moroccain resto. Then something extraordinary happened...
I walked over to Mary and at the same moment an older french gentleman was walking by and glanced over at us. He noticed Mary, myself and the map. Being close to the Eiffel Tower made it all the more obvious we were not locals. He immediately asked if we were lost, we assured him we weren't and were simply looking for a place to eat. He began telling us how we shouldn't eat in that area because all the restaurants were unnecessarily expensive and that he could suggest some places to eat that were not too far. This man spoke to us entirely in French when he realized we could understand. He had a grocery bag with a baguette sticking out (a demi-baguette actually) and a hat, so french! He explained how to get to le Café du Marché then asked where we were from. He had traveled through Canada (''C'est un pays pour les jeunes'' he said) and when Mary said she was from NY he began speaking in English howhe had worked in New York for many years when he was younger. After recapping the directions towards the restaurant, we parted ways. It was a shame we never caught his name, because it was thanks to him that we discovered a wonderfully affordable and delicious little resto where we enjoyed a very lovely dinner indeed.
Sadly we did not have time for dessert as we had to get back to Gare du Nord to catch the train. The trip back home involved some reminicing of the day and both Mary and I agreed that we had experienced, yet another, magical day in Paris.

~ Cheers!