Day 9: Walking Around

The post title is a reference to a Neruda poem. For no particular reason. Although we did walk a lot today haha.

In the, it took us a while to get ready because we had to wait for showers to open up at our hostel. But then we left around 11 to go to Casa Milà, aka La Pedrera. There was a bit of a line for tickets, but it wasn't too bad. We then were able to tour the apartment and the roof. I personally LOVE Gaudí, so I was super excited! Unfortunately, I think my expectations were too high because I thought it was neat, but not as good as impressive as I expected. Planning on heading to Casa Batlló tomorrow or the next day, to check that out too. That one is supposedly more interesting/prettier, although La Pedrera is more famous. (We tried to go today, but they closed early for an event :( )

Afterwards, we had to make it back in to the hostel to meet up with Stephanie's friend Wesley, who is joining us for Barcelona and Nice. It's awesome, because now with 3 of us, Wesley and I can make fun of Stephanie ;D

We then walked over to the Sagrada Familia, a cathedral that is Gaudí's most famous creation and also an unfinished work (it's still under construction; they have scaffolding and construction cranes surrounding the church). We had to wait in line for this as well, but it was SO worth it. The cathedral is super tall, and the inside is so unique! And the stained glass windows are beautiful! This was definitely my favorite part of Barcelona so far!

Beautiful!

Look at that Stained Glass! <3

Afterwards, we walked to Las Ramblas, which is a busy touristy street, but it also had an outdoor market that sold tons of fresh fruits and other sweets and treats (as well as a seafood section). But we were about to eat dinner so we couldn't try anything: will be back tomorrow!

Fruits! (And juices)

For dinner, we went to this little restaurant that Stephanie found called Cera 23. And apparently the girl working at the hostel also knew about it, because she was friends with the owners! (What a small world! haha) We were a little worried we wouldn't be able to get a table w/o a reservation, so we went right when they opened. We were able to be seated, as long as we didn't take longer than 1.5 hours, because that was when the table was booked. (Apparently people eat long dinners here, 2 hours being pretty typical) The restaurant was really artsy/boho, and everyone there was super nice! (One of the waiters was super cute too!) We ordered their specialty drinks, which were blackberry mojitos (YUM), and then seafood dishes for dinner. They also gave us free shots of orange liquer! Definitely a fun dining experience!

Blackberry Mojito! And the bar at Cera 23 (look at those bunches of mint!)

Afterwards, we stopped at a Carrefour to buy water and KINDER before taking the metro home. Going out tonight, so we'll see how that goes!

Day 8: On the hunt for paella!

We're now in Barcelona! Took a high-speed train from Madrid this afternoon, and arrived tonight. And the first thing we do is go find somewhere we can eat some paella! But first, starting from the beginning.

This morning, we checked out of our hotel before noon, then headed to the "Museo del jamón" for some bocadillos for lunch. The bocadillos were literally just a french roll with a few slices of ham or cheese (your choice) in between, but they were only a euro! The ham was too salty for me though... =\ They also had croissants (instead of french rolls), which Stephanie got! We ate them on our way to the Prado, which was a pretty short walk. The coolest thing about Madrid's art museums is that students under 25 get in for free!  Which is good, because we actually didn't even spend all that much time in there haha.

The only paintings I was really there to see were El Greco, Goya, and the obligatory Las Meninas by Velazquez. Also found out they had Bosch's Earthly Delights, which was pretty neat! But honestly, I didn't have that much interest in the rest of the museum, and both me and Stephanie felt pretty bored with the rest of the artwork. So, instead we left early so that she could find somewhere to buy stamps and mail her postcard.

Bosch at the Prado

Churro relleno

On our way to the train station, we ended up buying more churros (this time, sugar-crusted AND filled)! Then it was bye-bye Madrid, and on to Barcelona! One big difference: Barcelona is MUCH more humid than Madrid! (Or maybe it just felt muggy because it was about to rain) But our hostel is located in the Grácia neighborhood, which is pretty diverse and has an artsy-bohemian vibe. We then immediately went out to find somewhere we could try paella! We ordered a seafood paella, which was HUGE, and had giant shrimps/crayfish on top! It was pretty tasty though, and left us full and happy. And Stephanie got Catalán Creme for dessert, which is basically creme brulee haha.

Seafood Paella (I dunno why my phone made it look so yellow... it was definitely more red)

Day 7: Churros Churros Churros!

Taking it easy today in Madrid, since we had a super early start to our day. Our night train arrived at Chamartín station around 9AM (and that was after being delayed haha), and we took another train to the Puerta del Sol. After checking into our hostel and showering, we went to San Ginés for CHURROS + HOT CHOCOLATE! The churros were super thin, and very fried, but delish! They weren't the cinnamon-sugar kind from Costco though. Rather, you can sprinkle powdered sugar on top, and then dip em into your hot chocolate! We shared the regular churros, and then also got 2 porras, which are bigger churros that look (and taste) like 油条！Mmmmmm.

Chocolate con 6 churros

Then we met up with Katrina and Helen, who were also in Madrid, and we walked over to the Reina Sofia! They had a Dalí special exhibit which was really neat (but Stephanie didn't like it haha), but the rest of the museum was just okay. Other than Guernica, and a couple other Picassos and Mirós, I didn't really find that many pieces that I knew/liked... But we'll be going to the Prado tomorrow!

After the museum, we went to a nearby restaurant for tapas, and we ordered a sampler of tostas! (Just different things on little pieces of toast, and one thing of fried mashed potato/ham) They were all pretty good, except for one that had a slice of foie gras on it. Only because I hate foie gras. Afterwards, we were pretty tired, so we decided to head back to our hotel for a siesta. And on the way, we stopped by a market and bought fruit! (Omg it's so much cheaper here than in Paris) And Stephanie bought a huge slice of watermelon!! (Which was actually pretty difficult to eat. Especially since all we had to eat with was a tiny plastic fork haha)

Cherry Tomatoes! (They were only $1!)

Later on in the day, we met up with Katrina and Helen again and walked to the Palacio Real, and then headed to the Parque del Oeste to catch the Egyptian temple at sunset. Unfortunately, today was pretty cold! It was really windy, but we did have a really nice view of the city! (And even though downtown Madrid is very walkable, the city itself is HUGE! It's the 3rd largest city in Europe!) We waited until sunset, but it was kind of cloudy so not as pretty as we expected... >.< At least people watching was fun! One thing we noticed: there are hella couples that come to the park, and Spanish couples engage in so much PDA!

Next we headed back to the city center to visit the Plaza Mayor at night. Unfortunately, it wasn't that great. It wasn't very lit up (all the night pictures showed so many more lights!) and there weren't any activities going on in the plaza. So disappointing... On the way home, we tried another churro place, which actually had just closed, so all they could do was give us some to-go. So we finished our day sitting by the fountain in Puerta del Sol eating churros + hot chocolate. ^_^

Woops, forgot to take photos on my phone today so this post is kinda sparse.... Also, I am having TV withdrawals, but our wifi is always too weak to stream things >.<

Day 6: From the Bottom Looking Up

We are now in Madrid! Just survived my first overnight train in Europe! Our compartment was pretty cramped, but we pretty much just slept as soon as the train got going, so it wasn't too bad. Woke up once around 1AM, then slept til morning. Unfortunately, the train was late getting to the station, so had I known that I would have slept longer... >.<

Yesterday we took a day trip to Sintra, a region to the NW of Lisbon. The train ride was about 40 min, and Steph and I both fell asleep on the way there/back. Guess that's what traveling does to you... haha. The historic part of Sintra is super cute, with cobblestone roads and brightly colored houses. We first took a bus up to the Pena Palace, which the Portuguese royal family inhabited for a time. It's high up on a hill, and the bus ride up was pretty wild. The road was zigzagging all the way up, and we could feel the bus lurch at every turn! Pena Palace itself is situated inside a park that the national government constructed by bringing in exotic vegetation to complement the native foliage. However, we didn't have that much time so we really just explored the castle (that in itself took up 1-2 hours haha). As you can see, the castle's architecture is pretty unique, and it's so colorful! And from the terraces, you have amazing views of the surrounding area. You can even see the beach of Cascais!

Pena Palace! It's kind of dark because the sun wasn't out :(

You can see the Moorish castle on the small hill!

Afterwards, we explored the Quinta da Regaleira. It was a private estate, and home to the Initiation Well, supposedly used by the knights templar. There are also underground tunnels that run beneath the estate, one of which is at the bottom of the well. Doesn't the well remind you of the hole Batman gets imprisoned in in the movie?

Initiation Well: There are steps/arches that spiral to the top!

By the time we made it back to Lisbon, we were so tired we just ate at one of those tourist trap restaurants by the station, because it was convenient and we wanted to try a traditional Portuguese dish. Then we picked up our luggage at the hostel and were off to the train station! Looking back, I wish we had another day in Lisbon so we could make a trip to Cascais (beach) and have more time to explore Sintra, but I really enjoyed the city and plan to come back some day!

Day 5: SO Many Hills....

Shoot, this is gonna be hard to keep up with every single day, especially because our trends is now more of a "get back late, sleep even later, and wake up late" routine.... >.< Recapping yesterday this morning while I wait for Stephanie to get up!

In the morning, we made our way to Orly airport to catch our budget flight on Transavia from Paris to Lisbon! Unfortunately, their baggage check-in was down, so we ended up wasting like half an hour just waiting in line watching them try and fix it before it was up and running again... I think that's also what caused the boarding time to be pushed back, and the flight to get delayed :( Also, apparently they aren't very strict on the carry-on bag policy, because there were tons of people who had oversized bags and/or overweight bags! (Even though their rules limit the carry-ons a lot)

The airplane seats were green and non very comfy >.<

Once out of the airport, we took the metro to the city, and then tried to walk to our hostel. Unbeknownst to us, the route we had mapped actually involved walking up a HUGE hill. Like it was literally the same route used by a funicular! Wooooops haha. (Portugal's super hilly, like worse than SF) But once up to the hostel, it had a really nice view of the city! And the city has a bunch of stairs and elevators for getting up to the different neighborhoods like this.

Lots of street art everywhere!

By the time we had settled down and unpacked, it was already past 5PM! Manny, the owner of the hostel, was super nice and showed us where all the attractions were on a map, and then we were off to Belém, a town just west of the city center. There we got their famous Portuguese custard tarts, visited the Jerónimos Monastery, Monument to the Discoveries, and Belém Tower. And on the way, we passed by a bridge that looked like the Golden Gate!

Monument and bridge!

Apparently they also had a Japanese festival there. They were like playing J-pop and dancing on stage...

We thought we could make it back to the city before sunset, but definitely underestimated how much time it would take in Belém. It was dark by the time we got back, and we ended up eating dinner at 10:30PM at the hostel restaurant, Decadente. The restaurant was pretty nice, and dinner ended up lasting 2 hours! And for dessert we ordered a glass of Moscatel, which I thought would be like Moscato, but was actually a wine that tasted like sweet liquer. We were soo confused haha, but it was yummy!

This being my first time staying at a hostel, I didn't really known what to expect, but everyone was super nice, the beds were comfy (although I was on the top of a TRIPLE bunk bed), and the bathrooms/showers were fine. Hoping the rest of our hostel experiences are on par with this one!

Day 4: EAT ALL THE MACARONS!

Today was tiring. And we didn't even do that much. I think it was the walking. My feet hurt by the end of the day from walking so much. :(

Luxembourg Gardens in the morning to see the Medici Fountain, then picked up chocolate croissants (pain au chocolat) at a French bakery to eat while walking over to Notre Dame. Omg french croissants are SO good. You can literally taste a difference: American ones are dense or flaky, but Parisian ones are FLUFFY. Like, the layers are marshmallow-y! (But they don't taste like marshmallow of course) We will try to pick more up tomorrow morning before we go to the airport!

 More love locks! This time the bridge was FULL of them!

Notre Dame was impressive, as always. The sheer height of the building is just amazing. And it's the one cathedral that I feel looks 10x better from the outside than from the inside haha. Next, we headed over to Ile-St-Louis to get ice cream from Berthillon Glacier! It was a cute shop, with SO many flavors, but they didn't let us sample!! :( Stephanie got the Earl Grey, and I got Raspberry and Vine Peach. The earl grey tasted creamier than the Ici version, and the sorbets also tasted heavier than quality sorbets from Berkeley. It's supposed to be the best ice cream in the city, but I dunno, I still prefer ice cream from Ici. <3

My Raspberry and Peach sorbets! (The scoops were pretty small too >.< )

Next we headed over to the Champs-Elysees to hit up Ladurée for their famous macarons! Omg they have SO many flavors, and an assortment of other beautifully crafted pastries. And of course, there was a line just to buy them, with about 6 different attendants filling orders. I have to say, these macarons met my expectations! Crisp shell and moist middle, but the best (and most unique) part was that they actually have crushed almonds baked into the cookies! And I love almonds <3 At 3 for 5.55 euros, they were actually cheaper than I expected haha. Definitely recommend going there to try them! It's a shame Paris isn't my last stop, otherwise I would totally bring a box home :(

Those black ones? Those are licorice! wtf?!

Afterwards, we walked down the rest of Champs-Elysees, and feeling sufficiently tired, decided to skip the Louvre (blasphemy! I know!) in favor of trying to find a bakery to buy bread and a shop to buy cheese. However, our plans were cut short because Stephanie got her phone stolen while we were waiting at a stoplight :( The thief literally grabbed it out of her hand, and I totally didn't realize until I heard her shout and run off in pursuit >.< That put a damper on our day, but we still ended up going to a creperie for dinner! A cute little restaurant called Little Breizh, run by 3 young Parisians. The savory crepes were delicious (though surprisingly heavy, probably because they had bacon and cheese haha) and left us very full and satisfied. They also look and taste very different from anything I've had in the US! The crepe is super thin, almost crunchy, and folded like a galette. Afterwards, it was a long walk home and finally time for rest!

Day 3: The City of Lights

Wheee we're in Paris!! And my oh my is the Eiffel Tower impressive at night. As cliched a sight as it is, it is SO worth going to see at night. Too bad it doesn't get dark til like 10:30PM right now... haha. But it worked out well for us, because we ended up getting a late dinner. Ok, back to the start.

No explanation necessary. Just <3

We arrived in Paris around 2:30, via the Thalys train from Belgium. It was super fast, and zipped through the beautiful green countryside! Unfortunately, it was sprinkling when we got into the station, and stupidly, I had packed my umbrella snug inside my carry-on suitcase. So we had to walk in the rain for like half a mile to get to our hotel. ick. Bad start to our stay. Fortunately, the hotel was pretty nice (despite being budget) and had free wifi YAY.

We then left armed with umbrella in hand, and rode the subway to the Louvre, where we snapped some pictures in the dreary wind/rain, and then made our way to Angelina for some delicious hot chocolate! This tea room has been around for ages, and was apparently frequented by the French aristocracy and the likes of Coco Chanel back in the day. Now it serves pricy but scrumptious hot chocolate, and their specialty dessert the Mont Blanc, a sweet chestnut cake. (Look familiar Monica?!?!) Stephanie and I shared a hot chocolate and Mont Blanc, and oh my god were we filled up on sweets. It was a struggle just to finish them because they were so sweet! Not to say they weren't delicious and special, but just too much sweetness at once, I think. Sigh, and I thought I had a huge sweet tooth... >.< Nevertheless, couldn't leave without also buying a few macarons for later!

Angelina's famous Mont Blanc

Afterwards we headed over to the Musee D'Orsay, my FAVORITE museum in Paris! It's worth a visit every time, just to see all the Impressionist pieces. And if you're like Stephanie, it's worth it just to see the giant ornate clock. ;D Of course I love the Monets, but my other personal favorites are the pieces by Cezanne and Renoir. Nooooo as I type this, I just realized that since we left early without seeing a lot of the other collections, I totally forgot to stop by the Seurat paintings.... T___T

You can see Sacré-Coeur from here!

By the time we left it was already almost 9PM, so we quickly headed over to dinner, passing by the School of Fine Arts and various bridges with love locks on them. Unfortunately the restaurant we had planned on going to had already closed their kitchen, but we were instead able to stumble upon another well-rated bar/restaurant with a very friendly owner/waiter. So far, I've only had pleasant experiences with the French! (Except a drunk guy on the subway who almost fell onto me twice before his friends grabbed him, haha) So far so good, and can't wait til tomorrow! Goodnight zzzzzz