Mi aventura española!

“Hopping on the bus is an exercise of liberty.” –AV

So this blog is called Kyle’s European Travels, thus this weekend, I stayed true to the title and the purpose of being in Europe, I continued exploring and hopped on the bus to go to none other than Barcelona, Spain. As the capital of Catalonia, it is Spain’s second largest city with two official languages: Catalan and Spanish. Do I speak either of these? No, I do not. This adventure was something else; it was the first time I felt like a foreigner in Europe. Thankfully, I took one year of Spanish in high school, and somehow all of my vocabulary came back to me. I survived using these simple words/expressions: “Sí, no, Me gustaria..., Donde estan los baños?/ Una cerbeza por favor/ Muchas gracias, zumo de naranja.” I was very proud of myself; going to Spain proved to me that Germany will (hopefully) be a piece of cake. I hopped on the bus Friday afternoon, and after crossing the Pyrénées (the first snow-capped mountains I’ve ever seen, by the way) and a seven hour drive, I was dropped off in the middle of the hustling and bustling of the Spanish/Catalonia city at night. Now, this may be hard for some of you to understand, but instincts are amazing. For example, back home, I am terrible with directions (or at least, I use to be), after three hours in Barcelona, looking at the map, memorizing landmarks, I knew the city. You can ask me where something is today, and I bet I could tell you how to get there from my hostel. I knew that I could not get lost (because I didn’t have the ability to ask someone where I was, or how to find a certain place). My instincts kicked in and I had the city memorized in no more than three hours of being there, I was quite impressed. That’s the power of instinct for you. Saturday was my day of exploring. Did I ride a bike? No. Did I take the metro? No. Did I take a bus? Are you kidding? Did I walk? You bet your companion lost in France I did. I walked all over this city. I saw everything one could in Barcelona. I started at eight in the morning and walked all day with nothing but my shoulder bag, two cameras, and a curiosity to see what Spain had to offer me. I toured the Sagrada Familia, a huge testament to modern art, to the Spanish religiosity, and to nature. The cathedral seems to be growing out of the ground. It’s a piece of organic art that is completely unlike anything I have ever seen. Every brick, every door, window, etc., had been designed by a Catalonian architect named Antonio Gaudí. His presence in Barcelona is everywhere. It almost seems that he designed the entire city. The architecture in Barcelona is quite stunning and bizarre at the same time. You’re constantly turning your head and saying, really? I also went to an awesome garden called Parc Güell, which as far as I know, was at one time Gaudí’s residence. The garden is stunning, and it’s on the side of a mountain, even better. It offers spectacular views of the city, and the sea. It’s worth the entire trip. It’s very tropical as well: palm trees, orange trees, cactus, lilac, etc. There’s such a huge diversity of vegetation. Of course, after walking all day long, I found my way to the beach. The Mediterranean is simply amazing, and the coldest, yet clearest water. I fell asleep on the sand and woke up with my face on fire. I have a raccoon face now because I left my sunglasses on, mais c’est la vie, n’est-ce pas? Anyway, here’s a healthy round of pictures from my adventure in Barcelona. I hope you guys enjoy them, and as always, stay tuned because I am doing a lot of traveling this week and weekend to come. It’s an awesome dream, and we still have plenty of time until we wake up :) À bientôt!

Over the Rhone and through the woods...

"Thou Royal River, born of sun and shower
In chambers purple with the Alpine glow,
Wrapped in the spotless ermine of the snow
And rocked by tempests!"
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, To the Rhone River

Yesterday I found my escape from the bustling city by discovering (what I believe to be) the only free thing in France. Can you guess what it is? A ferry across the river (the Rhone) to Ile de la Barthelasse! This was an amazing time; the sun was shining, fresh air hitting my hair, and I was finally somewhere where there was grass! In the city, and pretty much everywhere, there is no grass; everything is stone. The streets, the stores, the homes, the sidewalk, you name it. Stone. So, I finally got to connect with nature and escape the hustle and bustle of the city.
The island is huge. Much bigger than I previously thought. There were acres and acres of vineyards, farms, orchards, and beautiful homes (I thought I accidentally stumbled upon Johnny Depp's chateau). There was hardly anyone around; a bicyclist here and there, cars passing occasionally, or a walker like me enjoying the views, basking in the soothing scent of lilac and thym, etc. Needless to say, I loved this place, and I thought it was worth mentioning on the blog and bringing you all here as well.
Next week, I'm renting a bicycle, coming back to the island and enjoying a picnic. For now, I hope you guys enjoy the pictures and stay tuned (as always).

Your traveling companion,

The guy lost in France

Aix en Provence

Bonjour à tous ! I hope you all are doing well and enjoying springtime in the states. This week in France the weather hasn’t been all that well (kind of cold, the Mistral kicked in, a little rain here and there); however, today it’s a small turning point, the sun is coming back out and next week it’s hello again to eighty degree weather. Yesterday I went to Aix-en-Provence (called “X” by the locals) with my host family. X is a big college town with little to see, except for their awesome, gothic cathedral. The people are “très chic”, and I felt underdressed. Everything, like everything else in France, was very expensive. I survived off a bar of chocolate (2€) and a baguette (yum! 0.85€). Anyway, not too much to say about this place; except for the “grand debate” surrounding it, lol. Politics in Europe, I have learned, are geographical. If you want to start a huge debate, just ask if X is the suburbs of Marseille—people from Marseille say yes, people from X will smack you for even asking the question. Paris is a problem child. Paris is actually “France”, everything outside of Paris (i.e. Marseille, Avignon, Nice, Lyon, etc.) is called “province” (not to be confused with the region I live in called “Provence”). I spoke with a Marseillaise (person from Marseille), and he told me that people from Marseille are Marseillaise first, citizens of France second, and citizens of the world third. People have a strong connection with the region they inhabit. Somewhat like Buckeyes versus Wolverines (the difference is the Buckeyes and Wolverines buy products from their state, not from other states; but, the Buckeyes think it’s important to contribute to the well being of the Wolverines vis-a-vis taxes to help support a healthcare system, universal education, and vice versa. So, at the same time, despite one’s pride and loyalty to their region, there’s a huge sense of fraternity and equality in France, one that I wish existed in the States as well). At the same time, France (like any country) cannot escape globalization, but they’re not going to let the market dictate the lives of their workers. If they did, then I suppose the French would do what they do best, revolt. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pics. Tomorrow, it’s off to somewhere else (there’s always an adventure waiting for me in France, it’s really nice). Next week, I’m going to a surprise location (so, you’ll definitely have to stay tuned). And, as always, please leave comments/questions on the blog (I love hearing from you guys) and have a great weekend!

Île-sur-la-sorgue and Arles

Two things. First, I love France (that's a given). Second, one of the reasons, rail system. I do not understand (neither does my host mom) why the U.S. (one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world) has not caught up with the rest of the first world and invested in a rail system. Yesterday, I was able to hop on the train and visit two cities for less than 7 euro (round trip, mind you). The trains are nice, fast, and very convenient. Why haven't we done this? Anyway, I went to Ile-sur-la-sorgue and Arles.

Île-sur-la-sorgue

This tiny village is often referred to as the "Venice of Provence" because, after all, it's an island on the Sorgue river. Everywhere you turn there are bridges, antique shops, bakeries, etc. Also, notice how clear the water is; it's refreshing to be somewhere and not see cigarette buts, paper, and trash all over the place. Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be there on a market day. Hundreds of locals were making their way down the street stopping here or there browsing, chatting with the vendor, or once tired, reposing in the garden watching the ducks and pigeons. The town is very relaxing; however, you can see the entire place in two hours (if you walk fast like me). So, needless to say, I got kind of bored here. It would be nice if I had the money to buy that antique dish set worth 1000 euro (probably once belonged to one of the Bourbons), but nevertheless, I'm not that bourgeois. Also, the main church that the village is known for was closed because of Easter Monday (lundi Pacques in French). Zut!

Arles

Arles is an interesting, big town. It was once a key port city during the reign of Julius Caesar because it was the first place to have a bridge over the Rhone river. It was also a place that helped Julius Caesar defeat Marseille; thus, everywhere you turn there's some Roman ruins. Also, this is the town where Van Gogh painted with Paul Gauguin's company, and where he (Van Gogh) left part of his ear to a prostitute. In the town there's a huge Colosseum, a couple of Roman amphitheaters, and a stunning cathedral. However, while I was there the Corrida (festival of the bull fight) was in full swing. I didn't get to watch the bull fight because I arrived too late, but I did get to try to navigate my way through the huge crowds of people (thousands of people, mind you). I stayed here for maybe three hours and called it a day. It's not fun in my opinion to be crammed in small alleyways with hundreds of people (plus pickpockets). So, I plan to return to Arles another time to explore the area more intimately.

Have a good week everyone, and as always, stay tuned. -Kyle

Les Baux de Provence

Avignon dropped to number 3 on my favorite places in France...Les Baux de Provence took number 2. Stunning views of the French Alps, a medieval castle, stone village, and fields upon fields of vineyards, this place is a "must see" and a Francophile's dream come true. So far, I have had an excellent Easter weekend. I hit it off going to Les Baux. Les Baux de Provence is about an hour away from Avignon, near Camargue, and I went with the study abroad group in a bus. However, when we arrived, everyone went her or his separate ways to explore the town independently. I arrived and immediately went straight through the town and ascended the mountain to tour the castle ruins (my logic was to save the town for the descent; mountain views always come first). I have hundreds of photos; everywhere I turned, there was an opportunity for a photo. This place was just awesome. I watched, also, a demonstration of how a catapult works (and yes, they were real catapults, and they launched well). After spending a couple hours on top of the world, I went into the tiny village to mingle around and buy myself (very French, I know) a crepe. I snuck into an old church, walked down little, hidden alleyways on the cobblestone roads, and of course peeked around in the shops. Leaving Les Baux was difficult, but our program director said he had a surprise for us. All I'm going to say, was the place we went to completely sealed the deal for me--I'm kidnapping my family (is that possible?) and relocated them to France. After all, why decline mandatory vacations and free healthcare? Politics aside, I'm leaving this place a secret/surprise until I return to show you the videos and photos. It was absolutely stunning... After [INSERT SECRET LOCATION NAME], we went to a vineyard in Van du Gard (this also sealed the deal). "superb" is a word that could not serve the wine justice. FYI, in the U.S., I believe I read somewhere that the average percentage of alcohol per volume in wine is between 9-14%. In France, from what I've seen, it ranges from 14-17% (depending on how aged/the region/the vine/etc.). The vineyard was absolutely stunning; however, the grapes are only just starting to grow, so they're kind of bare right now (but still they adorn the fields wonderfully). Tomorrow, I'm going to dive into the violent side of France and go to a bull fight in Arles (this shall be interesting). And in two weeks, I'm going to a surprise location (hint: it's out of the country; that is, France). I miss all of you; stay tuned. Ciao!