Semana Santa en Niza, Barcelona y Madrid

WEDNESDAY:
After sleeping in, I was in disbelief that I would be leaving for France later that day.  I ate breakfast while talking with Delia and José, and teaching them a few things in English.  Delia seemed happy and told me about her plans to take driving classes.  I had previously told her about my favorite food: spaghetti with marinara sauce.  She hadn't heard of marinara sauce before, so I had trouble explaining it.  However, Aja had secretly given her a recipe, and Delia was preparing it for my going-away meal--what a wonderful surprise!  And it smelled wonderful!

I pulled myself away from the kitchen to finish my Morocco blog (for the second time), leaving just enough time to pack, research a few last minute travel plans, and shower.  Then I enjoyed one of the most delicious meals I've ever had in Granada.  Delia made the sauce just right, and I devoured two plates of spaghetti.  Laura told us that she was planning to participate in the general strike the following day by protesting in the street.

Then I sadly said goodbye to Delia, Laura, and Aja, finished packing, and was off!  I caught a bus to the bus station, where I met up with Paige and Clarissa.  Our bus left Granada at 6:30pm, took a 30-minute break halfway through (where we ate our packed dinners), and arrived in Madrid around 11:30pm.  The airport check-in was closed at that time, so we camped out on the ground.  It was cold, uncomfortable, and strikers marched through with sirens and whistles.

THURSDAY:
A few hours later, we were woken up once check-in opened.  We slept more at our gate and ate sandwiches that we had made.  Then we finally caught our connecting flight at 9:50am, during which time I read.  Just under two hours later, we arrived in Geneva, Switzerland.  We could see the beautiful Pyrenees Mountains during the descent.  Upon arriving in the airport, it was quite clear that we had left our Spanish world far behind us.  We checked-in and went through security, ate a small lunch, and caught our flight at 3:20pm to Nice, France.  I was disappointed that we did not get our passports stamped; I figured the reason was behind the fact that France is part of the European Union.

The three of us were exhausted after 24 hours of traveling and irregular sleeping patterns, but we carried on and caught a bus outside of the airport.  We luckily met a friendly Australian man who worked at our hostel and accompanied us there.  The hostel was a bit out of the way, so they had a van service that ran every 15 minutes from the tram stop to the hostel.  Between the bus and van, it was about an hour from the airport.  The hostel, Villa Saint Exupéry, used to be a monastery and was absolutely gorgeous.  It had a huge common area, kitchen, bar, outside patio, and many computers.  Our room had five beds and a bathroom.  One of our roommates was a young French man, and the other a young Canadian girl.  By the time we arrived, all of the stores were closed, so we relaxed at the hostel and ordered two pizzas from the kitchen and cocktails from the bar.  Shortly after, we passed out in our room.

FRIDAY:
We got ready by 9am and took advantage of the free hostel breakfast.  It consisted of a huge cereal bar and toast.  Then we took the van to the tram stop, where we bought vegetables for dinner at a fresh market stand.  We also bought a French baguette and cheese at a nearby grocery store for lunch.  Afterwards, we took the tram to Plaza Massena, which was very picturesque.  Named after Napoleon's general, this impressive large square links Nice's main shopping streets with the busy, narrow streets of Old Town (Vieille Ville).  Transportation in Nice was excellent; efficient and economical.  It was entertaining to people-watch on the tram, but the language barrier was very present; English nor Spanish was of any use there.

We walked from Plaza Massena to the beautiful Cours Saleya Flower Market, which luckily did not close until 1pm.  It was enormous and the smells were captivating; flowers, fruit, soap, meat, cheese, fish.

Then we continued walking through Old Nice towards the shore.  It was perfect beach weather; warm and sunny.  Unfortunately, the beach was rocky, without any sand.  Perhaps one of the other nearby beaches are sandy.  Still, we greeted the water and took a nap along the shore.

Afterwards, we hiked up to Castle Hill (Colline du Chateau), which presented a spectacular panoramic view of the French Riviera.  We could see the city, sea, and port atop the hill.  The city seemed huge from where we were.  We made a cheese and baguette picnic in the grassy park (when in France!) and took a short siesta.  Then we explored the top of the chateau a bit more.  Few sections of the castle remain now.

Later, we descended and walked along the Mediterranean waterfront, Promenade des Anglais.  It was full of people roller blading, biking, and jogging.  We stopped at a cafe and ordered coffee and crepes--thank goodness I brought along a French phrase book!  It was fun learning French words and practicing the accent.

Then we went to the Matisse Museum and surrounding ancient park of olive trees.  We stopped at the grocery store before returning to the hostel, where we made a delicious stir fly with our fresh vegetables and wine.  After we finished eating, we met two British guys, and played drinking games with them and a few other people from the hostel.  It was a fun, social night!

SATURDAY:

We got ready and ate breakfast by 10:30am.  The hostel workers were very informative and helpful about planning a day trip to Monaco, so we took the van to the tram stop and stopped at the grocery store to buy food for lunch.  Then we used both the tram and bus to arrive at Eze Village, a beautiful medieval town built in the hills on the way to Monaco.  Round trip was extremely cheap and pretty easy.  The weather was cold and cloudy, but it made the village appear misty and mysterious.  We walked up to the exotic garden at the highest part of the village.  Apart from the fantastic plants, the garden had panoramic views of the coast.  There we had a baguette, cheese, and ham picnic.  Afterwards, we took our time walking through the cemetery, chapel, and shops.  We also stopped in an enormous perfume shop.  Then we took the philosopher trail, or Nietzsche Path, down to the coastal town, Eze Sur Mer.  It was a very tranquil 45-minute path that descended the hill.

Once we reached the bottom, we caught a bus the rest of the way to Monaco.  Between the high-end stores, ritzy yachts, and sports cars, the wealth of the small country was immediately apparent.  I found it interesting that there was no need to show our passports to enter Monaco; perhaps because it's part of the European Union.  We went to the Monte Carlo Casino, but decided not to pay 10 euro to gamble.  After spending most of the day in the gorgeous Eze Village, we did not stay long in Monaco.  We caught a bus back to Nice and took the tram to the van stop, where we bought groceries for dinner.  Back at the hostel, we prepared the left-over stir-fry from the previous night, along with couscous.  We also shared beer and chocolate for dessert while we made more friends at the hostel.  Then we packed our suitcases and went to sleep.

SUNDAY:

April Fools!  Clarissa taught me that on the first day of every month, it's good luck to say "rabbit rabbit" before saying anything else.  We checked out of the hostel by 10am and took the van and bus to the airport.  In the Nice airport, we ate lunch and waited for our gate to open.  My first impression of the French people was good; they seem nice, friendly, and laid-back.  However, this happens to be the typically mentality of many beach towns.

Our flight left at 2:50pm, and we arrived in Barcelona just over an hour later.  I had been strongly warned about theft in Barcelona, so we were extra careful with our luggage as soon as we left the plane.  Then we took a bus to Plaza Espayna, which is when I first noticed the Catalan language.  Catalan is a mix of Spanish, French, and Italian, and is the main language of Barcelona (a province in Cataluña).  However, most people there speak Spanish as well.  Rather unexpectedly, I immediately fell in love with the city.  It's a shame that the community is trying to separate from Spain.  From Plaza Espayna, we took the metro to our hostel, which was an interesting combination of a hostel and bed and breakfast.  The owners were very friendly, there was a great kitchen facility and living area, and we shared our own bedroom.

After settling in, Paige, Clarissa, and I explored the area.  Around dinner time, we came across a delicious hamburger restaurant, and couldn't help ourselves.  Then we found the famous boulevard, La Rambla.  At the end of the street, we took pictures on the Columbus Monument.  Afterwards, we returned to the hostel to meet up with our friend Matt, who joined us for the remainder of the trip.  He had just arrived from spending the past few days in London.  We shared our experiences with each other before calling it a night.

MONDAY:

The four of us woke up and took advantage of the free hostel breakfast--cereal and croissants.  Then we walked into town and signed up for a bike tour for the following day.  Afterwards, we walked along La Rambla until we came across the enormous food market, La Boqueria.  There we took many pictures of the food stands, and bought vegetables for dinner, chocolate desserts, and fresh smoothies.

Then we took the metro to a different part of town.  We decided to buy a two-day metro pass because it was easier and cheaper to get around the large city since our hostel was quite far.  We made a picnic in a grassy area.  It was very sunny and warm, so we took the metro and walked to the beach.  Unfortunately, by the time we got there, it became cold and cloudy.  Still, we spent some time there and Paige and I water colored.  

Then we took the metro back to our hostel and made stir-fry and couscous for dinner, followed by chocolates for dessert!  They were pricey, but worth it.  Afterwards, we took a nap and got ready to go out.  We went to a bar called Espit, famous for having 200 different types of shots.  There was a shot for everything that you could think of; even one named Elena!  Accordingly, the first shot we took was Elena.  We also took one called Harry Potter, B52 (a flaming shot), and boy scout (flaming with a marshmallow).  We socialized there for a bit and tried to find the discotecas, but did not know our way around the city well enough, so we walked back to our hostel. 

 TUESDAY:

We woke up to find a trail of fish oil leading from the kitchen to our room; a side-effect of Paige's anchovies from the night before.  The owner was not happy, but we all took part in helping scrub the floors.  Unfortunately, the stains were not coming out of the terracotta tiles.  However, we had to leave in order to make it to our bike tour on time.  So we grabbed breakfast on our way out the door and promised to finish cleaning after the tour.

Despite the cold, pouring rain, the three-hour bike tour was one of my fondest memories of the trip.  It was just the four of us with a fun guide who led our tour in Spanish.  We took a coffee break half-way through to rest and dry off.  Some of the places that we stopped included plazas, a Jewish neighborhood with a synagogue, the main shopping street, the diagonal street that crosses the entire city, and several works of art by the architect, Antoni Gaudí, who is a figurehead of Catalan Modernism.  He designed several buildings in Barcelona, such as the famous basilica, the Sagrada Familia.  The inside of the enormous basilica has recently been completed, but the outside is projected to be finished in 2026--the centennial of Gaudí's death.  Once the towers are completed, each one representing a different holy figure, the Sagrada Familia will be the tallest cathedral in the world.  It has three facades: the first beautifully represents the birth of Jesus, the second sadly represents his death, and the uncompleted third will be the main entrance and represent the glory of the resurrection.

At the end of the tour, Clarissa and I bought groceries and then returned to our hostel to dry off and help clean the floor.  The stains still didn't come out completely, but the owner knew how sincere Paige was, and let it go.  We relaxed for a while afterwards, and I checked my email on Matt's laptop and helped cook spaghetti for dinner.

Later, we took the metro to Parc Guell, the garden complex designed by Gaudí.  The park was great!  Luckily, the weather had started to clear up because the views of the city were incredible.

After exploring the area, we took the metro back to the neighborhood of our hostel and went to the bars to watch the Barcelona vs. Milan soccer game.  Many people were decked out in Barca jerseys, and it was fun to be part of it.  However, I did miss free tapas!  After the game, Paige and I got a beer together and caught up.  We returned home, shared some chocolate, and went to bed.

WEDNESDAY:

We packed, ate breakfast, and checked out of the hostel by 10:30am.  However, we were able to leave our luggage there since our flight wasn't until later that day.  Clarissa, Matt, and I went to one of the houses designed by Gaudí called La Pedrera.  It was the last house that he designed before starting the design for the Sagrada Familia.  The attic of the house had models of Gaudí's designs.  We were also able to see the apartment in the building.  Both parts were cool, but the best part of the house was the terrace, which was unfortunately closed because it was pouring down rain again.  This weather was not typical for Barcelona.

Afterwards, the three of us met up with Paige to go to a photojournalism exhibit, which was incredible.  There were four sections.  The first was my favorite; it told the story of a strong woman in Uganda who lost her husband, two children, and her leg.  Under each photo was a comment by her about that specific photo.  The display was so moving and powerful.  The next section highlighted the concept of Narcoculture among Mexicans and Latin Americans.  I found it interesting, but it was my least favorite.  The following section covered the March 2011 tsunami in Japan, which had extremely sad pictures and captions.  The final section displayed the political unrest in the Arab Springs, covering the protests in Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, and Yemen.  I found it insane how close the photographer got to the heat of the action.  Needless to say, this exhibit was well worth the mere three-euro fee.  Plus, I read the Spanish captions without a problem--a nice boost of confidence!

Later, the four of us grabbed lunch at a pita place on La Rambla, picked up our luggage at the hostel, and took the metro to Plaza Espayna.  Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the Girona airport was an hour away, so we ran to the bus station only to find out that the next bus to Girona would not get us there in time to make our flight.  Our only option was to take a taxi.  Split between four people, we didn't have to pay that much, but it was still a stressful event that could have been avoided with better planning.  Nevertheless, we wouldn't have had time to go to the photojournalism exhibit if we had known how far away the airport was, so maybe we can file that under "everything happens for a reason".  We made it to the airport just in time to catch our one-hour Ryan Air flight to Madrid at 7:25pm.  As we broke through the dense cloud cover, the sky opened to a beautiful sunset.





Once we picked up our luggage in the Madrid airport, we took the metro to the center of the city.  I couldn't believe that Madrid was even bigger than Barcelona.  I immediately noticed on the metro that the people didn't seem quite as nice and were more face-paced than the people of southern Spain and the coastal towns that we had just come from.  Walking from the metro to the International Youth Hostel La Posada de Huertas did not leave me with the best first impression of the city; it seemed cold, rainy, dirty, and dark.  Nevertheless, I tried to remain open-minded.  Upon arriving to the hostel, we met up with two more friends, Bethine and Kassie.  The six of us shared a room with six other people.  With so many people in one room, the constant coming and going nature of the hostel world was more apparent than ever.  I have started to entertain the prospect of working at a hostel someday.  The hostel was very colorful, had wrist watch keys, and was in the perfect location; close to the main attractions.

After settling in, the six of us caught up over dinner at our favorite sandwich place, 100 Montaditos, in the nearby Plaza Santa Ana.  After trying this restaurant for the first time in Sevilla, we found them on every corner in Madrid.  This was good news for us to find cheap, good food in such an expensive city.  Another turn off that night was the large number of bar owners that tried to get us to eat and drink at their restaurants.  This is typical in many Spanish cities, but someone from almost every bar hounded us.  Perhaps we were targeted as six American tourists.


THURSDAY:

The six of us got up early and again took advantage of the typical cereal and toast hostel breakfast.  Then we took a short walk to the famous museum, Museo Nacional del Prado.  The museum was huge, and it was free entrance with student IDs.  We stayed for three and a half hours and I didn't even see everything.  There were many religious and historic paintings and sculptures.  I discovered that 19th century impressionist art appealed most to me.  However, I still found interesting older work, like that of el Greco.  I also explored the temporary exhibit, El Hermitage, which included artwork by Picasso and Matisse, as well as ancient jewelry and clothing.  It was nice to move at my own pace throughout the museum and to have alone time.

Around 3pm, we went to another 100 Montaditos for lunch before walking to El Parque del Retiro.  The enormous, green park is very close to the Prado.  Once we reached the pond, Paige, Kassie, and I rented one rowboat and the other three rented another.  We sang songs and took turns rowing.  Unfortunately, the weather was very cold and it started raining when we were in the boats.  By the time we docked our boats and headed towards the park exit, it started pouring and we were soaked to the bone.  Then it suddenly thundered and we howled in delight--something we all missed!


Soaking wet, we walked back to the hostel and dried out.  The six of us somehow managed to squeeze on Matt's bed and watch the movie "The Invention of Lying" on his laptop.  Afterwards, we went to a pizza shop down the street for dinner, and then got ready.  We played drinking games before joining the hostel pub crawl; three pubs and one discoteca for only 10 euro.  Everyone had a great time meeting people and dancing together.

FRIDAY:

After breakfast, the six of us went to another famous museum, el Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia.  This museum was also a short walk from the hostel and free for students.  It differed from the Prado, but was cool in its own way.  I stayed in the section with a lot of work by Picasso, including his famous painting, Guernica.  This political work of art represents Picasso's protest to the Spanish Civil War.  The painting was enormous and protected by an insane amount of security.  There was so much to look at within the single piece of art; I could have studied it for hours.

Bethine and Kassie left to catch their bus back to Granada while Paige stayed at the museum.  Clarissa, Matt, and I only stayed for an hour, and walked to the train station to take a day trip to the beautiful city of Toledo.  Unfortunately, all of the return trips for that day were sold out.  We were bummed, but hoped to make the trip there later this semester.  After walking around for a bit, we avoided the rain and ate lunch at none other than McDonald's.  The American restaurant is very popular in Madrid, so we reasoned that it was a cultural experience.

Then we returned to the hostel, where Matt and Clarissa took a nap.  I still felt energized, so I planned out a route and took a walk by myself around the city.  It was a nice escape after traveling with so many people.  Eyes wide open, iPod playing, I explored the city for almost three hours.  The weather cleared up a little bit, but it was still cold and mostly cloudy with a mix of rain and hail.  I walked to Plaza de la Villa and Plaza Mayor, which was a big, picturesque square.  Then I visited the Madrid Cathedral for Good Friday.  Beside the cathedral was the enormous Royal Palace.  In the same area were la Plaza de Oriente and los Jardines de Sabatini.  Afterwards, I came across el Palacio del Senado and la Plaza de España, which contained el Edificio España, a big fountain, and an artisan market.  Then I walked along the main street, Gran Vía, which emanated a bustling urban feeling.  Finally, I visited la Puerta del Sol, which is a famous square that was packed with people.  I noticed a lot of construction throughout the city, and couldn't believe that I had only seen part of the center of Madrid.  Still, I was content with my decision to explore a bit and see a few important monuments.

















































When I returned to the hostel, I checked my email, blogged, journaled, and went through the pictures that I had taken.  Paige, Clarissa, Matt, and I were about to go out for dinner when we caught sight of a religious procession going on outside of the hostel--and we had the perfect view from our balcony!  These processions are a Spanish tradition during Semana Santa.  However, we didn't expect to seem them in Madrid, because they're much more famous in Andalucía (i.e., Granada, Sevilla, Málaga).   We eventually made our way down to the street, which was a completely different experience to be so close to the action.  I certainly experienced one of those "I can't believe this is my life moments".  I was curious to return to Granada and learn more about the significance of the floats, costumes, and music.


















Afterwards, we walked to El Tigre, a huge tapas bar that was full of young people.  We order gigantic ciders and got equally big and delicious tapas.  The four of us reminisced on our trip together while we devoured the food.  After making our way back to the hostel, we packed in the hallway to avoid waking our roommates, and then went to bed.






SATURDAY:
After rolling out of bed and checking out of the hostel, we caught the metro to the bus station.  I was anxious to return to Granada and be able to walk everywhere again.  Our bus left at 7am, stopped for a 30-minute breakfast break, and arrived in Granada around noon.  I reluctantly said goodbye to my three good friends and caught the bus home.  I excitedly greeted Delia in the doorway; I was so content to be home.  I showered, unpacked, and checked my email, disbelieving how many emails were bomb threat warnings at Pitt.  I could not imagine what campus was like.

It was just me and Delia for comida; Laura was with Ki Ke in Sevilla and Aja was still in Italy.  Delia made me noodles, which were slightly undercooked, but I didn't care.  I told her all about my trip and listened to how her week and a half was.  I also told her that I had work for her; I asked her if she would, time-permitting, paint the view of Plaza Bib-Rambla from my bedroom.  I could not think of a better memory of Spain that I could take home.  Further, I offered to help her advertise her work on the Internet.

After comida, I skyped my mom for her birthday and tried to catch up on my blog before meeting some friends at Plaza Nueva to watch the procession.  I had never seen so many people and tourists in Granada before; the streets were blocked off to cars and packed with people.  Apparently the previous processions during the week were a bit of disaster because of the bad weather, so everyone was pleased that the weather was finally cooperating.  The solemn procession passed slowly through the street with an elaborately decorated float ("paso") of Jesus on the cross, which was carried on the shoulders of the "costaleros".  The float was followed by processions of "nazarenos" in long, hooded gowns, which were the penitents (carrying figures of the cross on their shoulders).  It was also followed by women dressed in black traditional Spanish costumes carrying candles and crosses.  The brass band played soulful marching tunes.  When the float reached a bend in the road, the procession stopped as the float slowly made the turn, which was followed by an applause from the crowd.  As this happened, a man from a nearby balcony sang a beautiful song.  The procession was absolutely breath-taking.

After the procession passed our area, I met up with Trini and her three Spanish girl friends.  I was so excited to see her and equally happy to learn that she found a job!  She told me that she would start teaching one-year old children starting the following Monday.  Trini and her friends had not seen the procession yet, so I watched it again with them at a different site.  It was cool seeing it pass at night, and Trini explained many parts of the procession to me.  For example, there was only one float on Holy Saturday since Christ was already dead.  Also each "hermandad" (brotherhood) has its own procession and is proud of their figures of Christ and the Virgin Mary.  She also told me that people pay a fee to be in the processions, and that she was a nazareno when she was younger!  After the procession, Trini, Matt, Paige, and I hit the tapas bars and pubs.  It felt so good to be immersed in Spanish language and culture again.  It felt so good to be home.