Le Final Au Revoir
With a quick check on the computer to find the bus stop, I was on my way to Versailles. It was easy enough to get there, and so it seemed for the other hundreds and hundreds of tourists. The empty plaza I had seen on my first night, was full of tour busses and people, and vendors. I decided after seeing the lengthy line-up, to venture into the gardens before going inside the palace. So I pulled out my map and plotted a route towards the grand Canal.
Grande Tournée
Compared to my relatively uneventful day yesterday, today was definitely packed. I planned to meet Aaron, an Aussie turned Brit living in Paris, at 10 in the center, but 10:30 was nearer to the time I showed up. On our way to Pompidou, we passed through the Jewish Quarter, past Palace Royale, and grabbed a quick, cold, quiche. We saw the Notre Dame and surrounding area (and played spot the gypsy), and visited the Tour Eiffel – at last!
Le Louvre et la Seine
Today, after much ‘exploring’ of the suburbs (otherwise known as a poor attempt to follow a bus route on foot), I decided to visit the Arch de Defense in the commercial center of Paris before venturing further.
It was a remarkably clean and ’21st centuryish’ area. The central plaza was huge, and business people were out having lunch or talking on the phone or running to meetings. Others were relaxing on a small area of perfectly manicured grass.
Bonjour Paris
Watery-eyed I left Barcelona, but I arrived in Paris-Beauvais ready for a new adventure. Although I chose to sit on the side of the plane opposite Paris, I was given an incredible view of the French countryside and even glimpses of the western, then northern coastlines. And so I became excited for France – yet another new culture and beautifully different cities and peoples. Adios Barcelona, Bonjour Paris!
Conclusión Española
I am really going to miss Barcelona. I don’t know if its the geography or the city or the culture or the people, but i suspect it’s a combination of all of the above. Coming here alone was maybe the best thing for me – it forced me to meet people who live here, and in doing so, I formed a very strong bond with the city.
From Gaudí to Gótico
What an amazing couple of days this has been! Yesterday, I finally walked over to the Sagrada Familia. To be honest I was a little let down, and found more scaffolds than anything, but I guess I’ll just have to wait another 30 years until they finish it. I then decided to walk all the way down Diagonal to the Barcelona Forum. There is a building there by Herzog that I didn’t even remember was in Barcelona. I passed the Torre Agbar and Habitat Sky (which I later found out was designed by Dominic Perrault – one of the architecture precedents I briefly researched last year), and found a very cool architecture park nearby.
Las Días Españoles
Yesterday I decided to explore and familiarize myself with the city. It’s hard to know where you are without actually going around to see it. GoogleEarth plotting estimated I walked about 26km, and I barely got out of the center… big place, like I said. I strolled up La Rambla and past the university; saw the Contemporary Art museum and the Catalan theatre; walked pasted the Torre Agbar, through the Arc de Triomf, and past miles and miles of beaches (and beachgoers).
Hola Barcelona!
Somehow I made it to Barcelona. My journey with RyanAir was a little more complex than a train would have been, but I missed my chance with the hotel trains by not booking the required 14 days in advance. Plus this way I was able to see an incredibly beautiful sunset over the mountains bordering the mediterranean. So lets go back.
Ciao Cinque
Just like that, it’s over. Part of me can’t believe it, or maybe I just don’t want to believe it. Years of waiting, a semester of planning, and 2 months of indescribable experiences came to an end tonight… and it will be a most memorable end, for decades to come: Finishing one of the most extensively delicious seafood dinners ever, to a storm of hail, thunder, and lightning. The skies flashed, the streets flooded, and the occasional passing car left a wake of floating leaves and bubbles. We watched out the window, waiting for a break to run back to the dorms. It stopped, it started again, car alarms sounded, wet shirts ran past. Our opportunity came, and we walked the streets together, admiring the frequent lightning bolts revealing soft mauve clouds in an otherwise black sky.
Omegna
