Kyle Gati
What you've done becomes the judge of what you're going to do - especially in other people's minds. When you're traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don't have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road. ~William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highwayskaygee
Travel Blog Posts
March 11th 2011
It was a great day today, my last full day in Barcelona. I was very inspired by the work of Antoni Gaudi. After realizing how nice it is and how much time I had by waking up early yesterday instead of 10:30am, I woke up early today as well. I woke up around 8:30am and watched TV for about a half hour- the coverage of the earthquake and tsunami that had just happened within the hour in Japan, quite devastating. I started planning out what I wanted to do today. I really wanted to go to the Dalí Musuem outside of Barcelona, which would be almost a 2 hour trainride. I think I'll save that for my next trip out here. Today, I was going to focus on seeing more of Gaudi's work, specifically the Casa ... read more
March 9th 2011
Today was Jake's last day here. We're both a bit worn out, but want to make the most of the rest of our time here. We actually did quite a bit today. We got breakfast at a local bar restaurant near our hotel. It was a similar dish to yesterday's- two eggs, bacon, fries, and a salad. We tried to order a Spanish hot chocolate or Xocolate a la tessa, but didn't know the name for it at the time and when we tried to describe it, they told us they didn't have it. Instead we just got some espresso. It was longer breakfast than usual- a combination of us taking things a little slower plus the habits off these cafes that don't bring you the check until you ask for it. After breakfast, we headed ... read more
March 8th 2011
This will be a shorter entry. I have written more recent entries and meant to get back to this one. This day I remember we went up to Antoni Gaudi's house in Parc Guell. It was a small house but had some original furniture and architecture designed by Gaudi. In it we saw scaled models of other structures and designs that were built throughout Barcelona. After the house we went to La Segrada Familia. At first I was a bit skeptical that we were paying 12 euros or so to enter, but when we got in, it was breathtaking! This had to be the coolest church I have been to in Europe. Super modern, and beautiful, and still really elegant. Gaudi is a master of lighting.. he basically designed the building considering how the light would ... read more
March 7th 2011
We started off the morning headed to this breakfast cafe, Bracafe, which is apparently a chain because we saw one later on the other side town. We had an espresso and baguette.. nothing too impressive, although I had another chance to use my Spanish and it worked well. Today, according to the forecast would be our nicest weather here in Barcelona. It got up to abotu 63 degrees and was sunny all day long. We decided to rent a couple bikes for a few hours and explore the city and hit the beach. Using a brochure from the lobby of our hotel, we followed the map to a bike rental shop about 1 mile from our hotel. We both rented city bikes for 9€ each for 4 hours. The owners were a couple of Rastafarians. They ... read more
March 6th 2011
We got sort of a late start on Sunday. We lounged around a bit in the hotel room and then set off for breakfast/lunch. Today, our big trip was to Parc Guell, designed by Antoni Gaudi. First, we headed over the Plaza Catalunya. It was 60s and sunny so we wanted to find a cafe outside and in the sun. Well, other people had this idea as well, so we settled for a table in the shade, but still outside. Barcelona is packed! There are so many people here. Everywhere we go it seems there are big crowds of people. Honestly though, after hearing so much about the pickpocketers and theives here, we haven't encountered or seen anything of this nature. I'm sure its out there, but haven't seen it yet (hopefully will not ever). Something ... read more
March 5th 2011
Our last day in Rome, headed to Barcelona, Spain. Livia was so kind to drive us in the morning. I mean, she was blessed with our presence, so it was only right of her to drive us to the airport... haha, jk. She has been a great host and friend! It has really changed our experience here for sure. Livia, you will not be forgotten! Come to Chicago and we will return the favors and hospitality. After arriving in the airport, I had to check in my carry-on bag because it was a centimeter too big. Damn airlines need to get on the same system.. need to design the bags so this DOESN'T HAPPEN. I knew it was gonna happen because it happened to me coming from London to Rome. We flew Vueling airlines, which is ... read more
March 4th 2011
Friday was our last FULL day in Rome!! It's been so great. In the morning, we woke up on the later side and tried to take it easy (kinda) for our last day. Once we got out the door, we caught the train and took it to meet Livia at the Piazza del Popolo. It was rainy once again, but not really too bad. She took us up to this park above the Piazza del Popolo where we passed the other day and were hoping to return to. We went further into the park it was really peaceful and nice and green. It was a relaxing stroll. I had Livia teach me how to say some things in Italian. She taught me "Mi se mancata moltor," which means, "I miss you a lot". You know, for ... read more
March 3rd 2011
We started Day 3 in Rome with sunshine! Finally! Sure enough, it didn't last very long. The rain was sure to pick up, but it wasn't as bad as it has been. From the late afternoon onwards we had clear skies. Our big trip today was to the Colloseum and Forum. In effort to catch as much sunshine as we could, we tried to take off early. Our apartment hosts provide us with some things for breakfast including, bread crackers, espresso, packaged pastries, cereal, and pear juice. We picked up some bread and Nutella, because no international trip is complete without a jar of Nutella along the way. After grabbing a quick bite to eat we headed for the train station. The train system in Rome is pretty good and easy to understand. We bought a ... read more
March 2nd 2011
Another day in Rome! We started off heading back to St. Peter's Basilica. This time we went up the Capula. We took some stairs spiraling up several stories for 5€ versus the 7€ elevator. Finally we got to what we thought was the top, inside the church looking down the people looking super small. Then we find out there are 320 more steps to take to get to the top! We had to walk down these narrow stairways and another spiraling staircase. Jake was getting sort of clausteraphobic. From the top, it was awesome.. out of breath of course though. We had a 360° view of Rome. I got some pretty cool pictures. The rain started to pick up as we headed for the Pantheon, so we decided to stop for some lunch. I had some ... read more
March 1st 2011
Ciao! From Roma, Italia.. We arrived in Roma yesterday afternoon. I flew in from London to meet up with my friend Jake Vail, who I went to school with and occasionally work with in Chicago. He has been working in London for the past month and flew into Rome from a conference in Dusseldorf, Germany. Not having a cellphone/easy communication makes it interesting to try and meet up with someone.. luckily FCO is a smaller airport and I found a meeting spot (the Chef Express) online from someones blog. Last night, we went out to dinner with a friend of Jake's, Livia. They met in Chicago over the summer while she was visiting other friends. He kept in contact with her since and now we have a friend here. She took us to a delicious Italian ... read more
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