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Published: November 9th 2008
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oh the rents! So I know that I have not written an entry in awhile but that is because I have been both a tour guide and a traveler recently. First, Jeff and Mary Ann came to visit me in Barcelona! And then, we went to Paris together during the first part of my fall break!
When Jeff and Mary Ann came to Barcelona, I had several things on our agenda that we had to do. Our first stop on the wet, gloomy Saturday when they arrived was visiting La Sagrada Familia. La Sagrada Familia is Antoni Gaudi's famous unfinished church in Barcelona. The church is being built only on donations and entrance fees and will hopefully by completed in 2030. Jeff, the thinker that he is, said if this beautiful church was in America, it would be finished by now because people would fundraise and donate money to its cause, but hey, we're in Spain, so it's still a work in progress. However, the church is incredible! It is so much different than any church that I have ever seen. It's detail and form is so unique as Gaudi did not think using straight lines because straight lines were not part of
nature. We took the elevator to the top and got a cool view of the city. My favorite part are the fruits highlighting one side of the church. We walked down the 300 some odd stairs, almost slipping because of the lack of lighting, but we made it!
Before the parents crashed from jet lag, we headed to the Barcelona Cathedral, another place I waited to go inside into until they were here. It was also spectacular. The small altars to various saints was probably my favorite part of the cathedral. I think that is something that should be used in more churches today. After the Cathedral, it was nap time for the rents. Later we walked down Las Ramblas to the beach where the smell of salt water always brings memories of Long Island back. One of my favorite sights of Barcelona architecture comes when you're walking back toward the city and the there are only gorgeous government buildings facing you.
The next day we went to the Museum of Catalan Art and Parc Montjuic (one of my favorite places). The museum was very unique as it had taken the paintings from Spanish churches, removed them, and
placed them inside the museum. Catholicism is all over Spanish history as we had seen in the past two days. But after the museum, we walked around the Olympic studium then took the funicular up to the fort at Montjuic. This is one of my favorite places in Barcelona because of the view. From the ocean to Tibidabo, you can see how compact Barcelona is. You can see La Sagrada Familia, the Cathedral, the church up high on Tibidabo across from us and even El Corte Ingles.
The next morning I took my parents through a stroll of Barri Gotic and they then left for their Costa Brava mini trip. I was deathly afraid they would get themselves killed as my father, the great adventurer he is, decided to rent a car. However, they had a fabulous time and made it safely back. My dad said they would drive me to my homestay apartment and though I was hesitant I got in the passenger's seat and tried to navigate him to Zona Alta. Let's just say that Barcelona city driving is much different than Costa Brava driving. We made a few turn arounds, cut off a few people, but
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the funicalar ride! we made it... barely. Then I proceeded to stand with my 50 pound backpack on my shoulder's as my parents got lost finding the apartment again... hehe.
Early the next morning the three of us left for Paris! I think I was more excited then my parents as my favorite word for the next 24 hours was Pariiiiiii. I loved everything about Paris! It was absolutely gorgeous! So chic! The color of choice for most was black and it was the first time that I had to wear a coat everywhere I went. We spent almost four full days in Paris so we saw a lot of the city. The Friday we arrived we walked all over the city, and ended at the Lourve. We saw the famous Mona Lisa (I still don't quite understand why it's so famous but that's ok). We probably did not even see the real one since they switch it out with alternates so people cannot steal it. One of my favorite paintings was a woman holding a child and the child peaking out from under the woman's veil. It was very striking.
We saw the Eiffel Tower sparkle and shine with bright
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hey dad! lights when we were walking to dinner later that night! It was b-e-a-utiful! The Eiffel Tower is such a monstrosity that it is a bit overwhelming. The next day we went to Notre Dame, San Chapelle, Musee Dorsay, Arc de Triumph, and walked the Champs Elysee. The chimeras and gargoyles of Notre Dame were one of the highlights of the church. We walked to the top of the towers and were able to overlook most of Paris; pretty phenomenal. San Chapelle was GORGEOUS! Stained glass covered the entire church, with each window re-telling different books from the Old Testament. I love stained glass so I was literally in heaven. The colors and detail of the glass are incredible. The Dorsay was had Mary Ann's impressionist paintings and we saw VanGogh's self-portrait. The Paris museums are all huge and it's impossible to see everything. We walked up the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triumph and again saw another great view of Paris. This main avenue was overcrowded with people, but Mary Ann and I went on an adventure to find the Longchamp store and unfortunately failed. We walked back down the entire Champs Elysee. I'm not sure how far we
walked but then add about another mile or so to that to get back to our hotel and we were exhausted.
We rewarded our tourist efforts of the day at a lovely French restaurant. The food was delicious. I of course ordered chicken to be safe, but the sauce that topped it was superb. And also, the French made MUCH better french fries than us Americans, there's really no contest. I had some of the best french fries ever that night.
Our Sunday consisted of a visit to Chateau Versailles! If you ever get a chance to go to Versailles, skip the palace, rent a bike, and cruise through the gardens which are without a doubt incredible. So much land it's overwhelming. Versailles is the epitome of extravagance and we walked through a majority of the gardens and spent almost three hours roaming there.
Paris is an incredible city and I know that my parents and I loved it. Monday I found the Longchamp store (finally) and made a few purchases. We also made a quick visit to Sacre Coeur, a gorgeous church in northern Paris up on a hill. It's ceiling was incredible and I secretly
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Tibidado! snapped a few photos. We had another great view of Paris. My parents and I then parted ways: them back to Barcelona and myself off to London to continue my fall break and see Miss Abigail. Let's just end this entry with me arriving at the Paris airport and realizing that EasyJet's check in system was completely down... the story will continue shortly!
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Abby Road
Abigail Sosinski
London Calling
I can't to hear your take on my current home...you better be accurate on all your facts lady!