Spring Break Part I: Arles, Barcelona, Carcassonne

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So much to blog about! I've been on Spring Break for about a week now, and I just got home from my first big trip. My roommate went home about a month early, and she left the Wednesday before break began. Of course I didn't have much time to miss her since I left on Sunday, but it's so quiet here now! I miss having someone to chat with! Although I will say that I absolutely love having a normal sized bed now since I've pushed our beds together, and the left-overs she left me were amazing 😊

So my last day of school was Friday the 2nd, and on Sunday I hopped on a train to meet my friend Shannon and we headed to Arles, Barcelona and Carcassonne. We stayed in Arles for 2 nights, Barcelona for 4 and Carcassonne for 2. Initially, we had hoped to go to Ibiza for a few days, but the airline was having trouble booking flights and we got fed up. We also hoped to stop in Avignon and Nîmes, but 'tis the season and it seems as if everyone is striking! In the end, it just ended up being a huge hassle, so I am hoping to see Avignon and Nîmes before I leave.

Arles

I woke up bright and early Sunday morning to catch the bus to Arles. Shannon got on in Cannes and we had a connection in Marseille. This was the one train ride that managed to go off without a hitch. The only one. We arrived in Arles around 3:30 or 4. The town of Arles is tiny, but since we didn't know the area well yet we figured we'd just hop on a bus to get to the hostel. However, unbenownst to us we had arrived in the midst of la feria--basically a giant festival that opens the bull fighting season. Because it was Sunday, and La Feria, there were no buses running so we ended up grabbing a cab. The hostel we stayed at was very nice as far as these things go--big, clean, great breakfast--the only problem was the lock out from 10 am to 5 pm which meant we had to sit outside for an hour before we could check in. At the time the weather was wonderful, so we got a bit of sun--no complaining there. Once we checked in we headed into town to grab a bite to eat and catch the running of the bulls at 8 pm.

The town of Arles is just magnificent. It's what I think of when I think of small, Southern French towns. Perfectly quaint and so pictoresque with the tiny sloping, winding roads and the buildings with bright shutters and red roofs. For such a small town you can really see and feel the influence of other cultures--it's like a confluence of Roman influence, Spanish influence and French influence. From the Greco-Roman ruins like the arena and the theater, to the paella and and sangria you can order at any restaurant, to the running of the bulls and the bull-fighting to all of the sites celebrating Van Gogh's work--Arles is overflowing with culture for such a small place. Of course, our experience was slightly more unique because of La Feria--the town was exponentially more crowded, there were bands everywhere, people started drinking early in the morning and carried drinks through the streets. It was definitely a party.

So Shannon and I wandered into town and found a little café near Les Arènes. The weather got a little crazy and it rained off and on for about 30 minutes or so, but it made for some great pictures. After eating we headed back down to see the running of the bulls. I'm not sure what kind of knowledge others have of running bulls, but when I think of "the running of the bulls" I think of Pamplona where presumably they unleash a giant herd of extremely pissed off bulls (horns intact) into the streets and let hundreds or thousands of men, seriously lacking in common sense, run for their lives. I'd already seen the roads blocked off, so I knew this wouldn't be exactly the same as Pamplona, but one does have certain ideas. Well, let me tell you how bull running in Arles works. First, men and women on horses parade up and down the streets for 30-45 minutes while kids stand around and goof off. Eventually, a gun shot sounds and one bull is let out of a truck. This bull runs down the street, surrounded in front by the men and women on horses so he can't get too out of control, and followed by a huge herd of men and boys who want to slap him, jump on him and grab him in order to demonstrate their masculinity. The actual running of the bull takes less than 5 minutes, then the waiting commences again--another 30 or so minutes and then another bull. Clearly, not at all what I had envisioned. It was still interesting to watch, and, at one point, one of the bulls got stopped very close to me. That was a little scary, but of course the bull would have had to get through about 20 guys before he got to me. I also stood rather close to the fences so I could always duck back through if needed. They had a couple of different places that they had bull running, and they did this at least a couple of times a day each day of La Feria I believe. As it was one of the more humane activities, Shannon and I didn't mind too much watching, and it was actually kind of fun. The bull fighting, on the other hand, was something we avoided. Sorry, I don't really feel like watching a bull get killed and dragged out of a ring to be eaten later. I'll pass. That night, we wandered through town to get drinks and ended up at a crazy bodega near the arena. The bar tenders were yelling and dancing, there were crazy guys wearing huge fur jackets dancing around and a big band playing. That also serves as an apt description for the whole town. Everyone was taking advantage of La Feria. People were drinking and listening to music and dancing and just having an amazing time.


Our first full day in Arles was spent wandering around the city. We visited the theater, saw the Espace Van Gogh--were Van Gogh painted the gorgeous garden and courtyard that still looks exactly the same, and visited Les Alyscamps--a park housing an old church and cemetary also painted by Van Gogh. We ate paninis in the square near the theatre and the arena and soaked up the sun. We wandered through the crowded streets and saw the famous café that Van Gogh painted. That night we had a big dinner--paella and sangria--in honor of our last night in town.

The next morning we had a few hours before our train left, so we visited the arena (we hadn't been able to visit it because of the bull fights) and I went to the Fondation Van Gogh--a very small museum housing the works of artists influenced by Van Gogh.

Barcelona

Our train trip to Barcelona got a little hairy. We couldn't take the direct train because it filled up too quickly so our itinerary had us making a ton of connections--Arles to Nîmes to Montpellier to Perpignan to Port Bou to Barcelona. Yeah. All was well until we reached Montpellier to see that our train to Perpignan wasn't even displayed on the board. Apparently, that train did not even exist. Had we waited to take the next train to Perpignan, which left two hours later, we would have certainly missed our connection in Port Bou. So, after speaking with a woman at the sales counter we ran out to the quai just as the direct train to Barcelona was arriving. We asked a conductor if we could get on since our other train was not coming, and her response was, "Of course!" as she opened the door for us. And we couldn't take the direct train in the first place? Well, of course there were no seats on this train, so we found ourselves sitting in the entryway like vagabonds. Thankfully, a few people got off at the Perpignan stop and we were able to grab seats. We ended up sitting behind a group of crazy Argentinians who wanted to chat with us the whole way there. The train ride was absolutely gorgeous--cliffs jutting out into the water, rolling hills and abrupt, rocky cliffs all covered with vineyards. Bright colored houses tucked into the cliffs overlooking the oceans looked like they had just grown there halfhazardly.

We stayed at a friend's apartment the first two nights in town, so once we arrived at the train station we headed towards her place near La Rambla. Her apartment was so cute! There was a fresco on the wall that was utterly breathtaking, and it was so comfortable and quaint.

Barcelona is one of the most difficult cities to describe. The longer I was there the more I found and the less I felt like I understood the city. It's just so huge! There are so many different areas and neighborhoods and each with its own unique and different character and ambiance. There's Las Ramblas--one of the large touristy areas mostly consisting of a large street with cars on either side and a large, tree-lined walkway through the center. There are tons of toursity shops and the street is covered with street performers and artists. There are also little stands everywhere during the day selling all sorts of birds, rabbits, lizards, turtles and fish and even ferrets. There's a huge market off to one side selling fresh produce, meat and fish. If you wander off the main thoroughfare you can reach Plaça Reial and wander through the tiny side streets. The guidebooks are actually pretty accurate when they describe parts of Las Ramblas as being a little seedy. One description I read referenced the prostitutes and junkies that can often be seen wandering the narrow streets. Not too far from the truth. Don't worry parents I was fine and it was safe enough!

The hostel we stayed at for the next two nights was on Passeig de Grazia--one of the nicest shopping areas in Barcelona, with very large streets and buildings more closely resembling something you'd see in the States. Of course, there was still plenty of gorgeous architecture--the Apple of Discord for example. The architecture throughout the entire city is just amazing. There is a strong modernist influence, and Gaudi's work and influence can be seen almost everywhere, but there's also Roman architecture and many medieval areas as well. On our last day we visited the Picasso Museum and discovered the medieval quarter of Barcelona. First of all, I found the Picasso Museum to be extremely well done and very interesting. It has a great way of taking you chronologically through some of his works, the phases of his art and his inspirations. They even have a room with a lot of the works he did in Cannes and Antibes which I obviously felt quite drawn to 😊 The area around the museum is slightly similar to Las Ramblas with narrow, dark streets but with a very different feel. I could go on and on about all the different areas and quarters of the city, it was incredible. The more I saw the more I felt I needed to see, and I think I could take a year just discovering and learning the city.

We spent a lot of our time in Barcelona hunting down Gaudi's work. On our first day we visited the Sagrada Familia in the Eixample neighborhood of Barcelona. From the outside it looks like one of those giant dribble sand castles. It's incredibly organic like it just grew up out of the ground. The attention to detail and the influence of nature in Gaudi's work can't even be described here. Let me just say I was absolutely speechless. He studied the way rocks and minerals and trees and plants grew to incorporate the structure into his work, and he integrated shapes like the pentagons seen in bee hives and the spirals seen in conch shells into the structure as well. He was an absolute genius. On day two we visited Park Güell, and on the third day we went to see Casa Vincens and the Apple of Discord. The Park Güell is situated on top of a hill with a great view over Barcelona, and there are two crazy looking houses at the entrance that really do look like gingerbread houses. There's a giant staircase leading up to the park, and that's where you see the giant mosaic lizard that has come to be a symbol of Barcelona. All the mosaic work is just incredible.

Needless to say, I fell in love with Barcelona and just can't wait to go back!

Carcassonne

After the hussle and bustle of Barcelona--we were up and moving and walking around the city for about 12 hours a day most days--we definitely needed a couple of days to relax. Carcassonne proved to be absolutely perfect for that purpose. Carcassonne is a very sleepy little town that boasts one of the largest and most well preserved medieval castles in France. We ended up staying quite a ways outside of town in quaint little house in a tiny village. At night we ate dinner on the terrace overlooking the village and all the surrounding vineyards--we could see the highway too so it wasn't entirely pictoresque but it was good enough! Funny though, having all the rolling hills and the highway reminded me of the drive to Lex, of course in a much more French way 😊 We slept fabulously, ate wonderful breakfasts, and spent a wonderful day wandering through town and seeing the castle.

It was an amazing vacation, and it went by so quickly! I'm not going to take the time to post all the pictures on this site as well, but just be sure to look at Picasa!

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