On the second day of Barcelona...and the third....and the fourth

I learned that Wednesday was a demonstration day. Many businesses were closed, as was the metro and most buses to fight against cuts the government is making in health care, education, and the list goes on. There were going to be people demonstrating throughout the day. There   were places open but whenever the protestors got close the businesses closed their doors. A lot also had security guards. Later we noticed that anyone who stayed open for business was given a hard time and in some cases were vandalized. Although I didn't see anything major. One bus had stickers plastered all over its windsheild and the poor driver was standing there picking them off. A couple of ATM machines had black spray paint across the key pad and the screen. And there were some other little things like red paint on the mouth of an alligator logo.
After my tour yesterday I had learned about a famous Barcelonian architect named Gaudi who has a very different style. I thought I would go on the free Gaudi walking tour to find out more. This time Ann Marie was my guide and she was an art/history major from Ireland. This also where I met Donna, who I recognized from my hostel. She was in Spain after doing the El Camino trail. She is from South Africa. On the Gaudi tour we started with Palau Guell, a beautiful building with very colorful chimneys. We moved along to Case Batllo, the house with the masks. It is stunning! We saw Casa "les Punxes" which originally was designed to be grander than Casa Batllo but lacked the colour which made it beautiful. Along the way we heard about Gaudi's life. He was a very religious man who went to church services twice everyday and other than that he worked. He died in 1926 when he was run over by a tram. He lived for several days but wasn't recognized until the second day. He is the best known artist in Barcelona. Our last stop, Sagrada Familia. A stunning church which is not complete even after 110 years. It is still under construction, with 10 towers still to be built. It is estimated to be finished in 2026.
After our tour, Donna and I walked back along to La Rambla and down to the beach. I love the beach, there is something about the ocean that is so soothing! We walked along the boardwalk until we found the sand. We walked in the sand and Donna dipped her feet in the ocean. There were surfers out and even people going in their underwear...I guess they didn't plan ahead! Haha. As we were leaving the sand and taking pictures a man and his wife were telling us something in Spanish. He was pointing to the beach and making a camera with his hands. We tried to follow what he was saying but had no idea. Initially I thought he wanted to take our picture but when he tried to show us something around the front of a bar truck I realized there must be something funny. Sure enough, walking along was a man, completely naked. He wasn't even carrying clothes. And he was picking up sea shells.....hahaha...we had a good laugh before hearing back the way we came. Along the path were musicians and then a man spinning IN a large circular hula hoop. We stayed awhile to watch. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store for some dinner and I stocked up on Vitamin c by buying a pineapple and some kiwis. Yum.
As we walked up the road we saw that the big square of Catalunya was full of people. The roads were empty of cars and people were walking everywhere. The closer we got to the hostel the more people filled the streets. We weren't scared but just a little nervous of all the people and their frame of mind. We squeezed our way through the crowds and made it safely to our hostel. I have to say, it was a neat experience to feel the passion and unity of the people.
We agreed to meet early in the morning to get a start on our day. I didn't sleep well as I kept waking up and coughing but I was up and ready and eating breakfast at 8 so we could get an early start. We began at Park Guell, which was designed by....Gaudi! It was a steep climb up a hill before we found with some relief escalators! We wandered around the park finding stone structures, benches, ceilings, fountains and houses designed by the artist. We also saw a house he lived in for awhile. Originally Park Guell was going to be a housing development for the wealthy. It was quite far out of town though so only 3 houses were commissioned before they decided to turn it into a park. We walked along to see another house by Gaudi called Casa Vicens. It wasn't his usual style and we were slightly disappointed by what we found. Aw well, it's good to see anyways. Catching the metro we went to buy bus tickets, from Valencia to Seville this time. We headed to the hostel for lunch and a break before heading over to Casa Batllo and the 20€ admission. It was worth it, the house was amazing! A staircase that looks like the spine of a dragon, a whirlpool ceiling, a courtyard designed to brighten no matter how low the floor, and an amazing mosaic roof and chimneys. It took over an hour to go through and when were done we were both in awe. His design was beautiful, imaginitive, whimsical, and practical....he put in air vents and windows for light in ways that no one else had done yet.
We headed down the road to Placa de Catalunya and down towards the beach. Donna wanted to see the Picasso museum so while she went there, I went to explore the area and have dinner. In Place St. Jaume there were people gathering and I knew from the day before that something was happening. So I continued wandering but stayed around the outside of the crowd. Sure enough a demonstration started, thankfully it was peaceful. Donna and I met back up and did some shopping (her not me) before heading back to the hostel. Sadly, Donna was leaving in the morning. We said goodbye and I spent another night coughing.
I decided to wake up and take my time. I had breakfast, caught up on my email and then made a list of what I still wanted to see. I started with Sagrada Familia. The inside is like no other church I have ever seen. With Gaudi's touch, the inside of the cathedral is soft and whimsical and yet full of religious elements. Even though most of what is there today has not been done by Gaudi, they have stayed true to his design. During the civil war, rioters against Christianity broke into the church and destroyed Gaudi's workshop. As he was already dead, it was all they had tof his design for the building of the church. They rebuilt and used pictures to recreate his models. I would love to go back and see it finished in 14 years....I then headed to Palau de la Music a Catalana. It is supposed to be beautiful. But with a large price for admission, I decided to skip it. I continued on to Museum d'Historia, which is where they have the Roman remains of the city. I wandered through the basement and found a fish factory, a wine making factory, a laundry facility, and artifacts galore. It was fascinating. Although, since most of it was in Spanish with no translation, a little frustrating! I spent some time on La Rambla people watching before heading back to the hostel. But not before discovering a food market. They had fresh fruit and veggies, nuts, candy, smoothies, meat, cheeses.....and on and on. The meat counters were terrifying.,,,whole rabbits, fur and all, hanging from their tails. And then a bit further on, no fur but eyes...and then there were various sized heads with eyes, tongues, brains.....I quickly got away and avoided all the meat counters! Although I did buy a yummy fresh fruit smoothie and some fresh mango! Yum!
I took a break at the hostel and talked to grams, gramps and dad before heading out to meet,  who I had met in Tours. We made plans to go to the Font Magica, my whole reason for staying Friday night! We walked up the stairs of the metro to find a street lined with fountains and at the end of the street a huge fountain with music and different coloured lights. All up the hill behind it were more fountains and water falls.....it was so beautiful! I could have stayed for hours but my feet were pretty sore. I played tour guide through Barri Gotic before we stopped for some tea. After saying our goodbyes I headed back to the hostel and to bed. I had a much better sleep and am feeling so much better today.
I got up this morning and had an early breakfast before catching my bus to Valencia. It was a beautiful drive with parts of it beside the ocean and the rest surrounded by orange trees.  I arrived, after some backtracking and friendly locals using their GPS, at my hostel. I have been upgraded from 14 beds to an 8 bed dorm, although so far I am all alone in there. :( I got busy right away and explored the older part of the city near where I am staying. I then walked along the Alameda. It is a park which used to be a river. After flooding and destroying the town several times they built a dam to re route the water. It is now filled with a park and walking paths, plants, flowers, playgrounds, 'football' fields, bikes for rent, ponds and so much more. I walked along and found an event going on for a marathon. I turned around and walked back up, discovering the other side. It is beautiful. After three hours of walking I am ready for some dinner. Now that I am caught up on my blog I am going to do just that! Beunos Noches!

Barcelona Bound

Well the train ride from Paris to Barcelona was interesting to say the least. With 4 adults and more than double that in bags, our tiny cabin was packed full. Sitting in our seats there was no walking room or spare corner to speak of. When the guy came around to turn the beds down he took one look at the cabin, shook his head and said "I will have to come back". The other ladies were at dinner at this point so it was probably a good thing. Originally they were saying they weren't going to sleep or would just sleep in the chairs but I told them I would be sleeping in my bed. There is no way I could sleep in the little half chair provided, not to mention I paid for the bed so I should use it! When the beds were turned down the area to walk in became about a foot and a half by three feet...it was squishy especially since there was a ladder in the middle. After alk that talk, my three room mates fell asleep before I was even ready for bed! I slept fitfully.  Afraid of reaching my stop and being fast asleep in my pj's, I kept checking my clock. Didn't matter because they rang a buzzer about 40 minutes before anyways.

The first thing I saw in Barcelona....palm trees! Ah, where there are palm trees there is sun and heat! After heading outside and looking up and down the street I decided to get directions. I asked a security guard who spoke to me only in spanish while I spoke back only in english. I think we understood each other! I got to my hostel, dropped off my stuff and went out to find the free walking tour. I found Laura, born in Barcelona but lived in Scotland for 5 years, just in time. She took us around the Old City, also known as Barri Gotic. She was so informative and gave us history as well as fun facts. For example, Barcelona was founded in 15 BC by the Romans. There are remains of the Roman city underneath part of the Old quarter. Everytime an old building is torn down, they find some kind of archeological gem.  The people of Barcelona are Catalonian and don't think of themselves as Spanish. They even have their own dialect and traditions. Catalonia only lost their autonomy during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930's and then got it back in 1975. The Barri Gotic used to be the Jewish quarter until the plague hit the city. Many people thought the Jews brought it to the Christians even though they virtually lived in only this one part of the city. Sadly, the people who took over this quarter used old stones to build their homes and churches and this included Jewish grave stones and statues. As we walked along we came across Sta. Maria del Mar. From the outside it looked like a plain building, but when you looked through the doorway it was an oasis inside a church. It was absolutely beautiful. With trees and ponds, ducks, and little frogs.

A funny Catalonian tradition is at Christmas. They have Caganer who is a gnome figure that can be found squatting in nativity scenes. They have also branched out to include similar figurines of famous people. The idea is that you give back what you took from nature. They do literally have poo coming out of their bum, and are called sh*%#ers in English.  They also have Tio de Nadal or Caga Tió which is a log with a smiley face who is cared for by children in the days leading up to Christmas. On Christmas eve they cover him with a blanket and beat him with a stick and sing songs to him with the hope of getting him to poo presents. Just some interesting tidbits for you! Lol

After my tour I walked to the Estacio d'Autobusos Barcelona Nord to buy my bus ticket to Valencia. On the way there I found the Arc du Triomf on Pg Lluis Companys. I headed back towards the older part of town and walked along La Ramblas.  It is full of little shops and restaurants and it has a really neat atmosphere.  After wandering for most of the afternoon I decided to head back to the hostel and get checked into my room. I still wasn't feeling great. On the way back up Pg. De Garcia I saw the most beautiful building with masks on the balconies! I spent the evening talking to my dad and organizing my hostel for Valencia before taking a quick jaunt around the block in search of a light dinner. I decided afterwards to have a shower and this is what I found...dun dun dun! While the shower room is extremely clean, it is unisex, which isn't a big deal. I have dealt with that before. But most showers have a small "room" in front of the shower so you can change and have a dry place to leave your clothes. Not so. There were no hooks or room or anything. Just a row of shower stalls, which was tight enough for a shower let alone a spot to keep your clothes dry! Oh man....I managed to do it by balancing everything on the top of the door with as much hanging over as I could manage! Still, who thought that was a good set up! On a positive note, the doors were sturdy and solid and I was alone in the room!

I went to bed early to get a good sleep!

Tours

Villandry

Chambord

Azay Le Rideau

The story continues....

It has been awhile since I have written; not much was happening and then I was sick. I left York and arrived early evening in London. My hostel was near King's Cross Station (home of the Harry Potter Platform 9 3/4 for the HP fans) and I arrived in St. Pancras which is the same station. I found my hostel alright. The lobby looked nice enough but it took me ages to discover my room! None of the signs included my room number on it, which doesn't make any sense, I know. It turns out that it was through the kitchen and around a corner right beside an exit in the basement. Awesome. I opened the door to find things strewn everywhere. There were shoes and shirts thrown about and suitcases took up most of the floor. The beds were set up side by side with dividers in between for privacy. Both top and bottom bunk climb in at the end and of course on the bottom there is also the ladder to squeeze in beside. There were beds the whole width of the room, 5 across and 2 on either side of the door. And I'm talking bunk beds so that is a grand total of 14 beds/people in a room. Since the only floor space was at the end of the beds where people got in and out you can imagine the problems that could occur when everyone has a backpack or suitcase. I was feeling pretty crummy by the time I got to the hostel so I pretty much went to sleep, trying not to think about what might be crawling among everyones personal belongings.

I woke up early, got ready, ate breakfast (thank goodness for breakfast being included) and set out to Victoria station. I wanted to pick up some lunch as my bus ride was a whole day affair but half way to the metro station I realized that I actually had to be an hour early not just 30 minutes because it was an international trip. Oh man! I boogied my way to Victoria and made it about 45 minutes early which turned out to be just fine, I even had time to grab some food from a shop in the station. With the company I was using you don't need tickets, just your reference number. I whipped out my trusty notebook to find I had written everything BUT the reference number. Oh great! Thank goodness for wifi! Finally settled on the bus I relaxed and read my book. A 90 minute ferry ride between Dover and Calais and we were on our way again. I luckily was able to sleep for most of the ride between Bologne and Paris. The walk to the metro once in Paris took forever and at this point I felt pretty lousy, was extremely tired and hungry...it was after 7 at night. I arrived at my hostel close to 8, dropped off my bag and my first stop was the pharmacy where I bought vitamin c.....little did I know I should have just stocked up on all the drugs!

I slept wonderfully and woke up feeling rested. I had breakfast (also included) and did some research for my trip before heading to the train station for my trip to Tours France in the Loire Valley. Arriving mid afternoon I found the tourist office, got a map and some directions and set out to find my hostel. After checking in, and buying a membership :( (too bad it was the only hostel in the area) I found the first floor (really the second) in darkness. I got the key in my lock anyways and found I had a room to myself. A sink and everything. I set out in Tours to do some exploring and to see about a tour to the castles in the area. Tours is a picturesque town with medieval architecture. I was lucky enough to be staying in the old area where some of the buildings were still made of the original wood beam and plaster. Working my way back to the tourist office I booked a castle tour for the next day. I stopped at the grocery store for some dinner, my lunch for the tour and some snacks. Back at the hostel things were pretty dismal. The hallways are dark and only lightup when you hit the switch and then are timed to stay on for only a minute or two. The kitchen was all portable appliances and then a separate room with tables and chairs and a tv. Luckily I bought something microwaveable so it was easy to fix. I met a guy in the dining room who told me a bit about the area. He was really friendly and gave me a bag of apples as he was leaving and wouldn't be able to eat them before. And he was the only person I met in my three nights there. Depressing. As nice as it was to have my own room, I was definitely missing the company. And my room at night was downright creepy!

Saturday I woke up, enjoyed a great breakfast and headed out on my castle tour! First stop Azay Le Rideau. A beatiful chateau built on the foundations of a medieval fortress which is surrounded by water on 3 sides. The inside is as amazing as the outside. While not big in size, as far as castles go, it was actually built by a rich man and not by royalty. After that we saw Villandry, more known for its gardens than for the castle itself. While the inside is fabulous, the gardens are exquisite. The castle was built in 1536 by the Minister of Finance for King Francois I. The keep is the only thing that remains of the original medieval castle. It was redesigned in 1754 and then in 1906 the new owner designed and put in the 16th century gardens of which there are 7. Leaving the chateau on the second floor you come out overlooking the ornamental garden(fancy shrubs), the vegetable garden (designed with colour and use in mind),  just a glimpse of the water graden to the left and the woods are all behind you. There is also a sun garden, a maze, and a herb garden. The vegetable garden was by far the most amazing. Using the colour of the legumes to create pieces of art. In the summer, these gardens must be excuisite.

After a pick up back in Tours we continued on our way to  Chambord, the most breathtaking of the four we stopped at. The roofline of this chateau is marvelous and beyond description. It is a square building with four large rooms built around a double winding staircase, with three floors built the same. The staircase leads all the way to the roof terrace! From this main buidling wings come out on two sides and are built to make a rectangular shape with a courtyard on the inside. I later discovered that the stables are in one of these wings! It was started by Francis I in the 1500's and finished by Henry II and Louis XIV. It has 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces, amd 426 rooms. It is truly a masterpiece. Last stop was Chenonceau which I was originally the most excited about seeing but after seeing Chambord, not much else can compare. Chenonceau was built on the River Cher in the 16th century. The tower, from the original fortified castle was all that was not demolished. The great hall, called the gallery, is a long narrow room that juts out across the river. Almost every part of this castle is open to view, including the amazing kitchens! This chateau was supposedly given by a king to his mistress and when he died the Queen took it over. Each one added their own touch to the castle and so it is known as a ladies castle. Louise of Lorraine who was married to King Henri III retired to Chenonceau after he was assassinated and lived in a black bedroom (floor, walls, celing, curtians, bed, everything!) to mourn her husband's death.

After the wonderdul tour of the chateaus, I stopped for some dinner and headed to use what was left of my 24 hour/€4 wifi. I extended my stay so that I could rest on Sunday, and thank goodness I had my own room! I coughed the night away. After getting up for breakfast, I spent another several hours in bed. I got up to go to McD's to use their wifi, and to buy my train ticket across the street and then back to bed. Another night full of coughing. So first thing this morning I went to a pharmacy and got cough syrup, which I have already taken twice and doesn't seem to be working. Unfortunately, I am on a sleeper train, which is good for the overnight trip but bad because I am crammed in with three other ladies like sardines in a can. Between my backpack and their 5+ suitcases, getting the beds down were a challenge. I am hoping for a cougless night, for their sake..and for the sake of my future room mates in the hostel in Barcelona! Off to bed!