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Barcelona Basics: Food, Friends, and Gaudi
Barcelona was a non-stop adventure. I arrived at midnight on Friday night and made my way to Don Moustache Hostel via the Aerobus. My friends, Kate and Sarah, had arrived Thursday night. After a good night’s sleep (despite all the snoring–good thing I always travel with ear plugs!) we started off Saturday morning with some Gaudi. Antoni Gaudi is Barcelona’s most famous architect and his designs can be found all across the city. Our first stop was Casa Batllo. Casa Batllo Gaudi designed the house for a wealthy aristocrat who lived with his family on the first two floors and rented the rest out as apartments. It’s said there are…
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Nice Carnival: Battle of the Flowers
Carnival kicked off in Nice today with a Flower Parade, called Batailles des Fleurs. We embraced the sun and the season (even though all the locals were in coats and scarfs). It is a Flower Parade, so we wore our flower clothes! There are a bunch of performers and floats, but what is most unique is that the floats feature local flowers that are thrown into the crowd as the parade follows the route. All the spectators get to go home with a bouquet of flowers. This was an incredible experience because fun and festivities are universal. It didn’t matter that most of the performers probably didn’t speak my language…
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The History of Geneva, as told by a Church
When I told my dad I was going to Geneva for the weekend, his reply was, “I’ve always wanted to go to Switzerland, and now you’re going there…in a way.” F for geography skills, Dad, because Geneva is in Switzerland. But, also, I know exactly what he means. It sure doesn’t feel like Switzerland. It just feels like a big city…where they happen to still speak French. Nonetheless, I had a good time exploring the city. We saw the infamous Jet d’Eau. This is the tallest fountain in the world at 140 meters. Originally, Geneva had a 30 meter fountain intended to release the pressure from a hydraulic plant. It…
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Carcassonne: a Castle Playground
Carcassonne is a French town in the Midi-Pyrénées region of France. It’s a 3 hour train ride from Marseille. This is my first time on a train (but not my last). And the whole process was made so easy by my Eurail Pass (thanks Mom and Dad!). Carcassonne is divided into two towns—the Bastide Saint Louis and the Cité. Our Airbnb was located in the lower town, Bastide Saint Louis. On the left is the Jacobins Gate, once part of the walled fortifications that surrounded the Bastide Saint Louis. A specialty of the region is a dish called Cassoulet. It is made from Toulouse pork sausage and duck baked with…
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Aix Marks the Spot: Exploring my Temporary Home
Aix en Provence is the city of a thousand fountains. Les Fontaines This is the Fontaine de la Rotonde at one end of the Cours Mirabeau, which is the Champs-Élysées of Aix. This is the Fontaine des Quatre Dauphins (Fountain of Four Dolphins). In many of the smaller fountains in Aix, the water is drinkable and my school recommends that we fill our water bottles there. This makes me feel very Roman. Le Marché The produce market is everyday (except Sunday), but the other three markets that all combine to make up the Grand Marché only occur on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The Central Square I eat breakfast and dinner…
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A Chateau and a Vineyard…I Must Be in France
IAU, as part of the Early Start Program, planned out a few French activities to introduce us to region of Provence. We began with a trip to petit village of Vauvenargues. Picasso bought a castle in this town at the base of the Montagne Sainte-Victoire in the 1950s. His family still owns the castle and he is buried on the grounds. On another day, we visited a local vineyard and winery, Château du Seuil. The speciality of the Provence region is rosé. The winery owners led us on a tour and gave us samples of their red, white, and rosé. All three wines were very fruity, which the owners explained…
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Istanbul: Jewel of the Empire
It signifies that the Romans were intrigued by past civilizations, as I am. And, like colonizers, were adept at stealing cool cultural monuments to display in their own country rather than leaving them where they belong.
