A beautiful May trip to Paris

Preparatory research
lots of friends' personal recommendations
New York travel section
Paris veggie recs

French brushing up resources
Speaking Hints-French Notes
Real Life French podcast episodes
Easy French Poetry podcast
My conversations go quite well and I am pleasantly surprised to understand the majority of everything I hear and read.

Food eaten
carrot bread, tomme des vosges cheese, and rambutans from the Baudoyer plaza market:pain chocolat
crêpes (especially with nutella)
best bagels ever at Rosiers and Ecouffies Jewish bakeryfalafel at both L'As du Falafel and Chez Mariannemacaroons (a little disappointing, they remind me of flavored Tootsie Rolls)
decadent Ladurée berry cream puff

Museums visitedThe Louvre: Behold the crowds. The Denon wing is pretty well covered in a Rick Steves audio tour. After listening, we try to see some Rembrandt and Vermeer and stumble upon a truly bizarre temporary exhibit that has installed contemporary pieces alongside permanent collection pieces in the Flemish and Dutch painting rooms. We are completely unprepared for Jan Fabre's weirdness: sculptures covered in brass tacks, peacocks constructed out of pills, a recording of people moaning and wearing armor and the coup de grâce--Voldemort-Nagini amalgamation spread over tombstones occupying the Rubens hall. I don't photograph the craziest stuff.Musée d'Orsay: We only do the top floor because we want to concentrate more time there on Impressionists and Post-impressionists. New-found love of Toulouse-Lautrec for A. and discovery of Redon. Superb collection with lots of gems.Musée Rodin: There's a temporary exhibit of Camille Claudel which I would encourage everyone to see even though we couldn't. The place is really packed and we are there a little too close to closing time. Since I don't get to see the exhibit, I buy a book about her. So make sure you go early and preferably before July 20. I personally prefer the garden sculptures to the indoor installations, which are not laid out to handle so many visitors.Centre Pompidou: Only the Stravinsky fountains outside.
Sights seen
Institut du Monde Arabe: The mechanical openings are supposed to move but are at a standstill.Notre Dame: Outside only: way too many tourists for me to want to push through the swarms.InvalidesEiffel towerPantheonArc de Triomphe
Ambient highlights:
Rue Mouffetard
Other Latin Quarter streets, including one where a private lunch is being enjoyed in the shadeSpace invaders street art mosaicsFun little Marais shops near where we stay
Escaping the crowds back behind the Sacre CoeurBridges galore and the sunny SeineA much too long walk at night from Arc de Triomphe via the Eiffel tower to our hotel, admiring houseboats on the Seine along the way but ultimately killing our feet.
The marked contrast between a quiet right bank in the mornings and Les Halles packed with Paris teens in the evening.
The view outside our hotel window (Place Baudoyer):The only disconcerting experience we have is on a packed metro car on the way to Montmartre when a psychotic man picks a fight with an older woman who had (barely) bumped him with her baby stroller and it escalates to the point where he is forced off the car by fellow passengers, but not without yelling and striking the outside of the car. A couple of very tense minutes ensue, but in the end a plainclothes cop shows up and we all go on our way.

Window-shopping (window licking in French)
Stohrer bakery and other Rue Montorgueil gourmet shopsAve. Montagne: I don't recognize half the fashion house names but A. says he does. My jaw drops at the 4-digit price of a dress I see...and there's no decimal point.

Places on our to-see list for next time
Ste.-Chappelle
Peace memorial close to the Eiffel tower
Cinémathèque Française
Versailles
Flea markets

We saw a lot in three days. We hope it's the first of many.
(More photos at Picasa link).

Sevilla, architecture and azulejos

Sevilla was a fun visit, but we felt like there was a lot we weren't able to see that we would've liked to. Like the Plaza de Toros, the Archivo de Indias and Museo de Bellas Artes. Still, we were able to see the Alcázar and the Plaza de España. See the first; but skip the second. In homage to all the beautiful azulejos and yeso carvings we saw on our journey, here are pictures we took of architectural details in Sevilla (Alcázar), Granada (Alhambra) and Córdoba (Meziquita):


The most trouble we ran into in Sevilla when it came time for tapas was that all the cheap places were standing-room only, and all the places where you could sit weren't cheap. I'm sorry to say we didn't make it to a flamenco bar that night, being pretty tired from our whirwind tour of Andalucía. We resolved to go see live flamenco in Madrid, perhaps for example at Cardamomo.

Granada and the Alhambra

Granada...magical city. The closest I think I've ever been to Morrocco, literally and figuratively. Its main attraction, of course, is the stunning palace of El Alhambra. I had my fst chance to visit it in 2004 and I had anticipated the place for a long time. That's because way back in middle school, I had played a piano duet in three parts: "The Alhambra Suite."

When we arrived by bus from Córdoba, we decided we'd try to squeeze that landmark in during the afternoon, but after a quick falafel and catching a bus to the Alhambra, we realized all the tickets earmarked for that day had been sold out. Word to the wise: buy them in advance.

We resolved to rise really early to stand in line for same-day tickets and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the labyrinthine Albayzin area, and encountering lots of Grenadine life--like impromptu flamenco practices in a park with the Alhambra brooding in the sunset (too bad we had no audio recorder with us to pick up the live guitar). We would recommend going to the mosque instead of the mirador for your least crowded viewing experience.

Leaving the Albayzin area just after dark didn't seem like the greatest idea when we were all by ourselves in a very, ahem, bohemian area, but soon enough we were back down near the city center on backstreets modeled after Arabic bazaars. We were enticed by scarves and slippers and in our hunt for silk teabags for a gift, we met a really great shopkeeper at the Flor de la Té (everyone sent us his way and he turned out to be the premier supplier of everyone else).

We especially loved the teterías and the dulces árabes you can buy in this area. I think those two items alone could convince me to join one of Granada's hippie-student communes.

We ate at an OK Lebanese restaurant, but I regret not having sought out the pitch-perfect couscous at Restaurante Arrayanes, which comes highly recommended.

In the morning, we were at the Alhambra entrance at 7 a.m. and were able to get tickets for the complex. It felt uncomfortably crowded, moreso than I'd remembered, but out in the Generalife gardens it felt more private.

The strangest part was seeing the showpiece Court of Lions, which normally has a fountain surrounded by 12 lions in the center, but due to restoration has...a big box.

Córdoba

Shame on me for waiting what is an eternity in blog-time to catch up on posting. All one of my readers has complained. ; ) Without further ado, here's my write-up of the earliest backlog--our December trip to Andalucía...

In case you didn't know, Spaniards have a habit of taking an extra day off if it happens to fall between a Thursday or Tuesday holiday and the weekend. This is codified into many school calendars at various times throughout the year, and the result is referred to as a "bridge," or puente.

For our early December puente, we were very ambitious, and decided we could visit 3 cities in the south in 4 days. The first city we hit was beautiful Córdoba. After a quick chocolate and churros breakfast at El Brillante, we hopped on a Talgo express train from Atocha to Córdoba a city that harks back to Al-Andalus, or Muslim-ruled Spain.

Upon getting off, we were very hungry and searched for too long for food before deciding on a so-so place "Ohlalá" for nourishing bocadillos. We then had only an hour or so to catch the mezquita-catedral and we didn't have a hostal yet so went there with our rolling luggage in hand, bouncing along the narrow cobblestone roads.

The mosque-turned-cathedral is amazing and definitely one of the top historical architectures I've ever visited, with its hundreds of red and white arches.

Unfortunately, the original beauty of the mezquita is considerably marred by the walling in and conversion to a cathedral that was started in the 1200s, upon Córdoba's reconquest. While the entire building is rather incongruous, it does provide interesting juxtapositions for photographs. Like this crucifixion scene:

My favorite part of the building is the mihrab, from where prayers were led. It reminds me of the Spanish scenes in The Fountain.

After the mezquita we found a nice place to stay at 30 euros a night. It was called Pensión El Portillo. We dumped our stuff, got ready, and went out for tapas. And oh, what tapas we had. First stop was a buzzing place we had seen tucked away off Calle Judíos called Taberna Guzmán. The place is covered with bullfighting memorabilia and they serve a fantastic tapa called berenjenas aliñadas.

Our next stop was right near the hostal, appetizingly called "Taberna Sociedad de Plateros" (Silversmiths Society Tavern?) (Calle San Francisco 6). We had mouthwatering carne con tomate and torta de gambas in a cute covered patio with friendly waitstaff.

Aside from that we had a leisurely walk along the historic streets of near the mezquita, enjoying the warm Andalucian weather. In the morning, we breakfasted on fresh tartas del Alcázar and visited the Julio Romero de Torres Museum (famous Andalucía/flamenco culture paintins, free on Saturdas), the synagogue, and the Casa Andalusí (plenty of photo opps there). By mid-day we were on a long bus headed for Granada and the magical Alhambra.

Gernika--70 years later

We began our last day in Basque Country by checking out of our lovely casa rural and thanking our hosts, and then walking all the way down the mountain for breakfast. I was better able to appreciate the view of the river and the surrounding meadows on the way downhill.

Our destination that morning was Gernika, a small town accessible by a bus that leaves Bilbao every half hour. Historically, it was the seat of Basque government, but it entered popular consciousness when Franco (with Hitler and Mussolini in cahoots) bombed the civilian population there in 1937. The incident inspired Picasso to paint his famous Guernica, which didn't enter Spain for more than 40 years until Franco's despotic rule was over.

We learned a lot about the history of the painting itself at a special exhibit (related to the 70th anniversary) at the Museo de la Paz in Gernika. We watched at least an hour of an art history documentary related to the painting and its politics. Of course, the painting itself remains safe at the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid. Read up on what this piece of art has gone through and you'll understand why it's not likely to be transported any time soon.

I love the Peace Museum in Gernika. The permanent museum space is dedicated half to the bombing of Gernika and half to the process of peacemaking, with reconciliation between survivors of the bombing and descendents of the German fighter pilots responsible for the deaths as an example. Gernika stands as such a powerful, universal symbol against totalitarian violence, due largely to Picasso's influence, and yet it was also a concrete experience for Basques who lived through the Spanish Civil War. I picked up an informative map of the town that indicates which few buildings survived the bombing unscathed (perhaps 20 percent of the town) and which have had to be totally reconstructed.

I was sobered to read a plaque stating the estimated civilian loss of life in Dresden, Germany (at 30,000) when experts place the Gernika numbers at around 250. I shall have to visit historical sites in Dresden when I visit Germany. Despite all the good intention of the Peace Museum, I get angry and frustrated to think of the genocide and injustice that continues today in other lands. But I won't drift into my international politics now, since the focus here is on a war that is tucked safely into Spain's past.

Our next stop was the Casa de Juntas, where a Basque parliament met historically (the autonomous government currently meets in Vitoria-Gasteiz). I proudly spoke my limited Basque with one of the grounds curators as A. tried to capture the grandeur of the stained glass ceiling through photography. Outside the building is the famous Oak of Gernika, or at least part of the 300-year-old trunk of the previous tree, beside which a new tree grows.

We returned to Bilbao and needed to eat something, but because of the hour, the only thing we could find was an American-Western-themed grill called "Boys" with John Wayne photos on one wall and Latino music videos blaring on another. The meal wasn't bad, but it certainly lacked Basque authenticity. The best part of it was our dessert: the great Alacant brand of ice cream.

Later, we enjoyed wandering through the old casco viejo of the city and observing everyday Bilbao citizens (and their pet dogs) going about. Bilbao would be a very nice place to live, we concluded. We reflected on how kind the Basque people had been to us during our travels (from metro behavior to store clerks). Not to demean madrileños or any other Spaniards, but the Basques are so nice. Eskerrik asko.

We departed from the main train station, with its awesome stained glass window, weary from carrying our packs around all day (remember: no consignas in Basque Country). I can't say that I slept well on the train ride home, since there weren't any couchettes. But over the next two days I had ample time to rest at home as A. took care of me, and I soon recovered from whatever was ailing me.

We hope we can return to Basque country in the future months. If you have any suggestions for us for things we should do or see or if you know someone who lives there that we could meet up with, we'd be happy to hear from you.

Inside the Bilbao train station

Bilbao/Bilbo (Baggins?)

I woke up in San Sebastián feeling sore but I passed it off as stemming from the walking and sun from the day before. But after a serpentine hour-long bus trip to Bilbao, I lost my cookies. I don't know if I picked up a bug somewhere or ate something off, but I am pretty sure I didn't contract meningitis or any other serious disease. Still, I felt weak and sick to my stomach enough that it put a damper on Bilbao, or Bilbo, as it is called in Basque. (Speaking of good food under other circumstances, though, there's an excellent bakery inside a gourmet grocery store called Don Serapio, which is at Calle Sancho el Sabio 22, near the bus station in San Sebastián).

We had reserved a double room for 35€ at an agroturismo casa rural in Bilbao, curious about how these accommodations would be compared to the windowless hostel rooms we had been paying 40€ for. When we called the house managers, they assured us we would have nearby public transportation, since they were only 1 km away from a metro stop. What they neglected to mention is that it was a kilometer straight uphill.
Now, the accommodations were lovely, and the views remarkable (see picture above), but I was not in the best shape to be chugging up the mountain with my backpack. We took a few wrong turns on the way up, which complicated matters, so I was very grateful to see our quaint room. I would recommend the casa rural experience to everyone. Obviously it's easier if you have your own car to get around, but it is still possible to stay in a casa rural in various Spanish provinces that is located within a metropolitan zone that has fairly good public transportation. In our case, we found that a bus to central Bilbao passed by within a block of the house.

After a quick shower (with the most reliable heated water I've experienced yet in Spain, my apartment included), we were off to the city. Our first stop was the Museo Vasco, which has many ethnographic and archaeological exhibits pertaining to Basque culture and history. There was a lot to digest, but some of the lessons we took home had to do with traditional Basque sports, religion, and fishing techniques.

We were also lucky to catch a special 70th anniversary exhibit on Gernika. It included historical film footage of the bombing and its aftermath and a tapestry version of Picasso's Guernica. Next we checked out the Guggenheim, with all its quirky architecture and modern art...I recommend the documentary Sketches of Frank Gehry if you have the time. Still, this museum is getting more and more expensive, which concerns me.

I have to admit I repented many times for having brought an old edition of my guidebook, LP. It was outdated on many basic points for Bilbao, understandable considering the ever-growing city that it is. It's my fault for not buying at least the guide with 2006-current info. Additionally, one of the city tourist information offices had moved from the address we had and the other was closed when we got there. Luckily, we were able to call a hotline and get information on transportation options to Gernika for the following day.

Souvenirs from the city:

• Kukuxumusu postcards depicting Basque culture
• small flag of Euskal Herria
• t-shirt with four ancient Basque runes
• wooden box with Basque symbol of the four elements
• glass with Guggenheim sketch design
  

San Sebastián--sculpture and sea

The RENFE train ride from Barcelona was infinitely better than our bus experience. For an overnight ride just as long as that between Madrid and Barcelona, the difference between being able to lay down (in a couchette, or litera, as they are called) and being upright is amazing.

San Sebastián (or Donostia, as it's known in Basque) is one of my all-time favorite destinations in Spain. I was especially looking forward to visiting the Basque Country (Euskal Herria in Basque) after having taken a beginning course in the Basque language--Euskara--this past summer. Bai, bai. (Even Viggo Mortensen has learned to speak a little, to the delight of the opening night audience at the San Sebastián film festival...too bad we aren't there now to enjoy it.

Unfortunately, the Basque Country is quite well known for a small group of political extremists and even some incidences of terrorism. This image makes many Spaniards and others afraid to visit the area or to reach out to Basques. My experience, though, is that the people and the country are placid and welcoming. I have never felt unsafe there; in fact, after being anxious the whole two days in Barcelona that I would be a pickpocket target (having had my backpack stolen last time I was there) it was a relief to feel genuinely safe on the streets here in this friendly beach town. [UPDATE: I highly recommend you read this post, written by friends of mine who are temporarily based in Spain who are also responsible for first introducing me to the Basque Country. They explain more about the Basques' history and culture.]

For some reason (probably related more to fear than actual threat), the luggage lockers at all public transportation facilities had been placed out of commission a few months back, in San Sebastián train and bus stations and in Bilbao as well. The security risk could be adequately resolved with X-ray equipment and guards (as in Barcelona's Estació Sants). At any rate, our mobility was severely hampered by this development. We are strong proponents of storing your backpack away during the day while you travel to different sites--good for your back health and good for helping you blend in.

Our first stop...after finding a hostel to drop off our backpacks and eating breakfast by where the sea meets the river...was the Chillida-Leku museum, a leisurely outdoor installation of sculptures by the Basque artist Eduardo Chillida. It's 10 minutes outside the city, but easily accessible by the G2 bus. We took the bus back to the Concha beach, walking past sunbathers to the famous Chillida sculpture El Peine del Viento (Wind Comb), which he installed on an outcrop of rocks by the sea. The artwork's 30th anniversary was celebrated this past month.

It's a piece best appreciated on stormy days when the wind and waves get going, producing a musical howl. On this visit, it was cloudless but still photo-worthy. We walked from there several kilometers along the beach to another outdoor sculpture, this one by Jorge Oteiza. The walk was invigorating and the views of the bay spectacular. On our way, we encountered a blue Serveta scooter. Later, we visited three churches, all very nice. Unfortunately, my favorite museum, San Telmo, is closed for repairs. We did catch a great Gargallo temporary exhibit at the Kursaal performance hall though. His homage to Chagall:

That night we went out for pintxos (as tapas are known in Basque country) in the old part (parte vieja or alde zaharra) of the city. The first stop, Bar Aralar, was one I had read about in my guidebook. It turned out to be yummy but very expensive. Our second stop was a nondescript marisquería where we had mejillones tigres (mussels in marinara sauce) and fried calamari. The third place was by far our favorite, not for the fanciness of the food, but because the proprietress was so inviting. It's a place called Bar Narrica, located on Calle Narrica, and it's known for its sandwiches. If it hadn't been closed for vacations, Casa Alcalde would certainly have been worth a visit for its cuisine and outgoing chef.

All in all, San Sebastián was a relaxing and rejuvenating stop on the road, and I would recommend any traveler to Spain stop there.

Souvenirs from the city:

• 6 Chillida prints
  

Barcelona (with Spanish, Catalán and Swedish music)

Last week, we got back from a trip to Barcelona and Basque country--fabulous parts of Spain if you ever have to opportunity to travel there. Here's a recap of our experiences:

To begin with, we would strongly warn against taking a cheap long bus ride if you are taller than 5 feet 8 inches. It is a false economy! After a tortuous overnight 7-hour ride from Madrid to Barcelona spent with constant pressue against our knees, we decided we should have taken the train or paid more for the next grade of bus. Measuring in at 6 feet 3 inches, A. had it worse than me, but I (5 feet 11 inches) still felt too cramped to be comfortable.

That, and the two drunk and talkative men on the bus made for a mostly sleepless night. We happily got off at the Estació Sants (one stop earlier than the main bus depot at Estació Nord). From this clean train and bus station, we bought two two-day metro abonos and were emerging at the Liceu stop on the famous Rambla street at around 8 a.m. Spending just 4€ at the bustling Mercat La Boquería, we had ourselves a delicious breakfast of fruit, bread and cheese to start off the day. We ate it in the pleasant Plaça Reial, where, we later learned, Antoni Gaudí designed the lamp posts.We kicked off our sightseeing for the day at the Sagrada Familia cathedral, and boy is it worth getting there as soon as it opens before the place is overrun with group tours! The less people, the more peacefully you can enjoy the innovative edifice. It is certainly worth climbing or taking an elevator to the top of a tower (word to the wise: there are at least two, and the one on the Nativity façade side was clear of lines at 10 a.m. even as the other one had a line about 100 people deep and growing). From up top, you can enjoy views of the city, the current construction efforts and then the dizzying descent done narrow spiral stairs.

Will the Sagrada Familia ever be finished? Hopefully some day it will, and I will be able to say that I contributed through my admission ticket. I learned more on this trip about the building history than I had on my first visit to Barcelona, thanks very much to the worthy documentary video in the museum in the basement of the Sagrada Familia (shown in Spanish and English on a rotating basis). Also, I learned tons about this and other Gaudí works at the Espai Gaudí in La Pedrera (which we visited the following day).

Our next stop was the Museu Picasso, and it was crowded, but still a worthwhile spot. Nearby, we encountered the Museu de la Xocolata. We figured it was a better investment to patronize their café rather than pay tickets to see the chocolate sculptures. Money well spent. I consider their thick hot chocolate the best in all of Spain and recommend sampling it as an imperative part of any Barcelona itinerary. We ended up buying a package of the cocoa to make at home.

After walking around a while, A. stated adamantly that we were mistaken in choosing Madrid as our home--since Barcelona has a far cooler vibe. I maintain that he still hasn't seen enough of Madrid to judge properly, but I admit, Barcelona is a very cool city. As a case in point, we found in Barcelona our first Serveta and several awesome Vespas (see pix). We are vintage scooter aficionados, but until we can afford to actually collect them, we have begun collecting photos of them from our travels. (In Spain, the normal Italian Vespa and Lambretta brands were manufactured as MotoVespa and Serveta).

Walking down the street St. Jaume in Barri Goti, we were approached by a young Spanish tout about a concert that night. Despite his terrible English and our reluctance to trust activities targeted at tourists, we went to the Palau de la Música Catalana to check it out. We had wanted to visit this modernist jewel anyways, and since the cost of a guided building tour was 8€, we felt it was worth paying 12€ for the cheapest tickets to the Spanish guitar concert that night.

After a siesta and shower at our pension, we put on our most respectable clothes and returned for the 9 p.m. concert (I had packed a dress but I had only my bulky black hiking shoes to go with them...not pretty). It turned out to be a great experience--both musically and visually stimulating. We were treated to a performance of excerpts from "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Joaquín Rodrigo, "Recuerdos de La Alhambra," and other Spanish guitar classics by maestro Manuel González. It was a real treat. Besides his expert execution of the music, we enjoyed the gorgeous carousel-like music hall, decorated with colorful mosaics and this incredible art nouveau stained glass ceiling. A truly beautiful night.On our second day in Barcelona, we went to watch local Catalanes dance the circular sardana dance. For it, they gather in the plaza by the cathedral daily and are accompanied by a wind band. Most dancers wear espadrille shoes; the steps aren't fancy but it was still fun to watch the young and old Barcelonans dancing side by side.

We picnicked croissants in Parc Güell, a fantastic park constructed by Gaudí and now a great place to spend the afternoon. The park was initially supposed to be a private residential and commercial area for a few privileged families, but it was never finished. I'm glad the project fell through in the end, because now the public can enjoy this whimsical area. My favorite part is the snaking mosaicked bench (see picture below).

Finally, we went to two houses by Gaudí: Casa Battlló and La Pedrera. Unfortunately, we could not afford the entry fee to the interesting-looking Casa Battlló; 16€ each was much too hefty for our budget. Luckily, we more than got our money's worth at La Pedrera. For a reduced student price of 4.50€ each, we toured two floors and the roof of this amazing building, all the while with an informative audioguide (included in the price).

The first floor is outfitted like a residence of the 1920s, including some ergonomic furniture designed by Gaudí. There's an art store there devoted totally to art nouveau--I would buy every book, scarf and poster in it if I could. Loved it. The second floor is the Espai Gaudí, a very well designed multimedia exhibit that goes over all of Gaudí's major works with video of the interiors of even Casa Battlló (take that, moneymongers!) and of at least 10 lesser-visited buildings. Finally, the roof has fantastic sculptures on it that remind me of Roman soldiers.

Our final find in Barcelona were xocolate-covered xurros at a small xurrería at Calle Banys Nous 7. We ate them as we ambled back down La Rambla, passing the ever varying human sculptures one last time before getting on our overnight train to San Sebastián.

I just have to mention a fun musical group that totally captures the spirit of Barcelona: they are called I'm From Barcelona and they are actually...not. They are Swedish and there are 29 of them. Listen here at NPR.

Souvenirs from the city:

• glass with Picasso toro design
• postcards of vintage Spanish adverts
  
• handpainted mosaic box
• magnet of Parc Güell's emblematic dragon
• poster of Las Ramblas