Last Stop: Spain

When I decided to add Spain to my round the world adventure, I was suddenly flooded with advice.  Way more people than I expected have vacationed or lived there and they all had very strong opinions on what I should visit during my ten day stay.  Since my best friend's little sister Lulu (or Elizabeth, hey I've known her since she was a kid, I can't get my brain around the "new" grownup name,) lives in Madrid, it was a given that I would base there and take advantage of her years of experience (and her couch!) 

 

Leaving Italy was hard.  No problems or anything, it's just I really loved my time there and there was so much more I wanted to do.  Oh well, next time...  

I landed in Madrid in the middle of the afternoon and followed Lulu's directions to the bar where she had me wait for her to get off work.  A couple of cold beers later, she popped in and we eventually headed to her apartment.  Later I met her boyfriend Mike (not Australian, amazing!) and we went out to dinner.  Spaniards are known for eating late and the restaurant we went to doesn't even open until 9PM!  We had a long leisurely dinner and then we walked all over town and they pointed out the sights at night.  It is really a late night town, the streets and bars were with people and we even saw parents with kids out walking around after 1AM!  

The city is filled with Plazas and grand boulevards and I spent days wandering around local neighborhoods, sampling Spanish cuisine at tapas bars, and seeing the sights.  Madrid has some of the best art museums in the world - the Prado, the Thyssen, and the Reina-Sofia where I spent a long Sunday afternoon with Lulu and Mike.  I have a very large print of Picasso's Guernica, it's one of my favorites of all the prints I own - his vision of a horrible Nazi bombing during the Spanish Civil War and the power and anguish the he projects in the tortured figures is so compelling.  

This massive piece is displayed there along with many of the sketches and studies Picasso drew as he prepared to paint it.  I could have spent hours just looking, it seemed every time I was about to turn away I would notice a new element of figure that I never noticed before in my much smaller copy.  One night, Lulu found us a true Flamenco show in a tiny out of the way bar.  While the singing is not exactly one of my faves, the whole effect of the musicians and the dancing in the dark smoky club was fantastic, and I would really recommend seeking out a good local show when you visit Spain.

One day I took the high speed train to Toledo, a small city with tons of history.  This medieval shows off a blend of the cultures that shaped Spain through the centuries.  Moorish, Christian and Jewish influences are visible in many of the old city's buildings.  There are some pleasant little museums and I really enjoyed the views from the old defensive walls of the town.  Many of the streets are tiny winding alleys that reminded me of Stonetown in Zanzibar - must be the Arab influences...

Barcelona is a city I've always known I would visit and fall in love with, so I couldn't wait to have my friend Vicki show me around - but then she went and got an internship and decided to stay in the Seychelles a while (who could really blame her, I mean - c'mon, wouldn't you want to stay in paradise and play with turtles for another 10 weeks?)  So when I visited I was sadly on my own.  The hostel I picked turned out to be fantastic, and its location on Passeig de Gracia could not have been better situated for visiting this wondrous city.  I walked down the famous boulevard Las Ramblas, poked around the Barri Gotic and El Raval, looked in on markets, drank wine at a cafe overlooking the harbor, and sampled yummy Catalan cooking.  There were some great art museums here, too, MACBA (contemporary art,) one specifically for Picasso and one for Miro.  Definitely my kind of city.  One day was my modernista day and I visited all the buildings and parks created in this style.  The greatest examples of the genius of Gaudi, the Father of the movement, is la Sagrada Familia, probably the most stunning cathedral I've ever seen - and it's not even finished yet!  Started in the late 1800's, artisans and architects are projected to be working to finish Gaudi's masterpiece sometime in the middle of this century... 

Two more recent jewels of the city are its fantastic aquarium (with a walk-through shark tunnel,) and all the Olympic venues on Montjuic.  I made the long long walk up that hill before noticing there is a special graded metro train that makes the steep trip.  The restaurants in Barcelona are amazing and my last night there, I had one of the best meals of my entire trip with my roommate Maddie.  Then we barhopped around the city and wound up dancing until 4 or 5 (I think...)  I was a little groggy the next morning, but all I had to do was survive the short jet trip back to Madrid.

When I got there, it was Carnaval, so Mike, Lulu and I watched part of a parade before going out for an awesome Paella dinner.  The next day we wandered through street markets, ate tapas at tiny local places, shopped some more and then went to the movies when we couldn't take the rain anymore.  I went online to find out which teams were playing in the Superbowl and at 12:30 AM, headed to an irish bar to watch it.  Not too surprisingly, the place was almost deserted, with only about seven of us watching the game.  Through the first three quarters it wasn't very exciting, and the situation was made worse by the fact that the Spanish feed doesn't show any of the highly anticipated commercials.  When the game paused, (and it sure paused a lot!) the feed was just a long range shot of the entire stadium from deep in an upper deck corner.  It got pretty boring waiting for the next play to start, and the halftime show took forever,  so I wasn't too upset when the staff closed the bar and tossed all of us out at the end of the third quarter around 3:30.  Little did I know how good a game it would turn out to be and of course I missed the best part...

I really enjoyed Spain, while not flashy and covered with touristy options like Italy, it has a good feel with lots of low key things to do.  The museums are top-notch, the transportation options were easy and everywhere, and the food and drink are great and despite the saggy dollar, not too badly priced.  The people are more reserved than in other countries, but the combination of uniquely Spanish things to do and visit made for a great stay.  One difficulty that surprised me was the language.  I've picked up a fair bit of Spanish traveling in Mexico and around Central and South America, but with the accent, the speed of delivery and tone range spoken, I could never figure out a thing anyone was saying in Spain.  I did like the whole concept of getting a plate of tapas with every round of drinks you ordered, and was very amused that if you order a Biquini, you get a grilled cheese sandwich.  Even funnier was the number of mullets on display - I had hoped this horrible hairstyle was dead everywhere in the world, but no - the Spanish male thinks it is a cool expression of coolness.  

After Madrid, the next stop was home so the next morning, I packed my bag for the last time and said farewell to Lulu already feeling some nostalgia and an urge to be on the road again.  I think I've got the travel bug bad - a condition made obvious to me on my layover in Heathrow.   With several hours to kill, I caught myself in front of the travel section at the Borders books, rifling through the guides and had to laugh at myself.  Not even home yet and already dreaming...

I've been home now for a couple of weeks - the family is visited, friends recontacted, cell phone activated and even Voodoo has forgiven me my long absence.  My backpack is completely empty for the first time in months and looks pretty forlorn.  There is still some sand in the corners though...

What's next?  Who knows?  But no matter where I end up, I will always have this wonderful journey of world and self-discovery to look back on and smile.  

Plus, I'm a whole day younger!

Thanks for traveling along with me here, I hope you enjoyed it almost as much as I did...

Clement

All Roads Lead To Rome…

                                          Even at Four AM.

It was good to escape the menacing streets of Kenya and head for the reportedly safer streets of Europe. My flight to Rome connected through Heathrow the day after a runway accident there had made the news even in Nairobi, but I was still surprised by the impact it was having over 24 hours later. So a plane misses the runway – there were no serious injuries, just drag the wreckage out of the way and get on with it. But not at Heathrow, there they decided to close one of their two runways to investigate. I’m confused a little bit but then again I’m not so smart, wasn’t the problem that the plane missed the runway, why close it? So while I managed to escape on time a riot-torn African city where the government has possibly stolen power, hundreds had been slain, and tens of thousands are homeless refugees, in England the next leg of my flight was five and a half hours late while authorities looked at some torn up grass. Ahhh, civilization. So I grabbed a meal, found a comfy spot and started to read the new Lonely Planet I bought for Italy. (Holy shit, books are expensive in the UK!)

I finally landed in Rome at 3:30AM, long after the public transport options had closed and shared a taxibus into town with six other travelers. For 30 Euros apiece!!! Already I was getting the authentic ancient Roman experience - being treated like a Sabine. Dropped at the door of my reserved hostel at 5AM, I vainly knocked on their locked door for 15 minutes before pulling out my Lonely Planet to see what other options were available in the neighborhood. Squinting at the text and tiny maps by streetlight, I wandered several streets and knocked on several doors before luckily finding Freedom Traveler’s Hostel near Termini train station.

I slept through the free breakfast the next morning and got a late start on my sightseeing, but still managed to pack a lot into my day. With a tourist map in my fist, I headed to a street market to get myself some warm clothes - after months in Asia and Africa, I was freezing my ass off! Before this trip, I had always hated haggling, but I must have learned well in the markets of Thailand and Zanzibar, because I left a trail of upset salesman in my wake. Wearing my new black jeans, faux Gucci belt, black turtleneck sweater and a black coat, (when in Rome…) I walked all over Rome for hours seeing sights I’d only read about – the Colosseum, the Forum, Spanish Steps, the Vatican, Trevi Fountain and the Parthenon. I wandered through winding cobbled alleys into astonishing statue filled Piazzas, stopped for coffee in tiny cafes and sampled pizza or gelato whenever the mood struck me.

After walking around for eight hours or so, I dragged my tired butt back to my room and met the roommates I had tried not to disturb the night before. Anne from Gaucher college and Naomi from Australia (another one – is there anyone left down there at all?) had been in Italy for a little while and gave me advice for my visit. The next morning, Anne took off for Naples and Naomi and I headed out to explore. In between frantic searches for Twix bars and gelato, we actually saw lots of stuff. Vicki had advised me to avoid the line at the Colosseum by getting the ticket for both at the Palatine Hill, so we visited there first, enjoying great views of the city and centuries of ancient Roman ruins. Then we waltzed past the people in line like J Lo at a nightclub and were soon imagining ourselves as gladiators waiting to enter the arena for a fight to the death. Compared to modern sporting arenas, the 50,000 seat Colosseum is nothing special. But then you recall it was built almost two millenniums ago by people using only muscle power and it is astonishing. I wonder if Washington DC’s RFK stadium will still be around in the year 4008?  Doubtful.

We spent the rest of the day exploring Rome on foot, finding all kinds of cool back-alley shops, cafes and cathedrals. We had lunch in fabulous Piazza Navona - my favorite in all of Rome. After hours more wandering, I took pictures and watched the sun set behind the Vatican. Crossing the Tiber to Castello Sant' Angelo, we stopped and watched ice skaters circling endlessly before finding a tiny trattoria for dinner and a bottle of good wine. It seemed to be locals only and many very satisfying courses later, and after some wrong turns, we headed home.

The next several days were a blur of sights, museums, famous works of art, cathedrals, great food and wine, and passing time in piazzas. There was always a fun crowd around the hostel, so finding people to eat, wander and go out with was easy. I took a walking tour with Will, one of the staff, who seemed to know all the out of the way cool stuff and good stories I like in a tour. We even went inside a Capuchin Church crypt where over hundreds of years, the monks had used their brothers' bones to decorate the rooms. The tour included some sights I had already visited, but Will's insider stories made them fresh and interesting.

I decided to spend a couple of days in Florence and Will had recommended I stay at D'Archi Rossi Hostel, and once again, he scored big. It was a larger place and I stayed in a 12 person dorm, but the place was clean, had lots of hot water, and was amazingly painted with murals by all the guests. looking at the replicas of Italian works of art, modern interpretations, and original pieces, I felt distinctly untalented. It seemed the norm in Europe was fun hostels with lots of cool programs and I gladly took all their advice and enjoyed the city. For a tiny city, there was tons of history, and signs of the taste and power of the Medici family was everywhere. Highlights included Il Duomo Cathedral, Botticelli's Venus at the Uffizi Gallery, and Michaelangelo's massive David. I think I hit every art gallery in the city! All in all I packed everything there is to do in Florence into just a couple of days, and even had a fun night out in a local Irish bar (the only place showing soccer games.) I had gone there to meet up with my hostel roommates (Adam, Kevin & Sean from where else - Australia,) who were hours late. I think they were actually blowing me off, so imagine their surprise and disappointment when they walked in to find me sharing a table with four American girls - a bunch of students from GWU taking a year to study art at the local Florentine University. We talked art, travel, sky & scuba-diving and DC for hours until the bar closed and I headed back to the hostel where all my roommates were long in bed. I bet they are still wondering about "that old American guy."

The trains to and from Florence were fantastic, just like the rest of the public transportation system seemed to be, especially in Rome. The Metro and Buses are easy to figure out, maps are simple, getting tickets a breeze, it's all in perfect shape, and it goes everywhere you need to be. The direct line to the airport, the Leonardo Express, has to be one of the nicest trains I've ever ridden but it was sadly taking me away for my flight to the last stop of my world tour - Spain.

Ciao for now,

C

Italy Notes And Musings…

After a week of museums, sculpture, cathedrals, Roman ruins, Renaissance Palaces, and the Vatican, my only question is: how is there any marble left on the planet?

After six months of wandering through parts of the world that might seem a little sketchy to the untravelled Westerner, (seedier parts of Bangkok, Communist Viet Nam, remote areas of Muslim Indonesia, tragic Cambodia, plus Africa with all its strife and corruption,) it was in Rome that Bank Of America decided there was too much “unusual activity” on my ATM card and locked me out of my account! What does that say about BofA’s opinion of Italy? Funny, but definitely a pain in the ass.

While I think Italian is a beautiful language, and appreciate its flow as well as its history, any two people speaking and gesturing together seem like they are having a full-on argument.

Italy is the home of the exotic sports car and the names just roll off the tongue. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Lanzia, Alfa-Romeo, Aston Martin…, huh? Yup, the only stop-me-in-the-street exotic sports car I saw the entire time was an English one - an Aston Martin Vantage, driven by a fat hairy old guy in some really nice clothes. The car looked fine enough to be Italian though…

I have been warned repeatedly about crazy driving in Italy and that every driver here acts like a frustrated Formula 1 racer.  After the streets of Bangkok, Singapore and Saigon it seemed pretty tame.  I did have lots of troubles crossing streets however - almost every country i've visited has been left side drive and it seemed I was always looking the wrong way when I stepped out!  Some very close calls...

Holy crap, everyone smokes a lot! It’s worse than a coffee break at the tobacco farm.

Everyone said Italian men and women are all outrageously beautiful and wonderfully dressed in the most fashionable clothes. I would agree that there were lots of pretty people there, but not that many more than in any other city I’ve visited. As for fashion, well I’m definitely not the one to come to for advice but if high-fashion means ugly high-heeled boots I last saw at a Bon Jovi concert in 1987, then sure – everyone in Italy is fashionable. Everything else they were wearing looked really cool though.

The smallest note in the European currency is the 5 Euro. I like the one and two Euro coins and think America should come up with a good design (one that’s not almost exactly the same size and shape as the quarter. Maybe polygonal or something?) and get rid of the dollar bill. The only down-side is how heavy the change on your pocket gets and it’s surprising how quickly it adds up to real money!

Art!! Food!! Wine!! Italy is heaven on earth!

Quickie: Europe And Home

Hey all, Iºm in Barcelona (awesome city, looking for a job here...) Italy and Spain posts are coming, I promise. Just been busy running around Europe.

I am home in the States on Monday night (has it been that long already, seems like I just left!) and checked in on US news today (to find out who is in the Superbowl actually - is it this weekend?)
I noticed that the US economy lost 17,000 jobs last month AND ExxonMobil posted record profits. I think that was the exact same news when I left... To quote the great Yogi Berra, it seems like deja vu all over again!

Ciao,
Clement