First Foray in France

After a wonderful time in Spain it was time to go to France. Time to mark another country off my list. I have to say though, being in France at this time is near the equivalent of post-9/11 America. But we didn't hit any speed bumps heading into France, just a single file line and cursory check and we were off. We made it Marseille, France in the early evening around 4:15 or so. We got our rooms and were free to explore on our own until dinner at 8pm.

Monumental Staircase at Gare de Marseille-Saint-Charles rail station

We decided to wander around and check out the monumental staircase outside of the Gare de Marseille-Saint-Charles railway station which is right outside of our hotel. From there, a small group of five of us decided to see a few sights we wanted to view. The first such one was the Bibliothèque de l'Alcazar by architects Adrien Fainsilber and Didier Rogeon. It is a beautiful modern library (opened in 2004) that is in the space of an old theater dating back to 1857. It had a large open center atrium space with central skylights. The program was located around this space. It seemed to have pretty good circulation. It was a nice start to seeing architecture in France.

Bibliothèque de l'Alcazar interior

Following the library we made our way down to Vieux Port which is the old port of Marseille dating back to 600 BC. It is the main popular destination in Marseille. Even though it was night there was a lot to see. We just explored the area a bit before making our way back to the hotel for dinner and preparing ourselves for the day to come.

Ferris Wheel at Vieux Port

The next day, actually today at the time of this writing which is miracle in itself but I digress, we started with Cité Radieuse de Marseille by architect Le Corbusier. It is a housing complex design developed by Corbu. It is currently undergoing a restoration having originally been completed in 1952. We've learned about this building quite a bit in school. Upon seeing though, I wasn't greatly impressed. Le Corbusier's Five Points were clearly evident though. Also, there wasn't much we could see because it is mostly private residences. That changed when a group of four of us split off to explore and this nice woman asked us in Frenglish if we would like to see an apartment. We jumped at the opportunity. Seeing the apartment completely changed my attitude of the building. It was narrow but it was two stories and stretch the width of the building. Most of the unit was original too. It was a wonderful space and I am so grateful that she let four foreign strangers into her apartment for a tour. Merci beaucoup! 

Cité Radieuse de Marseille

Interior of one of the apartments

Once we finished that the housing complex, we made our way to Vieux Port for lunch and then made our way to the Villa Méditerranée by architect Stefano Boeri. It is an exhibition/conference/multipurpose building located on the waterfront. There are a lot of beautiful spaces on the interior with a giant cantilever punctuating the exterior. It was a beautiful building all around but seemed very empty. I'd say that the space, when not in use, is most likely misused. But in the end it is good architecture.

Villa Méditerranée

Following that building, we went to the see the CMA CGM Tower by architect Zaha Hadid. It is the tallest building in the city. It is a very interesting facade that curves as it goes up. We could not enter the building. And apparently we weren't allowed to be on the sidewalks outside the building either as our entire group was yelled at at least once. One security guard even had the nerve to tell us to take pictures in the street. It was infuriating really. I believe they were in the wrong. But it's whatever because we all got our pictures anyway.

CMA CGM Tower

After the fiasco we endured, we were on our own. A group of five of us trekked up to the top of the huge outcrop by the old port. It was harrowing bus ride up skinny side streets to get there. I was sure we were gonna crash into someone but somehow we didn't. At the top is Notre-Dame de la Garde which is a Roman Catholic basilica. The locals view it as the watchful protector of Marseille and refer to it as the Good Mother. It is a small but beautiful neo-Byzantine style church. 360 degree views are possible from the site with the major vistas being the Mediterranean Sea, Marseille, and the mountain range behind the city. It was an overcast day so we couldn't see the sun but the sunset produced some nice colors against the clouds. It was a wonderful end to the day and our first travels across Europe.

Notre-Dame de la Garde

Overlooking Marseille

Descending the hill was less treacherous but anxious all the same. We ate at a cheap but very delicious Middle Eastern restaurant and decided to call it a night. We leave tomorrow at 8am and it is finally time. This was our last real stop of this travel trip. We will be in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland at the Steger Center by this time tomorrow. We have a couple stops along the way to break up the six hour plus bus ride but other than that it is home free. It be nice to unwind, unpack, and relax. I've loved this travel so far but I am so looking forward to Riva at this point. Au revoir!

And that's all she wrote on Spain

Today is our last day in Barcelona it is a bittersweet moment. It is a great and beautiful city with much to offer but I am getting a little weary of being on the road so much would like time to be in one spot and unwind. We started off the day with a taxi ride to the Barcelona Pavilion by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. It is a building that we learn about every year in school and it is ingrained into our heads to the point that we can draw the plan in our sleep. It was actually a bit underwhelming in person though and I guess that’s why they tell you not to meet your hero buildings. We as we explored it more and I took like 500 photos, I began to appreciate it more and be less underwhelmed. It was a great experience to see this building that we had heard so much about and I’m thankful for that.

Barcelona Pavilion

Next, we trekked farther into the park, up a large hill, past the dominating presence of the Catalonia National Museum of Art to the Joan Miró Art Museum. It was good piece of architecture but the art sort of bored me. I’m pretty arted out at this point. The building was good and I can appreciate it but I didn’t like it all that much. It did some interesting things with light wells and light in general but that was pretty much it.

Roof at Joan Miró Art Museum

Hans let us free following the museum and we did our own things after lunch. A small group of three of us wanted to see the Olympic Park from the 1992 Barcelona Games. We trekked back up the mountain side to the top to find this old but really wonderful track and field/soccer stadium among the other buildings in the park. There were multiple water features and ample open space. It was all around a great use of space and nice area with beautiful views. After plenty of pictures, it was time to make our way back to the hotel to prepare for the evening’s main event.

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (Olympic Stadium)

After a walk down the hill, a short taxi ride, an endless search for a Lionel Messi jersey, and another walk we were back at the hotel. From there, we met up with the rest of our group and set off on the metro to Camp Nou, the home of FC Barcelona who was playing Athletic Club Bilbao in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. I was so pumped for this game as it was my first professional soccer game that I attended. It was an intense match where Barçe didn’t show up until the second half when they were trailing 1-0. The real club showed up and put on a spectacle ultimately winning 3-1 and advancing to the semifinals. It was a lot of fun and a great way to take in the culture. It was a long, crowded metro ride back to the hotel but it was worth it. It was the perfect way to end my visit to Barcelona.

Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona

Tomorrow we leave for Marseille which is in France. This will be my fifth new country that I’ll have visited. I know zero French so that is going to be a bit of a challenge. I do know that vino is the same in every language so it all should be fine. Stay posted! 

Just another day in España

Day two in Barcelona was primarily dedicated to the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí. But before seeing all of what Gaudí had to offer we started smaller by navigating the narrow market streets. This is where we came to the Mercat de Santa Caterina which was a fish market. It was built on the site of an old monastery where the foundation is still visible. The construction of the market was thought provoking. There were curved roofs and curved columns that all played to together. And each façade was different where one was modern and another was an old style arching system. It was a good first stop and made me want to buy some fish.

Mercat de Santa Caterina

We wandered around some more before coming back to the Pablo Picasso museum. It was weird in the way that the front entry was in one of the narrow alleyways. It was readily apparent where the museum was. It provided some old century architecture and catacomb like elements on the bottom floor but overall I wasn’t impressed. Nothing really special stood out to me but it was interesting to learn a little about Picasso. But I was ready to move onto Gaudí’s buildings.

Courtyard at Picasso Museum

The first building we went to explore was the Casa Batlló. It was like it was out of some dream. Its façade and even most of the interior appearance was curved. It was so intricately designed and the details are so painstakingly defined. It was beautiful in its eccentricity. It was a crazy building but seems like it would’ve been nice to live in. Moves that Gaudí used were on display here and it worked elegantly.

Casa Batlló

The final stop on the Gaudí tour was his masterpiece. It is the building I most anticipated to see. It is the Basilica de la Sagrada Família. After walking through a park to get to the building, its sheer size was just enormous. It hit me all at once. It towers over everything. This building commenced construction in 1882. Gaudí, its architect, died in 1926. And it still isn’t even finished yet! They hope to have it finished in 2026 in time for the 100 year anniversary of Gaudí’s death but I’ll believe when I see it. You can really tell the older sections from the newer ones. The older ones are generally darker. Upon entry into the church, I was in awe. And that feeling never left until I was gone. It was probably the most beautiful building I have ever seen. From the stain glass windows to the high central nave to the giant columns, there was nothing there that wasn’t absolutely gorgeous. I was so happy to have seen this building and hope to return when it is completed.

Passion Façade of Sagrada Família

Interior of Sagrada Família

Following the Sagrada Família, we made our way back to the hotel and to dinner. It was a long day that required a restful night of sleep and relaxation. The next day promises to be just as busy and walking intensive. 

Just at Home in Barcelona

We have finally come to the major portion of our first trip, Barcelona. After a surprisingly pleasant and relatively short trip from Zaragoza we got to our hotel at about 11:45am. After getting our rooms settled and a talk from Hans about the dangers of pickpocketing that Barcelona has in store we had the full day to ourselves. A group of five of us went to lunch and ate down by the waterfront. It was gorgeous outside. The sun had come out and the temperature was in the mid-60s.

Barcelona waterfront

Without much of a set gameplan today and a lot guaranteed to be seen in the coming days, we decided to wander. We set our sites on the La Rambla which is a large outdoor pedestrian mall/street. It was interesting to see the locals and tourists all interacting in one destination. There were also many side streets that branched off from the main one. We circled around and walked up and down without really having a destination. It was nice to just go with the flow.

Side street off of La Rambla

Serendipitously, we came across some intriguing points of interest. The biggest one was the Palau de la Música Catalana which is a concert hall located near the main La Rambla street. It was such a beautiful building. It was very ornate inside and out with what looked like a modern addition onto it. We had missed guided tours by half an hour so just looked around.

Palau de la Música Catalana

We headed to a park following the Palau and some coffee. There was a triumphal arch called the Arc de Triomf. We decided that it was time to sit and sketch. After about 45 minutes and each of our sketches in various degrees of completeness it was time to go. We walked down the Passeig de Lluís Companys, a wide pedestrian promenade, on the way back to the hotel. It was a nice, little park with ample open space. We ended the night with dinner at a hotel restaurant about a 15 walk away. It was pretty good and nice way to end the first night in Barcelona.

Arc de Triomf

Tomorrow we go see some of Antoni Gaudí's buildings. We are also going to see my most anticipated building and I am super excited! It will be a lot of walking so bring it on. Look out for the next entry.

The New and the Desolate of Zaragoza

Day two of Zaragoza came in slowly. A heavy fog and cool temperatures around the low 40s hung in for most of the day. Originally we were promised 60 and sunny. It made it hard to see some of the things we wanted to see but we did our best. The first (and only Hans-led stop) of the day was to the site of the Expo 2008 on the far end of the city. I was initially excited to go see the Expo site but ended up being disappointed. While there was a lot to see and a lot of it was interesting, most of it was abandoned and empty.

Aragon Pavilion

What Expo 2008 had going for it though was that it now acts as a park of sorts. The entire Spanish population of rollerbladers must of been there. Besides a handful or less of shops that were open, the only building the remains open was the Aquarium. It was actually very depressing though to walk through everything. There were photos here and there from the Expo which showed the area at its height of activity and use. Compared to what it is like now creates a stark contrast. It is a cautionary tale of what happens when so many buildings for one purpose go up all at the same time with no concrete post-event life established. It is similar to post-Olympic Greece or post-World Cup Brazil. These buildings are left to rot and decay and be forgotten.

Now that I've gotten that rant out of the way let's move on to the buildings themselves. I can't say I really had a favorite since I never entered any of them but I have ones that stood out to me. The first one was the Bridge Pavilion by Zaha Hadid. It is, though clumsily done in some parts, a large undertaking that stands out in the Expo site. It dominates the landscape. The second building that intrigued me is the Spain Pavilion. The exterior is surrounded by these thin columns that appear to be wood but on closer examination are actually terracotta. I wish more was done to help this site live up to its potential.

Bridge Pavilion

Spain Pavilion

After returning to the hotel and being let loose on our own a small group of us went in search of lunch. We found a nice little tapas bar and ate there. It was very good and it was great to try a traditional Spanish dish. Next up, we went to the Aljafería Palace. It is an Islamic castle from the 11th century. Unfortunately, it was closed for the day by the time we got to it so we stayed and sketched some. We then made our way back to the hotel passing by the Plaza de Toros, a bullfighting ring, on the way. It too was closed but the exterior seemed like a mini Colosseum.

Spanish Tapas

Aljafería Palace

Plaza de Toros

 Today seemed like one of the shorter full days that we've had so far which is nice. I loved Zaragoza and it is one of my favorite cities that we've been to. It is so pedestrian friendly and the shops are so quaint and there is so much architecture to see. After we leave here though the next couple of days are going to be crazy. We leave for Barcelona in the morning and I am very excited.

¡Hola Zaragoza!

Zaragoza sure is beautiful! After finally arriving to the city that I hadn't heard of previously I was pleasantly surprised. What was supposed to be a two hour bus ride turned into a four plus hour debacle. Originally when we got on the bus in Madrid it was too small. Half of our luggage was loaded in the back of the bus which was actually illegal. We drove to the bus depot to change to a larger bus and we were on our way. The trip from Madrid to Zaragoza was a lot like traveling across the American Southwest or even West Texas specifically. We made it to the city at about 1 pm after leaving around 8 am. After a short lunch that consisted of hamburgers we met up with Hans.

The first stop of the day was the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar. It was a beautiful church that had much to offer in the way of architecture. We took approximately 90 minutes to roam and sketch before meeting as a group. We have the chance to go to mass the next day but I decided against it since I am neither Roman Catholic nor fluent in understanding Spanish. After that we went to another church which was next door. It was called the La Seo Cathedral. It too was immensely beautiful. It was huge but also small. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures of this church but hopefully some of my classmates did! This was the end of he instruction from Hans for the day so we left to our own devices.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar

Three of us decided to walk around a bit. We went to the Ebro River and the Puente de Piedra (Stone Bridge). The sun was setting and it cast beautiful light. We then started our way back to the hotel in a roundabout way. We stopped by the Teatro Romano completely by happenstance much to our delight. It was a cool sight to see. We continued onward to our hotel only stopping once for pastries before taking a break before dinner.

View from Puente de Piedra

Dinner was fantastic! We ate at the place next to/attached to our hotel and everything was setup upon our arrival including bottles of wine. The appetizer was a rice and chorizo dish followed by a haddock topped with pimento cheese cream sauce and couscous and ended with fruit for dessert. It was such a great dinner! I also sat at the table with Hans so I benefited when we ordered an extra bottle of wine! But seriously, it was fascinating to learn more about my professor and have a great conversation with him. It was a fun time!

Following dinner, I had grown tired of everyone calling it a night at like 9:30pm and me hanging out in my hotel room room alone (especially worse since it was Saturday) that I wanted to go out. I couldn't get anyone to go so I just went. We were around the corner from a large market/street/nightlife area so I just wandered. I stopped at this one place and went in. My waiter didn't speak English but I was so impressed with myself that I ordered what I wanted correctly. I got churros with chocolate and a glass of red wine. My Spanish teachers would be applauding me!

Yum yum yum!

It was a pretty fun evening and tomorrow seems to have more in store. Zaragoza Day Two and the first full day is upon us and it should be an interesting one. Stay tuned!

¡Viva la España! Here we come Madrid!

We are off to the capital city of Spain, Madrid. It was a long bus ride from Porto and so we broke it up into two parts. Hans had us stop in Salamanca which was just over halfway to Madrid. We all split up and had about 90 minutes to explore and get lunch. On Hans suggestion, two others and I decided to go to the New Cathedral of Salamanca. The cathedral was built between 1513 and 1733 in the late Gothic and Baroque styles. It was so beautiful. I love Gothic cathedrals and this was an amazing opportunity to see it. We spent about 45-60 minutes in it before leaving a grabbing a bite to eat which ended up being a veal and bacon sandwich and was absolutely delicious. After lunch we got back to the bus and continued to Madrid.

New Cathedral of Salamanca

Upon arriving in Madrid at about 4:30pm, Hans decided to give us the rest day to ourselves and meet late the next day at 10am. Such a blessing! After putting all of our crap in our respective rooms, a group of five of us decided to wander the city a bit and see what we can. First stop was the Teatro Real (Royal Theatre). The exterior was pretty but we couldn't go in. The next stop was the Royal Palace of Madrid and the Almudena Cathedral. We couldn't go in the palace but the cathedral was free entry. The square surrounding the palace was bustling with people. The cathedral was interesting in the fact that it was of the Neo-Gothic and neoclassical style that was uniquely modern. It was built over the course of 1879-1993. We ended the night by walking through Plaza de España on the way back to the hotel where a delicious buffet awaited our arrival.

Almudena Cathedral

The next morning, following another lovely buffet provided by the hotel, we were off to the Museo del Prado and the addition by Rafael Moneo. It was a nice building with a good collection of artwork but it didn't excite me much. We went to another art museum called the Museo Reina Sofía with an addition by Jean Nouvel. It was nice a nice museum but art museum are not my favorite places to be. After that Hans gave us free rein and we set off on our own adventures.

Museo del Prado

Museo Reina Sofía

I split up into a group of three following the Sofia we went to the Madrid Atocha railway station across the street. It was a wonderful space that reminded me a bit of Union Station in its size and grandeur. We got lunch there and sketched a bit before heading to Buen Retiro Park across a different street. This park was huge and was Madrid's answer to Central Park. In it, we went to the the Palacio de Cristal. It was beautiful in its simplicity and transparency. We walked a bit farther on to see the Monument to Alfonso XII. It was huge and overlooked an artificial lake. We took our photos and decided to go back to the hotel. On our way, we stopped in the Plaza Mayor and had a glass of wine and sketch. A miniature flash mob broke out which was interesting to see but the overall feel of the plaza was that of Times Square complete with a person dressed up in a Minnie Mouse costume. Once the dancers were done it was time to call it a day and head back to the hotel.

Palacio de Cristal 

Madrid Atocha railway station

Tomorrow (Jan. 23) we leave at 8am to go to Zaragoza, Spain. It is the 5th largest city in Spain and we are sure to have some interesting and exotics plans in store for us. Adios!

The Port at Porto

After another breakfast of the same stuff and an early departure we made our way towards Porto. About halfway there we stopped in Coimbra, Portugal, the third largest city. We were planning to see Joanina Library at the University of Coimbra but they were holding commencement that day and so it wasn't open to us. As disappointing as it was the exterior was beautiful and we spent some time sketching and photographing.

Paço das Escolas at the University of Coimbra

After the short excursion in Coimbra we finally made it to Porto. This promised to be a short trip as we were only staying the night. We got lunch when we got into the city at this nice little sandwich shop that made great pork sandwiches. Following lunch, Hans took us to the Casa da Música by Rem Koolhaas with OMA Architects. It is a concert hall that has become an icon in the city. We got a guided tour of the building and it was very insightful. It is such a beautiful building.

Casa da Música

Hans let us go on our own after the concert hall so a small group, 3 of us, decided to head to the Porto Leixões Cruise Terminal by Pedo Silva Architects. It is a cruise terminal built on the ocean in Matosinhos which is just west of Porto that had just opened in July 2015. The problem was that it wasn't open to the public, only customers. The reasoning was that a new, pedestrian only path had to be built from the street and that wasn't the case. So that was a little disappointing. At any rate, we walked the beach a little bit, checking out how the Atlantic was from the other side before heading back to the hotel for dinner.

Porto Leixões Cruise Terminal

Dinner was at a local restaurant and we had carrot soup with a fish au gratin dish as an entree. It went nicely with the white wine that Hans bought. I also had a glass of Port because I had to while in the city that is known for it. This concluded our stay in Portugal as the next morning we were getting up nice and early to make the 5 and a half hour trip to Madrid, Spain. So long Portugal!

Lisbon de novo? Sim!

Well it is the end of day 2 in Lisboa which means it is also the end of the first stop of my study abroad semester. Time is just flying by and I wish it would slow down! Today we got an early start at 9 am before heading out to the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown by Charles Correa along the southern waterfront of Lisbon. It a beautiful example of modernist architecture. It overlooks the mouth of the Tagus River into the Atlantic Ocean. It is a cancer research center that puts emphasis on the treatment of their patients. I was in awe of this building.

After spending about 90 minutes exploring that building we walked down the waterfront to the Belém Tower. It is a defense tower built around 1513 that stands on the edge of the Tagus River. It is a marvel to see and provides beautiful views all around. You can even see the 25 de Abril Bridge that crosses the river into Almada. It looks very much like the Golden Gate Bridge insomuch as being painted the same color. Coincidentally enough, the builder of this bridge built the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. After viewing the tower we made one more stop.

Belém Tower

25 de Abril Bridge

The final stop that Hans took us to was the Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square) where he let us go and we got lunch. The square was pretty cool. It too was located on the water and there was a huge arch that led into it. Trolley cars would park in front of the arch creating an iconic shot that Lisbon is known for. Following lunch, we broke up into our own groups to do what we wanted. Hannah, Rebecca, and I decided to go to the São Jorge Castle which is one of the highest points in Lisbon. It was beautiful as well but lacking in activities to do. So we set off from there.

Rua Augusta Arch

Entrance to São Jorge Castle

After we were done with the castle we descended to another square and got a snack from a local bakery. We proceed to a tram called Elevador da Glória which has been in operation since 1885! It was a fun ride up a steep incline. It was a nice way to end the day. I went out to eat with some of the others for a good time. It was a successful end to Lisbon.

Some final observations about Lisbon: It is a fantastic city where old meets new in surprising and interesting ways. It reminds me a lot of San Francisco. The driving and rules of the road are a lot better than in London, Wine is cheaper than water half of the time. Every single review of Lisbon that I've read is wrong. I was expecting to be pickpocketed every few feet and offered drugs on every street corner. Neither happened once which was relieving. It was in the mid 60s while we were here and people were bundled up and acted like it was in the 30-40s. That reminded me of Los Angeles. I am still not entirely sure how tipping and restaurant etiquette goes but maybe I will get the hang of it.

We leave for Porto, Portugal, a northern coast city about 3 hours away, tomorrow at 8 am by bus. It promises to be another magical time!

Olá Lisboa!

Wow! What a beautiful city Lisbon is! Getting here was a chore but now that we have arrived it is such a treat. Sunday started off with mechanical problems with our plane at London Gatwick airport. After a 2 hour delay we were able to board and fly to Lisbon, finally arriving at 9:15 pm or so. We didn't arrive at our hotel until about 10:30 pm. It was a long day indeed.

View from the hotel balcony

The following day, the first full day in Lisbon, Portugal, was the day that all 16 of us were to be together at the same time for the start of our program. We weren't meeting until 1 pm so we had a couple hours to play around with. So after a delicious breakfast at the hotel, a couple friends and I set out to explore. Hans, our professor, gave us some tips as to where to go and we ventured out.

Parque Eduardo VII

Our first stop was a department store known as El Corte Inglés which was interesting and sold many different goods and reminded me of like a Macy's and Best Buy combined. It was a huge building. From there we just walked and explored the main avenue through Lisbon. We got about halfway to the river, which was a long way, and decided to turn around back to the hotel.

After finally meeting up with our group with Hans at the hotel it was time to start our program. Hans got us taxis to take to the Parque das Nações, the site of the 1998 World Exposition. There were so many things to see. What used to be the worst part of town was transformed in a thriving area. Some of the places we went to were the Oceanario (although not inside), the Portugese Pavillion, Meo Arena (again not inside), on the cable car, and into the Centre Vasco de Gama (a mall) and Gare do Oriente (train station). It was all amazing to see and my favorite to see was the mall and the train station both by Santiago Calatrava.

Gare do Oriente

After we were on our own for a while and regrouped, we got back to the hotel in time to go to dinner next door. It was a quaint little place. We got a duck and rice dish for the entree and our own choice for dessert which I chose creme brûlée. It was all very good. We also had wine, Portugal's grape of choice the Vinho Tinto. We had a lot of it. It was a great time for all of us. We got back to the hotel, got more wine from the hotel bar, and proceeded to catch back up with each other. It was a perfect way to end the night.