Diciembre en Barcelona--Kelly

It's time for a photo dump! Let's start way back in December:
Shortly after the students left at the end of last semester, we headed south in search of warmer weather, late-night dining, and lots of sleep. We found all that and more in Barcelona! The final week of the semester was pretty brutal for Mark, so he was exhausted and ready for a nice little break. We took advantage of the fact that easyJet connects Geneva to numerous European cities for the price of a meal out. It seems that the company makes its money by severely limiting the size of carry-on baggage allowed, charging extra for checking anything larger than a big purse. We pushed the limit with our carry-ons but were spared the additional charges by a very, very kind flight attendant at the Geneva airport, so our trip got off to a great start.

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

We stumbled upon this (as can happen when you travel without a travel guide) and could hardly believe our eyes. We arrived too late to go in and enjoy the vast collection of Catalan art contained within, but the building itself, along with its fountains, was majestic enough to make it worth the visit. 

The view of the city from the steps of the museum

Catedral de Barcelona

Embarrassingly enough, we stumbled upon this as well and came to realize that this "really pretty church" in the neighborhood near where we were staying was indeed the cathedral for the city (seriously, bringing a guide or at least doing research ahead of time next time!) 

The courtyard outside of the Museu d'Historia de Barcelona

A fantastic museum that included a subterranean level with ruins from the city's ancient Roman days. The photo I wish I'd taken: standing in front of the basin where cloth was dyed (a hint of blue remaining), looking up and out a window to the street-level shop selling soccer team t-shirts in vibrant colors. A reminder that there's really nothing new under the sun. The big disappointment of this particular site was that the section containing one of the earliest baptistries in existence was under construction and we were therefore unable to see it. I had to pry Mark away from the barrier walls and we both agreed that this ensured a return visit to Barcelona at some point in the future. 

Gondola going up to Montjuïc hill and castle

Castell de Montjuïc

The grounds of the castle, overlooking the city. At different points in history, this facility has served as a fort, a castle, a military prison and museum (under Franco), and is now a cultural site and municipal facility. 

Mark waiting for me in the courtyard as I checked out the castle restrooms

"Doble Creu Montjuïc"

The sculpture on the right appears as a cross from the observer's vantage point. Its reflection in the mirror on the left appears as a Start of David. More information here.

Alsur Café-El Born

One of the many cafés we visited, this one in the lovely El Born neighborhood. It provided us a nice shelter from the rain and allowed us to enjoy some time reading and studying. 

La Boqueria

Barcelona's most famous covered food market. Photos can't do justice to the sights, sounds, and smells of this place. We enjoyed juicy cups of fresh fruit and juice, crepes, and paper cones of Manchego and jamón Serrano and Ibérico (Serrano and Iberian ham). 

Jamón Ibérico 

Mark was especially excited to see and to taste jamón Ibérico, one of Spain's most famous foods. Jamón of all kinds shows up in all sorts of places and dishes, and it's probably a minor miracle that we didn't develop gout after several days of enjoying the local fare. 

The entrance to Carrer Boqueria, across from La Boqueria

This is just off one of the main tourist/shopping streets, La Rambla. Colorful Christmas lights like these hung at major street entrances and over little alleys full of shops Christmas shoppers. 

Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família

One of the main reasons we chose Barcelona as a destination was to see Sagrada Família, and it did not disappoint. Designed by Gaudí and still a work in progress, this was one of the most impressive structures we've ever seen/visited/climbed up in. 

Inside the basilica

There's a lot I could write about the symbolism of the architecture and the colors used, but words can't really do it justice, and neither can photos for that matter. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Sagrada Família, I highly recommend the audio tour.  It takes several hours and offers a cursory (!) introduction to the parts that have already been completed. 

Mark enjoying the audio tour

Looking down from inside the tower

The stairwell running up the tower

View of the city from the tower

I'd also highly recommend paying for access to the tower. As you can see, it's not for those afraid of heights or stairs, but it offers a great view of the city and of other parts of the cathedral. 

Just a typical vacation breakfast

Have I mentioned yet that the food in Barcelona was just fantastic? I regret not getting a good photo of the hole-in-the-wall tapas place we found, which consisted of several rickety tables, groups of gentlemen playing chess, and a friendly proprietor who recited the "menu" for us and recommended we just get one of everything. We did and we enjoyed it all. We went for the same idea at breakfast, on this particular day sticking to the theme of "croissant." So we had a classic croissant, a chocolate croissant, and a cronut (croissant dough shaped and fried like a donut). Chased down with a cappuccino, of course. 

The view from our apartment balcony

Our balcony door looked out on a cute alley and the ruins of ancient city walls. 

The living room of our apartment

Another Air Bnb success story! We found this little place, centrally located near the port, cathedral, and La Rambla, and it turned out just as well as we'd hoped. Given the great location, its affordability was due to the fact that it was on the sixth floor of an old building with no elevator, and with a spiraling staircase so narrow and tightly wound that climbing and descending it resulted in a bit of vertigo. But it was a great find nonetheless, and further reinforced my belief that sites like Air Bnb are greatly enhancing and facilitating good travel experiences all over the world. 

So, that's it for Barcelona! We returned to Lausanne feeling renewed, refreshed, and ready to plan another trip to Spain. 

EFT Part Deux: Arles, Les-Baux-de-Provence, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, and Avignon--Kelly

Arles is famous for its Roman theater and arena, which is still used for concerts, performances, and bullfighting (!) It was built in 90 AD and still seems to be in remarkably good shape. We didn't get a chance to go in, so here's the profile. 

The sight of this famous café kicked off "Van Gogh day," one of the highlights of the entire trip for this fan. There was no starry night serving as a backdrop, of course, but it was still unmistakably familiar.

We spent our few minutes of free time in Arles wandering the cute little streets and posing on fountains. 

[In between Arles and the next set of photos from Saint-Rémy we went to Les-Baux-de-Provence, a lovely town built on a rocky hillside where bauxite was first discovered. Unfortunately, we failed to take any pictures worth sharing]

As I've already mentioned, I really enjoyed the Van Gogh-related parts of this trip. We were privileged to visit Saint-Rémy, site of a monastery that has served as a psychiatric hospital for many years, including while Van Gogh was a patient there. I say we were "privileged" because the facility doesn't usually allow large tour groups to visit, but they made an exception for us. Throughout the buildings and grounds you can find renditions of paintings mounted at the site where they were painted. For instance, during iris season, you can see the blooms that Van Gogh made famous. 

A statue of the famous artist himself, welcoming groups to Saint Rémy. His legacy seems to be a big part of the hospital's identity. Current patients paint as part of the therapeutic process and the hospital sells their pieces in its gift shop. 

Our tour guide told us that Van Gogh moved to this region because he was attracted by the Provençal light. Not being a painter myself, I wasn't sure that I'd be able to really see what he saw, but I did indeed! It was hard to get a picture that could really do justice to the warm, golden light. The best adjective I could come up with to describe it was "Van Gogh-y."

[We also made a stop in the small fishing town of Cassis, but, again, managed to not get any photos worth sharing]

Our final destination was Avignon, seat of popes and antipopes during the Catholic schism of the 14th century. Mark had told me several years ago that he'd love to one day visit the papal palace in Avignon, so he was thrilled to be there and was only somewhat disappointed with our tour guide's (très French) version of the events leading up to and resulting from the schism. I made sure to ask him to tell me the other side of the story later. 

Colorful, original tiles in the papal bedroom 

And that concluded our time in the south of France! Although leaving for the field trip so shortly after we arrived in Lausanne made for a slightly strange second week on the job for Mark, I'm glad that we were able to do it. In addition to the sights and wonderful, warm weather (and Provençal light!), we really enjoyed getting to know the students and staff better. Next up: back to life in Lausanne.