Back to the topic at hand, this is about the two amazing
weekends John and I spent traveling to two of Europe’s most enlivening cities.
Chapter 1: Paris
The trip to Paris was exciting, scary, tiring, cold and more
beautiful than I imagined. Like most silly Americans I had a, well, dare I say,
a negative bias towards the French. I took deux years of French in high school
and have met many French people, including one foreign exchange student,
Demitri , who was the opposite of a goodwill ambassador. I have always thought of France as dirty,
rude, overrated and just “Frenchy”.
When John told me he had a 4 day weekend I was excited, of
course, but then he mentioned going to Paris. I know I made a face, but at the
same time there is no way I could pass up a weekend in Paris with my hubby.
With low expectations we set out on the ICE train from
Kaiserslautern to Paris!
The train ride was pleasant. Snow was still on the ground
throughout most of the German country side and some of the eastern parts of
France. It is about a 2.5 hour ride and it is nice just to watch the farms and
ruins of World War turrets and gunnery stake outs pass by at speed of 100 mph
plus. We saw some old chateaus and lots and lots of farm lands.
When we arrived in Paris, we arrived in a different station than expected; that was when we
realized that our French was not up to par. It is funny, John has been here
almost a year and has a good idea of how to read the signs in train stations in
Germany. In France we felt a little lost. It took a good 30 minutes to figure
out where the heck we were. We also realized that the next time we go on a
vacation we will take traveling backpacks. Suitcases are great for airports and
Disneyland…not for European travel. The amount of stairs, uneven roads and
sidewalks and gunk that you walk through makes suitcases a burden.
We left the subway and walked up the street where our hotel
was located off of, and I was totally taken aback. Our hotel was a few hundred
feet off of Avenue Champs Elysees! Champ Elysees! It was magnificent. The post
cards do not do this place justice. We were right next to the Arc de Triomphe,
the Place de la Concorde, all the luxury shops and restaurants of
Paris…arguably the most famous street in the world.
The hotel was very modern and clean. We were told a Swiss
artist designed the hotel a decade or so ago. Our room was small by American
standards, but clean and chic, great location and affordable…that’s a great
combo.
Of course the first stop was the Eiffel Tower. As we walked
and walked and walked we turned the corner and I saw the tippy top of the
Tower. We walked a little faster and then the Eiffel Towered appeared. I never
paid much attention to this over photographed, cliché structure. As we
overlooked the Champ de Mars and saw one of the most famous structures in the
world, I was truly in awe. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Much larger than
expected and the area surrounding it was just gorgeous. I then realized why
this place is so very romantic. As John and I made our way down the numerous
stairs to get to it we realized something amazing. There was an exotic car show
going on right in front of the Eiffel Tower! Lamborghinis, Aston Martins,
Mercedes SLS McLaren AMGs, Ferraris…you name it, it was there. After we wiped
the drool from our mouths we walked a good 5 miles and saw the exteriors of the
gorgeous sights in Paris.
Have I mentioned we went in March? Being from Texas this
cold weather thing is new to me. I knew Germany was going to be chilly, but it
was FREEZING in Paris. We didn’t see the actual temperatures but I was guessing
20s-30s F. We had coats, scarfs and boots , but next time I am bringing my
“real” winter clothes. Paris is very windy and most places you walk, you are
near the Seine River so there is a cold wind off of the water.
They have a different schedule in Paris, a different time
table and a different attitude towards most things. I am slowly getting used to
European service. As Americans we expect to be seated, our drink orders taken
and our food orders to be taken with in the first 15-20 minutes. Here, well, if
you get a drink order within 20 minutes consider yourself lucky. Paris takes
this lackadaisical approach to dining and bumps it up even more. On average our
meals took 2-3 hours. I’m not complaining, it’s just a different pace. The food
was very delicious. We had escargot, lots and lots of wine and cheese, dried
meats, veal, crème brulee and even more wine. Yes, the food is delicious, but
expensive. Like really expensive. If you go to Paris you need to ask yourself a
couple questions. First, do I want to eat well or shop? Secondly, if I want to
do both, can I get a good interest rate on a loan? I know that’s an
exaggeration, but when lunch is 70-90 Euros you can be taken aback every time
you get a bill. I think this was the only time John was sad I have a gluten
allergy and we couldn’t eat at McDonalds ;-)
We toured the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe,
and a few other places that were really old and historically significant.
The Eiffel Tower’s views are magnificent. We could only go
to the first stop on the elevator ride because the top was closed due to high
winds. I saw how beautiful Paris is and that it is very vast. I always just
think of the main parts of Paris but it has been there a long time and has
grown with every passing century.
The Louvre was interesting. Honestly I was looking forward
to this stop the most. I came away with a sense of awe and exhaustion. This
place is crazy large. We went through two sections and by the end of the second
sections we were beat. We was used to walking a lot, you get used to that
living in Europe, but my goodness, this place keeps going and going and going.
It was interesting to see that even though John and I have
many of the same interests, we are captivated my different types of art. John
was transfixed on “The Return of Marus Sextus” by Geurin. It was a beautiful and very large painting.
Watching him just take it in was great. He has an artistic eye and I love that
about him. I was awestruck by how simply beautiful the Venus de Milo is and how
it looks like it was just fashioned yesterday. I walked around the corner and
saw it standing in the middle of a room. No glass around it, it was just
standing there. The marble looked like skin and her face was breathtaking.
All in all Paris exceeded my expectations. I admit they were
low expectations, but I know that even with the fairy tale/movie expectations
most people have, Paris will not disappoint.
Chapter 2: Barcelona
It was a very long winter in Germany. Even the locals said
so, it wasn’t just this Texan girl SICK of snow and coldness. Going to
Barcelona was our first trip flying within the EU experience and we were ready
to go somewhere warm…or at least not snowing.
First off let me say
that flying within the EU is like a spa day compared to flying within the USA.
You can keep your shoes on; they don’t feel you up and imagine being treated
like a person on vacation instead of cattle. It wasn’t the best experience, but
compared to the TSA these people made me smile.
After a little mix up on which airport to go to, we made it
to Spain. I won’t go into details on who the fault should lie with or whatever
buuuuut…it wasn’t me. *Travel Tip: make
sure you’re going to the correct airport of you will have a temperamental
travel buddy and will have to spend some extra Euro*
Spain was at first busy, congested, a little dirty and not
as picturesque as other places in Europe. It definitely has a different flair
than Germany, Luxembourg and France. Once we got away from the airport the real
Spain popped its head out. So many intricate buildings, a diversity of people,
street artwork, and so many different types of restaurants, this Spain was
beautiful.
We stayed in what we can only assume was “China Town”, but
it was more “Asian Town” actually. The
hotel was very roomy; a full living room, kitchen, bathroom, TWO closets (I
miss having closets in Germany), balcony, and a roomy bathroom. The location
was great. We were 10-15 minutes from most of the major touristy stops in
downtown Barcelona. The subway systems in Paris and Barcelona rock. Once you
pinpoint where you are in relation to a stop, it’s really easy to buy a 3 day
pass and ride the sub the whole trip. It is interesting having no personal
space sometimes. That’s the biggest
thing I have had to get used to and I am still working on that. Having people
around you ALL the time, no breaks, just people. I realized how spoiled I was
in my huge town home, my own car, my own space.
After walking around downtown Barcelona for a bit we realized, me more so than John, we knew very little
about Spain, its history other than Columbus era, and had no idea where to go.
That was when we realized the great thing about Barcelona; you go to Barcelona
to see Barcelona, not to see a specific thing or place, it’s a great city and
you just soak it in and smile. The people are friendly, they don’t seem to mind
“silly Americans” just walking around and taking pictures and getting lost.
We saw the Museu del Temple Expiatori de La Sagrada Familia,
La Pedrera
by Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona Cathedral and many other architectural wonders. This
city is filled with amazing buildings, artists and food.
Oh goodness. The food! By far the best overall selection of food in
Europe so far. The meats are delicious, the seafood was amazing and fresh, and
the local wines were cheap and mouthwatering. We found a , out of all things, a true Tex Mex
restaurant. After we asked the waitress, who ended up being the owner’s wife,
what she would suggest we ordered the enchiladas. Many times we have been told, “this dish is
spicy”, many times we have been disappointed. She asked how spicy we wanted our
red and verde enchiladas, I said 4 out of 10 and John said 7 out of 10. She paused
and looked at him and said “7? Are you sure?”, and he replied yes. Before the
food was brought out we have margaritas. The margaritas of Spain and most
places that serve them here do not resemble the ones you get in the states.
They do not come in but margarita glasses with salt and sugar and an umbrella.
They are simple and strong and yummy.
A short time later, the owner comes out with our dinners and wants to
meet the person who ordered the “7” enchilada. He was happy someone wanted a
spicy meal and man, was it spicy. It had a great flavor but it got your
attention and held on to it with tears and sweat. I only had a taste but that
was enough. My “4” was perfect for me and we talked to the owner and his wife
after we enjoyed the house specialty. We found out that he had attended
University of Texas in Austin for a couple of years and LOVED Texas. I mumbled
a “Whoop” and did a ‘Gig Em thumb and he just laughed and hooked his horns (the
Texan readers will make sense of those terms). It ended up being a small world
situation and we had a great time making new friends.
The last full day we were in Barcelona we went to the beach. We instantly regretted not going to the beach sooner. It was so beautiful. Blue water, white sand, pretty shops and stores, clean streets and old men in banana hammocks. What really threw me off was that even though it was maybe 45-50 degrees, it felt warm, and it was sunny and except for the actual wind chill we were ready for some fun in the sun. As we peeled our layers off we realized it was warm as long as you had layers on. So we laid in the sun, in jeans and sweaters and drank Coronas. At that moment we decided that we will be coming back and when it was actually warm, not just warm compared to Germany.
All in all I loved both cities. They had their own merits. Paris a great city with history galore, shopping, culture, and amazing photo ops. Barcelona was warm, inviting, delicious, affordable and amazing to explore.
I am truly blessed that I was able to see both within my first year here. I will always cherish those memories and look forward to making more in the amazing cities around the world!
