Paris, je t'aime

So a couple of weekends ago, we went to Paris. Yeah, you know, Paris. No biggie.

Actually, it was my second time to experience the amazing beauty that is Paris, and I'm pleased to say that it captured my heart all over again, just as it did the first time. This time, though, was so different from my first visit. Nothing can ever replace or measure up to one's first experience with this city, to be sure, and so it would be a lie to say that this trip was better than the first. This trip was different, though. Last time I was in a huge school group with guided tours and bus transportation everywhere. Don't get me wrong, I love guided tours, but there's something to be said for experiencing the sites of the city on your own terms. Instead of a huge group of wide-eyed, young high schoolers being carted around and chaperoned everywhere, this trip was a group of wide-eyed college students, old enough to be resourceful and explore the city without needing someone to shepherd us, yet still young and naive enough to be in awe of what we were doing and seeing.

My favorite difference between this trip and my first one, though, was being able to walk everywhere and just explore and experience the streets and people of Paris. Walking, taking it slower, savoring it all, was infinitely better than traveling everywhere by means of a tour bus.

Notre Dame, lit up in her nocturnal glory.

Maggie and I took turns posing in front of the French Senate building in the Gardens of Luxembourg. Government and gardens... the French know how to do it.

Gardens of Luxembourg. These are flags for all of the countries within the EU

Who is that? Oh, the Venus de Milo? Oh, right.

View of the Louvre's pyramid from one of the windows

The Opera House! It was absolutely incredible.

Anyone recognize this? On my last trip, we went to see it at night. It was little safer in the daytime.

We went to the Eiffel Tower on Saturday, our last night. It was fantastic.

Lisboa, where Spanish speakers don't know what the heck to do...

Lisbon! It's the capital of Portugal and was, for a long time, one of the world's most powerful cities. We went sight-seeing for a while the first day and explored a huge monastery with beautiful structuring, as well as one of the cities old protective fortresses, the Tower of Belem. That evening, we all went out to eat at a Brazilian meat house. I don't think I've ever eaten so much meat, not even during the Labor Day Goat Cook-Off in Brady! The black beans and rice with fried bananas were absolutely delicious as well.

The rest of the weekend was spent visiting the largest aquarium in Europe, a zoo that specified in African and Asian animals, seeing some old castles, checking out restaurants and doing a bit of shopping. All in all, a great weekend.

Tower of Belem!

Playing look-out, holding down the fort (literally).

Know whose dead body that is? Vasca De Gama!

Some of that really delicous food I mentioned, as well as some pretty terrific company.

Barcelona, the heart of Cataluña.

On this particular weekend, a group of about 7 of us took a trip to Barcelona! We had a wonderful time, and saw SO MUCH. Barcelona managed to win the #2 spot on Jennifer's List of Favorite Travel Experiences, version 2008. The weather was turning from summer to fall and so it was actually quite cool for the majority of the long weekend. The feel of the city was incredible - the perfect combination of Paris, Spain and (though I've never actually been there, my friend Simon confirmed this) New York City. Barcelona was so beautiful, with so many incredible things to see, that Simon and I ended up walking upwards of ten miles a day in an attempt to experience as much as we could. The sore feet were more than worth it.

There were some incredible outdoor markets in Barcelona! Everything looked incredible and delicious... except for things like this.

Las Ramblas, one of the major streets in Barcelona, was filled with people, shops, restaurants and street performers! Most of the performers were pretty good, too.

Just one of the many beautiful museums that the city plays host to.... We actually ate lunch on the top of those stairs, looking out over the city.

We went to Park Guell! Gaudi was a crazy, incredible genius, and we had a great time exploring his creations. It was almost like being Alice in Wonderland.

Time passes more quickly in Europe

It has been approximately 4 weeks since I last updated this blog. For those of you who expect more, I apoogize for the lack of communication. There are several things that I need to write about, mainly my travels, but since I have so much to do in such a small amount of time I shall keep the writing to a minimum and let my pictures speak for themselves.

In order, from the last update to this last weekend: Lagos (Portugal), Barcelona (Spain), Lisbon (Portugal), Paris (France). I think I'll do one blog for each trip... good plan?

The beach at Lagos...

So, Lagos. We went to La Rabida and Lagos on an official program day-trip, but most of us stayed in Lagos for the rest of the weekend. It was GORGEOUS. The villiage is situated on the southern tip of Portugal, along the Gold Coast, and it's a bit of a haven for British, Australian, French, Spanish, American and Portugese travelers. The weekend included some beach time, a bit of cliff jumping, fun times with friends and a veritable ocean of rain in the sky.

We saw repilcas of Christopher Colombus' Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria at La Rabida

Fun at the beach!

This is the bruise I got from cliff-jumping. We took this picture just an hour and a half later, and it was already this bad. Don't worry, Mom and Dad, your daughter is more than fine.