One administrator, two teachers, one parent, one former student, and six CPS students went to Italy and France. They very much enjoyed the beauty of both countries, but I believe, based on all of their smiles, that they will remember Venezia, Italy’s gondola rides the most. The garb of those who maneuver the waterways/street canals have maintained their traditional appearance for decades.
BarcelonaMy wife, Liz and I went to Spain for our honeymoon. We chose Spain since it was atop our list of places we have never been. We decided to go for 18 days and visit 6 different cities in Spain. We wanted to get an idea of the various cultures and identities throughout Spain. Day 1: We flew in to Barcelona via London. Barcelona is an AMAZING city with tons to do. It is Spain's second largest city and sits in an autonomous region (kind of like a state) called Catalonia. Most people in Barcelona speak Catalan, NOT Spanish (although most know how to speak both). Catalan can be best described as a mix of Spanish and French. Most people in Catalonia also identify themselves as Catalonian, not Spanish, and in fact, are voting in November to separate from Spain and create their own independent country. After we checked into the hotel, we walked around to get a feel for the city (something we would do in every city we visited). We visited Las Ramblas, which is a pedestrian walkway filled with shops and vendors and also stopped in the famous Boquería Market, where many stalls are set up and some are organized attractively, with tons of various types of food and drink. We also briefly visited the Gothic Neighborhood and stepped inside the Barcelona Cathedral. For dinner went to a tapas restaurant. People in Spain eat dinner very late, around 10 p.m., and most restaurants serve tapas, which are little plates of food (a couple bites) to be shared. Day 2: We had breakfast, decided to visit the Gothic Quarter in more detail and went on a free walking tour (you just have to tip). Marcel was our tour guide and did a great job explaining the various parts of the Gothic Quarter. The Gothic Quarter was one of my favorite parts of Barcelona because of the history, and the streets were so narrow and pretty dark all throughout the day which made it quite mysterious. One street was called Petritxol which is famous for their hot chocolate and churros. We also saw parts of the old Jewish neighborhood, various squares and plazas and a section of a Roman temple that once stood in Barcelona. Afterwards, we walked along the shore and had a sampling of traditional Barcelona tapas. We finished our day by visiting the Born District, which was similar to the Gothic Quarter and visiting an old church, Santa Maria del Mar, which is considered to be one of the most important churches in Barcelona. Day 3: Today was mostly Gaudí Day. Antoni Gaudí was a famous architect from Catalonia that designed many buildings throughout Barcelona in the late 1800's/early 1900's. We took a Gaudi tour (Marcel again!) in the morning and walked by some of his famous works, including the Casa Batlló and the Casa Milá. We also took the subway over to la Sagrada Família, which is his most famous work, and walked around. Our tour ended, and because we had tickets to go inside the Sagrada later, we decided to visit Parc Guell, a park that houses more of Gaudí's works. We walked back the Sagrada Familia and went inside. The Sagrada Família is one of the world's longest construction projects, beginning in 1882 and still ongoing! Plans are for the building to be completed in 20 years. The Sagrada Família was amazing inside and out and one of the highlights was going up one of the towers which gave us great views of the city. Day 4: We visited Casa Batlló in the morning to go inside and a better look at Gaudi's work. Casa Batlló was a house owned by a rich family and they hired Gaudi to renovate the house, which he did in his own unique style! Afterwards, we decided to take a break from sightseeing and go to the beach. Barcelona's beaches are man-made, which were completed for the 1992 Olympic Summer Games. After the beach, we walked along the shore passing by the old Olympic Village. Day 5: For our last full day in Barcelona, we decided to go back to the Boquería Market and have a few bites to eat and take a longer look around. After the market, we walked to Montjuic, a tall, flat hill that overlooks the sea and the entire city, with cliffs down to the water. Montjuic also is home of the castle of Montjuic, a 16th century fort with great views of all of Barcelona and the Olympic Village, which houses the stadium where the Opening Ceremony was held (the Barcelona Games also features the best torch lighting of any Summer Olympics I can remember). We were sad to leave Barcelona. There were still lots of things we didn't get to see, but we were also looking forward to our next stop! San SebastianDays 6-8: From Barcelona we took the train to San Sebastián, a small beach town located on the Bay of Biscay in northern Spain, also known as the Basque Region. The Basque people speak a language called Basque (Vasca) which is unlike any language you will ever hear. Basque is apparently one of two languages in the world whose origins have yet to be fully identified. Because the Basque region remained mostly untouched over so many years, it is believed that the language may actually originate from Paleolithic languages. Cool! San Sebastián is known for their beaches and is a vacation destination for people from all over Spain. There are three beaches, the main one called La Concha, due to its seashell shape, right along the city. The beach also changes shapes and sizes all day as the tide comes in and out. We spent a lot of time on the beach, but we walked around San Sebastián as well, checking out the old city and the center, which features many pintxo bars. Pinxtos are like tapas, but in this case the pintxos are lined up along the bar and you grab a plate and fill it up with whatever pintxos you want! The idea is to grab a couple and then go to another place and do the same, until you get full! San Sebastián probably had the best food out of all the places we visited in Spain and it was definitely the most relaxing. MadridDay 9: We took a five hour train ride from San Sebastián to Madrid, the capital and largest city in Spain. Madrid is located right in the center of Spain for good reason: King Phillip II made Madrid the capital city due to its central location. We checked in to the hotel and walked around, visiting sites such as the Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace and surrounding gardens, and walking down the Gran Via, which is the equivalent to Michigan Avenue in Chicago. We took other pedways off the Gran Via to the Puerta del Sol, which was a large square with all sorts of things going on: dancers, entertainers, people hanging out, and Madrid's famous coat of arms sculpture. Day 10: The main reason for our visit to Madrid was to check out the world-class Museo del Prado, which houses some of the world's best art mostly coming from Spain. The Prado was really interesting, and while we spent 4 hours there, you can seriously spend all day there. My personal favorite was the El Greco exhibit which featured some of his most famous works and compared later artists' works to his in order to determine how much influence El Greco had on later artists. There were so many paintings and sculptures that it was really overwhelming, but super interesting. Unfortunately, pics aren't allowed in the Prado so I couldn't post any here. After the Prado, we walked to the Parque del Buen Retiro right near the Prado and then later went up a theater building that had great views of the entire city. TOLEDODay 11: We decided to take a full-day tour of Toledo, a small medieval city about an hour south of Madrid. We got on a tour bus early and headed to the city, which was once the capital of Spain. In Toledo, Muslims, Jews and Christians once lived in harmony and there is evidence of this throughout the city. Toledo is surrounded by a river on three sides and there are impressive cliffs that would keep the city safe from invaders. We visited an old mosque that was later converted to a Christian church, a synagogue that was also converted into a church (Christians would later reclaim the city for themselves) and the church of San Tomé, which houses one of El Greco's most famous paintings (El Greco was born in Greece but lived in Toledo when he moved to Spain). We also visited the Toledo Cathedral, which was amazingly large and ornate and had lunch in a restaurant that was in a cave. SevillaDays 12-14: Instead of the train, we decided to rent a car and drive the rest of the way. We headed towards Sevilla, a large city in the southern autonomous region of Spain known as Andalucia. Sevilla/Andalucia can be best compared to the American south. This is where you get traditional, folksy Spanish - flamenco dancing, classical Spanish guitar and traditional food. After the five hour drive, we checked into our hotel and walked around the get the lay of the land. We walked to the Metropol Parasol, a large mushroom-like structure in central Sevilla. We walked through some of the narrow streets of old Sevilla, which felt a lot like the Gotchic Quarter and Old Town of Barcelona and San Sebastian. We also walked along the Guadalquivir River and saw the Torre de Oro. We walked back to our hotel while also walking by the Alcazar and Cathedral of Sevilla, sites that we would check out in detail the next day. On Day 13, we went to the Cathedral of Sevilla, the third largest cathedral in the world and the world's largest gothic cathedral. The cathedral was very large, impressive and ornate. We saw the tomb of Christopher Columbus and also other parts within the cathedral such as the sacristy and treasury, which houses the second largest pearl in the world. We went up the bell tower (34 flights of ramps, not stairs) and got impressive views of Sevilla. After the cathedral, we had lunch and then went to the Alcazar, a royal palace that was once a Moorish fort. The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of southern Spain that had a lot of influence on the culture and architecture of Andalucia. The Alcazar was impressive with very detailed Moorish architecture and also had many various large gardens, including a labyrinth in which Liz and I got lost! Day 14: We took it easy on the sightseeing since it gets VERY hot in southern Spain. Andalucia has the hottest temperatures in all of Europe during the summer. Everyday it was bright and sunny and temperatures were in the high 90s or low 100's. Between about 3-6 every afternoon, most of the town shuts down for siesta, or afternoon nap. We still managed to get out and see the Santa Cruz neighborhood and see parts of the old Jewish neighborhood. We did some shopping in the main shopping district and then later saw a traditional flamenco show, which can be best described as an intense tap dance to Spanish guitar and singing. GranadaDays 15-17: We left Sevilla and drove two hours to Granada. Granada is a smaller city located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range west of Sevilla, still located in Andalucia. Granada is most famous for the Alhambra, the famous fort/palace structure tucked into the surrounding green hills that overlooks the entire city. It is Spain's #1 tourist attraction. On our first day, we walked around the city and checked out the Albayzín neighborhood, built on a steep hillside consisting of white houses. We walked along the Alhambra and also checked out an ancient Arab bath house. On Day 16, we spent most of the day at the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a Moorish palace and fort complex that was built by the Moors starting in the 9th century but mostly competed in the 12th century. The entire structure consists of towers, gardens, palaces and a church and it was all very impressive and interesting. There was also a small town that was located within the complex with houses. Water was brought in from an aqueduct and water still flows throughout the entire complex. After our visit, we had a nice dinner that overlooked the Alhambra. On our last day in Spain, we walked around the city more and ventured out into the hills and the Sacramonte neighborhood and walked around the Sacramonte Abbey. We also went into the Grenada Cathedral, which was different from the previous cathedrals we visited because it was more white on the inside. We also checked out some shops, including a pedway consisting of Arabic shops and bought some souvenirs. Finally, we walked up to Albayzín again and had a final dinner again overlooking the Alhambra. We loved Spain and we hope to visit again soon. I would encourage anybody to try and get to Spain at some point in their lifetime; the food, people, history, and culture was all fascinating. If you have any questions about my trip, please feel free to ask!
My husband (Aaron) and I traveled to Italy for 2 glorious weeks in the summer of 2014. Here are my short statuses I sent my family when I was abroad: Day 1-2 After a long flight with a screaming baby we landed in Milan, Italy and jumped a train to Venice- spent two days in Venice getting lost and eating incredible food, seeing ridiculously gorgeous glass art.... Day 3 Finished off Venice with the Rialto bridge and some more frustrating navigation to the train station and took a high speed train (185 mph) to Florence- watched the US game in an Irish bar and then went and had the most amazing pasta of our lives and walked around the Duomo at night... So glad to be back in Florence my favorite place in the world and excited that Aaron is loving it as much as I do! Day 4 Full day in Florence- Uffizi Gallery, climbed 414 stair Giotto's bell tower, gazed inside the duomo and baptistery, had pizza at this packed local hole in the wall, hiked up to piazza de Michelangelo to watch the sunset and finished the day with our daily gelato- tired, full, and extremely blessed- could stay here forever (well as long as we could ship the dogs over). Day 5 More fun in Florence- breakfast at cafe Firenze, perused the San Lorenzo leather market, ate a delicious sandwich from this little deli, walked all over the Boboli gardens and then more incredible pasta for dinner... Off to Tuscany tomorrow! Day 6 Incredible tour of Tuscany today- started out in Sienna during the Palio horse race, lunch at an organic vineyard and farm, afternoon in San Gimignano eating the worlds best gelato, evening in Pisa doing stupid photos and singing in the baptistery finished off with delicious pizza in Florence! Headed to Rome tomorrow but sad to leave Firenze... Day 7 Said goodbye to Florence this morning and headed to Rome- had an incredible authentic Roman meal and then walked by the coliseum at night.. Finished by gelato of course! Day 8 Long day in Roma- Colosseum, Roman Forum, Musei Capitolini, and ending the day exhausted eating pizza and watching the US World Cup game. Headed to Vatican City tomorrow! Day 9 Last day in Rome spent in Vatican City and walking around to the fountains and Pantheon... Headed to Cinque Terre tomorrow!!! Day 10 & 11 Second day today in Monterosso Cinque Terre and am amazed at how beautiful this place is and what a perfect way to end our dream Italian vacation... It is the most beautiful place and filled with breathtaking sites, pesto, best focaccia bread, and fresh fish everywhere... Hung out at the beach all day and now celebrating the 4th on a sunset tapas boat your of all the 5 towns! Day 12 In love with Cinque Terre! The sunset tapas tour was incredible! Woke up today and hiked 2 hours from Monterroso to Vernazza to have lunch at Belforte. Definitely took the train back... Spending our last night eating focaccia on our patio soaking in the beach and hills.... Day 13 Left the most beautiful place in the world after a last night exploring a beautiful church that seemed to be designed for me...Spent last day in Italy running around Milan soaking in the Italian air and consuming our last gelato, pizza, pasta, and spritz... Headed home full, blessed, and excited to hug my furry babies... Best vacation ever! |
AuthorWe are Prosser Teachers who have traveled around Europe. Here are our stories and pictures! Archives
August 2015
Categories |