Bloody Brilliant Britain!: Spring Break! Athens & Barcelona

Athens

While in Athens, I stayed with my friend Kasey who is studying abroad there that I know from USC.
March 5th - we went to Syntagma Square (which is the town center in front of Parliament) to see the riots. Right before I arrived, the Greek government implemented a bunch of budget cuts in response to the horrible economy... hence the riots. There were a ton of police with gas masks and riot gear. People were tearing pieces of the sidewalk off and throwing them and the police were shooting tear gas into the center of the crowds. Kasey and I definitely could feel the tear gas... which got progressively worse over time. It felt like you had rubbed you nose, eyes, and throat in spicy food. We walked around the area, looking at all of the knockoff items that the Africans were selling. We ended up buying baller men's watches haha. When we were headed back to her place we took pictures with the Special Forces cops (the ones who had the tear gas)...

Athenian Special Forces

Georges, our new Special Forces friend

One thing that was refreshing about the Greeks was their absolute adoration for Americans! Especially since the last place I traveled to (Berlin) was not so welcoming, it was great! One night we were going to a club and arrived to see a really long line out the door. We were with a friend who spoke English and Greek so he was talking to the bouncer at the front of the line. He told them that we were American and they let us cut the entire line (which we later found out that you had to have reservations for!) Then... and this is the most incredible part... we found out that the world famous DJ Paul van Dyk was headlining at the club that night!! We were in heaven haha. People in Greece party til the wee hours of the morning. Every time I went out we stayed out until at least 5 am (more often later haha).

I did most of the touring to sites on my own. Kasey had class and it was her midterm week... but luckily everything was pretty easy to find. She lives really close the the old Olympic Stadium from 1896 so I walked by it almost everyday. The Acropolis was absolutely incredible. I saw the Temple of Athena Nike, Herodeion Theatre, the Parthenon Theatre, and of course the Parthenon! It so beautiful at night because it is all lit up and you can see it from most parts of the city. I also visited the National Archeological Museum. It wasn't too big... which is nice compared to the massive museums in London. I was able to complete it in about an hour and half. I also went to the famous poet/sandalmaker... who has made Roman sandals for the Beatles, Jackie O, Sophia Loren, etc. I chose out of about 30 styles and he fits the sandal exactly to your foot. I also got a really cool leather bag (which I've been wanting for a very long time) so it was a very exciting stop! I also went inside the small Byzantine churches that randomly pop up in the middle of shopping streets, and made my way through the Monastiraki Flea Market. The night before I left we went out to a traditional taverna dinner where you get served multiple plates of food and mugs of wine. Very delicious!

The Parthenon

Melissinos, the poet sandalmaker!

Old Olympic Stadium

Barcelona

I absolutely LOVED this city! Their fashion sense seemed like it was almost a decade behind the times... they wore really grungy clothes and had their hair shaved or partially shaved with long sideburns. Definitely not a flattering look. They seem to think it makes them look independent.

The first morning we were strolling down Las Ramblas and found La Boqueria, the amazing fresh market that sold delicious fruit drinks for only one euro! I tried several different flavors, but my favorite was papaya coconut. We adored this place. We went back every day we were in Barcelona! We basically just oriented ourselves with the city the first day... and had delicious tapas of baked goat cheese and pine nuts and fresh bread. Delicious! We walked along the beach area... which looked a lot like southern California and made me miss the warm weather! We went out at night and my friends and I shared several jugs of sangria. So good! We made friends with some of the bartenders and they gave us discounts. By the end of the night we had just ordered more sangria and decided it was time to leave... so we had the bartenders put it into a plastic bottle for us as take away. So silly.

March 11th - Of course we started our morning off with our daily juices! We headed to Park Guell... our first impression of Gaudi's work. It was like a fairytale. We toured through his last home (which is is Park Guell) and it was surprisingly simplistic for a man of such imagination. We had lunch at a vegetarian organic restaurant (one of the girls is both) whose slogan was "Organic is orgasmic." The food was really good and I felt so healthy! We headed to the Cathedral, which was a dark, drastic contrast to Park Guell's colorful lively vibe. We drank from the communal fountain (don't worry, it's clean!) and admired the dramatic architecture. We also stopped at Santa Maria del Mar and stumbled upon a Gothic market filled with antiques and neat postcards from the 1920s. I love that kind of stuff! I could've bought a ton of stuff but settled on a few Barcelona postcards, and one from London that had been sent to Barcelona. If only I knew how to read Catalunyan!

Olivia, Juliana, Victoria, and I at Park Guell

drinking water at the Cathedral

March 12th - Our busiest day because we had to fit everything in before leaving in the morning. We got up early to go to the Picasso Museum. While some of his biggest works were not there, I really enjoyed looking at the collection. My favorites were his variations off of Las Meninas. We then set out to cover all of Gaudi's buildings. Our first stop was Palau Guell... not too interesting because the terrace was closed. We were only able to see the basement... which in a normal house would have been incredible, but when you are expecting something great it is a bit of a disappointment. Moving north we headed to Casa Batllo. This is a house the supposedly has no straight lines in it. Gaudi's work is inspired by nature, and this house specifically by the ocean, the movement of waves, the ribs of a whale, etc. It is remarkable. My friends and I were discussing what it would have been like to have grown up in a house like that. Every dream would be imaginable and every goal attainable! The next stop was Casa Mila, formerly known as La Pedrera. It wasn't quite as cool as Casa Batllo, but the look from the outside, the indoor courtyard, and the rooftop were still pretty amazing. It also had some exhibits depicting how Gaudi figured out tension points in his buildings. He never drew up plans for his buildings... instead he would hang sandbags in the shape of the structure and use mirrors to make adjustments. So insane! Our last stop was at Sagrada Familia. Our guide book told is it was open until 8 pm... but when we got there around 6:20 they told us they were closing in 10 minutes! We knew we couldn't leave Barcelona without seeing it so we paid the entry fee for the short time anyway. Luckily we didn't get completely kicked out for about 25 minutes. It gave us enough time to walk through quickly and go through the museum downstairs. But oh my god... it was incredible. I knew it was under construction, but I didn't realize it was completely unfinished on the inside. The pillars on the inside resemble the stems of flowers and the roof at the top looks like flower blossoms... and there is stadium seating halfway up the sides of the walls. It is just unbelievable. I could sit inside for an entire day and still have my breath taken away by the end of the day. From the outside the structure just looks so heavy, and also like it is melting into the ground. There are little fruit blossoms on the roof (which is pretty interesting for a religious building). We could've spent so much more time there, but we were so glad we made it at all! At night we went to the National Palace in Montjuic and watched the Magic Fountain show. It was pretty, but kinda resembled Las Vegas haha.