The City of Love

I have found Paris to be a wonderful city! It is so beautiful, lively and so very friendly (yes, we were rather surprised about that too—but it is true!)! I absolutely have fallen in love with everything here! It definitely does not have the incredible historic feel Rome has that I adore, but everything about Paris just feels so magical!

The first day in Paris we headed straight to Notre Dame! However before we made it to Notre Dame, we made a quick stop at La Sante-Chapelle. It was a beautiful small chapel with magnificent stained glass windows! They were the largest that I have ever seen and so beautiful!

After the chapel we finally found Notre Dame and what a sight it was! I was so excited to finally see it because I had been waiting for Notre Dame since the beginning of the trip and there it finally was! Her beautiful towers and flying buttresses seemed to be absolutely perfect!

Notre Dame from the side...so beautiful!

Me infront of Notre Dame

To get an even closer look at the beautiful church and a magnificent view of the city below, we climbed to the top of the towers! It was 470 steps on small spiraling staircases, but it was definitely worth it! At the top we got close-up views of the crazy gargoyles! One of them is called the “bored” gargoyle and he definitely was my favorite. I also think I saw another gargoyle who looked like one of the characters in Disney’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame.”

My favorite Gargoyle..."The Bored Gargoyle"

And the city was so beautiful! From the top of Notre Dame we also got our first glimse of the Eiffel Tower and many of the other buildings and beautiful churches! We even got to go to the bell tower and see the bell! It was pretty incredible and definitely reminded me of the “Hunchback of Notre Dame.” I really enjoyed the cathedral because of all the character it displayed. Even one of their statues looked as if they were ready to fall over and were trying to catch their balance…it was funny!

View of Paris from the top of Notre Dame

Me infront of the Bell in the bell tower

After getting down from the tower, we immediately got in line to enter the cathedral. Inside Notre Dame was so beautiful. It was so different than those in Italy because the decoration was plainer and instead of covering it with paint, they let the building’s structure be the beauty. Additionally, the stained glass windows were incredible, but of course I would expect nothing else.Inside Notre Dame

Again...Inside Notre Dame

The Night Train

The plan was to travel from the North Coast of Spain to Paris by a night train. But before we could catch the night train, we first had to pass the day by. For the most part we lounged around the beautiful San Sabastian (at least as much lounging as could be done with your traveling packs on your back).

The Beautiful San Sabastian.

But I found San Sabastian to be a beautiful city! It was everything that I would expect from a beach town with its beautiful sandy beach packed with people relaxing in their swimsuits under their umbrellas. It was such a colorful site to been seen! However, the view that I enjoyed the most was the sailboats anchored out in the cove. It makes me excited for the day when one of those boats will be mine. That day I decided that San Sabastian deserves a trip of its own…one where I can just lay on the beach and enjoy sailing off the coast.

Lauren and I hanging out in San Sabastian.

We finally left San Sabastian for Hendaias, which was a bad decision. Hendaias is a tiny, boring town in France just across the border from Spain and unfortunately it was where we had to catch our night train. But finally after spending several hours bored out of my mind, the train arrived and we quickly found our car.

To me the thought of the night train was exciting because I had no clue what to expect! But we had the top bunks in our car and locked all our bags to the baggage racks and laid down to go to sleep. I slept quite well considering the conditions. It was fun to lay there as the train swayed back and forth as we clattered down to track to Paris.

Me on the Train to Paris.

Bilbao and Sol’s Family

We stayed three lovely nights with Sol and her family. Her family was just so nice to us and staying there was exactly what Lauren and I needed. We were in dire need of a stress-free and relaxing place to rejuvenate us before the last leg of our trip.

Lauren and Sol walking along the Beach in Plentzia

Picture of Plentzia and all the boats along the river.

Lauren and I on our way to Bilbao.

Sol and I in Bilbao in front of one of their signature bridges.

The first day in Bilbao, Sol took us to the city. We took a long metro ride from Plentzia to Bilbao and started the day with the Guggenheim Museum. The Guggenheim was so beautiful! I think I could have stared at it all day long! And I found the modern art inside very refreshing after seeing all the classic art in the previous museums. I even began to appreciate the modern art because to me, I felt as if it was up to you to draw a meaning or a feeling from the pieces. Everyone could come away from the art with a different experience and I really liked that.

The Guggenheim...what an incredible building.

After the Guggenheim, we just walked through the city. When we finally went back to Plentzia, Sol took us to a few fun bars to view the sunset from. We even explored and found a new bar with a great view of the ocean. The north coast of Spain is truly a beautiful and relaxing place to visit and live.

A sunset on the coast of Spain.

The next day, we woke up and took off directly to Bilbao again, but this time it was for a sailing adventure! Sol’s father wanted to take us for a short sail on his boat (that is named “Stanford” yes…that is correct…it is named after the school I will be attending in the fall, as it turned out Sol’s father also attended Stanford for a year, how crazy is that?) that morning and I could not have been more excited! I love everything about sailing and have not gone for many years. Sailing has always been one of my favorite past times and I can’t wait to become an avid sailor myself.

Sol, her Father, and Lauren sailing on "Stanford." Yes, "Stanford" was the name of the boat.

We didn’t sail for very long, nor did we really catch any great gusts of wind, but it was still nice to be out on the water with the sails up. I was really happy to realize how quickly I remembered how to sail and ended up being a big help to Sol and her father while we were out and about on the water. It was kinda funny because Lauren had never been sailing before…so she had no clue what was taking place (and being yelled at in Spanish, definitely does not help to clarify things). So I was trying to help her and explain to her what was taking place…what to look out for (swinging booms and ropes that were about to go crazy).

When we got home from sailing, Sol’s dad directly started to make paella! I was so excited because I was incredibly hungry and homemade paella just sounded delicious! The whole process was also very interesting and Lauren and I tired to watch intently with the hope to be able to reproduce it someday. But I fear we will never have the correct ingredients or the correct process to be able to recreate it. But it was so delicious and I was so full afterwards!

Later that afternoon, Sol had to leave to return to Madrid. After Sol left, Lauren and I definitely took it easy. We took a siesta (a lovely LONG nap), a short walk, and watched the sun set on the coast over the water. It was a very beautiful sunset! That night we also had our last dinner with Sol’s father and actually tired to help him prepare it. We had a lovely time talking with him that evening.

Overall, staying with Sol’s family was absolutely perfect and exactly what we needed on this part of our journey! I was very sad to leave.

I want to be a European

It is nights like tonight that make me want to become a European… Sol picked us up from the train station after a horrible train ride and just when Lauren was ready to pass out (yes, at this point in our trip Lauren was insanely sick and definitely ready to pass out). But after hoping in her car, everything horrible faded away and I instantly fell in love with Bilbao and Spain.

Bilbao at night seems to be such a beautiful city! There were so many signature bridges and lit up buildings, I loved every one of them. Then we arrived at Sol’s house and was greeted by her wonderful and kind family! IT was exactly what we needed! To be welcomed into a stress free and loving home, just when it seemed everything was going wrong.

That evening they had a small dinner prepared for us. It was so cute and delicious! It was all just so perfect! And her family was so sweet to us! Her father obviously loves company and was constantly talking to us! His love for music was definitely apparent at every moment! Additionally, I found Sol’s house to be absolutely beautiful! Someday I would love for my home to resemble it. It was just so picturesque and so perfectly simple and beautiful in many different ways.

Overall, the first evening I spent with Sol and her family, I became absolutely in love with Spain and the “European” lifestyle!

European Coffee

Before heading to Europe, I knew the coffee shop scene was a lot different than it is here in the states. I knew they took shots of espresso and downed their cappuccino in a few swallows. Before being there, I thought this new coffee shop scene would be charming and fun to experience, however, as it turned out…once I was there I was instead yearning for my grande white chocolate mocha from Starbucks that I could take with me as I wandered down the streets instead of standing a bar chugging my coffee.

However, nowhere I went could I find a coffee shop that would allow me to indulge in my “American” coffee shop routine….until Madrid.

It must have been the funniest thing to watch me get so overly excited about locating my first Starbucks in Madrid. But honestly, I was so incredibly excited! (I am almost ashamed how excited I got over a silly cup of coffee, but obviously not too ashamed or else I wouldn’t be telling the story—oh well) But yes, finding the Starbucks in Madrid definitely was one of the highlights of staying in that city. It gave me a glimmer of hope during the dark times I spent in Madrid and helped to return me to the light hearted and cheerful person I am.

Wow…it is amazing how small things like a silly cup of coffee can do to someone….wow…

The Dreaded Madrid

I have been avoiding writing about Madrid because I haven’t wanted to write anything bad about it. But the truth is that I did not like Madrid at all. From the moment I stepped off the bus, I knew it wasn’t my type of place and on top of it all….Lauren got very sick while we were there (and that is never fun when you are traveling). To be honest, Madrid was the only place where I have been really home sick and to the point of tears.

However, with all that, there were some definite good times and great parts of Madrid. I visited the Prada Museum, which was absolutely gigantic and very overwhelming! But it had some fantastic paintings by El Gaucho! They are so beautiful and colorful! I really enjoy his work because it is so refreshing from the other paintings of the time. The colors he used are so bright and add to the scenes he is portraying. And I love the way he paints eyes, he brings so much feeling to them…they are incredible!

We also saw the Palace in Madrid which was very beautiful! It reminded me of all the beautiful castles and palaces I saw on my first trip to Europe (those oh so many years ago)! However, I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to view the gardens…but health definitely comes over site seeing (and Lauren wasn’t feeling too hot at this point).

Outside Madrid's Palace

The beautiful entry way into the Palace

The Dinning Room

Another Beautiful ceiling...

The morning before we left we also walked through the huge park in Madrid. I really enjoyed the park because I believe I began to miss trees and open grass areas. The park also had a large lake in the center where people were out for their morning workouts on the boats. It was great to see so many people out and about running, rollerblading and walking.

Me in the Park near the big lake.

Overall, I was very happy to leave Madrid, but I think I should go back someday. Because I feel I owe the city a second chance…and I’m sure I’d enjoy it. It just wasn’t meant to be this time around.

Right before we left Madrid, we came upon the Puerta de Europa towers. There are two of these leaning towers (sorry I couldn't get a good enought picture to show them leaning or both of them together for that fact). But these are two buildings that LERA designed. I was so excited to have been able to see them!

Spontaneous Spain

Lauren and I left Rome for Spain, where honestly we did not know exactly what our plans would end up being. I have a friend, Sol, who lives in the North coast of Spain, in a small town near Bilbao. So we were hoping to spend time with Sol while additionally visiting Madrid sometime over the course of the time we were in Spain.

We arrived in Spain to the nice welcome of Sol's sister Pilar picked us up from the airport and after giving us a quick tour of Santanders, she put us on a bus to Madrid.