Placa de Catalunya I went to collect my Barcelona Pass because they don't do a mobile version here ... also had to find a print shop because it was "mandatory to bring printed voucher" to exchange for the actual pass. Barbaric I say! Anyways, had to walk through this park to get on the Metro. There were multiple people there feeding the pigeons and holding them ... never seen that before. It was like Mary Poppins or some shit. Museu de la Musica - Museum of MusicFree museum with the pass. It showcased instruments from around the world, both past and present. They also had an interactive section so I can now say I've played the harp and the cello. Some stuff not in pictures that I thought was cool: - Many of the early violins, cellos, and basses had 5 or 6 strings. I think the first 4 stringed violin I saw was from the 1400s or 1500s - Tabs, like for guitar music, have been around since the 1600s Le Monumental
Sagrada Familia**My pictures aren't that good. You should google more pictures. This church, officially named a basilica by the pope, was designed by the architect Gaudi and is still unfinished from like the 1920's or something. Gaudi, from what I read, did much of his designing by experimentation using models as opposed to mathematically designing the space with accepted methods. This lead to many of his unique designs and is why he's still famous in Barcelona. The church was left unfinished for many years but the project has been picked up by new architects who are working to finish it in the design style of Gaudi. Random Stuff* Observation after walking around for a day: almost every male between 16 and 30 years of age seems to have at least one earring ... I'm not sure how I feel about this trend. **Other places I went but not listed: - the beach: saw a lot of topless women ... many of them older ... it was an experience - a couple of aerial classes ... nice and sore for the plane ride back to Hanoi Picasso MuseumThe pictures are mostly in chronological order I think. Museu de Xocolata - Chocolate MuseumL'AquariumParc GuellParc Guell was originally a parcel of land owned by this guy named Guell. The intent was to create a housing complex for the upper echlon of society in Barcelona. There were to be 61 plots of land on this hill. The architect of the site was Gaudi (famous around Barcelona). Unfortunately, a few years into the building, they realized that the location wasn't super accessible or convenient so the rest of the project was scrapped. A few years later, the land was donated to the city as a park. Personally, I think that if this had panned out into a full blown development, it would've been awesome to live in.
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Gelato Chronicles Continued
Around Rome (some of it maybe famous but IDK)Trevi Fountaina) I did not expect Trevi Fountain to be so massive ... you could have a SeaWorld show in that thing! b) I did not expect the square where the fountain was to be so small. The fountain took up 90% of it at least. Colosseumwaited in line for 2.5 hours... luckily the line was 99% shaded. Besides the heat walking around in the Colosseum, I'd say it was worth the 12 euros. Palatine Hill and Roman ForumAbsolutely massive. I don't think I even saw 50% of what I could have seen. Without a guided tour, there isn't really a designated route so I just wandered around looking at stuff. A lot of it was in the sun so I tapped out after 1.5 hours and got gelato instead. I did overhear a guide saying that 12 years ago, the park with Palatine Hill and the Forum were free but no one ever visited. After they started ticketing and charging, it became super popular ... go figure. Catacombs di PriscillaThese are the only catacombs within the city walls of old Rome. They contain over 40,000 loculi (graves) spread over two levels. The top layer was very maze like since it was completed in sections. First for the older rich families, then for christian martyrs then for the general public (many Christians). The bottom layer is laid out in a grid because it was intentionally planned after the top level filled up. Most loculi on the top level are empty and open - raided by barbarians who thought people were buried with treasures. Almost all, if not all, of the loculi on the bottom level are still sealed. Original loculi are sealed with roman slab bricks. Later, to preserve parts of the catacomb a different type of roman brick was used to brick up in front of the loculi (entire walls). Rich families had a room for their loculi. We saw one with a fresco on the ceiling. and saw others that had a hall instead of a room but still done in frescos. The guide discussed christian symbols such as the fish and anchor. The cross wasn't used as a symbol of Christianity until after Constantine legalized the religion. Unfortunately for you, I didn't take any pictures because lighting and I don't think we were allowed to ... no one else tried to take any so you'll just have to take my word for it that it was mildly spooky and cool. PantheonVia Appia AnticaThe plan was to go to the bike shop at the San Sebastian Catecombs, rent a bike for a couple of hours and ride the Via Appia Antica and park areas. Turns out, the bike shop either isn't there anymore or the person who runs it was late setting up shop. Plan B ... I seem to be doing a lot of Plan B's in Europe this summer ... the next closest bike rental is a 40 minute walk and has a minimum rental of 4 hours. The walk across the park to where the metro line is is also a 40 minute walk. I only have 2 hours until I need to get back to the hostel to get ready for my afternoon wine tour. So I just walk through the park meandering down the trails and enjoying the lack of city sounds. Seen but not pictured: a flock of sheep with a big red dot on each one's back, an artist who had walked in with his easel and canvas to paint a section of forest. Good use of the morning I'd say. Day trip Wine TourFun facts from the wine tour:
Vatican CityThe museums: wait 2 hours in line to save 18 euro then walk through lightly air conditioned halls of antiquity with a couple thousand of your closest friends ... many Europeans are not big on deodorant. You fill in the blanks there. Anyways, did see some cool stuff and the Sistine Chapel. I might have been more impressed by the Chapel if a) there were less people in it, b) people actually listed to the signs everywhere saying "Be respectful. Stay silent. No photography or video." ... seeing as they didn't the guards constantly were saying "No photo!" and c) every other ceiling in Europe wasn't ornately painted/carved/both St. Peter's Basilica: Holy shit, that church is massive! I'm talking like 10-20 normal sized churches could fit into it. Or like 5 mega churches. Also saw the tomb of the popes under the basilica (no photography allowed). You know, after seeing so many churches and castles and what not, it makes me wonder like ... what if instead of giant displays of wealth and fancy stuff, novel idea here ... what if you lived/worshiped/worked a bit more modestly and used that money to help the people you're supposed to be serving/helping in the first place? ... you know, just a thought. Beautiful church though Around TownWeird Stuff and FoodGelato tried so far in Italy: Raspberry, Lemon, Mango, and Caramel (I asked for pineapple but . . . ) GIANT Licorice (think climbing rope size) and Massive Meringues . . . No, I did not try either They had a make your own Magnum store so of course I had to. Result: cool but not worth the money. The chocolate outside didn't want to adhere to the ice cream so when you bit into it, the chocolate just slides off. Basically, I ate all the chocolate before any of the ice cream. I don't really have words for these. Why someone would make this art project . . . I have no idea. And weird European squatty potty? . . . it was like 6 inches off the ground. Museums and Famous PlacesLeonardo Da Vinci Museum This place was so cool! Virtual Reality area where you got to see some of his inventions. Upstairs was a "play" area. Many of his inventions were never actually made, just drawings in his notes. So the museum made a bunch of his inventions and you could play with them to see how they work. Super awesome and only cost 8 euro. Basilica di San Marco Since I arrived about 45 minutes early for my island tour, I walked around the area a bit. I come out of an alley and see this massive Piazza (square) with this insanely ornate building. I have no idea what it is but there's a huge line of people waiting to get in. I took a video... it was like 30 seconds long. (no the video is not here. It requires me to upload it to YouTube then insert the YouTube video on the website ... I'm not gonna do that) Anyways, I looked on Google Maps and saw that I was standing by Doge Palace. I thought "Cool, maybe I'll get tickets to that when I get back from the island tour." when I passed the ticket line. . . . After going through Doge Palace later that day, I realized that the pretty building was the Basilica di San Marco and it's free and it closed at 5 so I wasn't going to get to visit it. Doge palace was cool too though. Doge Palace Note: not connected to the Basilica di San Marco ... at least not anywhere you can get to as a visitor. MuranoWent on a tour to three of the outlying islands in the Venetian Lagoon. Murano is the glass blowing island. We saw a demonstration then had some time to wander around. BuranoBurano is famous for its hand made lace industry. We watched a short demonstration. The lady said to make a piece of lace like the demo (~ 4 inch diameter doily) it takes 7 ladies 10 days total to make it. 7 ladies because they each specialize in 1 type of stitch. 1 day is 5 hours of work. Burano is also famous for its brightly colored houses. It used to be (maybe still is?) a fishing village. The brightly colored houses would make it easier for the fishermen to find the right one. TorcelloWe didn't really get any background on Torcello . . . we just kind of went. So here's some pictures . . . General Impressions and last wordsVenice was frickin awesome! I could spend at least a week there just exploring the streets and getting lost (intentionally). It was like a giant maze. On that note, it would make an amazing place for a city wide game of capture the flag. If they don't do that already, they should make it an annual thing.
From Venice, I came to Rome where I'll stay for 6 days before going to Barcelona to finish off the trip. Slightly different approach to this entry. I was in Rhodes for 3 days, 4 nights. My goal here was to unwind from all the crowds and go-go-go that I'd been doing in the last 3 cities. What people don't talk about in regards to solo travel is how lonely it can be. Sure, when you stay in hostels and go on guided tours there are people to talk with . . . if that's the kind of person you are. That's not me. I don't do well with initiating interactions with strangers . . . it makes me very anxious so I usually just don't. Anyways, quick rundown of my time in Greece. Arrival night: get checked into airbnb, a cozy studio apartment. My host Stathis gave me a quick rundown of the city and suggestions of things to do and places to eat. I went for dinner at one of his suggestions, it was delicious (see pic later on). Day 1: explore Old Town and cafe hop. After lunch nap and walk a path by the western beaches. Dinner at Dali cafe . . . and here's my digression on European wait staff - in America, the waiters come to you and ask if you're ready to order, how things are, if you need anything else, are you ready for the check, etc. In Europe (this has been true in EVERY country so far), you ask the waiter to come take your order, you ask the waiter if you need something else, you ask the waiter for the check and it's a pain in the ass to try and get their attention in a lot of restaurants. Dining out has been a constant anxiety trigger. Long story short, I couldn't get the waiter's attention for an hour after finishing my meal (I swear they'll let you sit there all damn night if you want) so I put a 20 on the table and left (my meal was 18 Euro so it's okay, I didn't jip anybody). I get it though, dining out in Europe is a whole event not just getting food. Doesn't make it any easier for me. Day 2: sat on a beach from 10 - 3. Read most of a book (2nd book in the Sparrow trilogy). Had a nice late lunch. Afternoon nap. Dinner with a comparatively competent waiter. Watched some netflix before bed. Day 3: woke up and could not make myself leave the apartment until 1pm and that was only because my stomach had started eating itself. Went to the small grocery around the corner and picked up some pasta to cook at the apartment. Went out again in the evening to get some gelato and because I know I should leave the apartment more than once. (if you're concerned about me, don't be. It usually takes me a couple days after an anxiety episode to normalize... I'm good now) This morning: packed up and went to the airport to catch my flight to Venice If I had been real touristy in Rhodes, there are numerous beaches, a bee museum (yea ... I looked into going but it was like 50 km down the island ... would've been my weird museum though), hiking, climbing, kayaking, lots of old Greek buildings and site, cruises to smaller islands, etc. |
ShannonMath Teacher living and working in Hanoi, Vietnam Archives
February 2022
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