Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Weekend in BCN!
Hi guys!
This past weekend was spent in Barcelona. We arrived in Spain mid-morning on Friday, and headed straight for our accommodations in a safe area of the city. We stayed in a fabulous apartment-style hotel that came fully equipped with anything we could ever need (including but not limited to a microwave, dishwasher, bottle opener, panini maker, juicer...).
Stopping off in a bakery en route to downtown Barcelona, we discovered that neither our English nor our Spanish was going to get us very far, since the baker could not understand that all we wanted were a few pastries. Barcelona's official language is Catalan, a hybridization of Spanish and French, with a lot of 'x's thrown in for good measure.
We then got two day tickets for a hop-on hop-off bus tour of the city. On Friday we did the tour route that covered the southern half of Barcelona, and provided us with views of the ocean. We got off at the National Gallery, which is a converted palace. Inside the gallery we saw more depictions of Jesus than I have ever seen in one place. The gallery had quite a few Carrachi, Velasquez, Picasso, and Miro paintings, as well as many locally famous Catalan artists.
Back on the tour, we saw the 1992 Olympic Stadium, scenic views of the city, the zoo, and the aquarium. We got off the tour in the Gothic area of the city, and went to see Gaudi's famous music venue (Palau de la Musica), as well as the city's famed Cathedral. The Cathedral dates back to the 1300s and is extraordinary inside. After touring the interior of the Cathedral we grabbed some dinner and headed home for a nap. We woke up, Spanish-style, at 11pm and headed out to bars. Our first stop was Chupitos (= "shots" in Spanish), a tiny bar that is very popular with American students because it features 524 varieties of shots. Their flaming shots are particularly extraordinary (e.g. The Boy Scout: They light a section of the bar on fire, give you a marshmallow on a stick to roast over the fire, then you dip the marshmallow in the shot glass, eat the alcohol soaked marshmallow, and THEN you take the shot). We picked a few, non-pyro friendly shots from the list and headed onwards. We then went to the Dow Jones, another themed bar. The concept for the bar is that all of the prices for the drinks are posted on screens (a la the stock market), and the prices adjust to reflect supply and demand. If a lot of people were to order a single type of drink then the prices will rise and vice versa. Every hour there is a stock market crash and there is a mad dash for the bar to get drinks at rock-bottom prices. We headed home early (compared to the Spaniards), since we were exhausted from 24 hours of traveling and touring.
On Saturday morning, we grabbed breakfast and caffeinated before heading to the bus tour. We departed the bus at La Segrada Familia, a church that is Gaudi's grandest achievement. The Church is still under construction, nearly 100 years later, and is paid for my anonymous donations. Every aspect of the church initially looks completely out of the ordinary, until you realize that all of the shapes and designs have been taken directly from nature, like helixes, waves, and flowers. The building is absolutely enormous and breathtaking, my pictures don't do the architecture justice.
Upon leaving the gated area of the building, we stopped to take a picture. While I was distancing myself from my friends, they were accosted by two girls who forced a petition upon them to sign for deaf people. The girls were very aggressive and in order to get them to leave them alone, my friends signed the document. The girls then demanded donations from them and more girls arrived and surrounded my friends threateningly and again in order to get the girls to leave, my friends gave them a couple euros. After taking the pictures, we were walking away from the park, when one of the young girls runs over, hands my friend her wallet and disappears. Fortunately, the girls had only stolen the 30 euro that my friend had in her wallet and had returned all of the credit cards and Irish immigration card. We were very shaken up and headed straight to an Irish pub for Bailey's coffee and a breather. Pick-pocketing is a huge problem in Barcelona, and the people who do it are professionals (there is even a pickpocketing school in Rome!). The entire weekend my anxiety levels were through the roof, because I'm so protective of my camera and other belongings, but fortunately we didn't run into any other troubles.
This past weekend was spent in Barcelona. We arrived in Spain mid-morning on Friday, and headed straight for our accommodations in a safe area of the city. We stayed in a fabulous apartment-style hotel that came fully equipped with anything we could ever need (including but not limited to a microwave, dishwasher, bottle opener, panini maker, juicer...).
Stopping off in a bakery en route to downtown Barcelona, we discovered that neither our English nor our Spanish was going to get us very far, since the baker could not understand that all we wanted were a few pastries. Barcelona's official language is Catalan, a hybridization of Spanish and French, with a lot of 'x's thrown in for good measure.
We then got two day tickets for a hop-on hop-off bus tour of the city. On Friday we did the tour route that covered the southern half of Barcelona, and provided us with views of the ocean. We got off at the National Gallery, which is a converted palace. Inside the gallery we saw more depictions of Jesus than I have ever seen in one place. The gallery had quite a few Carrachi, Velasquez, Picasso, and Miro paintings, as well as many locally famous Catalan artists.
Back on the tour, we saw the 1992 Olympic Stadium, scenic views of the city, the zoo, and the aquarium. We got off the tour in the Gothic area of the city, and went to see Gaudi's famous music venue (Palau de la Musica), as well as the city's famed Cathedral. The Cathedral dates back to the 1300s and is extraordinary inside. After touring the interior of the Cathedral we grabbed some dinner and headed home for a nap. We woke up, Spanish-style, at 11pm and headed out to bars. Our first stop was Chupitos (= "shots" in Spanish), a tiny bar that is very popular with American students because it features 524 varieties of shots. Their flaming shots are particularly extraordinary (e.g. The Boy Scout: They light a section of the bar on fire, give you a marshmallow on a stick to roast over the fire, then you dip the marshmallow in the shot glass, eat the alcohol soaked marshmallow, and THEN you take the shot). We picked a few, non-pyro friendly shots from the list and headed onwards. We then went to the Dow Jones, another themed bar. The concept for the bar is that all of the prices for the drinks are posted on screens (a la the stock market), and the prices adjust to reflect supply and demand. If a lot of people were to order a single type of drink then the prices will rise and vice versa. Every hour there is a stock market crash and there is a mad dash for the bar to get drinks at rock-bottom prices. We headed home early (compared to the Spaniards), since we were exhausted from 24 hours of traveling and touring.
On Saturday morning, we grabbed breakfast and caffeinated before heading to the bus tour. We departed the bus at La Segrada Familia, a church that is Gaudi's grandest achievement. The Church is still under construction, nearly 100 years later, and is paid for my anonymous donations. Every aspect of the church initially looks completely out of the ordinary, until you realize that all of the shapes and designs have been taken directly from nature, like helixes, waves, and flowers. The building is absolutely enormous and breathtaking, my pictures don't do the architecture justice.
Upon leaving the gated area of the building, we stopped to take a picture. While I was distancing myself from my friends, they were accosted by two girls who forced a petition upon them to sign for deaf people. The girls were very aggressive and in order to get them to leave them alone, my friends signed the document. The girls then demanded donations from them and more girls arrived and surrounded my friends threateningly and again in order to get the girls to leave, my friends gave them a couple euros. After taking the pictures, we were walking away from the park, when one of the young girls runs over, hands my friend her wallet and disappears. Fortunately, the girls had only stolen the 30 euro that my friend had in her wallet and had returned all of the credit cards and Irish immigration card. We were very shaken up and headed straight to an Irish pub for Bailey's coffee and a breather. Pick-pocketing is a huge problem in Barcelona, and the people who do it are professionals (there is even a pickpocketing school in Rome!). The entire weekend my anxiety levels were through the roof, because I'm so protective of my camera and other belongings, but fortunately we didn't run into any other troubles.
We then headed over to Park Guell, another one of Gaudi's masterpieces. It was a nice, relaxing way to spend the afternoon. On our way back to the bus, I was actually in the middle of saying to my friends that I was surprised that I hadn't yet run into someone I knew when we came upon some American friends from our business school. We finished up the tour, then grabbed an early tapas dinner. We napped and headed out to the bars with the girls we had run into earlier, but it was kind of a bust of an evening. However, since it was Carneval and we were staying near all of the gay bars, we saw the most incredible costumes and tons of drag. We were heading out the next morning when we saw a couple of guys in matching bright pink tulle dresses, tiaras, and stilettos stumbling home from the bar.
We met my friend Patty, who is from Tufts and studying in Barcelona for lunch near the waterfront. The food was delicious and the menus were on the sides of wine bottles which was a nice creative touch. Patty showed us around the port, waterfront, and beach areas. She also showed us this great bar called the Forest of the Fairies, which had trees growing all over inside and has a "thunder storm" every hour. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for my budget), the shops were all closed since it was Sunday, a snag that we hadn't planned on. Nonetheless, we grabbed some crepes and pizza for dinner and had Cava Sangria (delicious champagne-based sangria). We then headed over to the airport, and discovered that our flight was nearly an hour late, which is very unusual for Europe.
Over all, it was a great weekend spent in a beautiful city.
Love, Erin
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Holocaust Memorial, Budapest, Hungary
On each metal leaf is inscribed the name of a Hungarian victim of the Holocaust.
Budapest!
Hi all!
I spent this past weekend in Budapest, Hungary. It was an untraditional destination choice, that I'm happy I made. The city is known for its stunning succession architecture, baths, and is often called the "Paris of Eastern Europe".
We arrived on Friday evening, without too many hassles, and made our way directly to our accommodations. From the exterior, the hostel that we were staying in, the Downtown Oasis Private Rooms, was sketchy at best, however, from the inside it was a beautifully decorated apartment. There were only two other rooms in the hostel (both were full), and my friends and I shared the third room. After getting settled, we went to an adorably artsy Hungarian cafe and got our first Hungarian meal, it was absolutely delicious (especially after having lived off Irish cuisine for the past month). We then went to a bar that was definitely an experience. Once we navigated our way into the venue (which was easier said than done), we found ourself in the most unusual bar I have ever set foot in. The bar, called the Szimply Gardens, was all exposed concrete and disco lights. Seating in the bar consisted of bathtubs, flea market style furniture, and very low benches. The decor was no less eclectic with lit up doll heads hanging from the ceiling, fake flowers covering the walls, and tea kettles acting as drapes in the window frames. We had some interesting conversations with some Aussies and a group of rather rude American study abroad students, shared a bad bottle of wine, and then called it a night.
In the morning we got up early to tour the city. Our first stop was the Opera House in the Central Pest district. The building was stunning (see above photos) and we were shushed out of the building within a matter of minutes (rejection #1). Our next stop was St. Stephen's Basilica, which is one of the most breathtaking buildings I have ever set foot in. We then headed onward to the Parliament district, where we were told that all the English tours were full for the day and to come back on Sunday (rejection #2). We then tried to check out the Hungarian Ethnography Museum, and were denied entrance because we tried to pay the approximately $3 entrance fee with the equivalent of a $5 bill, which is apparently unacceptable behaviour (rejection #3).
We then grabbed some sushi lunch at a fabulous little Japanese restaurant to try to boost our spirits. Following lunch, we headed over to the Buda district. Budapest is split down the middle by the Danube River, and on one side of the river lies Buda and on the other side is Pest. In Buda, we headed up to the Castille District via a rollercoaster-style tram. In the Castille District is the Royal Palace, and a fantastic view of the city. Inside the Royal Palace are two museums, we were asked to leave both of them because it was closing time (rejections #4 and #5). We then went to check out a stunning church in the district, but unfortunately the exterior was under construction. The interior was gorgeous and had been redone following the Turkish invasion, and later, after being destroyed during World War II (a very common theme throughout the city's prominent buildings). We then walked the Fisherman's Bastion, a stone, enclosed pathway that overlooks the Danube. In hopes of warming up, we then stopped to grab hot chocolate in a very proper restaurant who's decor was clearly inspired by the theme of war (e.g. murals of bloody battles on the wall, knives and rifles hanging on the walls).
We hurried to the tram after taking some pictures of the sweeping views of Budapest by night, and made our way back to the hostel. We relaxed in the hostel for a little while and grabbed dinner at the same restaurant as the night before, because we knew that they were too artsy to make a big deal out of valentines day. After a three course meal and several glasses of wine each (which only came to 16 euro per person!!), we were too exhausted to head out to the bars, as we had originally planned and retired to our hostel.
In the morning, we grabbed omelettes for breakfast and then we went to see The Hill, a huge monument that overlooks the city. We then headed back to the Parliament, but when we arrived over an HOUR early, we were told that all of the tours were booked for the day (rejection #6), so we found ourselves a non-touristy cafe to hang out in. We then headed over to the Great Synagogue, a stunning building that has the city's Holocaust Memorial in its backyard. The Holocaust memorial was a metal willow tree, and on every leaf was the name of a Hungarian killed by the Holocaust (I can't seem to be able to upload this picture). Next to the sculpture is a memorial for Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish humanitarian who saved tens of thousands of Jews during World War II by providing them with passports and by hiding them.
Our final stop was the Hungarian National Museum where we saw an exhibit that showed the history of Hungary up until the 1990s. We had some difficultly understanding each of the artifacts since most of the descriptive tags were in Hungarian, and not English. Regardless, it was a nice little walk through Hungary's tumultuous history. We then grabbed our final Hungarian meal at a very authentic restaurant near the museum, and then caught a cab back to the airport.
Over all, it was a very successful trip that I'm happy I made. Check out my pictures from the trip at www.flickr.com/photos/erinkbaum. This weekend, we're headed to Barcelona, so there will be more to come!!
Love,
E
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Weekend in the City
I spent Saturday shopping and wandering around Dublin. I discovered a fantastic neighborhood that is filled with boutiques, and adorable cafes, that I am certain will become my new study site (think True Grounds).
On Sunday, I went to sailing practice despite that it was snowing again. Practices are held at the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Loaghaire (pronounced Dun Leary), a 25 minute bus ride from campus. We kicked off practice with an intense snowball fight and lots of complaints about the cold weather. The team has a brand new fleet of six Fireflies (a cross between the lark and an FJ, the crew must sit backwards), and we took them all out on the water. Here, in Ireland, the college teams sail in five regattas (team racing only) all year.
Before heading out on the water, we had a briefing with a coach (their first coach this season), who is an exceptional team racer. He went through the basics of team racing, and I am finally starting to understand the strategy involved. When we finally got out on the water, two hours late, the wind had died and we floated around the race course. I wish that I had gotten in a complete race, but it was a nice experience nonetheless. The kids on the team are super nice, and fairly welcoming. I'm going to try to make it to a few more practices this season, and to their weekly theory sessions.
I spent nearly five hours registering as a student with immigration. The experience highlighted how much more efficient everything is in North America. So far, my only pet peeves here are the constant presence of inefficiencies and lack of hot water on demand, but I think I can deal with both pretty easily.
Love,
Erin
Monday, February 9, 2009
Observations from the first time it snowed in Dublin in YEARS:
1. All snowmen on campus will have breasts and/or a beer bottle in at least one hand.
2. A few centimeters of snow will close down the airport.
3. Every single male on campus will team up and throw terrifying numbers of snowballs at innocent civilians wearing distinctive clothing and accessories (e.g. umbrellas, suits, coloured jackets, hats, scarves, wellies, coffee cups...)
4. Gridlock will occur on all of the roads. It will take an hour and a half for what is normally a seven minute bus ride.
5. The streets and sidewalks will become sheets of ice, and it will take several days for the city to import salt, and by that time all the ice has melted.
6. Bumboarding (= sledding) will take place on 3 foot high "mountains"
7. Classes will be cancelled for the next few days FOLLOWING the snowfall, despite warm temperatures and a distinct lack of snow.
8. All the buildings on campus will shut down several hours early, with the exception of the bar.
9. Students will try to knock cyclists off their bikes with snowballs.
10. Students will open the doors of cars stopped at intersections and throw snow in the faces of drivers.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Touring the Irish Countryside
Hi guys!
The week was fairly uneventful, classes are semi interesting, but seem to be quite easy so far. On Thursday, the business study abroad program hosted an Irish house party at a nearby hotel, yet the event was less interesting than we had anticipated. On the plus side, the program did buy us all drinks. We ended the night dancing at a pub near Trinity College, called Doyle's.
On Friday, I departed for Galway with three of my friends. The 2.5 hour train ride to the opposite coast of the country was comfortable and uneventful. Upon arriving in Galway, a "city" of 17,000 people, we went searching for Claddagh rings, as Galway is where the trend began (a Claddagh ring is two hands holding a heart and a crown, and every component symbolizes a different emotion - loyalty, love, and friendship). We checked into our hostel, which was adorable and filled with fellow college students. The only bad part of our experience at the hostel was rooming with several obnoxious French girls, who woke us all at 4 in the morning.
After grabbing a bite to eat, we met up with my friends, Brittney (from Tufts) and Sam at a local bar. Coincidentally, we accidentally ran into 20 other students on the same business program as us at UCD. We called it an early night, and awoke the next morning for a 10 am tour of the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. We were super fortunate that the bad weather cleared up in time for us to see the Cliffs under brilliant sunshine. It was a long day of sitting on the bus, but definitely an incredible experience. We napped, grabbed crepes for dinner, and met up with some friends at a nearby bar (and again ran into all the kids in our program).
Sunday morning I met up with Brittney and Sam for early morning brunch, before heading back to Dublin. Last night, I went downtown to a sports bar to watch the first half of the super bowl, and it was the most Americans I have seen in one place since arriving in the country. Nearly every Irish person who I chat with at bars is convinced that I am Native American/Indian, which is something that I can't seem to figure out...
Anyhow, its time to do laundry (for the first time here), and meet up with some Americans for a flip cup (American frat game) party.
Peace!
Erin
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