Pat and I's Eurorail Adventure

The past two-and-a-half weeks have been nothing short of amazing. Pat flew into Barcelona a few days before my Spring Break, and then we hopped from train to train along the French and Italian Riviera, Switzerland, and ended in Paris. We had our Hollywood moment when I surprised him at the station, seeing each other after three months. His first night in Barcelona we went to a symphony at the Palau de la Musica. The building itself was as phenomenal as the music. I showed him my cafe and my favorite sites, and we enjoyed walking around town and talking face-to-face (a big change from the constant "can you hear me??" over the Internet). I was so happy to show him around the city I've been living in and talking about so much, as well as have a travel buddy. Our trip is chalked-full of sites and cities, sounds and smells, delicious food, goofy times and songs, and beautiful everything.

Here's one goofy memory for you: on Pat's second day in Barcelona, we were going to meet up for coffee before I went to class. Plans got a bit snagged, however, due to Pat being stuck in the medieval elevator at his hotel. Apparently he had been in there for a while, and the hotel lady was shouting encouraging messages at him from above. Unfortunately for Pat, he doesn't speak Spanish and I had to leave for class. After an hour or so, an elevator technician showed up and bailed him out.
I think enough time has passed that this story is now hilarious.




City #1: MONTPELLIER, FRANCE
Filled with sunshine, flowers, and narrow cobblestone streets, Montpellier was a pleasant first stop. We took the cheesy tourist train around the old town, and spent time walking around pretty parks and plazas. We had our first of many crepes, which were of course unbelievable. For dinner we went to a tucked-away pizzeria.
Looking through my trip photos, it seems that about half of them involve food. We did a lot of eating on this trip...I'm still drooling.




City #2: NICE, FRANCE.
Nice is called Nice for a reason. It is n-i-c-e. The four-mile long pedestrian walkway along the beach gave us a lovely afternoon stroll to the city center. In the city, we let our Rick Steves' guidebook show us the way. Rick soon became our hero. His travel books are phenomenal, giving self-guided walking tours and great personal recommendations, hand-drawn maps, and humor to boot.
My favorite part of Nice was our hike to Castle Hill. At the top, a waterfall awaited, and we had a panoramic view of the city and Mediterranean at sunset. Dinner that night was one of my favorites of the whole trip, and one of the cheapest too. Mouth-watering pasta carbonara and ravioli, and fried goats cheese for starters. Afterward we had gelato from a place that had the most flavors I have ever seen--from tomato basil, to unusual fruits, to avocado.




Cities #3 and #4: SANTA MARGHERITA LIGURE AND PORTOFINO, ITALY
With the Newman trip two years ago, Pat and I have seen quite a bit of Italy but were anxious to return. The riviera had beauty unmatched by any other place I have seen. Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino are neighboring port towns, each full of color and charm that stood out next to the blue blue sea. We took a boat from Santa Margherita to Portofino, where we relaxed at the port and ate some yummy pastries (like I said, it's all about the food). With tummies full of yummy, we boated back to Santa Margherita and went to Palm Sunday Mass. The palms they handed out were intricately weaved, and I happy to be there despite the mass being in Italian.




Cities #5-#9: CINQUE TERRE, ITALY
Cinque Terre literally means "five lands." The national park consists of five villages that you hike between, and it was absolutely unbelievable. We walked through mountains, along cliffs the overlooked the piercing blue sea, and through towns with picturesque charm and color. The path between the first two towns, the "Lover's Trail" was paved and followed the sea, with great cliff views. The last stretch was much more challenging and took two hour and some serious hiking. Our reward at the end was the beach. After sinking our toes in, we took a boat back. Dinner that night was equally unbelievable. I had mussel soup and smoked salmon pasta, and Pat had seafood alfredo and a fish that still had it's head on. It was SO GOOD. Although I could never choose, if I HAD to, Cinque Terre would be my favorite place of the whole trip. Absolutely gorgeous.




City #10: LUGANO, SWITZERLAND
In Lugano, we spent more time on the waterside, this time a lake--Lake Lugano. We were pretty worn out from our travels and our big hike in Cinque Terre, so we took it easy. We leisurely explored the town, admiring Swiss watch stores, taking photos of all the pretty flowers, watching old men play on the life-sized chess board, and walking around the lake. We rented a petal boat and went out on the lake, which was so fun! We seem to enjoy activities designed for 10 year-olds.




City #11: LUZERN, SWITZERLAND
We spent two nights in Luzern, which was a nice change of pace from the getting up and going at 7am every morning routine. Surrounded by the backdrop of the snow-capped alps and situated on Lake Lucerne, it was another beautiful and interesting destination. Luzern is unique-looking from other cities though, with pointed rooves and spires on churches and buildings with strange facades. My favorite part was hanging out by the lake, by Chapel Bridge and the 12th Century water tower. Another famous landmark is the weeping lion monument--a giant lion chiseled into a mountain in honor of the Swiss who died in the French Revolution.
Food wise (gotta mention the food), we enjoyed coffees and pastries and Hug Bakery, and pretzels and Swiss-style mac 'n' cheese and a brewery on the waterfront.




Cities #12 and #13: GENEVA AND LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND
Our last stop through Switzerland was at Lake Geneva. Geneva is considered French Switzerland and is home to Europe's highest fountain and famous floral clock. The clock was almost removed, however, because tourists continuously backed into traffic trying to get pictures of it. It was Good Friday that day, and we found out after our arrival that Geneva is considered "Protestant Rome," so we were not able to go to Good Friday service and most of what there was to see there was about the Protestant Reformation. After walking around town, we made an impromptu decision to train over to another town on the lake, Lausanne. There, we did Rick Steves' guided tour and had FONDUE. Need I say more?




City #14: PARIS, FRANCE
Besides because it being a great destination for couples, Paris is called the "city of love" because you literally fall in love with the city. We spent three joyful days there before taking an overnight train back to Barcelona. At the Orsay, we saw works by Picasso and Monet. We sauntered up the Champs Elysees toward the impressive Arc de Triumph. We followed the footsteps of bohemians at Montaner and stared in awe at the massive, white basilica Sacre Ceour. We walked through history in the Latin Quarter. We took in the view of the Seine River from bridges. We CLIMBED (that would be not taking the elevator) the Eiffel Tower, with a night-view of Paris. We were unimpressed by the Mona Lisa. We were speechless at the room of stained glass of Sant Chapelle chapel. We laughed. We sang. We loved it.
And in between everything we squeezed in pastry picnics, gelato, and crepe stands. One crepe maker even let ME have a try at making one! On Easter Sunday, we went to Notre Dame for Mass. It was PACKED but we managed to squeeze in, using the base of a lector pulpit for a seat. The music was Gregorian, fitting of the old beautiful church and the chilling organ that accompanied.

Not being home for Easter certainly made me think of family and home, and even though I love it here, I promise I miss you all and think of you every day. I left a candle burning for the family at the church in Luzern on Holy Thursday.

Hard to believe, but I have just two weeks left in Barcelona. Unfortunately they will be filled with paper writing and exam-cramming. I'll be coming into Wichita on May 7 after visiting Rome, and plan on coming back to TU for graduation. I'm so excited for this summer--I'll be living in Kansas City, working part time for a public relations company, and the other part of the time waitressing and having fun in Sarah Dulek and I's future apartment. Life is good!