Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki, Greece
72 degrees, sunny


Where do I begin....
Thessaloniki is not exactly the romantic Grecian paradise I envisioned it to be.  There are several reasons for this I believe.  One - it is November and thus the "off season."  Two- Greece is poorer than usual right now.  Three- Greece is taking a lot of shit for the damage they did to the economy so moral is low.  And four is that I had unusually high expectations coming away from my trip to Barcelona.  Despite these factors I like exploring the city, have met some nice people (also some very rude people), and have had some delicious Greek food.

Quick observation:
I know it is sunday and people in europe are really into sunday as a day of rest, but Greece takes it to a whole new level.  The city was covered in nappers.  Literally people were napping everywhere: benches, beaches, grassy spots, you name it - they'll nap on it.

Moving on- here's what I saw today.

The White Tower, previously the tower of blood when it was used as a prison/ torture chamber by the Ottomans, is calleed the white tower because in exchange for his freedom a slave whitewashed the entire thing.  That's a pretty big job for one guy.
At the end of the ocean walk, the tower is a symbol of the city.

A little further down the street, a statue of Alexander the Great.  Thessaloniki is named after his sister Saloniki

We took a short little boat ride around the inlet and got some pretty great views of the city.

 

We headed to the old city at the top of the hill next.  What is so incredible to me is the way the ruins of this ancient city are incorporated into the city today.  In many cases this is a good thing but it can also be a little sad to see the foundations of some ancient building covered in plastic bottles and other trash.

 

There is also a SERIOUS cat issue here.  They beg for food outside restaurants, and like many of the people here can be found nappin' all over da place.

 

We had more amazing views from the top of the hill.

We also wandered around this gorgeous monastery for a little while.  Unfortunately like everything else here today, it wasn't open.  Maybe next time.

Tomorrow I off to Athens- more from there!


Allison

Barcelona: Day 5

Barcelona
69 degrees, sunny

It might be impossible to be bored in this city.  It has been non-stop hits for the last four days and today was no exception.
The morning began with a little wandering in the Raval district.

We went to the Picasso museum as well for the Picasso davant degas exhibit.  This translates to "Picasso looks at Degas" which translates to Picasso copies degas.  It was surprising to me how much overlap there was between the two artists.  Maybe its just because I don't know too much about art... ok I really don't know anything but I wouldn't have guessed that these two had so much in common. 

Sandwiches in hand, Alex and I headed to the Parc de La Ciutadel for lunch.

 From the park we walked towards Barceloneta which is the district by the water.

I am leaving tomorrow morning for Thessaloniki, Greece and if it's half as nice as Barcelona I'll be very happy.

¡Hasta mañana!

Barcelona: Day 4

Barcelona
70 degrees, sun sun sun

I wouldn't say that I am all about Gaudi... but I am all about Guadi.  Especially after today.  I have two words for you - Sagrada Familia.  This is, hands down, the most interesting church I have ever been to.  It may be the most interesting building I have ever been to come to think of it.  It has been under construction since 1882.  What blows my mind is not that it has been under construction for so long ( what with all the siestas this country takes that isn't all that surprising) but rather that Gaudi designed this building so long ago.  He designed this well over 100 years ago --

Amigos, if you are ever in Barcelona - go see this!!

more tomorrow.  

buenas noches 

Barcelona: Day 3

Barcelona
71 degrees, sunny

Carolyn and I decided that today we were going to wander around Montjuic and that's as far as the planning went...

Montjuic is a park with the mediterranean to the south and the city to the north.  The park is essentially a small mountain and so has truly spectacular views of the city.  This is definitely one of my favorite spots in the whole city.

The first building we came across in Montjuic is the National art museum, which is massive.  And gorgeous.

National Art Museum of Catalunya

View from the steps of the Nat'l art museum

From the museum, we climbed a bit higher into the park and came across the '92 olympic stadium.

Olympic stadium

Inside the olympic stadium

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed walking around in the olympic park.  You can really go wrong in a place like that on a day like today.

Outside on Montjuic Carolyn and I decide to check out the architecture scene.  Well it was more like we came across it unintentionally.  Nonetheless! we came across it and that is all that matters.  Before I show you the main attraction I will show you the building next to it.

I don't know anything at all about this building but I am guessing that when it was built people probably though it was really neat and different.  And then Antonio Gaudi shows up and drops the proverbial modern-architecture hammer. 

Barcelona: Day 2

Barcelona
67 degrees, sunny

Buenos días, gentes

We kicked off our second day in the city with a walking tour of the old, gothic city.  We walked through so many side alleys, back street, out-of-the-way courtyards, that I honestly couldn't tell you where we went.  But, I can tell you that it was absolutely beautiful.

Plaça Reial

We began here in the Plaça Reial which is a large square that one can only imagine how glamorous and regal it must have been when it was first built.  Narrow streets lead out of the square on all sides and down one of these we went to the pine church.  One of the oldest catholic churches in spain.

Across from the church- the oldest decorated facade in the city

We walked through the old jewish quarter where the streets are some of the narrowest in the city and the houses are stacked one on top of the other.  

street level looking up

We passed through the city hall square,

and on to a wing of the national catherdral that contained a beautiful little park with thirteen white geese (the number of geese has to do with the age and the number of time st. eluelia was tortured during one of the many religious purges that took place in spain- can't say i remember which one it was)

The guide took us into a secluded church and courtyard where Gaudi went to pray every day.

Most of the walls were damaged like this in the civil war.  It gives this tiny square a lot of character.

At the end of the tour, at the recommendation of the guide, we stopped into a hole-in-the-wall chai tea shop and had some outstanding chai and indian pastries.

We went to La Boqueria mercat afterwards.  There is something here for every culinary taste.  And not just something- heaps and piles of somethings.  Check it

you get the idea...

We also stopped into an espadrilles shop where I got my very own pair of handmade shoes.  

stacks of handmade espadrilles

I love them despite the rather unpleasant blisters they are causing on the bottoms of my feet.  Maybe not a "walking around" shoe after all.

So many wonderful moments all in one day.  It's hard to keep track sometimes!

Marion, Annie, Carolyn, Alex, and Lauren outside the modern art museum.

look at those rays.

Barcelona

BARCELONA
66 degrees, sunny!

FINALLY
some sun!

I set off this morning at 5:00am from Copenhagen.  I could not have been happier to be traveling to more temperate climates as I walked through rain and fog to catch my train to the airport.  By 7:30 we were taxing down the runway WOOHOO.  25 minutes later- we are heading back to copenhagen because we don't have enough fuel to get to Barcelona.  WHAT?! COME ON.  A little more gas, and an engine check later we were back in the air.
Barcelona was worth the wait.

I took this picture on La Rambla, which is the big walking street in the middle of the city which leads to the water.

There were lots of cool things to see on and around La Rambla.  For example, there was a stand selling..... wait for it... chipmunks. yup

Cool!

There are also tons of amazing buildings lining both sides of the street.  

I am here with five other girls and we had a great time walking around today.  We stopped into a little bar right off the street for mojitos and then went to dinner.  On the menu - tapas.

I am a big fan of tapas.  Its like having six different mini dinners all at once a la six dinner sid.  

More soon.

Adios

-Allison