España

Spain has been on our (ok, my) to-do list for a while now.  However, traveling there presents some challenges.  Since its climate is similar to Italy, it is on our no-travel between the months of June and September list.  With so many other places on the list, Spain has been skipped during the cold months.  We finally squeezed Barcelona in during the long weekend in January when the weather was cool, the crowds minimal and the deals on flights/hotels generous.

I've heard many people say that they love Barcelona.  While it was a fun city with some interesting sites, I can't say that it was one of my favorites.  It lacks many spectacular must-sees (exception: La Sagrada Familia), it feels like a very modern city and its food is less than impressive. (Side note: I was so excited to speak some limited Spanish after my many years of the language, only to realize that Catalan is more prevalent...it's a weird mix of French and Spanish and all the signs are in both languages.)  On the flip side, it does have a wonderful public train system, some funky buildings unlike any others in Europe and a nice mix of beach and city.

Spain in January?  Works for me!

Due to the flight schedule, we had a quick trip to Barcelona, but we made the most of it.

On day one, we hit the Ramblas and rambled down the famous street lined with vendors and shops.  I wouldn't quite compare this grand boulevard to the Champs de Elysee or the Unter den Linden, but it did have some interesting human statues and a great market selling some of the nastiest animal parts that I've ever seen.  I may have even been hit with some fish guts as one vendor hacked his catch as we passed by.

Fascinating Market off Las Ramblas with some crazy meats!

We toured the older section of town and stopped by the Cathedral.  Luckily, we were there when the Cathedral did not charge an entry fee.  I still can't figure out who would pay to go in- the church is under massive construction and it looks like most of the art has been removed.

While pretty from the outside, there's not much art inside

We jammed as much as we could into day two.  The day began with a walk down the Passeig de Gracia to the famous modernista sites of Antoni Gaudi.

I was much more impressed with Casa Batllo than Casa Mila, although both were interesting sites.

Casa Mila

Casa Batllo

From there, we hiked over to La Sagrada Familia.  While the church is certainly a tourist attraction, it is captivating and every angle offers a new and different perspective.  A nice American from Phoenix even offered to take our picture.

Tough angle for our tripod- thanks American Man!

Close-up of some of the detail on the church

Next, we headed to Park Guell- a former gated community for the wealthy designed by Gaudi.  It's a fascinating place and completely free. We spent a good deal of time walking the ground, admiring the views and even trying out the ergonomically designed park benches.  I highly recommend this site to anyone traveling to Barcelona-  it's worth the slight adventure to get there (it's a little out the way).

Views of the park and city

Flowers in January!

Entrance to Park Guell

We made a compromise on the next two sites- I agreed to go to the aquarium in exchange for a trip to Montjuic, the site of the 1992 Summer Olympics.  The exchange worked wonderfully.

Here I am outside the Olympic Stadium where I remember watching the opening games on television.  I still have the Dream Team poster I bought at a school book fair in its plastic wrapping.  (Could it be worth something now?)

My Olympic Dream

We ended the day walking around the grounds of the Catalan Art Museum (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya).

Sadly, the magic fountains were off in the winter.

Barcelona ended up being a brief introduction to Spain, but I'd love to come back (not between June-October) to experience more of the country.

2012 in Zagreb

It should come as no surprise that we ended 2011 in our newly discovered favorite part of Europe- the East!  While we have been to Croatia twice before, we had never ventured to its capital city - Zagreb - and decided that it would be a good destination the celebrate the New Year.


It was a relatively easy place to travel and only required a four hour drive through most of Slovenia.  We have not yet explored Eastern Slovenia, so the ride was picturesque- a nice mix of rural land and some mountains with traditional Slovenian homes all along the road.


I'd heard some not so great things about Zagreb in my travels and noticed that it does not get much attention in guide books.  I also discussed the trip with a co-worker who was surprised that this was our New Year's destination since it was the location of his deployment with the Army back in the 1990s. 


Zagreb was a pleasant surprise.  Like much of Eastern Europe, it's recovering from a tumultuous past, but it has wonderful sites, kind people and cheap prices.

Ringing in the New Year in Zagreb

We met up with some friends (from here in Italy who traveled there for New Years too) for dinner at an Asian restaurant.  Not sure what kind of Asian cuisine it was, but I was happy to be celebrating like an American!  The restaurant even gave us free calendars.  

I haven't seen one of these since I was little!

After dinner, we headed to Ban Jelacic Square, the main site in town.  There were a variety of tents and booths set up serving food and drinks and live bands alternated on the stage.  Interestingly, a lot of the music they sang was in English and we particularly enjoyed their rendition of Sinatra's "New York, New York."  They occasionally changed the words to Zagreb, Zagreb.  The drink of choice was also new to me.  While hot red wine is very common in Europe during the winter, this was the first time I was treated to hot white wine.  It was a nice compliment to the chilly evening.

Ban Jelacic Square- it got very crowded by midnight

At midnight, we were treated to a fireworks display and somehow found our way into an invite only party at a new nightclub....where they played...you guessed it- more American music about New York!  When "Empire State of Mind" came on, the Croatians sang along to the chorus, but none of them could keep up with the rapping.

On New Year's Day (after the second best buffet breakfast we've had in Europe), it was time to explore the city.  While it's low on major sites, Zagreb does offer some lovely churches

The Cathedral of the Virgin Mary

Dolac Market (not a church, but an important site in Zagreb)

St. Mark's with its colored roof

A great view

The view from Gradec

And a picturesque market street where we had a great dinner

Tkalciceva

Finally, in case this is ever a question on Jeopardy- Croatia claims that it invented the necktie, and it likes to remind you at every opportunity!

Neckties- a fashion trend invented by the Croatian Army

Happy 2012!

Christmas Road Trip

Since the Christmas season is just about officially over (even here in Italy), I figure it's about time for a recap of our holiday adventures.  It is difficult to travel to any touristy sites here in Europe for Christmas since many things are closed and the usually cheap intra-Europe flights are pretty expensive, so we decided to road trip to visit our friends who live in Heidelberg, Germany.  Although we visited Heidelberg last year for New Year's, we decided to take our time driving and hit up a few spots on the way.

Shop windows in Germany

Stop One: Luzern, Switzerland

Unfortunately, the weather was very uncooperative on our trip here and prevented us from doing any site seeing.  We arrived at night and had enough time to grab dinner.  The combination of wind and freezing rain was not at all enjoyable and we did not get to check out much of the town.  We will be back.

Some rough weather made for far too few Swiss pictures.

On the plus side, we did discover a hidden gem of a hotel.  High above Lake Luzern, this hotel is currently undergoing renovations and will likely be expensive some day soon.  In the meantime, it is a real bargain!  Our room was easily the biggest one we've had in Europe, complete with a balcony overlooking the lake.

Unfortunately, this was the best shot of the view.

Stop Two: Strasbourg, France

We took a quick detour into France on day two to experience the oldest Christmas Market in all of Europe.  Strasbourg is the self-proclaimed "Capital of Christmas" and it comes as no surprise.  The city was packed with vendors, decorations and all sorts of Christmas cheer.

Christmas in France

If you ever get the chance to visit Strasbourg outside of Christmas, I highly recommend it.  It's a delightful town just over the Rhine River (the river is the border between Germany & France) with lots of Germanic flair and French charm.  Back in the day, the French and Germans frequently swapped this land because they both disagreed on their country's borders.  Now, it's a cute and quaint town with lots of unique architecture, a ton of bicycles and a massive cathedral.  Ironically, it's sister city in the US happens to be Boston (which probably explains why I liked it so much!). 

Christmas Market Vendors

Strasbourg Cathedral

Christmas Everywhere!

The streets of Strasbourg

Oldest Christmas Market in Europe!

Pretty buildings

Strasbourg

 Destination: Heidelberg, Germany

Ending 2011 in the same place we started it!

We arrived in Heidelberg on Christmas Eve and caught up with our friends- the Gonzales'.  We met the Gonzales' in North Carolina a few years ago and they are now stationed in Germany.  In the past year, their family has grown and this was the first time we got to meet their six-month old son and reunite with their English bulldog puppy.  We spent the evening walking the streets of downtown Heidelberg, which were pretty empty since Germans celebrate Christmas on the 24th.  Most shops were closed and the restaurant we ate at was closing as we left.

Heidelberg's oldest building....quiet on Christmas Eve

Christmas Day was relaxing and quiet as we enjoyed watching the baby open his gifts (he's now a huge Red Sox fan!), the generosity of our hosts and some delicious cooking.

Although we missed our families back home, it was nice to be in the company of our friends overseas who were wonderful hosts throughout the weekend.  Last year, we had an Italian Christmas, this year a German one and hopefully soon, the rest will be in Quincy!

Buon Natale, Joyeux Noel, Froehliche Weihnachten & Merry Christmas!

**Side note- As a sign that the above Christmas wish is meant to come true, we ended up behind a car with Massachusetts license plates when we crossed the Swiss border on our drive back.  What are the odds of that!? (And who knew you could drive in Europe with US plates?)