Day 429: Real City Medellin Walking Tour

Real City Medellin Walking Tour is no joke. It’s four hours long, covers a LOT of history and geography of Medellin. We’re all. about. walking tours, but I had to mentally prepare myself for a four hour tour. in the rain. in Medellin. Luckily, Pablo, our guide was pretty great and it was easy to forget how long the tour was because his explanations of the past and how it has led to the present in Medellin (and Colombia) were fascinating. Sometimes a bit hard to follow, but I think that’s because I get caught up on details when normal people can get the gist through a broader explanation. The group was a little big (20+) but Pablo still managed to make sure everyone could hear and often talked to different people in between stops. This is something I always appreciate when we’re on a walking tour.

While we did walk a lot downtown, we also stopped quite often for Pablo to explain different things relating specifically to Medellin or more broadly to Colombia. When I was in college, my friends and I took a “Theater in Chicago” course where every Thursday night we would go to see a different play. It was pretty great. One of the plays we saw was a one man show that chronicled a road trip around America after 9-11. It was fabulous. I mention this now because the way Pablo talked about life in Medellin (and Colombia) reminded me of that one man show. While I loved the tour, I almost wanted to suggest Pablo turn the tour itself into his own one-man show.

It was often hard to photograph things on the tour because of the rain. We weren’t often inside, except when we walked through this old government building that has since been turned into a market. It reminded me of Dongdaemoon in Seoul. Fake Nikes, watches, sunglasses, whatever you were in the market for. It wasn’t only on sale inside this beautiful building- but the street outside was overtaken by vendors as well. I had to laugh when Pablo told us to be on the lookout for the ridiculously large busted mannequins. Perhaps it was only the day before my jaw dropped seeing one. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any inside the building, so I wasn’t able to take a picture and share with you!

This church is right down the street from Plaza Botero and the art museum we visited just the day before. Pablo didn’t hold back on the tour. He didn’t hide the less pretty parts of Medellin from us. at. all. He told us to gather close to him and then pointed out all of the girls ‘working’ outside of the church. Most congregated near some public phone booths. He explained that because of Catholicism’s heavy influence in all of Colombia, men visit the church after an encounter with a girl, and will believe that they have repented for their sins, therefore they have a clean slate after. We all chuckled, and then ducked inside the church to see what it looked like on the inside.

Quite a ways away, we visited this huge church and surrounding square. Pablo warned us not to come to this square alone, and not to wander down any of the surrounding streets and alleyways. Lots of drugs are used around this church. I’m certainly not surprised by the prostitution or drug use, but I have to admit I was somewhat amazed at how these activities seemed to always be within a few steps of a church.

We ended our tour in another square that used to be a marketplace. That is, until a bomb went off at the base of this Botero sculpture. Medellin used to be one of (if not the most) the most dangerous cities in the world. It was shocking to hear about how many were killed on a daily basis. Right now, there is more crime in Washington DC than there is in Medellin.

Day 426: Bogota’s Free Walking Tour & Gold Museum

We were on the fence about how long we were going to stay in Bogota. We kept hearing conflicting opinions. Bogota was better than Medellin. No, Medellin was better. We were at a loss of where to spend more time before catching a flight to the coast. In the end, despite liking Bogota quite a bit, we decided to head to Medellin sooner in hopes it would be warmer. So with our last day in Bogota (today) we went on the free walking tour, checked out Museo del Oro (The Gold Museum) and even hopped in a taxi to check out the Usaquen Flea Market.

Because we were suddenly pressed for time, we signed up for the free walking tour in Spanish, reassuring ourselves that we needed the practice. Despite understanding most of the Spanish, I was still grateful our guide was bilingual and often gave us a quick recap in English to make sure we understood. The tour wasn’t very long, but it was nice to have a few things pointed out to us that we would have missed otherwise. Below is the president’s house, an elite high-school (if I remember correctly) and a statue commemorating Colombia’s independence.

I felt pretty safe in Bogota. It was grimy and it didn’t always look the safest, but there were so many police officers around looking out for city-dwellers and tourists alike. You can see two officers on the corner below. I think there were four in total. Mostly because this street led to the president’s house, office, and many political buildings… but still, I was grateful and appreciated being able to keep my camera out instead of buried in a backpack on Andrew’s back throughout our entire visit.

We stopped by the cultural center where a public dance class was being held. They were learning (or practicing) the tango. After the tour, Andrew and I had a traditional lunch: an order of ajiaco (a super hearty soup full of chicken, potatoes, and more) and then made our way towards the Museo del Oro a few blocks away. The walk there was full of pedestrians, street performers, human statues, and vendors.

We didn’t plan on visiting the Gold Museum on its ‘free day.’ This was a bit of a mistake. It was packed. So packed, we would speed walk through certain exhibition spaces that were too crowded for our liking. It offers an impressive display of gold and pre-Colombian artifacts. I loved the clay pieces you see above, and was a little disappointed we didn’t see any recreations for sale outside of the museum. I also loved the earrings below. I usually prefer silver, but I would not pass up the opportunity to have a wall full of gold earrings if the opportunity ever presents itself!

The Usaquen Flea Market was a little far, and only seemed accessible by car (or taxi in our case). I was expecting a more traditional flea market, full of used goods, antiques, and the like. The ‘flea’ market was a little more crafty and perhaps trendy(?) than I would have liked. Andrew really wasn’t this grumpy while we strolled through the market, but I thought his expression fit our overall experience.

I debated buying a wooden door (slightly similar to those I admired so much in Salento) but they weren’t nearly as colorful, and in the end settled for a slice of raspberry cheesecake instead.

Day 372: Free Walking Tour Cusco

Somehow the Free Walking Tour Cusco escaped us! We didn’t know there was such a thing until we saw a flyer for it in the Choco Museo the day before. Given that we usually love free walking tours, and do them often, we figured we had to take Mom on one. Even though we had to cut it short to get to the airport in time, and it might have been more useful to have gone on at the beginning of our time in Cusco… it was probably the perfect ending to Mom’s tour of Peru! The tour wasn’t our absolute favorite (kudos, Andre in Brasov, that title still belongs to you!) but it was nice and it included free food (ok, a tasting), sunscreen, a lot of information, and even some sunscreen before the tour began!

We actually had been almost everywhere that the Free Walking Tour Cusco took us, we just didn’t know everything about the streets, or the restaurants, or the Incan architecture we were standing in front of. It was nice to get a little bit more information and to hear a different perspective about Cusco through our guide. Although, I have to admit, this was the first time where I was a little overwhelmed by our guide’s energy. At times, I wanted to tell him to take a deep breath, but overall I think everyone will agree that too much enthusiasm is better than too little, right?

From where we were staying in Cusco, in the Barrio San Blas, we would take the same route to and from the main square, Plaza de Armas. Part of the tour covered this route, and the area around where we were staying. Our guide equated the neighborhood to Greece, because of the white walls and blue doorways and shutters. I had to chuckle a little at his comparison, ok maaaybe a little, but it doesn’t feel like Greece just because of a few white walls and blue shutters- at least not to me. It is a charming neighborhood, and quiet too! I was glad to hear about the artisans who lived in the area and made note of our guide’s suggestion to duck into one of the open corridors to see what kind of art and handicrafts were being made. We climbed up the hill, and took in this beautiful view of Cusco before we ducked out to head to the airport to drop Mom off. Luckily, Andrew is used to me getting emotional over goodbyes, and held my hand in the taxi back into town as I tried not to cry, knowing I would see her and so many more in just a couple of months!

Day 346: Bonjour de Paris!

Bonjour Paris et Bonjour de Paris! After a quick relocation of our things, we were off! Lunch on the Seine, a tour of the Left Bank (or Latin Quarter, whichever name you prefer) and a leisurely stroll back through the city past the Louvre, the Opera, and a quick duck inside the Galeries Lafayette for some new clothes, some perfume, a Prada purse or two… Or… in our case, the magnificent view of Paris from the roof!

Full disclosure: This is not my first time in Paris. Andrew asked me exactly how many times I’ve been to Paris, and I was a bit befuddled that I wasn’t exactly sure. (Yes, I totally admit that this detail about myself is ridiculously annoying.) There was my high-school exchange trip and the whirlwind couple of days we spent in the city hitting all of the tourist spots in obnoxious tour group fashion. There was my college trip with two of my best friends after the month we spent studying at  L’université d’Aix-Marseille. Those few days I decided to return on my own after galavanting around Germany with a friend after our month in Aix… Then the time I met my Mom for a weekend in Paris before she spent a week visiting me in Prague…

And now, with Andrew. I warned him it had been awhile (six years?) since my last visit. He was prepared for Korean to come out amidst my French. I was prepared to revisit a lot of places. And we both tried to prepare ourselves for how expensive we heard the city had become. I looked up a vast amount of alternatives for us to do in addition to the usual (museums, Eiffel Tower, etc. etc.) so we would both be happy and off we went!

“Well, that’s certainly new to me!” I responded as we stood on one of the bridges overlooking a man-made beach. We later learned, Paris Beach, or Paris Plages is an artificial beach built every summer for locals and tourists alike! How fun! Instead of lounging, we went to the opposite bank and had lunch on the Seine. I have to admit, it doesn’t get any more French than sitting down on the bank of the Seine with a baguette tucked under your arm and cheese, fruit, and more stashed in your backpack. I’m sure the French would have tsk-tsked us for having coffee instead of wine, but hey, we tried!

Our plan was to meet outside of Notre Dame Cathedral to go on another free walking tour of the Left Bank with Discover Walks Paris. (My mom and I stayed in a hotel on this bohemian side of Paris, but I didn’t know a whole lot about it and thought it might be fun to start our visit here!) We had enough time to check out the church before the tour started, but after seeing the loooong line to get in, we enjoyed the view from the outside instead. I was a little taken aback at the crowd- I’ve been inside the church not only as a tourist, but for a mass!  Where did all of these people come from? From what we heard, clearly they were all from North America- and it was weird. We were surrounded by tourists in Istanbul to the same extent, but it was a much more international crowd. Not so in Paris. I’m pretty sure everyone spoke English.

The Left Bank Tour started with a friendly and handsome Parisian tour guide, and we were immediately led across the bridge to the Left Bank right smack in front of Shakespeare and Co. bookstore. It was here where many famous writers hung out, sometimes just to write, sometimes to sleep, sometimes both. But more on it later, because Andrew and I knew we were going to come back and hang out a little inside rather than just in front of the shop in a big group.

Fun fact: Paris parks are awesome. Not only can you do whatever you want in them (eat. drink. sleep. work.) there is free wi-fi. Pay attention other international cities. This is a remarkable thing to offer, and chance are you can afford to provide the same amenity to your visitors!

We walked through streets with leaning buildings that we were told was done on purpose. Otherwise, at a right angle, the buildings would collapse due to the soil below. It’s a bit interesting because when you’re standing in the middle of the street, it’s not nearly as noticeable until you’re looking at it from the end and then you can really tell the difference!

Quick tip for when you go to pick up some cheese to go with your baguette: pick a shop that has a “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” sign. This store clearly won a competition and was voted the best of France! Similar signs will be on other shops selling bread and meat!

We did a quick re-enactment of Cyrano, walked past the Sorbonne, took a group picture, and then our guide bid farewell- but not before he suggested we give 10 (or maybe it was 20?) euros each as a tip. My eyes grew wide. Whichever amount it was, it seemed a bit ridiculous and after doing countless tours around Europe on this trip, I somewhat apprehensively looked around to see how much other people were giving. For the record, Andrew and I usually give somewhere between the equivalent of $5.00-$10.00 for an hour and a half tour. This tour was barely 45 minutes, and 20 of those minutes were our fellow tour members re-enacting Cyrano on the sidewalk! I saw one American (he was from Chicago. Gold Coast.  – I asked.) whip out not only 20 euros but an additional $10.00 bill to give from his family of four and I was somewhat shocked. With over twenty people on our tour, this dude made a killing. Not with any help from us- as we gave our usual amount…  But if everyone gave what he suggested… who needs a 9-5 when he can take advantage of first-time “free-walking tour” attendees and work less than an hour a day in Paris!

The BEST “free” tours are the ones who do it for the fun of it. Not for how much money they will make at the end. Furthermore, the best guides are those who don’t even suggest a specific amount! If you find yourself on one of these free tours, a great introduction no doubt, but certainly not the best we’ve been on- don’t be pressured into giving anymore than you feel is a worthy amount. Consider how long the tour was. Consider how many people are on it. Consider how much you learned. But definitely don’t consider their suggested amount. It’s undoubtedly inflated, and if anything, it makes me want to give less!

Now, about Shakespeare and Co. Aside from hosting the likes of Hemingway and more, the shop continues to be a bit of a refuge for writers and readers alike. Our guide told us about work-exchange positions that the shop offers to travelers. In exchange for a few hours of work each day, and the commitment to read at least one book per day, the shop offers free room (and maybe board? I’m not sure) to the lucky participant. I asked the guy standing at the door supervising the line (yes, there was a line to get into the shop) how he was enjoying his position. He said it was great. I asked how I could find out more information about it and he vaguely told me to ask at the desk. On our way out, I did just that, and the girl behind the register vaguely told me that the woman in charge was busy (she was right behind her and I’m fairly certain she heard our entire conversation) and that I should stop back in later. I asked if there was any information I could put up on my blog about our trip around the world and the girl responded…

“Well, you just have to come in and talk to her, she has to get a feel for who you are in person…” and she smiled, signaling the end of the conversation.

“That was weird…” I said to Andrew on our way out, relaying the conversation to him.

“Unless, she recognized me from the security camera taking pictures in the forbidden to take pictures area upstairs…” I wondered.

Sorry, Shakespeare and Co., but I couldn’t help it. For the record: another girl was taking pictures and I asked if we were allowed, she shrugged, and continued to take her own pictures. Why shouldn’t I?! Also, I don’t exactly understand your rule. I didn’t use flash. I wasn’t disturbing anyone reading (not even that dude below, who I super sneakily photographed in passing, I promise) and the old guy who looked so lovely in front of the window smiled and said something along the lines of “Feel Free!” Don’t you want others to see how beautiful your shop is and how full of wonderful character it is? Maybe I’m just another annoying visitor with a camera, but chances are someone is going to see these photos and know more about Shakespeare and Co. because of them! (Unless you email me demanding I take them down, which I will, albeit a bit sadly.)

Somewhat overstimulated, we began walking back towards our little apartment we were couchsurfing in for the next three nights. I took advantage of my zoom lens to photograph the bouquanists on the other side of the street. These river-side vendors sell old books, prints (new and old) and some artwork. They are lovely.

Walking through the Louvre, we eyed the line outside and debated when we were going to visit. Certainly not this afternoon, not so late. It’s advised to enter through a different entrance, one that is flanked by lions, not through the giant glass pyramid.

We continued down the street, and I couldn’t help but overhear a father point out the Hotel de Louvre sign to his children.

“See that sign? And the window above it? That’s where Mommy and Daddy stayed and we have a picture right at that very window!”

I thought it was the sweetest thing. I whispered what I had overheard to Andrew and turned around to point the adorable family out. The father was taking a picture of his family. I cursed myself for not sticking around to offer to take a picture of all of them together.

Galeries Lafayette. We walked in at first and I was sure we were in the wrong location. And then… we found the atrium and I knew we were in the right place. How unbelievably photogenic is this store? I know, I know, you’re probably channeling my mother singing “Material Girl” to me, but I couldn’t stop taking pictures! Even the top of the dome, outside was interesting to me. The lines. The behind the scenes of what everyone else was concentrating on drew me in. Andrew was beyond patient (as always) while I went from window to window getting as many unique angles as I could.

And then we found ourselves on the roof. Another new view to me. I had never been here before! I always thought the best view of Paris was from the Georges Pompidou Museum… But now I think we have a fierce contender. We were there right around dusk and it was pretty smoggy, so we made plans to try to come back to capture a more picturesque sky.

Day 341: Get ready for some Gaudi!

“I never knew this guy existed!” Andrew said as we started the tour. ‘This guy’ was Antoni Gaudi (1852 – 1926) and in case you haven’t heard of him either: He was a Catalan architect fueled by nature and religion and incorporated a variety of crafts (ceramics, stained glass, ironwork, and carpentry) into his work. He has a crazy distinct style and most of his work is concentrated in or around Barcelona. He’s most famous for La Sagrada Familia, the unfinished church that some say looks like wax was poured over it in the middle of the city.

I knew of him, but I didn’t really know the extent of his awesomeness until today. Perhaps that’s how everyone is… until they go to Barcelona and get their minds practically blown by Gaudi’s creativity. Which is what happened to us.Again, I might have gone overboard on the photos, but I just couldn’t help myself. We began the day with another RunnerBean Free Walking Tour (this time devoted to Gaudi) and ended the day in Park Güell marveling at the incredible amount of architecture and design and just plain awesome (yep, I said it again) art.

First stop: Palau Güell is a mansion built for Eusebi Güell between 1885–1890. We stopped on the sidewalk outside of the beautifully ornate building and heard about how expensive it was to build and how Gaudi simply didn’t care how much money he went through when designing and building the house. I think he drove the poor guy bankrupt when designing and building this house! We heard about how the first floor was where the horses would enter and the floor above was where the family received guests. I would have loved to go in, but there was a long wait and we were on to the next stop before I knew it.

Second stop: Casa Batlló (maybe my favorite house by Gaudi!) is also a mansion designed for the Batlló family between 1904–1906. It was a redesign and we were told that the interior not only reflected similar design aesthetics of the outside (curvy lines, mosaics, etc.). Even the sidewalk outside reflected the same design! The bone shaped windows and the mosaics (of course) were my favorite. I couldn’t get enough of either. At the top of the building, there was a tiny little balcony that you would see a couple every once in awhile step out onto for a picture that would be taken automatically by a camera positioned on a rod outside of the building. If I had to pick only one of Gaudi’s houses to go in, it would be this one! Why don’t more architects design crazy houses like this one!

Third stop: Casa Milà was yet another mansion built for Roser Segimon and Pere Milà between 1906–1912. As much as I loved Casa Batlló, I loved the story behind this mansion even more. We were told by our guide that when it was built, mothers would cover their children’s eyes as they passed because they thought it was shameful or something! Ha! Also the wife, Pere Milà sounded like a real piece of work. In other words, she hated the design. So much so that she even altered some of the interior design. We were pointed out a beautiful interior ceiling from the sidewalk outside, it looked like an ocean of white waves. She hated it and ordered it to be covered up.

Andrew nudged me and asked if I thought it resembled Cappadocia. I nodded, and quickly after, Andrew asked our guide if Gaudi had ever been to Turkey. He hadn’t, but our guide knew exactly what he was thinking and quickly opened his binder up to show a picture of the same fairy chimneys we visited in Turkey a few months ago! It was one of those moments where we both felt a little bit smart, and a bit of ‘We really ARE learning things on this trip!’

Fourth stop: La Sagrada Familia and no, it’s not a mansion. It’s the huge (HUGE) unfinished church that Gaudi worked on starting in 1883 until he died in 1926. According to our guide, the Roman Catholic church will be finished in 2026 (100 years after Gaudi’s death) but he seemed to roll his eyes that it actually will be finished by then. I have to say, I might be somewhat surprised as well considering how much is finished compared to the pictures of what was left to go.

Again, we stayed on the outside of the church hearing all about it, knowing we would come back another day to spend more time exploring the interior. I have to point out though, some of the designs on the outside reminded me a bit of Star Wars characters. Can you see it? I just love seeing and wondering of the possibility of all of these different artistic influences. Ancient fairy chimneys in the middle of Turkey influencing Gaudi… in turn influencing George Lucas… Maybe it’s a stretch, maybe it’s not, either way it’s fun to fantasize about the connections.

Outside the church, vendors lined up with the usual fare. A few made use of their time by sneaking in a chess game. En route to our next stop, I couldn’t help observe this out of place balcony in Barcelona. Where is the laundry? The Catalan flag? The pretty chairs and potted plants? What’s going on with this larger than life barbie?

Fifth stop: of our own, not a part of the tour, we picked up some picnic food and headed to… Park Güell! It was actually a perfect idea because it fit in nicely with our Gaudi themed day and it turned out to be such a lovely place to sit and eat and people watch! I couldn’t resist snapping a picture of this “Free Park Güell” graffiti because park officials (or maybe city officials?) are debating charging an entrance fee to the currently free park. After our visit, and considering how expensive it is to get inside any of Gaudi’s houses and/or La Sagrada Familia, it would be such a shame to charge an entrance fee to this beautiful park!

We actually sat in the lower court, enjoying the cool concrete and shade for awhile. I couldn’t get enough of the mosaics on the ceiling. Aren’t they gorgeous? Groups of tourists would try to take pictures of themselves with the ornate circles, but I was more keen on placing my camera on the ground to get a good shot with my long lens.

Afterwards we headed to the colonnaded footpath with huge rock pillars twisting up to support the roof above similar to the pillars supporting La Sagrada Familia. It was beautiful, and even more beautiful when we walked down a bit further away from the crowd and it suddenly felt like we had the place to ourselves- that is, after I politely shouted in Korean to the Korean girls looking at pictures of themselves to please move out of my shot. 

The main square was lined with a snake-like mosaic bench and provided a beautiful view of Barcelona below. Park Güell was actually supposed to be a housing community, but only two houses were built- one of which can be seen at the main entrance to the park and the other bought and lived in by Gaudi.

Gaudi’s house has since been turned into a museum and features some furniture that he designed for others, furniture that he himself used in the house, and some drawings and plans by Gaudi himself.

We walked around some more, and then eventually made our way out of the park through the main entrance, past the multicolored mosaic salamander (the dragon), and a boatload of people taking their picture with it. It seemed like a bit of a circus and I thought it was a bit funny to see people posing with so many others in their picture! So, I took a picture of everyone taking pictures. You know, getting all of the madness in before we left.

Day 340: Barcelona Old City Walking Tour

Anxious to get out of bed, but still a bit sleepy, we headed across town to join the Runner Bean Barcelona Old City Walking Tour in the morning. It was great, but it was also very similar to other ‘old city walking tours’ that we’ve been on lately, and my attention wavered more than it should have. I tried to focus on what pretty pictures I could take of Barcelona Old City, and tried to forget that I was still a bit sleep deprived, but I wasn’t always so successful. After the tour, we meandered down by the seaport and walked around to some different eateries in hopes that our friend, Nat would be game to hopping around to a few for tapas at night. She was! We were all thrilled to see each other again (we met in Tanzania a few months ago) and spent a good deal of time trying to sort out where our respective travels have taken us since Arusha!

We met in Plaça Reial by the water fountain and soon we were winding our way through the little streets of the old town towards another square with a big church, and this beautiful still-intact building façade. While everyone couldn’t get enough of the facade and the church, I couldn’t get enough of the scissors and knife shop below.

We walked by a shrine to a young woman who refused to renounce her Catholic faith, then through the Jewish district and finally to one of the more major squares with political buildings on either side. Despite the tour being wonderful and our guide being very knowledgeable, I think Andrew and I were more keen on finding coffee.

We were told this is the most photographed bridge in Barcelona. A pedestrian one at that, the Carrer del Bisbe Irurita is between two buildings in a narrow alleyway in the Gothic Quarter of the Old City. It was beautiful and I could see why it is so popular to photograph. I’m always blown away by such intricate marble and wood carving and how they have survived over the years.

An interesting thing I noticed throughout our tour: all graffiti seemed to be contained to the doors. The beautiful stone buildings were left virtually untouched, but the doors would be COVERED with paint. If I hadn’t been to Greece, I would think it was a shame, but after seeing how everything was covered in Greece, I thought it was somewhat respectful that the walls weren’t covered with tags on top of the doors.

We made our way outside of the Barcelona Cathedral. I’m still working with one lens and knew I didn’t have a chance to fit the whole façade in using it, so I tried to get as much in as possible from where we were standing, looking up. It was immense. There were a lot of people. Instead of fighting our way through, we walked on, past another church, past several mouth-watering tapas restaurants and learned a little bit more about Barcelona Old City, but wasn’t able to retain it over my hunger and need for caffeine. (Sorry, friends)

One stop that I would have not known had it not been for this tour, was inside a small courtyard featuring three old Roman columns. Everyone filtered in, stopped to take them in, mostly in awe of them still being so well preserved, snapped a few pictures, and then we made our way out. One family still lives in one of the apartments surrounding the courtyard. I bet that’s fun dealing with a steady stream of visitors everyday… Afterwards, we made our way to Plaça del Rei (King’s Square) which is most well known for the steps where it is believed that Ferdinand and Isabella welcomed Columbus when he arrived home from his first voyage. Our guide didn’t seem to take a lot of stock in this story, insisting somewhat that it was more likely he was received at sea instead. But who knows! The steps were pretty and grand, so it makes for a good story regardless. Our tour ended not long after and we wandered through the backstreets in a similar direction from where we started. Of course, I was drawn to the street art and then this massive art installation in the middle of a side square. Unfortunately there wasn’t any information (that I saw) about it!

I couldn’t stop taking in the beauty of the apartment buildings. Someone somewhere said that ‘Barcelona knows how to do laundry’ or something similar, and I couldn’t agree more. Laundry, plants, even colorful plastic chairs… It all looks prettier in Barcelona! Close to the port, another modern sculpture dominated a square, otherwise surrounded by traffic. Getting a close up of the colors against the bright blue sky made crossing the street worth it.

Passing the time to meet our friend, we walked through more streets, and looked for suggested tapas restaurants to check out later. When we met Nat, we knew exactly where to go and which places we wanted to try out! We started at Bodega Biarritz for sangria and tapas and then hopped in and out of places we liked the looks of as we walked around the Born and Gothic neighborhoods. Nat told us that the pinchos were tapas put on bread so patrons could cover their drinks so flies wouldn’t get in! So clever! Some of the restaurants were so busy, we couldn’t even get an order in- at one, we actually gave up and went elsewhere because after fifteen minutes or so of trying to get to the counter, we didn’t have any luck! Even though eating so late could take some getting used to, I love the idea of tapas and getting to sample so many different tastes in one sitting. Restaurant hopping to try even more settings and sangria made the evening even better!

Day 329: Museum of Communism oh, and another walking tour

I have a small obsession with Communism. You may remember I’m a big fan of old communist propaganda prints? I’ve been to this museum before, but obviously, in order to feed my obsession I didn’t mind returning! The Museum of Communism isn’t nearly as thought out or artistically designed as… say, The House of Terror in Budapest was, but it’s not as bad as some of the Trip Advisor reviews say it is. It is in desperate need of some updating (or at least a discount until it is updated?) but if you’re into history, you might enjoy it. Afterwards, wanting to make up for two bookkeeping (planning/blogging/escaping the heat) days, we joined anotherfree walking tour through Prague. We were so pleased it turned out to be sooo much better than the worst ‘free’ walking tour we took a few days ago. Our guide, David was so nice (and educated and certified!) we ended up sticking around for the second part of the tour on the other side of the river!

The Museum of Communism was just as I remembered, not fun to pay for (a bit overpriced for an exhibition space so outdated in my opinion) but fun to see nonetheless. I think one of the downsides to this trip (in a way) is that we’re exposed to so many great museums that when we come across one that isn’t up to par with some others around the world, we get a little disappointed. At least I do.

I looked the museum up just now to find out some more information and was a bit surprised to discover the founder is also responsible for Bohemia Bagel (an old favorite) and U Malého Glena (a jazz club that was right across the street from my old apartment). Bohemia Bagel was one of the few (at the time you could count on one hand) places where you could get a good internet connection and a western style breakfast or brunch. It was great. These days it’s full of backpackers on a the free walking tour associated with the restaurant or signing up the affiliated pub crawl. I’m wondering if the same owner is responsible for this… If so, I’d like to shake his hand for the good bagel sandwiches six years ago and wring his neck for putting my old favorites on the average 19 year old backpacker’s to do list today. (If you’re interested in reading more about the American born entrepreneur, you can do so here, and here.)

During the first half of the free walking tour, we covered much of the same ground (and information) as we did during the first one. Old Town Square, the Astronomical Clock, the Clock Tower, the stables next to and behind Tyn Church, the Jewish Quarter, and stopped short of Charles Bridge. The group was not so large, and aside from the weird American family (working for the state department abroad) it was a great group to talk to. The weird family took off early, and the guide was so sweet, we decided to stick continue on with the tour on the lesser side (Mala Strana) for the second half of the tour. Although, I really appreciated that there was a break and an option halfway through to continue on, or leave, or perhaps pick up with the tour on another day!

The tour ended within the walls of Czech Castle. We had just enough time to sneak down to the gardens for a view of the city below before it started to rain during our walk back across the river. We ran into two girls from the tour at the same restaurant our guide suggested. As they were from South Korea, they were a bit flabbergasted to find out we had lived there for so long, knew where they went to school, and could even do spot on ajjushi impersonations for them. I never think this is crazy, half of my friends are from my time in Korea. When you’re surrounded by similar people or at least doing similar things, it doesn’t seem as unique. It was my life. It just happened to be in a country not everyone would think a girl from Kentucky would pick to reside in. Chatting with these two tonight made me wonder what reactions will be when we move back to America. Are we really that unique for having lived in South Korea for so long? I don’t really think so, but I’m sure we’ll find out in a few months!

We managed to escape the torrential rain (perhaps you can tell by the gloomy sky above?) but our room, despite having all of its windows shut, did not. Neither did my backpack- full of clothes, souvenir ticket stubs, tourist pamphlets, and one of my travel journals full from this trip. But we’ll get to that tomorrow. Don’t be surprised when Day 330’s blog post is titled For SHAME, Hostel Florenc, For SHAME!

Day 323: The best nachos in the entire world are at Radost FX

Yup. I said it. The best nachos in the entire world are at Radost FX in Prague. But we’ll get to them later. Because before we were able to enjoy a plate full of heaven, we were forced to endure the opposite with what is now known between me and Andrew as the worst ‘free’ walking tour (mostly due to the terrible guide) in the entire world. It was so bad another couple unabashedly walked away halfway through, and both Andrew and I wanted to desperately do the same but felt too bad… Instead we decided to do what any other mature and responsible couple would do instead, we took mental notes on exactly what made her so bad so we could impersonate her later. The trick is to use a LOT of hand gestures.

I thought our day was going to be spectacular, having seen a full circle rainbow before the tour started. Sadly, the tour was so bad that I didn’t even realize I didn’t take any pictures until I went to blog about our day. At least there were nachos to look forward to. We headed straight to Radost and it was exactly as I remembered it, only without Ally, Alex, Tina, Talar, Jess, Joe, Laura… you get the idea… I love Andrew, but I missed my old Czech crew. Radost is more known as a club, I think, but it has a really great vegetarian menu and a really great brunch on the weekends.

Oh right, and Rihanna also filmed “Please Don’t Stop the Music” here:

UPDATE (as of 10/21/13): Discover Prague messaged a week after receiving my Trip Advisor review that they fired (yikes! not my intention at all!) the guide that led our free walking tour. Since then, Ashley (of Discover Prague) has stalked me on Trip Advisor and has sent multiple messages asking me to reconsider my low rating that I have given them. Obviously not always having time (hopping countries and continents on this trip) nor adequate internet access, I haven’t been able to respond to her messages. After three messages ending with “I won’t be messaging you again” I’ve decided not to change my review. If you do end up going on a Discover Prague tour and don’t like it, and give a poor review… Be prepared for some serious stalking. Not cool, Discover Prague, Not cool.

Day 321: Bratislava; the angsty middle child of Eastern Europe

Oh Bratislava, I know it’s unfair that you’re smack in the middle of Budapest, Vienna, and Prague, and they are all sooo awesome, and you’re… well, Bratislava. Despite being a lovely little town, on three hours of sleep, I was less than impressed. Maybe another free walking tour wasn’t the best idea after a restless night, but I was not having the city tax, nor the $20 dorm bunk, nor the overly nationalistic tour guide. I’m all for tour guides bragging about their city, their country, but I trust the guide more if she or he throws in some good jokes in at their own expense on top of the twenty reasons their city and country is better than someone else’s! Having exhausted the city before lunch, we made our way to the mall for popcorn and a really rather terrible movie. I was excited. Andrew was excited. Suddenly we liked Bratislava a little bit more!

The walking tour went through the old town, with history lessons covering the possession of the city, witch hunts, and communism of course! Again, there was more talking than walking at times, but it was interesting. As tired as we both were, I was still glad we did it.

The Church of St. Elizabeth (nice name, right?) is a Catholic Church that’s also known as ‘the blue church.’ We were told it’s the most famous church to get married in and has a year waiting list. One year didn’t seem so long to me…

This was the only street art that I saw in Bratislava. I thought it was fairly accurate.

Outside of Eurovea (the mall) we spotted this grand statue, unfortunately I have no idea what it is commemorating. Inside the mall, I was smitten with the sculptures that were scattered throughout the mall. It was a glimpse into a circus performance at every turn.

Day 316: What is this ‘House of Terror’?

The House of Terror was once the headquarters of the Arrow Cross Secret Police in Budapest. Many were interrogated and tortured within its walls. A plaque alongside many pictures on the outside of the building reads in part: ‘We cannot forget the horror of terror, and the victims will always be remembered’. In 2002, the building was transformed into a museum with incredibly well designed (some being interactive) exhibitions that often double as what feels like a modern art display. The museum follows the fascist and Stalinist times as well as the years after WWII leading up to the 1956 Uprising. It’s a LOT of information. So much information is not only in front of you, but print-outs are distributed in nearly every room. It started to feel like an intensive history class after awhile, but in a really great way (even if it was information overload). Because we’re gluttons for history lessons and free walking tours, we decided to spend the afternoon on the Free Communist Walking Tour.

The outside of the building was modified to set it apart from the rest on the street. I thought the move was interesting especially considering that originally the building was chosen to be the communist regime’s headquarters because it blended in so well with the other buildings. So much torture was going on right under everyone’s noses.

The museum also acts as a memorial to those who have died in the building, as you can see by the pictures behind the giant tank stationed in the middle of the closed courtyard. I remembered the tank to be dripping a lot more oil than it was today. I’m not sure if I’m misremembering or not. The flowing and oozing oil had a much different effect than the slightly dusty tank you see today. Unfortunately, photos weren’t allowed within the actual exhibition rooms. It’s a really impressive museum, and makes fascism and communism incredibly visually appealing. My favorite was the brightly lit communist propaganda wallpapered room. I LOVE communist propaganda posters. I’m fascinated by them and have a small collection. I wonder if they would share that wallpaper with me. My communist themed bathroom needs it.

The Free Communist Walking Tour was rather interesting, even if it involved more talking than walking… We both liked this guide a lot more than the one we had yesterday though, so that helped quite a bit. We walked through the same park (with the locked up love and skateboarders) and sat down to hear about what communism was like in Hungary. Our guide told us a story about how bananas were only available during Christmastime, but how her friend’s family was overwhelmed when they were in Austria for a vacation in the summertime and saw bananas everywhere! They were so excited that they bought some obscene amount of kilos of bananas to bring back into the country. Officials at the border obviously wouldn’t allow bananas to enter Hungary in the middle of summer, and our guide’s friend’s family didn’t want all of their precious bananas to go to waste… So they sat at the border and each ate 2 kilos or so of bananas before they returned home. Our guide said her friend hasn’t been able to look at, let alone eat bananas since.

I learned that the communist styled block buildings were initially created in Sweden to alleviate a short term housing crisis. In Sweden, these compact apartment buildings were made, used for a couple of months, and then destroyed. Our guide pointed a few out and talked about how many families were crammed into one apartment building. Living-rooms were non-existent because authorities didn’t want people to have any opportunity to meet in private. There was no privacy. She joked around how everyone could hear everything from neighbors fighting to… making up. Andrew and I nodded, from experience, as we can hear everything next door in our little loft/studio apartment we’re renting.

We walked by a bomb shelter. That’s a close up above, and a wider view of the cover/entrance below. Unfortunately, we missed a lot of the explanation because Andrew let our entire tour fill up their water bottles before he filled up ours. One girl on the tour smiled at me waiting for him halfway between stops on the tour so he would know where to go when he caught up.

“Your man is a good one… I saw him let everyone go before him even though he was the first one there.” She said.

“I know… He does this kind of thing all the time…” I rolled my eyes and smiled. We chatted in between stops and later when I told Andrew I had to say goodbye to my new friend, he looked at me funny, wondering when I had the chance to make a new friend.

We stopped outside the former national television station. Rent is too high these days for the station to remain in downtown Budapest. When the station would broadcast old James Bond movies, the villains weren’t Russian, they were Chinese. Everyone laughed. When talent shows were on, instead of calling in to vote for your favorite performance, viewers would turn their lights on or off depending on what they liked. If I remember correctly, kids weren’t big fans of the emerging hip-hop and would sneak down into the basements of their buildings and flip the electrical breakers off, voting for an entire building or possibly block of housing units.

This monument of the 'man on the bridge' is dedicated to the progress towards democracy, which is why the statue is facing the parliament buildings in the background.

Day 315: Budapest Free Walking Tour

Our first day in Budapest! Guess what we did? A free walking tour, of course! Now, I’ll admit it, this is not my first time in Buda(and)Pest… Did you know they once were two cities, one on each side of the Danube? It’s true! My first time in town was with ten of my closest friends from Prague (during the year I lived there) for a weekend away. It was in the middle of winter, about six years ago. Before the days of free walking tours and ruin pubs. So, I felt like I had just as much to see as Andrew. As always a ‘free walking tour’ is only as good as your guide and the others on the tour with you. Both were fairly ‘meh’ but the tour gave us a better understanding of the layout of the city, and the tour company provided a pamphlet of additional things to do, see, eat, and drink in town which made up for the ‘meh-ness.’

We started our tour in front of this statue (above) and I was somewhat intrigued when we were told it’s actually a girl AND it’s a communist statue. Usually communist statues are BIG and commanding and without facial expressions, this defied every communist statue I had ever seen before. It also made me wonder at what point she was put here, because there were a few statues scattered along the riverside that I had not remembered on my first visit. Walking through a small park with a ferris wheel and fountain, more locks were on display. Again, this was not a thing the last time I visited. When did ‘locking up your love’ become a thing? It’s everywhere these days. It started at some point during our time in Korea because that’s when I first noticed it… But I’m surprised at how many cities around the world we’ve seen it in! Andrew refuses to lock up our love. He did raise his hand when asked Who was in love though, so I guess that’s something… 

The best part about walking through Budapest is looking up. Always. Look. Up. You never know what kind of beautiful architecture you’re going to see or at least some interesting juxtaposition between the beautiful architecture and the communist block housing type structures.

This guy was pretty good. He made slack-lining look so easy!

This view is a gorgeous one and much warmer to admire in the middle of summer! 

We made our way over to the Fisherman’s Bastion, one of the sights that has been atop the hill on the Buda side of the city for quite some time. I had visited it with my friends, but it was dark and quiet. There weren’t any other tourists around and it was quite magical. This time around wasn’t the same, there were so many milling about, and it seemed as though some construction had been completed giving parts of the Bastion a Disney-like amusement park feel. I was even more disappointed when I saw the best part of the Bastion (a row of beautiful arches) had been roped off for a restaurant, taking away any possibility of a decent photo opportunity. 

I settled for a picture of this dude on his horse instead. And the view, well, the view was still lovely. 

On our way back through the same park (with the locks above) towards the ruin pubs (more on the ruin pubs later!) we saw the somewhat small skate park had been transformed into an event drawing lots of onlookers. We stopped to see what was going on, and then snuck in closer to see if these skaters were any good. I’m not into skating, but I can appreciate the sense of creativity and expression that goes with it, I’m also down for some good shots of dudes in the air. I guess these guys are somewhat well known or possibly famous? because the crowd was pretty big and there were lots of people taking their picture with some of the skaters. Andrew found this video online that was made about the event:

I was impressed (and jealous) that they had a video up the day after. And then I remembered that they had at least four different videographers and an army of others working together to make it happen.

I was able to sneak in between and below a few people to sit right by the edge of the ramp they were all coming down. It made for some good angles. This dude above kept trying to spin around on the ledge though and his skateboard kept shooting out from under him. One of those times the skateboard shot directly at me and hit me in the arm. I wasn’t phased, I mean, I was the one who decided to sit there while he was doing his thing, right? He came over to get his board and said apologized to me, something he didn’t have to do at all, but I appreciated. I told him not to worry about it, and then he looked back and told me that I should ‘Be Careful’ in a tone that kinda threw me off a bit. It was like he gave me a once over and decided I wasn’t a skateboarder, therefore I didn’t know what I was doing sitting in the front row taking some pictures.

“Why did he tell me to be careful? Can he not tell I am in my THIRTIES?” I ranted to Andrew.

“Since when are you in your thirties?” Andrew asked, teasing me.

“Since now. Thirty counts as being in my thirties. You don’t tell people in their thirties to be careful! I’m pretty sure I know what I’m doing when it comes to endangering me and/or my camera. I do it all the time.” I continued my rant.

“Exactly what ages is it not ok to tell you to be careful?” Andrew asked, simultaneously teasing and humoring me. (He does this all the time)

“Well, obviously thirty. Unless you’re out with your friends and one of them has had too much to drink and she’s hanging out with someone dirty.” I pondered out loud.

“Right. Obviously.” Andrew responded.

“Until maybe seventy… I don’t know though, ask me when I turn seventy if I want people telling me to be careful or not.” I concluded.

Day 310: If only a Sarajevo Rose was as sweet as it sounds…

We went on another free walking tour. This time in Sarajevo. As always, the tour proved to be educational and a great way to wrap our heads around the latest city we rolled into. I say ‘educational’ because I’m fairly positive I’m learning (and hopefully retaining) way more information than I ever did in any history class. I remember seeing Sarajevo in the news a LOT when I was young, but I had no connection to it, and no understanding of not only what was going on, but why I should concern myself with the conflict. When you find yourself walking through the streets of Sarajevo and seeing all of the bullet holes in the buildings and then you’re given an explanation of the ‘Sarajevo Rose’ you feel like a fool for not being more aware with what was going on in the world when you were younger. At least that’s how I felt as I stood in front of a Sarajevo Rose on our walking tour du jour. So what is it? Wikipedia rather beautifully defines it as “a concrete scar caused by a mortar shell’s explosion that was later filled with red resin.” Our guide explained that the Sarajevo Roses are filled in as a memorial to those who were killed by a mortar shell during the Bosnian War.

Throughout the tour, we learned all about the Ottoman Empire’s influence, the start of World War I, and bits and pieces of the Bosnian War. It was a lot. So much that I kept having to ask Andrew stupid questions like: “Ok, wait, which one was World War I?” “Who was shot?” and “Who was bombing Sarajevo?”  “But WHY Sarajevo?!” because my head was so full. of. history. All through the Balkans, I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the fall of Yugoslavia and keeping track of who was with who and who was against who… Before the Balkans, it was trying to understand Greek Mythology. Before Greek Mythology, it was the rise and fall of religions in Turkey. Before Turkey, it was apartheid in South Africa. My list of books to read is growing longer and longer. If I can remember just a teensy bit of all of this information we’re trying to absorb on a daily basis, it’ll be a success! (Educationally, that is. Obviously it’s already a success on so many other levels.) If my memory proves unsuccessful, at least the past ten months have been cheaper than one year of tuition at my alma mater!

During our stop at this Orthodox Church, a ceremony was going on, of what we weren’t told, regardless, the chanting was beautiful to listen to.

“Who told them there were two ‘t’s’ in Kentucky?” I grumbled to Andrew as we passed by the local KFC, I mean VFC?

“Probably someone from Kentucky.” Andrew snarked.

My favorite part of the tour was arriving in the park to quite the kerfuffle over a heated game of chess. These men were not messing around. Our guide told us that legend has it if you lose the last game of the day, you have to set up the pieces at seven o’clock the next morning. He asked his uncle or father (I forget which) if this was true, but was told that “they’ve never lost… so they don’t know!”

The eternal flame (just down the street from the park above) is a memorial to those who have died in the Second World War in Bosnia. Our guide told us that one day, the flame was not so eternal (it had gone out during a storm the night before). A tourist, I think on a walking tour, asked his guide if there was still gas coming out, and then walked up to it and re-lit the flame. He also burned his arm (to what degree, I’m not sure) in the process.

We ended our tour in a park that held the Memorial to Murdered Sarajevo children during the siege of the city from 1992 to 1995. The sculpture represents a mother protecting her child. Around the base, made from melted bombshell cases, are children’s footprints, friends of those who died during the siege. Sad. That’s all I have to say. Even sadder was when our guide talked about the ‘Sarajevo Red Line.’ It was a memorial of the 11,541 killed during the Bosnian war. 11,541 empty red chairs were arranged down the street that passed in front of this sculpture dedicated to the children on April 6, 2012. Just last year. Our guide said it was a sight to see, and it was rather difficult to do the walking tour during the installation because it was simply so moving to have a visual of all that Bosnia had lost during the war.

On a much (much) lighter note, after the tour, we waited for Josh and Leanne to get into town! Our fifth country together, we were excited to see them, and share an apartment with them again! Excited, yes, but again, it was driven home how much they ‘get it’ as in this whole trip. We were all tired, and despite just arriving into a new city that afternoon (or evening) the best part of meeting up with friends who ‘get it’, was that they readily agreed to a low key movie night before passing out in an attempt to get some rest before a busy day tomorrow.