andorra-ble

my bus ride into andorra was largely uneventful. this was disappointing as i was really looking forward to a nice 'andorra' stamp in the old passport. and i was so determined.. too bad.

at any rate i made it to andorra, which, incidentally, i have theorized is the hardest country to get to in europe. though i should double-check lichtenstein. i met my friend kathy (a prior lyon resident) after some brief confusion of which mcdonalds we were at. we stopped to catch up at a nice little park (the only park) with blooming flowers, a concrete-lined stream, and a nice view of the mountains all around. kathy said having the mountains constantly surrounding you can be a bit overwhelming. after a nice chat we crossed the river into the 'old town' - which consists of approximately two streets. we went into a building, took an elevator up and ended up outside higher up on the hill, it was odd. here we enjoyed a very windy break with delicious cheesecake and i met her friend robert. he is a fulbright scholar and has been in andorra for a year and a half which means he knows pretty much everyone.

robert turned out to be a wonderful tour guide since, as it turns out, he's studying to be a tour guide. the three of us walked all over the city (yes, there are cities. more than one, even) which consists mostly of stores and giant glass spa. we went up the glass tower to see a view of dusk setting in over andorra la vella.

it's hard to describe andorra. kathy asked me if it was different than i thought it would be. it was certainly very commercial (it's a tax haven). i'm not sure what i was expecting though i was surprised that it did feel like a distinct country. this probably has a lot to do with the prominence of catalan (as the only country that has it as its national language). i asked robert how he would characterize andorra. he said greed. greed and portuguese.

the following day robert convinced kathy and myself to go on a hike up one of andorra's many mountains. apparently they had attempted it before but only made it part of the way up before turning back. robert made it known that he was determined to make it all the way up this time. i was hopeful but also ill-prepared in my traction-less french tennis shoes. we started out with high spirits and lots of energy. this was buoyed with frequent breaks and giant bar of delicious honey and almond chocolate. things were going well until we hit the giant mound of ice. or, specifically, the mountain path that was covered in ice and snow. it was a struggle, something like one step forward two slides back. after falling several times and getting some choice bruises it became clear to kathy and myself that we were not going to make it up the mountain. robert seemed disappointed (his pep talks were of no use) but it was just not happening. and if going up was dangerous, going down was absolutely treacherous. i think i slid and fell more than i actually walked. somehow we made it all the way down.

we decided instead to try what we dubbed the 'country lane'. with this we had much more success. no ice or snow - i have never been so glad to see mud. we had a nice view of the other mountain and from the top we could see the chain of mountains that surround the city. it was very 'sound of music'; we were mere miles from the spanish border. at the end of the day we rewarded ourselves with some nice cold drinks at a cafe in town. i had an horchata!

all in all i think my time in andorra was well-spent. there aren't many times you can say you've seen most of a country in two days.

barceloner

months ago i had planned a short weekend trip to catalunya. i already have wednesdays and fridays off so i thought i would 'faire le pont', as they say, and skip thursday to make it a nice five-day weekend. fortunately for me, france decided to choose this thursday to go on strike, so they did it for me.

after a late night before (st. patricks day..) i set out early on wednesday for my 9.45 flight. in a quick hour i was in spain. i took the bus into the city where it struck me how big the city is. outside of paris it's the biggest city i've been to in the past year. parts of it seemed very new york-like (though i suspect that had something to do with the helvetica in the metro). i arrived at the top of las ramblas, having a full afternoon ahead of me. having been to the city once before, i didn't feel too rushed and was able to take my time, enjoying the nice weather and all the weirdos that street seems to attract. the city is just undeniably colorful and lively. i found it particularly entertaining to watch the so-called 'living statues' take a cigarette break or walk around in normal clothes with bright green all over their faces.

my first stop was la boqueria, the fantastic produce market that courtney and i stumbed across our last time in the city. it did not disappoint; it had all the fresh fruits, nuts, (etc) and juices that i remember. i found myself some strawberries and pineapples and a sunny spot to enjoy my homemade sandwich. it was a perfect welcome to spain. well, until i got totally ripped off by this guy selling chocolates. somehow i got roped into buying some; i just thought i'd sample a few; it couldn't have been more than six individual pieces. the price? 3,25€. what?! lesson learned: never buy anything that doesn't have a price.

i tried to shrug that unpleasantness off and continue on, looking for the cathedral. the entire facade had been shrouded in scaffolding the last time courtney and i had been there and i was looking forward to seeing it for real. guess what? three years later, and the scaffolding hasn't moved. though i think they have added an ad across the front.

i continued on to the passeig de gracia where some of the many gaudi buildings can be found. if you don't know, antoni gaudí is a turn of the century catalan architect who seems to have single-handedly shaped the dynamic of barcelona. his works border on fantasy, mixing color with a weird fetish for nature. at any rate, i made it to the street where i saw the casa batllo, one of his most well-known and bizarre works. this, and its truly unique interior, have bumped the entrance fee up to over 16€. i passed and instead opted for the casa mila just down the street. it has a very distinct shape itself.. it kind of looks like where a smurf might live. a progressive, early 20th century smurf. i went inside and was captivated by all the little details that either gaudi or the successive families had added. i thought the light coming in through the lace in the windows was particularly nice. the real show was on the roof, where gaudi has constructed a strange landscape with amorphous yet somewhat menacing pseudo-heads.

from there it was back down to barceloneta where i finally saw the actual beach. my CS host showed me around a bit before serving up some homemade indian food and awkward conversation.

the next day i got started early and mounted montjuïc, something courtney and i had regretted not doing the previous time. it was quite high though the view wasn't necessarily that great. i walked around a bit and saw some of the gardens but i'm guessing there was still more to see. on the way down i saw the massive fountains that i imagine are pretty spectacular at night. at the foot of the hill i found the so-called barcelona pavilion. (funny i didn't connect the dots on that sooner.) it was constructed by mies van der rohe for the world's fair in 1929 and, if prof. dreiss has not misled me, was then deconstructed (and lost?) but later rebuilt. it's a total 180 from gaudi, very simple and spare but with really high-quality materials. so.. austere yet luxurious? it was good to actually see it in person.

from there i metro'd to parc guëll and climbed (or.. you know, escalatored) up the big hill. at the top i went to the main square - if you can call it that - to have my makeshift lunch and enjoy the sun. after lingering over my sandwich and fruit i made my way around the curvy mosaic-ed benches that encircle the area. i wasn't shy about butting in right next to napping tourists to take pictures of the tiles. that seems to be what people do, incidentally. they find a nice sunny spot on the bench, park themselves, and nap. besides sleeping tourists i spotted obnoxious american girls and some really choice mullets, a spanish necessity.

from here i descended and found myself back on the passeig de gracia, home to more gaudi. i was looking at the facade of casa batllo and compulsively decided to go up and buy a ticket. i got the student price, a mere 13,50€ (ouch) and rationalized it by telling myself i didn't know when i'd be in barcelona again. the audio guide (thankfully included in the price) was a bit much.. "gaudi, the most universal genius in history".. but the house itself was pretty impressive. it's said that it has no straight lines, though i wondered about the floors. it definitely has a nature-inspired vibe, reminiscent at times of mushrooms, amoeba, sea urchins, and dragons. though i've never labeled anything as 'whimsical' myself this would probably be the closest i've seen.

after this stop i popped over to the sagrada familia to cram in a little more gaudí before heading back to my CSer's place. one B bollywood movie and a few hours of sleep later i left early to catch the bus to andorra. i took a last stroll along the beach and made my way to las ramblas where i had to pop into the market one last time. i got some choice fuji apples and an entire kilo of strawberries for one euro. fantastic. of course now i'm completely spoiled. i don't know how i can go back to paying upwards of 3€ for a small basket of french strawberries. these made for lovely snacks on my international bus ride.

alpengeist

for our final day we decided to venture outside the city and "faire les alpes". it does seem a little silly that we've lived so close and hadn't gotten a chance to really experience the alps. we hopped on a bus for under 4€ that took us up into the moutains. in about an hour we were surrounded by alps. we missed the stop for the 'cute' little town we were planning on getting off at and instead ended up in les 2 alpes (so very alp-y it's even in the name of the town) which is apparently the premier place to ski around here. but we were without ski equipment and the sufficient funds so we settled for hiking.

we got some advice from the tourist office and after actually finding where it started it was quite easy. it was a nice, gentle slope, snowy but not too much for my new hiking shoes (that i was so excited to finally get a chance to wear). the path took us under the ski lift and right through the actual ski slope, which was a bit daunting. it was such a clear day and it actually got quite warm. we had shed several layers before we sat down for our picnic lunch - thanks to a supermarket we found that's open all day sunday (unheard of in france). we enjoyed the view and watched the skiers going down the slopes. we were hoping for some good falls but i guess that's more of an ice skating thing. we also decided the french must use skiing as their outlet for actually wearing color, based on some of the yellows and reds we saw.

on the way back down (we couldn't go any farther without snow shoes) we stopped to take some jumping pictures, vince's forté, before descending completely. at the bottom we discovered we had some time before the next bus so we enjoyed some drinks in the sun with a view of the mountains around us. from there we took the bus back to grenoble and just barely caught the train back to lyon. a fun little sojourn and a nice end to our mini-vacation. and i feel so much more accomplished now that i've been to grenoble and 'done the alps'.

le plus (gre)noble

so in attempts to squeeze in as much france as i can before my departure (which is quickly approaching) i went away this weekend to check out another departement, the isère.

vince and i, decidedly good travel companions, headed out friday afternoon for grenoble. the train ride was so short (a mere hour and a half) that i didn't even crack open my book. at the train station we met our couchsurfer, easily recognizable with his shaggy bleached-blond hair. he led us to his apartment, a 20 minute walk through the downtown. it was a beautiful day, the first day of nice weather this season, and everyone seemed to be out enjoying it. after depositing our things, our host (adrien) showed us around the city a bit before heading off to work. we walked through the small downtown area, saw the main churches, restaurants, and bars and then crossed the river. on the other side of the river there are a few streets lined with older buildings that lead up to the giant hill known as the bastille. it's not unlike crossing the saone into vieux lyon, whose buildings line the base of the hill that leads up to fourvière.

we decided to mount the bastille, as it were. every time i've asked for advice on what to do in grenoble this has been one of the first mentioned. you can reach the top either by walking a set of steep stairs and ramps (about 45 minutes without stopping) or take the boules, fun little silver cable cars that resemble the balls of the same game. needless to say, we elected to take the boules. with our student cards (ahem) it was a deal. going up was a little nerve-wracking at times (mostly for vince), especially when we discussed where the worst place to land would be. the view from the top was wonderful! from there you can see all of grenoble and the three mountain chains that surround it. this makes for a beautiful landscape but it also makes for heavy pollution as the air can't leave the city limits. if you ignore the fact that it's smoggy air it's actual rather mystical (mistical?) and pretty. we took some pictures and had a snack while enjoying the view before we headed over to the bastille (the actual fortress) to explore. there doesn't seem to be much left to go inside but we did stumble upon some caves that were fun to wander through, albeit damp (read: muddy).

we made our way down on foot leisurely, stopping for nice graffiti, playgrounds, possible squatter sightings, and many joggers/bikers (why you would bike there, with intermittent staircases, i don't know). by this time it was getting dusky and we were hoping for a nice place to sit and relax. grenoble seems to be full of students which is probably what gives it its international flair. at various times it reminded us of italy, spain, switzerland and england. it also seemed to have lower prices than lyon which we chose to take advantage of. though we didn't find a cafe (we got sidetracked by the pretty sunset) we did choose a nice indian restaurant where we splurged on tandoori chicken, naan, and rice (unfortunately not american-sized portions). the resto was very popular as it was full and the manager was clearly trying to get rid of us. we lingered a while to spite him and then returned to adrien's.

all the walking must have taken its toll as we were completely exhausted. adrien returned from work at around 10 to find us dozing on the couches. he chided us a little but kept most of the mocking to himself as he prepared the couches for us to sleep on.

after about 10+ hours of sleep we were treated to a lovely breakfast of homemade bread and jam and fresh croissants that adrien went out and bought. afterwards adrien and jean-yves (another roommate) drove us and another friend, claudia, to a nearby festival they had told us about earlier. we were told it was very authentic. it was outside the city in a nearby mountain village. not knowing precisely where it was, we elected to get out and hike. we followed a path up the mountain that followed a small stream. when this ended we cut across to a nearby stone barn where the path seemed to end. after about 30 minutes of hiking we were ready to head back down but decided to try the other direction. several minutes and several barbed wire barriers later, we realized this would not work and backtracked the way we had come.

at this point we were hungry and eager to find this festival, which we did (we had passed it on the drive up). it was called the foire du boudin, boudin being a blood sausage typical to this region. quite literally, a sausage fest. it was late and they had run out of platters so we chose to buy a meter to split amongst us. i was expecting some sort of strong sausage but when we cut into the gland (yes, gland) a heap of warm, mushy entrails spilled out. it looked like wet dog food but we tried it with an open mind. it was.. how to put this delicately.. revolting. we had trouble keeping it down. luckily the frenchies were off searching for a bakery (in trypical french fashion, they have trouble eating anything without bread) so they did not witness our pitiful attempt. they happily scooped up the sausages while we took care of the basket of fries. they teased us for a bit (and told us the french think jell-o is disgusting) but then moved on to mocking the 'paysans' who were in attendance. they used the word 'beauf' quite a bit which, roughly translated, means redneck.

back in the city, vince and i had a much-needed snack (delicious pastries!) before heading to the modern art museum. though we were lucky to be in a great location, nothing in grenoble seems very far away. got our 2€ student tickets and enjoyed the gerhard richter exhibit (!) that just happened to be there. one complaint (that maybe extends to french museums at large): almost no wall labels. i suppose this is in efforts to force us to buy the audio guide. well it didn't work.

we did some more wandering at dusk before vince suggested we check out the view of the city by night. so we hopped on the boules again to check it out (i just can't get enough of these things.. i think they made it into 60% of my pictures). the view was really spectacular. though we just missed the actual sunset, seeing the lights come on in front of the bright blue sky was really lovely. we got our fill of pictures before descending in the boules for the first time. they go fast! it was a little scary, i'm not gonna lie.

after our ride we walked about 3 minutes to our couchsurfer's place where he had prepared a dinner for us - gratin dauphinois (scalloped potatoes), a roast chicken and more baked bread. so much for the bread boules (yes, more boules) we brought as an offering. it was quite a spread and we were very grateful. we decided to go out afterwards, partially to experience grenoblois nightlife and partially so we wouldn't be mocked for turning in before 11 again. we went to a bar courtney had suggested that was literally "1 minute" on foot according to googlemaps. it's called the 'boîte à sardines' and was definitely warm and homey. we tried chartreuse, the local drink (formerly made by monks in the town of the same name). wow, it was strong. and minty. mountain minty? it took some effort but we managed to finish them and stayed up past 12.

doors doors doors

i just thought this mosaic-making tool was particularly awesome.

marché march

well i'm back in france and readjusting quite nicely, thanks in part to the warm weather this weekend. i hope spring is on its way but i don't want to jinx anything.

with the realization that my flight home is in exactly two months, i thought i should make a list of things i'd still like to do and see in lyon..

• the lumière institute. even if i can't afford to actually see a movie there
• boating on the lake. one of the few lake attractions that is not geared solely to children. the zoo's worth a second visit as well.
• the miniatures museum. i've heard good things.
• the city murals. there are many, and they're all over.
• île barbe. an island in the saône that's home to old monasteries and churches. just a pleasant bike ride away
• churches. as with any french city there are many scattered about. there are several i've passed that are worth a trip inside.
• pastries. courtney, you will be happy to know that i've decided to sample a pastry once every other week (okay maybe every week..). it does seem pretty stupid to be in the land of pastries and not enjoy them. though i have been fully taking advantage of the fresh bread.
• markets. i love doing my shopping at these outdoor markets. there's something about seeing the produce outside in the sun that just makes it that much more enticing. i was reminded this morning of how much i enjoy being outside, seeing the displays of cheeses, the fresh strawberries, the tulips (in pretty paper, not that crinkly plastic). in the rest of my time here i want to make sure i continue taking full advantage, visiting my market (above) at least once a week.

now i just have to wait for it to get warm...