barceLona.

the EPiC citY

k u guys- this is just mostLY pics- i will bore you if i keep going into detail about all these places!  Please MSG me or whateva if you are planning a visit or want more detaiLs! 

xx to all!

  

Bonded by skulls...how RomeO & juLiet:: 
[this amazing designer is based out of Berlin]

 The Barcelona Effect:  the unintentional almost missing of flights due to Barcelona.  

*And these green monsters!  Chels took it like a champ...

 

                                       okay i helped a smidge....

 Some of the crew from our wicked Hostel Sagria Familia->

 a fellow hostel-er? tenant? vistor?---Lucian & his "card tricks"... I think you can tell from Chelsey's demeanour the creep factor.. 

 

 happY.           .      

"HellOooOoO Barcelona!"

 This is a cool little cathedral in honour of St.Christopher hidden in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona... it is litterally a tiny little nook in the street that hold max 4 people..

 I swear the Simpson's writer was in Barcelona and saw these donuts- THEY WERE MASSIVE... 

*we had every intention of going back for one...but time slipped away!

 Barcelona had REALLY rad graffiti everywhere!  This is just one example- a garage way painted into a highway::

 Me and Viv trying to find the "MagiC FountaiN" that was not so magical: after attempt 3 of trying to find it we finally gave up...

 there are MANY little squares scattered throughout Barcelona.  if i were ever to "break" my vegetarian/attempted vegan-hood this would have been the place: 

Pla del Angel.  This was a tiny square that had such a cool vibe and an amaaaazzzzzing aroma!  

 We checked out Park Guell by Gaudi after climbing "mini mount Kilimanjaro" only to later discover that there was an outdoor escalator at a different entrance... [priceless.]

 Corky Gaudi::

 *this was a Sunday-Nuby-Bun-kinda Day:                                         :

 Sagrada Familia...I will not even attempt to explain this bad boy.. i would not even know where to begin and i was even having a hard time following all the different "Sections" to it... to say the LEAST construction started in 1882 and is still going today....with MUCH more to do...

 A fellow "Berlin-er" Martin.... and yes, its official: im calling myself a "Berlin-er"

 MASSIVE candy stand in La Boqueria (an open market off Las Ramblas) that even trumps Swedish standards! (.biG.statement.)

 with numerous delicious, freshly squeezed juices!

stay TUNeddddddddd .xo. peace.

PaRis::paRt 1::

Where on earth do i start!? ...no pun intended... ;)

The past 3 weeks I have been travelling out of a tiny back pack intended4road biking... meaning i have been functioning off of 2 pairs of pants (one which are currently sitting in the trash) and the other that are on cycle 3 of washing... 2 tshirts, 2 tanktops.... etc. you get the picture... even though i was deprived of a “fresh” feeling for a 3 week duration, i would not trade the convenience of just a back pack for the world! 

S.I.M.P.L.I.C.I.T.Y. at its best.

I thought about how i could condense 3 weeks into a single, concise blog entry&realized that it is impossible. Sooooo for SANITY sake: i will break up our trip into 4 separate blog entries...with cliff hangers at the end to hook you guys! xo. :)

Kirsten&Chelsey's Journey

-italian translation-

Kirstito&Chelsito's Journito

London->Paris->Barcelona->Milan->Lake Como->Venice->London*

*Word to the wise: this is A LOT for just 3 weeks, give yourself MORE time for similar itinerary...EsPeciaLLLy give leeway for hidden hostels, wrong trains and 14 hour bus trips.....*tear*

PARIS

Our trip started from London---> onwards---> to Paris. We took a Euroline bus which actually worked out alright! It was pretty funky going through the channel (a tube underneath water) to get from the UK--->France! As far as i could tell, you dont really even know your underwater.... you go into this metal chamber (a little freaky) and it “transports” you!

Upon arrival, me&Chels asked for a recommended area for hostels to go&drop our luggage...we figured we could do it once we got there! so not knowing any better we got a recommended area for hostels&went there (later to discover this area was also refered to as “the full ghetto experience”.) Near La Chapelle metro stop, 

we stayed@a hotel called Merryl. We should have figured something was up with the concierge offered us 50% off our total stay... we discovered the 50% meant a comprimise: 

dumpy room for one night in exchange for a renovated room for the remaining 2 

This is what happened in Hotel Merryl:

1^st night (dodgy room):

-chels develops a paranoia for bed bugs that lasts for the entire trip....

-chels develops weird red marks on her legs...that dont last for entire trip..

-the witnessing of intense ceiling mold...&potential for lung disease..

-a unique aroma...sort of like the scent of a dirty,wet,moldy mexican washroom

2^nd & 3^rd nights (renovated room):

-realize how bad the 1^st night was...*

*TIP: book hostel in advance&read reviews...

MOVING ON FROM THE HOSTEL!

Paris is a really beautiful city. We spent most of our time getting lost in the city & enjoying the atmosphere. The latin quarter is an awesome neighbourhood that is like a labyrinth of cobble stone paths. There are bundles of little shops&yummy cafes! The 1st day we headed there&had a delicious dinner&then aTTempTed to make our way back to the metro....we somehow ended up at the LOUVRE...

The next day we did a 4 hour frEE walking tour with NEW EUROPE- best decision! We walked through the “new london bridge” with hilarious sculpted faces on it of drunk highness and highnesses at the time, through the louvre, through the “mini” versailles (Tuileries Garden) where the first ever lady lived who invented heels and fashion, through a military museum and numerous other places. We also met a wicked group of girls from TexaS 

&

our rad NY guRL Vivian on this tour!! Who became our fellow travel companion with strangely nearly the exact same itinerary as us*... 

*Vivian's mom: we promise this was not planned!

Here are some of the things we saw&did listed from favourite-->to-->least:

• The Bridge of Art- a bridge that is covered- & i mean like BURRIED in various “LoVe locks.” It is known as the bridge of eternal love. Couples come and put a lock on the bridge that represents their love. They then toss the key into the Seine river below to show that their love is infinite..its really quite breathtaking&hopelessly romantic. At night time, bundles of people go with a bottle of wine&bask in the atmosphere. This was my favourite part of Paris- a must experience.
• Eiffel Tower- pretty cool! The best thing about the Eiffel tower for myself was standing underneath it's massive structure- you feel like an ant. And at night time it lights up and sparkles on the hour- so make sure you check it out at night!

• Musee de l'Orangerie- originally a winter greenhouse for orange trees. The ruler at the time moved to Paris and wanted fresh cups of orange juice squeezed each morning so he built a greenhouse what is now a Museum! This is home to Monet's famous Water Lillies! We found this museum MUCH more enticing that the Louvre....
• Montmarte- this is a hilarious area full of straight sex and is also home to the Moulon Rouge! Literally anything and everything you could think of is here in this area. Fun to just go walk around and people watch! If its in your budget- totally go see the MOULON ROUGE!!! i would have LOVED to do this, but unfortunately 200 EUROs per person was not in our budget- eek!
  

  

  
  
• The Louvre- not really “my style” of work but felt we should go and check it out. for a total of 15 minutes we got our classic Mona Lisa pic, a few funny pics and peaced out. I would recommend to do a Da Vinci tour, or any sort of tour while doing the Louvre- otherwise its just alot of the same over and over.
  

  

  
  
• Notre Dame- i foolishly forgot about the famous hunchback of notre dame that was based out of PARIS!!! we saw the notre dame but did not wait in the line up to go inside and to the top. We were told it was not worth the wait so we took the advice!

Okay hummmmmm.... i think ill cap Paris off there for now! Wait till you hear about our aRRival to Barcelona......

xo.peace.