Paris

This past weekend, Chris and I made the trip to Paris.

We flew out Friday night on RyanAir to a small airport about an hour North of Paris. We rode a bus into the city and were dropped off at Porte Maillot. Total travel time was only about 3 hours. Not too shabby.

Upon arriving, it was really a surreal feeling to look up and see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Up until this point, the fact that I was in Europe and could travel so easily hadn't really sunk in yet. I think I'll be able to get used to it.

We had made plans to stay with Adam, my friend from home, who is studying in Paris for Randolph Macon's January Term. Since he didn't have a European cell phone, he just met us at the bus station. We then rode the subway to his amazing hostel, which is just across the Seine from Notre Dame. It was awesome to see Adam in Paris. He was a great host and tour guide, and it was comforting knowing we were sightseeing with a French minor, since I speak no French whatsoever.

That night, we tried to get in touch with a few other friends studying in Paris as well, but we soon found out that in order to call French cell phones, we needed to have activated our roaming capability before leaving Spain. In class earlier that day, we learned a colloquial phrase that basically means "from our screw ups, we learn." Quite fitting, really.

After getting settled in at the hostel, we sampled some of the Parisian nightlife, but made it a fairly early night so we could pack in as much sightseeing as possible on Saturday.

Saturday
Breakfast was purchased from the grocery store around the corner, and consisted of a premade ham and cheese sandwich and a liter of orange juice. I'm just really trying to avoid scurvy while I'm here.

Our first stop was the Louvre. Since we wanted to do as much as possible in two days, we breezed through most of the galleries and hit the major works like the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. The greatest part of the trip occurred as were exiting the Louvre through the hall with the inverted glass pyramid when I heard someone shout "Danny Eckstein?!". Lo and behold it's none other than Annie Barnes, a friend from home studying in Florence this Spring. We just happened to pick the same weekend to go to Paris and the same time to see the Louvre. It was really bizarre, but great to see Annie as well. I hope to make it Florence later in the Spring, and she's coming to Spain in a few weeks, so hopefully we'll have the chance for a few more European run-ins.

The rest of the day was spent seeing most of the sights on the Left and Right banks East, including Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, the Pantheon.

Most importantly, we had crepes for lunch.

That night, we met up with Adam's friends from his program and went out in the section of the city where most students go. It was a good night, although going out in Paris isn't exactly cheap.

On Sunday, I finally got in touch with my friend Lizzy from UVa, once we realized that one of Adam's friends had a French cell phone. We're pretty clever. We met up with her at Les Invalides, and then went over to the Arc de Triomphe. We climbed it. Then we went to the Eiffel Tower. We climbed that, too.

I realized that being a tourist basically involves just paying a lot of money to go up tall things. I'm going to try to diversify my activities, maybe.

The Eiffel Tower took a really really really long time. Our bus back to the airport wasn't leaving till 5:40, so we weren't worried until it dawned on us at the top of the Tower that there would be an equally long line to go back down. Once back on solid ground, we booked it back to Lizzy's apt (where we had left our backpacks) and then hopped on the subway at 5:30. Needless to say, we were pushing it. Once we got to our stop, we sprinted out of the station, dodged four lanes of traffic, and finally got to the bus station.

Then, we remembered that this is Europe and things don't really leave on time. The bus didn't leave for another 20 minutes. At least we got in some exercise?

The ride back to the airport was fine, the flight was smooth, and we arrived back in 60 degrees Valencia around 10 PM.

It was a whirlwind of a trip, but a great way to start the European travels.

The First Week

So, Valencia is amazing. It has only been a week since I left the states, but I have already done so much! Today, actually, is the first day of classes. I already had an art history class this morning and still have a spanish civ class and a literature class later this afternoon. The UVA in Valencia building is a great facility, and I'm currently in the library, which has free WiFi.

Well, an update on my time here so far...

The fight from Dulles to Madrid wasn't bad at all, mostly due to the fact that I slept the entire time. I was extremely comfortable, since I shared an entire row of four seats with only one other person. Quite lucky.

After the flight, we had a four hour bus ride across the eastern plains of Spain before arriving in Valencia around 6:30 PM local time. Although I really wanted to enjoy the view along the way, I passed out within half an hour of boarding the bus.

Our drop-off point in Valencia was at the soccer stadium where Valencia CF plays. The only other time I had really seen the stadium before was while playing the videogame FIFA, so it was cool to see it in real life. The unloading of the bus was quite chaotic, as all 150-ish of us students travelling together were trying to find both our luggage and our host families.

I could not be happier with my host mom. Begona, or as well call her, "Ama", has been widowed for 8 years and lives in a great apartment just south of our school and the stadium. She's a vivacious little lady of some 65 years who talks, smokes, and laughs more than any person I have ever known. Ama has two grown sons that live in the area of Valencia, and one, a marine biologist, has already visited. Rounding out our household is Lunita, a lazy little dog that evens out Ama's ridiculous energy, and my roommate, Chris, who is also a third year at UVa. We had never crossed paths while in Charlottesville, but it's been a great match.

Ama is very nurturing, and is an incredible cook. So far we've sampled many authentic Valencian dishes, including the traditional paella and another version that uses noodles instead of rice. While the food is amazing, the portions are too much even for me, and Ama is constantly telling us to eat more. In contrast to her matronly care, she insists that we go out almost every night. "Es importante que salgais esta noche", or "It's important that you all go out tonight" is the usual dinnertime refrain.

The nightlife is Valencia is as impressive as it is long in duration. It's customary for the younger sector of Valencia's population to go out around 11, and not return home till 7 de la manana. I guess that's why the Spanish love their siesta.

But don't worry, Mom, I have done a lot more than going out at night. We visited Sagunto, a city just north of Valencia on Saturday, and had the chance to explore the Roman Ampitheatre, the ruins of a sprawling castle, and el Calvario, which was this amazing route for the Stations of the Cross that climbed up the side of a mountain and ended at a stunning white chapel.

Chris and I have explored the city a good bit, passing through the massive park that runs through the middle of the city, over the course of the old riverbed. In the 50s, there was a terrible flood in Valencia, and the solution was to reroute the river through the outskirts of the city. We've also ventured down to the beaches, the port where the America's Cup is held, and throughout the city center, which is incredibly beautiful.

Yesterday was the feast day of San Vicente Martir, the patron saint of the city. He was martyred around 304, and apparently converted his executioner before his death. Apparently the executioner only knew one way to say thanks. There was a huge procession through the city center that started just after Mass in the cathedral. The mass was one of the most beautiful that I've ever been too, even though the archbishop's homily was a bit difficult to understand. After the mass, the procession flowed from the baroque doorway throughout the Plaza de la Reina, whose streets were covered in rosemary, thyme, and other herbs. At the head was a brass band that cleared the way for the procession. Following the band was a myriad of people, including a group of women dressed in mourning clothes escorted by men in top hats and tuxedos, all of the clergy in their red robes, and finally the golden statue of San Vicente. The experience of this procession on a sunny 70 degree morning was by far my favorite moment of the trip so far.

Well, now that I've gone on forever, I have to go eat the lunch that Ama packed for me before my class at 1400.

I'll try to update this thing weekly. This weekend Chris and I are headed to Paris, so look forward to reading about some crazy/enriching Parisian adventures.

Adios, chicos!