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Les Pieds Fatigués

~ "If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys." – Chief Dan George

Les Pieds Fatigués

Tag Archives: Arc de Triomf

Figueres, Barcelona, and Madrid

13 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by Kayla Faith in Europe, France, Spain

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

abroad, anglais, Arc de Triomf, architecture, Arles, Avignon, Barcelona, Barcelone, Case Western Reserve University, castles, Civil Engineering, cockroaches, Dali, English, espagne, espanol, Europe, Figueres, francais, France, frances, historical sights, ingles, Madrid, monuments, park, parks, Pittsburgh, plane, Ryanair, Sagrada Familia, sleeping in a park, solo, solo travel, south of France, Spain, students, train, WVU

(In Spanish; English translation below:)

Hola! Los próximos dos días es un fin de semana en España! Yo quería volver a ver a Barcelona y Sagrada Familia, así que me pareció un tren a través de Montpellier, Figueres, Barcelona, ​​y Madrid. Los billetes de avión de Madrid a Montpellier con Ryanair eran muy baratos y el vuelo es muy corto. Salí de Arles en la mañana y estaba en España por la tarde. Estudié español en el tren con un libro que traduce entre el francés y el español. Fue más fácil de Inglés a Español! Tuve mi primera paella en Figueres y vi el castillo, la vista, y un parque. Pasé el museo Dalí y algunos monumentos antes de comer y volver a la estación.

En Barcelona, ​​me sentí abrumado con excitación para ver la Sagrada Familia. La primera cosa que hice fue tomar el metro de la Sagrada. Esperé en una larga fila para comprar boletos. Me dieron un descuento de estudiante para ver la basílica y tomar un ascensor a las torres. Las ventanas en el interior era increíble y los detalles eran impresionantes. Conocí a dos estudiantes, Sean y Chris, de Pittsbugh y WVU en mi viaje en las torres. Ellos estaban muy emocionados de hablar Inglés y hablamos de turismo, nuestros estudios y nuestras vacaciones. Los dejé después de la gira para continuar por Barcelona, con paradas en lugares como la Monumental y el Arco del Triunfo. Después de varias horas, que había visto todo lo que quería ver y volví casualmente a mi próximo tren. Me fui a Madrid antes del atardecer.

Me parece divertido que la gente en los Estados Unidos creen que soy puertorriqueño y que la gente en Europa creo que soy español. Tratar de hablar español no ayuda, tampoco, porque a veces soy demasiado convincente. La verdad es que no conozco bien español, pero es lo suficientemente similar al francés para mí volver a aprender los conceptos básicos rápidamente. En el tren, vi una película en español con subtítulos en catalán. La película se encuentra en Nepal, así también hubo pasajes en hindi y el Inglés. Era culturalmente confuso, pero entendí todo. Pasamos por una tormenta y yo vimos la racha de lluvia a través de las ventanas mientras el sol se ponía sobre el terreno seco del centro de España.

Pronto, yo estaba en Madrid. La estación de Atocha era enorme y estaba impecable. Caminé durante varias horas en la ciudad que nunca duerme y me confirmó que nunca duerme. Finalmente, encontré un parque iluminado entre dos calles. Sólo quería dormir cuatro horas, porque era tarde y el parque que quería ver abre a las seis de la mañana. Me encontré con un bonito jardín y leer un libro junto a la farola hasta un aspersor encendido. Algunos mochileros estaban durmiendo en los bancos, pero vi un montón de cucarachas en los bancos. Finalmente, elegí un parche de hierba al lado de un arbusto y un ovillo con la toalla. Fue perfecto. Nadie me molestó porque muchas personas estaban durmiendo al aire libre en esta bonita noche, un fin de semana de fiestas. Incluso las cucarachas me evitaban. Y me salvó muchas euros por dormir en mi hermoso parque!

*****

Hello! The next two days is a weekend in Spain! I wanted to return to see Barcelona and Sagrada Familia, so I found a train through Montpellier, Figueres, Barcelona, and to Madrid. The plane tickets from Madrid to Monpellier with Ryanair were very cheap and the flight is very short. I left Arles in the morning and was in Spain by the afternoon. I studied Spanish on the train with a book that translates between French and Spanish. It was easier than English to Spanish! I had my first paella in Figueres and saw the castle, the view, and a park. I passed the Dali museum and some monuments before eating and returning to the station.

In Barcelona, I was overwhelmed with excitment to see Sagrada Familia. The first thing I did was take the metro to Sagrada. I waited in a very long line to buy tickets. I got a student discount to see the basilica and to take an elevator to the towers. The windows inside were amazing and the details were impressive. I met two students, Sean and Chris, from Pittsbugh and WVU on my tour in the towers. They were excited to speak English and we talked about tourism, our studies, and our vacations. I left them after the tour to continue through Barcelona, stopping at sites like the Monument and the Arc of Triumph. After several hours, I had seen everything I wanted to see and headed back casually to my next train. I left for Madrid before sunset.

I find it amusing that people in the United States think I am Puerto Rican and that people in Europe think I am Spanish. Trying to speak Spanish doesn’t help, either, because I am sometimes too convincing. I really don’t know Spanish well, but it is similar enough to French for me to relearn the basics quickly. On the train, I watched a movie in Spanish with Catalan subtitles. The film was set in Nepal, thus there were also excerpts in Hindi and English. It was culturally confusing, but I understood the whole thing. We passed through a rainstorm and I watched the rain streak across the windows as the sun set over the dry expanses of central Spain.

Soon, I was in Madrid. The Atocha station was enormous and immaculate. I walked for several hours in the city that never sleeps and I confirmed that it never sleeps. Finally, I found a lit park between two streets. I only wanted to sleep four hours because it was late and the park I wanted to see opens at six in the morning. I found a nice garden and read a book by the streetlight until a sprinkler turned on. Some backpackers were sleeping on benches, but I saw a lot of cockroaches on the benches. At last, I chose a patch of grass beside a bush and curled up with my towel. It was perfect. No one bothered me because so many people were sleeping outside on this nice night, a weekend of festivals. Even the cockroaches avoided me. And I saved many euros by sleeping in my pretty park!

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Figueres’ view from the castle.

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Inside Sagrada Familia.

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Loved the windows.

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Outside – always under construction!  (Heard that the Japanese are saving the city money by doing this?)

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View of Barcelona from the church.

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Torre Agbar.

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Arch of Triumph.

 

Refusing to Tire

09 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by Kayla Faith in Europe, France

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Tags

anglais, Arc de Triomf, Arles, Avignon, Barcelona, Barcelone, bilingual, calanques, Cassis, cats, churches, culture, English, Espagna, espagnol, Europe, fleas, flight, francais, France, French, hiking, hostel, IES, kittens, Madrid, Marseille, monuments, Pennsylvania, Ryanair, Sagrada Familia, site seeing, solo, solo travel, south of France, Spain, Spanish, study abroad, tickets, tourism, tourist, train, travel

(English translation below):

Aujourd’hui, j’ai compté les jours et découvert que c’est ma cinquantième journée depuis je suis quittée des États-Unis.  Mon été dure quatre-vingt-huit jours, donc j’ai passé le point au milieu le 2 juillet, le dernier mardi et le jour après l’anniversaire de ma grand-mère.  Il y avait trente-huit jours jusqu’à je reviens à Pennsylvanie.  J’avais pensé que j’étais fatiguée par maintenant, peut-être trop fatiguée pour voyager beaucoup.  Mais il y a trop pays et villes que je veux voir !  Ce matin, j’ai acheté un billet pour un vol de Madrid à Marseille de Ryanair.  Je vais faire du hiking vendredi de Cassis à Marseille pour voir tous les calanques, revenir chez moi pour manger avec ma mère d’accueil, et partir le matin samedi pour Barcelone par train.  Je vais voir Sagranda Familia comme je veux et des autres monuments, puis je vais prendre un autre train pour Madrid.  Je peux voir la vie de la nuit, passer un nuit au centre de la ville, et visiter des sites pendant je vais à l’aéroport pour un vol court et moins cher.

Mais aujourd’hui… Aujourd’hui, je me suis réveillée très tôt pour aller au café et écrire, lire, et faire mes devoirs.  Alex m’a trouvée et nous avons fini notre projet pour cette semaine dans notre cours de l’histoire de la photographie.   La journée était un peu ennuyeuse parce que les cours étaient longues et le déjeuner était encore à Dolce Vita.  La meilleure partie était le sorbet du cantaloup avec du cantaloup.  L’après-midi, j’ai essayé de corriger des problèmes administratifs à mon université.  Quand je revenais chez moi, ma mère d’accueil a dit que nous pouvions manger le diner à 19h30, donc je cherchais pour des églises et des autres monuments locaux que je n’avais pas déjà vus.  Alors, beaucoup de choses étaient fermées à cause des Suds et des expositions dans ces bâtiments.  C’était aussi le dernier jour des deuxième étage des Soldes : une chose bonne et male, les deux.  Elle est bonne parce que des vêtements iront moins chères demain, mais elle est male parce que des vêtements de ma taille seront rares.  Donc, à cause de la chaleur, les prix, et mon absence des vêtements chez moi, j’ai acheté quelques pièces plus sophistiquées pour porter aussi à ma nouvelle poste.  Le vendeur était très gentil et m’a demandée des questions au sujet de mes études ici en France.  Nous parlions français et il ne pouvait pas que je vienne des États-Unis.

Après, je mangeais avec ma mère d’accueil et j’ai appris que le chaton mâle était donné à quelqu’un et c’est juste la petite fille maintenant chez moi avec sa mère.  Elle a moins puces que l’autre chaton, mais ma mère d’accueil va essayer de fixer la problème demain.  J’espère qu’il ne va pas continuer… je déteste les puces, comme tout le monde !  J’ai aussi écrit la chanson nationale d’États-Unis en français pour ma mère d’accueil comme elle a voulu.  C’est difficile de traduire !  Et maintenant, je suis fatiguée…

*****

Today, I counted the days and discovered that it’s my fiftieth day since I left the US.  My summer is eighty-eight days long, thus I passed the middle-point the second of July, last Tuesday or also the day after my grandma’s birthday.  There are thirty-eight days until I return to Pennsylvania.  I had thought that I would be tired by now, perhaps too tired to travel a lot.  But there are too many countries and cities that I want to see!  This morning, I bought a ticket for a flight from Madrid to Marseille with Ryanair.  I will hike Friday from Cassis to Marseille to see the calanques, return home to eat with my host mom, and leave Saturday morning for Barcelona by train.  I will see Sagranda Familia like I want and some other monuments, then I will take another train for Madrid.  I can see the nightlife, spend a night in the middle of the city, and visit some sites on my way to the airport for a short, cheap flight.

But today…Today, I woke up very early to go to the café and write, read, and do my homework.  Alex found me and we finished our project for this week in our History of Photography class.  The day was a little boring because the classes were long and the lunch was at Dolce Vita again.  The best part was the cantaloupe sorbet with cantaloupe.  The afternoon, I tried to fix some administrative problems at my university.  When I returned home, my host mom said that we could eat dinner at 7:30PM, thus I went looking for some churches and other local monuments that I hadn’t yet seen.  Of course, a lot of things were closed due to the Suds and the expositions in these buildings.  It was also the last day for the second phase of Les Soldes: a good and a bad thing.  It’s a good thing because the clothes will but cheaper tomorrow, but a bad thing because they’ll also get picked over.  Thus, due to the heat, the prices, and my lack of clothes here, I bought some more sophisticated pieces that I can wear at my new job.  The cashier was very kind and asked me questions about my studies here in France.  We spoke French and he couldn’t tell that I come from America.

After, I ate with my host mom and learned that the boy kitten was given to someone and that just the girl kitten is now here with her mom.  She has less fleas than the other did, but my host mom is going to try to fix the problem tomorrow.  I hope that it doesn’t continue…I hate fleas, like everyone does!  I also wrote out the National Anthem of the US in French for my host mom like she wanted.  It’s difficult to translate!  And now, I am tired…

More pictures from me playing with the kittens and the flowers I saw on previous day trips:

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faithless Faith

little things and little thoughts that make up little me

Les Pieds Fatigués

"If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys." - Chief Dan George

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