The past 2 weeks have been like traveling back and forth in time through a high powered time machine. High fashion interspersed with little winding alleys, centuries of history mixed with cutting edge modernism.
This year's Europe treat begins in Paris. Ah Paris! Last time we were there, it was snowing cats and dogs. We got rain this time over, so that must mean we have another trip due in summer :) Paris has a little something for the multiple personalities in me - the wanderlust, the dreamer, the fashionista, the foodie. This time we wandered down some non-tourist treaded paths. How amazing it must be to have Paris as your backyard! How it must feel to run by the Louvre at 6Am in the morning, to have that first date by the Siene, to run down (of course in high heels!) to work with the Eiffel Tower in the background. I can never have enough of Paris. I want to be born a Parisian in my next life.
Lisbon & vicinity - A mere 2 hour plane ride takes you back in time, to the land of explorers, castles and the adventurous. Lisbon is a little city with a big soul! Sintra is a little city about an hour from Lisbon but an era backwards in time. A land of castles, greenery and mystery. I have always been enamored by the way castles are built. The extent to which we humans go to protect what's ours. These castle walls must hold so many tales, if only they could talk! Day 2 in Lisbon, we hit Belem. Portugal, due to being conveniently located by the ocean, lended it's people, the unique opportunity to explore lands unknown. Vasco da Gama left off on one such journey to India from the port of Belem. Belem also houses the beautiful Jeronimos monastery, where he now sleeps. There is something about that monastery that makes me want to wander back there again. So serene and simple. Kinda like you want life to be , you know. I remember having a subtle smile all through my walk down this wonderful place. One day, I am going back.
Espana: Madrid - Madrid really surprised me. I had this impression of a really stuck up place but I was pleasantly surprised. The women love their shoes (always a treat to watch), the train system is awesome, the sights are pretty, the city never sleeps and even at midnight, the buses and train stations are dominated with women almost always riding by their own, which probably means that the city is pretty safe. Food markets always please me (remind me of the mandis in India) and Mercado de San Miguel is a sight for sore eyes. Wander down those narrow alleyways and you would eat anywhere from a baklawa to padron peppers washing everything down with some freshly squeezed juice. A real treat! A walk down all the way from an ancient Egyptian temple to Retiro park and Madrid is now so familiar, so non-pretentious. Evening walks with a breeze through your hair, crowded streets at midnight, the best Indian food ever, I am taking a piece of Madrid with me for good.
Espana: Sevilla - It was like getting thrown out of a roller coaster into a moonlight boat ride, Madrid to Sevilla. It's so much more than meets the eye, this wonderful city. We were located in the historic district where the streets are narrow, the people are warm, and the alleyways have this sort of cool air blowing through them. Remind me of some streets in my village back home. Sevilla is a small city with a huge heritage. See the flamenco in Sevilla. So authentic, doesn't feel like a tourist trap, these dancers have been at this art for decades. The cathedral is pretty non-pretentious given its only the 3rd biggest basilica in Europe. It's grandeur makes me wonder the extreme extents to which man will go to build for a power that is unseen. Religion and the power it wields is more apparent in Europe more than anywhere else in the world. The lengths to which humans go to celebrate God. Beautiful nevertheless. The Alaczar is just as pretty with its beautiful Islamic style architecture all so well preserved! Moonlight walks to Plaza de Espana, the cool breeze, counting the bicycle lane markers as I balanced on them, Sevilla is going to remain etched in my memory.
Espana: Barcelona - Oh! What a transformation from quaint Sevilla! Right after I landed, I knew this city was going to be a party! There isn't much I can say that has not already been said about this wonderful city. What struck me most was how the city beautifully balances the old and the new, spewn with Gaudi's eccentricity along with modernistic influences, the city sure knows to adapt. This is one of those cities I can totally move to and love it. Not to mention, the futbol fervor makes me want to be one of them crazies!
As this trip draws to an end, my soul is filled with life-lessons, experiences that are priceless, people watching that is always so enriching. I wish I have, the health to travel for as long as I want to. I wish I have, the curiosity of a 10 year old, to learn and absorb and fill my life with journeys like this one. Miles to go, miles to go, before I sleep.
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