Trip Recommendations

Lisbon:


Wander Alfama (the old district) for hours, getting lost down any and all little lanes. Unbelievable panoramic views.

Pensao Figueira Guesthouse (ask for a room facing the square).
Simply walk everywhere. The city is gorgeous, charming and in my opinion, magical.

Tona La Da Ca for dinner. Portuguese food at Portuguese prices. Wander into Bairro Alto and ask around. People will know what you’re talking about.

The Monastery in Belem. Vasco de Gama is buried there!

The real beauty is along the coastline. Rent a Smart Car from Ausocar (google it) for $30 a day and beach-hop for as long as you can. The Lagos to Lisbon route is beyond picturesque.


Madrid:

Eat, eat and eat!!!!

Museum of Ham (Museo de Jambon) gives you free ham with any drink (which are wildly affordable) and they do Sangria by the glass.

Momo has an amazing $15 3-course menu that was utterly divine. It is in the Checutera (sp?) district, just north of Plaza del Sol.

Helado (ice cream) anywhere.

Besides food, don’t miss the Reina Sofia (brilliant collection and brilliant curation). Touring the palace was also worth the wait and cost ($4). So over-the-top it’s no wonder Spain went bankrupt during its golden period. Also, make sure to stroll through the Parc Real in the east.

Last but not least, walk along Alfama and Gran Via at night. The Metropolis building at dusk is unrivaled for overall splendor not just in Madrid but, I would argue, almost anywhere.


Barcelona:

Barcelona is enormous, and the avenues are massive. I found it easy to navigate but less charming. It’s all about the destinations and hot-spots.

For food: Carmelitas for casual sandwiches (and a great ambiance), Dos Treces for modern Spanish food, Tres Hermanos for INCREDIBLE tapas and sangria and Wagaboo for fusion. It’s so modern.

For sites: Note that the Gaudi spots have long lines (over an hour) and are very expensive (as much as $15). Plan ahead and be sure to get there early. Don’t miss his tow homes, Parc Guell in the north and the Sagrada Familia (particularly amazing after 9pm with the lights on). Barcelonetta and the beaches offer some great people-watching, Las Ramblas and Old Town are the places to stroll and just take it all in and the fountains at Montjuic are simply extraordinary.

Hope that helps any of you on your quest through the Iberian Peninsula!

Also, cruise the entire Portuguese coast. Most. Beautiful. Coast. On. Earth.

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Kyle Taylor

Bike Rentals and Renewable Energy, Oh My!

For anyone who has been living under a rock and missed anything and everything about the economic crisis (and subsequent “rejuvenation” and “stabilization,” which are just the epitome of “buzz word,” it seems that every nation on Earth has placed “new Green technology” at the top of their list as to how we’re going to get out of the slump. “We’re going to be the World leader in green energy” comes to mind. While that would be super if the US is able to be the World leader, we may be living in that American bubble just a little too much at the moment.

All through southern Portugal the hilltops were dotted with wind turbines that now generate 5% of the nation’s power. Portugal is also building the world’s largest solar energy facility, which will deliver another 10%, making Portugal 15% renewable.

In Spain they’re already at 10% and apparently control the patents for about half of all existing technology! On top of that, the culture is just already much “greener.” For example, in Barcelona there are bike rentals at every metro stop called “Bicing.” For $30 a year you can get 30 minutes of biking free per day, then it’s just 30 cents for each 30 minutes after that.

Don’t even get me started on their rail networks. High-speed rail (faster than flying) now connects a majority of Western Europe. Where are we on this front? Approval was just given for a high-speed rail link from LA to San Fran and Buffalo to NYC. Completion date? 2015. Come on America. Let’s get moving! I firmly believe we can do it, but we’ve GOT to get our act together. Let’s continue to be that beacon on a hill, but lets power that beacon with wind and solar energy.

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Kyle Taylor

Jesus Is A Big Deal Here

As I am usually totally unaware of the date and time, it’s no surprise that I planned an entire trip to Spain - the second most-committed European Catholic nation - over Easter. Fortunately, Barcelona is somewhat of the “anti-Spain” in terms of progressiveness and so on, which meant not EVERYTHING was closed (the woman at a museum looked at me like I was insane when I asked about “special Easter hours” asking me, “what means special Easter? I don’t understand.” Even in the US things are closed on Easter). There were, however, two doozies in terms of life experiences.


The first came in the form of a Good Friday parade (Semana Santa) that was reenacting Jesus’ march to the cross. While Jesus was played by a statue, there were at least 100 people in the procession. Some were holding orbs, others were dragging crosses. The mayor of Barcelona and the bishop of Barcelona also took part. As it cruised down Las Ramblas (Barcelona’s main drag) literally THOUSANDS of people scurried to the line the streets and snap some pictures. I managed to get in front of the entire procession and get a few shots from inside the parade ground (there are very few rules to be seriously followed in Spain).


Naturally, I’m certain it’s my own cultural context and ignorance, but both Alyson and I were a bit taken aback by the pointy black KKK-esque hats everyone was sporting. It turns out the KK adopted their gear from the Catholic Church. You know, because they have so much in common?


The other Easter-related story has to do with the fact that Thursday through Tuesday was a “holiday” in Spain, so NO ONE was working, including the man who sells the butane necessary to heat water in the apartment. Yes, each apartment is in charge of its own natural gas supply (and I’ve heard stories from other Europeans who are under the same conditions). Well, we ran out Saturday night and couldn’t get more until Monday evening. Luckily - as Aditi pointed out - none of us could shower, so we sort-of shared in our own stench. Brave Alyson managed to wash her hair under the frigid conditions, but the rest of us - well - we smelled. Alas, you just have to embrace it, right? Right?

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Kyle Taylor

Gaudi Is Glorious

“Welcome to the home of the most brilliant genius who ever lived,” the audio tour proclaimed. This same message started every audio tour of a Gaudi exhibit in Barcelona. Clearly, Spain is a fan. While many of you may know of him, other might be learning of the World’s greatest genius for the first time, so I’ll explain. He was a really big deal at the turn of the century, completely revolutionizing art and architecture in a way that has yet to be repeated. From apartment buildings to parks to churches, Gaudi has left an important stamp on the city of Barcelona, the nation of Spain and the international world of art. Indeed, he is the greatest, most brilliant-est, most fantastic-est man that ever lived, and a huge part of our stay in Barcelona. We visited his apartment building, an estate he was commissioned to create, an unbelievable park set atop Barcelona and the Sagrada Familia, a church that would become his last work. He died suddenly in 1926 when he was hit by a tram. Note the colors, curves and genuine uniqueness of it all, then go visit and see it all for yourself!

























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Kyle Taylor

Team Barcelona

As we are in fact staying with friends of mine in Barcelona I thought it pertinent to introduce you to the cast of characters that make up Team Barcelona. Naturally, visiting team members include Alyson and myself. This is the two of us at Gaudi Park, Alyson embracing a palm tree and feeling bliss after siting a drag queen and me wearing Mariel’s Cornell track coat doing my best “Andy” impression.




Next there is Aditi - lady of all trades and overall amazing human being who entertained us with fantastic stories about family politics and playing favorites. Sorry Aditi’s sister, you will be not be a part of this blog entry, though I bet you would really like to. That’s another shot of Aditi with Alyson and I.



Next there’s Sarah, whose birthday somehow lasted for the duration of our stay in Barcelona, capped off with a delicious dinner at Wagaboo. “It’s fusion. So modern.”


Last but not least, there’s Mariel. She flies under the radar in Spain, teaching English and making sandwiches while hosting friends, rocking out and changing the butane tank in the apartment. Here she is with Matt (another teacher and cohort) and Sarah (the one whose birthday is seemingly always happening).


As a final tribute to the team, here is some of reenacting a weekend cafe experience where - during their coffee and sandwich bag session - a middle-aged man appeared, picked up a lawn chair and proceeded to THROW IT AT THE WINDOW just next to their table. As the glass did not break on the first attempt, he continued to throw objects, doing his best to cause mayhem. First more chairs then a table. Naturally, Matt and Sarah immediately got up and b-lined it to the other side of the cafe. Aditi, on the other hand, stayed seated. Why? “I have no idea,” she declared. While Aditi did eventually move, she realized moments later there was something incredibly important still in the area of the madman. What was it, you ask? A computer? Wallet? Cell phone? No, no and no. It was, in fact, her $20 coat from H&M. “We’ve all decided that in times of crisis, I am completely useless.” Fortunately for Aditi, in every other context she’s wonderful. Thanks again Team Barcelona!


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Kyle Taylor

Barce-WHOA-na

4:30am and the alarm is screeching. Time to get moving - places to go, people to see. By places, I mean Barcelona. By people, I mean the magnificent Alyson, who joined me from DC for 11 days of sites, sounds and laughs all the way from Washington, DC. As Lisbon is perfect, it took 10 minutes to get to the airport and another 10 to get to my gate, so all was ON TIME. I arrived on a micro-plane that - even with it’s petite size - still managed to let all of us know exactly where we stand in the word thanks to a curtain that divided the plane in half. “Please stay in your cabin,” they said over the loud speaker. Cabin? There are 10 rows on the plane!


Fortunately Alyson was early and waiting for me on a bench looking like she had just flown from America. “Are you tired,” I asked her. “I’m alright,” she said. What a trooper. After dropping our bags at base camp with Team Barcelona (you’ll meet them next time) we hit the city. Knowing the next few days were forecast with rain, we decided to plow the streets, get our bearings and see all the “outside” sites. Coffee stops would take place every few hours to keep Alyson artificially awake. And we were off! Even under clouds, the city retained its grandeur. The capital of Catalonia, Barcelona has hosted the Olympics, been home to some of the World’s most renowned artists and maintained its reputation as “Europe’s most chilled out city” for decades. We concur.

First it was through L’Eixample, where Spain’s burgeoning middle class built burgeoning wealthy housing to live in just north of Old Town. We passed Gaudi after Gaudi (more on him in a later edition), capping off with The Sagrada Familia - quite possibly the most beautiful church on earth.



We wandered gorgeous avenues, meandered through romantic parks (where I decided that every few minutes I would look deep into Alyson’s eyes and say to her, “You’re Pretty”). It’s still funny days later.


There was Las Ramblas, the “main drag” where it seemed everyone had congregated on this Good Friday (like the holy one, though it was a pretty great Friday in it’s own right). The Ramblas highlight has to have been the sample portrait of Shiloh Joli-Pitt, which was highlighting the work of one of the street artists. “Do people here even know who she is?” Alyson wondered.


The coffee stops came in all forms - tiny cafes, “chain” restaurants and yes, even in the glistening sun. Note the immediate increase in Alyson’s “happy” quotient as evidenced by that smile.



The city was capped off by Montjuic, where we made it just in time to see the music and water show, which incorporated nearly 50 fountains stretching down across nearly a quarter of a mile.



Of course no trip to Barcelona would be complete without a stop at the beach, where the freezing water found us sitting at a sand-laid cafe instead, admiring the adorable little girl who had stolen her Mom’s shoes and was doing what she could to hit the road. By the end of it all Alyson was understandably exhausted, so we had a quick [delicious] dinner and headed back to base camp, where Alyson proceeded to sleep for a solid 11 hours. Well done Langon. Well done.




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Kyle Taylor