I know that I am in Jordan now, but I figured it would be nice to summarize how I experienced Europe since most people would end in Europe over Jordan. This post is a little lengthy, but then again Europe does have so much. Europe was definitely an interesting continent to spend some time visiting. Sure that time did go by quick and was relatively short compared to other people who I met along the way; it still was a good chance for various reasons. Those reasons include meeting new people, seeing interesting places, visiting historical sites, and to see how language is a powerful tool. A brief look at the different countries I visited to include the various foods, and sites will show that even though Europe is one continent each place has its own personality.
My first stop on my European vacation was the country of the United Kingdom, and specifically the city of London. This was a good place to start because it allowed me to catch up sleep and not be jet lagged without really missing anything. Sure I did not go see a show or anything like that, but I felt like I visited the places that I wanted to see. The places were Big Ben (which is also where Parliament meets), Buckingham Palace, and Westminster Abbey. Overall it was neat to see Big Ben and how old looking that area of London looks, but right across the river there are brand new buildings and infrastructure. The contrast was neat to see. Food there was not that unique except for maybe the fresh croissants they had available for breakfast. Yes, I did eat some fish and chips too, but besides being a big portion there was nothing that special about this meal. Language there was interesting to hear the British ascent, and also to hear the various other languages being spoken. The other languages included French, Spanish, Dutch, and the Celtic dialects (Northern United Kingdom).
My next stop was Paris which was just a simple two hour train ride down to the city of the lights. This place I felt was very congested and was not one of the places I enjoyed that much. While there I did go to the Louvre, Eifel Tower, Notre Dame, and Sacre Coeur. The Louvre was neat to see the various pieces of history, and Mona Lisa even though does draw a crowd is not the best piece there. Not sure which one I liked the best, and that probably has to do with the fact that I have not been into art that much. Eifel tower was real neat to see and right there on the lawn below the Eifel tower it seems really big, but in reality the other Paris buildings do cover it up from a distance. The Notre Dame was a huge church and so far on the trip was the neatest to see. The food in Paris was pretty good including the crepes which every little vendor is making fresh anytime of the day. Plus their Panini sandwiches were quite feeling and each place had a good variety. Overall I mainly heard French being spoken, which I feel is one of the harder languages to pick up.
Next destination was the country of Spain which I was able to visit a lot of smaller towns in Spain. First stop was San Sebastian which is right on the border of France and Spain. I stopped here because I had been traveling for about twenty hours via train to get that far from Paris, and plus San Sebastian is on the ocean. Stayed there for two nights watching how the locals and tourists stayed up all night it seemed like just hanging out eating tapas and visiting. Tapas are simply a bunch of appetizers that every establishment serves in the night time, and people go from one place to another eating the various types of food. It was good to spend a day at the ocean and beach because the fact that it was my first chance to get out of the big cities. Next stop was Bilbao, Spain which was about an hour and a half bus ride from San Sebastian. Bilbao is originally a mining town so it is situated between these mountains, so the bus ride was neat to see the mountain area. It pretty much was green vegetation the whole way, with various fields, and every once in a while could see the ocean. At Bilbao I stayed one night there and was there to go see the gran semana. This is basically the towns yearly festival where everybody goes downtown during the night and celebrates there independence with concerts, drinking, and visiting. When I say the whole town it was the whole town. Next stop was Oviedo, Spain which I had not planned on staying there, but I could not get on a train to Portugal until the next day. So here I basically walked around near the train station, and that is where I bought a new suitcase because the fact that my first one did not have any wheels left. I than went onto Portugal, but I will finish talking about Spain now. Ended up not staying a night in Madrid, but I did have about a seven hour wait for a train so I did leave the station and walked around. It seems like a pretty modern city and ultimately I ended up at the local soccer stadium. I thought that would be the closest I would come to watch a futbol game, but I was wrong and that is how I ended up in Barcelona. Barcelona was right before I went over to Italy via ferry, and my main purpose to visit Barcelona was to see the futbol match. It was a good game for the home team (F.C. Barcelona) who ended up beating the visiting team of Vill a Real. That was neat to see the full stadium to go crazy for their team, and no one left early. The way out to the metro was a huge crowd of people, and also the Metro itself we were packed in like sardines. The next day I walked around visiting Barcelona and did see La gran Familia. It was a neat site to visit with construction still happening on the very detailed church. The food throughout Spain was different depending on the region I visited. Paella in the Bosque country was not as good as in Barcelona. The tapas overall were pretty good, and a good lunch was the bocadilla. Spain was fun to communicate to the locals because the fact that I understood them, and for the most part they understood me. There Spanish is not like Mexico’s Spanish and a comparison I heard that does make sense is that Spain’s Spanish is like Great Britains English when compared to U.S. English. Basically it is really proper. Another neat aspect of Spain which I did notice in every city whether it was small or big was the fact that family is really important. One way that I noticed this is the fact that there were a lot of parks throughout the neighborhoods. Sure we do have this in Arizona, but there were a lot more parks, and every evening they were full of kids playing. Since the kids are playing that means the parents/adults are around talking and catching up with how everyone is doing.
So before making it to Barcelona I did travel from Madrid, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal. Out of all the places I visited this was the best city I was able to visit. Lisbon itself is not on the ocean thanks to these outer pieces of land, but there is a big river that runs along Lisbon which eventually makes its way to the Ocean. In Lisbon I visited the Ocenario (aquarium) which was set up pretty neat showing each of the different oceans. Plus they did have a sea turtle exhibit with some pretty big sea turtles. Near the Ocenario it is basically these huge buildings where big conferences and events can occur and also a big mall. So this area was a pretty nice area, and did not represent the whole of Lisbon. I took the local bus out to the Ocenario (it was about a fourty minute ride) from where I was staying. This allowed me to see how different the neighborhoods were throughout Lisbon when it came to the nice and the not so nice. The next day I took a thirty minute train out to Cais Cais where the beach and the ocean are located. Nice area and in fact walked quite a ways away from the beach along the coastline and came across this real neat cove. Could not swim there but the water had eaten out a big chunk of the rock and made it into a neat formation. The beach was a nice beach and was a little busy, but I was there on a Saturday so all the locals were out there too. The water was a little cold but not as bad as California waters, and it seemed like there was less amount of salt in the water. Within Portugal I visited an old castle that was used to defend against invaders along the coast line. Plus walked quite a ways to this statue looking monument that is the most photographed object in Lisbon. This statue monument piece had some nice detail in the people that were carved into it. I enjoyed Portugal so much because I felt like it was an international city. This city brought together many cultures from various places. The main language in Portugal is Portuguese, but I heard English, Spanish, French, and even Italian. There was a lot more to do in Lisbon itself and throughout Portugal (including scuba diving) but I was on a time limit and I had to make it to Rome on a certain date.
Last and final country I visited was Italy. Particularly I stayed in the Rome area. Rome has a lot of history there and is one of the first major cities in the world. I visited the Vatican which included St. Peter’s Cathedral, the square, and the Vatican Museum. St. Peter’s Cathedral was gigantic and the best church that I saw on the whole trip. Vatican Museum did have a lot of neat things, but the most famous thing was a bit of a letdown. Yep, I thought there were a lot better items than the Sistine Chapel. I guess it could be because of the particular artist is the reason it is so famous. The next day I visited my last beach in Europe for some time. Since Rome is not on the coast I took another train ride out to a beach by the name of Cristofer Columbo. This beach was unique because the fact that the sand was more of a black color and not a typical white or brown color. The water itself was warmer than in Spain, but not as warm as Puerto Penansco or San Carlos. Last day in Rome was spent seeing the Pantheon, Roman Forum, and Colleseoum. The Roman forum is basically a bunch of torn down monuments and old buildings, but was interesting to think that it used to be a grand city. The Colleseoum was real neat to see and overall the best old site that I visited. Even though pieces are missing it was still really big. Sure this place was basically used for entertainment and a lot of people were killed there it was still an outstanding place to visit. In Rome the food was real good. I have already described how the pizza was bought but even the lasagna and pasta was good too. The language in Italy is Italian, but within Rome there are a lot of English speakers. This is probable due to the fact that tourism is so big there and giving tours is a good way to make money.
Overall Europe was a neat place to visit and experience. It seems like for Europeans language is not that hard to learn. I say this because the younger generations were usually at minimum trilingual and some knew even more. I guess it could be that the United States is so big and our main language is English, while in Europe it is big but each little country had their own language. Plus it does not take that long to travel between the countries to be able to use all the various languages. Now I am currently in Amman, Jordan where there main language is Arabic. Which that is the reason I am here to learn this language. My next post I will describe how orientation went and what my host family is like.
Good bye, au revoir, adios, tchau, ciao.
No comments:
Post a Comment