Cazorla

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to explore the Cazorla mountains and countryside near my home. We visited many small pueblos and explored to great outdoors in the most wonderful weather.

One of the very small pueblos that I really enjoyed was Iruela. There was a castle up and the top that made for some great pictures. Even though the sun was out and shining there was a lot of frost on the cobblestone roads which seemed like a bit of a hazard. The older community is much more active in Spain and I love seeing how connected the families are here. We saw several people walking about the streets using the hand rails to assist in the journey.

I just love how these pictures turned out. I am hoping to do some more exploring around the same area again come Spring.

The van from a local bakery was driving around honking the horn so that the people knew it was time to buy their bread. I have been adapting well to my new diet but I still do miss fresh baked bread!

Shortly after, we continued driving until we found an area to stop and explore some trails.

After all the walking I worked up an appetite. We snacked on a stuffed squash that I had prepared the night before. Then we headed to another pueblo to stop for some drinks and lunch. There is a lot of wildlife here so of course they offer a diverse menu with local features. I tried loin of boar and deer with a nice glass of Spanish red wine of course.

Afterwards, we continued our exploration.

Although typically I do not have a car to explore, there is so much here to do and see!! I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Poland

After missing my flight in Paris... I quickly found another, at a not so nice price, and arrived safely in Krakow for New Year's Eve. In our hostel there was a bar that had some activities for the evening and a kitchen so we could make some quick food. We took a nap and then got ready for the evening. Later we headed to the main plaza to see some fireworks and eat some delicious kielbasa. 

Our hostel was in the Jewish district in town. There is so much to see and do and this area and of course much history. Luckily most of the structures survived through WWII but it wasn't built up much afterwards until more recently.

We spent one day at Auschwitz and Birkenau (Auschwitz II). There are some things in life that the more you learn the less you seem to understand. This is one of those things. It was a sobering and enriching experience; one that I will never forget. There were originally three camps but because they destroyed one to cover up evidence only two remain. Below is the entrance of the first camp.

The first camp is much smaller than the second. Birkenau is where most of the mass murder took place including 1.1 million Jews. I was not sure what to expect during the tour and it included much more than I imagined. Our tour guide was wonderful.

This wall at the end is the execution wall.

Control was so very important, the windows in both of the buildings on either side are blacked out so that the executions could not be seen to other prisoners.

You may recognize this part of Birkenau or Auschwitz II from the film Schindler's List.

Below is a picture of one of the many gas chambers that were located underground. I actually stood in the middle of this chamber and later in the crematory. Words cannot describe how you feel during a moment like this... I find even writing about this to be difficult honestly.

Much of what still exists is rubble because the Nazis wanted to cover their track. Below is another gas chamber.

Auschwitz II is twenty five times the size of Auschwitz I. Many of the structures have not withstood time but you can see all the chimneys from where they stood.

That evening we arrived back late and made some dinner at the hostel. The weather was cold and snowy. The following days we ate many Polish delicacies to help keep us warm, such as delicious Perogis filled with many things.

We visited Schindler's Factory which is now a new museum about the history of Nazis in Poland.

Singer Bar

We climbed up to Wawel Castle.

Kazimierz is the name of the district we stayed in.

The plaza at Wawel Castle and of course some coffee. I was happily surprised to know that coffee to go is popular in Poland. This is NOT the case in Spain.

Again in the main plaza we returned to visit the Christmas Market!! We had some hot spiced wine and more kielbasa. Can you see the snow to my left?

Mary's Cathedral

KIELBASA!! We ate at this stand twice. It was sooooo good and it make me think of Dad :)

I am excited for the next adventure, although I am not sure where it will take me.

Paris and Versailles

After my Christmas celebration I was fortunate enough to do some traveling. My first stop was Paris to meet up with a friend. We stayed three nights and walked just about every street in Paris. The weather was pretty mild and we enjoyed quite a bit of sunshine. All over the city you can see the work of artists. I have heard so much about this city and did not expect to be much impressed but truly it took me by surprise.

 One thing that has been really neat about all my travels is seeing the buildings in which I studied in architecture classes at the University. The building below is one of the examples. If I hadn't of known it before I would have no idea what this strange structure is and in some ways reminds me of the EMP in Seattle. The Pompiduo houses more than a museum but it is the largest museum of national art in all of Europe. 

Of course we then went to see Notre Dame. The entrance is free and therefore the line is kept moving fast which was nice. With the use of my Spanish identity card and the fact that I am under 26 most all museums and attractions were free of charge!

Before visiting new places and cities I like to create a list of things that I would like to see. Some are obvious choices or about food but there are always some smaller things as well. On my list was the lover's bridge in Paris. This bridge over the Seine River is only one popular location of love locks in the world. They are often controversial because cities think it is not aesthetically pleasing but I think it is sweet. Some couples' names are engraved with a date and others are written in Sharpie.

Although the largest all stone structure and largest obelisk is located in Washington D.C. This Egyptian obelisk is still quite the site. It was originally located at the entrance of the Luxor Temple in Egypt.

We heard about a local American diner and Paris that is actually run by Americans and since both my friend and myself are living in the heart of Spain, a little American diner food sounded divine. Now I love Spanish food but sometimes you need a little bit of home and this did not disappoint.

This next picture is a little misleading. To make it through the long days of hours of walking in the cold we drank a lot of coffee. The reason I say this is misleading is because this is probably the only coffee we drank that wasn't from Starbucks. With this being said, I am always disappointed with the Starbucks abroad but maybe that is because I am a true Seattlite. Also there were some macaroons to enjoy, which are both well known in France and naturally gluten-free.

This coffee was because we were headed to the Louvre that evening and knew that we would be spending a few hours enjoying the history and art. We decided that in the evening there would be less people and also the entrance fee is lower. We had a few pages from a Rick Steves book that highlighted all of the major things to see and in which order which we found to be extremely useful. Of course we saw the infamous Mona Lisa.

Since we decided to go at night it was not ideal to take pictures outside but the following morning we returned. Here is Anna and I outside the Louvre with the pyramid.

My favorite museum in Paris was the Museum d'Orsay. It is located in an old train station which you can picture from this next shot.

Here at Charles de Gaulle roundabout, is I believe to be the busiest in the world. To cross the street we had to go underground of course.

The day we went to the Eiffel tower is was beautiful and quite warm. Truly picture perfect.

In contrast to the sunshine of earlier... the afternoon at the Basilica was enjoyable but cloudy.

Nearby we stopped for a crepe. This was not some ordinary place, it was gluten-free and phenomenal! I had a crepe with honey, goats cheese and walnuts.

Then we returned to the Basilica to check out the Christmas market, drink some hot spiced wine and go to the famous Montmartre square where you can find all the artists painting and drawing tourists.

Afterwards we went to the market to pick up some realn Champagne and a nice spread for dinner.

The last day we took a train headed to the Chateau of Versailles. It took us well over an hour to wait in the most extreme line and it was over crowded with people to the point of being miserable but never the less well worth it.

In summary, I recommend a visit to Paris!