CERN

11/9/2013 - Geneva, Switzerland

With little time in Geneva, I woke up early for a stroll along the lake. As I reached the lake, I saw a street commemorating Woodrow Wilson, then headed up a hill to a few of the international buildings. First were two UN buildings: UNHCR and the UN's European headquarters itself (formerly the seat of the League of Nations). Past the UN buildings, I saw the headquarters for the Red Cross.

The main event for the day was a tour of CERN, the Center for European Nuclear Research (the acronym works in French). Our tour guide showed us a few videos and the control room above the Large Hadron Collider. We heard abut the Higgs boson. Many of the tourists with me asked complicated questions about experimental subatomic physics to our tour guide, and I was impressed that he could answer them. Last, in a small museum with artifacts from CERN's research, I saw one of the first servers for the world wide web.

Pictured: View of desks for the ATLAS experiment at CERN.

Notre Dame

11/8/2013 - Paris

I sat for a mass in French at Notre Dame. I don't know the language well enough to know what was going on, but the Catholic mass has the same rhythm everywhere. During the mass, tourists walked along the edges of the cathedral. After mass, I joined them, seeing the statue of Joan of Arc, the chapel of Saint Genevieve, etc. I even bought a commemorative coin celebrating the 850th anniversary of the cathedral.

Outside, it was surprisingly easy to get away from the tourists. I walked to a park named for Pope John XXIII and around the back of the cathedral. From there, I crossed to the island where the old blue blooded Parisians live: Ile Saint-Louis. I walked along the Ile Saint-Louis and Notre Dame's island before heading for an overnight trip to Geneva.

Pictured: Notre Dame, viewed from the Ile Saint-Louis.

Bookquest: Paris, France

11/8/2013 - Shakespeare and Company

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

There are countless options for books about Paris. I had a few in mind when I reached Shakespeare and Company and discovered new ones inside. I chose a back-up plan, even if it's a cliche. Hemingway's A Moveable Feast is the book where he wrote: “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”

Shakespeare and Company was one of the best bookstores of the trip. In addition to a great selection of English language books downstairs, the upstairs is a lounge where visitors can sit and read the store's collection of old books (not for sale). The bookstore is catered to tourists, but still manages to stay classy and casual.

Bon Soir Paris

11/7/2013 - Paris

I planned to give me the best first impression. At the Place de la Concorde, I got a baguette and walked down the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. There was a surprise for me: I didn't knowit was big enough to go inside, let alone to climb to the top. I did both. Then, I walked to the Eiffel Tower, met some Americans at the top, and had a glass of champagne. I saw even more of the city, including Notre Dame.

I'm on the last leg of my trip, and it's a good thing. My phone, iPad, and other things were stolen, so it has been a bit more challenging. Fortunately, I've learned a few things along the way. In Europe, streets change names along the way. My hotel's street name changed at least once before I reached it. Stuff like that.

Pictured: The Eiffel Tower

Gaudi Town

11/5/2013 - Barcelona, Spain

After yesterday's Park Güell, I saw two more places designed by Gaudi. The first was La Pedrera, an apartment building designed by the Spanish architect. Its rooftop is pretty remarkable. Like much of yesterday's park, it has a very curved and modernist design. The second place I visited, Sagrada Familia, was outstanding and a highlight of the trip. I didn't know what to expect: a friend from my tour group in Turkey gave it her highest recommendation, and I went without reading any descriptions of it. It was nice to go in blind, it made it all the more interesting when I arrived.

In the afternoon, I visited a post office to ship some of my bookquest books back home. I finally had a chance to use my Spanish, translating for a girl from Singapore who needed to know if she needed air mail stamps to mail something home from Barcelona. Later I took a stroll down La Rambla to the beach and around the park of Barceloneta.

Pictured: A glimpse between two chimneys on La Pedrera's rooftop

Bookquest: Barcelona, Spain

11/5/2013 - BCN Books

No Word from Gurb by Eduardo Mendoza

I picked up No Word from Gurb. The back cover made it sound like a silly story about aliens in Barcelona. Later in the day, a local saw that I was carrying the book and asked me, "Is that Eduardo Mendoza in English?" I said yes, and he said "That's one of my favorite books. I didn't know it was translated into English." He told me it was like Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Sounds promising.

The bookstore, BCN, had a good, up-to-date selection of contemporary and classic fiction. I'm not sure how large their selection of Spanish books translated into English is. They were included among the rest of the fiction, so I had to look for Spanish-sounding names. I scanned a few others before picking up No Word from Gurb, so it's probably a pretty decent selection.

They Speak Catalan

11/4/2013 - Barcelona, Spain

Before going out in Barcelona, I met my new roommates at the hostel (thankfully, my last hostel of the trip). They're Colombians, studying English in Malta, just visiting Barcelona for one night. I asked them, "Don't they speak Maltese in Malta?" They said "Yes, sometimes." I also tried speaking Spanish with them, which I thought would be good practice for speaking with the locals. But it turns out the locals speak mostly Catalan. 

In the late afternoon, I trekked up to the Gaudi-designed Park Güell. One of the first things I saw in the park was graffiti on the walls that said, in English, "TOURISTS GO HOME." There was an "anarchy" symbol underneath. Around the park, there was a fair amount of leftist graffiti: hammer and sickle, "No Nazis," that sort of thing. Along with the graffiti, all the motorcyclists riding up and down the streets reminded me of the movie Barcelona. It's a good movie, but I wasn't expecting today's Barcelona to be much like that. Anyway, the park was very nice. 

Pictured: Park Güell in Barcelona

Avignon Bridge

11/3/2013 - Avignon, France

In Avignon, I saw the two big historic sights: its bridge and the papal palace that was used when the Popes were away from Rome. The bridge is famous throughout France. It is popular from a children's song, like London Bridge. The audio guide tour played the song in six styles: Indian, reggae, country, acid jazz, bossa nova, and "berbere." I had it in my head most of the day.

The papal palace felt more like an impressive medieval fortification than a religious building. It's huge, and older than most of the buildings in the Vatican. It sits in an old plaza with surrounding restaurants and small shops. I stopped for lunch and ordered the plate of the day. My waiter didn't know how to translate it: "It's like pork. No, not pork. It's like veal, but younger." 

Pictured: View of the Pont St-Benezet bridge in Avignon, with the papal palace behind it.

Aix and Blast Furnace

11/2/2013 - Marseille, France

I spent the morning in Aix-en-Provence and the evening in Marseille. In Aix, I ate at a cafe where Paul Cezanne and Emile Zola used to hang out. From there, I walked through the old town: down the Cours Mirabeau and into the Vieil Aix. I stopped in a couple artsy shops along the way. Pretty nice, but expensive.

After returning to Marseille, I visited a cultural center called La Friche La Belle de Mai in an industrial part of the city. The complex has been converted from factories into a skate-boarding park, a huge rooftop public art space, smaller art studios, music and film halls, and more. It was a nice surprise; didn't know what I would find in Marseille.

Pictured: The "blast furnace" sculpture in La Friche's panorama

Two Wealthy Cities

11/1/2013 - Monte Carlo, Monaco

Wearing my most stylish clothes, I spent the day in two wealthy cities: Monte Carlo, Monaco and Cannes, France. I spent more of the day around Monte Carlo, starting at the royal palace, then the gardens, the aquarium, the harbor, a restaurant near the casino for lunch (octopus), and finally into the casino.

Cannes was a quick trip. I walked the beach and saw the "Palais des Festivals et des Congres," where the Cannes Film Festival takes place. The beach has its own Walk of Fame, with handprints of famous actors and directors (I remember seeing Peter Verhoeven, Sharon Stone, Pedro Almodovar, Dennis Hopper). Golden palms are seen throughout the city: apparently it goes back to the city's coat of arms, not just to the film festival.

Pictured: View of Monaco while walking to the royal palace