Barcelona is one of my favorite cities in the world. It has a remarkable amount to show off. A beautiful mix of new, old and older and art is interwoven in the various cracks and crevices, on the streets, the walls, in the museums, parks and sometimes it is the buildings themselves.
We got lost right away, but after that I took Krystin to Las Ramblas, the main celebratory (and tourist) strip. On one side of the street the roads lead to the gothic quarter, on the other side within blocks to the large hill that overlooks Barcelona (and is home to the Olympic stadium) the road its self leads to the harbor on one end with a pillar topped by a statue of Christopher Columbus pointing west and at the other end to the main square of Barcelona. As if that weren’t grand enough they have added in to the harbor a strip of man made land that houses an IMAX theater, a mall, an aquarium, and several dance clubs. Along the street of Las Ramblas are bird cages, street performers, flower sellers, artists, and more. Lining the street are hostels, restaurants, clubs, and tourist stores.
Me and Krystin got in a fight (a reoccurring theme) so we didn’t spend much time together in Barcelona… but I went to two bars, talked to an Englishman and an Australian about life and comedy, went to Park Guell where I saw central or south American dancers perform in bright colored costumes, La Sagrada Familia Cathedral where two bronze painted street performers acted like biblical character statues and gave out crosses to those who gave them money, watched skate boarders wearing hip hop skater gear and grunge skater gear (clothing styles looked like early 90s and late 90s “skate wear”), Saw a statue of little red riding hood and a wolf, saw an anarchist/activist house with the words in English “resist” painted on, another street performer dressed like bill the kid (American cowboys), African art for sale, an animals rights protest, a stencil of MR T painted on several walls, other stencils of Bush and bombs painted on the walls as well as graffiti that said “fuck cops” in English…
The Imax showed American films, but for far more money than an American theater, the mall had a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream store in it, the night clubs (from pervious experience) had 4 different types of music, 1 rock, 1 american country, 1 salsa and latin, 1 techno.
English is very commonly spoke in the tourist section of Barcelona, at one point I ran in to a group of college ages guys (all American) singing their school song (all drunk).
Prostitutes and drug dealers proposition people in English first. Many of the street performers are not Spanish but live there (seen them multiple times on various visits).
Most of the restaurants are catered to Americans and other foreign tastes. I think there was even a new sushi restaurant in a mall on Las Ramblas.
I tend to like getting lost in Barcelona, so I did that a few times on my way to other places, and some interesting things I found was the economic level seems to drop the further you get away from the main area… (if still in the city) when you exit the main city and go to parts of the suburbs –it seems very similar to the US, where you wont see a car dealership in the middle of downtown, but you will in the suburbs.
The stores seem a little bit more run down in certain areas, and it is clear that tourists don’t do there often…
I went to several 1 Euro stores, all run by Chinese people in Barcelona, and it reminded me of what Pietro had said about cheap goods being brought in by the Chinese. (I tend to buy socks and art supplies).
Another interesting thing, noticed both on this trip and others, is that in Spain one of the national foods is Paella, and they seem to have a standard picture regardless of what else the restaurant sells. (the marketing company did a really good job of getting to many different businesses.)
Tapas is a Spanish tradition, but in central Barcelona seems to be mainly enjoyed by wealthy people out on the town for the night. Many of the bars seemed especially fancy, the people would wear nice clothes etc.
We ended up at a pub called Manchester I think, and the Englishman I was with, did not seem to think it was very English-like…
Barcelona is very much an international city, loved by Europeans and others alike. It has a very welcoming attitude regardless of what you are looking for. It provides comfortable settings that Americans can relate to, and seems to even use those American themes to welcome others (country bar, little red riding hood, cowboys, English language) topped off by a statue connecting Spain to America through an Italian on top of a column.
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Madrid
In Madrid me and Krystin went to a couple of art museums, checked out a number of parks, town squares, statues, restaurants, department stores and churches.
El Corte Ingles is Spain’s response to the department store. It is interesting that the name translates to the English Court, when it is such a dominant Spanish department store. The stores are usually found in different buildings (taking up an entire building) but similar to department stores in malls that might have a “mens and home” building and another building for “women” or something.. Often each store contains a variety of sections including: clothes, house hold goods, groceries, electronics, cds and movies, make up and perfume, etc etc. As is usually the case in many Spanish cities (speaking from previous experience) the Madrid El Corte Ingles are located near the central square, Plaza Del Sol, and the buildings are on various corners near the center.
I decided I needed a towel. So we checked out the various buildings, we also checked out their entertainment cd and movies sections and spent a lot of time listening to various cds. These stores are set up similar to many cd stores that have headphones you can listen to certain cds on. The sections were divided in to popular categories, but had a distinct Spanish section and then a various international section, however the American artists were often in both, or in various categories around the store… seeming to cross over at will.
The store itself looks like a replica of many American department stores, and besides the language it would be hard to tell apart.
We ate at a number of restaurants, Krystin had developed a taste for Kebabs (gyros) and we frequented a place near our hostel called Istanbul. This restaurant was set up similar to a Mcdonalds, only their primary food was kebab meat rather than hamburgers, other than that, you could get coke, fries, etc. The seating was plastic booths. The pictures on the wall were of various places in Istanbul –but they were prints, and even had some of the same ones repeated throughout the store. Later we saw another Istanbul restaurant, and found out it was a chain of fast food kebab places.
Another night Kyrstin really wanted to find a fun bar, but we couldn’t find any (odd) and ended up at a TGI Fridays. One interesting thing was that they had different food on the menu, didn’t know how to special order, did not have any one who spoke good English, and didn’t seem to serve many American customers… they did however have American film memorabilia and American quotes and slogans all over the walls in English. The waiter was a black man and wore a funny cowboy hat. They served Krystin nachos (a tex-mex food) and electric lemonade. I had coke… this was a bizarre taste of American life in Madrid.
Spanish bars, usually consist of men standing at a bar in a small room. Sometimes they have tapas. We did not try any authentic Spanish food I don’t think.
The museums were obviously amazing (my second time to both) my brother had visited me during my first time in Madrid, and went to one of them twice in that 2-3 days we were there… on that trip my brother and I ate at a “Japanese” fast food restaurant, where you point to the food you want and they microwave it or something… we also ate at a Spanish buffet that served a mix of American Chinese and Spanish food. Paella, fried rice and white rice… it was interesting.
Outside of one of the museums, I saw a man doing street paintings. Oil paint on tile.
One of the interesting parks in Madrid, has an Egyptian temple in it. This temple was stolen (I believe) from Egypt and recreated in the park in Madrid.
Another interesting thing I saw was a Church of Scientology. I really wanted to go inside, but wasn’t sure if they would speak English.
All in all, me and Krystin did a number of the tourist things, but found some of the random non Spanish things were more interesting. A mix of American culture transformed in to Spanish style.
I included a conversation on the blog.
El Corte Ingles is Spain’s response to the department store. It is interesting that the name translates to the English Court, when it is such a dominant Spanish department store. The stores are usually found in different buildings (taking up an entire building) but similar to department stores in malls that might have a “mens and home” building and another building for “women” or something.. Often each store contains a variety of sections including: clothes, house hold goods, groceries, electronics, cds and movies, make up and perfume, etc etc. As is usually the case in many Spanish cities (speaking from previous experience) the Madrid El Corte Ingles are located near the central square, Plaza Del Sol, and the buildings are on various corners near the center.
I decided I needed a towel. So we checked out the various buildings, we also checked out their entertainment cd and movies sections and spent a lot of time listening to various cds. These stores are set up similar to many cd stores that have headphones you can listen to certain cds on. The sections were divided in to popular categories, but had a distinct Spanish section and then a various international section, however the American artists were often in both, or in various categories around the store… seeming to cross over at will.
The store itself looks like a replica of many American department stores, and besides the language it would be hard to tell apart.
We ate at a number of restaurants, Krystin had developed a taste for Kebabs (gyros) and we frequented a place near our hostel called Istanbul. This restaurant was set up similar to a Mcdonalds, only their primary food was kebab meat rather than hamburgers, other than that, you could get coke, fries, etc. The seating was plastic booths. The pictures on the wall were of various places in Istanbul –but they were prints, and even had some of the same ones repeated throughout the store. Later we saw another Istanbul restaurant, and found out it was a chain of fast food kebab places.
Another night Kyrstin really wanted to find a fun bar, but we couldn’t find any (odd) and ended up at a TGI Fridays. One interesting thing was that they had different food on the menu, didn’t know how to special order, did not have any one who spoke good English, and didn’t seem to serve many American customers… they did however have American film memorabilia and American quotes and slogans all over the walls in English. The waiter was a black man and wore a funny cowboy hat. They served Krystin nachos (a tex-mex food) and electric lemonade. I had coke… this was a bizarre taste of American life in Madrid.
Spanish bars, usually consist of men standing at a bar in a small room. Sometimes they have tapas. We did not try any authentic Spanish food I don’t think.
The museums were obviously amazing (my second time to both) my brother had visited me during my first time in Madrid, and went to one of them twice in that 2-3 days we were there… on that trip my brother and I ate at a “Japanese” fast food restaurant, where you point to the food you want and they microwave it or something… we also ate at a Spanish buffet that served a mix of American Chinese and Spanish food. Paella, fried rice and white rice… it was interesting.
Outside of one of the museums, I saw a man doing street paintings. Oil paint on tile.
One of the interesting parks in Madrid, has an Egyptian temple in it. This temple was stolen (I believe) from Egypt and recreated in the park in Madrid.
Another interesting thing I saw was a Church of Scientology. I really wanted to go inside, but wasn’t sure if they would speak English.
All in all, me and Krystin did a number of the tourist things, but found some of the random non Spanish things were more interesting. A mix of American culture transformed in to Spanish style.
I included a conversation on the blog.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Vienna Austria
It was my second time in Vienna, I went with Krystin and we happened upon a fellow traveler that we had previously met in Geneva. We stayed at a well known hostel called Wombats in Vienna, the hostel was started by Australian backpackers, a sort of tribute to the earlier backpackers who made their way through Europe without fancy hostels and what not… and yet Wombats is just that, a fancy hostel with a bar, security cookie cutter rooms with bunks and lockers.
The place had a friendly staff who were helpful to travelers who wanted to see things about town that might not be in the tourist books, music clubs, dance clubs, bars, cafes, and what not.
This trip to Vienna was the first time I used the Vienna Metro system which has three to four lines. Krystin was assuming that she would be coming back with her parents a few weeks later, so she was reluctant to do anything expensive, I was too cuz I’m cheap. A city with so much to see, and I have barely been to a few of the sites.
The majority of our time was spent walking down one of the main streets Mariahilfer Strasse, the street leads (2 miles or so) through a heavily commercialized area, past a few churches but basically is store after store until you get to the center of Vienna (where all the museums, palaces, opera house, etc are)
It was freezing cold out while we were there, and snowed heavily the second day.
Along with Matt our follow traveler we spent some time getting kebabs (a conversation is included on feb 27 http://mhaggartrips.blogspot.com/)
We also checked out many stores, including a 1 euro store, an English book store, and a McDonalds to warm up.
The English Book store seemed to orient itself to more intellectual topics and was for British rather than American audiences –indicated by spelling of words, phrases, and topics in the store.
The 1 euro store, now a norm for us, contained many of the same old cheap items, foreign made, I think I bought a key chain, but they also sold some higher price items like gloves and hats and the weather was letting us we needed them.
The McDonalds was one of the more interesting restaurants I had see, they seemed to have stylized decorations including some rather beautiful and very colorful paintings on the walls.
In the Museumquartier we went to a modern art museum, that had many Schiele hand drawings and a movie in German about Gustav Klimt, though I couldn’t understand the language I watched the movie for about 45 minutes and it was really fascinating to see his struggles with the University of Austria, his controversial paintings and influence on the Viennese intellectuals.
Krystin, Matt and I compared notes on what we liked at the museum before heading back.
Due to the weather Krystin and I spent a lot of time in doors, doing homework and watching the Austrian version of MTV, I was fascinated by the differences in the music videos, many incorporated special effects that Americans think of as “cheesy” (80s style).
The channel seemed to switch in and out of English, as many of the artists spoke a variety of languages, and it seemed that often times the language the host and the band would have to use to communicate was English.
Also in the hostel was a list of funny misquotes that had been collected from around the world of foreigners trying to use English and ending up saying something rather different. For instance one said, “Is forbidden to steal hotel towels please. If you are not a person to do such a thing is please not to read notis.” Many seemed to use direct translation which screws up the context.
Also while in Vienna me and Krystin found several shops where tourist items were sold, but the shops themselves were not the sort of overwhelming flashy tourist gear that we found elsewhere, but rather seemingly very proud nationalistic shops, where the history and culture of the city and country were presented, music, food, art, etc. These weren’t placed to goof around they were to be respected. –it just seemed interesting how proud and respectful the people were of their cultural tradition, that even when selling commercial souvenirs they had a sense of respectful responsibility to the items…
We also came upon a holocaust memorial consisting of statues that seemed to be trying to show the horror and chaos of the war, and the treatment of the people. The statues were not in a very grand location they popped up out of nowhere sort of one more statue in an area of statues but unlike the majestic mythological figures depicted in the others, these showed anguish and terror. Sort of moving but more creepy, than sorrowful.
I spent 8 euros to get wireless internet in a Starbucks coffee shop on the last day so that I could turn in my homework.
I think in general Vienna has a really nice mixture of new and old, but it is sort of jumbled together. The center of town, is surrounded by parks and modern commercial stores. The back alleys have more traditional stores, wine shops, cheese shops, wooden trinkets and things. The Modern stores are also an interesting mix of American and non American. The Mcdonalds, Pizza Hut, StarBucks mixed in with Viennese versions of similar places, the fast food fish restaurant (german/Austrian) Nordsee, the British book store, the kebab shops, the street vendors with their normal winter assortment of roasted chestnuts, pretzels, cider, hotdogs and small sandwiches.
The people look like city dwellers, the churches stand out in-between stores but don’t look very active.
The place had a friendly staff who were helpful to travelers who wanted to see things about town that might not be in the tourist books, music clubs, dance clubs, bars, cafes, and what not.
This trip to Vienna was the first time I used the Vienna Metro system which has three to four lines. Krystin was assuming that she would be coming back with her parents a few weeks later, so she was reluctant to do anything expensive, I was too cuz I’m cheap. A city with so much to see, and I have barely been to a few of the sites.
The majority of our time was spent walking down one of the main streets Mariahilfer Strasse, the street leads (2 miles or so) through a heavily commercialized area, past a few churches but basically is store after store until you get to the center of Vienna (where all the museums, palaces, opera house, etc are)
It was freezing cold out while we were there, and snowed heavily the second day.
Along with Matt our follow traveler we spent some time getting kebabs (a conversation is included on feb 27 http://mhaggartrips.blogspot.com/)
We also checked out many stores, including a 1 euro store, an English book store, and a McDonalds to warm up.
The English Book store seemed to orient itself to more intellectual topics and was for British rather than American audiences –indicated by spelling of words, phrases, and topics in the store.
The 1 euro store, now a norm for us, contained many of the same old cheap items, foreign made, I think I bought a key chain, but they also sold some higher price items like gloves and hats and the weather was letting us we needed them.
The McDonalds was one of the more interesting restaurants I had see, they seemed to have stylized decorations including some rather beautiful and very colorful paintings on the walls.
In the Museumquartier we went to a modern art museum, that had many Schiele hand drawings and a movie in German about Gustav Klimt, though I couldn’t understand the language I watched the movie for about 45 minutes and it was really fascinating to see his struggles with the University of Austria, his controversial paintings and influence on the Viennese intellectuals.
Krystin, Matt and I compared notes on what we liked at the museum before heading back.
Due to the weather Krystin and I spent a lot of time in doors, doing homework and watching the Austrian version of MTV, I was fascinated by the differences in the music videos, many incorporated special effects that Americans think of as “cheesy” (80s style).
The channel seemed to switch in and out of English, as many of the artists spoke a variety of languages, and it seemed that often times the language the host and the band would have to use to communicate was English.
Also in the hostel was a list of funny misquotes that had been collected from around the world of foreigners trying to use English and ending up saying something rather different. For instance one said, “Is forbidden to steal hotel towels please. If you are not a person to do such a thing is please not to read notis.” Many seemed to use direct translation which screws up the context.
Also while in Vienna me and Krystin found several shops where tourist items were sold, but the shops themselves were not the sort of overwhelming flashy tourist gear that we found elsewhere, but rather seemingly very proud nationalistic shops, where the history and culture of the city and country were presented, music, food, art, etc. These weren’t placed to goof around they were to be respected. –it just seemed interesting how proud and respectful the people were of their cultural tradition, that even when selling commercial souvenirs they had a sense of respectful responsibility to the items…
We also came upon a holocaust memorial consisting of statues that seemed to be trying to show the horror and chaos of the war, and the treatment of the people. The statues were not in a very grand location they popped up out of nowhere sort of one more statue in an area of statues but unlike the majestic mythological figures depicted in the others, these showed anguish and terror. Sort of moving but more creepy, than sorrowful.
I spent 8 euros to get wireless internet in a Starbucks coffee shop on the last day so that I could turn in my homework.
I think in general Vienna has a really nice mixture of new and old, but it is sort of jumbled together. The center of town, is surrounded by parks and modern commercial stores. The back alleys have more traditional stores, wine shops, cheese shops, wooden trinkets and things. The Modern stores are also an interesting mix of American and non American. The Mcdonalds, Pizza Hut, StarBucks mixed in with Viennese versions of similar places, the fast food fish restaurant (german/Austrian) Nordsee, the British book store, the kebab shops, the street vendors with their normal winter assortment of roasted chestnuts, pretzels, cider, hotdogs and small sandwiches.
The people look like city dwellers, the churches stand out in-between stores but don’t look very active.
Florence
A good deal of the education we got in Florence was from Krystin’s family friend Pietro, both of us wrote about the conversations we had with him, so this will be limited to what we did in Florence.
Mainly we were in the heart of the city, where the tourists hang out.
I have been to Florence but never paid for much of the tourist sites. The Statue of David for instance is a fairly expensive ticket, especially considering there are 2 exact replicas in other parts of the city for free… (of course this will never be the same thing, but eh…)
Florence is usually swamped with tourists. It was sort of cold when we were there but we were very open to buying gelato (Italian ice cream) which is much better than American ice cream. We walked around the city for two days basically. Looking at the sites, shopping a little. Krystin spent a while looking at a pair of boots one night. We also had to pick up our tickets for the bus company that we were going to use.
Italy, especially the north is very fashion conscious, so I spent a lot of time looking at the people, young and old with their tight pants jackets and matching sun glasses. A number of school groups were visiting one of the tourist sites, probably the cathedral and I watched them talk on their cell phones, eat ice cream etc. It was interesting to note the way they had different styles as far as fashion- the “alternative” kids had piercings and oddly cut hair, often with different lengths or different colors. There were also groups with more high class fashion…like what we would associate with name brand Gap or Abercrombie etc. but these styles did not keep the kids from socially interacting with each other, the types of style expressions seemed acknowledged but not to the point of shunning anyone. (somewhat different than in the United States). I think when it comes down to it, many western Europeans get caught up in fashion but I didn’t see it being something that separates the people, or perhaps its more like as long as you are expressing a style with enough emphasis then its ok, but you have to put effort in to a style…
As far as American fashions, I really am not up to date or observant enough to know what would be fashionable. I often recognized American stores, but the merchandise often seemed catered to European trends. In Northern Italy and parts of France where fashion is especially highlighted, the most expensive stores are always Italian or French designers, where as American stores tend to sell more basic plain clothes.
The one recent trend in European clothing store that is an exception to the high price market would be “hip hop clothes”. I had never seen a hip hop clothes store in Europe before this trip, but I saw several throughout many different countries this time. These stores take mostly name brand jackets, sweaters and pants, all incredibly oversized and some quite flashy, and sell them for exorbitant prices. I saw some jackets later in Brussels that were probably 200-300 Euros for a regular jacket. The clothes tend to be modeled after American hip hop stars, or athletes. But rarely did you actually see someone wearing this type of style.
Pietro’s family were quite well off. His house was probably a few hundred years old, but had been remodeled on the inside with modern furniture, paintings, etc. The kitchen was especially new looking, but was sort of oddly shaped because of the original design.
We slept in a loft, a room that looked no different than any American room.
Pietro took us to a gas station while out driving one night and the gas station served alcohol. The owner was well known in the area for being a hard working man who had made tons of money. Pietro told us about how the man was very humble and lived modestly but every few years would buy the newest most expensive car, or an old rare muscle car….
We were shocked that they served alcohol to drivers.
We also went to a bar one night that was supposed to be like an Irish pub, and though the man spoke English at the bar, it didn’t seem very Irish, or English.
While at the bar, we heard a lot about how they perceived Americans, and their trips to the former Yugoslavia complete with alcohol and tobacco smuggling.
Mainly we were in the heart of the city, where the tourists hang out.
I have been to Florence but never paid for much of the tourist sites. The Statue of David for instance is a fairly expensive ticket, especially considering there are 2 exact replicas in other parts of the city for free… (of course this will never be the same thing, but eh…)
Florence is usually swamped with tourists. It was sort of cold when we were there but we were very open to buying gelato (Italian ice cream) which is much better than American ice cream. We walked around the city for two days basically. Looking at the sites, shopping a little. Krystin spent a while looking at a pair of boots one night. We also had to pick up our tickets for the bus company that we were going to use.
Italy, especially the north is very fashion conscious, so I spent a lot of time looking at the people, young and old with their tight pants jackets and matching sun glasses. A number of school groups were visiting one of the tourist sites, probably the cathedral and I watched them talk on their cell phones, eat ice cream etc. It was interesting to note the way they had different styles as far as fashion- the “alternative” kids had piercings and oddly cut hair, often with different lengths or different colors. There were also groups with more high class fashion…like what we would associate with name brand Gap or Abercrombie etc. but these styles did not keep the kids from socially interacting with each other, the types of style expressions seemed acknowledged but not to the point of shunning anyone. (somewhat different than in the United States). I think when it comes down to it, many western Europeans get caught up in fashion but I didn’t see it being something that separates the people, or perhaps its more like as long as you are expressing a style with enough emphasis then its ok, but you have to put effort in to a style…
As far as American fashions, I really am not up to date or observant enough to know what would be fashionable. I often recognized American stores, but the merchandise often seemed catered to European trends. In Northern Italy and parts of France where fashion is especially highlighted, the most expensive stores are always Italian or French designers, where as American stores tend to sell more basic plain clothes.
The one recent trend in European clothing store that is an exception to the high price market would be “hip hop clothes”. I had never seen a hip hop clothes store in Europe before this trip, but I saw several throughout many different countries this time. These stores take mostly name brand jackets, sweaters and pants, all incredibly oversized and some quite flashy, and sell them for exorbitant prices. I saw some jackets later in Brussels that were probably 200-300 Euros for a regular jacket. The clothes tend to be modeled after American hip hop stars, or athletes. But rarely did you actually see someone wearing this type of style.
Pietro’s family were quite well off. His house was probably a few hundred years old, but had been remodeled on the inside with modern furniture, paintings, etc. The kitchen was especially new looking, but was sort of oddly shaped because of the original design.
We slept in a loft, a room that looked no different than any American room.
Pietro took us to a gas station while out driving one night and the gas station served alcohol. The owner was well known in the area for being a hard working man who had made tons of money. Pietro told us about how the man was very humble and lived modestly but every few years would buy the newest most expensive car, or an old rare muscle car….
We were shocked that they served alcohol to drivers.
We also went to a bar one night that was supposed to be like an Irish pub, and though the man spoke English at the bar, it didn’t seem very Irish, or English.
While at the bar, we heard a lot about how they perceived Americans, and their trips to the former Yugoslavia complete with alcohol and tobacco smuggling.
Pisa
We flew in to Pisa
View Larger Map
on Ryan Air, a small European airline that specializes in extremely cheap low budget flights. We had spent the previous evening in the Glasgow airport.
I had been to Pisa before and assured Krystin that we could see all the sights in a day. We took a bus to the Cathedral Square where the Tower, Baptistery and Cathedral reside.
Took the normal pictures, and then walked around looking at the tourist booths where they sell little trinkets, flags, watches and lots of other little things. The men who sold the goods were not Italian but spoke it and many other languages. They seemed to have friends and rivals amongst the other sellers. I don’t remember where the men said they were from, I know we asked. I think they might have been Pakistani. I also do not know where the goods were from.
Krystin bought sunglasses I think and maybe a flag (she was determined to get a flag from each country).
We weren’t quite sure which of the buildings we wanted to check out. They are quite expensive and Krystin was on a tight budget. We took pictures along the outside of the buildings and checked out the Cathedral which was free I think and then decided to move on. Krystin bought pizza on the street.
On the way back we saw graffiti all over the place, a lot of it was written in English or directed at tourists, I took pictures of one that said “Bush was a murderer” "Bush Shit" and another that said “stop war” I remember one said “touristas go home” which I think might be Spanish and not Italian, but I’m not sure.
Near the train/bus station we waited for a bus to Florence, which is just a short trip.
I’m guessing I ate McDonalds (I eat there constantly, I know its wrong). The menu items were more expensive than I thought they would be. Krystin ate inside the station which also has a little mall area. She had pasta or something, which also cost a fortune.
We sat in the middle of the mall area for a long time. I think I even fell asleep. Eventually we got on a bus for Florence. I left some of my British change in the mall for the kids to play with.
View Larger Map
 |
| Clearly not my picture |
Took the normal pictures, and then walked around looking at the tourist booths where they sell little trinkets, flags, watches and lots of other little things. The men who sold the goods were not Italian but spoke it and many other languages. They seemed to have friends and rivals amongst the other sellers. I don’t remember where the men said they were from, I know we asked. I think they might have been Pakistani. I also do not know where the goods were from.
Krystin bought sunglasses I think and maybe a flag (she was determined to get a flag from each country).
We weren’t quite sure which of the buildings we wanted to check out. They are quite expensive and Krystin was on a tight budget. We took pictures along the outside of the buildings and checked out the Cathedral which was free I think and then decided to move on. Krystin bought pizza on the street.
On the way back we saw graffiti all over the place, a lot of it was written in English or directed at tourists, I took pictures of one that said “Bush was a murderer” "Bush Shit" and another that said “stop war” I remember one said “touristas go home” which I think might be Spanish and not Italian, but I’m not sure.
Near the train/bus station we waited for a bus to Florence, which is just a short trip.
I’m guessing I ate McDonalds (I eat there constantly, I know its wrong). The menu items were more expensive than I thought they would be. Krystin ate inside the station which also has a little mall area. She had pasta or something, which also cost a fortune.
We sat in the middle of the mall area for a long time. I think I even fell asleep. Eventually we got on a bus for Florence. I left some of my British change in the mall for the kids to play with.
Stirling Scotland
I went to Stirling with Krystin to see our friend Melissa a friend from Morris.
While in the city we went to a Tesco, a 1£ store, a shopping mall, a Scottish University, the William Wallace Pub, the William Wallace Monument, a chip shop, a local independently owned record store, a cemetery and walked through the castle section of town.
Tesco is very similar to a Super Wal-Mart or a Super Target. The store sells both groceries and household goods. It probably does many similar “cost saving” actions to its American counterparts, I assume this because of the price of goods, many of which seemed to be made overseas. I bought groceries, candy, a cheap calculator and a cheap flashlight.
1£ store. This store was something I hadn’t actually seen before in Britain, but later saw quite frequently. The store was set up and contained similar items as you might see in a 1 $ store here. Many of the items were rather poor quality and once again were probably made over seas. I bought Guinness socks (probably a cheap knock off) and batteries.
The shopping mall was almost exactly what you would see in a suburban shopping mall in the United States, however stores that we would normally identify were replaced by British stores that sold similar products and even seemed to use similar marketing and designs to highlight their stores, for example the British media store Virgin Records, is similar to a Suncoast, or Sam Goody. They sold CDs, movies, books, t shirts and posters.
Price wise the CDs and movies were relatively comparable but the currency conversion makes the goods cost more for Americans.
Melissa went to the University in Stirling for 1 year. While there she studied psychology. The University was designed in a similar style to what we would think of as an American University, including a student union area, computer labs, auditoriums and classrooms, interesting items within the student union were, a bar and a movie theater.
The William Wallace pub, was a darkly lit, older looking building. It was quite crowded at all times. On some of the wooden beams quotes had been carved saying things like “give him strong drink, until he wink.” In the back they had a pool table (not billiards) which was surprising.
The most interesting thing about the William Wallace memorial was not the large tower with the view of the area, nor the shop that sold tourist goods like Scottish flags and books, but the statue of Mel Gibson near the base of the tower. Mel stood in full Braveheart attire, an interesting wink to the Hollywood version of history.
The chip shop had some interesting items on the menu, things like hamburgers, pizza and chips, but the interesting part was the variation on food items, like hamburgers came with or without a bun, side items might include baked beans or green beans rather than chips or crisps. The girls ordered chips with melted cheese on them and used vinegar (yuck).
The independent record store, was a local favorite for university students. The man seemed to know many of the people shopping, he ran a music trivia night at one of the local bars. The store was cramped, records tapes and cds (in a punk rock sort of set up).
Buttons, stickers and patches, t shirts posters, used music new music, all cramped in a space of maybe the size of a bedroom. The hole in the wall feel of the store was quite British in a sense but had a similar feel and look to independent punk and underground stores in the states.
The cemetery is located in the middle of town, very old. The gravestones were marked with multiple names, meaning they buried the people on top of each other to save space. A number of the gravestones were falling over or falling apart. It did not seem like restoration was a high priority but the cemetery was still being used (we saw evidence of a recent burial).
The old section of town was on a hill and lead up to the Castle. The streets became somewhat more narrow, and some of the buildings were clearly built upon older structures where as others seemed to be a few hundred years old and had been kept up to date, repainted with added light fixtures. The old section had signs along the way that spoke of historic events and places, sometimes the former use of the building.
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Much of Stirling seemed to share many elements with the United States. The housing, university, shopping locations, etc, all had that distinct western commercialism to them, which speaks to the growing globalizing factors that capitalism seems to bring about. Still there were more traditional sections, like the cemetery, the castle and churches, which seem to grasp on to the traditional heritage. The William Wallace memorial with reminder of Braveheart speaks both to the historical significance of the man and his legend, reawakened by Hollywood to show the world what Stirling offers. Stirling seems to be a good example of the mixing of new and old, of global and local.
While in the city we went to a Tesco, a 1£ store, a shopping mall, a Scottish University, the William Wallace Pub, the William Wallace Monument, a chip shop, a local independently owned record store, a cemetery and walked through the castle section of town.
Tesco is very similar to a Super Wal-Mart or a Super Target. The store sells both groceries and household goods. It probably does many similar “cost saving” actions to its American counterparts, I assume this because of the price of goods, many of which seemed to be made overseas. I bought groceries, candy, a cheap calculator and a cheap flashlight.
1£ store. This store was something I hadn’t actually seen before in Britain, but later saw quite frequently. The store was set up and contained similar items as you might see in a 1 $ store here. Many of the items were rather poor quality and once again were probably made over seas. I bought Guinness socks (probably a cheap knock off) and batteries.
The shopping mall was almost exactly what you would see in a suburban shopping mall in the United States, however stores that we would normally identify were replaced by British stores that sold similar products and even seemed to use similar marketing and designs to highlight their stores, for example the British media store Virgin Records, is similar to a Suncoast, or Sam Goody. They sold CDs, movies, books, t shirts and posters.
Price wise the CDs and movies were relatively comparable but the currency conversion makes the goods cost more for Americans.
The William Wallace pub, was a darkly lit, older looking building. It was quite crowded at all times. On some of the wooden beams quotes had been carved saying things like “give him strong drink, until he wink.” In the back they had a pool table (not billiards) which was surprising.
The most interesting thing about the William Wallace memorial was not the large tower with the view of the area, nor the shop that sold tourist goods like Scottish flags and books, but the statue of Mel Gibson near the base of the tower. Mel stood in full Braveheart attire, an interesting wink to the Hollywood version of history.The chip shop had some interesting items on the menu, things like hamburgers, pizza and chips, but the interesting part was the variation on food items, like hamburgers came with or without a bun, side items might include baked beans or green beans rather than chips or crisps. The girls ordered chips with melted cheese on them and used vinegar (yuck).
The independent record store, was a local favorite for university students. The man seemed to know many of the people shopping, he ran a music trivia night at one of the local bars. The store was cramped, records tapes and cds (in a punk rock sort of set up).
Buttons, stickers and patches, t shirts posters, used music new music, all cramped in a space of maybe the size of a bedroom. The hole in the wall feel of the store was quite British in a sense but had a similar feel and look to independent punk and underground stores in the states.
The cemetery is located in the middle of town, very old. The gravestones were marked with multiple names, meaning they buried the people on top of each other to save space. A number of the gravestones were falling over or falling apart. It did not seem like restoration was a high priority but the cemetery was still being used (we saw evidence of a recent burial).
The old section of town was on a hill and lead up to the Castle. The streets became somewhat more narrow, and some of the buildings were clearly built upon older structures where as others seemed to be a few hundred years old and had been kept up to date, repainted with added light fixtures. The old section had signs along the way that spoke of historic events and places, sometimes the former use of the building.
___
Much of Stirling seemed to share many elements with the United States. The housing, university, shopping locations, etc, all had that distinct western commercialism to them, which speaks to the growing globalizing factors that capitalism seems to bring about. Still there were more traditional sections, like the cemetery, the castle and churches, which seem to grasp on to the traditional heritage. The William Wallace memorial with reminder of Braveheart speaks both to the historical significance of the man and his legend, reawakened by Hollywood to show the world what Stirling offers. Stirling seems to be a good example of the mixing of new and old, of global and local.
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| Not really the highlands of Scotland. |
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