Here in France, there's Christmas break, six weeks of class, and then "winter" break. It's starting to feel a lot more like spring, but this is apparently the break when it's really popular to go skiing. There are three different categories of académies, so the winter break is spaced out so not everyone is on break at once--supposedly to not flood the ski lodges with visitors. I decided to spend this break in the sun, so made plans for trips to Barcelona and Avignon. Easyjet had a sale on tickets in January, so I took advantage and got my Barcelona tickets then. The TGV train tickets can be much cheaper when you book them in advance, mine have ended up being around half price. There are only a handful of destinations from the stations nearest to me, so I picked the one that sounded the best.
Barcelona
I was in Barcelona for three nights, but really only two full days. I arrived pretty late on Saturday evening, and managed to go out for some dinner before going to bed. I fell in with some people from my walking tour, and had a great time exploring the city with some companions. The next two days involved lots and lots of walking around and enjoying the sun. I had a 7 am flight back home, so I spent the night at the airport on my last night. It was definitely not as easy as I had thought it would be, but was better than trying to take the night bus at 3 am to the airport.
Accommodation + Getting Around
I found an Airbnb right next to La Sagrada Familia, the big cathedral designed by Gaudi. I'm so glad I decided to go this route rather than stay in a hotel because the price was a lot lower and the location was amazing. There was a metro stop across the street, so it was insanely convenient. My host was a quirky woman from Argentina who was extremely welcoming and full of good suggestions for things to do. I'll attach the listing here in case anyone is interested. Just a quick sidenote, if you go to the host's profile, you can see the other room she has listed. That one has a small balcony and view directly on the cathedral.
Similar to Paris, you can buy a pack of 10 metro tickets at once for a cheaper price than buying single tickets. These packs of 10 can be used for the buses as well. I walked or used the metro the entire time I was in the city. I took the bus once to go up and down one of the mountains to visit a fort. Both Paris and Barcelona have apps for their metros, and it's the best thing ever to simplify navigating. There's a function that finds the nearest metro station from your current location, and you can put in your starting and ending points for exact directions on when to switch lines and how long it will take.
Good Eats
My first night, I went to a Mexican restaurant right around the corner from my Airbnb that was recommended by my host. I had tacos and chips and guacamole (!!!) that were quite tasty. I believe it was called La Taqueria, and normally, you need to make a reservation. It was a slow night, so we were able to get in. I wasn't necessarily planning on having Mexican food in Spain, but it was close-by. I can't even describe how happy I was to have guacamole and tortilla chips for the first time in four months.
For breakfast both days, I just grabbed an espresso and croissant at the nearest cafe and went on my way. My first full day was Valentine's Day, and there was a restaurant in the Gothic Quarter that was offering a tapas buffet for 9,95€, so we stopped in for tapas and sangria. The next day, I had a burger and mozzarella balls at a restaurant near La Rambla that were not too spectacular, but something to fill me up before I headed to the airport. I realized I didn't eat lunch at all during my stay, but I'm usually too busy speed-walking everywhere to remember to sit down and eat. I diiiid have some pretty fab mint chocolate chip gelato while wandering the Gothic Quarter, but I seem to have lost the card with the name of the shop.
Things to do + see
I really recommend the walking tour that I took with Runner Bean Tours. It's free, and you can pay whatever you think it was worth at the end. The guide on my tour was really sweet and enthusiastic and did a great job! This particular tour was focused on Gaudi, so we started in the Gothic Quarter and worked our way to the cathedral. The buildings we visited were: Plaça Reial, Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, Sagrada Familia, and Palau Guell. My favorite trivia fact was that some of the figures featured in Gaudi's work influenced George Lucas' storm troopers during a visit to Barcelona--who knew?! This was a great way to see a lot of the famous buildings and get some background on them without having to pay the hefty fees to go inside. 10/10 would recommend.
Other sights include: Parc Guell, Barceloneta Beach, the Gothic Quarter (amazing winding streets and beautiful buildings), and La Rambla (really crowded and touristy but worth a quick stroll if you're into window-shopping and people-watching). Almost everything I read online advised against the beach and had strong warnings about pickpockets. I think I must have lucked out since I was there in the off-season--I had absolutely no issues with people invading my space and really enjoyed the beach.
Avignon
I picked Avignon on a whim, really. It was in Provence and sounded like a good place to wander around for a few days. Again, I was there in the off-season, so I can’t say what it would be like when it’s summertime vacation, but it was pretty quiet and peaceful when I was there. The landscape reminds me of how I’d imagine Italy with lots of white rocky outcroppings and olive trees. I always forget how different Alsace is from the rest of France until suddenly every building is white or cream—Alsace is SO colorful, but I still appreciate all of the white stone buildings.
Accommodation + getting around
It was much easier to get to Avignon than Barcelona. I have to say I’m so glad I didn’t plan two trips by plane, because after spending eight hours in the Barcelona airport, I’ll be happy to not see the inside of an airport again until I go home to the States. There is a bus from the Issenheim mairie (about a ten minute walk from my place) to the Colmar train station, and then it was about four and a half hours by train to Avignon. There are two different train stations—Avignon TGV and Avignon Centre. My train from Colmar stopped at the TGV station, then I had to take a five minute train to the Centre station. I didn’t arrive until 11:45 pm to the Centre station, but luckily, it was only a three minute walk to my Airbnb.
I stayed in an Airbnb that was right next to the train station and just outside the main city walls, which I didn’t even realize when I booked it. It was a private room in a townhouse and I had the best experience. My host greeted me and showed me the room, then asked if I’d like to join her and her friends downstairs for a drink. They were all super sweet and gave me tons of recommendations on things to do for the next few days and asked all about Alsace and Nebraska. Overall, it was another wonderful Airbnb experience. My host left out breakfast for me every morning and shared her dinners with me, none of which was part of the listing. We had some really good conversations and I really couldn’t be happier with my random choice for lodging.
As far as getting around the city, pretty much everything worth seeing is within the city walls, and that part of it is really walkable. My Airbnb had bikes I could have used, but since the weather was so nice and I wasn’t on a strict schedule, I just walked everywhere.
Foodz
Seeing as I had breakfast and dinner at my Airbnb every day, I didn’t eat out very much at all. A big difference I noticed from Alsace is that there is a lot more outdoor seating for restaurants, kind of what I had imagined for France in general with the people-watching and lounging outside sipping on tiny coffees. I had a quiche Lorraine and green salad at an outdoor café that was on my way home from the city center, and it was really nothing noteworthy. The other two days, I grabbed a panini from a food stand that was also on the walk into town, and ate them at the park I’ll talk about in the things to do and see section.
If I had a bigger budget, I would definitely have ventured out more and tried some real restaurants. My host’s friends all said that Avignon has great food, and I did see tons and tons of restaurants everywhere in the city.
-Things to do + see
The big one in Avignon is the Palais des Papes (Popes’ Palace). On the way there, Place de l’Horloge is a nice place to sit outside and enjoy the sun. There are lots of restaurants, a carousel, some shops, and hotels. The actual palace is in a big square and is quite imposing. You can walk all around it and admire just how tall and grand it is, and you can also go inside for a fee. I opted to be cheap and just walked all around it snapping photos.
My absolute favorite thing in Avignon was the Rocher des Doms. It’s a garden beside the palace and I spent at least a few hours there every day I was in the city because it was so peaceful. There are beautiful views over the city, toward Mont Vantoux and Fort St. Andre, and over the Rhône. There are plenty of benches along the walking route to stop and enjoy the view (or catch your breath), two beautiful fountains, a playground for kiddos, green space to lay out a blanket and sunbathe or read, and gorgeous architectural details everywhere.
There is a sightseeing passport deal, where your first visit to a place on the list is full price, but then for every visit to another sight, you get a discounted price. It’s a brochure that can be found in the entry of most museums and monuments in the city. I didn’t end up using mine (I was way too excited to sit outside), but if I visit again, I’d definitely use it for the Petit Palais museum, which has a collection of Italian art that is supposed to be amazing. I did visit Collection Lambert, a contemporary art museum. It’s a wonderful collection of contemporary art, but also features some Picasso, Degas, and Matisse. The main artist on display is Robert Combas, an artist I was unfamiliar with. His art is colorful, weird, and complex. I really enjoyed getting lost in the labyrinth of the museum.
Another place worth visiting is Les Halles, the covered market. It’s right next to Place Pie, and is open Tuesday-Sunday. I went on my last day to see what kind of local specialties I could find, and was pleasantly surprised at the variety offered. I only ended up buying some Marseille soap and specialty salt (hibiscus and herbes de Provence), but they have plenty of little pastries and cheeses to maybe pack a cute little picnic with some wine. I would have done just that, but assumed they were closed on Sunday and found them closed on Monday, soooooo finally got there on my last day with a few hours before my train and needed to go home to charge my phone before my journey.
Some other sights are the Pont d’Avignon, Place Pie, rue des Teinturiers, rue Peyrollerie, Place des Corps Saints, and Place des Carmes. There are also TONS of theaters everywhere. There’s a huge film festival (OFF) in Avignon in the summertime, and their arts offerings seem to be really on point.
(click on the images to view them larger and read the captions)
