FOLLOW ME TO AMSTERDAM

I made a Youtube video compilation about my time in Amsterdam. If you look back at my history, you can see the blog posts I did back in December 2013. I thought you would like to see Amsterdam through my eyes. Subscribe to my YT channel: ima007ninja.

Europe: An Overview of St. Andrews, Amsterdam, Rome, Madrid & Barcelona

"To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries." - Aldous Huxley

After traveling around Europe I think it is fair to assume that you can indicate how tourist-y a city is by a few things: the number of businesses on wheels, homeless people, international groups tours led by a person holding a flag, tourist shops on a given street, people who approach you and the overall vibe of the streets. These are my own personal opinions. Obviously every traveling experience is unique to each person.

With this criterion I would rank all the cities I visited in this order, from most touristy to least touristy:

Rome

Barcelona
Madrid

Amsterdam

St. Andrews

St. Andrews obviously has an asterisk because it was where I lived for a whole semester. But I figured since I lived there for four months that I would give my input on this town.  It's the birthplace of golf so it does that have that element of tourism.  It had a very homely feel. Everyone is nice. It is a small tightknit community.  There is the Old Course but other than that, very minimal tourism.

Amsterdam

A lively city both day and night. Amsterdam is one of the more chill and laidback cities you will come across.  I don’t even think I saw a homeless person in Amsterdam, at least not in the city center.  The pungent smell of weed was a turn off to me personally but there are definitely other PG-rated places to see.  The trams are an easy and efficient way to minimize the amount of walking you had to do.  I live in a city with no public transportation and even I was able to figure out the trams after a day of riding them. There are an abundance of museums to go visit by some of the greatest artists.  I read that it has one of the highest concentrations of museums per unit area. I would recommend going in December when the Amsterdam Light Festival is going on.  What is so great about Amsterdam is that it is a place I could actually imagine people living in. The tour guide told me that it is the 3^rd best non-native English speakers who speak English. Translation: they speak English amazingly well. Tourism levels are moderately high but not overwhelming at all. It’s a place where you can just lay low and go where you want to go. Overall, I loved this city and I would love to come back.

Rate: 8.5/10

Rome

I have very mixed feelings about Rome. It is a city with a rich history that has been tainted by excessive tourism.  I know it is just business and people need to make a living, but by the end of my first day, I simply ran out of patience for anyone who tried to stop and sell me things.  It’s not the easiest or cleanest city to navigate, ironic because they were the ones who built roads in the first place and the traffic is a nightmare.  Honestly, besides Vatican City, there wasn’t much to do in Rome. It was mostly you would walk to a site, look at it, take a photo and move on. Walking to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica and going to the Vatican Museum were the highlights of my time in Rome. The gelato and pizza were overhyped. That’s not to say that they were bad, it’s just that I could find something that resembled it back at home and for half the price.

Rate 5/10

Barcelona

Everyone sees the city in a different way depending on how they go about travelling through the city.  I don’t know if I could give as accurate an impression of Barcelona as I have done with Amsterdam and Rome seeing as how we took a safer approach.  Barcelona is notorious for pickpockets, so be wary of purses and pockets.  I never came across a pickpocket but you never know what could happen in Barcelona.  I never went out to walk the streets at night but from what I could see, it is a pretty walkable city, some places will require a taxi but most places are easily accessible.  Don’t expect them to be well versed in the English language. You should know some basic Spanish/Catalan phrases or take a guidebook.  There are many interesting exhibits to see.  I will say that a lot of our money went into admission fees to different exhibits so if you are short on cash or want to save money, I would recommend visiting La Sagrada Familia and Casa Batllo.  We came in December but I’m sure the beaches get very busy when it warms up.  It’s a great shopping city as well, everything from quirky street markets to high-fashion boutiques. I didn’t do enough research to consider getting the Barcelona Tourist Pass but if it benefits, I would say take it.

Rate: 7/10

Madrid
We sandwiched Barcelona between two trips to Madrid so we got to experience it twice, and in two very different ways. The first time around we visited Retiro Park which is a very nice place to relax.  In the afternoon all the street vendors and miscellaneous street performers started to pop up.  There are a lot of tourist hotspots like Palacio Real but also a lot of high traffic areas like Puerta Del Sol. That was a major one.  The streets were full of people.  Between Barcelona and Madrid, I would say that I personally liked Barcelona more. There were more entertaining things to do there but Madrid is also a very vibrant city full of history that you shouldn't miss.
Rate: 6.5/10

December 26, 2013: Madrid Round 2

"Travel teaches toleration." -Benjamin Disraeli
If I had not already said it before, I will say it now.  Travel is a true test of a relationship, whether it be with family, friends or a significant other.  Tensions can run high or you can experience travel euphoria.  Usually, it is a mix of the two.  I definitely think my friendship with my best friend has grown stronger through this journey.  We learned a lot about each other. We learned what makes the other one tick, makes the other one uncomfortable, and of course makes the other one laugh.

We started off with a walking tour of Madrid hosted my Sandemans New Madrid Free Walking Tour. I had gone to one in Amsterdam and thought it was such a priceless (get it?) experience and I really learned a lot about the city.  This one was not as great as the one in Amsterdam but still a quality tour regardless. After all, Madrid is not exactly the city of vice, but they do have a complicated story of succession of kings, one that I could not recall even if I tried.

After the tour we walked to the Templo De Debod which was a great FREE thing to see.  It's a very scenic attraction (one of my favorites pictures from the entire trip) and has an interesting backstory.  Look it up if you have the time.

We walked around the two squares Plaza Mayor and Puerta Del Sol again.  Eager to eat, we stopped at a little shop (and I mean little) and ordered two calamari sandwiches which I didn't know at the time was actually a very popular food item in Madrid.  They were pretty inexpensive too (flashback to all the times I payed a large sum to eat calamari in America).

That pretty much ended our last full day in Europe.  Susan, if you are reading this, thank you for everything.  I couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else but you. Sidenote: How freaky is that dark cloud behind the Palacio Real?

December 25, 2013: Merry Christmas from Barcelona

"Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling." -Edna Ferber

If I were to rank all the Christmases that I have had, this would easily be in the top 3 if not #1.  We didn't do anything too special in the morning since we had to get on a train to go back to Madrid.  Another two and a half hours later, we arrived and took a taxi to our hotel.  I don't remember too much about the hotel except that the floor in the bar area had glass and you could see the basement which was decorated in a very unique way (see below) and we stayed in a bright pink room.

We went out to walk the streets and the two main busy areas, Plaza Mayor and Puerta Del Sol (Puerta Del Sol is much better).  Be warned, these are high traffic areas.  We ate at a McDonald's there (classy right?).  We walked around a little more, waiting for the big Christmas tree to light up, which it eventually did and we awkwardly asked a Chinese tourist to take our photo.

We went back to the hotel and decided to indulge ourselves at the bar.  I saw that they had fresh sangria which I didn't know until after that day that sangria actually originated from Spain (that explains the pronunciation).  Susan and I had both ordered sangria.  She took a one-and-done sip and then proceeded to order champagne, oranges and molten chocolate cake.  So guess who got to drink two glasses of sangria?  Needless to say, I was a little buzzed and giggly that night.

Double the pleasure, Double the fun 

I want all oranges to be prepared for consumption in this manner from now on.

Cue mouth-watering...

We went back to our room and listed to some Pete Holmes comedy bits.  If you don't know who he is, you are missing out on a good laugh. He's even got his own talk show on TBS. It was a great end to a great day. I loved being able to share this day with my best friend. Bon Nadal Barcelona. Feliz Navidad Madrid.
(Susan asked me to take a photo of her doing this, so I thought it was only appropriate for me to share it with the world wide web. You're Welcome Susan.)

December 24, 2013: Christmas Eve in Barcelona

 A new day in Barcelona.  We started our day with another 15 Euro breakfast. I should say that it is 15 for each of us. These hotels man. Anyways, after filling up, we took a taxi down to the Sagrada Familia.  The line wasn't too long. We arrived around opening time and waited for only 15 minutes to get our tickets.  The attraction itself wasn't too entertaining, but keep in mind, it is a religious building, not a carnival.  The stained glass and architecture of the Sagrada Familia really create the beauty of this structure. There is a reason that this is one of the most visited attractions in Europe.

Look at the stained glass.

The outside of the Sagrada Familia.

We hopped on the bus tour again. Not really to go anywhere but just to see the city.  I learned a lot about the city and about how they hosted the Summer Olympics back in 1992.  We passed by Bernabeu Stadium where FC Barcelona plays.  I am not a big fan of soccer (ahem, football) but I knew the magnitude of importance that this stadium holds for Barca fans.  If I ever come back to Barcelona, it will definitely be one of the places I go visit.

Another stop on the bus tour was Maremagnum, a nice shopping center. Not as big as the malls back home, but much bigger and more urban than the shops we had seen on the streets.  I bought a nice black sequin dress that I wore to dinner that night for around 20 euros. After that we went to an aquarium next to Maremagnum. It was a nice little aquarium. Not the best 25 euros I ever spent, but certainly not the worst.

For Christmas Eve, Susan treated me to a fancy dinner at a restaurant in the Maremagnum.  We were originally going to go to a different dinner but we messed up the directions (oops haha).  Regardless, it was a great meal and a great way to spend Christmas Eve. She spent I think 80 euros on dinner. I know money doesn't buy friendship, but I don't know how many non-friends would drop 80 euros on a dinner for two. Love ya girl! 

December 23, 2013: Day of Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona

Today was a busy day for me and Susan in Barcelona.  We started off with a pricey 15 Euro breakfast. Gotta love those swanky hotels. Then we set off for Casa Battlo, which we were idiotically pronouncing incorrectly for the longest time.  It was one of the things that Susan really wanted to see.  It was a very intricately designed house with an amazing roof.  Definitely a must-see in Barcelona.

After that, we walked down a couple of blocks to Casa Mila aka La Pedrera, another one of Antoni Gaudi's creations.  It also had a nice roof. Seeing a trend here?

Park Guell was the next stop on our Day of Gaudi.  It's far from the area of Barcelona we were at but thanks to a hop-on hop-off bus tour I convinced Susan to take, we were able to get there easily.  I would highly recommend looking into these types of bus tours at any city you travel to, they will save you a lot of taxis.  Park Guell was very nice.  I got a nice picture of Susan with this lizard thing.

December 22, 2013: Day Two in Madrid/Barcelona

Today was the day we were to take the train from Madrid to Barcelona.  It was a very easy process and the train took about 3 hours.  We arrived in Barcelona and checked into our hotel.

We walked down La Rambla and to Palau Guell, one of Antoni Gaudi's creations.  The ticket came with an audio tour, which was a great way to learn about the building.  The highlight of this exhibit was the rooftop, decorated with interesting ceramic covered chimneys, a perfect photo op!

For dinner, we wanted a nice traditional Spanish meal.  There were a lot of restaurants on the same street as our hotel so we decided to go in and have paella.  We ordered a combination paella with seafood, chicken and vegetables to split between the two of us.  The person who was running the small restaurant was very generous and gave us a larger paella free of charge.  He gave us a free bottle of water and even offered us free shots, which we politely declined as we rushed out.  There is a fine line between being generous and creepy.  But it's a nice anecdote to tell our friends, especially because of the fact that my friend misinterpreted the word "shot" for "shirt" and didn't understand why I was adamant on declining his offer.

December 21, 2013: Day One in Madrid

         

          Today we took it slow as my best friend was still recovering from jet lag.  We took a nice stroll through Retiro Park, which she suggested.  I was surprised to find that rollerblading was a fun pastime for the people of Madrid.  In the park, we visited the Crystal House (a misnomer seeing that it is actually made of glass, but pretty to look at nonetheless).  There were also two free museums in the park, which were a nice way to kill time.  It was a nice change of pace after my jam-packed days in Amsterdam and Rome.  I wasn’t able to go to Vondelpark in Amsterdam so this was a nice substitute.  Susan was enjoying it, as was I. 

          I was able to convince Susan to visit The Royal Palace in Madrid. I would say that it was definitely the highlight of my day.  We walked through many of the elegantly decorated rooms in the palace and took a look through the armory.  It was a great inside look at the way the Spanish Royals must have lived. I highly recommend visiting the Palace. We ended our day early to get a jumpstart on tomorrow.  

          I wished we could have gone out later but I wanted my best friend to be comfortable her first time away.  When traveling with a friend there is definitely a lot of give and take and two people with different interests. But in the end, I was okay with giving up some freedom and control to have a travelling companion around Spain, especially since my Spanish is severely limited.

December 20, 2013: Travel Pains

"I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them." -Mark Twain

I think this will go down as one of the worst days of my life.  I check out of my hostel with over 2 hours before my flight departs so I think I have time. I spend time waiting at Termini Station to get on a bus to the Airport. Time is a little tight but the airport is less than 10 miles away so I think it’s going to be fine. And then traffic. Fucking Rome traffic. I swear those Romans are god-awful drivers. I don’t know if it’s their fault or if it is the poor city planning that’s to blame.  I’m pissed so I say both. It took 15 minutes just to get out of the busy part of Rome.  Long story short, I missed my flight and the next one was 8 hours later.  So I’m waiting in the airport frantically trying to reach my best friend.  She finally calls and my phone can’t get her call. I start panicking because I know that she’s scared and the Information Desk isn’t very helpful, directing me to a payphone that I’m pretty sure was broken.  I go into a souvenir shop begging the lady to let me borrow a phone. She is just an unhelpful and directs me to the payphone that doesn’t work.  Customer Service must be a foreign concept in Italy.  The people at American Airlines would bend over backwards to help me out.  Thankfully, an Italian lady saw how frantic I was and let me borrow her phone to make a call.  I will never forget that. It renews my hope that there are still good people in this world.  I hope karma rewards her for her kindness.

After a few more grueling hours of waiting, I was finally on a plane to Madrid.  Once I landed in Madrid and collected my luggage, I hopped into a taxi towards the hotel.  We drove through the streets of Madrid and all the Christmas lights they had set up for the holiday season.  I arrived at the hotel and was finally reunited with my best friend Susan after what seems like ages.  It was so refreshing to be in a hotel with a full size bed and my own bathroom after staying at hostels for the past week. 

December 19, 2013: Day Two in Rome

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, is the ideas of living." -Miriam Beard

I realized after all of my travelling that it takes a day to figure out how to properly navigate a new city.  By now, I knew where to get on my bus and where to go.  I decided to go back to Vatican City and see the Vatican Museum.

I will never forget the moment before I was about to enter the Vatican museum.  I was stopped by a man who was trying to sell me a tour with a guide around the Vatican Museum for 40 euros. I tried to bow out but he was very persistent and would not let me leave. I just had to walk away and less than 10 seconds another one approaches me. Like seriously? Did you not just see me talking to your comrade? I was going to tell him the same thing I told the first guy and then a British girl walks by having just left the Vatican Museum and yells over to me “Don’t listen to him! It’s a scam!” and a part of me wanted to yell back so badly “I KNOW!” like right in the guy’s face to let him know that I wasn’t falling for it. So heed my warning, never take a tour offered by a guy on the street. Plan it out beforehand. Rome definitely wasn’t as museum-heavy as Amsterdam but this one museum had more than enough to entertain me. Spend a couple hours at the Vatican Museum and you will be thoroughly satisfied.  At first I was a little hesitant at paying 16 euros to get into the museum but then I realized that it is a very large museum, like a museum conglomerate. You will get your money’s worth plus extra.

I remember after finishing walking through the Vatican Museum, I was trying to find the beautiful spiral staircase that I had seen in photos. I was about to head towards the exit but something was telling me to go back and find it. I was at the gift shop that was arranged around a circular banister.  Across from be I see people start to walk down an incline and then I looked over the banister and sure enough I had found the staircase.  It made for a gorgeous photo.

After the Vatican Museum I walked around to kill time until a free walking tour of Rome was to start.  I went to a McDonalds and was surprised at how packed it was.  It just goes to show how influential America is.  I ordered my meal and a Pistachio Mcflurry that I’m pretty sure was just a vanilla Mcflurry with crushed pistachios and green flavoring. 

Once I met up with the tour guide and met some nice people, we travelled around Rome.  The guide was a little soft-spoken and the tour was not as great as the one in Amsterdam, but I still learned a lot about the ancient city.  I got my photo taken at the Trevi fountain and saw a someone proposing to his girlfriend in front of the fountain. After parting ways, I walked back to my hostel and on the way bought a few souvenirs for my family and ate dinner at a nearby pizzeria. I packed up my things and fell asleep, ready for tomorrow. Ciao Roma!