Barcelona Good Bye (Day Three)

Last day in Barcelona Alexis Mekale and I visited the famous market located on La Rambla. It was an incredible sight to see. In comparison to Turkiye, this would be an upscale bazaar. Hard to explain, ill let the photos do the talking.

Afterwards, we three walked the narrow roads in La Ramblas. We looked in many little shops, eateries and cafes.

Alexis and I nearly missed the airplane to Madrid. We allotted enough time to get to, what we thought was the correct airport, but in reality there was an extra half hour to the departure airport. When we arrived at the arrival airport we jumped a bus taking us to the departure airport. Once there I went straight to the first class check-in. The man working understood immediately and checked us in. Then Alexis and I literally ran to the gate. We made it with 10 minutes to spare. At that point I looked like a wet dog, Alexis was stressed, but we made it. Off to Madrid!

Day two - Barcelona

Woke up and made mimosa's. Jumped on the bus and took it to Park Guell with Alexis and Mekale. I had no previous knowledge of the park. On arrival, walking just meters into the park, I stopped and took notice to everything - A man playing the cello underneath a rock bridge, birds flying tree to tree building nests, couples walking hand in hand, children playing and the incredible architecture.  It was certainly a special place.

Park Guell is located on one of the hills overlooking Barcelona. Alexis, Mekale and I walked to the top of the hill to take in the 180 degree view. We stood upon the site at which Gaudi had planned to build a church, but during construction of the park the decision to stop was made. A total of 2 of 60 homes were built in the park - gives you an idea how much construction happened.  In 1927, years after Guadi passed away the park was recognized as a world heritage park.

Venturing down to the sea side I slipped off my shoes and entered the Mediterranean Sea. I scooped up a few shells, as I always do when at a beach, while Alexis and Mekale lay on their backs soaking up the rays. Ive got to mention, too, the color of the water was brilliant ranging from a strong, bright turquoise to a dark, shimmering navy blue - gorgeous!

At night we took the metro to an area we heard of a place providing live music. The Monday nickname given to the club was "nasty Mondays". Upon arrival we decided not to enter as we found the crowd entering was a bit younger and the music was not what we expected, electronic/techno rather than acoustic. No biggie. We walked around the streets poping and out of a couple of bars, one of which the bartenders wore matching bowties and tuxedos. I drank some Buffalo Trace (it was delicious, Troy).

Welcome to Barcelona

Hi. Last night Alexis and Mekale slept over. It was convenient since we were flying out together from the SAW Airport on the Asia side of Istanbul - only located 30 minutes from my place with no traffic. During the flight we all took cat naps. Each time I woke up I peaked out the window, sometimes pressing my face to it to get the best angle. We flew past the Swiss Alps, over the Balearic Sea, and many little towns - all of which were teasing me with their distance from me, but I knew and told meself, "Barcelona,  here I come!"

Coming into the landing, I again had my face pressed to the window inspecting every road from above. The colors of the city looked different. I was ready to smell the air and see the people. Off the plane I grabbed the luggage with Alexis and Mekale went to find out how travel to our hostel. (I should mention here Alexis and Mekale have traveled together bore in other countries - it showes and thankfully.)

We jumped the train, made a transfer,  and walked a circle of block untill we found our hostel. Too easy! Inside we rested for a short qhile before making the trip out. What we saw was incredible!

First let me express that the architecture on the "typical" building is very nice, but it is also common, in my opinion, to just have art nouveaux architecture. (ill have to double check that sytle name)

Alexis, Mekale and I only walked 10 minutes from our hotel arriving at Sagrada Familia,  a famously built and designed by Gaudi.  A spectacular sight to see. Sagrada Familia is and has been under renovation for at least 5 years. It took away only the slightest bit of pleasure, but was easy to imagine the full complexity and brilliance of the building. (Pictures to follow).

Afterwards we took the Metro (subway) into downtown Barcelona. We walked the main strip and found a few different eateries to have a beer and snack at. A couple from college was kind enough to provide me with suggestions for eateries, sights to see, and neighborhoods to visit for their uniqueness. (Thank you Chris and Sarah Hutton!) Suggested by the Huttons was, how shall I describe... the Hobbits secret pub. Full scale fake trees and cave walls. Every half hour the lights dimmed and "lighting" struck the pub. 30-40 small lanterns hung from the trees above us. What a neat place.

At night we walked out and visited the two Gaudi buildings located within 12 blocks from our hostel. The first was under construction. The second... the spot lights literally turned off when we were half a block away.  (I'll make another visit).

Ready for day two!

A Wonderful Vid of the People of Turkey

Here is a video I thought shows the people I see daily. It's only a taste, but it gives you a good sense.

American Sign Language Doesn't Always Work Well

Just had to mention that American Sign Languge (ASL) doesn't always work well in the Turkish classroom.  I used "bathroom" in ASL - this does NOT mean bathroom/

That is all.

Besiktas vs Galatasaray Football Match

After Dustin and I parted I made my way to meet up with Onur and Emilia. Together we grabbed some brunch before making our way out to Lexie's for some socializing before the football match between Besiktas and Galatasaray.  A little prelude to this game first: this is a derby match (teams from the same area), Besiktas is the home team and no visitors from the opposing team are allowed in the stadium, Besiktas' field is under construction, so the Ataturk Olympic Stadium is being used for the Besiktas home games, and people at work were surprised I was going to this game.

Anyways, fast forward here a bit, arriving in our taxis to the stadium I was blown away by the sheer size. I read the stadium holds approximately 76,000.  This game was completely sold out and many more got in.  In general I thought the teams both played poorly, but the fans made up for that in more than one way.  The chants, flags and actions done by the fans gave me goose bumps.

Besiktas fan club getting revved up near the brunch location

 Onur

 Emilia

 Go Besiktas!!

 Ataturk Olymic Stadium- WOW it's big

 Fans with flags

 Traditional Besiktas song with Eagle Claws

 Kick Off!

Besiktas Goooooooooal!

 Celebrate with flares, duh

Unfortunately, Besiktas and from the a riot broke out. Thankfully I was on the side of the stand that did not storm the pitch.  I was not pleased with the actions of the Basiktas fans but this was an experience.

I'll attend another games, just maybe not Besiktas games :)

"The Boys are Back in Town"

Two weekends ago Dustin flew from overseas for a lacrosse tournament to be held in Alanya, Turkey located on the Mediterranean Sea.  Of course I reaped the benefits when he stayed in Istanbul for a hand full of days.  When Dustin arrived it actually was my first full week of teaching my 5th grade and kindergarten classes - not the most convenient but I powered through it.   On Friday afternoon I took the trip to the Europe side of Isatnbul to Eminounu, where Dustin and Ali's hotel was.  That evening I took the two to Galata tower, where we sat atop the surrounding wall and viewed the many people visiting the same spot. From Galata Tower we walked down Istikalal street to Taksim Square.  We stopped at different shops and took in the atmosphere. (Last night a friend said on average 2 million people walk Istikalal a day).  From Taksim Square the tour guide lead us through a zig-zag of streets to a hidden gem of a view overlooking the Bosphorous and Golden Horn.  After gazing for a while we walked the boardwalk at the Bosphorous and took the ferry to Kadikoy on the Asia side.  We toured some of my favorite streets in Kadikoy and met up with Gulsen.  From here we ventured to "bar street" for adult beverages. We made some new friends that night too!

 Galata Tower

 Taksim Square

 Dustin and Ali sitting at the Vantage Point

 Drinks in Kadikoy

New Friends

The following day, Saturday, Dustin, Ali and I spent some time recuperating at the hotel in Eminounu before heading out with the majority of the lacrosse team who now had finally arrived in Istanbul. We hung out on the rooftop of the hotel taking in the view before going out for dinner with the gang - 20 strong.  We had a delicious meal.  I shared a 2 person order with Mike Livingston, who happened to be a coach of mine when I was in junior high. After dinner we went out for a drink as a whole group, but in the back of my mind I knew I wanted to take the adventurous kind to Taksim/Istikalal for the night life scene and I did. Once these adventurists were torn from the large pack we took taxis to a short distance from Taksim Square, since traffic was backed up. I feel like this maneuver built up the presentation for what these folks were going to walk into, literally. Again, 2 million people walk this street per day.  When we rounded the corner to Taksim, there they were, 2 million strong, walking in every direction.  I knew we would have a fun night.