Seventh Post | Around the World

Dear readers, I hope you're not too cross with me for not updating this blog in nearly a month. In my last post, I explained that in my acting class I am learning how to embody a peacock. At the start of the semester, each student was given a character and had to choose an animal that physically personified their character. I went to the zoo and chose a peacock. Peacocks are very fidgety creatures, despite their reputation for being majestic and regal. Their necks crane forward, their tongues stick out, and they make the most dreadful noises known to man. Peacocks can serve as watch-birds; they used to be placed outside castles and alerted royalty when guests arrived or if enemies were nearby.

I had one week off from class in October, and I had the good fortune of visiting Barcelona, Venice, and Paris. I would like to take this opportunity to tell any and all students: do not travel for 9 consecutive days, land late Sunday night, and then go to your 9AM Monday class. You will be cranky.


BARCELONA:
DO go to the beachside clubs. DO go to Sagrada Familia, the gigantic unfinished cathedral by Gaudi. DO ride the cable cars up to Montjuic. DON'T leave your stuff unattended on the beach (even if you jump in the Mediterranean). DON'T buy your ticket for Sagrada Familia in person, save yourself the headache and buy it online. DON'T wear jeans when it is 80 degrees.

VENICE:
DO eat all the pizza and gelato you possibly can. DO go to the Doges Palace and the St. Mark's Basilica. DO take a minute to smell the roses and drink Bellinis. DON'T go down sketchy alleyways in search of "authentic" food. DON'T forget your ticket to the Basilica (the line is stupidly long to buy a new ticket). DON'T pay a kajillion dollars for a gondola ride. If you really want to go on the water, take a short ferry ride to Murano where the famous Italian glass is made.

PARIS:
DO go see the Eiffel Tower even though it is the most touristy thing. DO go to the thrift shops and secondhand stores. DO visit Sacre Coeur in Montmartre. DON'T see the Eiffel Tower when there is a Greenpeace activist hanging from the second balcony (yes this actually happened). DON'T go to the thrift stores that charge you by the pound/kilo, you will get ripped off. DON'T walk up the hill to Sacre Coeur, take the Funicular if you can swing it.