La Sagrada Família

Hello from sunny Barcelona! The warm sunshine in this coastal city welcomed our weary souls after having survived an overnight train ride from Paris. And yay! We made it to our second country! Somehow Barcelona felt familiar, weirdly nostalgic even. It felt like coming home to a city you have never been in. Maybe that's why we easily navigated our way to our first hostel, like we had been doing it like last time. To get to our hostel, we took the Metro in Barceloneta, a walking distance from Estació de França where our Renfe train from Paris terminated.

We had an early checkin at our hostel, allowing us to take a rest on real beds and not just on reclinable seats! (The horrors of our train ride that we quickly tried to put behind us.) But my cousin had to stay back for a while because of fatigue from our journey. That journey was really exhausting and we needed to recharge our energy. I went out first and we just decided to meet up at La Sagrada Família. 'Coz you know, we have been in Barcelona many times that we know exactly where we want to go. Not!

Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

Continuing our foot journey on our second day in Paris, we challenged again our sense of direction in getting from Jardin du Luxembourg to Notre Dame Cathedral. From the garden, we farther walked along the narrow streets and amused ourselves by taking photos along the way while hoping to reach the Cathedral without a hitch. It seems not to be a famous option for the tourists because we only saw mostly locals during our mini adventure. In hindsight, for me that was more enjoyable than squeezing ourselves to find a nice spot to actually see a certain renowned structure, for example. Staying out from the commotion in the touristy places and be able to take in what Paris is really all about, the quintessential architecture of its buildings, the random finds tucked away in its corners and the inexplicable charms that whisked away many people to stay in Paris for a long term or even for good.

While it is impossible for me to remain in Paris for a long time, battling with the crowds is the only choice I have. But no matter how the famous landmarks get swarmed by hordes of tourists, it is always worth it in the end. And the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris bears no exception.

Jardin du Luxembourg

Jardin du Luxembourg from Tour Montparnasse (Zoomed in photo)

A hypothetical conversation...

Girl A: Where are we heading next?

Girl B: Since we are conveniently on top of Tour Montparnasse, let's look around!

Girl A: Hey, how about that patch of foliage over there?

Girl B: Hmmm... That seems a great idea. Let's head over there!

Because when you're on top, everywhere seems to be just a walking distance! :p Well, was that the case in the past? Back in time, when the rich had carriages to take them anywhere and the less privileged had only their feet. Somehow, Europe always makes me think of those bygone eras. It may be because almost every corner of the European cities we've visited, was just plainly historical. I even have this afterthought that Europe seems to be stuck in time and I'm not saying that in a demeaning way. Of course, modernity is there but it is impressive how history and modernity simply coexist.

Okay enough of that. Back to the present times, I like to think that we are the mere equivalent of those ordinary people in the past. No carriages to bring us to the gardens. So, we decided to walk in going to Jardin du Luxembourg from Tour Montparnasse. But the only difference this time around was that we had GPS. lol