Spolier alert: I’m on a train

Sorry I couldn’t post on Monday. This past weekend was a hectic but lovely. I’m currently writing this post on a train, but let’s dive into the context of where I am.

I see why Ryanair has a Reputation

This all started at the Vienna Airport. Me and my friends. Zoë and Brannon, were there to take our evening flight to Marseille. Our flight provider was Ryanair, and if you know Ryanair, they have very inexpensive tickets to travel all over Europe. I now see why. To get to the plane from the gate, we had to take a bus. This was not the problem. The problem was that the bus was very warm and we had to wait on the bus, right in front of the plane for 10 minutes. I thought I was going to pass out. Good news, I didn’t.

Other than that, the flight was fine (as fine as it can be for someone who is 6’2″.) On the flight, the flight attendants try to sell us overpriced airplane food. What I didn’t expect was for them to try and sell us designer cologne and perfume. I of course, did not fall for their marketing schemes and soon after, we arrived in Marseille.

Croissants and the Cross.

We began our first full day in Marseille with a coffee from a café that looked like it was in a hallway. Then we headed over to une boulangerie (French for bakery) and I got two Croissants for 2 euros. They were the best Croissants I have ever had. This is not an exaggeration, the French are magical. Afterwards the crew and I went to a nearby bus stop so we could take a bus to the Calanques National Park. 45 minutes of waiting later, we left as it was clear the bus was not going to arrive.\

Our backup plan was to climb to see La Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde, a large basilica seated on an even larger hill. After walking at a steep incline, and stopping a few times to rest, we had reached the Basilica and WOW!!!! The view was Jaw dropping and the inside was covered in gold and frescos on the ceiling.

I didn’t realize water could be that blue!

After our awesome day in Marseille, we had an even more awesome day in Villefranche-Sur-Mer! This place didn’t feel real. From the train station, the beach was a TWO MINUTE WALK! If that doesn’t tell you how incredible this place is, the pictures will say it all!

The Train to Madrid

After our lovely time in Villefranche and Marseille, It was time to head to the 2nd biggest city in the EU, Madrid! After having a little trouble getting our seat reservations, we traveled across the Pyrenees Mountains, for ~8 hours, to get to Madrid. To get to our AirBNB, we took the Madrid metro (Which we spent way to much money on cause we’re stupid Americans.) After getting off the metro, we got to the surface and our jaws dropped. We were right in front of the Bullfighting Coliseum. After staring at that for a while. We made it to the AirBNB and passed out.

Wait a minute… That’s a lot of Art.

While we were in Madrid, we got to see the Prado Museum. Being a little Smithsonian snob from growing up right outside D.C, I was shocked at how big this museum was. The National Gallery of Art (which I love and adore) is nothing compared to the Prado Museum. Sadly there was no photography allowed, but hey, we have the internet. Go look up some of the Goya painting! They were incredible. After our little art brains were fried. We went to a local cafe and got some really good food (Photos below.) Soon after, we walked around the city, trying to find a bookstore with Spanish Manga for Zoë. That was a failed mission. However, we found a used clothing store and I got a sick jean jacket!

But where am I now????

I’m on a train to Sevilla. I assure you that you will hear lots about this in next week’s post.

Anyways, Stay Coolish!
Hank Waterston