Church | By Rebecca Michelle

This trip was my first solo travel experience. We didn’t plan it that way, but Mitch wasn’t able to come at the last minute so I made the trip to Vietnam by myself. I am not a person who does well alone; I’ve written about that before. I am not a person who travels to foreign countries alone. But, this weekend, I became a person who can do that and do it well. This whole Malaysia experience has taught me that I’m a lot braver and more adventurous than I thought I was. To be quite honest, I have to be grateful to Malaysia for helping me grow into a stronger, more independent woman.

And onto the trip!

I absolutely loved Ho Chi Minh City, still better known as Saigon. (The airport code is SGN – how cool is that?!) The French influence in Ho Chi Minh, and in District 1 in particular, is obvious everywhere, from tree-lined boulevards with sidewalks and numerous public parks to a plethora of cafes. Anywhere with coffee culture holds a special place in my heart. There are aspects of Ho Chi Minh City, too, that make it distinctly Asian – more people have motorcycles than cars, traffic lights are in short supply, and when stuck in traffic, many bikers prefer to ride on the sidewalks. The gallery below contains general shots of the city. Then, I’ll get into specifics about what I saw.

My first stop was the War Remnants Museum, formerly known as the Museum of American War Crimes, which tells you basically everything you need to know about the museum’s bias and perspective. Since I’m an American History teacher, I can’t say that anything in the museum surprised me, but it was very interesting to see the Vietnam War (they don’t name the war in English, but multiple museums referred to it as the “war against US aggression”) presented from the other side. I took pictures of a few exhibit explanations and quotations posted on the walls to share with my students the next time I teach the war. (Sorry, not going to display those here – shoot me a message if you’re interested.)

Independence Palace, also known as Reunification Palace, was my next stop. I have to admit that I was less than thorough in my exploration due to stifling heat, oppressive humidity, and lack of air conditioning. Since I’m much more used to the architecture of old European palaces, it was interesting to see a modern palace. My photos of the interior didn’t come out very well because I wasn’t using the flash, but I did get some decent shots of the coolest part of the palace, which was the bunker in the basement. The bunker acted as a command center during the war and was completely equipped for people to stay for extended periods of time. The old radio equipment (ironically supplied by the US when Ngo Dinh Diem was in power) was fascinating.

The Central Post Office is famous for its interior (old French maps, phone booths) and is a popular spot to take wedding photos! The massive portrait of Uncle Ho (so called by numerous posters around the city and explanations in museums) surprised me.

Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, built by the French in 1880, is located on the same square as the post office. Most of it was closed to visitors and reserved for people praying, which I really liked. Again, no flash so not the best photos.

To see the Saigon River, I walked down a wonderful street called Dong Khoi. While in that area, I had a cup of coffee (one of many) and window shopped in all the little boutiques. I returned to that area Saturday night for dinner and drinks. I didn’t see the river by night, but I saw it as the sun was beginning to set.

By night, I did see . . .

People's Committee Hall (not sure what this does or is supposed to do and my guidebook didn't have anything to say about it) — People’s Committee Hall (not sure what this does or is supposed to do and my guidebook didn’t have anything to say about it)

Sunday morning I went to Ben Thanh Market. The chaos and odor of Asian wet markets no longer surprises me, and I am no longer rattled by vendors constantly calling after visitors to purchase this or that. Instead, I simply enjoyed the people-watching and the coffee.

I also ventured to the Fine Arts Museum, intriguing because I have no experience with Asian art. Interestingly, the museum was un-air conditioned and very few of the pieces were protected by glass. I don’t know anything about art conservation, but I can’t imagine that’s good for the art. The Ho Chi Minh City Museum was also excellent. This is where I found a collection of actual artifacts from the Vietnam War. The War Remnants Museum told its story in photos, but this is where newspapers, uniforms, weapons, official documents, old uniforms, and ingenious objects like a boat with a false bottom are housed.

Despite all that I saw and did, I can’t say I really feel that I experienced Vietnam. When Mitch and I were in Bangkok in November, I thought I understood how people in Thailand really live. I don’t have the same feeling about Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City, or whatever you want to call it. All of my exploring took place in District 1, which I know is incredibly Western and the most frequented by tourists. Next time, I’d love to take a boat up the Mekong River to see fishing villages (friends did this and their photos were wonderful), I want to see the pagodas in Chinatown, and I really want to go to Hanoi. Obviously, there’s a lot out there; hopefully I’ll get to see and learn more!

Safe travels!

Warning: This posts is very long and contains lots of photos.

As I’ve mentioned, my sister lives in Madrid and my parents and brother live in Rochester, NY. We met up in Madrid on Christmas Day and traveled around Spain until January 3, at which point we departed for our various homes. Some of us (okay, me) cried more than others. I love my family more than anything else in the world and it was very hard to leave them. Times like that make me wonder what I’m doing trying to make a life for myself halfway (all the way?) around the world. In the back of my mind, I know I want to live back in Rochester. I honestly didn’t think I’d miss home as much as I do.

But, the point of this post is photos! I’ve divided each section by where we went and what we did, but the first bit for each is simply pictures I took as we walked up and down winding, twisting streets. Enjoy! Also, go to Spain.

Madrid

Our time in Madrid was spent wandering around (with purpose, guided by Rick Steves) and going to museums. We visited the Prado, Museo Municipal (not recommended), and Reina Sofia. It was very cool seeing Durer’s Self Portrait and Vazquez’s Las Meninas in person at the Prado because I taught about those in my Global 9 class. Reina Sofia’s main attraction is Picasso’s Guernica, another painting that I’ve always wanted to see. Wow. Obviously, I don’t have any photos from the museums but I do have loads from walking around Madrid.

Madrid’s cathedral is a stunning building. Until we visited a few other churches later on, it was the most unique church I’d ever seen.

Córdoba

After 3 nights in Madrid, we took the train to Córdoba, which gave us absolutely stunning views of the Spanish countryside. It actually looks the way it’s described in books. That is both rare and almost too good to be true. As Mitch said, “In every Napoleonic era book I’ve read, there’s always a convenient stone wall and a house nearby.” Apparently that’s true. The city of Córdoba fit quite well into that framework.

We were only in Córdoba for one night and made two major stops. The first was to a museum called Casa Sefard, a Jewish history museum. The museum was a bit of a sad story because the Inquisition got rid of Córdoba’s Jews, so all the artifacts were from other parts of the world.

We spent a great deal of time at La Mezquita, which, I am ashamed to admit, I didn’t know existed. For those kindred spirits who are out of the loop, La Mezquita is a cathedral built inside a mosque, which was built on top of a church. Equally interesting, it’s over 1,000 years old!

One of my favorite parts of Córdoba was standing on the bridge connecting the two sides of town and watching the sunset. It was so beautiful and serene. This was our only night in Córdoba, so I’m glad it was particularly lovely.

Sevilla

Sevilla is a very old city and traces its history directly back to the Romans. Much of Europe can claim the same, but it never ceases to amaze this “New World” born-and-raised girl.

Naturally, we had to visit Sevilla’s cathedral. Poor Mitch isn’t a fan of touring religious buildings, but he was a good sport and followed along. Interestingly, the Sevilla Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. (I wonder if any other churches claim the same . . .) I don’t have a good picture of Christopher Columbus’s tomb, but that was very cool. I didn’t know he was buried there! Actually, as I realized throughout our travels, I didn’t know much about Spain at all.

I absolutely loved walking up the ramp inside the bell tower, which used to be the muezzin’s tower from back when this cathedral was a mosque. (Are you sensing a theme in Spanish history?)

We also went to the city’s archives and examined some really neat early exploration maps. Unfortunately, nothing was translated into English so that was a quick stop. Mitch and I also visited the bullfighting museum and learned a lot. I had no idea that bullfighting started as a way of training horses to keep calm amidst battle chaos! Clearly, that is no longer the goal. There’s a chapel inside the bullring where most matadors pray before entering the ring.

Sevilla is known for its deep flamenco tradition, so we went to a wonderful flamenco show. The whole show consisted of a singer, a guitarist, and two dancers. Fantastic. One of the most compelling shows I’ve seen. Flamenco dance reminds me of a combination of Irish dance and tap but that’s not even a good description. There’s so much passion and emotion in the music, in the singing, and in the movement. Really wonderful experience.

Barcelona

After two nights in Sevilla, we flew to Barcelona as our final stop. This was definitely my favorite of the four cities. Barcelona feels smaller than Madrid and the people seemed more welcoming. It was also really fun to see and hear Catalan everywhere we went. There was more than one sign written in Catalan and English rather than Catalan and Spanish, which was quite interesting. On a walking tour that we took, I learned that the Catalan independence flag has a blue star on a white field, like on the Cuban flag. The independence movement adopted that star in 1898 when Cuba gained independence from Spain.

Our first day, we went to the market for lunch. I found an organic vegetarian Mexican stand, so of course I had to try it.

It was in Barcelona that I saw the most stunning church I’ve ever seen. La Sagrada Família Basilica is truly a marvel. One of my students last year asked me about “the church in Spain that they’ve been building for over 100 years” and I didn’t know what it was until I looked it up. Seeing it was nothing like anything I’ve ever visited. I didn’t know that churches could feel almost modern and ethereal and heavenly, but this one did. Mitch put it well: “If Alice in Wonderland had a church, this would be it.” Bri had told us about the importance of light inside the church, and that was truly incredible.