Wednesday, February 25, 2009
I have officially LIVED!
Sooooo the end of Carnaval was last night! It was basically the culmination of the weeks festivities...one last hoorah if you will! I had the time of my LIFE! I totally made an "irresponsible" decision and went, but I'm really glad I did. The biggest celebration in the area is about 45 minutes from Barcelona in this town called Sitges. The party doesn't really get kicking till like 10 or 11pm and keeps going till about 5 or 6 am. We ended up taking a Renfe train out to Sitges around 11pm. I, personally, was ready for bed. I knew we wouldn't get back until incredibly late and I happen to have a huge mid-term tomorrow, as well as a presentation (and my group members haven't emailed me their slides yet for the powerpoint I have to make...JOY!). So I knew how exhausted I would be and I didn't think going would be a good idea. However, I'm only in Spain once and I probably won't get to experience a Spanish Carnaval again...so I WENT! I totally did the "unlike Hannah" thing...and I'm happy with my decision. It was probably the most fun I've had here yet!
Everyone dresses up in costumes for this last night. The Spanish people, my gosh, GO ALL OUT WITH THEIR COSTUMES! There were people who made themselves into giant pacmen, legos, barbies, etc. It was hilarious and so much fun to walk around and just look at all of the people. I, being the broke girl that I am, did not want to spend money on a costume. I ended up taking one of my scarves (purchased in NYC with grammy!) and made it into a toga shirt. Then I went to this little dollar store and got myself some gold string and flowers for my hair. I don't know what I was exactly...I guess I'll go with greek goddess?! Some of my friends went all out with costumes. We had Dylan, the sombrero wearing spiderman and my friend Mike, who wore a Flinestone-eque dress with a red wig and cowboy hat. Then there were others who went costume shopping on a budget. My dear friend Sara went with a hat...in the shape of an actual turkey.
Anyway, we got there around 11:40 and walked down to the area where the parade was. It was basically a huge MOB! People climbing on walls, dancing and singing, etc. It was like what I imagine Mardi Gras to be in New Orleans. It was QUITE the experience. After about 2 hours of getting crushed,dancing, hit on, and pictures taken with others, we decided it was a good hour to head back home. We ended up waiting in the cold for the train from 1:30am...to 2:30. I had no jacket...and it was 40 degrees out. Woooo! After the train ride, cab ride, and late night ramen-noodle-soup-eating-session, we went to bed at about 4:30 am. I had to get up for class at 9. HAH! I did it though. You will be pleased to know, out of the 17 students in my morning Spanish class, I was 1 of 3 people who showed up. I was pretty proud :)
I had so much fun last night! The best way I can really describe it is CRAZY and FUN! I'm sure that really does no good though. I'll be sure to attach some pictures to show you all. I won't be able to write till at least Sunday because I will be in London all weekend! I'll be sure to be safe and take lots of pictures! I love and miss you all! :)
Everyone dresses up in costumes for this last night. The Spanish people, my gosh, GO ALL OUT WITH THEIR COSTUMES! There were people who made themselves into giant pacmen, legos, barbies, etc. It was hilarious and so much fun to walk around and just look at all of the people. I, being the broke girl that I am, did not want to spend money on a costume. I ended up taking one of my scarves (purchased in NYC with grammy!) and made it into a toga shirt. Then I went to this little dollar store and got myself some gold string and flowers for my hair. I don't know what I was exactly...I guess I'll go with greek goddess?! Some of my friends went all out with costumes. We had Dylan, the sombrero wearing spiderman and my friend Mike, who wore a Flinestone-eque dress with a red wig and cowboy hat. Then there were others who went costume shopping on a budget. My dear friend Sara went with a hat...in the shape of an actual turkey.
Anyway, we got there around 11:40 and walked down to the area where the parade was. It was basically a huge MOB! People climbing on walls, dancing and singing, etc. It was like what I imagine Mardi Gras to be in New Orleans. It was QUITE the experience. After about 2 hours of getting crushed,dancing, hit on, and pictures taken with others, we decided it was a good hour to head back home. We ended up waiting in the cold for the train from 1:30am...to 2:30. I had no jacket...and it was 40 degrees out. Woooo! After the train ride, cab ride, and late night ramen-noodle-soup-eating-session, we went to bed at about 4:30 am. I had to get up for class at 9. HAH! I did it though. You will be pleased to know, out of the 17 students in my morning Spanish class, I was 1 of 3 people who showed up. I was pretty proud :)
I had so much fun last night! The best way I can really describe it is CRAZY and FUN! I'm sure that really does no good though. I'll be sure to attach some pictures to show you all. I won't be able to write till at least Sunday because I will be in London all weekend! I'll be sure to be safe and take lots of pictures! I love and miss you all! :)
Monday, February 23, 2009
STEP!
So I made the decision to join the gym this past weekend. I figured it would be a good idea even though it cost me 130 Euro and I really only have two months left. During the weekdays I tend to get incredibly homesick and I think its because I do a lot of sitting around. So I figured joining the gym and getting out of the room everyday would help with that. I sure hope so. My membership is for off-peak hours only (7-11, 3-5, 8-close). I didn't think abiding by that schedule would be much of a problem. As long as you are entering the gym before the off peak hours end, you are free to stay and work out. I entered at 4:56pm today...off peak hours ended at 5. WOO! Anyway, the gym membership comes with access to the gym, pool, sauna, and to all of their classes; spinning, step, kick boxing, pilates, yoga, etc. I think classes are going to be a lot of fun for me. I'm someone who needs to be told to workout. When it comes to motivating myself to get up and exercise, we have problems. However, if I have someone screaming at me in Spanish to keep moving my behind...I'll do it.
First class attended? STEP '45. Carly and I decided to try that one out this afternoon. Boy, was that an adventure! Step is exactly what it sounds like...stepping. You get one of those exercise boxes and basically tango with it. We were new to the class so everyone was staring at us. The tall, awkward girl, and the short, blonde...we were a spectacle. The whole class was taught in Spanish which was a small problem at first. The instructor was trying to...instruct us...and we weren't really understanding her that well. Luckily, there was a woman in the class who spoke Spanish and English. The woman said, "She is telling you to stop looking so scared, breathe, and relax.". GOOD ADVICE!
We got started and I was lost like nobody's business. You would learn one step, then add another, and another, and another, until basically after 10 minutes you had an entire dance. Not understanding the first step kind of started me off on the wrong foot...literally. Before long I got into the groove of things and was rolllllllling. There were moments where having two left feet really became an issue, but I worked through them. The instructor was getting a kick out of Carly and I. Basically, my fellow class participants got a free comedy show with their step class.
WHAT A WORKOUT! Oh my gosh. I have not sweat that hard since we lost at sectionals for HS Basketball....AND THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO! It was 50 minutes of non-stop cardio...I wanted to DIE at first, but then I caught my second wind. I absolutely LOVED the class. Despite the confusion in the beginning, I really did get the hang of everything towards the end. The instructor was so much fun and so were the dances. I definitely want to attend the class again next week! It feels nice to know I have something going on every Monday now. It'll keep me busy and I'm getting some exercise out of it; I'm thinking I made a good investment.
SO! I'm thinking I'll sleep like a baby tonight. Scorreeeee! Before I sleep, I should probably go finish studying for my Sport&Culture Mid-Term thats tomorrow. Wish me luck! I love and miss you all <3
First class attended? STEP '45. Carly and I decided to try that one out this afternoon. Boy, was that an adventure! Step is exactly what it sounds like...stepping. You get one of those exercise boxes and basically tango with it. We were new to the class so everyone was staring at us. The tall, awkward girl, and the short, blonde...we were a spectacle. The whole class was taught in Spanish which was a small problem at first. The instructor was trying to...instruct us...and we weren't really understanding her that well. Luckily, there was a woman in the class who spoke Spanish and English. The woman said, "She is telling you to stop looking so scared, breathe, and relax.". GOOD ADVICE!
We got started and I was lost like nobody's business. You would learn one step, then add another, and another, and another, until basically after 10 minutes you had an entire dance. Not understanding the first step kind of started me off on the wrong foot...literally. Before long I got into the groove of things and was rolllllllling. There were moments where having two left feet really became an issue, but I worked through them. The instructor was getting a kick out of Carly and I. Basically, my fellow class participants got a free comedy show with their step class.
WHAT A WORKOUT! Oh my gosh. I have not sweat that hard since we lost at sectionals for HS Basketball....AND THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO! It was 50 minutes of non-stop cardio...I wanted to DIE at first, but then I caught my second wind. I absolutely LOVED the class. Despite the confusion in the beginning, I really did get the hang of everything towards the end. The instructor was so much fun and so were the dances. I definitely want to attend the class again next week! It feels nice to know I have something going on every Monday now. It'll keep me busy and I'm getting some exercise out of it; I'm thinking I made a good investment.
SO! I'm thinking I'll sleep like a baby tonight. Scorreeeee! Before I sleep, I should probably go finish studying for my Sport&Culture Mid-Term thats tomorrow. Wish me luck! I love and miss you all <3
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The rundownnn...
So I had a pretty uneventful weekend, again. As planned, I spent Thursday afternoon in my bed with my gossip magazines and about 8 packages of my favorite gum. I plowed through my magazines within a few hours, my gum as well. For those of you who know me, know that I am a compulsive gum chewer, even more so with my favorite kind of gum (EXTRA Bubble Gum Flavor...HOLLA!). I don't think you know how badly I have missed my gum. I was overjoyed when father sent a giant pack of it. Unfortunately, I had missed the flavor so much I felt the need to chew a fresh piece about ever 10 minutes. Great for the taste bads...bad for my gum supply.
This week is the start of a festival called Carnival in Spain. It is essentially a week long celebration that ends on the Mardis Gras equivalent in the U.S. The majority of the people here don't really do the whole bead thing, they actually wear costumes. I guess you could say its a week long party/Halloween. Anyway, I had been looking forward to sleeping in alllll week long. Thursday night Carly and I decided to stay in and just get a good night sleep. I have basically turned into a Grandma here...but I'm ok with that. Come 9am, a concert of some sort had started up outside our window...I mean literally ouside our window. I listened to a fine assortment of music that included, amongst other songs, JUMP, JIVE, AND WAIL! You could say it started my day off on a good foot. How about a good night sleep the following night? Not quite. We had a mariachi band playing outside our window the next morning. My dorm room would be right above the stage for our area's celebration.
Carnival isn't alllllllll that bad though. I plan on going out to this town called Sitges for the celebration on Tuesday night. The festivities start at 10am and end at 5am. I do believe I will be calling it a night at about 2 or 3 am because I have classes the next day BRIGHT AND EARLY! I figure half of my classmates won't be there so it might look good to make an appearance. I plan on doing so. A lot of people wear costumes to this Carnival party in Sitges but that involves spending money that could be put to better use. I'll probably just end up buying a little masquerade mask. If I can't find one of those, I'll probably end up doing the incredibly creative pet ears with a black dot on the nose...cat? mouse? Takeee your pick :)
I went out last night to this bar called Pippermint. They specialize in EXTRA LARGE DRINKS. Basically the smallest drink you can have is 1 Liter. Carly, Sara, Jess, and I went and ordered a 6 Liter drink. Bad decision in retrospect...but we are all ok! Anyway, it was a nice bar because it was filled with mostly locals. It's nice being around non-study abroad students and actually meeting non-Americans. We met some nice people and some not-so-nice people. We were chatting with these guys at the table next to us and they decided to randomly become all creepy. It started to get scary and they were getting out of control so our bouncer friend, Benedict, kicked them out. Thank God. That's one downside of going out to Spanish bars...I don't really feel very safe at them, especially when it's just us girls. I think being by being girls, who are quite clearly not Spanish, we have a giant sign above our heads that says, "Hey! We don't speak your language so come mess with us." Luckily, 90% of the time we were some of our guy friends, which makes me feel a little safer.
LONDON THIS WEEKEND! I'm really really excited but really nervous at the same time! I just want the traveling to go off without a hitch, thats all I'm asking for. If we make the plane there and back, I will have nothing to big to complain about. I really can't wait to get there though. I have SO much I want to see...Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, etc.
This next month is going to be non-stop for me. I have a ton of mid-terms...ick. On top of that, I am traveling almost every weekend. I'm sure that will make time pass a little faster. Hopefully with the traveling I will have more interesting stuff to update y'all on. I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I love and miss you all SO MUCH! <3
This week is the start of a festival called Carnival in Spain. It is essentially a week long celebration that ends on the Mardis Gras equivalent in the U.S. The majority of the people here don't really do the whole bead thing, they actually wear costumes. I guess you could say its a week long party/Halloween. Anyway, I had been looking forward to sleeping in alllll week long. Thursday night Carly and I decided to stay in and just get a good night sleep. I have basically turned into a Grandma here...but I'm ok with that. Come 9am, a concert of some sort had started up outside our window...I mean literally ouside our window. I listened to a fine assortment of music that included, amongst other songs, JUMP, JIVE, AND WAIL! You could say it started my day off on a good foot. How about a good night sleep the following night? Not quite. We had a mariachi band playing outside our window the next morning. My dorm room would be right above the stage for our area's celebration.
Carnival isn't alllllllll that bad though. I plan on going out to this town called Sitges for the celebration on Tuesday night. The festivities start at 10am and end at 5am. I do believe I will be calling it a night at about 2 or 3 am because I have classes the next day BRIGHT AND EARLY! I figure half of my classmates won't be there so it might look good to make an appearance. I plan on doing so. A lot of people wear costumes to this Carnival party in Sitges but that involves spending money that could be put to better use. I'll probably just end up buying a little masquerade mask. If I can't find one of those, I'll probably end up doing the incredibly creative pet ears with a black dot on the nose...cat? mouse? Takeee your pick :)
I went out last night to this bar called Pippermint. They specialize in EXTRA LARGE DRINKS. Basically the smallest drink you can have is 1 Liter. Carly, Sara, Jess, and I went and ordered a 6 Liter drink. Bad decision in retrospect...but we are all ok! Anyway, it was a nice bar because it was filled with mostly locals. It's nice being around non-study abroad students and actually meeting non-Americans. We met some nice people and some not-so-nice people. We were chatting with these guys at the table next to us and they decided to randomly become all creepy. It started to get scary and they were getting out of control so our bouncer friend, Benedict, kicked them out. Thank God. That's one downside of going out to Spanish bars...I don't really feel very safe at them, especially when it's just us girls. I think being by being girls, who are quite clearly not Spanish, we have a giant sign above our heads that says, "Hey! We don't speak your language so come mess with us." Luckily, 90% of the time we were some of our guy friends, which makes me feel a little safer.
LONDON THIS WEEKEND! I'm really really excited but really nervous at the same time! I just want the traveling to go off without a hitch, thats all I'm asking for. If we make the plane there and back, I will have nothing to big to complain about. I really can't wait to get there though. I have SO much I want to see...Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, etc.
This next month is going to be non-stop for me. I have a ton of mid-terms...ick. On top of that, I am traveling almost every weekend. I'm sure that will make time pass a little faster. Hopefully with the traveling I will have more interesting stuff to update y'all on. I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I love and miss you all SO MUCH! <3
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
week from hell
I'm so sorry I haven't been writing a lot lately. My workload this week went through the freakin' roof and I've been trying to keep up. I've had 3 tests: Psych, Macro, and Spanish. And I have two project due dates this week. I only think I did bad on one of the tests, Spanish. I did a lot better on my Macro test than I thought I would (8 out of 10) and I got a 100 on my second Psych Test. I have a huge presentation in Psych tomorrow but I have that all prepared and ready to go. I'm feeling pretty good about it. I cannot WAIT for tomorrow at 3:45 when this week is completely done. When I get back to the room I am going to hop into bed and read my gossip magazines (thanks, Dad!) until I can read no more; it will be FANTASTIC! Did I mention I will be chewing my favorite gum at the same time? Yup! Freshly shipped from the U.S!
I have been having some issues with booking my trip to Munich. For reasons that I will never know, the flights to Germany are SO expensive. I don't understand how I am paying 86Euro round trip to go to London...and the cheapest I can find to Munich is 176Euro. After looking at prices I decided that I didn't want to spend that much money on a trip. That sick feeling I had in my stomach when I got my banking statement seems to reappear whenever I retrieve my debit card to book trips. Then I got an e-mail from my cousin Carina, who I had planned on meeting up with, that said that she had officially booked her ticket to Munich and that she was "counting the days till we meet again". AWESOME! Now I HAD to go and I had to book a ticket. After scouring the internet for hours my heart lept with joy when I found a round trip flight to Munich for 82Euro. I fill out my info and get to the final page where it tells me my total price. Ready for this? 210Euro. That's right, 128 dollars in "taxes and fees". Tax and fee MY @%!.... Absolutely enraged, I ended up finding the cheapest ticket after about 2 hours of looking. After the fees, taxes, and additional rip-offs, I ended up paying 186 Euro....aka I just spent $234 to fly to Munich for TWO DAYS! I know I will have a great time and I am so excited to see Carina. My friends and I have already discussed how we want to try to see a concetration camp and take a brewery tour when we get there. We'll see how that turns out. So I guess it's official GRAMMY! I'm returning to the homeland on March 6th! Woooo! I'm sure I will have the time of my life and completely forget that I spent an entire Mojoz weekly paycheck in the click of a button.
I must be heading to bed to get some rest for this presentation tomorrow. I love and miss you all <3
I have been having some issues with booking my trip to Munich. For reasons that I will never know, the flights to Germany are SO expensive. I don't understand how I am paying 86Euro round trip to go to London...and the cheapest I can find to Munich is 176Euro. After looking at prices I decided that I didn't want to spend that much money on a trip. That sick feeling I had in my stomach when I got my banking statement seems to reappear whenever I retrieve my debit card to book trips. Then I got an e-mail from my cousin Carina, who I had planned on meeting up with, that said that she had officially booked her ticket to Munich and that she was "counting the days till we meet again". AWESOME! Now I HAD to go and I had to book a ticket. After scouring the internet for hours my heart lept with joy when I found a round trip flight to Munich for 82Euro. I fill out my info and get to the final page where it tells me my total price. Ready for this? 210Euro. That's right, 128 dollars in "taxes and fees". Tax and fee MY @%!.... Absolutely enraged, I ended up finding the cheapest ticket after about 2 hours of looking. After the fees, taxes, and additional rip-offs, I ended up paying 186 Euro....aka I just spent $234 to fly to Munich for TWO DAYS! I know I will have a great time and I am so excited to see Carina. My friends and I have already discussed how we want to try to see a concetration camp and take a brewery tour when we get there. We'll see how that turns out. So I guess it's official GRAMMY! I'm returning to the homeland on March 6th! Woooo! I'm sure I will have the time of my life and completely forget that I spent an entire Mojoz weekly paycheck in the click of a button.
I must be heading to bed to get some rest for this presentation tomorrow. I love and miss you all <3
Sunday, February 15, 2009
10 things I've learned in Spain:
Today was a totally uneventful day...by uneventful I mean I literally did not leave my room. I didn't write yesterday and it would be absolutely unacceptable to go two days without an update. So that got me thinking about what I could possibly write about in my blog if I didn't go anywhere or do anything. Then I came to the conclusion that I could make a list of 10 things I've learned here in Spain so far. Here goes nothing:
1. If you're ever in the mood to get ripped off...take a ride in one of Barcelona's fine taxis.
2. There is no such thing as the refrigeration of eggs in Spain. Surprisingly, you will not vomit from eating a warm egg that has been sitting out for two weeks. They actually taste quite delicious and are rather fluffy.
3. Being stared at like you have a giant "L" on your forehead as you walk the streets is almost as common as hearing the Spanish language.
4. Pigeons in Barcelona think they run the place. They have no problem flying inches from your head or cutting you off as you walk through town. They get so close, you could literally PUNT a pigeon...and if they catch me on a bad day, I probably will.
5. I'm convinced Barcelona is currently in the 1980's because the mullet is very much alive and well. If there was such thing as a mullet census..the most populated country in the world would, without question, be Spain.
6. If you're ever thirsty, head to the local bus station, find a vending machine, slip your change in, and purchase a 1.5 LITER BOTTLE of water. I promise you, you will never be parched again.
7. It's safe to say the majority of people in Barcelona have a thing for pockets. It is particularly evident with their innate tendency to reach into tourists pockets....and take things.
8. If you are ever feeling lonely and in need of some loving, just head down to La Rambla where you can ALWAYS find some great company...for a small fee...after dark...with risk of STD.
9. If you are ever in the mood to do an impression of a can of sardines, find a few friends and book ANY hotel in Spain. Y'all laying down in the can, I mean BED, should work just fine.
10. Whenever you need someone to speak English, they can't. However, to say Spanish men do not speak English at all would be grossly inaccurate. In fact, they seem to have mastered the phrase, "HEY SEXY LADY! I LOVE YOU!".
That's all folks. Love and miss you all.<3
1. If you're ever in the mood to get ripped off...take a ride in one of Barcelona's fine taxis.
2. There is no such thing as the refrigeration of eggs in Spain. Surprisingly, you will not vomit from eating a warm egg that has been sitting out for two weeks. They actually taste quite delicious and are rather fluffy.
3. Being stared at like you have a giant "L" on your forehead as you walk the streets is almost as common as hearing the Spanish language.
4. Pigeons in Barcelona think they run the place. They have no problem flying inches from your head or cutting you off as you walk through town. They get so close, you could literally PUNT a pigeon...and if they catch me on a bad day, I probably will.
5. I'm convinced Barcelona is currently in the 1980's because the mullet is very much alive and well. If there was such thing as a mullet census..the most populated country in the world would, without question, be Spain.
6. If you're ever thirsty, head to the local bus station, find a vending machine, slip your change in, and purchase a 1.5 LITER BOTTLE of water. I promise you, you will never be parched again.
7. It's safe to say the majority of people in Barcelona have a thing for pockets. It is particularly evident with their innate tendency to reach into tourists pockets....and take things.
8. If you are ever feeling lonely and in need of some loving, just head down to La Rambla where you can ALWAYS find some great company...for a small fee...after dark...with risk of STD.
9. If you are ever in the mood to do an impression of a can of sardines, find a few friends and book ANY hotel in Spain. Y'all laying down in the can, I mean BED, should work just fine.
10. Whenever you need someone to speak English, they can't. However, to say Spanish men do not speak English at all would be grossly inaccurate. In fact, they seem to have mastered the phrase, "HEY SEXY LADY! I LOVE YOU!".
That's all folks. Love and miss you all.<3
Friday, February 13, 2009
Dali Museum & Girona
I just got back from my day trip and I am exhausted! My group went to the Dali Museum in Figueres and then we took a tour of a town called Girona. The bus ride to Figueres took about two hours but I slept the entire way. We arrived at the museum at about 11:30 am and were given some directions about meeting points, times, etc. After that we were let loose and able to go off on our own in the museum. Let me start off by saying one thing: Salvatore Dali was a crazy son of a gun. Our tour guide told us about how he would put honey on the tips of his funky mustache and wait for flies to land on it. Once they landed on it he would grab the fly and eat it. Delicious? Not so much. Now on to his artwork. When my grammy and I took a little trip to NYC this fall we went to the MET. I remember walking through the painting part of the museum and seeing Dali's paintings. They definitely stuck out and were probably some of my favorite pieces there. Remembering that, I was pretty excited to go see a museum dedicated entirely to him. How to describe his artwork? At times crazy, at times intricately detailed, at times simple....mostly crazy. But there is totally a method to his madness. At first glance the paintings just look like madness on a canvas...but with a closer look, and some explanation, you can definitely see the deeper stuff and the work that went into them. The museum had his paintings, sculptures, and even entire rooms he decorated with his artwork. The weirdest thing we saw? A giant upside down boat with what appeared to be falling raindrops from the base of it. Our tour guide asked us what we thought the droplets were made out of. No one guessed correctly so she finally told us. Dali made the raindrops out of condoms filled with water. As I said before...crazy son of a gun.
We were responsible for getting our own lunch before we returned to the bus to drive to Girona. After we left the Dali Museum we found this cute little tapas cafe only a few feet from the museum. I ended up ordering paella and bread with tomatoes and olive oil on it. Then the waitress brings us a basket of bread that everyone shared. That would happen to me. I would order more bread when there is free bread on the table. OR SO I THOUGHT! I get my bill from the waitress and I see that I, along with everyone else, was charged 1Euro for the bread baskets she brought to the table. Awesome. She totally put the bread on the table like it was free, and NOWHERE did it say that the bread they bring to you was not complimentary. Additionally, she charged EVERYONE for the baskets of bread...even if a person didn't eat it. Basically at the end of my meal I had eaten so much bread I had turned into a loaf, I was angry at the waitress, and I had totally forgotten how delicious my paella was.
We were supposed to meet back at the bus at 3:50 and we were explicitly told they would leave without us if we weren't there. Come 3:55 there are three people missing and by 4:20 they still weren't back. We finally left without them and turns out they just decided they wanted to stay in Figueres but felt no need to tell anyone. Have fun getting back to Barcelona! Idiots. ANYWAY! The drive to Girona was about 45 minutes...I slept...again. Not thinking logically, I neglected to realize we were driving north and that weather would be a lot colder than Barcelona. Yes, I froze. I'm really starting to think it might pay off to invest in a pair of gloves so I am able to return to the States with my fingers. Then there is the part of me that doesn't want to spend the money after seeing my banking statement the other day. Then there is the part of me that realizes amputation surgery is probably quite pricy. I think I'll get some gloves...
Girona...Hmm. It was a very nice city but I felt like it was a lot like the older parts of Barcelona; kind of like I had already seen it before. We walked around for about an hour and twenty minutes with our tour guide. She was able to tell us some interesting facts about some of the buildings and what not. I guess that was reason enough to go, I learned something new. I basically spent the entire tour taking pictures because the place was absolutely beautiful. I'll be sure to post some pictures up in a blog after I post this one. All in all it was a good day and I'm glad I went. I enjoy just tacking on names of places I have visited to my ever-expanding list. I hope everyone had a good day. I Love and miss you all! <3
We were responsible for getting our own lunch before we returned to the bus to drive to Girona. After we left the Dali Museum we found this cute little tapas cafe only a few feet from the museum. I ended up ordering paella and bread with tomatoes and olive oil on it. Then the waitress brings us a basket of bread that everyone shared. That would happen to me. I would order more bread when there is free bread on the table. OR SO I THOUGHT! I get my bill from the waitress and I see that I, along with everyone else, was charged 1Euro for the bread baskets she brought to the table. Awesome. She totally put the bread on the table like it was free, and NOWHERE did it say that the bread they bring to you was not complimentary. Additionally, she charged EVERYONE for the baskets of bread...even if a person didn't eat it. Basically at the end of my meal I had eaten so much bread I had turned into a loaf, I was angry at the waitress, and I had totally forgotten how delicious my paella was.
We were supposed to meet back at the bus at 3:50 and we were explicitly told they would leave without us if we weren't there. Come 3:55 there are three people missing and by 4:20 they still weren't back. We finally left without them and turns out they just decided they wanted to stay in Figueres but felt no need to tell anyone. Have fun getting back to Barcelona! Idiots. ANYWAY! The drive to Girona was about 45 minutes...I slept...again. Not thinking logically, I neglected to realize we were driving north and that weather would be a lot colder than Barcelona. Yes, I froze. I'm really starting to think it might pay off to invest in a pair of gloves so I am able to return to the States with my fingers. Then there is the part of me that doesn't want to spend the money after seeing my banking statement the other day. Then there is the part of me that realizes amputation surgery is probably quite pricy. I think I'll get some gloves...
Girona...Hmm. It was a very nice city but I felt like it was a lot like the older parts of Barcelona; kind of like I had already seen it before. We walked around for about an hour and twenty minutes with our tour guide. She was able to tell us some interesting facts about some of the buildings and what not. I guess that was reason enough to go, I learned something new. I basically spent the entire tour taking pictures because the place was absolutely beautiful. I'll be sure to post some pictures up in a blog after I post this one. All in all it was a good day and I'm glad I went. I enjoy just tacking on names of places I have visited to my ever-expanding list. I hope everyone had a good day. I Love and miss you all! <3
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
one of those days...
In reference to one of little Hannah and Trevor's favorite childhood movies, you could say I had a "terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day" yesterday. Just one of those days I guess. It's kind of frustrating because I seem to have them a lot here. I'm sure its because of the homesickness, stress, over-tiredness, etc.
I was supposed to go to Camp Nou to have a tour with my Sport & Culture class at 10:45 in the morning. Camp Nou is on the other side of Barcelona in comparison to where I live, so I planned my metro trip out and left with what I thought would be enough time to get there. I still arrived about 6 minutes late. Now if you know me, you know I cannot STAND being late. Being late is probably one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to other people and I get incredibly upset with myself when I'm late. So I started off my day being a little ticked off at good ole me. Then my teacher, the nicest man in the world, didn't want to leave the meeting point because he believed that more people would be coming. No one else came for about 5 minutes so he decided we should start walking over to the stadium. Then we got the stadium and he decided we should wait about 5 more minutes for people before we went inside. No one came. Once inside, he decided we should wait another 5 minutes before we bought tickets. No one came. FINALLY, he took attendance and purchased the tickets. By this time it is 11:30 and I have a class, on the other side of Barcelona, at 12:30. Awesome. I really, really, really wanted to at least see some of the tour so I tried to stretch my time there out as long as humanly possible. We walk in and I'm feeling kind of optimistic, "At least I'll get to see a little bit of the stadium". Nope. We proceeded to walk over to a huge line that was waiting for a 3D tour of the Camp Nou. Now, I could have missed my next class because technically it is excused because I was on a field trip. But still, my teacher in my next class is really strict, hates people being late, and I don't feel confident enough in my knowledge to miss a class...so I had to go. I was so looking forward to this trip because we were going to get to go down on the field, in the press box, and see the locker rooms. To say I was bummed is putting it lightly. At 11:45 I decided I needed to go so I could give myself 45 minutes to get back. I told him I had to attend my next class, that I was sorry, and I then proceeded to BOLT back to the main campus. I made it to campus at 12:28, totally drenched in sweat. Ironically, my psych teacher ended up being 10 minutes late. Figures.
Further dampening my mood was my psych class. I'm not a huge fan of my professors style of teaching but she does seem like a very nice lady. A bunch of kids found out the other day that they had booked a trip to another country on the same day as our mid-term for that class. They wanted her to move it and she said that mid-terms are set in stone and non-negotionable. Plus, the syllabus had the mid-term date written right on it. Your an idiot if you schedule a flight to leave during your mid-term time. Anyway, they got incredibly mad at her for their own stupidity. They spent pretty much ten minutes ganging up on her and yelling at her. The conversation ended with this overly tanned, overly hair-gelled, overly ASSHOLE (pardon my french...) boy tell her "Oh well, we'll see how this turns out now won't we." Since when is it ok to talk to a teacher, let alone a human being like that? I don't understand alot of my classmates and their treatment of the professors. It was embarassing being part of that class.
Then it was off to my favorite class of the day (NOT); religion. I took my dreaded quiz, 5 questions, and lets just say my results were the icing on the cake that WAS my horrible day. What did I get? Let's just sayyy...my grade is the equivalent of my age last year, the equivalent of the years in two decades, the equivalent of the height of a building I wanted to jump off of. Ok, I don't want to jump off a building...but I think that gets the point across. About 80% of the people in my class got either 0 or 1 of the 5 questions correct; there were some lucky people who guessed 2 or 3 questions right. I think that should say something about the teacher. I studied my notes, and NOTHING from them was on the quiz. So I'll try to be positive here...how can I turn the fact I got a 1 out of 5 on my first religion quiz into something positive? GOT IT! I've officially failed an exam on a continent other than North America! :)
You could say I had an enjoyable 5 hours of classes yesterday. I got back and worked on a Spanish project that I had due today (I think I'll get higher than a 20). Then Carly and I went grocery shopping because our fridge was filled, pretty much, with a solitary egg. It was my turn to pay and the cashier had to rip my debit card out of my fingers. When grocery shopping, I treated myself to an 80 cent package of 10 chocolate covered croissants. You can bet my 20 on the quiz that I ate all of them in nearly one sitting. Did I feel a little better? Absolutely. My stomach? Not so much.
Capping off my solid 24 hour period was my random bout of insomnia. I slept approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes last night. Why couldn't I sleep? I have no idea. They always recommend counting something, like sheep, to help you fall asleep. So I was like, "Oh Hannah, why don't you count the number of questions you got right on your quiz today." You can imagine how that went...
I'm exhausted today, I have a ton of homework, and my cold is getting progressively worse. But, in the words of my wise grandmother, I am trying to make myself a good day. So far, its infinitely better than yesterday, so I can't complain too much. I'm starving right now, so I need to go make myself some lunch before my Macro class (which I don't understand at all anymore). Too bad I don't have any chocolate covered croissants for dessert...
love and miss you all<3
I was supposed to go to Camp Nou to have a tour with my Sport & Culture class at 10:45 in the morning. Camp Nou is on the other side of Barcelona in comparison to where I live, so I planned my metro trip out and left with what I thought would be enough time to get there. I still arrived about 6 minutes late. Now if you know me, you know I cannot STAND being late. Being late is probably one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to other people and I get incredibly upset with myself when I'm late. So I started off my day being a little ticked off at good ole me. Then my teacher, the nicest man in the world, didn't want to leave the meeting point because he believed that more people would be coming. No one else came for about 5 minutes so he decided we should start walking over to the stadium. Then we got the stadium and he decided we should wait about 5 more minutes for people before we went inside. No one came. Once inside, he decided we should wait another 5 minutes before we bought tickets. No one came. FINALLY, he took attendance and purchased the tickets. By this time it is 11:30 and I have a class, on the other side of Barcelona, at 12:30. Awesome. I really, really, really wanted to at least see some of the tour so I tried to stretch my time there out as long as humanly possible. We walk in and I'm feeling kind of optimistic, "At least I'll get to see a little bit of the stadium". Nope. We proceeded to walk over to a huge line that was waiting for a 3D tour of the Camp Nou. Now, I could have missed my next class because technically it is excused because I was on a field trip. But still, my teacher in my next class is really strict, hates people being late, and I don't feel confident enough in my knowledge to miss a class...so I had to go. I was so looking forward to this trip because we were going to get to go down on the field, in the press box, and see the locker rooms. To say I was bummed is putting it lightly. At 11:45 I decided I needed to go so I could give myself 45 minutes to get back. I told him I had to attend my next class, that I was sorry, and I then proceeded to BOLT back to the main campus. I made it to campus at 12:28, totally drenched in sweat. Ironically, my psych teacher ended up being 10 minutes late. Figures.
Further dampening my mood was my psych class. I'm not a huge fan of my professors style of teaching but she does seem like a very nice lady. A bunch of kids found out the other day that they had booked a trip to another country on the same day as our mid-term for that class. They wanted her to move it and she said that mid-terms are set in stone and non-negotionable. Plus, the syllabus had the mid-term date written right on it. Your an idiot if you schedule a flight to leave during your mid-term time. Anyway, they got incredibly mad at her for their own stupidity. They spent pretty much ten minutes ganging up on her and yelling at her. The conversation ended with this overly tanned, overly hair-gelled, overly ASSHOLE (pardon my french...) boy tell her "Oh well, we'll see how this turns out now won't we." Since when is it ok to talk to a teacher, let alone a human being like that? I don't understand alot of my classmates and their treatment of the professors. It was embarassing being part of that class.
Then it was off to my favorite class of the day (NOT); religion. I took my dreaded quiz, 5 questions, and lets just say my results were the icing on the cake that WAS my horrible day. What did I get? Let's just sayyy...my grade is the equivalent of my age last year, the equivalent of the years in two decades, the equivalent of the height of a building I wanted to jump off of. Ok, I don't want to jump off a building...but I think that gets the point across. About 80% of the people in my class got either 0 or 1 of the 5 questions correct; there were some lucky people who guessed 2 or 3 questions right. I think that should say something about the teacher. I studied my notes, and NOTHING from them was on the quiz. So I'll try to be positive here...how can I turn the fact I got a 1 out of 5 on my first religion quiz into something positive? GOT IT! I've officially failed an exam on a continent other than North America! :)
You could say I had an enjoyable 5 hours of classes yesterday. I got back and worked on a Spanish project that I had due today (I think I'll get higher than a 20). Then Carly and I went grocery shopping because our fridge was filled, pretty much, with a solitary egg. It was my turn to pay and the cashier had to rip my debit card out of my fingers. When grocery shopping, I treated myself to an 80 cent package of 10 chocolate covered croissants. You can bet my 20 on the quiz that I ate all of them in nearly one sitting. Did I feel a little better? Absolutely. My stomach? Not so much.
Capping off my solid 24 hour period was my random bout of insomnia. I slept approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes last night. Why couldn't I sleep? I have no idea. They always recommend counting something, like sheep, to help you fall asleep. So I was like, "Oh Hannah, why don't you count the number of questions you got right on your quiz today." You can imagine how that went...
I'm exhausted today, I have a ton of homework, and my cold is getting progressively worse. But, in the words of my wise grandmother, I am trying to make myself a good day. So far, its infinitely better than yesterday, so I can't complain too much. I'm starving right now, so I need to go make myself some lunch before my Macro class (which I don't understand at all anymore). Too bad I don't have any chocolate covered croissants for dessert...
love and miss you all<3
Monday, February 9, 2009
gooooooooooaaaalllllllllll.
FC Barcelona soccer game, or should I say FUTBOL game, was last night! It was FANTASTIC! I could barely contain my excitement on the metro ride over. This is going to sound really cheesy but when I go to sporting events I absolutely love the moment right when you walk into the center of the stadium; the lights, the people, the sound...it's just awesome. Anyway, that moment was unlike anything I've experienced in my sport/stadium experiences. FC Barcelona plays at a stadium called Camp Nou, which holds 98,000 people. So right off the bat, you are just blown away by the magnitude of the stadium and the amount of people in it. NBA stadiums typically only hold anywhere from 10,000-20,000 people. I thought that was a lot when I went to my first NBA game. However, it simply pales in comparison to the number of people that were at Camp Nou for the game last night. As corny as it sounds, the moment we walked into the stadium was something I will always remember.
In true CEA fashion, we had nose bleed section seats. I was totally ok with it because I was just happy to be there. Aside from being up so high, it really isn't all that bad because you can see the field no matter where you're sitting in the stadium. The major downside of being up so high...the temperature. It was a night game and I have never been SO cold in my entire life. Yes, Dad, I did wear my Northface. BUT! I layered like no other. I had two shirts on, a sweatshirt, my northface, a scarf, pants, stockings under my pants, two pairs of socks, and sneakers. Ironically...I felt as though I was naked..it was THAT cold. At the beginning of the game I was thinking, "Oh I'll be alright...this isn't that bad." 15 minutes into the game, "Wow, let's see if my jacket can zip up anymore." End of the first half, "I will likely return to the U.S without fingers and toes due to frostbite." It took about an hour after the game, still in all of my clothing, wrapped in my burlap sack of a blanket, to regain feeling in my extremities. :)
So the game itself...AWESOME! FC Barcelona played this team called Sporting. They didn't seem like they were very good because Barcelona always seemed to be on offense...which I didn't mind at all. I'm not one to really enjoy watching soccer on T.V. I think the basketball girl in me wants constant scoring and soccer doesn't really have that. But seeing the game in person is a totally different story. Listening to the crowd, who is totally obsessed with their team, made it fun. When FCB scored the entire stadium went nutttssssss. Most of the game I just spent time either staring at the field or staring at the people around me; I wanted to take it all in. FC Barca fans are so proud of their team, the city, and you can really see it. Even if the team isn't scoring, the fans are going crazy, waving their flags, doing chants, etc etc. One funny moment...Sara and I sat next to eachother the first half and we tried to cheer along with the crowd but we couldn't really understand what they were saying. You can imagine our excitement when we thought we knew the chant they were doing. So Sara and I are doing the "dun. dun. LETS GO! dun. dun. LETS GO!" chant with great pride. Turns out the entire stadium...except Sara and I...were saying "dun. dun. BARCA! dun. dun. BARCA!" Oh well, it's the thought that counts. ;)
FC Barcelona ended up winning the match 3-1. The game itself wasn't really all that exciting because Barca just dominated the entire time. It was intense though whenever Barca scored or came close to scoring. The crowd went CRAZYYY!!! I finally understand why my dear grandfather goes crazy when he watches soccer (love you grandpa<3). All in all, the experience itself was incredibly exciting. I would definitely like to go back to watch another game...my only request is that it's not 30 degrees out. I also want to purchase some FC Barcelona gear. Alot of the fans had on FC scarves and had FC flag type thingers. I definitely want to get those before I go home. Definitely an A+ night.
Hmmm, what else to discuss? I think I'll start with the fact that I have come down with something again. Not as painful as my strep but it is making my existence miserable. Being sick just makes my homesickness 10x's worse so I'm really just trying to rest up and feel better. I'm thinking its a nasty cold since I'm so congested I can barely hear and I'm coughing like a smoker. No one has died from a cold so I'm sure I'll be fine. But seriously, I'm not going to be surprised if I come down the Spanish Plague. My health hates me here. In slightly better news, I got my first Spanish quiz back and I got a 100 on it. Any good grades in that class I will take because I'm already not understanding the new material. Fantastic. :)
Well I have to work on some homework for my next class. I hope everyone has a great day! I love and miss you all more than you know! <3
In true CEA fashion, we had nose bleed section seats. I was totally ok with it because I was just happy to be there. Aside from being up so high, it really isn't all that bad because you can see the field no matter where you're sitting in the stadium. The major downside of being up so high...the temperature. It was a night game and I have never been SO cold in my entire life. Yes, Dad, I did wear my Northface. BUT! I layered like no other. I had two shirts on, a sweatshirt, my northface, a scarf, pants, stockings under my pants, two pairs of socks, and sneakers. Ironically...I felt as though I was naked..it was THAT cold. At the beginning of the game I was thinking, "Oh I'll be alright...this isn't that bad." 15 minutes into the game, "Wow, let's see if my jacket can zip up anymore." End of the first half, "I will likely return to the U.S without fingers and toes due to frostbite." It took about an hour after the game, still in all of my clothing, wrapped in my burlap sack of a blanket, to regain feeling in my extremities. :)
So the game itself...AWESOME! FC Barcelona played this team called Sporting. They didn't seem like they were very good because Barcelona always seemed to be on offense...which I didn't mind at all. I'm not one to really enjoy watching soccer on T.V. I think the basketball girl in me wants constant scoring and soccer doesn't really have that. But seeing the game in person is a totally different story. Listening to the crowd, who is totally obsessed with their team, made it fun. When FCB scored the entire stadium went nutttssssss. Most of the game I just spent time either staring at the field or staring at the people around me; I wanted to take it all in. FC Barca fans are so proud of their team, the city, and you can really see it. Even if the team isn't scoring, the fans are going crazy, waving their flags, doing chants, etc etc. One funny moment...Sara and I sat next to eachother the first half and we tried to cheer along with the crowd but we couldn't really understand what they were saying. You can imagine our excitement when we thought we knew the chant they were doing. So Sara and I are doing the "dun. dun. LETS GO! dun. dun. LETS GO!" chant with great pride. Turns out the entire stadium...except Sara and I...were saying "dun. dun. BARCA! dun. dun. BARCA!" Oh well, it's the thought that counts. ;)
FC Barcelona ended up winning the match 3-1. The game itself wasn't really all that exciting because Barca just dominated the entire time. It was intense though whenever Barca scored or came close to scoring. The crowd went CRAZYYY!!! I finally understand why my dear grandfather goes crazy when he watches soccer (love you grandpa<3). All in all, the experience itself was incredibly exciting. I would definitely like to go back to watch another game...my only request is that it's not 30 degrees out. I also want to purchase some FC Barcelona gear. Alot of the fans had on FC scarves and had FC flag type thingers. I definitely want to get those before I go home. Definitely an A+ night.
Hmmm, what else to discuss? I think I'll start with the fact that I have come down with something again. Not as painful as my strep but it is making my existence miserable. Being sick just makes my homesickness 10x's worse so I'm really just trying to rest up and feel better. I'm thinking its a nasty cold since I'm so congested I can barely hear and I'm coughing like a smoker. No one has died from a cold so I'm sure I'll be fine. But seriously, I'm not going to be surprised if I come down the Spanish Plague. My health hates me here. In slightly better news, I got my first Spanish quiz back and I got a 100 on it. Any good grades in that class I will take because I'm already not understanding the new material. Fantastic. :)
Well I have to work on some homework for my next class. I hope everyone has a great day! I love and miss you all more than you know! <3
Sunday, February 8, 2009
trips
I have officially booked my first trip in Europe! Carly, Jess, and I have been researching flights to London for quite some time now and last night we finally found one that we were happy with. We plan on going there February 26th and staying until March 1st. The round-trip airfare is going to cost us 86 Euros...not to shabby if I say so myself! We are having small issues finding hostels or cheap hotels to stay in though. As we learned in Valencia, location can make or break the trip, so we don't want to make the same mistake twice. We really don't know what area is best to stay in if you want to be near the tourists sites (Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, etc, etc.). Some friends of ours took a trip to London last weekend and said the location of their hostel was horrible and they ended up spending over 150 Euro in cab fees; I certainly don't want to do that! We're also worried that we'll book a hostel that ends up being a party one or a total piece of crap. We've been doing a lot of research but we're having a hard time committing to one because we're just too scared. Carly and I have been asking people we know who have studied abroad or live London for any suggestions. We'll see what happens...
We have also tacked down the date for our next trip. Carly and I plan on looking for some flights the next few days. On this trip I will be returning to my native homeland when I go to Munich, Germany from March 6 - 8th! I e-mailed my cousin who lives in Germany, Carina, to see if she had any recommendations for sites to visit and/or hostels or hotels to stay at. Maybe we'll even be able to meet up; that would be nice. I'm kind of nervous because I don't speak any German whatsoever. The only word I know can be accredited to Heidi Klum and the masterpiece that IS Project Runway; AUF WIEDERSEHEN! ;) My Dad says a lot of people speak English there so I'm hoping that is the case. I'll be sure to let everyone know more when we tack down plans for sure. I'm pretty excited!!!!
So other than that I have no more news. The soccer game is tonight and I am BEYOND excited. I wanted to get a jersey to wear to it but our Sport & Culture teacher said thats a bad idea. Apparently no one in Barcelona wears jerseys to the game because they don't like to support only one player, they like to support the whole team. Basically, if you wear a jersey to the game everyone knows your a tourist and you stick out like a sore thumb. So I think I'm going to buy an FC Barcelona scarf to wear and just save the jersey for a personal souvenir later in the semester. I'll tell you guys all about how the game went tomorrow! Hopefully I survive! :)
Love and miss you all! <3
We have also tacked down the date for our next trip. Carly and I plan on looking for some flights the next few days. On this trip I will be returning to my native homeland when I go to Munich, Germany from March 6 - 8th! I e-mailed my cousin who lives in Germany, Carina, to see if she had any recommendations for sites to visit and/or hostels or hotels to stay at. Maybe we'll even be able to meet up; that would be nice. I'm kind of nervous because I don't speak any German whatsoever. The only word I know can be accredited to Heidi Klum and the masterpiece that IS Project Runway; AUF WIEDERSEHEN! ;) My Dad says a lot of people speak English there so I'm hoping that is the case. I'll be sure to let everyone know more when we tack down plans for sure. I'm pretty excited!!!!
So other than that I have no more news. The soccer game is tonight and I am BEYOND excited. I wanted to get a jersey to wear to it but our Sport & Culture teacher said thats a bad idea. Apparently no one in Barcelona wears jerseys to the game because they don't like to support only one player, they like to support the whole team. Basically, if you wear a jersey to the game everyone knows your a tourist and you stick out like a sore thumb. So I think I'm going to buy an FC Barcelona scarf to wear and just save the jersey for a personal souvenir later in the semester. I'll tell you guys all about how the game went tomorrow! Hopefully I survive! :)
Love and miss you all! <3
Friday, February 6, 2009
Flamenco
So I went to the flamenco show last night and...I LOVED IT! I don't know what the haters were watching because what I saw was absolutely amazing. The show lasted about an hour and featured four dancers. They started the show as one group, eventually had their own solos, and finished the show together again. I don't really know how to describe Flamenco besides saying that there is a lot of stomping of the feet. These people are like tap-dancers on speed; it's intense. Their feet move so fast, to such crazy rhythms, that they almost disappear. Ok, slight exaggeration, but you get what I'm trying to say. It was a simple show in nature. They had spanish singers, who really just wailed the entire time (but it really did sound fantastic), sitting at the back of the stage, two guitar players, and some guy who played a drum. There was simple lighting and no scenery. They basically just let the dancers do their thing and it was amazing. The ferocity of their foot tapping was insane and the passion on their faces showed that they really enjoyed what they were doing. I have some videos so I will definitely show them to everyone when I'm home...or when I figure out how to get them on here. Whichever comes first! Anyway, I would definitely recommend going to a flamenco show if you ever get the chance!
I slept in today...it was fantastic. I made myself some fried eggs. I tried to flip them but that failed miserably (they still tasted good). After that I basically sat and did work all day. I got part one of my Psychology project done and finished my final draft of my paper for the competition. Depending on the motivation levels I might try to do some more work tomorrow.
Sorry there is not much to report again today. Tomorrow should be pretty low-key as well. BUT SUNDAY! yessss SUNDAY! I have my first European soccer game and I am pumped x's 84684. There should be some good stories after that one. Anyway, I think I'm staying in again tonight; not really in the mood to go out. I hope everyone had a great day! I love and miss you all!
I slept in today...it was fantastic. I made myself some fried eggs. I tried to flip them but that failed miserably (they still tasted good). After that I basically sat and did work all day. I got part one of my Psychology project done and finished my final draft of my paper for the competition. Depending on the motivation levels I might try to do some more work tomorrow.
Sorry there is not much to report again today. Tomorrow should be pretty low-key as well. BUT SUNDAY! yessss SUNDAY! I have my first European soccer game and I am pumped x's 84684. There should be some good stories after that one. Anyway, I think I'm staying in again tonight; not really in the mood to go out. I hope everyone had a great day! I love and miss you all!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
no exciting news...
Hey everyone! I really have nothing exciting to report today. I guess I could tell you that it's unusually cold and rainy here today, but that's not very exciting. I suppose I could do what I do best and ramble for a little bit. So let's see where this goes...
SO! It's the end of the school week, thank God, and I have a ton of work to do. I've decided I'm not going to go out tonight so I can get a good nights sleep and a solid sleep-in session in the morning. I have a lot of projects and tests coming up in the next few weeks so I want to get some of them started tomorrow. Then I figure I can go out on Friday and Saturday night if I really want to.
I had two quizzes this week: one in spanish and one for my psych class. I got a 100 on the psych quiz and I don't know how I did on the Spanish one yet. I have a feeling I did decent. I have my first religion class quiz on Tuesday and I literally have no idea what to study because we really have not learned anything. I thought I had the worst teacher that existed on this planet when I took Microeconomics with T.Shep...I was wrong. My religion teacher, Victor as we call him, seems like he is high half the time (I don't think he actually is). He has no sort of lesson plan and rarely seems like he knows what he's talking about. We are supposed to be learning about Islam in Spain, a potentially interesting subject. All we have learned, or should I say looked at, is maps. Along with his "palm-grenade" mishap, this man let our class out a half hour early one day. The best part...he thought we had gone over the alotted class time. All classes at CEA, no matter what day or time, are an hour and a half in length. He seemed genuinely surprised, even though he's taught here for 2 years, when a few students and myself stayed after to inform him that class was an hour and half and our time had not actually expired. As most students would do, the majority of the class had already bolted out the door. This class is going to be a disaster, and I'm feeling as though my quiz will be the same.
Tonight I'm going to a flamenco show at a local theater with other CEA students. I'm pretty excited to see it because I've never been to a Flamenco show before. Hopefully the show is decent. Some people have said it was pretty bad, but I guess it can be a matter of opinion. Even if it isn't the best, at least I can add that to my list of worldy experiences! I'll be sure to let everyone know how that went tomorrow.
So, I have a crazy amount of homework I need to get started on it. I'm on a slight wave of motivation at the moment and I feel as though I should ride it as long as possible. Off to work I go. Love and miss you all. <3
SO! It's the end of the school week, thank God, and I have a ton of work to do. I've decided I'm not going to go out tonight so I can get a good nights sleep and a solid sleep-in session in the morning. I have a lot of projects and tests coming up in the next few weeks so I want to get some of them started tomorrow. Then I figure I can go out on Friday and Saturday night if I really want to.
I had two quizzes this week: one in spanish and one for my psych class. I got a 100 on the psych quiz and I don't know how I did on the Spanish one yet. I have a feeling I did decent. I have my first religion class quiz on Tuesday and I literally have no idea what to study because we really have not learned anything. I thought I had the worst teacher that existed on this planet when I took Microeconomics with T.Shep...I was wrong. My religion teacher, Victor as we call him, seems like he is high half the time (I don't think he actually is). He has no sort of lesson plan and rarely seems like he knows what he's talking about. We are supposed to be learning about Islam in Spain, a potentially interesting subject. All we have learned, or should I say looked at, is maps. Along with his "palm-grenade" mishap, this man let our class out a half hour early one day. The best part...he thought we had gone over the alotted class time. All classes at CEA, no matter what day or time, are an hour and a half in length. He seemed genuinely surprised, even though he's taught here for 2 years, when a few students and myself stayed after to inform him that class was an hour and half and our time had not actually expired. As most students would do, the majority of the class had already bolted out the door. This class is going to be a disaster, and I'm feeling as though my quiz will be the same.
Tonight I'm going to a flamenco show at a local theater with other CEA students. I'm pretty excited to see it because I've never been to a Flamenco show before. Hopefully the show is decent. Some people have said it was pretty bad, but I guess it can be a matter of opinion. Even if it isn't the best, at least I can add that to my list of worldy experiences! I'll be sure to let everyone know how that went tomorrow.
So, I have a crazy amount of homework I need to get started on it. I'm on a slight wave of motivation at the moment and I feel as though I should ride it as long as possible. Off to work I go. Love and miss you all. <3
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
who wants to buy me a drink when I get back?!
I, Hannah Kinzelmann, am officially 21. I cannot believe it! The legal drinking part doesn't excite me that much, it's more the part where I am officially an adult. I may not act like one sometimes, BUT I AM! Woooo!
So my day started off with waking up and having my roommate forget to say Happy Birthday to me. It was totally ok because she was incredibly sick. Plus, I'm used to people forgetting to say happy birthday at monumental ages...achemdadachemm! :) Anyway, I got up and went to my 5 hours of classes. It was relatively depressing because nobody knew it was my birthday. At home, everyone is telling you "Happy Birthday!" all day. Here? Not at all. It was expected though because these people don't even really know me at all, let alone my day of birth.
My religion class had a field trip. Yes, a field trip. My first one since probably middle school. We had to navigate the metro system and find our way to what is considered "Old Spain". We walked around for an hour or so. It was absolutely gorgeous! All the old buildings were still in relatively good condition. This sounds corny but ever since I have been here, I have a new appreciation for architecture. The stuff I've seen here is incredible. So I loved just walking around this part of Barcelona and looking at all the old buildings and their intricate stone carvings. Wow I sound like a nerd, but I'm totally ok with that! :)
Now for the birthday festivities. I get out of class @ 3:45 and usually walk right back to the residencia. I get out, walk home, and walk into my room to see it decorated with these little party decorations. My dear roommate, Steeter Maghee as I call her, went out and bought them for my birthday. She also made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich which sat so nicely on a birthday party plate. I wasn't having the greatest start to my day so this definitely helped! Further adding to my relative happiness was my package from my wonderful boyfriend, Jamie. He shipped out my birthday gift to me so I could open it here in Spain. I loved the gifts and they certainly brought a huge smile to my face...and some bling to my neck. I'm a lucky girl right? Believe me, I know! :)
I originally didn't want to go out for my birthday because it was a school night (yes, I know, I'm a huge loser). Buuuuutttt, you only turn 21 once and my roommates pretty much forced me to. So we all got spiffed up and went to this mexican place for dinner. I had my first legal drink (had I been in the U.S), a margarita, and it was disgusting! After that we went back to our residencia to "pre-game" a little before we went out. All of my friends surprised me with little random gifts that ranged from: earrings, a necklace, chocolate 21 candles, and croissants. After that, my friends Mike and Dylan brought out a cake! I was really surprised and I also felt really bad. I hate it when people spend money on me, especially when they don't have to. Carly also had purchased these little mini cakes that were served too. Mike and Dylan's cake was probably the best one I've ever had my 21 years on this earth. You all should be jealous! I mean, who doesn't want a Winnie the Pooh cake with a giant "4" candle, for their 21st birthday? I loved it! :)
After presents and cake it was around 12:30am, which is prime go-out time in Spain. We all decided to go to this karaoke bar for the evening. We took some cabs over there and walked in. The place only had about 15-20 people in it, mostly couples, and wasn't the most visually pleasing place ever. But let me tell you..it was a BLAST! We ordered some drinks when we got there and started to look through the song books. The spanish locals who were there were so fun to listen to and watch. They would pick these American songs and they knew the words PERFECTLY! We also got to hear some spanish music too. Mike and Sara were the first in our group to go up to sing. They went with a personal fave: The Backstreet Boys. The crowd loved it! Then there was Jess who went up for a solo act. Before she sang her song she told the crowd, in spanish, that it was my birthday and dedicated this song to me. She did great and from then on a few people would say "Feliz Cumpleanos" to me before they sang. After a few fantastic hours at this place, I was feeling...confident enough to go up on stage and sing. Me and four others belted out LeAnne Rimes' How Do I Live? It was almost 3am so most of the crowd had dispersed, but those who were still there loved us. I had a great time! :)
So here I am, the day after my birthday, running on 4 hours of sleep. How did the day go? Not to shabby. I would have much rather been home for my birthday so I could have spent it with all my family and friends. I really do miss everyone a great deal and that made parts of the birthday a little difficult. However, my friends here were able to make it pretty special! Thank God for them! :)
I'll post some pictures of the day! I love and miss you all<3 Thank you for your birthday wishes throughout the day.
So my day started off with waking up and having my roommate forget to say Happy Birthday to me. It was totally ok because she was incredibly sick. Plus, I'm used to people forgetting to say happy birthday at monumental ages...achemdadachemm! :) Anyway, I got up and went to my 5 hours of classes. It was relatively depressing because nobody knew it was my birthday. At home, everyone is telling you "Happy Birthday!" all day. Here? Not at all. It was expected though because these people don't even really know me at all, let alone my day of birth.
My religion class had a field trip. Yes, a field trip. My first one since probably middle school. We had to navigate the metro system and find our way to what is considered "Old Spain". We walked around for an hour or so. It was absolutely gorgeous! All the old buildings were still in relatively good condition. This sounds corny but ever since I have been here, I have a new appreciation for architecture. The stuff I've seen here is incredible. So I loved just walking around this part of Barcelona and looking at all the old buildings and their intricate stone carvings. Wow I sound like a nerd, but I'm totally ok with that! :)
Now for the birthday festivities. I get out of class @ 3:45 and usually walk right back to the residencia. I get out, walk home, and walk into my room to see it decorated with these little party decorations. My dear roommate, Steeter Maghee as I call her, went out and bought them for my birthday. She also made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich which sat so nicely on a birthday party plate. I wasn't having the greatest start to my day so this definitely helped! Further adding to my relative happiness was my package from my wonderful boyfriend, Jamie. He shipped out my birthday gift to me so I could open it here in Spain. I loved the gifts and they certainly brought a huge smile to my face...and some bling to my neck. I'm a lucky girl right? Believe me, I know! :)
I originally didn't want to go out for my birthday because it was a school night (yes, I know, I'm a huge loser). Buuuuutttt, you only turn 21 once and my roommates pretty much forced me to. So we all got spiffed up and went to this mexican place for dinner. I had my first legal drink (had I been in the U.S), a margarita, and it was disgusting! After that we went back to our residencia to "pre-game" a little before we went out. All of my friends surprised me with little random gifts that ranged from: earrings, a necklace, chocolate 21 candles, and croissants. After that, my friends Mike and Dylan brought out a cake! I was really surprised and I also felt really bad. I hate it when people spend money on me, especially when they don't have to. Carly also had purchased these little mini cakes that were served too. Mike and Dylan's cake was probably the best one I've ever had my 21 years on this earth. You all should be jealous! I mean, who doesn't want a Winnie the Pooh cake with a giant "4" candle, for their 21st birthday? I loved it! :)
After presents and cake it was around 12:30am, which is prime go-out time in Spain. We all decided to go to this karaoke bar for the evening. We took some cabs over there and walked in. The place only had about 15-20 people in it, mostly couples, and wasn't the most visually pleasing place ever. But let me tell you..it was a BLAST! We ordered some drinks when we got there and started to look through the song books. The spanish locals who were there were so fun to listen to and watch. They would pick these American songs and they knew the words PERFECTLY! We also got to hear some spanish music too. Mike and Sara were the first in our group to go up to sing. They went with a personal fave: The Backstreet Boys. The crowd loved it! Then there was Jess who went up for a solo act. Before she sang her song she told the crowd, in spanish, that it was my birthday and dedicated this song to me. She did great and from then on a few people would say "Feliz Cumpleanos" to me before they sang. After a few fantastic hours at this place, I was feeling...confident enough to go up on stage and sing. Me and four others belted out LeAnne Rimes' How Do I Live? It was almost 3am so most of the crowd had dispersed, but those who were still there loved us. I had a great time! :)
So here I am, the day after my birthday, running on 4 hours of sleep. How did the day go? Not to shabby. I would have much rather been home for my birthday so I could have spent it with all my family and friends. I really do miss everyone a great deal and that made parts of the birthday a little difficult. However, my friends here were able to make it pretty special! Thank God for them! :)
I'll post some pictures of the day! I love and miss you all<3 Thank you for your birthday wishes throughout the day.
Monday, February 2, 2009
what a weekend...
Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in postings but, as you know, I was in Valencia for the weekend. I guess I'll give you the run-down of my weekend. I apologize ahead of time because this might be a long one.
Our bus was scheduled to leave at 7am from this bus station across the street from our residencia. I had to get up around 6am so I really wanted to go to bed early the night before. I didn't lay down as early as I wanted but I did get to bed at like 11:30pm...not too bad. I usually listen to my Mp3 player to wind down before I sleep, so I did that for a little bit. I was totally ready to doze off so I turned it off and got myself comfy. The second I am ready to fall asleep the kind people in the room above us decided it would be a good idea to be ridiculously loud for an hour or two. I couldn't tell you exactly what was going on up there. All I know is they were speaking, more like screaming, a foreign language, while doing something that was reminiscent of tap-dancing. Come 2am... I wanted to tap dance on their heads! :)
I was quite the grumpy gills when my alarm went off a few hours later. I scrambled to get ready/finish packing up my stuff. We all met, relatively on time, to walk over to the station together. I'm really glad we decided to take a bus to Valencia; it was super convenient and cheap. It left at 7am on the dot and arrived 4 hours and 15 minutes later. Leaving early turned out to be a good idea as well. The bus was empty so there was plenty of room to sprawl out in a row. Due to the tap-dancing schenanigans the previous night I was able to sleep almost the entire ride.
I woke up about a half hour before we got to Valencia. We took (I think) a major highway almost the entire way. Part of it was along the coast and the latter part of the trip went through this valley-like area. The last half hour of the trip I saw some of the most gorgeous scenery I have encountered in my life. Driving on the road, there were miles of Valencian orange fields on either side of you. In the distance of these fields were these gorgeous, red-toned mountains. Being the idiot that I am, I totally didn't take a picture, but trust me, it was gorgeous.
We got the bus station that was located in the center of town. We immediately hailed some cabs to take us to the hotel that we had booked online. We arrived at the hotel and opened the cab doors to the harmonious sound of construction. Carly had done the booking online and was completely unaware that the hotel was underconstruction. So we walked in and went to the front desk to check-in; or so we thought. When Carly booked the hotel online she reserved a room that was described as a "family" room, or a room that could fit 4. When we said our names and tried to check in they started saying that we couldn't do it. They kept saying over and over, "You don't have two kids." They said that you needed to be a couple and have two kids to stay in this room. Hah, good one. Then they tried to say we had to book rooms for two...aka we're going to get more money from you. They only spoke spanish so we had no way to argue back with them. These people totally took advantage of the fact that we were tourists and didn't speak the language. Incredibly angry, we all walked out of the hotel to find another place to stay. You don't want to give us a 4 person room? Ok then, we'll be staying somewhere else.
Not a great way to start off the trip. We ended up walking around Valencia with all of our bags for 2 hours. We were on the outskirts of the city so there weren't hotels left and right. We found a hostel, but again, the owners tried to rip us off. After three failed attempts at finding a place to stay, we found an internet cafe, and looked online for places near us. We found a Holiday Inn, in the worst possible location, that would only cost 30Euro a person for the two night stay. Beggars can't be choosers, and it was getting dark, so we took it. Learning from the previous hotel incident, me and Carly went in as though we were the only ones staying in the two person bedroom. Thankfully, we got the room and snuck everyone in without a problem.
We get to our room, swing open the door, and find, yet again, two small twin beds pushed together. Is this common practice in Spain?! Is everything miniature for a reason? All we really could do was laugh. At least we had a place to stay and at least we would be warm...only because there would be 4 people sharing that bed. One thing I never thought I would miss when I'm here: T.V. I have my regular shows that I watch every week but other than that I rarely watch TV when I'm at school. BUT I MISS IT SO MUCH! What I wouldn't give to just be able to turn on the TV and hear something in English. Anyway, there was a TV in this room. Great, right? Wrong. Every program was either totally in German or had German subtitles. German in Spain? I don't even try to make sense of these things anymore. At least I got to watch some good ole American MTV...in German.
None of us had eaten that entire day, so as soon as we got the room we decided to go get something to eat. Our hotel was located in EAST GUAM so we had to trek approx. 15 minutes to get to a place that had food. After about 20 minutes of walking, we saw arguably the most magnificient site I have viewed here thus far: The Golden McDonald's Arches!!!! Never have I been so excited to see a McDonalds in my entire life. I don't even really like fast food that much but my mouth started salivating like Pavlov's pooch. I ordered a Quarter Pounder with a large soda and large fries. Don't judge me.
It started raining while we were in this wonderful American establishment so we decided to walk around the mall for a bit. I bought a dress to wear for my birthday dinner. Then we went back to the room to take a siesta. After that we all took showers and spiffed up to go out for the night. Having no idea where to go, we just had the cab drivers take us to the city center, and we would figure it out from there. Valencia is absolutely GORGEOUS! I actually prefer it to Barcelona. It has more of a Spanish feeling to it, whereas Barcelona almost feels like New York City in some parts. We eventually found this cute little restaurant called "The Ginger Loft". This place was owned by a guy named Santiago and his partner Mark. Both of them spoke English which was wonderful. We spent about 3 hours at this place just eating and chatting with eachother. Santiago even spent about an hour with us telling us all about Valencia, his life travels, etc. So, I'm sure my Dad is wondering what I ordered. I got a potato and corn chowder with chicken quesadillas. Santiago also gave us a free glass of Sangria because of the wait for our food. I don't really like Sangria at all, but this glass was the best I've had thus far. A bunch of the group wanted to go out, but I wanted to call it a night after dinner. It was 2:30 am already and I had just started feeling better the day prior, so I didn't want to push it. I had I gone out to a club I probably wouldn't have made it back to the hotel until 4 or 5 am.
The next day we woke up and had the free breakfast at the hotel. After that, we looked for attractions to see in Valencia that were inside because it was raining incredibly hard. The weather was HORRIBLE the entire day. We ended up choosing "El Museo de las Ciencias". It was pretty much a bigger and better MOST museum from back home. Hands down the best museum I have been to...and we only saw one floor. My favorite exhibit? The Marvel Superheroes exhibit. They had all the superheroes life-size and you could play games that tested your "super hero skills". It was just a great time. After the museum we trekked the mile or two back to our hotel. We rested for a little bit then made plans for the evening. We went to another restaurant where I had Pasta y Jamon (Ham). After that we went to this bar called La Bolseria. We got in free (it's good to be a girl at times) and got coupon for a free drink (scratch that, all the time). I had a really good time at this place because it was an actual Spanish bar. A lot of the places we go to back in Barcelona are filled with American study abroad students so you really don't get the Spanish experience. We all wanted another early night (3am) so the girls headed back to the hotel to go to sleep.
The next day we woke up, checked out, and headed to the bus station a few hours early. Exhausted, we pulled back into Barcelona around 7pm local time. Right as we got back to the room Carly realized that she didn't have her iphone. We hurried back to the station to try and look for it. No luck. We think that someone pick-pocketed her on the bus right before we got off in Barcelona. It wasn't a great evening at all.
So, the first trip...not all that great. I loved Valencia itself but things just didn't go very well hotel wise, weather wise, etc. Everyone was very stressed and frustrated from the hotel situation at the very beginning, and that kind of set the tone for the weekend. Everyone I've talked to has said that the first trip you take never really goes all that well. We just have to learn from this one I guess! I have one trip under my belt and I think the next one will go better. But don't get me wrong, Valencia was great, and I would definitely like to visit again.
I'll post some pictures from this weekend in another entry!
I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!
Our bus was scheduled to leave at 7am from this bus station across the street from our residencia. I had to get up around 6am so I really wanted to go to bed early the night before. I didn't lay down as early as I wanted but I did get to bed at like 11:30pm...not too bad. I usually listen to my Mp3 player to wind down before I sleep, so I did that for a little bit. I was totally ready to doze off so I turned it off and got myself comfy. The second I am ready to fall asleep the kind people in the room above us decided it would be a good idea to be ridiculously loud for an hour or two. I couldn't tell you exactly what was going on up there. All I know is they were speaking, more like screaming, a foreign language, while doing something that was reminiscent of tap-dancing. Come 2am... I wanted to tap dance on their heads! :)
I was quite the grumpy gills when my alarm went off a few hours later. I scrambled to get ready/finish packing up my stuff. We all met, relatively on time, to walk over to the station together. I'm really glad we decided to take a bus to Valencia; it was super convenient and cheap. It left at 7am on the dot and arrived 4 hours and 15 minutes later. Leaving early turned out to be a good idea as well. The bus was empty so there was plenty of room to sprawl out in a row. Due to the tap-dancing schenanigans the previous night I was able to sleep almost the entire ride.
I woke up about a half hour before we got to Valencia. We took (I think) a major highway almost the entire way. Part of it was along the coast and the latter part of the trip went through this valley-like area. The last half hour of the trip I saw some of the most gorgeous scenery I have encountered in my life. Driving on the road, there were miles of Valencian orange fields on either side of you. In the distance of these fields were these gorgeous, red-toned mountains. Being the idiot that I am, I totally didn't take a picture, but trust me, it was gorgeous.
We got the bus station that was located in the center of town. We immediately hailed some cabs to take us to the hotel that we had booked online. We arrived at the hotel and opened the cab doors to the harmonious sound of construction. Carly had done the booking online and was completely unaware that the hotel was underconstruction. So we walked in and went to the front desk to check-in; or so we thought. When Carly booked the hotel online she reserved a room that was described as a "family" room, or a room that could fit 4. When we said our names and tried to check in they started saying that we couldn't do it. They kept saying over and over, "You don't have two kids." They said that you needed to be a couple and have two kids to stay in this room. Hah, good one. Then they tried to say we had to book rooms for two...aka we're going to get more money from you. They only spoke spanish so we had no way to argue back with them. These people totally took advantage of the fact that we were tourists and didn't speak the language. Incredibly angry, we all walked out of the hotel to find another place to stay. You don't want to give us a 4 person room? Ok then, we'll be staying somewhere else.
Not a great way to start off the trip. We ended up walking around Valencia with all of our bags for 2 hours. We were on the outskirts of the city so there weren't hotels left and right. We found a hostel, but again, the owners tried to rip us off. After three failed attempts at finding a place to stay, we found an internet cafe, and looked online for places near us. We found a Holiday Inn, in the worst possible location, that would only cost 30Euro a person for the two night stay. Beggars can't be choosers, and it was getting dark, so we took it. Learning from the previous hotel incident, me and Carly went in as though we were the only ones staying in the two person bedroom. Thankfully, we got the room and snuck everyone in without a problem.
We get to our room, swing open the door, and find, yet again, two small twin beds pushed together. Is this common practice in Spain?! Is everything miniature for a reason? All we really could do was laugh. At least we had a place to stay and at least we would be warm...only because there would be 4 people sharing that bed. One thing I never thought I would miss when I'm here: T.V. I have my regular shows that I watch every week but other than that I rarely watch TV when I'm at school. BUT I MISS IT SO MUCH! What I wouldn't give to just be able to turn on the TV and hear something in English. Anyway, there was a TV in this room. Great, right? Wrong. Every program was either totally in German or had German subtitles. German in Spain? I don't even try to make sense of these things anymore. At least I got to watch some good ole American MTV...in German.
None of us had eaten that entire day, so as soon as we got the room we decided to go get something to eat. Our hotel was located in EAST GUAM so we had to trek approx. 15 minutes to get to a place that had food. After about 20 minutes of walking, we saw arguably the most magnificient site I have viewed here thus far: The Golden McDonald's Arches!!!! Never have I been so excited to see a McDonalds in my entire life. I don't even really like fast food that much but my mouth started salivating like Pavlov's pooch. I ordered a Quarter Pounder with a large soda and large fries. Don't judge me.
It started raining while we were in this wonderful American establishment so we decided to walk around the mall for a bit. I bought a dress to wear for my birthday dinner. Then we went back to the room to take a siesta. After that we all took showers and spiffed up to go out for the night. Having no idea where to go, we just had the cab drivers take us to the city center, and we would figure it out from there. Valencia is absolutely GORGEOUS! I actually prefer it to Barcelona. It has more of a Spanish feeling to it, whereas Barcelona almost feels like New York City in some parts. We eventually found this cute little restaurant called "The Ginger Loft". This place was owned by a guy named Santiago and his partner Mark. Both of them spoke English which was wonderful. We spent about 3 hours at this place just eating and chatting with eachother. Santiago even spent about an hour with us telling us all about Valencia, his life travels, etc. So, I'm sure my Dad is wondering what I ordered. I got a potato and corn chowder with chicken quesadillas. Santiago also gave us a free glass of Sangria because of the wait for our food. I don't really like Sangria at all, but this glass was the best I've had thus far. A bunch of the group wanted to go out, but I wanted to call it a night after dinner. It was 2:30 am already and I had just started feeling better the day prior, so I didn't want to push it. I had I gone out to a club I probably wouldn't have made it back to the hotel until 4 or 5 am.
The next day we woke up and had the free breakfast at the hotel. After that, we looked for attractions to see in Valencia that were inside because it was raining incredibly hard. The weather was HORRIBLE the entire day. We ended up choosing "El Museo de las Ciencias". It was pretty much a bigger and better MOST museum from back home. Hands down the best museum I have been to...and we only saw one floor. My favorite exhibit? The Marvel Superheroes exhibit. They had all the superheroes life-size and you could play games that tested your "super hero skills". It was just a great time. After the museum we trekked the mile or two back to our hotel. We rested for a little bit then made plans for the evening. We went to another restaurant where I had Pasta y Jamon (Ham). After that we went to this bar called La Bolseria. We got in free (it's good to be a girl at times) and got coupon for a free drink (scratch that, all the time). I had a really good time at this place because it was an actual Spanish bar. A lot of the places we go to back in Barcelona are filled with American study abroad students so you really don't get the Spanish experience. We all wanted another early night (3am) so the girls headed back to the hotel to go to sleep.
The next day we woke up, checked out, and headed to the bus station a few hours early. Exhausted, we pulled back into Barcelona around 7pm local time. Right as we got back to the room Carly realized that she didn't have her iphone. We hurried back to the station to try and look for it. No luck. We think that someone pick-pocketed her on the bus right before we got off in Barcelona. It wasn't a great evening at all.
So, the first trip...not all that great. I loved Valencia itself but things just didn't go very well hotel wise, weather wise, etc. Everyone was very stressed and frustrated from the hotel situation at the very beginning, and that kind of set the tone for the weekend. Everyone I've talked to has said that the first trip you take never really goes all that well. We just have to learn from this one I guess! I have one trip under my belt and I think the next one will go better. But don't get me wrong, Valencia was great, and I would definitely like to visit again.
I'll post some pictures from this weekend in another entry!
I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
