Well, last night I fell asleep before blogging, but I happen to be up now, so I'll do it.
Yesterday was Friday... I woke up and got dressed, getting a waffle in the metro. I took the tram over to where the Kosher grocery store was, only to find it closed. But there was a big normal grocery store next door, so I did my shopping there. They had matzo meal, so I did end up getting what I was looking for, which made me happy. I'm going to make matzo balls sometime this weekend and then again for Wednesday night dinner.
On the way to and from, I stopped at several pharmacies. At the first one, I tried to mime having an ear infection/sinus pressure. I brought my Delsym and Mucinex to show them what I was taking because I didn't want to mix meds, and they found substitutes, but couldn't understand I needed Sudafed. And my Google Translate paper didn't help. They didn't pay attention to it. Finally I left, tried three more pharmacists, none of whom spoke English, and then gave up for good. If anyone has any tips on how to get Sudafed, please let me know. My ears hurt like the dickens.
After the grocery store, I came home, watched several movies and a couple of episodes of Lie to Me, ate lunch and then dinner at their respectful times and went to bed.
Then I randomly woke up again, wrote this, and am now going back to bed.
Goodnight, (or is it good morning?) world.
The musings of a twenty-something currently studying in Missouri.
Always loving the escape as much as the anchors.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Shortest Blog Ever =P
Today, I woke up at 9, read three chapters of marketing, watched Psych, went to class, came back, slept for three and a half hours, had noodles in chicken broth for dinner and watched the Bourne Identity while eating delicious popcorn and nutella. Now it's time to go back to bed.
I did look up a kosher grocery store, and I will hopefully go there tomorrow when I go to the regular store because I have no food. Sam is leaving in 30 minutes to go to Dublin and we don't know where Kristen is or when she's getting back. We think she's at a party, but she's also traveling this weekend. I'm looking forward to a quiet house and a relaxing weekend.
Goodnight, world.
Update: There are three or four new albums on Facebook. Madrid, Barcelona and Toledo. Enjoy!
I did look up a kosher grocery store, and I will hopefully go there tomorrow when I go to the regular store because I have no food. Sam is leaving in 30 minutes to go to Dublin and we don't know where Kristen is or when she's getting back. We think she's at a party, but she's also traveling this weekend. I'm looking forward to a quiet house and a relaxing weekend.
Goodnight, world.
Update: There are three or four new albums on Facebook. Madrid, Barcelona and Toledo. Enjoy!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Being Sick Sucks
Even more in Europe. Mostly because there's no central heat and I don't speak French so I'm scared to go to the pharmacy. So I'm eating weird chicken noodle soup that came out of a foil envelope and actually isn't that bad.
So this morning, I slept from about 1:30 AM until 4 or so when we checked in. We went through security and chilled for about an hour before getting on the plane. I was the only one who slept all night, but then we all slept on the plane. We got back ahead of schedule and grabbed the train back to Brussels. I read my book while the others slept.
I really wanted a waffle when we got back, but they were closed. The others were thankful because it meant that they couldn't smell it - they all gave up waffles for lent.
So we got back, I read all but two and a half chapters of management and tried to watch the videos, but my internet fails so I missed most of them. I also passed out for two hours by accident, waking up just in time for my test. Made a B, but will plan better for the next one now that I know how they're formatted. Probably will drop this test with the make up at the end of the semester. We'll see.
Afterwards I took a shower and am now writing a paper for communications. And then bed for a very, very long time. Class at 1:30 tomorrow, and I have to go to the grocery store, but nothing else this weekend.
Goodnight, world.
So this morning, I slept from about 1:30 AM until 4 or so when we checked in. We went through security and chilled for about an hour before getting on the plane. I was the only one who slept all night, but then we all slept on the plane. We got back ahead of schedule and grabbed the train back to Brussels. I read my book while the others slept.
I really wanted a waffle when we got back, but they were closed. The others were thankful because it meant that they couldn't smell it - they all gave up waffles for lent.
So we got back, I read all but two and a half chapters of management and tried to watch the videos, but my internet fails so I missed most of them. I also passed out for two hours by accident, waking up just in time for my test. Made a B, but will plan better for the next one now that I know how they're formatted. Probably will drop this test with the make up at the end of the semester. We'll see.
Afterwards I took a shower and am now writing a paper for communications. And then bed for a very, very long time. Class at 1:30 tomorrow, and I have to go to the grocery store, but nothing else this weekend.
Goodnight, world.
Late Nights and Busy Airports
1AM Wednesday Morning... We'll call it Thursday night.
We've been at the airport for 30 minutes or so and we have 5.5 hours until our plane leaves... Should be a fun night.
This morning I got up and finished packing before going back to the market in Las Ramblas and getting juice for Jackie and me. I don't know if I mentioned it yesterday, but the juice was amazing. Jackie got coconut strawberry and I got pineapple raspberry yesterday and today I got kiwi coconut and strawberry pineapple for myself and coconut pineapple for Jackie. I got back just in time to go to the train station with Kristen.
They say it doesn't snow in Spain. Or at least where we were or where we were passing through. But they're wrong. Not only was it snowing, there was at least two feet on the ground. Thankfully it wasn't snowing in Madrid, just raining.
On the train I watched Confessions of a Shopaholic in Spanish and talked to this little Japanese woman in Spanish for a good while. It makes me so happy to know that I can speak the language even though I haven't used it in a while. I even understood most of the Catalan in Barcelona. They say that South American Spanish and European Spanish are different, but I felt I understood both and didn't have any problems. I was the only one out of our group who could actually speak it, but most everyone understood it.
When we got to Madrid, Kristen and I got kid meals from Burger King. (I know, I know, I shouldn't. But it was cheap and had chicken, fries, a drink, yogurt dessert and a toy for less than it costs to buy a drink in Brussels.) Kristin and Sam met us and got the same. We chilled with the turtles in the rainforest in the train station for a good while before heading out into the drizzle to walk around.
We randomly wound up at an arch that looked identical to one we saw last week when we were wandering, but didn't recognize the surroundings. There was a public library on the corner, so we stopped in and chilled there for an hour or so before asking for directions on where we were. They had free wifi and we all checked our emails and stuff.
Turned out we had walked off the map. But then got coffee and I had a hot chocolate. Well, what they call hot chocolate. It was nearly the consistency of pudding and was not drinkable. So I shared half and then had them pour milk in it to dilute it - and then it was very good.
We wandered back and met up with Kristin's friend Allie, with whom we went out to dinner. We all got paella, which was very good. I got chicken, which was delish, but so was the frankfurter one Kristen and Kristin shared. We hung out in the restaurant for over two hours, just talking and killing time (seems to be a recurring theme) before walking in a big circle to see Plaza Mayor. Then we caught the metro to the airport because they shut down at 1, and here we are. The internet costs 7.50 Euro an hour, so I'll post this when I get home.
I don't know whether I'm going to study or sleep because both are good options. Our flight leaves at 6:25 and we should be home by 11 at the latest (hour train from airport). Then a test at 7 pm... I think I'll play it by ear.
Goodnight, world.
We've been at the airport for 30 minutes or so and we have 5.5 hours until our plane leaves... Should be a fun night.
This morning I got up and finished packing before going back to the market in Las Ramblas and getting juice for Jackie and me. I don't know if I mentioned it yesterday, but the juice was amazing. Jackie got coconut strawberry and I got pineapple raspberry yesterday and today I got kiwi coconut and strawberry pineapple for myself and coconut pineapple for Jackie. I got back just in time to go to the train station with Kristen.
They say it doesn't snow in Spain. Or at least where we were or where we were passing through. But they're wrong. Not only was it snowing, there was at least two feet on the ground. Thankfully it wasn't snowing in Madrid, just raining.
On the train I watched Confessions of a Shopaholic in Spanish and talked to this little Japanese woman in Spanish for a good while. It makes me so happy to know that I can speak the language even though I haven't used it in a while. I even understood most of the Catalan in Barcelona. They say that South American Spanish and European Spanish are different, but I felt I understood both and didn't have any problems. I was the only one out of our group who could actually speak it, but most everyone understood it.
When we got to Madrid, Kristen and I got kid meals from Burger King. (I know, I know, I shouldn't. But it was cheap and had chicken, fries, a drink, yogurt dessert and a toy for less than it costs to buy a drink in Brussels.) Kristin and Sam met us and got the same. We chilled with the turtles in the rainforest in the train station for a good while before heading out into the drizzle to walk around.
We randomly wound up at an arch that looked identical to one we saw last week when we were wandering, but didn't recognize the surroundings. There was a public library on the corner, so we stopped in and chilled there for an hour or so before asking for directions on where we were. They had free wifi and we all checked our emails and stuff.
Turned out we had walked off the map. But then got coffee and I had a hot chocolate. Well, what they call hot chocolate. It was nearly the consistency of pudding and was not drinkable. So I shared half and then had them pour milk in it to dilute it - and then it was very good.
We wandered back and met up with Kristin's friend Allie, with whom we went out to dinner. We all got paella, which was very good. I got chicken, which was delish, but so was the frankfurter one Kristen and Kristin shared. We hung out in the restaurant for over two hours, just talking and killing time (seems to be a recurring theme) before walking in a big circle to see Plaza Mayor. Then we caught the metro to the airport because they shut down at 1, and here we are. The internet costs 7.50 Euro an hour, so I'll post this when I get home.
I don't know whether I'm going to study or sleep because both are good options. Our flight leaves at 6:25 and we should be home by 11 at the latest (hour train from airport). Then a test at 7 pm... I think I'll play it by ear.
Goodnight, world.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Better Day in Barcelona
This morning I had a weird nightmare, got up at 8, had a fantastic breakfast and was out the door by 8:15.
This hostel is awesome and breakfast was chocolate rice krispies, a piece of toast with apricot jam and tasty orange juice. I also made a nutella sandwich for the road.
I took the metro to Sangrada Familia, but didn't go in because it was 12 Euro. So I took pictures of the outside and walked over to Pasada Gracia by way of Diagon Avenue. I saw a lot of cool buildings and stopped in some interesting stores. I like wandering because I always stop in the random stores that have everything from cookware to sleepware and anything random you can think of. There was also an interesting grocery store or two, and I got some chocolate because it was so cheap. Oh, and I got a giant kinder egg and two chirimoya fruits. Ate one fruit so far; it was delicious. Spain has so far been the cheapest place, and the tastiest.
I feel like I skipped some things earlier, so I'll mention that on Friday I had a very interesting lunch of what seemed to be fettuccine alfredo with ham that was ok. The restaurant where we ate brought us bread and butter without us asking and then charged horrendously for it. But the water was free.
So after Diagon Ave, I walked down Pasada Gracia and saw the two houses by Gaudi. They were awesome but also very expensive to go in, so I took pictures from the street. Pasada Gracia is very much like 5th Avenue, I feel. All the pricey brands are there, with the same set up as every other store I've seen; Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada, Gucci, Lacoste, Diesel (who I am officially boycotting even though I don't shop there anyways) all of them. Every store front in every store is the same for each company. Louis Vuitton has the same birdcages and same mannequins, everything.
After Pasada Gracia, I turned down Las Ramblas, which was basically the shopping district with street vendors and everything. The most incredible thing (not necessarily good) was the pet shop places. Name a bird, they had it. Bunnies, ferrets, turtles, everything except cats and dogs. It was really sad. But I rushed through because I was meeting everyone at the chocolate museum at 11:30.
What I didn't know was that they all came back around 5AM from going out. Apparently the metro stopped when they tried to come back and they walked for nearly two hours to get back. I'm glad I didn't go. They all slept until 2 or so today. Instead, I met Jackie about 12:30 or so because it was troublesome to get there and we both got lost. While waiting for her is when I ate my chirimoya. We talked for a long time then went in. Our tickets were really cheap (comparatively, at least - 3 euro) and was a chocolate bar - 73% cocoa. I haven't eaten mine yet, but they say it's pretty good. The chocolate museum was interesting because it was so different from the one I saw in Germany. While the one in Cologne outlined the process and the plant and the creation of chocolate with chocolate being made, the one here in Barcelona had mostly a history and had sculptures that were gorgeous but definitely inedible.
Then Jackie and I went and had the most awesome hamburgers (mine was mini) at Taverna Born before walking down the beach in Barceloneta (a little barrio - or neighborhood). We walked up the beach and then over to Las Ramblas, where we took our time and saw some fun places and got souvenirs. Then we stopped at a big market where they were selling fresh fruits and vegetables, candy, meat, and some other food items. It was called Boqueria de Sant Josep and Jackie and I got awesome juices. She got coconut strawberry and I got pineapple raspberry. They were definitely amazing. I'm getting one before I leave tomorrow.
After Las Ramblas, we headed back to the hostel to wait for the others to come back. I think they went to the chocolate museum, but only once we had left (we were at the beach when they woke). We hung out for a while and then went out to dinner. It was cool. I had salchipap, which wasn't as good as it was in Chile, but was still pretty good. We also shared two pitchers of sangria - one wine and one champagne. I had one glass of the latter and felt a little tipsy. It was strong.
We came back just about a half hour ago, which is how long it took to write this post, and I think they're going to go watch the Olympics and play cards. I hope to go to the market tomorrow to get more juice, so I think I'm going to bed soon.
All in all, exploring Barcelona today was a lot of fun and I think I prefer fewer people to travel with. Tomorrow Kristen and I are going back to Madrid and meeting Sam and Kristin to fly back. Then I have a management test Wednesday and a weekend at home. I think it's time to explore Brussels because I haven't really done that yet.
The standing right now is:
And it's time for bed.
Goodnight, world.
This hostel is awesome and breakfast was chocolate rice krispies, a piece of toast with apricot jam and tasty orange juice. I also made a nutella sandwich for the road.
I took the metro to Sangrada Familia, but didn't go in because it was 12 Euro. So I took pictures of the outside and walked over to Pasada Gracia by way of Diagon Avenue. I saw a lot of cool buildings and stopped in some interesting stores. I like wandering because I always stop in the random stores that have everything from cookware to sleepware and anything random you can think of. There was also an interesting grocery store or two, and I got some chocolate because it was so cheap. Oh, and I got a giant kinder egg and two chirimoya fruits. Ate one fruit so far; it was delicious. Spain has so far been the cheapest place, and the tastiest.
I feel like I skipped some things earlier, so I'll mention that on Friday I had a very interesting lunch of what seemed to be fettuccine alfredo with ham that was ok. The restaurant where we ate brought us bread and butter without us asking and then charged horrendously for it. But the water was free.
So after Diagon Ave, I walked down Pasada Gracia and saw the two houses by Gaudi. They were awesome but also very expensive to go in, so I took pictures from the street. Pasada Gracia is very much like 5th Avenue, I feel. All the pricey brands are there, with the same set up as every other store I've seen; Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada, Gucci, Lacoste, Diesel (who I am officially boycotting even though I don't shop there anyways) all of them. Every store front in every store is the same for each company. Louis Vuitton has the same birdcages and same mannequins, everything.
After Pasada Gracia, I turned down Las Ramblas, which was basically the shopping district with street vendors and everything. The most incredible thing (not necessarily good) was the pet shop places. Name a bird, they had it. Bunnies, ferrets, turtles, everything except cats and dogs. It was really sad. But I rushed through because I was meeting everyone at the chocolate museum at 11:30.
What I didn't know was that they all came back around 5AM from going out. Apparently the metro stopped when they tried to come back and they walked for nearly two hours to get back. I'm glad I didn't go. They all slept until 2 or so today. Instead, I met Jackie about 12:30 or so because it was troublesome to get there and we both got lost. While waiting for her is when I ate my chirimoya. We talked for a long time then went in. Our tickets were really cheap (comparatively, at least - 3 euro) and was a chocolate bar - 73% cocoa. I haven't eaten mine yet, but they say it's pretty good. The chocolate museum was interesting because it was so different from the one I saw in Germany. While the one in Cologne outlined the process and the plant and the creation of chocolate with chocolate being made, the one here in Barcelona had mostly a history and had sculptures that were gorgeous but definitely inedible.
Then Jackie and I went and had the most awesome hamburgers (mine was mini) at Taverna Born before walking down the beach in Barceloneta (a little barrio - or neighborhood). We walked up the beach and then over to Las Ramblas, where we took our time and saw some fun places and got souvenirs. Then we stopped at a big market where they were selling fresh fruits and vegetables, candy, meat, and some other food items. It was called Boqueria de Sant Josep and Jackie and I got awesome juices. She got coconut strawberry and I got pineapple raspberry. They were definitely amazing. I'm getting one before I leave tomorrow.
After Las Ramblas, we headed back to the hostel to wait for the others to come back. I think they went to the chocolate museum, but only once we had left (we were at the beach when they woke). We hung out for a while and then went out to dinner. It was cool. I had salchipap, which wasn't as good as it was in Chile, but was still pretty good. We also shared two pitchers of sangria - one wine and one champagne. I had one glass of the latter and felt a little tipsy. It was strong.
We came back just about a half hour ago, which is how long it took to write this post, and I think they're going to go watch the Olympics and play cards. I hope to go to the market tomorrow to get more juice, so I think I'm going to bed soon.
All in all, exploring Barcelona today was a lot of fun and I think I prefer fewer people to travel with. Tomorrow Kristen and I are going back to Madrid and meeting Sam and Kristin to fly back. Then I have a management test Wednesday and a weekend at home. I think it's time to explore Brussels because I haven't really done that yet.
The standing right now is:
Venice > Charleston > Barcelona > Madrid > Zurich > New Orleans/Baton Rouge > Toledo > Brussels > Rockland > New York City > Dusseldorf > Cologne
And it's time for bed.
Goodnight, world.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Barcelona
Is different. I don't think I like it as much as Madrid; it's not as pretty or walkable, but it's got more stuff and I want to come back when I have more time.
I woke up early this morning to Kristen complaining about something James said I said and then went to the train station. I slept most of the way, and it was fairly comfortable. We got lost trying to find the hostel because of a failure to read a map, but finally arrived. It's awesome - the decorations and everything are really cool. We went and got lunch from Pans, which was a Spanish fast food place. The french fries were basically Arby's flavor in a waffle fry. They were very tasty. The chicken nuggets were... interesting.
Then we came back to the hostel about 1 so Kristen could take a shower and we chilled until 330 or so when Jackie, Katie and Michele showed up. Joel and Kirby also joined us. No one wanted to decide what to do, so we may have left about 4:30 or so, and then we walked all over, finally finding a place to eat about 5:30 because most people hadn't eaten anything all day. I had delicious 3 cheese pork ravioli. Most others got pizza, and they came with cool little hammer looking knife things. They literally were slightly sharpened chunks of metal on a stick. I didn't get a picture, but my facebook won't upload pics anyways. (Which is why I haven't put pictures up since Venice - sorry!)
Then we walked up Montjuic and looked at the cool buildings. There was a cell phone convention going on, with everything blocked off and a ton of people, but we finally got to the top and had a fantastic view as the sun was setting. We wandered for a long time and saw some cool things. We headed back, stopping at a grocery store for dinner. Once again, baguettes and deli meats and cheeses to make sandwiches and chips and dips, all split between us. It's not bad.
They also got a bottle of booze, like they have every night. This time it was a licorice flavor that was very potent and burned, but not too bad. I had a tablespoon and that was enough. They finished the bottle. (There are seven of them.) And they're going out tonite. I'm going to bed.
Goodnight, world.
I woke up early this morning to Kristen complaining about something James said I said and then went to the train station. I slept most of the way, and it was fairly comfortable. We got lost trying to find the hostel because of a failure to read a map, but finally arrived. It's awesome - the decorations and everything are really cool. We went and got lunch from Pans, which was a Spanish fast food place. The french fries were basically Arby's flavor in a waffle fry. They were very tasty. The chicken nuggets were... interesting.
Then we came back to the hostel about 1 so Kristen could take a shower and we chilled until 330 or so when Jackie, Katie and Michele showed up. Joel and Kirby also joined us. No one wanted to decide what to do, so we may have left about 4:30 or so, and then we walked all over, finally finding a place to eat about 5:30 because most people hadn't eaten anything all day. I had delicious 3 cheese pork ravioli. Most others got pizza, and they came with cool little hammer looking knife things. They literally were slightly sharpened chunks of metal on a stick. I didn't get a picture, but my facebook won't upload pics anyways. (Which is why I haven't put pictures up since Venice - sorry!)
Then we walked up Montjuic and looked at the cool buildings. There was a cell phone convention going on, with everything blocked off and a ton of people, but we finally got to the top and had a fantastic view as the sun was setting. We wandered for a long time and saw some cool things. We headed back, stopping at a grocery store for dinner. Once again, baguettes and deli meats and cheeses to make sandwiches and chips and dips, all split between us. It's not bad.
They also got a bottle of booze, like they have every night. This time it was a licorice flavor that was very potent and burned, but not too bad. I had a tablespoon and that was enough. They finished the bottle. (There are seven of them.) And they're going out tonite. I'm going to bed.
Goodnight, world.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Boring Mornings and Awesome Afternoons
Saturday - 9:40 AM/11:30 (finished)
Wow, what a night. We got back about a quarter til 4... Sam and Kristin (who went out with their friend Allie who lives here) got back at 630. Both of those times are AM, not PM.
The pub crawl was fun. Three bars and a nightclub. We stayed at each nearly an hour, except for the nightclub, where we stayed for 10 minutes. The first bar was Embabia, then Sol y Sombra, then some Irish bar. With our tour we got free drinks, but not very many and not particularly good. We danced the whole night (James figured for over five hours) and my ears are still ringing. Everyone's amazed, but I must have really sensitive hearing because I can't ever hear anything after going to a bar or club (or concert or dance or anything with loud music). It was a ton of fun, but I think I'll limit it to just this one.
This morning we all groggily got up and got breakfast. The normal toast and cornflakes. Then Kristen, James and I got our tickets to Barcelona - they were more expensive than we thought. But we have them now and will be leaving tomorrow. Now we're all sitting in the room writing and/or getting ready. We're going to Toledo later, and before that, Jackie and I are going to the flea market. I've already spent too much, but it will be fun to look.
I am so tired. And can't hear anything. But we'll have a good day, hopefully. Tell you more later.
9:15 PM
Well, Jackie and I didn't go to the flea market. We ran out of time. Instead, we chilled for a while and left the hostel about 1, I guess, to go to the train station. We planned to go at 1:50, but the train was full, so we got the one at 3:50. Jackie, Kristen, Michele and Katie got Burger King and James and I had brought food. We stopped at a grocery store on the way to the train station - a Carrefour like we have in Brussels. Thing is, it has a huge difference in stock and, most notably, prices. The coolest part is that I found different brands of specific products - like fruit-filled chocolates and mate - that I remembered and loved from Chile that I couldn't find anywhere else. They had awesome types of German chocolate, too. At less than a quarter of the price it is in Germany. I don't know how they do it, but every single person that has traveled here has asked why we didn't just study in Spain because it's so much more awesome than Brussels... And there's sun here.
So we took the train and went to Toledo. It was gorgeous. We had a list, but no map, so we wandered for about three hours and managed to see everything on our list plus some great views and a parade. Carnaval was cool because everyone was dressed up. I saw some typical Halloween costumes, but I also saw some really cool/new ones. It was gorgeous, and the three hours that we were there were perfect. We got views of the sunset, but all the sights before it got dark.
We got back and went to the grocery store and everyone else is eating right now.
Tomorrow we have a 7:30 train to Barcelona, so we'll get to spend the whole day there. We're coming back Tuesday to fly out early on Wednesday. It feels like we've been here forever, but we still have a couple days left. I love it here, but Venice is still top. I think I would say Venice -> Madrid -> Zurich -> Toledo -> Dusseldorf -> Amsterdam Airport -> Cologne, but we'll see what Barcelona holds in store. I'm pretty sure the weather had a lot to do with the order, but that's been my experience so far.
Time for a shower and bed.
Goodnight, world.
Wow, what a night. We got back about a quarter til 4... Sam and Kristin (who went out with their friend Allie who lives here) got back at 630. Both of those times are AM, not PM.
The pub crawl was fun. Three bars and a nightclub. We stayed at each nearly an hour, except for the nightclub, where we stayed for 10 minutes. The first bar was Embabia, then Sol y Sombra, then some Irish bar. With our tour we got free drinks, but not very many and not particularly good. We danced the whole night (James figured for over five hours) and my ears are still ringing. Everyone's amazed, but I must have really sensitive hearing because I can't ever hear anything after going to a bar or club (or concert or dance or anything with loud music). It was a ton of fun, but I think I'll limit it to just this one.
This morning we all groggily got up and got breakfast. The normal toast and cornflakes. Then Kristen, James and I got our tickets to Barcelona - they were more expensive than we thought. But we have them now and will be leaving tomorrow. Now we're all sitting in the room writing and/or getting ready. We're going to Toledo later, and before that, Jackie and I are going to the flea market. I've already spent too much, but it will be fun to look.
I am so tired. And can't hear anything. But we'll have a good day, hopefully. Tell you more later.
9:15 PM
Well, Jackie and I didn't go to the flea market. We ran out of time. Instead, we chilled for a while and left the hostel about 1, I guess, to go to the train station. We planned to go at 1:50, but the train was full, so we got the one at 3:50. Jackie, Kristen, Michele and Katie got Burger King and James and I had brought food. We stopped at a grocery store on the way to the train station - a Carrefour like we have in Brussels. Thing is, it has a huge difference in stock and, most notably, prices. The coolest part is that I found different brands of specific products - like fruit-filled chocolates and mate - that I remembered and loved from Chile that I couldn't find anywhere else. They had awesome types of German chocolate, too. At less than a quarter of the price it is in Germany. I don't know how they do it, but every single person that has traveled here has asked why we didn't just study in Spain because it's so much more awesome than Brussels... And there's sun here.
So we took the train and went to Toledo. It was gorgeous. We had a list, but no map, so we wandered for about three hours and managed to see everything on our list plus some great views and a parade. Carnaval was cool because everyone was dressed up. I saw some typical Halloween costumes, but I also saw some really cool/new ones. It was gorgeous, and the three hours that we were there were perfect. We got views of the sunset, but all the sights before it got dark.
We got back and went to the grocery store and everyone else is eating right now.
Tomorrow we have a 7:30 train to Barcelona, so we'll get to spend the whole day there. We're coming back Tuesday to fly out early on Wednesday. It feels like we've been here forever, but we still have a couple days left. I love it here, but Venice is still top. I think I would say Venice -> Madrid -> Zurich -> Toledo -> Dusseldorf -> Amsterdam Airport -> Cologne, but we'll see what Barcelona holds in store. I'm pretty sure the weather had a lot to do with the order, but that's been my experience so far.
Time for a shower and bed.
Goodnight, world.
Friday's Recap
Because I couldn't get internet the last night...
Well, today's been interesting. Sitting here talking to Michele and waiting for the internet... Which means that this probably won't be posted for a while, but I'm going to go ahead and write this.
I made a list today. Several lists, actually.
But first, I need to do an update on yesterday's post. You know that shower I took? It was the most obnoxious of my life. Have you ever seen those faucets that you have to push and hold for the water to come on? You push them in and 30 seconds later the water turns off? Yeah, that was my shower. Fun, don't you think?
Ok, on to my list.
- Museum Security - What's the deal with not being able to take pictures? If you look on my facebook when I next upload pics, you'll see a lot of diagonal stuff and some are pretty blurry because flashes are what alert the guards. Not only that, but they take your bags (I carried my bookbag because of a lack of a lock and having my laptop.) and make you go through a metal detector and put your stuff through an xray machine, like you do at the airport. It was intense. I understand the palace, but the art museum?
- Keyboards - The keyboards are different here (as in most foreign countries) and it is always weird to get used to. Not to much to say, but it's interesting. The biggest difference for me is that there are three symbols on the keys so there's shift and another funny key to get the third symbol. Once I figured it out, it wasn't bad, just hunting for keys.
- Porsches - There are so many porsches here. Small ones, big ones, shiny ones, new ones, and always black. I don't know why, but they're everywhere.
- Cops - The police here wear bright, bright lime green uniforms. Florescent to the nth degree. It's kindof interesting, and very noticeable. There are a good amount of them. Mostly at crosswalks and large intersections. They're at crosswalks because they arrest jaywalkers. There are lights like stop lights to allow you across the street. If you cross when you don't have a green light, then you get a ticket... which I saw first-hand. The other thing is that crosswalks have sounds to let you know when to cross. It sounds like the bullets in Space Invaders. It's kindof funny, but also very annoying.
So there's my list.
Today we went to Palace Real (Royal Palace) and walked all over. we also walked up Gran Via and and saw the Neptune fountain and the Plaza de la Independencia (big arch) and the Puerta del Sol, where the bear and the strawberry tree statue is. Then we went to the Prado museum and saw the art. I recognized "Las Meninas" by Diego Velazquez from Spanish class, got to see a whole bunch of works by El Greco and Raphael and many others. My "favorite" piece of art was a statue by Antonio Sola called "Roman Charity". It was very interesting, but I suggest you go reasearch the story before you look at it.
When we got back, we all went to the grocery store and split meat, cheese, potato chips and cookies for dinner. Most people "pre-gamed" with rum and coke for the pub crawl we're doing tonite. It meets at 10:30, so about an hour before we go. It should be interesting.
Tomorrow Jackie and I are going to flea market early and then probably going to Toledo, but we don't really know. It should be fun, whatever we do.
I miss everyone lots and it absolutely sucks that I don't have internet. There are computers available, but I don't have any way to move this over to post. I'll check my email and stuff.
Time to get ready for a pub crawl. I don't know what it will be like. Hopefully fun.
Goodnight, world.
Well, today's been interesting. Sitting here talking to Michele and waiting for the internet... Which means that this probably won't be posted for a while, but I'm going to go ahead and write this.
I made a list today. Several lists, actually.
But first, I need to do an update on yesterday's post. You know that shower I took? It was the most obnoxious of my life. Have you ever seen those faucets that you have to push and hold for the water to come on? You push them in and 30 seconds later the water turns off? Yeah, that was my shower. Fun, don't you think?
Ok, on to my list.
- Museum Security - What's the deal with not being able to take pictures? If you look on my facebook when I next upload pics, you'll see a lot of diagonal stuff and some are pretty blurry because flashes are what alert the guards. Not only that, but they take your bags (I carried my bookbag because of a lack of a lock and having my laptop.) and make you go through a metal detector and put your stuff through an xray machine, like you do at the airport. It was intense. I understand the palace, but the art museum?
- Keyboards - The keyboards are different here (as in most foreign countries) and it is always weird to get used to. Not to much to say, but it's interesting. The biggest difference for me is that there are three symbols on the keys so there's shift and another funny key to get the third symbol. Once I figured it out, it wasn't bad, just hunting for keys.
- Porsches - There are so many porsches here. Small ones, big ones, shiny ones, new ones, and always black. I don't know why, but they're everywhere.
- Cops - The police here wear bright, bright lime green uniforms. Florescent to the nth degree. It's kindof interesting, and very noticeable. There are a good amount of them. Mostly at crosswalks and large intersections. They're at crosswalks because they arrest jaywalkers. There are lights like stop lights to allow you across the street. If you cross when you don't have a green light, then you get a ticket... which I saw first-hand. The other thing is that crosswalks have sounds to let you know when to cross. It sounds like the bullets in Space Invaders. It's kindof funny, but also very annoying.
So there's my list.
Today we went to Palace Real (Royal Palace) and walked all over. we also walked up Gran Via and and saw the Neptune fountain and the Plaza de la Independencia (big arch) and the Puerta del Sol, where the bear and the strawberry tree statue is. Then we went to the Prado museum and saw the art. I recognized "Las Meninas" by Diego Velazquez from Spanish class, got to see a whole bunch of works by El Greco and Raphael and many others. My "favorite" piece of art was a statue by Antonio Sola called "Roman Charity". It was very interesting, but I suggest you go reasearch the story before you look at it.
When we got back, we all went to the grocery store and split meat, cheese, potato chips and cookies for dinner. Most people "pre-gamed" with rum and coke for the pub crawl we're doing tonite. It meets at 10:30, so about an hour before we go. It should be interesting.
Tomorrow Jackie and I are going to flea market early and then probably going to Toledo, but we don't really know. It should be fun, whatever we do.
I miss everyone lots and it absolutely sucks that I don't have internet. There are computers available, but I don't have any way to move this over to post. I'll check my email and stuff.
Time to get ready for a pub crawl. I don't know what it will be like. Hopefully fun.
Goodnight, world.
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