Tuesday, July 31, 2012
There are a lot of statue penises in Firenze
Firenze=Florence
Yesterday (Friday the 28th) we went inside the basilica for free. We had to put on pants and shirts that covered our shoulders though because clothing that we're used to wearing (like the currently accepted length of shorts and dresses) could elicit lust, and isn't accepted if you go to view the church. It was deadly hot, and I wore my lulu pants with my dress on top and then tried to strip them off when we got back outside (and got a lot of funny looks while we did). We weren't prepared for Florence as much as the other cities we've been to: neither of us had a guide book and baye only had a map. We didn't know what to see and spent a long time wandering around, through markets and shops, along the water. It's nice to see, but hard to know If you're doing it right.
We've been going to a gelato shop right outside our hostel, and tried to get as many of the flavors as possible. Up until now, I've tried passionfruit, raspberry, cheesecake, melon, caramel macchiato, and coconut. I may get the green tea and pistachio flavors tomorrow, but I also still want to get mango and lime. I keep having to remind myself that there'll be gelato in Rome and venice too!
Pasta last night was delicious, but a very small plate for 10 euro. It was under the 'first course' part of the menu, so I think you're meant to get more than one thing. We couldn't afford more than one though; this is tourist area and all prices are jacked up
Our feet killed after all our walking, and I took some photos of how that resulted with duck tape and exhausted faces.
Today we got up early and went to the galleria academia, an art museum containing a variety of artwork including the statue David by Michelangelo. Didn't think I would be as impressed as I was. The statue if David is MASSIVE and so accurate, right down to the veins in his forearm and the wrinkles/creases caused by the positioning of his hand. I stared at his face for a while, trying to decipher his emotion... I wish someone would have explained the sling he was holding... Is it a weapon? Is it what's left of his clothing? Anyways, I can look that up later. There were other cool paintings and tonnes of statues, including modern ones that were so realistic I thought there was actually a guy my age who crossed the rope to get a closer look at the art.
Unfortunately no photos were allowed, so we only have cheesy (and dead pan) shots of a cartoon version of david outside.
It wasn't too hot when we left the museum so we decided to head for the Michelangelo park, but of course it only took 5 minutes in that direction for the sun to decide To become scorching. We snapped a few photos from the top of the hill before realizing that there was 4 or 5 weddings/wedding photoshoots going on right below us. The couples seemed young, and we considered it might be prom, but the girls were in all white and very extravagant dresses. However, only the brides and grooms were dressed up, all the others in very casual clothes, but everyone wore a red bow thing on their front, over their hearts or something, even the brides and grooms. All of the marrying couples were Asian. We thought about asking if it was a coincidence or if they all knew each other, but didn't want to be rude, so now we'll never know.
After this we visited the school of leather making. We intended to try to use this school as a back door entrance to slip into a church (attached to it) free if charge, as our hostel desk man recommended, but there were signs all over the connected passage that you must hold a ticket, so I guess the church caught on... (we didnt end up paying to go in)... But it was still cool to see the making of Italian leather! We stopped at a shop on the way home to get leather bracelets, too :)
When we came back to the hostel for naps, I checked my bed again for bugs.
I had a few bites, not many, but I knew there weren't any Mosquitos out the night before so I was thinking about it all day. Baye thought I was just paranoid, and didn't see anything when she checked her side of the bed, but then I checked mine and found two MONSTEROUS bed bugs. The hotel cleaning lady and front desk man both dealt with it very efficiently, changing sheets, spraying the mattresses, and even replacing one mattress just in case. Our whole room was thoroughly cleaned and sprayed.
After running a few errands we were going to go out for dinner, but the three guys who manage the hostel are celebrating Ramadan, and were making lots of food for when the sun set. They invited us to eat with them and told us what each of the foods were in Arabic (though I forget most of them now). There was a breakfast drink that was psaesa, with a finely ground cereal mixed in olive oil, honey and some other things I can't remember. There was 'omlette' (not what you're thinking), actually a spicy dish with chicken that I can't remember the Arabic name (but you eat with bread, and despite my low heat tolerance it was scrumptious) and bhatih (or something like this? I feel like I'm way off but I know it starts with a b!): a scrambled egg with onion, parsley and something inside a thin deep fried shell. Then there were Tunisian dates, grapes, some special kind of melon that's white on the inside and orange like a pumpkin on the outside (Italian melon, not Tunisian) and pasta with pesto sauce and black olives (also an Italian dish). They really spoiled us. The food was so so so good, and they told us about the Ramadan and their cultural beliefs, and about their home back in Tunisia, as well as how to write our names in Arabic!
We went back to bed to read, and within 20 mins I had a creepy crawly bed bug going up my leg. I found a few others and went and got one of the night staff to help. He brought really strong pesticide spray and changed all our sheets again. I can still smell the spray in our room an hour later, with door and windows open and a standing and ceiling fan on. I've heard that spray doesn't get rid of them, they can live through a lot of extreme conditions, but I'm hoping that it'll at least hold them off if there are more and then it wont be our problem If they're not all really dead. I HOPE. I've also drenched myself in bug spray. Not really convinced that it'll ward them off but better than nothing.
I've searched my sleep sheets that I brought thoroughly, and done what I can to search my backpack (it's hard to with so many pockets and possible hiding spots) to make sure they're not coming from me... But so far I haven't seen signs.
2 am and im feeling like it's going to be a looooong paranoid night! I feel every movement of every hair.
Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite
And if they do, chew a few, then they won't bother you!
Apparently...
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Not so nice in Nice?
Not so nice to be in Nice.
Nice turned out to be expensive so we only booked one night here. It was all we needed in the end anyways, since we'd already had beach time in Barcelona and it's not a very large city; we saw it all on foot.
When we arrived it was easy to find the hostel, it was incredibly close to the train. The air smelled of fresh rain, but we've still managed to have a completely sunny 2 weeks *touch wood*
The hostel was our worst yet. We arrived at 'Nice Art Hostel' just at 7 and they almost didn't let us check in. our room had a bathroom that I couldn't stand in without hitting my head and had no door; I could see the face of my (supposedly) sleeping stranger roommate as I peed.
One wall had a double window/door (I'm not quite sure what you would consider it) that opened inwards, looking into an enclosed area, that (looking up) was the walls of other buildings, and filled with garbage, an old toilet and other furniture and flies. It was lined with like a thin chicken coop wire instead of normal window mesh. There was no breakfast included and no ac anywhere in the hostel, but at least they also didn't include cockroaches mice nor bedbugs.
The only roommate we met was a dancer, and she went to bed hungover as we quickly went back out in search of food. We never spoke to her again, she was still sleeping when we woke up and left this morning.
We walked down our street in the direction of the ocean, and got heckled at Least 20 times in 10 minutes, Either with Rude comments or kissing noises. We kept up our 'dead pan' faces an our 'tunnel vision', beginning to get frustrated at the lack of suitable restaurants to escape to.
After a 12 hour day of train rides, with only special k bars and apples in my bag and no time to grab food on transfers, I was nearly in tears with hunger and already hated nice, with a grimy hostel, unavoidable and very humid heat, and no good food.
Lucky we kept walking though, cause we happened upon a market area lined with restaurants. Many were too fancy/expensive for our liking, but we decided on a kabab place mostly because it would be served immediately instead of waiting for our order. It ended up being gross in my opinion(not bayes), very much unlike the shawarmas from home I was expecting/hoping for, and I couldnt stomach the whole thing. I ended up getting an amazing Ferraro Rocher ice-cream later, but still went to bed hungry.
After our falafels on the beach our impressions of nice quickly changed. Before, we were on a bad street and now that we had seen the coast we soak it up for all it's worth.
After a few photos (okay a shittonne) capturing the cute houses over a coast with the bluest water, we walked along until we found ourselves encircled (literally) by rollerbladers. We perched on the railing of the sidewalk and watched for nearly half an hour watching both adults and kids turn tricks on their rollerblades through a line of tiny pilons. They would rapidly weave in and out on one foot, criss cross their feet while skating backwards, and coolest of all, one of the guys was only about 6 or 7 years old. We walked more along the coast until it got dark, thn followed a huge shopping street home to our hostel (thank goodness everything was closed by then, cause I looked for way too long in each store window). We even stopped and highjacked a code from a strangers receipt to use the mcdonald's bathrooms so we didnt have to go back to use our doorless one.
Day two in nice we did more walking through the small streets and markets and climbed to a lookout point before heading for our 1230 train.
I write this as I sit (bored because I've whipped through the hunger games trilogy and dont have Internet to download a new book yet) on the train from Milan to Florence (or firenze as it's actually called). It's 840pm and until about half an hour ago I had been in a constant sweat for 48 hours. (this is the first train on today's trip that has ac, and our hostel didn't either). I don't know how badly I reek, but I havent showered since the night before we left Madrid... So only Tuesday night and is now Thursday... But I still feel bad for the people who sit near me. I'm actually looking forward to doing my laundry (still by hand) at the hostel tonight Go me!
Now time to break out the Italian phrasebook.
Mojito, mojito, mojito?
Mojito, mojito, mojito?
Our third day in Barcelona (july23) we got up bright and early (allowing us to actually get some cold milk at breakfast!!!) and headed straight to the sagrada familia. I've seen a lot of cool churches since the start of the trip, and I've appreciated each one, but I didn't expect to be blown away by this one a much as I am. It's unfortunate that the whole outside is under construction ( they're adding spires I think) because ive seen photos on postcards and it's jaw dropingly stunning. Plus, you can easily spot it above the other buildings from look out points in the city, and it would've been nice to get a shot of it finished (I guess I'll be back in 2030... Or more likely it won't be finished even until after that). It's so gorgeous inside because there's windows so strategically placed that so much natural light floods the room. I couldn't pull my eyes away from the stained glass windows, and my camera failed to capture just how beautiful the colours are. We paid the extra 3 euros to take a lift up one of the spires. There was a small bridge linking two of the towers and a lot of spiral steps with some landings that you can go peek out of again. Needless go say, baye and I went nuts with the photos on this one!
After the sagrada we first visited the fcb football stadium (that means soccer) They were charging way too much for a tour of the stadium, and there were no upcoming games we could go to so we didnt stay too long. after this we walked down la ramblas, a street similar to shopping streets in Paris, but with a wider variety of things to buy as it's a market all the way down the middle. We saw flower shops, paintings, whole pig legs, and even a market pet store that had CHiPMUNKS in cages, among other cuddly things. We followed la ramblas back to the beach and spent the remainder of the afternoon there before setting off to find a good restaurant for tapas. With recommendations from my 'let's go student guide book', we found a place called bar bitacora. I ended up getting an apple walnut salad and a typical Spanish of deep fried hot peppers. It was really good!!!
On our last day in Barcelona, we hiked up montjuic to see the castle at the top. The castle's moat is now all gardens, and the cannons are fake, but it overlooks the harbor, the beach, and the entire city. We could spot all major landmarks that we use/see when getting around, such as the dildo building, the sagrada church, and giant pieces of art around the beach. On the way backdown the mountain we passed the old Olympic stadium too. The hike took a good part of the day, so we got back to the beach relatively late (330pm), prioritizing our books and suntans over a couple other things we wanted to do, such as browse around the streets of the Bari gothic region or go back to parc guell (because we didn't tour the whole thing the first time, it was so hot)
We went for dinner at a place recommended by bayes parents, called cerveceria Catalunya, where the line was an hour long and we arrived before it opened at 8pm. Everything coming out on the dishes to other tables looked so incredible I thought I'd never decide (my family will know it's true, I dont make up my mind easily), but there was a slightly more expensive option to order a sample of the tapas, so I got that. The plate comes out and it's got the deep fried hot peppers in the centre, and four seafood dishes around the outside. Gulp. I've never been much of one for seafood, so it was lucky I was so hungry (we've been living off the bread rolls they serve at breakfast). I ate prawn, clams, tempura little fishies, and something similar to a crab cake, very heavy. I ate it all. :) and liked it.
The plan was then to go to free salsa lessons at a bar back near the beach. It took us forever to find because our maps can't fit the words onto every tiny little side street, and this place was down a dimly lit alleyway, just like my travel book described. When we finally found the bar called sanga, she said the lessons started at 1130, not 11 like we thought, and we had to leave by 1130 since the metros and busses stop running at midnight, so no salsa for us :(
Met some cool people in our room, but we left at 7am on the 25th so we barely got to chat much. The new Aussie girl had her phone stolen at the night club that night... Very glad I've been so paranoid of pick pocketers!!!
In fact, we had a close call two days earlier, where I watched a shady looking guy walk too close to people. He quickly realized baye was a bad target cause I had her back so closely, but I watched him follow one of our new London friends soon after. In the crowd if people exiting the metro, he walked right close behind and swing his arms in sync with our friend in front I'd him. His fingers would stretch each time until I called for joe's attention and tried to get between the two of them. close call.
Adding to Paris, Barcelona makes the list of places I felt there just wasnt enough time to see it all, and I know I'll be back :)
Monday, July 23, 2012
Vamos a la Playa!
Arriving in Barcelona, Baye and I haven´t stopped singing our hearts out as we walk down the street. We have done this often in other cities, but it´s become more of a habit in Barcelona for some reason.
First night we arrived we met our roommates. How awkward. This is the first time we´ve had roommates we actually really met. (In Toledo we had people who didn´t talk much and\or arrived in much later than us and slept in so we didn´t see them). These roommates are exactly opposite. They never stop talking to the point where you don´t have any personal space. Upon arrival (at 10pm) they tried to convince us to go to Barcelona´s biggest club: Razmataz. Well we´d already heard about it when we checked in: 3 floors, 5 rooms with different music, oh yeah... and fits 5000 people (and sells out on Saturday Nights). THANK YOU, BUT NO THANK YOU. Baye and I thought that did NOT sound fun to be in such company, on top of a $15 euro cover, and tried to politely decline.
WELL these guys thought that since we weren´t going, they would just change their plans and predrink in the room with us (did we say we were even going to have one drink? No.) and we´d met for a whole 3 minutes by this time. We hadn´t even figured out our lockers, and they haven´t stopped talking yet, and we say we want to go get something to eat. So they offer to come with us. At first we welcomed the opportunity for them to show us where to go, but very very quickly regretted it. They took us to McDonalds (I´m only half joking... it was in a shopping mall, so we found a place that sells pasta which was better). They had both been a little in the bottle, which just eccentuated their chattiness, and the main topic of the evening as we walked: the brightly lit office building (in blue and red), shaped like a dildo. Yes, quite phallically shaped indeed. We laughed at first mention, but 20 minutes of analyzing it´s similarity to a penis or a turd gets tiring.
After food we eventually found other people in the hostel´s common area, where the common area has a bar and the night happened to have organized kareoke here (let me also add that the hostel is 12 floors high, with 10-12 rooms per floor, and 6 beds per room... there´s a LOT of people in this hostel, so the common area was bumpin). While trying to figure out the ticket machine to buy drinks, we met two blokes from London, who were getting in one last hurrah for the weekend in Barcelona before their work gets hellish for the London Olympic Games. It was their last night and day in Barcelona, but Baye and I were so glad we met them. They were more mature and already knew the city, and didn´t want to go to Razmataz either. and were HILARIOUS. (I will tell you more about the "dead pan" skills they taught us later...) We also quickly met a guy fresh out of the US military taking a few months before back to school, and a number of girls from switzerland, though they weren´t as easy to understand. As a group we decided to try for the clubs along the barcelona beach, but upon arrival we quickly decided that none of us actually wanted to be in a club, and decided to just sit on the beach.
Funny sales guys would be around LITERALLY every two minutes to try to sell you ¨ice cold beer¨. We had a LOT of laughs making fun of these guys, cause they would take a can out of their plastic grocery bag and touch it to your arm or your face to show you just how cold the beer was, as if that would change your mind as to whether you wanted some. We did buy some and the people kept coming by anyways trying to convince us even though we had many unopened cans already. Hilarious. We started playing jokes almost... even though they would advertise: "ice cold cerveca, ice gold beer" (x200 million as they walked along), we asked "is it cold?" (yes, yes, yes) "how cold?" (*touch it to your skin*) and things like this. Entertained us for hours, along with the many couples along the beach to which we could commentate on how absolutely public their love making was (in a David Attenborough manner, of course: "The male now climbs on top of the female and continues to carress her. At first attempt, she pushes his hand away from more inappropriate areas, but after a few more tries she becomes more submissive. The onlookers appear to be ignoring as if this is typical behavior for the Beaches of Barcelona". Funny, but also a little disturbing.
Our next experience of the night (this is still the Saturday we arrived... or rather, it would´ve been past midnight and technically Sunday the 22nd at this point) we decided we were hungry. A local said that there was a 24 hour McDonalds and that was our only chance at this point, so we set off on foot... unaware that, when we arrive, it´s only the drive thru open, and the two security guards are insistant that you MUST have a motor vehicle to place an order. WELL. We made friends with two guys in a jeep, and ordered (for 4 people at this point) EIGHT cheeseburgers. They wouldn´t stop laughing at us. But they did. They ordered for us and even gave us the change.
We got little sleep, but got up early the next day for sight seeing (figuring we could sleep on the beach). We went to the Parc Guell, which is at the very top of a hill (it´s ok, theres actually a lot of outdoor escalators here) and walked around the outdoor designs by Gaudi. We also sat on the world´s longest bench here (it´s all curved and tiled). Here, we tested our new knolwedge of "dead panning"... we had been taught the night before, and it´s actually SUCH a laugh. It could be considered like the next "planking", but to be honest, if it catches on it definitely won´t be fun anymore, because it´s the prank on people that makes it hilarious, not the actual photo itself...
To Dead Pan:
1) Ask someone to take your photo (because there´s two of you and you want to have a photo together at this great site).
2a) They agree, and you pose.... but you do NOT smile. Infact, you stand (or sit) very stiffly, and make the most straight face you possibly can.
2b) Do every possible thing you can to not smirk or burst out. More difficult than you´d think. One of the recommended strategies: Imagine your pet just died... but at the suggestion usually you start laughing. Hard to get both people in sync for the dead pan.
3) The person taking your photo is SO awkward (obviously wishing they never agreed to take the photo,confused as to why you´re not smiling) but obligingly count down and click for you.
We´ve forgotten to do this since our new friends left, but plan to continue the legacy at major sites throughout our trip. (Photos to come probably by the time I reach Florence, July 27th)
It was stupidly hot at Parc Guell so after a few decent dead pan photos, we walked all the way back down and took the metro to the beach, and spent the rest of the day there. We had our suits, but no towels... so we had to pay to rent one of the beach loungers, and Baye and I split one.. that was a little bit uncomfortable, though doable. The ocean was really nice, and compared to the heat at Parc Guell, there was a strong breeze at the ocean and it was actually pretty cool. But it´s not exactly a place to really relax... same as the beach at night, there are guys walking around selling drinks, but they do it in a very particular rhythm and tone every tone every time (different than the typical newspaper sales in North America) and it is really funny to mock:
"Mojitoooos, Mojitoooos, Mohitos?"
"Mojitooooos, Mojitooooos, Fresh Cold Ice Cold Mojitos?".
I will never EVER get this out of my head. I must mock it for you sometime when I get home.
At about 7pm we left back for the Hostel to shower up and get food, at which point we parted with our new friends cause they flew back to London for work.
PS: The title of this post is actually a techno song that Baye has on her ipod, the Spanish words meaning "Lets go to the Beach". Weve been singing this since we got here... and figured it was an appropriate title after having been to the beach twice in 24 hours :)
First night we arrived we met our roommates. How awkward. This is the first time we´ve had roommates we actually really met. (In Toledo we had people who didn´t talk much and\or arrived in much later than us and slept in so we didn´t see them). These roommates are exactly opposite. They never stop talking to the point where you don´t have any personal space. Upon arrival (at 10pm) they tried to convince us to go to Barcelona´s biggest club: Razmataz. Well we´d already heard about it when we checked in: 3 floors, 5 rooms with different music, oh yeah... and fits 5000 people (and sells out on Saturday Nights). THANK YOU, BUT NO THANK YOU. Baye and I thought that did NOT sound fun to be in such company, on top of a $15 euro cover, and tried to politely decline.
WELL these guys thought that since we weren´t going, they would just change their plans and predrink in the room with us (did we say we were even going to have one drink? No.) and we´d met for a whole 3 minutes by this time. We hadn´t even figured out our lockers, and they haven´t stopped talking yet, and we say we want to go get something to eat. So they offer to come with us. At first we welcomed the opportunity for them to show us where to go, but very very quickly regretted it. They took us to McDonalds (I´m only half joking... it was in a shopping mall, so we found a place that sells pasta which was better). They had both been a little in the bottle, which just eccentuated their chattiness, and the main topic of the evening as we walked: the brightly lit office building (in blue and red), shaped like a dildo. Yes, quite phallically shaped indeed. We laughed at first mention, but 20 minutes of analyzing it´s similarity to a penis or a turd gets tiring.
After food we eventually found other people in the hostel´s common area, where the common area has a bar and the night happened to have organized kareoke here (let me also add that the hostel is 12 floors high, with 10-12 rooms per floor, and 6 beds per room... there´s a LOT of people in this hostel, so the common area was bumpin). While trying to figure out the ticket machine to buy drinks, we met two blokes from London, who were getting in one last hurrah for the weekend in Barcelona before their work gets hellish for the London Olympic Games. It was their last night and day in Barcelona, but Baye and I were so glad we met them. They were more mature and already knew the city, and didn´t want to go to Razmataz either. and were HILARIOUS. (I will tell you more about the "dead pan" skills they taught us later...) We also quickly met a guy fresh out of the US military taking a few months before back to school, and a number of girls from switzerland, though they weren´t as easy to understand. As a group we decided to try for the clubs along the barcelona beach, but upon arrival we quickly decided that none of us actually wanted to be in a club, and decided to just sit on the beach.
Funny sales guys would be around LITERALLY every two minutes to try to sell you ¨ice cold beer¨. We had a LOT of laughs making fun of these guys, cause they would take a can out of their plastic grocery bag and touch it to your arm or your face to show you just how cold the beer was, as if that would change your mind as to whether you wanted some. We did buy some and the people kept coming by anyways trying to convince us even though we had many unopened cans already. Hilarious. We started playing jokes almost... even though they would advertise: "ice cold cerveca, ice gold beer" (x200 million as they walked along), we asked "is it cold?" (yes, yes, yes) "how cold?" (*touch it to your skin*) and things like this. Entertained us for hours, along with the many couples along the beach to which we could commentate on how absolutely public their love making was (in a David Attenborough manner, of course: "The male now climbs on top of the female and continues to carress her. At first attempt, she pushes his hand away from more inappropriate areas, but after a few more tries she becomes more submissive. The onlookers appear to be ignoring as if this is typical behavior for the Beaches of Barcelona". Funny, but also a little disturbing.
Our next experience of the night (this is still the Saturday we arrived... or rather, it would´ve been past midnight and technically Sunday the 22nd at this point) we decided we were hungry. A local said that there was a 24 hour McDonalds and that was our only chance at this point, so we set off on foot... unaware that, when we arrive, it´s only the drive thru open, and the two security guards are insistant that you MUST have a motor vehicle to place an order. WELL. We made friends with two guys in a jeep, and ordered (for 4 people at this point) EIGHT cheeseburgers. They wouldn´t stop laughing at us. But they did. They ordered for us and even gave us the change.
We got little sleep, but got up early the next day for sight seeing (figuring we could sleep on the beach). We went to the Parc Guell, which is at the very top of a hill (it´s ok, theres actually a lot of outdoor escalators here) and walked around the outdoor designs by Gaudi. We also sat on the world´s longest bench here (it´s all curved and tiled). Here, we tested our new knolwedge of "dead panning"... we had been taught the night before, and it´s actually SUCH a laugh. It could be considered like the next "planking", but to be honest, if it catches on it definitely won´t be fun anymore, because it´s the prank on people that makes it hilarious, not the actual photo itself...
To Dead Pan:
1) Ask someone to take your photo (because there´s two of you and you want to have a photo together at this great site).
2a) They agree, and you pose.... but you do NOT smile. Infact, you stand (or sit) very stiffly, and make the most straight face you possibly can.
2b) Do every possible thing you can to not smirk or burst out. More difficult than you´d think. One of the recommended strategies: Imagine your pet just died... but at the suggestion usually you start laughing. Hard to get both people in sync for the dead pan.
3) The person taking your photo is SO awkward (obviously wishing they never agreed to take the photo,confused as to why you´re not smiling) but obligingly count down and click for you.
We´ve forgotten to do this since our new friends left, but plan to continue the legacy at major sites throughout our trip. (Photos to come probably by the time I reach Florence, July 27th)
It was stupidly hot at Parc Guell so after a few decent dead pan photos, we walked all the way back down and took the metro to the beach, and spent the rest of the day there. We had our suits, but no towels... so we had to pay to rent one of the beach loungers, and Baye and I split one.. that was a little bit uncomfortable, though doable. The ocean was really nice, and compared to the heat at Parc Guell, there was a strong breeze at the ocean and it was actually pretty cool. But it´s not exactly a place to really relax... same as the beach at night, there are guys walking around selling drinks, but they do it in a very particular rhythm and tone every tone every time (different than the typical newspaper sales in North America) and it is really funny to mock:
"Mojitoooos, Mojitoooos, Mohitos?"
"Mojitooooos, Mojitooooos, Fresh Cold Ice Cold Mojitos?".
I will never EVER get this out of my head. I must mock it for you sometime when I get home.
At about 7pm we left back for the Hostel to shower up and get food, at which point we parted with our new friends cause they flew back to London for work.
PS: The title of this post is actually a techno song that Baye has on her ipod, the Spanish words meaning "Lets go to the Beach". Weve been singing this since we got here... and figured it was an appropriate title after having been to the beach twice in 24 hours :)
Toledo (oh LAY!)
Toledo was absolutely STUNNING.
It´s a small city, 1km both ways, but you still do get an incredible amount of exercise walking around... the whole city is hills. And not like, a couple that you can see and make sense of, the streets go up and down it seems at their own will, making it confusing (good thing it was small and we´d always end back up at the hostel in a couple hours anyways). We got in everything we needed to do in one day, and it would be nice to stay and soak up the beauty, but we were just as happy to move on after experiencing it.
The streets were so fun to walk down the cobble stone, with smells of deep fried food wafting from the homes´ windows. We´d have to plaster ourselves to a wall when a car came by (there was barely room for smart cars, and really impressive when the teeny tiny garbage trucks went by!)
Toledo was filled with little trinket shops, mostly selling swords (which is EXACTLY what I thought would be a perfect souvenier to carry around for the rest of the trip....) and knives, or gold jewelry. Baye got herself a cool ceramic jug labeled Sangria, and I bought myself a necklace with a round pendant hand carved with a pattern of a bird and flowers. I´ve been wearing it ever since and already gotten a few compliments here in Barcelona :)
I went through the Toledo Church, it was really impressive. Spent a few hours inside with a free English audio guide. Apparently the whole population of Toledo can live in there. I believe it, it´s massive. Weren´t allowed flash photo, so most of my shots are blurry. There were hanging red hats, a really cool massive gold...uh...thing. I don´t even know if it has a purpose, but it looks like a sculpture of a tower. I´ve already forgotten what it´s called ;(
Baye and I took a walk along the water that they have. It was really weird to be walking along water and still feel like you´re in an absolute dessert (cactuses and grasses all yellow and crispy). The water didn´t smell pleasant but you got used to it and it was really nice to look at anyways. We also tried to walk to the bull ring, which is decently far uptown, knowing that there wasnt´going to be a bull fight on... not sure if you´re normally allowed in, but it was closed when we got there so we only saw the outside of the building unfortunately!
We sat on the patio of a cheap tapas restaurant for a few hours, and enjoyed a delicious breakfast the next morning at the restaurant attached to our hostel. The hostel had an INCREDIBLE terrace up top, overlooking the city, tempting you to roof hop. It was a brand new hostel, only 2 weeks in business, so the terrace had just been finished when we got there. Photos will come, but unfortunately at my hostel here (in Barcelona) there´s no ability to plug in your USB so I can´t upload photos yet.
It´s a small city, 1km both ways, but you still do get an incredible amount of exercise walking around... the whole city is hills. And not like, a couple that you can see and make sense of, the streets go up and down it seems at their own will, making it confusing (good thing it was small and we´d always end back up at the hostel in a couple hours anyways). We got in everything we needed to do in one day, and it would be nice to stay and soak up the beauty, but we were just as happy to move on after experiencing it.
The streets were so fun to walk down the cobble stone, with smells of deep fried food wafting from the homes´ windows. We´d have to plaster ourselves to a wall when a car came by (there was barely room for smart cars, and really impressive when the teeny tiny garbage trucks went by!)
Toledo was filled with little trinket shops, mostly selling swords (which is EXACTLY what I thought would be a perfect souvenier to carry around for the rest of the trip....) and knives, or gold jewelry. Baye got herself a cool ceramic jug labeled Sangria, and I bought myself a necklace with a round pendant hand carved with a pattern of a bird and flowers. I´ve been wearing it ever since and already gotten a few compliments here in Barcelona :)
I went through the Toledo Church, it was really impressive. Spent a few hours inside with a free English audio guide. Apparently the whole population of Toledo can live in there. I believe it, it´s massive. Weren´t allowed flash photo, so most of my shots are blurry. There were hanging red hats, a really cool massive gold...uh...thing. I don´t even know if it has a purpose, but it looks like a sculpture of a tower. I´ve already forgotten what it´s called ;(
Baye and I took a walk along the water that they have. It was really weird to be walking along water and still feel like you´re in an absolute dessert (cactuses and grasses all yellow and crispy). The water didn´t smell pleasant but you got used to it and it was really nice to look at anyways. We also tried to walk to the bull ring, which is decently far uptown, knowing that there wasnt´going to be a bull fight on... not sure if you´re normally allowed in, but it was closed when we got there so we only saw the outside of the building unfortunately!
We sat on the patio of a cheap tapas restaurant for a few hours, and enjoyed a delicious breakfast the next morning at the restaurant attached to our hostel. The hostel had an INCREDIBLE terrace up top, overlooking the city, tempting you to roof hop. It was a brand new hostel, only 2 weeks in business, so the terrace had just been finished when we got there. Photos will come, but unfortunately at my hostel here (in Barcelona) there´s no ability to plug in your USB so I can´t upload photos yet.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Hot and Shitty with a little Hot and Shitty expected this afternoon..
Last day in Madrid
We really had a fantastic day.
Lots of walking, saw the whole city. They have tonnes of parks here with waterfalls and statues, plus plazas etc. We walked through Jeronimo Park and Parc del Retiro, which had a lake with rowboats aside a waterfall and a scene that reminded me of the Jungle book, with a wall (not a whole building) with pillars and steps of stone. It was gorgeous. We had a small picnic in the park and later headed for a tapas lunch at a place called Lateral. It was a little classier than we were prepared for, showing up sweaty and in shorts and tank tops, but the food was OUT OF THIS WORLD. When you order the Lateral salad it´s tomatoes with mozzerella cheese and a kind of ham\proccuito\bacon thing on top; to die for. Then we had two other appetizers, both kinds of stuffed peppers, one with goat cheese and another with a meat but both with incredible sauces. Lunch came with a really really sweet wine and only cost us 10.50 euro each.
We also saw 2 art museums today, which were free for students (BONUSSS!) There were tonnes of cool paintings. The Reina de Sophia museum we went to first was modern art, so some of it was more difficult for us to appreciate, but they did have a really large collection of Picasso. Most of the museum you were allowed cameras but no flash, so I took photos of the picasso until someone came up to me saying I wasn´t allowed a camera in that area at all... but I still snuck away with a photo or two ;)
The Museum del Prado was more religious paintings but very very detailed and impressive. Much like the paintings we saw in the Palacio Real (Royal Palace Museum) yesterday, but more vibrant because I suppose the colours have been preserved better? but many of the paintings were from 1500s!
We lastly went to see a Flamenco Ballet called ¨Carmen¨. It was my favourite thing so far. The live spanish guitar and singing, better than Santana (well... than Santana´s CD, I think I was excited to see it live) and the show was 1.5 hours of pure incredible. The dancers were so good, and the story wasn´t to difficult to follow. They were all in sync and their feet lead the music. It was priceless (on top of the 20 euro we paid, that is..).
Had a cheap dinner in our hostel, but first we went to the grocery store to pick up the pasta stuff. On the way to the store there were protests outside Plaza del Sol, the first plaza we went to, where I presume is the government building although I can´t understand what´s written on the buildings. HUGE protests outside, people in groups with giant banners and signs, all matchign red and white, and lines and lines of police busses with baracades infront of one building with spanish flags... we cut through as fast as we could as to avoid getting in the middle of anything messy (at the time it was still peaceful protesting, just chanting and standing, nobody moving) but we didn´t wait around to find out what happened. Further up the road police officers were closing it off so that no more vehicles could go through.
Safely back at the hostel, leaving for Toledo early tomorrow. There was supposed to be beer games for free in our hostel tonight, turned out it was at a hostel nearby and we missed it :(
We´ve had our hostel to ourselves the whole time, which at first was a blessing to have so much space and quiet, but it is a little difficult to socialize in the main areas and the only downfall of an empty room is no new friends. Hopefully we meet some more cool people in Toledo and Madrid!!
Miss you all
xoxo
We really had a fantastic day.
Lots of walking, saw the whole city. They have tonnes of parks here with waterfalls and statues, plus plazas etc. We walked through Jeronimo Park and Parc del Retiro, which had a lake with rowboats aside a waterfall and a scene that reminded me of the Jungle book, with a wall (not a whole building) with pillars and steps of stone. It was gorgeous. We had a small picnic in the park and later headed for a tapas lunch at a place called Lateral. It was a little classier than we were prepared for, showing up sweaty and in shorts and tank tops, but the food was OUT OF THIS WORLD. When you order the Lateral salad it´s tomatoes with mozzerella cheese and a kind of ham\proccuito\bacon thing on top; to die for. Then we had two other appetizers, both kinds of stuffed peppers, one with goat cheese and another with a meat but both with incredible sauces. Lunch came with a really really sweet wine and only cost us 10.50 euro each.
We also saw 2 art museums today, which were free for students (BONUSSS!) There were tonnes of cool paintings. The Reina de Sophia museum we went to first was modern art, so some of it was more difficult for us to appreciate, but they did have a really large collection of Picasso. Most of the museum you were allowed cameras but no flash, so I took photos of the picasso until someone came up to me saying I wasn´t allowed a camera in that area at all... but I still snuck away with a photo or two ;)
The Museum del Prado was more religious paintings but very very detailed and impressive. Much like the paintings we saw in the Palacio Real (Royal Palace Museum) yesterday, but more vibrant because I suppose the colours have been preserved better? but many of the paintings were from 1500s!
We lastly went to see a Flamenco Ballet called ¨Carmen¨. It was my favourite thing so far. The live spanish guitar and singing, better than Santana (well... than Santana´s CD, I think I was excited to see it live) and the show was 1.5 hours of pure incredible. The dancers were so good, and the story wasn´t to difficult to follow. They were all in sync and their feet lead the music. It was priceless (on top of the 20 euro we paid, that is..).
Had a cheap dinner in our hostel, but first we went to the grocery store to pick up the pasta stuff. On the way to the store there were protests outside Plaza del Sol, the first plaza we went to, where I presume is the government building although I can´t understand what´s written on the buildings. HUGE protests outside, people in groups with giant banners and signs, all matchign red and white, and lines and lines of police busses with baracades infront of one building with spanish flags... we cut through as fast as we could as to avoid getting in the middle of anything messy (at the time it was still peaceful protesting, just chanting and standing, nobody moving) but we didn´t wait around to find out what happened. Further up the road police officers were closing it off so that no more vehicles could go through.
Safely back at the hostel, leaving for Toledo early tomorrow. There was supposed to be beer games for free in our hostel tonight, turned out it was at a hostel nearby and we missed it :(
We´ve had our hostel to ourselves the whole time, which at first was a blessing to have so much space and quiet, but it is a little difficult to socialize in the main areas and the only downfall of an empty room is no new friends. Hopefully we meet some more cool people in Toledo and Madrid!!
Miss you all
xoxo
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
I´m meltinggggg
We took the night train from Paris to Madrid last night. It cost us an arm and a leg, but we did get bunks and got to sleep. I met a Canadian and an American in my dorm, and was lucky enough to be able to speak English with them both, where as Baye only had other women who didn´t speak any English. We arrived at 9am today and took the metro like old pros to our hostel. The information people in the metros were super nice even if we didn´t understand each other. One gentleman mimed to us, pointing to our bags and making a sad face with fingers on both sides of his eyes like tears. I didn´t get it at first until he took Baye´s hands, made them cover up her bag, and mimed someone kicking the bag out. He was trying to have us careful of pick pocketers etc.!
We checked in and got our beds set up. We have safes with locks, and we share a bunk. Today we walked to 4 different plazas, basically squares with statues and stuff in them. The first one we stopped at there were mickey mouse characters, and Elmo and Cookie Monster. We took photos with them, and then they started asking for money. We should´ve known that photos with costumed people in this heat isn´t free... but we didn´t pay anyways, we just ran away haha.
We did a LOT of walking today, and I have blisters despite good shoes with orthodics. We browsed the Plazas in the morning, got really hot so came back for a cold shower and internet, then back out again.
We went to a museum called the ¨Palacio Real¨ (basically the Royal Palace of the Spanish royal family, which is now a museum. It was INCREDIBLE. I couldn´t believe the size of the rooms, biggest ceilings all painted every millimetre with religious images, women, babies with wings, or fighting scenes. and that was just the arced ceilings. between the ceilings and walls were mostly gold, and many of the things in the castle were coated with gold. The tile floor underneath was always in complicated patterns with the world´s biggest rugs on top. Plus the tapestries hanging from the walls, the ginormous mirrors, and then the thrones... not to mention all the statues (mostly of lions). There was a whole section in the museum (besides walking through 50\3000 rooms) that displayed various suits of armour that the spanish army used to wear at various periods, for combat or for jousting. The styles are hilarious to go through, and they even showed it all on maniquen horses plus there were some for children. Really fascinating.
After dinner we walked another 30 minutes up to where we were recommended to go to a restaurant for Tapas. At this point we´d finished our water and we were absolutely dying, but at 6:30 they knew we were canadian, cause their kitchen doesn´t open until 830. So we stopped for a beer and a water, tried to browse around the area to kill time (but there wasn´t anything to see) and came back again for Japanese Tapas. they were SO GOOD. I couldn´t tell you what most of them were... we had shrimp, chilli with nachos, some kind of stuffed baked potato thing that is more like a spring roll than an american baked potato... some meat pie that was fishy, sushi of some sort, and a few more, then 2 deserts: a hot brownie and a raspberry jam cheesecake. yep, we felt a lot better after this. Took the metro back to the hostel. currently trying to figure out our next stops so that tomorrow we can get in a lot more sites! I really hope I get to go to a flamenco show!!!
We checked in and got our beds set up. We have safes with locks, and we share a bunk. Today we walked to 4 different plazas, basically squares with statues and stuff in them. The first one we stopped at there were mickey mouse characters, and Elmo and Cookie Monster. We took photos with them, and then they started asking for money. We should´ve known that photos with costumed people in this heat isn´t free... but we didn´t pay anyways, we just ran away haha.
We did a LOT of walking today, and I have blisters despite good shoes with orthodics. We browsed the Plazas in the morning, got really hot so came back for a cold shower and internet, then back out again.
We went to a museum called the ¨Palacio Real¨ (basically the Royal Palace of the Spanish royal family, which is now a museum. It was INCREDIBLE. I couldn´t believe the size of the rooms, biggest ceilings all painted every millimetre with religious images, women, babies with wings, or fighting scenes. and that was just the arced ceilings. between the ceilings and walls were mostly gold, and many of the things in the castle were coated with gold. The tile floor underneath was always in complicated patterns with the world´s biggest rugs on top. Plus the tapestries hanging from the walls, the ginormous mirrors, and then the thrones... not to mention all the statues (mostly of lions). There was a whole section in the museum (besides walking through 50\3000 rooms) that displayed various suits of armour that the spanish army used to wear at various periods, for combat or for jousting. The styles are hilarious to go through, and they even showed it all on maniquen horses plus there were some for children. Really fascinating.
After dinner we walked another 30 minutes up to where we were recommended to go to a restaurant for Tapas. At this point we´d finished our water and we were absolutely dying, but at 6:30 they knew we were canadian, cause their kitchen doesn´t open until 830. So we stopped for a beer and a water, tried to browse around the area to kill time (but there wasn´t anything to see) and came back again for Japanese Tapas. they were SO GOOD. I couldn´t tell you what most of them were... we had shrimp, chilli with nachos, some kind of stuffed baked potato thing that is more like a spring roll than an american baked potato... some meat pie that was fishy, sushi of some sort, and a few more, then 2 deserts: a hot brownie and a raspberry jam cheesecake. yep, we felt a lot better after this. Took the metro back to the hostel. currently trying to figure out our next stops so that tomorrow we can get in a lot more sites! I really hope I get to go to a flamenco show!!!
Paris
I stayed in Paris for 5 days, it's been action packed and amazing. We were staying at a friends flat downtown Paris, a 15 min walk to the Eiffel tower and the louvre, among many other amazing sights. Definitely didn´t have enough time for Paris, so we may come back early at the end before I fly out. There wasn´t any Internet at our flat, so this is the first time I´ve used it for non-emergency. The neighbors\other guys in the apartment building were our age (they were so great to show us around, speak English with us and even make meals together. I am now in Madrid using my Hostel´s internet, but Madrid stories will be posted later.
Paris Day 1:
I was locked out of the apartment with no name of who I'm looking for, no baye(travel partner) and no functional cell phone. Looked like a bum to the locals (they told me this) and not a good thing in this area of town, which was right outside the government/parliament and many guards/police officers around the assemble nationale. It rained this day but we ate with the French neighbors, walked around to get to know the area, bought groceries and planned day 2.
Day 2:
July 14 was France's independence day. We saw the air show (fighter jets followed the Sienne leaving streams of blue white and red, France´s colours) and parts of the parade from the sidewalks before continuing to the Louvre (though we only took photos around the outside, I planned to go inside the next day because the lines were stupidly long-- it´s free on independence day). We walked all over Paris, along the Sienne, and took way too many photos. That night the guys who share the apartment cooked for us. We tried riette, which is a repulsive looking spread for toast/bread, but was delicious(tasted like turkey dinner!) and also had French style pasta (plain cooked noodles with sliced tomatoes and chunks of mozerrella stirred in, and add salt\pepper to taste).
After dinner (which we ate like Parisians at 10pm), we watched the independence day fireworks from the rooftop of the flat. (You can see the Eiffel tower from the roof). The Eiffel sparkled in sync with the show, which was gorgeous, but also was ridiculously long; It was 35 minutes of fireworks. Baye and I, multiple times, clapped (and thought to ourselves 'ahh, now I can go in and pee') and then it would keep going ('f*ck!'). After the fireworks we had a few drinks with their friends (on the "terrace" or rooftop) then went to a nearby Paris night club, where I actually knew 90% of the songs cause they're all English. We stayed up way too late, went to bed at 6am (though this was much earlier than the Parisians) and got up again at 8am to try to beat the line for the Eiffel ...
Day 3:
We were dead exhausted but still thrilled to be at the Eiffel. Completely failed to beat the crowds because we left later than planned AND it opened earlier than we thought. Waited 2.5 hours in line (and it was also freezing cold despite our hopeful attire of shorts and tshirts). The view was incredible but you couldn't spend more than an hour looking around. It was very neat to see how different the city is than any city in North America. There was one very small area of high rise buildings off on the distance, but for the most part all you could see was the traditional white and tan apartments as far as the eye could see. Of course, on top of that, you can see all the famous monuments like the arc de triumph and churches and parcs, though what shocked me most was the lack of trees. Only one area, about the same amount as the city, was green of a forest. They have trees lining the streets and the sienne river, but other than that its all developed (and beautifully old).
It was Sunday, and the Bastille market is only open Thursdays and Sundays, so we then rented bikes and it took us 20 minutes to ride there, with the intention of picking up fresh fish to cook for the guys. Took us a long time to figure out how to rent a bike, and although navigating the city was a breeze (easy when you can follow the river) we arrived too late and the market had already closed :(. We still went to a grocery store and bought things to make a Canadian meal of maple salmon and rice and carrots. Walter (son of the host family) said it's very English to separate all the foods, in France they usually have the food groups mixed all into one dish.
Day 4:
By Monday morning I'd caught a cold. Go figure, as I had barely slept on the plane plus the lack of sleep from going out the night before the Eiffel Tower. Bright and early we bicycled to the Arc de Triomphe. It was STUNNING. Wish I could have seen it lit up at night. We then walked back to the Grand Palais and Hotel nvalides, which are both super close to the apartment but we hadn't yet taken photos. Around this time Baye and I started realizing how many pictures we were taking that were just of buildings whose names we won't remember (I was at around 200 photo count by then). So now we've started getting more of ourselves making goofy poses in them.
We walked along le rue Champs Élysées with crazy big brand names like Louis Vuitton, Armani, Dior etc along it. We then went to the train station to figure out our tickets. We weren't very pleases upon our departure despite the very friendly customer service rep. We already have a rail pass worth more than 500$, and the most cost effective route was to take the night train from Paris to Madrid... there was a booking fee of 77Euro! That´s about $100.00. We were so shocked that there was this much of an additional fee and questioned why we even got the rail pass in the first place.:( That night Walter´s dad was back home from Southern France and he took us out for steak frites. (Steak and Fries). It was SCRUMPTIOUS. We also tried this chocolate dessert, but I will have to come back with the name of it. Hard to remember so many things in French! After dinner he drove us around the city showing us everything from the streets again, with the covnertible roof down. It was a real treat. Both Walter and his dad knew so many facts, about what year Egyptian statues were given to France (and how there are now only 3 in Egypt when there should be 4), about history of the churches and parliament buildings. It was really nice.
Day 5:
Baye decided she´d rather go for a run than see the Louvre, but this was still a priority on my list, so we split up in the morning. Baye´s run was going to be shorter than my visit so she kept the key, but unfortunately I showed up to a CLOSED sign at the door :( No Louvre for me. I waited outside the apartment again until she got home. We packed up our things, tidied the apartment, and took one last stroll around Paris before quickly getting some advice on Madrid from Walter since he used to go to school there. So far his advice has been great!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Ready for takeoff... 6 hours early
Had an adventure today before my adventure begins! Brought back childhood by chasing on my dad's hot air balloon flight this morning, but it's the first time I've had to drive the chase. It also went by loads faster than I remember. Kyle man enjoyed it too :). Got back from the flight crazy early (left at 530am, got back by 8am). Then off to Toronto. Cell phone is activated. I welcome you to send me a text (please email me to my hotmail account for the number) because I have free incoming texts and calls... Just dont expect me to write back... Not so cheap. Oh yeah, I should mention it's an Estonia number, so if your texts are only free on north America it might not be cheap for you either.
Currently 2Pm, take off at 8pm. I'll be reporting next from Paris !
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
All Packed
Pictures don't do it justice. This thing is MASSIVE. And I thought I did well packing...hmph.
It weighs in at a whopping 30 pounds (oh yeah, that's NOT including my carry on, which (thankfully) is only a pound or two itself). I may look like Hercules when I get back.
( PS: Happy Birthday to my wonderful boyfriend. I'm sorry I have to leave you for so long, but glad I get to celebrate today with you! I love you so much <3 )
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
2 Days to Take Off
Finalized my clothes packing today. Was able to fit it into one lunch-bag-sized "packing cube", and will manage to easily make 42 outfits for 42 days. Images don't include the pants I'm wearing on the plane. Just need to figure out shoes and I think I'm ready to board!
Photos soon of me wearing my ridiculously large backpack. It currently weighs about 27lbs. (Baggage limit 25kg, so I'm golden!)
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