As I sit here in my room waiting for FedEx to come pick up one of my bags, I can NOT believe that my last few days in Spain have arrived! It is crazy to me how fast time flies. I feel like I haven't fully gotten acquainted with everything here in Alcala and have wanted to go back to so many places but never have the time. I am definitely going to miss the school, my Spanish teachers and being with my host family and friends. I have met so many wonderful people that have changed me and opened my eyes. I love all the girls (and Kip). Everyone was themself and I am grateful for each of them. They're the best to explore, wander and just chill with (at Cynthia's with some measure of food). I am proud of myself because coming into the program, I knew I had a problem with getting to know girls. I have never had a strong group of girlfriends and now, I am leaving the program having made life-long friendships!
I am especially going to miss being treated like a princess by my host family who wouldn't let me ever help make food or do chores! They would always set a table cloth, serve me my food and take my dishes. They never got mad at Carly or I.
Most of all, I am going to miss the adventures and constantly exploring and learning new things about foreign places. It is truly the most desired lifestyle to be independently traveling everywhere!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
A little slice of Germany
This weekend was our last free travel weekend while on the study abroad! I couldn’t believe the trip I had booked months ago to Mallorca had finally arrived. Ashley and I were so excited for our adventure together. We were both nervous because the weather forecast wasn’t looking as promising as we had hoped. We went to the airport and arrived in Mallorca that night. I was incredibly anxious because it was dark out and I couldn’t see anything when driving to the hotel. I had booked the hotel and so it was kind of riding on me to how the trip was going to play out. It turned out to be quite the steal for 80 euros for the whole trip. The hotel was really nice and after walking up and down the boardwalk the next couple of days, it was definitely one of the best on the playa de palma. Ashley and I walked around and found a place to eat. The next day we went out and ran in the morning on the boardwalk right outside our hotel. The beach was stunning and the color of the water was so clear and various colors of blue. Our sole goal for the trip was to lay out, read, and relax. On our walks we walked into several of the stores and realized how desperate they were for business because of their bartering mentality. There were so many street vendors trying to sell sunglasses and watches – more than I have seen anywhere. The most curious thing of all was that the people on Mallorca, a Spanish island, mostly speak German – most of the food was German, the signs etc. The funny part was that people would speak German to us because Ashley and I are two blondes walking on the streets. That same night, our friends from Alcala who go to U of A arrived at the hotel. It was mostly a very relaxing weekend hanging in the sea club lounge with our computers, chicken crepes and pina cooladas or watching the nightly entertainment our hotel provided. We went in the Mediterranean which was freezing but funny and worth it to say that I’ve been swimming there. I learned to always wear sunscreen (it’s worth splitting the 5 euros) and don’t drink the tap water. Ashley and I were incredibly sad to leave our adventure because it was so beautiful and a dream come true. I slipped up one night while we were getting ice cream and Ashley was saying how she shouldn’t be getting ice cream; I said: “It’s okay, you’re on vacation.” Oh wait… no we’re on a study abroad! ☺
Real, Los Miz, Las Fallas!
This past week was packed with amazing things!! On Wednesday (3/16) we went to a Real Madrid game against Lyon. It was a champions league game because Lyon is a club team from France. I was so thrilled to finally get to see the stadium. When we walked up from the metro there were tons of people hanging around the outside of the stadium. They “botellon” everywhere here in Spain – one of their habits they are well known for. Botellon is the equivalent to pregame. They literally hang in the streets and parks and drink together. We, as a group of girls, were incredibly outnumbered. I would say out of the whole audience for the game, there was one female for every 200 hundred males. Jenny, Lexi and I bought our tickets in a different section so we went and walked around on our own for a bit before the game. There were tons of vendors selling scarves and jerseys in front of the entrances. We headed over to TGIF (yes, we might be giving into having American food while in Spain because we miss it a ton!). There was this massive crowd hanging around this one traffic light that we could see out of the windows of the restaurant. We didn’t understand what they were doing until someone told us that they were all waiting for the bus of players to arrive and drive into the stadium. It is so funny to me how obsessive the Spaniards are over their soccer! Antonio will sit in front of the television all day watching his soccer channel that will literally stalk the team. They would film pieces of their practices, interviews with coaches, everyone’s opinions from people off the streets. We walked into the stadium a bit early but we were able to see it without very many people being in their seats. The stadium was massive. Our seats were up pretty high but it was incredible - any former soccer player’s dream. As more people filed in, the stadium became completely full. And it sounded it too! As the game got started, everyone sang the songs in unison and it roared throughout the stadium. It was the most unified body I have ever been in because everyone was avidly watching the game. The group of men in front of us were particularly rowdy and would shout on top of their lungs at calls the refs made as if they could hear from on the field. Real ended up winning 3-0. The subbed Ronaldo out 15 minutes or so before the game ended which was a bit sad, but I dealt with it.
On Friday (3/18), we had the entire day to ourselves a group of us decided to go into Madrid to get several assignments done as well as go in to see the show Los Miserables. We went and tried to see the Nun Monastery but it was closed – somewhere that had been attempted to be seen numerous times and every time it had been closed for random reasons or because of its weird hours. So we decided to head to the Bull Fighting museum. We went to the Plaza de Torros which had the stadium to discover that the museum would be closed for another month or so until the season actually began. We walked around the plaza itself for a bit because the outside of the stadium was really pretty. It got me really excited for the bullfight I would be going to the following weekend. We hopped onto the metro to the Plaza de Espana to go see the Egyptians ruins. It was a beautiful day so we were all fine with wandering and walking around. The Plaza de Espana was beautiful with a fountain in the center. There was also a small market going on where I finally bought my leather backpack! At the Egyptian ruins, we looked around and got a fabulous view of the city. Of course we sat by the fountains and began “tomaring el sol.” We walked to the San Miguel Mercado for some frozen yogurt (so Spanish of us) – our favorite place to go for food in Madrid. Our final destination was Los Miserables on Gran Via. I have never seen or read the play before so I was at a bit of a disadvantage. We all bought the least expensive tickets and were in the very last row (while Lexi and Jenny sat in the front row). It was awesome to watch a play in Spanish and watching the actors trying to comprehend the plot of the play. It was really well done and the music was great – definitely a play I would like to see in English too!
Saturday was one of my most favorite days we have had. The group met early to head to Valencia for Las Fallas. I think we all underestimated how intense this day was going to be. First of all, at one of our pit stops there were several other buses filled with people all going to Valencia. When we arrived we walked into the heart of the city and struggled, really struggled, to stay together as a group. There were so many people – the most amount of people I have ever been around. I would say the equivalent to NYC New Year’s Eve. On the Saturday of Las Fallas, the city has several monuments /floats that were made specifically to be displayed and voted on that day. People go around looking at the various displays throughout the streets of the city. The main square had the biggest display and was where most everyone congregated for the first part of the day where they had their initial setting off of fireworks. A group of us crammed our way somewhat to the front and sat down on the street while we waited for it to begin. It turned out to be a really nice, but hot day. We sat and ate our lunches and shed our clothes down to tank tops because we were all sweating so much. When the fireworks went off, I finally understood the weather forecast I had viewed that had confused me – foggy. Obviously, you can’t really see fireworks during the day but there were tons; loud ones too. It went on for quite some time and our visibility kept decreasing. We were all in shock with how loud and powerful the fireworks were. The sound would almost go through your body and the video my camera took was shaky simply because of the noise! After the first event we all kept ourselves occupied until we were to meet with the group at the declared meeting spot to walk over to the parade together. We walked throughout the streets trying to maneuver our way through people. We headed to the markets where we found some super cheap souvenirs. We went to see some of the other floats and then sat in the streets with all the other Spaniards and their botellon. We were somehow able to persuade our way into front row seats for the parade. There were ladies dressed in beautiful, historical-type outfits and then there were people in horse and turtle costumes spitting out sparklers. It made for some pretty cool pictures. After the parade we walked around and found churros. We got in prime spots for the next show – lighting the big float on fire. We sat and kept ourselves occupied for a couple of hours playing games like Crocodilly Oh My (which I was the only one who knew that version… being from the east coast makes you a minority at BYU). The wait was dreadful at the time, but totally and completely worth it in the end. There are no words to describe how incredible the monument being set on fire was. First of all, I couldn’t believe it was legal and secondly I am seriously surprised we don’t hear of deaths or injuries. This thing is literally ablaze among thousands of people surrounded by buildings that are fairly close. The fireworks that preceded the lighting of the monument was nothing like I have ever seen before. Overall, insane experience. Spain does not hold back for Las Fallas.
On Friday (3/18), we had the entire day to ourselves a group of us decided to go into Madrid to get several assignments done as well as go in to see the show Los Miserables. We went and tried to see the Nun Monastery but it was closed – somewhere that had been attempted to be seen numerous times and every time it had been closed for random reasons or because of its weird hours. So we decided to head to the Bull Fighting museum. We went to the Plaza de Torros which had the stadium to discover that the museum would be closed for another month or so until the season actually began. We walked around the plaza itself for a bit because the outside of the stadium was really pretty. It got me really excited for the bullfight I would be going to the following weekend. We hopped onto the metro to the Plaza de Espana to go see the Egyptians ruins. It was a beautiful day so we were all fine with wandering and walking around. The Plaza de Espana was beautiful with a fountain in the center. There was also a small market going on where I finally bought my leather backpack! At the Egyptian ruins, we looked around and got a fabulous view of the city. Of course we sat by the fountains and began “tomaring el sol.” We walked to the San Miguel Mercado for some frozen yogurt (so Spanish of us) – our favorite place to go for food in Madrid. Our final destination was Los Miserables on Gran Via. I have never seen or read the play before so I was at a bit of a disadvantage. We all bought the least expensive tickets and were in the very last row (while Lexi and Jenny sat in the front row). It was awesome to watch a play in Spanish and watching the actors trying to comprehend the plot of the play. It was really well done and the music was great – definitely a play I would like to see in English too!
Saturday was one of my most favorite days we have had. The group met early to head to Valencia for Las Fallas. I think we all underestimated how intense this day was going to be. First of all, at one of our pit stops there were several other buses filled with people all going to Valencia. When we arrived we walked into the heart of the city and struggled, really struggled, to stay together as a group. There were so many people – the most amount of people I have ever been around. I would say the equivalent to NYC New Year’s Eve. On the Saturday of Las Fallas, the city has several monuments /floats that were made specifically to be displayed and voted on that day. People go around looking at the various displays throughout the streets of the city. The main square had the biggest display and was where most everyone congregated for the first part of the day where they had their initial setting off of fireworks. A group of us crammed our way somewhat to the front and sat down on the street while we waited for it to begin. It turned out to be a really nice, but hot day. We sat and ate our lunches and shed our clothes down to tank tops because we were all sweating so much. When the fireworks went off, I finally understood the weather forecast I had viewed that had confused me – foggy. Obviously, you can’t really see fireworks during the day but there were tons; loud ones too. It went on for quite some time and our visibility kept decreasing. We were all in shock with how loud and powerful the fireworks were. The sound would almost go through your body and the video my camera took was shaky simply because of the noise! After the first event we all kept ourselves occupied until we were to meet with the group at the declared meeting spot to walk over to the parade together. We walked throughout the streets trying to maneuver our way through people. We headed to the markets where we found some super cheap souvenirs. We went to see some of the other floats and then sat in the streets with all the other Spaniards and their botellon. We were somehow able to persuade our way into front row seats for the parade. There were ladies dressed in beautiful, historical-type outfits and then there were people in horse and turtle costumes spitting out sparklers. It made for some pretty cool pictures. After the parade we walked around and found churros. We got in prime spots for the next show – lighting the big float on fire. We sat and kept ourselves occupied for a couple of hours playing games like Crocodilly Oh My (which I was the only one who knew that version… being from the east coast makes you a minority at BYU). The wait was dreadful at the time, but totally and completely worth it in the end. There are no words to describe how incredible the monument being set on fire was. First of all, I couldn’t believe it was legal and secondly I am seriously surprised we don’t hear of deaths or injuries. This thing is literally ablaze among thousands of people surrounded by buildings that are fairly close. The fireworks that preceded the lighting of the monument was nothing like I have ever seen before. Overall, insane experience. Spain does not hold back for Las Fallas.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Expat futures
Yesterday we were all invited to an event the business class organized. We were meeting with two LDS expats - one working for Pepsico and the other the President of Miele (high-end domestic appliances mainly in Europe.) It was the first business related thing I have done in such a long time. Jenny and I had flashbacks to the NYC trip we had in November. Our meeting was held at the Pepsico office in Madrid. I wish I remembered their names but they told us just about everything about working and living abroad. Topics ranged from what their typical work day is like to the struggles marriages must endure when moving to a foreign country. The American was head of HR in Spain and emphasized that the transition was definitely not easy seeing as Pepsico at the time was not well-established in Europe. As I have been here, I would say it definitely does not have the same presence as Coke does here. But I was fascinated to learn about all the companies Pepsi has ownership of. They told us how they've needed to not only learn the languages better but also adapt to the cultures in order to be successful. In Spain, employees have more of a group-mentality apparently and need to be followed up with in order to have a productive floor. It was really fun to listen to their experiences and compare them to my time here in Spain. Although very different, listening to them really emphasized to me that the possibilities are truly endless of where you could end up. It definitely got my mind running again regarding the various paths I'm interested in taking.
After the meeting, a group of us headed into Madrid to find something to do. We figure it is coming down to the last few weeks and there is so much left to still see and revisit. We wanted to go to the garbage hotel and realized that closed at the end of January - that was a bit of a disappointment. We then thought to go to the blind museum - all of its exhibits can be felt and touched. We played a little game of blindfolding one another and having the person guess what they're touching. My favorite part was going into the room filled with Spanish monument models and being able to say that I've been to every one except for two. It was incredible we could be like "Oh look and remember we took a picture here by this door? And we walked through here..." It is such a bitter-sweet realization. I was so happy talking about all these fun memories, but it also is a major indicator that the trip is soon coming to an end. But we have made a schedule and a list of all the things we are going to do on each day so we will be kept busy until the very last minute.
Sorting out the logistics of going home was extremely time-consuming and stressful for me! My program ends the 31st of March and I am flying out that day to Rome and will be touring Italy until the 5th. Then I'll be flying to London to visit my family and will head home on the 11th. I know it's going to go by so incredibly fast. I've also had to think about doing Spring semester at school, what classes I'm taking, my flight out to school and getting wisdom teeth out before that but it's all trivial. Clearly, my idea of a to-do list has seriously minimized while being away this semester. All in all, I have mixed feelings. I am excited to go home and see family and friends but then again why would I be excited to leave all of this? If the two were combined then there would be no problems. It's the dilemma I face having found a love for Spain and traveling abroad.
After the meeting, a group of us headed into Madrid to find something to do. We figure it is coming down to the last few weeks and there is so much left to still see and revisit. We wanted to go to the garbage hotel and realized that closed at the end of January - that was a bit of a disappointment. We then thought to go to the blind museum - all of its exhibits can be felt and touched. We played a little game of blindfolding one another and having the person guess what they're touching. My favorite part was going into the room filled with Spanish monument models and being able to say that I've been to every one except for two. It was incredible we could be like "Oh look and remember we took a picture here by this door? And we walked through here..." It is such a bitter-sweet realization. I was so happy talking about all these fun memories, but it also is a major indicator that the trip is soon coming to an end. But we have made a schedule and a list of all the things we are going to do on each day so we will be kept busy until the very last minute.
Sorting out the logistics of going home was extremely time-consuming and stressful for me! My program ends the 31st of March and I am flying out that day to Rome and will be touring Italy until the 5th. Then I'll be flying to London to visit my family and will head home on the 11th. I know it's going to go by so incredibly fast. I've also had to think about doing Spring semester at school, what classes I'm taking, my flight out to school and getting wisdom teeth out before that but it's all trivial. Clearly, my idea of a to-do list has seriously minimized while being away this semester. All in all, I have mixed feelings. I am excited to go home and see family and friends but then again why would I be excited to leave all of this? If the two were combined then there would be no problems. It's the dilemma I face having found a love for Spain and traveling abroad.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Are we being Punk'd? Where's Ashton?
The group left early Wednesday morning for a 7 hour bus ride to Barcelona. On the way there we stopped in Zaragoza to visit the basilica there. It was interesting to be there because they had a service going on for ash Wednesday. It was funny trying to answer some of the girls’ questions about why they do it and what it means etc. The plaza the basilica was in was actually really pretty and we took some pictures on our 45 minute break.
We arrived in Barcelona at an awkward time – it was around 6pm. We all took our time getting settled in the hotel and decided to walk around for a bit to shop and find a place to eat. As we’ve traveled more and more we’ve realized that occasionally we spend too much money on food. So in preparation for this trip, we all brought our own fruits from the mercados, granola bars, and trail mix. The fruit here is incredibly cheap especially at the market in Alcala on Mondays. I can get 6 apples, 10 oranges, 4 bananas all for under 5 euros and that will last me for the week. Anyway, we went into the popular Euro stores (Mango, Zara, Blanco, and normally H&M). Then we found a pizza place where we could get a pizza for 4 euros. We finished watching “Life As We Know It” (best movie I have seen in a long time!) and went to bed fairly early.
I woke up early with Brooke and Jenny to go running and we found our way down to Las Ramblas. It was fun to point out to them where I stayed last time (which was a much better location than the hotel Antonio “hooked us up with.” I told Cynthia we would definitely be needing metro passes for the weekend.) We got ready and headed out with everyone to go on a tour to Park Guell which was fun to see a second time and the Sagrada Familia which was my favorite. Although it was the only nice day we were there, I loved the Sagrada Familia. It was named a minor basilica about a month ago and is still under construction. The planning began in 1822. The architecture of the basilica was incredible. One entrance has scenes from the New Testament sculpted all around the doors. The theme the architect played off of was nature. Inside the columns resembled trunks of trees that eventually expanded into the ceiling. The various openings in the ceiling to let light in is supposed to give off the similar effect of sun peaking through the branches of trees. I thought this idea was so unique. It was fascinating to me to watch a cathedral be under construction. I think the Sagrada Familia was definitely one of my favorites out of all I have seen because of this and also because it had a more modern feel to it because of the recent design (and the elevators).
After, we were let loose for the rest of the weekend. A group of us walked down Las Ramblas because we wanted to get to the beach as soon as possible. Some got distracted by ice cream and we went into a souvenir shop to get our awesome teal Barca jerseys. So the group ended up splitting, but nothing ever gets accomplished in a group with more than 5 people so it turned out to be fine. We stopped in a Subway to grab lunch to eat on the beach. What I learned last time is that the beach is a bit of a walk from Las Ramblas and it is quite deceiving. When you get to the end of Las Ramblas you think you’re there but you’e only at the port and you have to walk along the port for abut 25 minutes before you get to the beautiful beaches. It was a bit windy but we found ourselves a spot and took in the sun (wearing jackets though because it was definitely not that warm). There were countless vendors who came up to us and tried to sell us cover ups, coconuts, cerveza and massages. As sketchy as the last one sounds, Jenny, Carly, Alyssa and I all got 12 minute massages from this sweet Chinese lady for 3 euros. A massage…on the beach… in Barcelona – it just makes for an interesting story. When we started to get cold we walked further down the beach and found a group of guys around our age playing volleyball. Outgoing Jenny asks if we can play with them. They of course are Italian and speak little to no English or Spanish. It turns out that we were as good if not better than them at beach volleyball. We felt like we were hurting their egos so we asked, with a lot of hand signals and acting out, if they wanted to play soccer and they agreed. It was funny because apparently we were quite a hit and lots of people started watching from distances. If you ever want a fun and hard work out, definitely play soccer on the beach. It was such a blast. The Italians had more friends and they began subbing in and out. Two of the guys ripped their pants because their jeans were obviously too tight. AT around 6 we called it even and went our separate ways having learned a few Italian swears. I took the girls to the same kebab place Ashley and I got our first kebabs in Spain. It seems weird to me how that was my first weekend here abroad. It’s a strange combination of it having gone by so fast and it seeming so long ago because I have done so much since then. We figured out the metro system pretty quick to get us back to our inconveniently placed hotel. I was impressed with how much better we have gotten at figuring out transportation systems and understanding them. That’s something I’m really happy I have developed.
We met up with the rest of the girls at the hotel and had some down time, got some ice cream. I was feeling a bit tired and was ready for another night in because I was figuring out flights and all sorts of things for spring semester. However, everyone came into Carly and my room ready for a night on the town. I was surprised to see everyone excited to go while I was still in leggings and my hair in a bun – normally it’s the other way around! So I quickly got ready and all 9 of us grabbed 3 cabs down to the beach again to a club called Opium. The problem with going to a club early is that you can most likely get in for free, but then you have to wait a while for everyone to arrive and for it to be fun. I can’t decide which way is better because Kapital (in Madrid) has robbed me of 17 euros when I have gotten there between 1:30 and 2:30. At Opium, the wait wasn’t too bad. It was a much smaller club than the ones I have been to in Madrid but it was very “classy.” During the day, it’s a restaurant that has a beautiful area outside by the beach. We all sat on the couches and talked for a bit before dancing. We met some kids from Notredame and the funniest kids were from University of Arizona who grabbed Jenny, Brooke and I and asked us for an interview for their footage for a reality tv show they were starting about study abroads. They said they were planning on sending it into MTV as an idea – which is funny because I had the same idea about a week ago and thought it would be hysterical. So obviously we did the interview for “Once Abroad” and they told us to meet them at GoCar (literally go-carting around Barcelona in these yellow three-wheeled cars) at 12:30 on Friday. At first we thought it was so cool and legitimate because of the camera and everything, but as we began to think more about it, we were pretty sure we were at the end of their spring break joke. I mean, it would be pretty funny to go on spring break in Barcelona and carry around a camera saying you were getting footage for a reality show – girls would get camera happy. So anyway, we stayed for a bit and Ashley ran into our friend Jon who is studying in Madrid with us which was so random. We got back to the hotel at around 4:30 and I was so dead. We agreed to all wake up and meet at 9:30 the next morning.
As soon as my alarm went off, I knew it was going to be a bad day. My stomach hurt so bad and my head was pounding. I was almost tempted to sleep in and just meet up with everyone later but as soon as I thought about how that would play out, I knew I wouldn’t see them all day. We all got up slowly and took our time eating breakfast and getting ready. We headed to Las Ramblas again and walked around. Jenny and I actually wanted to go cart and the rest of the girls preferred not to spend their money on that so we booked it to meet our “friends” at 12:30. We wandered around looking everywhere and it turned out to be on this most random side street in Gothic Quarters. We were fifteen minutes late and when we walked in we didn’t see them – we weren’t all that surprised. We considered doing it on our own, talked to the sales person for a bit and decided to wait for a little bit to see if they would show up. Only about 2 minutes later did our U of A friends walk in the door and I just started busting out laughing – I seriously could not contain myself. Anyway, we reminisced a bit about the night and they told us they were doing the go-carts for the whole day and we couldn’t do that because we were meeting up with the other girls at the cable car. So we exchanged info because they were going to an ice bar that night which sounded sweet. Jenny and I walked around and I seriously began to not feel well at all. I actually couldn’t see straight and my stomach was killing. I toughed it out until we met up with everyone at the cable cars which was quite the process – we needed cash which we all didn’t have, we all needed to use the bathroom, we needed to walk all the way around to where the beaches were and we had to wait for quite a while. Ashley told us how her bag was stolen and she chased down the guy. Barcelona is really well known for its theft. We were told countless times by the locals to always be holding onto our bags. We finally got to the top of the cable cars (the same as like a gondala, but going over the port in Barcelona up into the hills). I made it clear I was not feeling well and was basically rambling on and on about the most random things if I was even talking at all. I’m surprised one of them didn’t punch me in the face. Thankfully there was a seat in the cable car and we crammed about 15 people into it which made for a really claustrophobic situation. But it was pretty cool. We all started laughing uncontrollably when we realized that it took us only partly up the hills. It lasted about 8 minutes. On the bright side, we got some pretty awesome views. We walked around and then went inside the hotel right at the top because it was so windy. Jenny and I split a tapa because I was feeling incredibly light-headed. It was so funny how worn out we all were from the night before. We were all so slap-happy.
When we finally got back to the hotel, I decided to stay in because I felt like I ha a fever. All the students went out to dinner with our director at the restaurant Ashley and I recommended from our first visit. I was sad I couldn’t go but it was nice to just have some down time – and watch Arthur in Spanish?
This morning we packed up and headed out and spent pretty much the entire day on the bus. I always feel so unproductive on the bus rides just listening to music because I can’t read or do much of anything without getting some motion sickness. It also would have been much better if we traveled during the night to and from Barcelona because we would have so much more time! Either way, it was a fantastic time.
This was our last major travel weekend as a big group! So crazy I can’t believe it. Time is going by way too fast. I have one month left before I’m on a plane back to the U.S. and I am slightly beside myself. I am excited to go back home and see my family and be with them but I am sad to leave all my adventures behind. It just means I’ll have to be making more of my own adventures when I get home!
We arrived in Barcelona at an awkward time – it was around 6pm. We all took our time getting settled in the hotel and decided to walk around for a bit to shop and find a place to eat. As we’ve traveled more and more we’ve realized that occasionally we spend too much money on food. So in preparation for this trip, we all brought our own fruits from the mercados, granola bars, and trail mix. The fruit here is incredibly cheap especially at the market in Alcala on Mondays. I can get 6 apples, 10 oranges, 4 bananas all for under 5 euros and that will last me for the week. Anyway, we went into the popular Euro stores (Mango, Zara, Blanco, and normally H&M). Then we found a pizza place where we could get a pizza for 4 euros. We finished watching “Life As We Know It” (best movie I have seen in a long time!) and went to bed fairly early.
I woke up early with Brooke and Jenny to go running and we found our way down to Las Ramblas. It was fun to point out to them where I stayed last time (which was a much better location than the hotel Antonio “hooked us up with.” I told Cynthia we would definitely be needing metro passes for the weekend.) We got ready and headed out with everyone to go on a tour to Park Guell which was fun to see a second time and the Sagrada Familia which was my favorite. Although it was the only nice day we were there, I loved the Sagrada Familia. It was named a minor basilica about a month ago and is still under construction. The planning began in 1822. The architecture of the basilica was incredible. One entrance has scenes from the New Testament sculpted all around the doors. The theme the architect played off of was nature. Inside the columns resembled trunks of trees that eventually expanded into the ceiling. The various openings in the ceiling to let light in is supposed to give off the similar effect of sun peaking through the branches of trees. I thought this idea was so unique. It was fascinating to me to watch a cathedral be under construction. I think the Sagrada Familia was definitely one of my favorites out of all I have seen because of this and also because it had a more modern feel to it because of the recent design (and the elevators).
After, we were let loose for the rest of the weekend. A group of us walked down Las Ramblas because we wanted to get to the beach as soon as possible. Some got distracted by ice cream and we went into a souvenir shop to get our awesome teal Barca jerseys. So the group ended up splitting, but nothing ever gets accomplished in a group with more than 5 people so it turned out to be fine. We stopped in a Subway to grab lunch to eat on the beach. What I learned last time is that the beach is a bit of a walk from Las Ramblas and it is quite deceiving. When you get to the end of Las Ramblas you think you’re there but you’e only at the port and you have to walk along the port for abut 25 minutes before you get to the beautiful beaches. It was a bit windy but we found ourselves a spot and took in the sun (wearing jackets though because it was definitely not that warm). There were countless vendors who came up to us and tried to sell us cover ups, coconuts, cerveza and massages. As sketchy as the last one sounds, Jenny, Carly, Alyssa and I all got 12 minute massages from this sweet Chinese lady for 3 euros. A massage…on the beach… in Barcelona – it just makes for an interesting story. When we started to get cold we walked further down the beach and found a group of guys around our age playing volleyball. Outgoing Jenny asks if we can play with them. They of course are Italian and speak little to no English or Spanish. It turns out that we were as good if not better than them at beach volleyball. We felt like we were hurting their egos so we asked, with a lot of hand signals and acting out, if they wanted to play soccer and they agreed. It was funny because apparently we were quite a hit and lots of people started watching from distances. If you ever want a fun and hard work out, definitely play soccer on the beach. It was such a blast. The Italians had more friends and they began subbing in and out. Two of the guys ripped their pants because their jeans were obviously too tight. AT around 6 we called it even and went our separate ways having learned a few Italian swears. I took the girls to the same kebab place Ashley and I got our first kebabs in Spain. It seems weird to me how that was my first weekend here abroad. It’s a strange combination of it having gone by so fast and it seeming so long ago because I have done so much since then. We figured out the metro system pretty quick to get us back to our inconveniently placed hotel. I was impressed with how much better we have gotten at figuring out transportation systems and understanding them. That’s something I’m really happy I have developed.
We met up with the rest of the girls at the hotel and had some down time, got some ice cream. I was feeling a bit tired and was ready for another night in because I was figuring out flights and all sorts of things for spring semester. However, everyone came into Carly and my room ready for a night on the town. I was surprised to see everyone excited to go while I was still in leggings and my hair in a bun – normally it’s the other way around! So I quickly got ready and all 9 of us grabbed 3 cabs down to the beach again to a club called Opium. The problem with going to a club early is that you can most likely get in for free, but then you have to wait a while for everyone to arrive and for it to be fun. I can’t decide which way is better because Kapital (in Madrid) has robbed me of 17 euros when I have gotten there between 1:30 and 2:30. At Opium, the wait wasn’t too bad. It was a much smaller club than the ones I have been to in Madrid but it was very “classy.” During the day, it’s a restaurant that has a beautiful area outside by the beach. We all sat on the couches and talked for a bit before dancing. We met some kids from Notredame and the funniest kids were from University of Arizona who grabbed Jenny, Brooke and I and asked us for an interview for their footage for a reality tv show they were starting about study abroads. They said they were planning on sending it into MTV as an idea – which is funny because I had the same idea about a week ago and thought it would be hysterical. So obviously we did the interview for “Once Abroad” and they told us to meet them at GoCar (literally go-carting around Barcelona in these yellow three-wheeled cars) at 12:30 on Friday. At first we thought it was so cool and legitimate because of the camera and everything, but as we began to think more about it, we were pretty sure we were at the end of their spring break joke. I mean, it would be pretty funny to go on spring break in Barcelona and carry around a camera saying you were getting footage for a reality show – girls would get camera happy. So anyway, we stayed for a bit and Ashley ran into our friend Jon who is studying in Madrid with us which was so random. We got back to the hotel at around 4:30 and I was so dead. We agreed to all wake up and meet at 9:30 the next morning.
As soon as my alarm went off, I knew it was going to be a bad day. My stomach hurt so bad and my head was pounding. I was almost tempted to sleep in and just meet up with everyone later but as soon as I thought about how that would play out, I knew I wouldn’t see them all day. We all got up slowly and took our time eating breakfast and getting ready. We headed to Las Ramblas again and walked around. Jenny and I actually wanted to go cart and the rest of the girls preferred not to spend their money on that so we booked it to meet our “friends” at 12:30. We wandered around looking everywhere and it turned out to be on this most random side street in Gothic Quarters. We were fifteen minutes late and when we walked in we didn’t see them – we weren’t all that surprised. We considered doing it on our own, talked to the sales person for a bit and decided to wait for a little bit to see if they would show up. Only about 2 minutes later did our U of A friends walk in the door and I just started busting out laughing – I seriously could not contain myself. Anyway, we reminisced a bit about the night and they told us they were doing the go-carts for the whole day and we couldn’t do that because we were meeting up with the other girls at the cable car. So we exchanged info because they were going to an ice bar that night which sounded sweet. Jenny and I walked around and I seriously began to not feel well at all. I actually couldn’t see straight and my stomach was killing. I toughed it out until we met up with everyone at the cable cars which was quite the process – we needed cash which we all didn’t have, we all needed to use the bathroom, we needed to walk all the way around to where the beaches were and we had to wait for quite a while. Ashley told us how her bag was stolen and she chased down the guy. Barcelona is really well known for its theft. We were told countless times by the locals to always be holding onto our bags. We finally got to the top of the cable cars (the same as like a gondala, but going over the port in Barcelona up into the hills). I made it clear I was not feeling well and was basically rambling on and on about the most random things if I was even talking at all. I’m surprised one of them didn’t punch me in the face. Thankfully there was a seat in the cable car and we crammed about 15 people into it which made for a really claustrophobic situation. But it was pretty cool. We all started laughing uncontrollably when we realized that it took us only partly up the hills. It lasted about 8 minutes. On the bright side, we got some pretty awesome views. We walked around and then went inside the hotel right at the top because it was so windy. Jenny and I split a tapa because I was feeling incredibly light-headed. It was so funny how worn out we all were from the night before. We were all so slap-happy.
When we finally got back to the hotel, I decided to stay in because I felt like I ha a fever. All the students went out to dinner with our director at the restaurant Ashley and I recommended from our first visit. I was sad I couldn’t go but it was nice to just have some down time – and watch Arthur in Spanish?
This morning we packed up and headed out and spent pretty much the entire day on the bus. I always feel so unproductive on the bus rides just listening to music because I can’t read or do much of anything without getting some motion sickness. It also would have been much better if we traveled during the night to and from Barcelona because we would have so much more time! Either way, it was a fantastic time.
This was our last major travel weekend as a big group! So crazy I can’t believe it. Time is going by way too fast. I have one month left before I’m on a plane back to the U.S. and I am slightly beside myself. I am excited to go back home and see my family and be with them but I am sad to leave all my adventures behind. It just means I’ll have to be making more of my own adventures when I get home!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Real Spanish Experience
CARNAVAL is one of the biggest celebrations throughout the Hispanic world. It is basically a week long Halloween/Mardi Gras before Lent where everyone dresses up, goes to the parades, dances and has an excuse to actually be crazy. As soon as the bus dropped us off getting back from San Sebastian, Ashley, Jenny and I grabbed our masks from Thursday night and headed to Madrid to catch the last parts of the parade and Carnaval events. There were tons of people in the streets flocking around the parade. There were tons of costumes – creative costumes and no one did it half-way. We saw Dalmatians, Fanta girls, boxes of popcorn – the list could go on forever. We got there very close to the end and decided to go out to eat. We found this place literally called Foster’s American Food or something like that. There were a bunch of kids our age there and it was fantastic to have semi-American food like nachos and quesadillas.
Ashley and I stayed later and met up with other students we knew studying in Madrid. They introduced us to several Spanish guys and we hung out in one of the local parks for a while getting to know each other, practicing our Spanish and celebrating one of the guys’ birthdays. After, we all headed to a SALSA CLUB. I can easily say that if I went home tomorrow, I would be content with my study abroad experience. The club was sooo Spanish. I did not recognize a single song and got to salsa!! Although we stayed out way too late once again and I could barely keep my eyes open for church, it was one of the best nights in Madrid by far.
Ashley and I stayed later and met up with other students we knew studying in Madrid. They introduced us to several Spanish guys and we hung out in one of the local parks for a while getting to know each other, practicing our Spanish and celebrating one of the guys’ birthdays. After, we all headed to a SALSA CLUB. I can easily say that if I went home tomorrow, I would be content with my study abroad experience. The club was sooo Spanish. I did not recognize a single song and got to salsa!! Although we stayed out way too late once again and I could barely keep my eyes open for church, it was one of the best nights in Madrid by far.
My Own Wonders of the World
Wednesday the BYU crew headed out bright and early to northern Spain. I wasn’t as thrilled to go north because it’s obviously colder and I wasn’t feeling 100%. The drive was around 5 hours to Bilbao where we would be visiting the famous Guggenheim! On our trek there, we stopped in a town called Burgos and visited the cathedral there. I wish I could remember the details, but in all seriousness, I can no longer differentiate one cathedral from the other anymore. I remember there was a very interesting clock inside the cathedral with a cartoonish man who would ring the bell of the clock and it was quite comical to watch.
This trip we got hooked up with some nice hotels. The place we stayed in Bilbao was a central location on the river and about a 15 minute walk to the Guggenheim. Apparently, Bilbao was not even included on a map until the Guggenheim was built and became its main attraction – which is understandable because it was the coolest experience! Besides the fact the museum building itself is an abstract piece an artwork hat was made to look like a scaley boat on the river, it had the most interesting artwork. There were pieces by Andy Warhol and Jackson Polluck. The exhibit I really enjoyed was walking through The Matter of Time which were these massive sculptures you could walk through. The Guggenheim was in the same category as the Reina Sofia with incredibly abstract work that you would sincerely question as art. At some points, I would literally start laughing because some things were so weird. There are seriously no limits with art and the pieces in the Guggenheim definitely emphasize that attribute of art. Ashley and I then wandered downtown to Cascao Viejo where there were little streets with tons of stores. Bilbao reminded me much of Sevilla with the river running through the town except Bilbao is definitely more urbanized and relies solely on the Guggenheim as its tourist attraction. Sevilla itself was just beautiful with all the older buildings and streets. Anyway, Ashley and I split a Subway sandwich for dinner and we both began to reminisce about being home and how much we miss just big, hearty sandwiches with fresh turkey as opposed to the baguettes with slices of salami. It’s definitely all about the experience but sometimes you just need your go-to turkey sandwich.
Thursday we headed to San Sebastian – “most romantic city” according to Jenny’s dad. Well it was true! It reminded me a lot of Lisbon but definitely colder weather. The town was pushed up against its stunning coastline. The first thing we did was just walk along the boardwalk for several hours, every once in a while stopping to do stunts on the beach, go on merry-go-rounds or get gelato.
We headed back to the hotel in time for there “big event” we were all invited to. Jenny, Ashley and I got dressed and headed down to the lobby where they had waiters handing out food, a band and tons of people just talking and socializing. One of the few people we spoke to was the event coordinator for the party and knew the DJ. He invited us to come with them after the party to the club where the DJ would be playing next. Of course we couldn’t resist. Jenny and Ashley needed some major convincing to go because it was really late. By the time we got to the club it was 2:30 but it proved to be absolutely worth it. We got in for free as well as got a free Red Bull drink, their club t-shirts and masks to wear so we could celebrate Carnaval with everyone. The club had kids around my age, but at times even I felt a bit old to be there. The DJ was incredible and played lots of music I had not heard before. It was just the beginning of Carnaval week bt we had never experienced it before. Everyone’s costumes were so unique and were really good! They went all out. We saw Dracula, ballerinas, cowboys etc. The club was also right on the beach so whenever we needed fresh air we would step out onto the balcony and get a beautiful view of the ocean. It was an amazing night.
Brooke, Jenny and I woke up early to go running and went to the other side of San Sebastian and climbed to this “Jesus monument” that gave us a stunning view of San Sebastian. Although the combination the little sleep and uphill terrain isn’t ideal, once again it was absolutely worth the view in the end. I also can’t believe how far I am running with these girls because of my strong dislike for running. It’s very bizarre.
We drove as a group to southern France on Friday to a town called Biarritz. There are no words to describe how much I loved the combination of this town and San Sebastian! It was another beachy city and actually well known for decent surfing. Once again, we walked along the coast trying to take in every minute. The only thing that could have made the experience a tiny bit better would be warmer weather, but either way it was still an amazing place to be. We found a perfect place to eat that had the best view of the beach as well as delicious fish and vegetable pizza! Of course our visit wasn’t complete until we went to the Museum of Chocolate. Everyone let their imagination get to them because we weren’t sure of what to expect so we all just started picturing the Willy Wonka factory. It was actually quite small and had these hysterical sculptures made out of solid chocolate. I’m pretty sure everyone left there with several souvenirs.
Saturday morning we woke up early again to go running. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and we ran 3 miles to this beautiful pier and other beaches which had surfers out and about. It was our farewell to beautiful San Sebastian. Later in life, I definitely want to go back – especially in the summer it would be amazing.
This trip we got hooked up with some nice hotels. The place we stayed in Bilbao was a central location on the river and about a 15 minute walk to the Guggenheim. Apparently, Bilbao was not even included on a map until the Guggenheim was built and became its main attraction – which is understandable because it was the coolest experience! Besides the fact the museum building itself is an abstract piece an artwork hat was made to look like a scaley boat on the river, it had the most interesting artwork. There were pieces by Andy Warhol and Jackson Polluck. The exhibit I really enjoyed was walking through The Matter of Time which were these massive sculptures you could walk through. The Guggenheim was in the same category as the Reina Sofia with incredibly abstract work that you would sincerely question as art. At some points, I would literally start laughing because some things were so weird. There are seriously no limits with art and the pieces in the Guggenheim definitely emphasize that attribute of art. Ashley and I then wandered downtown to Cascao Viejo where there were little streets with tons of stores. Bilbao reminded me much of Sevilla with the river running through the town except Bilbao is definitely more urbanized and relies solely on the Guggenheim as its tourist attraction. Sevilla itself was just beautiful with all the older buildings and streets. Anyway, Ashley and I split a Subway sandwich for dinner and we both began to reminisce about being home and how much we miss just big, hearty sandwiches with fresh turkey as opposed to the baguettes with slices of salami. It’s definitely all about the experience but sometimes you just need your go-to turkey sandwich.
Thursday we headed to San Sebastian – “most romantic city” according to Jenny’s dad. Well it was true! It reminded me a lot of Lisbon but definitely colder weather. The town was pushed up against its stunning coastline. The first thing we did was just walk along the boardwalk for several hours, every once in a while stopping to do stunts on the beach, go on merry-go-rounds or get gelato.
We headed back to the hotel in time for there “big event” we were all invited to. Jenny, Ashley and I got dressed and headed down to the lobby where they had waiters handing out food, a band and tons of people just talking and socializing. One of the few people we spoke to was the event coordinator for the party and knew the DJ. He invited us to come with them after the party to the club where the DJ would be playing next. Of course we couldn’t resist. Jenny and Ashley needed some major convincing to go because it was really late. By the time we got to the club it was 2:30 but it proved to be absolutely worth it. We got in for free as well as got a free Red Bull drink, their club t-shirts and masks to wear so we could celebrate Carnaval with everyone. The club had kids around my age, but at times even I felt a bit old to be there. The DJ was incredible and played lots of music I had not heard before. It was just the beginning of Carnaval week bt we had never experienced it before. Everyone’s costumes were so unique and were really good! They went all out. We saw Dracula, ballerinas, cowboys etc. The club was also right on the beach so whenever we needed fresh air we would step out onto the balcony and get a beautiful view of the ocean. It was an amazing night.
Brooke, Jenny and I woke up early to go running and went to the other side of San Sebastian and climbed to this “Jesus monument” that gave us a stunning view of San Sebastian. Although the combination the little sleep and uphill terrain isn’t ideal, once again it was absolutely worth the view in the end. I also can’t believe how far I am running with these girls because of my strong dislike for running. It’s very bizarre.
We drove as a group to southern France on Friday to a town called Biarritz. There are no words to describe how much I loved the combination of this town and San Sebastian! It was another beachy city and actually well known for decent surfing. Once again, we walked along the coast trying to take in every minute. The only thing that could have made the experience a tiny bit better would be warmer weather, but either way it was still an amazing place to be. We found a perfect place to eat that had the best view of the beach as well as delicious fish and vegetable pizza! Of course our visit wasn’t complete until we went to the Museum of Chocolate. Everyone let their imagination get to them because we weren’t sure of what to expect so we all just started picturing the Willy Wonka factory. It was actually quite small and had these hysterical sculptures made out of solid chocolate. I’m pretty sure everyone left there with several souvenirs.
Saturday morning we woke up early again to go running. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and we ran 3 miles to this beautiful pier and other beaches which had surfers out and about. It was our farewell to beautiful San Sebastian. Later in life, I definitely want to go back – especially in the summer it would be amazing.
"estoy muy enferma Nieves"
This past Monday Carly and I woke up so sick! Maybe it was something in Portugal or the fact I went straight to Madrid after getting back from Lisbon and got no sleep, but either way I came back from classes and just slept. Tuesday I stayed in bed for the entire day – I hadn’t been that sick in such a long time! But I had to rest up before our school trip to northern Spain. It turns out that you’re body really can’t function properly without sleep.
LISBOA
This weekend was by far one of my favorite experiences I have had yet. A small group of us organized a trip to Lisbon. Early Thursday morning (5:20am) Carly, Alyssa, Sara and I set off for the airport. Sara and Alyssa’s host dad, Faustino Lopez, was kind enough to offer us a ride to the airport that early in the morning. It started off a bit rocky as Carly and I were late to meet them in the parking lot. Luckily, they had sat around for the 10 minutes.
We landed in Portugal after a 40 minute plane ride and found the local bus to take to our hostel.
Our hostel amazed us all. It was definitely one of the best hostels out there. It was a prime location – a 3 minute walk from the river, 10 minutes from one of the train/metro stations and 10 minutes from Rossio square. We walked in and the host greeted us with a big smile and in English! There was breakfast laid out on the counters, 4 Mac computers, free WiFi, and a big lobby area with tables, bean bags and a projector playing music videos and movies. They had a big wall with restaurant and sight-seeing recommendations and top things to do while in Lisbon. We were able to check in early and get settled before we headed to Sintra.
On our way to Rossio station, there was a crowd of men in blue “Tennents” shirts. They were gathered at this one bar and had already begun drinking – it was 10:30 in the morning. One stopped to chat with us and he told us there was a game at 6pm against this Scottish team – they had all flown out for the game! As a group we decided then and there we would make it back in time for the game.
We got on the train to this supposed “fairytale-like” place. Walking out of the train station, we decided to follow a couple people around because we had no idea where to go. Our whole trip we had plans of what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go but never had the details of how to specifically get there. So we always wandered and were able to figure it out. The girls in our group who had been to Portugal the other free travel weekend told us we had to try and get the bikes for the day. We soon realized we were on a bit of a schedule if we wanted to get back in time for the game so we took the bus up to where all the places to visit were. It turns out that if we had taken bikes, we all probably would have died of exhaustion or from a head on collision with a car because the whole road was completely uphill and the windiest road ever! I did not feel safe on that bus.
I seriously had no idea what to expect when getting off the bus. At the time it seemed like one expense after the other: we paid for our train ride there, the bus ride up to the site and there was yet another “carriage” to get to the actual site. Carly and I decided to walk the last part of the way – it was a beautiful, uphill walk anyway. Totally worth it in the end because the palace was definitely one used to base off all fairytales. It was unique because of the Moorish influence – bright colors and tiling on the outside. It was perched high up on these mountains in Sintra gazing out all the way to the coast of where we had come from in Lisbon I believe. Carly and I were instantly overcome with the scenery and how many awesome photos we could capture. There was a back patio, a walkway around the sides of the palace and a terrace that looked over the palace grounds. We walked through the rooms in the palace and saw again the Moorish influence with the detailed wall engravings and colorings etc. We joked about renting out the palace and having our weddings at this palace. We were just in awe the entire time touring the palace. We basked in the strong Portugal sun for a bit before we started our journey back so we could get to the game.
We made sure to stop at a store on the way back to get jerseys for the game. It turned out to be more of a casual game between Sporting Portugal and a Scottish team – the Tennants. It was my first European game in general and being in the atmosphere itself was so much fun. Even though it wasn’t a big game, all the fan there were going all out cheering. The section for the Tennants was completely full and they were drunkily jumping up and down, chanting the whole time. It was really entertaining to watch. The pace of the game was also enjoyable to watch as well. It was a competitive game.
We wandered the streets close by our hotel for dinner and found an Italian place with tables set up outside. As we ate dinner, we befriended 4 Scotts who went to the game. They were the nicest people that we had had a conversation with in a while! We talked about everything from the origins of our names to Joe’s recent love affair. There was Alan and Joe who were 40 year olds and then Jordan who was our age and Alan’s son. We talked for a couple of hours at this restaurant and Joe ended up buying the four of us banana splits! Jordan came back to hang out at the hostel with us for a bit where they had social happy hours and movies playing etc. It is amazing to me how many interesting people we meet when we travel! Unfortunately Jordan was leaving the next morning so we could only hang out for the one day, but obviously via Facebook we will be lifelong friends. Facebook is also an incredible device out here. It is one of the only ways to communicate and stay connected with the incredible people you meet. It is crazy how universal it has become!
The next day we woke up early and headed to Cascais – the beachy town. We were a bit slow to get on the train to go because we went to check out the Lisbon cathedral before and walked around the plaza at the river’s edge right by our hostel. When we arrived in Cascais, there were no more bikes available to rent so we settled for wandering down the side streets and gasped as soon as we saw water and sand. We kept walking along the coast where there was a big marina. We struggled to find the main beaches and it turns out we walked in the opposite way we should have but as we kept walking we found Boca de Inferno which is this awesome point on the coast where the water comes up really high and you can walk right out to the edge – it’s hard to describe but you get an incredible view of the coastline! We decided to lay out on the rocks in boca de inferno and stayed there for a couple hours and roasted. It was complete perfection and just what we all wanted. Walking back Alyssa was slightly depressed because we didn’t get to ride Segways – a desire she has had for a while. Just her luck we walked passed a store that sold Segways and the owner was nice enough to let us each take turns riding one and teach us how to use them! He and his coworker were really generous and made 4 American girls’ days. As we were walking back to the train station we walked into them again and they offered to take us sailing the next morning. Carly and I were completely stoked at first and then thought more about it. I said to Carly, “I feel like that is something our parents tell us not to do with strangers we have just met.” We decided it would probably be a bad idea to go sailing with two Portuguese men we had just met.
We were told we had to go out to Barrio Alto at night in order to really experience Lisbon. We got kebabs for dinner and headed up the hill (hence Barrio Alto) to check out the “scene.” It was a bit early so we wandered into a store which sold records and we had a lot of fun asking the manager putting on different records and dancing to them from Frank Sinatra to Lil Jon. We made a bit of an “American scene.” Then next door was the best cupcake place!! The main guy who served us was really outgoing and talked to us for a while, gave us advice on where we needed to go and of course we exchanged Facebook information with him and his friends (they were both gay, but incredibly helpful!) When we left the cupcake place, everyone was finally out and about. The tiny streets were literally packed with people walking up and down and in and out of bars. I swear there must have been a cloud of smoke hovering above the area – people would just post up along the walls of the street and start rolling because smoking weed is legal there! We walked through the crowds for a bit. For the first time I realized that we were severely outnumbered – the ratio of guys to girls was very favorable for us. However, most of the people hanging in the streets were not the best to stop and have a conversation with. We stopped by one bar and happened to find some of the same kids who were staying at the hostel with us. We talked to them for a bit and continued wandering and were stopped by some gorgeous Portuguese guys. Once it got to 2 in the morning, the crowd was pretty restless. We wanted to go to one of the clubs the cupcake boys recommended but we were exhausted from walking around all day.
Our last day in Lisbon we took the train to Belem. There was a massive palace that we didn’t go in and it was right along the river. Our intentions were to go to a famous market they had, but apparently it was only held on Sundays so we were out of luck. We ended up walking along the boardwalk next to the river and posting up next to the monuments for a while. We visited the Belem Tower which was right on the water. As we wrapped up our travels in Belem, we grabbed a quick snack at this café, sat on their patio in the sun and enjoyed are last few minutes before we started to head to the airport.
Lisbon was by far my favorite weekend I have had here abroad. I think it is mainly because it far exceeded my expectations. I had no idea what was in Lisbon or what Lisbon is known for and we ended up having the best free travel weekend ever.
We landed in Portugal after a 40 minute plane ride and found the local bus to take to our hostel.
Our hostel amazed us all. It was definitely one of the best hostels out there. It was a prime location – a 3 minute walk from the river, 10 minutes from one of the train/metro stations and 10 minutes from Rossio square. We walked in and the host greeted us with a big smile and in English! There was breakfast laid out on the counters, 4 Mac computers, free WiFi, and a big lobby area with tables, bean bags and a projector playing music videos and movies. They had a big wall with restaurant and sight-seeing recommendations and top things to do while in Lisbon. We were able to check in early and get settled before we headed to Sintra.
On our way to Rossio station, there was a crowd of men in blue “Tennents” shirts. They were gathered at this one bar and had already begun drinking – it was 10:30 in the morning. One stopped to chat with us and he told us there was a game at 6pm against this Scottish team – they had all flown out for the game! As a group we decided then and there we would make it back in time for the game.
We got on the train to this supposed “fairytale-like” place. Walking out of the train station, we decided to follow a couple people around because we had no idea where to go. Our whole trip we had plans of what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go but never had the details of how to specifically get there. So we always wandered and were able to figure it out. The girls in our group who had been to Portugal the other free travel weekend told us we had to try and get the bikes for the day. We soon realized we were on a bit of a schedule if we wanted to get back in time for the game so we took the bus up to where all the places to visit were. It turns out that if we had taken bikes, we all probably would have died of exhaustion or from a head on collision with a car because the whole road was completely uphill and the windiest road ever! I did not feel safe on that bus.
I seriously had no idea what to expect when getting off the bus. At the time it seemed like one expense after the other: we paid for our train ride there, the bus ride up to the site and there was yet another “carriage” to get to the actual site. Carly and I decided to walk the last part of the way – it was a beautiful, uphill walk anyway. Totally worth it in the end because the palace was definitely one used to base off all fairytales. It was unique because of the Moorish influence – bright colors and tiling on the outside. It was perched high up on these mountains in Sintra gazing out all the way to the coast of where we had come from in Lisbon I believe. Carly and I were instantly overcome with the scenery and how many awesome photos we could capture. There was a back patio, a walkway around the sides of the palace and a terrace that looked over the palace grounds. We walked through the rooms in the palace and saw again the Moorish influence with the detailed wall engravings and colorings etc. We joked about renting out the palace and having our weddings at this palace. We were just in awe the entire time touring the palace. We basked in the strong Portugal sun for a bit before we started our journey back so we could get to the game.
We made sure to stop at a store on the way back to get jerseys for the game. It turned out to be more of a casual game between Sporting Portugal and a Scottish team – the Tennants. It was my first European game in general and being in the atmosphere itself was so much fun. Even though it wasn’t a big game, all the fan there were going all out cheering. The section for the Tennants was completely full and they were drunkily jumping up and down, chanting the whole time. It was really entertaining to watch. The pace of the game was also enjoyable to watch as well. It was a competitive game.
We wandered the streets close by our hotel for dinner and found an Italian place with tables set up outside. As we ate dinner, we befriended 4 Scotts who went to the game. They were the nicest people that we had had a conversation with in a while! We talked about everything from the origins of our names to Joe’s recent love affair. There was Alan and Joe who were 40 year olds and then Jordan who was our age and Alan’s son. We talked for a couple of hours at this restaurant and Joe ended up buying the four of us banana splits! Jordan came back to hang out at the hostel with us for a bit where they had social happy hours and movies playing etc. It is amazing to me how many interesting people we meet when we travel! Unfortunately Jordan was leaving the next morning so we could only hang out for the one day, but obviously via Facebook we will be lifelong friends. Facebook is also an incredible device out here. It is one of the only ways to communicate and stay connected with the incredible people you meet. It is crazy how universal it has become!
The next day we woke up early and headed to Cascais – the beachy town. We were a bit slow to get on the train to go because we went to check out the Lisbon cathedral before and walked around the plaza at the river’s edge right by our hostel. When we arrived in Cascais, there were no more bikes available to rent so we settled for wandering down the side streets and gasped as soon as we saw water and sand. We kept walking along the coast where there was a big marina. We struggled to find the main beaches and it turns out we walked in the opposite way we should have but as we kept walking we found Boca de Inferno which is this awesome point on the coast where the water comes up really high and you can walk right out to the edge – it’s hard to describe but you get an incredible view of the coastline! We decided to lay out on the rocks in boca de inferno and stayed there for a couple hours and roasted. It was complete perfection and just what we all wanted. Walking back Alyssa was slightly depressed because we didn’t get to ride Segways – a desire she has had for a while. Just her luck we walked passed a store that sold Segways and the owner was nice enough to let us each take turns riding one and teach us how to use them! He and his coworker were really generous and made 4 American girls’ days. As we were walking back to the train station we walked into them again and they offered to take us sailing the next morning. Carly and I were completely stoked at first and then thought more about it. I said to Carly, “I feel like that is something our parents tell us not to do with strangers we have just met.” We decided it would probably be a bad idea to go sailing with two Portuguese men we had just met.
We were told we had to go out to Barrio Alto at night in order to really experience Lisbon. We got kebabs for dinner and headed up the hill (hence Barrio Alto) to check out the “scene.” It was a bit early so we wandered into a store which sold records and we had a lot of fun asking the manager putting on different records and dancing to them from Frank Sinatra to Lil Jon. We made a bit of an “American scene.” Then next door was the best cupcake place!! The main guy who served us was really outgoing and talked to us for a while, gave us advice on where we needed to go and of course we exchanged Facebook information with him and his friends (they were both gay, but incredibly helpful!) When we left the cupcake place, everyone was finally out and about. The tiny streets were literally packed with people walking up and down and in and out of bars. I swear there must have been a cloud of smoke hovering above the area – people would just post up along the walls of the street and start rolling because smoking weed is legal there! We walked through the crowds for a bit. For the first time I realized that we were severely outnumbered – the ratio of guys to girls was very favorable for us. However, most of the people hanging in the streets were not the best to stop and have a conversation with. We stopped by one bar and happened to find some of the same kids who were staying at the hostel with us. We talked to them for a bit and continued wandering and were stopped by some gorgeous Portuguese guys. Once it got to 2 in the morning, the crowd was pretty restless. We wanted to go to one of the clubs the cupcake boys recommended but we were exhausted from walking around all day.
Our last day in Lisbon we took the train to Belem. There was a massive palace that we didn’t go in and it was right along the river. Our intentions were to go to a famous market they had, but apparently it was only held on Sundays so we were out of luck. We ended up walking along the boardwalk next to the river and posting up next to the monuments for a while. We visited the Belem Tower which was right on the water. As we wrapped up our travels in Belem, we grabbed a quick snack at this café, sat on their patio in the sun and enjoyed are last few minutes before we started to head to the airport.
Lisbon was by far my favorite weekend I have had here abroad. I think it is mainly because it far exceeded my expectations. I had no idea what was in Lisbon or what Lisbon is known for and we ended up having the best free travel weekend ever.
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