Madrid

Pictures: Frank and Lies with train station; me in Plaza Mayor; Lies and me waiting for the Prado museum; with the palace and gardens; with Lies at the Sol station




We arrived in Madrid about 5:30 pm on Sunday and walked to our CSers house. His name is Alvaro and he draws and teaches comics for a living. He also plays piano really well. After we got there we walked around Madrid with Alvaro and saw thee center square and went to an Italian restaurant and just enjoyed the day. It was really cool and I enjoyed Madrid much more than I thought I would - it actually reminded me of London a lot.

When we got back to Avlaro’s we had a little “jam session.” Alvaro played the piano, Lies and I sang, then Alvaro and Lies switched and she played for a while, while he drew comics on the computer (which were amazing, btw). I tried drawing on the computer and it was so hard!

Anyway, we stayed up late and Lies and I slept in until after noon on Monday. When we finally got out the door we just walked the same route Alvaro had taken us the night before, but we did some shopping and just enjoyed not having a schedule. The museums are all closed on Mondays, so we couldn’t do that. We were really tired by the end of the day, so we came home and cooked pasta for the three of us and tried to go to bed around 12:30, but it took me a long time to fall asleep because I keep thinking about coming home and I’m so excited it’s hard to sleep.

On Sunday morning Frank, Lies’ boyfriend, flew in, and she went to the airport to get him. I chilled at home until they got back and then the three of us went to Prado (the main Madrid museum) and then I went to the botanical gardens while they went back to Alvaro’s get to get Lies’ stuff since she and Frank had a hotel for the next 2 nights.

The museum was really good and it was free because from 6 to 8 pm you get in without charge. I saw more famous paintings - I’m so lucky to have seen so many in my travels. The botanical gardens were also beautiful, though most of the flowers weren’t in bloom since it is the middle of summer.

That night I went out to dinner with Alvaro and his cousin Lorena who is my age. She was so cool and we had such a good time talking - we have a lot in common and we planned to meet the next morning to go shopping because it was the Madrid equivalent of black Friday. I met her at a mall the next day at 11 am and we shopped until 2 pm and then I came back to Alvaro’s to take a siesta. At 8 pm I met Alvaro, Lies, and Frank at the central tube station called Sol and we went to get doner kebabs for dinner. Afterward we walked to a book shop that actually had some English books so Lies and I both got one. After that we walked down this main shopping street which looked so much like Oxford Street in London and ended at a big fountain and statue of Don Quixote. By then I was tired so Alvaro and I went back to go to sleep and Lies and Frank went out to a tapas bar.

Today I met Frank and Lies at the train station and we are now on our way to Sevilla. We’re all really excited, and it’s our last new location before returning to Madrid and flying home on Tuesday.

Alicante

Pics : Lies and me at the ballerina statue; girl from China, Lies, Rahul, Holger; statue on fire; castle; Lies on harbor; beach; leaving fireworks with Jean; the walkway near the harbor

We arrived in Alicante on Wed the 24th and had no problem finding our CSers house from the train station. His name is Rahul and he has a lovely apartment 20 min walk to the beach. We each had our own room with a twin sized bed. After arriving and talking to Rahul a bit, we took naps and then got up when several of Rahul’s friends came over for dinner. One of the guys was Jean (pronounced John) who would host us the 3rd and 4th nights of our stay in Alicante. There was also a German guy named Holger and a Korean girl Chong Jung. The guys cooked and made a really yummy vegetable curry dish with white rice and chicken and bread with butter. We all ate in the beautiful sunroom that opens out onto a balcony - we had a lot of fun talking and they all spoke so many languages it was very impressive.

Later that night, we all went out to see the Hogueras. This is a big festival that only happens once a year in Alicante where there are 70 huge papier-mâché statues all over the city and between midnight and 1 am, they are all lit on fire consecutively as public entertainment. There are also fireworks and music that everyone sings along to. The state we went to go see was a huge ballerina and it totally didn’t look made out of paper - its lines were smooth and elegant, and the tutu glittered in the street lights. First they lit a bonfire nearby on fire, and the crowd went wild. Cultural songs were blasted in the streets and all the people around us song along patriotically and clapped along. At last, the street lights in that area were turned off, the firemen finished hosing down all the nearby trees and buildings, and the ballerina was lit. She went up in a surge of flames at least 50 feet high, soaring above her head and engulfing her entirely. All that could be seen was a black silhouette and then even that was lost in orange flames. The heat suddenly reached the part of the crowd where we were standing (Lies and I were closest of our group), and it was so hot everyone started rushing backward. Debris also started floating in the air, and the firemen sprayed their hoses in the air all around the burning structure, but not actually on it. Eventually, when the only thing left was a flaming wooden cross-like piece that the ballerina had been built around, the firemen started spraying the excited crowds (everyone was begging them to). We backed up even farther so as not to get drenched.

Afterward we walked through the streets at 1 am, crowded with swarms of people (many with nothing but wet bathing suites on from the fire hoses). We walked through the old town and saw some outdoor markets and then went to a little bar where I had pineapple juice and everyone else had mojitos.

The next day Lies woke up very late (almost 1 pm) so I read for a couple hours and when she got up we got our suites on and walked to the beach. The main walkway along the harbor is really beautiful with multi-colored tiles and palm trees and fountains. Right before you reach the beach you can see the castle high up on the hill nearby. Alicante was so beautiful we were sad to not have brought our cameras that day.


At the beach we got in the water almost immediately it was so hot, and the water felt great! The waves were pretty big and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

That evening we made dinner for the two of us and Rahul (salad and fried potatoes) and then his friend Holger came over a little later and we all played a hand of rummy cube before bed.
On Friday I was the one to sleep in late because, at about 8:30 am I woke up sweating to death and moved to the small love seat in the living room which has a nice breeze from the porch. I stayed there until 10:30, and then returned to my room. Needless to say my sleep was restless.
Again we went to the beach and the water was even more beautiful than the day before - it had a Caribbean kind of clarity and was a beautiful blue-green color. I didn’t wear makeup so I could put my whole body under water, and it felt so freeing to swim under the softly undulating waves. Meanwhile, I was spending every free moment reading My Sister’s Keeper which is a book Lies lent me. It was SO good!! (More of that to come).

After we got back to Rahul’s we packed up our stuff and he walked us to the bus stop to catch the bus to Jean’s apartment across town. His apartment was also very nice, though much smaller. However, it had a roof-top patio that offered an excellent view of the streets below and the stars, not to mention a great breeze. Jean took us that night to the fireworks show down at the beach. Every night for 5 nights there is a fireworks show at midnight on the beach (starting the day after Hogueras). The show was really good (though not as great as Disney World fireworks shows), and the three of us had really interesting talks about life, people, philosophy, books, etc. as we sat on the sand waiting. After the show we walked trough the old town again and then back to Jean’s.

On Saturday we (guess what???) yes, went to the beach. It was just so nice and relaxing and there isn’t much else to do in Alicante (except the castle which we sadly never got around to). I was lying on the beach finishing up the book when Lieselotte came back from the water, as she kneels down on the towel next to me she goes, "Oh my gosh! Are you crying?" Meanwhile, sobs are wracking my body. A man nearby asks in Spanish to Lieselotte if I am crying over a boyfriend *rolls eyes*. She said no, the book was just very sad and I had a big imagination.
That night I stayed in and talked on the phone and enjoyed Jean’s star view, but Lieselotte decided to walk down toward the beach. When she returned she told me of yet another accosting situation. We’ve decided (besides the fact that she’s blonde and beautiful) that these people are attracted to her because she has a sweet face whereas I wear a "don’t mess me with me" mask every time I walk down a public street. Anyway, apparently this older fat man asked for directions somewhere and she said, trying to be funny, "All I know is La Rambla is that way." Well, of course this opens up the doors of communication and he starts talking to her and she’s sort of happy that she’s getting to practice her Spanish. Finally he asks if she wants to get a coke somewhere, and she toggles with the idea, but truly wanting to practice more of the language and feeling he was harmless, she agreed. As they walked up the street toward Jean’s house the man kept saying "how about down there or there" and always pointed down sketchy alleys. Lieselotte was firm on this point though, and said "NO, I have to stay on this main street or I’ll get lost." He was like "okay okay" and they finally found a spot on the main drag. However, once in the café he started seeming more creepy. He stared at her in a very unsettling way and was saying things like "ooohhhh, muy simpatico, muy bonita." At one point he even touched her knee and she jerked away. As they walked down the street he’d also tried to hold her hand and she’d said no, we are only amigos, I have a boyfriend. And he tried to "explain" how in Spain people are very affectionate and people hold hands like that etc. She tried to explain how people in America respect personal space, and don’t touch women they don’t know without an invitation. She really wanted to run, but figured he wasn’t actually a danger since he’d gotten out of breath just walking up the street which was on a hill. As they left he offered her a ride on his motorbike and she made that a very definite no, and then he gave her the common ‘kiss-kiss’ on each cheek to say goodbye, but then got her in a tight hug unexpectedly and when she tried to pull away he said, "Un momento, un momento." She said after that she practically ran back to Jean’s (oh, after promising to meet him with me at his sailboat the next evening - after we’d already be in Madrid. Lol).

Rough night for Lieselotte. She told me that at one poin the said, "would you ever want to live in Spain?" and she said "NO" so quickly he was taken aback. That made me laugh.
On Sunday we chatted with Jean and his new couch surfer named Bowey from China and then caught a bus to the train station to head for Madrid. We’d had a really great time in Alicante. Will post about Madrid soon!

Valencia

Pictures: 1) Valencia at night, 2) the science museum complex, 3) Lieselotte in part of the complex, 4) me at the complex (no, that's not a pool, just a shallow body of water), 5) green screen shadows of Lies (on left) and me, 6) in the museum, 7) on the beach, 8) Lies and me on beach, 9) sunset over the buildings behind the beach

We arrived in Valencia and took a metro straight to our CSers house. His name was Alex and he is from Russia. He’s a writer and he was busy working on stuff, so after he showed us where we were staying, he left to get back to his work. The place was pretty gross, as there were 4 roommates who were clearly not very neat. Also, the toilet didn’t work right so y had to throw your toilet paper into the trash can instead of the toilet. There were also no sheets or blankets, so I put the sheet I have with me over a mattress on the living room floor and luckily it was so hot we didn’t need much else

That first day we wanted to go to the beach, but after going to an internet café (no wifi at Alex’s), it was cloudy outside, so we decided to go into the city instead. It was about at 25 minute walk to the city center, but it was nice. We passed many stores and so we decided to do a little shopping. We stopped in a couple chain stores and a big department store. I was looking for a new bathing suit top, and Lies was looking for a new bottom. We didn’t have any luck, but we enjoyed trying things on and talking to the sales women in Spanish. NO ONE speaks English in Spain - even in train stations, stores, restaurants, etc. I don’t know how someone who knew no Spanish would get on - they even spoke more English in France. However, it is good for us because it forces us to practice! When we were leaving the department store I sighed and said, “For a minute, I felt like I was back home.” Lieselotte said, “You’re pretty homesick huh?” I hadn’t really thought about it before, but I guess I’m getting there.

After walking around for a while we stopped at a Starbucks for a little snack and chatted for a while, then started looking for a restaurant. We finally found one which would give you a drink, pizza, and dessert for 9 euros. Well, not only did they give us all this, they also gave us two free alcoholic drinks in the beginning (which Lies drank a little of and I drank none of) and they gave us these delicious fruit juice drinks at the end of our meals (banana/orange). By the end of dinner we had to sit there for 30 minutes trying not to throw up we were so full.

Valencia is beautiful at night - the buildings are so pristine and the architecture is really pretty. We finally got back to Alex’s around 11:15 pm, and we went to bed after using the internet café until 12:15 The next morning we got up and got ready for the beach. It was a beautiful and sunny day. We walked about 15 minutes to the tram and then took the tram the rest of the way to the beach. It was Sunday and the beach was absolutely crazy full! However, it was a really nice beach and the breeze felt wonderful.

We found a patch of sand not too far from the waterline where we set our towel down (well, Lieselotte’s towel actually, since I only have a small bath towel. Now we use mine for our showers and hers for the beach. Lol).

We wanted to go in the water, so I put our valuables in a plastic bag, and dug a hole under our towel. I then buried the bag in the hole, put a small shell on top so we could find it again, and covered it over with our towel. No one saw this either. Pretty smart huh? Yet it was all for naught because Lieselotte didn’t end up getting in past her knees before going back - she said it was too cold and the waves were so big they would have knocked her bottoms off (since they are too loose). I stayed and played in the waves for about 30 minutes. It was so much fun - even though they weren’t “huge” they were still the biggest I’ve been in since in Europe. Most women go topless at the beaches here, and that day it came in handy, since those who were wearing tops kept getting them knocked off.

While in the water I talked to three Spanish girls and I asked them, in Spanish, if the waves were normally this big. The girl said she didn’t know as this was her first time at this beach (she was from Lucia). We chatted a bit more, then I rejoined Lies on the beach. After a while we got hungry, so we walked to a pizza place (it was the cheapest thing around) and got a slice and a drink for 3 euros each.

Back at Alex’s Lies took a nap while I messaged CSers in Alicante (where we are heading now). Once she woke up we took our stuff and moved to a hostel in the center city (Alex had more guests coming and frankly, we probably would have left either way because we are willing to pay for nice showers and toilets lol). The hostel, called Indigo Hostel, was really nice. It had free wifi, computers, nice showers, spacious rooms with lockers, and a kitchen. We planned to stay for 2 nights, but then found out at the last minute that another CSer could take us for the last 2 nights in Valencia (we spent 4 nights there total). We went to a grocery store, but since it was a Sunday night, the only one open was very expensive. We bought the bare essentials, and then picked up doner kebabs for dinner. Before bed we watched ‘Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken’ on you tube (in 9 segments). I was so happy that Lieselotte loved that movie as much as I always have.

The next day we tried to find this tower to climb, but we got really lost and kept making circles (the center city is like Venice - a maze a of little streets and dead ends). Finally, I got a text from our new CS host, Bue, who said we could meet him at 2:30. We rushed back to the hostel to get our things and then met him in a nearby square so he could take us to his place. His friend Frederic was also with him. They were studying abroad in Spain, originally from Copenhagen. We had our own room with a real bed, which we were very excited about, however there were again, no sheets. I guess we are lucky it is summer because top sheets aren’t necessary, even with the windows wide open.

After dropping our stuff off at Bue’s, we went to the train station to book our reservations to Alicante for Wednesday. From there we looked for a movie theater (it was so hot that I was getting a headache). First we found the bull fighting coliseum. A girl from Australia who stayed in our hostel that one night said she’d gone to see a fight (literally having stumbled upon it) and that it was so terrible. She’d cried throughout most of the whole thing over the absolute brutality of it. She described it to us, and Lies and I were glad we weren’t there.

Finally, my nose led us to the theater (I smelled the popcorn, which is not a typical smell in Europe). However, none of the movies were in English or had English subtitles. Of course.

Instead we went to McDonald’s where I got an ice cream and Lies got fries and we enjoyed the air conditioner. Afterward we walked back to Bue’s and made dinner (pasta with meat, onions, tomatoes and tomato sauce). However, before we got inside, we went into the building and took the elevator to the 5th floor where he lives. When we got there I said, “Did it stop on the wrong floor? The lock is on the wrong side of the door.“ We were so confused, and then we went one floor down, but again, the door didn’t look right. That is when we realized that we were in the wrong half of the building. We laughed about that for a while.

Bue and Frederic went to a party, but we got to use one of their computers to watch a movie that night. We watched “Revolutionary Road” as Lies hadn’t seen it yet and it is one of the 3 movies I had on me that I bought in Greece.

On Monday we walked about 50 minutes to the giant Science Center. This is a huge complex that has an IMAX theater, a hands-on science museum, and a large aquarium. It is hard to describe in words, but it reminded me a lot of the Sydney opera house (from what I’ve seen in pictures). It had a really cool vibe. Lies and I each paid a little over 9 euros for entrance to an IMAX movie (Under the Sea narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet) and the science museum. The museum reminded me a lot of Discovery Place and was really neat. We had fun taking pictures of our shadows on the green screen.

From there we walked about 30 minutes to the beach. As we arrived on the beach, around 7:20 pm, there were huge piles of wood all over the place, as though they were about to light hundreds of bonfires. There were people everywhere and there was also a big stage setting up for a band. We asked someone what was going on, and they said it was the festival of San Juan (I.e. it was a celebration that happens once a year for the summer solstice). We were lucky to be there in that case!

We chilled on the beach, watched people making the fires, and were enjoying ourselves until these two inebriated guys came up and started talking to us. We pretended we didn’t know Spanish or English, and they eventually moved on to another group of girls who for some reason were giving them the time of day. I wanted Lies to take a picture of me on top of the life guard stand, so I got up there, but in doing so I drew the attention of the drunk guys back to us. They started saying things to us again, and Lieselotte thought maybe if she tried to be nice and speak Spanish to them, they’d leave us alone. She asked in Spanish what all the fires were for and things like this, but when she stopped talking to them, they came toward her, and the tan one kept saying in Spanish “kiss me, kiss me.” He was grabbing her arm and hair at some points and she was walking away from him saying “No.” Finally we sat down on our towel again, and they came back again, and squatted down next to us. The other guy was trying to talk to me, but I pretended like I didn’t know what he was saying. “No hablo Espanol, No hablo Ingles.” Thus, he pretty much left me alone. However, the tan guy was still bothering Lieselotte and saying “why won’t you kiss me?” She said (in Spanish) because I have a boyfriend, and he said, “Well he’s not here is he?” She was like, “Yes he is! He’s getting food.” The guy just laughed and was moving in trying to kiss her. I was getting pissed (her blonde hair always gets her into trouble), and she was screaming for him to leave her alone, so I reached over and sort of pushed him off of her. Lieselotte said his face was really mad and she thought he was going to hit me or something, so she tried to pacify him, and they went away. After that we left, even though the fires had just started. Lieselotte said, “I can’t believe you tried to stand up to him for me when you’re so little.” I’m still pretty sure I could’ve taken him if it came down to it. Haha

Coming back the traffic was really bad, so we were happy we were on public transit. This was last night, and when we got back to Bue’s, he had a bunch of friends over for dinner. They eventually left for the beach party, and we made hamburgers for dinner and started watching “The Reader” (clearly we like Kate Winslet). We stopped half way through and went to bed.

We are now on a train on the way to Alicante where we will stay with a CSer named Rahul. We are excited because I’ve heard really good things about it and the beach is supposed to be very nice there as well. OH, and one morning in Valencia we went to an outdoor market where I got a new bathing suit top and Lies got a new bottom for only 5 euros each. So perfect!

the rest of Barcelona

Pictures: 1) Lies and me with our new hostel friends puttiing on sunscreen, 2) chillin in the Gaudi park, 3) Lies in me in the Gaudi park, 4) the famous iguana at the Park Guell, 5) with the Sagrada Familia, 6) Lies and me on the roof of a different Gaudi house thing





On Tuesday Lieselotte and I left Casteldefells beach since Tamer, our host, was going to Egypt. We got a hostel on La Rambla Street, the main street of Barcelona. It was a lot of fun in that we met a bunch of cool people, but it was somewhat sketchy as it wasn’t legal yet and therefore we had to sneak around in the stairwells. I’m actually a bit worried to say too much in my blog, so we’ll leave it at “sketch.”

That first day we went to the grocery store and got food for the 4 days - for only 29 euros between us. What a deal! We hung out at the hostel the rest of the day and talked to other people there (all of whom were CSers). Three people arrived who we became friends with and hung out with the rest of the time. Their names were Katie, Phil, and Mike and all went to Clarkson Univ. in upstate NY (this is a very expensive, good university for economics and engineering). Interestingly, I met a friend of Tommy’s (in Ireland) who also went there and now is working in Charlotte, which is the only reason I’d heard of the small school. Anyway, Katie, Mike, and Phil walked in with a 5 liter of wine that they’d bought for 5 euros. They were very nice and funny and we enjoyed chatting with them.

The next day (Wednesday), we met up with a CSer who lives in Barcelona named Esther, and the whole group of us went to Park Guell. This is a park that was originally intended by the architect (Gaudi) to be a district of the city where there would be houses, a marketplace, a social gathering area, a church, etc. Once Gaudi started the project in the early 1900s, people laughed at him and said no one would want to live in his crazy architectural creations and the project lost its funding. Now it is only partially complete and has been turned into a park. It is SO cool!! Gaudi was a genius, but apparently was just too ahead of his time. The whole park reminded me of something from Disney World (maybe like a giant Honey I Shrunk the Kids park at MGM). I bought 2 pair of earrings from a “path” vendor for 5 euros, and then watched as all the people freaked out as the police got near. It was pretty funny.

We hiked up to the top of this hill and we could see all of Barcelona including the Sagrada Familia and the beach. We spent a little over two hours at the park and then went to the beach by the city. That beach was not nearly as nice as Casteldefells beach, as it was crowded with people and there wasn’t nearly as much sand. I hadn’t brought my bathing suit with me because I didn’t plan to swim, but by the time we got there it was so swelteringly hot that I had to go in the water. I was wearing a tank top and little shorts so I just swam in those. The water was wonderful!

We walked back to our hostel from there, changed and made dinner. Mike, Phil, and Katie were moved to a really cool apartment owned by the same people as our hostel for the same price because they’d overbooked our hostel. We met them at their place at 10 pm and played cards and had some wine, then we went back to the cool rain forest bar that Tamer had taken Lieselotte and me a couple nights before. They liked the bar a lot, but it closed shortly after we arrived. The rest of them went to another bar, but I came back home to go to sleep.

On Thursday we went with them back to Casteldefells after Lies and I reserved our train tickets for Valencia on Saturday. We enjoyed the nice beach again, and then went to a restaurant all together on the beach. It was yummy and we had a good time. Two of Phil’s friends were also there - 2 guys he’d met in Sweden (he’d just studied abroad there). We had a good dinner, then took the bus back to the city to watch the fountain show again. The bus took forever and I was getting really car sick so Lieselotte grabbed my wrist and applied pressure to my pressure point (which is supposed to help with motion sickness) and Phil pressed a cold beer to my neck. It was a join effort to keep me from puking. Lol

The fountains were great again and we all sat around watching them for a while until we realized that the last metro was at midnight and if we didn’t run we’d miss it. I went back to the hostel and Lies went out with everyone again.

On Friday we had to find a new hostel since ours was full again, but luckily there was one right nearby that had AC for the same price. We were excited. We briefly saw Katie, Mike, and Phil before they left (going back to the states), and then Lies and I started to walk around the city, seeing the Gaudi stuff we hadn’t already seen. We saw the house, the huge building that used to have apartments inside and now is a museum, and the Sagrada Familia church. I was so excited!

We were pretty tired so we came back to our new hostel and Lies took a nap while I made phone calls. I made us dinner at ten (pizza and salad) and we ate then tried to go to bed (except the girls in our room were having a conversation as we tried to go to sleep).

We got up at about 9:30 even though we’d set our alarm for 10 because the same girls were being so loud, slamming their lockers and turning the lights on.

We are now on a train to Valencia (it is Saturday as I write this), nearly having missed it because we went to the wrong platform. We are looking forward to Valencia - hopefully it will be less touristy and not so full of hookers. Lol

Barcelona

Pictures: 1) me on the beach, 2) teaching Lieselotte to salsa, 3) blacklight on salsa dress, 4) with the magic fountains, 5) again

Our first three nights in Barcelona we stayed with a guy named Tamer, originally from Egypt but went to high school in the UK and college in the US. He lives right by the nice beach of Casteldefels and his balcony overlooks the water. We arrived on Saturday night and after catching up on the balcony, we walked down the main street there and went to a tapas place for dinner. I was amazed because it was about 11:30 at night and there were stands open selling dress, purses, jewelry, hats, etc. When we left the restaurant it was 1 am, and the streets were still bustling!

We stayed in a great little room with two twin beds and the ocean breeze made it plenty cool enough. The next day we got up and went to the beach for a couple of hours. It was SO crowded since it was Sunday, but the nice thing was that it was all Spanish people since Casteldefels is abo 30 min away from the main center of Barcelona and thus there are fewer tourists. The water was nice once you got in, and there is a fantastic sandbar about 30 feet out. After the beach we went to the very nice pool in Tamer’s apartment complex and then got ready (slowly) go to get some dinner. We ate at a place right on the beach and I had pizza and Tamer ordered patatas bravas for us to share (which are like French fries but better).

After that we went by the outdoor market again and I bought a beautiful white dress for 19 euros. From there we caught a bus to downtown Barcelona to see the magic fountains. This is a HUGE fountain that lights up all different colors and has different formations of water that accompany songs. It is SO cool! We watched the fountains for about 2 hours, two hours and then took the metro to La Rambla St which is the main pedestrian street of Barcelona. As we walked along, Tamer told us “see those two black girls? They’re prostitutes.” Lieselotte and I said, “How would you possibly know that? They look totally normal.” They were just wearing jeans and flip flops and normal shirts. He said, “You will see pairs of black girls all down this street and they are all prostitutes. Pay attention and you’ll see them soliciting guys.” Sure enough, as we walked behind two of them, we saw them make comments to a table of guys. Later we saw a deal going down between three guys and three prostitutes. We were so shocked! On La Rambla we went to this bar that was soo cool! Part of it looked like an old-time saloon with wax figures lounging in some of the chairs and on a bar, the next part looked like some sort of Arabian room from Aladdin, and the last part looked like the Rainforest Café from Animal Kingdom at Disney. We went to this part (which it’s trees and waterfalls) and they each got a glass of wine while I had grape juice. We left there and walked to another bar that Tamer said was really cool. On our way there we saw this British guy with dreadlocks who seemed like he was high surrounded by 5 prostitutes. He turns to us and says, “I’m trying to get the hookers to relax, but they’re not relaxing!!“ It was so funny. Unfortunately the second bar was closed, so Tamer got us a taxi to take us back. Lieselotte and I were like “um, that’s going to be really expensive,” but he said not to worry about it since it would save us so much time he’d just cover the price (which was 35 euros). Even as it was, we didn’t get back until almost 2 am, and then we went to the beach and sat there talking for a while. I ended up not going to bed until 4 am, and Lies didn’t got to bed until 6:30 since she and Tamar watched half a movie and then she talked to her boyfriend on the phone.

Lies and I slept until 1:30 pm on Monday, but went to the beach as soon as we awoke. Tamer was still asleep. We were at the beach until 4:30, and then we came back, wondering if Tamer was alive. He had only gotten up about an hour earlier, but he had to do some stuff online and he’d started watching the Barcelona football game. After we took showers, Lies and Tamer went to a nearby pub to watch the American game and I sent out CS requests for our next stop (Valencia). They came back a little later saying the game wouldn’t start for another half hour, so we hung out until after it had started and then went back to the pub together. I had a tuna baguette for dinner and it was so good! I then went to the market to get some milk and fruit, meeting them back at the pub after I dropped off the groceries. I was wearing my new white dress and Lieselotte kept saying how good it would be for dancing, so Tamer showed us a nearby salsa club.

There was no one on the dance floor, but I started dancing alone and teaching Lieselotte some moves. Eventually a guy asked me to dance and he was very good. I danced with him three times, and then another guy asked me and he was good to, but had a different style. There was blacklighting in the club, so my white dress glowed beautifully and when I spun the flowy skirt really was cool. Lieselotte had never watched me dance before and she kept saying “you’re so beautiful, I love to watch you dance, it’s amazing!” It was very sweet. We left there about 12:45 and walked back to the apartment where I used the computer while Lies and Tamer finished watching their movie. Then they wanted to go to the beach again, but I was already ready for bed, so I stayed behind and went to bed around 3 am. Lies didn’t get to bed until around 5 am, so she is very tired today and is taking a nap right now.

We got up this morning at 11:30, cleaned up and took the trash out for Tamer, and then we all left at the same time (he was going to fly to Egypt to visit his mother, and we were taking the bus to our downtown hostel). We will be staying at this hostel (right on La Rambla St.) for 4 nights, leaving on Saturday for Valencia. We bought a ton of groceries for only 29 euros and now have enough food for the next four days at least.

More to come!

Montpellier

Pictures: 1) Lies and Lauren by the carousel in Montpellier, 2) standing on the street where our hotel was, 3) at dinner, 4) by the arch of Montpellier, 5) with the opera house




We arrived in Montpellier still with no where to stay. There was not an information center in the train station, so we just walked out and started looking for a hotel. The first one we saw was 66 euros for 2 people, but they were full and the lady made Lieselotte fear that all the hotels would be full since there was a festival about to happen this weekend. Next we stopped in McDonald’s to use the free wi-fi but alas, no one had responded to our emergency CS request. Lieselotte was getting really worried that we’d have to sleep in the train station, so she left me to check internet stuff while she left to check out other hotels. I thought she might be gone a long while, but she was back within ten minutes, having found a hotel a couple hundred feet away for 48 euros a night. We decided to take it, and while it was nothing fancy in the least, it had 2 single beds, a bathroom, and a fan (which proved essential because it was HOT).

After we dropped our stuff off, we changed into lighter clothing and went to walk about Montpellier. The town was very beautiful with palm trees and sunny skies and really nice buildings. Suddenly, all our worries were gone and Lieselotte started saying “Wow, I’m really glad we came here - what a great pit stop!” I always have to chuckle at how fast she goes from being in fits of worry and pessimism to laughter and joyful optimism. It is one of her endearing traits. :)

The center of town was setting up for the festival with big open tents and an outdoor stage. People were mulling around everywhere in cute dresses and sandals. We were so excited - it was about time for some warm weather!

We looked around at all the shops and found a place to get some baguettes for lunch. Lieselotte went back to the hotel to use the bathroom while I went to the information center. Right in front of the info center was a cool outdoor market that was just shutting down, but I looked around and admired the beautiful dresses and purses.

When I got back to the hotel Lies and I took naps and then got up at 7:30 to go out. We walked around looking for a place to eat dinner, finally settling on a lovely little restaurant where we got to sit outside and enjoy the fabulous weather. It was getting dark, but we were still fine in short skirts. There were many bats flying above us - more than I’ve ever seen at one time. They are so fast and it was interesting to see them.

From there we walked around a little bit and all of a sudden saw a group of guys running as fast as they could down the road, then more guys. I thought, “they are trying not to pay for a meal,” and right after I thought that, a waiter came running. I’m pretty sure he never caught them though.

Then went back to the hotel at midnight, played cards, and went to bed.

Oh, and did I mention that before we got home, another homeless man tried to corner Lieselotte? Yeah, but this time, bystanders were laughing at us.

The next morning we woke up late and then walked around the center before we left to catch our train to Barcelona. It was so hot and sunny and I am really missing my hat - will have to buy a new one in Spain soon! We also found a shopping mall and tried some light linen dresses on, but we’ll wait for Spain to buy some of those as well because they were more expensive than we thought they should be - after all, Montpellier is a rich town.



Now we are on the way to Barcelona and very excited for Spain!

Paris

Pictures: 1) with Sophie in front of the city hall in Paris, 2) on one of the bridge in Paris, 3) yes, this is the original Van Gough, 4) in the Musee D'Orsay (old train station), 5) on top of Montmatre, 6) Notre Dame, 7) check out my sunglasses, 8) Amine with his dinner, 9) eating the fabulous food, 10) night in Paris






Our first night in Paris our host Sophie cooked pasta for us and then walked us around her area - by Notre Dame and through the Jewish quarter and past the city hall. It was a really lovely night and we enjoyed her company. She was a bit sad because of a recent breakup, so I like to think we made her day a bit brighter.

We went to bed fairly early and the next morning we figured out how to walk to the Musee D’Orsay. We got a little lost on the way, but a nice French man who could tell we were confused just by looking at us pointed out the way. We walked past the Louvre and could see the Eiffel and the Arc D’Triumph in the distance. The museum was 5.50 per person and worth every penny!

Orsay is situated in a converted train station that is absolutely beautiful. It has a huge clock inside and out and beautiful ceilings. They also hold the best impressionist art collection I’ve ever seen. Monet, Manet, Rousseau, Degas, Van Gogh, Sarat, Pissaro and many more! This is the home of Van Gogh’s Starry Night but unfortunately it was on loan. I was very disappointed. Also, you were allowed to take photos in this museum, so I got some really good ones of some of the famous works.

After the museum it was raining out, so we went to a café near the Louvre for lunch. The waiter had a crush on Lieselotte and afterward gave us his number and asked if we wanted to go to a jazz bar with he and his friend that night. We said maybe, but never ended up meeting up.


When we finished eating we met up with a CSer named Amine. He was studying in Paris for 2 months on a scholarship from Algeria where he is from. He’s studying film and doing a documentary on tango dancers! It was raining and cold when we met, so the three of us went to a coffee shop and chatted. I told him all about my experience with tango and the three of us chatted about politics and school etc. He was very nice and talkative and invited us for dinner the next night at his place (well, the hotel where the school was putting him and his classmates up for the 2 months).

After we left Amine we met back at Sophie’s apartment at 6:30 planning on going to her sister (the original CSer who we’d planned to stay with) for the night. However, Lies and I decided we’d like to stay in Paris an extra night, and Blandine wasn’t sure she could host us both nights, so after discussing our dilemma with Sophie, she said we could just stay with her for the next 2 nights as well along with a key to her apartment. I was worried that Blandine would be sad, but she was very busy anyway so it wasn’t a problem. We met Blandine for dinner at 8 pm though and got to know her a little bit over some yummy Thai food. I had steamed white rice with eggs, peas, and shrimp.




We left Blandine’s around 10:45 and took a bus through the lit up city until we got to the river. From there we walked along the river taking pictures of the beautiful sights until it started to rain, then we walked to the jazz district and found a little jazz bar. We couldn’t actually go inside the part with the live band because it was full, but the bar was nice and we just sat and chatted and watched the rain. We left pretty late (around 1 am) and walked back to Sophie’s. Luckily, she’d given us a key so we didn’t have to worry about when she’d be home or awake etc.

We slept until 11 on Thursday and then slowly got ready, not leaving until about 2. First we went to the main train station to book tickets to Toulouse for Friday; however, all those trains were completely booked. Not having another choice, and not wanting to be on a train all day to Barcelona, we decided to go to Montpellier instead for a night. It is sad that Lieselotte won’t get to see her cousins who live in Toulouse, but it couldn’t be helped and Montpellier is supposed to be beautiful. Figuring all this out took a very long time, and by the time we were done we went back to Sophie’s to look up hostels in Montpellier. We couldn’t find anything that looked decent with a good price, so we posted an emergency couch surfing request on the CS Montpllier sight and then left to meet Lies’ friend Jessica who is studying in Paris.

We met her in front of the Sacre Coeur (which is a huge church on top of a hill that overlooks Paris in Monmatre). The view from the top was amazing and (thank goodness) the weather was sunny, though not hot. When we got there we listened to some singer/guitar players playing Wish You Were Here and then we went into the church and looked around. Back outside there was a violinist who was so amazing! Lies gave him money and I took a picture of her sitting next to him. While we waited for Jessica we listened to him play while we looked out over Paris and watched a newly married couple pose for photos. It was really wonderful.

Jessica had worked with Lies at Benetton and also graduated from UNC. She was very nice and we walked around the area a little bit, then went to a restaurant where we sat outside and had snacks. From there we took the metro to another nice area where Lies and I bought playing cards and then walked to the Notre Dame again. The sun was hitting it just right, and we got some great pictures. Jessica left us from there to finish a paper, and Lies and I went back to Sophie’s (picking up some wine for her on the way). We said our good-byes and thanked her before heading to dinner with Amine at 9. He met us at the nearest metro stop and then brought us to the hotel where he was living. He’d almost finished cooking, but while we waited we enjoyed the view and the breeze from the balcony and chatted about music.

Dinner was amazing! It was some sort of rice dish with tomatoes, sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, and beans. He also made a salad of avocado, cream cheese, tomato, tuna, green pepper and some sort of olive oil or pesto sauce. For dessert we had a parfait of fruit, chocolate mousse, cream cheese, and fruity yogurt. Everything was absolutely amazing!! He doesn’t even use recipes either - everything is just invention. Wish I could cook like that!

We left at 10:45 and enjoyed the metro ride back very much. The new metros have a glass shield on the front and if you sit up there you can see the lights pass by as you are inside the dark tunnel and in some spots even feel wind on your face. It is so cool! I said it felt like an EPCOT ride, and so on the way back we sat there with our faces up against the glass. I tried to restrain myself from making vroom vroom sounds. :)

As we transferred metro lines on the way back to Sophie’s, we were on a very long moving walkway (it was a big station). All of a sudden I hear Lieselotte behind me whisper in my ear “That guy just grabbed my butt!” She wasn’t sure if he was trying to get money out of her back pocket or what. I looked at him and he was a really creepy looking man, probably homeless, who kept reaching out for Lies, and then started coming toward me. There were other people on the moving walkway, but it was still a creepy. We started walking faster and he was following us and Lies was saying, “Si vous ple, No!” By the end we were seriously speed walking and got off and practically ran to the next escalator we had to take, not looking back. We ran up the escalator stairs and jumped in the middle of a group of standing people, but kept running when we got off. I don’t know why we were so worried, but I had been freaked out ever since Jessica told us a creepy story earlier. When we finally made it to the other metro we jumped on and sat down, panting. It was sort of laughable after the fact - that we were running so frantically from a homeless guy when there were so many other people around.

Back at Sophie’s we packed up and got ready for bed, but we had to set our alarm for 5:30 am because our train left for Montpellier this morning at 6:57 am. EW!

Now we are in Lyon waiting for our connecting train to Montpellier. I slept very little on the first train so I am very tired. We haven’t heard anything about CSing in Montpellier yet, so hopefully we’ll be able to find a hostel when we arrive.

Amsterdam and arrival in Paris

Pictures: 1) Lies and Me with the train station behind us in Amsterdam, 2) with a giant chess set in Amsterdam with the Hard Rock behind us, 3) finding Jif PB in an American food store - score!!, 4) with one of the canals, 5) biking in Holland

Yesterday Lieselotte and I went to Amsterdam to meet her friend Sjors (pronounced Shores) who is studying at the university there. He met us at the station in Amsterdam (only 10 minutes away from Haarlem by train) at 11 am. First Lies and I wanted to make reservations for our train to Paris the next morning, but after waiting in line for over 30 minutes, we got up to the ticket desk and they told us that the reservation costs were 33 euros per person, instead of the 13 our Eurorail guide told us. The lady, who wasn’t very friendly, said that we could go for free though, and printed us out a route. We took it and walked away, then, after looking at it, we realized the free option was 9 hours long, whereas the 33 euro option was 4 hours. We figured it would be worth the extra money, but we didn’t want to wait in line all over again, so we resolved to come back after the day spent in Amsterdam.

We wanted to go to the Rijksmuseum (which has many famous Dutch paintings including The Night Watch and The Milk Maid). We decided to walk since the day was lovely with sun (which it hadn’t been for some days). Sjors pointed out different buildings of importance as we went, and then we stopped in a grocery store to get lunch before going to eat in a park. I was amazed at how beautiful the buildings are in Amsterdam and there are many lovely canals.

I really appreciated that Sjors did his best to speak in English even though Dutch is his first language. Lieselotte’s parents grew up right near his, so they’ve been friends for a long time, but he still made an effort to include me. After eating lunch in the park we finished our walk to the Rijksmuseum and had a nice time looking at all the fascinating paintings. So many of the people in the pictures were so life-like they seemed as though they would reach out and touch us. It was pretty pricey at 11 euros but very enjoyable.

After that we walked to a fountain and sat on a bench, talking as we observed a man throwing a ball for his dog. The dog often ran through the fountain which was very amusing to watch, since he’d leap like a gazelle through the shallow water. From there it looked like it might rain (the sun had dissipated in favor of dark clouds), so we went to an Irish Pub and got some drinks. I was a bit sleepy since we hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before so I ordered hot tea. However, I realized that, though I try to deny it, I hate tea. Even mango flavored tea cannot mask the disgusting tea flavor. I drank half of it.

We sat in the café for some time, talking about school and cultural differences, and abortion legality and genetic counseling, and all sorts of strange but intriguing subjects. Around 5:15 Sjors’ brother came to meet us and sat with us for a while until we left. Outside there were some break dancers in an open square and we watched for a while as we waited for Sjors’ girlfriend Lotte to join us to go to dinner. When she did we found a pizza place where every kind of pizza was 5 euros. I got cheese pizza with pineapple.

At dinner it was easy for them to slip into Dutch with only one full American there, but one time when Sjors realized what they were doing, he said, “We really need to speak in English guys, it’s rude.” And they tried harder after that. He speaks much better than his brother or girlfriend, so I appreciated that they all three made an effort.

As had happened the night before at dinner with Lieselotte’s Aunt Nicolette and her family, the discussion turned to the difference in American vs. Dutch education and the price of college. It was a general consensus among the Dutch that Dutch kids are spoiled since they don’t usually have to work to pay for their education. Also what a shame it was that parents like mine had to work so hard to pay for a college education without the government giving aid. Lies and I generally agreed, but as she pointed out, it is just a different mentality. The kids who work every summer don’t feel particularly disadvantaged since that’s just the way it is, and parents usually start a college fund early on. Plus, housing in the US is SO much cheaper.

After dinner we got McFlurrys at McDonald’s nearby and then Sjors’ brother left us as he and Lotte walked Lies and me to the train station. I chatted with Sjors most of the way about his studies in astronomy (he’s getting his masters in that right now) and about the places he’d been to in the U.S. We talked about the differences between NY and London, and I said I’d much rather live in London as NY is way too hectic.

After saying our good-byes at the station, Lies and I went to get a numbered ticket to wait for our turn at the ticket reservation counter. We were number 561, and they were on number 544, so we thought it shouldn’t be long, but 35 minutes later, they were only on 552. As the number flashed on the screen nobody got up (we assumed number 552 had already given up and left), so Lies and I ran up to the desk (as they don’t check your ticket number).

Lies explained to the guy in Dutch our dilemma - the book said reservations were 13 euros and we needed to go to Paris but didn’t want it to take 9 hours. He was very helpful, as it was the end of the night (we made it in 2 minutes before they made the cut off at 9 pm for the last person to receive a numbered ticket for waiting in line). After a lot of effort, he found us a route that was only 4.5 hours and cost 10 euros each. We were very happy with this, and finally got back to Haarlem around 10:15.

It took us a while to pack up our stuff, do laundry, etc, so we didn’t get to bed until about 1:30 am, and then got up at 9 to finish our getting ready process and give us plenty of time to walk to the station and get a few groceries before getting on the train. I bought some Dutch cookies that I’d had at Lieselotte’s house before that are so yummy - sort of gingerbready.

Now we are on the train to Paris and we should arrive in 45 minutes. We will stay with a CSer named Blandine who seems very nice.

We are now in Paris staying with Blandine's sister Sophie because Blandine had to go out of town for work unexpectedly. Sophie is very nice - she made us pasta for dinner and then walked us around her area to Notre Dame and the Jewish quarter. She is 22 like us and we had a lovely time with her. Goodnight for now!