Reflecting on my 6 months abroad, I realize it was not only the best experience of my life so far, but also a time in which I grew more than I can ever previously remember. The time I spent in Europe, meeting new people, learning new cultures, and generally having the opportunity to do my own thing and take care of myself completely changed my outlook on life. I came home and saw my country with new eyes. I see ways in which we could improve, I notice injustices and prejudices I didn't see before, and I realize that Americans work too hard. In general, Americans don't like to hear this assessment. We are proud of our Puritan spirit of hard work, no fun. Europeans are seen as lazy and indulgent. Well, I'm sorry, but if lazy and indulgent = happiness, and hardworking and money-making = stress and no family time, I'll take lazy and indulgent any day. This is not to say I cannot also see things that only America has to offer - wide open wilderness for example, but when I compare apples to apples, I think I'd take a less luxurious life with more joy than an over-abundant one with less. Perhaps this idea is what made me take several part-time jobs teaching dance, tutoring, and selling Mary Kay upon returning home, instead of going into the corporate life most of my friends and family expected me to start living.
I still want to be a writer, though unfortunately, I still haven't had time to finish my book yet. However, in the interim, I'm enjoying what I'm doing. I can't imagine sitting at a desk 9 or 10 hours a day, coming home, and having but a couple hours before needing to hit the sack only to rise again at 6 am. Sorry, I'm more European than that! ;)
This summer I will truly be able to compare the two continents. I am taking a cross-country road trip of the USA (though I am bringing along a Spaniard and a German to ease the transition). I am thrilled to see the wild west, the Pacific wonders, and cornfields up to my eyeballs. Can it compare to my European adventure? Hmmm...guess we'll just have to see.
Anyway, if you want to keep following the crazy adventures of, well, me, I started a second blog: lkbailey2.blogsot.com. Enjoy! :)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Sevilla and coming home
Pictures: 1) on the streets of Sevilla, 2) Flamenco dancer, 3) in the Alcazar gardens, 4) the beautiful railings of one of the bridges going over the moat at Plaza de Espana, 5) in Plaza de Espana, 6) the cathedral tower that Steve and I climbed, 7) Steve at one of the tower windows, 8) at the top of the tower, 9) Lieselotte and me walking in Sevilla
We arrived in Sevilla to scorching temperatures and bright sun. The bus ride to our hostel was quick and we found the place easily. The hostel was really nice - it had three floors, a rooftop lounge with hammocks and a foosball table, as well as a kitchen and breakfast. We stayed in the 9 person room on the ground floor and I got a single non-bunked bed. Yay! However, there was no AC - just a big fan, so that was less than desirable, though the temperatures weren’t too bad at night. That first day we ate a late lunch at McDonald’s because Frank was starving and he couldn’t wait. After that, Frank and Lies took naps and I headed out to look for a shop where my cousin Megan wanted me to pick up numbered house tiles for her. Unfortunately, the shop was closed and owned by new management so I couldn’t get the tiles there, but walking there (in the old Jewish quarter) let me start to see the city a bit.
Sevilla is such a quaint town - the buildings are sooo beautiful and made out of a yellowish stone which is much less imposing than the gray stone of Gothic architecture. The streets are narrow and many have sun shades hanging over them to help protect pedestrians from the summer heat.
When we came back we met two Canadians in our hostel who wanted to go see the Flamenco with us that night (it was free & about a 15 minute walk from the hostel). A German girl also joined us. Unfortunately Lieselotte got sick that day and was on antibiotics and by the time we reached the Flamenco place she wasn’t feeling well at all, so she and Frank left to find food while I stayed with the Canadian couple and the German girl. We enjoyed the show very much - the energy of the woman dancing was really amazing, and a lot of it was like tap dancing with more stomping.
When the four of us left, we were starving, and going to the nearest restaurant, we ran into Frank and Lies who were just finishing. The food was good but a bit pricey. After the Canadians, the German girl, and I finished our food we went back to the hostel to meet Lies and Frank. I went to bed shortly thereafter.
On Friday we all slept in, and then I got up and walked toward the tile place again, hoping that despite the new management they may still have the same tiles, but again they were closed. I don’t know how they make any money! On my way out of the hostel I saw a guy walking up with a backpack on his back, one on his front, and a bag in at least one of his hands. I though
t he must be heading toward our hostel. When I returned from the tile place, (after having bought different ones at another store and stopping by H&M to get a few great deals), I went to the hostel where Frank and Lies were just rising. The Canadians had left that morning and now one of their bunks was replaced by the guy I saw with all the bags. We all introduced ourselves. His name was Steve and he was from Brisbane, Australia. I found this particularly amusing since that’s where Rob (my ex) was from and sounded just like him. Steve has been traveling since January and isn’t planning to return home until right before Christmas. I was wowed by how little baggage he had after he told us that, especially since he was also traveling to cold climates.
After chatting a while, I wanted to go do something in Sevilla but Lieselotte still wasn’t feeling up to par. Instead we went to the grocery store together to pick up a few things and after we dropped them off at the hostel, Steve said he’d go with me to explore, so we set out for the cathedral to climb the tower. Unfortunately it was closed because it was almost 5 pm. Instead, we continued on toward the Palace de Alcazar. The building was fabulous with intricate tile work, tucked away
courtyards, and terraces that overlooked the best part of Alcazar: the gardens. The gardens had large ponds with fish as big as my arm and waterfalls; there were peacocks and ducks strutting through the thick green grass and palm trees towered over all the brilliant flowers below. Steve and I were quite impressed. We wished we had more time to spend there, but they closed at 7 and we still had more on our list of things to see. After watching a bunch of ducklings swimming in a pond, we left for the Plaza de Espana, one of the most famous sights in Sevilla.
It took us bit of walking to find it, but the city is so beautiful we enjoyed the walk. When we finally made it, I knew why all the hostel workers told us to go there. It was beautiful! In the middle of the square there was a huge fountain and with the sun setting behind us, it cast light on the fountain creating a giant rainbow. Around ¾ of the square (actually more of a circle shape) was a building that had three levels, each about 15 feet high. The whole thing was covered in mosaic ti
le work. We could take stairs up to the second level and watch the rest of the Plaza from up there. Below women were selling Spanish fans and castanets. Unfortunately the river-mote thing that normally ran in front of the building was dry, but the bridges going over them had ceramic railings of blue and white that were breathtaking.
When we finished there, Steve and I walked back to the hostel and met up with Frank and Lies again. They were waiting for their friend Dave from Chapel Hill to arrive for the weekend from London, and once h
e did, the five of us plus the German girl all went to a restaurant famous for its tapas. Tapas are appetizers, often fried, but not always. I had fried spinach balls and grilled chicken with special sauce and Spanish cheesecake which was divine.
The next morning Steve and I went to climb the church tower before he had to leave for Granada. Frank and Lies weren’t even awake yet when we left, as they’d gone out the night before. The cathedral was very impressive and from the top of the tower, one could see all of Sevilla. Also, unlike most of the other towers I’d climbed in Europe, this one had a ramp all the way up instead of stairs. Score!
After the cathedral we walked past the bull fighting arena and to the river where we watched many rowers practice. One guy fell in, which was pretty funny. Having now seen most of the city, we walked back to the hostel where Steve packed his bags and left. Lies and Frank had already left to see 
the Alcazar gardens that we’d seen the afternoon before.
That night we all hung out on the roof of the hostel, chilling in the hammocks and talking to different guests. I felt a little funny, so I went to bed early. I had a bit of a cough, but it didn’t seem like much. The next morning I woke up feeling like I’d been hit by a truck. I had the flu. Probably swine flu (since I didn’t get it once I got back to the states when everyone else had it), but either way, let’s just say it really sucked. I lay in bed the whole day, drinking broth Lies fetched from the store for me and tangerines. The only two things I could stomach. I barely had the energy to stand up. Luckily, despite the 9 person room, people weren’t in there much and I think they all realized I was close to dea
th’s door because they didn’t complain about the lights always being off. I stayed on my little bed until we had to leave for the train the next morning and let me just say, it was an act of God that I made it to the bus with my backpack and purse (I’d left my big suitcase at Alvaro’s in Madrid). I was green by the time we made it to the stop (which wasn’t far away) and the rest of the journey to Madrid was just as terrible. When we finally made it back to Alvaro’s (yes, he was kind enough to let us stay another night before we left the next day for the airport), I passed out on my pull-out-chair and slept until I had to leave the next morning (minus a short trip to the drug store to get medicine).
If I thought the trip from Sevilla to Madrid was painful, it was nothing compared to the trip from Alvaro’s to the airport. I not only had to shlup my suitcase, purse, and backpack to the subway (Frank helped me until I got to the gate, but after that I was on my own), but then I had to ride the subway for about 45 minutes to the airport and I was so nauseous by the time I got off I could barely walk. I had broken out in a cold sweat and just walking to the check-in desk was like crossing the Arabian desert. When I got to the counter I asked the woman what the price would be to upgrade to 1st class (not wanting to contaminate anyone else/needing a less horrid trip than I’d experienced the last few days), and she said “Oh, we have a special, only 300 Euros.” This is when I burst out into tears. The poor woman was very kind and let me sit down with my luggage at an empty seat behind and empty counter to rest and compose myself until I had to leave to find my gate.
Thankfully, on the plane, I had a window seat and with American Airlines you have your own TV in the back of the headrest in front of you, plus your headrest folds in on both sides to let you lean your head against it. SOOO much nicer than US Air.
I felt better by the time I got home, but I was also full of medicine and I crashed after two days and had to recover for another week. So, not the best end to the greatest trip ever, but I made it home alive, so that’s what counts! Lol
Thursday, July 2, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, June 29, 2009
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).
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!
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). 
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!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
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!
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 elseThat 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!
Monday, June 22, 2009
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 thingOn 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. LolThe 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
Monday, June 15, 2009
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!
) againOur 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!
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