Everyday Life

Random Musings from a seemingly silent mouth

2013-06-24T23:35:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is my last day of class. just let that sink in. Tomorrow is my last day of class of nursing school. It has been a year, a whirlwind of a year for sure and I am not sorry to say that I am ready for school to end. My days of studying are far from gone, but at least I am one day closer to taking the state boards and applying for jobs. I love these days of classes but I am oh so ready to dive right in and swim. God is so good and I just know he will be teaching my open heart.

Nursing School

2012-06-04T21:49:00.001-04:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. That is all. I feel better. :) Goodness. I knew it would be a lot, but really? this much? Please pray I make it through with all A's and lots of knowledge. I'm in pretty deep for the next 15 months.

Thanksgiving.. a little later than usual.

2011-12-23T15:38:00.003-05:00

I have tried to write a new post now for months. I keep coming to this page uninspired and to be honest, a little sad. I begin a post, type out a sentence but immediately my middle finger glides over to the delete button to erase whatever it was that I had just finished typing.

Today, I feel inspired. I am not sure what it is, but I am going to give credit to The Big Man upstairs and this fabulous Christmas Spirit. I feel thankful in this moment. Thankful for the many blessings that I have received thus far in my life. I realized as I was sitting here just how many things I have been blessed to be a part of, to experience, to recognize as being beautiful. I know that life is full and I want to drink it all up. Too often, I find myself in discontent with the present only to remind myself that the present is all that I have, along with the memories of my past. I am not guaranteed a future and so I need to learn to appreciate, to live and to be happy/content in the now. I think a lot of the time, I am looking for the next big thing..and dreaming is not a bad thing, I just want to make sure that by dreaming of the future, I don't lose sight of the present.

Just in these moments, as I have been sitting here typing out this post, I have felt so at peace and extremely content with life. Sure, there are a million and one things that I would love to be doing right now, six hundred and seven places that I want to be and a few people that I want to be doing this with... but as I sit here in solidarity typing out this piece, the memories of my life thus far have made me feel full. Sometimes I am fearful of losing these memories, which only solidifies how important it is for me to continue to use this blog or a journal to write out everything. Life is a story and the story doesn't end until we do... as the caption of my blog says, I want to experience life, I don't want to merely exist.. and part of living is thanksgiving. :)

So thank you to everyone for contributing to my life. Thank you for being a part of me, my memories, the person that I am and what I do. I appreciate you, from the bottom of my heart.

Merry Christmas!

G.T.L

2011-08-22T12:23:00.004-04:00

Last night I was thinking about Raquel and My experience in Brindisi, Italy. We left Rome on the redeye train heading to Brindisi. We thought the redeye would be wonderful, you know we could sleep on the way down and we wouldnt have to pay for a hostel. Well we were WRONG (think end of the world voice on that one) about the sleeping.
1. We were paranoid about our bags being outside of the car with people climbing over them and a few of our valuables were in there.
2. Our car was packed. 7 people in a 6 seater.
3. you have to sit straight up. There is no recline feature.
4. Every time I was about to fall asleep the train would slow down and make a heinous screeching noise. Or another train would pass by and I would almost pee my pants because it sounded like scraping metal.
5. My stomach was hurting from the bottle of wine Raquel and I split.
6. I was laughing remembering the accents we were using walking down the street.
7. I was really excited for our new adventure.
and last but not least...
8. Gym, Tan, Laundry was snoring next to Raquel.

more to come. But on the plus side, it reminded me of going to Hogwarts. Yes, I am mature.

its worth repeating.

2011-08-20T16:34:00.004-04:00

What?!?!... its not two weeks after my last post and I am blogging again?

I am trying out the "be a good blogger" thing again. I like it. I really did... and my dad kind of busted my nonballs this morning by literally saying, " so since you quit your blog, are you every going to print your pictures and write about your travel journey?" ok, I definitely paraphrased that but in essence he said YOU ARE A SLACKER!!! I know. I know.

so Sevilla. mi corazon. Sevilla will always have such a special place in my heart. It really is one of the most beautiful places in the world. The way the city smelled, how the jasmine drifted over the walls of the alcazar, or saturated the air in my favorite little alleyway, the oranges that fell from the trees and smooshed in the sidewalk, causing the city to smell of orange juice for at least a month.

My last couple of weeks there, I just couldn't get enough of it. I was trying so hard to convince myself that I would go back but wanting to savor it all just in case I couldn't. The air was hot and if I wasn't sweating outside, I was sticking to the red, pleather couches that occupied our living room. Sliced cucumber would be placed in my water, enticing me to drink it. (i never drink. I am horrible and probably constantly dehydrated. My poor kidneys) Raquel and I spent our time figuring out our little month stint in Italy. We made, changed, and made a million different plans but I can honestly say that I wouldn't have done it any differently.

I met with friends any time that I could to eat tapas, drink beers, play pool, or wander the city with some pistachio ice cream. I tried to organize my suitcases and get rid of the items that I could in order to carry the least amount of junk with me. Our apartment turned into chaotic organization. Kidding.. there wasn't any organization there at all. I can't wait to post these pictures, you already know how small the apartment was.. well now picture crap and clothes all over and seriously there was barely a spot for my pinky toe.

One of my favorite nights was when a boy from El Salvador, and Raquel who lived a moment in El Salvador reminisced about pupusas... and so we decided to have a DIY night. I had never heard of a pupusa and so I was so excited to experience this "phenomenon" The night was awesome. We made pupusas and took ourselves to the terrace to have a candlelight dinner and swap stories. A night of spanglish ensued under the stars and only when we were forced did we agree to say goodnight. It is nights like that that I never want to end. That my friends is something you just dont forget.

So as soon as I build my dream house with my AWESOME terrace, I invite you to come to dinner with me. :)

i am the best blogger ever

2011-08-16T11:51:00.002-04:00

Lately my thoughts have been all about Spain. I suppose it is because I know that I am not going back. Of course I want to go back. Who wouldn’t want to live a carefree life working 18 hours a week, taking advantage of the 30euro Ryanair flights to Morrocco, sipping wine on the terrace, laughing until your stomach hurts, falling in love with so many people, places, and things? My heart hurts. I am so torn. I am being pulled in so many directions, not wanting to let anyone down, including myself.

I have to remember too, the times when all I wished for was to be back in the comfort of my home, my language, and my culture. There is a time and a place for everything and I guess God is calling me for something else right now.
So that is how it goes; I have to say goodbye to some things and hello to others. Goodbye doesn’t have to mean forever, it can mean just for now. So as it is, I am saying goodbye to walking down the street with other foreigners, the smell of jasmine on my walk through the city, the beauty that is Europe, goodbye to gazpacho and choco fritos, goodbye to the money Juan still owes me, goodbye to a boy I fell for, goodbye to las cañas, el rio, el piso, los estudiantes.. los aventuros europeos. It was a fantastic run but the fun runs out at some point. I guess when you are sitting on a mountain of debt and about to accrue some more, it isn’t the most responsible thing to run off and keep procrastinating. My life is here, for now… and until the time is right again for another adventure in the Spanish-speaking world, I will embrace the here and the now. I will embrace being with my family, my best friends, the convenience of a car, and the extra curves that come with that.

Recently, Raquel reminded me of the time we were walking around Sevilla on our way to lunch after a photo-taking day. We ended up at Los Coloniales.. a favorite restaurant of ours for the pollo con salsa almendra. On our walk there, we took turns humming songs and making the other guess what we were humming. It was not out of the ordinary for us to be weird.. or normal, you decide. This led me to think of another time when we were on our way home from something, walking by the cathedral and like many other times, there was a traveling orchestra playing on Avenida Constitucion. The melody they are playing is one of my favorites. Raquel and I took a moment to twirl in the streets of Sevilla. Right on the corner in front of the Starbucks and the Cathedral. We were humming the song with the orchestra and breathing in the fresh Sevillana air. Once we got home we called friends and googled the heck out of the melody to figure out the song they were playing. It is an Italian melody, something Bambino. It is lovely, absolutely beautiful and we were lucky enough to run into it playing on the streets in Rome, near the colosseum as well. Wouldn't it be nice to have a local fountain to enjoy the day and people watch for hours? .....

Mai Tai

2011-07-19T11:38:00.002-04:00

After braving the wind and shade for as long as we could stand, we headed back to the Hostel to shower and find a place for dinner. We were looking all cute and headed out for some Tai food. Let me tell you one thing. Tai is not good to eat if you are wanting to go out later. It was delicious while eating it, Rachel, Briana, and I had a cute little friend date dinner and planned our going out for the night.

After dinner, we headed out to a bar or two.. We met up with some folks we had met earlier at the hostel. Yes, I called them folks. Anyways, the guy was midway through telling a story when I decided I had to leave. I was not having fun and my stomach was hurting... so early exit. Sorry, dude. I really wasn't meaning to be rude. He was like oh my story telling must not be so great. No, it isnt that.. and believe me, you were talking to the queen of horrible story telling. So anyways, an early night that was. The only issue I ever had with food was in Portugal.. weird, maybe?

The next day, we got some bfast and headed to the beach. It was a little chilly but we found this incredible beach and I managed to fall asleep. The rest of the weekend was spent lying on the beach, visiting some cliffs, almost dying, going out, hostel rooftop terrace dinners, a cute Australian, and fun.

whats that? Oh, you want to hear about almost dying? Well.. funny story (now that I am alive and can look back on it). The gang and I decided that we wanted to see the cliffs of San Vicente. We had heard that they are absolutely gorgeous. So we get in our car and head towards them. After a dead end at a beach way too close to our hostel, it was decided that I was no longer navigator and that job would be left to Briana. And we listened to the cd a few thousand more times.. hanging on to every last word the biebster sang. Anyways, we see a gorgeous view and pull over to the side where a few cars are parked to snap some pictures. Rachel purposely leaves some room at the front of the car, we park, get out and go picture happy. After gazing upon some gorgeous Portugese surfers, we get in the car and put the car in reverse... only the car goes FORWARD. OH. MY. GOSH. We are on a cliff and the car is not reversing. So, hearts beating at 990 bps (beats per second), Rachel takes a deep breath and decides to try again. FORWARD. Shit. What is going on? This is an automatic freaking car, how in the hell are we not operating it correctly? Well, I am freaking out, praying with all of my might that we reverse and do not accidentally drive over the edge. We determine that there isn't enough gusto and so she needs to push on the gas a little bit harder in order for it to actually reverse. One last try. After that we are getting out and pushing it, I am not going over that edge ok? I dont care if we look like big loser idiots. So, 3rd time, thankfully is a charm. She punches the gas and we thankfully do not go forward but instead exhale the breath we have been holding in thanksgiving. The boys give us a wave and we head off towards the real cliffs. We make it there and climb along the edge of the rocks. Nothing holding us back except our own will to not get so close. I literally had my arm hanging off the cliff. Now I know this is hard for some of you to imagine.. seeing as how I am the safetly nerd. But when its my own life, I don't worry so much. We enjoyed the view for a while, taking a bunch of pictures and trying to use the self timer (on the edge of the cliff) before heading back into town.

The weekend was good. It was finally a relaxing trip where I didn't feel like there was 9 million things that I had to see. I could just take it all in and breathe a little bit.

I have a lot of catching up to do

2011-07-13T21:03:00.003-04:00

To say I haven't written in a while would be the biggest understatement ever. I am really disappointed in the fact that I left my poor blog baby abandoned for so long.

The last month in Spain was INCREDIBLE. It must have been due to the fact that I knew I would be leaving soon. Whenever I have to say goodbye to someone, something, or somewhere, I try to hold on to it with all of my might. I must get that from my parents. Lord have mercy on my future, very future children.

I can't remember if I wrote about Portugal. I think not. I think I left off with the Feria. We will go ahead and assume that and I will catch you up. Let the story telling begin.

Rachel, Briana, Julia, and I (the gang) talked for a while about making our way to Portugal. Their beaches are supposed to be some of the absolute best. We had toyed with the idea of going for a while.. but kept putting it off until the weather got warmer. We decided on Lagos which is extremely famous for the cliffs, the hidden beaches, and the fun beach town.

After getting some Italian and weighing the pros and cons, we decided renting a car would be the way to go. I mean who doesn't want to have a European road trip? Thats what I thought. So Briana took it upon herself to get the car in order. I decided I didnt want to have to deal with any of the turnstyle thing a majigs (I turn a little spaztic when I don't know what is going on) so I left it to Briana and Rachel to do the driving.

We left the Thursday of Feria week in the morning. I walked myself to the train station, a walk I really came to enjoy and met the girls to get the car. I took a seat on the bench and waited for the keys. An old man sat a little too close to me and started up a conversation. I thought little of it until I realized he was missing quite a few teeth and he invited me to coffee.. I guess pretending to read a book wasn't clue enough. I politely declined and he went on his merry little way to have a coffee. I can always get the old ones.. how about my age, please? :)

The car was a red meedsize and we found it quickly among the sea of hatchbacks. I called shotgun and settled in as copilot, managing to get us a little off route a time or two. After a 4ish hour drive, a pitstop for snacks upon crossing the border, and a few too many turns of the cd player, shoutout Justin Biebs, we made it to Lagos. Briana dropped Rachel, the bags, and I off at the hostal. We ran in, sat our stuff down, and asked the guy at the desk where to park. His answer: I will show you. Thinking he was going to point us to a spot we head out to where we last saw the car.. no car. we walk down the street, no car. Around the corner? nothing. Finally, we see some red and we head for her. The hostal guy gets in the car and leads us around town. We park the car behind the supermarket and walk back to the hostal. He was a nice enough guy. After getting our stuff organized, we head off in search of 1. food and 2. the beach. We get some wraps, diet coke and we are off. Right away we find the most amazing inlet. We have to walk down the stairs and there is just a small patch of sand with holes in the rocks to walk to the other beaches. The water was too cold for me to brave it that day but the sun felt so warm on my skin.

Its a farmers life for me...

2011-06-10T09:29:00.003-04:00

So I dont even blame you if you have stopped reading this by now.. I officially suck at updating. I know that this is something that I will have forever to help me remember the awesome memories that I have made, but when I finally have time to update, I rarely have the ganas to do it.. I mean my days are soo filled with awesomeness.. I know pobrecita.. please rub it in.

Alright so my feelings on leaving Sevilla will come later. When I get home, I have a lot of blogging to get done. I am writing notes here and there to help me remember every morsel from this past 10 months. Its been said before and I know that I will say it again, but I just cant believe that I am coming down to the end of it. I can hardly wait to see my family and friends. I have to remind myself to enjoy my time and not count down. That hug in the airport will be so long overdue and I cant wait to run into my mom's arms in London and then my dad's in Cincy. I wont want to let go. I cant wait to see every one! ahhh.

I left Sevilla on the 2nd of June, early, early in the morning. It was a quick get away so that I wouldnt be too sad about leaving. Its a bit too difficult a place to say goodbye to. Raquel and I hopped on a plane to start our Italian Adventure. We spent 2 days in Rome before taking an overnight train to Brindisi where we spent 2 days getting to know the language and loving life. Next up, a farm outside of Persicce in walkable distance to the Mediterranean sea. Oh, yes. You know that it is GORGEOUS!!

We have been here 4 days and have been busy busy busy. We have milked goats, herded them, cleaned this that and the other, attached the burlap roof, swam in the ocean, staked tomatoes, attended a festival in town, eaten wayy too much gelato and realized that life is good and that the good Lord has fantastically blessed me.

Pictures and real stories to come soon.

I come home in 18 days. You can plan the party starting now if you want. :)

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

2011-05-30T03:54:00.005-04:00

If I were in the states, I would be with my family. We would be celebrating the beginning of summer with the opening of the pool, hamburgers and food galore, drinks, fun, and laughter. Family get togethers are THE BEST I tell you, THE BEST.

My youngest sister just graduated this weekend, so aside from summer, we would have celebrated her graduation. I can not believe it. Just yesterday, I was in first grade being pulled out of the classroom during the Pledge of Allegiance by the librarian telling me that I had a phone call. A phone call for me? at school? what?! Well, it was my dad, announcing that my baby sister had been born! woop! I was on cloud nine. I still remember that dark library and being on the phone.. always will. But now she has gone from baby to high school grad. I couldn't be prouder of the person she has become. She is wise, mature, beautiful, kind, and although I am older, I often learn lots from her. She is amazing! Congrats, sis! I love YOU!

But I am not in the states and so I will not be celebrating with the fam except in Spirit.. you know I am there! Today is a holiday in Spain, although I never work on Mondays so for me its a regular day except everything is closed. I plan on getting out and about, seeing as I only have 2 more days here. Did I really just say that? Holy shit!

well, my whole story and then some will be up here soon, be patient with me some times my fingers just aren't in the mood. But I am remembering every silly moment, every grand adventure, I am soaking in every feeling, every smell, every emotion, and every sight. I am not sure if I am ready for this journey to end.. but their comes a time for everything, right?

La Feria: A Trip back in Time

2011-05-29T05:29:00.000-04:00

For the longest time, all of the talk of the town was Feria this, feria that. Are you buying a dress? Are you going to Feria? etc. etc. Although my little heart so desired a pretty dress to fit in with the locals, I did not give into this desire. Those dresses can cost a pretty penny and I just couldn't justify it.

We had one week of school in between Semana Santa and Feria, and during the week of Feria, which begins Monday night at 12, there was one day of school: Tuesday. Why this is the case, I will never know. I don't ask questions. This isn't about efficiency. please.

Monday night at 12am, Raquel, Katy, I went to see the lighting of the Portada (front gate). We got there before the huge crowd of people but got unlucky in who stood around us. It was a few men who didn't believe in showering... needless to say we didn't stick around there long. After watching the lighting of the the portada we made our way against the crowd of tons of people and back home. If we were true Sevillanas though we would have been there for the traditional fried fish dinner and some rebujitos (a mix of manzanilla, a white sherry, and sprite).. but alas we are not and so we went to bed to work and rest up for the next day of festivities.

At school, there was probably less than half of the students in attendance. Many of them did not come due to either going on vacation or to the Feria. I mean who has just a tuesday of school one week? its the dumbest thing i have ever heard. So anyways my day was really laidback.. you know as opposed to the normal hectic/super busy/super stressful work routine that I have. After school, I went home to change my clothes and get pretty for the ferry.. well you know more gorgeous than I normally am.

Raquel and I had an impromptu photo sesh/laugh attack. We are not mature and it is ok. After modeling, we headed out. Feeling awkward without our tights on, we stopped in the mcd's to put them on and adjust our hair. we are legit girls. The walk to feria was not bad and everyone was in the festive mood. There are many feelings in the Sevilla air and happiness was in abundance that day. Our friend Katy's boyfriend's family has a caseta. Oh, I guess I should explain feria. It is the local fair. but it is not a fair like we have in the states. This fair is a see and be seen event. First of all, this is not for the w.t. this is dressy. There are no jeans and cut off tee's. No this is suits and ties for men and dresses for women. Raquel and I didn't have traditional dresses so we went in cocktail dresses and heels. We were looking good. I am just saying. So there are about 1000 casetas, or little houses/tent like things if you will. The casetas don't look like much from the outside but once you go in, there is room to sit and eat, room to dance, decorations galore, a full on kitchen, plumbing in the bathrooms, I mean this is the real deal. They legitimately are little houses. Most of the casetas are private but a few are public.. hence not as cool.

So Katy's boyfriend's family has a caseta and they invited us to come! Thanks guys! shoutout! We went in search of Katy and this caseta.. no answer on the telayfono so we did what anyone would do.. we wandered around. Horses and carriages took paseos through the dirt streets, paper lanterns lined the space above our heads. We were in 1921. It was cool. As we were walking, our good looks attracted the attention of some silly boys. We did our best to ignore them but they were persistent. They made us laugh with the stuffed animals they had won. We were ended up chatting with them and they invited us to their caseta to have a drink or two.

Rebujitos are served in little shot glasses so you are sipping on shots all day long. We stayed for a couple of drinks, chatting about this, that, and the other until we headed off to find Katy.

We then spent the night in JoseLu's family's caseta having drinks, talking with newly made friends. We danced (attempted in my case) to dance sevillanas, I will post a video to show you what I mean, to the flamenco music. We were treated to spanish tortilla and more manzanilla by Katy's boss. The night was incredibly enjoyable.

The next day, we headed to the Feria to ride the rides. The children were there in their costumes riding without any qualms. We went on three rides. La noria (ferriswheel), one that i can't remember the name that twists you around and upside down while the arm you are sitting in also turns around and upside down. Things were flying everywhere on this one. and finally super raton. A child's rollercoaster that was actually really fun. The line was long but moved quickly. However the catch phrase that kept playing Ayy, que te como, que te como (ahh, I will eat you, i will eat you) will never be removed from my brain. Raquel and I shared a chocolate covered waffle, so good. and headed back into the center. We decided not to go back to the Feria but instead went to dinner at this tapas bar we had been wanting to try and grab a drink at the local scottish bar. Of course everything was dead because the whole city was at the Fair but we still had a good time.

The next day, I was off to Lagos on a roadtrip with my favorite travel team.

the little things

2011-05-25T15:02:00.004-04:00

Its the little things that have made this journey worthwhile, that have turned ordinary into extraordinary, that have turned acquaintances into roomies into bffs.

The days I felt the happiest was when I took it all in, when I was out and about, when a song i liked came on my ipod as I was walking to or from a clase. like this one.. its me.

It was the time I stayed an extra half an hour with my tutee and his grandma being told stories about the turtle and the washroom, the time I was given a genuine hug, laughing my heart out over a silly saying, or dumb move Raquel and/or I made. It is about enjoying the little things, about appreciating everything, and not taking things too seriously. I mean we have to remember that its not always going to play out the way it has in our minds, its not always going to go our way, but that is what makes things interesting. If it was exactly how we wanted it to be, we still would find things to complain about, and there would be so much we would miss out on because we were planning it.

From here on out, I promise to just roll with it. I promise to enjoy and take in and remember all of the little things. Believe me a huggge a post is coming about the randomness that I have lived the past year and especially the past 5 months.

I LOVE life! I just love it! I love everyone that has come into my life and contributed in my development. I love those who have challenged me, who have made me a better person. Everyone has played a part in that, and I am so grateful! (obviously, I am a work in progress, but every day.. better and better)

Semana Santa.

2011-05-23T10:44:00.004-04:00

Although I was traveling for most of Semana Santa (Holy Week) I wanted to catch a little bit of it. Sevilla is extremely famous for its Semana Santa processions. They are elaborate and the whole city gets extremely into it. Tourists/Pilgrims come from all over the world to watch. It can take an hour to walk one block. People are shoulder to shoulder.

As I live in the center, center of the city, right near the cathedral, i am in a prime location for Semana Santa. However, this year was a big bummer. It rained almost the entire week. Processions went out Palm Sunday and Holy Wednesday. The most famous ones were not able to leave there churches due to the rain. These figures are hundreds of years old and the carriers practice all year to take them out. It was a huge disappointment as they weren't able to leave their churches.

I attempted to see a procession on Saturday. The chairs were being set up, the security was out, people were dressed their best. After waiting hours, standing under a small overhang, bumming space under someone's umbrella, I gave up hope that any procession would go out and headed home, sad and disappointed.

That night, I set my alarm bright and early, hoping I would be able to catch the morning procession. It would arrive to the cathedral at 8:30. I didn't want to be late and I didn't want it to be too crowded so I headed there a little before 8am. The morning was gorgeous, exactly how an Easter morning should be.

I walked around the cathedral a few times, not sure if i missed it, or if it was happening. Sometimes I can be oblivious to things. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, it was a perfect summer morning. I found some others standing by the cathedral and heard them saying that the procession was coming so I stood and waited. I had an awesome spot. There werent too many people out so I was able to comfortable watch the procession, I can't imagine what it would have been like with so many observers.

I haven't felt the sort of happiness and peace that I felt that morning in a very long time. The pasos were gorgeous. The joy in the air was contagious. The songs reminded me of the hymns we sing Easter morning in my home parish. I was a very happy and thankful girl. All I could think about was how I wished my family were there to witness this with me.

Don't worry about the KKK looking things, those are penitants and they were around before the KKK. They have nothing to do with eachother other than the penitants were the inspiration for the costumes of the KKK. Interestingly enough.

Disclaimer: I am not a videographer, and I dont have mad editing skills.

After watching the pasos, I headed into the cathedral for Easter mass. The attendant was informing us asking to get in, that it was a 2hour mass and that we would have to stay for the entire thing if we entered. I politely asked if there was another church nearby with a shorter mass, however I was meant to be at this one. As I went in and took my seat. An hour of music passed before mass started. So why didn´t they just say that there was an hour of music and mass would begin an hour later? Some things, I will just never understand. It was a beautiful mass with the bishop, lots of priests, the music was gorgeous, the altar was incredible, it was amazing,I couldn´t have asked for it to be better.

After, Raquel and I set off to a friends house for some brunch. After a few pancakes turned out disastrous, I went in with my pancake abilities (ha) and turned out a few perfctly round and toasty pancakes. We enjoyed a long brunch chit-chatting about this that and the other, before we knew it the time was 7pm and we hadn´t moved once. Raquel had to get back to skype with her mom and it was about to thunderstorm (out of nowhere) so we headed home. About halfway home, we begin to feel sprinkles. A little way farther, it begins to pour. We try to hide under the underhangs running across the plaza to get some cover. Our impatience wins and we decide to run from overhang to overhang keeping as dry as possible. Turns out, we didn´t stay dry and decided to just run home in the rain as there wasn´t any avoiding. I felt like such a kid. I know I am only 23, almost 24 but I was so happy to be running in that rain and laughing my little heart out. You are never too old to have some fun.

My great day/week ended with a skype chat with the whole family and it couldn´t have been any better!

***pictures and video to come.

Good King Wenceslas.

2011-05-19T11:02:00.006-04:00

My alarm woke me up at 8ish and after getting my butt in gear, I was on my way for a jam packed day. I headed down the street, confident that I would find somewhere to grab something to eat for breakfast on my way to find the John Lennon wall. I ran into a bagel place called Bohemia Bagels (a place Rachel had talked about on more occasions than one) by accident and decided it would be a perfect way to start my morning. I got a sesame bagel with cream cheese, something I haven't had for months and L.O.V.E. and headed out, map in hand. It wasn't five minutes before I was lost and pulling out my map.

A man walked by and turned around asking if I needed help. He seemed nice enough so I said, no Im just trying to find the John Lennon wall. He looked at my map, pointed to where it was and said you need this street right here, follow it through the park and you will be there. I thanked him and he asked me for some czec koruna. I said I didnt have any and he rebuked me saying fine well than 1 euro. I was like I didn't even ask for your help. He was like I know you have some money, go ahead and look for it. He made me nervous so I gave him a euro, furious both with him, for being such a jerk, and for myself for being such an idiot. I had read about people doing that and I fell victim. Whatever, in the sceme of things it was one euro, not a big deal and I learned a great lesson.

I continued walking, finding a park and an empty bench to eat my bagel. The air was a bit crisp, but it was a gorgeous day. The air smelled of freshly cut grass, and all of the flowers and trees were in bloom. I got out my bagel, was happily munching on it, when I was joined by a friendly pup (a little too friendly) trying to get his own bite of my bagel... don't worry, I was protecting that bagel. The owner was mortified and shooed the dog away. No pasa nada. After finishing, I headed on to see if I could find this wall. I walked through a park, thinking every little bit of graffiti was the wall.. nope. nothing. I ended up giving up and heading into the main square. I walked around looking at the easter markets, checking out the big clock again, finding wenceslas square, looking at the musuem and kind of just trying to take up time and see what I could while waiting for the walking tour to start.

I got to the tour meeting spot about 10 minutes early and just kind of hung out, hoping to make some friends. The group left right at 11. We had an enthusiastic Irish man as our tour guide. He took us to all of the famous and historical sites, telling us stories of the history of the city. It was interesting. The movie Ammadeus was filmed in Prague and we were taken to a few of the buildings. This made me laugh. My family has a tradition of getting and giving DVD's for Christmas. I am notorious for butchering the titles. One year, we were given Ammadeus (I don't think I have ever seen it though) and I mispronounced the name and to this day we poke fun about it.. so I got a little laugh out of it in Prague.

The tour lasted 3 hours and upon finishing the one, I embarked on another that would tell of the history of the castle. It was interesting to hear the story of the castle, the Nazi occupation, the communist times, and other historical bits. To go as a group is way more fun than wandering around by yourself. I get too bored by myself.

So after the tours were over, it was about 7pm. The students that I met in Budapest were studying in Prague and we had talked about meeting up that night. I went back to the hostel to check my facebook.. and just in time. I found out we were meeting at the clock in half an hour. I put on some fresh clothes and makeup and headed to meet them, hoping I would remember thier faces. On the way, I bought a handpainted easter egg or 3 and some matted photos of the city. Some of my best sourenirs thus far. We found each other and headed off to the coolest restaurant.

The restaurant was in Wenceslas square and it is full of trains/train tracks. Your drinks are brought to your table in trains. So freaking cool.. im just saying.

After dinner we went out for a few drinks. The first bar we went into had and american feel to it with American memorabilia on the walls and awesome old school music. The only thing that would have made it better would have been hearing Jesse's girl. There were wigs and popcorn on the tables. Of course we dawned the wigs and danced our little hearts out, not caring one bit. We headed off to another bar and then I headed back to the hostel.

The next morning, I got up early and wandered around for a bit, found the John Lennon wall, FINALLY, took in the singers on the King Charles' bridge and made my way to the Fred and Ginger dancing museum to take some pictures of the building. I sat in the park for a bit on a hill overlooking the city. It was a gorgeous site and I would have sat there all day taking in the beauty of the blossoming cherry trees.

About 1, I headed back to catch the bus to the airport. It was a short solo trip but for now it was enough. I know I can do the traveling by myself if I want to but I think Ill stick to traveling with a partner.. in crime :) After an exhausting week full of walking and activities, I was excited to get back to Sevilla. It was the end of Semana Santa, so I was hoping to catch a few pasos (processions) I came back to grey skies and rain. That night, I climbed into bed hopeful for a great nights sleep.

The set of a Fairytale

2011-05-18T04:57:00.003-04:00

I had been joking (with a little bit of seriousness) about wanting to visit Bratislava, Slovakia for quite a while with Rachel. To my great delight, it was a stopping point on my journey to Prague. Unsurprisingly, as soon as I boarded the bus and took my seat, I was asleep. This was due to the 3 hours of sleep that I obtained the night before as well as the fact that I still felt like death. I woke up to the bus slowing down and entering into the city of Bratislava. If you have ever seen the movie Eurotrip (and dont if you haven´t and you are family) you know that the characters end up accidentally in Bratislava, a run down, depressing, horribly impoverished city in Eastern Europe. Every one I have met, that has travelled to Bratislava has said that there isn´t anything there aside from some nightlife.. so I was interested in seeing it. Although I only saw the edge of the city and the bus station, it was absolutely not what I expected and nothing to write home about.. although, I suppose I am sort of doing that right now.. but not nearly as bad as the movie makes it out to be. Anyways, now that I have sufficiently bored you (I just wanted to let you know that I am counting it as a country that I have been to, because I set foot on the ground and used their restroom. Disputes?) I will carry on to the main story.

I woke up a second time to the bus slowing down but when I opened my eyes, I was greeted with the most beautifully architecture and background that a girl could ever ask for. I was astounded and so excited. I couldn´t take it in enough. Although I was nervous about being there by myself, I was so anxious to get off the bus, start exploring and taking pictures. I never wanted to forget the sight that my eyes were gluttonously drinking in. The paint, beautiful pastel colors, adorned and detailed with gold accents and little cherub 3d figures (they called them barrached? idk) The hills and cherry blossoms surrounding this precious city. We made it to the bus station and I had only a slight idea of what I was doing. Great for travelling alone, right? Well, I had directions as to how to arrive to the hostel. So I walked around a little aimlessly for a second and entered the convenient shop at the bus station, hoping to find someone who spoke some English and could help me. I approached the counter cautiously, showing my directions and asking slowly how to arrive there. The guy was helpful enough. We got over the language barrier with a map and lots of pointing. Peerrrfect. I made it on the metro just fine. Then when I got off, I was to take the tram I was closest to (?) and go one stop. I figured I could just walk that, as I wasn´t sure where to buy a ticket and I didn´t want to get stopped and fined.. so I watched for the number I was supposed to take and followed it ... and followed it... it seemed to be going a lot farther than one stop. Finally I was like this isnt right.. I bet I was supposed to go in the other direction. The day was warm and I was working up quite a thirst (and a sweat) from lugging my duffel back around. I stopped for a second to take a few pictures and then turned around to my initial point. This time I took followed the right tram and made it to my hostel. I checked in and went upstairs to put my stuff down and change my clothes.
I talked with my bunk mate for a bit, she was in Europe writing a book and vacationing.. oh the lives of those you meet in a hostel. We chatted for a bit and then I was off to take in the city. My hostel was situated extremely close to the St. Charles´ Bridge, which was perfect because it was an awesome landmark. I walked that way, slowly taking it all in. The bridge is a pedestrian bridge, lined with gorgeous, dark, huge, religious statues. It has a very midieval feel to it. Because it is such a popular tourist attraction, it was full of tourists, art vendors, jewelry vendors, performers, and men who stay in child´s pose praying that you give them some money. I took my time wandering across, stopping to take it all in and to browse the paintings and photographs. As I made my way across, I wandered into the downtown area.

I passed by souvenier shop after souvenier shop, full of trinkets and mementos. By this time, I was starving so I was in search of a restaurant that would catch my fancy. My first stop was a vegetarian restaurant that was recommended in the map. I found my way there after purposely getting a little lost and walked in asking for a table for one (my first time ever doing that) Unfortunately, it is quite populare and you have to have a reservation, so they sent me on my way to their other restaurant. I made my way there keping my eyes open in case it didn´t work out. I passed through the main square, which was set up with easter markets, waiters calling the people into thier restaurants, tourists everywhere snapping photos, eyes focused upwards. I took a lot in as I wasn´t focused on anyone else. Finally finding the place I walked in. It is funny how when you feel uncomfortable, you think that everyone is looking and they can sense it. So as I timidly asked for a table for one (I was still getting used to it, okay) he said nothing here, try downstairs.. again, no luck. Who knew, a table for one can be hard to come by. So I decided on pizza. A perfect alternative. There was a restaurant around the corner with a cozy feel. A sign on the wall advertised a pizza and a glass of beer for about 5 euro. I took the bait. I walked in, asked for one and they pointed to an array of empty tables, I could have my pick. I sat in the middle on a bench lined with pillows. I asked the woman about the special and ordered my margharita pizza. As I sat there, I pondered what I would do in the short amount of time I was in Prague. I had a lot to squeeze in as I was there only a day and a half thanks to my bus mishap.
The waitress brought me my beer as I was writing in my journal and as I took a sip of the wheaty beer, I relaxed a little bit. Sometimes being on your own can be refreshing. I realized that I could do whatever I wanted and meet whoever I wanted. It was all on my time and I could figure things out about myself. I took it as a learning experience. How do I react in situations like this. My pizza came quickly after and I set aside my journal, although still glancing at my map for something to do. As I was making my way through the pizza, a jazz band came in and started setting up for the night. Alll righhht! :) All I could think about was how much my dad would love this right now. Last summer, we had such a fun time going to the jazz club in cincinnati and I couldn´t help but smile over this. More people started coming in, and I ordered a tea to ¨help¨ my congestion and to give me an excuse to stay for a bit. The jazz was good. They needed a singer.. but the instrumental part was beautiful. There is something about a great jazz band. It really is lovely music. Woah did I just say that? I finished my tea, paid my bill, and headed out to wander through the square and slowly made my way back to the hostel. I was exhausted. The run, run, run really gets to you. After a shower, I was out.

It is funny now, looking back on it.

2011-05-16T06:56:00.004-04:00

I woke up with a start, thinking it was 11am thanks to the sunlight streaming in the window. I had a momentary panic attack thinking that I had slept through my alarm. Shit! was the first thought that ran through my head that morning followed by damn, my head hurts. I realized that luckily I had packed (thrown all of my belongings in my bag) before I fell asleep. I grabbed my ipod to look at the time. 6:15am. Thank goodness. I through on some clothes and ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I still needed to print my boarding pass and check out.

** sidenote: the night before, Rachel had gotten up to use the restroom and had noticed that the desk attendant was sleeping on the couch. Since it was so early, I hoped that I wouldn't have to wake anyone. I hate waking people up. Anyways, as I open the door to get to the common room, I see a body passed out on the couch. Damnit, my fear came true. So I go brush my teeth. When I come out, I am preparing in my head what I am going to say and walking over there. As I am about two steps from waking the person up, the desk attendant comes out of the kitchen announcing that he has put on water, do I want any? Ahh, I relaxed and smiled. I was fine, thank you.

I paid for my stay and told him that I needed to print something. I go and check my email. Nothing. I check my spam. Nothing. No boarding pass. Shit?! and i have to leave and run there. So Rachel tells me to just go and see what happens. Okay. easy enough. I mean the transaction had gone through on my card so I should be on their list. So I say goodbye, check out, and head towards the metro station. I had bought my metro ticket the day before so I stroll down the steps, hand my ticket to the attendant and wait for the metro. I get on, all alone and ready to start my first solo trip. I am trying to remember how it is that I transfer lines to get to the next metro. It works out beautifully. I make it to the spot where I catch the next metro without any problems when a horrible thought crosses my mind.

Did I take my passport out of our locker last night and put it in my bag? I remembered getting my wallet but not the passport. As I am rummaging through my bag, knowing that I am not going to find it but hoping so, my thought is confirmed. I turn around and go back to where I started all the while cursing myself for being an idiot and at the same time, thanking God for reminding me because I would have been shit out of luck in getting back to Spain. Rachel was heading to France and I would have been stuck.

I get back to the hostel, ring the bell, "surprise?! I am back, I forgot my passport." I am sure he was just shaking his head up there. I run back into the room, waking Rachel up as I am rummaging next to her head in the locker. There is was in the back left-hand corning.. laughing at me, my passport. Well there wasn't any way that I was going to make that bus as it was leaving in that moment, so I go into the common room, buy another ticket and spend some time chatting with friends over skype and facebook.

finally, it is time to leave again and this time with everything in tow, I head out the door and make my way to the bus station, where I get excited about the new city that I am about to explore.

I want to post pictures.

2011-05-14T10:34:00.004-04:00

After Rachel and I grabbed some grub, we popped in to see the lobby of the gorgeous opera hall. All of the cities visited in this little vacation have some seriously fabulous operas: Vienna, Budapest, and Prague. I only saw the opera in Vienna.. but it was beautiful and definitely left me hungering for more. I won't let the first opera I saw taint my opinion.

The main point of this Budapest trip was the walking. We did all of the walking tours that were offered of the city. One each day. The walking was so good. I know that coming back to the states I am going to miss the luxury of being able to walk anywhere and everywhere. I think I am going to have to live in the city city. I just love it so much. It is so convenient.. but I digress. We ran to meet up with the group for the Communist walk. We were enlightened on what life was like in the city during the communist era, how there wasn't anyone who could be trusted, even your family and friends could be informants. We were led around the city to see the different communist buildings, the statues, bullet holes in the buildings and were told story after story about life at this time. It was extremely interesting and not surprisingly had me feeling quite thankful for the way that I grew up.

Not quite tired of walking yet, Rachel and I ventured out to get some more sightseeing in. We headed over to the Synagogue, which is supposed to be quite a big deal in the Jewish culture but unfortunately it was closed for passover. We attempted to ask the guards if it were possible since Rachel is Jewish to go inside for a service, but no. This kind woman on the street heard us speaking in English and offered to be our translator.. She too couldn't get them to let us in. Turns out she is from Canada with Hungarian family and was there buying a flat.. cool? right. New life goal, own house/flat in another country to visit whenever. So point of the story, we were in Budapest at the wrong time to see the inside of the synagogue.. I was kind of bummed too, I have never been in a synagogue. c'est la vie?

We headed back towards the hostel to figure out what we were going to do for dinner. We had been recommended a place to eat by a girl on one of the tours we went on and so we decided to head there. Turns out it was right behind our hostel, easy. we ate our meal and decided we wanted to see the city at night from the castle and take some pictures. We started heading over that way. On our walk, a million and one police cars started racing down the street, then came black cars, limos, more police. WHAT. IS. THIS?! Rachel informed me it was a police escort thing.. she told me what it was called, but i will have to get back to you on that. It was a pretty far walk, so by the time we got to the bridge it was about midnight. The city, I am sure looked gorgeous from that spot, as the bridge alone was a sight. We cross the bridge. Rachel was like should we take a cab up there? I was like no, we are fine, c'mon they say this city is safe. We start climbing the stairs into the foresty park and I got spooked (les, you know how i am) I turned to look at Rachel and asked her, Do you think this is safe? I don't know any more, it is dark. We make eye contact and start running back down the stairs. WE CHICKENED OUT!! We walked all the way there, a half an hour walk and were 5 minutes from there and we turned around to run back. We suck. How am I going to ever have any adventure if I freak out when there is the slightest bit of discomfort?

So we traded walking up the hill for an impromptu chat about life and a mini photo shoot of the bridge.. it was really pretty all lit up. We got back to the hostel a bit after midnight and I was out like a lightbulb.

The next day we were heading to the Turkish baths. Oh. My. Gosh. I didn't want to leave. I could have spent the entire day there skipping around from pool to pool to steamroom to pool. I want to go back. It was a gorgeous building and again we were standing right in front of it when asking a passerby where it was located. We went in and included in our price was a changing cabin/locker. It was a maze I tell you of locker cabins. We got into our bathing suits and probably spent 30 minutes looking for the entrance to the pools. We finally found it and our first stop was a hot tub of about 38 degrees celcius (about 100 in Farenheight) Right off the bat, I noticed how disgusting the water was and how many people had soaked their nasty bodies in there before me, but I pushed it out of my mine and relaxed. It was in.cred.i.ble. I kid you not. Two pool later was a cooler one with a current that propelled you around the pool in a counter clockwise direction. so cool.

there also are heated pools outside where the men gather to play some poolside chess. I got yelled at for trying to swim laps without a swim cap. My bad. If you go, dont forget your swim cap. We ended the morning with a nice sit in the eucalyptus scented steam room. Not one millisecond in there and I was sweating my tookus off. So Hot, like me. It was so good for my congestion though. I want a eucalyptus steam room with me wherever I go.

We booked it to grab something to eat at the market. We wanted to see what the market had to offer and try some Langos. We saw one that looked amazing. It is a sweet dough with shredded cheese and the one we wanted had a million veggies on it. Little did we know each veggie was charged seperately and this little pizza like thing that we were going to share was the most expensive meal we had all week. CRAZY. After we ate, we were running late to make it to the Jewish walking tour and literally ran to make it there on time, all while eating our nutella dripping sweet dough. so good. We made it just on time and we set off to see the jewish district and hear of all that it had to offer. We walked past the synagogue again, learned about the jewish history in Budapest and heard a little about the Nazi Occupation. We also were able to check out some of the bars in the area. I think I mentioned it before, but many of the bars are old abandoned buildings that once were apartments. They have a cool, ecclectic vibe to them with the decor consisting of recycled materials (AKA crap). The tour ended and we headed off to do some more walking and to take pictures of Heroe's Square, the park, and the baths. We ran into a friend on our walk back to the hostel/to buy some wine for the hostel dinner. He had just come from wine buying and so we went to that place to pick up a bottle. We made it back to the hostel to see everyone hanging out in the common area and our bottles of wine were cracked open. We followed the wine with a shot of home made Hungarian liquor of some sort. My throat was on fire. I think I literally drank rubbing alcohol. It was terrible... but oh so good. Dinner consisted of a Hungarian goulash cooked by our awesome hostel owner. He was the coolest man ever and if he weren't so short, I would have had the biggest crush on him. He was always making sure we were ok and giving us advice, chatting with us. We got a group of people together to head to the bars after dinner. Some other American students studying in Prague were in town for the weekened and a pair of Mexican friends. We all went out for a great night and made it back to bed around 3am. My alarm was set for 6 the next morning in order to make my bus....

Still Hungary

2011-05-11T05:14:00.004-04:00

After the tour ended and the basic history of the city was explained to us, Rachel and I went back to revisit some of the highlights and to take some pictures without holding up the group. I can sometimes be obnoxious about pictures, snapping 30 of the same shot.. this way I am bound to get a good one, right? So we went back to the ¨castle¨ where we took some pictures with the city behind us. I got my picture but as Rachel was setting down her belongings and getting prepared for her own picture, a lone traveler decided she would sit down and ponder life for 30 minutes in the spot we were using as our backdrop... okay, so we wait. and wait. and wait a little more. I nonchalantly walk over to where she is and start snapping photos around her... nothing. Okay, Rachel is over it. I kid you not, as we are walking away she decides it is her time to leave as well. People. They are funny.

Next we head up to the hill over looking Pest. It is where the Hofburg palace used to be which is now a museum and a lookout point. Some kids were filming something so we idly stood around watching them and waiting for someone to take our photo. A group of tourists from Asia came around and they were fun to watch. All of them getting super into their photography. I took notes. We asked one man to take our picture after he was finished and he obliged. After getting the scene just right, which we appreciate, and taking the photo on Rachel´s camera for us, he motions for us to wait. He gets out his own camera and takes the same photo of us.. muttering very beautiful.. or something to that effect. Man, we just get all the guys. :) So after we giggle a little about that, we decide to head back to the hostel to find a place to eat and powder our noses. It is essential during travel you know. The girl at the hostel recommends a restaurant to us that is very good not too far from the hostel. Later we come to find out that it is in the Jewish district. The place had a charming feel to it. The street was deserted and at first we weren´t sure that we had headed in the right direction, but never the less, we found it. We walked in and were immediately seated.. as there were only two of us, it wasn´t too difficult to walk in somewhere without reservations.. luckily. As we opened the menu, Rachel was delighted to discover that they had Matzo ball soup and considering it was passover, she was going to have it. The food that night was delicious. Seriously, I still dream about the poppyseed mess (no joke that was its name) that we had for dessert. If you ever go to Budapest, find this restaurant in the jewish district and order that. DE-LISH.

A funny thing about places around Europe is the relaxion when it comes to social norms that I am accostomed to. For example, usually pets are not allowed in restaurants back home.. not once, not twice, but multiple times have I seen dogs wander or be brought into restaurants and just chill with their owners. At this place a cute little dog showed up, he was good, no begging he just took up shop in the middle of the room and waited for someone to call his name or whistle him over as his owners ate in the other room.

Feeling wonderfully satisfied, we headed back down the deserted street (again a little uncomfortable) back towards the hostel and to bed. Since living in Spain, we have become accostomed to eating later and never finish meals before 11pm.. if we even eat before then.. so it isnt weird to finish dinner and go to bed.

Day 2. We are excited! The sun pouring into the room again woke us up before the alarm.. but of course, we rolled over and waited for the alarm. First things first. I was getting some medicine. We headed to the pharmacy and were pleasantly surprised at how much English was spoken in a city where we were told there wasn´t any. We ate some pastries for breakfast and we were off to see St. Stephen's Basilica where the relic of St. Stephen's hand is.

The Cathedral is beautiful. Quite a contrast from the elaborate stone cathedral that I am used to in Sevilla. Inside the decor is gorgeous, all colored marble with gold accents. The paintings on the ceilings reminded me of the church my grandparents attend, although they are not very alike. We ventured to the back of the cathedral to catch a glimpse of the holy hand. A group of Spanish tourists were right in front of it, so we waited around while they fished out a euro to light up the box. The hand was interesting. A little black and not so fresh.. but it is a hand with more than a hundred years unattached to a blood source, so I suppose I can't expect it to be fresh and young looking.

The sun shining on the steps tempted our pale bodies too much and we gave in to sitting on the steps, soaking in the scene and absorbing the vitamin D. As we were sitting there, we drew the attention of a flyer hander outer who came over to talk with us. Of course, he wanted to practice his English and with us being English teachers in Spain we were the perfect candidates. We chatted with him a little bit about English sitcoms and were on our way to get some lunch. Funny how our trips revolve around food. Bad? whatever. We headed towards the Opera house. We were told that there was an awesome place to get lunch that had a cheap daily menu.. which would give us a starter and main meal. It doesn't take much more than that to convince us. After finding Waldos on the street drinking beer and keeping even with a guy in a small go cart advertising something, we found the street we were looking for. And we found the place.. but no one knew what we were talking about in regards to the menu, nor was anyone really able to speak English. So we half walked around the block and just decided to go back to eat something off the regular menu. The waitress was not in a good mood, but I think she had a long day. So we decided on our food and drink and waited for our food. A bit while later, it came.. and unfortunately mine wasn't right. I hate having to send stuff back... but I did. The poor girl felt so bad and apologized profusely. It was fine but both Rachel and I ate our meals solo as we rushed to make it to the Communist walk on time.

.... we did a lot ok. just wait, I saw real bullet holes.

Hungary--specifically for Budapest

2011-05-10T13:24:00.012-04:00

Rachel and I went back and forth deciding which bus we should take to get from Vienna to Budapest (pronounced Budapesht). We finally decided on the one that left at 7am so that we would get there early enough to have an entire day. We woke up got all of our stuff, made some breakfast for the road, and I spent a good amount of time figuring out how to get from the bus station to the hostel. Number one, I am the world's biggest procrastinator, so of course I waited for Rachel to remind me that we needed to figure out how to get there the morning of. With all of the searching, I could not get an answer for directions so I was like we are just going to figure out how to get to this particular metro station once we get there and go with the directions that are listed from there.

If you have ever taken the Megabus from Cincy to Chicago, you know that there isn't a legit station where the bus picks you up but rather a sign on a corner in the city. Well the same goes for Orange lines in Europe. There isn't a station, there is only a drop off point. We left with plenty of time to catch our 7am bus and we thought we had a clear idea of where to go. Upon getting off at the correct metro stop we climbed the stairs to the street and looked around for the station..... nada. We went around the train station, attempted to ask a lady if she knew where the bus station was, she responded something in German that meant I only speak German, and we were back to square one. So we went back to the starting point and in doing so, we see that the bus has pulled up to exactly where we were standing. We hop on and I fall asleep almost immediately. Aside from my PTN (public transportation narcolepsy) I also was fighting a terrible cold/sinus infection without any meds.. I know, not the brightest idea. I woke up to find us in the Hungarian countryside... it is beautiful. The countryside makes me feel so happy. I love seeing it outside my window. I have a thing for license plates and so I was scouting out the different plates from my comfy, leaned back seat on the orange lines bus. They aren't as colorful as ours in the states, but you can tell the difference by the little letter under the EU symbol telling where the car is from. I was having fun.

We arrived into Budapest around 10:30ish or something. We were dropped off on the side of the road near a metro stop and a building. Luckily, the bus stewardess helped us out and told us we were at the station that we wanted and that we could buy tickets below. The subway was dark, musty, and quite unfamiliar. There was a sense of mystery, a lot of unknown, and a little bit of fear running through my veins. I am not sure why I got this feeling, but all I know is that I was a little out of my comfort zone but it was a feeling that I was all too willing to embrace. After walking back and forth in the dark from one side of the ticket area to the other, Rachel and I just looked at each other unable to decipher the station names and which line we needed. Finally, we got it figured out and held our paper up to the window to buy our tickets. The woman was all too kind in helping us out.

We held on tightly to our backs and descended the steps, hoping we had chosen the right way. I all too often second guess myself when it comes to directions. The rickety old subway pulled up and screeched to a stop. We climbed into the car and the doors, needing a little bit of oil, closed and we were on our way. Barely able to read the stops, we were absolutely unable to hear as the announcements rang through the car. 3 or so stops to go before we were to switch to the blue line. Thankfully, all of this was done with ease and before we knew it we were ascending the stairs and staring at our landmark: A Burger King. We were almost there and my excitement was growing.

In between the bookstore and before a pharmacy, a small green sign bearing the name Homemade Hostel was staring us in the face. We made it! We buzzed up saying that we had reservations and the door opened for us, leading the way into an old Budapest courtyard and a large staircase to the hostel and a multitude of apartments. From the street, you never would have known that there was a middle to the building and that it ran so far back. It was just a little door. We walked up the large stone staircase and the door to the hostel was opened for us by a cute blonde girl who was new to the hostel and eager to show us the way. The night before the hostel was occupied only by women and it was like the days in the sorority house with everyone recapping their night in the living room. As the girls checked out, we waited to drop our bags and ask about the highlights of the city. My camera needed batteries and after being told where to get batteries and asking about a place for lunch, Rachel and I were off.

First things first. Change our money. In Hungary, although it is a part of the European Union, they do not use the euro as their form of currency, but rather the forint. Luckily, there are maximum withdrawals at ATM's or my terrible math skills would have gotten me in trouble. As Rachel and I tried to figure out how much money to take out we repeatedly miscalculated. At one time, I continuously tried to withdraw more than $1000 USD. Thankfully, that is not allowed as I would have been SOL. Having the largest number of bills in my purse that I have ever had (albeit not that much money) we set off to get some batteries so that I could take some photos. I led us in the wrong direction initially but we found our way to the mall and after conseguiring the batteries we went looking for the hummus bar. Who doesn't love a good hummus? well no matter your preference, I love me some hummus and it had been way too long since I had eaten it. Luckily for us, the restaurant was close to where we needed to be and we sat down to falafel, hummus, and diet coke. We commented on how interesting the Eastern European Men looked, their choice of hairstyles, and how we even thought they were kind of cute. After our delicious meal and almost a little late, we headed to St. Stephen's Basilica to meet the group for the free tour. This is my favorite part of being in a new city. I love to take the free walking tours to hear the history, get some fun facts, and to see the sights that are sometimes overlooked. We joined a large group of tourists and after a brief introduction we were on our way. We started in front of the main cathedral but our first stop was the central park. There is an underground club where the young adults go to hang out and have a drink or a coffee, at night it turns into a club. Next up was some history of the communist times and a showing of the different building styles so close to each other. We stopped by the Parliament building and learned a few hungarian words.. not an easy language. After crossing over to the Buda side from Pest we learned about the history of how Budapest was originally two cities: Buda and Pest. It was originally settled by the Magyars, which is how Hungarians refer to themselves. The "H" was later added due to the settlement of the Huns in that area, from which the Magyars came. I thought it was interesting because the Hungarian language sounded a bit Asian to me and it was interesting to hear that it has roots in Asia. We learned a lot about the way the country was during the communist times and how it is just now beginning to recover after the end of the communist era. There is so much history to be heard and discovered in Budapest. I was constantly wondering and questioning the history and the stories of Budapest, always eager to hear more.

... there is something about that city.

We continued on to see what used to be the Castle but is now a lookout point with some great views and ended at Matthias church and the lookout wall. The church has one of the most beautiful roofs that I have ever seen and the views of the city at the lookout wall are not half bad either.

and this was only half of our day. More to come. Probably in two weeks. Ha, its a joke, I've got my computer back so we are good to go.

Vienna (Part 2).. throw up your peace fingers

2011-04-26T08:53:00.004-04:00

Day number two in Vienna began quite the same way with a lovely breakfast and heading out the door as early as possible. It was Sarturday and on the weekends, the market area is alive and flourishing, so we had to check it out. We made our way there only checking the map a few times and stopping one person to make sure we were heading in the right direction. When we got to the end of the street, there was the market in front of our faces (per usual) and there wasn't any missing it. There were two parts to it, the food part and the junk part. Both offering their own trash and treasures. We began on the junk side.. wandering up and down the aisles, stopping to pick up a necklace here or a trinket there. Everything was fascinating yet nothing was mesmerizing. I found and purchased what I think is a Hungarian ceramic Easter egg, I say that because I found the exact same thing later in Budapest.. I bought it at a wayyy too high of a price, but if you remember Morocco, I am not exactly the expert haggler.

After finding Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana license plates, we mosyied on over to the food section. We were intent on finding a place to eat that was in the guide books, but as our stomachs were rumbling and our full day was calling we decided to stay close and popped into a Japanese restaurant for some sushi. I freaking love sushi. After finishing the meal and asking for the check, the woman didn't understand and so, as I had read in a travel book that I just finished, we repeated exactly what we had just said... hehe you had to be there I guess. Anyways that is the typical next resort when there is a language barrier.. repeat, use some hand gestures and hope the other gets it. I have relied on this more than you could even know.

The sky was not looking promising anymore and before it began to rain we headed on to find our next destination.. the Belvedere Palace to see the famous Klimt painting "The Kiss". The gardens of the palace are beautiful, of course. I think that goes without saying for any palace. I know I will have a garden someday. I have to. Anyways we were walking through the gardens and saw the cutest, I mean the cutest Asian toddler working it for the camera and throwing up her best peace fingers. Totally stereotypical, and totally freaking awesome. I loved it. Rachel and I probably giggled about it for an hour. If only we had gotten a picture. Back on the the museum.. the palace is now a museum if you didn't catch that. It was nice seeing the surrealism paintings and then moving on to "The Kiss". We didnt spend much time in there but the time we did spend in there was worthwhile and thoroughly enjoyable.

Our next destination was to St. Stephens Cathedral. We climbed all the way up the tower, all 343 steps, in a total spiral. When I got to the top I thought I was going to fall over. Just kidding but really, the climb made you dizzy but the view was worth it. We could see all the way back to Spain, alright we could see all of vienna. But really the sight was gorgeous. After that climb we justified a giant scoop of Italian gelato.. I chose pistachio, which may be my new favorite flavor and people watched until I finished the last bite of cone.

One of my favorite things to do in a new place is wander the grocery. I like to see what kind of things they have and the process they use for their produce. I am weird, get over it. So we went in to the grocery to pick up some thing for breakfast as we were heading out very bright and early the next morning. There are a lot of carbs for breakfast in case you were wondering. Not much to grab n go. That concept is American to the core. So we got some apples, bread, and cream cheese. A solid breakfast and Rachel headed back to the Hostel while I headed to Mass. I didn't understand a single word of German and while trying to choke back a coughing fit, I realized it didn't matter that I couldn't understand the homily, only that I was there celebrating with others. It was nice. I had a moment and I liked it.

So if you know me, you know it takes me walking around for quite a while alllllmost getting to my destination but not quite. So the walk to find the subway to get back to the hostel was quite interesting. I was right in front of it at the church but some how missed it and walked all around the block trying to find the entrance. After an hour, I made it and we headed out to dinner. The nice man at the hostel told us about this cool restaurant to go to with really good chocolate cake dessert.. that was what sold us. We walked around for a bit on the wrong street before finding it, upon arriving we found out that there werent any menus in English so we had to guess.. I supposed we guessed well because everything was delicious.

After being well fed and satisfied we headed on "home" and crashed into bed. Alarms set and ready to rise at 5:30am...

Vienna.. a city more than sausage. (part 1)

2011-04-23T13:17:00.005-04:00

Well.. I wouldn't really know what viennese sausage is like because I recently have been trying out what it is like to not be carnivorous.. you could say I am a pescatarian... but i miss chicken.

Rachel and I arrived into Vienna late on Thursday night. We had an uneventful travel there (I consider that a good thing) and got to the hostel about 11pm. We wanted to get an early start the next day so we headed on up to bed. Our beds needed to be made so there we were feeling around in the dark trying to put our sheets on.. we were both top bunkers and the girls below us were already out.. so as quietly as possible, which wasn't quiet at all, we made our beds and passed out.

The next morning the alarm sounded too quickly, although the sun announced its presence hours beforehand. I am not in the slightest complaining, I would take the sun waking me over an alarm anyyy day. After eating a breakfast of hard boiled eggs, muesli and yogurt, bread and spicy pepper cheese, we were on our way to Schönbrunn palace where the Habsburgs lived. It was set up as though they were living there so it was really cool to see what it would have been like and to learn about the history. It was cold that day so walking through the gardens wasn't as fun or beautiful as it would have been had the sun shone.. but you can't control the weather unfortunately. So we walked around a bit, had an impromptu jumping photo session where I was a horrible photographer and then we climbed the hill to look out over the city. It was beautiful being able to see out so far. Next we headed in the direction of the Sigmund Freud museum in search of something for lunch. We ended up wandering for a while not sure which direction we were going or in which direction we would find food.. but you know us and we stumbled upon something that looked decent pretty quickly. We walked in and were unsure if we pick a table ourselves and sit down or if someone would seat us.. and in most places you seat yourself.. so we awkwardly were standing there half heading towards a table half waiting trying to make eye contact with anyone to figure out what to do. So finally we asked at the bar. The English in this place was very limited and Rachel and I don't speak a word of German so we winged it. and it worked. A man sat us at a table after we decided that the menu offered things worth trying and we settle in to make our decision. After getting our drinks we had a few questions for him... like what do you recommend, which is better, what is this? etc. Well ok we figured it out. I had previously discussed with him the prospect of getting a fish dish but hadn't completely settled . After he took Rachel's order he walked away... I was like I hope he is putting my order in too. When he came back I reminded him of what I wanted and he was like ohh yeah I already put it in.. well good thing I hadnt changed my mind.. he was a funny fellow. I liked him. We enjoyed our meal and after making a fool of myself and tripping over the carpets on the way to the restroom, we headed off to find us some freud museum.

I was looking forward to this museum visit.. I thought it would be interesting and tell us about some of freuds work and experiements, go into a little depth, reveal some secrets. We found the place but couldn't find the door.. hmmm, is this a little trick they were playing on us? finally some nice passersby told us how to get in and I, having a clumsy day tripped into the entry. We paid our student fair and after the lady asked our language she pointed us in the direction of the tour. We didnt have any information so when we walked into a room full of objects with corresponding numbers and without any information we were really confused. So I went back out and the woman blamed me for not paying attention to the fact that she had pointed us to a printed pamphlet 20 pages long in various languages when I clearly remember her only asking our language and not pointing us to the info... but whatever. So back on to the tour. This was the most overrated and disappointing museum I have ever been to in my life. In no way at all was it interesting or say a lick about his works. It was comprised of two rooms with pictures and his antique collection and each of the numbers had a paragraph of information describing it in the pamphlet. Nothing, i say nothing on his works. So we dipped out of there across the street to where Rachel's great great grandma once lived and made our way to the opera house.
I think you may know this but Vienna is known for its music... and we weren't about to pass on that. There are tickets to the opera available for 4euro, standing room. We were on our way to get these an hour and a half before the show with standing sounding less and less appealing after a day of walking but we werent passing it up. On our way however.. after a detour around the building and upon asking a woman where it is, her exlaiming with jubilence and cheer "ITS RIGHT THERE! RIGHT THERE!" (she was really cute) we ran into some men in costume selling tickets for 25euro. Now that isnt bad at all for a brand new opera.. and in Vienna. So they sold us on the idea of buying tickets and we did. Having an hour and a half to kill before doors opened.. we went to a cafe and had tea and carrot cake (turns out this was dinner, check that off the bucket list) and headed back to the opera. Our seats: one row below standing and while it was difficult to see the left hand part of the stage and to see the right you had to lean on the handrail, it was the Most beautiful perfomance I have been to. I loved it and the last opera I went to left me with a bad taste for operas. But this one, I didnt need to see it, being able to hear it was pleasure enough. Beautiful. The walk back to the hostel in the crisp air ended my night and I was out. out like a lightbulb.

pictures to come, my computer is on the fritz so I am unfortunately not able to post them. I will fix my albums on photobucket so that you are able to see and link the pics. :)

I hope you all had a Happy and Joyful Easter!

I promise there is good reason for my absence

2011-04-23T08:18:00.002-04:00

I know I am a slacker.. whatever, you would be too.

Anyways, I have been off seeing the world and adding to my list of countries visited and checking them and continents off one by one. This past week was a whirlwind. I was in 3 different countries.. here and there and everywhere, fitting in what I could. I also unfortunately came down with something the day we left and so as I sit here typing I am trying to pop my ears and breathe through my nose.. its challenging.

So i leave you with some photos:

me in vienna at the opera.

a gorgeous Prague canal.

and me with my favorite city thus far, Budapest, behind me.

until later... I am off in hopes of catching some sevilla easter processions, but with the chance of rain I don't know if it is going to happen.

.... And you look like one too

2011-04-07T15:41:00.006-04:00

Someone once told me that everyday offers a monkey reference... and since I have been told that, I have noticed its truth. I am not sure however if that is because now I am noticing and or searching for it or if it is true? does that even make sense?

well.. I know you all are dying to hear about my trip to Gibraltar. I know I would be... It all begins with me sitting in Ireland saying I want to go to Gibraltar and Julia saying that she wanted to too... and then she got an email from the intercambio group saying they were going.. coincidence? well yes, but ill take it.

So we were set to meet at 7:30 on a saturday morning.. blah. That meant a low key friday.. thats cool. I went to a friends concert. He plays the cello and it was a beautiful symphony and a wonderful night. shoutout Jordi. The next morning of course came wayy too soon. I got there just in time and we boarded the bus and headed on our way. I dont even have to tell you this, but of course, I fell asleep and when I awoke, we were making a pit stop in the middle of nowhere for a restroom/coffee break. We were legit in the middle of nowhere and I LOVED it. I felt like I was in the real deal spain. The place where we stopped was a restaurant/hotel. It was a classic white Spanish building with yellow trim and beautiful bouganvilla vines coving the outside. Indoors it was adorned with a spanish flag, swords, and a bull's head. We are talking stereotypical, making me feel like I was really in the heart of Spain.. where all of my daydreams have taken place. (when I daydream, I dream I am in a little white town straight out of the movies.. I dream Penelope Cruz is down the street and that we will be meeting for coffee after our siesta and that she will teach me how to be Spanish)... its totally normal. Anyways, the place was out of control crowded.. and if you know it or not, you have to be AGGRESSIVE if you want any kind of service... but I am not aggressive, I just try to smile and look pretty to get the server's attention. HA so the guy next to me helped me out a little bit.. I mean we did only want a coffee with milk. Finally, we received and sucked down our coffees before heading back on the road. As we were leaving, I noticed a significant amount of motorcycles and people dressed the part... mind you.. it wasn't Harley Davidson get ups but rather Nascar get ups that the spanish bikers were wearing and I was informed that it was bikers week.. similar to the pilgramage many make to Daytona, this was the Spanish version.. and we know they go alllll out here. It was fascinating I tell you. I am sorry I don't have any pictures to account for it.

Back on the bus, I took in the beautiful Spanish countryside and tried to soak it all up before we reached gibraltar. The rock came into view well before we parked the big bus. I was all giddy as I normally get when seeing something exciting or reaching a new destination.. i was practically jumping up and down in my seat. We had 5 hours at the rock before we headed home and I was going to make the most of it. We disembarked the bus and headed onto the rock and through customs/passport check... it was a joke.. no stamp and barely a glance at the passport all you had to do was have a square the size of a passport and it would have passed.. I was disappointed.

We walked through the airport that was the size of my table and across the runway to get to the city. It was interesting to cross the runway like I was crossing high street... and what if a plane were to land over my head.. would I just duck and hope it missed? ha kiddddding..

So we wandered into the city heading for a tour of the rock. We came across a nice fellow named John, who was our tour guide for the day.. he was full of history and knowledge which was perfect. Our first stop was up the rock to a lookout point. We could see across the Atlantic, obviously to Spain but also to Africa. On our way up to this point we were told the story about how it is believed that Atlantis was under the water there.. or something like that and for that reason Hercules' pillars are there.. I guess I should know the whole story before I start blogging about it? ... moral of the story: it was a gorgeous view.

After looking at where the lost city is.. we headed up to the cave. In the cave are a million stalagmites and a huge open area. They used to hold concerts there because the acoustics are incredible. I don't know about you but I'm not sure I would want to spend a concert in a cave with water dripping on me and damp cold air.. but it is wayyy cool nonetheless. At this point the monkeys started appearing. I was getting excited to actually touch one, although they did freak me out a little bit. Gibraltar is the only spot in Europe where there are wild, non-captive monkeys.. cool right?

As we made our way up the rock.. we saw an incredible view of both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Ocean, Spain and Africa. It was a bit surreal.. I liked it. And of course the monkeys were allll over the top of the hill. I will admit I was a little skittish at first but I wanted a monkey on my shoulders. There was a huge one that the guide was going to have jump on me and I was like noo please a baby one. The baby wasnt having it though, he jumped on my shoulders and then jumped off.. so then we got this medium one up there. He smelled.. word to the wise, they are gross.. but you can't pass it up can you? no, I didnt think so either.. so I have had a monkey on my head.. check it off the old bucket list :)

Next we meandered through the tunnels that were carved during world war 2 and used as protection. 13 men build the tunnels in one year.. that is impressive. We also got to watch a plane take off.. You are probably like cool?! but anyways it was different watching it take off from below us and to watch it take off of a runway that led into the ocean.. it isnt every day you get to see that and I just kind of have an obsession with planes, plain and simple. I love them.

That was the end of our tour of the rock. Our stomachs were begging us to fill them so we had a nice lunch of fish and chips and a cold brew (my new favorite thing; I totally understand the love of an afternoon beer). We shopped around a little bit until it was time to leave. The little rock colony was very cool, I was constantly imagining it back in the day as I do with so many of the places that I visit. I like to imagine how they were before they were tourist destinations and how the people of that area live just like you and me... its a fabulous hobby of mine.

This past week has been busy at work. Nothing too grandly exciting.. but I have a few update posts in mind for you. I beached it up yesterday and am now dealing with the consequences of being a horrible sunscreen applicator :( I promise I was being vigilent I just happened to accidentally miss my entire back leg.. I am sure you can imagine... but the beach was lovely, as was the company.

Excuse me, are you a celebrity?

2011-03-30T15:18:00.006-04:00

After Leslie left and I cried myself back to sleep at 7 in the morning, my roommate roused me at 10:30am to get my butt in gear as we were heading to Cádiz. I may or may not have blogged about this (I think not), but the last time I was in Cádiz was for Carnaval, a glorified halloween street party.

.... Anywayyyys, back to my story. Raquel wakes me up and the last thing I want to do is get out of bed, but really.. can I say no to the beach? To my favorite place on earth?.. no. So I get up, throw a hat on my sick hair, put on my sandals, grab my packed bag and we head to the train station to catch the train. It was me, Raquel, and her two friends.. two of my new favorite people... wandering to Santa Justa, where I have been more times in the last month than the entire time I have been in Spain combined. We trekked down the street in the warm sunshine, across a freshly painted bikeway, trapesing green paint on our shoes and into the street... I wasn't even mad it was on my sandals.. 2 reasons.. 1.because we were en route to the beach and 2. because I was putting my mark on the Sevillana streets that I so often walk. It was a scene out of a movie... the movie of my life, which really should be filmed because funny things happen to me, but they are you had to be there moments... unfortunately.
but, I digress... ok, so we left our apartment hoping to make the 12pm train.. we got to the station at 11:50 and still had to buy our tickets.. so we walk rather quickly to the ticket counter and stand in what we hope is the shortest and fastest line.. well you may or may not know me and lines.. i ALWAYS, let me repeat ALWAYS pick the wrong one.. this time we were ok though.. the guy sold us our tickets and told us to run. So there we were running through the train station to make this train so we didn't have to wait another few hours. Laurel runs down the up ramp, so we are laughing, laughing and running (ok sprinting) is not a good combination... Shawnell and I make it to the train, the employee asks for the tickets and we make a signal that Raquel has them and look back to her a few feet behind us, waving the tickets in the air.. perfeccct. He lets us on and we make our way through the entire train, 5 or so cars to find our seats.
I am sure that the others on the train were loving us, we were full of laughter, giddyness, and energy. When we finally got to Cádiz, we headed to the hostel without a concrete knowledge of where it was or what landmarks were given to us in the directions. Somehow though, Raquel and I have great luck with finding our hostels when we shouldn't be able to. The same thing happened to us in Granada when we went and we ended up running straight into it, fortunately for us, the same thing happened this time.. and we skipped a few steps finding our street exactly. We checked in, put our things down and headed off in search of food and a beach.. we have our priorities in order.
The streets in Cádiz are beautiful, the main difference between them and the others of spain are the bright colors that remind you that you are near the sea. The seafoam green, the coral, and the yellow paints drawing my eye to the stories they may contain. We lunched in the main plaza near the large cathedral. I have been so lucky to have such visual stimulation of gorgeous buildings and large cathedrals...I really am going to miss that. Can the USA build me some statues, fountains, and large cathedrals? or can I bottle up the streets of Europe to take to the states?
After lunch we headed to the beach where we sat and enjoyed the fresh and salty air.. I ended up getting a little bit of sun, of which I will not complain. :) Our night was spent walking in the windy, salty, sea breeze.... getting our dance on and being nerdy in the empty clubs. Believe you me, there is little more fun than breaking out the workout moves and limbo-ing in an empty club with your friends.
Day two, we were on the hunt for Mexican food. Oh how I miss Mexican food more than almost any other food. mmm mmm mmm. Here if you want to make some mexican food, its going to cost you a penny. ok not that much but its more expensive than other things so it hasn't made a frequent appearance on my dining room table. So we found this place on the map and headed in that direction.. we got to the right street but took it in the wrong direction and end up around the block.. two spanish men found us and asked if we were lost.. we replied no, but asked if they knew where this Mexican restaurant is.. you would have thought we were speaking in Martian.. Mexican? what? hehe... so they argued with each other for a while as to which restaurant it could be and where it is.. and then asked us if we were looking for pizza.. Im not sure where in the world pizza is Mexican and not Italian but these guys were set on taking us to a new pizza restaurant... so we were then proceeding to ask about Argentine, Brazilian, SouthAmerican, anything that would be somewhat similar to Mexican, giving us spicy, rice and beans. Finally they decide to take us in a certain direction and stop to ask another man who knows exactly where it is and they lead us there and we part ways. They were so kind and funny. It was out of a movie.. two men arguing over where a restaurant is and then proceeding to parade us there.
We settled in at an outdoor table under an umbrella and perused the menu. You know we were gonna start with chips and guac. My favorite. If I could consume guacamole 24/7 I wouldn't be angry about it. Our food was mediocre but friggen delicious if that makes sense. I would go back again. After, we headed back to the beach... it was quite windy and cool but we were determined. We chose a different beach and explored the tide pools... I picked up some sea glass and Raquel found a pretty shell and put it in her purse. We sad by a wall to block the wind from us and actually got quite a bit of sun and it ended up being really warm. Later after some magazine reading, Celine Dion singing, Raquel checks her purse and sees that her shell has grown legs!!! She accidentally stole a hermit crab from his home and mistook him as a shell. We named him Jaima (high-ma), he was gross. So after we got the heebs a little bit we decided to take him back to his home to set him free.. we found him a girlfriend, but she ran away so he was left all alone... pobre.
Then as we were doing what we do best and people watching, i see this female off in the distance with a very tiny baby frolicking in the water.. i think 2 things simultaneously... first off: aww they look like they are having fun even though the water is pretty chilly and second, wow that baby is tiny. So at exactly the same time, Laurel and I are both like oh my gosh is that a baby?! as the woman throws the baby into the air and proceeds to thrust it under water. I was appalled! flabbergasted for a hot second until I realized that my perception was off and that the "woman" was a child and the "baby" was a doll.. but no kidding I had a minor heart attack. That night we were all feeling quite exhausted and had to talk ourselves out of the beds where we were storytelling and to the restaurant, which is saying a lot because if it is one thing that motivates me, it is food. So off we headed in the direction of a recommendation from the hostel staff... it was tapas, I am sure...oh yes, it was. Extremely good ones if I may say so myself. Anywho, after we debated going out but decided we could go for a nightcap. All I wanted was a white Russian,although I wasnt sure that I was going to obtain one in Spain. We headed to a quaint Irish pub.. it was our scene, not crazy but not dead.. and the bartender wasnt difficult to look at either, I mean.... So we ask the girl who takes our order if she has ever heard of a white russian.. she says the cute one knows how.. PERFECT!! He made them for us with a little guidance.. and we were happy happy girls. Later he asks us if we were with the American guys from earlier who had taught him how to make the drink.. what are the odds of that? well we weren't but they did come up to us later and we ended up hanging out with them all night. They were fun.. it seems to be a trend though that I meet boys of a specific type.. not that its a bad thing.. its just funny. again, I digress.
The next day we planned to beach again before heading home but these chicas were not careful the day before and burned our way out of that option. So we headed to a breakfast and played cards until our train home.

and I am about a week behind on my blogging.. im getting there, I promise. More updates soon.

Stopping to Smell the Roses

2011-03-29T14:48:00.002-04:00

The rest of Ireland was spent sightseeing.. I know I have great stories, but I can't remember them right now.. I have so much to catch everyone up on.. I am sure of that.

So Saturday, we went on another bus tour.. it was rainy... really rainy but it was still beautiful. Our bus driver this time wasn't as loopy, there wasn't any stopping for rabbits. He told us so many stories. We stopped in a town where people are sent to lean Gaelic, took pictures in a famine town, went to the Abbey... if my future husband is out there reading this (ha unlikely) but really... I would love for you to build me a big house with huge gardens in the middle of nowhere with mountains and a lake for my wedding present ... thank you very much ;) We ate a yummy lunch there and Leslie and I held up the bus last minute buying some batteries for the camera.

We made it back to town and had a fabulous night of dinner and pub crawling. We dance-partied it up and I kind of felt like I was back in college when we stopped in the pizza joint for a ginormous piece of pizza on our way home. Living the good ol' days.

Sunday, Leslie and I went to Mass at the cathedral in Galway. It was beautiful. One of the most beautiful masses that I have ever been to. It has been a little bit since I have heard mass in English. I have missed it. It took us a few attempts before finding it, believe me.. we were on a mission and mistook a few other churches for this one.. silly us.

After we bought some souvenirs.. ate at the cutest french restaurant under the stairs, drank tea (don't forget about my tea parties to come), got cupcakes, and headed to Dublin for the night. We couldn't pass up Mexican food while there and witnessed a man getting arrested for a bar fight before heading into that exact bar. The live music scene was awesome. I wanna go back.

When we got back to Sevilla, Leslie and I were on plan "See the City". We went everywhere in a matter of 3 days. She came with me to school.. everyone thought we were twins and she witnessed the Liverpool crowd, a singer came out of the woodwork in the 6th grade class, and we played school... :) it was fun.

All too quickly came friday. I didn't want her to go at all. I cried in the airport, which seems to be a trend when I am there with her. She has to pick up my pieces.. but before we know it, June will be here and I will be on a plane headed back to be with family and friends, crying tears of joy because I just love them so much. ahh, when did I become such a sap?