Sevillanova

The Beginning of the End

2008-10-05T18:59:00.002+02:00

So Turkey was a pretty cool place to go, probably the biggest surprise, because I was unsure of what to expect, but I had a blast!

Our last night there, after the money dried up, we sadly got McDonalds. I know! I am in a foreign country and what do I eat? McD's. It was a low moment aka everything, especially food, it really expensive in Istanbul, so I had to.

It was pretty gross, but then we just wandered the streets and looked in terrible tourists shops and met up with my friend T who took us for Hukka & apple tea. YUM.

So I realized after a few days of constantly being offered apple tea, that it is the tea of choice. It is basically apple juice hot, but soooo much better. It was delicious! I now wish I got some to bring home, but E informed me there is a cool international market in DC, which I am going to hit up!

So the 4 of us hung out, smoked some strawberry hukka, people watched, and talked about our great adventures. It was perfect, yet totally sad that it was coming to an end.

We went back to the hostel & changed into comfy plane clothes, checked our email, and caught the shuttle at 12:15 AM to get our 4AM flight to Frankfurt.

The airport (the cheaper one) was only an hour away and we got there with more than enough time and through airport security...I think this is the first time since I STARTED the trip that I left more than 15 mins to get there...GO team.

J slept on the dirty airport floor and E & I took pictures and ate delicious chocolate...I miss it already. (I lived on this type of choco by the way people...it is amazing.)

We caught our flight & headed to Frankfurt.

Bad Ass Bargaining

2008-10-04T16:43:00.003+02:00

So being women (no offense to women who don't like shopping and bargaining) the girls & I dedicated the entire day to getting some shopping done with the last $50 in our bank accounts.

Sadly T had the pleasure of telling us girls the night before that our plan had a slight problem....the Bazaar is CLOSED ON SUNDAYS!

What thE HECK. OMG. The well-known, 4500 shop Bazaar was closed...but we dedicated a whole DAY to shopping!!! NOOOOOOOOO.

So we decided, screw it, we are gonna find a bazaar and haggle anyway! And that is exactly what we did.

Next to the Blue Mosque there is a smaller bazaar, called the Artisan Bazaar, which has really beautiful bowls, tea sets, and other cool things.

One store had these beautiful light blue/dark blue plates & small jewelery holders that I found myself wanting, very badly...so I bought a few things for friends and family and a small thing for myself.

Next on the agenda was a BIG ticket item. Pashminas. As many as we could hold & afford.

Sadly, again, Istanbul is expensive, BUT we did awesome bargaining, and each got 2 really pretty pashminas for 20 lira. They are sooo nice! It is the best thing to get in Europe and totally worth a round-trip ticket!

Next we decided to wander through the streets and just see where the wind took us...it was cold, but happily not raining for the first time.

We wandered down and found the Big Bazaar, which sadly as T warned us, was closed.

However this other random bazaar, which was a guy fest for some reason...like it was jeans & underwear and 97% men...very odd.

But we did find purses & sunglasses and I fell in LOVE with this one mustard colored, over the shoulder, fake Jimmy Choo (YUM!...and people I don't do yellows, but it is the best bag evvverr)

And E found an awesome choco & blue purse and we decided to bargain. Bad Ass hats on!

Each bag cost 160 lira aka 140 bucks. I had about $10 left in the bank account.

Crap.
I want it.
Okay..so the two bags together he told us would cost 350 lira. Heck No h20.

We told him 100 lira. He looked at us like we were crazy & told us we had credit cards and money and he could never sell it to us for 100.

We said 100.

He told us that Bush's daughter was at their shop (yah RIGHT.) and he sold her a bag for 1000 lira. We told him that was bull and no American in their right mind would ever pay good money for a knock-off, especially a girl who can get the real bag in America for LESS.

We still said 100.

We started to walk away.

We WON.

The owner said the day was slow, and if we had cash only the bags were ours for a special offer of 100 lira.

We ran, got the last of the cash out, and got our two bags for 100 lira!

It was awesommme. I sleep with my bag I love it so much.

Best way to end an awesome Euro Trip!

Buy One, Get Me Free

2008-10-04T16:20:00.003+02:00

Our second day in Istanbul we decided to hit up the Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar (ladies and gentlemen it is the size of 3 or 4 football fields and hosts 4500 shops!)

Of course it was raining, since rain follows us, but again, we couldn't give up the day, and we made the best of it!

We headed to Topkapi, got our tickets, and headed into this huge palace, which takes a few hours to go through. It was awesome! We got to see the old kitchens, hundreds of rubies, sapphires, and swords, plus countless plates & garbs of the big kings who kicked everyones butts & got what they wanted!

But seriously the place was awesome and it was a good thing to do on a rainy day, plus I look good in my rainy day outfit & gives me a reason to not get dressed up, which is always a plus.

(girls at Topkapi Palace)

That took us through most the day and we were going to go to the Bazaar, but figured we would dedicate an entire day to that on Sunday.

So we again did some cat napping, grabbed some food at our hostel, which was cheap & filling, and the manager sang 80s songs to us while he smoked. It was pretty entertaining!

We walked outside of our hostel to grab a cab, and let me tell you that everyone warned us about the sketchy Turkish men and how you have to be careful, but I give these guys props. They are creative!

In just a few mins walk down our street we got just these few calls:
"Hi ladies, do you have facebook?"
"Buy one, get me free" (at a store)
"Charlie's Angels"
"I think you have an appointment with me"

...well done men, well done. If you are gonna hit on me and be creepy, at least be creative!

We grabbed a cab, met T and went to a club called Babylon, the apparent hot spot of Istanbul. But again, expensive! It was 35 lira to get in the door aka $30, which I don't think I have ever paid to get in some where and they played 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s metal...oh jeez.

Then I had the bright idea that drinks were more expensive than shots (according to the dude at our hostel) so I ordered J & I a shot of tequila....24 LIRA. What the HELL.

So that was all the money for that night and the girls & I had an awesome sober dance party on the floor for my last night in Istanbul, with air guitar and head bobbing included. Beats having a hang over!

Rain Followers

2008-10-04T16:08:00.005+02:00

So after we finally made it to Istanbul alive and got on the tram to our hostel we were ready to go to sleep immediately, but like the troopers we are, we dropped our stuff off, showered our dirty dirty bodies, and hit the road to explore.

We first went to Aya Sofya aka St. Sophia, which was a church, turned mosque (surprise!), but the annoying thing was it cost 20 lira aka about $18 to go in. Wasn't Jesus all about giving? aka poor just graduated college kids should get in FREE.

There are no student discounts in all of Istanbul by the way!

But it was a cool place, with awesome views of the city and some great architecture. Then we moved onto the Blue Mosque, which is the biggest and most well known in all of Istanbul, and that ladies and gentlemen, was free!

It was pretty awesome sight to see and women had to have heads and legs covered and shoes off. It was so pretty inside and people were praying, which was cool to see. I was excited to be in a city that was totally different from any other and it was soothing to hear the calls for prayer. I even took a video like a nerd!

(me at the Blue Mosque)

Then after our two sight seeing adventures, we decided we needed a huge nap, as my friend T was taking us out for a bit of Turkish partying.

That tiny nap turned into about a 4 hour nap (yum!) and we got up and used some free internet, which was a huge plus for our hostel, and T came to get us...the only thing was it was raining!

So T took us to the hot spot, only that hot spot has lots of outdoor bars, which no one was about to go to because it was so cold! He then took us to a club called Ridden, which is the only club in Istanbul that plays rap and hip-hop (I was craving it!) and we danced and hung out.

It was a great start to the trip, but sadly this stupid rain keeps following us! What the heck!?

Sketchy McSketcherson

2008-09-30T17:53:00.002+02:00

So we got on our sleeper train to Istanbul around 7pm and the man showed us our cabin and said one of us would sleep in the cabin next door...um...hell no.

So instead we had two beds and E&I snuggled on the lower one while J was up top. We ate our healthy meal of 7 Day (brand) spicy hummus pita chips and chocolate, plus water and were so pooped we got our beds out immediately.

Around 3AM they call around and wake you up for your passports when leaving Greece...that takes about 30 mins and if you try to go back to sleep, don't, because they will just wake you up again at 4 to enter Turkey.

Once we entered Turkey and if you are American you have to get a visa. So at 4am the three of us girls had to get off the train in the middle of NOWHERE and go to the office to buy a 15euro pass...thank god E had $ because J & I had not brought enough and thank god the visa was cool looking in our passport. It better be for 15 freakin euro!

Then back on the train and asleep until 7 when they wake you up to get the linens and stuff...which is dumb because we didn't get to Istanbul until 9. As you can see we got a BUNCH of sleep!

But we finally made it to Istanbul, sadly, my last leg of the trip!

Leavin the Greeks Behind

2008-09-30T17:43:00.003+02:00

So we left Santorini, which was one of the BEST islands ever, to get on an 8 hour ferry to Athens and because the Fab 5 was feeling so bad-ass, we decided to pull an all nighter at the bus station in Athens were the CO boys were going to Italy and we were off to Turkey.

So we played cards for 8 hours (I am telling you cards are the way to go on these trips!) and we rocked out to music and just chilled.

We arrived in Athens at about 11:30-12:00 and began our trek to the train station on the other side of town. When we made it we all took our bags off immediately and realized the train station does not open until 5:30 AM....okay...minor detail.

So next to the train station is a breakfast bar place which is 24/7 and where the bums and really not sketchy people (sarcasm here) hang out and sleep....thank god we had boys!

So again...cards...only for 4 hours this time! And then finally into the train station where we attempted to sleep and I just read trashy magazines.

When the ticket office opened at 6:15 for our 6:50 train we got in line and the guy was SUCH a jerk! He told us it would cost 50 EURO a person to get only to Thessalonki (which is 6 hours from Athens in Greece). WTF.

Totally untrue! So the boys watched as we started getting dramatic, flipping out, not knowing how we were gonna get to Istanbul, changing plans, thinking about cars, etc. etc.

So we decided to go back talk to the guy and a nice Greek man in front of us saw how upset we were and we THINK might have said something to this jerk off who finally told us at the the train at 9:20 was only 12 euro a person but we would have no seat...well you could have told us that BEFORE.

Then he rushed us for money...not nice. or cool.

We got on that train at 9...proceeded to get stepped on and kicked by everyone and finally a nice Greek woman showed us that some seats were not filled, and we could take them...which we did. E preferred the nook she has where luggage was and slept in a little ball! J & I proceeded to just head slam the entire time getting no real sleep by the time we arrived.

Once in Thessalonki we found lockers to store our bags, grabbed overnight tickets to Istanbul, and found internet. 3 hours later our train was leavin for Istanbul.

Yah Right!

2008-09-25T16:45:00.002+02:00

So Mopeds are all over Europe and I have always wanted to try one but was too scared. But again, since the weather gods are on our side, the day we deemed for the beach was ruined with overcast skys and some showers...so we decided to grab mopeds and go from the south of Santorini to the north, called Oia.

It was AWESOME. I love love love Mopedin! The guy was kind of a dick telling me since I have never been on one I would indeed die and it would cost me up to 2,000 Euro for damage...thanks guy. I really love your business.

So I went anyways and had such a good time. The Fab 5 stopped and got lunch overlooking the ocean and headed to the capital of Santorini known as Fira. We got out and wandered around the street and once the guys saw the amount of shopping to be done, they bounced to do their own thing. We told them we would meet them in 30 mins...which in girl time is 45...and in our time is 50 mins. he he.

After that we headed to Oia, which is about 20 mins away from Fira to see the sunset. It was kind of a scary climb and all was good until one small incident happened. E, having ridden a scooter in India and having a bad fall, was given a four wheeler, which was suppose to be more stable...and safer according to the jerk at the shop...only she went up a hill and flipped.

It was pretty scary but by our awesome luck she was pretty much not harmed..clearly shaken up and had some bruising and cuts, but thank goodness for the helmet and that we were all close together! (Don't freak parents.)

She was such a trooper...just like when she got bed bugs, and we happened to see this beautiful bar with one of the most amazing sunsets I have seen in my entire life.

Minus a little upset the day was awesome for us all...I loved it.

That night we went to the little beach town, had a great last dinner with friends, and headed to bed early because we were going to see the Volcano and Hot Springs in the morning.

We woke up at 8am, piled our stuff in a cab, went to the port and jumped on a ferry to the hot springs, which sadly were not very hot. BOO.

We got to jump in the water off the boat, which was pretty awesome, and got our bronze on (tanning for you not up on the lingo!)

We then were taken to the Volcano (don't worry, it is not active!) and got about an hour or so to wander around and see some amazing views.

Overall it was SUCH a wonderful trip to Greece and I cannot wait to come back!

We pulled an all nighter on the ferry back to Athens and stayed at the train station last night, before saying good bye to the Fab 5 as the boys headed to Italy and us girls are on our way to Istanbul.

More great stories to come, only so sad that this is my last big trip!

MVP of the Greek Islands

2008-09-25T16:34:00.002+02:00

After only a day or two in Athens we hit the Greek Island of Mykonos and surprisingly ran into the guys, D&J from Colorado on the Ferry.

We played card games for about 6 hours straight, which was a life saver, and go to know the guys. We all ended up saying in this awesome hostel called "Paradise Beach Resort" which had cute little bungalows and was right next to the beach...it was awesome!

The first night we continued playing card games, this time with some yummie white wine, and chilled at the beach...clearly the next day, being deemed a beach day, it decided to rain and be overcast...awesome.

So we all decided to head into town and wander around. Mykonos is basically like The Hamptons...pretty to look at, but the stores are unaffordable. So the girls and I basically gawked at the pretty jewelry and clothes while the boys wandered around the streets avoiding shopping...typical!

But seriously a great place to visit.

That night we went to Scadanavian Bar...the hot spot on the island...and had a BLAST! The Fab 5, as we called ourselves, danced the night away (we tend to love doing this...and I love to call it this) and had yummie drinks and as always a swarm of creepy men around us.

This time it was nice to have boys for protection!

The next day we all decided we were having a really good time traveling together that heck, lets all go to Santorini next...hopefully we won't get sick of eachother.

We left the next day for Santorini, played about 6 hours of card games (seriously..I can kick your butt in crazy 8's, asshole, or Egyptian rat screw) and landed with no idea where to stay.

Luckily at the port people swarm you to stay at their hotels and one guy offered 10 Euro a night AND it had a heart shaped pool...how could we say no?

We piled into a van and headed to the Honeymoon Hotel, which the owner said he only called because it was appealing to "young people"....hmmmm. This is gonna be interesting.

We got there and found out we had an entire room for the 5 of us...living with boys we just met...interesting!

But it actually was awesome. We had a kitchen and 5 beds and we were right on the beach. D&J told their mom and D's mom said "don't pee on the seat." Classic.

We made scrambled eggs and potatoes for dinner and played...ready for this...CARDS! (We kinda had a thing going)

We incorporated some more yummie white wine and hit the town...it was a sunday..clearly in teh middle of no where there is something to do...false. nothing. so bed it was.

Next day was Mopeds...:)

Athens Backpackers

2008-09-25T16:28:00.002+02:00

After a very eventful time in Bari,Italy the girls and I made it to Athens...pertty much the place we have all been DYING to go to!

We caught a bus right outside the port and got a quick nap in and were let off in the middle of the city. We grabbed our bags and set out for probably our most expensive hostel, but the coolest one called "Athens Backpackers" which boasted a kick ass happy hour with an unreal view of the Acropolis...and it totally lived up to the reputation.

We checked in with the Aussie run place, got a quick shower and finally got to do laundry!!!! You seriously do not know how amazinggg that was since we had not gotten to do that since Lagos.

So after that we decided to hit the town. We got ready and headed to one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. They had delicious cheap drinks, played Bob Marley, and gave us a shot of Ouzo before we left (the drink of Greece...it is REALLY strong and yuckie!)

Then they take you out on a pub crawl aka one dance bar, but it was awesome and the girls and I got to dance the night away!

The next day we had a FULL tourist day. We saw everything there ever was and E & I stumbled upon the best gyro place in town, and it was 24 hours. We got 2 that day.

YUM.

We saw every ruin in the town and the acropolis was just unreal and so interesting, I was just so happy to be in Athens!

That night we met two guys from Colorado who ended up becoming our travel buddies and we went to the same bar we had from the night before...only difference was someone forgot to mention it was gay man night at the club...it was interesting to say the least. For once the boys felt uncomfortable and the girls were not being cat called. HA.

Bari, Italy=Nothing!

2008-09-18T18:44:00.002+02:00

We made it, yet again!

We had some very rainy days in Dubrovnik, which was lame, but once we got on our Ferry to Bari, Italy, we were saying goodbye to bad weather and thinking of the sunny skys of Greece!

We took our first trip to Bari in a very nice ferry with a disco and a self-serve dinner thing, slept for about 10 hours and arrive in Bari, Italy to waste a day before our ferry that night to Patras, Greece.

We arrived, having not showered for 2 days to a rainy and overcast day. BOO. Not what we signed up for. We put our heavy bags in a holding place at the port and decided to wander around.

There is NOTHING in Bari...like I am telling you...nothing. We wasted the entire day by either eating, sleeping, playing with our ipods, going to H&M, or reading. We tried to waste as much time as possible, but shops were either closed or super busy, rushing us in and out, which is so unlike what I picture places to be in Italy and most of Europe.

More stories to come as my $ ran out!

The Great Wall of Croatia

2008-09-17T17:01:00.000+02:00

After a few hectic travel days and short stays, we girls had a few days to hang out in Dubrovnik. So far we had a nice dinner in old town last night and a great nights sleep, which has not happened too often in this trip!

We woke up fresh this morning and headed to the city walls on bus number 8. We arrived, had a water and crossiant, and made our way to town...as best we could because 2 old people cruise ships had docked!!!

This somewhat ruined the beauty of Dubrovnik, but was not going to ruin our day! We headed towards the first museum, which was an old monastery & hosts the oldest still operating pharmacy, dating back to the 1400s.

We then went on our way to two different churches...they were old...and probably important for some reason.

Then we made it to The Rector's Palace where all the common law stuff happens, but not the courts...basically we learned from the placks (which had English unlike the Germans!) that essentialy Dubrovnik's power was handed to nobles who could do whatever they wanted.

Wow...that's original. NOT.

Regardless, it had some awesome portraits and lots of ruins and pretty useful information about Dubrovnik.

Then we made our way to the Maritime Museum...we lasted about 10 mins and decided we were over it and wanted to walk the old city wall. You can literally walk around the entire city with amazing views of the sea. I guess in the old days that wall was for people to shoot intruders!

Oh FUN Fact...I found out that in the 1200s the then ruler of Dubrovnik made every visitor to his city bring a stone that could be used to build the walls...how cool is that!?

So we walked around, got some ammazing pictures, and headed to a nice cafe for some delicious pasta, which for some reason I was craving.

Then it started to pour, which has lead me to a nice internet cafe to escape the yuckie rain, which clearly only decided to happen since we came here~!

Tomorrow we are off to Lokrum Island for some hiking, beach time (we pray!) and to see some beautiful gardens.

Split & Hvar Island

2008-09-15T16:53:00.001+02:00

So I have told you already, but Croatia is so gorgeous. The water is crystal clear that you can see your body completely though the water. The people are so friendly and minus the bed bugs, it has been a great and different experience.

While we only really had a day or a night and morning in Split and Hvar, it was great to experience. Split has a beautiful port, where we had some delicious pizza and people watched.

Hvar Island, an island merely for "holiday" aka vacation, is so tiny and has some great pebble beaches.

The girls & I got to dive into the Adriatic Sea and just float around for the afternoon and although the sun decided to hide for our trip, it will not stop our fun!

Off to Dubrovnik for 2 days of exploring what is hidden inside the city walls and then off to Bari to catch a boat to Greece.

Ciao.

Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite

2008-09-14T16:48:00.002+02:00

The next morning we grabbed our stuff, got the rental car, and hit the road with a GPS system this time, in case the Croatians decided they did not want to finish any roads we might want to take like the Spanish!

We made it to Zadar in 2 or 3 hours and settled into our shady looking hostel, which I think was army barricks before.

We wandered around the small town and saw the sea organ which was so cool! I have to post the video I took when I get back!

The sea organ plays random notes throughout the day depending on how the sea hits and it sounds so cool!

After that we decided to treat ourselves to a real meal since the Croatian Kuna is
.20 cents to the American Dollar (Sweeet!)

So finally, in a country known for great seafood, I decided to get a salmon filet and vegetables..yum. Such a good dinner and made me feel better from the unreal amount of carbs we have been eating in Europe.

Side rant--all they eat in Europe is bread! It is ridic!!

So we hang out around town and are pretty worn out from a few straight days of travel. We shower (no hot water, only solid freezing in Croatia...seriously.) and go to bed.

J and I have our sleeper sacks and E doesn't, so she just uses the sheets given. She wakes up to a mosquito in her ear, freaks, and gets up at 5:30AM because she cannot sleep. We eat our "free breakfast" of a piece of bread and marmalade and pack our stuff.

Slowly E realizes she has small bit marks up and down her legs and arms, and counts almost 57 bites. They cannot be all from one mosquito...and J realizes, oh god, you got bed bugs. gross.

The place was crappy and E has bed bugs all up and down her body! We stopped for creams and luckily they are swelling down, but let me give the girl props...she is covered in bits and holds her head high! A little cover-up and some long pants, and she is good to go!

Just remember people, BRING A SLEEPER SACK!!! You never know what lurks in your bed!

The Pearl of the Adriatic Sea

2008-09-14T16:39:00.002+02:00

So we arrived in Croatia, which let me tell you is so gorgeous. I know I probably say that about every place we have gone, but I give us props...we picked pretty places!!

We arrived at about 11pm in Dubrovnik, to stay the night and then head to Zadar, a small Croatian town the next day. We got picked up by a nice man named Sergio, and dropped off to our hostel that was right in the middle of old town, surrounded by the city walls and made of marble. Unreal.

We were so excited and found our hostel on a small side street and began to climb up. It was in an old building where you can see your neighbors almost face to face the buildings were so close, and we had our own kitchen and bathroom. Wonderful!

We get in the shower, geta few things unpacked and hit the sack after a long day of traveling.

We turn off the flights and I start to feel things crawling...no it can't be bugs...okay...that itches...OKAY something is CRAWLING ON ME!

I get up and say something, next thing I know J is up saying the same thing. Lights go one and BUGS ARE ON ME.

Granted I think they were only nats, but ew.

So we slept in our sleeper sheets (thanks to moms advice!) and had a pretty crappy sleep full of drunks on the street, hearing someone vomit downstairs, and constant yelling.

What a great start!

The Road Less Traveled Does Not Exist!

2008-09-11T09:40:00.003+02:00

Sevilla was ammmazing!! I finally got to catch up with my friend K, who I studied abroad with almost 2 years ago. We got to dance and hang out and explore the city all over again. It was wonderful.

The only slightly frustrating thing was not remembering my Spanish. I was surrounding by great people having fun conversations and not understanding anything and with only 3 days there, I had no time to get back into it! argh.

All the more reason to go back again and for even longer!!

So when we left, we got up super early (aka 7 am) (early for us!) and hit the road. We caught 2 buses, made it to the Sevilla airport, grabbed some breakfast, and got our cute rental car.

I was the only one on the insurance to drive, and it was stick, which I dont drive all the time, so I was a bit worried, but in fact it was great!

I loved the car and it had a great shift...so off we went!!

About 3 or 4 hours into the trip we come to our first big change on the road, getting off at exit 170 onto the A-43. We go ahead and do that and J and E fall asleep. I am just going along when the A-43 changes to A-40. Oh well, no biggie, I am still going in the right direction. Wrong.

I start seeing signs for Cordoba, which is back towards Sevilla) and have a little panic, plus the car is almost on empty. FUDGE.

So we turn around and look for a gas station. About 45 mins later, we find one, get off and hurry over. While I am filling up, E goes inside to ask for directions.

She comes back with a smurk of, `you will never believe it but...´oh god now what??

The road we need according to the gas attendant..DOES NOT EXIST.

They have not finished it. Holy crap. Way to go Spain!!!

So we turn around and look for a road called N-301. Sweet, we find it and we hit the road. Turns out it is a single lane road, WITH trucks.

We had to haul ass and go around trucks and stay calm. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG WE HAVE A FLIGHT TO CATCH.

So we get to a sign saying San Clemente or Madrid...what the hell, where is VALENCIA???

We ask the workers on the side of the road and they said go to Madrid. Fine, I pull a huge u-turn, truckers beeping at me, and hit the road Jack.

Oh wait...that road does not lead us there EITHER. So E has to get out again at some sketchy brothel looking place and they say turn around again. Magically 20 mins later we find an exit for A-43 and sail through the next 5 hours.

After all that a 7 hour trip takes about 10 hours and we RUSH to the car place, drop the car, grab our bags, and haul ASS to the desk with 15mins until they close for check in.

We made it...so a little victory dance and head to Dubrovnik.

Croatia here we come!!
More to come in the next week with fabulous stories of sightseeing, bed bugs, and no hot water!

Hasta Luego!

Running from the FBI in our Benz

2008-09-04T19:05:00.003+02:00

So it was a long sleepless night before we arrived in Sevilla...we girls decided, who needs sleep, lets stay up all night until our 5am bus to Frankfurt Hahn (the OTHER cheap airport)to catch our RyanAir Flight at 9.

We got on the BOOKED flight, made it to Sevilla and got to our rental car place. I was SO excited to be back in my Sevilla! We ended up getting a slightly bigger car, which ended up being a Mercadesss!! So that was awesome, but fuel was 78€. Ouch.

We got on the road and I did a small tour of Sevilla, showing the girls where I lived, the universidad, the clubs, the SUPERSOL (best grocery in town!) and a few other places like Corte Ingles (Macys of Spain)

We then got on the road and made our way to Lagos, deciding on the drive to go to Lisbon first and then spend two glorious days in Lagos.

It took us about 5 hours and we did not have a hostel booked, figuring we planned every second of this trip, lets live a little. We learned that living a little=having no place to stay at 1am.

We had google map directions to Lisbon, but not to the hostel. We went up one way streets, got stuck in random areas, peed behind bushes at a historical landmark, and almost killed one another. Finally after I got out of the car, looked at a Bus Map and randomly came upon the street where I had picked a hostel from America! So excited!!!

Now we had to get there...after about an hour or so we made it through the windy streets and may I say I was quite impressed with my map reading skills...I cannot even believe we got there!

Once we did and we parked and went around...no hostel OR hotel was available. We ended up looking desperate enough to a woman at a hotel who called a friend and found us a room. They only had two single beds..but heck we would take anything! We got into our hotel...pushed the beds together and fell fast asleep.

The next morning we got up, put our stuff in the car, and went happy to the center of the city to start our Hop On-Hop Off Tour..little did we know our nice parking space was parked in a Portuguese FBI parking space.

We saw some amazing things, like the Castle of Libson, and many other historical things I now cannot remember the name of because we came back to our car to find it GONE.

OMG. IT IS STOLEN..ITS GONE, THERE IS NOTHING LEFT.

Well we went into the office, talked to a jerk off who basically told us we parked in a FBI spot and ´it is problem` well yes...it is...so please then tell us how to fix it.

Impossible to work with this man. We essentially had to get on the metro and show a taxi driver a piece of paper that said `Policia municipal`

The NICEST old man taxi driver took us to a police station with some delicious portuguese men were nice enough to help and spoke English.

The yummie officer, who if asked to marry, I would probably do, found our car and called a cab for us...but our problems were only half over.

We realized that it was going to cost 120€ to get the car back and once we did it was probably 11pm and we had no place to stay and nothing was open.

Oh god.

After about another hour of driving, yelling, and being overly exhausted and hungry with no place to eat, we parked and starting walking the streets of Lisbon to find a stupid internet cafe that our Europe book told us about (ps. these books STINK. you need every country, not one book of Europe).

We FINALLY found the dang place and started looking for hostels...oh wait...every single awesome hostel in Lagos was BOOKED. holy crap. could this day get any worse!!?

We decided to book a hostel in Lisbon, get google directions there, and book another random budget hotel in Lagos.

We found a parking space that HAD a sign, unlike the policia parking space, and made sure to be up at 7am to hit the road.

We got up and got going, our car was still there in the morning, and off to Lagos we went, and guess what? We MADE IT.

We are safe and sound in Lagos,with a bit less money, but there is sun, beaches, and a Bom Dia Sangria and Grotto tour awaiting our arrival tomorrow.

More to come in Sevilla and Croatia!
chao!

Play Dumb

2008-09-04T19:01:00.003+02:00

So I have had QUITE the few crazy days! The first story is this however. Playing Dumb really helps, especially when it is a 40€ fine for not buying a ticket on the metro system in Frankfurt.

So J, E, and myself were going around Frakfurt, finding some dinner and took the metro...we realized after day 1 that no one checked to see if you had a ticket...day 3 we realized, oh shoot, under cover metro police are on the lookout!

They came over to us to ask for a ticket in German, and I just looked at them confused and asked what they said. Then in English he said ´ticket` and I said, ´`yes I would like to buy one`´(acting like I thought we should buy them on the train, knowing full well we just needed to act as stupid as possible.

Well it totally worked! It would have been 40€ EACH since all three of us did not get tickets and the nice undercover cops got off the train with us, showed us how to use the simple dumb machine, and made us just buy the ticket for that day...

sometimes playing dumb gets you a long way!

Before I Left I Looked Like This

2008-08-31T13:47:00.004+02:00

I am hard-core backpacker girl. Don't mess with me.

Bye!

Flying INTO the airport, late, with Kevin the sherpa, but I made it!

Sprichst du Englisch?

2008-08-31T11:52:00.002+02:00

So I have been in Frankfurt for 2 days now and after the unreal travel experience I had, I was happy to reach land. FYI never take Delta. I booked a small flight from DC to NY and was on my way with mom to Dulles when 5 mins until we were at Dulles I realized..oh god...my flight was out of National!! BAH!

I called Kevin to meet me at the airport and mom and I booked it. I arrived with 20 mins until my flight, was not allowed to check my bag and the nice guy at the counter (Nice=JERK!) was totally unhelpful and I told him so. In return he told me "Well your not helpful showing up 20 mins before your flight"...really nice customer service Delta.

After the security guy throwing out some bottles and me running like a crazed woman through the airport I made it. I got on the flight and got on the next one and arrived in Frankfurt.

I met up with J&E, my travel buddies, and we started our adventure! We stumbled upon a regatta and international food & drink festival while on our way to the Jewish Museum. It was pretty sweet!

We saw an awesome dragon boat race and wandered around to find a hip´hop class performing from ages 5 to probably 16 and they were great!

Then E and I found apple cider with strawberries aka heaven. It was so good! Apparentlz, according to mz Lonelz planet guide, Frankfurt is known for apple cider with alcohol and it was so good! We still don´t know if it had alcohol, but it tasted delicious.

The weird thing about Frankfurt is there is no english anywhere. Once you leave the airport all signs and museums are in German. Obviously it is the first language but I found it weird that a museum only had one language for exhibits...but we went through them anyway and got the jist of it.

We are off to Hidelburg today and possibly Munich tomorrow!
Auf Wiedersehen!!

I'm Backkkkk

2008-08-29T16:05:00.003+02:00

And I'm leaving. Today I am started my 4 week trek around Europe! I never thought I would get back to Sevilla (especially) but I am making a lovely stop with my two friends from HS, J&E, and we are globe-treking through Frankfurt, Portugal, Sevilla (!!!), Croatia, Greece, and Istanbul. I know...I am kind of a big deal...more details to come as the weeks progress, the fights begin, and who knows, maybe even another finger slammed in a door! (I hope not!)

The Golden Ticket

2008-05-10T01:35:00.004+02:00

So after buying 4 dresses...4 became the lucky number of the YEAR. I finally got the dress that I had been dying for on Nordstroms.com and was so excited to try it on...boo. It was lame. I had build it up to be the most amazing dress and I would look exactly like the model...obvi. Clearly not at all what happened. It was a bit too long and a bit to poofy (never thought a girl would say that, did you?!)

So I was pretty bummed and decided to return the ugly grandma one that everyone said looked GREAT. Then I figured I was already in Lord & Taylor, why not look around with the room mate again. So we did and what the heck is with massive prints and pregnancy dresses? I mean hellloo not everyone is 5'10 and about 85 pounds (the only people that can pull those dresses off!)

Nonetheless, I tried some on. Oh joyyyy. I just love trying dresses on, getting sweating, zipping my skin into the crappy made zipper, and then shelling out $200 for a BCBG dress that makes my boobs saggy. No thanks! So went home again, annoyed and feeling fat and then because ice cream would make me feel skinny (not.) I ate half a tub of rocky road, saying to myself when I bought it, oh, well 1/2 a cup of Bryer's Rocky Road is only 150 calories vs. 1/2 a cup of Ben & Jerry's which is 330 calories. Yet, oddly enough, when you eat half a tub of the 150 calorie one it turns into the 330 calorie one. Who woulda thunk it!

So today I was suppose to babysit at 3 and my roommate has been attempting to buy a cute ford focus (used, but with only 50k on it!) and has yet to do so b/c the people selling stink. They do not call back, they make up times to do things, then cancel, so needless to say she was not happy and only realized half way through the day she did not have a car today! So she came along with me to pick up the girl I babysit and take the car for a joy ride, while stopping along the way to do some errands. Well...we went to school to pick her up at 3:20....it rolls around to 3:25, 3:31, 3:40...oh well, no kids means more time to shop!

We decided on a last min. attempt to stop at White House & Black Market---best decision ever!!! I got two great dresses on and picked one (pictures to come!)

Then I got home, sent the pics to mom, and realized, I should go back and get the OTHER one. Oh man. Did I tell you I hate shopping??

So mom says, why don't you call T(the woman I babysit for) and ask her opinion on the dresses. Not a bad idea...

So go back, get the dress, drive to T's and try things on again, while of course taking pictures for mom to see. We finally decided on a black and white strapless little number with a patent leather belt making me look super tiny waisted (Love it.)

T was great and she gave me shoes, a necklace, AND a bracelet. What a deal!!

See what you think.
Adios chicos.

Graduation 2008

2008-05-07T06:42:00.003+02:00

So it has been some time since I wrote and I was looking over my blog and realizing I was quite a funny one (If I do say so myself!) I was looking over my rant on cereal and chocopillows...It is quite interesting how much I love cereal! I mean I eat it about 3 times a day or at least snack on it in some form.
Anyways, so it has been a crazy year and now graduation is about to come around. If you read notborntorun's blog, she did the personal shopper to find the perfect outfit for MY graduation, however I still have nothing to wear!
So last weekend I went to Lord & Taylor's and attempted the personal shopper experience. I of course brought my camera and dragged my roommate kate along...did I tell you how much I HATE shopping?
So I get lost at KOP (2nd largest mall next to mall in america) and the personal shopper, [insert forgotten name] finds me and brings me to the personal shopping room. She picked out some dresses ahead of time and I wanted to vomit. They all looked like old people clothes...no offense to some of the old folks out there. But being the sport I am, I decided, what the heck, I will try on everything. So I begin my process and kate shows up and helps me through hell. I went through about 20 dresses, liking only one, which showed a bit too much cleavage, and ended up getting a dress which both the Personal Shopper and Kate thought was PERFECT for my body. I felt like I was wearing a yellow trash bag. Not that it was not a nice dress, I was just covered and felt old. ugh. not a good feeling when your graduating and realizing that you do not get to play sick or hooky from school anymore. sigh.

So kate tries on a few of the dresses for kicks, finds a PERFECT dress that I had already tried on and it fits her like a glove and makes her legs look long *(we call her the midge)*

So I buy the ugly dress, she gets the cute one.

And then I go home realizing I really hate the one I got, end up going online and buying one I loved at Nordstrom's and praying it fits, looks amazing, and kicks everyone else's dress in the butt. Competitive? me? Who woulda thunk it!

So...updates on the dress status to come shortly!
adios chicos.

Life after Sevilla

2007-08-27T03:20:00.000+02:00

So, life after Sevilla, was....interesting. I came back to los Estados Unidos, proceeded to speak in Spanish every time I was drinking. I awaited those amazing messages from my best friend and partner in crime, Kate, and waited to go back.

It never happened....but one day hopefully it will! Instead I had a very uneventful semester in the lame USA (i love it dearly....i just loveeeee the Sevilla lifestyle!)

And then I had the internship from HELL.
HELLLL.
Imagine 10 people who seriously have an issue with having an intern...like they think that makes me their bitch. Now, clearly, for some I would. But for those who were like 24 and would send me emails asking me to put a period on an email link I had sent them and then send it back. Are you kidding me? Would you like me to pick your booger for you too???

Another one, probably the best was this guy who had been an intern here previously and asked me to set up the conference room for a meeting that was going to happen early the next morning. That, I had no problem doing. It was done. Then, right before I leave this guy checks the conference rooms, sees what I have done, takes EXTRA effort to come over to my desk, PAST the conference room, to say it looked great, but could I put costers under the water glasses....ummm...were you NOT just in there? its 5 freakin coasters. DO IT YOUR SELF.

So after that eventful summer, I am now back in PA, finishing my LAST YEAR at Villanova. I am sure fabulous stories will arise, maybe not as crazy as Espana...but I do have a 21st coming up!

Don't Walk, DANCE

2006-12-22T16:23:00.000+01:00

So, my last week in Sevilla was pretty much everything it could ever be. I went barracha to my last exam, danced the night away, caused a scene and had an escape route....should I explain this?
So my last night me and my girls go out to a dinner at this AWESOME and CHEAP italian resturant called Mama Tia in Alfalfa and there was an evil party of 15 peple just HANGING out in Spanish fashion so we waited literally for 2 hours outside the resturant in 4-5' heels and dresses looking really cool haha. BUt the food was fabulous...got a little tipsy off some clearly expensive house wine and then went to the discoteca catedral which is our place on fridays. It was awesome! So many people and every one we knew was there and we were dancing for hours, until Kate and I were on a little ledge in front of the DJ booth and there is like a ceramic wall and then a 3-4' high glass panel and our friend Jevan was there too. Now mind you...Jevan is an airforce 250 pounder boy...so what happens? he pulls on the glass panel and Kate and I are on the ledge and glass goes crashing everywhere! The other DJ, not our good friend, comes out and freaks and we RUN. We tell Jen "WE HAVE A SITUACION RUNNNNN" and of course she as NO clue what is going on. WE get outside and Kate's leg was bleeding and Jevans hand is all cut up and my friend Talal, a dj there, rolls up and is just starting at us. Needless to say we left Sevilla on a high note. Everyone was ok....it was just so...US. hahaha
But then after my last week in Sevilla we headed on to ROme....when in rommeeeee....
but ROme was not that amazing. I mean SERIOUSLY NO ONE...i repeat...NO ONE takes tarjeta (credit card)...what the hell!??? Your a major city!!! bahh...but good pizza...creepier guys then Sevilla which I did not think was possible...and lots of ruins!
good times!
And now...I am back in los Estados Undios...of course...in DEirdre fashion...missing mi amor Sevilla!!

Un Cambio

2006-12-15T13:29:00.000+01:00

So clearly, in Deirdre fashion, right when it is time to go home I find more awesome people here and am having a blast and now want to stay the whole year. Clearly...only I could despise a place THIS much and then turn around and not want to leave! I even changed my flight to Rome to Sunday instead of Saturday because I have no desire to leave this fabulous night life and my partner in crime Kate...so I have already told my mom that somehow...I beg...that I get to come back here from spring break! It is just tooo funny that I turned around like this all of the sudden! Exams went OK...I went to my last exam (ignore this part mom) so I went to my last exam...a little bit..hell...insano drunk and it was just pretty much a halarious experience and then tonight me and all m ygirls are getting dressed up in nice black dresses that we all brought and clearly never used and going crazy at the discotecas! And I might get to do a little dj´in a bit cause my good guy friend DJ´s at one of our clubs! But seriously...i am not going! I now am friends with bouncers at clubs, giving them besos (kisses on cheeks)and then getting in gratis wth gratis copas..what a vida!!
I will miss you Spain!
More news to come from Roma and then los Estados Unidos!
Ciao!

ChocoFlakes and ChocoPillows

2006-12-15T13:22:00.000+01:00

So now my exams are over...I want to chat about a little cereal called Chocoflakes and another one called chocopillows...which apparently after 3 months of eating healthy cereal like Special K Carmen (my host mom) decided that I would like to have a bowl of Chocolate for breakfast...I mean...what the helll!?
Its crazy...the chocflakes..not horrible...but the pillows...Oh my Lord. So you have a piece of chocolate..from like a candy bar and put that in the middle and then wrap around it anther layer of chrispy chocolate and that is breakfast!
....killing me...I can´t wait to see real cereal again!

Long Time No Talk

2006-11-09T23:17:00.000+01:00

So just to do a little shout out, my best friend Beth is pretty much the most awesome person ever. I got home today to discover a package from her FILLED with candy, PEANUT BUTTER, mad lips, gum, socks that have aromatheraphy in them, and just to say the least she is the coolest person in the world. It was the BEST suprise ever!
Anyways, I realize it has been QUITE a long time since I last wrote on this and so much has happened. You would all be proud to know that in my spanish content classes (cinema y historia) I did well on my midterms! What a surprise for me and probably for all of you, if you remember my first entry of not even knowing Hola, and now I am writing about the history of Espana....IN SPANISH! so I got a 90% on historia, and a 92.5% on my cinema....SWEET! TO bad these grades don't go to my GPA!

But then after my exams were donezo, my friend Jen and I went to Paris for about 4 days and it was fabulous! Her family friends live in Paris, but they were at their country home for the week and told us we could use their apartment. SO we had a AMAZING apt. in Paris, for a week and right next to the metro. And let me just say that I am in LOVEEEE with Paris! Everyone gives the parisans a bad rap, but I could not remember a single word of the 3 years of French I took and spoke pretty poor French, but they were all so nice! But Paris is EXPENSIVE! I spent a romantic night with Jen atop the EIffel Tower and we saw the Mona Lisa and went to Versailles because the old neighbor's daughter took us around Paris the first day we were there and she was so nice!

ah Paris!

Paris at night

ALso I probably gained about 75 pounds because all we ate was Brie (she ate goat cheese) and baguettes for 5 days and probably for every meal because there was a little supermarche around the corner from our apartment!

And of course when I returned to Spain I was bitter and refused to realize I had to leave Paris! It was so nice to have an apt with a good friend and it made me wanna learn French allll over again! Which is a BIG.....no no...HUGE deal because my mother could not even get me to learn, especially want to learn, a language my entire life.
Tambien (also) yesterday was my best friend Jen's 21st birthday.....needless to say class was not fun today. But it was a fun night. We went to a little Italiano place for dinner and then to Calle Betis (where everyone hangs out and drinks before the discotecas) and I bought her a crown and a magic wand....the wand was a bad idea....it became a weapon by the end of the night. But all in all we had a pretty awesome night....danced the night away and I warned Carmen, my host senorita that Jen would probably be coming home with me....which she did and we proceeded to spoon (another word for cuddle for you old people) for the rest of the night, until I went to class and she stayed in my bed while Carmen and I made fun of her for being barracha(wasted in espanol). So needless to say, it was a fun fun night AND my friend Kate and I had a HUGE presentation earlier that day, and clearly I did it on discotecas because she and I kinda have that down to an artform and it went really well! SO all in all....its been a pretty good time AND my novio (boyfriend) and madre are coming to Sevilla in a week or so which will be amazzzing!

Hasta la vista baby, and I promise to actually update next week because the whole reason we were in Paris was that we had days off cause of Nov. 1 ....all saints day for you good christians
peace out
stay cool
and more to come asap!

Cool Words

2006-10-21T20:24:00.000+02:00

So I was on the phone with my mom yesterday and realized that it is kind of halarious that now when I talk to my bf on the phone (possibly under the influence of alchohol) i HATE that he cannot understand me because I LOVE to speak spanglish when drinking...well actually...sober too! It is just SO much fun! I mean there are def. so many words I plan to take back to the states with me and make them a standard phrase that everyone will understand. For ejemplo (example in espanol)
-¨Dude, let´s go botellon!¨ (which means, dude lets go pre-game) but it just sounds SO much cooler in spanish.
-Ew. that girl just llame Juan(ed) ...which in english is, Ew. that girl just threw up, but you have to add the ¨ed¨ and spanglize it!
-Welcome to Barracha town! which in english means, welcome to ¨I am wasted out of my mind¨ town, but again is so much cooler in spanish.
Also my favorite phrases to say, as of right now are, ¨mas o menos¨which means ¨more or less¨and ¨es verdad¨which means ¨that´s true¨
I cannot wait to take these back home! And I will probably use ALL of them tonight because after a freakin HORRIBLE week of raining I am going out tonight! We are gonna bailar (to dance) and possibly take a slight stop in barracha town! And I went shopping today, becuase i spain there are NO dryers, and with the rain, my clothes were washed...but still after a week are not dry...which poses a problem, so I shopped, managed to find a COOL halter bra (ONLY for halter shirts which is awesome for girls with a little something more up top!) and some cool jeans, and a halter top, to go with the halter bra!
ALSO next weekend I am going horseback riding on the beach....be jealous. It is going to be amazing, considering I LOVE to ride horses (I used to when I was little) and I plan to take off and hopefully will return with some AMAZING pictures!
More to come!
ps. how incredible is that sunset? It was not even possible to show you how beautiful it was, sitting on the cliffs and staring out at the end of the world. You all should go there in the summer if possible, because I give you my word you will love it.
Adios chicos.

Lagos, Portugal

2006-10-19T01:19:00.000+02:00

the end of the world

It's quite desolate and deserted here

me and Jen in front of the Lagos Castle

See the rest of my Portugal pics here.

End of the World and Back

2006-10-16T23:24:00.001+02:00

Hola Chicas! Que tal?
SO it has been quite an exciting two weeks and I know you all are DYING to know what crazy fun and messed up stories I have.
I should probably start with my hand. Now, mi madre es un poco correcto. There was alch, but thats probably cause it was in the bathroom of a BAR. So a boy in my group kept opening the door on this girl in my group. So I did not know that and the door was a little bit open so I thought it was free. No es verdad. The next thing I Knew she slammed the door, my pointer and middle finger were in the door and she was turning the handle on them. Needless to say I said a few curse words here and there and wished death upon her. My best friend Jen even told her to seriously stop touching me for her "own safety." I think that was the best choice. So I went home drunk with pain and crying hysterically. We stopped at my friend's Kate's house to get a needle to see if Jen could pierce a hole in my nail (yeah I know, GREAT IDEA right!?) we didn't end up doing that. Instead Kate and Jen came to my house, I decided I wanted to pee on the side of the road before we went inside, then I got a bowl and ate some Special K with a Spoon the size of my head (no joke) and called Carmen, my host mom. Well, actualy Jen talked to Carmen.
THen Carmen rushed home to see me drunk, with my hand in the air to stop the pounding pain, eating a bowl of cereal with a spoon meant for mixing soup, and speaking ridiculous amounts of spanglish and laughing hysterically because it hurt so bad.
What a great scene to come home to!
Then the next day we went to three hospitals that were either closed or would not take me. SWEET. so I went to Jen's house cause there is a hospital there and got an awesome doc who smoked and played solitare. COOL.
Then they put a HUGE and totally UNNECESSARY SPLINT on my hand and in spanish I kept telling them I could not dance with this thing on my hand and Jen and I laughed hysterically because at this point that was really all there was left to do.
So I had that on for about 5 days and then went to Lagos, Portugal which was AMAZING!
There is a program in Sevilla called "Discover Sevilla" and they do trips to all sorts of places and it was pretty cool. We went to the bars, danced the night away, spend the day on the beach, and got to watch the sunset from the end of the world.
It was the most beautiful and sadly romantic thing in the world. I got some great pictures and it was a place that is about 30 mins. south of Lagos, which was once considered the end of the world (for you history buffs)! I thought that was pretty awesome!
But I will attempt to figure out how to put up a picture or a link to my pictures because they are pretty amazing!
Otherwise life is pretty much the same. My espanol is better, I still go through culture shock about every 2 mins, like when my roomate was going to kill me this weekend because all I wanted was a CVS (which is like a walgreens for you non east coasters). It is the greatest place in the world and I don't know why the world invests in McD's because CVS is WAY more AWESOME.
Anways, more updates to come later this week! I have alot of tests and homework....BOO.
adios chiocs!

whoops!

2006-10-16T12:57:00.000+02:00

Yes sadly, I did get my hand slammed in a door and then I got a huge cast and THEN I got to go to lagos where there is no internet and I could not use my cell phone, but it was AMAZING and it has been a few weeks since I have been able to use the computer and sadly now I have to go to class, but I will probably write a VERY long blog tonight about the past weeks adventures, including how the hand got slammed in the door and how AMAZING Portugal is (that is where Lagos is)
MORE TO COME I SWEAR!

Ut-oh!

2006-10-10T22:37:00.000+02:00

Fun in Espana!

Well, one finger is still working just fine!

Fotographias de Sevilla

2006-10-01T18:34:00.000+02:00

I attempted to put 3 more pictures up and a video, but after an hour they told me there was an error. BOO. some other day then!

Malaga

2006-10-01T18:17:00.001+02:00

So I forgot to write about the bullfight, which I went to last weekend. It was a good experience but def. something I don't need to see again. There were six torros, which are the bullfighters, and I took some videos which I will attempt to put up. But it was def. hard to watch! I mean they kill 6 bulls right in front of you and then parade the dead bull across the stadium and people cheer. SO I was not that pleased with it, but glad I went to say I saw a huge part of the culture in spain.
BUT anyways, enough about that one. So I went to Malaga this weekend with a few girls from my program on friday, because I have no class on fridays (woo woo!) and then we came back saturday night. It was just the beginning of realizing that traveling never goes as planned. So my friend Kate and I decided we were going to go with two other girls, but one girl has a tendency to flip out and not be able to make decisions. drives me up the WALL, So kate and I decided to book a hotel close to the beach that when split between four people it would be cheaper than a hostel, but it was booked for only 2 people. We took the autobus to Malaga, which is about 2 1/2 hours away from here. THen we took a public bus cerca de the hotel...which we found out is near A BEACH, but no where near the center like it said it was. Then Kate had paid with her credit card and they would not accept a copy of her passport only an ACTUAL passport. So we were afraid we wouldnt have anywhere to stay. Luckily we just called a random hostel in the guide book, got a taxi, and found the hostel which had an amazing view of the ocean and the ports and was smack in the center of the city! It was great. Then we got some ham and bread and some PEANUT BUTTER (which is no where to be found in Sevilla) and devoured the food. THen a little playa, a little drinking during the night, and a little meeting of aussi boys. So overall it worked out for the weekend, oh until a $20 dress I bought in the states, which the zipper broke on once, and then I paid $20 for a new zipper...BROKE AGAIN. so that dress is donezo.
Anways, I'll post some pics up and a video from the bullfight.
oh ps. IT IS MY 20TH BDAY ON TUESDAY. yeppie!

Pics!

2006-09-27T18:30:00.000+02:00

Me, and some other people

See? I really am in Spain!

Los Clases

2006-09-26T23:37:00.000+02:00

SOOOO this is my first week of classes. I have "real" content classes for 4 straight hours in the afternoon. and how exactly do I plan to do this because I cannot pay attention to a person lecture for 50 mins, let alone 2 hours each and in SPANISH. damn spanish. Other than that not much is going on here. I decided to go a little crazy last night at a bar with FREE sangria for chicas hasta 1am. so that was fabulous, because honestly, who likes paying for beverages? NOT ME. So that was fun and then I only have one class from 12-2 on tuesday and thursday, so I got to sleep in finally. HOWEVER I would like to say..i have no idea where people in spain get the idea that Americans are loud and obnoxious because Spainards yell at everything. LIke for example, I get up in the morning when no one else in the house is up. I make a little breakfast, watch some creepy japanese cartoons in spanish, and go to school. Nico, Carmen;s brother is back at the house because universidad begins this week. OH MY GOD. could you be more annoying? THis morning at like 7:45 he is yelling from room to room, banging around dishes and freakin woke me up. no me gusta. so I say its the other way around here.
Besides that a fabulous thing about spain is I dont have class on fridays, so me and some girls are gonna go to la playa, aka the beach, because we want to get that in as much as possible before it eventually turns cold...which I assumed it never would. i mean, hello? its spain.
sadly, it will get cold. Other than that, I havent met any creepy people this week, but its only tuesday, so who knows.
ALSO shout out to my bf's brother who is getting married this saturday! I am sooo bummed to miss it, but I know it will be amazzzing and I hopefully will get a LOT of pictures!
Also another shout out...to myself. Its my bday next tuesday!!!! woooo! and I can actually go to a resturant and order a delicious girly drink at TGIFridays...yes sorry for you cultural people, all I want to do for my 20th bday is go to an american resturant. i love american food. but I have NOT gone to McD's yet....but I am OH so close!!
adios chicas, necesita que comprar el billete por la playa.

!Que va!

2006-09-20T21:19:00.000+02:00

so its been a few days, weeks, months, really actually years to me since I wrote. But let me spread this good news right quick...totally did not kick ass on my first composition and ¨control 1¨ and then the second control 2, which means test, I got an 88. so let me toot my own horn. TOOT.

okay, neways not much has changed here I guess. Started running in sevilla, I know...welcome to my mother right? and then went to la playa this wknd. It was pretty ridic. So friday night we decided to go to a discoteque and it was pretty cool. I met a super creepy stripper and gogo dancer when my tipsy bff told me she would talk to them if I dared her. Obviously I obliged. He got our numbers and then CREEPILY CALLED ME. I freaked. He said alot of things in spanish..i really did not understand a word and then he said ¨you...me...corvet(yes the car he went all the way to america to buy)de la noche (which means tonight). So I freak out to my host mom, who I affectionatly call ¨Carm¨ and whos real name is ¨Carmen Maria¨ and say to the dude, named Sergio, of course, ¨lo siento, para yo tengo estudiar por me examen¨ which I actually did have to do. And just for kicks, if someone will tell me how to post pics, I will post the pic me and my friend jen took with him and his go-go dancing buddy. God...spain is SO manly. oh wait. just kidding.

So back to the really enthralling story I was telling before. We went to the disco til 6am and had to catch a bus to Cadiz at 7am. Needless to say I was the person who went home and decided if I laid down for 2 mins. there was NO way I would fall asleep. Oh wait. Im that person again.

So I almost miss the bus, Jen tells me the WRONG station, I freak and have to find spanish words to say to the cabbie to HAUL ASS and turn around ASAP while I am under the influence and out of breathe from running him down. man. what can I say...I´m SUCH a big timer.
So then we go to cadiz...sleep on the beach like homeless people until 11 am or so and then I proceed to make my time in spain even better by burning my entire body. But that´s okay cause I decided I wanted to go back home as my WHOLE group decided they didn´t care if they had no place to say. I can hang...but not that hard. So they got wasted (suprise) and slept on the freezing cold beach under a wall so no one would see them. As for me, Carm was out of town cause she thought I was gone for the weekend, so I bought myself some delicious frosted flakes and some desanudura (i think thats how you spell it) and it means skim milk, and proceeded to eat the whole box in a night and one morning. I think that is WAY better than sleeping on the freezing cold beach. I mean hello...its FROSTED FLAKES. thank god for those.
So over all I can say I am a real navigator. Good times. Good times.

More to come after mi composicion 2 y FINAL EXAM. BAHHH.
Adios chicos.

Buenooooo

2006-09-14T13:52:00.000+02:00

LIfe has been bueno in ol' Espana. I went clubbing this past wknd and got home around 630...wore the worst, yet HOTTEST, high heels I have...and totally regretted it. THen I attempted to pop a squat bc I think I Have a bladder control problem, and then proceeded to not be able to spread my legs open far enough to pee. I think spain does not believe in public restrooms. But then at 10am the next manana we decided to go to the beach. THe water was awesome and sooooo nice compared to the freezing cold water de los Estados Unidos. After that we had our first "Control" which means test or quiz I guess in ingles and I think and pray I did well. I also went to my friend Ada's friends house with some girls for dinner and sang kareoke (sp?) too lazy to look it up! But it was really halarious...maybe I will post the video of Sk8er Boi later on. ALso A fabulous new song to dwld is "dime" by "Beth"
adios chicos porque yo es muyyyy hambre y es tiempo de asyundar!

Phrase por un semana

2006-09-07T14:23:00.000+02:00

Also I just decided that I am going to attempt to razzle dazzle you with my phrase a week idea. Everytime I learn a phrase, such as lo siento, no entiendo, I am going to write it on my blog.
BUENOS DIAS. Yo quiero asyundar.

|@#~#€¬~€~##~¬'¡?¿=(/&%&$%

2006-09-07T14:19:00.000+02:00

Above is my feelings about this freakin city. Somewhere along the way I seem to have skipped the ¨loving this place¨to the ï´m sick of spanish and want to hear or see ONE movie that is not dubbed¨ But, since you are all dying to know about my greatest adventures I will let you know how more messed up this trip could possibly get. Lets start with my cell phone excursion. (obviously going to be a nightmare as I have the worst luck on this planet)
So after not speaking a word of spanish, going on a small trip to Italica and looking at ruins, with a woman who was our spanish tour guide, and being in spain, spoke ALL spanish, I went to find myself a cell phone so my crazy mother and I could talk. It was indeed an adventure.
My best friend Jen went with me and I got a phone with a phone card. All was well. Until I tried to call me madre por un tarre international and the numero 2 button decided it did not feel like working. SWEET. I really love this place--did I mention that? So the next day I had to go back to the store, by myself, have my host mom write out in spanish how to say the button does not work and then freakin spend 2 hours in there getting it fixed. The guy did the same thing about 25 times only to discover (gasp!) I was right that the stupid sevillian phone did not work. So I had to get a new one and pay 10 more euro. VOMIT.
So the next day Jen and I got on the family plan to make calls cheaper and I put 40 euro of chatting time on my phone, obviously putting it on my fathers emergency credit card and not telling him. Then that night...hmmm I get a spanish text message, dont understand exactly what it says, and then figure out it says I only have 3 euro left on my phone. So I clearly have a panic attack and have to go back to the store AGAIN and the woman there tells me to check the number it was credited to. Wow, Thanks Sevilla you cannot read a 9 from a 5. So I had to deal with that all day. Phew. I mean this city is just AWESOME.
Then I got drunk last night (its legal here woo woo) because I heard if you get drunk you will automatically speak more spanish. Again, I am the exception. I attempted, failed, and then decided I was going to make up my OWN spanish words by adding an´0 to everything. Then I met a creepy torro bull man who was 30 and bought me a delicious drink. SWEET. FREE DRINKS. That is the only part I like. But then he annoyed me, so I drunkenly took a cab home with the bf on the phone and explained that I think Sevillian men are creepy.
So alas, my latest adventure is that I was going to switch out of my school to an easier one, and of course, like usual, I cried. My mom says it always helps. lol. So I spent the pass hour there deciding not to switch because it takes too much effort, so I am praying I will just figure out spanish in the next 3 weeks. Maybe I should drink more.
Also note to everyone, i don´t have internet, I don´t understand the key boards here so forgive my punctuation, and thank you for all your awesome comments. I will try to write more when I learn more words.
Oh my new favorite phrase is lo siento. It means I´m sorry. Pair it with no entiendo and it seems to go smoothly. Then I just begin talking like David Sedaris in Me Talk Pretty One Day and hope they don´t think I am a kid who rides the short bus.
Adios chicos slash chicas. Yo escribo mucho a la dia.

Sevillanova

2006-09-01T17:46:00.000+02:00

No entiendo.
That seems to be my favorite word so far, as I am the ONLY one of the diesiete estudiantes that does not understand a word of Spanish. SWEET. So as you can tell....I am some what bitter with my primera dias en espana. The teachers talk about a mile a min, the other kids understand and laugh, and I stare blankly ahead and wonder....what the HELL was I thinking coming to Spain????

But I found out my host family today--I am living with a girl and her 20 year-old hermano (brother) so I hope they are very helpful and act like my parents so that I can possibly learn more than 3 words of Spanish and possibly hold a conversation and pass my classes.

Then today we had sessions about health, safety, etc. And I got really sick, as I was sweating uncontrollably and not able to stand and felt faint. SO I went back to the hotel and slept all morning until it was time for lunch, or topas, and the guides came to my door and could have said "quiere comer?" which easily I could have understood as --do you want to eat? But instead said something ridiculous that was not easy to understand so I just stood behind the door in my undies and tshirt and kept sayin "no entiendo" til the boy guide behind the girl said "comer in 5 mins" and so I rushed to put clothes on and came downstairs and the front desk man said, they told me to tell you go to the place? WHAT THE HELL IS THE PLACE? so I wandered, almost cried about 10x, and then went back in and asked which way they went, and he said "to the place (he pronounced it palace) from before.
OH. Well that would have helped to know --so I went to the place from "before" and got my housing assignment, which no one showed me where it was--and I still don;t know.
overall...I miss the UNITED STATES.
I should have gone to Australia. Hot boys, great accents, good whether, and they speak English. Oh well.....We will see what happens.

Welcome!

2006-09-01T04:21:00.000+02:00

And as soon as I learn how to say that in Spanish, I'll be back to let you know, too!