Las Alpujarras

Out of all my vacations so far, going to Las Alpujarras has been truest Spanish experience that I have had. Las Alpujarras are a group of small towns way up high in the Sierra Nevada. One of the towns is actually the highest in Europe. Our town was called Busquistar and when I say small town I really mean a small town. I’ll get into that more often. Let me first tell you what we did.

Fifteen of my friends and I rented a house in Busquistar. Yes, I’m not making this up. We found a house with room for 16 people. Actually our house could comfortably fit around 25 people with around 12 rooms, 2 kitchens, 3 fireplaces, and three bathrooms. The best part was that it was ridiculously cheap too. Anyway, I’m getting of topic. My friends and I took a bus up into the mountains. It was a three hour bus ride through hell. Our driver didn’t even bother slowing down for the curves, of which there were a lot, and this of course meant everyone on board got sick. One of my friends puked as we were pulling into town. I felt really bad for him but of course we laughed for a good hour after it happened.

As we were driving up the mountain we passed through a few of the other towns. Each town was a little cluster of all white buildings perched on the mountainside. The biggest city couldn’t have more than a thousand people. Ours probably didn’t have more than 200. We met our guide who took us to the house and showed us to the “biggest” supermarket. It consisted of one ten by fifteen room under someone’s house. Since there was only one restaurant in town and we weren’t entirely sure if there was room for all of us, we decided to make all of our own food. Our first night was pasta, then pasta again, and finally soup with pasta in it. The last wasn’t that good surprisingly.

During the one day where it wasn’t pouring, we walked around town and through the mountains. In our town were little farms with lots of sheep. We must have seen a dozen baby lambs all baa-ing from their stables. They were adorable. Once we got outside of town, we walked over to a part of the mountain that jutted out. We climbed all over it as we waited for the sun to set. We discovered what was apparently an abandoned stable and house at the end of the hill. It was a little creepy but exciting at the same time. The sunset was so beautiful. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my camera, not like I could have captured the beauty anyway. After we returned to our warm house and talked by the fire as we ate dinner.

The next day it rained all day so we just laid on the couches and were bums, which is what I do best. One of my friends discovered a local cheese that was the best thing I have ever tasted. It was made a few miles, or should I say kilometers, away from our house. I think by the end of the weekend we bought at least three or four wheels of it.

All in all, we didn’t really do much in the Alpujarras since it was raining, but I still had an incredible time. I definitely want to go back, at least to eat some more of that cheese. I can’t describe feeling of Las Alpujarras but I hope my pictures say more than I can.

Oh yeah, one minor little detail about my trip here. I decided that since I was in Spain, I should get a haircut like a true spaniard. Right now in Spain the cool hair-do is a mullet. So I had one of my friends cut my hair on night while we were there. It was a pretty rough looking mullet but it was amazing nonetheless. Don't worry, I got it trimmed when I got back. Only now I have a mullet mohawk. Way cooler. Im planning on keeping it until I get back.

Gibraltar, Sevilla, and Cordoba

Here is another photo album for y'all to enjoy!

Click here for Album

Whenever I go on any vacation with my program, we seem to pack in so much stuff into such a small amount of time. When I signed up to go to Gibraltar, Sevilla, and Cordoba, I was sure it was going to be one of the busiest weekends of my life. I wasn’t wrong but I definitely have built up a tolerance for marathon touring after spending so much time in Europe.

Our first stop was Gibraltar which is in the south of Spain. Strange as it may seem, Gibraltar is owned by the British and you have to pass through customs in order to get in. Gibraltar is around the size of a midsize city with about around 200,000 people living there. Most people just commute here during the day and live in Spain. I think the worst part was that the currency changes. Technically you are supposed to use Sterling Pounds but most places took Euros too. Personally, I didn’t like the city of Gibraltar. It felt a little dirty and run-down with nothing very exciting to see. Luckily we didn’t spend much time in the city because the main attraction is the Rock of Gibraltar. Half of Gibraltar is a giant rock or mountain that sticks out like a giant’s thumb coming up out of the ground.

During World War II, the Allies used this as a headquarters. They dug over 30 miles of tunnels throughout the rock which is incredible since Gibraltar is only around 8 square miles in total. Our bus ride up was exciting cause we got to drive through some of the bigger tunnels. At the top, there is cave with some pretty neat stalagmites and stalactites. The cave wasn’t that incredible but inside was an amphitheatre with a stage that was surrounded by the cave. I would love to see a band perform there. Even though all these things were cool, the most memorable part of Gibraltar were the monkeys. Excuse me, the apes. Apparently the locals don’t like to call them monkeys since monkeys have tails. These apes covered the mountain and were not afraid of humans at all. One of my friends had a banana in his pocket and the moment he stepped off the bus, a monkey ran over and grabbed it. Another one of my friends was carrying a purse when a monkey jumped at her and tried to take it away from her. Luckily our guide scared the ape away and he dropped her purse. She was really scared but I thought it was hilarious.

Well, that basically sums up Gibraltar. We only stayed there for a few hours and then we drove on to Sevilla. I loved Sevilla and I can’t wait to go back with my family. We spent the whole day there and we got to see so many cool things. It was especially interesting because I have been studying a lot about the ancient building in my art history class. We saw La Torre de Oro (Tower of Gold) which was the old Moorish tower that those traveling by boat would see as they came into the city on the river. It wasn’t made of gold but it was covered in tiles so it reflected the light. These tiles are gone now, unfortunately. We also saw the Giralda which is a bell tower that used to be an Alminar, or the tower of the mosque. When the Christians came in they added a bell to the top of the tower. They destroyed the mosque and put in a cathedral. The Giralda was fun to climb cause there were no stairs. Instead the moors put in ramps so you could ride a donkey or horse. This was fun for about ten ramps but by the time we had climbed past thirty-something ramps I was pretty tired.

Besides the Moorish architecture, we saw where they had the world’s fair back in the 20’s. Each country designed and built their own house. Some were incredible while others were pretty boring. I think I remember Mexico’s looked like a cheesy restaurant with cacti painted on the walls. In the middle of all the houses was the main building. It was a giant semicircle building with a little river that ran through it. Around the building were mosaic pictures for each region in Spain. I got my picture taken next to the Granada one.

Oh, I forgot about the royal palace in Sevilla. The palace was built in three parts. One part was the old Moorish palace modernized, the next was a mix between Arabic and Spanish style, and the last was a more modern western European style. The most memorable part for me were the gardens. Orange trees and palms were scattered throughout with fountains placed here and there. It wasn’t the biggest or best garden I have seen but it was really pretty.

After all the sights, we walked around town and then laid by the river with the other Spanish college students. It was a gorgeous day.

The next morning we left for Cordoba. I have somewhat mixed feelings about Cordoba. First I’ll tell you about the Cathedral which is incredible. Cordoba used to be the capital of the Arabic dominated spain so the mosque here was arguably the most beautiful in the world. Sadly, the Christians destroyed part of it and built a cathedral. Thankfully they saved the majority of the mosque only now its referred to as a cathedral. Row after row of columns surround the cathedral which is in the middle. At the far end of the cathedral, on the Quibla, which is the name for the wall that faces Mecca, is the Mihrab. The mihrab is the nook where the leader of the prayers speaks so that his voice is amplified. It is always the most decorated part of the mosque. Since Cordoba was such an incredible place, the mihrab there is the most beautiful in the world.

Besides all the beautiful columns and decorations, the cathedral is actually very pretty too. The seats were carved from beautiful dark wood. I don’t remember what kind but it’s beautiful nonetheless.

Now you may be wondering why I have mixed feeling after such a glowing review of the cathedral. Well, the city itself is not that exciting. It might have been cause it was Sunday and most things were closed or the fact that so many tourists and gypsies were everywhere. Either way, I didn’t love the city. Another downer is that the huge roman bridge is closed for repairs so I couldn’t even walk across it. Oh well, if you get a chance to come to Cordoba, make it a day trip cause the cathedral is worth it.

Well that is about it for that trip. I’m glad that all my classes about the history of Spain are starting to pay off. I hope you enjoyed the history/architecture lesson. I’ll try and incorporate more of that into my other posts. Don’t worry, I still have a few more trips to talk about. Get ready.

London, The Gateway to Magic

Right now my mind is refusing to believe that it actually is May. I only have three more weeks of class and then I’m done. This thought is just too painful so instead I’m going to pretend its February and that I just went to London.

First off, I would like to say to Aunt Jean and Uncle Chris that I am very sorry that I didn’t have enough time to visit you guys. I feel like the worst nephew of all time. My excuse is that I was with my friends from my program and I only had three days in London. Also, I thought that I could weasel my way into another trip to London since I still haven’t seen Cambridge. Pretty sly huh?

Alright, now its time to talk about my trip. I have to say that I was really worried about the pound and running out of money so I took the poor man’s tour of London. Luckily for me, most of the museums are free. Hurray! So the first day in London, my friends and I went for a super walking tour around the city. The weather was so nice which was surprising cause I thought for sure it would be raining the whole time. We walked by the houses of Parliament, Westminster Abby, Big Ben, and went across the river. Standing on the bridge and looking at Parliament was unbelievable. I felt like I was in a movie and not actually there. Basically wherever I go in Europe I feel this way since all the famous sights just remind me of pictures or movies. I guess I should read more books.

After we crossed the river we walked by the London Eye. Unfortunately we never got the chance to go up it. We planned on going later that night but it didn’t work out. There’s always next time! Then we walked by the giant cathedral, I forget the name right now, St. John is what I want to say but I have seen so many basilicas and cathedrals that they are blending together right now. Whatever it was called was really awesome from the outside. We didn’t go inside for some reason, probably cause we are poor college students. Sorry, this is a really boring entry so far. I’m going to try and include actual details from now on.

We headed over to National Museum to check out some FREE artwork. There were so many incredible painting in there. In the basement there was a new exhibit with Van Gogh, Monet, and so many other awesome artists. The one bad thing about these museums is that the first time you go, you are overwhelmed with all the artwork. You feel the need to see everything and so you try and run around while absorbing an incredible amount of art that your brain ends up shutting down. So after about two hours, we all needed to rest our brains.

We walked over to the Royal Palace and were surprised to see a sort of military parade walking through the park towards the palace. Even now I don’t know what it was but I have a picture of them. The palace was so pretty but we only had around five minutes there before guards came and escorted all of us away. We heard them saying that there was a suspicious package left outside the gate. As we walked away we kept our ears tuned for any sound of explosion but luckily nothing happened.

For dinner the first night, we found an all you can eat Indian restaurant. It was my first Indian food experience and I thought it was amazing. It probably wasn’t the best Indian food around since it was pretty cheap but after two months of measly spice-less little Spanish dinners, it was heaven to engorge myself on as much spicy food as my stomach could hold.

The next day, my friends were set on going to Stonehenge but it was going to be an all day trip and I really didn’t feel like wasting one of my three days going to see a pile of rocks. So I set out on the town by myself which was really exciting. I loved traveling in the subway and getting lost around the town. I went to my favorite place in London today, The Tate Modern. This is a modern art museum in a giant building. I’m not sure what the building used to be but I would guess a shipbuilding plant cause the main room is enormous! The art was great and everything but the best part were the giant slides that were up to five stories tall. My biggest regret is that I didn’t have enough time ride the giant one. When I wasn’t riding the slide and giggling like a little schoolboy, I saw some beautiful and often times incredibly confusing modern art. I’m trying to think of something to describe but there is really no way I could possibly explain any of the things I saw there. Just go.

After my museum trip, I bought a sandwich and went to the park. I ate on a bench and watched birds land in the pond. It was so peaceful. The parks in London are some of the best that I have seen. Hyde Park was so peaceful and pretty that I probably could have just walked through it all day. I did for a solid two hours but then I met some other friends who happened to be in London the same weekend at the British Museum. There is way too much stuff to see in the British Museum. I really think they should share some of their stuff to less fortunate museums. I was only there for about an hour and a half and I think I went to about three rooms. I saw mummies, Japanese drawings, a Michaelangelo sketch, and the Rosetta Stone. Somehow I think I missed the Parthenon. I definitely need to go back there.

That night I went to a discoteca called Fabric. It was crazy! There were four rooms with different live DJs and so many smoke machines and lazers that I never was sure where I was. I danced for what seemed like forever and then crashed into my bed. My legs have never been more tired.

Since my friends were back the next day, we did some more museums and saw more sights. We walked over to the Tower Bridge and I went inside the Tower of London. This was another place with way too much to see. By far the coolest thing there were the Royal Jewels. I didn’t know that the biggest diamond in the world was there. I went on the conveyor belt thingy at least three times.

The rest of the day we just enjoyed the city and then we left early the next morning. Sorry this was a really vague description of London. I’m sure that I missed a lot of stuff cause it did happen a while ago. Get ready for my next belated vacation!

This last one is for all of you Harry Potter lovers. I'm off to Hogwarts!

Spring Break In Italy

Link to my photo album:

http://chapman.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032127&l=c0b99&id=35800358

Alright, I admit that it has been far too long since my last post. Cut me some slack. I've been busy. Anyway, I'm going to post a blog about my other trips later this week but right now I want to talk about my most recent one, spring break in Italy.

Somehow while I was planning my flights there and back, I ended up with twelve days in Italy! Not sure how that happened but I wasn't about to put up any fuss over it. To start my trip off, I flew into Venice. My friend Rob and I flew together and found a really cheap and fun hostel outside of the city. It was called Jolly Camping but this was the most posh campsite I have been to. Our "cabins" were little RVs with our own bathroom, shower, and heater. It was the nicest hostel we stayed at the whole time in Italy.

Venice was so beautiful. Even though it rained the first two days there and a little cloudy the third, I was too excited to let it bother me. Since we were there for three days, we had more than enough time to see the city. Each day we would wander around the city discovering new places that we had never seen before. San Marco’s Square and the Rialto Bridge are the two most famous spots in Venice. They were always packed with people but were so beautiful.

Besides those two main places we bought a museum card that allowed us to visit twelve museums in Venice, including the Doge’s Palace. This palace is right next to San Marco’s Basilica and is where the Doge, the figurehead of the Venice Empire but without any real power, lived and held meetings with those in power. It was a huge building with enormous rooms covered in artwork. Besides the Doge’s Palace, we went to several other museums, sometimes just to use the free bathroom. The other museums had some interesting sculptures, books, paintings, and we even went to the glass museum on the island of Murano.

One of my favorite places was the island of Burano. It’s a tiny island a half hour by boat outside of Venice with brightly painted houses all over it. It’s known for its lace and there was a lace museum that we could have gone to but it was closes. Shucks! I just loved how colorful and cheerful this town was. Apparently this is how Venice used to look before it started to decay. Be sure to look at my photo album and see the pics of this place. Its hard to miss.

After Venice, we took a train down to Florence which was a bit of a shock since it was so different than Venice. Florence had a more modern city feel to it with scattered ancient building throughout the city. I think I liked how everywhere in Venice felt the same so it was a little bit of a let down to be in a “normal” city. In spite of this, I had an amazing time in Florence.

Since it was rainy in Venice, there were almost no crowds but now that spring break was fully in session and the sun was out the people came swarming in. Luckily we bought tickets in advance to the Uffizi and Academia Galleries. The Uffizi had an incredible amount of paintings inside. My favorite were Boticelli’s. He had his own enormous room full of paintings that I had learned about in class. “The Birth of Venus” and “Spring” were the most awe inspiring paintings that I saw. I don’t understand how paint can glow and almost jump out of a painting like that. The Academia was smaller but it had something that no one can go to Florence without seeing, Michaelangelo’s David. I knew that the David was going to be amazing but there is no way to describe how it looks from up close. The detail in the marble and the sheer size of the sculpture makes you stop and just stare for almost ten minutes. It’s difficult to move in that room cause people randomly stop walking in front of you.

Besides these museums, I climbed to the top of the Duomo which is the giant dome on the cathedral. The name Duomo is used for every cathedral that has a dome but I don’t remember the name of the cathedral in Florence. All the signs just said Duomo. Anway, the view from the top was incredible but the climb up was the truly fun part. The dome is built so there is a dome inside of a dome. This sounds confusing and when I read it in Rick Steve’s I didn’t understand until I was climbing up. What you do is climb up stairs until you reach the part where the dome starts to curve. Then you suddenly realize that you are climbing up stairs that are on top of the inside dome but that there is another dome a foot above your head. There was about a six foot space in between the two that you walk through. It was really exciting even though it was a little snug trying to squeeze your way through. I tried to take picture of myself climbing up, it’s the one where I look like I’m in a cave.

Since we had five days in Florence which was more than enough, I decided to take two day trips. The first was to Pisa. The leaning tower was beautiful and I realized that there is a giant cathedral right next to it. I was curious why they never show the cathedral when they take pictures of the tower. I would have liked to climb the tower but it was ridiculously expensive. Besides the tower, there really wasn’t much else to do but we rented a four person bike and rode around the city. That was pretty fun and more than a little dangerous when we found our way onto the main road.

My second day trip was to Sienna and it was amazing! Everyone has an idea of what Italian cities are and Sienna was mine. It’s medium sized town built on a hill about an hour outside of Florence. The streets are all small with almost no cars on them. The busiest part of town is called Il Campo which was somewhat like a large plaza but instead of being square, it was in the shape of an amphitheatre without seats. Everyone was sitting on the ground eating lunch or gelato and just hanging out. There was also a huge cathedral that was even prettier than the one in Florence. When I walked to the top of a hill, I saw earth colored houses scattered throughout the city like rows and rows of crooked teeth. That’s a pretty gross description but the view was beautiful. Especially since it was twilight and all the houses seemed to glow reddish orange.

I took the train back to Florence that night and then the next morning I set out for Rome. We knew Rome was going to be a madhouse so we planned ahead. Unfortunately we realized that our reservation for the Vatican Museum had been changed to 8:15 am and our train got into Rome at 9:15. We dropped our bags in the station and hopped a bus to the Vatican. We met a really nice Australian who told us where to go and what to do in Rome but unfortunately we had to leave him in the line for the Vatican museum that almost encircled all of Vatican City. As we ran to the front of the line, we prayed that we would be allowed in. We found our group and they said in heavily accented English “Wow, you’re really late.” And then they gave us our passes and we got in. Hurray! Kinda anti-climactic but it was pretty nerve racking for us. Before I walked in the Vatican Museum, I had no idea what was inside. I thought it was all about the history of the Vatican but I learned pretty quickly that almost everything that you want to see in Rome is in here. I don’t think I have ever seen so many statues in my life. I took a picture of one hallway where it was statue after statue as far as you can see. We walked past closed rooms where there were statues packed in like old furniture. It was so strange seeing so much art. In fact, it was actually mind numbing to see so much. It was mostly a blur except for the highlights. I think my favorite part was the Raphael Rooms. Here were frescoes painted by Raphael that covered the walls. I was a few feet away from a priceless painting that I had only seen textbooks. I don’t remember the name of my favorite one but it is the most famous. It shows Plato and Socrates (I think) in the middle surrounded by other scholarly looking people. After that we went to the Sistine Chapel. There were so many people inside. As the Spanish say, “estábamos como sardines en una lata.”(We were like sardines in a can, for those with no spanish background) I think that I would have liked the Sistine Chapel better if I could breathe and there weren’t gaurds yelling silenzio every two minutes. In spite of all that, it was still amazing to see the paintings covering every inch of the walls and ceiling. At the end of the museum, you exit into St. Peter’s Basilica. This was by the far the most amazing place that I have seen and I have seen my fair share of cathedrals since I’ve been in Spain. The ceiling had dome after dome with art and sculptures covering every nook at cranny. At the head of the church, there was a stained glass window made out of a type of translucent stone. I forget the name of it but I couldn’t believe that it was actually a rock instead of glass. There was one sculpture that I couldn’t believe. It was just a random part of the church but it was so amazing. It showed two angels with a blanket and a skeleton peaking out from under the blanket. The whole thing was carved out of brown marble but the blanket looked like I could fold it up if I wanted to. I don’t have any clue how they did that.

The next day was Easter Sunday so we decided to stay away from the Vatican which was going to be a madhouse. Instead we went to the Coliseum, Roman Forum, Palatino, Pantheon, and a bunch of other ruins. Being inside the Coliseum made me want to watch the movie Gladiator. It was incredible to see something so old and yet so large. I really enjoyed how Rome was scattered with pillars, ruins, fountains, and whatever else you could find from the Roman times except for a vomitorium. I was hoping to find one of those because I was sad that I couldn’t be eating Italian food every waking moment.

Some of the Roman stuff that I loved were the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. Both of these were incredible to see. Actually, one of the weirdest feelings I had while in Italy was right outside the Pantheon. I was taking a break from pizza or pasta and I was sitting in the patio of McDonalds looking at the Pantheon when I realized what I was doing. I was shoving some delicious French fries in my mouth while staring at one of the most amazing building I have ever seen. That could never happen in the US. Although after my fries were done I would have traded the Pantheon for a Double-Double.

Whew, this has been an epic entry so far. I would like to thank my grandparents for probably being the only ones that have read all of this so far. I know that you guys wanted some more facts on my trips but I hope that I didn’t get too into detail.

OH NO! I just realized that I forgot to even mention my favorite part about Italy. The FOOD! For my first three meals in Italy I ate pizza and I honestly could have eaten pizza the whole time. It was delicious. Pasta, artichokes, tomatoes, and a deluge of other foods that are making my mouth water were everywhere in Italy. I didn’t bother buying anything that I couldn’t shove in my mouth. Above all else, the Gelato was heavenly. I had a Gelato almost everyday, and the best one that I had was in Rome in a place called Gilitto or something. You had to pay for your cone first and then grab your receipt and fight your way to the counter. It was a madhouse in there. Everyone was screaming and elbowing their way to the front. When I finally made it to the counter I realized that I had no idea what I wanted. I panicked and chose whatever sounded good. Chocolate, banana, and tiramisu with a big blob of homemade whipped cream on top. Ummmm. There is a picture of me holding this scepter of delight in my photo album. Be sure to check it out.

Well, that about does it for my Italy trip. Don’t worry, I’m going to try and get my other trips on here soon. They probably won’t be as long though. I love and miss you guys!

Cadiz

Before I even begin this latest post on Cadiz, there is a quick story that I have to tell. Its about how I became a superstar here in Granada. Last thursday there was a freak heatwave. After weeks of cold weather, last friday was around 27 or 28 degrees celsius. I'm not entirely sure how warm that is in fahrenheit but its close to 70 something. It was a beautiful day. My friends and I went to the plaza and bought ice cream. We were enjoying our ice cream when a news crew comes up to us and asks to film us. We say of course, why not? Later that night, we were on the Granada news and now we are international superstars. Just thought that was a pretty great story.

Now its time to try and tell the tale of Cadiz. This last weekend was the Carnaval a Cadiz which is basically the big party for fat Tuesday. Instead of one weekend, its the entire month of February but the party isn't always in the same place. Some weekends, the party is in different cities. Well, my friends and I decided on a whim to go there. We all bought costumes becuase you have to have something to wear otherwise you stand out as a loser. So I found the coolest ski suit that I have ever seen. Its one piece, neon orange and pink, with stars all over it. I also found some pink sunglasses to wear with it. I looked pretty hot, not going to lie. My friend Peter found a suit almost like mine. Together we probably were the best dressed in Cadiz.











Saturday, we boarded a bus full of college kids from all over the world. Everyone was dressed up and ready to go. We left at noon and arrived in Cadiz at five. Booking a hostel wasn't a problem because no one was planning on sleeping. We planned on staying up all night and leaving at eight in the morning. Which might have been a little early because the party was still going when we left.
Cadiz is on the coast near Portugal. It was an amazing town. When we arrived, we watched the sunset over the atlantic while drinking sparkling wine. Good times, good times. Once the sun set, we headed over to the plaza where everyone was gathered. There was a stage with performers and singers. We didn't know before we left but the way to do things was to get into a huge group and dress alike. There were groups of nuns, priests, chickens, cows, saddam husseins, terrorists, and everything else you can imagine. I went around for at least an hour just taking pictures with groups of people.





For dinner we decided to eat at a very spanish restaurant. You may have heard of it. Its called El Rey de la Hamburguesa or Burger King. It was delicious. But since we were up for so long, at around 3am i bought a sausage hoagie from a random street vendor who cooked it right in front of me. Hmm, so good. Since I'm already on the topic of food, I might as well tell you about the churros. In Spain, churros are not the crunchy, cinnamon covered sticks that we have. They are fried dough that you dip into chocolate. They are incredible. The problem is that there was a huge churreria (churro stand) and it was so packed full of people that we couldn't wait that long. They sure smelled good though.





Everyone gathered in the plazas. We spent most of our time in the plaza in front of the main cathedral but we also wandered around and found some other packed plazas. There was one with a huge monument in the middle. Hundreds of people had hopped the little fence and were climbing all over it. So of course we had to do the same. We took a few minutes to sit and relax after climbing the monument, when suddenly some random guy fell on top of us. He was apparently trying to climb up to the next level which was not such a great idea, especially since he was pretty intoxicated. We were fine but we asked him if he was ok and he just ignored us. He stood up, crossed his arms and looked out into the crowd like we didn't exist. It just made the whole experience even funnier.



I forgot to mention the beach. In the middle of the night, we all went and found a sandy beach. It was really pretty. There was a huge rock that we could climb on and everyone wanted to run through the water. Since I'm from California, I knew that it was not the best idea to have sandy feet when you had to walk around the street for five more hours. I tried to reason with them but they wouldn't listen. So I figured that meant I didn't have to listen to them whine the rest of the night. Oh, the picture is of me doing a cartwheel on the beach. Pretty sweet, huh.



From six to seven was probably the longest hour of my life. I just sat on a chair and watched people order churros until I could go back to the bus. Finally the time had come for us to return to the bus and we were so happy to have "comfy" seats. I got a good hour of sleep on the bus and then passed out when I got home. Such a great time.

Barcelona

Now its time for the second half of my latest vacation. Our flight out of Madrid left at six in the morning which was a problem since the metro stopped at 1 and a taxi was thirty euros. Our solution to this problem was to show up five hours early and then just sleep in the airport. I don't think marble floors ever felt as comfortable. With almost two hours of sleep, we arrived in Barcelona and had to wait another three hours for out hostel to open. We found a dunkin donuts and pigged out on donuts and coffee with all of our luggage at our feet.
Hours later our hostel opened and we were anxious to see how we did playing hostel roulette. We ended up scoring a clean and fun hostel right off the main street of the city. SWEET! Our roommates were from france, belgium, austria, germany, and turkey. Luckily they all spoke english.
In Barcelona there are so many sites to see that we never had a dull moment. On our first day we went to see the Cathedral Sagrada Familia which was designed by Gaudi. It was really interesting. We were too cheap to go inside but from the outside it was so impressive. Gaudi's style is love or hate. I tend to be on the hate side. He packs in so many different styles and decorations into each part that it gets to be a little too much. Even though I thought it was little on the ugly side, it was really cool to see. His other building are scattered around the city. Some of these were pretty interesting too.



My favorite Gaudi place that we went was the Park Guell. Gaudi designed this massive park on a hill which overlooks the whole city. There are caves, giant pillars, and almost everything is decorated with mosaic tiles. One of the coolest parts was the giant snakelike bench that winds its way around the park.




We also went to the olympic village where they had the olympics, I think it was in 1992. Not really sure. Even though it was empty when we were there, it was easy to imagine it full of people.

My favorite part was when went to see the giant fountain at night. They call it agua magica or the magic water show. The fountain lights up and music plays. It was incredible. Of course we walked almost three miles just to get there but it was definitely worth it. I don't think I have ever seen such an enormous fountain. We also bought bread, chease, and wine for dinner. I felt super european.


One night we went to see the mediteranean. I wish it had been warmer cause I wanted to jump in. Hopefully I can go back later and maybe lay out on a nude beach. Just kidding. Or am I?
Other random things we did was walk under the Arc de Triunf, not the french one, there is one in Barcelona as well. Who knew? We saw tons of awesome buildings, amazing fountains, and ate lots of amazing food. Paella and falafel are the bomb. One falafel place lets you put as much topping on it as you want. Lets just say that is a bad idea when you let a broke starving college kid help himself. I had to use a fork to eat my falafel pita.


Oh! I forgot one of my favorite parts. There was an open market near our hostel and it was huge. Fruit, bread, chocolate, seafood, meat, and everything else you can imagine were there. The weirdest part was walking through the seafood section and realizing that most of the food was still alive. Signs were waving as crabs or shrimp crawled under it, bubbles were appearing from clams and other shelled creatures, and huge squids were sprawled out on ice. It was so cool. I wanted to buy something just to say I did it but I have no idea how to cook squid.