Bittersweet Goodbye

I find myself growing sadder and more delusional to the fact that I am leaving Valencia tomorrow to go back to Madrid. It is surreal how the time has flown and it does not seem like I have been in this country for six weeks. For all of the jokes that have been concocted, the studying we didn't do, the nights that we stayed out until dawn, the tears that flowed, and the lack of Euro we all seemed to have, I wouldn't change a thing for the world.

I have grown quite a bit as a person from this trip. The culture is so different, yet so beautiful here. My eyes have definitely been opened to the wonders of Europe and the rest of the world. Walking back from supper tonight, I looked up at the buildings and realized we have nothing like this in the United States; you will never see 400 year old building with iron wrought balconies and flowers draping over them in Atlanta. The sheer beauty of Valencia will surely be dear to my heart and will never be forgotten.

It's sad to think about how this chapter of my life is closing, but I am also excited to see the opportunities I will gain from being here. I truly have discovered another side to myself and my soul that seems to have been lost for a while now, and living life in a completely different way than I am used to has given me a spark that I desperately needed.

España and Valencia has treated me very well. Minus the disgusting PDA and the Count's stench. But one can deal with that. Y'all will here from me in Madrid next!

San Juan Won

Last night was El Noche de San Juan, or the night of Saint John. It's a huge party that takes place on the beaches of Valencia where people light bonfires and drink. A lot. At midnight you are supposed to run into the ocean (some say naked, but I was not falling for that) and jump with the waves 7 times for luck. People come to this from all over Spain and Europe.

Needless to say, shenanigans ensued for everyone on the UGA en Valencia group. Allison and I both hurt our feet pretty badly (we are both limping like bosses), Jamie lost all of his clothes, Big Country fell asleep on me on the ride home, phones were stolen/lost, shoes broken, and so much more. It was an awesome night. I have never experienced a festival like that before in my life. I think I came back to the dorms at 6:30 this morning, which is extremely ridiculous, even by my standards.

Today I did nothing but relax since it hurts to walk/I am so dead from last night. I am finally uploading pictures though! The should be up on facebook pretty soon. Tomorrow we are going to try to go put putting and enjoy our last weekend in Valencia. With no school to keep me occupied in the morning, I am excited for the morning adventures we get to take.

On a more serious note, I want to thank everyone who has been there for me recently. I am so lucky to have such a great support system and I love all of you minions very much. :)

Sevilla: Hotter than Hades on Steroids.

After a week of traveling, studying, writing papers, and doing a presentation, I finally have time to blog to my minions. This morning I took my final in Celia's class, which I think I did pretty well on. I also just finished a presentation and five-page paper for the Count's class tonight. This means that only the Count's final stands in between me and the San Juan festival at the beach! Oh, and the fact that I have a super nasty cold. Thankfully I am feeling a lot better than I was yesterday, but I still need to rest up.

Cadiz and Sevilla were so freaking awesome! Danny, Kristin, Jamie, Helen, and I all booked a flight early Friday morning to leave to the lovely south of Spain. Cadiz is the equivalent of a quaint European beach town. Tall apartments with iron-work balconies line cobblestone streets everywhere you go. Sarah and the UGA in Cadiz group are very lucky to have such a pretty setting for their study abroad. The first day we got there we met up with Sarah after checking in to our hostel. We went to this fabulous crepe restaurant where I got a crepe with egg, dijon mustard, beef, and veggies. It was one of the best Spanish meals I have had yet. Sarah then showed us the sights of Cadiz, such as the cathedral there and the beach. The scenic view is breathtaking.

That night, we went out with the Cadiz group to the bars. It was so much cheaper there than what we are used to! I got a few drinks for free and most of them cost 3 euro (in Valencia we have to pay at least five). Unfortunentaly, we were all so tired from our 6 am flight that we called it in early (by early I mean 2:30 am. Spaniards love their party time).

We woke up the next morning and went up to the roof of the hostel where they made us breakfast. It was so cute and homey up there. Being ravenous, I ate a homemade egg and four pieces of toast with coffee. since I am now only used to french bread toast, it was great to have some actual homemade protein with breakfast. After that we went to the beach all day. We ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant. The nachos there were good, but I still miss my Auga Linda nachos mucho. We then went back to the beach, where we discovered that we could go to the end of an old castle ruin and jump into the water! It was at least a 20 foot jump, but the five of us did it and loved it. The hard part was climbing back onto the rocks since the waves were very rough. However, it was very worth it.

Later that night we got tapas at the manliest restaurant I have ever seen. There were bottles of wine and beer all over, everything in the establishment was made out of wood, and there were legs of meat hanging off of the walls. My dad would have been in heaven. I wasn't that hungry, so I only got grilled chorizo with grilled veggies. It was perfect. That night we went to the beach with our bottles of wine and sat around and told stories and talked. It was so relaxing, yet so much fun. When we got back to the hostel Danny Boy almost got us in a bit of trouble (peeing off balconies is not acceptable in Spain, apparently), but a genuinely confused and naive Kristin talked our way out of trouble.

The next morning we took a train back to Sevilla where we explored the highlights of the town. We saw the Torre del Oro, Palacio de Alhambra, and Plaza de España. Unfortunentaly the Torre was closed, but that might have been for the best since Kristin wiped out on some stairs and busted her knee pretty badly. Jamie decided this was an opportune time for photos, so facebook pics are likely to come soon. The plaza had huge protests going on about the war in Libya. Literally thousands of people showed up with signs, banners, airhorns, children, dogs, and everything in between. Roads were shut down and police were everywhere. I have never seen such an intense protest before.

My favorite part of Sevilla was the Palace. It was built in the 12th century and literally seemed like it's own mini city. There was a labirynth in the gardens. That is not real life. Also, they had a bunch of peacocks and peahens running around the gardens. This being my favorite animals, I ran around and tried to pose with them as close as possible. There were also dozens of fountains, gardens, secret passageways, courtyards, and everything in between. It would take a full day to truly explore the entire palace.

That night we went back to our stifling hostel (it was cute but didn't have airconditioning). I got so hot that I had to sleep on the tile floor with my pillow. Finally around 1 am it cooled down enough to where I could climb in my bed and sleep comfortable. At 3:30 am we woke up chipper (very sarcastic) and ready to take a flight back to Valencia. Unfortunately, I woke up with a sore throat and clogged ears. Not a good start to an obscenely early day. We got back to Valencia before 8 and Danny and I took the metro straight to class.

It was a jam-packed weekend, but it was so much fun. Now it is time for me to rest up and enjoy my last few days here in Valencia since we leave Monday morning for Madrid :(.
Ciao!

This week has been nutsss

Once again, I am sorry that I have not kept up to par with my blogging, but things have been out of conch for the past week. I got my midterm back from Celia's class and I got a 95 on it! I am very pleased with these results. On the downside, the Count decided to assign us a 5 page paper and a five page presentation and our final all in the span of 3 days. Super. This is all occurring next week on top of Celia's final. We are not pleased. I can't believe that next week is our last week of school. This trip has flown by so fast. Two weeks from today I will be on a plane back home. Absolutely crazy.

Speaking of the Count, I have a present for my faithful followers. Without further adieu, here is a picture of the Count.


I dare any of you to contradict me.

On a brighter note, five of us are leaving for Cadiz and Sevilla this weekend! I am super excited to see my beloved Sarah McPartlan this weekend. I promise y'all that I will update everyone before I leave.

Barcelona this past weekend can be described as so: NOT REAL LIFE. Everything that happened seemed like it was from another reality. Unfortunately, I got sick from the ham on Friday, so I spent the afternoon trying to sleep it off. That night, we went out to eat at this buffet called Fresco. It had FRESH VEGGIES and delicious pizza. We ate there for supper both nights since it was included in our trip. I was sooooo happy.

The first night we went to a discoteque called Razz Mitazz that night. It was nuts! It had all of these different levels and floors. We stayed there for hours and left at 4 in the morning. We just danced for the entire night. I also met another American from Arizona. It was nice to speak Amuricah with someone. Not to mention, I saw Ms. Katie Beth Lusk there! What are the chances of that happening??

The next night we went to a beach club called Catwalk. Not only did we splurge on redbull and vodkas, but we were so hyped up that we danced until the sun came up. We walked out onto the beach and drank a beer and watched the sun rise. We waltz into breakfast in our club clothes at 8 in the morning. Needless to say, we were judged.

It was probably the craziest weekend of my life, but it was completely worth it. Now I am dead and I need to get charged up for this weekend. I promise I will be better about keeping yall posted.

The Count got a haircut!

Sunday night we went to a Flamenco club! The dancer was so beautiful and intense. She was this tiny dark-haired woman who wore these elaborate Flamenco costumes with a lot of fringe and ruffles. When she stomped to the beat of the Flamenco music it literally caused the tiny club to shake. The men who sang and played guitar behind her were awesome, too. One of the men looked like a more Hispanic version of Ronnie from Jersey Shore, so that tickled me a bit. Needless to say, I sort of want to learn how to Flamenco so I can stomp like a champ.

Yesterday was far less fun. I spent most of the day taking a siesta, bopping around on the computer, and studying for my Literatura midterm. I took it this morning and I think I did really well on it. Aside from getting our test over with, the Count canceled his class today so I was done with school at 10 this morning. Naturally, I came back and took a siesta after the maids cleaned our room and got lunch around 2:30. I really don't have anything else planned for today.

Yesterday I was slumming around on the internet and found this website called TheBurningHouse.com, which is basically a photo gallery of what you would grab if your house burned down. It was fascinating to see what people would bring with them. Obviously any family/pets are a given, but you basically have to decide between any priceless items and sentimental items. I couldn't help but think about what I would save, and I came up with this basic list:

-My macbook: There are too many memories on that computer that are irreplacable, including photos, letters, etc.
-My Droid: Gotta call the fire department
-My Camera: I can't go through life without taking pictures of everything, even though I don't always update things to Facebook
-Chargers for the first 3
-My scrapbooks of my Germany vacation summer after middle school and all of my scrapbooks throughout middle school and early highschool
-Jewelry that is priceless to me:
-My blue topaz ring I got for my 21st birthday
-My diamond band that I got when I was 15, which was passed down from my grandmother
to my mother
-Braided gold ring that was also my mother's
-Green emerald necklace that I got for my highschool graduation from my parents
-White gold and diamond huggies that I got for my 17th birthday from my parents
-Gold ID bracelet with my name and birthdate on it from my aunt/godmother
-Blue and white diamond pendant from my grandparents for my 18th birthday
-All of these pieces would be in my Alpha Gamma Delta jewelry box.
-Jewelry box John gave me for Christmas
-My rosary from Vatican City: It was blessed by the Pope and means so much to me
-My patagonia jacket: Need to stay warm

This seems like a ton, but these are the most sentimental/ important things in my life. To lose one of them would be devastating to me. I hope that a fire never engulfs my house, but if it were to happen, these would be the treasures I save (of course, family and Lulus are first).

Sorry for the delay...

Heya, sorry it has been so long since I have last blogged. I have been rather busy/ too tired to sit down and really tell my faithful followers about Spain.

Today, we went to the Cathedral of Valencia for mass. I always feel so blessed to be in there because it is such an ancient and sacred place. It is well over 4oo years old and is simply breathtaking. I think that we are going to mass later on in the week because I won't be able to go on Sunday since we will be in Barcelona.

Thursday night we went to a "Mexican" restaurant. It is actually owned by a Mexican guy named Alex who was so very nice. He kept telling us that the restaurant was our home too, and that we should come back all the time. I got veggie and beef tacos that were soooo good! The veggies were green and red peppers with grilled onions. I have missed veggies so much, and that was exactly what I needed. The only thing is that it was a little expensive. And the margs were weak. Oh, well. The veggies and tacos made up for it.

Aside from that, it has just been mainly school and sleep. eat, and sometime going to the bars. Our bar that us Americans always go to is called O'Hares. It's owned by some man named Juano who absolutely adores us. We can also get a liter of Fosters for 3 Euro, so that is always pleasant.

I should get my grade for my presentation that I gave last Monday about Juana de Ines. I was shocked to know that it was considered heresy for a woman to study education. And here I am 400 years later in a different country studying. And it's also nice that I can get married, drink like a champ...etc.

Tonight we are going Flamenco dancing! I am so excited to actually learn some Spanish dancing here. It's going to be some much fun. I shall update you all on how it goes.

P.S. this is how much I miss American food. Watch the link below :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkJWopuWwxg

Ali-Alicante!

Last night we got back from a very lovely weekend in Alicante. We originally went with 17 girls (kind of a hot mess), but we had to go to 2 different hotels for us to all be accommodated. I went with the smaller group to a hotel called Alicante Hills, which looked like a Greek hotel. It was mainly white with blue trimming and was apartment style! We only paid 30 Euro for two nights, so that was pretty awesome and roomy.
We misheard the woman at the train station and thought that our hotel was a twenty minute walk. Wrong. She meant a twenty minute busride. We walked for an hour and a half over 4 kilometers! Finally, we called a cab to take us to our hotel. It was literally a two minute ride and we were at our hotel. We were not pleased. However, we discovered this awesome lagoon-park on the way that we rested at and dipped our feet in. There are pictures on Facebook of Kristin and me on some rocks out on the lagoon and pretended to be the Little Mermaid. That was the silver lining in that treacherous walk that left demon callouses on my feet.
That night we took a bus back into the city and got dinner at this precious little restaurant called Prego. It was Italian, so we naturally all got wine (Meagan and I split the most delicious bottle of merlot for only 10 Euro. Later we found out it was 14.5% alcohol. Oops). I got this tomato-basil baked penne with basil leaves and mozzarella baked in. It was heavenly. Our waitress and bartender were so nice, too. They were joking and laughing with us the whole night. Clearly they liked the silly American girls with horrible accents because we got free lemoncello shots. Molte bene! Since dinner is so much later here, we didn't end up leaving the restaurant until 11:30. Being Americans, we are used to getting the check as soon as we are done eating and then moseying out the door two minutes later. Here, we always have to ask for the check. They encourage us to stay in the restaurant!
I actually got to bed at a decent hour and we woke up around 11 the next morning. We caught a bus to this fort called Castillo de Santa Barbara. It was so ballin! The fort was built into this giant cliff overlooking the Mediterranean and had all these turrets and secret pasageways. In the opposite direction of the sea we could see all of Alicante and the mountains. It was truly a beautiful sight.
After getting all hot and sweaty from hiking, we went to the beach right below the fort for a couple of hours to get some sun. Around 5:30 some clouds rolled in and made the windblown beach rather chilly, so we went shopping in the little market stands on the boardwalk. I got some presents for family and friends back home for great prices. If I had more money/ a bigger suitcase, I would have bought out some of those stands. Personally, I like their trinkets more than Valencia trinkets. After that we got some coffee and waited for suppertime. What a worthwhile wait. We went to one of the coolest tapas places ever! Each tapa had a toothpick in it and based on how many toothpicks you got that was the price you paid. I had a great spinach empanada, bacon-wrapped chorizo with lettuce on bread, lamb, chicken on bread covered in a queso-sauce, and a cheese and ham quiche. They were literally each two or three bites, but it the perfect portion. Once again, the waiters were so funny and nice.
Our last day in Alicante (Sunday) we went to the beach all day and relaxed. Joey, you are going to hate me, but we got Subway for supper and I kinda enjoyed it. Apparently there is a strike with vegetable farmers, so a lot of Spain doesn't have many veggies. This subway only had lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles. Honestly, I have never craved a spinach salad as bad as I do now. With red and green peppers. And sweet onion. And feta cheese. NOM
Anyways, we got back to the dorms around 10 last night. On the train back, I realized that there are many things I love about this country, but 3 main things I hate.
1. They don't split the checks! It's a royal pain to try and count out all the Euro you owe and make sure that everyone gets their change back, etc. etc.
2. The PDA here is out of control. Saying goodbye to someone at the train station should not be a 20 minute makeout session for all to see complete with heavy petting. Ew. No. Stop. Not to mention, it is very inappropriate for 14 year olds at the beach to be straddling each other in the sand while small children run around. If we wanted to see that, we would go to the sleazy underground of Madrid.
3. People come into restaurants and solicit all the time! No, I don't want a rose from you, creepy old man. I want to enjoy my meal with my friends. Hey, nasty homeless guy, if you ask for my money again while I am sipping on my cafe con leche, I will feel inclined to stab you with my butter knife. I'm not used to that at all because that is very illegal in the U.S. And I am very much ok with that.
Whew! Sorry about the long rants. It was a very eventful weekend and I felt the need to share my thoughts with y'all. Stay prepared for tomorrow's post because we have a birthday girl who will want to do crazy shenanigans and I want to write all about it. The PG version, of course :).

So little time.

I just realized today that after this Sunday I will only have 4 weeks left in Spain. :( On a brighter note, we leave for Alicante tomorrow!! AYYYYYY. I am very excited to travel and do something. Since it's only a 2 hour train ride, we are leaving tomorrow right after class and staying until Sunday night. I really can't wait!
Danny, Kristin and I also just booked flights to Sevilla for our long weekend. We are spending one night in Sevilla and 2 in Cadiz. From what I have seen of pictures, Cadiz looks like something out of a postcard. Since it's practically across the country from where we are now, it will be a fabulous change of scenery. Fun fact: Cadiz is considered the oldest city in Europe. I am very much looking forward to seeing all of the history/ gorgeous beaches there.
Last night was nuttssss. I met two guys from the UK, three from Germany, and a Spanish dude named Carlos. I loved the German guys. They were so fun and nice and not creepstars at all. One of the UK dudes started creeping hard once he got a few roncitos in him, but the other one was hilarious. He tried to do his best American accent for me and I almost died. It was a mix of a southern-Irish accent. Doesn't make sense? Yeah, it didn't make sense to me, either. But he said my British accent was horrible so we are even. We left the bars to go home a little after two since we have class in the morning. The Germans said they were staying out until 6! I would be the most abominable person the next day if I stayed out that late. I don't know how people can do that.
It was a fun night altogether. I managed to send Celia my powerpoint for her to check over before my presentation Monday. Hopefully I won't have to make too many corrections since I won't be getting back to my dorm until around 10 Sunday night. Needless to say, I am proud of myself to be ahead of schedule.
Get ready for some crazy stories from Alicante when I come back Monday! And maybe an update on whether the Count has bathed yet or not since school has started...

This is what my teacher looks like

The Count.

He really looks like this except not purple and has grey hair. True story.

The Count Smells....

Yesterday was so very relaxing. Since we got out of class early, a couple of girls and I went to the beach from 11 to 4. Needless to say, I got a bit crispy but I am finally rocking a tan.
Today I finally have homework for the first time. The Count assigned us some reading and handed us out photocopies and I have to start working on my presentation of a poem for Celia's class that's due Monday. I need to start working on that tomorrow because this weekend we are going to Alicante! They are known for their beautiful beaches and shopping. Apparently they have a ferry that takes you to an island an hour out in the Mediterranean. It sounds so beautiful. The round-trip train is only 20 Euro and the hostel for both nights that we are gone will be less than 45 Euro. For a weekend trip here that's amazing.
A lot of people are trying to go to Rome and Paris for the other weekends, but I just feel like one weekend is not enough time to explore such historical and amazing cities. I think I am going to keep everything in Spain. Danny and I are trying to plan a trip to Cadiz and Sevilla, which is considered the oldest European city. It looks amazing.
Aside from planning trips, I haven't done much at night here. Quite frankly, I'm too tired to really go out. Since I also have to be up for class around 8:15, I need to get as much rest as I can. However, I am really enjoying the 1 Euro wine that we discovered in the Supermercado of Corte Ingles (basically Spain's version of a department store). It's wayyy cheaper than spending 7 Euro (yes, you read right) on a drink. Not worth it.
It's time to get my laundry out and start working on the Count's reading. Hasta luego.

Back to school...

Today was our first day of school here. I almost forgot that this is a study abroad trip and not just an abroad trip. My first class is at 9:15 in the morning at the Universidad. The teacher is so nice and sweet; she is only a few years older than us. Celia (she wants us to call her by her first name) studied at UGA, even though she is from Spain. You could tell that she was excited and a bit nervous to be teaching us.
My cultura teacher looks EXACTLY like the Count from Sesame Street, except that he has grey hair. He is a bit difficult to understand because he has a very thick Spaniard accent. All of us are not pleased that we have to write a ten page paper in Spanish for his class, but it is what it is.
Since the Count has to proctor another exam tomorrow, we don't have his class. As soon as I am done at 10:30, I'm going with a bunch of other students to the beach for the afternoon. Afterwards, we are going to see Pirates of the Carribean in theaters, or Pirates del Caribe as they call it here. Tomorrow should be a fun and stress-free day. :)

Sunday restday

Mass this morning was one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever endured. We went to the Basilica, which is the only one here in Valencia. It was pretty short, only 45 minutes, but it went in the exact same order as the masses at home. I need to learn the Lord's Prayer in Spanish haha. I knew that they were saying it, but because some of the terms they use are not exact translations, I couldn't really say it with them. Instead, all of us said it in English. Needless to say, the service was wonderful.
I was supposed to go to the beach today with some of the girls, but my stomach was a bit upset and I thought it was a better idea to rest. Even though I got roughly 7 hours of sleep last night (the most I have gotten in one sitting since this trip has started) I was still exhausted. I think that the jet lag really caught up to me. I just woke up from my nap and I feel so much better. Hopefully I'll be able to get a decent sleep schedule here really soon.
Tomorrow classes start. ¡Ay! I'm a bit nervous because I don't really know what to expect. We are only taking classes with UGA kids, so that will be a bit less intimidating. However, I don't know what these Spanish teachers are like. I have my first class at 9:15 in the morning and then I have a break for over an hour. Then I have my second class that goes until 1:30. Guess who will be going to the beach a ton after classes? I'll use that break in between classes to do homework and have a snack. Or nap. We shall see.

How has a week gone by already??

Today we got to go to the beach! At first it was really awkward because of the slew of topless women, but after a bit we got used to it. No one wears a one piece here. It doesn't matter how your body looks, all of the women were in little bikinis and the men were either in speedos or Daniel Craig short shorts. People seem a lot less self conscious here. It was really exciting to be able to swim in the Mediterranean, but the beaches in Valencia are not the prettiest. The sand is brown and is covered with cigarettes, since everyone and their mother smokes here. Speaking of which, we were asked last night by some kids who looked no older than 12 if we would buy them cigarettes! One child had braces still. When a girl told him that that will kill him he responded, "not here in Spain". What an idiot.
Last night we went out to dinner for the first time at an Italian restaurant. I got a pizza that tasted like the ingredients were made just before it was served to me. Everything was so fresh tasting. It's very rare for restaurants to have frozen food or things that are not fresh. The quality of food is extremely high here.
Tomorrow I am going to mass at a church that is hundreds of years old right beside our dorm. It's a little nerve wracking because church is a bit more strict here. Thankfully I have my blessed rosary. It will feel good to pray and release some emotion in a new place. After all, no one can really judge you, right? Once I get into a better routine I promise I will update a bit more often.

And the travels continue...

Hola from Valencia! We are finally set up in our dorms so I can have internet access daily. Valencia is even prettier than Madrid, in my opinion. The people are also so nice. Since we obviously speak with an American accent, they speak slower for us so we can understand and communicate better. I can already tell that my Spanish is improving. A goal for the end of this trip is to be fluent.
Since last night was our last night in Madrid, we decided to go back to the discos and have a great time. The hours of going out here are so crazy! For Americans (or at least Athenians) we go out around 10 to catch happy hour and stay out until two at the latest. Here, you don't even leave to go out until about 1 0r 2 in the morning! You stay out until at least 4 or 5 a.m. Most places are dead until about two. I don't know about y'all, but that is wayyyy past my bedtime. Last night, we went to the same bar that we went to the night before with the dancing podium. There we met an Italian woman named Sarah and her cousin (I forgot his name...oops). But they were so excited to meet Americans in Madrid. Sarah insisted that she talked to us in English and that we talked to her in Spanish. Surprisingly enough, we understood each other pretty well and were able to communicate rather easily.
We got back around 4:30 in the morning and had to be up before 10. Around 11 we left for Valencia! The countryside is so pretty here, but they don't have real trees. They are all shrub-looking things. When we finally got in, we took a tour of our dorms and then I settled in for a much needed nap. Supper here is between 8 and 10, so we were naturally starving by then. Being Americans, we burst into the dining hall and scarfed down the food.
Tonight we will most likely explore the nightlife of the city and see where everything is here. It's going to be a fun six weeks.

First day in Madrid

Greetings from the McDonalds in Madrid! So far I love this city. It reminds me of a shorter and older NYC. The people are the same as NYC, too. Always frustrated and rather rude. But that's ok because i am finally in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
The plane ride was pretty awesome, actually. We got free movies, TV shows and games so we were pretty entertained the whole time. I became a master at Bejeweled since I was not able to sleep at all. When we dropped our suitcases off at the hotel we went walking around and saw where many of the old government buildings are. It's amazing how industrial the first floor of a building is and then how grand and ornate the top apartment floors are.
After a group dinner we finally went out to a bar and a disco. The people and the music at the bar was hilarious! It was all American music but with a Euro beat. A worker at the bar ended up bringing out this elevated platform-cage thing that we all got on and danced. We were able to get into the disco for free because some sketchy woman handed us flyers that let us in. Let me just tell yall that their mojitos are not the same as ours. I found that out the hard way.
We got in around three, but because my internal clock is all messed up I was wide awake at 6 this morning and went and got breakfast downstairs around 7. It was delightful. A lot of cheeses and meats and bread. I was rather pleased with the food selection.
There will be pictures of our adventures to come soon.