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!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
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. :)
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. :)
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
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 Espa
ña. 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!
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 Espa
ña. 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!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
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).
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).
Sunday, June 5, 2011
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
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
Monday, May 30, 2011
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 :).
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 :).
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