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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Destination: Nancy

I came to visit this picturesque city thanks to my dear friend Autumn. So picturesque is it that it's been named one of the 1000 places you should see before you die! Awesome right? So one down, about 999 more to go.

First lesson. How to pronounce Nancy. No it is NOT like Nancy Drew, it is with a French accent. Pretend you are British and pronounce Nancy like the Indian bread Nan (Nahhhn) and to see. Thus Nahhhnseee.

Upon arrival, Autumn realized we had much to do in a short time, so we quickly took my bags to her place and I was given the grand tour of Nancy.


Autumn, my Nancy history buff, informed me that Nancy is located in the highly prized Lorraine region of France (I believe the Germans fought at least 2 wars to try and get their piece of Lorraine). As Autumn kindly pointed out, Nancy was never officially occupied by the Germans, and rests very proud of their unwillingness to bow to the occupation.

Our first destination in Nancy, the beautiful Place Stanislaus, reminds me of something right out of a 17th century decadent dream.


Apparently Louis the Somethingth (Aut couldn't remember) gave his father-in-law a dukedom as a present when Stanislaus was kicked out of Poland (he was the former King of Poland). With this dukedom came the difficult town of Nancy, which really didn't want to be a part of France. So the king said, hey Nancy, you can be on your own until Stanislaus dies, but then you become a part of France, thinking his father-in-law would die shortly. But Stanislaus had the last laugh, living to a ripe old age, at least 20 years after the king had given the dukedom.


Everything in the Place is bedecked and gold leafed. Aut gave me a symbolic tour of all the bedecked items, that tried to link both Stanislaus and the King together. The fleur de lis and the coq, signs of French royalty and the thistle and the Lorraine cross, signs of Nancy. It was very interesting. In the French Revolution the statue Stanislaus erected of the King was torn down and the people replaced it with one of Stanislaus himself, as he became a great loved figure in Nancy.


This is a cool looking monastery in Nancy, apparently monks live in there, but Autumn has never seen one of the supposed monks.

This is the declaration from Charles de Gaulle saying that France was liberated. Nancy is quite proud of their ability to remain unoccupied during Nazi occupation of France.



Nancy is a beautiful place but definitely only a day trip. Luckily Autumn and I occupied our time with a nice trip through the Musee des Beaux Arts right in Place Stanislas. It actually a remarkable collection of renaissance and contemporary art including a couple works by Picasso, Manet and Monet.



And Autumn was lucky enough to find a picture of her love, Mr. Darcy. Of course this was the perfect opportunity for a photo op of the happy couple.



After the classical art, the museum had a really amazing display of contemporary pieces. Once piece was this room that only one person could enter at a time and when you shut the door behind it looked like you were in a wonderland of lights.



Part of the contemporary display...



After a lovely afternoon of satisfying our cultural thirst, Autumn and I hit up the most delicious bakery in Nancy for some ficelles, possibly the French equivalent of stuffed pizza or a calzone. What they do is they take a baguette and stuff it with anything they want. We chose 3 cheese as one and then figs and brie. 3 cheese could have been incredible had they not included blue cheese as one of the three cheeses. BUT fig and brie was absolutely INCREDIBLE!

Afterwards we headed to this huge foire (fair/carnival) happening in the center of town. It was a huge carnival full of candied apples and carnies... pretty cool. The only VERY uncool thing about it was that it cost an arm and a leg to even go on a ride. Seriously 4 euros for a fun house? I am not a millionaire.


So Autumn and I just wandered around, eventually watching a game that spun in circles for about 20 minutes. Very cool you had to get a ring to go completely over really cool electronic devices (ipods, iphones, digital cameras, etc.) Spent 20 minutes watching other people win, pretty cool right. Next we ventured over to the exit from the Haunted House. If you have never seen a French person about to pee their pants in fear, I suggest, nay, I authoritate it for everyone. Just look at the photos... the live action though is SO much better.

After another 20 minute stop at the Haunted House, Autumn and I stopped for a minute to take a couple shot at the how intense is your love booth... obviously we are "explosif". Afterward all of the residents of Nancy now thought we were a lesbian couple, awesome right?



Well finished it up with a nice 3 euro ride on the most awesome french rollercoaster ever... Can't get any better than a rollercoaster in France right?

Anywho I had an awesome day and a half in Nancy, I would recommend that everyone visits it once in their life.

Herbeville: Population 1,000, maybe with 500 cows

I went on a mini vacation with the Manet's out to the French countryside! About an hour outside of Paris is this adorable little village called Herbeville, which is known for it's Antiquities and outdoor markets. Although very tiny, less than a thousand people live there. It is practically untouched by all of the dirt of Paris. Situated in grassy knoll surrounded by farmland. The town itself has one Mairie (town hall) which just happens to be attached to it's sole ecole (school). The Manet's friends live right on the outskirts of the town limits, far away from the little village. The old home reminded me of something that my Mom dreams about living in one day. The family said that that house had belonged to their family for over 150 years and that they think it was built a little over 300 years ago.

Right in the town...


Raphy getting a push from Suzanne

The lovely view...
Overall very fun, except the ride to and from as I got to partake of the joy that is Jasmine's carsickness. Let's just say I feel really really bad for her.

I am Dumb ( Do not read if you vomit easily)

So, during the Olympic Torch Relay in Paris, there was a huge riot. I happened to be walking home from my class in the northern part of the city and ran into the protests against China. Things got a little rough and someone threw what I can only assume was a glass bottle (most likely wine, as that's the only thing they drink in France). The bottle broke and glass ricocheted in my direction, severing my left pointer finger...

Sadly this is not the truth. I cut my finger while cutting baguette to put some cheese on it. Seriously how French of me. Any who for the price of 2 stitches and 10 euros I got an insider tour of Hotel Dieu (the oldest hospital in Paris located right next to Notre Dame), which just happens to be the closest l'Urgences (ER) to me. AWESOME.


PS the orange stuff is iodine not blood, bc apparently the French like to see that it's disinfected.

Frohe Ostern

Spring is in the air! So the only reasonable thing I wanted to do was be with my lovey for Easter. This was not an easy feat as the cheapest way to get to Germany was by bus. Lucky for me the bus ended up being 2 hours longer than it was supposed to be and I arrived in Munich to a freezing cold Vince.

We went straight into the city and visited the Neue Pintathek. It was actually a pretty incredible museum with artwork ranging from the Middle Ages to my personal favorite, Klimt. After a good 2 hours at the Pintathek, Vince and I went for a lovely drink and lunch at a corner restaurant. It was actually quite delicious, and my tummy was content. Surprisingly Germans DO have vegetarian meals!

After our meal we then headed to Vince's family friends, the Sabalowskis for a nice early Easter dinner. I even tried lamb, which was interesting... Afterwards we played Wii, I am perhaps the most awkward person to ever play this game, although that is closely followed by my bright red boyfriend. After a couple of rousing hours of Wii, Vince and I headed back to Erlangen, I was lucky enough to not be the designated driver and also be quite tired!

Vince and I then spent a relaxing morning at home and went and grocery shopped for something to make for Easter Dinner with the Sablowskis, we ended up choosing a green bean casserole and some gross German vegetable mayonnaise thing. After a day of cooking, we headed back into Munich for some Easter celebrations.

Another delicious lamb meal and a rousing game of 6 nimmt, and the younger crowd was ready to head out to check out the German club scene. Let's just say, Germans can for the most part not dance. Originally I thought it was just my boyfriend, but after a closer examination, it is all of them. Although inherently the German females have more grace and composure on the dance floor than the men. Secondly, German club music is either AWESOME 80's music or AWFUL hard German rock, which is the worst music to ever been played. After one too many drinks and some awful music we headed home only to find we missed our bus by 5 minutes.

Once home, we went to our respective sleeping areas and I was pleasantly surprised by a huge bottle of water! Unpleasantly it was bubbly water....

The next morning after lovely German waffles, Vince and I headed back to Erlangen to take care of the cat (who after months of residence with the Buergers still has no definite name) Vince somehow coerced my lazy bottom into a lovely hike around Erlangen (it took 2 and a half hours) and it was quite cold but beautiful. We then lazed around watched a movie and the next day headed out to take me to my 12 hour bus!

What a lovely way to spend your Easter! I guess if I couldn't be with my family I could at least be with a boy I love!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Planned Absence

Just to warn my loyal readers... I will be taking a nice little paid holiday to the South of France to watch... 40 kids. Yea though not the perfect holiday, it's actually pretty great, 40 little French kids 7 animateurs (3 of which speak English), 40 ponies, and the beach. And they are paying me a bit under 600 euros to do this... for 10 days. Seriously this could be quite incredible!


Love and miss all of you... you'll see new posts April 30th!

Jessie

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

The Best Damn Holiday of the Whole Entire Year

St. Patrick's Day, Oh St. Patrick's Day. Oh beautiful day when all the planets collide to make what can be only termed the most wonderful celebration of mankind and it's love for all things but most of all alcohol.

Back in the olden times, St. Patrick was being persecuted yada yada yada yada, so he drank some Guiness then a shot of Jameson and his life was better. So in honor of the holy man, we all get really drunk and sing loudly. This year thanks to the Pope, St. Patrick's Day (usually March 17) was moved from a Monday to a Saturday! How awesome in the Pope thinking about everyone's hangovers the next day!?! Apparently, it was actually because St. Patty's day fell during Holy Week but Pish posh, we all know Benedict wanted to get down with his bad self, and couldn't go to work on Tuesday if St. Patty's was left on Monday.

I went out. Friday night I went out a little to hard and wasn't quite prepared for St. Patrick's Day. I don't really remember any of Friday night and sadly there is no photo documentation, I can only go on reports that I *ROCKED* at beer pong, and that I am an international goddess.

Little to say, I was not quite ready for partying again Saturday night as I woke up at 5pm in the evening. I got ready quickly and I went over to my favorite Rue Mouffetarde for a little fun with John and Sarah (my English friend). As Sarah and I walk in we are serenaded by the sounds of little (not really) Irish men and immediately were handed Guinesses from John. John introduced us to his friend Ruairi, the butt grabbing Irish man who declared we would be the most awesome couple had we both not had significant others. So for the rest of the night the Irish men kept grabbing Sarah and my asses, so it was only fair that we grab back.


Then the 3 Irish boys, Ruairi, Cian (real Irish) and John (Boston Irish) burst into song and dance right there in the pub. I don't think ST. Pat's day would have been more fun even if we were in Ireland!


At this point I believe I told Sarah to steal a Guiness print which now hangs in my room.


Once Sarah and I started to do shots the night turned from great to wonderful to awful all in one turn, as at some point I forgot about my previous hangover and decided to stay awake til the early morning.


Any who let's just say, after what can only be termed the most ridiculous night into morning I ever, I arrived back in my bed at 7am.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Moulin Rouge

Ok, the whole idea of the Moulin Rouge is awesome right? Dancing, champagne, Paris, and music. This all sounds good until it's foreigners lip syncing to french music.

Lucky for us, it was free as normally the Moulin Rouge costs 90 euros and that doesn't even include a glass of wine or champagne. Contiki once again hooked us up and we were VIP's at the moulin rouge. We had our own table and 2 glasses of champagne (which is the only reason we survived the whole show)

There really are no word to describe the show. It was a mixture of cheesy and awful.

The end of my vacation...

March 9 ended our wonderful vacation.. we left Amsterdam in the afternoonand got on a bus that took 10 hours to get to Paris. Luckily for us there were stinky pot smoking French men behind us.... so fun.

Not too much happened on the bus, except when we crossed the French border and were stopped for 1 hour so a drug sniffing dog could come on the bus and search it for drugs. Surprisingly the pot-smoking frenchmen didn't get in trouble. But Angie did.

At least she was yelled at when she took a photo of the dog.

We arrived home, and were so glad to crash.

Brownies are delicious!

March 8, 2008, this was Vince's Birthday!

We started this morning shopping for my cousin in Leipseplein Straase, where Angie bought herself some pretty awesome sparkle shoes. After about an hour, we were on the hunt for the I AMSTERDAM sign, only to find out that it was hiding behind the Rijksmuseum the whole time. After an hour photo shoot which was later copied by all the other tourists, we went to the Van Gogh Museum.

Absolutely incredible, if you even slightly like Van Gogh, I recommend the museum. It's amazing, not only do you get to see some of his most famous works (Sunflowers, The Bedroom, Self Portrait, the Potatoeaters) and some lesser known sketches as he was constantly sketching on everything. After about 2 hours in the museum, we went to the special exhibition on John Edward Millais, famous for his painting of Ophelia from Macbeth. I almost liked this exhibit more than the museum. I really enjoyed the paintings by Millais and found the way it was arranged to be amazing.

Sadly though, we lost Robb. We went in together and lost him in the museum. We tried to find him for at least 30 minutes but he was gone or we kept passing him. It was weird. As we weren't in Amsterdam long we really couldn't waste time waiting for him so we left and continued to explore the city, specifically we went to the Bloemenmarkt to see all the flowers. Once again I was tricked by Amsterdam. Instead of fresh flowers or cut flowers being at the market, it's a market for bulbs mostly. Still beautiful and I bought myself a beautiful pink tulip.

After we decided to go to the Grasshopper (this time the big one) and try another space cake. It was delicious again especially with a cappuccino. This time Angie felt it a bit more than me.

We returned to Robb's only to find that he had spent the same time searching for us, but he was glad that we had gone exploring.

I tried to cook, but I think I was a bit effected by the Space cake as I scalded my stomach and I now have a pretty atrocious scar on my belly button because of it.

After we ate dinner and went to sleep after packing as we left the next day.

Is Immediately Emailed to my Mom...

Angie and I actually woke up relatively early to do some laundry and get going to see all of Amsterdam.

We arrived in town around 11 and we went straight to the Anne Frank Huis to tour the house where the Frank family hid out during World War II and the Holocaust. It was a very good representation of the house and I feel like it really made you get closer to understanding the fear those people lived with every day. If you never read the Diary of Anne Frank, I think you should. If anyone could put what happened during the war in a way that could transcend age and culture, I think Anne Frank did. From her diary you get a feeling of what life was like, and what real fear is. It's sad, but also necessary.

After Anne Frank Huis, Angie and I needed to just walk and recover from the experience. We walked down one of the main canals and crossed over into Jordaan and explored for a bit. The architecture in Amsterdam is awesome. It's 5 story canal houses squeezed together in bricks and bright white lining the cobblestone streets. They surround the canal which are brimming with canala boats of all shapes and sizes and colors. The city radiates happiness and seems to be all embracing. Every Amsterdammer I spoke to was quite nice, they all seemed to want to help.

After wandering a bit, we happened upon the first and only homosexual monument to be built in Europe (possibly the world). It was 3 triangles of the same size in pink marble, who made a bigger triangle when all put together. I thought it was a nice way to commemorate the Homosexuals killed in the Holocaust, as the Pink triangle was the patch they wore (like the Jews wore the Star of David)

At this point I was starving. We decided to go to a traditional Dutch restaurant and try some Broodje (savory pancakes) That was the most delicious but weird spinach and feta pancake ever. The pancake itself is somewhere between the American think pancake and the French crepe. It was definitely interesting.

After I think we walked past every canal in Amsterdam until we finally found Nemo and the big body of water. We were a bit lost but we did take lots and lots pictures!

We finally made our way over to the Rijksmuseum, and despite renovations we still saw some of the most amazing Dutch art ever, mostly Rembrandt and Vermeer. The nice thing about this museum is that they had classical museums inside the exhibit rooms playing classical music, which went really nicely with the museum's art.

Around 7 we finally got on the bus to return to Robb's where we were greeted with some lovely couscous!

As a present to Robb as a thank you for letting us stay at his place, Angie and I (mostly Angie) had arranged a special showing at the Casa Rosso, Amsterdam's most famous sex show. Let me tell you that was the most ridiculous thing in the world, as one of the girl's behind me said "It's better than figure skating", which I think is the most appropriate comment ever made. So Contiki hooked us up, we were treated as VIP's at the place. Free admission and free drinks. The first one leads to laughter the second leads to being ridiculously silly and gullible. They kept not only refilling them but also making them ridiculously strong.

During the show at some point, a woman put a cigarette in her private part and smoked it... seriously someone paid 40 euros to go see this. I mean I didn't know it was possible but 40 euros? And even the sex part of the show wasn't even sexy. The guys were not attractive but quite well, errr, endowed, which I eventually figured out after I said very loudly, wow that guy is not hott at all and some guy behind me was like "But look at his d*$%"

Here's a tip to men, it is not advisable to hit on women at a sex club, especially when they are obviously constantly sipping their vodka pineapple because they are AT A SEX SHOW with their cousin. Some Irish dude claimed I worked there too. That was awesome.

After 3 or 4 drinks, Angie and I were successfully drunk. The person on stage was asking for volunteers so of course I volunteered my cousin. So she goes up and she's all alone. Somehow this lady behind me talks me into going up there with her. Let's just say, I got to know Oksana very well and also got to eat a bit of banana... Oi!

Finally Robb took our drunk butts to some Thai place where we drank more and were ridiculous until finally we were on the verge of collapsing and we went home.

Here is an excerpt of the email sent to my mom once home:

"Dear Mom,

Last night was ridiculous! Let's just say that we got into the sex show in Amsterdam for free because of my wonderful cousin and her tour company. Let's see, I saw a woman smoke a cigarette NOT from her mouth but another orifice (you can guess), a bunch of couples fornicating on stage and looking rather bored while doing it (which Angie did not think was possible), one of the couples were lesbian vampires... who would've thought....

Included in the fun were free drinks because we all "worked" for Contiki. Alcohol loosens your inhibitions. Whether or not Angie and I made an appearance on stage may be seen on Youtube. Never did I have a goal of eating a banana like that.

Any way we're going to get some tulips and see some Van Gogh's!

It's Vince's birthday, send him a message!

Love

your daughter and niece, the new stars at the Casa Rosso ; )"

Check out day 3 in photos!

What happens in Amsterdam....

The next day we wake up and just sort of hang around the hostel... I of course buy myself a new camera COMPLETE with tripod, possibly the best feature for a camera EVER! After waiting about an hour, Angie and I drag our bags to the airport bus (really just me as there is only one). Nothing really exciting happened now.

We got on a plane, a fluorescent green and blue Transavia one, if that gives you any indication of Holland. And to Angie's delight the fabric was made with embroidered emoticons! Just the fabric my mom is looking for, right?

So we arrive in Amsterdam and take the train to Centraal Station, which is a beautiful old building located right in the heart of the city. Luckily for us, we were able to find our couchsurfing host amongst all the men in "black overcoats", which luckily is NOT what Keanu Reeves wore in the Matrix.

So we meet up with Robb and he tells us all about why he is in Amsterdam, as he is originally from Cali. Apparently he is some sort of silicone molding scientist, who coats his silicone models in gold? I don't know I sort of stopped listening after a while. We dropped off oru things and headed back into the main city.

Robb first took us to Leipsestraat, where all the shopping is and also a delicious Wagamama* Restaurant. For those who have never heard, Wagamama* is a delicious British asian noodle house. I had most delicious shrimp in a thai coconut broth with some noodles, YUM! Angie was thrilled with her vegetarian noodle dish. Angie and I went on a big splurge and even ordered up some most delicious fried bananas! A bit expensive but worth every single penny as we were starving!

After our hunger had been satisfied. We went for a little tour and just happened upon the Grasshopper, a coffeehouse of Amsterdam. As most of you know, I am not nor have I ever been a smoker of any kind. So I thought, when in Amsterdam do whatever you can do legally. Angie and I ordered a Space cake, which was moist chocolatey and delicious. As we were eating it, we were reminded that Aunt Lou specifically asked us to think of her while in Amsterdam... she knew we were going to Spain and Holland yet Amsterdam was her choice place for us to think of her? So the first bite of my space cake all I did was think of Aunt Lou.

Nothing really happened at first, and then MmmmBop came on and the world changed.

Let's just say if you are ever going to get high in Amsterdam MmmmBop is the song to do it to. We then sat in the bar for what seemed like hours watching Dutch TV's really big things. Angie claimed the next day she really wasn't that high but I don't believe her as she was making up pretty funny conversations of a man flying on a blimp.

Afterwards we decided to try ad walk off the high and see some more Amsterdam. I am not going to lie, I felt a little woozy and like everything was blurred together, and there was nothing I could do about it. At this point, we walked right into the Red light district. It's not quite what I imagined, especially while high.

I guess for some reason I romanticized the idea of the red light district and I envisioned vine colored buildings with old iron work balconies and girls sitting on the window sill beckoning the men to come visit them. BUT instead it was strictly on the ground floor of buildings. Basically doors were replaced with pure glass panes that women stood behind in underwear, so that men could get a full view of them. And there were ALL the different types of women possible, big ones, small ones, all races, etc. Supposedly there are prostitutes who are not 100% woman who also work in Amsterdam and they specifically register themselves that way... interesting.

Another nice thing about prostitution there, the prostitutes have a union, so they can reform there business and try and scare all the pimps away. Each prostitute is required by law to be tested for STD's at the end of every month. Well at least Amsterdam likes to keep their tourists clean. Another trivia fact 40% of the prostitution business' customers come from the United Kingdom.

After a brief walk through the Red Light District, we returned back to Robb's which was basically the Ritz of our vacation as we each had a clean bed to sleep on with tons of covers, and free internet access! WOOT!

Check out Day Two's photos!

Why the Hanson Brothers are Musical Geniuses...

The next day we wake up and just sort of hang around the hostel... I of course buy myself a new camera COMPLETE with tripod, possibly the best feature for a camera EVER! After waiting about an hour, Angie and I drag our bags to the airport bus (really just me as there is only one). Nothing really exciting happened now.

We got on a plane, a flourescent green and blue Transavia one, if that gives you any indication of Holland. And to Angie's delight the fabric was made with embroidered emoticons! Just the fabric my mom is looking for, right?

So we arrive in Amsterdam and take the train to Centraal Station, which is a beautiful old building located right in the heart of the city. Luckily for us, we were able to find our couchsurfing host amongst all the men in "black overcoats", which luckily is NOT what Keanu Reeves wore in the Matrix.

So we meet up with Robb and he tells us all about why he is in Amsterdam, as he is originally from Cali. Apparently he is some sort of silcone molding scientist, who coats his silcone models in gold? I don't know I sort of stopped listening after a while. We dropped off oru things and headed back into the main city.

Robb first took us to Leipsestraat, where all the shopping is and also a delicious Wagamama* Restaurant. For those who have never heard, Wagamama* is a delicious British asian noodle house. I had most delicious shrimp in a thai coconut broth, YUM! Angie and I went on a big splurge and even ordered up some most delicious fried bananas!

Check out some Amsterdam Pictures!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

The day my world ended... in Barcelona

Last Day in Barcelona in Photos!

We woke up relatively early for us, and attempted to find the Dali museum, which was absolutely incredible. So many not famous works that were absolutely incredible. We saw original illustrations that Dali did for Dante's Inferno which were incredible. Included in the exhibit were original glass works by Dali.

We headed to the funiculaire, which we thought was going to be similar to Madrid''s Cabines, but ended up being like a ride up a mountain on a train... oops

Beautiful views of Barcelona then my camera broke so alas I was a little miserable for half of the day. Luckily I let Angie go her own way and I took a nap.

After my nap, I woke up and hung out with some of my new friends in the hostel until my cousin came back. When Angie was back, we went to the free flamenco show, which was to say the least.... interesting. It was a man who could move his feet faster than anyone I know or anyone I ever want to meet.

Afterwards we decided to go find what I originally termed the Rocket Ship of Barcelona. A big what I assumed colored building actually an office building called the Torre Agbar. Little did I know, when we got there it appeared to be a giant dildo.

Of course we had to pose with the phallic symbol.

Then we wandered around taking funny pictures until we came to the Sagratta Familia the amazing church Gaudi was in the process of building at his death. Currently Barcelona is spending 100 years rebuilding the church, ridiculous, right? So for the next half century at least the cathedral will be under construction.

Afterwards we tried to go to sleep early as we had a lot of traveling the next day.

Playing in the Mediterranean

As of March 4, 2008

Photos from Barcelona!

Angie and I, AGAIN, woke up late on our vacation, and decided since it was a relatively nice day we should head to the beach of Barcelona.

So we headed out to Porte Olympico and the Mer Mediterane... aka one of the most beautiful places on Earth. We walked along the beach for 2 hours.


At one point my cousin Angie bravely dipped her tootsies in the sea. Whereas I the "crazy cousin" went for a little swim in the sea.

Let's just say there is nothing as cold as the Mediterranean Sea in February.

We also went for an awesome climb on the beach at a Spanish playground for adults.

Afterwards we decided to go to the Passeig de Gracia to see some of Gaudi's amazing architecture. Sadly, every building that looked slightly interesting we thought Gaudi had designed but once we found the real Gaudi, we were thoroughly aware of what he creates.

These buildings were gothically incredible, balconies that looked like skeletons, roofs like dragon wings, and crazy bone columns. He was also known for his ability to incorporate incredible mosaics into the designs.

The first building we saw was the Casa Batillo.

The second was La Perdrera or Casa Mila, which was Gaudi's last work.

After much discussion, Angie and I headed over to Parque Guelle for sunset with one of the best views in all of the city. It was absolutely incredible... We got to see lightning from a sea storm and the clouds pass over the city at night.

We finished the night with free dinner at the hostel and then attempted to go see the Celtics vs. Barcelona... We ended up seeing it in an Indian restaurant, which was at most interesting. Every irish bar we tried to go in was full with Irish and Scots there to celebrate the game. Sadly for them, the Celts lost.

Afterwards, I hung out in the hostel and made some friends.

A special Grandmother Shout Out

This post for my Granola bar back home...



Happy Early Birthday with a little JP2 action!

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Bar...THA...lona?? A little lisp anyone?

Barcelona Day One: The Celtic Invasion

So we left Madrid at 1 in the morning... and I didn't sleep til the next day as it was possibly the most uncomfortable bus ride of my whole entire life (worse than even Pennbrook Softball team busrides) We were smushed together with a smelly and old Spanish man sitting behind us. Every time I started to drift to sleep I was sadly awakened by a swift kick in my butt. Angie and I had to huddle together because of the cold and my tiny delta airlines blanket was NOT enough for two people. After 9 hours in a bus, we were in Barcelona.

We went and dropped off our bags at the lovely Kabul hostel which is situated in what I am assuming was the former Plaza Reial (Royal Plaza) Though not so royal now, it's a hot spot for local bars and has a beautiful courtyard decked with palm trees.

We couldn't check in for another 2 hours, so we left our luggage there and went wandering around Port Vell, which is basically a yacht resting place. It's a lovely walk down Las Ramblas to what I can only say is a gorgeous walk along the marina. The architecture in Barcelona is a blend of very very old with modern. Alongside the 200 year old statue of Christopher Columbus pointing towards the New World is a metal wave design bridge. The Barcelonians like to blend things together.

During our lovely walk, we saw a big red bullseye... like Target. I don't think I have ever been that excited in my life. Sadly it was NOT Target. A note to all Target Marketing Teams, I would consider building up in other international cities as Target is one of the bets things in the entire USA.
Not TARGET!

After a quick walk around and a bunch of photo taking (only 3 photos were we in because we looked like crap), we returned to the hostel. On the way back up Las Ramblas, what do we see but 2 men in kilts and green shirts. Of course, Angie and I demand a picture with them and as our picture is being taken a Spanish cameraman arrives and starts filming us. Next thing we know, the Scottish guys bare ass under the kilt is out. Needless to say I never need to see a Scottish ass again. That was just the start of the Celtic Invasion of Barcelona (the Glasgow Celtic was playing the Barcelona team).




One of the first things we learned is that Barcelona is in fact pronounced like you have a lisp on the "S". Apparently one of their old kins had a lisp and pronounced it that way, so they decided to just go with it. The other awesome thing was that in Barcelona they speak Catalan, which is a mixture of Spanish and French, so I understood them a bit more than in Madrid.


Our room was nice for a hostel... clean bedding, lockers that locked, friendly staff. Only part that sucked was that the common area was a Smoking Zone and smelled AWFUL!

We showered and prettied ourself up for our first night out. And also did 2 loads of laundry as we'd already cycled through all of Angie's socks and underwear.




We wandered a bit outside, discovered the Petit Palau and the Passeig de Gracia, which is famous for its two Gaudi Buildings. Before we got to either of the buildings we did some shopping in a cute little Spanish shop where we both bought us some cute clothes (me a summer dress, Angie a t shirt).




At this point we were cranky and hungry. Walking back to the hostel we discovered the Mercat de la Boqueria, where we had the strangest fruit I've ever seen in my life, pirana fruit.















We returned to the hostel met some nice folks in the waiting area, and then went and got some "traditional" Spanish Paella on a lovely terrace, or what I though was so....


Of course, the paella is from the Ristorante Oriente, which if you can guess is not a Spanish restaurant. It ended up being good even if my platter came out 20 minutes later than Angie's.








After we finished the food we went on to Sangria, and under the influence of Sangria, things get interesting.

First, while Angie was in the bathroom, a Scottish man sitting directly across from me waved at me and then said "Hola". So I gave him a little creepy wave back and said "Hola". The funnier part is that he then started speaking in English loudly about how I was cute and how he'd been checking me out all night. When Angie came back, I was like Angie that dude thinks I am Spanish... then I say to the dude, "I'm not Spanish!" That was possibly the reddest Scottish person I've ever seen in my life and here's a picture of him.

At this point, we've become a bit intoxicated and decide that this night we should have a S.S.H.I.B (a Scotsmen Scavenger Hunt in Barcelona). We made up the rules and assigned different Scottish men different point totals.... Obviously we put out game faces on.


Here are some of the pictures I have from our S.S.H.I.B.....































Let's just say it was a ridiculous night of my life full of Irish, Scottish men.....