Halloween In Roma
I just got into Rome. Since Gulliver's house has a lock out until 4pm and I was a unsure how to get there I decided to stop and use the internet. I really enjoyed my half day in Perugia. The hostel I stayed in was super-nice, but run by an old persnikety Italian man, who didn't want to be bothered to run my credit card. Plus it has a 1 am curfew...which isn't so bad considering they kick you out at 9:30 am and don't let you back in until 4. But it was only 13 euros a night and right ontop of the hill that is the city with a great terrace. When I got into town I only had a euro and a half to my name and wound up stiffing the bus and walking up the last part of the mountain. Then I found these underground escalators which lead to the city centre and a gift shop. It was cool but I never figured out what the underground city bit was about. I met a Welsh/ Italian girl on the train who was going to visit her grandmother. She told me there is somesort of holiday going on and that a lot of things might be closed. There was a market going on in the main square and some guy drew me a map to my hostel. When I finally found it I just waited on the steps for an hour for it to open... I just couldn't carry my pack around anymore. I met two girls from Adelade, AU, Lizzy and Catherine, who are very funny. Then in my room were two sisters from Kansas ciy, Amy and Kristen, who I went out with for dinner and chocolate dining. I still have a couple *very expensive Perugian chocolates but I don't expect them to make it too much longer. Apparently Perugina is famous for their Bocio, or "kisses". This is highly amusing to the 5 or 6 year old boys in the candy store making kissy noises. They are dark chocolate covered hazelnuts. Not bad at all. Why didn't someone warn me about day-light savings!?
Perugia
I was intending on going to Seina... but I want to spend the night there and the onehostel listed in my guidebook isn't online. So I'm going to Perugia. Same direction. Umbria instead of Tuscany. But they are supposed to have famous chocolate. And that is always worth checking out. I'm finally up to date on pictures! Unfortunately in my haste to get 300+ pictures off of my camera I overlooked up to 18 shots of Interlaken. Boo. Most of them I can replace with similar ones from Cassie... but still I'm very frustrated with myself.
Yesterday I went to see "David" at Academia and went through the markets again. It was worth a look. I'm looking to send a package home soon to get a load of souveneirs,ect off. But my guidebook says sending packages in Italy is a gamble... so I'm a bit hesitant. I think I'll still try to send one from Vatican city. That's supposed to be the safest bet. This morning I've walked around a bit more than I intended. I overshot the train station and am working my way back. Ah well. Tomorrow in Rome.
This is where Lucy wants to go...
in "While You Were Sleeping". I've had beautiful weather so far in Florence. Yesterday I wandered around and saw the copy of David and the fronts of many famous buildings. I went to the Leonardo DaVinci's machines museum...which was something I wanted to do in Toledo... so I was glad to do it here. It was really cool. The mechanical knight at the door actually moved when you came near and everything. DaVinci really was a genius. I particularly liked the British women behind me who kept saying "Well, isn't that clever" to everything including the worm screw... which is indeed pretty clever. I also went to several piazzas and Ponte Vecchio, the bridge. I'm going to try to look for a way to walk by the river... I didn't see a pedestrian path yesterday. Today I'm going to head to Academia to see the
real David and then try to get inside the duomo. If you climb it there are supposed to be really good veiws of Florence. Last night I got to watch High Fidelity on DVD on someones laptop. It was great. It's been a while since I saw a movie. I'm staying with David and Tom one more night and then heading tomorrow to Seina. Then Rome. Ciao, baby.
Firenze
I'm in Florence. Yesterday Christabel and I hiked the easiest trail and went to the beach. The pebbles are smaller and more like what I imagined, but they still hurt my feet. I think sand trumps pebbles. On my way to Florence I made a detour through Pisa. Saw the tower...took the cheesy pictures required... thanks to the Laurens I met when I got there. I hung out in Pisa with two American girls named Lauren. They are from California, went to college in Santa Barbara. Pretty nice girls. We saw the sights and then went out to dinner. I got the gnocchi... which is potato filled pasta. It's very filling. If a little weird. When I got to Florence the hostel I was planning to go to was all full up. I hope just because of Halloween weekend. So I called up the guys I met in Cinque Terre and crashed on their couch. They had offered so I took them up on it. They have a really nice apartment and its very central... right next to the duomo. There are 6 people total there but at the moment just me, Tom, and Dave. I think I'm just going to trespass on them one more night and try to get a hostel. They don't reserve in advance so its a bit tricky. Where am I supposed to stay in Rome again? I proabably need to go ahead and try to make that reservation. Right now I'm at the "Net Gallery" which is very nice paintings and internet access. I hope to download a few more pictures and then get out and see the sights. This morning I did a little browsing through the street markets. I got a "Ciao Bella" so I feel like Italy probably is going to love me.
Other Bloggers!
Here are the blogs I didn't succeed into making into links because all of the Blogger instructions have turned Italian.
Steph: (from Toronto, Canada) stephineurope.blogspot.com
Jess: (Perth, AU) travelswithjess.blogspot.com
Louise: (Sydney, AU) louiseineurope.blogspot.com
I met these girls in Interlaken. So they all have Paragliding/Skydiving stories. Now you can read about a few other girls travels through Europe!
Yay! It's sunny!
Yesterday, when I got back to the room, my two American boys had been replaced by an Aussie girl from Melbourne, Christabel. Christabel is 23 and on a 4 month trip. We've been away from home roughly the same amount of time. So I spent all day yesterday with her. Part of the hiking trail was closed yesterday because of bad weather... but we're hoping to hike the dell amore part today. Because its so romantic. And easy. We made it to 4 of the 5 towns yesterday. We're staying in Riomaggoire which is the last (or first one, depending on how you look at it). Today we're going to hike to the one we missed, Manarola, and go to the beach for a bit. Last night Christabel made dinner. Which was essencially garbanzo beans (ceci), tomato sauce, a bit of pesto, with onions and garlic. I need to remember this because its cheap and vegetarian. Plus its not bread, cheese, and tomato. Which are the only food groups I've known for quite a while. I'm planning on leaving around 4pm to go to Pisa and from there Florence. I think I may miss my Sunday in Rome. Unless I decide to spend only 2 days in Florence instead of 3. Oh well. I need to book in advance. Christabel is going today and apparently some hostels are full for the weekend. This computer won't let me download my photos...which I feel is pretty misleading and decietful. Time to get out and enjoy the weather. Arrivederci!
CNN.com- Where is my sunshine?
I'm in Cinque Terre on the Italian riviera. I missed my train. Again. Luckily this time there were no reservations so I just had to wait around for an hour and a half...no money lost. I arrived last night without reservations...which wasn't my fault. I was under the impression I had reservations... but my confirmation email turned out to be a "we don't reserve less than a week in adavnce" email. Luckily it was easy enough to navigate around and I met two American boys from California on the train who I followed back to their hostel... which turned out to be more like a 2 bedroom apartment. So I got a bedroom all to myself. No bunks. It's great. And I'll have the apartment all to myself tonight because the boys left this morning. Tom and David. They're studying until May in Florence... so I may catch up with them there. Today I'm planning on trying to do the entire Cinque Terre hike. And if tomorrow is sunny I'll go to the beach. If not I may head on. I think I'll stop by Pisa to see the tower on my way to Florence. The guys had just been and they said you can do it in a few hours and it's worth it. Plus its on the way. And maybe on the way to Rome I'll spend a day in Seinna. Italy is beautiful. It was sort of strange coming in because the men checking passports had dogs and went through this poor Frenchman's luggage. I wish I were more comfortable with Italian. Maybe I'll learn Spanish and then Italian. They are similar. It was gray and hazy and I was promised "Sunny". But once we got into the more populated hills the scenery was much nicer. I can see the ocean. I'm in the top part of the tourist office, where internet is overpriced but not Switzerland overpriced. I'll try to post some more pictures soon.
I'm a extreme sporter!
Well if you count "extreme" as leisurely sitting by while a very nice Swiss man does all the work, then sort of gliding in on your face when it comes to landing, being dragged about a bit much to the amusement of anyone passing by. I went paragliding! And it was amazing. Definetely worth the price. I went up a few days ago with my friends. Today I was the ONLY one. And I only booked less than an hour before. So I had my own personal driver and personal attention from my paragliding guide. It was so nice. Really quite unbelievable. I got loads of pictures and two movies. Then I landed on my face. In the cow feild. I guess something ungraceful had to happen. It was really so bad. He told me to stand up and walk a few steps when we landed. Instead I fell over and was dragged a few feet by the parachute. It was hilarious. I was so glad my friend Claire (Cambra, AU) was there to watch and take pictures. I had just washed my pair of pants (one of the two) and they are now COVERED in mud. Later Claire, Jess, and Louise and I went on a hike. I use the term loosely. Jess and Louise took the train up to a town that had snow. Louise had never touched snow before. Claire and I walked back to Interlaken... well the first 10km. Then we caught the bus. It was a beautiful walk though some of it was through the cow trenches. My shoes are soaked. Jess and Louise one-up-ed me and went sky diving. Overall great day. Im not too sure what this picture is of... I just took a guess since all I'm looking at is file names. I think its the one he took right before I went. I have to rush. Swiss internet is tres expensive. They say Danke-Merci here. Odd. But speak mostly German. I have to go so I still have a franc left to cook scrambled eggs tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is an all-day train ride to La Spezia-Cinque Terre. The weather is supposed to be good.
Boo! Rain.
Yesterday was fantastic... but today is a rainy day in Interlocken. Luckily I'm rooming with a great bunch of girls. Cassie, who I've been with since Nice, we're finally parting ways, which is always a bit sad. She's taking the night train tonight to Veinna. Steph, who I met in Madrid, she's the first hostel person I've run into again. Jess and Louise, who are travelling together from Australia (Perth and Sydney respectively). And Claire, from Cambra, Australia (the forgotten capital). Yesterday morning I went with Steph, Cassie, Louise, and Claire to take pictures of their paragliding ascent. It looked so amazing. I think I got the best deal. Getting to drive up there for free and see all the scenery and excitement. But I'm thinking about going myself on Monday. It's expensive. 160 Swiss. But I think it might be worth it. I'm going to try to justify it in my budget. And then get over the fear of it. The food is too expensive here NOT to cook... so I'm saving a bit of money that way. Later in the day Jess, Louise, Cassie and I rented bikes and went around the lake...until it started going uphill...then we turned around. It's just so beautiful here, all the leaves are changing. Outside my window I can see one mountain covered in fall leaves and another covered in snow. Then we "sun-baked" in the back yard of the hostel. I'm not sure how much "baking" occurs when you're fully clothed with a "beanie" over your face. Ha.
I have a cough. And I've taken all my medicine. I bought some multi vitamins but they are the type that disolve in water, otherwise known as my worst nightmare. Maybe I could just eat them and it would be o.k. There were 3 (sort of loud) Canadian girls who are au pairs in Geneva in our bunk last night. It is amazing how good their French is... I think it's a shame that American education doesn't put more of an emphasis on learning another language. Of course everyone in Europe is so close to each other. It is really necessary to be fluent in at least one other. But still. I feel a little cheated. I think I'm of normal intelligence. I should be able to speak at least one other language.I might have said this before, but yeah, I still feel that way. I also feel its a shame that more young Americans don't travel. We're really a little under-represented. Plus we make really laughably irritating old people travelers.
The hostel I'm staying at has a giant plastic chess set on painted outside tiles. It's kind of like Harry Potter...but more cheerful. I have new pictures up!
In Interlocken
It's beautiful here. Everything is expensive. I'm about to watch all my friends go paragliding...I'm too chicken but I still have 3 days to work up the nerve. The hostel here is really cool. As soon as we got in I saw a girl I met in Madrid, Steph from Canada, and so Cassie and I are hanging out with her and three other Aussie girls in our room. Last night we went dancing at the underground bar "The Metro" which was fun. I'm using the complimentary 6 minutes of internet so must go. German is so different and hard.
Marseille et Lyon
Yesterday Cassie and I woke up to a dull, gray day in Nice. It was raining and a bit of a pain to get to the train station. But Marseille and Lyon are sunny and beautiful, so maybe I`ve escaped the foul weather at last. We spent the day yesterday in Marseille and took the last train out to Lyon (better Eurail milage) that night. Marseille was very nice. We ate lunch at the port and took the tourist train to the church ontop of the hill. It had gorgeous panoramic veiws of the town, the bay, and the mountains. Then we wandered around through stores and such and had a coffee and headed back to the station. The hostel in Lyon also has great veiws due to being ontop of a large hill. That we have to climb. It's clean and nice enough. The kitchen is small and there aren`t 10 cereal options at breakfast. And most of the people there actually speak French. But it`s not bad for a couple nights. I`m back to the French keyboard... after getting aquainted all over again with the American. Today, we mostly slept and wandered around. I got BonBons! Like the ones we had in high school. Except they didn`t have watermelon flavor. I got strawberry and apple and peach and banana (by mistake, I wanted citron) tey also had coconut and passion fruit ones. We got into the Musee des Beaux Arts for free as students. It was very nice... a lot like the other French museums I`ve seen. It`s really nice to have someone to travel with for a while. Tomorrow we`re going to train to Interlocken. I bought a jumper (Australian for sweater)but not a beanie (tobaggon). I hope it coupled with my fleece and rain jacket will get me through the October Alps. I don`t want to have to buy a warm coat until I get out of Italy.
I spent yesterday in Monaco and Monte Carlo with Cassie and Elizabeth (from California). We went to the aquarium... something I would have never done on my own. But it turned out to be really cool. We got to see the "largest green eel in the world". We don't know how they KNOW its the biggest eel. Surely all the green eels have not been tracked down and measured. It was neat to see the kinds of fish found in the Medterranian. Aquariums are a good place to see evolution in action. Did you know that if you blind a camoflauge fish it can no longer blend in with its background? And it only turns the color/texture of the bottom on the side of its body with the eyes. Yep, I learned it at the Monaco Oceongraphic Museo. Honestly I took the most pictures of the guy in scuba gear cleaning the tanks... the sweetest janitorial position ever.
Then we went up to see the Monte Carlo Casino... which was very posh. And quite a climb. We made dinner last night. Spagetti and veggies and bread with olive oil. Less than 4 euro a peice. I made the track from the grocery holding a baguette in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. I felt very French. They have a great glassed in kitchen area here. We ate outside on the patio. It was very nice.
I booked one more night in Nice. So I can actually check out the town of Nice today. I also need to do some cold weather clothes shopping before I go to Interlocken. I'm debating spending a day in Marseille and in Lyon with Cassie before heading to Interlocken. I had rationalized this to myself by thinking I will get to do a round about and train through different territory, instead of going there and back the same route. I'm a little concerned that I will start running out of travel days towards the end. But the detour would really only cost me 2 days. I'm doing a stay 4 nights pay for 3 in Interlocken. My plan right now is to go next to Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome, Corfu, Venice, Salzburg, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdaam, and then Frankfurt (just passing thru to see Josh in Schweinfurt which I believe is very close). From Frankfurt I can fly cheaply to London OR if I get ambitious Dublin. I've mapped this out very specifically but I'm sure it will change.
Last night I met a girl named Annie who is from D.C. and just graduated as a Theatre and Psychology major. She is only staying abroad a month because she got a job understudying in a new show in D.C. She says D.C. is the third largest theatre venue in the States (I guess behind New York and Chicago) so I may be coming to visit you, Carlyn. I think we are going to go out with her tonight. Elizabeth also did theatre in college (not as a major) and Patrick, it turns out, is a clown. He does juggling, and balloon animals, and balloon swallowing (much like sword), and balancing chairs on his chin. Crazy.
That's about it. I really like this hostel. I think its second only to Cat's. The computers are seriously tempromental but they have an all you can eat breakfast. With non-instant coffee and 10 different cereals to choose from. Excellent. I need to study up on my Italian. Ciao.
I swam in the Medeterrainian
And it was lovely. The whole day. But the "pebble beaches" aren't so much pebbles as large stones. They are very hard to walk on. But the water is REALLY blue and crystal clear and salty. I'm hanging out with Cassie, another Aussie, she is 22 as well and taking a year off from school to work and travel. She is taking a French course in Montpelliar and has a French working visa. We met this morning at breakfast and went to the beach and then to Cap D'ial where there is supposed to be caves and cliff diving. We got there sort of late and met up with the boys we were originally supposed to go with before we actually made it to the swimming. But it was beautiful scenery. I think we're going to hang out tomorrow too. And she may come to Monaco with me the next day.
The hostel is a bit out of the way, its an old monastary that has been converted. The common room is called "The Chapel" and they have a stained glass wall. Which is probably a good omen. And the showers are hot. But the free internet is relatively terrible. The only decent computer's space bar doesn't work and the rest are slow and tempramental. I was lucky to find a group of 5 guys (4 Americans and an Aussie)going to the same hostel from my hostel in Barcelona. One of the guys had been before so that made the "cross the streets in front of the trainstation to the buses, take bus #23 15 minutes, get off at a square, then use the phone to call us and we'll pick you up" directions less intimidating. Honestly it was pretty sketchy but the hostel and the people are really nice. It's really laid back. Last night I hung out with Patrisha (the French-Canadian), Jenna and Gemma (the Scottish girls studying in Milan) and Sas (funny little Iranian-British dude). We went out on the town for an expensive dinner (is was everyone's last night) and to a club... that closed at 2 am. Are we in Georgia? They had a live band playing bongos and beachy music. It was fun. We took a cab home. We have to take the bus everywhere. It's not that expensive but I like to be in walking distance.
Everyone seems to be very disappointed that I don't have a Southern drawl. Jenna lived in Texas for a year and does a pretty good impression. So I may have to work something up. One of the Aussie twins in my last bunk said I had a "very nice" American accent. Apparently some of them give her headaches.
Hmmm. In other news... I've run out of shampoo and, as I feel it has done me no real favors in the last few years, have resorted to using soap. OOh. I'm SO very excited because this morning I took all of my clothes, ect. in for a 5 euro wash and dry. So they'll all be clean and smell nice by tomorrow morning. No effort whatsoever. Amazing. I was going to wait for the halfway mark. But it was too good a deal. And I lost my Tide.
To sum up: I'm safe, I'm sound. I love Nice.
For those of you who are counting down...
Two months left. Exactly.
Thirza left this morning. I woke her up and promptly locked myself out of the room at 7:45 in the morning. For those of you who are unaware, this is an ungodly time. I really don´t think human beings are equipt to handle hours this early. After trying to discreetly knock on the door I decided to go downstairs and enjoy un-time-limited internet access for say 30 minutes.
Today I hung out with Avinna, another Aussie, who is 31 and has been travelling around since July. She doesn´t have too much longer left. An A-ha (of ¨Take on Me¨ fame) concert, London, Tokyo, and she´s home. We went to the bookstore (I bought Hitchiker´s Guide to the Galaxy and The Hobbit) and then went to The Museum of Chocolate, possibly my favorite museum yet. It was very English friendly, I gladly learned tons and then took an ridiculous amount of chocolate sculpture photos. We drank mugs of liquid chocolate and I tried the Barcelona traditional sponge cake fingers, melindros. And it was perfect for the rainy, dreary, curl up and watch movies all day weather outside. We looked at shops and went to a health food shop right next to the hostel for tea. It was nice. There was a couple from Atlanta there who were vacationing for a couple weeks in Spain so I talked to them for a few minutes. The closest I´ve come before that was North Carolina.
I never made it to the beach. But I saw it from the tour bus and I hear there is one in Nice. I booked 3 nights so the weather better clear up. Tomorrow I will be spending 10 hours getting there...starting at 8:45 am.
I was trying to download my Barcelona photos (I´m paying for internet at the moment) but it is not working and I simply do not have the energy to bother the information girl again.
For those of you who are counting down...
Two months left. Exactly.
Thirza left this morning. I woke her up and promptly locked myself out of the room at 7:45 in the morning. For those of you who are unaware, this is an ungodly time. I really don´t think human beings are equipt to handle hours this early. After trying to discreetly knock on the door I decided to go downstairs and enjoy un-time-limited internet access for say 30 minutes.
Today I hung out with Avinna, another Aussie, who is 31 and has been travelling around since July. She doesn´t have too much longer left. An A-ha (of ¨Take on Me¨ fame) concert, London, Tokyo, and she´s home. We went to the bookstore (I bought Hitchiker´s Guide to the Galaxy and The Hobbit) and then went to The Museum of Chocolate, possibly my favorite museum yet. It was very English friendly, I gladly learned tons and then took an ridiculous amount of chocolate sculpture photos. We drank mugs of liquid chocolate and I tried the Barcelona traditional sponge cake fingers, melindros. And it was perfect for the rainy, dreary, curl up and watch movies all day weather outside. We looked at shops and went to a health food shop right next to the hostel for tea. It was nice. There was a couple from Atlanta there who were vacationing for a couple weeks in Spain so I talked to them for a few minutes. The closest I´ve come before that was North Carolina.
I never made it to the beach. But I saw it from the tour bus and I hear there is one in Nice. I booked 3 nights so the weather better clear up. Tomorrow I will be spending 10 hours getting there...starting at 8:45 am.
I was trying to download my Barcelona photos (I´m paying for internet at the moment) but it is not working and I simply do not have the energy to bother the information girl again.
The rain in Spain...
...stays mainly in the plain. Except when it is pouring in Barcelona and surrounding areas. Today Thirza and I went to Figueures to see the home, work, and tomb of Dali. It was an hour and a half journey there. We stayed for an hour and half. And an hour and a half back. And it rained. And Dali is messed up... but some of it was really cool. Like the room that mades a womans face. He painted his wife a lot. Which she totally deserved because he´s a big weirdo. But it was good to learn something about the man who´s name inspired my favorite Schroeder´s sandwich. I ate veggie paella from St. Josep´s market for lunner. Mmm. I´m going out to buy souveniers I think. Ladies and gentleman, the five minute blog.
Some Sort of National Holiday
I think today is ¨We discovered the New World¨day in Spain. Columbus Day. It´s a national holiday at least and museums and such are closed. This morning just as we got outside the clouds began to clear and we had about 20 minutes of gorgeous. Then it rained. But it was nice. We took the "blue" line tour bus, wasted quite a bit of time in the Train Station trying to book reservations to Nice and tickets for tomorrow´s dat-trip to Dali-town. After that we went to a full scale reconstructed traditional Spanish village, which I thought was very nice. They had a strange art park where Thirza and I took a bunch of stupid pictures and some great views of the city. They also had a bunch of little shops where they made things right in front of you (stained glass, tapestries, guitars, and such). We rode the bus around quite a bit. We had to fight for the top seats today and once we had them it was hard to give them up. We breifly explored the Barri Gothic/ancient ruin part of town. If we have any time after the Dali museum/town tomorrow we will go back. I´m a bit up in the air deciding when to leave Barcelona. I need to get a move on. I wonder how the weather in Italy is late November and early December. If I reroute my trip I could fly into London from Venice. And maybe not be so cold in Germany. Hmmm.
Barcelona Day 2
Barcelona is a really cool city and more tourist inclined than Madrid. I just wish the weather wasn´t so dreary... the forcast is thunderstorms and showers for the next 5 days. I guess I´ll try my beach luck in Nice. Too bad though because I was REALLY looking forward to just relaxing for a while. Good news is there is plenty to do here. I´ve been hanging out with a girl who lives in the top bunk above me, Thurza from Australia, Perth. She is 24 and on a 6 month holiday from work. Starting a new job when she gets home(she works for a union...which is apparently very political in Australia). We decided to buy tourist bus tickets for 2 days. It´s actually been nice hitting up all the sights. All the Gaudi architecture is amazing. I think it looks like it should be an underwater city like the suburbs near King Triton´s palace in The Little Mermaid and Thurza thinks it looks like Dr. Suess. Kabul hostel is quite nice. Free internet, breakfast, and dinner. Must remember to get to dinner early from now on as it was veggie pasta last night and tonight I had to get the potato salad and pick out the hot dog. We are right off the main street Las Rambles where there are markets and venders and street performers. My favorite falafel joint is here so I´m happy. Today we took the red line full circle on top of a tour bus. You get to get off and on as you want so we saw the Gaudi park and Sanagra Familia the only still being constructed cathedral in the world. And Gaudi died in the 1940´s I think. And it should be ready in 25-30 years. Tomorrow we do the blue line. The green (beach) line is closed. Figures. But its storming anyway. I just met a guy named Chris, also from Perth, who is going to New York and staying a few days with his buddy HUGH JACKMAN in his apartment overlooking Central Park. Crazy. He works in TV and has a sister who does musical theatre professionally. Very interesting. He´s just on a 4 week break. This place would be perfect if it were sunny.
Madrid Layover
Yesterday was an EXTREMELY frustrating last day in Madrid. It turns out I need a ¨Being an Idiot¨ fund budgeted into my trip. The first part of the day was great. I went to the big market and wanted to buy everything and settled on a couple of T-shirts and some really bizarre comic wallet type things. Around 4pm I was done downloading my pictures and trying to figure out ways to waste time until my 11 pm train out of town. I went looking for a new book. The selection was ok but I wasn´t really in the mood to read and all the department stores were closed. So I decided to take the advice of some of Vanesa´s friends and go to this HUGE movie theatre (possibly biggest in Europe..or close) with 25 screens and so forth. Well it turns out it took me 40 minutes on the Metro to get there. I kept on falling asleep during the ride... I did a lot of walking. I think I´m on the brink of discovering something very important geographically about Madrid. And then always ending up near Atocha station will make sense. Anyway it was starting to get dark and figuring the time it would take me to get back I didn´t know if I could see a movie and still have plenty of time. Plus I wasn´t really sure if what I found was right...it didn´t look so big... and I was starting to get a headache and hungry. I stopped by a general store and grabbed anything that looked familiar and not sickening which happened to be: a banana, cheetos (I had to be careful to get the normal ones) and oreos. I ate these and got back on the Metro.
Forty minutes later I´m back at Cat´s where I wasted just enough time to get to Atocha (where all the trains depart from Madrid according to the NORMAL print in my Eurail guide). First of all it rains on me. It´s not very far but I wasted my last Metro ticket and I´m not going to pay for another one. I´m an hour early and I SWEAR I saw Barcelona on the screen and it said 23:17 or something like that Via 4. So I conclude its running a bit late and park myself in front of Platform 4. Then a train comes and EVERYONE gets on it or off it maybe. SO I ask the security dudes who speak no English but manage to communicate that there are NO more trains departing from Atocha tonight. So I show them my ticket and they show me that it say Chamartin. The other station on the other side of the city. It´s 10 minutes to departure which I KNOW is impossible. I talk to the metro people and they tell me which line takes me directly to Chamartin. They also think its funny that I don´t speak Spanish. Ok. My experience has been that the Spanish are much more laid back and that their trains rarely leave on time. At best I can get there in 20 minutes. As soon as I get on the train I remember (thanks to a sign, the metro workers forgot) that the bit between one of the stops and Chamartin is shut down and you have to get off and take the free shuttle. At this point I realize this is my cue to have a complete breakdown. But I don´t. I have the phone number of the station in my Eurail book. But, of course, my phone doesn´t work. I try anyway. Yep. No deal. I managed to get to Chamartin about 35 minutes after my train has left. Only to be comforted by a little man who tells me I won´t be getting my money back but I can pay for another reservation on the first train out in the morning at 7:45. Then he stamps VOID on my reservation-- which I personally think was just out of malice. So at this point I am only comforted by the fact that I saw an American Embassy (McDonald´s) at the bus stop and I can take lots of sadface pictures while stuffing my face. I get there an it is CLOSED. Early because its Suday. Which I think should be illegal. I pay ANOTHER metro fare to go back to Cat´s where the Internet is closed (early again). I pay for another night. Where I have to sleep upstairs with a bunch of old ladies who were clearly NOT amused by the fact that I could not get the door opened. And wake up at 6:35 and am too tired to make lots of noise out of spite. After a very traumatic dream where I´m auditioning for Cabaret for Dr. Horne NOW even though I´m at Granny´s with Lillian and I have nothing prepared but I HAVE to sing ¨Coming up Roses¨ because that´ll get me in for sure... it was all very confusing. End dream. Then I went ATOCHA which is right this time. To Cat´s credit they did give me a croissant and coffee even though it was way before breakfast time. Pity story complete. On the upside I did decide about halfway through I had a place to sleep and I knew what I was going to do in the morning and I wasn´t going to worry or beat myself up about it anymore. It wasn´t worth it. I mean I didn´t even have anyone to feel sorry for me. Ha. And I think I handled it pretty well. I didn´t call my parents and cry. Though I think I might should have cried. I might could have gotten an extra croissant to take along for the ride.
Barcelona seems very nice. And its rainy here. So it turns out I didn´t miss my one pretty day afterall. All I´ve done so far is shower (hygeine is at an alltime low) and wash a BUNCH of cloths in the sink. My microfleece is honestly the smartest thing I brought -- but it is TERRIBLE to wash. It resists the water but once its taken over its completely sunk.
On Saturday night I had a great night out with Vanesa and her friends, Marta, Ruth and Melissa. Marta and Melissa were pretty fluent in English and Ruth could manage a few good sentences. We went to VIPS for dinner (at 11pm--which is when you eat dinner here) and then to the clubs. Madrileños are no kidding out all night. At 3am and 6:30 am there are still plenty (not homeless people) on the streets. The first club we went to wouldn´t let us in because I was wearing tennis shoes! Would that happen in the States? No. Money trumps fashoin. Please. The girls didn´t ditch me and we went to the next club. Every place we would stay about 10 or 20 minutes and go to the next one. It was fun. Vanesa and I shared a can home. Which I think is my first cab EVER. It was very expensive. But the metro´s closed and its a long walk home. They are a very fun and smart group of girls. I wish I had written this yesterday so it wasn´t so summarized.
Ok. I am WAY overbudget on the communal internet time.
Leaving Madrid
I just checked out of my room at Cat´s and I´m about to head to the outdoor market that you "must see or you haven´t been to Madrid". Yesterday was a really good day. I started out with an hour trek to Park de Campo which looks a lot bigger on the map. When I (finally) got there I met an American guy named Chris who is studying abroad here from New York and was looking for the basketball courts. We were both pretty lost so I talked to him for a while we looked around and tried to dicipher the map. I basically just walked the length of the park. I went inside the Egyptian temple. It was interesting, but I was really hoping for an actual pyramid. Anyway its on top of a mountain so the view of Madrid is fantastic up there. I walked home which only took 30 minutes going a completely opposite way.
Then I went to Atocha to get my overnight train reservation for tonight (which cost me €23 but I´m rationalizing it by just counting it as a super-productive hostel stay) and didn´t have to wait AT ALL. I´m staying at Kabul hostel in Barcelona. I only have 3 nights reserved so far.
Then I went to the Museum Reina Sophia. Definitly their best peice is Picasso´s Guernicca. Also they had over a room full of his preparation sketches for it which I thought was really neat. It´s bizarre to see Picasso´s eraser marks. Also they had Dali´s which are very interesting because you can look at them forever
and still not see everything. All the details and hidden images and stuff. But they´re always a little disgusting to me. I don´t know he just throws around a lot of body parts and bugs. That was really the good stuff. I also liked the sculptures that just look like twisted metal at first but from the angles you can see very cleverly crafted out faces. Good museum. Even better I got in free.
Yesterday I learned how to do Soduko (spelling?) Those newspaper puzzles that are supposed to be "giving crosswords a run for their money" and "more addictive than crack". Well I think I should have given crack a try. I did my first one in pen and was very proud of myself.
I have much more to say but I will have to continue later. There are people waiting for the computer and technically I´m checked out.
Bebos. (Kisses... I think)
Day 31
Today I slept in. I mean I still got up for free breakfast...but then I went back to bed. The weather is still beautiful. Apparently Spain is going through a drought to my advantage. I went to the train station to get a reservation for Sunday but they DO require you to bring your pass here so I waited an hour for nothing. Then I tried to find my way home an experimental way and an hour later finally found myself behind the building I started out in front of. But its all good. I met some California girls, Mandy, Gwen, and Cameron who I went out with for very expensive but tasty tapas. Tomorrow I´m going to hang out with Vanesa, the girl I met in the bookshop from Madrid. So that should be fun. Otherwise I´m going to actually try to get some of the things I intended to do today done tomorrow. No rush. There are a lot of programs to learn Spanish here. When I come back that´s exactly what I will do. I was very proud tonight when a guy asked me "¿Como te llamo?" And though I was all geared up to say "No habla espanol". I said "Me llamo Brannon." Maybe I did retain something of those 16 years of school after all. They do the kissy cheek thing here too. Adios amigos.
The Anniversary Issue.
Today is Europe and my ONE MONTH anniversary. It was meant to be. I celebrated with a terrific trip to Toledo with Deliliah and everyone´s favorite Pole, Micheal, who we met today on the train. Yesterday Deliliah and I went to the Placa de Real where they had a marching band, and boys in uniform, and boys in uniform on horses. Then we wandered around a bit. I found a great falafel place and discovered that McDonald´s IS my US Embassy. I met an REAL Madrid-ian, Vanesa, who is at University for English Philoligy (which Micheal kindly explained is basically Language/Phonetics/Something like that) in the literature in English section of the "Casa de Libros". TODAY we went to cathedrals and museums and a synagoge. Toledo is beautiful. I could have stayed another day happily. Especially since we didn´t catch the "Inventions of Leonardo DaVinci" exhibit until seista time. The scenery is gorgeous and its just very Spanish. Spain has offered nothing but perfect weather thus far. I also met an old man on the Metro on my way home and was very proud that though he spoke no English I managed to figure out he was from Peru had travelled to N. America and wanted to get off at the Anton Martin stop. Really great day today. Learned loads about Poland. Tomorrow I may try to catch up with my Madrid friend, get yarn, go to one of the many recommended veggie resturants (thanks, random Irish man), go to the HUGE park, the more modern museum, and shop. Well I hope I get to all of that before I leave anyway. I can tell I´m going to really miss Deliliah like I´ve missed all of the friends I´ve made. But we´ll catch up in Barcelona. Ahh, the beach. I can´t wait for my holiday from vacationing! Hasta la vista, baby.
I have no idea what day number we´re on
Dad can we get an official widget count on how many days left? I´m still having a great time in Madrid... there´s MUCH less to do here than in London or Paris I´m finding out. I might even see about moving on before Sunday...but I´ve already paid so it´ll depend on the refund. Yesterday morning I went to the park.. de Retiro.. and jogged around. It was nice. Then I met up with Delilah and went to the Prado. We spent a long time in there...museums make you tired and about halfway through you stop being so impressed. But I thought what was neat about the Prado is the fact that they let artists come in ...even with all their paints and canvases and everything (and they make us check our bags and water bottles at the door) and they stand by the original works and try to copy them. Some are better than others. It is neat. There were at least 4 painters and a couple sketchers so it was a busy day. Afte the Prado we went to P. del Sol which is sort of city center where a bunch of major streets collide and we ate these tiny little sub sandwiches.
Sue, from England, gave me her Top 10 things to do in Madrid book because she is leaving today so hopefully that will give us some more ideas. Last night I went out with a group of people going to a jazz club. Which was nice for a while but I skipped out early with a couple other girls to walk home. Areil is 18 and from Toronto and she may be coming with us to Toledo tomorrow. Laura is from Australia sleeps in my room and has a shaved head except for two places (where she said she has a scar and a bump. ha) I also met a couple guys from the Czech Republic...one of whom´s English sounds robotic. It´s hilarious. They are here to study Spanish but their classes don´t start for another couple of weeks. I also met a guy named Jamie from Seattle who is eventually going to Southeast Asia to look for a job. He may be abroad for 6 or 18 months... he´s not sure yet...or sure where he´s going next...maybe Portugal? So people are interesting. I used Delilah´s USB to download a FEW pictures of Paris (it takes so long to download) but she´ll be in Barcelona so I´m hoping I can continue bumming until there. Or find one I can buy. So look at my pictures. The End.
Buenos Dias, Madrid.
Did I mention I'm in hostel-heaven? I thought my clock was wrong when I woke up this morning but no it was still quiet and dark at 9:30. Yesterday I met a 25 year old girl going on a three month trip just like me. She quit her accounting job back in Texas because she hated it and came abroad. She JUST started. We'll both be in Barcelona next week, she is staying for a 6 week course in Spanish. We're also going to go on a day trip to Toledo together. Last night we went out to eat at a very crowded Spanish resturant. Everything stays open so late here. It´s crazy.
I changed rooms. The guy told me when I got here he thought (because of my name, thanks mom and dad) that I was a boy. So originally I was in a room with 7 other guys and an unmade bed. The roomies I met, Pedro from Brazil and Mike from Canada, seemed very nice but I decided to ask for a room where I wasn´t the only girl again. I also helped Cervio (that not spelled right) the Poll (is that diragatory?) figure out how to use the vending machine. And I met an Italian guy who stayed here a month ago and is back to work at the hostel. And two Australian girls, Michelle and Zoey, who live in my new room. And for the life of me I can´t remember the name of the girl I spent all day with and am meeting at 2pm this afternoon from Texas. Maybe Danielle? As soon as I figure it out I´m editing this post so I don´t feel like such a jerk.
This morning I´m going to take a Brannon´s Walking Tour. Maybe try to get to the park. Me and Texas walked around a bunch last night trying to decide where to eat. We had a plan but we got lost. But it turned out well, everyone is out at night so it felt safe. There is a Real Madrid home game NEXT Sunday. Which is sad because I was hoping my luck would get better and I could go to another futbol crazed country. But no. I still have the giant flea market. And EVERYONE says Barcelona is the place to be. Caio.
And now I´¨m used to French keyboards...
I have arrived in Madrid. AND I love it. First of all it just seems super laid-back compared to London or Paris. Second things are cheaper: Third my hostel is AMAZING. Quite possibly the best hostel I´ve stayed in (Val´s doesn´t count). I have a magnetic wristwatch key that opens the hostel door, my room door, AND my gigantic locker that holds my entire pack plus some. There is FREE internet access (that I´m taking advantage of right now) and the common room has a stained glass ceiling. Ding Ding Ding. Wins on all counts. Oh and breakfast is INCLUDED. Yesyesyes. But I keep typing the wrong things now that I´m back to a semi-American keyboard. Last night I treated Valentine to dinner. We went to this great French restuarant where we melted our cheese ourselves on the table in the little frying pans. Mmm. It was rachette.... oh I know thats wrong. At least the pronounciation. Val would kill me: Ha. Anyway it was sad to leave Paris. I came on a sleeper train (where literally all you can do is lie down) which I think would have been alright if I didn´t have my pack as an uncomfortable bedfellow: I mean the bed couldnt have been bigger than 2 by 7 feet. Then I boarded a regular train where I was seated next to a pregnant woman. But the scenery was great and I watched "Tortilla Soup" in its entireity in Spanish. We only get 20 minute slots soooo....Adios.
Last Day in Paris
The weather yesterday turned out to be really nice. Valentine and I went to the Institute of Monde Arabe. Or something like that. Its a modern building with a fantastic view of the city. Then we went walking around downtown. And split a chocolate macaroon, which was delish. It was SO crowded. Apparently this is a good week to be in Paris because its Nuit Blache, "White Night", and so the museum exhibits stayed open all night and there was contemporary music and artists everywhere. This is all what I hear. I opted the less-fun night (Valentine had to babysit anyway)and stayed at the apartment to shower and pack and sleep. At this moment I am waiting for my baking powdered and white flour biscuits to come out of the oven. Mmmm. And I'm going to make scrambled eggs. I'm taking a later, cheaper train to Madrid so I have a little more time to get to Versailles and back for dinner with Valentine (they eat very late here... luckily I've managed to teach Val that we Americans eat ALL the time). My biscuits are a success! Yay.
Au revoir, Paree.
Day 10
Well, today is my last official day in Paris. Yesterday was rainy so I didn't do much sightseeing. Last night I went with Annabel (Valentine's friend) to a gypsy concert. I think we expected it to be a little more rowdy but it was still very crowded in the basement of a fancy resturaunt. I think I may have discovered my next unattainable lifelong dream of being the leader of a gypsy band. The singer was amazing... it is a very stylized sort of sound. And a woman from the audience (apparently the singer's sister- as translated by Annabel)got up and did a belly-dance-ish routine. It was nice because it wasn't in French so I was on the same page as everyone else. Today I'm hanging out with Valentine.
I've decided to spend tomorrow day in Versailles and take the overnight train tomorrow night to Madrid. I've already booked 6 nights at the Cat's Hostel there as recommended by my guidebook. I think I'll take the overnight train next Sunday to Barcelona. I'm going to go by the train station today and make a reservation and see when I need to be back to catch the train. I can tell I'll miss Paris... and it will be hard going back to sleeping in a room with 10 other people... but c'est la vie. I've left myself plenty to do on my next trip to Paris. I will try to post tomorrow or tonight but it may be a day or two between the next posts. Travelling.
