I Guess I Kind of Suck

for not posting at all these past several weeks. I suppose I've switched over to video documentation for good. Here's the grand finale:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL1CBlPTGEo

Londontown

A picture is worth a thousand words.  Slash I'm lazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl8YVY8GQQs

Still More

One last entry for now.  I guess this is my second blog trilogy - the first one came right after Morocco.

Tanya and Lisa arrived Tuesday morning.  I took them down La Rambla and really wanted to show them this Cafe in Placa Reial that has great churros but unfortunately it was closed.  I don't know how they do it, but people in Spain simply don't eat until 2pm - it's almost impossible to find a place that serves a full menu of food in the morning (AKA noon.)

So we ended up taking an impromptu long walk down to the Port, where we finally sat ourselves down at a large cafe that was serving sandwiches.  I thought it was sort of chilly out, but T&L, being Parisians, were thrilled with the blue skies and "warm" weather.  We continued walking along the beach until we reached a large red rope jungle gym, towards which Tanya immediately started running.  As she climbed, Lisa and I sat on a nearby bench, snapping photos.

We headed back to the Residencia and piled into my bed to cuddle and talk, but in the middle of our conversation I passed out.  I felt bad, but I couldn't help it!  I was so tired - I had only gotten back from Greece one day before.  When I woke up I gave the girls to Kara because I had to work on a project with Ansell anyway, which took several hours and isn't worth writing about because its boring.

That night we went out to an expensive Mexican restaurant - 9.95 euros for an enchilada!  When we were done eating and wanted the check the waitress wasn't coming around, so I gave her a wave to get her attention, but instead of coming over, she gave me a cheery wave back.  Everyone laughed and for some reason I felt really embarrassed.  Then they all went out to a bar, but I went home to work more on the project.

The next day Ansell and I gave our presentation, yawn.  After class I met up with T&L in Parc de la Ciutadella (where Sarah and I got robbed - see:  Thief!) and we layed (laid? lied? I never know) around in the grass for a while before going back home and cooking a salad/chicken/pasta dinner.  Then we went to a carnival!  Lots of fun rides and music and churros and tents with people doing all different kinds of dance - the flamenco was the coolest, with the women in full costume, stomping loudly on the wooden floors with their black heels.

Thursday a big group of us went to Sitges for a beach day, which was awesome.  It was like 70 degrees and I brought my iPod and speakers.  That night we went for tapas and to La Oveja Negra to get drinks with Emma, her older sister, and her older sister's boyfriend.  And then Friday morning we went to the bus station to pick up NIKKI who was making a brief visit, and who I hadn't seen for almost a year!  We spent like 10 minutes waiting for her at the platform and as soon she got off the bus, she and I shrieked loudly and ran towards each other - she dropped her suitcase - and embraced.  I missed her so much!  That day I took T&L to Parc Guell - it's a schlep, but they had to see it, it's beautiful - and then we all (me, T, L, Niks, and Kara) went out to dinner at this chic place called Carpe Diem.  We ate our meal on a mattress, which sounds much more glamorous than it actually is, especially when you're wearing a dress.  The place turns into a bar/lounge at night, so we stuck around after dinner and had drinks on another mattress outside (you're supposed to buy a 200 euro bottle for the outside mattresses, but Nikki the genius sweet talked the waiter into letting us sit there).  It felt strange and good for all of us, who were studying in different places, to be sitting together like that - it was like being back at Brown.  

T&L left at 4:15 that morning - they never even went to bed - and when I woke up at 11:00am I was pleased to discover that I was by myself in a room, a luxury I hadn't had for the past three weeks.  I bummed around happily for hours, glad not to have to say a word to anyone.  That's not to say that I didn't love having guests - I did - I just hadn't had any alone time in a while, and as an only child, me-time is something I'm used to and very much need.

Went out for lunch and sangria with Niks and Kara at the proper time of 3pm, had some very abstract deep conversation, and came back to nap.  And when I woke up at 9:30pm, I knew immediately that I had a fever.  For the next 36 hours, then, I remained in bed with the chills and terrible GI pain.  It sucked, but I guess it makes sense - I had been pushing through my fatigue for so long, and all the travel and activity and lack of sleep was bound to catch up to me.  Luckily I have good friends who brought me water, coke, gatorade, crackers, and DVDs.  I got through the first 20 minutes of Bridget Jones's Diary (such comfort) before falling asleep again.

I'll spare you the details, but that night and following morning was not good.  My fever broke around 4 o'clock though, and this morning I woke up feeling significantly better - better enough, I thought, to go to class, but then while walking to the metro I felt kind of weak/dizzy.  I made it through the afternoon, but it's pretty clear that I need to take it easy for the rest of the week, especially since I'm leaving for London on Thursday.  Yes, another trip.  I have to - it's Shannon's birthday and I want more time with Nikki.  But, mark my words, this is the last time I will be flying out of Barcelona until I head back to the states.

I don't have a video of me being sick, sorry.

More

Okay, I'm back.

So when I stepped off the plane in Athens, the lovely and wonderful Boaz Munro was at the gate waiting for me.  As we cabbed to the hotel (it was late) the clock struck midnight and it became six months for us, though it feels like less since we've been apart for more than three of them.  It took me a while to get used to the fact that the person I had spent so much time and energy missing for the past few months was now sitting six inches away from me, and that we were in GREECE.  

We did a gift exchange and went to see the Acropolis, which involved a long uphill walk in Miami-rivaling heat.  It was neat to be up there and imagine the ancient Greeks philosophizing among all that impressive scaffolding.  Then, tired, we sat in a field of flowers and Bobobrains monologued a bit about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  No really, he seems to have learned a lot and it's awesome.  We also spent some time making fun of a couple who was sitting and kissing about twenty feet away from us.  The guy was practically eating the girl's face.  We agreed that she looked bored with him until she straddled his lap and the dry humping commenced.  Oh, Greece.

Our ferry to Santorini left at 6:00pm and arrived at 3:20pm.  There weren't enough reclining chairs for the passengers, which was fine at first because we were sitting up on the deck, but when it got cold we were forced to wander around inside and eventually resort to sitting on the floor (I was trying to find an open cabin to sneak into, but Mister Mungoodytwoshoes wasn't having it).  Also, the cafeteria food was atrocious.  We shared a table with a non-English speaking couple, but were perfectly able to communicate our distaste for the soggy pasta.

If you ever go to Santorini, stay at Stelios Place.  The place has beautiful white buildings, comfortable, clean rooms and a nice swimming pool.  But best of all Stelios himself came to pick us up at the port at 3:20am free of charge.  They take really good care of their guests, as evidenced by the guestbook at the front desk which is jam-packed with affectionate messages and inside jokes.

In the morning we rented a dorky ATV vehicle from MOTOMANIA! and spent the day riding around the crescent-shaped island, making it from the lighthouse at the southernmost tip all the way up to Oia, the town at the northernmost tip which is famous for its sunset.  We spent a lot of time driving, stopping when we saw something pretty, sitting, chatting, and then driving again.  So nice.  We ate dinner on a balcony at a fancy restaurant (we were the only customers - April is very much the off-season) and as we munched on our tuna tartar we watched the sun plunge into the caldera.  Stunning, although a heavy horizontal cloud was sitting atop the horizon; we almost mistook it for a mountain range.  

Many euros later we drove back to Perissa (black volcanic beach where our hostel was).  It was easter, so the towns were all lit up with candles, and from the road all you could really see was the flames quivering in the distance.  There were also some sporadic fireworks.  When we got back to Stelios we were pretty pooped so we stayed in and watched this porny Spanish movie that Boaz liked a lot more than I did.  

In the morning I had a nice shower with my newly-bought Herbal Essences shampoo, and we picked up some food to bring on the ferry back to Athens.  The Blue Star boat was much nicer than Lane Lines's, which is probably why the ride went by much more quickly than before, although I had a brief bout of seasickness (no puking, just dizziness).  When we arrived at Piraeus (port of Athens) Boaz carried my suitcase down the stairs, the gentleman.  A silly music-box tune played as the ramp was lowered, and then all the passengers spilled out onto the street to fight for cabs, since the metro was closed for the holiday.  

We shared a cab back to the city square with a nice, nerdy couple, and our driver, who at first seemed sort of cold, ended up dancing enthusiastically at the wheel to "The Twist" (and by dancing, I mean moving his fists cutely through the air).  Haha.

On our last day we had a mediocre brunch - my hamburger tasted more like a veggie burger, though the fries were aight - and then shared a cab to the airport because our flights were only twenty minutes apart.  EgyptAir flies out of a different terminal than Iberia, though, so we couldn't pass through security together.  Thus we spent our last few moments together sitting on the floor - a recurring theme of this trip - talking about my blackberry.

Just kidding, we talked about other stuff, too.  Like how the weekend was pretty much perfect and how we miss each other and can't wait to be together in the summer.

Surprise!  I made a video of Greece, too.  Here:  http://youtube.com/watch?v=2SLEAVy1vqk

I guess for the sake of organization and aesthetics I should start a new post to describe this past week.

I'm Still Here!

I feel bad for having neglected the blog over the past three weeks.  It's just that I've been really busy - so busy, in fact, that two days ago I ended up getting sick from what I can only assume was sheer exhaustion.

First came the trip to Copenhagen.  I was thrilled to be traveling with Tanya and Sarah, two of my favorite people in the world.  The city was beautiful - very clean, with immaculate metro stations and beautiful blonde people roaming the streets.  The first night we ate dinner with Mike Freeman and his host family.  We were graciously welcomed into their home, and taught how to toast properly in accordance with the Danish traditions (no glass-clinking - just eye contact).  We drank wine, ate lasagna, and then indulged in ice cream comes with chocolate covered marshmallows on top.  Then we went clubbin with some Brown kids at a place called Koolerbar.  (In Denmark you often see a K where you expect a C).

The next morning we went on a boat tour.  The weather was beautiful, but there were some obnoxious Danish guys sitting behind us who were drinking beer and shouting loudly the entire time.  One of them thought it would be hilarious to offer Tanya a banana, and then pull his pants down and have his friend take a picture of his ass.  Then about ten minutes later, to the dismay of the entire boat, the same guy stood up, turned around, and dove clumsily off the back of the boat into the cold canal.  Some people started clapping - not even because they were impressed, but rather because they were happy to get rid of him.

We walked around a cute pedestrianized area until we reached the famed amusement park Tivoli, where Tanya and I rode a beautiful, red steel roller coaster.  I hadn't been on one of those in years and really missed that feeling of being weightless.  Then we met up with Zach and Christina, stood on a bridge and fed some fish, and went on a really lame log flume ride which didn't even have a drop - it was just one of those things where you sit in a boat in the dark while the surrounding mechanical animals creepily sing, "Welcome to our world!" and then "sneeze" on you.  Tivoli was cute, but also painfully expensive.  There's an entrance fee, but then you have to pay for each ride individually.

Zach took us to an upscale beer place and then to Christiana, this cool hippie community that views itself as independent from the rest of Copenhagen (its exit is marked by a sign that says "You are now entering the E.U.") and whose buildings are covered with really amazing graffiti art.  On the walk home we watched the sun set over a pretty lake, and that night we went out to a place called "Rust" which had a live funk band.

The last day we took the train out of Copenhagen to the folk high school, where Josh Morrison lives.  The building is beautiful, with wooden beams and glass ceilings and plants everywhere.  The kids there seem really down-to-earth and cool.  A bell rang and we ate dinner with them all, and then went to explore this awesome nearby castle.  We took immature pictures with some of the statues there, and then returned to the dorm and had a bonfire outside with some of Josh's friends.  It was cold out, so the fire felt really good.  I left the next morning, and spent a mere 36 hours in Barcelona before hopping a plane (well two, actually - I connected in Madrid, it was a long day) to Greece for a much-anticipated getaway with the Bobo.

Argh, I have to run to class now.  I'll continue when I get back.  

Below is a link to the Copenhagen video I made.  Also, I noticed recently that in the credits I spelled Josh's last name incorrectly - it's Morrison, not Morisson - my bad!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AOk6_c9Ty-Y

Sur de Francia

CASB organized an educational trip to the south of France for us last weekend.  We visited the charming town of Albi and the massive castle-village in Carcassonne, and then we hiked up a mountain in Montsegur for some dizzying views of the French countryside.  

Every meal we ate in France was amazing, except for one disgusting buffet-style lunch we had at this weird rest stop.  The bus dropped us off at a gas station, and we walked along the shoulder of the highway until we arrived at this small open-air complex called "La Village Catalana" that consisted of a couple closed, dark restaurants, one open, fluorescent cafeteria (where we ate), and a gift shop that smelled way too strongly of potpourri.  The whole thing seemed like it should be the setting of a dream or a video game - you know in N64 Goldeneye, when you want to play someone one-on-one, you have a choice of "places" in which to duke it out?  It was like one of those, just an eerily deserted complex.  Jordyn and I half expected to look up and see two moons in the sky.

Anyway, here's a video I put together from the footage of the trip:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=u_NJ6KPASz4

Enjoy.

Red Morning Light

All we wanted was to save money.  A cab to the airport is like 25 euro, so Josh and I decided to take the Renfe Train instead, which is free (Ansell was meeting us there, he was gonna leave for the airport straight from class).  We got to the platform and waited five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes...at first we didn't notice how long it was taking because we were talking to each other and were so excited about the trip, but once we got on the train (which arrived over twenty minutes after we got to the platform) we realized - fuck - we were really cutting it close.  The train seemed like it was moving sooo slowly.  Finally we got to Estacion Sants and switched to the train that goes to the airport, and then to a shuttle that brought us to our terminal.  Once we got inside we sprinted through the hallway, me frantically trying to maneuver my rolling carry-on, Josh's backpack bouncing dorkily on his back, until we got to the TransAvia counter.  The screen said "Amsterdam" but there was nobody behind the desk, and everything was dark.

By now we were really sweating.  Only half an hour until the flight left.  We went to the information counter and explained our situation to the woman there.  She made a phone call that lasted five minutes, and at the end all she could tell us was to go to a different counter.  So we run to THAT counter and talk to the woman there, who calls the people at the gate - by now we have 20 minutes till the flight leaves - who tell her that we can't come through.  Really?  There's no way they can rush us through security?  Nope.  It's not possible.  I'm sorry.

Angry, discouraged, and disappointed with ourselves, we asked when the next flight left.  In five hours, but we'd have to pay the difference, which was 105 euro.  So we start running around to all the airline counters, seeing if any other airlines are flying to Amsterdam.  One company, Vueling, had a flight that left in an hour so we just bought those tickets (I don't want to talk about how much we paid for them, on top of the money we lost from the first ones).  Relieved to have tickets at all, we went to the Vueling counter to check in.  We're trying to be upbeat, but the guy behind the counter has this terrible attitude.  Did we have any luggage to check?  No, just carry-ons.  Can I see your carry-on?  I show him my little rolling suitcase (which I've used as a carry-on to fly to Paris, Dublin, and Marrakech without a problem), and he tells me I need to weigh it.  It's 12 kilos, and the limit is 10!  So I take some shit out of my suitcase, stuff it into Josh's backpack, and re-weight it.  Yay, it's only 10 now!  But no.  Now, he tells me, I have to fit my suitcase into this little metal grid rectangle thing to make sure it has all the riht dimensions.  Have you ever seen those grid things?  They're tiny!  No one's carry-ons EVER fit in them.  So I'm trying to squeeze my suitcase into this rectangle, and it's more or less the right size, although the wheels simply can't fit inside.  It's the wheels, Josh says.  Nope, the man says.  If it doesn't fit, I have to check it, and THAT costs 10 euro.  Full of anger, I try again to fit my suitcase into the thing, but I just look like an idiot.  Fuck it, I'll pay the 10 euro.  I've lost so much money already.  But then he tells me that I can't pay the 10 euro there at the counter, he has to give me a little ticket, and I have to go back to the Vueling offices and pay, and then come back to his desk to pick up my boarding pass.  We've had a very hard day, I tell him.  Why does everyone come around telling him about their problems, he asks coldly.  No one ever asks him about his problems.

Can you feel the frustration?  I run back to the offices, give them the money, get the receipt, bring it back to the guy, who finally hands over my boarding pass.  Now we're almost late for our second flight.  Luckily, though, we pass quickly through security and make it to the gate with five minutes to spare.  Meanwhile, poor Ansell's sitting on the TransAvia airplane without us (he didn't have his phone on him, so we couldn't call), completely confused, wondering if his name is Ansell Borges, if today is Friday, April 4th, ad if he's in the right place. 

We were so exhausted/relieved/happy when we finally landed in Amsterdam, arrived in our hostel, and found Ansell and Lisa waiting for us in the lobby.  We all checked in and paid - we were staying in a 6 person room, so it was gonna be the 4 of us and 2 strangers.  When we got in the room, however, there were four bunkbeds, which means 8 beds.  One of the bunkbeds was empty, though.  Maybe it's just for storage, we decided.

It was nice to get out into the city.  It is beautiful.  We ate a wonderful dinner at a Urugyayan steakhouse, and then went to a coffeeshop called The Rookie.  Afterwards we walked around and saw all the neon.  Then we stumbled upon the Pancake Corner, so of course we went in and relished in the crepe-like treats topped with chocolate sauce, caramel, and ice cream.  Also, all the TVs in the place were showing female wrestling, which was funny.  

When we got home we saw that there were two large men sleep in one of the bunkbeds, although the other one was still empty.  Exhausted, we fell asleep quickly, only to be awakened at 4am by the sound of men yelling and arguing:  Shut up, be quiet, I'm trying to sleep, who are these guys, get them out of here, go fuck yourself, go fuck your mother, etc.  Apparently two new large men had arrived at 4am and had been sent to sleep in our extra bunkbed, and were making a lot of noise, and one of the already asleep big men woke up and asked them to be quiet, and who were they anyway, we only paid for a 6 person room, and also threw in some racial slurs and then confrontation ensued.  Seriously, these guys were shouting and swearing so loudly to each other.  I was pretty freaked out.  Then one man left and came back with security guards in suits who started shining flashlights in everybody's faces.  What's going on here, they asked.  This man claims someone hit him!  (Of course, no one had hit him.)  Some of the other men explained the situation, and that no one had been hit.  The security guards didn't do much with that information, they just went out into the hall, leaving the door wide open as they spoke loudly, then came back in, then went back out...this went on for about an hour.

I got up and crawled into Josh's bed, and was like, wtf is going ON?  We really did book a 6 person room, and neither of us could believe that they sent up two other guys, especially at 4 in the morning.  We went out into the hallway to discuss what we should do.  I really wanted to switch rooms immediately but Josh told me it'd probably be best to just wait until the morning.  Then, one of the security guards came out into the hall and saw that I was upset.  You upset? he asked with a Dutch accent.  Yes, I said.  Then he touched my chin with his fingertips and said, Awww.  (In a very condescending way.  It was gross.)  Eventually one of the newcomers moved out and the other newcomer stayed - 7 people ended up sleeping in the room - and by some miracle, Josh and I went back inside and went back to sleep.  We woke up at noon because we were so tired, which means we missed the free breakfast and lost an entire morning in Amsterdam.  Furious, I stomped down to the front desk and asked to speak to the manager.  She took me into her office and I relayed the events of the entire night, including the security guard touching my chin (she agreed that it's inappropriate for him to touch me, even if it's just my face).  She also said all the other rooms were booked that coming evening (it was a Saturday night) but she could move us to a 4 person room for Sunday night, free of charge.  I said great.  Then she offered to reimburse us 50% of the cost of the previous night's stay, and I was like dude, that night was horrific.  Is it possible for you to take it off completely?  She sort of looked around dumbly for a while and then said yes, I suppose that's possible as well.  So we got our money back for that night!  I was so proud - making complaints and getting shit for free is the type of thing my mom does really well (if it were here, she probably would've gotten the money back for the entire stay, but hey, I'm still a beginner).  

So we got ourselves together, went into another pancake shop for breakfast, and then hit up the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum.  Then we went to another coffee shop and to a Thai restuarant, where I ate the most amazing Pad Thai of my life.

After dinner we found ourselves in the red light district.  It's crazy.  The hookers are just standing there on display in the windows, and as you walk by, they look right at you and kind of follow you with their eyes like those creepy portraits in the haunted mansion.  All I could think about was their mothers.  Later we went to a bar and I fell asleep at the table.  Then we left, first stopping at Burger King so we could eat french fries on the way home.

Sunday we did a canal tour which was fun, and then we sat in this place called Cafe Chaos for like two hours and drank hot chocolate.  Then we went to the Anne Frank house, which was really cool.  It really brought the story to life.  Then we went to another coffeeshop, and then to a Mexican restaurant for nachos and tacos.  By then it was starting to get dark.  We spent most of the night hopping from place to place, first to an awesome jazz club and then to a series of really homey bars.  We got hungry again around 1am and stuffed our faces with some shoarma.

Sunday morning, after sleeping in our LUXURIOUS 4 person room complete with handicap shower, we got on a train to Lisse and went to the Keukhenhof gardens to see the tulips and the windmills.  It was so colorful and beautiful, and there was this awesome organ playing eerie Dutch carnival music at the entrance.  The garden is huge and has a hedge maze and some really cool sculptures and art installations scattered throughout.  Also, in one part, there's just a field of bean bag chairs for people to chill in.  My camera died when we were halfway through the park, which broke my heart, especially when we were walking on these stepping stones in a pond and a giant flock of swans swam over to us and started pecking at our feet.  They were so beautiful, I could have gotten some incredible shots.  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to be old fashioned and remember it.

After the garden we went straight to the airport (2 hours in advance, this time) and flew home.  And then, when I got back, I met up with SHANNON OPPENHEIM for pizza cause she's here visiting with her riend Ry.  I'm gonna hang out with them today.  I'm so excited.