A picture is worth a thousand words. Slash I'm lazy.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
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!
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