Livin' La Vida Loca

'Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music.' -George Carlin

Madrid!

Day 1- Well, after successfully navigating Madrid’s metro, we successfully made it to our hostel and they were even nice enough to put us in the same room. It was a very early morning and traveling was wearing on us, we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and catching up in our room. We headed out in the early evening to find some food and took a walk along the Gran Via- one of the main streets. We stopped for pizza, had some frozen yogurt and did a little window shopping. But soon enough the cold wind and the exhaustion sent us back to our hostel and to our warm beds.

Day 2- The sun was shining today and the sky was nice and clear. After a breakfast in our hostel we headed out to discover Madrid. We began our adventure at the Reina Sofia museum and saw many works by Picasso, Dali and several other famous artists. After a couple of hours of wandering around there, we made our way to the Realto Park. It was beautiful. The temperature was perfect, you could smell the flowers, there was green grass. Along one of the main paths, there were venders set up selling old books, around one of the statues people were showing off their rollerblading. Within the park there were various statues, building and memorials we stopped at. My favorite by far was the glass castle situated right off of a pond the middle of the park. It is a building consisting basically of only windows, with the goal to interconnect the natural and the artificial as much as possible. Outside of another one of the memorials there was a large pond, with tons people riding around in blue rowboats- completely picturesque.

After we made our way out of the park, we stopped for something quick to eat then made our way to the Prada museum. Being a student is great, especially when it means free entry to most of the attractions. We spent time looking around the museum, got a lost a few times, but eventually found our way out. We were exhausted by this point and decided to head back to our hostel for a late siesta time. Later we headed out for a nice supper, and we ended up stopping at a 50’s style dinner. Abbie and I were both really craving some good hamburgers and couldn’t pass up the chance to have a shake. We were seated and ordered and ate all our heart’s desire. About half way through the meal, our waiter came up to our table, bring us some more drinks and then asked me if I had ever been told I look like Hillary Duff. I laughed and said I never had, but thanks. About ten minutes later he came back and asked if I knew any of Hillary Duff’s songs. Again, I laughed and said I didn’t think I did. He started singing some different ones of her songs to me and I just kept laughing. I said I might know something from “The Lizze Mcquire Movie” and he begged me to sing a song with him, saying “I know I’m never going to meet Hillary Duff, so this is the closest I’ll ever come.” So although I am lacking all musical talent, I sung a few stanzas of ‘This is What Dreams Are Made Off’ with him. Later as he was bringing our bill over, he again had another song for us to sing together. But again I had no idea what the song was. Mainly I was amazed at how many songs he knew from Hillary Duff! I left the restaurant feeling like a star J

Day 3- Unfortunately today was a very wet, cold and rainy day, but fortunately, as it’s been a few months since we’ve seen the rain instead of snow, both Abbie and I welcomed the rain. After breakfast we made our way to the opposite side of the city today. We first stopped at the Temple of Debod, which is an old Egyptian temple, given to Spain in the 60’s as a thank-you for help they provided Egypt. The building inside was covered with many hieroglyphics which was really interesting to see in the middle of Madrid, Spain.

We then made our way through a park to the Palace. The line to get inside was horrendous and we didn’t feel like waiting a couple of hours in the rain. So instead we made our way next door to a couple of the Cathedrals and walked inside them. Absolutely beautiful. I have never seen a church with so many bright colors compared to the two we went into.

We gradually made our way back to the hostel and took a quick shower. We didn’t want to spend the rest of the afternoon hidden away in our hostel, so instead we decided to go café hopping. At around 6 o’clock we made our way back to the hostel and I got information about the Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions that would be happening tonight in honor of Good Friday. Starting at 7 p.m. and then a few more at 7.30, about 6 different processions would be going around the city. About 4 of them were going to be headed straight through the Plaza Mayor. I was beyond excited for this! I learned about these celebrations during high school and I was dying to see them! We made our way to the Plaza, found a great spot, and waited. And waited….and waited….We sat in the rain for about an hour waiting for the processions, which never came. I was so upset and sad that I somehow missed them. It was so disappointing. Abbie was a trooper though and sat through the rain with me waiting for something that she knew nothing about and tried to cheer me up. So we stopped back at the hotel, I did a little research and I am hoping to see one of the processions tomorrow.

We then made our way back out on the streets and stopped at a restaurant not too far off from our hostel called La Tía Cebolla or ‘Aunt Onion’. It was probably the greatest and cheapest restaurant we’ve been to yet. The waiters were hilarious and our food was delicious. We had paella and sangrias, and the waiters even threw in a couple of free drinks too which made it even better. Right as we were getting our check I quick ran downstairs to use the bathroom. Everything was going fine and dandy, I took care of my business, flushed and was headed out to wash my hands so we could be on our way…But how wrong I was. I turned the lock on the handle, twisted the knob, and pulled, but the door wouldn’t open… Ladies and gentlemen, I was literally stuck in the bathroom. I pulled on the door, pushed the door, pounded on the door, but it was not opening. For about 10 minutes I sat there using my whole effort trying to get out of this tiny, gross, bathroom under a noisy Spanish pub. I felt like I was in the beginning of some horror film or I was about to get ‘taken’ or left to die or something like that. I had just about given up when I heard a woman on the other side, speaking to me in Spanish. Having absolutely no idea what she was saying I just kept repeating ‘Ayúdame! I’m stuck!’ (Help me! I’m stuck!). She said something else in Spanish and I sat there praying she had said something about getting me help. Another 30 seconds later, one of our servers came crashing through the door and freed me! I was so happy and embarrassed and relieved, I’ll I kept saying was gracias over and over. I made my way back up to a very concerned Abbie and had to explain what happened. At that point in time, I was laughing so hard, I could barely explain it all.

After we paid and laughed a little more, we made our way to a restaurant called Villa Rosa, where we were going to see a late night flamenco show. For about 22 euro, we got a drink and ended up with front row seats to an hour long live flamenco show. It was amazing. The way they could sing and move their feet was unbelievable. I snuck a video of it (I think you can hear me getting yelled at the end of the video), so enjoy J

That lasted pretty late so we made our way back to the hostel and slept well.

Day 4- Today was a very lazy and relaxing day. After breakfast, we went back up to our room to relax for most part of the morning. In the afternoon, we made our way out and wandered around the streets, stopping in a bakery for lunch and a grocery store to pick up breakfast for tomorrow, among many other stores as well. Later, we made our way to a park and spent a good portion of time sitting in the grass soaking up as much sunshine we could get.

We then wandered towards the main plaza and unsuccessfully waited for another Semana Santa procession that again never came. So we found our way to Puerta del Sol and got some gelato and did a little people watching. The square is full of people dressed in costumes trying to take your picture with them and then ask for money for it. Mostly they pick on little kids and then make their parents fork up the cash.

We headed back to the hostel to pack up and finishing organizing everything for our early departure tomorrow and then found a really delicious restaurant for supper. Soon enough though it was time for bed and adios Spain and hello Portugal!

FCBarcelona

‘We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came.’ -John F. Kennedy

Day 1- Ahola Barcelona and hello sunshine J We finally landed in Barcelona around 7.00 and made it to our hostel around 8.30 or so. Exhausted, yet pretty hungry, we unpacked and upon the suggestion of our hostel, headed out to a local bar for some tapas. Tapas are a typical Spanish food, which are basically a collection of different h'orderves you can have one or two for a snack or get a bunch and eat them all together for a meal. I ordered some deep fried squid and then tortillas española, both which were mighty tasty. After enjoying our meal, we headed back to our hostel and got looked up directions to this jazz club some girls in our hostel were telling us about and gradually made our way around the streets to find the Harlem Jazz Club. At the club there was a band playing a mixture of traditional Cuban and Spanish music and they sounded amazing! But what really got me was the way the Spaniards can dance. I know my family is highly lacking in anything having to with the arts- dance, music, art, acting, etc.- I have problems clapping on beat- so moving and grooving the way they did I knew was going to be impossible for me. But Abbie, she is a music major, so I was expecting her to keep up a little better than me, but I seriously, unless you have it in your blood, I swear no one can move like they do. We stayed for a while, then we were off and crashed after a long day of traveling and dancing.

Day 2- Today was the first full day in many months where I believe I was actually warm whenever I stepped outside. Absolutely beautiful. We get a free breakfast at our hostel and best part of the morning was getting to eat it outside in one of the beautiful patios at our hostel. Everything here is bright and colorful.

After a late breakfast we joined another free walking tour and got a glimpse into some of Barcelona’s history and some of the important buildings around the town. We learned that Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and there is a debate whether Catalonia should separate from Spain and become its own nation. We saw the old Palace, which is where Christopher Columbus met with Ferdinand and Isabella upon ‘discovering’ America. What was really amazing though was the celebrations going on for Palm Sunday. We saw countless cathedrals, which was surrounded by so many people and there were so many cute children running around waving really elaborate palm branches. There was also a parade going throughout the city we kept running into.

After the tour we wandered down towards the beaches and saw the Christopher Columbus statue and shopped a little on La Rambla- one of the major streets in Barcelona. Finally we stopped for lunch on one of the side restaurants, which was great again because we got to sit outside and eat. I had patella, another traditional Spanish food based with chicken and rice. We then wandered back to our hostel to partake in one of the greatest and oldest Spanish traditions- the siesta. We relaxed for most of the rest of the late afternoon/early evening and then headed to the restaurant downstairs. This restaurant was directly connected to our hostel and great this was- we got 25% off of all of the food and had certain drink specials. We finished the night eating and drink sangrias.

Day 3- Day three in Barcelona was beach day! The weather was supposed to be the nicest today and let me tell you- I have never experiences such wonderful weather. Today was also the day you could spot a tourist in any crowd- no question about it. Want to know how? Tourists were the people in shorts, sandals, t-shirts, etc. Spaniards were the ones in winter jackets, boots and scarves. I seriously could not believe the amount of puffy parkas I saw, while I was walking around in a summer dress!

After breakfast, we first stopped by a huge market off of La Rambla. I have never seen so many colors in my life! The stands were filled with fresh fruits, veggies, spices, candy, meats, eggs, etc. Half of the things I saw I didn’t even know what they were! Abbie and I tried some fresh coconut, which wasn’t too bad, but it isn’t my first choice in a snack. What really amazed me were all of the cuts of meat there were. I just don’t understand how you could prepare some of them to even taste seemingly good- we saw brains, hearts, lungs, hoofs, heads, faces, ears, tongues, pretty much anything possibly you could get off the animal.

We then toured the Barcelonan Opera house. The opera house had been built in the 1840’s but had burned down twice after that- once in 1860’s and then again partially in 1994. They have rebuilt it all and restored the parts of the old building they could keep and it looks wonderful. Like I said Abbie is a music major, so I think she gets a little more out of it than I do, but it was a really beautiful building.

Then ladies and gentlemen- it was time for that amazing sunshine, sand and sea to all come together. We wandered our way along the harbor and came to heaven. The beach was incredible. It was warm and blue and lots of great people to watch and naps to be taken and sun to soak up. Unfortunately, we had forgotten a long Norwegian winter left us very white and unprepared for the hot Spanish sun, and we came back looking like cherry tomatoes. Well since the sun was shining from one direction, I should say only half of our bodies came back looking like cherry tomatoes. Mainly my right arm and nose took the blunt of it, but Abbie is red from her forehead down. But I would take that sunburn any day for the chance to be on that beach again. The water was too cold to go swimming, but there were many surfers out in their wetsuits riding the waves, and it was fun to play in the water as it came crashing up on the shore. We spent most of the afternoon at the beach before the sun wore us out and we headed back to our hostel to relax.

In the evening we headed down to the hostel bar/restaurant again for some food and something to drink. There was also a soccer game on, so while I was enjoying watching that, Abbie headed upstairs to researching and see if she could find a good bar or club to head to tonight. While watching the game, a guy came up from the table next over and asked where I came from. When I said the States, he was surprised and then asked why I was so interested in the game on if my country wasn’t playing. He invited me to join him and his friends at their table. It was a collection of lone travelers from all over the world- Lithuania, China, Brazil and Argentina. I sat with them talking for a while and eventually Abbie came back down and joined us. We sat together for an hour or so and then decided to all head out- some of them hadn’t eaten yet and were going to find a bar and get some tapas, so we decided to tag along.

One of them had heard of a pretty good restaurant over on the other side of the city and said it would be easiest to take the metro. I usually try to pick my hostels I stay at so they have a really central location and I can walk everywhere- not having to pay for transportation everywhere I go really saves on money. So Abbie and I bought a pass to share and then followed them down to the metro. At the place we were waiting at, there happened to be a really intoxicated Spanish man waiting too, who was talking very loudly and kept yelling at different people walking by. The guy from Argentina with us speaks Spanish, so he explained to us that the intoxicated man was complaining that the economic crisis they were experiencing was the fault of all of the foreigners there. Soon the metro came and we all got on, unfortunately so did that man. We walked down a couple of cars, so we didn’t have to sit by him. However he kept walking up the aisle and coming closer. We were far enough away though not to cause any problems and so we just stayed where we were. But we did see that while that man was walking up the aisle, still complaining about foreigners, he came upon a seemingly foreign looking man and punched him for no reason. The man started defending himself and they started fighting. All of the other passengers moved forward to our car and someone pushed the emergency button. Thankfully the metro was stopping at our stop in the next 15 seconds, so we quickly got off. At the same time a girl ran up to the station office and told them what was happening, so I hope they got it all taken care off.

We continued on our journey and found a nice bar to sit and talk at, and after some drinks we found another place to do a little dancing (well at least try to copy them) and then called it a night and headed back to the hostel and back to bed.

Day 4- Today it was another beautiful day, so once again I stuck out as a tourist in my dress and sweater amongst all of the winter parkas. After a quick breakfast, we attempted to head over to the Sargrada Familia, the giant cathedral they have been working on for hundreds of years, but still haven’t yet finished. It was so elaborate and they keep running out of funds and have to postpone the work, only to start up again once they get more money. After a failed attempt at reading and navigating the metro, we decided to just to walk there. Thankfully, my map reading skills have gotten a lot better, especially this semester since I have somehow become the designated map reader, but I cannot tell you enough how excited I will be the day I do not have to look at another map. After a couple of turn a rounds and street checkings, we made it. The Sagrada Familia is quite a sight to behold- it tall, imposing and gaudy. You can see right in the brickwork on the building where they stopped and restarted building. Our poor college budget could not let us go inside (plus it is ridiculously expensive to get in, and I have heard it is not worth the money) so we just took in its glory from the outside.

Afterwards, we headed to Guell Park and looked at some of the work made by the architect Gaudi. The park was beautiful and we were able to climb up to a peak and get a wonderful look over the city. We made our way to the main part of the part and saw the house Gaudi lived in and some of the mosaic work he completed on some of the other buildings- stunning.

We then made our way done a main street and saw some of the other buildings Gaudi designed and the Palace of Catalan Music. All were covered in bright, beautiful mosaic work.

By this time we had walked for a good majority of the day and headed back to rest for an hour or so. Soon we left to meet up with one of my friends- Jana. Jana is from Germany, studies in the Netherlands, but now has an internship at a hotel in Barcelona. About 4-5 years ago, she came to Wisconsin and studied at my high school. She was there for our whole junior year and we ate lunch with her almost every day. It was so nice to see her and catch up with her. We spent the evening eating and then walking along the harbor, talking and catching up. I could not believe how much she remembered about us. She asked about all of my high school friends and my family. She even remembered my brothers’ names and asked how my grandparents were (my Grandma used to cook us lunch once a week). She was a really sweet and funny girl. So it was great catching up with her.

After about 4 hours or so, we parted ways and Abbie and I headed back to pack. We tried to catch some sleep but soon enough the alarm went off and we were off to the airport to catch our flight. End of phase two. Now we have one week left on our adventure and two more cities to discover- Madrid here we come!