Traveling the World in 7 Days
11-30-06
The first leg of our great adventure began rather early this morning. But first, I will tell of a bit of the prep, as much of my stay here in Murcia came to a close in the last few days. Wednesday night, after class and grocery shopping for the trip, I returned home where all five of us roomies prepared our last dinner together. The two Cristinas left the following morning, so we had one last hoorah which lasted rather late. I woke up early the next morning to go to the market one last time. We rushed back to class at 10, printed off a few last minute documents at the locutorio, finished packing, and rushed to meet Laura, Charlie, and David at Laura and David's apartment. Together, we walked to the train station and hopped on the one to Barcelona. It was just over 7 hours, and, although there were two pesky drunk guys who paced back and forth the ENTIRE TRIP, I really enjoyed the train. We played MASH, chatted, and I watched two movies (in Spanish of course). We walked around for a time, trying to find our hostel. After a sufficient time of wandering aimlessly in the wrong direction, we found it: the Buba House. Yep. I fly all across the ocean to a foreign land, and in it, I find traces of Hillbilly. ;) It was actually quite nice, and it was run by an Asian guy, and had nothing Hillbillyish about it, other than the name. We ate dinner at a fancy, yet cheap Italian restaurant. Good pasta. Went to bed late enough that Laura and I just slept with our clothes on, since we only had a few hours of rest before getting up again to catch our flight.
12-01-06
We got up at 4:45 AM, and I flagged down the my first taxi. (I've taken taxis before, I just never had to flag them down.) We made all our connections, and finally arrived in Rome, Italy. I loved it. Everyone I saw outside the airport looked as though they could be distant relatives of Dad's. Craziness! I didn't think I would see many people who looked like I could be related to, but I did! We took a bus to the main station, and from there, it wasn't a long walk to our hostel, the Alessandro Downtown. We couldn't check in until 3 PM, so we went back out to adventure a bit. We checked out some jewelry shops, a beautiful park, ate true Italian pizza and had real espressos. Loved the pizza, except for the moldy cheese. Gross. :) I don't remember what kind of cheese it was, (there were 4 types), but it actually still had the cheese mold in little green patches all over the top. I guess some people like that sort of thing. Blech! After returning and checking in, we chilled and danced around in our room until we felt tired, and then went to sleep.
12-02-06
We got metro tickets for the day and went first to the Vatican City. I loved the architecture I saw on the way. It has such a rich, historic feeling, full of passion and character. The Sistene Chapel was cool, but definitely a visual overload. We ate lunch at a small restaurant off one of the main streets in the area. It cost an arm and a leg, but it was amazing! Laura had spaghetti, Erin ravioli, and I lasagna. It was some of the best pasta I've ever had. The second course was chicken, followed by a salad/fruit. We finished with gelato and continued our sightseeing. We went to the Fountain of Trevi right before dark, and then caught the metro to the Coliseum and Roman Forum. There was a protest going on in the streets against one of their new leaders. Interesting to see a political movement on such a large scale so close to such ruins of what our politics used to be.
12-03-06
We caught another plane, early in the morning, to Brussels, Belgium. We arrived to windy, cold, and rainy weather. Perfect! Diane was waiting for us at the bus station. She took us back to her place to drop off our stuff, and then took us on a tour through the pouring rain to see the sights. Brussels is a pretty city as well. We had our first genuine Belgian waffles, "gaufres", and they were pretty much one of the most amazing things EVER! We ate dinner on Greek Street, (name, a la Diane), in the upper level of this Egyptian restaurant. The waiter was flirting with us the entire time, but the pitas were amazing. We explored a bit more, and saw a light show in the grand plaza. All the little Christmas booths were set up, as well as a nativity scene. Very cool. We watched 13 Going on 30 before falling into an exhausted sleep.
12-04-06
We slept in for quite a bit, and then got some food to go from a cute little cafe, and caught the train to Bruges. This town has to be the most beautiful spot in all of Belgium, and quite possibly much of the rest of Europe! Such a quaint town, with old cobble streets and Flemish architecture on every street. Chocolate shops with chocolate fountains and sculptures everywhere, horse-drawn carriages, swans and ducks floating contentedly in tranquil waters--it's quite possibly the perfect place to feel like fairytales exist. We explored the town until dark, at which point we returned to Brussels for a Thanksgiving leftovers dinner. Everything was absolutely amazing, and since I missed the last dinner due to being terribly ill of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, (I was stupid and drank some Moroccan water the last day of my stay there), I didn't feel quite so left out. Erin and I played piano after dinner, and Laura danced. We watched part of "Hitch", but the two who hadn't seen the movie before fell asleep, so Diane and I turned the movie off and went to sleep as well.
12-05-06
After saying our goodbyes, we caught a train to Paris, deposited our luggage in a locker at the station, bought 2-day metro tickets, and set off to explore Paris without a guide, without an understanding of the French language, without a hostel...I LOVE adventure! We found a hotel in the Bastille area before dark, ate at a small cafe, and then went to the Eiffel Tower. Erin was rather excited to see it, and therefore we had to go to the top. :) It was actually rather impressive. During the day, it's ugly. Plain and simple. But the lights at night lend to it a magical image of illusion. The top was extremely cold and windy, but it was fun to look at all the lights of the city.
12-06-06
We got up and set out on a full day of sightseeing. We saw the Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame (my fav building thus far), the Louvre...(or at least we went inside for a bit to use the bathrooms...we were confused by a sign, and didn't think it was open...long story), and walked for a long time along the River Seine. It was very lovely to just breathe in the Parisan culture and explore. We tried to find the Latin district, never were quite sure if we had or not, (but we were close at least, because we could actually understand people), had some not-so-smooth-smoothies, bought sandwiches for the train, retrieved our luggage, and found our overnight train to Madrid. It was a train hotel. Pretty cool, if you ask me. It cost a lot, but it was fun, and relaxing.
12-07-06
We woke up in Madrid, and noone really felt like sightseeing, so we read books in the station for a few hours, and then finished our trip back to Murcia. We got back to Murcia about fourish, and just like that, our grand adventure was over, and now we have another week of classes, many final papers, and much to do before we all finish our program and some of us say goodbye and leave the country. Oofta!
The first leg of our great adventure began rather early this morning. But first, I will tell of a bit of the prep, as much of my stay here in Murcia came to a close in the last few days. Wednesday night, after class and grocery shopping for the trip, I returned home where all five of us roomies prepared our last dinner together. The two Cristinas left the following morning, so we had one last hoorah which lasted rather late. I woke up early the next morning to go to the market one last time. We rushed back to class at 10, printed off a few last minute documents at the locutorio, finished packing, and rushed to meet Laura, Charlie, and David at Laura and David's apartment. Together, we walked to the train station and hopped on the one to Barcelona. It was just over 7 hours, and, although there were two pesky drunk guys who paced back and forth the ENTIRE TRIP, I really enjoyed the train. We played MASH, chatted, and I watched two movies (in Spanish of course). We walked around for a time, trying to find our hostel. After a sufficient time of wandering aimlessly in the wrong direction, we found it: the Buba House. Yep. I fly all across the ocean to a foreign land, and in it, I find traces of Hillbilly. ;) It was actually quite nice, and it was run by an Asian guy, and had nothing Hillbillyish about it, other than the name. We ate dinner at a fancy, yet cheap Italian restaurant. Good pasta. Went to bed late enough that Laura and I just slept with our clothes on, since we only had a few hours of rest before getting up again to catch our flight.
12-01-06
We got up at 4:45 AM, and I flagged down the my first taxi. (I've taken taxis before, I just never had to flag them down.) We made all our connections, and finally arrived in Rome, Italy. I loved it. Everyone I saw outside the airport looked as though they could be distant relatives of Dad's. Craziness! I didn't think I would see many people who looked like I could be related to, but I did! We took a bus to the main station, and from there, it wasn't a long walk to our hostel, the Alessandro Downtown. We couldn't check in until 3 PM, so we went back out to adventure a bit. We checked out some jewelry shops, a beautiful park, ate true Italian pizza and had real espressos. Loved the pizza, except for the moldy cheese. Gross. :) I don't remember what kind of cheese it was, (there were 4 types), but it actually still had the cheese mold in little green patches all over the top. I guess some people like that sort of thing. Blech! After returning and checking in, we chilled and danced around in our room until we felt tired, and then went to sleep.
12-02-06
We got metro tickets for the day and went first to the Vatican City. I loved the architecture I saw on the way. It has such a rich, historic feeling, full of passion and character. The Sistene Chapel was cool, but definitely a visual overload. We ate lunch at a small restaurant off one of the main streets in the area. It cost an arm and a leg, but it was amazing! Laura had spaghetti, Erin ravioli, and I lasagna. It was some of the best pasta I've ever had. The second course was chicken, followed by a salad/fruit. We finished with gelato and continued our sightseeing. We went to the Fountain of Trevi right before dark, and then caught the metro to the Coliseum and Roman Forum. There was a protest going on in the streets against one of their new leaders. Interesting to see a political movement on such a large scale so close to such ruins of what our politics used to be.
12-03-06
We caught another plane, early in the morning, to Brussels, Belgium. We arrived to windy, cold, and rainy weather. Perfect! Diane was waiting for us at the bus station. She took us back to her place to drop off our stuff, and then took us on a tour through the pouring rain to see the sights. Brussels is a pretty city as well. We had our first genuine Belgian waffles, "gaufres", and they were pretty much one of the most amazing things EVER! We ate dinner on Greek Street, (name, a la Diane), in the upper level of this Egyptian restaurant. The waiter was flirting with us the entire time, but the pitas were amazing. We explored a bit more, and saw a light show in the grand plaza. All the little Christmas booths were set up, as well as a nativity scene. Very cool. We watched 13 Going on 30 before falling into an exhausted sleep.
12-04-06
We slept in for quite a bit, and then got some food to go from a cute little cafe, and caught the train to Bruges. This town has to be the most beautiful spot in all of Belgium, and quite possibly much of the rest of Europe! Such a quaint town, with old cobble streets and Flemish architecture on every street. Chocolate shops with chocolate fountains and sculptures everywhere, horse-drawn carriages, swans and ducks floating contentedly in tranquil waters--it's quite possibly the perfect place to feel like fairytales exist. We explored the town until dark, at which point we returned to Brussels for a Thanksgiving leftovers dinner. Everything was absolutely amazing, and since I missed the last dinner due to being terribly ill of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, (I was stupid and drank some Moroccan water the last day of my stay there), I didn't feel quite so left out. Erin and I played piano after dinner, and Laura danced. We watched part of "Hitch", but the two who hadn't seen the movie before fell asleep, so Diane and I turned the movie off and went to sleep as well.
12-05-06
After saying our goodbyes, we caught a train to Paris, deposited our luggage in a locker at the station, bought 2-day metro tickets, and set off to explore Paris without a guide, without an understanding of the French language, without a hostel...I LOVE adventure! We found a hotel in the Bastille area before dark, ate at a small cafe, and then went to the Eiffel Tower. Erin was rather excited to see it, and therefore we had to go to the top. :) It was actually rather impressive. During the day, it's ugly. Plain and simple. But the lights at night lend to it a magical image of illusion. The top was extremely cold and windy, but it was fun to look at all the lights of the city.
12-06-06
We got up and set out on a full day of sightseeing. We saw the Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame (my fav building thus far), the Louvre...(or at least we went inside for a bit to use the bathrooms...we were confused by a sign, and didn't think it was open...long story), and walked for a long time along the River Seine. It was very lovely to just breathe in the Parisan culture and explore. We tried to find the Latin district, never were quite sure if we had or not, (but we were close at least, because we could actually understand people), had some not-so-smooth-smoothies, bought sandwiches for the train, retrieved our luggage, and found our overnight train to Madrid. It was a train hotel. Pretty cool, if you ask me. It cost a lot, but it was fun, and relaxing.
12-07-06
We woke up in Madrid, and noone really felt like sightseeing, so we read books in the station for a few hours, and then finished our trip back to Murcia. We got back to Murcia about fourish, and just like that, our grand adventure was over, and now we have another week of classes, many final papers, and much to do before we all finish our program and some of us say goodbye and leave the country. Oofta!
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