After Paris we flew to Venice and slept at the airport again. We actually got lucky though because it was a really small airport and they shut down at night but since there were a lot of flights canceled in Spain (because there was a strike) they were letting people sleep there for the night. We actually even had security come up to us and ask us for our passports. Anyways, once morning came around we got up bright and early to take the bus to actual Venice which was only 40 minutes away.
From the bus stop we took a water bus to the area where our hostel was. It was so cool that the city was all on water, no cars, no bikes, just boats. Actually the day before we got there the city had been flooded a whole meter and we could actually see some of the water still pretty high. After getting to our hostel we walked around to explore a bit. We went to a little cafe and had cappuccino and pastries. (So yummy!) My pastry was more like a cookie with a blackberry type jelly inside, sooo good! After the cafe we walked around some more to find Piazza San Marco. It had a big cathedral in it and lots of little shops and it was still kind of flooded in spots too. We continued walking around, semi shopping. It was kind of hard since all of the stores were designer, Prada, Channel, Burberry, etc. It really sucked because I was trying to find a dress for New Years but I was not about to even go in any of those stores. Since we still had our backpacks on (we couldn't check in yet) we started heading back to the hostel and went through Piazza San Marco again and saw the weirdest thing. Well I didn't mention that the first time we were in the plaza we saw a dead pigeon, like torn up, DEAD. So on the way back we saw a seagull pick up a pigeon and fly away with it, set it down a few feet away and just started pecking at it and swinging it around with it's beak. It was crazy! (and really gross!) I guess the pigeons really make the seagulls mad in Venice.
After checking into our hostel (which was so cute like a little Italian home) we headed out for lunch/dinner. We were so hungry we stopped at the first place we saw. It was crowded so we figured that was a good sign. We all decided to get our own dishes and then share them all. It was great! I just had spaghetti and meatballs to keep it safe for my first meal in Italy but Margarite got Gnocchi with a four cheese sauce and Michelle got a pizza. Also, as an appetizer I got brochette which was so yummy!
After dinner we walked around some more. I really wanted to go on a Gondola so we asked around for prices. Well stopped looking around after the first one who told us it was 120 euro for a 35-40 minutes ride. HA! So we didn't go on a gondola ride, instead we shopped around for some souvenirs instead. It started getting dark at like 5 so we decided to head in since we had homework to do and it was getting even colder than it already was. (It was freeeezing in Venice!) Also, Michelle and I had to get up early to catch our train to Florence.
There wasn't a ton to do in Venice but I'm really glad I got to see the city on water. It was really pretty and a great way to start our visit to Italy.
Aventuras de Europa
martes, 14 de diciembre de 2010
martes, 7 de diciembre de 2010
Grand Finale Chapter 1: Paris
Me, my roommate Michelle, and a friend from school, Margarite all went to Paris together. We got there really late the first night so we just slept in the airport. The next morning we got up really early...well we didn't really even sleep so we had a little breakfast early and headed to our hostel. We couldn't check in that early so we just put our bags down and caught up with a free tour. The first thing we saw was St. Micheal's fountain, I don't really know what that is so I can't even explain but it was pretty. There was some god on it and he was stomping on another man supposed to be like pushing him into hell or something. Pretty neat. The next thing we saw was the Notre Dame but only from a distance because we were standing by the Justice Building. The only thing that was really cool about the Justice Building was there were still bullet marks from World War 2. I haven't mentioned yet that it was extremely cold that day so we were basically miserable and freezing the whole time, I just kept having to tell my self that I was in PARIS! (to pump me up and forget about the cold)
Some other things we saw were a University building that is on the side of this really cool bridge. I don't know what the bridge is called but I call it the love bridge because couples put padlocks on it and write their names on it. It's really cute and I really wish I had my love with me to do that but oh well... This bridge was also seen in the movie Taken, and in the series of Sex in the City when Big proposes to Carrie. The part in Taken is at the end when he jumps on the boat that his daughter is on from the bridge, you can see the bridge obviously and the University building.
After that we went and saw the Louvre. This is a palace and a museum. The palace is pretty huge and then on one side of it is a pyramid of glass (also seen in The Di Vinci Code) which is the museum which has the actual Mona Lisa on display. I didn't get a chance to go inside and see it but I heard it was pretty disappointing because it was so small. Also, behind the Louvre is the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. You can see the peak of the Eiffel Tower from there in the distance. I was SO excited to see it.
After we saw the Louvre we ditched the tour because we were too cold so we went to a cafe to have some French Onion Soup! It was sooooo good, and a perfect for the weather! After the soup we headed back to the hostel to check in and take a nap since we hadn't gotten any sleep the night before in the airport.
After resting up we got ready to go walk around in the cold some more. We planned on doing some shopping so we went toward Champs Elysees and on the way we saw the Louvre, again, lit up this time, the arc, and the Eiffel Tower. Also, on the way was the Christmas Market. The first thing we did was get something to eat. We had these sausages that were like ginormous hot dogs. They were really good. We continued down the Christmas market and passed a few Crepes kiosks so we had to stop and get one of those. It was sooo yummy! Another perfect food for the weather and place :) It was all so pretty, decorated for Christmas and...Santa even came! There was this thing like a ski lift but it was Santa and his sleigh and reindeer. It stopped and there was a recording and the Santa acted out whatever was being said (in French) and the kids around all screamed OUUII!! It was so cute!
We headed toward the Eiffel Tower after the Christmas market to see it lit up. The street that we took was like all the high end designer stores, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dolce & Gabanna, etc. Once we got to the end of that street we finally saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up. It was soo amazing! We took a bunch of pictures and then waited for the light show that happens every hour on the hour. It looks like it is sparkling, it's really cool. After taking at least a billion pictures of it we headed back to the hostel to get a good night sleep.
In the morning we got up early to check out and meet up with my roommate (from home) Vicki. I was so anxious and excited to see her! We planned on meeting under the Eiffel Tower of course. That day it was snowing like crazy, which made for some great pictures! Once we met Vicki we headed to Notre Dame to get closer and go inside. After that we went to have lunch but first me and Vicki had a glass of vin chaud which is this hot French wine. It is all spiced and sooo yummy! I didn't think I would like it so much but it was really good! Later, for lunch I had croque monsieur which is like a grilled cheese but with ham inside and cheese melted on the outside. (SO good!) We were running out of time by then so we had to head back to the hostel to pick up our bags and head to the airport. It was really sad leaving Paris and Vicki but I was really excited to go to Venice, Italy!
Some other things we saw were a University building that is on the side of this really cool bridge. I don't know what the bridge is called but I call it the love bridge because couples put padlocks on it and write their names on it. It's really cute and I really wish I had my love with me to do that but oh well... This bridge was also seen in the movie Taken, and in the series of Sex in the City when Big proposes to Carrie. The part in Taken is at the end when he jumps on the boat that his daughter is on from the bridge, you can see the bridge obviously and the University building.
After that we went and saw the Louvre. This is a palace and a museum. The palace is pretty huge and then on one side of it is a pyramid of glass (also seen in The Di Vinci Code) which is the museum which has the actual Mona Lisa on display. I didn't get a chance to go inside and see it but I heard it was pretty disappointing because it was so small. Also, behind the Louvre is the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. You can see the peak of the Eiffel Tower from there in the distance. I was SO excited to see it.
After we saw the Louvre we ditched the tour because we were too cold so we went to a cafe to have some French Onion Soup! It was sooooo good, and a perfect for the weather! After the soup we headed back to the hostel to check in and take a nap since we hadn't gotten any sleep the night before in the airport.
After resting up we got ready to go walk around in the cold some more. We planned on doing some shopping so we went toward Champs Elysees and on the way we saw the Louvre, again, lit up this time, the arc, and the Eiffel Tower. Also, on the way was the Christmas Market. The first thing we did was get something to eat. We had these sausages that were like ginormous hot dogs. They were really good. We continued down the Christmas market and passed a few Crepes kiosks so we had to stop and get one of those. It was sooo yummy! Another perfect food for the weather and place :) It was all so pretty, decorated for Christmas and...Santa even came! There was this thing like a ski lift but it was Santa and his sleigh and reindeer. It stopped and there was a recording and the Santa acted out whatever was being said (in French) and the kids around all screamed OUUII!! It was so cute!
We headed toward the Eiffel Tower after the Christmas market to see it lit up. The street that we took was like all the high end designer stores, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dolce & Gabanna, etc. Once we got to the end of that street we finally saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up. It was soo amazing! We took a bunch of pictures and then waited for the light show that happens every hour on the hour. It looks like it is sparkling, it's really cool. After taking at least a billion pictures of it we headed back to the hostel to get a good night sleep.
In the morning we got up early to check out and meet up with my roommate (from home) Vicki. I was so anxious and excited to see her! We planned on meeting under the Eiffel Tower of course. That day it was snowing like crazy, which made for some great pictures! Once we met Vicki we headed to Notre Dame to get closer and go inside. After that we went to have lunch but first me and Vicki had a glass of vin chaud which is this hot French wine. It is all spiced and sooo yummy! I didn't think I would like it so much but it was really good! Later, for lunch I had croque monsieur which is like a grilled cheese but with ham inside and cheese melted on the outside. (SO good!) We were running out of time by then so we had to head back to the hostel to pick up our bags and head to the airport. It was really sad leaving Paris and Vicki but I was really excited to go to Venice, Italy!
viernes, 26 de noviembre de 2010
The Final Countdown...Toledo, Spain
I went to Toledo last weekend with my study abroad program. It was a short trip just for the day. In the morning it was absolutely miserable because it was raining and I wore this boots that were torn just under the toe (on both feet) so my socks were soaked the whole time. First we rode up to the top of a hill in our bus and saw a high view of Toledo and then drove to our spot where we got out to start our walking tour. The first place we went was a shoe store to see if I could get some cheap shoes without a hole in them. I didn't really want to buy a pair of shoes for 1 I didn't want to spend any money and 2 I didn't want to have something else added to my luggage for the way home so I just decided to suffer with wet socks the whole time.
We went to the Cathedral of Toledo first. I mean it was pretty and all but I feel like a Cathedral is a Cathedral. They all have some amazing art, sculpture work, they are ginormous yada yada yada. After the Cathedral, we walked around some more and the second stop was....you'll never guess.....another church! HA! This one actually was different it was called San Juan de los Reyes. One thing that was definitely different was above the entrance way there was a skeleton laying down as if he were modeling and there was some writing under it I guess to signify "short life." I don't know it was weird but the rest was pretty cool. It was kind of outside and inside at the same time. There were hallways that were outside and then the church part had a ceiling and everything. It was pretty cool because you could see the "Moorish" influence on the architecture and what not.
After that church we walked only about 2 blocks to where we were to have lunch. It was pretty good food, for my first dish I had this soup like dish, made with chopped up vegetables cooked really well so they were soft and it was almost like a tomato sauce and then a fried egg on top. Second dish was some kind of fish with an asparagus sauce and boiled potatoes. After lunch we have an hour and half of "free time" although all the stores are closed during that time and it was pretty cold out. So, me and Giselle just sat at a little cafe and I had a cup of coffee to warm me and and pass the time.
Over all, Toledo was really pretty just not really worth more than a day. There was nothing, that we saw, to do other than go to churches of course. Paris should be A LOT better! Stay tuned :)
We went to the Cathedral of Toledo first. I mean it was pretty and all but I feel like a Cathedral is a Cathedral. They all have some amazing art, sculpture work, they are ginormous yada yada yada. After the Cathedral, we walked around some more and the second stop was....you'll never guess.....another church! HA! This one actually was different it was called San Juan de los Reyes. One thing that was definitely different was above the entrance way there was a skeleton laying down as if he were modeling and there was some writing under it I guess to signify "short life." I don't know it was weird but the rest was pretty cool. It was kind of outside and inside at the same time. There were hallways that were outside and then the church part had a ceiling and everything. It was pretty cool because you could see the "Moorish" influence on the architecture and what not.
After that church we walked only about 2 blocks to where we were to have lunch. It was pretty good food, for my first dish I had this soup like dish, made with chopped up vegetables cooked really well so they were soft and it was almost like a tomato sauce and then a fried egg on top. Second dish was some kind of fish with an asparagus sauce and boiled potatoes. After lunch we have an hour and half of "free time" although all the stores are closed during that time and it was pretty cold out. So, me and Giselle just sat at a little cafe and I had a cup of coffee to warm me and and pass the time.
Over all, Toledo was really pretty just not really worth more than a day. There was nothing, that we saw, to do other than go to churches of course. Paris should be A LOT better! Stay tuned :)
martes, 23 de noviembre de 2010
Frankfurt, Germany
Well I'm a little behind...A couple weeks ago I went to Frankfurt, Germany with a couple of girls from school. The first thing I did when we landed at the airport was, of course, ate a bratwurst at a restaurant called "Fritz." The brat was about 12 inches long on a 4 inch bread roll. It wasn't like the brats I'm used to, but hey it was authentic, so whatever. After an hour and 45 minute bus ride to the actual city of Frankfurt (if you fly RyanAir the airport isn't actually in Frankfurt it's in Frankfurt-Hahn) we arrived at our hostel. The location was pretty good right across from central station and about a 10 minute walk anywhere else.
Our hostel had it's own little lounge/bar/restaurant in it so we hung out there for a while waiting to meet up with the others we were with. While waiting a couple American guys walked up to us and started talking and came to realize that one of them was from the next town over from me. They were both in the army staying at the army base that's either in Frankfurt or somewhere really close to it. So later we met up with the others and headed to an area with lots of shopping and bars. It ended up being a horrible first impression of Frankfurt. We went to a lounge and the bouncer stopped us before we could get in and told us we couldn't. We asked why and he said "no reason." Ummm RUDE?! So this guy basically begged him to let us in and payed him 10 euro. It was so dumb, I didn't even want to go there anymore but the bouncer finally gave in so we went in. It wasn't even that great of a place. Well...about 40 minutes later the bouncer came in and yelled at our group to leave. (I was in the bathroom so I don't know exactly what happened) After we left we went to a club but I think it was too early for Frankfurters because there weren't many people there. I was tired from all of the traveling so decided to turn in kind of early.
The next morning we woke up early to see everything in Frankfurt in one day. Well, we didn't really need alllll day to see everything in Frankfurt, a couple of hours would have sufficed. The first place we went to was St. Bartholomew's cathedral. It was nice, not unlike any other cathedral, although it looked a lot more massive from the outside than the inside. After that we took pictures outside at some Roman ruins and then headed to Römer square. There wasn't really much to the square but a few authentic souvenir shops and a couple of restaurants. Later we headed to the "main tower" to see the bird's eye view of Frankfurt. The main tower was basically just "sky scraper" (not that tall) that you can go to the top of and see Frankfurt. It was pretty cool to go up there but it was sooo windy that day that it was kind of scary.
After the bird's eye view we went to eat some lunch. The place we ate at was a pretty cool little restaurant. It was Italian and you could basically have them make whatever kind of pasta or pizza you want, and they make it right in front of you. I've seen a couple of these restaurants since I've been in Europe, where there are a lot of big tables set up and you eat where ever and a lot of times there are strangers sitting by you, that's how this one was. We ended up sitting outside though because there wasn't any room inside. It was kind of cold out but it was really cute because they had blankets set out for the costumers. After eating lunch we really didn't have anything else to see so....when in doubt, go to the mall right? We went to the mall but I actually wasn't in the shopping mood so we went back to the hostel and took a nap.
When we woke up we hung out in the lounge area and wait for our free pasta dinner. They have this pasta dinner every saturday night, pretty sweet deal. It wasn't the best pasta but it was free so I was happy. We explored some more after dinner to see if we could get a good picture of the city lit up at night. It was really pretty but we couldn't get any good pictures. After that we headed back to the hostel because we had to head out early in the morning.
Frankfurt was a pretty neat little city, half old and half new. I probably would never go there again but I am happy to say that I have been to Germany. Next time, I will try to see Berlin or Munich.
Our hostel had it's own little lounge/bar/restaurant in it so we hung out there for a while waiting to meet up with the others we were with. While waiting a couple American guys walked up to us and started talking and came to realize that one of them was from the next town over from me. They were both in the army staying at the army base that's either in Frankfurt or somewhere really close to it. So later we met up with the others and headed to an area with lots of shopping and bars. It ended up being a horrible first impression of Frankfurt. We went to a lounge and the bouncer stopped us before we could get in and told us we couldn't. We asked why and he said "no reason." Ummm RUDE?! So this guy basically begged him to let us in and payed him 10 euro. It was so dumb, I didn't even want to go there anymore but the bouncer finally gave in so we went in. It wasn't even that great of a place. Well...about 40 minutes later the bouncer came in and yelled at our group to leave. (I was in the bathroom so I don't know exactly what happened) After we left we went to a club but I think it was too early for Frankfurters because there weren't many people there. I was tired from all of the traveling so decided to turn in kind of early.
The next morning we woke up early to see everything in Frankfurt in one day. Well, we didn't really need alllll day to see everything in Frankfurt, a couple of hours would have sufficed. The first place we went to was St. Bartholomew's cathedral. It was nice, not unlike any other cathedral, although it looked a lot more massive from the outside than the inside. After that we took pictures outside at some Roman ruins and then headed to Römer square. There wasn't really much to the square but a few authentic souvenir shops and a couple of restaurants. Later we headed to the "main tower" to see the bird's eye view of Frankfurt. The main tower was basically just "sky scraper" (not that tall) that you can go to the top of and see Frankfurt. It was pretty cool to go up there but it was sooo windy that day that it was kind of scary.
After the bird's eye view we went to eat some lunch. The place we ate at was a pretty cool little restaurant. It was Italian and you could basically have them make whatever kind of pasta or pizza you want, and they make it right in front of you. I've seen a couple of these restaurants since I've been in Europe, where there are a lot of big tables set up and you eat where ever and a lot of times there are strangers sitting by you, that's how this one was. We ended up sitting outside though because there wasn't any room inside. It was kind of cold out but it was really cute because they had blankets set out for the costumers. After eating lunch we really didn't have anything else to see so....when in doubt, go to the mall right? We went to the mall but I actually wasn't in the shopping mood so we went back to the hostel and took a nap.
When we woke up we hung out in the lounge area and wait for our free pasta dinner. They have this pasta dinner every saturday night, pretty sweet deal. It wasn't the best pasta but it was free so I was happy. We explored some more after dinner to see if we could get a good picture of the city lit up at night. It was really pretty but we couldn't get any good pictures. After that we headed back to the hostel because we had to head out early in the morning.
Frankfurt was a pretty neat little city, half old and half new. I probably would never go there again but I am happy to say that I have been to Germany. Next time, I will try to see Berlin or Munich.
lunes, 15 de noviembre de 2010
Pubs, Guiness, Pubs, and more Guiness. Dublin, Ireland!
Well, Dublin was my first pretty short trip. We arrived on Friday evening and left early Sunday morning so we really only had one full day to enjoy Ireland. When we got there we got situated and went to an Irish pub of course! On the way there we quickly figured out that walking and crossing the street in Ireland is kinda difficult and scary! (They drive on the opposite side of the road there) They actually have "LOOK RIGHT---->" and "<-----LOOK LEFT" painted at the cross walks!
Anyways, the bar was called the Bleeding Horse and it was really cool. We had some food and drank a bit. I had my first official Irish Car Bomb (Half a glass of Guiness and you drop a shot glass that's half Jameson and half Bailey's in it and CHUG). It was great!
After that we went back to the hostel in excitement for my roommate's friends and sister to arrive in the morning. They got there at around 9 so we started getting ready to head out and made our first stop at another pub at 11 AM. We had Guiness for breakfast and then walked around Dublin for a bit of sight seeing on our way to the Guiness factory. It was set up really well with 7 floors to go up and the top floor was a bar that was just floor ceiling and window. It was basically a panoramic view of Dublin. It was really cool but would have been better if it was raining.
We went to another Irish pub to have dinner and watch the Rugby game, after the Guiness factory. OMG, first time ever seeing the sport and it was crazy! I can't believe any of those guys even live it is so brutal! No helmets, no pads, football and hockey put together but 10 x more insane! After the game we went to the hostel to nap so we'd be ready for a fun long night! After we woke up nice and refreshed we went to Brazen Head which is the oldest bar (I think) in Ireland, if not, the world. It was established in 1198! SO old and so cool. There was....an older crowd there as well but still really cool. There was a live band and they ACTUALLY played the song they played in the Irish pub in "P.S. I love you" it basically made our night!
After Brazen Head we went to Temple Bar which is an area about 5 blocks x 5 blocks of all pubs and little restaurants. It was so much fun! We went to this bar called "The Purrty Kitchen," the bottom floor was like any other Irish pub, lots of wood and live band, then you go upstairs and it's like a club, and the next floor was a like a loft dance floor with the DJ, and then you could go up again from there and there was another bar. Despite the fact that I had the absolute worst service at that bar, (the lady bar tender literally rolled her eyes at me and told me to go somewhere else and walked away just because I couldn't hear/understand her) it was so much fun! They played a lot of 90's/early 2000's music, European club music, and some newer American stuff. All of us girls had a blast dancing and losing the boys! After dancing up a sweat we decided to try to find another bar. Well, nothing else looked as fun so we ended up eating at this little place called "Hungry Harry," just a little place where you stand at the counter that outlines it and eat. It was actually amazing because I haven't had a decent burger since I've been in Europe. We found out after we ate that the bars all closed at 2:30, which is really early in comparison to 6 AM in Madrid. So the night was sort of cut short but a few of us were still up to experience more of Temple Bar so we tried to get in one last pub. We went to a smaller one and had this shot called a baby Guiness which is Kalhua with Bailey's on top so it looks like a little Guiness. It was pretty yummy! After about 30 minutes at the pub we decided to call it a night and head back to the hostel.
The next morning we had to get up early and head to the airport but before we left we had to have a "full Irish breakfast!" We went to the same pub that we went to for the Guiness for breakfast and got something a little more nutritious. The full Irish breakfasts includes sausage, bacon, eggs, white pudding, black pudding, toast, and fried potatoes. It wasn't exactly what I expected but still was amazing since all I've been eating in Madrid for breakfast is a small croissant or little toasted breads. The sausage was weird, kind of sweet, didn't really eat that, the bacon in Ireland in general is THICK almost like ham, still really good. The white pudding and black pudding I did not try, they looked like little sausage patties but BLACK and the white one looked more like a sausage patty but smelled really gross and hard. The fried potatoes ended up being like a McDonald's hash brown but with onion. After filling up we headed to the airport.
WORST FLIGHT OF MY LIFE. Ok those of you who know me, yea I may exaggerate sometimes but this time, I seriously thought I was going to die. People were literally crying and screaming. The plane was shaking so bad from the turbulence, swaying, feeling like we were dropping, HORRIBLE. I was crying my roommate was crying and her sister was comforting me, telling me that it would be ok and she's been in worse. Well when we finally landed in Madrid, (never been so happy!!) she told me that that was definitely the worst that she's been in but she didn't want to tell us that because we were freaking. I am so glad that I am alive and cannot wait to be back from the long flight to the states! Only 4 weeks and 3 days!! (I'm not counting down or anything)
Anyways, the bar was called the Bleeding Horse and it was really cool. We had some food and drank a bit. I had my first official Irish Car Bomb (Half a glass of Guiness and you drop a shot glass that's half Jameson and half Bailey's in it and CHUG). It was great!
After that we went back to the hostel in excitement for my roommate's friends and sister to arrive in the morning. They got there at around 9 so we started getting ready to head out and made our first stop at another pub at 11 AM. We had Guiness for breakfast and then walked around Dublin for a bit of sight seeing on our way to the Guiness factory. It was set up really well with 7 floors to go up and the top floor was a bar that was just floor ceiling and window. It was basically a panoramic view of Dublin. It was really cool but would have been better if it was raining.
We went to another Irish pub to have dinner and watch the Rugby game, after the Guiness factory. OMG, first time ever seeing the sport and it was crazy! I can't believe any of those guys even live it is so brutal! No helmets, no pads, football and hockey put together but 10 x more insane! After the game we went to the hostel to nap so we'd be ready for a fun long night! After we woke up nice and refreshed we went to Brazen Head which is the oldest bar (I think) in Ireland, if not, the world. It was established in 1198! SO old and so cool. There was....an older crowd there as well but still really cool. There was a live band and they ACTUALLY played the song they played in the Irish pub in "P.S. I love you" it basically made our night!
After Brazen Head we went to Temple Bar which is an area about 5 blocks x 5 blocks of all pubs and little restaurants. It was so much fun! We went to this bar called "The Purrty Kitchen," the bottom floor was like any other Irish pub, lots of wood and live band, then you go upstairs and it's like a club, and the next floor was a like a loft dance floor with the DJ, and then you could go up again from there and there was another bar. Despite the fact that I had the absolute worst service at that bar, (the lady bar tender literally rolled her eyes at me and told me to go somewhere else and walked away just because I couldn't hear/understand her) it was so much fun! They played a lot of 90's/early 2000's music, European club music, and some newer American stuff. All of us girls had a blast dancing and losing the boys! After dancing up a sweat we decided to try to find another bar. Well, nothing else looked as fun so we ended up eating at this little place called "Hungry Harry," just a little place where you stand at the counter that outlines it and eat. It was actually amazing because I haven't had a decent burger since I've been in Europe. We found out after we ate that the bars all closed at 2:30, which is really early in comparison to 6 AM in Madrid. So the night was sort of cut short but a few of us were still up to experience more of Temple Bar so we tried to get in one last pub. We went to a smaller one and had this shot called a baby Guiness which is Kalhua with Bailey's on top so it looks like a little Guiness. It was pretty yummy! After about 30 minutes at the pub we decided to call it a night and head back to the hostel.
The next morning we had to get up early and head to the airport but before we left we had to have a "full Irish breakfast!" We went to the same pub that we went to for the Guiness for breakfast and got something a little more nutritious. The full Irish breakfasts includes sausage, bacon, eggs, white pudding, black pudding, toast, and fried potatoes. It wasn't exactly what I expected but still was amazing since all I've been eating in Madrid for breakfast is a small croissant or little toasted breads. The sausage was weird, kind of sweet, didn't really eat that, the bacon in Ireland in general is THICK almost like ham, still really good. The white pudding and black pudding I did not try, they looked like little sausage patties but BLACK and the white one looked more like a sausage patty but smelled really gross and hard. The fried potatoes ended up being like a McDonald's hash brown but with onion. After filling up we headed to the airport.
WORST FLIGHT OF MY LIFE. Ok those of you who know me, yea I may exaggerate sometimes but this time, I seriously thought I was going to die. People were literally crying and screaming. The plane was shaking so bad from the turbulence, swaying, feeling like we were dropping, HORRIBLE. I was crying my roommate was crying and her sister was comforting me, telling me that it would be ok and she's been in worse. Well when we finally landed in Madrid, (never been so happy!!) she told me that that was definitely the worst that she's been in but she didn't want to tell us that because we were freaking. I am so glad that I am alive and cannot wait to be back from the long flight to the states! Only 4 weeks and 3 days!! (I'm not counting down or anything)
lunes, 8 de noviembre de 2010
Halloween weekend in Amsterdam!
Amsterdam may have been my favorite weekend abroad so far! The first night we got there I made the horrible decision of taking a taxi. The fare started at 7.50 and ended up being 40 some euro plus tip. (Which we don't do in Spain) While we were driving to the hostel we saw the first "prostitute store" it was across the channel but it was still funny. Seriously, whenever I walked by one of those things I laughed. Well we ended up staying really close to Leidseplein square which was really popular with lots of little pubs and shops and hotels. So we went and walked around there for a while. We had this great Asian food from "Wok to Walk" and ended up having it every night we were there.
The second day, first thing, we went to the Anne Frank house. There was a really long line to get in but there was a cafe right around the corner where you could make reservations so we did that and there just so happened to be a slot in 15 minutes so we got right in front of the long line and went in. It was so amazing! I couldn't take pictures inside so I bought 2 post cards just to have some sort of keep sake. After that we went to another little cafe next door and had some lunch. After that we went and walked around some more and decided to take a canal tour. We saw some beautiful buildings and lots of interesting house boats. Later we went to Dam's square and walked around there. It was all lit up for Christmas which was really exciting! There was this place called Manneken Pis that just sold french fries and everyone was walking around eating them. There was a sign that said that they were like the best fries or something so we decided to try them. Well they really just tasted like normal french fries to me. Although everyone was eating them with mayonnaise and we ate them with ketchup so it might have been better with mayo but that just sounds disgusting!
Later that night we went to a place called the Torture Museum. Sounds really weird but we thought it would be something cool for Halloween. Well, it wasn't really that cool. There was no one there and we just basically walked through the building by our selves (no tour). I mean it was pretty interesting to see how people used to be punished, gross too, but interesting. After that we went to dinner at Wagamama which is a modern Japanese restaurant. There are like pic-nic style tables set up so you can just sit next to strangers and eat. It was kind of weird but fun, really good food too! Then we decided to go out for some drinks. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe first and I had the best drink! It was called Tickled Pink and it was a piña colada with some raspberry and PINK cherries!! It was great! Then we went to an Irish pub because it was all decorated for Halloween and there was a live band playing. It was kind of an older crowd for a while but once the band left there was newer music playing and some younger people started coming. We ended up dancing a bit and had a lot of fun! The next day I was so excited to celebrate Halloween! We went to the Rijks Museum which is a Dutch art museum. It really made me appreciate paintings of landscapes. After we went to the "Amsterdam Dungeon" It was basically like a dutch style haunted house. The theme was like medieval times and the sentences, and the plague and all that stuff. It was set up by rooms and each group would be let into the room one at a time. There was an actor in every room putting on the scene. It was great and then there was a roller coaster at the end (inside in the dark). It was really fun.
After the Dungeon, we had to go straight to the hostel to get ready for our Halloween pub crawl. It was such a great deal 20 euro for 6 bars, a drink at every bar, unlimited mixed shots for the first hour, and a free shirt! It was so much fun! I dressed up as Sookie Stackhouse from True Blood and my friend dressed up as a pirate. I decided to cut the crawl short though at the 4th bar. We went back to Leidseplein square and had Walk to Wok again and then headed home.
The last day we went to the Heineken brewery before our flight back. It was really fun! There was like a simulation ride like you were being brewed. You were standing up and watched a screen with a guy explaining every step to you. When there were bubbles they had a bubble fan in the room, when you were being cooked there were heat lamps that turned on, when you fell into the pot there was a splash of water. It was really cute. We actually met a couple people from Chicago too that we stayed on the tour with. At the end you could turn in your 2 buckles on your wristband for 2 beers. It was a great time. After that we had some dinner and headed to the airport, on a train this time! Overall, I really loved Amsterdam and would definitely go back again!
miércoles, 27 de octubre de 2010
1 Porto, 2 Porto, 3 Porto...Floor!
Ok so Porto Portugal is a huge wine making city in Portugal. Huge as in makes a lot of wine NOT as in size! It's a really small old town with great food! Well...not all the food is great...
The first night we arrived our flight was delayed 2 hours so we didn't get there until like 9:30 or 10 and were starving so we found a small little bar (like 9 x 9 small) and asked for a menu. Well the waitress/owner looked at us like we were crazy...like why would they have a menu? She just asked us what we wanted so we basically just said whatever is good. We ended up having some fried pork chops with fried potatoes (like the buffalo chips at Bdubs but better) and rice. It was amazing!
The next day we decided to explore a bit and got a tour bus pass which included a wine tasting and a boat tour for just 19 euro. It was great because the bus was like a taxi, we could just get off and back on whenever and the ticket lasted for 24 hours. So we got a little bit of a tour until we were hungry and got off and walked to a cafe. It looked pretty good with a bakery counter/window in the middle and it was big with a lot of people so we sat down and got a menu. Well I have failed to mention how hard it is to communicate in a foreign country, go figure! We didn't know what anything was and when we asked the waitress she would just reply in Portuguese, which does no good obviously. So a man next to us tried to help us a little because he spoke a little of Spanish and English. He explained to us that one of the sandwiches was very popular in Porto which had steak, sausage, and cheese, and a sauce, so we picked that. Ohhh it was so gross! It was basically a big sandwhich in a big bowl of nasty tomato soup with some weird kind of steak inside (not a typical steak), 2 different kinds of sausage (which were also disgusting), ham, and olive loaf (YUCK!). So yea...it was really gross. So to make up for the gross meal of course we got dessert! (YUMM)
So later we got back on the bus and finished our tour with wine tasting. We had to walk a bit but it was definitely worth it. We got a little tour of the wine cellar with some background information on how they make the wine. *Fun fact: They stop fermenting Porto wine after 3 days because every day it ferments after that it loses sugar and of course the alcohol. Hence the title of this blog ;) It was really sweet and very strong wine, so it was a good thing we were just tasting. I was very tempted to buy a bottle at the airport because they had one that was called Porto Pink! (Sooo me) However, it probably would have taken me way too long to finish that, and if it didn't it would be way too dangerous.
After the wine tasting we went on our boat tour at just the perfect time. We just went up and down the river which took about 45 minutes and it was just when the sun was setting so we got some beautiful pictures of that! Then it was time for dinner and being in Porto, I was strangely in the mood for some fish so I had sea bass which was served whole on my plate, scary but very delicious! To finish up the night we went to a little club/lounge on the way back. It was really cute with a couple of floors. We were sent upstairs for the woman's bathroom but no one was up there so we asked the bartender what they usually have up there and he said there was a band that was coming in about 30 minutes. So we drank a bit of wine and waited. Well about 2 hours later we decided we were done waiting and started to leave as the band was walking in. We didn't stay though because we had a long day, so we headed back to the hostel.
The next day we were on a mission to get to the beach. Mind you we were staying right by the water (the river), so we figured it would be pretty close. Well after walking and walking, and walking some more, we realized it wasn't so close. So we stopped and had lunch on the river, literally the building was built over the river and basically all windows. It was really neat and I had a great pasta, spinach, ricotta dish. So then we continued on our mission to get to the beach. Finally after about another 30 minutes of walking, we made it! So we sat on the beach in our jeans and long sleeved shirts and soaked up the sun. It was beautiful and really relaxing.
After about an hour of soaking up the sun we decided to head back because it was getting kind of chilly. We really didn't want to walk to whole way back so we took the trolley! Such a great deal, only 1.50 euro. Finally we wrapped up our long day with a meal and headed back to the hostel.
Overall, I really loved Porto. It was amazing to see how old the buildings were and everything. I mean one of the public transportation options was a trolley and it was like straight out of the 1800's. I really wish I would have had some more pork chops but I was determined to try as many new things as I could oh which I forgot to mention, seviche was one of them. UGhh and I'm so mad that I tried it. If you've ever watched "Monsters Inside Me" on the Animal Planet you would know why. Ok well that's all for now. Stay tuned for my adventures in Amsterdam!
The first night we arrived our flight was delayed 2 hours so we didn't get there until like 9:30 or 10 and were starving so we found a small little bar (like 9 x 9 small) and asked for a menu. Well the waitress/owner looked at us like we were crazy...like why would they have a menu? She just asked us what we wanted so we basically just said whatever is good. We ended up having some fried pork chops with fried potatoes (like the buffalo chips at Bdubs but better) and rice. It was amazing!
The next day we decided to explore a bit and got a tour bus pass which included a wine tasting and a boat tour for just 19 euro. It was great because the bus was like a taxi, we could just get off and back on whenever and the ticket lasted for 24 hours. So we got a little bit of a tour until we were hungry and got off and walked to a cafe. It looked pretty good with a bakery counter/window in the middle and it was big with a lot of people so we sat down and got a menu. Well I have failed to mention how hard it is to communicate in a foreign country, go figure! We didn't know what anything was and when we asked the waitress she would just reply in Portuguese, which does no good obviously. So a man next to us tried to help us a little because he spoke a little of Spanish and English. He explained to us that one of the sandwiches was very popular in Porto which had steak, sausage, and cheese, and a sauce, so we picked that. Ohhh it was so gross! It was basically a big sandwhich in a big bowl of nasty tomato soup with some weird kind of steak inside (not a typical steak), 2 different kinds of sausage (which were also disgusting), ham, and olive loaf (YUCK!). So yea...it was really gross. So to make up for the gross meal of course we got dessert! (YUMM)
So later we got back on the bus and finished our tour with wine tasting. We had to walk a bit but it was definitely worth it. We got a little tour of the wine cellar with some background information on how they make the wine. *Fun fact: They stop fermenting Porto wine after 3 days because every day it ferments after that it loses sugar and of course the alcohol. Hence the title of this blog ;) It was really sweet and very strong wine, so it was a good thing we were just tasting. I was very tempted to buy a bottle at the airport because they had one that was called Porto Pink! (Sooo me) However, it probably would have taken me way too long to finish that, and if it didn't it would be way too dangerous.
After the wine tasting we went on our boat tour at just the perfect time. We just went up and down the river which took about 45 minutes and it was just when the sun was setting so we got some beautiful pictures of that! Then it was time for dinner and being in Porto, I was strangely in the mood for some fish so I had sea bass which was served whole on my plate, scary but very delicious! To finish up the night we went to a little club/lounge on the way back. It was really cute with a couple of floors. We were sent upstairs for the woman's bathroom but no one was up there so we asked the bartender what they usually have up there and he said there was a band that was coming in about 30 minutes. So we drank a bit of wine and waited. Well about 2 hours later we decided we were done waiting and started to leave as the band was walking in. We didn't stay though because we had a long day, so we headed back to the hostel.
The next day we were on a mission to get to the beach. Mind you we were staying right by the water (the river), so we figured it would be pretty close. Well after walking and walking, and walking some more, we realized it wasn't so close. So we stopped and had lunch on the river, literally the building was built over the river and basically all windows. It was really neat and I had a great pasta, spinach, ricotta dish. So then we continued on our mission to get to the beach. Finally after about another 30 minutes of walking, we made it! So we sat on the beach in our jeans and long sleeved shirts and soaked up the sun. It was beautiful and really relaxing.
After about an hour of soaking up the sun we decided to head back because it was getting kind of chilly. We really didn't want to walk to whole way back so we took the trolley! Such a great deal, only 1.50 euro. Finally we wrapped up our long day with a meal and headed back to the hostel.
Overall, I really loved Porto. It was amazing to see how old the buildings were and everything. I mean one of the public transportation options was a trolley and it was like straight out of the 1800's. I really wish I would have had some more pork chops but I was determined to try as many new things as I could oh which I forgot to mention, seviche was one of them. UGhh and I'm so mad that I tried it. If you've ever watched "Monsters Inside Me" on the Animal Planet you would know why. Ok well that's all for now. Stay tuned for my adventures in Amsterdam!
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