Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
As One Door Closes, Another One Opens
So after 5 months, 40 blog posts, 11 countries, and many new friends I am back home in Ithaca, New York. I have been here for almost two weeks and have been pretty busy with seeing all of my friends and working a little. But life now seems pretty normal. I did not have any problems with culture shock which was great and easy. So now I have some time to reflect on my travels, think about what I learned, and about how I may have changed.
So first a summary of my travels. I went to 11 countries, and 23 cities. Of those 11 countries I went to 10 of the capital cities. Can you guess which one I didn't go to... It was Madrid, which is shocking since I lived in Spain. Also in the places I went there were 10 different first languages spoken, I thought that was kind of cool.
There are a bunch of things that I will miss about Europe that aren't so easy to do or see back in the US. The first is the amazing wine and olive oil everywhere. It is more expensive and less accessible here. Next is my host family. They were so great and treated me as if I was one of their own. I got to practice so much Spanish with them and they taught me about their traditions, culture, way of life, and more. It was really cool to get a whole new perspective on the world from them. I don't think I will really notice a change until farther down the road but I feel that since I spent a lot of time with them they have influenced me is some ways. The Spanish might have been the most rewarding part of my whole trip. I can now communicate with people in another language, and actually last night I talked to someone in Spanish for a while. One of my goals for the summer, or the rest of my life, is to keep that Spanish that I learned and keep using it. One day I will be fluent. I will also miss meeting people from all over the world. Almost every day I met someone from another country who speaks a different language. With English and Spanish I could pretty much talk to everyone but I really enjoyed meeting these people. In the US everyone new I meet is from America, usually from the region and at my school everyone is from the same area. I will also miss public transportation. Everywhere I went it was so easy to get around the cities. My brother has our car in Boston until early July so I have had to rely on other people and my parents for rides. I have tried to take the bus but it just doesn't run that often. I do live in a small town of 30,000 people but yesterday I wanted to go from the main bus stop downtown up the hill to a place where a few buses come through. My friend looked up the schedule and the next one was a half an hour. I just started walking and he picked me up on the way, but the public transportation is just difficult here. I will also miss a lot of other things like the actual cities and the old buildings and winding streets.
There are also a few things that I will not miss at all. One of these is the people that sell you things on the street. I am so glad to get away from those people because they are extremely annoying and all the money probably goes to some Mafia organization. Also the Euro. I will not miss the Euro for a few reasons. The first is that it is expensive to take money out of the ATM because of fees, and things are really expensive. Secondly, the Euro doesn't actually fit in my wallet so I need to fold them up, and lastly I always had so many coins.
I can see some very apparent ways that I have changed. I have a greater appreciation for language and people from somewhere else. Before I was never too interested in these aspects but now I am drawn to a person if they speak a different language or are from another country. I also think I am more outgoing and more likely to take chances. I used to be kind of shy and I still am in certain ways but now it is better. The biggest way I have changed though is now I will pretty much try anything whether it is trying food, a sport, dancing, reading, music... and that feeling is amazing. I guess after I tried Haggis I can basically eat anything haha.
Now for the future. There are a few things I want to do this summer. One is to keep speaking Spanish as I said earlier. Another is to start playing the Piano again. I have already started and my dad found some sheet music that is pretty easy. I know most of the right hand now for a song called Somewhere Out There, from the movie An American Tail. I will also plan some trips for the summer. One is going to New York City and the Boston for July 4th. Another is a kayak trip from Ithaca to my lake house that should take a few days. And another is a camping trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire where I go to school.
I have loved keeping this blog and my Barcelona Experience has come to an end. Life is like a book though and this chapter ended. I need to accept that and move on, but my book still has a lot of empty pages and I think if I read it over the rest of the story is not predictable at all. I still have a long life to live and I am so great full that I got the chance to travel and that I have such a detailed record of it. I still have a while but I am really excited to re-read this blog in about 10 years. Who knows where I will be by then.
I will keep posting here too. It might not be very often or similar to the rest but I love to write and I want to keep doing it. So I hope you enjoyed reading, I know I enjoyed writing.
Hasta.....
So first a summary of my travels. I went to 11 countries, and 23 cities. Of those 11 countries I went to 10 of the capital cities. Can you guess which one I didn't go to... It was Madrid, which is shocking since I lived in Spain. Also in the places I went there were 10 different first languages spoken, I thought that was kind of cool.
There are a bunch of things that I will miss about Europe that aren't so easy to do or see back in the US. The first is the amazing wine and olive oil everywhere. It is more expensive and less accessible here. Next is my host family. They were so great and treated me as if I was one of their own. I got to practice so much Spanish with them and they taught me about their traditions, culture, way of life, and more. It was really cool to get a whole new perspective on the world from them. I don't think I will really notice a change until farther down the road but I feel that since I spent a lot of time with them they have influenced me is some ways. The Spanish might have been the most rewarding part of my whole trip. I can now communicate with people in another language, and actually last night I talked to someone in Spanish for a while. One of my goals for the summer, or the rest of my life, is to keep that Spanish that I learned and keep using it. One day I will be fluent. I will also miss meeting people from all over the world. Almost every day I met someone from another country who speaks a different language. With English and Spanish I could pretty much talk to everyone but I really enjoyed meeting these people. In the US everyone new I meet is from America, usually from the region and at my school everyone is from the same area. I will also miss public transportation. Everywhere I went it was so easy to get around the cities. My brother has our car in Boston until early July so I have had to rely on other people and my parents for rides. I have tried to take the bus but it just doesn't run that often. I do live in a small town of 30,000 people but yesterday I wanted to go from the main bus stop downtown up the hill to a place where a few buses come through. My friend looked up the schedule and the next one was a half an hour. I just started walking and he picked me up on the way, but the public transportation is just difficult here. I will also miss a lot of other things like the actual cities and the old buildings and winding streets.
There are also a few things that I will not miss at all. One of these is the people that sell you things on the street. I am so glad to get away from those people because they are extremely annoying and all the money probably goes to some Mafia organization. Also the Euro. I will not miss the Euro for a few reasons. The first is that it is expensive to take money out of the ATM because of fees, and things are really expensive. Secondly, the Euro doesn't actually fit in my wallet so I need to fold them up, and lastly I always had so many coins.
I can see some very apparent ways that I have changed. I have a greater appreciation for language and people from somewhere else. Before I was never too interested in these aspects but now I am drawn to a person if they speak a different language or are from another country. I also think I am more outgoing and more likely to take chances. I used to be kind of shy and I still am in certain ways but now it is better. The biggest way I have changed though is now I will pretty much try anything whether it is trying food, a sport, dancing, reading, music... and that feeling is amazing. I guess after I tried Haggis I can basically eat anything haha.
Now for the future. There are a few things I want to do this summer. One is to keep speaking Spanish as I said earlier. Another is to start playing the Piano again. I have already started and my dad found some sheet music that is pretty easy. I know most of the right hand now for a song called Somewhere Out There, from the movie An American Tail. I will also plan some trips for the summer. One is going to New York City and the Boston for July 4th. Another is a kayak trip from Ithaca to my lake house that should take a few days. And another is a camping trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire where I go to school.
I have loved keeping this blog and my Barcelona Experience has come to an end. Life is like a book though and this chapter ended. I need to accept that and move on, but my book still has a lot of empty pages and I think if I read it over the rest of the story is not predictable at all. I still have a long life to live and I am so great full that I got the chance to travel and that I have such a detailed record of it. I still have a while but I am really excited to re-read this blog in about 10 years. Who knows where I will be by then.
I will keep posting here too. It might not be very often or similar to the rest but I love to write and I want to keep doing it. So I hope you enjoyed reading, I know I enjoyed writing.
Hasta.....
Monday, June 13, 2011
Granada
My final destination was Granada, Spain. When I first decided I was going to Barcelona I knew I needed to see the very famous Alhambra palace. I find it interesting that it was the last touristy thing that I did in Europe. But it was amazing.
I got to Granada mid day on Sunday and checked into my hostel. Online it said it was a hippies paradise which was an atmosphere I knew I would enjoy, especially because I partied a little in Sevilla. My hostel was not the easiest to find but I eventually got there with the help of some locals. On the bus I moved over one seat and asked the young woman standing if she wanted to sit down. I said "quieres sentirse?" She knew english and said "you mean sentarse...you just asked me if I wanted to feel myself." I felt like a complete idiot, especially since I have said that many times to older people on the metro and the bus. She ended up knowing exactly where my hostel was and helped me get there, which was very nice. When I checked in I was hungry so I walked towards the nearest plaza to get some food. When I got to the top of the stairs I could see the entire Alhambra right across the steep cliff. It was an amazing site
I really wanted to come back to see this view at night too. I got a quick bit to eat and decided to take a little walk up the hills to a place called Sacramonte. This is where all of the gypsies live in cliffs and tiny shacks. It was a very nice walk up there but I didn't explore the caves too much because I didn't have any water and it was a bit creepy. The streets up on the hill reminded me a lot of the windy sidewalks in San Torini. The old cobblestone roads that slither up the hillside and the simple architecture. Granada is a very beautiful city but I think it is too touristy to live there.
I returned to the hostel and wrote my name down for eating dinner there, and then went down the hill to grab a drink. In Granada when you order a drink at a tapas bar you get food with it. I just ordered a beer, watched Nadal win the French Open, and ate some french fries with a ham and cheese sandwich. I was very content. Then I returned to my hostel to eat dinner. There were 5 of us, two australians, a spanish girl that worked there and made dinner, and an older woman from the US. I was most interested in the Australians. The next day they planned to go to this place called Bonoficio in the Sierra Nevadas, which is the mountain range you can see in the distance. Next time I come to Europe this place will be on my list because it is extremely off the beaten path. This is a small community of people and the concept is similar to a Kibutz in Israel. When you arrive you are not allowed to bring alcohol or drugs and you need to bring water. Then you chip in for food and help them make crafts or teach people a trade if you have one. They said that the whole idea is to be accepting of anyone and to learn and share ideas. It sounded really cool and if I had some more time I might have gone to see it for myself. After dinner I just relaxed and then went to sleep.
I got woken up around 8 in the morning by a song. "Good Morning, good morning, (REST OF SONG) (ADD LINK). I thought it was hilarious and it was a great way to start the day. Others didn't like it too much but I could see if you were there for more than a few days it would get annoying. As one Englishman put it "It's fuckin' awesome, wake the fuck up and eat some free toast and coffee." I got a nice chuckle from that line, and the way he said it with the British accent.
I had a reservation for the main palace of the Alhambra at 6:00 PM but could enter at 2:00 in the afternoon. The first half of the day I went and checked out some Graffiti a few blocks from the city center. The Graffiti was very artistic and nice but nothing special. Then I took the bus up to the Alhambra and started walking around. I walked to the first palace through some elaborate gardens only to realize that I had lost my ticket, which you need to enter any palace. I panicked a little but went back to the ticket office where to guy selling the audio guides asked me what was wrong. I told him of my problem and my ticket was at the front gate because I had forgotten to take it back when they scanned it. Disaster diverted. I went back and looked at the entire palace with about an hour to spare. My favorite spot was the largest tower closest to the city where you had an entire view of everything for miles. I have a video but it is not comparable to the actual site. There is also a hill above the palace with stairs and railings that act as aqueducts. The strong current had carved into the railings for over 500 years and showed the power of water and the elaborate design of the water system of the Alhambra. While waiting I decided to do some stretching and a girl from Montreal who was on a run started chatting with me. Since I had a t-shirt and gym shorts, she thought I was running too. We talked until I went into the main palace and planned to meet up later. The main palace was everything you would expect. I slowly walked around from room to room, admiring the unique architecture, writing on the walls, and intricate stalactite arches forming large doorways. In the center of most forums there was a still pool of water that reflected the view of the opposite facade but had a slight ripple. This gave an illusion that gave life to the architecture. The only disappointment was in fact a major disappointment. There is a main forum area, I think called the fountain of 12 lions. This forum is the gem of the main palace as my audio guide said and it was completely under construction. My audio guide also said that the fountain is stronger and the reflective illusion is the most powerful and beautiful. Great! I was slightly let down but there was nothing I could do about it so I just let it go.
I went back to the hostel to get my phone and change to something warmer and then I went to go meet up with my new friend. She was couch surfing and studied in Madrid. We got some tapas and talked for a while. She was very interesting and taught me something. Her spanish was excellent, and she just started that year. She did know french fluently which is much harder than spanish but she completely immersed herself in the language and talked to everyone in Spanish. In my 5 months I learned a lot of spanish and I can get bye, but she was close to fluent and I was very impressed. We also talked about how I didn't really see that much of Spain. I should have traveled through the entire country but I only stayed on the coast. Although she was only 20, she had been to Australia 2 times, Europe, South Africa, and South America. So she had dome a lot of traveling and this was my first time doing anything like this so I wanted to get see all of Europe, which I did, but maybe not enough of Spain. Anyway, after the tapas we went to the plaza where the view of the Alhambra was...and it was breathtaking. I could only hear the wind blowing over the hills, the faintest sound of water, and the occasional sound of the city and people. There were even some stars out, which I have not seen in a long time.
I woke up the next morning at 5 to catch a bus and a flight back to Barcelona where I was staying one last night with my host family and then heading home. It was great to see them again. Before I went back I ate lunch at a place called Ciutat Comtal which was my dad's favorite place and Kris's favorite place. I got one of the mini hamburgers and some other food and it was delicious. Then I went back to my home stay where they had prepared a ciesta lunch with the family so I ate another lunch. That night I just relaxed and caught up on sleep and prepared to leave in the morning. Now I am on the plane to Boston.
I got to Granada mid day on Sunday and checked into my hostel. Online it said it was a hippies paradise which was an atmosphere I knew I would enjoy, especially because I partied a little in Sevilla. My hostel was not the easiest to find but I eventually got there with the help of some locals. On the bus I moved over one seat and asked the young woman standing if she wanted to sit down. I said "quieres sentirse?" She knew english and said "you mean sentarse...you just asked me if I wanted to feel myself." I felt like a complete idiot, especially since I have said that many times to older people on the metro and the bus. She ended up knowing exactly where my hostel was and helped me get there, which was very nice. When I checked in I was hungry so I walked towards the nearest plaza to get some food. When I got to the top of the stairs I could see the entire Alhambra right across the steep cliff. It was an amazing site
I really wanted to come back to see this view at night too. I got a quick bit to eat and decided to take a little walk up the hills to a place called Sacramonte. This is where all of the gypsies live in cliffs and tiny shacks. It was a very nice walk up there but I didn't explore the caves too much because I didn't have any water and it was a bit creepy. The streets up on the hill reminded me a lot of the windy sidewalks in San Torini. The old cobblestone roads that slither up the hillside and the simple architecture. Granada is a very beautiful city but I think it is too touristy to live there.
I returned to the hostel and wrote my name down for eating dinner there, and then went down the hill to grab a drink. In Granada when you order a drink at a tapas bar you get food with it. I just ordered a beer, watched Nadal win the French Open, and ate some french fries with a ham and cheese sandwich. I was very content. Then I returned to my hostel to eat dinner. There were 5 of us, two australians, a spanish girl that worked there and made dinner, and an older woman from the US. I was most interested in the Australians. The next day they planned to go to this place called Bonoficio in the Sierra Nevadas, which is the mountain range you can see in the distance. Next time I come to Europe this place will be on my list because it is extremely off the beaten path. This is a small community of people and the concept is similar to a Kibutz in Israel. When you arrive you are not allowed to bring alcohol or drugs and you need to bring water. Then you chip in for food and help them make crafts or teach people a trade if you have one. They said that the whole idea is to be accepting of anyone and to learn and share ideas. It sounded really cool and if I had some more time I might have gone to see it for myself. After dinner I just relaxed and then went to sleep.
I got woken up around 8 in the morning by a song. "Good Morning, good morning, (REST OF SONG) (ADD LINK). I thought it was hilarious and it was a great way to start the day. Others didn't like it too much but I could see if you were there for more than a few days it would get annoying. As one Englishman put it "It's fuckin' awesome, wake the fuck up and eat some free toast and coffee." I got a nice chuckle from that line, and the way he said it with the British accent.
I had a reservation for the main palace of the Alhambra at 6:00 PM but could enter at 2:00 in the afternoon. The first half of the day I went and checked out some Graffiti a few blocks from the city center. The Graffiti was very artistic and nice but nothing special. Then I took the bus up to the Alhambra and started walking around. I walked to the first palace through some elaborate gardens only to realize that I had lost my ticket, which you need to enter any palace. I panicked a little but went back to the ticket office where to guy selling the audio guides asked me what was wrong. I told him of my problem and my ticket was at the front gate because I had forgotten to take it back when they scanned it. Disaster diverted. I went back and looked at the entire palace with about an hour to spare. My favorite spot was the largest tower closest to the city where you had an entire view of everything for miles. I have a video but it is not comparable to the actual site. There is also a hill above the palace with stairs and railings that act as aqueducts. The strong current had carved into the railings for over 500 years and showed the power of water and the elaborate design of the water system of the Alhambra. While waiting I decided to do some stretching and a girl from Montreal who was on a run started chatting with me. Since I had a t-shirt and gym shorts, she thought I was running too. We talked until I went into the main palace and planned to meet up later. The main palace was everything you would expect. I slowly walked around from room to room, admiring the unique architecture, writing on the walls, and intricate stalactite arches forming large doorways. In the center of most forums there was a still pool of water that reflected the view of the opposite facade but had a slight ripple. This gave an illusion that gave life to the architecture. The only disappointment was in fact a major disappointment. There is a main forum area, I think called the fountain of 12 lions. This forum is the gem of the main palace as my audio guide said and it was completely under construction. My audio guide also said that the fountain is stronger and the reflective illusion is the most powerful and beautiful. Great! I was slightly let down but there was nothing I could do about it so I just let it go.
I went back to the hostel to get my phone and change to something warmer and then I went to go meet up with my new friend. She was couch surfing and studied in Madrid. We got some tapas and talked for a while. She was very interesting and taught me something. Her spanish was excellent, and she just started that year. She did know french fluently which is much harder than spanish but she completely immersed herself in the language and talked to everyone in Spanish. In my 5 months I learned a lot of spanish and I can get bye, but she was close to fluent and I was very impressed. We also talked about how I didn't really see that much of Spain. I should have traveled through the entire country but I only stayed on the coast. Although she was only 20, she had been to Australia 2 times, Europe, South Africa, and South America. So she had dome a lot of traveling and this was my first time doing anything like this so I wanted to get see all of Europe, which I did, but maybe not enough of Spain. Anyway, after the tapas we went to the plaza where the view of the Alhambra was...and it was breathtaking. I could only hear the wind blowing over the hills, the faintest sound of water, and the occasional sound of the city and people. There were even some stars out, which I have not seen in a long time.
I woke up the next morning at 5 to catch a bus and a flight back to Barcelona where I was staying one last night with my host family and then heading home. It was great to see them again. Before I went back I ate lunch at a place called Ciutat Comtal which was my dad's favorite place and Kris's favorite place. I got one of the mini hamburgers and some other food and it was delicious. Then I went back to my home stay where they had prepared a ciesta lunch with the family so I ate another lunch. That night I just relaxed and caught up on sleep and prepared to leave in the morning. Now I am on the plane to Boston.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Back to the Sunshine, Lisbon and Sevilla
I got to Portugal and immediately fell in love with it. I think a small part of why I liked it so much was because I had been in northern Europe for a few weeks and really had not seen much sun. But it was a very beautiful city. I also got to my hostel in the late afternoon and ended up staying there all night because it was very relaxing. My favorite part of the hostel was that they had a 1 year old dog. It was a Portuguese Water Dog named Tejo, which is also the name of the river that flows through Lisbon. Here is a picture of him
The hostel also had dinner for 8 Euros and I chose to stay there for dinner. Usually hostel food is pretty bad but this one had a home feeling to it and it was some old lady cooking the food who didn't speak any English. We had Gazpacho, Eggplant, and some fruit for desert. Everything was very good and it was the first time I had ever eaten Eggplant for a main course. They also gave us a bottle of wine to share for the table, and some bread with olive oil. The people at the Hostel were also very nice. The owners were a young couple, the girl from the Ukraine, and the guy from Portugal. There was a German couple there who shared some wine with me, and an American that I talked to for a while. I actually liked this place so much that I decided to stay another night.
The next morning I had the breakfast which was free and also pretty good, and then went on a free walking tour. The tour guide was a German girl who had lived in Sevilla for a while and now was living in Lisbon for a while. There were only two other people on the tour so it was like a free private tour, pretty good right? She was a very good tour guide and made it interesting. I also asked a lot of questions talked to her a lot about what I had been doing. She also suggested a few places to go eat which turned out to be good. After that I went back to the hostel and took a nap. She suggested to see some Fado and recommended a bar where it was free. I got there early so I could get a seat and got some food and a beer. An older Portuguese guy sat next to me and we started chatting. He barely spoke English and Spanish, but with my knowledge of Spanish and Catalan we were somehow able to understand each other. But he sang some Fado and Opera and ended up singing at that bar. The music was decent. I think it is better when you can understand what they are saying but I enjoyed it.
My last day there I wanted to go on a tour that the hostel offered that was going to some palaces and the most western part of continental Europe. However, since only two people wanted to go they would loose money on it and I didn't really want to pay extra so it got canceled. So I went to the beach instead. Almost every day for the past 25 days I had been either traveling, or doing touristy things so this was a nice day to just not do anything and go relax on the beach. It was also quite windy so I wanted to do some surfing. I took a train to the beach and it was a beautiful day out without a cloud to be seen. The waves were not that big though so I didn't want to rent a surf board for some tiny waves. I just picked a spot and fell asleep on the beach, then got some lunch and did the same thing again after I ate. I left the beach around 4 in the afternoon and was very dehydrated even though I drank 2 liters of water and orange juice.
For dinner I went to the place that the tour guide suggested called Super Mario. It was not that great but it had a very local atmosphere. Then I returned to the hostel and had some drinks and mingled with the people there. The bartender was from Barcelona, and then there were some more Germans and a Polish girl. The next thing I knew it was about 12 and I was waking up at 7 to catch a bus to Sevilla.
Everything went very smoothly in the morning and no one else was in my room so I could make as much noise as I wanted to so I organized my bag a bit. On the bus I took the back seat and a Russian girl sat next to me. Her name is Annastasia and she was born in Russia but moved to the US when she was 6 so she is more American than Russian. She is 18 years old but was already a junior in College but didn't want to go back so she moved out to Lisbon where her dad lives. She has only been in Europe for a few days but plans on staying for about a year. I thought that decision was pretty cool and interesting. We talked almost the whole 8 hour bus ride and by the time we got there I felt like I had known here for a few weeks and we were traveling together. We were both meeting people living in Sevilla so we exchanged numbers and planned to meet up. I also invited her to come to Granada with me and she really wanted to but her father didn't want her going with some random guy. That was too bad but very understandable because I wouldn't want my daughter doing that either.
I have a friend, Jeff, who was studying in Sevilla and still there so I planned to go out with him while I was there. I got settled in my hostel around 6 and then went to get more money on my phone because it had been empty for a little while. He lives in a homestay and was eating there so I met up with my new friend and her friend that she was visiting for dinner. They were going to a place called Los Coloniales and the receptionist at my hostel said it was her favorite place, and Jeff suggested it. It was also very close to the bar where I was meeting Jeff so it worked out perfectly. I had a really good map luckily because there really is no organization to the streets in Sevilla but I made it there very easily and had dinner with Annastasia and Carolina, her friend. They went back to change after dinner and I went to the International Cerveceria to meet Jeff. This place was awesome and I was once again in beer heaven. I got a few Belgian beers that I liked and they were all superb. Jeff came with his roommate and his TA from school. We stayed there for a while but then went to another place and got a few more drinks.
I didn't really have too much planned for the next day which worked out perfectly because I had an awful hangover. Jeff and his friends planned on going to Cadiz to the beach and I was just going to walk around and see Sevilla. I slept in a little and then went to the supermarket to get some eggs and bacon for breakfast. Then I just walked around with my map and checked everything out, I went to a palace called the Royal Alcazar which was very impressive, and Plaza España, and some other stuff. It was great and nice not really having much of a plan. Later I went and got some food and was back at the hostel around 9. here are some photos
Plaza de España
Royal Alzacar
Cathedral
My hostel had a tapas tour that I decided to go on because I planned on meeting Jeff around 12. There were about 6 other people on the tour; an American from Oklahoma, a girl from Korea, two girls from Malta, and two guys from Portugal. So it was a pretty interesting mix of people but it was cool and then I went to hang out with Jeff and the people on his program, but we just botelloned near the water which is a spanish word for pregame. It was fun and then I went back to go to sleep.
I woke up early to catch the 9:30 bus to Granada. Now I am sitting in a hammock writing this and listening to some music. It is very relaxing.
The hostel also had dinner for 8 Euros and I chose to stay there for dinner. Usually hostel food is pretty bad but this one had a home feeling to it and it was some old lady cooking the food who didn't speak any English. We had Gazpacho, Eggplant, and some fruit for desert. Everything was very good and it was the first time I had ever eaten Eggplant for a main course. They also gave us a bottle of wine to share for the table, and some bread with olive oil. The people at the Hostel were also very nice. The owners were a young couple, the girl from the Ukraine, and the guy from Portugal. There was a German couple there who shared some wine with me, and an American that I talked to for a while. I actually liked this place so much that I decided to stay another night.
The next morning I had the breakfast which was free and also pretty good, and then went on a free walking tour. The tour guide was a German girl who had lived in Sevilla for a while and now was living in Lisbon for a while. There were only two other people on the tour so it was like a free private tour, pretty good right? She was a very good tour guide and made it interesting. I also asked a lot of questions talked to her a lot about what I had been doing. She also suggested a few places to go eat which turned out to be good. After that I went back to the hostel and took a nap. She suggested to see some Fado and recommended a bar where it was free. I got there early so I could get a seat and got some food and a beer. An older Portuguese guy sat next to me and we started chatting. He barely spoke English and Spanish, but with my knowledge of Spanish and Catalan we were somehow able to understand each other. But he sang some Fado and Opera and ended up singing at that bar. The music was decent. I think it is better when you can understand what they are saying but I enjoyed it.
My last day there I wanted to go on a tour that the hostel offered that was going to some palaces and the most western part of continental Europe. However, since only two people wanted to go they would loose money on it and I didn't really want to pay extra so it got canceled. So I went to the beach instead. Almost every day for the past 25 days I had been either traveling, or doing touristy things so this was a nice day to just not do anything and go relax on the beach. It was also quite windy so I wanted to do some surfing. I took a train to the beach and it was a beautiful day out without a cloud to be seen. The waves were not that big though so I didn't want to rent a surf board for some tiny waves. I just picked a spot and fell asleep on the beach, then got some lunch and did the same thing again after I ate. I left the beach around 4 in the afternoon and was very dehydrated even though I drank 2 liters of water and orange juice.
For dinner I went to the place that the tour guide suggested called Super Mario. It was not that great but it had a very local atmosphere. Then I returned to the hostel and had some drinks and mingled with the people there. The bartender was from Barcelona, and then there were some more Germans and a Polish girl. The next thing I knew it was about 12 and I was waking up at 7 to catch a bus to Sevilla.
Everything went very smoothly in the morning and no one else was in my room so I could make as much noise as I wanted to so I organized my bag a bit. On the bus I took the back seat and a Russian girl sat next to me. Her name is Annastasia and she was born in Russia but moved to the US when she was 6 so she is more American than Russian. She is 18 years old but was already a junior in College but didn't want to go back so she moved out to Lisbon where her dad lives. She has only been in Europe for a few days but plans on staying for about a year. I thought that decision was pretty cool and interesting. We talked almost the whole 8 hour bus ride and by the time we got there I felt like I had known here for a few weeks and we were traveling together. We were both meeting people living in Sevilla so we exchanged numbers and planned to meet up. I also invited her to come to Granada with me and she really wanted to but her father didn't want her going with some random guy. That was too bad but very understandable because I wouldn't want my daughter doing that either.
I have a friend, Jeff, who was studying in Sevilla and still there so I planned to go out with him while I was there. I got settled in my hostel around 6 and then went to get more money on my phone because it had been empty for a little while. He lives in a homestay and was eating there so I met up with my new friend and her friend that she was visiting for dinner. They were going to a place called Los Coloniales and the receptionist at my hostel said it was her favorite place, and Jeff suggested it. It was also very close to the bar where I was meeting Jeff so it worked out perfectly. I had a really good map luckily because there really is no organization to the streets in Sevilla but I made it there very easily and had dinner with Annastasia and Carolina, her friend. They went back to change after dinner and I went to the International Cerveceria to meet Jeff. This place was awesome and I was once again in beer heaven. I got a few Belgian beers that I liked and they were all superb. Jeff came with his roommate and his TA from school. We stayed there for a while but then went to another place and got a few more drinks.
I didn't really have too much planned for the next day which worked out perfectly because I had an awful hangover. Jeff and his friends planned on going to Cadiz to the beach and I was just going to walk around and see Sevilla. I slept in a little and then went to the supermarket to get some eggs and bacon for breakfast. Then I just walked around with my map and checked everything out, I went to a palace called the Royal Alcazar which was very impressive, and Plaza España, and some other stuff. It was great and nice not really having much of a plan. Later I went and got some food and was back at the hostel around 9. here are some photos
My hostel had a tapas tour that I decided to go on because I planned on meeting Jeff around 12. There were about 6 other people on the tour; an American from Oklahoma, a girl from Korea, two girls from Malta, and two guys from Portugal. So it was a pretty interesting mix of people but it was cool and then I went to hang out with Jeff and the people on his program, but we just botelloned near the water which is a spanish word for pregame. It was fun and then I went back to go to sleep.
I woke up early to catch the 9:30 bus to Granada. Now I am sitting in a hammock writing this and listening to some music. It is very relaxing.
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