bug attacks and my italian bathroom nightmare

ahhh, it was so long ago I was in france, but I feel I owe it to you faithful readers (mom and grandma sandy) to get this out in chronological order…

So! France!!  After leaving Rachel, I headed up to Annecy.  Just one minor problem.  The french rail strike had started!! akk!! And I was in need of 3 or 4 trains that day.  In the end, all of my trains were cancelled, but they let me take the faster “reservation trains” and I actually got to Annecy earlier than I would have originally!  After dealing with the lows of losing a travel buddy (and the reappearance of lots of time alone with my thoughts) I had a great time in Annecy.  It’s known as the french Venice, with a nice canal running through old town, situated along a lake with mountains in the background.  I rented a bike for the day and pedaled down and back along the lake… 10 minutes into the lovely day, biking along, minding my own business, a bug flies into my face and gets stuck in my biking sunglasses!(*Really?!?!?! they’re like wind shields for your eyes!!*)  Now I’m on one of those bikes that brakes only by back-pedals, trying not to crash into oncoming bikes, and whapping my face trying to get that darn bug out.  Big, black, and fuzzy.  No competition.  He won.  And my consolation prize? a weird itchy bite/sting under my eye to meet my parents in Paris.  meh. oh well.

After Annecy, I met up with my dad and Myra (step-mom) in Paris (3 weeks going through France and Spain) and we hit up the sites there, then made our way south, visiting castles/palaces and (Myra’s favorite) the cathedrals!  The deal was, Myra was in charge for France (she had studied abroad in France) if I would do Spain.  
While traveling, you sure do learn a lot about people…for instance:

Dad: Miracles do happen.  (those of you who don’t know my dad. health nut.  health nut. health nut.)  After mild encouragement, he actually bought a chocolate bar!  and ate it!  more, he liked it.
Myra: ultra pro, double black diamond, no-fear skier Myra is afraid of heights.  On the top of Notre Dame’s tower, I turn around to see her clutching the wall and poking it weakly.  Truly adorable.  Just about died laughing, then gave her a hug.
Dad: like a little boy, turned out to be the Ron of the group, causing constant amusement.  The entire time in France he would be too involved looking up at something interesting to watch his steps(and open mouth…I’ve tucked away a number of photos for blackmail later) on the cobbled streets and go crashing down.  (note to reader: always be aware of what your mouth is doing when looking up.)
One high point from Paris would be the stained glass windows from Saint Chapelle.  There, dropped jaws are quite acceptable.

After Paris, we saw the cathedral in Chartres, then to Mont Saint Michelle, where I had The Worst public bathroom experience in my life.  no, not what you think.  don’t worry.  It’s a small bathroom right, quiet and empty.  Then, this huge group of older Italian women burst in (clearly Really needing the facilities).  They pull on my door a good 20 times, each woman having a go at that door that just didn’t want to open for some reason… Then, as I come out of my stall, one of them rushes by me into it and proceeds to shut the door.  Only problem, we’re like sardines in a tin and I’m still in the stall, unable to get out.  She doesn’t seem to care and keeps closing the door, on Both Of Us.  *Hold the phone, this can not be happening.*  At that point, claustrophobia sets in and, giving a rawr of panic I push and push and somehow get through those clamoring, disgruntled ladies.  Stumbling out dizzily, I heave a huge sigh of relief and shudder and my near escape.  Then, I see dad sitting, munching on an almond, not a care in the world say, “what?” innocently at my exasperation.  Darn men…they never have these problems.  
Continuing the exasperation with dad…we have a lovely crepe dinner.  Then, days later, he tells me that the strange tasting sausage on my savory crepe was made from pig intestines.  Ignorance Was bliss.      But heck, I’m all for trying new things…probably would have eaten it anyways…
Mont Saint Michelle would be an island when the tide comes in, then reachable by road when it goes out.  But over the years, the silt from the road has built up and it’s no longer an island anymore. (but they’re working on that!)  But, just imagining what it must look like when the tide is in is magical!  There are only about 20-30 actual residents on the island it’s so tiny!
Then, on to Azay-le-Rideau and our hotel a block away from a chateau! In Sarlat, there was this huge medieval structure that looks like a rocket ship!  Called the Lantern of the Dead, it was built to thank God for ending the plague that killed 1,000 people (1/4 of the population) in 3 days.  Then, driving to castle Benyac (dad and I especially liked the medieval bathrooms on the side of the castle…the hole emptying down the cliff face!  Myra, not amused.),we went by another castle our cab driver told us was owned by a texan, and his family lives there only 3-4 months of the year.  In Carcassonne, I let out my inner Robin Hood and stormed the castle walls, dodging incoming arrows, and shot my own through the narrow slits on the ramparts.  

Having Myra around was terribly hand.  We just threw her and her french at any Frenchman we came across.  She charmed them, and we all enjoyed just how nice the French can be!  

 

Pictures!  My goober dad and Mona.  

Carcassonne.

Mont Saint Michelle!!

Introducing the parents to the selfie.  Nailed it.

Rawr.

Arrivederci Italia!

hello again.  it’s been a while.  still interested in reading?  well, this next post is all about my time in Italy!!  My long time Wenatchee friend joined me through Italy (and a bit in France) and together we hit Rome, Florence, Chinque Terre, and Nice.

Rome:
Rachel and I had arranged to meet up in Rome’s train station.  But, after a few hours waiting and trying in vain to find wifi to see if the plan had changed…feeling those beginnings of panic…we finally enjoyed that perfect movie scene where we saw each other from across the room and both went running at each other shouting each other’s name and hugging!  It was neat.
Well, we say pretty much everything important in Rome and the Vatican (suffering through the succession of 14 or so museums…for reals though, there is a SINGLE route through those museums…and you can only absorb so many things in one day…)  *no pope though.  We saw a giant pine cone too.  In many squares, there are ancient Egyptian obelisks dating back to 2 a.d. (the Romans stole these from Egypt, they weren’t presents…)
While in Rome, we experimented with food…  I accidentally bought a cucumber instead of zucchini to put in our pasta…tasted fine to me.  Also, we tried making egg drop soup, but it ended up being…”would you like a little soup with your soggy eggs?”..but still tasty.
thoughts on Rome: do what the Romans do and stay away from the tourist areas.  They’re gross.  Instead, find an offshoot road to stroll down while drinking a Granita from Taza D’Oro.

side trip to Pisa: we successfully got a dozen or so failed shots of us trying to hold up that darn tower.  It’s smaller than you think, and quite pretty.  But not even their assertion of perfect safety would make me enter that building…it’s just fine from the outside.  On Rachel’s request, we ate pizza in Pisa.

Florence:
On our free walking tour took, we went to an ice cream shop that makes it’s ice cream fresh each morning…and was just opening when we came in.  There are little doors (the size of your head…that are at shoulder height) in the streets in Florence that used to be a bar.  During the plague, people wanted as little contact as possible, so you could hand in your money and they would give back a glass of wine through that little door-window thing!  You’re going to ask me, “did you see The David?)  I saw a David!…haha, it was a copy and standing in a square…we forgot that museums close on mondays.  Florence is just a beautiful city…terra cotta colors and tiled roofs.

Chinque Terre:
Hands down, favorite part of Italy.  Chinque terre is 5 small villages of brightly colored, mismatched houses clinging to the rock along the coast.  There are walking paths (a national forest) along with trains and boats connecting them.  We got 2-day passes to walk between the villages and stayed in a cabin with an italian coffee maker in Deiva Marina.  The days were terribly hot and humid, but we kept our hiking for the morning and I jumped in the water when we arrived at each village to cool down.  Gorgeous area.

Nice:
Nice is nice, especially their food market.  fresh goat cheese, pain complet, peaches, avocado, tomatoes.  rocky beaches, but if you can make the difficult climb down, the warm water waits for you.  we made a day trip to Cannes, and I have never felt so much like a commoner before.  Walking along the beachside promenade in my Birkenstocks, running shorts, and $3 tank top I felt the “you don’t belong here” stares from the tan, leggy Dolce and Gabbana regulars.  On one of the ritzy, private hotel wharfs there were 3 girls sunbathing, drinking, and each with their private waiter boy to hold up a tanning reflector.  I can’t help think how those guys tolerate such a demeaning job.  I would rather flip burgers than stand there for hours in the sun helping someone get skin cancer.  …rant not over yet..

Are those snazzy guards at all the fancy stores there to protect from theft or to protect the store from people like me entering?  Either way, I was glad to return to Nice and continue my journey up through France to Annecy with slight feelings of disgust for their lifestyle and comfort in my sandals and quick dry pants, allowing me to jump in an ocean/lake/stream whenever I please, get out, and keep going on my adventure.  Rant over!

Nice flower market

Chinque Terre

a typical bar during the plague

The Hills are Alive!!!!…and other cliché

Hey there!!  I’ve finally decided to give an update after about 2 weeks on the road!!  The first week or so I was traveling by myself.  Despite the sometimes lonely moments, it was a blast!  I got to decide everything! where to go, what and when to eat, all that good stuff.  the only problem with that is that I Had to decide everything…and I started talking to myself a bit…”Brita, let’s go get a pretzel…should I go left or right?…wow! that cathedral is huge!..doe, a deer a female deer…Brita, stop talking(singing) to youself”  Don’t worry, I’m not crazy…yet.  Let’s see how the rest of the summer pans out first.

So, my first fews days were taken up by making my way up from Southern Spain to Austria with my Eurail pass.  One night in the Medina del Campo’s train station, one night in Hendaye, another in Paris, and then on a night train.  The night in the train station was probably the worst night I’ve ever had.  I was completely alone and it was stone cold in that station, even with jeans, leggings, down jacket, sweater, scarf, and rain jacket on.  (I only stayed there because my train had gotten in around midnight and I had a 6am train the next day.  Still not a very good idea.  Around 3 or 4 am, after failing to sleep, I got up and was starting to think, “I really don’t think I can do this…” when the station master came and saved the day!  He invited me in to his heated office, gave me hot chocolate and his greek yogurt, and we watched the european gymnastic tournament on the tv.  He didn’t know a word of english, but we got by in spanish alright and he told me a bit about this little town of his.

Hendaye, a cute little beach town, was sooooo much better.  I got a private room to sleep like crazy in.  Explored the Château Abbadia and beach.  It was quite cold still, but everyone was out surfing in wet suits…like a boss.

In Paris, I had the afternoon there and went to see the Opera house.  The audioguide pointed out box 5 where the Phantom of the Opera is based off of!  That night, I had quite an excentric roommate.  Mimi from Chicago: painter, free spirit, starting a new chapter in her life, and living in Southern France.  We had a long, deep talk that night.

Finally, I arrived in Vienna!  I had taken a night train.  (There was this strange older guy in my compartment who kept muttering to me in German even though I very kindly and strongly let him know I did not speak it!)  But with a warmed chocolate crossant and juice box, I was ready to conquer my first real stop!  And Vienna was magical!!  I went to Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens and I tell you, Austria knows how to do gardens.  enough to get thuroughly lost in.  They were setting up for a free concert in the park (the vienna philharmonics) and just my lack of luck, it was to be the day after I left vienna!!!  argggg!! Well, that wasn’t to terrible because the next day I went to the Opera!! 3 euros for standing room to see Cenerentola by Rossini!  (Cinderella) with engligh subtitles available!  Even though I had been walking since 10 that morning and there was no air conditioning up there, it was a magical night and I loved every minute of it.  That morning, I had taken a free walking tour of Vienna, made some friends and eaten the famous chocolate sacher torte.  (The friends I made were from China and  Lima, Peru…the peruvian is biking and training…(taking the train) across Europe and writing a blog about how to travel cheeply through europe.  She told me Lima is really big on biking, just gorgeous, and must be visited!).  We all walked around that day having a great time and ended up going together to the opera that evening.

 

Next stop Salzburg.  Birthplace of Mozart, but more importantly for me…Home to the Sound of Music!! I’m not ashamed at all to say that I did indeed go on the Fräulein Maria’s Sound of Music bike tour and spend the best morning ever biking around the beautiful city and seeing practically all the movie scenes in person…singing as we went.  We saw the gazebo (closed doors because supposidly an 83 year old woman was recreating the dance, fell through the glass, broke her ankle, kept dancing, then sued the city…but didn’t win due to the common sense law…american of course.) , the front of the Vontrapp house, the gate of the abbey, and the Do Re Mi steps.  It was heaven.  Plus, along for the ride were likeminded people who loved the movie just as much!  While in Salzburg, I went hiking in the rain for about 5 hours up above the city to see stunning views.  There was a brass and wind festival going on!  Salzburg has wonderful pretzels!! I got cheese and bacon, chocolate and cherry, then poppyseed and almond!  I also made some friends during the bike tour and we hung out for the day and went to the Augustiner brewery to taste their beer they’d been brewing since 1621, a secret recipe served right from the wooden barrel! (Austria’s largest beer inn.)

I took a day trip to Hallstatt and Werfen while staying in Salzburg, and so glad I did.  They were the true Austria…little villages with breathtaking mountains.  With both towns I didn’t have much to go with except a few lines in my travel guide and a eurail pass, but didn’t need much they were small enough to navigate.  Hallstatt, you took a ferry across the lake from the train station and there is basically 1 main road along the water in town.  There was a church with a room where (since space was to tight in the cemetary) they took the sculls of the old deceased people, bleached them, painted them with flowers and the name, and stacked them on top of each other.  eerie, but pretty.  After that, I found a switchback path behind the church that takes you up to a lookout over the entire valley.  The entire day it was either raining or drizzling, but I didn’t mind.  The weather made the hiking and views all the more dramatic.
Werfen, sunny but cool day.  I took a bus halfway up a mountain, hiked a bit, ticket office, hiked some more, cable car, continued hiking to reach the world’s largest Ice cave (Eisriesenwelt)!! (and at this point, you’re almost at the top of the mountain, hiking along a sheer drop and jaw dropping views.  The cave is more than 40 kilometers, there are places where the ice is 25 meters thick, and the ice is still growing…in one place we were climbing at a 45 degree angle…they gave us gaslit, open torches to see…and it was (well obviously) freezing, so quite a change from the shorts and tshirt weather in town.  We had the coolest guide as well…and I was quite in love with him by the end.  Wearing a black indiana jones hat and piercing squinty eyes, his german accent was only accentuated while speaking slowly through the echos in the cave.

Overall impression of Austria: love with all my heart.  mountains? check.  cliche of singing “the hills are alive” in the mountains? check.  plus a million more wonderful things!!  I was terribly sad to leave, but the next stop was Italy to meet my friend Rachel from back home!

End of the World, mysterious numbness, and being stranded…

Only 4 more days til I leave for the summer!!  Sad to leave, happy from the memories, and nervous for the future.  This is what I’ve been doing to wrap up my time here in Granada.

A few weekends back, I went to Lagos, Portugal.  I went sea kayaking, wave jumping (this time in real life…not just at Silverwood), watched the sunset at the “end of the world” (back when the world was flat), and collected way too many sea shells.  

My spanish (speaking/writing/reading) class hiked up the the sacromont district and spent a good afternoon of our teacher’s friend.  He lives in one of those caves!  We sat out in their “garden” front “yard” exploding with pots of every kind of plant and flower imaginable interspersed with cages of chickens.  They made us 2 different paellas (chicken and seafood[octopus, clams, squid, shrimp, all things squishy, plus something that made my mouth numb (a friend’s too) never got to the bottom of that…?]).  While we were there, they discovered one of their 9 or so cats had had kittens…enjoyed views of the Alhambra anybody would kill for…made a noble attempt at a seemingly bottomless bucket of sangria…and talked with the background noise of our teacher’s 8 year old son making chicken noises every few minutes.  

Friday night, my entire program dressed out best for our Flamenco show goodbye party.  I sat right in front of the stage and literally got sprayed with sweat from the dancers.  It was that intense.  3 dancers, 2 singers, 1 guitarist, zero lack of drama.

  

I tried morcilla a few weeks back and almost threw up, but I blamed the fact that I’d just eaten strawberry yogurt and didn’t have it with bread.  (As Juan says, “No puedo comer sin pan!  Una vida sin pan no es una vida.” [I cannot eat without bread.  A life without bread isn’t a life at all.]  But nope, it’s still as terrible as I remembered.  I gave it another shot on saturday and we still do not agree with each other.  (morcilla, for those who don’t know is a type of black looking sausage that is made out of onions…and blood!  also called ‘blood sausage’)  Besides the morcilla, we had chorizo (the most delicious sausage ever, which more than made up for it’s black cousin) and tons of other meats on the barbecue this saturday!  My host family took us up to their cortijo(farm) party for the afternoon.  They own a house/garden/orchard up in a little town 45 min outside of Granada.  They also own what used to be the schoolhouse (Josefina went there as a child), which they renovated to sleep in and host parties.  Esther(host sister) and her husband were there as well as Josefina’s granddaughter and friend, so we had a few young people to talk to.  Then there were the three stooges, (Juan and his 2 best friends…arguing over the best way to pick a watermelon.  Apparently, if it’s from the farm, you don’t do the thump method.  If the part where the stem was is dry, then you’ve got a good one.  After saying no do more food, they would grin sheepishly as the women piled more meat on their plates.  Then, the women…all best friends…gossiping and being adorable.

 

 

Holi Run Sunday!!!
The first color run in Spain!!  5k running.  Every “k” you run there is a tent with volunteers bombarding you with colored powder, one color for every leg of the run. (yellow, green, pink, blue, purple)  We barely made it as we were some of the last few people on the bus to Santa Fe (15 min bus from Granada)…and good thing to because it was amazing!!!  That was the only bus going from Granada and had twice as many people trying to get on… but don’t worry, that was just the start of our bus woes…
The color run was the most fantastic, head to toe messy, crazy thing ever!! We all got packets of colored powder before the race along with a white tshirt.  Even before the race started people were throwing color around!  We all got a dusting of color on our face and thought “Hey! this is fantastic” and took a picture.  Wow were we in for a little more than a dusting.  I suppose pictures tell more.  After the race, there was a band on stage and the crowd had one last huge color explosion where we all threw what we had left.  Later, the firetruck sprayed the entire crowd with soapy water and everything just went crazy!!    

When we’d had enough, we walked back to try (haha) to catch the bus home…we were told by some other girls who tried to catch it that the bus drivers weren’t letting people on.  (which kinda made sense….I suppose…) so there we were, slightly freaking out, with exams to study for and papers to write on a sunday afternoon stranded in Santa Fe.  We did the only sensible thing to do. Washed ourselves in a car wash.  Later on…looking clean and out-of-place… everyone recognized us. “Hey! You’re the car wash people!!”  I’m sure we’re now in hundreds of stranger’s pic, having way too much fun blasting soapy water at each other from the high pressure hose. 

 

Sadly, the bus driver didn’t see us as clean enough and still refused to let us on.  But that might have been due to the slightly frustrated mob of Holi runners (who had decided to film us rather than join us in the carwash) also trying to get on.  So… still stranded…even after a high pressure shower…for 3 more hours or so…until the police came and made the bus drivers let us all on and we finally got home after one of crazies days I’ve ever had!! Absolutely worth it!

It was a crazy, perfect weekend.  Now, all that remains is a few exams and farewells and I’m off for the second leg in my adventure!

 

Las Fallas

On a random happenstance, the people of Valencia (a region in eastern Spain) decided to bring their festival down to Granada!  Las Fallas!! they made these huge ninots (dolls) out of paper mache, wood, sweat, blood, a mother’s tear and such.  They are made to poke fun at current issues.  I was completely blown away by this festival (plus our luck to see it!).

Saturday Shelby, Jared, and I got half price tickets to an afternoon soccer game (Granada v. Rayo Vallecano) but we lost.  They don’t sell any alcohol inside the soccer stadiums here (only non-alcoholic beer) because the fans get so crazy.

After the game, we walked over to the festival and they were making this huge vat of “Agua de Valencia”, enough for 2,000 people and free!  Fruity and deceptively strong, that stuff packs a punch! …which made sense when we looked up the the recipe later..(cava(champagne), orange juice, vodka, gin).  We stopped in to good ol’ Mercadona (local supermarket) to get a 6-pack (of ice cream sandwiches) and while sitting to eat them we saw lots of people passing by with their Valencia festival shirts on.

Note: Always hang around, watch, and follow curios things.  They can lead to awesomeness.  We ended up joining in on a parade through central Granada, following and dancing to the bands and pretending we knew the words!  There were tons of girls dressed up all fancy in traditional outfits and intricate braids dancing and singing their heart out.

Next day in the afternoon there were fireworks.  We thought we had gotten The Best seats in the entire place, right in the front.  Well, there was a reason for that.  It seams Spain is a lot more lax on safety around exploding objects.  Maybe it’s cause you can sue for anything in the states… well anyways, I could feel the explosions on my chest and face!
Later on, around 9 or so they lit the ninots on fire!  (along with more fireworks)  We apparently didn’t learn our lesson from before and were, yet again, right in front of the pile except for a guy dressed just like a Leprechaun standing right in front of me.  After the explosions it got so intense everyone had to back up and firemen sprayed us all!  I struck up a conversation with the Leprechaun and his friend.  They were both from Valencia and helping out here.  The friend knew Castellano (my spanish) but he seemed a little lost (so probably spoke mostly Valencian), but they told me that each pueblo (small town) sends one young and one older girl to the festival (usually the ones with the richest parents because those dresses cost a ton), their hair is fake (I knew it!), and 13 cities in Valencia participate in Las Fallas.

Semana Santa in Poros and Athens

A few weeks back was my spring break!  Kelly and I went for a full week to a little Island and hour ferry ride away from Athens for 4 days then 3 days in Athens!

There and Back Again: a human’s tale by Brita Eisert

After we took a…. taxi to train station, bus to Madrid, metro to airport, flight to Warsaw, flight to Athens, bus to port, ferry to Poros, and walked 30hr in wrong direction at Poros….. we got to our beachside hotel in the sleepy little village on Poros 30 hours later in the process.

We were there just before tourist season and practically had all the beaches to ourselves!  And hotels are cheap too! 16 euros a night per person! (about $22)…  When we arrived there, the wife of the owner of the hotel was there doing some rearranging of the furniture and sat us down to welcome us to Poros.  a true grandma.  from Minnesota originally.  she had short hair dyed red with a feather in it and usually had a collection of seashells and wildflowers in her hands.  We saw her almost every day walking around town.  Poros is not well known, with hardly any tourists when we went, but it has wonderful, sandy beaches. (Being from Washington and its lovely rocky and seaweedy beaches…it’s hard to know what to do on a beach like that… haha…we figured it out.)

First night there, we wandered into town (the main road (one of few) is alongside the wharf and on the right side of the island to see the sunset over mountains on another island.  The locals told us that the mountains are in the shape of a sleeping lady.  Well, we found a restaurant with outside seating (well honestly, it’s impossibly to find one without outside dining there) and had a wonderful first dinner there.  Across the street, on the dock, was a little event with Greek music, food, prizes being given out, and that Greek circle dancing.      (I’ll admit to having Mamma Mia songs stuck in my head the entire time on that Island, not even ashamed.)  Perfect evening with nothing to molest us except the slightly dripping purple octopus hanging on a clothesline next to the barbecue (waiting to be fried), a chubster dog that sat and stared straight into my soul with the scariest milky eyes I’ve ever seen, and being too full to finish the calamari.

 

Next day, we thought we’d visit this old monastery 10 minute walk from the hotel.  We ended up missing it and going on a hike up up up and nearly all the way around the island and found these ancient ruins dating back to the 7th century b.c.  (Temple of Poseidon) and had it all to ourselves.  The wildflowers were in bloom (including poppies)!

Found the monastery next day, saved a german lady’s little dog from drowning (the little guy just ran straight off the dock and thought he could swim. he couldn’t.).  Then, we went back into town and got some baklava (just soaked and dripping with honey with crumbled pistachios on top. it was heaven.) and then we went up to this clock tower on a hill in the middle of town to watch the sunset, had lamb dinner under the oldest tree on the island (300 years), tried a little ouzo (super strong anise-flavored drink. not too bad!)

Take away from Poros:

• you can buy too much greek yogurt.    That stuff is dense.
• you cannot buy too much gelato.
• I will marry someone with a sailboat…and a thick Scottish accent (and token bushy beard)…with a killer job that allows us to sail around Greece/San Juan Islands all summer….     Well, none of that may come true, but what is true is that I love Poros and have terrible boat/Island life envy now and forever.

 

Athens:

first impressions…just another big city…. dirty, loud, and a bit creepy.  But anything would be like that after Poros.

Our hostel, albeit very safe with nice owners, was a little sketchy. The elevator didn’t have a door, so you could see/touch the wall as you moved up…(or was it the wall that was moving while we stayed still….?)

Next few days we caught all the tourist things….Acropolis, Agora, Temple of Hephaestus, Temple of Hercules, and museum with the mask of Agamemnon.

Then, things got cultural.  We left around 8pm friday night walking to Syntagma Square to catch a bus to the airport.  Buses were going all night from the square and our flight was early the next morning, so we decided to skip the next few buses leaving…and good thing we did!  The next bus after that didn’t come for another 3 hours or so because the entire square was blocked off  because it was good friday and the Greek Orthodox Pope came to the square with a parade and sang/ gave a blessing.  I’m so glad that happened! It was beautiful.  Nurses, policemen, army, navy, church guys carrying an altarpiece decorated with flowers etc. walking slowly in silence and one of the many bands there playing a beautiful, mournful lament.  A bunch of people had long, beeswax candles lit.  Then, they started this chant in Greek, so cool it gave me chills.  All this happening in a gorgeous square with trees and illuminated fountain that was across from the most impressive Parliament building.  That single event made it worth while going into Athens.

 

Well, to wrap up Semana Santa, we got back in time to see the last 2 processionals on Easter Sunday in Granada.  (During the entire week before Easter sunday in Spain, there are many processionals throuout the streets that usually make their way to a church or the Cathedral. The people carry lanterns, crosses, candles, and sometimes bells.  This is also where the men dress up in clothing that looks like it’s from the Ku Klux Klan.  However, this tradition started long, long ago and is worn by the penitent.  And they don’t just wear white, but blue, green, purple, red, etc. )  It was a shame we missed most of it, but we got to see a bit at least!

The most impressive part of the processionals is the float.  It’s huge, heavy, ornately decorated in silver, has billions of lit candles and flowers, and a life sized statue of Mary in the center.  But, these floats aren’t as simple as ours.  They aren’t attached to/towed by a car.  This float is carried by a team of sometimes 40 people with 4 directors at the corners to call out commands.

The second float we saw was a much smaller one carried by children with many other children following behind ringing bells.  Pretty adorable!

Then, I bought a torrija.  (a semana santa special in spain that is kind of like french toast.  But it’s fried in olive oil.  You can really only eat one they’re so gooey and delicious.)  It’s the best way to drown out those sad feelings of not being home with family for easter.

But besides that, Semana Santa/Spring Break was a whirlwind of wonderfulness!  I am at the halfway point in my grand adventure and have just about 3 more weeks left in Spain!  I’ve been planing like crazy my travel this summer and am currently planning Germany and Scandinavia.  If anyone has suggestions on things to see/do feel free to comment/let me know!

Moroccan pics

Morocco

Sorry it’s been so long! I know i’m slacking!

Okay, for some catch-up:

Last weekend we went to Africa! Morocco!  It was incredible and eyeopening.  Most of the women we saw there were wearing a hijab but I did see women in full burqa (The ladies wearing a burqa were always in full black and closely following a man in modern clothes.).

Friday:
We got up early to take an hour long ferry ride to Tangier. (The ferry surprisingly didn’t allow anyone up on an outside deck.  It was a beautiful day, sunny, clear, and heck! we were going to Africa!!.  Ahhh the irony: Seattle, city of never-ending rain, of course has plenty of outside deck space on it’s ferries.)
We met our tour guide and he walked us around Tangier a bit including the souk, a traditional carpet shop, and a natural medicine shop.  Over there, about 100 durham is about 10 euro and I had my first crash course in bargaining.  Man, was that stressful.  In the medicine shop, the owner (with the longest fingers I’ve ever seen.)  Gave us a rundown of the many natural items in his store: different types of the famous argan oil (look it up!) that can soothe arthritis and make scars disappear, rose-hip lotion, color changing lipstick, saffron, and natural viagra tea. (“don’t drink more than one cup at a time..” he warned seriously)
Lunch was in a traditional Moroccan restaurant. White walls with elegant red and white fabric and a live band. (One guy was playing a violin like a cello on his knee. He would periodically stand up on his seat and turn toward us..raising his violin up above his head as he continued to play.)  We were told to never drink the water here, so I just brought a bunch of water and bought a bottle.  You can’t even have the ice cubes they put in soft drinks and we were wary of any fruit/veggies you couldn’t peel.

Saturday:
Breakfasts in the hotel.  There was a woman there making us warm, crispy, crepe-like things for breakfast!  Delicious.  Oh, I just looked it up and it’s called msemen.  We ate them with honey.  Oh man i could eat them all day.
We headed out for Chefchaouen, a little town out in the countryside.  The drive was gorgeous, with lush pastures, farmland, donkeys, cows, hills and mountains that sprung up here and there.  Chefchaouen is a blue town.  Twice a year (or more) the locals have to repaint their houses a lovely lighter blue color.  Back in the day, they used to paint their houses with paint made from the Indigo plant because it has natural mosquito repelling properties.  Now, it’s tradition!  The pretties town ever, between 2 mountains with a cool spring running through it to do laundry in.
On our way back to Tangier, we stopped in Tetouan to walk through its souk.  That was probably the most culture shock I’ve experienced yet.  I expected to be shocked, but you can never imagine seeing, smelling, and hearing completely.
One shop showed the progression of a chicken’s life.  First, on the right, there was a live chicken in a cage.  Next to it was a dead one.  Then, a featherless one.  Next, headless.  They were all just out there chilling on a dirty table.
Full animal carcasses were hanging everywhere, dripping.  And overpowering fishy smell as we passed crates of fish and other seafood, no ice.  One shop had a a dead octopus in a bowl just chilling on the front counter, it’s tentacles dangling out over the counter.  I overheard a shop owner to his friend, ” there goes an American Express”.  I was about to feel annoyed, but ended up just bursting into laughter…it’s true.  We were a huge group of young, single file, gawping, americans and I can’t fault anyone for judging us this way.  We’re judging them too.  It’s just the difference in culture.  The people in morocco drink the water we american’s can’t stomach, relish in enjoyment while eating fried octopus, and live to see another day.  I’m jealous of their immune system.  We americans are so overly germ-conscious.  Exposure builds immunity.

Sunday:

We went along the coast to the Cave of Hercules.  Pretty self explanatory there.  Look at a picture of it…doesn’t it kinda look like a small nosed dude looking left and yawning?

Along the coast, I paid 2 euros to ride a camel!  Just a short ride, but worth it.  I mean, you’re riding a camel in Africa.  And actually, it was a Dromedary camel (Arabian camel) so it only had 1 hump.

Next, we went along to Asilah, a white beach town.  Every year, there is a different artist who paints murals around the town.

Jared, Shelby, and I ran down to the beach to touch African waters for the first time in our last 20 minutes.  I picked up a few free souvenirs…a shell and piece of broken ceramic tiling…one of many pieces on the beach from who knows what.  There were some tide pools we explored for a bit, but we sadly didn’t find much sea life…just a few baby snails and a hermit crab.  Are there starfish in Africa?

There was indeed a McDonald’s in Africa, in Tangier. We found it.  And ate there. Shameful i know, but it had to be the snazziest McDonald’s I’ve been to.. (despite the lack of lines.  it was just a big mob, and it was up to you to find a way through the pack of hungry people clamoring for their orders.)  It had 2 floors and an outside wrap-around deck on the top floor overlooking a park and the harbor!

On the way home we saw 2 cats who had somehow wandered into the ferry waiting room…past the security checkpoint…

Well there it is, Morocco in a nutshell!  My favorite trip so far!

 

Moldy Mushrooms and Monos

Okay, just a little run down on 2 weekends ago.  Friday the entire group of us from AIFS (34ish) headed out to Gibraltar.  We saw Africa across the straight of …original, Gibraltar.  Then, up up up to hang out with some cousins.  They didn’t really pay us any attention (haha…at first).  Just looked very thoughtful and deep for my pictures.  But then, one of them really wanted the sunglasses from a guy in my group.  Quite sure they wouldn’t compliment the shape of his face, he didn’t give them up.  Instead, he received a gift himself: a bite and following teeth marks for the rest of the day!  We kept checking throughout the trip but he didn’t develop any special climbing powers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday we visited El Parque de María Luisa, The Plaza de España (where they filmed a part of Star Wars!! nerdiness shining through!!), y El Real Alcázar.  Later, I ordered a plate of mushroom and ham tapas.  When it came, it was literally a huge soup bowl full to the brim with mushrooms slipping around in an olive oil red sauce with ham bits.  I think i ate my weight in mushrooms that day.  It was wonderful, if not slightly slimy.  Towards the end, I started to think too much about how mushrooms are basically…Mold…

AHHH!!!! R2D2 was standing (sitting?rolling around?chilling?) literall. right. up. there.

Anyways, walking tour of Sevilla’s Bull ring.  (It’s not the time for actual bull fights yet, but there will be one later on in Granada and more in Málaga .  We learned that they actually use 6 bulls for each bull fight, not just one for the whole 3 hours.  2 bulls for each Matador.  It’s a pretty controversial issue.  It is a huge cultural part of historical Spain, but many people are calling for the termination of this practice.)

 

Sunday was the adorable little town of Córdoba (and it’s Mezquita).  Quintessential white houses with flowerpots hanging on the walls!

Fittingly, we had an equally adorable tour guide who would shake her hands to emphasize words and unreservedly blew us kisses goodbye!

Well, I’ve started volunteering at a kidney dialysis center.  I go around and talk to the patients while they receive their treatment in a common room. They have to come for 4 hours, 3 times a weeks, so any kind of distraction is welcome.  And many of them are quite chatty.  A few of the patients/nurses know (or are learning english) and are incredibly delighted, grinning ear to ear, to say a phrase or so in english.  I was in love with those old ladies from the first day.  I’ve been told that I need to get a spanish boyfriend, come over for coffee, and read up on Federico García Lorca (as well as feel ashamed I don’t know him).

I’m really liking these 3 day weekends

2 weekends ago, Kelly and I decided on a spur of the moment trip to Barcelona.  Booked everything in one afternoon!  Cheep flights, with unfortunate timing.  I experienced my first time (not) “sleeping” in the Malaga airport though! haha…ya…we had to leave late friday evening for our 8am flight to Barcelona.  But, successfully survived that experience with 12 or so episodes from the podcast “Stuff you should know”.  They’ve got some pretty interesting things to talk about, but they also have nice, relaxing voices that help you fall asleep 😉

Barcelona is in a region called Cataluña.  They have a different primary language called Catalan that, although it looks like a preschooler mixed up the spanish words a bit, it actually sounds more like french.

Proof that it is, indeed a small world: We went to lunch in the Hard Rock Cafe and had a bit of a conversation with a family of California natives sitting next to us.  Later that night, we ran into them again in a metro tunnel in a different part of the city!  What!?!

Anyways, on saturday we discovered the delights of free things, namely maps, bathrooms and the Montjuïc Castle.  Situated right next to the sea and quite a lengthy jaunt up the hill, it rewards the successful climber (or the rich older people who pay for the gondola) with a 360 view of the entire city!  Later on, we went to see a true spanish fútbol game (Barcelona v. Valencia) 6:0!!!

Sunday morning was THE EVENT of the trip. La Sagrada Familia.  wow.  Gaudi designed this masterpiece knowing full well he would not be alive to see it finished.  It was intended to be built over the centuries, to allow each new generation to add their own touch.  Yes, it is still being Built, not renovated.  The pillars were built to resemble trees, branching at the top, and with plenty of windows to let the light peer in from above.  Light: that was the most impressive part there.

             Now this special little picture shows figures called Caganers, one of the weirdest Christmas traditions I’ve ever encountered.  It’s a little log-man that’s pooping out presents (or gold or something)!!  In every Nativity scene in Barcelona one of these special little guys is hidden haha… The idea behind this is to show that nobody is too important.  Everyone poops, so everyone is equal in the end.  They had tons of other Caganers ranging from the Queen of England to Homer Simpson to Obama.  There is more to the story you can look up!

 We found a free walking tour sunday afternoon.  During that, we stumbled across a square of students singing/protesting/showing support for the students in Venezuela.  They were all sitting to form SOS and singing the national anthem.  They have a beautiful national anthem, it gave me chills just to be there.