Howdy Partners. Thought I'd put my writing hat back on and add a little on here.
So I finally got a job, after some stressful weeks of being unemployed, at a big flower shop in SLC called the Flower Patch. I drive one of their big vans and deliver flowers all day long out of their warehouse. It's pretty fun and pretty easy! Time sure does go by fast, so that's nice. For some reason, when I started I was thinking that everyone would be just SO happy to see me and that I'd be making everyone's day... BUT I didn't think about all the funerals everyday and all the get well flowers people send. So it's not exactly how I was imagining it, but it's still pretty fun.
It's actually pretty funny, on my first day I had to deliver this huge casket topper and and couple of those funeral spray things that are on easels to this ward. They let me in the back door, and I say "this is a casket topper, where should I put it?" then the guy just points over to grandma over there, who we'll say wasn't just taking a nap. Having never experienced a "viewing" before, it was pretty nerve wracking getting to set a heavy casket topper over this lady's feet while she and the rest of the family were watching me. Good first day.
So it's been going well... Valentines was absolutely crazy to say the least. I worked 12hrs on Sunday, 14 on Monday and then another 12 on Tuesday. Good money that I could use, but very exhausting. We did about 3500 deliveries on Monday, and hired about 75 contract drivers to deliver with their own cars. Caitlin even drove most of the day!
One other thing that's been on my mind: Sitting in class the other day waiting for the prof. to start, I notice as a kid is sitting down, his gun tucked into the back of his pants. Just what I want to be thinking about when I'm in school... A little background: Rules about guns on campus have been a hot topic recently. They were previously not allowed but legislation recently ruled that they couldn't do anything about state gun laws. They president of the U did everything he could to fight it, and the student govt. even came out strongly against it... But we are in Utah, so here I am sharing a classroom everyday with a bunch of students and a hand cannon or two mixed in (in case one of those students were to have a gun and go crazy. Oh wait, they do have guns) for protection. Crazy.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Updizzate
What has been going on in Brussels Christian? Lots! I'll tell ya.
Most probably know by now, but as of a few weeks ago I will be only staying in Europe for this one semester instead of two. It ended up being a big screw up on my part... I had thought that the large amount of money I paid before I left covered my tuition and the cost of my home-stay, but I quickly figured out it hadn't when the school here gave me the bill for housing. So I won't have enough dough for a second semester... It is pretty unfortunate and I was looking forward to a second semester here, but at the same time, I am not too upset. All of the study abroad kids that make up my school will be leaving, and a new group will arrive in the spring... So I would have to sort of start over making friends and I feel like I would be repeating what I have already done in a lot of ways. I am also looking forward to going back to the U of U and finishing up... So that's the way it goes, and I'll be back for good on the 13th of Dec.
David, Katie and I decided that Thanksgiving was something that we could absolutely not go without, so we managed to talk Mechthild into cooking us a big Thanksgiving dinner. Of course it wasn't the same, but it was great to have a huge meal of our own here while everyone was stuffing themselves back home. It was very nice of Mechthild considering it doesn't mean anything to her... She was like, "what do we need to make for this Thanksgiving thing?" In my head I was like, "well, a big turkey, mashed potaotes, cranberry ice, real and canned cranberry sauce, rolls, stuffing..." but I refrained and we stuck with the basics. Except we didn't have turkey, we had roasted lamb because it is nearly impossible to get a turkey in Europe when it isn't Christmas. It wasn't bad. We had two friends over from school and had just a jolly ole Euro-turkey (sans turkey) day. Caitlin told me she'd make me a thanksgiving dinner when I get back, so I can't wait for that. I made the mashed potatoes and they were so-so:
My school had a winter formal at this night club in town last week, so that was pretty fun. Open bars always make for a good time. Katie wore her giant fur coat that she found for cheap at the flea market. That thing was the life of the party. I can't wait until she has to wear it on the plane back home when she can't fit it into her bag! Here we are all dressed up, our friend Caitlin came over before too:
I guess it's officially Christmas season now huh? It's really great around here with all the decorations that are going up around the city. The grand place has this giant tree in the middle, complete with a life-sized baby jesus in the manger scene. Also, it snowed for the first time on Thursday and has been on and off ever since! The Christmas market is starting today too, so I'll have to go check that out. One thing I didn't realize was that I'd be drinking all kinds of great Christmas ales! Jeeze Louise are they good.
Oh! So I made quince candies the other day. I thought I'd share and get in on some of that recipe/cooking blogging that everyone seems to be doing. Also, I immediately thought of the quince jelly that my aunt Kristie makes. I think this is very similar, but sweeter and more candy like.
What you need: Pre-made quince candies, sugar
Directions:
-Have Mechthild make the quince mixture and put it on plates.
-Leave it on top of the armoire in the living room for about 1 month.
-Take them down, cut them into little diamonds and roll in sugar.
Bon Appetite! Here's how they should look:
I went to a concert with Mechthild here in Brussels on Wednesday. She goes to classical music concerts at least once a week here and has always told us she'd treat us whenever we like, so I figured I'd take her up on the offer. I guess the concert hall here has some of the best acoustics in the world... It was pretty nice, and it only costs 5 euro for young people! I had a pretty good time. I had never been to a concert like that before and know almost nothing about classical music, but it's always great to experience something new. Most of the musicians were really young, which I thought was cool (helps to offset the overly old audience! ha). They really mixed it up and played a lot of different kinds of music, so it never got boring. I think I may go to another before I leave!
My good friend Tori is visiting me this week! She has been studying abroad in Sweden and decided to come on down to visit me in Belgique. We're having a grand ole time so far! It's nice having a fellow utahn in town. I've shown her around a bit, and we had a wild night out on the town with the roomies last night. We'll just say it included going behind the counter at the Frites place when the workers went out to have a cigg to get more sauce. It's really nice having her visit... I even caught Mechthild telling Katie that she's enjoying it 'cause now the girls have a majority in the house! So we're going to have a fun week, we may go on a little day trip or two to Bruges, Antwerp or Amsterdam.
School is winding down! All four final research papers are done and next week is the last week of classes. Just final exams left starting the week after that! Time has just flown on by...
Blair thinks he can just take up the whole sofa...
Au revoire
-C
Most probably know by now, but as of a few weeks ago I will be only staying in Europe for this one semester instead of two. It ended up being a big screw up on my part... I had thought that the large amount of money I paid before I left covered my tuition and the cost of my home-stay, but I quickly figured out it hadn't when the school here gave me the bill for housing. So I won't have enough dough for a second semester... It is pretty unfortunate and I was looking forward to a second semester here, but at the same time, I am not too upset. All of the study abroad kids that make up my school will be leaving, and a new group will arrive in the spring... So I would have to sort of start over making friends and I feel like I would be repeating what I have already done in a lot of ways. I am also looking forward to going back to the U of U and finishing up... So that's the way it goes, and I'll be back for good on the 13th of Dec.
David, Katie and I decided that Thanksgiving was something that we could absolutely not go without, so we managed to talk Mechthild into cooking us a big Thanksgiving dinner. Of course it wasn't the same, but it was great to have a huge meal of our own here while everyone was stuffing themselves back home. It was very nice of Mechthild considering it doesn't mean anything to her... She was like, "what do we need to make for this Thanksgiving thing?" In my head I was like, "well, a big turkey, mashed potaotes, cranberry ice, real and canned cranberry sauce, rolls, stuffing..." but I refrained and we stuck with the basics. Except we didn't have turkey, we had roasted lamb because it is nearly impossible to get a turkey in Europe when it isn't Christmas. It wasn't bad. We had two friends over from school and had just a jolly ole Euro-turkey (sans turkey) day. Caitlin told me she'd make me a thanksgiving dinner when I get back, so I can't wait for that. I made the mashed potatoes and they were so-so:
My school had a winter formal at this night club in town last week, so that was pretty fun. Open bars always make for a good time. Katie wore her giant fur coat that she found for cheap at the flea market. That thing was the life of the party. I can't wait until she has to wear it on the plane back home when she can't fit it into her bag! Here we are all dressed up, our friend Caitlin came over before too:
I guess it's officially Christmas season now huh? It's really great around here with all the decorations that are going up around the city. The grand place has this giant tree in the middle, complete with a life-sized baby jesus in the manger scene. Also, it snowed for the first time on Thursday and has been on and off ever since! The Christmas market is starting today too, so I'll have to go check that out. One thing I didn't realize was that I'd be drinking all kinds of great Christmas ales! Jeeze Louise are they good.
Oh! So I made quince candies the other day. I thought I'd share and get in on some of that recipe/cooking blogging that everyone seems to be doing. Also, I immediately thought of the quince jelly that my aunt Kristie makes. I think this is very similar, but sweeter and more candy like.
What you need: Pre-made quince candies, sugar
Directions:
-Have Mechthild make the quince mixture and put it on plates.
-Leave it on top of the armoire in the living room for about 1 month.
-Take them down, cut them into little diamonds and roll in sugar.
Bon Appetite! Here's how they should look:
I went to a concert with Mechthild here in Brussels on Wednesday. She goes to classical music concerts at least once a week here and has always told us she'd treat us whenever we like, so I figured I'd take her up on the offer. I guess the concert hall here has some of the best acoustics in the world... It was pretty nice, and it only costs 5 euro for young people! I had a pretty good time. I had never been to a concert like that before and know almost nothing about classical music, but it's always great to experience something new. Most of the musicians were really young, which I thought was cool (helps to offset the overly old audience! ha). They really mixed it up and played a lot of different kinds of music, so it never got boring. I think I may go to another before I leave!
My good friend Tori is visiting me this week! She has been studying abroad in Sweden and decided to come on down to visit me in Belgique. We're having a grand ole time so far! It's nice having a fellow utahn in town. I've shown her around a bit, and we had a wild night out on the town with the roomies last night. We'll just say it included going behind the counter at the Frites place when the workers went out to have a cigg to get more sauce. It's really nice having her visit... I even caught Mechthild telling Katie that she's enjoying it 'cause now the girls have a majority in the house! So we're going to have a fun week, we may go on a little day trip or two to Bruges, Antwerp or Amsterdam.
School is winding down! All four final research papers are done and next week is the last week of classes. Just final exams left starting the week after that! Time has just flown on by...
Blair thinks he can just take up the whole sofa...
Au revoire
-C
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Lisboa
This will be part 2 of my fall break trip... Lisbon.
This city is now easily one of my favorite cities in Europe. Possibly even my favorite. So:
We flew in from Madrid to spend the last two nights of our vacation in Lisbon. I really had no idea what to expect... I knew very little about Portugal and couldn't recognize portuguese if I heard it. Also nobody had ever told me anything about the city, and I didn't research it. I was pleasantly surprised.
The first thing I noticed when we were on the bus from the airport were all of the really antique looking street cars (maybe I like it so much 'cause it's so similar to SF? There is a golden gate bridge wannabe as well...). The second thing I noticed was that a young portuguese man plopped down to sit with Katie on the bus, and immediately started chatting her ear off. He talked about how his favorite color was green because that is the color of Portugal's soccer team (called Sporting, which is a pretty good name I think), and how he could not get over how the Boston Red Sox colors are red, but the Boston Celtics colors are green. How can there be two colors? Anyway, this guy just sort of stuck in my mind for some reason...
Street Car: Old windy street that they go on:
Luckily we got to ride on one of those great street cars through a bunch of small windy streets to our hostel in the old town. This place was easily the best hostel I've ever stayed in and a better experience than any hotel I've ever stayed in. They had this amazing little enclosed garden off of the main reception and an awesome patio that has a great view of the old buildings and the ocean. They had an activity for every night of the week, with free BBQ's, walking tours, bar hops, etc. Free pancakes every morning... also the owner made everyone pumpkin soup one night. The place was decorated in a really cool way, and all the staff was really nice and social. It was like a home away from home! I sort of wish I worked there! AND! 15 euro a night. It was so awesome.
The Patio: The owner even had a Portuguese water dog! View from the patio:
The first night we were there, the activity of the night was a Fado tour. I had no idea what this was, but it is now what I think of when I think of Portugal. Fado is this style of music that consists of usually two guitar players and one singer. It is meant to be very mournful and emotional, often about love or life in poverty... I just thought it was so unique and amazing. You can seriously walk down almost any street, any night of the week and hear live Fado from inside every cafe. With no tourists around really, it just had this really authentic feeling... The musicians usually just do it because they love it. It is still taken very seriously though, with no talking allowed and nobody allowed to enter/exit during performance. Just beautiful singing in a usually very dark cafe with people sitting around listening and drinking wine/sangria. I don't know... I just loved it. Our guide from the hostel took a small group of us around and showed us a variety, with more professional musicians and not so professional musicians.
Video of some Fado, sorry it was too dark:
The next day the girls wanted a beach day, so they did that while David and I hopped on a train to this place that had been recommended to him, called Sintra. It turned out to be a pretty big place that was fairly spread out in the mountains with all kinds of cool parks, castles, etc. So we first went to this huge park that had this castle and all kinds of other crazy things to stumble upon. We ended up hiking around quite a bit, eventually ending up at this peak called the high cross, where the view was absolutely amazing. I realized how much I enjoyed hiking around and exploring after being in the city all the time.
From the high cross, a view of the westernmost point of continental europe (right pic):
David reconnecting with his catholic roots:
Video from the top:
After this we went on to this other place called the Quinta da Regaleira. I kept asking David before, "so what are these places we're going to see?" and he never really had an answer. After this place, I know why. I can't even describe it. It was this large house owned by a portuguese man from way back when, that had this crazy park for a yard with all kinds of crazy things built in. It had all these cool looking structures and ponds and wells and grottos and, no big deal, tons of underground caves and tunnels. Probably the best part about being there was the fact that I had no idea what the place was, and no idea what to do. See description on the pamphlet/map:
Can I go into that dark cave? There aren't any signs... I seriously felt like I was on lots of drugs, or in something like willy wonka or alice in wonderland.... So David and I explored this place for a few solid hours. Quite a day to say the least.
That night the guy from the hostel took us to this cool bar that had a band playing downstairs. One of the guys in the band was playing the handsaw with a bow. I don't know if anyone else has ever seen this, but it was pretty cool. The day after, we went and saw the modern art museum which had an Andy Warhol exhibition. Also awesome. Then back to Brussels that night (with a quick sleepover in the Milan airport)!
I just can't say enough about my time in Lisbon... Mechthild says that it is sort of a destination for many Europeans, but not a lot of other people try to go there. I think that I had such an amazing time because I had absolutely no idea what to expect and just explored new things the entire time (of course now I've just ruined it for whoever reads this!). It just had this cultural vibrance, with the old town of Alfama and the Arab influences, that really stood out to me. I obviously think everyone should go if they get the chance! And stay at the Alfama Patio Hostel!
Puerta del Sol: Street at night:
Alfama: Golden Gate look-a-like:
~Christian
This city is now easily one of my favorite cities in Europe. Possibly even my favorite. So:
We flew in from Madrid to spend the last two nights of our vacation in Lisbon. I really had no idea what to expect... I knew very little about Portugal and couldn't recognize portuguese if I heard it. Also nobody had ever told me anything about the city, and I didn't research it. I was pleasantly surprised.
The first thing I noticed when we were on the bus from the airport were all of the really antique looking street cars (maybe I like it so much 'cause it's so similar to SF? There is a golden gate bridge wannabe as well...). The second thing I noticed was that a young portuguese man plopped down to sit with Katie on the bus, and immediately started chatting her ear off. He talked about how his favorite color was green because that is the color of Portugal's soccer team (called Sporting, which is a pretty good name I think), and how he could not get over how the Boston Red Sox colors are red, but the Boston Celtics colors are green. How can there be two colors? Anyway, this guy just sort of stuck in my mind for some reason...
Street Car: Old windy street that they go on:
Luckily we got to ride on one of those great street cars through a bunch of small windy streets to our hostel in the old town. This place was easily the best hostel I've ever stayed in and a better experience than any hotel I've ever stayed in. They had this amazing little enclosed garden off of the main reception and an awesome patio that has a great view of the old buildings and the ocean. They had an activity for every night of the week, with free BBQ's, walking tours, bar hops, etc. Free pancakes every morning... also the owner made everyone pumpkin soup one night. The place was decorated in a really cool way, and all the staff was really nice and social. It was like a home away from home! I sort of wish I worked there! AND! 15 euro a night. It was so awesome.
The Patio: The owner even had a Portuguese water dog! View from the patio:
The first night we were there, the activity of the night was a Fado tour. I had no idea what this was, but it is now what I think of when I think of Portugal. Fado is this style of music that consists of usually two guitar players and one singer. It is meant to be very mournful and emotional, often about love or life in poverty... I just thought it was so unique and amazing. You can seriously walk down almost any street, any night of the week and hear live Fado from inside every cafe. With no tourists around really, it just had this really authentic feeling... The musicians usually just do it because they love it. It is still taken very seriously though, with no talking allowed and nobody allowed to enter/exit during performance. Just beautiful singing in a usually very dark cafe with people sitting around listening and drinking wine/sangria. I don't know... I just loved it. Our guide from the hostel took a small group of us around and showed us a variety, with more professional musicians and not so professional musicians.
Video of some Fado, sorry it was too dark:
The next day the girls wanted a beach day, so they did that while David and I hopped on a train to this place that had been recommended to him, called Sintra. It turned out to be a pretty big place that was fairly spread out in the mountains with all kinds of cool parks, castles, etc. So we first went to this huge park that had this castle and all kinds of other crazy things to stumble upon. We ended up hiking around quite a bit, eventually ending up at this peak called the high cross, where the view was absolutely amazing. I realized how much I enjoyed hiking around and exploring after being in the city all the time.
From the high cross, a view of the westernmost point of continental europe (right pic):
David reconnecting with his catholic roots:
Video from the top:
After this we went on to this other place called the Quinta da Regaleira. I kept asking David before, "so what are these places we're going to see?" and he never really had an answer. After this place, I know why. I can't even describe it. It was this large house owned by a portuguese man from way back when, that had this crazy park for a yard with all kinds of crazy things built in. It had all these cool looking structures and ponds and wells and grottos and, no big deal, tons of underground caves and tunnels. Probably the best part about being there was the fact that I had no idea what the place was, and no idea what to do. See description on the pamphlet/map:
Can I go into that dark cave? There aren't any signs... I seriously felt like I was on lots of drugs, or in something like willy wonka or alice in wonderland.... So David and I explored this place for a few solid hours. Quite a day to say the least.
That night the guy from the hostel took us to this cool bar that had a band playing downstairs. One of the guys in the band was playing the handsaw with a bow. I don't know if anyone else has ever seen this, but it was pretty cool. The day after, we went and saw the modern art museum which had an Andy Warhol exhibition. Also awesome. Then back to Brussels that night (with a quick sleepover in the Milan airport)!
I just can't say enough about my time in Lisbon... Mechthild says that it is sort of a destination for many Europeans, but not a lot of other people try to go there. I think that I had such an amazing time because I had absolutely no idea what to expect and just explored new things the entire time (of course now I've just ruined it for whoever reads this!). It just had this cultural vibrance, with the old town of Alfama and the Arab influences, that really stood out to me. I obviously think everyone should go if they get the chance! And stay at the Alfama Patio Hostel!
Puerta del Sol: Street at night:
Alfama: Golden Gate look-a-like:
~Christian
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Oh Ethpania, Etc.
As my Fall break trip was long and included many great places, I'll break it up and limit this post to Espania...
Well my fall break took place from Nov. 1-5, and boy was it a trip. It included five flights in 8 days! My ecological footprint is not looking so good now...
We (Me, Katie, and friend Paige) arrived in beautiful Barcelona the night of the 30th and settled into our hostel. It was not as easy as I make it sound however! We arrived in Girona, took a bus for an hour to Barcelona, then hopped onto a train that we thought was the subway, which nearly took us all the way out of town again. I'm pretty sure all three of us even said, "wow, the subway cars here are nice! And big!" Once we realized we had been riding for quite a while without stopping, we get off to find ourselves in a far-out suburb, greeted by news that there would be no more trains going the other direction. We had some much needed luck though, as it turned out we were as far away as you could be while staying WITHIN the subway system! So after navigating that and dropping off our bags, we felt we deserved a pitcher of sangria and some spanish tortillas (bomb egg and potato sandwiches that I have since recreated).
As Pa suggested, the next day (Halloween) we bought tickets for one of those hop-on hop-off buses. It was actually a really great way to see the city, while learning a thing or two. Barcelona quickly became one of the greatest cities I've ever been to... So nice to be around Spanish (and Catalan, which is crazy and weird), the sun and the beach while looking at an endless number of cool buildings. I could get used to drinking sangria and eating tapas everyday! So we hopped on and we hopped off wherever we wanted, seeing all kinds of great places, including the beach and the Gaudi basilica something familia (wish we could have gone up in it, but lines were too long).
Basilica:
By far my favorite part was when we went to the Gaudi park (Park Gruell) at the end of the day. People had mentioned it to me, but I had no idea it was that amazing! Maybe I'm a sucker for a good view, but nobody told me that it was up on the hill! Anyway, all the crazy Gaudi architecture and benches and everything were amazing. I loved how you could walk around and explore all the crazy things in the park as well (also this gets you away from the MASSIVE crowd that hangs out down lower). Of course my camera ran out of batteries after I took just one picture... Everyone will just have to go see for themselves!
Halloween night went pretty well... We (the girls) got suckered into this bar crawl that turned out to be not too bad. We were told we'd get a free shot and a free beer at their bar, so I worked out this system where I told a new worker each time that I wanted my free beer or shot. My system was working to perfection, and even better, the bar owner continued with his strong interest in Katie, meaning that I, as her friend, got one of his Halloween masks too. As you probably predicted, the next hour or so consisted of Katie and I sneaking up on people and spooking them with our masks on. Oh, and also while hiding to scare some people, I leaned up against what I could have sworn was a glass window but was really just a display of menus, plants, signs etc. in front of a restaurant. It being an open-air display, of course I fall through, knocking everything over (mask on and all), and get up to see tables of people frozen looking at me while the restaurant man comes over to pick up. Happy I have the mask on, I say, "lo siento, senor" and offer to help pick up, but am refused... That was the end of the scaring people.
The next day was spent wandering, which was fun, stumbling upon funny things while doing some people watching... We walked around La Rambla and into this huge food market that had all kinds of everything. It was nice to take it easy after a long night.
La Rambla A crazy act we stumbled upon
Off to the airport and on to Madrid the next day! I liked Madrid, but not quite as much as Barcelona. No Gaudi or beach! Luckily our hostel was in a nice central area with plenty going on. The night we got there we heard about this concert (the crystal castles, a group I had been listening to a lot since I got to Brussels) that we decided to go to spur of the moment! Best decision ever... It was such a fun show, and really made Madrid great for me... We also went on a free walking tour of Madrid which was nice. I would have liked to go to the Prado museum, but we just didn't have time unfortunately. Next time...
Wowee. I've written too much. Lisbon later...
Well my fall break took place from Nov. 1-5, and boy was it a trip. It included five flights in 8 days! My ecological footprint is not looking so good now...
We (Me, Katie, and friend Paige) arrived in beautiful Barcelona the night of the 30th and settled into our hostel. It was not as easy as I make it sound however! We arrived in Girona, took a bus for an hour to Barcelona, then hopped onto a train that we thought was the subway, which nearly took us all the way out of town again. I'm pretty sure all three of us even said, "wow, the subway cars here are nice! And big!" Once we realized we had been riding for quite a while without stopping, we get off to find ourselves in a far-out suburb, greeted by news that there would be no more trains going the other direction. We had some much needed luck though, as it turned out we were as far away as you could be while staying WITHIN the subway system! So after navigating that and dropping off our bags, we felt we deserved a pitcher of sangria and some spanish tortillas (bomb egg and potato sandwiches that I have since recreated).
As Pa suggested, the next day (Halloween) we bought tickets for one of those hop-on hop-off buses. It was actually a really great way to see the city, while learning a thing or two. Barcelona quickly became one of the greatest cities I've ever been to... So nice to be around Spanish (and Catalan, which is crazy and weird), the sun and the beach while looking at an endless number of cool buildings. I could get used to drinking sangria and eating tapas everyday! So we hopped on and we hopped off wherever we wanted, seeing all kinds of great places, including the beach and the Gaudi basilica something familia (wish we could have gone up in it, but lines were too long).
Basilica:
By far my favorite part was when we went to the Gaudi park (Park Gruell) at the end of the day. People had mentioned it to me, but I had no idea it was that amazing! Maybe I'm a sucker for a good view, but nobody told me that it was up on the hill! Anyway, all the crazy Gaudi architecture and benches and everything were amazing. I loved how you could walk around and explore all the crazy things in the park as well (also this gets you away from the MASSIVE crowd that hangs out down lower). Of course my camera ran out of batteries after I took just one picture... Everyone will just have to go see for themselves!
Halloween night went pretty well... We (the girls) got suckered into this bar crawl that turned out to be not too bad. We were told we'd get a free shot and a free beer at their bar, so I worked out this system where I told a new worker each time that I wanted my free beer or shot. My system was working to perfection, and even better, the bar owner continued with his strong interest in Katie, meaning that I, as her friend, got one of his Halloween masks too. As you probably predicted, the next hour or so consisted of Katie and I sneaking up on people and spooking them with our masks on. Oh, and also while hiding to scare some people, I leaned up against what I could have sworn was a glass window but was really just a display of menus, plants, signs etc. in front of a restaurant. It being an open-air display, of course I fall through, knocking everything over (mask on and all), and get up to see tables of people frozen looking at me while the restaurant man comes over to pick up. Happy I have the mask on, I say, "lo siento, senor" and offer to help pick up, but am refused... That was the end of the scaring people.
The next day was spent wandering, which was fun, stumbling upon funny things while doing some people watching... We walked around La Rambla and into this huge food market that had all kinds of everything. It was nice to take it easy after a long night.
La Rambla A crazy act we stumbled upon
Dancing gnome parade thing. Market.
eating a pomegranate.
Off to the airport and on to Madrid the next day! I liked Madrid, but not quite as much as Barcelona. No Gaudi or beach! Luckily our hostel was in a nice central area with plenty going on. The night we got there we heard about this concert (the crystal castles, a group I had been listening to a lot since I got to Brussels) that we decided to go to spur of the moment! Best decision ever... It was such a fun show, and really made Madrid great for me... We also went on a free walking tour of Madrid which was nice. I would have liked to go to the Prado museum, but we just didn't have time unfortunately. Next time...
Wowee. I've written too much. Lisbon later...
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Trip to the land of the Croats.
A few weeks ago, the roomies, Mechthild and I hopped on good ole ryanair and headed over to Zadar, Croatia. So worth it. Eastern Europe is just so great, I need to spend more time there before they all fall into the euro-zone.
Mechthild flew there with us, but then immediately left to go stay with her niece in Split, which is a few hours away by bus. Zadar is a town on the coast, with a walled old town that is on this small peninsula. It really wasn't that big, but it was kind of nice because we could walk around like we knew what we were doing after just a few hours. It has lots of pretty cool ruins from the romans (I think) everywhere which was cool too. Apparently some of it got flattened in WWII, and again in the '90's though... Here are some ruins and old buildings:
We got there at night (which I always love, 'cause it is always a nice surprise in the morning), and while we were wandering around trying to find the hostel we had booked, I noticed an old man looking at us strangely. He then came up to me and said: "you are Americans" I said "yeessss" and he says "ok" and starts walking with us! In the meantime we're all like "what the hell, get this crazy bum away from us"... So after a while of confused walking, it all came together when he started showing us the hostel. Still kind of crazy though! The place was more like a guesthouse thing (pretty nice actually, and cheap!) so it had no marking whatsoever (also it wasn't where he said it was on the map). Instead of telling us this, he just goes out and finds the Americans in Zadar! I thought it was pretty funny...
So the first day, I had wanted to make a day trip to the Plitvice Lakes, which is this pretty famous national park with lots of cool lakes in the mountains. David and I got up early, but unfortunately the off-season bus schedule didn't give us enough time. I was pretty disappointed, but it just gives me another reason to go back! We decided to hop on a ferry to go check out one of the neighboring islands instead. It was really nice to be somewhere warmer by the way... with sun and the ocean! It was a good break from rainy and cold Brussels. Anyway, when we got to the other island, there weren't really any attractions or anything, so we just said, "hey, want to just see if we can walk to the top of the island? sure." And hike to the top of the island we did. It was so worth it to just be sitting on top of the ferry, but being out of the city and hiking around in some nature just felt so good. Oh, and the views were amazing! We walked around and explored alllllll daaaaaay.
Ok, so now about the sea organ. On the waterfront in Zadar they have this thing called the sea organ, that is the first of its kind and was built by an artist-engineer duo. Basically there are some holes in the steps that the ocean water moves into, pushing air through an organ and out some other holes. It was really great. It was so nice to just sit on them and listen while watching the ocean (or even better, sunset!). Here is a pic and a video:
The second day, Katie wanted to go on the ferry so we did that again and just hung around relaxing. There was also this sail boat event happening that day, so that was fun to watch. Also, we got to experience the famous Zadar sunset... Apparently it was Alfred Hitchcock's favorite place in the world... Turns out he knew what he was talkin about! It was really amazing. I definitely need to go back!
Mechthild flew there with us, but then immediately left to go stay with her niece in Split, which is a few hours away by bus. Zadar is a town on the coast, with a walled old town that is on this small peninsula. It really wasn't that big, but it was kind of nice because we could walk around like we knew what we were doing after just a few hours. It has lots of pretty cool ruins from the romans (I think) everywhere which was cool too. Apparently some of it got flattened in WWII, and again in the '90's though... Here are some ruins and old buildings:
So the first day, I had wanted to make a day trip to the Plitvice Lakes, which is this pretty famous national park with lots of cool lakes in the mountains. David and I got up early, but unfortunately the off-season bus schedule didn't give us enough time. I was pretty disappointed, but it just gives me another reason to go back! We decided to hop on a ferry to go check out one of the neighboring islands instead. It was really nice to be somewhere warmer by the way... with sun and the ocean! It was a good break from rainy and cold Brussels. Anyway, when we got to the other island, there weren't really any attractions or anything, so we just said, "hey, want to just see if we can walk to the top of the island? sure." And hike to the top of the island we did. It was so worth it to just be sitting on top of the ferry, but being out of the city and hiking around in some nature just felt so good. Oh, and the views were amazing! We walked around and explored alllllll daaaaaay.
Ok, so now about the sea organ. On the waterfront in Zadar they have this thing called the sea organ, that is the first of its kind and was built by an artist-engineer duo. Basically there are some holes in the steps that the ocean water moves into, pushing air through an organ and out some other holes. It was really great. It was so nice to just sit on them and listen while watching the ocean (or even better, sunset!). Here is a pic and a video:
The second day, Katie wanted to go on the ferry so we did that again and just hung around relaxing. There was also this sail boat event happening that day, so that was fun to watch. Also, we got to experience the famous Zadar sunset... Apparently it was Alfred Hitchcock's favorite place in the world... Turns out he knew what he was talkin about! It was really amazing. I definitely need to go back!
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