Monday, June 29, 2009

Sevilla and Malaga

Well, I didn't think it could be done, but Spain has managed to top itself. Up until now, Sevilla was my favorite city of my travels, but Malaga has been able to keep the best part of Spain, (insert siestas and names of drinks here), and add the beach to the whole experience!! The people are friendly and even though most of them don't speak English they will work with you and try to get you what you need. That's another interesting point worth mentioning: they may not speak English, but they have no problem singing along to American music. The best was my cab driver singing along to Blondie after we were forced to draw pictures when the language barrier became such a problem...Ha!! Everywhere I go I hear American music...In a way I think it's sad. Music is such a huge part of culture that to give it up for the likes of Brittany Spears or T-Pain it seems a shame.
I didn't realize I hadn't explained what the drinks were that I was raving about. Caipirinhas are like mojitos, but have lemons as well as limes, without mint and are made with Brazilian sugar cane rum. Tinta de veranos is my recent favorite and literally translated means the "color of summer". It's similar to sangria, but not as sweet and stronger. It's made with iced red wine and a kind of carbonated lemonade...my description doesn't do it justice. I don't know what I'm gonna do with all these new habits when I get home.
I spent the past 4 days in Sevilla and Malaga and I have to say these are my two favorite cities in my travels to date. Although Madrid is a major city in Spain it has the impersonal feel of well, a big city. Sevilla is the fourth largest city in Spain, but hasn't lost it's small town feel. I'm taking well to the siestas in the afternoons. (Any country that can incorporate nap time and getting drunk at lunch into their cultural customs has my vote!) I'm having a blast and thinking of all of you. I miss you and want you to know you are here with me.
I finished "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and cried at the end...great book. I'm now reading "The Great Gatsby":)
My favorite quote from the book...so far:
"It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of reassurance in it that you may come across maybe four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood; believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey."

Friday, June 26, 2009

Madrid with no voice:(

Having grown up in California I'm comfortable enough with my Spanish to get by. However...in Madrid not only do they speak another language, but they speak it differently than I've ever heard Spanish spoken before. The "sss" sound in words like gracias and Barcelona are pronounced "th", so the words sound like "grathias" and "Barthelona". Fortunately I was prepared for it, but it still takes some getting used to.
Between opening their shops late (usually around 11am) and taking a siesta in the afternoon from around 2-5pm, it's hard to imagine that, on average, the people of Spain get an hour less of sleep than any other European country, but trust me on this one.
Today is my last day here in Madrid and aside from a few delays with the trains, (which I now account for in my estimations of travel time), my arrival was without incident. The greatest adjustment has been from the crisp chill of France's 60F to the body draining humidity of Madrid's 106F! Still trying to figure out what is going on, my body shut down and I've gotten sick...these things happen and I suppose it's all part of the experience right? Either way it got me to stop and take in what is going on around me rather than running from museum to historical sight like I've been doing in the cities up until this point. If it wasn't me getting sick that slowed me down, it would have been the heat.
I've been able to meet more people and to catch up on some of the audio books I've been wanting to read. Currently, I'm reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and feel like I'm still experiencing the country/city because the book takes place in Madrid. I've included my favorite quote so far below. I'm sorry this entry will be brief because I'm really not feeling very well.

"And for her everything was red, orange, gold-red from the sun on the closed eyes and it was all that color, all of it. The filling, the possessing, the having, all of that color, all in a blindness of that color. For him it was a dark passage that led to no where, then to no where, then again to no where, once again to no where, always and forever to no where. Heavy on the elbows on the earth to no where. Dark, never any end to no where. Hung on all time always to unknowing no where. This time and again for always to no where. Now, not to be born once again, always and to no where. Now beyond all, bearing up, up, up and into no where. Suddenly, scaldingly, holdingly all no where gone and time absolutely still and they were both there, time having stopped. And he felt the earth move out and away from under them. Then he was lying on his side, his head deep in the heather smelling it and the smell of the roots and the earth and the sun came through it..." For Whom the Bell Tolls

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Oostende, the train and Bordeaux

Things I will never take for granted again:
Non-smoking restaurants/bars/clubs
Gum-my kingdom for a piece of gum
English being spoken freely and without stigma
Elevators
Free toilets
Deodorant!!!!
Breakfast
Moderately sized sea gulls

Things I think we should adopt from the Europeans:
PDA
Husbands and wives that hold hands
Sunsets at 10pm
escalators that are still until you step on them
Chocolate that melts in your fingers and tastes like sin
Sincerity
Flowers for the sake of beauty
Affordable flowers
Mojitos made with real mint leaves and limes
Meals that are enjoyed and last over an hour
Leave it to me to find the LA Jolla of Europe! Oostende is very resort-ish with it's sandy beaches, boardwalk and ginormous sea gulls. I've gotta tell you, I was really looking forward to this place... It's a good thing too because I'm here an extra day due to the train being full. I've had a love-hate relationship with the train system since I got here. With the global pass I have you are supposed to be able to travel unlimited to 21 different countries in Eastern and Western Europe for 3 months without a problem. For this "convienice" you pay a hefty sum for the pass, but they failed to mention that there are additional reservation fees, couchette/overnight fees and fees for fast trains. In the pecking order of priorities, apparently, a place to sleep falls second to transportation to the location. I was supposed to be in Bordeaux this afternoon, but because of lack of train service and electrical problems I'm now booked at two different hostels for tonight...I'm on vacation, traveling and as much as I may complain about the inconvience, I'm not really put out except for a few euro as a deposit, but I wonder what the locals who depend on these trains as their primary mode of transportation do when the train just doesn't show up. What do they tell their bosses, their family/friends? It's quite a shift from the metro system of London or Paris that even I can navigate. That's another thing-no out of country booking! So because I'm going from Oostede (Belgium) to Bordeaux (France) I can book here, except the train is full and they said I should have booked ahead. So I decided to book ahead for the NEXT leg of my trip, from Bordeaux to Madrid, but because it's not a TGV train they can't do it...geez. When I explained the circular argument to the woman booking the trains she laughed because it's hard to deny the ridiculousness of it. She then asked if she could give me a piece of advise: she said to relax, that I'll get there and I'll have fun doing it because I look like the "adventurous type". (Lack of showers will make anyone look adventurous...Ha!) She is right though. Part of this trip is to distinguish what I have control over and what I don't. I'm here in Oostende, on the beach, drinking mojjitos for another day...what better place to be than here?? :)
Arrived in Bordeaux last night at midnight and got some rest. I met two girls in my room, one from France and one from Russia. Elsa, the one from France, is on her way to Barcelona right now after we had coffee and talked politics. (I've missed conversation!!) I'm going to meet her in Barcelona on the 7th of July when I'll be going to Spain. Natasha, the Russian girl and I are meeting in about 20 minutes at the Place de la Bourse for lunch. She and I talked in the dark last night about educaion and business while laying in our bunk beds. I'm finding traveling is one part summer camp and one part fear factor...
On the train ride here I listened to the audio book "Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe" by Bill Bryson and my fellow drivers must have thought I was a lunatic because I was laughing out loud at some of the stories he was sharing about. He wrote (or dictated from his book in this case) something that seemed to capture in words the experience of traveling this way.

"I love the idea that you can never be sure of anything in Europe...but that's the glory of foreign travel as far as I'm concerned. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of child-like wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly, you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross the street without endangering your life. You whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses."

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Bruges

Today's Bruges has a population of about 45.000 people (the Europeans put commas where we put decimals and decimals where we put commas). It is also the capital of the Belgian province of West-Flanders and among the important cities of Belgium. A lot of people take day-trips from Brussels to Bruges, (about an hour train ride), but there is a lot see in this quiant little walking town. Like Amsterdam there are quite a few bikes on the road, but I chose to walk it. Today I went to the museum within the Belfort Belfry Tower. Here the bells toll for no apparent reason, far more often than on the hour. Afterwards I went to the Dali museum next door where many of his pieces were on display. I'm convinced that man was tortured by day-mares! He was obsessed with animals and requestes a horse and several sheep be brought to his room when he stayed here in Bruges...I don't want to know. (See pics on FB)
The hostel was cool for hanging out and partying, but at some point I wanted to go to sleep and found it challenging with everyone still drinking and playing guitar until late. I suppose train rides are made for sleeping:) I'm leaving this evening for Oostende, a small resort town on the west side of Belgium about a 15 minute ride from here.

Hamsterdam:)

What a great time I had in the Netherlands...Oh Amsterdam with your alluring tall men and people with skin so clear it would put Irina out of business. (I'm seriously considering making herring a regular part of my diet. I'm convinced that's what does it.) I stayed at the Stayokay hostel just next to Vonder Park and in was lovely. Some of you will be able to appreciate the following: When I arrived after travelling on the train I wanted to take a shower so I got my towel and clothes and left the room to find the showers. I walked the whole floor before deciding to knock on a neighbors door for directions. (Fortunately they didn't answer...) I went back to the room, frustrated and tired from my journey, to discover the private bathroom and shower in our room!! It even had a regular twist faucet and not the push kind that spays water for 10 seconds like I'm used to.
I met the nicest bunch of girls in Amsterdam!! The first was my roommate Heloisa, a 29 year old from Brazil also traveling alone:) She was great and I miss her company already. While she was at the library checking her email she met two other girls, Elvira and Maria, who happened to be locals. They took us out to a little Latin salsa bar where we shared dance moves and met their friends Tanya and Sophie. All of us are in the picture posted on my Facebook page:) They taught me the funniest Dutch sayings...like when something happens that you knew would you say "There comes the monkey out of the sleeve" and when something goes your way you say, "I always get my sin". When someone makes you mad you say they've "got the blood under your nails" and when someone won't leave things in the past tell them "Don't pull the old cow out of the water". My favorite was used to describe why the oldest prostitute in the red light district was so popular "To learn, you need and old bike". Ha!! I love it.
I went to the market and had some authentic local food and went to the Van Gogh museum. I had a great time in Amsterdam and have the girls above to thank for it:) Thanks for the memories!!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Au revoir Paris, bonjour Brussels!

A bittersweet good bye yesterday to the city of Paris. It seems just as I begin to adjust to the city that I'm in I change cities and I'm still not sure which causes which. In Paris I discovered my new favorite: escargot, "salted" soy sauce versus "sweet" soy sauce and that in Europe it's not called wi-fi, but rather "wee-fee". Ha! (It's just funny to hear them say it.) One thing I can tell you without a doubt is that the people in Belgium smell a hell of a lot better than the people in Paris did:)
I spoke with Freddy before I left and asked him what countries in Europe would I be welcome in as an American and not feel I had a dirty secret. Between him and his friend, they came up with one: Kosovo!! Are you kidding me?!?! Geez...
I'm really proud of myself. Yesterday, upon my arrival, I hit the ground running. I went straight to the Centre Vincent Van Gogh and checked in, dropped off my pack and began walking the city. As directionally challenged as I am I almost count on getting lost, but yesterday I didn't!!! I got out my map and decide to go to the Botanical Gardens. There I found myself in a garden labyrinth complete with a bar and "wee-fee". Is there anything the Europeans haven't thought of?! I figured it was about time for dinner after that and mussels in Brussels couldn't be better!!! (I say "I figured it was time for dinner" because this is the season of Northern lights so it gets dark much later. Many of the pictures I've taken so far have been taken after 9pm, but you would never know it based on the amount of light in the photo.) I had remembered how amazing the mussels were last time I was here and I was ready for an encore. I walked from the Botanical Gardens past Grand Place to Rue de Bouchers where the air smells of lobster and butter. I had mussels that melted in my mouth and made sure to take a picture to share:) I ate one before I took the pic because it didn't even look real!!! I had one of the 500 different beers brewed here and then left to go walking around. I had read about a place called Havana that had djs spinning everything from techno to salsa and that on the weekends they have live music. They hadn't opened yet when I got there so I popped into a little restaurant owned by a husband and wife a few doors down. They were the cutest! I had the greatest time talking with them, watching Nadine run around the cafe like it was her kitchen at home with their dog close at her heels wielding his pacifier. (Apparently he is a puppy and "training his teeth" as they put it.)
Today I leave for Amsterdam. I'll tell you about that someday when you're a little older...Ha!! I'm kidding:) I'll be in touch.
Somethings I've learned since I've been here: to make the conversion from pounds to dollars double the number. For conversion in euros add half again as much. From celsius to fahrenheit double the number and add 30:) Remember, "coffee" in Europe is espresso! And the barely legal kind that has you grinding your teeth for hours!!! I'm convinced that the majority of the population is either drunk or spun out on caffeine.

Au revoir Paris, bonjour Brussels!

A bittersweet good bye yesterday to the city of Paris. It seems just as I begin to adjust to the city that I'm in I change cities and I'm still not sure which causes which. In Paris I discovered my new favorite: escargot, "salted" soy sauce versus "sweet" soy sauce and that in Europe it's not called wi-fi, but rather "wee-fee". Ha! (It's just funny to hear them say it.) One thing I can tell you without a doubt is that the people in Belgium smell a hell of a lot better than the people in Paris did:)
I spoke with Freddy before I left and asked him what countries in Europe would I be welcome in as an American and not feel I had a dirty secret. Between him and his friend, they came up with one: Kosovo!! Are you kidding me?!?! Geez...
I'm really proud of myself. Yesterday, upon my arrival, I hit the ground running. I went straight to the Centre Vincent Van Gogh and checked in, dropped off my pack and began walking the city. As directionally challenged as I am I almost count on getting lost, but yesterday I didn't!!! I got out my map and decide to go to the Botanical Gardens. There I found myself in a garden labyrinth complete with a bar and "wee-fee". Is there anything the Europeans haven't thought of?! I figured it was about time for dinner after that and mussels in Brussels couldn't be better!!! (I say "I figured it was time for dinner" because this is the season of Northern lights so it gets dark much later. Many of the pictures I've taken so far have been taken after 9pm, but you would never know it based on the amount of light in the photo.) I had remembered how amazing the mussels were last time I was here and I was ready for an encore. I walked from the Botanical Gardens past Grand Place to Rue de Bouchers where the air smells of lobster and butter. I had mussels that melted in my mouth and made sure to take a picture to share:) I ate one before I took the pic because it didn't even look real!!! I had one of the 500 different beers brewed here and then left to go walking around. I had read about a place called Havana that had djs spinning everything from techno to salsa and that on the weekends they have live music. They hadn't opened yet when I got there so I popped into a little restaurant owned by a husband and wife a few doors down. They were the cutest! I had the greatest time talking with them, watching Nadine run around the cafe like it was her kitchen at home with their dog close at her heels wielding his pacifier. (Apparently he is a puppy and "training his teeth" as they put it.)
Today I leave for Amsterdam. I'll tell you about that someday when you're a little older...Ha!! I'm kidding:) I'll be in touch.
Somethings I've learned since I've been here: to make the conversion from pounds to dollars double the number. For conversion in euros add half again as much. From celsius to fahrenheit double the number and add 30:) Remember, "coffee" in Europe is espresso! And the barely legal kind that has you grinding your teeth for hours!!! I'm convinced that the majority of the population is either drunk or spun out on caffeine.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Pictures

I'll be posting my pics on my Facebook page because it's just easier from my computer. Find me at "missivy949"

In Paris!!!!

As opposed to "Mad Donnoe" as I am it seems to be the new Starbucks in Paris...so here I am blogging in the plush executive seats that they are furnished with!
France has been welcoming me with constant showers since my arrival via the Eurostar Sunday evening. I was met by my good friend Frederik whom I have not seen in 9 years! After a quick catching up and a few metro rides around, we arrived at the Blue Planet Hostel where I dropped off my stuff and quickly changed for the evening. Frederick planned to escort me to an evening hosted by the Belgium Embassy for the results of the European Union elections held this week. But first we took a quick detour to the neighborhood where I lived when I was here in 2000 for my study abroad semester. Although it was late in the evening during the summer months it doesn't get dark until around 10pm. As we walked I saw brasseries and tabacs which seemed as though they had been frozen in time, unchanged. The biggest difference I noticed was in the cleanliness of the buildings and the lack of prostitutes...that sounds bad as I write it but they were as much a part of the Parisian experience as the distinct smell of the metro. (I'm not ruling out that the two are some how related...) When we arrived at my former home Alexandra was there to greet us. She has been working there since it was home to me but has since settled down with a husband and had a baby:) She invited us for dinner at her house the following night so I could meet her family. I had no idea what I was in for...Monday night was unbelievable. We got to catch up, I got to meet her daughter and her husband, not to mention the largest spread of Serbian French fusion you could imagine. The meal was so expansive it took shifts where everyone literally took a break, got up and walked around before the next course. What a treat being able to enjoy good conversation, good company and good food:) I'm still tring to talk Freddy into going out to the Rex Club where the group of us used to go dancing all night when I lived here. Years ago there would be a point in the night where we would need to make a decision as to whether we wanted to take the last metro or continue to party and take the first metro in the morning. What fun!!!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Safe arrival

I landed safely this afternoon to the most beautiful weather London has seen in months according to residents:) My transit here was without incident, waiting or long lines and even included an upgrade...tee hee Ironically, international flights are far more smooth than domestic.
I'm realizing I don't have much to blog about right now except that my pack is heavier than I am!! Everything seems important to pack at the time...until you have to carry it on your back!! Uphill, both ways...geez I'm sure that will no longer be a problem by the time I leave for Paris.
I'm missing all of you, but doubt the reality of where I am and what I am doing has really hit me yet. I'll be sure to keep you updated on the adventures as they unfold.
Before I go, a particularly warm thank you to James, Anthony and Joe for spending days moving all my worldly belongings into a "holding cell" until I return. Additional thanks to Vikki, Heather and Brenda for helping with the pesky red tape that comes with putting your life on hold. So far I've learned more about how incredible the people I call my friends are. Thank you for knowing me better than I know myself.
I'm going to go play drinking games with a bunch of strangers...I'm loving this already. Cheers!