Well unfortunately I started uploading the roughly 600 pictures to this blog entry and the files got corrupted so I have to restart the whole sha bang. Fortunately for me its fun to see all these things again but not looking forward to reuploading all these pics but here we go....
Finally after two days of loading pictures roughly 600 are up again and ready to be seen. Lets get this started...
So when you're flying to France from Spain what's the best place to fly? Naturally Manchester England right? Yeah it didn't make sense to me either but it was cheap. So I head on down to Malaga yet again for what felt like the 100th time and made my way to the airport. Hopped on the plane and flew on out to the U.K. Which seems like it would be fun, except they are on the damn pound. Which has been up around a 2:1 ratio between the pound and dollar so I strongly dislike the damn pound. So I exchanged some money to pounds and got back what felt like 3 cents. Turns out it was like one pound and some pents and because I didn't want to exchange any more money into that evil pound I had to find something for a pound.
And thank God for mini packs of chocolate chip muffins. I was starving at 3 am so this was all I needed then I went ahead and had a nice restful sleep in the airport. A whole 3 hours. But definitely not the worst airport I've slept in.
And in typical fashion, late at night I found certain things funnier than they would have been otherwise. For example...
I'm gonna guess my dad snickered at this and my mom smiled and shook her head. That being said lets keep the ball rolling.
Hopped on my next plane and I was off to Paris.
Landed hopped off the plane and went into Charles Degaul Airport. This was the hardest time I had figuring things out up to this point but after about an hour I had a map, a ticket for the metro, and I was ready to rock. I was talking with this American girl in line and then this guy from a middle eastern country came up and was talking to us and he travels all over Africa doing construction projects and for the fifteen minutes I was talking with him he might have said about 100 different curse words referring to how terrible this airport was and how bad the people were. On that upbeat jovial note I found my train and went on my way.
On the train I met a woman from Michigan who was in Paris for the first time as well and we had a nice conversation. I noticed some of the things she was saying offended me somewhat because they were somewhat generic stereotypes of French culture that she seemed to be perpetuating somewhat. Although I found some to be true I found others to be completely inaccurate and that is definitely something I have taken away from this whole experience is to not fall into the trap of assuming everything you see in the movies and media is true. If you really wanna learn about that culture hop on the plane and GO!
I arrived and I agree, it does look like this womans "on craque". Go ahead French speaking people of the world tell me I'm pronouncing it wrong but it gave me a laugh.
So found my way to the next metro stop to head over to my hostel.
Now on the metro I am sitting quietly waiting for my stop to come up when all of a sudden a guy and a girl get onto the train right in front of me and all of a sudden I see them lug on this big old speaker behind them. Then as the doors shut they just start yelling and clapping and I heard them say the word for "performance" which was close enough to Spanish that I understood it. So I'm like okay lets see what they got.
Then they hit play on the CD player and on comes "Candy Shop" by 50 Cent. For the adults reading this blog please don't look up this song because I can almost guarantee you will be offended. (Dad just think of "Say Ahh" by Trey Songz with dirtier lyrics and a rap beat that you would despise).
So before my eyes two French people begin rapping, in French, over 50 Cent's beat. Needless to say I was loving it. The guy was hilarious he was getting up in people's faces singing and dancing and rapping. Whereas all the locals were just like, "Another day on the subway" Im sitting there like a giddy tourist "WOW FRANCE IS FUN!" Its like Mom always says, its the little joys in life.
The streets were beautiful, very much what I expected to see and so much more.
Here was the hostel I spent the first few days at and it was good enough for a hostel but certainly not my favorite. But honestly after past experiences I have just realized how important simply having a place to sleep is when you are traveling. The staff was decently friendly but there was very little social atmosphere. I met one of my roommates who spoke very broken English and we talked for awhile then I wanted to head out to meet up with my friends who had been in Paris for a day already at this point.
And then it hit me. Bam. I'm in Paris. That's Notre Dame. Oh. My. God. But even at this point the feelings hadn't quite washed over me but that came later in Paris.
Now Notre Dame, what do I know about it? Well I saw that Disney movie with Quasimodo in it when he saved the gipsy from the bad guys. Does that qualify as extensive knowledge about a historic cathedral? You're right probly not. But that didn't stop me from enjoying it thoroughly. Sad to report I did not see a hunchback ringing the bells but its was still incredible.
The architecture was incredible and very different than the architecture I've become accustomed to in Europe which is typically heavily influenced by Muslim architecture due to the history of Andalusia and southern Spain.
I have to say the stained glass was quite possibly my favorite part about the cathedral. The pictures dont even come close to really showing how amazing it was. The whole place was breathtaking and you would look up at these elaborate stained glass windows and yet again I find myself wondering, how did they do this? Who was the person who one day just decided to figure out how to do this? Although I don't know the answers I do know I'm glad they did it because they left behind some absolutely incredible things for people like me to see.
1163? Only a couple hundred years older than the country I live in. I really just cant wrap my head around that fact. This existed well before anyone had even thought of coming to the new world, conquering a new land, and building McDonald's restaurants. It is just incredible when you are standing on the same ground that people did centuries ago.
As I walked out I just thought back on all the history this building has endured. All the historic events that it has seen and it really just blew me away. You think about Catholicism, how it originated, the ups and downs it has witnessed in history and you just think about buildings like this that have become iconic to a certain faith. Really just incredible.
And no a hunchback is not the owner.
I loved the Seine River it was absolutely beautiful. That is one thing Granada lacks is a lovely grand river, we have one that kinda trickles and its kinda big but the Seine kinda puts it to shame. Don't get me wrong Granada's still my favorite city but we could do with a bigger river.
So on my walk to meet up with my friends by the Louvre I kept encountering historic, incredible building after historic, incredible building. That is somethin you just do not see in the U.S. I remember my dad telling me about the first time he looked at a building and saw the date of construction and realized that it was older than the U.S. The thing about Paris is that happens on just about every street you walk down, it's so hard to imagine that.
So I arrived at the Louvre and thought, okay just gotta get past this and I'll be at the spot I'm meeting my friends. Little did I know the Louvre is about the size of Wyoming, give or take a few feet.
So as I am walking by the Louvre all of a sudden out of nowhere a woman comes up and places a piece of paper in my hands. Now normally if I was in Granada or New York I'd have my guard up and be anticipating things like this but unfortunately the beauty of Paris had my attention so the "Deaf/Mute" woman who had just engaged me had me right where she wanted me.
So in my confusion I looked at the paper and saw the words for "deaf" and "mute" which were similar enough to Spanish for me to recognize then I saw the word for "foundation" and I had this gem pop into my head, "Oh it's a petition showing support". So I nodded and the woman gestured thank you with her hands so I write my name, my zip code (not giving away anything dangerous here so no worries), then the next column was a number. Everyone had written either 10, 15, or 20 and like I said I was not thinking so yet another genius thought pops into my head, "Oh that must be like the district of the city where you live at or something." Of course it is Brian. Then I sign my name hand it back and smile and wave and she motions that I need to give her money.
At this point I realize the number is your donation and I had written 20 euros down. So I laughed shook my head took the paper back and wrote down 5. At this point it all hit me I said okay, you got me, take the five euro we both go away happy. I give her the 5 smile and wave and she shakes her head points at the number 10 on the paper. I was under the impression that beggers cant be choosers but this woman was negotiating and bartering and so I said, "No I can't" she shook her head yes and then reached in my wallet and grabbed a 20 out of my wallet. So I tackled her. (Just a joke, wanna keep you guys on your toes). So I said hell no and grabbed the 20 back because she was trying to keep the 20 and the 5. Then she reaches in her pocket pulls out a 10 and takes the 20 and the 5 and I said no fervently with a variety of hand motions to express that this was not happening then she hands back the 5 and at this point I just said FORGET IT! She blew me kisses thanking me for my generosity as I stormed away, I didn't blow her kisses but I did consider sending a certain hand gesture back her way. (Dont worry Mom I restrained, although it was hard.)
So this was my first run in with scam artist in Europe and afterwards I was a little upset with myself that I had let it happen and had made so many mistakes but honestly it was nothing. I lost a few euros and learned an important lesson, I did not even realize how important it would be until later when I ran into scam artists 3 more time in Paris. So I lost some money but this put me on guard for the rest of the trip. Not in a tense way to the point where I didn't enjoy myself but in a way where I was more aware of what was happening around me.
So after walking for 3 days to get past the Louvre I arrived at the park where I was meeting my friends. At this point after being taken advantage of by a deaf/mute gypsy who probly weighed 90 pounds I just wanted to be with my friends. I mean sure I could have taken her, but I don't know how much that would have done for Americans image in Europe if they saw me dropping the peoples elbow on a handicapped person.
So I finally met up with my friends and we went to the park behind the Louvre and did something that is very popular in French culture. And that is we sat down in the grass and ate lunch then took a nap. It was awesome and just so relaxing.
I really wish I could explain why there is a statue of a naked woman that looks like she is screaming no in this park, but I can't. I can hypothesize but I dont know if that would be very appropriate for this blog.
This is one of about 1000 "No, Brian don't take a picture of me!" Pictures of my good friend Alex. Its a hobby of mine.
So we arrived at the Rosay Museum (sp?). That being said let me just say real quick I am going to butcher just about every spelling of a French word in this blog entry so don't expect me to have mastered the language after 4 days in France.
The museum was very cool and I saw some incredibly famous works of art that I found very interesting. But during this Semana Santa trip I came to realize I am not a museum guy. Don't get me wrong certain works of art are incredible and interesting to look at, but spending hours in a museum looking at a bunch of paintings of bowls of fruit doesn't strike me as a great way to spend an afternoon. I understand it is different for people who have studied art and have an appreciation for the art and its historical context that being said, I am currently not one of those people. I much prefer seeing structures, buildings, monuments, like the Eiffel Tower but we will get to that later.
This is an overheard of the a scale model of the city of Paris which was VERY cool.
So after we spent way more time in the museum than I needed we were off again, galavanting about Paris.
Back to the lovely park for a bit of a walk.
Is it sad that the first thing I thought when I saw the iconic pyramid of the Louvre was, "Hey that was in The Da Vinci Code with Tom Hanks!" Who cares, I love me some movie references.
I gotta say, Paris was probably the most beautiful city I have ever seen. Everywhere you turned there were amazing sculptures, historic buildings, and more. I had my breath taken away multiple times during this trip.
Off we went to find dinner.
We got to a lively, crowded street where people were calling us to come into there restaurant from all sides so finally at one point we found a place that was 10 euros for the menu of the day which in Paris is cheap as can be. It was an appetizer, dinner, and desert. For 10 euro not bad at all.
So we went in and had out first meal. I chose the crepe, steak, and flan combo. The baguette and crepe were very good and when the steak came I was excited because steak is basically non-existent in Spain. I was excited until I bit into it and it tasted like it had been basted in motor oil. There are some places you can go and not spend much money and get a great meal, this was not one of them. Fortunately the flan was incredible and that helped make up for it. I came to find out deserts and confections in France are unreal.
So after our meal we decided to take a little walk and then we saw a small crepe stand and decided, why not get a post dinner crepe. It's cheap and they look good. I had no idea what was in store for me, eating a crepe in France is practically a religious experience. They became a staple in the trip from this point on...
Also there were a great deal of street musicians in this area and I couldnt help but be reminded of my dad thirty years ago doing the same thing. Playing music in the streets and in clubs and paying his way through to have a life changing experience. Thats also where he and my mom met so music and traveling come together to make something incredible happen, two of my favorite things. Good thing it did otherwise I wouldnt be writing this blog right now!
First real baguette in France.
The crepe stands. They could not have been more awesome and they had so many different types, sugar and butter, nutella, nutella and banana (a personal favorite when you were willing to throw down a few extra euros), caramel, just heavenly.
First bite into a crepe in France.
There were several Greek restaurants in this area and at one point for some reason they all came outside and started shattering plates on the ground. Do I understand it? No. Was it awesome? Yes.
View of the Sacre Couer from my friends hostel. They had this nice little terrace that you could go hang out on that looked right at this beautiful church.
So day 2 begins and while some of my friends wanted to wake up real early to go see the Catacombs my friend Alex and I weren't so fond of the waking up early part so we met up around 10 and decided to go see Moulin Rouge. I heard it was Paris' red light district but I did not know what I was getting into.
Got a baguette and a pastry to start the day, needless to say I was in heaven.
To start we went and got some pastries and baquettes for breakfast and they did not disappoint. Baquette was crunchy and delicious and the pastry was awesome, we really don't even know what it was but it was so good. So as we are walking down the street we stop at one point to check the map to make sure we were heading in the right direction. Out of nowhere Alex goes, "Watch your back" and I look down there was a 10 year old girl pretty much in the back of my knees, kneeling down pretending to tie her shoes. So I moved away from her and when she noticed we were aware she was there she continued pretending to tie her shoe. We started to walk again as soon as we did she started to follow us and we stopped and looked at her cause we knew what she was up to so she shrugged her shoulders and walked on by. Fortunately for me Alex spotted her when she was eyeing up my back pockets because at that point I had my wallet and my passport with me in my back pockets and this girl was trying to see which would be more valuable and easier to snag. So we got away without any losses and as the girl was walking away we saw 2 kids who seemed about her age walking towards her. As they got close to eachother they stopped, posted up on the wall, and pointed at some other guy then went off to make there next move. Kinda crazy to see it all develop like that. So after that everything was in my front pockets with my hands on my pockets for the rest of the trip.
It started out normal enough with restaurants and what not but when we hit the "red light" part of the whole sha bang it became very obvious why it was called the red light district. Every ten steps there was either a sex shop, strip club, or place to buy greasy food. Now fortunately for my mom's sake I can say we went during the daylight, in the early morning in fact, so we did not witness the abominations that go on at night.
Penn State pride at Moulin Rouge.
Rarely have I found quality burgers in Europe and when they throw down quick as the title, well needless to say I get a bit nervous.
"La Diva" yet another classy Moulin Rouge strip club. We only spent about 15 hours there because the staff during the day isn't exactly the cream of the crop. (I love writing things and just picturing what my mom's expression will be when she reads it, its part of my fun in writing this.)
Now why did I include this picture in my blog? Not to terrify and confuse my family and relatives but simply because I have NO idea what this means. Frankly, Im a little terrified as to what goes on behind that curtain and what poppers are fortunately I don't think I will ever need to find out what the hell they are.
So after our trip to Satan's alley we headed back towards the hostel and found this lively little street with people bustling about. This was the place where we found our next scam artists, the 3 card monty guys. Simple enough game they have 3 black circles, one has a white square on the bottom and you just need to find the white square. If you do that they double your money. Seems fair and easy right? Well aside from the fact that it is brutally rigged and they work in large teams, yeah its totally legit.
So walking down the streets they typically shoot for foreigners and Americans of course. Needless to say I didn't blend in with the French people so they scouted me out right away.
Honestly I have to say watching these guys work is pretty interesting. They have there whole strategy worked out down to a T. They have about 6 or 7 people in on it and they will have a person whose part of the scam standing there winning all kinds of money. She will win some, lose some but they keep it going so that as new groups of people walk by they see people winning and losing lots of money making it seem legit. Then the "winner" will wave the money in the air and thank the dealer and try to encourage people to go "win some easy money" too.
So I was watching and nobody was playing and then the guy looks at me and says, "Find the white" I shook my head saying I have no money and then he says "For free for free" so I was like what the hell, pointed at a black circle, he flipped it over, boom there was the white dot. So all the people involved clapped and the dealer places 150 euros in my hand (basically a fortune to a study abroad student). I step back and I make a motion kind of saying "So can I go now?" And he ends up communicating to me that I can double my money now all I have to do is put down 150 euro and then they will double my money again to 600. Double or nothing type of deal so I'm shaking my head saying no and I was with my friend Alex. She said Brian lets just go so she starts walking and they were speaking French to me so I was like wait Alex come back what are they trying to tell me? When all of a sudden 2 Irish girls walk up to me and say, "Listen don't listen to a word they are saying it's a scam and we just lost about 100 euros so we have no money to spend today." So they helped me out and I started talking to them. Alex was pissed because she thought I was still getting scammed so when I motioned for her to come back she just kept walking and I was like, great Alex I'm just trying to talk to the cute Irish girls and your not reading the signals here. So I talked with the Irish girls for a bit about my recent trip to Ireland and then chased after Alex. So yet another scam evaded and we went on our way. Took a peak at Sacre Coeur and headed back to the hostel
The "Shaver 2000" I don't understand why people think that technology sounds more advanced and sophisticated when you attach 2000 to the name.
One thing I really loved about the hostel my friends were staying at was the phrases they had on the stairs. As you walked up your would catch various phrases telling you to do simple things to bring join into your life. I loved the sentiment because through this whole trip I have just found more and more that its often the simplest things you do that bring you the most joy.
Now look at those 4 things, you could literally do all 4 in a matter of minutes and not only brighten somebody elses day but brighten up your own as well. So for anyone who reads this let me put this up to you, try and do one of those things today. Give a stranger, friend, or family member a hug when they really need it. Do something that helps you forget and let go of all those day to day worries that we waste so much time preoccupying about. Pick up a bottle that someone didnt take the time to make sure got into the trash can. Blow a kiss to a stranger, not only is it fun and will probably make the other person laugh, who knows you might spark an interesting conversation. So go ahead, get crackin!
The stereotypical French chef hat and penn state pride, lovin it.
Sacre Coeur. Now like I said, I'm not much of a museum guy but places like this blew me away. These amazing structures with beautiful views are breathtaking. I could spend a whole day on the hill in front of the Sacre Coeur but more about that later.
One of about 20 "No Brian don't take a picture of me" pictures. It's a fun game I have with my friend Alex. This one we took on the moving sidewalk that was made of a surprisingly bouncy material so we naturally went skipping down it like a bunch of 5 year olds. Giggling and smiling while the locals looked at us like we were crazy, those are the little joys I'm talking bout. I try to have at least one time like that everyday where I just laugh and enjoy something more than I ever would normally because of some small thing. It's even better when you can share a laugh like that with friends.
Now we finally come to it, the big Kahuna. The most iconic structure in all of France.
The Eiffel Tower.
Now like I was saying, museums are not my thing, but this.. this was magical. This was life changing. We got to the Eiffel Tower and sat down on the lawn in front of it, I swear I could have done that all day for days on end and never gotten tired of it. So many things come together in your mind, I have seen this a thousand times and now I'm sitting right in front of it. You start to have these realizations, I'm in Paris, this is the Eiffel Tower, holy hell this can't be real. Even though its sitting there staring you in the face you still doubt that you're actually looking at it. But let me just reiterate this thing was absolutely beautiful and I could not get enough of it.
Here is one of the many lawns where people come to relax, drink wine, take a nap, or just simply sit and stare at that amazing tower. I love this aspect of French culture. It is very European as well to just sit and take the time to enjoy the moment and not get so caught up in the future and thinking ahead. The mentality of relaxation and living in the moment that I have witnessed in many parts of Europe is a welcome change from the hustle and bustle always on the grind mentality that I am used to back home and at Penn State.
Repping Penn State pride in Paris.
Let me tell you the size of this thing was so impressive.
So after a bit of time on the lawn we decided it was time to climb this sucker so we got in line and were waiting for our tickets.
I needed to run to the bathroom at one point so I told my friends I would be right back. By the time I got back not only had the line double in size but my friends were so far ahead I couldn't get to them to jump into line. So for a second I was thinking how miserable it would be to have to wait the whole time alone in that monstrosity of a line but then I decided to just run to the front to ask if I could go meet my friends. I asked the woman working there and with a shrug of her shoulders she let me in and let me jump to the front of the line. So I ended up having to wait for my friends rather than it be the other way around. My Dad has said to me so many times in my life that you will be amazed how much people are willing to help you when you just ask and here is a lovely example of just how true that is.
So once my buddies got through the line it was time to head up to the top of one of the most famous monument I've ever been on.
The architecture and design was so cool but an interesting fact was that this tour was built for a worlds fair back in the day and the designed it to be easily disassembled because they thought it was going to be temporary. In fact many people hated it so much that they petitioned to have it taken down but overtime it became so iconic that they couldn't even think to take it down. The tourism it attracts is too tempting for them to even consider removing this big ole tower.
So after a few hundred stairs we arrive at level 1.
Some awesome views from all over level 1.
I absolutely fell in love with this city in my time there. Can I say I loved it more than Granada? No way, thats part of the beauty of it all. I can go to a city and fall in love with it and still not even come close to liking it as much as my new home. Granada is just beyond incredible.
Is this allowed? Probably not. Is it fun? Absolutely.
Alright level 1 was great so now lets hike it up to level 2 to get another perspective on this amazing city.
Just a pic of some of my friends I spent Semana Santa with.
And then there's the crazy old man who sticks his head through the protective fencing. You don't want to have thoughts like this but part of you thinks it might be funny if he got caught for a second, just long enough for him to go, "Geez maybe I shouldnt have stuck my head through that fencing" but he didnt so no worries.
I really loved this river. And right in the middle of in the distance you can see France's Statue of Liberty thats a scale model of the one they gave to the US.
After hiking up two levels of the Eiffel Tower we were ready to see the top level. You cant walk up to the 3rd level so we hopped on the elevator and took ourselves up up and away.
One of the little dioramas that they had on the top level of the E.T.
The views from all levels were spectacular but the views from the top were just out of this world. Partly because you are so high up and partly because your just realizing, I'm standing on top of the Eiffel Tower its both amazing and surreal at the same time.
So after a good amount of time on top of the Eiffel Tower and a bunch of pictures we decided we were ready to descend back down to solid ground. As you can imagine it gets pretty windy up there so we headed in to head back down.
Now something really cool they have on the inside of the 3rd level is these pictures of flags that show the direction and distance of various countries from this exact point. Really cool to see and imagine how far some things are and how close others are.
I got Madrid, Spain in this one because that was my next stop in Semana Santa.
One of the mannequins they had showing how the E.T. was built.
I loved looking at the innerworkings of the Eiffel Tower and how intricate the design is.
After descending an elevator and hundreds of stairs we finally hit the ground.
We decided to go and rest on the lawn for a bit longer before going to get food. So as were resting there our friend Jake gets the bright idea that he is going to whirly bird our friend Alex. Whirly bird is what parents do when they grab there little child by the hands and spin them around in a circle. Sounds fun right? Well Jake made one crucial mistake...
He went to grab her by her feet. So after a few moments of confusion and Alex nearly getting a concussion she got back down to the ground and Jake realized his error. Needless to say we all ended up laughing for a solid 5 minutes or so after that.
After our brief rest it was time to find some food.
We walked down the streets near the Eiffel Tower for about half an hour trying to find something cheap enough for us to consume. Every place we went was shockingly expensive so finally after walking our little butts off we came to a nice Italian place with reasonable prices. I think its pretty interesting the relationship between how hungry you are and how reasonable you think prices are. I had some pizza and we all reenergized and then kept on our way. But of course before continuing to the Arch De Triumph, our next stop, we grabbed a crepe. Then I grabbed another and THEN we left for the Arch.
A short metro ride later we arrived at yet another historic French landmark.
After climbing some mesmorizingly cool staircases we reached the top.
From the top you could see the Eiffel Tower, the chanselise (yes I had to Google how to spell it), and much more.
Now these pictures are just so far from depicting how beautiful the tower was that it almost upsets me but at least you can have some idea of what it looked like at night.
Now our timing could not have been much better because about 5 minutes after we reached the top, the Eiffel Tower started to glint and sparkle with thousands of little lights.
Now apparently this happens every hour but we sat there mesmerized just hoping that it would never stop. It was really magical, you try to wrap your head around it but its so hard, its just sensory overload. I'm sitting on top of the Arch De Triumph looking at the Eiffel Tower light up the night sky, your brain just goes, listen bro I know this is happening but I cant process it all now, take some pics and Ill get back to you once this all hits me. Still waiting on that to happen so I'll let you know when it finally all settles in.
On top of the Arch I met a very nice Swiss girl who was there with her mom traveling. We had a nice conversation and we were talking about language and travel and she asked me how many languages I spoke. I said two, English and Spanish. I said, And you? Her response I swear to you was, "Oh I really don't speak that many only German, Swiss German, Italian, French, and English." Really? You dont speak many? Im struggling with two and sometimes I dont even speak English properly and you can speak five fluently?! It is truly incredible the differences in perceptions of languages between the US and Europe. Being tri-lingual or more is fairly common in Europe, granted it makes a lot more sense considering the proximity of foreign countries with other national languages but still it is incredible to me that someone can speak so many languages at a highly proficient level. She wanted to be sure I knew that one of them she couldn't speak fluently it was more just that she could maintain a conversation, I still count it though.
The Chanselise. Known by many as the fashion capital of the world. Known by study abroad students as the place that you will NOT eat at cause its 15 euro for a coke. So after our adventure on the Arch we took a walk down the Chan.
So off we go down one of the most expensive streets in the world. Designer clothes, cars, and extremely exotic food. Maybe one day Ill blow my lifesavings on a steak there.
Some very cool cars and what not.
Dont even want to know what the cover was to get into the clubs there.
This was a group of awesome break dancers / pop lockers. We got there just for the end of their performances but it was some very very cool stuff.
There was this tower of cars in this one store that had to be like 6 stories tall with each story holding an awesome car.
I love seeing English in foreign countries.
After a long walk down the strip we decided to head back and call it a night. To my dismay once we got down to the metro I ran into this abomination of a poster...
Yup thats Snookie from the Jersey Shore. For those that don't know the Jersey Shore is this idiotic show where a couple of d-bags from the jersey shore are glorified for being stupid. You just can't escape these guys.
As we hop on the metro we are all burnt out after a very full day. It was fun and amazing but we finally hit that wall where we wanted nothing more than a bed. On the train we were minding our own business barely even talking. We exchanged a few words like, "I can't wait to be home" or "I'm exhausted" but in no way were we being the stereotypical drunk obnoxious Americans. Well this one French guy felt otherwise.
He heard us speaking English and began talking angrily to the two guys next to him. Now he appeared drunk but there is no way for us to know that. The wild card here is that he didnt realize that our friend Alex is a French major so as he begins ripping into us for being American in French, she is catching every word. Now the two guys sitting down were just encouraging him because they thought it was amusing but this guy was clearly not happy. He was looking at one of our friends and we found out later he was saying, "Look at these stupid Americans, they come here and disrespect our country, they make no effort to learn our language. These ignorant fools. If I went to their country I would try to learn their language." Like I said I didnt know what he was saying but I knew he was talking badly about us and I was prepping myself in case he did anything stupid.
So in his clear appreciation for the English language and American culture he says loudly, "F*** English". Well isn't that interesting, a moment ago you were talking about respect and learning about other languages and cultures and now you are bashing an entire language in some of the most broken English I have ever heard. Good for you big guy. Apparently he lifted up his shirt at one point and had a knife in his waste and was saying to my friend who didn't speak French, "They don't even look at you when you speak to them. Look at me... Look at me!" But obviously my friend wouldn't look because he didn't understand. So finally Alex had enough turned around and said, "Listen I speak French, I know exactly what you are saying and I would appreciate it if you stopped." At first the drunk guy was skeptical but once he realized she knew what was happening he shut right up and he was clearly not happy about it. But Alex handled it perfectly she defused the situation, she was polite, and she saved me from having to break some scrawny French dudes neck so all in all it was a winning situation. In fact the two guys who were sitting next to him apologized profusely and made it clear they were just messing around.
Now I was a little fired up about it later on cause I just felt really disrespected but I remember getting back to my room and talking with one of the foreign guys there who has lived in dozens of different places. He immigrated to the US and worked there for awhile but came back to Europe because the job market was so poor. When I told him my story he just laughed and said, "Honestly I cant even tell you how many times that has happened to me as an immigrant. Where some ignorant person felt the need to express their distaste for me solely due to the fact that I was different. The best thing you can do is laugh and shrug it off because there will be ignorant people no matter where, that you can't control but what you can control is how you react." Now he said it in more broken English but that was the overall message and this is why I love hostels. You meet some incredible interesting people with really diverse perspectives on life. So that was that and I crawled into bed and called it a night.
The next day it was finely time to take on the Louvre. Basically a small city in and of itself I was prepping for a long day on my feet.
We come through the entrance and boom we come out to this.
The iconic glass pyramids of the Louvre.
Now to be honest I think it's funny that I can see something as famous as this and my first thought is, WOW That was in the Da Vinci Code and Tom Hanks stood there! But to be honest the more traveling I have done the more I have come to realize how much of an influence the media and movies has on foreign countries perceptions of other countries. I have met people that know nothing about the US except from what they have seen on TV. I have people asked me, "Do students at your university really walk around wearing clothes with your schools name on it?" "Well yeah of course" "Wow, that is so interesting". Then you think about yourself and even if you don't consciously acknowledge it many times the only things you know about a country are from movies.
Think about it when someone says Spain do you picture people in Flamenco dresses dancing around or do you picture a man waving around a red flag dodging a big ole bull? When someone says France do you picture everyone walking around eating baguettes and wearing berets? Well on that note I may not have thought it consciously but a part of me expected to see that in France and I gotta say I did not see a one, except the one my friend Jake bought in order to "look more French". So although many times we go "Oh there just movies, people dont really think that" I think its important to realize what an effect music and movies are capable of having on foreign countries perceptions of us.
Now I loved this pyramid, I thought it was so cool as well as the smaller pyramids surrounding it.
Finally we had entered. Now I didn't realize what I was getting into but it was time kick it off.
Now this map may not look that daunting but trust me the Louvre is a gigantic underground city and you could spend weeks there and still not see everything. Okay slight exaggeration but you get my point.
So we start with a Sphynx and then keep on keepin on.
The Venus de Milo. Yet another, I can't believe I am standing here looking at that type of moment.
Now when I first saw this I thought to myself, "Wow what a lovely sculpture of a woman, that is really well done." Until I walked around to the front and found out that the title of this sculpture was "The Hermaphrodite". Yes, it had one and I wont lie it was fairly disturbing. Anddd moving on..
Now like I said, I am not a museum guy. I walk in a room full of famous paintings, recognize none of them, and am completely content taking a glance at each one and moving on. Dont get me wrong I appreciate the beautifully done paintings but there aren't many that I can look at for more than 10 seconds. Especially when you end up spending 5 hours in the Louvre your attention span tends to diminish a bit.
Although I wasn't excited about many pieces of art there was one piece I was very excited to see. The Mona Lisa. Now I'd been hearing all day that it was so tiny and I shouldn't get my hopes up so when I actually saw it I was kind of impressed. I really was blown away that I was standing only feet from one of the most famous works of art in the world.
Now all you see is the painting, you don't see the hundreds of people in a massive crowd trying to get a picture of good ole Mona. It was absolute pandemonium.
It was a battle but we made it to the front.
The mural on the wall opposite of the Mona Lisa.
The answer to your question, yes we fought through the mob and got right in front of the Mona Lisa.
It looks pretty much the same as it did from the side but its more a matter of pride to be able to say we did it, we stood right at the front of the Mona Lisa and it was totally worth it. And the thing you hear about her eyes following you everywhere is entirely true, it was so cool.
So after a bit of time with Mona we went back on our way.
After a long enough time in any museum it stops being about the beauty of art and it starts to become about all the inappropriate things you can do with the art work. What types of ridiculous jokes you can make, what works of art you can get away with touching that you shouldn't, or for example...
Point made.
Thats right, there is a Starbucks in the Louvre as well as a McDonalds. You can't escape them ANYWHERE.
I love that pyramid.
Took a picture of the no picture sign. Touched some works of art I wasn't supposed to touch. Being a mature young adult is fun.
Sassy Jesus says, "Girrrrrl that dress does NOT match those shoes."
This is an extremely famous work, so what better way to pay homage to is than....
I know, its beautiful how much we appreciate art.
Finally after over 5 hours in the Louvre when I was on the verge of snapping and my legs were about to give out we decided to leave. Thank God otherwise I might have tackled some iconic statue.
Sweet sweet freedom. I can say the Louvre was amazing but I would be completely okay with not heading back there anytime soon. There is so much more to see in Paris and I'd much prefer being outside and hitting the streets.
After yet another nap in the grass we went on our way. Our next stop was the Sacre Couer to watch the sun set.
Now throwing bikes in the garbage.
After stopping at the hostel and grabbing a few bottles of wine we headed up to eh Sacre Couer. A huge hill that looks out over the city of Paris with a beautiful Cathedral on top.
Now the view was just incredible.
The wine was probably around 2 euros and it suited us just fine.
Now as we sat there sipping wine watching the sun set over one of the most famous cities in the world I had a very special moment. In that moment it all hit me, I was sipping wine looking out over an iconic city with some of great friends. It hit me that I was in Paris, that it was Semana Santa, and that I was continuing to live my life the way I promised myself I would months ago. I was taking advantage of every opportunity, I wasn't letting money govern my life, and honestly I was living my life in a way that was bringing me more joy than I have ever experienced before in my life. The feeling was euphoric.
I sat there slowly sipping wine from my plastic cup (classy I know) and just let it all soak in. Now it may seem like it would be common sense to realize all these things but more often than not your brain is experiencing so much sensory overload you truly cant process all the information youre receiving. Most people say it slowly starts happening a few months after you get home, you realize what you did, where you were, who you met, what you saw, and it blows your mind. Thats what made this moment so special, I had the rare gift to be able to take it all in, in the moment. While I was there experiencing it. It was one of those life experiences I don't think I will ever forget.
It was so powerful that while my friends were talking and sharing stories I just kind of tuned them out and took in the moment. You all know that it takes a lot for me to not want to talk so for me to want to be silent this must have been an incredible experience.
After the sunset we set out to find some dinner.
Now we were disappointed with our first nights dinner and our second nights dinner had been Italian so we were hankering for a real genuine French experience. We got a recommendation from Alex's friend who was studying in Paris and set out to have some real French cuisine. She told us about an awesome all you can eat fondue place and we said, were in.
Snapped a shot of everyone at the table. Now when I say this fondue place was incredible, that is an understatement. This was my first fondue experience ever in my life and boy am I glad that I had it. I have been trying to embrace the idea of having as many firsts as I can in my study abroad and this was yet another to add to the list of firsts that will definitely not be lasts.
The waiter was very pleasant, comes out and takes our order and we decided to go for the meat and cheese fondue. He comes back with 2 different bowls one with boiling oil (to cook the meat) and one with melted cheese. Then he gave us this stone covered in rosemary that was used to cook the meat. Followed by drinks, potatoes, vegetables, and two huge plates of meat. Needless to say we were very very content. We spent about 12 euros each and it was one of the best meals I have had yet in Europe.
It was social, it was active, it was fun, and we loved it. Also the girl at the end of the table on the right in the picture above was a girl we had never met before. Turns out the girls met her in their hostel room and spoke with her a bit and invited her out. She came out with us and had a great time and she was a great person. Like I said hostels are great environments and you meet some really awesome people.
Now here was the rosemary stone which was situated right in front of me and let me tell you I had a blast with this thing. I don't know how to cook many things but this was so easy and fun I cooked for everyone at the table. I was taking orders on temperature, dicing vegetables, throwing in some rosemary here and there, bascially I felt like Emmeril for the night. And there is a certain satisfaction to having someone say, "Oh this is perfect nice job Brian." So not only do I need to pick up cooking when I get home, but I need to get me a stone to cook on cause from there it will be smooooth sailing.
After an extremely satisfying meal we all thanked the owner, hopped on the train and went to bed.
The next day was my last morning in Paris, I head a few hours before I had to grab my flight to Madrid so we decided to head back up to the Sacre Coeur to go inside. Naturally we snagged a breakfast crepe before hand then went up the mountain.
Here is where we ran into the next group of scam artists. Its the group of guys who sell "friendship bracelets" they trick people into letting the tie bracelets on their wrists then tell them they have to pay 5 or 10 euros. So we just put our heads down and walked by with our arms at our sides and of course they yelled at us saying, "Hey we aren't animals" trying to play the sympathy card but we made it on by and continued up the hill.
I saw so many brides in wedding dresses in Paris. There was one here and one actually in the Louvre, Paris aint a bad place to get married. If youre gonna do it might as well do it big.
After seeing views like this and all that Paris had to offer it doesn't surprise me that my parents fell in love in France.
The inside was beautiful but unfortunately we werent allowed to take pictures so youre just gonna have to google image that one.
Yet another "street performer" who was dressed up like a statue.
The first outdoor harp player I had seen up to this point in Europe. He was very good and it gave the area such a relaxing vibe.
Now I visited Ireland where the cops only carry billy clubs. Here in Paris they carry Famas assault rifles. And turns out they dont like it when red headed tourists ask to take a picture with them. Just something to keep in mind.
After a bit of time I decided it was about time for me to leave so we headed back down to the bustling street with the 3 card monty players for some souvenirs and of course another crepe. Now when they give you crepes they fold them into a cone shape and I had had several at this point so I knew that you had to be careful because if you didnt cover the bottom stuff could drip out. So when the man told me to be careful with the bottom I shrugged it off, you know I was a pro at this point having had 8 crepes already.
As I bit into my caramel crepe I was wondering why it wasn't as flavorful as some of the others I had had but I was enjoying it nonetheless. Until the moment that my friend Jake looked at my shirt and went, "Dude..." Then I looked down and found the answer to my question wondering where the flavor for my crepe had gone. All done my white t shirt and pants was a healthy sampling of caramel. Turns out I hadn't completely covered the bottom I had turned it into more of a funnel that poured directly onto me. So I ran back to the hostel changed my shirt through out the old one, cleaned up my pants and went back out. After a little bit more shopping I said my farewells and grabbed my bag to head off to Paris Beauvais Airport.
My last time on a metro in Paris for this trip. I had to take the train to a stop and walk from that stop to a bus station to get to Paris Beauvais because they don't have a metro line that goes straight to Beauvais.
So I arrived at the stop and find my way to the bus station.
This is one of the coolest hand dryers I have ever seen. Would most consider this blog worthy? Probably not but who cares its my blog :)
Last Paris metro ticket.
So I went and bought my ticket and had about 2 hours to kill so I took a nice relaxing nap under the trees in the grass, doing something I became very fond of in Paris.
After my nap I went over to get in the line to climb on the bus to get to Paris Beauvais and as I am getting to the back of the line I look up and see my friend Malorie. In complete disbelief she goes, "Brian?" I say, "Malorie?" And after a big hug we both asked what the other was doing in Paris. Turns out she was studying abroad there and was heading off on a trip. I had no idea she was there and turns out she was in Granada earlier in the semester and she had no idea that I was studying there. One of many ridiculous "Small world" experiences I have had in my travels but it was really great running into her. A girl who goes to my school who I probably hadn't seen since sophmore year and I end up running into her at the bus station to get to Paris Beauvais. Honestly I dont know what the odds are of that but just another example of how God makes amazing things happen everyday.
We sat together on the bus and shared our travel stories and said repeatedly how we couldnt believe that we ran into eachother. It was one of those things that she was standing right in front of me and I still couldnt believe it cause it was such an amazing coincidence.
We got to the airport and got our tickets stamped then sat down to talk a bit more. After talking for a bit I noticed two girls at a table a few tables over looking at me and I thought they were French. I thought it was one of those "Look at this loud obnoxious American" moments so I talked a bit quieter and continued with my convo.
Then I grabbed a sandwich which I expected to be crappy airport food but it was incredible. Although France is pricy many times it is well worth the money and this little sandwich was absolutely worth it. My first experience with French pickles which are different than American pickles and delicious. So as we were talking more I noticed those girls looking at me again and one leans over and says in a completely American accent, "Where are you from?" And I told them I was from the states and I was studying in Granada and it turned out they were traveling to Granada the next day.
So we ended up talking for awhile and I gave them a list of places to go in Granada to make sure they made the best of their time there. Then they told me a funny story. When they were lookin over at me earlier they had been saying that they thought I was American and one was telling the other to just come over and ask me. Then Chelsi said at one point, "Hey Maira (who is Mexican), you should go over and ask him, hablas espanol?" Then Maira responded, "No way, he's a white white boy. Theres no way." Then when Maira asked me if I actually spoke Spanish because I was studying in Granada and I responded yes she was a little surprised. Not as surprised Chelsi was when I started belting some perfect Spanish, her jaw hit the floor and she said, "How do YOU speak Spanish?!" I kind of love how I can surprise people with my Spanish speaking abilities, makes for some very interesting interactions like this one.
Then Malorie and I went through security and when her plane arrived we snagged a quick picture then went our seperate ways.
Really great seeing an old friend and it makes for yet another great story from my study abroad.
Then I ran back into my friend Chelsi and Maira who were with some other Mexican friends who were traveling as well and we ended up all sitting together, one of the many benefits of Ryan Air. I ended up having some great conversations with the Chelsi and Maira and turns out they go to school in Kentucky and aren't too far from where I have my internship this summer so who knows, I might run back into them in the states.
After we got off the plane they helped me find where I had to go on the metro, we rode it for a few stops together I said my goodbyes and they were off to Segovia while I was heading into one of the most famous cities in Spain, Madrid.
I get off walk a few blocks and come to Cat's Hostel. Turned out to be the best hostel I have ever stayed at and the first night I dropped off my bags and went downstairs to the bar that was in the hostel. This hostel was an 18th century palace converted into an awesome hostel with nice sleeping accommodations and a great lounge/bar area downstairs. So I grabbed a beer and was looking for a seat when I heard some English being spoken and I started a conversation with the girls and came to find out they were Canadians. Then I came to find out that these three girls came from Canada to play professionally hockey, two in Switzerland, one in Russia. Now I had a bit of a misconception that any hockey playing girl was gonna be built like a linebacker but these all 3 were normal sized cute girls, yet another stereotype broken. But I do have to say that Melissa (the one who plays in Russia) said there are a few Olgas on her team who are built like Ray Lewis so its not entirely false.
That first night I found out my hostel organizes bar tours so after a drink or two at the hostel I decided to jump in on the tour and went out with a big group from the hostel and had an awesome first night.
Then the next morning I was on my own so I decided to just hit the city solo.
Went for a walk for a few hours and my first stop was Plaza Mayor.
Really awesome. Spanish culture loves plazas and I have to say I've grown quite fond of them in my time here.
All kinds of "street performers", some much cooler than others.
More creepy knock off Mickey Mouses.
And of course the amazingly famous Bob Esponja (Spongebob Squarepants).
Chocolate and Churros, a staple here in Spain.
Just made me think of my dad and how a guitar is what got him through his Europe trip. Not only that but also that fact that when my family visited he stopped in every guitar shop he saw.
Finally got to the Palacio Real which is the grand palace in Madrid. I ended up not going in but I was content with just doing a walkby.
The palace was very cool.
Very cool street performer that made himself look like he was made of sand. Then when you gave him money he would salute you and bow. One of the cooler ones I saw.
Take a picture as a matador or flamenco dancer.
After the palace I continued on my way through the park.
24 hour stores in Spain don't really get the concept. They say that they stay open 24 hours but close around 2 or 3. Don't know how they get away with it but that's how it goes down here.
The second harp player I saw in Europe.
The great central plaza was beautiful and full of activity.
Yet another McDonald's with marble floors and pillars. I don't know why they are so nice in Europe but really they are incredible.
So I come to this street continuing my paseo and am going about my business when I walk by a woman who says something to me, thinking nothing of it I keep on walking. Then a few seconds later I walk by another woman who says something that I didn't hear so I was a little confused. Were they just saying hi? Or were they saying something bout the red hair? What could it be? So when I saw the next woman leaning on a tree I looked at her and listened intently and she said, "Vamos?" That is when it hit me very quickly that these women were not just friendly Spaniards, but prostitutes. Turns out this is like prostitute alley and it is not in some sketchy area of the city but right off the central plaza of the city. And the cops are all around there so I really dont know how they get away with it. So after feeling a little dirty for having had a prostitute address me I kept on my way.
More sex shops, they are so common in Spain.
Spongebob and Patrick yet again. You cant escape them.
Decided I wanted to head to Parque de Buen Retiro, the enormous park located right inside the city of Madrid. I was really enjoying being solo at this point because I went where I wanted when I wanted without any stress and without feeling rushed. This was one of those times it was great to be on my own whereas the Aran Islands was bad time to be alone. I was really glad I was able to have experiences with both during my travels because this was just awesome.
Like I said, McDonalds and Starbucks, they are everywhere.
The Prado museum, the number 1 most visited site in Spain with number 2 being the Alhambra (which is in Granada). I ended up not going in the Prado because after the Louvre I was all museumed out.
Went up on the hill and after walking for a few hours decided this would be a nice place to take a nap. Settled in for about 40 minutes and then got back up and continued on my way.
Got to the arches which are right next to the entrance to the park.
Entrance to Parque de Buen Retiro.
Creepy Mickey Mouses are EVERYWHERE.
This was really awesome. Its this huge man made lake with the huge ampitheater on the other side where people can come and rent out boats to row around in for a bit. The park itself was beautiful and very enjoyable to walk through.
The crystal house. Don't quite know its significance but its one of the landmarks within the park.
This is the art currently on display within the crystal house. And it is literally a stack of plastic chairs and containers. Honestly, I thought it was pretty cool.
This playground area had about 10 different guys doing serious workout. I thought it was great to see people embracing the idea that you don't need expensive equipment or gym memberships in order to keep in shape because some of these guys were built like brick houses.
After my walk through the park I decided it was time to head back to the hostel and rest up a bit.
On my walk back I ran into yet another sex shop / strip club. Now I didn't post this one to continue to traumatize my mom but instead because of what was on the other side of the street opposite of the sex shop.
You guessed it... a church.
You can go, do your sinning then run across the street and ask for forgiveness. Then repeat. A lovely little relationship supporting both businesses.
You can buy clothes and souvenirs here. Sounds really appealing right?
That night in Madrid was the night of the Barcelona vs. Real Madrid so I wanted to get to a good bar to watch the game but unfortunately God decided to unleash a rain storm that I think was only rivaled by the rain storm that caused the world to flood and Noah to build his ark. So I ran to a bar in the rain soaked entirely to the bone and watched about half the game then headed back to my hostel.
Here's a few shots of my hostel to show you just how awesome it was.
This bracelet gave you access to the hostel and your locker, very cool little thing with a sensor that opened everything.
The second night I went on another bar tour this time with my new Canadian friends and we had an absolute blast. We had some drinks, we danced, and we laughed pretty much the entire night.
Unfortunately this is the only picture we took together that night but you can see me in the middle wearing one of the girls scarves, all in all an epic night.
The next day we all were feeling so lazy and we did some very American things, got McDonalds, went to a Spanish book store, then came back to hang out at the hostel and spent pretty much the whole day sharing stories and having laughs. Then that night we were considering going out again but the girls were burnt out and I was trying to push through the tiredness even to the point where I got dressed up to head out then I went up to their room and realized I just needed to relax that night. So I got into my comfy clothes and spent the rest of the night with my awesome new Canadian friends.
We shared travel stories, talked about the beautiful places we had seen, the crazy stories we had, and just about our experiences as a whole. I liked how each of them had their own special way to remember their trips, Melissa wrote letters to a certain group of people from every country she visited, Sara buys a comic book in the language of whatever country shes visiting, and Sarah buys a childrens book in the language of whatever country shes in. Sarah is going to be a teacher when she is done tearing up the hockey rink and she said not only will she use the books to show kids other languages but it can also be used to help kids learn respect. For example if one kid is making fun of another for not being able to read, you tell that one to try and read one of the books in another language and tell him that that is what it is like for the student who is struggling. I thought all there respective ways of remembering there trips were really interesting. I want to find something that I do in every place that I travel but I want it to have sentimental value for me, be cheap, and most importantly I want it to be fun.
Then I thought a bit more about the whole remembering your trip thing and realized this blog is my way to do that. This is where I put the best memories, the funny stories, the beautiful pictures. That's why it is so important to me. And even when I am tired and not quite in the mood I know that I want to get this done because when I look back on this I will appreciate all the work I put into it. So I said goodbye to my new friends that night and I really hope we cross paths again sometime in the near future.
Heres some of the cool foreign money the Canadian girls had with them.
The next day I woke up, checked out of my hostel and met up with my friends from my program Alex, Christina, and Kyle. Fortunately they wanted to see a lot of the stuff I had already seen so after meeting them at a museum I took them on a tour of the city I had only known for 3 days. I led them around with ease and we saw all the big sites.
Immature? Yes. Funny? Yes.
This just made me laugh I really dont know why.
Fat Spider Man was not happy that I was taking pictures of him and not donating but too bad big guy, I got ya.
A guy playing the glasses.
Sandman yet again.
Some great puppeteers.
Sounds delicious right?
"The terrible infant".
Apparently this is a pretty popular hotel in Madrid.
Got Chinese for the first time in months after we got some tapas.
It was awesome, a place called "Wok to Walk", pretty clever.
Yet again during our tour God opened up the flood rains and let it come down. Proud to say I made it the whole trip without a jacket or an umbrella. But walking around cities with marble sidewalks in flip flops isnt so easy. The flip flops I have are literally the same flip flops I have used since my freshman year. They were my freshman year shower sandals and have been with me every summer and every shower at college since then.
Heading back to the park so my friends could see it.
The homeless people that literally just sell junk they have accumulated.
I cant imagine these early 90's electronics are very valuable after being rained on all day.
Some very cool gardens on the side of a building.
So then we decided to call it a day and I told my friends that we should all head back to my hostel. They heard it was cool but didnt quite believe me so we went back and ended up having a few liters of beer while playing drinking games with people from Spain, Portugal, France, and Mexico. Trying to explain the rules to kings in 5 different languages definitely adds a new element to the game.
That night I was awaiting to hear if I had been placed as an RA for the Fall 2011 semester so I was anxious and excited to finally see if I had been placed. Someone had told me not to look in case it didnt turn out how I hoped but I decided to go with the mentality of looking at it as soon as possible so I could celebrate sooner rather than later.
After communicating with a friend back home, he agreed to go look at the list and let me know if I made it. An hour later I found out I had been placed in 7th floor Heister. What started as I'll hang out for a bit and head home that night turned into lets celebrate me achieving this great accomplishment. So we stayed a bit longer until my friend Christina needed to get back to their hotel because she was sick so I went with her while our other friends hung out more. I had a shwarma and then went to sleep on the hardwood floor. Got up the next morning grabbed a train and headed to the bus station. I was ready to be home in Granada.
Hopped the train and got to the train station finally. Ran into my buddy Greg at the bus station then we got in the bus and headed home.
Met a girl who had traveled a bunch during Semana Santa and I took a picture of her crazy money.
It was a really relaxing beautiful ride that went very smoothly and very quickly. We watched some crappy moveies and took in the sites.
Some very cool mountains that you cant see because of my flash.
Finally I got to the bus station, hopped on another bus and got back to my home and collapsed in my bed.
Now this blog entry has been like 4 days in the making so it was a sojourn in and of itself. I hope you all enjoy it but its past 3am here and I got more blog entries to get through tomorrow as well as studying for finals. So I love you all back home and hope you enjoyed the stories, shenanigans, and pictures. Have a great one and don't forget to do one of those little things I said from the steps in the hostel in Paris.
Love you all, keep making each day special.
And finally after days of work and hours upon hours tonight I can say its 3:46 am and I. Am. DONE.
