Okay so a lot has happened since I last wrote in my blog over a week ago.. Well I need to finish my Barcelona trip story, the week that occurred after, my equally as amazing as Barcelona trip to Scotland and then this week as well. So I have two weeks worth of updates to do. Anyhow I am going to do Barcelona in somewhat detail (as I wrote down an itinery of what I actually did) the week inbetween briefly and the Scotland trip in real detail and the week after briefly as I don’t have all the time in the world to write this blog and I actually think no one is reading it… If you are tell me ;-)… This blog is more a treat to me for later in life… Also a note, I am starting to drink Stella Artois while doing this update and in British fashion am listening to the fab four; the Beatles J.
Okay so Saturday I wake up at the crack of noon. The girls are either still sleeping or have left to explore and Brandon and Marshall have already went out to explore the town. So myself, Mark, Jason and George all get ready and then go out to explore the town.
First stop we go and take a look at an oldschool church that just put me in awe. I do not recall the name of it but I have it on a greeting card and when I find the greeting card I find I’ll be sure to put the name of it either in this blog or my facebook pics.
We then went to a Chinese resturante where we didn’t have as much trouble ordering because the food menu was in Spanish and English. Best egg roll I have ever ate. We then went around the town and were real tourists. Jason or Mark, can’t recall who at this point went on a popsicle binge. It was quite funny. We looked at little souniver shops and what not and looked around the town. Just beautiful.
We saw this like, ski lift over the city in the far distance and decided we needed to go on it to snap the great photos it would have provided and prob. Spent about two hours finding it, and walked past the docks and a lot of cool stuff including a huge statue of Christopher Columbus pointing out toward “The New World”.
We got to the ski lift thing which looked cool but had about an hour and ½ line and it was getting late so we walked to the commercial beach next to it and sat around for a few minutes before heading back. The guys laid down to catch some rest and I decided to explore some more and went “speedo” shopping when I found a cool little shopping district that felt very “Spanishy” because all of the shops were close together and people crammed in in what felt like a 1400s shopping experience (with modern stuff) in todays world. I bought a shirt which I wore out later in the night.
I went back, showered up and we all went out to look for a cheap dinner place. We ended up splitting up with 3 from the group going to a tapas place and the rest going to a sea food place and I spent 35 euros on my meal… YIKES!!! Very expensive place. Hard to find a cheap place when you can’t speak the native tongue. Anyhow, I had shrimp and I do have to say it was the best shrimp I ever had, I also had a few glasses of Sangra, however you spell it.
After we all met up again the girls, Mark and Jason went to the club and the rest of us went and found a small pub, chilled out for a few drinks and then went back in for the night.
Sunday was a rather shorter day because myself, Brandon and George needed to get to the airport where we were spending the night because our plane left first thing in the morning so we could get to work or class early. Kaite came with us as we went to the bus station to get tickets because her plane leaves Sunday night as opposed to Monday morning. Everyone else’s plane leaves Monday afternoon.
So George, Brandon Katie and I goto the bus station and get tickets to the airport, Katie leaves right away and then Brandon, George and I walk about town and kill time because we do not need to take our bus until like 6.
We do some photo ops, and chill around a beach for a bit but no one goes into the ocean due to having to be on a bus in alittle bit. The beach isn’t a nude beach persay but a lot of girls go nude and they for the most part are so-so… Their was also this one nasty as nude dude, so gross…. Luckily for me 99% of the nudes were chicks…
Anyhow we have lunch and go explore the mall a little for air conditioning, look at the little booths people have set outside selling over priced souvineers and then go to our bus and goto the airport.
While in the airport we see if we can get on an earlier flight and the reply is nada. So George and I start buying bottles of wine (bad idea right). So we sit and have dinner in the airport and see Katie who we assume shes getting ready for her flight when she explains that she booked her return flight two weeks from now on accident and is now on our flight (that we each payed only like 60 Euros for our round trip) for a whooping 500 Euros because of the short notice… Wow, that sucks…
Anyhow the four of us drank wine as Brandon gave in to the drinking and Katie started, I’m pretty sure I may have blacked out.
So in Monday morning I go onto the plane, take a train to where I stay in London, get to my politics class like 40 minutes late hung over… But all was good as the professor is cool.
Monday is boring, eat lunch, clean, take a nap… Monday night’s internship class is by St. Paul’s Cathedral and the prof. takes us around central London and the finical district. Showed some really old and narrow streets that date back to the great fire London had and some great background of the city. I forgot my camera and am honestly a bit errked but its all stuff I’ve seen before or will see again. That reminds me I’ve been trying to see Westmister for a few weeks and haven’t yet, that I do need to see…
So Tuesday I have history class, we are reminded that our oral reports are due in a week. Jason and I are partners. Do random shit during the day and then at night I go and see Phantom of the Oprea. It is amazing… That’s all I can say…
Phantom in London, the original production. Better than Toronto in 6th grade… Better acting, better singing, better performance… It was amazing. I love Phantom of the Opera, always have always will… ‘nuff said on that. PS-Theatre is very Londonish!!
Wednesday I can do in a nutshell because all I did is work at my internship besides my lunch (at the fish shop with the crazy dude I talked about earlier and surly will talk about again). Here goes Wednesday: Go to work. Extremely busy day. Go to fish shack with crazy guy for lunch. Go home, work on Oral Report on Battle of Somme w/Jason
Go to bed early because not feeling good. Take Nyquil at 11 and set alarm for 7.
I could go into detail of what our report was on, but I’ll save that to next week when I actually go over the report. Anyhow by this time its coming close to when I go to Scotland… Thursday was a bland day as well… But Thursday night at 11pm I leave on a busride to Scotland where Caitlin Coast and I would have a three day tour…
Wake up at 8:30. Have to rush to get to work. Average day. Go home, put briefcase on table and then go shopping for a backpack. Found clothes on clearance so bought a much needed sweat shirt, and a few really nice shirts that were normally 80 pounds for 5-10 pounds on clearance. Great success. Came home, struggled with internet to get Caitlin Coast’s number and got ready for Scotland. Long bus ride, little sleep…
Until Next time… Peace. Sorry for doing the updates briefer than normal, Scotland will be indepth, hopefully.
Thursday, 11 October 2007
Tuesday, 2 October 2007
Driving on the RIGHT side of the road... A Barcelona Dream!
So Thursday night I got two hours of sleep and then myself and all of my flatmates but Marshall (who had a different flight) went to the airport, it was about an hour away from where we live so we needed to take a night taxi and a bus.
Once in the airport we went though customs and I got to hear Mark and Brandon do “Jerky Boys” impressions, haven’t heard the CDs but they seem hilarious, you tube ‘em. Anyhow we meet up with three of the six girls coming along. Katie, Tess and another girl.
So we go on Ryan Air and then once in Spain we have another hour bus ride to get to Barcelona and to get to our hostel. The first thing you notice when you are in Spain is that you feel a lot safer in a Spanish vehicle as they drive on the same side of the road as we do in America, its relaxing.
Oh and before we could get on that bus we needed to go through customs, that was fun. My Spanish is horrible, three years of Spanish for nothing. I should have paid attention in class. Senora Dirta and Forster would be so upset with me.
Anyhow so we arrive in Barcelona and then need to get on the tube to where we are staying and everything is in Spanish. George, who by now is known as the great navigator because he can always get everywhere seemed to even had trouble as we tried to figure out how to get from point A to point B on the tube since it all was in Spanish. We met a dude from Texas or New Mexico or something who knew Spanish and ironically was staying at the same hostel as us so he was a big help and a lot of fun to party with later in the night.
Getting our tube passes was a riot. The lady was so frustrated as we tried to order three day passes, “Tres dias” lol… She hated our guts, we all couldn’t order right and halve of us got the wrong thing. Luckily I ended up getting the right one which makes up for my pass being eating by the machine in a few days.
So soon we got to the Hostel.
Barcelona Dream, that’s the name of the hostel. It was a lot nicer than the one in Liverpool as the internet was free and the 12 of us (Myself, Jay, Mark, Marshall, George, Brandon and a group of six girls) all ended up in the same room. So we check in, put our bags in our closets and lock them and then go out to get lunch. Its about 1:00pm by now.
Lunch was a disaster. Kate, who is a vegetarian and also has worse luck than me tried ordering vegetarian food and got lamb. My hamburger was barely cooked and the food came late… The waitress hated us all… But on the bright side the food was cheaper than in America and so was the beer. Hip-hip hooray for that.
Anyhow so we soon go to the grocery market, get buckets, ice and a couple cases of beer. We go back to the hostel and meet up with Marshall and the other girls, get in our swim stuff and walk to the beach.
We have a great time. Not too hot, not too cold. This beach is small and there are very few people on this particular one. We all sit around on the beach and drink some Astrella Damm or some kind of beer that tastes strangely like American Light and all get shitty.
Myself and some went into the Mediterranean sea. It was really cold but refreshing. It was weird… No sun lotion needed and the sand wasn’t hot yet the astrosphere wasn’t too cold. It was like perfect.
So as we chilled out on the beach soon someone pointed out that their was a group of five airplanes doing loops in the air and stunts. They were obviously practicing but it was an amazing show.
So we all started to get shitty as we started drinking at like 3 or 4pm if not earlier. Soon some Spanish guys were doing flips and we went over and took a video of them doing the flips with promises of putting it on You Tube. Anyhow, I tried doing a flip and failed… Good times…
So we go back to the hostel, shower, get ready for the night and then go out to down town Barcelona. We scout out the night clubs and buy cans of beer on the street as we walk and find places to drink. I’m pretty drunk by now.
Barcelona is insane… So many people out partying… People with facepaint on the streets dressed as shadows (and one of the girls in the group made out with one of these statues, I’ll keep her name hush hush so not to embarrass her more than she was).
Anyhow so we all find this nice bar and sit outside, get served beers and I start to fall asleep…. And keep waking up. So I finally pass out a lil and someone buys me a red bull and everything is okay.
It wasn’t so much that I was too drunk but it was the fact I only slept two hours the night before and could not sleep on the flight because I was in the middle seat and couldn’t get comfortable. So I was tired. Anyhow we all walked to a night club and the manager said I couldn’t go in (in Spanish) so I was told not to, we go and look for other night clubs to no luck and come back. I’m wearing an American Eagle T-shirt that’s brown and white and looks the same inside out or normal. I decide to take it off since I have a t-shirt on and try and get in the club with the white t-shirt anyhow the girls told me to just turn my shirt inside out and being drunk I did.
So we went to get back in the night club and I just about did before they told me no. I honestly don’t think I was that drunk, it was more that I was tired and initially was told no. Anyhow, Marshall said he was tired as well so him and I headed back over the tubes and went into the Barcelona Dream at 2am… The tubes closed and everyone else had a bunch of trouble getting home that night, some not getting home to 6am.
Also before we went out my tube card was eaten by the machine… Which was a pain. I tried talking to someone the next day but they didn’t understand English so I had to spend 10 euros to get a new pass (like 13 dollars or something like that).
Anyhow, if the first day was a mix between the beach and drinking the following day… Saturday was me being the biggest possible fucking tourist and having one of the best days of the entire trip and I can honestly say that I 100% did not get drunk (though I did get buzzed).
But seeing how it is 11:58, Saturday and Sunday of the trip will need updated tomorrow or the next day. I also actually need to update up to the current day before Thursday night because I’m going to Scotland to see Nessy and Caitlin Coast. So, Wed I have to work on a project but am going to try and get Saturday done and then Thursday I’ll try and get the rest of the week done.
Then I’ll update about Scotland and try and get more regular updates and talk about British culture. Adios… (That is Spanish btw).
Also, in my next update I’m going to give a good fortay into Spanish culture as we really got out their and experienced it on Saturday with a bunch of tourism and talking to locals… I’ll tell you about the words I had to use and what I learned!
Once in the airport we went though customs and I got to hear Mark and Brandon do “Jerky Boys” impressions, haven’t heard the CDs but they seem hilarious, you tube ‘em. Anyhow we meet up with three of the six girls coming along. Katie, Tess and another girl.
So we go on Ryan Air and then once in Spain we have another hour bus ride to get to Barcelona and to get to our hostel. The first thing you notice when you are in Spain is that you feel a lot safer in a Spanish vehicle as they drive on the same side of the road as we do in America, its relaxing.
Oh and before we could get on that bus we needed to go through customs, that was fun. My Spanish is horrible, three years of Spanish for nothing. I should have paid attention in class. Senora Dirta and Forster would be so upset with me.
Anyhow so we arrive in Barcelona and then need to get on the tube to where we are staying and everything is in Spanish. George, who by now is known as the great navigator because he can always get everywhere seemed to even had trouble as we tried to figure out how to get from point A to point B on the tube since it all was in Spanish. We met a dude from Texas or New Mexico or something who knew Spanish and ironically was staying at the same hostel as us so he was a big help and a lot of fun to party with later in the night.
Getting our tube passes was a riot. The lady was so frustrated as we tried to order three day passes, “Tres dias” lol… She hated our guts, we all couldn’t order right and halve of us got the wrong thing. Luckily I ended up getting the right one which makes up for my pass being eating by the machine in a few days.
So soon we got to the Hostel.
Barcelona Dream, that’s the name of the hostel. It was a lot nicer than the one in Liverpool as the internet was free and the 12 of us (Myself, Jay, Mark, Marshall, George, Brandon and a group of six girls) all ended up in the same room. So we check in, put our bags in our closets and lock them and then go out to get lunch. Its about 1:00pm by now.
Lunch was a disaster. Kate, who is a vegetarian and also has worse luck than me tried ordering vegetarian food and got lamb. My hamburger was barely cooked and the food came late… The waitress hated us all… But on the bright side the food was cheaper than in America and so was the beer. Hip-hip hooray for that.
Anyhow so we soon go to the grocery market, get buckets, ice and a couple cases of beer. We go back to the hostel and meet up with Marshall and the other girls, get in our swim stuff and walk to the beach.
We have a great time. Not too hot, not too cold. This beach is small and there are very few people on this particular one. We all sit around on the beach and drink some Astrella Damm or some kind of beer that tastes strangely like American Light and all get shitty.
Myself and some went into the Mediterranean sea. It was really cold but refreshing. It was weird… No sun lotion needed and the sand wasn’t hot yet the astrosphere wasn’t too cold. It was like perfect.
So as we chilled out on the beach soon someone pointed out that their was a group of five airplanes doing loops in the air and stunts. They were obviously practicing but it was an amazing show.
So we all started to get shitty as we started drinking at like 3 or 4pm if not earlier. Soon some Spanish guys were doing flips and we went over and took a video of them doing the flips with promises of putting it on You Tube. Anyhow, I tried doing a flip and failed… Good times…
So we go back to the hostel, shower, get ready for the night and then go out to down town Barcelona. We scout out the night clubs and buy cans of beer on the street as we walk and find places to drink. I’m pretty drunk by now.
Barcelona is insane… So many people out partying… People with facepaint on the streets dressed as shadows (and one of the girls in the group made out with one of these statues, I’ll keep her name hush hush so not to embarrass her more than she was).
Anyhow so we all find this nice bar and sit outside, get served beers and I start to fall asleep…. And keep waking up. So I finally pass out a lil and someone buys me a red bull and everything is okay.
It wasn’t so much that I was too drunk but it was the fact I only slept two hours the night before and could not sleep on the flight because I was in the middle seat and couldn’t get comfortable. So I was tired. Anyhow we all walked to a night club and the manager said I couldn’t go in (in Spanish) so I was told not to, we go and look for other night clubs to no luck and come back. I’m wearing an American Eagle T-shirt that’s brown and white and looks the same inside out or normal. I decide to take it off since I have a t-shirt on and try and get in the club with the white t-shirt anyhow the girls told me to just turn my shirt inside out and being drunk I did.
So we went to get back in the night club and I just about did before they told me no. I honestly don’t think I was that drunk, it was more that I was tired and initially was told no. Anyhow, Marshall said he was tired as well so him and I headed back over the tubes and went into the Barcelona Dream at 2am… The tubes closed and everyone else had a bunch of trouble getting home that night, some not getting home to 6am.
Also before we went out my tube card was eaten by the machine… Which was a pain. I tried talking to someone the next day but they didn’t understand English so I had to spend 10 euros to get a new pass (like 13 dollars or something like that).
Anyhow, if the first day was a mix between the beach and drinking the following day… Saturday was me being the biggest possible fucking tourist and having one of the best days of the entire trip and I can honestly say that I 100% did not get drunk (though I did get buzzed).
But seeing how it is 11:58, Saturday and Sunday of the trip will need updated tomorrow or the next day. I also actually need to update up to the current day before Thursday night because I’m going to Scotland to see Nessy and Caitlin Coast. So, Wed I have to work on a project but am going to try and get Saturday done and then Thursday I’ll try and get the rest of the week done.
Then I’ll update about Scotland and try and get more regular updates and talk about British culture. Adios… (That is Spanish btw).
Also, in my next update I’m going to give a good fortay into Spanish culture as we really got out their and experienced it on Saturday with a bunch of tourism and talking to locals… I’ll tell you about the words I had to use and what I learned!
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