Well as many of you know, I have spent a lot of my time in Spain being sick and being forced to lay in my bed. My first illness was a throat infection--very random and something I probably wouldn't have gotten in Spain. It healed as soon as I went to the doctor and go antibiotics. However, now I have what I think is "Oral Thrush". I haven't been able to eat/drink properly, go outside much because my mouth looks awful, or see my friends a lot. If that is what I have, it's a disease that usually only occurs in babies and old people. So yeah. That makes perfect sense that I would have it..Right? Anyways, the point of this blog is to warn you guys (if you have the same immune system as I do) to take lots of vitamins, drink OJ, exercise, and eat healthy because I obviously haven't been taking good enough care of myself. Especially do this when you're in Spain because the medicine/ health care is slightly different here than in the US and maybe learn some medical terminology (thats the first thing I'll be reviewing when I get back). But luckily, I'm starting to feel better and hopefully I can get back out to the beach and make you all jealous back home about my lazy life here before the real work starts back home with Katie's wedding (!!!!!) and hopefully a temp job this summer?
Coming up...
I am booking a flight to Venice, Italy very soon for June 4-7th!! I'm very excited about this because I talked to my Dad who I had know idea had ever been to Venice and he told me about a few great places to go and to avoid pigeons pooping on me in St. Mark's Square (but to go with caution). He said it was one of Nana and Papa Gilliam's favorite places to go in Europe so I'm very excited to see that for myself. But for now, I will be soaking up the sun in Spain with all my European/American buddies..Man life is hard. :)
Love you all!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Ireland
April 28th-Dublin
Getting to Dublin was the most stressful experience yet. Once we got to the buss stop to catch the bus in London, mind you it was 2 am, we had this strange old man staring at us on the other side of the benches. It may not have been as creepy if it had been the middle of the day but this wasn't a good time to have someone staring at you. After 15 minutes of awkward eye contact, he came up to me and Caitlin and started talking to us but in a very thick, (Romanian- because he told us) accent. Great start to the day. Once we finally got to the airport, we tried checking our bag but it was 5 kilos too heavy (we didn't mean to check it for 15 kilos because we knew it was about 20) so had to repack and wear more layers on board. It was funny because we had to do this like 3 times before it was finally 15. I was about to cry and Caitlin was about to wear sweatpants over her jeans which would later be hilarious to me but I wasn't in the best mood at the time. Once we finally had our bag light enough, we went thru security and to make matters worse, I had to have my bookbag search because I forgot I had a bottle of lotion, toothpaste, and my foundation in there. This was the first time I've ever expressed anger towards someone so blatantly. We had about 10 minutes to get to our terminal which was in a completely different building and the lady was SLOWLY going through my bag and opening everything. Now I know its protocol, but come on!!! She had on plastic gloves and was touching everything and then told me I had to pay 1euro to buy a packet of plastic baggies and put my liquids in there to go thru security again. She took the rest of the baggies that I had paid for which was pretty stupid too because then I couldnt use them again on my way back even though I had paid for them. But we were late for the plane and at this point, I didn't really care. FINALLY, we got through and started running for the terminal. I was convinced we were going to miss the flight and with RyanAir that would probably cost us like 1000 euros or something ridiculous....(I hate this airline). But of course, there was a 10 minute line before we got thru the gate so we were fine. All that stress for nothing. When we got to Dublin, we took a bus to our hostel, Globetrotters (ranked 4th in Ireland). We were greeted by the sweetest Irish lady at the desk. Our rooms were really cute too. We were at the very top and had a private kitchen, down comforters, and our own bathroom! As soon as we dropped our luggage off, we hopped on a tram (called the Dart in Dublin) to Dun Laoghaire out of impulse (only because it was mentioned in one of my all-time favorite movies, P.S. I Love you). However, to our surprise, there was nothing there but a small harbor and a church. After we walked around for a little, we went back to the city and ate a quick lunch before going to the Guinness Storehouse. It was a pretty cool place I must admit. There were lots of different floors that explained the process for making Guinness and a little bit of the history. My favorite part about the tour was the Gravity Bar. You go up this elevator to the very top where there is a 360 degree view of the city and a complementary pint of Guinness. It was probably one of the coolest bars I've ever been to (this includes the Cave Bar in Madrid, of course). A little tipsy from our ONE beer, we went to see the St. Patrick's Cathedral and the famous Temple Bar. And get this, they have a Leprechaun Museum (who could have a guessed) but unfortunately it was closed when we went by it. Oh well. Later, we went back and rested at the hostel for a bit before going to find somewhere to eat. We went to bed fairly early because we booked a tour for the next day (MacCooles) and had to get up at 6:45 am to catch the bus to Galway (on the West Coast of Ireland).
April 29th
At 7:15 am, we boarded the bus headed to Galway for our tour. The ride was a little over 2 hours (Believe it or not, but Ireland is about the size of Maine) from coast to coast. From there, we caught another bus that took us to the Connolly farm located in the Burren Mountains. Our tour guide was really friendly and seemed to know a lot about the land. I got to feed a baby calf and there were baby lambs as well. Very cute. We hiked up the mountain behind their farm and saw quite a bit of scenery. You could see the water and the Aran Islands right off into the Galway Bay. (I, especially, liked the Aran Islands because they are pronounced like my name!!) Our tour guide had us lay down on the mountainside and listen quietly for this sound of this bird that lived nearby (not sure what this meant but it was still relaxing). We also observed the famine walls and their remains from a distance. When we climbed back down, we had some amazing homemade apple pie. It was fun to walk around the farm because the old man who lived their, MK, was a sweet Irishman who seemed very excited to have visitors because he was following us around while we were taking pictures and giving us props! He also let us pet his dogs and told us some interesting stuff about the farm. When we left the farm, we made our way through Poulnabrone Dolmen, an ancient burial tomb (2500 BC) and Lisdoonvarna, where the biggest singles matchmaking festival takes place each year. It was interesting. Our bus driver told us how in the old days, when people went to this festival, the matchmaker would pair them with someone and they would go away together and sometimes get married when they barely knew each other just because the matchmaker told them to. (or something like that). Then after eating a quick lunch, we finally got to go to the Cliffs of Moher (my favorite part of the tour). They were a bit scary (almost 700 feet tall) but one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. The only thing I didn't enjoy were the millions of flies (kamikaze flies) that were in our eyes, hair, and clothes. It. was. disgusting. But that didn't bother us much considering where we were. We did jumping pictures (me and Caitlin's tradition wherever we go) but I wasn't too thrilled about this because we had to jump kinda close to the edge to get a cool picture and I was scared but later on, I was glad we did it. From there we boarded the bus and headed back to Galway City. On the way back, we passed several beautiful, old places. We saw the castle of Dunghaire which dates back to 1525. We also drove along the Burren Coastline and had a better view of the Aran Islands, the Connemara Coastline, and Galway City itself. When we got dropped off, we had an hour until our next bus picked us up so we explored a little an date dinner. I noticed that Galway has a much younger crowd that Dublin because of the colleges. When we got back to our hostel, around 10 pm, we had a nice little surprise. Our room had a leak so we were moved into a private suite which was pretty much like a hotel room with 2 twin beds, a tv and our own bathroom. It was nice because television in Spain sucks so I actually got to watch a little bit of normal tv in the comfort of my own bed! yESsss.
April 30th
Today we woke up and had the usual Full Irish Breakfast--this consisted of beans, eggs, toast, tomatoes, sausage, fresh fruit, oj, coffee, cereal, juice, hash browns, and ham. Nomnom. Anyways, we decided today that we would try to explore the Wicklow mountains which aren't too far from Dublin but the lady working at the desk said its hard to get out there without a car so she suggested we go to a small town about 30 minutes away called Howth instead. It turned out to be a cute little town and we met some nice people at a few of the small outdoor shops right next to the tram station. We got some coffee to warm up a little and looked at some of the jewelry shops. Although the weather wasn't as great as it had been, it never really rained too much to stop us from hiking along the coast for a little while. We walked around and took a few pictures by the cliffs. I was so jealous because along the path, there were these beautiful houses that overlooked the water..they were awesome. When we got tired, we took the easy way back through some neighborhoods and came back towards the tram station. We ate a quick lunch at this cute cafe by the water and went over to the harbor to watch the seals swim around. They were so funny. They literally look like water dogs and they just stare at you (probably waiting for some food to fall in the water) but it was cool because I've never seen wild seals before. Then we walked back over to the market area with all the outdoor shops and it was so funny. This cute lady that we had talked to earlier came over to us and was all excited that we had hiked for as long as we did and even hugged us. (That's another thing about Ireland, they treat everyone like family and as if they've known you for a long time) So we did a little shopping and headed back to Dublin and rested for a bit. Later, we went back over to the Temple Bar area and got burgers at a local restaurant. Tonight was our night to explore the nightlife and we went over to this bar called, Whelans (also in the film P.S. I love you) and hung out for a bit. We had a couple beers and watched people dance and all. The funny thing about the Irish that I noticed is that they love to drink. It was only 9 or 10 and some people we were wasted already. We had one guy who would just stare at us and if we looked back at him, he would walk over and start dancing but he had that look in his eye where you just knew he was drunk. It was hilarious because no one seemed to care what they looked like while they were dancing either. As Caitlin mentioned in her blog, they were dancing the way you dance in front of the mirror by yourself. Just ridiculous but they knew how to have a good time. We waited a while for the band to start up which, a few guys that we met told us was supposed to start playing around 11:30 but we waited until 12 and nothing seemed to be happening. So, we walked over to Temple Bar and did a walk through but being a tourist attraction, it was packed and not an enjoyable atmosphere since you could barely move. So we just decided to head home since we were tired.
May 1st
We woke up around 9 and had our last full irish breakfast and packed up our things and headed for the airport. Overall, I'd say the trip was a success and Ireland was my favorite part. If you ever go to Ireland, try to make a trip into the countryside--that is the part worth seeing because I've never seen anything like it. It was good getting back to Alicante because it feels more like home but I'm glad we left for a little while. :)
Similarities/Differences
--Ireland is much more home-y and welcoming to travelers
--The landscape is absolutely beautiful
--The partying takes place a lot earlier than in Spain
--The tourists are a little less diverse
--People seem to be very proud to be Irish and know a lot about Ireland's history
--Gaelic is everywhere on the signs (its their official language and children are required to learn it)
--They take breakfast very seriously
--Guinness is probably the most popular (we saw a restaurant that had 3 taps of Guinness and only one of everything else)
--People just seem happier here
--Beer drinking is intense
Getting to Dublin was the most stressful experience yet. Once we got to the buss stop to catch the bus in London, mind you it was 2 am, we had this strange old man staring at us on the other side of the benches. It may not have been as creepy if it had been the middle of the day but this wasn't a good time to have someone staring at you. After 15 minutes of awkward eye contact, he came up to me and Caitlin and started talking to us but in a very thick, (Romanian- because he told us) accent. Great start to the day. Once we finally got to the airport, we tried checking our bag but it was 5 kilos too heavy (we didn't mean to check it for 15 kilos because we knew it was about 20) so had to repack and wear more layers on board. It was funny because we had to do this like 3 times before it was finally 15. I was about to cry and Caitlin was about to wear sweatpants over her jeans which would later be hilarious to me but I wasn't in the best mood at the time. Once we finally had our bag light enough, we went thru security and to make matters worse, I had to have my bookbag search because I forgot I had a bottle of lotion, toothpaste, and my foundation in there. This was the first time I've ever expressed anger towards someone so blatantly. We had about 10 minutes to get to our terminal which was in a completely different building and the lady was SLOWLY going through my bag and opening everything. Now I know its protocol, but come on!!! She had on plastic gloves and was touching everything and then told me I had to pay 1euro to buy a packet of plastic baggies and put my liquids in there to go thru security again. She took the rest of the baggies that I had paid for which was pretty stupid too because then I couldnt use them again on my way back even though I had paid for them. But we were late for the plane and at this point, I didn't really care. FINALLY, we got through and started running for the terminal. I was convinced we were going to miss the flight and with RyanAir that would probably cost us like 1000 euros or something ridiculous....(I hate this airline). But of course, there was a 10 minute line before we got thru the gate so we were fine. All that stress for nothing. When we got to Dublin, we took a bus to our hostel, Globetrotters (ranked 4th in Ireland). We were greeted by the sweetest Irish lady at the desk. Our rooms were really cute too. We were at the very top and had a private kitchen, down comforters, and our own bathroom! As soon as we dropped our luggage off, we hopped on a tram (called the Dart in Dublin) to Dun Laoghaire out of impulse (only because it was mentioned in one of my all-time favorite movies, P.S. I Love you). However, to our surprise, there was nothing there but a small harbor and a church. After we walked around for a little, we went back to the city and ate a quick lunch before going to the Guinness Storehouse. It was a pretty cool place I must admit. There were lots of different floors that explained the process for making Guinness and a little bit of the history. My favorite part about the tour was the Gravity Bar. You go up this elevator to the very top where there is a 360 degree view of the city and a complementary pint of Guinness. It was probably one of the coolest bars I've ever been to (this includes the Cave Bar in Madrid, of course). A little tipsy from our ONE beer, we went to see the St. Patrick's Cathedral and the famous Temple Bar. And get this, they have a Leprechaun Museum (who could have a guessed) but unfortunately it was closed when we went by it. Oh well. Later, we went back and rested at the hostel for a bit before going to find somewhere to eat. We went to bed fairly early because we booked a tour for the next day (MacCooles) and had to get up at 6:45 am to catch the bus to Galway (on the West Coast of Ireland).
April 29th
At 7:15 am, we boarded the bus headed to Galway for our tour. The ride was a little over 2 hours (Believe it or not, but Ireland is about the size of Maine) from coast to coast. From there, we caught another bus that took us to the Connolly farm located in the Burren Mountains. Our tour guide was really friendly and seemed to know a lot about the land. I got to feed a baby calf and there were baby lambs as well. Very cute. We hiked up the mountain behind their farm and saw quite a bit of scenery. You could see the water and the Aran Islands right off into the Galway Bay. (I, especially, liked the Aran Islands because they are pronounced like my name!!) Our tour guide had us lay down on the mountainside and listen quietly for this sound of this bird that lived nearby (not sure what this meant but it was still relaxing). We also observed the famine walls and their remains from a distance. When we climbed back down, we had some amazing homemade apple pie. It was fun to walk around the farm because the old man who lived their, MK, was a sweet Irishman who seemed very excited to have visitors because he was following us around while we were taking pictures and giving us props! He also let us pet his dogs and told us some interesting stuff about the farm. When we left the farm, we made our way through Poulnabrone Dolmen, an ancient burial tomb (2500 BC) and Lisdoonvarna, where the biggest singles matchmaking festival takes place each year. It was interesting. Our bus driver told us how in the old days, when people went to this festival, the matchmaker would pair them with someone and they would go away together and sometimes get married when they barely knew each other just because the matchmaker told them to. (or something like that). Then after eating a quick lunch, we finally got to go to the Cliffs of Moher (my favorite part of the tour). They were a bit scary (almost 700 feet tall) but one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. The only thing I didn't enjoy were the millions of flies (kamikaze flies) that were in our eyes, hair, and clothes. It. was. disgusting. But that didn't bother us much considering where we were. We did jumping pictures (me and Caitlin's tradition wherever we go) but I wasn't too thrilled about this because we had to jump kinda close to the edge to get a cool picture and I was scared but later on, I was glad we did it. From there we boarded the bus and headed back to Galway City. On the way back, we passed several beautiful, old places. We saw the castle of Dunghaire which dates back to 1525. We also drove along the Burren Coastline and had a better view of the Aran Islands, the Connemara Coastline, and Galway City itself. When we got dropped off, we had an hour until our next bus picked us up so we explored a little an date dinner. I noticed that Galway has a much younger crowd that Dublin because of the colleges. When we got back to our hostel, around 10 pm, we had a nice little surprise. Our room had a leak so we were moved into a private suite which was pretty much like a hotel room with 2 twin beds, a tv and our own bathroom. It was nice because television in Spain sucks so I actually got to watch a little bit of normal tv in the comfort of my own bed! yESsss.
April 30th
Today we woke up and had the usual Full Irish Breakfast--this consisted of beans, eggs, toast, tomatoes, sausage, fresh fruit, oj, coffee, cereal, juice, hash browns, and ham. Nomnom. Anyways, we decided today that we would try to explore the Wicklow mountains which aren't too far from Dublin but the lady working at the desk said its hard to get out there without a car so she suggested we go to a small town about 30 minutes away called Howth instead. It turned out to be a cute little town and we met some nice people at a few of the small outdoor shops right next to the tram station. We got some coffee to warm up a little and looked at some of the jewelry shops. Although the weather wasn't as great as it had been, it never really rained too much to stop us from hiking along the coast for a little while. We walked around and took a few pictures by the cliffs. I was so jealous because along the path, there were these beautiful houses that overlooked the water..they were awesome. When we got tired, we took the easy way back through some neighborhoods and came back towards the tram station. We ate a quick lunch at this cute cafe by the water and went over to the harbor to watch the seals swim around. They were so funny. They literally look like water dogs and they just stare at you (probably waiting for some food to fall in the water) but it was cool because I've never seen wild seals before. Then we walked back over to the market area with all the outdoor shops and it was so funny. This cute lady that we had talked to earlier came over to us and was all excited that we had hiked for as long as we did and even hugged us. (That's another thing about Ireland, they treat everyone like family and as if they've known you for a long time) So we did a little shopping and headed back to Dublin and rested for a bit. Later, we went back over to the Temple Bar area and got burgers at a local restaurant. Tonight was our night to explore the nightlife and we went over to this bar called, Whelans (also in the film P.S. I love you) and hung out for a bit. We had a couple beers and watched people dance and all. The funny thing about the Irish that I noticed is that they love to drink. It was only 9 or 10 and some people we were wasted already. We had one guy who would just stare at us and if we looked back at him, he would walk over and start dancing but he had that look in his eye where you just knew he was drunk. It was hilarious because no one seemed to care what they looked like while they were dancing either. As Caitlin mentioned in her blog, they were dancing the way you dance in front of the mirror by yourself. Just ridiculous but they knew how to have a good time. We waited a while for the band to start up which, a few guys that we met told us was supposed to start playing around 11:30 but we waited until 12 and nothing seemed to be happening. So, we walked over to Temple Bar and did a walk through but being a tourist attraction, it was packed and not an enjoyable atmosphere since you could barely move. So we just decided to head home since we were tired.
May 1st
We woke up around 9 and had our last full irish breakfast and packed up our things and headed for the airport. Overall, I'd say the trip was a success and Ireland was my favorite part. If you ever go to Ireland, try to make a trip into the countryside--that is the part worth seeing because I've never seen anything like it. It was good getting back to Alicante because it feels more like home but I'm glad we left for a little while. :)
Similarities/Differences
--Ireland is much more home-y and welcoming to travelers
--The landscape is absolutely beautiful
--The partying takes place a lot earlier than in Spain
--The tourists are a little less diverse
--People seem to be very proud to be Irish and know a lot about Ireland's history
--Gaelic is everywhere on the signs (its their official language and children are required to learn it)
--They take breakfast very seriously
--Guinness is probably the most popular (we saw a restaurant that had 3 taps of Guinness and only one of everything else)
--People just seem happier here
--Beer drinking is intense
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Madrid
About a week ago, my friends Caitlin and Selin and I decided to take a trip to Madrid for a few days. We left around 3:45 am in the morning to take our taxi to the airport and catch our 6 am flight. We arrived in Madrid fairly early (April 22) and it was kinda rough because none of us really got very good sleep the night before. I had gone to bed at 1 am but I never fell asleep (probably anxious about the trip or nervous I would forget something as usual) so I was dead. When we checked into our hostel, we went exploring and walked by Puerta del Sol (the main plaza), the theater, and the palace along the east side of town. We decided to find a place to eat lunch later on and had bocadillos (sandwiches) at a cheap little restaurant right by our hostel. Later, we decided it was extremely necessary to take naps before going back out. We all had different rooms in the hostel so we just met up in the main lobby when we were ready to leave. We walked over to the metro (which was conveniently right by our hostel) and took it to the Real Madrid stadium. It was HUGE! We were gonna take a look inside since they offer 16euro tours but unfortunately the line was wayy too long and we would just come back the next day or so to visit and get there earlier. After that, we made our way over to the Reina Sofia (a famous art museum). Of course when we needed to stand in line for a long time (a bunch of people were outside waiting to get free admission which had certain hours), it started to rain. Ughh.. So Caitlin told us to wait under the roof of some restaurant while she "roughed" it and stood in the rain under an umbrella. Once we finally got in, we saw a lot of famous paintings that I had only seen in books before and when we had to study them in Spanish class in high school so it was pretty cool to see them in person. We saw paintings like Guernica (which was much larger than I thought) and had lots of people guarding it. Crazy. I didn't realize this until recently, but museums are really exhausting. I mean you're walking around for hours and even though a lot of it is pretty interesting, its a lot of standing up. So when we couldn't walk anymore, we left and started searching for a place to eat dinner. We ended up eating Kebap (Turkish) and it was delicious as always. (They have a ton of Kebap restaurants in Alicante so we're used to it). It was nice because we were sitting outside and were able to people watch but then the bill came. And it turns out he had charged us each 2euro extra because he to "bring our beers outside". Never told us this beforehand and when we protested, he was playing dumb and saying that he didn't speak much English and we tried explaining in Spanish that he had never told us it was more expensive (otherwise we would have sat inside). But luckily Selin put him in his place and he ended up giving it to us for the normal price because we were causing a scene. Embarassing because everyone was looking at us but it was still ridiculous. Anyways, we finally left and made our way back to the hostel because we were all still really tired. However, my room turned out the be the party room around 1 am in the morning. I was just going to lay in my bed and skype Koen but of course, everyone was being rowdy and drinking. I felt like such an old lady because everyone was in their going-out clothes and I was sitting in my sweats. But there was no way anyone could pressure me into going out when I didnt sleep the night before. So finally everyone left and then when it is 3 am in the morning, its apparently okay for a bunch of girls to come back and turn the over head lights on (which are extremely bright if you never been in a hostel) and start talking to each other really loudly in some other language. Needless to say, I still didn't get much sleep. Blahhh...
Day 2 (April 23)
Because the line was so long the day before to go to the palace, we decided to get up early today and go. When we got in, we got to tour all of the rooms pretty much and they were beautiful. Each room had its own theme and decor. It was definitely a good day to go because the weather was bad again and it was too cold to walk around outside. The tour took about 1.5 hours because we also viewed the armory and the back yard (aka this huge landscape of the city--very pretty). When we were finished, we weren't sure what to do next because of the weather, so we went into a Starbuck's to kinda wake ourselves up and get warm. (We went to Starbuck's about 3 or 4 times while we were here because they don't have it in Alicante). We sat there for a while, while I tried to get in touch with my cousin, Emily, who was in Madrid on a school trip at about the same time. Unfortunately, I couldn't get up with her for a while so Selin and I decided to go ahead and go back the stadium to see if we could get in for the tour. (Caitlin walked around this huge park over by the Prado museum instead). We thought the tour only consisted of going to the nosebleed section and taking pictures of the field but the lady redirected us when we tried leaving and we got to go to the actual field, the locker room, a museum, and the press room. It was very cool. Especially the locker room..The thought of all the players showering and sitting in the jacuzzi amused me and Selin! hahaha Overall, it was well worth the 16 euros to see! Later, we met up with Caitlin and went to the Prado. Our friend was on his way back to the States but was staying in Madrid for the night so he came out to the museum with us as well. We didn't have much time to tour since we got there about an hour before it was closing so me and Selin just walked thru the rooms very quickly to see the most famous paintings (The Holy Trinity and Las Meninas). Once we left the museum, we met back up with Caitlin and Devin and made our way to the Chocolateria San Gines to get some churros con chocolate BEFORE dinner. :) They were delicious but filling. Then we figured we'd get something to eat with Devin still there and went to an Italian restaurant which was also delicious. (I will probably be 30 lbs heavier when I get back to the States ughh). But then we said our goodbyes to Devin and took off for the metro to find the cave bar that may sister has recommended several times. It was called El Chapandaz (she said its not the one she went to) and it was awesome. The inside literally looked like a cave so I'm glad I took my sister's advice on that one. They had this one thing by the bar that would shoot out steamed milk from one of the stalagmites or stalagtites (which one?) and it was cool because it would light up. Unfortunately, we didn't stay long because Caitlin and I had to get our stuff packed and head to the airport once again to catch yes, another early flight to London. Selin stayed back because she was just going back to Alicante in the morning.
Differences from Alicante:
--A lot more people, not as small town as Ali
--Starbucks duh
--More historic sites and sightseeing opportunities
--the metro is convenient
--Played more Spanish music rather than US pop hits like the bars in Ali
--much more European feel to it
--cleaner
--a lot easier to get lost!
Similarities:
--Has the same guys walking around selling flowers/random useless stuff
--Kebaps everywhere
--Spanish people! haha
Day 2 (April 23)
Because the line was so long the day before to go to the palace, we decided to get up early today and go. When we got in, we got to tour all of the rooms pretty much and they were beautiful. Each room had its own theme and decor. It was definitely a good day to go because the weather was bad again and it was too cold to walk around outside. The tour took about 1.5 hours because we also viewed the armory and the back yard (aka this huge landscape of the city--very pretty). When we were finished, we weren't sure what to do next because of the weather, so we went into a Starbuck's to kinda wake ourselves up and get warm. (We went to Starbuck's about 3 or 4 times while we were here because they don't have it in Alicante). We sat there for a while, while I tried to get in touch with my cousin, Emily, who was in Madrid on a school trip at about the same time. Unfortunately, I couldn't get up with her for a while so Selin and I decided to go ahead and go back the stadium to see if we could get in for the tour. (Caitlin walked around this huge park over by the Prado museum instead). We thought the tour only consisted of going to the nosebleed section and taking pictures of the field but the lady redirected us when we tried leaving and we got to go to the actual field, the locker room, a museum, and the press room. It was very cool. Especially the locker room..The thought of all the players showering and sitting in the jacuzzi amused me and Selin! hahaha Overall, it was well worth the 16 euros to see! Later, we met up with Caitlin and went to the Prado. Our friend was on his way back to the States but was staying in Madrid for the night so he came out to the museum with us as well. We didn't have much time to tour since we got there about an hour before it was closing so me and Selin just walked thru the rooms very quickly to see the most famous paintings (The Holy Trinity and Las Meninas). Once we left the museum, we met back up with Caitlin and Devin and made our way to the Chocolateria San Gines to get some churros con chocolate BEFORE dinner. :) They were delicious but filling. Then we figured we'd get something to eat with Devin still there and went to an Italian restaurant which was also delicious. (I will probably be 30 lbs heavier when I get back to the States ughh). But then we said our goodbyes to Devin and took off for the metro to find the cave bar that may sister has recommended several times. It was called El Chapandaz (she said its not the one she went to) and it was awesome. The inside literally looked like a cave so I'm glad I took my sister's advice on that one. They had this one thing by the bar that would shoot out steamed milk from one of the stalagmites or stalagtites (which one?) and it was cool because it would light up. Unfortunately, we didn't stay long because Caitlin and I had to get our stuff packed and head to the airport once again to catch yes, another early flight to London. Selin stayed back because she was just going back to Alicante in the morning.
Differences from Alicante:
--A lot more people, not as small town as Ali
--Starbucks duh
--More historic sites and sightseeing opportunities
--the metro is convenient
--Played more Spanish music rather than US pop hits like the bars in Ali
--much more European feel to it
--cleaner
--a lot easier to get lost!
Similarities:
--Has the same guys walking around selling flowers/random useless stuff
--Kebaps everywhere
--Spanish people! haha
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