don't really have time or energy to say anything much here, but just thought id let u all know I'v arrived in LA, finally got to hostel, which isnt quite what i expected but still good, and i am super sleep deprived, and to be honest, just cant wait to get home now.
As i suspected, neither sim card is working here so i have no phone until i get home, which is soooon.
ok, now bring on hot topic, if i can make myself move!
see you all soon
xoxox
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Goodbye Spain...hello France
Don't really have much time to say much right now because I've gotta look up some stuff about Lyon.
I've packed up all my bags and am ready to get up and go first thing in the morning. Had to pack away my Lonely Planet Spain guide, which has been like a bible this last month, and now I know nothing about my next stop!!!!!
Should be fun =) lol
Still hasn't quite set in fully that I'm leaving Spain in less than 24 hours, but without a doubt i will be back!!!! hehehe
more adventures to come in France however, I'm sure
out for now
xoxoxox
I've packed up all my bags and am ready to get up and go first thing in the morning. Had to pack away my Lonely Planet Spain guide, which has been like a bible this last month, and now I know nothing about my next stop!!!!!
Should be fun =) lol
Still hasn't quite set in fully that I'm leaving Spain in less than 24 hours, but without a doubt i will be back!!!! hehehe
more adventures to come in France however, I'm sure
out for now
xoxoxox
Monday, February 16, 2009
So yesterday I went to see all the Gaudi attractions - well some of them, the best and most famous but there are lots more around. The buildings he designed/build are fascinating and pretty remarkable - such as the Casa Battlo which I swear doesn't contain a single straight line or plane!!!!!
Once again took lots of photos and filled up camera memory for like the millionth time!
I started the day at the Sagrada Familia (huge cathedral designed and started by Gaudi, still not finished after over 100 years). Well when they finally finish constuction that is gonna be one epic cathedral, and definately unique. I can see why so many people come to see it! Would like to post some pictures from there, but depends if i can find a computer with a cd drive, on top of all the other little jobs and sightseeing i wanna do today.
As I was leaving La Sagrada Familia I ran into Ah Run - one of the Korean guys who was in my grammar/conversation class in Salamanca. It was crazy! so we stopped and talked awhile and then found chocolate con churros together, which I'm gonna miss so much after today =(
last full day in Spain!!! I'm gonna stop thinking about that now because I don't like that very much. haha
Last night I was talking with my German mate from the hostel in Sevilla and the Aussie guy who works here and while we were sitting talking her bag got stolen from right beside her. Has her wallet/credit card and passport and everything, and she was supposed to fly home this morning around about now - I haven't seen her since then though so hope she's got things sorted. But it was pretty terrible. Especialy since an hpour or so before that we had been walking back from the supermarket and she was saying how good it was she'd made it through Barcelona without getting robbed!
Well I'm off now, gonna head for a start up the hill to Montjuic to see one or two things up there, and then work out the rest of the day's plan.
xoxoxox
Once again took lots of photos and filled up camera memory for like the millionth time!
I started the day at the Sagrada Familia (huge cathedral designed and started by Gaudi, still not finished after over 100 years). Well when they finally finish constuction that is gonna be one epic cathedral, and definately unique. I can see why so many people come to see it! Would like to post some pictures from there, but depends if i can find a computer with a cd drive, on top of all the other little jobs and sightseeing i wanna do today.
As I was leaving La Sagrada Familia I ran into Ah Run - one of the Korean guys who was in my grammar/conversation class in Salamanca. It was crazy! so we stopped and talked awhile and then found chocolate con churros together, which I'm gonna miss so much after today =(
last full day in Spain!!! I'm gonna stop thinking about that now because I don't like that very much. haha
Last night I was talking with my German mate from the hostel in Sevilla and the Aussie guy who works here and while we were sitting talking her bag got stolen from right beside her. Has her wallet/credit card and passport and everything, and she was supposed to fly home this morning around about now - I haven't seen her since then though so hope she's got things sorted. But it was pretty terrible. Especialy since an hpour or so before that we had been walking back from the supermarket and she was saying how good it was she'd made it through Barcelona without getting robbed!
Well I'm off now, gonna head for a start up the hill to Montjuic to see one or two things up there, and then work out the rest of the day's plan.
xoxoxox
Sunday, February 15, 2009
blogging again
today's been a bit of an odd kind of day. Good day, but odd. Ie just been wandering around, and starting to get a bit of a feel for the city. I don't think I've paid for a single thing, apart from one bottle of water that cost €0·75 =). Went off this morning after an easy late start to explore the Barri Gotic, or Gothic Quarter, which was cool. I went to this awesome museum which took you through a whole lot of excavations through parts of the original Roman and Visigothic settlement - walls, tower entries, laundry houses, factories....it was cool, and free =)
I'm not too sure what it was, but there's been some kind of minor festival or celebration on today, and all the squares I went through had stages set up with different kind of acts on and were packed out with people. The best thing I stumbled upon was a couple of troupes of castellers - I think that was the name, but anyway it was people climbing on top of each other making human towers or castles. It was awesome, I watched them for ages and they kept getting bigger and harder hehehe.
I think the travelling/backpacking lifestyle is starting to catch up on me and I'm getting really tired all the time hehe so its nice that at least I'm in one place for a few nights and don't have to think about packing up and moving around for another day or two =)
I had been considering the possibilty of making another daytrip, from Barcelona to Tarragona, which is about an hour south and it's a small city with [surprise] Roman remains - theatre/temple/circus....stuff like that, since I missed out on Mérida. But now I think I'm not going to, because there's so much to see here, and I think I'd rather take my time doing everything I wanna do in Barcelona. After all, I came here to see Spain and I can go to Italy another time to see Roman stuff properly, and besides I have seen bits and pieces here and there - like these awesome as columns from a Roman temple hiding in a corner of the Barri Gotic today =)
Well that's today's update, tomorrow I think I might go and check out some Gaudi buildings, and probably the Sagrada Familia - probably Barcelona's biggest and most famous attraction.
latterrr
xoxoxox
I'm not too sure what it was, but there's been some kind of minor festival or celebration on today, and all the squares I went through had stages set up with different kind of acts on and were packed out with people. The best thing I stumbled upon was a couple of troupes of castellers - I think that was the name, but anyway it was people climbing on top of each other making human towers or castles. It was awesome, I watched them for ages and they kept getting bigger and harder hehehe.
I think the travelling/backpacking lifestyle is starting to catch up on me and I'm getting really tired all the time hehe so its nice that at least I'm in one place for a few nights and don't have to think about packing up and moving around for another day or two =)
I had been considering the possibilty of making another daytrip, from Barcelona to Tarragona, which is about an hour south and it's a small city with [surprise] Roman remains - theatre/temple/circus....stuff like that, since I missed out on Mérida. But now I think I'm not going to, because there's so much to see here, and I think I'd rather take my time doing everything I wanna do in Barcelona. After all, I came here to see Spain and I can go to Italy another time to see Roman stuff properly, and besides I have seen bits and pieces here and there - like these awesome as columns from a Roman temple hiding in a corner of the Barri Gotic today =)
Well that's today's update, tomorrow I think I might go and check out some Gaudi buildings, and probably the Sagrada Familia - probably Barcelona's biggest and most famous attraction.
latterrr
xoxoxox
Saturday, February 14, 2009
apparently I have a boyfriend...
well no not really but I had to invent one this afternoon!!!
So I went walking down La Rambla, which is this huge and largely pedestrianised street which runs from Plaza Catalunya (one of the main squares) right down to the waterfront and a large monument to Christopher Columbus. It's full of restaurants/cafes, bird stalls, flower stalls, buskers - some very good and/or original, others average, and some pretty bad and just plain desperate haha - magazine stands selling more tourist souvenirs than magazines, craft stands oh yeah and a bout three hundred million people, probably about 90% of them tourists haha but it was pretty cool =)
Then I was wandering around the waterfront when some random guy started talking about me. (in English) Well I shouldn't have replied but don't always think so quickly or know what's coming up. He was like 30 and from some country in Africa, can't remember which one but yeah and became quite attached to me and I couldn't get rid of him. Followed me all around town, through the produce market and the supermarket and on the metro back to the hostel (=s) And every 3rd question was about my 'boyfriend' nkdfnkhsfuihfujbnjsjdf
lol
So he thinks I'm gonna call him tomorrow so we can meet up, because we are now great friends and 'Barcelona is going to be for us'
hahaha
I think not.
lol
I only hope he doesn't try come back to the hostel, and if he does that he gets lost and can't find it!
Other than that Barcelona so far has been pretty cool and this is another awesome hostel =).
was so excited to have salad with my dinner - with stuff I bought at the huge produce market off La Rambla =)
and man, It's such a small world!!!!!
Just before I came on to this computer I ran into [oh dear I've forgotten her name, if I ever knew it], but the German girl I shared a room with my first night in Sevilla.
And also...
I think I already said we found out Larissa and Greg (her bf - who actually does exist lol and is petty cool) are gonna be in Paris when I am on their contiki tour, and in Lyon before that
The Korean girl I shared a room with and spent a morning climbing up hills with in Malaga - well I ran into her a few days later in Granada, up in the Albaycin [Arabic district] and turned out we were both staying at Oasis backpackers!
Made friends with 2 supercool Australian girls [well actually one is British and the other South African but they've been living in Aus for 3 or 4 years] at Oasis in Granada. Just before they moved on, we discovered that they were booking onto the exact same hostel in Lyon that I've booked, on the exact same nights!!! Can't wait to meet up with them again =) and share tales hehe
And then there's the Kiwis I've met - not so many but still more than I expected
One girl in the backpackers in Cádiz
The guy who checked me in at Granada, from Auckland/Kumeu. Had this awesome as little convo about how it sucks to have to say we're from Auckland...
And when I was checking into the backpacjers in Córdoba some other guy [I think he worked there] came up from behind, saw my passport and was like oh, kia ora - it was cool!
and then
- 'so where are you from?'
-Christchurch, you?
-Auckland.
-oh, right. [silence]
-shut up!!!!!
lol
the girl at the desk was so confused
anyway, I only supposed to spend 20 mins at a time on internet here and I think its been double that so I´m out
xoxox
So I went walking down La Rambla, which is this huge and largely pedestrianised street which runs from Plaza Catalunya (one of the main squares) right down to the waterfront and a large monument to Christopher Columbus. It's full of restaurants/cafes, bird stalls, flower stalls, buskers - some very good and/or original, others average, and some pretty bad and just plain desperate haha - magazine stands selling more tourist souvenirs than magazines, craft stands oh yeah and a bout three hundred million people, probably about 90% of them tourists haha but it was pretty cool =)
Then I was wandering around the waterfront when some random guy started talking about me. (in English) Well I shouldn't have replied but don't always think so quickly or know what's coming up. He was like 30 and from some country in Africa, can't remember which one but yeah and became quite attached to me and I couldn't get rid of him. Followed me all around town, through the produce market and the supermarket and on the metro back to the hostel (=s) And every 3rd question was about my 'boyfriend' nkdfnkhsfuihfujbnjsjdf
lol
So he thinks I'm gonna call him tomorrow so we can meet up, because we are now great friends and 'Barcelona is going to be for us'
hahaha
I think not.
lol
I only hope he doesn't try come back to the hostel, and if he does that he gets lost and can't find it!
Other than that Barcelona so far has been pretty cool and this is another awesome hostel =).
was so excited to have salad with my dinner - with stuff I bought at the huge produce market off La Rambla =)
and man, It's such a small world!!!!!
Just before I came on to this computer I ran into [oh dear I've forgotten her name, if I ever knew it], but the German girl I shared a room with my first night in Sevilla.
And also...
I think I already said we found out Larissa and Greg (her bf - who actually does exist lol and is petty cool) are gonna be in Paris when I am on their contiki tour, and in Lyon before that
The Korean girl I shared a room with and spent a morning climbing up hills with in Malaga - well I ran into her a few days later in Granada, up in the Albaycin [Arabic district] and turned out we were both staying at Oasis backpackers!
Made friends with 2 supercool Australian girls [well actually one is British and the other South African but they've been living in Aus for 3 or 4 years] at Oasis in Granada. Just before they moved on, we discovered that they were booking onto the exact same hostel in Lyon that I've booked, on the exact same nights!!! Can't wait to meet up with them again =) and share tales hehe
And then there's the Kiwis I've met - not so many but still more than I expected
One girl in the backpackers in Cádiz
The guy who checked me in at Granada, from Auckland/Kumeu. Had this awesome as little convo about how it sucks to have to say we're from Auckland...
And when I was checking into the backpacjers in Córdoba some other guy [I think he worked there] came up from behind, saw my passport and was like oh, kia ora - it was cool!
and then
- 'so where are you from?'
-Christchurch, you?
-Auckland.
-oh, right. [silence]
-shut up!!!!!
lol
the girl at the desk was so confused
anyway, I only supposed to spend 20 mins at a time on internet here and I think its been double that so I´m out
xoxox
in Barcelona!!!!! and tired...
yet another computer with usb ports blocked it seems...pain in the ass haha. gonna have to find an internet cafe to transfer photos from my camera otherwise memory card gonna fill up again - and soon!
So I got to the hostel about an hour ago, normally I´d be well into exploring the city by now but Ive just been sorting out some stuff, I made me a bocadillo (filled roll) with chorizo for my late lunch, and read a little bit of lonely planet since I still hadnt got through much of the Bacelona section while I ate.
This seems like a good hostel. Its pretty big, very clean and very secure. Havent talked to anyone yet other than reception staff, mostly because all the guests are either not here or in groups and/or talking in languages like french or catalan (not sure which). And the kitchen is clean and well equipped =)
I didnt really like the hostel in Madrid, though it wasn't bad.
I did however love the city of Madrid, just as much as when I was first there but it was really cool and interesting being back there after seeing a lot of the rest of Spain and getting used to the customs, language and people etc somewhat. It was a totally different experience! It almost felt like a totally different city, in a way, mostly because of the weather. This time the temperatures (from about 11/12-5/6 anyway) were around 16-18 degrees and in various places, like in the Plaza Mayor, everyone was out enjoying it!
Yesterday afternoon/evening I was getting pretty tired, so I thought when I got back to the hostel I would go to bed/sleep pretty early so I would hopefully be un-tired for today. That plan changed somewhat when my room, which was tiny, became occupied by 3 drunk/drinking australians who decided to hang out there before heading out clubbing at midnight! So I didn't get as m,uch sleep as I wanted and am still just as tired but hey that's backpacking right.
Off now to check out La Rambla - Barcelona's and Spain's most famous street (says Lonely Planet)
So I got to the hostel about an hour ago, normally I´d be well into exploring the city by now but Ive just been sorting out some stuff, I made me a bocadillo (filled roll) with chorizo for my late lunch, and read a little bit of lonely planet since I still hadnt got through much of the Bacelona section while I ate.
This seems like a good hostel. Its pretty big, very clean and very secure. Havent talked to anyone yet other than reception staff, mostly because all the guests are either not here or in groups and/or talking in languages like french or catalan (not sure which). And the kitchen is clean and well equipped =)
I didnt really like the hostel in Madrid, though it wasn't bad.
I did however love the city of Madrid, just as much as when I was first there but it was really cool and interesting being back there after seeing a lot of the rest of Spain and getting used to the customs, language and people etc somewhat. It was a totally different experience! It almost felt like a totally different city, in a way, mostly because of the weather. This time the temperatures (from about 11/12-5/6 anyway) were around 16-18 degrees and in various places, like in the Plaza Mayor, everyone was out enjoying it!
Yesterday afternoon/evening I was getting pretty tired, so I thought when I got back to the hostel I would go to bed/sleep pretty early so I would hopefully be un-tired for today. That plan changed somewhat when my room, which was tiny, became occupied by 3 drunk/drinking australians who decided to hang out there before heading out clubbing at midnight! So I didn't get as m,uch sleep as I wanted and am still just as tired but hey that's backpacking right.
Off now to check out La Rambla - Barcelona's and Spain's most famous street (says Lonely Planet)
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
I found me some internet =)
Found a computer at my hostel but I gotta pay for internet. damn lol, was getting used to free internet at backpackers. oh well. I wanted to post some photos, but theyve covered the usb ports behind a huge plastic case. bullies!
So the hostel here in Toledo is in a restored/renovated castle, that was built I don´t know when but it´s a genuine castle from lots of years ago, sitting up on a hill. It´s about a 10-15 minute walk from the old town which is spread over another hill, and a river (forgot its name) runs between the two. I feel like I´m repeating myself somewhat here haha but walking around Toledo is pretty awesome. It was once the capital city of Spain, well maybe of the kingdom of Castilla (I think it was before the unification of the various kingdoms that became Spain) but anyway yeah it used to be a pretty powerful place, and also was an important centre of culture/learning etc etc. Today it´s a `World Heritage Site´, or something, like so many places I´ve visited hahahaha. It´s all old and medieval-like =) And full of little narrow streets that go up and down and up again. That´s what happens when they build a city on a hill.
It´s been a really lovely day (weather-wise). Leaving Cordoba this morning (I miss the south already!) I was prepared for cold weather again but it´s actually been about 15º so very nice and I think it´s gonna be about the same tomorrow. Since I arrived this afternoon, I´ve been walking around seeing things and definately noticing the difference between Castilla and (i.e here) and Andalucia, where I have been for the last week and a half, still kind of adjusting. It´s a hard thing to explain though so yeah. I raced through the Cathedral, trying to keep ahead of the huge asian tour group, I´ve also visited a Jewish synagogue + museum, though I didn´t find the museum as great as Lonely Planet made it out to be, maybe I just wasn´t in the right frame of mind for reading all the details hehe. Never really have been a massive fan of museums, in general. Also quickly visited another church, couldn´t find one of the other museum things I thought I might see, and there was probably one or 2 more things but I can´t remember them.
Tomorrow gonna probably go for a morning walk around the city, maybe take a few more photos and then head off to Madrid. Might go look at the Museo del Prado.
So the hostel here in Toledo is in a restored/renovated castle, that was built I don´t know when but it´s a genuine castle from lots of years ago, sitting up on a hill. It´s about a 10-15 minute walk from the old town which is spread over another hill, and a river (forgot its name) runs between the two. I feel like I´m repeating myself somewhat here haha but walking around Toledo is pretty awesome. It was once the capital city of Spain, well maybe of the kingdom of Castilla (I think it was before the unification of the various kingdoms that became Spain) but anyway yeah it used to be a pretty powerful place, and also was an important centre of culture/learning etc etc. Today it´s a `World Heritage Site´, or something, like so many places I´ve visited hahahaha. It´s all old and medieval-like =) And full of little narrow streets that go up and down and up again. That´s what happens when they build a city on a hill.
It´s been a really lovely day (weather-wise). Leaving Cordoba this morning (I miss the south already!) I was prepared for cold weather again but it´s actually been about 15º so very nice and I think it´s gonna be about the same tomorrow. Since I arrived this afternoon, I´ve been walking around seeing things and definately noticing the difference between Castilla and (i.e here) and Andalucia, where I have been for the last week and a half, still kind of adjusting. It´s a hard thing to explain though so yeah. I raced through the Cathedral, trying to keep ahead of the huge asian tour group, I´ve also visited a Jewish synagogue + museum, though I didn´t find the museum as great as Lonely Planet made it out to be, maybe I just wasn´t in the right frame of mind for reading all the details hehe. Never really have been a massive fan of museums, in general. Also quickly visited another church, couldn´t find one of the other museum things I thought I might see, and there was probably one or 2 more things but I can´t remember them.
Tomorrow gonna probably go for a morning walk around the city, maybe take a few more photos and then head off to Madrid. Might go look at the Museo del Prado.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Iḿ sleepy...
so I came up intending to write a somewhat decent blog entry but sat down at the computer and suddenly Im really tired so probably gonna end up being a quick one. Even though Ive got about a million things to say.
Today I came from Granada to Córdoba, and have spent the afternoon exploring the city. The highlight of course would have to be the Mezquita, i.e. mosque (although it has now been converted into a cathedral. It was pretty epic, but the craziest thing was the Cathedral built into the middle of it.
Yesterday went to the Alhambra and it was fantastic!!!!! Same as in the Alcazar at Sevilla but this time even more so - photos just cant convey its magnificence! Obviously I have more to say about the alhambra, and I want to post some photos from there, but cant tonight (sorry mum i know youre waiting!!!)
Tomorrow hoping to get out early again to see the archeological museum, do a couple of little jobbies, and then got train out of here at 11.30, to Toledo, via Madrid.
This hostel is cool, but doesnt come close to the one at Granada!
Well off to bed now. With any luck I should be able to get back on tomorrow because I have more to tell but we shall see. Its also harder in places where Im only staying one night because i tend to spend more time seeing and doing things etc that sitting at computer.
Right now Im excited for sleeeeeep
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
Today I came from Granada to Córdoba, and have spent the afternoon exploring the city. The highlight of course would have to be the Mezquita, i.e. mosque (although it has now been converted into a cathedral. It was pretty epic, but the craziest thing was the Cathedral built into the middle of it.
Yesterday went to the Alhambra and it was fantastic!!!!! Same as in the Alcazar at Sevilla but this time even more so - photos just cant convey its magnificence! Obviously I have more to say about the alhambra, and I want to post some photos from there, but cant tonight (sorry mum i know youre waiting!!!)
Tomorrow hoping to get out early again to see the archeological museum, do a couple of little jobbies, and then got train out of here at 11.30, to Toledo, via Madrid.
This hostel is cool, but doesnt come close to the one at Granada!
Well off to bed now. With any luck I should be able to get back on tomorrow because I have more to tell but we shall see. Its also harder in places where Im only staying one night because i tend to spend more time seeing and doing things etc that sitting at computer.
Right now Im excited for sleeeeeep
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Granada
Another awesome, mostly sunny day in the South of Spain. Got the bus first thing from Malaga to Granada and checked into my hostel before 12. The guy who was working at the reception I discovered is a Kiwi!!! from Auckland even, though I never would have guessed it from his accent. This backpackers is totally awesome, it's what backpackers are supposed to be like. I've been talking to two girls on Australia, whose epic trip across Europe is making my journey look like nothing hahaha. And later on I'm going out for a tapas tour, organised by the hostel...sooo glad I changed hehe.
This keyboard is annoying the crap out of me...half the punctuation keys are not what they say they are...useful. But - its internet, inside the backpackers, and it works!!!
I was wandering town earlier this afternoon and went through a little plaza where I ran into Clara [I now know her name], my Korean roommate from 2 nights ago in Malaga, which was the craziest thing! We then discovered we were staying at the same backpacker, in the same dorm even! So that was pretty cool.
Haven't done a huge amount today...well I have but not so much to write about...mostly just random wanderings. I walked up this huge as hill - the arabic side of town, can't remember its name but anyway wandered up to the awesomest lookout point that had the best view out over the city and the Alhambra on the opposite hill, and behind the Alhambra - the Sierra Nevada (=snow covered mountain range) beautiful. In the plaza just behind it there were two outdoor cafes and since it was sunny and lunchtime I decided to treat myself to a proper lunch - cod fish with basil, pinenuts, raisins, prawns (!!!) and maybe something else I can't remember.
I think I worked out what's up with this keyboard. The keys are arranged as they are on English keyboards, but theyre printed like spanish keyboards (if that makes sense).
Tomorrow the plan is to get up early and head up to the Alhambra. Can't wait!!!!!!!!! A million more photos to be taken there, methinks....
xoxoxoxox
This keyboard is annoying the crap out of me...half the punctuation keys are not what they say they are...useful. But - its internet, inside the backpackers, and it works!!!
I was wandering town earlier this afternoon and went through a little plaza where I ran into Clara [I now know her name], my Korean roommate from 2 nights ago in Malaga, which was the craziest thing! We then discovered we were staying at the same backpacker, in the same dorm even! So that was pretty cool.
Haven't done a huge amount today...well I have but not so much to write about...mostly just random wanderings. I walked up this huge as hill - the arabic side of town, can't remember its name but anyway wandered up to the awesomest lookout point that had the best view out over the city and the Alhambra on the opposite hill, and behind the Alhambra - the Sierra Nevada (=snow covered mountain range) beautiful. In the plaza just behind it there were two outdoor cafes and since it was sunny and lunchtime I decided to treat myself to a proper lunch - cod fish with basil, pinenuts, raisins, prawns (!!!) and maybe something else I can't remember.
I think I worked out what's up with this keyboard. The keys are arranged as they are on English keyboards, but theyre printed like spanish keyboards (if that makes sense).
Tomorrow the plan is to get up early and head up to the Alhambra. Can't wait!!!!!!!!! A million more photos to be taken there, methinks....
xoxoxoxox
Saturday, February 7, 2009
listening to The Beatles...
(couldn´t think of a better blog title =p)
Well I´m still in Málaga, and today has been a lovely sunny day spent wandering around the city and climbing up castles on hills.
Yesterday I went to Antequera - which is a really charming little town about an hour out of Málaga. I thought I was only gonna be there until around 2 but I ended up staying all day because it was so cool. It was nice to see a place that wasn´t big city and super touristy =) Walking around the streets, there was a little church around almost every corner haha! Apparently it´s the town with the most churches by population.
Antequera was a very important town during the Arab occupation of Spain, as it lay in the middle of the 4 main cities of the Arab kingdom of Al Andaluz; Córdoba, Granada, Sevilla and Málaga. I went up to the Alcazaba (Fortress) and got there just as a tour (in English! =D) was starting, which made it more interesting and also a bit of company hehe) and there were cool as views from the towers =)
This is the other cool thing I went to see in Antequera:
the photos don´t show them so well, but there are these megalithic structures, constructed about 3000 years ago which makes them pretty impressive. Apparently they´re the most important in Spain/Europe or something like that.
Today I had hoped to go to Ronda, which is a `pueblo blanco´ (`white town´) and supposed to be very pretty. Didn´t make it there, mostly because the bus station is almost completely shut down, except for the platforms and now ticket counters for one company (but not the one that runs to Ronda). I found out this morning its becuase of damage caused my a hurricane - must have been last week or something. Fun. So anyway, I couldn´t get any information about bus timetables or buy tickets or anything. I managed to get on the internet this morning to check timetables, but by then it was too late, especially since it´s 2-3hrs to get there. Never mind. So I´ve spent the day slowly wandering around Málaga, which has been nice actually since the next few days are gonna be pretty packed and faced paced, methinks.
Tomorrow I´m off first thing to Granada - quite excited. I´ve cancelled my booking at the REAJ hostel and booked a much smaller and cooler looking backpackers and oooh its got a kitchen its tragic how exciting that is. Same goes for Córdoba.
Well I´m still in Málaga, and today has been a lovely sunny day spent wandering around the city and climbing up castles on hills.
Yesterday I went to Antequera - which is a really charming little town about an hour out of Málaga. I thought I was only gonna be there until around 2 but I ended up staying all day because it was so cool. It was nice to see a place that wasn´t big city and super touristy =) Walking around the streets, there was a little church around almost every corner haha! Apparently it´s the town with the most churches by population.
Antequera was a very important town during the Arab occupation of Spain, as it lay in the middle of the 4 main cities of the Arab kingdom of Al Andaluz; Córdoba, Granada, Sevilla and Málaga. I went up to the Alcazaba (Fortress) and got there just as a tour (in English! =D) was starting, which made it more interesting and also a bit of company hehe) and there were cool as views from the towers =)
This is the other cool thing I went to see in Antequera:
the photos don´t show them so well, but there are these megalithic structures, constructed about 3000 years ago which makes them pretty impressive. Apparently they´re the most important in Spain/Europe or something like that.
Today I had hoped to go to Ronda, which is a `pueblo blanco´ (`white town´) and supposed to be very pretty. Didn´t make it there, mostly because the bus station is almost completely shut down, except for the platforms and now ticket counters for one company (but not the one that runs to Ronda). I found out this morning its becuase of damage caused my a hurricane - must have been last week or something. Fun. So anyway, I couldn´t get any information about bus timetables or buy tickets or anything. I managed to get on the internet this morning to check timetables, but by then it was too late, especially since it´s 2-3hrs to get there. Never mind. So I´ve spent the day slowly wandering around Málaga, which has been nice actually since the next few days are gonna be pretty packed and faced paced, methinks.
Tomorrow I´m off first thing to Granada - quite excited. I´ve cancelled my booking at the REAJ hostel and booked a much smaller and cooler looking backpackers and oooh its got a kitchen its tragic how exciting that is. Same goes for Córdoba.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
well overdue photo post...
University of Salamanca - Facade
Under the clock in Plaza Mayor, Salamanca = universal meeting place
Roman Aqueduct - Segovia by day and night
Plaza in Sevilla - currently can´t remember which one
Alcazar - Sevilla
Càdiz/Malaga
So I spent yesterday afternoon and this morning exploring Cádiz, which is a pretty cool little city, different yet again from all the other cities. It´s interesting mostly for its historical significance, and I also loved the fact that occupies a peninsula (or promontory, whatever that is) therefore lots of ocean viewage!!!! =D. Well Cádiz is possibly Europe´s oldest city [I might have mentioned that in last blog, not sure] so it´s been inhabited by Phoenicans, Romans, Christians... probably more. It was an important port and commercial centre during the years of the Spanish Empire, when all the riches were coming in from the South American colonies. Also, Cádiz is where Spain´s first liberal constitution was proclaimed, at the end of the Napoleonic war in 1812. In terms of wandering the city [which I´ve done a lot of, through all the rain], its all narrow streets and plazas, like any Old Town in Spain, although the streets don´t seem to have quite as much character as in other cities like Madrid and Salamanca. Still pleasant though. Another cool thing about Cadiz is that its got hundreds of towers - so the people [back in the old old days] could watch and moniter ships coming into the port and what not. One of the coolest things I did was to climb up the Cathedral tower (the highest, I think) which had awesomeful 360 degree view above all the rooftops and towers and out to the ocean along with an audioguide of all the monuments and important places that could be seen =)
Oh and the little backpackers I stayed at was totally awesome, especially after the boring hostel in Sevilla. It´s run by an English (judging by his accent) guy aged somewhere between 30-50 (I can never tell!) And it´s a true backpackers!!! It was in a small building in a street just off one of the main plazas: the ground floor had a reception desk, a couple of tables and chairs/couches and a small kitchen - no doors or anything so really open and friendly. Above that were about 3 or 4 levels of bedrooms with a bathroom on each level, and the top level had a patio with hammocks (for summer haha) though i never made it up there. Really friendly people too. There were a whole lot of girls there (mostly German) who had just arrived to start studying at the university there on monday and were apartment hunting etc. AND a Kiwi girl ooohh who has just been traveling around so was cool to talk to her.
Now I´m in Malaga. It´s a city (I think the 2nd largest in Andalucía, after Sevilla) at the end of the `Costa del Sol´(Sunny Coast), though it´s been raining all day lol. Although from what I´ve seen so far (not a lot), it´s a nice city, and the tree-lined streets are lovely to walk through, it is however just a city, and not one that I had originally planned to stay in. Theres really only a couple of things I particularly want to see here, and I´ve got 3 nights, so I´m planning some daytrips =). The hostel is pretty much the same as in Sevilla, a big place that seems more aimed at large groups than individual travellers. Maybe this is something I should have picked up on when I booked them but hey. Once again there´s no kitchen, only a dining room for meals which the hostel cooks. So I can pay 8€ for hostel dinner, probably amongst uniformed Spanish teenagers, or i can have bread rolls or similar in my room again. I reckon I´ll go for the latter. I have a feeling that the hostels in Granada and Cordoba (next stops) will be similar, I´m about to have a look at the REAJ (Spanish youth hostel network, equivalent to YHA NZ) page to see, and I´m very tempted to cancel my bookings there and look for other non Hostelling International backpackers in those cities, which might even be more central - handy. The one here is about 20 -30 minutes walk from the centre of town, though its a bit closer the the bus and train stations.
Gonna see if I can post some photos after this - I tried in Sevilla but the computer I was on didnt seem to want to upload them to the blogger site - fingers crossed it´ll go here. Silly me didnt bring my camera connection cable, so I can´t get the new ones off camera but oh well.
xoxoxox
Oh and the little backpackers I stayed at was totally awesome, especially after the boring hostel in Sevilla. It´s run by an English (judging by his accent) guy aged somewhere between 30-50 (I can never tell!) And it´s a true backpackers!!! It was in a small building in a street just off one of the main plazas: the ground floor had a reception desk, a couple of tables and chairs/couches and a small kitchen - no doors or anything so really open and friendly. Above that were about 3 or 4 levels of bedrooms with a bathroom on each level, and the top level had a patio with hammocks (for summer haha) though i never made it up there. Really friendly people too. There were a whole lot of girls there (mostly German) who had just arrived to start studying at the university there on monday and were apartment hunting etc. AND a Kiwi girl ooohh who has just been traveling around so was cool to talk to her.
Now I´m in Malaga. It´s a city (I think the 2nd largest in Andalucía, after Sevilla) at the end of the `Costa del Sol´(Sunny Coast), though it´s been raining all day lol. Although from what I´ve seen so far (not a lot), it´s a nice city, and the tree-lined streets are lovely to walk through, it is however just a city, and not one that I had originally planned to stay in. Theres really only a couple of things I particularly want to see here, and I´ve got 3 nights, so I´m planning some daytrips =). The hostel is pretty much the same as in Sevilla, a big place that seems more aimed at large groups than individual travellers. Maybe this is something I should have picked up on when I booked them but hey. Once again there´s no kitchen, only a dining room for meals which the hostel cooks. So I can pay 8€ for hostel dinner, probably amongst uniformed Spanish teenagers, or i can have bread rolls or similar in my room again. I reckon I´ll go for the latter. I have a feeling that the hostels in Granada and Cordoba (next stops) will be similar, I´m about to have a look at the REAJ (Spanish youth hostel network, equivalent to YHA NZ) page to see, and I´m very tempted to cancel my bookings there and look for other non Hostelling International backpackers in those cities, which might even be more central - handy. The one here is about 20 -30 minutes walk from the centre of town, though its a bit closer the the bus and train stations.
Gonna see if I can post some photos after this - I tried in Sevilla but the computer I was on didnt seem to want to upload them to the blogger site - fingers crossed it´ll go here. Silly me didnt bring my camera connection cable, so I can´t get the new ones off camera but oh well.
xoxoxox
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Sevilla
Today I had thought I might go to Mérida for the day, but turned out the walk from hostel to bust station was a lot longer than I thought and I missed the bus, so I stayed in Sevilla - and it was probably the smarter option lol!!!
Sevilla is so very different from all the other places in Spain [and Portugal!] that I´ve seen so far. Obvious, I know, given it´s in a different pat of the country, different geography/climate, and most importantly - different city. All throughout the south of Spain theres strong Muslim influence on the architecture and such, which I´ve definately been noticing and loving. And it´s a really pretty city to walk around. Orange trees everywhere and pretty plazas etc etc. Yesterday (once I finally got myself un-lost and into the central city) I visited the Cathedral, which Lonely Planet says is one of the biggest in the world - its huuuuge!!! and climbed up La Giralda - the cathedral tower which i think existed first and was built by arabs? Oh yeah I also had a look at the Plaza de Toros (Bullfighting ring).
This morning I went to the Alcazar - definately a highlight of Sevilla. I took about a million photos but none of them come close to capturing the decorations, arches, patios etc etc etc. It´s an old palace/king´s residence or something like that, and parts of it havwe been destroyey/rebuilt/added various times through history. So its got all sorts of constructions and decorations from different arabic/christian/`mudejar´(=arab/christian mixture) styles and yeah, can´t really explain it so well but its pretty impressive. and goes on forever!!! I spent 2hrs, maybe more going through the rooms and patios with my audioguide. The only problem was that is was reallly super busy!!!! people everywhere and around every corner - a couple of school groups and another group with fancy cameras taking about 50 thousand photos of every wall hahaha. So I´d often find myself standing around in a corner waiting for a few people to clear out so I could appreciate the place a bit better =)
I´m just in an internet cafe on on of the main roads and out the window to my left is the cathedral amd oh now a tram going past. This morning it was lovely and sunny, but it has since clouded over and about 5/10 minutes ago started to rain. Which could be a pain because after this i was gonna go walk through the `Parque de Maria Luisa´ - a big park with a couple other things to look at on the way back to the hostel. oh well.
Tomorrow on to Cádiz - probably relatively early in the morning since I´ve now pretty much seen enough of Sevilla - well theres always more but yeah.
Sure there was something else I was gonna say, but right now I can´t remember.
love to all
xoxoxox
Sevilla is so very different from all the other places in Spain [and Portugal!] that I´ve seen so far. Obvious, I know, given it´s in a different pat of the country, different geography/climate, and most importantly - different city. All throughout the south of Spain theres strong Muslim influence on the architecture and such, which I´ve definately been noticing and loving. And it´s a really pretty city to walk around. Orange trees everywhere and pretty plazas etc etc. Yesterday (once I finally got myself un-lost and into the central city) I visited the Cathedral, which Lonely Planet says is one of the biggest in the world - its huuuuge!!! and climbed up La Giralda - the cathedral tower which i think existed first and was built by arabs? Oh yeah I also had a look at the Plaza de Toros (Bullfighting ring).
This morning I went to the Alcazar - definately a highlight of Sevilla. I took about a million photos but none of them come close to capturing the decorations, arches, patios etc etc etc. It´s an old palace/king´s residence or something like that, and parts of it havwe been destroyey/rebuilt/added various times through history. So its got all sorts of constructions and decorations from different arabic/christian/`mudejar´(=arab/christian mixture) styles and yeah, can´t really explain it so well but its pretty impressive. and goes on forever!!! I spent 2hrs, maybe more going through the rooms and patios with my audioguide. The only problem was that is was reallly super busy!!!! people everywhere and around every corner - a couple of school groups and another group with fancy cameras taking about 50 thousand photos of every wall hahaha. So I´d often find myself standing around in a corner waiting for a few people to clear out so I could appreciate the place a bit better =)
I´m just in an internet cafe on on of the main roads and out the window to my left is the cathedral amd oh now a tram going past. This morning it was lovely and sunny, but it has since clouded over and about 5/10 minutes ago started to rain. Which could be a pain because after this i was gonna go walk through the `Parque de Maria Luisa´ - a big park with a couple other things to look at on the way back to the hostel. oh well.
Tomorrow on to Cádiz - probably relatively early in the morning since I´ve now pretty much seen enough of Sevilla - well theres always more but yeah.
Sure there was something else I was gonna say, but right now I can´t remember.
love to all
xoxoxox
Monday, February 2, 2009
my feet are wet
It seems the world has something against me getting on here :(
Finally found internet and its the crappest slowest internet in history on dinosaur computers without a usb port which i need
So the short version of what i wanted to say [or some of it] is that I´m not in Mèrida, as my itinerary said, I´m in Sevilla [2 days earlier than planned hehe] my train from Segovia to Madrid for some reason sat for almost 2 hours about 1km from the station in Madrid. Thus I missed my 1.30 train to Mèrida, the next one was full and the next didnt arrive until midnight - no thanks! so they refunded that ticket and i came to Sevilla. Might daytrip it to Mérida tomorrow.
Last night was...interesting...can´t say i´d be keen to repeat it. Short story it rained a lot and i got lost a lot hehehe
but i´m all good now and getting used to being on my own etc.
off to see the city of Sevilla now
more updates to come shortly - i hope!!!!
xoxoxoxox
Finally found internet and its the crappest slowest internet in history on dinosaur computers without a usb port which i need
So the short version of what i wanted to say [or some of it] is that I´m not in Mèrida, as my itinerary said, I´m in Sevilla [2 days earlier than planned hehe] my train from Segovia to Madrid for some reason sat for almost 2 hours about 1km from the station in Madrid. Thus I missed my 1.30 train to Mèrida, the next one was full and the next didnt arrive until midnight - no thanks! so they refunded that ticket and i came to Sevilla. Might daytrip it to Mérida tomorrow.
Last night was...interesting...can´t say i´d be keen to repeat it. Short story it rained a lot and i got lost a lot hehehe
but i´m all good now and getting used to being on my own etc.
off to see the city of Sevilla now
more updates to come shortly - i hope!!!!
xoxoxoxox
Sunday, January 25, 2009
hello from Portugal
another super quick hello
no time to write but felt like i should post a happier entry than the last one
we're in Portugal - its awesome!!!!!
3hrs sitting in a stationary train yesterday not so awesome lol
i heard our weather made it to nz news....its pretty psycho hahaha
off to do some sightseeing - gotta maximise our time train out ofd here is at 4
xoxoxoxoxoxox
no time to write but felt like i should post a happier entry than the last one
we're in Portugal - its awesome!!!!!
3hrs sitting in a stationary train yesterday not so awesome lol
i heard our weather made it to nz news....its pretty psycho hahaha
off to do some sightseeing - gotta maximise our time train out ofd here is at 4
xoxoxoxoxoxox
Thursday, January 22, 2009
hello
havent blogged all week, so i felt i should say hello and let you know i´m still alive and well.
don´t really have much to say at the moment though, in an odd kind of mood and keen to get home
just went for a bit of a walk along near the river and back up past the cathedral and uni.
time is passing so fast!!!
looking forward to Portugal this weekend and hopefully I´ll be able to write a more interesting post later.
love
xoxoxox
don´t really have much to say at the moment though, in an odd kind of mood and keen to get home
just went for a bit of a walk along near the river and back up past the cathedral and uni.
time is passing so fast!!!
looking forward to Portugal this weekend and hopefully I´ll be able to write a more interesting post later.
love
xoxoxox
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Weekend in Galicia
Larissa and I just got back into Salamanca after an awesome weekend spent in Galicia, which is in the north wesern corner of Spain.
It´s about 10.15m and got to get home, so I can´t write much at the moment, but I can´t wait to upload some pictures and explain more.
Short story [i hope]: Galicia is beautiful, GREEN!!!, and overall reminded us very much of New Zealand lol, though still very different. Since Friday afternoon we have been to so many places and spent a long time on buses! Left here at 2.30pm for Santiago, historically [well and currently] an important destination for pilgrims. Got there late at night, walked, ate, slept. Bus went through hills/mountains where we saw more snow it was preettyy - then it got dark. Saturday morning wandered around Santiago, had my first ``chocolate con churros´´ - yum! - looked at the cathedral and surrounding plazas, then got on a bus to head up along the ``costa del muerte´´ Scenic route along the coast through hills and trees etc in a nearly empty 2-level bus, in which we scored the front seats upstairs so pretty sweet views!!!
This trip ended at ¨finisterre¨ - aka the end of the world - or so everyone thought before Columbus discovered America. Small, slightly unfriendly little town which really did feel like the end of the world, haha. From there we got another bus to A Coruña, which is a pretty awesome city on an isthmus yay with beach right in the urban centre pretty much. Spent this morning exploring a bit of it, mostly around the coast, and climbed up an old tower and enjoyed the wild ocean and spray and salt and wind and everything. It was awesome. Then it was train back to Santiago, across town to the bus station, and 6 or so hours back to Salamanca and I guess the story ends there for now.
Off home to write a script for a 15min oral presentation about NZ - funn.
love to all
xoxoxox
It´s about 10.15m and got to get home, so I can´t write much at the moment, but I can´t wait to upload some pictures and explain more.
Short story [i hope]: Galicia is beautiful, GREEN!!!, and overall reminded us very much of New Zealand lol, though still very different. Since Friday afternoon we have been to so many places and spent a long time on buses! Left here at 2.30pm for Santiago, historically [well and currently] an important destination for pilgrims. Got there late at night, walked, ate, slept. Bus went through hills/mountains where we saw more snow it was preettyy - then it got dark. Saturday morning wandered around Santiago, had my first ``chocolate con churros´´ - yum! - looked at the cathedral and surrounding plazas, then got on a bus to head up along the ``costa del muerte´´ Scenic route along the coast through hills and trees etc in a nearly empty 2-level bus, in which we scored the front seats upstairs so pretty sweet views!!!
This trip ended at ¨finisterre¨ - aka the end of the world - or so everyone thought before Columbus discovered America. Small, slightly unfriendly little town which really did feel like the end of the world, haha. From there we got another bus to A Coruña, which is a pretty awesome city on an isthmus yay with beach right in the urban centre pretty much. Spent this morning exploring a bit of it, mostly around the coast, and climbed up an old tower and enjoyed the wild ocean and spray and salt and wind and everything. It was awesome. Then it was train back to Santiago, across town to the bus station, and 6 or so hours back to Salamanca and I guess the story ends there for now.
Off home to write a script for a 15min oral presentation about NZ - funn.
love to all
xoxoxox
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Life in Salamanca...
Plaza Mayor in Salamanca with rising moon in corner - looked bigger and prettier in real life.
``Roman Bridge´´ - looking back towards the city
Julia, Me, Larissa on the Roman Bridge with the city and Cathedral(s) in the background.
Just posted a huge as blog, but because i started writing it last week and saved it as an unpublished draft, blogger decided to post it a few entried below, so scroll down to find it hahaha
bye for now
xoxoxoox
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
PHOTOS!!!! [part 1]
...so my camera has had no space left for days and i´ve finally made it to a photo shop and got them all on disk :) which means that a) i can now take more yay! and b) i can post some here for you all to see!!!
I´m gonna post them in small groups in separate posts so they dont hopefully take too long to upload hahahaha
here goes...
[at beijing airport]
....so this is slower and less easy to edit than i thought
sorry i cant caption/rotate them
well not at the moment anyway
theyre all in madrid, except for the first one
I´m gonna post them in small groups in separate posts so they dont hopefully take too long to upload hahahaha
here goes...
[at beijing airport]
....so this is slower and less easy to edit than i thought
sorry i cant caption/rotate them
well not at the moment anyway
theyre all in madrid, except for the first one
Saturday, January 10, 2009
lalala
dammit well i was gonna write a bloggy about my routine and such here in Salamanca but I´m running out of time so those details are gonna have to wait [again]. how fast the time passes on the internet! lol
I think I already said I woke up this morning to find a snow-covered city =) well it was more like a dusting haha but its a start. Larissa said she thinks it´ll snow again and I agree. Didnt do much this morning very different, oh i did a bit of homework lol how exciting - and i´ve got more to do after dinner.
But it turned into a beautiful afternoon. Myself, Larissa and Julia, after discovering that non laundromats are open on a saturday afternoon, decided instead to go exploring. So we visited the city´s cathedral [the first of many that I´m gonna be seeing for sure] - bags of dirty clothes and all!!! Highlight was climbing up to the top and navigating narrow winding staircases and platforms etc among the [i forget what theyre proper called lol but the roof bits of the cathedral] fantastic views out over the city. From there we walked down to the Puente Romano [roman bridge] across the river then slowly made our way back to the Plaza Mayor [pretty much the central point of the city and default meeting place]. Stopped at a little cafe there for a drink, then parted ways
tomorrow morning we´re meeting at the train station to go somewhere - we dont know yet lol just gonna decide when we get there. sounds like fun.
Hopefully with a couple of new friends - one italian and one canadian. Well we´re gonna text them soon hope they can and will come.
Must be off now. Dinner is soon and i like to get home at least a little bit in advance - feels a bit rude otherwise haha
xoxoxox
I think I already said I woke up this morning to find a snow-covered city =) well it was more like a dusting haha but its a start. Larissa said she thinks it´ll snow again and I agree. Didnt do much this morning very different, oh i did a bit of homework lol how exciting - and i´ve got more to do after dinner.
But it turned into a beautiful afternoon. Myself, Larissa and Julia, after discovering that non laundromats are open on a saturday afternoon, decided instead to go exploring. So we visited the city´s cathedral [the first of many that I´m gonna be seeing for sure] - bags of dirty clothes and all!!! Highlight was climbing up to the top and navigating narrow winding staircases and platforms etc among the [i forget what theyre proper called lol but the roof bits of the cathedral] fantastic views out over the city. From there we walked down to the Puente Romano [roman bridge] across the river then slowly made our way back to the Plaza Mayor [pretty much the central point of the city and default meeting place]. Stopped at a little cafe there for a drink, then parted ways
tomorrow morning we´re meeting at the train station to go somewhere - we dont know yet lol just gonna decide when we get there. sounds like fun.
Hopefully with a couple of new friends - one italian and one canadian. Well we´re gonna text them soon hope they can and will come.
Must be off now. Dinner is soon and i like to get home at least a little bit in advance - feels a bit rude otherwise haha
xoxoxox
Life in Salamanca...
ok time for a bloggie about my what i get up to and my routine etc here in Salamanca. The picture I´ve posted is the view from my bedroom window the morning i woke up and discovered snow!!! i was so excited. It hasnt really snowed here since then.
well, how to start? lol. Everything works so very differenty here to in NZ - its a completely different lifestyle
My classes start at 9am so I get up a bit before 8. Breakfast is 2 pieces of toast `cooked in the frypan, there is no toaster in the house - i don´t know if that is normal or not] with jam, a cup of tea [no kettle - she heats the water in the microwave!!!] and sometimes fruit.
Its about 15, maybe 20 minutes to walk to uni from the house. one day I´m gonna get out my camera and take some photos of my route to uni - just because.
Classes are from 9-2, or 2.15 really. first up 2 hours of grammar, followed by one hour of conversation/writing [its a fun class haha] these are in the same room with the same people but 2 different teachers. I nornally sit between my friend Ofelia, who´s Korean, and Paula who´s from Brazil. Lots of Brazilian girls at the uni, oh and a couple of guys. Also a lot of Koreans! In the class theres also a Norwegian girl who i talk to a bit. Then theres a couple of American´s who always have things to say to get the class laughing, and about 4 or 5 more Koreans, oh and an older guy from Italy who is a) difficult to understand because of his accent and b)really annoying! lol. But yeah the class is awesome, and now I ramble. The teachers are fantastic, really good at what they do and funny also.
After conversation class, Paula and I have to walk abt 10 minutes down the road, back through the Plaza Mayor to the other building where I have the last two classes. Spanish culture is totally awesome!!! It´s interesting stuff, though some of it I already know...but the teacher is the coolest ever. She´s really energetic and animated and really really funny. The last class, (Spanish/latinamerican film) however, is kind of an anticlimax lol. Not quite so interesting, and by then I´m always super tired and starving hungry, which makes concentration difficult. And lately when we come into the room it reeks like a mixture of vomit, BO, and who knows what else so all the windows have to be opened, thus makuing the room freexing, but hey.
Enough about classes.
After that it´s home for lunch, which, as I´ve said, is huuuge. Almost always starts of with some sort of soup, with salad [best red capsicums ever!!!] and bread. After that Pascuala [thats my host mum] goes out to the kitchen and comes back with meat - normally some form of cerdo (pig), but sometimes chicken (like today) or something else. She never gives me fish, because on my second or third day she served fried squid rings - and i didnt like it. LOL
Ater lunch i stay around home for an hour or 2, normally do a bit of homework or whatever, and yeah. All the shops and offices etc shut down at 2, and don´t reopen until sometime between 4 and 5.30, then they stay open til 8 or 9. No one is ever at home at 6. except, it seems, all our host parents lol. It´s really weird, but we´re getting used to it.
I normally go out to meet friends at 4 or 4.30, either to do important things like booking bus tickets or whatever, or just to hang out etc. Oh and internet cafe!! Normally grab a hot chocolate at some point, since dinner isnt until 9. Theres so many things that are just never gonna be the same when i get back. Hot chocolate is one of them. They dont actually call it ``hot chocolate´´, its just chocolate. Larissa and I were wondering this arvo what they actually put in it because its soooo goood. Its thick, creamy, rich, and surprisingly hard to describe lol. Its almost like a chocolate sauce, but not really, because that sounds disgusting. But since I don´t like coffee, and the tea here is not so great, I´m pretty much limited to chocolate and orange juice. Both of which are amazing so i cant complain. In bars and cafes zumo de naranja is always squeezed when you order it - yum! good stuff.
Normally get home between 8 and 9. dinner is at 9, its a bit smaller than lunch but normally just as good! and when i´m at home theres almost always more study etc to be done.
Theres heaps of details missed out but i´ve written enough for now and I´ve gotta get home. Becuase I have a 15min presentation to start writing, and also have to get ready for our little weekend excursion. We´re going straight after class tomorrow way up north to Santiago de Compostela and maybe A Coruña, in Galicia, so should be fun :)
I´m out of here!
love everyone
xoxoxox
two things...
1. It snowed overnight!!! like lots!!! well not lots lots but enough that all the streets and plazas etc [well not so much the streets because theyve been walked and driven over] have a light covering of snow! that was the best thing ever to wake up to.
because before now its snowed but not enough to last just a little shower every now and then
so happy happy
2. I have a spanish cellphone number. And, I am a dork. Because just now I realised I don't know it and the card thing with my number is at home, stupid, i came here to post it. Well that will have to wait damn but in the meantime if anyone is particularly interested then char and mum have it. But since it is an overseas number, it costs more [dunno how much but probably heaps] to send a message so be careful lol.
I try to put my NZ sim card in in the evenings [your mornings] to recieve any texts and i hope to top up my nz account today so i can send texts from it again.
anyway must go love to all
xoxoxo
because before now its snowed but not enough to last just a little shower every now and then
so happy happy
2. I have a spanish cellphone number. And, I am a dork. Because just now I realised I don't know it and the card thing with my number is at home, stupid, i came here to post it. Well that will have to wait damn but in the meantime if anyone is particularly interested then char and mum have it. But since it is an overseas number, it costs more [dunno how much but probably heaps] to send a message so be careful lol.
I try to put my NZ sim card in in the evenings [your mornings] to recieve any texts and i hope to top up my nz account today so i can send texts from it again.
anyway must go love to all
xoxoxo
Friday, January 9, 2009
INTERNET!!!! al last!!!
lol
just a quickie update because have to get home for dinner soon.
pity because i have soooo much to say!
well I have more to tell about madrid but thats gonna have to wait because tonight i want to talk about Salamanca.
First lesson: In Madrid it´s near impossible to get lost, even if you want to. In Salamanca however, you definately can. And I do.
When we arrived on the train we all did our best to work out a route to our respective houses - of course there were no maps to be found at the station!
Although my house is only about a 5min walk from there, i got hopeless lost and walked for over an hour, bags and all. Well at least now i know how to ask strangers on the street for help LOL
Larissa also walked for an hour, as did Sol. Great start.
Have lost myself several times since, especially around the uni campus, but have had maps to rescue myself with =)
but every street looks the same until you´ve walked on them several times and even then they look similar!
Well the uni is like another world, so so so so old and so impressive and beautiful etc etc
My host mum cooks nice as food - very spanish, very fresh yadda yadda yadda
so far the only thing i havent been able to eat was the other night´s squid rings - hmmm...
courses are fun, and my teachers are awesome, especially for spanish culture
salamanca is very beautiful
oh, and its freeeezing, but i´m loving it. the temperature is mostly hanging around 0 degrees, plus or minus 1 or so.
it snows little bit every now and then, heaviest this morning as i was walking to uni.
the weather is all over the news because all over spain theres been heavy heavy snow.
Barcelona is covered with snow
Madrid was the lastest we were watching that at lunchtime
Almeria in the south also
its even been snowing in Mallorca!!
Me and Sol are hoping it´s gonna snow more here but dunno aye
my `mum´told me over lunch today that i know more spanish than i think i do, and that i learn fast`[at least thats what i think she said]
so much more to tell but gotta run for now. Its so good to read all your comments and emails etc
home for dinner now - its at 9pm!!!! crazy
xoxoxoxo
just a quickie update because have to get home for dinner soon.
pity because i have soooo much to say!
well I have more to tell about madrid but thats gonna have to wait because tonight i want to talk about Salamanca.
First lesson: In Madrid it´s near impossible to get lost, even if you want to. In Salamanca however, you definately can. And I do.
When we arrived on the train we all did our best to work out a route to our respective houses - of course there were no maps to be found at the station!
Although my house is only about a 5min walk from there, i got hopeless lost and walked for over an hour, bags and all. Well at least now i know how to ask strangers on the street for help LOL
Larissa also walked for an hour, as did Sol. Great start.
Have lost myself several times since, especially around the uni campus, but have had maps to rescue myself with =)
but every street looks the same until you´ve walked on them several times and even then they look similar!
Well the uni is like another world, so so so so old and so impressive and beautiful etc etc
My host mum cooks nice as food - very spanish, very fresh yadda yadda yadda
so far the only thing i havent been able to eat was the other night´s squid rings - hmmm...
courses are fun, and my teachers are awesome, especially for spanish culture
salamanca is very beautiful
oh, and its freeeezing, but i´m loving it. the temperature is mostly hanging around 0 degrees, plus or minus 1 or so.
it snows little bit every now and then, heaviest this morning as i was walking to uni.
the weather is all over the news because all over spain theres been heavy heavy snow.
Barcelona is covered with snow
Madrid was the lastest we were watching that at lunchtime
Almeria in the south also
its even been snowing in Mallorca!!
Me and Sol are hoping it´s gonna snow more here but dunno aye
my `mum´told me over lunch today that i know more spanish than i think i do, and that i learn fast`[at least thats what i think she said]
so much more to tell but gotta run for now. Its so good to read all your comments and emails etc
home for dinner now - its at 9pm!!!! crazy
xoxoxoxo
Sunday, January 4, 2009
So I´m in Madrid...
...wow!!
The chair at this computer is way too low and rather annoying - oh well.
Sooo it´s been a long couple of days!!!
It was both strange and sad leaving all my friends and family at the airport on Friday night. That feels like so long ago though - so much has happened since then!!! I probably won´t even remember everything as I write this but oh well here goes:
My first thought as I walked onto the plane at Auckland airport was ¨Now I see why they call it cattle class!!!¨ lol. Watched a couple movies - decided that Michael Cera is cool, slept a very little bit but mostly was too awake - damn.
Flight was long long long boring boring boring but I always knew that was going to be the way.
I hadn´t been given boarding passes for my connecting flights at Beijing, which proved somewhat difficult and led to some trauma and feeling rather stupid!ç
Short story is I couldn´t go directly through the transfers queue without a boarding pass and I got sent in various different directions by different people with no idea what exactly I was supposed to be doing and how I was going to get my boarding passes for the next 2 flights. Finally a staff member found me by the train station place [they have a train shuttle between terminals/parts of the terminal - that place is huge!!] lost and crying and feeling hopeless and stupid. She spoke not much English but took me all over the airport, through the check-in queues and everything to get my passes and took me to the right gate. Was very grateful and after that China gave me no more trouble.
Got on the Lufthansa plane and after noticing, as I had already heard, that the seats looked even more cramped and less comfortable than on Air New Zealand, I was pleased to discover that I had an aisle seat in the front row, so plenty of leg room =) and as it turned out the two seats next to me were unoccupied, so I had space to spread out my stuff etc - saweeet. Not so impressed that there was no entertainment-on-demand so the iPod got plenty of use.
Transfer at Frankfurt was straightforward and only a short flight to Madrid. I probably got about 3-4 hours sleep in the entire 36ish hours of traveilling - tired!
When I landed in Madrid however, I waited at the baggage claim forever but my bag never showed up. Cue more tears, more stress, etc etc etc, but the guy at the lost luggage desk was helpful and spoke good english and was pretty damn cute!!!
The bag still hasn´t turned up - NOT IMPRESSED!
The airline said they will reimburse me for up to 50€ to buy stuff I need today that I should have had in my bag. I get another 50€ for tomorrow, since they still don´t know where it is - well they didn´t this afternoon. So i´ve got some pjs to sleep in and new pair of underwear and socks. tomorrow first thing gonna get another change of clothes and hopefully I´ll see my bag sometime soon.
The hostel, though a bit out in the suburbs is easy to get to and takes about half an hour or maybe less, walking included, from the middle of the city - it´s an easy trip really. It´s big and clean and the staff are friendly and helpful enough. Was a bit slow getting out this morning and was not feeling so great because of the bag mess, but once I met up with Sol everything felt better. Nice to have someone to talk to and hang out with =)Sol is pretty much awesome! We discovered after a couple of hours that we love almost exactly the same bands =) so yay hehe and theres plenty more we seem to have in common. We spent the afternoon/evening wandering around central Madrid - sometimes with purpose and sometimes not haha. I love the city, and it´s so different to Auckland or anywhere I´ve ever been. It´s crazy when I stop to think and realise - wow, I´m actually in Spain!!!
I love all the old buildings and streets and the Plaza Mayor is just incredible! We´ve done some shopping - since i needed stuff and Sol needed a new pair of shoes. We went down and walked along the Paseo del Prado - which is like the high culture end of Madrid. Enormous lines to get into the Museo del Prado - possibly because Sundays are free entry and its holiday season, plus it´s a hot tourist destination. We´re planning to go back tomorrow morning with Larissa. Also on the agenda for tomorrow is a visit to the Palacio Real [Royal palace]
There is no shortage of hot guys around here!!! It´s awesome!!!
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
anyway, I must be off for now, as its getting close to midnight and a) the computer room is going to close b) i´m going to run out of credit and c) i want maybe shower and definately bed!
hoping for an early start tomorrow but will see what time i wake up.
Cellphone is off for now, will turn it on maybe at some point tomorrow but not sure how much life its battery will have - it´s getting low!
thats it for now
love to all
xoxoxo
The chair at this computer is way too low and rather annoying - oh well.
Sooo it´s been a long couple of days!!!
It was both strange and sad leaving all my friends and family at the airport on Friday night. That feels like so long ago though - so much has happened since then!!! I probably won´t even remember everything as I write this but oh well here goes:
My first thought as I walked onto the plane at Auckland airport was ¨Now I see why they call it cattle class!!!¨ lol. Watched a couple movies - decided that Michael Cera is cool, slept a very little bit but mostly was too awake - damn.
Flight was long long long boring boring boring but I always knew that was going to be the way.
I hadn´t been given boarding passes for my connecting flights at Beijing, which proved somewhat difficult and led to some trauma and feeling rather stupid!ç
Short story is I couldn´t go directly through the transfers queue without a boarding pass and I got sent in various different directions by different people with no idea what exactly I was supposed to be doing and how I was going to get my boarding passes for the next 2 flights. Finally a staff member found me by the train station place [they have a train shuttle between terminals/parts of the terminal - that place is huge!!] lost and crying and feeling hopeless and stupid. She spoke not much English but took me all over the airport, through the check-in queues and everything to get my passes and took me to the right gate. Was very grateful and after that China gave me no more trouble.
Got on the Lufthansa plane and after noticing, as I had already heard, that the seats looked even more cramped and less comfortable than on Air New Zealand, I was pleased to discover that I had an aisle seat in the front row, so plenty of leg room =) and as it turned out the two seats next to me were unoccupied, so I had space to spread out my stuff etc - saweeet. Not so impressed that there was no entertainment-on-demand so the iPod got plenty of use.
Transfer at Frankfurt was straightforward and only a short flight to Madrid. I probably got about 3-4 hours sleep in the entire 36ish hours of traveilling - tired!
When I landed in Madrid however, I waited at the baggage claim forever but my bag never showed up. Cue more tears, more stress, etc etc etc, but the guy at the lost luggage desk was helpful and spoke good english and was pretty damn cute!!!
The bag still hasn´t turned up - NOT IMPRESSED!
The airline said they will reimburse me for up to 50€ to buy stuff I need today that I should have had in my bag. I get another 50€ for tomorrow, since they still don´t know where it is - well they didn´t this afternoon. So i´ve got some pjs to sleep in and new pair of underwear and socks. tomorrow first thing gonna get another change of clothes and hopefully I´ll see my bag sometime soon.
The hostel, though a bit out in the suburbs is easy to get to and takes about half an hour or maybe less, walking included, from the middle of the city - it´s an easy trip really. It´s big and clean and the staff are friendly and helpful enough. Was a bit slow getting out this morning and was not feeling so great because of the bag mess, but once I met up with Sol everything felt better. Nice to have someone to talk to and hang out with =)Sol is pretty much awesome! We discovered after a couple of hours that we love almost exactly the same bands =) so yay hehe and theres plenty more we seem to have in common. We spent the afternoon/evening wandering around central Madrid - sometimes with purpose and sometimes not haha. I love the city, and it´s so different to Auckland or anywhere I´ve ever been. It´s crazy when I stop to think and realise - wow, I´m actually in Spain!!!
I love all the old buildings and streets and the Plaza Mayor is just incredible! We´ve done some shopping - since i needed stuff and Sol needed a new pair of shoes. We went down and walked along the Paseo del Prado - which is like the high culture end of Madrid. Enormous lines to get into the Museo del Prado - possibly because Sundays are free entry and its holiday season, plus it´s a hot tourist destination. We´re planning to go back tomorrow morning with Larissa. Also on the agenda for tomorrow is a visit to the Palacio Real [Royal palace]
There is no shortage of hot guys around here!!! It´s awesome!!!
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
anyway, I must be off for now, as its getting close to midnight and a) the computer room is going to close b) i´m going to run out of credit and c) i want maybe shower and definately bed!
hoping for an early start tomorrow but will see what time i wake up.
Cellphone is off for now, will turn it on maybe at some point tomorrow but not sure how much life its battery will have - it´s getting low!
thats it for now
love to all
xoxoxo
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