spring?

how can it be so warm, sunny, and beautiful outside one day and the next be windy, cold, gray, and miserable?? i don't get it. yesterday i would have said "spring has arrived!" but i guess that would have been premature. there are definitely more warm days than there were a few weeks ago, though. the daffodils and tulips are popping up everywhere, the flowering trees are starting to bloom, and everything looks greener. spring is coming soon.

spain

hello friends!

i'm back from a weekend in spain! i went with two other californian girls from the uc education abroad program - karesa and justina. we flew out of gatwick at 3:25 and after a brief two hour flight, we were in girona! we had to take a coach from girona to barcelona, and justina and i sat in the back next to seven very drunk, very loud, and very irish women. they seriously yelled and sang the whole hour and a half we were on that coach. well, we got to barcelona and decided to walk around and find a nice little restaurant to grab dinner and maybe some wine, but restaurants don't open til 8:30, and 90% of the eateries we saw were donor kebabs and fried mystery meats. *shiver* we are too hungry and poor to wait for an overpriced spanish restaurant, so we found a market and bought bread, cheese, and fruit to get us through the rest of the night. with slight difficulty, we finally stumbled upon our hostel, sant jordi sagrada familia, named after gaudi's church. it was such a nice place! the people at the front desk were so friendly and helpful, they had computers with free internet access, our room had two bunk beds, and our apartment had its own kitchen, bathroom, and living room. our hostel-mates were friendly and we chatted with them until we had to pass out in our room from exhaustion. unfortunately, the others stayed up till who knows when (i'll estimate 4) talking and laughing loudly, right on the other side of the wall. i slept little, and then we got up at 7:30 to make the most of our saturday.

we got on a train to figueras, a town two hours by train northeast of barcelona. figueras was all my idea, and i decided we had to go because that's where the dali museum is. outside the train station in figueras, we marvelled how quiet and laid back the town was. it was so warm and bright outside, quite the opposite of canterbury in winter. we walked through a street market where vendors sold sausages, loaves of bread, jewelry, and other oddities. we even saw a pan pipe band, and i immediately recalled an episode of south park and laughed heartily.

eventually we made it up to the top of the town where the dali museum is, and went through the entire thing. i must have taken around 300 photos inside, of his various artworks. he is one of my favorite painters and i aspire to create work like his. the museum was wonderful, and i couldn't believe what prolific an artist he was, and he was so multi-talented. paintings, drawings, sculptures, jewelry...

anyway, we left the museum and grabbed a quick lunch at a local restaurant that wasn't too special, hopped back on the train and got back to barcelona late afternoon. justina suggested we check out the gothic quarter, which sounded super cool, and i don't know if that's where we went, but we ended up on a main street with vendors and street performers dressed up in crazy costumes. we saw a lady dressed as a fruit stand, several people painted to look like bronze statues, and creepiest of all there was a person dressed as satan holding an infant. wtf? all this time i'm vigilantly guarding my purse because i'm terrified of pickpocketers. also, practically everyone in barcelona has a dog. there were people walking their dogs everywhere, and i wanted to adopt all of them.


with dusk approaching, i suggested we go to park güell, a famous park designed by gaudi. we started the trek up to the park - i had read that it takes a dedicated tourist to make the climb... we ended up hiking uphill for about 40 minutes and never found the park. it closed at 7, so we ended our search when we realized that even if we found it, we couldn't enter. i was pretty bummed out about that, since i had intended the weekend to be full of art and architecture.


we headed back to the hostel, our feet sore and our legs tired. justina and karesa had originally wanted to go out on a pub crawl that cost 15 pounds and included several bars and drinks, but i was exhausted and nearly broke, so that idea didn't sound too good to me. thankfully, our hostel had organized a hostel bar night with some other hostels, and if we went with them to a specific bar, we got free entry and one free drink. score! i wanted to see the barcelona night life even though i was half-dead from lack of sleep. we went to a bar called the roxy, with blue lighting inside, jewelled walls, and disco balls. we had free champagne (too bad it wasn't good) and danced a bit. the bar was nearly dead, i was tired, and the champagne was not tasty, so quickly i decided to call it a night. we headed home at 1:30 to sleep and then rose the next morning at 8.

sunday morning we visited la sagrada familia, the church i mentioned earlier. it was spectacular. it's been under construction since 1882 and there are huge cranes and scaffolding surrounding it. i found it just beautiful, and wonder when it will finally open and be used as a church. while walking around the building, i was approached by two women holding flowers. one came up to me, started talking in spanish about some festival, and handed me a flower. i declined and tried to move away, but she was insistent, putting the flower through the loop of my bag strap. at first i thought she was just giving me a flower to be festive.... then a man walking nearby called out to me, shook his head and came over, he handed the flower back to the lady and she scurried off. he told me, in spanish, that she was lying - there was no festival - the flower was meant as a distraction while she pickpocketed me. thank god nothing was taken and that man was there to help me out. i was very shaken up by the incident and felt so violated. pickpocketers are horrible people. after that incident, i decided it was a good idea to leave spain before any of us got robbed.


i didn't get to the picasso museum or park güell, so i've decided i just have to return to barcelona someday.

until next time!

just uploaded two facebook albums of barcelona and figueres. will blog about the trip tomorrow.


meantime, sooo tired, sleeeeep.

sunday in whitstable

lindsey and i went to whitstable today! it's about 7 miles north of canterbury, and we just had to hop on the bus on campus and it took us straight there. it's a small fishing town right on the ocean, with pebble beaches, a harbor, and adorable boutique-type shops all up and down it's narrow streets. we saw so many little dogs and families with small children walking around. i wonder if sunday is a big day for families to go enjoy the ocean?


lindsey and i went straight to the beach, and i picked up several rocks and shells to take back with me. we walked around town and noted which shops we wanted to stop in after lunch, then we headed to lunch at the crab and winkle restaurant right above a fish market. as i write this i'm feeling queasy - shellfish just doesn't agree with me so i won't be ordering it anymore. i had raw oysters and raw cockles. 30 minutes later my tummy was not happy. blech... so then we stopped in several stores that were full of random awesome things and hopped on the bus to come home. we both were longing for a nap, and it was good timing to come back home, since it started raining just as we got on the bus.


it was a wonderful little day trip, and i'm looking forward to going back to whitstable and eating at wheeler's oyster bar (we couldn't go there because it's smaller than a closet and they were booked full) but i won't be getting the oysters, that's for sure.

hey all! i returned today from my trip to dublin with allison and ashley! our flight was at 8 AM so we were up at 5:30. needless to say, i'm pretty tired.

day one: leave campus at 11:15, catch bus into town, get on train to victoria station, at victoria station, take gatwick express to london gatwick airport, and then fly to dublin!

we landed in dublin after a very brief flight, took a bus to o'connell street in the heart of dublin, and walked a mere two blocks to our hostel, but not before picking up some tasty beer (leffe blond, trappist chimay, and of course some guinness). we checked into the hostel, made ourselves presentable after our disheveling day of journey, and then ventured downstairs to the communal kitchen/dining area to enjoy our beers before we headed out to the famous temple bar area. oh yes, let me also add in that we were in a hostel room with 5 bunk beds, and at 9 PM when we finally got inside our room, there was a creepy middle-aged man sound asleep in a bed in the corner. whaaaaat? weird. so downstairs, a large group of people were cooking and served a communal dinner - one of them was having a birthday. they invited us to join them we happily did. i met to a guy from rome who i had a conversation with in mixed spanish/english because spanish is close enough to italian that he understood generally what i was saying. allison, ashley, and i also met three guys from france that were heading to temple bar too so we decided to go with them.

temple bar was ridiculously close to the hostel. we walked one block, crossed the bridge over the river liffey, and we were there. we ended up just barely getting let in a bar called fitzsimons where there was a live band playing ONLY shania twain. ha?? okay so then i payed 5 euro for a drink just so i could say i had a drink at temple bar. we chilled at a table until allison, ashley, and i were sick of listening to the shania impersonater and we headed back to the hostel for some not-so-excellent sleep. the next morning i was awoken by two large spanish girls who were clomping around the room, talking loudly, and spraying air freshener everywhere. ugh.

allison decided to sleep in and ashley and i went downstairs for breakfast: cornflakes and toast. yaaay. we checked out and walked around the city for an hour, saw some very cool shops and cafes. we went in an awesome shop full of middle eastern art that really reminded me of tibet/nepal in davis. then we found a jewelry store with a 50% sale and we all got silver claddagh rings.


at 12, allison's friend maebh met us in the city and took us on a tour around dublin, through trinity college, a very cute park called st. stephen's green, and the national museum of ireland where we saw several bog bodies of murdered men from the 300s and 400s. at 2 pm saturday, we witnessed a huge protest by public sector workers over the irish economy. it was really cool to see.

after that, we headed to the guinness factory, of course, to do the tour. very cool, informative, and delicious. yay. then maebh's mom picked us up and took us back to her house in drogheda, where she cooked us a wonderful homemade dinner: boiled potatoes and monkfish with red pepper for me, and roasted lamb and potatoes for everyone else. nomnomnom.



then maebh took us to a local pub called mcphail's with live music. i saw firsthand irish people getting drunk and rowdy. they don't dance very well, haha. well then we were so tired we left at midnight and slept for 5 hours before getting up at 5:30 to head back home. what a trip!!!

belgium

back from belgium! i had an amazing time. i guess i'll start at the beginning: after getting out of class on friday at noon, i rushed to the bus stop to meet lindsey and get to the train station. we made our train with two minutes to spare, and spent about an hour and 40 minutes on the train to victoria station, where we got on the tube to heathrow and that took about another 40 minutes. we arrived at the airport SO early. thankfully, heathrow practically has its own mall inside with shops selling beer, clothing, perfume, and sunglasses, so lindsey and i stayed entertained until our plane took off.

toon and his friend matthias met us at the airport and drove us to our bed and breakfast, which turned out to be in a worse part of brussels. we got there and found the door locked, and a sign indicating that reception closed at 10 pm. we called the help-line number and it ended up going to the reception at another hotel across town. whaaaaaaaat? so toon offered to let us stay at his place. what a saint!!! we headed over to toon's place to drop off our stuff, and he happens to live right next to the the grand place, the center of brussels! we walked around the grand place and saw mannequin pis at night, then headed straight for the delirium cafe.

i can't tell you how long i've wanted to visit this cafe. i first tried delirium tremens when jessica brought it back from her studies abroad, and i fell in love with it the first time i layed eyes on that painted bottle with the pink elephant. so you can imagine my excitement at finally getting to try it on tap. it was everything i had hoped for! the cafe was packed with people, noisy, and full of smoke. we found a table at the very back corner and crowded some stools around it and smushed in. i ended up drinking delirium tremens, delirium nocturnum, and gulden draak (a new favorite). lindsey, matthias, toon, and i ended up staying in the bar until they kicked us out to close, and we headed back to toon's apartment for some well-needed rest.

the next morning, we dropped toon off at the train station and matthias drove lindsey and me to our bed and breakfast, where we finally were able to get in our room. it was pretty nice, with two double beds pushed together, a small television, a closet, a sink, and a mini fridge. we didn't stick around though - it was time for brugge! we walked to the train station, past windows containing scantily-clad women sitting on chairs. creepy! the train to brugge took only one hour, and the minute we stepped outside lindsey and i were just amazed. brugge is a fairy-tale town. cobblestone streets, houses lined up one right next to the other, all with red roofs and doors painted all sorts of colors. the town is surrounded by a canal that also runs through it at parts. in the center is a big square with restaurants, shops, pubs, and a large bell tower. the square was bustling with tourists, horse-drawn carriages, and locals walking their dogs. lindsey and i climbed a very narrow spiral staircase to get to the top of the bell tower, and enjoyed the panoramic views of the city while listening to the bells. after wandering around the town some more, we headed back on the train to brussels.

once back in brussels, we got lost while walking back to the b&b, but ended up finding it after backtracking to the train station and asking for directions. we grabbed dinner at a small but very nice restaurant, where the waiter was friendly and spoke very good english. i massacred a family of baby squid, and lindsey devoured an entire fish with its head still on. it was simultaneously delicious and traumatizing. we then got some belgian beer at a night shop and headed back to the b&b, since we were wary of heading to the grand place at night and not certain of how we would get back once buses stopped running. back at our room, we relaxed, drank our duvels, and watched the simpsons. then, glorious sleep.

sunday morning, we go downstairs for some breakfast - after all, we are staying at a bed and breakfast. the guy at reception was nowhere to be found, and there was no sign of any food. i should have known. so we pack up and head to the train station to the center of brussels. again, we get lost, but i stop in a restaurant to ask a local where mannequin pis is. he speaks french a little bit of english, but i can understand most of what he says and we get pointed in the right direction. hooray! we find mannequin pis and the amazing waffle stand right next to him. lindsey and i, who hadn't eaten since our traumatizing seafood dinner, had the best waffles of our lives. if you're ever in brussels, go to the waffle stand by mannequin pis. it was recommended to me by both lyle and jessica, and now i add in my own recommendation. after the waffles, we happily walk up and down the streets, peeking in shops. i notice that the shops in brussels can be divided into a few categories: souvenirs, toy shops, waffle stands, chocolatiers, lace shops, and places that sell beer. for lunch we walked up and down this one street that contains all the seafood restaurants with beautiful displays of shellfish outside. lindsey and i both got mussels and drank our last westmalle beers. i don't think the mussels sat well with me, since i felt queasy all the rest of the day. then, very satisfied with our tour of the city, we headed to the airport.

after hours of waiting for the plane, narrowly missing it, and more hours of travelling on the tube and train, i finally arrived home at 11:40 PM. it is safe to say that this trip was a total success, i had a great time, and i have very high standards for beer now.

me, lindsey, and our delirium tremens

matthias and toon, our wonderful hosts

the view of brugge from the bell tower

mannequin pis

the best waffle of my life

lindsey and i are heading off to belgium tomorrow!

our plan:
when we arrive at the airport, toon, a fellow who lives in brussels that i know through lyle (a friend from davis) will meet us and then take us out for the evening. we're going to the delirium cafe, and i'll get to have my favorite beer ON TAP for the first time ever. gleee! then saturday morning, lindsey and i will take the train to brugge for the afternoon and then head back to brussels for a lovely dinner of mussels and another crazy evening. sunday we'll wander around brussels and see the sights. of course all throughout, chocolate, waffles, and beer will be included. HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!