a vacation.

Here I am, having the first relaxing day in Granada that I've had in a long time. I can't exactly remember the last blog I wrote, so I am going to cover Thanksgiving, Paris, and Brussels all in one! Yikes! Prepare yourself for lots of reading! But that's the way it goes when one is a travel extraordinaire and cannot simply find the time amongst all of their travels to document said adventures. Only kidding. I'm only about half that snobby. ;) Alright here goes. 

Thanksgiving 2009 was by far the most unique I've experienced thus far, being, one, that I am on the other side of the world and not in Spokane, Washington, amongst a plethora of other reasons. I woke up Thursday morning and headed straight to school (second infraction on the normalcy of the holiday) to take my November exam (first injustice, I would say!). Upon completing my test I had a relaxing day of packing for Paris. I called my Dad, who was preparing to run the Spokane Turkey Trot with the rest of the fam, and chatted with them for a bit. I made my cousin Maya promise to say a toast at Thanksgiving dinner, announcing to everyone how much I miss and love them, followed by a hug from me, through Maya. (I later found out this toast never occurred. Oh well, I suppose that's what happens when you put all faith into a seven year old.) That evening I Skyped with my mom, Grandpa, and Grandma in Spokane. I was bummed to be missing Grandma's famous chip dip and the ever present shenanigans of any Meyer family gathering, and when I said goodbye, I was feeling pretty down in the dumps. Eric came to my rescue though, and as we walked with Court through rainy Granada towards our surprise Thanksgiving feast, my smiles returned as I simply enjoyed being with my closest friends. 

The entire API clan lumbered through the streets of Granada, ending at a Mexican restaurant (infraction  numero tres). We all sat down, Allison, Shannon, Courtney, Dana, Michelle, and Liz at my table, pondering over the strangeness of celebrating our American gorging holiday at a Mexican restaurant in Spain. We were all looking forward to an American dinner, so when Mexican soup was served (spicy & delicious but still not American) we started to become a little uneasy. But, lo and behold, we were served turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn, and carrots. We were given the option of a second plate, which of course I wanted, but when nobody else wanted it, I decided to be a follower and create a new record for least amount of food I've ever consumed on the Thanksgiving holiday. I did eat my pie though, one slice pumpkin, and one slice apple, despite the fact that I'm not really a pie eater. It was delicious, and so very American! We laughed and laughed, our “leader” Tyler gave thanks in Spanish, instructing us to do the same. I was thankful for meeting so many amazing new people. Dana was thankful for the fact that no regular start people were sitting with us....except Allison was. Awkward! Ha, but it's just Dana, so it was funny. 

 After dinner Halee, Shannon, Cory, Doug, Kaitlin & I went to Cafe Fútbol to ring in Doug's 20th birthday and to further our Thanksgiving feasting with churros! It was totally fun and very memorable, and essentially I stayed up way too late for our 5:30 am departure to Paris Friday morning. 

 PARIS. A damn good time. When I went to Paris before, I wasn't the biggest fan, but after spending time there with my friends and doing some quality exploring of the city sans museums (they're really, really not my fave thing in the world), I am completely enamored by this city, frustrated at it for being impossible to conquer because it's so huge, and I can't wait until my next opportunity to return! Every day, we got “creped”--Kaitlin's new word for the consumption of delicious French crepes, filled with anything you want in them. I personally enjoyed nutella & banana, and there's even crepes with meat and cheese and vegetables in them! Seriously, go to Paris & eat a crepe, your life will not be complete until this has occurred. API provided with a ton of free time in Paris, which bothered us at first but turned out to be a blessing. While traveling with the entire fifty or so students was a blast and gave a lot of choices of who you wanted to hang out with all weekend, doing things as an entire massive group was sooo tedious. Friday when we got there we relaxed, ate some good Italian food, and Court, Shan, Allison & I enjoyed some cheap mimosas in our hotel room. We headed off to Starbucks (because as I've previously stated, when one lives in Granada and travels to the real world, Starbucks is a necessary purchase even if it converts to nearly eight American dollars for a grande mocha), and then went to the Eiffel Tower. I was pretty excited about this because Grammy & I missed this crucial sightseeing event on our trip. I had been up to the Eiffel Tower by day, but never by night, and I hadn't been to the top at all! A big group of us went up and it was soooo cold so we danced in line to keep warm. We discovered French boys are quite beautiful as we passed the Eiffel Tower ticket holder, and we freezed our butts off at the top but were so excited to just be there! Looking out at lights as far as the eye could see was enough to show us just how big Paris was, and it was unbelievable that we were at such a famous landmark in such a famous city. Doug & Kaitlin cracked us up with their kissing pictures, and we all couldn't help but tease them. But hey, who's to blame them? Kissing on the Eiffel Tower? It's like the epitome of romance. Can't say I wasn't hoping that ticket holder would mozee on up and give me a smooch! :) Prior to our Eiffel Tower ascent, I had needed to go to the bathroom but couldn't find one (this always seems to be an issue in large cities, and I always wonder, where does everyone else go to use the facilities?), and so after our nearly 2 ½ hour Tower excursion, I really had to go. And no offense to the lovely group I was with, but they must not have quite understood the urgency of the moment as they were just waltzing along, slow as can be! Finally we found a metro that led us back to the Bastille, and everyone was starving and hunting for a crepe stand to eat dinner at. I, at this point, was freaking out because I was sure I was going to wet myself. Megan and I both had to go, and when we tried a bar that denied our request for the bathroom unless we sat down for a drink, I was near tears. Luckily, we happened across a Subway and I sprinted in and relieved myself then we snuck out without paying for anything. Thank. The. Lord. 

Saturday was bus tour day, where we essentially saw all of Paris from within a very stuffy Greyhound with minimal leg room. Ha! I love how dismal I can sound sometimes. Actually it was fun, I can't say I learned much from the tour guide's limited English, but it was nice to spend time with the entire API crew and see the majority of Paris' important sights. Plus it was raining and Paris is enormous, so seeing everything wouldn't really have been possible/enjoyable any other way. The bus tour finished at Notre Dame, and we walked through the cathedral then a group of us went to the Latin Quarter for lunch. This was kind of when I started to realize that I love Paris, because there are so many quaint restaurants, shops, nooks and crannies that can so easily be missed. We stopped in at a restaurant and I was going cheap so I had an omelet, but apparently France is famous for omelets! Our plan was the Catacombs, but we discovered they were closed for renovations (which really bummed me out because that's another thing I didn't get to see last time) so Cory, Halee, Eric, Doug, Kaitlin, Megan and I went to the Opera House that Cory had been dying to go to so badly. It's pretty famous I guess, the setting for the musical the Phantom of the Opera. Saturday evening we got a big group and strolled through the Christmas Market (first of many that week, it turns out) on the ever-famous Champs-Elysees, and nothing else could have put me more in the Christmas spirit at the time! We mostly bought food and drinks because the gifts and jewelry and scarves at the Christmas market were just ridiculously expensive compared with our bargain land of Granada, but it was a great time anyway and oh-so-Christmasy. 

Sunday, Day 3, Paris: DISNEYLAND! We paid $67 for a one day two park pass, and we tore it up in the Magic Kingdom all day long. Allison, Shannon, Halee, Cory, Lexi & her boyfriend Aaron who traveled from Germany to visit her (they're so cute!), and I Disney-ed it up in the wet and cold. Luckily it only rained a bit in the beginning, the rest of the day was rather frigid but clear. I won't waste too many lines but I will give our final Disney comparisons: Indiana Jones & Haunted Mansion are WAY better in Cali, Tower of Terror is exactly the same, Space Mountain Paris kicks Cali's ass all the way to Pluto (we went 4 times! I was nearly Space Mountain'ed out!), the fake snow was cool as were the Christmas decorations, and I enjoyed the character parade! I did a bit of Christmas shopping at the end of the day, and when we returned to Paris my feet hurt & I was completely tuckered out, but we enjoyed our day of reverting back to our childhood! Now to complete my Disney Life Experience I must get to Orlando, Tokyo, and a Disney Cruise somewhere in there!

Monday was our final day in Paris, and the whole API group went to the Louvre. I was still exhausted from Disney the previous day, and I had been there before, so I was somewhat of a zombie on our tour and didn't really see much. We spent the rest of the day before our flight with an all girls group strolling and shopping through the Latin Quarter, eating some delicious French Onion Soup, and visiting my only serious destination goal for the trip—a bookstore across the Seine from Notre Dame called Shakespeare & Company, it was in my guidebook as one of the most famous English bookstores in the world. I loved it and can't wait to go back to Paris one day and go again! Leaving Paris was sad because in a way it was the last sha-bang of the semester, the beginning of the end, everyone realizing just how little time we have left. I fell in love with the city, and I plan to go back many times, because there's no way it is possible to see it all, but I want to see as much of it as I can. 

We had about a 36 hour hiatus between our trips to Paris & Belgium. Somewhere in there was a day of class, frantic repacking of completely dirty clothes, two or three meals with my host family and then Allison, Shannon & I were off once again. After coming way too close to missing our flight from Malaga, we arrived at Charleroi airport in Belgium and were greeted by Laura Johnson, the mom of a friend of Shannon's from high school. Now I'm going to be honest, when I learned we were staying with friends of Shannon's, I was a little nervous. Not as any reflection upon Shannon whatsoever, but because it is just a little nerve-wracking anytime you're going to spend time living in somebody else's home. But in reality, I had absolutely nothing to fear. Pat & Laura Johnson may as well be my new parents, not to mention two of the coolest and nicest people I've ever met! Pat is a US diplomat through the Armed Forces with Russia (or something like that, I'm not very politically knowledgeable), and they have been living in Brussels for over three years. So we got to stay in their beautiful home, eat wonderful American food, and be driven around be our own personal tour guides for 4 days! It was amazing. 

Thursday we drove to a quaint city called Bruges which is about an hour away from Brussels. Now, I will be tempted to say quaint in every single sentence because really, that is the only word that can accurately describe such a city. Despite the fact that it rained on and off all day long, it was as if we were walking through a fairy book land. We visited the Belltower and churches, a Christmas market, had the intention of going ice skating but the rain hindered us, bought the world's most comfortable pair of slippers, went to an Ice Age sculpture park with a giant ice slide, tried our first Belgian waffle (HEAVEN), and were treated by Laura and Pat to a delicious, probably very expensive dinner at the end of the day. I had a classic steak and frites (french fries), and was happy as a clam with my simplicity. Shannon ate reindeer! I tried it but wasn't a fan, but Allison's vegetarian wok was quite tasty. 

Friday was more low key, we slept in a little and Laura drove us down to spend the afternoon in Brussels. Pat couldn't join us because he had a meeting with Hillary Clinton (just chillin' with Hil, no biggie! Allison, the political science major was absolutely dying over all of this political action Pat was getting). In Brussels we explored more Christmas markets (this is mainly what we did all weekend), rode a ferris wheels to give us a sunset view of the city, ate yet another Belgian waffle, visited a strange statue that is a highlight of Brussels called Mannekan Pis (see facebook pictures), basically just browsed around the city all day. Laura showed us where all the popular bars were, but we were much more enticed by Guitar Hero and American movies. Sad, I know, it probably sounds like we weren't living it up on our trip, but the reality is, we can pay to party in Granada anytime we want for significantly less money. So instead we basked in the relaxation of “American life”, Allison made Kraft macaroni and cheese for dinner, and we watched the tail end of Air Force One. (Never realized how dumb that movie is until now). 

 Saturday was an early morning with a nearly three hour drive to Amsterdam. Up at 6:15, out of the door by 7, we arrived to our 4th country of the week sleepy and cold. I've been to Amsterdam before, so Allison and I skipped out on Anne Frank and walked around while Shan visited the historical attic, and for the rest of the day we all walked along the canals and ate Frites and visited markets. Very chill. Shannon and I both wanted to visit the Red Light District because we'd never been there before, and it was an interesting and kind of...saddening experience in a way. Shannon was pretty bothered by the prostitution, and I didn't mind so much unless I really started to overthink the whole concept of legal prostitution and what exactly that...signifies? Anyways, I know this probably is extremely boring to read but we honestly didn't really do all that much all weekend besides relax and visit Christmas markets, but it was still an awesome time simply because it was more low key than we're accustomed to. I have an overnight layover in Amsterdam the 19th before I fly back to Seattle, and Courtney is also going to be there, so maybe I will explore the city more with her. I'm always up for seeing more of a city!! You can never see it all....

 Sunday was our final full day of our second mini vacation, and we started a little late (Laura was busy and we got to watch the second half of Pearl Harbor anyways-such a good flick, although it made me tear up 3 different times only in the second half! We discovered that the Armed Forces network is definitely into war and/or hyper-american movies. You'd think the military peeps would want a rest from all that and just watch Forrest Gump or something, but no! Lol.) Anyways, we hit country number five when we arrived at the highly anticipated AUTHENTIC German Christmas market in Aachen, Germany. Just over the border between Belgium and Germany rests this town where Charlemagne's bones are laid to rest in a church that we visited. And while we had previously been to Christmas markets in Paris, Bruges, Brussels, and Amsterdam, Aachen was like the mother of all Christmas markets! It just kept going and going and was filled with food and decorations and music and lights and all sorts of heart-warming wonderful Christmas time cheer. I encountered a giant schnauzer and was pretty much freaking out because he looked EXACTLY like Max just about 50 pounds heavier. I think I freaked the dog's owner out as I was stalking it, camera in one hand and giant German sausage in the other. Americans....haha. We essentially ate our way through the day, not really needing meals but snacking and snacking and snacking...yum. Shannon and I also found some tasty German boys who were selling wild boar (not so tasty) and we all concluded for the thousandth time that I am a huge baby and am incapable of approaching an attractive member of the opposite sex. We left the Christmas market in the spirit of the holidays and me wondering exactly why I grew up to be such a socially inept person. Haha. Our final night with Pat and Laura was spent laughing and telling stories, talking about the changes, hardships, and blessings of living abroad, over....guess what meal—CHICKEN FAJITAS!!!!! It was like God came down and granted me my biggest Christmas wish. It was absolutely delicious and such a good end to an unforgettable stay with these new friends of ours. I won't be able to ever thank them enough for their genuine kindness and hospitality. 

 And now....I'm back, sitting in my room in Granada. And the strange thing is, I have 10 nights left sleeping in this bed. It is so unbelievably weird to me! I can hardly believe that I walked out of my house on August 25th. It's December 9th and I haven't seen my mother, my dog, my room! But it's been ok! Actually it's been more than ok, it's been amazing and unforgettable and perfect! I went out on a school night last night with Courtney, Allison, and Eric, and maybe we're reverting back to our old September ways, but to be honest I don't care. I have very limited time with these people and I'm making the most of it! Tonight we have our final API movie, and we have our goodbye lunch on Friday. Court's 21st celebration will be Saturday night, which will be crazy in itself but a ton of fun as I'm sure that's the last discoteca I'll be attending this semester. I am so thankful that I get to come back to Spain for another semester to experience it in a completely new way. But for now I need to stop writing, go get my homework done, so I can be with the people I love! :) Till next time, which hopefully will be before I come home, but if not, I'll see you face to face Washingtonians!

Love, MacKenzie